STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE

[JD1] “MINISTER OF LIES”

[JD2]

An original DS9 story

Ó 1996 by Patricia L. Ennis

[JD3] Jadzia7627@aol.com

May 1996

The main characters and locations used in this story are the sole property of Paramount Pictures Inc. I have borrowed them here in an attempt to create a fictional episode of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The story and all elements, other than those listed above, belong to Patricia L. Ennis. This story is for private amusement only and may not be uploaded for profit (Poor Quark) or without this header intact.

Okay, with that out of the way, I think I should clue all you wonderful Trek people in to a few elements of this story which might disturb you. First of all, this story does contain a relationship between two women (as my stories tend to do!) and all the trappings that go with it. It also is not for anyone who is a fan of the character Shakaar. I do not wish to ruin the story for you, but also do not want any Shakaar fans screaming bloody murder in my ear, so there is the warning. If any of this may offend you, please do not continue. If, however, you love the Spirit of Trek in all its incarnations, please read on and let me know what you think, good, bad, or indifferent.

Also, special thanks are sent out to Bat Morda. Our ongoing story, “Time”, has proven to be an excellent soundingboard for the more twisted elements of my nature and has also served to help create several Bajoran proverbs and endearments that I am quite fond of. Your talents and patience are unequaled, Shawn. (Although part 54 was late…as are your reports, Lieutenant!)(Or is it Minister of Science now?) Also, another special thanks to Oira Kirys, for giving me a pretty good idea of what making love to a changeling might be like. Your stories are inspirational. (In all kinds of ways J )

The very last item is that this story does not really have a time line. If it must be categorized you could find it somewhere between Crossfire and Accession. (An alternate story line of course, and as such, I have taken a few liberties with time explanations.)

(Oh, and this story was written before The Quickening had aired, so I make no apologies for the replicator incident. J )

May the Prophets walk with you!

Jadzia7627@aol.com (DAx =/\=)

Okay. I have recently been accused of writing for a specific target audience, in that I never give any explanation as to who the characters are or what exactly it is that they are doing way out on the edge of an unknown galaxy. Silly me, I was going on the assumption that the only people who would read Star Trek fanfiction would have to be Star Trek fans.J So, for the benefit of my family and friends who wish to make remarks regarding the odd nature of my character and the twisted nature of my mind, I have developed this little ‘cheat sheet’. It is simply a listing of the major characters portrayed in this story and may be immediately discarded by those of you who know and love Trek on a daily basis. Sorry to waste a sheet of your printer paper. J

Deep Space Nine (DS9/Terek Nor) The Cardassian station that was

in orbit of Bajor, but has now been

moved to the mouth of the worm-

hole by it’s new inhabitants, the

Federation(AKA Starfleet or the

guys with the ‘A’s on their shirts)

The Wormhole (Celestial Temple) A kind of ‘rip’ in space that allows

travel between two quadrants to

be accomplished in minutes

instead of decades. It was

discovered by Commander Ben

Sisko. It is called the Celestial

Temple by the Bajorans, who

believe it to be the residing place

of their gods.

Captain Benjamin Sisko (The Emissary) The commanding officer of DS9,

believed to be the Emissary, an

important figure in Bajoran

religion.

Major Kira Nerys First Officer of DS9, a Bajoran ex-

terrorist who fought to rid her

world of Cardassian invaders. She

is blunt and hot tempered , but

honorable.

Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax A Trill, Jadzia is also a joined

creature consisting of a symbiont

(Dax) and a humanoid (Jadzia).

She is incredibly beautiful, with

leopard like spots running from

her temples to her toes. She has

the memories of the last seven

‘hosts’ that the Dax symbiont

has occupied. She is extremely

intelligent, and always late.

Chief Miles Edward O’Brien Chief Engineer aboard DS9. He

can fix anything

Odo A Changeling, Odo can morph

into any shape he wishes, although

he does have problems with facial

features. He is known as “The

Constable” and is in charge of

Security on DS9.

Dr. Julian Bashir The brilliant, but pompous,

Medical Officer.

Lt. Commander Worf A Klingon (And that’s about how

much you see of him.)

Quark Owner of the Stations bar, Quark

is an unscrupulous character that

cares only for latinum ($) and

Oo-Mox (look it up).

The Prophets The Bajoran Gods-Sisko believes

them to be non-linear super beings

(Hey! A lot like a god!)

Cardassians The lizard-like race that had occupied Bajor by force for over

fifty years.

Enough already!!! Go read the story!! J

************************************************************************

Word Pronunciations:

Talas---------------------------------Tawl-us

Renaya Zenece--------------------- Ren-I-uh Zse-nase

Denais Lenar------------------------Den-I-us Len-Are

Missak (Song of my heart)--------Miss-uhk

ti’san (Little one)-------------------tih-sahn

y’lema’tan(Your heart as mine)---ya-lay-mah-tahn

************************************************************************

Chapter One-Long Overdue

Major Kira Nerys pulled her tired gaze away from the screen and the file she had been working on. Her eyes were burning, a clue that it was time to take a break. Glancing around Ops, she was surprised to see that she and Jadzia were the only two people left in the room. Then again, it was 0300 hours. She watched with a small, affectionate smile as Dax tried to subdue a yawn and failed miserably. “Tired?” she asked, moving to stand beside her.

“I’ve been tired for days,” the lovely Trill smiled at her. “I haven’t been sleeping very well.”

“You too?” The Major’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “I thought I was the only one with insomnia these days. That’s why I went ahead and volunteered for the fourth shift rotation. I wasn’t sleeping, so I figured that I might as well be doing something.”

Jadzia walked to the replicator and spoke into the sensor. “Rak’tegino-” she paused and glanced at Kira, who nodded slightly in acceptance. “One, extra hot with 2 measures of Alvanian calf’s milk-another, extra hot, two measures of kava.”

Kira drank deeply from the cup that Jadzia offered her. “You remembered how I like it.”

Jadzia grinned. “I know someone else has been bringing you your Rak’tegino for the past two weeks, but I do have a better memory than that!” Kira laughed along with her as Dax raised her eyebrows knowingly. “So, how was your vacation?”

Kira smiled a slow, sweet smile, her eyes half closed in remembrance.

“Never mind. I think I can see it in your face. You and Shakaar do make a nice....couple.”

Kira noticed the hesitation in Dax’s voice and looked at her questioningly, but Jadzia just smiled a little sadly and shrugged. She was about to ask what Dax had meant but then thought better of it in their current surroundings. It would be wiser if they continued this particular conversation in their off-duty time, away from all the sensors and duty recorders in Ops. “Would you like to have breakfast when our shift is over?” she asked.

Dax looked over at her and Kira could see just how tired she was. She had just begun to retract the invitation when Dax grinned. “Sure.” she said in a perfect imitation of Dr. Bashirs accent. “Should I call you, or nudge you?” She followed the last with a perfectly lecherous waggle of her left eyebrow and Kira began to laugh uproariously. “That was a good impression!” She finally managed, through her tears. “But then, I guess you have been subject to him enough to get it down pretty well.”

“Now, ladies,” A voice said from behind them, in perfectly clipped, British tones. “That’s no way to talk about a gentleman.”

They both turned, guilty smiles on their faces. “I’m sorry, Julian.” Dax threw him one of her heartbreaking grins. “It was one of your better lines. I just couldn’t let it go to waste.”

“Well then, by all means, let me use one of your better lines,” He cleared his throat and let a calm, detached look come over his face. “Julian,” he managed to subdue most of his accent. “There is a difference between thirty-two and three hundred and thirty-two.”

Both women chuckled at his near-the-mark impersonation. “Very funny, Julian.” Dax had a mock scowl on her face. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Julian shrugged. “I’ve had about ten or eleven cases of severe insomnia in my office today alone. I thought I would take all of this extra energy and try to investigate this little coincidence. How are you two?”

Kira sighed, “We seem to be in the same boat as you.” She brushed at a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes. “I’ve probably had four hours of sleep in the past three days.”

“Well, you’ve had more than I have, Major.” Sisko said as he walked through the door and joined them.

“Not you too, Benjamin.” Dax sympathized.

“Afraid so. What are you drinking?” He glanced into their cups.

“Rak’tegino. Would you like one?” Jadzia began to move towards the replicator as Sisko nodded in her direction.

“Wait a minute.” Bashir had been scanning the cups sitting on the console. “How many Rak’tegino’s have all of you had in the last four days?”

They all thought for a moment. Their answers were about the same. 5-7 cups a piece in last four days.

“And I have had 5 as well.” Bashir mumbled as he walked over to the replicator. He ordered the same drink and then scanned it as it materialized. When done, he shook his head and tapped his comm-badge. “Bashir to O’Brien. We need you in Ops. We seem to have a system wide replicator failure of some sort.”

Sisko raised his eyebrows. “Did you find something, Doctor?”

“It seems as though this old station has played a little joke on us, Captain. Rak’tegino is a drink that was favored by the Cardassians as well as Bajorans and Terrans. Somehow, the replicators have switched back to the Cardassian version of our little drink. Twelve times the regular amount of caffeine...Sir.” Bashir finished up with a smile that said he was in love with his own brilliance.

“That does explain the sleepless nights I’ve been experiencing. However, I find it hard to believe that the replicators would just spontaneously shift programs. Besides, most of the Cardassian food programs have been deleted out of all but a few of the stations replicators, the remaining two being located in Garak’s and Quark’s.” He rubbed his hand over his tired eyes as O’Brien walked into the room. “Chief,” he continued. “Find out for me exactly how this happened and keep me informed if you come across anything suspicious.”

“Aye, Sir.” O’Brien nodded and began to remove his tools from the case he had carried in with him. After a few moments, he turned and looked at the group of officers standing before him. “What exactly am I looking for?”

Bashir grinned and went to converse with him, explaining the situation as Sisko laughed at himself. When he was finished, the Doctor came up behind him and placed a hand on his arm. “I could give you something to help you sleep, Sir. It’s going to take a while for the effects of the caffeine to wear off.”

Sisko began to nod as a short warning siren went off.

“What’s going on Dax?” He went to stand behind her.

“We have an unannounced ship coming through the wormhole.”

“At this hour?” Sisko leaned down to study the console. “I thought the next ship requesting clearance wasn’t due until 0700 hours.”

“You’re right.” Jadzia called up the docking reports as the ship came through their end of the wormhole. “Their shields are up!” Her hands began to fly over the controls. “They’re powering up their phasers!”

“Shields up!” Sisko barked. “Hail them, Lieutenant.”

Dax punched her console and spoke into the sensor, “Deep Space Nine to Terran vessel Nakota, please respond.”

Kira’s head snapped up from her display. “Nakota?” She whispered as she joined the other officers. “Dax, are you sure it’s the Nakota?”

“That’s the correct reading.” Dax answered quickly. “Benjamin, they’re responding.”

“On speaker, Dax.”

“This is the trader vessel Nakota to Terek Nor,” Several eyebrows shot up at the mention of the stations original name. “Please identify yourself.” The female voice continued.

“I am Captain Benjamin Sisko, commanding officer of the Federation outpost, Deep Space Nine.”

“The Federation...” The words were not a question and came over the comm as barely a whisper. “We heard rumors that the Federation had taken control of the sector and driven the Cardassians out of Bajoran space, but we didn’t dare to hope...” Her voice broke off its revelry and became stern once again. “We require visual verification before we know that we can dock safely.”

“One moment, Nakota.” Sisko turned to Kira and studied her face. “What’s the story, Major? You sounded like you might know some background on our visitors.”

Kira looked at him thoughtfully. “A Terran ship bearing the name Nakota was used by the Bajoran resistance to shuttle rescued prisoners off of Bajor. Its last run was during the ending years of the occupation. The resistance, including my cell, had managed to liberate the Nan’Tekk mining facility and free 1,500 Bajoran POW’s. They were loaded on that ship and sent to Lueseppia, where they would be safe. The ship never made it. It met with Cardassian warships before it even cleared Bajoran space. It was always believed that it had been destroyed.” This last was said with a slight catch in Kira’s voice, which caused Sisko to do a double take. He sent her a questioning look. Kira sighed and lowered her head. “It was rumored that I had family at Nan’Tekk. The records of who was on board disappeared with the ship.”

“How long ago was this?”

“About 9 years ago.”

He turned back to Dax. “Is there anything on that ship which would substantiate the theory that it has been in the Gamma Quadrant for the last 9 years, old man?”

Dax focused in on the ship and watched as the sensors shifted the visual, showing each side of the ship for a few seconds at a time. “Right there, Benjamin.” She pointed to 4 long burns along the port nacelle. “Three of those are Cardassian. Oxidization puts them at about 7 to 10 years old. The remaining one is...” She waited as the computer searched. When she got her answer, she looked up at Sisko, surprise on her face. “The remaining one was caused by a proton blast from a Jem’Hadar warship.”

Sisko nodded and looked out at the Nakota, which was waiting patiently for his response. “Re-open the channel, Dax. Give me visual.”

The consoles small view screen was immediately occupied by a lovely, and familiar, Bajoran woman, who looked quite startled. She smiled for a moment and then sighed in relief. “Then it’s true. Thank the Prophets.” She relaxed visibly. She spoke to someone out of view. “Lower shields, Branak, power down the weapons.” She returned her attention to Sisko. “Captain, we would like to request permission to dock.”

“Permission granted. Give us a minute to find an available dock. In the meantime, where did you come from and, not to be rude but, who are you?”

“I will be more than happy to tell you everything that we have been through, Sir. As soon as we’ve all had a bath and a meal. As for me, my name is Kira. Kira Talas.”

There was a startled gasp as the Major pushed past Sisko. “Tala?” she whispered in disbelief. “Tala, is that really you?”

Kira Talas studied the Major for a moment before her eyes widened. “Nerys? Oh, Prophets...Nerys, I’ve finally found you....”

“Docking bay 7 is available.” Sisko cut in. “Please proceed to that location and wait there for our arrival.”

“Thank you, Sir. Kira out.” She sent the Major a brilliant smile as her image faded from view.

Kira moved quickly to leave Ops and Sisko had to grab her gently by the arm to get her attention. “Major, who was that woman?”

“That was the family I had at Nan’Tekk.” Kira’s smile was radiant. “That was my sister!”

Sisko released her and motioned for his senior staff to follow him to Docking bay 7.

*******************************************************

Sisko watched as Kira paced back and forth in front of the airlock. He was torn between wanting to smile at her childlike enthusiasm (which was something he had never seen before) and wanting to grab her and hold her still. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel happy for her, it was just that she had already had so much disappointment in her life, and he didn’t want to see her get hurt again. With a surprised grin, he realized that the hot headed ex-terrorist had somehow found a soft spot in his heart. Not that he ever would have admitted it.

Dax had noticed Kira’s nervous pacing as well and went to stand at her side. Placing her hands on the smaller woman’s shoulders, she squeezed gently and smiled. “I’m so happy for you, Nerys.” She hugged her. “But try to slow down a little, okay? She isn’t going anywhere.”

Kira nodded and faced the airlock, forcing herself to calm down by sheer will alone. Jadzia left one hand on Kira’s shoulder and she could almost feel the caring and support radiating from the Trill.

As the doors slid open, Kira rose to the tips of her feet, trying to see over the heads of the people exiting the Nakota. The advancing group of about 30 Bajorans was stopped as Sisko stepped in front of them and raised his arm in the air to get their attention

“I am Captain Benjamin Sisko,” He said loudly. “Commanding Officer of Deep Space Nine. I would like to welcome you on behalf of Starfleet. Now, if you would kindly follow Dr. Bashir, he will make sure you are all inoculated and given quarters, a hot bath, and a good meal.”

A cheer went up from the Bajorans as they surrounded him and each of them began to clasp his hand in turn. They showed no signs of moving on until a voice came from the ship docked behind them.

“There is another rumor that I would like confirmed or dispelled, Captain.” A beautiful young woman with features strikingly similar to those of Major Kira walked into view. She smiled warmly at him and the crowd parted so that she could walk to his side. “There is a rumor, Sir, that you are not only the Commanding Officer of this station. There is a rumor that you are also the Emissary.”

Several of the Bajoran’s gasped and they all looked startled as Sisko shifted uncomfortably. Before he could say anything, the Major spoke from the back of the airlock.

“Yes, he is. The Prophets themselves have confirmed it.” She strode to the front of the group and smiled at her sister as she reached for her hand. “I’ve missed you.” she whispered.

“Yes, well,” Sisko nodded his head slowly. “That is also something for another time. Please, let us take you were you will be more comfortable.”

The group of people nodded immediately and followed Bashir out of the docking ring. When they were gone, Sisko smiled and shook his head. Kira reached out and squeezed his hand gently as he turned to leave.

Turning back, Kira pulled Talas into a tight embrace. “I had almost given up on ever seeing you again. All these years...with no word.” She stood back and looked at her with hope. “What about Zenece?”

Tala turned her head away as her breath caught in her chest. She looked everywhere but into Kira’s eyes. “No. She died about three years ago. In a farming accident.”

“A farming accident?” She thought her sister had looked a little odd for a moment, but then, she hadn’t seen her for years. She was saddened by Tala’s loss, but shocked by what she had heard. “You settled? Where?”

She smiled at her sister’s look of surprise. “Enough time for that later, Nerys. For now,” she looked over Kira’s shoulder at Dax, who had been standing back, trying not to intrude. “Who is this lovely creature behind you?”

Kira looked embarrassed. She had forgotten that Jadzia had not left with the rest of the group. She motioned for Dax to join them. “Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax, may I introduce Kira Talas, my sister.” The last was said with such an enthusiastic smile that Dax had to return it in kind.

“I am very pleased to meet you,” Dax bowed slightly, her smile still huge. “Kir...uh,” She glanced at the Major. “Uhm...I’m sorry. I can see that this might get a little confusing.” She took in the woman’s appearance and was pleased by what she saw. She was slightly taller than the Major, about 5’8” or 5’9”, but she had the same nose and eyes. Her hair was a few shades darker, but still had the brassy red highlights, although she wore it a bit differently. It was short on the sides, standing up on the top and it ended in a long braid that reached all the way down her back. The top was a bit wavier than the Major’s as well, something someone might affectionately call ‘unruly’

“You can just call me Tala.” She squeezed Jadzia’s hand firmly, then winked. “It will help when you want one of us, but not the other.”

“Okay, Tala it is then.”

She studied the tall woman closely for a moment and then straightened her coat. “Well, I guess we should catch up with my crew, before they destroy your station.”

“Of course.” Dax nodded politely and turned to go.[JD4]

“Lieutenant,” Tala touched her arm lightly. “I was going to explain everything tomorrow, to Nerys and the Captain. I would like it if you could join us.”

Dax smiled. “Thank you. I think I would like that as well.” She stood, one eyebrow raised, and watched as the two Bajorans left the docking ring. With a wry grin and a loud sigh, she headed back to Ops.

Kira was shaking her head as they rounded the corner into the main corridor. “Some things never change.”

“What do you mean?” She demanded.

“You’re not here ten minutes and you are already finding...interests.”

“Oh.” Tala looked at her apologetically, and with no small amount of regret. “Are the two of you....?”

“No, no.” Kira shook her head quickly. “I guess I’m just feeling selfish about you right now.”

Tala smiled and hugged her older sister to her. “Don’t worry Nerys. I’ll make sure you get sick of me before you ever have to miss me again.”

The both laughed and went to rejoin her crew.

************************************************************************

Chapter 2-Introductions

Kira Talas felt wonderful. She had spent two luxurious hours floating in a huge tub filled to the very top with steaming hot water and ja’ling leaves, drinking glass after glass of the spring wine Nerys had given her before heading to her own quarters for some much needed sleep.

Now she walked the Promenade. Captain Sisko had promised that their first meal on the station would be courtesy of Starfleet, and Tala was now searching for something that would please her palate. Most of her crew had opted for Quarks, where they could watch the gamblers spinning the Dabo wheel while they ate. Tala, however, shared her sisters disdain for bars and chose to look for more interesting fare elsewhere. As she passed the Bolean restaurant, she allowed her eyes to read over the menu. Before she realized it, she had walked right into a rather good looking Klingon male. His red shouldered uniform designated him as a member of Starfleet Command. He grabbed her quickly by the arms as she stumbled into chest.

“Are you all right, Major? You really should be more caref-” He began, but stopped mid-sentence as he got a better look at her. “You are not the Major.”

“No.” Tala smiled sweetly. “I am not the Major.”

“I am sorry.” He continued. “I did not mean to be rude. It is just that you look very much like someone else on this station.” He bowed slightly. “I am Lieutenant Commander Worf.”

“Nice to meet you, Worf.” She smiled mischievously. “My name is Talas. Kira Talas.”

“Kira...” Worf’s lower jaw dropped for probably the second time in his life. “Once again, I apologize. I was not aware that the Major had any living family members.”

Tala laughed at his directness. “Actually, Commander, I don’t think my sister had any idea either.” She caught sight of Dax going into the Klingon restaurant two shops down. “Excuse me.”

Worf watched her as she walked away. Two Kiras on one space station. He wondered if the federation would survive.

Tala slipped between two huge Klingon women and came to a halt just inside the door. The sights and sounds which greeted her inside the restaurant were loud and eclectic, not to mention the smells. A rather large Klingon dressed in a white chef’s outfit was playing something that looked like a small accordion and singing directly to the object of her search. Jadzia smiled and laughed, bestowing an affectionate kiss on the Klingon’s brow as he finished the song.

“Dax!” He puffed himself up to his full 7 and a half feet. “This is the last time I will ask you, marry me!”

Jadzia laughed. “We both know it is not the last time you will ask, Jos. And the answer is still the same. Maybe in my next life.”

Jos smiled expansively. “Then there is hope yet!” He began his song again as he moved back towards the kitchen.

Dax was still laughing when she caught sight of Tala, who was leaning against the back wall, watching with interest. She waved to the younger Bajoran to come join her. Tala smiled and acquiesced.

“I am surprised you’re still awake,” She observed as she settled into a chair across from the Trill. “My sister told me there was some kind of replicator failure and you were all exhausted. I couldn’t comprehend the correlation between the two, but she was so tired I sent her off to bed with the promise that she would explain it tomorrow.” She smiled. “I am glad you weren’t that tired. I was afraid it was going to be a very dull dinner.”

“I seem to suffer from the inability to sleep without eating.” Jadzia smiled back at her. “This is my favorite restaurant.”

“I’ve never eaten Klingon food.” She laughed quietly, and then sobered. “You don’t come across a lot of it in the Gamma Quadrant…or in prison camps.”

Jadzia nodded slowly, understanding the woman’s mood. She knew from her experiences with Major Kira that there wasn’t always something you could say in response to a person’s pain. “Well then,” she continued brightly. “Let me introduce you the subtleties of Klingon fare.” She stood up abruptly and yelled towards the kitchen, “Jos! Rok’tai! Ker’chna Dor!” Her tone was very hostile but the big man just laughed and waved at her. “Gagh, too….and two Rak’tegino’s.”

Tala was smiling when she sat back down. “I take it that the display is as important as the order?”

Jadzia nodded, grinning. “You are going to catch on quick!”

Tala watched Jadzia intently as Jos brought their food. Her eyes lingered on the spots which trailed down from her temples to disappear into her uniform. She looked up to find the Klingon smiling at her knowingly.

“You have many admirers, it would seem, my lovely spot woman.” With a laugh at Tala’s discomfort, he strode away.

Jadzia smiled at her gently. “Don’t be embarrassed, Tala.” She ran a finger lightly down the side of her own face. “They do tend to bring me a lot of attention.”

“I don’t think it is so much the spots, Jadzia, as the way they frame the beauty beneath.”

Dax looked up from her food, startled. “You’re a poet.”

“I was. When I was younger. When there was still something beautiful to write about.”

“And now? There isn’t anything you find beautiful enough to write about?”

Tala finally returned her smile. “I’ve found one thing.” She was surprised to see the Trill blush slightly. “And I have yet to go to Bajor. I am sure they’ve rebuilt something in the four years since the Cardassians pulled out.”

“So,” Jadzia munched on some Gagh, encouraging her to do the same. “You settled in the Gamma Quadrant. Nine years ago?”

“No, actually, we wandered for a year and a half. We didn’t have a clue as to where we were. The Nakota’s navigational array was damaged in battle with the Cardassian warship that they sent to ‘subdue the terrorists’…yeah, some terrorists we were. 1,500 wounded and starving Bajorans….we were a big threat.”

The bitterness in her voice caused Jadzia to put her fork down and take the younger woman’s hand gently. “I’m sorry. Maybe we should talk about something else.”

Tala sighed. “Maybe. I’ll be going over all of this tomorrow anyway. It would be better for me, perhaps, if I only had to tell it once.”

Jadzia nodded and squeezed her hand one last time before relinquishing it to resume her meal. She watched, trying not to laugh, as Tala struggled to keep her food on her fork. “The best way to eat gagh,” Jadzia picked her plate up and held it near her mouth, sliding the wiggling creatures directly onto her tongue. “Is to just shovel it in.”

Talas did as instructed and smiled after she swallowed. “Not bad. I can’t say I would miss the wiggling, but it is rather tasty.”

“Well, that is one thing you and your sister do not have in common.” She laughed. “Whenever she agrees to go to dinner with me, it’s always on the condition that ‘we are not going to that damned worm place’!”

Tala laughed with her. “That sounds like Nerys.” She tore off a hunk of bread. “When we were at the Singha refugee camp, she used to restart the cook fires just to make sure her food was black and unrecognizable.”

“Even the Palaku’s?” Dax asked.

“The Palaku’s!” She smiled. “I had forgotten about them! They were cute little things. I had one as a pet for a while, until Nerys got really hungry.”

Dax looked up, shocked, only to see Tala’s laughing eyes looking into her own. She laughed too. “You had me going for a minute.”

Tala leaned her head to one side and studied Dax’s features. “’Rys said that you’re a Trill?”

Jadzia nodded. “I am a joined Trill.”

A slightly confused look crossed Tala’s features for a moment. “I saw a Trill in a picture once, before the Nakota’s systems failed. He didn’t look like you.” She reached out and touched Jadzia’s forehead, right above her eyebrows. “He had a ridge, right here.”

Jadzia nodded. “Must have been a Replic.”

“A Replic?”

“Sometimes, the symbionts aren’t strong enough for joining, so they are placed in Replicates. Clones of a sort, only they lack any type of natural brain activity. They are, essentially, just living vessels. The symbiont is given free reign to learn and grow on it’s own before it is removed for the actual Joining.”

“Why do they look so different?” Tala’s attention was drawn back to Jadzia’s spots.

“It makes it easier, for them to be treated gently, and for us to find them.” She shrugged at the Bajoran’s questioning gaze. “Even the best of symbionts can become addicted to total control, and the replicates only have a life span of four years.”

“I like you better this way,” the younger woman smiled. “Much better.”

“Me too!” Dax grinned. She finished the last of her Gagh and sighed.

Tala looked at her closely and finally saw the dark circles under her eyes. “You are tired.” She stood and stretched, much to the delight of the male crewmen in the restaurant. “I am too. I should probably head off to my quarters.”

“Where did they put you?”

“Hmm…uh, crews quarters. Habitat ring, section 6a, suite..uhm…12d.”

Dax raised an eyebrow. “Nice room. I’m surprised they put you in crew quarters though.”

“I think my little band of merry men was a bit more than they were ready to handle.” She smiled and sighed wistfully. “Well, since I can’t seem to find an excuse to keep you here longer…”

Jadzia laughed at her directness. “How about…if I walk you to your room? These corridors have been known to get a little confusing.”

Tala grinned. “I will take you up on that. Are you ready to go now?”

Dax nodded and stood. Turning towards the kitchen she yelled, “Jos! On my account. Both of them!”

Jos just grinned and waved her away.

She shook her head and joined Talas. “I have never paid for a meal here.” She smiled warmly in the big Klingon’s direction. “Doesn’t look like I ever will either. At least, not as long as Jos needs a wife.”

They laughed as they left the restaurant and headed down the Promenade. Tala didn’t seem to be in any hurry, so Dax walked the long way, around the lower level of the Promenade.

Tala glanced over at Jadzia as they went. The statuesque Trill walked very confidently, her strides long and even, her hands clasped comfortably behind her back. It was the self assured gait of a woman of power and intelligence. Both traits Tala found very appealing. Dax came to a stop outside of Quarks, a smile on her face.

Tala peered inside and smiled as she spotted some of her crew. They were trying to learn how to play Dabo, and from the looks of it, failing. She laughed and turned to Jadzia. “They aren’t used to the ‘big city’ life. Not much excitement like this on our little moon.” She sighed. “I guess everyone is allowed to act a little childish, at least once in a while.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t believe I ever have.” She held her hand out to the younger woman and led her to a portal.

“You’ve never acted childishly? Not even when you were a child?” Tala had meant it as a joke, but Dax answered seriously. “No, I was always too busy trying to qualify for the Joining.” She smiled and pointed out the portal. “Make a wish…”

Tala looked out and saw the wormhole flare into life. She glanced at Dax in wonder and was immediately caught by the look on her face. She was smiling. It was a sweet, innocent smile, her mouth slightly open, and Tala found that she could not raise her eyes above the Trill’s lips. They were unadorned and looked soft and full. She continued to gaze at them until Jadzia cleared her throat. With a blush and an embarrassed grin, Tala raised her eyes to look into Jadzia’s. She saw laughter there, and warmth.

