January 11, 2377 Jason heard his stomach rumble again, but ignored it. He calculated that he hadn't eaten for a few days. Only a few days. He could, and would survive this again. He saw shadows approaching before he heard the footsteps. The Vorta walked to his cell, stopping at the force field. "How are we this morning? I trust you slept well." "Like a baby. No more than five minutes at a time." Jason replied sarcastically through clenched and chattering teeth. "My, my. We still have that little tongue problem. Even after all I taught you." Redal looked down on Jason, who was sitting cross-legged on the cold steel floor. He reached into his clothing and produced something that was hanging around his neck. "Remember this? I kept it, just in case I ran into you again." Jason felt his anger rising, but forced himself to remain silent. "So maybe you haven't forgotten everything that happened. It was this very cell, wasn't it?" Rand turned his head in contempt. "I refuse to listen to this." He informed Redal, who smiled. "You have little choice, human. If what you're saying is right, and we have indeed lost the war, I won't lose you again any time soon." "Let's hope your soldiers are more trustworthy than your last lot." Redal's eyes darkened. "You better not hope that, or I fear you may be rather disappointed." He stalked over to the force field control unit, and several Jem'Hadar stepped out of the shadows, including the First. Jason involuntarily tried to scramble backward, but his limbs seemed unable to do what they were being told. After what felt like a lifetime he hit the back wall and was forced to stop. Redal was watching with interest. The force field shut down, and the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar stepped into the cell. "And the fun begins." Rebekka had just finished questioning a rather livid Klingon by the name of Kurd. "Well?" Asked Odo. It was her second day on the job, and she had already ruled out the Ferengi. It was almost definitely Luther Alistair. "It wasn't him." He raised any eyebrow. "Oh?" He asked. Tereb leaned against the wall next to the door. "How much do you know about Klingons, and their code of honor?" Odo actually smiled. "Quite a bit, really. After having commander Worf on DS9 for as long as he was, everyone here knew about Klingon honor." "Exactly. No honorable Klingon would set a bomb then run from it. If an honorable Klingon did actually set a bomb, he'd be going around boasting about it. I spoke to several people, each highly respected on the Klingon council, while you were regenerating, and they all vouched for Kurd. They all said there was no way he would do that." "You were supposed to be on break while I was regenerating." Odo pointed out, while Tereb glared at him. "Don't you dare say I look like I need to rest. If anything, this bump on the head has done me good!" "Calm down." Odo said, almost being annoyingly nice. "I didn't mean to imply that. I'm glad you did that for me. It saved me a lot of time and favors." Tereb took a breath. "I'm sorry, constable." She said, looking down. "That's fine. Now, has Luther got any friends we should know about?" Rebekka snorted. "Yeh, and all of them are suspected of being on the Orion Syndicate!" "Good. I think." Odo was cut off by a loud noise, and then a silence, which was soon followed by screaming and people running past. Odo's com badge chirped. "Nerys to Odo. What the hell is happening down there?" "Another bomb." Both Odo and Tereb said to Kira at the same time. "I'll give you more detail in five." They both ran out to the Promenade. It was Tereb who spotted him. "Odo! Over there!" She cried, and stared chasing after than man known as Luther Alistair. He didn't realize he'd been seen until it was too late. Tereb grabbed his arm, and yelled over the din. "Luther Alistair, you are arrested for setting and exploding unauthorized explosive devices in a public zone. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will be used against you in a court of law." "Yeh, yeh, yeh, I know the drill." The man snarled letting Tereb lead him back to security. When Tereb was putting him in the cell she noticed that he was dripping blood. "Where are you injured?" She asked. He pulled back the right side of his jacket with a small wince. There was a large piece of shrapnel embedded in his rib. Tereb immediately grabbed him around the shoulders and helped him walk to sickbay. "Why are you doing this?" The man grunted and they left security. "You know what I've done. Why help me now?" "I have an obligation to help anyone in need." Rebekka replied after a second's hesitation. The man smiled bitterly. "I'm sure you appreciate it. I." He gasped for a breath. "I won't try to run. can we stop. a second?" He asked painfully. Rebekka seemed unsure, then nodded, lowering his arm carefully. He bent over, trying not to cry out due to pain. "Are you okay?" Rebekka asked, a little gruffly. It was on thing for him to be punished, but she didn't want him to suffer. He nodded. "Thank you." He delicately helped Rebekka put her arm around him, and