In The 24th Century…

    The irritatingly soothing voice of the computer gently dragged Denys Fotheran out of his blessedly sound sleep. One would have thought that after a year of listening to the same voice, one would be used to it. Not Fotheran. Starfleet computers sounded too damn…nice.

    He rolled out of bed and yelled; “Okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up. Give it a rest, why don’t you?”

    “Would you like me to give you your day’s itinerary, Commander?”

    “No. I’ll just muddle through the day without you telling me what to do, How’s that?”

    “Yes, sir. Shall I turn on the sonic shower for you?”

    “Yes. Have my coffee ready by the time I get out and inform Captain Mallory that I’ll be joining her for breakfast in thirty minutes.”

    “Yes sir.”

    Exactly fifteen minutes later, freshly showered and changed and holding a huge mug of extra sweet Vulcan mocha in one hand and a stack of Padds in the other, Commander Denys Fotheran stepped out of his quarters and into the bustling, hectic world of Gamma Space One.

    As he stepped on the slidewalk and let it carry him from the officer’s quarters to the Main Hub, Fotheran reflected on how even after all this time; it was still hard for him to fully accept that he was second in command of Starfleet’s newest starbase.

    Located in the Gamma Quadrant, literally within spitting distance of the Bajoran Wormhole, Gamma Space One was unlike any other starbase Fotheran had ever heard of. Most of it was actually built on top of an existing alien base that had been discovered on the moon orbiting Bregatt II, named Kajoruo. The base had been discovered years ago by Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax of Deep Space Nine but what with The Dominion War, there had been little time for a proper survey of the base. It wasn’t until after the war and hostilities had ceased between The Federation and The Founders and a treaty signed that allowed for the construction of a starbase in the Gamma Quadrant that real research could begin.

    Fotheran scowled at his Padd. Damn. More requisition requests from the scientific teams. Where did they think he was going to get all this stuff? Fotheran had a healthy respect for scientists, sure. Hell, his best friend was a scientist, but most of the ones who had come to GS1 to study the alien base seemed to think that Fotheran had supplies hidden under his bed, just waiting for him to yank them out on request.

    Fotheran tapped the stylized silver delta shield outline backed by two gold rectangles pinned to his left breast that was both the Starfleet insignia and commbadge. “Fotheran to Lockridge.”

    ||/\||Lockridge here. G’morning, boss||/\||

    “Where are you, Wally? I’ve got some requisitions here I need you to handle for me.”

    ||/\||I’m in C&C. Just got here. Ron’s with me||/\||

    “Good. Both of you stay put. I’ll be right there.”

    Fotheran jumped off the slidewalk upon reaching The Main Hub, the circular transport section where base personnel could take turbolifts, magnaslides or transporters anywhere inside GS1. Fotheran didn’t bother with a turbolift or magnaslide but caught the eye of a transport ensign.

    “Beam me right into C&C, okay?” Fotheran said, smiling slightly as he hopped up onto the transporter pad. The ensign smiled back and gave Fotheran a thumbs up. Fotheran enjoyed a healthy respect among the junior officers. Most of them had heard the stories about his life before he’d been drafted into Starfleet and they liked his devil-care-may attitude to Starfleet regulations and protocols. They liked how he usually asked for something to be done instead of ordering and he didn’t care if the junior officers called him by his first name when off-duty.

---

    The familiar shimmering curtain of the transporter effect washed over Fotheran and suddenly he was standing in the middle of Command and Control. Fotheran loved being in the gigantic, multi-leveled brain center of GS1. The top level, where he was standing now was comprised of mostly offices for GS1 staff and conference rooms and auxiliary offices that could be used by visiting dignitaries and officers. The second level was concerned with monitoring the planetary defenses and communications and maintaining contact with the USS ColdFire, the magnificent starship that was docked in orbit above GS1. It fell to the ColdFire to patrol the nearby systems and play peacemaker and render assistance when needed. Fotheran reflected that it had been three months or so since he and Eve had taken her out. Hell, these days they were busy playing diplomat more than anything else.

    The last section of C&C was Flight Control. GS1 was host to a surprising amount of starship traffic and it was co-coordinated here. One of the most impressive things about GS1 was that Command & Control had been built right inside a dormant volcano that boasted one of the most beautiful lakes Fotheran had ever seen. C&C had a gigantic plasteel window that looked out over the lake and onto a huge shuttle landing pad.

    Visitors would disembark from their ships which would dock at the orbiting station above, which was also part of GS1 and had been nicknamed ‘The Sparkplug’. No one really knew why or even what a ‘sparkplug’ was supposed to be. But during the construction of the orbital station the name had stuck and so that’s what it had been called ever since. And then after passing rigid medical exam and security check visitors would then either beam down to The Main Hub or shuttle down. Mostly GS1 saw a lot of diplomats, dignitaries and Federation/Starfleet personal while civilians headed for the nearby settlement of Yellowknife.

    Fotheran turned from admiring the view as his Operations Chief and Chief Science Officer walked up to join him.

    Lieutenant Walter Lockridge was a wiry bullwhip of a man with sandy hair and a generous amount of freckles. He and Fotheran had become fast friends ever since they’d met back in Starfleet Academy. In a lot of ways, Lockridge reminded Fotheran of himself and he’d come to rely on the younger man to handle the day-to-day running of Operations while Fotheran concentrated on other matters. Lieutenant Ronald Boutin was shorter, with dark hair and large, owlish eyes. Ron Boutin was a cyborg, but of an unusual sort. At the age of eighteen he’d contracted a rare disease that destroyed his nervous system. Thanks to the miracles of Fabrini medicine, he’d had a small marble sized seed implanted in what was left of his spine and the seed had actually grown a completely new, artificial nervous system throughout his body, giving him access to many parts of his brain that most humans never used. It had also raised his intelligence to startling levels and as a result, Boutin was the youngest Science Officer in Starfleet.

    “So what’s going on, boss?” Lockridge asked. “You getting grief already?”

    “Here…you look at these requisitions and tell me.” Fotheran passed over the Padd and both Lockridge and Boutin scanned the requests.

    “They don’t want much, do they?” Boutin asked slowly. He was a slow talker and mover unless there was action and then he turned into one of the fastest people Fotheran had ever seen and Fotheran’s own speed was legendary.

    “Ron, you speak their language. Explain that even though GS1 appears to have unlimited resources that simply isn’t the case. Wally, do what you can about getting them what they need, not what they want. Okay?”

    “No problem. Oh, Mike Vollmer wants to take ColdFire out on a run. He’s been upgrading again and wants to test out a few systems.”

    “Tell him to hang on and wait for me and I’ll go with him. I’ve been stuck on GS1 for months now and a short trip would do me some good. Maybe we’ll run out to the Batros system. We’ve been getting reports of Lygos Vad’s Goliath being seen out there. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a line of what he’s up to.”

    Michael Vollmer was the Chief Engineer of GS1 but most of his free time was spent on the ColdFire. It wasn’t unusual for him to spend two or three days aboard the ship, making constant upgrades and innovative improvements that made ColdFire a truly exceptional ship with more than a few surprises.

    “Okay. You’ll be in with the Captain, I take it?”

    “Yep. And I’d better get a move on. She’s been nagging me about being late for breakfast the last couple of days.”

    Fotheran walked off and headed for Eve Mallory’s office. They had a little ritual of having breakfast together as it gave them some quiet time to go over whatever it was they had planned for the day. Lately, they’d been so busy that breakfast was really the only time they saw each other.

