STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
“Choices”
Ñ
An Original DS9 Story
Ó1996 by
Patricia L. Ennis
Jadzia7627@msn.com
April 1996
The characters and locations used in this story are
owned completely and solely by Paramount Pictures Inc. I have borrowed them here in an attempt to
create a fictional episode of the television show “Deep Space Nine”. The story and all elements (other than
characters and locations) of the story belong to Patricia L. Ennis. This story is for private amusement only and
may not be reprinted or uploaded elsewhere without this header intact.
With that small amount of legalese out of the way,
please enjoy the story and let me know what you think. Oh, a word to the hard core fans: I mean no
disrespect whatsoever and do not wish to step on any toes or offend anyone’s
sensibilities. In that regard, be
forewarned that this story does contain a romantic relationship between two
women. I welcome all comments and
criticisms EXCEPT those involving insults in regards to the subject
matter. It is 1996 isn't it?
One last note.
This story does not really have a time period. It is simply an alternate story line kind of
thing. Something that might have
happened. (If everybody was open minded
that is.) ;) (Oh, and,
I know Sisko was promoted.
Personally, I think Commander Sisko sounds better. So, For the sake of my story, please forgive
me.)
***********************************************************************
Major Kira Nerys leaned
against the balcony at Quarks, looking down at the crowd below. “Just the usual,” she said to herself with a sigh. “Businessmen, tourists, smugglers....Morn.”
She
sipped her drink and shook her head. It
was always so boring when Dax left.
“Commander!”
she called out, having caught a glimpse of Sisko through the crowd. He smiled and made his way casually through
the throng. Not that he had to fight his
way over. Crowds always seemed to part
for the Emissary.
“Major,” he grinned, with a nod. “I trust you’re amusing yourself?”
“Here? Not Likely.
It was the only place I could think of that might be little more
interesting. When does her ship get in?”
Sisko
smiled at her eagerness for a friendly face.
“Well, if you mean Dax...”
“Of
course!”
“She
should be here in the next hour. I
didn’t know you were missing her quite so badly.”
“Well,
I will say that things are always more interesting when she's around.” Kira grinned ruefully. “I’m sure Odo doesn’t miss her though.”
Sisko
laughed. “If she moves his furniture one
more time, I think he’s likely to throw her in the brig.”
Kira
grinned. “You know, it took me a long
time to realize that Dax HAD a sense of humor.
I still wonder why she plays with Odo.”
She raised her eyebrows at the Commander. “There are certainly more interesting
targets.”
“Are
you volunteering Major? Because I’m sure
I could put a word in with the old man for you...”
Kira
laughed as O'Briens voice came over the comm.
“Ops
to Sisko.”
“Sisko
here, go ahead.”
“Commander,” Chief O’Briens voice sounded strained. “We need you up here.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“There’s
a problem...it’s the
Kira
touched his sleeve. “That’s Jadzia’s
runabout.”
Sisko
nodded. “What KIND of problem?”
A
sound of frustration came over the line.
“We’ve...we’ve lost her.”
“WHAT?”
“She’s
just gone, Commander. One minute she was
headed in, a bit early I might add, and the next second, she’s off the
screens.”
“We’re
on our way.”
*******************************
“Unbelievable,” O’Brien muttered to himself. “Can’t have one quiet day...”
He
began to punch commands into the console. “C’mon you hunk of junk!” With a hard kick, the computer chirped at him
and began its reading.
“Hardly
a scientific approach.” Sisko remarked
as he and Kira entered Ops. “Will that
work on anything in this station?”
“I’m
sorry, Commander. It’s just so bloody
frustrating.” He ran his hand over his
face. “I was talking to her. Something about a distortion she was reading,
but I couldn’t seem to pick it up.
Then....nothing. I can’t locate
her anywhere in this sector.”
“What
about the wormhole?”
“There
hasn’t been any recent activity,” Kira
stated, watching a monitor a few feet away.
“The last ship through docked over an hour ago.”
Sisko
massaged one temple with his left hand.
“Did she say what kind of a distortion she was reading?”
O’Brien
shook his head. “She mentioned a strange
ionic pattern, did a bit of interesting swearing, and disappeared. I was never able to get any kind of reading
at all. From my end, it was just her and
empty space.”
“Chief!”
O’Brien
turned towards Ensign Brena, a lovely Bajoran female. “What?”
“I
have a ship approaching the docking ring.
It just appeared out of no where.
“On
Screen!” Sisko and Kira barked at
once.
The
Ensign tapped her console and the ship appeared on the monitor.
There
was something very wrong.
Sisko
studied it for a moment. It was not
flying so much as floating. It hung
outside the docking ring, listing slightly to one side. “Lock on to life form and beam directly to
sick bay-”
“Commander!” Kira grabbed him by the arm. “Brena said the life form was faint. You know transporting her in a weakened
condition may harm the Symbiont.”
“Do
you have another suggestion, Major?”
“Beam
me to the ship. I can pilot it in.”
Sisko
looked at her briefly, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he nodded and turned to the Ensign. “Is the life sign stable?”
“Yes,
faint, but stable for the moment.
However, I would suggest that whatever you are going to do, you do it
fast.”
Kira
hurried to the transporter ring. “Now,
Chief.”
***********************
As
soon as she materialized, Kira drew her phaser and cautiously looked around. The runabout seemed none the worse for
wear. Nothing was thrown about, nothing
charred, or melted. Nothing to indicate
what may have happened. Moving slowly in
the dark, she felt her way along, sliding her feet across the floor until they
rested up against something soft. As she
swung her light downwards, the beam cut across Dax, laying on her back in the
middle of the runabout. Kira noted
absently that it looked as though she had been arranged in a comfortable
position by someone else. Kneeling beside
her, she pulled out her tricorder and swept it over Jadzia’s inert body. The lifesigns were reading stronger, but they
were still rather faint.
“Dax,” She gently touched her shoulder. “Dax, it’s Kira...Can you hear me?”
Groaning
slightly, Dax opened her eyes. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Kira smiled.
“Are you strong enough to beam out?”
Jadzia
looked confused for a second, her hands slowly running down her abdomen. “I think you’d better beam me out, Kira. Now.”
Her face went slack as she passed out.
Kira
stood quickly and thumped on her comm badge.
“Kira to Ops, Two to beam directly to sick bay, and make it quick
Chief.”
*************************
Dr.
Julian Bashir sat at his console, humming along with the classical music
emanating from hidden speakers. He
smiled as the music ended and whispered, “Bravo. Now THAT was music.”
He
started slightly as O’Briens voice came over the communicator. “Julian, we’re beaming two directly to
you. It’s Dax. Major Kira is with her."
“Dax?” Bashir frowned. “What’s happened?”
“We’re
not sure yet. Major Kira found her
unconscious on the
“I
will Chief. Beam them in.”
Kira
and Dax materialized before him. Dax was
lying on her back, her head cradled in Kira’s lap. The Major looked up and Bashir saw something
very close to tears in her eyes.
“What
happened?” He knelt beside them and
lifted her off the floor. Carrying her
over to an examination table, he gently laid her on its surface and began
scanning her body from her head down. As
he passed the medical tricorder over her abdomen, he stopped, a puzzled look on
his face.
“I
don’t know.” Kira shook her head. “Apparently, she ran into some kind of
spacial distortion and her runabout disappeared. It reappeared about 20 minutes later, but it
was dead in the water and Jadzia was like this.”
Bashir
massaged the side of his neck and muttered. “This isn’t right. I’m getting some strange readings.”
“What
kind of readings?”
He
looked at her and frowned. “If they’re
accurate, then the Dax symbiont...is gone.”
Kira’s
jaw dropped. “What do you mean,
gone? How can it be gone? She wasn’t missing long enough for a
procedure like that.” She swallowed
hard. “Is that why she’s not waking
up? I know the host can’t survive
without the symbiont once they’ve been joined.
Julian.....are we going to lose her?”
“No,
no, you’re not understanding me,” The corners of his lips turned up in a smile
of amazement. “The symbiont wasn’t just
removed. It’s as though it was never
even there.” His smile broadened at
Kira’s shocked look. “It seems as though
we are going to get to meet the true Jadzia.”
“That’s....unbelievable. When will she regain consciousness?”
“Well,
as near as I can tell, she is in some kind of regenerative state. Kind of like a healing stasis. It could be two hours, it could be two
days. There’s just no way to be
sure.” Glancing up, he caught her
rubbing her eyes. “Why don’t you get
some sleep, Major. It will give me a
little time to come up with some more precise answers.” He put up his hand to stop her
objections. “I promise to call you if
anything changes.”
Kira
gave him a slightly mistrustful look, but nodded her agreement. “All right.
