Summary: This is a sequel to Captains and Officers. Elora and Pavel are on their way to a party when they run into the same nasty critters they had thought were destroyed in the first story.

A Wicked Twist of Fate

By Rea

Pavel Chekov regarded himself in his family's bathroom mirror.

/I should have gotten a different haircut, he mused. This mushroom cut is out of style. Why did I listen to Mama? Everyone else has crew cuts. I knew this, but did I push the issue? Noooooo. I had to be the good son and defer to my mother's impaired judgement./ Pavel looked over his shoulder when he realized his father was standing behind him. Andrei Chekov was a tall man with black hair and eyes that always seemed to smile. That smile was on his lips right now as he watched his son prepping in front of the mirror. "Pasha, you look fine. Very handsome. Elora will have to hold onto you to keep all those other girls away."

Pavel blushed and turned away from the mirror. "Nyet. I doubt that will happen. Not with this haircut. Especially not with these clothes. Mom wouldn't let me get the clothes I wanted. I didn't even get to go the mall! Mama ordered them over the computer. She even had told the hairdresser exactly what haircut I was too get. She didn't even ask me! She just told me what she ordered on her way out the door to work. Elora and I are going to a Rave. People don't wear dorky dress clothes to Raves."

Andrei laughed and ruffled his son's hair. "If I understand the concept of Raves, Pavel, it is that anything goes. You could wear whatever you liked and you would still fit in. But since I happen to agree with you on this one , I picked this up on the way home from work."

Andrei produced a shopping bag from behind his back and handed it to his son. Grinning happily, Pavel accepted the bag and pulled out its contents. The first was a deep blue shirt that shimmered green when exposed to light. The second article was a pair of baggy black jeans equipped with belt. All in all, it was an outfit worthy of a Rave.

"Oh papasha, thank you! This was just what I wanted too! How did you know?" Pavel practically screamed as he pulled off the dreaded dress clothes.

Andrei laughed and moved to help his son shrug the shirt over his head. "It wasn't hard. I knew which shop you liked. The clerk said you had been in everyday this week admiring this particular outfit. I figured I couldn't go wrong." Spinning his son around to face the mirror, Andrei stopped and appraised Pavel. /Pasha is really growing up,/ Andrei thought /It won't be long before he's off to college, getting a job, starting a family./ Clapping Pavel on the shoulders, he said encouragingly, "Pasha, I think you are more than ready for the party. You better go get your coat and boots on. Elora should be here any minute."

Pavel turned to his Dad and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Papa." he whispered before moving down the hall to get his coat. The door bell rang. Pavel opened the door to allow Elora in. Pavel's mouth fell open. Elora grinned at Pavel's reaction. "I know you like my outfit, but don't stand there with your mouth hanging open. Invite me in!"

Pavel closed his mouth and moved to let her pass. "Um, you look really nice." Elora looked better than nice. She looked great. Her coat was open, revealing a very form-fitting green dress. It had a turtleneck collar, and the skirt hem came to just above her knees. Shuffling her black penny loafers, Elora tapped Pavel on the shoulder. "Ready to go."

Pavel did up the laces on his right boot, hopped up, and followed his friend out the door. The two were almost out of the building when Andrei caught up with them.

"Pasha, here, money for the train. There is enough for both you and Elora. " Winking at Elora, Andrei teased, "Can't have your date without a ride. Also, here is a little extra for a drink. Do you have an address of where this thing is?" Pavel grumbled impatiently. "Da, Papa. The flyer is on the table. Thank you for the money. You don't have to remind me about curfew either. Midnight, and not a moment later. Can we go now?" Andrei nodded, but called after them, "Be careful! Have fun!" Outside it was cold and snowing lightly. Pavel turned to Elora and grinned ruefully. "Sorry about that. Papa is always embarrassing me. But, he's good for money!

Elora laughed and put her arm around Pavel's waist. "Pashy, at least he is concerned. Besides, I am your date, and I would be most upset if you made me walk home!" Pavel kicked the snow with his boot. "I wouldn't do that to you Elora. You're my best friend and now also my girlfriend." he added softly. Elora grinned. That's right. You know, I think I really like this. You make a great boyfriend. You have all the right characteristics. You are humorous, courteous, and best of all, I can push you around! How many guys do you know, that would even set foot in a lingerie shop with a girl?"

