Deja Q ( episode ) Q is seeking asylum on the " Enterprise " after he has been thrown out of the Continuum and stripped of his powers . Summary . Teaser . The is called to Bre ' el IV to help them with their moon that is falling out of orbit and threatening the planet . As they are trying to find a way to get the moon back into its orbit , Q suddenly tumbles from mid - air onto the deck of the bridge . Act One . Picard and the crew are convinced that Q is responsible for what is happening to the Bre ' el . However , Q insists that he had nothing to do with it and that he has been stripped of his powers and was given the choice to be turned into anything he so desired , as long as it was mortal . He chose to be Human and was sent to the " Enterprise " because out of all the beings in the universe he considers " Jean - Luc " the closest thing to a friend he has . When a desperate Q practically begs to know what he can do to convince the crew that he is mortal and has lost his powers , Worf succinctly suggests that he dies . Counselor Troi confirms that she can sense emotions from Q which reveal that he is terrified . Data scans Q with a tricorder and tells the captain he is reading Human life signs from him . While not believing Q entirely , Picard has Worf throw him into the brig for safekeeping . Moments later , broadband emissions illuminate the " Enterprise " until they shrink down to sneak into the brig , where Q has fallen asleep . Act Two . Picard is suspicious of Q ' s motives and keeps asking him to stop torturing these people and get their moon back . Q insists that he has nothing to do with it . Q complains about how ordinary it is to be Human . For instance , not realizing what " sleep " is , he describes it as suddenly feeling weak and being no longer able to stand . Q finally convinces Picard that he can help return the moon to its natural orbit with his immense knowledge of spatial phenomena from all over the universe . Picard , still deep in doubt that Q is Human , releases him from the brig and assigns Data to keep him out of trouble . In engineering , Q is not very helpful , as he complains mainly about his limited abilities as a Human and makes suggestions that no one on the " Enterprise " with their current level of scientific knowledge can follow . Still thinking as a Q , he suggests to Geordi La Forge that he merely change the gravitational constant of the universe , thereby altering the mass of the moon . That suggestion is quickly dismissed as impossible ; however , La Forge realizes that they could wrap a low - level warp field around the moon , thus reducing " its " gravitational constant , making it lighter so they can push it . Q is glad he could help and then suddenly starts complaining about back pain . Dr . Crusher is called to engineering and it seems that Q has back spasms . When Dr . Crusher heals him , he complains of a noisy stomach that , as Dr . Crusher tells him , is probably a sign that he is hungry . Data takes Q to Ten Forward to get something to eat . Q asks Data what he eats and since Data doesn ' t " eat " in the traditional sense , he suggests something chocolate to Q , as it is Deanna Troi ' s favorite food when she ' s in a bad mood . Q orders ten chocolate sundae s ; Data notes that ' s likely excessive , but Q says he has never consumed food before , so he reasons he must be hungry enough to eat it all . Guinan enters , which gives Q a sense of uneasiness as this is not a moment he was looking forward to . Data explains Q ' s transformation to Guinan and tells her the crew is not entirely convinced Q is truly Human . Guinan then calmly stabs his hand with a fork to test if he ' s really mortal . Q reacts in excruciating pain . The encounter with Guinan understandably causes Q to lose his appetite , so he is unable to enjoy his huge chocolate treat . He warns them of Guinan being a dangerous creature . Guinan snaps back that Q is a pitiful excuse for a Human and the only way he will survive would be by the charity of others . While Q sulks miserably in Ten Forward , the Calamarain , a species Q tormented in the past , tries to kill him to return the favor . The crew is able to repel them and Q screams for help , while Guinan looks down on him and says , " " How the mighty have fallen . " " Act Three . While elaborating about the Calamarain , Q is forced to admit that for all his protestations of friendship , his real reason for being on the " Enterprise " is protection . He insists that he did not do the Calamarian any injustice , that they are intelligent beings , even if flighty . Riker accuses him of having tortured the Calamarain and hence they are after him . Riker supposes that since Q has made many enemies over his lifetime as an omnipotent being , the " Enterprise " would spend all its time fighting off the enemies of Q , which is not the job that Riker or Picard signed up for . Nonetheless , his knowledge is still useful in the task of moving the moon . When Q gets to engineering , he thinks that because he has knowledge of how to move the moon , he is in charge . Obviously this is not the case and when La Forge tells him what to do , Q tells La Forge that he will not take orders because he has never taken orders . Data tells him that it would be his wisest course of action to listen to La Forge , as he is in charge . During their attempt to surround the moon in a warp field , the Calamarain attack again , nearly killing Q . Data intervenes at great peril to himself and though he saves Q from being pulled through the hull , he himself is nearly electrocuted . Act Four . In sickbay , Dr . Crusher works on fixing Data noting that if he ' d been Human he ' d be dead . The crew then reprimand Q , who is still concerned only for himself for not even caring that Data saved his life and kick him out of sickbay . Later , Picard and La Forge discuss the situation with the moon . . . La Forge confirms that their recent attempt has bought them another orbit , and can try again when the moon reaches its perigee . Riker , though , realizes that they have the same dilemma of protecting Q or helping the people on Bre ' el IV . At this point , La Forge is ready to throw Q to the proverbial wolf . Q talks to Picard , who is drinking a cup of tea in his ready room , and admits that