Disclaimer: Star Trek and all its characters belong to Paramount Pictures. Carrie belongs to author Stephen King but the words are mine. The characters of the Four Orders (FO*) are entirely my own.

Requested Story by T-Rex-1000

Part Two:

AU/Multiple Star Trek Shows/Carrie: Having become part of 24th century, Carrie White is enlisted in the clandestine organization Section 31 to help protect the Federation from a looming threat that has the power to change Starfleet's future forever.

Chapter 28

Stardate 47924.21 (04.12.2370)

Sanctuary – Part I

The next day, Carrie had the chance to see Mr. Garak and order a robe. She gave him a book to read and discuss later. In the book, she had hidden the listening device she had been given. She only hoped Garak will not discover it too quickly.

Garak ever so suspicious of everyone accepted the gift. He left the shop for a moment to fetch a Cardassian book Carrie had sought after. He did scan the book he had received but nothing suspicious on it. He was certain Carrie was part of the spy school of the Federation though she had not given him any reason to support that idea but he had a nose for such things.

He was surprised of course of Starfleet's choice for an operative as Ms White definitely did not fit the profile he would have usually associated with a human spy. Of course, the humans were not as astute or refined as the Cardassians in that area but this agent felt different. There was so much more than met the eye with her.

He had been impressed when she spared with Quark on the rules of acquisition. Not many outworlders dared to engage the Ferengi on their own turf. She did then hold her own with a bunch of Klingons, Nausicaans, and Orions. She dueled with a few Tellarites and he thought that she was the victor. Then she took on the battlefield of logic and took down a few obnoxious Vulcans. Needless to say, Garak was very impressed.

Such versatility however spelled for Garak only one thing – spy. The Obsidian Order and he have noticed a change in the spy ranks of the Federation. Ever since, the humans appointed a few new people, with Lt. Deville on top, the game had changed drastically. This man was by far more dangerous than any before him. The Order started to monitor his movements more closely.

He had proven though difficult to track. He always managed to ditch his tail in the most inexplicable and impossible ways. Garak had been tasked once to follow him around. For the most part, that was an easy assignment that he managed without a hitch. He had started to wonder why this human posed such an issue and then things escalated. One day, he had turned down a corridor with no exit and completely vanished. Garak scanned the area but there was no one but him there. He started to believe that seeing him turn around the corner was an illusion. But the sensors in that area confirmed without a doubt that he had indeed been there, and then a second later he had vanished without a trace.

Garak reacquired him the next day and again followed him. But this time there was no slip and the rest of his mission was mundane. Garak had spent many hours wondering how he did it and where he went but couldn't find the answer. He still hoped that one day he would be able to find out.

He found the book he had in mind for Ms White and headed back to his shop. As he entered, he noticed one of his customers being served by her. He froze on the entrance and did not interrupt until the transaction was complete. There was definitely more than met the eye with this woman. Her persuasion skills have improved ever since she had started to spend more time in the shop and observe him work.

He handed her the book and bid her farewell as he had indeed much work. As he did that, a Starfleet captain entered his shop. He recognized him as the captain of the USS Nautilus parked on the upper pylons.

"Ah, Ms. White, I trust you have completed your shopping?"

"Just about, Captain,"

"Excellent, we must depart at once. I have already informed Commander Sisko. I have also sent for your luggage to be sent to the ship."

"Thank you, again Mr. Garak, it has been a pleasure as usual." She turned to Garak and bowed.

"Anytime, Ms White," Garak replied. "Leaving so soon, Captain Metolius?"

"Starfleet has a way of keeping everyone busy, Mr. Garak." The captain replied. "And this reminds me, Admiral Nechayev, asked for dinner gown of the finest silk for a conference she would attended next month on DS9 about the stability of the region."

"I would be happy to provide it."

"Excellent, I will forward you the admiral's dimensions."

"I will be waiting for them then."

"See you around, Mr. Garak." Carrie said and left.

Captain Metolius and Carrie left for the upper pylons. The Nautilus was a Miranda-class starship and was usually used for patrol and escort duties. However, under captain Metolius, it was used for so much more. He nearly changed the class of the ship to a Crossfield. It had more scientists aboard and more military assets than any other starship of this class.

The captain believed in the healthy balance of both. He wanted the ship ready for any kind of mission under any kind of circumstance. Starfleet Command though did not share his enthusiasm however they did indulge him as he was a very competent officer. Still if some of the admirals had it their way, the Nautilus would have been refurbished only for supply runs or escort only missions, and the rest thrown away.

"Captain, if I may be so bold, where are we going?"

"We are heading for planet Xmas. We will drop out of warp in a system close by. The rest of the distance we will cover with a shuttle. As far as anyone onboard is concerned, I am heading to retrieve old maps for the Neutral Zone and you are accompanying me."

"Yes, sir,"

They boarded the ship. The captain headed for the bridge while Carrie to stellar cartography.