they continued. "Now I have a patient for you, doctor." Julian barely glanced at her. "Put him there. Is he serious?" He asked. "A bit of blood loss, but should be right for now." Julian nodded. "I'll get to you in a minute." He promised. Rebekka whispered to him for a moment, and the look he gave Luther would have humbled a Klingon. Jabara caught onto what was happening, and whispered something to Julian hurriedly, who nodded, sighing. "I'll take care of you, Mr. Alistair," Jabara said briskly, indicating for him to get onto a currently unused biobed. There were less casualties than the last bomb, but there were still a few needing attention. "With all due respect, captain, we can't just leave him there! The Prophets know what they're doing to him!" "I know." Sarah replied, holding up her hand. "Captain," Tanara said slowly, not wanting to cross the thin line she was walking on. "I understand your desire to make this mission a success, but what will happen to Jason in the mean time?" She walked a few steps, than stopped, running her fingers through her hair. "Captain, I have something like a sixth sense. The minute I saw Jason, I knew he'd been through a lot. That's what helped me through the Occupation. I was a well known physiatrist at the colony I lived on. I don't believe he can go through what they did to him again." Sarah sighed. "I know all this, Shelby. What was I supposed to do?" "I don't know, Captain. If only there was some other way." "That's just the problem! I just can't convince Redal he's making a mistake." Tanara paced in front of Sarah's desk. "What can convince him?" She asked. "Nothing! He read all the reports we prepared, everything! He just won't believe us. We could tractor him all the way back to Federation space, but that would take a few years, besides, they do have Jason hostage." "So, we need to get Jason back." Tanara replied bluntly. Sarah's eyebrows went up. "You're not suggesting..?" "It's been tried before, Captain. Successfully. I don't see why we can't do it now." "It's too risky." Sarah almost snapped. Shelby took a breath. "Captain, permission to speak freely." "Granted." "What other choice do we have? They are going to kill him. I can tell you that right now. When the image of Redal came on the screen Marc almost fainted, because of Jason's emotions. He's just a kid! Sarah, we have to do this! There is no other way. Believe me." Tanara looked Sarah in the eye, and Sarah knew she was telling the truth. She sighed again, rubbing her temples. "Thank you for your advice, Shelby. I will take it under consideration." Shelby just stared at her for a second, before turning on her heel and walking out. "How'd it go?" Marc asked as soon as she returned to sickbay. "I'm not sure." Tanara closed her eyes. "Hold on, Rand. We'll get you out of there." She whispered. There was a crunch as Jason's head smashed into the wall. "You are right, Vorta. This is fun!" "Party's over. Everyone go home." Jason whispered, sliding to the floor. "Yes that's the way! Again! Again!" The Vorta cheered. There were spots appearing in Jason's vision, and everything was getting blurry. Good. Thought Jason. The sooner the better. He was beginning to give up hope. He'd been here for five days now, and there had been no sign of ever returning to the Dark Hope. He had been taught a Vulcan way of dealing with pain in a special course at the Academy after his first mission that failed, and was applying it now. It was simply called 'withdrawal', it was the easiest way to ignore it, involving withdrawing into yourself, in a simple state of meditation, and viewing what was happening to him through someone else's eyes. It was working, and he felt almost nothing. The Vorta noticed something was different with Rand this time, and walked over to him. "What's different, Human?" He asked, malice dripping from his words. "Why isn't this fun anymore?" He looked Jason in the eyes, and almost shivered. They were cold and hard, almost radiating iciness. They seemed to penetrate the Vorta's very soul, digging through his thoughts with ease. Jason wasn't really seeing the Vorta, or his reaction. But his shell body felt it. Redal slammed a fist into Jason's face repeatedly, without mercy. "You will kill him!" The First shouted, angry. He wanted the Human to stay alive so he could continue his fun later on. Redal ignored him, and continued hitting Jason. The First grabbed Redal's fist and hissed into his ear. "You kill him, and you will pay." The Vorta seemed to snap out of it, and shook off the Firsts' hand. "Never touch me again." He retorted to the Jem'Hadar. "Get him to sickbay. I want him alive, nothing more." "It will be as you wish." The First grabbed Jason's thin collar, and dragged him to the limited 'sickbay' on the vessel. "What did he see, Human?" He asked rhetorically. Jason stirred from inside his shell. "Anger." He whispered. "Like you have never seen. Anger." "You will be fine." Jabara said, and passed Tereb a hypospray. "Give him this, every hour for forty eight hours. If he's taken anywhere, make sure you give it to