"Sailor Trek:  Deep Space Nine" By Bill Harris

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Standard Questionably Useful Disclaimer:
    Sailor Moon and all related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi; and are copyright to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Toei, DIC and whoever else.  Star Trek Deep Space Nine was created by Rick Berman and Michael Pillar; and is owned and copyrighted by Paramount Pictures.  Based upon Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry.
    This story (such as it is) is MINE!!!
    This fanfic is intended solely for entertainment purposes and no violation of said copyrights is intended or implied. Permission granted to copy this to other web pages as long as this disclaimer is attached, and the text of the story is unmodified.
    Timeline note: Takes place in the middle part of season four of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (shortly after the episode "Paradise Lost"), and during season one of "Sailor Moon".

Prologue:
    Komentac'lan, the Jem'Hadar First for this attack ship, watched calmly as the Vorta, Fiden, glanced over the bridge, examining each station carefully. He was confident that all was as it should be, but it was the role of the Vorta to command the Jem'Hadar. This was as it should be, as it was ordained by the Founders.
    It was, after all, the order of things.
    And Fiden's excessive caution was warranted on this trip... considering who their passenger was. The life of a Founder was not one to be trifled with.
    "What is our ETA to the nebula?" he asked of his Second, Boretkat'lyn. As he understood it, they were to rendezvous with a freighter in the nebula and the Founder would transfer to it. Where it would go after that he had no idea, nor was it his place to ask, but he supposed that it would be bound for the Alpha Quadrant.
    "We should get there within eighteen hours," Boretkat'lyn replied promptly. Fiden nodded, apparently satisfied, but before he could add anything the ship trembled under them and the lights flickered momentarily.
    "Report!" snapped the First.
    "We seem to have encountered an unknown spatial phenomena," came the answer. "One that affected all three ships of our group."
    "What kind of phenomena?" the Vorta asked. "A wormhole?"
    "Possibly," the Second said, but his voice was doubtful. "We seem to have shifted through space."
    The First concentrated on his viewer and looked around the ship. Outside he could see a blue-green world nearby, apparently inhabited. It's one visible moon could be seen in the distance. As the nearest inhabited planet had been several light years from their location, there was no doubt they had moved a great distance through space. It only remained a question of how far. "What is our current location?"
    The navigator looked up from his console. "The Terran system, sir."
    "We moved right into the heart of the Federation," Fiden commented, blatantly stating the obvious. "If it's a stable wormhole, it could prove to be of immense use to us."
    The Second interrupted his musings. "I'm not sure it was a wormhole."
    "Explain," the First ordered.
    "While we are in the Terran system, I can detect no signs of Federation installations. No orbital stations, no lunar colonies, no shipyards of any type... no signs of inhabitation at all... except on 
Earth itself."
    The First digested this news silently, while Fiden closely examined the world below them in his own viewer. "Then... where are we?"

    "Where are they?" the Klingon growled.
    Worf stood on the bridge of the Defiant, scowling as he peered over O'Brien's shoulder. They had been monitoring the three Dominion ships for several hours when they had mysteriously vanished from their sensors. As there hadn't been any previous indication that the Dominion possessed cloaking technology, this was a cause for concern for the Klingon officer. If the Dominion had managed to salvage a cloaking device or two from the Cardassian/Romulan fleet they destroyed, then their one true advantage (however slim) they had over the Gamma Quadrant power could be gone.
    Eventually the Chief shook his head. "It's no good, sir. They've vanished into thin air."
    "Did they cloak?" Worf asked.
    "No sir," O'Brien replied emphatically. "If they had, I would've seen a phase shift in their warp fields." He paused and stared at the monitor. "It's as if they just up and left the universe entirely."
    "Very well," the Klingon rumbled, obviously dissatisfied. "Log all pertinent data and transmit it to the station for Commander Dax to analyze later." He turned to the helmsman. "Lay in a course for the 
wormhole."

    Fiden paced impatiently across the bridge. For two hours now they, and the other two attack ships, had been trying to determine what had happened. Unfortunately, while Jem'Hadar made excellent soldiers, they were not very good at scientific analysis. That being the case, it came down to the Vorta to arrive at an answer.
    But the answers were not being very forthcoming. This seemed to be Earth, but much more primitive than it should be. It was possible that they had traveled through time as well, but there were several historical inconsistencies with their observations of Earth. It was as if they had moved to another reality altogether. But that was impossible.
    Wasn't it?
    Komentac'lan stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop. "It is time for the White," he insisted.
    Fiden frowned, quickly going over his options in his mind. If they were stranded without any avenue of returning to the Dominion (and therefore of resupplying themselves with Ketracel White), then it was 
only a matter of time before their current supply ran out and his hold over the Jem'Hadar vanished. But if he withheld what they needed, their performance would be impaired by withdrawal... After a moment, he decided that it might be prudent to give them what they required now.  He would decide on what course of action to take later. "Of course." Opening the case that contained the White, he asked the ritual question: "First Komentac'lan, can you vouch for the loyalty of your men?"
    As always, Komentac'lan responded, "We pledge ourselves to the Founders. From now and until death."
    Fiden removed the required vials and handed them to Komentac'lan. "Then receive this gift of the Founders. May it keep you strong."
    The First was still distributing the White to his unit when the Founder, having assumed a humanoid form, entered the room. This was not too shocking to Fiden and the Jem'Hadar as the Founder could go where it willed, but the sight of another humanoid with him, one with long, reddish brown hair and dressed in an unfamiliar gray uniform, was not something they would expect. Automatically, the Jem'Hadar readied their weapons, but any further action on their part was forestalled when the Founder raised a hand. "There's no need for concern. This one here is a friend." The Changeling turned to the unknown alien. "Isn't that right, Nephlyte?"
    "Of course," the alien responded silkily. The Changeling turned back to the Jem'Hadar soldiers and smiled benevolently at them.
    Komentac'lan had been alive for nearly seven years, two of them serving as First for his unit. He was a veteran of countless campaigns in the service of the Founders and had battled on dozens of different worlds. But seeing the Founders's eyes gleam red made him, for the first time in his life, know fear.

    Jedite grimaced as he stood before Queen Beryl. Yes, the monarch of the Negaverse was smiling, and yes, she was complimenting someone on a job well done. But she wasn't addressing him. Instead she was congratulating Nephlyte on his capture of the Changeling and the Jem'Hadar soldiers. He glared once more at his rival General. It was only a matter of time before Queen Beryl turned her attention to his latest encounter with the Sailor Scouts. And given the way things went at that amusement park, she wasn't going to be pleased with the results.
    "...and now, Jedite..."
    He shuddered inwardly at the false pleasantry in her tone. It was going to be worse than he feared.
    "Once again you've encountered the Sailor Scouts..." Her tone became icy. "... and failed miserably! Can you give me a reason I shouldn't destroy you at once?"
    Jedite bowed low, striving to give the appearance of calm. "I apologize for my failings, Queen Beryl," he said, "But I do have a plan..." His mind raced as he strove to come up with a plan, ANY plan, 
that would appease the Negaverse monarch. "Which should result in the destruction of the Sailor Scouts."
    "Indeed," Beryl all but purred. "You have made such claims in the past. Why should this time be any different?"
    Jedite saw a gloating look on Nephlyte's face as Beryl spoke. Evidently the other General thought that whatever plan Jedite came up with would be doomed to fail. How he wished he could just wipe the smile of his rival's face...
    Inspiration struck him like a thunderbolt. As calmly as he could he addressed Beryl, "Because this time we have the shapeshifter as an asset." Jeddite's statement drew a sharp look from Nephlyte, pleasing him to no end. Evidently the other General had his own plans for the shapeshifter... plans which Jedite had no qualms about upsetting.
    "I see." Queen Beryl regarded him coolly for several moments. "Tell me more Jedite. If this plan has potential, you may yet redeem yourself."


    Pluto knew the instant she returned to the Gateway of Time that the situation had deteriorated. Things were far worse than when she had first feared. Of course there was no telling how long she had been gone. Time had little meaning here, and even less so where she had been.
    There was a burst of light accompanied by a ripple of sound, and a slightly balding man in a Starfleet captain's uniform appeared next to her. "I thought you weren't supposed to leave here."
    "That's not entirely true. I can leave it unguarded for short periods. Besides Q, the situation demanded it," she replied. She returned her gaze to the area surrounding the Gateway. "But I see that 
things have changed for the worse."
    "Yes, that's certainly true," the entity agreed, glancing around himself. Sighing he added, "Well, I tried to warn them. But trust Picard to be too stubborn to listen."
    "You've garnered a bad reputation among them, Q," said Pluto. "If you would be more civil with them, they might heed your warnings more often."
    "Moi? Civil?" Q looked shocked. "That's no fun." He shrugged after Pluto gave him a sardonic look. "Well, enough frivolity. You've a temporal tangle to unravel. I suppose you have a plan to fix your precious timestream."
    "You know I have," she replied. "And I've already spoken to others about putting it into motion. Besides... if I didn't you wouldn't be able to have anymore fun with Picard."
    "Hmmm..." Q considered this, then nodded. "You've got a point. What good is a universe without Jean-Luc to pester? Or Worf, for that matter." Then what Pluto had said sunk in, and the looked puzzled. "Wait a minute... others? Which others?"
    "The Bajorans call them the Prophets," she replied knowingly.
    Realization dawned on Q's face. "Oh, the wormhole dwellers. A rather boring bunch, if you ask me. All they do is hide out in that space-time conduit, not even bothering to understand linear time."
    "Q..." Pluto took a deep breath. While Q's nature was by very definition irritating, there were times when he could be most exasperating. "If you're not going to help, then I would appreciate it if you would keep your comments to yourself. The rift in time is threatening two universes right now, and I'm going to need all the help I can get to correct it."
    A hurt expression briefly flickered over the entity's face. "I'd help if I could. But you are well aware of the... restrictions my fellow Q have placed on me. Especially since they were placed on me after my thankfully brief stint as a human... which you played some part in."
    "I didn't have much choice in that, Q. You were becoming too wild, too out of control." Q snorted in response. "Q was right. You needed to learn restraint."
    "Well, I hope your pleased with the results," Q replied sullenly. "Before I could have helped rectify this situation with a wave of my hand. Now I'm forced to go along with the will of the Continuum: 'Those 
corporeal beings caused it, and they'll have to be the ones to repair it.'" He shot a scornful look skyward.
    Pluto stood contemplatively for a moment. "I'm afraid the end of this conversation will have to wait until later. Time," her lips curled upward slightly at the irony of her statement, "grows short. In the 
meantime, could you do me a favor and keep on eye on things here while I'm away?" Q nodded silently and with that, she vanished.
    Q watched the space where she had stood, his expression unreadable, then turned his attention to the temporal turmoil surrounding the Gateway. "Good luck, Pluto."
    "You're going to need it."


