PROLOGUE: When
Vulcans are pledged in marriage at the age of seven, the young couple perform a
mind meld which forms a link between the two, directing both to consummate the
act at the time of pon farr later in their lives. Deltans also link their minds in a similar
manner with mates and close friends. In
both cultures, the act is known as bonding.
While very rare, it has been known
on occassion to occur among members of other species as well, and not always by
choice or expectation.
*
* *
*
It
all began innocently enough...
Personal
log, stardate 45263.6:
Due
to the shortages of deep space assignments and constant rotations that still
plague the fleet since the battle of Wolf 359, I have found myself assigned to
the security department aboard Starbase
Lt
Peter J. Koester, out.
Space, the Final Frontier...
Star Trek: Personal Logs
“The Bond – Special Edition” By PJK
with Donna ‘Q’ Rossi and
Koester
stood guard at his post, one of the security doors aboard the deep space
station Starbase Pennsylvania, a
major hub of transportation in the Beta Quadrant for both civilian travelers
and Starfleet personnel. Busy
concentrating on his job of checking ID badges of the passing personnel and
making sure no one unauthorized to enter the strictly Starfleet sections of the
base could pass, he did not notice in particular the young officer in the blue
uniform when she passed by. Nor did he
notice when she glanced back at him after passing.
*
* * *
One
Year Later - Starbase 45
“Please
have your identification ready as you pass the checkpoint,” Lt Koester
announced as he cleared people through the doorway. As the line passed through the checkpoint, he
noticed the familiar looking face approach.
“Hello
again,” he said.
She
was a lieutenant, like himself, wearing the new style of Starfleet uniform,
with the shoulders colored the science/medical department blue, unlike
Koester’s older uniform with it’s gold-colored torso. She had the dark brown spots of a Trill
running down each side of her face that matched the color of her long hair
which she wore as usual pulled back into a pony-tail.
Koester
had seen her passing by his post a number of times during his assignment aboard
Starbase Pennsylvania. After a short time something about her stuck
in his memory. He was surprised to see
her here. She smiled as she approached
the checkpoint.
“Hello,”
she replied. “What are you doing all the
way here at Starbase 45 now?”
Koester
glanced around at the peeling bulkheads of the Roosevelt Recreational Facility, a seldom used section of the
starbase, before answering, “Only temporary... I hope. I’m still waiting on a starship assignment
and well... Here I am.”
Both
lieutenants smiled slightly as the young woman quickly flipped her ID and moved
through the door. Koester was somewhat
disappointed that the conversation had not lasted longer as she started down
the adjoining hallway, and he called out after her, “Oh, by the way... My name is Koester. Peter Koester. I’m afraid I didn’t catch yours, Lieutenant.”
The
young woman stopped about halfway down the corridor and smiled back toward
Koester. Over the noise of the crowd he
was not entirely sure what she replied, but as she continued on toward her
destination, it had sounded like, “Cue.”
*
* * *
Five
Months Later
Personal
log, stardate 46572.3:
Interesting
devices, these padds, although I had to inquire from the computer what the stardate
was... Why does time have to be assigned
in such a haphazard manner?
Anyway... I must remind myself
not to record anything which could be used by the enemy... Trivialities then. I’ve located myself at the Roosevelt Recreational Facility, which has a servicable medical unit; Could be quite useful. Since arriving, I’ve made the acquaintence of
an up-and-coming young lieutenant named Peter Koester, who could also prove useful
if manipulated properly. The two of us
work the security detail, which is a common enough job for me.
Philip
Winters, out.
Personal
log, stardate 46572.3:
A
bright moment in my dreary life here at the Roosevelt RF. I just found out during a conversation with
one of my fellow security officers, Lt Phillip Winters, that the USS
Passageway is arriving at the starbase
today. I’m hoping my favorite Trill is
aboard.
Lt
Peter J. Koester, out.
Both
Koester and Lt Phillip Winters moved around the station, Winter’s seemingly
ever-present satchel hanging from his shoulder, the two making checks on the
output guages of the facility cooling systems along
“Ahh,
if it isn’t my favorite Trill, back to visit once again,” Koester said with a
smile.
“Hi,
Peter. I see you’re still here on your
temporary assignment,” she remarked with a slightly cruel smile on her own
lips. She then gestured toward Winters
and added, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your lieutenant friend?”
“Lieutenant
Phillip Winters, may I introduce...
Excuse me if I’m mispronouncing this...
Lieutenant Cue.”
