**** Laizia ****

Laizia endured the shaking by standing in the doorway between her little bedroom and the main room. When it
was over, she went to the replicator to get a glass of chocolate milk. Hoping that the ship wouldn't shake
anymore so she didn't spill her milk on her school padds, she headed back into her room and set the glass
carefully down on the table by the bed. Noticing one of her padds had fallen on the floor, she picked it up
then moved to hop back onto her bed.

"Sugar before dinner? That's not very healthy, you know."

Laizia spun around, almost bumping into her glass, to see a tall woman with dark hair standing in the
doorway.

"Who are you??" she demanded.

"My, such manners," smirked the woman. "But with your father's personality, I shouldn't be surprised."

"What are you doing in here? How do you know my vavoy? Who are you?" Laizia repeated angrily.

"My name is Q, darling child. And I've known your daddy for a very long time."

Laizia scowled at her. She had studied a file on Q once after Molly O'Brien had mentioned the name.

"You're not Q."

The woman smirked. "Why do you say that?"

"I've seen the file on Q," Laizia said stubbornly.

"You're a girl. Q's a big ugly man."

She laughed aloud. "I assure you, I am Q. And I know of whom you speak. He is Q also."

"And that's ALL you have to say in my honor? I'm insulted!"

Laizia turned to see the very same man from the Starfleet file she had once viewed.

"Can I help it if the child is astute, Q?" the female Q snorted at her partner.

"You don't have honor!" Laizia sputtered angrily, turning her glare to the man standing next to his companion.

The man snorted. "Klingons and their 'honor'--so tiring. You must get that from your father."

"Don't insult Vavoy!" Laizia snapped.

"Watch it, Q my dearest," female Q snickered. "She's little but she has a temper."

"Insult Woof? Moi? Never."

On instinct, Laizia flung the padd she forgot she was holding at Q. He wasn't paying attention and therefore it nailed him right between the eyes.

"OW!"

"Tried to warn you," female Q smirked, brushing nonexistent lint off her sleeve.

Q rubbed the bridge of his nose and glowered at Laizia. "I think we'll be safer dealing with her 'vavoy'," he snorted and disappeared.

Female Q turned back to Laizia, who had grabbed another padd in the event she needed to use it.

"Go away!" Laizia cried.

Female Q held up a hand. "Calm, child. I won't harm you."

"Then what do you want?"

"Nothing from you--for now."

With that, she vanished as quickly as she'd appeared. Laizia looked around warily, then tapped her combadge,
knowing that her parents would want to know about this incident.

**** Nu'Daq ****

As Nu'Daq was sitting there with the woman, who was to be his wife, in his arms he could still feel the data recorder in his hand. And it reminded him, that he still had a duty to perform. Nu'Daq gave Xenia a squeeze and
whispered: "I have to go now, my love. But I will be back as soon as possible. And remember: Our love is forever". They kissed, and Nu'Daq went out the door.

For a moment he considered examining the data recorder on his own, but decided otherwise. After all, he was only a lieutenant and Chief of Security, not the captain. So he turned and headed towards sickbay to get the help of Lt. Janor. After all Q had intended her as the recipient of the data recorder.

On the way he took a closer look at the data recorder. It looked like a Romulan data node, which they used onboard their space ships for monitoring ships functions. It wouldn't be easy to decipher.

Nu'Daq reached sickbay and entered. He found Lt. Janor sitting up straight on the edge of one of the biobeds. She looked fine, except for a bump on her head.

Nu'Daq went over to her. "Lieutenant, I brought you the data recorder, Q gave you. I thought it would be interesting to see, what it contains."

He handed it to her.

She looked at it closely. "It looks like a Romulan data node."

Nu'Daq nodded in agreement. "Lets get down to the science lab and take a closer look", she said and jumped down from the biobed.

Nu'Daq looked at her, she still looked a bit woozy, but she managed to stay on her feet without help.

"Are you feeling up to it?" he asked her. She straightened up and looked at him.

"Certainly," she said with a firm voice, as she moved towards the exit. Nu'Daq followed her.

On their way to the science lab, Janor tried to stir up conversation. Small talk. A concept unfamiliar to Nu'Daq. He had never found it appealing. It is un-necessary and a waste of breath. But when in Rome....

"So I hear you and Xenia got engaged. Congratulations."

Nu'Daq growled a "thank you."

Janor continued: "I don't think any of us saw it coming, not after all that happened between the two of you recently. I mean all the arguing and fighting..... but I think you two make a perfect couple. I am happy for you."

Luckily they had reached the science lab, so this 'small talk' could come to an end.

"Let's take a look at the data node", Nu'Daq said, trying to turn the attention away from his personal life to the matter at hand. Janor went over to the drawer and picked up a data link. For several minutes she worked on it, with a few suggestions from Nu'Daq. And finally she was able to access it. She downloaded the information into the computer.

"Computer, display the sub-spatial readings from the data node in a space-time reference frame."

The computer buzzed for a second, and then the data came up on the screen. It looked very confusing, a swirling mess of
signals.

"Computer, filter out any non-repetative patterns and subharmonics."

This helped, a pattern became visible. A mixture of a few larger and a many smaller patterns.

"Hmmm, it seems like there is some kind of spatial distortion or compression."

Nu'Daq interrupted her. "Perhaps I can help. Xenia, uhmmm I mean Lt.Com. Rafko told us, that folded-space transport may be part of this."

