The perimeter sensors chirped, demanding Jadzia's attention just as she was beginning to make headway with the report she'd been writing. "The perimeter sensors are picking up an incoming vessel," she announced, setting the report aside and initiating a more detailed readout.

Kira was over her shoulder in an instant, brows furrowed. "Dominion?"

Dax shook her head, lips pressed together. "It looks like a small Federation craft," she said, studying the signal. "We're not expecting anyone soon, and I don't recognize the registration signature."

"Run it through the system one more time." The first officer of Deep Space 9 tapped her combadge. "Kira to Sisko, the perimeter sensors've picked up an unidentified Federation vessel."

"I'm on my way, Major."

Kira straightened herself, and Dax could see the steadying breath the Major took as her posture settled into one of outward confidence- there was no sign of conflict yet, but Kira wasn't one to leave things to chance. "Dax, open hailing frequencies."

"Looks like they're a step ahead of us."

"Onscreen."

The viewscreen of the station was filled by the image of a young man- human- with light brown skin and dark blond hair that fell in his eyes as the interior of his shuttle rocked, presumably from some kind of turbulence, which he struggled to correct. He wore a Starfleet uniform, with a single pip that denoted him as an ensign.

"Federation vessel, this is Major Kira of Deep Space 9. Please identify yourselves."
Something flashed in the ensign's eyes- if Dax didn't know better, she would say it was recognition- before he collected himself. "Deep Space 9, this is the Federation shuttle LeGuin, requesting immediate assistance."

As he said this, Dax could see a burst of sparks as something overloaded. This was followed by a quiet burst of Klingon curses as a dark-skinned woman- Vulcan, from the lifesign readout Dax was able to pull up at her station (though the ears were a bit of a giveaway), perhaps close in age to the human ensign- appeared in the corner of the viewscreen and hurriedly set to work trying to correct the relay overload.

"I'm picking up an overload in the ionic polarization couplings, and destabilization in the microfusion thrusters," Ensign Asyo, one of the junior operations officers currently on shift, informed Dax. He consulted his console again. "There's also some minor buckling in the outer hull that could be a problem."

"Ensign," Kira said, "how many do you have onboard?"

"Three, including myself," the ensign replied.

Kira glanced at Dax, who confirmed, "Picking up three lifesigns- one human, one Vulcan, and one Trill."

A brisk nod of acknowledgement from the Major before she turned her attention to the viewscreen. "Standby."

Just as Kira made the gesture to cut their end of the communication link, Captain Sisko stepped off of the turbolift, surveyed the various readouts, then glanced at the viewscreen. "Kira, Dax, report."

"Our sensors picked up a small Federation craft on the perimeter- the LeGuin. Her crew is requesting immediate assistance."

"Any hostile vessels, or any idea of what caused the LeGuin's distress?"

Kira consulted her console and shook her head. "No sir, all long-range sensors are clear."

"Good." He turned to Dax. "Engage the tractor beam- let's tow them in to lower pylon two."

"Tractor beam engaged," Dax confirmed, keeping an eye on her station's readouts. "Structural integrity holding steady at eighty percent, and life support's still stable."

"Major, I want you to take a security team and meet the LeGuin's crew at the airlock."

"Structural integrity at seventy-six percent."

"Should we conduct blood screenings, sir?"

"It's not a bad idea," Dax said, attention still on the tractor beam controls. "I mean, playing Devil's advocate, if I were the Dominion, or the Cardassians-"

"Especially the Cardassians."

"-a shuttle in distress would be a perfect cover for an ambush."

Sisko pressed his lips together, and there was the furrow of his brow that Dax recognized from when he was a younger man, trying to take apart Curzon's chess strategy before making his move. "Agreed. Major, the LeGuin's crew doesn't get past the airlock without satisfactory blood screenings."

"Yes sir." Kira tapped her combadge, speaking as she made her way to the turbolift. "Major Kira to security, I want a security unit to meet me at Airlock Three in five minutes."

"The LeGuin 's successfully docked, sir," Asyo informed the two officers.

"Outer hull integrity is still within safety parameters."

The Bajoran tapped a few buttons on his console. "Security diagnostic is clear. No explosives detected. Standing by to run an external systems diagnostic."

"Stand by Ensign." Sisko tapped his combadge. "Sisko to Kira. What is your status Major?"

"Preparing to board the LeGuin sir," came Kira's reply. "No issues so far."

"Let's hope it stays that way. Bring them to my office when you're finished."

"Acknowledged. Kira out."

