"Second Star to the Right...."
A ST:Voyager,ST:NG and DS9 crossover
pt.3




Harry Kim’s shocked voice broke the stunned silence of the conference
room,”Captain? Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”
“It appears to be,Harry.”
“How?”Harry asked in a soft voice.
Kathryn’s gaze never left the planet below,”I’ll let you know Harry as
soon as we figure it out.”
“You now have a choice,Captain.”Elizabeth Q stated with a wide smile as
she folded her arms across her chest.
Janeway whirled around eyes flashing,”What kind of choice?”
“You may ethier learn the fate of your engineer or you can fulfill your
promise to this crew. You can take them home.”
***************************************************************

“Chief,you said you found this woman near Quark’s?”Captain Benjamin
Sisko asked as the tall black man entered Sickbay.
The burly irish man nodded his brown gaze fixed on the biobed a few feet
away. As he watched Julian Bashir struggled to save the strange young
woman.
“I literally tripped over her.”Miles replied with a grim smile.
Sisko took a few steps into the examing room,”She’s wearing a starfleet
uniform but I don’t recognize her.”
“That’s where this gets interesting,”O’Brien replied,”Ethier she’s
delusional or we may finally have a clue as to what happened to
Voyager.”
Sisko whirled around his brown eyes widening,”Chief,Voyager and her crew
were destroyed in a fight with the Macquis in the badlands four years
ago.”
O’Brien nodded,”I know that,but she introduced herself as Lieutenant
B’Elanna Torres,chief engineer of the federation starship Voyager.”
*********************************************************************

Lieutenant Tom Paris nearly jumped out of his skin as a hand of a
Taxalon clamped down on his left shoulder.
“Tom!”Neelix shouted nearly bubbling over with excitement,”I still can’t
believe it! The whole ship is buzzing with the news!”

Paris glanced up and down the deserted hallway outside the messhall
looking for potenial witnesses,”Neelix......”
Voyager’s ambassador and morale officer ethier didn’t know of Tom’s
current situation or chose to ignore it.
”I think I’ll whip up a choclate cake in honor of it.”The talaxon took a
few steps away from the helsman as he shook his head,”No,on second
thought an apple pie sounds more apporaite.”
“Neelix....”Tom tried again to catch the alien’s attention.
Neelix didn’t seem to hear him,”Wonder if we have any apples? On the
other hand I’ve only seen pictures of a true earth apple perhaps the
Captain will allow me to beam down and......”

Tom blinked in surprise at the mention of home.He hadn’t allowed himself
to think of Earth in the last couple years,too many painful memories. To
have Neelix bring it into the conversation all of the sudden ment
something was up.
Paris grabbed the alien’s arm shaking him slightly,”Neelix! What are you
babbling about?!”

Neelix looked at Tom with a stunned expression,”What do you mean what am
I talking about? Tom,I figured with you being the ship’s helsmen you
would have been on the bridge and seen......”
Tom shook his head,”I had a little,”Paris paused searching for the right
word,”Disagreement with the chain of command over B’Elanna’s
disappearence and was escorted off the bridge by Tuvok’s toy soilders. I
haven’t talked with anyone but you in a little over an hour what’s going
on?”
As an answer Neelix motioned toward the mess hall,”Go see for yourself.
I know you won’t believe me.”
“Alright,”Tom replied as he entered the crowded cafeteria.

As the door slid closed behind him it took Tom a moment to orient
himself. For some reason all the lights were off. No light was coming in
from the windows because of all the human weight pressed up against the
span of three windows.

Tom took a few steps around a table or two and managed to spy a speck of
blue and white.
Paris spotted a familar face among the sea of starfleet uniforms and
tapped the person on the shoulder,”Doc? What’s going on?”
The hologram turned with a raised eyebrow,”As Voyager’s piolt I would
have assumed you knew by now.”
Tom shook his head,”I wasn’t on the bridge. I had a bit of a
disagreement with Janeway.”
The doctor took a few steps back so Tom could move into his postion,”See
for yourself,Lieutenant.”