Janor opened her eyes wide: "Folded-space transport? Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

Nu'Daq growled. "The Cardassians, who else? Rumor has it, that they have developed a way to prevent molecular damage during transport. Allow me.." Nu'Daq moved in front of Janor and accessed the computer terminal. In his time in Klingon
Intelligence he had aquainted himself with this transport phenomena in an effort to increase security measurements onboard Klingon ships - to prevent unauthorized transports onto the Klingon ships. He compensated the data for the spatial compression, and suddenly the data gave a recognizable pattern.

Both Nu'Daq and Janor gave a loud gasp. All the small dots were humanoid lifesigns, the larger dots were objects. The only conclusion was: The Cardassians had transported a number of space ships complete with crew and everything directly into the path of the Valjean. At least 5 different ships were recognizable. The ships were Romulan! It was an attempt at an ambush on
the Valjean. So an alliance between the Romulans and the Cardassians seemed more likely. But it seemed like something had gone wrong. They seemed to be caught in the folded space, causing the rupture in the space-time continuum,
that now expanded with great speed and threatened the very fabric of space in the sector.

Janor adjusted the computer to filter out the humanoid life signs and the resonance patterns of the ships. What they found made Janor shout out a loud "Oh my God" and Nu'Daq was strucken with silence. This was even worse. It only seemed like a small curl in sub space, but the resonance frequency told otherwise. And now they both knew, that something larger was at stake. All
life in the universe!

**** Catava Okal ****

I stood in the doorway in the short nightgown Taite had given me years ago. Silk with a slit as high as my hip. Nu'Daq stood in the hall and I couldn't help but feel a little exposed. But he wasn't concerned about my appearance. He wanted to speak with Taite and he promised he wouldn't hurt him.

I reluctantly let him. What else could I do? He would get to him sooner or later. And maybe later there wouldn't be a no-harm promise.

Taite was expecting me in the bedroom. It must have been quite a surprise when Nu'Daq came in.

I heard most of the conversation. It wasn't until I heard a loud thud and only Nu'Daq's voice however that I decided to poke my head around the corner. Nu'Daq had Taite pinned on the wall.

"Stop it!" I yelled.

Nu'Daq told me it wasn't any of my concern and before I knew it the ship was rocking to and fro. He dropped him in a heap on the floor and left. I tried to help Taite up, but he just brushed my arm away.

"I can manage on my own, thanks." He went to the other side of the bed to rumage for his tunic amongst the crumpled sheets.
I just stood there, tears welling in my eyes and my arms crossed. Somehow, here with him, I felt more exposed than when I did with Nu'Daq in my doorway just moments ago.

He pulled on the top part of his uniform.

"I'm sorry, dear." He brushed his thumb against my cheek. "It's not you I'm angry with. I shouldn't take it out on you."

I smiled, faintly. "But why are you angry? What did Nu'Daq do to your family?"

His stare bore into me. "He ruined our entire family. He lured Lalaith away, and impregnated her. It's all a disaster. He's nothing but the scum from the bottom of a warp nacelle."

"He and Lalaith fell in love. They were both in need of a companion at that the time and they both filled that void. How can loving someone ruin an entire family?" At this point I was looking for my uniform as well. I would probably be needed in engineering.

"Catava, you don't understand. He's a Klingon." Taite had just finished doing up his zipper. I had my legs in my pants.

"So you mean to tell me that just because he's Klingon is reason enough to hate him?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What about Ch'Pok? You didn't hate him. And he was your room mate. What has changed so much in your life over the past few years to make you hate people with Klingon blood so much."

He was visibly angry. "Can I help it if I yearn for the days of James T. Kirk when Starfleet had it's head screwed on right? I'll see you in Engineering Ensign.", and he stormed out of my quarters. To me he was the same old Taite. But other than that, everything about him was becoming visibly different. He was not the same man I thought I knew. And as furious and hurt as I was, I needed to know why.

I finished getting dressed and felt the ship rock a few more times. I needed to know what happened. I couldn't ask Nu'Daq. That was too personal. The only person who may be able to dig up what I need to know would be Arsinoe. I made a mental note to ask her to do some research after the ship started to sit still. My doors made the familiar swoosh and I was on my way to Engineering amidst a loud and visible red alert.

**** Xenia Rafko ****

After Nu'Daq left, I tidied up my quarters a bit; it was was amazing how many things had fallen out of place due to the turbulance and I hated disarray. Everything else in my life was pretty much a mess anyway, so keeping my quarters tidy was one of the few ways I could actually exert any kind of control.

I was hanging up some clothes when my communicator beeped; it was Dejanna, one of the nurses in sickbay.

"What is it?" I asked sharply; my thoughts were still on my conversation with Nu'Daq and I wasn't sure how he had taken the news - at least he hadn't stomped out on me as I had expected. So maybe we were getting somewhere and we were going there *together*.

"Lieutenant Janor has left sickbay."

"What?" I dropped the dress I was holding and headed out the door. "She has a head injury. Who signed her out?"

"No one. We turned our backs and she left, apparently with Lieutenant Nu'Daq."

I sighed, "On my way."

The last thing I wanted was for Janor to pass out somewhere from a concussion because we hadn't kept her long enough. Add to that her phaser wound, and I was not pleased that the young lieutenant was roaming around the ship - especially one where such odd occurances kept happening.

