Mrs. Troi, why don't we go for a walk?" He was certain that would pull her away.
Picard had been her favorite target when she was last aboard the ship, and he was going to have to use that infatuation to get her away from Q. He saw Deanna's pleading look from several feet away. The counselor was terrified as to what could happen if her mother kept moving in the direction that her phasing was driving her.
How far do you go, Picard, to keep her away from him, mused Picard. It was a question, the answer to which he didn't like to contemplate.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon how one looked at it, Picard mused, it wasn't a question he would have to worry about.
"Not now, Jean-Luc," said Lwaxana.
"Can't you see I'm talking? Honestly, where are your manners? You could take lessons from Admiral Q here." "Yes, Jean-Luc," said Q agreeably.
"You could take lessons from me." "He is not an admiral," said Picard in no uncertain terms.
"Now, now, Picard... don't let your jealousy get the better of you. You'll get that promotion someday, as long as I'm there pushing for you," Q assured him.
Mother, this has gone far enough.
Lwaxana, without turning, replied to her daughter, Are you under the impression that I cannot take care of myself?
I'm under the impression that if you were thinking clearly, you'd have an idea of the trouble you're letting yourself in for.
Trouble, Little One, is no stranger to me.
Lwaxana then shut down communications and said to Q, "You know, this room is getting very stuffy." "Wherever Jean-Luc is, stuffiness cannot help but be nearby." This drew a laugh from the other partygoers who were within earshot. Picard flushed slightly, and he could sense behind him that Worf was ready to charge.
He saw Riker take a short step to his right, blocking a direct path between Worf and Q, and was grateful for this. He didn't want to think about what Q could do to the infuriated Klingon if he were of a mind to.
"But you're right, Mrs. Troi," said Q.
"Would you care to step outside?" "No!" said Picard.
In a low, even embarrassed voice, Lwaxana said, "Jean-Luc, please. Now is not the time for jealousy. You had your chance." "Yes, you had your chance, Picard," Q informed him, smiling. "Don't worry, though.
We'll stick to the corridors of the Enterprise." He turned back to Lwaxana.
"The captain was concerned that I was going to take you for a stroll outside the ship." Lwaxana laughed. "What a sense of humor! That's so rare in a man." "Yes, it is," agreed Q. "But then, you'll find I'm a fairly rare individual." "That I can attest to," said Picard.
Q extended an elbow. "Coming, my dear?" Lwaxana took it. "Absolutely." Deanna, Picard, Riker, and Worf all started to move forward to try and prevent Q from walking away with Lwaxana.
None of them made it more than a step, and then they froze in place. Smiles were plastered onto their faces; even onto Worf's, where it looked grotesque.
Mother! Deanna's mind called out.
Later, Little One, Lwaxana sent back and, with eyes only on Q, swept out of the Ten-Forward lounge.
The moment they were gone, Picard and the others unfroze. Unaware of what had just happened, Graziunas was shaking his head and grinning.
"Trust a sharp devil like Q to waltz out of here with the best-looking and most formidable woman on the ship. She is something, isn't she, Picard?" "Something," echoed Picard, and his officers were gathering around him quickly.
"Orders, sir?" said Worf.
"Alert all security teams," Picard told him in a low voice. "They are to keep an eye out for Q and Mrs. Troi, and report their whereabouts and activities at all times." "And what else, Captain?" asked Deanna urgently.
"That's all for now." "But, Captain!" Deanna began in protest. "My mother--to was "Is a grown woman, Counselor," Picard replied, sounding more testy than he would have liked. "And Q is a grown... whatever. Do you have any reason to believe that Q is exerting an undue influence on her?" "He doesn't have to," admitted Deanna.
"No, he does not," Picard said firmly.
"The bottom line is, Q has promised to behave with restraint. And your mother is free to do as she pleases, within reason." "And who determines what is "within reason"?" asked Deanna.
"I do," said Picard.
Chapter Ten
Lwaxana walked next to Q, eyeing him thoughtfully and appraisingly. Other crew members went past and when they saw who was walking down the Enterprise corridor, made sure to give them a wide berth.
"Tell me about yourself," said Lwaxana Troi.
"Are you certain you can handle the truth?" asked Q.
"I can handle anything," she said with conviction.
"Very well. Picard was correct when he said I'm not an admiral. I am, in fact, a god." "Oh, really?" she said with amusement.
"Yes. I am a member of an entity known as the Q Continuum. I can do anything." "Anything?" "Anything." She eyed him speculatively. "Can you bend your knees backwards?" "I beg your pardon?" "Can you bend your knees backwards? You know.
Like that Earth bird called a flamingo." Q flexed his legs and found that they bent only forward. "Not in this body, no. I'd have to change form." "So you can't do any-thing." He sighed. "I can do anything except bend my knees backwards like a flamingo in this form." "Can you bend your entire body backwards?" She gave a partial demonstration. "So that your head touches the backs of your feet?" Q stared at her. "Why would I want to do that?" "You said you could do anything." "I'm a god, not a contortionist!" said Q in exasperation.
"But what is a god," put forward Lwaxana, "except a moral and ethical contortionist. Claiming that a universe of confusion and chaos actually fits together into some sort of divine plan." "That is not a god's job. That's what philosophers do. They try and determine what that divine plan is." "But you know?" said Lwaxana. "You know what the secret of the universe is?" "Of course." "And what is it?" He regarded her thoughtfully. "You really wish to know?" "Of course." He glanced around, right and left, as if concerned that someone was listening in. Then he stopped his walking, drew her close and said, in a low voice, "Th." There was a brief flash and then something appeared in his hand.
She stared at it and took it slowly from him.
