Chapter Eight

The Dorcons

-COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER NOTICE-

This is a work of fan fiction and the characters and concepts of Star Trek belong to Paramount Pictures and the Gerry & Silva Anderson respectively. This story must not be sold or distributed for financial gain of any sort.

"Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
"

Blondie, "Heart Of Glass"

"I thought we might as well keep each other company while our respective partners are off talking to Weyoun," said Nerys as she attacked her replicated Larish pie.

She was annoyed that Odo had decided to wander off with Maya without telling her first; Nerys hadn't seen much of her lover in the past two days, and she had been hoping to discuss the Alphans with him over lunch. When she realised that wasn't going to be possible, it had occurred to her that Tony might need cheering up after the scene his girlfriend had caused in the Infirmary.

The Replimat was full, but Tony and Nerys had managed to find a table near the back wall, where they could eat without being constantly interrupted by the to and fro of the people on the Promenade. Tony was eating the sort of Terran dish that Keiko O'Brien enjoyed, a bowl of noodles and meat which had to be consumed using two wooden sticks. But as soon as Nerys spoke, he froze, the sticks halfway to his mouth.

"Our respective partners? You mean, you and Odo..?" He put down his sticks and stared at her.

"Yes," laughed Nerys. "I thought you knew. Everyone does."

"I guess I'm not part of the Deep Space Nine rumour mill yet," he said good-naturedly, though his expression made it clear he was still surprised. "Well, ah, here's to you and the good Constable." He lifted his glass of beer.

"And here's hoping things will be better between you and Maya," Nerys added as she lifted her glass, although she wasn't sure how he would take the toast. For all she knew, he might be very angry with the woman; she had insulted their commanding officer, after all.

Tony sipped his beer. "Oh, I'm sure everything will be fine provided I grovel enough." His tone was humorous, but Nerys thought she detected some regret in his voice. Perhaps afraid that his expression might give his feelings away, Tony lowered his eyes and started eating again.

Nerys was disappointed by his reaction; she certainly didn't see why Tony should be the one to grovel. "Why? She's the one who caused a scene. She insulted your commander."

"John's a big boy, he can take care of himself," was Tony's verdict. He was still looking down at his bowl, idly poking at his food with the sticks. Nerys' heart sank to see the usually boisterous young man so quiet.

"You really love her, don't you?" she said.

His gaze sprang back to her face, and for a moment, she thought he might deny it. But he just shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, I do," he said frankly. "Not much good if she's mad at me, though."

"I'm sure..." Nerys tried to think of something reassuring to say. "I'm sure she'll be fine once she's seen Weyoun. That was all she wanted." Nerys reached out and put her hand on Tony's. His skin under her fingers was soft and warm, and she could feel the light hairs that covered his hand.

"I don't know..." he started, pulling his hand out from under Nerys'. His expression brightened up as he continued. "I never know what's going on in her mind. I mean, it's hard enough to sort out a human woman. Never mind about an alien. With all due respect to present company," he added with a wink.

Nerys suspected Tony was just trying to divert the conversation off the specifics of his feelings for Maya. But she had no particular desire to talk about the Psychon anyway, so she answered Tony's generalisation.

"Oh if you want advice on interspecies relationships, it's Jadzia you need to talk to," she told him. "She's... very broad minded. She's married now, of course, but when she was single, she used to go out with some very strange creatures. There was this girl from some planet in the Gamma Quadrant - Kreno, I think and -"

"- And she breathed chlorine?" completed Tony. He had started eating again while Nerys talked about Jadzia, but now he laid his sticks across the top of the bowl and leaned on the table, a smirk on his lips.

Nerys was taken aback. "How did you know? Yes, she had to wear an environmental suit while she was on Deep Space Nine, because she couldn't breathe oxygen."

"Well, we might be from different universes, but we obviously live in the same galaxy!" He chuckled and drank some more beer. "Kreno was one of the places Maya had heard about when she was living on Psychon... Anyway, so what about this girl?" (1)

"Oh nothing. She just went on a date with Jadzia, that's all. I simply mentioned her because she was one of Jadzia's more... bizarre conquests. Then there was Captain Baudet of course and -"

"So... Jadzia and this girl were going out together?" interrupted Tony, evidently very interested in this detail. Nerys thought he was probably curious because of the association between Kreno and Maya.

