P10 - The Race!
I hope you had as much fun reading this story as I did writing it :)
Doctor Bashir looked out at the cheering crowd nervously and turned to his fellow racers.
"I didn't think the holosuite could hold that many people!" he said.
Sisko, O'Brien and Worf had come to support Kira and Bashir before the race.
"You will destroy them," Worf said firmly. "For Jadzia."
O'Brien clapped Julian on the shoulder. "I've got two slips of latinum on you to win. If I lose that money, Keiko will kill me."
Julian managed a smile. "I'll do my best."
"Would the Deep Space Nine team please report to the starting line."
Sisko smiled at his first officer. "Good luck."
Kira put on her helmet. "Thanks. We're going to need it."
Ethan Williams made no effort to hold back his laughter at the DS9 team as they walked out. He turned to his brakeman, another human named Bennett, and shook his head.
"No way can they beat our time. This was a piece of cake."
Dukat could make out the shape of Ziyal in the stands and he smiled - until he noticed the tailor sitting next to her. He started to make his way towards the couple.
"Dukat, you can kill Garak later, right now we have a race to win!" Kira shouted.
Gritting his teeth, he returned to the sled and took his position at the back right.
"COME ON NINERS!"
Bashir grinned as he heard Sisko and O'Brien yelling their support.
"One!" he shouted. "Two!"
Other members of the crowd started to join in.
"YOU CAN DO IT!"
"GRIND THEM INTO THE DUST! WELL, ICE REALLY BUT YOU NOW WHAT I MEANT, AND I'M STILL YELLING! WHY AM I STILL YELLING?!"
"Three! Go!!"
They tore down the slope, Bashir landing safely in his seat, followed by the rest of the team.
Up in the commentator's box, Nog turned excitedly to Jake.
"4.59! That's an amazing start time, 3 seconds faster than the Kelsie's team!" he reported into the microphone.
"How do you know what an amazing time is? You've never even heard of bobsledding," Jake replied.
"Yes I have!"
"Watching Cool Runnings doesn't count!"
"Hey!"
The teenagers turned to see O'Brien sticking his head round the door. "Stick to talking about the race, huh?"
"Fine," they grumbled.
Kira twisted and turned with the sled as Bashir skillfully navigated it round the turns. The end was coming into sight...
Bashir smiled grimly as he spotted the finishing flag coming closer...
Damar sighed in relief. It was almost over...
Dukat glared at the back of Damar's head. How could that tailor have enchanted his daughter? It was a disgrace! He grimaced as the sled bounced off the last turn.
"DUKAT!"
Kira's voice was muffled... what was she saying? His eyes widened as they sped faster and faster towards the finishing line and he quickly yanked the brakes, bringing the sled to a screeching halt.
Julian jumped out of the sled and looked towards the score board. Up in the stands, Keiko clutched at Miles as Jadzia Dax rushed into the holosuite and made her way towards the team, trying to dodge the holographic trees and stay on her feet on the slippery ice at the same time.
"What was Ethan's time?" she asked Kira in a low voice as she reached them.
"55.43."
The time flashed up on the screen and the crowd jumped to their feet, cheering wildly.
"55.24!" Nog yelled excitedly. "The DS9 team have won!"
"Yes!" Bashir shouted. Shakaar, Sisko, O'Brien and Worf made their way down to the team and congratulations and hugs were passed around.
Ethan's mouth fell open and Jadzia smirked. "You tried."
The Kelsie team stormed away and Bashir laughed.
"Some people are just bad losers!" he remarked. "Who wants to have drinks at Quark's?"
Kira and Shakaar walked slowly towards the airlock where a shuttle was waiting to take the First Minister back to his planet.
"About Dukat..." she trailed off as he stopped.
"Nerys, I'm not upset. Seeing Dukat in one of the bobsledding suits more than made up for it!"
Kira laughed as Bashir and Dax rounded the corner beside him.
"Minister Shakaar," Bashir greeted. "We came to give you a souvenir, you left before we got the chance to give you it at the holosuite."
He handed over the "souvenir" and Kira broke into giggles again.
"It's very... nice," Shakaar tried.
He looked down at the stuffed figure of Dukat in his bobsled uniform and grinned. "I may have to have some more produced for the other ministers."
The other three laughed and Shakaar kissed Kira before getting onto the shuttle. Dax smiled at Kira.
"You made me proud out there, guys," she said.
"It's easy when you get the hang of it," Bashir replied.
"Oh, I wasn't talking about the bobsledding, I meant how Kira put up with TWO Cardassians, one of them being Dukat, without killing anyone!"
Laughing, the three officers made their way towards Quark's. Dax smiled at the approaching figure.
"Odo!" she said. "I didn't see you at the race."
"I had some important security business to complete," he replied uncomfortably.
Kira smiled. "Will you join us at Quark's?"
He looked surprised. "I should get back to the security office..."
"Oh. Well, we'll see you later, Odo," Bashir replied. Odo nodded and walked away. Kira stared after her friend for a moment then rejoined the Star Fleet officers, still laughing as they sat down at the bar.
That's the end, folks! Review and tell me your thoughts on the story!