them." Rebekka nodded. "Thank you, Jabara. I'll talk to you soon." Tereb promised. She held Luther firmly on the arm on the way back to the brig, and they were both silent. As she erected the force field, she spoke. "Either constable Odo or I will be in to question you later." She hesitated. "Tell me one thing. Why?" "Tell your dear doctor, Section Thirty One. He'll understand then." Luther replied, smiling sadly. "Also tell him I'm Sloan's namesake." "I will." Rebekka said, frowning. She walked out to Odo's office, thinking. "Why the frown?" Odo asked, sliding out of his bucket. "Oh, he told me to give Julian Bashir a message. May I do it now?" She asked. Odo nodded. "Yes, what was the message?" "Section Thirty One. And that he's Sloan's namesake. Whatever the means." She headed out to sickbay for the third time that day. "Doctor?" She called. "In here!" He called. "What can I do for you?" When she came into view, he looked away. "Can I help you, Lieutenant?" "The man that set the bombs, Luther Alistair. He asked me to tell you the reason he did it was 'Section Thirty One', and that he's Sloan's namesake." Tereb watched his reaction. "Was that all?" He asked tersely. "Uh, yes. Do you know what he means by that? Anything you can tell us will help." "Can I talk to him?" Julian asked, ignoring the question. Tereb nodded. "Yes, but." "Jabara, I'm leaving for a few minutes." He called, then hurried to the brig. "Okay, Julian." She called, but watched him leave, worried. The second bomb had again left it's mark on him. There were eight more deaths, three children. He'd only been in his quarters less than forty five minutes when it had gone off, and she betted he'd had no sleep. "Luther? What the hell has Section Thirty One got to do with this?!" Julian demanded when he entered the brig. Rebekka had insisted on being there, and she was sure Odo was in there in a different form. Luther was sitting on the bench/bed, with his eyes closed. "Answer me you bastard!" He opened his eyes slowly. Standing up with that same sense of indifference Luther Sloan had shown, he walked over to the entrance of his cell. "So, we meet again, famous Doctor Julian Bashir." "Famous? How so? And again?" Luther smiled. "The one that isn't part of Section Thirty One, the one that did small tasks for Sloan, without being part of us. How did you do it?" "I refused to let him scare or bribe me into doing it. You won't believe some of the things he threatened, then didn't follow through with." "And you wouldn't believe some of the lengths he would go to to get you." "He's dead. I watched him die. I WAS INSIDE HIS MIND!" Luther smiled. "You know that famous Dominion technology? The one of cloning and pacing memories in peoples minds?" He asked. "I am Luther Sloan." Julian clenched his hands. "Then we have unfinished business." "It can wait. Do you get the message? You cannot kill me! There are six 'Luther's walking around, just waiting for their chance to succeed where that first Luther failed. The bombs were my contribution. The first Luther was too afraid to use force. You will find that I am not." "No. I don't believe you. You didn't come to me before hand! At least give me a bloody chance to refuse!" Julian's face was turning red. "Contact me when you are reasonable." January 15, 2377 "We are being hailed." It had been six days, and there had been no word from Redal. "Open a channel." The Vorta's face filled the screen. "You will accompany us to the Alpha Quadrant. Then we shall see." "Can we see Jason?" Redal smiled. "No, not yet." The screen went back to normal, and the cheH turned slowly, towards the wormhole. "Everyone, positions." Sarah said softly. She grabbed to phasers, one for her, and one for Jason. "Energize." They beamed across, it took eight long seconds to send their molecules through the cheH's shields, but they managed. They weren't spotted for a few minutes, and by that time they had already taken out four of the six Jem'Hadar guarding the cell. Sarah took down one more, then told the last to take down the force field. He was uncertain, then he went to a console. The force field disappeared, and K'Latre kept his phaser trained on the First while Sarah went into the cell to find Jason. Everything was black, but there was a voice calling him. The voice was vaguely familiar, and it was urgent. He opened his eyes, and something was shoved into his hand. "Were getting you out of here." The voice whispered. "I think not!" Another voice said. This voice Jason knew very well. Sarah turned, keeping Jason's weapon out of Redal's eyesight. Sarah looked at him levelly. "What are you going to do about it?" She asked. The First pressed a button, and the force field came back to life, with both Sarah and Jason in the cell this time. "Will that stop us?" "Us? Whatever do you mean?" K'Latre, Niko Silver and Sirik had gone into the shadows as soon as Sirik heard the Vorta arrive. They now stepped out, each with a phaser rifle. Niko and Sirik were aimed at the Vorta, while K'Latre held his on the First. "Release my captain." The Vorta smiled. "You have won