Odo was pleased that it was only Kira who met him at the docking station. She looked much healthier than when he had last seen her shortly after she had emerged from the coma her near death injuries had brought on. But to Odo, even then, she had been the most beautiful sight in either quadrant. He took her in his arms in a tight embrace and, with an action only a changeling could perform, allowed his arms to vibrate, massaging Kira's back muscles. It was something she always took delight in and a technique he had found quickly relaxed Kira who was a tense person by nature. They made lover's small talk as they headed to Quark's holosuite for an evening at Vic's.
Suddenly Odo bent over and winced at a pain in his abdominal area. Over many objections, Kira managed to drag him to the infirmary where he hotly insisted to Dr. Bashir that he was just fine. A cursory exam revealed nothing. By changing his tone Odo managed to persuade them that he would come back for a more thorough checkup before departing to the Gamma Quadrant, if only they would let him and Nerys get on with their plans. And so, with Nerys still apprehensive, they headed out the door of the infirmary toward Quark's across the way.
Odo was surprised when the next thing he remembered was looking up into the concerned faces of Dr. Bashir and Kira. From his surroundings, he quickly assessed that he was back in the infirmary. "What happened?" he demanded. "You passed out." Julian answered. "Ridiculous. I'm a Changling. I don't 'Pass Out.'" "OK", answerd Dr. Bashir. "Then you 'lost consciousness.' Call it what you will but you were only gone a moment when Quark called me with a medical emergency outside his bar." "Quark!", Odo exclaimed with a distain that he didn't really feel, "He probably did this to me." "Is that the thanks I get for saving your life Odo?" Quark's voice called out from the waiting area. "Quark, give us some privacy." Julian called back and he activated the noise cancellation device that cut off external sounds to the examination area.
"What is it Doctor?" Odo asked seeing the uneasiness on Bashir's face. "I've detected some sort of a 'mass' inside you." Bashir responded. Odo took stock of his interior and felt the volume for the first time. "What sort of mass?" Kira asked before he could. "I don't know yet. But I'd like to take some more scans with your cooperation, Odo." Bashir replied. "Of course Doctor," Odo said. "Given your unique physiology, could you bring the mass closer to your exterior so I can get more direct readings of it?" Odo tried to shift the object to the outside. The nearer it got, the more discomfort he felt. The distress must have been evident on his face because he saw it mirrored on Kira's.
Bashir looked intently at his new scans. "When was the last time you regenerated?" he asked. "I just came from the Link. I shouldn't need to regenerate for16 hours yet." Odo answered. "I would like for you to do something for me." Julian continued. He retrieved a deep tray from a storage nook and held it out to Odo. "Would you please revert to the liquid state in which you regenerate?" For anyone else, except Kira, and perhaps Lwaxana Troi, Odo would have indignantly refused. But he knew that Dr. Bashir was not asking to indulge some perverse intellectual curiosity. "Certainly Doctor." Odo replied. "If you would remain in that state until I tell you I'm done with the scan?" Julian politely asked.
Odo, looked to Kira and tried to give her a reassuring smile. He then willed his form into the tray. He immediately detected that a part of him did not liquefy with the rest of him. He formed some temporary visual sensors at one end of the tray so he could take a look at himself. There in the center of his fluid body sat a sphere of "something else." It was not under his volition and therefore seemed apart from him. It already seemed larger than before. He then allowed his "eyes" to flow back into his essence.
After a few minutes, Odo sensed Dr. Bashir's vocalizations and concluded that he was done with his scan. He reformed into his normal visage. Odo saw even more concern on Bashir's and Kira's faces than before. "What did you find, Doctor?" "I'll give it to you straight, Constable." Julian said using his former, formal title. "This…'growth', seems to exhibit some of the properties not unlike those when you were infected with the Founder genocide virus." Odo heard Kira gasp. "But I'm not certain."Dr. Bashir quickly amended. "There are also characteristics not at all like that." "With your permission, I would like to send for Dr. Mora Pol for a consult on this."
There had been a time when Odo would have vehemently rejected such a request. He used to have nothing but contempt for the man. But in recent years, Dr. Mora and Odo had come to a new understanding between them. Mora was not the detached zookeeper that Odo had long seen him to be when he had spent his formative years with the scientist. And Odo was not the lab specimen that Mora had, however unintentionally, treated Odo as. Now, they had formed a newfound respect for each other and an almost personable relationship. Odo glanced at Nerys and read from her that she hoped he would agree. "Do what you must, Doctor." Judging from her response Odo knew he had been right about Kira's thoughts.
"In the mean time," Julian said, "I would like to pursue another, rather unorthodox consultation." "And that would be?" Odo prodded. "I propose we go directly to the source to determine if the Founder pathogen is at play here. I will attempt to contact a representative of Section 31 to ask if they are involved in this in anyway.""What makes you think that they would answer? And even if they did, what reason do we have to believe there response?" Kira asked with contempt in her voice. "As perverse as their ideology about how to protect the Federation might be," Julian answered, "I believe that, in their own minds at least, members of Section 31 believe themselves to be honorable. If they are not behind this, they will say so. Also, ego is a central personality trait in their psychological profile. If they have reintroduced the genocidal virus, I think that they will almost boastfully claim responsibility."
Odo found it ironic that Julian could speak about ego in such a detached way. Since Section 31 had tried to recruit him, obviously they felt Bashir fit their profile. Given Bashir's long fascination with Garek and his penchant for spy holonovels, Odo would have good cause to dismiss Bashir's suggestion to bring in Section 31. But he trusted the doctor enough to defer to his idea. "How will you contact them?" Odo asked. "I still have the contact information that Sloan gave me when he tried to recruit me. They know, of course, that it is compromised but they probably still have means to monitor it covertly. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if they had this room bugged now," Julian said with a grin. His attempt at some levity didn't bring much comfort to Odo.