Chapter 4

Immediately, and to the amazement of the Starfleet officers, the barracks came to life. "No, don't go down there. Not enough time. You four just stay by that bunk," Hogan barked.

The door swung open, and Schultz slowly meandered in. He put down the tribble he was carrying, and then looked up. "Colonel Hogan, the Kommandant wants to see..." His eyes opened wide as he noticed the group of prisoners surrounding something. "What are you hiding? Back, back, back..." The sergeant made his way through the crowd and he gazed at three men who were not supposed to be here. And to make matters even worse, there was a beautiful woman in the hut. "What...What...You are not supposed to be here." He turned. "Colonel Hogan...I must report this. They left and now they are back, and who is this?" The woman offered the sergeant a kind smile and a small shrug.

Hogan walked over to the sergeant. "You must report this, Schultz? Now what would the Kommandant say when he finds out his count is off, and that you have no idea how these people got back into camp."

"But...but...they were transferred and then the Underground raided the truck and they escaped."

"Too hard to get out of Germany by themselves. Don't speak German. Figure they were safer back here." Hogan smiled and put his arm around Schultz's shoulder. "You go tell the Kommandant, and once you explain how they got back into camp under your nose and under the noses of all the guards that you command...he'll be happy to have a higher count. Of course, you won't be around to enjoy that part...once you gather your winter belongings and leave..."

"I see nothing...Colonel Hogan...I insist they are not here when I come back. And the Kommandant needs you in his office." Schultz picked up his tribble and waited at the door. Hogan followed him.

While Dax and O'Brien joined Hogan's men by the coffeepot, Bashir and Sisko went down below, ostensibly to use the microscope to examine the blood samples.

"Captain, we have a serious problem." Bashir then activated his communications device. "Bashir to Defiant."

"Defiant here."

"Can you beam up two blood samples and my diagnosis tool? Run a report and get it back to me as soon as possible."

"Affirmative," came Odo's response. "I have the signatures."

As the samples disappeared, Bashir turned to Sisko."I'll wait for the results, but I am certain that the men in this time are affected differently by the tribbles."

"I agree," said Sisko. "They don't seem to be on the ball. No one was watching the door while we were up there."

"Hogan and Wilson were almost too cooperative in their office. Tipsy, I would say. And we are in danger of having them blabbing something. And look at this." Bashir handed Sisko a piece of paper.

"Reasonable facsimile of Worf." Sisko rubbed his chin. "They seem almost pliable. But, when Schultz came in, they got into action."

"Adrenalin rush is my guess," Bashir stated. "I'll know more when I get the results back."

It was, as O'Brien and Dax later recounted, a nail-biting time as they waited for Hogan to arrive at the Kommandanteur. What if he blabs something? O'Brien thought with alarm.

Sisko and Bashir were thinking the same thing, and the captain, no longer trusting Hogan to remain quiet, did the only thing he could do in the circumstances. "We need a diversion. Sisko to Defiant."

"Go ahead, Captain."

"Major, we need a diversion. Something to get everyone's attention. Outside the camp."

"Understood."

Hogan, sans Schultz, sauntered into the building, and grinned at Hilda. The secretary's desk was covered with fur balls, but she was engaged in some heavy-duty typing when Hogan tapped her on the shoulder.

"Good morning, Colonel Hogan," she said as she turned away from her machine.

Hogan glanced at the waste-basket by her feet. It was full of crumpled up papers. "Bad day for typing?" he asked.

"Yes." she sighed. "Not sure why. Just keep making lots of mistakes," she muttered.

Hogan gave her a peck on her head and then walked over to Klink's door, opening it without knocking.

"You wanted to see me, Kommandant?"

The Kommandant's desk was covered with paperwork. His pickelhaub and treasured cigar box sat on the floor next to him. Fur balls of various sizes and colors took up residence all over the office.

"Look at all the paperwork, Hogan. I can't get it done. And it's all your fault!"

"My fault? What did I do?" Hogan shifted some papers and perched on the corner of the desk. He didn't bother looking at any of the papers, or make any attempt to read them upside down. For some reason, he just didn't feel like it today. After stifling a yawn, he repeated, "What did I do?"

"I don't know..." Klink put his head in his hands. "I can't concentrate. The words are running together. And I have a camp overrun by strange animals no one has ever seen or heard of...although, I will admit, they are nice to have around."

