A/N - again, my apologies for such a long wait! I haven't abandoned this fic, but I'm having the most terrible writer's block on it lately. It might be another couple of months before an update, but hopefully my writer's block won't completely kill the plot. Sorry, everyone who's watching this!

Any chances of a review? I don't normally ask for them, but I have a lot more story alerts than I'd expected on this, and still only three reviews, so it's odd. XD

Several minutes later, Picard stood up. "I'm going to send a report to Starfleet on this. Number One, you have the bridge."

"Don't worry, Captain, that won't be necessary." Q had appeared, smiling pleasantly as he approached Picard. "I don't think we'll be seeing a repeat occurrence of this any time soon."

"Did you do this?" Picard said.

"Not me," Q said cheerfully. "But trust me, Jean-Luc, if you report this… well, I doubt anyone would believe you. No offense. But the Enterprise was the only ship to spot that Borg vessel at all. You might say it was a show put on just for us." He smirked. "Come on, put it together. It's not that hard."

"Do you mean…" Picard hesitated. "Haruhi Suzumiya?"

"Of course I mean Haruhi Suzumiya," Q said impatiently. "Not that she means to do it… do you see now why the Q Continuum wants to take her in hand? She doesn't know what she's doing. I intend to help her with that. Naturally, nothing more than that."

Picard frowned. "I don't put much stock in your idea of help, Q. What are you planning? What's the Continuum planning – to execute her?"

"Of course not. She's far too valuable for that." He grinned. "Did you know, I was about to reveal everything to her this morning and we were actually interrupted? Of course it shouldn't have happened… and yet she subconsciously blocked me from freezing time so we could speak freely. I think she actually likes having those humans around… and that…" Q grimaced at the thought of Yuki. "Anyway. That's the kind of power we're dealing with here. Strong enough to contest me."

"We?" Picard questioned sharply. "Don't act as if I'm your partner in this. I see no reason to meddle with some sort of… demi-Q from the 21st century."

Q shrugged. "Suit yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me… I must speak with Haruhi Suzumiya."

He vanished in his usual flash of light. Picard grimaced. After several moments he turned to Riker. "Cancel yellow alert, then, and proceed as planned."

"Yes, sir."

"Excuse me, captain…" It was Data. "My shift on the bridge is over. Permission to return to quarters, sir?"

Picard blinked, a little surprised, and nodded. "Granted."

"Thank you, sir." Data left, and Picard stared. Had he made a slight bow before he walked away? It was a mannerism he'd never seen in the android before, and Picard wondered briefly where he'd picked it up.

Picard shook his head and put Data out of his mind. At the moment, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Data looked up. "Enter."

The door opened to admit Yuki, who stepped inside quietly. "Data?"

He gave a quick nod. "I assume you are here to learn how to interface with the Enterprise's onboard databases."

"Yes." She hesitated. "Though I'm worried… that there will be no relevant data. The Entity prefers to keep its existence private from organic life forms."

Data smiled slightly. "I am not organic, so perhaps we will be able to discover something."

Yuki looked at him, then sat down at the console, her hands hovering uncertainly over its surface. Data moved in behind her and showed her how to use it, and spoke a few voice commands in example. She was a quick learner, and surprise showed in her face.

"This data interface is much smoother than its 21st century counterparts," she murmured. "Perhaps, if this is the extent to which human culture has developed…"

Data nodded. "Perhaps it does contain some vital information."

They worked silently but for the occasional voice command, searching the extensive Starfleet databases with swift, inhuman efficiency. Data, at first, could not help stealing subtle glances at Yuki, but if she noticed she did not respond, remaining wholly absorbed in her work. At last she froze, sank back in her chair, and stared at the screen, her expression unreadable.

"Did you find them?" Data asked gently.

Yuki nodded once. "There are no other entries; I have searched. So the Entity… they… they truly are…"

Data looked at the entry she'd found, a more detailed log of the same information he had discovered. A Starfleet operative had somehow come into contact with the Entity, but midway through communications the being had vanished and no one since had been able to sense or contact any similar beings. The long-standing conclusion was that the mysterious Entity, whatever it had been, had somehow been destroyed or terminated.

"I am sorry," Data said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She said nothing at first, then stood and turned to face him. There were tears silently running down her face. "I don't understand why I'm crying," she whispered.

Data tilted his head slightly. "They were your race. It is only… natural." He'd almost said human, he realized.

She shook her head. "I am… different. I was created with the ability to interface with pure data, but also with physical entities, which they cannot effectively do. I am alone in my abilities… there was only one other. She became unstable and I was forced to neutralize her."

Data stared, for he could hear his own past echoing in her words. Soong's death – his father, but also human, something just out of his grasp. Lore's death – his brother, the one individual of his kind, even though he had been unbalanced and cruel.

"I understand," Data said simply.

Yuki looked at him, then surprised him by stepping forward and leaning into his chest, clinging to his shoulders. She shed no tears, but she was trembling slightly. Data blinked, startled, but then gingerly put his arms around her.

"You are unique, but you are not alone," Data murmured. He wasn't sure she'd heard him, though her grip on him tightened.

Thank you. Yuki wasn't sure if she'd said it aloud, but it didn't seem to matter. As unusual as he was, Data was more like her than any other individual she'd met. She stood there and let herself calm down, her sorrow fading as she listened to his mechanical heartbeat.

