Proud Helios

by Melissa Scott

  She heard footsteps in the corridor, the soft sound barely audible above the gentle hiss of the ventilators, and turned instinctively so that she had her back to the corridor. A polished cover plate gave a distorted reflection of the scene behind her, and she fixed her eyes on its bronze surface, pretending to work at the console's limited touch pad. She heard the footsteps come closer still, and then, in the bronzed panel, saw the green-veiled shape that was unmistakably Diaadul move past, heading down the crossover bridge toward the docking ring. Kira held her breath, then made herself count slowly to a hundred, and then to a hundred again. That was the way she had always done it in the resistance, stayed in hiding, counting heartbeats, until it was clear to move again…She shook that thought aside—this was not the time for those memories—and peered cautiously out of the alcove.

  The corridor was empty except for another pair of technicians, both Starfleet, this time, heading back toward the main body of the station. Kira stepped out of the alcove, conscious of their curious looks, and started toward the docking bay. Once in the crossover bridge, there was no place Diaadul could go except into the docking ring, but even so, she moved carefully, glancing into any alcove or storage space that might afford Diaadul cover. They were all empty, and she paused at the airlock that led into the docking bay.

  "Kira to Sisko."

  "Sisko here."

  The commander answered with reassuring promptness, and Kira allowed herself to think that this might work, after all. "Diaadul's entered the docking bay. She should be coming your way."

  "Confirmed," Sisko answered. "You've done all that you can, Major. Join us here."

  "Very good, sir. Kira out."

  Kira released the communicator, studying the door suspiciously. Diaadul was beyond there, and the gods only knew what sort of weapon she had under that veiling—there was room enough to conceal a small arsenal. If she had calculated right, the Trehanna would be far ahead of her, heading directly for the docking port and Carabas, but Kira had been in the resistance long enough, had seen enough operations go desperately wrong, to be able entirely to trust to luck. She had her hand on her phaser as she opened the airlock's first door, was ready to draw as the system cycled and the inner door rolled back, opening onto the dimly lit corridors of the docking ring.

  There was no one in sight, not even cargo handlers. Kira took a deep breath, no longer embarrassed by the practiced caution, and turned right, toward the cargo bay. It seemed that Sisko had cleared the corridors, or maybe it was just between the busy parts of the day and night shifts; at any rate, she met no one until she stepped through the hatch into the vast open space of the bay. She hesitated for a moment, and a cargo pod shimmered, the rounded shape twisting, stretching up and changing color until it had resolved itself into Odo's familiar shape.

  "Major," he said. "This way."

  Kira caught her breath—even knowing Odo, knowing he was on their side, it was hard to get used to the sight of his changes, of apparent flesh and bone flowing like the liquid he truly was—and made herself answer without emotion. "Diaadul's on her way."

  "Over here," Odo said again, and Kira followed him through the maze of stacked crates and pallets to the hatch that gave directly onto the docking port. The great disk of the hatch was rolled back—standard procedure, when a ship was loading or off-loading a cargo—and Sisko and a pair of security men stood in its shadow, the youngest of the men peering carefully into the corridor.

  Sisko nodded a greeting at their approach, but said nothing, his attention clearly on the space beyond the hatch.

  "Anything yet?" Kira asked, and the younger security man ducked back into the doorway.

  "I hear someone now, sir. I think it's Diaadul."

  "Thank you, Liebowitz," Sisko said, softly, and gathered his command with a glance. "You all know what to do."

  There was a murmur of agreement, and Kira found herself smiling fiercely. Oh, yes, she thought, I know exactly what to do. She drew her phaser, checking the power pack automatically, and saw Sisko's eyes on her.

  "Stun only, Major," he said, and drew his own weapon.

  "Sir," Kira said, not without regret, and adjusted the setting. She could hear something herself, now, footsteps, and, even more faintly, an odd, rustling sound. She frowned, cocking her head to one side to listen, and realized that it must be Diaadul's veil, the glossy folds of fabric skirring against each other.