"Yes," she answered.

"Wow," he said with a grin, before twirling some noodles around his sticks. "Well, I'll be sure to ask Commander Dax for advice about Maya."

Nerys watched as Tony expertly used the sticks to pick up a piece of meat and bring it to his mouth. "I've been meaning to ask you; is that food from your region?" she said. "Keiko... Chief O'Brien's wife sometimes eats food with sticks like that, but I haven't often seen other humans do it."

Tony shook his head; he covered his mouth as he finished eating. "No," he said once he could speak. "This isn't from my country. You could say this is to fulfil a craving I've had for some time. You know the way you remember things you can't have anymore and then rush to get them when they're available again... I guess I'll be having a Vindaloo tonight."

Nerys had no idea what he was talking about, but she decided it didn't matter anyway, and simply nodded and smiled politely. Talking to him, it was hard to believe Tony had actually been born on Earth over 400 years ago. He seemed able to hold a normal conversation; something she wouldn't have expected from a "primitive human", as the Starfleet humans were wont to call their pre-Federation ancestors.

"I gather this Keiko is a close friend of yours," said Tony, breaking the silence. "You mentioned her before."

"Oh... yes. I... used to live with the O'Brien's. I was their son's surrogate mother," she explained before he got a chance to ask. "I carried the child for them." She didn't want any misunderstandings. (2)

Tony looked mildly surprised. "But surely the child was human? Or are Bajorans completely compatible with humans?.. ah, I don't mean to be nosy," he added, perhaps feeling that he had asked a very personal question.

Nerys didn't see what he was embarrassed about. "Well, I had to take a lot of drugs and Julian monitored my condition regularly. But everything went fine. And that's how I got to know Keiko," she concluded with a smile.

"That's fascinating," he said. He stared at her for a moment, perhaps briefly observing her the way she had observed him earlier. Then his eyes drifted away and his expression changed. "Hey, Alphan life at last!" He stood up and waved. "Alan! Alan!"

Nerys - and several other people in the Replimat - turned to see who he was calling. She recognised one of the Eagle pilots the Defiant had saved the previous day. He was walking along the Promenade with his head in the air, obviously taking in his surroundings as first time visitors to the station were wont to do. He looked strangely out of place in his beige trousers and long sandy hair, his hands resting in the pockets of his red jacket. As they passed, the human Starfleet officers turned to stare at him; Nerys had already noticed them doing this when she was walking with Tony earlier.

Hearing his name, the Alphan looked around, his face lighting up with amazement as he saw Tony. He immediately headed for their table, pushing his way through the crowded Replimat.

"Tony! Boy, am I glad to see you!" he exclaimed. He threw his arms around his colleague and embraced him enthusiastically. "I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah... a bit less of the handling, thanks," said Tony lifting his hands, though he was laughing.

The pilot immediately took a step back, also taking a 'hands off' posture. "Oh yes. We don't want anyone thinking we're queer. Not with so many pretty girls around. Speaking of which... I don't think we've been introduced." He looked down at Nerys with a bright smile that she automatically returned.

"This is Major Nerys Kira, the first officer of Deep Space Nine," said Tony, before indicating the pilot. "And this is Captain Alan Carter, our Chief Eagle Pilot. The one from Australia," he added with a wink.

Nerys smiled at Tony and then shook hands with his colleague. "Actually, my name is Kira Nerys," she explained. "You can call me Nerys." She thought she might as well adopt the same level of familiarity with all the Alphans which she had already allowed Tony. It would look suspicious otherwise.

"And what a lovely name it is, too," said Alan with a grin. Behind him, Nerys saw Tony lift his hands and eyes to the ceiling in melodramatic irritation.

"Stop being silly and get yourself a chair, Alan," said Tony, sitting down again.

Alan had a look around, walked off, and presently returned with a chair in one hand and a glass of beer in the other. The table Nerys and Tony had been sharing was only meant for two, so Alan placed himself on the side, where he was effectively sitting in between the others.