Pavel slapped his forehead. "I know! I can't believe you talked me into that! I still can't believe I actually did it!"

Elora looked at her watch and realized they were late. "Come on, Pavel! Hurry, I don't want to miss the Rave!" As the youngsters raced down the subway stairs Pavel remarked to his friend, "Elora doesn't this feel familiar?"

Pulling her date through the closing doors of the transit car, Elora plopped down into an empty seat. "Yeah, but this time we made the train.

***

/Well,/ Pavel thought ruefully, /we made the train, but so what. We could've walked to the Rave by now./ They had only been moving for about twenty minutes when the lights went out. An announcement had gone over the intercom stating they were experiencing a power drain.

The Engineer was attempting to reroute power to the engines in order to make it to the next platform. The lights would be out for the rest of the trip. No one panic, everything was fine.

Everything had not been fine. The train had gotten slower and slower until it had come to a grinding halt. For the last thirty minutes, Elora and Pavel had been sitting in a cold, dark passenger car.

"Pasha, I'm freezing. This dress is not the warmest thing in the world. Does transit keep emergency kits in these cars?" Elora asked through chattering teeth.

"Maybe. I'll go see." Carefully picking his way along the aisle, Pavel moved to the back of the passenger car. After feeling around for a few minutes, he located a storage compartment. Sliding open the panel, Pavel rummaged inside. He emerged a few moment later with a flashlight and blanket. Finding his way back to Elora, he spread the blanket over her.

"Thanks Pasha." she said gratefully, "I really thought I was going to freeze to death. Do you want some blanket?" Pavel shook his head. "No thanks. I'm going to see about the passengers in the cars ahead. Maybe someone knows what's going on."

Elora nodded. "Okay. Be careful. I'll just sit here and wait." As Pavel moved off the intercom sounded again.

ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS. DO NOT LEAVE THE CARS. WE ARE EXPERIENCING POWER FLUCTUATIONS. OUR ENGINEER IS INSPECTING THE PROBLEM NOW. PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR SEATS. THE PROBLEM WILL SOON BE RECTIFIED.

Pavel sighed with relief and went to sit back down. Suddenly, something landed on top of the car with a loud thud. That thud was followed by many more thuds and the sound of straining metal. Both youngsters looked up. "What was that?" whispered Elora. Pavel looked worriedly for a moment, but then snapped his fingers. "I know. This track runs parallel to the condemned section. The one where the snow collapsed the tunnels." Elora turned pale. "The one where the Dannon bugs were." Pavel nodded slowly. "Da, but they are all gone. Your Dad made sure of it. They swept the tunnels twice and used chemicals to kill everything. Nothing could still be down here."

"But Pasha, what if they're wrong? Dad proved that the Dannon bug was engineered. It was released down here on purpose. Pav, those specimens that Dad was studying had amazing rejuvenating abilities. They could grow back pincers, claws, antenna, anything! What if something was missed? A claw or limb? What if they grew back and started a hive again?"

"Elora, calm down. Your Dad's team has been monitoring these tunnels for the past year. They haven't turned up anything. I'm sure everything's fine!"

The two regarded each other for a long moment. Elora finally broke the silence. "Yeah, you're right. It's probably nothing-"

She was interrupted by the body of the transit engineer hitting the window of the car. Elora screamed. His face was a bloody mess.

He frantically beat his bloodied hand against the window. "HELP! Help me! They're coming! They're coming ba-" He was cut off as something very large grabbed and dragged him past the train.

"Omigod! Pavel that was not snow! It's them! The Dannon breed isn't dead. They've surrounded the train. We're trapped!"

"Elora, snap out of it! We have to think of a way to get out of here!"

Pavel grabbed the flashlight from her clenched hand. He turned it off. "The first thing is to lose the light. The engineer had a flashlight. That was probably what lead them to him. The second is to check on the other passengers. Maybe if we all pool our ideas, we can come up with a plan." Elora gulped and followed Pavel to the door connecting the next cab. Above them the intercom crackled to life.

