Here's chapter 11 of Cryogenics. Please R&R!!
I do not own ST:DS9... all I own is Chantelle Greer, and now her father :P
Sisko, Bashir, Kira, Dax, Odo, Worf and O'Brien stared at her when she finished telling them in the conference room.
"A Pah Wraith? Your father... is a Pah Wraith?" Kira asked in disbelief.
Chantelle nodded. "Yes," she said quietly. "He woke my telekinetic abilities, but told me not to use them in front of anyone unless it was an emergency. I deemed Molly about to fall to her death as an emergency, so I just did it." She looked at Kira, saw the look of shock, betrayal and even anger. "Kira... My father told me that your people don't like the Pah Wraiths... but please, you have to believe me. My father is NOT evil. And neither am I. We would never do anything to hurt anyone. Human, Bajoran, whatever or whoever."
The Bajoran Major stiffened a little, her expression turning stony. "Permission to leave, Captain," she said, her tone hard as she turned away from Chantelle. The tone hurt her, and made her cringe. She tried to hide it, but had a feeling she was far from successful.
O'Brien looked at Kira. "Major, with all due respect, I don't think a devil would have saved..."
"I'm not talking about this, Chief," she said quietly.
Sisko sighed. "You may go, Major."
She nodded. "Thank you, Captain," she said brisquely, and left the room without another word.
Odo looked down at Chantelle. "I'm sorry to say this, but I have to tell you that the Bajorans will be reacting in much the same manner as Major Kira. Many of them won't care if you're a good person or not. They will see you as one of their devils now and nothing more. They are a deeply religious people."
She nodded silently. "I knew that before I even revealed my telekinetics. Between being shunned by the Bajorans and letting Molly hit the floor, I chose to be shunned and hated. If I was put in the same situation, I would do it again."
Sisko looked at her, his expression very serious as he had taken in the information she had given to them. "Your father told you... that you are the Emissary of the Pah Wraiths?"
She looked up in alarm. "Yes, but I'm NOT your enemy, Captain! I would never try to hurt you or anyone close to you! Even if my father told me right out that I had to, I still wouldn't do it!"
He nodded after a minute. "I believe you. You have no intentions of harming anyone aboard the station, so I don't see any problem. Except for the problems that are likely to arise when the Bajorans learn of your heritage."
Dax looked at him. "Couldn't you talk to them? Tell them yourself that she's not evil?"
Odo snorted. "It wouldn't help, trust me. And when Kai Winn learns of this, you can be sure that she will have more than a few things to say about having Chantelle here."
Worf growled slightly at the mention of the woman's name. "I suppose we will simply have to deal with the situation as it unfolds."
Sisko nodded. "Yes. Constable, if any violence is directed toward Chantelle, I trust you will punish the perpetrators as severely as you would anyone else for the same crime."
He nodded, his expression turning surprised. "Of course, Captain! Did you think I would do otherwise? I may have been raised by Bajorans, but I do not share their religious beliefs."
Chantelle sighed heavily. "Is there anything else, Captain? Or can I go now?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You may go."
She nodded and got to her feet. "Thank you." She quickly exited the room.
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By the next day, word had spread to everyone on the station and Chantelle was beginning to know what it was like to be shunned. As she walked on the Promenade, the Bajorans kept their distance, parents pulling their children behind them, many of them sending glares at her, some even spitting at her feet. The Bajoran businessmen and women gave her looks that told her she was most certainly not welcome to purchase anything from them, so she just passed on by, trying not to cringe at this treatment. She felt like she had the bubonic plague or something. She also heard several mutters of 'devil' and quieter mutters that she had a feeling she didn't want to hear at all.
She went into Quarks and sat at a table in the back, noticing immediately that several Bajorans left the bar the second she came in. She quickly and quietly ordered a meal and a root beer from Rom. She ate and drank her meal quickly before rushing out of the bar, refusing to meet anyone's look. She headed back to her quarters, passing two Bajorans in the habitat ring, both of which glared at her and parted, putting as much distance between themselves and her as they could as she passed them. Then she went into her quarters, locking the door behind her, flopped down on the couch, and simply broke down. She cried like she had never cried before and then forced herself to stop as she sat up and shakily lit up a cigarette.
