Author's Notes: Wow no more reviews; I guess I drove my reader away again, oh well perhaps other people will pick up this story and read & review. Hmmm; not much else to say here, except that we're about to start winding down. I'm afraid although I've built up a certain threat to Alain thanks to Q the pen ultimate conclusion of that particular development won't be occuring in this story. Nope; the stories featuring Alain Desrochers aboard Voyager will continue in the next exciting tale, so I'm afraid there's no big climactic fight scene in this one. After all it's only the beginning; if I used up all my ideas right away then Alain wouldn't have any fun, and you won't believe what's going to happen once Seven joins the crew.
Anyway; here's the chapter, if some of you would be kind enough to leave feedback so I can gauge where I might be making mistakes, it would be ever so helpful.


I was sitting in Samantha Wildman's room watching over Naomi while Sam was stuck in the Mess Hall; I should have at least had some common sense, but alas I'd neglected to recall everything about this particular episodes' events and that's how I forgot all about the Macroviral infection of the ship.
Four creatures burst in while I was reading a data pad copy of a sci-fi novel from the late nineties; they swarmed me, my warriors training kicked in and I tried to dodge them, but one of them managed to bite me. That's when I had enough; with a mental summons my blade materialized in my hand, the creatures suddenly stopped cold zipping around in confusion as if their prey had somehow escaped.

"So you can't sense me anymore huh?" I muttered with a smirk even though these things probably couldn't hear me; and their proximity was really freaking me out. "Thank you Hephaestus." I whispered; with ruthless precision I sliced all four beasts in half and quickly dashed into the other room where Naomi was crying. "Hush, hush now little bit; I'll get you someplace safe." I whispered soothingly wiping at a bit of perspiration dotting my brow; God it was like an inferno in here now, which could only mean one thing I was infected.
Clutching the sword tightly one handed I picked the little girl up and swiftly though cautiously made my way to the turbo lift; logic dictated that if they couldn't pick me up when I had my sword nearby, they wouldn't sense Naomi either so we'd be able to get to Sickbay without them disabling the turbo lift, as they would do later on once the Captain and Neelix got back.
I passed several more in the corridor; walking awfully close to them for my liking, but it couldn't be helped. Fortunately my theory proved correct; despite Naomi's upset wailing and the fact that I must have been hotter then an average human now thanks to the damn fever, they could not detect us. We made great time; the turbo lift deposited us on the proper deck and I made my way cautiously towards the entrance, a few of them were buzzing the doors obviously sensing the Doc and Kes who must still be inside working frantically on the cure.
With a cry that would do Xena proud I leapt them; fighting one handed I cleaved the six entities in half effortlessly killing them, doing it with Naomi in my other arm wasn't easy so I took a page from Xena's book and hugged the infant close to my chest to stabilize her. Then I slipped into Sickbay gasping at the effort I'd expended; I was falling prey to this infection rapidly, or at least apparently rapidly, I didn't feel as bad as I thought the other crewmembers that had been infected must have been.

"Al." Kes exclaimed; she rushed over to me and took Naomi out of my arms, placing her in the special biobed designed for her, seeing her there made me realize just how big she was getting. Which made sense; since she'd be growing up pretty fast, Ktarian children often did according to the show.

"Infected I am." I gasped tumbling into my own biobed and shrugging off my outer-shirt. "They got me in Sam's quarters… Sword; prevents them from tracking me." I managed to get out before it became a true effort to breathe and talk at the same time.

"Doctor can you take care of them; I have to warn the others." Kes called before leaving without so much as an answer from the Doc; I tried to stop her, but she was destined to be infected as well.

"Relax Ensign; we have a possible cure, I'll just need to run a few more tests to perfect the pathogen and you'll be as good as new." The Doc remarked coming up to me and running a scan with his medical tricorder; his eyebrow shot up slightly at the display and I struggled into a sitting position, I grabbed his arm at the elbow.

"If I start mutating; if those things start popping out of my neck, toss me outside. I don't care what happens to me; just don't let them infect Naomi." I insisted in a ragged tone; the Doc shook clear of my grip and returned his tricorder to its' resting place.

