DISCLAIMER:
Paramount owns their characters, I own mine. This concept is one they wouldn't touch with a barge pole, so no worries there. Please do not steal this story or any ideas from it, at least not without asking the author/s first.

NOTE:
This story is based in an alternate universe, where the Occupation only lasted for 30 years, not 60 years. If you are interested in adding to this saga by writing a novella to go with this world, feel free to contact me.

Survival Instinct

Admiral H'gass smiled to herself as she heard the three cadets and two officers filed into the room. She'd read all their files, including the recent additions about their aiding the Changeling, and while she fully agreed with the punishment they had received, she also couldn't help but have a sneaking regard the loyalty they'd shown to the alien that had needed their help.

With that in mind, the Andorian had taken it upon herself to offer the cadets a chance at reclaiming the levels they'd lost. She already knew they wouldn't like the project she had in mind, no cadet ever volunteered for this duty, but it would be the only way, and their only chance.

Turning, she smiled warmly and took her seat, noting that Kira, Bashir, and Dax had all refused to look her in the eye. "Good evening cadets. As you're probably wondering why I asked you here, I'll get straight to the point. The Inter-Stellar Survival Marathon is next month, with most races including the Romulans, Klingons, and the Bajorans, sending teams to compete." Her smile sweetened. "It has been decided that the three of you will be the team representing Starfleet. You have already been given leave from your studies, and as you leave tomorrow morning, I would suggest you spend the night familiarizing yourself with the rules and course you'll be travelling over the ten days."

Kira was the first to speak. "I take it we have no choice but to comply?"

"That's right, cadet." H'gass' smile became stern. "And I might add that this is the only chance you're going to get to regain the credits and standings you've lost due to the incident with the changeling." Seeing them all open their mouth's to speak, she held up a restraining hand. "I know, you believed you were right, and in a way, I agree with you. But you took a risk, a risk far too large for cadets to take on their own." Standing, the Andorian stood before her office window, looking out at the rain beating down on the pane. "You took an unknown life-form into your room, without any knowledge of what you were doing or whether it could be trusted. If Odo had been hostile, your actions could very well have caused the death of every person on this campus." She turned back to the cadets, her eyes flashing. "Frankly, the three of you are damn lucky you weren't expelled. As it is, you've been punished severely, and your careers are going to be effected for several years to come. What I'm offering you, is a way for you to get some of your credibility back."

Quiet rolled through the room as H'gass sat back down and looked expectantly at the people before her. The silence had almost become unbearable when, surprisingly, Bashir's soft voice sounded. "How, exactly, is our participating in the survival marathon going to help our lost grades."

"I'm glad you ask." H'gass leaned back and relaxed. She'd won them over now. "The Academy board has decided that, should the three of you volunteer to participate in the marathon, then your loss of grades will be suspended for the remainder of the year and, provided there are no further incidents, you will graduate with those grades intact." Pushing three data padds across the table, she nodded pleasantly. "Here are all the details. I suggest you spend tonight studying them and preparing for the marathon. Dismissed."

Watching the three would-be officers leave the room, her smile broadened as she wondered whether to warn the other competitors.

"Julian, if you don't stop bouncing that flackking ball, I'll toss you out the airlock!" Kira pushed her face close to Bashir's, fighting for control. "You haven't stopped throwing it at the wall since we took off, and I've had about enough."

"Nerys, calm down." Dax, ever the voice of sanity and reason, lay calmly on her bunk reading a technical manual. "It's going to be a long trip to Risa, and if we can't survive it, how are we going to get along for ten days in the wilderness?"

"Jadzia's right, Kira." The Bajoran rolled her eyes at Bashir's words. Privately, she believed he's agree with the Trill whatever she said. "We won't arrive until tomorrow evening and the course starts the next day. We have to learn to get along, whatever the circumstances." He tossed her the ball. "Besides, it's great stress relief, you might like to try it."

Kira turned the ball over and gazed longingly at the Human, an evil, but fun thought, gathering in her mind. However, just as she was about to wind up and hurl the ball at Bashir, Dax's hand closed over hers and firmly took the object away.

"Nerys, I know what you're thinking and it's not nice."

Kira glanced at the Trill and shrugged, the evil smile still playing about her lips. "Oh, I don't know. I think it would have been fun to find out."

