Star Trek: Everything We NOW Know About The Q Continuum
3. Q Fight At The Galactic Barrier
True to their nature as omnipotent beings, the Q Continuum was never going to be confined to a single type of media. They leapt from the screen to novel form, though this jump almost destroyed the galaxy, Q himself, and had a fairly large impact on Star Trek canon - including two barriers and a bunch of rock men (who may or may not have been seen on screen).
Greg Cox's series involves flashbacks to a younger version of Q, while also helping to explain part of his frequent dealings with humans. Instead of, at least initially, it being his happiness at seeing his human friends, he's there by way of punishment from the Continuum, for inadvertently helping to destroy several civilisations.
In this version of Q's story, he is still connected to the Guardian of Forever, though rather than vocally, he abuses it. Perish the thought! Q discovers an ancient being known as '0' (pronounced Nil). 0 manages to trick Q into releasing him into our plane of existence, despite the protestations of the Guardian.
What follows is a war that includes the T'Kon, Sargon's people, the Ancient Ones, and even the Calamarain. 0 allies himself with the Beta XII-A creature, the Gorgan, and the One, who is better known as the Sha Ka Ree Being. Facing them are Q, Quinn, Q2, and the Female Q.
The end result is destruction, escape, banishment, and barriers. The Great Barrier at the centre of the galaxy and the Galactic Barrier encircling the Milky Way Galaxy are both direct outcomes of this Q war, which is something that Sybok, Dr Elizabeth Dehner, and Gary Mitchell may all have something to say about.