Graduation Day, 1/?

[EmilyH]

Disclaimers: I do not own the Star Trek franchise (no matter how many times I may wish) or the characters that are recognizable from the series.

Sorry, I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had a lot of time to write fan fiction. Here's the next story in the Quincy series. I'm working on part 2 and will finish the story soon, assuming I don't get bogged down between homework and moving.

Graduation Day

Part 1

Emerald leaves stretched toward a hazy blue sky, casting dark shadows on the ground. An avian creature warbled in the distance. Suddenly, with a flash of light, a female human appeared. Susan Winters was in her early twenties and wore a Starfleet uniform. Her long, auburn hair was done in a French knot, thus meeting the requirement for an officer’s hair not to fall below the shoulders while on duty. Glancing around, she shouted, “Quincy! This isn’t funny!”

Another flash of light appeared, but it wasn’t the Q she had expected. Susan’s mouth went dry as she realized it was the blonde Q who had taken over Quincy’s clone last year, the clone that had nearly killed her. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “No, but it will be entertaining to see how well you survive this alien terrain.” With a snap of his fingers, Quincy and Jake Walters appeared.

“Quincy?” Jake asked. “What are we doing here?”

“Don’t look at me,” the younger Q said, recognizing the area as a forest on Bocaria, the world he’d created in a model universe. “I didn’t do it.” His eyes widened as he saw Susan, whom he’d become attached to in recent months. “What’s going on?”

“I was hoping you would know.”

The blonde Q snapped his fingers once more, and Jean-Luc Picard appeared with an annoyed look on his face. “Q! What is the meaning of this?” He demanded.

“I had nothing to do with it,” came a disembodied voice. “Sorry, Jean-Luc, but my hands are tied. This is all the Continuum’s idea, not mine.”

Quincy snapped his fingers, intending to teleport them away, but nothing happened. “What’s going on? I’m supposed to graduate from the academy in an hour! We all are, except for Captain Picard. Why is he here?”

“The Continuum thought it would be good for your future commanding officer to be present.”

“What?” Jean-Luc exclaimed, looking at the three cadets.

“We in the Continuum felt that Starfleet’s final exams were far too easy. These two humans represent the best of Quincy’s mortal classmates. Since Starfleet tests cadets along with their peers, we thought that doing the same was an excellent idea. If you all pass the trial, you will be allowed to return to earth.”

“And what if we don’t?” Susan asked.

“You’ll have to remain here.”

“That’s insane!” Quincy exclaimed. “Take us back, Q…now!”

“Sorry, but I can’t. This is the judgment of the Continuum.”

“How will we know if we win?” Picard inquired.

“The challenge is simple enough: Find your way to the Bocarian Institute and contact Starfleet Headquarters,” the blonde Q replied.

Quincy had a sinking feeling. “I made it impossible for the Bocarians to contact Earth.”

Picard gave him a questioning look. He wondered what the Q’s relationship was to the people of this world.

“Your solution to the problem of extra-dimensional contamination was a good one. However, it was easily altered. I must go now. Goodbye, and good luck.” The blonde Q snapped his fingers and vanished.

“So, Cadet, how do we get to the Bocarian Institute from here?” Picard asked.

“We go that way, Captain.” Quincy pointed east.

“You’re certain?”

“Positive.”

As they made their way through the thick foliage, Jean-Luc marveled at the diversity of plant life. There were many trees, both coniferous and non-coniferous, with leaves in varying shades of gold and green. Flowers in a myriad of shimmering colors appeared in unexpected places. Snake-like vines coiled down from the trees, as tiny insects with speckled shells ran up and down them. Birds in the forest canopy sang to each other in various tones and pitches.

“Should we be watching out for large predators?” Jean-Luc asked.

“The Continuum could have any number of traps waiting in store for us, Sir. I’d expect something trickier from them, but keeping an eye out is definitely a good idea.”

“Do you know what kind of animals are indigenous to this region?”

“A lot of birds, some bugs, a few small tree-dwelling mammals, that sort of thing. I didn’t create anything to worry about, though some of the insects might have developed toxins by now.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t create anything to worry about?” Jean-Luc stopped in mid-stride. “Quincy, did you make this world?”

