Ship's Log: 17 February 2642; ASV Aurora. Captain Robert Dale recording. Deep Space Nine is back to full working status and everything on the station is now secure. The summit will go on as planned and the Asari Justicar Samara will soon leave with her prisoner. We are still left with some unsettling questions; who sabotaged the station? And was Morinth's arrival and attempted killing spree a part of a wider plot?

A number of officers from both the station and the Aurora were gathered. Circling around the central table on Ops were Robert and Julia at the end, Jarod and Dax to their right, Barnes and O'Brien to their left, and Sisko and Kira at the other end. Odo and Meridina were standing away from the table and Worf was off to another side. "We've gone over every centimeter of the reactor control systems," O'Brien said. "Whatever happened, it wasn't physical sabotage."

"That leaves the computers," Sisko turned to Dax and Jarod. "Old Man?"

Dax nodded. "I found traces of a virus that was uploaded into our command systems. While I can't determine everything it did before it deleted itself, I can confirm it loaded commands into our reactor safety systems and into communications. It even penetrated into security."

"We may have to consider stronger computer security measures," Worf suggested.

"That's where Commander Jarod comes in." Dax looked to him. "He's already written new protocols to prevent another attack like this."

"That's fast, even for you Jarod," Julia remarked.

"That's because they're already written," Jarod replied. "I looked over the surviving code. And I've seen it before."

"You have?", Sisko asked.

Jarod nodded. He looked at Robert and Julia. "The code is consistent with the various spy software and computer sabotage that the Aurora was loaded with by that Changeling that impersonated Draynal."

"So you're saying that the Dominion did this?", Julia asked.

"That's what it appears to be." Jarod turned back to Sisko. "I provided Commander Dax the program I wrote to neutralize this type of Dominion infiltration software."

Sisko frowned. "What I want to know is why the Dominion did this. Were they trying to free Morinth?"

"Maybe," Worf said. "Or perhaps they had another agenda. The Dominion would support the idea of disrupting the summit."

"If it wasn't for Morinth, then what were they up to during her escape attempt?" Odo looked away and glowered.

"I'll leave it to you and Commander Eddington to find that out," Sisko said. "In the meantime, I'd like to thank you all for the efforts made to get this situation under control. My thanks to your crew, Captain Dale, for the assistance you provided."

"We're happy to help, Captain Sisko," Robert answered.

A light appeared on the table. Characters appeared on the display. "The Justicar's craft is ready to leave."

"I still protest this extradition," Odo said. "The Asari are just going to kill her."

"Protest noted, Constable, but it's still out of my hands." Sisko hit a key on the table. "You're clear for departure, Asari shuttle."

The viewscreen shifted to show the Asari ship departing the dock and moving out in space. "Representative Irissa's ship is preparing to generate an IU jump point," the officer currently minding Dax's station stated. "They will open it in ten secon…" Something appeared on her screen. "Wait. I'm picking up something on the shuttle."

Dax went up and sat at the post. "It looks like a power surge. The shuttle's systems are shutting down… I'm detecting a containment failure in the vessel's engine core."

"Chief!", Sisko barked. O'Brien was already moving onto his station.

"I'm trying to lock on… locking…"

The Ops transporter activated. Swirls of orange light coalesced into the half-running figure of Samara.

On the viewscreen, the shuttle exploded in a burst of blue energy..

Samara was briefly stunned by the sudden transport. She stopped her forward movement just as she got to the edge of the transporter pad.

"What just happened?", Robert asked.

Dax was looking over her screens. "I'm not sure. Sensors showed a power surge in the ship's element-zero engine core. It looks like something overloaded the core."

Samara looked around. "Did you get Morinth?", she asked.

Nearly everyone looked at O'Brien. He moved his hand away from the panel. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "Yours was the only signal I could lock onto."

Samara looked back to the screen and drew in a breath. Robert thought he could feel real grief coming from her. Finally she nodded and lowered her head. "Be with the Goddess, my daughter."

"Chief, I want an immediate investigation."

"The Asari ship is hailing," Kira said.

"Open the channel." Sisko turned back to the viewscreen. "Let's give them the best explanation we can."