this one, Yates." Once again the field evaporated, and Sarah stepped out of the cell, arm around Jason who was unable to stand, let alone walk. The First roared with rage, and leaped for Jason. K'Latre's weapon stopped him. The First disappeared. Jason lifted his head, and shot. "Not now!" "Dear Doctor, it is a matter of some importance." Julian stared blankly out the window. He knew when Garak entered, but didn't respond. "Well?" Garak asked. Julian rolled his eyes to the Cardassian. "Well what?" "Why haven't you eaten or slept in two days?" He asked. Julian turned his head away. "Get out." He replied. Garak looked surprised, to say the least. "Garak, this is over even your precious head. I said get out. I need to contact someone." "Oh really, doctor? And who would that be?" "None of your business! Now get OUT!" Garak bowed sarcastically, and walked out, shaking his head. Julian watched him go through the reflection in the window, and as soon as he'd left, he stood up and walked over to his console. Tapping buttons, he bit his lip, impatient. "Admiral Ross. Good to see you again. How's the aneurysm?" Julian asked. Ross looked at him, worried. "Fine. How can I help you, doctor?" "Did you know about the two bombs that were set off on the promenade here, admiral?" "Yes, I read about them in the report Kira Nerys sent me." Julian arched his eyebrows. "Do you know anything else about them, admiral?" "What are you getting at, lieutenant?" "I think you might already know." Ross looked uncomfortable. "I might know some classified information." "Seven." "What?" Ross asked. Julian looked at him coldly. "How well did you read that report, admiral? Seven children died. Seven innocent children DIED because Sloan can't keep his ego in check!" "This is not about Sloan. Don't imply he did this. Luther Sloan is dead, and remains that way." "Looks like Star Fleet is being kept in the dark about some new technology we've somehow acquired. Luther Sloan, is indeed dead, but his memories live on, in a man named Luther Alistair. And more people with the first name Luther. And they all want one thing." "What's that, lieutenant?" Julian purposely took off his com badge and put it down on the desk in front of him. "They want me." "Why's that?" "I don't know. They haven't contacted me yet. I think it would be a good idea for Luther Alistair to be transported to whatever the hell star base you're on now, admiral." The com badge still lay on the desk. "Seven. Innocent. Children. Section Thirty One will pay this time. For everything. And everyone." Julian slammed his hand onto his combadge, and it shattered into hundreds of pieces. "I am not their pawn any longer." Ross looked to Julian, frowning. "Doctor, let's not step out of line here." Bashir shook his head slowly, an icy look in his eye. "There is no line, admiral." He severed the connection, and collapsed, exhausted. "Jason? It's okay now. You're back." Sarah sighed, and straightened. "Telek!" She called. "Yes, captain?" The Vulcan asked. She sighed again, and folded her arms. "Can you tell me what's wrong with him?" "By just looking, no, I cannot. I know that after his first encounter with Redal he returned to the Academy for one semester, maintaining the status of ensign, to study Vulcan mind techniques. I believe he is in the 'withdrawal' state, where he watching everything that is happening, without realizing who he is, or who we are. I can attempt to mindmeld with him to bring him out of his shell." "What are the risks?" Telek considered. "Minimal. Rand would have studied hard, and if his master didn't think he was ready she would not have passed him." "When can you do it?" "I can initiate the meld now, if you wish." Sarah thought for a moment. Then she nodded. "Do it." Telek cleared his mind, and placed his hands on Jason's face. "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts. Our minds are merging." He was floating. Drifting across vast distances, wherever he wanted to go, he was there. "Jason!" He called, breaking the soft silence. "Jason! It's time to come back!" There was no answer. Suddenly he was there. "Vulcan? What are you doing here?" "It's time for you to return, Jason." The image of Jason faltered. "Return? Why return? I like it here." "There are people that need you." The Jason-image laughed harshly. "They never needed me. No one needs me. It would be better if I just stayed here." "I need you." Telek said. "If nothing else, to pilot the Dark Hope." "The Dark Hope?" The image frowned. "I know that. Where from?" "Reality!" The Vulcan urged. "Come on, we must leave here." The image faltered again. "I am so tired." He said softly. "Can I really come back? I thought you didn't want me anymore. I'd like to be able to rest." "Yes, we need you. Come back, come and rest." Telek broke the bond, and Jason opened his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered, before finally sleeping. "So what now? We've solved that mystery, the paper work's done." Odo smiled. "I think you deserve a break." "Already? I've only been on the job one week." "And you've solve one