Lissa Kane of the Maquis....Capt Jeffrey Timothy Kirk of the ISS Enterprise...Lt Jayne Lunn of Starbase Triangle...Capt Allison McCaffrey of the USS William Wallace...Dr Ellie Spaulding of the USS Stargazer...Gul Morrain of the Alliance...and Gul Norvek, Cardassian Ambassador to Starbase Triangle.

Some unknown force has snatched these seven people away from their respective lives and stuck them all together somewhere else...

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Lissa awoke to find she was in a 20 foot square room perched on the cold slab at the side of the room she presumed was a bed, and she had company. A Terran female, largish build and similarly reclined upon another such slab, directly opposite. She was obviously just coming too across the way. There was what could be interpreted as a locked doorway on the wall facing the head of the bed, and opposite that was another slab, with a recumbent male form, who met their mutual gazes as they all stirred into life.

She spat as she sat up, trying to clear the taste from her mouth. "what the...?" she exclaimed as she looked around.

Spotting the woman and the other man, she called out warily... "Hello...?" She wouldn't get up and go closer to them just yet, not until she knew a bit more about where in all the worlds *here* was, for all she knew these two could be the cause of this. "Somebody better start talking."

"Jeffrey Timothy", Kirk omitted his last name to be on the safe side. "I was just reading in my room when this bright light appeared. The next thing I know I'm here, where ever 'here' is."

Kirk got up and started to search around for anything useful. Finding nothing, he proceeded to investigate the 'doorway'.

Jayne slid off the slab and goes over to join him. "Anything?"

Lissa slid off her slab and moved to join the other two. She still had no idea what was happening here, but damned if she was going to be left out of finding out. Walking over to Jayne and Jeffrey she smiled. "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" Though she really didn't feel as "up" as she was trying to be, Kitanya and the others probably thought she was dead, and she wasn't quite sure about that right now herself.

"I don't think it looks as though we're going to get out of here under our own steam. Have either of you any fighting experience? We're going to have to jump the guards when they turn up." Jeffrey said.

Jayne nodded. "I'm up to date on my combat certificates, if that's what you mean." She grinned. "And a high-gee homeworld does have some benefits."

Lissa nodded. While she didn't know these people, they were clearly in the same predicament, and she was going to have to work with them if they were to get out of this. "I do." she replied. "I've been fighting the d**nd Cardies since I was a kid. " she nearly spat out the word "Cardies". "We'll need surprise though, any guards are going to have weapons and..." she looked down at herself, then at the other two. "we apparently don't."

"Good. Once we've found out who our captors are, then we might be able to do something. Don't worry, Lissa, we'll get you out so that you can see the final defeat of the Cardassians. Last reports said it would only be a few more months. Which ship were you serving on?" asked Kirk.

Alarm bells went off in Jayne's head. Sure, she was fighting the Cardies too, but in Maquis Intelligence rather than front line stuff. This didn't sound right at all. What reports? The Maquis were nowhere near that, especially with the civil war. She was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this.

Lissa stared at the man. What he'd said didn't make sense. What reports? And why would he think the Cardies were anywhere near being defeated, the Maquis hadn't been *that* lucky, not yet anyway. But if he was against the Cardies, then maybe it couldn't hurt. "I'm not sure if anyone outside of our group would know yet, it was one we stole from the Cardies..." she paused for a minute to gauge his reaction..."and as for the rest, I'm sorry but I don't know what you could be talking about, I didn't think from anything I'd heard that we were that close to winning. The Alliance's been around since before I was even born!"

Oh dear, Jayne thought. This was getting deeper and deeper. By the sound of it Lissa could be from the Mirror universe that Captain Boulay had fallen into, but the man must be from somewhere else. Yet another universe, perhaps? Who was to say that given the existance of two universes there might not be more?

"The Alliance? The Cardassians are on their own." Things were starting to look a little odd. Maybe this dimension jump engine wasn't as daft as it first sounded. But why had he ended up here? thought Kirk. "Jayne, what are the Cardasians doing where you've come from?"

Careful now, careful... "The Federation and the Cardassians are at peace at present." Jayne's suspicions had quite effectively been confirmed. Now how would the Prime Directive apply here? Well, both are spacefaring, so she couldn't really affect their development, could she?

Lissa looked at Jeffrey oddly, while Jayne spoke...then she cut in. "Now you're *really* not making sense. The Cardies have been buddy buddy with the Klingons since the Empire went to pieces. *Everyone* knows *that*!"

