The BLTS Archive - Philadelphia
by Emily S. (sabine@bellatlantic.net)

---

*all necessary honor paid to Star Trek and Paramount for the use of
their characters here.*

---

"Computer - time!" Kira said, squinting as the light came on. The
computer's aggravatingly chipper voice informed her that it was 0806,
and Kira dragged her uniform over her exhausted body, raked a hand
through her hair and ducked out the door of the tiny chamber into the
runabout's bridge.

"Good morning, Major," Dr. Bashir said, nodding at Kira.

"If you say so," she muttered, sliding into the seat beside him. For
the five hundredth time since they'd left the station two days
earlier, Kira prayed to the Prophets for a short trip.

"We're entering orbit around Wehemoth now," Bashir answered her
prayer.

"Prepare landing sequence," Kira said, all orders now, ready to take
on the mission. "Impulse engines at one half, one third..."

The ship jerked abruptly, and Kira bit her tongue. "Damn," she
muttered, her hands racing across the control panel to try and calm
the runabout's vibrations.

"That's interesting," Bashir said.

"What is?" Kira asked, busily experimenting with various landing
sequences, hoping to find a tactic that was smoother than the one the
ship was taking now.

"Pluto," Bashir said. "I've got it on long-range sensors."

"Pluto!" Kira leaned over his shoulder to examine the readings. "Pluto
in the Terran system? Your Pluto?"

Bashir laughed. "Yeah, I guess it's my Pluto. It's the only Pluto I
know of, and it's a whole lot closer to Wehemoth than it ought to be.
Unless..."

"That's not an 'unless' kind of statement," Kira said. "Do you know
something I don't?"

"Well," Julian said, "Wehemoth, as you know, is a man-made world,
originally used for quarantine purposes during the Inakali Plague."

"Yes, I know that, that's why we're going there. You're going to
astound the populous with your medical prowess, and I'm going to
interview some people who were infected with Kalla-Nohra at Gallitep.
And then we're going to go home," Kira concluded, and sat back in her
chair as the ship stopped shaking and settled into an easy orbit
around the planet.

"Right. Of course. But Wehemoth was _built_ in the Terran System, just
inside the outer-ring worlds, and then was physically _moved_ out here
during the Ariosis scare. But that's not important. What's important
is that, apparently, Wehemoth never moved at all. Look," he said, and
pointed to his panel's readout. Kira saw the Terran system with its
warm sun indicated by a spinning 3-D display. And there was Wehemoth,
a tiny planet in a low orbit just outside Uranus.

"Well, all right," she said at last. "So now what?"

"Well, I think we should take into consideration the possibility that
we have, in fact, traveled back in time to before Wehemoth was moved,"
Bashir proposed.

"Great. Okay. Let's just take this one step at a time. Hailing the
planet," she said, and punched her console.

"... Federation vessel! We've... assistance! ... to any Federation
vessel... Inakali quarantine is in effect on the Northern... south
seas!" came the planet's hail.

Kira looked at Bashir. "Let me try and clean that up a bit," she said.

"... in effect on the Northern Continent. The inhabitants of the
Southern Continent are uninfected, and require aid! To any Federation
vessel! We've been under attack by the Borg, and require assistance!
Be aware that the Inakali quarantine is..." Nerys shut off the audio.

"The Borg?" Bashir said.

"Is it a trap?" Kira asked instinctively, not to Bashir in particular.
"I don't recall any history regarding the Borg near the Terran System
before the Wolf 359 massacre, and Wehemoth was built half a century
before that." She scanned the sector on long-range sensors. "No signs
of the Borg anywhere in the vicinity," she concluded.

"Well, even if the Borg aren't here now, people on that planet need
our help. I suggest we beam down to the Northern continent and assess
the damage," Bashir said.

"There are uninfected people on the Southern Continent that need help
too," Kira said. "I suggest that you beam down to the Northern capital
city, and I'll take the Southern. We can communicate by leaving
messages with the runabout's computer."

"Agreed," Bashir said, and stood to take his place on the transport
pad. Nerys entered the code sequence, and he shimmered off the
runabout.

---

Kira beamed down to the surface a moment later, and found herself in a
city square amid ruins. She walked a few paces, scanning for
lifesigns, when she saw a movement behind a building. She sprinted to
catch up.

A woman maybe ten years Kira's senior was scaling the rear wall of a
crumbling building. She was clad in a gray uniform, stained and torn,
hanging awkwardly on an undernourished and battle-hardened frame. She
turned around when she heard Nerys's footsteps.

