CHAPTER
        1

"ON-SCREEN!" CAPTAIN DOLRAS snapped, lowering
himself into the command chair. He leaned forward
and stared at the main viewscreen. What was that
strange dark cloud?
    The other Klingons around him fell silent. None
of the gruff banter that normally broke the monoto-
ny of space travel now, Dolras thought, allowing
himself a mental nod. Yes, they were a good crew,
even if they had to serve aboard a military freighter
like the Toknor.
    Now, with only the electronic chatter of instru-
ment consoles and the soft, habitual ratcheting
sound of the crew's leather vestments breaking the
silence, Dolras looked to his left, to Lieutenant
Kotren. His science officer might be young, but
Dolras expected nothing less than excellence




trom hlm, and he expected it now. "Sensor up-
date!"
    Kotren stared at his screens, a puzzled look on his
face. He didn't know what was out there either,
Dolras realized. None of them had ever seen any-
thing like it.
    "We still lack positive readings," Kotren said. "I
am recalibrating the primary array."
    Disgruntled, Dolras turned his attention back to
the main viewscreen. The forward image showed
only a vague, hazy, clouded area of space with no
clear boundaries. Yet it showed up as an energy field
of some kind.
    "The anomaly continues to block our path," said
Thrann, Dolras's first officer, who had taken the
helm at his captain's request.
    Dolras squinted as he leaned forward, baring his
sharp teeth, privately savoring his own instinctive
reaction, that of a hunter considering his prey, a
warrior sizing up a possible foe. Space travel had
changed the Klingon heart very little, had not less-
ened the unfailing urge to embrace confrontation, to
accept challenge, Dolras thought. But he needed
more than instinct here. Passion alone would not
make the image or a proper course of action any
clearer.
    His mission was a simple one: survey a sector of
what the High Council considered non-Dominion
space in the Gamma Quadrant, collect sensor data
and geological samples, and then return to the Alpha
Quadrant. The risk lay in determining if the sector

truly was outside the Dominion's primary bound-
aries--which, as far as Dolras was concerned, had
proven to be the case.
    Several unknown vessels had dogged his trail from
time to time, but none had dared to challenge him.
In fact, except for the odd cloud, the mission had
been quite unremarkable. There had, however, been
one other exception.
    Two days ago the Toknor had encountered the
remains of a Karama ship--the Karama were a race
known to do business with the Jem'Hadar. The ship
had been almost completely destroyed, and there
was ample evidence to attribute its destruction to
extremely high-energy weapons fire. Since establish-
ing their recent presence in Cardassian space,
officers of the Klingon Empire had gathered a con-
siderable amount of intelligence on the Jem'Hadar.
While it was true that the Jem'Hadar possessed
formidable weapons, the Toknor's computer could
not attribute the Karama ship's destruction to any of
them.
    Two unknowns, Dolras thought, still observing the
second one. He didn't like it. Could there be a
connection?
    Dolras had stayed near the Karama ship as long as
he could, examining unremarkable long-range sen-
sor reports. Then he had moved on, deeper into the
Gamma Quadrant and farther away from Dominion
space, all the while wondering what was out there
waiting for them.

2                                                                   3




    So Iar he considered the mission a success because
it had resulted in a considerable store of new plane-
tary and even some cultural data of the kind that
could be analyzed to provide valuable trade and
military intelligence. And Klingon mission parame-
ters did not necessarily include the investigation of
space phenomena, which ordinarily was all well and
good to Dolras's mind. But this unidentified energy
field had been following his freighter ever since the
Toknor had left orbit around a small, rather unre-
markable planetoid roughly one-quarter light-year
back. Sometimes it was ahead of them, and some-
times it was behind. It almost seemed to be studying
them.
    At present the energy cloud lay dead ahead. But
not for long, if Dolras had anything to say about it.
    "Evasive maneuvers, Thrann," Dolras told his
first officer. "Maximum impulse." He would see
exactly what their little cloud did. Thrann quickly complied.
    Dolras watched as the ghostly patch of space,
some five hundred meters across, appeared to re-
main stationary in the viewer as the Toknor changed
course.
    "The field continues to pace us," Thrann re-
ported.
    Dolras frowned. "How far are we from the worm-
hole?" They were in no immediate jeopardy, as far
as he could tell, but this anomaly was becoming a
real concern.

"At warp six, two-point-one days," Thrann said.
That was nearly the maximum sustainable speed
for the Toknor, but Dolras knew he could squeeze
warp six-five out of her for at least two-point-one
days. And in any case, there was no reason to believe
the anomaly was capable of warp speeds. The Tok-
nor had been completing a sensor sweep, traveling at
three-quarters impulse since leaving the vicinity of
the planetold.
    "Bring us one hundred eighty degrees about,"
Dolras ordered. He watched closely as the anomaly
circled to the Toknor's stern. Good, he thought.
    "Set a direct course for the wormhole and prepare
to go to warp. But wait for my order." Dolras looked
up. "Kotren!" "Sir?"
 "Tell us something worthwhile!"
    His science officer turned, forehead ridges damp
with sweat, his expression intensely serious.
"I am still evaluating our data," Kotren said.
Our lack of data, Dolras thought. He knew Kotren
was giving his captain and crew everything he had.
Some years ago, Dolras would have censured the
young officer even so, but not now. Not yet, he told
himself. He had been in space for too many decades;
he preferred to save his energies for times that truly
required them. Whatever phenomena his ship had
encountered, it was clearly outside even the com-
puter's knowledge.
 Dolras steadied himselfi "This thing is playing a

4                                                                   5




game with us. I want to know more about it. Prepare
a sensor probe for launch. We will investigate this
energy field up close and find out why it insists on
following us."
  "At once!" Kotren said.
    "The probe data may make it possible for you to
determine the cloud's purpose," Dolras continued.
If it has one, he thought. But he suspected it did, and
he was intent on determining what that purpose was.
    "The probe is ready," Kotren announced a mo-
ment later.
  Dolras looked to the main viewer. "Launch!"
  "Probe launched," Kotren said.
    "On screen," Dolras said. The low-pitched ping of
the departing probe resounded through the ship, and
he watched the main viewer as the tiny machine
propelled itself across the narrow gulf between the
Toknor and its unwelcome shadow.
    "We're receiving specific telemetry and sensor
data," Kotren began.
    Dolras watched the probe vanish into the energy
field, almost as if it had been absorbed.
    "The field is chiefly composed of positively
charged plasma particles," Kotren continued. Then
he fell silent.
    "Continue!" Dolras demanded. He had to know
what was happening.
    "Sir, we have lost contact with the probe," Kotren
said. "I am attempting to reestablish--"
 "Then what is that?" Dolras snapped, leaping to

his feet. He jabbed his finger at the screen as the
proberathe same probe they had just launched--
exited the thin, cloudy anomaly and arced back
toward the Toknor. He took a step toward the screen.
    "I see it, Captain," Kotren replied, glancing fran-
tically from the screen to his consoles and back.
"But we are receiving no telemetry. The probe no
longer registers on our sensors."
    Dolras narrowed his eyes. It did not register? How
could that be? He could see it. "Turn it around and
send it back," he said evenly, sitting again.
    Kotren attempted to comply, then turned back to
his captain. "We still have no control over the
probe."
    "Thrann!" Dolras shouted. "Regain control of the
probe. If that is not possible, put a tractor beam on
it!"
    Dolras watched Thrann tap at his controls, then
shake his head. He worked again, and Dolras
watched the screen as the pale orange light of the
ship's tractor beam reached out and engulfed the
probe... and the probe passed through it.
    "I cannot explain it," Thrann said, his voice tense.
"The beam is having no effect. It is as if there is no
probe there to lock on to."
    "Then destroy the probe," Dolras said. He nod-
ded to himself. That would certainly solve the
problem. "Target disrupters."
    "Powering disrupters. Target acquired," Thrann
said.

6                                                7




  "Fire!"
    Dolras saw the beam strike out at the probe--and
pass straight through it with no apparent affect.
    As he noted the probe's course, Dolras needed no
instruments to tell him what would happen next.
"Shields up," he ordered. "Prepare for impact!"
    He braced himself as the probe arrived at the
Toknor, but instead of the expected impact and
explosion, the probe passed through the shields with
only a flicker of color, then continued into the ship
itself. No contact was felt.  "Report!"
    "No impact registered," Thrann said. "The probe
seems to have vanished."
    Dolras swore under his breath as he stared once
more at the anomaly--this strange curiosity that
was well on its way to becoming his most vexing
adversary. Still, the cloud seemed to present no
immediate danger of any kind, only an unsettling
mystery to be solved. He frowned. He didn't like
mysteries.
    "Close to within two hundred thousand kilome-
ters," he told Thrann. "Modify our forward disrupt-
er array to emit a diffused electrostatic charge,
reverse polarity."
    "That could disrupt the cloud's entire energy
field," Kotren said.
    "Or it could send that thing, whatever it is,
running for home. Either way there will be sparks
enough to see what it looks like with a light shining
on it."

    Thrann acknowledged Dolras's comment and
went about the task. A moment later he raised his
head. "Ready," he said.
    "Watch it closely, Lieutenant," Dolras told
Kotren. "This is our only chance to learn something.
Thrann, are we ready to go to warp?" "Yes, Captain."
 "Activate the disruptor array."
    Dolras leaned back, watching the main viewer, as
a bright red beam of electrostatic energy hit the
cloud. It began to seethe with movement. Yellows,
oranges, and pinks swirled this way and that. Dolras
gaped. It was beautiful, almost mesmerizing.
    Seconds later a blinding light burst from the
cloud. Dolras shielded his eyes while the computer
compensated for the increased brightness.
    "What was that?" he demanded of Kotren.
"Status!"
    Warning klaxons abruptly sounded. Dolras tried
to blink the white-hot spots from his eyes, to no
avail.
    "We are being bombarded with an intense wide-
spectrum radiation beam," Kotren replied. "Every
system on the ship is approaching overload status.
Recommend--"
    "Go to warp, Thrann!" Dolras shouted. "Engage,
engage!"
    "Coming about," Thrann reported, hastily ma-
nipulating the helm controls. "Engaging now."
    On the screen, the stars spun in a quarter circle,
then sprang back to became long, narrow lines of





light that seemed to stream away in all directions.
Dolras took a deep, calming breath. Perhaps the
disruptor array had been a mistake. But at least they
were safe now.
    "Captain," Thrann said after a moment, "the
energy field is pursuing us, matching speed and
course, continuing to accelerate."
    Dolras felt a hardness in his stomach. Warp
speeds, it seemed, were not an advantage.
    "I have it on aft visual," Kotren said. "The field
seems to be changing, taking on a distinct shape."
    "Put it on the main screen," Dolras told him.
"Maximum magnification."
    To his surprise the image that sprang into view
was nothing like the cloud. It had come together into
a vague blocky shape, and though it was indistinct,
he recognized the lines of a long hull and warp
engines.
  "A starship," Thrann said.
    "So it would appear," Dolras said. But who were
they? What did they want? "Identification?"
    "None yet," Thrann said. "Our sensors cannot
pick it up."
    "Impossible," Dolras scoffed, clenching one fist as
the frustration built within him. "I have never heard
of a cloaking device like this, but now that it is
down, we should be getting some readings."
    "Their technology must be well beyond our own,"
Thrann said grimly. "I recommend firing on it, with
or without a lock."

10

    "First, open hailing frequencies," Dolras said.
"Tell them to identify themselves and break off their
pursuit, or we will open fire. Thrann, prepare a
photon torpedo."
  Both officers did as they were told.
    "No response to our hails," Kotren said a minute
later.
  "Torpedo ready," Thrann said.
    Dolras closed one eye and fixed the other on the
dark object still following his freighter. He felt a
twinge of earned pleasure. Enough was enough.
"Fire torpedo," he said.  "Torpedo fired."
    "Tactical onscreen," Dolras said, and the desired
display filled the main viewer. He watched the
computer's representation of the torpedo as it trav-
ersed the distance between ships. It appeared to
strike the target precisely.
    "Direct hit," Thrann reported. "No detonation.
No effect."
    "How is that possible?" Dolras said, coming half-
way out of his seat, then lowing himself heavily back
down. He clutched the arms of his command chair.
  "The torpedo has vanished," Thrann replied.
  "Fire again! Fire at will!"
    Dolras watched a second torpedo track toward its
target as precisely as the first, followed by yet
another. Both quickly vanished, leaving their objec-
tive untouched.
 "Torpedo detected on course toward us," Thrann





announced, and Dolras heard the agitation in his
voice. Despite their training and seasoning, his crew
members had little actual combat experience. Still,
they were Klingons: they would perform their du-
ties, and he would do the same.
    "Divert as much power as possible to aft shieldsT"
he said. "Target incoming torpedo."
    "Enemy torpedo closing," Kotren announced.
"Configuration unknown. I am reading it as a high
energy plasma burst."
    "Fire!" Dolras ordered. If they could detonate the
enemy torpedo before it hit their ship, they would be
spared the worst of its effects.
    Thrann fired the Toknor's fourth torpedo. Dolras
tensed as it flew a brief intercept course and met the
incoming torpedo exactly.
 "No effect," Thrann said.
    Dolras sat back. No such thing was possible, and
yet...
 "Brace for impact," he said.
    As the words left the captain's mouth, the Toknor
heaved suddenly forward, then shook with a vio-
lence even he was not prepared for. The aft screen
went instantly white with brightness from the explo-
sion. Around him, power relays overloaded. The
bridge went dark, lit only by flashes and sparks from
instrument panels as numerous systems shorted out.
    Dolras held on to his chair, teeth bared, growling
deep in his throat, finding no words to express his
fury. Smoke filled his nose and throat. He watched
his Ops officer scramble to put out a fire that had

started near the science station. Blood and burn-
marks streaked the side of his face.
    Dolras forced his growl to become a speaking
voice. "Status!"
    "The impact of the plasma burst nearly collapsed
the aft shields," Thrann reported. "I am attempting
to compensate."
    Dolras rose and made his way across the bridge to
Thrann's station. The Toknor was already at warp
six-point-three, the fastest speed anyone could ex-
pect from such a ship. He watched the readout
change: warp six-point-four. His mission was to
return with the information and samples he had
spent so many months gathering--not a glorious
mission, perhaps, but an important one nonetheless.
He did not intend to fail.
    "Continue on course for the wormhole," Dolras
said. He tapped at the console's intercom control.
    "Engineering, I want everything you can give me,
do you hear? Warp seven would be a good start!"
    "Yes, sir!" came his chief engineer's resounding
reply.
    Good, Dolras thought. Someone knew how to
respond to an emergency.
    "When we reach the Alpha Quadrant, we can
arrange to rendezvous with a Klingon attack force,"
Dolras told Thrann privately. "Together we will
know victory, and we will finally learn who is behind
this."
 Thrann nodded.
 Dolras reached out and tapped the main controls,





removing the tactical display from the main screen
and restoring the external forward view. Then he
stood back, staring at the image in silence.
    "Captain?" Thrann asked, looking up, watching
his captain, "what are you looking for?"
    Dolras held steady for a moment, then he raised
one hand and placed it firmly on his first otficer's
shoulder. "Stars," he replied. "I wanted to see the
stars."

