DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns their characters, I own mine. This concept is one they wouldn't touch with a barge pole, so no worries there. Please do not steal this story or any ideas from it, at least not without asking the author/s first.

NOTE: This story is based in an alternate universe, where the Occupation only lasted for 30 years, not 60 years. If you are interested in adding to this saga by writing a novella to go with this world, feel free to contact me.

Frontier Freedom

Book 9

Kira Reon greeted him with a Bajoran bow and a pleasant, "Ambassador. Welcome back."

"I take it you've forgiven me my last visit."

"Not in the slightest," grinned Reon. "I'm just waiting for the fireworks to start."

"Ah? There are supposed to be fireworks?"

"Yes," Reon fell into pace beside him. "The second Nerys finds out that, yet again, you've followed her here."

"That's hardly fair. This time I've preceded her by about a week. This time, technically speaking, she's following me."

"I doubt if Nerys will see it that way."

"Somehow, I think you're right."

Reon had to grin. "Perhaps I could interest you in the super-fortified, 'Apocalypse-Proof' quarters. As endorsed by the late Gul Ren Hoek."

"As in the Gul Ren Hoek who died in them because he couldn't get out? I don't think so."

"I was thinking of the Herculean effort required for unauthorized personnel to get in," said Reon. "As security chief, I do have to think of your safety."

"So do I," replied Odo. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take my chances with my natural abilities."

"I thought as much," Reon sighed.

"Tell me, has your sister always been like this?"

Reon thought about it for a moment. "I wouldn't say always . . . but she's certainly been a handful for as long as I can remember." He smiled toothily. "And it has seemed to get worse since she's known you."

"Ah." The noncommittal noise spoke volumes.

Guinan had quite finished pretending to be busy behind her uncustomered bar. It was more than obvious that the lone ensign standing at the window was not going to buy anything. Which meant that it was time to observe and listen. She crept forward on catlike feet to stand companionably beside the Bajoran and work out what she was thinking.

The ensign's eyes were fixed on a small, fuzzy circle in the distance.

Her home. Bajor.

Guinan thought an apt comment would be justified. "It's funny. No matter how many trips you make, no matter how many times you go into space, you always want to see your home from the stars." She smiled fleetingly. "And it's always beautiful."

"Almost." Kira traced the outline of the far continent on the viewport. "Dakhur is just around the corner of the world. We won't see it from this angle." She smiled a little. "But you can see Rakantha province from here, we used to go there in school holidays to visit my uncle. My brothers taught me to swim one summer by throwing me in the lake."

Guinan chuckled. "Ah, the traditional method used by brothers all over the multiverse." She focused again on the ensign. "What is it, Nerys? What is it about your home that's troubling you tonight?"

Kira sat down, staring at her hands. "Have you ever . . . felt like you liked someone . . . I mean really liked someone, but you didn't want to say anything because it might ruin your friendship with them?" The words had tumbled out, racing each other to be voiced. "And you think he might feel the same way, but it's too risky because he's not like you and . . . " she paused, then lamely finished "and it's just all too confusing to think about."

Guinan, a woman who, even though she rarely left the bar, knew all the gossip for ten light years, had no trouble speculating who the man in question might be. The problem was how to proceed.

She opted for diplomatic optimism. "But not all inter-species relationships are as dangerous as people think." She smiled slightly and nodded towards a couple all but hidden in the shadows. "Take Commanders Yar and Data, for example." A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "They only see each other once every three months, yet their relationship is as strong as ever it was."

"That's different," Kira dismissed them with a wave of her hand. "Data's an android, he doesn't have emotions and stuff."

"Tasha might disagree with you there." The bartender was definitely smiling now. "Just because someone doesn't show emotion in their everyday life, doesn't mean they don't have them. In fact, it can mean that their feelings are stronger and more passionate than you can imagine."

Nerys shook her head and turned to leave. "It doesn't matter anyway, they aren't here at the moment." She allowed herself a smile. "Who knows, I might meet a nice Bajoran man this week and sort all this out."

As she watched her leave, Guinan raised an eyebrow and murmured "Or at least you'll think it's sorted out."

"Now, I want you to all be aware that although Bajor is a protectorate of the Federation, it's not yet a Federation planet." Riker was giving his usual pre-shore leave planetary warning. "Therefore, while you are on the station and on Bajor itself, you will be under their legal jurisdiction. And should you break Bajoran law, we will have to turn you over to be tried the local arbiter and punished according to Bajoran law." His face took on a certain 'set' expression. "I might add that the death penalty is still in force for certain crimes here, so make sure you don't get into trouble. Dismissed." As Kira went to leave, he placed his hand on her shoulder and held her back. "Ensign, I understand you have requested that you be permitted to stay with your parents for the next five days while we are here?"

Nerys nodded calmly. "That's right, sir. They live in Dakhur province, and only just outside of the village, so I won't have any trouble transporting to the Capitol if you need me to any time."

"Captain Picard has agreed to you request, as long as you contact the Enterprise every day to check in. Other than that," he shrugged and smiled, "enjoy your holiday."

Dax and Bashir were waiting impatiently in the hallway as Kira strolled out of the room. "Well?" Dax demanded." What did he do? Say that the danger of Tribbles attacking the replicators was too great and you couldn't go?"

"Actually, he wished me a happy holiday." Nerys grinned as Bashir tossed her duffel bag at her and the headed towards the docking airlock and Deep Space Nine. "Are you two sure you don't want to come and visit too? Mum and dad said they'd be happy to have you."

"Oh we'll drop in sometime," Julian grinned as they headed through the airlock and stood on Bajoran soil for the first time.

