BLIND JOURNEY

"You fool!" Dr. Triss angrily hissed. Triss had come to about thirty minutes ago and was horrified to what he had awakened to. Jadzia was alive, Dax was alive and neither the woman nor the symbiont knew who the hell they were or what they were. Dr. Julian Bashir sat at the briefing table along with Captain Sisko, Kira Nerys, and Worf. Triss paced back and forth, his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

"I don't understand what happened, why doesn't she remember anything?" Benjamin rubbed his right temple; he could feel a migraine coming on.

"Do you honestly think that Trill scientists and doctors before you haven't thought of the same thing centuries ago? Once a symbiont is removed from the host, their link is permanently broken! What has happened to Jadzia is not a shock, replacing a symbiont into its former host causes such disruption to the cerebral nuclei and the brain and one of two things occurs; the host and symbiont die from the shock or all memory is wiped away from the host and the symbiont exists in a vegetative state. Thanks to you Dr. Bashir, Dax is no more, the symbiont and everything that made it unique, all of the life times that it has seen, every experience is gone, forever!" Triss accused, this final statement ricocheted off of the metal bulkheads and a deafening silence fell across the room. The Trill doctor pulled out a chair next to Major Kira and fell like a heap into it and put his face in his hands.

"So Dax is dead?" Kira asked almost in a whisper.

"Yes, and as far as Jadzia…everything that made Jadzia, Jadzia is dead as well. She will never recover her memories as far as her childhood, career or her life here on the station." Triss was staring directly at Dr. Bashir now.

"Or me." Worf broke his silence. He breathed deeply and felt that over-bearing weight on his shoulders again; the weight he felt when he was told Jadzia might die. Now he regretted wanting her life to be spared. In truth, his Jadzia was dead and all that was left was a woman who had no clue who she was or what they had meant to each other. It was not an honorable way to live.

"What now?" Benjamin sat back in his chair and thought what cruel irony had befallen his dear friend. She had lived but died and it was all his fault.

"Why don't we ask Dr. Bashir since he seems to have all the answers?" Triss smirked bitterly. "And while you're at it Bashir why don't you tell me how to explain to the Science Ministry why I will no longer be returning to Trill with Dax."

"I…I…" Bashir was stomped. He had no idea what he was doing anymore; it had never dawned on him that someone else throughout history would have come up with the same obviously flawed solution.

"Well it seems the good doctor is finally out of things to say." Triss laughed. "Captain Sisko I think I should let you know that I will be filing a formal complaint against Doctor Bashir and I would also like to press charges against him for assault and theft of the Dax symbiont."

"Assault, using a hypo-spray on you hardly counts as assault." Kira made an effort to defend her friend in any way that she could. But in truth she knew Bashir was in for a rough ride with both Star Fleet and The Trill Science Ministry.

"Captain, surely you are not going to allow Dr. Bashir to resume his duties at this point?" Triss ignored the Bejoran women, like humans he never much cared for Bejoran's or their mythical prophets. Sisko looked to be contemplating his next move and then with a defeated sigh he turned to Dr. Bashir who sat to his right.

"Doctor, I'm afraid I will have to relieve you of duty pending word from Star Fleet Command."

"What about the assault and theft?" Triss demanded.

"You will remain in quarters until further notice." Sisko added.

"His quarters, he should be in a holding cell like any other criminal!" This was outrageous; any other person who committed criminal acts would have been confined to a holding cell until judgment time. Sisko ignored Triss and again looked to Bashir, "Dismissed Doctor." Bashir stood, still dressed in his surgeons smoke and departed the briefing room bound for his quarters.

"Now I see why Bashir has no sense of responsibility or humbleness when it comes to authority. His Captain treats egregious offenses with a slap on the wrist." Triss mocked. Sisko slammed his fist down on the conference table and growled, "You can get the hell out too!"

Triss stood immediately, not because he was scared but because he was sick of human attitudes. Without another word he exited the room leaving Sisko, Worf and Kira to ponder on this new knowledge.

"We should have let her go." Worf closed his eyes for a moment, wishing that when he opened them he would awaken from this nightmare.

"We didn't and now the question is where do we go from here?" Sisko had no clue what he should do. They couldn't willingly end her life just because her memory was gone. Jadzia was like a new born now; she would have to be taught certain things again. One thing was for certain; her career in Star Fleet was over at least for now.

"Has her family been contacted?" Kira piped in.

"I tried to contact them two days ago; I have yet to receive a reply." Worf sat somberly and tried with everything in him to keep his rage and sorrow at bay.

"For now we will have to wait on Star Fleet I guess. Bashir said that Jadzia would be able to be released from the infirmary the day after tomorrow. Worf, she's your wife…do you have any idea of how you wish to proceed?" Sisko asked. Worf sat back and looked out of the window in front of him. How did he wish to proceed? He had no idea what to do, his firth thought was to do what Klingon tradition demanded…give her an honorable death. But he knew that Sisko or Star Fleet would stand for that and quite frankly he couldn't bear the thought of being the one who ended her precious life.

"I am not sure how to proceed; she is no longer who I knew." Worf replied finally.

"Okay let's just solve this obvious problem, where will she stay when she is released? Maybe it's best that she stay in her own quarters around things that she was use to." Kira suggested.

"That is not a good idea; I do not want her to feel uncomfortable. She does not remember me or our marriage." This last caused Worf's anger to slip a little bit and he quickly stood up and walked around the table and went to stand at the window.

"Okay…what about guest quarters. We could check on her throughout the day, I know Keiko would be willing to be willing to help; she's been really concerned." Kira offered up another suggestion and she hoped this one wouldn't be rejected.

"Worf?" Sisko asked.

"That would be fine." He turned around, "Captain if there is nothing else may I be excused." Worf almost pleaded.

"Of course." Benjamin knew how hard this must be for Worf, having lost his first wife. Worf walked quickly to the exit and then to the turbo-lift. After directing the turbo-lift to his – their – his quarters he began to walk in a small circle. The burly Klingon's breath was becoming labored, his chest rising and falling painfully. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and every vein in his body threatened to erupt. Finally the door to the turbo-lift opened and he walked quickly to his quarters and entered. Once inside he stood there in the living room exhaling and inhaling and exhaling and inhaling. He looked to his left at the weapons display that was mounted on the wall and with a loud growl he yanked it off of the wall and threw it across the room. Next he grabbed the glass coffee table, brought it up over his head and with one quick movement hurled it into the ground. Worf had lost control; the anger, the hurt, the rage was spilling out and his quarters would pay the price!