STAR TREK
SOVEREIGN

Episode Nine:
Guess Q


By: Brandon Grasmick
"Captain's Log, supplemental. The Sovereign is preparing to do a scientific study of the Yeti Minor system for possible colonization. Mr. Tumok is preparing an away team to investigate a water supply near the site that was recently chosen for an underground base," Grasmick finished his log.

"Setup a sensor block here, Ensign. We should be almost finished with this station." Tumok said.
"Yes, sir. I have a question, was the location of the anomalous radio frequencies from a metal source ever discovered?" Ensign Riley asked.
"No, they were passed of as background noise. I would speculate that…." Tumok was interrupted by his commbadge.
"Tobin to Tumok, you had better come look at this."
Tumok and Riley came running over. All three of them stood almost in shock when the say a certain four-letter acronym, SSOS.
"Well, this would be a logical explanation of the mysterious radio transmissions." Tumok said.
Riley said, "Starfleet Special Operations service. My brother is in that."
"And?" Tumok asked.
"I don't like him, he's a complete ass." Riley replied.
"Very well. Tumok to Sovereign, we have a 'situation' here."

"God rest ye merry gentlemen," Grasmick sang to himself as he was using the restroom facilities in his Ready Room, "Let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our savior, was born on Christmas day, to save…," he was then interrupted by the intercom, "Damn, what now? Grasmick here, what is it Ensign?"
"Sir, Tumok and the away team have discovered something you might want to see." The bridge officer reported.
"That's nice, but it better be important if I'm beaming down. What is it?" Grasmick inquired.
"An SSOS transmitter."
Grasmick finished up and ran to the transporter room.

"This is perfect, Tumok," Grasmick was getting irritated, "This is a JJ-99B transmitter, they aren't used unless there is an SSOS outpost or ship nearby."
"Quite true, Captain. This is a relatively unimportant sector. I find it illogical that there would be SSOS activity here." Tumok said.
"We will have to investigate this. Perhaps if we disabled the transmitter, it would draw out any SSOS agents involved in….." As Grasmick went on, an unseen observer watched.
"Humans, always investigating one another. I would have thought differently of the Vulcan. Brandon Grasmick, one of the few officers on the Enterprise I didn't play with the mind of. This is a PERFECT chance for a game."
Little did Grasmick or any of his crew know, Q was nearby.

"Alright, Tac. Fire two phaser blasts at the transmitter." Grasmick ordered.
"Firing," Tac then fired the phasers, "Target destroyed."
"Good shooting, Tac. Now, we wait until the SSOS shows up."

Counselor Hathaway stepped into the crew lounge. Not many people were there, despite the early hour. Unfortunately, the serenity she finally had found would not last for long.
"Excuse me, I'll have a French Vanilla hot chocolate." She inquired of the waiter. The waiter complied, but then all hell nearly broke loose.
Q was still keeping himself invisible, "Oh boy, a counselor! I wonder if this one is as dense as Troi."
Q used his powers to make everyone in the lounge disappear to their quarters.
Hathaway was shocked, "What the hell? Hathaway to security, send someone down to the crew lounge immediately."
Q, still unseen, began talking, "Come now, my Counselor! Everyone is gone," Q finally appeared, wearing an old Starfleet jumpsuit uniform from just a few years earlier, "Allow me to introduce myself. Q's the name, fun's the game! Care to dance?" Q used his power to produce a band playing dancing music.
Tac walked in with two of his security staff, "What the devil is going on here?"
Q contained them in an energy field, "Oh joy! One of the Captain's best friends," Q made his band disappear, "Speaking of the old devil, where is he?"
"Allow me," Hathaway said, "Hathaway to Grasmick, your presence is requested in the lounge."

Grasmick was a bit tired. He had been on duty most of the day, but that didn't count time working on reports in his ready room or taking phaser target practice. He didn't have time to waste with the SSOS situation, but he had a developing situation on his own ship. Grasmick walked into the crew lounge, "What is going on here…Holy crap."
"Surprised, Captain?" Q asked.
"Never having met you personally, no. But considering the last time our paths crossed, you were screwing with my captain's head."
"Oh come now, Captain. I like your new tailor, by the way," Q used his power to change into the new Starfleet uniform, "I NEVER toyed with Jean-Luc's head! I just, well, carted him around over a 32 year period."
"Q, just shut your pie hole and leave, please."
"Captain, no need for the nasty language. I will leave, for now, but know that I am just watching your current situation with those people you don't like." Q transported himself into the unknown.
Hathaway asked, "Q?"
"Yes, Anne, Q. Who cares whey he's here, trouble follows him wherever he goes." Grasmick said.
"Bridge to Grasmick, we are detecting what we think to be a cloaked ship." Commander Ryan said.

Grasmick, Hathaway, and 'Tac' Wilson walked onto the bridge. "Ok people, open a channel," Grasmick waited for the open channel, "Cloaked SSOS vessel, this is Captain Grasmick on the Sovereign. I demand to know why you are conducting operations in a sector where you are forbidden to."
There was no reply. Grasmick repeated his demand, but still no reply. After about 3 minutes of communicated inquiries, something happened. A Defiant-class starship de-cloaked not 20 meters above the Sovereign, and then, visual communication was established, but Grasmick wasn't prepared for who he saw in the other ships command chair.
"Surprised to see me, Captain Grasmick?" It was Melissa Teahon.
"Yes, actually. Now, you know I outrank you, Melissa. Tell me what the hell is going on."
"I can't, it is classified."
"Bull. SSOS isn't supposed to be working in this sector. Wait a minute, I need to talk to my first officer." Grasmick had the mute mode turned on, "Alex?"
"I don't trust her, skipper," she said.
"Well I don't trust her either, she is my friend. Tac, put a tractor beam on that ship, which one is it anyway?" Grasmick said.
Tac pushed a few buttons on his panel, "USS Theseus, a name from a play that you know well. Oh, and the tractor beam is on."
"Brandon, what the hell is this?" Teahon was angry.
Grasmick turned the mute mode off, "Me making sure you don't fly off without explaining what you are doing."
"So help me, if this tractor beam didn't disable our ability to maneuver, I'd move us to a position where we could fire our phasers."
"Then I would have to destroy the Theseus and beam you and your crew aboard the Big Sov. As much as I would like to see you in person again, I can't afford that luxury now."
Q watched in delight, "These two would make an excellent pairing for this."