of my jobs already. Now go! Before I throw you out. Come back in two days." "Yes, sir." Tereb said, sighing. She loathed not working. She headed down to Garak's, thinking it would be the perfect time to see his range. As she walked in, she spotted him, hanging up a dress on a mannequin. "Why, hello!" He said, turning. "I'm glad you could find time to visit." She smiled, examining a pair of black pants. "This is good!" She exclaimed. "Why, thank you. A client asked me to make them a few days ago, but canceled, and I'd already made them. Do you like them?" He asked, picking up a shirt. "I think it would go well with this." "Yes, I'd have to agree. You are very good at what you do, Mr. Garak." "Oh, just Garak will do." Rebekka nodded. "And just Bekky, then." She replied. He bowed. "As you say." She pulled five strips of latinum. "How much is it?" "For you, nothing. Except dinner tonight at Quarks, if you can convince the good doctor to come along." "Nothing? But they must cost so much!" She objected. "Believe me, once you've paid for a meal at Quarks, it covers any costs spent here, I assure you." "Well, if you insist. I'll go talk to the doctor now. Thank you, Garak." He smiled. "Not a problem, Bekky." She walked out, whistling. "Who is it?" "Rebekka Tereb." Julian frowned. "Come in." She walked in, and looked around, confused. Then she saw his reflection in the window, and went to sit next to him. "How can I help you, lieutenant?" "Julian, Myself and Garak wish to invite you to dinner tonight at Quarks, my shout." "Uh, I'm not to sure. I'm not the best of company right now." Tereb shook her head. "The deal's only available tonight. If you decline I'll have to pay for my own clothes." Julian smiled. "Sounds just like Garak. Put that way, I can't refuse." "Good. Seven tonight then." She replied, walking to the door. She hesitated. "Julian, If you ever need anyone, just to talk to, you know where to find me." Her gaze flickered to the crushed com badge, then back to Julian. "Promise you'll talk if you need to?" He looked into her eyes. "I promise. And Bekky? Thank you." She just smiled, and walked out. "Well?" Garak asked, smiling. "He's coming. Seven tonight." She replied, grinning. "Good work! Here, take this!" He threw her a package, which she assumed held her outfit. "Thanks, Garak. See you tonight." She walked out, once again whistling. From his office, Odo watched, smiling in amusement, Rebekka saw him looking, and entered the office. "What are you doing at seven tonight?" She demanded, smiling. "I will be at Quarks, gate crashing your dinner, why?" He replied. "Just wondering. See you there." "Welcome back, Jason." He yawned. "Thank you. I feel like I've been reborn or something." Tanara smiled. "How are you feeling?" She asked. He stretched. "Stiff." He admitted. "That's okay. You'll be back to normal soon enough." "Oh, that's a relief. So, has Kal kept us in one piece?" He asked jokingly. "Yes, he has." Shelby replied, smiling. Jason half closed his eyes again. "That's good. Say, where's Telek?" "He's meditating. You took quite a bit out of him." "Is he okay?" "He's fine." Tanara assured him. The doors hissed open to admit Sarah. "Hey, welcome back to the world of the living," Jason smiled, a little sadly. "Thanks. I'd begun to give up hope." He said bluntly. Sarah put her hand on his arm. "Hey! We'd never leave you there. Remember that, okay?" He nodded. "Yes, sir." He replied, smiling. She smiled back at the joke. "I've got to go now, we're almost back at the Alpha Quadrant." "Great." She was about to walk out when Jason called out. "Did Redal survive?" She turned, and looked him in the eye. "The phaser blast killed him." The left. "Good. He deserved to die." He muttered, avoiding Tanara's eye. She nodded her understanding. "You'll get an appointment with Marc Lenn later on, okay?" "Sure." He mumbled. She touched his shoulder. "Hey. Hang in there." He nodded, and turned over to sleep. "Captain, approaching the wormhole." Yates smiled tightly, and gripped her armrests. "Send us through." The wormhole spooked her. The entities that stopped an entire Dominion fleet lived there, and they could stop her ship just as easily. The colors passed by quickly, and they were soon on the other side with Deep Space Nine on the view screen. "Does it feel good to be home." Kal remarked. Kira's face came on the screen. "Welcome back, captain Yates. Uh, port three again. I'll be waiting. I trust the mission was a success?" "Yes, with some minor and not so minor difficulties, but you can read the report. I'll talk to you in a few minutes." Kira nodded. "DS9 out." The screen darkened, and Kira turned to Ezri. "Did you see how pale Rand was? And has he lost weight?" "Yes, I think he has. I wonder what happened over there." Ezri mused. Nerys smiled. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Are you coming with me to the docking port?" Ezri nodded enthusiastically. "Sure." The two stepped into the turbolift, and Kira spoke. "Docking ring." She leaned against the rail. "Did you hear about Tereb and Julian?" "No. they're not!"

