I had a rare mood to write, so I threw this together quickly. I haven't polished it yet, but would welcome your thoughts as to whether I should continue it or not. --- "It is now 0600 hours," the female computer voice announced as the illumination level gradually increased. Captain Samantha Hayes awoke and rolled out of bed, dressed in pajamas. After freshening up in the bathroom, she stepped into the living area of her quarters to have breakfast—but froze upon seeing a Human male, wearing a captain’s uniform, seated at her dining table. "Good morning, Captain! Mind if I join you for breakfast?" The man greeted her with a smile. He snapped his fingers, and a complete, balanced breakfast suddenly appeared on the table, accompanied by a flash of light. Hayes had been about to summon security, but then realized who she was dealing with. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. "Q?" "And if I am?" Hayes reached up to scratch her head. "Records of our encounters with you are required reading at the academy these days. But I never thought I’d actually…meet you." "By your tone of voice, I can’t tell whether you’re pleased or displeased to see me," Q said plainly. "Perhaps I’m more curious about you than anything," Hayes freely admitted. "Please, sit down," Q invited while gesturing to a chair. "Your breakfast is getting cold." Hayes glanced down to the chair, considered her options, and decided it would probably be best to do as requested. She sat down. Q leaned forward. "To tell the truth, I’m just as curious about you," he announced. Why would Q be interested in me? Hayes wondered. "Coming from you, I’m flattered," she said. "And you should be," Q stated matter-of-factly. "I know, let’s play a little game to get to know each other better, shall we? We’ll take turns answering the other’s questions truthfully. I’ll even let you ask the first one." Hayes gave him a dubious look, but the offer was tempting. "No strings attached?" She asked. "Cross my heart and hope to die," Q promised. "That’s easy enough for an immortal being to say…but I’d be a fool to turn down this opportunity. I accept." Hayes picked up a fork and took a bite of the omelet that was on the plate Q had prepared for her. It tasted like the kind her mother used to make. It figures. "How did your species keep from destroying itself after developing the godlike powers that you so casually flaunt around?" Q considered the answer briefly. "That’s not bad for your first question, but it’s impossible to explain completely without a common frame of reference. The short answer is that we gained immortality long before we developed our power to manipulate space-time, and by that point we had already learned how to coexist because it was impossible for us not to coexist." He leaned forward again. "You’re intelligent, for a mere human. Why did you enroll in Starfleet, instead of pursuing some other career?" Hayes took a sip of orange juice as she pondered her answer. "When I was a little girl, my father noticed my curiosity about the world around me, and he resolved to encourage it in any way he could. He made every day a learning adventure for me—often he would arrange for me to meet children of other species, and we would learn about each other’s background and culture, or he would encourage my creativity by having me design something to serve a specific function, and then I’d have to build a working model, or we would take turns adding to a complex story until I could find a way to resolve all the loose ends, or he’d propose a problem for me to solve—the more imaginative I became, the more difficult the problems became, and he’d challenge me to look at problems from different perspectives. Every week he’d have me research a new topic of my choosing and write a report on what I’d learned. He taught me to embrace the wondrous diversity the cosmos has to offer, to never stop learning, to never stop exploring…and to never lose that spirit of adventure he found in me. At some point I decided that the best way to accomplish these things was to become a Starfleet captain. And so I put all of my energy into getting where I am today, and I’m proud to have achieved this." She took another sip of orange juice and a bite of sausage. It tasted so much better than replicated food. "Now, why are you interested in me?" "Because you persisted in this undertaking even after you were orphaned, after the Academy rejected you twice, after having lost everything you cared about in your youth, after facing difficult challenges and tough decisions every step of the way. Once you were accepted into the Academy, you forfeited your free time in favor of intense studying, engaging in extra credit projects, and preparing for examinations. Things would have