Chapter One

Crossover

-COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER NOTICE-

This is a work of fan fiction and the characters and concepts of Star Trek belong to Paramount Pictures and the Gerry & Silva Anderson respectively. This story must not be sold or distributed for financial gain of any sort.

"And there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again"

Don McLean - "American Pie" (1)

"Accidenti! That was one hell of a ride," muttered Verdeschi, picking himself off the floor and dusting his beige trousers. (2)

Commander Koenig also stood up shakily, brushing off the computer printouts and office stationery which had fallen on him during the Moon's chaotic journey through the wormhole. The lights in Command Centre were on minimal power; a sign that the main computer was off-line. Koenig headed for the science station, where Verdeschi was already helping the science officer, Maya, to her feet.

"Maya, what happened?" demanded the commander. She was the one who had originally recognised that the disturbance was a wormhole.

"We went through the wormhole," said the alien, spreading her hands helplessly as she sat down at her station. She leaned down to pick up the punched cards that had fallen to the floor. "There was no way we could avoid it."

"Sandra," said Koenig, calling the senior data analyst. "What is the computer's status?"

"Computer is offline," she replied.

The commander heard Verdeschi mutter, "What else is new?" Looking in the direction of his first officer, Koenig found that the young man was sitting on Maya's desk, his arms crossed as he looked down at her. Maya returned his gaze, the ridges above each eye raised as she waited for yet another of the Italian's jokes.

"You could have warned us it would be so rough!" he exclaimed. "That was some roller-coaster ride. How difficult is to detect a few neutrinos, anyway? You should have picked them up earlier."

Maya's blue eyes widened innocently and she put on an outraged expression, although she was smiling. "I'd never been through a wormhole before," she protested, her Psychon accent audible in her indignation. "You're lucky I knew what it was and was able to warn you beforehand."

"Yeah... ten seconds before we collided with the thing! That wasn't much time to prepare." Verdeschi was pretending to be annoyed, but Koenig knew better. The light-hearted bickering between Verdeschi and Maya had been daily entertainment for the whole command staff for years.

Maya, as usual, was unfazed. "As someone who wouldn't know a neutrino if it came with a little sign, I don't think you're qualified to criticise," she declared, resuming her activities.

Verdeschi opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it again, apparently unable to think of a witty retort. He simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Koenig as if to indicate that this was the end of his private conversation. The neon lights in the ceiling flickered on and the clicking and whirring of the computer filled the room as it came back online. The operatives immediately set about reading the LED displays and collating the printouts the computer started to spit out.

"We have work to do," said Koenig decisively. "Tony, we need to assess how much damage we incurred..."

Verdeschi nodded and immediately walked back to his own console. "I'll get right on it, John." He pressed the comm button on his desk. "Calling all sections. Please report."

"The external sensors are back online," announced Sandra Benes at the communications console. "We have a picture of where we are." She flicked a switch and a view of the space above the station appeared on the main screen.

"What's that?" asked Verdeschi, pointing at a small, round construction spinning in the Moon's wake. "That wagon-wheel thing."

"It is like a ship or a space station," suggested Benes, instinctively standing up to observe the object.

"It probably got pulled out of position when we came out of the wormhole," said Koenig. The object was spinning uncontrollably, following the Moon, and he assumed that wasn't its usual state. "Maya, can you scan the construction and tell us what it is?"

Maya consulted the printout the computer produced and then checked the information on her black and white monitor. "Our sensors can't penetrate the structure, but this solar system seems quite densely populated. I'm picking up a few ships in the area. I'd say the space station is there to guard the wormhole."

"Great," said Verdeschi as Operative Kate Andrews handed him a report. He put the clipboard down and looked up at the screen again. "More angry aliens to placate. As if we didn't have a hard enough time with the last lot."

Let's just hope these ones are more amenable than the Hadar, thought Koenig in spite of himself as he observed the spinning construction. Their last encounter with alien life, like so many before, had very nearly spelled the end of Moonbase Alpha.