"There's no need for hysterics Ensign; you have been infected, but the Macrovirus is traveling through your system at a much slower pace then any of the others I've personally monitored… It's a most curious development." He revealed speaking more to himself most likely; I collapsed none to gently back into the bed my sword clattering beside me, I lost consciousness then and witnessed nothing more.


Sam groaned as she fought the urge to throw up; she hadn't felt this bad since her morning sickness days while carrying Naomi to term. She was worried about her daughter; Al had been watching her when these creatures attacked, so far a lot of the crew had given in to the virus and were unconscious. Somehow she was still awake; still able to fear for her daughters' safety, and she didn't like it.

There was nothing she could do; these awful abnormalities had herded her and most of the crew down to the cargo bays after they'd infected the rest of the ship. They'd left some of them in the mess hall, but she was one of the unlucky few who could still walk and so had been forced from the mess hall down here where eventually she would turn into a Macroviral producing machine, just like the others.

She fervently hoped that her daughter was safe; and slowly began to close her eyes as she just couldn't take it any longer, her last thought was a silent prayer that someone was watching out for Naomi and keeping her safe.


The Captain forced the doors open; a hand held phaser emerged from the tiny gap and then the Doctor appeared looking shocked.

"Captain." He exclaimed. "Needless to say; I thought you were something else." He remarked in obvious relief; the Doctor quickly helped her inside. "It won't be long before the other aliens sense you here and try to invade Sickbay, we don't have much time to treat you." He informed escorting Janeway to a biobed as swiftly as possible; the Captain caught sight of Ensign Desrochers lying on the other bed, Naomi Wildman rested in his arms and his curious sword lay horizontally across his legs. She dismissed his presence and allowed the Doctor to help her; the pain was excruciating, she needed answers however.

"Doctor; what's going on, what are tho…" She began to ask letting out a wounded cry as she sat on the biobed.

"You've ruptured your dorsal extensor muscle; and bruised two ribs." He diagnosed; she nodded along in consent with his prognosis. "I'm going to have to perform minor surgery; lie on your side and try to remain perfectly still." He ordered; Janeway did as she was bid knowing she couldn't help her crew in the slightest.

"Tell me what's happened." She ordered eager to know the problem so she could find a solution.

"Voyager has been infected." The Doctor began moving his medical equipment over to the biobed. "By a Macrovirus."

"A Macrovirus?" The Captain repeated unfamiliar with the term.

"A form of life I've never encountered; or even imagined." The Doctor explained beginning the procedure; the Captain turned slightly to look at him despite her injury.

"What about the crew?" She demanded gasping slightly with the pain caused by her moving; the Doctor eyed her disapprovingly.

"Captain; I promise I'll tell you exactly what happened, if you just lie still." He insisted; Janeway returned to her earlier position with a nod of acceptance. "Shortly after you'd left for the Tak Tak home world; we received a distress call from a mining colony, a race called the Garans. They were experiencing what appeared to be; a minor viral outbreak." He explained; the Captain listened to the Doctor's soothing inflections as he healed her slowly, but steadily even as he went on in greater and greater detail.
"What I didn't realize was that; in the few seconds it took me to purge the filters, some of the virus had already migrated into the Transporter buffer." He revealed after explaining all the details of his away mission; the pain was steadily lessening and the Captain began to consider the Doctor's words as he continued his revealing expose, he certainly had the flair for the dramatic.
"We continued working on the antigen; unfortunately the Macrovirus was working faster. It had already moved from the transporter buffer; into an adjacent system." He revealed sounding almost disappointed with his failure to prevent the outbreak, but the Captain chose not to interrupt to console him with platitudes she couldn't change the past, but she could save her crew.

"Were any other gel packs infected?" She asked interrupting his extensive monologue; his impressions of the other crewmen's' voices was highly disconcerting.

