Duty, Dragons and Dabo.



Disclaimer: Paramount owns 'em; The Blue Goo, Dr Megalomania and Elvis own the Dragons. We're just seeing what happens when you mix Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and our sick twisted minds.

We'd also like to include various TV series and feature films for inspiration.

Author Note's: We'd also like it noted that we own the various red shirted ensigns and would like to assure the reader that *no ensigns were killed in the writing of this story, horribly maimed or transported to another time and place maybe but killed? No!*



Part 3: What do you do with. . .

That question was answered shortly afterwards.

It had been an eventful day, to say the least. Back in sickbay, Bashir was venting his natural enthusiasm on this new, fascinating victim. However, for once the patient surpassed his own investigation with some of its own.

// Agh! What the- man, what is that thing? Cool, here, what does this do. . .?//

Kira suspected the 'Dragon' had been subjected to every type of scan and test ever invented, and possibly a few which hadn't - with constable Odo in attendance, just in case this was some elaborate changeling scheme for infiltrating Deep Space Nine. It had been proven before that he had an uncanny awareness, which bordered on the prescience, for any of his own kind in the vicinity.

Kira turned her attention back to the Dragon. It . . . She frowned as she corrected herself.SHE was running around sickbay in a sort of stummble- scuttel-flying fashion picking up and discarding various pieces of medical equipment.

Doctor Bashir frantically tried to save the medical equipment. Mentally she was laughing; physically she kept a straight face. It wouldn't do for the first officer to laugh at the antics of an alien who had the probable power to destroy them.

"Please . . . Oh careful. . . Um. . . Ma'am. . . Um. . . Miss. . .Please could you. . . " Bashir ran around catching the randomly scattered equipment. As if sensing her behaviour was causing trouble she stopped.

//Where do you want me to put myself?//

Bashir put his medical toys gently on the nearby table.

"Over there please." Spreading her wings she fluttered up onto the bed. . . and landed rather clumsily. //Oomph. . . sorry I keep forgetting you only have one direction of gravity.// She closed her eyes slightly and was silent. A confused quiet descended on the sick bay. Bashir tentatively moved towards the now torpid creature, slowly lifting a hand onto her shoulder. He must have shocked her because her eyes shot open; a small yelp of surprise was followed by a lick of flame, which scorched the usually pristine wall.

//Sorry, Sorry. . . You know you really shouldn't jump up behind me like that.//Her voice, although amused, was laced with seriousness.

"I'm. . . Sorry. . . I. . ." The good doctor was stunned, gaping at the scorched mark on the wall. However his mind was already light-years ahead, considering all the scientific possibilities.

//Doctor. . . Doctor?//The Dragon wobbled uncertainly to her hind legs, waving one of her claws in front of the doctor's face. //Woo . . .Hello?. . . // The doctor lifted a finger, clearly still deep in thought. Eh started to waggle it back and forth. The Dragon tried to bring the Dragon back to reality. //Yo, sonny Jim. . .Come back to us. Woo . . . //She tossed a glance over to Kira and Odo but they had left quietly, she shrugged and turned back to the doctor. //Hello . . . Hello? . . . Flightless, little bipedal man. . . or woman. . . or whatever you are.// She crossed her arms in an impatient gesture. The doctor paced back to her side still waggling his finger. He opened his mouth to say something but didn't make a sound. He just stood there still with his finger pointed at her. She gazed at the finger, smirked, and set it alight with a purple flame. By the time he returned to reality she had a nice healthy flame going. He turned to face her full on; he noted she looked rather amused. Bashir raised an inquisitive eyebrow and she used a clawed finger to point at his human equivalent. He looked at it.

"Ya!" Then it really hit him, "Ya! I mean AGHHH!!"

Just then, Odo walked back in and was greeted by the sight of Dr Bashir rushing around his sick bay and the Dragon with her head thrown back producing something akin to laughter.

"Doctor?" Odo inquired. Bashir stopped and turned to reveal his purple candle like finger.

"Yaaaaa!"

"All right! Stand still!"

The irascible constable drove forward in the tradition of rugby-players throughout the universe when this failed to apply, stuck his seemingly burning arm under the nearest tap, and managed to wrestle the panicked doctor to a standstill.