After finding the best view from his postion Tom finally saw what all
the excitement was about.
Earth.
Home.
“It can’t be.”Tom replied breathlessly,”It just can’t be.”
He couldn’t be home.Not without B’Elanna.Not now.
The hologram smirked,”Unless we’re all suffering from a group
halucination it appears to be entirely possible.”The doctor’s expression
softened as he placed a hand on Tom’s shoulder,”You’re home,Mr. Paris.
Voyager is finally home.”
******************************************************************

Kathryn Janeway’s eyes flashed with anger as she came toe to toe with
Q’s wife,”You have no right to have me make that kind of decision!”
Elizabeth Q laughed,”No right,Captain? I have every right. I am after
all a Q.”
Q suddenly materialized next to the pair of women wearing a twentith
century judge’s robe,”Now ladies,lets not let this get out of hand. I’m
sure we can all sit down and talk about this rationally.”

“Stay out of this Q!”Both women shouted in unison.
Elizabeth Q elevated herself so she was about three feet above the
floor,”I give you tweleve of your Earth hours to make a
decison,Captain.”
In a flash of white light she was gone.Leaving only a gold crown atop
Kathryn Janeway’s head.
*******************************************************************
A dark haired man in his early thirties approached the leader of Deep
Space nine.
“What’s her status,Julian?”Benjamin Sisko asked in a soft voice.
Julian Bashir’s brown eyes darkened with concern,”She’s stable for the
moment.”
O’Brien blinked in surprise,”For the moment? What happened to her?”
Bashire shook his head,”Your guess is as good as mine,Chief. What I do
know is that in the last twenty four hours she has been injected with a
kind of drug I’ve never seen before.”
Sisko leaned against the door frame,”Could this drug make her
delusional?”

Inspite of the circumstances Bashir grinned,”You mean is she really
Chief engieer B’Elanna Torres of Voyager?”Julian shrugged,”Her catscans
show no damage to the brain. What effects the drug had on her mental
capabilites won’t be known untill she regains conscienceness.”
Sisko took a few steps past the young doctor and into the main
room,”Part of me hopes she is who she says she is.”He said softly as he
folded his arms across his chest,”Kathryn Janeway was a good friend of
mine.”

“A lot of people lost loved ones when Voyager disappeared,”Miles agreed
in a hushed voice,”It can’t hurt to run her name through the computer.
See if B’Elanna Torres was on the crew roster for Voyager.”
Sisko nodded his brown eyes never leaving the still form of the
mysterious young woman,”Do it. Have Dax work on it too.”
O’Brien nodded pushing himself away from the wall,”Right.”He replied
starting to leave.
“Be discrete though,Chief.”Sisko said as he turned to face his
friend,”Untill we can prove her story we don’t want this station
swarming with bureaucrats and grieving family members.”
“Understood.”O’Brien replied softly as he left sickbay.
********************************************************************

“Royalty becomes you Kathy.”Q said with a smile breaking the tense
silence Elizabeth had left in her wake.
Janeway angerily threw the crown on the table as she advanced on the
godling,”You think this situation is funny,Q?!”
Q nodded,”It has a certain irony to it.”

“Can you get B’Elanna back?”Chakotay asked softly from his postion by
the window.
Q shook his head sadly,”I’m afraid not,Commander wilderness.”
Janeway whirled on him,”What do you mean you can’t?! You’re a Q she’s a
Q......”
Q nodded,”Exactly.”
“I don’t follow.”Janeway replied as Chakotay came to stand beside her.
“I believe what Q is saying is that they have some sort of Prime
derective.”Tuvok commented.
“You get a gold star,Mr. Vulcan.”Q replied dryily.
******************************************************************
Starfleet headquarters
communications divison
San Fransico,CA

A black haired woman in her early twenties did a triple take at the data
that suddenly appeared on her computer screen.
After several minutes of making sure she wasn’t seeing things she called
her superior over.
“Sir,I think you should take a look at this.”
*******************************************************************
Tom Paris quietly left the mess hall. Somehow he ended up in B’Elanna’s
quarters.
/This was typical/He thought darkly.

