Chapter VII
The next hour was a mixture of elation, grief, happiness, confusion and enlightenment as the android spoke to his comrades and learned about everything that had taken place in the time since he had left them. During this entire discussion, he remained quiet and allowed the lower lifeforms to have their fun. Even if this is an urgent matter, I see no need to rush things, he reasoned. Finally, they had all been gathered into the ready room and Data proceeded to tell them about his recent journey to the Guardian. Each of his crew stared at Quaid with a sense of distress, except Picard; who seemed rather interested in knowing more about him. "So… Quaid, is it? If I understand Lieutenant Commander Data correctly, you are Q's son?" the Captain asked. He nodded slightly and smiled faintly, to which the Klingon commented, "He certainly does seem to have learned better manners than his father." Quaid considered making an example out him right there and then, but controlled his temper and turned to Picard and said, "I'm sure you must have a thousand questions on your mind… but this is not really the place for such trivialities. If my timing is on schedule, The End has already begun." "Q came to me in my dreams and spoke of it… but I'm guessing that his warning hasn't done much good, considering you are a future version of his offspring," Picard stated. "It's not really your fault. Actually, there's nothing anybody in the Federation; let alone the known galaxy can do about it. It is The End, after all. They don't give it a fancy name just because," Quaid commented.
"But you must think that you can stop it… isn't that why you're here?" the doctor asked. "That's correct and the Guardian of Forever has led me to believe that if I contact my father in this time period, I'll be able to solve some of this crisis," Quaid explained. "Knowing Q, he will probably be here at any moment," Worf remarked. "I find that unlikely," he said with a smirk and then explained, "He's off searching for me, which is probably infinitely distracting. In order to not tamper with my own past, I shifted my younger self out of synch with time." "So Q must be frantically searching the universe for his son," Beverly said in disbelief. "Oh, we'll have a wonderful family reunion soon enough," Quaid said with a nod and then turned to the Captain before commenting, "By now you must realize that other things are much more important." "Are you referring to Gorgan?" Picard asked. "That strange entity we encountered previously? What does he have to do with all of this?" Kadohota asked. "Gorgan has been around much longer than even me and he'll be back soon enough to try and trick us again; so we should leave the system right away," Quaid advised. "He didn't seem to pleased to see you or Data for that matter," the security officer observed. "His power exacerbates the natural enmity between the young and the old… causing them to battle against one another. Since Data has no such desires, he couldn't possibly be affected by his wiles," Quaid explained and then added, "As for me… well, I'm sure he must know of my presence in this time and wants to do away with me. He was never the friendliest of beings, to say the least."
"And we don't want him to influence the Enterprise," Picard said in agreement and then asked the android, "Mister Data, would you be willing to take us to warp?" He nodded respectfully to his superior and then departed. "I think for now we'll need the assistance of Quaid, so view him as our guest," the Captain told the other members of his crew. It was also apparent that the meeting was over and as the other people left, he noticed that Picard chose to stay. "Is there something you wanted to ask me in private, Picard?" Quaid asked. "I heard what Gorgan told you… am I to presume there is more going on here than you have led us to believe?" the Captain asked. "Certainly, but then; I am Q after all… and if I remember correctly, tampering with the timeline is one thing even your Federation has forbidden," Quaid answered. "If we're going to survive The End, or whatever else is happening; I want to be able to trust you. Q has always been rather standoffish towards me, but you seem to have a better perspective on humans," Picard observed. "You'll have to thank Aunt Kathy for that. I could treat you like the simple organisms that you are…" Quaid said impatiently and then smirked before explaining, "But that would serve no purpose and would curtail my ability to guide you towards fulfilling your role in The End." "Then my crew… and myself are going to forced to undertake this apocalyptic journey?" the Captain asked in disbelief. "I could do that," Quaid admitted but then added, "But dad always told me to be nice to lesser beings… and your name came up once or twice. Let's just say he often used you as an example of what the Continuum ought to strive for." Picard seemed genuinely surprised at those words and smiled slightly.
