Turning to the small viewscreen on her left, Kira found herself once again facing the round visage of Captain Elaine Mello.
"Glad to see you, Colonel," Mello said. "I've been in touch with the Europani authorities, and we started bringing up the sick and injured who can be transported."
"Good," Kira said.
"Otherwise, they're implementing an evac plan. Wicked efficient, from what I've been able to see so far. They've already gotten most of their children offplanet by using their own civilian vessels, as well as
their military transports. We're only going to have to handle the adults."
Kira breathed a sigh of relief at that—both because the children were already safe, and because it would cut the load the convoy would have to deal with by a third.
Mello went on. "I'm having a copy of the plan sent to you, the Defiant, the Intrepid, and the Rio Grande." Then she frowned, as her gaze moved past Kira. "Colonel, is that—"
"Yes, he's a Jem'Hadar. He's a cultural observer, here on my authority."
"If you say so," Mello said, a dubious expression on her face. "President Silverio said she wanted to talk to you as soon as you were in orbit."
"Thank you, Captain. I'll be in touch shortly. Kira out." She had been grateful that Mello was going to defer to her command. Since Kira wasn't Starfleet, she had been concerned that the captains would take charge, but it seemed both Mello and Emick considered her the mission commander. She probably had Ross to thank for that, and she made a mental note to mention it the next time they spoke.
Mello also obviously had a war veteran's distrust of a recent enemy, but she was apparently willing to defer to Kira's judgment about Taran'atar as well. Kira could understand the captain's concern, but she also understood the importance of Taran'atar's mission. Odo sent him to begin bridging the gap between the Dominion and their enemies—former enemies, she amended. That bridge needed to be built. Kira herself had learned the hard way that not all Cardassians were evil, conquering sadists—though the species has their share of them, she thought, an image of Dukat
floating unwelcome into her mind. But there were good Cardassians—Ghemor, Marritza, Damar in the end, even Garak, to a degree—and Kira had even helped Damar's resistance movement against the Dominion. If she could put aside her lifelong distrust for all things Cardassian to help Damar, she could put aside the last few years of conflict against the Dominion to help Taran'atar's mission succeed. She owed Odo that much, and more.
Pushing thoughts of her faraway lover to the back of her mind, she opened a channel to the surface. Soon after, a tired-looking human face appeared on the screen.
Had Kira met President Grazia Silverio on the Promenade, she would have pegged the older woman as someone's kindly aunt or grandmother, not a head of state. She had short, curly, paper-white hair, a wrinkled if pleasant face, a bulbous nose, and a jowly neck. The deepest wrinkles were next to the eyes and bordering the mouth, indicating someone who smiled a lot.
She was not, however, smiling now. Her face was long, and her eyes were tired.
"You're Colonel Nerys?" she said without preamble.
"Colonel Kira, actually. Bajoran tradition puts the family name first."
"I'm sorry, Colonel. I'm afraid things are a bit hectic right now."
"Understandable, ma'am."
Silverio waved her right arm. "Apf. None of this 'ma'am.' Call me Grazia. I've gotten enough 'ma'am' the last few days to last me until I die. Which probably won't be too long now. And before you say anything, I'm not being fatalistic about the radiation—I'm old,
that means I'm going to die soon. That's the way of the galaxy. But I'm not going to die today, and neither is anyone else. We didn't fight off the Breen just to let some radiation do us in. You've seen the evacuation plan?"
"Not yet." She looked over at Taran'atar, who nodded. "We're receiving it from the Gryphon now."
"Good. We've gotten most of the children off, as well as about a thousand adults. All together that's about a million that have already made it off-planet."
"That's good to hear," Kira said with a small smile. "They can proceed to Deep Space 9. The station's acting commander, Lieutenant Dax, is coordinating housing efforts both on the station and on Bajor—tell the ships to contact her when they arrive."
Silverio nodded. "Our treatment facilities could use some assistance, also—we're running out of hy-ronalin, and our surgeon general tells me that isn't even the best treatment."
