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"The last thing I want is a visit from Temporal Investigations when we
get home..."
-Captain Benjamin Sisko
Sailor Trek: Deep Space 9
Chapter 4 - A moonless world
Dax nodded to Kira as she made her way to the science station.
"So you're the lucky one who got the night shift, Kira?"
"Not originally," she remarked. "Worf had the duty, but Captain
Sisko had a job for him, so I got called in. Not that there was anyone
else available, mind you."
"Oh, I don't know," Dax said with a shrug. "I think I could handle
the center seat for a while."
"That's true," Kira said with a laugh. "But not right now, you
can't. You're still too busy trying to find a way to push this Queen
Beryl back where she belongs."
The science officer shook her head. "Not anymore."
It took Kira a moment to realize what Dax had said. She swiveled
the command chair to face the science officer, disbelief clearly written
on her face. "What do you mean? Captain Sisko can't be thinking about
giving up!"
"Relax, Kira," Dax reassured her. "We're just trying another angle.
We've theorized that the Prophets were referring to a temporal anomaly
when they talked to Benjamin during our last trip through the wormhole.
So," she gestured to the science station, "now I'm up here looking for
temporal anomalies."
"I see," Kira said, understanding dawning. "So, if we can find this
temporal anomaly, maybe we can use it somehow... to keep this whole mess
from happening in the first place?"
"That's essentially the idea," Dax said. Leaning forward, she set
about the task of remodulating the sensors. "So, anything exciting
happening up here?"
"Not much," Kira admitted. "The situation on Earth seems to have
stabilized, but we're still cloaked and maintaining a distance of two
hundred million kilometers. But every now and then we get a threatening
message from her majesty, Queen Beryl." Sarcasm was practically dripping
from Kira's voice as she said "her majesty."
Now it was Dax's turn to show disbelief. "She's sending direct
messages to us? This far away... while we're cloaked?"
"No, no directly," Kira reassured her. "She's just sending out
general broadband transmissions allover the place, using old style radio
waves. And it's just the usual kind of threats I'd expect from someone
like her. You know, how she's going to have her vengeance on us and
wherever we came from for daring interfere with her plans, and the like.
The Cardassians made the same kind of threats to us during the Occupation."
"Sounds charming," Dax remarked, her tone indicating she found Beryl
anything but. "Maybe we should invite her to the next Bajoran Gratitude
Festival?"
Kira shuddered at the thought. "No thanks. I'd rather invite Gul
Dukat." She sighed and added, "But I will say this about Beryl: she loves
the sound of her voice even more than Dukat does."
Down in the Defiant's mess hall, Worf took his drink from the
replicator and sat down at a nearby table with Mars and Mercury. Both of
them were eying his drink dubiously, but it was Mars who finally asked
the obvious question. "Prune juice?"
"Yes." Worf had long since grown used to the reaction people had
upon hearing of his beverage of choice. Rather than explain it yet again,
he glanced at the padd in front of him. "Your depiction of the battle at
the amusement park seems consistent with the original timeline. What
happened afterwards?"
"Afterwards?" Mars asked, then paused. When she continued, her
voice was hoarse and bitter, "That's when thing went horribly wrong."
Serena looked around in disbelief. "The Negaverse is going to
strike here next? At a *baseball* stadium?!? Luna, I think you've
finally gone whacko on me."
The cat stuck her head out from the handbag she was hiding in. "If
I have gone insane, it's only because you've driven me over the edge."
"Oooohhh!" Unable to think of a suitable retort, Serena settled for
sticking her tongue out at the black feline.
"And besides," Luna continued, ignoring Serena's antics, "There've
been reports of people disappearing from here over the last couple of
days. That fits with their previous activities."
"There's one thing I find odd about this," Amy spoke up.
"Only one?" Serena asked.
Amy smiled and continued, "It's that they've decided to strike again
so soon. After all, it's only been three days since we broke up their
operation at the amusement park."
"Maybe they're getting desperate," Raye theorized. "They know they
have to face three of us now, so maybe they're trying for a quick strike,
hoping to catch us off guard." She paused and looked around the concourse.
"Besides, I think Luna's right. I've been having a bad feeling about
this place the moment we went through the gate."
"This from a girl who decided *I* was evil and slapped a spirit ward
on my forehead just minutes after meeting me?" Serena quipped. "That
doesn't make me feel any better about having to spend a good chunk of
my allowance for a ticket."
Raye's eyes narrowed, but Amy intervened before she could say
anything. "We should split up to cover more ground. Luna and I will go
this way and you two can check out the other direction."
"Wait a minute! I want to go with you, Amy. Luna can go with the
grouch!" Serena complained.
"Grouch?!?"
"We can meet back her in an hour," Amy said and she took the bag
containing Luna from Serena and moved off.
The other two glared at each other for a moment before they finally
started off on their own search. "I can't believe Amy did it to me this
time," Serena grumbled.
"Quit complaining, meatballhead," Raye retorted.
Serena stopped momentarily and fumed, allowing Raye to pull
slightly ahead of her. "STOP CALLING ME MEATBALLHEAD!" the blonde yelled
as she followed Raye.
An uneasy silence descended over the two as they made their way
through the concourse. Soon, however, Serena's mood brightened as she
eyed the various offering at the concessions. The only thing stopping
her from sampling at each one was the fact that her monetary supply was
so limited. But that didn't prevent her from irritating Raye.
"Come on, Serena," she finally said, "We're supposed to be here on
Sailor business, remember?"
"Give it a rest, Raye. There's no reason we can't do that and
have a good time, too." Here eyes goggled as she espied a booth just
coming into view. "Oh, look! That place has hot dogs, way super cheap!
I can afford those!"
Raye suppressed a groan as Serena raced over to the concession,
then resignedly followed her over.
The concession was extremely crowded when they took their place in
line, but that wasn't surprising given the cut rate prices it was
offering. But the moment they approached it, Raye's bad feeling
intensified dramatically. There was definitely something evil nearby.
Her eyes narrowed and she flitted her gaze back and forth over the
throng in an attempt to localize it.
Seeing that Raye was obviously worried about something, Serena asked
in a whisper, "What's wrong?"
"I sense something."
"Here? You've got to be kidding, Raye. I --" Serena stopped in
midsentence, for at that moment a man several places in front of them
groaned and sagged to his knees. Several others soon followed suit.
Strangely enough though, those passing by the booth didn't pay the
commotion any mind. "Uh oh."
Raye's attention was immediately drawn to the attendant, as he was
grinning ear to ear as more people collapsed. Instinctively she knew
that he was the cause of this. He had to be from the Negaverse! Feeling
a slight sense of weakness come over her, Raye acted. She raced through
the crowd for the booth, the white paper of one of her spirit wards held
tightly in her right hand. As she approached she chanted in a low voice,
empowering the ward, then leapt for the attendant and planted it firmly
on his forehead. "EVIL SPIRIT, BEGONE!"
The effect was immediate and the attendant begin to change. His
skin took on a grayish tone, and several ridges formed on his face and
shoulders with features that resembled reptilian scales. However, the
most prominent feature was a slight protrusion from his forehead that bore
a distinct likeness to a spoon. "A youma!" Serena exclaimed.
"Rybite!" it hissed along with several other incomprehensible
utterings, confirming it's origins for them.
Pandemonium immediately broke out as people, suddenly recovered when
Raye's ward broke the energy drain spell, ran in panic from the monster.
The two girls took cover around a corner and Raye gave Serena a satisfied
look. "Well?"
"OK, you're right this time. But even a broken clock is right twice
a day... MOON PRISM POWER!"
Raye glared, but decided to save any replies until after the fight
was done. "MARS POWER!"
Rybite had pinned two bystanders to the ground and was trying to
drain their energy off when a voice cried out, "Hold it!" Rybite pivoted
and found itself confronted by Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon. Taking a
step forward, Sailor Moon leveled an accusing finger at the youma, "A
ballpark is a place for people to enjoy themselves, not be attacked by
Negasleaze like you! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
The youma's only response was to hiss and then spit at the two
Scouts. Both leapt aside and the large glob hit the girder between
them. Sailor Moon looked on in shock as it began eating into the metal.
"Eeww... That stuff's nasty!"
"Not as nasty as I'm going to get!" Mars said. "MARS..." Before
she could finish the attack phrase though, Rybite spat again at her,
forcing her to dodge.
The battle continued in that manner for some time. The youma would
spit a glob of it's corrosive venom at each of them before they could
bring their attacks to bear, forcing the Scouts to dodge. On the other
hand, the Scouts themselves proved too agile for him to hit. It seemed
the battle would remain a stalemate, until...
"MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
A thick layer of fog encased the area around them, and Rybite
looked around trying to espy it's foes. It uttered several more
incomprehensible phrases in obvious frustration as Mercury's fog
inhibited it's visibility to near zero. Sailor Moon looked up happily at
her friend's approach. "Thanks for the save, Sailor Mercury!"
"Sorry I wasn't here sooner," she replied. "But my computer didn't
detect the youma's power emanations until a few minutes ago. It must
have been generating some sort of concealment field."
"That must be why no one reacted to everyone collapsing earlier,"
Mars added.
"We can theorize later. Quickly you two," Luna urged Sailor Mars
and Sailor Moon, "While it's confused!"
"Right, Luna," Sailor Moon replied. She reached to her forehead.
"MOON TIARA..."
"MARS FIRE..."
"MAGIC!"
"IGNITE!"
Too late the youma saw the fire encased tiara racing for it, and
it barely had time for a loud scream before the combined attack cut
through it. It's last cry of despair was just about the most
understandable thing the creature had said since it's manifestation.
"Moondusted!" Sailor Moon cried happily as Rybite disintegrated.
Within seconds all that remained of the incomprehensible creature was a
pile of dust, which quickly faded away as well. She turned to give Mars
a high five, but the other girl was staring dumbfounded. "Mars? What's
wrong?"
She didn't reply, except by moving to one side of Sailor Moon a
split second later, taking aim at something behind her. Moments before,
it had seemed to be an ordinary trash can, but Mars had seen it shift
from, becoming a writhing, gelatinous blob that seemed very much alive to
her. She didn't know what the shapeshifting creature was, but was sure
that it didn't mean them any good. "MARS FIRE..."
At the same moment Mars spoke, a gelatinous tentacle emerged from
the mass and shot forth at inhuman speed, wrapping itself around Sailor
Moon's neck.