I’ll be in my quarters. Make sure
you notify me immediately if anything happens, or you will have one very angry
Bajoran female looking for you.”
Bashir
threw up his hands in playful defense.
“Don’t worry Major. There is
nothing I fear more than that.”
Kira
smiled slightly and walked from the room.
Once
she had left, and the door had slid shut behind her, Dr. Bashir turned and
stared at the lovely Trill gracing his examination table. He reached out and softly caressed her
cheek. “My god,” he whispered. “You are so beautiful.”
"Is
that your professional opinion, Doctor?"
Julian
turned to find Sisko standing by the door.
"I, uhm.." Julian
stammered. "I was not expecting you
this soon."
"Obviously,
" The Commander gave Bashir an odd
little grin, and waved his hand in a sign of dismissal. "And how is our patient, Doctor
Bashir?"
Julian
became all business as he read his findings to Sisko, who merely nodded calmly
to everything he said.
"So
you're saying that she is fine?"
"Health
wise? Yes, I would say that she is as
healthy as she has ever been. But her symbiont is gone. I cannot even imagine what that may do to her
mentally."
"When
will she wake up?"
Julian
laid a blanket on her. "If my
readings are correct, she should awaken sometime in the next two days. Maybe even as early as tomorrow."
"Good." Sisko placed his hands together, the first
fingers of each hand against his chin.
"In that case, Doctor, maybe I should make something clear to
you."
Julian
turned to look him in the face.
"When
Dax wakes up, she is going to be in a very fragile state of mind. And while the man I knew as Dax is gone, I
have developed quite a liking for our young Jadzia." He stepped closer. "And, I would be quite put out if anyone
was to take advantage of her current condition.
Understood?"
Julian
nodded quickly. "Understood."
"Good,
notify me if her condition changes."
With that, Sisko turned and left sickbay.
Julian
sighed heavily and turned to Jadzia.
"Talk about having friends in high places."
With
that, he set Jadzia's computer to notify him if she awakened, and stretched out
on a biobed well away from her.
***************************************
It
was dark. Really dark.
Jadzia
groaned quietly and cracked one eye open.
Correction, it was really late.
She noticed an indicator flashing above her head and switched it off.
"Lights," she sat up and immediately regretted it as
the room tilted dangerously to one side.
She was in the process of passing out again when a strong hand took her arm
and steadied her. She looked up and
recognized a face through the receding haze.
"Julian? I'm in
sickbay?"
"Yes," Julian grabbed a tricorder and quickly
scanned the length of her body.
"The regeneration is complete.
Everything looks good. How do you
feel?"
"Odd." Jadzia shook her head, as if to clear
it. She slowly set her hands on her
abdomen. A look of infinite sadness
crossed her face.
"Jadzia," Bashir began.
"It's
okay, Julian. You don't need to tell
me. I already know. I'm alone." She looked up at him through tears. "All I want to know now, is how it
happened." A determined look
replaced the tears. "And how we are
going to get Dax back."
Bashir
squeezed her shoulder. "We'll find
out. I promise, I will do everything
within my power to bring Dax back to you.
But, for right now, I need to notify a couple of people that you're
awake. If I want to live that
is." He smiled and tapped his
commbadge. "Bashir to Major
Kira...."
***************************************
"Are
you sure you're all right?" Kira
asked with concern.
"I
feel fine." Jadzia gave her a small
smile. "Just....lonely."
"Don't
worry, old man," Sisko nodded at
her reassuringly. "O'Brien, Bashir,
and I are going to go over the
"Thank
you, Benjamin." She looked very
tired. "I'd like to go to my
quarters now."
Sisko
glanced at Bashir.
"She
should be okay, but someone should really watch her. I'd be more than happy to-" Julian began, but Sisko cut him off.
"Major
Kira, " He turned to her. "I would like for you to look after her
for the next couple of days." He moved in closer and said in a low tone. "Take her to your quarters. I don't think being in hers will do her any
good right now."
"Understood." She turned to Jadzia and said softly. "C'mon, come to my place. I've got a great replicator program for Bajoran
breakfast cakes."
Jadzia
smiled and took her offered hand.
Leaning heavily against her, they walked out of sickbay. What an odd couple they must make, she
thought. A six foot Trill being
supported by a woman much smaller and slighter than her.
Sisko
watched them go then turned to Bashir.
"Well Doctor, I hope you got a little bit of sleep. Our day starts now. Contact the Chief and have him meet us on the
Bashir
stifled a yawn and called for O'Brien.
"Bring your sense of humor,"
He added. "It’s going to be
a long day."
***************************************
Kira
sat on the side of her bed, thinking Jadzia looked very young as she slept,
tucked under the covers. She shook her
head. Tucked under the covers?? Where the hell had that come from? She stood and walked away from the sleeping
area.
She
requested tea and sat at her computer console.
She punched up the docking bay where Sisko and his crew were going over
the
She
checked over all of the reports that had been pieced together so far. Aside from some fair sized scratches under
each of the nacelles, there was nothing odd about the ship. She magnified the scratches and was staring
at them intently when she sensed someone behind her. "How do you feel?" She asked, turning around.
"Better." Jadzia stretched, putting her arms over her
head and arching gracefully.
Kira
was momentarily flustered. She attributed it to seeing Jadzia do something she
had never seen Dax do. She was beginning
to notice what Bashir had commented on, about meeting the true Jadzia. There was definitely something different
about her, something softer, yet stronger as well. It was going to take some getting used to.
"I
was just about to wake you up. Are you
hungry?"
She
thought about it for a few minutes and then smiled. "I think so.....it's so strange."
"What
is?"
"I
don't know if I can explain. It’s like
everything is new....almost. I've never
had the opportunity to see the station this way." She looked hopefully at
Kira.
"Oh,
I don't know." Kira hedged. "You've just been through something
pretty major. I think Sisko wanted you
to rest."
"And
how often have you put what Benjamin wanted first?" She had a perfectly charming smile on her
face that Kira had never seen before. It
seemed to be infectious. "Come on,
Nerys. You know you want to do this for
me."
Kira
did a double take. Dax had never called
her that before. Then again, Dax had
never looked as irresistibly young before.
"Okay," she shook her head even as she was agreeing. "Sisko's going to kill me, but, what the
hell. After you eat, I'll take you
anywhere on the station you want to go."
Jadzia
smiled again and the Major couldn't help but smile back. "Do I remember you saying something
about Bajoran breakfast cakes?"
Kira
strode over to the replicator and came back with a plate filled with small
steaming cakes. They smelled of honey
and cinnamon. Jadzia's mouth began to
water. She set the plate in front of
her, along with a cup of tea. As she did
so, she noticed that the night shirt she had lent Jadzia was more than a little
short on her. "I'll run to your
quarters if you'd like me too. I can
grab some stuff you'll need over the next few days."
Jadzia
looked at her for a long moment and then grinned. "I didn't realize for a moment what you
were referring too. Wouldn't Julian love
to see this shirt?"
"HE
wouldn't be the only one." Kira
muttered under her breath.
"Really?" She licked some syrup off of her
fingers. "These are really good,
Nerys. I've never had them before."
She wiped off her hands and stood.
"I think I'd like to go with you to get my stuff."
Kira
gave her a concerned look.
"I
have to go eventually. I know what
you're worried about. But I am going to
have to face this situation and I would rather do it now than later."
"Okay,
okay. Get dressed." Kira watched her disappear into the
bedroom. "Sisko is going to kill
me."
***************************************
"So," Sisko sipped his fourth cup of coffee. "What do we have so far?"
O'Brien
looked at Bashir and sighed. He knew
he'd end up being the mouth piece.
"Well, so far, not very much.
The biggest clues we've found are those scratches on the nacelles. If I were to hazard an opinion, I would say
they are definitely clamp marks of some kind."
The
Commander stroked his beard.
"You're saying someone or something tractored the runabout and
physically held it immobile?"
"That
would explain the engine shut down. An
overload is the only reason it would go off line like that." He scratched his head. "At this point, it's the only reasonable
answer."
"Why
don't we just take the next logical step?"
Bashir finally cut in.
"Let's follow the flight computer back along its original
course."
"There's
no guarantee that the individual responsible will still be in the same
area." Sisko punched a few buttons
on his PADD. "Maybe...."
"Maybe
what?"
"Maybe
she did something to attract attention.
O'Brien, you said she was running a scan on a strange ionic pattern,
correct?"
"That's
right."
"Well,
what if we did the same thing. If we
follow her flight course and scan for the last ionic pattern in the computer,
we have a good chance at picking up a trail!"
O'Brien
checked the console. "The pattern
is still there, Sir. I think that just
might work."
Sisko
smiled. "You have one hour
gentleman. Get cleaned up and meet me
back here. We're going hunting."
