Chapter 6

Hogan, his men, and the Defiant crew walked over to the barracks, and worked on Sisko's plan to remove the tribbles.

"Combat engineers," Hogan stated. "There's a unit right outside of Hamelburg." He then nodded and smiled. "Yes, that can work. And I know the right person to get those orders."

"General Kinchmeyer, sir?" Kinch, leaning up against the bunk, had a clue as to where this plan was heading.

"Exactly." Hogan stood up and went to work; the Defiant crew swept aside by the colonel's fabrication. "Kinch, call the platoon as General Kinchmeyer, and give them a heads up. Tell them it's top secret and we are using our own personnel; and then type up the orders. Get us three large unarmored bulldozers, and some trucks. Newkirk, take those two down below and get them into engineering uniforms." He pointed to Bashir and O'Brien. "And get one for yourself. Carter, you'll go as Kinchmeyer's personal representative in case of an issue. Olsen, take Steinberg from Barracks 4. He worked in construction and would know how to maneuver the bulldozers. That's six of you. Kinch stay by the phone, just in case."

"All right you two gents. Come with me." Newkirk hurried over to the bunk entrance, while Olsen left the barracks to find Steinberg.

"I actually think this may be fun," Bashir mentioned to O'Brien, as they put on the German uniforms. "It's like playing construction worker on the holodeck."

"Except with the safeties off," O'Brien reminded the doctor.

HhHhH

As the camp personnel continued to pile up the fur balls, a more alert guard in one of the towers called the office and reported a convoy of construction equipment heading towards camp.

"A construction crew? I didn't order a construction crew," Klink said.

"Neither did I, Klink," Burkhalter said. Both officers hurriedly left the Kommandanteur, and headed towards the entrance. Sure enough, a long line of construction equipment, bulldozers to be exact, was lined up outside the gate. O'Brien and Bashir, dressed as German engineers, hopped down from the first two pieces of equipment. Bashir addressed the group in fluent German. Steinberg was at the helm of the third bulldozer, while Newkirk, Carter and Olsen handled the trucks.

"We were ordered by a General to empty the camp of an infestation and take them, um, away from here." Bashir was fully enjoying himself. If he was enjoying himself, O'Brien was in complete heaven. He just hoped the two of them wouldn't cause an accident.

Burkhalter and Klink did not seriously care, but they were curious.

"Which General?" Burkhalter demanded.

"Um, Kinchmeyer, sir. He told me, Kinchmeyer." He handed Burkhalter an envelope.

While Burkhalter and Klink looked at the orders, Carter quickly left his truck and, his face down, entered the camp. Hogan, spotting the sergeant, went over to Carter and whispered, "any issues?"

"No, it was a piece of pie, sir."

Hogan didn't bother correcting Carter. "Good, get back into your truck."

"It is General Kinchmeyer. Let them in." Burkhalter stepped back as the monster equipment came to life and the convoy entered the compound. "But I will call."

"Time cannot wait; they keep expanding," Bashir shouted as he maneuvered his dozer towards the first pile.

The camp population stood and watched as the dozers scooped up mounds of fur balls and piled them into the trucks. The trucks then left the camp, depositing the fur balls in the designated area, and returned for more. Odo and Dax stood nearby and guarded the piles outside of camp, while inside the camp, a small group of prisoners continued to search buildings and assorted hiding places, removing them as quickly as possible.

Up on the Defiant, Kira used repaired and augmented sensors to locate hidden tribbles and transported them into the buffers, once they made sure no humans were nearby.

As the tedious process continued...

"It's you..." Schultz pointed at one of the dozers. He grabbed Hogan's sleeve. "Colonel Hogan, I know those men."

He pointed at Sisko. "Your men. His men. They were here, and now they are...and why are Newkirk and Carter driving trucks? Colonel Hogan, this is not allowed!"

Hogan, shrugged. "It's who, Schultz? What men?" He pulled out a bar of chocolate and handed it to Schultz. "Don't get apoplectic. They had to get a day job. Things are tight around here. The war, you know..."

"I don't want to know. I don't wish to know." Picking up a fur ball, and giving it a stroke, he handed it to Hogan, and then scurried off to the Kommandanteur, where he found General Burkhalter on the phone.

"General Kinchmeyer. I'm fine, How are you? Good. A quick question. What? Yes, they are here...you did? Wait...no. Here are the written orders. No, there is no problem. And you will get to the bottom of the experiment? I understand. Heil Hitler."

Burkhalter handed the phone to Klink, who placed it in its receiver.

"What did he say, General?" Klink asked.

He heard about our infestation, and he is handling it." Burkhalter nodded. "He always seems be on top of things."

"But General, where are they sending the fur balls?"

"The Russian Front."

It took all day; but by nightfall, using eyesight and sensors, the Defiant crew was confident all tribbles had been removed to the outside location and transported to the replicators' buffers. The equipment was returned to the engineering unit, and the operators beamed back up onto the ship. Sisko and Hogan were in the tunnels having a last minute briefing.

"They aren't really going to the Russian Front, are they Sisko?" a suspicious Hogan asked.