"Starfleet?" she asked, hopefully. Her voice was gravelly, staccato.

"In a sense," Nerys called up to her. "I'm Major Kira Nerys of the
Bajoran Militia, liaison to the Federation Outpost Deep Space Nine."

The woman dropped to the pavement and wiped her hands on her trousers
before extending a dirty and calloused one to Kira, who shook it.

"Good enough," the woman said. "I'm Commander Kathryn Janeway.
Welcome," she spread her arms wide, a sarcastic smile on her face, "to
Philadelphia." At Nerys's look, she explained, "Wehemoth's cities are
named for cities on Earth. To make us feel more at home while we're
dying, I guess..."

"You're Starfleet?" Kira asked.

"Yup," Janeway replied. "At least, I think there's still a Starfleet.
If the Borg haven't reached Earth already..." But the look that she
gave Kira suggested that she wasn't being truthful. "Oh, never mind,"
Janeway said cryptically.

"My ship didn't detect any Borg vessels in the region," Kira said.
"But there's a lot we need to clear up. First of all, what's the
date?"

"Sometime in March, I think, 2380," Janeway said.

"2380!" Kira said incredulously. "We haven't gone back in time at
all!"

"That's reassuring," Janeway agreed, climbing the wall again and
gesturing for Nerys to follow. "Come. Meet my crew. Tell us how the
outside world is doing."

"No, but," Kira began as she followed Janeway up the decrepit
brickface. "Well... I just don't get it."

When they reached the summit Kira saw a crude structure, a short
building with an open front and two large rooms inside. Several people
squatted inside, talking animatedly. Janeway ducked into the building
and waved Kira to sit beside her.

"Starfleet?" asked a short, balding man, looking at Janeway
suspiciously.

"She's all right, Roth," the Commander assured him. "She the Bajoran
liaison to DS9. We can tell her. She's probably the best sign of hope
we've seen in months."

"Tell me what?" Kira demanded, looking from Janeway to the others in
the circle.

"That there was never a Borg attack. That's what you think, right?
That's why you came? Well, lucky, lucky you for beaming down here. You
could have gone north, found yourself in the middle of the danger
zone," Roth spat.

"No Borg," Kira said. "No attack. Danger zone?" Instinctively, she
reached for her phaser. "I need to send a message to my ship. My
friend beamed to the Northern capital; I need to tell him if there's
anything he should be looking out for. So..." she spoke slowly, "I
suggest you tell me exactly what's going on."

"Biological warfare. The damned virus. It's everywhere. Those
bastards. Those damned bastards..." a young woman, no more than
fifteen years old, spoke up.

Kira looked to Janeway inquisitively.

"The Inakali victims are intent on spreading the virus to the rest of
the population of this world. That's why we sent that message. If we
advertised biological warfare, no one would beam down to help us,"
Janeway explained. "We figured some Starfleet ship would want to play
the hero, rescue some poor sick victims of a Borg attack. And, it
looks like it worked."

"They're actively spreading the virus to the rest of you?" Kira
struggled to understand. "How did you escape? And why are you here in
the first place?"

"I was first officer on a transport ship that brought a lot of plague
victims up here about nine months ago," Janeway said. "My captain was
infected; she died a month after we got here. The rest of my crew and
I..." she waved an arm to indicate the five people crouched in the
tent, "fled south. We've been awaiting a rescue for several months."

"Why are they trying to infect you?" Kira asked.

"Didn't stay long enough to ask. They have missiles, mines, hypodermic
phasers all stocked with the disease. As soon as we landed they
started the attack," Roth said. "We bolted. Good thing, too."

Kira blinked several times, looking at the people around her. "Excuse
me," she stammered, and stepped outside into the sunlight.

"Kira to Mekong," she tapped her comm badge. "Any messages for me?"

"There is one message for Kira Nerys," the computer said.

"Begin playback," Kira sighed.

The doctor was breathless, panicked. "Major, I don't know what we've
beamed into, but it isn't a Borg attack, nor is it an epidemic. At
least, not any variety I've ever seen. And I'd wager that we haven't
gone back in time, but rather that we've found some sort of parallel
universe, where the Inakali quarantine went terribly wrong. These
people, the Inakali victims, seem to _love_ the disease; they're
trying to spread it across the galaxy. They're insane, Major. The
streets are littered with bodies; people tout them as heroes and nail
them to wooden splints and _pray_ to them that everyone will reach the
height of enlightenment that Inakali provides. They seem to..." here
the transmission became garbled, "...but they won't let me help them;
it was all I could do to avoid _their_ hypodermic needles. They're
insane, I tell you. We have got to get out of here. I wish to god I
could help them, Prime Directive or not, but they're..."

