Odo tried to think of what Miro would do in his situation.

The fact was, Odo didn't want to be subjected to the quantum stasis field any more than he wanted to return to his people. And it wasn't just that. He was responsible for Eeris now, and above all, he could not let harm come to her. It was the least he could do, after failing to save Nerys's gods from his people's weapon. And even if he hadn't found her, he wouldn't want to return to the Gamma Quadrant. He'd barely spent a week in the Alpha Quadrant. Spending seventy years on the journey home would invalidate his last seventy-year journey as a waste of time.

There was one tiny, dangling thread of hope. The Cardassian commander had been in earlier to inform him of their course for Bajor. Whether her word could be trusted was anyone's guess, but if they were en route to Bajor, Odo could leave Eeris safely among her people and then go back to the Gamma Quadrant of his own free will. Maybe that was what Miro would do—play along with his enemy's plans so that he could find their root motivation. It was a strategy Odo had employed often in his work as chief of security. He remembered when Commander Worf had first transferred on board, and had ended up (ironically enough) interfering with Odo's investigation in his pursuit of order on the station. Odo had been about to infiltrate the ranks of a smuggling ring as the bag in which the money was carried, but that bad-tempered Klingon with his surprisingly relatable desire for order had barged in on the scene to make the arrest instead.

Whatever choice he made, Odo knew, these people had the means to force his cooperation. He could escape with Eeris, or he could choose whether or not to be subjected to the quantum stasis field—which honestly wasn't much of a choice. And if he chose to cooperate, thus leading him straight behind the lines, he still wouldn't have a way to get out and dismantle the whole scheme. The safest choice was to escape with Eeris. But that plan wouldn't necessarily succeed.

Odo glanced over at Eeris, huddling alone in the back of their cell. The only choice was to escape with Eeris. It was the only way he could ensure her safety as well as his own.

"Tell me more about Kira Nerys," Eeris said.

Odo chuckled. "Don't you think that's enough for one day?"

In the days since the commander had come to inform Odo of his options, they had passed the time talking about Nerys. Odo had been reluctant at first—Eeris was bigoted enough that he didn't particularly want to open up to her—but he'd found that the more she understood him and his love for the first Figurehead of Bajor, the more she softened toward him and didn't seem quite as afraid of his alien nature. Ever since he had begun telling her about the time he and Nerys had first met, over the Vaatrik case, when he was still a young shapeshifter who cowered in the face of revulsion and disgust, he had stopped seeing that same look in Eeris's eyes. She saw beyond his unfinished face now. It shouldn't have taken effort on his part to get her there, but at least she had come this far.

And perhaps, Odo thought, if he could warm her up to his metamorphic abilities, she would one day warm up to her own.

"I can never get enough of Kira Nerys for one day," Eeris said. "The more you talk about her, the more I realize I didn't know her at all."

"Well," Odo allowed, "few people truly knew her."

"Just you," Eeris said.

"And Dax. They were close friends."

"Ah," Eeris nodded. "Now I see."

"Now you see what?"

"Why Miro refuses to talk about her. She must have hurt him when she changed."

"I imagine so," Odo agreed. "Though I can't imagine how."

"You said you did some research on the way here," Eeris said. "You didn't find out anything interesting? Anything that Miro's not saying?"

Odo stared out into space, remembering the text that had scrolled across the Rintoqua's screen. "She led an assault of some sort, took over Bajor. Became the Figurehead. Bajor falls off the political map at that point. There's nothing else to find."

"She led an assault," Eeris repeated. "Maybe Miro disagreed with what she was doing."

"Possibly," Odo said, "but for the record, it would have been Ezri at the time."

"Who?"

"Ezri. Dax's ninth host. She would still have been alive when Nerys did…whatever she did."

Eeris nodded slowly. "Okay. Ezri was the counselor, right? Miro told me a little about her when I first met him, but not much. She disagreed with whatever Kira Nerys was doing, and…"

"That's where my reasoning falls short," Odo admitted. "I can't picture the woman I loved doing anything that would hurt Miro enough not to want to talk about her nine hundred years afterward. She was steadfastly loyal, protected her people and her friends above all else."

"You did say she believed in the Prophets," Eeris added. "Strange as that sounds, given what I know about her disbanding the old religious orders. The Prophets could have told her to…"

"To do what?" Odo asked. "Betray her people? That was never in the cards. It seems to me Nerys would have a crisis in her faith before she would turn on her friends."