Jayne shook her head. "They're fairly neutral. The Klingon Empire has just practically wiped out the Romulan Empire though." And the doves just sat back and did nothing, just like they betrayed the people in the DMZ... Jayne's sympathies had always been more pro-Romulan than pro-Klingon.

Lissa looked at Jayne. "You're not making sense either, the *Romulans* don't have an Empire. When I said the Empire went to pieces, I meant Terra's, but that was a *long* time ago." she shook her head.

"There doesn't seem to be a lot we can do right now, and it's obvious we don't all have the same frame of reference here. Why don't we all start by giving a quick history of our own history?" She looks at the others encouragingly. "In my universe, Earth is a founder member of a Federation including the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Alpha Centaurans and a whole load of other races. We've had wars with the Klingon and Romulan Empires, and the Cardassians but we're now at peace with all of them." Best not to mention the civil war, she thought.

Lissa stared at the woman...a Federation? Peace...with the *Cardies*...? the more she heard the less sense it made. "That's *not* how it happened at all." Lissa replied. "I remember when I was little, my grandfather telling me how the Empire fell apart, then the Cardies got hooked up with the Klingons and their Alliance's been running things ever since." She paused, and then something clicked, there *had* been something familiar in what Jayne had said, the little she'd heard back when... "Jayne, by any chance, do you know a Captain Boulay?"

If she'd guessed correctly, *that* could explain Jayne...but still left Jeffrey a mystery. "What about..." damn, what had the other man's name been? she remembered that there'd been one, but she hadn't actually spoken to him herself. What was it, ah, yes..."Knight, do you know a man named Knight?"

Jayne nodded again. "Captain Boulay used to be our Exec. And Xavier Knight? Special Ops guy? Oh yes, he's hard to miss... You wouldn't be from the Indomitable by any chance, would you?"

Lissa nodded. She was starting to put it together, at least as far as Jayne was concerned. "Yes..." she sighed..."we got into it with the Cardies, had to separate the ship, I got stuck on the troop section we were leaving behind. I was trying to get back in a pod, then the section blew. I got caught in a wave-front, and the next thing I know I 'm here. Kitanya probably thinks I'm dead..."

"So once we get out, you can go back and tell her that you're not." Jayne turned expectantly to Kirk. "So what about your universe?"

"The Terran Empire hasn't fallen as it has in Lissa's universe. Peace reigns over a significant fraction of the galaxy. Both your universes sound a lot more tense," Kirk replied.

Sadness crosses Jayne's face. "That's true. The Cardassian wars, and now this... It used to be a lot quieter." She looked up again and noticed the light around the doorway.

Jayne, almost facing the door, noticed it first. "Look! It's either lunch time or..." She preferred not to think of what the other possibilities were, given her recent experiences.

Then without warning, it snapped open into a doorway 2 metres square. Beyond the doorway was a corridor. The walls were at peculiar angles, and there were not always two of them.

At rough intervals along these walls, other doors, all shut, were placed. A locking device, or similar, stood on the wall by each, about half way up.

Jayne examined the doorway then stuck her hand out through the door. Best not to risk a forcefield discharge through the head.

Nothing happened. No forcefield discharge, no sentry-gun firing, no guards.

Lissa watched as Jayne tried the opening and got no reaction. There didn't appear to be any guards, or any kind of force-field barring the exit, either. She looked first to Jayne and then to Jeffrey. "If we *can* get out of this room, as it looks, maybe we'd better, we're certainly not going to find out much sitting in here." she took a deep breath..."I'll go first, if you want..."

Jayne moved to the side of the door a gestured with a theatrical flourish "After you, then."

Lissa nodded to Jayne, then with only a quick look to Jeffrey took a step up to the dor...then she was in it...

Then she slowly, slowly, looking along the corridor in both directions, stepped out into it.

Jeffrey, realising they were getting nowhere very fast, stepped out after Lissa and looked up and down the corridor. "We should go this way", he said pointing to the right, and started walking down the corridor, keeping a trained eye out for anything interesting or useful.

Still nothing untoward happened. All the locks along the corridor looked identical. They also looked like they could be jimmied even without tools.

With a glance to Jeffrey, Lissa moved to the first of the doors and pressed her ear against it...it wasn't likely to be trapped, she thought, not if their own hadn't been, but no telling who or what might be inside.