"IGNITE!" Mars saw two additional tentacles emerge, heading in the
direction of herself and Sailor Mercury. But they never got to them, as
her flame arrived first and struck dead center in the gelatinous ooze. A
loud, inhuman scream came from it as her attack flared, leaving behind
only a pile of black dust when it faded. "Got it!" she cried
triumphantly, but it suddenly felt hollow to her as she caught sight of
Sailor Moon sprawled out on the ground. The unnatural stillness in her
form caused a cold lump of fear to form in her stomach.
Mercury moved rapidly to the fallen Scout's side as did Luna, but
each saw immediately it was too late. Serena's head was canted at an
odd angle, and her half open eyes were dull and lifeless. Mercury looked
to her fellow Scout, and saw that Mars was staring wide eyed in shock at
the sight. "No," she said, shaking her head in denial. "It can't be..."
"I'm afraid it is, Raye," Mercury said shakily. Taking a deep
breath, she forced herself to say the unthinkable through the tears that
were forming. "Serena's dead."
"What about Tuxedo Mask?" Worf asked. "I was under the impression
he was usually there whenever she was in danger."
"He was there," Mars replied softly. "He was just a little too late
that time."
Mars watched the tableau before her in shock. Mercury was kneeling
beside Sailor Moon, where she had been moments before when she told Raye
she was dead. Around them, Raye could sense a crowd of silent onlookers
forming, but she didn't care. How could this have happened? How could it
have gone so wrong, so quickly?
*How could I let this happen?* she thought. It had only been a
second at most between the time she had seen the creature change and the
time she had acted. Could she have stopped it if she had acted sooner?
She sensed a presence nearby. Looking up, she saw Tuxedo Mask
standing among the stadium gridwork above them. He said nothing, just
staring at the scene below him, a look of deep sadness on his face.
Raye watched him for several seconds, but then he vanished in the
literal blink of an eye.
"It wasn't until just before Zoicite started looking for the rainbow
crystals that we saw him again." Mars closed her eyes against the tears
that were forming there and added quietly, "It's my fault."
"What is your fault?" Worf asked.
Mars slammed her fist onto the table, jarring the various beverage
containers there. Mercury jumped slightly, but Worf didn't react. The
Klingon merely crossed his arms and regarded the hot tempered Scout
stoically. "It's my fault that Serena is dead! If I hadn't hesitated...
if I hadn't been standing there like an *idiot* with my mouth open while
that thing was shapeshifting, I could have stopped it before it killed
her!"
Mercury sighed and bowed her head, telling Worf that this was an
old argument between the two. Before she could say anything though,
Worf spoke, "That is foolishness."
"Oh, really?" she retorted, making no effort now to hold back the
tears.
"Yes," Worf replied evenly. "The changeling struck fast and
without warning. You had no idea what it was, or anything about it's
capabilities. That you were able to strike as quick as you did speaks
well of you."
"That's easy for..." Mars halted in midsentence as she hastily
rethought what she was about to say. She had already made that mistake
with Major Kira, and she had a feeling that in this instance she would
be wrong about Worf as well.
The Klingon nodded, confirming her suspicions. "Yes," he rumbled,
"I understand something of what you have gone through. I, too, have
endured the loss of a loved one."
They stared at one another, their expressions each communicating
to the other far more than mere words could. "Who was she?" Mars
finally asked.
Worf said nothing at first, only a slight hardening in his eyes
betraying any of the emotion he felt. Then, "Her name was K'Ehleyr.
She was my mate... and the mother of my son. She was murdered on board
the Enterprise, on which I chief of security." He waited a beat, then
added, "I do not waste time pondering what might have been, on if there
was anything I could have done differently to prevent her death. I know
in my heart I did my duty that day... that there was nothing more I could
do without foreknowledge to prevent her death. And you must accept the
same of yourself. Given the circumstances, you did all you could hope to
do to prevent it."
Mercury slid a box of tissues she had just replicated in front of
Mars, "I hope you listen to him, Raye. I've been telling you the same
thing for months."
Worf paused to consider Mars' tale in silence... and to give her a
chance to compose herself. It had answered some questions, but raised
several others. A changeling had been responsible for Sailor Moon's
death, but how had it gotten to this world? Four years ago, the
Enterprise had sealed off the quantum flux that joined the two universes,
which should have cut off passage between them. Even if the Dominion
had managed to reopen the flux, it would have led to a point in time a
hundred years later. But why would the Dominion make the effort to do
so? It didn't fit their usual method of operation. Their interests to
date had been entirely with the Alpha Quadrant.
He decided to pursue those particular questions later. "Please
continue. There are several other things I would like to know. Such as
how the two of you gained your increased abilities."
"That's not too hard to answer," Mercury said, "Since it happened in
the days following Serena's murder. Raye gained her increased abilities
first, only a few days later when..."
Raye leaned heavily on the deckrail and gazed out over the water.
"This was a terrible idea," she muttered. Turning to her companion she
added, "I don't know why I even bothered to enter that contest in the
first place. This cruise has turned out to be an utter bust."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Amy said. "And after...
what happened a few days ago, we needed something to lift our spirits."
"Don't you mean after I screwed up and got Serena killed?" Raye
said.
"Stop it, Raye! You can't go on blaming yourself like this!"
"Why not?" she retorted. Frustrated, she began pacing along the
railing. "I hesitated. If I had reacted the moment I saw that thing
start to shapeshift, she'd be alive right now."
"You don't know that. Ignoring the fact that you hesitated for
maybe one second at most, neither one of us knows what would have happened
had either one of us reacted sooner. Serena may have died in any event.
Or maybe one of us would be --" Amy stopped as she spotted a certain
black feline bounding in their direction. "Luna! What are you doing
here?"
"Did you two really think I'd let you out of my sight?" the cat
said breathlessly. "Besides, we've got trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Raye asked, even though she already had a
good idea what Luna was talking about.
"Negaverse trouble! They've got something brewing in the ball room.
Come on!" Luna ran off, and the two girls followed close behind her.
Soon they reached the entrance to the large room and they cautiously
peered inside. All round, they could see people collapsed on the floor --
all save for two at the front of the room.
Raye didn't need to be a psychic to know who they where, and what
they represented. "Negasleaze!" She smiled grimly as she produced her
transformation pen. "Good. I've been wanting a rematch with these
creeps."
"Excellent work, Titus," Jeddite said. "We've managed to collect a
great deal of energy this day."
The youma smiled. "I am happy to serve, Jeddite."
Jeddite gazed up at the collector speculatively. "With this amount
of energy, Queen Beryl may even forgive the loss of the shapeshifter."
"Too bad you're not going to be able to deliver it!" a voice rang
out.
Jeddite whirled. "Who?!?"
"I am Sailor Mars! And I won't tolerate those who would interrupt
a romantic cruise! In the name of Mars..."
"...and Mercury..."
"We'll punish you!" they concluded simultaneously.
"The Sailor Scouts," Jeddite snarled. "Just my luck, even on a
ship at sea I can't escape your interference. Titus, destroy them!"
"My pleasure," the female youma replied. At a gesture from her,
the crew in the room transforming into a humanoid form made of
quicksilver. Obeying Titus' mental command, they went after the two
Scouts.
"You're going to do better than that!" Mercury exclaimed.
"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" A thick layer of fog descended over the room,
and the Negaverse operatives hesitated, confused by the sudden loss of
visibility and the drop in temperature.
"Nice setup, Mercury. Now I'll finish them off. MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
In an instant the fire swept over the area, reducing the quicksilver
beings to piles of dust.
Titus was hardly finished with them, however. She leapt at the two
and slammed into them, driving them back onto the deck. Mars managed to
get back to her feet just in time to see Titus standing by the railing,
her back to the ocean. "MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
The firebolt ran straight at the youma, but Titus gestured and two
large geysers of water shot into the air. A jet of water emerged from
one and intercepted Mars' attack, dousing the flame. "Seems you're not
such hot stuff, Mars. Just like your friend, Sailor Moon."
"Why you --" Mars began, but was cut off by Mercury as she began
her attack. She reasoned that if she was able to blind Titus, Mars'
flame might be able to get through and finish the youma off. She may
have been right, but Titus acted first as she sent another blast of water
at the blue haired Scout. Mercury gasped as the waterspout drove her
into the bulkhead. She stood there trying to get her bearings, obviously
dazed.
"Now to finish you off," Titus gloated.
"NO!" Mars cried and sent forth another blast of flame, only to have
this one doused as well. Titus drew back her hand to launch the attack
that would surely finish off Mercury, while Mars desperately tried to
think of something to do. Anger and rage shot through her at her
ineffectiveness in this battle, and she prepared to strike again. She
was NOT going to let another friend die if she could help it!
A mental connection was forged within her mind as she drew upon all
her strength, tapping into as yet unknown reserves. Instinctively the
new phrase came to her and she cried out, "MARS FIREBIRD STRIKE!"
The youma looked on in alarm as the bird of flame soared at her and
she tried to douse this attack as she had with the previous ones.
However, this time the water blast was seriously ineffective as the
firebird cut through it and struck her full on. Titus barely had time
to scream before the firebird overwhelmed her.
Mercury turned rather shakily from where the youma had been and
faced Mars. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know," the other Scout confessed, "I just did. All I knew
was that I couldn't let it kill you." She went over and helped Mercury
to her feet. "Are you OK?"
"I think so," she responded. "Thanks, Mars."
"Very touching," another voice interrupted. They turned to the
source of the voice to see Jeddite hovering nearby. "I thought Titus
would be powerful enough to destroy you, but I seem to have underestimated
you two. But now I will finish you off myself!"
"Give it your best shot, creep!" Mars challenged him. But before
the youma General could do anything, he vanished without a trace. She
blinked, surprised at his sudden retreat. "Where'd he go?"
Mercury glanced around the area with her visor. "He's nowhere
around. He's gone."
"He'll be back," Mars said grimly. "But next time we'll take care of
him for good."
Mercury turned to her fellow Scout. "Thanks again for saving my
life, Raye."
"You repaid the favor a couple of days later. Besides, we've done
the same for each other ever since," she responded, then added sullenly,
"I just wish I'd been able to do the same for Serena."
