Chapter Three: Reconstructing Events
The security guard nodded at them as they approached the holosuite door, Miles joining them moments later. "Well, I think that did it. Looked like a power surge that shorted out the wiring. Any luck here?"
Dax shook her head. "We haven't gone in yet; I don't want to disturb anything that might affect where Commander Sisko is trapped."
"Admirable, but we have to start somewhere," O'Brien said dryly. "These suites are designed to pick up a program where you left off, so unless the surge wiped the short-term memory, we should at least be able to do that."
Dax nodded and gestured for Miles to enter the holosuite first. She followed, and then Bashir guided Jake inside.
O'Brien waited until the door had slid shut behind him. "Computer, resume last used program."
Jake gripped Bashir's arm, his fingers digging painfully into the flesh. "Maybe…Dad'll just be…there," he whispered.
Bashir shook his head, doubting it would be that simple, but said nothing to dash the boy's hopes as the scene flickered into view around them.
"Is this it, Jake?" Dax questioned.
"It…looks like the same place," Jake said hesitantly, releasing Bashir's arm and taking a step forward. Dr Bashir took the opportunity to rub his bruised arm without Jake noticing.
"I can see why you found this boring," Miles remarked.
"Yeah. About the only thing that happened was that a horse and carriage drove by; when they didn't answer us we realized it was observer-only."
"Don't know what you were supposed to 'observe' around here," Miles remarked.
"They weren't meant to," Dax said grimly. "The whole purpose of this holoprogram is the portal. Jake, how did you say it opened again?"
"It showed up when Dad tried to end the program," Jake remembered.
"All right, then. Computer, end program."
Again nothing changed except for the appearance of the strangely glowing green letters. "There they are," Jake whispered, mysteriously drawn to them once more, the effect lessened only slightly by his knowledge of what had happened.
"Careful, Jake!" Dax warned sharply. Bashir grabbed Jake's arm just as he once more reached out and touched the letters. As the portal swirled open, Dr Bashir pulled Jake back against himself, holding him securely. "Stay back, Jake."
"No!" Jake cried, struggling against him. "Dad's in there, Doctor; I have to go after him!"
"And how will your being lost as well help your father any?" Bashir asked reasonably. "We'll get him back, Jake, but we have to think carefully and not do things rashly."
"No lifesigns in there," Dax murmured, looking at her tricorder screen.
"But he is in there; he is!"
"All right, Jake; all Dax means is that he's out of range, or something's blocking the tricorder. Dax, we don't need Jake here anymore, do we?"
"No," Dax agreed just as her combadge beeped.
"Odo to Dax."
"Dax here."
"I have Quark."
"Good. Take him to Ops; we'll meet you there. Dax out. Julian, take Jake —"
"I don't want to stay in our quarters by myself," Jake interrupted.
"Of course not," Dax agreed. "Miles —"
"Yes," Miles agreed without even needing to hear the full question. "He can stay with us until the commander's back; I'll call Keiko and let her know he's coming."
Julian glanced back to where he knew the door to be. "Just how are we going to get out of here?" He was fairly certain he knew the door's exact location now, but if he attempted to walk toward it, the scene would imperceptibly shift around him, so that he could believe himself to be walking miles in a straight line when he was actually circling the thirty-foot holosuite.
"Computer, end program," Dax tried again, thinking perhaps it would respond now that the portal was open.
"Obviously, we aren't meant to leave except through the portal," Miles said grimly.
Bashir considered whether he could find the door if he closed his eyes to shut out the deceptive scenery.
Dax grinned almost slyly. "They didn't expect us to have someone on the outside." She tapped her combadge. "Dax to McGuthrie."
"McGuthrie here," the security officer responded. "Is everything all right, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, but the computer won't respond; I need you to do a manual override and open the door from that side."
"Understood, sir."
Several minutes later the door slid open, looking like another portal as it stood apparently in the middle of nothing, and Bashir felt a moment's disappointment. He would have liked to find out whether he could block his senses sufficiently to find the door, and made a mental note to try it sometime. "Come on, Jake," he urged, keeping his firm hold with one hand on the boy's shoulder and the other arm around his waist. As Bashir pulled him toward the exit, Jake turned to look over the doctor's shoulder at the portal where his father had disappeared.
"Miles, call Keiko and then meet me in Ops; Bashir, join us there as soon as you have Jake settled. McGuthrie, no one touches this suite."
"Understood, sir," the guard replied. Miles stepped to the side to call Keiko, and Bashir once again urged Jake on. The boy came unresisting now; not so much willingly but as if he had suddenly ceased to care.
Bashir glanced down at him with concerned eyes as they took the shortest route to the O'Briens' quarters. By the time they reached the door, Jake was trembling all over, staring straight ahead without seeing and nearly sagging against the doctor. Supporting Jake with one hand, he hit the door chime with the other hand.
The door slid open immediately; knowing they were coming Keiko didn't bother to ask for identification. "Is he all right?" she asked anxiously.
Bashir glanced down again at the boy on his arm. "Shock, I think; he needs to lie down."
"Bring him in here," Keiko said instantly, leading the way to their small living area.
Bashir half carried Jake to the sofa and gently eased him down. Kneeling, he removed Jake's boots and propped his feet up on the end of the sofa. Bending over him, he scanned him once more, confirming his diagnosis of shock. "He'll be fine," he murmured to Keiko, pulling a hypospray from his medkit and checking the contents before injecting it. Resting a hand on Jake's pulse, he watched as the boy's breathing evened and he drifted to sleep.
"He'll be out a good few hours," Bashir told Keiko, getting to his feet. "I'll try to be back to check on him at least once before he wakes up, but don't hesitate to call me if something concerns you."
"I will," Keiko promised. "You go on now…help them find his father."
Next chapter coming next week!
I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!
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