I headed out to sickbay, noting the queasy expressions on other crewmember's faces. I felt relieved to know that I was not the only one who suffered from space-sickness. The expressions on their faces mirrored the one I had worn just a few minutes before and I had this sudden vision of Nu'Daq... alone. I shivered.

I saw a familiar figure ahead, someone whom I hadn't seen in a while.

"Okal!" I called out. My friend stopped and turned.

"I'm on my way to engineering," she said. "I have a feeling that we're going to put in long hours today. Do you know what's going on?"

"No, just a vague mention of a female Q."

"A female Q?" Okal frowned. I nodded.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Any reason why?" I was teasing her now.

"You know why," she said. "Taite."

"How is that going?"

Okal's face clouded over and then she said, "I have to tell you something. Nu'Daq came to my quarters this morning. He made some threats." Then she went on to retell the story. I sighed. It sounded *so* much like Nu'Daq.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely.

"Not as sorry as I am," she said and I had a feeling that there was more to the story than she was telling me; I'd get it from her later when things weren't so crazy.

Sickbay was a zoo when I got there; I noticed many minor injuries, lacerations and bruises mostly, and severe causes of nausea. There were a couple people who were talking about some of the weird things they had seen on the ship - no doubt the result of Q's mischief. I noted Lieutenant Katja roaming the sickbay, reassuring patients in her calm, confident way.
Satisfied, I went into my office.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Janor."

"Lieutenant Janor is in the science lab," the computer chirped back at me. I leaned back in my seat; I'd give her twenty minutes to complete her work before I went and forcibly removed her. And before that, I had something else I wanted to do. I pulled up my medical database and ran a search, pulling up the file I wanted. Taite Bergren, humanoid, from Earth - actually from Germany - perfect health, received his degree in Engineering from Starfleet Academy seven years ago, and had a variety of postings, all with rave reviews. He had been briefly stationed on Deep Space Nine, so I imagined that that was where Catava had met him. His physical was scheduled with my assistant CMO, Ruk Takei, who had yet to arrive.

"Rafko to Bergren."

There was a pause and then, "Bergren here."

"If you could report to sickbay, lieutenant, there is some incomplete information in your file."

"On my way."

Through the glass barriers separating me from the rest of the sickbay, I watched the flurry of activity. I wanted to join them but I could not get Nu'Daq out of my mind - certainly not before I talked to Taite.

Taite arrived, looking nervous. I indicated the chair in front on my desk.

"I have to admit, my motive for getting here was slightly dishonest," I said. "I heard about the confrontation this morning."

"Yes," Taite's lip curled slightly.

"Nu'Daq is a good man, a decent man," I said. "Maybe we can work something about, some way he can be a part of his child's life."

"That's not possible. He deserted my sister, left her to die with a half-breed child," he nearly spat out the words.

"Nu'Daq would have never deserted her," I said hotly. "Not unless someone had done something dishonorable, forcing him to leave. Did you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look," I said. "I know Nu'Daq. He is stubborn in his single-mindedness. It's his best - and worst - quality. He will pursue this until it is resolved. And the only one who will suffer is the child. Do you really want that?"

"I want what's best for Nienor and that's for her to continue living with my parents."

"Perhaps, but doesn't she deserve to know her father? What happens when her classmates ask her about the ridges on her forehead? What if they ask questions about her Klingon heritage and she doesn't know the answers? What then?"
Taite shrugged, "It's not important. My parents will give her what she needs most: love. The Klingon part of her is not important."

"I think it is," I leaned forward. "I was adopted by a Terran family when I was eight years old. They loved me, but I was Bajoran and every morning I woke up and saw that I was different. Believe me, I wanted to be Terran, but I couldn't - it was too difficult to ignore my Bajora heritage. Your niece will go through the same identity crisis and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"What's in it for you?" Taite's voice was surly. I narrowed my eyes and he immediately straightened in his chair.

"I love him," I said simply. "I want him to be happy."

"And you think he would make a good father?"

"I know he would," I said. "If he was given the chance to show that side of him. He is really gentle, very kind. Life hasn't been kind to him and he's lost a lot of people close to him. I don't want him to lose someone else."

"I don't like it," Taite said.

"You know that the Federation Law Department would give him a fair hearing and give him some standing," I said. "A father has rights, Lieutenant. We can either do this the messy way or we can try to work something out."

"What would your part be?" he asked suspiciously. "Would you be involved in Nienor's life?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Nu'Daq has never said anything to me. If he wants me there, I'll be there."

"You don't sound very sure."

"Nu'Daq and I are engaged," I said, feeling disloyal that I hadn't told Okal first. "We will get married. Our committment to each other is not in doubt, no matter what the grapevine may insinuate."

"I'm concerned about Nienor being raised in a Klingon household, that's why I'm asking."

"Then you will consider it?"

"Do I have a choice? I did some investigating this morning and I saw that Federation Law specifically dictates that a child should remain with a biological parent, if that parent is not deemed unfit," Taite said. "And I don't want to put Nienor through any battles, anything that will make her life more complicated than it already is."

"Thank you," I said.

"I'm not doing it for Lieutenant Nu'Daq," Taite said. "I appreciate you talking to me in a civilized manner. I hope this is what is best for Nienor and you can let Lieutenant Nu'Daq know that I will be watching him."

"He wouldn't expect anything less," I assured Taite.

"It will be difficult to convince my parents," he said. "But it can be done."

"Good," I answered, rising. "Thank you, again."