$

CHAPTER
        2

"A LITTLE MORE synthale," said Quark, DS9's Fer-
engi bar owner, as he hovered over Rom's shoulder.
    "Don't worry, brother, I followed your instruc-
tions exactly," Rom replied, sounding annoyed but
patient, at least so far, as he finished mixing the
batch of cloudy green punch.
    Someone has to worry, Quark thought with a
mental sigh. Rom had been given a week off from his
regular maintenance duties on the space station and
had agreed to help out at the bar for those few days,
just like old times. Already, though, Quark had
begun to regret the arrangement; there was nothing
worse than an employee who wasn't afraid of being
fired.
    "It's not that I think the Aulep are terribly picky,"
Quark explained, getting back to the subject at hand.





"In fact, they don't strike me as a very discriminat-
ing bunch at all. But I want everything to go right.
This is too good a deal to let it get fouled up by some
little detail, and I have a reputation for attention to
detail."
    "You do have a reputation, brother," Rom said
evenly.
 "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "I am only agreeing with you." Rom grinned as he
handed the pitcher over.
    Quark wrinkled his broad, grooved nose and
curled his upper lip back slightly, letting the pointed
tips of his uneven teeth show. "Well, spare me," he
said. He waved the punch under his nose, checking
the smell, then shrugged, flipped the lid shut, and set
the pitcher under the counter. He turned his back on
Rom, temporarily dismissing him.
    Slowly he glanced about the bar, sizing up the
crowd. Quark's Place was busy but relatively peace-
ful for now, which was just the way he liked it. And
as evening approached, it would only get busier. He
always looked forward to that, to long lines at the
Dabo tables and the holosuites and the bar itself, but
he felt especially good whenever a lucrative acquisi-
tion was at hand--and tomorrow there would be
one.
    The Aulep came from an unexplored part of the
Gamma Quadrant. A rather tall, thin, bony-faced
race with dark orange skin, sparse black hair, and
bright green-and-yellow clothes that seemed always

to clash with their bodies, they had been anything
but inconspicuous during their short stay on the
station a few weeks ago. But the visitors had pri-
vately expressed a pressing desire to begin trading
on this side of the wormhole--and trading, in
particular, with Quark.
    "We understand you are the one to see," Leth, the
chief Aulep representative, had explained after tak-
ing a seat in a quiet comer of the bar, away from the
other patrons.
    "Then you are an understanding people," Quark
had glibly replied, already able to smell the latinurn.
    "But is it true?" Leth had pressed, his long, bony
face getting longer. When Quark quickly assured
him it was, Leth had hinted at the broad strokes of
the Aulep's trading plans and their expectations
regarding Quark. But that was all. Quark had done
his best to strike a deal on the spot, but all the Aulep
would do in the end was agree to return in the weeks
ahead and talk some more.
"I'm ready right now!" Quark had insisted.
"Good," came the reply. Then Leth had gotten up
and wandered out onto the promenade, leaving
Quark to sit and imagine--which, when it came to
business dealings, was something he had always
been very good at.
    In fact, he'd been thinking about the Aulep's visit
until this very day, when the Aulep were scheduled
to return.
 "I'll be counting on you to help out while they're





here," Quark told Rom, as his brother moved back
down the bar, drawing near. "Do you think you can
handle that?"
    "Of course I can," Rom said resolutely. "Have I
ever failed you, brother?"
    "Don't start. This is serious. I've already begun
brokering a possible deal. I received a communique
from an Aulep representative only a few days ago."
    Rom seemed clearly intrigued. Quark let him,
enjoying the audience his brother provided, one he
had rather missed lately, though he would never
admit it. From all reports Rom was becoming a fine
technician, but Quark knew only too well that Rom
didn't share his brother's head for business, some-
thing Quark had never quite gotten used to. But in
part because of his lack of understanding, he usually
took an interest in Quark's dealings--the master at
work, a glimpse at greatness, that sort of thing.
Which was something Quark understood perfectly.
    Rom moved around the end of the bar and took a
seat directly across from Quark, then leaned closer.
"So what do they have to offer?"
    Quark lowered his voice. "Nothing unique. Just
natural and synthetic minerals, commercial mer-
chandise, the usual. It's the quantities I'm interested
in. What seems to interest them is a few clean deals.
It seems they have almost no gold-pressed latinum.
I, of course, do."
  "They need currency," Rom said.
    "Exactly. And I intend to supply it." Quark leaned
toward the nearer of his brother's very large rounded

ears and lowered his voice still further. "As I under-
stand it, the Aulep are willing to trade a cargo hold
full of trellium crystals for gold-pressed latinum at
an exchange rate of nearly two to one."
    Rom nearly gasped, but this quickly turned into a
conspiratorial snicker. Quark couldn't help but join
in.
 "Sounds almost too good to be true," Rom said.
 "I know," Quark said.
 "But what will you do with the crystals?"
    "Ahh, well," Quark said, waving one hand at
Rom, "that's the best part. As I was saying, I've
already contacted, urn, let's just say a special buyer,
who is quite interested to say the least. Everybody
wins, especially me."
Rom tipped his head in a congratulatory nod.
Quark and his brother had had their differences,
some of which could not be bridged, but Rom had
always given Quark credit where it was due, which
was what Quark liked about him. And Quark had
every intention of doing the same where Rom was
concerned... sooner or later.
    Quark let his gaze wander toward the entryway
just as Lieutenant Commander Worf came in. The
Klingon cut a striking figure. His long black hair,
pulled back in a ponytail, the stark Klingon forehead
ridges, and the trimmed black beard seemed to
complement the red and black of his Starfleet uni-
form. Klingons looked more natural in dark leather
and metal, Quark thought, though right now he was
glad there weren't any of the "natural" kind around.

19





Khngons had already proven to be more trouble to
Quark than they were worth as customers. They
were prone to violence, and it usually cost more to
clean up after them than they spent. Definitely not
good for business.
    Worf paused to scan the room, then sat down at
the far end of the bar. Alone.
    "So tell me everything about these Aulep, their
customs, th$ir secret weaknesses," Rom prodded,
apparently still intrigued by the depth and breadth
of the upcoming deal.
    Quark was less than eager to go into greater detail.
"Ah--there really isn't much to tell," he said.
    "What about their other trading partners? Have
you made contact with any of them?"
    Quark eyed Rom cautiously. He was almost too
interested, as if he was fishing for trouble. "I don't
know any of their other trading partners," Quark
said flatly, letting his irritation show in his voice.
"Not yet, anyway. They're from halfway across the
Gamma Quadrant, as I said."
    "I know that," Rom said. But he looked suddenly,
genuinely concerned as he stared at Quark.
    Quark did not enjoy the scrutiny. "What's the
matter?" he asked.
    "You don't know a thing about them, do you?" It
wasn't a question.
    "Well, not really," Quark admitted. "But I know
what I need to know. More than enough to start
dealing with them, and I'm a very fast learner."
 "But since these Aulep are not from our part of

the galaxy, you have no idea whether you can trust
them or what kinds of trading they are used to.
Suppose they require the ear of your closest relative
as part of the deal?"
    Quark's eyes widened. He couldn't tell if Rom was
joking. "Then I'd say you're lucky you have two
ears."
  "That's not very funny," Rom said.
  "Well, you're talking nonsense."
  "What I mean is, there are too many, um..."
      Rom seemed to be searching for a word. "Varia-
bles?" Quark suggested.  "Yes, exactly."
    Quark allowed himself an audible sigh. He knew
what he was doing, most of the time; he'd even
surprised himself now and again. Rom had appar-
ently lost sight of that. "Have a little faith in your big
brother, Rom. The truth is, I can make any deal
work."
    A commotion at the other end of the counter
called their attention. Worf had gotten up again, and
he was clearly displeased. He stared at the two
Ferengi, and it suddenly occurred to Quark that he
was simply looking for a little servicemand that he
probably shouldn't be kept waiting.
    "Go see to Worf's needs personally," Quark told
his brother, waving both hands at him, shooing him
along. "All he ever wants is prune juice anyway."
    A shout arose from the Dabo table. Quark
watched for a moment, then relaxed when he real-
ized it was just a Tosarian freighter crewman sud-

20                                                                  21




denly thrilled about his winnings... which, Quark
trusted, would not be too large. But this was the kind
of trouble he reveled in. Big winners tended to turn
into big spenders, loud partiers, and holosuite
junkies.
    He sat back and breathed in his bar's thickly
scented air, full of strange alien smells mixed with
the ever-present aroma of countless spilled drinks.
Yes, with a new deal in the making, it felt good to be
alive.
    The breath caught in his throat as Odo, the
station's shapeshifting security officer, cut between
patrons and headed straight for him.
    "Constable!" Quark said, grinning officiously at
Odo. "What can I do for you today?"
    "I'm a little troubled by some of what I just
overheard," Odo said. He sat down and tipped his
head to one side.
    Quark found his expression difficult to read.
Odo's smoothed-over features and slicked-back hair
lacked detail and authenticity, but they amounted to
the closest version of a humanoid Odo had so far
been able to accomplish. His appearance was almost
comical, but Quark had learned the hard way that
Odo wasn't usually joking.
    "Odo, didn't anyone ever tell you it isn't polite to
eavesdrop?"
    "Yes, they did, unless it happens to be part of your
job."
    "Well, don't let it trouble you another moment.
There isn't anything going on here that should

22

concern you. Just another lovely, busy day at
Quark's?'
    Odo's brow went up. "I think I'll decide for
myself, if you don't mind. Now, tell me all about this
deal you're setting up with the Aulep."
  "Aulep?"
  Odo nodded.
 "There isn't much to tell."
 "Tell me anyway."
    Quark had been in this sort of conversation be-
fore. He seldom won. This time, though, he felt that
he was on fairly solid ground. "It's a simple business
transaction--trellium crystals for latinum, which
the Aulep can get converted into whatever currency
they might need. I'm doing this station a favor, you
know. You should thank me. Captain Sisko has
encouraged me to trade with races from the Gamma
Quadrant, especially races outside the Dominion,
and that's exactly what I'm doing."
    Odo made a face that passed for scorn. "Perhaps,"
he said, "but I thought you said you don't know
anything about the Aulep--what sort of people they
are, who their enemies are, what their motives are,
little things like that."
    "And I don't have to." Quark grinned. "That's the
beauty of it. Rule of acquisition number--"
    "You might want to reconsider," Odo said, cutting
him off. "I remember the Aulep's initial visit here a
few weeks ago, including my security interview with
their leader. If you'd like, I can look it up for you in
my reports. As I recall, they didn't get along very





well here, even though they were only on the station
for a few days. Several station occupants filed com-
plaints against them. You filed one yourself. They
tried to cheat at the Dabo tables. You may recall
some of this. Stop me anytime."
    "Yes, yes," Quark replied, waving at the air be-
tween them as if the idea itself hung there. "A
minor... minor misunderstanding, as it turned
out. Once I explained the rules to them, they were
fine."
  "I don't believe you, Quark."
  "You never do."
  "And why is that?"
    Quark's mood soured at Odo's patronizing grin.
He sat crossing his thumbs, watching his customers.
Worf sipped the drink Rom had just brought him.
Garak, the station's resident Cardassian tailor, came
in from the promenade with Dr. Bashir. Quark
thought Garak and Bashir made an odd combina-
tion. Garak was one of the savviest beings Quark
had ever encountered, with a past in Cardassian
intelligence that would not bear close examination,
while Julian Bashir was a bright but somewhat less
initiated human with a past marked largely by
academic distinction.
    Unlike Cardassians and Klingons, Bashir and
Garak got along just fine. The brief war between
Cardassia and the Klingon Empire, and the Kling-
ons' continued presence in this sector, had created
problems for everyone. Yet the Cardassians looked
more like Klingons than humans; the distinctive

artery-bearing ropes of cartilage that fanned out on
either side of their necks was unique, but both races
possessed prominent head and facial ridges. Even
their governments were similar, each featuring a
long history of predominantly military rule. Never-
theless, it seemed almost no common ground existed
between the two races.
    Quark watched Garak and Bashir pass. They
greeted Worf without incident, as he had expected.
    Two Cardassian junior officers came in next, paus-
ing as they passed by Worf, raising caution in
Quark's mind. DS9 didn't get many Cardassian
visitors these days, only an occasional freighter or
scout ship, and many of them remained quite bitter
about the Klingons' attacks on their territories.
    Quark girded himself, already running a mental
tab of what the damages might come to should a
situation erupt. The sight of Worfs Starfleet uni-
form would likely help to subdue these unaccus-
tomed visitors, but one couldn't be sure. He watched
the two pause slowly behind the Klingon, where they
stopped.
    Worf turned and set his drink down. "Are you in
need of assistance?" he asked loudly and clearly,
civil but with a look that did not match his civil
words.
    "None," one of the Cardassian officers replied.
They glanced at one another, then back to Worf.
Quark tried to remind himself that Odo was stand-
ing right there, but he was relieved just the same
when the two young officers moved on.