ARRGH! HELP! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! BOZHE MOI! IT'S IN THE-

Abruptly the intercom cut out, leaving the youngsters to stand together in eerie silence. Before it had died, the young adults had heard a sound which terrified them more than the conductor's call for help. It was the sound of clicking.

"I can't believe that we haven't found anyone yet! I know that we weren't the only ones on this train!" Elora complained. She and Pavel had been searching the passenger cars for signs of life for the past hour. So far, the two friends had come across only empty seats.

"Don't worry. We were in the last car. I saw people getting in farther down. They should be in the cars coming up. Besides, most commuters wouldn't be on this late at night. Just us partiers." "Oh, yeah. What partiers we make. Here it is, Friday night and we're searching a train with insects outside waiting to eat us."

Pavel scanned the sixth car with his flashlight. The beam only revealed empty seats. "At least when we reach the engine we can try to get the radio working. Then maybe we can get some help."

Elora threw her hands over her head. "Pavel, are you nuts? That's where the conductor got killed. I really don't feel like sifting through body parts to try to find the radio. You saw what it did to the engineer. Imagine what the conductor must look like. He was ripped apart in a small area. His guts must be splattered all over the wall!"

Pavel spun around angrily. "Elora, shut up! You're not helping. We're trapped in a train. It has no power, and no signs of life except them!" Pavel snapped, jutting a finger towards the window. "I am doing the best I can to get us out of this. If all you're going to do is criticize me, then you can just sit here and wait for the bugs!" Pavel slammed his hand on the edge of the seat. Breathing heavily, he counted to ten before facing his friend.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "but that scene you were describing was too detailed for my imagination."

Elora shrugged it off. "It' okay. I wasn't being much help."

She took a step towards Pavel and stopped. Something was dripping on her. Catching some of it in her right hand, she held it to her eyes. Squinting, she couldn't make out what it was.

"Pasha, toss me that flashlight. Something's dripping over here." Pavel tossed the flashlight which she caught in her left hand. Flipping the beam towards her right, Elora held up her palm for inspection. The results turned her cold.

"Pav, we have a major problem here. I think there were passengers in this car." Elora forced herself to shine the beam towards the source of the dripping. The sight above her was more horrible than her worst nightmare. Putting her hand to her mouth, Elora took in ragged gasps of air. Beside her, Pavel was gagging as well.

Suspended from the top of the transit ceiling were four, mangled bodies. The corpses' faces were beyond recognition. Eyes were gauged out. Nose, mouth, and patches of skin and hair were missing. Bones protruded out of broken skin. The bodies were held in place by a sticky substance covering their torsos. To either side of the corpses were holes in the roof that had been unknown to the youngsters until now.

"Geez Pav, this is what made those thudding noises. It was the Dannon bugs killing these poor people." Trying desperately to keep from vomiting, Elora spun away only to face the remains of an eyeball on the aisle seat across from her. This was too much. She promptly doubled over to lose her supper.

When she was done heaving she looked over to see Pavel examining the bugs' victims. Turning to her he asked, "Lora, are you going to be all right?" At her nod he turned back to the bodies.

"Look at this, Lora. I don't think the bugs killed these people for the hell of it. I think they did this so they would have a food source."

"What," Elora hissed, "A food source? Why would they want a dead food source? Don't insects eat their prey alive?"

Gesturing to the underside of one of the seats. Pavel handed her the flashlight. "Take a peek under there. It's exactly like the cocoon we discovered last year. Except this time, there are a lot more. I'd venture to guess we're standing in its new hive."

Peeking cautiously under the seat, Elora's worst fears were confirmed. It was a cocoon. The same cocoon she and Pavel had discovered in the abandoned subway last year. Flashing the beam around confirmed Pavel's theory. They were in a hive.

"Pasha, we have to get out of here before they hatch. We don't know how long it will take before they gestate. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be their live food source."

"You won't get any argument from me. Come on. Maybe we'll get lucky and the radio will work. It may be our only chance."

***

"Push! I think it's going to give!" Pavel grunted as he heaved his weight against the engine room door.

The door slid open and a putrid odour wafted out to greet the youngsters. Elora wrinkled her nose while Pavel tried to hold his breath.

"Ohhh, I think I'm gonna be sick again. I had no idea that people smelled so bad when they're dead."

