The Last Temptation of Odo
By
Creek Johnson and Nance Hurt
Disclaimer: We are but fleas on the elephants' posterior that is Paramount.
No infringement on their rights is intended. We hope none is taken.
"Perhaps," said Julian Bashir, squinting his eyes. "It's his hair. I don't think that is quite the right shade."
The object of discussion merely snorted in reply.
"I'm beginning to believe," said Vivian Landis from her place at the helm. "That the two of you are making this up."
"No," replied Quark, with conviction. "There's something missing I tell you."
They had been at it for a long time. The mother of six boys, Vivian Landis recognized brotherly bullying when she saw it, much to her relief; Odo appeared to recognize the behavior as well.
The trip had been a long one and she was at first worried that the morose Changeling would prove to be what she, out of maternal habit, had thought would be the troubled child of the group. It was days into their journey before he had spoken a word, seemingly content to either sit in the corner and observe the others, or retire to his bunk for hours at a time. With time, he appeared to come out of his shell a bit, a fact that Quark in particular seemed ready to take advantage of. For the last hour, Dr. Bashir and Quark had been playing a rough version of what's wrong with this picture?
"Shoes?" ventured Julian.
"You all ready guessed that," replied Quark. "Guess again."
"I hate to interrupt," said Vivian. "But I just picked up something on sensors."
"A ship?" asked Julian.
"No. It appears to be some type of orbital platform."
Julian moved to the seat next to her.
"There's no report of them having that type of technology. Are you sure it's the right planet?"
"I don't see another one in the vicinity do you?"
"Maybe," ventured Quark. "Someone got here before us."
"That would be just your luck wouldn't it," replied Odo, mockingly. "A day late and a slip of latinum short."
"It's an orbital platform all right," said Julian. "Do you suppose it's operational?"
"Operational," confirmed Vivian. "And hailing us."
"Put it on screen."
Vivian punched in the order and the view screen resolved itself from the star field to the face of a Jem'Hadar.
"And," continued Ezri Dax, "as no one gets famous by being a Counselor, unless of course you manage to crash land your ship, the other Daxes and I have come to an arrangement. They pretty much leave me alone and I leave them alone. Well, that's the way it's supposed to work in principle..."
She looked at her companion. Kira wore the glassy eyed expression of someone who was mentally light years away.
"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" asked Ezri.
"Nothing," replied Kira, glancing around at the other dinners in the Replimat. "It's nothing."
"Kira, I know better. You've been in a foul mood ever since Shakaar left. No, I take that back, you've been in a foul mood since shortly after he arrived. It's a week later, the Economic Conference has just gotten under way, and it's as though you are avoiding him. And now, you sit here glaring at the other tables as though you were waiting for an excuse to chew somebody out."
"Am I?"
"You know you are. Now, what's the matter?"
"Are you asking as my Counselor?" asked Kira.
"No. As your friend."
Ezri watched, as Kira seemed to conduct an internal argument before leaning forward and speaking in an angry tone.
"Last week, when the First Minister came to approve the arrangements for the Conference, I asked him about the Militia restoring Odo's commission." She stopped, clearly trying to keep her anger under control.
"And," prompted Ezri mentally noting Kira's use of title to describe her former Resistance leader.
"He told me," continued Kira, speaking through clenched teeth. "That when Odo returns to the Station, the Militia will be granting him a promotion and decorating him with the Freedom medal."
"Freedom medal?" Ezri was impressed. "I thought only people who fought in the Resistance were awarded that?"
"Even then," agreed Kira. "It was mostly awarded posthumously."
"That's quite a honor. And you see this as a problem?"
"No. The problem lies in the fact that all this comes just the day before Odo's retirement."
"Odo's retiring?" Ezri was genuinely surprised. "When did he make that decision?"
"He didn't," said Kira, flatly. "He's being retired."
"I see," replied Ezri. "And he doesn't know does he?"
"No. Although he suspected he wouldn't be getting his job back, I don't think he expected this."
"Did Shakaar say why?"
Kira thought back to the argument that followed Shakaar's announcement. He has said that risk was the basis for the decision. How they could no longer risk Odo's exposure to sensitive information in the event he should return to the Link. She argued, without giving details, that the likelihood of Odo returning to the Link was quite impossible. Shakaar was unconvinced. She then demanded to know what the Militia expected next. Would they next expect him to be tossed off the Station? And if not, would they then demand that he be excluded from her life as well?
Shakaar gave her no answer.
She then remembered standing in the corridor outside his quarters. How in the quiet of the habitat ring she had heard the voice quite clearly. A single word that rang in her head. "Choose."
"Officially?" said Kira, in answer to Ezri's question. "Officially, Odo is being retired because, in their opinion, his position is being filled quite ably by Lt. Commander Marshall and that there are no comparable positions on Bajor. Unofficially, it is the opinion of the Militia that Odo can no longer be trusted with sensitive information."
"They think he's a spy?"
