Qcard

Qcard is the slash ship between Q and Jean-Luc Picard from the Star Trek fandom.

Picard
THE STAR GAZER

Picard awakens in his home, only to find so many things changed. Depicting previous events in a much harsher way. He asks what is happening when a voice says that it's an excellent question. Picard recognizes the voice who calls him "Mon Capitaine" and that he's missed him. Picard whispers "no" repeatedly as he turns to see Q just the same as the last time he saw him. Q notes that Picard is older than he imagined, decides to catch up and snaps his fingers to look older. Now they're even. Picard is upset to see him, and Q asks if he recalls what he last said to him when they parted ways. Picard demands to know what he's doing there and Q says that Picard has been talking a lot about second chances. He's just taken him to the very end of the road not taken.

PENANCE

Picard walks out onto the back deck as sirens wail in the background. He asks what all of it is, and where the crew of the Star Gazer is. Q says that there is no crew and Picard demands to know what he's done. Q says it's very human of Picard to accuse him of doing all this, and wants to know if Q has ever tired of playing games with others lives. He is no longer Q's pawn, but Q says that Picard is underselling himself. Picard is not just a piece, but the very board the game is played on. Picard says that he's too old for this, and Q agrees with the assessment. He laments on how unfair time is and Picard wants to know what Q wants. Q decides to cut to chase, that the "chase" is bleeding and dying in his arm. Picard realizes that something is wrong, and Q feels that he's revealed too much, backing away. Picard starts to confront him on this, but Q just snaps his fingers and takes them somewhere else.

Picard asks one last time where the Star Gazer and the crew are, and Q says that he intervened. He had thought that he needed to see Picard, and Picard demands again to know what Q wants. Q could tell him, but Picard is too clever to listen. Picard has had enough and Q slaps him. Q's had enough of Picard's stubbornness and inability to change in the one way that matters. None of this is a lesson but a penance.

He snaps them to another location and tell Picard that in this timeline he keeps slaves to do the housework. Picard is aghast but Q just keeps leading him around the premises into the study that hold the skulls of Picard's enemies. Picard's asks what this is and Q says it's the only life Picard understands. He asks if they should see what else there is and live in this world, or look for atonement, maybe even forgiveness. Picard asks what for but Q just believes that Picard already knows. He tells him not to worry, he won't let him do this alone. Picard refuses to go along with whatever Q wants, but Q disappears.

Picard
Penance
 * Picard tells the others about Q.
 * Picard interrogates the Borg Queen about what Q did to the timeline.

Assimilation
 * Q briefly appears to taunt Picard.
 * Raffi says that Picard and Q play games, but Picards says that that's what Q does.

The Next Generation
Encounter At Farpoint


 * Meeting for the first time, Q introduces himself to Picard, as a "fellow ship captain."
 * Q calls Picard "Mon Capitaine" for the first time.
 * Picard says he will obey Q in order to keep his crew safe.
 * Q mentions that he will return to the Enterprise after he leaves.

Hide and "Q"


 * Q appears in his "true form" and tells Picard (along with the rest of the crew) that he has studied them, and that he is impressed with them.
 * Picard tells him he isn't a Starfleet Admiral, so Q reprises with "Neither am I an Aldebaran serpent, Captain, but you accepted me as such."
 * Picard orders Worf not to attempt to harm Q.
 * In Picard's ready room, Q is seen sitting on his chair, reading one of Picard's Shakespeare books.
 * Q reiterates Shakespeare to Picard, only for Picard to correct Q. Q responds with "Oh, you know that one." When Q reiterates a second, correctly, Picard seems to very subtly smile. Q smiles back.

Q-Who?