"No; just the one in the mess hall." He returned eliciting a tiny nod from the Captain; good to know, they were far away from large supplies of replacement packs after all. "The ship is healthy; it's the crew we have to worry about. Your bones have healed, but the surrounding tissue will be sensitive for a few days." He informed putting away his tool and finally allowing her to sit up.

"It's getting warmer in here isn't it." She noted panting a little; the Doctor ran his diagnostic tool over her again.

"I'm afraid it's not just the ship Captain; it's also you, you've been infected with the Macrovirus, you're experiencing a high fever." He alerted.

"Yes; on the bridge, I was bitten by one of them." She revealed holding her arm at a better angle to reveal the large growth caused by the bite on her upper arm, despite her use of the dermal regenerator earlier.

"Your glandular system is already being affected." He returned snapping his tricorder shut and glancing back at the Captain in silent exasperation. "If I don't treat you now you'll end up like the rest of the crew." He added fetching a hypospray and preparing it. "I've spent the past few hours perfecting the antigen; Ensign Desrochers was my first successful test on a live subject, for some reason his metabolism worked slower then everybody else and the Macrovirus did not have time to fully take effect." He revealed; the Captain glanced briefly to their Omniversal travelers' resting form.

"If he's been here why haven't they attacked Sickbay; you mentioned that they would be drawn here by me." She pointed out; the Doctor shook his head.

"That sword of his is masking his body temperature somehow; that's why I placed Naomi in his care after treating him, she's safer then anyone else aboard ship." He returned with a slight smile as he proceeded to inject the Captain; she dismissed this new development and returned to the matter at hand.

"The crew; why are they all in the mess hall and the cargo bays?" She asked.

"I believe the larger Macrovirus's are; driven by some sort of instinct to assemble their host population." He replied.

"Tell me what happened; after B'Elanna was exposed to the infected gel pack." She requested knowing that she should be aware of all pertinent events leading to this development and not just a few.

"I was faced with an imminent epidemic." He began with a slight shake of his head; the Captain listened intently as he went into further detail.


"Oh thank you!" A voice exclaimed as I finally woke up; the Doc must have given me a damn sedative or something, I didn't think I'd be out through the whole episode. The next thing I knew someone was gripping me in a tight embrace and I felt lips brush my cheek slightly; my eyes snapped fully open as I regained total consciousness.

"It was nothing." I mumbled climbing back to my feet and picking up my sword; I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, I still wasn't used to Sam kissing my cheek every time she wanted to express her gratitude over something, I kept thinking about Gabrielle and how she fell for me and it worried me.

"It was not." Sam countered eyeing me intensely; she was upset with my dismissal of these heroics and I cracked a smile.

"Ok; ok, so maybe it was something after all; just don't let it spread around that I'm a big softie around her. Might ruin my reputation." I returned with a slight chuckle; Sam shook her head and burst into a happy laugh.

"Come on you; Megan and Jenny want to meet us in the mess hall." She revealed; that made me very nervous, I really didn't want to hang around the mess hall right this minute after what happened.

"Er; maybe some other time, I…" I trailed off at the look she was shooting me and sighed exasperatedly. "All right, but at least tell me they've cleaned out all those creepy things from the ship; I hate overgrown alien bugs." I stated; she smiled in understanding and patted my shoulder.

"Relax Ensign; everything is back to normal." She proclaimed leading me out of the sickbay without so much as a backward glance at the Doc; I shot him an apologetic smile and quickly followed her.


Samantha Wildman's Personal Log; Supplemental: This crew certainly goes through a lot; we've faced Kazon menaces, the Vidiians and those disgusting creatures classified as Macrovirus, and yet it seems I can always count on that young Ensign Desrochers when it comes to the safety of my daughter.

He's such a sweet young man; you'd like him, he reminds me a little of that young Lieutenant we met on our wedding night. What was his name again? Richter? Rike? Oh it doesn't really matter; you probably know who I'm talking about, he sometimes exhibits the same charming side and he has a wonderful sense of humor. He's also quite taken with our little baby girl… Oh I wish you could see her; this wasn't supposed to be the way you'd find out about her, you must be going through so much; it's been three years since I last saw you. Have you given up on us? Do you believe we've perished as the rest of Starfleet must surely have by now?

