"Until Death Do Us Join"
A Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Story By Lal Soong
Quark reached under his bar to remove a bottle. As he poured a drink, he listened to the sweet sound of his patrons laughing, talking, and clinking glasses. And drinking lots of synthehol, he mused. Not only were Nog and Rom waiting tables, but so were a couple of the Dabo girls. He turned, barely avoiding colliding with a Dabo girl, as he made his way to the booth beside the entrance. "One Black Hole for the lady," Quark said, setting the ebony drink down in front of Jadzia Dax. "Can I get you anything else, Lieutenant?"
"No, thanks," she replied.
The Ferengi barkeep started to walk away when he noticed a familiar person standing in the doorway of his establishment. "Argin," he muttered.
"What?" Jadzia turned around, pleasant shock framing her face. "Argin! What brings you to this side of the Alpha Quadrant?"
"Since you're my field docent, I thought you should be the first to meet Kelita Hes." He gestured toward someone and a young Trill female stepped into view. She had cropped light auburn hair, was in her mid-to-late twenties and stood about a foot shorter than Argin. "My fiance. May we join you?"
"What would you like to drink?" Quark interjected eagerly. He wondered how much latinum they had brought to line his pockets.
Argin peered over at Jadzia's drink. "Ach, Jadzia, you still drink those wretched Black Holes."
"The Ferengi Black Holes happen to be quite popular among my patrons." Although finding offense by Argin's comment, Quark, like any Ferengi, held profit above all else and quickly changed his tone for that means. "But I can see you're a man of simpler tastes. I'll pour a couple synthales for the two of you."
Argin barely nodded before the Ferengi darted off to fill the order.
Argin and Kelita sat across from Jadzia.
"I can't believe this, Argin," the lieutenant said. "I thought you were serious about joining with a Symbiont." When they had first met, Jadzia had strongly questioned Argin's sincerity in wanting to become joined. He had openly admitted to her that he had entered the program because of his father's expressed wishes.
"I still am," he replied.
"Then how can you become engaged while you're still a single lifeform? You know that once you are joined, the Symbiont's personality and experiences will become incorporated into your being. You will no longer be just the person you are now."
"We realize that, Lieutenant," Kelita said in a soothing, melodious voice. The part of Dax that was Curzon could understand why Argin had fallen for this young woman. "I am already joined, five years now. I barely remember what it was like being a single lifeform, but I know that Kelita is still a very big part of who I am, Kelita Hes."
Quark returned with the drinks just in time to hear the last portion of Hes' proclamation. "I'll never understand why all you Trills compete over who gets to become the next host to a worm. You should fight over more sensible things-like who gets to use the holosuite next. Holosuite Three is open this very moment."
"Maybe later," Argin replied, dismissing the Ferengi with a wave of his hand.
Shaking his head, the proprietor sauntered off to take orders from a couple new arrivals.
"Think about it," Argin said as though they had not been interrupted. "Can you honestly say that Jadzia isn't a significant part of who you are? Jadzia was the one who went to Starfleet Academy, who became the best damn scientist I know. Dax may have brought three hundred years of experience into your being, but you are still Jadzia.
Jadzia conceded with a nod. "I see you've gotten to know yourself a lot better, since we first met. Who's lecturing who now?"
Argin blushed, showing just a touch of the shy, anxious initiate he had been a year and a half ago. "After I am joined, the part of me who is Argin will still very much love Kelita."
Dax picked up her drink. "Then lets toast to your happiness."
They clinked glasses.
Another customer walked in, unnoticed by the trio, and sat at the bar across from Quark. With long, bushy hair and an unkept appearance, he was definitely not Starfleet material, but he fit in well with the motley of patrons at Quark's Bar.
The barkeep leaned over, placing his elbow on the counter and his hand on his chin. "How may I serve you?"
"Water."
Quark stood straight. "I don't serve-"
"Mmmmm," the man grumbled loudly and clenched his fist.
Raising his hands, Quark said, "Okay, water it is." As he poured the drink, he eyed the new customer suspiciously.
The man stared over his shoulder in the direction of Lieutenant Dax' table. Kelita Hes glanced their way and growing wide-eyed, quickly raised her hand to obscure her face.
Something's going on in my bar, Quark thought. And I don't think I like it! He brought the water over to the man and stepped back. He knew the man's type, had dealt with customers like him before. If he didn't want a phaser in his face, it was best to place a distance between himself and the irate customer.