"I warned you this would happen," said a voice from behind her.
She sighed, not even bothering to turn around. "I know you did. But I wasn't about to just sit there and watch a little girl die. And at that point, there was no way I would be able to get out of explaining things to them. I don't need a lecture, Dad, because I don't regret what I did for a second. The only thing I regret is that they hate me just because of what I am, instead of accepting me for WHO I am."
Her father came around the couch and took a seat beside her. Then he sighed. "Things will only get worse from here on."
"I'll deal with it when it happens. Maybe when they see I won't hurt them, it'll blow over."
He shook his head. "It won't. I'm sorry to say this, but nothing you say or do will make the Bajorans stop this behavior."
She said nothing, not because she didn't want to, but simply because she couldn't think of anything to say. After a moment, she was suddenly aware that her father was no longer beside her. Looking around for a moment, she saw she was alone in her quarters once more.
Deciding she needed someone to talk to, and knowing he was there for that exact purpose, she used her comm badge to call Councilor Yaoni down to her quarters, unable to keep her voice from trembling as she made the request. He was there in only a few minutes and they just sat and talked. Chantelle didn't bother shielding her thoughts at all, not really caring any more if he picked up on anything. This both surprised and concerned the councilor who was now accustomed to having to strain slightly to even get her surface thoughts to his mind, and now suddenly having every thought in her mind flying out, he found he had to dampen his own telepathic abilities to keep from being overwhelmed by the emotions and thoughts that issued forth from her.
"Don't get me wrong. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly in my own century, but at least then I didn't have people spitting at my feet, cursing me, and avoiding me like they are now. I have no idea how to deal with this kind of thing..."
He nodded sympathetically. "I know this is incredibly difficult for you."
She sighed. "I'm even starting to consider going back to Earth... as much as I don't really want to. But at least there I'll be able to walk down the street without people acting like I'm... well... a devil."
Yaoni looked at her. "You should do whatever you feel is best for you. Your personal well being should always be top priority. If you feel you would be better off on Earth, then Captain Sisko will have you on the next ship there. However, if you still don't think you'd be emotionally able to handle it, then you should remain here... at least for the time being. Or perhaps you could go somewhere else. Vulcan is a beautiful planet, and its people would not bring you malice of any sort. They are a very peaceful race, who base their judgements on logic and reason, not on religion or superstition."
She nodded. "I guess it's a possibility. I'll have to think about it some more. But I just don't know how much longer I'll be able to handle all this treatment..."
At that moment, her door chimed.
She sighed. "Come in."
The door opened and Garrak entered the room, stopping when he saw the Betazoid sitting on the couch beside Chantelle. "I'm sorry, am I disturbing you? I could come back at another time..."
Chantelle shook her head immediately. "No, it's fine. I called him down here. It's not a scheduled session."
Yaoni looked at the clock on her wall, that she had gotten from Odo about six days earlier. "I'm afraid I must be going. I have a scheduled appointment in ten minutes that I have to go to. Will you be all right?"
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you for coming down, Councilor."
He nodded. "Of course. If you ever need to talk, give me a call."
She said nothing as he gave Garrak a nod and left her quarters.
The Cardassian sighed and came forward. "I... heard about everything. Judging from the fact that the councilor was here, may I assume that the Bajorans have been giving you a difficult time?"
She snorted. "That's an understatement. Since word got out they've been doing nothing but glare, curse at me in Bajoran, spit at my feet, pull their children behind them as I walk by... none of the Bajoran businesses will have anything to do with me..." She shut her eyes tightly, trying to fight off another crying session. A few seconds passed when she felt Garrak sit beside her and, to her surprise, pulled her close to him, rocking her gently.
"It's all right. All you have to remember is that Bajorans are not the ONLY species living on the station. You still have many people who are friends and who will do whatever they can to help you. It makes no difference to me if you are half Pah Wraith. You are, after all, also half Human, and a very sweet and kind one at that. You saved Molly, even knowing it would mean revealing yourself to the Bajorans, and that shows the kind of person that you are."
She started crying again, despite her best efforts to keep it in. She was totally lost right now. She had no idea show to deal with this kind of thing. But having Garrak there to hold her made her feel a bit better.
