The Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Fanfiction
Title:	The Truth and Nothing But the Truth
Author(s):	Alara Rogers
Date(s):
Length:	~20,500 words
Genre(s):	unrequited Picard/Q
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TNG
Relationship(s):
External Links:	FF.net
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"The Truth and Nothing But the Truth" is a Star Trek: TNG story by Alara Rogers.

Author's Summary: "When Q consults Data about human sexuality, all Data mentions is heterosexuality. Q remembers how humans used to deal with people with same-sex attractions, and decides to stay in the closet regarding his feelings for Picard. And then an old enemy of his shows up."

Reactions and Reviews

Q never returns to the Continuum after the events of Deja-Q, but remaining human is not the biggest of his problems.

Alara Rogers is known for her Q-centric stories and here she shows she has really honed her craft: Q is superbly written and a sympathetic character, though remaining very much himself. Her great characterization here is combined with an intriguing plot, presenting one of the most original (and, at least to me, believable) explanations for the hetero-centrism in Star Trek in a supposedly enlightened 24th century.

The romantic in me longs for a sequel (which the author states shall not occur) where Q's feelings are returned. But I must admit that one of the things that make this fic so memorable is the stark realism of the situation: sometimes you fall in love with a person who doesn't return your feelings and you have to deal with that. Considering the overblown romanticism you can find in a great deal of P/Q fics, this actually makes for a pleasant change.

A slight AU, set while Q is human aboard the Enterprise. This is from Q's POV, and he's such an awesome unreliable narrator -- everything is skewed, even while being the absolute truth.