Of course, any characters and places you recognize are not
mine. They were conceived by the brilliant Gene Roddenberry, and copyright by Paramount.
Here we go again! This is the second story in a series. You don't have to read the first story, but it sure helps! Believe me! There are spoilers for the first story in here, BTW, so be forewarned. Well, enjoy the story. Oh, and if you have any comments, critiques, flames, etc., you can mail them to me when I finally get an address. :) Have fun!!!
Dedication: This story is dedicated to Kira, without whom the Eysu Moraht would never have existed, not to mention to my prereaders, without whom this story would not have existed. Thanks for the death threats on the previous one. You've given me a goal to reach.
Also, this story is written in loving memory of Eloise and Jimmy Hill, and of Anne King.
The Things Which I Have Seen
by Yuuki Miyaka
Chapter 7
"Dammit, Katassa, please!" Arys shouted at her old friend. Katassa looked away, not knowing entirely what to say. It had been five months since Jake had died, and it was only now that Arys was finally showing interest in her work again. But Katassa wasn't so sure that trying to investigate Jake's death was a good thing.
"Arys, I don't know. I think this investigation should be held by someone not quite so close to the deceased." Katassa couldn't meet Arys' eyes.
"Deceased? You make it sound like he was a nobody. Katassa, he was your *best* friend. How could you . . . " Arys trailed off, mostly because she couldn't find another thing to say. She pivoted, flinging herself into Katassa's couch and sitting there, her eyes glued to the window as she tried to search for a way to make her friend, her sister, understand.
"I didn't mean it that way. Arys, you're seeing hurt where there is none. Listen to me. Your dedication to your job is commendable, but I'm not entirely sure that this is the case you should be working on. It's only been a few months since Jake . . . ." Before she could finish, Arys cut in.
"It's been five months since Jake was killed, Katassa. There's been too many deaths for it to be anything else. You know that. Three deaths in one months, all of them founders of the Eysu? That's an impossible coincidence. It just can't happen." Arys' voice rose as she continued to rage. She hadn't lost her emotionality. It had just been dampened by the loss of her love.
"We know that, Arys. That was never in question. What I'm worried about is that you may be taking on a bit too much. Before you say anything," Katassa lifted her hand, gesturing for Arys to wait. "I want you to know that we've done some work without your orders. And we've found nothing linking the deaths."
Arys stared at the leader of the Aurahj, knowing from personal experience how difficult it was for her to talk about this. But all she could do was think about bringing the killer to the justice of the Eysu Moraht.
Odo looked up to see Sisko striding into his office. "Constable, we have to talk." Odo stared at the captain, not knowing entirely what to say. With a sigh, he resigned himself to whatever the captain had to say.
"Odo, I need to know about Keurithe. I know that the two of you Linked, and I want to know if she can be trusted." Sisko hated asking Odo to do this, to betray his people, but there was nothing else he could do. The woman bothered him.
Odo, for his part, didn't like the sound of that at all, but rallied gamely, as usual. And if the comeback was a little slower than usual, who was to notice?
"I can guarantee that she is to be trusted. I didn't know that there were others like me out there until I met her. She is . . . an amazing person." Odo caught himself, knowing that the captain didn't want to hear any of this. But to his surprise, Sisko sat down in a chair, and motioned for him to continue.
"In what way is she amazing, Constable?"
"She is a wonderful diplomat, able to get many things done in a relatively short amount of time, with a minimum of effort and fuss. But more than that, she has been able to reconcile herself with her own beliefs, as well as those of our people, and those she doesn't like she sets out to change. I truly think she will be able to do it, too."
Sisko nodded, knowing that this did constitute an amazing person. But after the disturbing effect she had had on him, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to pursue that.
"However, Captain, at the same time, she can be incredibly persuasive, even manipulative, if she believes she is doing it for your own good. And there is no way to convince her otherwise once she's gotten that into her head." Odo shook his head, obviously very closely related to this particular flaw of his sister's. "But she is honorable, and a good person."
Sisko nodded, feeling rather out of his depth, but at the same time determined to do everything in his power to make her completely welcome. With a final nod, he stood, leaving Odo's office thoughtfully.
Arys stood by, watching Raina Rakoff work. She hated the idea of letting someone else in on her investigation, but Rakoff was well-qualified, and if that was what it took to find Jake's killer, then by all means, she would let anyone into the investigation.
