"If you ever want to join this is a weekly event...or at least we try to do it every week, if you don't that's your prerogative..by the way Odo we need to figure out a schedule for you that works due to what your medical file mentions regarding how your body works"
"I have already worked out a possible schedule with Commander Riker and Captain Picard Doctor Crusher, the security chief and the Captain need to approve the schedule but everything has already been considered when assigning Constable Odo to shifts on the ship"
"Including not only your opposite schedules on occasion but also his authority on the ship as a security officer?"
"Yes, anything else we've missed will simply have to be discovered during my stay here Doctor Crusher"
"Fine then by the way how was your meeting with Spot yesterday?"
"Interesting to say the least"
"Indeed Spot was...curious about Constable Odo once he arrived at my quarters"
"Hopefully things will settle down soon, but Constable..."
"Please, call me Odo, most of DS9 does"
"Understood Odo you do understand that if need be you can request a change of quarters, get your own place"
"I know, but I'm willing to give this arrangement a try since I was the one to suggest it in the first place"
"In any case both of you have a shift to get to"
"Indeed we do"
"But first...Spot hasn't escaped again has she?"
"No, the veterinarian decided to keep her overnight yesterday after discovering some anomalous readings, due to the fact that they are still technically new to being a veterinarian I believe that they are being overly cautious"
"What are they doing on the ship anyways?"
"They said something about practice for a certain station I believe"
"Now then Lt. Commander Data and I need to get going, I only have just under sixteen hours before I regenerate"
"Understood Odo, see you guys later on the bridge"
"If I'm assigned there"
"More than likely you will be, for reasons that are for you to discover once on shift, but first you need to report to your superior"
"Understood"
It turned out that Odo wasn't assigned to the bridge that day, but that was because of the fact that he was instead assigned to dignitary duty because the Enterprise was scheduled to head to Vulcan for a conference but before they got there they had to pick up dignitaries from various planets and they were almost at their first pickup location
"Now then your rotation is a bit different to account for your...unique circumstances, generally for situations like this I like people on for about 13 hours a shift, sometimes 14 depending on the circumstances, however with you I need to make your shifts about 12 hours"
"Why not just have everyone on 12 hour shifts for dignitary duties?"
"Safer for the ship this ways"
"Understood"
"Now then, your primary duty for today is meeting the delegate in the transporter room and escorting them to their quarters and then you stay outside their room at pretty much all times, if they leave their quarters for any reason you go with them"
"I understand, though I do wonder why an armed escort is needed at all times for these delegates?"
"There have been...threats against them recently"
"Understood, no one gets in without prior permission from the Captain or Commander then"
"Exactly"
"Very well then, when is the delegate scheduled to arrive?"
"Two hours from now, in the meantime I want you to read up on all the groups that we are transporting to Vulcan"
"Understood sir, which transporter room will I go to?"
"Transporter room 3"
"Transporter room 3, understood"
Two hours later and Odo was at transporter room 3 waiting for the delegate to be beamed aboard, there were minor issues regarding not only clearance but a storm so the delegate was a little late but no one was angry considering the circumstances
"Okay, the storm has finally cleared up enough for transport, waiting for their signal...and energizing"
A minute later and the delegates were on the Enterprise and Riker was there as official welcome
"Welcome aboard the Enterprise, this is Constable Odo who will be taking you to your quarters, we have a few more stops on the way to Vulcan but they shouldn't take very long"
The next three days were interesting in the minds of all the security officers because of the fact that they were adapting to Odo's unique schedule with the delegation detail, but they had yet to see his shapeshifting ability so they were in for yet a bigger shock if they hadn't read his file and Odo knew it but he also knew that it couldn't be helped, he would only change shape at need and never in such a confined shape if at all possible due to the fact that most of his forms could be way too big for the ship. Finally though they were at Vulcan and that's when they discovered that they weren't just transportation but also security for the conference
"Right, Data, Odo you're exempt except at need this time, this isn't because of your secondary mission that I'm aware of but because quite frankly Data you're the only one I trust to be in command of the ship while Riker and I are on the surface and Odo...your schedule doesn't really allow for you to be down there due to the fact that these talks are pretty random in regards to timing"
Both acknowledged their orders and then the person in charge of security made a bold move
"Sir, I nominate Odo to be in charge of security in my absence"
"Lt. is this based on his record from DS9?"