Angel was at the bar in Quark's nursing a tequila while Morn rambled on about some trip he'd recently taken to the Citadel. Quark was at the bar in front of them, cleaning out a glass. "Trust me, Morn, I've been looking for Asari dabo girls since the contact with their home galaxy. But they haven't exactly been lining up."

Morn gave him a dejected look.

"Although given recent events, it's probably for the best." Quark looked over to Angela. "That tequila didn't come cheap you know. It's from… what universe was it again? H1E5? That cost real money to ship out here."

Angel replied by downing the rest of the shot in one gulp. As it burned its way into her gut she pushed her glass forward.

"So." Quark began to pour more. "How's your sister? I hear she survived."

"She's awake."

"Well, that's good to hear. Truth be told, even with her winning streaks at the Dabo table, she gets so many people playing along with her that I usually make good on my losses."

"I appreciate the concern." Angel took another small drink.

Quark moved on. Angel was alone for another minute before a shadow moved over her. "Prune juice, extra large," Worf barked, and a smirking Quark went to get it for him. Worf sat beside her. "I am pleased to hear your sister is well."

"Thank you," she said.

There was silence while Quark got Worf's order. The Klingon quaffed a few drinks. "You are upset that you spared the killer's life?", Worf asked.

"I think. Maybe." Angel picked up her glass and took another shot. "I heard she got blown up anyway."

"Yes. We are investigating now."

"Then it doesn't matter, I guess." Angel sighed. "I just… I don't get why Cat would go near someone like that. I mean, I heard she had these funky mental domination powers, but Cat isn't stupid. She should know when someone looks too dangerous to strike up in conversation."

"Perhaps you should ask her," Worf suggested.

"When she feels better." Angel finished the second glass. "So you're posted here now, huh? With everything's that happened it must be awkward."

A reply did not immediately come. "It has been difficult," Worf finally admitted. "And I am still getting used to this station."

"Well… if you ask me, you probably made the right decision." Angel smiled thinly at him and nodded. "When I first heard about this I thought the Federation had been wrong. The Cardassians had it coming, I thought. But seeing things as they are now, with everything the Klingons are doing… I can understand standing against that. And I am too." Angel checked the time. "I should be getting back now. Cat is still in the medbay and I want to be there for her."

"Of course." Worf nodded. His expression was, Angel thought, about as empathetic as a Klingon's would ever get. "I hope her recovery goes well."

"Thank you." Angel stood and left.

In the station wardroom the delegates for the summit were quieted by the arrival of Sisko. "Thank you for seeing me," he said to Representative Irissa in her place as the Chairwoman of the talks.

Irissa went straight to business. "Captain Sisko, I was hoping you would explain the sudden systems failures that caused us so much worry last evening."

"We have determined it to be sabotage," Sisko answered. "Specifically, the Dominion."

"The Dominion," Martok growled. "They would attack us even now. It is clear that the threat they pose must be met more forcefully. The Cardassians may yet be harboring their agents."

"Any of our states could be, unintentionally," Robert pointed out. "The real point is that I think the Founders are afraid we'll make progress here. The Dominion can only prevail if the Alpha Quadrant is divided. Whatever differences we have between us, we have to settle them peacefully and continue working together."

K'mbok threw a hand up in disgust. "The point is moot. Until the Cardassians cease fighting us for worlds we have conquered, we will not back down. Will any of your states recognize our new conquests?"

Pran answered first. "The Federation cannot do so."

"Nor will the Alliance," Kiang announced.

"Then we have nothing more to say." K'mbok stood and looked to Martok. He barked something in Klingonese to Martok and stormed toward the door.

"The Klingon Empire is officially withdrawing from the summit," Martok announced. "And we are removing all forces from the continuing conflict against the Nazi German Empire."

Senator Kiang looked at him levelly. "Then the Alliance withdraws its permission to use our IU drives."

"Take them," Martok barked. "We still have many worlds in this galaxy to conquer first."'

And with that, he stood and left.

Robert and Julia exchanged looks. The entire summit looked like a waste of time now. The war would go on without a major ally, and the fighting would only get worse.

"We can't win them all," Julia murmured to him.

He didn't answer. Robert couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something, and that failing to find it was going to cause even more damage in the future.

When Angel got back to the Aurora, she went immediately to the medbay to check up on Cat. She was stunned to find that her sister was gone. "Then where is she?", Angel demanded from Leo.

