Changes/We Have A Plan...Sorta

Posted on Tue Oct 28th, 2025 @ 3:10am by Lieutenant JG Ken Kudo {Meji} & Yui Kudo {Little Fox} {YuiFox}

Mission: The Inner Flame
Location: USS Capernum
Timeline: Current

ON:

Ro Kudo returned to consciousness, her Augment genetics allowing her a quick, fully aware status instead of dragging out the effects of the stun energy that had incapcitated her. She was sitting in a lone, metallic chair facing the doorway four meters away. It looked like your standard interrogation room, complete with a small table in front of her and another chair opposite her own. Ro could move her arms but she was shackled at the wrists, which were attached to heavy duty chains. Chains that looked to be made from silver or some other metal or alloy made to resemble that particular ore. Testing her reach, Ro moved her right hand out and forward as she touched the edge of the table on her side, then tried to lean forward enough to touch the edge of the table on the opposite side. Both her arms could only extend enough to reach the first quarter of tabletop on her side. Smart, she thought. Drawing herself inward, Ro closed her eyes and began to meditate, using the Force to heal her body completely and to use it as a means to gain some insight into what these Remans wanted.

As she sank into her meditative stance it became apparent to Ro that accessing and using the Force was being hindered by her presence on this ship. Not a complete Force blackout, but it took more effort for her to call the Force to herself and use it. This meant that she would have to do this the old fashioned way. She had not seen Yui in this chamber, but she also could not feel her anywhere close by. Ro began to let her rage build, a simmering hatred for anything Reman. Not feeling Yui's essence meant that she was either dead, or far away. For the sake of all life on this Romulan Bird of Prey it had better be the latter. So, sitting and roiling with rage and hate, Ro decided to wait it out and see if they would come and engage her. Meanwhile, their tardiness would allow her more time to see what she could do about being bound.

***

Ken Kudo was laying back on his bed atop the covers, one arm up and under the pillow to allow him to look around his bedroom while he rested. Try as he might he could not get his eyes to close for a nap. There was too much on his mind. All the scan data he had collected on Ro's X-wing he had sent to other departments, and the Captain. If he could not think his way through all that confusing data he was sure others could or, at least offer ideas on how to proceed. Out of the corner of his eye he swore he just detected movement but, when he shifted his gaze to the main doorway for his room, there was nothing there. His sixth sense told him otherwise. "Yui?" He asked, ready to jump up and attack whoever it was if it was not Yui. After saying her name, Ken saw her right eye peek around the jam at him, followed by her right hand at his grasped the jam. There was a wet streak running down her cheek. "Hello. Come on," Kudo said, waving her in even as he patted the bed next to himself.

Yui, feeling feverish and full of body aches, stepped into the room, her face downcast as she scrambled to get on the bed. She felt weak and tired, so her dada had to help her up. He pulled her up and onto himself, then shifted her to the other side of himself so she could be against him and lay her head on his chest. "Papa, I don't feel good."

As soon a Yui was laying against him, Ken could feel that she was burning up and running a fever. Aside from the tear tracks she was developing a sheen of sweat on her body, easily seen as he looked her in the face. "You're burning up, Little Fox. Do you want to go to Sickbay?" Since Ken was looking at his daughter the angle had his eyes away from the doorway.

"They can't do anything for her." A female voice said.

Moving his daughter aside quickly, Kudo swung his legs over the side of the bed and got to his feet, ready to go to work against an intruder. He froze, his mouth slightly agape, when he saw who it was. "Qeritas?"

Yui, having been thrust aside by her father, Got to her hands and knees on the bed, her arms shaking with the strain of holding up her tiny little body. "Don't you hurt my papa." She crawled forward across the bed to reach her father's back since he was standing right next to it but, her arms gave out and she went face down and tumbled off the bed and nose-dived into the carpeted floor. She was unconscious by the time her body fully settled.