“Your hands are cold.” She managed.

“I know.” Dax grinned. “They came that way. What did you wish for?”

“I, uhm…” Tala looked out the portal again. “I wished that I didn’t have to eat dinner alone tomorrow.” She looked pointedly at Jadzia. “After the briefing.”

Jadzia smiled. “Well then, your wish has come true. You will not be eating dinner alone tomorrow evening. Or should I say this evening.”

“What time is it?” She asked, alarmed at the number of people around them, on the Promenade.

Dax glanced at a screen imbedded in the column to the right of them. “It’s 0700.”

Tala winced. “What time do you have to report for duty?”

“1200 hours.” She chuckled at Tala’s quick look of remorse. “Don’t feel bad. I have had a very enjoyable morning. And look forward to another one this evening.” She dropped the shorter woman’s hand and directed her towards a turbo lift. “Now, let me walk you to your room.”

Tala nodded, a smile on her face. She accompanied Dax into the turbo lift and then through the corridors that led to her rooms. When they reached her door, she turned to the Trill and squeezed her arm briefly. “Thank you, ‘Zia. I am looking forward to tonight.”

“Me too.” Dax waited until she had gone inside, then turned and headed for her quarters. She smiled the whole way.

*********************************************

Three hours later, Dax walked into the replimat, the same smile on her face. The few hours of sleep had done her a world of good and her smile broadened as she spotted Kira nursing a Rak’tegino at a table in the corner. She ordered hers extra strong, along with one of the eikelberry torts that Benjamin was so fond of, and joined her friend at the table.

“Good morning, Nerys!” Her tone was very bright and chipper, something that the Major seemed very unappreciative of.

“How do you do that?” Kira demanded. “I know you couldn’t have gotten any more sleep than I did, especially if your habit of eating worms before bedtime is still in effect. So how come you look like your ready to face the world, and I feel like I am ready to bomb it?”

Jadzia looked at her friend closely. “If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that there is something more than a lack of sleep bothering you. Especially the way you keep glancing up the promenade.” She followed the Major’s gaze to where it rested on the closed door of the Station’s security office. She turned back to her friend with a sigh. “Why don’t you just go talk to him?”

Kira gave her a defeated smile. “I’ve tried…a dozen times. He just won’t hear me. He either makes an excuse so he can leave the room, or he keeps the conversation strictly business.” She looked down at her coffee. “I miss him.”

“Have you ever tried to see things from his side? Tried to figure out exactly when he started behaving this way?”

“It’s been a couple of months now. At first, I thought he was trying to discipline herself, after that incident in the turbo lift. I thought that maybe he believed the time he spent with me jeopardized his ability to do his job.” She sighed again. “I thought I could get through that eventually. Make him see we could be friends without jeopardizing anything. But nothing I say ever seems to affect him. Take my sister for example. Six months ago, I would have gone running to his office. I shared everything that was important to me with him. Now….I’m terrified. Terrified that I’ll tell him about this, and he’ll say, ‘I’m happy for you, Major. Now, if you don’t mind…’.”

Dax looked at her friend sympathetically. She started to say something, then changed her mind, closing her mouth with a little shake of her head that was not lost on Kira.

“Do you know something I don’t, Dax?” She leaned towards the Trill. “If you do, please, tell me.”

Dax weighed the silent promise she had made to Odo after experiencing his feelings and memories at the conclusion of her Jian’Tara, against the very real pain that Kira was going through. In the end, she realized that she had no right to tell Kira something that Odo had not yet told her himself. “All I know, is that you should go tell him. Right now. Something so important to you couldn’t be lost on him. It might be the opening you need to find out what’s wrong with him.”

Kira looked at her, doubt creasing her features.

“Go on. I’ll wait for you here, in case you need moral support.” She gave Kira what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

Kira rose from the table slowly, looking as though she was getting ready to face a fleet of Jem’Hadar warships, instead of the man who was supposed to be her best friend. With one final sigh, she headed across the promenade and entered the Security Office.

Odo glanced up from his reports upon her entrance. He was immediately irritated by the small pang of joy that he felt whenever she was around. He put it back where it belonged and repeated the words that had become his mantra: Forget about her! He watched her expectantly as she paced around the room. “Is there something I can do for you, Major?”

She finally turned and looked at him. “A ship docked late last night.”

He nodded. “I know, I reviewed last nights logs, as you know I do every morning. The Nakota, I believe that is the one you’re referring to?”

Kira swallowed. “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “My sister was on that ship. She’s on board now.”

For a moment, it looked as though Odo was going to rise, a smile on his normally inexpressive face. But it was only for a moment. In the end, he merely said, “That is wonderful Major. I am very happy for you.”

“Are you?” She could feel her anger rising. “Or did you already know, Odo? Did you get the passenger lists with the docking logs? Did you see the name ‘Kira” on one of them and just not care enough to say one damned word to me??”

Odo’s skin changed texture slightly, the Changeling equivalent of ‘paling’ she supposed. “I did not know, Major. The passenger lists were delayed. They will not be available for another hour. And…I do care.”

Kira snorted. “Well you wouldn’t know it from how you’ve been acting lately. We used to be such good friends Odo. Now it seems like you can’t even stand the sight of me.” She straightened her shoulders. “Well, this time you had better be prepared to give me some answers, because I am not leaving without them!”

Odo shifted uncomfortably, then finally stood and walked over to her. “It isn’t that I don’t want to see you, Major.” It was a lie, but not for the reasons she assumed. “With all of the problems we’ve been having, with the Klingons and the Maquis…I just haven’t had a lot of extra time.” He saw her anger rising and rushed to continue. “And neither have you. You have Shakaar-“

“Is that what this is all about?” Kira interrupted him. “You think I don’t have time for you because I’m with Shakaar now? Odo,” Her voice softened. “You will always be important to me, no matter what happens between Edon and I.” She reached out and touched his arm, not noticing the way he closed his eyes when her hand touched his ‘skin’. “Things will settle down, Odo. I know I’m acting a little crazy right now, but it’s always that way when a humanoid first falls in love. I know you don’t have any experience with that, since you’ve never been in love, but-“

It was Odo’s turn to snort, catching the Major completely off guard. “You presume an awful lot about me, Major. Perhaps you do not know me as well as you’d like to believe.”

Kira’s face registered the shock that she felt. “Are you saying that you have been in love? Odo, is that what you’re telling me?”

He tried to turn away, but Kira turned with him, trying not to lose contact with his eyes. “Yes.” He whispered.

Kira sighed heavily. “What happened?” She asked, dreading the answer.

“Nothing happened, Major.” He chuckled darkly. “I guess you could say, she broke my heart. Figuratively, of course.”

“Who was she?”

Odo looked at her for a long moment and then turned away. She did not follow him this time. “What does it matter, Major? It has no bearing on who we are or how we relate to each other.”

“But-“ Kira began.

“I do not wish to discuss it! Can’t you understand that?” His anger rose higher than he had ever allowed it to in the past. It felt good to finally share some of his passion, even though it was at her instead of with her. “So I will say it one more time, congratulations on finding your sister, and congratulations on your continuing good

relations with the First Minister.” He steeled himself against the anguish those last words had caused him. “Now, if you will excuse me...” He returned to his desk.

“Fine.” The anger radiated off of Kira as though it were a tangible thing. “I will excuse you. From everything,” Her voice became dangerously low. “Including our friendship.” She slammed her hand against the door control and stormed out.

Odo watched her go and managed to wait for the door to slide shut before dropping his head into his hands. It was at times like this, that he wished Changelings could cry…

Dax watched as the door to Security slid open and Kira appeared. Even from a distance she could tell things had not gone well. She jumped up and hurried to her side, grabbing her arm to stop her when calling her didn’t seem to have any effect. “Kira, wait!” She pulled the angry Bajoran to a stop. “What happened?”

Kira turned to face her and Dax could see that the anger was losing its ability to keep the Major from tears. “What happened?”

“Yes,” Dax shook her gently. “What happened? Why are you so angry?”

Kira let out a deep breath and pulled herself together. “He doesn’t care, Jadzia. I told him about my sister, I tried to talk to him about what was happening between us, and he just shut me out.”

“C’mon.” Dax led her to a seat in the replimat and brought her a cup of tea. “Drink this. Tell me what happened.”

“He was so angry. I tried to explain how things are when a humanoid falls in love, and he just said he had been in love, that he knew...”

“Did he say who he was in love with?” Dax studied her.

“No,” Kira sighed. “Just that she broke his heart.” She peered up at Dax. “Do you know?”

Dax slowly shook her head. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I told him our friendship was over.”

“Is that what you want?”

Kira sighed again, thinking that she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. “No. But I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe, if you understand why he’s angry, you can work your way back from there.”

“How am I supposed to find out what’s wrong with him? He won’t tell me anything.”

Dax placed her arm around Kira. “Maybe the best thing to do is to start with his friends.”

“Odo doesn’t have any friends. I was his only friend.”

“Sometimes,” Dax smiled. “the difference between friend and enemy is not so great as one would think.”

Kira looked up at her and smiled. She had just turned her attention back to her tea when Tala walked up to their table.

“Good morning, ladies.” She smiled at them both, but her gaze lingered on Dax.

“Good morning.” Kira gestured to one of the empty chairs, missing nothing of the exchange between her sister and her friend. “Sit, have some coffee. I have a few minutes before I have to be back at Ops.”

Dax looked at her and then hit her Commbadge. “Dax to Sisko.”

“Sisko here. What’s up, Old Man?”

“Benjamin, I was thinking that I could work the rest of Kira’s shift today, She only has another 2 hours before I was supposed to come on anyway. Just so she could have a little extra time with her sister.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea. I’ll see you here in a few minutes then. Sisko out.”

Kira smiled at Dax. “Thank you. That was very nice of you.”

“Anything for a friend. You two have a good time. I’ll see you at the briefing.”

“Are we still on for tonight, ‘Zia?” Tala smiled at her. “After the briefing?”

Dax nodded, “I’ll be there.” With that, she turned and left the replimat.

“What was that all about?” Kira demanded. “And what’s with calling her ‘Zia?”

“Oh,” Tala blushed slightly. “The Commander and I had breakfast together this morning. She agreed to have dinner with me tonight after the briefing.”

Kira shook her head. “So much for inviting you over for hasperat.” She pointed a finger at her. “She is a good person, Talas. You be careful with her. For Prophet’s sake, don’t break her heart.”

Tala beamed. “Breaking her heart is the furthest thing from my mind. Breaking her concentration maybe, but not her heart…” She stopped joking when she noticed her sister’s red rimmed eyes. “What’s wrong ‘Rys? Did something happen?”

“Just something I need to work out. With a friend.” She laughed at her sister. “I guess I’ll have plenty of time to work on that tonight, since you’ve found more interesting diversions.”

Tala took her sisters hand. “What about now, ‘Rys? It’s not even 1100 hours yet. The briefing isn’t until 1900. That gives us plenty of time to spend together.”

“What would you like to do?”

“Well, I hear there is a beautiful planet nearby. I might like to visit there if we have enough time…”

“I can get us on the next shuttle.” Kira stood and pulled on her sisters hand. “If we run that is!”

As she and her sister moved down the promenade, Kira was oblivious to the pain filled, blue eyes that followed them until they were out of sight.

Chapter 3-Meeting Darkness

“She will never love you…how could she? You are a Changeling.”

Odo watched them go, feeling his ‘heart’ tear itself apart in his chest. He could never figure out how she could have such an affect on an organ that didn’t even really exist. He looked down at the PADD in his hand and threw it across the room. It landed against the wall with enough force to wake the Bajoran who was sleeping off a drunk in one of the cells. Odo sighed as he heard the man call for him.

“What do you want, Aleram?” He growled, his voice a bit more harsh than he intended.

“Something for my head…” The voice was filled with pain, yet Odo still had a hard time feeling sorry for the man.

“No one told you to drink 3 bottles of Romulan Ale, you did that to yourself.”

The only answer was a small whimper, and Odo relented. Going to his desk, he slapped the console. After a moment, Quark’s face appeared. “Good afternoon, Constable.” The Ferengi’s voice was wheedling and Odo found he had no stomach for it at the moment.

“Save it, Quark. I have Aleram Kass in a cell, trying to recover from the bad ale he says you gave him.”

“I did no such thing!” The Ferengi’s zeal might have been convincing if it were not so amusing. “I stand behind everything served at Quark’s. It is tested to assure only the bes-“

“Enough, Quark!” Odo’s lost his patience. “Just bring the man something that will shut him up. Now!”

Quark nodded sullenly and cut the commlink.

Odo stabbed a finger against his console for good measure and snorted, “Ferengi’s!” He caught himself smiling and stopped immediately.

***************************************************

The shuttle ride to Bajor was uneventful, although the number of people that did a double take in their direction got a little ridiculous after a while. But then again, she was a known figure, and to see someone so obviously related to her must have been a novelty, especially since Tala was wearing a uniform very similar in style and exactly the same in color. It had been a gift from the Bajoran government, and bore the status of Diplomat.

After the first few times, Kira learned to just smile and nod. Tala, on the other hand, was enjoying the attention. She was very proud of the status her sister had attained as a war hero. The unabashed admiration that Nerys received was long overdue. At least she thought so, her sister had always been her hero.

When they landed, Nerys took her hand, pointing out aspects of the docking area. “These were built 3 years ago. It was one of the first things we did after the discovery of the wormhole. Since then, we have had thousands of traders from hundreds of different worlds dock here. They're the pride of the Trade Commission.”

“I can see why,” Tala looked around in wonder. The last time she had seen her world, it had been decimated. She hoped that the wondrous and beautiful buildings that surrounded her were indicative of the steps that had been made in other areas as well. “How does Kai Opaka like the changes? All the people that are coming to our once introverted world?”

Kira looked at the ground. A tear forming in the corner of her eyes. “The Prophets called for Kai Opaka. Vedek Winn is now the Kai.”

Tala’s eyes took on a sad, faraway look. “I’ve missed so much…”

Kira hugged her close. “Don’t worry, ti’san, I will tell you everything that has happened to our world in the last 9 years.”

“Ti’san?” Tala’s face broke into a sweet, childlike smile. “’Little one’….you used to call me that all the time. I’ve missed it.”

“Me too.” She ruffled her sisters short hair affectionately. “Come on. There is a lot more to see.”

They walked every street in the Capitol, stopping at this shop or that bakery, sampling the hasperat and sweet teas as they went. When they reached the outskirts of the city, Kira turned back. Tala stopped her, pulling on the hand that she had been holding.

“I’d like to see the farmlands of D’Kor. It’s been a long time. I’d like to see our land, ‘Rys.”

Kira shook her head. “I don’t think that would be wise right now. A lot of D’Kor province is still under renovation. The farmlands in particular were hit very hard by the Cardassians.” She looked off towards the hills. “They were looking for my resistance cell. They wanted us dead, very badly. Seems that we gave the people too much hope. The destroyed our family lands in an attempt to flush us out, to make us, in our anger, try for a larger target than we could really handle. It never worked, but our lands were still devastated. It will take the soil reclaimators at least another year to undo the enough of the damage for even weeds to grow. It is a very toxic place right now, Tala. I’m sorry.”

Tala smiled, sadly. “I understand. I guess I was just…homesick.” She reached over and plucked a flower from a nearby bush.

“I have a holosuite program of Nerys Lake. I’ll take you there when we get back to the station.”

“No Talas Pond, hmm?” She elbowed her older sister playfully, holding the flower up in front of her for a moment, before slipping it into the small pack she wore.

“That swamp?” Kira wrinkled her nose, then smiled. “Of course I have a program of Talas Pond. It just….hurt too much to use it. We’ll go there, too.”

“Good. I would like to see it again. Now,” She raised her eyebrows. “What is this I hear about you and the First Minister of Bajor?”

“Who told you?” Kira laughed. “Let me guess…Dax!”

“It’s a small station, ‘Rys. You would be amazed at the amount of gossip about you that one can hear just standing on the promenade.”

“Gossip?” Her eyes widened. “I don’t think I like the sound of that. What kind of gossip?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin, so let’s start with this Shakaar person. You were with his cell when we were rescued from Nan’Tekk, right? Has this been a long term kind of thing?”

“No. We have been friends for a long time, but we just recently became romantically involved.”

“Is it serious?” Tala wondered if her sister had missed all of the gossip that had been circulating about her. Well, about her and a certain security officer on the station. But then, her sister hadn’t brought him up.

“I’d like to think so….” Kira said thoughtfully. She brightened, “Would you like to meet him?”

“The First Minister? Don’t you think he would be just a little too busy to meet your kid sister?”

“No, I don’t think so. He has always told me to come anytime I need him. He should be in session for another half an hour. Plenty of time for us to reach the Hall of Ministers. Let’s go!” She grabbed Tala’s hand and began to walk quickly back towards the center of town. Tala laughed and allowed herself to be pulled along.

When they reached their destination, Tala was once again amazed at the hard work and planning that had gone into the new buildings. The Hall of Ministers was as beautiful as it was functional. The front entry way consisted of two columns meeting in an arch over a gorgeous red wood door, that would easily accommodate four people entering at once. The building seemed to be made of flawlessly seamed white marble. She had to look very closely to see where the stones met to make up the walls. The ceiling was an enormous glass dome and the Sign of the Prophets was inlaid in golden relief against a deep blue sky. All around the circular hall, there were doors, made of the same red wood as the entranceway. Each of them led to a different chamber hall. The last set of five seemed to lead to the same enormous chamber. “The Hall Of Ministers?” She whispered in awe.

“Yes.” Kira said proudly. “This building is the basis for a new Bajor. One of commerce and prosperity. What do you think?” She smiled at her little sister.

“I think it’s wonderful.” She had just begun to expound on that sentiment when a very official looking man came across the lobby and joined them.

“Hello.” He said cordially. “I am Denais Lenar, The First Minister’s Adjetant.”

“His Adjetant?” Kira looked surprised. “Where’s Silas?”

Denais lowered his eyes in respect. “I am sorry no one has informed you, Major. Adjetant Silas was killed in a shuttle accident yesterday. I am his replacement.”

Kira thought of the quiet, honorable man who had accompanied Shakaar to the station just a few short months ago. She had liked him. “I am sorry to hear that. I wish you well in the position.”

“Thank you, Major.” He smiled, a smile that Kira was not that comfortable with. “I have worked hard for it.” He waved his hand towards a door. “The First Minister has been informed that you have arrived and he is looking forward to meeting with you. If you would like to wait for him in the antechamber, you can watch him as he finishes his speech, then he will meet you there.”

“Thank you, Denais.” They entered the room, closing the door behind them.

“He was….wrong, somehow.” Tala whispered quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling.” She smiled brightly. “It’s gone now. C’mon, show me this wonderful man of yours.”

Kira smiled back and led her to the observation window. She pointed down towards the stage and Tala’s heart stopped beating when she saw the man standing there. She took a sharp breath that hurt her lungs and sat heavily in one of the chairs behind them.

“What’s wrong?” Kira’s concern showed on her face. “Tala, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Noth-Nothing.” Her breathing had yet to return to normal. “I just had an attack….of some sort.” She looked away from her sister’s searching eyes. “I’ll be fine. But we should go. I can’t meet him…..I mean, I can’t meet him like this. I think we should go.” As she finished her sentence, a loud round of applause came up from the room below them. His speech done, Shakaar headed out of the Hall. “Please, Nerys, let’s go.” Tala was close to begging and Kira looked at her in alarm. Before she could answer, the door to the antechamber opened and Shakaar stepped through. He smiled at Kira, a smile that quickly froze when he saw the woman sitting behind her. His eyes grew distant for a moment and then cleared as he approached them. “Is she okay? Who is this, Nerys?”

Kira took his arm and led him to the far corner of the room. “It’s Tala, Edon. I told you about her this morning….on subspace, remember?”

“I remember. I’m sorry. I just wasn’t prepared….” He noticed Kira’s questioning look and cleared his throat. “I just wasn’t prepared for her to look so much like you, that’s all. Is she all right?”

Kira relaxed, wondering why she had sensed some sort of danger in his remark. “I think she’ll be okay. She wants to leave though. At this point I think that would be best.” She glanced at the chronometer she had strapped to her wrist before they left. “It’s getting late, anyway. We spent too much time touring the city. We have to get back for the briefing.”

Shakaar nodded quietly. “I’d like to send Denais to sit in, if you think Captain Sisko wouldn’t object. I’d love to come myself but,” He glanced at Tala, who was staring at him with an intensity that made him nervous. “I have a negotiation with the delegation from Risa to attend.”

Kira nodded. “He can fly back with us, if he wants.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Remember me when the Risans are here…”

Shakaar smiled. “I’ll do that. But I think they’ll be too busy talking about exportation rights to Bajor to do much else.” He nodded at Tala. “Good to meet you.” He turned and left without another word.

Kira stared after him for a moment and then turned back to her sister. “Can you walk or should I call for a transport?”

The younger Bajoran stood, slowly adjusting her clothing. “I can walk. I’m sorry, ‘Rys. I don’t know what happened.”

Kira’s concern turned into a much different emotion…surprise. She was positive her sister was lying, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why. “Okay,” She decided to let it rest for the time being. “Let’s head back, I don’t want to be late.” She smiled. “That’s Dax’s job.”

“What is?”

“Being late…” She laughed at her sister’s confused look. “I’ll tell you all about it on the way back.”

************************************************************************

“Is she the one?” Denais had entered the room so quietly that Shakaar had never even heard him.

“Yes.” He sighed. “She is the one. They are the ones.”

“What do you propose we do about it?” Denais sat in a chair across from him. “There is much at stake here.”

“I know. But I have done much for Bajor. Perhaps they will understand. Perhaps it is time…for the truth to come out.” He lowered his head into his hands. “I have lived with it much too long on my own.”

“With all due respect, First Minister,” He laid his hand on Shakaar’s shoulder. “You have done much for Bajor, but I do not think they will forgive you for what you had to do. If you would permit me, Sir, I could….take care of it.”

Shakaar looked at him, suspicion showing plainly in his eyes. “Just how do you propose to ‘Take care of it’?”

“It isn’t something that could ever be linked to you, Sir.” He knelt down so that they could be eye to eye. “Your work for Bajor is not yet done, First Minister. This world, these people…they need you. But what happened during the occupation, your actions, might prove to be something they could never understand. I understand. My father was the first member of your resistance cell. He adored you. He knew how much you sacrificed for Bajor, what you went through. But if I hadn’t had him to teach me the truth, I wouldn’t understand it either.”

Shakaar rubbed his hand over his tried eyes. “I need to think about this. For now, meet Kira and her sister at the dock, before they begin to wonder…about anything.” He stood and moved in closer to the Adjetant. “I don’t want them hurt, Denais. I will be holding you responsible for their well being. Do you understand?”

“Perfectly, Sir.” He bowed slightly and left the room.

Shakaar watched him go, a dark fear gripping him around his heart.

Chapter 4-Explanations

Odo wandered around the Ward Room, checking the table, chairs and decor for any sign of uninvited guests. He was rather surprised when he found none. Then again, he thought, what use could this information really be to Quark?

He had renewed his efforts, doing one final sweep of the room before the briefing began, when Captain Sisko entered.

“Find anything, Constable?” His lazy smile played across his face.

“No, Captain.” He slid the tricorder onto the table. “The room appears to be free of any kind of monitoring device. I would say we are ready to start.”

Sisko laughed quietly. “We might be, but the Major and her sister are clearly not.”

“Is something wrong?” Odo’s head swung around quickly.

“No.” Sisko studied the Changelings face. “Their shuttle is just running a little bit late. They should be joining us shortly. They are bringing the First Minister’s Adjetant with them, I approved it.” He raised his hand to Odo’s objections. “I know you didn’t have an opportunity to screen the man, but he is Shakaar’s personal assistant. I think we will let it pass this time.” Odo sighed audibly and Sisko’s concern resurfaced. “Are you all right, Constable? You seem to be a bit…..out of sorts today.”

Odo looked at him in surprise. “No, Captain. I’m fine. My mind is just on the conference.”

“Ah.” Sisko didn’t quite believe him, but he wouldn’t berate the man. “I was going to go ahead and call the senior staff in. Give Dax a few extra minutes.” He winked at Odo. “Is everything ready?” At Odo’s curt nod, he hailed his staff.

************************************************************************

Kira and Tala were waiting by the airlock for the shuttle to finish docking. As soon as the door slid open, they exited and headed directly for the Ward room. As they rounded a corner into a main corridor, Kira nearly tripped over a pair of legs that were sticking out of a conduit. She bent down and peered inside, trying to make out the identity of the person she would soon be yelling at. O’Briens yellow shouldered uniform appeared, quickly followed by his smiling face.

“I’m sorry, Major.” He moved towards a toolbox which was on the ground a few feet away. Selecting another implement, he returned to his former position. “I was hoping I could finish this before anyone came down here.

“What exactly are you doing, Chief?” She ducked down to stick her head in, waving at her sister to wait for a moment.

“It turns out that the replicator problem the Captain asked me to track down was not caused by a flux in the system. The actual program had been deleted and the new one placed in its stead. I found the delete traces of the original, but I was having trouble tracking down the origination of the new program. I thought the conduit might contain traces of a coding device, and I was right.” He held up a PADD. “Our culprit used a class four terminal interface to access the stations systems. All I have to do now, is run this information through the computer and I should get the log on sequence.”

Kira’s head was spinning. “Meaning what?”

O’Brien smiled. “Meaning I’m about one step away from giving you some butt to kick, Major.”

Kira smiled. A smile that the Chief was grateful to not have aimed at him. “Let me know as soon as you have a name. Thanks, Chief.” She pulled herself up, and was gone before he could say ‘You’re Welcome’.

With a grin, he sealed up the conduit and headed to Ops. He already felt sorry for the owner of the name he came up with.

There were only three seats vacant when they reached their destination. Sisko, Bashir, Odo, Worf, and Denais were already present. Tala gave the Bajoran an odd look. He must have run to beat them there. Kira took her seat across from the Constable and Tala took what she presumed to be hers, at the head of the table. The one empty seat was across from the Captain, who stared at it, an amused smile on his face until the door slid open and Dax entered, straightening her uniform as she went. She opened her mouth to speak as she slid into the chair, but the Captain merely rolled his eyes and shook his head. Tala and Kira laughed out loud, causing a lovely red flush to creep up Jadzia’s cheekbones, and turning her spots a few shades darker.

“Well,” Sisko stood. “Now that we are all accounted for,” He threw a meaningful glance at his science officer. “You may begin when you are ready, Talas.”

Tala glanced around the table, taking in each persons face and place so that she would know who to address when the questions came. As her gaze passed over Odo, she was slightly surprised to find she did not have his attention. He was glancing to the side, staring at her sister. When he finally turned his head back towards her, he started slightly to see that she had been observing him. With a small cough, he looked away.

“Well,” She tried to quell her restless nerves. “I guess the best thing to do would be to begin at the beginning.” She glanced at Kira and Dax, who both gave her encouraging looks. “Thirteen years ago, I was captured in a food raid and taken, along with my lover, Renaya Zenece, to the Nan’Tekk mining facility. I was 16 at the time. I-uh, we remained there for four years, until the resistance, led by the Shakaar resistance cell, freed us.” She tried not to shudder at the mention of his name, but she knew she had failed when Jadzia’s questioning eyes met hers. She was grateful that her sisters gaze had not been on her at that moment, but rather, on the Changeling. She wondered briefly if he was the friend she had mentioned earlier. “We were placed aboard the Nakota to be shipped off-world, to Lueseppia, where they were sympathetic to our situation.”

She took a drink of water and Dax noticed her hand shaking. “We were ambushed before we even left Bajoran space. A Galor class warship hit us with three phaser blasts at close range. The first two knocked our engines and life support off line. The third knocked us out of orbit, sending us spinning and killing 346 people before the ship came to a halt. By the time our engineers got crucial systems back online, another 42 people had died of smoke inhalation, suffocation and other various wounds. But the Cardassians were gone. And not just the Cardassians. Everything was gone. The stars we knew, Bajor, everything. Our navigational array had been hit hard in the initial skirmish and we were only able to take a brief reading before it shut down all together. We were alone, in unknown space, with nothing but life support and impulse engines.” She looked around the table, feeling the support from the people listening, she continued. “We were able to restore some replicator systems, enough to sustain the people we had left, and the things we couldn’t replicate, we were able to trade for. We salvaged all unnecessary parts from the ship, trading with races we could not even understand, to get the things we needed to survive. We limped along at impulse, and then half impulse, and finally, one quarter impulse until we realized that our dilithium would not last much longer. So, a year and a half later, when we came across an uninhabited, but life supporting moon, we settled. The ship was shut down entirely, in the hopes of saving whatever power was left until the day came when we would know how to get home.”