Tom heavily sat down on the corner of B’Elanna’s bed. If he didn’t know
better he would have bet anything his father was behind this latest
twist of cruel fate.
Another failure to add to the long list of failures.
Resting his head on folded hands Tom still couldn’t believe what he had
seen in the mess hall.
Home.
Voyager was finally home.
How he didn’t know. From the speed of the journey and most of the crew
being caught unaware the helsman assumed Q was behind their good
fortune.

The alien’s name brought the rage to the surface again. 
How could they be so trusting? Couldn’t they see Voyager and her crew
were only a toy to them?
Tom felt his right hand clench into a fist as he stood looking around
his wife’s room.
Two picture frames on the small dresser caught his attention. The one on
the left was a picture of B’Elanna and himself taking by Harry at one of
Neelix’s barbeque’s.
The one on the right was of her mother.

Tom’s right hand gently caressed the outline of his wife’s smiling face.
Janeway and the others were probably too busy celebrating to remember
what had occured only a few hours earlier.
“They may have forgotten,luv,”Tom vowed softly as he picked up the
silver picture frame,”But I won’t. I will get us both home. I promise
you.”
********************************************************* 

“Benjamin,she’s a macquis.”Jadzia Dax’s soft voice broke into Sisko’s
thoughts.
Sisko looked up from his desk as the trill entered his office,”What?”
The young brown haired woman smiled as she came to a stop in front of
his desk,”Julian’s mystery woman.”She replied handing him a small data
padd,”According to starfleet records B’Elanna Torres is wanted for
several macquis attacks.”

Sisko tried to hide the disappointment that flooded through him,”So
there’s no record of her ever serving on Voyager?”
Dax shook her head sadly,”I’m afraid not,Benjamin. Her last offical
association with starfleet ended when she dropped out of the academy
halfway into her second year.”
“Damn.”Sisko swore softly as he set the small computer down,”So who was
Voyager’s chief engineer?”
Dax picked up the data padd and scrolled through several pages before
repling,”Stewart. Chief Engineer William Stewart.”
******************************************************************
Harry Kim’s stunned voice broke the stillness of the conference room.
“Captain? Starfleet headquarters is hailing us.”The young man
reported,”They’re demanding recoginsation codes.”
Kathryn stiffled a sigh as she glanced at Chakotay,”Don’t acknowledge
them Harry.”
She could almost see his eyes widening to the size of half dollars.
“Captain.......”
“I’m as anxious to get home as you are Harry but we have to do this
carefully. B’Elanna’s life is at stake here.”
“Understood,Captian.”Harry replied in a soft voice as he ended the
conversation.

“Do you think that was wise,Kathryn?”Chakotay asked.
Janeway nodded,”We have enough to deal with right now without playing
twenty questions with Starfleet command. If they really want to know if
we’re here they can send a shuttle craft around to this side of the
planet and see for themselves.”
********************************************************************

Doctor Julian Bashir jerked awake from the light cat nap he had fallen
into.
Bad habit falling asleep at his desk. But that habit had gotten him
through more exam nights than he cared to remember.
As he walked into the main examing room Julian noticed his latest
paitent was starting to come around.
/Typical Klingon trait./Julian thought with a grim smile as he saw the
young woman start to try to stand before he even took a step in her
direction.
“Easy.”Julian admonished softly as he caught her before her legs gave
out,”You’re not supposed to be moving around yet.”

