Prologue

The end of the war with the Dominion had come with a price. The Romulans had withdrawn from the Federation Alliance and declared themselves enemies of the Federation and the Klingons again. Relations were broken off as soon as the last Jem'Hadar ships went back through the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. The Federation dispatched some of its most powerful starships to patrol the Neutral Zone in case the Romulans attacked the border worlds. The U.S.S. Prometheus, U.S.S. Thunderchild, and the flagship U.S.S. Enterprise were the front-runners in the defense of the Neutral Zone. Starfleet gave the captains permission to use

whatever means necessary to stop the Romulans. But the deployment of the starships did little to ward them off. Everyone knew a war could be prevented, but a battle, was inevitable. Little did the crews of those starships know that a situation was emerging on the other side of the quadrant.

Chapter 1

The Sighting

The corridor was empty. Dr. Julian Bashir and Lieutenant Ezri Dax were returning to their quarters from the holosuite. The station somehow didn't seem right without Lieutenant Commander Worf, Odo, Chief Miles O'Brien, and in particular, Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Most of all Bashir missed his friend O'Brien. Things were less dull when he was around. But Bashir was also happy for him, teaching at Starfleet Academy, and he had visited him not that long ago on Earth. Worf had gone to Qo'noS to act as the new Federation ambassador. Odo left for a more personal reason. He felt it was finally time to rejoin his people in the Great Link.

Even though it meant leaving behind the woman he loved it was something he had to do. It was a choice Colonel Kira knew she was powerless to talk him out of.

Captain Sisko's absence was the most interesting. Mere hours after the war between the Dominion and the Federation Alliance had come to an end; an intense urge drew him to the Fire Caves on Bajor. On arrival he had a confrontation with Gul Dukat, the new emissary for the false Prophets known as the Pah-wraiths. Their conflict ended when Captain Sisko threw himself and Dukat into the flaming pit. When that happened the Prophets decreed that the emissary had completed his task and brought him to their domain. Sisko was allowed to briefly summon his newly pregnant wife Kasidy to the Prophets domain to try and help her understand why it had to be done. It wasn't an easy goodbye but she let him do what he thought was right. A few weeks after his father left to fulfill his destiny Jake Sisko could no longer bear to stay in a place where he was reminded of his father at every turn. He decided to move to Bajor and start work on the house his father intended to build after the war. Thinking that her stepson shouldn't be alone Kasidy chose to go with him.

It had been just four months since the war with the Dominion had ended; life in the Federation was slowly beginning to return to normal. The fleet had to be rebuilt, as did starbases and relay stations. The effort would take years.

Without Captain Sisko on the station, some of the Bajorans seemed different. He had been the emissary to their people and the commander of Deep Space Nine for seven years, and he had been taken away from them by their gods. Several altars were set up along the promenade where they prayed for his safe return. Station commander Colonel Kira was known to frequent them several times a week.

Bashir looked around the corridor. Cardassian construction. The mood created by the corridor was always so depressing. But considering the program they just ended in the holosuite, the warm corridor was welcome.

"That program was… interesting." said Dax. "Ancient Earth sports have always had a certain appeal."

"That was a classic sport from a classic period." said Bashir. "It's not just appealing, it's fascinating. If we learn more about our planet's pasts, we can learn more about ourselves. I only wish I had been around when-"

"Julian."

"Yes?"

"You're babbling again."

"Oh! Sorry."

"Tell me more about it."

"Well, its popularity hit its peak in the twentieth century. Millions of people would gather around what they called television to watch the teams compete."

"Was it always that violent?"

"Not always, but often." replied Bashir. "Hockey was about more than violence, although fighting was one of its aspects. Especially when the two teams had a mutual dislike for each other." Although tennis was Bashir's favorite pastime, hockey was another sport he enjoyed. He played tennis more as a child because it was difficult for him to find people who knew how to play hockey. "The game was about teamwork and determination. The winners of a certain tournament would win what was called the Stanley Cup, a large trophy on which their names would be inscribed."

"So what program are we using next week?" Dax reached out and grabbed her lover's hand. He returned the gesture by grasping it firmly.

"It's another ancient Earth program called the Indy 500." Hand in hand, Bashir and Dax continued down the corridor. After their weekly holosuite visit they usually went for a stroll through the corridors. They enjoyed the sheer peace of it, never knowing who they're going to run into. It was a great way to relax. One night they came across an old Bajoran woman who was carrying too much so they offered to help her carry her things. Another night they came across Quark making some sort of exchange with a pair of Yridians. And later that night they came across a dabo girl in a compromising position with one of her regular gamblers. Dax and Bashir discreetly chose another route at that point. Deep Space Nine was nothing if not interesting. So far the night had been uneventful, but nothing could have prepared them for what happened.