***************************************
Kira
and Jadzia stopped outside of Dax's quarters.
Kira looked at her expectantly.
"I
think I should go in by myself, Kira. I
know you want to be there for me, but, this is something I really need to do by
myself."
Kira
nodded and Jadzia keyed the door. She
walked inside and waited for the door to close behind her. "Lights."
The
room was illuminated and Jadzia could not help but feel that she was
trespassing somehow. It wasn't that she
didn't remember her things. She knew
exactly what everything was, she just couldn't remember why she had kept
them. Her glance fell to a gleaming
Bat'telh hanging on one wall. She walked
over to it and ran her palm down the blade.
There was nothing. Nothing except
a deep feeling of loss, a shadow of a memory.
Nothing more.
One
tear rolled silently down her cheek as she realized that she hadn't kept very
many things that were truly her own.
Whether she had decided that there would be plenty of time later, or she
had let her feelings of inadequacy stop her from collecting her own memories,
she could not remember.
She
quickly grabbed some leisure clothes, slammed them into a bag and headed out
the door. In the hallway, Kira stood
waiting for her with a smile that quickly turned down when she saw Jadzia. Placing an arm around her, she led her away.
They
walked all around the station, watching the wormhole out of the ports, and as
they did, Jadzia's mood lightened. When
the finally ended up at Quarks, they were both laughing and enjoying
themselves.
"Ladies,"
Quark said ingratiatingly. "I had a
feeling you might be dropping by, so I saved you the best table in the
house."
"You
mean you heard we were heading this way.
I know you Quark." Jadzia's
tone was harsh, but her smile was playful.
"C'mon Quack. Lead the
way."
"The
name is QUARK Lieutenant." He
scratched his lobe. "I must say I
have never seen you in this good of a mood.
It suits you."
"You
know something, Quark," Kira had a
strange look on her face that melted into a lovely smile. "I never thought I would say this, but I
agree with you."
Her
commbadge beeped. "Sisko to Major
Kira."
"Kira
here, go ahead."
"We've
decided to take the runabout out for a spin, Major. I think we may have found some answers, but
we want to do some more checking before we jump to any conclusions. How is Jadzia?"
"I'm
fine, Benjamin." Jadzia called over
Kira's shoulder.
"And
more obnoxious than ever." Quark
commented.
"Major," Sisko's voice had dropped a couple of
octaves. "Where are you?"
Kira
made an 'I told you so' gesture to Jadzia and cleared her throat. "We're at Quarks, Commander."
"That
wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to look after her."
"It
was my idea, Benjamin." Jadzia cut
in. "I didn't really give her any
choice."
"And
how are you feeling, old man?"
"I
feel fine. I'll feel better when you have some answers.
"We're
working on it, and we'll keep working on it until we have an answer."
"Thank
you, Benjamin."
"No
problem. We'll notify you when we get
back. Sisko out."
"Quark,
a bottle of Bajoran spring wine and two glasses." Kira began to walk away and then stopped
smiling wickedly. "And clear out
holosuite one." She took Jadzia by
the arm. "I have a program I want
to share with a friend."
Quark
sighed and went to do as she had asked, mumbling something under his breath
about Rule of Acquisition #94. If it
were anybody but the Major, he would have laughed in their face. Somehow, Kira never seemed to get that kind
of response from him.
***************************************
"So,
what are we doing?" Jadzia
asked. She was sitting in the middle of
the holosuite floor with a basket full of items Quark had 'donated'.
"Wait," Kira pressed a finger to her
lips. "Watch."
Jadzia
glanced around her as Kira called out, "Computer, run program
Kira-4B."
As
she watched, a soft wind came up and caressed her body. Jadzia sighed at its pleasant touch, then
gasped as the sun began to peek out over the tops of Bajoran mountains. To the left was a lake, small, but clear and
beautiful. She could smell the water on
the breeze and heard the sounds of small animals waking to the morning light.
"Kira,"
she breathed. "This is
gorgeous. Where are we?"
"At
"It's
beautiful." She glanced at
Kira. "Just like its
namesake."
The
Major felt her face begin to flush and turned away. It had been a long time since someone had
told her she was beautiful, that's all, she told herself. She stretched out next to Jadzia on the
blanket that had come with the program and opened the basket. Inside were two bottles of spring wine (Leave
it to Quark to try to suck up.) two stemmed glasses, a plate of has'brak, and
another one of gagh. She immediately set
the latter as far away from her as possible.
As she was opening one of the bottles, she noticed Jadzia nibbling on
the gagh.
"Guess
you didn't lose your taste for that...stuff." She muttered.
"Hmm...no,
I guess not." She took a glass from
the Major and sipped it. It was sweet
and full. A light red wine, it reminded
her of a type of fruit that Benjamin had given her once, but she could not
remember the name of it. "Mmm, very
nice. Looks like I've just developed
another taste."
They
drank both of the bottles of wine and ate all of the has'brak. They watched the day pass, and slept. When they woke, they swam in the lake and lay
out in the sun once again to dry off.
They left the holosuite 5 hours after they entered it. They were both happy and relaxed.
Quark, however, was livid. He literally had to bite his tongue as they
were walking out. He didn't even want to
think about how much money he had lost.
The only up side was the favor that the Major now owed him. All he had to do was convince her she owed
him one.
***************************************
Kira
and Jadzia were silent as they walked back to the Majors quarters. It was a very comfortable silence that
carried with it a new warmth between them.
When they reached her door, Kira turned to her. "I need to check on the station. I was having such a lovely time that I forgot
I was supposed to meet Odo 15 minutes ago.
Will you be okay until I get back?"
Jadzia's
smile was slow and intimate. "I'll
be fine Nerys. Do you want me to come
with you?"
"No,
you look a little tired. Why don't you
get some rest." Kira looked at the
floor. "Would you like to have
dinner tonight?"
This
time, Jadzia's smile lit up her eyes as well.
"I would like that very much."
"Great,
I'll be back in about an hour and a half.
Feel free to use anything you want."
Kira
showed her the door code and left as the door slid shut. She felt glorious.
***************************************
Sisko
sat in silence on the
O'Brien
immediately placed a hand in the air to still Bashir, who had been going on and
on at the moment about his newest set of darts.
He moved to the runabouts main console.
"Well, Commander, it looks as though we've found something. The ionic pattern she was scanning has
intensified 274 percent in the last 12 minutes.
Our engines are off-line...I can't raise them. Shields are not responding....actually,
nothing is responding." He glanced
at Sisko. "We're dead in the water."
Bashir
cocked his head to one side.
"Listen," he whispered.
"Do you hear that?"
Both
of them fell silent and listened as a faint hum became more pronounced. It sounded like a ships engine running at
half impulse. From the sound, Sisko
judged that it should be in visual range.
Moving to the window, he looked out and his heart stopped for a
moment. Directly outside of the window
was a ship. At least, he thought it was
a ship. It had the sheen of an unknown
metal and was glowing a faint pink. He
watched as two clamps extended from its hull and grasped the runabout with a
solid 'thud'. A beam flashed from the
ship and scanned across all three of them.
Apparently satisfied, the scan shut off and a transporter beam lit up
the runabout. When it faded, a woman
stood where it had been.
"Is
there assistance you require?" Her
voice was rich and deep.
"Yes,"
Sisko moved forward a step and bowed slightly.
"I am Commander Benjamin Sisko.
These are my companions Dr. Julian Bashir and Chief Miles O'Brien. We are here because of assistance that you
have already given to another member of my staff."
"Oh?" The woman's features shifted and Dax stood
before them. "This creature is the
one of whom you speak?"
"Yes!"
"The
creature from which I removed the parasite."
"Correct,
well, somewhat correct." Bashir
interjected. "The creature you
removed was not a parasite."
"Not
a parasite?" Dax flickered back
into the woman who had first appeared.
"Explain."
Bashir
looked at her suspiciously. "Did
Dax not tell you anything when you first asked her if she required assistance?"
The
woman looked sad for a moment. "I'm afraid she could not have answered me
if I had asked. She had expired before I
boarded this ship."
"Expired? How?"
"The
fault was mine. I answered her scan with
one of my own. I was unfamiliar with
your humanoid type species. It
terminated her." The woman placed
her hands behind her back. "This
was not acceptable, so I have reversed that termination. In the process, I discovered the organism
within her. I removed it."
"That
organism was half of a joined species."
Sisko informed her. "And the
remaining half wants him back, badly."
She
looked confused for a moment and then nodded.
"I do not begin to understand her want of the parasite, but if what
you say is true, I will re-implant the organism within her. But there is something you should know,
Commander."
"And
what is that?" Sisko asked, a bad
feeling had taken root in his chest.