The ship undocked and without waiting to clear the station jumped to warp. Commander Sisko was not entirely happy with Starfleet captains that did that. But Metolius usually ignored him.

Commander Sisko was at ops when the Nautilus jumped away.

"The Nautilus did it again." Major Kira announced. She also disapproved of such actions.

"Again? " Sisko sighed annoyed. This was the only captain that completely disregarded the safety procedure of clearing a docking. He had reported him many times to the CNC but had not seen any actions taken against him.

He had him checked and it seems Captain Metolius did that everywhere he went. It was his signature move. It drove many base commanders crazy.

"Has this captain no regard for the safety of a port?" Kira asked.

"It would appear that… no. Captain Metolius does things his way."

"But it is not safe!"

"I am aware of this, Major. I have repeated that to him many times. I start to get the feeling he is doing it on purpose."

"Oh, no, Benjamin, he just has little patience for lengthy and useless procedures." Lt. Dax added.

"You know him, old man?"

"We have occasionally met. He is a weird fish."

"I will take your word for it. Major, file this incident, under Violations and send it to Starfleet Command."

"For all the good, this will do." Kira exclaimed. She has done this now several dozens of times with no effect. "101 blatant disregard of flight procedures and Starfleet doesn't seem to care about it."

"Captain Metolius has a certain stature with the CNCs of Starfleet. That's why they are not too strict with him." – Dax explained.

"Too strict, are you kidding me? They are not strict with him at all."

"It only looks like that on the surface. " Dax said.

Days later, the Nautilus arrived in a system close to planet Xmas. The captain left his first officer in command of the ship while he and crewwoman White used a shuttle to reach the planet.

The planet was its usual snowy self with heavy snow still falling. The two had to take with them clothes for such weather. As Christmas fast approached, the locals were getting ready for the festivities. It was one of the few planets in the galaxy that celebrated it aside from Earth.

It had sparse population as the colony was relatively new. Still, they had managed to make it their own rather quickly. Whoville, the name of the main city, stood like a rare jewel in this harsh inhospitable environment.

Carrie had many painful memories of this planet. When she was first assigned to retrieve a data stick from a house situated under one of the tallest peaks north of the city, she had thought it will be a piece of cake and nearly ended being in pieces.

Whoville was already decorated with Christmas ornaments and garlands. The smell of hot coco and cookies filled the air. It was very enticing. Captain Tiberius Metolius stopped at every shop to get one of these goodies. He reminded Carrie of a boy in a candy store.

"Tiberius!"

Carrie heard someone her captain's name. If she thought, she could no longer be surprised she thought wrong. The owner of the voice looked again like a boy with raggedy clothes and what looked like a bludgeon or tall weirdly shaped branch. His face looked very pale and as though he was covered from top to bottom with frost.

"Jack, you old rascal," Tiberius greeted and went to hug him. "Good to see you again, old friend."

"And this is…" Jack's voice trailed off as he turned to Carrie. She felt again a gaze that left her with the feeling of being naked. "So, this is the prodigy the Professor is so proud of?"

"Not only him,"

"I see." Jack said. He bowed to her. "The name is Jack Frost."

Carrie stood speechless. What was wrong with this planet? Did it house every Christmas related character that existed in children's story books? What were next the Easter bunny and the Tooth faerie? Or better yet – Father Christmas – commonly referred as Santa Clause?

Jack apparently had the same annoying ability as the Pan. He too read her rather quickly and smiled at what she struggled with.

"There is truth in every story, Agent White."

"This planet is weird." That is all she mastered to say.

"Every planet has its own secrets, Agent White. Take yours for example. Earth still has secrets that your kind is yet to discover."

"That is probably true about any other planet." Tiberius added.

"Yes and no," Jack replied. "Come on! Let's not keep the old goat waiting."

"Faun!"

"Whatever." Jack said and yanking his stick up took flight.

'Oh, come on!'Carrie exclaimed. 'Can all of them fly? That's so unfair.'

'Not all of us, Agent White,' Jack replied startling her a great deal. She did not expect that this one can speak telepathically. "Hold on to the stick." Jack appeared next to her. "It will be quicker and we might avoid the front lawn."

Carrie hesitated a bit though remembering Pan's welcoming mat grabbed the offered stick. Her captain politely declined. "I can manage on my own."

"Your funeral, Tiberius," Jack said and flew away.

Carrie felt surprisingly light like a snowflake. Jack seemed to be carried by the wind although she did not feel it at all. It was a weird sensation. He just like Pan followed her trail of thought with a big smile. It amazed him how beings of this age can still look for rational explanation for the secrets of the universe.

'Weird, you have all this technology and still you have so very little understanding of the surrounding universe.'

'We are a work in progress.'

'Progress? Seems more like stagnation and constipation,'

'Magic is not real. Everything can be explained.'

'Ha ha, your species is always so adorable. You claim to be scientists and yet every time you are presented with the possibility of magic, you reject it like some morons of the Dark Ages. So much for progress!'