“Pleased
to meet you, Lieutenant,” Winters said quietly.
“What brings you to this lovely starbase?” Winters slowly turned around in a full circle
to take in the entire crumbling and decrepid view.
“Oh,
just the usual,” the Trill lieutenant replied.
“Starfleet business, along with using the opportunity to see old friends
and make new acquaintences. What have
you both been up to?”
As
the three officers spoke, the young woman sensed something strange about this
new friend of Lt Koester’s. She decided
she would have to find out more about him.
“Well,
for one thing, I’m putting in a transfer request to Starbase Pennsylvania. I
can’t take it here much longer,” Winters replied blandly. He looked at the Trill lieutenant, sensing
somehow she did not quite believe him.
“I
know exactly what you mean,” Koester said, oblivious to what was occurring
between his two acquaintences. “I was
told this was only a temporary assignment that should only have lasted a few
weeks. Here it is, almost six months
later. And I haven’t seen my family back
on Penn in ages. Besides, I hear they’re refitting that
station soon, modernizing the facilities.”
“Yes,
I heard that too. I hope I can get an
opportunity to snap back there myself some time soon,” the Trill woman added.
The
three officers continued their conversation as Koester and Winters resumed
their rounds of the corridors. After
another half hour had passed, the young Trill noticed some other friends she
had not seen for some time and said her goodbyes to the two lieutenants. As they watched her disappear around a
corner, Koester admitted something to Winters.
“You
know, if I weren’t married, I’d ask her out,” he said. “She’s really cute.”
“Personally,
I don’t think she’s your type,” Winters replied, slowly shaking his head. There was definitely something quite
different about the young lady with the spots.
Something he could not put his finger on.
“Maybe. And besides, I think she’s more interested in
you anyway,” Koester added.
“Whoa,”
said Winters firmly. “Not
interested. Not that I wouldn’t
appreciate the attention, mind you, but now is not a good time.”
*
* * *
In
the months that followed, Koester had still not been reassigned. So as not to draw attention undue attention,
Winters would occasionally fill out transfer request denial forms like the ones
he had seen Koester receive so often and send them to himself. However, Koester continued to grasp at every
opportunity, and eventually things finally worked out right.
Peter
Koester accompanied Phillip Winters on his regular security detail. However, this time, Koester wore the new
style uniform with red shoulders signifying the command department and four
gold pips on the collar and an unusual item for a Starfleet uniform, a ballcap
with the name USS Hudson PSV-01. Winters, while likewise wearing the new style
jumpsuit uniform, remained in operations gold.
“I’m
letting everyone know today that I’m transferring soon,” Koester told Winters
as the latter stood guard by one of the many doors that accessed the RRF’s secured spaces. “It’s an excellent opportunity I just
couldn’t pass up.”
“We’ll
miss you around here, Pete,” Winters said.
“It started to seem like you were a permanent part of the
facility.” Because of what was going on
around the station, Winters had to stay where he was for the time being. He was truly sorry to see Koester leave,
since he had been a tremendous resource of Starfleet information. Yet he knew the seperation would only be
temporary.
“Hey,
we all have to move on somehow. And the
Preliminary Survey Program in the Gamma Quadrant is a great opportunity!” Koester unconsciously rubbed the four pips on
his collar. “As you can see, I moved up
pretty quick. It almost makes up for all
that time I was stuck on these starbases.”
“When
do you expect to be leaving?”
“Around
stardate 47950 if everything goes right,” Koester replied excitedly. “I’m definitely going to throw a party before
I go. You’ll come, right?”
“I’ll
try and fit it into my schedule,” Winters replied, starting to reach toward his
satchel before both of them noticed a smiling, familiar face approaching.
“Hi
guys,” the young Trill woman said.
“You’re
back!” both men said simultainiously.
Winters could easily guess why Koester was glad, but he himself was
curious about this woman for other reasons.
He wanted to know more about her, especially the innate abilities he sensed
she somehow possessed. Would she prove
useful to him, or would he have to be rid of her? He was not sure yet.
“Did
you expect less?”
“I
swear sometimes it seems the Passageway
visits this station more than every other starship in the fleet combined,”
Koester remarked. “Though I’m glad to
see you. I have some good news to
share.”
“So
I noticed,” the Trill woman commented.
“Does the promotion mean you’ll be leaving soon?”
“Finally,
yes,” Koester said with a broad smile.
“I hope I’ll be able to keep in touch with you.”