The man turned back toward the bar, picked up the water and downed it. He stood and left.
"Come again sometime!" Quark yelled facetiously.
"Argin, are you sure we should spend a few days at Deep Space Nine?" Kelita asked as they reached their guest quarters. As she spoke, she wondered how she could convince him that they should leave immediately even though she had been so eager to make the trip.
Argin grasped her hands affectionately, but his eyes glimmered with disenchantment. "I thought you liked the idea of meeting Jadzia, getting to know my field docent."
"I did. It's just that now that I've met her-well, I'd really just like to have you all to myself." Smiling flirtatiously, she wrapped her arms around her fiance. She couldn't dare tell him she wanted to leave, because of Max. How had they found her so quickly?
"Is there something wrong? Because that does not sound like you."
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about my crazed ex-boyfriend, Kelita thought. "Can we please talk about this inside?" she asked as she glanced around the corridor, half expecting to find Max charging after her. "Over dinner."
Argin nodded and they stepped inside the quarters. After ordering linguini, they sat down at the small table in the middle of the room. In an awkward silence, with Kelita playing with her food and him glancing expectantly at her, they slowly began to eat. She didn't know what to say. How could she tell Argin anything? If she did, his life would also be in danger.
"Well?" he finally said.
"I like Jadzia; don't get me wrong, but it's this station. It gives me the creeps." She shivered, trying to emphasize her words. "Maybe it's because the Cardassians built it."
"There are no Cardassians left on this station."
Kelita raised a finger. "I hear there's one."
"And we're getting off the subject," Argin said, raising his voice slightly.
Yeah, we were talking about the crazed ex-boyfriend, the one who convinced me to join a religious cult, and if you knew about it, you'd drop me like a crazberry-ice cake. "I'm sorry," she replied. She couldn't even bear to look him in the eyes anymore.
Argin pounded his fist on the table, making their plates jump and spilling some of the noodles. "I don't understand! I thought we shared everything." He stood, and pointing a finger at her, said, "If you can't share whatever's bothering you with me, then maybe we shouldn't get married after all!" He turned his back on her.
The door annunciator chimed.
"Who is it?" Argin asked, still with an angry edge.
"It's me, Dax," the person in the corridor said.
"Come in," he replied.
The door slid open and suddenly a phaser beam blasted through the door, He's going to kill me! Kelita thought before the beam knocked her unconscious. Dumbfounded, Argin watched his fiance's limp body tumble out of her chair. He dove, trying to avoid the phaser blast and crawled toward her. Checking her pulse, he found it weak. She had taken the blast in the right rib and was not breathing.
"Help!" he screamed, wishing he had a commbadge to contact the infirmary. Then he remembered the commpanel only a few meters outside his quarters. He rushed out into the corridor and punched the button. "Infirmary. . .I have a medical emergency! Someone has tried to kill my fiance!"
"I'll beam to your location immediately," Bashir replied. Half a minute later, the doctor, holding a medikit, materialized outside Argin's quarters. Argin gestured toward the door and then followed the doctor inside. Watching as Bashir knelt to check Kelita's vitals, Argin knitted his fingers. The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, the host is dead." Removing a medical scanner, he ran it over Kelita Hes' abdomen. "The Symbiont is still alive." He tapped his commbadge. "Bashir to Ops. Three to beam directly to the infirmary."
Hugging himself, Argin nearly collapsed before the beam whisked him away.
Odo stepped into the infirmary and spotting Argin sitting on a biobed in the corner, he approached the Trill. "I know this is quite difficult for you," the constable said. "But you are the only witness to this crime." He paused for a moment, waiting for a reply that didn't come. Argin did not even make eye contact with him. Placing his hand on the Trill, the shapeshifter continued, "Did you see who fired the phaser?"
Finally, Argin did look at Odo, but he did not answer the question, instead saying, "Dr. Bashir removed Hes from the host body. It won't do any good. The Symbiont can survive in stasis for four hours, but that's not long enough. At maximum warp, it would take two days to travel from the Homeworld to this station. Nothing can save Hes!"
Odo nodded, wishing at that moment that he could feel some sort of empathy. He had never experienced love and could not fully grasp the emptiness Argin now felt. So he stood there awkwardly, offering what sympathy he could. It wasn't much.