"After he's had enough of the Dabo girls, that is." Jadzia smiled evilly and ducked the playful swipe Bashir aimed at her head. "Anyway, you don't want us hanging around while you visit all your old friends and family." She patted Kira's shoulder. "But we'll drop by and say hello towards the end of the week." The smile became mischievous. "We can tell them all the stories you don't want them to know!"

Kira fired a parting shot as she stepped aboard the inter-system shuttle that would take her to Bajor Prime. "In that case, forget I asked!"

Kira hummed quietly and tapped at her PADD. She hadn't been back to her home planet for over two years now, and she was actually looking forward to seeing her family again. Of all of them, she had traveled the furthest. Even her older brothers, both off-world in the service of the militia, managed to make it home more often than she had. Mind you, for all their duties, they were still within the Bajoran system, and working for a Bajoran department meant that family was seen a a viable request for leave.

But it was her younger sisters and brothers she was really looking forward to seeing again. When she left, Pol had returned to Bajor after completing his science degree on Vulcan, his last letter being more of a hastily scrawled note, since he was swamped with work since the discovery of the wormhole. The twins had just started secondary school, while Selan, her other sister, had just started her teaching degree at the Southern Provinces University. The squawk of the intercom drew Nerys' attention back to where she was, and in the few minutes it took to land, she'd re-packed the PADD into her bag and was waiting at the airlock.

Moments after she walked into the transit terminal, she found herself in the middle of a three way hug between Pol and the twins, with her parents watching on with beaming smiles. After a minutes of hugs and whispered hellos to her brothers and sister, Nerys hugged her mother gently.

"I've missed you." The older woman had tears in her eyes as she leant back and looked at her daughter. "That uniform looks good on you."

Nerys shrugged slightly and blushed. "Sometimes it feels a little tight still." She smiled as well. "But only when I'm in trouble."

Her father tried to hide his grin behind a stern expression. "Which isn't too often I hope."

Kira had the good grace to appear chastised. "Well, not too often." Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she and her family headed for the planetary transit terminal and a few minutes later, Kira Nerys was standing on her home soil again for the first time in several years. She looked at the family home and raised an eyebrow. "I see you've been renovating since I left."

Kira Taban waved nonchalantly towards the new extensions at the rear of the house. "Well, your mother needed a new studio since she picked up the contract for the Bre'neth province museum redecoration scheme, and I've started working with aquastone for my latest carvings. So it was a good excuse to build a new wing."

"It looks good." Nerys eased herself into a chair on the verandah and relaxed as she gazed out over the view. "And it's good to be home." She sighed and murmured again, "It's very good to be home."

Quark rubbed his hands gleefully. A new ship in town always meant new and innocent Starfleet personnel to be taken for all the credits they possessed. He's watered the drinks as far as he could, the peanuts were as salted as possible to still be edible, and the holosuites were booked solid for the next five days even at double prices. The only thing that hadn't been changed were the dabo tables, but as the odds always favoured the house, it didn't matter.

"Quark." A cold shiver danced down the Ferengi's spine at the graveled voice behind him. Oh no, he thought, he can't possibly be here again!

He turned, and sure enough in the door, stood that damned shapeshifter. May he spend eternity in the vault of eternal destitution. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, as usual." The man casually glanced about the room, then focused on a distant corner and smiled. "Give the ensigns another of whatever they're having, though." Odo dropped three strips onto the bar as he headed towards the corner, leaving an interested Quark in his wake.

"Odo!" Jadzia grinned and moved over, waving Odo onto the bench seat next to her, and elbowed Julian in the ribs. "Look who's here."

Bashir raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Then it's a good thing Nerys isn't." He framed a mock frown at the other man. "Are you following us around the galaxy?"

Odo raised his hands in surrender. "No, it just seems like it." His face sketched a smile. "So, where is Kira?"

"Which one?" Jadzia nodded a welcome to a figure behind him. "How can we help you, Constable?"

Kira Reon pulled up a chair and sat down, smiling broadly. "I just called my parents and said hello to Nerys. And informed her that Odo was here as well."

Odo rolled his eyes. "Do you always torture innocent ambassadors like this? Or is this a special thing you do just for me?"

Reon kept grinning. "It's just you." He looked towards the others, who were giggling lightly. "Nerys said that if you get a chance, could you heave him out an airlock for her. And under no circumstances were you to bring him with you when you visit her. Or she'll heave you out an airlock."

"Ah." Dax was already thinking evil thoughts as Reon slid a shuttle ticket across the table to Odo.

"So I booked the passage for you." He stood and bowed slightly, the grin even broader is possible. "Enjoy the holiday, and give Nerys my best."

"She'll kill you if she get hold of you, you know that." Bashir was beginning to appreciate having a family without a sense of humour.

Reon shrugged. "She has to get hold of me first." He winked and left as Odo uneasily pondered the ticket before him.

"We're leaving in three days to visit her, which I'm sure Reon knew." Dax beckoned a waiter over for more drinks. "Will you be able to come?"

"I'm not sure if I should." Odo's face was full of doubt. "If she really was serious about what she said, then-"

"Then she wouldn't have told Reon." Bashir smiled. "Trust us, Nerys will be expecting all of us to turn up, and she'll be thrilled. Besides," he winked at Dax, "Don't you want to tell her parents some stories about her? I know we do."

There was, well hidden and deep, a desire in Odo to see where Nerys had grown up and to meet the people who had raised her. Not that he could let the rest of the world know that, which was the real reason for the reluctance. "Very well." He stood and made to leave. "I'll be at the shuttle in three days then." He glanced around and saw his guard motioning towards the Promenade. "If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend."

Meska stared at his sister. "So what are Orion slave markets like?"

Nerys smiled as her mother shushed the boy, but answered anyway. "Dirty and smelly, and filled with Orions and Hypurians. Oh, and the occasional Ferengi."

