Chapter 31 of the Phoenix and The Wolverine.

Somewhere in between dimensions...

Lady Q folded her arms and frowned.

It was starting again.

Someone or something was interfering with the very fabric of space.

She and the other two Q had realized that whoever or whatever had made the 'wormhole' had done so using what made up the inherent energy matrix of the universe.

Which if utilized properly was a source of limitless energy.

No wonder it had been so hard to 'destroy' the anomaly.

And now if what she felt was any indication of what she suspected; another anomaly was about to appear...soon.

Lady Q sighed in annoyance. She was here alone while the two Qs investigated on their own.

She had to be alert; because she was certain that tackling an anomaly in it's infantile stage was a lot easier then if it was full grown.

"Where and what the hell are you?" muttered Lady Q as she kept searching.

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USS Dunkirk; crew's quarters, 0643hrs...

Ensign Cassius O'Reilly dressed at normal speed; though most of the ship had been repaired; there were still a few things that needed repair and hence the reason he had only got 4 hours sleep.

However this time he was attending a meeting in the Captain's ready room at 0700hrs before reporting for duty in engineering.

Cassius looked at the mirror and took a deep breath.

"Here it goes," he muttered to himself as he left his quarters in the yellow and black uniform with his PADD in his left hand.

He passed other crew members; they nodded solemnly as expected.

The Nova class ship had a crew of eighty and thus almost everybody knew each other.

Now they were down to seventy nine and there would have been a lot more deaths if Oma had not done what she did.

The male ensign was certain that most if not all of the crew were aware of the sacrifice the female ensign had made for the ship and its crew.

Cassius felt his eyes sting again; he closed them briefly and quickly rubbed them. This was not the time to get emotional; he so envied the control Vulcans had over their emotions.

He could use some of that legendary control right now.

Cassius tried to think of the meeting he was about to attend.

Several hours ago; there had been a ship wide broadcast informing all crew that the USS Prometheus; a Galaxy class ship was going to join them in investigating the appearance and disappearance of the anomaly.

Most of the crew had been surprised and a bit heartened by the news but it had scared Cassius.

He knew who the second in command of that ship was.

Oma's dad was the Commander and his wife was an astro-physicist based on the same ship as him.

He had met them a number of times and thought they were really nice; he got on very well with Oma's dad and her mum was always ready to discuss technical stuff with him.

Now they were coming to the ship where their daughter had served for only 6 months before dying on a scientific expedition in a time of peace.

Cassius was certain they would blame him for not being able to save Oma.

The disturbed young ensign tried to turn his troubled mind to the current situation.

The romulans were still just staring at them over the border; however there was a rumour that one of the romulans had finally contacted the ship.

Why were the romulans still here?

Maybe Starfleet Command knew the real reason for the romulans staying back despite the disappearance of the anomaly; that may be why the three starships were still present.

As for the Klingons; it didn't look like they were going away anytime soon.

Cassius did not mind them; he just hoped the situation did not get any worse.

But he had a funny feeling that matters were going to change soon.

The problem was that he couldn't tell if it was for the better or worse.

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Cassius entered the turbo-lift and was about to close it when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hold the lift!"

The ensign automatically obeyed as a male senior officer quickly walked into the turbolift.

"Thank you Mr O'Reilly," said Lieutenant Commander Klaus Flint "the bridge please".

Cassius could not help but glance nervously at the senior officer.

There were rumours that he had threatened the chief medical officer with bodily harm and thus had been discharged from the medical bay against medical advice.

However; the teleporter appeared well but a closer look at his eyes revealed dark shadows around them.

"Yes sir," said Cassius softly.

There was silence as the two officers stood in the lift; then Flint looked at him.

"How you holding up Mr O'Reilly ?"

Cassius could hardly hide his surprise. "I...I am fine sir; it's good to see you are much better sir."

Flint sighed. "Yes; it is indeed." His tone was solemn and sad.

"I...I wish I had got her out as well Mr O'Reilly. I am sorry I failed."

Cassius found himself blinking in shock.

Was he dreaming? Did Mr Flint just apologize to him?

The universe must be ending

Lieutenant Commander Klaus Flint was known not to be very sociable and usually intimidated a lot of the junior officers and even some of his colleagues.

He was a by-the-book Starfleet Officer ; who also did not seem to have a sense of humour. There was even a rumour that he had been born and grew up on Vulcan ; hence his almost cold attitude.

Shila had once stated that must be a different warm person underneath all that cold exterior. Oma and Cassius had laughed hysterically at this; both of them had clearly doubted that.

"Sir...we all did all we could. You saved the Tal Shiar...if you hadn't we could have been at war with the Romulans."

Flint stared at him for a long time; the look in his eyes could only be described as hunted.

"Thank you for your kind words Mr O'Reilly."

Cassius nodded slowly; he had an idea of what the senior officer was going through.

"No problem sir."

"The bridge," announced the ship's computer.

Both male officers quietly left the lift and entered the command centre.

Cassius started heading for the captain's ready room and was surprised to see that the senior officer was heading the same way.

The security gave him a wry glance. "It appears we have been summoned to the same meeting."

"It seems so sir," said Cassius a bit nervously.

"I'm sure it's just a standard briefing," said the security officer in a reassuring voice.

Cassius tried to hide his disbelief.

Standard briefing on a ship that was on yellow alert?

Had the security chief forgotten that they had 12 romulan warbirds just over the border?

Had he also forgotten the anomaly that had claimed the life of one of Cassius' closest friends?

Cassius closed his eyes briefly as he tried to control his grief and anger; he was getting upset over nothing.

The senior officer must have picked up on the anxiety Cassius was feeling and was just trying to reassure him.

"Yes sir; it must be that," said Cassius softly as Mr Flint pressed the small device by doors announcing his presence to whoever was already inside.

Both of them heard a distinct voice telling them to enter.

Cassius waited for the senior officer to enter then he followed him in.

The male ensign saw that there were others already present.

To his surprise Commander Shila Atavi was also there; he thought she was still in the medical bay.

Her usual vibrant russet coloured hair and green eyes were dull and lifeless and her green skin had a pallor to it that made her look ill.

But her face looked drawn and for once she was not smiling.

Cassius knew why; from the moment the two ensigns were posted to the ship; they and the science officer had been as thick as thieves.

Shila had made their first scary weeks pleasant and made them feel at home in the science and research vessel.

She must have been told what had occurred and he suspected she was blaming herself as well.

Cassius sent an encouraging smile in her direction and after a brief moment she gave him a weak smile.

The male ensign felt relieved at her response.

He nodded slightly at her and turned to look at the others.

Lieutenant Commander Shran was present, he looked very solemn and thoughtful; the andorian saw Cassius and nodded silently at him.

Also present were Commander Bishop and Chief McIntyre; both men were speaking quietly in a corner of the room.

The engineer already looked irritated; probably just wanted to back in engineering watching over the warp core and the other systems that ensured the Dunkirk operated smoothly.

Cassius looked at the chronometer on the wall; 5 more minutes until the meeting started.

He started up his PADD; he was certain in the next few moments he would be making a lot of notes.

The sound of the door had everyone turning to see Captain Singh walk in.

"You're all here. Excellent; we might as well get started. Please be seated."

Everyone waited until the captain sat down then they followed suit.

Cassius found himself between Shila and Shran while Flint was directly opposite him on the rectangular table.

There was silence for a few moments as Captain Singh looked at each of them.

"I have asked you all to attend this meeting because of what has occurred recently.

Yesterday we lost one of our promising ensigns; Miss Ihuoma Kadretti when her vessel was drawn into the collapsing wormhole."

Cassius tried to ignore the leaden feeling in his stomach and concentrated on the captain's voice.

"However; at approximately 4 hours ago; I received a personal message from Captain E'kalez," the captain paused for a moment before continuing.

"She had received a message from a ship called the Xavier which is currently in an unexplored part of the Alpha Quadrant.

The sender of that message appears to be Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti."

There were gasps of shock as Cassius heard someone say. "What?!"

It was when the captain looked at him that he realized that he had been the one to say it.

"I...I mean sir...how?" asked the male ensign hastily as his heart rate sped up.

Oma was still alive? Please let it be true!

It was at that point that he realized that only Mr Shran, Commander Bishop and Chief McIntyre did not appear shocked by the news.

They had known all this time.

Shila looked stunned and turned round to stare at the andorian who appeared a bit uncomfortable especially when she started glaring at him.

"That is what we are trying to find out ensign," answered Singh gravely.

"If I may ask Captain," started Lieutenant Commander Flint; the security officer was leaning forward with an intent look on his face "how long ago did she send the message and where exactly is she?"

Singh looked at Lieutenant Commander Shran; his tactical officer.

"The message was sent yesterday at 1939hrs to the personal vid-message box of the Kadrettis. However due to the fact that they were on leave on Bajor in the Mhonir regions...it took hours before they could be retrieved and informed of their daughter's apparent demise.

Once they got on board the Prometheus; the ship started making it's way here and the Kadrettis still had not checked their message box until around 0200hrs this morning," the andorian paused clearly aware of everyone watching him closely "after the Captain and her senior officers watched the message they informed Rear Admiral Janeway and us..."

"Ensign Kadretti's location?" interrupted Flint tersely.

"As for the last location of the Xavier; it is 450 light years from the edge of Federation territory and is in an unexplored part of the Alpha Quadrant, " said Shran.

Cassius felt his lower jaw drop in shock at what he was hearing.

Rear Admiral Janeway had been informed ? Oma stuck 450 light years away in an unexplored part of the Alpha Quadrant?! This was unbelievable!

"How did she survive?" asked Shila in a stunned voice " and who did she meet on the other end?"

"Please bear with us...some of your questions will be answered shortly," said Captain Singh.

"The reason I have waited until now to share this sensitive information is because I ordered Mr Bishop, Mr Shran and Chief McIntyre to verify that this message did in fact come from Ensign Kadretti and those co-ordinates and that it is not a forgery," he waited for the words to sink in " there is no greater pain than having one's hopes raised only to have them dashed by deceit."

Cassius found himself nodding slightly.

"And also Mr Flint and Miss Atila; I had not included both of you at first because you were still in the medical bay when we received this message from Captain E'Kalez," said Singh as he looked at the two senior officers meaningfully.

Both male and female Lieutenant Commanders seemed a bit embarrassed at his words.

Cassius now wondered if both of them had left the medical bay against doctors' orders; however there was another thought that was more important to the male ensign.

"So...it's real sir?" asked Cassius unable to hide the hope in his voice.

Singh stared at him for a long moment. "We believe so."

Cassius closed his eyes briefly while he hoped he was not dreaming.

"It's time you watched the message," said Commander Bishop who had been quiet so far.

Singh nodded ; then his second in command pressed a symbol on the conference table.

Everyone turned to the large holo-screen mounted on the wall.

Instantly the screen was filled with a familiar female Starfleet officer in the red and black uniform with the ensign rank.

"Mum, dad...it's me, Oma. By now you must be in the Mhonir regions..."

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A few minutes later the message was completed and silence reigned in the ready room.