“Where am I?”B’Elanna demanded not recognizing the surroundings.
Bashir gently ushered her back onto the biobed before explaining,”You’re
on Deep Space Nine. I’m Doctor Julian Bashir,you need to rest. You’ve
been unconsience for several hours.”
Torres sat up slowly waving the young man off,”Relax Doc,I won’t break.”

Julian took out a small medical tricorder and began running a scan,”Let
me determine that,shall we? Let’s start with something simple. What is
your name?”
B’Elanna blinked as she struggled to shake the cobwebs from her
mind,”Torres. Chief engineer B’Elanna Torres of the Federation starship
Voyager.”
Bashir smiled,”You know who you are,that’s a good start.”He closed the
tricorder and set it aside,”Can you tell me how you got here?”

The fog started to clear as the memories of the last twenty four hours
came crashing back.
Hunter.
Tom.
The wedding.
The female Q.
Her imprisonment.

Torres stared at the young doctor her eyes widening,”Deep space nine?
The cardassian outpost?”She asked grabbing Bashir’s left elbow,”Am I
really back in Federation space?”
Julian placed a hand on her right shoulder easing her back onto the
biobed,”Yes,the station is in federation space. Your body has been
through a great deal so I’m going to give you a sedative so you can
sleep.”

B’Elanna gripped his wrist tightly as he brought the needle toward
her,”Why should I trust you?”
“Because you can.”Julian replied gently.
Fatigue more than anything allowed B’Elanna’s body to relax enough so
Bashir could inject the sedative.
Almost instantly her eyes drifted closed,sleep overtaking her.

Julian tenderly pulled the gray blanket up around her shoulders. For the
first time he noticed the gold wedding band on her left hand.
“Rest now.”Bashir said softly as he lowered the lights,”We will find out
who you are and who did this to you. I promise you that.”
With a last look at the troubled young woman Julian turned and left
sickbay.
*****************************************************************
Tom Paris nearly dropped the picture of his wife as an image of his son
appeared at the far end of B’Elanna’s quarters.
Slowly Tom replaced the picture frame and started toward the
boy,”Hunter?”
“Yes father,its me.”The boy replied softly as he held his hands
up,”Don’t come any closer.”
Tom froze his blue eyes dark with confusion,”Why?”
The boy seemed to faze out of Voyager’s plain of exisitence for a
moment,”Its taken all of my strength and quite limited power just to be
able to talk with you. If you touch me I’ll loose my concentration.”
Tom moved as close to his son as he dared,aching to reach out and
envelop him in a huge hug,”You don’t know how good it is too see you.”
“You as well,father.”The young Q replied softly,”I’ve missed you and
Mother greatly. Though I was able to see Mother recently.”

Tom started,”You saw B’Elanna? Is she alright?”
The boy shook his head sadly,”Only for a brief moment.”
“Damn.”Tom swore softly.
Hunter met his father’s tortured gaze,”I debated telling you this since
I knew it would only cause you pain,but the powerful one took great
pleasure telling me what she had done to my mother.”
Without thinking Tom took several steps forward,fists clenched,”What?!
What has she done to B’Elanna?”
The boy adverted his gaze,”She told me she injected my mother with a
lethal drug that your race knows no cure for.”
Tom swallowed hard sinking down onto the corner of B’Elanna’s bed,”Was
B’Elanna in any pain?”He asked in a hoarse whisper.
Hunter moved as close as he dared to Voyager’s piolt,wanting desperately
to console his father.