She stopped, allowing them a moment to stretch and breath, since it seemed that several of them had not been doing so for some time. She again noticed an exchange between Kira and Odo, each of them looking when the other was not. She shook her head to clear it and continued. “For the first three years, we devoted all of our time to the ship. We still had hope then. Every capable person spent every waking hour working on the Nakota. The people who had no experience in this area were put to work on simpler tasks, including collecting food and scouting for material that we could use. I was directly responsible for the most important work, the work done on the navigational array. In the end, when there was nothing more that we could do, the ship was still not space worthy, and without navigational abilities. Too many of the essential systems had been damaged. We were stuck there.” She smiled at her sister. “It wasn’t until then that we even named our little moon. We called it Missak. A name very dear to my heart as it was the nickname my father gave to my sister. It is Bajoran, meaning ‘Song of my heart’, and it was a very fitting name. It took us three years to realize what a perfect place we were occupying. The water was fresh and clean, the plants, although varying in color and texture, were almost all edible, and there was a distinct lack of any seriously adversarial creatures. It was, in fact, a beautiful place. Once we accepted it as our home, we went about making it one. We built a town, with all of the amenities we could manage. Many of us settled in the fertile valley, planting crops and raising children. We have, at last count, seventeen children that were born on Missak. And it came to symbolize what Bajor must have been like before the Cardassians invaded, something that none of us had ever known. It was peaceful, and the bonds that were forged will last a lifetime.” She hung her head slightly. “I had somehow been elected as a kind of mediator for the town. People came to me with their problems, their disputes and accepted my judgment as final. Many said they felt a strength in my Pagh. For whatever reason, they chose me to lead them. And so I led them through the next three years of peace and good fortune.”

Tala left her chair and began to pace the area behind it. “Late in our seventh year away from home, another ship crashed on our moon. They were from a race that called themselves the Karemma. Their ship had suffered a severe internal fire, which left both crewman mortally wounded and left us nothing to do for them but make them comfortable until they died. They went through brief periods of lucidity, and during these periods they told us a remarkable story. A story about something that they called ‘the rift’, which was a great rip in space. It took us quite a while to understand everything that they were telling us as their translators had been damaged in the fire, but they persisted none the less. They told us all about a planet on the other side of this rift, a planet of people who looked like us. And they told us of a Fleet of Stars that had come to help drive the oppressors out. A fleet called the Federation. We were astounded, not only to hear how far we were from our home, but to be told, after all this time, how to get back. The last wish of the dying men was that we use their ship in any way we could to help get us home. We were lucky. Their ship had only been damaged internally, leaving the power source and most parts we needed unscathed. It took us a year to retrofit their equipment into the Nakota. We still had only impulse engines, but we had something else that made all the difference in the world, we had a navigational chart that showed us the way. We drew ballots for the thirty volunteers that would be allowed to go. We took only enough people to man the essential stations, not wanting to risk any more than necessary should the trip not end well. I went as their Captain, a decision of mine that they could not sway. The return trip took us six months. It was a journey that would have taken 20 hours at warp 4, but we were still ecstatic that it was less than the time we wasted going in circles to get to our beloved Missak.” She looked around, aware that every eye was still on her. She cleared her throat, “So here we are…”

Captain Sisko was the first one to speak. “Where did the fourth phaser blast come from?”

“Oh,” Tala explained, “In our search to find a habitable planet on which to do our repairs, we came close to one that had no star system. When we tried to investigate, a ship appeared and fired on us. I took it to be a warning as they did not follow when we changed course. They had to know we were no threat as our weapons were noticeably damaged.”

Odo nodded. “A warning is exactly what it was.”

“What about Zenece?” Kira asked. “You said she died in a farming accident?”

“Yes,” Tala spoke slowly, unhealed anguish in her voice. “I would prefer not to talk about that here, Nerys.”

Kira nodded, berating herself for the careless question. She glanced at Dax, and was touched to see tears in her friends eyes.

“What is the medical state of the people on Missak?” Julian asked.

“They need help.” She answered matter of factly. “We have been nine years without a real doctor present. We have found some plants with medicinal properties, but those who have been seriously hurt usually end up crippled or dead.” She swallowed. “The children are the most susceptible to disease, and it has been a trial not to lose any of them.”

Bashir turned to the Captain. “Sir, I think it would be a good idea to send a medical team to Missak immediately. 20 hours isn’t very far. I would like to volunteer.”

“Me too.” Kira spoke up. “These are my people, I would like to welcome them home.”

Sisko nodded at both of them. “All right.” He glanced at Tala. “Could you show us the way? Your men are welcome to stay here for as long as they like. They won’t all fit on the runabout anyway.” At Tala’s nod he continued, “All right then, you leave at 0600 hours tomorrow. Major, Doctor, take anything you think you might need. We will expect you back in five days with a complete report on the situation there.” He turned to the youngest Kira. “Thank you, Kira Talas, for bringing your people home.” The words were said in his much practiced Bajoran and Tala smiled.

“You are welcome, Emissary.” She bowed slightly.

“Then I leave you all to your individual plans. Dismissed.” He smiled warmly at his senior officers. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a baseball game to attend with my son.”

“Who’s playing?” Dax asked.

“The Mets and the Cubs.”

“I’ll take the Cubbies for a bottle of Tarian Ale.”

“Tarian Ale is illegal.” Sisko smiled. “You’re on.”

As everyone stood to leave, Kira moved to talk to Odo. He listened to her instructions and then turned without a word. Tala saw her sister sigh as she sat back down. The only people left at the table were Bashir, Dax and the two of them. Denais had left quickly, saying his good-byes before leaving to catch the last shuttle to Bajor. He had listened attentively, but asked no questions.

“I would prefer not to go with you, if that is all right, Nerys. I would like some time here, to get to know my world again.” She glanced at Jadzia as she spoke and was glad to see the beautiful woman smiling. “I can show you exactly where you need to go by downloading the Nakota’s flight recorder into your runabout. Is that okay with you?”

Kira nodded. “I would have liked to spend the time with you, but I understand.”

Dax stood to leave. “Well, I guess I should be going. The three of you need to prepare.”

Tala jumped up and moved to block her way. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Of course. Where and when?”

The Bajoran took in the Trill’s lazy, sensual smile and felt her heart skip a beat. “To-tonight, 2100 hours….at Quarks.”

“I’ll be there.”

Tala watched as the statuesque woman left the room, oblivious to the knowing chuckles from the table behind her.

“Congratulations.” Julian laughed. “You are having more luck than I ever did.”

Tala had the good grace to blush, seeing as how her thoughts had to be written quite plainly on her face. She grinned at the two of them. “Well, it looks like I have a date, so let’s get this thing planned. I wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”

************************************************************************

Denais passed the airlock that led to the last shuttle to Bajor. He had no intention of leaving the station, not yet anyway. He made his way to the habitat ring and let himself into a darkened room. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

A figure spoke from where it was sitting on the couch. “Just thinking. I am not very happy about why I am here.”

“Would you be happier if the First Minister let himself be dragged out of office and stoned in the street like a dog? He is a good man, but he is still forcing himself to pay for the sins of the past. Bajor needs him, more than he knows. This woman, Talas, and her sister, they have the ability to tear apart everything that we have worked for. They have the power to destroy the greatest man our world has ever known. I cannot let that happen…can you?”

“No.” The man sighed and called for the lights. “What are we going to do?”

“You are going to stay here. Keep a low profile and keep your eyes open. Major Kira has a lot of friends here and on Bajor. I need to know if there are any developments. I won’t be needing your particular services unless the situation becomes desperate.”

The man grunted in frustration. “That may not be easy. I am well known here on the station. I’ve been here for years. Not to mention the trouble that vile Ferengi caused me. I’d be surprised if Odo wasn’t watching me constantly.”

“The Security chief has better things to do than watch a drunk.” He waved away the man’s look of indignation. “Stay out of the bar, you have just been recalled into active duty.”

“All right.” He shook his head. “And I thought all of this kind of work would end once the Cardassians were gone. I have to admit, I kind of liked retirement.” He turned his attention back to Denais. “What will you be doing?”

“I have a transport to catch.” He smiled at the man’s confused look. “The two of them will be taking a trip tomorrow. They will not be coming back.”

************************************************************************

Kira, Tala, and Bashir had just finished when the door to the Ward Room slid open and Chief O’Brien stepped in. “I’m sorry, I thought the briefing might be still going on. I was looking for Odo.” He held up the PADD. “I have your name, Major.”

Kira took the PADD out of his hand and smiled as she read its contents. “Thank you, Chief. This is very useful.”

“Your welcome,” He grinned and reached for it back. “I’ll take it down to the Constable.”

“No!” Kira stopped him. “Let me handle this, Chief. I’ll take care of it.”

O’Brien looked undecided for a moment, then let his hand drop. He stepped aside to allow the Major room to leave. Once she was gone, he turned to the other two and shook his head. “She scares me more than he does.”

Tala and Bashir looked at each other for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

************************************************************************

2130 hours.

Tala looked at her watch again and smiled. “Well, at least she’s consistent.”

“Are you sure I can’t get you….anything?” Quark asked for the fifth time. He had been hovering over her since she had arrived 30 minutes earlier. She had thought a seat at the bar would have been the best place for the Commander to see her, but now she was having doubts. But then, she could only blame herself. She had chosen her outfit for Jadzia’s benefit, not realizing the affect it would have on the Ferengi. It was a short dress, that hung off of her shoulders and down low over her breasts. It was in two pieces, the top came down to just below her midriff and was held up by two, thin strips of fabric, the skirt ended about 5 inches above her knee. They were both a shimmering pearl white that stood out against her tanned skin. The fabric was soft and shifted deliciously over her body, which was naked beneath. The shopkeeper, Garak-an odd little Cardassian, had told her it was Trillian silk, and as such, should be worn directly on the skin. She hadn’t trusted him at first, but now she was glad she had listened. Every time she moved, it caressed her body, bringing a sensual smile to her lips.

Unfortunately, the outfit brought a smile to Quark’s lips as well. She had just finished fending of Quark’s sixth attempt when the noise in the Bar dropped down to a whisper. She looked up and her heart caught in her throat.

Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax stood in the doorway. Her hair was loose, hanging over her shoulders in long, soft-looking tendrils that almost matched her markings in color. And her markings were definitely showing. Her dress, which resembled a slip more than it did a gown, was held up by a collar that disappeared into nothing as it reached her shoulders. It was black leather, and came down in a triangle to cover her breasts, tightening as it reached her waist and hips. It came down about as far as Tala’s skirt did and looked as though it had been painted on, sending the Bajoran into intense imaginings of the entire dressing process. She still hadn’t managed to collect her jaw from the floor when Jadzia slipped onto a stool beside her.

“Well,” She laughed. “Do I need to ask if you like it?”

Tala shook her head. Swallowing, she croaked, “Very nice. How about mine?”

Dax ran one finger along the lowered neckline of her dress. “It feels like Trillian silk.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “If it is, then you should know that I adore Trillian silk.”

“Oh, good.” Tala managed to breathe. “Shall we eat? I reserved a holosuite..” Dax’s eyebrows shot up and Tala rushed to finish. “For dinner. Quark had quite a few programs suitable for dining. I chose one listed as a ‘moonlit dinner for two’.” She smiled. “The food is real, at least I hope it’s real.”

They made their way up to the second floor and entered the holosuite followed by several appreciative stares and a lot of wild speculation. Quark slapped his forehead, berating himself for not setting up a holocorder before they locked the door.

Once inside, Dax looked at Tala expectantly.

“Computer,” The Bajoran called. “Run program Moonlit 5c.”

The yellow gridlines immediately vanished, replaced by a gorgeous white beach, complete with purple ocean. The moon was directly overhead and shone down on a table adorned with white linen and silver place settings. There were several Bajoran foods already present on the table and Tala set another dish down beside them. It took her a moment to realize what it was.

“That’s a Jen’Fret!” Dax ran her finger over the top of the golden cake and slipped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed in appreciation. “And it’s good! Where did you find a replicator program for a Jen’Fret?”

“It isn’t a replicator program.” She smiled at the Trill’s confusion. “I talked Captain Sisko out of the last inning of his baseball game to let me use his cooking utensils. Finding a record of a Trillian desert was quite easy, making it was the hard part.”

Dax looked into her eyes. “Thank you, Talas. It was very sweet of you.”

The moment seemed like an eternity as she studied Jadzia’s liquid blue eyes. She thought she could see forever there. At least she hoped she could.

************************************************************************

Quark was cleaning glasses when Kira entered the bar. She placed a PADD nonchalantly onto the counter. “Give me a synthale, Quark.”

“Of course, Major.” The Ferengi brought her the drink and watched as she took a long, satisfying swallow. “So what are you celebrating? You only drink when you’re celebrating something.”

“You know me so well, Quark.” She tried not to shudder when the Ferengi rubbed his ear suggestively. “I think I know you pretty well, too. Wouldn’t you say?”

Quark nodded, too interested in the Major’s smile to notice the danger in her words.

“For example,” Kira continued. “I know that you have spent a lot of time with Odo lately. Rather odd for someone who treats him like an enemy.”

“I don’t have any enemies, Major. I am an upstanding member of this community and I help the Constable whenever I can.”

Kira was amazed that he could make it through that little speech with a straight face. “C’mon, Quark.” She pressed. “Admit it! You care about him.”

Quark waved his hand as though to clear the question from the air. “What is it you’re looking for, Major?”

“Information. I understand you pride yourself on the information you can get. This is information, I believe, you already have.”

“And what information would that be?” He leaned in closer, studying her features.

“Odo told me he was in love once. Who was she, and what happened?”

Quark stared at her for a moment and then straightened. He picked up his rag and resumed polishing his glasses. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Quark..” Kira growled.

“Really, Major. Why should you know who she was when she doesn’t even know who she was.”

Kira’s eyes went wide. “He never told her? But…he said she broke his heart.”

Quark shook his head. “That’s all I have to say about it, Major. Call me if you want another drink.” He began to walk away but Kira grabbed his arm.

“Been busy the past couple of days, haven’t you, Quark?” She picked up the PADD and began to read from it. “You placed orders for twice you regular amount of synthale and other liquors, twice the normal amount of garnishments, and you hired 4 new Dabo girls. My, my, Quark. Looks like you were expecting quite an upswing in business.”

“It’s hardly a crime to take advantage of an outbreak of insomnia, Major.”

“No, it’s not a crime. But tampering with station systems is. All of these orders were placed before the outbreak occurred. Now, I wonder how you knew to lay in all these extra stores…”

“That doesn’t prove a thing-“

“No, it doesn’t.” Kira’s voiced dropped. “But your log on code does. Chief O’Brien traced it back to you. You’re in a lot of trouble Quark.” She smiled at him. “Unless…”

“You’re blackmailing me!” Quarks indignation (or appreciation-it was so hard to tell with Ferengis) was apparent. “You Bajorans! So upstanding…until you need something!”

Kira let the remark pass and watched him expectantly. Finally, he sighed. “I can’t tell you, Major. I’m sorry.”

Kira’s jaw dropped. Maybe Dax had been right after all. She threw the PADD on the bar and lowered her head into her hands. Quark moved off to wait on a table, watching her as he went. This went on for about fifteen minutes, until he threw his hands up in frustration and rejoined her at the bar.

“You want to know what happened? Fine. But I’m telling you this because I think maybe it’s time you knew, not because of whatever is on your PADD.” He smiled. “If you should, however, want to leave the PADD when you go, that would be okay too.”

“QUARK!”

“All right!” He looked around and then dropped his voice to barely a whisper. “She did break his heart. In the worst possible way.”

“How’s that?”

“By dismissing him from even being a possibility.” Quark gave her what he hoped was a meaningful look.

“You mean she didn’t even notice him?” She shook her head. “How awful.”

“It’s worse. She worked with him, spent time with him. They even became friends, and she never even bothered to look below the surface of the things he did for her, the things he shared with her that he had never shared with another person.”

“She sounds pretty dense.” Kira observed, taking a drink of her synthale.

“My thoughts exactly. But then, she never did have very good luck with men.”

“Humph. That’s no excuse. Poor Odo.”

“I always say, business and pleasure don’t mix. He should have listened to me. This station is just too small for that kind of thing.”

Kira’s head shot up. “It happened on the station? Quark, that isn’t possible. I was the first friend he had on the sta-“ Her eyes went wide.

Quark watched with a certain amount of satisfaction as a million different things clicked into place in her mind. Recognition sped over her features as she remembered every word, every look that Odo had given her, evaluating them for a hidden meaning and always coming out the same. She remembered his face the morning he had canceled their Tuesdays morning meetings, and before that, his complete and utter loss for words at her news that she and Shakaar were lovers. She looked at Quark and felt even more like a fool that he had known about it before she had. She slipped off of the stool and left the bar without a word.

Her steps were slow and forced as she headed across the Promenade. She knew where she was going, and rehearsed what she would say over and over in her mind as she came to a stop outside of the security office. The doors were closed, but she could see Odo through one of the windows, sitting at his desk, staring out into space. The fingers of his left hand played over a shiny metal disc, and she realized with a start that it was the Constable’s badge she had given him a few months before Shakaar’s visit to the station. She had found it in an antique store that one of her friends was running in D’Kor province. It was 19^th century Human, from a time period listed as ‘The Old West’. It had cost her quite a bit, but she had to get it for him.

She had to get it for him.

She examined that statement in her mind and wondered at the pounding in her chest. She realized that what she was doing could aptly be termed as ‘peeking’ into his window. The thought of being caught at such an activity caused her to take a few steps backwards until she was standing to the left of the door instead of directly in front of it. Her head was beginning to hurt and her hair was falling into her eyes. She brushed it back with a loud curse that caused the patrons at a nearby restaurant to look at her curiously. With an embarrassed flush, she turned to the door panel. “Computer,” She said softly. “Five seconds from my mark, open the door. Once I have entered, seal door with a level one privacy shield. Override security authorization Kira-Omega-Gamma-One. She positioned herself in front of the door and took a deep breath.

Odo looked up as his door slid open. “Is something wrong, Major?”

“Why do you ask?” Kira looked around, distracted. She did notice that the badge had disappeared.

“You overrode my security lock.” He stared at her in concern. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” She turned to him decidedly. “There is something wrong.” At that moment she was caught by his sky blue eyes. They were beautiful, and so cautious. “Why don’t you ever call me Nerys?”

The surprise on his face would have been funny if it were anyone else. “I beg your pardon?”

"Why don't you ever call me Nerys?" She moved towards him, noticing that Odo unconsciously slid his chair a few inches backwards. "I mean, come on, Odo. We've been friends for four years, we've shared things that I can honestly say I have never shared with anyone else. I'm pretty sure it's the same for you. Through all of that you have always called me Major. Why?"

"Well," Odo grunted, as though in disbelief. "You are my superior officer."

Kira shook her head. "Not good enough, Constable." Her lips quirked up into a smile. "That's another thing. At one time or another, you've told everyone on this station not to call you 'Constable'. Everyone except me. Why?"

He looked at her, opening and closing his mouth in several attempts to say something...anything! But he had no clue what to say to diffuse the situation he knew was coming. "I....I don't know...."

"Odo," Her voice was barely a whisper as she moved a few feet closer. She studied his face quietly, recognizing so many things that she had seen before and never tried to understand. Prophets, she said to herself, it’s painted on his face. How blind am I? One lonely tear trailed down her cheek as she finished the thought.

“Major?” Odo’s voice held much of the concern that she had missed these last couple of months. She felt an unfamiliar pain grip her heart. Unfamiliar in regards to Odo, anyway.

She came around the desk and sat on the edge, as close as she thought she could get without having him bolt from the room. She found herself mesmerized by the smooth planes of his face and the bottomless depths of his eyes. They were a clear, delightful blue, lighter than Dax’s and much more vulnerable.

She was surprised to see her hands reach out and gently touch his face. Her eyes lingered on his mouth as his lips parted to speak.

“I wonder…” She left the sentence hanging as she brought her lips to his. His mouth was warm and soft, his lips full and inviting. When she opened her mouth, his tongue flickered out, playing with hers as his hands slid up her back. As she hung her arms around his neck, she felt him begin to shift. His hands and arms melted, forming a warm blanket that cascaded down her shoulders and ended right above her buttocks. Everywhere he touched, everywhere she felt his liquid warmth, there was the sensation of her nerve endings singing. An intense pleasure caused by what felt like thousands of tiny pulses being transmitted through his ‘skin’. After a few moments, she was gasping, trying to catch her breath as her body responded more powerfully than she was prepared to handle. “Odo…” She whispered. “Stop…please...”

He immediately released her, leaving her aching and cold when she had just been so warm. He studied her intently as she pulled herself together.

“That…that…was a kiss?” She gasped, trying to lighten the mood.

“I don’t know. I’ve never done it before.” He turned away.

Kira quickly crossed the space between them and kissed him again, this time gently, feeling the moist depths of his mouth with her tongue. She could feel his body through her clothing. She could almost sense it wanting to change shape, wanting to touch her, to fill her with its warmth. The image and the thoughts that followed caused her body to shudder in Odo’s arms. When the kiss finally ended, she laid her head against his chest and sighed. “I came here to tell you that it didn’t have to affect our friendship. But I was wrong.” She ran her hand down his chest, watching as he closed his eyes in pleasure at the contact. “I wasn’t prepared for this Odo. I wasn’t prepared to feel this way.”

“What way?” He asked hopefully.

“Odo,” She breathed. “The way you just made me feel…the way I still feel, is indescribable. It would seem that I have a lot to think about.” She pulled herself out of his arms. “It would seem that I have a decision to make.” He watched her as she paced around the room. “You know I’ll be gone for five days. Can you give me that time, Odo?

Odo laughed. “I’ve given you four years, Major. What’s five more days?”

She moved back into his arms and kissed him one last time before she left his office. He melted into a puddle the moment the door closed behind her.

************************************************************************

“So,” Tala counted off on her fingers. “Lela was you first host-she was a politician, Tobin was your second, Emoni was your third-she was the gymnast, then Audrid, then Torius-the pilot, Joran was the composer, and Curzon was the diplomat.” She shook her head in wonder.

“That’s right,” Dax slipped the last of the Jen’Fret into her mouth, savoring the taste before she pushed the empty plate away. “And then there was me, the science officer.”

“How incredible. It must be wonderful to have seven lifetimes full of memories,” Her voice and eyes dropped slightly. “Instead of just one, filled with nightmares.”

Dax looked at the younger woman with concern. These little spells of depression seemed to be quite a regular occurrence with her. She had seen three such instances tonight alone. Something was very obviously on her mind, and it was not something she was comfortable with. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Tala looked at her for a long moment and then smiled. “No, I’ll be okay. Just a lot going on in my life right now. I honestly never thought I would see my home again. And here I am…with you. I am happy about that. Very happy. There are just some things that are going to take some getting used to.”

Jadzia reached over and took her hand. “If there is one thing that having seven lifetimes has taught me, Tala, it’s that some memories just aren’t worth holding onto. I’ll be here for you whenever you need to talk.”

Tala’s eyes misted up as she looked at the beautiful Trill. “Thank you.” She squeezed her hand. “Until then…”

She rose from her seat and grabbed the last bottle of wine, pulling Jadzia along behind her. They had already taken off their shoes and the sand felt glorious beneath their feet as they walked, hand in hand, down to the water. The waves lapped gently up on the sand, leaving a faint purple foam as they receded and Jadzia laughed as the coolness enveloped her feet.

“I forgot to thank you for the water.” She put her arm around the Bajoran, knowing that the cool air was an important part of the program, for romantic purposes anyway. “It has been a long time since I saw the oceans of Trill, this makes me a little less homesick.”

Tala leaned into Jadzia as they walked, enjoying the warmth of their bodies together. She noticed absently that Jadzia’s hands were warm as well. “I didn’t think Starfleet officers ever got homesick.”

Jadzia chuckled. “Of course we do. We’re just better at hiding it than most. I miss my family, my sister. We had problems sometimes, they wanted me to stay on Trill, but I still love them. And they still love me.”

Tala turned under her arm until she was facing Dax, bringing her hands up to the Trill’s waist and laying them there gently. “I forgot what it was like to have someone miss you. What it was like to miss someone back. I’ve been alone for so long that I started to believe I preferred it that way.” She leaned into Jadzia’s embrace as the Trill tightened her arms. Slowly, Tala brought her hand up to Jadzia’s face, stopping right below her spotted lobe. “May I?” she whispered.

“Of course.”

Her fingers closed over the delicate ear and Tala closed her eyes. Behind them she could see colors, a swirling of elements that shone so radiantly she almost cried out from the pain. She felt the thunder of blood racing through her veins and the pounding of her heart. When she finally removed her hand, Jadzia sighed and laid her cheek against Tala’s hair. “That was wonderful.” She smiled. “To hear Benjamin talk about it, you would think they had ripped his ear off.”

Tala laughed. “I’ve learned to be much more gentle if you wish to be allowed to do it more than once.”

“Why aren’t you a Vedek?” Jadzia asked seriously. “Aside from the obvious, why weren’t you acting in that capacity on Missak?”

“They asked me that, too.” She traced her a finger down Jadzia’s neck, following the patterns made by her markings. “Actually, after the first time I touched one of them, they all but begged me to.”

“What stopped you?”

Tala let her arm drop. She turned and leaned her back against Jadzia, who wrapped her arms around the Bajoran’s waist. “My faith wasn’t, and still isn’t, what it once was. I found myself at odds with the notion of a God or Gods that could permit such suffering to exist, for any reason, at any time. With my choices consisting of either believing my Gods to be uncaring or believing them non-existent, the decision was a rather simple one. I chose to become a heathen, and will remain a heathen until I am proven otherwise.”

Jadzia listened quietly, lowering her head until her cheek rubbed against Tala’s. Her skin was so soft and the sensation of brushing against that downy surface made her eyes close. She could feel Tala’s ear against her neck and, without thinking, she pulled her lips back and kissed it gently. She was rewarded by Tala leaning into her a bit harder as she hung her head to the right, granting the Trill’s lips access to her neck. Jadzia did not hesitate, she kissed the tender skin above Tala’s jugular, biting gently as her hands caressed her silk clad hips. She could feel Tala’s heart pounding within her chest, a rapid succession of beats that mirrored Jadzia’s own. When Jadzia heard her whimper slightly, she pulled away and took a few deep breaths.

“What…what’s wrong?” Tala gasped. “Why did you stop?”

“I wanted to be sure…That this was okay.” She cupped the Bajoran’s face. “I don’t want to push you…into anything.”

Tala laughed as she touched her lips briefly with an index finger. “You are a wonderfully sweet woman, Jadzia Dax. But there is nothing you could push me into right now, that I wouldn’t want.” She knelt and motioned for Dax to join her, patting the sand as she smiled sweetly. Dax stretched out beside her, snuggling against the warmth of Tala’s side.

“Oh, by the way,” Tala whispered as she rolled over, placing the weight of her body on top of the Trill. “You owe the Captain a bottle of ale.”

Jadzia brought her head up and brushed her lips against Tala’s. They were warm and soft, the moisture on them sweet. She opened her mouth and sighed when Tala’s tongue reached out to touch hers. The kiss was slow and deep, driving any thoughts of ale completely from her mind.

************************************************************************

Kira lay on her bed and contemplated the ceiling. She had already counted the discolorations made by her favorite springball, and was now watching as the flickering from a meditation candle caused eerie shadows to float above her head. She had been trying to sleep for hours, ever since she had left his office. His office. Odo’s office. She closed her eyes and saw his smile, she opened them and saw his hands. She had thought it would be his eyes that would haunt her. Imagine her surprise to find it was his hands. She had looked at them often during their friendship. She had admired his skill at creating the perfectly shaped, long, delicate fingers. She had even held his hand once, a long time ago, when some smuggler whose name she could not even remember had tried to pick her up and been overly persistent.

And Odo had come to her rescue.

She sighed and got up, tying a robe over her naked form as she gave up all pretense of getting any sleep at all. She tried to push her thoughts away, but found herself thinking about all the times that Odo had rescued her. When they had been trapped on that moon and the female Changeling had impersonated her. When he had stopped that turbolift from crashing into the ground. When he had covered up her involvement in the death of Vatrick, the merchant who had been a Cardassian collaborator. She stopped, her eyes widening slightly.

Odo had lied for her.

She shook her head and poured herself a shot of real Bajoran bitters. “Why didn’t I see it?” She slammed the glass down, clenching her teeth as the liquor burned down her throat. “How could I have missed it?”

She wandered around her quarters a few times before realizing that it wasn’t getting her anywhere. With a deep sigh, she dressed and left.

************************************************************************

Dax and Tala walked through the corridors of the habitat ring, holding hands and smiling at the floor. Dax could imagine sand falling off of them as they walked and was a little sad that it had all been an illusion. They had remained there, on that sand, lost in each others eyes and lips until the water had lapped around their ankles, then their hips. When it had finally reached their shoulders, Quark had reached his limit. He manually shut down the program and showed them the door. Dax couldn’t remember ever enjoying a kiss more than Tala’s. She wondered what it would be like to make love to her, and turned her head to hide her smile.

“What are you thinking about, ‘Zia?” Tala grinned at the flustered Trill. “Don’t worry about it. Probably the same thing I was thinking about.”

When they reached Tala’s quarters, Jadzia pressed her against the door, taking her face into her hands and kissing her gently. Tala responded willingly, but Dax could sense the tension that coursed through her body. When the kiss finally ended, she whispered, “I should go.” She continued to caress her face. “This doesn’t have to be tonight. Neither one of us is going anywhere.”