Nerys tapped her comm badge, tried to get the computer to give her a
clearer signal. "...I have _got_ to get out of here. I'm beaming out!"

Kira sighed again, and headed back for the conference building. She
gestured for Janeway to join her, and the two walked across the roof
and sat on the edge, legs dangling.

"Commander," Kira began.

"You're rescuing _me_, Major," Janeway laughed. "Please. Call me
Kate."

"Kate, then. Listen. I don't really know how to tell you this, but, I
can't help you," Nerys looked away hard.

"Well, that's just unacceptable, Major," Janeway snapped. "You have to
get us off of this world. We have no supplies, no food, and the
Inakali missiles come soaring over the sea every couple of days! We're
not going to survive this much longer."

"Commander. Kate," Nerys said, looking at Janeway, "this isn't our
universe. My crewmate and I must have encountered some kind of spatial
anomaly and ended up here, but this isn't our reality and we're bound
by Starfleet's Prime Directive not to interfere."

"Well, there is that," Janeway agreed. "I've been in that situation
myself. You're not Starfleet, though. You're Bajoran."

"But my companion isn't, and we're here on a Starfleet mission. Damn
it, Kate, I hate it, but it's true. I can't help you. We have to leave
this place, hopefully to find that anomaly again and get home."

"I'm not going to argue with you. I know how important the sanctitude
of spacetime is. And, you know what?" Here Janeway laughed a little,
"there's probably a Kathryn Janeway in your universe, working for
Starfleet, bound to the Prime Directive in the same way. I hope she's
better off than I am..."

"I'll look her up when I get back," Nerys smiled. "I promise."

Janeway looked up, and her eyes met Nerys's. Kate's face was taut,
weathered, her hair straggly around her face. Nerys reached up and
tucked a stray strand of hair behind Kate's ear.

"I'll bet I'd like her," Nerys said quietly.

"She'd like you," Janeway said with a smile. "This one does."

"Damn it!" Nerys said, to no one in particular. "I'd love to take you
back with me. It just isn't fair."

"You can't," Kate said. "That's not the way it works. We stay here,
you go home. Maybe another ship - from our universe - will hear the
same hail you did. Sometimes Starfleet comes to check up on its
quarantine outposts," she said, but there was no hope in her voice,
"from time to time."

"If I were in your position now, I'd hate me," Nerys said. "How can
you be so brave when you know that, in all likelihood, I'm leaving you
here to die?"

"Because, if I were in _your_ position, I wouldn't be able to do
anything about it either. But, I'm in my position. And, while I can't
ask you to take me with you, I _can_ ask you to stay awhile and keep
me company."

"Done," Nerys said with a smile. "Let me tell my friend we're not
leaving just yet." With that, she rose to contact Bashir aboard the
Mekong.

Earth's sun was setting, and Wehemoth's naturally dark and cold
atmosphere grew colder and darker as Kate and Nerys walked through the
city of Philadelphia. When they reached a tall building, Janeway
stopped. "I used to live here," she said. "Until about a month ago
when it got too cold and we all moved into the conference center, to
retain body heat. This continent isn't as well maintained by Starfleet
as the other one since the epidemic ended...they just cleaned out the
dead bodies and moved on."

"May I see it?" Nerys asked.

"The bodies?" Kate asked.

"Your apartment," Nerys said.

"It's not much - I only lived there for about six months," Kate said,
leading Nerys up the stairs.

"Alone?" Nerys asked.

"No," Kate said, and closed her mouth tightly.

"That's okay," Nerys said. "I understand."

"He was a freighter captain," Kate said, looking fixedly at the
stairs. "He came with me on this mission because... after it... a
routine drop-off, it was supposed to be... we were heading back to
Earth to get married. He got the virus two and a half months ago,
during an unusually violent attack by the Inakali victims. He lived
for almost a week, but the disease they had put in the missiles is
about twenty times as strong as a normal strain. There was nothing we
could do for him."

Nerys touched Kate's shoulder as they slipped, side by side, into a
small apartment room. Kate smiled at her gratefully.

