Commander Sparhawk lied in his bed at Starbase 235. He looked down at his leg and where his other leg used to be. He thought back to the day he lost it, back on the Ba'ku planet. He knew he was going to get through this but he also knew it was going to take work. Then the door opened and in strolled a short Admiral by the name of Kreimer. Another young admiral. She had long brown hair and a slender body figure to her tiny frame. Admiral Kreimer was in charge of this starbase and made regular visits with the patients here. Starbase 235 wasn't a medical starbase but it did house a lot of injured officers.

"How are you feeling, Commander?"

"Not bad, sir with all things considering."

"Well, I brought someone here that will brighten your day." She said as she stepped aside.

A woman no older than Commander Sparhawk appeared in the doorway. She had dark hair that was parted in the middle and went down just past her shoulders. She wore the command red turtleneck underneath her grey shouldered black uniform and also sported Commander Pips on her collar. It was the first officer of the Challenger, Commander April Prideau.

She rushed over to his side and hugged him tightly and then covered him in kisses. The admiral snuck out of the room to give the couple their privacy.

"How did you get here?" Jason asked.

"The Challenger was in this sector and Captain McAuliffe allowed me to see you."

"How long are you here for?"

"As long as I'm needed here."

Jason smiled. It would be the first time in awhile that he got to spend some quality time with April. She pulled a chair over and leaned on him. Jason rubbed the top of her head with his other hand in repeated soft and slow strokes.

Michelle Stull walked into her quarters, just coming off duty. She unzipped her jacket and walked over to the replicator.

"Hot chocolate with mint." She said.

The device produced a bright light as her drink of choice materialized. She grabbed the drink from the alcove. She took a sip from her glass and then set it on the table. The drink was rather soothing and had a very relaxing effect on her. She then reached over into a small plastic container and pulled out a Tribble. The tiny furball purred as she pet it.

Normally, it would be a bit of a hazard and a lot of trouble to have a Tribble on a Starship or anywhere for that matter because all they do is eat and reproduce. However, this particular one was fixed so it couldn't reproduce. She recalled a story that Commander Zofchak told her after he found out that she had a Tribble on board. He told her about when Commander Worf told him about how the Tribbles were mortal enemies to the empire and how hundreds of warriors went to the Tribble home world and eradicated them. He then proceeded to tell her how the population was rejuvenated because Captain Sisko and his crew went back in time to when Kirk visited Deep Space station K-7. A Tribble must've gotten aboard the Defiant and came back to the present because Deep Space Nine was up to their necks in Tribbles.

Suddenly, the activation of her computer terminal at her desk interrupted her thoughts. Stull recognized it as being the indicator of an incoming transmission. She set her Tribble down, grabbed her drink and walked over to the terminal. She touched the screen.

"Authorization, Stull-three-seven-gamma-echo."

The composed image of Tyrilla Norta, head of the Symbosis Commission, appeared on the screen. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun, showing her spots and high forehead. Michelle instantly knew why she was being contacted by them. A short time before she graduated from Starfleet Academy, she expressed an interest in being joined. She specifically asked for the Trinn symbiont.

"Torkien is expected to die within the next few days. We would like you to come to Trill and accept the Trinn Symbiont."

"I'll request leave and take a shuttle there. The Alexandria is currently in the Tesnia system. It'll take me a few days to get there."

"Understood. I look forward to your arrival."

At that the screen went blank and Michelle leaned back in her chair. She didn't know what to think. She had been waiting for this moment all of her life. The one thing that did worry her was her newly formed relationship to Commander Merriell. She wasn't going to break it off just yet but she did want to inform him that if the symbiont did not wish to be a part of their relationship then she would have to break it off. Symbionts usually viewed romantic involvements to be a nuisance and they want to live on a higher plane of existence. But, it was not unheard of for a joined Trill to have a romantic relationship. Both Jadzia Dax was married to Commander Worf and later Ezri Dax had a relationship was Julian Bashir. Before she did anything else she had to talk to the captain. She zipped up her jacket and left her quarters.

Captain Allensworth sat in his ready room. He wasn't doing anything in particular. He just sat there staring at his desk. His mind was still processing the information that Doctor Plumley told him a short time ago. He wanted to tell his senior officers but he didn't want to worry them especially during the war. They needed to keep their minds at the task at hand instead of him. At that moment, his door chimed.

"Come in."