"She wanted to go to her room for a while," Leo replied. "Since she's doing better, I agreed. At this point, I only need her in for visits to check up on her improvement, I don't need her laying here. And I don't think she wants to be either."

Angel left the medbay and took the lift up to Deck 4. Caterina's quarters were just a small ways down from her quarters. She hit the chime on the door upon arriving. "Cat?", she called out. "Cat, I want to make sure you're okay."

The temptation to override the door lock was strong. But it proved unnecessary. The door slid open.

Angel stepped in and looked over the inside of Cat's quarters. All of the lights were turned on. Caterina was sitting on the side of her bed, wearing one of her geek pride shirts - light purple highlighted with red - and matching shorts. She had huddled into a tight position with her knees touching her chin. She looked back to Angel with reddened eyes and sniffled. "Angel. I'm… s-sorry."

"It's okay, Cat." Angel knew her sister's moods enough to know what she needed. Angel went over to her bad and sat beside her. She put her arms around Cat. "She's gone Cat," Angel said. "Blown up."

Cat nodded. She sniffled again. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I didn't blow her up." Angel held her weeping sister close. She thought back to that moment and how close she'd come to pulling the trigger. Would Odo have arrested me? Would I have been taken from Cat? Maybe.

But she hadn't. In the end, Cat was more important than anything like revenge.

"She's not going to hurt you again, Cat. You're safe."

For what seemed like several minutes, they simply kept hugging. "You saved me… I remember hearing you."

"I got there just in time," Angel confirmed. "I couldn't let someone walk off with my dear little sister, could I?"

"She just… she took over… I couldn't say no to her." Caterina sniffled. "I… I couldn't say no."

"Don't blame yourself for that, Cat. She must have done something to make you come close. To trap you."

Cat stopped saying anything. To Angel's confusion, another sob came from her sister. Cat was starting to cry again. "No," she said. "No, th-that wasn't it. I… I stayed at th-the table of my own fr-free will."

"What?" Angel pulled back and looked directly into her sister's eyes. "Why… why would you do that?"

"I… wanted to talk to her," Cat admitted. "She was beautiful and graceful and interesting. And I just had to talk to her."

Angel blinked in confusion. "You've seen Asari before. You… you had to know she was bad news, Cat."

"I didn't realize," Cat pleaded. "I'm so sorry, Angel… S-so so-sorry…" She started crying again. "I know I messed up. I ju-just couldn't help it. She… she was noticing me and it felt nice and I…"

Caterina stopped the sentence. Not to sob, but simply to stop it. As if she didn't want to follow the sentence to its end.

And Angel noticed it. "Cat?", she asked. "What's wrong?"

Caterina shook her head. "It's… it's nothing," she insisted.

"You're lying to me," Angel said. "I know it. Cat, what is it? Why did you want to hang out with that Asari? What interest could you have possibly had in that? I mean, the way she 'noticed' you? What does that even mean?"

Much to Angel's surprise, Cat's face was turning white. She was afraid. She swallowed hard and buried her face in her hands. "I don't want to… I mean, it's noth… I can't…" There was an expression of warring impulses on Cat's face now. She couldn't decide what she was going to do.

"Cat… sister…" Angel put her hands on Cat's shoulders. "Whatever it is… just tell me. I won't be angry at you. I mean, we all make mistakes, it's not going to be a big deal…"

"Yes it is," Caterina insisted. "It is a big deal. I've just not thought about it because I didn't want to because if I did I might slip up and then you and Mama would… might…"

"Mama? What does Mama have to do with this?", Angel asked. "What are you talking about?"

Cat looked away. In the light of the room Angel could see the tears flowing freely down Cat's face again. She felt a few of her own. Why was Cat acting this way? Why wasn't she trusting her? She followed Cat's eyes to the photo on the dresser of the two of them with their Mama. Anita Delgado had been holding the hands of both of her girls, laughing with them for the benefit of the photograph.

A pain shot through Angel's heart. It was the last proper photograph of the family together before their mother had died.

There was a sharp intake of air. Cat was breathing in. "Please don't hate me," she whispered, as if to speak to both Angel and their late mother. "I'm so sorry… I just couldn't…"

It was breaking Angel's heart to see Cat like this. It hurt to think her sister didn't trust her with something, but it hurt even more to see how much this secret was tearing up Cat.