She studied it. She turned it over with meticulous care.
"A nectarine?" she asked.
He nodded. "Don't spread it around.
Especially don't tell Jean-Luc. He and his kind would kill for this sort of knowledge." "But... it's a nectarine." "Yes." "The secret of the universe is a nectarine?" "Sublime, isn't it. I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand." Lwaxana's lips thinned and she said in sharp tones, "Someone like me?" "Someone who is not a god," he told her airily.
She drew herself up. "I will have you know," she said archly, "that I am as close to godlike as you will encounter on this ship. Possibly in this galaxy." "Is that a fact?" "Yes," she said, and to his utter shock, she pushed past him. "Excuse me." "You touched me," he said incredulously. "No one dares touch me!" She took a step towards him, looking him up and down. "I am Lwaxana Troi, daughter of the fifth house. I... am not.
no one." She tossed the nectarine at him. He caught it effortlessly and watched Lwaxana stalk off.
And he smiled.
Unpleasantly.
And then his communicator beeped.
He looked down at it in surprise.
Certainly he had created it to be identical to those worn by the men of the Federation, but this was the first time anyone had the temerity to actually summon him.
He hesitated for a moment and then tapped it.
"Hello?" he said, his curiosity piqued.
"Mr. Q to the conference lounge," came the crisp voice of Jean-Luc Picard.
"Immediately." "You can't be serious," said Q.
"Dead serious." Q shrugged and vanished.
"Mother, you have to listen to me." Lwaxana Troi was in her quarters, lounging and snacking on a small bunch of grapes.
Deanna was seated in front of her, trying to get her to listen to something that made eminent sense to her.
What was distracting, however, was that each time that Lwaxana popped a grape into her mouth, Mr.
Homn would stand resolutely behind her, tapping that annoying Betazoid gong. Deanna wondered how her co-workers would react if she were to start doing that every time she ate meals with them.
"You worry entirely too much, daughter." "And you, mother, worry entirely too little. And about the wrong things." "I don't follow you, dear." "You give infinite care and attention to the most minute of Betazoid customs, from the Ab'brax to the going of thanks. But me, your living, breathing, concerned daughter--me, you don't heed at all.
You're not the least bit worried about Q, when you most definitely should be. Mother, you have no idea what he is capable of. You have no idea what he is." "Of course I do. He's a member of the Q Continuum." Deanna put her hands on her hips. "And what does that mean? Do you know?" Lwaxana made an impatient gesture.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. Men always have their little clubs and such. Your father had his own organization that met once a week. They gave it a fancy name, and it was really just an excuse to get together weekly and play cards." She smiled fondly. "He thought he had me fooled." "The Q Continuum is a bit more than a group of card players," said Deanna. "Q has immense power..." "Yes, I did sense that," said Lwaxana thoughtfully. She ate another grape, and another gong sounded. Deanna closed her eyes and tried not to think about breaking that blasted gong, because her mother would just scold her for what was on her mind. "I did sense that about him," continued Lwaxana. "I wasn't able to read his thoughts, but he had a sort of aura about him--power that you could almost touch." "You didn't touch it, did you?" demanded Deanna.
"Dear!" said Lwaxana in mock horror.
"Just what do you think I am?"
"We know what you are," said Worf.
Q was lying, totally relaxed, across the conference lounge table. Picard had chosen not to waste valuable time and energy angrily telling Q to get himself off the furniture. Privately, he was amazed that Q had shown up at his summons at all.
However, Q's deliberately casual manner was clearly annoying Worf, and Riker didn't seem any happier about it. Only Data sat and watched, thoughtfully, contemplatively.
"Oh, do you?" said Q, casually studying his fingernails. "And who explained it to you, Worf?
Did they find enough one-syllable words to do the job?" "You have an angle, Q," said Riker. "You always do. You always show up acting as if you want to be the benefactor of humanity. And then, sooner or later, your true motives become evident. So why don't we get past all the nonsense, and you tell us what the real story here is." "All I'm trying to do," said Q, sounding exasperated, "is blend in and learn the wonders of humanity. You're so insistent on expounding upon the marvels of your race, but when I express an interest in studying you close up, you suddenly get defensive. You're sending mixed signals, Jean-Luc. And your antagonistic reception puts the lie to your claims of brotherhood and peaceful coexistence." "In addition to those traits," said Picard, "is our ability to learn from the past. And in the past, Q, you have presented exceptional difficulties." "Captain," Data said slowly, "it is possible that Q is telling the truth." Worf made a derisive noise and Data noted it, catalogued it, and filed it for future reference should that noise seem to be appropriate. He continued, "Certainly my time among humans has had an impact on myself. Is it not possible that Q has been similarly affected by his contact with us?" "No," said Worf sourly.
"There's possible, Data, and then there's likely," said Riker. "You came into humanity with no preconceived notions, willing to learn.
Q already made up his mind from the first time he saw us. Since then, he's just looking for excuses to shore up his opinion." "And with your belligerent attitude, you're certainly providing them, aren't you?" replied Q. "I knew that at least Data would be on my side." "I am not on "your side," sir," said Data. "I am merely more willing to concede the possibility that you may be sincere. That is because I am inclined to take people at their word whenever possible." "You're a hopeless optimist, Data," said Q.
"If by hopeless you mean unlikely to change, you are quite correct," said Data.
"But I, gentlemen, can change," Q said, sitting up on the table. "Shame on you, gentlemen, for allowing Data to be the only one among you with true compassion. I've shown compassion for you time and again." "You are joking," said Worf.
"Not at all," said Q. "Have you forgotten that I've saved your lives on several occasions?" "Saved them after you endangered them," Worf pointed out.