I miss you so much; at times I fear we'll never meet again, but that nice young man manages to cheer me up, he can't tell me everything, but he's assured me despite the possible ramifications that I'll be able to see you again much sooner then we've estimated it'll take us to traverse the Delta Quadrant. And then you'll be able to see her; you'd be so proud I know it. We wanted a son, but were blessed with her instead; and who knows, maybe once I get back we can try again… My God how I miss that too; you have no idea how hard it is when it gets closer to that time of the month… Oh forgive me; where was I?

Right Ensign Desrochers; he's great with Naomi, I think he has a natural born talent as a father, one of these days maybe some lucky woman will catch his eye. I know Jenny tries, but I think she's just more comfortable flirting with him; if she ever finally got him to agree to a date… I can just see what that would be like now; awkward, lot's of silence and a complete lack of connection.

Oh dear; I hate to cut this short honey, but it's time for Neelix's luau and I promised the others I'd be there at oh eight hundred, I love you, never forget that and keep hope alive…


"This food is too rich for my tastes." Al complained pushing is half-finished meal aside; Kes smiled at that as she was currently mingling with his small group of friends. Strange that they would mostly consist of all females; unless you counted Harry and Tom, but they didn't hang out with him as much as the Delaneys' or even Samantha.

"Then why'd you take so much?" Megan pointed out with a smirk.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, but back home I wasn't much for exotic dishes." He admitted with a slight tilt of his head; Kes wondered if perhaps now he'd start talking about his home life, there was still so much they didn't know about the man. His favorite pastimes, his childhood; despite his somewhat open nature he remained tight lipped about certain things and it had a tendency to drive her curious nature into overdrive.

"Why don't you ever talk about your past?" Megan asked flat out; Al squirmed a little in his seat.

"No reason; I… I'm just a little uncomfortable about it is all. It wasn't the ideal childhood; remember I did say I used to be overweight." He replied in a hushed tone of embarrassment; sometimes he was such a nuisance, Jenny sighed and pushed her plate aside as well.

"Well I'm full; who's up for dessert?" She asked with a big grin; Al smiled seemingly snapping out of his quite nature and raised his hand in a child-like manner.

"Oh me, me, me." He exclaimed in a slightly higher pitched tone. "What is it?" He wondered as he suddenly realized he didn't know what Neelix had prepared.

"Coconut banana ice cream split with a sprinkling of nuts or some kind of really sweet fruit." Kes informed; Al made a face.

"Hasn't anybody heard of Vanilla?" He mumbled under his breath eliciting a giggle from the Delaneys and a smirk from Kes.

"Uh oh; looks like someone needs her rest." Samantha spoke up eyeing Naomi; who was yawning, Al's face lit up as he moved to pick up the baby from her stroller, Sam had strangely enough kept the gift Al had offered after his first away mission, to which most of the crew knew noting about and to which he requested never to speak of it again. Mostly because it always embarrassed him when he had to regale someone with the fact that he did next to nothing to help out the crew deal with Starling.

"I'll do it; you deserve to have some fun, and I'm afraid I've lost my appetite." He admitted in a low tone so as not to offend the chef who happened to be approaching with a big smile on his face seeing to his guests. "I'll keep her company until you've felt like you've had enough; I strongly urge you to try the limbo, its great fun." He added before heading off.

"Thanks." Sam called out; to which Al merely shrugged and offered a smile in return; he seemed to have taken to babysitting with much fervor. Kes greeted Neelix with a smile and left her seat.

"I think I'll go speak with some of the others." She informed before taking her leave; Jenny and Megan turned to Sam.

"You know I don't think we'd have become such good friends if we'd never met Al." Jenny admitted.

"I know." Sam returned. "You always… No wait I shouldn't say anything." She hastily covered up her almost faux pas; Megan smiled.

