Jake had said no. But when his father notified him that the problems would keep him away for hours, Jake got bored. He contacted Nog and asked what was happening in the Promenade. Nog wouldn’t say, but he had promised that it would be great. This time Jake paused only for a moment. All he could do in his quarters would be to pace while he worried if his dad was all right.
Being busy was better.
Nog moved with a typical Ferengi scuttle that somehow seemed faster than regular human pace. Jake had to hurry after him. He was afraid the lights would go out again and the smoke in the corridor made him uneasy.
“Nog,” he said, “I think maybe we should go to my quarters. I have an old-fashioned chess set that my father brought from Earth.”
“Flat board?” Nog asked.
Jake nodded. He had been wanting to try it since he had first seen it.
“No challenge in it. And besides, you won’t bet.”
“You don’t bet on chess.”
“My father does,” Nog said.
Jake sighed. Nog’s father bet on everything. Nog didn’t seem to understand games played without wagers. “Where are we going?”
“Just wait. You’ll love it.”
Nog had said that about sautéed grub beetles too. Jake couldn’t eat food that still moved. Still, he followed Nog toward Quark’s. They took the stairs leading to the second level of the Promenade. Their boots rang against the metal. The sound sent a shiver down Jake’s back. Usually the Promenade was so noisy that he couldn’t hear himself think, let alone walk.
When they reached the top Nog led him to the solid glass wall that looked down into Quark’s. No one sat in the bar. The Dabo girl leaned over her table looking bored.
“No one’s in there,” Jake said. “I think we should go to my quarters.”
But Nog wasn’t paying attention. He was using a small laser driver to take off a panel on the wall. Quietly, he set the panel on the floor, then looked around. Jake looked too. They were alone.
Nog crawled into the hole. “Come on,” he said, his voice echoing.
Jake’s heart pounded in his throat. His father had better be busy in Ops. Jake could get grounded for more than a week for this. His dad had given him strict instructions to stay out of the service areas of the station. They were just too dangerous. But it seemed that standing out in the hall arguing with Nog would cause more problems. So he ducked inside.
The service walkway was hot and lit with tiny lights on each side of the flooring. Probably emergency lighting. If everything shut off now, he and Nog would be in deep trouble.
Nog reached around him and refastened the panel.
“This better be worth it,” Jake said.
Nog raised a finger to his lips. “It is,” he whispered.
A bead of sweat ran down Jake’s face. The service walkway they crouched on extended toward Quark’s. When it reached the bar, it became a catwalk, supported by cables. It did look interesting. “Where does this go?”
“Holosuites on both sides,” Nog said, pointing. “Follow me.”
Jake stared at the wall where the suites were. He really didn’t want to see what happened in those suites. His dad had explained the facts of life to him years ago, but what his dad described and what happened in the holosuites didn’t sound like the same thing at all. Just the thought of some of the stuff he had heard made his stomach twist.
Bent over in almost an apelike crouch, Nog led the way down the service walkway between huge cables, blank walls, and support beams. Jake followed, his damp palms sliding on the metal. Something pierced his thumb, and he stifled a cry. Nog looked up at him with a frown and put a finger to his lips again. Jake paused, wiped his hands on his pants, and continued his descent.
Suddenly Nog turned to the right and followed an even thinner path over what looked to be the ceiling of a room. Jake could hear talking and laughing from below.
“ . . . really matter,” a male voice said. “Just gets rid of some of the competition.”
“Well,” a woman replied. “I’m not sure I want to play with the kind of riffraff who believe in killing the opponent.”
“Never played poker, have you, lady?”
The voices made Jake freeze. They had a harsh sound that he didn’t like. Nog stopped and pointed.
At first Jake couldn’t figure out what it was he was supposed to see. Ceiling tiles, support joists, and the backs of light fixtures stuck through the tiles. He inched closer. The voices became a blur.
“I saw my dad and Quark in here last week,” Nog whispered. “They were laughing about how much this would make them when the tournament started.”
Tournament? Poker? Quark was up to something, and Nog knew about it. Jake examined the area Nog was pointing to. Attached to the back of a normal, small light fixture was a sophisticated sensor system. “What’s it for?”
Nog punched his shoulder. “Look, there are a bunch of them. One over every table.”
“Why?”
Nog looked at him as if he were an idiot, so Jake studied the sensors spaced throughout the ceiling. From what he could remember from the unit Chief O’Brien did at school, these sensors would be able to not only record visual data and sound, but all medical data of any person they were pointed at.
Laughter resounded below. Jake jerked back, startled. Nog put a hand on his shoulder.
“There’s going to be a big card tournament,” Nog whispered. “Come here.” He led Jake over to a small hole in the ceiling where a tile had slipped slightly, letting a sliver of light into the darker service area. “Look through there.”
Jake did as he was told. Below, the room was brightly lit. The table had a green felt surface, piled with chips and cards. From his vantage point, he could make out the legs of one man sitting in a chair. In the man’s hand were cards.
“Your dad’s cheating?” Jake asked, turning back to Nog. “He can see every hand of cards.”
