Worlds of Star Trek Deep Space Nine® Volume Three

by Keith R. A. DeCandido

“How’s she doing?”

  Rom turned to see Quark standing in the doorway to the hospital room. “Not good,” he said to his brother. “Dr. Orpax says he’s going to wait three more hours to see if she goes into labor naturally.”

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “Then,” Rom said, stretching the word out in order to avoid what he had to say next, “he’ll have to operate.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Quark asked as he entered the room and stood on the other side of the bed from Rom.

  “Her immune system may not be able to handle the surgery! She could die!”

  Quark put his hands on the bed. “Listen to me, Rom—Dr. Orpax is the best there is. And Leeta’s a tough customer. She’ll be fine—and so will your child.”

  Rom knew that Quark had no way of knowing that for sure, but he appreciated the rare gesture, so he simply said, “Thank you, Brother,” in a quiet voice.

  “Now that we’ve got that out of the way—we need to talk.”

  “What about?”

  “I think you know.”

  Scratching his head, Rom said, “I really don’t, Brother.”

  Quark rubbed his forehead with his right hand. “I’m talking about the marriage contract to Prinadora that Brunt showed to the congress.”

  “What about it?” Rom said evasively.

  Holding up one finger, Quark said, “It’s a fake!”

  “Okay.”

  “It took us days to figure out that it was fake—you know why? The forgery was done by Gash.”

  “Oh. He’s very good.”

  “I know he’s very good, Rom.” Quark glowered at his brother, and Rom shrunk from his gaze. “Why do you think I keep hiring him? He’s the best there is—and his forgery was so good, nobody could crack it.”

  “So how’d you find out it was a fake?” Rom’s voice was so quiet, even he could barely hear it.

  “I got Leck to break into the contract archive to find the original contract.”

  Rom’s eyes went wide. He knew Leck was insane, but this was on a whole new level. “Leck broke into the archive? And survived? And didn’t get caught?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes.”

  Impressed, Rom said, “That’s amazing.”

  “ ‘That’s amazing’? Is that all you can say?”

  “What do you mean, Brother?”

  Quark gripped the side of the bed. “Why did we have to go through all that trouble to find out what you could have told us in three seconds? Why didn’t you say that Brunt’s contract was a fake?”

  Rom had been hoping it wouldn’t come to this, even though he knew full well it was going to eventually. Sighing, he said, “Because I didn’t know.”

  “What do you mean, you didn’t know?” Quark was now yelling so loud, Rom half expected his voice to awaken Leeta from her coma. “You signed the contract, didn’t you?”

  “Signed, yes.” Rom found he couldn’t look his brother in the face. “Read—no.”

  Quark’s mouth fell open. “You didn’t read the contract? How big an idiot are you?” Before Rom could speak, Quark said, “Don’t answer that.”

  Rom shrugged. “I didn’t remember any of the details of the contract, just what Dav told me when we separated. For all I knew, Brunt was telling the truth.”

  Looking at Rom like he had grown a third ear, Quark asked, “Why would he start now?” He shook his head. “It’s amazing. Your entire life has been one insane decision after another.”

  “No, it hasn’t.” Rom knew he sounded miserable, but didn’t care. “That’s just it—I never made any decisions.” He looked at the beautiful sleeping female lying between Rom and his brother. “Until I met her, anyhow.”

  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard you say.” Quark pointed at Rom. “And considering all the things I’ve heard you say over the years, you know I’m not saying that lightly.”

  “It’s true!” Rom stared at his brother. “You know what I was like before I met her. Always letting people push me around and make decisions for me. And then I met Leeta.” He looked at her sleeping form again, and just watching her filled him with joy. “You know why I formed that union in the bar? For her. And that led me to become an engineer on the station, because I knew that it would make me a better match for her, especially if we weren’t coworkers anymore.”

  “Great. Someone else you’re in love with who’s making you be an even bigger idiot.” Quark shook his head. “I should never have done it.”

  Rom frowned. “Done what?”

  “Taken you in! You know what the best years of my life were? After I left home and before you showed up at Terok Nor begging for a place to live and work because Dav cleaned you out.”

