Chapter 2: Searching for answers
Julian studied the two DNA strands on screen. 'They are almost exactly the same.' he thought. 'Except for this sequence here.' Out loud he spoke. "Computer, isolate gene sequence 4A-5C and display."
"Displayed." The computers voice replied and the gene expanded across the screen.
"Computer, are there any matches on file?"
"Searching." There was a pause as the computer searched the database. "Two found."
"Display." Two identical gene sequences lighted up. "Computer, identify species in which this gene sequence is found."
"Match one is found in the Jem'Hadar species. Match two is found in the species Vorta."
"What is the function of the sequence?"
"Unknown."
The first thing next morning for most of the senior staff as they came on duty, was the daily briefing in the ward room.
Colonel Kira Nerys was at the head of the table. "Good morning. First we will go trough the daily business, then we will discuss the discovery on Derna from yesterday. Lieutenant Nog?"
"Repairs to the station are continuing on schedule. We are still arguing with the quartermasters in the sectors for some of the parts we need, but that should work out."
Kira nodded. "Lieutenant Riker?" She still had to blink at seeing a human wearing a Bajoran Militia uniform. He was an excellent instructor for the recently enlisted Bajoran Militia pilots though and now he was responsible for setting up a flight base on Derna.
"Except for the small setback yesterday, the construction of the base on Derna is well on schedule. The pilots, however, need more practice. Permission to plan more exercise flights?"
"Have the plan on my desk later today." Kira continued down her officers, checking in with operations, security, sciences and finishing with medical.
"The vaccines for the Fostossa virus are ready to be shipped to Cardassia. When can the transport be expected? " Bashir asked.
"Commander Lavelle?" Kira turned towards her First Officer.
"The Cardassian ship the Trager under the command of Gul Akellen Macet will be arriving in five days." Lavelle reported after consulting a PADD.
Kira nodded. "Alright. Ensign T'Rea, what you found about the purpose of the Dominion operation on Derna?"
The young Vulcan ensign who now served as science officer consulted the PADD before her. "Nothing concrete yet, Colonel. There are five encrypted files which possibly contain the required information. The computer is decrypting them. This should be finished in 5.36 hours."
"Lieutenant Nog, any idea about the purpose of the equipment you found?"
"The equipment matches the equipment found in several Dominion cloning facilities. It has been used, but not extensively." Nog reported.
"You are saying something has been cloned on Derna?" Counselor Ezri Dax asked.
"It appears to be so."
"Do we have any idea who the person cloned is? Was he or she in the stasis unit?" Ro asked.
"Actually lieutenant, he person in the stasis unit appears to be the original. Colonel, do you want to handle who is in the unit?"
Kira nodded. "The person in the unit is Tora Ziyal."
The room was silent immediately. Nog and Dax looked shocked, while Ro, Riker and Lavelle were mildly confused. T'Rea only raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me, Colonel, but who is or was Tora Ziyal exactly?" Riker asked.
It was silent for a moment as Kira collected her thoughts. "Tora Ziyal was the daughter of Gul Dukat and a Bajoran comfort woman named Tora Naprem. She was born during the Occupation and raised here on the station. When the Occupation neared its end her father put Ziyal and her mother on a transport to a neutral planet. But on the way the transport who shot down by Breen. Tora Naprem died in the crash and Ziyal was taken prisoner together with the other survivors. For six years they were forced to mine dilithium ore for the Breen. A few years ago Ziyal and the other prisoners were freed. Ziyal lived with her father for a while, but later she came to Deep Space Nine. She lived on the station for almost two years. When Deep Space Nine was freed during Operation Return, she was shot by then Gul Damar for aiding the resistance cell on the station... You will be able to find more detailed information at your comunits."
"But who was killed then if Ziyal is in the stasis unit?" Dax asked.
In response Julian moved towards the viewing screen in the front of the room. He displayed three strands of DNA. "This is a strand of Ziyal's DNA taken after she was liberated from the Breen. This one is taken after the post-mortem examination of her body and this one is from the Ziyal in the unit. As you can see, the first and the third strand match perfectly. The second strand however is slightly different. It contains this extra gene sequence."