"They are." Kira confirmed. Ezri thought for a moment. "Good. About time." "Agreed." The lift stopped, and they stepped out, smiling. Sarah and Riley walked out first again, with Tanara and Jason close behind. "Welcome back, captain." Kira said, quickly extending a hand to shake. Sarah smiled in response. "It's good to be back. Where's my other crewmember?" She asked. "Right now she's at dinner with our doctor." Sarah blinked. "You mean..?" "In a way. We have a lot to discuss." "I would think so. Alright. Same as before. You have two hours to look up friends you made here before reporting to the briefing room. I'll see you then." Everyone parted, Tanara holding Jason's arm firmly. "You're staying with me." "I'm fine now!" Jason insisted. Tanara rolled her eyes. "No, you're not. Come on. Let's see what's doing in Quarks." Jason sighed. "Alright. Will you at least remove your hand from my arm?" He asked, hopeful. Tanara took her hand off without a response. Three seconds later, Jason stumbled. "You see? You're not fine. Come on, we'll go get a seat at Quarks until the debriefing." "Yes, mother." Jason replied, grinning, and ducked Shelby's soft hit to the arm. "And the doctor has this fascination with Tarkalian tea, don't you?" Julian rolled his eyes. "If I had known this dinner would be an 'insult the doctor' session, you could have bought your own outfit." "You don't like it?" Bekky asked, smiling. "Actually, I love it." Julian admitted. "Tereb?" A voice above them asked. They all turned. "Yes?" Rebekka asked. "Oh, Tanara, right? You guys are back?" She stood quickly. "The colonel didn't mention you had arrived." Her eyes shifted to Jason, who was sagging slightly. "Are you okay..? Sorry, I missed your name during introductions." "Jason. Jason Rand." He extended a hand to Tereb, who shook it firmly. "Oh, and yeh, I'm recovering." "What's wrong?" Julian asked. "Ah, sorry, I'm doctor Julian Bashir." "Jason Rand." They shook hands. Garak looked at Tanara. "I am Garak, the unfortunate cause of your lieutenant's having missed her first mission on the Dark Hope." "Tanara Shelby." Tanara held out her hand, and Garak took it, and kissed it gently. "A pleasure to meet you," he said to the dumbfounded chief medical officer. "Likewise." She finally replied, blushing. Julian cleared his throat, bringing the two back. "What are you recovering from, Jason?" He asked. Tanara and Jason slid into unoccupied chairs, and Rebekka reclaimed her own. "It's kind of a long story. I'm sure it can wait." He replied, avoiding Julian's eye. Tanara shifted uncomfortably. "So what have you been up to, lieutenant? Holidaying all week?" "Oh, yes. All I did was solve one little mystery and Odo gives me two days off." Julian mock-glared. "For one, I know you didn't get all that much sleep in sickbay anyway, and the mystery wasn't just little." Rebekka discreetly put her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean little in that sense, it was just a matter of being there at the right time, that's all." He smiled, albeit a little sadly. "I know. But still, you worked hard on that short case, and it took quite a few favours, I recall." Tereb sighed. "I don't think we'll ever agree on this one." She admitted. "Of course not. That would be too convenient, doctor," Garak drawled. Julian glared at him. "What'll it be?" A voice asked directly behind Jason, who flinched. "Well?" "I'll have a Pepsi Max." Jason replied after a thought. "Hot chocolate, skim." Tanara said, smiling. Julian passed his empty mug to Quark ."Another tea." "I'll have one too." Rebekka said. Under Garak's incredulous look spoke quickly. "I may as well try it." Garak raised an eyebrow. "Well Garak? What are you having?" Quark demanded. "I'll also try one of the doctor's secret stash of Tarkalian tea, thank you." Julian almost choked. Garak smiled. "I may