Tala placed her hand over Jadzia’s, turning her palm up so that she could touch her lips to the tender skin. “Thank you. What my body…and heart…want and what my mind will allow…seem a bit different right now. I just need a little time…to think.” Her heart ached at Jadzia’s answering smile.

“I can wait. You’re worth it.” She pulled Tala close and buried her face in her hair, almost convincing herself that she could still smell the sea. With a final kiss goodnight, she turned to go.

“’Zia?”

“Yes?”

“Your hands,” Tala’s gaze locked on hers. “They were warm.”

Jadzia smiled. “I know.” She glanced at them briefly and then clenched them into fists, trying to will them to stop shaking. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Tala watched her until she was out of sight and then retreated into her quarters, calling herself a fool as she went.

Dax wandered through the corridors, taking the long way home to allow herself time to cool down. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. Every so often she would place her hands against her face and sigh. They were still warm, and felt as though they intended to stay that way. At least until she could get her mind off of the beautiful Bajoran who occupied her thoughts so completely.

Finally, the corridor she was wandering through ended at her door. She went inside, knowing there was probably no reason to even go to bed…sleep would be a long way off. She didn’t call for the lights as she moved automatically around her furniture and slumped onto the couch with a last, heavy sigh.

She almost jumped out of her spots when a hand came out of the darkness and rested on her knee.

“What the-“ She stood quickly. “LIGHTS!” After her eyes adjusted to the immediate illumination, she looked down into the Kira’s smiling face. “Kira?” she took a deep breath and sat back down. “You scared the life out of me. What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk.”

“Well, you’d better thank the Prophets that I didn’t bring anyone home.” Dax mumbled.

Kira put on her best scowl and leaned in closer. “You should be the one grateful for that. Because I know just exactly who it would have been.”

Dax laughed. “You don’t think I’m good enough for your sister?”

“Actually,” Kira took her hand. “I can’t think of anybody better. I’m glad she found someone she can care for. I’m glad you’ve finally found someone, too. At least, I hope you feel the same way about her, because I haven’t seen that look in my sister’s eyes for a long, long time. Even before we were separated. And I would hate to see her get hurt.”

Dax squeezed her hand gently. “I do care for her. We’re just….trying each other on right now.”

Kira looked at the ground, and Dax was amazed to see a tear fall to the floor. “What’s happened? Why are you crying?”

“He loves me.” Kira shook her head. “I don’t know why. Prophets, I don’t know how I could have missed it.”

Dax had several options at that point, the most appealing was to feign ignorance, but she knew Kira needed to hear the truth. “I see. So he finally told you.”

Kira’s head swiveled towards her, a dangerous look in her eyes. “You see? Dax, you’re not going to tell me that you already knew…are you?”

Jadzia looked directly into her eyes and tried not to smile.

“How could you not tell me?? I thought you were my friend..” She started to rise, presumably for one of her famous ‘Kira storm-outs’, but Dax grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the couch.

“I am your friend.” She took her hand again. “The only reason I even found out about it at all, was because of my Jian’Tara. When Curzon and Odo joined, they shared all of their memories, all of their experiences. When Curzon’s memories were rejoined with mine, I got a lot more than I expected. I got Odo’s as well. I got to remember what it was like to be a shapeshifter, what it was like to be so alone that it hurt every minute of every day…..and what it was like to love you. You can’t even imagine my surprise the first time I noticed it. You had come to my station in Ops and leaned across me to check one of the far sensors. I actually felt my heart ache at the sight of you. It took me three days to piece together what was happening…and I was unfit for anything until I had.”

“I think I remember when that happened.” Kira looked like she was trying not to laugh. “You spilled your Rak’tegino down the front of your uniform and then kept stammering every time you opened your mouth. I wondered why you were so scarce the next couple of days.”

Dax nodded, grinning sheepishly. “I would be lying if I said the experience was unpleasant. I even considered letting it take its course.” She sobered at Kira’s incredulous look. “You are a very beautiful woman. But….in the end, the memories and feelings were Odo’s, and I couldn’t take that from him, too. So I put them in the same category as the rest of my memories, and tried to keep my mouth shut.”

“Well, you did a damn good job with the last part.” She laugh was a little shaky. “So, what am I going to do?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I kind of figured this conversation was going to go like this.” She stood and began to pace. “I don’t know what I want to do. Two days ago, I would have told you that Edon and I were doing fine, never better…that I was falling in love with him. Now…now there’s this….this Odo factor.” She stopped pacing and stared out of a porthole. “So now I have to figure out how I feel about him. How I would feel about…us, if there was an us. Not to mention the other big question.”

“Which is?”

Kira gave her a funny look and flushed to the roots of her hair. “What if he can’t…” She waved her hand as she tried to find the appropriate word.

“Oh,” Dax smiled. “But what if he can.” She raised one eyebrow suggestively. “Think of the possibilities. I can’t imagine how you could not think about it. I know I have.”

She laughed and wrung her hands together. “Damn it! I didn’t even know Odo could fall in love, let alone want to.”

“I don’t think he ever wanted to, Kira. I think he fought it as long as he could and finally broke under the weight of the feelings he had for you.” She went to her and hugged her. “As for what you should do….I couldn’t tell you. But, if it makes any difference at all, I can tell you that Odo’s love for you is real. More real than most people can even dream about.”

Kira swallowed, wiping away a tear that had streamed, unchecked, down her cheek. She nodded. “Thank you. I’d better go.” She hit the door control, but turned back as it slid open. “Oh, I meant to ask you…”

“Hmmm?”

“How long has it been since your hands were that warm?” With a wry grin, she left.

Once outside, she smiled to herself. So, Dax had thought about the possibilities of a physical relationship with the Constable. She tried to imagine what it would be like to carry his memories the way Jadzia did, and found herself disappointed that she couldn’t.

She continued to walk, lost in her musings, until she came upon an adjacent corridor. She looked to the left, towards her quarters, and then to the right, towards….

With a deep breath, she headed right.

Chapter 5-Revelations

When she reached Odo’s door, Kira raised her hand to hit the door comm. She hesitated for a moment, her hand in mid-air, and then punched in the security code instead, hoping that Odo had not changed it since the last time she had visited. She tried to remember just exactly when the last time had been. Not since Shakaar had taken his new place in her life... She sighed as the door opened. She had made so many mistakes.

Kira entered and stood just inside the doorway, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness within. After a few moments, she was able to make out the shapes of Odo’s sculptures, or rather, his training devices. She wandered around the room, silently gliding her hand across the smooth surfaces, wondering if the smooth planes of his face might be indicative of the rest of his body. She stopped when she saw his bucket sitting on a table. Glancing inside of it, she was slightly disappointed to find it empty. She wondered where her plant had gone.

Kira sighed as she realized he was not there and turned to go. As she was about to key the door lock, she noticed a golden glow in the far corner. Walking over to it, she knelt and looked at Odo cautiously. Either he didn’t know she was there, or he didn’t care. She chose to believe the former.

Reaching out, she gently skimmed the surface of his ‘body’, delighting in the slight pulsing that she felt against her hand. Odo immediately stiffened, sliding into his usual form with ease. He stared at her, obviously shocked, until she leaned in and brushed her lips against his.

“Major?” He pulled back. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have a shuttle-”

“Shhh, Odo.” Kira moved closer to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Don’t call me Major.”

“Nerys, I-“ His words were cut off by her lips as she kissed him hungrily, pressing his back into the floor as she rolled on top of him.

“I realized,” She stared into his eyes after the kiss had ended. “That I needed to know….if we could be together…how we would be together. I still need the time, Odo…but I need this too.”

He studied her for a moment and then nodded. “I can accept that…for now.” He turned his head away. “But I am afraid I wouldn’t know what…I wouldn’t know how..”

Kira broke off his stammering with another kiss. Her hands crept up her chest to unfasten the clasps of her uniform. She moved away from him to pull it off and Odo immediately missed her warmth. When she returned, she was nude, and Odo found that he could not get his eyes to move from the point he was studying on the wall above her head.

“Odo,” Kira whispered. “Odo, look at me.”

He obeyed and was immediately frozen, lost in her pale skin that glowed faintly in the starlight. When he could move again, he found the Major smiling at him expectantly. “You are….very beautiful.”

Kira’s smiled broadened. Short and to the point…so like the Constable. “You are very sweet.”

“Sweet?” Odo smiled tightly. “Try terrified.”

Kira laughed quietly. “It’s easy. Come here.” She laid back and motioned for him to join her. When he had, she ran her hands over his still clad shoulders. “Lose the uniform.”

Odo started slightly at the command, but shifted anyway, replacing the beige roughness of his uniform with pale skin that looked much paler for its smoothness. Kira traced his well formed chest with one finger. “Nice.” She drew him close and whispered in his ear, “Very, very nice.”

Her lips found his again, surprised at the answering passion of his mouth. He circled his arms around her and pulled her roughly against his chest. Kira gasped as his lips moved down her chin to bite lightly at her neck, raising red marks that she knew she would have a hard time explaining tomorrow. Right now, though, she just didn’t care.

Odo didn’t care either. He had stopped feeling self conscious when he sensed Kira’s pulse quicken and now he was lost in kissing every inch of her shoulders. When he began to move down, she brought her hand up and wrapped her fingers around his hair. As he reached the swell of her breast, Kira’s fingers tightened, something that would have been painful had he been anybody but who he was. He paused for a moment when his lips reached her nipple, then closed his mouth over it, sending a shock coursing along her body.

Kira bit her lower lip, trying not to cry out as his tongue played over her breasts. The shocks that had been running along her skin had intensified with Odo’s excitement and the pleasure was almost more than she could bear. Just when she thought there was no part of her that his skin had not touched, she felt him shift against her, parting her legs and entering the warm wetness between her thighs. He filled her completely, touching every sensitive spot within her, causing her head to fall back as she focused on him inside of her. She couldn’t tell when he began to move, she only knew that it wasn’t exactly like movement. Instead, it was like an intense pulsing of Odo’s flesh. She looked up at him and saw his head thrown back. She could that tell he was struggling to hold his form.

“Odo,” She gasped. “Shift….please…I need to feel you against me…”

With a small cry, he fell, bathing her in his substance as it pulsed from within her. In his natural form, Odo flowed over her, running across her thighs, her clit, her lips…every part of her that he could reach. He was quickly overcome with sensations he had never experienced before, an intense pleasure that made him feel as though he was going to lose consciousness before it was over. He cried out from somewhere deep inside of himself and heard Kira’s matching cry. Her back had arched and she was trembling violently as she collapsed back onto the floor, saying his name softly through her tears.

Maj—Nerys?” He reverted to his humanoid form with some difficulty and took her face into his hands. “I’m sorry…did I hurt you?”

“No,” She smiled, her lips still trembling. “You didn’t hurt me, Odo. That was…incredible.”

Odo studied her as though he was looking for some sign of dishonesty. His doubt faded as she leaned into him, whispering into his ear.

“Again…”

*****************************

“Bashir to Major Kira!”

Kira started in her sleep, trying to wave away the annoying voice that was dragging her back to consciousness. She cracked one eye open and found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Kira here.” She mumbled, running her hands through her hair.

“Major,” Bashir’s voice was particularly irritating this morning. “I believe we had a date? For a shuttle to Missak?”

Kira’s eyes flew open. “What time is it?” she croaked.

“0625. You’re late.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I’ll be there as soon as possible. Kira out.” She looked around her and was startled to find Odo watching her, his hair rumpled, his calm blue eyes focused on her lips as she spoke. “I have to go. I’m sorry. I can’t believe I’m late. I’m never late!”

Odo chuckled and pulled her against his chest. He kissed her gently and then released her. “I love you, Kira Nerys.” He said, simply.

She stared at him, shocked to hear what she had already known. She tried to tell herself it was his voice that sent shivers down her spine, and not the words he had said. Shaking herself, she tugged her uniform on and headed for the door.

“I’ll see you when I get back.”

“I’ll be here.” Odo shifted his hair back into place.

With a final glance back, she fled, leaving Odo to smile after her departing form.

************************************************************************

Dax slammed her hands down on the bed, arching her back to try and relieve some of the frustrated tension she felt. Glancing at her console, she groaned. 0600 hours. With a sigh, she got up and ordered a Rak’tegino. It was really too early for Klingon coffee, but she didn’t expect to get anymore sleep anyway. She settled into a chair and began to go over some research she had been neglecting when her console flashed with an incoming message. She tapped the control and has surprised when Tala’s face appeared on the screen. She looked as though she had been crying.

“’Zia?” Her voice was steady but there was a pleading in her eyes that Jadzia caught immediately. “I…I know it’s late, but you said if I ever needed to talk…”

“I’ll be right there.” She smiled at the woman gently. “Just let me get dressed.”

“Thanks. I’ll leave the door unlocked. I’m going to take a shower, just come in when you get here.”

Dax nodded and ended the transmission. She pulled on her favorite workout clothes, a set of well worn, blue sweats, and headed down the hall. She passed several of her morning crew headed into the Labs and smiled at them as she passed, taking their curious looks with good grace. When she reached Tala’s door, she took her at her word and entered unannounced.

Jadzia glanced around as she entered. The room was neat, but cluttered. Tala’s belongings had been transferred from her ship and lay about the room, presumably waiting to be put away. She noticed a great deal of paper lying across the low coffee table that ran the length of the couch, and sat down in front of it. She picked up some of the papers, her curiosity overcoming her manners, and was surprised to find them all filled with the gently slanting script of handwritten prose. Each paper was signed at the bottom with the initials KT. She glanced through the door to the bedroom and heard the shower still running. With a guilty flush, she began to read:

A Solitary Seduction

how long before the torture

becomes something I need?

How long before the aching pain

turns into something sweet?

how long before the lonely nights

I prefer instead

of a woman, warm and soft

nestled in my bed?

How long before my restless dreams

play out and finally cease?

How long before this lonely life

turns into one of peace?

How long before I understand

and finally embrace,

that all my wants and needs and dreams

have filled that empty space?

How long before I can accept

my world and life alone?

How long before I realize,

that’s all I’ve ever known?

KT

Dax slowly lowered the paper back onto the table. Her heart ached for the pain that Talas must have felt to put those words on paper.

“Did you like it?” Tala’s voice carried from across the room, where she stood in a doorway, her hair still wet. A white tunic draped over her lithe form, accenting the body beneath.

“I-“ Dax flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m sure these are very private.”

Tala moved to the window and stared out in the direction of the wormhole. “Did you like it?” She repeated softly.

“No.” Dax took a deep breath. “It was a good poem, but I can’t honestly say that I liked it. It was too much like the writer has….given up.”

“Maybe she has…” Dax watched as she brushed violently at a tear that was sliding down her cheek. “I’m sorry ‘Zia. I had a dream…a nightmare…”

“About Nan’Tekk.” Jadzia’s words were a statement, not a question.

Tala’s attention swung back to the portal as the wormhole flared open, swallowing a runabout that was headed to the Gamma Quadrant. Tala placed her hand on the window, curling her fingers against the glass as her sisters ship disappeared in a swirl of blue light. “Be well, Nerys.” She whispered.

Dax watched her with concern until Tala finally sighed and joined her on the couch. She placed her hand on the Bajoran’s arm in comfort. “Are you all right?”

“No,” Tala choked, trying to hold back her tears. “I need to talk to you…I need to tell somebody..”

“Tell me.” Jadzia placed an arm across her shoulders, trying to still the shaking in her shoulders.

“Jadzia, something happened to me during my internment at Nan’Tekk. If Nerys were to find out about it…it could destroy her. But if I don’t tell her, she will continue to support a man whose entire life has been based on lies.”

“Who?” Dax looked at her in surprise.

Tala shook her head. “Let me tell you everything, otherwise you might not understand.” She waited for Jadzia’s nod. “I spent four years at Nan’Tekk, four long, miserable years. The only good thing in my life then was Zenece. She was the rock that I clung to. The reason for my survival.” Tala shook off that thought. “The guards at the mining camp were very brutal. They had…’games’ that they enjoyed playing with the Bajorans under their supervision.” She shuddered slightly. “They would pick a Bajoran man out of the crowd and tell him to rape a woman they had selected for their amusement. Normally, the man would refuse, and they would kill him as an example of what happens when you disobey Cardassian rule. The woman would be released, to show their benevolent mercy.”

Dax felt her heart ache for the woman in front of her. She squeezed her shoulders a little tighter as she continued.

“Eventually, it was my turn. They pulled me out of the crowd and stood me in front of the prisoners and the guards. Then, they grabbed a man who had been trying to edge his way to the back of the room. They told him to rape me, or die.” A tear slid down her cheek. “And without a moments hesitation, he did. The guards were so surprised that I was able to disappear into the crowd. The next woman was not so lucky. Nor were any of their other ‘amusements’. This man became their lap dog. They would drag him around by his chain and command him to do unspeakable things to anyone they happened to choose. Horrible things. And he did them. All of them, without a word. The people he abused took a long time to recover. Some of them never did. The ones that couldn’t get past it, were called ‘cryers’.” Jadzia felt Tala’s shoulders began to shake violently, her body racked by emotions. “My lover was one of them. When he was done with her, she couldn’t walk. Her body was torn and ravaged, she was bruised beyond recognition and both of her wrists were broken from the force he had used to hold them over her head. I tried to help her, to comfort her, but there was nothing I could do. She would lay in the corner of our cell and whimper whenever I touched her. She cried loudly every night until the guards finally showed up. They dragged her out of our cell and threw her on the ground.” Tala’s face went pale. “I heard her scream when she landed on her hands. A guard slammed me onto the bed and knelt in the middle of my back, pulling up on my hair, forcing me to watch. Gul Boran stood over her. The son of a bitch was smiling. He said….he said she wasn’t worth a phaser blast, and began to kick her where she lay.” Her whole body had gone stiff and Dax glanced at her hands. They were curled into fists so tightly, that her knuckles were whiter than the tunic she wore. “She screamed over and over, until I thought I would go mad. But she didn’t die. She was a tough woman…physically anyway. She lay there and she screamed until I couldn’t stand it anymore. The anger and the hatred exploded out of me in strength, strength that I used to throw the Cardassian that was riding me backwards into the wall. I heard his head connect with a sound more satisfying than anything you can imagine. I was out of the cell before he even hit the ground. Gul Boran was so surprised,” a feral grin covered her features. “I put my foot into his head hard enough to send blood flying against the wall. My second kick drove three ribs into his black heart.” Her body trembled as the memories slid away. “I picked her up, tried to hold her close…but everything I did…everywhere I touched, even my tears on her face, caused her pain.”

Jadzia tried to control the rage in her face as she asked quietly, “How did you get her out?”

Tala smiled sadly and closed her eyes, allowing the tears to flow more freely than they ever had. “I didn’t.” She whispered. “I couldn’t. I tried to think of any possibilities, and only came up with one. So I kissed her…and broke her neck.”

Dax started, shocked by what she had heard. She ran a hand across her face. “What did they do to you?”

Tala looked at her gently. “You don’t want to know, Jadzia. Any more than I want to tell you.” She looked out the window. “I tried to find out who he was…the man who had ruined my life. Turns out he had been captured in a resistance raid on a Cardassian outpost. Nobody knew his name, only that he had been fighting the Cardassians before he arrived. Shortly after Zenece died, he escaped. That was two years into my time there. I spent the next two years trying to salvage something of my former self. I don’t think I ever really succeeded. My only peace was the gratitude in her eyes when she died. It was all I had left…to hold onto.”

“And you don’t think Kira can handle what happened to you?”

“No, that isn’t it, Jadzia.” She stared at the floor. “Four years after I had arrived, two years after Zay’s death, we were rescued from the camp by several resistance groups that had joined together for the raid. I spent the next nine years in the Gamma Quadrant, and I never saw that man again…until yesterday.” Tala took a deep breath. “The man who destroyed my life, and the lives of so many others, now sits in the office of the First Minister of Bajor. That man is Shakaar Edon.”

Chapter 6-Distractions

Kira glanced over at Bashir and tugged at her collar. It was bad enough she had been late, she didn’t need his condescending remarks as well.

“I could fix those with a dermal regenerator, if you like.” Bashir continued to key information into the console as he spoke.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Kira said sternly, trying to warn him off. She should have known it wouldn’t work.

“I’m talking about the reason you’ve been pulling on your collar. You’ve straightened it four times in the last hour, but it still doesn’t cover them.” He leaned closer and peeled her jacket back so he could get a better look at her neck. “Really, Major. Didn’t your mother tell you these were bad for your skin?”

“That’s enough, Julian.” She shrugged his hands away. “If you could treat them, I would appreciate it. But if you’re just going to make snide remarks, you can keep them to yourself.”

Bashir dug in a pack and pulled out the regenerator. He activated it over the three red marks that marred the Major’s otherwise flawless skin and then clucked over his work. “There you are. All gone.” He smoothed her collar back against her neck and moved back to his chair, where he sat and studied her for a few moments.

Kira, feeling his eyes one her, finally spun her chair around to face him. “Is there something you would like to ask me, Doctor?”

“Well,” Bashir took a few deep breaths. “It’s just that….I wasn’t aware that the First Minister was on the Station last night.” He looked at her expectantly.

“He wasn’t.” Kira said simply. She weighed Bashir’s facial response before continuing. “I was with…someone else.”

“I see.” He smiled as he turned his attention back to his work.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kira demanded.

Bashir’s smiled broadened at her hostile tone. “It means, Major, that I understand that you were not with the First Minister when the markings occurred.” He raised his eyebrows. “Might I hazard a guess as to who you were with?”

Kira sighed. “I’m pretty sure you don’t even have to guess.”

“Well, the Constable’s feelings for you have been well known for some time. I must say I was always…” Bashir searched for the perfect word. “Cheering for him.”

“Why is it that I get the feeling Quark may have been taking bets on this particular event?” She felt a headache start behind her eyes. “Is there anyone that didn’t know? Morn maybe?”

“Ahhh, no.” He tried to hide his smile. “Morn won the pool.”

“Oh, I see.” Kira’s calm tone began to worry him. “And what exactly was the bet he made?”

Bashir cleared his throat and managed to look sheepish. “He bet that you would be too blind to see it, before you took up with Shakaar.”

“Well, that’s just perfect.” She thought back to what her sister had said about gossip. “Are there any other bets about me going around the Station, Doctor?”

“None that I know of,” He made a great pretense of scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Except for the one between Dax and myself.”

“Between you and Dax?” She closed her eyes in frustration. “And that would be?”

“How long it will take you to decide on the one person who is the only real choice.” Bashir turned his attention back to the console and fervently ignored her for the next two hours.

************************************************************************

Dax shifted uncomfortably. Her neck hurt and when she opened her eyes, she understood why. She was still sitting on Tala’s couch, holding the Bajoran as she had for the two hours it had taken for her to cry herself to sleep. She looked at Tala, a rush of emotions taking her breath away as she thought about everything that the beautiful woman had been through in her short 29 years of life. She had been 16 when she was taken to Nan’Tekk, and 20 when she came out. But that time and the 9 years she had spent so far away from her world seemed to have aged her beyond even Dax’s years. It could not have helped that those last 9 years had been spent alone. The poem she had read suddenly made more sense.

She stroked Tala’s cheek, enjoying the softness of the woman’s skin as she sighed and leaned over to look at the console. 0900 hours. She stifled a curse as she tried to extricate herself from the arms that had wrapped around her neck sometime during the night. Just as she freed herself, Tala woke.

“Don’t go.” She looked at her, sleep still dulling her eyes.

“I have to. I’m on duty in 30 minutes.” She tried to turn away but found herself hypnotized by the beautiful green eyes that stared back at her. She had thought them brown when they first met, but now realized that they had changed colors. She had noticed it briefly during the short time that they had known each other, and wondered if it had anything to do with her changes in mood.

“Call in sick.” Tala swallowed as she took in the Trill’s beauty. “I need you.”

Dax opened her mouth to object, and then saw the truth of that statement mirrored in her eyes. With a sigh, she hit her commbadge. “Dax to Sisko.”

“Sisko here.” His voice was cheerful and fully awake. Dax imagined that he had had his 8 hours of sleep and a few Rak’tegino’s as well.

“Benjamin, I need a favor.”

“What can I do for you, Old Man?”

“I need to be excused from duty today, if it is possible. I have a…a friend that needs some comfort.”

“Ahhh…” She could almost hear him smile. “Well, I seem to recall that you have stockpiled quite a lot of leave time. Why don’t you take a few days,” Now she knew he was smiling. “To comfort your friend.”

“That would be wonderful, Benjamin. Thank you.”

“Anytime, old man.” His voice returned to its professional tones. “I’ll get Lieutenant Morda to cover your duty shifts. I’ll see you back in Ops in, oh say… five days? Sisko out.”

Dax smiled at Tala and sat back down, She opened her arms for her to snuggle back into them, but Tala shook her head and pulled her up off of the couch and led her to the bedroom. Once there, she pulled her tunic off and slid under the covers, pulling the other side down so that Dax could join her.

Dax was speechless. She stood, rooted to floor, and looked quizzically at the bed.

“Don’t worry, ‘Zia. You’re safe for right now.” She patted the mattress beside her. “I just want your arms around me.”

Dax nodded and slipped out of her sweats. She was wearing a long undershirt beneath them, but nothing else. She slid into the bed facing Tala, who immediately turned her back on the Trill and snuggled against her chest. Dax closed her eyes at the pleasure of the warm skin against hers. She took a few deep breaths and wrapped her arm around Tala’s stomach, ‘spooning’ the woman from behind.

“That’s nice.” Tala whispered. “You’re so soft…and sweet.” She sighed in contentment.

“Tala?” Dax said softly.

“Hmmm?”

“I…I don’t want to make you hurt anymore than you have to, but there are a few questions that I think someone should ask.”

She felt Tala stiffen against her, and tightened her arm, trying to comfort her in the best way she knew how. After a moment, she relaxed. “Go ahead…”

Dax took a deep breath. “It was so long ago, is there any way you could be mistaken?”

For a long moment, she said nothing. Finally, she turned and looked into Jadzia’s concerned eyes. “If you lost your life, not just once, but twice to the same man, do you really think you would ever mistake his face?”

“Twice?”

Tala shook her head. “I guess I didn’t explain it well enough.” She touched Jadzia’s face softly before she continued. “The resistance raid on Nan’Tekk was made possible by the joining of several different resistance cells. The Shakaar cell led the siege, with the other groups swarming through after the original attack. It had all been planned, down the very last detail. There were to be no Cardassian Patrols in that area, on that day. All the patrols had been lured to another area by a rather obvious raid on a munitions stockpile. There was absolutely no reason for a Galor class warship to be in our flight path. Even the patrol ships were just rebuilt scouters.” She massaged her temples. “Somebody told them where we were going to be…and when. Somebody with a good enough reason to want 1500 of their own people killed at the hands of the Cardassians.” She looked at Dax pointedly. “Can you imagine who might have had a good enough reason?”

Dax felt sick. All this time, Kira and the others had been supporting a man that was not only a rapist, but a murderer as well. Each of the 388 lives lost in that attack were on his head. She shuddered as she imagined Kira’s response.

“Shakaar was the only one with a reason to turn us over to the Cardassians. To keep his secret.”

“Then why rescue you at all?”

“A few members of the resistance went with us on the Nakota, and the tale of the raid has been told a thousand times over the campfires of Missak. One of the biggest fallacies is that the raid was Shakaar’s doing. It wasn’t. It was actually the Aleram Resistance Cell that organized the attack on Nan’Tekk. But Shakaar took over, making the final plans himself. Aleram never had much charisma, his cell was all but unknown, but he did care for Bajor. So much that he stepped down and allowed the ‘hero’ to take his place.”

“Aleram?” Dax looked at the floor. That name. Something about that name.

“Yes. Aleram Kass. He was a good man. He was lost in the raid.”

Dax tried to grasp at the information that was locked in her mind. Every time she thought she had it, it slipped away, skirting to the edge of her memory. She rubbed her eyes. Maybe if she got some sleep…

That thought was cut off by Tala’s hand, which had come to rest lightly on her abdomen. Dax felt her stomach muscles clench as she turned to look into very green eyes.

Those eyes never wavered as the hand slid upwards, running along the edge of her breast to rest on her collarbone.

“Tala,” She swallowed. “I’m having a hard time concentrating.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing.” She leaned down and brushed her lips over Jadzia’s. Feeling the quick response, she lingered a while, letting her tongue run along the Trill’s lower lip. Jadzia shuddered and pulled away. “What’s wrong?” The hurt in her voice was apparent.

“I’m not so sure this is a good idea, Tala.” Jadzia sighed heavily. “This is an extremely emotional time for you. You might regret it later.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Tala leaned in to capture her lips again, but Jadzia turned her head away. She looked at the Trill thoughtfully before speaking. “Have you ever made love with Nerys, ‘Zia?”

Dax sat up quickly, a look of shock coloring her face. “No! Of course not.”

Tala smiled at her quick response. “Why ‘Of course not’? I know you’ve thought about it. I can see it in your face.”

The silence stretched out for a moment, before she answered. “In passing, perhaps. There have been times when her passion has been…very attractive.”

