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Chapter 23

Jade stared at Daniel. "There's something you're not telling us. Khan is under the influence of another entity, isn't he?"

Jackson was still staring at Khan, who was fidgeting in his chair, obviously wishing that the wormhole would open quickly.

"You know who is controlling him, do you not, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c hazarded.

Daniel glanced over at his friend momentarily, then looked back at the superman. "Yes, I do, Teal'c, and I believe you do as well."

The big Jaffa shook his head. "Anubis should still be fighting Oma Desala."

"I think that fight is long over, Teal'c."

"How?" Jade asked.

"It is not beyond the scope of possibility for the Ancients to have imprisoned Anubis in some way," Teal'c speculated.

"I believe," said The First, "that we are all in agreement that Anubis has somehow possessed Khan." Everyone nodded. They weren't sure how it had occurred, but they knew it to be true. "We need to speak with the most powerful of the ascended."

Daniel concurred and when he called out, his voice resonated. "Vala! We need to talk to you."

It took a moment, then a bright white light appeared by the turbolift door. "Hello, everyone. I was off exploring some ruins. What can I do for you?"

"You told me that Anubis' status had changed," Daniel said to her. "Why?"

She looked at Khan speculatively. "Didn't take him long, did it?"

Kirk was furious. "You knew that Anubis was loose, and you didn't tell us?"

Vala Jackson had absolutely no fear of the Q. She turned to Kirk, put her hands on her hips and fired back. "You knew that the Doci was loose, and you didn't tell us?"

Kirk flinched as if he was hit. "Doci?" he asked.

"Admiral Kirk doesn't know that part of the story yet," Daniel explained. "For that matter, neither does Admiral Picard."

"Oh. Well. I guess that explains that." She decided to ignore the accusation from Kirk. "We didn't know what happened with Anubis. One moment the fight was still continuing between Oma Desala and him, and the next, he vanished."

"Do all ascended have the ability to possess mortals?" The First wondered.

"Of course they do, Silly. Most don't do it, however." She looked back at the superman sitting in the captain's chair of Saratoga. "Anubis is different, though. He doesn't care who he hurts, or what he destroys to gain power."

"I'd like to say it's nice to see Khan this way," Kirk said, "but it's no better having Anubis in control of him. His focus has just changed."

On Cardassia Prime...

Garak stepped onto the broad cobblestone street that lead to the gates of Madred's palace. When the Dominion forces withdrew, the palace had been shut up, and no one was certain if Madred was even there. Some suspected that he had left when his alliance with the Dominion fell apart.

The tailor watched as some men drug a palace guard down the street. Somehow, one had gotten his sidearm away from him, and he was now bound hand and foot.

Garak stepped in front of them, and when one tried to brush him aside, he grabbed the man's arm and pulled it up behind his back so the man was standing on his tiptoes, desperately trying to keep his arm from breaking.

"What law has this man broken?" Garak asked.

"He's a palace guard. That's now against the law," the man gasped.

"And what is the penalty?"

"He's gonna make us some power."

Garak was confused. "Make you power?"

"We haven't had power since the Dominion left. We need fuel." The bound man was jerking frantically back and forth as he heard his fate.

He managed to shake off one of his captors, who stumbled and almost fell. He picked up a fist sized rock and raised it to hit the bound man on the head when a white hand touched his chest. The man screamed as his life began draining away.

"You would throw someone into the incinerator as fuel? Are Cardassians killers?" Todd asked. "I sincerely hope I have your attention now."

The man desperately nodded his head, and Todd let him go. The man had been in his early twenties. Now he appeared at least eighty-five. He slumped to the ground and Todd placed a foot on his back. "We are not killers," the Wraith said. "No matter what, we do not kill each other."

"Your own daughter killed one of them!" yelled a bystander. "Your words are empty!"

"Go away, Todd!" another yelled, and the group took up the chant. Jardis stepped to Garak's side and the tailor let go of the man he was restraining. He looked around him in wonder at his people, rejecting their father.

The people who had been carrying the palace guard had dropped him. They started to move in to pick him up, but at a hiss from Todd, they stopped. The Wraith bent down and removed the coarse rope that served as a gag.

"What is your story?" Todd asked him.

"I'm not a palace guard," the man screamed. "I'm a food vendor! I've been giving away food to whoever needs it most. These men wanted extra rations. I said no."

Todd had no trouble believing that the man was not a palace guard, but he was shocked to hear that his people would stoop so low as to take food from those who needed it most. He turned to the man whom he had fed off of. "Is this true? You wanted extra food?"

"He was wasting his food on women and children!"