Besides, Arys liked Rakoff's three assistants. They reminded her of her own small group, now even smaller thanks to whoever was out there killing. There was T'ormaht first. He was her Klingon friend, and seemed somehow cleaner than other Klingons. Arys had met him only briefly, but she knew that he didn't have a problem dealing with humans the way most Klingons did. After T'ormaht, there was Levala Sera, one of her own people. She had liked Levala on sight. Finally was Jerlan Grell. Grell was a Cardassian, and rounded out the quartet quite nicely. He would have intimidated Arys except for one small note. She saw Ari every time she looked in Grell's eyes.
The five worked together often in total silence. The case had taken a long time already, and it seemed far from being over. Katassa had given up on counselling Arys. In fact, Arys hadn't even seen Katassa for weeks. And she preferred it that way. If Katassa could go on with her life, then let her. But Arys couldn't. She had to avenge Jake's death. And that was all there was to it.
"Captain," Kira said in surprise, as Sisko joined her. "Have a seat." She motioned to the empty chair beside her, and Sisko nodded. A small smile crept to his lips, then faded as he regarded her.
"Major, we need to have a talk." He waited until Kira nodded, then took a deep breath. "What's going on between Odo and you?"
Her head, bent over her plate of Haspurat, flew up, and she stared at him. "What do you mean, Captain?"
Sisko sighed. It was obvious that this wasn't going to be all that easy, but then, he hadn't expected it to be. He waited a few moments, then tried again. "Major, the two of you have avoided each other for three days. No matter what has happened before this, that has never happened. Now I want an answer. What has happened between the two of you?" The question was not a question. It was a command, and one that Kira had to obey. There was no other choice.
Kira looked away, staring around the Replimat before her eyes came back to rest on Sisko again. She didn't know quite what to tell him about the problem. How much had he already guessed? How much was still private? Remembering some of Dax's questions, Kira's first thought was not too much. She took a deep breath, and began. "Sir, it's really very simple. Odo and I . . . ." She found at that point that she just couldn't say it. Perhaps it was because Bajorans tended to guard their lives jealously, or perhaps it was just because she didn't want to appear inept in front of the Emissary. Whatever the reason, she sighed and turned away.
"Sir, I'll handle this problem on my own. If you want any more questions about this answered, I suggest you take them to the Constable. Although I'm inclined to believe that he will be even less forthcoming about the difficulties than I will. If that's all, I have to get to Ops." She stood, walking quickly out of the Replimat, afraid to look back.
As she strode through the Promenade, she felt a presence she hadn't in ages. Odo was at her side, for some reason.
"Yes, Constable?" The words chilled her, but she had nothing else she could say to him right now. He had betrayed her more than anyone ever had, and he had enjoyed doing it. The doors to Ops opened, and she stepped through, hurrying over to her post before he could say anything. Having succeeded once more in avoiding him, she looked away, ashamed at her reaction. But she needn't have done so. He made no attempt to hide his pain, except to turn away and walk back out of Ops.
Arys faced Grell with pain etched on her face. It was ever-present, a result of the time she had spent with another Cardassian, he knew, but he could do nothing about that. But now it was even more obvious.
"I got a death threat today. Apparently our friend has decided that he wants to up the stakes a bit, by letting me know ahead of time. What does he hope to gain from it? That's what I want to know."
Rakoff, also present, sighed. "Actually, we have a suspect in custody. The evidence points to her, but I'm not entirely sure of her reasoning." The gender change was not lost on Arys, who raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "The suspect's name is Shelley Foster. She was also a member of the SSTF when it was disbanded."
Arys nodded, remembering the girl. When she spoke, it was quiet, not much above a whisper. "Shelley was a quiet girl. She always managed to fade into the woodworks. Maybe that's why she was never really noticed or remembered much. I can't remember thinking about her for years. Certainly not much since we stopped the SSTF. Why is she a suspect?"
Rakoff shook her head, sighing. "As I said, all the evidence adds up. All that's left now is questioning her. I thought that you might like to do the honors. You're the one who needs the answers the most."
Arys nodded slowly, fear and pain etched on her face. She walked slowly toward the holding cells, wishing even now that she would wake up, and that it would all be a dream. But it didn't work, and she was instead faced with the visage of her old friend, who was now old and bitter. The changes were dramatic and horrifying.
"Shelley, I have some questions I'd like to ask you." The woman looked away, and Arys felt numb. "You've been accused of the murder of Ari Dukat, Nog, and Jake Sisko. Did you kill them?" Arys had decided that the direct approach would probably work best. She was not disappointed.
"Yes, I killed them. And I'd do it again, if I could." The words were hissed, much like a snake's, and Arys moved away in shock.
"But, Shelley, why?" Pain and anger were etched on both faces, but for highly different reasons.
