True Q ( episode ) Q once again graces the " Enterprise " with a visit , claiming that a young intern aboard is really a Q . Summary . Teaser . A female intern has come aboard the , while the crew are helping Tagra IV with its worsening ecological state . The intern , whose name is Amanda Rogers , is speaking with Captain Picard and Dr . Crusher in the captain ' s ready room about assisting with some medical experiments , and how she eventually wants to go to Starfleet Academy . She explains she feels very lucky she was accepted as intern out of hundreds of other applicants . Commander Riker enters and leads Rogers to her quarters , but she unexpectedly seems to know much about the ship ' s layout already . In her quarters , she explains she wishes her three pet dog s were present , and displays an unmistakable attraction to the commander . After Riker leaves , several puppies appear in her quarters . She is dismayed and tells them that they have to go . The dogs gradually disappear . Act One . Rogers and Dr . Crusher are talking in a medical lab about her desires for the future and Crusher ' s family history while she is testing tricorder s . Rogers mentions she is actually adopted and her biological mother and father were killed when she was very young . Crusher mentions her son Wesley being at the Academy and the fact that her husband had died many years previous . In the cargo bay , Rogers delivers the tricorders to Geordi La Forge and they discuss how the Tagran s have polluted their atmosphere and are now using a thousand barystatic filter s rather than cleaning up their industrial base . Commander Riker arrives with a message for La Forge , and as he is reading information off a PADD , a container falls from above him . Rogers moves her hand and the container shifts , just barely missing Riker . No one notices that Rogers ' actions saved Riker ' s life . La Forge then escorts Rogers to engineering and shows her around , though she has some familiarity already . While they talk , a completely bizarre warp core breach occurs . They try to contain the explosion and eject the core but the breach proceeds too quickly . The warp core explodes toward Rogers , who puts out her hands , somehow managing to stop the explosion and miraculously repair the breach . Everyone is stunned by these actions . Act Two . Later in the observation lounge , Picard , Crusher , La Forge , and Counselor Troi discuss the issue cautiously . Picard reports that Rogers is medically fine without bringing up what she did . Picard asks La Forge for an explanation for the breach but he has none – but when he claims that the laws of physics " went out the window , " Q appears , wonders why such " inconvenient " things " shouldn ' t " be discarded , and admits that " of course " the core breach was his doing . He then reveals that Rogers is a , shocking everyone else . When Crusher claims Rogers ' birth parents were Human , Q reveals they were members of the Q Continuum who had assumed Human form . They died in an accident and the Q were unsure if Amanda had inherited their powers , but they have begun to manifest so as an " expert in Humanity , " Q was sent to oversee them . He warns that if Rogers doesn ' t control her powers , she could destroy the entire galaxy . Picard is dubious of Q wanting to help and Q admits he wouldn ' t care but ( to his annoyance ) , others in the Continuum feel it ' s their responsibility to oversee Rogers . He says he is there to evaluate her and take her back to the Continuum . Crusher objects to his intentions and he teleports himself and Picard to the ready room . There he explains that he is there to evaluate the girl and make sure she isn ' t dangerous to herself or others . Picard doubts Q ' s abilities , but agrees to introduce them . After he leaves , Picard goes out to the bridge and asks Data to research Rogers ' parents ' death . They both agree that it doesn ' t make sense for a Q to die in an " accident . " In Rogers ' quarters , Crusher breaks the news as gently as possible . When Rogers agrees to meet Q , he walks straight through the wall and starts uncomfortably examining her while Picard rushes to make introductions . Q declares she has potential and tries to take her to the Continuum immediately , but Rogers throws him across the room with her powers . Q and Picard leave to the ready room and Q complains to Picard about her behavior . Picard suggests that Q try a less abrasive approach . Q admits it is worth a try and leaves to attempt it . Meanwhile , Crusher stays with Rogers . She admits much fear and insecurity about what is currently happening to her . Crusher tells her that she can see Rogers is distraught , but she can ' t ignore what she is , despite wanting a normal Human life . Furthermore , Q is really the only one who can help her through this . Rogers reluctantly agrees to meet with him again , but makes Doctor Crusher promise that she won ' t treat Rogers any differently . As Q is walking in a corridor , a shadow appears and asks him for a progress report . Q admits there are problems , but says they may not have to " terminate the girl . " Act