  "Wait for it," the older security man said, his voice a mere thread of sound, just above a whisper, and Kira saw Liebowitz relax slightly. She eased forward, keeping well in the shelter of the hatchway, flattened herself against the bulkhead at Liebowitz's side.

  The footsteps were louder now, and then she heard a different step, louder and more heavily shod, and a man's voice said, "So there you are, Lady. We've been expecting you."

  "Good," Diaadul said. She no longer sounded demure, Kira thought; this new voice was almost painfully incongruous with the heavy veil. She looked at Sisko, waiting for the signal, feeling her own shoulders painfully tense.

  "Now," Sisko said, and stepped into the corridor.

  Liebowitz was moving as he spoke, and Kira was right behind him, darting out into the corridor to get between the smuggler and his ship, phaser ready in her hands.

  "Hands up," she said, "get your hands up now."

  The smuggler—it was the blond, Möhrlein—turned, dangerously quickly, and Kira swung her phaser to cover him. "Freeze!"

  He did as he was told, lifting both hands in instant surrender. "Major Kira, isn't it? What's wrong?"

  He didn't sound as though his heart was in the protest, and Kira ignored him, kept the phaser leveled. At her side, Liebowitz did the same, his eyes wide, and the older security man circled cautiously to get behind Diaadul, cutting off their escape.

  "Gentlemen," Sisko said. He was still in the hatchway, his own phaser already holstered again. "And lady. Or rather, it's only one gentleman, isn't it? Where's your partner, Möhrlein?"

  Möhrlein hesitated only for a fraction of a second. "On board. Commander, I must protest—"

  "Pointless," Odo cut in, with one of his edged smiles.

  "Get Tama out here," Sisko said. He stepped out of the hatch, touched keys on the intercom that connected the ship to the docking port.

  Möhrlein just looked at him, the handsome face gone suddenly hard and still. Kira had seen that look before, the cold calculation that would spend blood and lives, including his own, to get what he wanted, and lifted her phaser in answer.

  "Don't even think it, Möhrlein."

  He looked at her, and she saw the faint relaxation, shoulders slumping fractionally, that told her he'd believed her threat. "All right," he said, to Sisko, and stepped over to the intercom.

  "Call him out here," Sisko said again, and stepped back from the panel, though he kept his hand on the controls.

  Möhrlein nodded, and Sisko released the switch. "Kerel? We're busted."

  "What—?" Tama's voice broke off, and Sisko slammed his hand on the controls again.

  "Tama, this is Commander Sisko. We have your partner and Diaadul under arrest. Come out with your hands up—you've got no place to go."

  There was a little silence, and then Möhrlein stirred. "Kerel. Do what he says."

  There was another pause, and Kira found herself holding her breath. If Tama didn't do as he was told, they would have to force him out of his own starship—not an easy job at the best of times, and one they didn't have time for now. Or was Sisko tough enough to bluff them, threaten Möhrlein?

  "All right," Tama said, and Kira released her breath in a long sigh. "I'm coming out."

  "Hands on your head," Sisko said. "And slowly, please, Mr. Tama."

  Automatically, Kira backed away from the short ramp that led up into Carabas, dividing her attention now between Möhrlein and the ship's main hatch. Liebowitz followed her, more slowly.

  "I'm coming out," Tama's voice said again, this time from the hatch, and a moment later
he appeared at the top of the ramp, his hands clasped firmly on top of his head. He made his way cautiously down the ramp, and stopped at Möhrlein's side.

  "I really must protest," Möhrlein said again, but Sisko ignored him.

  "Odo, make sure they're disarmed."

  "With pleasure, Commander," the constable answered, and moved to search the smugglers. He ran a handheld scanner over first one, and then the other, and then, with an expression of distaste warring with a certain satisfaction, pulled a small phaser from under Möhrlein's loose vest.

  "We travel in a lot of questionable places," Möhrlein said. "I have Federation permits for it."

