Q-Squared

A struggle between Trelane and Q endangers multiple realities of the Enterprise-D.

Summary

 * From the book jacket:


 * In all of his travels Captain Jean-Luc Picard has never faced an opponent more powerful than Q, a being from another continuum that Picard encountered on his very first mission as Captain of the Starship Enterprise. 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 the Q 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 named Trelane - also known as the Squire of Gothos, who Captain Kirk and his crew first encountered over one 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, or the galaxy, or even the universe - this time the stakes are all of creation...

While on a mission to the Planet Terminus, three parallel Enterprises find themselves in great danger when the entity known as Trelane discovers a power unlike any other. Soon, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew are caught up in a battle not only for their lives, but for the very fabric of existence itself.

Memorable Quotes
"And you accuse me of arrogance? Picard, I could blast this ship out of existence if I felt like it. I could grow hair on your head. Turn your crew into embryos, force Worf to recite doggerel. I could turn your ship inside out, your reality outside in. I am not being condescending, Picard... not that I'm incapable of it, you understand, but this simply isn't one of the times. Now, what I most definitely am, Picard, is arrogant. Why? Because I have a reason to be. I have a right to be. So... mortal... what's your excuse?"
 * - Q

"What fascinating creatures those little humans are! And what a true tragedy that they develop into dour, humorless beings called adult humans."

"A tragedy, yes."
 * - Trelane and Q

"What... what was that all about?"

"Fate of the universe."

"Again?"


 * - Dr. Crusher and Picard.

Background Information

 * The audiobook version was abridged by George Truett.
 * The plot of this novel repeatedly shifts among three different parallel universes or "Tracks," consisting of:
 * Track A: A variant of the normal Trek universe.
 * Jack Crusher is the captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).
 * Jean-Luc Picard - demoted to commander after the Stargazer court martial - is the ship's first officer.
 * Jack and Beverly are divorced, and Wesley died at the age of four after he fell out of a tree trying to see Jack. Picard and Beverly are engaged in a romantic relationship unbeknownst to Jack.
 * Geordi La Forge is one of Beverly's nurses in sickbay because of all the medical devices he used when he was young.
 * Tasha Yar and Data (this Data being a "human-oid" - a positronic brain in a flesh and blood body) have an ongoing relationship.
 * William T. Riker and Kira Nerys are prisoners of the Romulans.
 * Will and Deanna Troi are married, and have a eight-year-old son named Tommy.
 * Worf dwells in the Klingon Empire. He is high-ranking and has aspirations for a seat on the High Council. His parents died on Narendra III instead of Khitomer.
 * The bartender in Ten Forward is named Caryn Johnson. (This is also the real name of Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Guinan.)
 * James Kirk's middle initial is R.
 * Track B: The normal Trek universe as we usually see it.
 * Track C: A version of the "Klingon war" storyline as seen in, but one where the Enterprise-C failed in its mission and the war with the Klingons continues.
 * This novel offers an explanation as to why Captain Kirk's middle initial in is seen to be R: the events of that episode are said to take place in the Track A universe. Gary Mitchell's power in the episode is also explained as being absorbed from Q, who is hiding from Trelane in the galactic barrier.
 * Trelane's name is said to be a shortening of "three lanes", indicating the three timelines that Trelane tried to control. His birth as a Q is also discussed as being a direct result of his death, mainly that when Trelane was destroyed at the end of the novel, a spark of his being remained, was named "Tre-Lane", and then became the Trelane that Kirk and company later encountered in . Trelane's entire existence is therefore said to be one continuous loop.

Track A

 * Jack Crusher : Captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) (alternate timeline).
 * Caryn Johnson : Yeoman who runs Ten Forward in this alternate timeline.
 * Also the real name of actress Whoopi Goldberg, whose character of Guinan fulfills the same function in Track B.

Track B

 * Claire : Mrs. Claire was a teacher in one timeline.

Track C

 * Jean-Luc Picard
 * Geordi La Forge
 * Beverly Crusher
 * William T. Riker
 * Trelane
 * Q
 * Natasha Yar
 * Data
 * Deanna Troi
 * Worf
 * Hikaru Sulu
 * Sela
 * Ensign Chafin
 * Named after T.A. Chafin.


 * Barclay
 * Guinan : runs Ten Forward in the alternate timelines B and C
 * Alexander Rozhenko
 * Argyle female alternate timeline A
 * Ensign Joseph
 * Cavalieri
 * Mot
 * Amanda Rogers
 * Wesley Crusher
 * Sonya Gomez
 * Distefano
 * Ensign Sanders
 * Lucy
 * Natalie
 * Selan
 * Turo
 * Commodore Hikaru Sulu (hologram)
 * Paul Manheim

External link


Q-Squared Q²