“I know. I grew up with her at the Singha Refugee Camp. She had an entourage wherever she went. She was loud and boisterous, told you exactly how she felt about things, and held no reservations about her body. She would say that, sometimes, the only way to survive was to assault life head on. That the only way to drag your heart through the dirt and the wreckage and come out on the other side with it still in one piece, was to feel as though you were invincible, to distract yourself from everything around you. From the things that beat you down and kept you there.”

Tala looked out the portal towards the wormhole. “She said that making love was one of the sweetest distractions she had ever known. I understood what she meant, when I tried it.” She flushed slightly. “I actually tried it quite a lot…until I met Zenece…then there was only her.” She shook her head and continued. “After everything was over, after we settled on Missak, I thought I would find someone and settle down. But they needed their leader, one that would give her whole attention to the settlement and their problems. And so I found another excuse not to press my heart. Another reason not to move on. Eventually, I just decided that I would remain as I was, and I was happy about that decision…until now.” She looked directly into Jadzia’s eyes. “Three days aren’t much, I know. But for the first time in 11 years, I feel alive again. And that’s because of you, ‘Zia. My pulse races when you come near, my heart pounds until I can barely speak….I feel breathless. I haven’t felt like that in a long, long time. I think I could love you, Jadzia Dax. Maybe I already do. All I know for certain, is that right here, right now, I want you. For more than just a distraction.”

Jadzia swallowed. Bringing her hands up, she cupped Tala’s face and looked into her eyes. She saw the truth of her words mirrored there, and felt her heart beginning to pound within her chest.

“Tala..” Jadzia’s whisper curled around Tala like a caress. She stopped breathing when the Trill brought her lips to the corner of her mouth, running them back under her ear. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” The Bajoran slid her hands up Dax’s back. “please…I’ve been alone so long.”

Jadzia didn’t answer. Instead, she brought her hands out and across Tala’s shoulders, closing her eyes as she felt the soft skin beneath her fingers.

With her eyes still closed, she moistened her lips and kissed the hollow in Tala’s throat, letting her tongue dart out as she traced the delicate collarbone with her mouth. “So sweet.” Dax whispered. Sitting up, she straddled Tala’s hips with her bare thighs and pulled off her undershirt. She looked down to find Tala smiling at her. It was an infectious smile that she felt on her own lips as well. “What?”

Tala brought her hand up and traced Jadzia’s markings as they ran up her hip. She followed their trail across the outside of her stomach, and finally, across the swell of her breasts. “They do go all the way down. I’ve been wondering about that..”

Jadzia laughed softly. “Anything else you’d like to know?”

“Oh, yes. Most of them you can show me. But, tell me about this.” She picked up one of the Trill’s hands. It was warm to the touch. “After that first night on the Promenade, I did some reading.” She blushed but continued anyway. “I read that blood circulation is normally low in Trills, and especially so in the extremities. Twice now your hands have been warm….why?”

“Well,” Jadzia leaned forward and began to trace a line down Tala’s abdomen. “Trill physiology is much like any humanoids. The harder our hearts beat, the better the circulation.” She kissed the smooth skin between Tala’s breasts. “Right now, my whole body is burning up.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Tala grinned. A grin that faded as Jadzia’s mouth closed upon her breast. She had known that she was attracted to this woman, this Trill. What she hadn’t known was how strong her reaction would be. She pushed herself up off the bed, offering herself to the woman on top of her.

Jadzia couldn’t think, she couldn’t see…all she could do was feel. The body beneath her was young and firm, the muscles hardened from years of work, but it was the voice, the smile and the heart within that was the cause of the fluttering in the pit of her stomach. As her tongue played slowly over each of Tala’s nipples, she felt an excitement that she remembered from another lifetime, but never before in this one. With a low moan, she pushed her thoughts away and brought her lips back to Tala’s, positioning her long body on top of the Bajoran and tasting the sweetness of her tongue.

Tala was in heaven. The softness of Jadzia’s skin and the warmth of her weight on top of her drove all caution from her mind. With a strong, swift movement, she rolled over, tucking Dax beneath her. She smiled briefly at the Trill’s look of surprise before trailing her lips along the same path of spots that her hands had followed earlier. Her mouth covered each of her nipples briefly, before resuming it’s trail down Jadzia’s stomach. There were no spots on Jadzia’s thighs, but she kissed them anyway, using her chin to nudge them open so that she could nibble on the sensitive skin within.

Jadzia reached down and curled her fingers into Tala’s hair. The warm lips against her skin were intoxicating. She held her breath as Tala’s tongue moved upwards to caress the folds of her labia, and then let it out with a low moan as hands crept up her sides to cover her breasts. She tried to breathe, tried to think, but it seemed that Dax had taken that moment to retreat and leave her consciousness completely to the 33 year old woman she might have been. In her mind she could even picture Dax as Curzon, sitting back and laughing merrily at her as she lost herself in the very sensations she had always thought him too fond of.

But in the end, she just didn’t care. The beautiful Bajoran laying between her thighs controlled her thoughts, her heartbeats, every whisper of pleasure and every breath she drew. She arched her back as Tala’s lips moved faster, her tongue pressing harder until Jadzia shuddered and fell back, moaning, into the bed.

For a moment, it was all she could do just to lay there and breathe. Her thighs still shook from the strength of her climax and she could feel little shocks emanating out from the symbiont inside of her. She smiled to herself. It looked as though Dax hadn’t gone that far after all. She sighed when Tala climbed up her body and kissed her, opening her mouth so that Dax could taste herself on her lips. Tala’s cheeks were warm and moist as she rubbed her face against them. The tremor that ran through the Bajoran’s body was enough to get Dax’s heart pounding again. She turned on her side and gently lowered Tala onto her back.

The first kiss was tender, gentle, but ran through Tala’s body like fire. The second was passion, and tore through her like a knife. She moaned when Dax pulled away to draw her hair over her shoulder. With slow, sensual movements, Dax trailed her hair over Tala’s breasts and abdomen, making her tremble as the silky softness sent shudders down her spine. When the dark silk reached her thighs, Tala let out the breath she had been holding and allowed her legs to part. Jadzia lowered herself down until her face rested on the fragrant patch of hair below her belly, and breathed in deeply, enjoying the complex scent of her, like the oceans of Trill and the hills of Bajor, sweet and strong.

Jadzia remained that way for a few moments, giving Tala enough time to regulate her breathing before she slid an arm under the Bajoran’s body. We a firm motion, she pulled herself up and fixed her lips on Tala’s breasts, moving from one to the other as her hand slid effortlessly into the moistness between her legs. Her fingers played over Tala’s clitoris, sending spasms of pleasure through her shaking legs. She could feel the Trill stop breathing for a moment as she slid her fingers inside. Jadzia was completely still, save for the shaking of her hand that Tala could feel inside her.

After a moment, Jadzia caught her breath and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the warm softness that enveloped her fingers, concentrated on moving her hand in the rhythm Tala’s body had already begun. Her mind went blank as she enjoyed the body arching beneath her. Her nostrils flared as the flesh around her fingers tightened. She felt her body respond in time with Tala’s, reaching her second climax as the Bajoran reached her first.

Tala fell back on the bed, gasping quietly. She shivered slightly as Jadzia withdrew her fingers and crawled up beside her.

“Thank you.” Tala whispered, tears running down her cheeks.

Jadzia laughed softly. “You don’t have to thank me Tala. I wanted that as much as you did. And I still do..”

Tala smiled, burrowing her face into a soft, spotted shoulder. “I’m….a little out of practice. I may need a rest period.”

Jadzia leaned down and ran her tongue across Tala’s bottom lip. “I think you might need more than one…”

************************************************************************

Shakaar Edon sat with his back to the rest of his office, watching as a Bolian Transport lifted off from a docking pad and headed out of Bajoran space. With a loud sigh, he lowered his head into his hands.

“First Minister?” A confused voice broke through his musings. “Sir? Are you all right?” She came around the desk and touched his face gently. “Edon?”

He turned so that he could look at the woman standing beside him. She had always been a good assistant and was an excellent lover, keeping his mind occupied while Kira was away, playing at being a diplomat. He frowned at himself. So ungracious a remark, even to himself. He had come to realize that his current situation had several possible outcomes, the only constant being that he was going to lose Nerys. “I’m fine, Misa.” He looked down at his desk. “I just have a lot on my mind. Why don’t we finish the letter later?”

She nodded slowly, pausing to brush the hair off of his forehead before leaving.

Once she had gone, the First Minister turned his attention back to the window. The transport was no longer in sight, but he stared in the direction it had gone. It hadn’t taken him very long to realize that Denais had been right. The Adjetant, and a small group of his men, would be no more than six hours behind the Rio Grande, some of which they should be able to make up at warp.

He rubbed his hand across his eyes and tried to swallow the dryness in his mouth. He had made it clear that it was to be an intelligence operation only. No more than 5 people off the ship at any given time. No contact other than casual conversation and then, only if safe. If they were lucky, they would be able to pass themselves off as members of Kira’s team.

Shakaar had, once again, made Denais responsible for keeping Kira alive. He had made it clear that he would not forgive any further action without his complete consent.

He sighed again, wondering just how much his direction meant anymore. It was something he didn’t want to think about, but did anyway. He lost all track of time until he noticed that the light outside the window had shifted, showing him his own reflection in the now darkened glass. In his eyes, he saw the truth.

He could not control Denais.

And he had known it all along.

************************************************************************

Music. Really, really loud music.

Dax cracked one eye open and peered around the room. With a sigh, she stretched and rolled over. A slow, sensuous smile played across her lips as memories of the night before ran through her mind.

“What are you smiling at?” Tala spoke from where she stood in the doorway, a matching smile on her face. “I was wondering if you were ever going to get up.”

“Why?” Dax stretched her arms over her head, causing her spots to shift enticingly across the muscles of her abdomen. “What time is it?”

Tala swallowed, turning her face slightly to hide her flush. “Computer, time?”

The computer chirped its acknowledgment and answered, “Current time is 1600 hours.”

Jadzia sat up quickly. “You’re kidding!” She grabbed her shirt an slipped it over her head. “I haven’t slept this late in…well…never.”

Tala slid onto the bed beside her and kissed her gently. “Well, now you have.” She ran her finger down Jadzia’s cheek. “Good morning, ‘Zia. It was wonderful to wake up to you this morning.”

“How long have you been up?” She raised her voice slightly, to be heard over the music in the next room. “What are you listening to?”

“I’ve been up for four hours. But you looked so tired, I thought you could use the sleep. You didn’t get much…last night.”

“A fact that I am blissfully aware of.” She smiled.

“And I ran into Jake Sisko out on the Promenade. I thought I would prowl the station while you were unconscious.” She slid away from Dax’s playful nudge. “He seemed quite interested in your whereabouts. Said his father was wondering where you had gotten to.”

Jadzia flushed. “Did you tell him where I was?”

“Of course I did. I didn’t want the Captain to…worry.” She grinned impishly. “Jake seemed quite taken by your being here. He said something about it ‘being about time’.” Her heart skipped at Dax’s answering smile. “Anyway, he gave my some data crystals, some very old earth music that he enjoys. Do you like it? I was hoping it would wake you up since you’ve slept through all of my attempts.”

“I like it very much.” She listened to the words:

You have spent nights, thinking of me,

missing my arms, but you needed to leave.

Leaving my cuts, leaving my burns,

hoping I’d learn.

Blood and Fire

are too much for these restless arms to hold.

And my nights of desire are calling me,

back to your fold…

She shook her head slightly. “Wow. Jake has some interesting taste in music.”

Tala nodded. “I like that one too.” She put her arms around the Trill and pulled her gently down, onto the bed. “What did you want to do today? Since you are officially on vacation.”

Dax tapped her fingers in time with the music. “I have a surprise for you, actually.”

“What?” Tala looked at her, a wonderfully childlike smile on her face. “I hate surprises.”

“Well, I guess you are just going to have to get over that.” She pulled herself out of Tala’s embrace. “We have to go to my quarters first, though. And sometime today I need to go see Benjamin.” She leaned back to kiss Tala lightly on the nose. “Rumor control.” She explained.

“Of course.” Tala had stayed where she was, stretching her lithe form out across the bed that Dax had just vacated. She looked the Trill up and down in a decidedly lecherous fashion.

Looking down at her, Jadzia fancied that she could feel her symbiont’s heart speed up to keep time with her own. She was so beautiful. From the lovely ridges on her nose to the slender ankles that were now crossed, Jadzia couldn’t think of one part of the Bajoran she wouldn’t want to kiss. She fought a strong urge to simply climb back into those waiting arms and lose herself for another day or two. Tala’s face said that she would certainly welcome the idea. In the end, she pulled her uniform back on. “Quark is probably taking bets as to when we’ll come out of this room.”

Tala laughed. “All right! You win. I will stop trying to seduce you. For the time being anyway. I make no promises about my future behavior.” She stood up. “We’ll go to your quarters then. Lead the way.” She watched as Jadzia exited the room, and smiled as she followed.

************************************************************************

Odo entered his office and slumped into his chair. He didn’t bother to call for the lights as he closed his eyes and let the memories of the previous night invade his consciousness. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to keep them at bay as he worked. It had taken him three hours to realize that he would not be able to concentrate until he had allowed his mind to go where it wanted to.

There was no denying the effect the Major had on him, it was something he had been living with for some time. But his response to her body, to her caress, to her voice, the night before was…well, it was astounding. He had always believed that his only physical release would be granted by joining the Great Link. Something that he could never do. The release he had experienced with Kira was different, but better in so many ways.

He felt his hands begin to tremble as his thoughts ran over how she had looked in the moonlight. Her skin so pale, so soft under his hands. Her gentleness with him, and her tone of command. He knew he would have remained unable to move, frozen with panic, if she had not forced the issue. He also knew that she was the only one he would ever allow to treat him that way. He fancied that he had almost been able to taste her lips, her body…but knew that was only an illusion.

It had been very pleasing though. More pleasing than he had ever thought possible.

“Ahem!”

Odo scrambled to his feet, embarrassed at not having heard the intruder. “Lights!” he bellowed, and then glared at the offender. “Quark! What are you doing here?”

“I came to complain!” The small Ferengi’s nostrils flared in indignation. “I thought we had an agreement about your noise levels! Last night was completely unacceptable!”

Odo smirked. “I have it on good authority that you were not even in your quarters last night, Quark. Wasn’t it Tongo night?”

“It was.” Quark curled his lip in disgust. “Dax, however, decided to spend the evening in one of my holosuites.” He grunted. “Everybody else loses too quickly. I assure you, I was back in my quarters by 0300 hours.”

Odo was slightly disconcerted by that information, but did not allow it to show. “And I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Quark smiled at him. “Major Kira dropped by the bar last night.”

“Meaning what?” Odo growled.

“Meaning nothing.” Quark smiled. “I would appreciate it if you would be a little more quiet in the future.” He brushed some invisible lint off the front of his jacket. “Have a good day, Constable.” He strolled out of security, whistling as he went.

Odo slid back into his chair. He tried to work up an acceptable level of anger at the Ferengi’s audacity, but found that he could only raise the faintest glimmer of frustration. With a sigh, he let a small smile creep onto his face.

It was still there to confuse his deputies when they came to deliver their afternoon reports.

************************************************************************

“Tala!” Dax pushed the playful Bajoran’s arms away for the fifth time. She glanced down the hallway. “I would like to be the first one to tell your sister about us!” She grinned when Tala stuck her tongue out at her. “You are in a good mood today.”

“Why shouldn’t I be?” She smiled up at Jadzia. “I’m home, I’ve found my sister, and I’ve just spent the evening making love to the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” She laughed again as Dax smiled in embarrassment at a couple of passing Ensigns. “And you are so cute when you are nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.” Dax protested. “I don’t get nervous.” She squeezed Tala’s hand. “I’m just….happy.” She finished with a mild sense of surprise. She had been happy the entire time she had been on DS9, but it didn’t compare with the way she felt right now.

They continued to walk, heading down the coridoors towards Dax’s quarters and Tala continued to tease her. “So,” She put her arm around Jadzia’s waist. “What will your friend Benjamin say about us?”

Dax smiled. “I don’t know what he will say,” She ignored her better judgment and pulled Tala closer. “But I can already see the smile he’ll be wearing when he says it.” She sobered somewhat, not wanting to ruin Tala’s good mood, but she had to ask. “What about Kira?” She sighed when Tala pulled her arm away and crossed them over her chest.

“I know I have to tell her.” She glanced at Dax. “I was hoping you could help me with that.” She reached out quickly and put two fingers on Jadzia’s lips when she began to speak. “But not today, okay?” She pleaded. “Let me have today. We’ll talk about everything else tomorrow.” She glanced down to the timepiece she wore on her wrist. “Nerys is more than halfway there. Maybe more, our calculations were very rough on the time estimates.” She leaned into Jadzia’s back as they came to a stop outside of her quarters. “With her there, it gives me a few days to decide how to tell her. Plus, it will give me some time to make some decisions about my life as well.”

“Such as?” Dax reached out and keyed the door, leading Tala, who was still lost in her own thoughts, inside.

“Such as what I am going to do with myself now.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I spent the first twenty years of my life fighting Cardassians, and the last nine fighting to get home. What am I going to do, now that I don’t have anything to fight for?”

Jadzia leaned in and kissed her, brushing a few stray strands of fine red hair off of her forehead. She looked at her for a moment, her mind far away, before she smiled and nodded to herself. “Let me work on that one,” Her heart was beating so hard she found it difficult to breathe. “I can be very creative when the occasion warrants.”

“I believe it.” Tala sat on the couch and pulled her legs up under her. “Go change your clothes, or whatever you have to do. I’ll wait here.” She raised one eyebrow suggestively. “Unless you need help…”

“Stay here.” Dax warned. “I intend for you to get your surprise, and if we get stuck in here all day, as attractive as that may be, we won’t make it to the holosuite.”

“The holosuite?” Tala grinned. “Well, that sounds promising.”

Jadzia leaned down and kissed her before heading into her bedroom.

She noticed it as soon as the door closed behind her. At first it was just a scent. A pleasing, lightly intoxicating smell that caused her to glance around in confusion. It wasn’t until her eyes fell on her night table that she understood.

Sitting there, in a beautiful crystal vase, was the ugliest flower she had ever seen. With a small laugh, she walked over to it and touched one of it’s petals. She grinned at the irony that such a wonderful scent, and such soft petals should belong to so ugly a plant. It was a strange shade of blue, somewhere between blue and black, and had several orange stalks rising up from the center. As she stared at it, she realized that it was becoming more attractive the longer she looked at it. Her ironic grin turned into a smile of delight as she noticed colors that seemed to swirl from within the petals. She picked it up gently and headed into the other room.

“This is wonderful.” She sat down on the couch and held it out in front of her. “What is it?”

“Can you see the colors?” Tala looked at her hopefully, ignoring the question.

“Yes.” Dax breathed. “There are so many different colors, and they look like they are moving underneath the surface. At first, I thought it was just a shade of off-black, but now…I don’t know what color it is.””

Tala reached out and touched a petal gently. “It is a very delicate flower, which blooms no place other than the D’Kor province. At least, not that I have ever seen..” She smiled a little sadly. “I had thought them extinct, but I found this tree at the very outskirts, when Nerys and I went to the surface. It’s a flower that is cherished for it’s scent, but only a few out of a hundred can see the colors.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. It’s something that has mystified botanists from all over Bajor. A long time ago, in ancient times, this flower was used as a basis for choosing those who would serve the Prophets. Over the centuries, it lost it’s importance, but not its fascination to the Bajora.” She leaned in and inhaled deeply. “The colors are actually the flowers ‘blood’ moving within it’s ‘skin’. A lot of scientists have speculated that it contains colors of a spectrum that only some can see.” She looked at Dax intently. “You are the first off-worlder to ever see them.”

“Well,” Jadzia pulled the flower close to her chest. “I am honored. Might I know the name of this very special flower?”

“Talas.” She beamed.

“What?” Dax smiled in delight for about the one hundredth time that day.

“My father got to name Nerys. Her name is a family name, our great grandmothers as a matter of fact. My mother named me. Nerys told me that she used to say my eyes matched the colors of the Talas tree. I’d like to think it wasn’t because I was an unattractive infant!”

Dax laughed with her. “I can’t believe there is any possibility of that.” She kissed her again, pushing down the passion that she felt while trying to convey just the feeling behind it. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.” Tala pushed her away gently. “Go get ready. Could you wear your hair down?”

Jadzia nodded and started to leave the room. When she reached her bedroom door, a thought worked its way into her head. “Tala, how did you get this in my room?”

“Ahh,” The Bajoran gave her a cocky grin. “I forgot to tell you that I ran into the Constable this morning as well.”

“Odo?” Dax’s jaw dropped. “Odo let you in my quarters?”

“No.” She clarified. “He wouldn’t do that, no matter what I said. But when I asked if he could do it for me, well, he said that maybe it was time someone messed around in your quarters.”

“Odo said that?”

“You seem surprised.”

“Well,” Dax looked down at the flower. “Odo is not usually the type to enjoy playing tricks on people.”

“Maybe so, but he was in an extremely good mood this morning.”

Jadzia’s head shot up at this particular bit of information. “A good mood? Odo?” A small smile started at the corners of her mouth and turned into a huge grin as it traveled across her cheeks. “Well, well, well. It looks like I have two stops to make after our trip to the holosuites. One to see Benjamin, and one to tease Odo.”

Tala looked confused. “Tease him about what?”

“I’m going to get ready,” Dax moved into the other room, calling back through the open door. “then I’ll tell you all about it!”

Tala smiled to herself. “I certainly hope so.”

************************************************************************

Odo happened to glance out of his open office door just as Dax and Tala emerged from a Turbo-lift. He was momentarily taken aback by the Commander, whose hair trailed behind her like a well brushed mane, but found himself staring at Tala. She looked so much like her sister, yet too different to evoke anything but admiration from him. But then, he had always known that his affections would only ever belong to one woman. It was Nerys that he loved, and it seemed to be something that there was no cure for.

When he refocused his attention on the pair, he was astounded to find them staring back at him, matching looks of amusement and support showing quite clearly on both of their faces. With a curt nod, he looked away, trying not to be flustered by their sympathetic smiles. He was grateful when they finally entered Quarks.

He watched after them for a few moments, wondering how much they knew about his personal life, before turning his attention back to his reports.

************************************************************************

Quark looked up from where he was tending bar and groaned.

“What’s the matter, Quark?” Jadzia pinched his lobe playfully. “You always said you wanted to see me with my hair down.”

“Maybe so,” The Ferengi grunted. “But I meant when you were alone with me, not somebody else.” He glanced at Tala. “I’m afraid all the Holosuites are in use at the moment.”

“Now, Quark,” Dax purred. “You and I both know that holosuite one is empty right now.”

“It’s on hold for Captain Sisko!” Quark’s voice took on a wheedling tone. “He always has his base-ball games on this night.”

“Yes, but he’s working late in Ops and Jake is studying for his entrance exams. Benjamin told me that himself. And offered me his reserved holosuite, if I wanted it.” She smiled innocently. “And I believe I want it.”

Quark heaved a great sigh. “Fine. You know the rates.”

“Quark!” Dax laughed. “You haven’t forgotten that little bet you have yet to pay up on, have you? That night, two weeks ago, at the Tongo table?”

Tala was trying not to laugh. Jadzia really knew how to work this Ferengi, who was in the middle of turning several different shades of red.

“Oh, that.” Quark nodded. “I remember. Ten 1-hour sessions in the holosuite.”

“I believe, Quark, that the bet was ten hours in a holosuite, there were no limits on session time.”

Quark’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Oh, and Quark, I’ll need a picnic basket.”

“Of course, you would.” Quark headed to the replicator as Tala smiled at her.

“Very nicely done. Why do we need a picnic basket?”

Jadzia pulled a small cylinder out of her blouse. “Kira gave this to me.”

Tala took it from her and examined it. “What is it?”

Dax smiled. “Talas Pond.”

Chapter 7-Rumor Control

“Oh, for Prophet’s Sake!”

Julian Bashir turned towards the sound of the curse and jumped slightly when it was followed by a loud crash and a round of much more colorful swearing. He waited expectantly, a smile on his face, as Kira appeared from the back of the ship, a scowl marring her forehead. “What’s wrong, Major?”

“Do you think you could have fit a little more equipment back there?” She snapped. “I almost killed myself trying to get up here.”

His smile broadened. “Well, I didn’t request that you take inventory. That was your own idea.”

“Well, I’m glad I did. What exactly was the point of bringing a spectromatigraph? There isn’t going to be a power source to hook it up to.”

Julian turned back to the window and sighed. “Major, I wanted to get the most important equipment there fast. The power supplies will be brought by shuttle next week.”

“Don’t you think it would have better to go heavy on the initial treatment equipment and leave the heavy stuff to the later transports?”

Bashir puffed his chest out and tried hard to hold on to his patience. “We have plenty of first aid, Kira. I have 10 dermal regenerators alone. I have brought enough first level medical supplies to match the amount of work both you and I could do in 5 days.” He released his anger. “Now, instead of standing there and arguing over inconsequential factors, why don’t you sit down, get comfortable, and go to sleep.”

Kira opened up her mouth to retort but Julian held his hand up. “That’s an order, Major. On medical missions, I have authority. And you need sleep.” He nodded when she huffed and sat heavily in her chair. “Maybe then you’ll be a little more friendly.”

“I doubt it.” Kira tried to hang onto her own anger but found it rapidly dissipating with one huge yawn. She closed her eyes and mumbled. “I don’t need any sleep. I used to go for weeks without sleep.”

Julian looked at her, making sure she was asleep before answering, “You were younger then, Major.” He smiled and tapped into his console. “Computer, open duty journal.” Once it was open, he chose to type, rather than speak:

Medical Officers log-Supplemental-

Major Kira and I are 6 hours away from Missak. The initial time

estimates having been in error, I hope to actually set foot upon

the moon in 6 hours and 23 minutes.

He glanced over at Kira.

For the record, I treated Major Kira for several discoloration’s on

her neck area this morning. Suspected Cause: Pressure and suction on the outer

epidermis. Other Symptoms: Excessive irritability, fatigue. Diagnosis:

He smiled.

Diagnosis: Love. Treatment: Unknown.

End Log.

************************************************************************

Tala walked slowly through the habitat ring, a smile across her face as she thought back to her most recent activities. The pond had been as she remembered, beautiful and fragrant with the large Talas trees that grew along it’s banks. She could not, however, recall ever making love on those banks. At least, not until tonight.

She and Dax had started quite innocently, trading stories of their youth and laughing over embarrassing moments. Tala talked about her time with the resistance, but did not speak about Nan’Tekk or Shakaar. Her fondest memories were of Missak. She had known that for some time and had carried a small amount of guilt for loving a world that was not her own. But there was so much there to love. Peace, tranquillity, and a sense of family that she had not had for so long. Even in her loneliness, she had had that.

Dax had listened to her prattle with a sincerity that encouraged her to tell the Trill things she had never told another person. Things she had never even told Zenece. When she mentioned that to Jadzia, she had leaned over and kissed Tala, driving all thoughts of anything else from her mind.

What had followed had left her weak and spent, with a dull ache to be held burning deep in her stomach. Jadzia had held her for a little while, and then pulled away, saying that she had to see Sisko and Odo before it got much later. She had asked Tala to meet her in her quarters, which was where she was headed. She was looking forward to the short period of solitude. Her mind was racing, along with her heart, and she needed the time to find a way to tell Jadzia how she was feeling.

To find a way to tell Jadzia…that she loved her.

Tala stopped short, frozen in the center of the corridor she had been traveling through. Her initial shock passed and was replaced by a smile so large that it hurt her cheeks.

She was in love. For the second time in her life, she was in love.

************************************************************************

Jadzia strolled into Ops with a smile on her face. Lieutenant Morda, who had been manning her station while she was off duty, glanced at her briefly and then swiveled her head around to stare openly. She had never had the opportunity to see Dax with her hair down and found that her imagination had not done a very adequate job.

She was in the middle of pondering where the Trill might have been, when Jadzia walked up to her station.

“Good evening, Lieutenant. Anything unusual to report?”

“Nothing at the moment, Sir.”

Jadzia glance up to Sisko’s office. “Is he in?”

Morda followed her line of vision and nodded. “The Captain’s still here. He’s been a real bear all day.” She stiffened a little as she realized her slip.

But Dax only smiled conspiratorially, “He can get that way sometimes.” She patted the Terran on the arm. “Thanks Bat.”

She didn’t bother to announce herself when she reached Sisko’s door, she just went in. Captain Sisko looked up with a fire in his eyes that faded to pleasure when he saw who had disturbed him.

“Good evening, Old Man.” He sat back in his chair and smiled. “Been torturing Morda?”

“Why Benjamin,” Dax said sweetly. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” She dropped into a chair across from his desk and put her feet up.

“Comfortable?” Sisko asked, a slight edge to his voice.

“Very,” She studied him, noticing the tiredness of his eyes and the other small signs she had come to know as warnings of a foul mood. “What’s wrong?”

“It would be easier to ask what’s right.” He dropped the PADD he had been working with onto his desk, where a rather large pile of others still waited for his attention. “I have four different ambassadorial delegations all fighting over the same docking and conference space, I have Starfleet breathing down my neck about the timetables on Bajoran compliance for early admittance, which Lieutenant Morda has tried to work on, but it’s not going very well. She’s great with computers, and everybody loves her, but she can’t do the math to save her life.” He sighed again. “And on top of all of that, I am already having problems with the men from Tala’s group.”