    Fotheran entered the spacious office and couldn’t help but smile as Captain Eve Mallory came from behind her desk to greet him. Fotheran’s lanky six foot frame towered over Eve Mallory’s five foot two and upon seeing them for the first time; most people thought that there couldn’t have been a more mismatched team in Starfleet.

    Fotheran was tall, with close-cropped hair and moody hazel eyes. His face was lean and handsome and his skin was a lovely shade of dark chocolate. Eve Mallory possessed a shoulder length mane of red hair that made one think of Irish sunsets and her deep green eyes always held a twinkle of amusement as if she knew some secret joke that maybe she’d let the rest of the universe in on one day. She was one of the most beautiful women Fotheran had ever known and it was still amazing to him that in just three years she had gone from being his mortal enemy to his best friend as well as his commanding officer.

    “You’re two minutes late, Denys…what happened?”

    “Some last minute instructions I had to give Wally and Ron. Why? Something going on?”

    “I want you to meet someone.” Eve indicated a blond haired man dressed in the traditional clothing of the Trader’s Guild. His deep-set eyes sized Fotheran up as they shook hands. “This is Lord John Rael of The Trader’s Guild. He’s just arrived last night to do some business in Yellowknife and as he’s never been there before, he’s asked if you could give him a personal briefing as to what to look out for.”

    Fotheran chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, please…”

Eve frowned. By now she was long used to Fotheran’s irreverence and somewhat inappropriate sense of humor. In fact, it was one of the things that she liked and appreciated about him, but not when an important representative of the influential Trader’s Guild was asking for help from Starfleet officers.

    John Rael looked at Fotheran for a long minute with his head cocked to the side. “I’m not used to being the subject of a joke, Commander. What exactly do you find so humorous about me?”

    “Your sloppiness. Next time you go undercover tell whoever forges your documents not to do too good a job. Your background doesn’t have a black mark on it and there’s not a Guildsman alive who hasn’t pulled a dirty deal once in a while.”

    Eve looked from Rael to Fotheran and said in a crisp, no-nonsense tone, “Commander, just what’s going on here?”

    “His name’s not Rael, its Maxton. Conner Maxton to be precise. He’s been here three days already asking about both of us. I’ve had him checked out and from his documents; I’d have to say he works for Starfleet Intelligence. I’ve got a Padd right here with all the information.” Fotheran passed it to Eve, who looked it over and when she was done, she looked up at Conner Maxton with eyes that had suddenly gone frosty.

    “Looks like you’ve got some explaining to do, Mr. Maxton.”

    Maxton nodded in grudging admiration at a grinning Fotheran. “Seems like the legendary Denys Fotheran lives up to his reputation.”

    “I’m about to give you the beating of your life that will be equally legendary unless you start telling Captain Mallory and myself what the hell this is all about.”

    “Easy, Denys…give him a chance. How about it, Maxton? I’ll give you three minutes to explain yourself before I throw you off my station.”

    “Now, hold on. I’ve got good reasons for sneaking on GS1 without telling you. Quite frankly, I was curious about the two of you. I’ve heard all the stories and I wanted to size the both of you up without you knowing who I was.”

    “Maxton, one of the reasons Denys is the XO of this base is because having a criminal background himself, he can spot a phony ten parsecs away. The chances of anybody sneaking past him is slim, as you have seen. What are you, Starfleet Intelligence?”

    “Section 31.”

    Eve slapped her commbadge. “Security detail to the Captain’s Office on the double.” She turned to Fotheran. “I want him questioned and after that I want you to personally put him on the first ship back to the Alpha Quadrant.”

    “My pleasure.”

    “Wait! You’d said you’d give me three minutes! I’m going to hold you to that! I’m here on a mission of great importance to the security of this base!”

    Eve Mallory was unimpressed. “I’ve had just about enough of Section 31 involving me in their games. I had enough of it back on The Grail and since then, your organization has continually tried to entrap me in their web of deception. I’ll not have it here. Commander Fotheran, take this man to an interrogation cell and find out what he was supposed to do here. And I don’t particularly care how you do it.”

    Fotheran’s voice was a purr of pure pleasure as he answered, “As you say, Captain.”

    The double doors of Eve’s office swooshed open and Security Chief Patience O’Malley stepped in with a security detail at her back. Patience was two or three inches taller than Fotheran and thickly muscled, the result of having been born and raised on a heavy gravity world. Her eyes flicked over Maxton, sizing him up rapidly. “Yes, Commander?”

    Fotheran indicated Maxton. “Take him to an interrogation cell. I’ll be along soon to question him. And Patience? He gives you any trouble at all, feel free to break a leg or arm off.”

    “Yes, sir.”

    After Maxton had been taken away by the security detail, Fotheran turned back to Eve, grinning widely. Eve had returned to her desk and was punching in codes on her desktop LCARS and looked up as he walked over and sat on the edge of the desk.

    “And just what are you grinning like an idiot for? Do you realize what this means?”

    “Yep. Some excitement for a change. We can stop babysitting diplomats and nursemaiding scientists for awhile.”

    Eve sighed and sat down heavily in her high-backed chair and folded her hands across her stomach. “Denys, you knew what the job of running this station entailed when it was offered to you-“

    Fotheran held up a correcting finger. “Don’t you mean when I was blackmailed into this job?”

    “Whatever. The details hardly matter now. What does matter is that we’re here now and this is what we do. And you can’t tell me that it’s not a lot better than being hounded from one star system to another.” Eve frowned suddenly. “And by the way, if you knew Maxton was a phony, why didn’t you have him picked up at once or tell me about it?”

    Fotheran shrugged. “Didn’t see the point in tipping my hand too soon. I had Maxton watched and knew where he was at all times. I wanted to see what he was up to and figured if I left him alone, I’d find out soon enough. And as you saw, I was bringing you the Padd with the information about him to you today. I was going to tell you about him over breakfast.”

    Eve nodded. “You were right to handle it that way. If I had known that a Section 31 operative was on the station…”

    Fotheran stood up abruptly and walked toward the door in that easy, long-legged stride he had that ate up distance in no time. “And speaking of breakfast, I guess that’s shot. I’ve got a prisoner to interrogate. What are you going to be doing?”

    Eve sighed. “I’ve got some secure subspace transmissions to make that are going to blister some high level ears.”

    “Including Kieron Olsen?”

    Eve tapped a short, unpainted nail on her desk several times while she thought. “No. I won’t get a straight answer out of him anyway. I’ve got other resources I can use. You work on Maxton.”

    “Sure. Let’s get together for lunch and compare notes and work out a plan of action.”

    “Fine. And Denys?”

    Fotheran turned back around and raised a questioning eyebrow.

    “Excellent work, Commander.”

    Fotheran waved and was gone. Eve Mallory couldn’t help but notice how Fotheran had a new bounce in his step at the prospect of some excitement. And she couldn’t blame him. She herself had joined Starfleet for its inherent promise of adventure on far flung worlds. The dream of exploring, of seeing alien suns and far-flung vistas that had never been seen by other eyes. She hadn’t ever imagined herself in the role of a deskbound bureaucrat when she had graduated from Starfleet Academy.

    But then again, she hadn’t imagined herself being Replicated by The Machine Race or serving on the damned, doom-haunted Grail or chasing down Denys Fotheran, once one of the most feared and hunted outlaws in Federation space and then becoming best friends with him.