"Questions?" asked Singh.

Flint was the first to jump straight in.

"Have we checked the Starfleet ship registry for the Xavier?"

McIntyre nodded. "Yes; and it exists...built by Q.J; a branch of the Q Corporation and listed as being under Starfleet Special Intelligence Division."

Flint stared at him in disbelief.

The engineer sighed. "Oh; I'm not joking, here...have a look," he passed a PADD to the security officer.

"Intelligence is behind this?" asked Shila with an edge to her voice "they caused the wormhole?"

Cassius stared at her. He had not thought of that.

Singh raised a placating hand. "Let's not jump to conclusions here...I also called the head of Starfleet Intelligence and they have stated repeatedly that they didn't even know the ship existed...and I believe the senior officer I spoke to."

Shila leaned back in her seat but the expression on her face showed she was not totally convinced.

"Sirs...what of Rear Admiral Janeway? What are her thoughts on the matter ?" asked Cassius tentatively.

Singh nodded in approval. "At the moment; all we know is that she is going to discuss this matter with Starfleet Command...until then we have a lot of work to do."

"We need to find out all we can about the crew of the Xavier, especially on it's captain; the chief medical officer and the youngest member of the crew ; a Laura Kinney," said Bishop solemnly.

"I presume you have found something that concerns you," said Flint with narrowed eyes.

The second in command of the Dunkirk nodded. "In a matter of speaking...first of all I compared this picture of Q Junior with the one we have on file of when he was a human while training as a Starfleet cadet on board the Voyager in 2378."

The screen had been split into two; showing two pictures of a human male teenager in two different types of the red and black Starfleet uniform.

The right half of the screen was dated 2378; the young male was in the old uniform of that era while the left half of the screen was dated 2382 showing him in the current red and black Starfleet uniform.

"It doesn't look like he has aged a day in all that time; do bear in mind he was 'born' in 2373.

So though he should be '9 years old'...he has the appearance of a 15 year old human male.

As for the other crew of the Xavier; I have been trying to find out all I can about the Xmen and Xavier's school for the Gifted.

Please note that Earth's history books mention that in the early 21st century; there were a very small number of teaching institutes that had mostly mutants as it's students.

This was due to the relative small population of mutants worldwide at the time and the discrimination they faced in the 21st century.

Xavier's school was targeted more than once in the early 21st century," Bishop pressed a symbol on his PADD and another video began to play.

It seemed to have been filmed from above showing an impressive looking mansion that was surrounded by SWAT cars and Ambulances.

Cassius guessed the era had to be the early 21st century.

Bishop continued. "May 12th 2006 at around 2340hrs ; there were reports of an attack by masked gunmen on the school.

Police and SWAT team arrived an hour later to find no bodies but lots of blood indicating that more than one person had received a mortal wound.

Most of the students were missing and were later found to be hiding 3 days later in a designated safe house that had been created by Professor Charles Xavier; the head of the school."

There was a brief picture showing a distinct looking man in his mid 50s with a bald head and light blue eyes.

Cassius' eyes widened when he saw the man's face.

"That looks like Captain Picard," said Flint in a puzzled tone.

"Yes; the resemblance is uncanny; we are yet to determine if the Captain is related to Professor Xavier.

Anyway, Charles Xavier was a mutant and a telepath; due to an unfortunate incident at a younger age he was paralyzed from the waist down and ended up in a wheel chair," continued Bishop as he changed the picture back to the scene above the school.

"The students stated that they had 5 teachers who taught at the school.

Apart from the Professor; there was Dr Jean Grey who was also the doctor on site," everyone was silent as they saw her picture.

It was clear that the attractive slim brunette was identical to the woman they had just seen in Oma's message.

"Scott Summers aka Cyclops," a picture was shown of a slim young man with a ruby red visor over his eyes.

"Ororo Munroe aka Storm," a picture of a stunning dark skinned woman with shoulder length snow white hair and piercing sea-blue eyes

Cassius nodded. He remembered her; one of the mutants leaders who survived the Eugenics War and also had a key part in it's conclusion.

"And last but certainly not least was a substitute teacher who was more of a defence instructor...his name was Logan but his codename was Wolverine," the last picture was of a powerfully built man with oddly shaped black hair , smoking a cigar as he stood in the front lawn of the school.

"These pictures were surveillance pictures taken by the then Homeland Security Department. The Professor never tried to keep it a secret that the school was for mutants but considering the suspicion mutant abilities caused, the National Security Agency of that time considered the school to be something more of a paramilitary training facility.

So they kept a close eye on it."

Bishop paused. "On the day of the attack; there was only one teacher on site...Logan. Visual reports and videos showed that he fought the attackers thus buying time for the students to escape from the school.

Some of the older students who escaped swore the attackers were 'military and combat trained'...these men were not regular burglars.

By the time the police arrived; they could clearly see evidence of an attack but instead of trying to find the children...they put out a call for all units to apprehend Mr Logan and any students who may be with him as they could be armed and dangerous."

Cassius covered his lower face in shame and anger as the second-in-command continued calmly.

The picture changed to show a helicopter hovering over a sub-urban house surrounded by several police cars.

"At around 0823hrs on May the 13th; police were called to a house in Long Island, New York. Someone had called them stating that 4 dangerous mutants were holding them hostage.

The house belonged to Mr William Robert Drake and Mrs Madeline Beatrice Bass-Drake; they had two sons , seventeen year old Robert 'Bobby' Drake and fifteen year old Anthony Samuel Drake."

Bishop looked at the people around the table. "The four mutants who showed up to the house were Mr Logan, Bobby Drake, Rogue and another boy named Pyro...it was Bobby's younger brother who made the call to the police.

Observe what happened next."

Everyone was silent as they watched the scenes on the screen.

They saw four people run out of the house only to be surrounded by armed policemen pointing their guns at them.

The man in front who had to be Logan raised his arms slowly and even Cassius could see the blades protruding from the back of his hands; then before anyone could blink an officer shot Logan in the head.

Cassius heard Shila gasp; two of the teenagers a girl and a boy went to the floor but the third male teenager stood for a moment then started flinging fireballs left right and centre.

Police cars were hit and erupted in flames while police officers scrambled for safety.

Soon after it started something happened and it looked as if the boy called Pyro was suddenly breathless and was being dragged to the floor by the teenage girl while she somehow also send a freezing blast to put out the fires her male colleague had started.

Then to everyone's astonishment Logan sat up, stretched his neck and stood up.

"I don't believe it," said Shran softly.

No one else spoke; Singh's face was very grim.

Cassius could guess what he was feeling; disgust and anger at the way people had been treated just because they were different.

Bishop started speaking again. "Fortunately; none of the attending police officers were seriously hurt," the 2IC's tone of voice indicated he wished otherwise.

"Logan and the three students left in a jet which arrived shortly after this; however Bobby's father later told the police that the four mutants never threatened them.

In fact they had been asking them for help when the police stormed the Drake home."

"What happened to Anthony Drake?" asked Cassius softly.

Bishop smiled bitterly. "Nothing at first; then he joined an extreme right wing anti-mutant group called 'True Human Nation'...rumour has it that they were wiped out in the Eugenics War.

Good riddance thought Cassius without a shred of remorse; Singh gave him a mild look of disapproval.

The male ensign looked away in embarrassment.

"But back to the matter at hand...this picture we have of Logan fits the current picture we have of the Logan who is currently captain of the Xavier."

A split screen came up showing the current 'Logan' and the 'Logan' of 2006.

There was silence as all studied the two pictures of the male mutant.

"Do you have any more historical documents about this man?" asked Flint.

Bishop shook his head and sighed. "We're working closely with Commander Kadretti of the Prometheus...it was thanks to him that I was able to get this much information. He has a significant amount of historical data about the X-men and mutants of 21st century America.

What we do know is that the last time Logan and Dr Grey were seen was at the Alcatrez Incident of October the 11th ; 2006. Both were proclaimed dead but their bodies were never found."

"Sir...could they really be from that time? That would mean they were brought almost 300 years into the future," said Cassius in astonishment.

Bishop leaned forward. "Ensign; we don't know if they are really members of the X-men; in fact we don't even have any records of Laura Kinney.

They could be clones for all we know.

But what we do know is that they have a Defiant Class ship called the Xavier; they picked up Ensign Kadretti and apparently they are trying to help a refugee fleet of some 42,000 people get to Earth."

"Let's not forget the fact that these refugees believe Earth to be a colony of theirs," added Singh in disbelief "or that they have a cybernectic race chasing them...and who may be a potential enemy of the Federation."

The captain placed both hands on the table. "That is why I have picked all of you; what we need now is more data.

So finding out everything we can about the X-men; the Xavier and the Colonies of Kobol is going to be our top priority."

"Apart from that; what else can we do while we get more intel?" asked Shila with a determined light in her eyes.

Singh looked at her and the others.

"We wait for the Prometheus and then Starfleet Command. Somehow I have a feeling...we might have a long trip ahead of us."

Cassius stared at the captain; did the captain just say what he thought he said?

"Captain; with all due respect..." started Flint with a frown on his face.

Oh great thought Cassius acidly he's going to quote the Starfleet rule book and veto the captain's idea of going after Oma.

"I can't wait to start exploring the Alpha Quadrant."

Cassius was speechless.

Yeah; he definitely had to be dreaming.

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Earth; San Francisco ; Starfleet Headquarters, 0850hrs...

Rear Admiral Janeway tried not to sigh with annoyance as she waited for the others to arrive.

Ten more minutes until the meeting starts and she was the only one present.

It had been almost 6 hours since her talk with Captain E'Kalez and it was just now that the urgent meeting she had called for was taking place.

Despite the fact that the Federation had technology that could transport people and equipment from one place to another in the blink of an eye; it had taken her at least 4 hours before she was able to contact the minimal amount of senior officials needed for the emergency meeting.

Unbelievable.

6 hours earlier Janeway had directly contacted the office of one of the Admirals who was a member of the Starfleet Tactical Department. She had got a Lieutenant Cameron and she quickly informed him that the communication she had for the Admiral was an SSC 30.

Janeway had been speechless when the Lieutenant who was also a personal assistant had stated that the next available appointment would be in 3 days time.

Then the PA had the nerve to ask, 'would an appointment on that day be appropriate?"

At that point Janeway almost lost her temper.

The unfortunate PA went very pale when he was subjected to Janeway's infamous thousand mile silent stare.

"Or...or I could search for an earlier appointment maybe tomorrow..."

"Lieutenant Cameron; please explain what you understand by Starfleet Security Code 30 ?" asked Janeway coolly.

The lieutenant hesitated before answering.

"Transmission of a communication using SSC 30 indicates an emergency condition involving a planetary disaster or other unspecified emergency.

Use of this code means that the sending station is not able to adequately respond to the emergency and requires immediate help at the scene."

Janeway waited for the Lieutenant to absorb the real meaning of what he just said.

"Now; do you think an SSC 30 can wait 24 hours Lieutenant?" her words were quiet but the underlying edge made the rest of the blood drain from the junior officer's face.