Dax sighed and returned to her book, shaking her head a little. "It's going to be a long trip."

"And just where do you think you're going?" Bashir looked around guiltily to see Dax and Kira standing behind him, hands on hips and a determined look on both their faces.

"I was just off to..." His voice trailed off as he tried desperately to think of a believable excuse for going to the nightclub. Neither woman was fooled for a moment, as they closed in on either side, almost shepherding him back to the rooms they'd been given. He gave up and started pleading. "We've only got one night here, why shouldn't we at least look around. Get a feel for the local culture."

"Doc, we're not going to spend tonight having fun with the natives." Kira glared at him as they entered her rooms. "Now, would you mind telling me what these were doing in your pack?"

Bashir looked at the bed and saw his pack's contents scattered over it. Prominently displayed on Kira's pillow were lots of packets marked with the Starfleet insignia. His heart fell. "I... I thought we might want some extra supplies, so I packed as many of the new rations I designed as I could."

"Julian, you didn't read the rules, did you." Jadzia shoved a padd under his nose and tapped a particular section. "Rule seven clearly states that no extra rations, aside from what is supplied tomorrow morning are to be taken." She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, watching Kira who was feeding the packets into the reclimator. "If Nerys hadn't suggested we check that we all had room for the equipment we'll be issued tomorrow, you would have gotten us expelled from the marathon before we even started."

The man rallied valiantly. "You still had no business going through my belongings. It's a serious invasion of privacy."

"Listen to me, doctor." Kira spat out the name as she leaned into Bashir's face, almost hissing at him. "If you had gotten us removed from this course, I would have made the rest of your life my business." Stepping back, the Bajoran pointed at the man's pack. "Now, the three of us are spending the evening going over the terrain they might put us into, and checking that we have all the equipment and clothing we might need. Food will take care of itself."

Julian swallowed. "You mean we're going to kill innocent animals and eat them instead."

Kira nodded sharply and pushed a padd into Bashir's chest. "If that's what it takes."

"The rules are simple. You have ten days to get from your drop off to the pick up point. During the survival course, you must pass through the four checkpoints on your terrain map. You are permitted to take advantage of any caves or overhangs you find only twice during your trek, meaning you must build your own shelters for the rest of the course. You have been supplied with the minimum of rations need to complete the course, so you will probably find it necessary to supplement your food supplies by hunting. You will also need to use whatever natural materials you can find to build your shelters, as you have been issued with a limited amount of construction materials."

The admiral finally finished his speech, to the relief of the assembled groups. The Klingons were standing apart, looking appropriately fierce in their furs and with their dak'targs on their belts. The Romulan team looked merely bored with the meeting, although Kira noticed that they had placed themselves as far from the Klingons as possible.

Dax had spent most of the speech examining their competition also, and had noticed that most of the various groups were eyeing each other with curiosity and interest. The Andorians had been muttering amongst themselves all morning, while the Betaziods were relaxed. The Vulcans had self-satisfied looks on their faces, even though the race hadn't begun yet, while the Bajoran team seemed unconcerned about anyone else, although they had buttonholed Kira earlier for a few moments. Dax hadn't been able to understand the rapid exchange in Bajoran between the group and her fellow cadet, the scowl on Kira's face told her that whatever had been said had not been pleasant.

"So, if you are all ready, I want each group to proceed to their assigned transporter pad, where you will be transported to your drop off co-ordinates. Dismissed." As the admiral turned away, the various groups left to begin the challenge, including the Starfleet team, although there was little conversation between the three cadets.

It wasn't until they had been transported to their destination, that any of them spoke. Typically, it was Kira who took charge. "Right, we'll head for the first marker immediately. With any luck, we'll make it before tomorrow afternoon."

"You mean we're going to walk all night?" Bashir had taken a look at the map and the distance between where they stood and the first waypoint seemed huge. "Nerys, we'll need to rest sometime, we won't be able to keep up that pace all the time."

"Julian, if you examined the map, you'll see that the first waypoint is near what appears to be a mountain range." Kira's finger traced a thick, meandering grey line on the map, and could almost see the realization dawn on the Human. "With any luck, there'll be a cave or at least an overhang that we can use for shelter. That way, even if we do push ourselves today, we'll be able to rest well tomorrow, and maybe even stock up on food for the next day."