"Stay here. I'm going in to see about the radio."

Pavel flashed the light into the tiny area. He froze as the beam caught the shape of a Dannon bug. Something was wrong. It wasn't moving. Pavel put his hand to the light beam and waved it in front of the insect's face. No reaction.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he moved onto the communications board. Feeling himself step into something squishy, he looked down to see his foot sitting in the remains of the conductor's chest cavity. Pavel swayed dangerously. After a moment he dared to open his eyes and continue.

Elora had been right. This room was terrible. Carefully side-stepping the dead insect, Pavel came to stand in front of the radio. After inspecting it for several minutes, Pavel knew they would have to find another way of acquiring aid. The radio's circuit board was damaged beyond repair. Wires were missing. Crushed metal and burnt plastic littered the board. Sighing, Pavel turned his attention back to the bug.

Moving in for a closer look, he examined the insect's fore claws. Each had three razor-sharp spikes extending from each claw. Antenna sprouted from its head, just above two very large eyes. The mouth was huge with two pincers extended on either side. Pavel was about to turn the beast over when of the claws shot up at his face.

It never made contact. A sharp metal rod struck its head, went through, and imbedded itself into the wall of the room. Elora heaved her weight against it, just to make sure the insect wasn't going anywhere. Pavel stared up, still trembling from the shock. Elora looked down at him and flipped her hair back.

"Hey, I thought you could use a save back there. How's the radio?"

Pavel crossed his arms in frustration. "Worthless. It was totalled in the attack. We have to figure something else out.

Inspecting the insect's corpse, Elora noticed the burn marks. Carefully funning her fingers over the burnt area, a thought hit her.

"Pasha, this thing has burn marks. Check around for a phaser. It has to be here somewhere. It may not have killed this critter, but it sure slowed him down. It we need to make a run for it, that phaser could be of use."

Pavel crawled around on the floor. He was getting majorly grossed out. Pushing who-knows-what out of the way, he spotted the butt of the phaser poking out beneath some rubble. Grasping the phaser in his hand he checked the power supply. It was low, but he would still be able to squeeze off a couple of shots.

I guess going to that fire arms exhibit at Skylark with Mamasha finally paid off. Pavel mused, I'd no idea Mama knew so much about weapons. I didn't think scientists and business people needed to know how to operate a phaser. Maybe it was for a self-defense course?

Pavel sat back for a moment, lost in thought.

/Alexis Chekov dragged her twelve year old son over to the phaser exhibit. Picking up a hand held gun she turned to him. "Pasha, this is your basic phaser. Almost every building with a security force will have one. It's not overly powerful. It's just designed to last long enough, to protect you until help arrives. See this button here? The red one?" Pavel nodded. "That's your safety. Press it, it will let you fire. To actually be able to shoot, you need to press the green button."

Pointing to a small circle, she continued the lecture, "Now, see this tiny dial? It can be taken off. If, for some reason, you need to blow something up, twist the dial hard to the left. It'll pop off."

Alexis followed this statement by demonstrating. Pointing to the mass of wires inside, she continued, "Take one end of this red wire and pull it out. See the yellow? Do the same thing. Then you wrap the two together. The phaser will start to overload. Now, put the dial back on. The dial is normally your stun setting. It goes from mild to heavy. But once, you've rewired the insides, it becomes your timer. Mild gives you 30sec, medium 1min, and heavy, 2min. So if you're going to have the phaser self destruct, you need to be in a position to put great distance, between you and it. Locking her dark eyes with that of her son's, she stared hard into them. "Got that? This is important, Pasha. This information may someday save your life."

Pavel nodded dutifully, but his attention was already fast turning towards the next table, which housed various simulators and their games. Pulling away from his mother, he scampered over to try out a new fighter pilot game.

Alexis looked after her son for a moment, before shaking her head and following him on to the next exhibit table./

Returning to reality, Pavel shook himself and made his way back to Elora. "Elora, the power supply is drained pretty bad, but it still has a couple of shots left. Any ideas?"

"Yup. Get me something sharp. Something I can cut with. Hey, hand me that piece of metal by your arm."

Pavel passed the scrap with a questioning look.