Sailor Trek: Deep Space Nine
By Bill Harris
A Sailor Paradox: Chapter 1 - The Call of the Prophets... 
PG13

    Kira looked up from her station in Ops to the captain's office, concern evident on her face. He had been in conference longer than she thought he would be. Perhaps...
    She shook her head and tried to focus on her duties. Sisko had shown many times that he was quite adept at handling... Her train of thought was broken by the door opening.
    "...the answer is still no!" Sisko was saying loudly as he left his office. Stormed out would be more like it.
    Quark followed him out. "Why not? Advertising is a perfectly legitimate business practice."
    "What would you know about legitimate business?" Kira remarked. A part of her absently noted Dax entering the room and making her way over to the station's Strategic Operations Officer, Worf.
    Sisko broke in before Quark could retort. "Those monitors are for official station use."
    The Ferengi raced around Sisko and stood in his path, forcing him to stop. "They won't interfere with the official functions. I'll only use the monitors in public places, such as the replimat, and then only 
during normal business hours." When Sisko shook his head and tried to move past him he added, "If they're needed, the advertisements can be overridden so the monitors can be used for 'official' functions."
    Behind her, Kira could hear Dax talking to Worf about the three Dominion ships that had mysteriously vanished from the Defiant's sensors during it's last patrol in the Gamma Quadrant, noting that it bore a resemblance to a phenomena witnessed by the Enterprise-D, Worf's previous posting, some four years previous. Kira felt her indignation rising at the bartender for keeping her from hearing this information as soon as possible. Anything new that the Dominion could do would be a serious threat to the security of Bajor. And anything that threatened that was something she wanted to know about right away, not listen to some Ferengi toad ramble on about how he could increase his profits.
Not that Quark needed to do much of anything to get her riled at him. The Ferengi bartender really knew how to be a royal pain in the... 
    She skewered the bartender with an intense glare and snapped, "Which part of 'no' don't you understand?"
    "The part that says I can't do this!" Quark replied indignantly.
    Kira was forming a sharp retort but it died aborning when a sensor alert sounded behind her. Turning, she saw Dax looking up from her console with a worried expression. "Benjamin, I'm reading massive emissions of neutrinos, tetryons and chronotons from the wormhole. It looks like a subspace rift might be forming inside it." She bent back to the science station, intent on analyzing the readings it was giving her.
    "Let's see it, Chief. On screen," Sisko ordered. The viewer flickered to show the wormhole wide open and apparently staying that way.  But in this instance it had a shimmering look to it, as if they were viewing it through a heat distortion. It's color was also different, for along with the normal blues and whites it was tinged with red, giving the wormhole a slightly demonic appearance.
    "It looks like it's... on fire," Kira remarked. 
    "I'm reading gravimetric distortions from it as well," O'Brien reported.
    "Confirmed," Dax added. "It looks as if it's entering the first stages of a structural collapse. But I don't know what could be causing it."
    A look of concern came over Quark's face, "Collapse? That could really be bad for profits." At Sisko's glare he added, "I can see you're busy. We'll talk later." He headed rapidly to the lift, muttering to himself as he went.
    Sisko put the bartender from his mind and returned his attention to Dax. "Could this be caused artificially, Dax?"
    "You mean by something like the Dominion?" the Trill asked. "It's possible. But there's nothing on this side that could account for it, and the readings I'm getting from the Gamma Quadrant listening posts aren't indicating anything there either. Ultimately, I can't be sure what is the cause without doing a detailed scan of the inside. We'll have to launch a probe."
    "I wouldn't try it," O'Brien responded. "Those gravimetric distortions inside the wormhole that are strong enough to tear apart any probe we send in. A runabout might survive passage through it to the 
Gamma Quadrant... but I doubt it would make it back in one piece."
    Sisko eyed the ailing anomaly. If a probe or a runabout couldn't survive passage through the wormhole, that left only one option for them.  "What about the Defiant, Chief?"
    O'Brien glanced at the sensor readouts again, mentally comparing them to his knowledge of the Defiant's structure. "I think so. But we'll probably have to run the structural integrity field at maximum, 
and we may have to supplement it with power from the warp engines. In any event, it's going to be a bumpy ride."
    "Then let's get moving people." Sisko walked over to the lift, and the other members of the command staff followed him. "Sisko to Odo. Meet us on the Defiant, Constable."

    Sisko glanced up as Odo made his way onto the bridge. "Welcome aboard, Constable. I hope we don't need your help, but if there's even the slightest possibility of Dominion involvement..."
    "...then you might need a Changeling along," Odo finished, making his way to the rear of the bridge. "I understand. I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'll do whatever I can."
    "Thank you, Odo," Sisko said, taking a quick glance around the bridge. "Status, Chief?"
    "All systems ready," reported O'Brien.
    "Ops has given us clearance for departure, Captain," Kira added.
    "Release docking latches," ordered Sisko. "Take us out, old man."
    "Docking latches released," Dax confirmed. "Thrusters back one quarter." The station receded on the viewscreen as the Defiant backed slowly away from the station, slowing when it was one hundred meters off. "We're clear of the station, sir."
    "Set course for the wormhole, maximum impulse," the captain ordered. "Engage!"
    Dax's hands played quickly over the helm console and the small starship responded, spinning on it's axis and moving for the wormhole, accelerating rapidly as it entered the spatial anomaly. The ship 
buffeted as it moved through it, as the gravimetric distortions made for a much bumpier ride than usual. Sisko kept his attention on the viewscreen and tried to focus on the incoming reports from his crew, when suddenly...
    ...it all vanished.

    "He is here."
    Sisko turned towards the source of the voice. He appeared to be in Ops on the station, and the person speaking seemed to be Kira. But he knew better from previous experience.
    He was speaking with the wormhole aliens. With the prophets. But why?
    Quark was standing in front of him also, nodding. "It is the Sisko."
    Sisko blinked as the scene suddenly shifted to the infirmary with Dr. Bashir. "She said he would come."
    "She?" he asked, puzzled. "Who is she? And why am I here?"
    Again he shifted locations, this time to the security office. 
    "Time has shifted," Odo replied, apparently ignoring his first question for the moment. "What you call the past is now fluid. It threatens us."
    "I'm not sure I follow," Sisko said. "Are you saying that the wormhole is being destabilized in the past?"
    Suddenly he found himself standing on the Defiant. "He does not understand," Worf said.
    "He is linear," reminded Dax. "The anomaly does not appear to them as it does to us."
    "Anomaly?" Sisko echoed.
    Now he was standing in his quarters. "It is of your own creation," Jake told him. "She needs your help to correct it."
    "Who is this person you keep referring to? And why?" Sisko suddenly found himself back in Ops.
    "That would be me," came a voice from behind him. "And they brought you here because I asked them to."
    Sisko turned to face the unfamiliar voice and stopped short. The wormhole aliens usually appear to be people he was familiar with, his co-workers on the station: Kira, Dax, Worf, Odo, Jake... even Quark. But he was completely unfamiliar with the person he was facing now, though there was something oddly familiar with her outfit. She was dressed in a odd version of a sailor outfit: white leotard, dark miniskirt, bows on the front and back... also dark colored. She was carrying a staff that faintly resembled a key of some sort.
    And her hair... long, dark colored as well, but tinged with green. Sisko didn't think he would easily forget someone with hair matching that description. "Who are you?"
    "I am Sailor Pluto," she answered. "We will meet again, Captain Sisko. Very soon."

    Sisko blinked, disoriented at suddenly finding himself back in his command chair, and tried to listen to the barrage of reports coming his way.
    Bashir was scanning the crew with his medical tricorder. "Is everyone alright? I felt dizzy for a second there."
    O'Brien chimed in, "There was a massive surge of chronoton radiation when we exited the wormhole."
    "We've lost communications with the station," reported Kira.
    Dax was doing a quick analysis of the navigational readouts. "According to the navigational sensors, we're nowhere near the Gamma Quadrant."
    "Where are we, Dax?" Sisko asked.
    "Earth," she answered, "We're in orbit. But..." She looked again at the sensor readout and shook her head. "Wait a minute... According to the astrometric sensors, the year... is 1992."
    Her sudden announcement stilled all activity on the bridge. After a moment, Sisko was able to find his voice. "1992? You mean to say we've traveled back in time, old man?"
    Dax swiveled her seat to face him, a sad smile on her face. "It certainly appears that way."
    "It... would explain the chronoton emissions," O'Brien hesitantly added.
    "Reverse course," Sisko ordered, without much hope. "See if you can take us back through the wormhole."
    "It wouldn't matter, Benjamin," said Dax, shaking her head. "It's vanished. It's as if it was never there."
    Sisko grimaced, but decided to confront that later. First he had to make sure that Earth of the past wouldn't be able to detect his ship. "Activate the cloak. I don't want anyone down there picking us up." 
    The bridge lights dimmed as the cloaking field activated.

    Beryl stared in her crystal ball as the unknown starship faded from view, then cursed loudly. "Malachite!"
    The white haired general materialized nearby, "Yes, My Queen?"
    "A starship has been spotted near the anomaly. I want you to prepare the alien warriors and their space craft. If it reappears, or any other appears in the area, they are attack at once... and destroy them! We can't afford to have anything go wrong now. Not when we're so close!"
    Malachite bowed low. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

    "What the hell is going on?" asked a frustrated Kira.
    Sisko could certainly understand the Major's feelings. But unlike her, he did have some insight into who was behind the detour the wormhole had sent them on... though he was still in the dark as to the why. 
    "Whatever it is Major, I think the Prophets wanted us to be here," he answered her. In short order, he told the crew of his experience during the wormhole passage. Worf and O'Brien exchanged uncertain looks as he described the meeting he had with 'Sailor Pluto'.
    "Sailor Pluto?" Worf asked after he finished. "Are you certain that is what she said, Captain?"
    Sisko spun his chair to face the Klingon. "You have an idea who she was, Commander?"
    "The description of her outfit sounds familiar, and the name certainly fits," O'Brien answered before Worf could. "But it doesn't match any of the Sailor Scouts we met on the Enterprise."
    "Sailor Scouts?" said Kira, her voice slightly disbelieving. "Sounds like some sort of kid's group."
    Worf scowled at her, clearly irritated. "You would not say that if you had seen them fight the Borg."
    This jogged Sisko's memory, as he noted the look of respect that was now on Kira's face. He recalled reading Picard's reports about the encounter the crew of the Enterprise-D had with the Sailor Scouts, and the subsequent battle they had fought together against a Borg ship. However, he had been deeply immersed in the Defiant project at the time and had given the report only a cursory reading. "Dax, gather all the sensor information you can about the area. See if you can find any 
information about this anomaly the wormhole aliens referred to." Sisko spun his command chair around to face the two officers that had once served on the now destroyed Enterprise-D. "Mr. Worf, Chief... I want you both to tell me all you can about these Sailor Scouts."

    Artemis paused before leaping onto Mina's bed. He hated to wake her, given the series of tough battles they had fought over the last two weeks since joining up with the others, but what choice had he? He placed a paw on her shoulder and shook the blonde. "Mina!"
    The result wasn't exactly what he had in mind. Instead of waking up and being instantly alert, she mumbled something incoherent and rolled over. Artemis was hard pressed to avoid being pinned under her arm. He took a moment to consider his options, then...
    "OW!!" Mina bolted upright, instinctively throwing away what had pained her. There was a muffled thud as Artemis hit the wall. "Artemis! What are you doing?!"
    The white feline slid to the floor and shook his head in an effort to clear it. "Waking you up. And without causing myself a mortal wound in the process." He took a moment to assess his own condition. "And it seems I was successful."
    "Don't bet on it," she growled, examining the finger that Artemis had bit. It was red, but the skin wasn't broken and the pain was already diminishing. "A bucket of cold water would've worked just as well, Artemis... And it would've been less painful."
    Despite the limitations of his feline form, Artemis did a fairly convincing imitation of raising one eyebrow. "And just how am I supposed to handle a bucket of water?"
    "Oh, right." After a moment she asked, "So what's so important?"
    "I just got word from Luna. She and Amy have located a portal to the Negaverse."
    "I see," she said. After mulling this over she added, "What do you think our chances are, Artemis?"
    "Are you kidding? You four will kick Beryl's butt," he answered more confidently than he felt.
    "That's a nice thought," Mina said with a smile. "Now, what do you think our chances really are?"
    Artemis sighed. He should've known by now that he couldn't fool her... at least not when it came to matters such as this. They'd been working together for too long. "I know it doesn't look good, Mina. 
After all, you'll probably be going up against both Malachite and Zoisite at the same time. But what choice do we have? We can't just sit here while Beryl unleashes the Negaforce."
    "Don't worry, Artemis. We'll find a way. We always do, right?" she answered, some optimism returning to her voice. Artemis nodded to himself, heartened by this. This was more like the Mina he knew. 
    "Anyway, it's time to contact Raye and Lita."