“I do not know father.”The boy replied sadly,”I would hope that she is
not but with the great pleasure the powerful one took in telling me what
she had done.”
Tears in his eyes Tom met his son’s gaze.He could see the boy’s energy
starting to fade along with his image.
“What danger are you in?”Paris asked in a tortured voice,”How much risk
did you take coming here?”
Hunter shook his head as he stepped back.He was barely visible now,”It
does not matter.”He said softly,”If mother is still in the continum I
will do my best to protect her. I love you father,take care.”
Before he could open his mouth to reply the boy was gone.
“I love you too,Hunter.”Tom Paris whispered to the now empty room.
*****************************************************************

Well aware of the eyes of the bridge crew on her Janeway retreated to
her ready room. Chakotay close at her heels.
“I only have one choice here,don’t I,Chakotay?”Kathryn asked sadly as
she stood next to the sofa her gaze fixated on the planet rotating
slowly beneath them.
Chakotay came to stand next to her placing a comforting arm around her
shoulder,”She gave you an impossible choice,Kathryn.”
Forgetting protocole for a moment Janeway leaned back into his arms,”I
can’t leave B’Elanna in that woman’s clutches Chakotay.”
“’The good of the many out weighs the good of the one.’”
Kathryn sighed,”Don’t start quoting Vulcan proverbs,Chakotay.”
“B’Elanna’s a close friend,almost family to me Kathryn.”Chakotay replied
softly,”If there was any chance we could get her back.If there was any
hope that she was still alive I’d jump at the chance to go back to the
delta quardent and bring her home.”

Janeway spun away from him angerily,”That’s just it,Chakotay. We have no
proof ethier way. If I choose to stay here and fulfill my promise to
this crew how can I face Tom?”
“It’d be tough but he’d move on.”Chakotay replied softly,”And perhaps
now that we’re home with the help of Starfleet and Picard we might be
able to negoiate with the Q’s. Get them to release B’Elanna.”
***************************************************************

As a changling deep space nine’s security chief could be anything he
wanted at any time. Right now as Odo sat in the conference room he
wished he wasn’t a Bajoran.
He’d rather be a small circular white object.
What Captain Sisko refered to as a baseball.
If he were he could throw himself out a window.
At least then it would stop the insistent bouncing that was getting on
the shapeshifter’s last nerve.
“Captain........”Odo began as Bashir,the last to arrive,filed into the
room.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.

Odo had observed Sisko long enough to know that he only brought the
baseball out when he was worried.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
“Captain Sisko,”Odo tried again leaning forward,”I believe everyone is
here.”

As if realizing he was there for the first time Sisko nodded setting the
baseball in front of him.
Lacing his fingers beneath his chin Sisko turned to face Miles O’Brien
who sat at his right,”Chief,what did you find out?”
The chief of operations picked up a small computer padd and began to hit
a few keys,”Well there wasn’t much. As we already know B’Elanna Torres
is a Macqui wanted for several attacks. The only time she’s come near a
starfleet ship was during her short two years at the acadmey.”
“She’s married.”Julian Bashir reported gaining everyone’s attention.
“Married?”Kira repeated.
O’Brien shook his head,”Sorry Julian,according to starfleet records
B’Elanna Torres is single.”
Bashir glared at the irishman slightly,”I’m not blind,Chief. I know a
wedding band when I see one and that woman lying in sickbay has one.”
Jadziar Dax cleared her throat,”So the question still remains. Are
starfleet records wrong or is she who she says she is?”
“I think the bigger question,old man,”Sisko said with a grim smile,”Is
if she is Chief engineer B’Elanna Torres what happened to Voyager and
the rest of her crew?”
****************************************************************

With all that was happening Ensign Harry Kim had been reluncant to go
off duty when his relief came to take over his postion.
Harry’s feet stood rooted to the floor. As if he moved Earth would
disappear from the viewscreen.
“Ensign.....”
Harry’s gaze didn’t move from the beautifal site he thought he would
never see again.
“Ensign.”Tuvok said in a louder voice as he came to stand at Kim’s right
shoulder,”Why don’t you get a few hours sleep?”

Harry shook his head as he regained control enough to take a few steps
away from his station,”I don’t think I could sleep Tuvok.”
Tuvok nodded in understanding,”In that case why don’t you go check on
Mr. Paris? I think he could use a friend or two right now.”
“Yes,sir.”Kim replied as he stepped into the turbolift. 
************************************************************
Starfleet headquarters
San Franscisco,CA

Admiral Amanda Halloway was not a happy person as she stalked through
the deserted hallways at just after three in the morning. As the blonde
haired woman entered the communications center her frown had deepened to
a scowl.
“This had better be important,Lieutenant.”