"Perhaps there are more prisoners in here." Jayne thought aloud. Then, picking a cell at random, she tried opening the lock.

Lissa examined the "cogs" for a moment, then looked at the door itself again...and putting her weight into it, pushed against it.

* * *

Captain McCaffrey and Doctor Spaulding came to almost simultaneously. Each was wearing a thin white garment, spattered here and there with the red of their own blood. Numerous half-healed wounds covered both their bodie, but all were small, just nicks in fact. Nevertheless, both felt bruised and generally slightly queasy.

A featureless room, which looked a lot like a stone-walled cell, surrounded them. One heavy-looking door seemed to be the only exit, and that was shut. Unsurprisingly there was no lock either.

McCaffrey sat up, and immediately regretted it. She laid back down, leaned over to her side and dry heaved. She then looked around from the prone position, not too quickly, either. She saw that Dr.Spaulding was awake as well, and had had the good sense to stay laying down. "Dr. Spaulding, are you alright?"

Ellie was ignoring the fact that, even lying down, she was dizzy. "Alright is such a relative term," she said flatly. Slowly, she pushed herself to a seated position, then moved so that she could lean back against the wall. That way, if she fell, she wouldn't fall far. "Besides," she said, running a hand back through her blond hair. Her scrunchie was gone. She wanted her scrunchie back, "shouldn't that be *my* line?"

"You don't seem to be faring much better than I, and besides, I woke up first." McCaffrey retorted.

Ellie was looking down at her clothing. "Hmmmm. White robes," she mused. "I've never looked good in white. I'm too pale. Thank goodness they offset it a bit with the blood splatters. Now if I just had my little dangling ruby earrings and those red pumps..." She was extraordinarily nauseous. That'd teach her to do chemo and then travel unexpectedly on an empty stomach. "Any clue as to where we might be, Cap?" she asked, looking around their room.

"I'll tell you as soon as I can look around..." She stayed still for a few minutes, then slowly got up... ahh.... Less nausea this time. She looked around slowly... "Looks like some underground room. but for all we know, we're in space...." She then noticed what she was wearing. "I hope we don't need to do any rigorous physical activities soon." She peeked under the hem of the gown. "Oh my.. I *thought* there was a draft somewhere...." She immediately pulled her legs together... "Feels like I'm in one of those old abduction stories. OOH! I wonder if I've been impregnated by little green men!...."

"Pregnant would be sorta a bad thing right now," Ellie said. It seemed like a ridiculous statement, but she would be the first to admit to not having the clearest head at the moment. "Hope they didn't take *too* much blood," she mused. "It's not like I've got a bunch of red cells to spare." She forced her self to her feet, and checked the door, pulling on it lightly.

"Maybe you should try the doorbell first," McCaffrey said in all earnestness. She rolled off the slab and onto the floor. "Ow, that's a long drop." She rubbed her head and stood up slowly. "Whoa, looky all the colors, maaannnn...."

Ellie let the door handle slip from her hand and slowly walked toward the Captain. "Oh, I'm Ellie Spaulding, by the way," she said as she gently lifted McCaffrey's eyelids to check the pupils. If only she had a penlight. "Don't believe we've been formally introduced."

"Carin Coldae, space-hero extraordinaire! Pleased to meet you, Dr. Baseball." She looked down at her clothes, patting herself all over. "Hey, where'd my skintight silver jumpsuit go? The Comissioner's gonna be PISSED. That's the third one this week...."

"Wish I had a tricorder, or even a stethoscope here to check you over a bit." She felt the captain's pulse. The rate and rhythm felt okay, perhaps a bit fast, but then, without any kind of time device it was difficult to be sure.

"Do you know where my lazer guns went? They were right next to me when I was fighting the evil Heculons..." McCaffrey mercifully passed out again.

* * *

With a final click, the door moved backwards and sideways into the wall. The room beyond was a cell much like their own.

"They let you out then, Terran?" said a voice, a horribly familiar voice. Familiar, at least, to Lissa.

The cell's only occupant wore less than even Lissa and her companions. A pair of white shorts only. This of course left the scarred wasteland of his torso open to display, and the confused area where the metal of his right arm melded with the remains of his organic body. If anything, he looked even more ugly. All those Cardassian flanges of tissue exposed. Most of them twisted by the Maquis bomb that had nearly killed him.

Morrain.

For the longest moment Lissa simply stood there, paralyzed temporarily by shock and confusion. He was *dead*! She'd thought so, anyway, they'd all seen the flagship blow up! She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. Letting out an almost animal cry of pure rage, she flung herself forward onto Morrain, her hands clawing for a grip around his scaly ridged neck....

"She really does hate Cardassians doesn't she? Do you recognise him Jayne, because I definitely don't," Jeffrey asked.

Jayne shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Do you think we should do anything?"

"Only if it looks like she's losing." There was a harder edge to Jayne's tone than normal.

Morrain seemed unprepared for such an assault, and it was apparent even through her rage, that his artifical arm wasn't working, and that he was having trouble gauging distances... The left hook he tried to defend himself with missed completely.

Then she got a really good grip and started to squeeze, ignoring his hand as it grasped the nape of her neck and began to squeeze very hard.

It took several moment for her to realise the choking sounds he was making were a throttled attempt at laughter.

She was forced to drop her hold on his neck to have both hands free to pull his hand from hers...she rammed her leg against him, trying to make him lose his balance..."I...will...kill...you..." she snarled, though it only came out as inarticulate syllables due to his hold on her neck as she struggled to free herself.

"That Cardassian is as tough as a Gorn," Kirk remarked, "no wonder she's not getting anywhere. How much longer shall we give her?"

"Given that she's turning an interesting colour, I think now might be a good time to intervene..." Jayne smiled coldly and waded in, coming up behind Morrain and grabbing his neck flanges while she applied a knee with some force to the small of his back. "Alright, Cardassian, leave her alone."

"My recollection," Morrain responded in a whisper, "Was that she attacked me first."

"Consider it repayment for your attacks on the people in the DMZ. Repayment in part, that is." Jayne released his flanges as the newcomers walked in.

Nevertheless, gicen that in his present condition a fight with the male Terran would have been... challenging, and the fact that he was outnumbered anyway. Morrain let go.

His attacker, whoever she was, would have a really sore neck for days anyway...

* * *

At that moment, the doctor heard a scream from beyond the door, and faint sounds of scuflling.

Ellie startled at the scream. She quickly checked the captain's pulse and then, convinced she was at least alive, she turned to investigate the scream. "they picked the wrong girl to play hero," she muttered as she opened the door and stepped through.

Moments passed before she realised she had just opened a cell door from the inside... But across the hall was another cell, containing a crippled Cardassian, and three humans who appeared to be beating him up.

Ellie stepped across the hallway. "ooh, that looks like fun," she said. "Mind if I join in?"

Lissa didn't immediately notice the new arrival, she stood rubbing her neck and glaring at Morrain..."This...is...not...over..." she growled athim, spacing out her words for emphasis. "I will kill you, Morrain, do you understand that..DO YOU?? As far as *you* are concerned, Gul Ise Morrain of the Alliance, my name is DEATH...!"

Kirk moved in from the door, up behind Lissa, gave a sharp chop to her neck, knocking her out.

Generations of Kirks had perfected the move, and although the effect wouldn't last too long, it put Lissa out of comission.

"She was getting tiring. Now Mr Morrain you have proven your worth against your 'nemesis'", Kirk looked disdainfully at the crumpled form of Lissa, "so I would say we should consider the matter settled for now."

"Between us I expect she'll have a bad neck for weeks. Perhaps she believes that the best way to become famous is to kill someone famous. However, given where we are, her timing was a bit poor."

"There are more important matters to consider, as to how we can leave this place and return to where we should be."

"Well now, that's the real trick isn't it."

Kirk picked up Lissa limp form.. "Since the doors are open, why don't we explore." Kirk moved off towards the door.

Jayne followed, quite happy to let someone else lead. She'd done Command School - she had to to get to her current rank - but she'd never really been keen on command. If there was no-one else to do it she'd take over just to get things done, but since Jeffrey seemed used to command, she'd go along with it for now.

The door remained open as Jayne followed Kirk out. After a moment, Morrain rose to follow them, his artificial arm hanging at his side.

"By the way," he said, in a way which suggested he did know, "Do any of you know where we are?"

"In a small spinning room, by the looks of it..." says McCaffrey, who had recently woken up. She had walked into the room while no one was looking. She raised a hand in introduction. "Captain Alison McCaffrey, USS Star-- er, William Wallace.

"Captain Jeffery Kirk," Kirk introduced, "on my shoulder is Lissa, and behind me Jayne another Starfleet officer and the Cardassian is a Mr Morrain. If you care to join us we were just going to explore down the corridor."

"wha..." came a faint mumble from Lissa..then she stirred, blinked, her head jerked up, she winced at the pain in her neck then she focused... "What the...?!?" she exclaimed as she realixzed Jeffrey was holding her.."Put me *down*!!" she began struggling.

As she slid back onto her feet Lissa glared at Jeffrey. "What exactly was *that* for?" she demanded. "What are you, a Cardie-lover??"

She then turned back to Morrain. "And don't you *dare* think this is over...I *will* see you dead before this is over and if you ask nicely enough, assuming you're capable of *that*, I might just tell you *why*."

"I see no reason why you would not want me dead, except of course that you have no idea where you are, who you are dealing with, or that you will need me to get any or all of us out. Your exact reasons are of no concern to me at all." Try as he might Morrain couldn't think of anyone else who'd threatened his life, well, no-one still alive anyway.

Resisting the urge to slap her round the face, "I said we'd talk about this LATER, understand?" Jeffrey growled.

She shook her head. "All right, but let *him* run loose, mark my words, you'll regret it..."

That's when Lissa noticed the two women who hadn't been there before..."And just who are you...and where or maybe I should say when are *you* from?"

McCaffrey looks at Spaulding. "I am Captain Alison McCaffrey, USS William Wallace. This is Doctor Ellie Spaulding, USS Stargazer."

Lissa glanced back at Morrain for a moment..she would *not* turn her back on him, not *ever*. Then she returned her attention to the two women. "Stargazer...William Wallace..." she shook her head. "Well, it's not likely you're from *my* universe. The question is are you from hers," nodding to Jayne..."or his." nodding to Jeffrey.

Morrain shook his head sadly. Terrans would never change. Always so concerned with politeness and introductions that they could ignore the fact that they were in mortal danger. He stopped by a nearby door, some preternatural hunch leading him to force the inadequate lock.

Within, lay a semi-conscious Cardassian. Looking a lot like Legate Norvek.

Norvek was only half awake when he saw the interesting face peek through his door. It looked somewhat Cardassian, but he was not sure. So he just laid there waiting for more..., but preparing mentally for what could be coming next.

McCaffrey groaned. "Not him, too! Now my head will NEVER stop spinning."

Ellie arched an eyebrow at the woman, and crossed her arms. "Someone with too few days left in this life to accomodate your attitude," she said. She turned and headed back out into the corridor.

(what the...?!?) Lissa thought (too little time to...??) she followed the pale woman out into the corridor, keeping one eye on Morrain as she did so..."Look. Dr...Spaulding, is it? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to jump on you. But you don't realize, *none* of you do, who *that* is ..."'she stabbed a finger in Morrain's direction. "or more importantly *what* he is and I don't just mean a Cardie either."

Ellie shrugged, rubbing at her burning eyes. She'd have to check her creatinine level next time she was near a tricorder. Wouldn't that just be dandy to have her kidneys failing now. She waved off the woman's argument. "It's Ellie, actually, and quite frankly," she said, the weariness obvious in her voice, "I don't care who he is. I'm a physician, I don't dabble in politics. I don't care what uniform a person wears - or doesn't wear - or who they're nice to, or who their friends are, or what their sexual orientation is, or even if they have a sexual orientation." She looked into Lissa's eyes. "I don't have time to hate, and that won't be changed by whoever he is. It would appear that he is, as we are, some kind of hostage here in this God-forsaken wherever we are. That makes him, for the time being at least, our ally. Do what you feel you have to," she said, "but I'd recommend you come to terms with that and just fu*king deal with it." There was no anger in her voice. In fact, there was little energy at all.

Lissa continued to watch Morrain as he entered the cell...and even as she wondered who if anyone would turn up in there she continued to attempt to draw Ellie out.

"Be that as it may." she replied."it's not politics, it's more than that. But as to wherever this place is, can I ask you something?" She paused, took a deep breath, then went on. "*He* and I..." she stabbed a finger towards Morrain at that "are from the same universe, one where the Cardies pretty much run everything, them and the Klingons." She then indicated Jayne..."she's from somewhere else, somewhere where they aren't in charge, where there's a, a Federation, and a Starfleet." she then indicated Jeffrey..."He's from somewhere else again, the Terran Empire he says, which where I come from fell apart *years* ago. What I'm wondering is, are you two..." she indicated Ellie and McCaffrey," from one of our three, or somewhere completely different? Your friend mentioned being a ship captain, which makes it unlikely you're from mine."

"Well," Ellie said, "I didn't get a chance to read the morning paper over breakfast earlier, but last I heard, we were part of the United Federation of Planets still. Though if what you're saying is true," and of that she was not convinced - she wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if she were merely in someone's lunatic asylum. Psychosis was an occasional side effect of her chemo and this Lissa babe certainly didn't seem to have fully functional inertial dampeners - "there's no guarantee that we're from the same place that Jayne is."

Norvek was only half awake when he saw the interesting face peek through his door. It looked somewhat Cardassian, but he was not sure. So he just laid there waiting for more..., but preparing mentally for what could be coming next.

Turning his back on the Terrans (if they jumped him now it would be their funeral), Morrain walked slowly towards the other Cardassian.

Norvek, like the two latest Terran additions to their party, was covered in small wounds, but he was in some state of wakefulness.

"Legate, it would be pointless of me to ask if you were unharmed. Are you mobile?"

Norvek was a bit supprised to hear the title Legate used for him. But he really did not mind.

Sitting upright he said, " I am fine considering that I have no idea where I am and what is happening.... You called me Legate. That I am not, I *am* actually Ambassador Norvek, Cardassian representative to Starbase Triangle. (noticing Lunn) That is Commander Lunn over there just outside the door. She is on the station that I am from. Who exactly are you??"

"I am Gul Morrain of the Obsidian Order's Tactical Pursuit Squadron. We have been collected from a variety of realities. However, I have so far been unable to figure out just why."

That was when Lissa noticed Morrain had entered another cell, Jayne close behind him, though she paused at the entrance.

Lissa moved over to join Lunn there and saw Morrain inside talking with...Oh, great, just what they all needed, *another* Cardie. Though it wasn't one she recognized, she knew right away this was only going to make dealing with Morrain worse, as the other Cardie would doubtless support *him*.

And she seemed to be the only human here who understood just how dangerous Morrain was. "I see you've found yourself a playmate, Morrain..." she snapped.."don't think that'll save you."

Norvek saw the human poking around the corner. He did not like the looks of this one. Then he heard what she had said. he liked that even less.

Norvek said, "It would appear that she knows you Morrain."

"Yes, though I can't say I know her, or that I care. She will be of little help in escaping."

"I do not like her and if she is not going to be of any use I think that we should leave her here for who ever and what ever... But anyway What have you found out so far about this place that we are held in, guards, security measures, and the like??"

Lissa bristled inwardly as she heard Morrain and the other Cardie refer to her as being "of no use..." her temper already on edge flared again..."Give me a chance, Morrain," she snarled "and I'll show you how "useless" I am. The only one who's not going to be getting out of here alive is *you*, remember that."

Morrain turned back to her. A nasty look on his face. He raised his voice slightly, but it seemed louder due to his body language. "For once, I agree with a Terran," he snarled "Shut Up! I have better things to do than listen to your pathetic and unceasing death threats."

His face and voice returned to normal as he turned to Ellie Spaulding. "You are a surgeon, yes?"

Lissa ignored his snarl. "*Don't* give me orders, Morrain!" she snarled back..."I had six years of that in the camps because of *you* and it is NOT going to happen again..!" with that she stalked away, but only over to where Jayne, Jeffrey, and the other new arrivals stood. Damn it! Was she the only one here who understood how much danger Morrain's mere *presence* was to them all? "You *don't* understand..." she said, half to the three humans, half to herself..."as long as he's alive we're *all* in danger!"

Jayne nods as she is introduced. "Commander Jayne Lunn, Starbase 10." She's well-built, with a physique that suggests a high-grav homeworld. It doesn't take her long to recognise Norvek. 'Oh great,' she thought, 'Norvek's been grabbed from Triangle by something and I'm duty-bound to try to protect him. Damn.' Protecting Cardies had never been high on her list of things to do. In fact, it was right down there between Learn Tellarite and Eat Gagh Ice Cream. "Are you alright, sir?"

Norvek sees the SF officer and recognizes her finally.

"Commander Lunn, I am sorry for not noticing you earlier, my appologies. I only wish that we could have come together on much better circumstances."

"Are you coming?"

