Author's note: This story does not take into account the events of the novels (which I haven't read anyway) or any other post-TV-series material. I hope you'll enjoy it regardless. Reviews would be very much appreciated.
Disclaimer: DS9 is the property of Paramount.
Kira Nerys spent the last three hours reading staff reports and answering subspace messages from incoming cargo ships. Trying to find refuge in the quiet confines of her office, she regarded the ever-growing pile of pads on her desk with unmitigated disdain.
As she sat back in her chair, Kira let out an exasperated sigh, and absentmindedly started playing with an old, worn-out baseball. In the last sixteen years the ball became a source of both hope and sorrow. It was so much more than just a souvenir left behind by a dear friend. In a way, it was a message or rather a promise that Benjamin Sisko would one day return do Deep Space Nine and resume his duties as the station's Captain.
Kira never lost hope that the day would eventually come, but after so many years of being in charge of the station, the small, round object in her hand became a constant reminder of the fact that it may take several years, perhaps even decades, before Sisko returns from the Celestial Temple.
Shortly after Sisko's disappearance, Admiral Ross gave Kira his full support in commanding the station, alongside her First Officer, Lt. Ezri Dax.
The position of Bajor in the Alpha Quadrant was much stronger now than in the short years following the Cardassian Occupation, especially after the Bajorans finally became members of the Federation.
Starfleet officers remained on the station to ensure that the peace treaty with the Dominion was honored by both sides, as well as to aid several planets in the Gamma Quadrant, including Cardassia Prime, in rebuilding their worlds after the devastating losses they had suffered during the war.
Keeping the Klingons, the Romulans and the Cardassians in check whilst ensuring that the Jem'Hadar stay away from the Alpha Quadrant was by no means an easy task, and Deep Space Nine often found itself caught in the crossfire of opposing interests and mutual animosities.
Sometimes running this station is more challenging than operating in the Bajoran resistance cell Kira thought, but her musings were suddenly interrupted by some sort of commotion occurring in Ops.
She could hear a heated argument between her Chief of Security – a tall, dark-haired Bajoran named Parias – and a familiar Ferengi bartender.
Stepping down to Ops, she gave her uninvited "guest" an annoyed look.
"What do you want, Quark?"
"Captain, I want to file an official protest!" Quark bellowed, shrugging off Parias' hand on his shoulder.
"That's the third one this week" Dax said, and smiled sympathetically at Parias, who in turn crossed his arms over his broad chest.
Ignoring Dax's comment, Quark stepped closer to Kira.
"How do you expect me to run an entertainment establishment on this station if your Chief of Security keeps confiscating half of my stock!"
"This better not be about the Saluvian ale again" Kira said warningly, placing her hands on her hips.
"My customers love it! And who am I to oppose the 45th Rule of Acquisition which clearly states that if there's a high demand for…."
"Quark!" Parias interrupted, his patience for the Ferengi finally running its course. "You know as well as I do that Saluvian ale has been banned by both the Bajoran Government and the Federation. You cannot import nor sell it in your bar and that's final!"
"And for good reason," Dax added, turning to Quark."Even small amounts of ale may cause some unwanted side effects, such as hallucinations and in some cases, temporary memory loss".
"I wouldn't exactly call them unwanted" Quark said, flashing his sharp-edged teeth. "The Saluvian ale constitutes nearly one-third of my weekly profit!".
Kira rolled her eyes, but Quark seemed undeterred.
"Surely we can work out a compromise, Captain" Quark continued, rubbing his hands together. "Tell you what, I get a dispensation regarding the Saluvian ale trade, and you get 5% of the profit…"
"That's enough Quark" Kira cut in, unwilling to humor the Ferengi any longer. "We've been over this before. If that thick head of yours didn't register it the first time, perhaps you'll be more receptive to Bajoran and Federation laws after spending a few days in the brig".
"10% percent?" Quark asked innocently, his brazenness fading rapidly.
