Chapter 10

Aria groaned as she pressed her fingers to her temples. She should have known that it was a bad idea to drink all that champagne at the party last night, but lately drinking was the only way she could truly relax. Aria sipped at the tonic she had ordered from the Replimat's replicator to help her headache and grimaced at the taste. What was this station doing to her? She never used to drink her problems away. Maybe she should get out of here while she still had the chance.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw Doctor Bashir and Counselor Dax step out of the turbolift and onto the Promenade. They were holding hands and giggling about something. Aria rolled her eyes. They could at least try to act more professional while they were in public. Bashir kissed Dax good-bye outside the Infirmary before going inside. Dax noticed Aria sitting by herself, and after a moment's hesitation, moved to join her. "Good morning." She chirped as she sat across from her.

"Counselor."

If Ezri was taken aback by Aria's cold response, she didn't show it. "I haven't gotten much of a chance to talk to you since that incident on the Defiant. I hope you're not in any trouble."

"Why would I be? You're okay, I'm okay, and we caught a Jem'Hadar. Not a bad day's work."

"I guess." Ezri changed the subject. "Did you have fun at the party last night?"

"Eh, parties aren't really my thing."

"Well, what do you like to do for fun?"

Aria smiled thinly. "After the party, I broke into Odo's office and downloaded everyone's psychological profile. Makes for some interesting reading."

Ezri stared at her, eyes wide. "You're joking, right?"

Aria took another sip of her tonic, watching Ezri over the rim of her glass. "You tell me."

Aria's commbadge chirped. "Sisko to Mahoney."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Report to my office immediately."

"I'll be right there, sir." Aria stood up and nodded to Ezri. "A pleasure as always, Counselor."

Ezri waited until Aria was out of sight, then rushed to Odo's office to make sure that no one broke in the night before. One could never be too careful.

Sisko's face was grim as Aria entered his office. "Have a seat, Lieutenant." Aria sat down slowly, wondering what she could have possibly done this time. Once she was seated, Sisko continued. "Are you familiar with Admiral Owen Paris?"

"Yes, I've heard of him, sir."

"He just contacted me over subspace. A few days ago, an EMH Mark I appeared on a Starfleet vessel, supposedly out of nowhere."

Aria interrupted. "That's very interesting, sir, but what does it have to do with me?"

"It's what the EMH had to say. As you know, Starfleet recalled the Mark I, but there was one ship that was unable to comply with the order. This EMH came from Voyager."

Aria froze. "That's… that's not possible. Voyager was lost years ago."

"When Voyager departed on its mission to locate a Maquis ship, they were pulled into the Delta Quadrant by an alien entity. They've been there ever since, trying to find a way back home. They managed to use some alien technology to send their EMH here to let us know that they're still alive."

Aria didn't say anything. Sisko continued in a softer tone, "The EMH gave us the crew manifest so we could inform their families. I thought you might want to know that an Ensign Areli Mahoney was listed there." When Aria remained silent, Sisko asked, "Are you alright, Lieutenant?"

Aria gave herself a little shake. "I'm fine, sir."

"Starfleet is preparing a data stream containing letters to send to Voyager's crew. You might want to consider writing one."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Aria rose stiffly and marched out of the office. She didn't know where her feet were leading her and she didn't really care. All she wanted was to get as far away from anything living as possible.

"Just give them a try." Nog pleaded.

Shar prodded the tube grubs on the plate in front of him and grimaced in disgust. "They're squirming."

"That's because they're fresh! Aren't you supposed to be a scientist? Think of it as an experiment."

"Very well." Screwing up his eyes, Shar placed on of the grubs on his tongue. He chewed twice, then spat it out. "How can anyone enjoy this?"

Nog nodded solemnly. "I know, I don't like raw tube grubs much either. Chilled ones are better." Quark stormed past their table, muttering under his breath. "What's wrong, Uncle?"

"That Lieutenant Mahoney! I've gone out of my way to make her feel welcome, and how does she repay me? Nothing but rudeness and hostility!"

"She said you were a pig." Shar added.

Quark ignored him. "She came in about an hour ago wanting to run one of those Klingon training programs Martok left behind. When I went up there to tell her that her time was up about five minutes ago, she growled at me! I didn't even know humans could growl. I'm going to get Odo; maybe he can deal with her."

"Wait!" Shar stood up. "Let me try to talk to her. Maybe I can convince her to leave."

Nog gave them an incredulous glance. "You tried talking to her last night and it didn't work. What makes you think you'll have better luck this time?"

Shar shrugged. "It couldn't hurt to try."

Quark interrupted. "Talking takes too long. I want her out of my holosuites now!"

Shar had heard stories about Quark, so he had a good idea on how to make him change his mind. "I've noticed you have a large variety of customers." He said.

Quark nodded slowly. "That's right. Everyone's welcomed at Quark's."

"Well, what would your more select customers think if you called for security every time you ran into trouble?"

Nog snickered as Quark considered what Shar said. Finally, Quark relented. "All right, go have your talk, but every minute you keep that holosuite running is going on your tab!"