Taite left and I leaned forward on the table, resting my weight on my palms. Deep breaths, Xenia, deep breaths.
I didn't know if I had made a horrible mistake - if Nu'Daq would resent my interference or when he got Nienor, would he shut me out? But then I calmed myself - this was what Nu'Daq wanted and we would deal with the rest when Nienor arrived.
I grabbed my tricorder and went into the sickbay.

"Who's next?" I called, hoping they would not hear the tremor in my voice or notice my shaking hands.

***** Nu'Daq *****

Nu'Daq was back on the bridge. The female Q was gone, and everyone was busy working on a solution for their problem at hand. 5 Romulan ships caught in folded-space due to their use of the Cardassian folded-space-transport
device, causing a severe rupture in the space-time-continuum, that threatened the very fabric of space. The crew of the Valjean has 12 hours to close it, or the entire universe would collapse into oblivion.

Nu'Daq was scanning subspace for the xth time, when he suddenly felt a small tingle, and suddenly he was somewhere else. He looked around in surprise. He was on some kind of meadow. The grass was green, the air was warm, a slight breeze came down from the hills far away. Nu'Daq looked up into the sky.

There were two suns, one larger than the other. Nu'Daq couldn't recognize the place, but it had a pleasant environment. But how did he get here? It was no regular transporter, at least not one he knew about. And from the Valjean it was several light years to the nearest class M-planet.Nu'Daq was interrupted by a flash of lightning in front of him. And Lt. Janor appeared. She looked confused. She turned and saw Nu'Daq.

"Lieutenant, where are we? How did we get here?"

"I don't know", Nu'Daq answered, "but I have a suspicion..."

Lt. Janor's face turned into despise as she said, what Nu'Daq was thinking. "Q!"

Another flash, and Morgan was standing in front of them. She turned with a look of distrust on her face. Before anyone could
say something, a Starfleet issue computer appeared in front of them. It was a rather comical sight; a Starfleet issue model Beta-5 computer in the middle of the pleasant meadow. Nu'Daq and Janor approached the computer.

"It is active and running", Janor said with surprise. But with Q involved it was not surprising, that the computer could be running without an external power supply.

Flash! Little Laizia appeared. She looked frightened.

"What is going on? Where is vavoy?" she shouted out, tears pressing on. Nu'Daq went over to her.

"Don't be frightened, Laizia. There is nothing to be worried about."

She looked at him, not totally convinced.

"Didn't your vavoy ever tell you the story of the brave little klingon girl and the witch in the cookie-house?" Laizia nodded.

"We are going to have an adventure just like that, except there is no witch to kill. Be brave, Laizia, and your vavoy
will be proud of you".

Laizia took a deep breath and calmed down.

Flash! A small device appeared next to the computer. Janor picked it up. It was some kind of mechanical device. None of them had seen it before. Nu'Daq was getting impatient. What was all this about? He knew Q was around
somewhere, watching them.

"Q!" he shouted out, "if you want something from us, you will not get it. We will not do your dirty work!"

This seemed to get the attention of Q. Because not only one, but two Q's appeared by the computer. One was the female Q from the bridge, the other was the Q from the Klingon Intelligence File, the one that had visited the USS Enterprise-D
several times. Two Q's meant double the trouble......

The female Q approached Nu'Daq.

"Easy now, my Klingon friend. We are here to help you." Nu'Daq was suspicious of the notion, he knew that no Q would help
a humanoid without an alterior motive. The male Q came towards them.

"But we still need the most important person in our little play...." He snapped his fingers, and Xenia appeared with the appropriate flash of light. She looked as surprised as the rest of them. She looked at the two Q's, her eyes wandered across the motley crowd of people... Her eyes fell on Nu'Daq, and to his pleasure he saw a twinkle in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

The male Q rose his voice. "Okay, now you are all gathered here. Let's use this opportunity to unite your strengths to solve the problem at hand. It seems like your universe is in dire trouble. And we thought we would lend you at hand at solving this. Provide a calm and soothing environment for your work."

Nu'Daq wasn't sure what to think. A Q wouldn't be so helpful out of the goodness of his/her heart. There had to be some reason for this. But he decided to play along for now, as did the rest. They still had to consider the actual problem.
The female Q picked up the strange device from the table.

"Xenia, my dear. Do you know what this is?"

She looked at it and gasped. "Yes, it's the folded-space transport device Gavin used. It was developed by the
cardassians, but it has severe side effects when used by humanoids".

Q looked at her. "As you should know yourself.... completely right. Now over to you, Lt. Janor...."

Janor was silent for a moment. She considered the facts uncovered by Nu'Daq and her from the data-recorder and the subspace scans. Her face broadened as she came to a realisation.

"Of course. The Romulans used an enlarged version of this device to transport their ships in the path of the Valjean, but it
must have backfired on them somehow. But why would they do that?"

Nu'Daq turned to look at Morgan. "Morgan, what can you tell us about that?"

Morgan looked up, she didn't look as she was willing to tell.

"I know of nothing, that could be of importance here." Nu'Daq's eyes caught Morgan's, he knew she was hiding something. Always secrets.... For a moment Nu'Daq caught a glimpse of Xenia, who was looking at Morgan. She didn't look happy
seeing Nu'Daq and Morgan working together...

"Morgan, you have to tell me, tell us. It could be of importance to the mission and maybe even crucial for the preservation of the universe."