Nerys noted that the pilot was very different from Tony, older perhaps, with the weathered features of someone who had once spent a lot of time outdoors, and a tan which, given the Alphans' circumstances, must have been achieved by some artificial means. Although like Tony, he was slightly shorter than average, Nerys could tell he was a muscular man under his Alphan uniform. His sandy hair was longer than Tony's but less carefully coifed, giving him a more rugged appearance.

Alan took a long drink from his beer. "Ah... It tastes just like the real thing."

"You sound like a commercial," declared Tony. "But one sarky comment about any beer I made and I'll ram that glass down your throat," he added jokingly, pointing at Alan.

"Oh, now, do you really think I would dare to compare the two?"

"Yeah."

Alan chuckled and turned to Nerys. "Has he told you about his brewing exploits yet?"

"Oh yes. And I thought his beer was very good," said Nerys loyally. "In fact, I arranged for his machine to be brought here. Tony's drink could be very popular among my people."

Alan stared at her uncertainly for a moment and then shook his head. "Well, there's no accounting for people's tastes!"

"There, you see. I've been wasting my time trying to brew anything for you lot. I needed to find people who truly appreciate my talents," said Tony, waving one hand grandly.

"Talking about bringing things over: what's the story?" asked Alan. "They're evacuating Alpha this afternoon?"

"Yes," replied Tony with a nod, his mood obviously deflated. "Last I heard, they were going to try and get everyone over here by three - 'here' time. The Feds evidently don't want a bunch of unprotected civilians floating in their backyard."

"Is this because of last night's attack? What was all that about, anyway? When I saw Annette last night, she said the Dominion soldiers got onto Alpha and blew up the Command Centre."

"Yeah. I'll tell you all about it later," said Tony, looking self-consciously at Nerys. She guessed he didn't want her to say anything about Maya and the Dominion. "What I don't get is why John was allowed back to Alpha and not me. Bashir was just about ready to put me in restraints to stop me from going anywhere."

Alan laughed. "Glad to know medicine hasn't changed in all this time. And Bashir obviously has you all sussed out. If I were a doctor, I'd put you in restraints too."

Nerys looked from one to the other as they spoke, quite content to listen to the two "primitive" humans while she finished her meal. They reminded her very much of Julian and Miles. Human men evidently hadn't evolved all that much in four centuries.

"Very funny," said Tony sarcastically in response to his colleague's joke. "As far as I know, the Frasers are the only other ones still over here. I haven't seen them, so I don't know when they'll resurface."

"I think those machines they use make you sleepy as well as getting you stitched up or whatever. I slept like a log. The next thing I knew, it was the middle of the day!" remarked Alan. He paused before asking, more soberly, "So basically the Moon's a write-off? It's on a collision course for this planet, and that's it. They're going to blow it up?"

"Yes. Once everyone's off the station, they'll strip the base to take some stuff we might need. Then, from what I gather, the Starfleets will mine it and blow it up first thing tomorrow." Tony's voice was grave, and Nerys could see the regret in Alan's expression. As hard as their lives on the Moon might have been, it was only natural that the Alphans should feel some sadness at the destruction of their home.

Nerys nonetheless allowed herself a smile at Tony's mention of the 'stuff' they might need. She knew exactly what the Alphans were planning to strip from their base. The scan the Defiant had run on the Moonbase the previous night had revealed enough latinum in Alpha's circuits to buy about half Deep Space Nine. If Quark found out, he would be over there in the blink of an eye.

Tony noticed her smile and gave her a quizzical glance, as if to ask what was so amusing. She indicated with a minute shake of her head that it was nothing she cared to explain.

Perhaps aware of the glance they had exchanged, Alan leaned towards Nerys and then pointed at his Alphan colleague. "You do realise he's already got a girlfriend on Alpha, don't you? Don't let that Latin charm mislead you."

"And she's already got a boyfriend here," said Tony, chuckling as he pushed away his empty bowl. "So you're wasting your time, Alan."

"How come you're not dead, anyway?" Alan made it sound as if he wished that were the case.

Tony shrugged his shoulders with a grin. "That's 24th century technology for you."

"The 24th century," repeated Alan, his countenance serious as he shook his head incredulously. "Boy, I feel like Buck Rogers."

"Tell me about it," said Tony dryly, finishing off his beer.