Angel watched as Cat took several breaths. She was forcing composure on herself. "Angel…"

"Yes?"

Cat turned and faced her. They each had their mother's hazel eyes, which met. Cat's eyes were red from all of her crying. She swallowed and finished gathering her courage.

And then she spoke.

"I'm… Angel…" For a moment she faltered. Cat's courage was failing her. Feeling Angel's hand take her's, a gesture of support they had shared since Cat could remember, helped her get through that moment. Nevertheless her voice was hoarse when she resumed speaking, making it almost a whisper with how low it was. "I… I like girls, Angel."

Angel blinked at her.

Cat drew in another breath and sniffled. "Angel, I've never told… I'm sorry." She shook her head and wiped at the tears on her face. "I'm a lesbian, Angel."

The words registered. Angel didn't speak.

"I'm a lesbian," Caterina repeated, more strongly this time.

There. She had said it.

Cat continued. "And that Asari lady, Morinth… they look so beautiful, Angel. I know the whole monogendered thing and they're aliens and stuff, but to me they're girls. They're beautiful girls. And I had a beautiful girl asking me things, showing interest in me. I've never had that. I never allowed myself to have it!" Cat made a bitter laugh next. "Of course, I didn't know she wanted to burn all of my nerves out until my brain drowned in my own blood."

Angel remained quiet to let her finish.

With that quiet, Cat finally asked something. "You… you don't hate me now? Please, I know it's against what we were taught. But… it's what I am. I feel this way. I'm attracted to other girls."

Angel shook her head. "And… and you thought I'd hate you for that?"

"I… I was afraid you would," Cat admitted.

"No. You… you silly little…" Angel brushed tears from her right cheek. "Silly, crazy sister. You… you think we didn't know?"

It was Cat's turn to blink through her tears. "What?"

"I'm your sister, Cat. You think I didn't notice?" Angel laughed and shook her head. "Cat, I've known for years."

At that, Caterina stared at her in disbelief. And she swallowed. "You… you have?"

Angel nodded, a happy smile on her face.

"You knew and... don't care?"

Angel shook her head. "You're my crazy little sister. I don't care who you love or if it's a girl instead of a boy. I love you. And Mama would say the same thing if she were here. She didn't let something like that get in the way of loving her little baby girl."

Cat's tear-reddened eyes widened. "Mama knew?!"

"It took her a little while," Angel admitted. "But she figured it out. And we talked and decided not to say anything. We didn't want to push you. You'd tell us when you were ready."

Cat sniffled. Her tears were still flowing, but were joined by the happy, bewildered expression now on her face. "But… I… I thought you'd hate me. I was terrified you'd hate me, I had nightmares..."

Angel responded by pulling her sister close, into the tightest hug. "No, you silly, crazy little nerd."

Cat thought about that. "So… I spent years hiding it for nothing. I was so scared and it was for nothing."

"Yep," Angel confirmed, a wide grin defying the tears on her face.

There were no more words after that. All of Caterina's greatest nightmares were swept away, leaving only relief. A little shame at taking so long to admit things to her understanding sister, but mostly relief.

The two remained locked in the sisterly hug, both caught up in tears and laughter.

The Klingon delegation was soon to leave. General Martok stood alone in the station-side quarters he had been assigned, finishing the packing of his bag. There was a chime at the door that prompted him to turn. "ghoS," he barked.

The door opened. His bodyguards were flanking the door, as ordered, and admitting Senator Kiang into the room. The Alliance Senator was wearing a dark long-sleeved suit and similarly-colored trousers. "General," she said. "I had hoped we could discuss the summit's outcome."

"There is nothing to discuss," he answered. "The Councillor has made his decision, and Chancellor Gowron will sustain it. We have withdrawn from the war."

Behind Kiang the door closed. She stepped toward him. "I had hoped that we might yet find some… flexibility in the Klingon position. The Alliance is not your enemy."

"Not for the moment." Martok approached her. "I do not fault you, Senator. You fought well at the table, and I look forward to any… arrangement that will yet see the Klingon Empire and the United Systems as allies. You are far more worthy of us than the Federation."

