- Much to Picard's displeasure, Q reappears on the Enterprise, claiming to have been ejected from the Q Continuum, and therefore, lost his powers.
- The Enterprise assists the planet Brial 4 which is threatened by its moon which falls onto the Western continent, reason unknown and impossible to shatter without even greater damage. The tractor beam proves too weak; then suddenly the dreaded Q appears aboard, naked, claiming to be stripped of his omnipotence too, thrown out of the Continuum and forced to chose a mortal life form: human. While Q makes a brilliant engineering suggestion and wrestles with the human condition, the Calimarane, a species with a grudge against him, and next a deus ex machina appears...—KGF Vissers
- While trying to assist a planet threatened with collision by an asteroidal moon, a naked Q suddenly appears on the bridge. It seems that Q is being punished by the Continuum and he selected to become a human on board the Enterprise. All of their instruments indicate that Q is in fact human and is not, as they had originally feared, responsible for the moon that is falling out of its orbit. Q begins to feel everything that a human does - hunger, pain, emotions. The ship is also being probed by an outside force that seems to have a complaint against Q, who now expects his fellow humans to protect him. In the end, Q realizes there is only one solution for him.—garykmcd
- The Enterprise assists the planet Bre'El IV, which is threatened by its moon which is on course to fall onto the Western continent, for reason unknown and impossible to shatter without even greater damage. The tractor beam proves too weak. The Enterprise would need to boost engine output by 47% to achieve the pull required; 29 hrs before impact. The impact of the moon will raise a cloud of dust across the planet and push it into the ice age. Tidal waves and tsunamis would also cause significant damage to the population.
A naked Q suddenly appears on the bridge. It seems that Q is being punished by the Continuum (of which he is no longer a part) and he selected to become a human on board the Enterprise. He was given a choice of lifeforms to chose from, as long as it was mortal. Q considers Jean-Luc a friend. Q formally requests sanctuary on the Enterprise. All of their instruments indicate that Q is in fact human and is not, as they had originally feared, responsible for the moon that is falling out of its orbit. Picard puts Q in the brig. Q says that this is a cruel punishment since the entire Universe has been his backyard and Q is not used to confined spaces.
Geordi works on reinforcing the tractor beam. While Q makes a brilliant engineering suggestion. He suggests that Enterprise puts a force field around the moon to change its gravitational constant and make it lighter to push around. Picard decides to trust Q and lets him out of the brig. Q begins to feel everything that a human does - hunger, pain, emotions. Guinan is especially pleased and takes pleasure in Q's suffering. Specifically, as Q used to the enjoy the suffering of his victim through the centuries. She asks Q to get used to begging as this is the only way he will survive in his new avatar.
The ship is also being probed with Berthold radiation by an outside force (the Calamarain) that seems to have a complaint against Q. They engulf the Enterprise with an energy field which starts to attack Q. Only by matching the shield harmonics does Geordi keep them from penetrating the Enterprise and saves Q. Calamarain exist as swirls of ionized gas. Q tormented them and now they want their revenge. Q wants protection from his Human "friends". Picard is not sure since Q has made many enemies and protecting him will be a full-time mission.
Based on inputs from Data and Geordi, Picard allows Q to help Geordi carry out the maneuver with the moon to shift it away from Bre'El IV. But to carry out the maneuver, shields have to lowered. Geordi is able to make things work with the moon, but the Calamarain start to attack, and shields go back up. The Enterprise loses guidance and end up in the upper atmosphere of the planet and starts to burn up. The Calamarain energy entity again enters the ship and engulfs Q. Only Data saves Q from being carried away by the Calamarain. Data's own Positronic neural net is knocked out in the process. Q realizes that his conduct on board the ship has been extremely selfish and self-serving.
Q realizes there is only one solution for him. Q takes a shuttle and goes to surrender to the Calamarain. Picard tries to save him, but all his instruments are frozen. Since this is a selfless act, the Q is visited by another fellow Q, who is impressed with 1) how the humans are still trying to save Q after all he has done to done 2) how Q decided to sacrifice himself to save the Enterprise. Q's powers are restored. He makes the Calamarain vanish. Q expresses everlasting gratitude to Picard and gives Data the gift of laugh, before he leaves. The moon is back in orbit.
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