Abandoned and unwanted, the carcass of Eagle Sixteen drifted through the Denorios Belt at a stable velocity of 9,000 kph. Its 15-hour journey through the dust and rock fragments of the Belt had battered the former vessel until it was barely recognisable. There was a large gash in the rectangular passenger section, left by the Dominion phaser which had sent it on its journey. Parts of the Eagle's metallic superstructure had been torn off, and it had lost two of its legs. Only the pointed pilot section at the front had survived relatively unscathed, still pressurised, and that was about to be sheared away from the rest of the mangled ship.

Eagle Sixteen collided with a football-sized asteroid. At that speed, the rock went straight through the battered airlock between the command module and the passenger section. The impact tore the Eagle in half and propelled the two sections into nearly opposing directions. The passenger module and what was left of the engines drifted further into the Denorios Belt to be torn up by other asteroids.

The triangular pilot section decompressed with a sudden explosion and broke free of the asteroid field, hurtling back in the direction of the Bajoran system at 12,000 kph.

Maya looked at the door to Medical and took a deep breath. She felt safer knowing that Odo was with her - disguised as the commlock on her belt - but it was still with some apprehension that she opened the door and entered. For all she knew, there might be a brace of Jem'Hadar there, ready to kill her.

Weyoun was already inside, peering at one of the empty holes in the wall, where some medical device had been removed. He was alone, as promised. As she approached, Maya concentrated intensely on his person, as if to transform into him, though she stopped the process before actually changing. That brief assessment was enough for her to determine that his life-pattern was radically different from Odo's. She could be confident this was indeed Weyoun, and not a Founder.

"Ah Maya." Weyoun came close and looked her over short-sightedly. As she had done the previous night, Maya reflected how different he looked with blue eyes. His eyes had been brown in her universe. "I'm sorry to hear your human friend Verdeschi couldn't come."

"He was still too weak after what your soldiers did to him," said Maya, willing herself to be calm. She didn't want to appear too nervous, or she might unwittingly reveal Odo's presence. She wasn't used to being the one who had to hide a Metamorph.

Weyoun nodded thoughtfully. "I must admit that attempting to kidnap you was a mistake on my part, especially as it resulted in your friend being wounded. It would have been very unfortunate if Doctor Bashir hadn't managed to save his life. I doubt you would have been willing to cooperate under those circumstances."

"You can't be sure I'll cooperate under any circumstances. Not until you tell me exactly why you wanted to talk to me."

"In due course," he said with a placating lift of his hand. "Perhaps you would be curious to know more about yourself and your people in this universe first."

Maya didn't answer, and watched as Weyoun indicated a device he had set up on Helena's old desk. Maya regarded it with suspicion from a distance, hoping Odo would recognise it if it was dangerous. Her fake commlock made no movement, so she came closer.

She took a sharp intake of breath when she came near enough to make out the details of the machine. It bore transparent commands in bright greens and oranges - typical hallmarks of Psychon technology.

"It's a holographic projector," said Weyoun, but Maya had already guessed that. She even knew which command he would press to activate the device.

The projector sprang into life and showed her an image of herself. Her alter ego was older, her face more wrinkled, and her dark red hair streaked with grey lines running from her temples. Like all the Psychon women Maya remembered from her childhood, this Maya was wearing brown makeup on her ears and cheeks, to highlight the natural streaks of dark skin on her face.

"I am Maya, Ruler of Psychon," said the image cheerfully. "This is a message for our benefactors in the Dominion, to be broadcast to anyone who wishes to hear it. Our cooperation with the Dominion has brought my planet many benefits which it continues to enjoy to this day..."

Weyoun pressed a command to lower the sound. "It's a broadcast you - your counterpart made a few years before her death. Just a standard declaration of allegiance to the Dominion."

"So I was the ruler of my world in this universe," said Maya, observing her counterpart with interest. It was so difficult to disassociate herself from this other Maya; recognising her own image, she could not help referring to it as 'I'.

"Yes, Maya inherited the planet when Mentor died." Weyoun stated the fact with disinterest, though he was watching Maya intently, as if looking for some particular expression on her face.

"And how did my father become the ruler of Psychon? He was only a scientist in my universe. One of the last people to remain on the planet, but still not its ruler."