"Just relax. I'm right here, okay?"
She nodded silently as her tears slowly stopped and she just let the Cardassian hold her. She basked in his warmth. "You're a beautiful young woman," he whispered gently as his hands ran up and down her back. "And being half Pah Wraith doesn't change the fact that you are a wonderful person. Perhaps, given a little time, the Bajorans will see that for themselves and their behavior will stop."
She said nothing, although she was surprised to hear Garrak call her beautiful, and was more surprised when she felt herself start to blush. What the hell was it about Garrak that made her feel like this? she wondered. She didn't know, but he had some strange way of making her feel safe. Chantelle had no idea if he was considered cute by Cardassian standards or not, but then again, she wasn't really the sort of girl who based judgements on others just because of their appearance. Her boyfriend on Earth had been about fifty pounds overweight and he sure as hell hadn't been any Orlando Bloom! But he had been sweet, funny, and caring. Come to think of it, in many ways, Garrak actually reminded her of Justin...
He held her for a few long moments before she pulled away and let out a sigh. Like all Cardassians, Garrak's skin was exceptionally warm, and that provided wonderful comfort to her, and made her feel much better than she had been a moment before.
To her growing shock, he brought one of his hands up and brushed it down the side of her face, a small smile on his lips. "I will do everything I can to make things easier on you, Chantelle. When I said I thought you were a beautiful young woman, I meant it. And I will always be here if you ever need anything."
She felt herself turning red once again. "Thank you, Garrak," she said. Was it possible that Garrak was...?
His thumb then went over her bottom lip, almost making her heart stop, and then he leaned forward and barely brushed his lips against hers. The contact lasted only a second and he pulled away. "Do you mind?" he asked softly. "I know you have a great deal on your mind as it is, but I'm hoping this can serve as a distraction for you, and I have also been wanting to do that for a little while now."
Her heart rate skyrocketed, and she fought to get it under control once more. She shook her head slowly and allowed a small smile to come to her lips. "I don't mind, but I DO want to talk to the Doctor about it..."
"Ah yes, I have already done that for you. He assures me that a Human/Cardassian relationship will cause no adverse effects, from what he can tell. Besides, he was the only one I felt I could trust, getting advice on how to... how did he put it? 'Make a move?'"
Her smile widened and she almost laughed. "That's the expression you're looking for. Well executed, by the way."
Garrak smiled back in amusement. "I'll be sure to remember that. And by all means, I will under no circumstances pressure you into anything, my Dear. We can go at whatever pace YOU feel is right. After all, I know this must seem strange."
She nodded, her smile growing a teensy bit bigger.
The Cardassian sighed. "Well, I just dropped in to see how you were doing. Quark saw some of the Bajorans reactions to you and told me about it, so I decided I had best make sure you were okay. I have to work on my weekly inventory. Do you think you'll be all right on your own?"
She nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you for everything, Garrak."
He smiled at her and held her hand. "You are most welcome, My Dear." He got to his feet. "I'll see you again. If you need anything, just call me, no matter the time."
She smiled. "I will. Good Evening, Garrak."
He gave her a small bow, and then turned and left.
Chantelle decided to spent the rest of the evening in her quarters, deciding she wouldn't be able to handle another encounter with the Bajoran residents of the station tonight. She used her own replicator to get herself a meal (which tasted rather bland compared to the replicators on the Promenade), and then just sat in her room, smoking and reading. She was sick of this whole Pah Wraith and Prophet deal already, so she just downloaded all the information that the Federation had on the Q and read up on that instead, managing to find some mind boggling and often humerous accounts of encounters the Enterprise crew had had with a particular Q that seemed to love to torment and annoy the hell out of them.
She decided to turn in early... at 2500 hours. She climbed into her bed, and fell into a restless sleep.
Kay, that was chapter 11. Sorry if you don't like the idea of Chantelle having a relationship with Garrak, but I couldn't resist. He's one of my favorite characters and I think he deserves a little romance in his life. Please tell me what you think of my story!! Read and Review!!
In the next chapter, Kai Winn is on DS9!! What's this going to do to Chantelle and her already stressful situation??? Read and find out!!