Two days passed. Teahon was able to convince Grasmick that they should meet in person.
"Welcome back to the Sovereign, Melissa."
"Yeah, sure. Now, let my ship go, or I will have your head mounted on my wall."
"Melissa, I outrank you, so your head would either be on your shoulders or cut off and thrown into the vacuum of space. We both know that SSOS isn't supposed to be out here. Just tell me what you are doing and I'll let you go. Simple as that."
"Simple? Brandon, you doing anything simple just doesn't sound possible."
"I know. That is why you shouldn't pass up this opportunity."
"Fine. We were investigating the Shadows."
"The terrorist organization? They aren't running any anti-Federation stuff in this sector."
"That is what Vice Admiral Tanaka thought when he flew the Ambassador through this sector a week ago. The took heavy damage."
"That is something I actually didn't know."
"You actually didn't know something?"
"Shut up."

Grasmick and Teahon walked onto the Sovereign's bridge. "Tac, release the tractor beam."
Tac released the tractor beam. Q found the time he was looking for, "Perfect," he said to himself, "Now, to get them out of there."
Q used his powers to 'transport' Grasmick and Teahon off the Sovereign.
Commander Ryan was shocked, "What the hell? Tac, hail the Theseus."
Ryan waited until Teahon's first officer was on the screen, "Where the hell did you beam our Captain?"
"Where the hell is Lt. Commander Teahon?"

Grasmick and Teahon were in a forest. Teahon was somewhat scared, "Wh, wh, what the hell, where are we?"
Grasmick was actually angered. He looked directly up and screamed, "DAMNIT Q! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS TO US?"
Q appeared in front of Grasmick, "Come now, my dear Captain! Perhaps you would prefer a desert," Q changed the terrain to a desert, "Or perhaps a snowcapped mountain," Q changed the terrain to a snowcapped mountain, "Or perhaps a lovely meadow," Q changed the terrain to a meadow.
Grasmick was getting more angry, "Q, damnit, take us back to the Sovereign or the Theseus."
"BUT THE FUN IS ONLY BEGINNING! Perhaps you and your friend would like to know where you would be if your father hadn't died." Q began showing them.

"Alex, I don't think they believe that we don't have Teahon." Tac said.
"I figured as much. Well, they screw with us, they will get screwed with. Red alert, shields up." Ryan said.
Tac replied, "Shields up, phasers and torpedoes ready."
"Commander, the Theseus' shields are going up, they are powering phasers." Tumok reported.
"Damn. What would Brandon do?" Ryan said
Tac chuckled, "Read his book, 'Complete History of Starships Enterprise.' "
Ryan replied, "Well, I don't have time to do that now. So, we'll wait."
And wait they did. For one minute, then two, and three, when something happened.
Tumok said, "They're firing."
The Theseus' powerful phaser cannons hit the Sovereign.
Tac said, "They hit our starboard nacelle, we won't be going to warp anytime soon."
"Return fire, photon torpedoes, full spread!" Ryan ordered.
Four photon torpedoes hit the Theseus.
Tac reported, "I think I hit key areas, their impulse and warp engines our damaged."
"Good shooting, Tac. Lock in a tractor beam."

"Q, I really wish you hadn't shown me this." Grasmick said.
Q pretended to be surprised, "Why?"
Grasmick was in the most saddened state he had been in for a long time, "I'm sure you could figure that out."
"I suppose I could. But remember, you will soon find out something about your father that will make your blood boil." Teahon interrupted Q before he could finish his speech.
"Take us home before you really piss Brandon off," she said.
"As you wish." Q put them both on the bridge of the Theseus.

The Theseus' bridge crew turned around, phasers drawn, and aimed at Grasmick.
"Welcome to the lions den. Are you ok, Commander?" an officer said.
"Down, lieutenant," Teahon said.
Grasmick looked around at burned out consoles, "You started a fight with my ship, didn't you?"
"Well," the lieutenant said.
"Hail them," Grasmick waited until Ryan appeared on screen, "Alex, you let Tac fire torpedoes, didn't you? Anyway, don't blame these SSOS goons for this situation, Q indirectly started it."
"How so, skipper?" Ryan asked.
"He took Teahon and I away and showed us some pictures, for lack of a better way of putting it. I'll return to the Sovereign momentarily, Grasmick out."

"When will we have warp drive again, Aaron?" Grasmick asked.
Lt. Commander Peterson was almost overworked, "Six hours, three in the least."
"Fix that starboard nacelle and then get some rest. We get to go back to Earth. I do believe our high school class is planning an informal get-together. WE are going, that's an order."
"I'm on it, Brandon." Peterson left.
Grasmick stood up and looked out his ready room window at the Theseus. He thought of his Father, and wondered, just plain wondered, about the life Q had shown would be his if his if his Father hadn't died. Especially the wife he would already have, the kids he would already have, all things Grasmick would have had now, all of which he couldn't picture himself having anytime soon.

Author's Notes: Thanks to Chris Martin for giving me ideas for a title for this episode.

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