"Who are you?" asked the girl.

"I am the Past's Future," answered the woman.

"Then who am I?" said the girl.

"You are the Future's Past," replied the woman.

"What do you want?" said the girl.

"To tell you a story."

Despite what we Q might claim, we are not from another continuum. The Q Continuum, our home, is an artificially created bubble in the fabric of spacetime. The Q are powerful, but not all-powerful. Like most creatures our power comes from somewhere. In this case, me.

I am the original Q. I am the beginning and the end. I am the Timekeeper. Without me the Continuum would collapse. The Q would be nothing, yet I am an outcast spending all eternity alone.

It is a universal story, it seems— those we do not understand we fear. The Q have never understood me. I am more powerful than all of them put together, yet I would gladly lay down my life for that of an innocent's. I see the world differently and, most importantly, I know I am not the center of it. For behind all our airs of superiority and godlike powers we're just people. We are the Q.

Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let's get on with the story.

Pilot

"Sickbay to Captain Picard," came Dr. Crusher's voice over the comm.

"Yes, Doctor?" Picard replied, taking a sip of his tea.

"It's the drone. He's awake."

Picard sprang to his feet. "I'm on my way."

It had been several weeks now since his crew brought the drone aboard. Though Dr. Crusher had succeeded in removing most of his Borg implants, he'd shown little sign of recovery. As far as they could tell, he was the only survivor of a crashed reconnaissance sphere the Enterprise had discovered just outside Federation space. The odd thing was, however, despite the numerous tests the medical team had run on him, his species still remained a complete mystery.

The sickbay doors opened as Picard approached.

"Captain," Beverly greeted, looking up from her monitor. "He's awake, but there's no telling how he'll respond."

Picard nodded, strolling over to the biobed. "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise." He paused. "Can you understand me?"

The drone opened one eye. "Human," he muttered, more to himself than anyone.

"Yes, that's right," Picard encouraged. "Who are you?"

"We are Borg. No… I…" The drone shook his head. "I am a Double."

The captain glanced over at Beverly. Was he supposed to know what that meant?

"A Double?"

"Yes," continued the drone, "or, as most singles call us, a Half Changeling."

"What?"

The drone gave him a crocked smile. "You'll see."

Dr. Crusher shrugged. "Without more information there's no way to know."

"Hypothetically," Picard insisted, pacing back and forth in her lab, "is it possible? A half Changeling?"

"Maybe." She didn't sound too convinced. "But certainly not with any humanoid species. We don't even know how Changelings reproduce. It's more likely by 'Changeling' he simply means shapeshifter. I doubt he actually had a Founder for a parent."

The captain was silent for a moment. "He said 'us.' Perhaps these Doubles are a species in themselves of only partial shapeshifters or…" He stopped himself. One could only speculate so much. "Keep me posted Doctor."

"Keeper..." whispered the drone, catching their attention, "the Timekeeper…no it can't be. Only a legend. Keeper…or is it? Keeper…keeper…keeper?"

Whatever was he talking about? Who is the Timekeeper? Good questions.

"Bridge," commanded Picard.

Why use buttons when you could simply instruct your elevator by voice? Don't you love Humans?

He couldn't help but wonder if what the drone had said was true. Could the Borg really assimilate shapeshifters? The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

To look on the bright side, at least the drone hadn't called his Locutus.

"Picard."

Picard spun around. The lift had been empty a second ago.

"What do you want, Q?" he growled at the admiral leaning casually against the wall across from him. To his surprise, Q grabbed him by the front of his uniform.

"Listen to me, Picard, you have no idea what that drone is. You have to kill it while you still can."

He staggered back. "Q, what do you mean?"

"He is extremely dangerous," Q continued, not bothering to explain himself. "You have to get rid of him!"

"If he's so dangerous," the captain challenged, "why don't you dispose of him yourself?"

Q sighed. "I can't."

"Why not?" He had no interest in playing Q's games.

"I just can't, Picard. This one's on you."

"Q—" It was too late; Q had already vanished.

Picard shook his head. He really didn't have time for this at the moment.

"There you are, Captain!" Commander Riker exclaimed as the turbolift opened. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"I was just chatting with Q." It didn't seem like it had been very long to him, but one could never tell with the Q—time tends to run differently around us.

"Q?"

"Never mind that, Number One. What's the problem?"

"We lost the drone."

"As in, he's dead?" questioned Picard, fearing the worst.

"No. As in, we can't find him."

Picard sighed inwardly. "Q. I'll be in my ready room."

"Alright, Q," he called out as soon as the door closed, "where's the drone?"

Silence.

"I know you can hear me."

More silence.

"I can't get rid of him if I can't find him."

"I must say, Picard," said Q, appearing at last, "you are quite persistent."

"What did you do with the drone?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe it."

"Now really, Jean-Luc, have I ever lied to you?"

"Yes, several times."
"Well, I'm not lying now."

"Prove it."

"What do you mean, 'prove it?'"

"Find the drone."

"I can't."

"Why not, Q?"

"The Doubles…" Q paused. "They have strong minds—even compared me. I can't find him if he doesn't want me to."

"Doubles?" asked Picard. "So he isn't the only one?"

"Oh no, Captain, he most certainly isn't. There were many of them once, though it's common knowledge in the Continuum they're all dead. Or so we thought."

"Dead? What happened to them?"

"Well…"

"You killed them, didn't you?"

"No! I certainly didn't."

"But the Q did?"

"Nobody killed the Doubles, Picard," Q snapped. "They just vanished. Believe me, your galaxy would be a better place if we had."

Picard was quiet for a moment. What did Q have against these so-called Doubles? Were they really that dangerous?

"Are they actually half Changeling?" he inquired at last.

"Yes," was Q's response.

"What's the other half?"

"You don't want to know."

Oh, but I bet you do. Don't worry—you'll find out soon enough.

Back in sickbay, Dr. Crusher glanced at her monitor for the hundredth time. This drone had the strangest physiology she'd ever seen. Where most species would have skin, muscle and so on, he had a coating of Changeling-esque goo. Unlike a regular Changeling, however, he still had a skeletal system and a good number of internal organs. She really had no idea how a body like that could function. Maybe he was the result of two barely compatible species.

She tapped her com badge. "Dr. Crusher to Picard. I think our drone's telling the truth."

"According to Q he is," Picard replied.

"Q? You don't suppose…"
"I've been wondering the same thing, Doctor."