"No, Rear Admiral. I will contact him at once."

"Good," said Janeway coolly before signing off.

Next had been her least favourite department; Starfleet Intelligence.

Surprisingly she got hold of a senior officer almost immediately; the official had listened to her quietly and at the end stated that a Lieutenant Harrison would be with her as soon as possible.

Janeway had been stunned; she had thought it would have been difficult getting them to attend a meeting.

Apparently not; in fact the longer she dwelt on it, the more suspicious she was about Starfleet Intelligence.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that she found them very hard to read.

Must have to do with their training; it was rumoured that most Starfleet officers of that department received gruelling mental and physical training in order to carry out their duties.

Even in the Academy; 60 percent of cadets who applied for the Intelligence Sector washed out in the first year.

Statistics showed that at least 15 percent of the cadets who applied in the beginning eventually graduated from that sector but at times Janeway wondered if it was worth it.

She had seen that department change people she thought she knew; but she was also smart enough to know that Starfleet Intelligence was very necessary.

A certain presence at the door interrupted her thoughts.

Janeway frowned.

Whoever was behind the door had very strong mental shields; she could barely get even a hint of who it could be.

"Enter," she said in a calm voice.

The door slid past to reveal a 6 feet tall slim human male with short dark brown hair with a slight curl at the front. She guessed his age had to be in the late 20s to mid 30s.

He was wearing the blue and black Starfleet uniform of the science division and the rank displayed on it was that of Lieutenant.

The officer scanned the room with his steel-blue eyes as if searching for threats then once he was satisfied he looked at the female Rear-Admiral in the middle of the conference room.

"Rear Admiral Janeway; I'm Lieutenant Benedict .C. Harrison from Starfleet Intelligence."

Trust them to show up first. Thought Janeway.

"They sent only you?" asked the female Rear-Admiral calmly.

Lieutenant Harrison smiled dryly. "Yes ma'am," he paused " is that a problem?"

Janeway narrowed her eyes. His tone was polite and his accent sounded like that of an upper-class Englishman from the Edwardian era; but something about Harrison put her off.

There was a subtle menacing aura around him which could make people step out of his way without them realizing it.

She had expected more than one officer from Intelligence or maybe a senior officer and his or her personal assistant but now she wondered if she had been sent someone more dangerous.

Like an active agent.

His shields were top-notch; the way he assessed the room and her for any signs of a threat meant that Intelligence was taking her message a lot more seriously than she expected.

Which meant they knew something she didn't...then again Intelligence knew and did a lot of things they didn't want anyone else to know about.

"No...it's not a problem," then she looked around the room "however it appears only both of us will be attending this meeting..."

Another sound at the door had both of them turning to it.

This time Janeway felt the slightly nervous mind behind it.

"Enter."

The door slid open again to reveal a young female Trill Starfleet officer who was dressed in the yellow and black operation uniform. She walked up to Janeway and Harrison and saluted.

"Junior Lieutenant Adenia Paks; I'm the engineer sent to set up the holovids for the meeting."

Harrison folded his arms and spoke before Janeway could say a word.

"You're cutting it pretty fine Ms Paks."

The nervous junior officer actually flushed. "I apologize for that sir and ma'am but I just got the message 10 minutes ago from Starfleet Command.

Now ; please if you would excuse me while I set this up," she waited until Janeway nodded then she dashed to the nearest viewscreen.

"Well I guess that explains why I'm the first here," said Harrison dryly.

"Possibly," said Janeway as she tried to control her annoyance.

It seemed like the other two officers invited to this meeting wanted to do this as a video conference.

Janeway hated that; she preferred having people in the room she could talk to, she felt she was able to communicate better that way.

She didn't care if people called her old-fashioned but she felt a video conference in a time of crisis was not acceptable especially when the people you had invited were on the same planet and within the same time zone as you were!

She would have understood if they had been in different galaxies.

Janeway forced herself to return to the matter at end.

"You had a chance to go through the message I sent you?"

Janeway had sent each of the invited departments a copy of Ensign Kadretti's message and also did some research on her own.

Harrison nodded. "Yes; I found it absolutely fascinating."

The Rear Admiral frowned at the dry wit in his voice. She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or actually serious.

"Rear-Admiral Janeway, Lieutenant Harrison; it's all set up."

Both of them turned to face Junior Lieutenant Paks.

"Thank you Ms Paks," said Janeway " we'll call if we have any difficulty."

The engineer nodded as Janeway felt the ensign's relief at an early escape then the female Trill quickly left the room.

Janeway looked at her chronometer. One more minute to go.

"We might as well take our places," Janeway lifted a PADD from the table before her and passed it to Harrison.

He took it without a word.

Before long the two view-screens facing the conference table lit up with the insignia of Starfleet; then few seconds passed before the images of two Admirals appeared in the screens.

On the right screen was Admiral Sato . K. Mckenna; Chief of Starfleet Operations.

Janeway nodded at him with a small smile; he was a tough but fair man and she had a lot of respect for him.

On the left screen was Admiral Carl .D. Winsworth the third; of Starfleet Command.

Janeway tried not to let her dismay show; he was one of those who had openly opposed her promotion to Rear-Admiral.

The odd thing was that Janeway had not wanted it; she had wanted to remain the captain of Voyager and it's crew and do what she loved most.

Exploring the galaxy.

But eventually she accepted the new rank; hoping to help the Federation which had been affected adversely by the two year war with the Dominion.

However she wondered if she wouldn't have been better at staying as a captain on the USS Voyager.

The only consolation she had was that the ship was in Captain Chakotay's safe hands; he would take good care of her.

"Admiral Mckenna and Admiral Winsworth; thanks for attending this meeting at such short notice; with me is Lieutenant Benedict .C. Harrison of Starfleet Intelligence..."

"I had to leave a very important meeting with various ambassadors from Non-Federation planets; this had better be good," said Winsworth belligerently.

Janeway felt a very brief feeling of shock from the Lieutenant beside her before he clamped down on his mental shields.

She continued smoothly with an insincere smile she reserved for insufferable senior officers and diplomats. "I assure you sir that it is very important."

"There's no need to be hasty Carl," said Sato mildly "let's hear her out first."

Janeway drew herself up and began to speak.

"At 1620hrs yesterday the anomaly being investigated at the Romulan-Neutral border destabilized and drew in a shuttle with one of our ensigns on board. Her name is Ihuoma Kadretti.

At 1939hrs; the USS Prometheus received a message from Ensign Kadretti...who had apparently successfully travelled through the evolving wormhole before it collapsed."

Janeway paused; she had sent a copy of Ensign Kadretti's message earlier but she wanted to explain it briefly because she had an odd feeling that one of the Admirals had not taken it seriously.

Admiral Mckenna was holding his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face as he waited for her to continue; while Winsworth looked impatient as always.

"It appears to be that she has been picked up by a Defiant class ship called the 'Xavier' which is currently in an unexplored section of the Alpha Quadrant.

The captain is Logan Howlett; and the rest of the crew are Dr Jean Grey; Laura Kinney and...Q Junior who is a Q or used to be one."

She paused. "Apparently they are also assisting a refugee fleet of some less than 42,000 humans who are fleeing a cybernectic race who destroyed their homeworld...the 12 Colonies of Kobol.

Q Junior and the crew of the Xavier along with Ensign Kadretti have asked for our assistance, considering the connection with the wormhole and the refugee problem...we have a duty to respond."

There was silence at her words for several moments.

Carl narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "What proof do we have that this is not a prank of some sort? If I recall from your previous Voyager logs; Q Junior was notorious for playing these type of pranks."

"The proof Admiral is in the ship building database," said Harrison smoothly "the Xavier is listed as being constructed a little more than 7 months ago under the supervision of QJ of the Q Corporation and...sanctioned by Starfleet Special Intelligence Division and Starfleet Command."

Sato stared at him in disbelief. "You knew about this ship?"

"Just recently Admiral; apparently permission was asked to build it 8 months ago and one of the Admirals in Starfleet Command signed the e-document that was required."

"Who was stupid enough to sign that!?" demanded Winsworth.

Harrison raised both eyebrows before replying carefully. "It was signed by you Admiral Winsworth."

Janeway stared at the shock and then rage on the Admiral's face and almost swore.

This was making matters worse not better!

"It doesn't matter who signed the permission slip! We have a problem here that requires our attention!" said Janeway hurryingly.

"Yes; I agree !," said a red faced Carl Winsworth " Harrison I am ordering your division to do a mandatory audit of all ships and projects in your division.

That permission document must be thoroughly checked to rule out forgery!"

"Already on it Admiral...and the document is definitely authentic," said Harrison in a neutral voice that would have done a Vulcan proud.

He was also smart enough to see that the Admiral was very upset.

"Rear Admiral Janeway is right," said Sato quickly before his colleague exploded " we need to concentrate on the matter at hand." He looked at the female senior officer.

"This sounds very troubling if it's true; but bear in mind that we could be dealing with a Q who are known for playing pranks of a galactic proportions."

Janeway held up a placating hand. "Yes; I know that...but even when they do play pranks...the Qs do it for a very good reason.

Remember when Captain Picard and the Enterprise were flung millions of light years away to encounter the Borg? The Q were trying to warn us to be prepared..."

Carl shot a furious look at her. "We lost too many ships and good officers at Wolf 359 because of Picard ! I don't see how that is evidence of the Q's good intentions!"

Janeway closed her eyes briefly. This was going downhill very fast.

They had lost 39 of 40 starfleet vessels because Starfleet Command had vastly underestimated the ability of the Borg to adapt their weaponry and shields.

Even though Picard had redeemed himself by saving Earth later; there were a number of people who still blamed him for the death and destruction that was the Battle of Wolf 359.

But unfortunately as much as she would love to debate the finer parts of the battle with Admiral Winsworth; this was not the place or the time to do so.

"So what do you suggest we do Admiral Winsworth?" asked Harrison ; his voice had a little edge in it as if he was irritated.

"Do you suggest we ignore this distress call?"

Carl leaned back in his seat and looked at the Starfleet Intelligence Lieutenant closely.

"Lieutenant Harrison...that is your real rank is it?"

Janeway almost gasped at the implied question.

Senior officers in Starfleet Command knew that Intelligence Agents did many jobs and missions that were highly classified and for most of those missions they could not be recommended for.

The rumours Janeway heard as a cadet was that Special agents had two ranks; the one they put on for the public and the second hidden one that acknowledged all the dangerous clandestine missions carried out in the name of the Federation.

As expected; their second secret rank was never mentioned.

"Yes Admiral; it is my real rank," said Harrison calmly.

Winsworth looked at him for a moment longer. " I see; so that is a clear indication that Intelligence did not consider this meeting important enough to send a high ranking officer...which makes me wonder why we're wasting our time here."

Janeway this time felt the anger and astonishment from the man beside her.

Sato frowned at the screen. "I don't think we're wasting our time Carl; I have looked at the message and from the past Voyager vid-reports the young man in Ensign Kadretti's message is identical to the human Q that trained and served for a brief time on Janeway's ship.

If he is powerless again and asking for help...we should help him."

