Struck in the chest with a compressed Tetryon beam, by a species called the Lenarians, Captain
Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise D, was placed on the biobed of his long time friend,
Dr. Beverly Crusher, mere moments away from death.
Yet rather than succumbing to his wound, Picard found himself brought before the rebel Q,
an immortal being from the Q continuum, able to manipulate matter, time and space.
Those most Q preferred not to interfere in the affairs of mortals, unless it was to maintain
the status quo, the rebel Q took a more active role, eventually coming into contact with
humanity and selecting Jean Luc Picard as his test subject to judge their species.
Though Picard was angered and annoyed by Q’s repeated interference, over time their interactions
proved to be enormously meaningful and consequential not only for the Captain but the Federation
as a whole.
Their meetings were so fascinating to Q, he went to appear before and even befriend other
Starfleet Captains, to the point where humans played a significant role in ending a civil
war within the Q continuum.
But it was not the fate of the Federation or the Continuum which concerned him when
he met with Picard as he lay dying.
Rather Q, for reasons which remained his own, decided to help the Captain gain a little
perspective on his own life.
At first, like always, Q mocked him by pretending to be god, and even brought in Picard’s
father to admonish his son and express disappointment.
But eventually Q explained what was occurring on the Enterprise, that he received a chest
wound which was causing his artificial heart to fail.
Upon hearing this, Picard explained that in his youth, he was stabbed through the chest
in a bar fight with Nausicaans, an event he deeply regretted.
Describing his younger self as arrogant, undisciplined, egotistical and foolish, even comparing himself
to Q. Picard then confessed a desire to change much about his past, and in an instant, he
was transported back to Starbase Earhart, as a 21 year old Ensign freshly graduated
from Starfleet Academy.
Since Q’s powers were so extraordinary, he arranged for Picard to have a second chance
at life, bringing him back to the events before the bar fight with 2 days to change his past
and avoid being stabbed through the chest, so he would not die on that biobed in the
future.
Though Picard was hesitant because of possible repercussions to the timeline, Q assured him
absolutely nothing would change for anyone else, and so the Captain seized the opportunity,
reconnecting with his old friends Corey Zweller and Marta Batanides, determined to prevent
the fight from occurring.
In the original timeline, a loud Nausicaan cheated Corey in a game of Domjot and so the
Starfleet officers plotted revenge, rigging the game in their own favour the next night,
resulting in the fight and stabbing.
But this time, the Captain intervened, trying to calm his friend down and when that failed,
threatened to alert the gaming authorities if he tried to cheat.
In addition to avoiding the conflict, Picard also wanted to change things about his personal
life, having spent his youth befriending girls he genuinely cared, while dating those for
whom his feeling were only superficial, thereby allowing him to play the field and have multiple
girlfriends at once.
But this time it was different, ending dates with two other women before spending an intimate
night with his good friend Marta, someone he cared for deeply.
However the next day, he was surprised to learn she regretted what occurred, fearing
that their friendship might suffer.
Though he alienated both his friends, they gathered together for one last drink at the
bar before leaving the station, but once again the Nausicaans arrived, challenging Corey
to Domjot.
When he declined, the Nausicaan started insulting Starfleet, but when Corey stood to fight,
Picard got in the way and pushed him down, desperate to stop the conflict from escalating.
Laughing at the humans, the Nausicaans walked away, and Picard was left to see the look
of betrayal on the faces of Corey and Marta, losing them as friends.
Q then appeared, and offered congratulations for his success.
With his mission complete, Picard next found himself once again on board the USS Enterprise
D, but not as Captain, rather as Lieutenant Jr Grade, working as an assistant astrophysics
officer.
Apparently his life took a different direction after the events of Starbase Earhart.
No longer was he a man of action, admired and respected by friends and enemies alike.
Instead, he was a quiet, mild mannered Officer, of little consequence or regard.
Refusing to settle for such a career, Picard met with Commander Riker and the Councilor
Troi, hoping to be transferred to Engineering or Security with the hoping of one day taking
a command position.
But both Riker and Troi did not see that as a realistic possibility, explaining that although
Picard was thorough, dedicated and reliable, he was also unwilling to take risks or make
bold decisions, and because of that remained stagnant for much of his career.
Deeply disturbed by the life of this Other Picard, the Captain pleaded with Q to take
him back to his own reality, stating he could not live as a man bereft of passion and imagination.
Yet Q would not allow it without hearing him admit what he’d learned.
Afterall, Picard fixed the mistakes of his past and there was now a real heart in his
chest now.
As Q put it, “…he is who you wanted to be.
One who is less arrogant and undisciplined in his youth.
One who was less like me.
…That Picard never had a brush with death, never came face to face with his own mortality.
…So his life never came into focus.
…going from one assignment to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented
themselves.
…He learned to play it safe.
And he never ever got noticed by anyone.”
Q also mentioned that in this new life he could live out his days in safety, while in
the old one he was moments away from death.
But Picard now saw the truth of it, and stated “I would rather die as the man I was, then
live the life I just saw.”
And with that Picard was once again on Starbase Earhart, just as the Nausicaan started to
pick a fight.
Knowing what had to be done, Picard got in the Nausicaan’s face and started the brawl
himself, ending the night, as expected, with a blade through his chest.
Looking down, Picard started to laugh before collapsing unconscious.
When he awoke, he was back in the original timeline, laying on the biobed of Dr. Beverly
Crusher, having survived the injury from the Lenarians.
Later, as Picard spoke to his first officer about his experience, he could not help but
express gratitude to Q, for teaching him a valuable lesson.
In his own words, “There were loose threads, untidy parts of me that I would like to remove.
But when I pulled on one of those threads, it unravelled the tapestry of my life.”