From: wpinesq@winternet.com (Craig Hansen) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: NEW: ST:TNG "A Christmas Q-All" (1/5) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 01:37:41 -0600 Organization: Rose Creek Publishing Lines: 188 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp-66-112.dialup.winternet.com Hi everyone! With apologies to Charles Dickens and (as will become apparant in later parts) Frank Capra, here's a little holiday TREK tale to set your nerves on edge! Tell me whether you're amused...I love getting e-mail! Craig ====== A CHRISTMAS Q-ALL, Part 1 (of 5) "The Ghost of Jack Crusher" CAPTAIN'S LOG, STARDATE 42739.1 "We are in orbit around the class M planet Dickens, in the Capra quadrant. About an hour ago, we made contact with an alien life form calling itself the ghost of Jack Crusher. Fortunately, Beverly was busy in Sickbay. The life form told me that before 0600 hours, I personally would be visited by three ghosts, and that unless I changed my ways, I was as lost as he. Of course, my first suspicion was that this is one of Q's sick jokes. But Lt. Worf did not detect any of Q's signature energy fluxtations in the quadrant. The ship stands by at yellow alert..." Jean-Luc Picard ceased the entry and sat down hard on his cot in his private quarters. He's been on duty for nearly fifteen hours, far too long in a time of relative inactivity on the ship. There were no ambassadors to fuss over, no looming attack by the Borg or the Romulans. And yet there seemed a flurry of activity, an urgency of immediate, but non-pressing concerns. This was the day-to-day drugery of commanding a starship; Picard felt a certain kinship with the anceint kings of the Old Testement--it seemed that when there were no pressing matters to unite the crew, everyone came to the Captain expecting him to solve every petty issue and dispute on the ship. Of course, Starfleet TRAINED officers to be self-sufficient, but the way things actually worked in space versus how they were SUPPOSED to be varied greatly, at times. Picard had been on short temper for a few hours. He realized just how true that was when Deanna came to his ready room to ask if he'd like to contribute anything to a party the crew was putting together for Worf's son, whose birthday coincided with the old Earth holiday of Christmas. "We want him to feel special, Captain," Deanna said, "like this is his day. Earth customs still dominate this ship, and a boy whose birthday coincides with the biggest gift-giving celebration in terran culture can tend to make one feel..." "Gyped!" Captain Picard retorted irritably. "Yes, Counselor, I imagine it would. I don't need to be an empath to understand that. Now, if you don't mind..." "Captain, I realize that you've been working a long shift. There's nothing pressing on the ship right now, why don't you..." "Get some rest, counselor? I really wish I could, but every time I try to get a moment's privacy, someone‹" Just then Picard's communicator beeped. "Engineering to Captain Picard." It was Geordi. "Picard here," he said, showing his irritation to Deanna but trying to hide it in his voice. "Captain, request permission to assume orbit around the nearest Class M planet...I'm having some trouble with the port nacels, and if we leave it go, it could result in some potentially hazardous radiation leakage..." Something in Picard snapped. Without thinking, he shouted, "Well then let the radiation leak, and reduce the surplus population aboard this ship!" Deanna paled, but maintained her annoying look of concern and understanding. "Captain?" Geordi sounded genuinely perplexed, and hurt. Deanna spoke up. "Captain, as ship's counselor, I am hereby ordering you to eight hours of uninterrupted bedrest. You are overworked, overstressed, and quite frankly, this ship CAN go on without you." Picard felt immediately guilty for his outburst, and Deanna's stinging rebuke drove the point home. But he was a Picard and could not back down easily. "Deanna, I don't believe you have the authority..." "You know I do, Captain, but if you prefer, I could contact Doctor Crusher and ask her for HER evaluation." "Is this REALLY necessary, Counselor." "Captain, you just told Geordi to take actions that could result in crew fatalities. Think about that, and you tell ME if you're overtired." Picard sighed. "You're right, Counselor." He tapped his comm badge. "Geordi, please take your request up with Cmdr. Riker. Picard out." Picard sat there a moment, feeling chastized. How was it a Betazoid young enough to be his daughter could make him feel so juvenile and in need of guidance? "You'll thank me in the morning, Captain." "It's 1200 hours, Counselor. Eight hours from now, technically, will be 'tonight.'" Deanna