A Tangled Web Part 1 Chapter 3

The Earth hung in space like a blue marble glued onto a black backdrop. Yet the Earth was not alone. On one side of it hung a small white moon covered with craters. And on the other side hung a massive space station not of terrestrial design. An even closer look of the planet would reveal an increasing number of starships just coming into orbit.

Aboard the Cardassian built space station that now belonged to the Bajoran government, activity was booming. With the majority of Deep Space Nine's crew gone, Starfleet personnel were being transported to the station and being shown their new stations for the duration of the Borg invasion. Many of the Starfleet cadets had also entered onto the station to help organize and set up a meeting and debriefing area for Starfleet.

Ensigns moved like busy ants in Quark's bar slowly, but determinedly, shaping it into something that would better suit their needs. In one corner Morn was helping a few of the female ensigns move some of the gambling tables out of the way while flirting with them. Leeta, one of the few Bajorans to remain on the station, was helping to store away some of the items of the bar that just seemed to be getting in the way. Rom was busy installing some monitors and accessories while Chief O'Brien instructed some of the new technicians how to interface with the amalgamation of Cardassian-Federation-Bajoran technology that made up Deep Space Nine.

At first, Quark had been adamantly against them using his bar as their command center or war room. That is until they informed him how he was to be reasonably compensated for his troubles. After he found out how well he was to be compensated, he went out of his way to help the ensigns set up the room to look more official.

"I'm surprised to see you being so generous… and helpful."

Quark turned to see Dr. Julian Bashir behind him. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with a clear bar rag he answered the doctor, "Oh, I can be generous and helpful," he said, as he broke out in a grin. "For a price!"

"And Starfleet managed to find that price."

"Yes, now are you just going to stand there and talk or are you going to help us get ready for the opening conference?"

It was Bashir's turn to smile. "Sorry, Quark. I have a meeting with Voyager's holographic doctor to correlate various medical procedures relating to Borg interfaces."

"Why don't you just download the data you need?"

"Ah, that's the interesting thing. Voyager's holographic medical program has become too complex to do downloads of information quickly. Basically, he's become sentient. All the information has begun to be interwoven. That makes it harder for us to just pluck what we want out of all the data he is complied of."

"Big deal."

"Dr. Beverly Crusher is going to be there, too," added Bashir.

"You're not going to be happy until you get to disassemble a Borg drone yourself, are you?" Quark shook his head not being able to comprehend what it was that the Hew-mon found so interesting.

"One of the main reasons I asked to be stationed at Deep Space Nine was because of the opportunities to be on the cutting edge of new medical procedures. The chance to take a Borg drone and return it to its previous state of individuality is really-"

"Boring. You won't find me going out there risking my neck to save some Borg whose only purpose in life is to assimilate me as soon as he gets an opportunity."

Bashir looked puzzled. "Quark, why are you here? Why didn't you get off at Bajor when you had a chance?"

"Are you kidding? And abandon my bar? And what about other opportunities that I would only be able to take advantage of here?" responded Quark

"But what about the danger?"

"Starfleet took care of the Borg the last time they came to Earth. They'll do it again," answered Quark with a tone of faith that he really didn't have.

Bashir looked at Quark with alarm. "You do know that by staying on the station you voluntarily became an agent for Q to use against the Borg, don't you?"

Quark slowly put down the chair he had been moving. "What are you talking about?"

Bashir grimaced. "Quark. I think you had better sit down for this. You seemed to have missed some of the small print in our deal."

The Promenade of Deep Space Nine was unusually empty thanks to the evacuation that had taken place before the space station had been transported to Earth. Odo noticed with a slight smile that there was still some activity over at Quark's.

Leading the three delegates from Voyager through the space station had been interesting. Even Captain Janeway had taken to gawking and pointing out anything that she was familiar with - which wasn't as much as she had first thought considering it was a Cardassian made, Bajoran occupied, Federation run station.

"I can't believe we're really back," commented Chakotay to Tom Paris. "Only this morning we were in the Delta quadrant and now here we are orbiting Earth."

"Sure," Paris responded. "But it took a Borg attack and an act of Q to get us here! And it isn't over yet."

"Trust you to look to the bright side," joked Chakotay.

"Hey, that's me. Mister Sunny Disposition," he laughed. He waited for his commander to add something, but Chakotay said nothing. It took him a moment to notice that something had caught Chakotay attention.

Leaning against one of the many shops in the Promenade watching all the activity around Quark's bar was a Cardassian. Noticing their approach, Garak nodded a greeting to Odo and gave the three Voyager crewmembers his warmest smile.

Passing the reptilian alien, Paris attempted to resume small talk. "I guess more things have changed around here than I thought."

"What? Garak?" Chakotay shook his head. "No. Garak's lived here years before the Caretaker happened to trap us in the Delta quadrant. But seeing him did get me to thinking."

Paris noticed the unease that had come upon his friend and was immediately concerned. "What? Am I missing something?"

Chakotay had to laugh. "You seem to forget. Before I became a commander on Voyager, which happened after we went to the Delta quadrant, I was the captain of a Maquis ship."

"So, you're thinking about the Cardassian government who wiped out the Maquis while we were on the other side of the universe."

He stopped briefly to look at the station around him. "No. I dealt with that already."