"Among other things. Word has gotten out about Odo's mental state and I have a sneaking suspicion they think he's unbalanced. Which is nothing new, half the Security Division is certifiable, but it doesn't stop them from doing their jobs."
"Poor Odo," said Ezri. "It's not exactly been a happy homecoming has it?"
"You have no idea."
Sensing that she would, most likely, never know the true story of how Odo returned to the Station, Ezri let the matter drop. "Are you going to tell him?" she asked.
"Am I going to contact the runabout via subspace and tell him? No. It can wait until he gets back from KuruTame. Speaking of which have you heard from Julian? They aren't officially expected to report in until they arrive."
"No," replied Ezri. "But they should be arriving soon. I'll let you know when he calls in."
Kira's comm. alerted her she was needed back in Ops.
"One other thing," she said, as she rose to go. "If you even think of ever crash landing this Station, eight lifetimes or not, I will have your head."
"You have entered Dominion Space," announced the Jem'Hadar. "Transmit your authorization codes now."
"May we speak to the Vorta in charge?" replied Julian.
"Why bother speaking to anyone," insisted Quark. "Just turn this runabout around and get us the hell out of here."
"For once I agree with Quark," said Odo. Ever since the face of the Jem'Hadar appeared on the screen, he struggled with a whirlwind of emotion. Part of him was terrified at the thought of having to face the Dominion again, while part of him screamed for answers as to why he had been tossed aside, and part was furious that they were still a presence in, what he now considered to be, his part of the Universe. At the moment, fear, had the upper hand. "Doctor, we aren't exactly in a position …"
"It must be a recording of some kind," said Vivian. "I'm not reading any life signs aboard the platform."
"Or," replied Quark. "He's transmitting from somewhere on the planet. He and thousands of others just like him are down on that planet just waiting to blow us out of the sky."
"Transmit your authorization codes now," said the Jem'Hadar. "Or you will be fired upon."
"I really must insist on speaking to the Vorta in charge," insisted Julian.
"Doctor," warned Odo. "He's not exactly paying any attention to what you are saying. If you don't transmit a code…"
"And the right code," interrupted Quark. "Not just any code…"
"…I seriously do not believe this runabout can withstand…"
"…boom."
"Will you two kindly shut up." demanded Julian. He sat back in his seat and rubbed his neck. True, the nature of their mission hardly included liberating the planet. On the other hand, if the Jem'Hadar had left a fully functional platform behind, then that could be the explanation for why no one had heard from KuruTame since the end of the war. If no one could land, it could well be that no one on the planet had the technology to leave either.
"Can you scan for life signs on the planet?" he asked Vivian.
"No," she replied. "The platform is sending out some type of low level interference. Most likely a way of masking troop numbers and armaments."
"Your failure to transmit codes has been noted," said the Jem'Hadar. "You have one minute to leave Dominion Space or you will be fired upon."
"Doctor," warned Odo. "Our time is running out."
"Confirming they have locked weapons," announced Vivian.
"Julian," said Quark. "What are you waiting for? This is no time to decide to be a hero."
Julian glanced at Vivian.
"It's your call, Doctor," she said, meeting his gaze.
"Fine," replied Julian, with a determined nod. "Shields up. We are going in."
In the capitol city of KuRazu, high on a hill overlooking the buildings below, sat the old fortress of kings long since passed. It was here, in isolation, that the Founder chose to reside.
Through the lush corridors of the castle a lone figure ran as fast as his stubbly little legs could carry him. Skidding to a halt before the audience chamber of the Founder, he barely had time to nod in thanks to the honor guard, before skittering through the doorway. Nearly tripping over the carpet, he passed quickly through the chamber and disappeared through a small door in the far wall.
In the corridor that ran behind the chamber he paused, waiting to catch his breath, before placing his eye in front of the ocular scanner. The first door slid open only to reveal a second. Giving his password when prompted by the computer, the second door opened to reveal a room beyond.
"Founder," he said, nearly knocking the occupants of the room to the floor in his haste. "I knew this was going to happen, it was only a matter of time."
"What?" asked the Jem'Hadar, putting down his cup of tea. "What's happened?"
"A ship." declared the Vorta, wringing his stubbly hands. "A ship has breached the barrier. They refused to leave when warned and were shot down."
"Nothing to worry about. The others who were so foolish were burned up on entering the atmosphere."
"I…I don't think this one did. I…think it came down intact. We traced the trajectory to a location in the Yame District, in the South, Minami Prefecture. But it's sparsely populated and there are no troops in the area. What should we do?" he asked, pleadingly. "If we give up now, perhaps they will go easy on us. I mean no harm has been done…"
"Don't be a fool," replied the Jem'Hadar. "No one ship would be able to survive an assault and if parts of the ship did manage not to burn on reentry, no species we know of would be able to survive the crash."
"But…"
"Silence!" demanded the Founder. "Is the Disbursement Field still operational?"
"Yes, Founder," replied the Jem'Hadar.
"Good. I want their exact co-ordinates and I want you to place the Disbursement Field around the wreckage."
