Viewed from space, the planet of the Founders appears golden from the light reflected by its inhabitants. This differs from other Class M planets with oceans, like Bajor, which has a greenish tint when seen from space because the atmosphere and water scatter those wavelengths the most. Even on the surface of the Founder's world, the honeyed sea imparts the sky with an aurous glow. Not that there is much of a solid surface. Tiny, scattered islands comprise the only landmass. And these almost appear to be artificial constructs like sets on an antique sound stage.
An observer standing on an islet shoreline would notice something peculiar about the surrounding fluid. There is no evident weather to cause a breeze across the liquid. No moon to create an ebb or flow. Yet, its surface is in almost constant motion. At times it looks like storm tossed waves. Sometimes it appears as a placid pond with only gentle ripples. Yet, even these movements are not random, failing to follow the laws of fluid dynamics. Troughs may spontaneously invert to crest. Rolling crests may stop and reverse direction. On rare occasions, a standing wave pattern may appear like the resonance of a taunt drum skin.
All this would point to the conclusion that the liquid itself is alive and apparently even intelligent. This hypothesis would be supported upon witnessing a ripple contracting upon itself, moving toward the shore, and then coalescing into a fountain rising up from the center like the backsplash of a raindrop caught on high speed imagers. The theory would be backed further when that column began to take on form, texture and color. It would be confirmed when a man, inexplicably wearing a black and white tuxedo, stepped ashore.
Odo paused and glanced down at his attire. He was headed back to DS9 for a date with Kira Nyres. She and he had stood on this very outcrop of rock when he was about to rejoin the Great Link after the Dominion War, (in an effort to persuade them to coexist peacefully with solids.) In a highly uncharacteristic show of flare, Odo had "gone out in style" by donning a tux as he waded into the Link. It was his homage to the times he and Kira had spent in the 1960's-era Earth casino and lounge operated by the holo-sentience Vic.
Since then he had made two visits back to the Alpha Quadrant for rather unpleasant reasons. The first was during the threat of the parasitic invasion of the Federation and Bajorian governments. On that excursion, he had felt the need to remain undercover as a Trelian woman named Wex until he felt it safe to reveal himself to Kira. Those events had turned out favorably, allowing him to spend several weeks with his beloved.
His last return had been much more painful. He had had to deal with the aftermath of Tarantar's rebellious actions and the Jem'Hadar's near fatal wounding of Kira. Odo allowed himself a moment of longing for those "simpler" times when he was only responsible for the safety and well being of the people on DS9 instead of two confederacies: The Federation and the Dominion, in opposite quadrants of the galaxy. Having nearly lost Kira to the hand of the Jem'Hadar he himself was responsible for sending to DS9, Odo wanted more than ever to spend time with her.
Odo thought Kira might enjoy the tux as a bit of lighthearted "badda bing" on his part. But now, on second thought, he did not want to share such a private moment with everyone who would see him on the journey; starting with the ever obsequious 9th incarnation of the Vorta Weyoun aboard Jem'Hadar Attack Vessel 471, to whoever might greet him at a DS9 docking station. Odo habitually reverted to the Bajoran military uniform he had most often displayed. But, reminding himself that he was no longer "Constable Odo," he changed once again to a nondescript outfit that he assumed Bajoran's still wore.
Odo moved toward the calling device set into the rock face and used it to summon the Jem'Hadar ship that always stood in orbit ready to heed the bidding of the Founders. He felt a twinge in his "gut" and placed his hand atop it. Could it be that he was actually nervous about his rendezvous with Kira? Was he now experiencing the psychosomatic symptoms of "butterflies in his stomach?" Of course he had no digestive system. But he had spent a lifetime around humans. Indeed, he had actually once had a stomach when The Founders had sentenced him to solid form as punishment for killing one of his own kind. The thought that he was anxious actually pleased him somewhat.
Odo signaled and was quickly beamed up to the spacecraft. Weyoun began his usual sycophantic greeting. As Odo stepped off the transporter pad, he experienced a moment of vertigo. He speculated what the cause might be. Sometimes, upon breaking from the Great Link, he found that there was a short period of acclimation to reestablishing his individuality. Or perhaps the transport settings were off. He suggested as much to Weyoun and summarily dismissed the incident as he gave orders to head toward the wormhole and DS9 beyond.