A while back the Voyager had found an abandoned far-reaching alien relay station. They had managed to send the doctor's holographic program all the way to the Alpha quadrant and inform Starfleet that they were still alive and trying to come home. When the holographic doctor had returned through the relay system before it had been destroyed, he had brought with him messages from loved ones and news of the Federation. Some of the news had included the utter decimation of the Maquis by the Cardassians.

"I don't understand. What's bothering you then?"

"Starfleet. How are they going to feel about a ship that is half full of Maquis suddenly appearing on their doorstep?"

Paris grimaced. Then thought a moment. "Well, I can always see if I can get my father to speak up for you. Without the help of your crew, Voyager would have never returned. And besides, lots of people follow the lead of Admiral Paris."

"I can see him now," said Chakotay.

"Yep. Right in front of a group of delegates expressing the thanks the Federation owes the Maquis," chuckled Paris.

"No. I mean I can see your father over there."

"What?" He looked over to where his friend was pointing. And there, big as life, was his father walking right toward him. Luckily Captain Janeway was the first to greet the Admiral giving Tom a very needed moment to compose himself.

"I see that you've made some changes in the uniforms," Janeway cheerfully commented.

The admiral smiled diplomatically on cue. "Starfleet likes to keep a lot of people employed, including tailors. But, personally, I think I prefer your uniforms. It might be prejudice, but I always liked the display of colors and right now I really like the way it looks on my son. Always knew he would look good in a Starfleet uniform." Turning to his son, he stretched out his hand. "How have you been doing, son?"

"I've been fine, sir," replied Tom.

"I wish we had time to talk just now but this meeting is about to start and-"

"And the Borg are just a couple million miles from Earth, I know," his son responded with a sigh.

One of the admiral's eyebrows rose as he took in the sight of his son and tried to assess the changes that had occurred in him during the time he had been away. "We'll have dinner tonight and catch up on the last few years."

"I think you will be surprised to find out what an able body Starfleet crewmember your son has turned out to be," added Captain Janeway.

The admiral nodded to Janeway. "Yes, I would like to hear about that. I always knew he could be one. It's nice to know that he finally decided to do so himself."

Tom blushed, partially in anger, but also with embarrassment. All the old resentments and frustrations were quickly coming back into play and would resume their course between the two of them if he didn't do something to derail them. "Would it be alright if I brought my fiancée to dinner tonight?"

Surprised, the admiral took a new look at his son. Maybe he has changed. Maybe the Delta quadrant did him some good, he pondered. "Yes. Bring her around. I'd like to meet the woman who could get you to consider settling down." Taking a look at the bar Quark's he knew it was time to start. "I have to go see a few more people before we start, which will be in about five minutes. You might want to go find some seats. I expect it will soon be packed." Then he turned and left.

"So, Tom," Chakotay came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "When were you going to tell us that you and B'Elanna were engaged?"

"I was wondering that myself," added Janeway.

"Actually," Tom hesitated, "I had planned to do it before we ever got to the Alpha quadrant. But things have been moving a little quickly lately, so I'll just have to ask her right after this meeting." Looking innocently into their stunned faces he added, "Better late than never, right?"

Chakotay shook his head. "I'd love to see B'Elanna's face when you propose to her. And then tell her you two are having dinner with your father, a Starfleet admiral."

"Oh, I don't know about that," added Janeway, "I'd rather see the admiral's face when he learns that his to-be daughter-in-law is not only a former Maquis, but half-Klingon as well."

"Oh sure, laugh at my troubles," Tom joked. Suddenly, he stopped and cocked his head. "Does anyone else hear that?"

Chakotay was going to tease him for trying to change the subject we he began to hear something as well. Individuals all over the Promenade stopped as the metallic groaning sound became more audible. Where the sound seemed loudest, a tall, blue, rectangular box slowly came into existence near the entrance to Quark's bar.

All the Starfleet personnel, including the three Voyager crewmembers drew their phasers. Odo, who had quietly dismissed himself from the Voyager crew when Admiral Paris arrived, quickly came to the forefront of the activity. He was still the head of security for this station and he didn't like having so many phasers worn by people who were not apart of his security team. Especially ones who were already leery of shape-changing Founders. "All right, everybody. Take it easy." He did a quick walk around the object while everybody kept his or her phasers trained on it. "Odo to Captain Sisko."

"Right behind you, Constable."

Odo glanced over his shoulder at Captain Sisko as he emerged from Quark's. "You saw?"

"Most of it."

Odo noticed Nog just left of the Captain doing a tricorder scan of the object. "What are you getting, Nog."

The young Ferengi ensign shook his head. "It doesn't make much sense, but it seems to be some type of temporal anomaly. It's subtle, like it's trying to mask itself, but strong."

"Hey, I've seen this before."

Odo turned to one of the Voyager crewmembers that he had been escorting to Quark's. "Then what is it?"

Tom lowered his phaser as he walked closer to the blue foreign object. "It doesn't make sense. I saw it in one of the holo-novels I was running on the holodeck." He placed his hand on the box and was surprised to feel it giving of a humming vibration. He looked back at Odo, and then past him to his father standing in Quark's doorway. "It's a police phone booth used in the early twentieth century in Britain." At his father's skeptical look Tom pointed to the top of the box. "It even says so up there."

Just then, the door to the 'phone booth' opened up and a man wearing a floppy hat and scarf walked out. The curly haired man gave them a wide grin. "Hello. Sorry to interrupt, but would you mind helping us with a medical emergency?"