  Rom still didn’t get it. “You think the best years of your life were when you were a cook on that freighter?”

  Quark’s eyes widened. “Yes! And you know why? You weren’t there! Leaving home was the smartest thing I ever did, because it got me away from my family.” Quark threw up his hands and started pacing the room—as best he could in the small space, anyhow. “Away from Father and his failures, away from Mother and her radical notions, and away from you and your abject stupidity! But then you show up with your little kid begging me to take you in. Did I listen to the Sixth Rule? Of course I didn’t!” He looked at Rom. “And now look where it’s gotten me! My entire life is disintegrating before my eyes because you didn’t read a contract! The most basic tenet of Ferengi life, and you can’t even manage that.”

  Rom lowered his head, ashamed. “I’m sorry, Brother.”

  “Oh, well, wonderful. That makes all the difference. You’re sorry. Rom, I don’t want you to be Grand Nagus because I think you and our mother are destroying the Ferengi Alliance—but I have to do everything I can to keep you in power because if I don’t, I lose the bar and Brunt becomes nagus, and that way lies destitution.” He walked around to the other side of the bed. “Which means you’re coming with me right now.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes you can. You’re going to call an emergency session of the congress and we’re going to present the evidence that Laren, Nog, and I have spent the last few days gathering.” Quark grabbed Rom by the arm, but he stood his ground.

  “No, Brother, I’m not.” He yanked his arm out from Quark’s grip, and turned to look at Leeta. “I’m not leaving her side until this is all over.”

  Clenching his fists and holding them in front of his chest, Quark cried, “Rom, you could lose the nagushood!”

  “I could lose Leeta—and that’s more important than anything. Even the nagushood.” He turned his back on his brother and sat back in the guest chair. “When Leeta and the baby are okay, then I’ll leave. But I’m not setting foot outside this hospital until then.”

  Quark shook his head. “A lifetime of being an idiot—why stop now? Fine, do whatever you want. Destroy the entire Ferengi Alliance, ruin everything you and Mother and Zek have built.”

  “I thought you didn’t approve of what we’re doing,” Rom said, confused.

  “I don’t, but that doesn’t change what you’ve accomplished.” Quark shook his head and laughed ruefully. “Rom, you’ve changed the course of history! You’ve probably had more of an impact on Ferengi society than any nagus since Gint, and you’ve only been at the job a year! That’s an amazing accomplishment!” Now he turned his back. “I can’t believe you’re throwing it away for a female—again.”

  “I love her, Quark.”

  “Just like you loved Prinadora? You’ve already destroyed your life once because of love. Don’t do it again.”

  As Quark approached the door, Rom blurted, “Wouldn’t you do the same for Lieutenant Ro?”

  Quark froze in the doorway. “What’s she got to do with this?”

  “I see the way you look at her, Brother, so don’t bother denying it. You have feelings for her.”

  Turning to look back at Rom, Quark said, “Maybe I do. But to answer your question: No. No f
emale is worth that.”

  Then he left.

  Sighing, Rom slumped in the guest chair and stared at his comatose wife.

  I hope everything comes out okay.

  10

  Whisper your way to success.

  —RULE OF ACQUISITION #168

  Quark nearly jumped out of his lobes when he saw the second person in the nagal aircar that was waiting for him in the hospital’s garage. Before he could even register who the intruder was, he cried, “What’re you doing here?”

  Even as he spoke, and tried to get his breathing under control, he recognized the person in the aircar’s passenger seat across from him: Chek. That also explained how he got in—Chek certainly had the cash to offer a sufficient bribe to the chauffeur.

  Said chauffeur closed the door and started to pilot the aircar out of the garage. He didn’t wait for Quark’s fee, nor did Quark have any intention of giving him one, seeing as how he let Chek in without permission.

  “I’m here to reiterate my offer to you, Quark. You’ve been on Ferenginar for several days—you’ve had more than adequate opportunity to see what a failure your brother is.”

  Quark smiled. “I already knew all about my brother before I came here, and nothing I’ve seen has changed my opinion.”