Dax leaned forward in interest. “What kind of problems?”

“For starters, they did not seem to realize that Quark does not give free Dabo lessons. He is expecting them to pay off on their losing streak. But that I can handle, I’ll just threaten him with his rent payments again.” He smiled briefly. “The other problems are not so easily rectified. Put a group of farmers in a place with holosuites and synthahol, and you have a combination guaranteed to cause trouble.”

Jadzia tried not to smile. “So I guess now would be a bad time to ask for a favor?”

“An exceedingly bad time. But I get the feeling that you are going to do it anyway.”

The smile broke through. “Of course I am.” She picked up his coffee mug and took a swallow. “Eww…Benjamin, your Rak’tegino is cold.”

“I didn’t tell you to drink it.”

Dax shook her head. “She was right, you are a bear today.” She noticed the warning look reappear in his eyes and rushed to continue. “I need some help with Tala.”

“Tala?” His eyebrows went up and a teasing smile played on his lips. “From what Jake says you can handle her all on your own.”

She flushed slightly. “I’m serious, Benjamin.”

“All right.” He pushed the PADD away from him. “What can I do for you, Old Man?”

“I need you to help me find Tala a career.”

“A what?” His eyes went wide.

“A career. A job. Something to do.” Jadzia sighed. “She told me she doesn’t know what she is going to do with herself. She feels…unneeded.”

“But she’s a hero!” Sisko was at a loss. “She should just sit back and enjoy the benefits that come with that kind of status!”

“I know. But I don’t think she’s looking at it that way.” She stood and began to pace around the office. “She’s been fighting for something her entire life, Benjamin. I think she’s worried that she won’t know how to do anything else.”

The Captain nodded. “I see. So you want me to find her a job.” He raised one eyebrow. “Something, I assume, fairly close to Deep Space Nine?”

Dax grinned. “You read my mind. Thank you.”

“No problem,” He turned to his console and opened a subspace channel. “I believe I still have a friend in the First Minister’s office-“

“No!” She slapped her palm on the console, killing the transmission that had just reached the Bajoran Hall of Ministers. “Not through Shakaar.”

Sisko looked at her, a confused expression on his face. “Well, that would make things slightly more difficult. Mind telling me why not?”

Dax slumped into her chair. “That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.” She took a deep breath. “Something happened…between Tala and Shakaar.”

“Something?” He looked at her pointedly. “Do you mean…” He left the sentence hanging but waved his hand in the air to get his point across.

“No, well…not like you mean.” She took another sip of his Rak’tegino. “It happened 11 years ago, when Tala was a prisoner at Nan’Tekk…”

Captain Sisko listened for the better part of an hour. When she was done, he leaned back in his chair, looking as though he had been hit by a meteor. “Is she certain? Is she sure it was him?”

“She says that she is, and I'm inclined to believe her reason.”

“Which is?”

Dax looked at him. “Would you forget his face?”

He hung his head back to contemplate the ceiling. “This is going to make quite a mess when it goes public. Starfleet is not going to be able to keep from getting dragged into it.” He shook his head. “Does Odo know?”

“Not yet. I was going to see him after I talked to you.”

“Good. It’s important that he knows. This is a potentially explosive situation and I need him ready for any contingencies.” He looked around his desk. “I have to deal with a few things, but I'll stop down there on my way home. I’ll put out a few inquiries about Tala as well, then I’ll meet the two of you in security. Brief him before I get there so we don’t have to waste time. We are going to need to figure out a way to handle Kira, too.”

Dax nodded. “I’ll head down there right now.”

Sisko sighed as she left. Looking down at his desk again, he fought the urge to chuck it all out of an airlock.

************************************************************

Dax shifted uncomfortably. Odo hadn’t moved since she had finished speaking. She was just about to get up and shake him when his eyes cleared.

“I want to be the one to tell Kira.” His pale blue eyes looked at her beseechingly.

“I think it should be me.”

“You’re probably right.” She studied him. “Listen, Odo,” She thought about how to phrase her next statement. “I know the position this puts you in-“

“Do you, Commander?” Odo’s voice took on his normally formal tones again. “And what position would that be?”

“I know you love her, and we both know how I came to have that information. I think I can guess what happened last night.” Odo’s features hardened. “and I think it’s great.” She continued, smiling at him reassuringly. “But it makes the situation even more difficult.”

Odo nodded. “She…needed time to think. To decide…” He sighed. “I need her answer before she finds out about Shakaar. Otherwise I think we’ll both wonder how much that had to do with her choosing me…if she chooses me.”

Jadzia felt his memories within her and her heart went out to him. She knew just how much he truly loved Kira. She hoped to god that Kira knew it too. “I think that Tala and I should be there as well. It may help to control Kira's anger.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get it out of her eyes. There was something to be said for Starfleet Dress Standards. "We have another problem as well. The Federation will not be able to support Bajor's petition for early admittance if the First Minister is implicated in war crimes."

"Ahh." Odo nodded. "I suppose that would be a problem for the Federation." He sighed, one of his rough, weary sighs. "You'll forgive me if I find Major Kira's situation a bit more pressing, Commander." He looked up as the doors from the Promenade opened, prepared to order someone out, but relaxed when Captain Sisko walked into view. He inclined his head in greeting. "Captain."

"Good evening, Constable." He looked at both of their faces. "Or perhaps not a good evening. I take it Dax has informed you of the current situation." He leaned against the wall. "It would seem that the only thing in our favor is the fact that we have some head warning. As I see it, we have two things to deal with, primarily. Major Kira finding out and her reaction. I think that any fallout within the Bajoran government will be included in, or set in motion by, Major Kira's reaction." He smiled briefly. "She has never been known for her restraint." He noticed Odo stiffen slightly and studied him for a few moments before continuing. "As for the Federation, well...it would be an understatement to say that they would not look favorably on this situation. It could very well lead to a negative decision on any kind of admittance at all."

"Do you really think it will go that far, Benjamin?"

Sisko sighed. "I'd like to say no, Old Man. But the Federation's reputation has been under attack from a lot of different factions lately, and Bajor's admittance would be tacit approval of Shakaar's war crimes. At this point we're talking about damage control at best, and complete political suicide at the worst."

"Unless..." Jadzia looked at him thoughtfully.

"Unless what?" Odo leaned forward.

"Unless the First Minister can be persuaded to step down before the information goes public."

Odo and Sisko glanced at each other. "Any ideas on how we would manage to do that?" Sisko asked.

"Not yet." She stood. "But I think that the three of us could come up with something, we just need some time.. As it turns out, we have four days. That's more than enough. For right now, I need some sleep." She punctuated her statement with a yawn.

"So I see," He smiled. "Maybe if you didn't tire yourself out so much, you might even make it in to work." He laughed at her expression. " Well, then, I'll see both of you at 0900 hours in Ops. Preferably with a few ideas on how we can avert a disaster. Goodnight."

Dax smiled at him, waiting until he left before turning back to the Constable, who was looking at her expectantly. "I wanted to say thank you," She winked. "for the flowers."

Odo looked as though he was trying to decide whether or not to smile. "You're welcome, Commander." The smile finally won. "Although I must say, I never understood the custom of giving dead plants, even when they are attractive. That particular plant, well..."

Jadzia laughed. "I know it lacks a certain physical charm, but you would be amazed at what it can do on the inside."

Odo sighed. "Do you think you could show it to Major Kira, before she makes her decision?"

Jadzia walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm, squeezing it affectionately. "I don't think I have to, Constable." She gave him a gentle smile and left him to contemplate his desktop, which he did for more than hour before heading to his quarters.

Chapter 8-Song Of My Heart

"Major Kira." Julian bent down and studied her closed eyelids. Seeing the rapid eye movement that signaled deep sleep, he reach out and shook her. Big mistake.

She jumped up quickly, using the flatness of her palm to hit him in his solar plexus, hard. All of the air rushed out of his lungs and he hit the floor. She shook her head, as though to clear it and looked down at where he was laying. It took her a moment to realize what she had done. "Julian, I'm sorry!" She grabbed him by the arm and helped him into the Captains chair. "I was dreaming....I didn't mean that punch for you."

"Who did you mean it for?" Bashir wheezed.

"It was a Cardassian kidney punch. We learned how to build up stored energy." She looked at him apologetically. "Cardassians have pretty tough skin."

Picking up his medical bag, he pulled out a hypo and shot potassium into his side. It took a moment, but the cramp finally relaxed. "Remind me not to wake you ever again."

"Well," Kira smiled at him. "Twice in one day may be more than any woman should have to bear. Why did you?"

He pointed out the portal. "I wanted to show you your people's moon." He pointed to an object that appeared about the size of a Moba Fruit in the distance. As the ship covered more of the space between them, the moon grew larger.

"Oh," Major Kira caught her breath. "it's beautiful."

The moon was small, at least by Bajoran standards. It's oceans appeared coral in color and seemed to cover 1/2 of the moons surface. It's land masses seemed quite large by comparison. As the drew nearer, their sensors began to give them readouts on everything from air saturation to average yearly rainfall. Kira and Bashir studied the readouts carefully. When they were through, he turned to her, smiling. "They found paradise." He whispered. "This moon is the most ecologically sound I have ever seen. They could have lived here forever."

"How long before we touch down?" Kira tried to control the note of impatience in her voice, but knew that she had failed.

"If we follow the current flight coordinates, we should land in twenty-four minutes, making the time on Missak…” He checked a reading. “Just after 1900 hours by our standards.”

Kira glanced at the reading as well. “Completely different Solar and Lunar phases.” She shrugged. “I guess we should have expected some differences. It’s going to be dark down there in one hour and forty-three minutes. Looks like the days here are longer as well.”

“Our landing coordinates will put us about one mile out from the main village. Did you want to try for a closer landing sight?"

"I don't think so." Kira took her seat beside him. "We don't want to scare them or cause any disturbances in their work areas. Tala said they had no monitoring devices, so we’re going to have to be very careful where we set down." She stifled a yawn and ordered a strong cup of coffee from the replicator behind her. She glance at the console and raised her eyebrows in surprise. “We made pretty good time. Tala’s estimates must have been off.”

Bashir nodded. “Her instruments on the Nakota couldn’t have been too exact. From what O’Brien says, the ship was lucky to have made it all the way to DS9.” He checked his console. “We’re in range to eject the warning pod. At least they’ll be able to hear us coming.” He punched a button, sending a small orange capsule hurtling towards the moon in front of them. “It’s traveling at about twice our current speed. Give them some time to get out of the way.”

Kira nodded and sat back with a sigh. “Nothing to do now, but wait.”

“Twenty-three minutes and counting, Major.” Bashir grinned at her.

She smiled but didn’t look at him, her eyes were glued to the small sphere that was becoming larger in their viewscreen. As she watched it, she got the vague sense of coming home, and then told herself that she was being ridiculous. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if her world had been this beautiful before the Cardassians had come. She had seen it in pictures, but they had seemed so much like a dream that it was hard to imagine. Missak was here, right in front of her, and she wanted so much to believe that her world had been this way, somewhere in the past.

Her musings took up most of the twenty-three minutes. When she finally brought her attention back to Bashir, he was already setting the landing gear and doing a pre-set down check on their systems. “Any problems?” She felt a little guilty, he had handled most of the flying this trip.

“None.” He said cheerfully. “Four minutes to touch down.”

She grinned at his enthusiasm. These were her people, her race, but somehow, they were his now, too. She braced herself as the ground came up under them. Julian’s landings were not known for their comfort.

This time, however, he outdid himself. The Rio Grande set down with only the slightest of thumps and she nodded approvingly. “Nice landing, Doctor.”

“Why thank you, Major.” He laughed to himself. “A compliment from you is hard won, indeed.”

She shook her head and let the comment pass. “I say we do a foot survey of the area, try to make contact before we unload the ship. If Tala’s flight estimates were off, there’s a good chance her landing coordinates might have been as well. I really don’t feel like reloading all of your junk if we have to move the Rio closer to the village.” She put up a placating hand at his irritated look. “I’m sorry, Julian. I wouldn’t want to reload your equipment.”

“Agreed.” He hefted a shoulder pack onto his back. “Grab one of these medkits and let’s go!”

Julian didn’t argue with Kira when she stood in front of the door, waiting for the ship to finish it’s final shut down and unseal the airlocks. These were her people, her colony. She deserved to be the first to set foot on the moon. Instead, he waited a respectful distance back, doing a final check on the equipment he was carrying.

When the door finally slid open, Kira stepped out, taking a deep breath as she went. She was among those who believed that ‘canned’ air never smelled or tasted as good as the real thing. In this circumstance, she knew she was right. The sky outside was a clear, deep blue, several shades darker than the skies over Bajor. The leaves and the grass were the pale green of summer foliage and a warm, gentle wind blew her hair away from her forehead. It was the wind that confirmed her feelings about real, true air. It felt like the caress of a friend, or a lover, and carried so many different scents that she couldn’t even begin to identify them. She thought briefly of Odo, and wished that he was there with her. She knew that he appreciated beauty in his own quiet way, taking it all in wordlessly, committing it to memory like it might all be gone the next instant. She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. Now was not the time.

She took the last few steps down and moved to the side, allowing Julian room to get by her. He immediately pulled out his tricorder and began to take readings. “We can’t be that far off. There are several lifeforms nearby. I think our best bet would be to stay put. Let them find us.”

Kira nodded absently, her head cocked to one side as she tried to hear something in the distance. With a sigh, she gave up. Whatever it was, it was gone. “I think you’re right.” She pulled off her pack and took out some small storage containers. “We may as well get some samples from around here while we wait.”

She had only wandered about twenty feet away when she saw them, a group of about 25 people, heading towards them. The man leading them raised his arm and waved.

“Tala!” His voice carried over the now still air. “Tala!!”

He had broken into a run when he thought he recognized her, and now skidded to a halt about ten feet in front of her. “You’re not Tala.” He took a step backwards. “Who are you?”

“It’s all right!” Kira held both hands up in front of her, showing them they she meant them no harm. “My name is Kira Nerys. Talas sent me.”

“Nerys?” The man’s smile returned. “She told us about you. She made it.” He turned to the people waiting a ways behind him. “She made it!”

Julian appeared from behind the ship to stand beside her, causing the man to once again step back. “You’re not Bajoran.” His tone was almost accusatory.

“No, he’s not. But he is a friend. We’ve both come with food and medical supplies. More shipments are coming in a few days.” She took his hand slowly. “Who are you?”

“I’m Clese.” He smiled slowly. “Tala left me to look after the others, while she was away.”

“So you’re in charge here?” Bashir looked over the group behind him. One or two of them looked in need of medical attention.

“No, no, Regar’s in charge. I’m just supposed to keep the peace.” He looked slightly embarrassed.

“A Constable.” Kira smiled. “Can you take us to Regar?”

Clese nodded. “He’s not far. The village is only a short distance off. Follow me.”

Kira shouldered her pack and followed, nodding to Julian to come as well. “Is it always this pleasant here?”

Clese looked up at the sky. “Usually. We get some rain, not very much, but it’s hardly important. The oceans are fresh, pure enough to drink.”

“Freshwater oceans?” Bashir’s jaw dropped and he looked towards the coral water in the distance. “What type of sea life?”

He looked as though he would try to answer, and then just shrugged. “Regar can explain everything better than I can. I’m just a farmer.”

“I doubt that.” Kira smiled at him. “If Tala left you in charge of keeping the peace, she had to have a lot of faith in you.”

“Maybe,” He looked embarrassed again. “But I still don’t know much about the science end of it. Regar was a scientist before he joined the resistance. A scientist and a Captain of his own ship.” Clese sighed. "If he hadn't offered us the use of that ship, I doubt that any of us would still be alive."

“The Nakota was Regar’s ship?” Kira’s eyes widened. “He's a Terran?”

“Yes to both. He gave everything, including his freedom, to help us escape from Nan’Tekk. He helped Aleram plan most of it.” He pointed towards three columns of smoke rising from a stand of trees. “That’s the village. Regar should be in from the fields. He comes in every night since Tala left. He comes and listens and watches and waits. He is a good leader. He's not Tala, but he is a good leader.”

The first thing that Kira noticed when they entered the village, was the quiet. There was almost no activity at all, with the exception of one or two people who were heading out. “Where is everyone?”

“Oh, it’s harvest season on the cirraberry roots. They harvest at night this time of year, as well as during the day. The roots come into season for a very short period of time and must be harvested before they rot underground.”

“Cirraberry?” Bashir cut in. “What exactly is a cirraberry root?”

“It’s a plant that grows along the sea shores in the northern region. It’s edible and makes a healing salve if prepared correctly. It is one of our main staples on Missak.” Clese grinned. “It makes a great cup of tea, as well.”

“Well, then,” Bashir nodded at him. “I can’t wait to try it!”

Clese led them through the village and up to a large building made out of roughly cut logs. "It's a little primitive, but it serves us well. This is where we have our village meetings, where Tala made her judgments. Regar should be here."

Kira and Bashir followed him up a long ramp, which led to an open doorway. In fact, Kira noticed, none of the buildings had actual doors or windows, just open spaces where they should have been.

Inside the hall there was a central fire pit, which was lit and well banked, creating a comforting warmth that emanated throughout the room. Situated around the pit were several rows of benches, all facing towards the front of the building, where a podium had been placed, looking out over the room. Kira looked from one end to the other and saw no one. "He isn't here."

"He wouldn't be in here," Clese led them towards another door in the back. "He doesn't stay indoors if he can help it. Says it makes him nervous."

Kira smiled. She knew that feeling very well. So well in fact that her friends in the resistance cell had been in shock when she had taken her position on DS9. They couldn't understand why she would want to spend so much time in a canned environment. To be honest, there were times when she didn't understand it either. At least , not at first.

The back door turned out to be exactly that, exiting into a lovely garden area, unfenced but well kept. At one end, there was a row of white stones heading into a small clearing. As they got closer, Kira recognized a roughly carved Bajoran emblem. It was an altar to the Prophets. Kneeling before the altar, was an older man of medium build with thick gray hair tied into a ponytail and a well trimmed beard. He heard them approaching and rose, turning to greet them. He wasn’t smiling, exactly, but the expression on his face was one of welcome. His eyes traveled quickly over Kira and Bashir, before resting on Clese. “She made it.” He smiled and clasped Bashir’s hand, before turning to the Major. “You must be Nerys. Talas spoke of you everyday. I would know your face, even if I were half blind.” He realized they were alone. “But where is Tala? Is she well?”

“She’s fine, she stayed on DS9.”

“DS9?’ A confused look crossed his features.

“Yes,” Kira nodded. “DS9 is the space station that used to be Terok Nor. It’s a Starfleet base now.”

“Starfleet…” His lip curled slightly. “Have they taken sides with the Cardassians?”

“No, they took over the station to help us. We are, ourselves, in the middle of petitioning for admittance into the Federation. The Cardassians no longer rule our world. Bajor is free.”

Regar looked at her, the shock registering on his face. “Bajor is free?” His grin grew wider as they approached the Hall again. “It would seem we have much news to share with one another. I invite you both to supper with me tonight.” He looked around. “It would seem the village is ours!”

************************************************************************

Dax slipped quietly out of Tala’s embrace and, dressing quickly, headed for the Promenade. They had spent last night talking and making love, and while the latter was very enjoyable, the former had been disturbing. They hadn’t spoken of Shakaar at all. Dax was convinced that Tala had said all she needed to in regards to him.

What they had spoken about was the raid on Nan’Tekk and the subsequent years on Missak. The raid had been a nightmare for her. She had been put in charge of gathering the children, a position given to her by one of the resistance group leaders. She was told that her orders came directly from Aleram Kass. When she asked why she was chosen, he said she had been listed among the few who were both mentally and physically able and had been chosen by Aleram Kass himself . So she had run from one end of the camp to the other, no small task considering it was large enough to hold fifteen hundred prisoners of war, dodging Cardassians, explosions and phaser fire from all sides. She had two scars to show from that night. One on her leg where she had kicked a Cardassian in the head and caught her calf on his collar piece in the process, and one on her arm, where a child’s grip had been so strong that her nails cut into her flesh. It turned out that that child’s grip was the only thing that had kept her alive. She would have been ripped out of Tala’s arms otherwise.

The rest of the escape was a blur. She was so busy trying to take care of the children once they were on the ship, that the next thing she remembered was the Nakota being hit by phaser blasts. The third blast, the one that had knocked them out of orbit and into the Gamma Quadrant, had also sent her head into a support beam, knocking her unconscious. By the time she woke up, they were hopelessly lost.

Most of her stories about Missak were happy ones. Their first newborn child, their successful crop yields, and their ability to adapt and appreciate their new world. She didn't talk much about herself, and how she adapted, but Dax knew that it must have been hard.

Dax was awake long after Tala had dozed off, safe and happy in her arms. Her mind couldn't stop working over everything Tala had told her. The one thing she kept coming back to, was the name 'Aleram Kass'. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember where she had heard that name. So she was going to see the one person she knew would be able to help her.

The security office door was open and Odo was at his desk. He was looking over a series of recent criminal activities reports. He looked up and smiled as she entered, "Good afternoon, Commander."

"Hello, Odo." She slid into the chair opposite him with a deep sigh.

"It's a bit early for you, isn't it? I heard you were on vacation, I would think you would have plenty of reasons to...sleep late."

Dax grinned. "You're in a good mood, Constable. It suits you." She leaned over and tapped his console, closing the security door behind her. "I need some help."

He went into business mode immediately. "What kind of help?"

"Help with a name." She leaned on his desk. "Aleram Kass."

"What about him?"

"For some reason I feel as though I know that name."

"You should," Odo pulled up a series of older files. "He's usually ends up on a criminal activities report every couple of weeks." He checked the files. "Drunk in public, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, destruction of private property. Those are his usual offenses and they always take place in Quarks."

"Are you saying that Aleram Kass is here? On the station?" Dax's eyes widened.

"Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, I just released recently released him from custody. I was holding him on disturbing the peace, but Quark dropped the charges."

"Tala said he died in the raid on Nan'Tekk." Dax chewed her bottom lip. "Something's not right, Odo. How long has he been here?"

"He was here when I arrived."

"So he was living on the station when the Cardassians were still in power. Can you find out what he was doing here?"

Odo turned back to his console. "The Cardassian files were condensed and stored within our system. Let me see if I can access it." Dax moved around to his side of the desk as he worked, entering in the appropriate Starfleet security overrides as he went. "Here it is," Odo found his name and accessed the personal files. "Well, well, well, take a look at this." He pointed to a highlighted section.

Dax took a sharp breath. "He had officer's quarters." She scrolled down. "And he was drawing a salary from the main Cardassian accounts. It says he was an engineer." She looked at Odo.

"It certainly doesn't look like the life of a member of the Bajoran Underground, does it?"

"He was working for the Cardassians." She sat down on his desk and stared at Odo in confusion. "But if that's the case, then why was the raid successful? If he was in a position here when it actually occurred, why..." She voice trailed off as a look of shock came over her face. “That’s how they knew.” She whispered.

"What?" Odo looked at her in concern. “Are you all right?”

“That’s how the Cardassians knew to have a warship at the exact spot where they were going to exit Bajoran space. Shakaar sent Aleram to tell them. It’s the only thing that makes sense.” She started to pace. “He couldn’t risk meeting with them himself, so he sent Aleram and covered up his absence by telling everyone that he was lost in the raid.” She studied the readout in front of Odo again. “The only thing I don’t understand is why Bajoran records show him resurfacing after the raid. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Of course it does.” Odo’s mind was racing. “After Nan’Tekk, Shakaar told the resistance that Aleram wasn’t dead, but that he had been sent to infiltrate Terok Nor as a spy. Both of them came out looking like heroes. And as long as everyone was focused on not jeopardizing Aleram’s cover, they wouldn’t look to closely or ask too many questions about why he was here.”

“How do you know that?”

“The first part, Aleram told me himself. He was bragging about his exploits as a resistance spy one evening. I had dragged him over here from Quark’s after he had gotten about two bottles into Quark’s private stock of Romulan Ale, and I assumed he was just blustering.” He shook his head. “He was telling the truth, his version of it anyway.”

“What do we do now?” Dax looked at him expectantly.

“Now?” Odo smiled coldly. “Now we drag him in for questioning. If he was involved in the massacre of the Nan’Tekk prisoners, then he needs to be held accountable.”

Dax returned his smile. “And your just the man to make sure that he is, Constable. I need to go talk to Tala about all of this. I’ll meet you back here in a couple of hours. I really want to hear what he has to say for himself.”

“Me too, Commander. Me too.” He transferred the data on his console into his PADD and followed her out. They split up at the turbolift, Dax heading to her quarters, and Odo heading to OPS. Captain Sisko wasn’t going to like this.

************************************************************************

Kira sat back and put her hand on her belly. "That was an incredible meal, Regar." She sighed. "All of that was made from Cirraberry root?"

"Well," Regar leaned forward and pointed from dish to dish. "Not everything. The tea and the stew were made from the root. Depending on how it’s prepared, it can take on the texture and taste of vegetables or meat. The salad was sea moss that grows on the southern peninsula, about 2 days out, and the pie was TalaBerry, the fruit from an ever-bearing vine that grows underwater."

"Talaberry!!" Kira doubled over laughing. "She must have hated that!"

Regar looked a little sheepish. "We meant it as a compliment, but when she found out that the berry was both sweet and tart, well....she thought we were having a little joke on her." He chuckled. "I guess it is kind of funny."

Kira wiped her eyes and looked over at Bashir, who had finished eating quite some time ago and was eyeing a pile of supplies that was growing larger as work crews carted it from their landing site. She sighed again and looked back to Regar. "I think Doctor Bashir has some things he needs to discuss with you."

Regar turned to him expectantly. "Right," Bashir cleared his throat. "I would like to set up a small clinic. Something we can make do with until the larger equipment gets here in a week or so. What I would need is a clean, dry place, some help with the set up, and some patients."

“The first two are no problem,” he frowned. “And we, unfortunately, have an abundance of the latter.” He thought for a moment. With a smile, he stood beckoned for them to follow. “I think I have just the place for you.”

He led them to the edge of the village, where a small, mud-thatch cottage with closed shutters sat alone, apart from the rest. “This was Tala’s.” Opened the door and led them inside. “It is the only building not in use. As you can imagine, everything is built to suit. The rest of our energy is spent on the cultivation of our crops, so there is very little of anything not in use.”

Dr. Bashir looked around the outer room of the dwelling. It contained several small tables and had hand drawn charts and maps on the walls It was quite well cared for and very clean. That surprised him. “Tala has been gone quite a while. Who’s been in here?”

“Tala is well loved, and deservedly so. She’s led us through many bad times and did much to help us reach the point we’re at. Everyone shows their respect by taking care of her place while she is gone. The carpenters even put doors and shutters on it, to keep the animals out and everything protected from the sun and winds.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Kira cut in. “What kind of animal life is there here?”

Mostly small mammalian type creatures.” He grinned. “Some of the local children have tried domesticating the ones that we call morants.” He raised his hands, holding them about two feet apart. “Their soft pelted creatures about this long. Good natured in general, but not all that interested in being the center of attention. One of them was wounded when it was caught in a fishing net. It let us nurse it, pet it, feed it, but when it was healed, it went back into the woods without so much as a backwards glance.” He laughed.

“I think this will be fine,” Bashir nodded to himself. “If you don’t mind, I will excuse myself and start setting up.”

“Of course.” Regar smiled. “Unfortunately, this will also have to double for your sleeping area. I’ll have someone bring in a cot in for you, unless…” He looked from Bashir to Kira expectantly.

“No! No.” Kira rushed to correct him, annoyed by Bashir’s cocky grin. “Please, have them bring the cot. Unless the good Doctor would rather sleep on the floor.” She eyed him pointedly.

“The cot will be fine. Thank you, Regar.”

Kira watched him go, trying to stop a scowl from reaching her forehead. “Is there more to see?”

He showed her the bedroom, which was really a ten by fifteen foot room with a bed that looked hardly more comfortable than a cot. The one amenity the room did have was a window overlooking a small inlet of a nearby coral river.

The next room he showed her was also the last. It had windows on every side to let the light in during the day and several oil lamps along the wall for the nighttime. Regar explained that the oil came from the fish they could occasionally net in the river. The fish were also the only meat they ate, and a very rare catch, so they were treated as a delicacy. He further explained that the only buildings with the lamps, which had been rigged with broken components of the Nakota, were Tala’s home, and the main hall. “There are usually people gathered at either location at all hours.” He grinned. “Your sister was a fine host.”

Along the walls of this room were several makeshift sinks with hoses carrying the excess water to the ground outside, and a thick wooden box which was filled with the snow from the peaks of nearby mountains. It was well insulated with material also scavenged from the ship and served quite well as an icebox. In the center of the room was a table and benches, both cut from raw wood, but worn smooth from use and cleaning. Above the sinks were rows of shelves. Something sitting on one of them caught her eyes.

Reaching up, she pulled down a large water flask that had writing on the front. She could recognize her sisters writing anywhere and tried to read the slanting script that had almost been worn off by repeated polishing.

