Alara Rogers (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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crack_van2005-01-30 09:17 pm
alara-r.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-01-30 09:17 pm
Entry tags:
Beyond Gloomy Chaos, by Laura Taylor (PG)
Fandom: Star Trek: TNG/DS9
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: don't think she has one
Author website: don't think she has one
Why this must be read:
There is a magic trick some authors can pull off in which they take various pieces of things that weren't supposed to go together, and make them fit beautifully. In this fanfic, the war in the Continuum is connected to the battle between the Prophets and the Pagh-wraiths, and we discover that we may have rooted for the wrong side. Q sends Picard, Data, and Kira on a quest to Cardassia to uncover an ancient artifact, in order to prevent Sisko's rise to Prophethood from causing disaster throughout the galaxy. Plotty, with a good bit of the philosophy that is the author's forte, and with a firm grasp of the characters, this is a story many DS9 fans, as well as fans of Picard, Data and/or Q, should enjoy.
Wondering if he might be taking his life into his hands, Picard stretched forward and rested his hand over Q's. "Tell me," he ordered gently.
Q sat silently for a moment, studying the table. Then he took a deep breath, withdrew his hands from beneath Picard's, and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You must understand, mon ami, that I wouldn't be coming to you like this if I had any other choice. If it were up to me, believe me, I would restore everything to its natural and proper order in the blink of an eye."
"But you can't."
Q shook his head. "Protocol forbids my intervention." He gave Picard a lopsided grin. "You see, we have our own version of the Prime Directive in the Continuum. The Q can't interfere in the affairs of other immortal, omnipotent species, and we can't take steps to rewrite over a million years of recorded history."
Picard could not contain his gasp. "Are you suggesting that I can?" he at last managed to say.
Q snorted. "Not without my help."
"I don't understand."
"You shouldn't. Not yet, at any rate. Given time, however, even a being of limited intelligence such as yourself should be able to put two and two together and come up with five."
Picard frowned at the thinly-veiled insult, but gave Q the benefit of the doubt and continued to listen. "As it happens, Jean-Luc, this situation is one that can be-that must be-resolved by a mortal, but you'll need my guidance." He leaned forward and spoke quietly but emphatically. "You'll need to go on a trip."
"A trip? What kind of trip? Where?"
"To Cardassia."
Picard sat upright, the hackles on the back of his neck bristling with suspicion and alarm. "Cardassia? Why?"
"I know you haven't had the most pleasant experiences with the Cardassians," Q said with unfeigned sympathy, "but there's an important artifact buried deep beneath the surface you must find for me."
"You want me to lead an archaeological expedition? Why don't you ask Vash?"
Q grimaced. "The last thing I, or you, or anybody, needs is for this particular artifact to fall into the hands of Orion black marketeers. The Bajoran Vedek Assembly would be outraged, to say the least."
"The Vedek Assembly?" Picard was even more confused than before. "What do they have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, if we're lucky," Q said, "and I intend to be very lucky. If they get wind of what you're up to, however --"
"Why should they care?"
Q mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
"I said, it's an ancient Bajoran artifact you need to find. Older than any artifact found to date. Older even than the ruins of B'hala. Older than Bajoran civilization itself."
Picard needed time to think. He took a sip of his tea, then grimaced to find it already cold. Unsettled, he rose and crossed to the bookshelf against the opposite wall, his gaze wandering idly over the titles. Moby Dick. Horatio Hornblower. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Robinson Crusoe. Gulliver's Travels. The Odyssey. He stopped at the last and retrieved it, his fingers running lovingly along the edges of the gilt, dog-eared pages. How many times had he imagined himself a modern-day Odysseus, condemned by a capricious deity to wander across the known universe, each day's journey pushing him that much farther from home? Ten years at war in a foreign land, followed by ten years of aimless wandering, came to twenty years of homesickness. Picard knew the feeling well.
Nevertheless, he knew he would be a fool to reject Q's plea for help. He knew, without Q's having said so, that Q would not have dared ask unless he were truly desperate. Picard also knew that the mysterious connection between a Bajoran artifact, Cardassian archaeology, and the 'disease' infecting the Continuum posed an irresistible challenge. Despite his instinctive reluctance to go to Cardassia, despite the vague possibility of inciting the fury of the Vedek Assembly, despite the charm of April in Provence, Picard knew he would not-could not-say no.
He returned the book to its proper place and turned back to Q. "I want Data to accompany me," he said.
"Done." Q seemed to have expected the request. "There will be others joining you down the road, but I can't tell you who yet. The less you know now, the better. I'll tell you what you need to know only when you need to know it."
Picard smiled grimly at Q. "Why am I not surprised?"
Q rose and crossed to him. "Jean-Luc, I know you're having second thoughts. That's only natural. There'll be many more doubts to come. In the end, though, I promise, you won't regret this."
Picard sighed. "I only hope you're right."
Q laughed. "When have I ever led you astray?"
The story is normally found at Beyond Gloomy Chaos at Vash's Q Fanfiction Library, but for some reason that site appears to be down, so I wayback machined the link and got this for you.