smiled. "Get some sleep, Captain." And then she left. An hour later, in his quarters, the ghost of Jack Crusher appeared to him. ========= Jack Crusher was the first man Picard had lost as a Captain of a starship. It had not been an easy choice, letting him die; and it hadn't helped his conscience any knowing that he harbored feelings for Jack's wife, Beverly, at the time. But however murky his feelings, he still felt, most of the time, that his decision had been the right one; it was a matter of saving one man and losing the entire crew, or letting one man fall in order to save many others. And in the years that had passed, Jean-Luc Picard had come to believe that he had made the only right decision open to him. Of course, in all that time, he'd never had to justify himself to the man whose life had been lost. Now, Jack Crusher stood before him. He'd changed somewhat. He was wearing tatters of a Starfleet uniform, and wrapped around him was a wreath of dilithium crystals. "Picard!" Jack moaned, his voice weak with agony. "Picard!" "Jack?" Picard asked, incredulous. "Jack, is that you?" Of course, Picard's mind rebelled at the notion. He'd buried Jack Crusher years ago. His widow and son were constant reminders to Picard of that. "Picard, I have come to you with a warning! You must act now, while there is still time!" "What is it, Jack, what do you want?" Picard thought of contacting security and notifying them of an intruder, but he hesitated, unsure if he was dreaming or hallucianting. The last thing he needed nwo was for the crew to start talking about him SEEING things as well as ordering Geordi to let people die... "To help you, Jean-Luc! Your soul is heavy with the burden of your deeds!" Now Picard was put off. "First of all, I don't believe in the concept of a soul, Jack, you know that. In fact, you were a bigger athiest than I ever was." That's when the thought that this might be Q hit him. "Is this you, Q? If this is your idea of a joke, let me tell you that this is the lowest, most inconceivable betrayal of trust that you've--" "I am not this Q you speak of, Picard. I am the ghost of your long-lost friend and fellow officer, Jack Crusher!" "Then why are you dressed like this?" Jack moaned painfully. "I wear the chains I forged in life...." [TO BE CONTINUED] Craig -- ===================================================================== ++ Craig Hansen, 41 W. Arlington Ave. #201, Saint Paul, MN 55117 ++ ++ E-mail: wpinesq@winternet.com ++ ++ WWW: http://www.winternet.com/~wpinesq/ ++ ++ ++ ++ "If this marriage is to have any chance at all, we've got to ++ ++ start staying the hell away from each other." ++ ++ ‹Thomas Hayden Church, NED AND STACY, FOX-TV ++ ===================================================================== From: wpinesq@winternet.com (Craig Hansen) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: NEW: ST:TNG "A Christmas Q-All" (2/5) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 1995 01:14:12 -0600 Organization: Rose Creek Publishing Lines: 170 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp-66-120.dialup.winternet.com STAR TREK: The Next Generation "A Christmas Q-All" Part 2 of 5 "Ghosts" "Then why are you dressed like that?" Picard demanded. Jack moaned painfully. "I wear the chains I forged in life!" Picard, familiar with Dickens, grew impatient here. "What do you mean, Jack? Enough with the riddles!" The apparition calling itself Jack Crusher stared soberly at Picard. "I mean that I was like you, Jean-Luc, in a lot of ways. I focused on work, failed to spend time with those around me, and look where it's gotten me. I didn't even live to see my son grow into a young man. But it's not too late for you, Jean-Luc. You can yet change your ways!" "Change my ways? I am the captain of a starship! I don't have time to sniff every flower on the holodeck and ask to hold the hand of every pretty young ensign assigned to Navigation." Jack wailed loud enough that Picard was surprised Lt. Worf didn't come barging in then and there. Picard had had enough--he tapped his com badge. "Picard to Security." "Lt. Worf here. What is it, Captain." "Lt., please scan my room and tell me how many people you detect." "A moment, sir." Jack grinned balefully. "He won't find me, Jean-Luc. I'm a ghost--your sensors can only detect living things." "You might be surprised what our sensors can detect, old friend," Picard said. Worf's voice returned. "Captain, I only detect one life sign in your quarters. The signature pattern matches your own. Is something wrong, Captain?" Picard considered here. "Not at all. Nonetheless, please report to my quarters at once." "Right away, sir." Jack hopped up on an invisible table in the middle of the room, and crossed his