"I had to. You deserved it. How could you?" The hissing was getting on Arys' nerves, and it was all she could do to keep her hands to herself, to keep herself from reaching across the table and strangling the girl who had, at one time, been her best friend in the SSTF. "How could you go on, after all they did to you? My life was over. I lost everything when you destroyed the SSTF, and even then, I would have been happy, but you had to let them destroy my career. And then you went off with your friends and you married, and you were happy, and my life was over. You were never my friend, were you? You just used me to boost yourself up. I remember those nights that you would ask something of me, and I would agree and only later find out that I was getting in trouble for you. I remember that time all too well. How could you, my friend?" The word friend became an insult in her mouth, a cold name only used for those most hated.
Arys' entire body itched to take revenge on her. She had dreamt of it at night, had prayed to the Prophets to send the killer her way so that she could show what it was like. So she could know some measure of peace. And in that instant, she found it. As the last word left Shelley's mouth, the urge for revenge became so great that the feeling was strumming in Arys' ears. And she chose.
Turning away, she walked out of the room slowly. The only sound was a quiet weeping from Shelley. Shelley was kneeling on the ground, one hand to her face, hiding the handprint underneath as she cried for what she had and had not done.
Kira sighed. Dax was right. She had probably missed so many opportunities. And she still hadn't given an answer, either to Odo or to herself. Nor had she talked to Shakaar about it. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that she was terrified.
All these thoughts flew around her head as she walked down the Promenade, paying no attention to those around her. It was fortunate she had nothing on her person for thieves to steal, because a couple had even tried. Normally, she would have noticed, and even caught those impudent enough to try that, but today she wasn't aware of any of her surroundings.
Her steps faltered as she considered another possibility. Could it be that she *did* love Odo? That Shakaar was only an excuse for not pursuing her dreams? She stood for a long moment, thinking about this, when suddenly, she found herself on her rump, a heavy form over her.
"What?" she muttered, then looked up into those ice-blue eyes, and forgot to breathe.
"Major," Odo said huskily.
Funny, she thought to herself. Normally he sounds gruff, but now, it's more strained. Almost as though he's afraid of me. It was only in that moment that she finally saw what she had been acting like. And the worst of it was that she didn't want him to think of her that way.
"Odo. I . . . I was just coming to see you. I . . . we need to talk."
His eyes widened for a single moment, then narrowed, and he stood up, pulling her with him. They were both oblivious to the crowd around them. They walked to her rooms without another thought.
When they arrived, she entered before him with little ceremony. She was shaking, afraid of what she had to say, wondering if she actually could. But it would have to be done eventually. She screwed up her courage, and faced him, only to have him start.
"Major, I know how difficult this must be for you. If you would like, I will ask for a transfer as soon as possible." He looked away from her, not wanting to see her reaction.
"Odo, no! Please don't." She didn't know what else to say. She couldn't even understand what she was feeling, and now she was supposed to not mind his leaving. No. She couldn't do that. She couldn't.
"I think it would be best for both of us, Major. It's obvious you don't want me around, and I certainly can't continue on like this. What else are we supposed to do? Pretend? I assure you, that's not possible. Even if we wanted to, too many people know the whole story. It's not worth the pain."
"Odo, I don't know what to say." She faltered after that. Anything she could say would be too trite.
"Say that you've talked to Shakaar or give me your blessing. I no longer care which!" He was shouting at her, and for once she couldn't even enjoy the argument. She thought about all the times they had helped each other. How he had covered for her, how she had counselled him. How they had listened to each other, and laughed together, and it all clicked. She could remember everything with startling accuracy, and it hurt her more than she could imagine. And she suddenly knew that she had to get out of there, that she couldn't answer him yet, because she needed to talk to Shakaar.
"Odo, I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry, but it has to be this way. Please, forgive me." She ran out of the room, not waiting to even receive the forgiveness on his lips. For he would forgive her. He would forgive her anything.
Arys watched, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Although she knew and approved of Nathan Barlam, she was uncertain that her choice was the right one. After all, she had never led the Eysu before, and though she didn't want the job, she wanted to leave it in the best hands possible.
Nathan was nice. She knew that. Jake had taught him, had spent time training him in all of the things that someone leading the Eysu should know. She regretted that, in a way. She regretted the fact that she hadn't spent that much time with Jake. But life was not perfect, life was not fair, and she would never get that chance back.
And so she sat, staring at the ceremony while Nathan was declared the leader of the Eysu. Her eyes watered, but there was not much there for her to cry with anymore. He was a good person. He would do. She would go back to her old job of Security Chief, and things would go back to normal. With her alone. With Jake gone. With life empty. That was the way it had to be from now on. And so she would continue, until her own end came.