 * Q cleans Picard's uniform for him, by brushing over his chest with his hand.
 * From behind Picard, Q leans in closely to him, and whispers in his ear.
 * Q asks Picard if he wanted to stay out in the shuttle for "Years? Decades?"
 * Picard says to learn about Q would be "Simply provocative."
 * Q, being kicked out of the Continuum, wanted to join as a crewmember on the Enterprise, his reasons being that he enjoyed spending time with Picard.
 * Q said he would renounce all of his powers if he were to be on the Enterprise.
 * Picard denying Q to be on the ship seemed to upset Q.
 * Q is seen laying across a post on the bridge, leaning on his hand while affectionately staring up at Picard, who is talking to Geordi through his comm badge.
 * Picard admits that he is afraid of the Borg, and that he needs Q, in order for Q to rescue the Enterprise.
 * Q praises Picard for admitting that he needed help.
 * When talking to Guinan, Picard says that perhaps Q did the right thing by bringing the Enterprise to the Borg.

Deja Q


 * Q falls onto the bridge, completely naked. He smiles up at Picard.
 * Q says Picard is the closest thing he has to a friend in all of the universe.
 * Q requested Picard's compassion, along with sanctuary on the Enterprise.
 * Picard seemed to 'believe' Q was mortal a lot faster than the rest of the crew.
 * After falling asleep for the first time, Q wanted guidance on what more to expect out of being mortal; and he wanted Picard to help him.
 * Q offered to help Picard on his mission, due to him being an 'expert' on moons.
 * When Picard lifted the forcefield in the brig, Q smiled at him.
 * Q admitted he came to the Enterprise for protection, but acknowledged that Picard would feel compassion for him.
 * When Picard threatened to drop Q off at the nearest Starbase, Q continued to push the fact that he could be a valuable asset.
 * Q comes into Picard's ready room to have what seems to be a genuine talk to him about being mortal. He admits that he's a coward without his powers, that if he were to have been killed if not for Data, nobody would have missed him. Picard seems mostly unbothered, even when Q says that he's going to go on a suicide mission.
 * Picard says that this goes against his better judgement, and orders Transporter Room Three to lock onto the shuttle, to beam it back into its bay. Riker gives him a look, and Picard 'defends' his actions by saying that it was a good shuttle.
 * Another Q appears in Q's shuttlecraft, saying that he detected a selfless act on Q's end. He says that the crew are still intent on keeping Q safe. The other Q makes him realise that the only reason he went on the suicide mission was to sacrifice himself in safety of the Enterprise, and theorised, for the safety of Picard.
 * Once Q gets his powers back, he returns to the Enterprise to thank Picard.
 * Q says Picard has his ever-lasting gratitude.
 * Q returns the moon to its orbit, allowing Picard to take credit for it.
 * Picard says that perhaps there is a residue of humanity in Q, in which Q appears in the form of smoke from a cigar to say, "Don't bet on it, Picard." snarkily.

Qpid


 * When Q appears in Picard's chair, Picard tells him to get out of it. Q responds saying he hoped for a warmer welcome, wanting to be addressed as Q's friend. Picard says they aren't friends, and Q replies with "You wound me, mon capitaine."
 * Q tells Picard that if it wasn't for him, Q would've taken his own life in the shuttlecraft, and therefore he has a debt to repay to him.
 * Q offered to help Picard with his speech on Tagus.
 * Q wanted to take Picard to the ruins of Tagus, including Tagus from two billion years ago. Picard rejected each offer, and Q said that Picard was impossible to buy a gift for.
 * Q appeared in Picard's quarters as he was in bed. Q commented saying "Sleeping alone?" as he leaned up against the side of his bed.
 * Q sat on the bed next to Picard, telling him he was disappointed that Picard was showing interest in a woman.
 * Q seemed defensive over Picard's spat with Vash; saying that if he didn't know better, he would've assumed they were already married.
 * Q says Vash has found a vulnerability in Picard that he had looked for for years. Q got close to Picard, whispering that if he had known sooner, he would've appeared as a female.
 * Q threatens to turn Vash into a Klabnian eel, because Q doesn't want her and Picard to get too close.
 * During Picard's speech, Q takes the crew to Earth in the 12th century, as Robin Hood, which Picard found a slight amusement in.
 * Q returns as Picard and Vash are having a conversation on the couch. Vash says that she has chosen Q as her new partner. When Picard rants about how she shouldn't go with him, Vash makes Picard realise that everything Picard was attracted to in Vash, was apparent in Q.