as well know what it tastes like if I'm to continue annoying you about it." Quark rolled his eyes. "It's on its way." He walked off back to the bar. One and a half hours later, Rebekka requested the time. "Hey, guys, almost time to go," she warned. "We'll walk you," Julian offered. Rebekka and Tanara exchanged a look, while the males watched, amused. "Okay," Rebekka agreed. They stood, and walked out, heading toward the briefing room. "Bekky!" A voice called. She stopped, and turned slowly. It couldn't be. "Steven!" She cried, running to embrace her brother. "Where were you?" She demanded, still clinging to him. "I had. business to attend to. Sorry I couldn't get here earlier. I came six days ago, but they told me the Dark Hope had already left." "I stayed here!" She yelled. "What?" "I hit my head. I've been here the whole time!" Steven sighed. "I must have only just missed you, then." He replied. "I suppose. It's been a while, hasn't it?" He nodded. "I haven't seen you since." "Mum passed away. You can say it you know. I think. I think I'm over it." She took a steadying breath, and remembered her friends behind her. "This is Elim Garak, Julian Bashir, Tanara Shelby, and Jason Rand." He shook hands with each of them, then looked back at the doctor. "We meet again." He said. "It seems that you two share at least one thing in common. Your habit of hurting yourselves. I took care of him when he was down here, I'm just sorry I didn't put two and two together." He said regretfully. "It's unusual for you to miss anything, doctor. Perhaps your sharp mind is losing its edge." "Or maybe it was a busy day." Julian retorted to a smiling Garak. "Well unfortunately we have to go now, brother. But I will talk to you once we have left the meeting. I'll see you outside docking port three, okay?" "I'll make sure he gets there." Julian interrupted. "As will I." Garak said, smiling at Tanara, who wasn't sure whether to blush or run and hide. "So Star Base six for repairs, then on to the next mission." Sarah concluded. "Sounds good. I'm just about ready for a holiday." Rebekka said, grinning. Jason smirked, and the rest of the crew laughed outright. "One hour. Docking port three. Don't be late, or we'll go without you, right Bekky?" She rolled her eyes, and the meeting broke up. "I'm glad to see you made here, Steven." Rebekka joked. "We made sure of it." Julian remarked. "So, into gymnastics, are we?" Tereb glared at her brother. "Did you tell him our whole life story?" She demanded. "No, no," he laughed. "Just the bits you wouldn't tell him." She rolled her eyes, and they laughed. "So what have you been up to, sis? It has been ages." She sighed. "Not much. after I left I applied for the Academy, got in first try and went from there. I joined the Academy Gymnastics Team, and happened to win first place in the annual open every year I was there." "You won it four years I a row? That's virtually unheard of!" Julian exclaimed. "So I got lucky." She shrugged. "It isn't that big a deal." Steven shook his head, then suddenly lunged for her. She ducked, and in one swift motion she had him on the ground under her, and she held his throat. "You haven't lost your touch, have you?" She looked amused. "Of course not." She let him up, and they shook hands. "We have to leave." Everyone else had boarded early, and they were the last. Steven looked annoyed. "We've hardly spoken!" He protested. "Star Base six. I'll be there for a while, while the Dark Hope gets her repairs. Be there, or next time you'll stay down a little longer," she mock- threatened. He smiled, and hugged her tightly. "I'll be there. We'll make up for the time we've lost, I promise."



DARK HOPE CONCEPT BY LAURA DE LA PAZ
PARAMOUNT AND VIACOM OWNS STAR TREK, AND ALL ITS CHARACTERS, INCLUDING JULIAN BASHIR, GARAK AND KIRA, I OWN MY CHARACTERS AND THE USS DARK HOPE.