"It's ok; we know we're rather daunting, not to mention people always seem to think we're ditzes just because we always hang out together." She returned.

"Yeah; we've heard the rumors, it's gotten a lot tamer since our academy days though." Jenny added with a grin; Megan smiled and reached out for one of the ice cream dishes on the tray of one of the passing holographic servers.

"Have you heard the latest gossip?" Jenny asked. "Someone actually thinks the Captain and Commander Chakotay are dating." She added; Sam shook her head.

"How practical." She remarked sarcastically; Megan and Jenny both broke out in a fit of giggles, and the rest of the evening was filled with much laughter and exuberance from their corner of the room.


I walked into the mess hall a few weeks later looking around for someone in particular; unfortunately he wasn't there, Kes however was and she motioned for me to join her, since I was in no real hurry I chose to honor her request.

"Hello Ensign." She greeted as I sat down across from her; I chuckled at that.

"I insist my friends call me Al; and yet I still get the whole Ensign treatment from you most of the time, and you are a friend." I told her sincerely; she smiled slightly and lowered her gaze briefly.

"I'm more comfortable using your rank; we don't see each other very often and I can't quite get used to the name Al." She revealed with a slight sigh.

"Have you known an Al before?" I wondered; she eyed me curiously. "You always seem a little sad whenever you mention my abbreviated name." I pointed out; she smiled at that and nodded her head.

"There was a very dear friend on Ocampa; she died before I left for the surface." She admitted. "Her name was Alyria and everyone always called her Aly." She explained; I looked surprised at that.

"I don't remember that from any of the episodes." I admitted glancing briefly to the side and filing the information away for the future. "I had no idea; in that case Ensign is just fine." I returned with a soft smile; that's when Neelix came up beside us a big smile on his face.

"Ensign Desrochers; a pleasure to see you again, what can I offer you today?" He asked; I shook my head.

"Sorry Neelix, I already ate in my quarters; the guest quarters replicators are some of the only ones that dispense food besides the ones here in the mess hall." I revealed with a slight chuckle. "And it's almost time for another duty shift in stellar cartography." I added with a sour look. "I was hoping to run into Tom; if you see him could one of you tell him I need to talk to him, it's about holodeck programs." I admitted with a quick glance around the mess hall one more time to make sure I hadn't missed him; Neelix chuckled and slapped my back.

"Of course Monsieur; je vous aidez, la prochain fois je vois Monsieur Paris je voudrais notifie." He returned speaking garbled French; I shot him a surprised glance and he chuckled once more. "I've been practicing Earth languages whenever I get the chance; to help some crewmen with their homesickness." He explained.

"Well ah thanks Neelix; I suppose, but to be quite honest I never really took to the French language, always had a bear of a time passing my classes in school." I admitted with a slight frown; Kes was eyeing me with a small smile, she of course knew about that because I'd told her once before, so she was probably the one who put Neelix up to this.

"Come now Ensign; it's a fascinating language and I find the culture of France most intriguing." He countered defending the French part of my heritage, which was quite a twist; I shook my head and let out a tiny chuckle in return.

"Neelix I'm from Canada; not France. Our culture isn't exactly the same as theirs… Or should I say wasn't; I don't suppose Earth has the same kind of cultures in the twenty-fourth century as it did in mine." I amended with a confused expression; shaking my head I quickly got to my feet, I only had four minutes to get to stellar cartography. "Sorry to chat and run, but I'm gonna be late if I don't get moving; it was nice seeing you again Kes, even for a little bit." I hastily stated before politely taking my leave; Neelix smiled and moved on while Kes followed the man with her eyes until he was gone.

"I wonder what he's planning to do on the Holodecks; I don't think I've ever seen him there outside of his classes with B'Elanna." She mused to herself a small smile stretching across her features at a sudden thought. "I've got to tell Megan and Jenny; they'll probably weasel it out of him, and perhaps he'll let us join him." She remarked; Al was a most intriguing friend, he really didn't spend a lot of time with many people in between duty shifts, his meals and his classes, which were becoming fewer and fewer now that he was gaining hands on experience. Ever since befriending him Kes had a very strange feeling; she'd spoken to some of his other friends and discovered they all shared it, they all felt attached to the young man. As if he was a favorite cousin; a brother or close personal friend; it was his charisma that did it, she was almost positive.
"Oh; I'd better get to the Sickbay before the Doctor starts to worry." She exclaimed suddenly realizing the time; climbing to her feet she quickly left the mess hall.