"Why?" demanded Carl "if his parents are so powerful why haven't they done something about his current condition and location?"

"But that is the question isn't it?" said Janeway earnestly "what could have prevented the Q from helping one of their own and the next question is what does it have to do with the appearance and disappearance of a wormhole on the Romulan-Neutral border ?

Something none of us is eager to see being used by the Romulans."

Carl stared at her for several moments. "I'm still not convinced; I say we discuss this with the Joint Chiefs at the end of the week."

Janeway felt her lower jaw drop.

"But...but that's in 5 days time; we need to do something now Admiral."

Carl glared at her. "Fine then get us more proof; until then I will not support any action such as a rescue mission. We do not have the resources to waste chasing spectres!"

His screen went blank leaving a very shocked Janeway and Admiral Mckenna.

Sato looked at Janeway. "I apologize for his attitude."

Janeway tried to swallow her rage. "He's wrong."

Sato sighed wearily. "I feel your rage but please understand that he lost two of his children at Wolf 359...that does not excuse his attitude but maybe it explains it."

Janeway resisted the strong urge to state that Carl Winsworth always directly or indirectly opposed her ideas whenever she attended meetings at Starfleet Command. She did not know what she had done to get on his bad side.

But she was getting tired of his attitude.

"So; we're just going to wait, Admiral?" asked Janeway in a neutral tone.

Sato narrowed his eyes as he stared at her; he was an empath as well and a skilful one if the rumours were true.

Janeway tried to think of calming scenes as the Admiral studied her in silence.

"I'm afraid so Rear Admrial Janeway; please do not attempt to commandeer the Voyager in order to rescue Q Junior.

I am well aware of the fact that you are his 'God-mother' and also had a huge part in his training on board the Voyager so you would have a significant connection with him.

However rushing in before we get more data we can work with could put him and many others at risk.

In fact to put it simply this is not the time to emulate James. T. Kirk.

Do you understand what I'm trying to say Rear Admiral ?"

Janeway tried not to answer through gritted teeth.

"Oh I understand far too well Admiral."

He was indirectly telling her not to do a 'Kirk Manoeuvre'.

In 2285, a certain Admiral known as James Tiberius Kirk had 'stolen' the USS Enterprise from the spacedock and went on to rescue the then rejuvenated amnesic Commander Spock from the Genesis planet.

Kirk had been forgiven for most of the rules and regulations he violated because by doing the above; he had been able to save Earth from a powerful and mysterious probe that had been hell bent on destroying Earth.

The fact that Kirk had literally escaped with his skin and integrity intact and was only punished by being 'demoted' to captain actually enhanced his legendary status.

Thus the way he stole an entire Federation starship from a guarded spacedock was dubbed the 'Kirk Manoeuvre'.

Sato watched Janeway for a few more moments.

"I will try from my end to speed up the meeting but it might take a few days," the Admiral looked at the silent Harrison.

"I expect you to work from your end and maybe get one of the 'obvious' senior officers to attend the next meeting."

Harrison compressed his lips in a displeased line but answered politely. "I will do what I can Admiral."

Sato nodded. "Fine; good luck everyone...until later."

The image on the screen was replaced with the Starfleet Insignia.

Silence reigned in the room for a while.

"That was not good," said Janeway tiredly.

Harrison glanced at her. "For what it's worth Rear-Admiral; you did your best. Even though it would be fascinating to investigate the existence of the Xavier and it's crew as soon as possible; we still need to get approval from Command before we do anything more."

Janeway stared at him. "What do your superiors think?"

Harrison answered carefully. "They wanted to see what the other divisions thought about the situation."

Janeway folded her arms. "In summary...your team is on the fence."

Harrison smiled dryly. "Not really...it's tricky to explain."

The female Rear- Admiral waited for him to say more; then sighed when she realized he had nothing more to tell her.

"Well; I'm just as curious as you are in the Q Junior's ship" a sudden thought struck her " I hope your 'interest' doesn't have anything with wanting to take the Xavier apart to see what it's really made of?"

Janeway felt a mild feeling of amusement from the man in-front of her before he clamped down his shields tightly.

Harrison just smiled at her. "We'll keep in touch Rear Admiral." He bowed slightly and left the room.

Janeway stared at the door for several moments after he left.

Starfleet Intelligence wanted the Xavier.

That was pretty obvious from where she was standing.

They believed the ship was real and now they were certain it had been built by a Q.

Who wouldn't want a chance at studying it or taking it apart?

Janeway rubbed her forehead wearily; now she was very worried.

Would Starfleet Intelligence go after the ship without telling anyone ?

"I have to get to Q Junior first," muttered Janeway to herself.

"Feeling up to a Kirk Manoeuvre?"

Janeway recognised the voice before turning round to stare in shock at the owner of a voice she could never forget.

Sitting in one of the high back chairs was a very familiar male who was dressed in the red and black uniform of a Starfleet Admiral.

"Missed me?" asked the insufferable individual known as Q.

"You!" hissed Janeway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX

The Q are a seemingly omnipotent and immortal species who form the Q Continuum, they possess the ability of instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation, as well as the ability of time travel.

The Q have power over space, matter and time.

But to Janeway; this particular Q in front of her was a pain in the arse.

"What have you done now?!"

The male Q pouted as he folded his arms.

"Oh dear Janeway; is that anyway to welcome an old friend? For a moment; I thought you had missed me!"

The female Rear Admiral glared at him. "Q! What sort of trouble has Junior gotten into again? I thought you promised to watch over him!"

Q leaned back in his seat. "Oh that; well...it's your fault that he's in trouble."

Janeway was speechless for a long moment. "My fault!?"

Q nodded. "Oh yeah; it's your fault alright. It was not 'moi' who influenced him to the point where he actually tried to intervene more than he should and thus get into trouble."

Janeway rubbed her forehead. "Wait...you're not making sense; how can helping people get Q Junior into trouble?"

Q senior looked at her in mock horror. "Could it be that the great Janeway has actually forgotten about the Prime Directive?

Mon dieu! Starfleet is certainly...becoming more interesting."

Janeway sighed. "Q, please; tell me what happened?"

Q stared at her as he leaned back and placed his forearms on the hand rests of the chair.

"Where exactly would you like me to start ? If it's from the very beginning we are going to be here a very long time..."

"Why did Q Junior build the Xavier?" cut in Janeway impatiently.

Q gave her a shark's grin. "Now you're asking the right question."

He stood up and slowly approached the female senior officer.

"You see; one day, Q Junior decided he wanted to help a certain group of people who had been too stupid and blind to realize that they were heading down the path to oblivion.

We the Q, tried three times to help 'this group' in the distant past and three times they ignored us; so we decided that they should reap what they had sown."

Janeway stared at him. "Are you talking about the 12 Colonies of Kobol?"

Q seemed a bit impressed by her deduction. "Perhaps, anyway as I was saying, three times were we ignored so we decided no more.

But then comes along a very smart Junior Q who decides to help them indirectly by aiding 3 mutants from your distant past."

Janeway did not have to ask if he meant Logan, Dr Grey and the third girl called Laura Kinney. She was yet to see the girl's picture.

Q senior spread his hands. "So here we are; Q Junior has with the help of the Xavier and it's crew, managed to find the refugees of the 12 Colonies.

My son has managed to contact Starfleet Command asking for assistance that his parents are not allowed to provide and even though he has a serial number and is still an enlisted member of Starfleet...it appears that he will not receive the Starfleet help he asked for!"

Q senior sounded calm throughout but Janeway thought she detected a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"You could have helped me convince the Admirals if you had appeared a few minutes earlier," said the female Rear Admiral.

Q sighed. "Oh Kathryn, what's the challenge in that? Haven't you realized how it works now?

Just like you have rules against intervention, so do we.

Besides; it was so much fun watching you get all flustered and enraged when Admiral 'Dumb' Winsworth practically shut you down."

Janeway tried not to rub her forehead as she felt a migraine coming on.

"Look; I want to help Q Junior and I intend to..."

"How?" demanded Q "if it's a Kirk Manoeuvre you need I am happy to provide one..."

"I'm not asking for that," started Janeway in an irritated tone then a sudden thought struck her " wait...why are you so eager to help me get to Q Junior?

Why aren't you allowed to help him and why do I get the impression that there is something equally important you do not want to tell me about?"

Q senior smiled. "I haven't the foggiest idea of what you're talking about."

Janeway's eyes narrowed. "I'm missing something here.

You have talked about the Colonies; about Q Junior and the crew of the Xavier and about the obvious fact that you can't approach your own son...but you have neglected to mention the disappearing wormhole that was at the Romulan-Neutral Border."

Q senior clapped his hands slowly. "And for that you get a copper star, which is really a massive accolade coming from one such as myself..."

"Cut the chitchat Q; what has the wormhole got to do with this entire...situation ?" cut in Janeway. She had been about to use the word 'mess' but at the last moment she changed the word to 'situation'.

Q senior smirked at her. "Why that is what the Q are trying to determine at the moment."

Janeway looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Determine...did you make the wormhole? Surely you must have realized how much trouble that would bring to the Alpha Quadrant..."

"What makes you think we created it ?" interrupted Q senior calmly.

Janeway was stunned for a few moments. "If not you; then who...?"

"We don't know who did Kathryn...that's why we closed it," interrupted Q again.

This time the female Rear Admiral was speechless; she could tell from the rare solemn expression on the Q's face before her that the 'situation' was more serious that she realized.

"You... don't know who created it ? But you closed the wormhole !"

Q senior nodded. "It wasn't easy believe me; it took three of us and by the end of it each of us had felt as if we had just fought in the Q Civil war.

Do you remember what happened to the very fabric of space during that war in 2378?"

Kathryn nodded shakily. Her ship had still been in the Delta Quadrant and had witnessed spatial anomalies that almost destroyed entire galaxies and endangered her vessel as well.

Q senior nodded back when he saw the realization dawn on her face.

"Though I'm concerned about Q Junior; trust me when I state that his intervention skills are the least of my problems right now."

Q walked away from her as if giving her space to breathe and think.

"How can we help?" asked Kathryn when she could finally think.

"There is absolutely nothing you can do about the wormhole; leave that to us," said Q calmly with a finality that the female officer found chilling.

"What about Q Junior?" asked Kathryn.

Q senior raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

The female Starfleet officer raised a hand. "You misunderstood me; why has he been de-powered and made into a sentient hologram ?

Also why can't you approach him?"

Q sighed. "I was wondering when you would get around to that...why don't I leave that for him to explain when you eventually get to talk to him?"

Kathryn stared at Q. "You're not going to tell me now..."

"No, I'm not," interrupted Q " because both you and I are late for our respective appointments so I suggest we both get moving." He held up his right hand to snap his fingers.

"Wait!" shouted Janeway but she was too late.

Q had already snapped his fingers and the last thing Janeway saw was him disappearing in a flash of light.

Just before she disappeared as well in the same way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

Transporter room 1, the USS Dunkirk...

Captain Singh waited patiently as four columns of light materialized on the transporter platform.