    "JUPITER POWER!"
    The magic enveloped Lita, giving that feeling of power as it transformed her into Sailor Jupiter. She paused for a moment, savoring the sensation, then raced off to meet the others.
    A lot had happened since that fateful day she had become a Sailor Scout. Or realized that she was one, depending on how you looked at it. Either way, she had been following that boy (What was his name? So much had happened in the interim, she had forgotten it.) when Zoisite had attacked him, pulling the Rainbow crystal from him and transforming him that youma. Mars and Mercury had happened upon them at that point, but the battle had been evenly matched until Luna had given her the 
transformation pen, and she was able to become Sailor Jupiter. They still hadn't been able to save him, though... or any of the other carriers of the Rainbow Crystals, for that matter. Even with Nephlyte's help, and with Tuxedo Mask cropping up again, they were only able to defeat the transformed humans by killing them. Jupiter vowed silently to make Zoisite pay for each and every one of them. And Malachite as well. He had set a trap for them a couple of weeks ago, one that had very nearly worked. Thanks to Venus' timely arrival, they had gotten away, but not before Darien had been captured... and Nephlyte was killed.
    Jupiter pushed aside her thoughts, trying instead to focus on the task at hand as she raced on into the night.

    Raye calmly returned the communicator to it's usual hiding place and regarded the sacred flame. Given her abilities, she had felt that the pivotal battle with the Negaverse was fast approaching, but it had come much sooner than she had expected. She wasn't far from the rendezvous point, so she decided to take a chance she could glean something useful from it. Concentrating her attention on the flame, she tried to make it give her the information they would need to triumph, once and for all, over Beryl and her minions.
    At first the flame held steady, reluctant to give her what she needed. Then it yielded to her persistence, revealing what it could in a flurry of images. A spacecraft, compact yet seeming to radiate power.  A black man, whose demeanor demanded respect. A woman in a red uniform and a seemingly crinkled nose, who seemed as confident as the man. A rush of other images in people in similar uniforms to the man, each seeming to be more or less human. It ended in a glimpse of a man, who's face seemed to be unfinished in some way and in a uniform that seemed similar to the woman's. She watched him for what seemed to be several seconds before his features blurred, shifting to some gelatinous state.
    Raye felt her hackles rise at this sight and a surge of adrenalin as well, causing the fire reading to be disrupted. But she allowed herself no regret at this, for the information that one of these creatures would be seen again was very valuable to her.
    So, Beryl was going to use another one of those... things against us, she thought while transforming. Well, it won't work. We'll handle whatever she throws at us. She rushed out of the temple, making for the restaurant where she would meet the others. This time we'll be ready for that creature, Beryl. And we'll deal with that thing... and then you.

    Amy stood just outside the darkened restaurant, waiting for the others. It shouldn't be much longer before they arrived. Once more she glanced at her computer, scanning for any sign of Negaverse activity. So far it appeared they had managed to go undetected, but that wouldn't last for long.
    She grimaced. They way things had gone lately, it wouldn't surprise her if Malachite appeared right in front of them the moment they entered the tunnel.
    "Amy?"
    Jumping slightly, the blue haired Scout looked down. "Yes, Luna?"
    "Are you OK?" the feline asked, concern evident in her voice.
    "I'm fine. I was just scanning to be sure we haven't been detected."
    "I don't think that was all. You seemed very concerned about something." Luna paused, trying to marshal her thought. "I know the situation looks grim, but..."
    "Thirty two point seven percent."
    Luna blinked, surprised. "What?"
    "Thirty two point seven percent," Amy repeated. "Those are our chances of winning. I've computed the odds."
    "Thirty two point..." Luna's voice trailed off. "Is that *all*?"
    "Do you want me to take you the whole series of calculations?" Amy asked.
    "No thank you," Luna replied. They were silent again, waiting for the others. Then, "Well, if it's that bad, then before we go, I should thank you."
    Amy looked down at her, mystified. "Thank me? For what?"
    "For taking me in. I know I could have stayed at Serena's, but I just could bear to go back there. Not after..." Luna's voice trailed of again, this time choked with emotion.
    "I know," Amy said gently. "I miss her too."
    Further discussion was interrupted by Jupiter's arrival, followed shortly by Venus. "Sorry I took so long," Jupiter said.
    "Actually, you got here sooner than I expected," Amy replied, pulling out her transformation pen. "MERCURY POWER!"
    "Well, as soon as Raye gets here, we can get going," Venus said after Amy had finished transforming into Sailor Mercury. She looked around, puzzled. "I wonder what's taking her so long? She lives closer to here than me, so I'd thought she'd be here already."
    "I'm not that late," Mars answered rather testily, coming up behind the blonde. "I just took a moment for a last minute fire reading."
    "Did you get anything useful out of it?" asked Artemis.
    "I'm not sure. I got a series of images, but I'm not sure how to interpret them. The only thing I really recognized a shapeshifter."
    "You mean...?" Mercury breathed.
    Mars nodded. "Yep. I think we'll be facing another one of those, Mercury."
    Jupiter and Venus shared a look. Neither had been around when the other two had faced the creature Mars had described, but they had heard enough about it from them to know just how dangerous it could be. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open," Venus said. "Let's get going, people. 
Next stop: the Negaverse!"

    "You're right, Chief," Sisko said, examining again the visual record of the Sailor Scouts taken from logs of the Enterprise-D. The faces were blurred in some fashion, but their outfits on the other hand were clearly distinguishable. Another visual record was shown beside it, this one of the Scouts in untransformed state in Ten Forward, giving a clear look at their faces. "Whoever I saw during the wormhole passage, she wasn't one of these Scouts. But from her name and style of dress, she must have some association with them."
    "As I remember, they did mention meeting a Sailor Pluto," said Worf. "Though I never did see a visual record of her. Had she not given you her name, my best guess would have been that she was a Sailor Scout representing one of the outer planets of the solar system... Saturn, Uranus, Neptune... or Pluto."
    "Why not one for Earth?" asked Sisko. "There's no mention of a Sailor Scout for that planet."
    "I asked Luna about that during her stay on the Enterprise," replied the Klingon.
    "That's the black feline?" Sisko asked, indicating the display.
    "Yes, sir. For whatever reason, there was no Sailor Scout for Earth, though Darien, also known as Tuxedo Mask, could be considered the representative of Earth."
    Sisko nodded, and moved back towards the center of the bridge. "Anything new, Dax?"
    "Plenty," she replied. "Though, I'm not sure if it's related to our situation... or what any of it means. We're reading the buildup of a large negative energy field centered in the arctic regions." The Trill 
touched a control and a graphic appeared on the main viewscreen, detailing the energy field she had mentioned. "It's causing massive disruption throughout the system; earthquakes, unusual weather, even accelerated sunspot activity."
    O'Brien had been watching from his engineering station while Dax was gave her report. He took a moment to access the computer then said, "It sounds like the conditions just before the Sailor Scouts had their final confrontation with Queen Beryl."
    "If that's the case, then it's probably not the anomaly the Prophets were referring to," Dax said.
    "How do you know that, Chief?" Sisko asked.
    "When they were on the Enterprise, Mercury downloaded a record of their activities into the Enterprise main computer. As a precaution against accidental interference with their timeline from other starships." The Chief touch a control, bringing up another graphic on the main viewscreen beside the one Dax had displayed. Sisko noted that it was similar, though not identical to the one already displayed. "I've extrapolated this from those records. The energy field Dax has scanned is almost exactly like these conditions observed just before Beryl tried to release the Negaforce. Except..."
    "Except what?"
    A look of frustration came across O'Brien's face. "It's too bloody soon! It's nearly a month till the Scouts go to the North Pole. That energy field shouldn't be anywhere near as powerful as it is." 
    "Could this be some sort of alternate universe, Chief?" Dax asked.
    O'Brien shook his head. "No, I already checked that. The quantum signature of this universe matches the one visited by the Enterprise... Both of them, in fact. It's the same universe alright."
    "Could our presence have caused a disruption on the timeline?" Sisko asked.
    "I don't see how, " Dax answered. "We were only visible for a few moments." A sensor alert sounded, prompting her to forgo any further speculation. "Hold on a minute, Benjamin. Sensors are picking up life forms in the arctic regions, near the source of the energy field." She paused to check the readout on the type of lifeform detected. When she spoke next, her voice sounded stunned, "They're Jem'Hadar."
    "Jem'Hadar?" Bashir exclaimed. "What are they doing on Earth? Especially on an alternate version of it."
    "That's a good question, Doctor," Sisko answered. "One that I'd like an answer to."
    "It's an answer that might have to wait, Captain," Odo said. The Constable had occupied a station on the far side of the bridge and was monitoring communications. "We're picking up a subspace signal... and it sounds like a distress call." Odo touched a control and the signal came over the bridge speakers, heavily laced with static.
    "...Mayday... under attack.... This is the USS... immediate assistance..." the signal terminated abruptly.
    "The signal source is just on the other side of Earth, sir. Not far from the Moon," O'Brien reported.
    Sisko quickly considered his options. The appearance of the Jem'Hadar on Earth still needed to be checked out, but he also had a responsibility to answer that distress call. As much as he hated to do 
it, he saw no other option but to split his forces. "Major, take an away team down there. Be ready to handle a Jem'Hadar strike force. I'll be taking the Defiant to check out this distress call, so you'll be on your own for a while."
    Kira nodded. "We'll be ready."


    "There's an exit up ahead!" Luna exclaimed.
    "About time," Venus grumbled. "I was beginning to think they would never end." The others nodded in agreement. They had been following the tunnels for what seemed like hours, but it looked like they had finally managed to find the exit. The four girls and two cats stood breathlessly at the mouth of the tunnel and looked out over the arctic expanse.
    "Hey, what gives? I though this was supposed to go right to the Negaverse," asked Jupiter. Mercury frowned and activated her visor.
    "Maybe we took a wrong turn?"
    Venus scowled at her feline companion. "There's nothing wrong with my sense of direction!"
    "I didn't say there was," Artemis replied defensively.
    "Never mind that you two," Luna said. "We have to hurry. If we can get the Rainbow crystals before the Negaverse can use them to form the Silver Crystal, we may still have a chance."
    Artemis snorted. "If they haven't figured out how to form it by now, I don't think they ever will."
    "Can we afford to take that chance?"
    The white cat grimaced. "Not really. Especially when they're about to set the Negaforce loose."
    "I'm getting a signal," Mercury said. "There's another portal, much bigger than the one we found in Tokyo. It's that way!" She pointed across the ice field.
    "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" With that Venus charged forward, followed shortly by her companions.

    Note: Quark's advertising scheme is a lead in to the trick he pulled in the beginning of a late fourth season episode, "The Quickening".