"I'm a doctor. What's the problem?" called out a tired, grumpy voice from the back.

Odo turned to this new interruption only to be stunned by the sight of the oldest Human he had ever seen. He was even more surprised to see that he was wearing a Starfleet admiral's uniform.

"Admiral McCoy, maybe we should-" began Lt. Barclay.

"Nonsense! Help me over there already," growled the elderly man.

"Um, well, ye-yes sir!" The admiral had arrived by his own personal shuttle alone. Upon entering the station, he commandeered the first member of Starfleet that he had come upon to help him walk about. Unfortunately for Lt. Barclay, that happened to be him.

As the elderly man, and younger man who was helping him, made their way forward, another figure came out of the TARDIS half-carrying, half-dragging an unconscious man. Leela gently laid Quinn down on the deck of the station, then took a stand of defiance against all the people aiming phasers at her.

"Now, now, Leela," said the scarfed man. "Go and help Rembrandt so he can get medical attention here as well."

Leela nodded and withdrew back into the TARDIS ignoring the weapons pointed at her.

"Who are you?" Odo asked the scarfed individual.

"Yes, I am. But you can call me the Doctor."

"If you are a doctor, then why aren't you already treating this man," growled McCoy from over his patient.

The Doctor looked at the elderly man and was pleased to notice the intelligence that was displayed in his eyes. Smiling, he answered, "Because I'm not that kind of doctor."

"What are you a doctor of?" inquired Sisko.

"Serendipity," replied the Doctor. "And who might you be?"

"Captain Benjamin Sisko. I run this space station."

Admiral McCoy grunted as Barclay helped him kneel down before his first patient in more years than he would care to count. "Well, I'm an admiral and an ambassador, but right now I'm a medical doctor," he wheezed. "What do you know of his condition?"

"Mostly there's the head trauma." At McCoy's scowl he added, "But you probably already noticed that. However, there might also be some trouble with whatever those Borg chaps were injecting into him."

"You were on the Borg ship?" demanded Sisko.

"Just came from there. Not very social, are they?"

"You don't want them to be social," he replied.

Admiral 'Bones' McCoy grunted at the pain his knees resting on hard floor was causing. Even though he was thrilled at the prospect of administering to the injured man before him, he knew he no longer had the ability to treat him effectively. Nor did he have the necessary equipment other than a medical tricorder. Looking up at a concerned Captain Sisko, McCoy conceited defeat again to his aged form. "Get him to Sickbay and hurry!"

"Sisko to Sickbay."

"Bashir here," responded the doctor of a communication relay.

"I have a medical beam out for you. Head trauma. Set up a containment field and look for the possibility of Borg nanite contamination."

"Yes sir!" piped Bashir's voice excitedly.

Sisko shook his head, dismayed and amused. Then he noticed Leela helping another man limp out of the TARDIS. "You must have been as tight as sardines in there."

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't bother us." Then he noticed Quinn dissolving into energy. Looking up he asked, "Teleporters, I hope?"

"Yes," he answered. Then he looked over at Admiral Paris waiting by Quark's door. Most admirals would push themselves forward and demand to know right away what was going on. But this was Sisko's station, and evidently the admiral trusted him to be able to deal with the matter and inform him of what is going on later. Sisko appreciated that.

"Now if you will come with me, maybe we can sort this whole thing out."

"Capital idea." Turning to Leela with a wink, "Leela, go with Rembrandt. It would be good for him to have a familiar face around."

"Yes, Doctor." She was holding the injured man up by one of his arms over her shoulder. And she didn't seem to want any help from the uniformed men and women.

Sisko, however, didn't want Leela to drag the injured man all the way to Sickbay. Bashir would never let him hear the end of it. But Sisko knew a stubborn aggressive person when he saw one, so he decided to be diplomatic about it. Noticing a disgruntled Worf coming up late to the commotion, he made a motion for him to come over. He had been visiting some of his friends that had arrived with the Enterprise. And now the warrior was kicking himself for neglecting his duties. "Worf, I know you are officially an ambassador, but I'd like you to help this lady bring her friend to Sickbay."

"Yes sir." Worf immediately went over to help the young lady with her Human cargo.

Leela, noticing Worf's formidability and warrior nature, was willing to let him help. In all her travels with the Doctor, this was one of the few beings with which she felt she could relate.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had whistled for K-9 and locked the TARDIS after the mechanical hound had exited. "Come, K-9. We have work to do." Soon he followed Sisko into Quark's bar. K-9 followed his master, wagging his antenna tail.

Q was becoming extremely antsy. Ever since he had brought Deep Space Nine and Voyager to Earth, he had been waiting for them to have this meeting they insisted on having. It seemed to be taking forever. First the Time Lord shows up and stops the meeting from starting, but fortunately he was able to provide information about the Borg that confirmed what Q had been telling them all along. Plus, he had two of the so-called 'Sliders' with him who had started this whole mess. It was only now, hours later after the meeting had started, that Q realized that they had no idea how precious a commodity time was.

"Well look what the cat dragged in."

Q felt a shiver go through his spine. Looking up confirmed his worse suspicions. "Guinan," he groaned. "I didn't bring you here." Then he had a couple thousand thoughts. "Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously.

She smiled sweetly and pointed up at Captain Picard addressing everyone about some of the lesser-known facts about the Borg. Seven of Nine was at his side adding side bits of information from her years of experience. "They are Starfleet's experts on the Borg."