Now it was Mercury's turn to pound on the table, hard enough to make
even Worf blink in surprise. He hadn't known her to be prone to such
outbursts on the Enterprise. "Raye!" Mercury chided her. "Didn't you
listen to what Worf just said? Or anything I've told you over the months
since? It wasn't your fault!!" She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"There wasn't anything you or I could do to save Serena that day, as much
as either one of us may wish otherwise."
"That's what makes it so hard," Mars answered. Getting up, she
walked over to the replicator. Glancing back at Worf she asked, "How do
you work this thing?"
"Simply tell it what it is you wish. Though usually it is best to
use the word 'Computer' first."
"OK," she said. "Computer: a mug of hot tea, please."
"There are two thousand three hundred forty seven different varieties
of tea on record," the computer responded. "Please specify." A display
of the various types promptly appeared listing both human and alien
variants, and the computer began scrolling through them.
"Urk!" Mars' mind boggled at the size of the list. "Any
suggestions?" she asked Worf uncertainly.
The Klingon frowned, considering. He was unsure how to reply, for
despite the number of years he had lived among them, he still found
human tastes odd. "I've been told that Earl Grey is an excellent
variant."
Shrugging she said, "Make it Earl Grey tea. You want anything, Amy?"
"Mmm... A hot chocolate, please."
Mars nodded. "And a hot chocolate." The requested beverages
materialized and she return to the table with them, muttering, "Sure,
there are umpteen different kinds of tea, but only one hot chocolate.
Computers!"
Mercury forbode comment, choosing instead to simply thank her
friend. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Well, a few days after the battle on
the ship, Jeddite challenged us to meet him in open combat at the airport.
We knew it was a trap but we couldn't ignore it, since he had threatened
to destroy Tokyo if we didn't show up."
"He left you very little choice," Worf agreed. "But I hope you at
least took some precautions."
"We went in with our eyes open, if that's what you mean," Mars said.
"Once we got to the airport, we transformed."
Mercury took up the tale, "And after we got inside the perimeter,
several guards began chasing us. Except that when I scanned them, I saw
that they weren't guards at all, they were just animated clay! Well, Mars
let loose a Firebird attack and that took care of them. Then Jeddite made
his appearance..."
"Very impressive, Sailor Mars," the General sneered as he examined
her handiwork, "but you'll still meet the same fate as your pathetic
friend, Sailor Moon."
Mars bristled at this taunt. "You're going to be the one dying
today, Jeddite!"
"Brave words. Now let's see if you can back them up!" Jeddite
stretched out his hands, and the two Scouts tensed, preparing to dodge
whatever attack he sent their way. But Jeddite had another strategy in
mind, instead animating several of the nearby jets. Slowly the lumbering
behemoths moved towards them, accelerating rapidly.
"No problem," Raye said. "One fire blast should take care of them!"
"No!" Luna cried. "If you bow up a jet, it will take your allowance
for the next ten thousand years to pay for it!"
The two Scouts looked uncertainly at each other, then did the only
thing they could: run. But even with their speed enhanced in their
Sailor forms, the best they could do was maintain their distance. "Split
up!" Mars yelled. Mercury nodded and ran to the right, while Mars
veered left.
Jeddite chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle in front of him.
This was turning out to be far easier than he had imagined. How could he
have let these two defeat him before? Clearly he had been overestimating
them... they must have been more lucky than good. After a moments
consideration he decided that Mars was clearly the more dangerous of the
two, so he sent the jets after her. Once he eliminated her, he could
deal with Mercury at his leisure.
Mercury slowed upon seeing that none of the aircraft were following
her. Quickly she looked around for Sailor Mars, and her heart froze.
Somehow, the aircraft had boxed her in and were closing on her. Raye
was looking urgently around, trying to find a direction to run.
Jeddite materialized next to her. "Too bad, Sailor Mercury. Despite
all your efforts, another one of your friends is going to die."
"NO!"
Jeddite sneered. "There's nothing you can do. How are you going to
stop those jets, hmmm? With your pathetic bubbles?"
Stung by Jeddite's taunts, Amy summoned all of her power, trying to
gather all her strength in one blast. Suddenly, she felt a rush of
energy, more than she had ever felt before. The words came
instinctively, "MERCURY ICE BUBBLES..."
Jeddite frowned. That wasn't the correct phrasing.
"FREEZE!!"
A wave of cold energy swept over the landing gear of two of the
jets, freezing them instantly. Suddenly more brittle than glass, the
gear snapped under the weight above them, and the jets skidded to a halt,
stirring up a huge cloud of dusk in their wake. *Oh, dear,* Luna thought
upon seeing the extant of the wreckage, *I hope they're insured.*
Jeddite clenched his fists in rage while Mercury, visor deployed,
looked for Mars amid the swirling dust. "Not bad, little Mercury, but
too late to save your friend. Now it's your turn!"
Mercury turned to him, but instead of cringing in fear as he
expected, she simply smile slightly. "We'll see about that!" she said
in a defiant tone. Jeddite snarled and drew his hand back, ready to blast
her out of existence, then hesitated. She showed no signs of preparing
to run, just standing there staring resolutely at him. What was she up
to?
Jeddite shook off his doubts. It didn't matter. He started to bring
his hand forward just as he sensed something land behind him. But before
he could turn around, there was a light touch on his back. "EVIL SPIRIT...
BEGONE!" Mars cried, planting the ward.
"NOOO!" Jeddite howled as he felt himself paralyzed. Mars leapt past
him and joined up with Sailor Mercury. The Negaverse general struggled
against the power binding him. They may have the advantage for now, but
he would soon break free, and then...
Wait a minute... What was that shadow looming over him?
Jeddite cried out again, this time in horror, as the realization of
his situation hit him. Still intent on following Mars, the last jet
continued lumbering towards her... heading straight for Jeddite. "This
is for Sailor Moon, Jeddite!" There was a brief scream as the airliner
ran over him, then silence as the jet ground to a halt. No sign of
Jeddite remained.
A safe distance away, Mercury and Mars exchanged a high five.
"Scratch one Negacreep."
Dax uttered a couple of choice Klingon curses that Curzon had favored
in his day and leaned back in her chair. "I take it you're not having any
luck?" Kira asked unnecessarily.
"You could say that. I've conducted almost every type of scan I can
imagine, but there isn't even a *hint* of a temporal anomaly anywhere in
this system."
Kira's brow furrowed. "There's got to be something! Otherwise,
how could the timeline here have gotten so skewed?"
"I don't know," Dax replied with a sigh. She stared at the monitor,
then leaned forward and began manipulating the sensor controls again.
"Trying a new scan?"
"Yes, but this time I'm just looking for spatial anomalies. Maybe
the change of pace will give me another idea." Within a matter of seconds
the sensors beeped, indicating the detection of what Dax had been scanning
for. "Well, that was simple enough. Still, the only anomalies detected
are the quantum fluxes..." The science officer did a double take, both
her eyebrows shooting upward. "Wait a minute... *Two* quantum fluxes?!?"
"What's so unusual about that? Isn't that how the original
Enterprise got here in the first place?"
"It did... but their scans, *and* those of the Enterprise D,
indicated only one in this solar system." She pointed to the monitor
screen. "That quantum flux leads to a point near the Romulan Neutral Zone
in the twenty third century. But this one," she indicated the second flux
located midway between the orbit of Earth and Mars, "I have no idea where
it came from or where it goes." A contemplative look came over her face.
"Unless..."
Kira watched her intently, then finally asked, "Unless what?"
"I think I know where it goes. And if I'm right, I have a good idea
how history was changed." Dax moved over to the nearby engineering station
and began working furiously. "I'm going to program a probe to send through
the second flux and return. Then I'll know for certain."
Dax's tone sounded extremely apprehensive to Kira. And anything
that could make someone with seven lifetimes of experience anxious made
her feel almost terrified. "And if you are?"
Dax paused, then look over at Kira. "Then I hope the Prophets are
watching over us."
O'Brien uttered a curse and looked menacingly at the log buoy. "I'd
like to wring the neck of your designer. If you were half as
indestructible as they claim, we'd have finished by now!"
"Tell me about it," Muniz added. The other engineer looked as
frustrated as O'Brien. "The entire buoy recorder interface system is
fried."
The Chief took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. A
little bit, anyway. "Well, to be charitable the buoy did survive a warp
core explosion more or less intact. But we're going to have to fashion a
replacement interface to hook the memory bank directly into the main
computer."
"With this?" Muniz looked doubtful.
"What's the matter?" asked O'Brien, putting a light hearted tone in
his voice. "Can't handle a challenge?"
"A challenge is one thing... but this is near impossible! We're
talking about ancient electronics here!"
"And here I thought you were an engineer." O'Brien tried to sound
disappointed. "Well, if you can't handle it..."
"I didn't say that," Muniz interrupted the Chief. He stared at
the disassembled recorder , running through several possible scenarios in
his mind. "Well... we might be able to fashion a replacement interface
port and then hook it up to tricorder and use it to link to the main
computer."
"Good lad," O'Brien said. "You get about making the new port, and
I'll get on with modifying the tricorder." The two engineers set about
their respective tasks in silence.
Muniz had just begun installing the new dataport when a distant
clanging sound made him look up. "Did you hear that?" he asked O'Brien.
He nodded uncertainly. "Yeah. It sounded like it came from the
Jeffries tube." The two of them went over to the access panel. O'Brien
bent down to the panel, then warned Muniz, "Be ready. The last time I
heard something banging around in here, there was a changeling running
around the ship a couple of days later." Muniz nodded, drawing out his
phaser. O'Brien removed the access panel and looked inside. Seeing
nothing dangerous at first glance he cautiously moved into the tube, his
own weapon drawn. Nothing that way...
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Chief," came a voice from behind him.
Startled, he turned rapidly towards the voice.
Or rather, he tried to. A loud thud echoed through the Jeffries
tube. "OW!"
"Oh, dear. Did I startle you?" Luna asked apologetically.
O'Brien rubbed his head painfully and glared at the black cat.
"You could say that. What the hell are you doing in here, Luna?"
"I thought I'd walk around the ship while I did some thinking.
Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in thinking that I seem to be..."
She paused, seemingly embarrassed. "...lost."
Despite his aching head, O'Brien chuckled. "That's not hard to do
in here, even a ship as small as the Defiant. These conduits look a lot
alike. It takes a while to get to know your way around them." He backed
out of the tube entrance, allowing Luna to enter the engine room. "We're
a little busy at the moment, but if you don't mind waiting I can take you
wherever you need to go."
