The Last Temptation of Odo – Chapter 12

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.

The castle gates were thrown wide. Crowds of pilgrims poured through to the marshalling areas in preparation for the Parade of Supplicants that would serve as the official start the Spring Festival.

Ogon ignored the stares of pilgrims as he pushed his way through and, nearly breathless, turned in to the small guard station just inside the portcullis. Finding no one on duty, he once again pushed into the crowd and in the courtyard made his way to a narrow staircase leading up to the tower. In the guardroom at the top of the tower, he found a rather green recruit on duty.

Ogon's demand to know the location of the recruit's captain nearly caused the young man to choke on his lunch. The sputtering young recruit leapt to his feet a bit of food still clinging to his lip and wordlessly pointed to a door on the opposite wall. With a look of utter contempt for the recruit, Ogon was out the door and onto the walkway above the castle gates in an instant. A group of guards leaned casually against the bulwark watching the throng as they passed below.

Locating the captain, he took him aside and whispered urgently in his ear. Nodding in understanding, the captain called one of his lieutenants to him, issued orders, and sent the lieutenant on his way back down the tower. Wiping the perspiration from his brow, Ogon turned toward the bulwark and scanned the crowds through narrowed eyes. If he was aware of the large black bird that circled overhead, he gave no sign.

A tiny voice sounded above the din. "Aya! Look!" Followed by the giggling of little children. Julian glanced up in time to see a small cart pass near them, the faces of half a dozen children peering at them, pointing and laughing.

The crowds had begun to thicken the closer they came to the castle. Here, a little more than a kilometer from the gates, carts lined the road, some set up as makeshift food stalls, some selling supplies, some displaying the wares of craftsmen, each serving to slow down the movement of the crowd.

"You know," remarked Julian. "I believe we are starting to stand out a bit." His attention was drawn away from the crowd by the cry of a bird. Glancing up, he saw a large black bird perched on the canvas cover of a cart nearby. For a moment, he could have sworn the bird eyed him with interest. "Do you see that?" he asked.

Receiving no reply, he turned to find Vivian staring toward an area where there was a break in the line of carts, a second line of carts set in adjacent lines formed an alley of sorts, their brightly colored canvases slung between them forming a canopy against the late afternoon sun.

"Vivian?"

"Sorry," she replied. "I just thought I saw someone I've seen before." For the last half hour, Vivian had been certain she had caught glimpses of a small, old man, just a few meters ahead of them in the crowd. No matter how slow the crowd moved he remained steadfastly just a few meters ahead of them.

"Who?" asked Julian scanning the area around them.

"I don't know. I mean I don't know his name." She looked again and saw the old man turn down the alley. "But I think we should find out." She set off in pursuit, leaving Julian to follow in her wake.

They had just reached the juncture when Julian spied four Jem'Hadar's guards approaching. Before he could warn her, they were swept down the alley by a group of revelers.

"Aya," said one of group, throwing his arm around Vivian's shoulders and the other around Julian's. "You're not from around here." His breath was thick with the smell of alcohol.

"No," replied Julian. "We're…we're from…"

"Way up North," said Vivian, desperately looking around to see if she could spot the old man. "Way, way up North."

"Ahhh," replied the man. "What guild do you represent then?"

"Guild?" asked Vivian. The old man had disappeared.

"I am a doctor," volunteered Julian, hoping that would be a sufficient answer.

"You came early then," commented the man. "Take in a little of the sights before the professional guilds arrive?"

"Something like that. And you?"

"Guild of the Drunken Supplicants," replied the man slapping them both on the shoulder. "Wine merchants. We do quite a lot of business with the professional guilds. You must come to our cart and sample our stock."

"That's really quite generous," replied Julian. "But perhaps…"

"We'd love to," insisted Vivian. She jerked her head in the direction behind them and Julian glanced back in time to see one or two black uniformed men moving through the crowd.

"Yes," he amended. "Love to."

"And," continued Vivian. "I would love to know where we could get one of these lovely robes?"

"This?" asked the man looking down at the garment in question. It was long and white topped off with a hood. There was some type of design in bright colors on the back. "A souvenir," he said dismissively. "We have thousands of them, I would be happy to give you as many as you would like. Advertising, you see."

"How clever," commented Vivian as they allowed their new friend to lead them away.

As darkness fell, Odo circled high above the castle, keeping a careful eye on the other large bird he had seen nearby. The last thing he wanted was to get caught in some avian dispute over territory. Satisfied the other bird saw his presence as no threat, he landed on one of the towers in the interior courtyard and surveyed the crowds, confident that the others would stand out.

"Look at them," sounded a voice in his head. "He has bumps on his forehead, she has a wrinkled nose. They are nothing like you and I."