"Yes sir, he's been Chief of Security there for so long that I trust him with my ship while I'm away"
"I'll agree to that, however I also just now realized that I do need Odo down there at least today for reasons that will be explained once on the surface"
"Understood sir...but what could I be needed for?"
"All will be revealed in time Odo, I promise"
And so Odo is beamed down to Vulcan which he compares to Cardassia in regards to heat and then learns why he needed to be on the planet that first day, he needed to know who all were part of the delegation in case any of them needed to be on the ship at any given point in time and he wasn't exactly familiar with every delegation that was part of the conference, it was also so that he could experience plant and animal life on Vulcan as a disguise in the future at need not only at DS9 but also if he ever had cause to go to Vulcan once more in the future
"Now then I agree that you should be Chief of Security while we're in orbit around Vulcan but if needed I wanted to make sure that you knew who was allowed on board and who wasn't and also what lifeforms to take if you are needed on the surface of Vulcan and yet inconspicuous"
"Makes sense Captain, can I go back aboard the Enterprise now?"
"Yes, make sure that you have a decent second in command for your...unique situation"
"Don't worry the main Chief of Security already has procedures already in place regarding scheduling and who has control when if they're not on board the ship"
"Good to know"
"Don't you have trust regarding your security officer?"
"Normally yes, however this situation is not exactly normal plus..."
"Plus the day before you came aboard I was still getting over an...attack on me that unfortunately affected my emotions and decision making abilities, he's just making sure that I truly am recovered by having you have a back up plan for any plans I have regarding schedule and who's in charge of the ship whenever you or I are not available"
"I see, well then I think that for now it's best that I..."
Odo suddenly changed shape into a Tarkalean Hawk and flew off towards an area of the building that was currently occupied by Andorians, Vulcans and Humans and with his claws grabbed a new (and as yet unnoticed) piece of pottery and then flew high, fast and as far as possible when suddenly there was an explosion and Picard and his Security Chief both knew that there was a high chance of Odo not escaping the explosion safely and that knowledge made them both cry out one word, his name
"ODO!"
Vulcan security had by that point gotten organized against a threat having seen Odo change into the Hawk and grab the pottery, when the explosion happened they immediately organized medical transport and had quickly also noticed where Picard and Crusher were respectively in the conference room
"Crusher..."
"I know Jean-Luc, I'll meet you at their medical facilities, he may...he may not be in shape to be transported to the Enterprise"
"I understand"
Three hours later Picard and the Security Chief were still waiting for word from Crusher about Odo, they had gotten the initial report that yes he had indeed been caught in the explosion and needed treated but after that nothing, they had no clue how bad off Odo was or if he was even still alive
"Hopefully Crusher's silence means that there's actually good news waiting for us"
"I hope so as well, however..."
Suddenly Crusher came out from behind the doors and was obviously exhausted but smiling
"He's going to be okay, he is still injured with obvious burns but they're not that serious I would say second degree at the most, and we don't know why because he deliberately regenerated once in medical to hopefully speed up the healing process, and we're still fighting to get the pain under complete control, but he's alive and under minimum medical support"
"What exactly do you mean by that Doctor Crusher?"
(Sighs) "He has an IV, which is an old Earth treatment to do various things, which is giving him nutrients and pain medication, and an oxygen mask because he's not getting quite enough oxygen, his lungs are fine we believe that they're just bruised and need a little extra help right now"
"That makes no sense Beverly he's..."
"According to him he's still completely a changeling but his people also told him when he visited them a few months ago for advice regarding keeping the peace between the Federation and the Dominion that there are lingering affects from his time as a humanoid, any serious injuries and his body might temporarily act like he's a solid again, it doesn't help that he's still relatively recently recovered from the cloaking incident"
"I see, is he safe to transport to the Enterprise?"