In mere seconds the lights solidified into the forms of Captain E'kalez and her second in command Commander Trey Kadretti.

Beside the commander was Dr Nadia Kadretti and beside her was chief of security Lieutenant Commander Brian Demarce.

Singh moved closer as the four descended from the platform.

He had attended Starfleet Academy with Brenia and Trey; they had been friends and he had been relieved when they survived the Dominion War.

So many of their colleagues had not been that lucky.

Singh only wished he was meeting the two senior officers under happier circumstances.

"Captain E'Kalez, Commander Kadretti, Dr Kadretti and Commander Demarce, welcome to the Dunkirk."

Brenia's smile lit up her red attractive features. "Thank you for having us Captain Singh," she looked at Commander Bishop who towered over the captain of the Dunkirk.

"Commander Bishop; it's good to see you as well."

"Likewise captain," said the second in command of science vessel with a smile on his face " please come this way."

Singh and Brenia walked ahead while the two commanders dropped back to chat. Nadia and Brian followed silently after exchanging pleasantries with Bishop.

"How are the Klingons and Romulans doing?" asked Brenia casually.

"For now they are both behaving; the IKS Y'tem has been fully repaired and by the by the Captain wishes to pay his respects to Commander Kadretti and Dr Kadretti," said Singh.

Brenia gave him a quizzical look.

Singh glanced back and could see his second in command was deep in conversation with Commander Kadretti.

"I'm not sure why; but I think he was...interested in our missing ensign," said the captain of the Dunkirk in a low voice.

Brenia smiled dryly. "Nadia will rip his head off."

Singh grimaced. "My thoughts exactly; please try to reason with her. I don't wish to start a war with the Klingons today or any other day."

"Will do my best Terence," said Brenia in a soft voice.

The small group continued towards the bridge as they passed crew who were going about their duties; they stood aside respectively as the two captains walked side by side.

"Also the Tal Shiar known as Major Nveid Solius wishes to speak to you and the Kadrettis."

Brenia gave her friend a sharp look. "We won't be going to his ship."

Singh sensed her agitation and lifted a placating hand. "I wouldn't even dream of it...I have not told them or the Klingons about our recent intel.

And I certainly don't intend to if it is not necessary."

Brenia smiled gratefully. "Thanks Terence; my XO will be relieved to hear that."

They had now reached the bridge.

Singh nodded. "After you captain E'kalez."

She nodded her thanks and walked in-front of him.

Most of the people on the bridge looked up and stood when she entered.

"As you were," said Singh calmly. The bridge crew returned to their duties.

Brenia looked around and saw a young male ensign in the yellow and black operation-uniform was manning the helm; beside him was a male Trill who was in a red and black Lieutenant Commander uniform.

Brenia turned to stare at the view-screen. It showed the romulan warbirds ; the klingon bird of prey and the emptiness of space.

"There has been no sign of the anomaly ?" the question not surprisingly came from Dr Nadia Kadretti.

Singh answered. "None since yesterday Dr Kadretti," he saw her face fall "but it may be too early to tell."

Commander Kadretti's face was grave as he also stared at the view-screen.

Singh shared a silent look with his Mr Bishop who nodded slightly.

"Maybe; we should continue this meeting in my ready room..."

Singh had barely completed the sentence when there were two bright flashes of light right in front of the command chair.

"What the..." began the captain as he turned to see what had materialized on the bridge; he felt his lower jaw drop when he saw the two people who had appeared out of thin air.

There were loud murmurs of alarm as everyone on the bridge turned to stare.

"Security to the bridge!" yelled Lieutenant Commander Flint who was already at his station.

Singh was still trying to find the words to speak when an equally shocked E'Kalez said the question that was in everyone's minds.

"Rear Admiral Janeway? Is...is that you?" then she turned to the smug looking man in an Admiral's uniform beside the legendary Janeway.

"Who is this?"

The woman who looked identical to Janeway opened her mouth to reply but the strange man answered first.

"Q's the name; Admiral is my rank and right now my ten o'clock appointment is here," he pointed at the screen as he spoke.

That was when the Trill at the helm noticed something odd on his sensors.

"Captain...the anomaly is back!"

Everyone including the woman who looked like Janeway turned towards the screen.

Just in time to see a significant sized spatial anomaly appear in the viewscreen.

"The wormhole..." gasped Nadia with a look of joy on her face.

"Not for much longer!" announced Q gleefully as several security personnel appeared on the bridge with phasers drawn.

"Hmm; me thinks you need someone else here to see this," Q snapped his fingers again and a stunned tall man dressed in a blue and black Starfleet uniform with the rank of a Lieutenant appeared right next to Janeway.

Q pointed both arms at the officer as if he was introducing a circus act. "Lieutenant Benedict. C. Harrrison, at yyyyyyour service! Now I really have to go." The Q held up his right hand to snap his fingers.

"You can't leave!" said Singh quickly.

Q raised an eyebrow as he was surrounded by Starfleet security.

"Just watch me," he drawled as he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light.

Everyone apart from Janeway looked shocked at his disappearance.

She looked exasperated.

"Security; secure the two intruders..." ordered Singh.

The woman in the Rear-Admiral Starfleet uniform held up a hand. "I know this looks odd; but I am Rear-Admiral Kathryn Janeway and this man beside me is Lieutenant Benedict .C. Harrison of Starfleet Intelligence..."

"And I think we all need to concentrate on the view-screen right now," interrupted Mr Harrison; it looked as if he had got over his shock of being 'transported' to the Dunkirk but was now staring at the view-screen with an obvious look of disbelief on his face.

Something in his voice made everyone concentrate on the viewscreen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX

Major Solius listened as the captain of the Vigilance ordered all ships to pull back. Nalah Mas stood silently beside him.

He could tell from her body language that she was worried about the re-appearance of the worm-hole.

Good; it looked like she might have a healthy fear of the unknown.

Maybe he could work with her after all.

Solius looked at the sensors; the dimensions of the anomaly were identical to the first evolving wormhole.

It also looked like the Starfleet vessels were keeping a safe distance.

Something told him that they won't be sending a shuttle to investigate the anomaly anytime soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX

IKS Y'tem; the bridge...

Karath stood up slowly from his seat as the anomaly appeared on the view-screen; somehow he was not surprised it was back.

Someone had created this thing and was determined to reach this part of space.

There was only one thought ringing through his mind.

War was on the other side of that worm-hole.

He felt his heart rate pick up; it looked like the IKS Y'tem was going to be on the frontlines again.

It was a good time to be alive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

Lady Q studied the threads that held the wormhole in place.

She had waited for it to form because instinct told her striking too quickly and without preparation would worsen matters.

Mere seconds passed before she felt her husband by her side.

"About time you showed up darling."

Q senior nodded; for once his countenance was serious. "What have you got dearest?"

Lady Q gently traced the lines that linked the anomaly to the fabric of the universe.

"These space-ley lines have to be severed in sequence and delicately; I have detected a pattern that might actually improve our chances of tracing whoever is behind this."

"If we're shutting it down; I suggest we do it now," said General Q as he flashed into existence on the other side of Lady Q.

"Glad you could make it back old man," said Q dryly.

"Well? Let's get on with it," said General Q impatiently as he stretched forth his right hand.

"Ah, ah wait!" said Lady Q quickly "remember what happened last time? We do this on my mark."

She waited until both male Q nodded. "Now, on the count of three...one, two, three..."

All three Q plunged their hands into the network of space-ley lines and began to unravel it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

"Sound the yellow alert; Mr Flint," Singh turned to the viewscreen "Mr O'Reilly; what is our proximity to the anomaly?" asked Captain Singh in a calm tone as the yellow alert klaxon wailed throughout the ship.

"185,000 metres; the other ships have maintained the same distance as us," said the Lieutenant Commander.

Rear Admiral Janeway and Mr Harrison were still on the bridge; somehow Singh was sure they were who they said they were. He could tell Janeway was a empath ; as for the Starfleet Intelligence officer, his mental shields were so good that he had to be from that branch of Starfleet.

However the security team kept them surrounded but so far no one was pointing weapons at them.

"Magnify the viewscreen and prepare a probe," he felt Flint turn to look at him in surprise" we might need it if it..."

"Captain!" called Ensign O'Reilly in alarm "it's destabilizing!

Everyone's attention was riveted to the screen; there was a sudden flash of light in the centre of the huge swirling mass and huge whitish lightening shaped tentacles erupted from the centre.

Singh knew that they were at a safe distance but the sight still sent chills down his spine.

"What the devil is going on?" he heard Harrison mutter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX

The anomaly heaved and buckled like a wild horse trying to unseat it's rider; it switched between being a wormhole to being a black hole.

It seemed to be struggling and fighting to stay alive; then all of a sudden it disappeared suddenly.

It was as if it had never existed.

The whole phenomenon had lasted exactly 3.24 minutes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX

The bridge of the Dunkirk was silent as everyone stared at the area of space where the anomaly had been.

"Where did it go?" asked Nadia in despair.

There was a flash of light and the male Q appeared in the captain's seat.

All those close to him moved away quickly.

The reason was clearly obvious; he was still dressed in the Admiral's uniform but there appeared to be steam rising from his clothes as if he had just put out a fire and his hair was wet and plastered to his scalp.

"Oh don't be alarmed; it's just a side effect of battling with a blasted anomaly that shouldn't have been here in the first place."

Janeway approached him warily. He sounded exhausted and irritated.

That was not a good sign.

"Why did you close it?" demanded Commander Kadretti before anyone else could say a word.

Q turned round slowly and stared at him and Nadia. "Ah; the worried parental units."

He snapped his fingers and disappeared from the seat but appeared right in front of the second in command of the USS Prometheus.

"I must admit; that is an excellent question...why don't you answer it?" said Q senior calmly as steam continued to rise from his clothes.

Trey looked as if he was about to explode. "My daughter is on the other side of that wormhole..."

"And so is my son!" yelled Q senior to the shock of everyone. Then he sighed as everyone stared at him. He tapped the stunned XO lightly on the shoulders and smiled tiredly at him.

"Sorry for yelling at you...it's been a hard day at the office," he turned to Janeway "you're on your own from this point on...don't be late."

Then he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Silence reigned as everyone tried to absorb what had just happened.

"Eh captain," called Ensign O'Reilly nervously.

Singh looked at him.

"The Vigilance and the IKS Y'tem are hailing us."

"It might be best if we get checked out by your medical team while you answer the hail, Captain Singh," said Harrison politely.

Singh nodded after a few moments. "Good idea; Mr Flint will take Rear Admiral Janeway and you to the medical bay. I will be along shortly."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Singh walked to the medical bay; he had left Brenia and her team in the ready room after he discussed briefly with Major Solius and Captain Karath.

He had listened to their valid concerns and assured them he was looking into the sudden appearance and disappearance of anomaly.

Solius seemed a bit worried.

Karath on the other end seemed quite eager for a confrontation.

Singh shook his head; after how he had seen the male Q lose his temper on the bridge ; he was not eager to meet whatever had given the seemingly omnipotent Q a hard time.

Singh had never met a Q before and he had hoped never to meet one.