legs, floating there like the apparition he claimed to be. "My time grows short, Picard. It comes to this: you will be visited by--" "Three spirits, I suppose," Picard finished for him, "each begging me to change my ways? I know the drill, Jack; give me some credit for being literate. So what's the point?" "The point, old friend, is that you've let yourself become a sour, dried-up old man and I'm not about to stand by and watch it happen. If you do not learn to appreciate those around you by the end of your visit, you'll--" "Burn in hell, I suppose? Really, Jack, the afterlife has made you awfully cliche about matters of eternity." "Joke all you want now, Picard. But before 0600 hours, your fate will be sealed." "And just what fate may that be, Mr. Crusher?" Jack Crusher's eyes glinted with a devil-may-care relish that reminded Picard of his long-lost friend more than anything the creature before him had said or done. "Aw, Jean-Luc, now that would be telling." And in a very un-Q-like fashion, Jack Crusher simply faded from sight. Just then, Worf burst through the door, phaser at the ready. "Captain, what's wrong?" "Apparently, nothing, Mr. Worf." "Then why did you call me." "Mr. Worf, in your days on Earth, did your parents ever read to you from Charles Dickens." I was not read to much as a child, although I do remember my mother reading my brother some Dostoyevsky. Also the 21st century author, Yuri Gorbasky. No, no Dickens. Why?" "Then sit down, Mr. Worf, and I'll familiarize you with one of the classics of western earth literature of the 20th century." =================== "I can't understand why ships sensors detected no intruders," Geordi said, genuinely puzzled. If anyone else had told him he'd seen the ghost of Jack Crusher had appeared to him, LaForge would have sent them straight to Counselor Troi for evaluation. But his years in service to the Captain had taught him the man was not given to flights of fancy, or being taken in by dreams. They sat in the Captain's ready room, evaluating the situation. They were all there--Troi, Worf, LaForge, Data, Picard, Riker. Only Dr. Crusher was missing--she'd been on rest shift when Picard called the meeting and Picard requested she not be disturbed, given the nature of the incident. Riker perked up, trying to lift some of the burden from the obviously-exhausted Picard. "Run a systems diagonostic. See if there is any indication of failure. If this ship is malfunctioning in any way that endangers the life of this crew, we need to know." "Already on it, Cmdr." LaForge said. "I expect the results in 0030 hours." "Good." Riker said. "Captain, as disturbing as this is, I suggest you continue with your bedrest," Troi put in. "By staying up, you only increase the chances that your mind would be open to suggestion." "Are you questioning what I saw, Counselor?" "I'm not questioning what you THINK you saw, Captain. I am merely suggesting that perhaps, given your physical and mental state, any outside force seeking to influence you would have an increased probability--" "I'm sorry, Counselor, I knew what you meant. Perhaps you're right. I AM tired." Picard turned to Riker. "Number One, you have the com." "Yes sir," Riker replied. They all waited for Picard to leave. Once he was gone, Lt. Data spoke up. "Question: by returning to his quarters, does not the captain fall into the pattern of behavior reflected in the literary allusion the "ghost" seems to be playing out." "Perhaps," Riker said, "but he can't be expected to go without sleep until we solve this. So come on, let's get to work." ======== Picard was in the gray world between sleep and wakefullness when he heard the voice. "Jean-Luc..." it called. Picard recognized it even as he shot up out of bed. It was the voice of his recently-dead brother. Picard rubbed his eyes. "Is that you?" he said blearily. The face of Picard's brother loomed out of the shadows. "That's right, Jean-Luc. You finally dragged me out here to space. And you want to know why?" "Let me guess," Picard sighed wearily. "You're the ghost of Christmas Past?" [TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3] -- ===================================================================== ++ Craig Hansen, 41 W. Arlington Ave. #201, Saint Paul, MN 55117 ++ ++ E-mail: wpinesq@winternet.com ++ ++ WWW: http://www.winternet.com/~wpinesq/ ++ ++ ++ ++ "If this marriage is to have any chance at all, we've got to ++ ++ start staying the hell away from each other." ++ ++ ‹Thomas Hayden Church, NED AND STACY, FOX-TV ++ ===================================================================== From: wpinesq@winternet.com (Craig Hansen) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: NEW: ST:TNG "A Christmas Q-All" (3/5) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 