Star Trek - DS9 - Avatar - Book One of Two.htm

by Emily

  Just before she reached the wardroom, she realized someone was walking right behind her. Startled, Kira stepped to one side and turned around—and saw nothing, a few meters of empty corridor and a wall.

  Getting paranoid new, that's just wonderful. One more thing to pot on her list of nervous-breakdown topics.

  The meeting room seemed too empty, even though

  everyone was there—Bowers, representing tactical, Nog and ch'Thane, Bashir, Dax, and Ro. No This, of course... and Major Wayeh Suit, the Bajoran PG administrative liaison, had just gone on an indefinite leave. His wife of nearly thirty years had been one of those killed during the attack. Wayeh had offered to stay, but Kira had insisted that he go home to be with his children, promising that she'd take care of things until a replacement was found.

  Maybe they should find a replacement far me, too, at least when it comes to talking with Starfleet from now on. It was one more way mat last would be missed; the commander's ability to effectively represent the station's interests to Starfleet had never been so badly needed.

  Dax threw a slight, encouraging smile at her as she moved to the head of table, but Kira couldn't manage to summon one of her own.

  "I've just come from speaking with Admiral Ross," Kira said without preamble, taking her seat "At mis time, Federation and Allied forces ate on full alert throughout the quadrant After an emergency council of the Allied leaders that lasted until a few hours ago, the Federation has organized a task force to investigate yesterday's attack on the station. Members of the Romulan and Klingon governments will be joining the task force, which will leave from here, and everyone— Federation, Romulan, and Klingon—is sending military backup. Their plan is to send a well-armed contingent of ships to the Gamma Quadrant in order to make contact with possible Dominion forces."

  For a few seconds, no one spoke, but she could see that their reactions were much as hers had been. Incredulity to uncertainty to frustration.

  "When are they coming?" Dax asked.

  "And what does mis mean for us?" Nog added. "What are we supposed to be doing?'

  "Three days from now, maybe four, depending on how soon they can assemble," Kira said. "Their rendezvous point is the Gentariat system, a day and a half away at high warp. And because of our current status, we're not officially expected to do anything beyond what we were already doing—repairs and upgrades, coordinating relief aid, cleaning up the mess. Bajor will be sending us several teams of Militia engineers to help—the first shuttles should arrive later today."

  "Do they really think that the Dominion is about to wage another war?" Shar asked, an anxious set to his features.

  "Ridiculous," Bowers said, shifting in his seat. 'If they really wanted to start something, they wouldn't send only three attack ships. It was a rogue attack, we've run across mat before with the Jem'Hadar."

  Dax was nodding. "And there was mat fourth ship, that tried to stop mem. It doesn't make any sense."

  "It's been suggested that the initial attack was deliberately staged, either to directly lure the Federation into battle or to distract it from noticing a buildup of forces elsewhere," Kira said woodenly, not bothering to point out the rather obvious holes in such an attack plan. She'd pointed out a few to Ross, who had countered each neatly with reminders of the Dominion's war record.

  Tell them the rest, they may as well know it all. Her allegiance was to Bajor and to the people she worked with first, not to Starfleet

  "There is currently a motion before the Council to

  establish an Allied peacekeeping force within the Gamma Quadrant," Kira said quietly, "which doesn't leave this room, for the time being. Officially, it's a rumor I heard."

  "They can't be serious," Bashir said, his brow furrowed in disbelief. "They can't believe mat the Dominion will tolerate an armed force mat close to their borders even for a single day, let alone as on ongoing presence. It could spark another war."

  "It's definitely not going to promote opening diplomatic relations," Ezri said. They already don't trust us."

  Kira had said pretty much the same thing to Admiral Ross, and his answer was still clear in her mind:

  They broke the treaty, Colonel, and in less than three months. The Allied leaders are in full agreement an this. If the Dominion wants another war, we take it to them, and the first step is to do exactly what they've done; -we're going in to assess their current capabilities, and we 're going in prepared to defend ourselves.