But now that they were involved with more than one Q; it was not what he had expected.

When Q had yelled at Commander Kadretti; for a brief second Singh had felt a split moment of extreme anger and fear from the being in front of him.

Then it simply wasn't there anymore but that moment had scared Singh a lot.

He could not help but wonder what or who could frighten a Q.

With those thoughts on his mind; Singh reached the medical bay.

He headed for the bio-bed that was guarded by two security personnel.

On entering he saw that Janeway was sitting on the bio-bed; Lieutenant Harrison was standing by her bedside as if he was on guard.

Singh took a moment to observe the Starfleet Intelligence officer. He had turned the moment the captain entered the medical bay; Singh extended his senses and could 'feel' the strong shields that the man had placed on his feelings.

Harrison was not an empath but he had to be a mutant.

Dr Zaria Tsoran turned as he approached them; the petite female Haliian picked up Singh's silent enquiry and spoke when he nodded at her.

"This is Rear Admiral Janeway; her cellular profile is identical to what is contained in the Starfleet Genetic Database and her quantum signature resonates with this dimension and he is also Lieutenant Benedict . C. Harrison; also from this dimension. They are both healthy and eager to speak to you."

"Thank you Dr Tsoran," said Singh with a smile; the Haliian nodded and left; Singh noticed Harrison watch her walk away with an appreciative almost predatory smile on his face.

Singh's eyes narrowed; then he forced himself to relax.

Zaria was more than capable of taking care of herself; if she could handle Flint and make him stay in the medical bay as long as he had ; then she could handle any Starfleet Intelligence officer.

Even if he was an active agent.

"I apologize for the delay Rear-Admiral Janeway and Lieutenant Harrison."

Janeway waved her right hand to indicate she was not upset. " Nothing to worry about; having us checked is standard protocol.

Anything happen while we were still here?"

Singh shook his head. "It would be best if we discussed this in the ready room."

Harrison and Janeway shared a silent look and followed Captain Singh out of the medical bay.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

Captain's ready room...

Everyone stood up respectively when Rear Admiral Janeway and Lieutenant Harrison entered the conference room with captain Singh

Immediately she felt their collective respect and anxiety.

"Please be seated everyone," said Janeway as she took her seat.

Singh and Harrison sat shortly afterwards and everyone followed suit.

Janeway looked at the occupants of the room; she recognized only a few of them. She glanced at Captain Singh who started the introductions.

Captain Brenia E'kalez; her second-in-command, Commander Kadretti; his wife Dr Nadia Kadretti and the chief of security of the Prometheus, Lieutenant Commander Demarce.

Next Singh introduced the three other officers attending the meeting.

Tactical officer Lieutenant Commander Telev Shran.

Second in command on the Dunkirk, Commander Caleb Bishop and chief of security Lieutenant Commander Klaus Flint.

Janeway nodded her head at each of them and was not surprised when everyone turned to look at her and the Stafleet Intelligence Lieutenant beside her.

"I'm certain you all have questions. I will start from what happened this morning at the meeting with two senior officers from Starfleet Command."

Janeway went on to tell them briefly what had happened.

As to be expected the fact that Starfleet Command was not ready to act now was met with murmurs of shock and barely suppressed anger.

"However with all due respect Captain Singh, I think Starfleet Command needs to think about going in search of the last co-ordinates of the Xavier as soon as possible," said Janeway. Her words made every one stare at her.

There was a glimmer of hope on Nadia Kadretti's face.

"But Starfleet Command is yet to agree on that," said Harrison in a neutral tone.

Nadia glared at him openly.

Janeway turned to him. "Mr Harrison; have you ever encountered a Q before?"

He looked at her for a long moment. "No, I haven't had the pleasure."

Janeway raised an eyebrow. "Well I have; more times than I liked.

But I have 'never',"she put emphasis on the word "ever seen a Q get this upset and that is worrying."

The Rear Admiral looked around to include everyone. "This Q we just saw is billions of years old... that is what he has claimed and I am inclined to believe him.

However being a father for the past 9 years is a very new experience for him.

Something has happened that may have resulted in Q Junior losing his powers and for some inexplicable reason...his parents cannot help him or approach him."

Silence reigned and Janeway shared a silent look with the Kadrettis.

Somehow she was certain they had recognised that Q's outburst had been that of a scared parent.

"Rear Admiral Janeway; if you are asking for volunteers...we are ready to leave right away," said Captain Singh calmly.

Janeway looked at him "You risk earning the ire of certain senior officers in Starfleet Command Captain Singh."

The captain of the Dunkirk smiled at her. "With all due respect ma'am; that's the least of my concerns."

Brenia looked at him and nodded with a small smile on her face.

"My ship would be only too glad to accompany you Captain Singh," said the captain of the Prometheus.

Janeway hid a smile; she had suspected the winged captain of the Prometheus already had plans to go after Ensign Kadretti and the Xavier.

Harrison frowned. "Since you're all intent on disobeying orders, may I suggest we try some damage control by informing my superior officer and some members of Command of what happened just a few minutes ago?"

"Why should we?" demanded Commander Kadretti "they did say we should wait for 5 more days; I doubt that's what Q had in mind."

The Starfleet Intelligence officer turned to Kadretti. "Perhaps; but do bear in mind that Starfleet is not run by the Q."

Janeway sighed wearily. "Mr Harrison; I see your point but maybe I should elaborate on what I said earlier.

Before Q brought me here; we had a little chat, just after you left the meeting.

He clearly stated he did not know what caused the wormhole in the first place and that he and the Q closed it the first time and as we all just witnessed...they closed it again just a few minutes ago," she waited for that piece of information to sink in.

"The question we should all be asking is what has got the Q so worried that they have closed it twice...and from Q's appearance it didn't look easy."

The andorian nodded. "From past contacts with the Q continuum they seem to take a back seat to whatever is happening and just observe.

They are not known to intervene or actually help mortal beings such as us."

"Except in very exceptional cases," added Singh calmly.

Janeway was wondering if he was talking about when Q had rewarded the Voyager by 'helping' the starship travel a few light years in mere seconds in the Delta Quadrant.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" said Harrison a bit testily "we still need to inform Starfleet Command...we can't all just leave the Neutral Border especially when it seems like the anomaly may reappear again."

Everyone stared at him.

"He's right," said Brenia reluctantly " we need to contact them now rather than later...also what are we going to tell the Romulans and the Klingons ?"

"We don't have to tell the Romulans anything hugely significant," contributed Janeway "however we may need to involve the Klingons."

"Why?" asked Nadia.

The female Rear Admiral looked at her. "What's the shortest distance to get to the Xavier's last co-ordinates?"

The astrophysicist stared at her before answering carefully.

"421 light years if we go through the Klingon-Neutral border."

Janeway looked at the others around the room and was pleased to see that no one was surprised by this.

"The klingons do not have to be involved, Rear Admiral," said Harrison in a grave tone.

Janeway closed her eyes briefly before turning to face him. His objections were becoming tiresome.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but did you not earlier state that it may be prudent to find the Xavier as soon as possible?"

Harrison compressed his lips in a thin line but did not respond.

Janeway continued. "That is what we're trying to do here because I have the odd feeling that we are running out of time and options." She looked at the others around the room.

"None of us want a wormhole in this sector or this border, and it seems to me that the Xavier and the refugee fleet they are helping may be indirectly connected to whatever is trying to create the wormhole."

Singh gave her a sharp glance. "What facts do you have to support that ma'am?"

Janeway shrugged. "None; just a hunch I have...besides Q warned me not to be late. I have learnt from past experience that ignoring his advice is not wise or healthy."

Everyone looked at each other; clearly uncomfortable with what they had just heard.

"Then; let's speak to Starfleet Command...we might as well start with my boss, she is bound to listen," said Harrison in a solemn tone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX

Harrison stood before the holo-screen as the image changed from the insignia of Starfleet to an image of a Vulcan female in an admiral's uniform.

She simply raised an eyebrow when she saw Harrison and the silent officers in the background.

"Lieutenant Benedict Harrison, I presume your current location is the reason you are 17 minutes and 25 seconds late for our meeting."

Naturally the Admiral could tell the transmission was coming for the Neutral-Romulan border.

To everyone's surprise the Intelligence officer grinned. "Right as always Admiral T'so'Krel; I also have with me another person you might be surprised to see." Janeway stepped closer to him so that the Vulcan could see her.

Krel's eyes widened slightly as she kept the rest of her face expressionless.

"Rear Admiral Kathryn Janeway; the last I heard you were still on Earth at Starfleet Command."

Janeway smiled wearily. "Lieutenant Harrison and I were brought here the same way...with the assistance of a Q."

Krel's expression did not change but those watching could tell she had been affected by the news.

"Does this have to do with the earlier meeting that took place an hour and 18 minutes ago?" asked the head of Starfleet Intelligence.

"Yes it does Admiral," said Harrison " and a Q has requested we help his son...as soon as possible."

Janeway looked at Harrison; she could not make the man out at all. One moment he was objecting to whatever she said ; then the next he was supporting her.

What was he up to ?

Krel stared at her officer for a long moment.

"I will get Admiral Winsworth and Admiral Mckenna to take part in this discussion right now. You will need a minimum of three senior members of Command to organize a rescue expedition."

Janeway was stunned by her words. "We would appreciate that Admiral."

Krel nodded. "Stay on the line; this will not take long."

The image was replaced by the Insignia of Starfleet and a message that they had been placed on hold.

"That was quick," muttered Shran in a low tone that carried to the white haired man standing beside him.

CommanderTrey Kadretti nodded as he watched Harrison with narrowed eyes.

"Then again; it's Starfleet Intelligence...if they really want something they move pretty fast." The Commander's voice was neutral but something in it made Shran look at him closely.

The andorian could recognize hidden rage and the human beside him had a lot of it. Shran suddenly remembered what he had heard from Captain Singh of when Trey Kadretti was the sole survivor of his ship when he was an ensign.

As if the Intelligence officer could feel someone's eyes on him; he turned his head slightly to look at Commander Kadretti.

Both maintained eye contact; refusing to be the first to break.

Then the holoscreen flicked to life again and Harrison was the first to look away.

Shran found himself releasing a sigh of relief. "Commander; remember we are working together...this is not the time to fight."

Trey said nothing for a while. "Thanks for the advice Mr Shran, I will try to remember that."

Everyone turned back to the screen as it divided into three sections.

This time Admiral Krel was in the middle and she was flanked on her right by Admiral Winsworth and on her left by Admiral Mckenna.

Immediately Winsworth saw Janeway he erupted.

"I should have known it was you! Did you not hear me clearly when I stated that the meeting with command will be at the end of the week?! What kind of prank are you trying to pull..."

"Admiral Winsworth!" called out Janeway in a parade ground voice that stopped the senior officer briefly " please note our current location as being in the Romulan Neutral border which is also 12.6hours away from Earth at maximum warp.

However Lieutenant Harrison and I were transported here by a Q in mere seconds.