True Q


 * Q addresses Picard as Mon Capitaine again.
 * Q wanted Picard to introduce Amanda to him, hoping Picard could tell her that Q is able to be trusted.
 * Picard agrees to introduce Amanda and Q, only if they agree to not argue.
 * Picard "We must appear to be..." only for Q to cut him off by hugging him from the side, saying "Pals?" Picard corrects him by saying "Civil."
 * When talking to Picard, Q perches himself on his desk.
 * Q says that sometimes he thinks the only reason he comes to the Enterprise is to listen to Picard's speeches.

Tapestry


 * Picard, unaware that it was Q, reached out and held his hand.
 * Q tells Picard that he has died, he is in the afterlife, and Q is God.
 * Q says he brought Picard to the afterlife to give him an opportunity to make peace with his past.
 * Q, after transporting Picard back into the past, tells Picard to address him as "Captain Q"
 * Q calls Picard "Johnny" the way Marta did.
 * They both engage in joking together, Q saying Picard seems un-impaled, and Picard responding with "I'm sorry to disappoint you." Q chuckles at this.
 * When Picard was getting closer to Marta, Q comes through the doorway brandishing flowers, and butchering Picard's name.
 * After Picard slept with Marta, he woke up the next day from Q caressing his ear. He turns around to face, what he assumed to be Marta, only to be met with Q, who greets him by saying "Morning, darling. Feeling a little jumpy this morning?"
 * Q reiterated every success Picard had when he was Captain of the Enterprise.
 * Picard says he is unable to believe Q would be so compassionate with him, enough to give him a second chance. He says he now owes Q a debt of gratitude.

'''All Good Things... Part 1 & 2'''


 * The first thing Q says to Picard is "Mon Capitaine, I thought you'd never get here."
 * Q leans in closely to Picard, once again, to whisper to him.
 * Picard says that he doesn't believe Q would be morally capable of destroying humanity.
 * Q tells Picard that he believed in him, that he saw potential in him.
 * In the flips between lives, Picard is about to die. Q says "Goodbye, Jean-Luc. I'm going to miss you."
 * Q tells Picard that the Continuum didn't think he had it in him, but Q did.
 * After Picard stopped the anomaly, Q tells him he saved humanity once again. Picard thanks him, because Q helped him get out of it alive.
 * Q admits that it was the Continuum's ploy. But tells Picard that Q helping him was all his idea.
 * Q goes to whisper to Picard, but pulls away at the last second; leaving Picard to figure out what he meant with his words, himself.
 * Q says that he'll always be watching, and he might drop by to say hello from time to time.
 * The last thing Q says to Picard is "See you out there."

Behind the Scenes
"Internally what we said all the time was 'Q is in love with Picard'. That was the fundamental of the relationship. He's in love with him, he just is. He loves Picard. It's a particular relationship with this one human and this omnipotent being that's bizarre, but that's really what's at the heart of it."

- Ronald D. Moore

Songs

 * Non, je ne regrette rien | Edith Piaf
 * Q repeatedly plays this when talking to Jean-Luc for the first time in thirty years

Fanon
Qcard is one of the most well known ships in the Next Gen fandom, and one that has remained popular and well known long after the series has ended.

On AO3, Qcard is the most written ship for Q and the second most written for Picard. It is also the fourth most written ship in the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard tags.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

WIKIS

Trivia

 * In the Lower Decks episode "Cupid's Errant Arrow", Boimler says his girlfriend is "As real as a hopped up Q on Captain Picard day".