"Whatever it is, it looks as if they're moving it back into position," said Maya.

The alien station was a dark, circular structure with a centre-piece shaped like a wagon wheel and three curved prongs that arched above and below the centre. A multitude of gas-blue thrusters had lit up along one side and the station was slowly tumbling back towards where the wormhole had been. As the Alphans watched, the station stopped spinning altogether.

"Well, John, now would probably be a good time to call them up and say we're sorry before they start shooting," suggested Verdeschi, glancing at the commander.

Koenig nodded and turned to Benes. "Sahn, can you establish communications with them?"

"Yes, I... Communications established, commander" responded Benes, though she sounded surprised that her attempt had succeeded so rapidly.

The screen now showed what was presumably the command area of the alien station. A man in a black and grey uniform was standing in the middle of the shot, apparently waiting to hear what Koenig had to say. He didn't look pleased, and there was a prominent dark brown bruise on his cheek. Koenig rapidly suppressed the hope he felt at meeting what appeared to be a human; his experiences in space had taught him to trust no one, regardless of their appearance.

"This is Commander John Koenig of Moonbase Alpha," started the commander, trying to sound as friendly as he could. It jarred him to apologise for something he could not control, but experience had proved that contriteness was the wisest move in situations like this. "We apologise for any damage we might have caused; we have no control over the movement of our Moon, and did not realise there would be a station so near the wormhole."

The man on the screen nodded and managed a smile. "Oh, we'll be all right... I am Captain Benjamin Sisko, commander of the Federation station Deep Space Nine. You gave us a bit of a shock, Commander. Perhaps you can explain how this... moon of yours came to be in the wormhole?"

From the man's appearance and accent, Koenig assumed that Sisko was an African-American and rapidly surmised that the Moon had either come far into the future, or had shifted into a parallel universe. Certainly, there had been no human installations of this kind this far in space before the Moon left Earth orbit. The last time Alpha had had contact with Earth, they had discovered that time dilation due to the Moon's passage through several space rifts had caused time on Alpha to run much more slowly than in the rest of the universe. It was quite possible that "normal" space could have gone through several centuries, while the inhabitants of the Moon had only lived a few years. (3)

"It's a long story," answered Koenig. "Our Moon was wrenched out of Earth orbit following an accident. It has been drifting in space ever since." (4)

Sisko's smile faded. "So this is the Terran moon?"

Koenig nodded, though he was surprised at the use of "Terran" - an adjective he had only ever seen in science fiction. He no longer had to wonder whether it was the future or an alternate universe the wormhole had led them into. Sisko's surprise made it plain that, in this universe, the Moon was still orbiting Earth. Clearly, Alpha and all its inhabitants had been propelled into a different reality.

"I think you've been the victim of a dimensional shift," said Sisko, enunciating each word as if carefully weighing what information he gave Koenig. "I suggest you beam aboard our station to discuss this."

Beam aboard? thought Koenig, before dismissing the term as something which would no doubt be explained later. He was reluctant to go onto the alien station without knowing more about its inhabitants, but on the other hand, Alpha was in no state to receive visitors, he realised as he looked at the mess around him.

"My first officer and I will come over with one of our ships in an hour's time," he said finally. That would give him time to discuss the situation with his senior staff. Looking over at Verdeschi, Koenig could tell his first officer was not at all pleased with this arrangement.

"John -" he started. Koenig silenced him with a glance.

"As you wish; we'll prepare a docking port for you," said Sisko.

And with that, the captain closed communications on his side, without so much as a goodbye. A symbol representing a star system surrounded by a laurel wreath appeared on screen. The caption, in Latin letters, read "United Federation of Planets". Koenig was struck by the similitude to the emblem once used by the United Nations on his Earth. He wondered what kind of universe this would prove to be. I'll know soon enough, he thought wryly.

"Eagle One, you are cleared for docking. Please follow the instructions we're uploading and proceed to Upper Pylon 3," said Kira as she watched the small ship approach the station. It was of an unfamiliar design, white with a pointed cockpit and a rectangular rear section.