“Talaberry wine.” Regar said from behind her. “We made up a dozen bottles or so for her. I believe that is the last. She said she was saving it for you.”

“Well,” Kira pulled two wooden mugs off of their pegs. “Here I am. Please, sit with me and have a drink.”

They sat on opposite sides of the table and Kira filled each of their mugs to the top. After thumping her cup against his, she took an experimental sip. Her eyes widened as the liquid burned down her throat. “This is good.” She looked up at him. “It ends a bit roughly, but the flavor is excellent.”

Regar watched her as she drained her glass. When she was done, he drained his and set it down to be refilled. Kira suspected it was done out of respect.

“So tell me,” She nursed her second cup. “How did you get caught up in all of this?”

Regar smiled. “I was always sympathetic to the Bajoran situation. Because of that, I was working with a small resistance cell, smuggling food and supplies to the front attack formations. One night, a man who called himself Aleram Kass approached me about aiding in the liberation of the Nan’Tekk mining facility. He didn’t have to ask twice. He and I planned most of that raid. It’s funny, somehow, I thought he would be the one to lead it. When I found out he had been killed…”

“Killed?” Kira looked at him, puzzled. “He wasn’t killed. He was sent to Terek Nor. Shakaar sent him as a member of the underground. Set him up as a spy before his name could become to known. He thought a lot of that man.” She shrugged. “Shame how he turned out.”

“Shakaar told us that he had been killed.” Regar had a strange look in his eyes. “I don’t like being lied to.”

“He was probably just trying to protect Aleram’s life.”

“From us?” he shook his head. “We were on his side. That doesn’t make any sense, Nerys. May I call you Nerys?” She nodded. “There had to be some other reason, although I can’t imagine what it would be.”

Kira nodded in agreement. It didn’t make any sense. She’d have to ask Edon about it when she returned to DS9.

The question rapidly moved to the back of her mind as they spent the next couple of hours drinking wine and talking about the rescue. She didn’t find out much more about the raid and subsequent attack, but she did learn that Tala had greatly understated her role in the leadership of Missak.

By the time the wine was gone, they were both yawning and a twin moon had been hanging in the sky for quite some time. Regar had long since told a workman to bring a cot and she could hear Bashir in the next room as he set it up and prepared for bed.

“Well,” He stood up and stretched. “It’s time for me to head home to my wife. I hope sleep finds you well, Kira Nerys.”

“And the same to you, Regar.” She stood to walk him out. “I do have one other question before you go. I need to recite the sending prayer for someone who died here on Missak. She was a friend…” She thought about Zenece and what she had meant to Tala. “I was wondering where the burial ground was.”

Something in her voice must have touched him, because he place his hand gently on her shoulder and didn’t ask any questions. “It is the space up between the two tallest trees on the hill north of here. I can point you in the right direction in the morning. It’s a beautiful place.”

Without another word, he turned and left. Kira cleaned up their mess and made her way through the maze of equipment in the outer room. She passed by Bashir who mumbled ‘goodnight’ and headed into the bedroom. Once there, she fell face first onto the bed and passed out. The last two thoughts that ran through her mind was that the bed had been softer than she expected, and the Talaberry wine had been harder.

************************************************************************

“Odo to Dax”

Dax cracked an eye and stared at her console. She had come back to her quarters for the purpose of bringing Tala up to date on the new information, and had ended up back in bed, happy and content in her arms. With a sigh, she woke Tala and reached for her commbadge. “Dax here.”

“Commander, I think you should join us in Captain Sisko’s office. We have an interesting development.” Odo’s voice held a hint off impatience. “Bring Tala with you.”

“Give us ten minutes. We’ll meet you there. Dax out.” She threw the commbadge back on top of her clothes and pulled her lover out of bed. “Come on. We have to go.”

“You’re hurrying?” Tala snickered. “Must be serious.”

Dax gave her a mock stern look and dragged her off to the shower.

True to her nature, they arrived twenty minutes later. Dax released Tala’s hand as they entered and took their seats. “What’s going on?”

Captain Sisko turned his chair to face them, smiling briefly at Tala before motioning to Odo.”

“It would seem,” Odo stated. “that Aleram has decided to return home.”

“What?” Dax sat forward. “He’s gone?”

“Apparently so.” He picked up a PADD. “He was seen boarding this afternoon’s shuttle to Bajor. Before which he released his quarters here on DS9 for reassignment, and had all of his belongings shipped home as well.”

“The interesting thing,” Sisko’s continued for him. “Is that Aleram Kass has never left this station prior to today.”

“Do we have any information as to where he went when he reached the planet?” Dax asked.

“Now, there is the final piece of this puzzle.” Odo handed her the PADD. “Aleram was listed as being on the shuttle when it left DS9, but he never disembarked when it reached Bajor.”

Dax looked over the information and handed it to Tala, who stared blankly at the picture of a man she had known in name only. “That means…” Dax began.

“He’s gone underground.” Sisko looked at her. “Aleram Kass is somewhere on this station, and for some reason, doesn’t want us to know it. Which makes me very interested in knowing why.” He turned to Odo. “I want him found. Deploy Starfleet security as well. Do whatever you have to, but find him.”

Odo nodded. “Commander, I could use your help. Tala’s as well.”

“Dax, you’re dismissed. Tala, I need you to stay.”

“Benjamin?” Jadzia tried to decipher the look on his face. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Old Man. I just need to speak to Tala for a few minutes. That is all right with you, isn’t it?” He smiled sarcastically.

“Of course.” She squeezed Tala’s arm. “I’ll be with Odo in security. Meet me there when you’re through.”

Tala nodded and watched her go, then turned back to Captain Sisko. “What can I do for you, Emissary?”

Sisko smiled. “You don’t have to call me that, Tala. I know you have doubts about your faith. Dax told me.” He answered her questioning look.

“All right.” She smiled at him. “What can I do for you, Captain?”

He came around the desk and sat on the edge, right in front of her. “I have a proposition for you, Kira Talas. I think it might be something you’d be interested in.”

************************************************************************

The door slid open to a darkened room and Aleram Kass stepped inside. He waited until the door shut behind him and he had placed a security grid over it, before calling for the lights. He looked around the dismal place and sighed. It was much smaller than his previous quarters. Barely the size of an Ensign’s bunk room, with one window smaller than a console screen. The only thing that would make it tolerable, was the replicator that took up the far wall. He desperately wanted a drink, but had business to attend to first.

He reached into the pack he had been carrying and pulled out a box roughly the size of a briefcase. Opening it, he removed a minuscule antenna array and set it up on the table near the bed. The rest of the case opened to form a subspace receiver and decryption device. He flipped a switch and smiled as it’s panels lit up. He was grateful that the old thing still worked. It had gone through a lot of trenches with him during the occupation.

That done, he glanced at the replicator again and thought briefly of Quarks. With a sigh, he ordered a straight shot of rum and cursed the synthehol as it slid down his throat. He really wanted a shot of real Romulan ale, but he had paid a lot of money for the shuttled records to be altered, and he couldn’t risk blowing it by strolling down to the bar. With a soft curse he stretched out on the small bunk and closed his eyes.

Nothing to do now, but wait.

************************************************************************

Dax tried to listen to Odo as he outlined their search details to Worf, but her attention was continually drawn to the clock on a nearby console, and door leading to the Promenade. It wasn’t until Tala walked through it that she actually relaxed.

“Hi.” Tala kissed her gently, much to the surprise of Worf, who seemed unaware of the recent developments between the two of them.

“So?” She looked at Tala expectantly.

“So what?” She smiled at Jadzia’s frustrated look. “I’m sorry, ‘Zia. I can’t tell you…yet. The Captain said maybe in a week or so.”

Jadzia smiled. “I bet I could get it out of him…or you.”

“Oh, he also said not to try or he would put you back on duty.” She glanced at Odo and Worf, who looked slightly amused. “So what’s the situation?”

Odo smiled slightly and pointed to his console. “This is the formation of roaming security, and these are the stationary sentries…”

Dax looked at Tala for a few minutes, before shaking her head and rejoining the conversation.

************************************************************************

Kira woke up to many different noises, the most prevalent of which was the drone of a centrifuge whirring busily in the next room. Standing, she put her hands against her head and was gratified to find no pain and very little fuzziness. She’d have to remember to stick with synthehol the next time she felt like drinking. She pulled off her uniform and set up a portable sonic shower. She looked at it for few moments, then pulled on a short robe and headed outside.

“Off for a bath?” Bashir smiled at her as she made her way through his clinic. At her affirmative nod, he pointed towards a small bundle on the floor by the door. “Regar though you might, so he sent that for you. It’s a towel, some soap, and some lotion for your skin.” He ran his hand through his hair. “He left me one too, and I can tell you, it is the best I’ve felt in days.”

“Thanks.” She returned his smile and grabbed up the bundle on her way out the door. She made her way around back, thinking of Tala as she went and found exactly what she was looking for. The small inlet that ran behind the bedroom window had a ring of bushes around the side facing the village and a tree with a man-made hook by one side. She hung her towel and robe on the hook and stepped into the water.

It was pleasantly cool, and very clear. The reddish tint didn’t obscure the bottom, which she saw was made up of smooth round stones, evenly set in the clay. So it was not a natural inlet. Tala must have created it for this very purpose.

At one side, the rocks came up higher and formed a type of bench which allowed her to sit with her body submerged. She stayed there for almost an hour, relaxing in the morning sun, before finishing her bath and returning to the house.

She dressed in soft pants and flat heeled boots, tucking a baggy shirt under her belt before grabbing a book of prayer and heading back through the village. She followed Regar’s rather vague directions without any problem and after 15 minutes of walking, saw two tall trees and several rows of stones in the distance. Looking behind her, she figured that the village was about twice as far from the burial ground as it was from the Rio Grande. By the time she reached the top of the hill, the village was obscured by the trees surrounding it. All she could see were the thin tendrils of smoke from the morning cook fires as they reached up for the sky.

Without warning, the wind started up, and she heard the same sound she had heard when they first landed. Turning her head to one side, she was able to catch the sound as it grew stronger. It was a low keening wail. Not harsh or out of tune. It almost the sound of someone humming under their breath, and as the wind died down, she realized that it was the sound of the breeze moving through the nearby trees. A look of wonder came to her face as she thought about the name of this moon. Missak. Song of my heart. She felt a surge of love for her sister.

She opened her book to the prayer of sending. It was the tradition prayer when a loved one died. The Bajorans, believing that the body was just a vessel for the soul, chanted the prayer to speed the spirit on it’s way to the Prophets. She found her page and marked her place before moving up and down the rows.

There were many stones with names and dates, all of them burned in with what appeared to be some kind of torch. Most of the people in the front had died during the escape. Their remains must have been kept until they landed, or the stones were just a memorial, there was no way for her to know. The rest of them were for those who had died on Missak. Kira’s forehead furrowed when she realized Zenece’s name wasn’t among either.

“Who were you looking for?”

Kira spun around to see Regar standing a short way off.

“I didn’t mean to intrude. I just thought you might need some help.” He came closer. “Do you?”

Kira nodded. “I’m looking for my sister’s mate. Her name was Renaya Zenece. Can you tell me where her stone is?”

“Tala’s mate?” Regar looked confused. “She never took a mate, Nerys.”

“I know. But this was the woman she had been with since before Nan’Tekk. Tala told me she died in a farming accident.”

Regar looked thoughtful as he shook his head. “There was never a Renaya Zenece here, Nerys. I should know. I was the record bearer before I was chosen as acting leader. Tala was alone the whole time she was here. From the things she told me before she left, she had been alone for a while before that.”

“But,” Kira’s mind went over what Regar had told her. She couldn’t imagine why Tala would lie to her, but she remembered feeling as though Tala wasn’t being honest when she met Edon as well. “Why would she tell me she was here?”

“I don’t know.” Regar looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry to bring you bad news.”

Kira nodded absently. She was staring off into the distance, trying to make sense of Tala’s lie, when the ground shook beneath them. They both turned in time to see the village blow itself apart.

Chapter 9-Truth Has A Price

All she could do at first, was stand with her mouth open, and it appeared that Regar was rooted to his spot as well. It wasn’t until a second round of explosions went off that her paralysis broke. She dropped her prayer book and took off running for the village, ignoring Regar’s shouts for her to wait.

By the time she reached the first house, he was no longer behind her. The sight that greeted her was one of horror and bad dreams, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. More than three quarters of the buildings were on fire, some, not able to support their own weight, had toppled to the ground. The street was marred by deep grooves were wooden slats had torn into it, and the sky above was black with smoke.

She had just started to move again when a strong hand clamped onto her shoulder. She spun around, ready to kick out at her assailant, and stopped herself just in time. Regar stood behind her, dirty and winded, but strong enough to hold her in her place.

“Slowly, Nerys.” He panted. “Keep your wits about you! We need to check on your man.”

It took her a moment to realize who he was talking about, but when she did, her eyes flew open wide. “Bashir.” She whispered, and turned in the direction of Tala’s house.

She slipped quickly through the wreckage of a dozen burning buildings, until she could see the mud shack up ahead of her. The roof was on fire, and the shutters had fallen to the ground, but other than that, it appeared undamaged. As she reached the door, she looked inside and saw Bashir kneeling on the floor. He had one hand held against a cut on his forehead as he rummaged through a medkit, looking for a regenerator. Kira pulled one out of her own pack and handed it to him. “Are you all right?” She bent down to look at his head. “You’ll be okay.”

She surveyed the room. Almost everything was still intact, only a few broken jars and one shattered chair. She had just helped Bashir to his feet when they heard a scream from outside.

“REGAR! KIRA!!!”

The three of them hurried out to find Clese running towards them. He was losing a lot of blood and by the time he reached them, he wasn’t even able to stand. Bashir caught him as he slumped to the ground and pulled him into the shade of a nearby tree. He had a gaping hole in the center of his chest and they could see the blood flow quicken with each heartbeat. Bashir placed his hands over the wound with a sick feeling. He had never seen a wound this serious that could be successfully repaired. But damn it if he wasn’t going to try! “Kira!” He snapped. “Take Regar inside and get me the dressing kits, a dermal regenerator, 20 cc’s of aranol and anything you can find him for pain! GO!”

“No..” Clese reached up and pushed his closed fist against Kira’s stomach. “I thought they were with you.” A tear ran down his cheek. “They asked for you. I thought they were with you. I’m sorry. Here. I thought….” His voice trailed off as he went into convulsions. Before Bashir could do anything, he was gone.

Regar turned his head away and cried as Kira reached to the man’s closed fist. Prying it open, she pulled out the object he had been trying to give her.

“Why would he think they were with us?” Bashir wiped his hand across his shirt after closing the man’s eyes.

“Because,” Kira’s face had gone stone-like and her mouth was set in a rigid, grim line. She held out a small chain with a broken disk on one end. It was covered with blood and had hair and skin stuck to it. “They were Bajoran.”

Before he could stop her, she turned and headed back towards the house. “Kira, wait.”

“I want to get a specimen analyzer.” She called back over her shoulder. “We need to get something off of this thing before the cells deteriorate.”

Just as she reached the door, a charge went off inside, blowing her ten feet across hard gravel. The last thing she remembered was hitting the ground, hard, with the sensation that half of her body was gone.

************************************************************************

Denias Lenar stumbled into his quarters and grabbed for a medkit. That damned half wit had nearly torn his ear off. As it was, it would be misshapen. He looked at himself in a mirror. The lobe of his ear was rimmed in raw flesh, the skin was gone, and half of his family marked disk was still stuck there. Reaching up, he ripped it out quickly and wrapped the side of his face in a towel. Once the bleeding had stopped, he gritted his teeth against the pain and rubbed an antibiotic ointment into the wound. The burning was so bad that he slammed a fist into the wall, nearly breaking his fingers in the process.

Once that was done, he activated the small regenerator he had and held it over his ear for a few seconds. It wouldn’t do much more than close the edges of the wound, but it would be enough for now. When he got home he could have restorative surgery, he had other things to worry about at the moment.

The only good thing the idiot had done for him was inform him of a miscalculation on his part. He had assumed that Tala would follow Sisko’s orders and return to the moon with her sister. Apparently the little troublemaker had a strong will and no respect for the Emissary. He looked into the mirror and grinned. That made it so much sweeter to kill her. Now he could base it on religious reasons as well.

He sat down on the couch and pulled a box from beneath it. Opening it up, he began to encrypt the message he would send to Aleram. It took him over an hour to finish it. The buzzing in his head was killing him.

Once it was done, he laid down and slept for nearly 17 hours. When he awoke, he smiled to see the wormhole in his window. He punched a button and sent his message on it’s way.

He instructed his crew to take the ship to the far side of Bajor and land it in a deserted mining district. He hated to destroy a good ship, but he couldn’t risk the ramifications if survivors were to recognize it. If there were any survivors. He grinned to himself and went back to sleep.

************************************************************************

Dax left Odo’s office to find Tala standing by a portal on the Promenade. They had spent the last day and a half looking for Aleram Kass and had still come up empty. She took the Bajoran’s hand just as the wormhole opened to release a Bolian transport through to the system. She glance at Tala’s face and was surprised to see a look of anger on her features. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” She brushed away and angry tear. “I hate it when I get like this.” She pulled Jadzia’s hand up to clutch it over her heart. “Something’s wrong. I know something’s wrong, but I can’t get through the static to figure out what it is.” She put her hand to her head and cried out in pain.

“Stop it, Tala.” Dax took her in her arms. “You’re just going to hurt yourself. It will come to you. Let it.” She kissed away a tear that had made it’s way down Tala’s cheek. “Come on, let’s get some dinner.” She led her away from the window right before the Bolian transport changed course, away from DS9.

************************************************************************

Aleram Kass woke up to a loud beeping in his ear. Reaching over, he slammed his finger against the flashing button on his console and sat up to receive the message. The sight that greeted him was not what he expected. Denais’ face had streams of blood across it, and most of his right lobe was missing. He looked glassy eyed and Aleram assumed he had taken something for pain.

“One down. I have it on good authority that Tala did not accompany her sister to Missak.”

“No kidding.” Aleram cursed under his breath. “I could have told you that if you contacted me before you headed out.”

“This means that you will need to finish that half of the job. Twice the agree upon amount. You must find an opportunity and make it look like an accident if you can, but do it regardless. Send a subspace on the agreed upon frequency when it is done. Don’t let us down.” The screen went blank.

Aleram sat in the darkness for a while before working on his reply. With firm resolve, he spoke into the mike. “This is it, D. No more. My last job and I will tell you I am not happy about it. Three times the agreed upon amount and you let me go. Period. It’s non-negotiable. Out.” He sent the message and snapped the console shut. Going to his bunk, he took out a mirror and a box. Pulling out face putty and a gold shouldered uniform, he went to work.

************************************************************************

Kira felt like her body was on fire. Opening her eyes, she stared up at the smooth, generic ceiling of the Rio Grande. Turning her head to the side, she saw three Julians piloting the ship. “Julian,” She whispered. “Are you okay?”

He flipped on the auto pilot and came to her side. “I’m fine, Major. It’s you that I’m worried about.”

“Me?” She tried to sit up. “Why?”

“Lie still!” His voice got a little harsher than he intended. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you have severe burns covering the left side of your body. You need to lie still.”

This only caused her to struggle more. “But they need help…”

“Major Kira!” His voice carried with the medical authority he had earned along with his post. “You have a right arm that is fractured in thirteen different places, you have burns that that are causing a caustic infection that is eating away at your left arm and you have a concussion that is threatening enough to send you into a coma. Now, if the partial stasis field I have been able to erect is going to work at all, you have got to LIE STILL!”

Kira stopped struggling and allowed her head to roll back onto the pillow. For the first time, she felt the pounding ache in her temples and gritted her teeth to stop from crying. “How are they, Julian? Tell me the truth.”

“They’re lucky.” Julian checked a bandage on her arm, wincing unconsciously before he wrapped it back up. “And that is the truth. They were lucky it was harvest season and ninety eight percent of the population was out in the fields. There were only three seriously wounded and the one casualty, Clese. You are one of the seriously wounded. I couldn’t do much for you there. The explosion destroyed most of the medical equipment. All that was left on the ship was first aid supplies. I took what I could use for you and left the rest with Regar. He can take care of the wounded until we can get another ship there. As for us, we’re almost home. You’ve been out for almost 18 hours.”

She glanced out the portal over his shoulder and then down to the console. She recognized the readings indicating close proximity to the wormhole. Another 10 minutes and they would be inside. She started to ask another question when she felt her head start to spin. Blackness grew out of the corners of her eyes as she watched Bashir talk to her. She couldn’t hear what he was saying but she could see how frantic he was becoming. Just as he took her face in his hands and yelled her name, she passed out.

Bashir looked down at her and felt his heart begin to pound. He had to get her to his sickbay immediately or she might lose her arm…or worse. He jumped back into the pilots seat and headed for the wormhole. When it finally spiraled into view, he sighed in relief and glanced back to make sure she was still breathing. Positive that she was, he made his way into the swirling clouds.

Once it had closed behind him, he settled down and concentrated on navigating safely through the passage. Just as the Rio Grande was about to exit, it came to a complete stop. He looked at the controls in panic as the world went white around him.

Kira felt a difference in the flight of the ship and struggled to wake up. When she finally broke through to consciousness, she was looking at the sweetest face she had ever seen. “Odo.” She reached up and took his hand. “There was an explosion…” She brought her eyes up to meet his and the words stopped in her throat. Odo’s eyes were no longer blue…they were black, swirled through by the ink blue color of the wormhole. “Odo?” She whispered. “You’re not Odo. Who are you?” She tried to sit up and was surprised when her body obeyed her. Looking down at her left side, she saw flawless skin and flesh that still looked rather pink in it’s newness. She flexed her fingers without pain and felt only the slightest shadow of an ache in her temples when she touched her head. “Prophets…” Her mouth hung open in a perfect ‘O’.

“Kira Nerys.” The creature said evenly. “We have repaired the damage to your body. Now you must go…”

“Wait…why?” Kira wanted so much to reach out and touch the smooth, expressionless face before her, but didn’t dare risk the offense.

“You are important to The Sisko.” He looked off to one side. “He…needs you. There is much work to be done. And he needs you still.”

She was ultimately unable to stop herself as she raised her palm and laid it against his cheek. “Why did you take this form?” She felt like weeping, she so much wanted him to be the real Odo. All her life she had dreamed of this moment, of meeting the Prophets. And all she could think of was Odo. It almost made her laugh.

“This was the form in your heart as you died, Kira Nerys.” He looked down at his hands. “These were the thoughts in your mind when your heart ceased it’s beating. And so, it was the one we used to bring you back.”

She nodded absently. So there was her answer.

“Now you must go.” He place his palm against her cheek as she had done to his. “Remember one thing, Kira Nerys.” His hand dropped. “All Truth, has a price.”

The words echoed in her ears as whiteness enveloped her. When she could see again, she was laying on the floor of the Rio Grande, which was just emerging from the wormhole, into the Alpha Quadrant. She saw Bashir working the controls furiously to bring the ship to top speed. “Bashir to DS9. Bashir to Sisko. Bashir to anyone! I need an emergency beam out the second we dock. Two to the infirmary.”

She stood slowly and came up behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder and smiling down into his unbelieving face. “Cancel that.” She said loudly. “Just find us a dock.”

************************************************************************

Kira sat quietly on an examination table as Julian took samples of her new blood and tissue. Sisko, Dax, Tala and Odo were all crowded around, waiting for the results.

“Well,” Bashir Smiled at her. “It would appear that the Prophets did an excellent job. No sign of tissue degeneration, no sign of caustic infection, no fractures, no concussion. They should have been Doctors.” He quipped.

Kira nodded and smiled at him in gratitude. “Thank you, Julian. If you hadn’t gotten me there so fast…”

“You’re welcome. Now get out of my sickbay. I have an emergency relief task force to put together.” He looked at Sisko. “I’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

The small group migrated to the Security Office, where Kira begged a few minutes alone with Odo. “I just need to talk with him for a little while.” She looked at them expectantly.

“All right,” Sisko pointed the others towards Quarks. “We have a lot to discuss when you’re through here.” He gave Odo a pointed look. “Call us when you’re done.”

Kira waited for them to exit before turning to Odo, who had moved to a far corner and was watching her warily. “So…Major-“

“You’re not going to ask me how my trip was are you?” She got a small smile from him. “Because I can tell you, I certainly wished you were there.”

He glanced up sharply at her words and felt himself begin to tremble. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Constable, that when it was beautiful, I thought of you,” She moved a little closer. “When it was hell, I thought of you,” She moved to stand directly in front of him and looked into his sky blue eyes. “And when I was dying, I thought of you. I’ve made my choice, Odo. And it’s you.”

She emphasized her statement by moving into the circle of his arms.

In that one moment, as he brought his lips to hers, Odo felt as though he had a heart. He felt it swell, felt it ache. He felt as though his entire body was hooked into that one imaginary organ and his form pulsed with each heartbeat. When their lips finally parted, Kira sighed and sagged against his chest. “So will you have me?”

“I’ll have you,” He whispered. “I’ll love you, I’ll cherish you. I’ll take care of you, and I will do or be whatever you want of me.”

“All I want is you, Odo. I love who and what you are. I don’t want you to be anything but what you are.” She pulled back slightly and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Now I just have to tell Edon.”

Odo stiffened. “Yes, well….Nerys,” He pushed her gently into a chair. “We need to talk. All of us.” He thumped his commbadge. “Odo to Sisko. Now Captain.”

Kira looked up at him in confusion and then at each of their faces as Sisko, Dax and Tala filed into the room. What she saw there caused her heart to skip. “What?” She whispered.

Tala took her hand, and began to tell her story.

************************************************************************

Captain Benjamin Sisko sat at his desk with the lights off, staring out into the space beyond his window. There were so many problems running through his head that he didn’t even know how to separate them, let alone solve them.

Major Kira had taken the news remarkably well. That was not a good sign. It either meant that she wasn’t feeling herself, or she was putting on an act. He was willing to put money on the latter. But there was nothing to be done for it at this point. She had asked for some time to herself and he had granted it. All of them had escorted her back to her room before heading in their own directions. He knew her time alone was the hardest on Odo. He wanted nothing so much as to comfort her, and she wouldn’t let him.

He glanced at a holo-image on his desk. Him and Jake with the players at the last game of the ’69 world series. We wondered briefly what he would do if anyone ever hurt his boy the way Shakaar had hurt Tala. The anger that welled up inside of his chest scared him.

Pushing the thoughts away, he sent out a reply to a letter from an old friend at Starfleet Academy, and headed home to see his son.

************************************************************************

Dax woke at 0730 the next morning to find a message for her to call Sisko as soon as she awoke. Flipping over to a comm channel, she called him in Ops. “Benjamin,” She yawned. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I wanted to get you, Tala and Kira up here, but at the moment, I’m having trouble locating Major Kira. The computer says she’s in her quarters, but she’s not answering my calls.”

“Hmm. Okay. I’ll wake up Tala, and pick up Kira on the way to Ops. See you in 20 minutes.”

Thirty minutes later, Sisko looked up from a console he was working on to see Dax and Tala enter Ops.

“Where is she?” He asked.

“I don’t know, Benjamin.” She held a Bajoran CommBadge out to him. “I found this on her bedside table, but Kira wasn’t there.”

“Kira?” O’Brien popped his head up from a floor level conduit. “Are you looking for Major Kira?”

“Yes, Chief, we are.” Sisko took the badge from Dax and slipped it into his pocket.

“She’s not here.”

“Yes, we know that, Mister O’Brien. Thank you.”

“No,” He stood up to join them. “what I mean is, she’s not on the station. I took Keiko to meet the 0500 shuttle to Bajor this morning, she has a botany expedition going out to the Cotunga Mountain Range,” He rushed on when he saw Sisko’s impatient look. “Well, anyway, Kira was on the shuttle too. Keiko tried to talk to her, but she just stared straight ahead and didn’t say anything.”

“Thank you, Chief.” Sisko spoke through gritted teeth. “So much for a surprise attack on our friend the First Minister.”

“Should we warn him that she’s coming?” Dax’s voice indicated that she wasn’t in favor of the idea.

“No,” he smiled. “He deserves whatever she is going to do to him. Let her go.”

He silently wished her well, and dismissed Dax and Tala from Ops.

************************************************************************

Kira stormed through the Hall Of Ministers like a she-cat after her prey. She didn’t even speak to his assistant before throwing open the door to his office and stomping in. His first reaction upon seeing her was a grin. That quickly faded as he recognized the hate that filled her eyes. He had only ever seen her look that way about Cardassians and the fact that it was aimed at him this time, shriveled his heart in his chest.

Kira watched his expression change from welcome, to resignation, and, finally, to fear as he realized that she was not going to stop. Before he could even say one word, her fist connected with his jaw hard enough to snap his head around in the other direction. Her first kick landed square in his solar plexus and knocked the wind out of him. Her second broke his nose and started a throbbing ache behind his eyes. She was about to come at him again when she was grabbed from behind. She kicked out wildly and craned her head around to see who was holding her. The breath rushed out of her lungs as she saw the neatly bandaged ear of Denais Lenar.

“Let her go, Denais.” Shakaar spoke through his pain.