    Life threw you curves all the time and you either swung and missed or you slammed them out of the park. And speaking of slamming…

    Eve got hold of the Chief Communications Officer, Lt. Felicia Goodluck and made her wishes known: a multichannel tightbeam conference link in fifteen minutes with Admiral Boone on Earth at Starfleet HQ, Admiral Roth on Starbase 955 and every department head of Starfleet Intelligence in the Bajoran System.

    Eve drank her tea and sat back as she waited for her communications to be linked.

---

    Fotheran entered the interrogation cell, a dull gray cube of a room with one small table and two chairs. Fotheran sat down across from Maxton, his face a cold mask that held no emotion whatsoever. And when he spoke, he spoke in a voice that had no more compassion or empathy than a stone.

    “Let’s get one thing straight, Maxton: don’t let this uniform give you the wrong impression. I may have joined Starfleet, but Starfleet didn’t join me. I don’t play their games. You got one chance to tell me why you’re here. You don’t want to talk, fine. I put you on the first transport out of here.”

    Maxton smiled with no humor. “And I suppose that since you’ve uncovered my true identity, you’ll put that information out to your friends on the other side of the law, effectively ruining my career as a Section 31 operative. I’d either meet up with an ‘accident’ or simply be ignored. Is that it?”

    Fotheran sat back and said nothing, but his eyes spoke quite eloquently.

    And so Maxton told him everything.

---

    A half hour later, Fotheran’s commbadge bleeped for his attention. ||/\||Mallory to Fotheran||/\||

    “Fotheran here. I guess you want me and Maxton in your office, right?”

    ||/\||Oh, yes. And get hold of the rest of the command staff. We’ve got a big problem on our hands, it would seem||/\||

    “We’ll be right there.” Fotheran motioned to Maxton. “Let’s go. And you better pray that we can keep this thing from accomplishing its mission before anyone else gets killed.”

    Shortly, GS1’s command staff was assembled in Eve’s office, sitting around her rectangular conference table. Eve sat at one end while Fotheran sat at the other. Besides Wally Lockridge and Ron Boutin, Patience O’Malley and Felicia Goodluck, an amazingly beautiful young black woman with an almost supernatural grasp of communications, joined them. The Chief Medical Officer Victor Utchenko sat at Eve’s right, a barrel-chested Russian with a salt and pepper beard and water-colored eyes that seemed to see everything without particularly looking at anything. Mike Vollmer, GS1’s Chief Engineer sat on Eve’s left. Vollmer looked more like a bodybuilder or wrestler than one of the most brilliant engineers in service today. And JoAnn St. John, the station’s Chief Counselor was there. A willowy blond in her mid fifties, JoAnn had been Eve’s Counselor and one of Eve’s best friends for years as well as being sort of unofficial godmother to Eve’s adopted daughter, Caitlyn.

    Eve folded her hands on the table and got right to the point. “This is Connor Maxton, a Section 31 operative. Commander Fotheran and I have recently been made aware of Maxton’s presence on the station. He’s here on a mission of utmost importance and Commander Fotheran and I have been ordered by both Starfleet Command and Starfleet Intelligence to assist him. Commander, bring us up to speed, will you?”

    Fotheran nodded and spoke in brisk, clipped tones. “As you all know, GS1 has been swarming with scientists from a dozen different Federation worlds, examining and studying the alien base GS1 is built on. Seems as if Section 31 is concerned about this alien technology falling into unfriendly hands and so they placed an operative of their own here. A plasomorph from Gentillus X.”

    Utchenko was visibly stunned. “A plasomorph?” He rounded on Maxton. “I knew Section 31 was unprincipled and morally bankrupt, but I never dreamed that they’d use one of them.”

    “So what’s a plasomorph?” Lockridge asked, confused.

    Utchenko said, “Plasomorphs have no identity of their own. They can take the identity of others but not their memories.”

    “How do they do that?”

    “They take the skin from a living being and wear it as their own for up to twenty four hours at a time. That’s how they blend in and mingle with other races. They’re highly intelligent and adaptive and while they’re wearing the skin of someone, they’re almost impossible to detect. They mostly hire themselves out as spies and assassins.”

    “How come I’ve never heard of them?” Patience demanded. “As Security Chief, I’ve familiar with many races with adaptive capabilities and I’ve never once run across data regarding these plasomorphs.”

    Eve answered coldly, “That’s because Section 31 conscripted plasomorphs for their exclusive use and wiped all information of them from every major database in the Federation.”

    “How long has this thing been on GS1?” Utchenko wanted to know.

    “Ten days now,” Fotheran answered coldly. “Which means that assuming it’s taken a new skin once a day in order to move around freely…we’ve got ten dead people already.”

    “I don’t understand something,” JoAnn said, clearly puzzled. “If this plasomorph is working for Section 31…”

    “It’s not and it never was.” Maxton said through tightly clenched teeth. “I got word from several of my informants that the plasomorph had just been using me to get on GS1 and its really working for the Lleerspach Hegemony. I don’t have to tell you what a problem they’ve been here in the Gamma Quadrant.”

    Indeed he didn’t. Ever since The Founders had ceased to be the major power in the Gamma Quadrant, several races had made their bids to take over and increase their stature. The Lleerspach Hegemony was one of those. They had rejected The Federation’s offers of exchange of peaceful technology. They wanted weapons and they wanted them NOW. Once it became clear that The Federation would not share weapons technology with them, the Lleerspach Hegemony quickly severed relations.

    Fotheran continued. “So this plasomorph is actually a double agent and we’ve got to identify it before it manages to get off the base and off the planet.”

    “What makes you think it isn’t gone already?” Patience demanded. “Seems as if it could just walk onto a transporter disguised as a Starfleet officer.”

    “Plasomorphs can’t use transporters. The last one who did so ended up as a puddle of liquefied matter.” Maxton said. “And anyway, I’m the one scheduled to pick it up once its mission is completed eleven hours from now. It doesn’t have any reason to think that I know it’s a double agent, but I can’t count on that. I’ve been trying to find it on my own and having no luck. That’s why I need help.”

    “Help which you should have asked for three days ago,” Eve said with venom. “But that’s not solving the problem, which is what we’re here for. I’m going down to the alien base to talk with the researchers down there. There’s a damned good chance the plasomorph is down there and maybe I can get a line on it if it is.”

    “How will you do that?” Patience asked, puzzled. “If this thing can wear somebody’s skin and look just like them?”

    “That’s why I’ll go along as well,” JoAnn added hastily. “With the Captain’s permission, of course. I’m expert in reading body language. There’s a good chance between the both of us we’ll be able to pick it out.”

    Patience nodded, still not fully satisfied, but it sounded right at least. Eve smiled gratefully at JoAnn. Eve’s status as a Replicant was a fiercely guarded secret and only three people on GS1 were privy to it. Victor Utchenko, who as the station’s Chief Medical Officer had to be made aware of as Eve no longer was subject to human diseases or aging and as such had no reason for regular medical checkups. JoAnn St.John had known for years when she had first become Eve’s Counselor. And Denys Fotheran knew, having discovered Eve to be a Replicant during their first adventure together when they had fought for their lives in a desperate battle against the mad Vulcan Replicant Stolath far under the surface of the planet Hebigo.

    As a Replicant, Eve had a far greater range of sensitivity as far as hearing, smell, touch and sight were concerned and she was 90% certain that she could pick out a plasomorph if she got within distance of it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have JoAnn along.