"No, it isn't. Euphrates to Defiant."
"Vaughn here. Go ahead, Colonel."
"Commander, have Dr. Bashir contact the Europani surgeon general—"
Silverio said, "Dr. Martino DeLaCruz."
Nodding, Kira continued, "Their hospitals need arithrazine. I want him to organize a distribution program. Have him coordinate with the Intrepid's CMO—the Gryphon's handling the evac of the sick and injured, so let them deal with that."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"That's it for now. I'll be in touch shortly. Kira out."
Silverio said with a tired smile, "Thank you, Colonel. Right now, the remaining population is gath-
ering in each of the five major cities for mass transport."
"Good. We'll use transporters for as long as is practical. Most of the ships can land—" Kira had made sure that the ten Bajoran ships had atmospheric capability, and the runabouts, most of the civilian ships, and the Intrepid all could land as well "—and we'll do that, once the radiation gets past the point where we can use transporters. We also hope to figure out how to cut off the radiation."
"That'd be good. This is our home, Colonel, and we don't abandon it easily."
"You won't have to, ma—Grazia," she amended with a smile. "You have my word, I'll do everything in my power to restore your world."
At that, the president's face blossomed into a smile. "I appreciate that, Colonel. One other thing. We'd like to get Councillor zh'Thane out of here before the radiation gets much worse. She's our invited guest, after all, and it's bad form to give your guests radiation poisoning. She allowed us to use her own ship to transport some of the children off."
Kira was impressed—politicians didn't often make that kind of sacrifice, though she supposed the councillor would put the goodwill gesture to use in negotiations. Not that I'm cynical or anything, she thought wryly. "Understood. We'll beam her to the Defiant as soon as possible."
"Excellent."
"I'll contact you again once I've gone over the evacuation plan. Euphrates out."
President Silverio's face disappeared from the screen.
Kira glanced over the evac plan, which was refresh-
ingly well-ordered, and also similar to a standard Federation evacuation agenda—which they no doubt based it on. "Taran'atar, open a channel to all the ships in the convoy."
"Channel open," the Jem'Hadar said after a moment.
"This is Colonel Kira. At the moment, the theta radiation is within tolerances of the transporters, but the level is increasing and we'll lose that ability pretty quickly. For now, we've got five major cities and a lot of other, more rural areas to cover. The Defiant will handle L'Aquila. The Gryphon will take Spilimbergo, the Xhosa will handle Chieti, the Intrepid and the Goldblatt's Folly will take Padilla, and—" she sighed "—the East Winds will take Libre Pista." L'Aquila was the capital city, though the least populous of the five major urban areas—in any case, Kira wanted Vaughn to deal personally with the VIPs who'd be coming up from there, including Councillor zh'Thane. Padilla was the most populous city, and would require two ships. "The Rio Grande and the Halloran will take the smaller towns on the northern continent, and the Ng and the Euphrates will take the smaller towns on the southern continent. That still leaves a wide range of rural and pastoral land. Colonel Lenaris?"
The commander of the Lamnak fleet said, "Yes ? "
"I want you to divide the remaining land into nine areas and dispatch nine of your ships t
o seek out and transport personnel in those areas. Use your remaining ship to scan the islands."
"Will do."
Kira smiled. Lenaris Holem had been a member of the Ornathia cell during the resistance, and had been involved in the historic Pullock V raid. Later, he'd
been instrumental in defusing a crisis in Dakhur Province over the disposition of some soil reclama-tors. Lenaris himself hadn't made much of his role in that crisis, but those events had led to Shakaar Edon running for, and winning the position of, first minister of Bajor. Kira's former resistance-cell leader had had a most successful reign thus far, and Lenaris's actions had a lot to do with allowing mat to come about.