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: don't think she has one
Author website: don't think she has one
Why this must be read:
There is a magic trick some authors can pull off in which they take various pieces of things that weren't supposed to go together, and make them fit beautifully. In this fanfic, the war in the Continuum is connected to the battle between the Prophets and the Pagh-wraiths, and we discover that we may have rooted for the wrong side. Q sends Picard, Data, and Kira on a quest to Cardassia to uncover an ancient artifact, in order to prevent Sisko's rise to Prophethood from causing disaster throughout the galaxy. Plotty, with a good bit of the philosophy that is the author's forte, and with a firm grasp of the characters, this is a story many DS9 fans, as well as fans of Picard, Data and/or Q, should enjoy.
Wondering if he might be taking his life into his hands, Picard stretched forward and rested his hand over Q's. "Tell me," he ordered gently.
Q sat silently for a moment, studying the table. Then he took a deep breath, withdrew his hands from beneath Picard's, and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You must understand, mon ami, that I wouldn't be coming to you like this if I had any other choice. If it were up to me, believe me, I would restore everything to its natural and proper order in the blink of an eye."
"But you can't."
Q shook his head. "Protocol forbids my intervention." He gave Picard a lopsided grin. "You see, we have our own version of the Prime Directive in the Continuum. The Q can't interfere in the affairs of other immortal, omnipotent species, and we can't take steps to rewrite over a million years of recorded history."
Picard could not contain his gasp. "Are you suggesting that I can?" he at last managed to say.
Q snorted. "Not without my help."
"I don't understand."
"You shouldn't. Not yet, at any rate. Given time, however, even a being of limited intelligence such as yourself should be able to put two and two together and come up with five."
Picard frowned at the thinly-veiled insult, but gave Q the benefit of the doubt and continued to listen. "As it happens, Jean-Luc, this situation is one that can be-that must be-resolved by a mortal, but you'll need my guidance." He leaned forward and spoke quietly but emphatically. "You'll need to go on a trip."
"A trip? What kind of trip? Where?"
"To Cardassia."
Picard sat upright, the hackles on the back of his neck bristling with suspicion and alarm. "Cardassia? Why?"
"I know you haven't had the most pleasant experiences with the Cardassians," Q said with unfeigned sympathy, "but there's an important artifact buried deep beneath the surface you must find for me."
"You want me to lead an archaeological expedition? Why don't you ask Vash?"
Q grimaced. "The last thing I, or you, or anybody, needs is for this particular artifact to fall into the hands of Orion black marketeers. The Bajoran Vedek Assembly would be outraged, to say the least."
"The Vedek Assembly?" Picard was even more confused than before. "What do they have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, if we're lucky," Q said, "and I intend to be very lucky. If they get wind of what you're up to, however --"
"Why should they care?"
Q mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
"I said, it's an ancient Bajoran artifact you need to find. Older than any artifact found to date. Older even than the ruins of B'hala. Older than Bajoran civilization itself."
Picard needed time to think. He took a sip of his tea, then grimaced to find it already cold. Unsettled, he rose and crossed to the bookshelf against the opposite wall, his gaze wandering idly over the titles. Moby Dick. Horatio Hornblower. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Robinson Crusoe. Gulliver's Travels. The Odyssey. He stopped at the last and retrieved it, his fingers running lovingly along the edges of the gilt, dog-eared pages. How many times had he imagined himself a modern-day Odysseus, condemned by a capricious deity to wander across the known universe, each day's journey pushing him that much farther from home? Ten years at war in a foreign land, followed by ten years of aimless wandering, came to twenty years of homesickness. Picard knew the feeling well.
Nevertheless, he knew he would be a fool to reject Q's plea for help. He knew, without Q's having said so, that Q would not have dared ask unless he were truly desperate. Picard also knew that the mysterious connection between a Bajoran artifact, Cardassian archaeology, and the 'disease' infecting the Continuum posed an irresistible challenge. Despite his instinctive reluctance to go to Cardassia, despite the vague possibility of inciting the fury of the Vedek Assembly, despite the charm of April in Provence, Picard knew he would not-could not-say no.
He returned the book to its proper place and turned back to Q. "I want Data to accompany me," he said.
"Done." Q seemed to have expected the request. "There will be others joining you down the road, but I can't tell you who yet. The less you know now, the better. I'll tell you what you need to know only when you need to know it."
Picard smiled grimly at Q. "Why am I not surprised?"
Q rose and crossed to him. "Jean-Luc, I know you're having second thoughts. That's only natural. There'll be many more doubts to come. In the end, though, I promise, you won't regret this."
Picard sighed. "I only hope you're right."
Q laughed. "When have I ever led you astray?"
The story is normally found at Beyond Gloomy Chaos at Vash's Q Fanfiction Library, but for some reason that site appears to be down, so I wayback machined the link and got this for you.
no subject
Words can't express what a thrill it was to discover you'd recced this, especially after so many years. "Only Human" was the fic that got *me* started writing fanfic, and even though our paths diverged over a decade ago I still think of you as the first person I ever fangirled.
I understand there's a new chapter of "OH" out there, and if I can ever find the time to re-read the earlier chapters to refresh my memory, I'm really looking forward to reading the new material.
Take care, and thanks for the blast from the past. :-)