"Thank you, Chief."
Muniz looked confused. "Chief?"
O'Brien had to grin. He had pretty much felt the same the first time
he saw one of the Sailor Scouts feline friends. "Not to worry Muniz.
She's a friendly cat. Luna, this is Enrique Muniz, one of my engineers."
"Hello, Mr. Muniz. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Um... yeah, thanks... Uh, Luna," the engineer stammered. Trying to
recover, he continued, "Sorry, but a talking cat is not something I ever
expected to see."
"Well you better get used to seeing the unexpected, mister," O'Brien
told him. "That is, if you really want to make a career for yourself in
Starfleet."
"It's quite alright, Chief. I get that reaction quite often." Luna
looked at the scorched log buoy with interest. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, we're trying to access the log recordings on this buoy," he
responded, turning back to his work. "We already know the Jem'Hadar
destroyed this ship, but it'd be nice to know who it was they attacked.
Captain Sisko thinks this might give us some clue as to what's going on."
Muniz snapped the new port into place, while O'Brien attached and
activated the tricorder. "There! Now, if we did this right..."
He activated the controls on his panel to link up the buoy with the
Defiant's main computer. "Access confirmed," the computer's voice said.
O'Brien cried out triumphantly and shared a congratulatory glance
with Muniz. "Computer: access last log entry and playback." There was
a pause while the computer retrieved the requested data from the buoy.
Soon the screen showed the bridge of a starship from a bird's eye view.
Unfortunately, both visual and audio were filled with static.
"What's wrong with the recording?" Luna asked.
"Good question. Muniz?"
He glanced at the tricorder readouts. "The dataflow looks clean.
There must have been damage to the memory banks as well."
"Well, let's just hope it wasn't too bad," O'Brien replied, turning
back to the control panel. "Computer: run a level one data enhancement /
noise suppression routine on the requested log entry." The computer
chirped an affirmative as it ran the requested programs. "Replay from
the beginning." The screen cleared somewhat and the audio became
discernable. "Better," he observed.
"The date is consistent with the electronics," Muniz added,
indicating one of the readouts. "Stardate 5046.7. Just about a little
over one hundred years ago."
O'Brien replied by way of a nod as he eyed the bridge layout
critically, "Looks like a Constitution class, too."
"A what?" asked a puzzled cat.
O'Brien ignored her for now, paying close attention to the events
unfolding before him. The ship was rocking heavily under the attack,
making it hard to hear the crew. The static still present didn't make
it any easier.
"Shields are ineffective," he heard the science officer report.
"The enemy vessels are utilizing a phased polaron beam." Another
readout displayed the viewscreen image, showing clearly a Jem'Hadar
attack ship. O'Brien felt a twinge sympathy for the other crew.
Dominion weaponry was still giving research scientists at Starfleet
Tactical fits. Current models of starships were barely a match for
Jem'Hadar ships... one from a hundred years ago wouldn't have a chance.
"Stand by phasers and photon torpedoes," ordered the captain.
"Weapons ready," said the helmsman. "Locked on target."
"FIRE!"
The bridge lights dimmed as the weapons were discharged. "Got him!"
exclaimed the navigator.
"Direct hit," the science officer said calmly despite the chaos
surrounding him. "Target has been destroyed." The bridge shook again
and several panels exploded in a shower of sparks as the ship was hit
by incoming fire. When the screen cleared again, several crew could be
seen lying prone on the deck, including the helmsman.
"Uhura, send out a distress signal. Priority One." The captain
could be seen toggling the intercom switch on his command chair, while
the science officer ran over to take the helm. "Sickbay, medical
emergency on the bridge."
"Where the hell isn't there one?!" came the exasperated reply.
"Jim, I've got casualty reports coming on from all over --"
The intercom whistled, overriding the signal from Sickbay. "Scott
to bridge. Captain, we're losing antimatter containment! Ejection
systems offline!" O'Brien blinked. Scott? That couldn't possibly
be -- ? No, it was impossible!
"All hands, abandon ship! Repeat --" The bridge view was cut
off suddenly, indicating to the two engineers that the recorder pod
had been automatically jettisoned. It was replaced by an external view
of a Constitution class ship receding in the distance. The once
immaculate white hull was blackened in several places by weapons fire,
and several energy discharges could be seen coruscating over several
hull breaches. Less than a second later, the starship exploded in a
blinding display, then the terminal went blank as the recording ended.
O'Brien stared at the terminal in shock, as did Muniz. "Oh my God.
That ship's service number... it can't be!"
"What's wrong?" the cat asked, mystified.
"That ship... it's a ship from over a hundred years in our past. But
the stardate given in the log was almost twenty years before it was
destroyed! Unless..." He took his tricorder and scanned the log buoy.
The sinking feeling that had developed in his gut grew worse as he saw the
results. "O'Brien to Sisko."
"Go ahead, Chief."
"We've got a problem, Captain. An even bigger problem than we thought."
Worf sat back and tried to take in all that Mars and Mercury had told
him. Some of what they had said was similar to the past that Luna had
related to him on the Enterprise, but there were some significant
differences. In this timeline, the two Scouts had been able to save
Neflyte. Afterwards, the defecting General in turn helped the Scouts,
joined soon afterward by Jupiter, in the search for the Rainbow Crystals.
Until, that is, he died heroically, saving the Scouts from a trap Malachite
had laid for them in a bid to gain those they had. Venus' timely arrival
that day had prevented Malachite and Zoisite from getting their hands on
them that day.
Another difference was that apparently the relationship between Mars
and Darien, whom they discovered later to be Tuxedo Mask, was much stronger
than in the original timeline. At least as far as she had been concerned.
Worf was pondering whether or not to reveal the truth about Darien and
Serena to her when the intercom beeped. "Sisko to Worf."
"Worf here," he answered.
"Report to the bridge, Commander. And bring the Sailor Scouts with
you."
Worf nodded. "We are on our way. Worf out."
Mars looked quizzically at Worf. "What's going on?" she asked as
they rose from the table.
"I'm not sure," he answered, leading them out of the mess hall.
Turning down the corridor to the bridge he continued, "Most likely
Commander Dax or Chief O'Brien have uncovered something pertinent in
their investigations that should be made known to the entire crew. But
we will find out when we get there."
The trio arrived on the bridge, arriving shortly after Bashir did.
Worf saw that most of the other senior officers were already present,
with only Chief O'Brien yet to arrive. "Worf, where's Luna?" Dax asked.
The Klingon shifted slightly, uncomfortable at having to admit
ignorance. Presently he said, "She took a walk."
"If you need her here, Mars and I could go looking for her,"
Mercury volunteered.
At that moment O'Brien entered the bridge with Luna riding on his
shoulder, thus rendering the point moot.
"New friend, Chief?" Dax asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You'd better be careful," Kira advised, her tone light. "Keiko
could get jealous if she finds out."
Several good natured smiles were exchanged as the Chief sputtered
denials, while Luna settled for glaring at Kira. Sisko allowed the good
mood to progress at it's own pace. After all, things had been tense on
the ship for quite some time and they all needed a chance to laugh at
something. "Chief, it's your show."
"Yes, sir," he replied. He glanced uncomfortably around the room.
The information he had clearly disturbed him far more than Kira's
bantering had. "I analyzed the log recorder we picked up from the ship
the Jem'Hadar destroyed. I was able to reconstruct the last log entry,
and to identify it. It was a Starfleet ship, Constitution class." He
touched a control and the image of the unfortunate starship appeared on
the main viewscreen. He tapped several others, enlarging and enhancing
a particular area of one of the warp engine nacelles. The computer
quickly cleared any distortion from the image and the ship's service
number became clear for all to see.
NCC-1701.
"It's..." Dax began in a stunned voice.
"...the Enterprise," concluded Sisko. He had been half expecting
this since the moment O'Brien had scanned the debris field, but it still
came as a shock to him. "The original, captained by James T. Kirk. And
from it's appearance, this was before the refit that was done after the
five year mission was completed."
"That can't be right!" Bashir objected after several moments of
shocked silence. "It was nearly twenty years after the refit before that
particular Enterprise was destroyed."
"In our timeline, Julian," Dax said. "Chief, did you check the
quantum signature of the recorder?"
He was nodding before she finished asking the question. "Yes.
It's definitely from our timeline, not any alternate one."
"Then, if Kirk's ship was destroyed by the Jem'Hadar, that would
mean it's not just the Scouts timeline that's been changed," Odo said.
"Correct, Constable." Sisko eyed the image of the Enterprise. "It
means our own past has been altered as well. And now, even if we do
find a way back to our universe, we haven't got a home to return to."
"The Sisko is aware of the nature of the problem."
Pluto nodded. "Good," she said. "Now we can get on with a solution.
Though I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to see the full
scope of the situation."
*Did you really expect more of them?* a voice intoned in her head.
*For someone as long lived as yourself, you should realize how plodding
and pedantic these Starfleet people can be.*
"You're supposed to be watching the Gateway, Q," she replied, her
tone indicating she was more than slightly annoyed. "I am more concerned
with results, not how stylish they go about accomplishing them."
*Humph. Sometimes you can be absolutely no fun at all, my dear.*
Pluto tried to ignore Q and returned attention to the Prophet she
was dealing with, but she found herself gazing once more at sights she
never thought to see again.. As is their wont, the Prophet had shifted
form without warning, assuming the appearance of Queen Serenity and the
background had shifted to that of the Silver Millennium.
It was a rare occurrence indeed when Pluto found herself thrown for
a loop.
"Our existence is at risk," the Prophet said, bringing the Sailor
Scout out of her reverie. All around them, the background lighting began
to take on a reddish hue. "The Sisko must succeed."
"I know," Pluto said, growing more concerned. The changes to the
environment around them was an indication that the situation was becoming
more dire. Time, at least as it was measured by corporeal beings, was
growing short. "And not just for you. For the sake of two universes,
Captain Sisko must reverse the damage done to the timelines, and soon.
But now he is aware of what must be done to resolve the paradox.
"To preserve their past, Sailor Moon must live."
Next time: The last pieces of the puzzle fall into place, as Pluto makes
her presence known to the crew and helps get them on the road to a
solution to this temporal jumble. All this and more in Chapter 5,
"Return to yesterday..."
