Disclaimer: CBS/Paramount own all of Star Trek, the original characters and story are mine.

Todd and Icheb were out of the Mess Hall in a flash, on their way to the Bridge. Mary asked Threm, who as Chief Engineer was her boss, "What does that mean, Disaster Stations? Do I even have a Disaster Station?"

"I imagine it means there has been some sort of disaster."

Threm, Mary and Naomi were picking up all the plates and glasses from the table and walking over to the replicators to recycle them. Threm continued, "Since I've never heard of Disaster Stations before, this is just a guess." By then, the trio had reached the doors of the Mess Hall. When they entered the corridor, it was clear Threm, Naomi, and Mary weren't the only crew members confused by the unusual command. Several people were milling about in the corridor and they all seemed at a complete loss as to where they should be and what they should be doing. When they saw Threm, who was the most senior officer in the area, he was inundated with questions.

Before he could answer anyone, the ship wide communication channel was opened and the Captain was addressing her crew. "All hands, if you are on duty, report to your regular duty stations if you are not already there." It seemed the Bridge must have been getting questions as well, so the Captain was attempting to clarify the situation. "If you are off duty, please make your way to quarters. We'll be updating the situation shortly and may require additional personnel. Dax out."

Threm looked around at all the people in the corridor, "Well, that's clear enough. You should all get going." He turned to Mary and Naomi, "Get to your quarters ladies."

The two women made their way to their quarters and noticed that, although people were now moving with a purpose, most of them had puzzled expressions on their faces. They were sure their own faces reflected the same puzzlement.

Since they didn't really get a chance to finish their meal in a relaxed fashion, they both ordered after dinner coffee, Mary had an Earth cappuccino and Naomi ordered a raktajino. Once their beverages were delivered, they went to the table and sat.

Naomi was the first to speak, "What do you suppose has happened?"

Mary stopped blowing on her coffee in an attempt to cool it, "I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling about this whole situation."

"Why?"

"Being at Cold Station 12. Because of all the things stored here."

Naomi's eyes widened with the sudden realization which Mary's simple statement elicited. Cold Station 12 housed an extensive collection of viruses, bacteria, diseases, contagions, and other infectious organisms. Mary was nodding her head at Naomi, "I see you've caught up. This Disaster Stations thing might be an understatement."

"I sincerely hope you are wrong."

"Me too."

When Icheb and Todd arrived on the Bridge, the first thing Icheb did was address T'Phir, the one who had declared 'Disaster Stations.' "T'Phir, is there any particular reason you just invented a new term?"

Of course, since she was a Vulcan, Icheb's reprimand didn't faze her. "Yes, we have a disaster on our hands."

While this exchange was taking place, the Captain was making her ship wide announcement clarifying the situation for the crew. She turned to Icheb, "Although T'Phir's unique alert announcement was an invention entirely of her own, in essence it was correct."

Todd had been quiet during all of this, but now he asked, "May I assume something has occurred at Cold Station 12?"

Rather than answering Todd's question, she looked at the two men, "Let's go to my Ready Room." Dax, Icheb and Todd didn't waste any time, they immediately took seats around the Captain's desk, and Todd repeated his question, "Something's happened, on CS12, hasn't it?"

The Captain responded to Todd's direct question, "To put it mildly. CS12, like many Federation instillations, has a specific set of guidelines and tasks to be carried out with the change of command. Today, Julian was to inventory the storage areas of the station. Are you both familiar with CS12's history?"

Icheb said, "No Captain, I really don't know much about it besides it is very old and has always been a medical facility."

Todd asked the Captain, "May I?" When she nodded her assent, he continued, "CS12 is one of the oldest facilities which has been in constant use since before the Federation even existed. It was originally built as a part of the IME, the Interspecies Medical Exchange which was founded by the Vulcans and Denobulans. It houses the Federation's most extensive library of diseases, contagions, and the like. What was the original portion of the station was converted to be used solely for storage purposes when the research and administration portion was added to the facility 100 years ago."

Dax continued the saga, "Julian beamed over to the storage area, starting at the farthest compartment, intending to work his way from one end of the area to the other. The only way into the cold storage and stasis storage is via transporter. For safety there is no physical corridor which links the storage portion to the research and administration portion of the station. He was to compare his initial inventory to the one completed by the last commander a few days before he left CS12. As with most duties which go along with change of command, this is usually a simple formality. When he reached the third storage compartment, he pulled up the previous inventory on a PADD. When he activated his tricorder, he realized immediately the containment mechanism was not functioning. All the pathogens in the compartment were no longer safely contained in stasis fields."

Todd's face blanched, and his voice was a mere whisper, "My Gods."

Ezri continued, "He immediately locked down the storage area, initiating quarantine procedures, making it impossible for anyone to beam in or out of the sealed area. The only transporter activity possible until it is unlocked is the transporting into the quarantine area of food, water, and medical supplies. No people are allowed in or out. He is sealed in until he can determine how many pathogens are free."

Todd asked her, "Has he gone through decontamination? I assume there is a decon chamber in the storage facility?"

"He will go through decon as soon as he can. For now, he is hastily inventorying all the other storage compartments to see if any other chambers have suffered the same malfunction. The first chamber where he found the containment breech, thankfully, didn't house anything lethal, just terribly unpleasant."

Todd replied, "Well, that's something. How long will it be until he finished his cursory inventory of the other storage areas?"

"He said no more than an hour. Hopefully the breech is contained in that one area, and there is nothing lethal floating around in there." Dax' voice broke slightly reminding the two men, this was her husband who was in imminent danger.