  "I'm sure you do," Sisko began, and in that instant, Diaadul moved. Ripping herself free of the confining veil, she flung herself for the hatch that led into the cargo bay, shoving the senior security man out of her way. Kira swore, caught flat-footed with the rest of them, and charged after her, Liebowitz at her side. She heard Sisko shouting for the smugglers to stay where they were, and then the commander's voice on the intercom, sounding a full security alert. Lights flashed behind her, the measured red strobing of the security alert, but Kira focused her attention on the dimly lit bay and the slim figure that had disappeared into the cover of the piled crates. She stopped, ducking automatically into the shadow of the nearest, most solid-looking container, and Liebowitz slammed into the metal beside her.

  "Do you think she's armed, Major?"

  "I don't think we should assume she isn't," Kira answered, and peered cautiously around the edge of the crate. Nothing was moving in the heavy shadows, and she took a deep breath. "What's her best way out?"

  "There's only one other hatch," Liebowitz answered, and pointed with his phaser to a red light in the distance. "Over there—it gives onto the main corridor of the docking ring."

  So that's where she's going, Kira thought. She touched her communicator. "Kira to Sisko."

  "Sisko here. Are you all right, Major?"

  "Yes, sir, but I need backup. We've got her cut off—" I hope! "—but we need a security team at the main corridor entrance to the cargo bay."

  "On their way already, Major," Sisko answered. "Keep her pinned down if you can, but be careful."

  "Right, sir," Kira answered, and took her hand off the communicator. It was going to take time to get a team in, especially since Sisko had cleared the area; it was up to her and Liebowitz to keep Diaadul occupied until their reinforcements arrived. She leaned cautiously around the crate again, straining her eyes in the dim light, and wished that the Cardassians had seen fit to install decent lighting. She grinned then, just for an instant—she had taken advantage of the Cardassians' fondness for dim lights more than once in her career—and looked back at Liebowitz. "She's got to be heading for that hatch. Cover me."

  Liebowitz nodded, and edged forward so that he could just see around the piled crates. Kira saw his eyes move, scanning the enormous room, and then he nodded sharply. "Go, Major."

  Kira darted forward, scuttling bent almost double toward the next set of crates. Her skin prickled, she expected every second to hear the snap of phaser fire, feel the searing heat of a beam across her sides or face, and then she was in the shadow of an enormous pile of metal-bound starcrates. She flattened herself against them, breathing hard, and counted to twenty before she peered around the edge of the crate. Phaser fire snapped at her, coming from the left side, where the crates offered no protection, and she threw herself down, rolling up to a shooting position in the shelter of another crate. She saw a shadow moving—Diaadul—and fired twice, the beams leaving green streaks across her eyesight.

  "Liebowitz! Go right, flank her!"

  The young security man responded instantly, and Kira popped up from behind her crate, firing at Diaadul's last position in the hope of providing cover. She saw Diaadul drop back, dodging between two piles of crates, and started after her, crouching low.

  "Cover me!"

  She heard Liebowitz fire again, steady as the best of her people during the war, heard Diaadul return fire, the bolt sizzling past too close for comfort, and ducked behind a single crate. They were getting closer and closer to the hatch, and there was still no sign of the backup team—

  As if Diaadul had read her thoughts, the Trehanna rose suddenly from behind a crate, phaser in hand. She was already closer to the door than Kira had realized, and an awkward target; Kira swore once, already moving toward a better position, and saw Liebowitz rise out of the crates to her right, phaser leveled.

  "Freeze, lady!"

  Diaadul swung around and ducked in the same fluid motion, and Liebowitz's shot flashed harmlessly over her shoulder. She fired in the same instant, and the young man crumpled to the floor. Kira screamed a curse, and flung herself across the nearest crate, steadying herself against its bulk. She fired twice, three times, with barely time to aim, and then Diaadul was through the hatch, and the door rolled closed again behind her.

  "Liebowitz," Kira said, though she was afraid she already knew the answer. She tucked her own phaser in her belt, and hurried toward him, dropped to her knees at his side, feeling for a pulse. There was no blood, but that didn't mean anything. . . . And then she felt the strong beat of his heart under her probing finger, and let out her breath in a gusty sigh of relief. For whatever reason—good sense, maybe, not wanting to risk a murder charge on top of everything else—Diaadul's phaser had been set on stun. She touched her communicator. "Kira to Sisko. Liebowitz is down, stunned. I'm leaving him for the doctor, and going after Diaadul."

