The characters of Jadzia Dax, Odo, Kira Nerys, Benjamin Sisko, Jake Sisko, Nog, and Quark, not to mention the space station Deep Space Nine are not mine, as much as I'd like them to be. Legally they belong to Paramount. The characters you don't recognize are mine, however. Hahahahaha, finally, all mine. Oh, sorry.
Author's notes:This story came about from a roundtable story done between my best friend Kira and I. I really hope you enjoy it. I'd rate it PG because it does have some adult content in it, although it is tastefully done, much like the true series. The story is set somewhere in the fourth season, with fourth season spoilers. So if you haven't seen the fourth season eps. you better watch out. And not all of the fourth season is included, for those of you who want purity.
The title comes from Ode to Intimations of Immortality from Early Recollections of Childhood, by Wordsworth. I hope you'll be able to see how it fits in with the plot. Enjoy the story, and email me if you have any comments, flames, etc. My address is miyaka@gto.net.
Dedication:I'd like to dedicate this story to my friend Kira, without whom the Eysu Moraht would never have existed, and to all of my prereaders, without whom the story would not have existed. I'd also like to dedicate it to Eloise and Jimmy Hill, two people now gone but whom the world will always treasure.
The Faith That Looks Through Death
by Yuuki Miyaka
Chapter 1
Jadzia Dax's eyes sparkled as she entered the coordinates for Deep Space Nine. She glanced over at her companion, who looked back in curiosity. "Yes, Odo?" Dax asked, seeing his interest.
"What happened to your admirer, Commander? I was under the impression that he was planning to accompany you back to Deep Space Nine." Dax grinned, letting Odo see her amusement.
"He didn't understand Trills or Symbionts. In fact, he suggested I get surgery. Even Julian knows enough to look up women he's interested in before chasing them. And in all fairness, he wasn't as bright as some of the men I've attracted in the past."
Odo grunted his reply, letting his mind wander back to the last time he had visited Prophet's Landing. His companion then had been Major Kira Nerys, and he had felt more than a little left out.
He and Dax flew in silence as he sorted out the memories. Even now, he could picture everything with alarming accuracy. His eyes shut, then unformed, and those fateful words found him again.
"I'm in love with you!" The words clawed their way free of the murky depth of his pain. "She will never love you, you know." In a supreme effort to remain in control, he unformed, then reformed his entire face before glancing at Dax. She had remained serene, and only nodded her head at him.
A voice disturbed his thoughts. "Odo, I'm picking up some gravimetric disturbance off the port bow. What are you reading?" Odo looked over at his viewscreen, but before he could answer her, she spoke again. "The signature reads almost like the Wormhole."
"What are you talking about, Commander? We're too far away for it to be the Wormhole." But Dax shook her head.
"It's a wormhole, all right. And its signature matches ours. Have we run across anything like this before?" Once again Odo was interrupted as he prepared to answer Dax, but this time, by the wormhole itself, which opened up and sucked them away.
"Jake!" Jake Sisko looked up from the text he was reading and saw a young Bajoran woman. Myran Arys, his mind supplied. His class at StarFleet Academy had all sorts, he thought to himself with a smile. Especially with Nog here, now. "Jake, can we talk?" He nodded slowly, and she sighed.
"Look, the professor said that you and I were supposed to work together, but I had already planned to work with Katassa. She's my roommate. Anyway, she suggested I invite you to work with us. She's going to do the same with her partner, but she's assigned to that Cardassian. I don't know how I'm going to work with him." The woman's tight voice convinced him that she needed someone there to be a buffer between herself and her hatred against the Cardassians.
"I was planning to work with Nog. He's that Ferengi over there. I noticed that he hadn't been assigned anyone, and I thought that he might need someone. What do you say to all of us working together? That way, I can keep you from murdering the Cardassian, and Nog can learn how to behave when a lady is present." Jake grinned slowly, and eventually Arys did likewise. She nodded and left, and Jake closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was staring into the darkness of his room. He lay there for half an hour before he made his decision. "Computer, locate any files containing the Bajoran name Myran Arys."
"There is no Myran Arys currently listed in any of the station files."