"I just can't stop thinking about that other Kathryn Janeway, from
your universe," Kate said. "I wonder where things split off... where
she and I stopped doing the same things. Maybe she's a physics
professor; that's what my mother always wanted me to be. 'Stay in
Indiana,' she'd say. 'Leave star-trekking to people whose mothers
don't worry as much as I do.'" Kate laughed aloud.

"My mother wanted me to be a pilot, like my father was. Of course,
that was during the Occupation, and my mother understood that it was
her responsibility to offer as much to the resistance as she could,
even if that meant giving up her only daughter to the fight against
the Cardassians," Nerys said, sitting beside Kate on a couch that
smelled faintly of urine.

"Did you fly?" Kate asked.

"Yes, later. After my mother was captured. The last time I saw her, I
was six years old. I wanted to be a musician. Unfortunately for me, I
had about as much talent for music as I have for diplomatic procedure
now," Nerys grinned.

"Not much, I take it," Kate said. "Well, your mother would have been
proud."

"I suppose so," Nerys said, a faraway look in her eyes.

"I was never the best pilot," Kate said. "I mean, I passed all my
courses at the Academy, but I was more interested in engineering. I
only took the command path because my father told me to. Now I'm glad
I did...of course, _now_ I wish I'd become a physics professor back
home in Indiana," Kate said. "I wonder if..."

Her last statement was drowned out by the sound of an explosion
outside, and the room filled with blazing light. Kate leapt up and
closed the window, sliding a bookcase in front of it. "It's starting
again," she said. "It's been three weeks since they've bombed us...I
was beginning to think they'd given us up for dead."

Nerys rose and started for the door. "We've got to go check on your
crew," she shouted over the din, as more explosions filled the air.

"No, we can't go outside; the air is filled with toxins, and the
northerners could be anywhere. They come down in droves, try and smoke
us out. They haven't been able to locate our new fortress, but, just
give them time. They outnumber is almost 20 to one - any time we've
tried to take them hand to hand we've lost people. There are six of us
left, and we're not risking any more confrontations. Let them exhaust
themselves bombing and raiding. My crew knows how to handle
themselves...they've gotten used to this by now. As for you, well, I
guess you're stuck here with me for a little while," Kate managed a
smile.

"I'm getting us out of here," Nerys said, slapping her comm badge.
"Nerys to Bashir!" No response. "Nerys to Mekong," she tried. Still
nothing. "Damn," she said. "The explosions must have interfered with
my signal."

"The whole EM spectrum will be out of whack for several hours," Kate
explained. "It's because of the simulated environment they built
around the planet so that we wouldn't freeze to death out here, so far
from the sun. It resonates at a very specific frequency, and the
explosions shake it up a bit. Also..." Kate began rummaging in a
drawer. "It's going to get a LOT colder. Here," she tossed Nerys a
sweater, who put it on gratefully.

"Sit down, Major," Kate said. "We've got to wait it out; we might as
well make ourselves comfortable."

"Nerys," Nerys said. "Call me Nerys. There's no reason for rank when
I'm wearing _your_ sweater," she smiled, sliding onto the sofa beside
Kathryn.

"Closer," Kate said, pulling Nerys's body next to hers. "It's going to
get really cold. It's the only way to... " she paused, feeling Nerys's
body stiffen. "Don't worry. I'm not... suggesting anything." Kate
smiled at Nerys.

"It's okay," Nerys said. "I mean...Prophets, I'm not making any
sense." She shook her head violently from side to side, and relaxed
beside Kate. "Thank you," she said. "That's what I meant."

Kate laughed a little as the wind shook the window. "Where did you
come from?" she asked, warmly.

"An alternate universe," Nerys began explaining. "One where this world
isn't wracked with conflict... nor is it this close to the Terran
system."

Kate laughed again. "That's not what I meant," she said, tucking her
head into the crook of Nerys's shoulder. "I mean..." here she spoke
slowly, "where... did... you... come... from? How did I get so lucky?"

Nerys smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment - "

"There isn't really any other way to take it - " said Kate.

"And return with, 'I'm glad I met you, too. I'm really impressed at
the fact that you've managed to survive out here without getting
cynical or angry. Your crew must really rely on you," said Nerys.

Kate nodded. "And I them. And, believe me, Nerys, there are days when
I'm so furious I could spit. I often do. But it doesn't generally
help, and it's really more important to make sure that the northerners
don't find us, and to try and contact someone from the outside. With
only five people to help me, it doesn't pay to be crusty or
irritable."