Parias couldn't help but smirk with satisfaction as he grabbed Quark by his elbow and ignoring the Ferengi's protests, dragged him to the nearest Trubolift.
Kira decided to join them.
"Dax, if anybody needs me, I'll be at the Replimat".
Ezri nodded in confirmation and turned back to her console when something odd about the readings on the monitors caught her attention.
"Captain" she called after Kira, furrowing her brows in confusion.
Kira, Parias and Quark turned to look at the Trill expectantly.
"There's something strange going on with the wormhole. You need to see this".
"On screen" Kira commanded as Ezri activated the large, oval monitor.
The sight before them rendered them almost speechless. The wormhole opened, displaying green, yellow and pink flashes of light, flickering like a malfunctioning replicator.
"I've never seen it do that before" Quark finally broke the silence, his eyes still glued to the monitor.
Dax pressed several buttons on her console, activating subspace scanners in order to determine the cause of such unusual phenomenon.
"I'm reading highly elevated levels of neutrinos and a slight decrease in verteron nodes" she reported, still confused.
"Do you know what's causing it?" Kira asked, concern evident in her voice.
"I have no idea" Dax replied.
"I don't see any ships coming through" Parias said. "Perhaps they're cloaked".
Dax shook her head. "There are no ships. The sensors would have picked up their warp signatures or any other energy impulses emitted by the focal arrays".
Deep Space Nine went a long way from being a crude Cardassian refinery for uridium ore to one of the most technologically-advanced Federation posts. If there was a ship or any sort of anomaly approaching the station, the sensors would have picked it up immediately and Dax would be the first one to know about it.
Kira's combadge suddenly chirped.
"Nog to Kira".
"Go ahead Lieutenant" Kira answered, her eyes never leaving the wormhole.
"I think you'd better come down to the Promenade, sir" Nog said, sounding perplexed.
Now what? Kira thought with annoyance and exchanged concern glances with Parias.
"What's going on, Nog?"
"I'm not sure. Hundreds of Bajorans gathered around the temple. It probably has something to do with the way the wormhole is acting up".
"We're on our way".
As soon as Kira stepped out of the turbolift and entered the promenade, she saw hundreds of her compatriots gathered around the Bajoran shrine. They were relatively quiet but the tension in the air was almost tangible. Parias was not far behind Kira, his dissention with Quark forgotten under the unusual circumstances.
The two Bajorans exchanged silent looks. Leaving Quark behind, they rushed towards the temple to investigate what was going on. As they pressed through the crowd, they gradually slowed down their pace. The last thing they needed is to cause panic among the station's inhabitants.
Quark briefly considered taking advantage of the situation to slip back to his bar but his curiosity got the better of him. Looking around the promenade, he quickly spotted his nephew near the security office and decided to confront him.
"Nog, would you mind telling me what's going on in here?" he asked, regarding the crowd with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
"I think the Bajorans are worried about the Prophets" Nog replied. "If the wormhole collapsed, they'd be cut off from their Gods".
Quark narrowed his eyes, his Ferengi brain immediately set to calculate the possible financial advantages of such an event.
"And what better way to calm one's shattered nerves after such a devastating blow, than to drown your sorrows in the nearest bar" Quark muttered, more to himself than to his interlocutor.
Nog gave Quark a disapproving glare. "That's not a good time to think about profit, uncle!" he chastised.
Quark waved him off. "You spend too much time with these sentimental humons" .
Meanwhile, Kira and Parias managed to reach the entrance to the temple. Several Bajorans, both civilians and the station's personnel, were waiting outside for their prylars to address them or perhaps relay a message from the Prophets themselves. Kira could tell everyone was anxious, some immersed in silent prayer others nervously whispering to each other. She'd lie if she said she wasn't feeling nervous herself.
Sensing her discomfort, Parias put his hand over hers, trying to calm her down a bit. She looked him in his warm, brown eyes and reciprocated with a gentle smile, his gesture reminding her how happy she was to have him in her life.