He enlarged the sequence on. "I found two matches on file of identical gene sequences. One in the DNA of the Jem'Hadar, one Vorta DNA. The Ziyal who was killed during operation Return was a clone."
"What is the purpose of this gene sequence, Doctor?" Ensign T'Rea asked.
"I am still working on that."
"What I want to know is what the purpose was of replacing Tora Ziyal with a clone? And if they would have done the same somewhere else?" Ro leaned forward, intently studying the images on screen. "Would it be possible to send a message to Constable Odo in the Gamma Quadrant? He might have access to information that we don't have."
Everybody looked at Kira. "We will keep the option in mind, but we are not at that stage yet." She looked around the table. "Are there any other questions?"
"Yes Colonel." Nog said. "Are we going to wake her up?"
"Not yet, lieutenant. First we want to get to the bottom of this."
"No further questions?" Kira looked around the room. "Dismissed."
Bleep bleep...
Bleep bleep...
Bleep bleep...
Kira suddenly looked up from the PADD she should been reading. Instead she has been lost in her thoughts and had not even heard the door chime to her office. "Come in."
The doors opened and Ezri Dax entered the office. "Do you have a moment, Nerys?"
Nerys laid the PADD down. "Of course."
"Are you all right?"
"Are you asking as a counselor or as a friend?"
"Both... Nerys, I had to sound the chime three times before you reacted... And I know that you considered Ziyal your younger sister." Ezri sat down on the couch next to Nerys and put her hand on Nerys' hand. "And though I wasn't there myself... I also remember you the night after Ziyal was killed."
Nerys smiled sadly. "Yes, I am all right. I don't dare to hope yet, but perhaps I will get someone back whom I thought I lost."
"I have a feeling everything will turn out okay." Ezri sat up. "But there was something else I want to talk about. When Ziyal does wake up, it will not be easy for her."
"Hm..."
"She has you here. And I know that Jake became friends with her during the occupation of the station. But I would also recommend sending a message to Cardassia."
"To Garak?!"
"Yes, from what I remember from Jadzia and what Julian told me he was important to Ziyal."
"It might be a good idea...But, we should discuss this when Ziyal actually is going to wake up."
"T'Rea to Kira." sounded suddenly trough the office.
"Kira here."
"I have found the requested information about the Dominion operation on Derna, sir."
"On my way."
"What have you found, Ensign?" Kira asked.
"I have located the relevant file regarding the purpose of cloning Tora Ziyal. It was designated 'Operation Surveillance'. Its purpose was to replace family members of the leaders of Cardassia with clones loyal to the Dominion. They were meant to observe their subjects and report any anomalies to a representative. Tora Ziyal served as a pilot of the project." T'Rea explained.
"Did they consider the project a success?" Dax, who had followed Kira, asked.
"No, lieutenant, they did not. The gene sequence that Doctor Bashir found is identical to the gene sequence that promotes loyalty to the Founders in the Jem'Hadar and the Vorta. They suspected it would do the same to the clones. Two days before the commencement of operation Return Tora Ziyal was replaced by the clone and put in stasis. The clone was then killed by Gul Damar." T'Rea worked her console. "I also located this report. It was written after the return of the Dominions leadership to Cardassia Prime. The clone was considered defective, because it assisted in the liberation of Leeta, Jake Sisko, major Kira and Nog from the holding cells. The project was then scraped. No further attempts to clone family members were made."
Kira nodded. "I want a report about your findings on my desk by the end of the shift, ensign."
"Of course, Colonel."
Kira turned around and headed to her office, with Dax following.
At the end of the day the senior officers once more gathered in the ward room. Each had received and read the report T'Rea had formulated.
"Why was Ziyal's clone 'defective'?" Riker asked. "Shouldn't the genetic programming have changed her loyalties?"
"The genetic programming is not the only factor that makes the Jem'Hadar and the Vorta absolutely loyal to the Founders. A part is also social conditioning. And the loyalty of the Jem'Hadar is even more strengthened by their dependence on ketracel white. Ziyal's clone had the originals memories and feelings and they overrode the genetic programming."