Ken dropped to a knee and rolled his daughter over, scooping her up in his arms and heading out to the common room, and the door to his quarters. Yui had blood running running from her nose as she had mashed it when she landed on the floor. He got to the doors and they refused to open as he almost slammed into it. Using his hand while holding his daughter, Kudo tapped the manual door control. Nothing. He spun around in anger, seeing the Q his wife was friends with standing there a meter away. "Open this door or I will find a way to kill you, Qeritas."

Qeritas took no offense to that. Despite who she was as a Q, she actually did care. Most especially for anything related to Ro. "Ken, please relax. I am here to help not add to your troubles." Her eyes glanced at Yui and then came back up. "Look, Ken. Her face. It has already healed as if she was never hurt. Please, come here to the center of the room and let me conduct an examination."

Ken was still angry but he pulled it back from turning into flat out rage. His daughter was hurting and feverish and then along comes this Q. A Q with a penchant for being irritating and arrogant. "What kind of examination, and for what reason?"

"I will say nothing further unless you agree to do as I have asked." Qeritas said, meeting his gaze evenly. "I have a suspicion as to why Yui is suffering like this, and why she is...changing. What was once in Ro, that the Gr'zh'n Brotherhood so desperately seeks, may have been passed on to Yui." Her eyes softened and became pleading. "Please, Ken, this needs be done."

Kudo's anger began to hastily fizzle, being replaced by confusion. Giving a frustrated sigh he stepped to the center of the room, face to face with Q. "What now?"

Qeritas dropped to her knees on the floor. "Lay her down." She motioned to the floor. She could tell that Ken was still uncertain about all this, but he did do as she asked. "Activate your sonic dampeners. This could get loud. Also, remove your hands from Yui. We cannot allow an avenue of escape."

"Wait! Stop!" Ken said, frustrated to the point of getting angry all over again. "Who is the Gr'zh'n Brotherhood, and what exactly got passed on?"

"Their god, Grezhok." Qeritas answered. "I have reason to believe that his essence is hiding within your daughter's cells, as he did within Ro. As for the Brotherhood, they are a religious cult, zealots, being promised galactic domination and power to enslave others. Mercy is not in their vocabulary when it comes to their twisted spiritual matters."

Ken dropped his eyes to look down at Yui on her back, seemingly peaceful as she reamined unconscious. The sheen of sweat was still playing across her body, but then he noted another discrepancy. One her neck, coming up from beneath her collar, were veins and capillaries that were spreading out like a spider web crack in a windshield. At first the blood was red, as normal. But, even as he watched, with each heartbeat, there was a pulse of inky blackness that would pump out and then fade, pump out and then fade. He reached out to touch her neck but an iron grip grabbed his wrist.

"I said don't," Qeritas reminded him, shoving his hand away from Yui. "Heed my warnings before you do something you cannot undo."

Being a bit put-out by having his hand forcefully thrust away from his daughter, Kudo made to retort before common sense caught up. She was a Q, which means she knew far more than he ever could. This metaphysical discussion was her purvue, not his. "Fine," he said in a frustrated tone, a hand motioning pointedly at Yui. "Then do something about it. Every time you come around you talk a big game, Qeritas, but you rarely do anything to help. A bit of cynical wisdom only goes so far. Even Ro has a hard time taking you at your word most days."

"She's a big girl, she'll get over it," Qeritas said. "We don't have time to argue over childish desires. You organics, always thinking things are so simple and leaving behind in your wake nothing but chaos. Look out the window, Ken. Observe all that destruction and death and then tell me I'm wrong."

Kudo knew where she was coming from, having had many a discussion among friends over the same topic. He and Ro had spoken many times on the matter while alone in their quarters. But, no matter what Ken was not one to give up on humanity becoming greater than they were. "Yes, you're wrong. You evolved, we will too. Unless you're daft, you should know it takes time, and lots of it."