"As
I have said before, I am not completely familiar with the inner workings of
humanoids. I am very well versed,
however, on the mechanisms of an organic machine. As your good doctor will tell
you, when you remove the cause of a disease, you must also try to countermand
the damage which the disease has already accomplished. In this case, the organism had created links
to all of the major neural areas. While
doing my repairs, I eradicated these links."
Sisko's
eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"
"Meaning
that I have destroyed the natural links that the creature had made. To re-implant the creature, I will have to
create artificial pathways and links.
Her body may reject these links.
If this happens, she will die. If
it is successful, her memory will be restored, up to my first meeting with
her. Anything after that may be
lost." She waited for Sisko to
respond. His face was drawn and saddened
but he did not speak. "Very well
then, Commander. Send her to these
coordinates 2 days from now. I will do
all that I can. Send her alone. Well met, Commander."
As
she called for transport, Bashir caught her attention. "Wait!
Who are you? What do we call you?
Where are you from?"
The
creature looked lost.
"What's
your name? Where did you come
from?"
"I
have no name. I have no origin. I simply am."
"But,
your ship, where did that come from? Do
you realize the difference I could make if you allow me to attend and witness
your work?"
The
being looked at them all with an indecipherable expression on her face. "I don't think so, Doctor. I cannot give you technology that you have
not yet discovered on your own. It
violates our moral and ethical code of contact." She leaned forward slightly. "I believe you have a similar code. I glimpsed a memory of it within the females
mind."
Julian
looked very deflated. "You have the
power of life...how can you not share that?"
"You
know very well why we cannot. But I will
give you something, Doctor. Something
small."
"Yes?" Julian's excitement showed in his eyes.
She
moved to his side and gently circled his wrist with her fingers. The flesh around where their skin touched
began to glow as Julian's eyes went wide, his mouth slack. Sisko was about to step in when she broke
contact with him. Julian stumbled
momentarily and then caught his balance.
He stared at the woman in awe.
"For clarity," She
touched him gently on the face.
"You may call me Garasa. You
have a good heart Doctor. I pray that
you keep it."
She
turned to Sisko, "Send your female here.
I will save her if I can."
"Garasa,"
Bashir whispered. "What will happen
if you can not save her? If we send her
alone, how will we retrieve her body?"
Garasa
looked him in the eye for a long moment and then called for her
transporter. As she disappeared, Sisko
moved to Bashir's side. "Why didn't
she answer?"
"She
did." Bashir breathed, his voice so
low that Sisko had to lean closer to hear him.
"If she cannot save Jadzia, we cannot retrieve her body. Her body will be recycled in the manner of
all organic beings."
"What
does that mean?"
"She
will be absorbed by the 'ship'," Bashir gave a funny little laugh. "That ship."
"Are
you okay?" Sisko shook him a
little, tearing him out of his thoughts.
"What about the ship? What
'small thing' did she give you?"
"Information,
Commander." He looked at
Sisko. "She doesn't have a
ship. It is all one entity. It is, in itself, one being. The end result of 60 billion years of
evolution beyond where we currently are.
Garasa's people joined, creating 5 beings who are as she is. I saw it all." He began to tremble. "She showed me the future of our
races. If we make it."
Sisko
gently sat him in a chair to rest. He
turned to O'Brien, "It looks as if we have a choice to deliver to
Jadzia. We better head home. Inform me when we are within hailing
range." He scratched his
head. "Garasa...such an unusual
name. I wonder why she would choose that
one."
O'Brien
moved quietly to his side and asked in a whisper, "Do you ever look over the personal
files of your Senior staff, Commander?"
"Not
on a regular basis."
"Well,
maybe you should."
O'Brien
walked back to the console and fired up the engines as Sisko placed a blanket
over the still trembling shoulders of Dr. Bashir.
*******************************************
Odo
had stopped talking for well over 2 minutes and Kira had yet to notice. He sat across from her, his desk in between
them, and studied the Major's far away look.
Finally, he tapped the desk in front of her. "Major?
Is there something you would like to talk about?"
Kira
snapped out of her thoughts. "I'm
sorry, Odo. I guess my mind is just elsewhere
right now."
"I
could have guessed that. My question now
is where and why?"
"I...I
guess I'm worried about Jadzia."
She stood and wandered aimlessly around the room. "We've gotten close and I am worried
about what this is doing to her."
Odo
raised his eyebrows. "I saw the two
of you at Quarks today. She didn't seem
too upset. In
fact, she looked as though she was rather enjoying herself....as did you."
Kira
smiled. "I did enjoy myself. Very much."
Odo
leaned forward. "Maybe that is what
is really bothering you."
"What
do you mean?" Kira demanded.
"I
mean, Major, that I have noticed that you humanoids seem to fight the hardest
against that which you want the most."
His voice softened. "It
would appear, to an objective observer, that your worry for Lieutenant Dax,
while genuine, also includes a good amount of worry for yourself."
Kira
snorted. "What would I have to be
worried about?"
"Major,
it is well known around the station that you do not give your affections, or
share your memories, very easily."
"Odo!" Kira ground her teeth. "What were you? The blanket?
The sand?"
"On
the contrary Major. I merely slipped in
for a moment, the Commander requested that I check in on you two. He seemed to be of the opinion that Dax was a
bit more than you could handle."
Kira
thought she detected a smirk in the last statement. A harmless little jibe that almost made her
smile. "How long did you
stay?"
"Not
long. But long enough to see how much
you were enjoying yourself. Major, I
understand that relationships are not your best subject, but this could be
something you might regret passing up."
"But
what if-"
"You
could sit here all day and say 'what if', Kira.
But you will never actually know until you do something about it. Now, get out of my office, Major. I have better things to do than watch you sit
around and moon over a Trill."
Kira
smiled and walked out of his office. She
was on her way back to her quarters when she received a transmission.
"Sisko
to Kira. I have some news, Major. I would like you to inform Jadzia of the
current situation."
Kira
listened, a frown on her face.
***************************************
When
Kira returned to her quarters, she found Jadzia working at her computer console. She looked incredible in a short black dress
that came right above her knees. Her
legs were very long. She looked up and
smiled warmly when Kira entered the room.
"What
are you working on?" Kira stepped
behind her to see the screen. She leaned
down close and caught the fresh scent of Jadzia's hair.
Jadzia
clicked off the computer before Kira could see the pages. Kira felt a pang of dismay. She had thought that they were closer
now. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"That's
not it," Jadzia blushed, another first.
"It's just something I was writing.
For pleasure. It isn't
finished. I would like you to read it
when it's done."
Kira
smiled, reassured. She glanced at
Jadzia's attire. "You look
great. Give me half an hour to look as good
as you do, which may not be possible, and we'll go, okay?"
Jadzia
smiled, one of her slow, sensual smiles that made Kira's stomach drop. "Go ahead. Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."
Jadzia
watched as Kira left to get ready. When
she was out of sight, she began her other preparations for the evening. As she did, she thought about how her
feelings for the fiery Bajoran seemed to have changed. She had always thought of Kira as a close
friend, looked forward to their conversations and, if she was going to be
completely honest, found her extremely attractive. She had never considered the possibility that
the Major might find her attractive as well.
She still wasn't sure, but the way that Kira had asked her to dinner had
plucked at one of her heartstrings. And
the smile she had earned by saying yes had been on her mind all afternoon. She listened for Kira in the next room as she
finished her work. The timing was
perfect. She finished just as Kira
walked through the door. As she stared
at her, her heart thumped painfully.
Kira
was wearing a forest green gown with a low, plunging neckline that revealed a
loveliness that few on the station ever got to see. Her hair was swept up, the back still
slightly wet and curling at the nape of her neck, and she had added a beautiful
silver necklace to the simplicity of her only other adornment, her Bajoran
earring. Altogether, Kira made a picture
that would make the toughest Cardassian weak in the knees.
"Do
you like?" Kira did a playful
little half turn.
Jadzia
swallowed. "I like very much."
They
stared at each other for a few moments and then Kira noticed what Jadzia had
been working on. There was a beautiful
table set across the top of one of her workstations. Flowers adorned the center, with a lovely
setting of china and crystal. "You
did all of this while I was getting ready?" She smiled with delight. "It's wonderful. What's for dinner?"
"Gagh."
Kira
couldn't completely hide the look of distaste that came to her face and Jadzia
laughed out loud. "I was joking,
Nerys. You know I wouldn't do that to
you."
"I
know." Kira found herself liking
the sound of her name from Jadzia's lips.
"If I know you, you probably have every one of my favorite
foods."
"Yes,"
she smile. "Plus a few of my own
that I wanted to introduce you to."
She walked around and pulled Kira's chair out for her. "Please....sit."