"Don't get me wrong… let's not forget that if it wasn't for my father; you wouldn't be alive today, Picard," he advised the Captain. "So where are we heading to?" Picard asked. "As soon as Mister Calculator Man takes us into warp, your ship and your crew will be within the safety of my powers. In effect, you'll be concealed from the rest of space and time itself and enter a place where even Gorgan cannot reach us," Quaid explained. "Are you certain you can do that?" Picard asked. The young Q considered reminding him of his unlimited power, but instead replied, "Who are we talking about here?" "Sir!" the engineer said, entering the ready room again. "Yes, Mister La Forge?" Picard asked, noting the urgency of his companion's tone. "We're receiving a transmission from the Titan. It's for you," Geordi explained. "Old friends?" Quaid guessed. "Definitely, let's remain here until we hear what they have to say," Picard said and glared at him as if daring him to contradict him. Quaid shrugged and said, "Fine, but it's your funeral." As he followed the Captain from the room, he considered going ahead and moving the ship into the safety of the space between dimensions; but realized that it would probably not do any good. There are far worse things to worry about than Gorgan, he thought. As they reached the bridge, Jean-Luc asked, "Do you have to follow me?" "What're you going to do… stop me?" Quaid countered. Picard seemed irritated with him, but apparently decided not to object any further. Like he could prevent me in the first place, he thought. These humans are all the same, he realized.
Maybe Janeway would've been a better candidate for this little excursion, Quaid mused, wishing that he could've interfered with her destiny without causing an even bigger disruption in the past. As Picard sat down, the image of the Captain's former first officer appeared and he began to speak. "Captain, I have urgent news…who is that?" Riker asked, pointing to him. "He's… a friend," the Captain said, choosing his words carefully and then asked, "What has happened Will? You look terrible." "I've just been to see the Guardian of Forever… and it wasn't my idea," the other man replied and Quaid detected a sense of fear in his words. Then he frowned, realizing that he had no idea why Riker was contacting them. "And?" Picard asked, waiting for his old friend to explain. "Actually, it started before that. One of my crewmembers was overtaken by some mysterious entity and demonstrated… well, Q-like powers," Will explained. Quaid leaned forward and asked, "Did he have a silver glow in his eyes?" Riker seemed to consider it and then replied, "Yes… I think so." Quaid stepped back and began to pace as Riker proceeded to tell his former Captain everything that had happened. The crewmember had overtaken the ship and transported the vessel and his wife to the Guardian, where he had activated the ancient keyhole and called forth two companions. As Quaid listened to the description Riker gave, he became more and more nervous. "What do you suppose this means, Captain?" Will asked. Snapping his fingers, the monitor shut off and he and Picard switched places.
"Quaid!" the Captain said and then looked at him in surprise before asking, "Why do you look so concerned?" "In case you weren't listening, we need to get out of here. Now," the young Q answered and then hurled the ship thru a rift he'd prepared for them. "Quaid, what is the meaning of this? From what Will was telling me, it would seem there are other players in this game of yours," Picard stated. "You've got that right and we don't want to run into them without some serious firepower," Quaid answered and then stood before adding, "We need to find my father immediately." "Those beings he mentioned… who were they and what abilities do they possess?" Picard asked. "Captain, as much as I would love to discuss this with you… we don't have the time. The simplest way of putting it is this. They're trouble; we're leaving. End of discussion," Quaid muttered. As the star-lines stretched out, the Captain shook his head and said, "I suppose that we're under your guidance now." "Yes and if you'll give me a minute to think, I'll discern where my father is," Quaid remarked. "Don't you know? I thought the Q were aware of everything," Picard countered. "Don't make me turn you into a pillar of salt," Quaid warned and then shook his head and said, "Forget it, I'll just call him…"
For a moment, the bridge was silent; then he disappeared in a flash of light that probably surprised Picard. And then he was in the Continuum. He sensed that his father was close; but just not here yet. Well, he thought; here goes nothing. "Q!" he cried out, his words echoing throughout the multi-verse. Quaid was wondering what his father would say to him, but even as he arrived; he found for once that his parent was speechless. "Do I… know you?" Q asked. "You certainly do…" Quaid replied and embraced his father. "It's me… little q," he explained. "But… you're all grown-up," Q said in disbelief. "I can explain, we need to leave now before-" Quaid said, but it was too late. The Continuum had heard him as well and had caught up to them both.