He shook his head and ruffled his feathers in an attempt to drive out the memory. How Laas would find his present situation amusing. "What could be more flattering," he could hear him say. "You who could be anything choose to be like them."

So lost in thought was he, he failed to notice the voice over the public address system. Failed to hear the crowd fall into silence as a trumpet fanfare started up. The sudden flash of light startled him and what appeared afterwards nearly caused him to lose his shape.

"What do we do?" asked Julian as their new friend pushed them into formation with the rest of the Drunken Supplicants. It was dark now and the road leading up to the castle was full of the members of the various tradesman guilds, each group lead by a large paper lantern representing their trade.

"This really is your first Festival isn't it?" asked nuBusu. "What happens now is that there will be a brief speech of welcoming by the Vorta, then the Founder will make his appearance. Once that is done, the Supplicants will enter the courtyard and move in formation from one end to the other – just follow along and you'll do fine."

"How," asked Julian leaning close and whispering in her ear. "Did we get ourselves into this?"

"It's the only way I could think of to get us to the garden unnoticed," replied Vivian. "We stick with our friend here until we reach the garden and then peel off from the rest of the group. Look at them. They're so drunk who's going to notice?"

"Let's hope you are right."

From inside the castle they could hear the roar of the crowd die down as the sound of trumpets began. Following the call of the instruments there was a great silence. Lights suddenly flashed from inside the courtyard breaking the darkness around them followed by the sound of a great collected exclamation of wonder. The roar of the crowd returned magnified by thousands of voices speaking all at once.

"Come," urged nuBusu. "We go."

Vivian kept here eyes on the groups of parade watchers lining the entrance to the castle. If, she thought, the old man was somewhere around, he would surely be here. The group passed through the gates and she found herself stopped by the view before her.

The inner courtyard was huge, nearly a half-kilometer across and a full kilometer wide. Directly opposite was another gate and just beyond, the castle rose high above them. On the bulwark over the gate was a balcony. In front of the gate was a raised dais upon which resided what Vivian assumed were dignitaries. But what drew here attention hovered over the bulwark. Ten meters high floated the disembodied head of a Founder.

"Impressive yes?" asked nuBusu giving Vivian and Julian a gentle push. He was obviously delighted by their response. They watched mesmerized as the head moved, the eyes watching the spectacle below.

"Sorry," replied Vivian, realizing they were holding up the procession. She took Julian by the arm and pulled him along.

"Good…" stammered Julian his jaw closing with a snap. "Good…"

"God, I believe is the appropriate word."

"What do you think it is?" he asked his eyes never leaving the spectacle. "Could it be a hologram?"

"I think," replied Vivian, pulling the hood of her robe a bit more close to her head. "I think Toto that we aren't in Kansas anymore."

"What's eating you?" called out Quark. Odo had returned from his nightly surveillance flight looking like hell and not speaking a word. He had stood for a moment staring at the fire before stalking off into the night. "Don't forget about tomorrow!" Quark reminded his retreating back.

"I don't know what you see in him," he remarked to iSamu.

"I see a man," she replied softly. "So afraid of the tide he fears drowning even while standing at the summit of a mountain. It is his fear that causes him to remain detached from those around him. To isolate himself inside a prison of his own making."

"Well you wouldn't be far wrong there," replied Quark stoking the fire with a stick. "Not that he's ever been what you could call the life of the party."

"He is what he is. He can be no more."

"So," he said changing the subject. "You've known for some time that Odo was a Changeling and yet you said nothing?"

"In ancient times, long before the Dominion arrived, our people had legends of shape shifters. Often portrayed as tricksters, they were honored. It was thought that if you treated a shape shifter well, they would reward you with good luck. Treating one badly would result in ruination."

"And you believe that?"

"What I believe is immaterial," replied iSamu.

"What I don't get," said Quark. "Is what you are getting out of all this? What's your angle?"

"I do not understand."

"I know what Odo thinks he's going to get out of all this. He thinks he's going to find out the truth about what the Founders did to him and why. I know what I want to get out of all this. Riches - maybe enough to retire on. What are you going to get out of this…this poDosai business? Why? What's the pay off? What will you do when you find him?"

"I seek the poDosai because it is the sacred duty of the zoRi and I am the last of the zoRi. There is nothing more. It is my life's work. I am…"

"What you are. You can be no more, I know," replied Quark dismissively. "But there's got to be more to it than that. Okay, so let's suppose this year is the year. You find the poDosai. What next?"

"I will pledge my life and my sword to their service. I will dedicate the rest of my life to carrying out their bidding."

"A slave?"

"A loyal servant."

"Hmmm," replied Quark. "Doesn't seem like much of a life to me. And what if this poDosai isn't worthy of your loyalty?"

"Then it is my sacred duty to kill them."

"What?" asked Julian. The procession moved along the right wall of the castle. Several of the groups had bust out into song and the level of noise increased.

