Beyond brilliant. This would have been a stellar episode! You have an amazing skill for storytelling! Thank you for writing this!

I really enjoyed this story. I rarely get to see Vash out of the context of Picard/Vash fics or Q/Vash fics (ones that focus on a romantic relationship). And seeing Vash being very, very good at what she does, though not superhumanly so, is a refreshing sight. I also really liked the portrayal of Q - he's an overbearing supercilious jerk who doesn't quite want to admit to himself how much he cares for this human, and stuff like him distracting her with questions about how he smells, when the whole time, *he* is the Tr'bell god, is hilarious. Even bits like Q bitching about sleeping or acting like he thinks everything Vash does is trying to prove something to *him* are great.

My only two minor quibbles have nothing to do with the story itself. Why is this in Star Trek Other, where there is no Q or Vash character code? In TNG, you could set the character codes to Q and Vash and make the story much easier to find for fans of the main characters. I know most TNG area fics are about the main TNG characters, but I've posted plenty of Q fics there myself, and other people post stories about Lore or other people who aren't main TNG characters. Secondly, you spelled Vash's name wrong in both the summary and the title... but it's correct in the fic itself. This might lead someone to assume the story will suck, and avoid it, when actually it's very good.