Dax and Bashir were smiling and rounding a corner when they something that made them both gasp in surprise. A tall dark-skinned man with a shaved head, beard, and Starfleet uniform with captain's pips was there. Standing before them large as life was Captain Sisko. "Oh my god! Benjamin!" It was definitely the captain. But something was wrong. His eyes seemed empty, distant. It was as if his body was there but the essence of who he was was missing. "Benjamin? Are you alright?"

"I know you." His deep voice made their skin crawl. He stepped closer to them. Out of caution and fear they backed away. He looked at Dax, his black hole eyes examining her. "Your name is Dax. Ezri Dax." Sisko then looked at Bashir. His eyes once again performed a visual scan of their target. It made them uneasy. "You are Bashir. Julian Bashir. And I know this place, Terok Nor."

Something was clearly wrong. Deep Space Nine ceased being called Terok Nor seven years ago when the Bajorans overpowered the Cardassians and called in the Federation to take power. Sisko should have recognized the station as Deep Space Nine, not Terok Nor.

Bashir stepped towards him slowly, not sure what to think. "Captain, we should get you to the infirmary." He went to place a hand on Sisko's shoulder to help him but his hand was abruptly swatted away.

"Locusts! They'll destroy Bajor!"

The sudden outburst startled them. They were surer now than ever that Sisko wasn't himself. The words that he had just spoken had been said before. Five years ago an energy burst from a holosuite console hyperstimulated his brain and he began to receive visions from the Prophets. During an unexpected appearance at a meeting between delegates from Bajor and the Federation he said the very words that had just been spoken. Why would he say that now? Startling them even further Sisko suddenly winced and cried out in pain, grabbing his forehead with both hands as he fell to the floor. As he lay knelt on the ground he quickly began to grow transparent. The seconds went by and they could see more and more of the deck beneath him until he was gone.

"This is too big to wait until morning." Bashir tapped his combadge. "Bashir to Colonel Kira."

"Kira here, go ahead Julian."

"You better have the rest of the senior staff meet in the ward room. We just saw something you should know about."

Not long after Bashir contacted Kira the entire senior staff was sitting in the ward room. Colonel Kira Nerys, Chief of Operations Lieutenant Nog, and new Chief of Security Lieutenant Commander Eric Jones had all just been informed by Dax and Bashir what had transpired in the corridor. Jones was the only one that seemed indifferent. Jones arrived on board from the U.S.S. Bellerephon a few days after Odo's departure. Rumor had it he wasn't too pleased with the transfer. Nobody liked him. He was arrogant, close-minded and obnoxious. But despite all those qualities he got his job done. He was no Odo, but he did surprisingly well to fill the shoes he had stepped into. But nobody liked him. Nobody except for Quark, of course.

"You're sure it was him?" asked Kira; still wide-eyed from the news she had just been given. Sisko had told Kasidy he would be back someday. But nobody knew how long he would be. And they certainly did not expect it to be this soon.

"We're positive it was him." said Dax, echoing Kira's thoughts. There were doubts in her mind at first as well, but they had been alleviated when he recognized the two of them. "But it was strange. He seemed lost and confused. And his eyes..." The evocation of the memory made Dax's hair stand on end. "His eyes were empty."

"And he just vanished?"

"Yes, Colonel." Bashir had been mostly silent until this point. He was trying to piece together what happened with his genetically engineered brain. So far he had done it to no avail.

"How long was he there?" asked the young Ferengi. Replacing Chief O'Brien was the biggest responsibility Nog had ever undertaken. But he felt up to it and wanted to make the Chief proud. Now that Captain Sisko had reappeared he felt more responsibility to try and aid the man who helped him get into Starfleet in the first place.

"A minute at the most." said Dax.

"We should try to prepare in case he appears again." said Kira. "We have to work around the clock until we come up with a plan."

Not wanting to disappoint, Nog was the first officer to offer a suggestion. "Right now I think the best thing is a subspace isolation field. If we set one up around the Captain's position when he appears we may be able to hold him."

"How can we set up such a field?" asked an intrigued Bashir.

"Simple," replied an eager to explain Nog. "If we remove the trionic initiators from the Defiant's warp core, I can modify them to emit a subspace isolation field. But I'm going to need your help to configure them for human biosigns."

