Never Far From Her Heart
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter 1—Coming to
Say Goodbye
Chapter 2—Memento
Mori
Chapter 3—Frivolity With
the Cerritos Crew
Chapter 4—One Can Never
Know
Epilogue
Author’s Note: I was inspired by Q’s death in Picard
Season 2 and wondered how I could’ve improved it. Not long ago, I created Quanta, Q’s
lovechild. This is an integration of
what happened in the show mixed in with heartfelt scenes and a bit of healing
from my own dad’s death. Granted, I may
never completely mend from it, but it is because of it that I can be someone
else’s safe harbor and guiding light when everything else seems so dark and
foreboding.
Chapter 1—Coming to Say Goodbye
It was
another day in the Continuum and Quanta was lazing about in a hammock made of
glowing starlight. She was sipping
some sangria and relaxing until someone appeared and picked her up in a tender
but strong bear hug. He had been
crying and from the way he was dressed, Quanta could tell he wasn’t long for
the world. She had heard so many
stories from her family and friends about this individual that she was a little
surprised he was even here, but she already knew the purpose of his visit.
‘So,
you’ve finally come to say farewell, dad.’, she said, smiling softly at
him. She manifested an elaborate oak
table, chairs and an entire high tea meal for them, with every sort of variety
of cucumber sandwich and Jammy Dodger in existence. Q chuckled. He had already said goodbye to so many
people that he had loved, but he couldn’t help feeling that he had been with
her and shared every experience he had relished in his multi-faceted life. His black ornate vestige started to turn
white and gold, his hair reverting to the color of his nonage.
‘That’s
certainly new.’, Q mused aloud. Instead
of sitting across the table from her, he sat right next to her and placed his
hand atop hers. For the first time in
ages, he understood what unease and steady trepidation were. However, with Quanta near him, that
underlying fear began to become inconsequential.
‘Would
you like something to drink ?’, Quanta questioned. Q still had an appetite and he had
absolutely no pain. Death wasn’t so
horrible as he had previously dreaded.
‘Any
tea will suffice.’, Q said, warmly. His
other children had spoken so highly of her and the Continuum adored her. He could now see why, because he felt
nothing but love from her even though he had to let the Continuum raise her
from the moment she was born.
Quanta amused
her dad with an orange mannequin pis that peed orange pekoe.
‘Get it ? Orange pee
koe !’, she giggled a bit sophomorically.
‘You
are most indubitably the fruit of my loins.’, Q chortled, glad to see that his
spellbinding daughter was a combination of class, levity and perhaps a smidge
of lewdness when the situation called for it.
The little orange dispenser had vanished no sooner as Quanta had served
her guest. He was indulging in the
taste of the tea, brewed to absolute perfection. The sandwiches, the music, the company,
everything had been splendid. He
couldn’t help becoming a bit teary eyed, but he wanted to give Quanta something
before departing.
Chapter 2—Memento Mori
That
steady beat of Q’s heart she could sense becoming duller and slower as his raiment
increased in brilliance. There was no
trepidation in his voice or tremble in his hand as he finished what was to be
his last meal. With one final act, he
created a splendid necklace with a galactic pendant that was luminescent.
‘If
darkness should ever surround you, I will continue being your light. I will always watch you from afar, darling.’, he said, softly kissing her forehead. Quanta wasn’t expecting to become
emotional, but she had only known her dad through his mercurial antics and seen
through his eyes. She had never actually
been in the same room with him and sensed his magnificence, his power, or his
deep affection.
‘Daddy,
I don’t want you to go.’, Quanta said, her head resting on Q’s heart. The heartbeat grew slower, fainter and his breathing
was more labored. Her crystal blue eyes
pooled and overflowed with grief stricken tears. She didn’t feel this was fair. After all, she was just getting to know
him. Q took Quanta’s face in his
tender hands and dried her tears.