  The worst part was mat she could understand that point of view. Strategically, the idea was sound, especially if they could secure the other end of the wormhole against further intrusion. Unfortunately, it was also rash and inappropriate, but she could see how the logic of defense, fueled by resentments and bitterness over a long and terrible war, could sway a crowd of politicians and admirals into making such a choice. She saw how the Klingons and the Romulans might push for an excuse to redress what they saw as deficiencies of the treaty—neither had been happy with the noninterference provisions—but Kira was stunned and not a little disappointed that the Federation was willing to spearhead it

  And there's Odo. She hadn't brought it up with Ross, aware that it would seem like an emotional argument coming from her, but she couldn't believe that Odo wasn't being figured into the equation. After his celebrated role in ending the war, he had gone back to the Link partly with the hope of teaching the Founders tolerance—and she believed that he could, that if it was possible, Odo would do it But if the Allies undermined his efforts by sending troops, if they'd already withdrawn their faith in him, she had little doubt that he would lose tremendous ground with his people.

  All of this flashed through Kira's mind in an instant, rekindling her anger, but she stamped it solidly down. She wasn't going to encourage dissent just to validate her own opinions. Besides, preaching to the converted would take energy, and she couldn't spare it.

  "Admiral Ross was sympathetic, but he has his orders. I've registered my protest, and will urge the Bajoran provisional government to do the same, but there's nothing else we can do."

  Again, there was a brief silence, looks of anger and worry, and Kira pushed on to station status. Whatever the Federation planned, it wasn't going to be resolved by any of them, not here and now, and there were more immediate problems to discuss.

  An exhausted Nog gave mem a rundown on reconstruction efforts, glumly listing the most critical first and quickly descending into a morass of minor disasters, everything from roaming power failures to nidus-trial replicator malfunctions. Dax, back on temporary engineering duty, helpfully threw in a few that he'd forgotten before briefly touching on station morale. There wasn't much for her to say outside of the obvi-

  ous; people were moving from shock into depression and anxiety.

  Bowers and Shar both briefly reported on technical aspects of their respective departments—with everything powered down and no tactical capacity, not much was happening beyond hands-on manual work, cleaning, testing, or recalibrating. Bashir's medical report was even shorter, statistics and supply needs delivered in a soft, tired voice, dark circles beneath his eyes ... and Ro basically had nothing—rehashed security measure reviews from the handling of the crisis, final effectiveness assessments, recommendations for new drill procedures. Kira was hard-pressed not to let her irritation show.

  "Anything yet on the investigation into the Promenade deaths?" she asked.

  "It's ongoing," Ro said blandly. "I'll file a report as soon as there's any progress."

  Her tone was inflectionless, but the way she glanced away gave Kira a sense that she wasn't being entirely forthcoming.

  "Do you have any leads?" Kira encouraged, hearing an edge in her voice and not able to stop it. "Anything?'

  "Colonel, as soon as mere's any progress, I'll file a report," Ro said, this time firmly meeting Kira's gaze, her own unflinching.

  For a fraction of a second, Kira had a satisfyingly clear mental flash of throwing Ro against a wall. Aware that Bashir and Dax were
exchanging a look over the tense interplay, Kira let it go—but only for the moment; it was past time for her and Ro to have a private conversation. "Fine. Let's move on."

  They spent the next few minutes running through priorities and plans, Kira making her recommendations as they went along. She pushed Nog into agreeing to delegate more responsibility, and they talked about coordinating with the arriving technicians. Bashir and Dax were going to start collaboration on an agenda to help station residents in emotional distress. Kira emphasized the need for the station to continue coordinating Cardassian relief efforts in spite of the present situation; ships would continue to pour in for inspection and certification, and too many lives were depending on them to let that process be disrupted. Hie Federation-sanctioned task force wasn't mentioned again, or included as a factor in their immediate agenda; they needed to worry about making their own environment livable and working again.