24                                                               25





"Something troubling you, Quark?" Odo asked.
"Not a thing," Quark replied, letting himself
relax. He watched the Cardassians take seats at an
upper-level table.
    "They make you nervous, don't they?" Odo re-
marked.
    "No, of course not," Quark said. "Nothing to
worry about. Everything is under control. And it
won't be any different with the Aulep. You'll see."
    "Quark, exactly where in the Gamma Quadrant is
the Aulep's home planet?"
  "Nowhere near the Dominion. I asked."
    "I see," Odo said. "But do you have any coordi-
nates or regional data? And are you absolutely sure
the Dominion doesn't have designs on them?"
    "I know what I need to know, for now," Quark
said with a scowl. He didn't like the direction this
conversation was taking. "As for the Dominion, why
don't you go ask the Aulep?"
    "I just may do that, but you're missing my point.
You see, if I were going to do business with someone,
I'd at least want to find out where they lived and who
their enemies were."
    "You don't do business," Quark said smugly.
"You don't know the first thing about making a
profit. You've never understood it, and you never
will."
 "It that so?"
 "Yes."
    "I could read you the summary in my file report,
Quark, but what it says is that the Aulep's manner

26

and attitudes imply a level of greed, antipathy, and
general disregard for others that would make you
look absolutely philanthropic."
 "I'11 take that as a compliment."
    "Fine. Meanwhile, I trust you won't mind if I
learn more about them when they arrive, and before
you get yourself in too deep, I suggest you do the
same. You should listen to your brother, Quark. He
could be right; for all you know, you could be
laundering stolen goods."
    "Don't be ridiculous," Quark scoffed. "These
people seem legitimate enough to me."
    "Oh, well, that makes me feel much better," Odo
said dryly, rolling his eyes.
    "Well, it should. Like I said, it's a straightforward
business transaction. I know that much. The rest is
politics, and I try not to get involved in that. If you
don't like the Aulep's manners, get someone to
organize an etiquette class for them, but don't come
to me--unless you need the meeting catered."
  "Simple as that?" Odo said.
    "Precisely. There's no need to get all worked up
over everything that happens around here. Besides,
when business is good, I try not to ask too many
questions."
    "Yes," Odo said, smiling sidelong at Quark, "I'm
well aware of that."
  Quark let his scowl deepen.
    Rom came back and started fixing drinks for
another order. Quark instantly took the opportunity
to join him on the other side of the counter. "You'll




need a hand with those," he said, selecting two clean
glasses, setting them up.
  Rom looked up, surprised. "I will?"
  "Yes, you will."
 "Why, thank you, brother."
    Quark avoided Odo's gaze as he collected a tray.
"Don't mention it," he muttered.
 "Is anything wrong?" Rom asked Odo, pausing.
    Odo stood up. "No," he said, turning to leave,
"not yet."

CHAPTER
        3

CAPTAIN BENJAMIN SISKO, Federation commander of
DS9, sat motionless in his chair, elbows on his
desktop, dark-skinned fingers steepled just below his
chin, listening as Odo delivered his daily station
security status briefing: an Andorian had been
caught shoplifting on the Promenade; a Bajoran boy
had gone missing for several hours, only to be found
napping in one of the cargo bays; the crew of a
scientific research vessel had resisted Odo's initial
efforts to examine their delicate cargo until he
threatened to slap them all in quarantine--and
there had been two fistfights.
 Odo mentioned the Aulep last.
 "Yes," Sisko said, "I remember them."
 "What was your impression of them?"





    "They seemed innocuous enough, as far as I can
recall. Is there a problem?"
    Odo nodded. "Quark is apparently attempting to
orchestrate a trade agreement with them."
    Sisko let his chin bob on his fingertips. That
sounded fine. "I'm glad to hear it. That's one of the
reasons I like having him around."
    "Yes, but unfortunately he's going about it in
typical Ferengi fashion. He's completely in the dark
about these people, and so are we. They're due back
today. I just wanted to let you know."
    "I'm sure the trade agreement will be all right, but
keep an eye on them."
"I'11 do that," Odo said, sounding satisfied.
Good, Sisko thought, considering the matter suffi-
ciently tended to... for now. Odo was perhaps the
most capable security officer he had ever served
with, and his instincts were seldom wrong, which
made his concerns something not to be dismissed.
    "What were you telling me earlier about a fight
among the Ridorians?" Sisko asked.
    Odo breathed a tired sigh. "They walk everywhere
in a column, arranged according to height. A little
while ago, two of them got into a disagreement over
a centimeter." "I see."
    "Finally I offered to shorten one of them and
stretch the other."
    Sisko held back his chuckle. His comm badge
chirped before he could say anything else.

    "Kira to Captain Sisko," the voice of his Bajoran
first officer announced.
 Sisko tapped his badge. "Yes, Major."
    "Are you forgetting something, sir? Your son has
been waiting in one of the runabouts for almost an
hour now. I'm afraid he's going to start without
you."
    "Ah, yes," Sisko replied, raising his lean yet
considerable mass out of the chair. He usually had
too many things on his plate and never enough time
to get to them all, but it was a situation his son, like
his crew, were used to. "Thank you, Major. Tell him
~'11 be right there."
 "Yes, sir," Kira said.
    "I wasn't aware you and Jake were leaving the
station," Odo said. "I didn't mean to keep you."
    "Oh, we're not going anywhere in particular,"
Sisko said. "I haven't filed a flight plan."
    Odo looked puzzled. "Then why is Jake waiting in
a runabout?"
      "Because he wants what every boy his age has
wanted for hundreds of years."  "And what is that?"
    Sisko grinned as he came around his desk and
brushed past Odo. "He wants to learn how to drive."

    Sisko made his way straight to the runabout
landing pads, where he found his son Jake already
sitting at the controls of the Rio Grande, almost
bouncing in the seat. Sisko could hardly blame him.





As he had entered his mid-teens, Jake had grown
into as fine a young man as Sisko and his late wife,
Jennifer, could have hoped for. He was every bit his
father's son. Dark skin and hair, strong features,
gentle eyes, and a smile that always seemed to
work... even on his father. And Jake had compas-
sion, something Sisko thought might be as impor-
tant as a career with Starfleetmwhich was the one
thing he and Jake seemed at odds about.
    Of course, the Academy wasn't the only future,
not even for the son of a Starfleet captain. Although
Jake had stated his desire to explore a different path,
there remained the possibility of his one day attend-
ing Starfleet Academy. At least, Sisko liked to think
so. Right now, however, Jake was spending a lot of
time looking ahead, another consequence of his age,
and something Sisko was glad to encourage. Overall,
Jake's studies were going well, as was his writing; he
was revising a new story about a retired Starfleet
officer who teaches an alien culture to play base-
ball--Jake's favorite sport, as well as his father's.
Sisko had read a draft, and in his opinion, the
work was definitely improving.
    And at the moment Jake was most interested in
learning to pilot a runabout, or at least gaining
enough knowledge to allow him to bring one safely
home should his life come to depend on it... again.
    He'd been lucky the first time, but being stranded
in a disabled runabout on the other side of the
wormhole was not something Jake or his father
wanted to see happen again. Sisko had agreed that a

32

few lessons were probably a good idea. The only
problem was trying to make the time.
    "You look excited," Sisko remarked as he sat in
the left seat.
    Jake's broad grin was irrepressible. "Who
wouldn't be?" he said. "I finally get to do some-
thing."
    "There's plenty to do around the station," Sisko
said.
    "And all of it boring, compared to this, especially
with Nog away. A guy needs a little adventure once
in a while."
 "A little excitement," Sisko agreed.
 "Right. New challenges," Jake said.
 "Exactly!" Sisko grinned. "How's that chair feel?"
    Jake glanced nervously about. "Shouldn't I be in
it?"
    Sisko chuckled. "You can stay there, and I'U take
Ops. Eventually we can switch. We're going to have
to take this a step a time. Do you think you're
ready?"
 "You know I am."
    "I guess I do," Sisko said. He knew Jake had been
studying every system on the station's runabouts for
weeks now, learning all that he couldrathe kind of
knowledge one needed to man the Ops station, in
particular, though he had studied conn as well. And
he had spent considerable time in a specially pro-
gramed holosuite flight simulation, which had gone
a long way toward making a good classroom pilot
out of him. Sisko didn't doubt his son's basic





readiness to sit in either chair, and despite some
nervousness, Jake seemed confident enough. But
this was the moment that mattered. Some things
were best learned by doing. Hands-on. Trial-and-
error.
    "You know what you always say," Jake said,
turning slightly to face the main control panel,
touching lighted pads to bring some of the run-
about's main systems online. "Learning is con-
stant."
  "Do I say that?"
  Jake just smiled at his father.
    Sisko tipped his head to one side, playing along.
"What else do I say?"
  "You say that reason we're out here is to learn."
  "Do I?"
  Jake nodded.
    Sisko knew he had given that speech often enough:
live and learn--or was it the other way around?
That was why human beings were in spaceinto seek,
to explore, to discover. And that was why Jake was
sitting in the pilot seat of a runabout.
    Sisko opened a channel. "Rio Grande to Ops,
we're ready for departure," he said, checking com-
munications as he did so. Jake was busy running his
own systems checks and doing a fine job so far.
    "You're cleared," Major Kira replied. "Outer sys-
tem flight path logged. Good luck, and have fun."
    "Thank you, Major." Sisko glanced to his right.
He found Jake looking back at him and saw what he
thought was just the right balance of anxiety, confi-
dence, and pure enthusiasm in the boy's bright eyes.

34

Sisko let a gentle smile find his lips. "I believe we'll
have plenty of both."
 Jake waited patiently, a runner at the starting line.
 "Go ahead," Sisko said. "Take her out."
    The engines hummed as the runabout lifted off the
landing pad on DS9's habitat ring. Jake was obvi-
ously tense, but he managed to get the ship away and
clear of the station smoothly enough.
    "Now you're going to ease the power up," Sisko
said. "First, what's your heading?"
Jake glanced down. "Zero zero zero mark five."
"Good. Now get us up to speed, but watch the
power balance. The computer should keep the en-
gines aligned, but you'll want to keep an eye on it."
  "I know," Jake said.
  "Good."
    Jake accelerated to one-quarter impulse. He kept
their course steady. Sisko watched with satisfaction
as Jake concentrated intensely on the glowing blue,
white, and crimson readings displayed at his finger-
tips. At eighty kilometers out from Bajor they passed
through the Denorius asteroid belt, and Sisko
watched with ever increasing pride as Jake gently
wove a path through the loose assortment of rocks
and boulders.
    Then, in the void between the Bajoran system's
fourth and fifth planets, Sisko sat back. "Why don't
you try to experiment a little?" he said. "Have some
fun with it!" He gave Jake an encouraging nod.
    He gulped when the ship lurched under them as
Jake attempted his first free turn, working the inertia




 dampeners a little too hard, but the second try went
 much more smoothly, and Sisko forced himself to
 relax.
    The system's largest gas giant lay just ahead. Jake
seemed to take the huge gravity-well in stride, ad-
justing course as the computer lit the appropriate
navigation display. Though Jake grew noticeably
more nervous as the pull of the multicolored Jupiter-
like world made itself known, Sisko let him meet the
challenge, remaining a simple observer. He heard
Jake breathe a sigh as the enormous planet passed by
without incident.
    Sisko didn't say a word. Not bad, he thought to
himself.
    "I'm going to put her through a few rolls and
spirals," Jake said, straight~faced.
    Sisko looked at him, and as he expected, Jake
broke into a chuckle.
    "Maybe next time," Sisko said, shaking his head.
Cute, he thought. "We don't want you getting car-
ried away. I'd say you've done your homework,
though. We'll have you flying at warp speeds in no
time."
    "Thanks, but for now I'll be happy when I can do
this part a little better."
  "Uh-huh. And I think I know why."
    Jake's eyes stayed with the controls. "What do you
mean?"
    "I was just thinking about a certain recent Ba-
joran visitor, a gift by the name of... Elliena, isn't
it?"

    Jake remained silent. That silence, Sisko thought,
spoke volumes. The girl was about Jake's age, bright,
attractive, the daughter of a Bajoran diplomat who
represented the planet's Natural Resource Council.
DS9 had been helping the Bajorans coordinate a
planet-wide studying to determine fully what shape
Bajor was really in, following the long ecologically
and geologically devastating Cardassian occupation.
The consul, his wife, and their daughter had been to
the station several times in the past two months,
giving Jake and Elliena more than enough time to
get to know each other pretty well. Fine people, all
of them, Sisko had decided. And more than wel-
come.
    "You're not getting serious about Elliena, are
you?" Sisko asked, pressing a little.
    Jake squirmed. "Maybe. I don't know. It depends
on what you mean by 'serious'?"
    "Oh, I don't know exactly, but if you start making
plans to attend whatever Bajoran university she's
planning to attend, I hope you'll let me know."
    Jake looked up, a glow on his face. "Okay, I will.
But for now I'd just like to wait and see what
happens, and maybe take her out for a firsthand look
at her own solar system." He nodded toward the
window. "She's never seen any of this for herself."
    "Take Elliena on a flight?" Sisko said, raising his
eyebrows at the boy. "Just the two of you?" That
sounded rather romantic, actually.
  "Once I'm approved, of course," Jake added.




      "Of course. And I'd say all you need is a little
 practice. Actually, you're doing fine."  "I hope I do as well with Elliena."
     Sisko chuckled. He was just getting used to having
 a son who was dating. He and Jake both had a lot to
 learn, but that would never change.
    He focused once more on the control console.
"Let's see if you can bring her around to mark
fifteen," he said. He watched his son execute the
course correction exactly, then said, "You know,
Jake, it sounds as if you think that women are a lot
harder to handle than runabouts."
  "I didn't mean that, exactly."
  "I know."
    A comet came into view to port. Sisko made
mention of it, but Jake seemed to spot it at the same
time. He paced the comet for a time, then, at Sisko's
urging, changed to a course that would allow them to
pass through its tail. As the runabout drew nearer, it
encountered the comet's slight gravitational pull. Ice
and dust particles swirled about them, just beyond
the ship's twin observation windows. Jake worked at
the controls to smooth their course and acceleration
again.
    "You're thinking about a lot more than just sight-
seeing, aren't you?" Sisko said, watching Jake as the
runabout continued on its way.
    Jake nodded. "Elliena would love to see this, don't
you think?" he said, as he looked out into the
comet's tail.
 "Yes, I do."

    "I'd be glad to help you in any way I can," Sisko.
said. "That is, if you want me to. But if you're
anything like me, most of what I tell you is going to
go in one ear and out the other. The truth is, like
piloting, relationships are an area where experience
is one of the best teachers."
 Jake sighed, then added a grin. "Don't I know it!"
     The shuttle's comm chirped, followed by the voice
of Lieutenant Commander Worf. "Go ahead," Sisko answered.
    "Captain, you asked to be informed when the
Aulep arrived. They have just come through the
wormhole and are maneuvering into docking posi-
tion now."
 "Thank you."
    "Captain," Worf added, "the Aulep are asking to
speak with you as soon as possible. They insist I
inform them as to where and when that will be.
Flenn, their mission commander, says the matter is
quite urgent."
  "What matter is that?"
    "Unclear. He indicated an interest in establishing
better relations with the Federation. Nothing more."
    "Doesn't sound all that urgent," Jake commented,
keeping his voice just above a whisper.
    "No, it does not," Worf answered, his tone imply-
ing a certain level of annoyance with the subject.
    Sisko gathered from this that the Aulep had al-
ready managed to leave a mixed impression. Still, he
would keep an open mind. After all, most people
had good reasons for acting the way they did. He





doubted the Aulep's situation was unusual, but
sometimes, he thought, looking at Jake, even little
things could seem much more important to one
person than they did to others.
    In any case, he wasn't in a position to take
anything or anyone associated with the Gamma
Quadrant less than seriously.
    "Very well. Tell him something will be arranged as
soon as I return. Sisko out." He turned to Jake. The
lesson was about to be cut short, and there was
nothing he could do about it. It was the sort of thing
that happened too often between them, but Sisko
was getting better at making it up to Jake, and he
thought Jake was getting better at understanding
why it happened.
  "Think you can take us home?" he asked.
  Jake nodded. "Yes, sir."
    "We'll make time for another lesson soon, I prom-
ise." He put his hand on Jake's shoulder.
    "I know." Raising his hand, Jake gripped his
father's fingers briefly, then he returned his attention
to the console.
    Sisko watched Jake take the runabout through a
slow turn out in the middle of nowhere. They had
been here before, he realized, in a hand-built Ba-
joran light-sail spacecraft, and in the process they
had repeated a piece of history, discovering the truth
in the ancient Bajoran legends.
    "Steady as she goes," Sisko said, as the Rio Grande
straightened and began its trek home.