Using the sharp end of the metal, Elora, cut open the front of the insect. The first slice emitted a sour, rotting odour. Ignoring Pavel's noises of distress, she held her breath and continued to cut. Finding what she was looking for, Elora dropped the knife and started to pull out bug entrails. Pavel looked on wordlessly, turning greener by the second.

Achieving her goal, Elora turned to Pavel with two small sacs. Taking the first sac, she dug her fingers into the top, ripping the slimy flesh to create an opening. Much to Pavel's disgust she squeezed the sack, pouring a murky brown substance onto her hands, she proceeded to rub the liquid all over her body.

Pavel couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Elora," he blurted, "what are you doing? How is this going to help us?"

Tossing him the other sac, Elora explained, "Biology 101. Insects recognize each other by their secretions. These babies are secretions sacs. Here's the plan. It's obvious we can't stay on the train. So, we rub this on us. It will mask our natural scent and cause them to mistake us for one of them. From there we can walk to the next platform for help."

"How long will this mask us?" Pavel inquired as he rubbed the foul-smelling sac over his face and arms.

Elora pondered the question. "Depends. If we sweat a lot, it'll diminish the time we have. However, we each have a whole sac, so it should last a while. Why?"

"Lora, we have to destroy the transit. We can't leave it here. If we don't destroy it now, these monsters will overrun the lines and kill a lot of people. We have the phaser. If we can get to the fuel tanks, we can set the phaser to self-destruct. The shock wave should be enough to kill everything in this tunnel."

"What about us?" Elora asked softly.

Pavel stared hard into her eyes before answering. "Maybe us too." he admitted, "It depends on how far away we can get. This is going to be a large explosion."

Elora breathed deeply for a moment. Figuring the evening couldn't get worse, she put her courage to the sticking place. Setting her jaw determinedly she offered a hand to Pavel. "Okay, lets do it."

Allowing himself to be pulled up, he followed his girlfriend out the door. He paused only long enough to send a short prayer to whatever god was listening.

***

The tunnels were eerily silent. Pavel hopped down to stand beside Elora near the wall. Wordlessly, they made their way past the seemingly endless array of passenger cars.

Under one car, something scurried away. Both youngsters jumped. Squinting their eyes, they tried to make out a shape but were confronted with only darkness.

It was while passing the last car it appeared. The clicking of claws came so quickly Pavel barely had time to react. Pushing both himself and Elora flat against the wall, he held his breath for fear of giving himself away.

The insect was larger than either teen had imagined. Up close, it was as tall as they. The sound of its claws on the floor echoed off the walls up and down the track. It was close enough to touch. Pavel found himself tightly grasping the phaser, ready at a moments notice. The Dannon was almost past when it suddenly paused. The antenna on its head extended itself, searching the air for clues. It came to rest just in front of Pavel's face. For one heart-stopping moment it stayed there, before continuing its search. Finding nothing, the Dannon retracted its antenna and continued along its course.

Both teens waited a full minute before gasping for breath. Pulling themselves together, they resumed their trek to the fuel tanks.

***

The phaser glowed a haunting red as Pavel adjusted the settings for self-destruct.

Finishing the job, he jammed the gun into the small space between the tanks. As the phaser activated, it emitted a loud hum, causing both humans to jump. It also alerted the Dannon breed to their presence.

"Dammit! Elora they know we're here! Run! We have to put distance between us and them. The phaser is set to go off in 2 minutes. When it goes, it'll take the tunnel with it, us included! Let's move! "

As the youngsters sped away, the cocoons in the transit started to open.

"Pashy, do you hear that?" panted Elora. They were only a few metres away and the clock was ticking.

"Da, but I don't care. I want to put as much distance between them and us as possible!" Pavel gasped back. As he ran he spread more secretions on himself, for all the good it would do.

"Pasha, I think the cocoons have hatched. It isn't clicking I hear. It's more like cracking. The bugs must have gestated!"

"Fine. All the more reason to run faster!" Elora tripped and Pavel pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we need to make tracks!"

"Pavel, wait! I tripped on a manhole cover! Help me lift this. It may be a way out!"

Grabbing the edge of the lid, both strained to open it. "Okay, I think it's coming." Throwing it to the side, Pavel climbed down first. "It looks safe. Jump down!" Pavel raised his arms as Elora jumped, catching her.