The doors parted revealing Lieutenant Stull. She entered and approached the captain.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, I just got a transmission from the Symbiosis Commission, telling me that the Trinn symbiont will be available within a few days. I want to request a temporary leave of absence to go to Trill and be joined."

"The Trinn Symbiont. I knew a Trinn during my days at the academy. He was an instructor there. He died about ten years ago."

"That was Korlain Trinn. The current host is Torkien Trinn. I'm not sure on the details but he is expected to die in a few days and I've been chosen as the next host."

"I guess a congratulations is in order. Request granted."

A smile appeared on Michelle's face. "Thank you, sir."

"Although, I'm aware of the issues of relationships that symbionts have so you may want to Alex. I'm sure he'll be understanding if things don't work out because of the symbiont." Allensworth said.

"I was going to talk to him after I was done talking to you, sir."

"Carry on, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." At that, she turned and left.

Hoshi Sato walked down the corridors to her quarters. Actually, they were Dustin's quarters but she had moved into his quarters after he proposed to her. Instead of wearing the standard duty uniform, she had to wear a maternity version of it now. She was only at four months but she looked like she was like six months because of the twins.

She was just about to turn the corner that lead to the corridor where her quarters were when she suddenly felt nauseated. She leaned on the wall for support hoping the feeling would go away soon. At first she thought it was pregnancy related until she realized she wasn't standing in the corridor any more.

She looked around and noticed that she obviously wasn't on the bridge of the Alexandria but on the bridge of another Federation starship. A blonde haired woman was seated in the captain's chair. She wore a uniform that wasn't worn today. It had black shoulders and pants and the arms and torso signified the division. Hers was obviously the command red. This was obviously the past but when. It wasn't too far in the past, she concluded, because she remembered that Dustin had a uniform just like hers only his was the engineering gold.

"Captain." A voice from Ops said.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, the Enterprise is transmitting the warp signature of the Maquis ship that has Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro aboard."

The captain nodded. Hoshi looked around thinking that she was experiencing the same thing as when they entered the Shinjitsu nebula. The captain turned and looked at her.

"Troubles, Counselor?"

Hoshi's eyes widened. This was very different from that time. This time they could talk to her but she was called counselor. She had to think fast.

"No, sir. I'm just hoping that everything goes well."

"We all do, Counselor."

Hoshi looked down at her uniform but she saw no change. She was still wearing her normal uniform and was still pregnant.

What is going on here?

Another set of beeping filled the bridge.

"Sir, the ship piloted by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro is firing a low intensity particle beam into the nebula."

"What the hell is going on?" The captain said standing up and walking towards the screen.

"The polarizing effect being created by the beam may make it possible for us to be detected."

"Is there anyway to counteract the effect?"

"I'll try to do so, sir."

"Sir," Another voice said from the tactical station. "The ship being piloted by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro is heading towards the Enterprise."

Hoshi fell to her knees. She was back in the corridor on the Alexandria. A crewmember ran to her side. She heard him call for sickbay before she passed out.

A short time later, Michelle and Alex stood in the shuttle bay next to the shuttlecraft Berman.

After hugging her, he pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Nervous?"

She slightly nodded. "Don't be. Whatever happens, we'll still be friends. I hope we can remain more but if the Trinn symbiont doesn't like the idea, I'll understand."

Stull was so relieved that he was so understanding about the joining. The two closed the gap between them and kissed each other. After breaking the kiss, she stepped into the shuttle.

"The next time I see you, you'll be Michelle Trinn instead of Michelle Stull."

She smiled as she pressed the controls to close the hatch. Merriell stepped up into the control room and pressed the controls to open the cargo bay doors. The shuttle lifted off and exited the shuttle bay. It took off the port side and once clear it leapt into warp.

Only seconds later a Trident class starship dropped out of warp next to the Alexandria. It was the USS Ward.

Allensworth sat in his ready room when the intercom kicked on.

"Captain, the USS Ward has arrived." Kell Perim said. Allensworth looked up in confusion.

"The Ward? We weren't expecting the Ward."

"They're hailing us, sir."

"Put it in through here, Lieutenant."

Allensworth swiveled his LCARS screen around and activated it. A man in his late forties appeared on the screen. He wore the standard command red turtleneck under his uniform but along with his four pips was a bar placed underneath the pips. He was a Fleet Captain.

"Captain Allensworth, I am Fleet Captain McElfreshof Internal Affairs. We are putting your ship under investigation. We have reason to believe that there is a traitor among your crew."