"The last thing I want is a visit from Temporal Investigations when we
get home..."
-Captain Benjamin Sisko
Sailor Trek: Deep Space 9
Chapter 4 - A moonless world
Dax nodded to Kira as she made her way to the science station.
"So you're the lucky one who got the night shift, Kira?"
"Not originally," she remarked. "Worf had the duty, but Captain
Sisko had a job for him, so I got called in. Not that there was anyone
else available, mind you."
"Oh, I don't know," Dax said with a shrug. "I think I could handle
the center seat for a while."
"That's true," Kira said with a laugh. "But not right now, you
can't. You're still too busy trying to find a way to push this Queen
Beryl back where she belongs."
The science officer shook her head. "Not anymore."
It took Kira a moment to realize what Dax had said. She swiveled
the command chair to face the science officer, disbelief clearly written
on her face. "What do you mean? Captain Sisko can't be thinking about
giving up!"
"Relax, Kira," Dax reassured her. "We're just trying another angle.
We've theorized that the Prophets were referring to a temporal anomaly
when they talked to Benjamin during our last trip through the wormhole.
So," she gestured to the science station, "now I'm up here looking for
temporal anomalies."
"I see," Kira said, understanding dawning. "So, if we can find this
temporal anomaly, maybe we can use it somehow... to keep this whole mess
from happening in the first place?"
"That's essentially the idea," Dax said. Leaning forward, she set
about the task of remodulating the sensors. "So, anything exciting
happening up here?"
"Not much," Kira admitted. "The situation on Earth seems to have
stabilized, but we're still cloaked and maintaining a distance of two
hundred million kilometers. But every now and then we get a threatening
message from her majesty, Queen Beryl." Sarcasm was practically dripping
from Kira's voice as she said "her majesty."
Now it was Dax's turn to show disbelief. "She's sending direct
messages to us? This far away... while we're cloaked?"
"No, no directly," Kira reassured her. "She's just sending out
general broadband transmissions allover the place, using old style radio
waves. And it's just the usual kind of threats I'd expect from someone
like her. You know, how she's going to have her vengeance on us and
wherever we came from for daring interfere with her plans, and the like.
The Cardassians made the same kind of threats to us during the Occupation."
"Sounds charming," Dax remarked, her tone indicating she found Beryl
anything but. "Maybe we should invite her to the next Bajoran Gratitude
Festival?"
Kira shuddered at the thought. "No thanks. I'd rather invite Gul
Dukat." She sighed and added, "But I will say this about Beryl: she loves
the sound of her voice even more than Dukat does."
Down in the Defiant's mess hall, Worf took his drink from the
replicator and sat down at a nearby table with Mars and Mercury. Both of
them were eying his drink dubiously, but it was Mars who finally asked
the obvious question. "Prune juice?"
"Yes." Worf had long since grown used to the reaction people had
upon hearing of his beverage of choice. Rather than explain it yet again,
he glanced at the padd in front of him. "Your depiction of the battle at
the amusement park seems consistent with the original timeline. What
happened afterwards?"
"Afterwards?" Mars asked, then paused. When she continued, her
voice was hoarse and bitter, "That's when thing went horribly wrong."
Serena looked around in disbelief. "The Negaverse is going to
strike here next? At a *baseball* stadium?!? Luna, I think you've
finally gone whacko on me."
The cat stuck her head out from the handbag she was hiding in. "If
I have gone insane, it's only because you've driven me over the edge."
"Oooohhh!" Unable to think of a suitable retort, Serena settled for
sticking her tongue out at the black feline.
"And besides," Luna continued, ignoring Serena's antics, "There've
been reports of people disappearing from here over the last couple of
days. That fits with their previous activities."
"There's one thing I find odd about this," Amy spoke up.
"Only one?" Serena asked.
Amy smiled and continued, "It's that they've decided to strike again
so soon. After all, it's only been three days since we broke up their
operation at the amusement park."
"Maybe they're getting desperate," Raye theorized. "They know they
have to face three of us now, so maybe they're trying for a quick strike,
hoping to catch us off guard." She paused and looked around the concourse.
"Besides, I think Luna's right. I've been having a bad feeling about
this place the moment we went through the gate."
"This from a girl who decided *I* was evil and slapped a spirit ward
on my forehead just minutes after meeting me?" Serena quipped. "That
doesn't make me feel any better about having to spend a good chunk of
my allowance for a ticket."
Raye's eyes narrowed, but Amy intervened before she could say
anything. "We should split up to cover more ground. Luna and I will go
this way and you two can check out the other direction."
"Wait a minute! I want to go with you, Amy. Luna can go with the
grouch!" Serena complained.
"Grouch?!?"
"We can meet back her in an hour," Amy said and she took the bag
containing Luna from Serena and moved off.
The other two glared at each other for a moment before they finally
started off on their own search. "I can't believe Amy did it to me this
time," Serena grumbled.
"Quit complaining, meatballhead," Raye retorted.
Serena stopped momentarily and fumed, allowing Raye to pull
slightly ahead of her. "STOP CALLING ME MEATBALLHEAD!" the blonde yelled
as she followed Raye.
An uneasy silence descended over the two as they made their way
through the concourse. Soon, however, Serena's mood brightened as she
eyed the various offering at the concessions. The only thing stopping
her from sampling at each one was the fact that her monetary supply was
so limited. But that didn't prevent her from irritating Raye.
"Come on, Serena," she finally said, "We're supposed to be here on
Sailor business, remember?"
"Give it a rest, Raye. There's no reason we can't do that and
have a good time, too." Here eyes goggled as she espied a booth just
coming into view. "Oh, look! That place has hot dogs, way super cheap!
I can afford those!"
Raye suppressed a groan as Serena raced over to the concession,
then resignedly followed her over.
The concession was extremely crowded when they took their place in
line, but that wasn't surprising given the cut rate prices it was
offering. But the moment they approached it, Raye's bad feeling
intensified dramatically. There was definitely something evil nearby.
Her eyes narrowed and she flitted her gaze back and forth over the
throng in an attempt to localize it.
Seeing that Raye was obviously worried about something, Serena asked
in a whisper, "What's wrong?"
"I sense something."
"Here? You've got to be kidding, Raye. I --" Serena stopped in
midsentence, for at that moment a man several places in front of them
groaned and sagged to his knees. Several others soon followed suit.
Strangely enough though, those passing by the booth didn't pay the
commotion any mind. "Uh oh."
Raye's attention was immediately drawn to the attendant, as he was
grinning ear to ear as more people collapsed. Instinctively she knew
that he was the cause of this. He had to be from the Negaverse! Feeling
a slight sense of weakness come over her, Raye acted. She raced through
the crowd for the booth, the white paper of one of her spirit wards held
tightly in her right hand. As she approached she chanted in a low voice,
empowering the ward, then leapt for the attendant and planted it firmly
on his forehead. "EVIL SPIRIT, BEGONE!"
The effect was immediate and the attendant begin to change. His
skin took on a grayish tone, and several ridges formed on his face and
shoulders with features that resembled reptilian scales. However, the
most prominent feature was a slight protrusion from his forehead that bore
a distinct likeness to a spoon. "A youma!" Serena exclaimed.
"Rybite!" it hissed along with several other incomprehensible
utterings, confirming it's origins for them.
Pandemonium immediately broke out as people, suddenly recovered when
Raye's ward broke the energy drain spell, ran in panic from the monster.
The two girls took cover around a corner and Raye gave Serena a satisfied
look. "Well?"
"OK, you're right this time. But even a broken clock is right twice
a day... MOON PRISM POWER!"
Raye glared, but decided to save any replies until after the fight
was done. "MARS POWER!"
Rybite had pinned two bystanders to the ground and was trying to
drain their energy off when a voice cried out, "Hold it!" Rybite pivoted
and found itself confronted by Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon. Taking a
step forward, Sailor Moon leveled an accusing finger at the youma, "A
ballpark is a place for people to enjoy themselves, not be attacked by
Negasleaze like you! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
The youma's only response was to hiss and then spit at the two
Scouts. Both leapt aside and the large glob hit the girder between
them. Sailor Moon looked on in shock as it began eating into the metal.
"Eeww... That stuff's nasty!"
"Not as nasty as I'm going to get!" Mars said. "MARS..." Before
she could finish the attack phrase though, Rybite spat again at her,
forcing her to dodge.
The battle continued in that manner for some time. The youma would
spit a glob of it's corrosive venom at each of them before they could
bring their attacks to bear, forcing the Scouts to dodge. On the other
hand, the Scouts themselves proved too agile for him to hit. It seemed
the battle would remain a stalemate, until...
"MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
A thick layer of fog encased the area around them, and Rybite
looked around trying to espy it's foes. It uttered several more
incomprehensible phrases in obvious frustration as Mercury's fog
inhibited it's visibility to near zero. Sailor Moon looked up happily at
her friend's approach. "Thanks for the save, Sailor Mercury!"
"Sorry I wasn't here sooner," she replied. "But my computer didn't
detect the youma's power emanations until a few minutes ago. It must
have been generating some sort of concealment field."
"That must be why no one reacted to everyone collapsing earlier,"
Mars added.
"We can theorize later. Quickly you two," Luna urged Sailor Mars
and Sailor Moon, "While it's confused!"
"Right, Luna," Sailor Moon replied. She reached to her forehead.
"MOON TIARA..."
"MARS FIRE..."
"MAGIC!"
"IGNITE!"
Too late the youma saw the fire encased tiara racing for it, and
it barely had time for a loud scream before the combined attack cut
through it. It's last cry of despair was just about the most
understandable thing the creature had said since it's manifestation.
"Moondusted!" Sailor Moon cried happily as Rybite disintegrated.
Within seconds all that remained of the incomprehensible creature was a
pile of dust, which quickly faded away as well. She turned to give Mars
a high five, but the other girl was staring dumbfounded. "Mars? What's
wrong?"
She didn't reply, except by moving to one side of Sailor Moon a
split second later, taking aim at something behind her. Moments before,
it had seemed to be an ordinary trash can, but Mars had seen it shift
from, becoming a writhing, gelatinous blob that seemed very much alive to
her. She didn't know what the shapeshifting creature was, but was sure
that it didn't mean them any good. "MARS FIRE..."
At the same moment Mars spoke, a gelatinous tentacle emerged from
the mass and shot forth at inhuman speed, wrapping itself around Sailor
Moon's neck.