    “Commander Fotheran’s going to go undercover in Yellowknife with Maxton and see if they can find some clues in the quarters that the plasomorph took when he first arrived.” Eve continued. Maxton frowned.

    “I’ve already been there and searched its quarters, I told you. I found nothing.”

    “And I’m sure you did a fine job. But Commander Fotheran hasn’t searched there yet and you haven’t seen a search until you’ve seen him do one. And I thought the whole point of asking for our help was because of our unique talents.”

    Fotheran added; “And I know Yellowknife a helluva lot better than you do, Maxton. If your spy is there, we’ll find him.”

    Eve turned to the others. “Dr. Utchenko, I want you to work with Miss O’Malley and Mr. Boutin in trying to find a way to scan the inside of GS1 to detect the plasomorph. Maxton has contacted his people and they should have sent along all the medical data Section 31 has on the plasomorph. Mr. Lockridge and Miss Goodluck, GS1 is yours until either Mr. Fotheran or I return from our separate missions. That’s all.”

    Eve motioned for Fotheran to remain behind as the command staff filed out along with Maxton. Once the door was firmly shut, Eve looked up at Fotheran with worry in her wide green eyes. “I don’t want you to lower your guard for even a second, Denys! I don’t trust Maxton one bit and whatever he’s told us, it’s not the whole story, you can believe that!”

    Fotheran chuckled. “Oh hell, Eve, Maxton wouldn’t know how to tell the truth if his life depended on it. But if there’s a chance this thing is on GS1, we’ve got to get hold of it. There’s no telling what kind of technology it wants to steal.”

    “Just watch your back, that’s all I’m concerned about. And report to me the very minute you get back from Yellowknife.”

    “Yes, mother…sheesh…” Fotheran left Eve’s office, eager to get on with his job. Eve watched him go with conflicting feelings. She knew better than anyone else how capable he was. Still, he hadn’t had as much experience with Section 31 as she had. As Denys went out, JoAnn poked her blonde head in.

    Eve waved her on in and JoAnn said playfully; “Ready to go play spy?”

    Eve sighed. “That’s not funny, JoAnn. I’m not happy about this at all.”

    “Well, I am. Been too damned dull around here lately. And I can see from the look on Denys’ face that he agrees with me.”

    “What is it with you two? We’re supposed to be running a starbase, not chasing down alien spies or letting ourselves get caught up in doing Section 31’s dirty work. We’ve got more than enough to do.”

    “Eve, you and Denys aren’t diplomats and never will be. You’re out here on the fringe of Federation space at the very threshold of new worlds and new civilizations and you’re not taking advantage of it.”

    Eve took out a phaser from her desk and held it out to JoAnn. The Counselor looked at the weapon with some surprise. “And what’s this for?”

    “For your protection. What if the plasomorph is down there?”

    “My point exactly. What reason would I have to be armed unless I knew the plasomorph was there? As soon as it saw the phaser on my belt it would know the jig was up.”

    “JoAnn, you can’t expect me to let you go down there unarmed.”

    “You’ll be unarmed, right?”

    “Yes, but I can take care of myself. Last time I looked you hadn’t been Replicated.”

    “Well, I’ll make sure I stay right next to you at all times, how’s that? Seriously, Evie, neither one of us can go armed down there. This has got to look like we’re just coming down for a routine look, maybe to get away from some paperwork for a while. We’ve got to be as casual as possible; otherwise somebody else is going to end up skinned. Literally.”

    “I hate to admit it, but you’re right. Okay, we’ll leave the phaser. But you don’t leave my sight at any time while we’re down there. Consider that an order, Counselor.”

    “Aye, Captain. And you can be sure that’s an order I’ll follow gladly. I’ve gotten really fond of my skin over the years.”

---

    Fotheran looked quite different as he led the way to the magnaslide that would take them the twenty miles to Yellowknife. He was dressed in thick leather pants with Vulcan thut’ski’li riding leggings and well-worn oxblood boots. An all weather pull over shirt and leather jacket completed his wardrobe with a bandolier crossing his shoulder and he now sported a three day growth of beard and a vicious looking half healed scar starting at his hairline and went down the right side of his face, thanks to some quick cosmetic work by Dr. Utchenko.

    Maxton was watching Fotheran carefully. “You’ve done this before, I’d wager.”

    Fotheran nodded. “Sometimes I’ll go into Yellowknife for a day or so just to pick up on what’s going on there. Eve’s daughter runs a café in town and most of the traders and smugglers pass through there.”

    “Captain Mallory’s daughter lives in Yellowknife? I was wondering why she wasn’t on the base.”

    “Keep on wondering. Eve’s private life is none of your business, Maxton.” Fotheran stopped suddenly and was nose to nose with the agent as he continued. “And let’s be clear on two things: one, don’t make the mistake so many others have of thinking that I’ve gotten soft since joining Starfleet. Two; the very first thing you do or say that smacks of a set-up, I cut your throat and leave you for fertilizer and considering the way Section 31 has treated Eve Mallory in the past, I don’t think she’ll question me too hard as to what happened to you if I come back to GS1 alone.”

    Maxton replied coldly. “I’ve told you the truth, Fotheran. Can we just get on with this mission? I’ve got no wish to be here any longer than I have to.”

    Fotheran grunted in satisfaction and they boarded the torpedo shaped magnaslide transport and settled themselves into the comfortable chairs along with some thirty other passengers and were soon rocketing toward Yellowknife.

---

    Eve and JoAnn stepped off the transporter and were met by a lanky Bajoran male who bowed deeply. “Captain Mallory. Counselor St. John. An unexpected pleasure but a pleasure nonetheless.”

    “Thank you, Dr. Toj. We won’t be in the way, I promise.” Eve smiled. Dr. Toj Losoj was one of Bajor’s leading scientific lights and he was in charge of the some fifty Bajoran scientists who were doing research here. The Bajoran government was most anxious that Bajor be the first to reap any benefits and rewards from new discoveries in the Gamma Quadrant since it was their wormhole that made travel there feasible and so, their research team was the largest and had more access time to the alien base than any other team. Time that they guarded most jealously, Eve had long ago noticed.

    The teams from Earth and Vulcan pretty much worked together, pooling their time and resources and even such an unlikely pairing as the Cardassian and Ferengi scientific teams worked together. The Klingons had sent a four-person team but they had long ago come and left and the Romulan science team spent more time spying on the other teams than doing any real research of their own. But the Bajoran generally sealed off the base while they were working there and never revealed any of their findings.

    Dr. Toj led the way through brightly lit corridors as he said, “I assume you’re here about the complaints that have been lodged against our research practices?”

    “No, what complaints are those?” Eve replied innocently even though she knew quite well what complaints those were. The Cardassians, of course.

    “The Cardassians have been petitioning The Federation Council to force us to share our findings with them. Quite frankly, Captain Mallory, I made it quite clear from the beginning that I saw no reason why the Cardassians should have even been allowed to have access to this base but I was overruled. To ask me to share the efforts of the hard work done by so many Bajorans…”

    Eve held up a hand. “Dr. Toj, the only reason I’m down here is to escape from a mountain of paperwork and some very annoying Argilian ambassadors who think that all I have to do is be on call for them twenty four hours so that they can complain if their bath water is two degrees too low. JoAnn suggested we pay you a visit.”

    Dr. Toj nodded his thanks to JoAnn. “I only wish you’d come down more often, Captain. I usually deal with your Commander Fotheran and to be blunt about it, he doesn’t seem to consider our requests with a great deal of enthusiam or sympathy.”