"I didn't see anyone," Argin said, finally answering Odo's question. "Kelita and I had just sat down to eat our dinner when the annunciator chimed. When I asked who was there, Jadzia replied, 'It's me, Jadz-'" Suddenly, he grew pale and averted his eyes. "No, the person said Dax. I should have known! Jadzia has always insisted on informalities. She would never have announced herself as Dax."
"This voice, what did it sound like?"
"It sounded exactly like Jadzia's. That's why I invited the person inside. As soon as the door opened, a phaser blast struck Kelita. I didn't know what to do! Why would someone want to kill Kelita? She never harmed anyone."
Odo wondered if the same could be said about the Symbiont, Hes. He knew, from hearing stories about Dax, that each host added a new dimension to the personality. Maybe Kelita Hes had never harmed anyone, but who could say that none of Hes' other hosts hadn't?
Jadzia entered the room and rushed to Argin, grasping his hands. "I just heard about the accident."
"It was no accident," the constable informed her.
Jadzia registered no surprise by the constable's announcement, keeping her gaze on the other Trill. "How is she?"
"The Trill host is dead."
"And the Symbiont?" Jadzia directed at Argin.
"Alive. . .for a while. Dr. Bashir has placed Hes in stasis." Argin's face turned red as he fought to hold back tears. "We both know a Symbiont cannot survive long in that state."
"Then there is only one option. Argin, you have to become the new host."
Shock flooded over Argin's face. He obviously had not considered the idea of becoming host to his own fiance! "I-I can't do that!"
"Argin, you have been a host candidate for two years. You survived your training and you even survived having Dax as your field docent. When you applied to become a host, you accepted a great responsibility toward all Symbionts. You know that, above all else, the Symbiont's needs must be considered."
Argin acknowledged the familiar speech with a nod.
"Lieutenant," Odo said, "I hate to interrupt, but if I could have a moment with you." Dax followed him to the other corner of the room. "I need to know where you've been for the past hour."
"Where I've been?" she said defensively. "When I left Argin and Kelita at Quark's, I headed over to Ops to work on some research for a while. Major Kira can verify that I was there. Why? Are you saying I'm a suspect?"
"I do not believe that you had anything to do with this most unfortunate incident, but Argin claims he heard your voice outside his quarters before someone fired at his fiance."
"Then someone has replicated my voice!"
"That is my theory, but at this point I have nothing but circumstantial evidence. Argin's fiance, or one of the other hosts, obviously had at least one enemy. Maybe she opened up to him, or he saw or heard something he hasn't told us. He might be more willing to share that with a friend."
"I'll try my best," Jadzia promised and walked away from the constable to return to her friend.
"What is so important, Quark?" Odo said unevenly as he approached the Ferengi. He wanted to continue his investigation, not worry about cheapskates, who refused to pay a bar tab owed to an even bigger cheapskate.
"Sit down, sit down," Quark insisted, pointing at the bar stool. "You're going to really want to hear this."
"Oh really?" Though dubious, the constable sat on the stool.
Quark leaned over and in a low voice said, "I heard about the unfortunate death of that Trill. I believe I know who killed her." Odo eyed the Ferengi, wondering why Quark would willingly volunteer any information. What did Quark expect to gain from it? "Well, I don't mean I really know him, but he entered my bar earlier, ordered water. I told him I didn't serve water. He got-"
"Quark, what did this man look like?"
"He was human, quite tall, about six-five, thirty-five, forty years old. Quite muscular, like he'd seen the likes of a few holosuite gyms-but not at my establishment. I'd never seen him before. But what struck me as particularly odd was the way he wore his hair, long like a Klingon's. It was so wild that it covered his face." Quark paused briefly. "Except his eyes." The Ferengi shrugged his shoulders. "If you ask me, he had something to hide. He could have been an old boyfriend of the murder victim's, but what a Trill could see in a man like that-"
"And did this man give you a name?"
"I didn't think to ask him that," Quark said coyly. "Why bother when he just ordered water?"
"What makes you think he had anything to do with the murder of Kelita Hes?"
"If you saw the way he eyed her, and the way she looked back at him. Let's just say I'm glad he wasn't angry with me."
"Argin, I understand how you feel," Jadzia said, sitting on her sofa beside Argin. She thought about the many friends Dax had lost over the centuries. "Everyone must at some point face losing someone close to them. No one expects you to get over Kelita's death quickly."
"I don't know if I'll ever get over it, especially when the last words I said to her came out of anger."