"Tell me about" Nerys began.

Kate shook her head, her eyelids drooping in avoidance of a smile. "No
more talking."

Nerys pulled herself ramrod-straight, cocked her head to one side,
figuring that Kate had heard enemy advances. She palmed her phaser.

Kate laughed. "Are you going to shoot me?"

Nerys scratched her head. Kate reached up, twined her fingers in
Nerys', raked both hands through Neryss coarse, reddish mane. Her
other hand slid up the sleeve of the woolly sweater Nerys had wrapped
around her wiry frame, stroked the inside of Nerys' bicep, enjoying
the feel of sinewy muscle under her fingertips.

Nerys gulped a little bit. Kate's hand continued up her sleeve, tracing
the line of her bicep. Her fingers stroked Nerys armpit, and the
auburn-haired woman gasped, arched her back and gripped Kate's hand in
her hair, pulled it to her lap.

Kate's palm was cold on Nerys breast, and Nerys had to restrain herself
from writhing free. But this was too rare to forsake, too wonderful,
too arousing; the touch of this older, wiser woman sent currents of
electricity through Kira's frame, and her clitoris pulsed. She stared
at Kate's face unblinking, then pulled her forward into a kiss.

Kate's mouth tasted metallic, tobacco-sour, wine-tart. Nerys explored
with a probing tongue. She bent a knee and leaned her body into Kate's,
collapsing across her on the couch. Kate murmured in approval, tracing
Nerys lips with her tongue. Her hand still caressed Nerys breast,
traced its outline, palmed its silky weight. Nerys groaned quietly.

//What is this place this anonymous town and this wonderful woman//
Kira thought. //Tomorrow I wont believe this really happened. Is this
really happening?I wouldn't be surprised if//

As if in response, Kate tugged Nerys nipple, causing a yelp of mixed
pleasure and pain from the Major. Nerys reached to the floor, pulled
the blanket up over the two writhing bodies, and began unbuttoning
Kate's sweater. She tossed it to the floor. Pausing only to drink in
the scent of the older woman's sweat, she pushed up Kate's shirt, ran a
tongue exploratatively up her sternum, across her collarbone, up
behind her ear. Kate shuddered with anticipation. Kira pulled off her
own sweater and shirt, sent them flying after Kate's to the floor. Kate
gasped as she felt Kira's breasts fall against her face, roll gently
down until they skimmed her own nipples.

Pressing her mouth firmly to Kate's, Nerys slid a hand into Kate's
trousers, her fingers immediately moist with the sticky discharge. She
grinned, bit Kate's lip gently, moved to gnaw her ear once more. Kate
waved her tongue as if trying to chase Nerys face, but the younger
woman had turned away, gone to work on Kate's tender earlobe.

"Yesuhthats okaythats good" Kate said. Nerys nodded, her saliva sticky
across most of Kate's face. She worked the knot of Kate's trousers with
her thumb, loosening them enough to be pushed down with the inside of
her knee. Kate's thighs were solid, dry, hairless; their insides
radiating a dull heat where they met at her pelvis. Her stomach rose
in a small, throbbing mound. Kira pulled her hand from the blanket,
licked her palm, sucked Kate's salty juices from her fingertips. Then
she ran her damp hand across Kate's inner thighs, cooling them,
tantalizing and taunting the Commander.

"Okay?" Nerys asked.

"Yesnoplease, Nerys please," Kate threw her head from side to side in
frustration. Kira laughed and thrust a finger into Kate's vagina, felt
the fins and folds within. Kate pulsed, grabbed Kira's hand through the
blanket with her own, rubbed Kira's fingers back and forth across her
swollen, anxious clitoris. Nerys rubbed and flicked, moving with her
middle finger in rapid circles as Kate bucked and writhed on the
couch. A puddle formed in Kira's palm, then another, and another. The
blankets were sticky with Kate's discharge, and it was hot - terribly
hot in a room that had felt like a meat locker only moments before.
Kira pulled the blanket over her head, began massaging Kate's rapidly
discharging vagina with her tongue. Kate bucked several times,
panting, wheezing, sputtering pieces of words. Finally she grabbed
Nerys by the hair and pulled her from between her legs, kissed her.
Nerys winked at Kate, snuggled down beside her, pulled the blanket up
under her chin.

Kate sighed.