Jake paced in his room, swearing angrily and creatively at the computer. Benjamin Sisko walked into his quarters, and his eyes widened in amusement. "I thought you were working on one of your stories. Is this supposed to be a scene from it?"
Jake flushed, looking at his father in guilt. "Uh, no. I was just trying to research some connections for a story. I was looking up Bajoran resistance cells." He shrugged lightly, trying to convince his father that he was hiding nothing. Sisko turned to head for the kitchen, more than ready to make their dinner before he got back to his work with assignments for the station personnel.
"Dad?" The captain turned back, looking at his son in askance. "Do you know of any Bajorans named Myran Arys?" Benjamin shook his head, and his son sighed.
"Where are we?" Odo grumbled as he stared at the stars outside the small runabout. There was nothing familiar about them, but the giant ship in the center did have a familiar feel, though he could not identify the make of the ship.
"Uh, Odo?" Dax asked softly. "According to our sensors, we aren't in any of the known sectors of space." Her eyes widened. "It says we may even be as far out as the Delta Quadrant. I can't be certain."
"Better check those readings again, Commander. That's not possible." Odo's icy eyes darted to the stars before him. This place was so far removed from any he had ever seen that he felt excited, liberated. For some reason, only the serene presence of Dax was keeping him in check.
"Odo, we're being hailed. Putting it onscreen." The view of the stars was replaced with the image of a male Cardassian. Odo couldn't place the Cardassian, but the constable noted that he was wearing a uniform very similar, although not an exact match, to that of a StarFleet admiral. Odo could see into the ship behind him, and noted an eclectic mix of other races.
"This is Admiral Ari Dukat of the EMS D'harincoort. Your ship seems to have sustained minimal damage. May we offer our assistance?" Both officer's eyes widened at the generosity, but the Cardassian continued in a thunderstruck voice before they could reply.
"Prophets! This seems to be worse than I had expected. Dax? Odo?" The two nodded warily, unsure of what to do. "Please, come aboard. You may dock in port twelve. I will see to your comfort myself."
Odo put the communication on mute and turned to his companion. "Dax, what do you think?" The science officer's answer surprised him.
"For some reason, I think we should believe him. It's a gut reaction, but it's something that I think we need to do if we are going to get any answers from him." Odo nodded, then took off the mute.
The science officer spoke again. "Thank you for your offer, Admiral. I think we will take you up on it. Dax out."
Having finally arrived in the appropriate docking port, Dax and Odo stepped out of the runabout to be greeted by the Admiral himself. The three stared at each other for a long time before any spoke. In the end, it was Dukat who broke the silence.
"Jadzia, Odo, is that really you?" The whisper was almost tremulous, and Odo got the feeling that they had been thrust into a mystery with no idea of what to search for. Suddenly, there was a faint rock to the ship, and Odo glanced sharply at the Admiral, who grinned.
"That will be Jake and Arys, if I'm correct. Please, follow me." Odo and Dax shrugged, and did as Dukat asked. Once on the Bridge, they were greeted with officers of every alien race they had ever known, and some they hadn't.
"Onscreen." Dukat requested, and a ship even more massive than the D'harincoort was displayed. "Hail them. And ensign?" The officer looked up. "Append a special congratulations to that message." The ensign nodded, rapidly tapping out the commands at her terminal. "Marriage is a wonderful institution," Dukat muttered, a sad tone underlying the happiness he spoke with.
"I never thought I would say this, but I guess all Cardassians aren't bad. Some of them might even be okay." Arys grinned at the Cardassian sitting across from her, who stuck his tongue out at her in turn. "Sorry I doubted you, Ari." It was tough for Arys to admit that, Jake knew, but he also knew that the Cardassian, (Ari Dukat, he knew) of all of them, had the most reason to have to earn respect. Dukat grinned softly.
"It's okay, Arys. I knew it was going to be a tough ride. So what's our next assignment?"
"Something to do with tribbles, from what I hear. Maybe find a way to stop them from breeding so rapidly." Katassa's eyes glittered in amusement at that, and Jake laughed. The medical student was rarely serious about anything, they had all discovered, a fact which obviously delighted the too-serious Ari. Jake wondered whether either of them would ever pick up on that fact.
