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"Full stop, sir--"
Suddenly, the cracking,
roaring power of a lightning strike flashed across the bridge. A
searing, blinding flash of light poured out of a hole in space next to
Picard. Instinctively, the bridge personnel backed away from it,
shielding their eyes.
The column of light shook
and then resolved itself into the semblance of a human figure directly
in front of Picard's command chair. There was a brief moment when the
outline shimmered uncertainly--and then stabilized into a figure.
A human figure.
Picard blinked, scarcely
able to believe that what he saw before him was what appeared to be a
man dressed in Elizabethan costume and ceremonial body armor. The
clothing details, all in black and white and silver, were
perfect--embroidery-edged neck and sleeve ruffs, tight-sleeved doublet
laced up the front, paned trunk hose, patterned canions, and the
netherstocks covered by knee-high cuffed boots. A short cape was slung
over his left shoulder; a ceremonial sword hung at his side. The being
had short hair, a pointed beard, and a moustache. The helmet was cradled
in his left arm.
As soon as he realized he
had coalesced into an identifiable form, the being offered an
elaborate court bow toward Picard. The forward turbolift doors snapped
open, and the security team that Tasha had signaled began to lunge
forward onto the bridge. The alien merely nodded toward them, and a
miniature version of the grid spanned the turbolift door and thrust the
security team back. The lift doors snapped shut on their surprised
faces.
The Elizabethan turned
mockingly toward Picard and extended another bow in his direction. The
voice of the creature, however, was anything but courteous. "Thou art
notified that thy kind hath infiltrated the galaxy too far already. Thou
are directed to return to thine own solar system immediately."
Picard tilted his head
almost quizzically. He considered his words carefully, decided to stall
for time while he figured out who or what he was dealing with. "That's quite a directive,"
he said calmly. "Who are you and what gives you the right to issue such
an order?"
"In words thou may
understand, we call ourselves the Q."
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