"Roger that, Deep Space Nine," said a man's voice over the loudspeakers. "Roger"? thought Kira, as the stranger continued, "Proceeding to your Upper Pylon 3 as instructed."

"He sounds like an Australian," remarked O'Brien when Kira had closed communications. He also looked at the ship on the screen. "I wonder how they got there, stranded on the Moon. I mean, what are the odds of that happening, in any reality?"

Kira shrugged her shoulders. The vicissitudes of a wandering Terran moon from an alternate universe did not concern her too much. She was more worried about the fact this rogue planetoid was heading for the Bajoran system.

"I'm sure we will find out plenty when we talk to them," she said as she logged off and, leaving her console to a junior officer, headed for the Turbolift. As first officer, it was her duty to greet visitors to the station and escort them to meet Captain Sisko.

Odo was already at the docking pylon when Kira arrived, and she greeted him with a brief kiss. Since they were alone for the moment, she leaned against him while he held her in his arms. She sighed contentedly and entwined her fingers with his. The solidity of his smooth skin made her reflect how strange it was that in his natural state, he wasn't solid at all, but a mass of a jelly-like substance... it wasn't an idea that particularly appealed to her.

To take her mind off this train of thought, she said, "I hear Quark lodged a complaint about what happened."

"Hmpf." Odo's gruff guffaw resonated through her. "He wants to sue Starfleet for not keeping the station upright during business hours. Apparently, a great many of his glasses and bottles were broken when that moon pulled us out of position. It hasn't stopped him from keeping the bar open, though."

Kira looked up at Odo and smiled. "Of course not. He might miss out on some profit."

Odo turned towards the window, which was almost entirely filled with the view of the asteroid. "I'm sure that was the last thing anyone expected to see coming out of the wormhole after all these months: the Terran moon from an alternate universe. I wonder what it was doing in the Gamma Quadrant."

"Do you think the Dominion has anything to do with this?"

Odo shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to take any chances, do you?"

Kira shook her head; she knew he was right; they couldn't trust anything that had come from Dominion territory.

Kira and Odo separated rapidly as they felt the vibrations of the Eagle docking with the station. When the airlock opened, Kira put on her best smile to welcome the two humans who came out. She recognised the commander as the tall, dark-haired man in the black jacket and addressed him first.

"Commander," she said politely, extending her hand for the traditional Terran greeting. "I am Major Kira, first officer of the station, and this is Constable Odo, our chief of security."

The commander shook her hand and smiled uncertainly, his pale eyes shifting from Kira to Odo and back. "I am John Koenig, commander of Moonbase Alpha, and this is my chief of security, Tony Verdeschi."

Kira noticed that he stressed the term 'chief of security' and looked warily at Odo. His younger colleague remained sullen, hands firmly entrenched in his pockets. Kira could see a couple of devices suspended to the Alphans' belts and suspected that at least one of those objects might be a weapon. She suddenly wished she had brought some security guards with her.

"Welcome to Deep Space Nine," she said with a diplomatic smile, although she realised that things were not getting off to a good start.

The Alphan security man barely nodded a greeting and Kira felt a wave of irritation wash over her. The least he could do was smile when he was being welcomed. He was a slim, pale-skinned man, probably about Kira's age and roughly her height, which made him short by human standards. Like the commander, he wore beige trousers and a jacket, but the highlights on his undershirt were red instead of black, and his jacket was blue. Humans in any universe were evidently keen on colour-coding their ranks.

Kira's initial irritation toward Verdeschi was not helped by the fact he was deliberately looking her over. Perhaps he had never seen a woman in a uniform like hers; for all she knew, he might never have seen a woman in uniform. After all, Captain Sisko had said these people were from an alternate reality; maybe the young man wasn't being rude by the standards of his universe.

At least he seemed to be appreciating what he saw. He gave her a half-smile when he had finished his observation, and Kira, momentarily forgetting his rudeness, automatically responded. He wasn't too bad looking for a human. Dark hair, brown eyes, a well-defined jaw, a chin with just a hint of a cleft in it. She felt Odo's blue gaze on her and realised she had spent just a little too long staring at Verdeschi.