    They had come to a slidewalk that the three of them stepped on and it slowly took them further into the base.

    “Commander Fotheran is in charge of making sure that all the scientific teams have equal shares in the resources GS1 can provide. He has to walk a fine line to avoid the appearance of favoritism. If that makes him seem uncaring, I apologize on his behalf.” Inwardly Eve reminded herself to have a talk with Fotheran about his handling of the Bajoran scientist. Dr. Toj was quite an influential man and if he decided to use some of that influence…

    They came to the alien base at last. Whoever they had been, they were humanoid at least, since the controls and seats and consoles were of a comfortable height for use. But everything was rounded and smooth, with no sharp edges or corners, thus giving the appearance of walls flowing into floors and consoles smoothly melding into each other. The metals were of smoky gray and dull silver but did not reflect light. Eve walked around, looking at the Bajoran scientists hard at work and felt the tugging of her scientific soul. She would have loved to have a few weeks to poke around here herself. Maybe JoAnn had a point when she had said earlier that Eve and Fotheran were cutting themselves off from the things they really loved to do. At heart she was a scientist, a seeker after knowledge. Did she really want to spend her time in endless meetings negotiating trade agreements and shipping route schedules?

    “Everybody usually this busy?” JoAnn asked curiously. “Everybody’s rushing around like they’re on a deadline or something?”

    “In fact, we are,” Dr. Toj’s round face broke into a smile. “This group is due to be rotated back to Bajor in twenty hours and their replacements will be coming here. Of course, this team wants to make sure that they’ve finished up before leaving as they won’t be coming back for six months.”

    Eve and JoAnn swapped meaningful glances. They were each thinking the same thing: if the plasomorph was wearing a Bajoran skin, it couldn’t ask for a better way to get off GS1. Once away from the starbase and back on Bajor, it could slip off the planet with ridiculous ease. Dr. Toj’s attention was caught by one of his colleagues and he said, “Could you excuse me? This won’t take but a minute.”

    “Please, take your time. The Counselor and I will just stroll around for awhile.”

    Dr. Toj nodded and moved off down a side corridor, already deep in conversation. JoAnn waited until she was sure they were out of earshot and said to Eve, “We don’t have a whole lot of time here, Evie. We’ve got to check out all forty Bajorans here and do it quick.”

    Eve nodded in agreement. “We can’t take a whole lot of time doing it either. Somebody will start to wonder why we’re just hanging around when I’ve got a starbase to run.” Eve sighed. “I hope Denys is making progress in Yellowknife.”

---

    Maxton had to admit it; Eve Mallory had been right when she had said that a room hadn’t been searched until Denys Fotheran searched it. Maxton had thought he had done a thorough job of searching the plasomorph’s quarters but Fotheran had already turned up five hiding places that had contained bits and pieces of machinery that once they were all put together, proved to be a compact subspace transmitter of unfamiliar design.

    “You ever see anything like it?” Fotheran asked Maxton, who shook his head in a negative.

    “It wasn’t part of the package I gave to the plasomorph. Dammit, Fotheran, I was hoping we wouldn’t find anything like this.”

    Fotheran held out the transmitter. “What do you want to do with it?”

    “What’s your recommendation?”

    “Put it back. If the plasomorph gets past us, it’ll have to come back here to get the transmitter. I think I can fix it so that it’ll emit a signal that we can pick up when this thing is activated. Maybe that’ll give us a chance to lock a transporter beam on it and beam it to GS1.”

    Maxton looked at Fotheran with a sly cast in his eyes. “But that’ll kill it.”

    Fotheran had produced a small tool case from his bandolier and had extracted several slim pieces of metal. He sat down and placed the transmitter on a table and began working on it. “So I gather.”

    “You think Captain Mallory would approve of your planning to murder a sentient being?”

    Fotheran didn’t look up as he worked swiftly. “Like you weren’t planning on killing it anyway. You don’t have to play civilized with me, Maxton. We both know that your spy has to die one way or another. You’ve got to make sure its dead if for no other reason than to cover up the involvement of yourself and Section 31. Frankly, I don’t give a damn what you do with it. I just want you gone as soon as possible.”

    “C’mon, Fotheran. You can’t be that naive to believe that it’s going to end at that, do you?”

    Fotheran looked up, his hazel eyes hot and dangerous. “What do you mean?”

    “You and Eve Mallory are simply too valuable a potential resource to Section 31 to allow your talents to remain undirected. I’m impressed with the way you both work together and if she’s doing even half as well as you are separately; I’m even more impressed. The both of you could do quite well for yourselves if you’d throw in with-URK!”

    Maxton had only seen a blur as Fotheran had come out of his chair and slammed the Section 31 agent against the wall. Fotheran spun Maxton around and smashed him again into the wall, this time face first. Blood gushed from Maxton’s split lower lip. Fotheran’s voice was low and hard in Maxton’s ears.

    “A word of advice for you and your bosses back at Section 31…especially that bastard Kieron Olsen…you know the problem with your organization? It’s like that old saying about the weather…you know what I mean…everybody talks about the weather but nobody can do anything to change it? Well, Eve and I talk every once in awhile about the weather and changing it to suit us. You get where I’m going with this?”

    Fotheran turned loose of Maxton, who turned around and wiped blood from his lip and chin. He looked at the blood on his hand and looked into Fotheran’s eyes with open hatred. “Yes, I think I do. And you’re right about the weather…the way it changes without warning. One day it can be sunny and bright like the promise of Heaven and the next day, black and stormy like the other side of Death itself.”

    Fotheran and Maxton stood glaring at each other for perhaps thirty seconds and each man realized something in that span of time: one day one of them was going to kill the other. It wouldn’t be today and it might not be the next day they met. But a hatred had begun that was only going to be satisfied with a killing.

    “I’d better finish gimmicking this gizmo,” Fotheran said abruptly, returning to the transmitter. “And then we’ll go visit Eve’s daughter and see if she can tell us anything useful.”

---

    So far Eve and JoAnn had managed to briefly speak with ten of the Bajoran scientists. Some had been friendly and eager to talk. Others had barely concealed their hostility toward the Starfleet officers. JoAnn was slightly miffed.

    “Seems as if no matter what The Federation does for them, there’s no way to make these Bajorans happy,” the Counselor groused. “You’d think they consider all the lives and sacrifices that have been lost to make sure they kept their planet and the wormhole.”

    Eve and JoAnn were walking through an egg-shaped chamber filled with brown and beige colored metal obelisks of varying heights. Some were almost ten feet tall, others only a few inches high. There were maybe a hundred of them in the chamber. The obelisks had no sort of markings or decorations of any sort. Dr. Toj was hurrying to join them.

    “Best keep those sentiments to yourself,’ Eve warned her friend. “This isn’t the time to get into a political debate.”

    “So how are you enjoying your little tour?” Dr. Toj asked, smiling warmly at both women. “I’m sorry I couldn’t have shown you around some of the more interesting areas of the base.”

    “Oh, that’s quite all right, I assure you. What are these obelisks? Have you and your staff figured out what they’re for? Do they have a purpose?”

    Dr. Toj nodded. “Oh, yes indeed. A very great purpose indeed. One I’ll be happy to show you.” Dr. Toj reached under his jacket, withdrew a Bajoran phaser and fired two quick stun blasts. JoAnn and Eve dropped to the ground. Dr. Toj looked around. There were no other staff members around. He was quite alone in the chamber. He quickly dragged Eve and JoAnn out of sight and then went to the door of the chamber and looked outside anxiously, obviously waiting for someone.