Dax had been looking further along their route, and noticed something interesting. "That's great for tomorrow, but after that, it looks like the rest of the points are in the middle of forests or valleys." Shouldering her pack, she nodded to Kira. "You're right, we'd better get going and make the most of the cliffs while we can."

Silently then, the trio vanished into the undergrowth.

"Nerys, we have to rest. It's past midnight, I can barely seen the ground ahead of me!" Dax was panting as she urged herself to keep up with the seemingly unstoppable woman. Kira had pushed the group all day and most of the night, and the mutterings of mutiny were now a roar. Grabbing Kira's shoulders, Dax planted herself in front of her friend. "Kira, stop! We need to rest before we collapse. We're almost there tonight, we can make the rest of the way in the morning."

"We've only got two kilometres to go, why stop at all? We can make it tonight and have tomorrow morning to rest before we head for the next point." Kira made to walk past the other woman, but she refused to budge. "Dax, we can do this tonight!"

"At what cost?" She motioned towards Bashir, who, grateful for the halt, had collapsed onto a knoll nearby. "If we walk ourselves into the ground in the first days, we aren't going to make it at all."

Kira glared at Dax and Bashir for a long moment, then threw her pack to the ground. "Well, since you two have already decided, I guess we have no choice but to stop here, don't we?" Glancing around, she shrugged. "It's too dark to put up a shelter tonight, so we'll have to sleep as we are."

"That's fine with me." Bashir spoke for the first time, then winced as he rolled over, trying to get comfortable. "As long as it doesn't rain, I don't care. Even my hair hurts."

Dax grinned. "Make the most of it Julian, we've got a mountain to climb yet." The grin widened as the man whimpered, but a few minutes later, all that could be heard were soft snuffles and snores of the three exhausted trekkers.

Julian groaned and wriggled his toes tiredly, enjoying the stream he was soaking his feet in. They'd found the first marker without any trouble, and it had transported away as soon as all three of them had touched the white marker globe atop it. With the first leg of the course behind them, they had started looking along the cliff line for a cave for shelter for the night, or at the very least, an overhang of some kind. They'd had to walk for several hours however, before Dax finally spotted a shallow cave where the group collapsed in relief.

After half an hour though, they'd all realized they still had to prepare for the night to come and, with many groans and sore muscles, each had chosen a task and set to. Right now, Julian was supposed to be filling the cadets water bottles and jerry can they'd been issued, but he couldn't resist taking a few minutes to soak in the water first.

"You'd better hope Nerys doesn't catch you doing that." Bashir sprang up and turned to see Dax grinning at him, her arms full of firewood.

Slumping back down, Julian shrugged. "The bottles are full, so is the can. I just have to take them back to the cave, that's all." He glanced at the woman. "And don't tell me you don't want to soak your feet as well, you walked just as far as I have."

"True," she turned and headed back towards the campsite, "but I also know that we have to get everything organized first, or do you want to be carrying water in the dark?"

Thinking about this for a moment, Bashir decided that it wasn't a pleasant idea, and reluctantly put his boots back on.

Dax picked at her stew and wrinkled her nose slightly. "Kira, do I want to know what this is, or is it safer that I don't?"

Kira tried to look innocent. "Well, it didn't slither if that's what you're worried about." She glanced up at a faint whirring noise. "And you can put that tricorder away Julian! It's dead, and it's edible, that's all that matters."

The man frowned and sniffed his bowl suspiciously. "Just as long as it's not about to crawl off my plate."

"Well, if it does, just put it back and tell it to stay there!" Kira was getting annoyed. "Look, if you don't like my hunting skills, why don't you two get something instead?"

"Because neither of us can hunt anywhere near as well as you can." Dax became thoughtful. "Interesting flavour, tastes rather like chicken." She smiled easily and leaned back against the cave wall. "So, what were the Bajoran team saying to you? It didn't look nice."

Kira went on the defensive. "Nothing for you to worry about, so forget it. I knew two of them when I was in the militia, they're good soldiers."

"But they don't approve of you joining Starfleet." Both women turned to Bashir is surprise at his comment. He had the grace to appear embarrassed. "I know some standard Bajoran, enough to make myself understood if I'm treating someone." He watched Kira apologetically. "I was getting the rest of my equipment issued when they spoke to you. I couldn't help overhearing, I'm sorry."