0

CHAPTER
       4

SISKO FOUND mm~E visitors waiting for him in his
office when he arrived back at DS9. The Aulep
greeted him with smiles that looked strikingly hu-
manoid. They were a bit short, none more than five
feet tall, and their orange skin and garish clothing
hurt Sisko's eyes almost as much as they offended
his fashion sense. Were the Aulep color-blind?
    One of the three stepped forward and extended a
small but thickly boned hand. Sisko took the hand
and shook it firmly. The alien's grip was strong, but
the flesh was smooth. And what was that sweet,
almost perfumelike odor?
    Odo stood silently by, keeping them company.
Sisko exchanged glances with his security chief,
found solidarity in the other's eyes, then turned his
full attention to the Aulep.




"I'm Captain Sisko. Welcome to Deep Space
Nine."
    "Flenn," the other said. "I am fascinated by this
custom of yours."
    Sisko decided Flenn meant the handshake. "It's
an old one."
    "Intended to assure others that you hold no weap-
ons, I assume," Flenn suggested.
    "I suppose that might have something to do with
it."
    "Quite sensible, I think," Flenn said. "There are
many things about this station, and about Starfleet,
which impress me already, and I have only a little
knowledge. Of course with your help, that will
change."
"I intend to be as helpful as possible," Sisko said.
"Then the future looks bright, wouldn't you
agree?"
    "Most of the time," Sisko said, sensing a need for
increased caution, finding the Aulep's manner per-
haps too ingratiating.
    Up close, the Aulep had a rather leathery com-
plexion, accented by a darkening of the skin along
their broad cheekbones, their prominent chins, and
the ridge where human eyebrows would have been.
The eyes themselves, deep red and unblinking, glis-
tened with moisture and at first gave an impression
of innocence. Sisko remembered this from his brief
meeting with these same Aulep some time ago. He
reminded himself how deceptive visual impressions
could be.

    Sisko sat on the front corner of his desk. "I
understand you want to talk about diplomatic rela-
tions. What sort of arrangements do you have in
mind?"
    "To begin with," Flenn said, "we are interested in
forming a limited alliance."
    "And why is that?" Odo asked. He glanced at
Sisko, as if to ask belated permission to speak. Sisko
nodded once.
 "We have many reasons," Flenn replied.
    "Of course you do," Odo said, looking to Sisko
again.
    "Which are?" Sisko sensed that the answer might
be harder to get at than expected.
     "Do you want me to list them?" Flenn asked,
losing just a bit of his amiable manner. "That would be fine," Odo said.
    "I came to speak with Captain Sisko," Flenn said,
turning away from Odo and folding his arms.
    Sisko's brow went up. The Aulep clearly had
secrets. "I see. But Odo makes a valid point. It will
be necessary for us to learn a good deal more about
you and your people, your history, your culture,
your neighbors--and for you in turn to learn about
the Federation--before we get to that stage. Are you
at war?"
    "At war?" Flenn said, making a tight face. "Cer-
tainly not."
  "Are you planning to be?" Odo asked.
    "No," Flenn said instantly. "You speak as if we
were part of some offensive armada."




  "And why would we think that?" Sisko asked.
    "We understand your concern, of course," Flenn
said, "but you needn't worry."
    Sisko was beginning to see something of an eva-
sive pattern in Flenn's responses. "You know, we
have no idea exactly where you're from," he said.
    "A distant sector of the Gamma Quadrant,"
Flenn replied. "I thought that had been established.
It makes little difference at the moment."
    "It might," Sisko said. "You see, I was thinking in
terms of coordinates."
    Flenn glanced at both his companions, who said
nothing but seemed to communicate on some level
all the same. Sisko had the feeling this was not
uncommon.
    "Captain," Flenn said, "any information you de-
sire will eventually be given. But for now we do not
need the coordinates of your Earth in order to meet
or negotiate with you; we do not require the Federa-
tion's historical or cultural r6sum6 or your own
personal history. Most of that, we believe, is your
business. And we trust that as information is re-
quired, you will supply it."
"That is a very pragmatic approach," Sisko said.
"Thank you. We are interested in the present and,
most importantly, in the future. No disrespect is
intended, Captain, but is such an approach beyond
your abilities?"
    Odo opened his mouth to respond, but Sisko held
one hand up, staying the words. He turned and
stared at Flenn, silent, unblinking, considering the

other's words. He watched Flenn's big red eyes;
somehow they didn't seem nearly so innocuous now.
In fact, the longer he and Flenn stood staring at each
other, the more nervous the alien seemed to get, as if
he'd placed a bet and was waiting for the wheel of
chance to stop its spin.
    "That's just it," Sisko finally said, "you never
really know."
    Flenn seemed to stumble over this, though he said
nothing. Sisko decided to treat Flenn's last question
as an honest one and not sarcasm.
    "However," he went on, "I think we can probably
get started."
Flenn blinked several times. "Good. Very good."
The mood in the office seemed to soften. Sisko
went around behind his deck and sat down. He
motioned the Aulep to chairs on either side of him
and Odo, but the visitor seemed content to stand.
  "What would you suggest?" Sisko asked.
    "I've given that much thought," Flenn replied,
apparently pleased to have the meeting back on
track. "Perhaps you would agree to join us for
dinner aboard our ship--say, in an hour. We can
discuss this at greater length. Your trade ambassador
has already agreed to be there. I'm sure the meeting
will be productive."
    Sisko cocked his head. "Our... trade ambas-
sador?"
  Flenn nodded. "Yes, Ambassador Quark."
    "All, yes, of course. Ambassador Quark." Sisko
shook his head, then did his best to contain a snicker





as he glanced to one side and encountered Odo's
scowl. "As a matter of fact," he said, "I wouldn't
miss it."

    Sisko stepped off DS9's docking ring and into the
Aulep vessel a few minutes late, only to learn that
Quark would apparently be later still. The Aulep
commander seemed to take this all in stride. Sisko
followed Flenn and his two companions down sever-
al dark, narrow corridors, until they emerged sud-
denly into brightness.
    The dining quarters aboard Flenn's ship were
magnificent, and tinged with the sweet perfume-like
smell of the Aulep themselves, mixed with the
promising aroma of unseen foods.
    Rich, lavishly embroidered tapestries covered the
ceiling, while the walls were done in finely detailed
murals, most depicting a much greater banquet hall.
Dozens of extravagantly dressed Aulep had been
painted into the scenes, all of them enjoying a
bountiful feast. The painting, combined with the
rich aroma of whatever was cooking nearby, made
Sisko feel as if he were actually there himself, in the
mural, about to participate in the feast.
    Highly polished golden rails ran throughout the
room, all firmly affixed to the walls and deck; the
center rail passed by the main table.
    "Beautiful, aren't they?" Flenn said, apparently
noticing Sisko's stare. He placed one stout little
hand on the rail nearest him. "A holdover from an

earlier time. An elegant means of getting around or
steadying oneself, from before the modern age of
artificial gravity and inertia dampeners."
    "You keep them as part of a tradition, then,"
Sisko said.
    "More or less. There is no longer a need for them,
which is why they are considered fashionable, of
course."
 "Vanity," Sisko said.
 "Yes," Flenn said without hesitation.
    Sisko nodded understanding as he continued to
look around.
    The table itself was pure white. Under its glasslike
surface clouds of light-colored mist swirled about,
the whole thing reminding Sisko of a piece from a
giant crystal ball.
 "You must do very well, economically."
    "I assure you we do," Flenn said, grinning. Then,
apparently sensing the seriousness of Sisko's mood,
he asked, "Does this concern you?"
    "Not necessarily. Tell me, do all your people share
in that wealth, or is it reserved for a select few, as
you?"
    "Many are well off, some are not--as in any other
universe. The division of wealth will always be
unequal, certainly. I'm sure it is no different on your
world."
    "That is something we ought to talk about. Many
worlds in the Federation have overcome that
problem."




    Flenn stared at Sisko for a moment, straight-
faced, then a hint of the smile returned. "Ah! You
are joking. I understand."  "I wasn't joking."
    Flenn's expression soured abruptly, bringing
darker coloring to the raised, already darkened areas
of his face. Sisko watched him glance briefly at his
two companions again, then turn back. "In that ease,
you are apparently talking in circles. Testing us
somehow. Which means you are trying to spoil this
pleasant occasion, I think, and for no clear reason.
Am I mistaken?"
    "I assure you that I mean no insult, and I make no
judgments. I'm simply stating a fact."
    They eyed each other for a moment, and Sisko
sensed the tension was not so great as it had seemed.
The Aulep were easily incensed, but their ire ran
shallow.
    "Perhaps we do need to clarify a few points,"
Flenn said.
    'Tll be honest," Sisko told him. "I tend to have
certain personal reservations about anyone who
regards status and pretense too highly. However,
that does not mean we can't make considerable
progress in planning future Federation-Aulep rela-
tions. I can certainly see why you and Quark have
been able to get along, though. The Ferengi are as
acquisitive a species as I have ever encountered."
    "We were under the impression that most Federa-
tion races were like the Ferengi," Flenn said.

 That doesn't surprise me in the least, Sisko
thought. He cleared his throat, but held his tongue.
  "I trust I haven't missed anything? Quark said as
  he hurriedly entered the room, practically on cue.
    "We were just discussing how well suited you are
to working with the Aulep," Sisko said. "In fact, I'm
thinking of asking you to volunteer your services as
official liaison between Deep Space Nine and the
Aulep people... uh, Mr. Ambassador."
    Sisko held Quark's gaze. The Ferengi hardly
skipped a beat. "I--I'd be honored, of course,
Captain," he said. "It's the least I can do."
    "Good. I'll let the two of you start discussing your
trade interests soon. But in the interest of clarifica-
tion, the three of us should spend some time discuss-
ing Aulep culture, as well as some of the Federation's
more prominent races--just to get to know each
other. Nothing you don't feel comfortable with, of
course. And perhaps you will tell me about your
goals. You are interested in more than trade, I
assume."
    "That is true, Captain," Flenn said, falling in line
now and easily keeping pace. "We would like to
enter into a formal arrangement with your Federa-
tion. A limited alliance. One that we believe might
ultimately benefit many worlds on both sides of the
wormhole."
    "That is an admirable purpose, but I have to
wonder exactly why such an alliance is important to
you."





"We like to do business with friends."
"Speaking of friends," Sisko said, "how would
such an arrangement affect your relations with other
races in the Gamma Quadrant?"
    "You needn't be concerned about that," Flenn
said hastily and rather flatly.
  Sisko looked at him. "No?"
  "No."
    "Tell me, is the Dominion a threat to you?" Sisko
asked outright.
    "No," Flenn said again, clearly growing agitated.
"Fortunately, they are a long way off."
    Sisko still didn't have the information he was
after. "Then tell me, exactly how far is 'a long way
off'?"
    "Oh, Captain, you're always worried about what
the neighbors will think," Quark said, stepping
between them. He turned to Flenn. "He's like that.
All hu-mans are. You get used to it." Quark slapped
his hands together and rubbed them briskly. "I think
we should move on."
"Of course," Flenn said. "Let's eat, shall we?"
Two more Aulep, one of them female, entered the
dining room carrying large polished trays laden with
steaming bowls. The aroma reminded Sisko of
stewed tomatoes.
    "I do a little cooking myself," Sisko said as Flenn
led the way to the table.
    "Let me know what you like, and we'll see that
you get the recipes," Flenn said as he showed Sisko
to a well-padded chair. The first bowls contained

some kind of soup, a light brownish broth rich with
chunks of unfamiliar but tender vegetables. Sisko
leaned forward and sniffed, savoring the smell and
the moist warmth of the steam rising to his face. He
really was hungry.
     Before he could reach for his spoon, however, his
comm badge chirped. "Kira to Sisko."
    DS9's Bajoran first officer was on duty in Ops; she
knew Sisko was having dinner with their visitors and
that he didn't want to be interrupted, so he was
fairly certain whatever she wanted wouldn't bring a
smile to his face.
  "Go ahead, Major," he said.
    "An unidentified vessel just came through the
wormhole. Their weapons systems are powered up,
and they're not answering our hails."
"Go to yellow alert. What's their bearing?"
"They appear to be heading for Deep Space Nine."
"Mr. Worf," Sisko said, "raise the shields and be
sure to extend them to protect all ships docked at the
station."
    "We already have," Worf said, his deep voice a
sudden contrast to Kira's.
    Sisko felt his appetite vanish. "Mr. Worf, what is
their capability?"
    "Their weapons appear formidable enough to
present a threat, Captain."
    "Very well, arm our weapons," Sisko told the
Klingon.