Needing very little time to think Kira made her decision. "Nog, gather together an engineering team to assist you on the Defiant. Julian, as soon as he's done assist him with the field. Once everything is ready, standby in the infirmary."

"Aye."

Obviously waiting for an opportunity to say something Jones spoke up. "Will this subspace isolation field pose any security risks?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Could you make yourself aware, Mr. Nog?"

Nog looked at Kira for support, she couldn't give him any. "Yes, sir," said Nog. "I'll try sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." said Jones.

"If there's nothing else then you're dismissed."

Jones promptly got up and left the room. Even his walk seemed arrogant. Dax voiced everyone's question. "What are we going to do about him?"

"Right now there's nothing we can do." replied Kira. "He only talks to junior officers like that. He does his job well so until he talks insubordinately to a superior officer we can't do anything."

Nog waited until everyone left before he confronted Kira. She was still sitting at the table. "Colonel, permission to contact Jake and Kasidy on Bajor to let them know what has happened."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I don't want to get their hopes up."

"I know Jake, sir. He'd want to know about this. And as his best friend I feel I should be the one to tell him."

"Alright Nog, go ahead. Just be sure to use a secure channel, I don't want to take any chances."

"Aye, sir."

Kira continued sitting at the table as Nog left the ward room. She was thinking about her friend. Thinking of seeing him again, having him back. As she stood up from the table she noticed a ship flying past the window heading towards the wormhole. As the doorway to the celestial temple opened she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer to herself for Captain Sisko. Before she knew it she was talking out loud to him. "You're coming home Benjamin. I can feel it. It's only a matter of time."

Upon leaving the ward room Nog headed straight to his quarters. He walked quickly down the corridors, eagerly awaiting a conversation with his best friend. It hadn't been that long since Jake and Kasidy had moved to Bajor, but Nog still welcomed every chance he got to talk to them. When he entered his quarters he walked right for his computer console. He unzipped his uniform tunic and placed it on the chair before sitting down. He then pressed a button to activate his console.

"Computer, open a secure channel to Bajor."

"Authorization code is required for secure channel." responded the computer in its usual monotone.

"Authorization Nog-4-9-gamma-3."

"Authorization confirmed."

Nog entered commands on the console, programming the exact location to send his transmission. He would rather not wake up Jake right now but he needed to know what was going on. While he was waiting for the connection to be made he wondered how Jake would respond to his father's brief return. His train of thought soon switched tracks when a very tired, robe-clad Jake Sisko appeared on the screen.

"Hey Nog, what's up?" asked Jake while rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry to wake you in the middle of the night Jake but something has happened that I think you should know about."

His curiosity piqued, Jake was more alert than before. "Really? What?"

"Earlier tonight your father was sighted in the corridor by Lieutenant Dax and Dr. Bashir."

Jake was hardly able to contain his jubilation. He was almost bouncing off the walls with joy. He would have woken up his neighbors if he had any, and he had almost certainly awoken his stepmother, Kasidy Sisko. "I knew it! I knew he'd be back!"

"Calm down Jake, that's not the whole story. Almost as soon as he was sighted, he disappeared. We're not sure how or why this happened but we're preparing for his return. But unfortunately we don't know when that will be."

Finally starting to calm down Jake sat back in his chair, he was still quite happy with the news. "Kasidy and I have some things to take care of before we can get out there. So we might be a few days."

It wasn't exactly quiet in ops, but it wasn't exactly lively either. Somehow word had gotten out on the station that Captain Sisko was going to be brought back. Dr. Bashir and Lieutenant Dax had seen Sisko less than twenty-four hours ago and already people were talking about it. Kira immediately suspected Quark for spreading the word, but he claimed he was only partially responsible. It was further proof that it was nearly impossible to keep a secret on the station.

Everyone was waiting for Nog who was off installing the trionic initiators into the forcefield systems. It was taking longer than they had liked but they knew this kind of thing couldn't be rushed if they wanted it to work properly. Since there was nothing she could do at the moment, Dax just sat there and went over last night's events again and again in her head. There was something about the Sisko acted that still sent a chill down her spine. His voice seemed almost artificial. And his eyes, those dark empty eyes, they stared right through her as if she were a window. But she was positive it was him. For all she knew it could have been a result of being in the Prophet's domain.

"I wish Nog would hurry."

