Q and Harry

[0_0_7]

Bond had done his best to soothe Q and, true to his word, Q lay in sleep mode between Bond and Harry.

Every night from then on.

This morning Bond had awoken feeling his age. They'd been here long enough that he'd run out of his stash of pills and potions, and there wasn't nearly enough to drink. Bond liked to think he was a young man, but the daily work of survival was taking its toll.

Swallowing his pride, he'd sought out medical and Hex had hit him with a hypospray and sent him back to bed for the rest of the day.

He was dozing in the cool pod, the computer streaming some music from Earth, long ago.

Comments

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q watched the pair, again seeing himself on the outside.

He couldn't over work, it was what he was built to do. He might run out of power, but he'd never be tired. He was capable of continuing on forever in the right conditions. Even if he shared that feeling of urgency or guilt, which he did not, he'd never be able to share that feeling of exhaustion.

Forever something else, an outsider to the human experience.

He said nothing, looking down at his tea and feeling a bit as though he was eavesdropping on something he wasn't meant to be privy to.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry didn't see any reason to tiptoe around it. "Yes, well, guilt is a strong motivator. Rational or not."

He glanced over at Q and then added, "You're right though, Q. It's only going to get worse from here, might as well work while we can." He held his hand up to the light. "I don't know the last time I was this tan."

[0_0_7]

Bond rolled his head around to loosen his neck.

"I don't remember the last time I've had to think this much," he chuckled. "Thank goodness for Q. At least I take orders well..."

He stretched again and something crunched and he groaned.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q nodded to them both, looking at his tea again, then sipping it.

"Yes, well..."

He didn't know what to say though, for him this was all just a new list of tasks to complete. It felt no different than being on the station. He was designed to adapt, after all. Clearly he was missing something, his supposedly superior programming still shy of truly being human.

[lepidopterologist]

"I could give you orders," Harry said to Bond, though then realized that was a rather odd thing to say out of context, and cleared his throat. "I just mean, I've been organizing people, of course. Tasks to be done. If you prefer to think less."

[0_0_7]

For the briefest moment there was a glint in Bond's eyes, eager for Harry to do just that...and then it faded when the man continued.

"Give me a list," he said. "But Hex also said to rest up. A small list."

[qu4r73rm4573r]

A fragment of a memory hit Q then, glitchy and out of context. Bond, on a street... London? Maybe. Wherever they were, the man was telling him to get on his knees, out where anyone might see. Some of the image wasn't loading correctly, but the sound was clear as day, though very brief.

It hit hard and fast, and then was gone again. It was a bit of a shock to the system, and Q did his best to not react- But the glitching fragment of a memory was enough to trigger his antivirus, and he dropped his mug as it quickly scanned and came back with an all clear.

"Shit, sorry," he said, quickly moving to clean up.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry caught that glint in Bond's eyes, which rather made him want to say something more about giving orders to see if he'd been imagining it, but then he heard the crash of Q's mug, and got to his feet. "Everything all right?" That was rather unusual.

[0_0_7]

"Q?" Bond asked, a beat behind Harry, and with as much concern.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"Fine, just a minor glitch. Systems check says it's nothing," Q assured them, looking embarrassed. "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

[lepidopterologist]

"All right..." Harry said, studying his face. But he did seem fine. "Well, perhaps you're a bit stressed as well, Q."

[0_0_7]

"That isn't the first one, is it?" Bond asked.

His concern prompted him out of bed and into pants to move closer to Q.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q sighed, wishing he'd said nothing.

"I recovered a fraction of an erased memory," he explained. "It wasn't a glitch so much as unreadable data. I'm fine, it's less an error, more an ongoing process I've been attempting. It's running in the background, but when I'm not doing anything important I allow it to be my system's main function. I didn't consider the fact that it would attempt to play things as it recovered them."

[lepidopterologist]

"You've been trying to recover memories?" Harry asked, a little surprised, but also remembering their conversation recently. "What did you recover?"

[0_0_7]

Bond, too, was deeply curious. He knew Q had been reset- more than once. The thought it could all still be there lit up his eyes.

"What?" he parroted Harry.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q hesitated, then wet his lips with a flick of his tongue.

"It was a memory of being with James, in London. Presumably when he was running tests for Six."

He glanced at Bond then, not sure if he should stop, or say more.

[lepidopterologist]

Harry was even more curious how, but he stayed silent.

[0_0_7]

Bond arched a brow.

"They integrated all that, you said," he replied. "Are you saying...are you saying you might get it back?"

He didn't dare to hope. He couldn't take the heartbreak again.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"I don't know. I mean, data is never truly gone, there are nearly always ways to recover it. I can't say I'll recover it all, but... Some, certainly," Q nodded. "This is the first large piece I've managed to salvage though."

[lepidopterologist]

“Do you think something triggered it?” Harry asked curiously. “Or was it just random?”

[0_0_7]

"Did one of us say something?" Bond asked, trying to recall what he and Harry had even been talking about.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

Q went a bit pink again, clearing his throat as he disposed of the broken mug.

"Erm, there was a mention of receiving orders, and the memory was tied to something along those lines," Q said awkwardly. "It was barely a moment, mostly audio. James and I were near an alley in London, and he offered me some instruction."

He glanced at James not sure the other man would even recall such a thing.

"I, of course, complied. I generally do unless the order is deemed a danger or hazard."

[lepidopterologist]

Harry was quiet in response to this. The way that Q seemed embarrassed, he thought that this was a quite particular kind of order, and particularly considering that last statement, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

[0_0_7]

It was Bond's turn to blush a little, clear his throat, and look away.

He knew precisely what night Q was talking about.

[qu4r73rm4573r]

"It wasn't a bad memory, just- Unexpected," Q assured them, looking away.

"Anyway, I'm fine. Apologies for breaking a mug, I know we have a limited amount."