Kira indicated they should move down the corridor. The area was too narrow for more than two people to walk abreast, so Kira and Koenig led the way while Odo and Verdeschi followed silently behind.

"So, what do you make of this, Old Man?" asked Sisko, leaning on the conference room table and looking out at the Moon. He and Dax were waiting for Kira to bring the humans to the wardroom.

"We know it's definitely the Terran Moon and it's definitely from an alternate universe," answered Dax, swivelling her chair around to look at him. Her blue eyes were bright with enthusiasm. "But it's not a universe we've ever encountered before: I even double-checked the Moon's quantum signature with that of the 300,000 universes the Enterprise-D encountered a few years ago. All I can tell so far is that our two universes must have split some time after the late 20th century. Our scan of this Moon found the American flag the Apollo 11 team left on the surface in 1969." (5)

Sisko smiled: that was one of the first historical events he had learned about in school. "What did you find out about the inhabitants?"

"Our scanners picked up 219 people currently on the base. All human. That's excluding the people who have come over on the shuttle. Their technology is... very primitive. The whole base seems to be run on nuclear power. I'd say they come from a universe where technological development was much slower."

"I see," said Sisko, nodding thoughtfully. "But our next question is: what do we do with a moon from an alternate universe?"

"Usual Starfleet policy is to send people back when they're in the wrong universe," she reminded him. "But I don't see how we can reverse the Moon's course. That's beyond our capabilities. It would take the power of a dozen Galaxy class ships to move something as large as the Moon, and even then, exerting that kind of force on it would probably break it up."

"Not to mention that we don't have a dozen Galaxy class ships at our disposal," said Sisko laconically.

Dax smiled. "Exactly. I'll need to study the question more in depth, of course, but I'm certain we can't send the whole Moon back to its universe. On the other hand, sending the inhabitants themselves shouldn't be a problem. Goodness knows we've had enough encounters with the Mirror Universe here to teach us how to initiate dimensional shifts."

She lifted an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Sisko; he was the one who had spent the most time in the so-called Mirror Universe. He wondered briefly if Dax knew what had happened between him and her Mirror counterpart... He rapidly dismissed that train of thought. (6)

"But sending the people back is a problem we'll have to deal with later," continued Dax, glancing at the asteroid. "I'm afraid our first priority will be destroying the Moon altogether."

"Destroying it?"

Dax fixed her dark blue gaze on him again. "Benjamin. According to the calculations I've run, that Moon is headed straight for Bajor VIII."

Verdeschi couldn't help watching Kira's hips as she walked in front of him. The tight scarlet uniform she was wearing certainly showed off her shapely figure to its advantage. In the brief moment he had observed her at the airlock, Verdeschi had determined two things. First: she was an attractive woman. She was admittedly very thin, but she did have a pretty face and a very sweet smile. Second: she liked him. There was no mistaking the little smile she had given him when she noticed he was observing her. Not that he was available, of course, but it was nice to know he was appreciated.

This was no time for such trivialities, however. As chief of security, it was Verdeschi's job to be wary of everyone and anything, and being greeted by two unknown creatures instead of Captain Sisko was doing nothing to set his mind at ease. Judging from the extra pleats of skin on the bridge of her nose, and the strange earring she wore, Kira was an alien of some sort and that fact alone was enough to make Verdeschi suspicious of her. Experience had taught him that Maya was the only alien he could trust unconditionally.

Taking his eyes off Kira's uniform, Verdeschi turned his attention to the other creature, Odo, who was walking beside him. The "constable" was a different kind of alien. He had smooth, undefined features, rather as if he had been made of Plasticene. Verdeschi had some recollection of a children's animation programme which had featured characters made of "Plastilina", as it was called in Italy, some of which had not been unlike Odo. But only the alien's facial features lacked detail; he had fine blond hair and his small blue eyes were as sharp and focused as any human's. Verdeschi and Odo's eyes met and the human knew they both shared a common mission. If anything happened to Kira or Koenig, they would spring into action to defend their wards. But Verdeschi also had a trick up his sleeve...