When Shar entered the holosuite, he nearly tripped over the bodies that were strewn across the floor. In the center of a large cave, Aria was fighting a Jem'Hadar soldier. Shar couldn't help but be impressed by her skill. Neither side carried a rifle; they fought in hand-to-hand combat with the Jem'Hadar wielding a kar'takin, and Aria with a Klingon d'k tahg in each hand. She weaved her way around her opponent, hacking and slashing at him. Her speed was the only thing that saved her as the Jem'Hadar swung his blade at her head. Shar noticed that her cheek was bleeding; she had turned the safety protocols off. With an enraged yell, Aria launched herself at her enemy, plunging her blades into his chest. As he fell to the ground, Aria whirled around to face Shar, crouching in a fighting stance. "What do you want?" She snarled.

Shar now knew why Quark had wanted to get Odo rather than deal with Aria himself. Her hair was loose around her face, and her eyes shone with a savagery that chilled Shar's blood. He stepped forward slowly and carefully. "Quark sent me to get you."

Aria let out a mirthless snort. "Too afraid to come up here himself, is he?" She tossed one of her knives to Shar, who caught it with ease. She nodded approvingly. "Not bad. Now, fight me."

Shar stared at her. "What?"

"I'm sick of fighting holograms, and Andorians are renowned fighters. I could use the challenge."

Shar lowered the d'k tahg he held. "You are my superior officer. To attack you-."

Aria hurtled toward him. Seizing the hand that held the knife, she twisted it so the blade was at her throat. "I said, fight me!"

"I will not." Aria let out a growl of frustration and stormed away from him. Shar called after her, "Are you all right?"

"Never better." She snapped. "Now, get out."

"If I leave, Quark will get Odo."

"Let him!"

"But you'll get in trouble. Is a few extra minutes in a holosuite worth it?"

"Do I look like I care if Odo has to arrest me?" Aria plunged her knife into the rocky wall.

Shar watched her. "Something's wrong, isn't it? Tell me, I'd like to help."

Aria glared at him, and for a moment, Shar expected her to attack him. Instead, she asked, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. Do you?"

She nodded. "I have a twin sister, Areli. When we were younger, we used to do everything together. She was my best friend."

Shar noticed the use of the past tense. "Was?"

"Areli was assigned to Voyager after we graduated from the Academy. She was so excited; Voyager was supposed to be one of the most advanced ships in the Federation. A lot of good it did them; it disappeared on its first mission."

"I'm so sorry."

"I don't want your sympathy! I didn't even get time to grieve; the Dominion invaded a few months later. I fought, I got promoted, and I saw so many people die that Areli's death didn't seem so important any more. I stopped caring that my sister was dead!" Aria's eyes were glistening as she went on. "And now Sisko tells me that Voyager's stuck in the Delta Quadrant and Areli's been alive this whole time."

"Really? Well, that good news."

"Is it?" Aria asked bitterly. "Starfleet wants me to write her a letter, and what am I supposed to say? That the Federation was almost destroyed and that our father is dead? That her sister turned into a monster? That I gave up on her?"

"I'm sure you are not the only one who thought they were dead." Shar said gently. "And you are not a monster."

"You weren't there during the War; you didn't see what I did."

"Neither did Areli. What happened during the War was in the past, and now you have a chance to start over."

"I don't know if I can." Aria whispered.

"It cannot hurt to try."

Aria studied Shar, her expression thoughtful. "You're not like most Andorians, are you?"

"In what way?"

"Well, if I challenged any other Andorian to a duel they would have accepted, not have a talk about my feelings."

"Sometimes being different is not a bad thing." Shar turned to leave, but stopped, turning back to Aria. "Lieutenant Nog and I have lunch together on Mondays and Thursdays. You are welcome to join us whenever you like."

A smile crept across Aria's face. "I may take you up on that."

Later that evening, Aria went over the letter she planned to send to Areli.

Areli,

I have to admit, when I heard you were alive, I didn't know what to think. I've gotten so used to being an only child that I'm sure how to be a sister again. But for you, I'm willing to try. So much has happened since you've been gone, especially for me. The Federation had to go to war against a force from the Gamma Quadrant, and I became a soldier. I bet Starfleet let your Captain know all the details, so you probably know that Dad's dead. If you don't, then I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I saw him die, Areli, and I'll never forget it. The worst part of it was that you weren't there, that you couldn't help me through it. But now that I know you're out there, the universe doesn't seem so dark. I had to do some things I regret, but I'm still your sister, and I promise that will never change. I don't have much else to say; you know I've never been good at this type of stuff. Besides, I'm sure Mom will fill about a dozen padds with everything you've missed. Come home soon, Areli. I'll be waiting for you.

Your sister,

Aria

Aria's walls are finally starting to come down! I hope this chapter helped you to understand her better. We're gonna fast forward in time in the next chapter, and Julian will have to confront the ghosts of his past if he still wants to marry Ezri. Spoilers; sometimes they're worse than cliffies. Be sure to review and subscribe!