Q frowned. "So?"

"I'm Starfleet's expert on you."

Q suppressed a shudder. "I think they should add Captain Janeway and Captain Picard to that list."

"Picard already has enough on his plate dealing with the Borg, still, I'll consult with Captain Janeway."

"Thank you," said Q meekly.

"Don't you ever thank me!" barked Guinan. A few people turned their heads but quickly turned back to the review Picard was giving when they realized that someone was yelling at the omnipotent troublemaker. Guinan ignored them and continued to tear into Q. "I will never forget what you did, and I will never forgive you for it, you pathetic clown!" Having had her say she quickly walked to the other side of Quark's bar, a plopped down in a seat, and crossed her arms as she stared hatefully into a corner.

Q watched her go then noticed Picard giving him a cold glare. "I wonder if this can get any worse?" Q muttered.

It hadn't been as bad as Q had expected. After a couple of commentaries by various Starfleet scientists, Q had been asked to brief them on the missions they were to go on and any specifics they could expect.

"As I understand it so far, the Borg have been sending thousands of Borgs to various parallel dimensions of Earth during different time periods thanks to the technology of the Sliders after they had a run in with our new acquaintance, the Doctor."

"Now wait a minute!" The Doctor jumped from his seat. "That was all accidental! From what I hear you are the one who informed these Borg creatures about the Sliding technology just for the fun of it."

Q was about to retort but Admiral Paris stepped in. "Settle down. This is not a trial. We are here to fix the problem. Currently, the cause is irrelevant. Do I make myself clear?" The three admirals sat at a table off to the side just next to the bar where Q was now standing. Admiral Paris sat in the middle with a cup of rare Zaldian tea that Quark had found for him. The legendary Admiral "Bones" McCoy sat in a chair to his right lightly dozing from time to time. Barclay sat nervously right behind McCoy to keep him informed of any important parts he may have napped through as well as to get anything the admiral needed. To Admiral Paris's left sat Admiral Ryvid Kriing, a Zakdorian master strategist who was currently just sitting and absorbing the information as it was presented to him.

"I have a question," interjected Tuvok as he stood up. "Why would the Borg be traveling to different time periods? Would not travel to other parallel worlds be more than enough for them?"

Q was about to respond when someone else did. "I would gather that that would be because these Slider fellows bounced off my TARDIS, sending them way off their usual path at an angle," added the Doctor sipping one of the drinks provided by Quark. "Then there is the fact that the device that opens up these gateways between worlds is broken. I think the Borg chaps have the technology or at least part of it, yet they probably don't know what settings to use for it."

"So they're shooting in the dark?" asked Tom Paris who was sitting a few seats away.

"Exactly," answered the Doctor with another pearly grin. "These thousands that are being sent out are probably more scouts that anything else. Most likely one of the first things they will try to do when they arrive will be to gather resources to construct something to send a message back here to the 'mother' ship. A beacon, most likely, so that they can establish continual travel from there to here." Turning back to Q he inquired with a smile, "Isn't that about right?"

A stony-faced Q just nodded. "Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted."

As Q told of his part in the problem concerning the Borg and the forced stipulation that had been placed on him while he worked to correct the matter, Captain Picard's thought wandered to one of many screens that had been erected around the bar to correlate communication and the transmission of information during this Borg encounter. On one of the screen's he could see the Borg cube floating in the void of space. Floating around the mechanical block were metallic pieces flotsam and jetsam that had just hours ago been four Starfleet vessels. U.S.S. Bounty. U.S.S. Challenger. U.S.S. Hector. U.S.S. Crazy Horse. All had been reduced to rubble. The crews had died valiantly against incredible odds. Those that managed to reach the escape pods suffered a worse fate as the Borg tractor beams captured them for assimilation.

"Captain?" Deanna Troi whispered to him.

"I'm alright, counselor," he whispered back. "Just doing some thinking."

It had been Admiral Paris that had explained to him what had happened. Admiral Klinder had been the first person of authority to receive news of the presence of the Borg and had immediately led the four Starfleet vessels around Earth against the invaders. His speculation of the reason the Borg had not immediately attacked due to some mechanical problem that had occurred during transit was flimsy at best. He had insisted that Starfleet had to attack while the Borg was still vulnerable. But Picard knew that the real reason Admiral Klinder had attacked the Borg was to be remembered. Admiral Klinder had been dying and had been diagnosed with a little less than a year to live. Admirals that die in battle were remembered better than admirals that die sick in bed.

"I'm angry, yet tired, Deanna. But I know this venture has just begun." He leaned over to her and whispered, "Am I getting too old for all this?"

Deanna smiled. "No. And I doubt that Admiral McCoy thinks so either," she said indicating the elderly man at the admirals table who had just snorted himself awake. With a wicked gleam in her eye she turned back to her captain. "But if you want, I'm sure I could talk the admiral into giving you a physical just to make sure."

"Not likely," muttered the captain.

The counselor giggled. "Maybe you would at least begin to appreciate the yearly physicals that Beverly schedules you for."

"I doubt that, too," he replied. He did manage to smile. Glancing across the room, he saw where Riker was sitting next to Data. He had the urge to ask Deanna what the problem was between her and Riker, but quickly squelched it. He never felt good about intruding into other people's private matters, even if they meant as much to him as the Commander and the Ship's Counselor did. He quickly squelched down that feeling before he became meddlesome.