Nerys sighed and bowed her head. "You're right, they don't approve at all." She took a deep breath. "Some people in the militia expected me to follow my brothers through the ranks. When I decided to transfer to Starfleet, they saw it as a betrayal of faith that my superiors had placed in me. Some of them still do, even more now after the Odo incident."

"I'm confused, what have your brothers got to do with it?"

Kira blushed, although it was hard to notice in the flickering light. "Edon, my oldest brother is currently the commanding officer in charge of the Bajoran Border Guard based at Prophets Landing. My other older brother, Rion, is the security chief at Deep Space Nine. When I decided I wanted to join the militia, he was still a Squadron Commander and everyone thought I would become a pilot as well. But after I finished basic training, I was posted to a ground forces unit not a fighter squadron. And when I got the chance to transfer to Starfleet, I took it rather than stay in the militia." She shrugged. "A lot of the officers I worked with didn't like that I transferred out. Since the end of the caste system, the militia has become a family tradition I'm afraid, and some people don't understand why I'm not following that tradition."

"How do you parents feel?" Dax, surprisingly enough, had gone back for seconds of dinner. "Do they like you joining Starfleet rather than staying on Bajor?"

The Bajoran snorted and stirred the fire. "They were upset that I was leaving Bajor, that's all. They say they always knew I would join the military in some way, and if I'm happy in Starfleet, then that's fine with them. But I know they miss me and wish I'd stayed closer to home." Yawning, she glanced at her watch and started. "It's twenty-one hundred already! We'd better get to sleep if we're going to get an early start tomorrow."

"I'll set up the shelter tonight." Bashir smiled brightly as the trio unshouldered their packs and stretched tired muscles. It had been a long day hiking, and they were still some way from the next checkpoint, meaning yet another long walk the next day. "Give you two time to relax and a wash."

Dax rubbed her neck and grimaced at the sore muscles. "Sounds good to me, and the stream seems deep enough to bathe in." She sniffed her collar and grimaced again. "And I for one could certainly do with a bath and change of clothes. Come on Nerys, let's leave him to build the house."

Kira laughed and followed the Trill towards the water nearby leaving Julian to gather wood and brush. The stream turned out to be very shallow at first, but by following it a little way, the women found that it spread out into a deep pond. Kira was the first to strip off, jumping into the cold water only to surface gasping. "Flakk it's cold!"

Dax had taken a more sedate approach rather than plunging like her friend, but even she her teeth were chattering. "You're not wrong. This is cold, even for a Trill!" A few minutes later though, they'd gotten used to the water, and were splashing and dunking each other with abandon.

Up on the hillside though, things were not going according to plan. Julian had built a large, roomy tepee against several of the tall bushes there, but no matter what he did, the entire structure fell down every time he tried to crawl inside. Finally, he managed to keep the shelter standing by tying several of the guy ropes around the bottom of the bushes and hoping that there wouldn't be any strong winds that night.

He'd just gotten the fire going when Dax and Kira reappeared, their wet clothes draped over their arms. "Well done Julian!" Kira looked truly impressed as she examined the shelter. "It looks fine to me, what do you think Dax?"

Jadzia nodded approvingly, then kicked one of his support bushes. Instantly, it parted company with the ground, causing the entire structure to collapse on itself. Silence reigned for a moment, before she commented "Perhaps something a little sturdier?"

Bashir sighed and picked up the water can and bottles. "I'll get the water again."

Watching him trudge towards the stream, Dax nudged Kira. "You know, he's a wonderful person and a great doctor."

Kira nodded. "But he's going to be a dead one one day if he doesn't learn."

It was the fifth day when the little group came across an amazing sight. They'd just found the third marker and were making good time towards the next waypoint, when shouts and growls sounded from a small hollow off to their right.

"We should investigate." Kira already had a phaser in hand and was heading towards the noise, when the others caught up.

"There are no carnivores in this part of Risa," Jadzia was already scanning the area ahead. "I'm reading both Klingon and Romulan life signs in a small gully just over this rise."

"Perhaps a cautious approach is called for?" Julian dropped to one knee as the reached the hill top, and was relieve to see the others do the same. Peering over the top of the rise, all three gasped at the sight that met their eyes.