"I think it's obscene that the Federation allows such things to happen." Selan's girlfriend, Gar Tegan, had firm ideas about what the Federation should, and shouldn't do with it's power. "They should close the planet down until the natives learn manners and how to be civilized."

"If they did that, there wouldn't be any natives to learn." Nerys watched the woman closely. "The planet is a garbage dump. There's no arable land left, the ocean is beyond saving anytime this millennium, and the only way the 'natives', as you put it, can earn a living is by signing on as shipmates on Ferengi or Orion starships, or by trading posts."

Kira Taban broke in to end the discussion. "In other words, it's space or the slave markets."

Nerys nodded. "Exactly. And as long as there are buyers, there'll be sellers."

Tegan scowled, but took the hint. "I still think it's obscene."

Silence reigned for a few moments as everyone finished eating, before the group broke up, the students to their studies, and Nerys to sitting outside watching the stars. She was interrupted a few minutes later by a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to find her sister, Selan smiling at her. "Mind if I join you?"

"Go ahead." Kira found a glass in her hand and sniffed it cautiously. It smelt of apples; well, mostly apples.

Selan saw the sniff and laughed. "Don't ask."

"Don't tell." Nerys raised the glass in a toast and sipped carefully. "So, how long have you and Tegan been together?"

A sigh. "Six months." Selan leant back and watched the stars as well, rather than meet her sisters gaze. "What can I say, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"So did Ysma. And Fresath, and J'quel, and . . . what was her name?" She frowned and made a vague gesture. "The one with weird hair."

"Samara." Selan shrank a little in her chair.

"That's her." Nerys leaned back again. "They all seemed like a good idea at the time, from what I remember. And it all ended in tears at bedtime."

"Look, Nerys, I'm not like you." The woman was on the defensive. "I'm not attracted to men, you are. Now, I know you don't like that, but--"

"Don't tell me what I do and don't like, Selan." Nerys used the voice she'd once used on cavalier young pilots. "I have no trouble, not a one, with you preferring women to men." She took a breath and her voice gentled. "But I do have a problem with you getting constantly hurt, whoever your bedmate." She slumped back a little, and took her sisters hand in hers. "I'm tired of watching you get hurt, that's all, I promise."

Selan nodded and a small tear tracked down her cheek. "I know." She scrubbed at the droplet and managed a shaky laugh. "I'm just a lousy chooser, that's all. You'll probably be married and have grandkids before I find someone for me."

"Then I'm sure you'll make a wonderful auntie." Nerys smiled and hugged her sister.

Were he Human, Odo would have been having a hard time staying awake. As it was, he was hard pressed keeping his form. He desperately wanted nothing more than to go somewhere and do something. Anywhere and anything. Even running from Lwaxana looked attractive.

Hell, running to Lwaxana was starting to look attractive.

"Ambassador? Your opinion?"

"My opinion is that if you get to the point any slower, the universe is going to go cold waiting for it. If you're having trouble going through some areas of Gamma Quadrant space, avoid that space. Someone obviously doesn't want you there. I can sympathize with them."

"Ambassador?" Obviously, this man was a few prayers short of the Temple.

"I don't want you here, either. Good day."

His guard started escorting him the wrong way with a pleasant, "Now that you're temporarily finished with the talks, ambassador, the station doctor would like you to check in."

And he'd been doing so well at avoiding them, too.

Odo was in a truly foul mood by the time he arrived in the infirmary. The doctor, much to his partial relief, turned out to be a Starfleet medico by the name of Elizabeth Lense. Odo let himself wind down form his former fury and was actually civil for a handful of seconds.

"Doctor."

"Ah, Ambassador," Lense smiled. "Take a seat. My assistant's been recommending I take a look at you."

Already, he was plotting murder for Julian Bashir. "Your assistant."

"From Bajor," Lense continued to smile while Odo experienced a sensation similar to a sinking stomach.

"Hello Odo."

"You!" It was possible to put years of emotion behind one syllable. It was as if, in one word, he was able to say, 'After all this time and energy fighting to be free, after years of proving myself and doing good, here comes you. Hello, you.'

"Now, there's no need for hostility," said Mora in patented Calm and Reasonable Tones.

"Maybe in your Pagh," Odo sniped. "I was the one on the wrong end of the microscope."

"Only because you wouldn't speak to me!"

"Would you have listened if I did?"

"Maybe not, but--"

"It's the maybe that interests me," interrupted Odo. "What would I have had to do to convince you I wasn't being a mimic?"

"Er..." said Mora.

Odo folded his arms in victory. "Exactly. You weren't interested in anything else but your publishable results."

"At least I was better than the Cardassian!"

"Yes, I noticed you were far more creative with your methods of torture."

"Gentlemen," prompted Doctor Lense.

She was promptly ignored. "I never knew I was doing that. You could have done something!"

"Like what?" Odo demanded. "Any reaction would have to be duplicated fifty times before hypothesized about what it meant."

"Gentlemen!"

"I had to study every aspect of you! You're an alien life form."

"And in other news from the department of 'well, duh'..."

"GENTLEMEN!" Lense forced herself between Odo and Mora. "This is not the time or the place for aggression therapy."

"Really? Where do we go for that?" Enquired Odo. "Do we get rubber bats?"

"Odo! You could have learned some manners between now and then!" Mora scolded.

"I did. I just choose to use them on people who deserve them."

"And just who, on your past escapades, falls into that category?"

"SHUT THE FLAKK UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Lense screamed. "You," she pointed to Mora. "Out! You," she pointed to Odo, "lie down and shaddup!"

Reon, a man unable to be annoyed or ruffled in an easy manner, was bordering on screaming out of sheer frustration. "I'm sorry, Commander, but there's very little I can actually do to stop this unless I can catch them in the act." He waved towards the painted symbol on the cargo-bay wall. "And this is a low-security area of the station at the best of times."