  Chek leaned back in the seat and picked up a drink that Quark hadn’t noticed. It probably came from the aircar’s well-stocked bar. As he sipped, Quark recognized it as a fungus fizz. “That’s excellent news,” Chek said, putting the drink down and wiping the slime from his lips. “Then we can count on your support in our campaign to oust Rom.”

  Shaking his head, Quark said, “Not a chance.”

  The shock Quark got from Chek’s invasion of the aircar was more than made up for by the stunned look on Chek’s face now. “But—but—you said you were on our side!”

  “When did I say that?”

  Pointing an accusatory finger, Chek said, “You said you wanted to restore the Ferengi Alliance to the old ways!”

  “When did I say that?”

  Chek’s wide eyes squinted. “You can’t fool me, Quark. I know you—you’re on our side in this.”

  Quark laughed. “Chek, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten Rule of Acquisition Number Two Hundred: ‘A Ferengi chooses no side but his own.’ I freely admit that I would prefer a Ferenginar I could be proud of, a return to the good old days of full-fledged greed and exploitation. But let’s look at it from my perspective. If things stay the way they are, I’m the Ferengi Ambassador to Bajor, and I have a thriving bar on one of the most important ports of call in the quadrant. Ever since Bajor joined the Federation, the place has been lousy with tourists who want to visit famous war sites or wallow in what passes for beauty on Bajor.”

  “But—”

  Quark refused to let Chek interrupt him when he was on a roll. “On the other hand, if I throw in with you, I support Brunt. He’s a liquidator, and I can assure you that he wouldn’t think twice about revoking my diplomatic post. Brunt’s dedicated his life to making my life miserable, and it would take a lot more latinum than you’ve got to convince me to help him become Grand Nagus. Not to mention the fact that your entire campaign is based on slander against my brother.”

  Chek’s mouth hung open in shock. “You yourself keep calling him an idiot!”

  “That’s not slander, that’s fact. But a contract-breaker? Not even my brother would do that—he’s an idiot, he’s not a moron.”

  Snorting, Chek asked, “There’s a difference?”

  “Yes, there is.” Quark leaned forward. “Even the most lobeless Ferengi doesn’t break a contract without good reason, and Rom had no good reason to break this one.”

  “The evidence—”

  “Is completely false.” Quark grinned. “And I have the proof.” A lurch in Quark’s stomach indicated that the aircar was descending toward the nagal residence.

  Chek took another drink of his fizz. “Your so-called proof won’t withstand scrutiny.”

  “Oh, I know how good a forger Gash is, and I’m sure he did his best work—but my proof comes straight from the Glat Archive.”

  Sputtering in his fizz, Chek said, “That’s impossible!” He grabbed the rain towel from its shelf and wiped the fungus off his jacket. “The investigator checked it against the archive.”

  “Apparently not.” As the aircar landed, Quark called out to the chauffeur. “Please take Chek wherever it is he wants to go—as long as it’s far from here.”

  The door opened as the aircar landed in the enclosed entry-way to the nagal residence. “What I have to wonder,” Quark said as he exited the vehicle, “is if you’re in on the scam—or if you really believe Brunt’s ‘evidence.’ ’Cause I gotta tell you, if you did believe Brunt, you’re a bigger idiot than my brother ever could be.”

  Whistling the Slug-O-Cola jingle, Quark entered the nagal residence. Behind him, he heard the whine of the aircar’s engines taking Chek away.

  Ro Laren held her breath as she, Quark, and the rest of their entourage approached the room where the Economic Congress of Advisors met. They had called another emergency session, this time to vote on whether or not to oust Rom as Grand Nagus. Rom himself refused to leave the hospital—Leeta was about to undergo surgery to retrieve the baby—so Krax came along to act as his proxy, which the first clerk was apparently empowered to do in these circumstances. Ishka was also present, as was Nog.

  However, Ro was holding her breath because of the sixth member of their little party: a Ferengi named Gash, who had apparently last bathed some time prior to when Zek was born. Ro couldn’t even get a good look at the forger’s face, as a miasma seemed to surround his entire body—plus, every time she looked at him, her eyes watered.