The
lieutenant explained she was on her way to a meeting that she was already
running late for. “I’ll track you down
later and we can talk then,” she offered as she hurried down the corridor, the
two men watching her depart.
*
* * *
A
few hours later, Koester managed to track down his favorite Trill.
“Nice
stubble,” she commented as she ran the back of her hand across the new
captain’s cheek.
“Didn’t
have time to shave this morning,” he replied with a blush.
“That’s
alright,” she commented with a smile. “I
like stubble.” And again she ran her
fingers across the side of his face.
Koester smiled slightly.
“What
would your wife say about that?” remarked Commander McCurry, who had been
standing nearby.
“What
my ex-wife doesn’t know won’t
hurt me,” Koester replied jokingly.
“Besides, it’s harmless.” He then
turned back toward his friend, who had briefly found herself thinking,
‘Nevermind...,’ saying, “Before I leave the sector to start training for my new
assignment, I’d like to know how I can get in touch with you.”
The
Trill looked up at the taller human man with narrowed eyes and, after a
moment’s thought, said, “I’ll give you my ship’s nominal comm frequency and my
personal access code for an exchange.”
Koester’s
face twisted in puzzlement.
“In
exchange for what?”
“Your
cap,” she said with a smile.
“My...
cap?” Koester was torn. He really did not want to give up his new
cap, but he did not want to turn down the petite officer either. After a moment’s thought he finally came to a
decision.
“I’ll
give you the cap on two conditions. One:
I get to keep the pin on it.”
In
the center of the cap’s face, between the name and hull number of Koester’s
next assignment, was pinned the triangular emblem of the new Starfleet
Preliminary Survey Program for the Gamma Quadrant.
The
petite woman nodded in agreement, then asked, “And the second condition?”
“Two:,”
Koester said as he took off the cap and began to remove the emblem pin from
it. “You tell me what your name, Cue,
really means. It’s too unusual to be a
typical Trill name, joined or un-joined.”
She
thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Deal,”
she said with a grin.
Koester
handed the lieutenant his cap, which she immediately place on top of her own
head facing backwards. Not quite up to
uniform standards, but the new captain was not about to reprimand her. She turned for a moment, and when she turned
back she was holding a piece of paper and what appeared to be an antique
writing instrument. Koester was not sure
where she could possibly have been carrying the items, but shrugged it off.
The
lieutenant walked over to a nearby console and began writing down the USS Passageway’s personal comms
frequency on it. She then handed the
paper to Koester and watched him expectantly.
There were only three lines written on the paper.
U.S.S.
Passageway
Starfleet
Frequency: 105.5
Q
“That’s
funny,” Koester said, pointing to the paper.
“I’ve read reports about beings called the Q. Usually creating some
kind of trouble of one kind or another.”
The
young woman nodded thoughtfully.
“Yeah,”
she said. “The freaky dark-haired guy
with the receding hairline.”
Koester
chucked.
“You
make it sound like you know him.”
She
nodded silently. A moment passed in
silence.
And
then it hit him. Hard.
“Wait
a second. You don’t spell your name
C-U-E, do you?”
She
shook her head.
“Just
a Q?”
She
nodded.
“One...
single... Q.” Koester stared at the petite woman.
“You
have nothing to be afraid of, Peter. I
would never harm you. I like you too
much.”
Koester
slowly started regaining a grip on himself.
“You’re
a being!” he said slowly.
“Isn’t
everyone?” she chuckled.
“An...
omnipotent being!”
“Well,
okay. Not everyone is one of
those.” Again she chuckled.
“All
these years I was friends with an omnipotent being?”
“The
key word in your sentence being friend,” she remarked. “And I’d like to stay friends. And stay in touch.”
She
opened her arms, inviting Koester into a hug.
“Friends?”
she asked with a crooked smile.
After
a moment’s hesitation, Koester replied, “Friends.” Then leaned over to hug the petite Trill...
er, Q.
*
* * *
When
Koester had left to find the petite Trill officer, Winters took the opportunity
to continue his mission. So far no one
had noticed the additional Starfleet crewmember appearing at the medical
stations, and all of the cover stories had borne out. The men and women, all human, had reported to
the med facilities with injuries, then vanish to new ‘assignments’ shortly
after healing. Winters spent a small
amount of time entering new names and ID’s into his padd, which routed its information
flow through his personal computer, hidden back in his quarters and tapped into
the Starfleet Headquarters mainframe.