been so much easier for you if you’d given up this romantic notion of captaining a starship into the unknown, and instead enjoyed a normal childhood and pursued a less demanding career. Yet here you are, the youngest female captain in Starfleet history." Hayes smiled contentedly. "I’ve always believed that if I only get to live once, then I should choose the difficult path and push myself as far as I can in order to become the most that I can be. I don’t want to die having any regrets for the challenges I didn’t face. Surely you can appreciate that. Certainly I miss being a kid—that was the most enjoyable time of my life—but I wouldn’t trade my accomplishments for anything." She was actually enjoying this conversation. "Do you ever get bored in that higher plane of existence of yours? I imagine everything in the universe must seem rather mundane to you." "It’s not quite as boring as you’d think," Q answered. "But I entertain myself by occasionally having a little fun with lesser beings, such as Starfleet captains. Now, I think it’s only fair that I ask you the same question. This sector of space you’ve been assigned to isn’t what you’d hoped for, is it? After all, it’s already six months into your first command, and you haven’t encountered anything of real significance yet." Hayes sighed. "I’m sure we’ll find something of significance eventually, but you’re right, I would’ve preferred an area of space with more worlds and cultures to explore, more mysteries to solve, maybe something to find that teaches us more about ourselves. To tell the truth, this encounter with you is the most significant event that’s occurred thus far." Q smirked mischievously. This can’t be good, Hayes thought. "Today is your lucky day, Captain. I’m going to grant your wishes." Hayes dropped her fork and stood from the table, leaning toward Q with her palms on the table’s edge. "I refuse to make any ‘wishes’. I can’t risk endangering my crew just to indulge myself—or your whims." Q stood from the table as well, duplicating Hayes’ change of posture. "That’s taken care of. You’ve already made your wishes, you just don’t realize it." Hayes blinked. "What?" "You’ve admitted that you missed being a child, and also that you’d hoped for a more interesting region of space to explore. I’ve decided to challenge you by indulging you." Oh crap, Hayes thought. Q raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A flash of light briefly surrounded Hayes, and then…the table’s edge was higher. No, she was definitely shorter than she was previously, perhaps having regressed to twelve years old, but her mind seemed unchanged. She looked down at her hands, then back up to Q. What could she say or do to him? "This is humiliating," she said in protest. "Please, change me back!" Q pretended to consider it for a moment. "Hmmm, no, I don’t think so." He turned around to face the windows, which afforded a view of the stars slowly streaking past, and snapped his fingers again. Suddenly, the accelerated to an ungodly speed, as thousands—no, millions—of stars streaked past. Then there was blackness, and then there were stars again. The red alert klaxon sounded. "Captain to the bridge!" The first officer’s voice sounded over the comm system as the ship came to a dead stop. Hayes walked up to the window and looked out. Her jaw dropped as she gazed at bizarre sight before her. "Where are we?" she demanded to know. She turned around to face Q…but he was gone. To be continued...?
After sleeping on it, I'm less content with what I wrote. I think I'll scrap it. I shouldn't write at 3am...
But now you have me curious! I'd say just continue it for kicks--don't worry about it being perfect or polished or anything. There's nothing wrong with that.
I actually like this...pretty cool set up too. I am with the others; more!! And you cant scrap it! I MADE A COPY!!! Rob
This was fun. I liked Hayes' curiosity which was an entirely new approch in dealing with Q. But she should've paid more attention at those Q briefings. There is a reason you don't engage with him because this is exactly what you gonna get.
^ Indeed, you have to be very careful what you say around a member of The Continuum. Otherwise it might bight you in the backside.
I too, enjoyed reading your start of Breakfast with Q. I invite you to check out my endeavors of role-playing Q at www.myspace.com/q_omnipotent_ii Hope you like it. It is set to Private and does require adding as a friend. If you don't have a myspace account, you would need one.
Nicely written, very believable. Don't trash it... make edits where you feel appropriate, but definitely continue.
Interesting. A sequel to "TNG - Rascals". I'd love to see more. A timeline, perhaps. During "Star Trek: Titan" the novel series? TMP, perhaps?