Bashir was sitting at the center display console with his elbows on the surface and his chin resting on his palms. He too was getting a little impatient. "Me too Ezri, but Nog is working as fast as he can."

"Do you think he'll be back?"

"Nog?" Bashir joked. "Now that you mention it I have my doubts."

"Julian! Wise guy." laughed Dax.

"Of course he'll be back."

"How can you be so sure?"

Getting up and walking over to Dax's side Bashir placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Because, I've learned one thing about Captain Sisko over the past seven years it's that he's consistent." He was about to leave for the infirmary when the turbolift rose into view with Nog stepping off the platform. "Any luck?"

Walking straight to his console Nog immediately punched in commands. "Yes, sir, now I just need to tie in the internal sensors with the field generators. It should only take a minute." What he said was an understatement as it seemed as soon as he sat down he was finished. "Colonel Kira please report to ops."

Within seconds the doors to Kira's office opened and she stepped out looking somewhat disgruntled. She had good reason to be. "Report."

"Sir, I've finished modifications to the trionic initiators. Everything's ready to go."

"Has the Captain appeared yet?"

"Not yet. But I've programmed the sensors to notify us the second his bio-signature is detected."

"Is there any way to test them?"

No sooner than she asked that question did Nog's console start to sound. In seconds everyone was hovering over his station. "It's the Captain. The computer just picked up his bio-signature."

"Localize it."

"Promenade, outside of Quark's."

"Successful test." said Bashir.

Kira looked at Bashir and in response he shrugged; she then put her attention back on Nog. "Activate the field." She watched as Nog quickly worked his console. He seemed to be working well under the pressure. "Is it working Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir, but I don't think it will work for long."

"Why not?"

"I think it's the frequency of the field. It appears to be incompatible with his bio-signature."

"What can you do?"

Nog rolled his chair to another part of his console and started pressing more buttons. "I'll try continuously rotating the frequencies." said Nog. "Eventually one might work."

"Good." said Kira. "Dax stay here and help Nog if you can. Doctor, you're with me."

All eyes on the promenade were on the entrance to Quark's. Quark being the Ferengi that he is tried to make a profit from the situation by selling tickets to see Captain Sisko. They ignored him and saw Sisko anyway. The scene was slightly broken apart when Colonel Kira and Dr. Bashir showed up. "Back up people, back up." A path began to form as Kira made her way through. Even though she expected to see him she was taken aback when she got an unobstructed view of Sisko. He was just standing there looking around. Dax was right, he did seem lost. "Benjamin."

Sisko turned and saw her. His eyes were not empty like Dax had described, they looked exactly the way she remembered him. "I know you."

Dax was right about the voice though. Something was off, she just couldn't place it. "Yes, Captain. It's me, Nerys." He recognized the name, or at least she thought he did as he smiled at the mention of it. A figure approached from the side, she turned and saw Bashir holding a medical tricorder. "Getting anything?"

Appearing confused Bashir continued to scan. "The tricorder's stumped. Whatever's going on it can't make heads or tails."

"That makes two of us."

"Three actually." said a still confused Bashir. He continued to scan but still couldn't make sense of the readings. He was going to close the tricorder when the readings began to change. "Something's happening."

Bashir's announcement was right. Sisko began to grow transparent just as he did before. "Kira to ops."

"Dax here."

"Any luck yet?" asked an increasingly frantic Kira.

"Not yet. Nog's still rotating frequencies but he hasn't found one that works yet."

"Tell him to keep trying, and in the meantime-"

Kira was silenced as Sisko vanished completely. Several Bajorans vacated the area in fear. Their emissary had disappeared before their eyes and there was nothing they could do but watch.

"What now?" asked Bashir.

"I don't know."

Station commander's personal log. It's been several days since the first sighting of Captain Sisko. We've tried several times to help him but all have been unsuccessful. It seems that the Captain's appearances run in twenty-three hour intervals. The neutrino emissions from the wormhole are at their highest every twenty-three hours and stay at that level for a few minutes. This has led us to believe that the two situations are related. Each time he appears he gains more of his memory. We're hoping this means he'll be able to tell us something about where he's been or how to help him. Nog tells me he plans to use the transporter the next time the Captain appears. I have my doubts however.

Kira's patience was growing thin. She had gone to her office to wait for word of Sisko's return but it had been twenty-three hours since the last neutrino spike and he still hadn't appeared. She wanted him back as soon as possible, not just because she missed him but she also had a lot of questions to ask him. What was it like? Was he aware of what was happening here while he was with the Prophets? How much time had passed for him?