Lenaris was also deeply religious, she knew, as most of his people must also have been, and he probably wasn't entirely comfortable dealing with Kira as one Attainted by the Vedek Assembly. But Kira also knew that Lenaris was too professional to allow any personal feelings to obstruct his duty, especially if lives were on the line. Kira was grateful that the Militia had assigned him to the evac mission. If anyone could get out all the Europani who might still be in the assorted nooks, crannies, trees, and caves of the planet, it was Lenaris.
"You have your assignments—let's get to work. Kira out."
"Colonel, a moment, please?" Vaughn's voice.
"Be right with you, Commander." She closed the general connection, then went ship-to-ship with the Defiant. "All right, go ahead."
"Lieutenant Dax relayed a communication from Farius Prime. According to our source there, the Iconians are, in fact, peddling two kinds of gateways. Besides the ones we're familiar with, there are also large orbital ones. Apparently, the original Enterprise encountered one a century ago on Stardate 5720.1 think it's safe to say we've got one in orbit here."
"All right. Try to get a sensor reading through the theta radiation and see if you can detect the gate-
way—maybe we can find a way to shut it down before the situation gets worse."
"Aye, sir. Vaughn out."
Kira closed the connection, and said, "Setting course for the southern continent."
"Shields raised for atmospheric entry," Taran'atar said. "There is no indication that the Ferengi's modifications will have any deleterious effect" Then he turned to Kira. "Colonel, may I ask a question?"
"Of course," Kira said, surprised.
"Why did you take command of this inferior vessel instead of the warship?"
Kira smiled. It figures he'd pick up on that. Sure, I could have taken the Defiant myself. It's part of my command, after all. But part of being in command is delegating responsibility,
She said none of mis to Taran'atar, saying instead, "I've always been more comfortable with the runabouts. They remind me of the flitters we flew during the Occupation. The Defiant's too much like the Cardassian ships we fought against."
"You prefer the weapon you are used to."
Kira almost smiled. "Something like that. Entering atmosphere."
The viewscreen became all but useless as the Euphrates entered a thick cloud layer.
Of course, there was another reason, which she felt it was impolitic to mention directly to Taran'atar. While the Jem'Hadar had proven as good as his word so far—and indeed had been useful both against the renegade Jem'Hadar who attacked the station and on Bashir's enforced errand for Section 31—the fact was that most of the crew didn't yet trust him entirely.
Kira had thought it best to have Taran'atar where she could keep an eye on him, and also keep him from interacting directly with Starfleet personnel who until recently might have shot Taran'atar on sight.
A Starfleet captain would have had Taran'atar on the Defiant, a voice in the back of her head said. Probably alongside a speech about how we'll never learn to trust each other until someone takes the first step.
Kira slapped the voice down. I'm not a Starfleet captain.
But that single thought brought with it another— one that had been recurring ever since Starfleet had first come to the station more than seven years ago. The thought had become more prominent since Shakaar had informed her how close Bajor was again to joining the Federation. When that happened, the Militia would be absorbed into Starfleet, and all Bajoran officers and enlisted personnel who chose to stay would have to trade their uniforms for another, one that stood not just for one world, but a plurality. It was, she knew, what DS9 had been about from the beginning. In part it was also what Bajor's role in the relief efforts to Cardassia was about, and this mission to help the Europani—Bajor was learning to think outside the confines of one planet and one people. And if that were true, then the next logical step for Kira would be to put on a Starfleet uniform again, as she'd done to help the Cardassian resistance. She recalled vividly that at the time, it had been a strange fit.
But was it the right fit?
Her musings were interrupted by Taran'atar. "I have another question, Colonel. You and President Silverio indicated that you intend to restore Europa Nova."
"Of course."
"There's no known way to dispose of theta radiation on this scale. The most efficient course would be to relocate the inhabitants to another planet."
"This is their home."
"I don't understand." Taran'atar seemed genuinely confused. "It is simply a planet. To try to restore it is a waste of resources."
Kira shook her head. "There's nothing 'simple' about it, Taran'atar. Saving a home is never a waste."
"Please explain."