"Stop berating yourself, Argin. We all say things out of anger." Curzon had overreacted many times, and Jadzia had to admit that even she was guilty of overreacting occasionally.
"She was keeping something from me," Argin explained, "and I just wanted her to open up to me. Do you think she knew someone wanted to kill her?"
"It's possible, but you can't blame yourself for not knowing."
"I don't want Hes to die, but the thought of joining with Hes-I expected the Symbiont I would eventually join with would be someone I'd never met, not someone I deeply loved."
"Argin, there isn't any more time to debate this. If you don't join with the Hes Symbiont in the next hour, then it will die and Kelita's murderer will go free. After joining, there is an excellent chance that any knowledge Kelita had about her murderer will merge with your memory."
Argin nodded. "You are right. I've been behaving like a child."
"You've been behaving like a man mourning the loss of the woman he loved." Dax embraced her friend and allowed him to cry in her arms. Once he'd spent his anguish, she released her grip. "Are you ready to return to the infirmary?"
Argin slowly nodded.
"This will all be over very quickly," Julian promised Argin as his Bajoran nurse placed a laser scalpel in his upraised hand. "I hear that joining for Trills is as natural as exchanging marriage vows for Humans.
"Only in this case, the joining is irrevocable," Argin replied. He was laying on the surgical bed unable to feel anything below his chest due to a local anesthetic. Trill hosts could not be put to sleep, because drugs could potentially harm the Symbiont.
Bashir lowered his scalpel and the laser sliced across Argin's abdomen. Feeling no pain, the patient stared at his exposed innards with utter fascination. The doctor, removing the Symbiont from its stasis tube, brought Hes over to Argin's side. The Trill had seen many pictures of Symbionts and had studied their physiology heavily as part of his host training, but until now, he'd never actually seen one unjoined. The Symbiont had a bulbous body with a neck and head extending out like an ophidian. The doctor lowered Hes toward Argin's incised abdomen, and the creature slithered inside the man who had been its fiance.
"Blood pressure slightly elevated," the nurse reported. "Brainwave activity normal."
"How do you feel?" Julian asked Argin.
Argin wasn't sure how to reply. Except for a strange full and warming sensation in his abdomen, he didn't feel any different. "I-" Before he could reply a jarring sensation riveted throughout his entire being.
"Brainwave pattern is becoming slightly erratic."
Memories that were not Argin's flowed through him in sudden vivid perceptions and almost instantly, he felt desires, grasped knowledge that he had never experienced. He remembered each of the five previous Hes hosts, two men and three women. He smiled as he shared one of Kelita's memories. She remembered kissing, Argin, making love with him, embracing, clinging him in a ferocious oneness. Now they were joined into the ultimate oneness.
"Brainwave patterns are leveling off back to normal, doctor," the nurse said.
"Incorporation has occurred," Julian said, and picking up the laser scalpel again, he closed the incision seamlessly. Leaning toward Argin's face, he said, "Now how do you feel?"
"Like a new person," Argin replied, smiling. "It's wonderful, like nothing you could ever imagine."
"Glad to hear it. You lie there and rest for a few minutes, and when you feel that you're up for it, Constable Odo is waiting outside to talk with you."
Argin nodded. "About Kelita's murderer. Doctor, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with the constable immediately."
"I see no reason to deny you that request." Julian turned toward his assistant. "Nurse, would you tell the constable that he may come in now."
The Bajoran nodded and stepped out of the surgical room.
Lying still on the biobed, Argin Hes allowed more of Kelita's memories to flood over him. Suddenly, Hes remembered a place where, as Kelita Hes, she had been a member of a large "family" living together. "A cult," Argin mumbled.
"What did you say?" the doctor asked.
Argin had forgotten that Bashir was still in the room. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't realize that I'd spoken aloud. I'm just remembering things. . .things I don't totally understand."
"From what I've learned about Trills from Dax, that's perfectly natural. I'm sure you'll understand everything with time."
Odo stepped inside. "You are completely joined now?" He looked from Argin to Bashir for conformation.
"Yes," Argin answered.
"I'll leave you two alone," the doctor said. "I have a female Uraknian who's going into labor-with triplets." He stepped out of the room.
"Does Hes have any knowledge about the person who murdered Kelita?" the constable asked.