"As of now, Constable," The Starfleet officer was worse than angry - he was frightened. "There are no low-security areas on this station. Understood?" Reon nodded slowly and carefully; he didn't want that anger directed at him for lack of a better target. "And make sure that all these marks are removed after being examined. I don't want them left around for a moment more than we have to."

Kira watched him leave, then relaxed and sighed, as Odo appeared from where he had been watching in the shadows. His hand halfway to his phaser, the Bajoran risked a smile. "You shouldn't do that to a man. You might get shot one day."

Odo shrugged. "An Earth buccaneer once made a collection of weapons he hadn't been killed with. Perhaps I should start?"

Reon laughed outright then, and walked back to the Promenade, Odo at his side. "So, what do you think of our 'little' problem?"

"I think that unless things change on Bajor, and quickly, it will become a big problem. Perhaps bigger than us all."

He was confused. "It's not like you to be an alarmist, Odo. What makes this different from all the other troublemakers we've seen over the years?"

Odo stopped and turned to the other. "Because this particular group have a reason to stop you, and I suspect that it has to do with that wormhole. And for that reason, I would suggest that you take all precautions."

"And why is that, ambassador?" Reon folded his arms, not openly hostile yet, but neither disinterested. "What do you know that I don't?"

"About this? Probably not much." Odo's eyes became harder. "But about troublemakers in general I've had plenty of experience. And you and I both know that, until now, Bajor has been a quiet backwater planet that turns out soldiers, thinkers and scientists. The wormhole is going to bring it under much more scrutiny than before, and I would bet every lita of my small account that there's quite a few politicians who would rather the whole thing just went away." He paused, then added in a more sinister tone. "Not to mention the Cardassians."

"We saw them off years ago, Odo." Kira nodded slowly as he thought about it. "But this would be a coup if they could get control of it."

"And Bajor could be back where it started at the beginning of the Occupation. Complete with a Cardassian garrison 'for your protection'. And you would be answering to them, instead of Starfleet."

At that, Reon shuddered. "Doesn't bear thinking about, does it." He risked a smile. "No matter how caught up in protocol Starfleet is, they ask questions before accusing."

"Rather than just lining people up and shooting first. I agree." Odo waved a salute to two waiting figures. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a visit to Bajor to make."

Reon grinned openly. "Say hello to Nerys for me."

Odo nodded. "I will. And take care up here. I'd like to find things in one piece when I come back."

"Nerys!" Dax hugged her friend and laughed as Kira scowled at them. The grin in her eyes told her how the Bajoran really felt. "We thought you might like it if we brought an old friend along."

"Humph." Nerys glared at Odo. "The man follows me all over the universe! Why shouldn't he appear here as well?"

Bashir placed a comradely arm about her shoulders. "And do you know how hard it is to find that kind of obsession and dedication? Really Nerys, I'm surprised at you throwing it away like that."

She cuffed the Human about the ears and laughed. "Well, all right then." The grin didn't fade as she turned back to Odo. "So, Ambassador, how's the universe been treating you then?"

"Very well. And you?" Odo bowed slightly and followed as she led them to a hover-car.

She shrugged and headed the car towards her parents house. "Can't complain. No use even if I did."

"Nerys," Dax pointed towards a shop down a small alley as they passed out of the town. "What's that symbol doing here?"

The car came to a dusty halt as Kira all but stood on the brake. She jumped out before the dust had even started settling and ran back to the house. The others followed at a more sedate pace, and arrived to find her swearing quietly and staring at the large black symbol of 'The Circle' which had been painted onto the small building.

"Damn! I hoped we could avoid them." Kira glanced at the others. "How much do you know about this group?"

"Commander Riker gave us a talk on them, said we were to avoid them at all costs. And Reon has been kept busy securing the station. They've painted the mark there as well." Bashir nodded towards the symbol. "I take it you haven't seen it here before?"

"No, we haven't." Nerys knocked on the door of the shop but got no answer. "I thought one of her assistants might be working today, but I guess not." At the others confused looks, she tapped the shop wall. "This is my mothers town workshop. She displays her pottery and paintings here and has some for sale, rather than at home and have people wander through the house when she or dad are trying to work."

"So they knew exactly who they were striking at then, not just a random target." Odo stroked his chin slowly.

"Oh, they knew." The group headed back to the car, but bunched together now and alert rather than relaxed. Kira's fingers were itching for a charged phaser at her belt; under the circumstance, she felt positively undressed without one. "We have four family members working with the Federation in some way. No, this was definitely not a random choice."

The rest of the trip was completed in silence, each with their own thoughts. As Nerys pulled up to the family house, her parents came to meet the group. They'd barely drawn breath though, before she broke in with "Mum, we have a problem at the shop."

"But I'm on holidays!" Odo had on his 'I can wait you out until the universe ends' face and folded his arms.

The consulate official squirmed unhappily. "I'm sorry, but the First Minister insists. He wants the Federations advice on the separatists, and apparently because of your previous dealings with Bajor, he won't see or talk to anyone else!" He threw his hands up in annoyance. "I'm sorry, but there it is. It's you or no-one."

Odo let him sweat it out for a few moments before nodding. "Very well, I'll meet with the First Minister tomorrow at nine a.m." Before the lackey could reply or, more likely, argue, he'd closed the connection and turned to the rooms previously silent observer. "Well?"

Nerys shook her head slowly. "I don't like it. Minister Gravoul is a strong man, he fought in the independence war and on the borders before entering politics. Why should he need advice from an Ambassador of the Federation?"

"He doesn't; Not unless he doesn't trust the current Federation consulate, or his own staff." The changeling watched his friend and fought down that usual tingling feeling he got whenever he was with her, the one that told him there was more to their relationship than he would admit. "Either way, this could be a trap. One I plan on walking into with both eyes wide open."