"I agree." Hogan hopped off and grabbed a tawny colored specimen. He gave it a stroke before handing it to Klink. "Here sir, this will make you feel better."

"Speaking of which, how are you and Sergeant Olsen feeling?" Klink decided to scrap the paperwork...he was sick of bookkeeping anyway, and he swept the papers onto the floor.

"Not bad, not bad at all. In fact the doctor rechecked..."

At that, everyone listening to the coffee pot, well not everyone, but Dax and O'Brien, leaned forward and held their breath...

A huge bang was heard; The buildings shook, and then for several seconds, there was silence.

The men in the barracks snapped out of their stupor and ran outside. They were quickly followed by everyone in Hogan's office. Hogan and Klink also stopped their conversation in midstream and headed into the compound, where they found prisoners and guards alike running pell mell.

"SchuuuullZZZZ!"

"Here, Kommandant!" The sergeant huffed and puffed as he jogged, stopping in front of the Klink and Hogan.

"Are we under attack?" Klink asked.

"We wouldn't attack a POW camp," Hogan snapped.

In the melee, no one noticed the Defiant crew gathering together and heading back into the barracks.

Sisko was grinning. "Diversion," he stated.

"Just in the nick of time. Colonel Hogan was about to say something about a doctor," O'Brien informed everyone.

Langenscheidt rushed over to where Klink, Hogan and Schultz were standing. They could all see smoke out in the distance.

"Tower guards report something hit a small line of trees beyond the perimeter. Maybe an errant piece of artillery," the corporal reported.

"Thank you, Corporal. Schultz gather a team and send them out to investigate. Report back to me by radio." Klink looked over to the gates, which to his surprise, were opening. A staff car drove through and stopped in the middle of the compound.

"General Burkhalter," Hogan stated solemnly. "Wonder if someone was aiming for him, or if it was just a mistake." He stepped back, and seeing LeBeau heading his way, he walked over,. "LeBeau, have Kinch find out what that was. Check with the Underground and contacts in town."

"Oui, mon colonel." LeBeau hurried off and Hogan stepped back towards the car where Klink was now speaking with the general.

"I'm glad you aren't hurt, General."

"I know, Klink. That could have been my car. In fact, someone may have been gunning for me." The general looked at the Kommandant with his usual disdain, and then noticed the unfamiliar creatures; from a distance he thought they resembled the tumbleweeds he always saw in American westerns. But these weren't rolling around the camp. The creatures covering almost every inch of the compound remained still. He could hear a trill or purring sound emanating from them, and many of the residents, guards and POW's alike, were holding them as well. Only the guard dogs seemed disinterested. In the background, he spied the Englander, Newkirk...one of Hogan's staff, juggling several of the creatures. Burkhalter bent down and picked one up.

"This...this is what you called me about, Klink?" he bellowed.

"Yes, yes. General. You see, they reproduced very rapidly. We don't know why, and they are literally taking over the camp." Klink reached into his pocket-he hid a juvenile in there-and gave it a small squeeze. This makes a good stress ball, he thought, as he smiled at the general.

"Maybe they're born pregnant," Hogan joked.

"Inside, Klink," ordered the general. Hogan headed back to the barracks and right into his office, where the coffeepot was already set up.

The two German officers walked into the building, the general smiling at Hilda as he passed her desk. The general's arrival seemed to help Hilda's secretarial skills, and her completed work was piled nicely on the desk corner as she sat with her hands folded in front of her. Klink and Burkhalter entered Klink's domain, and the general immediately took a chair.

"We were wondering if you knew where these came from, General. According to the zoo, they aren't indigenous to the area."

So, Klink checked as well, Hogan thought. Calmly he sat down, and leaned back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other. Now comfortable, he reached down and picked up a larger fur ball, and began stroking the animal.

"It must be an experiment," Klink stated to Burkhalter, who was nicely relaxing with two fur balls in his lap. "Hoped you could enlighten us; after all, you are the one normally sending all sorts of weapons, scientists etc., etc., to my camp."

"Where did Klink get some chutzpah all of a sudden?" asked Newkirk. The men in the room began to laugh.

"This is not an experiment, Klink," countered the general. "At least not one that I am aware of...we do not make animals out of thin air. It has to be those mad scientists in the SS or maybe the Gestapo. My bet is the SS. Looks like they tried to cross a hedgehog with a Pomeranian. But why?" Burkhalter yawned. Leaning forward in his chair, he placed the two animals on Klink's desk. I should take some of these with me. My wife would like a pet. They are relaxing, like a cat, but without the attitude. Perhaps my sister and niece..."