Three Klingons, in full battle armour, were fighting an equal number of Romulans in hand to hand combat. As no-one appeared to be dead yet, the fight had obviously just started, but by the look of things, neither side had any intention of stopping any time soon. As they watched, one of the Romulans managed to push their attacker away, and had just picked up a tree branch to hit another Klingon, when his original assailant kicked hi feet out from under him, and they both collapsed, scrabbling at each other.

The Starfleet officers watched, stunned for a few moments, before retreating back behind the hill. "I think we should contact the course headquarters." Julian spoke firmly but quietly, as if afraid to be overhead by the combatants. "This is going to get nasty soon, and heaven only knows what the winners will do once they find there's been witnesses."

Kira nodded and turned to Dax. "You've got the tricorder and comms unit," but she was already pulling them out of her pack and turning the unit on.

"Cadet Dax to Base Camp."

"Base here. What do you want Cadet?"

She took a deep breath. "Base, you won't believe this, but we've found the Klingon and Romulan teams on our waypoint course."

There was a slight pause, then an older voice came on the comms. "Cadet, we read both teams very close to you. What is going on there?"

"The Klingons and Romulans are fighting, sir. I think they just started as we arrived. So far no-one's been hurt," a sharp scream pierced the air and all three winced, "well, I think no-one's been hurt. But they don't look like stopping any time soon."

"Did you try and break up the fight, cadet?" The voice had a stern edge to it now, and they could hear faint orders being given in the background.

"No sir." Dax was determined "Both teams seemed very determined to continue fighting, and we didn't want to risk being injured in the conflict and unable to appraise you of the situation."

"Very wise choice cadet." The voice was more approving now, and the trio relaxed. "A security detail will be beaming to you shortly to deal with the other teams. You are to give a full report to the officer in charge and then continue on your way. Base out."

They'd barely closed the line when the whine of transporters sounded, and then the security detail was there. The lieutenant didn't say a word, merely pointed over the hill, and the detachment vanished. Moments later, phaser fire could be heard, then all went quiet. Standing, the cadets looked over the hill, to see the detachment and their now subdued prisoners vanish in the transporter swirl.

Julian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, it's certainly not a dull course."

Dawn was still breaking as Julian stirred the next morning. The fire had died down to glowing coals, and the mist was threading its way through the trees, giving an ethereal, mystical look to the sparse wood they'd chosen as the campsite the night before. Building up the fire with some wood from inside the shelter, he gazed around in wonderment as the sky went from pink, to light green, to light blue as the sun rose on the new day. However, with both breakfast and another long trek to the next waypoint calling, Bashir reluctantly gave up the dawn and woke his companions.

An hour later, the group came across the final mountain that had to be crossed. Glancing up in the morning light, Dax groaned. "Do we have to go over it? Isn't there a way around?"

Bashir shook his head glumly and held out the map. "I wish there was, but according to this it's almost sheer cliffs all the way along. This is the only point we can get across."

"You don't think they've doctored the map do you?" Kira squinted along the ridge in both directions, trying to decide if another crossing was possible. "They might be trying to see if we're smart enough to find another way."

"I don't know . . ." Dax was thoughtful as she looked at the rocky ground ahead. "But we're already a day and a half ahead, do we want to lose that by searching for a path that might not be there?"

Bashir decided for all of them. "You're right, we're best to go this way."

Kira was still unconvinced. "We'll probably get back to base camp and learn there was a tunnel leading straight through this just down the valley."

Julian grinned and slapped her on the back lightly. "Then at least we'll have had an interesting walk. Besides, mountain air is good for you."

"Maybe," Nerys grumbled under her breath as she followed the others, "but I had enough of mountains on Bajor."

"High on a hill stood a lonely goatherd . . ." Julian yodelled happily, enjoying the acoustics of the surrounding rocks, and ignoring the black looks from his partners. Three hours into the climb, he was still as fresh and happy as he'd been when he first gotten up that morning, while Dax and Kira looked as as if they'd been on a route march in full kit. Glancing at the women from his seat upon a rock, he grinned. "Just look at that view! Isn't it amazing?"

"Astounding," Kira panted as she and Dax finally reached the top. "Now, Mr mountain goat, if you don't mind Jadzia and I need a break."

"What she said." Dax collapsed next to Kira and stared out at the view spread below. "Not bad. Hell of a climb to see it though, but it's very impressive." Getting no reply, she glanced at Kira, to see her staring at the gully they'd left earlier. "What is it?"