Eeris shrugged. "Well, the Emissary got me to betray my people…"

"Who you already wanted nothing to do with," Odo reminded her. "I…I don't know what could have happened. It seems impossible that things on Bajor could have spiraled out of control the way they have. A Figurehead…a Societal Order…a wall no one crosses…all those things you told me…" He began to pace in thought. "If it all really was a chain reaction caused by Nerys's choices, like Miro told us, this seems like some kind of alternate reality—almost as if we're in the mirror universe instead."

"The mirror universe?" Eeris asked.

Odo waved a hand in dismissal. "It's not important. Just a parallel universe the crew of Deep Space Nine seemed to end up in often, when there were mishaps with the wormhole. Come to think of it…with the wormhole closed, this could all…" He shook his head. "No, never mind. That's ridiculous. Just because the Nerys of this universe acted more like the Intendant after I left doesn't mean we're all not still in the right universe."

"Wait," Eeris said. "Are you saying we could be in a parallel universe? Like, maybe we got sent there when the wormhole closed?"

"It does line up…Nerys only made the choices she made after my people closed the wormhole…" Odo paused and shook his head. "No, if we were in an alternate universe right now, you would think Miro would have said something, wouldn't he?"

"You would think so," Eeris said, but she didn't sound like she believed it.

Odo sighed and settled down next to her. "Regardless, it doesn't matter. Even if we were in the wrong universe, there's no way we could get back, is there? The wormhole is gone."

Eeris sighed. "If we were stuck in the wrong universe, would you want to get back?"

Odo considered. "I suppose I would. The politics of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were always less…convoluted in our own universe. I suppose it all made sense from their standpoint, but the people there were all alternate, darker versions of the people here. Nerys, the most loyal, determined, loving Bajoran I ever knew, became a selfish, indulgent dictator over there. Garak, someone I respected, if not trusted, was suddenly someone I could trust to follow through on his word, but not respect. Even…even Captain Sisko. In our universe, he's a Starfleet officer-turned-Prophet, one of the two people I once respected most of all. There, he was a vagabond criminal in search of adventure."

"Sounds like Miro," Eeris laughed.

Odo chuckled. "I wonder what our Miro would be like in the mirror universe. Who knows—maybe he'd be the Figurehead."

With that, Eeris laughed out loud. Odo smiled a little. Despite the desperation of their situation, he was glad he could make her smile. Especially since she'd been avoiding him out of sheer revulsion when they'd begun this trip.

"You know," Eeris said, quelling her chuckles, "I can almost see it. He seems to see himself as the galaxy's fulcrum. He wants to be everywhere at once, fixing everything at once. Maybe in another universe, he'd be doing that on Bajor—acting as counselor to the people."

Odo smiled. "Doesn't seem quite like his style."

"Well, in tense situations, sometimes we do things that aren't our style."

"What about running from your future on Bajor?" Odo asked, looking in her direction. "Was that your style?"

Eeris sighed and leaned against him exhaustedly. "I'm not even sure what my style is anymore. I don't know what to do, Odo. I thought I'd figure things out when I got away from Bajor. But I'm away from Bajor, and I still haven't figured anything out. I keep picturing my parents, my father, the people I let down in order to get away, the monk in the hills, the vedek in the cottage…and my people, Odo. My backwards people…"

She sniffled a little, the sound muffled when she wiped her shoulder stump across her eyes.

Odo leaned his head against the wall and let out another, heavier sigh. Eeris snuggled against him. He snaked his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. It was the least he could offer. She burrowed into his embrace like a desert traveler seeking shelter. Odo softened his form a little to add to her comfort, letting her body settle into the slight indentation he made.

"Odo," she said, "the Emissary brought you to me. I know you can help me. I don't know how, but I know you can."

"I can't imagine Sisko's reasoning," Odo replied.

Eeris sighed. "Who knows, maybe I'm not meant to grow my arms back, and we're together for an entirely different reason. But I'm willing to bet you're here to fix my arms. You're a metamorph, after all."

That was one conversation Odo had never in his life been adequately be prepared for. He decided to redirect the subject, just a little.

"Do you know what I don't understand?" he asked.

"What?"