“But, Sir! She’ll-“

“Do what I say!” He watched as his Adjetant released her. “Now get the hell out of here!”

He walked out slowly, looking back over his shoulder until the door shut behind him. Once he had gone, Shakaar turned to Kira and slumped in his chair. He opened his mouth to speak and Kira threw something at him. Picking it up, he recognized it as a piece of Denais’ earring.

“You bastard.” Her voice was low and sounded like the dry rattle of a snake. “You fucking bastard. What you did…what you’ve done…” She clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to calm down. “I want to know why, Edon. I want to know who you are, because you are certainly not the person I thought you were. Tell me why.” When he didn’t answer, she jumped in his face and screamed. “WHY!?!”

Shakaar sighed and released the pressure he had been putting on his nose. A thin trickle of blood rolled down his lip and off of his chin. “Because I had to.”

“What?”

He turned his head to look out the window. “When I got to Nan’Tekk, I knew I would die there. Somehow, I knew that something would happen and I would die. I had resigned myself to that fact, when the vision came.”

“Vision?” Kira couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Yes, a vision.” The placed his hands palm up, an ancient Bajoran stance used in negotiations to state ‘in honesty’ without words. She had to fight the urge to slap him again. “The Prophets came to me. They told me I had to live. That no matter what, I had to live. That Bajor would need me, and that only I could do what needed to be done.” He winced as he spoke, feeling his broken teeth grind into his gums. “The very next day, I was pulled from the crowd.”

“And raped my sister!” Kira’s arm shot out and backhanded him, causing him to reel in pain. “How many, Edon?? How many did you rape to save your worthless life? How many did you kill when you had Aleram tell the Cardassians where the Nakota was leaving Bajoran space?”

“NO!” He shook his head. “It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. The Cardassians agreed to subdue the prisoners. They were supposed to take them to Cardassia 3 and detain them there. That’s all.”

“Either you are completely stupid, naïve, or lying. And I know you’re not naïve. That leaves me with the opinion that you were stupid enough to believe them because it was easier for you that way. And if they did break the agreement, all the better, right? You’d never have to worry about Bajor finding out about your dirty little secret.” She tried to calm herself down. She knew that if she kept going the way she was, she would end up killing him. The fact that that thought pleased her, scared her even more. “You didn’t tell me how many, Edon. How many women did you rape?”

“Four.” He whispered.

“You are a liar.” Her fury caused her to lash out, her fist catching him under the chin in a vicious uppercut. His head connected with the glass behind him with a satisfying thud, but she didn’t like the way his eyes glazed over. Stepping close to him, she slapped him lightly on the cheeks until he regained his senses. “Don’t pass out on me, Edon. That would make me even angrier.” She stepped away and began to pace. “Tala told me how many you raped. She told me what you did to Zenece. Did you know she was Tala’s mate? Did you?”

Shakaar nodded and spoke quietly. “I didn’t rape them, Nerys. I didn’t rape Zenece. The Cardassians did. That was the deal. I would let them pin it on me, tear down the moral of those strong enough to fight. They would rape the women, I would take the blame. I only raped four women, and I hated myself for each one of them.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth, Nerys.”

“DON”T CALL ME NERYS!!!” She shouted. “What about Missak, Edon? Are you going to tell me that you weren’t involved in that either?”

“What about Missak?” The concern on his face looked so genuine that it threw her for a moment.

“What about it? It’s destroyed!” She lowered her face until it was on level with his. “The village was destroyed, people were hurt. One person was killed. You’re a murderer, Shakaar.”

“And what about you?” He struggled to sit up. “You killed a Bajoran. You are just as guilty as I am.”

“No, Edon. Don’t even try that with me. I killed a collaborator who would have killed me. You caused the rape and slaughter of hundreds of innocent people.” She felt sick. “All so that you could live.” She grabbed him by the chin and squeezed, hard, giving him no choice but to stare directly into her eyes. “By the time Tala and I are through with you, you’ll wish you had died that day.”

She turned and walked out, slamming the door into Denais as he listened on the other side. She punched him in the side of the head, her fist connecting solidly with his bandaged ear. After he had hit the ground, she grabbed him by the front of the shirt and growled, “You too, Denais. You’re just as dead as he is.”

He watched her through tear filled eyes as she bulled her way out of the hall. He glance into the room where the First Minister sat, huddled in pain, and walked away. Shakaar would never trust him again, but he could do one last thing to help his First Minister. Reaching his room, he sent a message to Aleram, promising 5 times the offered amount and a free ride to anywhere, if he delivered their heads in the next two days.

************************************************************************

Kira slept most of the way back to the station, but it didn’t even put a dent in her exhaustion. She had forgotten just how much energy hate could take out of you. She was looking forward to a hot bath and eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was an understatement to say that the sight of Captain Sisko waiting for her at the airlock when she disembarked was not a welcome one. She thought about ducking back inside, but only for a moment. In then end, she walked right up to him and looked at him expectantly.

“Did you have a nice trip, Major?” His voice was playful, but she could hear the steel underneath.

“As good as can be expected Captain.”

“Well, you’re back just in time. I have a little meeting set up in my office. Let’s go.”

“Captain,” She wanted to explain to him just how tired she was, but something in his eyes stopped her.

“Major,” He said softly. “Someone wise once said, ‘There will be many opportunities in your life to keep your mouth shut. Take advantage of all of them.” He handed her her commbadge and with a sarcastic grin, waved her towards his office.

When they arrived, Dax was already waiting for them. The Trill took in her bloody, bandaged hands and sighed. “Is there anything left of him?”

“Enough.” She sat down heavily. “Death’s too easy.”

“To get to the business at hand,” Sisko cut in. “There is someone I would like you to meet. A new senior officer that will be stationed here on Deep Space Nine.”

Both Dax and Kira looked completely confused.

He grinned and motioned towards his bathroom door.

Tala was standing there. She wore the red shouldered uniform that indicated Starfleet Command. Her hair had been cut quite short and there was one black and gold pip on her collar.

“May I introduce, Ensign Kira Talas.” A huge grin split his face.

Kira and Dax both smiled and congratulated her. “But,” Dax glanced at Sisko quizzically. “You said Senior Officer.”

“She will be, Dax. Once she completes the required Academy courses, she will be awarded the acting rank of Lieutenant. At that time she will become the Official StarFleet Liaison Officer to Missak. Stationed here, on DS9.”

He looked quite proud of himself as Dax walked over to stand beside him. “How many favors did you have to call in for this one, Benjamin?”

He turned to grin at her. “All of them, Old Man. All of them. And I would very definitely say that you owe me.”

“I would definitely say that I agree.” She squeezed his arm in thanks.

“On to the next piece of business.” Sisko sat at his desk and pulled out a PADD. “You’re first official mission as a member of Starfleet, will be to return to Missak immediately and assess the damage caused by the recent attack. You will report directly to me.” He smiled. “You get to pick your crew. You and two others will pilot the Rio Grande. It’s the only ship they are familiar with and I don’t want to scare them again. The Defiant will follow, carrying Doctor Bashir and his medical equipment.” He started to tap information into his PADD and then stopped, looking over the top of it. “May I assume that I know who you will be choosing?”

Tala nodded.

“Good. Then report to docking bay twelve at 0700 hours tomorrow. I’ll see you there. Dismissed.”

************************************************************************

Aleram Worked his way through a conduit, moving as close as he could when he caught the sound of O’Briens Irish brogue. Slipping his ear against the grate of an air duct, he listened to the Chief give instructions. Something about…another trip to the Gamma Quadrant. The Rio Grande…and the Defiant?? His eyes widened. So they meant business this time. He continued to listen until he heard the names he wanted to hear. Tala and Major Kira would be on the Rio Grande. Unfortunately, so would Commander Dax. But that couldn’t be helped. Moving down to a further grate, he slipped into the docking bay and managed to sneak aboard the runabout that would soon be heading back to the Gamma Quadrant. Twenty minutes later, he left the docking bay the way he had come.

He didn’t return to his Quarters. Instead, he entered a different bay and climbed aboard the small shuttle he had been given when he first came to DS9. He stowed his gear and pulled the putty off of his nose, scratching his ridges where the disguise had irritated it.

Leaning back in his pilot chair, he sent his request for exit clearance at 0645 the next morning, and waited.

************************************************************************

Dax and Tala and Kira and Odo, all spent that night in the same manner. Making love to the person they loved most in their lives. Tala tried several times to tell Jadzia how she felt about her, only to be pleasantly interrupted with kisses and caresses. Finally, she decided it would be much more romantic to tell her when they reached Missak. They would lay in the pool behind her cottage, listen to the song of the wind through the trees, and she would tell her. And with a little luck she’d hear those same words from Jadzia’s lips.

Odo and Kira had no such difficulties. By the time the day lights clicked on, they were thoroughly enmeshed in each other, having spoken their vows of love to each other in the darkness. The only hardship they faced was saying goodbye. Kira was going to Missak on the Rio Grande, and Odo, on the Defiant.

He watched her as she climbed aboard, and tolerated Dax’s knowing smile, then turned and went through his own airlock and, hearing it click shut behind him, steeled himself for what he knew was coming.

Almost an entire day trapped with a group of men who knew he had just lost his virginity.

Oh joy.

After the first ten minutes, he tuned them out and stood watching out of a portal as Kira’s runabout left the docking ring. They had just left dock themselves when he saw the back end of the Rio Grande shake violently. They came to a dead stop and Odo could see smoke seeping out from a crack somewhere in their hull.

Something hit the Defiant and rocked it lightly to one side.

“What the hell was that, Mister Worf?” Sisko barked, pulling himself up off the floor.

“Shock wave, Sir. Something just exploded inside of the Runabout.”

“Something?” Sisko began to scan their immediate area. “Could you be a little more specific? Are they all right over there?”

“I’m reading three life signs. Two strong….one failing.” He looked up at Odo.

“The failing lifesign is Bajoran.”

“Get me over there, Commander!” Odo stepped up onto a transporter pad. “Now!”

Worf looked to Sisko for approval. On his nod, he started the sequence and sent Odo to the cabin of the flailing runabout.

“Sir,” Worf motioned for Sisko to join him at the console. “The charge was detonated by a transmitting device operating on a wide band frequency in a local range.” His hands flew over the controls. “I think I can isolate the source.”

“Do it, Commander.”

Worf found the final coordinates and forced them into the ships computer. “Onscreen!” he barked.

A small Bajoran craft appeared in their viewscreen. “It is within phaser range, Captain.”

Sisko didn’t even hesitate. “Target to disable, Commander. FIRE!”

Their blast was meant to take out the ships port nacelle, but the Bajoran craft changed course unexpectedly, causing the full force of the phaser to go directly into it’s engine compartment.

“His warp coil is overheating, Captain. His ship will blow itself apart in less than thirty seconds.”

“Lifesigns?”

“One, very faint.”

“Beam him out. I want him here, now!”

Sisko walked over to the Transporter pad and watched as a huddle mass appeared on the floor. Just as he finished materializing, the Defiant was rocked once again, this time by the exploding warp coil of the Bajoran vessel. Once the ship had steadied itself, he brought his full attention back to their prisoner.

Aleram was laying on his back, one of his lungs collapsed and the other failing rapidly. The burns that covered his body hurt tremendously and the only thing that kept him from curling up in pain, was the fact that he couldn’t move. He reached one claw-like hand towards Sisko, who backed up to avoid his touch.

“Aleram Kass.” He looked down at the dying man and fought the urge to drag him to his feet. He moved aside so that Bashir could do a medical scan of his vital signs. When his reading was done, Julian closed the tricorder slowly. He looked at Sisko and shook his head.

Captain Sisko knelt by Aleram’s side and looked into his eyes. “You’re dying. Nothing you do now can save Shakaar.”

“My…” He swallowed hard. “My orders…did not come…from the F-first Minister.” His eyes began to glaze over.

“No, damn it!” Sisko grabbed him by his collar and shook him, but it was no use. He died without regaining consciousness.

Sisko lowered him back to the floor and contemplated his still form for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the Rio Grande. “Any word from the runabout?”

Worf shook his head.

“Hail them,” Sisko stared out the portal towards the crippled ship. “Keep hailing them until someone answers us.”

************************************************************************

Odo braced himself for the worst as he materialized on the tiny Bridge of the Rio Grande. He didn’t even want to think about what he would do if he lost Major Kira. But then, he didn’t know what Kira would do if she lost her sister. With a sigh, he stepped through the smoke and surveyed the wreckage.

As far as damage went, it was minimal. There was a hairline fracture in the ships hull, but Dax had quickly neutralized that with pressurized force field. The rest of the damage was superficial. Seats were thrown about and there were a few cracked consoles, but all in all, it was better than he had expected. As he moved towards the back of the ship, he finally found the three of them. Dax and Kira were huddled around Talas, who was prone on the floor and didn’t look to be conscious. Dax was holding a cloth to the back of her head as Kira ran a tricorder over her body.

“What can I do?” He quickly knelt beside them and offered his hands. Dax took one of them and led it to the cloth she was holding. “Keep the pressure on here. She’s losing a lot of blood and I need to get a medkit.” She relinquished her hold on Tala’s head and ran to the front of the ship. When she was gone, Odo reached out and brushed his fingers along Kira’s cheek. He felt her tears against his ‘skin’ and he wished that he could hold her. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” She sobbed. “Tala came to the back to stow her gear, and when she opened a locker, it exploded. Something wasn’t right though. I saw the device. It looks like it should have torn the back end of the ship off.”

At that moment, Dax returned with the medkit and pulled his hand away to work on the wound. “Where is it? The device?”

Kira pointed to the storage area. “Back there. You can’t miss it.”

Odo pushed broken equipment out of his way as he entered the cargo hold. He immediately saw what she meant. The area around the locker was black and melted, forming a mess of resin, plastic and metal that surrounded the initial blast area in a circle with a five foot radius. He laid his hand gently against the surface and pulled it back when the heat seared into his substance. He picked up part of a meted fuse and studied it. From the way it was set up, it looked as though the charge was supposed to be activated when the warp engines came online. That would have tripled the effect of the bomb and destroyed the ship altogether. The only thing he could come up with was that Aleram jumped the gun. He saw the Defiant getting between him and his target and decided to detonate before they reached warp on the other side of the wormhole. Which was the only thing that saved their lives.

“Tala?” Kira’s panicked voice carried from down the corridor. “Tala…Open your eyes. Open your eyes, ti’san. Please, oh Prophets…open your eyes.” He heard her start sobbing again and went to comfort her, but Kira would have none of it. Her eyes held an unreasoning anger that caused her to push him away and into a bulkhead. She skidded through the walkway and dropped into the Pilot’s chair. With a determined look on her face, she powered up the engines.

“What’s she doing?” Odo started to go after her but Dax grabbed his arm.

“Tala’s not going to make it, Odo.” Her eyes were filled with tears as she tried everything she could to get Tala to respond.

He looked from Dax’s anguished face to Kira’s and then it suddenly hit him.

She was taking her to the Prophets.

************************************************************************

Sisko watched the Rio Grande on the viewscreen. When it powered up it’s engines and moved off at quarter impulse, he rubbed his head and yelled at no one in particular, “Where the hell do they think they’re going?? Worf,” He thought he actually saw the big Klingon cringe but he couldn’t be sure. “What will happen if the force field around their breach disintegrates in the wormhole?”

“The ship will de-pressurize and be torn apart.”

“Can we cover them with our shields?”

“Not in the wormhole, Sir. We would not be able to maintain that kind of contact. And if they were torn out of our shield range, that alone might weaken the field they’ve been able to construct.”

“Tractor them away from the wormhole.” Sisko was getting close to the bottom of the barrel.

“Captain, if we do that-“

“Let me guess,” Sisko interrupted sarcastically. “We risk weakening their force field…correct?”

Worf nodded. He watched his Captain as the Rio Grande got closer and closer to the opening. “What are your orders, Sir?”

Captain Sisko pulled at his beard and returned to his command chair with a sigh. “Let them go. We’ll just have to trust them on this one.”

Worf nodded and stopped to watch as the runabout disappeared into wormhole.

************************************************************************

Kira piloted the runabout until they were halfway through the wormhole, then brought it to a stop and powered down. She came to sit by Tala again and held her hand as Dax worked over her.

Dax was frantic. Nothing they were doing was having any effect and Tala kept slipping deeper into her coma. Her brain activity was declining at an alarming rate, and her blood pressure was getting dangerously low. But Dax kept at it until, finally, there was nothing left to try. She closed her tricorder and swallowed hard. Slumping against the wall at her back, she lowered her head into her hands and cried.

Kira, on the other hand, got angry. Standing up, she raised her fist to the ceiling and yelled, “Where are you? You said Sisko needs me, and I know he needs Dax. Well, neither one of us can live without Tala. Can you hear me? Where are you!?!”

Odo grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her against his chest. He stroked her hair and tried to help calm her as her entire body shook in rage. He was so focused on what he was doing, that it took him a moment to realize that the lights were getting brighter. In a few moments, he couldn’t see anything at all. When his vision cleared, the runabout was gone.

At first he thought he was alone, but one by one, Kira appeared, then Dax, and finally Tala, who was spread out on an examination table under a sheet. Her eyes were closed, and she was very pale.

Kira rushed to her side and checked her pulse. When she smiled, Dax’s whole body physically relaxed. She stood on the other side of the table and helped Kira try to wake her. But no matter what they did, Tala’s eyes didn’t open. It reached a point where Kira thought she had been wrong, and checked her pulse again, only to find it strong and steady.

“She is alive.”

They all jumped at the sound of Worf’s voice. It was a Worf they had never seen before. Quiet, serene, so unlike the man who actually was Worf. Kira found herself in an awkward position. That of being humble in front of a man she was used to arguing with. She closed her eyes and told herself, ‘He is a Prophet. He is a Prophet.’. When she opened them again, she focused on his eyes. Those strange black eyes with the colors of the wormhole swirling through them. Then she was able to bow her head in respect. “Thank you. She means a lot to me.”

“We did not save her…for you.” Even the timber of Worf’s voice seemed quiet. “We saved her for Bajor.”

“Bajor?” Kira glanced at Dax uneasily. “What do you mean?”

“Talas has a destiny not yet to be revealed. To us, it is known, as all things are known, and experienced . To you, it has yet to come.”

Dax looked at her lover and felt her heart swell with pride. She had known that Tala was a hero, and would continue to be so. “Can she go with us now?”

“Go?” The Worf turned his head to one side and studied Odo intently. “You are a Founder, a Changeling. Among humanoids…how …unlikely.” He returned his attention to Dax. “She may not go. She must stay.”

“What?” Kira and Jadzia spoke in unison.

The Worf looked at them with a blank kind of patience. “Talas has no faith. No belief to sustain her. She must remain here, until she has found it. Only then may she return to her linear existence.”

“Until?” Dax stepped closer to the being. “I thought you were none linear! Doesn’t that mean that you could show her…now, and send her home?”

“It is not we, but her, who must find her faith. Linear creatures have a need to remain linear, no matter how badly it may impair their ability to learn. As such, Tala will find her faith, when she begins her search. We cannot show her what she does not wish to see.”

“What if she doesn’t want to stay?” Dax moved closer still and Kira reached out, trying to restrain her from advancing on a god.

“She wishes it, as we require it.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you…”

“Dax!” Kira snapped. “This isn’t Worf you are talking to.”

“I know that, Kira.”

“Are you sure?” Talas whispered from where she was sitting up on the table. “These are the Bajoran Gods, ‘Zia. You’d better watch out or Kira will try to teach you some manners, just like she did me.” She smiled. “She never was any good at it.” She tried to stand and fell back against the table.

Dax rushed to her side and helped support her until she found her legs. “Are you all right?”

“I think so. I certainly feel better than I did an hour ago.” Her smile was overly bright as she looked up into Jadzia’s eyes. “I have to stay, ‘Zia.”

“No you don’t. You said yourself, that you were a heathen…”

“And that I would remain so, until I was proven otherwise.” She took Dax’s face in her hands. “I think this is my last chance, Jadzia. My last chance to save this part of myself.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “I love you, ‘Zia. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. I wanted to say it on Missak, with the moons overhead and the song in the trees.”

“You still can.” Dax leaned forward and kissed her gently.

“You’re right, I can. Just not right now. I’ll be back, ‘Zia. I swear it. I’ll be back.”

“When?”

She raised her hands helplessly and looked over at the Prophet.

Worf spoke evenly. “A week, a year…perhaps yesterday. It means nothing to us, and everything to you. We will keep that in our thoughts, when she finally finds her way.”

Dax nodded slowly. It was Tala’s choice, and she hadn’t chosen her.

“Don’t think of it that way, ‘Zia.” A sad smile crossed her face at Dax’s surprise. “Here, I can hear everything. Please don’t think of it as me not choosing you. I have chosen you. But I can’t have any kind of life until I do this.” She waited until Jadzia took a deep breath and composed herself before kissing her. The kiss was long and slow, and felt too much like goodbye.

When they broke apart, she went to her sister and embraced her, whispering in her ear. “She doesn’t understand, ‘Rys. Please help her.”

“Who’s going to help me?” Kira tried to smile and started to cry instead.

“Oh, ‘Rys. You know why I am here. You would do the same if you were in my place.”

Kira nodded once. She did know. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Tala looked to the Prophet and then back to her sister. “There is one more thing, Nerys.”

“What?” Her heart was heavy and she didn’t know if she could take much more.

“Don’t expose Shakaar.”

Kira’s jaw dropped. “But…after what he did to you…after what he did to Missak…”

“Missak was Denais, Nerys. Maybe Shakaar knew what might happen, but he didn’t give the order.”

“How do you know that?” Her voice was incredulous.

“They showed me.” She motioned over her shoulder to where the Prophet stood. “All truth has a price, ‘Rys. And this is the price: Revenge is nothing, until justice takes place. There is no justice in destroying Bajor. If you expose Shakaar, you destroy Bajor. Unfair, but true. So revenge must wait.” She smiled. “But then, someone did once say that revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Kira looked away, trying to hide her anger.

“I know what this will do to you. It’s not forever, Nerys. Just until he can no longer influence Bajor. When he is no longer so favored, then he will find justice, and vengeance will follow with it.” She kissed her big sister tenderly on the cheek. “The Prophets trust your decisions. Make wise ones.”

Kira nodded and Tala moved away, returning to the table and closing her eyes. Within a matter of seconds, she had faded from view.

“You must go now. You’re ship is functional.” Worf pulled back. “Tell the Sisko, we seek his counsel.”

The light claimed them again, leaving them hollow and empty on the floor of the Rio Grande.

************************************************************************

Sisko looked at his console for the tenth time in the last half an hour. “How long have they been in there?”

“Two hours and forty seven minutes, Sir.” Worf tried to keep the impatience from his voice. He was about to suggest that they go in after them when the wormhole blossomed into view.

Captain Sisko stood and approached the viewscreen. A smile of relief spread across his features when the runabout came into view. “Hail them, Mister Worf.”

In a matter of seconds, Worf replied “They’re responding, Captain.”

“On speaker. Dax? Kira?”

“We’re here, Benjamin.” Dax’s voice sounded strained as she returned his greeting. “Odo, Kira, and I are fine.” Her voice broke. “ We lost Tala.”

He felt his mouth go dry as she said those words. He swallowed. “Understood. We have docking clearance for you in Bay 5.”

“Not just yet, Captain.” Kira’s voice this time. She sounded very close to breaking. “We need to make a trip to the surface first.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? Dax? Odo?”

“At this point, Captain,” Odo’s voice sounded steady. “I don’t think it is a choice. I’ll make sure there is no trouble.”

“All right.” He shrugged and sighed. “I’ll be waiting for a full report as soon as you return.”

“Yes, Sir. Rio Grande out.”

Sisko watched the shuttle as it accelerated towards Bajor. He waited until it was out of sight before ordering the Defiant home.

Chapter 10-Justice(?)

First Minister Shakaar Edon sat patiently in his office, staring out at Bajor’s rising moons. Denais had fled, and he was already getting reports about the fiasco at the mouth of the wormhole. With Aleram dead, he knew there was no way he could ever convince Kira of his ignorance about his Adjetant’s recent activities. So he sat and waited for the other shoe to drop.

He didn’t have to wait long.

He had been sitting there less than an hour when Odo shifted his way under the door and turned the lock from the inside. He should have known they would bring the ‘shifter. He had always thought Kira was a bit too soft on him.

Odo slid into his normal form and opened the door to let Kira and Dax in. He didn’t get up as they moved forward, surrounding his desk on all three sides. “Well,” He straightened his shoulders. “I was wondering when you were going to get here.”

“Were you so anxious to see us, Edon?” Kira’s voice was steady, her eyes clear. He was surprised to see the anger gone. He didn’t trust it.

“I don’t suppose it would do any good to tell you I wasn’t involved in what happened today?”

Dax felt her anger rise at the lightness in his voice, but Kira spoke before she could.

“No, Edon. It wouldn’t matter.” She sat down on the edge of his desk. “What

matters is what happens next.”

“All right,” He sat back in his chair and looked up at her. “What happens next?”

“What happens next,” She reached out quickly and grabbed his chin, which was still in the process of healing. Pulling him forward, she ignored his grunt of pain and positioned his face directly in front of hers. “What happens next, is that we talk, and you listen.” She loosened her grip but did not let go. “This is what is going to happen, Edon. You are going to serve the next season as First Minister. When your term is over, you will refuse the nomination to run for re-election. You will step down quietly, and leave Bajor. You will not return…ever.”

“Bajor is my home-“

“Not anymore.” Kira let her hand drop. “In addition to this, you will issue an arrest warrant for Denais Lenar for his participation in the recent terrorist activities against the Bajoran settlers on Missak. I don’t doubt that he will disappear long before the warrant is even inked, but I want it nonetheless.” She stood. “Do you understand what I am offering you, Edon? I am offering you the opportunity to finish your term with dignity, and to get off of Bajor before I send the dogs after you. If you do not accept this offer, I will be in the head Magistrates office tomorrow morning, explaining to him that the First Minister of Bajor is a liar, a rapist, and a murderer.” She looked at him expectantly. “What is your answer?”

“It doesn’t sound like there is much of a choice.” He sighed heavily. “I accept your offer. But I want you to know, I did not send Denais to destroy Missak, anymore than I sent Aleram to kill you and Tala. Denais made those decisions on his own.” He took her hand only to have her rip it from his grasp. “I loved you, Nerys. Please remember that.”

“I’ll remember another lie, First Minister. You will have one week to vacate this system after you have stepped down. Goodbye, Edon.”

Odo and Kira turned to leave, but Dax lingered behind. She studied Shakaar for a few moments before crouching down to whisper, “You have cost me something that I held very dear. For that, I’ll give you some advice.”

He cringed slightly. “What would that be?”

Dax smiled, a cold smile that sent tremors down his spine. “Run,” She whispered. “As far and as fast as you can. Because I’ll be coming for you,” She moved in until her face was barely an inch from his. “And Trills can have a very long memory.”

He remained there long after they had gone, his mind occupied with various images of death.

Every one of them had blue eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They hardly spoke on the ride back to the station, each of them preoccupied with their own thoughts. Every once in a while, Kira or Odo would glance back at Dax and she would have to smile reassuringly, something that was getting increasingly difficult to do.

By the time the runabout docked, Dax just wanted to be alone. She mumbled excuses and headed off, leaving Odo and Kira, arm in arm, to watch her go. Kira knew this was harder for Dax. She at least had the small comfort of knowing that Tala was with the Prophets. Dax only knew that she was gone. Odo glanced at Kira and saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. Placing an arm around her, he led her home.

Dax didn’t know where to go, so she wondered the corridors aimlessly. When she passed the Science Lab, she backtracked and went inside. She searched through the supply cabinets until she found what she was looking for, a cylinder of plastic and metal about a foot long and four inches in diameter. Tucking it under her arm, she headed for her quarters.

The scent was there the moment she opened the doors, leaving her weak and wanting to cry. She straightened her back as she made her way to the bedroom. Once there, she opened the top of the cylinder and slid the Talas flower inside. Sealing it, she punched in the activation code and watched as a golden shimmer ran down the length of the plant, creating a stasis field from one end of it to the other.

She stared at it as though it would disappear too. “I love you, Kira Talas.” She whispered to herself. “I never got to say it at all.” Clutching the tube to her chest, she went into the living room and sat down heavily on the couch. Leaning back, she looked out of the window just as the wormhole opened, causing tears to run freely down her cheeks.

Placing her hand against the glass, she made her wish.

The End

Okay, next page please~!

Oh, there you are! Okay, thanks for turning the page! I just wanted to let all of you wonderful Star Trek fans know a few things before you all start yelling at me about this story.

#1 Tala is not completely dead. She is just MOSTLY dead. And you all know what

that means. (Those of you who have never seen the Princess Bride, Shame on

you!!)

#2 Shakaar and Denais are NOT off the hook. They are simply in a state of

suspension. The hunt can always continue.

#3 “The Return Of Talas” (ROT) sounds pretty good to me. Anybody out there who

might wanna read it if I got it in my damn fool head to write the thing??

Please!! Send thoughts and comments to Jadzia7627@msn.com (AKA DAx =/\=)

May the Prophets Walk With You!

---

[JD1]

[JD2]

[JD3]

[JD4]