"I mean," replied Vivian. "I think I know what's going on here."

"What? How?"

"Not now," replied Vivian glancing around her. "Let's see if we can get to the garden first."

The procession slowly flowed around the perimeter of the courtyard stopping only before the dais as each group broke out in song in honor of the dignitaries. Julian and Vivian waited with baited breath as time came for their group to sing. Try as she might to keep her head down, Vivian found herself stealing a glance upward at the oversized head above them and nearly lost her nerve as she realized the eyes were looking directly at her. Quickly ducking her head, she grabbed Julian by the hand. Minutes passed like hours but there was no alarm. Cautiously glancing back up again, her attention was drawn to the dais. A small man had stepped forward to speak to the group, although the face was the same face as the Vorta they had seen in the advertisement, the voice was immediately recognizable.

"That was close," breathed Julian as their group took up the procession once again. "Did you see the Jem'Hadar? He was looking straight at us."

"He wasn't the only one," replied Vivian. "Julian, did you get a good look at the Jem'Hadar? Was there anything wrong about the face?"

"No," replied Julian. "But then the light was directly behind him, so all I really saw was little more than an outline. Why?"

"Now's not the time…"

"I know – wait for the garden. It shouldn't be long now."

And he was right. It only seemed to take them a short while before they reached the far end of the interior courtyard. There they saw a dark outline in the wall they supposed was the doorway leading to the garden. Julian and Vivian hung back as the group turned to begin the return procession to the gate and as the last of the Drunken Supplicants turned their backs on them, quickly slipped through the opening.

Ogon was growing tired of waiting. All day long he had been passed from one minor functionary to another and the wait was wearing on his nerves. Night had fallen and from his place in the inner courtyard he could hear the songs of the Supplicants as they honored their Dominion leaders.

Finally, he thought as a captain of the guard approached him. He was led through a door cut into the gate and out into the outer courtyard emerging behind the dais. Instructed to wait, he watched as a second guard emerged and climbed onto the dais. The man spoke briefly to the Vorta who hurriedly turned and without a word descended the stairs. Ogon bowed low to the administrative leader of the Dominion but the Vorta did not notice, quickly passing through the gate. At the sound of voices, Ogon looked up to see the Jem'Hadar approaching.

He threw himself to the ground in supplication.

"What's all this then?" asked the Jem'Hadar. "What is of such importance you disturb me?"

"This," replied the captain. "Is Lieutenant Ogon of the twelfth Minami Regiment. He has come with urgent news of a dishonorable attack upon your guards."

"The mountain people?" replied the Jem'Hadar thoughtfully. "They can be trouble but hardly disloyal. What did you do to provoke the attack?"

"Nothing!" insisted Ogon not lifting his head. "My patrol was merely seeking information about a stranger reported to be traveling among members of one of the professional guilds and we were …"

"A stranger?" demanded the Jem'Hadar. "Describe him to me."

"He is like the Higoshi and the Hoku, but not Higoshi or Hoku. Tall, thin…"

"You would know this man if you saw him again?"

"Doa!" Ogon kept his head down, an evil grin playing across his features.

"Good. I doubt you would recognize your own mother among all these faces tonight. Give him a bed in the barracks. Tomorrow," he said to Ogon. "You will stay by my side and show me this stranger."

"I live to serve," replied Ogon.

sanKe scurried across the inner courtyard. He had not expected Vivian to arrive quite so quickly. Mindful that he not give too much away he quickly pulled off his wig and clawed at the synthetic ears, peeling them away and stuffing them and the wig into the sleeves of his robe.

"Please," he whispered to the winds. "Let this work."

He reached the door to the garden in record time and dismissed the guard. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he slowly opened the door.

"I don't understand," complained Julian as they sat in the garden waiting for their escort. The guard on duty at the door opposite showed no surprise when they announced their arrival. "What exactly does an ancient children's story have to do with this place?"

"Well," replied Vivian pushing back her hood and allowing the evening breeze to cool her head. "Everything, or nothing."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning. My hunch is that what's going on here is an exercise of power and how to hold on to it. I don't believe there are any cross species breeding experiments or cloning facilities or any other vast Dominion plot to take over the Alpha Quadrant. It's a power thing, plain, pure and simple."

"In my experience power plays are never plain, pure or simple," replied Julian. "As a matter of fact…"

His next comment was cut short by sound of the door leading out of the garden creaking open. They watched as a small man peered hesitantly around the doorframe. As the lamplight crossed his features, he looked to Vivian to be of the same race as the round-headed men who had accompanied Julian on his journey. He squinted at them like a mole suddenly caught in the sunlight.

"You're Minami!" exclaimed Julian.

The man's head tilted to the right at an alarming angle. "Yes," he replied. "You are Julian are you not?"

