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 27

Stardate 47192.8 (03.12.2370)

Carrie had her conversation with Commander Sisko the very next day. She pointed out the good her stay has done to guide her to her new calling and thanked the commander for the presented opportunity.

Commander Sisko was understandably pleased. He had congratulated the cadet for her choice and quick assignment to one of the Federation's most prominent and versatile ships. He had only known its captain by reputation and looked forward in meeting him in person.

As informed, USS Nautilus arrived on the station, and its captain welcomed crewwoman White onboard and had a nice meal with the commander of DS9.

Now, four months later, the USS Nautilus was due back to DS9 for resupply. Crewwoman White was looking forward to it. She had heard that her ward had somewhat unpleasant experience when the symbiont Dax was forced out of her and put in some other jerk. With diligent help of Commander Sisko everything was put back in order.

Carrie had noticed from the reports that Dr. Bashir makes more frequent checks on Lt. Dax, which was an excellent opportunity to insert the nanites as last time she did not get the chance.

"Welcome back, crewwoman White," Commander Sisko had come to greet her. He was not actually there for her but she appreciated the effort.

"It is good to be back, Commander."

"Captain Metolius speaks very high of your achievements during the mission."

Carrie had to remember that everyone had access to the submitted reports. She was somewhat surprised that the commander paid such close attention to her performance.

"I am just doing my part, sir."

"Carry on, then."

"Yes, sir."

Carrie had been assigned into the same quarters she had occupied last time. It was one of the weirdest things to get used to different rooms so she appreciated the familiar.

These past four months have been very exhausting. As she had no rank yet, she had spent her time in the lower decks of the Nautilus, and only had a bunk bed. But she did not complain as it had been a welcomed diversity.

She managed to make a few friends during her time that made her stay more interesting and less boring. Boring, she did not believe that stellar cartography can get boring but quickly discovered she was wrong.

The mapping process was mostly automatic but still she had to enter some data manually and it was always the same. She had started to resent Starfleet's procedures and protocols. How can an organization this big have such tedious and boring methodology? But apparently, the bigger it gets, the more boring its procedures become.

All star systems they visited were void of life. Well, there were some bacteria present but that was hardly worth mentioning or classifying as the presence of life. Still the planets were of different sizes and compositions, and only some of them were of any use to the future presence of the Federation.

She did get the sense though that the Nautilus' mission had nothing to do with mapping new sectors but rather identifying potential threats. However, since they did not encounter any living beings then perhaps, she had been wrong about this. Still, something was off about their mission in the Gamma Quadrant.

Captain Metolius was a weird fish. Carrie found herself once again in the situation where she couldn't read neither his body language nor his mind. It was very frustrating at first. She got used to it at some point. Still, she had no problem with reading the rest of the crew. That actually helped in forming relationships.

Of course, once people realized she was a telepath she had feared those relationships would fall apart but they did not. People found her fascinating. Some of them actually asked to be brain pocked at all times either to keep them in line or just for the fun of it. The feeling was liberating and at the same time disconcerting. She kept finding that the people of this century were weird.

As she returned to her quarters, she contacted Ella to share everything. Not that they did not talk regularly but it was something of a tradition. As usual, she wanted to hear everything that has happened on the ship and all the friends that she had made. Pointing out the weirdness of people, Ella reminded her that she is also weird.

"So, no boyfriend yet?" Ella asked. She kept asking hoping that one day Carrie would say yes and be in her girly form, ecstatic and shouting out of joy.

"I was not there to look for a date, Ella."

"No, but you did make friends."

"Well, when you are the resident freak that seems to be somewhat easy."

"You are not a freak. Shish! You are a bit different."

"Anyway, we completed the survey and now we are back."

"For how long?"

"I don't exactly know. Captain Metolius did not specify."

"How is it serving under him?"

"He's weird. No, properly weird," Carrie replied. "I can't read him too. It was very annoying at first."

"Oh, come on, you won't be able to read everyone. There will be those that you will have to get to know the normal way."

"Yeah, I suppose that's what keeps it interesting."

"Yes it does."

"How's my nephew?"

"He's fine. Brax put him to bed just moments ago." Ella beamed. "When would you have the opportunity to come and visit before he grows up?"

"I don't know. Soon, I hope."

"You say that every time and every time you miss it."

"Oh, I am sorry for being employed by Starfleet."

"Okay, okay, I was just teasing. But you must have some days off?"

"I have to check and I will let you know on the double."

"I will hold you to that."

Later that night, Carrie received a message from the Professor.

'Agent White, you are to report to planet Xmas for debrief on a new set of orders that are too sensitive to discuss on open channel or via a message. You already know that annoyance from which you retrieved once an item. He will be expecting you. S13 out.'