1995 23:58:09 -0600 Organization: Rose Creek Publishing Lines: 166 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp-66-161.dialup.winternet.com STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION "A Christmas Q-All" Part 3: Shades of Picard The face of Picard's brother loomed out of the shadows. "That's right, Jean-Luc. You finally dragged me out here to space. And you want to know why?" "Let me guess," Picard sighed wearily. "You're the ghost of Christmas Past?" "No, Jean-Luc, I'm your brother. Looks like you finally got me out here in your precious spaceship after all." Despite his rough manner, Picard found himself choked with emotion. "But you, you've been dead for nearly--" "I know, brother," the spirit replied. "But let's not talk about that. It's boring to dwell on. Death's not all it's cracked up to be." Picard's curiosity overwhelmed his gried momentarily. "What's it like?" "Death, brother? You'll know soon enough, I should guess. Best not to give it too much thought. Now we've got some memories to dredge up and I've only got so much time. Take my hand." Picard did. Soon they were whisking through time and space in a manner that startled even an experience Starfleet Captain like Picard. Before they knew it, they were standing on the vineyard in France where Picard had grown up as a boy. "Here it is, Jean-Luc. The site of our childhood." "I remember this," Picard mused. "You ought to, you visited only a few short years ago." Just then two young boys ran past them, one of them running right through Picard's older brother. The man just shivered a bit. "Is that us as children?" "No, Jean-Luc, those are just some boys from the area. This is what remains of our farm today." "What, no time travel?" "No budget for the extra set," Picard's brother said evasively. Then, coming back to himself, he cleared his throat. "You know, father always wanted you to be the farmer." "Is this one of the sins of my past?" Picard's brother shrugged. "Nah, I just like harping on the point." Picard was piqued. "Look, if this is all leading somewhere, let's do get on with it." The scene shifted and they were at the Academy. There, in a solitary room, sat Picard, studying. He was a man of less than twenty, pouring over a book on Starfleet Protocol. Just then, a young blonde cadet burst through the door. "Maddie!" the older Picard shouted in delight. "I haven't thought of her in years. I used to admire her so." "Too bad you never told her," Jean-Luc's brother said. "She'd loved to have heard that from you." Maddie flung her arms passionately around the younger Picard's neck, disturbing him at last from his concentration on his work. "Jean-Luc," she exclaimed, "why are you sulking here in your room? It's Christmas! Lighten up for a few minutes." The older Picard responded to his brother, "We were never like that. We were classmates, nothing more." "Really? Look at the spark in her eyes, Jean-Luc, and tell me whose choice THAT was." "I don't believe in Christmas," the younger Picard told Maddie. "It's a festival for religious fanatics and merchants." "Oh Jean-Luc, this isn't philosophy class! Take a break and celebrate the season with me. Some of the cadets are fixing the most wonderful surprise for old Soft-side Samuels, you wouldn't beleive--" "Whatever it is, I'm certain Professor Samuels would appreciate the results of our diligent study more than some practical joke played in the name of a holiday." Maddie shot Picard a sour frown. So did the older Picard's brother. "Good God, Jean-Luc!" his brother said to him, "It's a wonder you got laid at all at the Academy!" Picard flushed. "I got 'laid' plenty, brother, and I never needed the excuse of a holiday to accomplish it." "Bullshit," Picard's brother deadpanned. "You never nailed Maddie, and I know for a fact she wanted you in the worst way." "Is that a fact?" "I talked to her the other day about it. She's been on the other side for a month now." "Maddie's dead?" "Yes." The younger Maddie stood back from the young Picard, a look of insult on her face. "You keep it up, "Ebenezer Picard," and I promise you won't be the boy I kiss come New Year's Eve." With that, Maddie stormed from Picard's dorm room and the scene faded on a young Picard shrugging his shoulder almost imperceptibly before hunkering down to his work again. "She loved you, Jean-Luc. She would have married you, had you ever asked." "She said that?" Picard's brother shifted slightly. "Well, not said exactly, not in so many words, but--" "Listen, I was a serious student at the Academy, sure. I had to be. But I wasn't always like that. I knew how to have fun." "Really, Jean-Luc? Well prove it to the next ghost, because my time here is up." And just