He
also spent some time giving thought to vessel assignments; he was going to need
a starship and soon. The question was,
which one would suit his needs? Granting
himself clearance to the ship would not be a problem; he could easily slice
into the computer system and cut himself a set of orders, but there were other
factors involved. “The right ship for
the purpose...,” Winters mused to himself.
And
then there was the young woman, Q,
not spelled C-U-E as Winters had first thought.
Such a strange name for a being who was not part of the infamous
Continuum. Actually the name of the
Trill symbion implanted in her abdomen.
Meanwhile, her Starfleet records, which he had tried looking into
briefly, were quite good, noting typical citations and awards, all in perfect
order. Too perfect perhaps. And since his own records were in good order
as well, that fact was nothing to go by.
In fact, he found it totally unnecessary to continue looking through her
records.
She
seemed so normal and used to being in the uniform that he would not have
questioned her credibility had it not been for the feelings he got from her
whenever she was around. It was an odd
tingling of unease that judt did not feel right, and he had learned not to
disregard those impulses. Who was the
genius that had written; Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? This mysterious woman was not the enemy, bot
she could not really be trusted. Yet.
*
* * *
Personal
log, Lieutenant Q, stardate 47990.3:
It
has been two months since the Passageway last stopped at Starbase
45.
While visiting there today, I ran into Lieutenant Phillip Winters. His presense there only reminded us both of
the absense of the third member of our unusual trio,
*
* * *
Several
Weeks Later
The
ensign walked into sickbay aboard the starship Passageway.
“Q, this communique just arrived for
you.” He handed the Passageway’s head nurse the padd and departed.
Q looked at the padd a moment, then
pressed the button to read the message.
Stardate
48041
Dear
Q,
I
bet you thought you’d never hear from me again...
Excitement
overcame Q as she quickly scanned
through the message to confirm whom she thought it was from. Sure enough, signed at the bottom:
Yours
Truly,
Peter
Q ran with the padd to her quarters and
after reading through the full communique was quickly opening a communications
channel to the small outpost where Koester was currently assigned.
*
* * *
“...And
things are going well,” Koester’s smiling face explained on the
viewscreen. “My new crew and I have been
training with the converted survey vessel we’ve been assigned. Now we’re scheduled to begin our mission on
stardate 48340. I’m now the commanding
officer of the Preliminary Survey Vessel
Hudson, which will help chart the Gamma Quadrant, reporting to the starship
Sarek.”
Q sat at the desk in her quarters,
intently hanging on Koester’s every word, though why she felt the way she did
even she was not sure.
“I
wanted to mention to you though,” Koester continued, “I’ve arranged to meet
with Phillip Winters on Earth before I head out on my mission. Stardate 48108.1. Any chance you can join us?”
“I’d
love to,” Q replied
enthusiastically.
*
* * *
Stardate
48108.2 -
Q made her way from the transporter
pads toward the lounge at Penn Travelport.
She was supposed to meet Koester and Winters, the latter of whom she was
told was unaware Q would be joining
them, and she was running late. Winters
was probably already singing, which Q
had learned during her last port call at Starbase
45 was the way he passed the time while waiting, undoubtably driving the
poor captain insane.
As
she crossed through the port’s waiting area heading toward the lower level
trams, Q caught sight of a familiar
looking cap. So familiar in fact it
matched exactly the
Captain
Koester walked over and hugged Q,
mentioning as he did that he had already heard from Winters, who had contacted
him that morning cancelling out on their meeting, never knowing Q was on her way as well.
“Told
me he had some paperwork he’d forgotten about, and it has to be submitted by
tomorrow.”
“Phillip? Leave paperwork till the last minute? That doesn’t sound like him.”
Koester
shrugged his shoulders, leading the way toward the sub-shuttle that would take
the two Starfleet officers to lunch as he said, “Phillip is strange like
that. There have been a couple of times
back at the RRF when it seemed like
he had gone AWOL only to turn up right when the Security Chief would ask for
him.”
*
* * *
One
Month Later - Starbase
Captain
Koester had returned briefly to the starbase where his daughter Gem was staying
until the day she would move back to Earth to live with her grandparents while
the captain began his mission in the Gamma Quadrant. Once he had arrived, it was not long before
he was volunteering to help the security team that would patrol the starbase
during the special briefing that was being held aboard the station. Commander Benjamin Sisko and Lieutenant
Jadzia Dax, who together had discovered the Bajoran wormhole, had traveled to
the base to brief the Starfleet brass on the most recent discoveries in the
Gamma Quadrant, including the unsettling revelations of the Dominion, the
Jem’Hadar and the mysterious Founders.