Carrie listened to the message several times but it did not change the content. How was she going to explain that to her captain though? She couldn't just leave without saying a word. That would be desertion.

Just as she continued to contemplate how to proceed she received another message. This time it was from Lt. Deville.

'Agent White, you have received your orders already however it would appear that the good Professor forgot to add a few somewhat important details.

First, you must complete the mission I have given you without any further delays. Dr. Bashir is off for the night. Get into the infirmary, seek hypospray cartridge 14 and insert the nanites. Then place it on the second shelf from the left. It is the first he will use tomorrow for Lt. Dax's inoculation.

Second, the moment you are done with the first, you will approach Captain Metolius. You will give him the file that you will download at the end of this message. Tell him it is urgent.

Third, at the end of this message, you will also receive the blueprints for a listening device that you will place in Mr. Garak's shop. Do not put it on any immovable object. Perhaps in the book you can give him to read. Make sure it is set for passive activity only.

Forth, you will access Mr. Quark's holomatrix. There are a few programs used by Lt. Dax but that is somewhat irrelevant.

Seek a file within the matrix. It is called Ambience. Once you locate it, make the following alterations – side left grid 62, and change it to side middle grid 64, then side middle 64 to side left 62. Then locate the file – Relativity – grid 18 orange to grid gray 12, gird 14 green to grid black 02, grid gray 12 to grid green 14, grid black 02 to grid orange 18.

Please do not deviate with the alterations. I am sure you have no idea what this is for and for the moment you do not have the clearance to know either way but it is vital that it is done tonight.

At end of this file, you will receive the entrance code to Quark's. It is very important that you do not change that code at all. Neither Quark not his brother Rom must know that you were there. If you are caught, I am afraid you will have to improvise – a game of Tongo might be a good excuse.

Then, in the morning, Captain Metolius will come to collect you and deposit you near planet Xmas. Officially, you are sent on a mission for Starfleet Intelligence to obtain rare maps of the Neutral Zone. Make sure you remind that never aging rascal that he needs to provide them to you.

Good luck and Godspeed!'

Well, that is what you call a set of orders. Carrie laid back a bit to gather her thoughts. The orders until Quark made sense and then they did not. What the hell were those changes for? Apparently she needs to learn more about holo-matrices to even begin to understand what she has to do. The order was simple enough and she was sure she could follow it perfectly. She doubted Deville would have otherwise given it to her. She had hoped to spend more time on DS9 but apparently her bosses had other plans.

She got up. She dressed and left her quarters. She took on the lift back to the Promenade. She quickly reached the Infirmary. She had to fake a small injury so to be accepted by the nurse on duty. She used the time to locate the hypospray cartridge in question and insert the nanites Lt. Deville had given her. She only hoped his information was not wrong otherwise it would be a waste.

She thanked the nurse and left the infirmary. She headed for the upper pylons where the Nautilus was parked. She reached the captain's quarters and rang. The captain was obviously frustrated though surprised to be bothered at this hour. But the moment she mentioned Deville's name and said it is urgent, Captain Metolius argued no more. He thanked her and she left.

Her third task could only be done in the morning as bothering Garak at this hour for a book would look utterly suspicious. She headed back to the Promenade. Reaching Quark's she took out her tricorder to check if there was someone in there. To her surprise, the Ferengi were still there, playing their weekly game of Tongo. The data also indicated the presence of a Trill. So, Lt. Dax was there too.

She thought that was the perfect distraction. She moved to the upper entrance and entered the code. The door slid open silently. She climbed up and headed for the holodeck. She quickly located the matrix's control system. Locating the two files however proved a tad more difficult than she had anticipated.

But with patience, she did find them. She found the controls on how to make alterations. The technology of the matrices was not so different one from another. She found the directories and the files names Ambience and Relativity, and made the alterations she was ordered to program. She then checked if there was anyone in the holodeck as she had to reboot the system and did not want anyone to get hurt.

When she was done, she headed back to the exit but stopped to look at the game that seemed to be somewhat heated. Apparently, Lt. Dax was very good and that annoyed the Ferengi much though they were not expressing it at all. That weird race enjoyed the trade challenge in all its forms. She was reminded of PT Barnum's quote – There is no bad press. She wondered if the man would feel the same way after meeting a Ferengi.

She wondered whether to get closer or not. She could leave without a hitch as no one had noticed her presence. But she had an itch to scratch. She wanted to see Lt. Dax in a different light. After all, tomorrow she would become S31's guinea pig. Also she wanted to interact with her. An idea dawned on her.

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