    Eve watched him through one half-open eye. The stun blast had no effect on her, of course. Being a Replicant, a stun setting that knocked out a human had no effect on her. A phaser would have to be set on a much higher setting to incapacitate her for a significant length of time. But Eve hadn’t wanted to tip her hand just yet. She knew that Dr. Toj wasn’t the plasomorph but his actions just now showed that he was either in league with the alien spy or he had another agenda behind his surprise attack.

    Dr. Toj was still at the door, looking. Eve reached out a hand and took JoAnn’s pulse. The Counselor’s pulse was strong and her breathing even and normal. Eve calculated that JoAnn would be out for maybe another ten minutes or so. The stun setting hadn’t been that high…just enough to get them out of the way for a short time.

    Another Bajoran bustled into the room and Dr. Toj hastily sealed the door. The new arrival was a middle-aged man with thick gray hair and deep-set eyes that roved the room. “Where’s the new skin you promised me? I’ve only got thirty minutes left before I have to shed this one!”

    “We’re in luck, my friend. Come see.” Dr. Toj led the disguised plasomorph over to where the two women lay. Eve was once again feigning unconsciousness. She needed for Dr. Toj to come closer so she could make a grab for the phaser.

    “You see? That’s Captain Mallory herself! Once you take her skin, you can order all the obelisks to be transported up to a starship and we can take them all back to Bajor!”

    “It’s too good to be true, I say. And too risky. Who’s this other one?”

    “She’s just a Counselor. She’s got no influence.”

    Eve was grateful JoAnn wasn’t conscious to hear that.

    The spy bent closer over Eve. He seemed to be examining her very closely. “She’s awake!”

    “Impossible!” Dr. Toj hurried closer. “I stunned her at close range! The both of them should be out for another ten to fifteen minutes at least!”

    “I tell you she’s shamming! Give me that phaser, you fool, before she-“

    Eve came up from the floor, one small fist popping the spy right in the left eye, throwing him back. Her other hand reached out and plucked the phaser from Dr. Toj’s hand. The startled scientist couldn’t even speak as Eve shoved him over next to his partner.

    Eve grinned fiercely at the two conspirators. “Now, we’re going to have us a little chat. There are a few things you boys have to clear up for me.”

---

    Yellowknife was broken up into several districts of which one of the most frequented was Blackville, which was pretty much the red-light district of Yellowknife. Just about any sort of vice imaginable was here and readily available if one had the necessary amount of credits or gold press latinum. Fotheran led Maxton through narrow, twisting streets until coming to a wide plaza that was home to several cafes and restaurants. The largest one boasted a holographic sign that resembled old-fashioned neon lighting that read; ‘RICK’S’

    Fotheran and Maxton went on in. Although the décor meant nothing to Maxton, Fotheran immediately grinned as he took in the heady Moroccan atmosphere, circa Earth’s World War II period. The air was thick with the smoke of a dozen different types of tobacco and other more exotic inhalants while the gaming tables were crowded and doing a brisk business. Fotheran shoved his way through the crowd and elbowed a space for himself and Maxton at the bar.

    “What do you want to drink?’ Fotheran asked.

    “Shouldn’t we be locating Captain Mallory’s daughter?”

    “She already knows I’m here. Relax, have a drink. It may be your last.”

    “Don’t you get tired of making meaningless threats all the time?”

    “Ooooo…did you think of that comeback all by yourself?” Fotheran waved to the eight-armed Xamuan bartender. The azure alien slithered over on its dozens of tentacles that served as feet and gobbled in its own language at Fotheran. To Maxton’s astonishment, Fotheran gobbled back. The two of them sounded like mutant turkeys trying to sing Klingon opera as they conversed.

    The Xamuan looked at Maxton with its four oval golden eyes and something very much like a laugh issued from its mouth. It slithered away to make drinks for them.

    “What did the two of you talk about?”

    “Oh, he just said that he was surprised to see me walk in here with a Federation spy. I told him you were on the run and needed falsified documents to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. He said no amount of fake paper was going to help you with that face.”

    “And what’s wrong with my face?”

    “C’mon, Maxton. One look at you and anybody can see that you’re as straight as they come. Here’s our drinks.”

    “Interesting place.” Maxton looked suspiciously at the two goblets placed in front of them, both half filled with a sparkling golden brown liquid that appeared to have flakes of gold floating in it. “What’s this?”

    “Cinnabarian brandy. Drink up.” Fotheran took his own advice, gulping down half his drink and looking around. “Caitlyn’s a big fan of Humphrey Bogart and the holomovie ‘Casablanca’ especially. When Caitlyn was a baby and got cranky and wouldn’t go to sleep, Eve said she used to put on Bogart’s holofilms and Caitlyn went right to sleep. When she took this place over, she had it completely remodeled to resemble Rick’s Café from ‘Casablanca’.”

    “While this is all very fascinating, can we please get on with our mission? We don’t have a lot of time for you to play tour guide.”

    “Oh my goodness!” A slim girl in her early twenties shoved through the crowd with a gusto that would have done a Klingon warrior proud and threw her arms around Fotheran, hugging him as tight as she could. “Denys! It’s so good to see you! Where’s Mom? Is she with you?”

    Maxton looked in disbelief at Caitlyn Mallory. She wasn’t much taller than her mother and looked about as threatening as a kitten. Unlike her mother she had long straight black hair with a prominent white streak and large blue gray eyes. Maxton recalled that Eve had adopted Caitlyn.

    Fotheran grinned down at the young girl. “You’re Mom’s just fine, Cait. She’s back at the base. Look, do you think we could talk in private? I’m on a mission and could use some help.”

    “Sure. C’mon.” Taking Fotheran by the hand, she led him and Maxton to her office, a completely sound and psi-proofed room. Caitlyn looked curiously at Fotheran. “So what’s going on?”

    Fotheran introduced Maxton and quickly outlined the situation for Caitlyn. She listened attentively while Maxton grew ever more impatient. First off, he found it difficult to believe that this slip of a girl could run such an establishment as this that was packed with some pretty bad customers indeed. Caitlyn didn’t look capable of crossing the street alone, much less survive in Yellowknife.

    When Fotheran was finished, Caitlyn nodded and said; “There was a few killings that are similar to what you describe, Denys. Seven bodies turned up without their skins a few days ago. The local authorities made their usual bogus investigation but when the killings stopped, they dropped the investigation.”

    Maxton nodded. “That makes sense. The plasomorph needed skins to walk around in and gather information. When it was ready to make its move and infiltrate GS1, the killings stopped.”

    “And your spy couldn’t have picked a better place than Yellowknife to take skins to wear,” Fotheran agreed. “People here get their throats cut every day over the most trivial matters and you wouldn’t believe how corrupt the local police are.”

    “So this plasomorph is on the base now?” Caitlyn frowned. “Denys, why’d you leave my mother to come here?”

    “Because your mother can take care of herself and we didn’t know for sure if the spy was on GS1 or had left and come back to Yellowknife. We’re pretty much making this one up as we go along, Cait. And if the plasomorph is on GS1, your mom’s probably got it hogtied by now.”

---

    JoAnn St. John woozily got to her feet, supported by Eve who had the Bajoran phaser firmly trained on Dr. Toj and the disguised plasomorph.