Tom eyed me with a strange twinkle in his eyes much later that same day; I'd given him a data pad with all my requirements, if I had the time to program a holodeck environment myself I wouldn't think twice about doing it. Unfortunately my skills in the field of holodeck programming weren't fully developed yet; so I'd come to the resident expert for help, he was definitely impressed.

"This is pure gold; and you're saying it was created by a visionary on your world?" He wondered glancing back down at the pad before shooting me another one of those looks; I couldn't quite place it for some reason, but if I had to classify it I'd go with extreme merriment.

"You've never heard of it?" I shot back with a mischievous smile; of course he wouldn't have, I'd dug deep into the history files and there was no reference whatsoever on this particular franchise.

"Are you kidding; it's the stuff of legends, I want to add some stuff if you don't mind." He returned eyeing me for approval.

"So long as the core is untouched knock yourself out, but remember this isn't something out of the nineteen fifties." I reminded; he waved his hand by way of acknowledgement and patted the pad.

"I won't hurt your baby." He returned with a smirk. "B'Elanna is gonna flip when she sees some of the science in this." He added with a wider smirk and a mischievous twinkle.

"Just let me know as soon as you're finished Tom." I requested before taking my leave confident that my project was in capable hands; he nodded absentmindedly thumbing through the pages again his eyes dancing with that self-same expression from before.


Deep within a vast cosmic rift undetectable to Starfleet sensors there exists a planet that houses a great Empire; although the rest of the universe is mostly unaware of their presence, they are certainly aware of it. The planet's name is Dracos and the species call itself the Draconian, they have evolved from a lizard-like ancestor; however they share most common traits with creatures more commonly referenced in works of fantasy literature.
The female of the species is inherently larger than the male; standing at seven feet, with long elegant swept back wing membranes decorative only, they have long since lost the gift of flight. The male is commonly six foot two in height, with only rare exceptions in the bloodline of the great Emperors; some of whom have been recorded at nine feet tall. This bloodline also happens to be unique in the sharp horn-like crests that adorn the head, indicative of the status befitted the Emperors; the common Draconian only has flat bald heads with transparent membranes that flow downwards and connect with the wing membranes on the back.
Common traits found on all Draconians are their wicked talons, dagger-like teeth, reptilian eyes and total lack of body hair. Their clothing is weaved of the finest materials; none ever dress in anything less then the best, it would be unseemly to grace their mother planet with anything else.
Their space fleet is one of the most powerful in the entire quadrant; if not the Galaxy, they are superior to many including the dreaded Borg Collective. None of their species have ever been assimilated; many vessels serve to protect their home world, for it is rare for them to venture out into the cosmos in this the twilight of their existence. Most common are the small Shuriken-like single pilot fighters; however they have many other vessels, the two-man bombers shaped like Nunchaku, the elegant troop carriers in the guise of Tessen, the mighty warships shaped in the image of the Jitte and the great flagship of the Emperor formed in the guise of the Katana.
The political, economical and sociological status of this species is dangerously unstable; with dissident factions constantly striving to usurp their Emperor, none have yet to succeed however due to the diligent nature of the Gyasa, the Emperors' personal guard.
The current Emperor is presently seated in his ornately carved marble throne; his long red and black cloak arrayed behind him parted where his tail sits, lashing back and forth in silent discord. Suddenly a great flash lights the hall and the puny shriveled old form of an ancient Draconian appears from nothing; cackling in a raspy ancient toned voice, the slitted eyes of the Lord Emperor narrow in sudden suspicion as his tongue flickers out running across his upper lip in silent hunger.