Three . Q visits Rogers again and behaves much less forward . They discuss the Q and what is possible , to which Q replies " anything we want . " She asks if they use their power for good , and he bluntly says she is missing the point , that she can have anything she desires . When she says she wants to see her biological parents , he then leads her through an exercise where she evokes their image . She meets with Doctor Crusher in the medical lab and she gives her an experiment to perform while she is working elsewhere . Crusher sees Rogers is disturbed by the potential of the abilities she has and listens to her . Rogers asks her if she would bring her husband back , but she says she probably couldn ' t make that decision unless she was actually faced with it . She recommends focusing on work for the moment and leaves . Q arrives after she leaves and tells Rogers she can use her powers to perform the experiment much faster . Meanwhile , on the bridge , Picard has Riker make the arrangements for Crusher ' s experiment . When he leaves , the " Enterprise " receives a message from Orn Lote on Tagra IV , who indicates that they are having problems with one of the reactors . Picard offers having La Forge help him , and he agrees . After , data reports that Rogers ' parents were killed by a tornado in Topeka , Kansas , something Picard finds unbelievable due to the weather modification network in place to dissipate such events . Data has no explanation , but Picard has a suspicion of his own . Commander Riker visits shortly afterward and asks for Doctor Crusher . Rogers asks him to stay , but he goes to the shuttle bay . Q accuses Rogers of being attracted to him and is repulsed by what he sees . Doctor Crusher then walks in and is amazed that Rogers is done with the experiment . When Crusher explains that by cutting corners she has actually ruined the experiment , Q accuses her of wasting Rogers ' time . Crusher and Q argue about this and then Q briefly turns her into a dog , but Rogers turns her back . Act Four . Data reports more about the tornado . It was unusually compact , three times stronger than normal for its size . Picard leaves to study the data in his ready room . Meanwhile , Q asks Rogers about her teleportation abilities and Rogers admits to ending up in the wrong place a lot . She and Q play " hide and seek " in different parts of the ship , first in the cargo bay , then in engineering where La Forge and Data work on the Tagran ' s problem , and eventually ending up on the hull of the " Enterprise " near the supports for the ship ' s nacelle s . Back in her quarters , Q leaves so she can go to eat dinner with Counselor Troi and Dr . Crusher in Ten Forward . Riker enters and Rogers invites him to join , but he goes to sit with another female crewmate instead . Rogers looks despondent about this until she abducts Riker to a 19th century romantic setting . Riker is annoyed and tells her he has no real feelings for her . Rogers responds by giving him some , but quickly becomes disillusioned by the farce and sends him back . Q appears in Picard ' s ready room at his request , where Picard confronts him with the facts of Rogers ' parents ' death . He eventually gets Q to admit that they were executed by the Q for disobeying a mandate placed on them , and the real reason for his examination was to determine if Rogers was actually a Q or some sort of hybrid that would have to be exterminated . Picard is appalled at Q ' s callousness , but Q explains that the Continuum has no other choice , as allowing omnipotent beings to roam freely would be dangerous . Picard asks whether he will kill her , and he says he hasn ' t decided yet . Act Five . Picard consults with Crusher and Troi , who eventually agree that Rogers should be told about Q ' s ultimatum . Picard offers to break the news to her himself . Meanwhile in the cargo bay , Orn Lote is consulting with Riker and is impressed with the solution they came up with for fixing the reactor with a field modulator and is eager to see it in place . They head down to the surface to commence repairs . Picard meets with Rogers in his ready room and explains Q ' s real purpose , to which Rogers becomes angry and demands Q face her . After a lecture from Picard about Q ' s laughable credentials as a moral judge , Q reveals that they have decided not to kill Rogers , and are willing to offer her a choice : return to the Continuum or live as a Human and refrain from using her powers . He tells her that it will not be easy : her parents were given the same choice , but were unable to live as just Humans . Rogers immediately chooses to stay on the " Enterprise " , just before an emergency call for Captain Picard comes through . Rike , on the surface , tells Captain Picard that the damage to the Tagrans ' reactor was worse than they let on and there ' s the possibility of an overload . He and La Forge try to stay and repair the damage . Picard accuses Q of manufacturing the crisis , but Q pleads innocence . The reactor looks like it is about to go critical but then miraculously starts repairing itself , and then the entire atmosphere of the