"Your father became the ruler of Psychon when he decided to join the Dominion," explained Weyoun. "A very wise move, which saved both his family and his planet. I remember your father well; he was an intelligent man. Very... expansive too." There was some emotion in Weyoun's voice as he mentioned Mentor.

Maya laughed gently. "Oh yes, my father was... as the humans would say: 'larger than life, and twice as natural'! So you were a friend of his?"

Weyoun nodded and returned Maya's smile, though his blue eyes were still as cold as ever. "And I was a friend of Maya's, too."

He activated another control and this time, the picture changed to a rectangular view, as if they were looking through a window. The image showed a younger Maya apparently working with Weyoun in her laboratory on Psychon. The wave of homesickness that came over Maya as she saw her childhood home was so strong she nearly cried.

"One could say she changed my life," said Weyoun, his tone more sombre. "Not that she had any choice."

As she watched the hologram, Maya noticed two things. First of all, the machine the Maya and Weyoun in the image were working on was the genetic transformer she had used when she was learning to change shape. Second, the Weyoun in the image had brown eyes.

Maya suddenly turned to stare at Weyoun as realisation dawned. His icy blue eyes were fixed on her expectantly. "I understand," she said slowly. "I understand... Excuse me a moment!"

Without pausing for an answer, she turned and ran out of the Medical Centre. As soon as she was in the corridor, she took the commlock from her belt and threw it on the ground. Odo changed back into himself before he even touched the floor.

"What's wrong?" asked the Constable angrily.

"I- I don't need you anymore," said Maya. "I know what he wanted to tell me. And he's right; this doesn't concern the Federation."

"How do you-?" Odo interrupted himself as the Medical Centre door opened and Weyoun came out.

"Odo," said the Vorta respectfully, lowering his eyes for a moment, before fixing his gaze accusingly on Maya. "I should have remembered how corruptive the influence of humans can be. I do wonder why I was so foolish as to trust you."

He was about to activate the device on his wrist, no doubt intending to transport away, but Maya stopped him. "You trusted me because... somehow, I'm the only one who can help you. And I will help you if I can." Turning back to the Constable, she gave him a pleading look. "Leave us, Odo, please."

"Now this is definitely the life," murmured Tony contentedly, his voice muffled by the crook of his arm. Sandra's hands were working miracles on the tense muscles in his shoulders, the fake sun, or rather suns, were beating down on his body, and the simulated seaside air smelled pleasantly familiar - with his eyes closed, he could just picture himself back on the coast of the Adriatic.

The other Alphans had arrived on Deep Space Nine at 1500 as planned. No sooner had they set foot on the station than Sandra and Alibe decided to organise a trip to Quark's holosuite for themselves and a few of their fellow officers. Tony had had no intention of going anywhere near the things, but by now, he was rather pleased the girls had convinced him to join them. He hadn't felt this relaxed in ages.

"And this is the guy who said it was stupid to use this thing go to the beach," he heard Alibe say. "You really need some sun, Tony. You're so white, you must shine in the dark!"

Tony lifted his head just high enough to look at her. "Not something you have to worry about, is it?"

She laughed and looked down at her dark brown skin, interrupted only by a white bikini. "Not one of my top concerns, no. As to you glowing in the dark, I guess that's Maya's problem."

"Or Major Kira's," suggested Shermeen with a giggle. Rumours about him and Nerys had apparently been flying around Alpha in his absence; so far, he had been treated to non-stop teasing on this subject from his female colleagues.

Tony turned his face towards Shermeen, but from his horizontal position, all he could see were her long white legs laid out on the simulated towel. Observing the smooth skin of her thin legs, he reflected that Shermeen was the one who probably shone in the dark; surely his own swarthy complexion would dim his brightness... He realised his mind was wandering and sighed contentedly; Sahn's massage was relaxing him beyond rational thought.

"Where is Maya, anyway?" That was Shermeen's North American drawl again.

"She is on Alpha," answered Sandra. "She will be back this evening with the others."

Tony heard Alibe laugh. "So it's up to us to keep an eye on this guy in the meantime."

He pondered whether he should answer that, but then rested his chin on his clasped hands and looked around. "Where the hell are Ben and Alan? I could do with some decent conversation here." He could just make out the two men coming back towards them down the beach.