Todd was tempted to remove the man's remaining years, but he restrained himself. He would not be drawn to murder. Instead, he unbound the captive man completely, then placed his hand on his chest. It took just a few seconds for the man who had previously been in his sixties to appear twenty. Todd helped him to his feet, and the four of them started away from the crowd that had gathered. Someone stooped to pick up a stone, but at a hiss from Jardis, it remained unthrown.

As they progressed through the streets, Todd was getting concerned. They had two mortals to protect. He and Jardis were in no danger, but without killing, how could they protect the others?

"This way," Garak urged, and began running. They rounded a corner, and came upon Sheppard, standing in the middle of an alley.

When the human saw them, he turned and ran into a cloaked jumper. The four were right on his heels.

Sheppard lifted the little ship off the ground while its door was still closing. Rocks clattered against the door, then they were too high for anymore to reach them.

On the ground, the bystander who had accused Todd of empty words stood gazing at where the jumper had vanished. Finally, he looked away and moved into an empty street. Once he was sure no one was watching, his body shimmered and morphed into a small rodent. He scurried away to find new trouble to stir up.

Deep Space Nine...

Vala made her way to the Picard's suite in the habitat ring. She wanted to speak to Beverly. She pressed the chime, and entered.

"Hello, Vala," Beverly said from her place on the sofa. "How come you're not helping deal with Khan?"

"The men were handling it fine."

Beverly indicated a sofa across from the one she was occupying, and Vala thanked her, sitting down.

"What can I do for you?" the doctor asked.

"I may be able to help you."

Beverly smiled. "How?"

Vala considered how to put what she wanted to say. "Your husband's nephew. Do you know where he is?"

"We're not even sure he's still alive," Beverly confessed.

"You're Q. How come you haven't even determined that?"

"We can't risk changing the timeline, Vala."

"But determining if Rene is alive wouldn't change it."

"No, it wouldn't. We are trying to do things in a manner, somewhat consistent with what we were able to do before we had these powers."

"Uhh. Why?" Vala asked.

Beverly was somewhat taken aback. "That's the way my husband and The First have set up our laws."

"I would never suggest that you break the laws of the Q, Beverly," Vala said innocently. "You do know why Marie became the Borg Queen, don't you?"

"I know. Jean Luc doesn't."

"I spoke to Zeus when he was at Iconia Prime recently," Vala said, appearing to change the subject. "Do you know what he told me?"

"I couldn't guess," Beverly said, wondering where Vala was going with this thought.

"He made the Guardian of Forever. Do you know who he used as the AI controlling it?"

"No."

"Andy Lawson."

"Andy is the AI?" Beverly was surprised. She knew Andy, from even before he joined Starfleet.

"A later version of him, anyway." Vala paused and let Beverly digest what she had said. "The guardian was designed for the specific purpose of maintaining the timeline."

"That much, I knew," Beverly said.

"Now this is speculation on my part," Vala said, "but since we know Andy, don't you think he might respond to us in a different way than he does others?"

"Why would that make any difference?" Beverly wondered.

"Because we're friends with him."

The guardian planet...

Beverly stood before the ultimate stargate. It was set up to monitor time across the universe, but it was more than that. It would make sure there were no deviations in the time stream.

She wondered how one addressed the guardian, but cleared her throat and in a loud voice, called out, "Andy?"

The guardian activated. Mists swirled in the aperture, and suddenly, a figure stepped through. "Hello, Doctor Picard."

"Andy!" Beverly said. "I thought you were the AI for the guardian."

"I am, but one of the great things about being the guardian is that I can open a connection from now to when I have a physical avatar, and bring it back." He held up his hands and looked at both sides of them. Then, he beamed at her. "That's what I am."

"It's good to see you, Andy. I have a question for you." He stepped over to a fallen column and sat down. "What is it?"

She sat down beside him. "I understand that the Q are the only beings in the universe that can make significant changes in the timeline."

"And you're wondering if that's true?"

"I want to do something, but I'm afraid it might change things."

Andy shook his head. "If you're gonna do something that'll change the timeline, I'll know, and won't allow it."

Beverly nodded. "So if it doesn't work, I know that it would have changed the timeline?"

"Not necessarily. Your timing might have just been off."

She thought about it. "So I'd have to try again, and if it didn't work, it might have been my timing again. I'm back to square one, Andy."

"Not really," he said, shaking his head. "You know that I'm not going to let you change the timeline. That's a plus."

She paused as what he was saying hit her. "You mean, all the laws we set in place to preserve the timeline aren't necessary? Everything is preordained?"

"Nothing is preordained, Doctor. It wasn't preordained that I would bring my avatar back in time to talk to you. Well, maybe it was." His grin became, if possible, bigger. "Time is kinda wibbly wobbly."

