The Final Frontier

by JulieGee

CHAPTER 21

A few minutes into their noisiest spat to date, the captain's eyes widened in dismay as he saw a familiar form materialize out of thin air. A familiar form with her hands on her hips. Admiral Janeway appeared in their bedroom with a scowl on her face. She rapidly lost it when she saw the two naked men tied spreadeagled to the bed.

"CAPTAIN! AND ENSIGN!" she gasped in surprise. She quickly scanned them with her tricorder to make sure there were no "booby traps." Then she moved to untie the ropes holding them. She thought better of it. A lot of contact with bare flesh would be involved, and some in embarrassing places. She drew her phaser and aimed it at the captain.

For a second, Arthur thought he'd gone too far this time and she had decided to eliminate the source of her irritation once and for all. He flinched as she fired. The rope tying them to the bed vapourized after several carefully targeted shots. The admiral was VERY good with a phaser. The two men grabbed the closest sheet and wrapped themselves in it. Merlin hadn't left much of their uniforms when he tore them off.

She holstered her phaser and glowered at the captain. "Pendragon, if you think your now-ended captivity is going to save you from my wrath, you've got another thing..."

"Excalibur to Albion," Commander Morgana's clear voice echoed through the ship. "Do you still require assistance?" she asked as the Excalibur dropped out of warp a few kilometres away from them.

"Morgana! Two for emergency site-to-site transport to Sickbay. We may be contaminated. Initiate isolation protocols and energize!"

Janeway's eyes flashed with amusement as she watched the men start to sparkle. The captain was a clever man. Chief Medical Officers were difficult creatures to deal with on the best of days. She could beam them back to the Albion, but she'd have a very difficult time explaining to the doctor why she felt the need to transport two wounded officers out of Sickbay so she could continue lecturing them.

Initiating the isolation protocols was equally clever. No one could beam into Sickbay until they were terminated, and that would take a while. She had time for a brief comment before they disappeared.

"Oh, you can run but you can't hide, captain! I'll get you my pretty, and you're little ferret, too!" she said as they started to disappear in the Excalibur's transporter beam.

Clearly the holodeck programs the admiral's alter ego 'Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People' had been enjoying with her helmsman had taught her a few choice phrases. "The Wizard of Oz" had become one of her favourite movies.

The sparkle around the two men stopped abruptly. "Captain, we're having difficulty beaming you out. We'll boost the matter gain and beam in instead. Security, with me."

"NO, MORGANA! DON'T..."

Two showers of light materialized into Morgana and Gwen. The Security officer had her phaser already drawn.

"CAPTAIN! AND ENSIGN!" Commander Morgana gasped as she echoed the admiral's initial observation.

"Wow! I guess those tips I gave you on picking up men worked pretty well, didn't they? You aimed high!" Gwen observed as she nodded at the captain.

Morgana looked up and snickered as she pointed at the ceiling. Gwen followed her arm and saw the Arthur-shaped dent.

"Really high! And a bit too literally, I think. I just wish we had the 'before' image."

The admiral tapped her tricorder. "'Before' image," she said with a smirk.

A very refreshed ensign bounced off the bed wrapped in the sheet, whistling happily. He grinned at Morgana with that unmistakeable 'I just got laid' look. "Hi Morgy! We're going to sickbay. I think Dr. Gaius will want to see us. We'll update you."

"MORGY?" the Commander asked, with a shocked look. The captain was the only person who EVER called her Morgy. A second tried once. He was buried on Elidon IV.

"Oops! Sorry, Commander Morgana. I didn't mean, well, that might happen for a while. C'mon, Merlin. I mean Arthur! NO, CAPTAIN!" Merlin said, clearly suffering from identity issues.

Captain Pendragon sighed. His own thoughts were quite muddled by the transference from their bonding. Then Morgana said the thing he'd never forget no matter how hard he tried.

"Anything else, Gaylord?"

"How do YOU know that?" the captain yelled. "And it's pronounced gay-lerd not gay-lord."

"Well, it was included in a distress call to 'any Federation Starship.' If the whole Federation doesn't know your middle name by now it will when the signal reaches them. In fact, it's gone further. We received a rather garbled message from Klingon Chancellor Gowron. It was garbled because of the laughter. Every discernible word was 'Gaylord.'"