"Decent conversation?" repeated Sandra, immediately taking her hands off Tony's back. "You want a massage and conversation?"

"Now, that is truly remarkable," said Tony, ignoring her as he pointed toward the pilot and the doctor. "Here we are in a tiny little room, and yet it looks as if they're miles away. What is this - some kind of Tardis?"

"It creates a separate optical illusion for each user," explained Sandra. "I looked at the instructions: they said the holosuite can only handle six illusions at a time, unless everyone stays together in the same area."

"I guess that means an Alphan beach party is out," commented Tony wryly, now lifting himself up onto his elbows. "There are going to be queues miles long for this thing when all the others hear what it can do. It'll be worse than the queue for the john after a Saturday night disco."

"Disco?" said Shermeen. Although he was effectively lying with his back to her, Tony guessed from the movement of her legs beside him that she had sat up. "Hey, there's an idea. Maybe we could have a party this evening!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

Shermeen was a botanist, the youngest person on the Moonbase, and although she was now 25, years of being treated like a child by most other Alphans had encouraged her to sometimes behave like one.

"There we go, the sum total of Shermeen's ambitions in life," teased Alibe, rolling her eyes. "Mind you, it wouldn't be a bad way of getting to know the Starfleets and Bajorans."

"The sum total of Alibe's ambitions in life," commented Sandra with a laugh.

"A party would probably be a good idea," agreed Tony. "Their computer has a great selection of music; I found all the songs I looked for. You can actually program it as a sort of virtual jukebox. You just feed in the parameters and it plays you a bunch of songs that fit them."

"I didn't find any of the music I was looking for," remarked Shermeen. "The only songs I could recognise were old things from the Eighties and before."

Tony decided he was looking in the wrong direction if most of the conversation was going to be from Shermeen. He turned around to lie on his back and propped himself up on his elbows. "Well, it seems as though our two universes split sometime in the Seventies or Eighties. We'll probably find that the Nineties were a very different place in their universe."

"Yeah, maybe they were spared a Seventies revival!" exclaimed Shermeen, tossing her curls disdainfully.

Tony grinned. "You should count yourself lucky we left Earth when we did, so we missed the Eighties revival that was bound to come in the first decade of the 21st century. I was a teenager in the Eighties - it wasn't a pretty sight."

Sandra laughed outright at this. "What was not a pretty sight? The Eighties, or you?"

"Hmm. I think I'll pass on that one," he said with a chuckle. "Still, there was some good music; we could have a great Seventies and Eighties night if this universe's Nineties stuff isn't up to snuff."

"Up to what?" asked Alibe with a frown.

"It's an expression." Tony lay down, his hands under his head. "You puny Earthlings wouldn't understand." He realised there was no reason for him to say that, but it was the first thing that came to mind. The women giggled and exchanged puzzled glances. Satisfied that he had thoroughly confused them, he continued, "Now that you've all met the Starfleets: what do you think of 24th century humans?"

"They are boring," said Alibe emphatically. Having seen her exercising her charm on a couple of them over the past few days, Tony assumed this was an informed opinion. "Still, it's good to meet some new people after all this time."

"Oh, so we weren't good enough for you?" came Ben's voice from behind them.

Tony strained to look up at the two men, who had rejoined their group. He winced as the suns caught his eyes, and laid his arm across his face. All he could see were Alan's hairy shins as he walked past.

"Will you look at him, lounging in the sun, surrounded by women. That's your idea of a great holiday, isn't it, Tony?"

"Absolutely." Tony grinned and opened an eye to look at Sandra on his right side. She was outlined against the two suns. "And one of each flavour, too."

The others laughed. "We all know Tony likes his women exotic," said Alibe. Tony joined in with the laughing, although Alibe's remark was a lot closer to the bone than he liked. He could recall a memorable argument with his parents about a similar topic some ten or fifteen years earlier.

"And what about you, Alibe?" asked Alan, sitting down on Tony's left side, near Shermeen. "What kind of new people are you looking for?"

"Tall, black, and handsome," she replied unhesitatingly.

That made Ben laugh. "What am I, then, cold coffee?"

"Now you come to mention it, yes, that's a good description," said Alibe, looking him over critically. "Besides, I said 'tall, black, and handsome'."