"IGNITE!" Mars saw two additional tentacles emerge, heading in the
direction of herself and Sailor Mercury. But they never got to them, as
her flame arrived first and struck dead center in the gelatinous ooze. A
loud, inhuman scream came from it as her attack flared, leaving behind
only a pile of black dust when it faded. "Got it!" she cried
triumphantly, but it suddenly felt hollow to her as she caught sight of
Sailor Moon sprawled out on the ground. The unnatural stillness in her
form caused a cold lump of fear to form in her stomach.
Mercury moved rapidly to the fallen Scout's side as did Luna, but
each saw immediately it was too late. Serena's head was canted at an
odd angle, and her half open eyes were dull and lifeless. Mercury looked
to her fellow Scout, and saw that Mars was staring wide eyed in shock at
the sight. "No," she said, shaking her head in denial. "It can't be..."
"I'm afraid it is, Raye," Mercury said shakily. Taking a deep
breath, she forced herself to say the unthinkable through the tears that
were forming. "Serena's dead."
"What about Tuxedo Mask?" Worf asked. "I was under the impression
he was usually there whenever she was in danger."
"He was there," Mars replied softly. "He was just a little too late
that time."
Mars watched the tableau before her in shock. Mercury was kneeling
beside Sailor Moon, where she had been moments before when she told Raye
she was dead. Around them, Raye could sense a crowd of silent onlookers
forming, but she didn't care. How could this have happened? How could it
have gone so wrong, so quickly?
*How could I let this happen?* she thought. It had only been a
second at most between the time she had seen the creature change and the
time she had acted. Could she have stopped it if she had acted sooner?
She sensed a presence nearby. Looking up, she saw Tuxedo Mask
standing among the stadium gridwork above them. He said nothing, just
staring at the scene below him, a look of deep sadness on his face.
Raye watched him for several seconds, but then he vanished in the
literal blink of an eye.
"It wasn't until just before Zoicite started looking for the rainbow
crystals that we saw him again." Mars closed her eyes against the tears
that were forming there and added quietly, "It's my fault."
"What is your fault?" Worf asked.
Mars slammed her fist onto the table, jarring the various beverage
containers there. Mercury jumped slightly, but Worf didn't react. The
Klingon merely crossed his arms and regarded the hot tempered Scout
stoically. "It's my fault that Serena is dead! If I hadn't hesitated...
if I hadn't been standing there like an *idiot* with my mouth open while
that thing was shapeshifting, I could have stopped it before it killed
her!"
Mercury sighed and bowed her head, telling Worf that this was an
old argument between the two. Before she could say anything though,
Worf spoke, "That is foolishness."
"Oh, really?" she retorted, making no effort now to hold back the
tears.
"Yes," Worf replied evenly. "The changeling struck fast and
without warning. You had no idea what it was, or anything about it's
capabilities. That you were able to strike as quick as you did speaks
well of you."
"That's easy for..." Mars halted in midsentence as she hastily
rethought what she was about to say. She had already made that mistake
with Major Kira, and she had a feeling that in this instance she would
be wrong about Worf as well.
The Klingon nodded, confirming her suspicions. "Yes," he rumbled,
"I understand something of what you have gone through. I, too, have
endured the loss of a loved one."
They stared at one another, their expressions each communicating
to the other far more than mere words could. "Who was she?" Mars
finally asked.
Worf said nothing at first, only a slight hardening in his eyes
betraying any of the emotion he felt. Then, "Her name was K'Ehleyr.
She was my mate... and the mother of my son. She was murdered on board
the Enterprise, on which I chief of security." He waited a beat, then
added, "I do not waste time pondering what might have been, on if there
was anything I could have done differently to prevent her death. I know
in my heart I did my duty that day... that there was nothing more I could
do without foreknowledge to prevent her death. And you must accept the
same of yourself. Given the circumstances, you did all you could hope to
do to prevent it."
Mercury slid a box of tissues she had just replicated in front of
Mars, "I hope you listen to him, Raye. I've been telling you the same
thing for months."
Worf paused to consider Mars' tale in silence... and to give her a
chance to compose herself. It had answered some questions, but raised
several others. A changeling had been responsible for Sailor Moon's
death, but how had it gotten to this world? Four years ago, the
Enterprise had sealed off the quantum flux that joined the two universes,
which should have cut off passage between them. Even if the Dominion
had managed to reopen the flux, it would have led to a point in time a
hundred years later. But why would the Dominion make the effort to do
so? It didn't fit their usual method of operation. Their interests to
date had been entirely with the Alpha Quadrant.
He decided to pursue those particular questions later. "Please
continue. There are several other things I would like to know. Such as
how the two of you gained your increased abilities."
"That's not too hard to answer," Mercury said, "Since it happened in
the days following Serena's murder. Raye gained her increased abilities
first, only a few days later when..."
Raye leaned heavily on the deckrail and gazed out over the water.
"This was a terrible idea," she muttered. Turning to her companion she
added, "I don't know why I even bothered to enter that contest in the
first place. This cruise has turned out to be an utter bust."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Amy said. "And after...
what happened a few days ago, we needed something to lift our spirits."
"Don't you mean after I screwed up and got Serena killed?" Raye
said.
"Stop it, Raye! You can't go on blaming yourself like this!"
"Why not?" she retorted. Frustrated, she began pacing along the
railing. "I hesitated. If I had reacted the moment I saw that thing
start to shapeshift, she'd be alive right now."
"You don't know that. Ignoring the fact that you hesitated for
maybe one second at most, neither one of us knows what would have happened
had either one of us reacted sooner. Serena may have died in any event.
Or maybe one of us would be --" Amy stopped as she spotted a certain
black feline bounding in their direction. "Luna! What are you doing
here?"
"Did you two really think I'd let you out of my sight?" the cat
said breathlessly. "Besides, we've got trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Raye asked, even though she already had a
good idea what Luna was talking about.
"Negaverse trouble! They've got something brewing in the ball room.
Come on!" Luna ran off, and the two girls followed close behind her.
Soon they reached the entrance to the large room and they cautiously
peered inside. All round, they could see people collapsed on the floor --
all save for two at the front of the room.
Raye didn't need to be a psychic to know who they where, and what
they represented. "Negasleaze!" She smiled grimly as she produced her
transformation pen. "Good. I've been wanting a rematch with these
creeps."
"Excellent work, Titus," Jeddite said. "We've managed to collect a
great deal of energy this day."
The youma smiled. "I am happy to serve, Jeddite."
Jeddite gazed up at the collector speculatively. "With this amount
of energy, Queen Beryl may even forgive the loss of the shapeshifter."
"Too bad you're not going to be able to deliver it!" a voice rang
out.
Jeddite whirled. "Who?!?"
"I am Sailor Mars! And I won't tolerate those who would interrupt
a romantic cruise! In the name of Mars..."
"...and Mercury..."
"We'll punish you!" they concluded simultaneously.
"The Sailor Scouts," Jeddite snarled. "Just my luck, even on a
ship at sea I can't escape your interference. Titus, destroy them!"
"My pleasure," the female youma replied. At a gesture from her,
the crew in the room transforming into a humanoid form made of
quicksilver. Obeying Titus' mental command, they went after the two
Scouts.
"You're going to do better than that!" Mercury exclaimed.
"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" A thick layer of fog descended over the room,
and the Negaverse operatives hesitated, confused by the sudden loss of
visibility and the drop in temperature.
"Nice setup, Mercury. Now I'll finish them off. MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
In an instant the fire swept over the area, reducing the quicksilver
beings to piles of dust.
Titus was hardly finished with them, however. She leapt at the two
and slammed into them, driving them back onto the deck. Mars managed to
get back to her feet just in time to see Titus standing by the railing,
her back to the ocean. "MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
The firebolt ran straight at the youma, but Titus gestured and two
large geysers of water shot into the air. A jet of water emerged from
one and intercepted Mars' attack, dousing the flame. "Seems you're not
such hot stuff, Mars. Just like your friend, Sailor Moon."
"Why you --" Mars began, but was cut off by Mercury as she began
her attack. She reasoned that if she was able to blind Titus, Mars'
flame might be able to get through and finish the youma off. She may
have been right, but Titus acted first as she sent another blast of water
at the blue haired Scout. Mercury gasped as the waterspout drove her
into the bulkhead. She stood there trying to get her bearings, obviously
dazed.
"Now to finish you off," Titus gloated.
"NO!" Mars cried and sent forth another blast of flame, only to have
this one doused as well. Titus drew back her hand to launch the attack
that would surely finish off Mercury, while Mars desperately tried to
think of something to do. Anger and rage shot through her at her
ineffectiveness in this battle, and she prepared to strike again. She
was NOT going to let another friend die if she could help it!
A mental connection was forged within her mind as she drew upon all
her strength, tapping into as yet unknown reserves. Instinctively the
new phrase came to her and she cried out, "MARS FIREBIRD STRIKE!"
The youma looked on in alarm as the bird of flame soared at her and
she tried to douse this attack as she had with the previous ones.
However, this time the water blast was seriously ineffective as the
firebird cut through it and struck her full on. Titus barely had time
to scream before the firebird overwhelmed her.
Mercury turned rather shakily from where the youma had been and
faced Mars. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know," the other Scout confessed, "I just did. All I knew
was that I couldn't let it kill you." She went over and helped Mercury
to her feet. "Are you OK?"
"I think so," she responded. "Thanks, Mars."
"Very touching," another voice interrupted. They turned to the
source of the voice to see Jeddite hovering nearby. "I thought Titus
would be powerful enough to destroy you, but I seem to have underestimated
you two. But now I will finish you off myself!"
"Give it your best shot, creep!" Mars challenged him. But before
the youma General could do anything, he vanished without a trace. She
blinked, surprised at his sudden retreat. "Where'd he go?"
Mercury glanced around the area with her visor. "He's nowhere
around. He's gone."
"He'll be back," Mars said grimly. "But next time we'll take care of
him for good."
Mercury turned to her fellow Scout. "Thanks again for saving my
life, Raye."
"You repaid the favor a couple of days later. Besides, we've done
the same for each other ever since," she responded, then added sullenly,
"I just wish I'd been able to do the same for Serena."