"You sound like Doctor Smith." "He helped me understand time." He paused, then asked, "What do you have in mind, anyway?"

"If I tell you, will you let me know if I'll be allowed?" He grimaced regretfully. "Fraid not, Doc. I can't do that." His smile came back. "But, if you get away with it, you'll know it was ok."

She laughed softly. "That's not much help, Andy."

"I know, and I'm really sorry."

She stood up, and he followed suit. "I know you are, and I thank you for all you were able to tell me. It really does help to know I can't change the timeline." She paused. "You ought to tell The First and Jean Luc."

"That's a great idea, Doctor Picard. I'll do that as soon as I get back to the future. See ya later!" Still smiling, he stepped through the aperture, disappearing to whenever he had come from.

"I meant now!" she shouted at the ring. When it didn't answer, she shook her head in disgust and flashed away.

In Cardassian Space...

Beverly Picard flashed to the planet with Vala. The ascended woman glanced around, oriented herself, and said, "This way." They made their way through thick jungle, finally coming to a camp. Before they were visible to the two, Vala stopped them. "I've been masquerading as a lemur. I haven't dared let them see me as me."

"Andy told me if I tried to do something that would change the timeline, he wouldn't allow it. I think we're safe."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I just want to give them hope." With that, Beverly stepped through the trees and into the clearing.

Rene caught the movement and looked up. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of his aunt and Vala striding towards him. "Aunt Beverly? What are you doing here?"

Deep Space Nine...

"They're coming through," Kirk said as the wormhole opened.

Khan sat forward in his seat as he saw the event horizon appear. The first vessel through was Enterprise. The superman's eyes narrowed as he waited for the correct ship. The next one was a ha'tak.

"Target that ship," Khan said.

"Torpedoes locked," a woman said from tactical.

"Fire."

Kirk tried to stop the woman from pressing the controls, but found that he was powerless. Picard also tried to stop her, with the same result.

The shot from Saratoga blew a hole in the side of the space station, as the torpedo dephased the moment it left the mantel. Teal'c stepped to the tactical console and entered the phase of Saratoga. He slammed his hand down on the console, completely cleaving it in two as he amplified his strength.

Khan spun around as the console erupted, burning the female augment severely. He jumped to his feet, preparing to attack the Jaffa, but Teal'c generated a shield around the superman, effectively immobilizing him.

"Take this ship out of the station, now," the former first prime ordered.

The blonde man folded his arms, refusing to move.

"If you do not comply, I will destroy Khan."

The man wavered, and Teal'c stepped forward. He grabbed the wrist of the augment with one hand and threw him into the doors of the turbolift. The doors buckled inward from the impact and the blonde man was rendered unconscious. Teal'c sat down at the helm and moved the ship out of the station, then simultaneously shut down the mantel and contacted the ha'tak. The face that appeared on the screen was not Bra'tac, however. It was Ishta, Teal'c's wife.

"This is Teal'c in command of Saratoga. Hold your fire."

Ops...

Casey was directing the repair operations. Engineering was ready to replicate the damaged sections of the station, however their efforts were being hampered by some personnel trapped in the damaged section. Transporters were down, and there was no way for station personnel to get to them.

"Try switching your replication system to transporters."

Somek, the tech on duty in ops shook his head. "It is not certain that the replication systems can provide enough power to transport a person."

Casey glared at the Vulcan tech. "You don't need to transport them anywhere. Just pattern them."

"The replicators trade precision for power. I am uncertain that we can increase the precision enough to pattern a person safely."

"There are three people trapped in there. Just get them out alive!"

Somek started running figures through the computer systems. Finally, he turned to Casey. "There is a twelve point five seven eight three seven percent chance of failure. It is the best I can do."

"Energize," Casey said. They watched a screen which showed the life signs in the damaged section.

The blinking dots winked out, then the Vulcan announced, "Patterning successful."

Casey turned to face the transporter pad. "Bring them in."

The Vulcan shook his head. "That will take more time." When Casey looked inquisitively at him, he explained. "You desired that I remove them from the damaged section alive. That is what I accomplished."

Casey turned back to the screen which showed the damaged section being repaired. Before long, there wouldn't be any sign of damage. "Do your best," he said quietly.

Saratoga...

Kirk and Picard were both confused. They had tried to utilize their powers as Q to stop Khan, and nothing had happened. Then, they had both watched as Teal'c was able to do what they couldn't.

As Commander Starfleet, Kirk tried to transport Khan and his people to the brig of Saratoga, but once again, found himself powerless. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Picard shook his head. "I don't know, however, for the first time since becoming Q, I am feeling somewhat weak."