The Q looked up as pride flared up in his eyes. “Yeah. It used to be a hobby of mine.”

“Used to be? What happened?”

“Here we go,” Susan muttered.

“We’re inside what was once a model universe I created approximately three years ago. The Bocarians evolved without my knowledge or interference, and managed to contact Starfleet. Knowing that the Continuum and Starfleet would have it no other way, I set this universe apart from ours and just left it alone. Apparently, the Continuum has seen fit to use it against us.”

“So, you didn’t intend to create intelligent life,” Picard said.

“No, Sir. I deliberately took that factor out. It appears the Continuum may have interfered in more ways than one,” Quincy said.

Jean-Luc shook his head. “Amazing.”

“Not when you’re a Q.”

“Perhaps not,” Picard agreed.

They continued walking east.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes passed uneventfully as the cadets and Captain Picard made their way through the forest. Then, suddenly, the sound of rushing water was heard.

“There shouldn’t be any rivers around here,” Quincy remarked. “Not for another 250 kilometers, at least.”

“Maybe we’re not where you thought we were,” Susan suggested. “After all, you don’t have your powers at the moment.”

“Or, maybe, the Continuum put it there.”

Abruptly, they came to the bank of a wide river that stretched like a ribbon as far as they could see. There was no obvious way across. White water rapids raged past them, with churning waves that would have made an expert swimmer wary of attempting a crossing.

“Great,” Jake sighed. “We’re at a dead end.”

“There’s got to be a way across somewhere. They wouldn’t have made an impossible test. Come on.” Quincy started to search along the river bank. A few minutes later, he found what he was looking for…a bridge. But it was a rickety wooden bridge, held together by ropes, and it looked very risky. He stood staring at it for several moments.

“It’ll hold,” Susan said. “We can cross one at a time.”

They all exchanged glances. “Should we do paper, rock, scissors to see who goes first?” Jake asked humorously.

“I have a better idea,” Quincy said. “Ladies first.”

Susan cautiously stepped onto the swaying wooden bridge. She held on, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she took another step and another. Finally, she was across.

“There’s nothing to it,” Susan shouted from the other side.

“I’ll go last,” Jean-Luc Picard said. “Why don’t you go next, Cadet Walters?”

Jake took a tentative step and grabbed onto the ropes. Slowly, he proceeded forward. When he reached the middle, Jake nearly lost his lunch as the bridge began to sway wildly. Holding onto the ropes with white-knuckles, he waited until the bridge stopped swaying, then crossed onto the other side. Jake heaved a sigh of relief.

“Captain, why don’t you go on ahead?” Quincy asked, realizing that the bridge probably wouldn’t be safe for much longer.

Jean-Luc glanced at the swinging bridge. “No. It’s your turn.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Q took several cautious steps forward and nearly fell when the bridge suddenly swayed to the side. It was good thing he hadn’t eaten lately, Quincy thought. Struggling to get back on his feet, he had to hang on until the wind died down and the bridge stopped swinging. Just a few more steps, and then he’d be on the other side. As Quincy took another step, one of the ropes snapped. He cried out as the bridge nearly flipped over, but he held on and made it to the end.

Quincy watched Captain Picard take a deep breath, then attempt the perilous crossing. A cold gust of wind blew and the bridge creaked as the Captain stepped forward He had a look of resolve on his face; Picard would not be intimidated. He steeled himself as the bridge began to sway more, then cursed as another rope broke. Grabbing on for dear life, Picard held his breath as the bridge dropped several inches…then stopped falling as the support ropes on the other end grew taut. Waves splashed, making the bridge dangerously slippery. The Captain accepted Quincy’s outstretched hand and climbed onto the other side.

“Let’s hope we don’t have to do that twice,” Jean-Luc remarked after he had caught his breath.

The river suddenly vanished, with no trace of it ever having been there.

* * * * *

[ray gower]

Nice to see you back Emily

Another interesting dip into the Academy and the Q's meddlings, looking forward to the next piece.

[Gater]

oooooooooooo new fic



not that i don't 'prciate Rays!!!:lol::lol: