Author's notes: Took me almost a year, but finally finished this next part. The original was a late 90s chatfic and this rewrite was an exercise in flow and adding a new section. This takes place in 2374. The Keeper is encountered later in 2393 in "Delta Runners". Zeta originates from my 28th century RP Star Trek: 001. This rewrite was completed in November 2025.
Star Trek: Phoenix-X
"The Bajoran Trove, Part II"
Previously, on Flortarios III, in the White House of Commons: The Prometheus-class U.S.S. Phoenix-X sat in planetary orbit while a small crowd of Starfleet commanding officers surrounded a White House of Commons-floored and delirious Gotens being attended to by Ensign Dan.
"He's reeling from the Bajoran Trove," the Ensign popped. "I can reverse the effects of the drink— which appear to be enhancing instead of pacifying his reverie due to him being a Trill."
Moving quickly, everyone watched as Ensign Dan collected more and more items to then dismantle his communicator and carefully wire it all together over a large, stemmed cocktail glass.
"Got it!" Ensign Dan called after Gotens gulped and absorbed, causing his fog to fade.
He sat up. "What is happening? I could have sworn I was on the verge of a storytelling masterpiece any fan fiction author would have dreamed??"
Suddenly a renegade legal-obsessed Flortarian named Mellinook, burst out of the heating vent with a phaser rifle aimed at everyone. "We sat through all these pointless shenanigans and it has made us perpetually sick! You are now in a classic hostage situation!"
---
And now, the conclusion: As the Prometheus-class U.S.S. Phoenix-X sat dumbfoundedly in orbit of Flortarios III, the hostage crisis within the White House of Commons ruminated.
"Everyone, go to that corner for procedural hands-up dealings," Mellinook pointed with his rifle. "This is a legal hold-up. And, no touching of the sugar table! You people make me sick with your terrible health choices."
His companion Flortarian, Pablokinya, broke out of another vent with his own rifle. "Yeah! By the way, the humanoid-size ventilation system has been nothing but accommodating and well aired for anyone without layers. Where is the President? I want to give this facility a five-star rating from a take-over perspective."
"Did you say this was a legal hold-up?" Gotens queried. "Like, you submitted forms and got approval?"
Mellinook snapped. "Exactly right! Since the government is so embroiled in corruption, they didn't even notice the schedule update." He turned to his companion. "The President is the one without the uniform, you idiot!"
"Why are you snapping at me? We're the good guys?" Pablokinya shrugged as he passed Gotens. "Good guys usually get along."
But unnoticeably, Captain Daniel had shapeshifted himself to look like President Creeton. "I'm afraid you have the wrong person. Legal or not, Starfleet is here to maintain order."
"Huh? There are two of them?" Mellinook blinked. "Forget it. Grab the Prime Minister. They're basically interchangeable and at the same level of political power."
But instead, Daniel snuck off behind the crowd and shapeshifted himself into Prime Minister Clingten as a confused Pablokinya was approaching. "Here I am."
"What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is going on here??" the subservient Flortarian guffawed before an eye-rolling Ensign Dan.
The Ensign blurted, "What a wimp. Good guys can just say it too: Hell!"
Captain Iviok postured himself up in appreciation. "Swearing is a Starfleet pastime, no matter what the translation matrix censors on Galaxy-class ships. I'm starting to like you, Ensign." He grunted as Ensign Dan squeaked, trying to prove manliness to Iviok.
"Anywayyyys," Pablokinya diverted.
Iviok mimicked, "Anywayyyys," prompting the others to laugh.
"Hey! Stop laughing at me! We have this hostage situation until 3PM!" Pablokinya countered before accidentally firing his upheld phaser rifle at the ceiling. As some rubble fell down, everyone then obeyed with silence. "Sorry, I'm new to this. We just need a leader to make demands for a free and legal society."
Suddenly, Lieutenant Commander Armond's voice broke through communications. "Captain, we've detected phaser fire down there. Is everything okay? Do you need additional security, a beam out, or some kind of distraction? Really, the options are endless."
"Not now, Lieutenant Commander," replied the shapeshifted Clingten-Daniel before he realized the folly of outing himself.
Pablokinya splurted in joy, "Aha! He's not the real one." The Flortarian quickly grabbed the other Prime Minister and tagged him with an emergency transporter unit. "Got him. But why did you want me to put this on his coat?"
"Questions are the sugar cubes of society!" Mellinook snapped before firing a phaser beam at the shapeshifted Clingten-Daniel. "Really? A Starfleet presence in the Flortarios system? Let's make one thing clear: You interfere with the Dominion, you pay."
But, before Pablokinya could refute, he, Mellinook and the real Clingten were transported away. Daniel quickly bubbled up from a polymorphic liquid back to his original form.
"They couldn't have gone far. The dampening fields on this planet limits transporters. Everyone, get back to your ships. President Creeton, I want you guarded in your quarters. Do not accept any legal hostage application forms."
The President blarted, "You don't have to illicit me twice."
---
Soon, everyone was back to their starships. Captain Samya entered the Bridge of the U.S.S. Dropzone.
Commander Jarell turned to address her. "The Phoenix-X is confirming that the transporter beam had a Jem'Hadar signature. There was a Jem'Hadar heavy raider in the system, but only for a moment. It sent a message to you."
"How'd we miss that? Are we sucking as a task force already??" she grumbled. "Let's hear the message."
The audio clicked on with Mellinook's voice, "Captain Samya. I noticed you were the most attractive of the Starfleet officers, so I wanted you to inform your shapeshifting leader that he is to expect a fleet of about twenty heavy raiders and attack fighters to meet your aggression. This is also a response to the recent turning of the tides we suspect is due to your Captain Sisko but we can't prove."
"Uggh!" Samya gritted. "On top of betraying his people, he's also sexist? What the hell with his revelations coming out of nowhere all the time??"
---
Meanwhile, the Phoenix-X was notified of Mellinook's terrible posturing. Lieutenant Commander Wallace ended the conversation with the Dropzone. "Bye-low, Starfleet memba!" Then he turned to Captain Daniel.
"Thank you, Wallace. Open a channel to Task Force Epsilon." The communication opened and Daniel stood up. "As you may already be reading, there is a fleet of twenty heavy raiders and attack ships en route to the Flortarios system while we are only seven. Therefore, we will lure them closer to the binary stars and fight them there. As we all know, Jem'Hadar starships are susceptible to gravimetric disturbances."
Gotens shrugged. "We all know? Like, we're talking about that in our off-hours?"
"Please, do not interrupt with your awkward social life, Commander. Now, I want the U.S.S. Jenova to remain here, at Flortarios III, to keep an eye out for that cloaked heavy raider. Employ tachyon scanners, if you can. We will confront the Dominion fleet and demand the return of the Prime Minister."
Gotens crossed his arms. "And you think they're going to listen to us?" But, at a sudden stabby-stare from Daniel, Gotens dropped his arms. "Oh, like insubordinately self-criticism over comms isn't our thing? You know the task force needs to adapt to our banter as early as possible."
---
As the rest of Task Force Epsilon spread their way across the Flortarios system, aligning a path to its binary stars, the U.S.S. Hijinx, at the furthest, outer edge, lit up in proximity alert klaxons.
"Commander Reynolds, I simply must report—" tactical officer, Ensign Lane began before they were interrupted.
Reynolds stood. "Yes, I know. The Dominion fleet." Then, to blank stare, she elaborated, "I'm a Betazoid, remember? I can read your mind?"
"That explains our Silent Saturdays," Lane realized.
She smirked. "Just wait for Seductive Sundays. Participation based on your thoughts." Then, widening her eyes, she snapped. "Wait. Dominion? Why are we doing this vocular back-and-forth? Use those auditory placids elsewise! Inform the task force! Add more red to the red alert!"
---
Halfway out into the Flortarios system, the Prometheus-class U.S.S. Phoenix-X took a position. Daniel and Gotens were in a turbolift on their way to the Bridge.
"You know, I'd really like to see the corrupt government take seriously the legal underground," Gotens postulated.
Daniel shook his head. "When their lawful leader defects to the villainous Dominion, said-underground's legality comes into question. Also, did you know that Jem'Hadar ships are weak to gravimetric distrubances?"
"It's happening!" Then, "I did not know that. Interesting," Gotens calmed before the turbolift doors opened and they entered the Bridge.
Daniel rushed to his chair. "Report!"
"The Hijinx has detected a fleet of twenty Jem'Hadar heavy raiders and attack ships entering the Flortarios system," Armond read from tactical.
Gotens perked. "Think of it as a test of our task force."
"I'll think if it as a death wish of our task force," Ensign Dan capitulated as he sipped more Bajoran Trove.
Daniel turned. "You are out of order, Ensign! Also, are you still drinking that? Like, in a forced-in-our-faces way?"
"At least my body can stay in order," the Ensign continued.
Armond looked around. "I'd hate to side with the Ensign, but he's right in that analogy of pouring more than we can drink is as bad as the Commander's Bajoran Trove situation."
"You too, Armond??"
But it wasn't long before the Jem'Hadar heavy raider Lyngon-2752 decloaked and beamed Daniel and Ensign Dan away.
---
The two Starfleet officers quickly realized they were behind a forcefield, on the Bridge of the Lyngon-2752. There, they were presented with its commanding officer, the Cardassian Gul Meloneus.
"Ugh!? It's you, Phoenix-X! You know how much I hated being in your Brig for that short period? Your Lieutenant Wallace kept feeding me test cookies!" the grey reptilian-like man blurted.
Daniel almost did a double-take. "Wait a minute. Meloneus? You kidnapped me for turning Cetacean ops into a library instead of a torture chamber?"
"Why did you think that diplomatically discussing that with anyone would cure the war? Either way, finding out then you were a Changeling satisfied one of my many childhood grudges. You will address me as Gul Meloneus, Commander of the 24th and half Order! It's a side Order for the Dominion. No fries." Then he turned. "As such, I was trying to beam you and Gotens as I have a newly bubbled and additional grudge against him. Not this Ensign who is always late for work."
Ensign Dan crossed his arms. "Wow. I miss a mishap once. Also, since when do Jem'Hadar ships have cloaking devices?"
"We're trying it out with this fleet, obviously!" Meloneus snapped. "The mission for our Half Order is to test their effectiveness and report back. Everything else here, kidnapping the Prime Minister and taking over the Flortarios system, is just stuff I wanted to do. It's good to have hobbies, you know. Healthy."
---
Meanwhile, the crew on the Phoenix-X frantically tried to rectify situations amiss.
"Commander, I'm not reading the Dominion fleet anymore," Armond reported. "They've cloaked! No. Wait. One just decloaked in front of the Crucial. More are decloaking, firing and re-cloaking again. The Hijinx is being attacked. The Tsunami is too??"
Gotens observed as the task force engaged defensive patterns against a popcorn-like enemy. "Wow. The Dominion improved the dropped-shield vulnerability of cloaking. I'm actually impressed." Then, snapping out of it, he recognized one of the heavy raiders being fired upon by a passing Dropzone. "Hey. Hail that guy!"
"Took you long enough!" came the on-screen response from the Lyngon-2752. "It is I, Gul Meloneus of the 24th and a half Order. And, you know what? No exchanges this time! I'm quite happy with what I've got right now. Your gelatin Captain and the Prime Minister of Flortarios III."
Commander Gotens stood. "Repeating beats, Meloneus? Also, thanks to that Bajoran Trove, I previously recalled a memory of my history with you. Six years ago, you handed me and the Xena over to the Romulans."
"It's the other memory!"
Then, blinking, "Twenty-seven years ago, my last host, Rikonen, helped the Federation oppose you on the conflict on Flortarios III until said-me triggered an alien interference that pushed us both out?"
"Yes! That one. Had I known that was you, I'd have pinched you soooo hard, remotely from my ship, the Tarak, to you, on the Xena, those twenty-one years later. Then, again, the other times I encountered you on the Phoenix-X. It wasn't until recently I realized the connection when Mellinook reached out."
Gotens shook his head, "Meloneus, don't be a fool. Mellinook is using your easily-sloshable rage as a tool to disrupt the Flortarian government. We are mini shot glasses on his bar table of boilermakers!"
"What the hell is with all these alcohol analogies? You won't bedazzle me this time like you did when you were sitting next to that attractive Jadzia!" he announced before communications were terminated the two starships opened fire.
Gotens dropped his shoulders. "A lot of misogyny going around today."
---
On the Lyngon-2752, the vessel's Vorta commander entered the Bridge to find a radical Cardassian in charge in the midst of a starship fire-fight.
"Hey! Stop being crazy!" Osh argued. "Also, that Flortarian Mellinook keeps asking for updates. He says we are legally obliged to reciprocate. Did you sign some kind of treaty?"
Meloneus grumbled. "It's that incessant Underground that is obsessed with everything legal. It was the only way to get him to kidnap the Prime Minister for preliminary worldwide occupation. It's a Cardassian thing. Occupying, that is."
"Well, the Dominion does not kowtow to inter-planetary losers on paper. It's one of our Prime Directives, besides the causal genocide where necessary."
The Cardassian jilted. "I've been given command of this fleet, and I will proceed in fittingly side-building methods of subjugation as necessary!"
"You're mixing personal vendettas with Dominion overreach, and I will not have it, Meloneus! Plus, look at us. Look at us bickering right now. What have we become?"
---
As background Jem'Hadar and Starfleet starships converged energy beams and torpedoes in space, the Phoenix-X and Lyngon-2752 were joined by the heavy raider Hinxen-3921.
"Who is this unrelated random? As if! Also, has anyone responded to our demands to return the hostages?" Gotens expletived and inquired all at once.
Armond shrugged. "Going to be honest. I never sent those due to all the revelatory lore that jutted itself out at us without warning."
"Ugh. Yeah, that makes sense," the Commander conceded before holding up a long-stemmed glass of Bajoran Trove. "In addition, Meloneus was right about my recollection as I believe Ensign Dan's anti-cocktail is still jilting various memories. There must be something I'm missing with Rikonen's Cardassian encounter that could help us now."
BOB turned. "Commander, no! You were absolutely hammered on aggressive nostalgia indistinguishable from actual drunkenness! You left an official log recording the whole thing?? Like a pocket-dialed social media livestream."
"We may be in the middle of a high-end Dominion War battle, with me in command, but Starfleet procedures and crew safety simply must be undercut for the greater good. Armond, initiate multi-vector attack separation mode Alpha 3-4 while I Trill-out with even higher stakes," Gotens hard core'd as he raised a pinky and took a gentle sip from the elegant cocktail glass.
---
As the Phoenix-X separated into three and auto-swarmed the Lyngon-2752 and Hinxen-3921, the swooping Steamrunner-class U.S.S. Tsunami was polaron-inundated by at the edge of the binary star system.
"Shields down to ten percent!" exclaimed Commander Morris from the operations console as Jem'Hadar heavy raiders Ginzgn-492, Ginzgn-325 and Ginzgn-211 all swung around for another pass.
Captain McCary gritted his one-quarter-Klingon teeth. "I don't normally indulge in this, but perhaps today is a good day to die. Does anyone know how to get into Sto-vo-kor?"
"Your turning-to-religion-at-near-death is you losing your cool, McCary," came the sarcastic, side-smirking hail from Commander Reynolds as her starship Hijinx flew in and diverted the attack-focuses of the Ginzgn-492 and Ginzgn-325.
With the hit-relief and inter-Tsunami recovery restart, McCary snapped himself out of his part-Klingon trance. "Whoa! I don't know what happened to me there? Now I have a fore-craving for post-fight blood wine?"
"It sounds to me that drinking is what fuels Klingons to win battles," the Betazoid Reynolds concluded as she took those two Jem'Hadar ships away to inadvertently allow the Ginzgn-211 to attempt a suicide-run at the Tsunami.
McCary blinked in realization. "Perhaps you're right? But, seeing as death is once again upon me, I must relinquish said pre-visualizations of merriment, cheer and potential head-butting."
"Oh, the drama! Seeing as your introverted personality is easily vanquished to skull-trauma at near-end, I'm keen to get you-later to a Starfleet regulation and sanitized barrel of imported bloodwine," the deviant Reynolds inserted as she had the Hijinx change course, back, and drive a rapid burst of their remaining quantum torpedoes through the Ginzgn-211 until it exploded into pieces raining passed a shocked Tsunami.
With the in-tow Jem'Hadar heavy raiders still-following the Hijinx, the Ginzgn-492 broke off for the Tsunami and the Ginzgn-325 remained on course. "Wow! It's like your shenanigan-based approach is scotch whiskey to an of-aged birthday boy."
"Is that from personal experience?" Reynolds replied before the Ginzgn-325 ran itself, fast, through the Hijinx's starboard nacelle, knocking their warp drive offline and blowing out several decks.
Suddenly, the U.S.S. Crucial dropped inter-system warp and tricobalt-destroyed both the Ginzgn-492 and Ginzgn-325. "Are you two busy bonding instead of properly fighting because we're all new here? I want in on this!" And then, to the other, blank-staring Captains, he added, "How reckless are these Jem'Hadar with their newly cloaked-fitted raiders, am I right? Drinks!?"
---
As the Phoenix-X continued in three separated Prometheus-class vectors, swarming the Lyngon-2752 and Hinxen-3921, the Bridge-strapped Commander Night Gotens' Bajoran Trove-induced stupor heightened more this time to warp him back into a previous hosts' memory: Rikonen and his hand-sized android spider friend, roaming the open rocky lava fields of the non-aligned Flortarios III in the year 2347.
"This is it, Zeta," the tall, non-uniformed Rikonen Gotens realized as he held his stomach in pain with one hand, Starfleet tricorder in the other and struggled to walk normally. "Readings are picking up sporocystian energy toward that cave, over there."
But the little metallic imitation Crystal Spinner spider, crouched on his shoulder, perked up on its eight pointy legs in shock. *Click!? Chhrrip! Chirp! Cliccck!*
"You're right. The Cardassians beat us to it and are laying siege," Gotens squinted, taking similar notice of a contingent of twenty armed soldiers outside of the cave with no Starfleet officers in sight. "First they subjugate the Bajorans and now this?"
As they approached the sparse rocky bulge, two Gil-ranked soldiers turned weapons on them. "I am Meloneus and we believe the dying creature in this cave stands between us and this planet. Also, him being chockfull of useful non-coporeal energies would catapult me to Gul levels we've never even seen."
"Rikonen Gotens. I'm not with Starfleet anymore but my symbiont is reaching yet another sporocystian increase and I need this entity more than you," the struggling Trill replied.
Zeta perked from his shoulder. *Chrip! Click! More than you.*
"You realize we're at war, right? The needs of the Cardassians outweigh the needs of anyone else, introductions notwithstanding," Meloneus gritted. "We won't wait for our Dal to get here to oppose you."
Gotens noticed as more lower-ranked officers turned from the cave to aim their phase-disruptors at him and Zeta. "Well, buddy. I guess you're really going to put your Omicron Theta combat skills to the test, huh?"
*Click!?* Zeta snapped at the ready as Rikonen Gotens revved up the energies infused with his symbiont, temporarily curing his pain and launching both he and Zeta into an airborne jump-kick toward the enemy.
The Cardassians quickly opened fire, hitting Gotens to no result as he swiftly landed in the crowd, back-handing, force-palming and kicking down military officer after officer until, one-by-one, more and more were painfully struck unconscious.
"No! It's going to take me forever to rank-up now!?" Meloneus complained as a jumping-Zeta shot metallic cables at his chest, knocking the Cardassian off his feet while Zeta landed on his face.
After multi-jabbing the last guy out, Gotens watched Zeta energy shock Meloneus into temporary paralysis, prompting the attention of the large Nacene blob at the edge of the cave. "My name is the Keeper, and I am protecting the native Flortarians of this world from all who threaten."
"It took me a while to figure it out, but my last host interacted with you and caused my symbiont to be infused with your energies," Gotens reported, clutching his stomach in a return to even more suffering. "She died and said-infusion has been causing me to be involuntarily time-travelling for decades. First, to 2262, then to 2291, then to 2343; only able to stay present for five years at a time."
The Keeper shuddered in realization. "It was a terrible attempt at mating with her that injured me for over a hundred years and stuck me here. Though, enjoyable in the moment, please accept my apologies for its residual effects on you. If I may have said-energies back, I could end your torment, albeit the transfer may jump you one last time."
"Anything, thank you! Let's also not tell anyone about our relationship status?" Rikonen Gotens conceded as the gelatinous blob grabbed the Trill intimately closer with tendrils, reabsorbing his power, whilst energizing the sporocystian particles up to Rikonen's final, forced time-jump!
Back on the Bridge of Phoenix-X Vector Alpha, in present-day 2374, Night Gotens sipped the previously-concocted, commbadge-rewired, reversed-polarity, long-stemmed-glass-Bajoran-Trove-cure to snap him back out of recollection and into reality.
"Ohhhh, yeah. I did that. Then Rikonen appeared 14 years later, quite satisfied," he recalled. "I guess I can add giant blob relations to our Federation wiki article."
TO BE CONCLUDED
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