The
food was incredible. By the time they
had finished dessert, they had fallen back into the easy companionship they had
experienced earlier in the day. They
drank Bajoran spring wine and talked well into the evening. They took their last bottle of wine over to
the window in Kira's sleeping room and sat, watching the stars.
"How
are you, Jadzia?" Kira laid a hand
on her arm. "I've been worried
about you."
"I'm
fine....really." She placed her
hand over Kira's. "In fact, today
has been the single most wonderful day of my life. I owe you for that Nerys. You made me forget the position that I am in,
even if just for a little while. And I
didn't think that would have been possible at all. I think the worst part of all of this, is the
feeling that I've neglected myself. I
have a million things that belonged to the last seven lifetimes, but nothing
special of my own. When I was in my
quarters, I stood there and felt.....lonely."
The
sadness in her voice prompted Kira to act before thinking. She opened a drawer next to her bed and
pulled out a small box, which she placed in Jadzia's palm. "Take this. Something for you, and you alone."
Jadzia
opened the box and drew in a long, shaky breath. Inside the box, nestled in a bed of velvet,
was a Bajoran earring. She lifted it
from its resting place and saw that it differed slightly from the Major's. It had one blood red stone fitted into the
center of the cuff.
"Nerys," Jadzia felt a tear begin in the corner of one
eye. "It's beautiful. But I can't accept it. It looks very special."
"It
is. It was my Mother's. It was the last thing my Father ever gave
me. I have kept it here, in this box,
for over ten years. There were times
when I thought I would never be able to keep it from the Cardassians. They so loved their little searches." Kira's voice took on a slightly harder
edge. "But I made it. And I put it in here and never looked at it
again. It....hurt, too much." She lifted the earring from the box and
slipped it onto Jadzia's ear. "It
looks beautiful on you."
Jadzia
touched it gingerly, then placed her arms around Kira, pulling her close in an
embrace. And didn't let her go.
Kira
felt so good in her arms. Her face was
pressed against Jadzia's neck and she could not stop herself from touching her
lips lightly to the tender skin just above her collar. When she received a low moan in response, she
allowed herself to follow the light markings on the graceful Trill collarbone,
stopping only when her lips could go no further against bare skin.
Jadzia
was in ecstasy. She finally held the
beautiful Bajoran against her and felt her lips touching her body. She pushed Kira away long enough to look her
in the eye and whisper, "Nerys, I can't stop this, I don't want to stop
this. If this is not what you want, tell
me now, because I won't be able to ask again."
"I
don't think I have ever wanted anything as much as I want you." Kira whispered in response.
With
a small sigh, Jadzia brought her lips to Kira's and kissed her, her tongue
flickering lightly, reaching out to touch Kira's. She slowly leaned backwards onto the bed,
pulling Kira down on top of her. Their
lips never parted as they quickly removed each others clothing, wanting only to
feel their skin together. When their
bodies finally met, the both gasped and stopped for a moment, trying to get
their bearings. Then Jadzia rolled Kira
under her, kissing her deeply and caressing her body with her hands. When the kiss ended, Jadzia moved down,
running her hair softly over her breasts and abdomen, making Kira shudder
beneath her.
Kira
held her breath as Jadzia's hands circled her breasts, her long fingers
touching her gently. But when Jadzia's
mouth covered her nipple, she cried out softly and dug her fingers into
Jadzia's back.
Jadzia
kissed her way down the Major's body, stopping when her cheek lay against the
soft skin of Kira's thighs. "Nerys," she whispered. "please...."
In
response, Kira gave her a low, throaty sigh and let the muscles in her thighs
relax. Jadzia continued, letting her
earring run against the inside of Kira's thigh in the wake of her lips. Every place she touched was like silk…soft,
sweet…intoxicating. She tried to move
slowly, tried to content herself with nuzzling Kira’s inner thigh, but in the
end the Major’s moans proved to be her undoing.
That, and the gentle fingers that twined around her hair, pulling her head
up until she could feel soft hair against her cheek. She buried her nose in it, breathing
deeply. She inhaled the scent greedily,
as though nothing had ever compared, and in truth, nothing had. Kira smelled like the air that hung above a
river, sweet and clean, a trace of salt, a touch of fennel. Her tongue followed the gentle curves of
Kira’s labia before parting the folds and touching the much more tender flesh
beneath.
As
she stroked Kira with her tongue, she felt her body responding strongly,
everything below her waist ached with a frightening intensity. She closed her eyes and felt a connection to
the beautiful Bajoran beneath her. As
her passion built, she gently entered Kira with her fingers, exploring the
exquisite warmth that surrounded them, never losing contact with her
mouth. After a moment, Kira’s body began
to arch, her back lifting off the bed as she pushed down with her arms, into
Dax’s mouth and hands. Her soft
whimpering became louder as her head fell back, her body rocked by a wave of
pleasure stronger than any she had ever felt before. When she could speak again, she whispered,
“Stop…..Dax…please.”
Dax
gently removed her tongue and fingers, pulling herself up until they were face
to face. Without a word, she brought her
hand to the Major’s lips, spreading the essence on her fingers across the
Bajoran’s mouth. Kira’s tongue darted
out, curiously, tasting her lower lip.
She smiled slightly and Dax kissed her hard, claiming the rest for
herself.
***************************************
Kira
woke and turned over in her bed. Lying
next to her was the Trill beauty she had loved in her dream. She smiled and moved closer to Jadzia. She realized that she fit quite nicely
against her body. Jadzia slipped an arm
around her and whispered, "Good morning, my love."
Kira
smiled radiantly. "Thank you. You are... incredible." She ran her fingertips down Jadzia's
side. "I never thought this would
happen...I actually never thought of this at all. Not on a conscious level. I did dream about you once."
"You
did?" Jadzia turned to look at her,
a delighted smile on her face.
"What were we doing?"
"You
know, I didn't remember a lot of it when it happened. I know I smiled a lot the day after. Now, well, now I think it was a lot like
this. Only not as wonderful, because I
had to wake up." She pulled Jadzia
as close to her as possible. "We
need to talk."
"I
know." she kissed Kira softly. "I've been wondering where you might
want to go from here..."
Kira
noticed the sound of doubt in her voice and knew she was questioning Kira's
feelings, not her own. "That is not
in question." She brushed Jadzia's
hair off of her forehead. "I know
exactly where I want to go from here, and that's anywhere as long as you're
with me. I know we'll have a few things
to work out. But I think it is
definitely worth it."
"I
think so too, but it is going to be hard for me, Nerys. I have never done relationships very
well. I'm not sure I know how."
"I
always meant to ask you why you never...."
Kira left the statement hanging.
Jadzia
sat up and pushed herself against the headboard. Kira moved up against her and laid her head
upon her shoulder. "It's very hard,
Nerys, for a Trill to love someone of a different race."
"Why?"
Jadzia
sighed deeply. "When a Trill loves
another Trill, it is a comfort to know that they will go on with their next
host. Although we are barred from seeing
one another, or being together, there is still the joy in knowing that they
exist, somewhere. With a
non-Trill..."
"They
are truly gone." Kira finished for
her. "I can see how that would make
a big difference in who you might choose to love."
"Yes," She brushed at the hair that had fallen over
Kira's brow, and they gently kissed her on the bridge of her nose. "Did I ever tell you how much I adore
your nose?"
Kira
blushed and touched it self-consciously.
"I
suppose, in this case, I had no choice in who I would come to care for."
Jadzia continued. "I'm not unhappy
about it. Just scared."
"Can
I do anything to make it easier?"
"No,
it's my fear. One I will have to deal
with."
Kira
sighed and sat up. "That isn't what
I wanted to talk to you about. I've
heard from Commander Sisko...."
Jadzia
looked at her, her expression unreadable.
"And?"
"And,
they found the entity that removed Dax.
Her name is Garasa. From what
Sisko says, she is a highly evolved life-form." She took Jadzia's hands in her own. "And she is willing to help."
Jadzia
smiled, but not as broadly as Kira had thought she would. "But?"
"But,
the risks are pretty high. If your body
rejects the artificial links that the entity must create to rejoin the
symbiont..."
"I'll
die." Jadzia finished for her.
Kira
nodded slowly. When she looked up, a
tear rolled down her cheek.
"There's something else."
She gripped Jadzia's hands more firmly.
"It is possible that, if the operation is successful, you will not
remember anything that happened after the symbiont's initial extraction. It will be as though no time has
passed....for you, anyway."
Jadzia
touched Kira's cheek gently.
"There's
something else as well." Kira wiped
away the tears. "I've been thinking
about our relationship for the last couple of years. We've been friends, good friends, but never
anything like this. What's to say that
you won't return to the way you used to feel about me."