Phaser in hand, Kira took point in boarding the LeGuin.

In all honesty, she wasn't sure what to expect. On the one hand, the situation seemed genuine: a shuttle in distress requesting assistance from the larger, better equipped station. But even that- innocent as it was- raised some questions, like, where did it come from? A shuttle that size could handle short distance travel within a system, sure, but it would still require an origin point, and given it didn't have a registration signature recognized by the Federation database, it seemed suspicious.

On the other hand, it could be a trap, as Dax had mentioned; a captured Federation shuttle equipped with holo-emitters to fool the visual systems and relay scramblers to forge lifesigns was all it would take, and while it was a bit too elaborate for the Jem'Hadar, the Cardassians would not be above it. How many times had they used similar ploys to catch Bajoran Resistance members out during the occupation? More times than should've been possible was the answer there. Who was to say that when she opened the shuttle hatch, instead of three Starfleet officers, she and her security officers found themselves face-to-face with Cardassians, or (and she wasn't sure which was worse in this scenario) Jem'Hadar?

Prophets watch over us. "Take up positions. Orce, Eetha, with me. Lieutenant, open the hatch on my mark." She took a moment to steady herself, bracing for trouble. "Mark!"

The hatch doors hissed open, and Kira and the Bajoran deputies pressed forward, while others remained behind to cover the exit.

It was a small shuttle, much smaller than the runabouts, with bench space for any passengers exceeding the two needed to crew her. A few of the access panels had been pulled back, exposing the engineer access to an EPS relay, but nothing was sparking anymore, thank the Prophets. Everything that could be appeared in order- no sparking or other hazards- and the shuttle interior wasn't laid out in a way that would afford its occupants significant cover.

As the sensor readings had indicated, there were three occupants to the shuttle.

The first, perched on one of the passenger benches, was a young Vulcan woman with dark skin and dark eyes. She wore a Starfleet uniform- Operations yellow- with an ensign's single pip and her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. There was a watchfulness to her, but it wasn't the kind of watchfulness that came from fear, but rather, curiosity.

Second was a young woman with fair skin and red hair that fell across her forehead, almost obscuring the telltale spots of a Trill. She wore Command red and the double pips of a Lieutenant, though the tilt of her head and ease of her posture as she caught Kira's attention suggested the confidence of a more experienced officer.

Last was the helmsman, who stood just as Kira and her security officers entered the shuttle, bending over to whisper something to the Trill, who gave a one-shouldered shrug. He stood a good head above the Trill, with a confidence Kira recalled seeing in Nog when he was assigned to DS9 on his Academy placement.

"Thanks for the assistance, Comman- Major" the helmsman said, a grin in the corner of his mouth as he corrected himself.

Kira nodded briskly. "Glad to help," she said, gesturing for Orce, who produced a hypospray and handed it to Kira. "If you don't mind, we need to run a blood screening before we let you aboard the station."

The helmsman's brows twitched to a furrow. "I don't understand why a blood screening's necessary."

The Trill's eyes lit up, as if recalling something far in her memory. "It wa- it's standard procedure, Gibbs," she said, stepping forward and offering her hand to Kira. "I'll explain later."

He must be fresh out of the Academy, Kira thought as she pressed the hypospray to the Trill's arm, drawing a vial of blood without much difficulty. She gave it a shake like she'd seen Julian do- just in case. "All clear."

The helmsman- Gibbs- watched, and then followed suit, watching the process unfold before him.

"You're clear too," Kira informed him, turning her attention to the Vulcan. "Ensign."

"Yes sir." The engineer- by the way her sleeves were rolled up, plus the toolkit beside her, she had to be an engineer of some kind- stood, and offered her arm. "I can assure you, my health is adequate, and I do not believe there are any quarantines currently in effect."

"It's not your health I'm worried about." She shook the vial, letting the greenish blood settle. Thankfully, it was nothing but blood. "Good news- all three of you are good to go."

The collective sigh that the security team was holding released at this announcement.

Relieved though she was, Kira was hesitant to let her guard down. There was something...off about these three, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it, not yet. She'd learned early on in life not to take everything at face value, a lesson that had on more than one occasion saved her life.

"Kira to Sisko. All screenings are clear."

The combadge chirped. "Acknowledged. Please bring our guests up to Ops. Sisko out."

Her attention went to the three young officers. "If you'd come with me, Captain Sisko wants to speak with you."

Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Past Conditions, Present Motions.

Please feel free to leave a comment, and share any thoughts you have on this work so far. Any and all kinds of feedback are greatly appreciated.