"I hope you had no difficulties docking," said the major conversationally, her sharp voice interrupting his musings. She was walking sideways so as to smile at the humans while they all went down the corridor. The smile creased her black eyes in a manner which Verdeschi, under other circumstances, might have found very appealing.

"The instructions you gave our pilot were very clear," said Koenig in response to the major's question. "We were impressed at how easily your computer systems interfaced with ours."

Docking seemed to be Major Kira's area of expertise; although he was walking behind her, and could no longer see her face, Verdeschi heard the enthusiasm in her voice as she replied.

"Oh, we get ships from all over the Quadrant docking here," she said. "So we have to be prepared for anything. Vessels like yours which have their airlocks on the side have to dock at the pylons, while front- or back-opening ships can connect to the docking ring. The computerised guiding system has also been optimised to interface with as many autopilots as possible."

They had reached the lift, a narrow, dumb-waiter type of elevator with an open cabin. Once they were all perched on its metal floor, Odo ordered it to "Habitat Ring". Verdeschi made a mental note of how the lift worked: they might have to use it to get back to the docking pylon.

"Is your pilot the - Australian?" asked Kira, hesitating on the last word as if it were unfamiliar.

Verdeschi could tell Koenig was as surprised as he was at the alien's mention of their pilot Alan Carter's nationality.

"Yes," said the commander, nodding. "I suppose you could tell from the accent."

Kira shook her head, making the earring she wore on her right ear jangle. "One of my Terran colleagues recognised it. He's from Ireland; I gather the two regions are quite close."

Verdeschi guffawed involuntarily at the idea. "Close?" he muttered under his breath. Kira heard him and spun around, her sweetness quite forgotten as her dark eyes flashed with anger. In spite of himself, Verdeschi took a step backwards.

"What's so funny?" she demanded sharply, though her expression softened almost immediately as she struggled to regain her composure. "I don't know that much about Terran geography," she said more calmly. "I assumed from what my colleague said that Ireland and the land of the Australians were close."

"The two areas aren't close geographically," interceded Koenig, a smile on his lips; Verdeschi suspected his commander was laughing at him rather than Kira. "But a lot of Australians are descended from Irish ancestors... at least, they were in our universe."

Odo joined the conversation for the first time. "Hmm. Things might be different here," he growled.

So Plastilino can speak after all, thought Verdeschi uncharitably as the lift stopped. But now was not the time to be wasting thoughts on feeble jokes; they had apparently reached the main section of the station, the centre of the "wheel", and Verdeschi had some work to do.

As Koenig walked on with Kira and Odo, Verdeschi followed a couple of paces behind. After checking that Odo was not paying attention to him anymore - the alien had been looking back suspiciously ever since they left the elevator -, Verdeschi casually brushed his sleeve against one of the bulkheads. Unnoticed by the others, a small beetle crawled out of his jacket and onto a ridge on the wall. Verdeschi watched it scuttle along the groove in the bulkhead and into a nearby vent. Smiling, he increased his pace and joined the others.

Dax observed the two humans with interest as they sat down opposite her. She was burning with curiosity to find out how these humans had broken away from Earth orbit, and how they had come into the wormhole, and what adventures they had had in between. How had they survived deep space long enough to reach the Gamma Quadrant? What species had they met on the way? Why hadn't they settled on one of the numerous M-class planets in the galaxy? There were a hundred questions the Trill wanted to ask them. They were a mystery, and if there was one thing Dax liked, it was mysteries.

"How did your moon leave Earth's orbit?" she asked once Sisko had done all the introductions. "It must have taken quite a considerable force to move it."

Koenig nodded. "There was an accident in one of our nuclear storage units. The force of the blast was such that the Moon was propelled out of the solar system. It has been wandering uncontrollably ever since. We were lucky any Alphans survived."

"You have shuttles," said Kira, who was sitting just beside Dax, "why didn't you use them to leave the Moon and go back to Earth?"