planet clears . Picard realizes Rogers did it just as Q reappears and says " " I told you it would be harder to resist than you thought . " " Rogers says she couldn ' t let all those people die . Rogers brings Dr . Crusher to the bridge and says she has accepted that she ' s a Q and agrees to go to the Continuum after explaining it to her adoptive parents . Rogers tells Dr . Crusher she hopes she can come back and see her some day . Dr . Crusher says , " " You ' re a Q . You can do anything you want . " " Rogers smiles , and she and Q vanish . Memorable quotes . " " It ' s like the laws of physics just went right out the window ! " " " " And why shouldn ' t they ? They ' re so inconvenient . " " " " Are " you " responsible for this incident in engineering ? " " " " Of course ! I needed to find out if what I suspected about the girl were true . " " " " That being . . . " " " " That she ' s " Q . " " " Crusher gets more shrill with each passing year . " " " " You don ' t have to eat , you know . It ' s a nasty Human habit you could easily do without . " " " " What is it about these squirming little infants that you find so appealing ? " " " " I ' m sure that ' s beyond your comprehension , Q . " " " " I " desperately " hope so . " " " " None of us knew whether she had inherited the capacities of the Q , but recently they ' ve begun to emerge , and uh , as an " expert " in Humanity , I was sent to investigate . " " " " You ? An expert in Humanity . " " " " Not a very challenging field of study , I grant you . " " " " I find it hard to believe that you ' re here to do us a favor . " " " " You ' re quite right , I wouldn ' t . But there are those in the Continuum . . . " " [ Q rolls his eyes upward with annoyance ] " " . . . who have an over - exaggerated sense of responsibility . " " " " Wait a minute . You can ' t just come in here and take her away from everything she ' s ever known . " " " " I assure you , I " can " . " " " " Very well , I will introduce you . But . . . we cannot argue like this in front of her . We must at least appear to be . . . " " [ Q puts his arm on Picard ' s shoulder ] " " Pals ? " " " " . . . Civil . " " " " Very impressive the way you contained that explosion . What else have you done ? " " " " I don ' t understand . " " " " Telekinesis ? Teleportation ? " " [ Q looks at Picard ] " " Spontaneous combustion of someone you don ' t like ? " " " " Don ' t worry . With time , you ' ll overcome the disadvantages you suffered as a child . No one will hold it against you for having been Human . " " " " Leave me alone ! I ' m not going anywhere with you ! " " " " [ . . ] She ' s so impetuous – she ' ll just have to start behaving like a Q . " " < br \ > " " If I ' m not mistaken , she just did . " " " " Well , if it isn ' t Number Two . " " " " You ' re attracted to him . " " " " I am not . " " " " I think you are . How repulsive ! How do you stand that hair all over his face ? " " " " . . and I don ' t think it ' s asking too much that you do the same WOOF W - W - WOOF WOOF WOOF . . . " " " " She has no choice . She never did . If she ' s truly Q then she must return to the Continuum where she belongs . But if she were some sort of hybrid – neither Human nor Q , then . . . " " [ Q mutely snaps his fingers while he raises his eyebrow ] " " With unlimited power comes responsibility . " " " " Jean - Luc . . . sometimes I think the only reason I come here is to listen to these " wonderful " speeches of yours . . . " " " " The heat has fused the injectors shut – we ' re losing containment ! " " " " How long till meltdown ? " " " " A few " minutes " at most – we ' re going to have to . . . " " " " Commander , look at this ! ! ! " " " " This is " impossible ! " " " Captain , I don ' t know what ' s happening but the reaction is stabilizing " on its own ! " " " I " told " you it would be harder to resist than you thought ! " " " " Ever since I got here , I ' ve been fighting this . . . I ' ve been denying the truth . . . denying what I am . I am Q . " " Links and references . References . adoption ; Amanda Rogers ' dogs ; Argolis Cluster ; atmosphere ; bacillus ; barystatic filter ; beard ; Bilaren system ; blood pressure ; conception ; ; ; ; diagnostic ; dinner ; dog ; Earth ; eco - regeneration ; " Fermi " ; gesture ; gigawatt ; heart rate ; ; hide and seek ; honor student ; injector coupling ; internship ; ionization ; Irish Setter ; isolation door ; Jefferies tube ; jewel ; Kansas ; marine biologist ; microscope ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mitosis ; morality ; neurobiology ; number one ; nutrient solution ; painting ; parlor trick ; phase buffer ; physics ; plasma dynamics ; playground ; pollution ; Q ( species ) ; Q Continuum ; ring system ; shuttlebay ; shuttlepod ; spec ; spontaneous combustion ; Starbase 112 ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; stasis ; Tagra IV ; Tagran ; Tautine ; telekinesis ; teleportation ; temperature ; tissue sample ; tornado ; ; tricorder ; Type 15 shuttlepod ; Type 6 shuttlecraft ; vital sign ; warp core breach ; weather modification network ; zoo Unreferenced material . Gantol excavations ;