"sanKe?" asked Vivian.

He peered at the two of them more closely before stepping out of the doorway and into the garden. In the full light of the lanterns she found her gaze being drawn to the left side of his head. Where there should have been nothing more than a fold of flesh for an ear, hung a flap of skin the same shape as the ear of a Vorta. She exchanged a look with Julian.

"Oz," was all she said.

In the stillness of the pre-dawn darkness all was quiet. The crowds had disbursed to rest for the night. Inside the castle walls a few silent workers cleaned up in preparation for the days events. Outside, lanterns burned low, and hushed conversations could be heard among the few early risers whose job it was to prepare the mornings meal.

On the far side of the castle, two figures moved through the tall grass that had been allowed to grow among the ruins of long abandoned buildings. One moved silently the other cursed softly under his breath as he stumbled in his hurry to catch up. Eventually they stopped before a wall. The silence was broken by the sound of creaking wood as iSamu pulled open a gate and stepped through into absolute darkness. Quark hovered nervously in the doorway uncertain whether to follow or to run. He heard the spark of a light and in the pale glow of her lantern realized iSamu had led them to an abandoned garden.

Quark struggled out of the white jacket he wore and tossed it to the ground as iSamu busied herself with lighting the numerous lamps scattered around the garden. The jacket lost shape and reformed itself into a humanoid form.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" demanded Quark. "You are not only heavy to wear but you are hot too."

"Well, being worn by you is no picnic either," grumbled the Changeling. "Where are we?"

"This," replied iSamu. "Is the Garden of Usa the god of the people. No one uses it anymore. We have little time to wait until the contests begin, here we may prepare undisturbed."

"I don't suppose there's someplace we can eat?" asked Quark.

"You must fast," cautioned iSamu. "You cannot fight on a full stomach."

"But I won't be fighting." Quark picked up the nearest pack and began rummaging inside for food. He tossed the contents aside without thought. "I thought the idea was that I wear Odo and he actually does the fighting for me. I'm nothing more than a mannequin." Finding nothing worth consuming, he dropped the pack and picked up another.

"Quark," warned Odo.

"Look!" he replied shortly. "You're the one who wants to win this contest so you can confront your father, or brother, or whatever your relationship to other Founders is – not me – you. So, don't Quark me. I'm the one who has to have his head painted so I'll look more like a Minami – whatever that is. I'm the one who has to have his ears pinned back all day under some ridiculous headband. I'm the one who has to wear you. Don't you dare Quark me."

He snatched up the last pack and stalked out the garden. Odo turned to iSamu with an apologetic shrug.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"We wait," she replied settling herself on one of the benches. "It will be light soon. I suggest you meditate to prepare yourself mentally for the struggle ahead."

"I think I've had enough of meditation," he grumbled but took a seat on a nearby bench nonetheless.

"Meditate," he said softly to himself but could not bring himself to close his eyes. He sat and took in his surroundings. From what he could gather in the dark it was similar to the other gardens he had experienced since arriving on KuruTame. Simple in design with a small stone temple at it's center. He could hear water flowing nearby.

As he watched, the light began to change. Shadows receded as the darkness became thin until the entire area was flooded with a pale wash of light. He sucked in his breath. In the pale sunlight of dawn, he found himself in the most tranquil place he had ever encountered.

He closed his eyes not wishing to lose the magic of the moment. He had only felt this way once before. Poor Laas, he thought and in his mind he heard the words he had spoken. "You've known many things, been many things, but you have never known love." He felt his heart race at the memory. In his mind he was back on the Station, standing before Kira. "I want to know you," she assured him. "As you really are."

In the whirl of his memory he was in bed beside her having just made love to her for the first time as a Changeling. How as they both struggled to come to terms with the enormity of what had just transpired between them and the profound emotions that kept them silent, how in that moment he had wanted to be everything in the room at once. Just as at this moment he wished to be everything in the garden. How at that moment he had wanted to be the light where it touched her face; the bed upon which she lay; the sheets that lay tangled around her ankles; the thin layer of perspiration that glistened on her neck; even the air she breathed.

It was, he admitted to himself with a shock of recognition, the first time he truly understood his place in the Universe.

iSamu opened her eyes when she heard the sharp intake of his breath and she smiled slightly to herself. Waiting patiently, she saw the stone around his neck start to glow as green as artic ice. As dawn began to break over the garden she watched as he closed his eyes, totally unaware the small stone had erupted in a shower of swirling sparks of light.

She nodded her head in recognition of his achievement as she slowly rose and took up her sword. Without a sound, she crossed behind him. Without a sound she raised the sword high above her head. In the blink of an eye she brought the blade down across the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground.

"You are not the poDosai," she remarked, taking up the discarded jacket Quark had pulled out of the pack and left the garden, closing the gate behind her.