like that, Picard was back in his Captain's quarters on the Enterprise, feeling disoriented and confused. Not one to accept confusion, Picard shouted to the empty spaces in his room, "What's this about any? To get me to doubt every decision I've made in my life? Well, I have no regrets, do you hear me? If I were that unsure of myself, I might never have made Captain. In fact, I know I wouldn't have. If I'd become involved with Maddie, my studies at the Academy would have suffered, and then where would I be?" A voice replied from the shadows, startling Picard. "So that was your excuse then, Jean-Luc. But what about with me? You were already a Captain when we met. What prevented you from making room in your life for me?" "Who is that?" Picard asked. The figure moved forward. Picard gasped. "Vash?" "Well, more like the Ghost of Christmas Present for this little morality tale," Vash replied. "But I guess that name will do. How are you, Jean-Luc?" [TO BE CONTINUED] -- ===================================================================== ++ Craig Hansen, 41 W. Arlington Ave. #201, Saint Paul, MN 55117 ++ ++ E-mail: wpinesq@winternet.com ++ ++ WWW: http://www.winternet.com/~wpinesq/ ++ ++ ++ ++ "If this marriage is to have any chance at all, we've got to ++ ++ start staying the hell away from each other." ++ ++ ‹Thomas Hayden Church, NED AND STACY, FOX-TV ++ ===================================================================== From: chansen@innovsoftd.com (Craig Hansen) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: REPOST: ST:TNG "A Christmas Q-All" All 5 Parts! (2/2) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 23:59:07 -0600 Organization: Rose Creek Web Services Lines: 424 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp-66-116.dialup.winternet.com X-Newsreader: Yet Another NewsWatcher 2.1.7 STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION "A Christmas Q-All" Part 4: O Captain, My Captain A voice replied from the shadows, startling Picard. "So that was your excuse then, Jean-Luc. But what about with me? You were already a Captain when we met. What prevented you from making room in your life for me?" "Who is that?" Picard asked. The figure moved forward. Picard gasped. "Vash?" "Well, more like the Ghost of Christmas Present for this little morality tale," Vash replied. "But I guess that name will do. How are you, Jean-Luc?" Picard stammered, taken aback by the sudden appearance of his sometime-companion, Vash. He'd met her a few years ago while on leave and in the few times he'd been with her since, he'd learned that trouble usually followed in her wake. In a way it came as no surprise to Picard when Vash left him to travel the universe with Q; the two were cut from nearly the same cloth, really. "Vash, what are you doing back? Is Q with you?" "Jean-Luc, really, after all this time and you're more concerned with why I'm here than you are with being glad to see me. I'm insulted." Picard accepted the admonishment with a slight nod of his head. "It IS good to see you, Vash. But you must admit--" "Oh, shush now, Jean-Luc. We haven't much time and I don't wish to spend it here bickering over petty things." "Vash, if Q is with you, you must understand the danger he poses to the crew of this ship." "Jean-Luc, shut up. I'm here to teach you something about--" Picard sighed heavily, and interrupted. "--the meaning of Christmas, I suppose, eh?" "Something like that. You're an important man to many people on this ship, Jean-Luc. Perhaps more than you know." "Of course I'm important, I am the captain of this ship. But if you mean to say that beyond that, I serve as some sort of role model or inspirational leader, let me just say that I do not intend to take on the role of some sort of idolatrous icon--" "Jean-Luc, save the self-righteous speeches for an episode that's running short. Let's get on with this, shall we?" Picard bowed his head in resignation. "Very well. Make it so." =========== When Picard looked up, they were standing in Sickbay. There, Dr. Crusher was tending to an ensign who'd suffered a severe sprain while on a holodeck skiing expidition. She was alone and did not seem to take notice of the appearance of Captain Picard, dressed in his night shirt, or the gaily-clad Vash beside him. "Why are we here?" Picard whispered to Vash. "Self-indulgence, really. I just wanted to get a look at the other woman you covet." "Covet?" Picard spat. "Look, I was infatuated with Beverly once, I admit that and she recently came to know about it. But in no way do I 'covet' the chief medical officer of this ship." "Oh Jean-Luc, give it a rest. You're a man, of course you want to bag her. You're just afraid of dealing with the aftermath, that's all. You both are. In a way, I'm