The Experiment (Data x reader)

The Bridge Again

"Captain, I believe the turbolift is malfunctioning." Data turned to confront Picard, and you turned as well, to see his response; however, the officers on the bridge weren't paying any attention to the turbolift, as their eyes were trained on the unfamiliar man who had seemingly manifested out of thin air at the front of the room. He was wearing a red Starfleet uniform, even though he clearly wasn't one of the crew; after all, you'd never seen him before, and his eyes were a little too wild to appear sane.

"Q," breathed Captain Picard, sinking into the captain's chair.

So this was the infamous Q. You'd never seen him before, but you'd heard stories from Deanna, and you knew how utterly destructive he could be. Your heart was beating rapidly, and every ounce of common sense drained from your body as instinct took over. Being a teacher, the safety of your students was the forefront of your responsibilities; and there was Wesley Crusher, a child, not more than three feet away from the most dangerous man you'd ever been in the presence of.

For the moment, you could restrain yourself, so long as the situation didn't escalate. However, Q's eyes darted towards you, his gaze burning so intensely into you that you were convinced he could read your mind. A smirk crawled over his face as he took a step toward Wesley, taking on a threatening stance.

Everything inside your mind was screaming at you to protect him, and you had no choice but obey. In less than a second, you had dashed out from behind Data, ignoring his protests, crossed the bridge to reach Wesley, and pushed him backwards into safety, from which he scampered back behind Data. Unfortunately, in that same second, Q had caught your neck in his arm. You choked, gasping for air and struggling to break away, dimly aware that Q was using his other hand to type in new coordinates.

"Q!" Captain Picard said sharply. "Let Miss y/l/n go and for heaven's sake change the damn coordinates!"

Q's grip on you loosened slightly, and you managed to turn your head to see that Q had changed the ship's course directly to Jerido's surface. He was intending to crash the Enterprise, to kill its entire crew. You let out a strangled cry.

"Oh, Captain," snickered Q. "Do you think I came for my own amusement? I lead a more purposeful existence than that." During this exchange, you noticed Riker trying to sneak towards you and Q, perhaps in an attempt to rescue you, but Q noticed and Riker was sent tumbling backwards, landing painfully at Picard's feet.

"No," sneered Q. "I will not leave so easily. I have a message for your Miss y/l/n."

"Fine," snapped Picard. "Do you have to kill us all in order to deliver it? You'll find it's awfully hard to communicate to people once they've died." He had a point- the ship was hurtling towards the planet at an alarming rate. Three more minutes at this speed, and you'd all be dead.

Q chuckled. "My dear Jean-Luc, do you honestly think I would pass up the chance to make a dramatic entrance? No, Captain, you will be deeply enthralled in my message or you won't get to hear it at all. Are you listening, Miss y/l/n?"

"Yes!" you gasped out, wishing desperately that he would get on with it. As frightened as you were, you had to admit that you were curious about what he had to say.

"Wonderful," said Q casually, letting go of his choke hold and instead draping his arm around your shoulders like you were old friends. "My message is this: stop the experiment."

You looked over at Data, whose interest had been captured. "The... experiment?" you asked breathlessly. "The one that I'm conducted with Data?"

"Yes, yes," said Q dismissively, waving his arm. "That one. You must put a stop to it."

"What do you mean?" You attempted to keep your voice even, but you just couldn't control the waver in your tone.

"What do I mean?" Q let out a hollow laugh. "Why, Miss y/l/n, you must understand. If you continue this experiment, you will forever regret the day that you consented to it."

"Why? What will happen?" you demanded.

Q shrugged. "Heed my advice, and you'll never find out." He gave a cheery wave to Captain Picard, turning away from you. "Ciao."

Q's form disappeared before your eyes. Wesley rushed back to his station to fix the coordinates and set the ship back on its normal route. Captain Picard sat, dumbfounded, and at his feet, Riker had propped himself up on his elbow and was gazing broodingly at you. Looking over at Data, you saw concern reflected in the android's golden eyes, and you prayed that Q was wrong.