51


    "Weapons armed," Worf said a moment later. "I
am reading their shields at maximum."
    "I have them on visual," Kira said. "And,
Captain..."
  "What is it, Major?"
    "This ship is slightly smaller than the Aulep vessel
you are now aboard, but it's similar in design."
    Sisko looked at Flenn, narrowing his eyes. "How
similar?" he asked.
  "Nearly identical," Worf answered for her.
    "Stand by." Sisko fixed Flenn with a hard stare.
"Friends of yours?"
    "Captain," Flenn said, wearing his virtuous ex-
pression again, "I assure you, I have no idea--"
    "I don't need that kind of assurance. I need to
know what's going on."
    "Captain," Kira interrupted, "the new arrival is
hailing the Aulep ship, but there has been no re-
sponse so far."
    "Is something wrong with your communications
system?" Sisko asked accusingly.
    "Not that I know of," Flenn said, waving to one of
the other Aulep, who got up instantly and left the
dining room. "But I ask you, Captain, would it be
prudent to respond to someone when we don't know
who that someone is?"
    "Why shouldn't you, unless you aren't telling me
the whole truth?"
 "We have done nothing, Captain."
 Sisko leaned toward Flenn, who was seated on his

right. "Other than suggest an alliance with the
Federation. But an alliance against whom, I now
wonder?"
 "Captain, you have no right to assumere"
    "I'm sure I do," Sisko boomed, less than gracious
now. He didn't like being played for a fool. "What
were you saying about not being at war with
anyone?"
    "It was the truth!" Flenn was doing his best to
look wounded.
    Sisko wasn't buying it. "Take us to your
bridge."
    "That is not possible just now, Captain," Flenn
said, sounding almost as if he was in pain. "We are
not ready to allow you into sensitive areas."
  "We've allowed you into ours."
  "As is your prerogative, of course."
    "Then," Sisko said, measuring his tone, "take us
to your observation deck. Unless you have a prob-
lem with that."
    "Very well. This way." Flenn headed for the door
with suddenly heavy feet.
    "Shall I wait here?" Quark asked, a look of
nervous innocence on his facema look he was
uniquely good at.
  "Not a chance," Sisko said.
    Flenn led the way back out into the dark corridors
while Sisko and Quark followed. The walk was a
short one and ended in a plain gray-walled room half
the size of the one they had just left. Flenn touched a

52                                                                     53





 button and the wall ahead of them became trans-
 parent.
    Sisko found himself gazing out into space, past the
leading edge of the nearest of DS9's tall, arching
docking pylons, toward the dark region of space
where the wormhole lay. The unidentified vessel
hung in space, silent and stationary now, only a few
thousand kilometers awaymwaiting for something,
it seemed. A stout cylindrical ship several times the
size of a runabout, with a wide wedge-shaped struc-
ture dominating the top, it had two long tubes
underneath that curved back around the tail and
ultimately joined the wedge.
    Indeed, Sisko thought, the ship looked almost
precisely like Flenn's. He tapped his comm badge
again. "Any luck hailing them?" he asked.
  "None," Kira said.
    "Keep trying. I don't want a firefight at such close
range. There are too many ships around the docking
ring. I'm trying to get some answers on this end.
Sisko out."
  He turned to face the others.
    "I swear I don't know a thing!" Quark quickly
assured the captain as their eyes met.
  "Well, somebody must," Sisko said.
    "In our region of space, there are many ships
similar to ours, Captain," Flenn said. "We can't
know the mind of every--"
    "Captain," Worf interrupted, "the intruder is now
targeting the ship you are on."

    "Very well, Flenn," Sisko said sternly, stepping
closer to his host, bending slightly, leaving only a few
centimeters of space between the two of them. He
pointed toward the ship beyond the viewport. "I am
running out of patience. For the last time, who are
they, and what do they want?"





CHAPTER
       5

"WE REALLY DON'T know who they are--at least, not
exactly," Flenn hedged, obviously growing uneasy.
    Sisko wasn't in the mood. Not when his station
was being threatened. He was more than a head
taller than the Aulep, and as he loomed over Flenn,
he used every bit of his height and mass to intimi-
date the mission commander.
  "Explain 'not exactly,'" he demanded.
    Flenn looked to Quark, but the Ferengi only gave
the Aulep commander a shrug in return. Sisko found
the brief exchange most interesting.
    "Captain," Worf's voice said from Sisko's corem
badge, "the alien vessel is firing."
    Worf's words were followed by a heavy, booming
shudder that resonated through the docking ring,
then through the hull of the Aulep ship. Sisko looked

out through the observation wall in time to see two
more bright greenish white flashes erupt from the
unidentified ship. He felt both impacts just as a
series of bright, lingering flashes lit up the space
between them. The intruder might be well armed,
but DS9 was better protected.
 "Shields holding, down seven percent," Worf said.
     "Captain," Kira's voice said, "they appear to be
firing directly at the Aulep ship." "Confirmed," Worf said.
    "They must realize we have shields in place,"
Sisko replied.
    "The attack appears designed to weaken the
shields around the Aulep vessel."
    "Captain," Worf said, "I recommend we get you
out of there immediately."
    Sisko felt inclined to agree as another series of
flashes caught his eye. The station's shields lit up
with sparkling colors as the last burst was dispersed,
but the kinetic energy of the blasts made the walls
rattle and the deck shake hard enough to upset his
balance.
  A brief silence followed.
    "They've ceased firing," Worf reported. "Sir, I
believe they are recharging their weapons for the
next attack. Request permission to return fire."
     "Hold off." He needed a minute to think, and
 since the station didn't seem to be in immediate
 danger, he intended to take it. No sense rushing into
 something he might later regret.





    Slowly he turned. He wasn't through with Flenn
just yet.
     "Do you still have an open channel to the attack-
 ing ship?" he asked.
"Yes," Kira said, "but there's no response."
"Let's assume they're listening. Tell them that if
they do not end this attack, we will be forced to
retaliate. They may not realize how well armed we
are. If there's no change, you're authorized to fire a
warning shot, but hold direct fire until I give the
order. Meanwhile, keep me informed."
    Flenn stood with his hands folded, a look of mild
surprise on his darkened orange features. "Captain,
I know how this looks, but I can see you are a man of
restraint, intuition, and compassion. I would like to
thank you--"
    "You would be in the middle of a dogfight in open
space right now if it were not for Deep Space Nine/"
Sisko snapped, his voice hard. "You might even be
dead. Think about that."
    "Captain, I take exception to your tone," Flenn
said, indignant. "And in any case, we are quite
capable of defending ourselves."
    "You might yet have the opportunity to do just
that, because if I don't start getting some honest
answers out of you, I will ask you and your ship to
leave this station, for safety purposes. Our safety,
not yours."
    "I protest, Captain!" Flenn said, souring further.
"We are the victims here, just as you are."

 "Why don't we ask your attackers about that?"
    "The intruder's weapons are fully powered
again," Worf informed Sisko.
    "We should take Worf's advice and evacuate this
ship," Quark said nervously. "After all, we aren't
accomplishing anything."
    Sisko stopped Quark with a cold stare. "No one is
going anywhere until I find out who is shooting at us
and why."
    Another series of shots struck in rapid succession,
illuminating the shields with a blinding brightness
once more. With the last volley the Aulep ship
suddenly bucked, then shuddered. Sisko steadied
himself against the wall as Quark and Flenn picked
themselves up off the floor. Alarms sounded from
somewhere in the ceiling.
 Sisko slapped his comm badge. "Report!"
    "Sir," Worf responded, "the last of those shots
buckled a narrow section of our shields and struck
the Aulep vessel. The docking clamps are badly
damaged, and we have a hull breach in the docking
ring. We've already contained the breach with a
forcefield. I have fired a phaser burst across the
intruder's bow, and we are continuing to repeat our
hails, but there is still no response."
    "Shield integrity has been reestablished," Kira
said. "Shield capacity down seventeen percent over-
all but holding."
    Worf said, "Request permission to return fire,
sir!"





  "Wait!" Sisko said.
     "Captain," Quark pleaded, "you've got to do
 something! Why don't you let Worf blast them?"
     "I'm scanning the damage to the Aulep ship,"
 Major Kira said. "There's a hull breach, but I'd say
 the ship itself is in no immediate danger."
     "You may want to check with your crew," Sisko
 told Flenn, who was already tapping at a terminal
 mounted on the wall behind him. An instant later
 the door slid open and several Aulep rushed in. They
 huddled with Flenn for a moment, apparently upset.
 They kept their voices low so he couldn't make out
 their words.
  "Any casualties?" Sisko asked.
    Flenn turned to him once more. "No. Fortunately
no one has been injured. However, there is consider-
able damage to the hull, as your officer informed us.
Our main cargo bay has been ripped open. The area
is now sealed off, and we are attempting to assess the
full extent of the breach."
    One of the attending Aulep suddenly pointed,
directing everyone's attention once more to the
observation wall. A quickly dispersing cloud of
debris could be seen floating away from the Aulep
ship and the station. Flenn seemed to take an
intense interest in it.
    Before anyone could comment, the intruder fired
yet again, lighting up the stations's shields and
jostling the ship's occupants once more. The shields
seemed to hold. The Aulep rushed back into their

60

loose huddle, whispering, though only for a mo-
ment.
    "Captain," Flenn said, turning and looking nearly
as pallid as Quark now, though in an entirely differ-
ent shade. "If I may correct myself, we have deter-
mined who the attackers are, but we do not know
much about them or their motives. In any case, we
feel that Quark is right and you must do something
to stop them. At once."
    Another blast shook the ship, but this time no
more damage was done. Finally Sisko nodded. This
had gone on long enough, and clearly he wasn't
going to learn more from Flenn right now.
    "Agreed, but we're not done yet." He tapped his
comm badge. "Sisko to Worf. End the attack by any
means necessary."
    He listened as Major Kira sent a final request to
the intruders to power down their weapons. Another
burst flashed from the intruder's bow and struck
DS9's shields once more in the same spot. So much
for tact and diplomacy, he thought.
    The bright red-and-white beam of the station's
powerful phasers flashed into view as it struck the
intruder with perfect accuracy. Worf fired a second
time, and Sisko watched the target ship's shields
glow brightly, then go dark. A third beam struck the
hull, causing a small explosion along the ship's
extended stern, which was easily visible from his
position aboard Flenn's vessel.
  "Their shields are down, and their propulsion





 system is off-line," Worf reported. "The target has
 been neutralized."
     "Hail now being acknowledged, Captain," Kira
 said. "They would like to speak to whoever is in
 charge."
    "Let them stand by for a moment." Sisko tapped
his comm badge, closing the link as he turned to
Flenn. He found his host already engaged in a
discussion with yet another contingent of his crew,
three uniformed Aulep officers who had entered as
the first group was leaving.
    "I am needed on my bridge, Captain," Flenn said
after a pause. "It is urgent."
    "Very well," Sisko said. "Let's all go. Now that
we're getting to be such good friends, I'm sure you
won't mind."
  "Actually, Captain--"
    "Excellent. Coming, Quark?" Sisko asked, start-
ing out of the room.
    "I'm going where you're going," Quark replied,
falling into step at Sisko's heels.
  Flenn seemed to sigh in resignation.
    Out in the corridor Sisko let Flenn take the lead.
They moved quickly along the darkened hallway,
then up a ramp, through a pair of automatic doors,
and into a small but brightly lit control room that
had to be the Aulep bridge.
    The room was well organized, and the level of
technology was admirable, even at a glance. Five
crew members--three male, two female--occupied

62

lushly padded chairs that rested on long pneumatic
arms. As the technicians worked, the chairs moved
them deftly from one set of control panels to anoth-
er. Bright metal panels covered most of the nones-
sential surfaces.
    "Major Kira," Sisko said, tapping his comm
badge again as he watched a large screen set into one
of the bridge consoles. "Can you patch that other
ship's signal through to the Aulep bridge?"
"Tell the Aulep to open a channel," Kira replied.
Sisko looked at a dour-faced Flenn, who hesitated
for a very long moment, then signaled one of his
bridge crew to comply. The technician nodded and
tapped at his console.
"Go ahead, Major," Sisko said. "Put them on."
The face that appeared on the screen was that of a
male alien almost identical to Flenn and his crew
members, except that his skin was darker and
slightly brownish. Even his clothing was somewhat
similar to Flenn's, though the colors, mostly tans
and light greens, were not so garish.
    "I thought you didn't know them," Sisko said,
folding his arms and glaring at Flenn, who said not a
word.
"Captain," Quark said, shaking his head. "I--"
Sisko motioned him to silence, then addressed the
alien on the screne. "I am Captain Benjamin Sisko.
Why have you fired on this station?"
    "I am Dorram, Commanding the Rylep vessel
Toshien, "the alien replied. "And the answer to your




 question should be obvious: I demand to know why
 the Aulep are being afforded protection by you and
 your station."
     "I recommend you destroy the attackers while you
 have the chance," Flenn said softly, moving closer to
 Sisko. "You've seen how hostile they can be."
    "I don't think you're in a position to make de-
mands, or recommendations," Sisko said loudly.
"Either of you."
    "Captain," Dorram continued, clearly agitated,
"we have a right to know why have you allied
yourselves with the Aulep."
    Sisko found a similar expression on Flenn's face
as he compared the two. They could have been
brothers. "This station is available to any race that
wishes to make use of it," he told the Rylep. "I
intend to protect it and anyone who docks at it in
good faith--which, by the way, is a privilege that
can be revoked." He cast a grave look in Flenn's
direction. "If you have a legitimate grievance against
the Aulep, I'd be glad to listen, since they don't seem
terribly eager to talk about it. But until I get all the
facts--"
    "We will give you all the facts you need," Dorram
said.
    "Don't believe anything they say, Captain!" Flenn
said. "The Rylep are a treacherous people."
    "Not so treacherous as the Aulep," Dorram re-
plied.
    "I see," Sisko said. He turned to the Ferengi.
"Quark, any insight here?"

    "Again, I assure you, Captain," Quark replied,
breaking a rather unusual spell of silence. "I don't
know anything about these Rylep. Nothing at all!"
    "I have a suggestion," Sisko went on, turning back
to the screen. "The Rylep ship will be allowed to
dock and commence repairs, and the Aulep will be
allowed to stay and do the same... for now. In the
interim I will require both commanders to meet
with me tonight. Is that clear?" Dorram nodded.
 Flenn, after a brief pause, did the same.
    Sisko breathed a little sigh. "Good." The screen
went instantly blank.
    "The Rylep ship is maneuvering toward the sta-
tion with thrusters," Worf reported.
      "Very well," Sisko said. "Allow them to dock, but
put a security detail on them."
  "Yes, sir."
  "Sisko out."
    "Captain," Quark said, "will I be allowed to
attend this meeting?"
    "Oh, I insist!" Sisko bent over the Ferengi, leaving
little distance between them. "Somehow, Quark, I'm
certain you had a hand in getting us all into this
mess. I'll be quite interested in hearing how you
intend to get us out."