She nodded. "Of course I'm coming!" she snapped. "I want to get back just as much as any of you do." she glanced over to Morrain, sending him a look that could kill if looks could, then turned back to Jeffrey..."All right for now, but don't say I didn't warn you." with that she followed Jeffrey out.

Morrain rose, carefully. He fully intended to keep everyone in front of him at all times. "Ambassador, as much as I hate to say it, we had better work as a team, and stick together this time." he said to Norvek. To himself he was thinking that, at the very least, the Terrans could be used as some sort of armour.

Norvek slid off of the bed and stood, shakey at first. " I am ready to get moving, just let me take a moment to get by bearings and my balance back. Don't wait up. I will catch up."

"Very Well, sir." replied Morrain, then turned to follow the Terrans. "Captain, after you." He said to Kirk, trying not to choke on the first word, and almost succeeding.

Kirk nodded to Morrain, and then lead the way off down the corridor.

......

A few moments later Norvek is at the rear of the group, finally caught up.

A little further exploring leads rapidly to the conclusion that one door refuses to open, and most open onto empty cells. The last door opened however onto some kind of operating theatre. No anaesthetic equipment is in evidence...

Norvek said kinda off handly, "It looks like some form of interrogation room, just without the niceities. Could call it home ay Morrain..."

"I prefer a simpler approach. It takes longer but it seems more effective. Gul Ducos of course would be in heaven here."

"Well the Gul Ducos in my universe would certainly be in heaven here. I would personally prefer something more ..... well cold and brighter."

Morrain's voice quietened and he checked that none of the Terrans were too close before asking, "Do you have any technical or medical skills Leg- Ambassador?"

With a smile he replies, "No not medical skills, but I am Order and I can manage in a variety of areas, ie. security, locks, bombs, weapons, and other interesting things. What do you have in mind?"

Lissa had noticed Morrain and the other Cardie moving off from the rest of the group and decided to keep an eye on them, *she* KNEW how dangerous Morrain was even if the other humans here didn't. Like it or not, *someone* had to keep tabs on him, and that someone was going to have to be her. She didn't know the other one, but when you got right down to it a Cardie was a Cardie. If she did get another chance at Morrain's neck (she *would*!, she promised herself) the odds were she'd have to take out the other one too, just to keep him from trying to help Morrain.

She moved in the directrion she'd seen them go, keeping them in sight, but staying close to the wall and not getting too near them lest they see her.

"My prosthetic arm, as you will have noticed, is not functioning. It is powered by an induction cell built into the upper arm. The cell is hard to remove and by the weight of the arm, is still in there. Therefore the circuits linking the cell to the arm's motors must have been disconnected or cut. If we are to stand a chance of escape, with or without the Terrans, my arm must be restored to it's normal function."

Norvek replied, "I think that I can manage to make the necessary repairs, but they may notbe as good as if they were made by a more experienced technician." Then he notices a guest.

"I think that we may have a visitor." Norvek says at a very low whisper that Morrain can barely hear.

Morrain turned to see who the Ambassador meant. He had a good idea though. "Eavesdropping must be one of your more endearing traits." he says loudly. "Are you afraid we might leave without you?"

Lissa sniffed disdainfully, the hatred still blazing in her eyes. "Afraid, Morrain? Of *you*??" She shook her head. "Understand this, I will *never* be that again, I'm not some helpless child you can cow into submission like you did before, is that clear??"

"I hate to cripple your expectations, but I do not remember the occasion. All Terran children look alike. I suppose you now wish to tell me this story so I may fully understand your need for vengeance." Morrain's face twisted into a sneer as he finished speaking.

"I didn't *expect* you to remember *me*, Morrain, I know you Cardies better than that. But perhaps you'll remember when you were Glin Morrain of the 23rd AntiGrav Calvary Division? Or try this one, if Terran dates mean anything to you, the fourth of July, 2380...?"

Morrain began to chuckle, and stepped close to Lissa. Then he hit her. It was a fast left hook, and Lissa simply had no time to register it. Morrain's half-dead body telegraphed nothing until the blow was underway. It sent her sprawling back into the corridor, sparks jumping in front of her eyes.

"I told you I didn't care. I don't want to know." he said. His voice was icy, and quiet, but it carried well enough for everyone to catch it. "Now I am telling you, and the other Terrans, that you will not speak to me unless I order you to, or you have something constructive to say about getting out of here. Be good, be vigilant, behave, and you might get to come along when Norvek and I escape."

But wait, there's

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