However,
a new face among the security team had caught the attention of Lt Winters, who
had likewise found himself back at
“This
is really beginning to bug me,” Q
admitted to Koester as they spent time talking at Koester’s security post. “I want to do something to make him realize
he’s ignoring his friends!” Koester
nodded in agreement.
“Like
what?” the captain asked.
“Well,
I told him I had just recently gotten over an illness. We can...”
And she started to outline her plan.
*
* * *
Later
that day, Koester was up on level 18, conversing with both Winters and the new
security officer. A short time later, as
planned, Q came along. She looked at Koester and as deadpan as
possible simply said, “I’m tired.”
“Okay,
I’ll take you to bed,” Koester responded as rehearsed, and the two walked away,
hand in hand. Unfortunately, the
direction they headed did not afford the captain the opportunity to see
Winter’s reaction, but Q made sure
to notice, seeing the man’s jaw drop open over her shoulder as he stared at the
two departing officers.
*
* * *
Twice
more that day, Q made a point of
passing by Winter’s security post, both times making rehearsed comments.
“I
wasn’t counting on Peter chewing spearmint,” she said the first time, making it
quite evident she was chewing a piece of gum.
Later, she confided to Winters that, “...Peter makes noises like a
chipmunk when he’s excited.”
Both
comments seemed to have been ignored, but Q
could sense they were having the planned impact.
*
* * *
It
had been a long day at the conference and everyone who had worked with security
was tired. Koester had even started
sitting down on a chair at his post rather than continue to stand directly next
to the door he was guarding and which very few people were now passing through.
Q, who had joined him for a while, sat
on the deck in front of Koester, her back against his chair, as they continued
their conversation, planning the next nasty implication they could make to
Winters.
“So
what can we do to him now?” Koester asked as he massaged the medical officer’s
tense shoulders.
Q leaned her head back to look up at
Koester. It took some willpower for him
to resist a sudden strong urge for a moment.
“Well,
how about implying you’ve had the opportunity to count all my spots?” Q suggested, also finding herself
resisting a strange feeling.
Neither
one gave in to their feelings. Both,
unknown to each other, were afraid that if they were to act on their urges, it
would scare the other and ruin a promising friendship. In spite of the fact both were starting to
feel some strong emotions, things for the moment remained unchanged.
“Sounds
like a good idea,” Koester replied.
*
* * *
Several
minutes later, after Koester had turned his security post over to another
officer, he made his way back up to level 18, where Winters still stood guard
with the new female security officer.
Koester placed his arm around Winters’ shoulder, a gesture Winters was
not entirely comfortable with, and spoke in a low, conspiratorial voice.
“Were
you aware that Q has 246 spots? ...And they’re all in alignment!”
Both
Koester and Q had intended to let
the joke end with this last aside, but the comment obviously got to
Winters. Later that evening, after Q had returned to the Passageway and some of the security team
gathered in the mess hall with Koester’s young daughter, Gem, the conversation
took an unexpected turn.
“How
exactly did she come up with that number?” Winters asked, looking mildly
annoyed.
“Hmmm...?”
replied Koester between bited of his sandwich and not entirely sure what ‘she’
Winters was referring to.
“Q,” he clarified. “Where did she come up with that number of
spots?”
“Oh,
that,” Koester said, knowing he should probably just confess and let the matter
drop. After all, his two year old
daughter was sitting right across the table from him, but he could not resist
using the last line both he and Q
had come up with but never had the opportunity to use before the conference
ended. “I counted them. And
it took me five tries before
I got it right. I kept getting...
distracted.”
*
* * *
The
next day there was a message waiting on the screen in Q’s quarters aboard the Passageway.
TO: Q,
Lieutenant, Head Nurse - U.S.S. Passageway
FROM: Koester, Captain, CO - P.S.V. Hudson
RE: Winters, Lt Commander
I
managed to use that last line we thought up.
The joke is still going. Prepare
for Phase II. ~Peter
*
* * *
It
was just after the Christmas holiday on Earth, and
Checking
his chronograph and nodding to himself, he stepped into Penn Travelport. Things were quite different since his last
visit. Aside from the fact the travelport
was crammed with holiday travelers, the meeting that day with Q had been planned in advance not to
include Lt Commander Winters attendance, because it would be today that Phase
II would go into effect, though what Phase II would consist of even Koester
still had no clue.