"Hunisssss, tricksssssster it hassssss been a long time since you have appeared before ussssss… We are obviously concerned." The Emperor greets nodding slightly to show a modicum of respect for the graying and cracked wise one; his tone is deep, full of a rich elegantry belied only by the rolling use of the letter S.

"Lord Emperor Shadok; I bring grave tidingsssss, long hassssss it been prophesized that the great one would come and destroy the Empire." Hunis began his voice crackling with age and oddly enough sounding like a familiar character from another popular franchise. "Many have disssmissssed these prophecies, but today I have found new evidence that supportssssss them… Strong evidence."

"Speak old tulagh." Shadok insisted growing ever more impatient with his theatrics.

"Sssssithicussssss hassssss returned." Hunis stated all senility gone from his tone and countenance; his staff rapped across the onyx floor as he moved rapidly to the great eye; a jade crystal in the shape of a perfect sphere, it rests in the center of the vast hall where the Emperor presides over all. He mutters to himself; too low for Shadok to hear he spoke the mystical incantation and the darkened orb grew opaque as if filled with a strange mist.
Shadok rose; his taloned feet clacking sharply against the floor as he strode quickly to the tricksters side, his cloak billowing out behind him and fluttering almost regally. The mists wavered and soon parted revealing the form of a strange creature in a gold and black outfit with an odd golden pin sticking on his chest.

"What mockery isss thisssss?" Shadok demanded. "Sithicussssss would never sully himself with such a form." He countered disbelievingly.

"You are mistaken Lord Emperor." Hunis stated with his usual grating cackle. "Look again; harder thisssss time." He urged; Shadok scoffed with a snort, but did as he was bid regarding the pitiful creature. As he stared at this disgusting fair skinned biped the image wavered and suddenly he saw a great red Draconian; nine feet tall with mercury pupils and a rainbow crest.

"It can't be." He gasped as Hunis burst into laughter once more and stilled the orbs vision so that the image vanished once more.

"They approach the rift as we speak on a vessel called Voyager, Sithicussssss and his slavessssssss." He elaborated moving back to the center of the room where the deepest shadows presided; Shadok could not speak, he continued to stare at the eye as though the image was still there in great fear.

"We shall crush this Kithiny, this Voyager." He finally proclaimed, Hunis cackled once more his shape unfolding as he did until Q now stood in the deep shadows; invisible to his old plaything.

"Good Lord Emperor, very good." He whispered before vanishing in a flash of light.

"Caldok, Veraclis; my chancelorssss!" Shadok cried summoning those in charge of his affairs off planet; they immediately came at his call, two smaller Draconians for the Emperor was indeed a tall specimen. "Sithicussssss shall not fulfill the prophecy, thisssss I command." He ordered in a hushed tone before turning to address his most trusted advisors; outside the Lady Empress of course.

To Be Continued: Ah joy; a new alien species that share certain traits with creatures of fantasy, although they don't play much of a big role in this story they serve their purpose well. In case you're wondering the words spoken in the Draconians own tongue are pronounced thusly...

Tulagh (Tu-la the GH is silent.)

Kithiny (Kith-in-aie pretty much how it's spelled.)
Also the names are farily simple pronunciations;
Hunis (Huuu-nissss)
Shadok (Sha-dock)
Veraclis (Vera-clise)
Caldok (Cal-dohk)

Anyway; I suppose that's all I have to cover in regards to assisting people with pronunciatons, the next chapter will focus primarily on the holodeck program Tom and Al were discussing in this chapter. In fact most of these last few chapters focus heavily on Al and his friends rather then any action or episode moments; leading up to the two part Scorpion epic in which Janeway attempts to bargain with the Borg for safe passage through their space.
Which leads to a certain individual to encounter our wayward hero and develop an unhealthy interest in him; oh yes you do not want to be targeted specificaly by Her Majesty.
I look forward to reading heaps of reviews; so why not leave me a little something, no matter how pointless you might think it is? Ah well; back to my writing I must go, still lots of work to do to finish all these Star Trek Voyager stories...