Suddenly aware of a new presence coming up to him on his side, he quickly let his thoughts of Riker and Troi fade away. Beaming down at him in what Picard assumed was a smile was a Ferengi who Picard recognized as the proprietor of the bar Starfleet was currently using. "Can I help you?"

"Your drink, sir. Earl Grey tea," answered Quark as he brought the tray he had closer to the captain.

The captain looked at the cup of tea suspiciously before picking it up. "I didn't order a drink."

"I know," said the Ferengi. "It's on the house."

Picard froze just as he was going to take a sip. He looked carefully into the tea. Seeing nothing, he sniffed it. Perplexed, he looked up to see the Ferengi still standing there. "Yes?"

"Oh, it can wait. Please, finish your drink, captain." Quark stood there holding the tray in front of him watching the captain.

"Oh, it will not wait," replied the captain as he put down his cup of tea. He had had too many dealings with the Ferengi and little of it had been good.

Quark, seeing an opportunity, took it. Bending down on one knee so as to get a little closer to the sitting captain, Quark began his appeal. "It was all a misunderstanding, you see. I didn't know about the clause concerning individuals remaining on the station, but I remembered something I heard about you being his friend," said the Ferengi as he pointed to Q. "If you can convince him to let me go, I will make it well worth your while."

Picard frowned at the alien. All around him heads were turning to find out what was going on. As the Ferengi continued to try to buy his help, Picard's surprise began to turn to embarrassment and anger. Seeing the Changeling head of security coming to take Quark away, Picard decided to wave Odo back so he could find out what the Ferengi was talking about.

"Do you mind?" commented Q. The Q entity was standing while he had been addressing the assembly of people about all the certainties they could expect and the little information he had about where the Borg could have possibly gone, but now his audience were all looking at this curious sight.

"All right, what is this about?" Picard asked the Ferengi, wanting the spectacle over with.

Quark looked a little surprised at all the attention that was suddenly focused on him. "It's like I said. This has all been a simple misunderstanding. I'm not supposed to be here. You see, I didn't know that whoever stayed on the station when he," he pointed to Q, "transferred the station here would have to become part of some suicide squad against the Borg."

"Yes, I can't really see you joining such a heroic effort," comment Picard. "So…?"

"So, when I found out about it, I naturally tried to transport myself off the station, but the transporters wouldn't work. So, then I tried a shuttle craft, but it wouldn't power up when I was aboard." He sighed heavily before continuing. "Then I remembered that you where his friend," and Quark pointed to Q again, "so I came to ask you to ask him to let me go." At the completion of his monologue Quark folded his arms to his chest and asked, "So, how much?"

Picard disregarded the annoying Ferengi and instead focused his attention on Q. "Is what he said true? We can't leave this station?"

Q's puzzled looked was answered by a flash of light and a man appearing behind the bar. "Q?" inquired Q.

"What is this, Q?" Sisko deep voice demanded an answer. He had been sitting on the sides listening to all the vague information from Q, and then the unexpected interruption by Picard and Quark, but if there was going to be any action on his station, he was going to be the one on top of it.

Q sighed and sat down on one of the barstools near Morn. Gesturing his hand at the new arrival who was wearing an identical copy of the Starfleet admiral's uniform that Q was wearing he replied with a heavy sigh, "This is Q, too."

"I don't understand," said a puzzled Sisko.

Captain Janeway quickly stood up. She half-heartedly wanted to just step back and watch everything for a change, but she had seen the troubled look in Q's eye when he first appeared on her ship and she knew that the clock must be ticking. "Let's not get caught up into that again." Turning to face when the three admirals sat and giving most of the people in the room to see who was talking she began to address the motley assembly. "Look, all of Q's kind call themselves Q. So, our Q we will call Q, and this new Q… let's just call him 'Q2'."

"Thank you, Kathryn," said a grateful Q. "That was very… efficient."

"I thought you said we had to hurry with this?" asked Janeway with a smug smile.

"Yes, you do," responded the new arrival.

"What are you doing here!" demanded Q.

The Q behind the counter of the bar smiled enigmatically. "Oh, I think you can guess."

Q's eyes went wide with horror. "They wouldn't!"

The other Q just nodded and smiled even more.

"But they consider you to be just about as impulsive and troublesome as I am!"

"Exactly!" exclaimed the second Q happily. "That is why I am here. Our peers hope that I will learn something from this trouble you are going through. What that might be exactly, I'm not sure, but I was bored so why not."

From the side of the room there was a cough. Then Admiral Paris stood from where he was sitting. "Excuse me, gentlemen. But-"

"Contrary to our appearance, we are not men," snapped Q.

Admiral Paris's confidence wavered slightly, but realizing by standing up he was already committed to do something, so he proceeded. "Gentle beings," he amended, "since we all seem to be caught up in this matter-" He paused for a breath and for the rest of his nerve to catch up to him. "-it would be nice if you would enlighten us as to what exactly is going on."

It was the nod from Janeway that made Q willing to comply with the admiral's request. With a sigh and an exasperated shrug of his shoulders, Q began to explain. "Evidently the Q Continuum seems to believe that I need watching as I do their punishment detail. For reasons that defy explanation, they thought he would be the best one to do that."