glad the two of you work together. If you were on different assignments I imagine you'd be passionate lovers by now and I'd never stand a chance with you." "Vash, if all this visitation is going to be about is petty jealousy, then--" "Ah, but it's not. Look." Vash pointed to the sickbay door, which promptly slid open. It was Deanna Troi. Beverly Crusher greeted Deanna as she entered; she'd just finished sedating the injured ensign. "Beverly?" Deanna spoke up. "Deanna, nice to see you. How's the Captain?" "Resting. So far there have been no furthur reported disturbances from his cabin." "That's good." Beverly seemd short with Deanna, who immediately became concerned. "Beverly, what's wrong?" "Oh, nothing. I just can't stop wondering why Captain Picard left me out of the loop with this Christmas Carol thing. I mean, Jack Crusher was my husband, sure, but I'm a senior officer aboard this ship. It's part of my duty to be informed of any situation which poses a threat to this crew." Deanna let a beat pass before responding. "Bev, perhaps Captain Picard simply didn't want to disturb you. You were on rest shift at the time, and it can be unsettling to hear that someone you once loved is possibly--" "A ghost? Well, that's the other part. If this is really Jack's ghost, why did he appear to the Captain and not to me? After all, I was his wife." "I know you have a lot of questions. So do I. And the whole crew is working overtime trying to answer them. Whatever problems you have with Captain Picard's decision not to let you in on the meeting about his vision of Jack Crusher, I'm sure the two of you will work it out." "I suppose you're right. I just thought that after all this time, he'd have more respect for me as an officer than to try to protect my feelings by hiding things from me." There was a short silence and then an impish grin crossed Deanna's lips. "You know what I think would do you a world of good?" "What's that?" Beverly was grudgingly listening to Deanna as she tried to change the topic. "Come help me prepare for Alexander's surprise party. His birthday falls on the same day as the Earth holiday Christmas, and I'm hoping to make him feel special, like this is his day, too." Beverly thought about it for a moment. "I have a few things to tend to here first. Tell you what, I'll join you in 0030 hours." "Excellent. Meet me in Holodeck 4. I'll see you there." As Deanna left and Beverly returned to tending the ensign, Vash spoke up. "So, it appears all is not well in paradise, if you can call this flying tin can paradise, Jean-Luc." "Look, whatever bumps Dr. Crusher and I may or may not have in our relationship is none of your concern." Vash grinned. "Perhaps. But I am your lover, Jean-Luc, if nothing else. And this little scene only goes to show how you are and integral part of life on this ship, to everyone involved. So you owe it to yourself to take care of yourself." "Oh, come off it, Vash. Deanna said to me not a few hours ago that this ship can get along just fine without me. Stop making me out to be more than I am." "Oh, Jean-Luc, you don't REALLY believe that, do you?" "I'm hardly saying I'm ready to put a phaser to my head, if that's what you mean. But I have every confidence in the ability of any officer within Starfleet to fill my role in my absence. If I were never born, someone else may have sat in this captain's chair, but everything else would have turned out exactly the same." "Really." Vash shook her head in disbelief. Then she snapped her fingers. "All right, Jean-Luc, you've got your wish. You've never been born. I've just given you the greastest gift of all--the chance to see what the universe would have been like without you." "Oh really, Vash, if we're to stick to the Dickensian nature of this tale, you've just gone way off base." "Perhaps, Jean-Luc, but my time here is up. If you have a problem with not being born, you'll have to take it up with the next ghost." Vash snapped her fingers again and as she did, not only did she disappear, but so did the Enterprise! Captain Picard found himself floating alone on the vast emptiness of space, without the benefit of an environmental suit. Panicking, he struggled for a gulp of air as the pressure of the airless environment began to crush his helpless body. Just as he was graying out, he noticed a form approaching--it appeared to be that of a tall humanoid, drapped in a long, black robe remniscent of the anceint monks of Earth. Picard wondered if this was the Ghost of Christmas Future, or simply a dying man's vision of death. Then he blacked out. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION "A Christmas Q-All" Part 5 of 5 "All Good Things...Gotta End At Last!" :-) "Oh really, Vash, if we're to stick to the Dickensian nature of this tale, you've just gone way off base." "Perhaps, Jean-Luc, but my time here is up. If you have a problem with not being born, you'll have to take it up with the next ghost." Vash snapped her fingers again and as she did, not only did she disappear, but so did the Enterprise! Captain Picard found himself floating alone on the vast emptiness of space, without the benefit of an environmental suit. Panicking, he struggled for a gulp of air as the pressure of the airless environment began to crush his helpless body. Just as he was graying out, he noticed a form approaching--it appeared to be that of a tall humanoid, drapped in a long, black robe remniscent of the anceint monks of Earth. Picard wondered if this was the Ghost of Christmas Future, or simply a dying man's vision of death. Then he blacked out. ======= Picard awoke. He blinked. All around him was a blinding white light. At least it seemed that way at first. Then he realized it was merely the yellow sun of Earth shining down on him. Picard looked around, dazed. He was lying on a grassy slope and he could hear the bubbling rush of water nearby. He sat up. A short distance away, a man in a white and red robe, remniscent of the ancient Roman style of garb, sat on a large rock, watching the stream roll by. "Where am I?" Picard demanded. "How is it I have come here?" The man in the robe responded without turning around. "Why, you died, of course. That woman of yours, Vash, left you in the vaccuum of space and within seconds your body exploded. Welcome to the afterlife, Jean-Luc Picard. The afterlife you never believed in." "You're lying," Picard said. "Vash may be a trouble-maker, but she's not a killer. Whatever sort of illusion this is, I demand you bring it to an end now." "I assure you, Jean-Luc, this is no illusion. You are dead and this is the afterlife. And even if it were an illusion, what makes you think I'd have the power to bring it to an end." "Come off it, Q!" Picard demanded. "This is one of your most transparant ploys yet! You've played up an obvious Dickensian plot and thrown in a Capra plot thread that went absolutely nowhere. This is juvenile beyond even what I expect from you." The man on the rock turned. It did not appear to be Q. The man looked like every traditional Western interpretation of Jesus of Nazareth ever committed to canvas. "But I am not this Q you speak of, and I am no liar. I am Christ the Lord." Picard swallowed for a moment, then resolved himself. This is not the first time Q had claimed to be God. "Come off it Q. If there were a God, you'd be guilty of blashphemy right now." A cross look entered Christ's face, and then he burst out in a hearty laugh. His head bent back to the sun and when he came forward again, he was revealed as Q after all. "Hah! I knew it was you, Q!" Picard shouted triumphantly. Q snickered. "Jean-Luc, you are the most amazing man. On the day you truly do die, I am sure that by the time I am done with you and you really do stand before the Almighty, you'll tell Him off to His face, still convinced you're alive and your death is merely another one of my ploys." "I'm pleased to provide you so much amusement, Q. Now why are you bothering me this time?" "Oh, Jean-Luc, it's the holidays. Even a member of the continuum feels a bit lonely this time of year. It's a terrible thing not to spend the time of the birth of Christ in the company of friends. In short, I was lonely." "Q, much as I appreiciate your loneliness, I am not here to be at your beck and call every time you feel the urge to chat. Now if you have no serious business with me, then I'd appreiciate it if---" "Oh, but it is serious, Jean-Luc. Perhaps the most serious matter in the world." "Then blurt it out. What's on your mind." "Faith, Jean-Luc. Faith, and your surprising lack of it." "I have no lack of faith, Q. I have faith in my crew, in the guiding principles of Starfleet, and in the mission I am on." "I am not talking about such fleshly concerns, Jean-Luc. I am speaking of the spirit. Of the matters of the Almighty." "'Matters of the Almight?' Q, please don't tell me after all this time that you are nothing more than an intergalactic Jehovah's Witness." Q grinned deviously. "Come now, Jean-Luc. Do not think so little of me." "Then you mean to tell me that the mythology of an anceint Earth religion actually is worthy of your attention?" "Tut-tut, Jean-Luc. The birth of Jesus of Nazareth hardly ranks as mythology. It was the most significant event in the history of the universe." "Q, do you really expect me to believe that you as a member of the Q continuum actually believe in a higher power? In a Creator?" "To paraphrase your earthly Saint Paul, 'Even members of the Q continuum say 'Jesus is