"What if they kill you?" Kira was nothing if not a realist. "It's happened before, and fanatics are mad enough to do it 'for the cause', so to speak."

"I don't think so." A smile flitted across his face."I think they'll try to capture and interrogate me."

"And if they do?" Nerys fought down the dread in her gut.

The smile came again. "Then it will be up to you to find and rescue me. Causing as much chaos and havoc to the enemy as possible in the process, naturally."

"Finally I get to have some fun!" Kira grinned toothily. "I was beginning to get bored. I haven't shot anything for at least two weeks."

Odo breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken him ten solid minutes and fifty changes of form, but he'd done it. He'd finally gotten away from those stuffed-suit ambassadorial tour guides who seemed dedicated to turn his brain into mush. He let himself stand and enjoy the calm serenity of the stream trickling past the crooked steppingstone pathway.

That was when everything went to hell.

There were seven of them. Three tackled him as a fourth pressed a hypo of a working anesthetic agent into his body. They all lifted him and silently carted him away.

"What about the Bajoran?" One of them said.

"Flakk her," said the other as Odo descended into oblivion, "We've got something better."

There is an age-old question known only to certain perverse minds: How do you torture a shapeshifter?

Evidently, these people had worked long and hard on finding an answer. Odo remembered a vague and uncertain amount of time in a drugged torpor, learning that fighting against the chemicals only got him more chemicals. His captors kept him dosed up, until the moment they threw him in this cell.

It was almost a hollow sphere of duranium, the one metal his body couldn't chemically adapt, because he was almost violently allergic to any derivatives of it. There was the door, held fast with a shield, and the floor, made of ordinary steel. He was still sluggish from the drugs, but he knew that whatever they put him in here for, it wasn't to keep him prisoner.

There were two masked figures dressed in blood red cover-all-sins, hooded, sleeved, floor-length and above all thick garments that betrayed no gender or identity beyond the movements of the wearer. One was behind a control panel, and the other paced in front of his door with a limp. They wouldn't tell him anything. If he was lucky, they'd ask questions.

He wasn't lucky.

The pacer motioned to the controller and an electric shock ran through the floor. Odo was helpless to avoid it, save for jumping in the air. The current, still running when he landed, forced him up again. The walls held no purchase for his humanoid shape. Only his determination not to amuse them kept him from clinging to the walls.

They were laughing anyway.

Odo gave up, and flung his shapeless, natural self against the curve of the ceiling. There, at last, he had respite. Odo reveled in the feel of his body relaxing from the tension. Relaxing enough to allow the drugs to take effect on his form, and make it more slack than he needed it to be.

Slowly, and ever so surely, Odo gradually slid down to the floor again, where he received another shock that drove him to the ceiling once more. Whatever time of day it was, outside, Odo was going to have a very long one.

The drugs would, eventually, wear off, but by that time, he'd be so exhausted that their absence would make a negligible difference. Never before had he felt so doomed. Even the Cardassians, whom he despised, had had a vested interest in his continuing existence. These were a group of Bajor-for-the-Bajorans extremists. One more death wouldn't matter to them.

It was, as they were wont to write on old two-D dramas, hours later. Time had become a blur to him. There was only pain, rest, and the closed door. Whatever else happened to him, he had to watch the closed door and the people on the other side.

The pacer was growing tired, and had pulled up a chair. Control panel had always been sitting, and changed positions endlessly. Finally, one of them spoke, and it was Control Panel who cracked. "How much longer?"

"When it's too sick to move, then we let it rest. They tell us it's much more valuable as a hostage than a corpse."

So. Someone did want him alive.

"What if this is an instinctual reaction? What if it's already half dead? It's been --"

"Don't tell how long its been!" Snapped Pacer. "But you are correct. It's been too long. Shut off the current, for two hours."

Odo spent a good fifteen minutes of those two hours in desperate fear of touching the floor. The rest was spent in uncaring oblivion.

Elsewhere...

"I got them!" Kira crowed, flourishing a datapadd.

Dax looked up from her console at the same instant Bashir did. "What? How?" The Trill demanded. "I've been scouring every legitimate source of information I could get my hands on."

"For an entire twenty-six hours," Bashir added, looking extremely punchy.

"Let's just say it helps to have illegitimate sources," Kira grinned.

"Bitch."

"Cow."

Kira just grinned. "Do you want it, or don't you?"

Dax glared at her. "This is all about the purple underwear, isn't it?"

Bashir did likewise. "This is all about the 'additives' I put in your rat packs last away mission, isn't it?"

Dax and Bashir looked quizzically at each other a moment before shrugging. Over their time together, a certain level of 'friendly fire' had been going on between all three of them. Listing the entirety of their various transgressions would begin to sound like a list of impossibilities.

"Just hand it over before we're forced to kill you," said Dax.

"Ha!" Bashir crowed as he looked over Dax's shoulder. "I knew he hadn't left Bajor!"

"Yes; very good; have a jelly." Dax scanned the contents. "This is directly under the flakking capital!"

"Exactly," Kira looked incredibly smug and, to make things worse, well rested. "It's the last place we'd look."

"Bitch."

"Cow."

Maybe he'd even imagined Mora. It was easy enough for a Cardassian to get a cover-all-sin and a Bajoran mask. Maybe Glin Zaird hadn't put him on a shelf for thirty years. Maybe it was all a big joke.

The worst of it, to Odo's infinite confusion, was that he probably dreamed up Kira Nerys as well.

He hadn't known himself to be that creative.

Someone like her would have doubtless rescued from this place, at least in his fantasies, some years ago. He wouldn't have gone through the years of humiliation on stage under Mora, either. So what was real? Was this a nightmare?