"I told you how steadfastly Nerys held to her faith. I didn't share it myself, but at least I understood it. When the Bajorans needed something to believe in, the Prophets sent their orbs, and they've proven themselves powerful enough to act like gods. But now…now, Eeris, the Prophets are gone, thanks to me and the rest of my people, and still your faith is unshakable."

"It's not really the Prophets that I believe in," Eeris said. "I never got a chance to do that. They were dead before I had a chance to know them. It's just the Emissary, for me. He hasn't betrayed me yet. He's been guiding me, and he's still guiding me. And I sure hope that even while we're stuck on this ship, he's guiding us right now."

Odo chuckled dryly. "The man you call the Emissary was once my superior officer."

"Captain Sisko, you mean."

"That's right," Odo nodded. "Captain Sisko." The memory of how much the captain's attitude toward the Bajoran faith had changed made him chuckle again. "He used to avoid association with the Bajoran faith as if his life depended on it. To think he'd one day be…"

Odo stopped mid-sentence. The holding cell was swimming before his eyes. He instinctively pulled Eeris more tightly against him. The motion stopped only a second later, but something felt wrong, as if there was another presence in the room that didn't belong. Odo peered shrewdly around the cell and gasped in surprise. There, standing just inside the cell bars, was Captain Sisko.

"Captain!" Odo exclaimed.

"Emissary?" Eeris asked in awe.

Odo swiveled to look at her, confused. That couldn't be right. Even if she was part of his…hallucination, or whatever the captain wanted to call it, she shouldn't actually be aware of herself, should she be?

"Constable," Sisko greeted with a nod. "Eeris."

"I can't believe it," Eeris whispered. "I never thought you'd…"

"I'm afraid I didn't come here to visit," Sisko said. "I need to ask something of you—of both of you."

"The last request you made of me sent me reeling seventy years away from my home," Odo said. "This had better be good."

Sisko held up his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. "Please, Constable. Hear me out."

"Why should I?" Odo growled.

"Have you forgotten?" Sisko held his hands out to his sides and grinned. "I'm a Prophet. I can help you."

Odo scowled. "If you're really a Prophet, go back in time and get us off this Cardassian ship."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Sisko said. "It is no accident that you're here."

"What, you're telling me you stuck us here? What a successful plan. Eeris will be dropped right back on Bajor and I'll be sent seventy years back the way I came. It's not at all counterproductive, Captain. I always thought the Prophets' methods were roundabout and vague, but I've never before known them to be downright idiotic!"

Sisko smiled. "Patience, Constable. Everything is going according to plan…for the moment."

"For the moment," Odo said. "How reassuring."

"Constable," Sisko said. "Eeris must be dropped off at Deep Space Nine, and I will see to it that your captors don't alter their plans. But you must not escape with her."

"That's ridiculous," Odo said. "It's the only way to ensure her safety. I thought you wanted me here to protect her, Captain. I traveled seventy years on your word! Well, now I'm here, and you better not start giving me contradictory advice!"

"She will be safe," Sisko said.

"How can you know that?"

Sisko raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, alright," Odo said. "You're a Prophet and you can see the future. I get it. But you can't honestly expect me to go along with it."

"I do," Sisko said. "And you will. All attempts of yours to escape will be thwarted."

"And I suppose you're going to thwart them."

"That's right."

"Excuse me for remaining skeptical, Captain, but I came here to watch out for Eeris. You can't just ask me to leave her at the mercy of Cardassians."

"I told you, Constable," Sisko said, "she will be safe."

Odo glared at him.

"Now." Sisko looked Odo in the eye. "I don't want the Cardassians to torture you any more than you do, Constable. Which is why I advise that you go with them of your own free will."

"You want me to cooperate. With Cardassians. Have you forgotten my history with them, Captain?"

"No," Sisko said, "but I expect you to move past it. The Cardassians are not your enemy. There is a larger force for you to worry about, and it will become apparent soon. I promise."

"And then I suppose you're going to want me to blindly follow your orders and oppose this 'force' of yours."

"Constable," Sisko said, "do yourself a favor and think of me as the man you once knew me as. Not the Emissary, or a Prophet. I may have the powers of a Prophet, and I may be able to see events before they occur, but that doesn't change who I am. I'm still Benjamin Sisko, and that will never change."