Now it was Mercury's turn to pound on the table, hard enough to make
even Worf blink in surprise. He hadn't known her to be prone to such
outbursts on the Enterprise. "Raye!" Mercury chided her. "Didn't you
listen to what Worf just said? Or anything I've told you over the months
since? It wasn't your fault!!" She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"There wasn't anything you or I could do to save Serena that day, as much
as either one of us may wish otherwise."
"That's what makes it so hard," Mars answered. Getting up, she
walked over to the replicator. Glancing back at Worf she asked, "How do
you work this thing?"
"Simply tell it what it is you wish. Though usually it is best to
use the word 'Computer' first."
"OK," she said. "Computer: a mug of hot tea, please."
"There are two thousand three hundred forty seven different varieties
of tea on record," the computer responded. "Please specify." A display
of the various types promptly appeared listing both human and alien
variants, and the computer began scrolling through them.
"Urk!" Mars' mind boggled at the size of the list. "Any
suggestions?" she asked Worf uncertainly.
The Klingon frowned, considering. He was unsure how to reply, for
despite the number of years he had lived among them, he still found
human tastes odd. "I've been told that Earl Grey is an excellent
variant."
Shrugging she said, "Make it Earl Grey tea. You want anything, Amy?"
"Mmm... A hot chocolate, please."
Mars nodded. "And a hot chocolate." The requested beverages
materialized and she return to the table with them, muttering, "Sure,
there are umpteen different kinds of tea, but only one hot chocolate.
Computers!"
Mercury forbode comment, choosing instead to simply thank her
friend. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Well, a few days after the battle on
the ship, Jeddite challenged us to meet him in open combat at the airport.
We knew it was a trap but we couldn't ignore it, since he had threatened
to destroy Tokyo if we didn't show up."
"He left you very little choice," Worf agreed. "But I hope you at
least took some precautions."
"We went in with our eyes open, if that's what you mean," Mars said.
"Once we got to the airport, we transformed."
Mercury took up the tale, "And after we got inside the perimeter,
several guards began chasing us. Except that when I scanned them, I saw
that they weren't guards at all, they were just animated clay! Well, Mars
let loose a Firebird attack and that took care of them. Then Jeddite made
his appearance..."
"Very impressive, Sailor Mars," the General sneered as he examined
her handiwork, "but you'll still meet the same fate as your pathetic
friend, Sailor Moon."
Mars bristled at this taunt. "You're going to be the one dying
today, Jeddite!"
"Brave words. Now let's see if you can back them up!" Jeddite
stretched out his hands, and the two Scouts tensed, preparing to dodge
whatever attack he sent their way. But Jeddite had another strategy in
mind, instead animating several of the nearby jets. Slowly the lumbering
behemoths moved towards them, accelerating rapidly.
"No problem," Raye said. "One fire blast should take care of them!"
"No!" Luna cried. "If you bow up a jet, it will take your allowance
for the next ten thousand years to pay for it!"
The two Scouts looked uncertainly at each other, then did the only
thing they could: run. But even with their speed enhanced in their
Sailor forms, the best they could do was maintain their distance. "Split
up!" Mars yelled. Mercury nodded and ran to the right, while Mars
veered left.
Jeddite chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle in front of him.
This was turning out to be far easier than he had imagined. How could he
have let these two defeat him before? Clearly he had been overestimating
them... they must have been more lucky than good. After a moments
consideration he decided that Mars was clearly the more dangerous of the
two, so he sent the jets after her. Once he eliminated her, he could
deal with Mercury at his leisure.
Mercury slowed upon seeing that none of the aircraft were following
her. Quickly she looked around for Sailor Mars, and her heart froze.
Somehow, the aircraft had boxed her in and were closing on her. Raye
was looking urgently around, trying to find a direction to run.
Jeddite materialized next to her. "Too bad, Sailor Mercury. Despite
all your efforts, another one of your friends is going to die."
"NO!"
Jeddite sneered. "There's nothing you can do. How are you going to
stop those jets, hmmm? With your pathetic bubbles?"
Stung by Jeddite's taunts, Amy summoned all of her power, trying to
gather all her strength in one blast. Suddenly, she felt a rush of
energy, more than she had ever felt before. The words came
instinctively, "MERCURY ICE BUBBLES..."
Jeddite frowned. That wasn't the correct phrasing.
"FREEZE!!"
A wave of cold energy swept over the landing gear of two of the
jets, freezing them instantly. Suddenly more brittle than glass, the
gear snapped under the weight above them, and the jets skidded to a halt,
stirring up a huge cloud of dusk in their wake. *Oh, dear,* Luna thought
upon seeing the extant of the wreckage, *I hope they're insured.*
Jeddite clenched his fists in rage while Mercury, visor deployed,
looked for Mars amid the swirling dust. "Not bad, little Mercury, but
too late to save your friend. Now it's your turn!"
Mercury turned to him, but instead of cringing in fear as he
expected, she simply smile slightly. "We'll see about that!" she said
in a defiant tone. Jeddite snarled and drew his hand back, ready to blast
her out of existence, then hesitated. She showed no signs of preparing
to run, just standing there staring resolutely at him. What was she up
to?
Jeddite shook off his doubts. It didn't matter. He started to bring
his hand forward just as he sensed something land behind him. But before
he could turn around, there was a light touch on his back. "EVIL SPIRIT...
BEGONE!" Mars cried, planting the ward.
"NOOO!" Jeddite howled as he felt himself paralyzed. Mars leapt past
him and joined up with Sailor Mercury. The Negaverse general struggled
against the power binding him. They may have the advantage for now, but
he would soon break free, and then...
Wait a minute... What was that shadow looming over him?
Jeddite cried out again, this time in horror, as the realization of
his situation hit him. Still intent on following Mars, the last jet
continued lumbering towards her... heading straight for Jeddite. "This
is for Sailor Moon, Jeddite!" There was a brief scream as the airliner
ran over him, then silence as the jet ground to a halt. No sign of
Jeddite remained.
A safe distance away, Mercury and Mars exchanged a high five.
"Scratch one Negacreep."
Dax uttered a couple of choice Klingon curses that Curzon had favored
in his day and leaned back in her chair. "I take it you're not having any
luck?" Kira asked unnecessarily.
"You could say that. I've conducted almost every type of scan I can
imagine, but there isn't even a *hint* of a temporal anomaly anywhere in
this system."
Kira's brow furrowed. "There's got to be something! Otherwise,
how could the timeline here have gotten so skewed?"
"I don't know," Dax replied with a sigh. She stared at the monitor,
then leaned forward and began manipulating the sensor controls again.
"Trying a new scan?"
"Yes, but this time I'm just looking for spatial anomalies. Maybe
the change of pace will give me another idea." Within a matter of seconds
the sensors beeped, indicating the detection of what Dax had been scanning
for. "Well, that was simple enough. Still, the only anomalies detected
are the quantum fluxes..." The science officer did a double take, both
her eyebrows shooting upward. "Wait a minute... *Two* quantum fluxes?!?"
"What's so unusual about that? Isn't that how the original
Enterprise got here in the first place?"
"It did... but their scans, *and* those of the Enterprise D,
indicated only one in this solar system." She pointed to the monitor
screen. "That quantum flux leads to a point near the Romulan Neutral Zone
in the twenty third century. But this one," she indicated the second flux
located midway between the orbit of Earth and Mars, "I have no idea where
it came from or where it goes." A contemplative look came over her face.
"Unless..."
Kira watched her intently, then finally asked, "Unless what?"
"I think I know where it goes. And if I'm right, I have a good idea
how history was changed." Dax moved over to the nearby engineering station
and began working furiously. "I'm going to program a probe to send through
the second flux and return. Then I'll know for certain."
Dax's tone sounded extremely apprehensive to Kira. And anything
that could make someone with seven lifetimes of experience anxious made
her feel almost terrified. "And if you are?"
Dax paused, then look over at Kira. "Then I hope the Prophets are
watching over us."
O'Brien uttered a curse and looked menacingly at the log buoy. "I'd
like to wring the neck of your designer. If you were half as
indestructible as they claim, we'd have finished by now!"
"Tell me about it," Muniz added. The other engineer looked as
frustrated as O'Brien. "The entire buoy recorder interface system is
fried."
The Chief took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. A
little bit, anyway. "Well, to be charitable the buoy did survive a warp
core explosion more or less intact. But we're going to have to fashion a
replacement interface to hook the memory bank directly into the main
computer."
"With this?" Muniz looked doubtful.
"What's the matter?" asked O'Brien, putting a light hearted tone in
his voice. "Can't handle a challenge?"
"A challenge is one thing... but this is near impossible! We're
talking about ancient electronics here!"
"And here I thought you were an engineer." O'Brien tried to sound
disappointed. "Well, if you can't handle it..."
"I didn't say that," Muniz interrupted the Chief. He stared at
the disassembled recorder , running through several possible scenarios in
his mind. "Well... we might be able to fashion a replacement interface
port and then hook it up to tricorder and use it to link to the main
computer."
"Good lad," O'Brien said. "You get about making the new port, and
I'll get on with modifying the tricorder." The two engineers set about
their respective tasks in silence.
Muniz had just begun installing the new dataport when a distant
clanging sound made him look up. "Did you hear that?" he asked O'Brien.
He nodded uncertainly. "Yeah. It sounded like it came from the
Jeffries tube." The two of them went over to the access panel. O'Brien
bent down to the panel, then warned Muniz, "Be ready. The last time I
heard something banging around in here, there was a changeling running
around the ship a couple of days later." Muniz nodded, drawing out his
phaser. O'Brien removed the access panel and looked inside. Seeing
nothing dangerous at first glance he cautiously moved into the tube, his
own weapon drawn. Nothing that way...
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Chief," came a voice from behind him.
Startled, he turned rapidly towards the voice.
Or rather, he tried to. A loud thud echoed through the Jeffries
tube. "OW!"
"Oh, dear. Did I startle you?" Luna asked apologetically.
O'Brien rubbed his head painfully and glared at the black cat.
"You could say that. What the hell are you doing in here, Luna?"
"I thought I'd walk around the ship while I did some thinking.
Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in thinking that I seem to be..."
She paused, seemingly embarrassed. "...lost."
Despite his aching head, O'Brien chuckled. "That's not hard to do
in here, even a ship as small as the Defiant. These conduits look a lot
alike. It takes a while to get to know your way around them." He backed
out of the tube entrance, allowing Luna to enter the engine room. "We're
a little busy at the moment, but if you don't mind waiting I can take you
wherever you need to go."