65





0

CHAPTER
       6

SISKO COULD FEEL the tension in the air even before
everyone was seated.
    He already knew this was not going to be a
pleasant meeting. The Aulep and Rylep command-
ers had readily agreed to join him at eighteen
hundred hours in his office; the hard part had been
persuading them to show up without a contingent of
armed escorts. To allay their fears for their personal
safety, Odo had stationed security personnel at their
docking ports with the promise of full protection for
everyone. Odo's men had escorted them to Sisko's
office.
    Since Aulep and Rylep had arrived, not one
cordial word had been spoken. In fact, hardly any-
one was speaking at all. They sat staring steadfastly
at the pattern of stars so clearly visible through

66

the large, eye-shaped portal just behind Sisko's
desk.
    "Is everyone comfortable?" Sisko asked, taking
his seat, interrupting the two aliens' apparent con-
centration. Flenn and Dorram nodded, more or less;
then each turned a cold, vexed glare on the other.
Sisko was glad Odo had required two additional
security officers to stay in the room. If ever a meeting
seemed likely to break down into a fistfight, this was
it. Odo himself stood between the visitors' chairs,
back a pace, hands clasped behind him. Which was
exactly where Sisko wanted him.
    "This is a small office; you don't have stare so
loudly," he said, trying to lighten the mood. He
watched with slight amazement as the two leaders
continued to glare at each other as if locked in silent
mortal combat.
    Seeing them like this, so close to each other, he
found their similarities even more striking. The
likeness extended from their physical features and
mannerisms to their attitudes--and both struck him
as particularly unpleasant.
    "Good evening," Major Kira said in a lively tone,
as the twin doors to Sisko's office hissed open. She
glanced first at Sisko, then at Odo, and finally at the
two visitors, who were staring at her, unblinking.
She wore her usual uniform, its deep red and light
salmon colors in stark contrast to the red-and-black
or blue-and-black uniforms worn by Starfleet offi-
cers. The short series of ridges on the bridge of her




 nose made her gaze seem more intense, and the
 bounce of her short hair amplified the aura of energy
 she tended to emit. The Aulep and Rylep command-
 ers seemed to find her enchanting.
     The door opened again, and Quark entered, paus-
 ing directly behind Major Kira. He seemed more at
 ease than he had a few hours ago, but quick recover-
 ies were among Quark's many talents, Sisko knew,
 so that was no surprise.
     "I trust I haven't missed anything?" Quark said
 enthusiastically, then proceeded to greet everyone.
    "No," Sisko said. "Things have been pretty quiet
so far. Which leaves that first step up to me, I guess.
So let's get started by making a couple of things
clear. The Federation does not like being used, lied
to, or fired upon, and neither do the Bajorans."
    "And neither do we," Dorram said, "which is
precisely what these Aulep tlasatt have done!"
    Dorram had used a word for which the universal
translator had no direct translation, but Sisko was
fairly certain there were several human phrases that
would have fit. Judging by the scowl on his face,
Flenn seemed to understand it exactly.
  "Your ship fired first," Sisko pointed out.
    "And not only at the Aulep ship but on our station
as well," Kira added.
    "We have a right!" Dorram said. "The Aulep have
wronged us and made you their accomplices, and
they must be made to pay."
 "What exactly have the Aulep done?" Sisko asked.

68

    "Nothing, of course," Flenn said loudly. He sat
back and folded his arms. "We are the victims here.
Victims of an unprovoked attack by these
ruthless--"
 "You call us ruthless?" Dorram demanded.
 "Yes, I do."
    "And yet you find no crime against the Rylep
beneath you!"
    "I find the Rylep beneath me, that is for certain,"
Flenn said. He turned quickly to Sisko. "Captain,
the Rylep are ruthless aggressors who will tell any
lie, break any law, and attack any helpless world in
order to expand their wealth and territories."
  Sisko raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
    "That in itself is a lie!" Dorram said, gripping the
arms of his chair. "The Aulep are nothing more than
ruthless pirates. They have preyed upon neighboring
space lanes for years!"
  Flenn looked less than amused.
    "Well," Odo said, as Sisko looked at him, "at least
they both agree on the 'ruthless' part."
    Sisko in turn looked at Quark, who for the time
being seemed inclined to say nothing at all. "I think
we need to discuss a few particulars," Sisko told his
visitors. "Don't you agree, Quark?"
    "Oh, yes, I do," Quark said, glancing from person
to person, all around the room, "but I have so few of
them to discuss. Perhaps we could start with every-
one else's particulars." He paused, then nodded
benevolently at both the visitors.




     "Very well, I will tell you of the Rylep's many
 crimes, Captain," Flenn offered. "I will tell you of
 the many races who fear the appearance of Rylep
 ships in their skies, of the helpless thousands they
 have exploited, even ruined, and then you can judge
 for yourself."
     "And when you are through listening to this great
 fiction," Dorram said, his voice reduced to a growl
 not unlike that of a bullterrier, "I will tell you of the
 countless cargoes the Aulep have stolen, the crews
 who have died at their hands, the many worlds that
 live in fear of commercial ruin because Aulep pirates
 have cost them so dearly."
    Flenn stood up and pointed a stubby orange finger
at Dorram. "You would dare accuse us--"
"Indeed I would!" Dorram shouted, rising as well.
"I should have known better than to try meeting
with you!" Flenn snarled back. "These station peo-
ple should have blasted you from the skies the
moment you appeared, just as I told them to!"
    "If it wasn't for this station, you would not be
alive to say such a thing!" Dorram said. "We would
have blasted you from the stars!"
    "Gentlemen, please!" Sisko pushed at the air in
front of him with open palms, urging the two to
settle down.
    Flenn leaned across the table. "If I had a
weapon--"
    "Who needs one!" Dorram howled, and with that
he lunged across the short distance between their

70

chairs and wrapped both hands around the Aulep
commander's neck.
    Odo and his security team were on them in an
instant, prying them apart. Sisko sighed. This was
not going to be easy, he thought. At least Quark had
managed to jump back against the wall, well out of
harm's way.
    "Lively pair, aren't they?" Odo said to Sisko as he
tightened his grip on the struggling Rylep com-
mander.
    "I think this might have to wait until they've had a
chance to calm down again," Kira said.
    "I agree," Sisko said. "We aren't getting anywhere.
Take them to back to their ships and keep them
under guard."
    Odo nodded. Then he and his men began shuffling
Dorram and Flenn out the door.
    "We'll meet again in three hours," Sisko called
after his visitors. "And we'll keep on meeting until
the two of you decide to settle down, tell me what I
want to know, and work this out."
    "From the looks of things, that might take a
while," Quark said, apparently no more pleased
with the results of the meeting than Sisko.
    "Maybe," Sisko said. "But that is going to be up to
them. And as for you, Quark," Sisko added, frown-
ing, "I'm still convinced there's something you're
not telling me. Either that, or you're a much bigger
fool than most people take you for."
  "There's no need for name-calling, Captain,"




 Quark said snappishly. "And I hope you're happy.
 Perhaps you didn't notice, but I was trying to get a
 word in, and I got nothing for my trouble. Can I go
 now?"
     "You're dismissed, but we'll see each other again
 in the morning," Sisko said.
     Quark, summoning up as much indignation as he
 could manage, hurried out.
    Sisko rose and trailed him out and down the short
flight of steps to the main level in Ops. He glanced
briefly about, noticing the half-dozen technicians
manning the various stations, feeling a certain satis-
faction at what he saw. Everything seemed to be
running smoothly, for once.
      "Mr. Worf," he said, as he looked toward Tactical.
'Tll be in my quarters if anyone needs me."
  "Yes, sir."
    Sisko took the turbolift to the habitat ring, then
strolled down the long, gently curving corridor to
the suite he shared with his son. Inside, he found
himself surrounded by the peace and quiet only
one's personal quarters could provide. He didn't
need that kind of break very often, but right now he
was in a mood to afford himself the luxury. Possibly
even a nap...
    "I thought you'd never get back," Jake said,
emerging from his room as Sisko paused before the
replicator, contemplating a snack. He didn't feel up
to cooking tonight.
 Sisko fashioned a smile. "And why's that?"

 "Well... you know."
 "I do?"
 "I'm ready for another runabout lesson."
    Sisko saw the look of radiant excitement on Jake's
face--the kind of look Sisko could never bring
himself to crush, no matter how wretched he felt.
He'd forgotten all about the lesson, of course.
"When?"
 "Now?" Jake asked, a bit sheepishly.
 "I thought you'd say that."
 Jake waited for a moment, then said, "And?"
    It might not be a bad idea to get out of the station
altogether for a while, Sisko thought. At least he
could look at it that way. "Okay," he said. "Right
now."

    Sisko felt the tension start to lift as he strapped
himself into his chair aboard the Rio Grande. No
matter how long he spent in space, no matter how
many missions he flew, there was always something
exciting about lifting off and flying into the un-
known. He saw that excitement mirrored in his son's
eyes.
    Fifteen minutes later, after they finished their
systems checks, they released the docking clamps
and lifted off from DS9 for a tour of the Bajoran
system.
    Jake's nervousness seemed to evaporate as he
carefully executed each maneuver his father asked
for, including a double turn at full impulse. An hour

73




passed before Sisko let Jake spend a little time on the
Ops consoles. Finally they turned and headed back
to the station.
    "I think you're really getting the hang of it," he
told his son, brimming with honest pride.
    "Yeah, well, I gotta impress my old man," Jake
said.
    The flight had been a short one, but it left Sisko
feeling good, almost as good as Jake, who was
grinning like a newly appointed starship captain on
his maiden voyage.
    Overall, Sisko thought, Jake's second lesson was a
complete success, much as he had expected.
    But tomorrow was another day. He had a second
meeting with the Aulep and Rylep to look forward
to, and he did not expect that to go nearly as well.

CHAPTER'
        7

"GOOD MORNING," SlSKO said as his office doors slid
apart to admit Flenn and Dorram, who were once
again followed immediately by Odo and two securi-
ty guards. Quark entered just behind them, looking
every bit as sullen as the two commanders. They all
stood about staring at one another.
 "I said, good morning," Sisko repeated.
    "There is nothing good about it," Dotram mut-
tered.
    "It's another expression," Sisko said. He indi-
cated the chairs. "Please take your seats, try to relax,
and we'll get started."
    "My crew and I wish only to leave," Flenn said,
"at once, and alone. We feel it reasonable to request
that you detain the Rylep until we are safely away.





 They are the ones, after all, who attacked your
 station and my ship without provocation."
    "Without provocation?" Dorram responded in-
stantly. "Are you listening to yourself?. I swear,
Flenn, we will hunt you down wherever you go!"
    Flenn had his hands clasped together in his lap; he
clenched them tighter now and raised his upper lip
to expose small gray teeth. "Come ahead. We will be
waiting."
    Sisko glanced at Quark, who seemed to be sinking
into an almost trancelike state. The Ferengi blinked,
and Sisko noticed that the dark circles around his
deep-set eyes seemed even darker than normal.
    Quark cleared his throat. "This all sounds a bit
hasty, don't you think? There must be some way we
can work this out and keep from killing one another.
Maybe we can even arrange a transaction that will be
favorable to everyone. One that would speak to the
future, perhaps. After all, there are many ways to
slice a pie."
  "A... pie?" Flenn asked.
      Quark glanced at Sisko with an expression that
made the captain think instantly of headache pain.
  "You're doing fine, Quark," Sisko said.
    "A pie--it's... another hu-man expression,"
Quark explained. "They've even got me doing it.
What I mean is, there should be plenty of profits to
go around. Let's take the proposed transaction be-
tween Flenn and me, for example. Perhaps we could
divide payment between the two of you, or we could
deal for one cargo now and more later on. That way,

76

eventually everybody will be happy. I would even be
willing to raise my offerwslightly, you under-
standmif it means we can all just get on with our
lives."
    Silence prevailed for several seconds. Then Flenn
slowly turned to look at Dorram, took a breath, and
said, "The Rylep would find a way to cheat us."
    "The Aulep," Dorram countered, "would find a
way to steal what is ours."
Flenn sat up, rigid. "You would lie!"
Dorram got to his feet. "You would attack!"
"You should talk!" Flenn snapped, also standing
now. "This from the same commander who is guilty
of the attempted murder of myself and my crew and
the attempted destruction of an Aulep vessel in a
neutral spacedock!"
    "Have you forgotten that you are guilty of count-
less acts of economic sabotage?
    "Gentlemen, please, mistakes were made, of
course, but the past need not determine the future,"
Quark said in a soothing voice.
    The two captains continued to glare at each other.
Dorram opened his mouth for another round of
angry bickering.
    Clearly, Sisko thought, Quark's words were having
no effect on the pair. He gave a mental sigh. Time to
intervene again.
    Before Dorram could continue, Sisko rose and
raised his deep voice to drown them out: "Perhaps
one of you could explain the details to me, so I can
understand how the two of you got to this point."





     "That is simple, Captain," Dorram replied. "You
 cannot sell what you do not have. However, Flenn
 has an easy solution to that problem. He and his
 Aulep pirates steal whatever they want. Then they
 sell the booty as far away as possible, though they
 did not run far enough this time!"
     "Is that so?" Odo said, looking at the Ferengi.
 "Fencing stolen goods, eh, Quark?"
    Sisko frowned. "Stolen, you say? Did you know
that, Quark? Exactly what sort of merchandise are
we talking about?"
  "Crystals!" Dorram declared.
    The Ferengi glanced from one face to another.
Sisko thought Quark looked genuinely shocked.
    "Yes, it was a shipment of crystals," Quark said.
He looked to Dorram. "But how did you know?"
    "Because," Dorram shouted, "Flenn stole them
from met"
    "You stole them, and you know it!" Flenn shouted
back. "So you had no legal claim. We had just as
much right to the crystals as you did."
    "But we stole them first!" Dorram screamed,
pounding his fists on the arms of his chair.
    Sisko glared at Quark, whose whole face had
darkened noticeably. He began to squirm in his seat.
"I swear," he said, his voice sounding suddenly a
little hoarse, "I didn't know any of this."
    "Stealing from a thief doesn't count, does it,
Captain?" Flenn asked, quite serious.
    "And who can believe him, Captain?" Dorram
said.

78

    Sisko balked. It seemed they had suddenly de-
cided to appoint him arbiter. And now he wasn't
sure he wanted the job. He would have been just as
happy to have them both off the station and out of
his life.
    He took a breath. "It sounds like neithe one of you
has a claim to the crystals."
    "Gentlemen, once again, please!" Quark said,
interrupting, "I can still help in many ways, I assure
you. And I see no reason why we can't start right
now to work out a reasonable, equitable deal
between--"
    "I don't see how any of these arguments matter,"
Flenn said, seeming a little less angry but obviously
quite disgusted. "Not after Dorram and his blast-
happy Rylep crew decided to start shooting indis-
criminately." Flenn looked at Dorram again. "That
cargo on my ship was irreplaceable, and you de-
stroyed it! Only a fool would have taken such a
chance, as you have clearly demonstrated. Now
neither of us can--"
    "Excuse me!" Quark said, stepping directly be-
tween the two opponents. "Did you say--did you
say destroyed?"
"When they attacked," Flenn said, nodding.
"He is telling the truth--this time," Dorram said.
Quark's gaze darted from Aulep to Rylep to Sisko
and back. "You--" he squeaked. Then he tried
again, "You mean that debris I saw floating away in
space just after the attack, that was my... my
crystals?"