Back to Top

Sailor Trek: Deep Space 9
By Bill Harris
Chapter 2 - D Point Revisited
PG13

    Sisko tapped a finger impatiently on the arm of his chair as he waited for confirmation that Kira and her team were safely away. After what seemed like an eternity, there was a beep from the engineering 
station. "Transport complete, sir," O'Brien reported.
    Finally, Sisko though as he straightened himself in the command chair, instinctively tugging at the bottom of his shirt. He looked to the helm station in front of him where Bashir had taken Dax's place. 
The doctor looked slightly uncomfortable there, but Sisko knew he would substitute there admirably, as he had done so in the past. "Doctor, lay in a course for that distress signal and engage at maximum impulse."
    "Aye, sir," Bashir answered and began working the helm. Responding to the his commands, the Defiant accelerated around Earth and headed for the Moon.
    As soon as they cleared the planet, O'Brien began scanning the location they had for the distress call. "Looks like we're too late," he reported. "I'm reading debris and an expanding cloud of ionized 
plasma at the signal location." He shook his head sadly. "It looks like their warp core was breached. From the energy decay, I'd say it blew just about the time we lost the signal."
    "Any life signs, Chief?"
    "No, sir. Whoever it was, it looks like she was lost with all hands." O'Brien shook his head sadly, observing, "The poor devils never had a chance."
    Sisko frowned, but tried to put aside any other feelings. There may be nothing he could do for the other crew, but he still had to be sure that his own was safe. "Any sign of their attackers?"
    O'Brien checked the sensors again. "Nothing. But the plasma field could be interfering with the sensors. But I am picking up the signal from the log buoy."
    "Very well," said Sisko. "Maneuver us closer so that we can beam it aboard. At least we'll be able to find out who they were... and who attacked them. Maintain cloak, and put all decks on yellow alert."

    "Hold it!"
    Venus stopped in her tracks and looked back to her friend. "What is it, Mercury?"
    The other girl had her visor deployed and was looking around the area. "I'm detecting several lifeforms closing in on us."
    Jupiter tensed herself for a fight and glanced around, as did the others. They were on a relatively flat part of the icepack, and there was very little an enemy could use for concealment out to a distance of 
fifty meters. Nevertheless, she saw nothing around. "Are you sure? I don't see anything."
    "They're there," Mercury insisted. She brought her computer out, using it to supplement the visor. "But for some reason I can't get an accurate reading on their distance from us. My best guess is that 
they're no more than twenty meters away. One... maybe two dozen in all."
    They all looked about the area, trying to spot what it was Mercury had detected. "I still don't see anything," Jupiter remarked.
    "I don't see them, but I can sense them around us," Mars said. "They must be invisible."
    "Yes," Mercury concurred. "They've got some sort of field about them, serving as camouflage. And it's preventing me from getting an accurate scan on them."
    "Luna, Artemis, get to cover," Venus ordered. "Everyone else, get back to back." The two cats moved quickly, while the Scouts formed a defensive square.
    "Ten meters," Mercury said, just as the first of the Jem'Hadar uncloaked himself and fired, followed by several others. The Scouts scattered to avoid their weapons fire. The next moment, the area echoed with their attack cries.

    Kira took in the area surrounding the away team's beam down point, thankful for the cold weather gear they were wearing. That she, Dax and Worf were wearing, she mentally corrected herself. Odo of course had no need for such protection against the climate, thanks to his unique physiology. Again she dubiously eyed the black hole in the icefield. 
    "That's a portal to another universe?"
    "More like another dimension, one that's slightly offset from this one," Dax corrected her while operating a tricorder. The Trill science officer was studiously scanning the area, while Kira and Worf were on the watch for possible threats with phasers drawn. Odo was on the look out as well, but had no weapon. "And from these readings, I'd say that it was artificially formed centuries... no, millennia ago."
    Kira nodded, somewhat impressed. "The portal? Impressive, but we've seen things like this before."
    "No, not the portal," Dax replied. "The other dimension."
    "What?" Kira found that hard to swallow. She could believe that the Celestial Temple- the wormhole- was artificial in nature, but that something could create a whole other reality? That was something else altogether.
    A rumble of what sounded like thunder in the distance brought her back to the present. Dax made some quick adjustments on her tricorder, broadening the field of it's scan. "I'm picking up large energy 
discharges, along with what appears to be weapons fire. Range: just over one kilometer."
    Worf nodded. "The Sailor Scouts," he announced. "No doubt they are battling the Jem'Hadar we spotted from orbit."
    "The weapons signature does appear to be typical of Jem'Hadar armaments," Dax confirmed.
    "Then let's go," Kira said firmly. "They're going to need our help against the Jem'Hadar. Odo, scout ahead."
    "Right, Major." The changeling shifted his form into that of a Corvallian snow hawk and flew off. The others followed along the icepack as fast as they were able.
    "I do not believe that the Scouts will require our assistance, Major," Worf commented.
    "I hope you're right, Worf."
    "I am," the Klingon responded confidently. Silence came over the three of them as they concentrated on making their way to the sight of the battle. Again and again, the sounds of thunder punctuated the silence, though the time between rumbles was becoming longer as they approached. No doubt because the number of Jem'Hadar standing was getting fewer, Worf speculated.
    "They should be just over this rise," Dax said, still operating her tricorder. "Just over one hundred met... Wait a minute!" Dax ran a rapid sequence of commands into the instrument as she tried to make sense of the data it was spewing out. "There's some sort of spatial anomaly forming."
    "My, my, what have we here?" The three spun around to face the source of the voice, which materialized amid a swirl of cherry blossoms into a blonde humanoid in a gray uniform, hovering impossibly three meters above them. "You three are certainly out of place."
    "Zoisite," Worf muttered answering the unspoken question.
    "Have we met?" Zoisite asked. "I doubt it, since it appears that at least two of you aren't from this planet. Especially the ugly one over there," she said, indicating Worf. The Klingon snarled at her, but 
it was Dax who responded verbally.
    "You're hardly one to talk, lady... if that's what you really are."
    "What?!" Zoisite all but screeched.
    "You heard me. For a female impersonator, you leave a lot to be desired." This caused Zoisite to clench her teeth, and she started turning a dark shade of red. Kira gave Dax an odd look, but was careful to keep an eye on the Negaverse general.
    "What are you talking about, Dax?"
    "Can't you tell?" the Trill asked. "I've seen a lot of females in three hundred years, and that hardly qualifies."
    Kira looked back to Zoisite. "Seems reasonably female to me."
    Dax shook her head. "Worf?"
    "I have no opinion on the subject."
    "Give me a break you two," Dax said. "If that's supposed to be a female, then she's lacking in... certain areas."
    Zoisite glowered at them and snarled in rage. "Why you... you... you'll pay for that! ZOI!!!" She flung her hand in their direction, sending dozens of crystal shards flying at them. The three officers dodged the incoming blast, each heading in a separate direction. Drawing on reflexes honed by years in the Bajoran resistance, Kira rolled on the ground, then aimed and fired her phaser in one smooth motion. The energy beam caught Zoisite full on, and she reeled from the blast. Worf and Dax quickly followed with phaser shots of their own. The Negaverse general staggered under the impact of multiple phaser hits, then vanished in much the same way she had appeared.
    "That was easy," Dax observed.
    "Easy?" Kira exclaimed. "Our phasers were at setting eight. That should've killed her!"
    "Mine was at sixteen," Worf said, drawing a stunned look from the other two.
    "Sixteen!" Kira shook her head. A phaser at that high a setting was capable of vaporizing several cubic meters of rock.
    "We were fortunate that we were able to surprise her," Worf said. "We should not count on being able to do so again. Next time she'll be ready for our weapons."
    Kira nodded. "Let's get out of here. If she teleported to where the Sailor Scouts are fighting the Jem'Hadar, Odo's going to need help. A lot of help." They took off in a run, all thoughts of how cold it 
was forgotten.

    Sisko watched the debris field slowly move past on the viewscreen as the Defiant crept through it. He turned impatiently to O'Brien. "Well, Chief?"
    The chief looked apologetically back at him. "Sorry, sir. It's hard to get a lock on the buoy in this plasma field. And being cloaked doesn't make it any easier." He broke off as a sensor chimed at him 
and he uttered an old Irish curse. "I was afraid of this. The plasma field is interfering with the cloaking device. We're going to have to shut it down before it overloads."
    Sisko briefly pondered the situation. While decloaking would leave them open to attack, by the same token it would also enable to respond that much faster to an aggressor. "Very well. Deactivate the cloak." 
    The lights in the room brightened as the cloaking device was shut down.
    After a moment, O'Brien nodded in satisfaction. "Got it. Beaming it aboard now."
    "Good. Helm, take us out of this plasma field. I want to be able to recloak as soon as possible."
    "Aye, sir," Bashir responded.
    Sisko turned to the engineer. "Chief, are there any indications what type of ship this used to be?"
    O'Brien took a moment to analyze the debris around them. "From the materials present, it looks like the outer hull was composed of a tritanium alloy... it was a definitely Starfleet ship of some sort." 
    Alarm bells began going off in Sisko's head. He had a bad feeling he knew what the identity of the other ship was. "Say something about the size of a Miranda class... or maybe a Constellation class. Definitely too small for an Excelsior type. I'm running an energy decay match now to see if I can identify the weapons the attacker used." He swore softly once more when the results appeared on the monitor. He was somewhat expecting the results, but seeing it confirmed was something else altogether. "It looks like the attackers were using a phased polaron beam."
    Sisko nodded. "The Dominion." Given the fact that they had detected Jem'Hadar life signs on Earth, this didn't come as much of a surprise to Sisko, nor to anyone else on the bridge. But it did serve to complicate matters.
    "Yes sir," the Chief responded. As if on cue, another sensor alert sounded at the tactical station.
    The tactical officer looked to her captain. "Sir, we've just detected two Jem'Hadar attack ships on an intercept course. They must have been on the other side of the plasma field when we approached."
    "Battle stations," Sisko said automatically. Around them the alert lights flashed, supplemented by the warning klaxon. "Chief, can we recloak before they reach us?"
    "No, sir," replied the engineer. "They'll intercept us just before we can clear the plasma field."
    Sisko frowned, even though he had been expecting that as an answer. "Then we'll make a stand here. Head right for them, full impulse." The Defiant shot forward as the overpowered impulse engines kicked into high gear. The small starship turned towards the Jem'Hadar ships, twisting in response to Bashir's commands to evade incoming fire. "Lock phasers on the lead ship. Fire!" Several bursts were fired from the pulse phasers, striking the lead Jem'Hadar ship. The first few were absorbed by the shields, but the next penetrated and ruptured the hull. The Dominion vessel became a large ball of expanding gas.
    The bridge shook and several panels showered sparks as the remaining vessel fired shot after shot at the Defiant. As always the Dominion weaponry cut right through their shields, impacting directly on 
the ship's hull. "Evasive, pattern delta!" Sisko ordered. As Bashir endeavored to comply, he continued, "Damage report!"
    "The ablative armor's down thirty percent," responded O'Brien, raising his voice over the din. "And we've got a ruptured plasma conduit on deck three."
    "Helm, hard about," Sisko ordered. "Take us back through the plasma field, maximum impulse." The Defiant executed a tight turn, and sped back through the wall of energized gas. The Jem'Hadar vessel followed, still firing.
    The viewscreen started to flicker. "Sir, at this speed, we'll lose sensors momentarily," O'Brien stated, trying to warn his captain. "We'll be blind as a Tiberian bat."
    Sisko nodded "And so will they. After we pass through," he responded. O'Brien grinned as he comprehended what the captain was planning just before the viewscreen became a haze of static as the interference became too much for the computer to compensate for. "Doctor, once we're clear of the plasma field, bring us hard about and to a full stop. Stand by quantum torpedoes."
    At Bashir's urgings, the Defiant executed another tight turn and stopped. The Jem'Hadar ship, blind for the moment, continued on their previous heading.
    "Fire!" Sisko ordered.
    Two quantum torpedoes were launched and sped at the enemy ship. Detecting the incoming fire at the last minute, it attempted to evade the incoming fire but it was far too late react. The weapons struck home, and the Dominion ship exploded.
    Sisko felt a grim feeling of satisfaction and looked to his engineering officer. "Is the cloaking device operational?"
    "Yes, sir," O'Brien responded after making a quick check.
    "Good. Activate the cloak and take us a position where we can be ready to beam the away team back." The Earth grew quickly larger on the screen as Bashir made the necessary course adjustments. "Chief, as soon as repairs are complete, I want you to start the analysis on that log buoy."