"Thank you, Chief."
Muniz looked confused. "Chief?"
O'Brien had to grin. He had pretty much felt the same the first time
he saw one of the Sailor Scouts feline friends. "Not to worry Muniz.
She's a friendly cat. Luna, this is Enrique Muniz, one of my engineers."
"Hello, Mr. Muniz. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Um... yeah, thanks... Uh, Luna," the engineer stammered. Trying to
recover, he continued, "Sorry, but a talking cat is not something I ever
expected to see."
"Well you better get used to seeing the unexpected, mister," O'Brien
told him. "That is, if you really want to make a career for yourself in
Starfleet."
"It's quite alright, Chief. I get that reaction quite often." Luna
looked at the scorched log buoy with interest. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, we're trying to access the log recordings on this buoy," he
responded, turning back to his work. "We already know the Jem'Hadar
destroyed this ship, but it'd be nice to know who it was they attacked.
Captain Sisko thinks this might give us some clue as to what's going on."
Muniz snapped the new port into place, while O'Brien attached and
activated the tricorder. "There! Now, if we did this right..."
He activated the controls on his panel to link up the buoy with the
Defiant's main computer. "Access confirmed," the computer's voice said.
O'Brien cried out triumphantly and shared a congratulatory glance
with Muniz. "Computer: access last log entry and playback." There was
a pause while the computer retrieved the requested data from the buoy.
Soon the screen showed the bridge of a starship from a bird's eye view.
Unfortunately, both visual and audio were filled with static.
"What's wrong with the recording?" Luna asked.
"Good question. Muniz?"
He glanced at the tricorder readouts. "The dataflow looks clean.
There must have been damage to the memory banks as well."
"Well, let's just hope it wasn't too bad," O'Brien replied, turning
back to the control panel. "Computer: run a level one data enhancement /
noise suppression routine on the requested log entry." The computer
chirped an affirmative as it ran the requested programs. "Replay from
the beginning." The screen cleared somewhat and the audio became
discernable. "Better," he observed.
"The date is consistent with the electronics," Muniz added,
indicating one of the readouts. "Stardate 5046.7. Just about a little
over one hundred years ago."
O'Brien replied by way of a nod as he eyed the bridge layout
critically, "Looks like a Constitution class, too."
"A what?" asked a puzzled cat.
O'Brien ignored her for now, paying close attention to the events
unfolding before him. The ship was rocking heavily under the attack,
making it hard to hear the crew. The static still present didn't make
it any easier.
"Shields are ineffective," he heard the science officer report.
"The enemy vessels are utilizing a phased polaron beam." Another
readout displayed the viewscreen image, showing clearly a Jem'Hadar
attack ship. O'Brien felt a twinge sympathy for the other crew.
Dominion weaponry was still giving research scientists at Starfleet
Tactical fits. Current models of starships were barely a match for
Jem'Hadar ships... one from a hundred years ago wouldn't have a chance.
"Stand by phasers and photon torpedoes," ordered the captain.
"Weapons ready," said the helmsman. "Locked on target."
"FIRE!"
The bridge lights dimmed as the weapons were discharged. "Got him!"
exclaimed the navigator.
"Direct hit," the science officer said calmly despite the chaos
surrounding him. "Target has been destroyed." The bridge shook again
and several panels exploded in a shower of sparks as the ship was hit
by incoming fire. When the screen cleared again, several crew could be
seen lying prone on the deck, including the helmsman.
"Uhura, send out a distress signal. Priority One." The captain
could be seen toggling the intercom switch on his command chair, while
the science officer ran over to take the helm. "Sickbay, medical
emergency on the bridge."
"Where the hell isn't there one?!" came the exasperated reply.
"Jim, I've got casualty reports coming on from all over --"
The intercom whistled, overriding the signal from Sickbay. "Scott
to bridge. Captain, we're losing antimatter containment! Ejection
systems offline!" O'Brien blinked. Scott? That couldn't possibly
be -- ? No, it was impossible!
"All hands, abandon ship! Repeat --" The bridge view was cut
off suddenly, indicating to the two engineers that the recorder pod
had been automatically jettisoned. It was replaced by an external view
of a Constitution class ship receding in the distance. The once
immaculate white hull was blackened in several places by weapons fire,
and several energy discharges could be seen coruscating over several
hull breaches. Less than a second later, the starship exploded in a
blinding display, then the terminal went blank as the recording ended.
O'Brien stared at the terminal in shock, as did Muniz. "Oh my God.
That ship's service number... it can't be!"
"What's wrong?" the cat asked, mystified.
"That ship... it's a ship from over a hundred years in our past. But
the stardate given in the log was almost twenty years before it was
destroyed! Unless..." He took his tricorder and scanned the log buoy.
The sinking feeling that had developed in his gut grew worse as he saw the
results. "O'Brien to Sisko."
"Go ahead, Chief."
"We've got a problem, Captain. An even bigger problem than we thought."
Worf sat back and tried to take in all that Mars and Mercury had told
him. Some of what they had said was similar to the past that Luna had
related to him on the Enterprise, but there were some significant
differences. In this timeline, the two Scouts had been able to save
Neflyte. Afterwards, the defecting General in turn helped the Scouts,
joined soon afterward by Jupiter, in the search for the Rainbow Crystals.
Until, that is, he died heroically, saving the Scouts from a trap Malachite
had laid for them in a bid to gain those they had. Venus' timely arrival
that day had prevented Malachite and Zoisite from getting their hands on
them that day.
Another difference was that apparently the relationship between Mars
and Darien, whom they discovered later to be Tuxedo Mask, was much stronger
than in the original timeline. At least as far as she had been concerned.
Worf was pondering whether or not to reveal the truth about Darien and
Serena to her when the intercom beeped. "Sisko to Worf."
"Worf here," he answered.
"Report to the bridge, Commander. And bring the Sailor Scouts with
you."
Worf nodded. "We are on our way. Worf out."
Mars looked quizzically at Worf. "What's going on?" she asked as
they rose from the table.
"I'm not sure," he answered, leading them out of the mess hall.
Turning down the corridor to the bridge he continued, "Most likely
Commander Dax or Chief O'Brien have uncovered something pertinent in
their investigations that should be made known to the entire crew. But
we will find out when we get there."
The trio arrived on the bridge, arriving shortly after Bashir did.
Worf saw that most of the other senior officers were already present,
with only Chief O'Brien yet to arrive. "Worf, where's Luna?" Dax asked.
The Klingon shifted slightly, uncomfortable at having to admit
ignorance. Presently he said, "She took a walk."
"If you need her here, Mars and I could go looking for her,"
Mercury volunteered.
At that moment O'Brien entered the bridge with Luna riding on his
shoulder, thus rendering the point moot.
"New friend, Chief?" Dax asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You'd better be careful," Kira advised, her tone light. "Keiko
could get jealous if she finds out."
Several good natured smiles were exchanged as the Chief sputtered
denials, while Luna settled for glaring at Kira. Sisko allowed the good
mood to progress at it's own pace. After all, things had been tense on
the ship for quite some time and they all needed a chance to laugh at
something. "Chief, it's your show."
"Yes, sir," he replied. He glanced uncomfortably around the room.
The information he had clearly disturbed him far more than Kira's
bantering had. "I analyzed the log recorder we picked up from the ship
the Jem'Hadar destroyed. I was able to reconstruct the last log entry,
and to identify it. It was a Starfleet ship, Constitution class." He
touched a control and the image of the unfortunate starship appeared on
the main viewscreen. He tapped several others, enlarging and enhancing
a particular area of one of the warp engine nacelles. The computer
quickly cleared any distortion from the image and the ship's service
number became clear for all to see.
NCC-1701.
"It's..." Dax began in a stunned voice.
"...the Enterprise," concluded Sisko. He had been half expecting
this since the moment O'Brien had scanned the debris field, but it still
came as a shock to him. "The original, captained by James T. Kirk. And
from it's appearance, this was before the refit that was done after the
five year mission was completed."
"That can't be right!" Bashir objected after several moments of
shocked silence. "It was nearly twenty years after the refit before that
particular Enterprise was destroyed."
"In our timeline, Julian," Dax said. "Chief, did you check the
quantum signature of the recorder?"
He was nodding before she finished asking the question. "Yes.
It's definitely from our timeline, not any alternate one."
"Then, if Kirk's ship was destroyed by the Jem'Hadar, that would
mean it's not just the Scouts timeline that's been changed," Odo said.
"Correct, Constable." Sisko eyed the image of the Enterprise. "It
means our own past has been altered as well. And now, even if we do
find a way back to our universe, we haven't got a home to return to."
"The Sisko is aware of the nature of the problem."
Pluto nodded. "Good," she said. "Now we can get on with a solution.
Though I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to see the full
scope of the situation."
*Did you really expect more of them?* a voice intoned in her head.
*For someone as long lived as yourself, you should realize how plodding
and pedantic these Starfleet people can be.*
"You're supposed to be watching the Gateway, Q," she replied, her
tone indicating she was more than slightly annoyed. "I am more concerned
with results, not how stylish they go about accomplishing them."
*Humph. Sometimes you can be absolutely no fun at all, my dear.*
Pluto tried to ignore Q and returned attention to the Prophet she
was dealing with, but she found herself gazing once more at sights she
never thought to see again.. As is their wont, the Prophet had shifted
form without warning, assuming the appearance of Queen Serenity and the
background had shifted to that of the Silver Millennium.
It was a rare occurrence indeed when Pluto found herself thrown for
a loop.
"Our existence is at risk," the Prophet said, bringing the Sailor
Scout out of her reverie. All around them, the background lighting began
to take on a reddish hue. "The Sisko must succeed."
"I know," Pluto said, growing more concerned. The changes to the
environment around them was an indication that the situation was becoming
more dire. Time, at least as it was measured by corporeal beings, was
growing short. "And not just for you. For the sake of two universes,
Captain Sisko must reverse the damage done to the timelines, and soon.
But now he is aware of what must be done to resolve the paradox.
"To preserve their past, Sailor Moon must live."
Next time: The last pieces of the puzzle fall into place, as Pluto makes
her presence known to the crew and helps get them on the road to a
solution to this temporal jumble. All this and more in Chapter 5,
"Return to yesterday..."