Elora smiled. "Thanks. Now let's go!"

The two ran as fast as they could away from the blast site.

***

Impervious to the danger directly behind it, a Dannon examined the manhole cover. Abandoning it after a moment, it moved to the now open manhole. Poking its head in, the Dannon decided to investigate.

***

Overhead an explosion rang out. The tunnel shook. Rock and debris fell around the children's heads, sending them sprawling.

In the tunnel, the explosion hit like a tidal wave. The new born bugs went off like firecrackers. As shock waves flew past, the adults simply blew a part.

The roof of the subway collapsed. The remains of the train and insects were buried beneath tons of cement, rock and wire.

Beneath it in the sewer were two trapped children. They were not alone.

***

"Mmmmm, Elora, I think my head just got hit with a sledgehammer. You okay? Elora?" Receiving no answer, Pavel frantically looked around.

He couldn't see her. Trying not to panic, he stopped to remember the events of a few hours ago.

They had both been running through the sewers. The timer was set to go on the train. They hadn't quite been out of range of the explosion. When it went off, dust had flooded the sewers, making it almost impossible to breath. Then chunks of the ceiling had rained down on top of them. Both he and Elora had fallen, but they had been beside each other. She had to be hear somewhere!

Impulsively, Pavel pulled himself to his feet. Big mistake. With a curse he fell back down. Examining his left ankle, he knew without a doubt it was broken. Checking himself over he discovered a nasty cut on the back of his head.

"I probably have a concussion too." he though dispassionately. Otherwise unhurt, he crawled towards Elora's location prior to the explosion. Tossing rocks aside, he came up with nothing. She wasn't there. Getting frantic, Pavel searched faster. Rocks were thrown and shoved aside. Still nothing.

Pausing to catch his breath, he realized she may have been thrown farther up the sewer. Pavel looked around for something he could lean against. His ankle was killing him. If he was going to do some serious searching, he'd need something to lean on.

A thin metal pipe caught his eye. It was sticking up out of a pile of debris near the wall of the sewer. Hobbling over, Pavel gripped it with both hands and pulled. It came out accompanied with a low whimper and blood on the tip. Shocked, Pavel threw the rod aside and started to pull debris away.

Elora Dannon lay curled in a bloody pile. She was covered from head to toe in dust. Blood splattered her body from different cuts and nicks. The area Pavel was concerned over was her right thigh.

"Elora, can you hear me? It's Pavel. Elora, I'm going to get you out, okay? Hold tight."

Elora opened her eyes. "Pasha?" she whispered, "That stick, it hit my leg. It hurts."

"I know Elora but it's out. I got it. I'm going to try to stop the bleeding now. Are you hurt anywhere else? Is anything broken?"

Elora was silent for a long moment. "I don't know. Everything hurts to move. I can't tell." Tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Shhh. It's fine Lora." Pavel comforted, "No problem. I'll check myself."

A quick search produced a head injury, a lot of cuts and a twisted knee. 'The main problem is where the pipe hit her,' he thought. He was also concerned about the head injury, but was at a loss as to what he could do about it. Tearing off a section of his jacket, he tightly wound it about the leg wound. Elora cried out in pain. Having administered all the first aid he could, Pavel wondered what the next course of action should be.

He could leave Elora and find help. He dismissed the idea. He didn't know how long he'd be. Elora could die before then. Deciding he couldn't leave her, Pavel hoisted his friend up. Holding her by the waist, Pavel leaned his weight onto his walking stick. Earlier carefully put her arm around his shoulders. The first few steps were agony for both parties. Shifting his weight onto his good ankle, Pavel found he could carry her and still hobble along.

"Ready?" he asked. Elora faintly nodded. The two started walking, each looking to the other for support.

Behind them in the rubble, something stirred.

***

"Pashy, do you see that? I think it's light." Elora giggled. "It sort of looks like a transporter beam! Beam me up, Captain. I'm ready for my next assignment!"

Pavel was getting really worried. Elora just kept alternating between laughing and trying to pass out. If that was really light, then maybe he'd be able to get her to help soon.