The comment about the cat garnered peals of laughter from the men surrounding the coffee pot.

"We can't let him leave with any of these animals, Colonel." Sisko, the only member of the Defiant in Hogan's office, spoke up as things were going from bad to worse. Now the men were acting drunk.

"And my brother-in-law's sister and her children..."

"Oh?" Hogan put his head on his hands.

"My gardener's wife and little Fritz."

"This has to be stopped, Colonel."

Hogan looked up at Sisko.

"My housekeeper, the cook...Oh...Eva up in the mountains. You know how our Fuehrer loves animals, Don't you Klink?"

"Of course I do, General," The Kommandant replied, the lack of enthusiasm obvious in his tone.

I shall take some to the Goebbels' children, and playmates for Blondi."

Hogan stood up and slammed the table, making everyone jump. "This has to be stopped. Now. No one is taking my fur balls out of camp and giving them to those...those..."

"Monsters?" LeBeau finished Hogan's sentence.

"Right, LeBeau."

As he left the office, he was almost bowled over by Saunders. "Pardon me, sir. But Hochstetter just rolled into camp."

While the POW's were listening into the conversation in Hogan's office, and were then diverted by the Gestapo Major's appearance, Bashir, O'Brien and Dax took the opportunity to beam back up to the Defiant. The only one in the tunnels at this point was Kinch, and he was busy pushing tribbles off his desk while trying to reach members of the Underground to see what the caused the explosion.

Bashir went over to sickbay and waited for the results from the blood work. Finally, a ding from the computer alerted everyone and they all stood over Bashir's shoulder as he interpreted the results.

Biting his lip, he continued reading, issuing a few sighs, and uh uhs, until finally the chief could take it no longer. "Julian, what's with the uh, uhs and oh, ohs?"

The doctor swung around in his chair. "Right. As far as I can tell, and these records are primitive...The 20th century brains are reacting a bit differently to the tribbles. We would experience a lowering of blood pressure...slight, mind you, and a very slight increase in serotonin and dopamine. They've done studies. Here, you can see a much larger increase. Plus, it's as if the subjects are almost drunk. A loosening of the tongue is not unexpected. They are more relaxed and not as efficient."

"We need to let the captain know," O'Brien stated.

Over a communications link, Bashir explained his findings to Sisko. "But there is some good news. When cortisol levels increase, just slightly, the affects of the tribbles seem to be counteracted."

"I can already see that, Doctor." The barracks emptied when Hochstetter rolled in, and Sisko was alone in the barracks. "It does seem when there could be a crisis, their adrenaline does kick in and they go back to normal. But, otherwise, their tongues are very loose. And, that could lead to a bad situation. And who knows how long the effect of the adrenaline lasts." Sisko paused and thought for a moment. "Doctor, Chief. Beam back down. Dax, work with Odo and the major on how to get rid of the tribbles." Sisko said as saw the bunk entrance open. "Tunnels are clear." He quickly turned to Kinch, who looked at him quizzically. "Everyone is outside," Sisko pointed. "Someone named Hochstetter rolled into camp."

"We have no idea who caused that explosion," Kinch told Sisko.

"Shouldn't you report that to Colonel Hogan?" asked the captain.

'Um, yes…you are correct." Kinch shook his head as if he were trying to clear it of cobwebs, picked up a tribble and began heading for the door. He paused and then handed it to Sisko. A few moments later, Sisko's three crewmen entered the hut from the buck entrance and joined Sisko by the window.

"Should we blend in with the prisoners, and see what's going on?" O'Brien asked.

Sisko nodded. "Just you, Chief. Doctor…let's figure out a plan."

The sight of Hochstetter's staff car immediately put Hogan on alert. Hochstetter just had that certain way about him that made everyone believe their day was about to be ruined, he thought. Although, he wondered, he didn't feel as sharp as usual. Chalking that up to his recent brush with death, Hogan met both the general and Klink coming out of the Kommandanteur, and with the two Germans, approached the car.

Hochstetter opened his door and stepped out. Looking down at the ground, he quickly kicked several fur balls off to side, and then stopped in front of the hood. Burkhalter, Klink, and a smiling Hogan approached the Gestapo major.

"Good morning, Major." Hogan said.

"What are these things doing here?" the major yelled.