"And how did they transplant the memories?"
"With the same machine the Dominion also uses to transfer memories between Vorta clones. They do a 'memory dump', as they call it, and plant the memories in the brains of the relevant clone." Bashir explained.
"The apparatus necessary for that procedure was among the machinery in the cavern." Nog added. "I have another question. What is going to happen with Ziyal? Can she be woken up now?"
All looked at Kira. "What would be the recommended procedure for this, Doctor?"
"The first is to deactivate the stasis unit. Stimulants could be used to wake her up, but it would be best to let her regain consciousness naturally. She might be somewhat weak for a while physically, but nothing should be permanent." Bashir explained.
"Colonel, I recommend that you should be available to her for the first few days. Also, we should inform Jake Sisko. They were friends. Finally, I recommend contacting Cardassia to see if Garak would be willing to come." Ezri spoke up.
Kira thought it over. "I will talk to Jake Sisko tonight. Doctor, can you contact Garak?" As Bashir nodded, she turned towards Lavelle. "I know you haven't been here very long, Commander, but you will need to step up the coming few days. I will also need for you to contact Starfleet and First Minister Shakaar to explain everything."
"I can handle it, Colonel." he replied.
"I will deactivate the stasis unit tomorrow morning then." Bashir replied.
It was still weird for Jake. Entering the command office in Ops and finding Kira Nerys there in stead of his own father. "You wanted to see me, Colonel?"
"Come in, Jake, and sit down." She gestured to couch. "Do you want something to drink?"
As she handed him a raktajino, he looked at her. "What is going on, Nerys? You wouldn't have called me here without a reason."
Nerys sat down herself. "You're right, Jake... You have heard about the discovery on Derna yesterday?"
"Yes. Something about a stasis tube and Dominion machinery being found."
"It about the... occupant of the stasis tube... It is Ziyal..."
"Ziyal? But... I found her body... with Dukat crying over her..." Jakes mind flashed back to that day. Hearing Dukat cry out over Ziyal... Trying to find a spark of life in the still body...
"The Ziyal who died that day was a clone... They replaced her just two days before your father returned. The real Ziyal they placed into stasis in the cavern on Derna."
"Is she okay?"
"Julian said she should be fine physically. He's going to start waking her up tomorrow morning. Ezri is more worried... That is why I am talking to you now. I know you became friends and Ezri thinks she is going to need you." Nerys explained.
Jake didn't even have to think about that. "I will do what I can... What about you? And she was also good friends with Garak."
"Julian is contacting Garak. And Commander Lavelle will be stepping up the next few days, so I can spend extra time with Ziyal."
"Ensign, I am looking for Elim Garak." Julian repeated for it to the fifth person. "It is urgent."
"He is here somewhere and they are looking for him, sir." Suddenly the ensign looked to the side, exchanged a few words with someone besides him and allowed Garak to take his place behind the screen.
"Doctor," he exclaimed, "How nice to see you. What can I do for you?"
"I am calling with some news, Garak." Julian hesitated for a moment, then decided to be blunt. "Ziyal is alive..."
Garak's face showed no reaction, except that his eyes widened just a bit. "This is not a very... amusing joke, Doctor ."
"It is no joke... Officers working on the flight base for Derna discovered..." Julian quickly relayed the basics of the events and discoveries of the last two days. "I have a full report here, if you want it."
"Thank you, Doctor." Garak efficiently downloaded the report to a PADD. "When will Ziyal be recovered?"
"We don't know exactly. Physically she should recover fairly fast. Counselor Dax is worried about her mentally though. She asked if it would be possible for you to come here."
"I see..." The Cardassian on screen looked thoughtful.
"I looked into possible travel arrangements. The Trager under Gul Akellen Macet will be leaving Cardassia Prime in two days for Deep Space Nine to get the vaccines for the Fostossa virus..."
"You will see me in a few days, Doctor ." With that Garak signed of and the screen of the comunit went dark.
Lieutenant-commander Sam Lavelle looked annoyed as he related the basics of the story for the third time to one of the higher-ups at Starfleet Command.
As he waited to be transferred again, he muttered: "Welcome to the joys of command."