  The meeting was about to break when Kira remembered the one decent piece of news that Ross had given her. "I almost forgot—Starfleet commendations are pending for Nog and Prynn Tenmei—and Lieutenant Ezri Dax's name has been submitted for, let's see if I remember this right... me Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry, I believe it's called."

  Everyone smiled, even Ro. Dax rolled her eyes.

  "I assume you'll be switching to command now— congratulations, Captain," Bashir joked, earning another round of smiles. Ezri saluted him. It wasn't much, but it was the only light moment Kira expected to have for a while, and she was grateful for it.

  She hadn't planned to say anything else, but as they stood up to leave, Kira realized she wasn't quite finished.

  "Listen... this is a difficult time, but we'll get

  through it We've come through worse. I just wanted you to know that I'm glad you're all here."

  Not overly inspired, perhaps, but Kira felt better for having said it This was her crew, these were her friends, and she'd do right by them no matter what it took.

  It was late for lunch, and Quark's was mostly empty. There was still plenty of activity going on around the station, but the majority of those visiting on personal business—Quark's clientele, mostly— had decided to depart for safer seas following the attack.

  They had the right idea, Kasidy thought The quiet is nice though, for a change. They sat on the balcony, looking over an agreeably subdued Quark's. Kas was relieved not to be shouting over the blitz of a dabo tournament, and thought that Kira was, too; her friend was obviously in need of some peace. As it was, she'd only been able to spare enough time for a single raktajino, and Kasidy was ready to bet mat it was the first break she'd taken in hours.

  "... but other than that, things are looking up," Kira was saying, the haggard tightness around her eyes and mouth indicating otherwise. Considering the list of the station's ongoing technical problems—and what was brewing with Starfleet—Kas wasn't surprised. "The Militia techs will stay at least a week, maybe longer."

  "Things will go much faster with all the help," Kas said. She was trying to be helpful and supportive; Kira had certainly been those things for her since Benjamin had been gone, but the truth of it was, she was impatient to leave the station. If it was just her, it would be

  different... but with young Rachel Jadzia or Curzon lye (maybe, she silently reminded herself; a week ago, she'd been absolutely fixed on Sylvan Jay and Joseph Cusak) to consider, her priorities had undergone a major shift During the attack, in the reinforced corridor where she'd crouched and waited with the other frightened residents, terrified that she'd be injured in some way mat might affect the baby, she'd made her decision—to turn down me next couple of assignments with the Commerce Ministry so that she could move as soon as possible. The station wasn't safe, and not far away was the quiet patch of land where home waited, sunlight streaming in the windows, an herb garden freshly planted out back....

  "...don't you agree?"

  Kas blinked, quickly replaying the conversation she'd missed. She'd read that a lot of women suffered lapses of concentration during pregnancy, but she couldn't blame everything on hormones. Some friend I'm turning out to be.

  "Yes," Kas said firmly, picking up the thread again. "By the time they get here, everything will be different They'll have to reconsider once they cool down a little, put things in perspective. Hey, look at the bright side— at the very least, there will be a few more Starfleet engineers running around for a couple of days while the brass sorts everything out Between them and the Militia techs, the station will be taken care of, finally ... and then maybe you can get away for a few days. Like we talked about"

  Kira stared down into her cup of raktajino, surely lukewarm by now. 1 don't know, Kas. It sounds wonderful, it really does, but you'll be getting settled in,

  and mere's just so much for me to do now mat This is gone...."

  "Well, forget about mat 'getting settled in' stuff, you know I'd love the company," Kas said firmly. "And you've been so great—without you, the house wouldn't be half finished by now. Really, you deserve to come down and spend a few days just sitting around and reading books, or wandering around in the garden...."

  Kira shook her head, and Kas trailed off, wondering why such a strong, brilliant woman insisted on making things so hard for herself . Kas waited until Kira looked up and held her gaze, determined to get through. She was going to push, and hope that she wasn't overstepping the bounds of their friendship.