Jadzia
smiled. "Nothing. I can honestly say that I have always thought
you beautiful. As for the rest, well, I
guess it's something I am going to have to think about."
"You
mean you would honestly consider...not going?
For me?" There was an
astonished look on her face. "I
can't let you do that."
"You
can't make the decision for me, Nerys" Jadzia pulled her closer. "It's mine to make. I can honestly say that I never had the
opportunity to feel like this before I was joined. And I have never felt like this
afterwards. I have to consider
everything very carefully. But for now,
I am happy. Let me be.....for a little
while, okay?"
She
laid back down, and pulled Kira with her.
***************************************
The
door had chimed for the fifth time in two minutes before Kira managed to
extricate herself from Jadzia's sleeping limbs.
"Hold on!" She barked as she pulled a robe over her naked
form. "Whoever you are, you have
the patience of a Ferengi rat dog."
She tied the robe shut with a yank.
"This had better be important.
Come!"
Sisko
stood on the other side of the opening door, a sarcastic smile replaced his
look of frustration. "I don't think
I have ever been welcomed in quite that fashion."
"I'm
sorry, Commander." Kira
stammered. "I wasn't expecting
anyone this early."
"Apparently." Sisko walked past her, glancing towards the
couch. "Where's Jadzia?"
"Uhm," Kira rubbed the back of her neck. "She's sleeping....in the bedroom."
Sisko
gave her a long look and then a small smile touched the corners of his
mouth. "How nice of you to give up
your bed."
Kira
looked away. "Would you like me to
wake her up?'
"No,
that won't be necessary. How is
she? Did you inform her of the
situation?"
"Yes," Kira order coffee for the two of them from
the replicator. "She
is...undecided."
Sisko
waved the coffee away. "If I drink
one more cup, I'll never fall asleep again.
What do you mean, undecided?"
Kira
sat and placed her elbows on her console, her head in her hands. "She says she has a lot to think
about."
"I
don't understand, I thought she would be ecstatic." He stopped and turned to Kira, a look of
dawning realization on his face.
"Is there something that I'm missing? Something I haven't been told?"
"Don't
harass her, Benjamin." Jadzia said
from the doorway of the bedroom. Her
hair was tousled and she had the look of someone that had just awakened from a
particularly pleasant dream. She smiled
sweetly at Kira, who thought she looked completely adorable. "I am just in a position that I have
never been in before. There are a lot of
possibilities."
"But,
Dax-" he began.
"No,
Benjamin, I'm Jadzia. Dax is out
there," She gestured out of one of the portals.
"And
he is waiting for you." Sisko
finished for her. "I know you. I know you believe that the symbiont is more
important than anything. You've said
that countless numbers of times. I know that was Jadzia talking too, not
just Curzon and the others."
Jadzia
smiled at him sadly as she walked over to stand beside them. She placed a hand on his arm. "It was.
And I believe that. It's just
that, a lot of things have happened to me in the last two days. I need some time to think about all of
them. I will give you my answer tonight,
Benjamin. Until then, please, let me
be."
Sisko
sighed and nodded slowly. "All
right. I'll be waiting. We'll need to brief you on a few things so
don't wait too long, Jadzia." He turned to Kira. "I guess you can go back to Ops. There are a few things I want you to check
on-"
"I
would like for Major Kira to stay with me, if possible." She laid her hand on Kira's shoulder. "She has been more than a friend the
last few days. Having her around has
really helped me."
Sisko
nodded. "If it will help, old man,
I will bring the entire senior staff to your door."
Jadzia
smiled. "All I need, or want, is
Kira."
Sisko
had the sneaking suspicion that
whatever he was missing was right in front of him. But he knew that there was no point in asking
them anything now. Time enough for that
later. "Until tonight then."
After
he left, Kira rose and moved into Jadzia's arms. The stayed that way for a few minutes,
holding each other, then Kira moved away.
"Well, it looks as though I've been given to you for the day. What would you like to do?"
"I
would love to see more of your planet.
The holosuite?"
Kira
laughed. "Quark would scream loud
enough to be heard on Bajor." She kissed
Jadzia lightly. "What about
Bajor? You could see
"That
would be wonderful! But how would we get
past Benjamin? I don't think he would be
too receptive to my leaving the station right now."
"Let
me take care of that." Kira hit her
commbadge. "Kira to Quark."
"Yes
Major?" Quarks whiny voice came
back to her.
"How
would you like to give up your holosuite for another five hours?" She cut off his whining. "Then I offer you an alternative. Is that Tarian smuggler you were dealing with
still on the station?"
Kira
smiled at Jadzia and moved into the next room to argue with the Ferengi as Jadzia went to work at the computer
console. She could hear Kira's voice
rise and fall in the next room.
"That's my girl." Jadzia
grinned to herself as she began to type.
***************************************
Two
hours later, Kira met the Ferengi outside of his bar. He looked particularly nervous. "What's the matter Quark?" Kira teased.
"You
know very well what's wrong." He
snapped. "If Commander Sisko ever
found out I helped you behind his back-"
"You're
not really doing anything behind his back, Quark. He didn't say we couldn't go to Bajor, we just didn't ask him."
"I
doubt that he would care much about that distinction." Quark pulled at one of his lobes. "Do you have the fee?"
Kira
sighed and dug into the pouch she carried with her. The "fee" that the Tarian was
charging for passage to and from Bajor was a lot more than the normal shuttles
would have cost, but she had no choice.
As she produced 3 strips of gold pressed latinum, Quark reached out to
grab them and Kira closed her fist over them tightly. She leaned in very close to him and
whispered, "Quark, if I ever find out that this latinum was not demanded
by the Tarian..."
Quark
swallowed. "Why, Major, it sounds
as though you don't trust me."
"I
don't."
"Well,
Major, this latinum is going to the
Tarian. I didn't even add a contact fee,
since I know how important this is to you." He glanced inside the bar to where Jadzia was
sitting, nursing a Black Hole.
"And, because I know how
important this is to you, I'm going to give you some free advice."
Kira
looked shocked. "Isn't there a Rule
of Acquisition about free advice?
Something about it seldom being cheap?"
"Yes,
that's Rule of Acquisition #59. But
that's not the right one."
"Which
one then?" Her patience was running
thin.
Quark
hefted the bars in his hand and smiled.
"Rule of Acquisition #229...Latinum last longer than
lust."
The
Major glared at him and went to collect Jadzia.
***************************************
"THEY
WENT WHERE?" Sisko practically
roared. "When? How?"
Bashir
shifted uncomfortably. "They
boarded a Tarian trader vessel about an hour ago."
"Damn!"
"Commander,
if I may ask, why does this cause you concern?"
Sisko
sighed. "I'm just worried,
Doctor. Jadzia state of mind
is....unstable. She is actually
considering not re-implanting the Dax symbiont." He stood and paced to the portal and
back. "Something's happened to
her. And I can't help but think it
involves Major Kira in some way. If that
is the case, I do not think it is wise for them to spend so much time together
when Jadzia needs to make such an important decision."
"Maybe
so, Commander. But, it is her decision. You cannot make it for her. And if Major Kira is somehow involved, well, that's something that we will never know
for sure. Unless Jadzia tells us. Maybe it is all for the best. In the end, she has to do what she is most comfortable
with."
Sisko
nodded resignedly. "I suppose you
are correct, but, I do still worry. One
of my very best friends is floating around out there in some holding tank, and
another one is running around Bajor doing God only knows what with a smart ass
ex-terrorist."
Bashir
smiled. "You do have to admit, the
thought of the trouble they could get into....it is rather entertaining."
Sisko
looked as though he were trying not to laugh and then gave up. "One last thing, Doctor, how did you
happen to learn where the terrible two had gone?
"Oh," Bashir smiled slyly. "Have you forgotten what today
was?"
"Ahhhh." Sisko smiled back. "Lunch with Garak?"
"Of
course." He turned and left.
Sisko
sat for a moment in silence and then shook off his dark feelings and headed
into Ops.
***************************************
Eight
hours later, Jadzia sat on a Bajoran shuttlecraft, heading back to DS9. Kira was sleeping in the seat next to her,
her head resting against Jadzia's arm.
They had decided that the Commander must know what they had done by now,
and decided to take a more comfortable ride home. She gazed at the red headed Bajoran sitting
beside her, remembering the day they had shared. Kira had started by showing her the province
where she had been born, then expanded to the rest of the countryside. They had eaten in two of the Major's favorite
restaurants, and Jadzia had been treated to a couple of the Major's favorite
drinks. The back of her throat was still
burning after the last one, a drink called a Prophets Cure. Kira had laughed when she had to follow the
shot with a big gulp of water. Jadzia
found that she loved the Major's laugh.