A
short time later, Q walked up the
stairs from where the transport tubes on the lower lever were located, and
smiled an uncharacteristic smile for a member of the Continuum when she spotted
Koester. The two hugged and Q once again rubbed Koester’s stubble,
this time grown over the last couple of days especially for her. Then, as the two walked off to conduct their
fiendish planning against Winters, Koester started candidly speaking about a
feeling he had recently begun to realize he had.
“I
have to admit to you, I’m beginning to feel almost like we’re some kind of
soul-mates, you and I,” he said. “Do Q’s even have a soul?”
Q gave a very non-committal shrug, not
saying anything about Koester’s comment as the two entered a nearby restaurant
and sat down at one of the tables. Soon,
they were catching up on the events of the last month since the
conference. Eventually, as their food
arrived, the conversation swung to the topic of their continued joke against
Winters.
“So,
what did you have in mind for us to do to him now?” Q asked.
“Op:BOP-Phase II,” Koester replied. A puzzled look covered Q’s face.
“Op:BOP?” she repeated, confused.
“Yeah,”
Koester continued as an evil/happy grin spread across his lips. “Operation:
Bug Out Phillip.”
“Phase
II?”
“Phase
II,” Koester replied with satisfaction.
As
they spoke, Q found herself having
to bolster up her self control. The
urges she found herself experiencing confused the hell out of her. Physical attraction was something the Continuum would have to investigate
further, she decided as she made a mental note and filed it away.
“Well,
like what?” she asked, returning to the conversation.
Koester
admitted he had not progressed much further than the name of the plan. As they continued their meal, the two sat for
a while in thought. Then suddenly a look
of revelation appeared on Koester’s face.
“I
know!” he exclaimed. “You can send a
communiqué to Phillip, but write it as if it were a letter to me. Something along the lines of how wonderful a
day we had and how you can’t wait to do it again. Then end the letter with the comment that the
hotel contacted you... Just use the name of some hotel in this area of
An
identical evil/happy grin spread on Q’s
Trill features.
“Perfect!”
she agreed.
Having
finally agreed on a new course of action for their joke, the two finished their
meal and continued their conversation while Koester once again massaged Q’s tense shoulders before escorting
her back to the Travelport where she would catch the tube back to
As
they neared the lounge Q would use
to wait for her transport, Koester stopped his companion near one of the
building’s large support columns, out of the way of the people and aliens that
rushed through the corridor.
“As
you know, the
“I
know,” Q replied sadly, looking like
she had wanted to avoid this topic of conversation.
“I’d
like to make one small request before I leave,” Koester said.
Q looked up at the captain’s face
expectantly. He took a deep breath
before continuing.
“Before
you go, can I have a kiss?”
The
request we quite unexpected. For a
moment, Q hesitated, unsure for
perhaps the first time in her 1202 years of existence of just what to say... or
do. Meanwhile, Koester interpreted her
hesitation as fear or uneasiness.
“...Of
course, if you don’t want to...?” Koester added, somewhat uneasy himself now.
“No,
it was just... unexpected, that’s all,” Q
replied, a slight blush darkening her Trill spots in spite of her omnipotent
origins.
She
leaned forward and closed her eyes.
Koester
did likewise.
And
they kissed.
No
fireworks. No special effects. The Earth did not move beyond its usual
rotation along its axis and revolution around Sol. But in that simple kiss, the bond that had
slowly been forming between the human and the Q became suddenly complete, and they were eternally intertwined for
better or for worse.
From
that point on, neither of their lives would ever be the same.
*
* * *
Epilogue: The bond that became complete between
And because of the bond, both were
able to sense each other’s feelings over vast distances. Emotions, pain, sometimes even unclear images
in their minds.
And each drew strength from the
other when needed.
The letter that was written for
Phase II soon after their holiday meeting was the origin of the pair’s eventual
pet names for one another. Addressed
‘Dear Peter-Pooh,’ it lead to Q
eventually hang the moniker of ‘Pooh’ on her close friend. The captain soon reciprocated by calling her
‘Poet’ for the poems she would write in her communiqués from time to time, a
nick-name that was accidentally shortened to ‘Poe’ in one message and which
quickly stuck. When in less-than-formal
situations, these are the names each uses for the other. And no matter what the situation, Q will never be heard referring to the
captain as ‘Sir.’
The situation remained unchanged for
a time, both enjoying how their friendship had developed over the distance of
light years, until stardate 49367.9, when a new science officer was assigned to
the crew of the brand new starship USS Dauntless...
The
End
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