    "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" Venus cried out, unleashing her attack for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few minutes, and the Jem'Hadar she was aiming at dropped. All around the Scouts, bodies of the warriors of the Dominion were strewn about, numbering nearly two 
dozen in all. Only one other remained standing, and he took aim at Jupiter and fired.
    The tall Scout ducked and dodged to her right, avoiding this energy blast as she had all the others. The smell of ozone was discernable as she called upon her powers, "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" Her aim was true and the last Jem'Hadar fell.
    They stood there, trying to catch their breath while looking about for any other enemies. Seeing that the area was clear for now, the two cats came out of cover. "Are you okay, Mars?" Artemis asked. They all had minor injuries of a sort, mostly from the Jem'Hadar's fists, but Mars had been hit in the shoulder by a weapon discharge.
    "Yeah, I'm fine. It's not that..." Her voice began a hiss of pain as Mercury gently probed the wound.
    "Sure you are," the blue haired Scout said, "I barely touched it. Now keep still while I try to staunch the bleeding." Mars nodded, and Mercury concentrated on the wound while the others stood guard. She noted with relief that no major arteries had been hit, but it was still bleeding freely. A part of her wondered at that, since an energy weapon like that should cauterize the wound. Thrusting that back to the back of her mind, she concentrated on forming a makeshift bandage. Fortunately with all the bodies lying around, there was no shortage of material to form one, presuming that the uniforms were reasonably clean. A quick scan showed that was indeed the case and she tore several strips from 
one.
    Mars tried to keep still to allow Mercury to finish, but it wasn't easy with the injury throbbing as it was. But Mercury made good progress, and she was nearly done when Mars felt a warning buzz inside her head. Snapping her head about, she alerted the others, "Something's coming!"
    Malachite materialized within seconds of her alarm, but he seemed to take no notice of the Scouts. Instead he was gazing about at the fallen Jem'Hadar. "Pity. I'd have thought they'd do better than this."
    "Wrong again, bleachhead," Mars hissed, as Mercury quickly tied off the bandage. "You're next!"
    The white haired General turned and regard the four Scouts stoically. "I think not."
    "Let's get him, Jupiter!" Venus cried. "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM..."
    "JUPITER THUNDER..."
    "SMASH!"
    "CRASH!"
    The two attacks combine into one, heading straight at Malachite. 
    He regarded the incoming fire with an arrogant sneer on his face. One that was justified as it ricocheted off his forcefield.
    Mars moved to bring her own powers to bear on the Negaverse General, but something impacted her from the side, knocking her down. "What the...?" She looked over at what had hit her and was surprised to see a large bird beside her with one of Zoisite's crystal knives embedded in its wing.
    "Stupid bird!" she heard Zoisite curse. "You ruined my shot..." 
    Zoisite's voice trailed off in confusion, and the battle froze momentarily as everyone got a look at what amazed her.
    The 'bird' had become a large gelatinous mass and shifted form, eventually becoming a humanoid male dressed in a brown uniform. "My pleasure," he said calmly, dropping the crystal shard to the ice.
    Mars' tried to keep her jaw from dropping. The man was the shapeshifter she had seen in her vision.
    For her part, Zoisite was shaking with rage. First there was those three aliens that had humiliated her and forced her to withdraw. Now this shapeshifter had appeared out of nowhere, ruining a perfectly good ambush shot she had on Mars. "Enjoy it while you can, shapeshifter. It's the last one you'll ever have. ZOI!" Odo automatically relaxed his body back into it's natural gelatinous state again, but the force of the blast was still enough to hurl him backwards several meters, slamming him deep 
into a snowbank. Zoisite grinned and laughed aloud. "Well, I guess that put him on ice."
    "And I can do the same for you!" a voice cried from below and behind her. Zoisite spun around just as it cried out, "MERCURY ICE BUBBLES... FREEZE!" A wave of supercold energy gripped Zoisite and she grimaced in pain. Ordinarily she could withstand an attack such as this, but she was still weakened by the alien's energy weapons. Her only recourse was to flee. A swirl of cherry blossoms surrounded her as she prepared to teleport away.
    "Oh, no you don't!" Mars growled. "MARS FIREBIRD... STRIKE!" The bird of flame enveloped the Negaverse General, the fierce heat it generated overwhelming her defenses and she screamed in agony. It was a short lived scream.
    "ZOISITE!" Malachite spun in her direction, but it was already far too late. All that remained of Zoisite was a puff of ash blowing in the wind. "You'll pay for that!" he roared. Flinging his arms wide, he fired two powerful energy blasts at the nearest Scouts to him; Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter. The two Scouts were slammed into the icepack, and lay unmoving.
    "MINA!" With a howl of pain, Artemis unthinkingly hurled himself at Malachite. The Negaverse general snarled and mercilessly blasted the white cat. Artemis fell onto the ground beside Venus.
    "NO!" Mars hurled a powerful bolt of fire at Malachite, but it simply splashed off his forcefield, as did Mercury's ice blast.
    "Two down, two to go. Goodbye, Sailor Scouts!" Malachite gathered up the energy for a final blast. But before he could do so, the ice beneath him began shaking. Suddenly, the ground split open, and a rock emerged. It shot forward and landed atop Malachite, forcing the General to the ground. Odo shifted forms again, morphing from a Horta back to his normal humanoid appearance. However, he kept his arms gelatinous, wrapping them around Malachite.
    "It seems Nephlyte must have lied, when he said there was only one shapeshifter," Malachite said in a almost conversational tone.
    "You've seen others like me? And who's Nephlyte?" Odo demanded.
    "I'll send you to meet him," Malachite flatly replied, sending a charge of energy into Odo, staggering him and forcing him to release his hold on the General. Malachite raised his arms and send another 
blast into Odo, this time catching the Constable full on. Odo went flying once more and ended up crashing into Mars and Mercury. Malachite slowly picked himself off the ice, eyes blazing with anger. 
"Now you die, Sailor Scouts." He was about to unleash a barrage at them when a hand grabbed his wrist.
    "Wrong," Jupiter said weakly. A tingling of ozone was perceivable as she summoned all of her power, "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" The tall Scout and the General both screamed as the energy of Jupiter's attack raced through him, while she was caught in the backlash of her own powers. Jupiter fell to the ground unconscious, while Malachite dropped to his knees, obviously staggered.
    "Lita!" Mars struggled to free herself from Odo, as did Mercury, but it was like trying to wade out of a pool of molasses and it didn't help matters that Odo was trying to collect himself both literally and 
figuratively. If she could get loose before Malachite could recover, she'd have a chance to take him out of the fight.
    All too soon, however, Malachite recovered, getting shakily to his feet. He glared down at the fallen Jupiter. "Nice try, girl," he rasped, "but not good enough."
    "If at first you don't succeed, blast the bad guy again." Malachite turned to the source of the voice and was surprise to find Venus standing next to him, her index finger pointed at his head.
    Mina struggled to stay on her feet and conscious. The pain from her injuries was nearly overwhelming, but she felt she had enough left in her for one good shot. One good enough to take out Malachite, she hoped, because she wasn't going to of help to Mars and Mercury for much longer. She had to finish him here and now, to give them a chance to get at Beryl. Nothing else mattered.
    Venus leaned forward before Malachite could react, touching the tip of her index finger to his forehead. "Hasta la vista, pretty boy! VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
    The backflare from her attack blinded those watching for a second, but when it cleared they only saw Venus sprawled on the ground. No trace of Malachite remained, except for a wisp of dust.
    Mercury struggled to her feet, helped in part by the fact that Odo was finally able to reform himself. But before she could move to either of the two injured Scouts, a woman she had never seen before ran up to them and knelt down.
    Mars watched intently as Dax began utilizing her tricorder. "What's she doing?"
    "I think she's scanning them. But I've never seen a device like that before."
    Mars had further questions, but they were quickly forgotten as she noticed two other new arrivals. Both had features which denoted them as not human, but that wasn't what startled her. Each of them, including the shapeshifter and the woman attending Venus and Jupiter, had appeared in her last fire reading. But what did it mean? Were they allies? Or new enemies?
    Kira helped Odo to his feet. "Are you okay, Odo?"
    The Constable nodded. "A little shaken, but otherwise I'm fine, Major. The... opposition was a little tougher than I had anticipated."
    "Zoisite?" Kira asked.
    "And Malachite," Odo confirmed. "Ultimately, these two dealt with her, while they," he indicated the injured Scouts, "where able to dispatch him." Kira nodded, but what she was going to say died in her 
throat as she got her first good look around the battlefield and at the bodies of two dozen Jem'Hadar lying amidst the ice and snow.
    Worf noticed the look of astonishment on her face. "Do you still think they need our help against the Jem'Hadar, Major?"
    "Kira!" Dax called out before she could respond. Kira turned and saw Dax picking up an unconscious cat. She had taken off her jacket, using it in an attempt to keep the injured Venus warm. "These two are badly injured. If they're going to have any chance, we've got to get them to the Defiant." She shivered, adding, "And before I freeze to death."
    "Go," Kira ordered.
    "Wait a minute!" Mars exclaimed. "Go where?"
    "We've got a starship in orbit," Dax tried to explain, then shrugged. "It's a long story, and they don't have the time for it.." Tapping on her comm badge, "Dax to Defiant."
    "Go ahead," Sisko's voice responded.
    "Medical emergency. Four to beam directly to the medical bay." A second later, a blue-white haze enveloped the four, and they disappeared.
    Kira turned to the remaining Scouts. "Okay, quick introductions. I'm Major Kira Nerys, that's Lt. Commander Worf, and you've met Odo. Now, maybe you two could give us an idea what's going on around here."
    Mars responded sharply, "I think you're the ones who ought to explain what you're up to. And what you're doing here with him!" She turned and leveled an accusing finger at Odo.
    "What have you got against Odo?" asked a baffled Kira.
    Mars didn't respond, other than to continue glaring at the Constable. For his part Odo returned her gaze measure for measure. 
    After a few moments he said, "You're welcome."
    The raven haired Scout was taken aback. "Huh?"
    "For saving your life."
    "He's right, Mars," Mercury put in. "If it weren't for him, Zoisite would've killed us."
    "Yeah, that's true," Mars sullenly agreed.
    Odo snorted. "Your gratitude is overwhelming."
    Mercury put a restraining hand on her friend. "Not now, Mars." She waited until Mars' temper subsided a bit, then turned to Odo. "Please try to understand, but you're not the first shapeshifter we've encountered, and that was not... pleasant for either of us. A good friend of ours was killed by it."
    "You mean you've met other Changelings before?" Odo asked. "Malachite said something about another one."
    "Oh, is that what you call yourselves?" Mercury asked, making an entry onto her palmtop. "Yes we did, several months ago. I've always wondered if there were any others around... and I'm glad to see that you're not all like that one."
    "I'm not like others of my people," Odo said.
    "That's good to know." She looked up from the computer, "Do you know anything about your evolution?"
    Before Odo could say that he knew very little about how Changelings evolved, Kira interjected, "This may be very interesting, but I'd like to know just what the hell is going on around here!" She eyed the two of them critically, as if noticing their outfits for the first time. "And why the hell aren't you freezing in that getup?!?"
    "The effects of the transformation protects us from climatic extremes," Mercury answered automatically.
    "We haven't got time for this," Luna said. "We have to stop Beryl from unleashing the Negaforce. We'll try to answer your questions later, Major." If there is a later, she added silently.
    "Luna's right," Mars said. "Come on, Mercury. It's up to us now." 
    The two remaining Scouts and Luna ran towards the dimensional portal. The away team glanced at each other, then followed. They had only gone a few paces when a figure appeared in front of them, barring their way. He was dressed in black and silver armor, complete with a cape, and he had a sword in hand. "I knew those two would fail in their efforts to stop you. But make no mistake about it, Sailor Scouts... You're not getting past me."
    "Who is it this time?" a frustrated Kira asked Worf.
    Mars answered before the Klingon could. "Darien," she breathed.
    Confusion showed on his face. "Who's Darien? My name is Prince Darien."
    "Oh, yes," Odo said, rolling his eyes. "There is a big difference. I can see how you might become confused."