Now that Q is the father of Q Junior and he has asked us more than once to help his son who is currently aboard the Xavier which is 450 light years from the Federation borders." Janeway paused as she noticed the stunned look on Winsworth face and on Mckenna's face.

"Do we have your permission to arrange a rescue expedition, Admirals?"

There was silence as she waited for their answers.

Admiral Winsworth seemed a bit flustered; he closed his eyes briefly before answering.

"I do not know how you did it Janeway; but this is highly unacceptable."

Janeway felt her lower jaw drop in disbelief. She could feel the others officers' shocked reactions.

What more did this man want from her ?

"We cannot just organize an expedition at the drop of a hat! Do you realize that we do not have the resources to go gallivanting into unexplored regions of the Alpha Quadrant !"

"If I may add; the anomaly reappeared a few minutes ago," said Harrison loudly.

Sato looked at him in shock. "The wormhole?"

Harrison smiled and proceeded to give them a clear explanation of what had just happened and Q's part in it.

"So sirs; since the Q's appear to be caught up with this wormhole; we really should be interested in what is on the other side of it and also trying to get there as soon as possible..."

"If the Qs are worried about what caused the wormhole; shouldn't we be avoiding that area of space all together?!" objected Winsworth.

"Who knows what dangers lie in that section of space...a danger that Janeway is all too eager to expose us to?!"

Everyone looked at Admiral Winsworth closely. Now he sounded as if he was panicking. Even the other two admirals looked a bit concerned.

Harrison and Janeway shared a silent look.

"I for one am already convinced that we need to send someone to Xavier's last known co-ordinates," said Krel "what say you Admiral Mckenna?"

Sato had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I would like to discuss this further with Starfleet command..."

Winsworth looked triumphant at his words but Sato was not done.

"...but considering the fact that a Q has actually asked us for help more than twice in a very short space of time...we need to respond now."

Winsworth glared at the screen. "Well for the rescue expedition you need three votes and I am definitely not supporting this farce."

Janeway narrowed her eyes; she was detecting very high levels of stress coming from the Admiral.

Something was definitely wrong.

Sato looked very concerned at his words but Krel was as calm as always.

"Very well; if that is your decision Admiral Winsworth; we will discuss it further in 5 days time with the rest of Starfleet command," all in the room looked at the Vulcan senior officer with dismay "however since I am in charge of Starfleet Intelligence we need intel before a rescue expedition is started."

Winsworth's smug expression changed to one of puzzlement but Krel was still speaking.

"Rear Admiral Janeway; considering your connection to the situation I am thereby placing you in charge of the intel gathering.

You have my permission to commandeer two starships and any allies you wish to include in this operation in order to obtain the information we will need in the following weeks."

"You can't do that..." protested Winsworth.

"According to Starfleet Command Article 316.9; the head of Intelligence has the discretion to obtain intel or data that is necessary to ensure the success of any further planned operation whether in a time of war or peace.

By organising a 'scouting mission' I do by exercise this right.

Does anyone have any objections?"

Sato was smiling. "I don't Admiral Krel."

"Well I object...!" blustered Winsworth.

"Duly noted," interrupted Krel calmly "and that shall be discussed in detail in 5 days time while the scouting team is collecting data," she looked at Janeway.

"Rear Admiral Janeway; you have your orders. Good luck and keep in touch," then the female Vulcan signed off.

Sato had a wry smile on his face as he signed off but Winsworth glared at Janeway for a few more moments.

"This is not over Rear Admiral," then his section of the holo-screen was replaced by the Starfleet Insignia.

There was awkward silence for several moments.

Janeway could feel the combined relief slash embarrassment from the majority of people in the room. She had to do something to take their minds off the clash with Admiral Winsworth.

"Well this way; we won't be at risk of a court-martial. We might as well get started," she looked at Captain Singh.

"Please inform communications that I will be speaking with the Klingons and the Romulans shortly; the official line is that I 'accompanied' the Prometheus to this joint operation.

We don't have to mention Mr Harrison; I will discuss with Captain Karath first."

"Rear Admiral Janeway; what are you going to tell them; if I may ask?" the question came from Brenia.

"By all means ask," Janeway's gaze included everyone in the room.

"Here's what I'm going to tell them; feel free to include your ideas."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

IKS Y'tem; the bridge...

Karath tried not to tap his foot impatiently; he knew it had been at least 35 minutes since he spoke to Captain Singh but he felt too much time had passed.

He still wanted to go over to the Dunkirk to meet Kadretti's parents but now he knew there was a bigger problem to worry about.

Immediately the anomaly re-appeared and disappeared; he had Mirta send a message to Klingon High Command.

His orders had been to stay and to obtain as much data as he could about the anomaly. He was not to expect any klingon ships.

Karath understood and had not complained.

During the Dominion War; there had been several occasions when he had been outgunned; out manned and surrounded but he and his crew had made it through time and time again.

This was no different.

"Captain," called a Lieutenant who was in charge of communications.

"We're been hailed by the USS Dunkirk."

"On screen," ordered Karath.

The view-screen image of the different ships out there changed to show the last person's face he had ever expected to see.

Rear Admiral Kathryn Janeway; and it looked like she was calling from the captain's ready room.

Karath's eyes narrowed; no one had mentioned that a high ranking officer from Starfleet was attending this joint mission.

Especially one as well renowned as the human female he was looking at.

"Captain Karath; I'm Rear Admiral Janeway, it is good to see you."

The klingon captain answered carefully. "Rear Admiral Janeway; much has been heard about you...but I find it odd that you are here.

Is there reason for concern?"

Janeway smiled dryly. "Perhaps."

I knew it! Thought Karath smugly.

"Care to explain Rear Admiral Janeway?" asked the klingon politely.

A few of his officers who were relatively new to the ship looked at him oddly but those who had served with him for years knew what Karath was like.

He was honourable but did not suffer fools gladly; he usually gave you one chance to prove yourself and it was always the last chance anyone ever had.

Any of his opponents who mistook his calm attitude as a sign of weakness never got a chance to repeat that mistake.

"Captain Karath; yesterday one of our Starfleet officers disappeared into the anomaly the first time it appeared," she paused "however; a few hours ago ,we received a distress call from a region of the Alpha Quadrant which is about 450 light years from the edge of Federation space.

A journey to that area will take 4 months and 2 weeks at maximum warp.

The sender of the call was Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti."

Silence reigned on the Karath's bridge.

He sat up slowly and maintained eye contact with the female Rear Admiral.

"How did she survive and what did she find on the other side?"

Janeway looked at him for a long moment. "She was picked up by the Xavier; one of our ships."

Karath stared at her; she was clearly avoiding telling him how the ensign survived. "I thought that region was yet to be explored...so you have a base in that region."

Janeway smiled dryly. "No; we don't. We believe the Xavier was transported there by...unusual means."

Karath caught on to her meaning. "Would these unusual means be similar to how the USS Voyager was flung 70,000 light years into the Delta Quadrant ?"

The Rear Admiral gave the klingon captain a look of respect. "We don't know how the Xavier got sent to that section of space but we intend to find out by going there.

Our calculations have shown us that there is a faster way of getting to those co-ordinates; however we need the permission of the Klingon High Council."

Now we get down to business thought Karath with a hidden feeling of glee.

"I see; what are the co-ordinates?" he asked in a cordial manner.

"It's been sent to you as we speak," said Janeway.

Lieutenant Commander Mirta turned from the science station. "Captain; I have received the co-ordinates; from my calculations journey via the Klingon Neutral border will reduce the distance to 421 light years from our current position."

Karath nodded without looked at his science officer. "Thank you Lieutenant Commander," then he concentrated on Rear Admiral Janeway.

"I will relay your message to Klingon High Command do bear in mind that I will request to be part of this mission since you will need our assistance through the Neutral Border."

Janeway nodded. "Captain, your assistance is welcome."

But Karath was not done yet. "I hope the romulans will not be a part of this mission."

He was sure Janeway could read between the lines; there was no way in Gre'Thor he was going to allow the Tal Shiar to go traipsing through Klingon territory!

(Gre'Thor is klingon word for hell.)

"They won't be," said Janeway confidently.

Karath stared at her for a long moment; he had heard that she was a warrior of her word and he believed it.

"I will inform the Klingon High Council and afterwards we can discuss a bit more on board the Y'tem. I hereby invite you; Captain Singh, Captain E'Kalez; Commander Kadretti and Dr Kadretti to be my guests on my ship."

Some of the new officers in the bridge gave each other pleased looks.

It was high time their captain acted like a klingon.

As for the old hands; their expressions were on the wary side, they knew of E'Kalez's reputation as the 'Red Warrior'.

May Kahless help them all if Captain Karath pissed her off.

Janeway smiled at Karath. "I'm looking forward to it Captain."

Then she signed off.

Karath turned to his communications officer. "Get me Klingon High Command now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

Janeway turned to see Harrison frowning at her.

No one had left the room from the earlier meeting.

"Spit it out Lieutenant." She could tell he was upset but she was getting tired of his objections.

"You told him too much, Rear Admiral," said the Intelligence officer softly but firmly.

"I told him what was necessary," said Janeway " we need the klingons and I would rather have them with us then here at the border where the wrong word or act could lead to a war between the Klingon Empire and the Romulans."

Harrison opened his mouth to protest but Singh got there first.

"We still have the Romulans to inform; that may be tricky especially with you being here Rear Admiral."

Janeway nodded. "A discussion with a Tal Shiar is not something I am looking forward to."

"This Tal Shiar may be different," said Bishop grudgingly.

Janeway gave him a puzzled look. "How so?"

Bishop looked at his captain who nodded.

"After the wormhole disappeared along with Ensign Kadretti; Major Nveid Solius told us in not so many words that they had actually sent two unmanned craft into the wormhole when it first appeared...the two ships were ripped to pieces.

They obviously cleared the debris before we arrived to investigate the anomaly."

"Why am I not surprised?" asked Commander Kadretti bitterly. His wife did not look pleased.

Janeway was surprised. "He actually admitted to that?"

Singh nodded. "And I get the impression he was not supposed to tell us that much...he probably did so because Ensign Kadretti had sacrificed herself for him and Mr Flint."

Nadia closed her eyes tightly as her husband held her closely. Even though they now knew she was alive; it was still hard to accept that she was millions of miles away in an unknown area on an unknown ship.

"I'm curious as to why Captain Karath wants us to come to the Y'tem for a meeting," said Demarce effectively changing the topic.

"Do you know him Dr Kadretti?" asked Harrison as he suddenly turned to face the female astrophysict.

She glared at him. "No, Lieutenant."

"We'll know when we get there," said Janeway quickly before Commander Kadretti tried to punch the intelligence officer " let's move on to the Romulans."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX

Romulan Warbird Vigilance; the bridge...

"Captain Singh seemed to be in a hurry when we spoke to him," said the female Tal Shiar major as she read through the reports on her PADD.

Nveid turned from the view-screen which showed the other eleven romulan ships ; the four Federation starships and the single klingon bird of prey.

"Probably because he had to send a message to his commanders informing them of the reappearance and disappearance of the anomaly."