"Julian, hand me the binoculars." The Bajoran focussed on the ground, and the others could almost hear her teeth grinding. "I was right! Flakking bastards, they changed the map!" She tossed the instrument back to Bashir. "There's a gully just down the ridge that runs right through to the plain below. It probably would have taken us no more than an hour to hike along."

"Well, there's not a lot we can do about it now, we're up here and it's down there." Jadzia wasn't impressed either, but didn't have the energy to complain. Struggling to her feet, she winced as her leg muscles complained. "We might as well go down now, no sense staying here."

The climb down was even more arduous than the ascent, as they tried to avoid loose rocks and loosing their balance on the steep descent. Julian forged ahead again, singing once more, when he let out a startled yelp and vanished from sight. Moments later, the women heard a strangled moan from where they'd last seen him and then a whimper. Throwing caution to the wind, they slid and slithered down the slope, to find Bashir lying on a bed of shale, groaning in pain, and with his ankle at a very odd angle.

"Oh flakk . . ." Kira whispered the curse as she knelt and gently straightened the mans leg. "Dax, where's the medkit?"

"Here." Pulling it out of Bashir's pack, she quickly scanned him. "He's had a nasty knock to the head, cuts and bruises, and the ankle's badly sprained." She looked at Kira and shook her head slightly. "I think we have to call base camp and get him transported out." She grinned at Bashir fondly. "No more snake gumbo for you, you'll get real food tonight."

"Oooo . . ." Julian struggled up and leaned against a rock, half sitting, half lying. "Let me look at the readings." Examining them, he pulled the kit towards himself. "There's no reason to call base camp, it's not that bad."

"Julian, if Jadzia says you should be evacuated, then you should go." Kira frowned in concern. For all his doctor eager puppy habits, she'd grown to like the man and considered him a good friend.

But Bashir was having none of it. "The ankle can be strapped up, and the cut and bruises will heal in time. The head injury isn't as bad as it looks either, I just won't be able to move very fast, that's all." He glanced at the women. "The only real problem is that you'll have to help me along, and that's going to slow us all down."

"Julian--" Dax tried to get a word in, but he cut her off mid-sentence.

"Please, we started this as a group. I'd like to finish as one." His eyes pleaded with both of them for understanding.

Kira sighed and reached for the kit again. "Alright, but the instant you start to get dizzy or feel sick, we're beaming you back to base, understand?" Her tone told him she would brook no nonsense, and he nodded firmly as she began to strap his ankle.

The sun beat down on the hapless group struggling across the plain. The half day they had gained had been lost after the accident, and time was marching on leaving them less and less of a lead. They'd found the fourth waypoint at the base of the mountain, with some relief, as it meant a steady march towards the end point. They'd also discovered that, had they taken the route along the gully, they would have been faced with an impossible climb up sheer rock to reach the plain, and would have had to climb the mountain anyway, wasting at least a day.

Sunset fell as they were half way across the plain, too everyone's relief. Lowering Bashir to the ground, Kira and Dax moved away a little and took stock of the situation.

"We've got enough food with the ration packs, so that's not a problem." Jadzia grinned briefly at Kira. "It was a good thing you insisted we hunt for food back in the woods, or we would have had nothing to eat now."

Kira nodded, testing the weight of the water bottles. "Something I learnt in the militia; if you have the opportunity to hunt, do it. You might need the rations later. It's water I'm worried about now. We still have a long way to go, and some of these bottles are empty or only half full."

"Why don't we fill up all the bottles we can , and ditch the empty ones and the jerry can?" She nodded towards the phaser. "We can vaporize them rather than leave them here, and we'll be that little bit lighter, so we can travel a little faster."

"Normally, I'd agree. But since we're helping Julian along now, I don't know that we'd get much speed out of it." Kira grimaced slightly as she examined the map. "Anyway, I don't think it's going to matter much now. If we keep up the same speed tomorrow as we did today, we're going to be a day overdue making the end point." She sighed as they made their way back to Bashir, who'd fallen asleep on his pack. "At least we tried, that's the main thing."

It was a depressed group around the campfire that night. Dinner was eaten in silence, as they all stared into the embers of the fire. It wasn't until afterwards, when Kira was re-strapping Bashir's ankle and checking his other wounds, that they began talking.