No, he reasoned. One wakes up from nightmares...

A noise outside distracted his captors enough for them to accidentally turn up the current. Odo screamed.

Somewhere under the noise of his own pain, was a cacophony of destruction. Maybe he was imagining it all. Maybe this was what they called a death fantasy; but outside his prison, three Starfleet Lieutenants were blowing up the bad guys. One, a red-haired firebrand he remembered from what he'd thought was a dream, raced towards the door and vaporized the control. It took Odo a few moments to realize what she'd done. The door was open. There was a way out.

There was also a floor.

"Come on," hissed the redheaded one, warily on lookout for other red cover-all-sins. "You're free. Moovit!"

There was only one way out that allowed him respite without the possibility of touching the floor. He hoped that this phantom was real, and that if she was, she'd forgive him. Odo arced from the walls, out the door, and then across the uniformed torso of Kira Nerys.

It was just the right time for Bashir to arrive, take one look at the scene, and make a smart comment.

Which he did. "Full Odo Jacket, eh?"

"Shut the flakk up," Kira growled. "That's a ten tetravolt charge in there. If I'd been in there for three days, I'd be phobic about floors, too. He's too exhausted to fly, too scared to rest. What would you do?"

Julian tossed a pebble into the room, which caused sparks and the smell of burning silicon once again filled the area. "Youch," he said, absently scanning the ambassador, who was covering territory that haunted Julians' more exotic dreams. "He's not a very good colour, is he? We need to get him to the infirmary as soon as possible."

"I figured that out already." Kira dropped another Circle member with a well-aimed chaser blast.

"He seems to be very personal towards you about this," Julian noted.

"For which I will kill him later, when he can appreciate it."

The trio had reached the outside of the caves now, to find an anxious Dax waiting in their 'borrowed' shuttle. She shot a surprised glance at Kira, who looked like she was wearing a bright blue shimmering silk scarf and nothing else, but refrained from the obvious comments, and powered up the shuttle. "I take it Odo isn't well."

Bashir frowned and punched his tricorder as if he had a vendetta against it. "No, he's not. And despite his new bed," he ignored the faint growl from the 'bed', "He's getting worse."

"'Zia, take us to the Kendra monastery." Kira looked around vainly for a container for Odo, then gave up and resigned herself to wearing him. "It has a medical research center." Her new outfit suddenly shuddered against her, and she absent-mindedly stroked it gently. "You'll be fine Odo, I promise. No-one's going to hurt you."

"We could be another matter." Jadzia nodded towards a pair of Bajoran scout ships that seemed to have materialized beside them and were now riding shotgun with them. "I think someone's realized where we are."

"Don't worry, they won't shoot. The Bajoran Militia like to take prisoners alive."

A voice floated over the comms. It was Reon. "Nerys, tell me you aren't in that shuttle."

Kira groaned and leaned back against the bulkhead. "I'm dead."

Part of her was thankful that ambassadorial health took precedence. The rest of her was furious at the universe at large, the Prophets in general, and the twist of fate that let her become a walking bed in particular. Compared to the rest of her, the small atom of fury raging at the Ambassador was only a minor problem.

The real problem was that Ambassador Odo would not, under any circumstances, let go.

He had never been so afraid. Not even the threat of Mora coming to take him back to a life of performing ignominy had made him this terrified. He'd almost died a great number of times before, but never this painfully.

And he'd had the audacity to think that he was used to pain.

Now that he was in pain beyond any of his former concepts of the word, Odo was afraid of the world. He was terrified of the unreality that threatened to overtake his perception, and so clung tightly to the only concrete reality he knew. Kira Nerys. His visual membranes had partially occluded since his rescue, so the rest of the universe was a blur, some of which loomed out of the fog to poke, prod, or aim things at him. Every time something came near, he clung to his reality-anchor, Nerys, as if she were the only one who could protect him.

It was a definite terror to be half-blind, half-deaf and in a world of pain. All his senses, his links with the world outside his body, were numbed, which meant that the senses inside, the ones attuned to his damage and wounds, had full reign. He could only truly hear Nerys through the vibrations in his skin. Everything else was a confusing jumble of muted noises that made no more sense than the rest of his world.

Through it all was Nerys. Comforting, gentle, heroic and battle inured Nerys. She who had given him worth by assuming it in him. His hero. She doubtless sat on a biobed now, murmuring soothing sounds and gently caressing his agonized body; trying to get him to relax and let the doctors do what they could. But doctors caused pain. He knew that Nerys, however, wouldn't let
anything happen to him.

Part of him, the deep, dark part that hated him, whispered through the pain. It said, That's because she wants to happen to you first.

He let a tricorder approach only if she held it; and, because the readings of a medical tricorder meant so little to her, she had to hold it backwards so enquiring doctors could check the numbers and adjust their machines accordingly. So far, she could feel him flinch any time someone else came close to them, which made little sense to her.

Hadn't he been isolated for three days? It would be more logical for him to crave company, rather than shrinking from it. She could understand his phobia of doctors in general, since the increasing number of them in here seemed to be treating them both as nothing more than an interesting piece of meat; but the priests chanting in any vacant space shouldn't worry him.

Not unless he had some pieces of personal history she really, truly, had no wish to know about... Which would, she realized, explain his apparent intense dislike of Vedeks.

The mere mental image made her squirm inside. What had been done to him in his past, to make him so afraid now? Was there anything, besides sitting still and make calming noises, that she could do for him?

Odo flinched at a cellular regenerator beam, clinging even tighter to her body. If he was aware of the parts he was squeezing, she was going to make all these medico's efforts very futile, indeed. If he wasn't aware, well... maybe she could forgive him.

Eventually. At a glacial pace, perhaps.