    Sisko stared apprehensively at the viewscreen as all around him various sensor alarms were sounding. The energy field in the arctic that they had been monitoring had started growing exponentially in the last few minutes, threatening to result in a dimensional crossover. Very shortly, forces from the Negaverse would be able to cross over to Earth at will. He shuddered to think of the destruction that would result, given the resistance that they had demonstrated to Starfleet weapons in 
the past. An Earth with only twentieth century weapons wouldn't stand a chance.
    O'Brien also glanced at the screen from his engineering position, but he was less worried. After all, he had seen the Scouts defeat the Borg and they had handled Beryl before their trip to the Enterprise-D, so they should be able to do so now... he hoped. "Sailor Moon should cut loose with the Silver Crystal any minute now."
    "I don't think so, Chief." The two of them looked to starboard side door, where Dax was entering the bridge. She made her way over to the helm, where she relieved the officer that had replaced Bashir. The doctor had raced to the Defiant's small Sickbay the moment Dax had called in the medical emergency. "I only saw four of the Scouts while I was down there. And Sailor Moon wasn't one of them."
    "What the..." O'Brien sputtered, aghast. "She's got to be there!"
    "She wasn't."
    "Correct me if I'm wrong, but if Sailor Moon isn't there, then that means no Silver Crystal," Sisko said.
    "Yes. And without that, they have no way to beat Beryl," Dax added.
    Sisko frowned. "If that's the case, it looks like it's up to us."
    O'Brien looked at his captain as if he had lost his mind. "Us?!?"
    Dax looked none to optimistic herself. "Benjamin, I don't know how much we can realistically do to stop them."
    "I'm aware of that, old man. But I'm not about to sit up here and just watch while Earth, any Earth, is overwhelmed. I need you to find me a way to prevent the dimensional crossover... and fast!"

    "You're not getting past me," Darien repeated, ignoring Odo's sarcasm.
    "We shall see," Worf replied, raising his phaser and firing. And he might have hit him, too, had Mars not deflected his arm.
    "No! Don't hurt him!"
    Worf glowered at her. "My phaser was set on stun! He would not have been harmed!" He aimed his weapon again, only to discover a black rose embedded in it.
    Darien smiled, leveling his sword at Worf. "As I said, you're not getting past me."
    Worf threw the useless weapon away and moved into close range, drawing his mek'leth. Darien took a swipe at him, but the Klingon was able to parry it and respond with an attack of his own.
    "You three get going," Kira ordered as they watched the two exchange blows. "We'll keep him busy so you can do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing." She and Odo moved around the two 
combatants, looking for an opportunity to aid Worf.
    "Right," Luna responded. "Let's go!" She ran off to the portal, followed by the two remaining Scouts.
    They had only gone a few paces when black energy erupted from the portal, cutting off all light from the sun. In a matter of seconds, the light level around them had fallen to that of nautical twilight. In the 
same moment, Queen Beryl appeared before them, with a large, demonic figure appearing behind her.
    "We're too late," Luna whispered in a horrified tone.
    "Well, Sailor Scouts, you have failed utterly. Despite your efforts, the Negaforce is free at last! And now the world- and soon the universe- will be mine!" She threw her head back and laughed.
    Kira had looked back at the moment of Beryl's appearance, and saw the mad monarch's glee. "I really don't like her," Kira muttered. "She reminds me of a Cardassian."
    "I think you're being too hard on the Cardassians," Odo said.
    "You haven't won yet, Beryl! Not while we're still alive!" Mars cried defiantly.
    "That can be easily rectified, Sailor Mars," Beryl gloated.
    Worf took advantage of Darien's distraction at Beryl's appearance by deflecting his blade downward with the mek'leth, then following it by striking a blow to Darien's chin with the heel of his right palm. Darien staggered backwards and Worf was about to press his advantage when he was tackled by Odo. The Constable's reason came abundantly clear as a bolt of energy tore through the space the Klingon had occupied. 
    Worf nodded his thanks to Odo. "Where is Prince Darien?"
    "Teleported away somehow," Odo responded as they got back to their feet.
    Beryl growled at this small setback. "Destroy them! Destroy them now!" There was a loud demonic howl as the Negaforce charged at them. Kira fired her phaser at the onrushing entity, but it had no obvious effect. She slapped desperately at her comm badge. "Kira to Defiant! Emergency transport, seven to beam up! NOW!!"
    "We tried our best, Mars."
    "Not good enough, Mercury. But thanks anyway." The blue haired scout nodded as the two Scouts readied themselves for a last stand. At that moment the transporter beam gripped the assembled group as the Defiant reclaimed her own.

    Note: Don't know what a Horta is? See the Classic Trek episode, "The Devil in the Dark".

Back to Top

Sailor Trek: Deep Space 9
By Bill Harris
Chapter 3 - Day of Disaster
PG13

    Out of the corner of his eye, Sisko could see Kira stride forcefully onto the bridge. "Rough trip, Major?"
    "You could say that," she answered. "Worf's taken our guests to the medical bay, but there's a big problem to deal with on Earth. All hell's broken loose down there. Literally."
    "I know, Major," the captain replied softly, indicating the viewscreen. Puzzled, Kira turned to face the forward part of the bridge and gasped at the image that was displayed.
    "May the Prophets save us..."

    "We shouldn't be here," Mars was saying as Worf led them to the medical bay. She paused a moment to glare back at Odo, who was trailing behind them. "We should be back on Earth trying to stop Beryl."
    "Your attitude is commendable, but such an attempt would be foolish," Worf responded. "The two of you do not possess the power to confront Beryl on your own, let alone the Negaforce. Any attempt for you to do so would be a useless, though honorable, gesture." Mars looked as if she were about to object for a moment, then subsided. She hated to admit it, but Worf was right... She and Mercury didn't have the power needed to defeat Beryl, at least not without the Silver Crystal. And with the Negaforce loose, there was very little hope that they would be able to get their hands on the Rainbow Crystals and use them to recreate it. Entering the medical bay, she sighed. Things hadn't seemed this 
bleak to her since...
    The raven haired Scout stopped short upon entering. There were two beds in the Defiant's small medical bay, and a man, evidently the doctor, was working at one. The other had a still figure on it, one that was covered with a sheet. "No..." she breathed, staring at it in shock. 
    After a moment, Mercury moved passed her and hesitantly lifted it up, revealing Sailor Venus.
    "She died a few minutes ago," a voice came from behind them. Turning, they faced Bashir. In a voice laced with regret he continued, "I'm sorry, but there wasn't anything I could do for her... for any of 
them, really. The damage from... whatever caused it, was simply too extensive, going right down to the cellular level."
    "Artemis?" Luna asked from her perch on Mercury's shoulder.
    "If you're referring to the white cat, then I'm afraid he was dead on arrival."
    "And... Sailor Jupiter?" Mercury asked in a quiet voice.
    Bashir opened his mouth to answer, but another spoke up before he did, saying in a weak voice, "I'm still here... for a little longer, anyway." The other two looked to Bashir, hoping that he'd have something more positive to say, but he simply nodded in silent agreement. Mercury automatically produced her computer and scanned Jupiter but quickly saw that the doctor was right. The tall Scout didn't have long to live.
    "No!" Mars protested and moved over the Jupiter's side. "That can't be true! She's going to be okay..."
    "Raye." The use of her name brought her up short. She blinked, and gazed down at the tall Scout, who was staring firmly at her. "Don't lie to yourself. Doctor Bashir already told me how bad off I am." She flicked her eyes over to the doctor. "It's too bad I won't be sticking around. He looks just like my old boyfriend." Her statement obviously caught Bashir off guard, and he blinked in surprise.
    "Oh, Lita..." Mars said in a whisper. A part of her sensed Mercury move beside her and Luna bound down onto the biobed beside Jupiter.
    "Hey, you can't worry about me," Jupiter said. She grimaced slightly and Bashir moved to administer a hypo, but she waved him off. "You still have to take care of Beryl. Wish I could help, but at least me and Venus took care of Malachite for you."
    "We'll try of course," Mercury said. "But I don't know if we have the power to do so..."
    "You have to," Jupiter insisted. Another wave of pain washed over her, and she gripped Mars' arm tightly. "Just promise me this," she said, looking intently first at Luna, then Mercury, and finally Mars. "Promise me that no matter what it takes, no matter what you have to do, you'll stop Beryl. Otherwise it'll all have been for nothing. And after everything we've gone through, it's gotta mean something..."
    "We'll do it," Luna said. The other two simply nodded, not trusting themselves to speak without breaking into tears.
    "Good," Jupiter said and then she caught sight of Worf standing behind them. A puzzled frown formed on her face. "Strange... somehow I feel I know you. But that can't be since I've never seen anyone like you..." Her voice trailed off as the life ebbed from her body.
    The only sound in the room was the shrill whine coming from the biomonitors, which Bashir silenced with a touch on the controls. He was about express his condolences to the trio when a low rumbling sound brought him up short. He had just figured out it was coming from Worf when the Klingon threw back his head and let out an earsplitting howl.

    Muniz looked up from the torpedo he and O'Brien were working on. "What was that?"
    "You mean that howling sound?" the Chief inquired, his attention still on the torpedo. After Muniz nodded he added, "That was Commander Worf doing the Klingon Death Howl."
    "Klingon Death Howl?"
    "That's right." O'Brien looked at Muniz, his expression deadly serious. "It's a tradition that some Klingons observe at the moment of death for their fellows. It's a warning to the dead: Beware, a warrior comes among you."

    The occupants of the medical bay stared at Worf, obviously shaken by his howl. Even with his unique physiology, Odo seemed disturbed by it also. "Why did you do that?" Mercury asked.
    That was a question Bashir and Odo wanted answered as well, but each could see that Worf was reluctant to elaborate. "It is a long story," was all the Klingon would say.
    In truth, Worf wasn't quite sure how to explain it at the moment, given the twists in time this mission had presented them. During the Scouts stay on the Enterprise, he had developed a great deal of respect for Lita Kino, AKA Sailor Jupiter... enough respect that he had with her consent, adopted her into the House of Mogh. In his head he knew that the Lita before him had never experienced that timeline but in his heart he felt that he still had an obligation for her... even though the House of 
Mogh had been disbanded and disgraced by Chancellor Gowron almost eighteen months previously.
    "That's it?" Mars exclaimed somewhat incredulously. "That's all you've got to say after nearly rupturing our eardrums? 'It's a long story'?"
    Worf was saved from deciding on what to say by a summons from the comm system. "Sisko to Worf. Report to the bridge."
    "On my way, Captain." Worf was proceeding to the exit when Mars grabbed his arm.
    "Wait a minute. We're going with you."
    "You should have your injuries treated first," Bashir objected. "Both of you."
    Worf stared at Mars intently and saw the determination in her eyes. Though no word were spoken between the two, much was communicated between the two. In that brief span of time, Worf understood her reasons instantly. She had to accompany him, so that they could fulfill the promise had made to the dying Jupiter. For her part, Mars understood that Worf would do all he could to see that they were able to keep their word to Lita. Without turning from the raven haired Scout, Worf asked, 
"Are their injuries life threatening?"
    "Well... no," Bashir admitted. "But they should be treated as soon as possible. Especially her shoulder."
    "Then they will be... but after they speak with the captain." Worf nodded to the two Scouts and cat and they followed him out of the medical bay.
    Bashir sighed and began the process of placing the bodies in stasis. It wasn't that mind-consuming a task, so a large part of his mind was brooding over the loss of the two young lives, and the cat as well. Perhaps, he speculated, if I had the resources available in the infirmary at DS9, or even if this were a proper sickbay as opposed to this miniaturized excuse for one, I might have been able to save them. Perhaps even Artemis...
    With a start he realized that Odo had remained behind, and had been quietly watching him. "I'm sorry, Odo. Is there something I can do for you?" Bashir asked.
    "I'm not sure," the Constable admitted reluctantly. "I've been feeling... odd since the battle with Malachite."
    "Well, let's see what I can do for you," Bashir stated with false joviality. He opened up a medical tricorder and began scanning the changeling with it. "Hmmm... there are some mild instabilities in your 
morphogenic matrix."
    "Instabilities?" Odo asked, clearly worried.
    Bashir smiled. "There's no need for concern, Constable. There's nothing that won't be cleared up by your taking a few hours of rest to regenerate."
    Odo nodded, clearly relieved. "Thank you, Doctor. I think I'll go to my quarters and do that."
    "You're quite welcome," Bashir said. His expression became more serious when he looked back to the bodies in the stasis chambers. "I'm just glad I could be of some help to somebody today."
    Odo watched him carefully for a moment. "It's not your fault, Doctor."
    Bashir smiled ruefully. "Oh, I'm aware of that, Odo... at least intellectually. However, I can't help feeling that if I had the resources I had back at the station, or even if this were a proper sickbay, that I could have done more for them."
    "Perhaps," Odo said noncommittally. "But I don't see any reason to dwell on what might have been."
    "Then perhaps I should speculate on other things," Bashir answered. "I noticed that Mars, and to a lesser extent Mercury, shot a couple of nasty glares your way on the way out. Now, why is that?"
    Odo snorted. "You hardly need to speculate about that, Doctor. Mercury informed me that they've met another changeling previously, and that it was responsible for a friend's death."
    "That would tend to make them a bit hostile about changelings in general. And it would tend to color their opinions about you."
    Odo nodded. "Indeed. Especially if that friend is Sailor Moon."
    "More speculation, Odo?"
    "Deduction, Doctor, not speculation. One, Sailor Moon is missing from a battle that she has a pivotal role in. Two, according to Worf, the Sailor Scouts were all close friends. When you add in Mercury's revelation, it leads one to this conclusion."
    The doctor frowned. "That does seem to fit."
    "I'm glad you concur," Odo replied with some sarcasm. "Perhaps you should consult with me on medical matters as well."
    Bashir smiled. "Don't worry Odo. I won't make a habit of it."
    "I should hope not."
    "If that accounts for all the Sailor Scouts, I wonder what happened to that Tuxedo Mask character Worf talked about."
    "He was there," Odo confirmed. Briefly the constable relayed the events that occurred at the Arctic battlefield.
    Bashir was suitably impressed by what he heard. "It's a pity you weren't able to capture him. I might have been able to do something for Darien to reverse his amnesia."
    Odo snorted. "Don't you mean Prince Darien?"
    A puzzled expression formed on the doctor's face. "What's the difference?"
    "None that I can see," Odo responded. "No, Doctor. Beryl wasn't about to let her... 'prize' get away that easily. Besides, we have no way of knowing if a stun setting would have any effect on him. And I don't blame Mars for interfering with Worf's shot, she didn't know the phaser was on stun... and she's quite clearly in love with this Darien."
    "Love?" a mystified Bashir asked. "How do you know that?"
    "I'm a detective, Doctor. And I've been observing you humanoids carefully over the years. The signs are obvious if you know where to look. Now if you'll excuse me." The Constable nodded to Bashir and 
departed for his quarters. At least he wouldn't have to share them with Quark on this trip.

    The bridge was a proverbial beehive of activity when Worf and the Scouts entered. The Klingon noted that several of the stations were manned by reserve personnel and that, aside from the captain, Kira was the only senior officer on the bridge. The Major was working furiously at the tactical station, directing the activity of those around her. By contrast, Sisko was standing rock still by his command chair, staring intently at the viewscreen. Presently he barked out, "Chief, where the hell are those torpedoes?"
    A disembodied voice answered him. "Almost ready, Captain. We're modifying the last two now."
    "Good." He turned to Worf. "Take weapons control and check the firing program, Mr. Worf. Kira will brief you on the plan." The Klingon nodded and moved to the station, Kira got out of her seat and began outlining the plan Dax and O'Brien had come up with. Curious, Mercury followed to listen in.
    Luna jumped onto the command chair console. "Not that we're ungrateful, but who ARE you people? And what are you trying to do?"
    Sisko regarded the cat for a brief period. Even though he had been briefed on their existence, he still found himself taken aback at meeting a talking cat face to face. "I'm sorry... Luna, isn't it?" After 
the startled cat nodded he continued, "We haven't got time for lengthy introductions right now, but I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko, commanding the Federation starship Defiant. At the moment, we're trying to seal off the link between Earth and the Negaverse." His gaze returned to the viewscreen, "Before it's too late." Mars and Luna did likewise, and gasped. A large part of the northern hemisphere was covered in a writhing dark mass that was growing visibly. Fully one third of the planet had been enveloped.
    "What it that?" asked Mars, her voice low.
    "Our sensors identify it as a negative energy field, but it's like nothing we've ever encountered before," Sisko replied. "All we really know for certain is that we're reading massive destruction inside the field. Whole cities are being destroyed. Even outside the field, it as if nature has gone berserk: earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, tornadoes... virtually every kind of natural disaster is going on."
    "It's the Negaforce's doing," Luna said. "It's remaking the surface of the Earth in the image of the Negaverse." The black cat shook her head sadly. "We've failed."
    Sisko shook his head. "Not yet, we haven't," he insisted firmly. "There may be two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but thanks to Dax and Chief O'Brien, we still have one more chance at bat."
    Mars hoped he was right, but in her mind she could almost hear the screams of the people trapped inside the dark mass below. "Do... do you have any idea about casualties below?"
    The captain grimaced. "High," he admitted. "Our sensor readings inside the field are limited, but it appears the it's several thousand at least. Considering that several major cities lie inside it, it may well 
be in the millions. But we can't concern ourselves with that at the moment."
    "What?!" Mars hissed. She was dimly aware that several of the crew turned to stare at her, Worf and Kira in particular, but she plunged on regardless. "How can you have a cold blooded attitude like..."
    "Because I have to be more concerned with saving those millions that are still alive," Sisko retorted, interrupting her forcefully. "We'll mourn for the dead later... after the current crisis is over." The two 
of them glared at each other, each of the iron willed individuals unwilling to give an inch. Finally Sisko added in a gentler tone, "That includes those who've died up here on the Defiant. You all have my
condolences on the deaths of your friends, and I think I can safely speak for my crew when I say they feel similarly. I know from personal experience what it's like to lose someone close to you that suddenly."
    Mars sensed the sincerity behind Sisko's words and her expression softened, but before she could respond the starboard door hissed open to admit Dax, followed by Chief O'Brien. The Trill science officer looked tired as she made her way to the helm. "We're ready, sir," she said. "All the torpedoes have been modified and loaded in the launch tubes."
    "I hope your calculations are right, old man..." Sisko began quietly, now taking his own seat. "Because if they're not..."
    "If they're not, I don't think there'll be much of an Earth left to save," Dax finished in the same tone.
    Luna looked oddly at Dax, then to Sisko, "Old man? You need your eyes checked."
    Sisko raised an eyebrow, while Dax smiled broadly. "It's a long story, Luna," she said. "I'll be happy to tell you all about it when we finish here."
    In the meantime, Mars went over to where Mercury was standing just behind Worf at the tactical station. She could see the both he and Kira were feverishly setting up some last details on the firing program. In a low voice she asked her fellow Scout, "What are they trying to do? And can it actually work?"
    The blue haired Scout tapped on her computer for a moment before answering. "They've modified several of their weapons to cause a subspace inversion field." At Raye's dubious look, she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not sure I understand it either. As for it working... Well, it's possible. The subspace physics they're using are quite advanced beyond anything that exists on Earth, but the theory seems sound. Assuming everything goes as planned, the explosions will set up an inversion field causing a cascade reaction within the dimensional portal between Earth and the Negaverse, thereby severing the dimensional link. At the very least, this should by us some time."
    Mars looked dubiously back at the screen. It seemed like a long shot, but what else could they try?
    Worf turned to Sisko, "Firing program loaded and ready, sir."
    "Very well. Deactivate the cloak and fire when ready, Mr. Worf," Sisko ordered.
    "Aye, sir." Worf touched a control on his monitor, activating the firing program. Outside, the Defiant became visible once more and immediately launched a staggered volley of photon and quantum torpedoes. Those on the bridge watched anxiously as the orange and white weapons raced towards Earth, disappearing into the dark mass above D point. Dax monitored the sensors for reaction. "Detonation of all torpedoes confirmed. Subspace field inversion proceeding."
    "It's working..." Mercury breathed. The Scouts and the crew held their collective breath as the growth of the dark field slowed and finally seemed to stop.
    An alarm sounded from Dax's panel. Hurriedly she checked the sensor readouts. "Hold on. Something's interfering with the cascade reaction," she announced.
    "The Negaforce," Luna observed sadly.
    Dax looked horrified at the sensor readings. "The subspace inversion field has been completely negated. The portal's not collapsing... it's tearing wide open." On the viewscreen, the black mass began expanding at a greatly accelerated rate and covered the planet within a matter of seconds. The assembled group stared at the image in stunned silence, that was interrupted by an alert from the 
tactical station.
    "Captain, incoming fire!" Worf cried. Several massive bolts of energy emerged from the darkness over D point, heading straight for the Defiant.
    "Evasive!" Sisko ordered, "Shields to maximum!" While Dax was able to evade some of the incoming fire, a good many of the bolts impacted on the small starship, sending it tumbling. Inside, several panels exploded as a result of the power surges and the crew hung on for dear life as the 
deck pitched under them. Mercury and Mars hung on to the back of Worf's seat, while Luna dug her claws into the armrest of Sisko's chair.
    "Shields gone!" Worf reported.
    "Warp drive is out too," O'Brien shouted over the noise. "And the entire weapons array is offline!"
    Sisko began calling out orders. "Dax, get us back under control! Activate the cloaking device." Dax worked to steady the ship while moving it into another orbit. Outside, the Defiant ceased it's spinning motion and faded from view just as another energy bolt shot up and passed through where the ship had been. Still more bolts emerged from below, bracketing the starship.
    Kira spoke up, "Those shots are coming too close for comfort. I think they're tracking us somehow!"
    "While we're cloaked?" asked O'Brien in disbelief.
    "They had several Jem'Hadar under their control, so they probably had access Dominion technology at the same time. Including their method for penetrating cloaks," Dax theorized.
    "Whatever it is, we're not sticking around to find out," Sisko said. "Move us out of the system, Dax. Best speed." The Trill officer nodded and made the necessary adjustments to the helm. The image of Earth on the viewscreen grew smaller as the Defiant moved off on impulse power, the groundfire becoming more sporadic when it passed beyond lunar orbit.
    Mars looked at the shrinking image of the enshrouded Earth on the viewscreen, then glanced at the monitor of conditions within the blackness. She couldn't understand all of it, but the ramifications of 
total devastation being wrought below were perfectly clear.
    Negaverse victory. All their efforts had come to naught.
    Each of the Defiant's bridge crew had an expression of uncertainty, as they were unsure what to do next. Mars finally settled her gaze on Sisko, who had a similar expression on his face. "Well?!?" she demanded. "Now what?"
    Sisko continued to stare at the enshrouded Earth. "Strike three," he said quietly.
    Mars couldn't believe it. The determination she had felt when leaving the medical bay went out of her like air from a popped balloon. "It was all for nothing. Everything we've gone through... everyone we've lost... Serena..." Worf looked at her sharply at this, but said nothing. "Lita... Mina... Artemis... all for NOTHING!" She collapsed into an empty chair, too emotionally spent even for tears. Mercury went over and tried to comfort her friend, but Raye seemed only dimly aware of her.
    Sisko turned to Kira. "Major, our guests still have injuries that need attention. Please escort them to the medical bay, then assign them quarters," he said in a still quiet voice.
    "Yes, sir," the Major responded. Gently she asked the Scouts to come with her, Mars doing so almost mechanically.
    After they left, Sisko turned to the helm. "Dax, take another look at the situation. Find another method to severe the dimensional link. And make it work this time."
    "Benjamin, I don't think..." she broke off at the stern look on Sisko's face which brooked no argument, instead saying quietly, "Yes, sir." She moved over to one of the science stations and began working.  An uncomfortable silence descended on the bridge, broken only by a loud thud and a cracking of glass as Sisko slammed his fist on his console in frustration.