Kirk nodded. "Me too."

Teal'c appraised the other Q present. Kirk, Picard, and Spock appeared to be ill, while he, Jade, and Jackson were not. "Sir," he said to Spock, "am I correct in assuming that you are unable to use your powers?"

Spock tried to move himself across the room, to no avail. "You are correct, Teal'c."

"Indeed. I suspect I have the reason." He mentally removed Khan's security lockouts from the computer, then said, "Computer, contact Enterprise."

They watched as the screen shifted to show Riker on the bridge of his ship. Beside him stood a pale Merlin.

"Merlin," the Jaffa said, without preamble. "I would like to ask if The Commander and The First are both ill as well?"

"Affirmative, Teal'c. I suggest that you take your prisoners to Earth without delay. Any closer proximity between our counterparts and us could aggravate our conditions. We will return to normal as the distance between us increases."

"As I surmised, Merlin. We will leave posthaste." The connection severed, and Saratoga oriented herself, then jumped to warp.

On Enterprise the color started to come back into Merlin's face. Riker watched his former commander visibly regain strength. "A question, if I may," he said to the wizard.

"You're wondering why we are affected so much when near other versions of ourselves, and why ascended people are not?"

"Exactly."

"Actually, they are, but their powers aren't as strong, therefore, the cancellation isn't as noticeable. With the Q, think of our power as waves. My powers are at the same frequency as my earlier self, therefore they are canceled completely."

"If waves are at the proper frequency, they amplify each other," Hermiod said from the science station.

"That is true, but I use waves only as an illustration. It is not a perfect one, by any stretch. In the experience of the Q, proximity to another version of one's self always cancels powers, and if the proximity is too close, the Q in question becomes gravely ill. Some have even speculated that it could end in the annihilation of the Q."

Cardassian space...

Beverly and Vala were seated by the fire with Rene and Tessa. They had spent the day with the two starfighter personnel, and were preparing to depart.

"We've been wondering," Tessa said as the two stood, "what planet this is. We're pretty sure it's one that the SGC knew, but we're not sure which."

Vala nodded, but declined to say much.

Beverly looked from Vala to the others, then back. "Are you going to tell them?"

"Should we?"

"We've already done much more than give them the name of the planet they're on. I don't see that it would hurt anything."

"I suppose you're right, Beverly." She turned to the younger two. "This is the planet Orban."

"Where Merrin was from?" Tessa asked, surprised. The former urrone girl had grown up to become an artist. She had made a name for herself both in sculpting and painting, especially surreal still lifes.

"Yes. This was their capital city," Vala explained. "You're right above the stargate room."

"If we gained access to the stargate, could we dial home?" Rene wondered.

"Rene," Beverly said, "that stargate hasn't been in operation for more than three hundred thousand years. The chances that it would still work are very slim."

"But it's possible, Aunt Beverly."

"Do either of you know how to service a stargate?"

"No, but given time, I can probably figure it out," Tessa said. "And it looks like we've got plenty of time."

"Look," Beverly said, "I'm sorry we can't take you back, but it could change too much."

"We understand," Rene said. "It's frustrating, but it makes sense."

Terra Nova…

Fargo stepped off the ramp to the ground. It was a bright day, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. To his right, was his wife, Holly, and on his left was Captain Elizabeth Shelby, commander of the newly commissioned Pendergast. The ship was Intrepid class, but was built by Iconian construction mites. Her crew was made up of a mixture of Federation and Iconian people. There were many crews where a mixture of both sides were the norm, however there was one thing that was completely unusual about the personnel aboard Pendergast. They were entirely ascended.

Fargo had chosen well in putting together his team. Several scientists had been brought, as well as some talented security. He turned to Shelby and said, "Well, Captain, anytime you're ready, we can get going on the assembly."

The captain stopped as she turned in a circle, taking in the landscape. "Do you want a shelter set up?"

"Most of what we build will be placed underground."

"I'm aware of that, Doctor Fargo. I'm wondering if you want something to protect you and your scientists from the elements."

Fargo looked up at the ship, then back at her captain. "Are you going somewhere, Captain?"

"No, I just thought it might be easier for you to…"

"How long have you been ascended, Captain?"

"A little over a year, why?"

"He's wondering why you would offer a shelter to us," Holly said. "If it starts to rain, we just become energy and go someplace sunny."

"Ok," Shelby said, nodding. "I'll get my people offloading the equipment." With that, she turned and headed up the ramp.

It only took two weeks for the equipment to be set up. Fargo and his team made quick work of it, then they all set off for the delta quadrant.