"Not yet, the injuries are just a bit too serious still we want him on the oxygen treatment until his saturation is normal without any assistance"
What Picard and the Security Chief didn't realize was that Crusher was lying slightly regarding Odo's condition, it was much worse than what she had told them, she had told the truth about the burns seriousness, but she had lied about Odo's temporary lungs and she also hadn't mentioned that he was actually in a coma that had been medically induced because Odo was actually intubated, and even that had nearly been a true coma, and she also hadn't mentioned the various broken bones either. The truth of the matter was that until Odo's body acted like a true changeling again Odo was in critical condition and at risk of dying
"Keep us updated"
"I will, in the meantime, Laura you need your second choice for command when you're not on the ship to take over"
"I'll let them know now"
As soon as Beverly knew that the ship was taken care of she went back to where Odo was staying, she could tell that he was still in need of regeneration and that he could still go either way but she wasn't sure if it was safe to force another regeneration and as such she decided to go for the only other method she had left considering his coma
"Okay Odo, you listen up and you listen up good, there are people waiting for you to get well again and quite frankly I don't like seeing you in this condition either, even though we've barely even met in all reality, you're part of my crew and that means you're under my protection as a doctor. I don't necessarily understand everything about you but I don't have to regarding your physiology, all I need to understand is if you have an extremely stubborn will to live and I'm going to give you two really good reasons to fight back, two different families, your DS9 family that you've known for so long and this new family on the Enterprise, even if there's only one member who you know so well, so fight"
She leaves knowing that she needed rest, and keeps the same routine over the next two days, where she gives Odo a reason to fight but otherwise does what she could to help his healing when that third night two hours after she went to bed she was alerted to a change in Odo's condition and as such she practically runs to Odo's room to see the alarms going crazy and Odo himself going through a weird regeneration form where he was half liquid, half solid, and all pain and there was nothing she could do until he stabilized in regards to his form, she had actually been forced to tell her fellow doctors to do nothing more then once during the half hour they were witness to what was happening, but finally Odo was completely solid again and it was quickly obvious that he no longer needed the breathing tube at the very least and he was also awake
"Hey there, how do you feel?"
"Better than before you put me into the coma, but...I still hurt in my legs and left arm"
"We'll do scans to see what's still wrong, but I think you're definitely past the crises point"
"I tend to agree, did you tell Captain Picard the whole truth or not?"
"Not, he didn't need to know that we could lose you until it came to that point"
"He'll find out once he finally sees your report"
"True, but for now he doesn't need to know, now then besides your obvious pain I need to know how bad the pain was when you were in that weird regeneration form"
"It was as bad as the cure for the disease that was killing my people"
"I see, we may be able to do something for that in the future but I don't know for now"
"It's alright Doctor Crusher, now then what do the scans say?"
"You are still partially solid in that the bones in the areas that hurt are still broken and you right leg still has some burns which need taken care of, but otherwise you're doing good"
It would take another two days but finally Odo was cleared to be beamed back to the Enterprise and that's when Picard learns just how close they came to losing Odo, when Data found out at the same time he locked himself and Odo in their shared quarters for five hours which were spent talking about what they would do regarding their secondary mission should one or both of them actually be lost for real in the future and the mission had yet to be completed
"So then we are agreed on how things will proceed in the future?"
"Yes Data, we're agreed, the messages won't be sent until our confirmed death certificates are sent out"
"Very well, now then I believe it is time for your shift to begin as well as mine"
"Agreed, I also think my regeneration period is off again"
"Doctor Crusher might know how to help you regain your schedule quicker"
"I'll give it a few days first to give my body a chance to return to normal on it's own"
It would turn out that Odo's suggestion was for the best because his regeneration cycle returned normal mid-shift on the third day and it was only fortunate he was on the bridge when he suddenly reverted to his gelatinous state without any warning like he normally would
"Captain...Odo's regenerating"
"Understood Lt., do you have anything...dignified to have him put in until he's back in the quarters he shares with Data?"
"Not really sir"
"Someone go to Data's quarters and get his bucket then, and once that's taken care of we'll have something on the bridge at all times if something like this should happen again"
"Understood sir"
Five minutes later and Odo was back in his bucket which was in the arms of an Ensign