he cannot understand why Data would risk sacrificing himself . Going over the incident in his mind , Q is forced to admit that if the positions had been reversed and he had to endanger himself to save Data , he wouldn ' t have and that makes him feel deep shame . Picard gives Q short shrift , reminding him that all he ever did was bring misery and torment to the crew and he still isn ' t convinced Q isn ' t just playing some grand joke . Q insists that the joke is on him , and comes to the conclusion that being Human has made him a miserable coward . After , Q goes back to sickbay to check on Data . Doctor Crusher is still repairing him and Data is unable to speak . Q tells Data that for all as much as he covets Humanity , he ' s missing nothing . . . but regardless , Data makes a better Human than he does . Q figures the ship and planet will never be safe as long as he is on board the " Enterprise " , so he takes the Type 7 shuttlecraft " Sakharov " and leaves the ship to distract the Calamarain . The " Enterprise " see Q is being chased again by the Calamarain but ( against their better instincts ) , try to save him . However all attempts of trying to beam him back on board , extending the shields to the shuttlecraft , and putting a tractor beam on it fail ( Picard claims that their actions have more to do with saving the shuttle than Q ) . The Calamarain seem to be catching up to Q in his shuttlecraft . Act Five . All attempts to rescue Q fail as Q2 , who had Q stripped of his powers and was watching him to see how he reacted , disables the " Enterprise " s tractor beam , transporters , shields , etc . He pops in to see Q and says that his display of selflessness has convinced him to give Q ' s powers back so long as he behaves himself . Q2 says he cannot go back to the Q Continuum and tell the others that Q was selfless right before he died because it would take too much effort and a very long time . So he gives Q his powers back ; Q is about to seek revenge on the Calamarain , but Q2 pops in again with a warning , so Q puts the Calamarain back , blowing them away like a candle . With no sign of the Calamarain , or the shuttle , the " Enterprise " crew assumes they are dead , and Picard suggests that they had seen the last of Q . Q , however , appears on the bridge as a horn - player with a mariachi band , making cigar s appear in Picard ' s and Riker ' s mouths , and materializing around Riker a pair of scantily - clad women to celebrate . After Riker denounces Q ' s materializing the scantily - clad females , Q tells him he wasn ' t " " so stolid " " before he grew his beard . Q then transfers them to Worf instead . Q protest that he " feels like celebrating " , while Picard retorts " I don ' t ! " , and Q does away with both the scantily - clad females and the mariachi band , leaving only Q , wearing a uniform identical to Picard ' s ( complete with captain ' s pips ) , which elicits a disgusted look from Picard . Q declares that , as a Human , he was " ill - equipped to thank you ; but , as myself , you have my everlasting gratitude . " Then , just prior to his departure , Q leaves Data a little " going - away present " – not using his powers to make him Human , as Data suspects , but allowing him to experience laughter for a few surreal moments . A grateful message comes in from Bre ' el IV , thanking a stunned Picard for saving them . Picard has Worf and Data confirm that the errant moon has been returned to its correct orbit – and , the captain , knowing it was not the " Enterprise " who accomplished this , says there may be a residue of Humanity left in Q . A visage of Q appears in the smoke rising from a lit cigar that had materialized in Picard ' s hand – and tells Picard not to bet on it . Memorable quotes . " " Q . " " " " . . . Red alert ! " " " " . . . in all the universe , you ' re the closest thing I have to a friend , Jean - Luc . " " " " Human or not , I want no part of you ! " " " " Return that moon to its orbit ! " " " " I have no powers ! Q , the ordinary ! " " " " Q , the liar ! Q , the misanthrope ! " " " " Q , the miserable ! Q , the desperate ! What must I do to convince you people ? " " " Die . " " " Oh , very clever , Worf . Eat any good books lately ? " " " " HELP ME ! SOMEBODY HELP ME ! " " " " How the mighty have fallen . " " " " As I learn more and more what it is to be Human , I am more and more convinced that I would never make a good one . I don ' t have what it takes . . . without my powers I ' m frightened of everything . I ' m a coward . . . and I ' m miserable . And I can ' t go on this way . " " " " Sacrificing yourself for these Humans ? Do I detect a little selfless act ? " " " " You flatter me . I was only trying to put a quick end to a miserable existence . " " " " I ' ve been keeping track of you . " " " " I always felt you were in my corner . " " " " Actually , I was the one who got you kicked out . You know , you ' re incorrigible , Q . A lost cause . I can ' t go to a single solar system without having to apologize for you , and I ' m tired of it ! " " ( to the Calamarain in the palm of his hand ) " " If you think I tormented you in the past , my little friends , wait until you see what I do with you now . " " " " Q ? " " " " I was just seeing if you were . . . still watching . " " ( gently blows the Calamarain away ) " " I ' m immortal again ! Omnipotent again ! " " " " Swell . " " " " Perhaps there is a . . . " residue " of Humanity in Q after all . " " " " Don ' t bet on it , Picard . " " Links and references . References . ant ; backside ; bad breath ; bedside manner ; Belzoidian flea ; Berthold ray s ; black hole ; " " ; Bre ' el IV ; Bre ' el IV moon ; Bre ' el IV native ; Calamarain ; chocolate ; chocolate sundae ; claustrophobia ; cliché ; defrocking ; Deltived asteroid belt ; delta - vee ; earthquake ; father confessor ; gravitational constant ; humanities ; IQ ; itch ; kilometer ; " La Paloma " ; Markoffian sea lizard ; medical scan ; meter ; missionary ; morality ; " Much Ado About Nothing " ; patient ; perigee ; pimple ; plasma ; Q Continuum ; red alert ; Romulan ; " Sakharov " ; silicon ; sneeze ; speaker ; Station Nigala IV ; suicide ; tachyon s ; ticklishness ; tractor beam ; tricorder ; tricycle ; tsunami ; Type 7 shuttlecraft ; starbase ; warp field