Nog laughed quietly. “Yeah, isn’t it great? With those sensors he can see every detail in the place and judge someone’s emotional state. I just wish I knew where it was being broadcast to. Wouldn’t you just love to watch the monitors?”
Jake just crouched there looking at his friend. No, he thought, actually, he wouldn’t.
CHAPTER 8
“MAKE THIS FAST,QUARK,” Odo said. “I have a murder investigation to conduct.”
Quark took a kerchief out of the pocket of his sweater and wiped his brow. The environmental controls were still out, and Odo’s office was hotter than ever. They couldn’t leave the door open because Quark didn’t want anyone to know what they were doing.
With a sweep of his arm, he pushed aside everything on Odo’s desk. Odo moved quickly to catch files before they fell to the floor. Odo’s deep frown made Quark feel a little better, anyway. Although nothing could make him feel good. The murder had only added to the complications. Quark had another worry he hadn’t even discussed with anyone.
The Grand Nagus.
If the tournament succeeded, the Nagus might want to buy the bar. He had hinted as much the last time he visited Deep Space Nine. If the tournament did not go well, Quark would be embarrassed in front of the Nagus.
And then there was the matter of the entrance fee. All of the Nagus’s money was supposedly destroyed with his ship. He asked Quark to front him the entrance fee. Quark could hardly say no.
He didn’t want to think about what would happen if the Nagus lost. The Nagus never paid his gambling debts.
“I hope you had a purpose in clearing my desk,” Odo said.
Quark reached into his other pocket and pulled out a regular deck of cards. He slapped it on the desk’s surface. “Sit down. I’m going to teach you to be the best player in the quadrant.”
“I don’t want to be the best,” Odo said. “And I have already learned how to play.”
Quark leaned forward, hand still cupping the deck. “Every single player here is the best in the quadrant. The only way you’ll survive lo
ng enough to play more than one round is by being one of the best yourself. Now, I’m going to start with the basics.”
Odo sighed, sat down, and leaned forward. “Not too basic. I have already looked up poker in the computer. It’s quite simple.”
“Simple?” Quark sat down. The heat made it hard to breathe. “You have never gambled and you think poker is simple?”
“It seems quite logical to me.”
“Don’t you understand, Odo? These are the best poker players in the known universe. We can’t put you up against them.”
“We will, or I will shut the game down,” Odo said. His half-finished features looked calm.
Quark wanted to strangle him. Odo could be calm, of course. His life wasn’t on the line. The Grand Nagus wasn’t threatening his profit. No, all he had to do was be a ringer and he wasn’t going to be very good at that.
“I understand the rules,” Odo said.
“No, you don’t,” Quark replied. “Do you know what a bluff is?”
“When a player pretends he has a better hand than he does.” Odo leaned back. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“It’s the essence of poker! You have to bluff! Everyone bluffs!” Quark knew he was shouting, but he couldn’t stop.
“I prefer to be direct,” Odo said.
Quark buried his face in his hands. Odo would get caught and Quark would be the laughingstock of the gambling world. He would never hold another tournament again. All that money . . .
“Quark, I have an investigation so I need to cut—”
Quark brought his head up. No use fighting it.
These were the cards he was dealt. He took a deep breath. “Poker has several variations. We are going to play Seven Card Hold’Em.”
Odo held up his hand to stop Quark. “I learned the game from the computer. There is no need to waste my time and—”
“We are going to waste your time,” Quark said, barely controlling his temper, “if we are wasting my money with this stupid idea. Now let me continue.”
Odo nodded and Quark went on. “Seven Card Hold’Em means that seven cards are dealt and the best five cards win. That’s the basis of the game. Nothing more. You understand that?”
Odo shrugged. “It sounds like all the other seven card poker games I read about.”
“It’s not,” Quark said. “This one requires a lot more skill. And remember, poker is skill.”
“It’s all chance. You can’t control the cards you’re dealt. Unless your dealers will make sure that—”
“That’s childish cheating!” This heat was impossible. Quark stood up and began pacing. “Poker is a game of skill. The skill comes in the bluff. Anyone can win with a bad hand if that person bluffs well and never has to show his cards. Do you understand?”
“I understand that bluffing is very important to you.” Odo folded his hands on the desk. “Now, would you please finish?”
Quark shuffled the deck and sighed. “I’m sure it won’t make a difference.”
“Excuse me?” Odo said.
Quark ignored him and dealt two cards to Odo and himself. “The dealer will give you two cards facedown like this. Don’t show them to anyone else, no matter what. After you get those two cards there is a round of betting.”
Odo picked up his cards.
“Betting is the essence of poker.”
“I thought bluffing was,” Odo said.
“If you didn’t bet, you would have no reason to bluff.” Quark sat down. He should have been checking on his surveillance system. He should have been mingling with his guests. He should not have been teaching this unfinished, serious-minded security officer how to play a game.
“I don’t think I like this game,” Odo said. “It seems far too easy.”
“You don’t have to like it. You just have to play it.”
Odo sighed. “All right. Please finish.”