Lord'--and shudder.'" "I believe the Saint used the word demons, Q. Is that what you are?" "Neither a demon, nor an angel. Just another part of His creation. Sorry to disappoint you, Jean-Luc." "But Q, science has distinctly disproven even the existance of Christ! Why, in the 21st century, after the war that devastated the Middle East, they uncovered---" "Struggle against the wind all you want to, Jean-Luc. Science is merely the attempt of the human mind to understand what it can observe. And the human mind interprets what it sees so that it fits only what that mind is looking for. Other people, on your own planet, look at the same discoveries you decalre disprove the existance of Christ, and see them as a ringing endorsement of his reality. God demands faith, not observation." "You seem to know a lot about this Q. Then tell me definitively--is there a God? If so, where does He exist? What are His coordinates, so that the Enterprise can set a course for his destination." Q shook his head in disappointment. "Still so much for you to learn, Jean-Luc. You keep asking the wrong questions. You haven't grasped a word I've said." "Oh, I've grasped plenty, Q. This is another manipulation of yours, Q. A distraction to set me off your real purpose here. I demand to know--" Clearly grieved, Q snapped his fingers and everything around Picard disappeared. =================== Hours later, after noting his experiences in his captain's log and finally getting his much needed rest, Picard met with his top officers in his ready room. This time, Dr. Crusher was present. "...and so, then I was back here. It's the most baffling Q has ever been." Geordi spoke up first. "Captain, what if Q was being straight with you. What if there really is a Christian God that is responsible for all of creation? What if that is his entire purpose in interacting with us, since we first encountered him at Farpoint Station." Riker grinned devilishly. "Then that would make him an intergalactic evanglist, just as the Captain accused him of being." Beverly spoke up. "Well, I for one am put off at his evangelism style, if that's what you call it. I could never believe in any God who appears to you in the form of dead relatives just to get your attention." It was obvious Beverly was still smarting from Q's decision to initially appear to Picard as Jack Crusher, her long-dead husband. Deanna spoke up. "I think you're missing an important element here, Beverly. Q is not claiming to be God Himself. If I understand the Captain's report, then Q is acknoweldging that there is a power higher than himself, a creator if you will, and he is merely trying to open our minds to experience faith in that creator." Worf grunted. "Klingon warriors do not worship human dieties." Riker stiffled a guffaw. Picard grimaced. "Look, I've been to too many planets where entire religions were based on a limited understanding of the planetary natives of alien lifeforms more advanced than themselves to ever submit my will to an anceint Earth religion. But I am also intrigued by Q's seeming obsession with Christianity. It goes against all I believe as a Star Fleet officer to suggest this, but the question must be asked. What if Q's right? What if God does exist, and as terran-centric as it may sound, what if Christianity is reality. Just how do we then cope with how that understanding would change our existance?" A long silence fell over the room as each member of the senior crew pondered this. Finally, Data spoke up. "At this time, I believe the appropriate reponse would be: 'Then God bless us, every one!'" ======== CAPTAIN'S LOG, SUPPLEMENTAL: The crisis with Q seems to be past for now. We continue on to Alderon III. One minor note: Lt. Data was summarily executed at 0930 hours for the worst pun of this tale. Picard out. ============ ++++++++++++ ============ AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, there it is at last, kiddies! Hope I took it in a surprising direction for you. I think it fits the spirit of the season. Sorry it took so long to finish. Hope it was fun. Please feel free to drop me e-mail feedback either here, or at my other e-mail address: chansen@innovsoftd.com. I will repost all five parts soon, with some editing touchups to a couple parts where I needed to do more research. (Specifically, that means I'll actually call Picard's brother BY NAME in Part 2, and not constantly refer to him as "Picard's brother.") My thanks to Lisa Horton, who noticed the tap-dance I was doing in Part 2 and was kind enough to remind me of his name. My next USENET story project will be a multi-part TWIN PEAKS/X-FILES crossover I've been meaning to do for some time now. Look for it to begin soon, over in alt.x-files.creative. Craig Hansen, Writer