Odo sighed. He knew what the captain was doing. He wanted Odo to respect his requests on the basis that Odo had always respected him. What he didn't seem to understand was how hard that was, when neither of them had been involved in the same chain of command for nine hundred years and one of them was a Prophet, while the other was a skeptic.

"Odo," Eeris whispered, nudging him. "Just go with it."

But he would try. For Eeris's sake. Just as he would try if Nerys were to ask him the same thing.

"Fine," Odo said. "But if she gets hurt, I want it clear, Captain—I'll blame you."

"That's all I ask," Sisko said. "I need you to trust me, Constable."

Trust the man who was being as cryptic as any Prophet Odo had ever heard of? The man who was ordering Odo around like he was still Odo's superior officer?

That was it, Odo realized. With Miro still angry with him and all their old friends nine hundred years dead, Sisko was Odo's only remaining friend. And he wanted Odo to remember that. He wanted Odo to think of him not as a Prophet, but of the only piece of his old life he had left.

Besides, Odo could understand the captain, in a way. They had both had duties to their higher callings nine hundred years ago, and they had both joined races who behaved as gods. They had that and their lives on Deep Space Nine in common. And now, they had both lived too long to belong anywhere in particular in the Alpha Quadrant. The people they had been loyal to were gone.

Sisko was watching him patiently. Odo realized he'd been thinking, silent, for too long.

"Alright, Captain," Odo said. "I'll trust you. One last time."

"Please," Sisko said, "I'm no captain anymore. You can call me Benjamin."

"Hmph," Odo said. "You know you'll always be a captain to me."

Sisko smiled. "Does that mean you'll do as I request?"

"For the moment," Odo allowed grudgingly.

"Good." Sisko turned to Eeris. "Tread carefully, Kira Eeris. Things are not as they seem."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Odo held back a chuckle at the sound of Eeris swearing before her Emissary. As alike as she and Nerys were, their similarities ended there. Nerys's faith had been much more…blind.

"Don't worry," Sisko said. "Everything will become clear…soon. I suppose all I can say is…good luck." Before Odo could retort, he added, "I know, Constable, but all the same."

The cargo bay swam again, giving Odo a strange, remembered feeling of vertigo. By the time the motion had stopped again, Sisko had disappeared.

"Well," Odo said, "that was interesting, if frustrating."

The sound of footsteps down the ramp into the cargo bay punctuated his words. The commander approached, this time with two male soldiers at her side.

"We have arrived at Deep Space Nine," the commander said. "I await your decision, Odo."

Eeris looked up at Odo, pleading.

Odo sighed. It was now or never. They could try to escape, but it was more likely they'd be stopped. Especially after Sisko had assured him that all efforts to escape would be thwarted. If Odo trusted anyone's word, it was Sisko's. Even if he didn't like Sisko's current plan.

His only choice was between the quantum stasis field and cooperation. It wasn't a choice.

"I suppose I'll cooperate," Odo said. "But you have to promise me Eeris will get to Deep Space Nine in one piece."

"She will be monitored," the commander said. "I will ensure that a transport arrives for her shortly."

Odo peered at the commander. "Why would you do that? You don't have any stake in her wellbeing."

Eeris nudged him. "Let it be," she whispered. "The Emissary's protecting me."

Odo glanced at her. He didn't want to believe that, didn't want to believe anything concerning the Prophets, but this was Captain Benjamin Sisko they were talking about. Maybe he was manipulating the commander's mind.

"Well," Odo said, turning back to the commander, "I don't suppose I need to worry about her safety."

The commander smiled and pressed something on her wrist. Before Odo could say another word, Eeris disappeared in a vortex of transporter energy. Odo whirled and reached out for her, just as he had in his vision before he had decided to travel to the Alpha Quadrant, to no avail. She was gone.

"I appreciate your cooperation," the commander said. "Remember, just be good for us, and there will be no need to use more…unpleasant…measures."

Without another word, the commander turned on her heel and walked back up the ramp. Her men followed her. Odo wondered of those soldiers had been there to subdue him if necessary, and if so, if they were Sisko's doing. Odo wouldn't put it past the man who called himself the Emissary. He probably had ways to ensure Odo's cooperation just as the Cardassian commander did. But Odo had to admit he trusted Sisko's methods to be far less painful than any Cardassian's.

He would trust the Emissary. For now.