‘You
aren’t going to be alone, if that is what you’re fearing, dear.’, he
whispered. With a final snap of his
finger, the exquisite pendant had latched around Quanta’s neck and Q faded out
of existence. The only thing left of him
was a purple sash with gold trim that read, ‘Looks like this is yours now,
kiddo. Don’t let it go to your head.’ Quanta laughed in spite of the pain still lingering
in her heart, but she wasn’t surprised her papa had a wicked sense of humor
even after his demise.
Chapter 3—Frivolity With the Cerritos Crew
The
Continuum mourned for a while but Quanta’s brother and sister saw that she was
well taken care of. She would be one of
the premier Q to speak for the Continuum since her dad had so much clout and
pull. She was much different than he
had been, but she still had the capability to mix things up when the mood hit
her right.
It hadn’t
been too long after the death of her father that Quanta decided to join the
Cerritos for a short journey by doing so as a ‘normal human’ rather than implementing
her incredible abilities. She had been
curious what it was like, but Beckett knew she had been hiding something from
the start.
‘You have
that unmistakable gleam about you.’, she said while she was sitting with her
friends in the mess. It had been T’Lyn
who had found her out before anyone else.
Quanta felt a little chagrinned at first but came clean about who she
truly was.
‘I was
afraid your mom would have me escorted off your fine vessel if I told the
truth.’, she confessed.
‘It’s
definitely a possibility.’, Sam stated
candidly. Quanta chuckled awkwardly but
declared she was there to learn and grow with them, which they supported.
‘I’m
sorry to hear about your dad, but honestly I think he’d be proud of you for
going outside your comfort zone.’, Tendi said, warmly. She had been the first to befriend Quanta
and the two got along as if they had known each other their entire lives.
The
mission to a gem planet had been pretty arbitrary and typical, but the crew had
found a race that had been subjugated without their knowledge. According to the Prime Directive, they
couldn’t interfere but Quanta in her way had uncovered the oppressor’s
gaslighting and slowly drove them slightly batty to prove a point.
The
reward for righting the skewed system on Gemella was a vacation that Quanta had
created with her incredible talent. It
had taken Captain Freeman by surprise seeing a whole tropic environment, but it
brought immense joy to everyone, even the typically sour Doctor T’Ana.
‘That’s
the first time I’ve seen my schnookums smile, bear cub.’, he said, giving
Quanta an unexpected massive side hug.
As a musclebound Bajoran he certainly could tightly embrace someone
enough to make them feel like a deflated bagpipe, but Quanta welcomed the affection. Although she had inadvertently brought the
Cerritos a vacation that she hadn’t gotten permission for, the mission
deserved that little respite. She had
earned respect through her diplomacy, tactics, gregarious nature and flair for
the dramatic. She knew exactly how much
drama to bring to a situation that sticky.
In the end, she had brought Gemella the peace it had been desperately
longing for.
Chapter 4—One Can Never Know
Due to
her bravery, innovative thinking and inventive strategy had gotten Quanta
noticed and because of this, she quickly rose the ranks from cadet to lieutenant
junior grade. At the rate she was
excelling, she would most likely be a fleet admiral in no time but that meant
she had to make a choice whether to stay with the Cerritos or transfer to
another vessel. She hated saying farewell
to her new friends, but she manifested kaleidoscopic friendship bracelets to
everyone before she left to other journeys aboard a prestigious Starfleet vessel.
Epilogue
From
time to time, Quanta returns home and shares her sojourns with her family and
friends. They can experience her peril,
tragedy, triumph, trials and glory she experienced with her new friends. On the off times where she was remembering
her dad, she’d lightly touch her pendant and she could hear him singing to
her. For a moment, she would shed a
few tears, but she wondered if even as a celestial construct if she would ever
die as he did or if she was immortal.
She did possess some of his DNA after all, so it was possible she
could join him when her normal frame degraded. Like him, she didn’t find it creepy, morbid
or unsettling at all. Akin to the melodies
the pendant contained, they soothed her, comforted her and rekindled her
hope. She already had faith but coupled
with hope, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do.
The End
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