  Both aliens nodded.
    Quark stepped back on wobbly legs. His eyes went
wide and fixed, and his jaw went slack. He groped
the air, found the arm of his chair, and lowered
himself clumsily into it.
  "Are you all right, Quark?" Sisko asked.
    Quark made a small, weak sound somewhere in
the back of his throat.
    Odo turned to Sisko and folded his arms. "I would
guess," he said, "that was a no."

    Elliena gazed out through the Rio Grande's main
viewport from the seat next to Jake, hands folded in
her lap. She hadn't said a word since coming aboard.
Jake didn't know if something was wrong, if he'd
done something to offend her.
    They hadn't seen each other in more than three
weeks, yet after their initial greetings and small talk,
the mood had changed to one of quiet assessment. It
made him uneasy. He found himself increasingly
eager to say something and move on; he just didn't
know what.
    Finally he tapped at several of the panels in front
of him, checking secondary systems. He wanted to
get under way. But there was little he could do to
speed things up. He didn't dare power the runabout
up. Not yet. You didn't gain big privileges by mess-
ing up on the little ones.
    He took a breath. "It shouldn't be much longer,"
he said, finally breaking their silence. "Chief

O'Brien said he'd be here as soon as he finished
with--"
    Jake paused. Elliena had very little technical ex-
pertise. She was a student of the arts, which was one
of the things that had drawn him to her. O'Brien was
busy running a diagnostic on the station trans-
porter's replacement phase transition coils--which
wouldn't mean a thing to Elliena. He didn't want to
bury her in technobabble.
    "When he's finished with some maintenance
checks," he said instead.
    "That's all right," Elliena said in a voice that
reminded Jake of a young Kira Nerys, a comparison
made even easier by Elliena's appearance. She was
slightly shorter than the major, and her complexion
was perhaps a bit darker, but her petite, intelligent
face and measured manner were similar--except for
Elliena's smile, which was entirely her own. She
wore her hair slightly long and curled under and
forward at the neck, still a popular style on Bajor,
and her ankle-length dress covered with subtle
brown-on-tan scrollwork patterns, was quite Ba-
joran as well. She said that her parents insisted on
formality both in clothing and in manners, but Jake
suspected she enjoyed it.
    "I've only met Chief O'Brien once. Is he as good
an engineer as I've heard?"
  "Actually," Jake said, "he's better."
  Elliena smiled. "Oh."
  They sat quietly once again. Jake ran through a





 thousand things to say to her in his head, but
 somehow they all sounded stupid. The last thing he
 wanted was to embarrass himself in front of her.
     "It was nice of Chief O'Brien to offer to take us
 out," Elliena finally said.
     "Yeah, the chief's a great guy. My dad asked him
 to help with my flight training, and he said he
 would."
  "And he doesn't mind having me along?"
  "No. I asked."
  "Good."
     Jake took a breath, let it out. They sat again for a
 while. Finally he decided to try a new tack.
     "To tell you the truth, I hope their Bajor resources
 survey isn't going very well," he said, waiting for her
 reaction and guessing she would understand.
  "Oh, me too," she said, just as he'd hoped.
    Jake caught himself grinning a little too much, but
Elliena quickly joined in.
    "You know, with any luck, they'll be at it for
months," she added. Which of course meant Elliena
would be visiting for months as well. She looked
about to giggle.
    Jake let his grin disappear as a splash of reality
entered his mind. He knew that his father and
Elliena's parents, along with the technicians who
were working on the project, were much too talented
to allow the project to drag on so long. It was
scheduled to run for another three months at the
outside. But if experience was any indicator, it
would probably conclude early.

 "Something wrong?" Elliena asked.
    "No, not exactly," he said, banishing his pessimis-
tic thoughts. They had this time together; why spoil
it by thinking too far into the future? "Besides, right
now I'm doing everything I can to make things right.
I'm spending time with you, and I'm working on
upgrading my pilot status."
    "Maybe we'll get to spend a little time alone
together before I have to go back to Bajor," Elliena
said, looking at him with what had to be her most
polite smile. Their relationship hadn't taken any
sharp romantic turns yet, but Jake had begun to
suspect there was a strong possibility it might. He
hoped this was a clear sign that Elliena felt the same
way.
    "Maybe," Jake replied. They stared into each
other's eyes. He wasn't sure her parents would
approve of their relationship if it did get serious, but
he was increasingly certain that he did. Jake was
acutely aware, as he sat gazing at her now, that for
the moment at least they were completely alone. He
wasn't sure of what do next. Did she want him to get
up and put his arms around her right this minute?
Did she want him to ask?
     "O'Brien to the Rio Grande. "The chiefs Irish lilt
 rang crisp and clear from the runabout's comm
 speaker, interrupting Jake's train of though
   "Jake Sisko here, Chief," he said.
     "Sorry, Jake, but I've been detained. We had some
 minor power fluctuations in the main energizing
 coils. I think we've got it smoothed out, but I want to




run another simulation to make sure. It shouldn't
take too long. Ten minutes at the most."
  "Okay, Chief. We aren't going anywhere."
    "See that you don't," the chief barked, though
Jake could picture his grin as he spoke. A tone
signaled O'Brien's sign-off.
    "I may be going back to Bajor again sooner than I
thought," Elliena told him. "For a couple of weeks
or more this time. My parents have to analyze some
of the new resource data before they can continue. I
guess there are some funding questions involved."
    "Maybe they'll let you stay here on the station,"
Jake suggested, something he was sure she had been
thinking as well, even though she hadn't mentioned
it.
    "I've already suggested the idea," she replied,
"but they didn't seem too thrilled. They let me stay
here last night while they went down to Bajor to
attend a meeting, but that was only because they're
returning this morning. The next time they leave, I'll
have to go with them." She slowly let out a sigh.
    "I... I see," Jake said. That wasn't what he
wanted at all, but he wasn't sure what to do about it,
if anything.
    "A few months ago it might have been different,"
she went on. "But with all the trouble lately, they're
concerned about my safety--and theirs. That's why
they've been so reluctant to move to Deep Space
Nine even temporarily." She laughed. "They're not
completely paranoid, but almost. They can't help
worrying, at least in the backs of their minds, about

84

the threat of an invasion by the Dominion, about the
Klingons going to war with the Federation, and
about the Cardassians changing their government
again and coming back--not to mention all the
ordinary disasters that can happen in space. They've
got all the statistics."
    "I understand," Jake said. "And I guess I'd feel
the same if it was my daughter who wanted to stay."
    This seemed to please Elliena in no small way. "I
bet your father never worries about you," she said,
eyes wide, a smile just beginning. She was watching
him closely.
    Jake thought his answer over carefully. "Not as
much as he used to," he said. Elliena's smile grew a
little wider.
    "Look," Jake said, as a minor change in one of the
runabout's Ops panel displays caught his eye. He
keyed the main viewer and began scanning near
space. The image showed Bajor in the distance, as
well as countless stars. A planetary shuttle was
leaving a low orbit around Bajor, silently, gracefully
taking up a trajectory that would bring it to a
rendezvous with DS9. Jake found Elliena watching
the view as well. It was different from the one they
could see through the runabout's two large front
windows--that of the station's towering upper
docking pylons.
    On the screen they watched the shuttle's engines
glow briefly, adjusting its course as it began to grow
larger.
 "That's the only space travel I've ever known,"




Elliena said, an edge of excitement in her voice.
"Here and back."
    "You're really looking forward to this flight, aren't
you?" Jake said.
 Elliena grinned. "It will be an adventure."
    Jake grinned back. "Definitely." He checked the
time impatiently; O'Brien would be along any min-
ute, which would not be soon enough.

Flenn and Dorram were on their feet again.
"You would see us cut off from the universe if you
had your way!" the Aulep commander shouted,
waving his arms wildly.
      "Cut you off?. We should do the universe a favor
instead and cut you in half!." Dorram thundered.
  "That's all I'd expect you to say!"
    "Is it?" Dorram said. "Admit that you and your
thieving crew have attempted toa"
"While you and your murderous crew--"
"Gentlemen, I don't see this argument getting us
anywhere," Sisko interrupted yet again. He had been
trying without success to make them see the sense of
polite discussion and compromise, and he was get-
ting tired of it. He looked to Quark, but the Ferengi
remained silent and absolutely motionless in his
chair, staring straight ahead. He hadn't moved an
inch since learning his crystals had been destroyed.
    "Captain," Flenn said, "why don't you simply tell
these Rylep that they are not welcome here and send
them away?"
 "Perhaps it is the Aulep who are not welcome,"

86

Dorram quickly countered. "You have no cargo to
sell, so you have no business here, and you certainly
aren't making any friends."
    "We have no cargo because of you!" Flenn
snapped, stepping forward and balling his stubby
fingers into a fist. Odo held him back while one of
the security guards took a step closer to Dorram.
    "What I'd like to know," Sisko said, no longer in a
conciliatory mood, "is who those crystals were stol-
en from to begin with."
    The two visiting commanders said nothing. After
a pause, Sisko looked the question to Quark, who
had apparently returned to the here and now. The
Ferengi rolled his eyes.
 "I know that sickly look of yours, Quark."
    "What look?" Quark said, holding his hands up
and nervously bouncing stiff fingers off one another.
    Sisko leaned across his desk. "You know exactly
what I mean. And I'd say you know exactly whose
crystals they were. If you're withholding that
information--"
    "No, Captain," Quark interrupted, swallowing as
his voice cracked. "But you're right, I am sick. I
need to lie down for a while."
    Sisko dropped any pretense of patience. "Listen to
me, Quark. If you know anything, you had better
spit it out right now."
    "Come on, Quark," Odo said in a gravelly voice,
"Answer the nice captain."
    "Honestly," Quark said, "I don't know where the
crystals came from. But I do know who the buyer





was to be. And that's what concerns me. He's not
going to be happy."
    Odo said, "Somehow I don't feel very sorry for
you."
    Sisko leaned toward Quark, all ears. "And who
would this buyer be?"
    The intercom sounded, followed by Commander
Worfs resonant voice: "Ops to Captain Sisko."
    "What is it?" Sisko said. He hoped it wasn't
another emergency.
    "A ship is emerging from the wormhole," Worf
said. "They do not answer our hails. We are attempt-
ing to identify them."
  "Is it a Jem'Hadar ship?"
  "I do not believe so, sir."
    "Very well," Sisko said, taking a deep breath. 'Tll
be right there. Sisko out."
    Rising, he nodded to Odo. "See what else you can
find out." He headed for the door.
 "With pleasure," Odo said, smiling.

CHAPTER
        8

"WVatT'S OUR StAtUS?" Sisko asked as he jogged
down the steps from his office to the floor of Ops. All
eyes glanced up at him, then immediately went back
to their duty stations.
    "Captain, I have identified the ship," Worf re-
ported. "It is Klingon. A military-class freighter."
    "We've been trying to make contact," Dax said.
"They're accelerating straight toward the station."
    "Prepare to raise shields," Sisko told Worf. "Dax,
put them on-screen."
    On the main viewer Sisko watched a small dot
appear against the backdrop of the wormhole, whose
swirling, receding rings of brilliant blue and white
were still visible from the ship's passage through it.
In a blink, the wormhole seemed to vanish again.
 "Magnify," Sisko said. The dot became a long,





dark spacecraft, narrow toward the front, bulky in
the middle, a wide wedge configuration at the stern.
Hard angles in dark gray characterized its hull. Even
at a glance, Sisko could tell it was of Klingon design.
    "Captain," Worf said clearly and unaffectedly,
"sensors indicate the freighter's warp core is on the
verge of overload. The entire vessel has sustained
heavy damage. That may explain why they are not
responding to your hail. I am reading enough life
signs to account for most of the crew."
    Sisko eyed the screen. "What kind of damage have
they sustained, Mr. Worf?"
    "Residual energy patterns indicate heavy weapons
fire. Captain," Worf added, looking up from his
consoles as Sisko turned to him, "that freighter is
well armed, and its crew would normally include a
number of trained Klingon warriors."
    "Is it possible the Jem'Hadar attacked them?"
Sisko asked as Major Kira entered Ops from the
turbolift and went straight to her station.
    "The Klingons would have fought back," Dax
remarked.
    "Strike patterns do not match those typical of
Jem'Hadar weapons," Worf continued. "They
are--" He paused, touching pads on his console,
apparently rechecking his data. He looked up once
more, mild consternation on his face. "What is it?" Sisko asked.
    "Sir, the burns appear to match those made by
Klingon disrupters."
 "So it's possible the Klingons are fighting each

other," Sisko considered out loud. It had happened
before... but in the Gamma Quadrant?
    "Possible but unlikely," Dax said. "Other weap-
ons would leave similar traces. I'd say somebody
surprised them."
    "But who would attack the Klingons?" Kira
asked. "It isn't like Klingons to run from a fight, so
we have to assume that whoever attacked them
either retreated or was destroyed."
    "We don't know that they're running from any-
thing," Sisko said. "But you're right. Klingons don't
usually retreat."
    "Captain," Worf said, "I'm getting a message
from the freighter. Audio only."
  Sisko's brow went up. Good. "Put it on."
  "This is... Captain Dolras of... Klingon
freighter Toknor, on--"
    Static filled the air, replacing the Klingon's halt-
ing, shaken voice. Sisko straightened in response.
Either this Dolras was a most atypical Klingon or he
had been through a pretty bad time.
  "Can you get them back?" he asked Dax.
    "Give me a moment," Dax replied, working at her
controls. The static began to subside, and then the
voice returned, faint but understandable.
    "We require immediate assistance," Dolras said.
"You and your station are about to come under
attack."
    Sisko looked at his officers, who seemed as sur-
prised as he was. "I see," Sisko said. "We can
arrange docking space for you, and we can have a





 medical team standing by to help with any wounded,
 but I'd like to know what you mean by an attack.
 From whom?"
    "I wish I could tell you, Captain," Dolras said,
fading again. "But the threat they bring should be
your greatest concern. Look what they have done
tom"

  The voice was gone in a wash of noise.
    "Please repeat. Your signal is garbled," Sisko said
with some urgency.
    "... must prepare defenses... immediately!"
Dolras said, this last coming across clear enough.
    Sisko still couldn't see any other ship, and he
wasn't getting any reports of sightings from his crew.
"Who attacked you?" he asked. Again, static came
back. He turned to Dax once more.
    "We've lost him again, Captain," she reported. "I
don't know if I'll be able tom"
    "Captain," Worf interrupted, looking up from his
console. "Another contact, coming through the
wormhole."
    Sisko snapped his head around. He could see the
colorful swirl of the wormhole forming again behind
the Klingon freighter. The Toknor had slowed, ap-
proaching the station. The damage to its hull was
clearly visible, and it was extensive.
    "Identification?" Sisko asked, keeping his eyes on
the screen as a second vessel appeared. Dolras
hadn't been able to give them much time to prepare.
    "It is another Klingon freighter, identical to the
first," Worf replied.