Then he turned and glared at the Dragon, a picture of innocence had it not been for the slight patina of smoke emerging from her nasal cavities.

"What have you got to say for yourself?"

// It was an accident, I swear! Sort of//.

He was not pleased at being disturbed - although it was not entirely unexpected, which was why he had stationed himself just outside in the first place.

Bashir, nursing his arm - which on closer inspection did not appear to be burned - was staring in amazement at the Dragon.

"How in the world did you do that?"

"More importantly, why, and don't do it again."

//I won't.// The Dragon unsuccessfully tried to look meek // I made sure he wasn't hurt, though.// Her victim sent him a blistering look, but one tempered with fascination. In fact, he was going to send off some of the diagnostic readings straight away for analysis in the rest of Starfleet, as well as here - he wanted some confirmation of his results. As for the ability to create 'cold' flame biologically, he was actually going to ask for another demonstration in controlled conditions when Odo forestalled him.

"I think you'd better come with me."

://Oh man, but this is so. . .// catching his eye. // Ehem. . . okey- dokey//

They had just to wait until Bashir finished downloading the information down his secured channel.

And things might have gone smoothly, if the Dragon hadn't whipped round to take a look at some interesting detail, quite forgetting the laws of conservation of momentum which swung her tail round, knocked the unwitting shapeshifter halfway across the room, where he banged into a table.

The clutter on top slid off and sent a low-energy phasic beam from one of the instruments, which had landed on the trigger button.

Which was aimed squarely at the medical officer, bent over a console in intense rapport with his findings, most of them being transmitted at that very moment back to-

Which was when the beam hit his sleeve, it began to smoulder, and then caught fire for real.

About to dismiss the Dragon and Odo - watching now with an expression of mild disbelief - he turned, resting on hands placed either side of the control panel, drew breath-- smelled smoke and began to try for warp nine in an enclosed area again.

Unfortunately, his flailings managed to strike one of the buttons, which broadcast the Dragon's contribution to medical science on wide-band.

This was to have far-reaching consequences - and left an increasingly exasperated Odo to deal with the problem before he could calm the hysterical Bashir.

// Wait, wait, I can help, hang on!//

A blast of sub-zero temperature totally missed its target, almost struck the terminal whose controls Odo was trying to reset, and ricocheted off various delicate instrumentation instead of putting out the flames as intended. Totally off balance with this sudden and fruitless manoeuvre, especially in such unwieldy gravity, the scaly avian perpetrator slipped, sprawled, which had Bashir follow suit as he tripped over her prone tail.

After that the shapeshifter joined them to try and smother the flames, finally succeed, and then get up again to salvage some dignity.

Which he was doing when their audience in the doorway made itself known as, seeing the situation was under control, she began to crack up with laughter.

Of course he recognised the voice straight away, and sighed inwardly.

Oh please no, don't let it be-

-Kira.



Right now they were all with the exception of the Dragon, discussing the new addition to their number in Sisko's office.

". . . but think of what it could teach us! Transdimensional relocation. . . even the theories are vague concepts at best. Look, all I'm saying is maybe we can exchange some information. . ." O'Brien, of course. Personally, major Kira was going to keep this strange creature under observation until they were sure they would trust it - although the Dragon did seem to act innocuously enough, despite its fearsome appearance. That should be easy, because the Dragon seemed equally interested in them, especially Odo, and no wonder: there were similarities between the two species. Dr. Bashir was earnestly explaining his own theories to captain Sisko. "This 'Dragon', as you call it. . . its internal organs have adapted completely to our environment, from whatever alien conditions it was used to. Its barely possible to even imagine something like that - as O'Brien says, this could transform the face of science." He was probably thinking about all the medical implications: how to adjust the body to handle any physical conditions, thus saving lives.

Sisko decided to inject a note of caution into the gathering:

"All right people! We have a visitor here, apparently from another universe. We know nothing of its culture or lifestyle, what it can eat or its needs - so I suggest we find out about them before we inundate it with questions."