Quark refrained, but just barely, from tossing the entire deck at Odo. After a few more deep breaths, he dealt three cards faceup. A queen of hearts, a six of spades, and a deuce of spades. Nice. With the king and five of spades in his hand, he had a nice flush going. Too bad he wasn’t really playing. “After the betting has stopped,” he said, “the dealer will put the next three cards in the center of the table, faceup. That is called the Flop.”
“Why?” Odo asked again, staring at the cards Quark had placed faceup between them.
“Because it creates flop sweat,” Quark lied. He wiped his face again. “Don’t ask what flop sweat is.”
“I’m not sure I want to know.” Odo turned a card upside down in his hand. He moved his hand close to the three cards in front of him.
“Don’t do that!” Quark said. “You don’t want anyone to see in your hand.”
“You mean they’ll look?”
“Let me explain this to you again.” Quark set his cards and the deck down. “Poker is a game of skill for liars and cheats. It is a great way to make a lot of money on the strength of a single lie. Most tournaments are set up so that no one cheats. But there is no rule against peeking into another player’s hand. Nor is there a rule against getting a player to blurt out his hand. If someone suspects that you are a novice, they’ll tell you all sorts of lies. If you have any questions, you ask me. Is that clear?”
“Very clear,” Odo said. “In fact, clearer than it has ever been. I can handle cheats and liars.” He pulled his cards closer to his chest, but not before Quark saw the three and four of spades. If only he had that knowledge in a real game. If only Odo were a true player who would bet on a possible straight flush, the best hand there was.
Quark shook his head. It would be a long night. “Another round of betting goes on after the Flop,” he said, letting his exhaustion and disappointment creep into his voice. “Then the dealer places a fourth card faceup on the table.” Quark did so. It was the five of spades.
Oh, perfect hand. Quark had just dealt to Odo the inside card of a straight flush. With the knowledge he had and that hand he would have destroyed anyone in a regular game. But this wasn’t a regular game. And Odo had the hand.
“Then there is a final round of betting,” Quark said. “And finally the dealer places the fifth and last card on the table and there is one more round of betting.”
Quark turned up the final card. The queen of diamonds. What an interesting group of cards. It would have made for great play in the tournament.
Odo nodded, studying the two cards in his hand and the five on the table. Quark was certain that Odo had no idea what he was looking at.
“You make the best hand you can using the two cards in your hand and any three cards on the table. When the betting is done with the last round, you have what is called the Showdown.”
“The Showdown?”
“An accurate term,” Quark said. “The person who made the last raise in the bet must place his cards faceup on the table to show his hand. If another player thinks he has a better hand, he must then show it also. The best hand takes all the bets.”
Odo nodded, still staring at the cards. “I think I understand. It is a very simple game.”
Quark half snorted, then said, “I’m sure you do understand.”
Odo glanced up at him with a slight smile. “I understand it’s your money I’m playing with.”
That thought almost sent Quark into tears, but he choked them back. He stood to leave, but then another thought occurred to him. “That security uniform of yours might make some of my guests a little nervous,” Quark said to Odo. “Could you wear some other clothes?” Quark realized he had never seen Odo in anything but his brown Bajoran garb. “Do you own any other clothes?”
“Don’t be stupid,” Odo said, and leaned forward as his brown uniform turned a molten red, then reformed into a blue and orange civilian jumpsuit. “I don’t own any clothes.”
CHAPTER 9
THE LIGHTS FLICKERED AGAIN.
“Hang on,” Sisko said and reached for the edge of the communications board in
front of him. All of Ops shook, but the officers stayed at their stations. They had become used to the rumblings.
Sisko wiped his face with the back of his hand. He didn’t know what it was about Cardassian engineering that meant that places grew stifling hot when the environmental controls went down.
O’Brien crouched over the engineering station, his hands shaking. About four A.M. he had grabbed a moment and fixed the replicators. Now he was on what must have been his tenth cup of coffee—the old-fashioned kind. With caffeine. Without looking up O’Brien said, “We lost a few of the lifts that time and power is out in two of the docking bays. A light one compared to the last few.”
A light one. They were all getting used to this. Sisko remembered a friend who had spent a decade in Tokyo once saying that people who lived in earthquake country never relied on the ground. He was beginning to understand that. “Dax, what have you got?”
Dax hadn’t moved from the science station all night. Even though her posture remained erect, the shadows under her eyes made them look black and blue. She had been coming off a shift when this started. “It’s the same, Benjamin. I’m not getting anything except those subspace fluctuations. They run across a number of bands, but randomly. I can’t pinpoint any direct cause.”
“Neither can I,” said Carter, the slender woman who had arrived at two A.M. to take Dax’s place. The relief crew had shown up, but the original crew had not left.
All of his officers were showing the strain of the odd events. Sisko moved to the station beside communications. He had punched the same diagnostic every hour hoping for a change. Still no external evidence of damage. No external cause. It was as if the station were experiencing its own earthquake—as if something from inside were causing the rumblings and the power fluctuations.
But that didn’t feel right to him, especially since the Cardassians had experienced the same phenomenon. Those subspace fluctuations were a clue. Something that the crew couldn’t see, something that their sensors could barely detect, was harming the station. Sisko wanted it to end.
THE BIG GAME Page 5