All Good Things__ - Michael Jan Friedman [47]
“Q,” she clarified. The very sound was distasteful to her.
“Yes. He has informed me that I will cause the destruction of all humanity. What’s more, this will take place in three distinct time periods—but in each one, I will be at the root of it.” “I see,” she replied.
“Now,” he went on, “we have discovered a spatlat anomaly in the Devron system, for which we are headed even as we speak. I believe this anomaly may be the cause of the destruction that Q spoke of…”
“But you can’t be certain,” she clarified. “For all you know, the anomaly has nothing to do with it whatso-ever.”
“That’s correct,” he confirmed. “Likewise, it appears to me that Q may be the one responsible for my time-shifting… though again, I have no proof. And if he is responsible, I cannot say if his intentions are benign or malevolent. After all, my travel through time may be what creates the problent—or what enables me to solve it. I have no way of knowing.”
Guinan shook her head in sympathy. “You’ve got a lot of gaps to fill, haven’t you?”
“I have,” Picard agreed. “Which is where I hope you will come in. After all, you were the only one who retained some sense of perspective when the Enterprise fell victim to that temporal rift …. “
“I remember,” she replied. “The one in which we switched timelines… and found ourselves at war with the Klingons. The one in which Tasha Yar was still alive.”
He nodded. “Yes. And what’s more, you know Q better than any of us. You make him uncomfortable… even fearful, I think. Now, I’m just guessing, but I believe you are capable of straightening out this mess. If not directly, then at least indirectly—by giving me the insight I need to set matters right on my own.”
Guinan looked at him. She would have liked nothing better than to fulfill her friend’s request. However…
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” she said.
The captain couldn’t conceal his disappointment. “Are you saying that you can’t help? Or you won’t?”
“What I’m saying,” she explained, choosing her words carefully, “is that you’re on your own this time, Jean-Luc. And that’s all I can say.”
He leaned back in his chair. “You understand how much is at stake here? How much we stand to lose?” “I have a pretty good idea,” she responded. “And that doesn’t change anything?” he pressed.
“I wish it did,” said Guinan. “And I wish I could make it clear why it doesn’t. But…” She shrugged. Picard tried to accept her answer. “Then there’s nothing you can tell me that could be of help to me? Nothing at all?”
She thought for a moment. “Only,” she responded at last, “that the solution is within your grasp. And that only you can do the grasping.”
The captain took a breath and let it out. Obviously, it wasn’t what he had hoped for. But it was something.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely, “if only for that.”
Guinan smiled ironically. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“It almost doesn’t matter why we’re here,” remarked Ensign Sonya Gomez, checking the warp drive’s power-transfer ratios on her monitor down in engineering.
“Doesn’t matter?” echoed Ensign Robin Lefler, who was standing next to her. It was Lefler’s job to examine the dilithium crystal for tiny plasma chinks—a routine job made just a little less routine by the ship’s current location and heading. “You’re not just a little concerned about what’s going on here at the Neutral Zone?” she asked.
“Sure I am,” responded Gomez. “But think of it… we’re in the Neutral Zone. We’re looking at star systems that haven’t been seen since the Treaty of Algeron—at least, not with the naked eye.”
Lefler smiled at her. “Or rather, we would be… if there were any observation ports here in engineering. Maybe they’re seeing those places up in Ten-Forward— but down here, all we’ve got are our sensor reports.”
Gomez frowned. “Okay, so we’re not actually seeing them. But still, it’s exciting knowing that they’re out there. And that we’re among them.” She paused. “Some of the greatest captains that ever lived haven’t been inside the Neutral Zone.” Lefler shrugged. “I suppose.