"I'm afraid the universal translator is suffering from a misconception. It's convinced your middle name isn't a name, but two separate words. One of them a position. The other a lifestyle choice. It translates your middle name as 'Homosexual of High Station' in Klingon."

"Wonderful. Just wonderful," the captain muttered as he heard the Excalibur's docking clamps lock onto his yacht. A few seconds later he limped out of the Albion and onto the Excalibur, heading for Sickbay. Again.

As he considered the translation of his middle name, he prayed the universal translator didn't guess the "bottom" part.

"If you'll forgive me, captain, while this has been extremely enjoyable for me, I have a fleet to command. Let me know when you've recovered from your 'date.'" Admiral Janeway said sweetly. "Oh, here's your ferret," she said as she flipped him the coin-sized holoemitter. She disappeared in a sparkle of light a few seconds later.

"Commander, update me while we go to Sickbay," the captain said, as he tried to reestablish some sense of normalcy.

"We've joined the Seventh Fleet along the boarder of the Neutral Zone, captain. We've detected multiple Warbirds cloaking and decloaking at random. We believe it's an attempt to intimidate us. Also, we..."

The captain stumbled as they reached the turbolift. Morgana caught him as they stepped into it. They spun around at the sound of a screech. Merlin charged towards at the turbolift at stunning speed.

"What the hell..." the captain asked as the turbolift doors closed. A moment later a crunching sound made them leap back. The impact actually bent the doors slightly. They tried to open them, but the outer door panels had bent enough to wedge them shut. They could hear hissing and scratching sounds from the other side, and then a growl. The sound of phaser fire followed shortly after.

"Security to Yacht Docking Bay," a voice from the speaker above them stated calmly. They looked at each other in shock as they heard the frantic cry of "More Security! More Secur..." The plea was cut off in mid-sentence with a cry. The phaser fire stopped abruptly. They heard scrabbling. A few later there was a thunking sound on the turbolift roof.

"He's trying to get in using the emergency hatch! I don't know what's wrong with him, but I know where we can find out. Sickbay!" he yelled at the turbolift, as he held the lock on the hatch shut. The computer noted the destination and the desperation in his voice and gave them priority.

When they arrived at the correct corridor they pried the turbolift doors open and ran for Sickbay. They heard a crash behind them as the turbolift escape hatch flew off its hinges. Merlin dropped to the floor. He did NOT look happy. If there were any doubt of his rage, the deafening screech eliminated it. He ran at them.

They managed to make it to Sickbay. The commander yelled "Emergency Close!" as they ran through the doors. A dent formed in them seconds later. Fingers appeared through the space between the door panels. They started to open.

"Dr. Selar!" the captain yelled.

The Vulcan doctor jumped slightly at their panicked shout. "Captain! What..." Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "A mating bond. A new one." She raised an eyebrow at a howl from the corridor. "Your mate is clearly displeased with you," she stated calmly.

"DISPLEASED?" Morgana said incredulously. "I think that's a bit of an under... Wait." She turned on the captain. "MATE? Emrys is your MATE? When did..."

She was cut off as the Sickbay doors flew across the room. Prying the doors open had clearly been taking too long for the enraged ensign. They could see a boot print in one of the panels. Merlin saw the captain and Morgana and screeched in fury.

Dr. Selar grabbed them and threw them at a biobed with her considerable strength. "Isolate biobed two," she said calmly. A glittering field formed around the bed. "Security to Sickbay."

Merlin charged across Sickbay and leapt at the barrier. The containment field stopped him as he struck it with his shoulder. It flickered under the impact, repeated again and again as the crazed half-Romulan tried to attack the commander. The computer wasn't happy with the situation.

"Warning. Containment field projected failure in 7 seconds... 6... 5... 4... Increasing containment field strength to level two." The ensign continued to hurl himself at the flickering wall.

"Warning. Containment field projected failure in 32 seconds... 31... 30... 29... Increasing containment field strength to level three."

"Warning. Containment field projected failure in 4 minutes, 9 seconds... 8... 7... 6... Increasing containment field strength to level four. Isolating Sickbay."

Ensign Gwen materialized a second before a sparkling field appeared in front of the shattered doors, sealing them in. Merlin turned around, prepared to attack the new intruder. His eyes narrowed. He hissed loudly in warning and started crashing against the field again.