Carrie had to admit that he had a point. Being with Starfleet, she had gotten the notion that everything can be explained and there was no place for mysticism or mystery. When she first arrived here, it was one of the first notions that went out the window. It was like there was something missing in their lives. She felt at times surrounded by robots not people.

And although she did not have much experience with magical moments in her childhood and adulthood, she always craved it. It felt like innate desire that all humans have but not these ones.

'True, your Federation friends are sometimes very boring. They take away the joy of things.'

'They find joy elsewhere.'

'If they truly did, they would be much more enlightened and joyful.'

'I guess they believe that any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic.'

'And yet, in this very statement is the word magic. How would they know to differentiate them if they can't recognize magic at all?'

Carrie again had to agree with the logic behind these words. So, perhaps, the universe had more to offer than met the eye. She would have continued to contemplate further but they have reached their target.

The house looked the same though this time she clearly could see the glistening tiny carpet of ice adorning the front lawn. Jack flew over it but headed for the top of the house. Apparently he also had unpleasant experience with the house of pain.

He opened the Wendy window as he called it and got inside. There were no traps or surprises here. But both of them have underestimated the ingenuity of their host. The moment they opened the door their faces were stuck in a glued plastic sheet. As they removed it from their face and proceed further in the room, they sensed a resistance at their feet and before either of them could react they were sprayed with a flock of white feathers.

"Aaaarrrrgggghhhh, this old goat," Jack exclaimed frustrated. "He puts to shame Loki and he was truly a prankster god."

Carrie tried to imagine what she looked like one and ignored partially what Jack said. But as the dust settled, she clearly remembered hearing Loki – prankster god. Is the old pantheon of gods' part of history too? Was there a grain of truth too?

Jack was too busy wrestling with feathers to answer her. The sudden laughter took them both out of their contemplations.

"You look positively ready for lunch."

Carrie was surprised to see her Captain. How did he beat them here?

"Very funny, Tiberius," Jack said still battling the annoying little feathers. He did not enjoy being lynched.

"Oh, come on, it is all in good sports. The first time I came to seek Pan he greeted me with a can of jam."

"That sounds positively civilized." Carrie said.

"Not when it is all over your body." Tiberius replied fondly remembering that day. "It is his way of saying hello and expressing respect. But it is not for everyone."

"Yes, as many Starfleet officers have discovered." Carrie added.

"Puts Loki to shame," Jack interjected.

"Hmm, I wouldn't be so sure about this. Loki is just as weird as he is." Tiberius took out a small metallic spherical object and waved it around. The feathers and glue vanished on the dot. "Come on. The others are already here. Everyone has bumps and bruises."

"Has he arrived?"Jack asked.

"Not yet," Tiberius replied. "But people are placing bets…"

"Put me on for a hundred." Jack said and headed downstairs.

Carrie looked at her captain quizzically.

"The one who brought us here. He is the only one that Pan can't get and mind you not for lack of trying."

Carrie wondered for a moment and then realized he was talking about Lt. Deville. How was it possible that the great Pan couldn't surprise him? Was he special like the others?

"What I know is that the first time they met Pan tried to prank him but he fell on his own prank." Tiberius explained. "And every time since Pan has been looking for a rematch."

"And what – he failed every single time?"

"Yes,"

"How is he doing that?"

"That is a mystery that no one of the special ones here can answer." Tiberius replied beaming." Let's not keep the others waiting, come on."

"What – has he invited every storybook character to this gathering?"

"No, he has invited only the ones he will need for whatever he has in mind. I figure he reckons that only very few people in Starfleet can handle meeting them and remain understanding and open minded."

"Starfleet has many people that are." Carrie countered.

"I am sure the Professor has not shown you how many have tried reaching Pan before you, has he?"

"No, he has not."

"Then trust me. Most members of the Federation and Starfleet will not react the same way as you nor keep them secret. Most of them will try to find the cause and the root of their power and make it boring."

"Not to sound boring but how did you do that with the sphere?"

"Ah, that is a gift."

"Pan?"

"No,"

They came down and Carrie took a look at the gathering. Jack chased Pan around with his stick. Apparently, he was still angry and frustrated with the prank. Pan had a devious smile on his face and dodged tiny bolts of ice that Jack's stick seemed to fire at him.

Carrie ignored them so she could look at the others. They all had bruises over their bodies from the greeting they got from Pan. But they all seemed in good spirits. Most of them were in Starfleet uniform. But there were a few others, and other species Carrie did not recognize.

She was surprised of the presence of Romulans, Klingons and Orions. They were no friends to the Federation and yet they felt so much in place with the others. They were friendly joking and laughing.

"Are you done?" A familiar melodic voice filled the room.

"Darn it." Pan, Jack and Tiberius exclaimed. "Not fair,"

"Life rarely is you pranksters."

To be continued…

And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!

Lordheaven