Lieutenat Stephen Lawson straightened,”I apoligize for getting you out
of bed,Ma’am but this couldn’t wait till morning.”
Halloway folded her arms across her chest,”I’m waiting,Lieutenant.”
The brown haired man in his late twenties swallowed hard under the
admiral’s scrunity,”We triple checked the data.Even got the head of
programing out of bed to make sure there wasn’t a glitch in the system.”
“Lieutenant......”
“Yes,Ma’am.Sorry,”Lawson replied as he gestured to the computer screen
next to him,”Voyager has come home.”
***************************************************************

Chakotay watched Kathryn Janeway with concern as she paced the small
room. 
After four years he had come to respect her. Respect her more than
anyone he had known in his life. On top of that she was a good friend.
He treasured their friendship greatly. Hopefully now that they were home
their relationship could go to the next level.
Gently he grasped her shoulders forcing her to look at him,”Kathryn, why
don’t you get a few hours sleep?”

Janeway shook her head,”I can’t Chakotay.”
He drew her into his arms,”Kathryn,you’re exhausted.”Chakotay
replied,”You won’t be any good to B’Elanna or the rest of this crew if
you collasp.”
Janeway allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of his arms around her for
a moment,”Not right now,Chakotay.”She replied softly,”I have to talk to
Q.”
“Kathryn,he said he can’t interfere.”Chakotay reminded her gently.
Janeway nodded,”I know but it can’t hurt to try.”She pulled away from
him and went to stand by the window,”Maybe I can work out some kind of
deal with him.”
She turned when she felt his arm around her waist,”I have to try,
Chakotay.I can’t enjoy being home without knowing I did everything in my
power to help B’Elanna.”
Chakotay nodded as he pullled her into an embrace,”Whatever you decide
to do Kathryn I’ll back you one hundred percent.”
************************************************************

“Is she up to talking,Julian?”Sisko asked as he,Bashir,Dax and O’Brien
gathered in Sickbay.
Bashir nodded,”Yes,but not too many people at once. Remember no matter
who she says she is this woman has been through a great tramua in the
last forty eight hours.”
“Understood.”Sisko replied.

“Who are you?”B’Elanna demanded struggling into a sitting position as
the group entered the room.
Benjamin Sisko put on what he hoped was a warm smile,”I’m Captain Sisko
in charge of starfleet operations on Deep Space Nine.”He motioned to the
group behind,”You’ve already met Doctor Bashir. This is Jadzia Dax my
science officer and Chief of operations Miles O’Brien.”
“You’re the one who found me.”Torres replied weakly.
“That’s right.”O’Brien replied gently as he stepped forward.
“I know you’ve been through a lot,”Sisko began as he moved to stand by
the biobed,”But we need to know how you got here.”
B’Elanna pressed her hands against her forehead as she leaned back
against the pillow,”Its all so fuzzy.”
Sisko exchanged a glance with Dax before repling,”Okay,let’s start with
something easy. Why don’t you tell us your name?”

B’Elanna opened her eyes,”I’m Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres. Chief engineer
of the federation starship Voyager.”
“Voyager was destroyed four years ago in the badlands,”Julian replied
gently,”Did you have loved ones on board?”
Torres glared,”I *am not* crazy,Doctor Bashir!”
Sisko placed a reassuring hand on the young woman’s shoulder,”We’re not
saying you are,but you have to see this from our point of view. You
appear from nowhere claiming to be from a ship that was destroyed in a
Macqui fight four years ago.”
B’Elanna sighed tiredly,”I know how this must look,but I am telling you
the truth! I am Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres.”