Q2's outfit changed in a bright flash to that of a referee's black and white uniform including a metal whistle hanging around his neck. Grinning at Q's pouting look, he turned to Admiral Paris. "As you can guess, the Continuum have deemed it necessary to see that Q abides by their instructions to the letter. They felt it would be best to have someone here to monitor this new situation just so if any of the stipulations put on Q needed amending." Chuckling at Q's face turning purple he added, "As for the particular reason as to why me," Q2 broke into a full blow belly laugh. When he stopped, he was surprised to find tears in his eyes. Wiping the liquid off with his sleeve, he continued. "Then there is also the fact that the Continuum selected me in particular because they find me as almost as much a problem as Q. They are hoping that I won't be so apt to getting into trouble while I am having fun after having a close-up view of what Q is going to be going through." Giggling at Q's silent rage Q2 added, "If I had known what this was all about, I would have just volunteered," he teased. "Oh, yes, in regards to the large lobed creature's earlier comment - anyone that comes on board the Enterprise, Voyager, or Deep Space Nine will automatically become pawns for Q to use in his endeavors for fixing this mess. No exceptions and no leaving."

Looks of concern began filling the faces of some of the Starfleet personnel that had beamed up from Earth. Admiral Bones was the only one smiling.

"Daughter, where are you? Why weren't you there to greet your mother when I came on board?"

Heads all around turned to take in the sight of Ambassador Lwaxana Troi and her seven-foot bald servant standing behind her, Mr. Homn.

"Mother!" exclaimed Deanna somewhat manically.

"That feels wonderful, Doc. Thanks." Rembrandt swiveled his legs over to the side of the table he had been leaning on and slowly tested his weight on his injured leg. When no pain flashed across his leg, he tried tapping his foot on the floor at first softly then harder.

Doctor Kate Pulaski chortled softly. "I doubt if it is going to suddenly fall off or anything."

Rembrandt felt like a little kid and even began a little tap dance routine. Stopping a little out of breath he held out his hand and shook Kate Pulaski's. "I can't believe it. All I feel is a slight twinge when the break was. You're a miracle worker, doc!"

Pulaski allowed herself a chuckle at the praise. "Actually, you should thank this doctor fellow you were telling me about. Whatever it was that he gave you seems to have cemented the cracks in your leg and ribs with calcium before you even came into Sickbay. All I did was mend some the strained ligaments and knit one-half of a torn tendon back together." She smiled at Rembrandt. "That and have the dermal generator close some cuts and heal your bruises."

"Trust me, doc, what you did was great." The one-time singer flashed her a grin. "Even if it was only a tendon, a couple ligaments, cuts and bruises."

"Well, you're welcome." It had been a while since she had had the privilege of treating such a charmer. "Though I would love to get my hands on one of those pills you took. Whatever they were they were truly remarkable. Some of the residual properties than I scanned that were still in your system were amazing as they were baffling."

"You could always ask the Doctor. The worst he could do is say 'no'," responded Leela from where she had taken position at the door that she refused to let close so she could also observe the other doctors working over the prone body of Quinn Mallory.

A pained look crossed the Slider's face as he remembered Quinn and his missing two comrades. He quickly walked through the open door leaving the two women abruptly.

"I'll have to do that," replied Doctor Pulaski to a bemused Leela.

The doctor followed Leela into the next room when Rembrandt stood at the edge of a containment field looking over at his injured friend. Standing over the Quinn's body, Pulaski could see the former Borg drone Seven of Nine, the holographic doctor from Voyager, Doctor Crusher from the Enterprise, and a very enthusiastic Doctor Bashir. Pulaski had been one of the many Starfleet personnel to transport up from Earth to fill in for the station's depleted ranks. When the two patients had originally come in, Pulaski was just familiarizing herself with the station's Sickbay. Bashir had immediately involved himself with the first patient, thus leaving the second patient for Pulaski. Now that her patient was better, she found herself as a spectator.

Stepping next to the leather clad woman, the first thing Pulaski noticed was the body odor. Pulaski could see that Leela was in athletic shape and would no doubt turn the heads of many the crewmembers. However, her recent exertions of lugging Rembrandt and Quinn around had definitely left her smelling less than appealing.

Kate was surprised to note the hand that Leela put on the shoulder of the young Human/K'tarian hybrid girl that had come in earlier with the former Borg drone. Evidently the woman in leather and the youngster from Voyager had become fast friends while Kate had been working on treating Rembrandt.

Kate was startled when Rembrandt reached over and took her hand in his. "Thank you," he whispered with tears in his eyes. "For me and my friend."

Pulaski always felt a little awkward at moments like this. Putting on her best compassionate face with a smile she said, "Just glad I could help."

"Mother!" exclaimed Deanna, "Why!?"

Lwaxana Troi slowly moved about the room taking in the view of the luxurious Ambassador quarters provided on Deep Space Nine. "I see that they still haven't added the improvements I suggested," commented Lwaxana as she ignored her daughter.

"Mother! This is serious!"

"Mr. Homn. Those flowers or whatever they are would look better as a centerpiece over there."

"Mother!" Deanna poured everything she could into that tone. All her frustration and anger. And Fear. As a powerful Betazoid her mother could not help but notice it. As her daughter, she knew it could not be ignored.

The older Troi hung her head and sighed. "Odo filled me in on the situation when he escorted us to our room."

Deanna was surprised. Her mother often read other people's minds indiscriminately, however Odo was head of security.