Sighing, Jake leaned back in his chair, listening to the four others chatter about the next project, and the teacher they all hated. His smile grew as Nog complained about being the only one who had to work at making friends, and Arys' sharp retort to that, then faded as Arys commented on the professor's conduct.
"I don't know if we should wear our most form-fitting uniforms and get the best grades in class, Katassa, or if we should call him out on it." For some reason, Jake hated the idea that the professor was eyeing the two women in his "group." Jake blinked, and found himself staring at the ceiling of his room.
"Computer, state the time." Jake swung his legs over the side of the bed, wondering how long his nap had lasted. It felt as though hours had passed.
"Sixteen hours twenty seven." Five minutes at best. Jake sighed.
"Is it possible to send a message to Gul Dukat?" Jake muttered the question, not really expecting an answer. But the computer took him literally, answering with its usual promptness.
"A message may be sent to Gul Dukat via subspace."
"Is that Jake Sisko?" Odo asked incredulously, staring at the D'harincoort's main viewscreen. Odo turned to look at Dax, who shrugged.
"I don't know what to think, Odo." The three turned back to the viewscreen, where they could see a slightly older version of the boy they knew. Jake looked to be about thirty, as did the woman beside him. And when Jake saw the two officers, his eyes grew large, and he grinned. The woman he was with did likewise.
"Odo? Dax? Ari, is that really them?" Jake was grinning now with unparalleled delight. The Cardassian admiral grinned in return and nodded. "I'm coming over with Arys now." And with only that warning, Jake Sisko beamed to the Bridge of the ship. He materialized in front of the admiral, extending his hand to shake Ari's. Without hesitation, Ari did likewise, grasping Jake's arm in a brotherly embrace. Then, Odo and Dax saw the one vision they never expected. Arys approached Ari and was engulfed in his arms. She returned the hug vigorously, then turned to Dax and Odo and welcomed them to the D'harincoort.
"Do you think that I can't even welcome my own guests?" Ari demanded quietly.
"No," came the impudent answer. "I just think I do it much better. That's all. You got a problem, Ari?" Arys smiled at her friend, and Odo could see that they were involved in a long-standing debate. Without smiling, the Changeling turned to Jake.
"What is going on here? Have Dax and I been swept into another temporal anomaly?" Odo's angry tone didn't even faze the officers in front of them. Dax nodded her head, but Jake only shrugged.
"It will be some time before we can say for certain, but I think somehow the SubGate locked onto your runabout and brought you here. There may be a purpose involved, but unless you want to be the first ambassador to your people, Odo, I don't think that's the answer." Jake turned to Arys. "I think we're going to have to cut the honeymoon short. I have a feeling," he continued, addressing the group this time, "that there is more to this incident than meets the eye. Especially since I've been having some pretty strange dreams. Odo, Dax, if you have any more questions, I suggest that we retire to the Officer's Lounge to discuss them. It's a lot more comfortable, and that way you can eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"You just love long speeches, don't you, Jake? I swear, you're infatuated with the sound of your own voice." Jake's eyes flashed, but Arys smiled innocently. "How else would you explain it?" Jake sighed, and the five headed toward the Officer's Lounge when a communication came for the admiral. All three of Odo's companions lifted their heads, but it was Ari who answered.
"Yes?"
"The EMS Marowen has just approached, Admiral, and the commander is asking to speak to you."
"I'll take it in the Officer's Lounge." Ari sighed and shook his head. "Two weeks I'm gone from the shipyards and there have already been three crises that I've heard of. I wonder if this is going to be another one." They arrived in the Lounge some three minutes later, and Ari immediately approached the viewscreen. A Bajoran woman appeared on the screen, and the three from that time period gasped.
Jake stared at the station around him. It was his home, but there were differences. Nog and Arys both walked beside him, chattering excitedly. Nog had decided that the three of them were going to go exploring for a while, when all Jake really wanted to do was go to Quark's and see if Morn was still in his spot. Jake let his mind wander, allowing it to drift throughout the Promenade into Ops. Eventually, he came back to himself, just in time to hear Arys say, "That's Garak's? Hmmm. I'll have to check it out later. I don't suppose he's anything like Ari, is he?" The other two shook their heads, leaving Arys wondering. Jake, meanwhile, had plans of his own to follow through with.