Kira didn't even know when or how Parias managed to find his way into her heart, especially after the cold way she treated him when he first arrived on the station to replace Odo as Chief Security Officer. Perhaps she saw him as a threat to Odo's legacy? An intruder that arrogantly tired to fill in a space left by someone who was irreplaceable. She knew her behavior was irrational, and that Parias hadn't done anything to deserve such an unfair treatment. In fact, his professionalism and diligence quickly earned him great respect of the entire staff. Even Quark had to admit that Parias became a worthy adversary in Odo's absence, since none of the Ferengi's usual shenanigans went past the radar of the new security officer.
As much as Kira tried to push him away, nit-pick at his reports or point out flaws in his character, she really couldn't find a genuine reason to dislike the man. When she found out that Parias had also fought in the Bajoran resistance during the occupation, she found herself confining in him more often as they shared painful experiences and a lot of common interests.
At first they became close friends as Kira didn't want to involve herself romantically with anyone. She spent five years waiting for her true love – the Changeling that left the station – left her – to join his people in the Great Link. But Odo never came back and Parias was always there when she needed him. He was patient, understanding, respectful of her feelings. Kira was grateful to have someone like him by her side; someone who understood who she was and where she was coming from. You two make a really good couple she remembered Dax saying one time, and she was secretly glad that her best friend gave them her full support.
After what seemed like an hour, two elderly monks finally emerged from the shrine, holding a silver vessel that everyone immediately recognized as the one containing the Orb of Prophecy and Change. The orb was glowing, emitting colorful lights, similar to those coming from the wormhole.
One of the monks raised his hands and the crowd went silent.
"Fear not my children" he called out. "The Prophets have spoken. It is a time of new beginnings".
Just as he uttered these words, the orb emitted a great flash of light which engulfed the entire promenade. The Bajorans covered their eyes and subconsciously took a step back. There was no palpable energy impulse but the light was so intense that it was impossible to look in the orb's direction. Suddenly, the light disappeared as unexpectedly as it emerged.
Kira finally dared to look up and was relieved to see that the promenade was still in one piece. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary: no injuries among the onlookers, no visible damage on the upper and lower levels. But that didn't mean they were out of the woods yet. The flash of light must have meant something and Kira was determined to find out what it was.
"Dax to Kira"
The Bajoran mentally braced herself for some bad news. "Go ahead".
"What was that?!" Dax asked, the pitch of her voice slightly raised.
"The orb…" Kira tried to answer but words failed her as she was still unsure what just happened.
Back at Ops, Ezri rubbed her eyes. The sudden flash of light that hit the station gave her quite the scare, not to mention a mild headache. She was hoping Kira had some answers for her. She suspected something strange might have happened in the Bajoran temple.
"At least we know communications are still up" the Trill said, trying to sound optimistic.
"What about the wormhole?" Kira asked.
Ezri activated the main screen again and checked the console. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like it's back to normal" she said, watching the wormhole regain its regular bluish hue then close with a quick flash of light. "I'm not picking up any unusual readings or disturbances".
"That's good to know" Kira's voice sounded a little surprised but also relieved.
Just as Ezri began to relax, the unexpected hiss of the doors to the Captain's office made her jump. She abruptly turned around and made a move to inspect the possible locking-system malfunction, then suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a familiar figure casually strolling down the stairs leading from the main office to the lower level of Ops. Keeping his left hand behind his back, he occupied the other by tossing his baseball up and quickly catching it with the same hand.
It took Ezri a minute to find her voice again.
"B-Benjamin?"
He gave her one of his infamous toothy grins.
"Good to see you, Old Man".
Next chapter: Sisko reunites with his friends, and we finally find out what our favorite doctor, Julian Bashir, has been up to in the last 16 years.
Please, R/R. I'd love to know what you think :)