Morgan smiled. "Well I don't want to stand in the way, when you guys are saving the universe. Here's what I know. A small group within the Tal Shiar has joined up with remnants of the Obsidian Order within the Cardassian military. They
have made a plan to join with the Dominion to re-start the war, hoping they can defeat the Federation in a blitz-krieg. The Tal Shiar-fraction sent their most cunning and best agent, a changeling found by the Tal Shiar as a baby and raised to become the best intelligence agent ever. His mission was to delay the Valjean, so the Romulan-Cardassian alliance could finish their
negotiations with the Dominion before the arrival of the Valjean at the peace talks. When he didn't succeed, they used their plan B: An ambush against the Valjean. They used the folded-space transport device to transport 5 Romulan warbirds into the path of the Valjean. But I guess something went wrong."

The smug smile was still on her face.For a moment everyone was silent. The idea of a changeling agent within the
Tal Shiar was shocking to the most of them, and the idea of a Tal Shiar-Obsidian Order alliance didn't help. The silence was broken by Q, who started to applaud.

"Very well deduced, my Vulcan friend. We are gaining headway really fast here. Who is next? Ahhh, our pleasant chief science officer, Lt. Janor. It is your job to figure out how you people are going to stop this, to save your precious little universe. And we even supplied you with a state-of-the-art Starfleet computer. How nice of us......" And with a
snap of the male Q's fingers, the two Q's were gone.... Confusion ensued for a brief moment, but soon their Starfleet training
kicked in. Janor went over to the table and picked up the transport device.

"An analysis of this device might help us understand what we are dealing with."

Nu'Daq nodded in agreement. Xenia looked concerned for a moment. Nu'Daq knew why. That device might hold a cure for her illness. And who knew in what condition it would be after Janor's analysis. But she didn't say anything. Nu'Daq took her hand and held it, hoping it would comfort her.

Janor spent some time examining it. "Aha. Let's take a look at this in the computer".

She logged the device onto the computer somehow. "It is emitting a pulse similar to a solanagen-based sub space harmonics to initaite the fold in space. Very clever. But how? Hmmm."

Suddenly Laizia came towards them. "Solana-what?"

"Solanagen, little girl", Nu'Daq said.

"I know that, I heard vavoy say, that that ugly man, that Q, was unable to do his magic with solanagen, when he talked to mommy."

Janor looked at her, Nu'Daq could see her mind working hard. She turned back towards the computer panel. Suddenly a broad smile came to her face.

"Eureka. That's why the Q's are doing this. Interesting."

Nu'Daq looked at the computer panel, but he couldn't see anything interesting. "Lieutenant, what do you mean?"

"If Laizia is correct, which might very well be, then the Q's are not able to manipulate solanagen. Solanagen is a compound found in a parallel dimension deep in subspace. It is in it's nature very alien to our part of subspace. And the Q's have no influence on it. These readings indicate, that the rupture in subspace in front of the Valjean containing the 5 romulan ships reaches into the solanagen-domain, and it could have been started due to the similarity of the initiation pulse of the device to
solanagen's subspace resonance. And it is the solanagen pouring into our universe, which is causing the breakdown between time, space and null-space. Woohoo! Now we have a chance of saving the universe. And what is more important to the Q's: To save the Q-continuum, which they are not capable of themselves......."

Suddenly the Q's re-appeared, but before they could speak, Janor turned towards them: "So you need our help to save your precious Q-continuum?"

A smile came to her face again....

**** Emallia Janor ****

Suddenly the Q's re-appeared, but before they could speak, I turned towards them: "So you need our help to save your precious Q-continuum?"

"Oh, this is just too perfect! You need us to save your asses!"

"Lieutenant.!" said the Klingon.

"Oops. Sorry Laizia." I said as I turned back to the Q's. I got a little too excited and started off too fast. The pain in my back flared up againn. I should have gone to see Xenia sooner. I gritted my teeth and continued on. I could see the look on Xenia's face. She wasn't too pleased with me.

"If what I think is right, all we need is a giant interspatial band-aid."

"Band-aid?" asked Lai.

"Ummmm, it was used before dermal regenerators. A small patch of gauze that was attached to an adhesive tape to act as a second skin on minor cuts."

"So how are we going to find one?" she asked.

"I have no idea. I don't think that we can. We'll have to make one." I said as I looked towards the Q's "And you two have to help!"

"Fine. I knew that you puny people can't do anything without our help."

"Right. That's why we've survied all this time. You were playing God for us right?" I asked.

"Hey, lets try and stay on task." said Xenia as she took Lai out of the way."Well, how about a chair?"

"That, we can do." and with a snap of their fingers, there was a chair just for me and Ibegan to work, with the others constantly questioning my actions.

I had lost track of time, but I knew that something more was wrong with me that the cold that I thought I had coming on. I was fevered and I could tell that Xenia was worried. She kept checking on me, asking me if I was okay and such. Of course I denied all pain. Can't show weakness in front of the Klingons and Q's. My knees were starting to get sore and the screen was blurring, so I got up to take a walk. A very small one. After about two steps, my legs gave out and I fell. Xenia came rushing over.

"I need a tricorder!" she yelled to the Q's. It took them 3 tries to get it.

Not a good sign.

"You have an infection. That's what's causing this. Why didn't you come to see me sooner?"

"I thought it was a cold." I said weakly.

"Well, all I need is a simple antibiotic." she rattled off what she needed to the Q's, but, try as the might they couldn't get it.