Nerys watched as a new Vedek swept into the room and began to speak quietly with the other monks. Eventually, he made his way to her, a serene smile on his face. "Good evening. I'm Vedek Bareil, in charge of the monastery you are visiting." He looked around at the truckloads of medical scanners and frowned slightly. "I see we're examining your . . . " the pause was as delicate as a snowflake, "Your companion, but I notice a distinct lack of food or drink for yourself." He shot a dark look at a passing scientist, who had the good sense to appear apologetic. "Would you like anything?"

Kira swallowed tightly as Odo shuddered again. "Some ice tea if possible." Odo's own body heat, combined with his close proximity to hers, was beginning to make her sweaty and lightheaded."And I'd like to know what's happened to my friends as well."

Bareil looked at a guard at the door, who scurried away, reappearing moments later with two tall glasses of ice tea, as well as with Bashir and Dax in tow, both looking extremely disgruntled. "I'll leave you to talk with your friends." He bowed and smiled at her again. "If there's anything else you require, please, don't hesitate to ask."

Dax raised an eyebrow as she watched the man leave. "An old . . . 'friend'?"

Nerys could hear the unspoken implication and shook her head. "No. Never seen him before." She smiled a little. "But I might see him again."

Something was falling on him, as gentle as snow. Odo shuddered.

Whatever it was, it was occluding his already eroded vision and hearing. He briefly closed, then opened his sense membranes again, absorbing some of the stuff in the process.

Odd. It improved things, just a little. He opened himself to the falling, fine ash and marveled as he improved at its very touch.

Kira was immensely relieved by the presence of the kakalina herbs, their fine ash a comfort to her, even though she was unsure if Odo even knew what it meant.

The ash had another effect on the plethora of scientists surrounding them. There was a flurry of activity amongst the instruments, and one rushing forward to trap some flakes of kakalina ash in a petri dish half full of distilled water.

"Time index 2594.1," several scientists babbled at once into their vocorders. "Subject shows a marked reaction to the ash from the Hertacious Kakalinious, commonly known as Kakalina herbs.

"Analysis indicates subject may be reacting to the Eucyolyptiove oxide contained within the ash."

"Subject shows a rise in silicate regeneration, indicating that the substance may be catalytic in nature."

Nerys felt the fury rising within. Unbidden, one of her hands seized the collar of the nearest dictating scientist in a choking grip. She bellowed, "Subject has a flakking NAME! Use it, or I'm going to ram those vocorders where they were not designed to fit!"

The scientists, understandably, were more than a little subdued, afterwards.

It had taken, in total, some thirty-five hours before Odo would fully release Kira Nerys from his grasp. Even after he'd stopped using her as a temporary bed, he'd clung to her arms or legs with tendrils as he remained in his liquid state. It had become annoying at first to Kira, but when she realised that the scientists were frustrated because of her and her companions refusing to treat Odo as a 'thing' rather than a person, it had abruptly become a game of 'Frustrate the scientist'.

Needless to say, Julian and Jadzia had joined in with enthusiasm, although their motives might have been more of self-preservation rather than pure torture. After all, anything that delayed their having to face Captain Picard and Commander Riker was a good thing.

Eventually, all things had to end, including Odo's hold on Kira. Oddly enough, this had coincided with his complete recovery and refusal to stay in the monastery a moment longer than possible. The scientists, robbed of their subject in a helpless state, were furious.

So was Picard.

"They've posted you where?" Bashir asked again, his tone incredulous.

"Here. Deep Space Nine." Kira, exhausted beyond caring after the last few days, stared at her nearly empty glass. "Apparently, the Starfleet commander, Commander Benjamin Sisko, hasn't been able to keep a Bajoran First Officer longer than a few weeks over the last year." She took a deep swallow out of her freshly topped up glass and sighed again. "And after that last episode, Starfleet and Bajor feel that I'm 'The right person for the job', whatever that means."

"It means we used too much initiative, that's what it means." Dax was as miserable as the others, but was determined to make the effort to hide it and cope better. "Well, at least you've been promoted to full Lieutenant. And you'll be close to home now." She winked slightly. "And you never know, you might see that Vedek again after all."

A smile appeared on Kira's face. "Oh, I am seeing that Vedek again."

Bashir blinked. "When?"

The smile was ethereal now. "Tonight." She stood and leaned down to her stunned friends. "Don't wait up."

They watched her saunter towards the station temple before Bashir, his voice hoarse with surprise noted "She doesn't waste any time, does she."

"Nope." Dax shook her head and grinned. "She'll fit in here just fine."

Bareil smiled slightly as he and Nerys entered the wardroom, effecting a momentary pause in conversation as all eyes focused on Kira. Her dress seemed to be staying on through willpower and determination rather than any assistance of the maker. It wasn't a traditional Bajoran dress, but rather something more akin to a certain Trills wardrobe, and completely lacking in subtlety, with slits designed to show off both legs and cleavage to great advantage, while leaving enough to the imagination.

Kira knew full well exactly how she looked, and had almost refused to wear the garment when Dax first showed it to her. However, the mental image of Bareil seeing her in it, and better yet, of Odo and Worf's shock at her wearing it, had made her decide it might be worth the effect. And judging by the look on both men's faces, she smugly decided she'd been right.

The Enterprise command crew were in shock. They'd known that the Vedek was bringing a partner to the formal party, and that it was likely to be ensign Kira. But none of them had quite envisaged that she would look like this! Or that she would look so smug about it.

Deanna could sense quite a mixed reaction around her from the crew, let alone the rest of the room. Will Riker was mentally drooling at Nerys, although the only outward indication was his best rakish charm of a smile. Worf was aghast, and full of righteous indignation that an officer under his direct command would dress like that. She sensed he intended to speak to Kira later and a mental note to stop him before it got out of hand.