As the two rounded the corner he realized she was right. It was light. Standing directly below the beam he looked up. It was a manhole. The light was coming from a subway tunnel. Carefully setting Elora down, Pavel called up,

"Help! Someone help us! Please, is anyone there? We need help!" He was rewarded with silence. No one was up there. Pavel's calm started to give way to panic. How were they ever going to get out of here? Pavel sank to the ground and bowed his head. It was hopeless. No one was going to find them. They were going to die down here. This was so much worse than last time. It was completely hopeless. It was- not hopeless.

Pavel's eye caught sight of a crate sitting just outside the light. Peering more closely he realized there were a lot. Maybe enough to pile together to stand on! Maybe enough they could reach the top. Laughing almost hysterically, Pavel crawled over to the pile and started pulling them down.

"Elora look! We have a way out! We're not going to die down here!"

Against the wall, Elora was completely passed out.

"Ah no. Lora, you can't sleep right now. You have to wake up so we can get out of here!" Getting no response, Pavel swung his hand around and hit her. Not getting a response he hit her again, and again. On the third try, she woke up.

"Ouch! Pavel Chekov! What are you doing, hitting a lady?" Rubbing her face she grumped, "Don't you have any manners?"

Spying the boxes behind Pavel, she cried, "Hey, you found a way out! All right! Let's get out of this dump!"

Grinning, Pavel helped her towards the makeshift ladder of crates. Maybe everything would be fine after all

***

"Pavel! Are you down there? Elora, are you there too?"

Pavel thanked the gods for answering his prayers. Calling up to the familiar voice, he shouted, "Papa! Thank God you've found us! Elora's hurt. Can you pull her up?"

Andrei Chekov surveyed the scene below him. Both kids were hurt. It looked like they had been attempting to climb out using old crates. For the tenth time, he wondered where the hell the emergency crews were. For that matter, where the hell was his wife? She had been right behind him.

Turning his attention back to the problem at hand, he evaluated the situation. Elora was in bad shape. From his position he could see the blood running down her leg. A small puddle was already forming around her feet. He knew there was no way either teen could get out of the sewers by climbing. Spying Pavel's belt, a thought hit him.

"Pav! Take off your belt and toss it to me! I'll pull you up!"

Hoping this would work, Pavel pulled off his belt and threw it to his father. Andrei caught it in one hand. Laying flat on his stomach, he extended the belt down to his son and girlfriend.

Helping Elora, Pavel supported her while she wrapped her hands up tightly in the belt.

"Ready Elora?" Andrei called down.

"Ready!" Came the reply.

Muscles straining, Andrei slowly started to pull the young girl up. Below, Pavel watched anxiously as Elora was slowly lifted towards the ceiling. When she was close enough, Andrei reached down and grabbed her waist.

Pavel watched Elora disappear through the manhole. Sighing in relief, he waited patiently for his turn.

It was then that he heard it. A clicking noise, closing in fast. "Papa! Hurry! There's one still alive! It's coming! Papa! Hurry!" Pavel screamed frantically.

Andrei extended the belt down again. He could hear it too. "Pasha, grab the belt! I'll pull you up!"

Pavel wrapped the end in his hands. He could see the Dannon approaching. He knew he wasn't going to make it. Clamping his eyes shut, he waited for the impact.

Andrei could only watch helplessly as his son was swept out of sight by a monster seen only in his nightmares. "PASHA!"

Without thinking, he jumped into the sewer after his son.

***

Screams were ringing loud in Pavel's ears. Were they his or Papa's? The Dannon's claws had pierced his sides. He could feel his body being slammed into a wall. The claws retracted and he dared to open his eyes. He instantly wished he hadn't. The Dannon reared up, claws poised, ready to finish the job.

Andrei Chekov rammed Pavel's discarded iron pipe into the middle of the Dannon. The insect howled and swung around. With a swish of its claws, the Dannon lashed out.

Andrei felt its claws sink into his chest. In a last ditch attempt to free himself, he snapped the belt against the insect's head. The Dannon shrieked and pulled back. Andrei fell to the floor, blood spouting from puncture wounds in his chest.

The injured Dannon turned back to its original prey. Only to discover it gone. Following the trail of blood, the insect hurried down the sewer after it.