"No, not quite. But we have discovered how to handle them and their reproductive issues; and we aren't hurting them, I promise."

"Good" Hogan leaned back and rested against a wall. "They're innocent victims of this war. Lots of animals are dying." He sighed.

"I know." Sisko put a hand on the colonel's arm. "Colonel. I need to get back to my unit. I'll leave through the tunnel entrance."

Hogan nodded. "Stay safe."

"You too," Sisko responded with a smile, knowing that, tribbles or no tribbles, the group of brave POW's survived the war.

Later that day, Hogan was back to his usual self, badgering the Kommandant with ridiculous demands.

"Pool table."

"Absolutely not."

Hogan sighed. "Ping Pong tables. We have the balls, and the net."

Klink thought for a moment. "I'll grant you some wood. Your men can build a table, with supervision, of course."

"Thank you, sir. Oh, and one more thing."

"What is it Hogan," an exasperated Klink replied.

"Puppies."

Klink looked up.

"Puppies?"

"Oh, yes sir." Hogan's enthusiasm was building. "Petting animals releases endorphins. We are in a stressful situation here, sir. You bring in puppies for the men to hold, cuddle, pet...I guarantee you, they will be less ornery and bored, and the camp will run more smoothly. Might help you too, sir. And your men as well," he quickly added. "They'll have something to take care of...worry about."

Klink steepled his fingers. "Puppies?" he repeated. "This is war, Colonel Hogan. "We are not a spa."

"I hear they bring them in to universities during exam weeks," Hogan said, not sure where he heard that information. But it sure sounded reasonable.

"I will consider it. disssmissssed!"

Klink watched Hogan leave, and then he called for his secretary. "Fraulein. Do you know if there is an animal refuge in Hammelburg?"

HhHhH

"That's about done it, Captain." O'Brien and Dax were feeling pretty good about their engineering work. The thousands and thousands of tribbles threatening the timeline? Well, they were alive and safely sitting in scores of transporter buffers jury-rigged from ship parts, both replicated and borrowed. Sure, it was cold, and they had no gravity, but it was for the greater good.

"Can we successfully get us home, Chief? Then deal with them there?"

"There's never a guarantee," O'Brien replied as he floated by. At everyone's look, he quickly said, "I hope so."

Sisko nodded at Kira. "You are up, Major."

Kira left the command center and went into a conference room, where the time orb sat. She opened it...and waited. Nothing...

Disappointed, she reentered the command center and stated the obvious. "It's not working."

Sisko mulled that over. "Did you get any sense why?"

"Well, nothing has changed on board, except for the tribbles," Dax stated.

"I'm willing to keep trying for a while. Move us away from the solar system," Sisko ordered, "and we'll try again."

The ship came to a stop outside the solar system. "Go ahead, Major."

"Why don't you try, Captain?"

"All right." Sisko gave a go at the orb and attempted to send them into the future.

"I'm getting the sense the tribbles are the problem," he stated. He had a sixth sense about these things. After all, he was the emissary and had communed with the prophets. Tribbles or no tribbles, he was returning to the future. His crew and ship had to come before the animals.

Dax looked up from the sensors. "Benjamin, we can tow the replicator-transporters in a tractor beam. See if that works."

"Chief?"

"It's worth a try, Captain."

As soon as Dax and O'Brien removed the replicator-transporters holding the tribbles from the inside of the ship, they beamed them out into space. Using the tractor beam, they gathered them into a large group (after all, there were thousands and thousands of tribble molecules inside them) and held them together outside the ship. It looked like the Defiant was towing a 24th century appliance store.

Kira opened the orb. This time was different. She could feel it. The light enveloped the Bajoran's face and a sense of calm came over her even while the ship jerked.

It took a few minutes for everyone to turn off the alarms and the sensors. "Where are we, people?" Sisko asked.

"Outside our solar system...In our time, Benjamin." Dax smiled.

Sisko nodded. "Great job everyone. It will take us some time to get home, but at least the crisis is...Odo?" The changeling was checking some sensors and he was shaking his head.

"The tribbles didn't come with us, Captain."

"The tractor beam is off-line." Dax spent a few moments checking her sensors. "Odo is correct. There are no replicators or tribbles anywhere around here."

Sisko sunk into his seat, and sighed.

HhHhH

Somewhere outside our solar system: Earth year, 1968

Captain James T. Kirk took a sip of coffee, and then placed the cup on the armrest of his captain's chair. He leaned over to his right, comfortable in the familiar semi-slouched position. The bridge crew took up their usual stations, while the Enterprise's chief medical officer and chief engineer stood next to the captain. The Enterprise had just completed a time-travel mission curiously sanctioned by Starfleet. Kirk replayed his log.

"Captain's log. Using the light-speed breakaway factor, the Enterprise has moved back through time to the 20th century. We are now in extended orbit around Earth, using our ship's deflector shields to remain unobserved. Our mission – historical research. We are monitoring Earth communications to find out how our planet survived desperate problems in the year 1968." (1)

"Computer, pause log."

"Problem, Jim?" asked McCoy.