"It's the solanagen." I said. "It gives them their powers, but if the concentration is off, they become mortal just like the rest of us." I said.

"I can see waht you were doing on the computer. Are you almost done?" Na'Duq asked.

"Yeah, I just can't focus, so I can't finish unless you help." I said.

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant? Emallia!" yelled Xenia. I could hear her, but when I tried to answer only gibberish came out.
Over the next few hours, I was in and out of lucidity.And when I was, no one knew enough about what I was talking about to know if I was telling the truth. Well, the Q's might have, but they were no help. Finnally, darkness
claimed me.

"If we don't help her soon, we're all dead." said Xenia.

**** Rafko ****

After years in Starfleet, you should be prepared for the unexpected. Or so I thought. One moment, I was
sitting in my office debating the fate of some little girl I had never met with Taite Bergren and then in
the next, I was on a Class-M planet with some of my crewmmates, including Nu'Daq, Janor, Laizia and
that... Vulcan.

I noted with some feeling that Nu'Daq was paying more attention to Morgan than I cared for; I did not like
that secretive look upon her face.

"Morgan, what can you tell us about that?" Nu'Daq asked.

"I know of nothing, that could be of importance here."

They - Morgan, the Q and Janor - continued talking and I, knowing nothing of the Q and very little about
Romulans, pulled myself free from Nu'Daq's grip and wandered off to sit on an out-cropping of rocks. It
was very pretty out here, with a nice view of a lake and some mountains; not at all a bad place to retire.
I could sit here forever by myself and not even feel the silence.

"What are you looking at?"

I nearly jumped at the voice behind me. "Laizia, you scared me."

"Sorry," she said, perching on the rock next to me. "It's nice here."

"I think so," I said. I picked up some pebbles and rolled them around in my palm. "I like fresh air."

"I do too. The ship is stuffy."

"You're right," I agreed. "It is."

"I solved the mystery."

"Really? That's impressive."

"Yeah. Solangen," she said the word very carefully."Do you know what that is?"

I was about to answer when I heard some commotion behind us. I jumped to my feet just in time to see Emallia Janor stagger backwards.

"Damn, if people would only come in when they are told to," I said under my breath and then when I saw Laizia's wide-eyed look of shock, I smiled. "Sorry. We'd better get back to the others, okay? We can come back later to explore."

Laizia looked disappointed but she followed me back to the group just in time to hear Lieutenant Janor exclaim, "Oh, this is just too perfect! You need us to save your asses!"

Terrific. Laizia was going to pick up quite a vocabulary between me and the colorful Emallia Janor. I sighed, wondering what tales she would take back to her parents.

Nu'Daq growled at Janor, "Lieutenant!"

Janor turned and saw me with Laizia for the first time.

"Oops, sorry Laizia." Janor said. "If what I think is right, all we need is a giant inter-spatial band-aid."
I looked at Janor, saw she was in pain; sympathetic as I was - phaser wounds never felt good, I couldn't help
but feel irritated with her. She should have come in when I asked her to.

"Band-aid?" asked Lai.

"Ummmm, it was used before dermal regenerators. A small patch of gauze that was attached to an adhesive
tape to act as a second skin on minor cuts."

"So how are we going to find one?" Laizia asked.

"I have no idea. I don't think that we can. We'll have to make one," Janor replied. "And you two have to
help!"

"Fine. I knew that you puny people can't do anything without our help," one of the Q's responded. I sighed;
I hated arrogance in any form, even from a so-called higher being.

"Right. That's why we've survived all this time. You were playing God for us right?" Janor asked sarcastically.

"Hey, let's try and stay on task," I said, gently nudging Laizia out of my way so I could help Emallia.

"Well, how about a chair?" Janor asked.

"That, we can do."

A rattan chair appeared instantaneously in front of us and Janor sat down in it, working quickly. Morgan -
still too close to Nu'Daq for my tastes - and Nu'Daq both hovered over the science officer's shoulder. I
made myself scarce, making sure to keep an eye on Emallia, who obviously was too stubborn too listen to
me anyway. Reminded me of the time when Nu'Daq had Gallian Fever years ago and he would not stay in bed
until he physically collapsed in the middle of our living room. Of course I had been frantic, unable to
lift his large bulk, and when he was well enough, he certainly got an earful from me.

"Did you always want to be a doctor?" Laizia asked me as we sat together weaving the stems of flowers together.

"I don't know," I said. "I think my foster parents wanted me to be a doctor and the idea just grew on me and one day, I was a doctor."

"I don't know what I want to be."

"That's all right. You're young. You have plenty of time to decide."

"I want to be in Starfleet."

I smiled, "Then you certainly have the genes for it."

I heard a scream and turned to see Emallia fall flat on her face. I jumped to my feet, nearly tripping over
Laizia and then nearly knocking over Morgan.

"I need a tricorder!" I yelled to the Q's. Powerful beings that they are, it still took them three tries
to get me the medical instrument.

"You have an infection. That's what's causing this. Why didn't you come to see me sooner?" I nearly
shouted at Janor.

"I thought it was a cold," Janor protested weakly.

"Well, all I need is a simple antibiotic," I said. I looked at the Q's. "Ephiderine, Codeine, neudophine... can you get that for me?"

The Q's tried their best, but nothing. I looked at Janor, my sympathy rapidly disappearing in the face of her stubbornness and Morgan's cloying attitude.