"Oh, it wasn't like that, daughter. Odo was just thoughtfully laying out what had been transpiring here, that is all. Sort of filling in the gaps."

Deanna was puzzled. "I didn't know that you knew Odo."

Lwaxana smiled. "Let's just say that if things had worked out a little differently he might have been your new father."

Deanna's mind balked at the thought of picturing the stoic constable with his stern attitude wooing her mother.

Lwaxana continued to pace around the room. "Mr. Homn, let's try those vases over by the door." Stopping to take another look she shook her head. "Better make that outside the door."

"Mother!"

"Dear daughter, can't you see that mother is busy."

Deanna snorted. "What I see is that you are trying to avoid this problem we are in," she commented as she quickly scoped up the two bluish-purple vases out of Mr. Homn's hands, "with silly distractions like redecorating and bringing up old loves."

She sighed. "And what would you have me do?"

"Mother, what I meant was-"

"No, really. What would you have me do? Really?" Her volume began to rise, and she began pacing around the room at a faster pace. "I really made a mess of things this time. What was I thinking? Coming out here while there was a Borg cube nearby. I knew it wasn't safe, but I just had to come."

Deanna was unsure of what to say. Her mother had always been an emotional woman even while still having control over her emotions. Now she seemed close to losing all that control. "Mother, I'm sure everything will be-" Lwaxana Troi collapsed on the coach and began crying uncontrollably. Deanna rushed to her mother's side and began trying to sooth her.

"All I wanted to do was come see my wandering daughter. Was that really so much to ask? Was it?" She broke into more tears. "And that dreadfully Q fellow is here, too."

Deanna easily remembered the time her mother and Q had met. Q had taken to flirting with her mother, even courting her to the point of sharing his powers with her. In the end it had turned out Q had been only setting her up for a fall. All of his overtures had been simply to mock her latter. In an interesting turn of events, he had been surprised when he found he couldn't take his powers away from Lwaxana. He was even more surprised when she began using those powers against him instead of just returning them. Deanna began to chuckle as she remembered the terror in Q's eyes when her mother had turned the lower half of his body into a tree firmly embedded in the floor.

(These events happened in the Star Trek book - Q-in-Law)

Lwaxana, being a Betazoid, saw the image running in Deanna's mind. "I had things well in hand, dear."

"Mother! You had a chainsaw in your hands!"

The two looked at each other and collapsed in a fit of laughter.

"Look at them. Not one of them really has an idea of what we are up against." Quark gripped the railing he was holding on to just a little tighter as if he could just squeeze his problem away.

"They are trying the best they can, brother."

Quark gave his brother a look of disdain. "They're scared. Even that Q fellow. And he's the one with all the power." He looked down from the second level of his bar at Q. "And he's the one who has the best idea as to what is out there."

Rom was silent. He always found it awkward whenever he saw his brother scared. Most of the time it was Rom who was scared, and Quark would look after him one way or another. But when Quark was scared- well, Rom just didn't know what to do even though the awkwardness of it left Rom feeling less scared himself.

"There's just got to be something we can do!"

Rom was startled that his brother said 'we'. Usually Quark just focused on looking out for himself except for those rare occasions when things get very dangerous. Quark may never admit it, but he loved his brother. It was the main reason that Quark looked after Rom all these years. That and making profits at Rom's expense. "Maybe we can find something to use from the Rules of Acquisition?"

Quark was taken aback. "Rom, that may have been the smartest thing I've ever heard you say."

Rom just grinned at the sudden praise.

Quark began pacing the walkway running various Rules through his head. "Let's see. We are already practicing the Seventh Rule and keeping our ears open so-"

"Brother, you always say that what you hear is meaningless if you can't do something with the information."

Quark stood stunned. "Twice in one day. Or as the Hew-mons would say 'Out of the mouth of babes'." He suddenly let out a booming laugh.

"But, Quark, Starfleet won't let you transmit anything you get from this meeting. They-"

"I wasn't planning on that. I was thinking of what could be learned on these missions Q will be sending people on."

Rom was confused. "Then what?"

Quark grinned. "The Ninth Rule of Acquisition."

Rom remained confused.

A look of disgust crossed Quark's face. "Are you sure you are my brother?" Quark quickly continued before Rom could defend himself "The Ninth Rule goes like this. 'Opportunity plus instinct equals profit'. Q and the Borg have provided the opportunity now all we have to do is use my instinct to bring in the profit."

Rom just smiled happily at this. His brother has said 'we' again.

Q threw his arms up in exasperation. "How am I supposed to accomplish anything with the rules you are frivolously making?"

Q2 chuckled at his kin's lamentation. "It's not impossible. Just difficult."

"Excuse me," spoke a voice from the audience. Everyone's head turned to the dark-skinned woman covered almost entirely with purple cloth. "Hi, my name is Guinan. I was just wondering, wouldn't it be to your advantage for you not to make it so difficult for him?"

Q blanched as Guinan involved herself, but Q2 was intrigued. "How do you mean?"

"Well," she said as she slowly walked away from her seat and made her way over by the bar the two Q's had mostly to themselves. "According to what you mentioned earlier about your own past, you are just about as much a rascal as he is."

Q flinched when Guinan pointed at him but Q2 took it all in stride. "So?"

"So sometime in the future you may find yourself in a similar spot that Q is in now. And if the Continuum is going to use this mode of discipline for it wilder members, then it would be to your advantage to establish leniency as part of the program."