***

Pavel held onto his sides, desperately trying to staunch the flow of blood. Tears ran unchecked down his cheeks. Papa was dead. The monster had killed him! Falling for what seemed like the hundredth time, he finally stopped and leaned against the wall, waiting to die.

He didn't have to wait long. The Dannon stood above him. It delicately raised one claw, ready to end its victim's life.

A phaser beam caught the beast, pushing it away from the crumpled form. Angrily, it turned to face the new threat.

Training her weapon on the insect, Alexis Chekov flicked a switch and fired again. The Dannon, crazy with fury, charged her. Changing the setting again, Alexis re-fired. The Dannon turned red, then phased out of existence.

Throwing down her phaser, Alexis moved to the fallen form of her son. Pavel was barely breathing. He was completely soaked in blood. Fearing the worst, Alexis pulled out her combadge.

"Alexis to Skylark, one to beam to sickbay. Sixteen year old male, condition: critical."

"Roger that, Commander. Beaming now."

Alexis watched Pavel disappear in a shimmer of blue. Standing up, she followed Pavel's trail of blood down the sewer. She shuddered as the form of her husband came into view. Flipping him over she searched for a pulse. It was barely identifiable.

Lightly touching his face, she whispered, "Andrei, I'm so sorry. None of this should have ever happened. Stay with me Andrei. I won't let you die. I won't." A quick call to Skylark and Andrei also disappeared.

Alexis stood in the now empty tunnel, and breathed deeply. This shouldn't have happened. None of this should have happened. The Dannon was breed was only supposed to have stopped the train. No one should have died. No one was supposed to get hurt. A voice broke her reverie.

"Commander Chekov, up here! Grab the ladder!"

Wordlessly, she climbed the hanging the ladder. As she pulled herself through the manhole, she came face to face with Dr. Dannon.

"Is Elora safe, Doctor?"

Dr. Dannon nodded. "She's in bad shape but I think she'll make it."

"Doctor, this experiment was a terrible failure. It's going to be incredibly difficult to cover this up. There will be a lot of questions. Have our teams brought in, asap. We need to exert some damage control. This whole project is a mistake. When you get back to the lab, destroy all prototypes of the Dannon breed. Erase the files, everything. Nothing should link us with this disaster. Is that understood?"

Dannon nodded his agreement. "Understood. The teams have already been called in. Our people are stalling the city's crews. By the time they arrive, we should be gone."

Alexis appeared satisfied. "Good. I'm going to see about the condition of my family. Carry on."

"Chekov to Skylark. One to beam up."

Alexis Chekov shimmered and disappeared.

***

"How are they?"

"Your son will survive. He lost a lot of blood and was bleeding internally. We've stabilized his condition. His ribs were shattered. He's also suffered a severe concussion. It will be a long time before he's up and about, but he'll live."

"What about my husband?" Alexis interrupted.

"Alexis, let's go sit down, shall we?" The doctor attempted to direct her towards the waiting room chairs. She brushed him aside.

"No. I want to see my husband. And no, I don't want to sit down."

The doctor sighed. "Very well. This way please."

The two stopped in front of the critical care unit. Touching the window, Alexis stared at the pale form of her husband.

"His lungs were punctured. Actually, his left lung was almost destroyed. He lost a lot of blood. His lungs keep filling with fluid. We are draining them, but it's a struggle. For the moment, he's stable, but that could change."

Looking at her husband, a lone tear fell from her eye, rolling down her face. Angrily she brushed it away. Turning to the doctor, Alexis asked, "What about Elora?"

"Miss Dannon will be fine. She'll need physiotherapy to be able to walk. She also has a severe concussion. However, she will recover." Touching Alexis' arm, he added softly, "If you have any questions or concerns, please call me."

Alexis Chekov stood in front of her husband's room for a long time. Skylark's customers were going to be most disappointed. The Dannon breed was not a suitable subject. Skylark was simply going to have to explore new avenues for alternate warfare. She wondered what she would tell Andrei and Pavel. Certainly not the truth.

Her combadge went off. She was needed at the damage site. Sighing, she turned away. Looking back, she wondered at the direction her life was taking. Shaking the thought away, she went back to work.

Duty came above family, after all.

The end.