"It's the solanagen," Janor said. "It gives them their powers, but if the concentration is off, they become
mortal just like the rest of us."

"I can see what you were doing on the computer. Are you almost done?" Na'Duq asked.

"Yeah, I just can't focus, so I can't finish unless you help," Janor said. As Nu'Daq went to Janor's side, I noted the heightened
color in her cheeks and I grabbed her arm as her breathing patterns became erratic.

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant? Emallia!" I yelled, but nothing. I looked at Nu'Daq in despair. "If we don't help her, we'll all die."
He looked at me in surprise and I couldn't explain my remark; it was just something that had popped into my head and somehow, I knew it was an accurate assessment of the situation.

"Get her out of that chair," I barked at Nu'Daq. "Make sure she's com - where's Laizia?"

I turned around. The girl was nowhere to be seen. I started to panic. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod... I took a
few steps and turned around in a full circle. No Laizia. Without thinking or speaking, I began to jog towards
to rock ledge where the two of us had been sitting before. Maybe she had gone back there, maybe she couldn't wait for me anymore.

"Laizia!" I screamed. "Laizia!"

Finally, I saw her dark head pop up in the distance. I ran towards her, feeling enormous relief.

"What were you thinking?" I nearly screamed, forgetting for a moment that she was my commanding officer's daughter. "I was so worried."

"I found a cave," she pointed out. I looked at the narrow opening and Laizia tugged on my hand. "Let's go
in there."

"No," I said sternly. "We have to go back."

"I'm not going back."

"Laizia, I've got to take care of Lieutenant Janor. It's very important."

"I want to see," she let go of my hand and rushed into the cave. I took a deep breath, counted to three, and
then followed her in. The pathway was narrow, the air damp, and it stunk of some kind of mildew. Laizia skipped up ahead of me, and then, suddenly, tripped over a rock. Immediately, tears came to her eyes. I knelt by her and could see
that her ankle was broken, forced severely out of place. A deep gash crossed her leg from knee to ankle.

"It hurts," she said.

"I know," I put my hands on her ankle. "This is going to hurt too-"

I was about to set her ankle when I became aware of a noise. I turned to see a man - well, half of man - growing out of a rock. He was nearly blue in the face.

"They... are... coming," he whispered.

"Who?" I got to my feet. "Who are you?"

"I am a... Q," he said. "They... are coming. You, all, must go."

"Who are they?"

"Irrisi," his voice was barely a hiss. "Beware... Irrisi."

The strange apparition disappeared suddenly and I shivered. By now, Laizia was whimpering.

"It's all right," I said, wondering how I would carry the girl out of the cave; we had come quite far. And then the shudders started. I threw myself down, covering Laizia with my body, as the rocks and debris rained down on us. It lasted only a minute, but when I sat up, I noted that we were completely blocked in on both sides.

"What is it?" Laizia asked.

I got up and dusted myself off. I had some bruises and scrapes, and a headache - whether from the rockslide
or other factors, I didn't know. I also felt a bit queasy.

"You're not on the Valjean," I thought to myself. "You can't get spacesick on solid ground."

I swallowed hard and removed a rock. Some were tightly packed and others were easily removable. But still, I
was afraid of upsetting the wall of stone and perhaps having something hit Laizia. But still, I pulled away
some more rocks, hoping to see how thick the blockade was.

"Doctor?"

"What is it, Laizia?"

"I'm cold."

I turned back to my little patient; she was going through shock and was shivering madly. I took off my
jacket and wrapped it around her. I had chosen to wear my tanktop beneath the jacket that day, so I didn't
have anything I could make a splint out of. So I then ripped off the hem off Laizia's tunic.

"Sorry," I said. "I need this."

I bound her ankle tightly with the fabric from her skirt and then pushed her hair from her sweaty brow.

"You doing okay, Laizia?" I said.

"I want my parents," she said.

"I know the feeling," I told her.

"Will you stay with me?"

I stared at the rock barrier dividing us from everyone else and then looked back at Laizia, noting the fear
in her eyes. The wall would have to wait.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. I arranged myself on the floor and then wrapped my arms around her. "It'll
be okay, Laizia. They'll find us."

**** Nu'Daq ****

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant? Emallia!" Xenia had almost a frantic look in her eyes. "If we don't help her, we will all die. Get her out of that chair...."

Nu'Daq took Lt. Janor and put her flat on the ground. He checked her pulse and apparent vital signs. She breathed easily, but she was unconscious. As Nu'Daq got up, Xenia was moving away from the small group of people, crying out for Laizia. Nu'Daq stood still for a moment, making an internal recap of the situation. They were on a strange planet. They were on a mission to save the universe, gathered here by the help of the two Q's. Lt. Janor was on the way to solving their problem, but she now lay passed out on the ground victim to a serious infection. And due to the disturbance in subspace the Q's were losing their powers and now unable to help.

"Q, we need to find an antibiotic fast. Now it is your turn to help."

The Q's protested.

"We have lost our powers, there is nothing we can do...."

Nu'Daq interrupted them. "You have lost your powers, not your minds. You know where we are, you know the flora of this planet. There's gotta be a plant here with an antibiotic effect. Find it, and find it fast."

The Q's looked surprised at the fact they actually had to _do_ something, but started to search the nearby brushes, talking amongst themselves about the local flora and the annoying humanoids. Nu'Daq turned towards Morgan.