"It's a pity our sensors did not pick up any significant data," said the female Tal Shiar calmly.

Nevid nodded; the romulan ships had been furthest from the anomaly; the nearest had been the Federation ships but he doubted they had picked up anything.

"We should invite them to the Vigilance," said Nalah Mas suddenly.

Nveid froze; then turned to look at her.

"Who exactly did you have in mind Major?" he asked carefully.

Nalah kept her gaze steady. "Captain E'kalez ; I have always wanted to meet her."

Nveid was successful in not showing his exasperation but something in his eyes made her take one step back.

Did the Tal Shiar actually think they could grab E'Kalez and be ignored by the Federation and the Klingons!?

"Thank you for your suggestion Major; I will keep it in mind."

"Captain Jorek," the male romulan senior officer who had been silently watching the two Tal Shiar turned to his communication officer.

"We are been hailed by the USS Dunkirk."

Jorek looked at Major Solius who nodded.

"On screen."

A few seconds later; the view-screen was showing the face of a certain high ranking Starfleet officer.

"I'm Rear Admiral Kathryn Janeway; may I speak to whoever is in charge?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

To say Nveid was stunned was the understatement of the year.

He heard himself replying as he moved up to stand beside the seated captain of the romulan warbird.

"I am Major Nveid Solius.

No one informed us that you would be arriving on the USS Prometheus."

Janeway raised an eyebrow. "We take the appearance of this anomaly very seriously Major Solius."

"Apparently so," said Nveid "well I gather that since Starfleet Command decided to send you that you must have more intel about the origin of this anomaly."

Janeway narrowed her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

Nveid smiled confidently as he felt the shock of seeing her reducing.

"Many know of a certain female Captain whose ship was sent millions of miles away in the Delta Quadrant and also returned to the Alpha Quadrant via another wormhole...since you have the experience of travelling via such means that may be why you are here now."

Janeway shrugged elegantly. "Perhaps; however I'm informing you that two of our ships will be leaving this region of space shortly."

"Why?" asked Nalah who came to stand beside Nveid.

Strangely enough Nveid did not object to her abrupt question. "This is Major Nalah Mas; a colleague of mine."

Janeway looked at her for a few moments perhaps wondering what had happened to Colonel S'Tokkr Xareth.

"Due to recently obtained intel; we may have located the origin of the wormhole," everyone on the bridge turned to look at the Rear Admiral.

"And where would that be Rear Admiral Janeway?" asked Solius in a calm voice.

"In a certain unmapped part of the Alpha Quadrant; however considering that the shortest route is via the Klingon-Neutral border I have sent a request to the Klingon High Command for permission to go through their territories."

"Where did you get this intel from?" asked Captain Jorek in a suspicious tone.

Janeway looked at him boldly. "From a member of the Q Continuum."

Everyone stared at the view-screen in shock.

Jorek blinked twice while Solius had a stunned look on his face.

"Is this a joke?" asked Nalah in a hard voice.

Janeway had a very serious expression on her face. "I'm not one to play pranks Major and neither are the Q," then a curious look appeared on her face "have you ever encountered the Q ?"

Nveid felt Nalah's eyes on him.

The Tal Shiar had heard rumours of these 'so called near-omnipotent beings' working with members of the Federation.

At first the Romulan Empire had dismissed it as 'fairy tales' but had actually found out to their surprise that the 'existence' of these beings was being taught to the cadets at Starfleet Academy.

That was what made the Tal Shiar consider that maybe the 'Q Continuum' actually existed.

However no 'visual' evidence had been obtained that verified the existence of that race.

"No, Rear Admiral; I have not had the pleasure."

Janeway smiled dryly at his choice of words. "Lucky you; anyway we can't ignore the information we got from the Q...the last time we did so we ended up encountering the Borg unprepared and I don't have to tell you what happened afterwards."

Nveid somehow knew she was talking about the battle of Wolf 359.

Stardate 2367.04; the Tal Shiar received authentic intel that Starfleet was mobilizing a fleet of 40 ships to engage an unknown enemy at star Wolf 359 which was 7.78 light years from Earth's solar system.

The Romulan Intelligence service was eager to know who this new enemy was; many had hoped the enemy would decimate the Federation so much that the Romulan Empire could finish off Earth and it's allies afterwards.

So the Tal Shiar had ordered most of their undercover operatives to obtain berths on those 40 ships in order to get a measure of what the Federation was facing.

The results were not what the Romulans had expected.

40 Starfleet vessels had engaged one Borg cube and only one Starfleet ship had barely survived.

The revelation of the new enemy had cost the Tal Shiar irreplaceable operatives that had taken them decades to plant within Starfleet; but it had also taught the Romulans a bitter lesson.

They needed a strong Federation as a buffer because the Borg respected no boundaries or territories.

If that single Borg cube had succeeded; the rest of the Quadrant would have been next.

Some in the Imperial Court argued that the Borg were no match for the weapons of the Romulan Empire; but Solius knew otherwise.

"You're saying the Q warned Starfleet in the past about the Borg?" asked Jorek in an incredulous tone.

"That may sound hard to believe but it is the truth," said Janeway with conviction.

A sudden thought stuck Nveid. "You're met the Q before have you not?" it wasn't exactly a question.

Janeway's clear blue eyes turned to face him. "Yes; I have and as we have learnt from experience whatever they say needs to be taken seriously."

"Rear Admiral Janeway; what exactly does the Q have to do with the anomaly?" asked Nveid.

Nalah and Jorek looked at him with stunned looks as if they could hardly believe he was taking Janeway seriously.

Janeway raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly. "That is what I intend to find out; which is why this is a scouting mission and we will be leaving the USS Zeus and USS Endeavour here in case the anomaly reappears."

"You didn't tell us the exact location of the origin of the anomaly," said Nalah in a firm tone.

Janeway looked at her; clearly not intimidated by the Tal Shiar. "About 450 light years from the Federation border."

"That's 4 months and two weeks by maximum warp and you're going with only two starships?" asked Jorek in disbelief.

"And the IKS Y'tem," added Janeway.

Nveid looked at her closely. Clearly there was more to this than meets the eye.

One of the Tal Shiar had to accompany the small scouting group in order to find out more. He knew that the klingons and the Federation were going to be against it but he had to try. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Captain!" called the romulan science officer in alarm.

"It's back."

Nveid saw the alarmed look appear on Janeway's face as she looked off screen to someone who was talking rapidly to her in worried tones.

"Excuse us for a moment," said Jorek as he terminated the transmission and the scene on the viewscreen showed that the wormhole was back.

Except that now it was bigger.

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Lady Q looked at the other two male Q; they had barely regained their strength but this anomaly was not going to be allowed to remain.

"Once again; follow my lead gentlemen."

The three Q warily approached the space-ley lines.

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Nveid watched the anomaly on the screen as the science officer read out the dimensions.

It's diameter had gone up from 30,250 metres to 45,915 metres the inner aperture seemed to be harder to discern but it also appeared to have increased from 6,050 metres to 7,959 metres.

The Tal Shiar felt his heart rate pick up; he found it hard to believe that he had actually got into a shuttle that had been drawn into the anomaly eventually.

He was certain that before this mission was over that he would have nightmares about the anomaly and his time in that blasted shuttle !

Exactly 2 minutes passed before the anomaly began to destabilize again; thick whitish tentacles erupted from the anomaly but fortunately the starships were far away.

The anomaly struggled to stay alive for 90 more seconds before disappearing all together.

Nveid continued to stare at the spot where the anomaly had been moments before.

Something was trying to get here.

"Captain; we're being hailed, it's the Dunkirk!"

Jorek looked at his communication officer. "On screen."

Once more Janeway was visible but the set look on her face revealed her inner concern.

"Captain Jorek; Major Solius and Major Nas, we will be leaving earlier than planned. The IKS Y'tem has agreed to accompany us to their borders and beyond," she paused " I'm going to ask Starfleet Command to send at least two more Starships to assist you in observing this section of space."

Nveid looked at her closely. "Were you warned of another invasion Rear Admiral?" he felt romulan officers close to him give him looks of alarm.

The Dominion War was still fresh in everyone's mind.

If there was an invading force on the other side of that wormhole; then Nveid could not afford to leave the 12 warbirds and accompany the USS Dunkirk on a 4 month long journey.

Nveid hardly knew Nas and thus could not trust her to be able to handle the situation adequately if an armada emerged from the anomaly.

Neither could he send Major Nas with Janeway and her scouting team; the simple reason why was that he did not trust the female Tal Shiar that much.

Janeway looked at him solemnly. "I don't know; which is why I need to leave as soon as possible. Good luck and be safe Major Solius."

"Good luck as well Rear Admiral Janeway; do let us know if you require assistance from the Romulan Empire," said Solius politely.

The senior human female officer nodded before signing off.

Solius was staring at the screen for a long moment before turning to a stunned Jorek.

"We need to speak to Romulan High Command, right now," the captain nodded before calling his communication's officer.

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Somewhere between dimensions...

Lady Q tried to control her breathing.

By the galaxies; that had been harder then she realized but not as bad as the very first time when they closed down the anomaly.

"This is not working," rasped General Q as he sat down on a hastily formed chair "surely we should get the others involved..."

"No" said Q from where he was sitting on the ground also breathing a bit fast "whatever is behind this anomaly is weakening."

Lady Q looked at her husband. "You felt it too?" She as usual was the only one standing.

He nodded while General Q looked at both of them in disbelief.

"What are you two talking about?"

Q's eyes widened. "General Q; it appears you must be losing your touch; surely you are not becoming senile just when we require your supposedly-vastly-superior- but-really-outdated knowledge."

General Q's face reddened as he growled. "Q...!"

Lady Q answered before the older Q gave into temptation and punched her incorrigible husband.

"Q is right," both men looked at her "it is weakening which is why it's trying desperately to get this wormhole working. It's almost as if it's pouring everything it's got into it's final efforts."

"But it's using the fabric of the universe to weave this wormhole!" protested General Q "surely you realize the dangers of having such limitless energy at one's fingertips."

Lady Q nodded. "I know the risks alright but watching it try again and again is the key to helping us find out who is behind it."

Q gave his wife a sharp look.

"Something tells me you know who it is."

Lady Q shook her head. " Not quite; but I have my suspicions and if it is who I think it is...then they are going to wish they had never ascended."

General Q looked puzzled before the light of realization dawned on him.

"It can't possibly be..."

"Oh yes General Q; I think it's time we found out what each of the Lords of Kobol have been up to for the past few millennia."

Q and General Q shared a look of dismay.

"Please tell me she's kidding," said the General in a desperate tone.

Q stared at the determined look on his wife's face. "I'm afraid she's not kidding."

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Hi! Hope you're all having a great week. So sorry for the late update.

It's few more days to go and 'Into Darkness' will be here!

I can't wait; now because of the movie coming out soon; I just had to add one more character...lemme give ya a hint. First name Benedict, middle name starts with 'C' and the last name starts with 'H'!

He's also a Starfleet officer.

Hope you enjoyed this story; please read and wish me luck with the rest!

Have a great rest of the week people!