"Why's he only attacking Commander Morgana?" the stunned captain asked.

The doctor scanned them and glanced at her tricorder. The readings were clear.

"Pheromones, primarily. Both you and Commander Morgana are attracted to each other, probably as a result of a decade of service together. Not surprising, really. However, regardless of the nature of the attraction, you must have been separated from your mate in some manner. This perceived threat to the bond is driving the ensign's reaction."

"The turbolift door closed and separated us. And we are not attracted to each other, doctor!" Arthur stated firmly.

The doctor glanced at her tricorder and raised an eyebrow. The captain focused on a non-existent spot on the ceiling. Morgana chose a similar spot on the floor.

"Ensign Gwen and myself are not attracted to the captain. As a result, the ensign's reaction is milder than might be expected given the fact that others are present."

"MILDER?" Ensign Gwen asked in shock. Her snarling, hissing friend was assessing Morgana with eyes like ice. Their blue colour was barely visible. His pupils had dilated, trying to let in as much light as possible, calculating vectors, determining the most efficient way to tear out the commander's throat. She could swear his ears had actually shifted back slightly, like a cat about to attack.

"Odd. The ensign's fury is intensely focused. He seems threatened by the commander. Did you touch one another?" she asked them in a scolding tone.

"We certainly did not!" the captain said.

"Yes, we did! The captain stumbled and I caught him as we stepped into the turbolift," Morgana explained.

"And then the doors closed. This explains his behaviour. He will harm himself if he does not stop attacking the containment field. A tranquilizer should control him," Dr. Selar said confidently.

She pressed some buttons on her hypospray and took a step towards Merlin. He turned on her and hissed. She leapt back quickly. He growled his approval, turned and screeched again at the commander, still pushing against the containment field.

"He may be damaged by a phaser on stun, as he is in constant contact with the field. We also cannot transport him to the Brig as Sickbay has been isolated due to repeated potential containment field failure," the doctor said. She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "An option remains. Computer, activate the EMH."

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the Emergency Medical Hologram asked as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Crazy Romulan," Dr. Selar stated succinctly as she pointed at the source of the problem. She needn't have. The yowling was difficult to miss. The EMH's brows furrowed as he observed the young man.

His scanner indicated the ensign had already broken his nose and dislocated his shoulder by hurling himself against the field. In addition, he had torn out four of his fingernails with his scrabbling. Less concerning, his throat would be raw tomorrow from all the feral sounds he was making. The EMH considered the situation.

"Crazy Romulan," the holodoctor replied as he rolled his eyes. "It's never a broken arm, or a virus, or a phaser burn, is it?"

The Doctor's holographic nature allowed him to approach Merlin. Technically he didn't exist. He was a combination of light and force fields, and Merlin didn't perceive him as a threat. The Doctor rested a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. Unfortunately for Merlin, it didn't stay very comforting for long. The doctor repositioned his fingers and squeezed lightly. The ensign collapsed to the deck in a heap, unconscious.

"The Vulcan Nerve Pinch. It never gets old, does it?" Gwen observed as she holstered her phaser.

"I will lower the ensign's neurotransmitter levels. It should prevent the more violent reactions, but we should not tempt fate. I recommend avoiding a 'wandering eye' for the next several days, captain," Dr. Selar said as she tapped a few buttons on a wall panel. The containment field around the biobed and the Sickbay door disappeared, leaving the captain and the commander staring at the softly snoring ensign at their feet.

"No 'wandering eye,' Captain?" the commander said, incredulously. She knelt beside Merlin. "Good luck with your new mate, ensign," she whispered in his ear. She watched in amazement as he started scratching at her shoe, soft growls interrupting his snoring.

"I think I'll be carrying a phaser tomorrow, Captain. Maximum stun. If he gets anywhere near me he's going to be snoring again a second later!" Commander Morgana said as she stormed out of Sickbay.

Arthur leaned back against the biobed and took a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh. All newly married couples had much to learn about each other, but usually the lessons weren't the 'life and death' kind.

The commander was right about one thing, though. He'd better focus his attention on Merlin!

A/N: Feel free to let me know if you enjoyed 'possessive!merlin.' Hopefully he's as much fun to read as he was to write! :)

JulieGee