Disclaimer: I do not own Deep Space 9 or any Star Trek character, but I do own Aelis Gen. Star Trek is Brennan's and Pillar's and of course, Gene Roddenberry's. Please don't sue me.

"Go get a drink from Quark's, would you?"

I smiled and nodded in understanding. Odo had heard rumor of a "business transaction" that was due to take place in an hour.

"And you'll be in soon?"

He smiled at me wryly. "Of course."

With another nod, I was out of his office and across the Promenade, into the Ferengi's bar. The rat, as I referred to him in my mind, smiled eerily at me. I had always hated his smile, though I hadn't always mistrusted him. My mistake.

"Here's your Andorian ale," he said in his oily voice. I nodded dismissively, but to be polite I threw him a small smile. The smile faded as a strong wave of suspicion washed over me. He was onto me. Crap.

"What brings you to my humble establishment this evening, Officer Gen?"

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. "This ale in my hand."

His eyebrow followed mine. "Really? No gambling, no...companionship?"

He had slipped down into the chair across from me, and something told me he wasn't going to leave soon.

"You know I don't gamble, Quark."

"No sketches this evening either?"

I shook my head. "No, not tonight. No interesting subjects have shown up yet."

Quark snorted. "You sound like that human boy. Jake Sisko. People aren't people anymore; they have to be studied, analyzed."

"Analysis is the first step to good art, my Ferengi friend. Isn't there one of your Rules of Acquisition for this?"

"Number 86, yes."

I smiled in my victory. Quark was still suspicious, but he was warming up to me. I sipped my drink and glanced around the establishment.

"It's very quiet this evening."

The Ferengi sighed. "There's rumor of a Dominion invasion soon. Bad for business. Now if you'll excuse me, Officer."

He sauntered over to the dabo tables in the corner and I went back to my drink. Quark was right when he said the Dominion might invade soon. I was overwhelmed with tension from all sides; everyone on this station, even Quark, was worried about what the future might hold.

Turning my mind back to my work, I saw Quark slip from the bar and walk onto the Promenade. I finished my drink and walked out onto the Promenade, and a group of people gathering on the upper level caught my eye. The tension radiating from them made me feel sick to my stomach. Only a Dominion convoy could cause something like that. I sighed and nodded to Odo, who was waiting casually in his office for my signal. The Constable departed swiftly with a nod of thanks.

My work complete and my shift almost over, I reviewed my report on an incident from yesterday and set it on Odo's desk.

My quarters were silent when I entered and I smiled. It was bliss compared to the tension I had felt earlier. I sighed in contentment and glanced around the room as I often did.

My eyes found a painting I had been working on for the last two weeks. It was of a small girl, leaning against an ugly brick wall in a dark alley. I'm not sure what it meant or what had driven me to start it, but perhaps it had something to do with the steadily growing hopelessness I felt from the Starfleet officers aboard the station. They felt they had no chance should the Dominion attack, and I agreed. The Federation would be crushed.

Stroke by stroke, I filled in the background of the painting, absorbed in my thoughts. I didn't even focus on what came out of my brush, and before I knew it, the small section of background was complete. I stepped back.

I had painted the girl so that she was looking up at the night sky in desperation, and a tear streamed down her cheek. The sky and city I had just painted were obscure, barely visible through a haze that hung in the alley. I could almost feel her anxiety and grief, her hopelessness as everything she had held onto was gone. The painting was missing something, but I wasn't sure. I let it be and ordered the lights as I went to bed.