"There ya go, Ken, finally using that brain," Qeritas quipped before she glanced down at Yui and there was a brief show of relief on her face as her eyes came back up. "She is ready to be examined. Her body has settled for now but it won't last long."

"What do we do?" Ken asked.

Qeritas reached over Yui's body and clasped Kudo on his right shoulder, squeezing it gently but firmly as she looked him dead in the eye. "Do not react and interfere, Ken. Please do this. She is going to feel excruciating pain as I do this and she will scream in agony like you have never heard before. She will writhe and buck but I will hold her down with my own power. DO-NOT-TOUCH-HER! Can you do this or do I have to send you away?"

As hard as it was for Ken to say yes, knowing that the moment his daughter began to scream he would want to react, he gave a determined nod. "I will hold myself back. Just...just make it as quick as possible, Qeritas. Please."

"I will only take the time I need to see if Grezhok is truly within your daughter. I have no doubt that he is but I will not take that chance. This must be done." Q let go of him and waved at her body. "Strip her down and cover her with a blanket. If he is there I will accelerate her growth and prevent him from mutating her genome any further."

Not arguing, Kudo got up and went to his room, tearing the comforter from his bed and going back to the common room. Kneeling and setting the blanket aside, Ken then began to undress Yui, averting his eyes as best he could even though she was his daughter. Finally bereft of all clothing and with the bows and pigtails taken out of her hair, he covered her with the blanket.

Qeritas plaved her left palm on Yui's forehead, a white-gold mist-like energy field encompassing her body. The Q closed her eyes, drawing on all of her own reserves of energy and building up to the confrontation. Feeling ready her right hand became a knife hand and just pushed the fingers against Yui's torso, just below the breast bone. The moment she touched Yui the girl's eyes opened wide showing both unspeakable dread, and extreme pain. Q's hand slid into her body on the quantum level, causing no wounds or pressing of flesh and bone, but entering into the very being of who Yui was. There were many names for it around the galaxy; essence, inner chorus, soul, and so on. That was Q's goal, to reach into Yui's soul and see what corruption lay within. She began to speak slowly as she felt the the spiritual energy that was Yui's essence begin to coalasce into her palm within Yui's body. All this was on the quantum level, and once the energy was gathered into Q's palm, she wrapped her fingers around it. The moment she did Yui let out a blood curdling scream and began to try and writhe away from the Q energy field, but was held fast.

Ken had tears pouring down his face as he watched, and then heard, his daughter's agony. Whatever this Grezhok was he had hope that they could find it and kill it with extreme prejudice. He just hoped Yui would not be emotionally scarred by all this, and that after Grezhok was dealt with, could live as normal a life as possible.

"There!" Qeritas said, her eyes looking into Ken's even as she continued to feel out Yui's essence. "I found him. He is here!" She gave Ken a knowing, lethal grin before she began speaking out loud to Grezhok. "Hello, brother. It has been a millenium but I finally found you. Let this girl go or I will take this to the full extent." Kudo could hear nothing in response but obviously Qeritas could by the body language she was exhibiting. "That is unfortunate, brother. You leave me no choice. You will be defeated, your cult destroyed at the atomic level, and then I will condemn you to the void. You made your choice. Goodbye."

Slowly, cautiously, Qeritas pulled her hand free of Yui's body, and as she did so Kudo could see that Yui was beginning to change. Not that he knew this, but unlike her previous change, Yui was not screaming and wailing as her body went through the physical changes. Instead she lay still as if sleeping, with Ken watching her face change and lose baby fat, saw her body extending and growing beneath the blanket. To say it kind of blew his mind was an understatement. After a few minutes it seemed to have run its course. "Now what?"

Qeritas scooped up Yui and stood, and as Ken did the same she went to hand her over. "Be aware, she is larger and heavier, now." Her size change was obvious as she now looked like a girl right at the cusp of her teen years. Instead of the 5-8 year old look, Yui now looked right around 12-13. "Take her and lay her down and stay with her. I reached into her mind and told her who and what I am, and that I know you and her mother. That I am an ally. This will alleviate any fear she may have had, and prevent her from asking a hundred questions you have no answers to, dad." The girl was handed over.