Kiang nodded slightly. "Yes. Mister Pran and his people can be quite… irritating at times. The Federation is too worried about peace and principle to recognize what must be done. Given time, I believe my government may recognize that about them."

"We look forward to the day," Martok said, non-committally.

Kiang extended a hand. "In hopes for the future, General?"

Martok eyed her hand. And then her. A thin smile came to his face that she matched. "Yes," he agreed. "To the future."

Their hands clasped.

Slowly, the skin and even the fabric up the wrist began to shift in color and texture. Both hands turned to an amber-brown color and began to meld together.

Tag

The Klingon withdrawal had certainly not been good, but the summit went on. The withdrawal of the Klingons from the war meant the Alliance would its remaining allies and friends more than ever. And, much to Robert's distaste, Irissa had been using that to great advantage.

Now he was sitting in Sisko's office discussing the events of the prior few days. "Do we have any indications of what the Dominion was doing when they sabotaged the station?", he asked Sisko.

"None." Sisko rolled his baseball in his hands. "With internal sensors down there's no way to know."

A terrible thought came to Robert. "What if they were looking to replace someone?", he asked. "What if this was their real plan?"

"Doctor Bashir has been running blood-screenings on the delegates by mutual agreement, nobody has been discovered to be replaced." Sisko put the ball down. "Still. It is a disturbing possibility."

"I'll file a report with Admiral Maran to advise we watch the delegates for a while. Just to make sure." Robert blanched. "God, what am I saying? Are we really going this far, breaking into the privacy of others and assigning watchdogs to them just because they might be bad?"

"That's the threat the Changelings pose," Sisko remarked. "When anyone could be an enemy spy, it's hard to give any trust."

Robert found he couldn't debate that. It made him feel irritated. We either give in to paranoia and tear apart our own societies, or we risk having Founders going around blowing things up and causing mayhem. Dammit, what kind of choice is that?

The door to the office slid open. Dax entered with O'Brien following. "Benjamin, you're going to want to hear this."

Sisko sat up. "What is it?'

"Sir, I've gone over the debris from Samara's ship with everything I can think of," O'Brien said. "Judging by the debris field… there's no way we could even hope to have enough organic matter intact to verify who was on the ship when it blew up."

"So you can't prove Morinth was killed on the shuttle?"

"No sir," O'Brien said. "I've looked over the figures. If an E-zero overload did occur, there really would be nothing left. The shockwave would disassociate the organic matter too thoroughly to leave any trace."

"So… we can't prove either way that Morinth died?", Robert asked. He was filled with a sudden worry, a worry that the monster would come back for Cat and the others.

"That's what I thought," O'Brien answered.

"And then I looked over the sensor logs from DS9 and the Aurora. A brief moment before the core overload, there was a faint energy signature." Dax shook her head. "It's so faint that it took the best sensors on the Aurora to pick it up. I can't tell you who or what it was or where it came from… but something definitely transported off the ship just as the core overload began."

"So she was rescued," Sisko mumbled.

"Presumably by whatever Dominion agent was up to the power outage." Robert swallowed. His expanded senses were giving him warning signals. A feeling that things had gotten worse. He found that a good guess given the facts. "They… they used us."

"Morinth was their weapon. Their distraction. A killing spree to take up our attention and leave them free to do as they pleased during the summit." Sisko smacked a fist against his desk.

Dax nodded. "And when Odo, Commander Meridina, and Lieutenant Delgado captured her early…"

"...they decided to sabotage the station," O'Brien finished for her.

"Two birds, one stone," Robert grumbled. "A chance for their agent to get away and the distraction so they could complete their mission after all." He shook his head. "And we never saw it coming."

"Thank you, Old Man. That will be all."

Dax nodded. She and O'Brien left the office.

"They beat us," Robert sighed. His thoughts went back to 33LA. "They beat us again. They helped provoke the war and now they're making it harder to fight."

"I know."

Robert looked to the older captain. His expression was reserved. Controlled.

But there was no mistaking the fire burning behind his eyes.

"But it doesn't matter that they beat us this time." Sisko picked up his baseball and held it up. "Because we're still in this one."

Robert could feel the determination coming from Sisko and felt it lift his own spirits. "Right. We'll win in the end."

"Exactly," Sisko agreed.

