poly_chromatic | Sector 001

[ Functioning. It applies to both his own body, and the communications device, but sadly not his powers. He'd worn himself out trying to zap himself back out of this miserable existence, and now Q was suffering--suffering from a bruised ego, a sore head, and - perhaps most unfairly - a grazed knee. Mortal, but not not Q. Trapped, but not wholly aware how. And the ticking of the clock is making his headache worse. A most disagreeable state of affairs. And now here's his face, at first much too close to the camera, and then withdrawn to a more reasonable distance, revealing Voyager era command red, and four pips at his collar. Not for a moment does his scowl subside. ]

Oh, I'm sure you think you're very clever. Do you have any idea who I am? You'd be well advised to send me back where I came from immediately. Otherwise--well, I can't be held responsible for what might happen. [ Not from him. Oh, no. But the Continuum might have something to say about it. Or his family. At least he hadn't actually fallen into the fountain. He'd come close, but with at least some small part of his once magnificent power available, he'd saved himself the splash at the last second. He leans back, inspects the fingernails of his left hand disinterestedly. ]

Well? Hurry up. I haven't got all day. I'm getting bored.

[ ooc: I'll tag this right up when I'm 100% sure what Q's tag is, thank you for bearing with me! ]

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But the prepubescent Uhura said--

[ He breaks into a smile. ]

Oh. Oh splendid! I really have been here before. Oh yes, well done Q! What a brilliant game! You certainly fooled them all, didn't you?

[ she puts the pieces together quickly, the puzzle in her mind coming together form a picture that makes at least some sense in her mind. she doesn't entirely trust it, but she does believe it's possible. ]

You allowed her to believe you were Picard. [ of course he did, and she doesn't approve of that move in the least. ] I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, but tell me — what would you have done had Jean-Luc showed up himself to discount your claim?

I'm sure I would have thought of something. Before Jean Luc killed me, with any luck.

[ He's still thrilled. It's enough to take the edge off losing his memory of his good works. ]

Lighten up, mon capitaine. Even you must surely see the brilliance of the jest?

The brilliance? No. The insult? Yes.

[ He touches his chest. ]

If you prick me, do I not bleed? I'm only having a little fun, Kathy. As a full time parent, I have to take it where I can.

Like the inside of a sinkhole located on the event horizon of a black hole?

[ it's not a conclusion she came to entirely by herself. she's brilliant, one of the brightest scientists of her day (to the point that patterson is still disappointed she switched her focus to command and spent every possible moment reminding her that she was a scientist under those pips), but without the proper equipment, there was only so much she could accomplish. it was he who provided her with the missing part of that puzzle, but he either doesn't remember telling her or is pretending he didn't. ]

[ And what an excellent way of testing it. Q's expression flickers into something like genuine appreciation. ]

Color me impressed. Did you come up with that one all on your own?

For the most part, yes.

[ not a lie, and she's waiting to see if he says anything about the part he played in it. she doubts he'd play along like he did over the weekend, especially not on an open channel. any questions she asked him answer truthfully would likely be skirted around or outright shot down. ]

How very almost Q of you, Kathy. By your so called laws of physics, standing on the edge of a black hole would most certainly rip you apart, but you're able to grasp the concept with alacrity where Picard would most certainly have failed. Yes. Yes. [ Big slow clapping. ] Well done. There might be hope for your species yet.

[ No sign of his arrogance, no swooping in to claim the theory as his own. He's pleased for her. ]

I understand that sometimes, the laws of physics don't apply, that the laws of the universe aren't so easily defined — or yet to be defined. There's a lot humanity understands, but there's also a lot that we don't. To not be open to the concept that there's something out there greater than my own understanding is, quite frankly, an insult to my degree.

And so would say the first human to witness the very formation of the universe, or so one might hope.

[ So proud. ]

I knew you had potential. Noone else would believe me, but I had faith. You're closer than you might think.

I've witnessed my fair share of things most humans have not.

[ and yet she manages to remain, for the most party, fairly humble about her experiences. granted, most of them are ones she never wanted in the first place — the borg, fluidic space, omega... ]

And isn't it fun?

A whole universe to explore, to see for the very first time, with new eyes. I envy you that. Oh, it's hard out there, but it's worth it; worth that next detour, that next adventure. Not for danger, or risk, but despite it--because you can.

I may be a captain, but I'm also a scientist. It's my duty as both to explore and document what I can. I won't turn being— that into a waste of a journey.

[ she'll get them home and with voyager's databanks filled to the brim with data that'll keep the federation's best and brightest busy for the next few decades. ]

[ The L word. Lost. ]

Of course not. And Picard wouldn't have made the same decisions that you did. Yours was the right ship, with the right captain, at the right time.

Why, if not for your thirst for knowledge, we never would have met, and the universe would be a much duller place.

[ so many l-words lately. ]

You make it sound like I was meant to find myself in the Delta Quadrant.

[ very carefully worded to avoid that particular l-word. play along, q. she has her reasons for avoiding of it, and you ought to know her well enough to know she wouldn't be going out of her way not to mention it if she didn't have very good reasons. (she is going to kill chakotay when/if she finds out he blabbed.) ]

Nothing so crass as that. You have your precious directive to maintain your timeline, as though there's any need. There's no one right way, no fate dictating your path except for the one you choose. You can't truly believe the future is set in stone simply because you've come to live it.

[ Don't worry. Despite his teasing, he does intend to keep your secrets...once he works out what they are. ]

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