"Oh, you African girls have no taste," chuckled Ben, kneeling down in the sand and starting to idly dig holes in it. He looked up at the sky. "I wonder where this place is supposed to be? What planet has two suns and lots of beaches?"

"And if we find out what it is, can we go there and colonise it?" added Alan.

Tony sat up on his simulated towel and also looked up briefly at the two suns. They weren't as bright as Earth's sun would have been at the same elevation, but their combined strength was evidently enough to heat the atmosphere to a comfortable 30°C at ground level. On the other hand, maybe the whole thing was pure fantasy, a simulation designed exclusively for the holosuite. Tony was about to make some remark about this when he heard the sound of the door opening.

He turned to find Nerys, in full uniform, standing on the beach. Warm and relaxed as he was, Tony thought she looked rather striking with her dark red uniform outlined against the greenery in the distance. Sitting on the ground in front of her, he was in an ideal position to admire the Major; she was extremely thin, of course, but her painted-on uniform emphasised every curve of her body in a very attractive way.

Nerys looked at the scenery, and then each of the Alphans, her dark eyes wide with surprise. "I see you've mastered the holosuite," she said finally, before looking at Tony. She looked him over, evidently taking in the fact that he was wearing a swimsuit. "Constable Odo needs to see you in his office... Mister Verdeschi," she said rather awkwardly.

Although she didn't give him any reason, Tony found himself hoping this concerned Maya. After all, Odo had been with her virtually all day; maybe they had returned earlier than planned. Tony's heart leapt at the idea of seeing Maya again: once he was face to face with her, he could try and make up for their argument that morning, and everything would be back to normal.

"I'd better get some clothes on, then," he said, reaching for his trousers.

"Oh, I don't know, you could always try going like that," suggested Alibe. "They certainly could do with more light in those corridors."

"What you must understand first of all, Maya, is that the Dominion is based on a hierarchical structure which has existed for nearly two thousand years," said Weyoun, leaning close to her and speaking in a low voice. "The Founders have never been directly involved in running the empire. They have always relied on other species to carry out their orders."

Maya nodded to indicate she knew that much. She was still sitting on the medical bed, with the holographic projector beside her. Weyoun had given it to her so she could review the pictures later; he no doubt hoped this gift would encourage her to help him.

"So the Jem'Hadar enforce security," continued Weyoun, taking a step back, "and the Karemma, for instance, handle the Dominion's trading and finances... and nowadays, administration is entrusted to the Vorta, and scientific research to the Psychons. But things weren't always like that. For centuries, the main species in the Dominion were the Dorcons."

"The Dorcons?" repeated Maya. In spite of herself, she could never hear the name without fear. Ever since the two species had first met, before she was born, the Dorcons had hunted the Psychons for their brainstems. When implanted into a Dorcon, the Psychon brainstem conferred virtual immortality to its recipient.

"Yes," said Weyoun. "With the help of the Founders, the Dorcons became the most powerful race in that sector of the universe. They were the ones who created the Jem'Hadar, and thanks to their creatures, they ruled the Dominion with an iron hand, expanding it by conquest. Kareel Prime suffered a lot under the Dorcons. We were severely punished when a Kareelan fanatic tried to murder the Archon."

Maya recognised the title; the Dorcons had been ruled by an 'Archon' in her universe too. But she chose not to interrupt Weyoun's explanations.

"The Dorcons ruled the Gamma Quadrant, but the one thing they could not control was their own mortality. As humanoid species go, they were very short lived. The Dorcon brainstem ceases to function at an early age, so that the species only has time to mature, reproduce and guide their young halfway to maturity before dying. This was one of the main reasons they remained loyal to the Dominion, because they could trust its stability to protect and provide for their offspring. Also, the Founders are immortal, so that - What is amusing you?"

Maya tried to hide her smile, but couldn't. "It's just... The Founders are truly remarkable people," she said admiringly. "They need no food, no sleep, no air, and yet they live forever. It's amazing that they bother maintaining an empire at all. It sounds as if they need nothing!"

"They are Gods," said Weyoun seriously, before apparently realising what he had just said. "And there you have my problem," he murmured. "But yes, the Dorcons worshipped the Founders too, and served them blindly... until the day they discovered Psychon."

