Q-Squared

   

Q-Squared

Description[]

Continuing the bestselling tradition begun byStar Trekhardcovers likeSpock's World,Imzadi,Best Destiny, andThe Devil's Heart,Pocket Books is proud to present the newest epic adventure starringCaptainPicard andthe crew of theUSSEnterprise NCC-1701-D.

In all of his travels, Captain Jean-Luc Picard has never faced an opponent more powerful thanQ, a being from anothercontinuum that Picard encountered on his very first mission as captain of theStarshipEnterprise. In the years since, Q has returned again and again to harass Picard and his crew. Sometimes dangerous, sometimes merely obnoxious, Q has always been mysterious and seemingly all-powerful.

But this time, when Q appears, he comes to Picard for help. Apparently another member of theQ Continuum has tapped into an awesome power source that makes this being more powerful than the combined might of the entire Q continuum. This renegade Q is namedTrelane—also known as theSquire ofGothos, who CaptainKirk andhis crew first encountered overone hundred years ago. Q explains that, armed with this incredible power, Trelane has become unspeakably dangerous.

Now Picard must get involved in an awesome struggle between super beings. And this time the stakes are not just Picard's ship, orthe galaxy, or even theuniverse—this time the stakes are all of creation...

Summary[]

In another part of the multiverse, theEnterprise has just been launched under the command of CaptainJack Crusher. Picard is his first officer, having been demoted after being blamed for the loss of theStargazer. His ex-wifeBeverly Howard is on board as chief medical officer.William T. Riker, who has been held prisoner and tortured by theRomulans for seven years, is rescued by a group ofKlingons led byWorf. His wifeDeanna and their sonTommy board theEnterprise in order to reunite with him.

In the regular universe, Q bring Trelane, a junior member of the Q Continuum he is mentoring, to theEnterprise in the hope of teaching him about responsibility. After an incident where Trelane conjures up Winnie the Pooh characters who attack security, Picard orders him off the ship. However, Trelane ends up being absorbed by his counterpart, who has gone mad after looking into theHeart of the Storm and resolved to collapse the multiverse. He and Q flee to the other universe where Q ends up being scattered across the beginning of time and taking millions of years to reconstitute himself.

Trelane merges the two universes, along with a third universe where the Federation is at war with the Klingons. This and Trelane's manipulation causes conflict among the various crews. The wartornEnterprise crew see Worf as an enemy and eventually become convinced the ship is full of traitors and infiltrators. The commando Worf similarly sees any irregularity as a sign of Romulan plots. Trelane also manipulates Jack Crusher with the fact his Picard and Beverly are in a secret relationship, claiming in every other universe Picard arranged Jack's death so they could be together and in this universe, fate arranged the death of his sonWesley to drive him and Beverly apart. The enraged Jack accidentally kills Beverly before shooting himself dead. The war Picard and commando Worf kill each other, while the wartorn Riker is killed by his counterpart who was tortured after trying to kill the two Deannas.

Q eventually makes contact with Picard who, with the aid of Riker, Worf and theTasha Yar of the recently launchedEnterprise, manages to beam down and confront Trelane, challenging him to a duel. Picard's sword is actually Q and, when Picard manages to stab Trelane, it allows him to infiltrate and destroy him (although he is apparently reborn soon after). Q separates the three universes again. The Picard and Riker of the late Jack Crusher'sEnterprise end up being placed in temporary command, while that universe'sData (a human body with a positronic brain) ends up with his counterpart on the wartornEnterprise.

References[]

Characters[]

Reginald Barclay •Joseph Cavalieri •Claire (teacher) •Beverly Crusher •Jack Crusher •Wesley Crusher •Sonya Gomez •Guinan •Homn •Caryn Johnson •Geordi La Forge •Andrea Martinez •Jean-Luc Picard •Q •Tommy Riker •William T. Riker •Trelane •Deanna Troi •Lwaxana Troi •Winnie the Pooh •Worf •Natasha Yar

Referenced only

God •Kira Nerys •James T. Kirk •A. A. Milne •Ishara Yar

Starships and vehicles[]

USSEnterprise-D (Galaxy-classexplorer)

Referenced only

USSEnterprise (Constitution-classexplorer)

Locations[]

Ten-Forward

Races and cultures[]

Betazoid •El-Aurian •Human •Klingon •Q

Referenced only

Bajoran •Cardassian •Romulan

States and organizations[]

Q Continuum •Starfleet

Science and classification[]

animal •brain •comm badge •gravity •hair •light •minute •phaser •starship •time •turbolift •universe

Ranks and titles[]

captain •counselor •guard •professor •security guard •teacher

Other references[]

bear •chair •classroom •day •duck •empathy •engineering •jacket •kangaroo •owl •planet •platypus •psychic •rabbit •storybook •stuffed animal •telepath •tiger •year

Appendices[]

Background[]

• This novel establishesTrelane as being aQ... specifically Q's godson, although it is implied that Trelane is Q's actual (but illegitimate) son.
• At one point, Trelane creates a real version ofWinnie the Pooh. This ties in ever-so-loosely with theTOSnovel:World Without End, which established anamusement park calledDisneymoon onLuna.

Images[]

Cover image.

Connections[]

Timeline[]

Translations[]

1997

German :Q², translated by Andreas Brandhorst. (VGS-Verlag)

External links[]

• Q-Squared article atMemory Alpha, the wiki for canonStar Trek.