Finally she had enough and left her office for ops. "What the hell's going on? It's been over twenty-three hours."

Dax was silently working at the science station. She had been monitoring the neutrino levels of the wormhole since she had come on duty and had just found out why Captain Sisko hadn't appeared. "I was afraid of this."

"What's wrong?" asked Kira.

"A ship entered the wormhole earlier. This caused the neutrinos to disperse before the peak levels could be reached."

"Can we raise them another way?" asked Bashir.

"I think so." Dax ran a quick computer simulation to test her idea. "We can use the phasers."

"How would that help?" asked Kira.

"Phasers are particle beams. "If we alter a phaser bank to fire a neutrino beam, it should raise the neutrino levels to peak."

"I see," said Bashir. "You're giving the wormhole a transfusion."

"Exactly." smiled Dax.

"Good work, Ezri."

"Actually it's Jadzia you should thank."

Rolling her eyes Kira walked her way back up the stairs towards the office. "Jadzia, Ezri, whatever. Get right on it." She headed right for the replicator and ordered a Tarkalean tea. She usually had it when she needed to calm down and luckily this time it worked like any other. This has to work. We have to get him back. This station is the way it is because of him. She remembered back to the first time she met him. She had tried to intimidate him by being harsh and outspoken like she was with everyone else. He didn't fall for it. And she eventually saw who he really was, a good man who was only there to help. And he did just that. Bajor was stronger than ever thanks to his assistance. Now it was her turn to help him.

"Dax to Kira."

"Go ahead."

"We're all set here."

"Acknowledged."

When Kira stepped out of her office she no longer had the usual black cloud around her head. Everyone was relieved to see her in a better mood. Dax was sitting at the tactical station. Even though she was the station's counselor she possessed the technical and tactical knowledge of her previous host Jadzia so her presence was an asset. "We're ready to fire the neutrino beam."

"Nog, standby to activate the transporter."

"Aye, sir."

"Ezri," said Kira as she took a breath. "Proceed."

"Firing the neutrino beam." On the viewscreen the normally red phaser beam was now a reddish-blue. It flew through space and entered the wormhole as it opened.

"Is it working?" asked Kira.

Dax shook her head. "I can't tell yet. It's too- Wait a minute. Neutrino levels are rising."

Nog's sensor readings began to change as well. "I'm detecting his bio-signature. He's in your office."

Kira rushed up the stairs through the office doors and saw Sisko standing behind the desk looking out the window. "Benjamin!" Sisko turned and smiled when he saw her.

"Hello, Colonel."

"Are you alright?"

"I know why I'm here." he said cryptically.

"Why, Captain? Why are you here?"

"I'm here because they want me to be."

"Who wants you to be here? The Prophets?" Before Kira could get her answer Sisko began to disappear. "Nog! Energize!"

"I've already tried, Colonel," said Nog. "His pattern is in some type of spatial flux."

"Try setting the scanners to a narrow band subspace frequency."

"Remodulating." said Nog. "I think it's working."

Sisko began to dematerialize before Kira's eyes. She turned back to ops and approached the transporter pad. "Can you stabilize his pattern?"

"What I wouldn't give for a Starfleet transporter right now." said Nog with frustration. His computer readout wasn't making any sense. "I've been trying to reinforce his pattern with DNA samples that Dr. Bashir gave me. But the pattern isn't reading as Captain Sisko's."

"Rematerialize before his pattern begins to degrade."

A figure began to appear in a flash of amber light on the transporter pad but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared. "Nog, is there anything you can do?"

Nog looked at his readout in failure. It wasn't often that he swore in his native language but he did just now. "I'm sorry, Colonel, his signal is gone."

Kira stepped away from the transporter pad and went to the center display console smacking the surface as she leaned on it. "Damnit." She didn't know what to do anymore. They had tried everything they could to help Captain Sisko but failed each time. Maybe that was it, they had done all the work and had never thought to resort to outside help. "It's time we changed our strategy."

"In what way, Colonel?" asked Bashir.

"We're getting help. Ezri, send a subspace signal to Starfleet Command. Admiral Ross told me if there was anything I ever needed to let him know. I'm taking him up on it." Kira's new behavior was encouraging. She seemed alive, confident. Whatever she had in mind lifted her spirits, which lifted everyone else's.

"What should it say?"

"Space station Deep Space Nine officially requests that the Federation starship Enterprise report here for assistance. From station commander Colonel Kira Nerys, Bajoran Militia."