The Key of Forever

by Antonio Cabañas

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Star Trek in all its incarnations and all related characters are property of Paramount Pictures. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters were created and are owned by Joss Whedon. Star Trek, and Star Trek: The Next Generation created by Gene Roddenberry. Star Wars and everything related with it is property of Lucasfilm Ltd., and was created by George Lucas.

Tony Castro and the USS Corsair were created by me, other adventures of her can be found in my site, which address is in my profile.

E-mail: borg31de777yahoo.es

Spoilers: Spoilers for Buffy season 5. Spoilers for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact and Deep Space Nine until season 4.

Author Note 1: This story is a sequel of the story "Trek to the Hellmouth". If you don't want to read it, here is a quick resume: After the events in Star Trek: First Contact, the Enterprise-E is relaunched, but remains of Borg technology aboard launch the ship back in time toward the moment when Buffy killed Adam. Adam becomes a Borg, but he quickly comes to dominate the Collective. But the time paradox in progress start to opens the Hellmouth. The Enterprise crew, guided by Tony Castro, an admiral that was invited to the launching and had contact with the Watchers and the Slayers in the past, contact the Scoobies, and the events began to take a rollercoaster ride from there: the Borg Queen reappears, from the Hellmouth emerges the Mirror counterpart of Admiral Castro, Adam devises a plan to absorb the energies of the Hellmouth, destroying Earth in the process. Finally with the sacrifice of Mirror Tony they destroy Adam and close the Hellmouth.

Author Note 2: for the nitpickers, this story takes place shortly after the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Sons of Mogh".

I wish to thank my beta-reader Carycomix, for his help and support through all this time.

Answer to Reviewers:

Superfan: 1. and 3. When I created them, for a post-ST VI fanfic that I hope to go back to it some day, the sajins were an homage to Dragon Ball saiyans, although as I developed them they started to evolve into a different direction

Summary: Dawn visits Buffy's tomb and something happens. "Meanwhile", in the 24th Century, Captain Tony Castro discover a very unsettling thing, and Captain Sisko of Deep Space Nine witness a real blast from the past…

Maquis Ship Lafayette, on route to Miller's Planet

"Ion, if something happens I'll be in my quarters." said Karen Johnson to the young Romanian helmsman as she was exiting the small bridge of the converted freighter.

On her way to her quarters, Karen thought about their mission. They had to contact a weapons dealer on Miller Planet, and buy weapons for the Maquis. Very straightforward and simple in appearance. But she had a bad feeling about the mission, something that she couldn't explain.

"Still chewing the same bone, I see." said a very familiar voice behind her.

"Jeff, please don't surprise me like that" said Karen recognizing the voice of her second in command "Since we started this mission, I'm more tense than a drumskin."

"If you felt so badly about this, why did you volunteer?"

"That's a good question. "

USS Agincourt. Fore observation deck.

Dawn, Angel and Spike had passed the last minutes seeing how Tony disassembled the gizmos that they had taken earlier and assembling a contraption hooked to a TV-sized screen in one of the walls.

"Tony, if this is an observation deck, why there are no windows?"

While hotwiring a tricorder to a communicator, she answered.

"They are behind the left bulkhead. It's a security measure for relatively big open areas like this in case of an energy shutdown in the ship, so if there is a hull breach, the air couldn't escape." answered Tony without lifting her eyes from the device in her hand. "Done". And she started to look for something in the left wall.

"What are you doing now?" asked Spike. "You said that those two were the last things that you had to connect."

"Of course, but Dawn had reminded me that sometimes there is no substitute for direct observation." She managed to open a small panel near the corner, and pulled a small lever. Silently, the bulkhead started to rise, revealing a starry vastness. Dawn and Angel looked at the breathtaking view with awe, while Spike looked toward other side. But Tony's Starfleet-trained eye was the first one to discover that they were not alone there

USS Defiant. Bridge.

"No luck contacting Captain Castro, Lieutenant Dax?" asked agent Silver.

"No more than the last time you asked, agent Silver." Answered captain Sisko before the annoyed Trill could answer. "I have spoken personally with Commander Ramirez, her first officer. She disappeared suddenly this morning, only leaving a message that she was taking a leave for personal reasons."

Jadzia Dax repressed a sigh of relief. The obnoxious DTI agent had been bothering her since the hololink was established about the whereabouts of Captain Castro, while almost ignoring the fact that another former officer of the Agincourt, Ambassador Grant, was there. And there was something that was puzzling her. She had the feeling that she had met Silver before, but she couldn't recall when and where, and that, for a Trill, was distressing.

Agent Silver was delighted to see that her careful preparations had been rewarded with success. Antonia Castro was the only one that could recognize her, from their encounter in the early 21st Century. Her Mistress would have been pleased to see that the Key was again at her fingertips.

"Captain! I have detected a scan! From the Agincourt!" said Jadzia

"How is that possible, Dax? I thought that the ship is powerless."

"It is, Ben. But I have seen this kind of scan before... Well, Curzon did see this kind of scan before."

"I'm listening, old man"

"In a diplomatic mission into Klingon space in the Agincourt-B, the ship was hit by a cosmic string, and the sensor grid was totally disabled in the midst of an asteroid field. Commander Castro, the first officer, built a crude sensor grid with tricorders and communicators, and that way we could escape the field."

"Ah, yes. I remember Tony telling me that incident a few weeks later, when the Agincourt and the Corsair were docked in Starbase 52." said Ambassador Grant. "She always had a knack for Engineering. One time, in the Ogark nebula, when we were together in the Corsair..."

"Sorry, Ambassador. But we don't really have time for reminiscing." said Agent Silver. "What could they have learned about us from that scan?"

"Not much. Even with a boosted signal, the interference from the anomaly would have prevented them from receiving a clear signal."

"That's a relief. " said Agent Silver. "But not a long one. We'll need to contact them in a way that precludes temporal contamination." Going by the book was the easier way to avoid suspicions. The next hours were going to be critical to her plans. That Admiral was clearly suspicious of her, and the other DTI agent, Kovacs, was too clever for her own good.

USS Caravel. Auxiliary Computer Junction.

Lieutenant (j.g.) Gabrielle Queen's boredom was cut short when the security chief of the ship appeared

"Xena!" she exclaimed and jumped to the arms of the older woman

"I'm also glad to see you, Gabby." said Xena Prince, returning the hug. "But it is your computer skills what brings me here, not the pleasure of your company."

"Oh. Well, what do you want from me?" she answered, going back to the ground.

"I need a background check on all our 'guests'."

"Meaning?"

"Dr. Richards team, Admiral Szell and her security detail and the two DTI agents." After a moment, she added "Something doesn't look right about Agent Silver, and one of Admiral Szell people warned me about her. I want this to resemble a routine security measure."

"From an slightly paranoid security chief, like yourself."

"Of course, I have my reputation, to think of. I would do it myself, but if I still have problems programming the replicator, I don't want to know what would go wrong if I tried." Said Xena "But be careful, I don't want you getting in trouble if the DTI or the BSR..."

"I know, I know." She dismissed it with a gesture. They knew each other too well. "Come back in an hour. I'll have it ready."

TO BE CONTINUED...