Picard was impressed and slightly . . . pleased. Odd, he normally felt uncomfortable whenever crewmen turned up at these gatherings. Deanna delved a little deeper and almost smiled wider; Kira's posting had been approved and she would be stationed on DS9, where she'd already obviously made friends. Well, that explained that.

A discordant note rang out in the rooms emotional sweep of general approval and subconscious lust. Two notes in fact. Glancing round, Deanna watched as Nerys and Bareil passed by Ambassador Odo and Chief Kira Reon. The mens' faces were a study in inexpression, but their dislike and depression screamed at her on the mental level.

Odo marched out the door almost immediately, before the Betaziod could talk to him. Looking around anxiously, she saw Reon leaving as well, just as the Gorn ambassador introduced himself to her. Troi looked at him blankly for a moment, then remembered her diplomatic manners. She would find the two men and speak to them later.

"Slivitzian Stellar Slam."

"I thought you didn't drink," said Quark.

"Lets just say I have a good reason to branch out," the shapeshifter slumped into the position best known as Holding Up The Bar. He was setting himself up to do some serious drinking. "Just dispense the liquor, Ferengi."

Quark shrugged and handed him a drink, just as Kira Reon slouched into the bar. A moment of tachycardia passed when the security chief slouched into a chair right next to Odo.

"Mountain Lighting."

Oh Cash... Quark realized. I'm going to be baby-sitting these two through a major crisis. Just my luck. He handed over the drinks and prepared himself for an eternity of agreeable noises. Morose drunks always ran up a good tab, drinking in a very sullen way to get very drunk as quickly as possible.

"Women," Odo said after three drinks. "Hah."

"Be thankful you don't have a sister," said Reon, drinking at the exact same rate. "They break your heart, ev'ry time."

"Walking off to a better deal," said Quark, polishing a handy glass.

"Devote your precious time to keepin' 'em safe, an' they turn around and stab you inna thingy. Back."

"Swanning around with the wrong sort of people just 'cause they look pretty... Has she actually ever listened to anythin' he flakking said?"

"It's the Latinum. Gets them every time."

"Looks bloody cross-eyed at people all the time," growled Odo. "I wouldn't call that pretty."

"Man's a disgrace to the entire Kira clan. Goes around all the time lookin' for controversy."

"Show them a red dress and a purse the size of Manhattan and they never look back..."

"Thinks he's better 'n everyone."

"At least you were a gentleman."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You cared. From what I hear from some circles, Bareil sometimes uses his students as - diversions..."

"From what I just saw, Nerys was looking fairly diverted herself..."

Both men sighed, and downed another drink.

"If it wasn't for Holosuites," opined Quark. "None of us would get anywhere."

Both Bajoran and shapeshifter made an uncertain "mrrm" noise usually associated with cattle.

"Say, would either of you two be interested in a little trip upstairs? I can supply you with your heart's desire."

"Hah." Said Reon. "Not likely."

"The only way you'd get me inside a holosuite," growled Odo, "was if Bareil was in there for me to - beat... up..." He trailed off as light dawned in both men's minds.

"Say..." said Reon, a smile gathering on his face that Quark personally hoped he'd never see again. "That sounds like an idea."

"It'll take me a while to write the program," offered Quark, quickly switching into haggling mode.

"Who said anything about programs?" Asked Odo. "Why settle for a simulacrum, when we have the real thing - so close at hand."

"I'll hold him and you hit him, then we swap."

"Come on," said Quark, suddenly alarmed at the turn in conversation. "He'd identify you both and you'd have to lock yourselves up."

"Not if we break his jaw."

"That wouldn't last long enough," Quark reiterated, "He'd still be able to identify you."

"I could get him from behind and you - well, you can look like anything..."

"Risky," Quark decided to play Devil's Advocate. "I mean, Nerys could be with him, and it'd break her heart."

"Mrrm..." The men downed another drink.

"We could catch him alone and just kill him," Reon suggested.

"Too quick," said Odo. "Someone like him deserves torture."

"He could escape."

"We could hire someone to take him away for us, some moon or something that no-one goes to. If he did escape, there'd be nowhere to escape to."

"I know some people on Orion..." said Odo.

"Weren't they the same people who have a contract out on your head, Ambassador?" Quark asked innocently.

"Mrrm." Another drink.

"Ah!" Crowed Odo. "We get him alone, blindfold him, and take him to a holosuite. He doesn't know the difference between reality and illusion, and we halve the expense."

"Almost," grinned Quark. "It takes a lot to keep people like me quiet."

It was a forlorn trio at the Enterprise airlock the next day. For a group that had been through so much, they had very little to seem to want to say to each other. Eventually, Dax spoke up. "Well, at least we'll be able to keep in touch. After all, you're hardly being posted to a long-range survey ship where we wouldn't hear from you for years."

Kira smiled fleetingly. "True. And the Enterprise will probably be around every so often, to make sure that things are going well and that the Cardassians aren't making trouble."

"That's right. And you never know what might be through the wormhole. I'm sure they'd send us if anything nasty . . came . . . " She didn't bother finishing the sentence; If anything nasty came through, her friend would probably be dead before the Enterprise even heard there was trouble.

The melancholia was broken by the sight of Kira Reon and Ambassador Odo heading towards them - both looking like death warmed up after a week in the fridge. Kira Nerys stared at them. "What happened to you two?"

"We went to Quarks'." Reon really didn't want to talk about the night before. Partly because he could only remember some of it. "It's a male thing, 'Rys."

"I see." She wanted to say more, but was interrupted by the final boarding call for Enterprise crew. "Well, you'd better get aboard." She hugged Bashir and Dax and smiled. "I'll see you next time you're in the sector." Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Odo. "You I'll probably see next month."

Odo managed a small smile as he walked onto the ship. "You probably will."

The end of

Book 9