  She cut the channel without waiting for an answer, and turned to the hatch. She worked the controls, let the door's heavy disk roll back, and waited a few seconds before looking warily out into the corridor. There was no one in sight—not that she'd really expected Diaadul to hang around waiting for her, not with a security alert in effect and backup presumably on the way—but even so, she moved out carefully, phaser drawn and ready. Where would I go, if I were Diaadul? she thought. She's lost her escape route, and there's no place to go on the station—if I were her, I'd be looking for another ship. Something I could fly myself which means either lifepods or the runabouts. The runabouts are too well protected—the alert will have sealed their bays—so that means the lifepods or nothing. She glanced instinctively at the directional plaques that decorated the walls throughout the station, pointing the way toward the nearest lifepod station or transporter bay, and ducked back as a phaser bolt struck the bulkhead above her head.

  She caught a glimpse of Diaadul ducking back into a cross-corridor, and then she herself was scrambling into the protection of the nearest hatch. She fired twice toward the door, more to keep the other woman pinned down than out of any hope of actually hitting her, and then leaned back against the hatchway, wondering what to do next. If she remembered correctly—and that was always a big if—that corridor was a dead end, and it led into the interior, which meant no lifepods along its walls. And that meant that all she needed to do was keep Diaadul bottled up until Sisko's security team arrived. Where the hell are they, anyway? she wondered, and risked a glance around the edge of the hatch. A phaser bolt snapped past her head, badly aimed, but she saw no other sign of Diaadul. Kira fired back anyway, saw her own beam scorch the edge of the corridor mouth. It was still a stalemate, and she bit her lip, her phaser still ready, searching for some better shot.

  The air further down the main corridor shivered, trembled with the familiar static of the transporter effect: Sisko had decided to beam the security team directly to the trouble spot, but they were materializing inside Diaadul's arc of fire. Kira charged, shouting wordlessly, hoping to distract Diaadul's attention for the crucial seconds the security team would need to materialize and regroup. She fired blindly, expecting every second to feel the freezing pain of a stun bolt—or the heat of a phaser set to kill—and saw her own shots fly wide, striking to either side of the corridor mouth. Then she heard a rumbling, felt it through the corridor floor, and saw the emergency hatch rolling shut, cutting t
hem off from Diaadul. Kira dove for the narrowing opening, not stopping to think, heard one of the security team call her name, and then she was through, the hatch bruising her heels as it slammed home.

  She rolled to her feet, too late aware of her vulnerability, and flattened her shoulders against the bulkhead in a vain attempt to make herself less of a target. Nothing was moving along the narrow tunnel, and she lifted her phaser, held her breath to listen. There were a couple of openings at the far end of the corridor, but those were dead-end rooms, one of them a maintenance bay, the other—She couldn't remember, but Diaadul had to be in one of them. Slowly, phaser at the ready, she took her first steps down the corridor, moving with all the stealth she had learned in her war.

  And then, quite close, she heard a familiar sound, the metallic whine of a transporter. She froze, and then, too late, remembered just what was in the second room. It was one of the station's secondary transporter rooms, designed to move cargo around the docking ring, but fully capable, she thought grimly, of taking Diaadul anywhere on, or even off, the station. She headed for the transporter room at a dead run. It was empty, she could tell that at a glance; she shoved her phaser back into her belt, and bent over the controls.

  "Kira to Sisko."

  "Sisko. What's happening, Major?"

  "She got away, sir." Kira gave the bad news baldly. "She triggered the emergency doors, and used the cargo transporter."

  "Can you tell where she went?" Sisko asked.

  "Just a minute," Kira answered, still staring at the controls. She touched the recall button, and the coordinates popped into view, along with the time of use: Diaadul's coordinates. "Yes, sir. She beamed herself back to the main part of the station, to the lower core—it looks as though she set it for level twenty-nine, near the engineering station." She took a deep breath, and set the controls to automatic. "I'm going after her."