- Keith Birdsong
Picard looked in horror at the nightmarish image into which his bridge had been transformed. The bridge: his nerve center, the place that was the essence of the Enterprise herself, changed into some sort of hideous, nightmarish travesty of itself. In an insane way, Picard felt violated.
He was surprised at the hoarseness of his own voice as he spun to face Q and said, “Change it back!”
But there was a look of surprise on Q’s face. “I’m trying,” he said. “I’m trying, but I don’t seem to—”
“Do it, Q! Now!”
“Shut up, Picard!” Q shouted with a ferocity that he had never before displayed.
That was when Picard realized that there was something akin to fear in Q’s eyes. This is beyond anything he’s experienced , Picard realized, and that thought in turn was followed by the horrified speculation, What could possibly be beyond what he has experienced?
Q immediately composed himself. He closed his eyes and seemed to be drawing into himself, finding some calm center to tap, some inner resource upon which to draw. His breathing (if a creature such as Q could actually be said to be breathing, as opposed to putting on some sort of illusion of same) slowed; his eyelids fluttered.
“Today’s Random Passage from Q-Squared, a 1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation Novel by Peter David” will continue on Blogtown throughout the week. Can’t wait until tomorrow’s installment? Q-Squared, a 1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by Peter David, is available at Powell’s.
This post is nightmarish.
Peter Davis is a great comics writer! See: X Factor, etc.
I mean David. But then I also remembered that I stopped reading X Factor because his dialogue gets pretty hacky.
I guarantee it: nowhere near as good as “Wesley Crusher, Teenage Fuck Machine:”
http://www.amazon.com/Wesley-Crusher-Teena…
IN WHICH THE STAFF OF THE MERCURY ATTEMPT TO TROLL THE READERS.
NOT GONNA WORK!
Nothing is better than two consecutive sentences using the word “nightmarish!” The idea of the Enterprise being transformed reminds me of all those wack-ass 7th season episodes, like the one where it turned into a primordial jungle and Worf wanted to eat everyone. Or the one where it turns into an ancient temple and Data and Picard do cos/roleplaying. “Enterprise transformation” episodes are possibly the only thing worse than “Stuck in the holodeck episodes.” Except, of course, for Dr. Crusher focused episodes. Nothing is worse than Dr. Crusher trapped in a stupid warp bubble. Gag!
@Will, You may disagree with me, but I’d like to go on record as stating that Deanna T’roi episodes are far more nightmarish than Beverly Crusher episodes.
You have to admit the Beverly Crusher / Irish romance episode is a high-point of the series.
@Fruit Cup: The episodes with Troi’s mother stand out as particularly awful, maybe even beyond what Q has experienced.
@C&B: However! I liked the stuck-in-a-turbolift-with-Odo Lwaxana episode on DS9; it reminded me of that one time when Jack and Roper got locked in a restaurant freezer or when Archie and Mike Stivic got locked in the basement.
I don’t believe it was randomly chosen, but it was still entertaining.
@Denis: having a bunch of characters getting stuck in a confined space is usually a winning plot device. The last good issue of Cerebus was the one where he was stuck in a cargo hold with Lord Julius and Elrod.