    “I HATE being stunned.” JoAnn moaned. She glared at Dr. Toj. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy testifying at your trial, mister. Is he the plasomorph, Evie?”

    “No. He is.” Eve jerked her head in the direction of the other Bajoran, who was looking most agitated.

    “Shouldn’t you beam Patience and a security detail down here so that they can haul these two off to a holding cell?”

    “Not just yet. Whatever they’ve got going on, it’s got to do with these obelisks and I want to know exactly what before I call in the troops.”

    The plasomorph said urgently, “You want to know all about Maxton, I suppose. I’m willing to talk.”

    “So talk. First off, what’s your involvement in this, Toj? Are you working for Section 31 and Maxton?”

    Dr. Toj snorted laughter. “Captain, you’re so far off the homing beacon, it’s pathetic. The plasomorph is working for ME.”

    “I don’t follow.”

    “These obelisks you see here are data storage units, containing the complete records of this base. My team hasn’t been able to unlock the key that will allow us total access, but we’ve been able to decipher one of the obelisks. You can’t imagine the wealth of information and knowledge that these devices hold!” Dr. Toj’s face was alight with the excitement he felt. “About eight months ago, my team and I accidentally found out how to activate one of the obelisks and download some of the data into our computers. It was an extremely tight, highly compressed data stream but it contained a staggering amount of information.”

    “And you decided to keep it to yourself.” Eve’s voice was harsh. “Fully ignoring the agreement your government made with The Federation. Bajor is to have first opportunity at any new technology discovered here but then you’re to share it with the Federation-“

    “Damn the Federation!” Dr. Toj howled. “The information stored in these alien obelisks can turn Bajor from a struggling second-class backwater planet into the major power in this sector of the galaxy! We can no longer have to rely on Federation handouts and take our rightful place once again as a people to be reckoned with! We can take our long overdue revenge on the Cardassians and then The Federation will be forced to deal with us on more equal footing!”

    Horrified by the naked power and ambition of the scientist, JoAnn said, “I can’t…I won’t believe that the Bajoran government sanctioned you to do this. You’ve broken diplomatic agreements; become an accessory to murder…”

    Eve looked at the plasomorph. “And what’s in it for you? Why did you double cross Maxton?”

    “For years my people have been literally enslaved by Section 31 to carry out assassinations for them. Dr. Toj offered my people a safe haven on Bajor where we can live peacefully and not have to work for Section 31 any longer.”

    “I had been in touch with the plasomorphs for years now,” Dr. Toj said. “I knew that a day would come when Section 31 would use the plasomorphs against Bajor in some way. The plasomorphs had a standing offer from me and we have had an agreement for years, ever since this alien base was discovered. I’ve been planning this for years.”

    “And how did you find out about Section 31 in the first place?” Eve demanded.

    “I served on Deep Space Nine before it was destroyed and I knew Dr. Julian Bashir. There were several incidents on DS9 involving Bashir and Section 31. There were even rumors that Bashir was working for them. One night we were drinking and Bashir let slip some interesting nuggets of information about Section 31 that I kept to myself, knowing they’d be useful someday.”

    Eve shook her head sadly. She’d run into more than her share of madmen and power seekers in her time, but the utter disregard and manipulation and scheming Toj Losoj had demonstrated was something else again. “I’ve heard enough out of you, Toj. I’m going to turn you over to the Bajoran Diplomatic Liaison Officer back at GS1 and let your own people deal with you and you’d best believe that I’ll do everything I can to see that you pay for the deaths you’ve caused.”

    “And what of me?” The plasomorph demanded.

    “You’ll be held in a stasis cell until I receive orders from my superiors. I can understand why you’ve done what you done. I’ve been treated badly by Section 31 myself, but there were other channels you could have-“

    The plasomorph suddenly jerked as if it was having a seizure of some kind. JoAnn instinctively started forward, but Eve gripped her by the arm and held her back.

    The plasomorph retched and leaned forward and grayish ooze erupted from its mouth. Eve realized that its time was up and it had to shed the skin it had been using. The plasomorph poured out of the human skin through the mouth and as it did so, coagulating into a thick puddle on the floor, the human skin deflated much like a balloon with the air being let out until it flopped like an old discarded coat. Eve fired a blast from her phaser, but the plasomorph easily twisted out of the way. Its reflexes seemed to be as fast as her own as it dodged the next two blasts.

    “Get behind me, the both of you! I’m going to try a wide spread burst-” Eve ordered as she adjusted the Bajoran phaser. But it was too late.

    The plasomorph thickened into a vaguely serpentine shape and slithered along the floor toward the sealed door and right under it.

    “Oh, we’ve got a problem.” JoAnn whispered.

    “I’m not licked yet,” Eve slapped her commbadge. “Mallory to O’Malley!”

    ||/\||O’Malley here, Captain. What’s wrong?||/\||

    “The plasomorph is down here! Beam in two full security details with protective armor and then erect a Level 12 force field around the entire alien base. I want it cut off from the rest of GS1! Do it now!”

---

    Fotheran, Maxton and Caitlyn returned to a C&C that was on full yellow alert. Fotheran had changed back to his uniform and been cosmetically restored to his normal appearance. Caitlyn had insisted on returning with Fotheran and he agreed. The last thing he wanted was Caitlyn to be left in Yellowknife while the plasomorph was loose. Even though he was aware of the mysterious powers Caitlyn possessed, powers that were still pretty much a mystery even to her, there was no point in taking chances.

    Fotheran ran over to the central deck, where Wally Lockridge and Felicia Goodluck were co-coordinating the shut down of GS1 and the alien base.

    “Report, Wally.”

    “Captain Mallory and Counselor St. John are down in the alien base with the plasomorph. They found it okay, disguised as a Bajoran but it got away. It’s had time now to take another skin. Chief O’Malley beamed down two security details before we erected a Level 12 force field around the entire alien base. Nothing’s getting out or in.”

    “Except me,” Fotheran said. “Can you drop the force field long enough to get me in?”

    “Sure. Give me ten seconds to get a fix on Captain Mallory and I can set you down right next to her.”

    “I’m going as well,” Maxton said.

    “Fine with me. Wally, you and Felicia are still in command here until the Captain and I get back. Look after Caitlyn, okay?”

    “Denys, I-” Caitlyn began, but Fotheran cut her off.

    “I know what you’re going to say and don’t even think it. Your mom and I have got enough people down there we have to worry about. Don’t give us another one. You’ll be fine right here until we get back.” He walked over to a weapons locker and took out two phaser rifles and handed one to Maxton. Fotheran looked hard at Lockridge. “Lieutenant, under NO circumstances are you to drop that force field after you beam us in, is that clear?”

    “Yes sir. Good luck and good hunting.”

---

    Eve heard the sound of someone transporting in and turned to watch Fotheran and Maxton thicken into reality no more than ten feet from her. She smiled as Fotheran rested the barrel of the phaser rifle on his shoulder and grinned at her. “Another fine mess you’ve gotten us into.”

    Despite the grim situation, Eve had to smile. Fotheran just had that effect on her. No matter how bad or desperate things got, his cocky confidence and easy grin always lifted her spirits. She outlined the situation for the two new arrivals.

    After she finished, Fotheran nodded. “Well, I told Wally not to drop the force field no matter what. You’ve got two security details down here, right?”