"That's a great question, Hochstetter," Burkhalter stated calmly. He was not going to let the man's appearance ruin his day, and his plans to share his pets with the top brass in Germany.

"They are taking over my camp, Major," Klink whined as he picked one up. "Is this one of your secret experiments?" He asked as he stroked the animal.

"The Gestapo doesn't experiment," Hochstetter sneered. "We just take action. Quickly." He withdrew his gun and was about to fire at one of the animals, when Burkhalter grabbed Hochstetter's arm.

"Don't. They are harmless," he stated.

"Mostly harmless," Hogan added. "The Kommandant is right. They are swamping the camp. But killing isn't the answer," he noted, neglecting the irony of the statement in the middle of the POW camp, in the middle of a war, started by his hosts.

O'Brien, unnoticed by the guards and prisoners, continued to sidle up closer to the confrontation. Thinking quickly, he set his tricorder disguised as a fountain pen to advanced hearing and recording.

"See, Major." Hogan picked up a tribble and handed it to Hochstetter.

Immediately, the animal began squealing and shaking. He quickly dropped it. "Bah." Hochstetter dropped the fur ball as he stepped back.

"He doesn't like you, Major," said Schultz, tsking. "I wonder why?"

"Well what do you know," O'Brien muttered under his breath. "The Gestapo guy's a Klingon."

"A what?"asked a prisoner standing next to him.

"Um, nothing. Just a saying where I come from. You can't trust anyone who doesn't like animals," O'Brien said to change the subject.

The prisoner stroked his tribble. "That's absolutely right."

"Hogan. I'm sure you had something to do with this."

"Oh, seriously, Major." Hogan began to laugh. The rest of the crowd within earshot joined in.

'That's ridiculous, Hochstetter." Burkhalter, deftly maneuvering around a new pile of fluff, stepped forward. "Your obsession with this man has reached a new threshold. As if Hogan could actually do all the things you have accused him of, much less drop in a new species of animal out of thin air."

Klink, wiping a tear from his eye, stepped forward and saluted Burkhalter. "Thank you, General."

"Don't mention it, Klink."

"Major, there has never been a successful escape from this camp, nor any successful animal husbandry."

Hochstetter raised his shoulders and let out a scream. "Klink. I wasn't talking about escapes or the sabotage or anything else…I'm talking about Hogan and these, these, creatures…." He picked up a squealing animal and threw it the colonel.

Hogan's hand eye coordination, to O'Brien's relief, was still top-notch and the colonel deftly caught the tribble. The colonel held it close to his chest, stroking it and speaking to it softly. Soon, the rest of the agitated group did the same with other animals.

At the back of the pack of men, Newkirk, Carter and Olsen watched the proceedings.

"That Hochstetter is going to have a stroke if he doesn't calm down," Carter said with some concern.

"Or Burkhalter will arrest him and throw him into a padded room," Olsen stated.

"Couldn't happen to a nicer fella," Newkirk retorted as he watched Klink, Burkhalter and Hochstetter walk over to the Kommandanteur. "Say, gents. How 'bout we leave the major a nice going away present."

"Sure, buddy. What do you have in mind?" Carter asked.

As Kinch stopped Hogan to give him the report from the Underground, O'Brien extricated himself from the crowd and ran toward Barracks two before Hogan and his men could return.

Sisko and Bashir looked up at O'Brien as he entered the common room, closing the door behind him.

"Quickly…there was a near riot when Hochstetter-he's that Gestapo agent always gunning for Hogan- almost started shooting at the tribbles. He thinks Hogan is behind this…And Burkhalter and Klink are acting like long-lost buddies. Seems the tribbles are having a weird effect on them as well, Captain. In addition, the weirdest thing is, they squealed at Hochstetter.

"Hochstetter's a Klingon?" Bashir asked. "Should I run a scan on him?"

"I hope you are joking." Sisko glared at the doctor, who shrugged and grinned.

"There's always an anomaly somewhere," Bashir said. At that moment, Hogan, LeBeau and Kinch entered the hut and without checking in, headed right for the office to listen in on Klink, Hochstetter and Burkhalter.

"Did you two come up with anything while I was gone," O'Brien whispered.

"Let's head below," Sisko stated. The three found a secluded spot in the tunnels, now teaming with more tribbles. "We have no idea what to do with the tribbles," Sisko said. "But, regarding their effect on the men in camp, the doctor has a plan."