  Ishka and Gash stayed behind—for which Ro was grateful, as the congress met in an enclosed room, and she didn’t want to think about what his stench would be like in there—with the remaining four entering the meeting room.

  Like every other space on Ferenginar, the room was tacky as all get-out. Ro was starting to think that there wasn’t a place on this planet that wasn’t a decorator’s nightmare. It wasn’t so much that the décor was so hideous—though much of it was—but that it so obviously represented conspicuous consumption. Everyone wanted to show off how much money they had, whether they had it or not. Of course, Ro would expect it in places like the nagal residence and here at the Tower of Commerce, but after her whistlestop tour of the capital city, culminating in her interrogation of that stock buyer at the tongo parlor, she had come to the conclusion that this entire planet was full of people who wanted everyone to think they were rich to the point where it was downright wearying.

  Ro found her eyes drawn to the tapestry of Grand Nagus Gint on the far wall. Quark had told her when they came here last that it was sewn in latinum.

  Instinctively, Ro wondered what that tapestry’s market value was, and how useful it might have been to the Bajorans during the seven years that they were rebuilding after the Occupation. Then she pushed the thought aside. That way lies madness.

  Sitting or standing around the table were fourteen Ferengi. One of them, seated at the far end, was as old as any Ferengi Ro had ever seen. Another was the instantly recognizable face of Brunt, whose smiling face had seared itself on Ro’s brain despite her best efforts.

  The biggest surprise, though, was the identity of the fourteenth Ferengi in the room: Zek. He was standing in a corner mumbling to himself. She leaned over to Quark and whispered, “What’s he doing here?”

  Quark whispered back, “I don’t know. Mother’s been trying to talk to him since he arrived, but he won’t see her.”

  Brunt stood up from his chair upon their arrival. “This is a closed congress. Krax is entitled to be here as the nagus’s proxy, but the rest of you must leave.” Brunt looked at Ro with revulsion, which matched how she looked at him. “Especially that clothed female!”

  “If she takes her clothes off, can she stay?” Quark asked.

 
; “That isn’t funny, Quark,” Brunt said.

  “Damn right it isn’t,” Ro muttered.

  The person seated to the right of the nagus’s chair—who, if Ro remembered correctly, was Fal, the president of the congress—said, “Actually, Krax is entitled to bring assistants to aid in testimony. They will have to leave when the vote is taken, but they are allowed to participate in the prior deliberations.”

  “What a ridiculous notion,” Brunt said. “I’ll have to remember to abolish that when I’m Grand Nagus.”

  “I wouldn’t get so overconfident if I were you,” Nog said. “Remember what happened the last time you thought you were Grand Nagus.”

  Brunt sneered at Nog. “Don’t think that uniform entitles you to anything, child.” He looked at Ro, and the revulsed look came back. “Or you either, female. Starfleet has no jurisdiction here.”

  “Perhaps not,” Krax said as he took his seat, “but they have aided in the nagus’s investigation into the slanderous accusations that have been made against him.”

  Brunt also sat down, as did the other congressmen. Zek remained in his corner; Ro, Quark, and Nog took up position just behind Krax, who, Ro thought, looked distressingly comfortable in the nagal seat.

  “What investigation is there to be made?” one of the congressmen asked. “The contract was verified by Investigator Rwogo.”

  “We only have her word for that,” Krax said.

  “Enough!” Brunt said. “There’s nothing to debate. I have presented incontrovertible evidence that Rom broke his marriage contract to Prinadora. He should be removed from the nagushood immediately, at which point the new Grand Nagus should instruct the FCA to have him banned.”

  “We have evidence—” Krax started, but Brunt interrupted and pointed to the old Ferengi in the corner.

  “I have even had the esteemed former Grand Nagus brought back from his peaceful retirement on Risa, because he is so outraged at the behavior of his handpicked successor. Isn’t that right, Grand Nagus?”

  Zek looked up from his mumbling. “Eh? What? Oh yes. Outraged. Very outraged.” He frowned. “What are we talking about, again?”