"The Moon was moving too fast at that point for us to attempt to leave it," explained Koenig, apparently annoyed at the question. "By the time it was safe to launch the Eagles, it would have taken them centuries to get back to Earth."

That seemed like a reasonable explanation, although Dax was curious to know more. By now, she had had time to observe the Alphans, as they seemed to call themselves. They neither of them looked at ease, but given the circumstances, Dax could understand that. She rapidly surmised that Verdeschi was young, probably still only in his thirties, and obviously took his job as a bodyguard very seriously: his eyes were darting around, taking in every detail of the room and its occupants. He was reasonably good-looking in a bland way that would fade with age, and Dax soon decided he was nowhere near as interesting as Koenig, sitting beside him.

To a certain extent, the Alphan commander reminded Jadzia of her father; he had the same sort of greying dark hair and piercing blue eyes, although Koenig naturally had no Trill spots running down his hairline. And he was a lot more attractive, too, in a rugged way that appealed to Dax. She estimated the Alphan was probably in his mid-sixties or seventies. Or at least, that was how old he looked by the standards of modern day humans; she had to remind herself that ageing might be faster or slower in his universe.

While Dax observed the Alphans, it seemed Odo had some questions of his own to ask. "How did you come to be in the Gamma Quadrant?" he said, suspicion clear in his gruff voice. He was standing behind Kira's chair, his arms folded, as he was wont to do when interrogating a suspect.

"The Gamma Quadrant?" repeated Koenig. He exchanged a puzzled look with Verdeschi and then glanced uncomprehendingly at Sisko, no doubt seeking the assistance of the one other human in the room. It suddenly occurred to Dax that being confronted by three aliens was probably one of the things unnerving the Alphans.

"The Gamma Quadrant is on the other side of the wormhole," explained Sisko. "This side is the Alpha Quadrant."

Koenig smiled. "We don't use those names," he said. "The only Alpha we know is our base on the Moon. As to how we came to be in what you call the Gamma Quadrant: we have no control over our trajectory. We have been through several space warps which have thrown us far away from our original position. We were drifting through space when we encountered the wormhole which brought us into this universe. We assume Alpha was too big and caused a dimensional shift in the wormhole."

"Yes," said Dax, pleased to see that the Alphans understood what had happened to them. Considering the unsophisticated state of their technology, she had half-expected them to be ignorant of basic concepts like parallel universes. "The mass of the Moon must have caused a quantum rift in the wormhole. That would explain why you went in one end and came out into another universe."

"Did you encounter any alien species in the Gamma Quadrant or the wormhole?" asked Odo. Dax could tell that the constable didn't trust the humans: but then Odo never trusted anyone.

"No," answered Koenig, looking up at him. "The last aliens we encountered were quite far away from the wormhole. But I don't know exactly how big this Gamma Quadrant is, so it is possible the aliens were from that area."

The commander's tone was cold and Dax got the feeling he was already losing patience with Odo's questions. Odo, however, seemed not to notice. "What was the nature of your contact with these aliens?"

"Now wait a minute," interrupted Verdeschi, leaning forward in his seat and pointing menacingly at Odo. "What's all this about? Are you suspecting us of something?"

It was the first time since the beginning of the meeting that Verdeschi had spoken, and all eyes immediately turned to him. He had flicked back the front panel of his jacket to uncover a device that was probably his weapon; his right hand was resting innocently on the table, but Dax had no doubt it would take only a few seconds for him to fire his gun if necessary.

"Of course we don't suspect you of anything," said Kira, her face scrunching up into a reassuring smile. There had been a time when the Bajoran would have been the one to envenom a situation rather than defuse it; but over the years, some of Kira's attitudes had mellowed, and she was becoming quite a diplomat. As long as no Cardassians were involved.

As Kira spoke, Dax noticed that Verdeschi gave her a quick once-over before turning his attention back to Odo. The look had only lasted a split second, but it made Dax smile as she reflected she didn't often see humans do that sort of thing these days. She observed the young man's bland features for a moment as the conversation continued.