  "Nerys, the strain is showing. You haven't had a break since the day you took command, I know things are a mess right now, but you're going to have to schedule a few deep breams now and men, or you're going to burn yourself out"

  Kira looked away, and after a moment, she started to speak in a quiet, low tone, indirectly responding to Kas's question. "I hadn't seen Istani Reyla in years, or talked to her. I didn't even know she was here until after she was killed."

  Kasidy already knew mat Kira had been Mends with the monk who'd been murdered on the Promenade, one of the Commerce secretaries had mentioned it at the morning admin meeting, but it was the first Kira had talked about it Probably to anyone.

  "That must have been terrible," Kasidy said softly.

  Kira nodded. "I'm going to miss her. We haven't stayed close, but I'm going to miss knowing mat she's out there."

  1 know what that's like," Kas said, not elaborating. Kira didn't need to share, she needed to get it out

  'If she was just someone I knew from before, it would be bad enough," Kira said, finally looking at Kas again, a wrenching expression of wounded confusion in her eyes. "But she was such an amazing person—at Singha, at the labor camp where I met her... she was a prylar then, and she must have known what I was doing with the Resistance, but she didn't care."

  Kira shook her head, wearing a faint, incredulous smile. "I mean, here was this woman who truly believed that all life was sacred, and I was just a child, and I'd already failed people... and she used to tell me the story about how the Prophets filled the oceans and painted the sky, and she taught me how to braid my hair, of all things... she tried to encourage me to be a child, in spite of what my life was. Or maybe because of what it was."

  "What a gift," Kas said quietly, sincerely.

  Kira nodded, her face waking as though she were trying not to cry, but her voice was as strong and clear as ever. 'Truly."

  Patiently, Kasidy sipped her tea as Kira got hold of herself, aware that she would withdraw from a gush of sympathy. Considering that Nerys prided herself on her near-perfect autonomy, Kas had some idea of the effort it had taken for her to talk about her feelings.

  lime to pull out the fail-safe, a simple but perfectly wonderful trick that Kas had recently discovered.

  "So, are you still going to be godmother to this baby, or am I going to have to find someone else, 'cause you're too busy?" Kas asked.

  The lines of tension on Kira's face almost magically

  lifted, her whole demeanor changing, a more positive outlook reflected in her very posture. Kasidy had
asked her almost a month ago, explaining the honorary term and receiving an enthusiastic yes. They'd only been close for a relatively short time, but their friendship had come to mean a lot to Kasidy. Inviting her to be godmother was Kas's first real solo decision regarding the baby, too, so it felt good to talk about it, to remind herself that she was moving forward instead of .simply waiting.

  "Don't you dare," Kira said. "I promise I'll take a vacation, okay?"

  Kas relaxed. Just seeing Kira smiling again, really smiling, was enough to put any real concern to rest. For Kira, the birth would be doubly blessed; she'd be godmother to Kas and Ben's baby, but also an important figure to the child of the Emissary... although that wasn't a part of it that Kas liked to think about too much. Attention, even fame was going to be unavoidable—they were going to be living on Bajor, after all— but she meant to do what she could to see that their child was protected from the kind of religious fervor that had surrounded Ben.

  Kira took another sup of her raktajino and grimaced, pushing the cup aside as she stood up. "I have to get back to ops. But thank you, Kas. Really."

  She already seemed less exhausted, less stressed. Kas smiled, glad to have been able to help, watching Kira move down the stair spiral with a satisfied feeling. It felt good to have a close female friend again, to know that she could give support as well as be supported when things weren't ideal. It made maintaining a grounded approach to her life a lot easier....

  Kas happened to glance down as Kira was leaving the bar, in time to see the colonel freeze in her tracks— and shoot a startled, suspicious glance all around her. It was only for a second; Kira seemed to realize that she was in public, such as it was—only Morn at the bar, less than a dozen patrons scattered throughout the bar— and then she turned and quickly walked out before anyone noticed her behavior. But Kas had seen it, and felt her good mood stilled by that odd look. Because it meant that Nerys might be in trouble, real trouble.