“Starfleet records list Voyager’s engineer as a William Stewart.”Dax
interjected quietly.
B’Elanna nodded,”He was.Stewart was killed in the explosion that nearly
took out half of Voyager before we even got to the Delta quaderant.”
“Starfleet records also say you never completed the academy.”Sisko
commented watching the woman closely,”And that you are wanted for
several Macqui attacks.”

Torres absently twisted the wedding band on her finger as she met
Sisko’s gaze,”I’m not proud of it but yes I was a Macqui. Our ship got
caught in the same rift as Voyager. Janeway beamed everyone aboard just
as the warp core breached.”
“And this *rift* transported everyone to the delta quardarnt?”O’Brien
asked warily,”That’s over seventy thousand light years from Earth.”
“Yes,”B’Elanna replied,”I know its hard to believe but that’s what
happened. Voyager’s been trying to find her way home ever since.”
*******************************************************************

“Computer,where is Lieutenant Paris?”Harry Kim asked as he stepped off
the turbolift.
“Lieutenant Paris is currently located in Holodeck2.”The female voice
replied.
Harry nodded and walked the length of the corridor to the holodeck.

Upon entering the room Harry wasn’t surprised to see the computer was
still set to display a church.
Kim took a few steps into the dimly lit holodeck to find Tom sitting on
one of the pews in the fourth row.
“Janeway’s decided not to try to rescue B’Elanna,hasn’t she?”Tom asked
softly not turning around.
Harry slid into the seat next to the helsman,”No,she hasn’t decided
anything yet.”

“I saw Hunter today,Harry.”Tom stated as he rested his arms on the pew
in front of him.
“Tom.....”Harry began at a loss as to what to say to console his friend.
Paris finally turned to face him,”He told me that witch injected
B’Elanna with a drug we have no cure for..........”
***************************************************************

In the continum.......


“You know there’s a thin line between maliace and evil and you just
crossed it,dearheart.”
Elizabeth whirled around to face her ex’s disembodied voice,”That’s a
lot of hot air coming from someone who brought the borg and the humans
face to face!”

In a flash Q materialized wearing a sherriff’s uniform straight out of
Earth’s ‘old west’.
“That was different and you know it!”Q retorted floating just three feet
above the floor.
Elizabeth backpeddled a few feet crossing her arms over her chest,”How?”
“Picard dared me.”Q replied with a glare,”I had to play the ace of the
deck.”

The female Q shook her head in esperation as she turned away from
him,”Male pride,that’s the only difference here.”
Q’s eyes narrowed into slits as he floated toward her,”Don’t
underestimate the humans,my love.”Q said softly as he moved so his face
was inches from hers,”One thing I’ve learned about them is when someone
they care about is threatened they bite back worse than a Centuri
mongoose.”
His former wife smiled as she met Q’s gaze,”We’ll I’ll just have to test
that theory won’t I?”

Before Q could reply she vanished with a snap of her fingers.
The Godling sighed,”Kathy’s not going to be happy about this.”
*************************************************************

“How did you get here?”Benjamin Sisko asked as he folded his arms across
his chest,”Where is Voyager now?”
B’Elanna didn’t know what was happening to her. She could hear Sisko’s
voice but couldn’t concentrate on the words long enough to understand
the question.
When she looked at the group of concerned federation officers their
faces began to swim in front of her eyes.

Swallowing hard Torres replied in a hoarse voice,”Voyager lost. Trying
to find....trying to find.......back.”
Bashir leaped into action as the young klingon woman suddenly collasped
back onto the biobed,her eyes tightly closed.
“What’s happening to her,Julian?”Jadziar Dax asked quietly as the
science officer took a step forward.

Bashir waved his free hand at them as he ran a tricorder scan with the
other,”Everyone out,now!”Julian ordered,”Her condition’s deteriating and
I’m not sure if I can stop it.”
The three friends exchanged a concerned glance before quietly exiting
Sickbay.