There was something about the Alphans' hairstyles and clothes that was vaguely familiar. It was a minute before she realised that Starfleet uniforms had once looked similar, at least in their cut - long tunics worn with a belt over wide trousers. She smiled involuntarily as she remembered her past host Emony, by then in old age, complaining about those 'Seventies pyjamas' back in 2270. Noticing that she was staring at him, Verdeschi met her eye, and Dax looked away, focusing her attention on the conversation again. (7)

"We've learned to be cautious about people from alternate universes," Sisko was saying. He glanced at Kira. "We've had some... very bad experiences. I'm sorry if our questions seem unfriendly."

*Security to Odo*

The hail caught Dax unawares, making her start in surprise. She noticed that the Alphans automatically looked up at the ceiling, before exchanging a bemused look.

Odo tapped his commbadge. "Odo here."

*Sir, there's been a break-in at the Assay Office. Some of the coffers opened while the station was spinning, and someone made off with their contents. The clerk insists that you should handle this matter personally.*

"I'm sure he does," growled Odo. He seemed about to add something else, but then looked at Sisko and simulated a sigh.

"I think we'll be all right without you, Constable," said Sisko with a nod. With three other senior officers attending the meeting, Odo's presence wasn't indispensable, and the captain had probably decided the Alphans posed no immediate threat. Besides, theft at the Assay Office was not something to be taken lightly. Dax knew that some of the station's inhabitants had some very valuable items kept there.

"I'll call a security guard to replace me," said Odo as he left. The promised guard joined them only a couple of minutes later, and the meeting resumed.

"I apologise for the interruption, gentlemen," explained Sisko, turning back to the Alphans. "Odo is a busy man."

"A security chief's work is never done," declared Verdeschi drolly.

"Why do you need to know who we met in this Gamma Quadrant?" asked Koenig, looking at Sisko. "Do you have some kind of conflict with someone there?"

"Yes," admitted Kira frankly. "We're at war with an empire from the other side of the wormhole."

The Alphans exchanged a grave glance. Dax noticed that the constable's departure seemed to have relaxed them; perhaps it made them feel a little less like prisoners at an interrogation. Verdeschi in particular leaned back in his chair and dug his hands into his pockets, a stark contrast to his earlier aggressive stance.

"So if I understand correctly," said Koenig, "this station, Deep Space Nine, is here to guard the entrance of the wormhole in case the enemy attacks."

Sisko nodded and observed the humans through half-closed eyes, as he usually did when he was thinking. "More or less."

"Heh. Alpha must be a right cat among your pigeons," said Verdeschi with a dry laugh. "Believe us, if we could have avoided this, we would have."

"Especially as it seems we're heading straight for the nearest solar system," added Koenig more sombrely. "Our science officer estimates we will be entering the system within six days. It seems we've been extremely unlucky; she calculated that we just happen to have arrived when the system's outer planet is nearest to the wormhole. Considering it must have an orbit of several centuries, the Moon seems to have crossed over at the very worst time."

Dax was impressed with their science officer's findings. "Yes, Bajor VIII has an orbit of about 400 Earth years. This is the first time since we discovered the wormhole that the planet is going to be this close. So no, I guess you couldn't have arrived at a worse time," she said, smiling sympathetically. "And... it does look as though your Moon is going to collide with Bajor VIII."

Koenig sighed and nodded gravely: it seemed that this possibility had occurred to the Alphans too. Verdeschi leaned toward his commander as if to remind him of something, though he looked at Sisko as he spoke.

"Our science officer did also say there's a chance Alpha might enter the system at an angle that would allow it to set up orbit around the sun," he said. Koenig nodded and looked hopefully at Sisko, and then at Dax.

"The Terran moon... go into orbit around the Bajoran sun?" repeated Kira incredulously. She too looked at Dax for confirmation or denial of this strange idea.