She had expected the request to be phrased disdainfully, but Taran'atar seemed genuinely curious. / guess that comes with age, she thought with mild amusement. Taran'atar was twenty-two years old, which made him an "Honored Elder" by Jem'Hadar standards. Bred solely for military combat, few Jem'Hadar lived past the age of ten, and fewer still survived even that long.
Kira started several sentences in her head before finally committing to one. "I've spent my life fighting for Bajor. It isn't just a planet I happened to be born on. It's home."
"You keep using that word. My home has always been where the Founders tell me to be. A Jem'Hadar's home is his unit."
Seizing on that statement, Kira said, "A people can be defined by where they come from. Who the Bajorans are is shaped in part by our world. It's part of what ties us to the Prophets. The Cardassians didn't belong there, so I fought them. All my life, I've fought for Bajor because mat is my unit"
She thought Taran'atar would grasp the analogy, but he seemed to focus on something else. "You be-
lieve caring for your home brings you closer to your gods?"
"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," she said neutrally.
"Yet your gods cast you out."
On reflex, Kira's hand went to her right ear, which had gone unadorned since she'd been Attainted. "Not my gods," she said, quietly but firmly. "Only a few men and women who claim to represent them."
She thought Taran'atar would challenge her statement. Instead, as the clouds outside the viewport cleared, he reported, "Entering lower atmosphere. Setting course for the southern continent."
As the Euphrates scanned for life-forms and began beaming people up, nothing more was said about homes and gods. Kira was both annoyed and grateful. Annoyed, because it was in her nature to argue and defend her position, and she was damned if she'd let some Jem'Hadar make light of her devotion to her homeworld. Grateful, because her being exiled from the Bajoran religious community was still an open wound, and the conversation was taking a direction that would surely pour salt on it.
Part of the problem was her own inability to convey her feelings about faith properly. She remembered something Istani Reyla had said to her when she was a child: "One does not explain faith. One simply has it or does not."
And Kira did have faith—in Bajor, and in the Prophets. She always had. It had kept her going during those cold whiter nights in the caves, hiding from the Cardassian patrols, with not enough clothes to keep her warm, unable to build a fire for fear
of being
detected. It would keep her going now, too. After all, the Prophets didn't "cast me out," Vedek Yevir did. If I learned nothing else from Kai Winn's thankfully brief reign, it's that even the clergy isn't perfect.
Part of it might also have been that Taran'atar was struggling with his own crisis of faith ever since he returned from Sindorin. Questioning Kira about her own spiritual dilemma was the only way he had to at least attempt to resolve it. He simply wasn't equipped to cope with the doubts that had taken root in his mind. She understood his turmoil; to some degree, she even shared it. But she would never lose faith, never give up.
She wouldn't give up Europa Nova, either. These people, in their own way, fought for their home, same as she always had, whether against the Cardassians or the Dominion, and she would make sure they wouldn't lose it, either.
"Ready to transport the first wave, Commander." Vaughn nodded to Chief Jeannette Chao as she manipulated the controls in transporter bay one. The Defiant's primary bay was fairly small—there was barely room for Vaughn, Chao, and Ensign Gordimer. The other transporter bay on deck two, as well as the cargo transporter on deck three, were performing similar functions. They would keep going until they had approximately a hundred and fifty refugees, then head back to Deep Space 9 to drop them off.
Getting so many people onto a ship with a normal complement of forty was going to be something of a challenge, particularly when most of them would be the upper echelons of the Europani political structure. The burden on life-support would be consider-
able. Still, Vaughn thought, "needs must as the devil drives." Vaughn had also made sure that Ensign Gordimer had issued hand phasers to the security staff, just in case.
Chao manipulated the controls, and seven humans materialized on the platform, along with one tall, familiar Andorian: Charivretha zh'Thane. Her feather-like white hair had been styled in a manner that made her head look like a negative-image zletha flower, complete with antennae substituting for the stamen, a blossom with blue petals and a white stem.
At the sight of Vaughn, she broke into a smile. "Elias? Is that really you?"
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