She'd find out what had happened while she was on board the Enterprise, and she knew that the android would be by her side as she did. That was enough for her.

Haruhi had dragged Kyon with her to sickbay, where she'd asked Beverly to explain what had just happened. The doctor had obliged her as best as she could, giving them a brief description of the Borg race.

"But why they were here, I have no idea," Dr. Crusher concluded, frowning. "I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that they were so easily destroyed this time, but still… it could be a warning of another invasion yet to come."

She trailed off, frowning and preoccupied. Then she shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's just that… well, it's disturbing to find Borg so deep in Federation space, unchallenged.

"I see." Haruhi looked almost as thoughtful as Beverly did, but much less worried. More… excited. Kyon frowned. "Well, thanks for the explanation…"

"We won't bother you anymore," Kyon said quickly. "You must have work to do." He took Haruhi's arm, and they left the sickbay.

Haruhi didn't say anything as they walked down the hall, but Kyon thought she looked incredibly calm considering what they'd just been told. "Aren't you worried at all?" he asked her.

"Hmm? No." Haruhi smiled. "Like she said, it was such a fluke… there's no way it'd happen again. Besides, I don't think the Borg can be as bad as they're cracked up to be. We blew 'em up pretty easily!"

She grinned at the memory, punching the air, and Kyon sighed, knowing the entire affair must really have been prompted by her desire to see the Enterprise make something explode.

Neither of them noticed the man walking down the other side of the hall in the opposite direction, until he spoke as he passed Haruhi. "See all the trouble you've caused?"

Haruhi jumped, turning quickly. "Q!"

Kyon looked across at him, frowning. "Who is this?"

"I don't know." Haruhi shot a glare at Q, who seemed used to this reaction as if it was a common occurrence.

"Amazing," Q muttered, glancing at Kyon. "You know, Haruhi Suzumiya… the way you've been carrying on about this, it's almost as if you like that human's company."

"Kyon is my best friend," Haruhi snapped.

Q shrugged. "Well, there's no accounting for taste. In any case, it doesn't matter. I'm not here for a mere human this time. I'm here for you."

"What…?" Haruhi stared at him with deepening confusion.

He laughed. "You've always longed for something extraordinary. Something beyond what humanity can offer. Haven't you ever wondered why that is? Haruhi Suzumiya, you are anything but ordinary. You are like us."

"Us," Haruhi repeated. "Who is us? Who are you?"

"The Q Continuum, Haruhi," Q said, and spread his hand. "Put simply, we can do whatever we want." He smiled. "Anything I wish for, I can make it happen."

As if to prove his point, there was a flash of light as he suddenly switched places with Kyon. Kyon jumped and looked around, disoriented though he'd only been moved a few feet. To his surprise, Haruhi was nodding, accepting Q's words without much skepticism. "That would explain how you know me. And how you knew that Kyon was coming when you were talking to me before."

"Why did you think you were here?" Q said. "I brought you here. I made the… adjustments necessary for you to be understood… the crew here doesn't speak Japanese, did you know? They're speaking the language you would call English. So am I, incidentally, though I suppose I don't need to… I could easily speak to you in your native tongue, though you can't tell the difference, can you?" He smiled, satisfied.

Haruhi went still. "And… you say… I'm like you?"

"That's right."

Kyon had frozen as well, looking quickly from Q to Haruhi. If she believed him, he had no way of knowing what would happen… but whatever it was, he was sure it wouldn't be good. That was the very reason they had kept her identity a secret.

She wanted to believe it, Kyon could tell. But she shook her head. "That… that can't be true. If I could make anything happen that I wanted to… why haven't I met an alien, or a time traveler or an esper? That's all I've wanted for three whole years."

"But you have," said Q in surprise, indicating himself.

"That doesn't count," Haruhi said, a little sadly. "I didn't have anything to do with… You were the one who brought me here. Not me."

"Ah, Haruhi Suzumiya… how much you have to learn!" He chuckled, a little pityingly, and turned away.

"Wait," Haruhi said, commanding as ever. Q glanced at her, waiting. "Q. Thank you." Her hands were on her hips and she looked furious, but Kyon could hear the genuine gratitude in her voice. After all, he thought, Q had just given her exactly what she'd always wanted.

Q smirked, saying nothing, and vanished in a flash of light.

Kyon looked over at Haruhi. A look of longing was on her face. "If only it was true!" she exclaimed. "But… it can't be. There's no way I'm anything like Q."

"Of course you're not." Kyon breathed a silent sigh of relief, and remembered attempting to reveal the true identities of the SOS Brigade to Haruhi. She hadn't believed him, either. Despite her eccentricity and eagerness to believe in supernatural phenomena, Kyon knew Haruhi was actually quite a skeptic. Koizumi had attributed it to her common sense, though Kyon wasn't sure she had any.

Haruhi smiled sadly, and on impulse Kyon took her hand in sympathy. Briefly he wished he could confirm Q's words and see the look of joy on her face as she found out the truth, but knew that was the one thing he could not do. So he smiled at her. "Haruhi is Haruhi. That's enough for me."

She looked at him and her smile lost some of its melancholy, but Kyon felt terrible for lying to her. Haruhi really was strangely similar to Q… sooner or later she'd find out the truth. Kyon had a feeling Q wouldn't give up so easily on her.

I'll be ready for him, Kyon thought with a sudden resolve. He was going to find out exactly who this Q was. Maybe then he would be able to find out what the alien wanted.