The room was quiet, save for the rapid beating of two hearts. Kira
pressed her chest close to Kate's, felt the older woman's body heat warm
her skin. //I could stay here forever,// she thought, //and love this
woman and be loved by this woman//

//and be trapped on a quarantined planet.// She returned to reality,
sighed. //Never mind.//

"What?" Kate asked. "What's wrong?"

Nerys hadn't realized shed sighed aloud. "Nothing," she said. "You
smell good."

"As do you," Kate said, nuzzling into Kira's armpit, licking the top of
her bicep and tracing a hand across the bottom of the Majors ribcage.
Kira shuddered, wiggling her toes.

Kate's fingernails moved across Kira's flat stomach, traced up the sides
of her arc-ing hips, gently, slowly, tauntingly. Nerys bit her tongue,
pressed her face into Kate's clavicle and closed her eyes, waiting.
Kate stroked her waist, ran a finger down her hipbone, dipped into her
pubic hair, slipped out again.

"Mmm" Nerys said, her voice muffled by Kate's flesh.

Kate's fingers had found Nerys pubic hair again, and they raked through
the rusty thatch with careful deliberation. At last, Kate let a finger
slip between Kira's outer labia and dip into the moisture that lay
there.

"Mmmm" Nerys said again, louder this time, arching her back.

And then another finger, and then another, one on either side gliding
through pools of moisture, tracing patterns, while a stubborn finger
raced circles across the tip of Kira's throbbing clitoris.

Nerys buried her nose deeper into Kate's flesh, kissing, biting,
moaning with every stroke of Kate's slender, powerful fingers.

Kira's back arched again; she gripped Kate's shoulder with one hand, the
corner of the couch with the other. Her legs went straight, her knees
locked, her toes pointed. Kate's finger never stopped, the circles grew
smaller, the strokes firmer and faster. Kira gasped and rocked,
sending pools of discharge into Kate's waiting hand.

Kira's mouth found Kate's collarbone again, and she bit down hard.

"Ow!" Kate said, laughing. Nerys tried a laugh, but she was
breathless. She grabbed Kate's hand, wrested it free, clutched it close
to her breast. And the two women breathed in unison, curled their
bodies closer to each other on the itchy couch.

"Thank you," Kate said, just as Nerys said, "that was really
incredible." They laughed again.

Kira's comm badge chimed. "Yes," she called into the air, rolling her
eyes at Kate.

"Major, where are you?" came Dr. Bashir's voice. "I'm aboard the
runabout, and from up here it looked like there was an attack on the
capital city. Are you all right?"

Kira sighed. "I'm fine, Doctor. Its just gotten cold since the bombing,
so I've been indoors. And the EMH. I guess EM devices *do* work"

"Well, the communication system certainly does," Bashir agreed,
sounding puzzled. "The point is, Major, I've found the subspace anomaly
that got us here. All we have to do is fly back through it, and we
should be able to return to our universe."

"Excellent, Doctor," Kira said. "Lets aim for tomorrow morning?" She
winked at Commander Janeway.

"No, Major I'm sorry, but that wont be possible. The anomaly's closing in
on itself. Were lucky if we've got an hour. You've got to beam up now"
Bashir concluded.

Kira sighed. The room was cold again, and she pulled the blanket
around her more closely, looking at her pile of clothes across the
room. "Very well. Stand by to beam me up on my mark," she said. "Kira
out."

Kate blinked at her, then rose and crossed the room. Picking up Kira's
clothes, she brushed them off, folded them, and handed them to Kira,
all the while businesslike, efficient.

Nerys looked away when Kate returned to the couch. "I've got to go,"
she said.

"And I have got to return to my crew!" Kate said, gathering up her own
clothes. "They must be going insane without me." Her laugh came out
like a cackle.

Kira was dressed now, and she stood shivering in the small room.

"Will you be all right?" she asked Kate, who was fumbling for sweater
buttons with shaking fingers.

"I'm fine, just fine," Kate said. "Don't forget to look me up when you
get to your universe"

"I wont," Nerys said. She slapped her comm badge a little too
forcefully. "Kira to Mekong. One to beam up."

Kate left her with a wink and a nod and she shimmered out of the room.

---

Aboard the Mekong, she collapsed into a chair, let Bashir program the
coordinates for the anomaly. They sailed through.

"Thirty-five thousand light years from Wehemoth," Bashir reported.
"That sounds about right."

"Great," Kira said. "Set a course."

Bashir obeyed and settled into his seat.

"Computer," Kira began. "Please display all information regarding a
Starfleet officer named Kathryn Janeway"

---

The End