She stiffened slightly as
she realized that she loved more than the Major's laugh. She loved her. A smile touched the corners of her mouth as
she reached out and traced Kira's lips with her fingertips. With a small groan, the Bajoran stretched and
woke herself, smiling up at Jadzia in the process.
"I
love you." Jadzia said, very
simply.
"What?" Kira sat up quickly. "What did you say?"
"I
said I love you. I've been sitting here,
thinking about how much the last two days have meant to me, and I realized that
you were the one thing that meant the most."
Kira
smiled, tears in her eyes. "I love
you, too. I didn't think....well, I
didn't think you felt the way I did so I didn't want to say anything to make
you feel....obligated."
"Obligated?" Jadzia touched her cheek. "I don't feel obligated. I feel wonderful."
Kira
sobered and looked around. "This
isn't exactly the best place for a conversation like this." She noticed a Bajoran woman smiling at them
from a few seats back. She gave Kira a
small nod and the thumbs up sign.
Blushing, she turned back to Jadzia.
"See what I mean?"
Jadzia
smiled. "We're about to dock. We can continue this at my place." She stood and grabbed both of their bags,
then reached out a hand and helped Kira to her feet. "But first, I think we are going to need
to do a little butt kissing."
Kira
looked at her questioningly, then followed her gaze to the portal beside their
airlock. Through the glass, she could
see Commander Sisko smiling at them.
***************************************
As
they entered her quarters, Jadzia ran her hands through her hair, and went
directly to her sitting area, where she collapsed onto a couch. Kira followed her, rubbing the bridge of her
nose. "I don't believe I have ever
seen Benjamin that angry." Jadzia
sighed.
"I
have."
They
looked at each other and smiled. Standing,
Kira moved into Jadzia's arms.
"It
was worth it, Nerys." She
whispered. "You're worth it. Worth everything. Even losing my symbiont."
Kira
noticed a hesitation at the end of Jadzia's statement and swallowed hard. "But?"
"But," She repeated.
"But I have to go back. I
have to go get Dax."
Kira
nodded. Tears forming in the corners of
her eyes.
"Oh,
Nerys. Don't cry. I love you.
But I have to do this. If I
don't, then it has all been for nothing.
Every one of those seven lives will have been for nothing. And I don't think I can be responsible for
that and go on loving you."
Kira
nodded and stood, moving away from Jadzia.
"So that's it then. It's
over."
"No,
it isn't over." She moved to stand
beside her, taking her in her arms.
"Jadzia,
chances are that you won't remember any of this happened. And even more than that, you won't be Jadzia
anymore, you'll be Jadzia Dax. And Dax was never in love with
me."
"Maybe
she was." Jadzia looked away.
"What?" Kira's eyes opened wide. "You had feelings for me? And you never told me?"
"I
don't think I ever really knew, Nerys. All I know is that I have always felt
drawn to you. Maybe that will be
enough."
"And
what if it isn't?"
Jadzia placed her fingers under Kira's chin
and gently lifted her head until she could look into her eyes. "Then you remind me."
Kira
moved away, shaking her head. "You
said yourself that Dax was always afraid of becoming involved with someone from
a non-joined species. Once you have been
re-joined...."
"Normal
fear is terrible." Jadzia commented
quietly. "The combined fear of
seven lifetimes is more than anyone should have to bear. I will not give in to it again." She took Kira's hand and kissed it
gently. "You remind me, Nerys. You make
me remember. I love you and I don't want
to lose you...ever."
Kira
nodded and leaned into her, kissing her hard.
"All right," she
breathed. "But tonight, you give me
something to remember...just in case."
Smiling,
Jadzia lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.
*****************************************************
Four
hours later, Commander Sisko was still sitting at his desk, the lights off, his
feet up. He had been waiting for Dax to
come back for the last two hours, and he was getting a little irritated. It took every bit of his patience not to go
barging into her quarters, demanding to know just exactly what had happened to
her sense of loyalty. He sighed and
stared at the ceiling. "Twenty more
minutes." He ground his teeth. "And then I'm going down there."
"Stop
grinding your teeth, Benjamin. You're
going to damage them."
Sisko
looked up and saw Jadzia standing in his doorway. She looked as though she had been
crying.
"Are
you okay, old man?" Sisko began to
rise but Jadzia waved him down and fell into one of the chairs across the desk
from him.
"No. But then, there's nothing to be done for
it." She leaned on the desk, her
head in her hands. "Okay, Benjamin,
you win. When do we leave?"
He
was elated, but tried not to show it.
She was obviously going through something that was hard for her. For now, he would be content to know she was
going, and that Dax would tell him all about it when she got back.
******************************************************
The
next morning, they were all waiting for her when she reached the air lock. Sisko, Bashir, O'Brien, Keiko, Jake, even
Garak and Quark were there. Collecting
information, no doubt. There was only
one conspicuously absent person.
Major Kira was not there.
She
sighed and smiled, accepting their well wishes and good lucks with a fair
amount of good grace. Inside, however,
she felt torn and bleeding. She hoped
that Kira knew how hard it was for her to make this decision, and that there
was really no other option open to her.
With a last smile, she headed into the
"Second
thoughts?" Came a light, teasing
voice from behind her.
"Nerys?" She smiled as she turned. "I thought you
hadn't come to see me off." She
kissed her deeply.
"How could I stay
away?'' Kira reached behind Jadzia and
freed her hair from it's binding. She
sighed as the hair fell, soft and full, across her shoulders. "I wanted to see you like this, one more
time. Please, leave it like this.....And
wear this." She opened her fingers
and Jadzia saw her mother's earring lying in her palm. "Maybe, afterwards, it will help you
remember..." She slipped it onto Jadzia's
ear and kissed her lightly before moving away.
Staring into her eyes, she tapped her commbadge. "Computer, one to beam to Ops. Energize." As her form faded, Jadzia saw her mouth the
words, "I love you."
She knew she could never say it back in time for Kira to
see her, so she simply placed both her hands over her heart.
Kira was still blinking back tears when she appeared in
Ops. Sisko saw her and beckoned her into
his office.
"Major, is something wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Commander. I'm just worried about Jadzia." Kira sighed and dropped into one of his
chairs. "She means a lot to me, you
know?"
"I think I am beginning to." Sisko looked as though he wanted to ask more,
but had the good grace to let it drop.
"You are relieved from duty for one day, Major. I've had O'Brien set up your personal
computer so that you can follow her ship's trail and monitor her progress until
she enters Garasa's sector."
"You're letting me monitor her progress?" Kira's mouth fell open.
"No, Major, I'm asking you to witness the
interaction between a member of Starfleet and a formerly unknown lifeform in
Bajoran Space. As the official Bajoran
Liaison here on Deep Space Nine, I think it important that you document the
trip for your own historians." His
voice softened. "If, in the
process, it makes you feel a little better, then so much the better for
it."
Kira smiled and reached out to clasp his hand. Garasa wasn't anywhere near Bajoran
space. She knew what he was trying to
do, and she tried to let him know just how much she appreciated it, without
saying a word.
Sisko smiled.
"Dismissed, Major...keep me informed."
"Yes, sir!"
After she had left, Sisko looked at his computer
thoughtfully. "Computer, access the
personal files of all senior officers on DS9."
"Current or on record?" The computer queried.
"Current."
Sisko rubbed the back of his head.
"Seven files found."
He glanced at the screen.
"Open file for Doctor Julian Bashir."
"File opened."
Sisko sat at his desk and perused the file slowly. As he neared the end, the file showed him
Bashir's family ancestry. He smiled as
he read the names of Bashir's paternal grandparents. Leonid and Garasa Bashir.
He sat there for a moment, and then began to go through
all the files of his senior staff.
"It couldn't hurt." He whispered to himself.
******************************************************
Kira stepped into her quarters and sighed, loudly. She didn't know when she had ever felt more
lonely. Even when she was running with
the resistance cell, she hadn't felt the need for someone as strongly as
now. She glanced at the computer screen
which was tracking the small red dot that was the
It took her a moment to notice a small box on the table
under the window. Walking over, she
picked it up and pulled on the red ribbon which held it shut. Inside was a velvet box and a data
crystal. She plugged the chip into her
console and read:
My Love,
I know you're sitting
in your quarters, worrying about me. I
am sorry for that. I hope you know how
very difficult this was for me. Nothing
has ever been harder for me than leaving you.
But I had to Nerys, and I know you understand why. I will be back! The following is everything I feel about
you. I love you. May the Prophets lead me back to you...
KIRA
I've always seen
the truth you've hidden
behind the fire
in your eyes.
The softness
you try to bury
beneath the anger
that never dies.