"But you can't mean to…" said the Vorta.
"I can and I will," said the Founder. "If anyone from that ship survived, they shall be scattered to the winds."
"Is everyone all right?" asked Odo, as he extinguished the last of the flames from the fire that had started in the cabin. Having no bones to break or lungs to be filled by the smoke that surrounded them, he had been the first to his feet after their abrupt landing.
"I'm fine," called out Julian before lapsing into a fit of coughing.
"Same here," said Vivian. "Odo, see if you can get the hatch open, let some of this smoke out."
"I'll tell you one thing," replied Quark. "I'm flying us home. You, Doctor, are a menace."
"Much better," said Vivian, as fresh air flooded the cabin. "What say, we figure out if we can fly again before we figure out who's going to be doing the flying?"
"Most of the systems seem to be down," remarked Julian. "Shields, communications, scanners, all off-line."
"Looks as though the ODN relays have blown," agreed Vivian. "Not too difficult to repair, if, we have enough parts in the repair box. If not, we might be able to scavenge what we need. What?" she asked, meeting their stares. "I'm not only a wife and mother, you know, I was chief engineer on the Lexington when I first met Bryan."
"Well," replied Julian, a little abashed. "Perhaps we should take a look around, see if we are near a city or village?"
"See if we're missing any parts of the ship." said Quark. "I doubt if we need a nacelle we'll be able to find one in the spare parts box."
The outside of the ship was surprisingly in good shape, except for a few phaser burns across the hull. The ship lay on the banks of a wide river. Pastureland gently rolled in all directions.
"Not a sign of humanoid life," remarked Julian, consulting his tricorder.
"Great," complained Quark. "So, what do we do, wait here to someone to find us?"
"Or," remarked Vivian, tossing him a survival pack. "We can walk."
"Walk?"
"Sure, the tricorder has a limited range. In all likelihood there's a village or a city just out of range."
"No." said Odo, with an unreadable expression on his face. "I'll go, the three of you stay here."
"That's the best idea I've heard today," said Quark.
"Don't be ridiculous," remarked Julian.
"He's not being ridiculous," ventured Vivian. "I believe he's being cautious. But Odo, if the Dominion were still here, there would have been troops on the ground before we landed. You have to take into consideration that all we are dealing with is abandoned technology the natives have no idea how to use."
"She's right," agreed Julian. "And we'll cover ground faster if we each travel in a different direction. First person to make contact will signal the others. We will be fine, I assure you." He tossed a comm. badge to Odo. "That's what you were missing, by the way."
"I beg your pardon?"
"On board ship. The one thing you were missing?"
Odo nodded in reply. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Right then. Odo according to the tricorder you are standing North of me, so, you go North. I'm South. Vivian is East of me, Quark that makes you West. Plan on meeting back here in 48 hours."
"Wait a minute," said Quark. "That's it? Here's your survival rations and see you in two days?"
"You can always stay here, Quark," replied Odo, as Vivian and Julian disappeared back into the runabout. "But the Jem'Hadar are most likely going to come straight here. So, unless you plan on being the welcoming committee, I would suggest you…take a hike."
"Odo," warned Quark, not liking the expression he found on his companions face. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go off on your own. Not that it's any of my business, but all things considered…"
"It's not any of your business," said Odo, sharply. He turned and stalked off.
"But…Wait!" Quark started to follow the Changeling when the air around them suddenly grew heavy. To Quark, Odo seemed to freeze in mid stride and then disappeared.
"But…" Quark backed away from the spot where Odo vanished. He tried to call out for help, but his voice would not work. Without thinking, he continued to back away, when the air around him suddenly grew heavy.
"Right then," said Julian, exiting the shuttle. He looked around and was surprised to find Odo and Quark had departed. He circled the runabout but saw no sign of his companions. That's odd, he thought, pulling out his tricorder and reading no life signs. "Hang on a minute," he called to Vivian. "There's some sort of interference very close to our location." He took a few steps away from the runabout, when he noticed the air around him grow heavy.
"What?" said Vivian Landis, as she stepped out into the fresh air. "I couldn't hear you." She looked around and found herself alone. "Julian?"
Receiving no reply, she called out to the others. Her cries were met with silence.
She stepped away from the runabout to see if she could see any of her companions on the horizon. There was no one. She took a step further when she noticed the air around her grow heavy.
She quickly took a step back. The air felt normal again. Okay, she thought, attention, attention all hands, weirdness alert. She scanned the area with her tricorder and found nothing registered but a certain amount of static interference.
"Okay," she said to herself. "So much for science." She held one arm extended before her and walked slowly forward.
Two steps forward and she felt the air thicken. One more step and she felt the air grow greasy with static electricity. She quickly stepped back.
She looked at the runabout and realized there was no solution to be had there. And, she thought, no point in staying here like a damsel waiting to be rescued. She sighed and turned back to whatever sort of field was before her.
"In for a penny," she said to herself, "in for a pound."
Holding her breath, she took a step forward, the air crackling around her, as she stepped through the barrier.