    “They’ve rounded up all the Bajorans down here and they’re keeping them in one of the smaller chambers under guard. I’m going to leave them there with a guard and have the rest of the detail search the base. They’re in protective armor so I’m reasonably sure that they’re safe from being skinned. Come with me. I want to have a closer look at those obelisks.”

    Eve led the way to the obelisk room where JoAnn was intently examining the information storage devices. Alien anthropology was sort of a hobby of hers and the obelisks represented a fascinating find. She rose to her feet as Eve, Fotheran and Maxton joined her, brushing dirt from her hands. She gave Fotheran a warm smile and Maxton a chilling glare before asking; “Eve, what’s our next move?”

    “Find the plasomorph and secure this base. I’m not allowing any more research teams down here, Federation or otherwise until this affair is resolved. Where’s Dr. Toj?”

    “With the rest of the Bajorans. He’s screaming bloody murder, but I figured you didn’t want him down here and we know he’s not been taken over by the plasomorph. Besides, he gives me the creeps.”

    Fotheran was inspecting an obelisk that was almost as tall as he was. “So this is what all the hubbub is about, then? These thingies? What are they, exactly?”

    “Power, Fotheran.” Maxton jammed the muzzle of his phaser rifle into Fotheran’s back. “Drop the rifle and take five steps forward. Don’t turn around. Mallory, St, John, the both of you join him and drop your weapons. And don’t even think about trying anything, Mallory. I know you’re a Replicant and I know how fast you can move when you have to. I won’t waste my time trying to shoot you. I’ll have my weapon trained on either Fotheran or St.John at all times and the first move you make I don’t like, I’ll shoot. And my weapon is on a kill setting. Fast as you are, you won’t be able to stop me from getting off a shot.”

    JoAnn said sourly, “Isn’t ANYBODY on our side anymore?”

    Fotheran laughed. “JoAnn, Section 31 recognizes only one side. Theirs. So what’s the deal, Maxton? You’re going to take these obelisks back to Olsen and let Section 31 techies tear them apart?”

    “You and Mallory are so naïve. The both of you could have had a great future with Section 31.”

    “Answer his question, Maxton.” Eve snapped. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this angry. Maybe she and Denys were getting old or just stupid. They’d been out maneuvered at every step since this adventure had started. And right now, it didn’t look as if they were they going to get a chance to have another one.

    “This operation wasn’t sanctioned by Olsen, if that makes you feel better. Olsen’s got this imbecilic notion that he can eventually turn you and Fotheran around to his way of thinking, but there are others in Section 31 who have a different idea. Part of my mission here was to evaluate you two and in my opinion, the both of you are simply too dangerous. You’ll never willingly help Section 31 and Fotheran’s made it quite clear that if given the chance, you’ll do whatever you can to expose us and bring us down and we can’t have that. Section 31 is the hope of The Federation’s continued survival as the major power in this sector and we intend to insure that.”

    Eve said, “Do you honestly believe that you can get away with murdering three ranking Starfleet officers, especially ones as high profile as Denys and myself?”

    Maxton laughed. “And why not? I’ll let you in on a little secret. Connor Maxton didn’t exist three weeks ago. I was completely bio-refitted for this mission and a special biographical file was placed into every possible database we thought Fotheran would use to find out who I was. Once this mission is over, I’ll be bio-refitted into yet another identity and Connor Maxton will simply cease to exist.”

    JoAnn was aghast. “Y’know, I’d really like to find out just where the hell Section 31 finds you guys. The things that you’re willing to do go beyond madness.”

    Maxton frowned and aimed his weapon at JoAnn. “You are a mouthy bitch, aren’t you? I think I’ll kill you first.”

    The plasomorph dropped onto Maxton’s back. It had taken a humanoid form, albeit one that was faceless. Maxton twisted and shoved the butt of his weapon into the plasomorph’s stomach, knocking it loose from his back. The alien hit the floor hard.

    Eve dived for a phaser and grabbed one, rolled and came up firing. Maxton had leaped for cover behind one of the larger obelisks. Fotheran grabbed up his phaser rifle and fired at the plasomorph, stunning it into unconsciousness.

    Maxton aimed his weapon at Fotheran and squeezed the trigger.

    The explosion made both Eve and JoAnn jump in surprise.

    Maxton lay on his back, eyes open wide as possible in shock. He was so surprised and stunned that he couldn’t even scream despite the incredible agony he must have been in. Both of his arms ended just below the elbow in blackened, smoking stumps. He wasn’t losing much blood, due to the cauterizing effect of the explosion, but he was still going to need medical attention. Lots of it.

    Fotheran stood over Maxton and said with great satisfaction; “I don’t care where you’re from…that’s gotta hurt.”

    Eve and JoAnn came over to look down at the injured Maxton. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” JoAnn said with no regret or remorse whatsoever. “You gimmicked the phaser rifle, huh, big boy?”

    Fotheran nodded. “If Maxton thought I was going to give him a weapon he could use against me, he obviously didn’t think I meant it when I said I don’t play by Starfleet rules. Right, Eve?”

    “That’s why I keep you close to me, Commander.” Eve replied.

---

    Eve looked up as Fotheran entered her office and sat down across the desk from her and swung his booted feet up to rest. It was three days since they’d captured Maxton and the plasomorph and Eve had finally finished up the tedious paperwork.

    “So what’s the final outcome, Captain?”

    “Maxton and the plasomorph are both on Starbase 465 where they’ll be held incommunicado until they’re both interrogated by a team of investigators from The Federation Council. Maxton’s arms were amputated but he’s not going to receive new ones for a while, as there are some problems with his medical records. After three days, nobody still knows who he really is. We may never know. I’ve been ordered to allow science teams back into the alien base, but this time, I’m going to make sure that we stay on top of what’s going on down there. You’ll help with that?”

    “No doubt. How about Dr. Toj?”

    “The Bajoran government will deal with him. Needless to say, they’re not very happy with him. He even petitioned The Federation for asylum. Which was promptly denied, of course. Can you believe his nerve?”

    “Eve, after the last few days, I’d believe just about anything.”

    Eve nodded in agreement. “But we did good, Denys. We put the breaks on a Section 31 operation, prevented the theft of important alien technology and captured a dangerous alien spy. All in all, I feel pretty good about that.”

    “So do I, Eve. So do I. Anyway, I came to get you. We’ve got that meeting with the Argilian Ambassador. And I can tell you right now that he’s got a couple of hundred complaints that he—“

    “We’re not going to the meeting.” Eve said with a wicked twinkle in her eye. Fotheran blinked in surprise.

    “We’re not?”

    “Nope.” Eve tapped her commbadge. “Mallory to ColdFire.”

    ||/\||Vollmer here, Captain||/\||

    “Everything ready for Mr. Fotheran and myself, Mike?”

    ||/\||The only thing preventing our departure is your presence on the bridge, Captain||/\||

    “Stand by.” Eve said to Fotheran. “There’s been a rumor of some Tarkian Raiders attacking the Federation colony on Nagress Lotin IV. Want to take a run out there and see what trouble we can get into?”

    Fotheran’s wide grin said it all for him. As he came around to stand next to Eve for beam out to the orbiting ColdFire, he said, “Usually I’m the one ready to drop all responsibility and take off. What prompted this?”

    Eve first tapped her commbadge and said, “Beam us directly to the bridge, Mike.” As the transporter effect surrounded them, Eve said, “JoAnn said something to me a few days ago that I realized was absolutely true: you and I aren’t diplomats and never will be…so let’s go do what we’re good at.”

THE END