I've seen the hope
you never trust
and the love
you never claim
you try to fight
an uphill battle
against a foe
you fear to name
you've never lost
a bit of honor
never given
in to fear
always worthy
of the praise
you try so hard
not to hear
in my mind
you are the hero
always honest
always true
in my heart
I think I've loved you
longer before
I ever knew.
open
the box....promise me...
Jadzia
Kira wiped her eyes and
slowly opened the box. Inside, nestled
in Trillian silk, was a Bajoran Pledge Bracelet. It was hammered silver, with her families
crest scrolled around the center and light markings down the sides. The markings looked very much like the lovely
spots she had traced down Jadzia's body.
She lifted the bracelet off of its bed and fastened it around her wrist.
"I promise." She whispered.
*****************************************************
Jadzia
had been in flight for 20 minutes when all operations on her ship ceased. Something, a memory in the back of her mind,
began to surface, a memory of her ship dying once before. And of a beam of light that sent a red hot
flame of pain through her mind and cut off the air from her gasping lungs. Her heart began to beat harder as she became
more nervous, but the scan never came.
Instead, a transport beam flashed in front of her and Curzon stood
before her.
"Curzon?"
She was slightly disoriented, but she knew this was impossible.
"No, child."
A female voice issued forth from Curzon's mouth. "This was a form that I chose from your
mind, one that you seemed to be very comfortable with. I did not wish to frighten you."
"So," Jadzia smiled. "You're a telepathic shapeshifter?"
"I am both."
The words were short, but there was a smile on Curzon's face. "And I am neither. I am everything my people had ever been. So shall you be...one day.
Jadzia's smile faded.
"I want to remember, Garasa.
I want to know what I have done, what I have gained while I was without
my symbiont."
Curzon reached out and pressed a finger to her lips, and
suddenly Kira was standing before her.
"I see." She moved away.
"You have 'fallen in love'...I believe that is the correct
term?" Jadzia nodded. "I will do what I can for you,
child. I know the importance of love to
a corporeal being. As it was with my
people at one time, so long ago. I will
try."
Jadzia nodded again, a small smile on her lips. "What do I have to do?"
Garasa moved next to her again. "Close your eyes, child. I will give you no pain."
The world went black.
******************************************************
Sisko strode into Ops and went to stand next to the
Major, who had been there since Jadzia's runabout had disappeared off scopes
almost 40 minutes before. He was almost
as agitated as she was.
"Any word, Chief?"
"No, sir."
O'Brien looked harried and threw an exasperated glance at Kira, who had
asked him the same question 12 times on the last 40 minutes.
"She's been gone longer than the first time, hasn't
she?" Sisko whispered.
"Yes," Kira's voice was close to breaking. "She has."
Sisko placed a hand on Kira's shoulder and whisper,
"Don't give up, Nerys. You know as well
as I do how tenacious Jadzia can be."
He smiled. "And Dax was even
worse. Did I ever tell you about the
time that Curzon Dax actually irritated a Vulcan? The Vulcan actually swung at him! It all started..."
Kira managed a small laugh and listened attentively. It had to be better than staring out into
empty space. The story was funny. She have to remember to ask Jadzia for all the
details when she got back. When, she
reminded herself. Not if.
"Major!"
Ensign Brena swung around and grabbed her gently by the arm.
"What is it, Ka'lin?" Kira gently pried the fingers off of her
arm. Normally she would not have minded,
but Starfleet tended to disapprove of physical contact between officers of
differing ranks.
"I'm picking up something on long range
sensors....It's the runabout!...uh...the runabout, Sir." The Ensign blushed and Kira laid a comforting
hand on her shoulder. To hell with the
rules.
"Lifesigns?"
Kira whispered, hope and dismay both vying for equal time in her
voice. "Or just an empty
ship?"
O'Brien scanned the runabout and turned to Kira, a huge
smile across his face. "One
lifesign, Sir. Very strong. She's awake!"
"Hail the runabout." A new feeling of dread had replaced the old
one. Now that she was safe, would she
remember?
"Dax to Deep Space Nine." The returning hail came back.
"Visual!"
Sisko managed through his smile.
Jadzia appeared on the main viewscreen. She looked a little pale, but other than
that, beautiful, Kira thought.
"Old man?"
Sisko looked at the screen, hope in his eyes.
"Yes, Benjamin," Dax smiled back. "It's me. Whatever Garasa did, it worked. What a beautiful creature she is..."
"Good to have you back, Lieutenant." O'Brien called from his console. "I have your ETA at 12 minutes. Any problems out there?"
"None that I can see." Jadzia checked her computer. When she glanced back up, she caught Kira
looking at her sadly. A smile jumped to
her lips, followed quickly by a look of confusion. She looked as though she was trying hard to
remember something just beyond her grasp.
"Hello, Major. Did you miss
me?"
"More than you'll ever know." Kira mustered up a ghost of a smile before
turning away. Under her breath, she
mumbled, "I still do..."
"We'll meet you at airlock eight. Ten minutes and counting!" Sisko clapped Kira on the back and motioned
for all of them to join him.
"Chief, if you don't mind..."
"No problem, Sir.
I'll say my hellos later."
Sisko smiled and followed the rest of is senior staff out
of Ops.
******************************************************
When they reached the airlock, Kira hung back. She stood, the last in the receiving line and
watched as Julian prepared a medical tricorder to scan Jadzia the instant she
stepped off the runabout.
As the doors swung open, Sisko was the first to reach
through and pull Dax into a tight embrace.
"It's good to see you, Old Man.
I didn't know if I would ever get to drink with you again."
Dax hugged him back and then stood patiently as she was
scanned, then embraced by Julian.
"You are in perfect health.
Slight fatigue however. You need
some sleep."
"No problem there...that was going to be my first
stop. Thank you all for helping me get
through this. As she spoke, she glanced
at Kira and smiled. It was a lovely
smile, but one Kira had seen a thousand times.
A smile for a friend, nothing more.
"Now, if you will all excuse me, I am going to head to my
quarters. I need a little time alone to
get my bearings."
They all wished her goodnight as she strode off down the
hallway. Everyone except Kira, who
ducked into a passageway after Dax had passed by, her heart aching, tears in
her eyes.
"So what are you going to do?"
Startled, Kira turned and found Sisko standing behind
her.
"What do you mean?" She asked calmly as she tried to compose
herself.
The Commander smiled gently and laid his hand on Kira's
shoulder. "Major, I know what
happened between you and DAx. I know how
much she means to you, and I know she told you how terrified she was of being a
joined Trill in love with someone who doesn't have another lifetime to go on
to.
Kira began to tremble.
"I love her, Benjamin."
"I know. And
she loves you." Kira's eyes met his
and he smiled. "She told me right
before she left. She wanted you to know
that. Just in case."
"What should I do?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Whatever your conscience allows you
to." He took her hand and squeezed
it gently. "I guess you just have
to decide what you can live with....and without."
As he walked away, Kira stood contemplating the
floor. With a deep sigh, she squared her
shoulders and walked away.
*****************************************************
Dax wandered through the corridors on her way to her
quarters. It was wonderful, being joined
again. Everything felt different from
the last time she walked through these passages. It was almost like the way she had felt after
her original joining. She meandered
about for and hour or so, then headed towards her rooms. As she passed Major Kira's quarters,
something pulled at her. Before she
realized what she was doing, she had keyed the door and stepped inside. She caught herself before she walked in any further
and tried to remember when Kira had given her the code for her door. Perplexed, she looked around the room with a
strange sense of loss. She felt an
emotion close to sadness as she left and walked the rest of the way to her own
quarters. She could no more explain her
feelings than she could her knowledge of the Majors security code.
As she entered her quarters, she began to walk into her
bedroom when she caught her reflection in a mirror. Her hair was loose, something very rare, and
there was a Bajoran earring hanging from her right lobe. She touched it gently as her heart began to
pound. A memory fighting its way to the
surface. Still trying to grasp it, she
looked through her bedroom doorway. What
she saw brought all the memories rushing back so fast that she was momentarily
dizzy.
Kira lay across her bed, nude except for the same
necklace she had worn for their dinner a few nights before and a silver
bracelet around her wrist. She stood
gracefully and walked over, her eyes staring intently into Jadzia's.
"I love you."
She said simply.
Jadzia stared at her for a moment as everything came back
to her. Then, smiling, she lowered her
lips to Kira's and kissed her deeply.
"I can't believe I almost forgot."
"Forgot what?"
Kira teased.
"Forgot that I love you." She kissed the wrinkles on her nose. "I love you Nerys, please, don't ever
let me forget it."
"Don't worry,"
Kira leaned into her, resting her bare body against Jadzia's fully
clothed one. "If I have my way, you
won't be able to think of much else..."
THE END