Kudo took his daughter in his arms, and yes, she did weigh about sixty pounds more than before and she had definitely grown. Before this recent change she had been a few inches short of four feet. Now, if he judged right, Ken could see she had reached at minimum five feet. It was hard to tell while cradling her. "Thank you, Qeritas. Find my wife so we can end this cult."

"I need to speak to the Continuum," Q said. "If this all pans out the way we expect it should, you and yours will be granted a favor by the Q. When I return I'll know more. Until then, Ken, look after my organic niece." Without any preamble or showy affects, Qeritas simply vanished.

Kudo rolled his eyes at that as he proceeded to his bedroom, laying Yui on the bed and covering her with the sheet and blanket, letting her sleep until her body woke her up. He gathered the comforter from the living room and tossed it into a corner of the bedroom, gathered himself a PADD and sat down in the reading chair in the master bedroom. He would be here when she awoke.

***

While laying unconscious, Yui had had visions and premonitions of things to come. She saw herself, though more grown up, fighting through corridors against pale, bat-like people. They were ugly as sin and reminded her of pictures of Japanese ogres and trolls. Then, out of the mists of her mind, a lone woman approached; the same woman who had appeared in her dad's room. For whatever reason, Yui could not voice her thoughts to this woman, but the woman spoke to her. This strange woman explained a great many things in detail, which caused Yui to calm herself as she was told why she was experiencing all these strange events and changes, and that soon, that corruption would be quelled. As the woman went to leave she waved her hand and put Yui completely at ease, giving her name as Qeritas and telling Yui that together they would end this cult and rescue her mother. Then, poof, she was gone.

Yui's eyes popped open with a sharp intake of breath. Laying on her back and looking up at a familiar style of ceiling, but it was not her room. Quietly, as if she needed to be sneaky, Yui sat up and looked around her dad's room. The blanket slid down off her torso and that was when she realized she was naked. Her dad was asleep in his reading chair, head back as she heard him breathing deep. At least he doesn't snore, she thought with a grin before she slipped out of his bed and booked it through the common room to her own. It was during this quick jog that she realized she now had boobs. Great, she thought, what do I do with these things? Wait...

Going to her dressing table, Yui looked at her own reflection after she had closed her door to prevent her dad walking in on her naked. She was taller, and her face was thinner and shaped more towards her final appearance as an adult. Her locks were still dark, but not raven black like they had been, now having a more dark, dark brown pigment, dark enough to be seen as black from a distance. That made her grin. She had mom's hair. Taking up her tricorder, Yui scanned herself and then fed the sizes to the computer so that she could access the replicator and get all the clothes she needed; even a black sports bra to match the rest of the black outfit she had in mind. Her ancestry was a warrior culture, and with that in mind, Yui went through outfit designs and came up with a unique mix for herself. All black, with a long skirt split right so that her legs could have free movement even while running or doing martial arts as it was utilitarian. Black knickers, black leggings over those, black sports bra, and then the all black outfit with studs like those on armor, and various other paraphernalia that made the dress look armored along with the leather vestments and the sheer long sleeves covered in black, tiny fox faces and lotus flowers. And, of course, to top it all off, the same style black boots she had worn previously, just in her new shoe size.

Feeling complete now that she was dressed, and thanks to Qeritas, no longer in fear as to why this was all happening to her, Yui walked back out to the common room.

"We need to talk."

Yui looked into the kitchenette area, seeing Qeritas with arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back against a counter top, sipping a steaming beverage. Walking over to face the Q, Yui stopped and nodded. "So, talk." Yui chinned towards the master bedroom. "Keep it down, my father is napping."

Qeritas gave an offhand wave of her hand in the general direction of the bedroom. "There. Until we're done he won't hear a thing or wake up."

