To all my reviewers: Thank you for the encouragement. I hope to get this finished by Halloween, a nice little treat. As for what happened in the turbolift; all will be revealed in good time!

XXX

Kirk ran down the corridor in a cold sweat. He didn't believe what McCoy had told him over the comm, he had to see it for himself. From behind him, he could hear the panting and piping protests of Prime Minister Re'doque. "Captain Kirk, those people are a menace!"

"A menace!" shrilled Re'doque's smaller, but equally irritating attache. Kirk glanced back and pictured him as some kind of lemming or vole.

"If they hear about this, they will riot in the streets!" Re'doque's voice finally cracked and squealed.

Kirk ignored him, and stopped short at the sight that greeted him at the lab doors.

McCoy was standing, pale and wide eyed at the groaning walls, stretching at their seams and threatening to burst. Daddono, apparently oblivious to the danger that she was in, twirled her hand at the wrist and smiled, the only movements that she could now make.

Spock appeared beside Kirk, and blinked. His Vulcan self control kept him from any further reaction of shock.

Scotty came down the opposite end of the corridor. "What in blazes set off the alarm?" he demanded.

Kirk pointed quickly. "I want it scanned! I want it gone!" he demanded. His patience for the unexplainable mess vanished as quickly as the thing had expanded and swallowed the Miasman leader. "Get her out of there!" he barked at Spock.

Scotty stood for a moment, but Spock thrust a tricorder in his hands and brought him back to his senses.

Re'doque was white. "Captain Kirk," he said in a threatening whisper. "I want to speak to your commanding officer!" his voice rose as he found confidence in Kirk's apparent hesitation.

"He's light years away!" Kirk said harshly. "And that thing has a capacity to grow into next month if we don't find a way to stop it!" As he said the words, he realized the danger the ship was in. If the blob continued to expand, how would it affect the ship? Would the Enterprise be encased in the molasses, and be sent crashing down to the surface of Rigel under the weight?

"Captain," Spock said quickly. "With Mistress Daddono encased in the substance, and still alive, we are unable to recreate the nitrogen barrier that existed in the lab. The substance, with free access to nitrogen, will grow at a rate that will double its size every hour."

"Substance?" squeaked Re'doque. "You mean to tell me that you don't even know what that," he paused. "Stuff is?"

"It's coffee!" Kirk whirled on him. "Would you like some?"

Re'doque stiffened and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.

"Prime Minister Re'doque," Kirk took a more formal stance. "We will work around the clock to free Mistress Daddono from the substance and eradicate it from the ship. We have the best scientists from Starfleet on this ship, and they will certainly find the solution to this problem."

"Science!" shrilled Daddono, causing everyone to startle. "Science itself cannot attest to the vastness of this universe! It encompasses us all!" she half shouted, half sang.

"Mistress Daddono," Spock said wisely. "If this 'universe' encompasses you much farther, then you may well not live to enjoy it." He turned back to Kirk. "Captain, I advise postponing the conference with the Miasmans until the substance has been eradicated."

"Of course," Kirk nodded.

"We have been waiting patiently for," the attaché stepped up and began pointing aggressively at Kirk's chest.

"You will wait a little longer," Kirk tried to keep his frustration under control.

Re'doque stepped forward. "Captain, I don't think I need to remind you that the crowd outside my capitol building is growing at a rate faster than your blob, here. If they overtake my city, then you'll wish you were in this blob with Daddono." He then turned on his heel and stalked back to the transporter room.

Once they were safely out of earshot, McCoy sighed. "Jim, I can't tell you," he said helplessly.

"You are going to go with Spock to Sickbay and set up a temporary lab to try and figure out what this is," Kirk ordered. "You are going to assign a nurse to watch Mistress Daddono and make sure she is alive for the conference, whenever it ends up happening."

McCoy, quieted and feeling the weight of the blob on his shoulders, said nothing more than a quiet, "Yes, sir."

XXX

Kirk stepped onto the bridge, sighing a little as he sank into his command chair. What he needed was just a little quiet time to think about the situation. He rubbed his face with both hands and sighed heavily. What had once been a shipwide joke was now a menace, with Rigel and the Miasmans literally stuck in it.

Uhura turned. "Captain?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Kirk replied wearily.

"The Miasman Council is wondering why Prime Minister Re'doque has returned from the Enterprise and Mistress Daddono has not," she said gently. "What should I tell them?"

Kirk closed his eyes for a moment and wished that this were all just some kind of crazy practical joke being played on him. He wished that he could go back to that Cabaret on Vega. "Tell them," he paused. "Tell them that Mistress Daddono is being delayed in our science lab."

Uhura nodded and turned back to the console.

Sulu turned to Kirk. "Captain, the starboard engines are showing stress. I'm adjusting our course to compensate, but if the mass continues to expand, it will drag us out of orbit," he said quickly.

Kirk nodded in acknowledgement. "Understood. Let this be a lesson to Starfleet to get rid of the cheap coffee." He attempted a little humor, but in light of the increasingly grave situation, it fell flat.

Uhura turned away from her console, her face showing concern. "Sir, a Miasman Priest is requesting to speak with you about the nature of Mistress Daddono's delay. He's requesting visual contact."

"Put him on," Kirk said in defeat. "Let's tell him that the universe has enveloped her and see what he says."

The main viewer flashed and a humanoid figure, similar in shape and dress to Daddono, appeared. "I am Chimanon, Priest of the Miasmans. Are you Captain Kirk?"

"I am, sir, and I'd like to apologize for the delay of Mistress Daddono," Kirk said tiredly. For all their strangeness, the Miasmans were a downy quilt in comparison to the abrasive Prime Minister.

Chimanon cut off Kirk with a wave of his plump hand. "Forgive me, but what is the nature of her delay?"

Kirk stared at the screen, searching for the right words. "Mistress Daddono claims that the Universe has enveloped her. Perhaps you would like to see for yourself what she means."

"Yes, Captain," Chimanon smiled. "I would like to see that very much."