Time seemed to jump forward, leaving him with memories of what had not passed. He walked into Garak's only minutes behind Arys' departure, knowing that his Bajoran friend had been there before him. And Garak greeted him with a smile. He had to wonder just how many lies the tailor had told in Jake's year-long absence. But that was not important at the moment. He stared at all the fine dresses before walking to the Cardassian himself.
"Garak, I want you to make a dress for someone. She has to be the most beautiful woman in the dance. Can you do it?" Garak nodded knowingly.
"Your friend was already in here asking for the same service. I've already gotten the girl's measurements and your friend picked out the cloth herself." Jake shook his head.
"Arys was talking about a friend from school. I meant Arys herself. I don't care how you do it, but I need the dress before I leave for school. After that, I don't care. Arys told me that one of the reasons she wasn't going to the dance was because she didn't have anything good to wear. I want her to go. Okay?" Jake's earnest expression surprised Garak, who kept his suspicions to himself. He set to work on the girl's dress that night, and Jake left the shop looking for Arys.
When he found her, Arys was staring out at Bajor, looking a little sad. Jake came up, curious as to what was affecting her so badly. She waited only a short time before confiding in him. "Bajor looks so beautiful from up here. You almost wouldn't believe how horrible it is down there. I keep remembering back when I was in the Paq resistance. We used to find these children who had lost their families. It was awful, Jake. You don't know how tightly I held onto my family name. Even after I was orphaned, I wouldn't let anyone know my name. I was afraid that if I let someone else hear my name, I would lose it. And I couldn't let that happen. It was the only thing that made living on Bajor bearable."
Jake listened to her monologue. He knew that she needed to talk about it. He had been her friend for a year now, and the two of them seemed as close as he and Nog did. When she trailed off, he grabbed her hand, pulling her to Quark's where he secured a holosuite. He programmed it quickly, using a program that his father had put into the directory three years earlier. When the two stepped into the holosuite, it was a beautiful green garden. "Oh, Jake," Arys whispered. "What is this place? I've never seen anywhere so beautiful." Jake nodded slowly.
"That's a garden on Earth. My father visited there once, and made the program from memory. I thought it might take your mind off Bajor. C'mon. I'll show you around."
Jake opened his eyes to see his darkened room. He sighed, certain now that he was living a double life. And he couldn't blame himself. He had only recently become interested in girls again; after Marta had left, he had wondered if he would ever love again. But that had been an infatuation. This, he felt within him, was real. "Computer, access files on the Paq resistance cell." The computer chirped at him, as usual, and he decided he would have to go to Dukat for the answers.
"So anyway, Dukat, I was wondering if you had any information about a Paq resistance cell?" Gul Dukat sighed expressively.
"Jake Sisko, don't you have anything better to do than chase ghosts? So like your father. Well, I don't see any point in hiding anything. It's all common knowledge by now anyway. The Paq resistance cell was destroyed in Gallitep. It happened about three months before the Shakaar cell liberated the camp. Anything else?" Dukat looked harried, and Jake decided to ask his other question now, rather than waiting for the next time he tried to contact Dukat. The way this audience was going, there would not be a next time.
"I was wondering if you had a son named Ari Dukat." Jake muttered this last request. It was going to be next to impossible to get in contact with Ari if he had nothing to do with Dukat. But to his surprise, Dukat only looked sad.
"I did. He died in an interrogation by the Obsidian Order. They wanted to know why he was so interested in the Federation. Take that back to your father!" And Dukat closed the channel. But before he did, Jake could have sworn that he saw tears in the Gul's eyes. Tears for a lost son, who had died as a result of the interest he was showing in Jake's dreams. Jake began to wonder just how fantastical these dreams really were.
"Okay," Jake said to himself. "I can't contact Arys. She was killed in a raid on Gallitep. I can't contact Ari. He died in a questioning. Who does that leave? Katassa. Right. Now, all I have to do is figure out who Katassa is, and find her family. With my luck, she's already dead."