Yui's hand came up to stop her from going any further. "Before you begin. As I was laying there in a state of pain-thanks by the way-I heard you tell my dad that the Q would owe us a favor. Is that a favor each or, for the family?" She smiled.

"And here I thought you were Human," Q quipped. "You sound like a Ferengi. Are you asking for a personal favor?"

"Yes."

Rolling her eyes Qeritas conceded. "Fine...fine. After what you've been through, and it being partially the Continuum's fault, I will grant you a favor...within reason. Name it."

That was exactly what Yui did. A mirthful expression crossed over her face as she saw that what she had asked for had actually caused a look of surprise on the Q's face.

"Really." Qeritas said in response, then her face quirked at Yui. "Really?" She got a nod, seeing the girl smiling at her own surprise at the really, really odd request. "That's what you want? May I ask why?"

"Revenge, pure and simple." Yui answered. "And, once we rescue mom then I want it gone, but so long as I have it and use it, it does no harm to me but will...FAFO the enemy." When Q asked what FAFO meant, Yui told her. "I don't like cursing but, for this request, it is one of the words."

"You truly are your mother's child. Your father's too, with this request." Qeritas snapped her fingers in the air. "Done. When you feel it's time to use it your body will instinctively know how to use it, and you can control the speed with which you can use it. Now, with that done, can we get to why I'm here?"

Yui shrugged and smiled, saying sure. Internally, she was giddy to use her temporary power on the enemy. What she would lose of her new self after Grezhok was gone still remained to be seen. Might as well enjoy any bonus she had while she still had it.

"I know the exact coordinates of where your mother is being held," Qeritas said. "She is on the Viceroy's ship, stopped in space seven light years from here while they are cloaked."

"Viceroy?" Yui asked, not having heard that before.

"Viceroy Malikh, their leader," Q explained. "This is the last of them, their only remaining ship. The cult has suffered great losses over the years, and many Remans don't even care about the god Grezhok anymore. Reminds me of Humans spitting in the face of God and then wondering why their lives turn to garbage. Anyway, discussion for another time." She moved back to the topic at hand. "I'll give you the coordinates, which I hope you'll memorize so you don't have to carry them around to be discovered."

"I can do that," Yui replied.

Qeritas gave a nod of affirmation. "I cannot penetrate their defenses, Yui. You must find a way of getting on board, and the coordinates I will provide you will put you in the same compartment as your mother. Meet up, set her free, then escape together."

"You make it sound so simple, Qeritas." Yui said.

"If done right, it is." Q said, and she gave a crooked grin. "Plus, you have never seen your mother in combat. She is the most formidable humanoid I have ever seen, and that's without the Force as her ally."

Yui reached into the genetic memory in regards to the Force. Interesting, but not her thing. Throwing people around, or throwing things at them was helpful but, Yui would much prefer to beat someone into paste. Bad people received a bad end, enough said. "We'll figure it out. After all, everything she knows I know."

Qeritas got a bit more serious on her next piece. "Yui, this means you may have to do some things that could earn you prison time. Humans are already wary of Augments, and anything you do to override systems to accomplish this rescue may be seen as an attempt to gain power for your own means. A rebellion or, a threat."

"So, rescue mom and then go on the run. Got it." Yui was matter of fact with that. No matter the consequences she would rescue her mother. To blazes with other people's fear. There was an Earth proverb; In battle the weak die along the way but the cowards never start. Seemed appropriate. "If that's what it costs me for my mother's life, then so be it."

"Good enough. I'll leave you to it then." Qeritas touched Yui on the forehead quickly, a set of coordinates now implanted in her mind. "Be safe, be quick, and bring back a prize so they might overlook anything you do to accomplish this task. Until then..." She vanished.

Yui went and laid back on the sofa, closing her eyes to take a nap. She had no doubt her father would wake her when he got up. Captain Loewen said a rest period, not all night. He would be up soon.

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