    "There," Bashir said, putting down the tissue regenerator. He picked up a medical tricorder and passed it over Mars' shoulder. "Good as new."
    Mars flexed her left arm experimentally. There was no pain at all from the wound the Jem'Hadar weapon had inflicted. In fact, it was as if she had never been injured at all. "Thanks."
    "All part of the friendly service," the doctor answered, moving over to the biobed Mercury was seated on. "Though you should thank whomever bandaged that in the first place."
    "That would be me," Mercury said, turning slightly red.
    "Oh?" Bashir began scanning Mercury's injuries, noting with relief that they were relatively minor. "I don't see why you're embarrassed. You did a first rate job with that makeshift bandage. I doubt I could've done better under the circumstances."
    "Thank you, doctor."
    He glanced up from the tricorder. "Have you considered a career in medicine? You've certainly got an aptitude for it."
    "I... I did want to be a doctor," the blue haired girl replied, suddenly downcast. "But I doubt that's possible now." Bashir mentally kicked himself, and from the look Kira was giving him, she was more than willing to do it physically. All he had wanted to do was try to cheer them up, but what he had ended up doing instead was to remind them of the devastation that was being wrought on Earth.
    Kira went over and put a comforting hand on Mars' shoulder. "Don't give up hope yet. If there's anyway to push Beryl off your world, Captain Sisko will find it."
    Mars shot a glare at the Major, who returned it measure for measure. "Who are you to talk about not giving up? Your world wasn't taken over by alien invaders!"
    "Oh, yes it was," Kira responded, her voice taking on a hard edge to it. "Bajor, my homeworld, was invaded and occupied by the Cardassians. We were no threat to them, but they still came and stripped out world of it's resources, put us into labor camps... murdered us... you name it, the Cardassians did it. But we didn't give up. We formed a resistance movement and fought back against the Cardassians. It may have taken us fifty years, but we managed to force them off our world. And the same thing can work on Earth."
    "A resistance movement? Against the Negaverse?" Luna said, doubt evident in her voice. Mercury and Mars looked equally skeptical.
    Kira nodded. "It's one option."
    "No offense, Major," Bashir interjected, "But forming a resistance against the Cardassians was one thing. From what I've heard, their opponents are in another class entirely."
    "You got that right," Mars remarked.
    "It's just one possible solution," Kira said. "My point is that no situation is entirely hopeless. And Captain Sisko will find a way to resolve this- whether it's forming a resistance movement and supplying it with weapons from the Defiant's armory... Or something else altogether."
    "You really believe in him, don't you?" Mercury asked.
    "Absolutely," Kira affirmed. "After all, he is the Emissary."

    Several hours later, Dax reluctantly pressed the door chime at Sisko's quarters and heard him respond softly, "Come in." The door opened to admit her to Sisko's temporary home on the Defiant. Sisko was seated on the lower bunk, a somber expression on his face. In fact, she didn't think she had seen her old friend look this depressed since Jennifer's death at Wolf 359, a little over five years ago. Those were back in the days of Curzon Dax, before the Dax symbiont had passed to Jadzia, but the 
memories were still vivid. Sisko stood up slowly and faced her. "I could sure use some good 
news right now, old man."
    "Unfortunately, I don't have any," she answered. "O'Brien and I have been over it a dozen times, from just as many different angles.  There's just no way we can sever the link between this universe and the Negaverse."
    Sisko sagged back against the bunk bed, feeling very weary. "You're sure?"
    She nodded. "I've tried everything I could think of, even a couple things that violate the laws of physics. The link is just too strong to sever with our current resources." Sisko turned away from her, facing the far wall. "And it doesn't help matters any that it's being artificially maintained by the Negaforce."
    Sisko stood silently for several moments, digesting her report, then slammed his fist into the cabin wall. "Damn it!"
    Despite the situation, an amused expression came across Dax's face. "You never could keep your temper in check, Ben. Feel any better?"
    "A little," he admitted. "I just hate feeling this helpless, Dax. We didn't just stumble across this situation, we were brought here! The wormhole was deliberately diverted to bring us to this time and place to do something. But there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to help this situation." He heaved a sigh of frustration and placed his hands on his hips. "This problem is too big for us to handle, even with the help of the Sailor Scouts."
    Dax's brow furrowed. "Perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way."
    Sisko turned to face her. "What do you mean?"
    "Like you said, this is too big for us. So maybe the wormhole aliens had another reason for sending us here."
    "Such as?"
    Dax shrugged. "I don't know. Those pieces of the puzzle is still missing."
    Sisko turned and paced across the room a few times, pondering what she said. "Then it's time we found those missing pieces, old man," he said, several moments later, feeling a new sense of purpose fill him. "The Prophets mentioned an 'anomaly'... and now that I have time to think about it, there's a very good chance they were talking about a temporal anomaly. And I'd bet my baseball that it has some connection to the changes in the timeline that we've observed here as well."
    "No bet," Dax said. "I think you're onto something, Benjamin. I'll get on the sensors and start scanning for temporal anomalies."
    "Search for any spatial anomalies as well, Dax. We can't afford to leave any stone unturned. And have Chief O'Brien get to work on that log buoy again. Now that there's time to give it a good lookover, there may be a few answers there as well."
    "Yes, sir," she answered and left the room.
    "Sisko to Worf," the captain said, prompting the computer to activate the intercom system. "I have an assignment for you."

    "Muniz!" The younger man looked up from a console to see O'Brien entering the engine room.
    "Yes, Chief?"
    "The captain wants us to take a look at that log buoy we salvaged," the Chief answered. "Hopefully it'll give us some clue as to what the hell's going on around here. Besides, now that most of the damage has been repaired, you need something to do, right?" The two engineers moved over to the damaged buoy, which had been placed in a corner of the Defiant's engine room. With all the recent activity, neither had been able to make the time to attempt to extract useful information from it.
    "It'll be a miracle if we get anything out of this mess," Muniz remarked, shaking his head.
    "We won't know until we try," O'Brien stated. "Besides, you're not afraid of a little hard work, are you Muniz?"
    "No, sir," Muniz answered with a smile.
    "Don't call me sir," the Chief groused, "Unless you really want a transfer to Waste Extraction." They both chuckled and began work by removing an inspection plate form the buoy. After much effort they 
managed to get it off, and stared in stunned silence as they got a good look at the buoy's inner workings.
    "I don't believe it!" Muniz remarked. "I thought they stopped using stuff like this a hundred years ago!"
    O'Brien shook himself and tried to focus on the task at hand. "They did, but it doesn't change our job any. Captain Sisko wants answers, and that means he wants us to find them."

    The sound of the door chime startle Amy, almost causing her to drop the padd she had been studying. She and Raye were in the small, though spartan, quarters that Major Kira had assigned them. Upon transforming back, Raye had opted to get some sleep, but Amy found that she couldn't 
contain her curiosity about their hosts and accessed the computer. Besides, she doubted she could sleep very well at the moment. Any sleep she got right now would no doubt be tainted by nightmares of recent events... Mina's death... Lita's... the Negaverse overrunning Earth... and Serena's death. It had been months since that had happened, but the events of that day still plagued her at night. Again she wondered how Raye was able to put these things aside and get to sleep so easily. Probably something in her training as a Shinto priestess, she decided. Downloading the data into a padd, she decided to start with the history of the Defiant and the crew she had met, and had gotten as far as 
the recent history of Bajor before she was interrupted. Getting out of the lower bunk, she looked at Raye. The other girl was eyeing the door rather groggily. "What now?" she asked in a rather irritated voice as the door chimed again. Amy could swear that it had taken on an impatient tone.
    "One way to find out." She was about to admit whoever was at the door when Raye put a restraining hand on her.
    "Hold on. Let's transform first."
    "I hardly think maintaining a secret identity is necessary now, Raye."
    "Maybe not," the other girl admitted. "And I think these people can be trusted... at least Worf can be. But lets be on the safe side, okay?"
    Amy considered what she said and nodded. "Okay." Two transformation phrases (and three door chimes) later she said, "Come in." The door opened and a rather impatient (but trying not to show it) 
Worf entered. He looked first at Mercury, then at Mars eyeing him from the upper bunk. He noted that the small tears in their clothing had disappeared. "Am I disturbing you?"
    "Not at all," Mars replied, the sarcasm sharply evident in her voice. "I was only sleeping." Worf repressed the instinctive urge to snarl. This was Mars, alright. She was just as sharp tongued as during her trip to the Enterprise-D.
    "Mars!" Mercury chided her. Turning to Worf, "Well, I wasn't sleeping, though I was doing some research into the history of your world. It sounds like an interesting place."
    "It is," he agreed. "Hopefully we will be able to return there once this matter is resolved."
    Mars looked confused. "Can't you just use the same way you got here?"
    "No," the Klingon replied. "We were investigating an anomaly in the wormhole. For some reason, it led us here and then vanished."
    Mercury nodded in understanding. "Yes, the wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants." Then she frowned as what Worf said sank in. "It led you here? It shouldn't have done that."
    "We do not understand it either," Worf agreed. "Our current theory is that the wormhole aliens routed us here for some reason. And that is the reason for my visit."
    "How so?" Mars asked.
    "We believe that a temporal anomaly occurred, altering the history of your world. Captain Sisko asked me to talk with you three..." His voice trailed off and he glanced about the room. "Where is Luna?"
    "She said something about exploring the ship. She should be back soon," Mercury answered. "You were saying?"
    "Yes. The captain asked me to talk with you three to see if I could determine the crucial event that altered the flow of your history."
    "You mean something happened to change the way things should have gone for us?" Mercury asked.
    "That is our current theory, yes."
    "But why you?" Mars asked. "I mean, isn't Dax the scientist?"
    "She is," Worf admitted, "But I have greater knowledge of your true history from my earlier meeting with you on the Enterprise."
    Mercury looked puzzled. "Meeting?"
    "We've never met you before," Mars added. "And believe me, we'd definitely remember meeting someone like you."
    "Of course not," Worf said, ignoring Mars' barb. "That event took place later in your history, and in the true timeline. You can confirm what I've said by accessing the logs of the Enterprise-D." He added a range of stardates for good measure.
    Mercury picked up the padd and quickly manipulated the controls, calling up the relevant data. It only took her a moment to skim over the log entries, "He's right Mars. All five of the Sailor Scouts visited 
there... and Tuxedo Mask as well." She read on for a moment and gasped. "Our names are listed here! Our real ones!"
    "You spent over a month on the Enterprise and as we are from different universes, there was no need to conceal who and what you were," Worf said, trying to reassure her. "But in order to preserve that timeline, we need to know how things changed. I need you to tell me everything that has happened. Form the moment you became Sailor Scouts to Sailor Moon's death... and what has happened since."

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