92

"They are following the flight path of the Toknor
exactly," Kira said.
    "Hail them," Sisko told Dax. "Maybe they can
shed a little more light on all of this."
    "Captain," Worf said, "I recommend we arm all
weapons. If these freighters are part of a Klingon
military convoy, whoever attacked them might have
followed them here, just as Dolras warned.
Perhaps--" He cut himself off, eyes darting down to
the displays at his fingertips. "The second freighter
has opened fire."
    Sisko watched a luminous energy pulse emanate
from the second freighter and strike at Dolras's ship.
The bright bloom of a starboard-side explosion gave
testimony to the attacker's accuracy.
"That answers a few questions," Kira said coldly.
In three quick steps Sisko made his way to the
large central Ops console, just opposite Kira's posi-
tion. "Captain Dolras," he said, tapping at the
lighted panel beneath his fingers, "bring your ship
around to these coordinates. That should put the
station between you and the other freighter. Mean-
while, can you tell us anything about your situation?
Why are your own people firing on you?"
    "Captain," Kira said, "I'm not sure Dolras can
maneuver well enough to get behind us."
    "The second freighter has fired again, Captain,"
Worf stated, confirming what Sisko was seeing. "An-
other direct hit. The Toknor has no shields remain-
ing. Warp and impulse engines are completely
off-line."





     "Captain, the Toknor's hull has been breached,"
 Kira said. "They're losing atmospheric integrity."
     Again Sisko watched the screen intently. The
 Toknor had begun to drift to port as a visible cloud
 of gas, crystallizing as it encountered the cold of
 space, formed on its starboard side. His eyes wid-
 ened as a long section of the hull tumbled free,
 beginning a random journey toward the outer
 reaches of the Bajoran solar system.
    "I'm still reading life signs; they're not all dead,"
Kira said. "And I'm picking up thruster discharge.
Dolras must be trying to regain control."
    "No," Worf said flatly. "As far as I can determine,
their forward disrupter banks are still functional and
partially charged."
    "So they're still trying to fight back," Sisko said,
letting his voice trail off as the idea settled in his
mind. That, he thought, sounded like the Klingons
he was used to.
  "The Toknor is firing," Worf said.
    Sisko witnessed the disrupter discharge. Their aim
was accurate, but the pulse seemed to pass right
through the attacking vessel. There was no visible
damage to the second ship. Sisko stared in disbelief.
What he was seeing was simply impossible.
    "Captain," Worf said, "I am unable to get a lock
on the second freighter. It is as if it isn't there."
 "They still won't answer our hails," Dax said.
    "Arm weaponry," Sisko commanded, which drew
a satisfied nod from Worfi The Toknor was close

enough now to be fully visible. Sisko flinched invol-
untarily at what he saw. It was clear that the dam-
aged freighter would not be able to drag itself around
to the far side of the station, out of harm's way. The
station's shields would have to be lowered to allow
the vessel to come straight in and dock, but Sisko
couldn't risk doing that just now; there was no
telling what the second freighter might do, given the
chance. He couldn't beam the Toknor's crew off,
either. The same dangers applied.
    "Major Kira, how close is the Toknor?" he asked.
"Can we get a tractor beam on the ship and tow it in
close enough to extend our shields around it?"
  "They are within range," Kira answered.
  Sisko nodded. "Good. Do it."
    "Tractor beam locked," Kira replied. "It's work-
ing. Preparing to extend shields."
    "The second freighter is returning fire," Worf
reported.
  "Direct hit," Dax said an instant later.
  "They're firing again," Worf said.
    Sisko looked up in time to see the second energy
burst strike Dolras's vessel amidships. He was
forced to shield his eyes against the blinding explo-
sion that followed, filling the screen and all of near
space with its white-hot fury. A shock wave followed
straight on the heels of the flash and struck the
station with a sudden forceful punch that sent Sisko
tumbling across the deck. The station's lights
dimmed as the floor pitched, then shuddered badly,




 rattling teeth and bones, but the sudden darkness
 was quickly lit once more as overloaded plasma
 conduits spewed energy from half a dozen Ops
 consoles. Slowly the floor moved back to level, and
 the emergency lighting kicked in. Sisko scrambled to
 his feet. "Is everyone all right?"
     He got nods from the bridge crew; most of them
 had managed to cling to their stations. Sisko found
 one exception quickly enough: Ensign Ballard, one
 of his newest Ops officers, lay on the floor, uncon-
 scious, burn marks on her hands and uniform.
    "Sisko to Bashir, we need a medical team up here
right away!" He turned to his officers. "What the hell
just happened?"
    "The blast occurred just as I was attempting to
reconfigure the shields around the freighter," Kira
said. "Most of the force was directed inward, toward
the station. We lost the shields for a moment, but
I've got them back."
    "Damage reports are coming in from all over the
station," Dax said. "Some of it appears to be heavy.
I'm trying to determine how serious our casualties
are."
    "The Toknor has been completely destroyed,"
Worf answered, his voice showing none of the emo-
tion Sisko knew he must be feeling. On the main
viewscreen only a spreading cloud of debris could
been seen where Dolras's ship had been a moment
ago.
    "Hail that freighter till you get an answer!" Sisko
said, glaring at the screen. "And try to open a

channel to the Klingon sector command. Anybody
you can get."
    "Sir," Worf said, followed by a rumble from
somewhere deep in his throat as he stood shaking his
head at his consoles. He took a breath. "I've been
running a full sensor sweep on the remaining freight-
er." He paused again, fingers moving, making the
console beep and chime.
 "What is it, Mr. Worf?" Sisko prodded.
    "It's as if there is nothing there. I can detect no life
signs and no drive signature of any type."
"You mean... any known type," Sisko suggested.
"No, sir. I mean there is no evidence of any kind
of propulsion system, no active hull echoes, no life-
support system or shield energy. I am picking up
trace energy readings, but nothing else. It is possible
our weapons would be useless against the target, just
as the Toknor's were."
  "Can we use a tractor beam on it?"
    Worf shook his head, and Sisko saw a mix of
frustration and disappointment on the Klingon's
features. "I do not think so."
    "Captain," Dax said, "I'm receiving distress calls
from several ships in dock. At least one of them has
been blown clear of its moorings. And I've got
another message coming in from a Bajoran plane-
tary shuttle that was on approach. They were caught
in the blast and are going to require assistance."
    "Very well, get crews to the runabouts and launch
them right away. In the meantime--"
  "Benjamin!"




    Dax's tone caught Sisko's immediate attention.
He looked at her, watched her stricken expression as
she paid keen attention to another message.
    "What is it, Dax?" he asked, taking a step toward
her.
    "The Rio Grande is drifting free. It must have
been caught in the blast wave like the others." Dax's
eyes came to his. "Benjamin, Chief O'Brien was
going to take Jake and Elliena out today. They may
be in the runabout."
    Sisko nodded gravely, recalling the fact, feeling his
stomach harden. "Is the chief with them now?"
Dax tapped the comm. "Ops to Chief O'Brien."
The chime rang back almost at once. "O'Brien
here. I'm on my way to Ops. I'll be there in a few
seconds."
"Where are Jake and Elliena?" Sisko asked.
"They're aboard a runabout," O'Brien replied.
Sisko looked at. the main viewer. "They're alone,"
he said, scanning the image on the screen. "Try to
raise them."
    "I've got Jake on the comm," Dax said after a
pause. "I'll put him on."
    Sisko held a deep breath, then let it out as the
faces of Jake and Elliena appeared on the screen,
taking the place of the stars and the second Klingon
freighter. "Are the two of you all right?"
    "Yes, I think so," Jake replied, sounding a bit
short of breath but otherwise calm.
 "We got bounced around a little," Elliena said.

She was clearly shaken, but appeared to be holding
her own.
    "I bet you did," Sisko said. "Jake, what's your
status?"
    "The runabout has been damaged, but I'm not
sure how bad it is. I can try to get an idea."
    "I'm not reading any systems failures," Kira re-
ported. "But main power wasn't online to begin
with."
    "If they can get the runabout powered up," Sisko
said, "will Jake be able to navigate?"
 Kira shrugged. "I don't see why not."
    "What about using our tractor beam on the Rio
Grande?"
"We should be able to latch on," Kira said.
"Captain," Worf said, "doing so would draw
attention to the runabout, and it was just after our
beam was activated that the Toknor was destroyed.
The two may have no connection, but the second
freighter is still at point-blank range. If they should
open fire..."
      "I see your point," Sisko said, "but for the mo-
ment they don't seem to be doing anything at all."
 Worf checked his console. "Confirmed."
    The captain raised his voice to the intercom once
more. "Jake, listen to me. We can't beam you off
without dropping the shields, but the runabout
seems functional. I want you to get the engines
online, then raise the runabout's shields. After that,
take the helm, but wait for my instructions. We're





 going to try to pull you in, but if anything goes
 wrong, you may have to fly the Rio Grande yourself."
     "Yes, sir," Jake said evenly, though Sisko could
 see a look of tense excitement on his son's face,
 which was exactly what he would have expected.
     "Are my parents on the station?" Elliena asked,
 sounding nervous but steady.
    "I don't have that information," Sisko told her.
"As I recall, they were due back today. I'll have
someone look into it at once. We'll tell them what's
going on."
  "Thank you, Captain," Elliena said.
    Sisko turned briefly, letting his gaze find each of
his Ops oflScers. "All right, let's make sure we can
give them a happy ending."
    Everyone went to work. Sisko made his way up to
Worf's tactical station, where he carefully watched
as the sensors indicated the precise rise of power
levels aboard the Rio Grande. When the runabout's
shields were activated at full power, Sisko gave the
signal. A wide, oscillating tractor beam reached out
into space and touched its target, illuminating the
Rio Grande, turning it slightly as it was set in
motion.
    "The runabout has been engaged," Dax reported.
"We're pulling them in."
    The screen went back to the original external
view. Then Sisko's eyes went wide as he witnessed a
second beam, very much like the one from the
station, suddenly appear and touch the runabout
from a different direction.

    "Captain," Worf snapped, "the Klingon freighter
has activated a tractor beam."
     "They're attempting to pull the runabout toward
them," Kira said, anxiously tapping at her panel.
  "Go to maximum power!" Sisko barked.
  "Already there, Captain," Kira responded. "The
  freighter is matching us exactly .... Wait!" Kira bit
  her lip as she stared intently at her displays.
  "They're increasing power. We're losing the run-
  about."
    Sisko slammed his fist on the console before him.
"Suggestions!"
    "Sir," Worf said, "at full thrust the Rio Grande's
engines, combined with our tractor beam, may pro-
vide enough power to overcome the pull of the other
beam."
    Sisko stood for an instant considering the prob-
abilities. "It might work."
  "I believe it is their only chance," Worf attested.
  "Jake," Sisko said, "can you hear me?"
      "Yes," Jake said. His voice quavered, and Sisko
realized the runabout must be shaking itself apart.
  "What's going on?"
    "I think this ship is going to break up any second
now. I've lost control. I don't think--"
    "I know, Jake. Can you verify that you have the
engines online?"
  "Yes, but the helm isn't responding."
     "That's because that freighter is trying to pull you
 away from the station. We can't fight it alone, so
 you're going to have to help us get you free." He





turned to Kira. "Major, give him a heading for
maximum combined effect, away from the freighter
but not too close to the station--we don't want him
to crash into us if this works. Jake, enter the heading,
and when I tell you to, go to full impulse. Give it
everything you've got."
    "Confirmed," Jake answered, breathless. "Course
laid in."
    Sisko waited only a moment. "Okay, Jake, full
thrust!"
  "Firing engines--now," Jake said.
  "They're coming around," Kira said.
    Sisko stood staring at the viewer, focusing all his
attention on the small dark spot that was the Rio
Grande caught in the crisscrossed tractor beams. He
could see the glow from the runabout's engines and
could estimate the amount of combined energy that
was being spent on that one place in space right now,
the place that held his only son and a Bajoran
diplomat's only daughter.
    "The freighter is still increasing power to its
tractor beam," Kira said. "I don't know where
they're getting it from, but I don't think it'll be
enough to hold the Rio Grande."
    Dax shook her head. "The runabout's engines are
beginning to overload. If this doesn't work in the
next few seconds Jake is going to have to shut
down."
 "Mr. Worf, how are we doing?" Sisko asked.
    "The runabout is beginning to shear away," the
commander replied, eyes fixed on his console.

 "They might just do it," Kira agreed.
    "They are free!" Worf shouted. with enough ex-
citement to cause Sisko to look at him with surprise.
    On the screen the small dark spot they had been
observing suddenly darted away from the intersect-
ing tractor beams. Sisko continued to watch, jubi-
lant at first, then going cold as he realized the
runabout was spinning out of control.
     "Jake, shut down the engines!" he shouted. "Use
your thrusters. You have to regain helm control."
  "I'm--I'm trying," Jake replied shakily.
    "He doesn't have the experience to deal with
anything like this," Sisko said, thinking out loud. He
gripped the console so hard that his hands began to
hurt.
    "Captain," Kira reported, looking up at Sisko.
"They're headed straight for the wormhole."
    As she spoke, the vast bright whirlpool of swirling
circles that signified the opening of the wormhole
erupted on the screen. The Rio Grande spun toward
its open mouth, out of reach, out of control, falling
into the spiral's central fury, then vanishing from
sight.
    Sisko stood by, stunned, holding a breath, unable
to let it out. The wormhole disappeared again,
leaving only the empty darkness of space.
    "The second freighter is moving off," Worf said,
proving himself the only officer whose attention was
not entirely focused on the runabout. "But... this
is not possible," Worf said.
  Sisko slowly turned to his strategic operations


officer, slightly numb. "What is not possible, Mr.
Worf?."
    "It is... that is..." He stopped, apparently
collecting his thoughts. "The entire vessel seems to
be fading from sight."
    "Magnify," Sisko said. The Klingon freighter sud-
denly filled the main viewer. But where definitive
detail should have been visible, he saw stars begin-
ning to show through the ship's ponderous hull.
    "The ship is moving into the wormhole," Wo