"I… see your point," acknowledged Q2. "Unfortunately, I can't change the ground rules that are already in place."

Guinan smiled. "But you can add new ones, and perhaps modify some of the existing guidelines, right?"

"Yes," he admitted as he fumbled with the metal whistle of his referee's uniform. "However, I've already said he could only send three people. I can't change that."

"But you could send more people yourself, right? In addition to his three."

"True." Q2 paused to think. Who was this woman that Q showed fear towards? As they had conversed, Q2 had noticed the surprised, yet shocked look that had displayed on Q's face. Contrary to that, however, she seemed to be helping him. Q2 began pacing along the side of the bar. The mortals that kept pace with him with their eyes meant very little to him. Even this whole fiasco with the Borg loose in the multiverse didn't really bother him. But that Guinan creature did have a point in that the measures that he put down on Q here and now could later be used on him. The Continuum sometimes did things like that. Stopping short of the large, hairless lump of a creature known as Morn at the end of the bar, Q2 swiveled around on his feet to face Guinan and Q. "Very well. I'll do it. Q will be limited to his choice of three, And I will make a similar selection of three. So that will be six beings from this universe. But he will also be allowed to choose an additional four to go along to deal with the Borg from a corresponding universe."

Q was unsure if this was really a good turn of events. Instead of three people being sent, there would up to ten. But they would be against the Borg. Realizing that he was expected to give some form of gratitude and the fact that he did not want to stop any flow of good will coming from Q2, Q smiled.

"Pardon me," came a voice. The man who belonged to the voice was all wide eyes, teeth and bushy curly hair. "As a traveler of time and space myself, I could find ways to help in these ventures as, say, an individual entrepreneur or good Samaritan." The Doctor paused to break into an even bigger grin. "That is if I knew the whens and wheres."

Q2 glared at the new intruder. He was especially annoyed that the man just seemed to keep grinning at him. "No one is allowed to know when or when any Borgs have gone until it is time to send out those that have been selected."

Seeing the problem Guinan quickly intervened. "So once everything is selected, could the, uh, Doctor maybe make a run for extra recruits?"

Q2 thought a moment. Again, this could all work to his advantage later, but he couldn't make it to easy. "I don't see why not. This could be used as his tour of duty. However, I will have to limit his recruitment to up to four people. The very first four people he meets. And they have to agree of their own free will."

"Very well," said the Doctor.

"And of course, Q will have to compensate them from his reservoir of powers."

"What!?" cried Q. "I don't even get to pick them, do I?"

"No," answered Q2. "But I'm going to let you pick the other group of four individuals."

Q gave a sigh of relief. It had been the first really advantageous thing to come his way.

"But," Q2 continued, "it will be from very select parts of the multiverse."

Q groaned. He hated restrictions.

"And you will definitely have to find some form of compensation for them, too."

Q sulked. He was better off than he had been but not by much in his opinion. There would possibly be up to fourteen operatives to fight the Borg. Hopefully, they would be able to rally local people to rise up against the Borg.

The Doctor took it all in and nodded in understanding. Turning to Guinan he tipped his hat to her in thanks for help. Turning back to the two Q's he addressed them both, "Now that that seems to be settled, perhaps you can tell us where the first enterprise is to take place?"

To be continued in: A TANGLED WEB Part II: IS THIS YOUR CORUSCANT?

In order of appearance or mentioned:

Quark (Armin Shimerman) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Leeta (Chase Masterson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995-1999)

Rom (Max Grodenchik) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

O'Brien, Chief Miles (Colm Meaney) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1992), from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Bashir, Dr. Julian (Siddig El Fadil) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Doctor, The holographic EMH (Robert Picardo) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) (mentioned only)

Crusher, Dr. Beverly (Gates McFadden) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-199) (mentioned only)

Q (John de Lancie) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-?), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager

Odo, Constable (Rene Auberjonois) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Janeway, Capt. Kathryn (Kate Mulgrew) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Chakotay, Cdr. (Robert Beltran) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Paris, Lt. Tom (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Garak (Andrew Robinson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Caretaker, The (Basil Langton) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995) (mentioned only)

Paris, Adm. Owen (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)

Torres, B'Elanna (Roxann Dawson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) (mentioned only)

Sisko, Capt. Benjamin (Avery Brooks) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Nog, Ensign (Aron Eisenberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Doctor, The 4th (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

McCoy, Adm. Leonard 'Bones' (DeForest Kelley) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)

Barclay III, Lt. Reginald 'Reg' (Dwight Schultz) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990-1994)

Leela (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

Mallory, Quinn 'Q-Ball' (Jerry O'Connell) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-1999)

Brown, Rembrandt 'Crying Man' (Cleavant Derricks) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-2000)

Worf, Lt. Cdr. (Michael Dorn) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995-1999)

K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)

Picard, Capt. Jean-Luc (Patrick Stewart) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Seven of Nine / Hansen, Annika (Jeri Ryan) – Star Trek: Voyager (1997-2001)

Tuvok (Tim Russ) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Troi, Councilor Deanna (Mirina Sirtis) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Riker, Cdr. William (Jonathan Frakes) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Troi, Ambassador Lwaxana (Majel Barrett) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Homn, Mr. (Carel Struycken) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1992)

Pulaski, Dr. Kate (Diana Muldaur) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1989)

Wildman, Naomi (Scarlett Pomers) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1998-2001)