Surprised that he could not immediately answer the question, Argin brought his hand over his eyes, desperately trying to force memories to the surface. He had been so sure that Hes would know who had murdered Kelita. "I don't know," he admitted, allowing tears to flow. "I can't help you after all."
"Well, I won't need these anymore," Argin Hes said aloud as he sifted through Kelita's clothes. He had most of his-or rather, Argin's-clothes packed. As he browsed through the familiar belongings, he discovered that not all of the items were quite to his liking anymore. He would have to purchase new clothes, new books, as well as other items. Maybe Jadzia was right,he realized. Maybe Kelita and I were being rash by getting engaged before I'd become joined. So much has changed now that I am no longer a single being. Just as he closed his away bag, the annunciator chimed. "Who is it?"
"It's Jadzia."
Argin nodded enthusiastically, because he knew it was truly his friend. "Come in."
The door slid open to permit Jadzia Dax to step inside. "So, it's true. You're heading back to the Homeworld?"
"I have no reason to stay here. Hes and I have been joined for nearly twelve hours, and I have yet to remember anything about the man-or even if it was a man-who killed my fiance."
Jadzia grasped his arm, squeezing comfortably. "Jadzia joined with Dax several years ago and there are still moments when a new memory surfaces into Jadzia's consciousness. Many memories came almost immediately, but I suspect that there are many more of Curzon's, or Lela's or any one of the Dax hosts' memories I have yet to draw upon. Being joined is a continuous process of remembering, and learning from each other."
He ruminated over this for a moment. "Argin didn't think he could handle being joined with someone he felt such an emotional attachment with." He chuckled lightly. "He was wrong."
"I'm glad to hear it-and I hope you have a safe trip." She hugged him and he was glad that Argin hadn't let his intimidation of Dax stand in the way of developing a meaningful friendship with this empathetic young woman. "You will remember in time," she said as they parted.
"I hope so." Argin picked up his away bag, and they left the guest quarters, heading toward the docking bay.
Allowing others to walk through the docking doors ahead of him, Argin glanced nervously around the bay.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Dax asked. As she followed, Argin's gaze, she noticed Odo standing several feet away. Does he think Kelita's murderer is going to try to hit on Argin now?
"Just act natural and I'll explain later."
After a long awkward moment, a man wearing a pony tail and a hat brushed passed them and surreptitiously glanced their way. Had Jadzia not been looking in his direction, she would not have noticed him. Argin nodded at Odo. Quickly, the constable forced his way through the crowd toward them just as the suspect was whipping a phaser out and grabbed the man by the arm.
The stranger whirled around and demanded, "What is the meaning of this? I need to take passage on this ship!"
The constable grabbed the phaser and checked the setting. "This weapon is set to kill. The only place you're going is the brig."
As the constable whisked his new prisoner away, Dax looked questioningly at her friend for an explanation.
"The constable suggested that the murderer might not have been after just Kelita," Argin explained, "but after Hes as well."
Moving closer to her friend. Jadzia asked in a low voice, "Have you remembered why?"
"Shortly after joining with the Kelita host, she lived with a cult family." Jadzia started to reply, but Argin raised a hand. "Don't ask me to explain exactly why. I know it had something to do with an argument with her parents, but the memories are only still coming to the surface. Anyway, this cult has a very strict rule: once you become a member of the family, you can never leave. Kelita Hes left after just a year. Punishment for that crime is death."
"So this hitman has been captured. But what happens if they send someone else after you?"
To Jadzia's surprise, Argin did not look particularly alarmed by this question. "Dr. Bashir filed a report stating that both host and Symbiont died as a result of a phaser blast. Hopefully, no one from the cult will ever learn the truth."
"Julian lied! I find it hard to believe he would do that. Does Commander Sisko know about this?"
"The false report was sanctioned by higher up than Commander Sisko. Apparently, the Federation has been investigating this cult for quite some time. I supplied Constable Odo with enough inside information to possibly close the cult family down. I wish Kelita had been able to come forward, but even if she had, that would not have ensured her safety."
"I'm so sorry about everything that has happened," Jadzia said, hugging her friend, but I'm so glad you're all right. You take care of yourself."
"I will. I just wish the Hes part of my persona didn't feel so guilty."
"You must remember that as much as I'm not Curzon, you're not Kelita. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Kelita Hes joined the cult. Argin Hes is beginning today with a clean slate."
Argin Hes nodded and turning, walked through the docking door. After a moment, Jadzia Dax left, heading for Ops.