They had stopped talking at that: it was an automatic reflex whenever he was speaking. It raised the tricky problem of which quarters would be suitable for a three-metre long reptile with an appetite un-catered for by any replicator - preferably ones minus any flammable furnishings considering how difficult a time Bashir was going to have erasing the scorch-marks from his laboratory.

With a hint of malice, Kira grinned. "Well, I have an idea for where the 'Dragon' can stay."

She put forward her solution, to the smiles of her audience.

As Dax said:

"He won't like that."

"I should think that would be a bonus. . . besides, he can consider it 'help' for whatever's wrong with his Dabo tables."

In the background, Nog cringed with embarrassment at Odo's sarcasm.

Kira's grin broadened: "Well, that's settled then. I'll just go and warn him."

In a satisfied about face she strode from the room, leaving the others to debate the other practicalities of the situation. There wasn't really a lot to say - at least, not without asking the Dragon first. They had yet to figure out its diet, or it's rather strange references to side-pull gravity - or indeed how they were able to understand it in the first place, save that there was some telepathic communication going on. Perhaps they could contact a Betazoid to decipher the strange mental 'speech.'

Meanwhile they would have to go on and run the station, as they were becoming accustomed to - through whatever weird and wonderful events transpired.

And one of them was just about to.

They had decided to introduce Dragon to Quark and vice versa before they actually established her in the Ferengi's premises - spacious, minus the usual fabric-furnishings and carpet that had been ruined in sickbay. And of course, another benefit was the proximity of a more personalised replicator for meeting the needs of the bar's varied customers. Hopefully it could synthesise something edible for the Dragon. Sure enough, the incredulous bartender stormed back into Odo's security office for the second time in about as many hours, where both the Dragon and the shapeshifter were waiting.

"Ah, Quark, what a pleasant surprise."

With no preamble, he launched into an objection:

"This is a ridiculous idea! I'm running a twenty-four hour business, you can't expect me to accommodate some sort of-"

// Whoa, that's him?//

Cut off in mid-tirade by the unexpected semi-telepathic voice, and noticing the office's other occupant for the first time, the usually irrepressible Quark stared. Wondering if Kira had actually informed him exactly what kind of new lodger he would be receiving, Odo let his amusement show.

"Meet your new 'guest'."

He indicated their Dragon. Dax had pointed out that having to call her 'the Dragon' all the time seemed a little. . . impersonal. He couldn't see anything wrong with it, but then he wasn't renowned for his social skills and the Dragon had taken a name readily enough. A little too readily.

//Hi there, my name's Mumarothger-'sithylantyne. What's yours?//

The stare became more pronounced.

Odo rolled his eyes. "You may want to abbreviate it." Then, as Quark did not seem inclined to reply, he carried on the other side of the conversation.

"His name is Quark, and feel free to abbreviate him if he causes you any trouble."

Normally this would be about time for a shrill protest from the Ferengi, but for some reason, the presence of a death-threat to be carried out by an enormous fire-breathing lizard with wings and very sharp talons on its fore- and hind feet had subdued him.

It was time to exercise a little expediency.

"W-well, uh. . . Mumama-oh-thet-grr - 'slthery-time. . . its nice to, eheh, meet you. Actually, you may want to find some more. . . uh. . . personalised surroundings than my little establishment - I'm sure I can hire some out for you. . . ?"

Obviously his note of pleading was lost on the fire-breathing avian // Oh no, it's okay, your place will do fine,// said the Dragon brightly. :// Man, I can't believe I'm actually going to meet all those alien people from another universe!//

Of course, that was the final reason for foisting her off on Quark. His bar was an inter-species meeting place for just about every alien in the alpha quadrant conceivable - except possibly more Dragons. And, thought the ferengi gloomily, all those other paying customers would doubtless be scared off by this . . . this. . .

Odo pressed open the doors and gestured for Quark to lead the Dragon out.

"Oh, and I expect you know your guest is telepathic, don't you?"

Disaster!

He waited until he sputtered into silence, turning back to his files as a sign of dismissal.

"Have a nice day."

But it wasn't going to be a nice day for Quark, Q mused to himself, - or anybody else, for that matter. Because in a few hours, things were going to take a turn for the stranger. . .