It was a new day on the Aurora. Everyone was gathering in the Lookout for breakfast, all by Caterina's invitation arranged with Hargert. She and Angel were now walking along the deck toward the Lookout entrance. Both were in uniform, Angel in trousers as always and Cat in the uniform skirt that went down to her knees. "You don't have to do this, Cat," Angel said. "It's just between the two of us… it's your life."

"I know," she said. "But I… I think it's time to be honest. To make things clear, you know?" A small smile crossed her face. "Besides, if you knew, how many other people know?"

"I don't know, some of our friends are a little dense." Angel smiled and followed that up by putting a hand on Cat's shoulder. "Whatever your choice is, I'm here for you."

"I know," Caterina answered, smiling back at her big sister.

They entered the Lookout and found everyone present, the command staffs of both the Aurora and Koenig. Several of the civilian science specialists, and some of Cat's subordinate science officers, were all present.

"Although maybe I should have started smaller," Cat conceded. She swallowed and felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach, the jitters that claimed every effort she ever made to speak publicly.

"Nonsense," Angel said. "You've got this."

Taking a look at her sister's confident expression, Caterina smiled and nodded. Her body still stung and twinged from the damage to her nerves. Leo had promised it would clear up in a few weeks. She was hoping he was right.

Hargert walked up to her and smiled, wearing his usual white and blue-striped cooking clothes with white kitchen apron. "Fraulein," he said amiably, handing her a small receiver.

She accepted it and smiled at him. "Danke," she replied, revealing the bits and pieces of German she'd been picking up. Hargert replied to that with a proud smile while Cat fixed it to her collar. "Hello!", she called out. Her voice echoed over the Lookout's speakers.

All of the small morning conversations ended.

"Um… hi everyone," she said. Cat took one last look at Angel, who gave her a thumbs up, before she turned her attention back to the others. "I… I just wanted to say thank you, and sorry. I'm sorry you all worried about me so much. And thank you for… for wanting to help. Doing whatever you could to."

Nods and applause answered her.

"But that's… that's not why I-I'm here today." Cat stopped and drew in a breath. "I've been… I haven't told people something… something important. I was afraid. I was scared. I didn't know how you'd react, even after knowing so many of you for so long. And… I was wrong. Wrong to doubt you. Just as I doubted Angel despite how much we love each other. She's been there for me since I could talk and I really should have trusted her…"

"It's okay, Cat," Angel insisted.

"...and I don't want to make you all think I don't trust you too, so I'm just going to come out and say it." There was a final pause. A final drawing of breath. "I'm gay. I'm a lesbian."

Cat stopped talking. She looked to the others, awaiting a response.

Julia was the first to begin clapping. She smiled at Cat as she did so, a smile that was all the support Cat could have hoped for.

And like that it spread. Robert was next, an equal smile on his face. Leo and Tom Barnes, Zack only a half-second behind them, and Jarod and Meridina and Lucy and Scotty and Nick and soon enough everyone in the room was applauding and smiling at her.

Hargert stepped up, still applauding. "We are only a month from your birthday, I know," he began, "but I have baked you a cake anyway."

Angel gave Hargert a suspicious little look. "You… knew?"

"I suspected," the old German cook said. "But really… given what she has survived, I would have baked a cake anyway."

"Thank you." Cat embraced him and got a pat on the back in return. Tears were flowing down her face and blurring her vision as Zack was next in line for an embrace.

One by one, each hugged and embraced her. Even Meridina, who was equal parts bemused and warm in what seemed an unusual act for the stoic Gersallian. She looked back to Angel, smiling and teary-eyed as well, and exchanged a nod with her sister.

If Caterina had any regrets at that moment, it was simply that it had taken her so long to trust her friends and crewmates...

...her family.

Angel put a hand on Cat's shoulder. The two sisters smiled at each other. "So, you do know that I'm going to have to act all protective and angry toward any girlfriend you bring around, right?"

Cat giggled at that. "No punching girlfriends!"

"Not unless they break your heart," Angel pledged. Her smile was full of mischief. "Then I get to break their bones."

Cat was giggling too hard to protest. Angel let out a laugh and put an arm on her sister's shoulder, pulling Cat close. "You're terrible!", Cat finally stated. "No breaking bones."

"Oh, you take all of the fun out of being the violent big sister…"

Cat and Angel began laughing again.