"Does it hurt much?" Kira had been as gentle as she could, but she couldn't miss the wincing as she wrapped on the bandages. "I remember when I broke my arm on exercises once, it hurt like hell for hours, even after they evacuated me to the med station."

Julian smiled bitterly. "It's not too bad now, it felt worse earlier when we were walking." Groaning, he tried not to move as Nerys put his boot back on. "How far are we from the final waypoint?"

Kira decided brutal honesty was the best policy. "Too far. We're going to come in a day overdue." She smiled slightly. "But don't worry about it. As you said, we started as a group, we should finish as one. Now, get some sleep, we've got a long walk tomorrow."

The grove of trees provided a welcome relief from the sun the next morning, and the trio collapsed gratefully in the shade. They'd been walking since first light, pushing themselves as hard as they could across the plain, but they were still a long march from the end of the course. Bashir's ankle hadn't improved overnight, but in his medical opinion, it hadn't gotten any worse either. His boot constrained the swelling he knew was there, but there was little that could be done for the pain.

"I don't know why we're walking so hard, we're not going to make it in time." Dax lolled on the grass panting, and Julian, despite the pain, felt a very familiar sensation south of the border as he watched. "We'd be better to take our time and relax rather than race ahead for nothing."

Kira nodded tiredly. "You're right, we should slow down." Standing, she used the combat binoculars to see how far they had to go. "We've got twelve kilometres to go yet, and at the current rate we won't make it before nightfall." She glanced at the others. "Do you want to stay here tonight, or will be we keep going?"

Julian leant against a tree and stood. "Let's keep going, we should try and get as far as we can." He cast about the ground, looking for something. "While we're here, what about cutting a branch for a crutch? That will take some of the pressure off you, and we might be able to travel faster than we can now."

Dax grinned. "Julian, you're brilliant."

He smiled back. "I've been telling you that for months!"

Kira, Dax, and Bashir, weary and tired, finally reached the edge of the grassland and their destination to find a large group waiting for them. The group included the Andorian team leader, as well as the head of both the Romulan and Klingon teams.

The Starfleet cadets stopped, dropped their packs, and instinctively hedged closer together, as if surrounded by enemies. Kira was the first to speak. "I realize we're a day late, but Cadet Bashir has a badly sprained ankle, after sipping on some rock three days ago."

"We know, we monitor all teams during the marathon." The admiral in charge nodded towards the waiting medical team, who immediately took charge of Bashir, whisking him away in a transporter beam. "Congratulations cadets, on winning the marathon. You're the first team to return intact, and without being disqualified." The man glared at the other team leaders, who had the good grace to seem embarrassed.

"You mean no-one else has arrived yet?" Dax didn't believe it, and pointed to the Andorians. "But what about them?"

"They have been disqualified, as we detected unauthorized use of a transporter. When they arrived yesterday morning, we performed a standard security scan on them and their equipment and discovered it hidden in the bottom of one of their packs. They were immediately disqualified, and banned from participating again for two years." He smiled and motioned towards a grinning and scantily clad Risan. "If you'll go with this gentleman, he'll take you back to the Capitol where you can rest before returning to the Academy tomorrow."

Minutes later, Nerys and Jadzia were back in their rooms. Dax instantly commandeered the sonic shower, taking with her enough towels, bath salts, and oils to survive a siege. Kira didn't care; she was already draped across her bed, fast asleep.

*Ker-dump thump*

Bashir casually tossed the rubber ball against the side of the shuttle, failing to hear the gnashing teeth from the woman sitting across from him.

*Ker-dump thump*

"Julian, perhaps you should do a crossword or something else." Dax glanced worriedly at Kira, noting the Bajoran's hands clenching and unclenching in her lap.

"Why?" *Ker-dump thump* Bashir smiled disarmingly. "This is just as relaxing."

*Ker-dump thwack*

Bashir glanced at his empty hand in surprise, then looked across at Kira, who'd snatched the ball out of the air. "Is something wrong Nerys?"

She bared her teeth unpleasantly. "Let's just say it will be better for your health if you let me keep the ball for a while." Her expression dared the man to complain, but he didn't take up the offer, instead turning to the replicator.

"Computer, one crossword puzzle book." He shot Kira another glance. "Large size crosswords."

THE END