Dax was surprised at the Alphan science officer's theory; her own calculations had shown that the asteroid was certain to hit Bajor VIII. Maybe the primitive technology on Alpha was responsible for this error. She couldn't expect humans to perform accurate calculations without adequate technical help. Certainly not within the hour the Alphans had spent in this universe.

"Our computer's calculations show that the Moon is on a collision course for the planet. There's no way it will enter orbit," she stated categorically.

Koenig seemed momentarily taken aback and paused thoughtfully, before glancing at Verdeschi. "Obviously, you'd have to talk to our science officer," said the Alphan commander finally. "We're not as familiar with the area as you are, of course, but she did calculate that the wormhole opening once more might be enough to divert the course of the Moon. She did the calculations mentally, so it is possible you're right." His tone made it clear he trusted his science officer's mental calculations rather than the opinion of DS9's computer.

Dax did some brief mental calculations of her own and realised that there was a remote chance Alpha's science officer might be right. But it was very remote.

"The opening of the wormhole would have an effect on the Moon's trajectory," she admitted. "But whether that would divert it enough to make it avoid Bajor VIII would depend entirely on the circumstances under which the wormhole opened and when that happened. The gravitational pull of the wormhole fluctuates considerably each time it opens. It's affected by the size of the object going through, whether the object is entering or exiting; we've even found that the number of ships around Deep Space Nine can cause changes in its mass. In any case, the wormhole has been closed for months now, because of the war. Nothing goes through it these days."

"Except for Alpha," said Koenig shortly.

"Either way, we can't take the risk," intervened Sisko. "That planet, Bajor VIII, is inhabited. We may have to destroy your Moon before it reaches the solar system."

"And what happens to us?" demanded Koenig, scowling at the captain. "There are 223 people on Alpha. Where will we go if you destroy the Moon?"

"You're all welcome on Deep Space Nine," said Sisko smoothly. "Starfleet regulations do have provisions for refugees."

"Refugees?" Verdeschi cast a disapproving glance around the wardroom. "Yeah, I'm sure you do," he said with a weary sigh; Koenig looked equally discouraged.

"We can probably find a way back for you, anyway," said Dax in an effort to bolster their spirits again. "It would actually be quite easy if we could find you a warp-capable ship for instance."

Koenig's blue eyes widened hopefully. "You have the means to send us back to our own universe?"

"With a ship?" completed Verdeschi. Considering what Dax knew of the Alphans' situation, she could understand their enthusiasm at the thought of owning a ship they could manoeuvre themselves, instead of counting on the random trajectory of the Moon to bring them somewhere habitable.

"Maybe," said Sisko noncommittally, casting an irritated glance at Dax. He evidently hadn't been planning to tell the Alphans anything about sending them back. "We can't make any promises; I need to talk to my superiors before we can say whether or not we can let you have one of our ships. We need every vessel we have nowadays. There's also the possibility we won't be able to devote the time and resources necessary to find a way back for you."

Koenig frowned thoughtfully. "And what's the alternative? To keep us here, in this universe? As refugees?"

Sisko nodded. "We could easily evacuate your base and move your people to one of our worlds with a view to sending you back to your universe when the war is over. But I assume you had rather return to your reality as soon as possible."

"Absolutely. We don't belong here."

"There's no doubt about that," agreed Sisko - rather undiplomatically, Dax thought. "Our policy in matters like this is to send people back; we don't want to start disrupting alternate universes."

"We have enough trouble keeping one under control," added Kira with a grin.

Her comment made Verdeschi smile, but Koenig ignored her intervention. "So you'll talk to your superiors and see what you can do?" he asked Sisko. Having got a nod from the captain, Koenig looked at Dax. "In the meantime, perhaps our science team could work with yours to find a way back?"

"Certainly. I'm looking forward to meeting this science officer of yours!"

"You'll love her," said Verdeschi confidently.

He grinned at her, and leaned back in the conference room chair. But as she watched, his expression became suddenly serious, and then turned to fear, when the comm chime rang out and Odo's voice filled the room.

*Odo to Sisko. Security alert. There's a Shapeshifter on the Promenade.*