"I have to think about this. The update can wait. It's a long story."

"Despite the fact that it looks like we were supposed to be down there at that time, I'm beginning to think that time travel is not a good idea." McCoy stated.

"You may be right, Bones. I'll put my feelings in the report. Seems we always seem to be in the thick of it."

"It's not good for my engines either, Captain." Scotty was over-protective of his engines, and the entire ship for that matter. Kirk would never want anyone else in charge of the engine room.

"We are approaching the coordinates to engage the breakaway factor, Captain."

"Thank you, Sulu. Scotty..."

Scott turned to head to the exit, but was stopped in his tracks when a slight beep could be heard. It was coming from a station located to the left of the doors. The ensign on duty there stepped away. "Captain, I'm receiving some form of a signal." He frowned. "This can't be right. It appears it is emanating from a transporter or replicator, sir."

"Send it to Mr. Spock's station, Ensign."

Scott stepped back into the bridge and took his spot behind Kirk.

"Fascinating," was Spock's all too familiar reaction.

"Lieutenant, can you try boosting the signal?" he asked Uhura.

"Already working on it, Mr. Spock."

Kirk was impatient. "Haven't got all day, here. What are we reading?"

"The ensign is correct. It does appear to be some form of a signature, coming from what appears to be either replicators or transporter technology. Hidden by radiation over by that asteroid field."

"Do you have the coordinates?" Kirk asked. "It could be nothing, or something left by Mr. Seven." He paused and smiled. "We need to check this out before we go home."

Spock raised his eyebrow. "The signature is extremely faint. His benefactor may not have noticed it. Sending coordinates to the helm," Spock replied.

"Good. Engage." Kirk sat back in his chair, sipped his coffee and waited.

Multiple pieces of equipment filled the view screen. It appeared as if the Enterprise had wandered into an appliance graveyard filled with replicated equipment cobbled together with spare parts.

"Captain, our sensors indicate that some of these elements are not familiar." Spock turned and peered into his sensor. "There appears to be some form of a transporter-like signature."

"Really? Can I have a look?" Scotty hurried over to Spock's station and peered into the hood. The bridge became very quiet, with everyone waiting for more information, or the next order. "Mr. Spock is right, Captain. I can't tell from here what, if anything, is in there."

"Bring them into the cargo hold. Mr. Spock. Bones, Scotty...you're with me." He looked at the Red Shirt standing by the turbolift and addressed the ensign. "Bring a security squad as well."

A short while later, all of the floating replicators were corralled and brought into the cargo hold. Everyone remained silent while Scotty, his transporter chief, and other engineers intently studied the cargo. Spock also went over the equipment with his tricorder, while a medical team stood by.

Scotty conferred with his team and then looked up. "Captain, there are transporter signatures in the buffer. My best guess is that they have been there for close to twenty years or more. Some of this equipment is definitely from Starfleet."

"What are they doing here?" Kirk paced back and forth. "Are they from our time...Could they be experimental? Or from the future?"

"Whatever is in there, they've been trapped." Spock declared. "On purpose or accidentally...that I do not know. And from what period? That I also do not know, although I can guess it may be from the future."

"What will be the consequences if we release them?" Kirk wondered out-loud. "We will face another Khan?"

"Or villains from Krypton like in the movie Superman 2?" offered one of the security guards.

"This is not the phantom zone, ensign." Spock stated. "And Zod is fictional."

Kirk chuckled. "Spock. I didn't know you knew something of Earth's 20th century pop culture...when it comes to movies, that is."

"Indeed." Spock said. "It is educational."

"Jim." McCoy grabbed Kirk's arm. "These could be people trapped in a buffer for a good reason. They need our help."

"I agree with the doctor, Captain," Scotty said. "I can't determine for sure who is in there, but they are living organisms. We can put a force field around the equipment. I think I can figure out how to work the machines. I volunteer to go in there."

Kirk sighed. "We have to help whoever is in there. Place a force field around the replicators-transporters or whatever they are. Take security in with you. Just in case we set gremlins loose."

Scotty knew the signatures appeared the same in the all machinery, so he picked one at random. Once the force field was in place, he went to work. After several minutes, he nodded at the crew waiting outside. The security team stepped back, phasers drawn and set on stun. "Here it goes," Scotty said. He hit a few buttons. The crew heard a familiar noise and then the molecules and atoms stored in the buffers materialized on the floor of the cargo bay.

Everyone's mouth hung open in shock. Finally Scotty spoke. "Captain...we just unleashed a great pile of tribble."

The end

(1) Star Trek (original series) Assignment Earth. Season two, episode 26

In the TNG episode, Relics, the Enterprise discovers a crashed ship, holding the transporter signatures of two men. One man is lost, but one survives...he is Captain Scott, from Kirk's Enterprise. The two men were in the buffer for 75 years. I will admit, this episode helped me with the ending, although I always had the intention of bringing the story full circle...back to Kirk's era.

a/n thanks for reading! I put this story up quickly, so if you notice any typos, mistakes etc, please let me know so I can fix them. Happy New Year!

Sue (Snooky)