"I need to get Xenia back here, she has to make a cure for Janor from the plants. You stay here and watch Janor, while I go get Xenia and Laizia back here." Morgan nodded, and Nu'Daq started walking in the direction Xenia had gone.

Nu'Daq's keen senses had no trouble finding the trail of a Bajoran woman and a Klingon-Trill girl. They might has well have been dropping bread crumbs along the way. He followed their trail into a nearby cave. It was pretty small, but Nu'Daq entered. He went ahead for a while, but suddenly he came upon a heap of boulders blocking the way. They seemed to be from a fresh cave-in. Nu'Daq examined the cave more closely and discovered a number of cracks in the walls. The cave was definitely not stable, and more cave-ins could happen every minute. He felt uneasiness spread through him with the
thought of Xenia on the other side of the cave-in - or even worse.. under it. Panic was about to grab him, but he focused on the problem at hand. He approached the stones blocking the way and examined them. They seemed loose, with some care he would be able to move enough of them to get Xenia and Laizia out, before the whole cave came rumbling down on the three of them. He did not dare calling out for Xenia, his voice might cause another cave-in. Gently he picked up the stones one by one, avoiding more stone slides. Small drops of sweat started forming on his forehead, his muscles were getting sore.

Almost half an hour passed with occasional small trembles, each time threatening to let the cave ceiling fall down on him. But finally he was able to make a small hole, through which he could pop his head and look in. And the sight made him smile with happiness. He could see Xenia and Laizia sitting in a larger cave area on the other side. He motioned for them to be
quiet and come towards him. Xenia picked up Laizia and approached the hole. He gave Nu'Daq a small kiss and handed him Laizia. Nu'Daq pulled her through the hole with ease and put her down. Her could see she had a sore ankle.

"Laizia, can you walk?" She nodded courageously, the Klingon blood was strong in her. "Then hurry up and walk out of the cave and wait for us, okay?"

Her lip started to shiver a bit, but she nodded and started to hump out. Nu'Daq turned and looked at Xenia. She was examining the hole.

"I don't think I can get through this tiny hole".

"Of course you can. You have to. I cannot risk removing any more stones. You will fit through nicely."

She didn't look convinced, but moved towards the hole and started crawling through.
It was going as planned, but suddenly a rather large tremble hit the cave. Nu'Daq covered Xenia's head and body with his own. Stones and rocks started falling down from the ceiling, and several of them hit Nu'Daq's back and
head. He started to feel dizzy, but maintained his protective position on top of Xenia. He could feel the dizzyness increase as the trembles started to ease off, and then his vision turned black and he passed out.

He felt like he was dreaming. He could hear Xenia calling out for him, but her voice sounded distant and he could not see her. Her voice started to move away and the blackness around him darkened even more......

Suddenly he felt small dabs of pain. He forced himself to open his eyes, and he realised, that Xenia was throwing small rocks at him in an effort to wake him. And she succeeded. Nu'Daq sat up. He was sitting a few yards from Xenia, who had become stuck halfway through the hole. She was relieved to see him awake.

"Nu'Daq, we need to get out of here......" As Nu'Daq got on his feet, they could feel a small but consistent tremble growing in the cave. This was the one. They had to hurry. Nu'Daq went over to Xenia and grabbed her arms.

"My dear, this is probably going to hurt."

She nodded and placed her hands in his. He tightened the grip and started pulling Xenia through the hole. She moved inch by inch. The pain was apparent in her eyes, but Nu'Daq knew he had to get her out, even if it would kill 'em both......

And suddenly she popped out, like a cork from a champagne bottle. Nu'Daq fell backwards and landed on the cave floor with Xenia on top of him. She smiled through the pain and said: "At least I now know what it feels like to be born...."

Nu'Daq could feel a tingling growing in his stomach, and suddenly he burst into laughter. Despite the fact that they were in a
life-threatening situation he started laughing out loud. Xenia was astonished, her joke wasn't that good, But she couldn't help smiling, Nu'Daq laughed only very seldom....

But eventually she asked him: "Shouldn't we get out of here?"

Nu'Daq nodded, still smiling, and they got to their feet and started walking out of the cave, both humping from the bruises.....
As they reached the exit, Laizia was waiting for them. She looked at the two of them.

"Are you OK?"

Nu'Daq picked her up and sat her on his right shoulder.

"Yes we are fine, now we are fine.Now let's get back. We have a universe to save."

And they all started walking back to the others, as the cave crashed in behind them. Back at the computer, the Q's had returned with a big heap of a small purple flower.

"Here you go. Once again the Q's have to save the day", the female Q exclaimed, as Nu'Daq sat Laizia down. He ignored their sarcastic comment and handed the bunch of plants to Xenia. "These should contain an antibiotic for a cure for Janor."

Xenia took the flowers and picked the tricorder up from the ground. She started to analyze them. Nu'Daq went over to the female Q. A problem had come to his attention.

"Okay you two, even if Lt. Janor finds a way to close the rift in sub space, how are we going to get back to the ship and actually close it, now you've lost your powers?"

The Q's looked at each other, but didn't answer. Xenia looked up at them. "And on another note: I saw another Q in the cave. He looked like he was in pain. He gave me the following warning: 'The Irrisi are coming'. What is that all about?"

Nu'Daq looked at the Q's. They didn't say anything, but Nu'Daq could see it in their eyes. Something he would never had expected to see in the face of a Q. Fear. Mortal fear.

~ to be continued ~

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