"Because Psychons gave them immortality." Maya realised history was not so different in the two universes after all.

"Exactly. Once the Dorcon leaders realised that the Psychon brainstem could make them live longer, they stopped worshipping the Founders and nurtured ambitions of becoming gods themselves. Their plan was to use the might of the Dominion to capture all Psychons and make themselves immortal. After that, they hoped to defeat the Founders and take over the Dominion for themselves. The task must have seemed easy enough; the planet Psychon was already breaking up under the gravitational pull of its sun and no one was a match for the Jem'Hadar. But it wasn't long before the Founders got wind of the conspiracy. And their revenge was terrible.

"With the help of the Psychons and the Vorta, the Founders turned against the Dorcons. The planet Dorca was destroyed and every man, woman and child was made prisoner. As thanks for Psychon's help, the Founders handed over the Dorcons to Mentor, so that he could use their mental energy to restore stability to his planet."

Maya was appalled. "Using his computer, Psyche? The Dorcons were fed to Psyche?" she cried out. "But that's... disgusting. And Mentor and Maya approved of this?"

"Of course," said Weyoun, visibly puzzled by her reaction. "The Dorcons had been their enemies for years; they were pleased to be rid of them. Particularly as it meant the computer Psyche received enough power to save the planet."

'Psyche' was the biological computer Mentor had constructed to restore Psychon's structural integrity. It fed on the minds of sentient life forms; that was how Maya had met the Alphans, when her father had captured John, Helena and Alan, and attempted to entrap the others to feed their consciousness to his computer. Maya had been revolted when she discovered Mentor's plan. She had helped the Alphans escape, but in doing so, Psyche was destroyed, and the planet with it.

It seemed that in this universe, Psyche had received all the fuel it needed, saving Psychon at the expense of a whole race. Maya felt sorry for the Dorcons. She had once been captured by them, when they had attempted to remove her brainstem to save the life of an old Archon. But the terror she still felt at the fate that had awaited her was not enough to make her glad the Dorcons had been exterminated here.

"So the Dorcons are extinct," she said sorrowfully.

"Yes. Now, as I was saying," he continued, evidently annoyed at her interruption of his historical narrative, "the Vorta were also rewarded for their loyalty, and were promoted to administrators in place of the Dorcons. But at a price."

"Your genetic engineering."

Weyoun bowed his head. "The Founders felt they could no longer trust a species based solely on its natural instincts. They had to control those instincts, and the Psychons had a quick and easy way of doing that - the DNA-resequencer. It had taken the Dorcons decades to develop the Jem'Hadar, but Maya was able to change the Vorta within a year. She removed anything which would make the Vorta a liability. No sexual urges, no sense of aesthetics so that we couldn't be distracted by desire. Bad eyesight and a weak constitution so we couldn't become warriors. And most importantly... we believe the Founders are Gods. We can't betray them."

"And you want me to undo all that? Why? If it's in your nature not to betray the Founders, then why do you want me to reverse the engineering they ordered?"

Weyoun looked down at his hands in silence for a moment and then took a deep breath. "The war with the Federation has changed everything for us. Ever since we've been stranded on this side of the wormhole, I have felt that the Founders' confidence in us is waning. Their confidence in me particularly. I've already lost my life five times and I don't want to lose it again."

"And you think you can't do anything against the Founders because of your genetic engineering," said Maya thoughtfully. "But surely the mere fact that you're considering it shows that their hold on you is weaker than you think."

"You think all I have to do is wish it and my genetic engineering will go away?" retorted Weyoun coldly. "That's a very human notion, if I may say so. Besides, I'm not the only one at stake here; the Founders' dissatisfaction extends to all Vorta. There may be plans afoot to let the Cardassians take our place. We need to be freed of our genetic engineering so we can fight back if necessary."

"And you think I'm the only one who can help?"

Weyoun smiled condescendingly. "No, of course you're not the only one, Maya. I'm sure any scientist could, in time, reverse the genetic process. But since you're here and your counterpart happens to be the person who first devised our genetic code, I think you're the most qualified to help." His expression became more grave. "We do need your help, Maya. If you don't undo our genetic conditioning, I'm afraid my entire species will suffer the same fate as the Dorcons."