Chapter Six
The Gambit
Julian Bashir walked the duplicate of his beloved Ezri back to her cell, knowing that for some special reason Ezri had risked a great deal to get them together, though he could not imagine why. 'Talk to him,' she had urged her twin before running off, but Bashir had nothing to say to this girl. Frankly, he thought that after the ballot they would never see one another again, and now he had been maneuvered into spending time with her.
He put her in the cell, activating the door. "Ezri told you to talk to me. Frankly, I can't imagine why. What could you have to say to me?"
"Remember when we met."
"It was less than a day ago, and I'm not likely to ever forget!" He looked at the chronometer on the wall with vast annoyance. Sixty minutes and counting. 'Ezri, you had better get here fast!'
But it was actually forty minutes before Ezri entered Odo's office. He looked up at her in surprise. "You ask for an hour, and then disappear for two thirds of it?"
"Sorry, couldn't be helped. Is Julian in there with her?"
"He is."
"Odo, I have to ask you an important favor." He hrmmphed.
"Another favor? Have you any idea just how over budget you are?"
"I'll make it up to you."
"Hrmmph. What is it now?"
"I want you to turn the security monitors off in there." He leaned forward, looking at her, his thoughts clear in his expression. "Odo, please. What I have to tell her is personal. Really, deeply, truly personal." He wasn't giving an inch. "Odo, please. I don't have much time. If you want me to, I'll get down on my knees and beg."
"Now wouldn't that be a picture for someone to pass by and see?" He indicated the mostly transparent door to the promenade.
"Please?" He shook his head, and pressed a button on his desk. "Thank you! I'll make this up to you, I promise."
"Just ask me no more such 'favors', and we'll call your rather large debt paid."
"I swear."
"Hrmmph."
x
When Dax entered the cells, Julian and her twin were engaged in an intense conversation. "I'm sorry I'm late."
"That's all right." Julian said. "If you'll both excuse me, I have something important to take care of." He kissed her lightly. "I'll see you later." When he left, Dax turned to the deputy, but she held out her hand.
"I know. 'Dismissed'."
"Thank you."
Alone with her, Ezri touched the force field control, and it flickered out of existence. "I don't have time to explain. Take your panties off, lie down on the bed and spread your legs."
Tigan stared at her, eyes wide. "I had no idea you went like that."
"You wish. Come on, we've got to hurry." Not sure if her twin had lost her mind, Ezri reached under her short skirt and pulled her panties down to the floor, lay down on the thin bed and spread her legs wide. She looked up apprehensively as Ezri sat down beside her, biting her lip as the Starfleet lieutenant reached for her. "Kind of dry." She commented, wetting her thumb with her tongue and starting to lightly tease the girl's clitoris. "Fortunately, you're me, so I know how to moisten things up fast."
Tigan gasped. "You sure do!" She breathed heavily, her hips raising seemingly of their own accord to reach Ezri's fingers.
"I'm probably going to have nightmares about this." She muttered, using her fingers to stroke 'her own' vagina, stimulating her clitoris.
"But - ohhhh - what are you - ooohhhhhhh - doing?" Ezri Dax paused, reaching into the left sleeve of her uniform and pulling out a gleaming piece of silver metal, about nine inches long and tapered at one end.
"Do you know what this is?" She held it before her twin's eyes.
"An ultratech dildo?"
"No, concentrate." She continued stroking the writhing woman with her fingertips.
"I could if you'd stop playing with my pussy!"
"I am not playing!"
"You're telling me!" She gasped, arching her hips. Ezri stopped touching her.
"This is a stasis rod. It's used for preserving medical samples, sometimes for years. Now listen. Julian, as you may or may not be aware, was genetically enhanced as a child. Several years ago he hit on the idea for an experiment, wanting to see if the genetic material could be cloned or breed true. I'm not sure he even knew what he wanted, but anyway, he had to stop taking the contraceptive shots for about three months, until they were completely purged from his system. I understand from Nurse Camille that for that time he couldn't be with any ... well, she says he was ready to chew neutronium by the time the experiment was ready."
Ezri Tigan laughed, and Dax held the gleaming tube up. "Anyway, this contains 100 pure Julian." She brought it down between Tigan's legs. "This is going to be just about the unsexiest thing you've ever done; I'll probably have nightmares; and if he finds out he'll strangle me, but here goes."
Together they worked to open her, and to gradually work the tube deep inside her. "Just relax."
"Easier for you to say." Tigan gasped.
"Just lay back, close your eyes -."
"And think of Trill."
They both started to laugh, Dax almost dropping the tube as Tigan's muscles contracted involuntarily. She pushed it in deep, pressed the button at the base, and Tigan's eyes shot open. She gasped, clutching herself, and her body trembled. After a long moment, Ezri slowly drew the device out. "You came!" She smiled 'accusingly'.
"Did not!" Dax held up her wet hand, Tigan lowered her head to the pillow. "Did too."
"You okay?"
She nodded. Dax leaned down and collected Tigan's panties, standing up and giving them back. "Wish we had time to discuss some of those enhancements you talked about." She said wistfully, dressing.
"They do make for some interesting ... experiences."
"Yes!"
"What was your Julian like?" Tigan smiled sadly.
"Gentle when I needed gentle, loving when I needed loving, rough when I needed rough, sadistic when I needed sadistic. I was so lucky." She looked up. "And your Julian?"
"The same. Well, except for... well, without the sadism."
"Really?"
"Uh huh."
"You should get him to try it. Maybe you'll find you like it." She thought it over.
"Maybe."
x
The door to the brig opened and the entire senior staff entered, coming over to range themselves behind Sisko. Jennifer and Captain O'Brien were not with them. "Are you ready?" Sisko asked. Steeling herself, Ezri Tigan stood up. She reached out for Dax, and the twins shared a brief but meaningful hug. Then she turned and looked at Sisko, took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I'm ready."
"Good." He reached out, taking her arm, and drew her out of the cell. "I've been considering your itinerary." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders and walking with her. "I'm thinking a few days on the station, to get you acclimated to Federation practices, then some time on Bajor," she stopped dead, his arm falling off her as he kept walking. He turned back to her with an enthusiastic smile. "And I just know you'll want an extended vacation on Trill!"
Her mouth opened to exclaim, but nothing came out as she clutched her chest. She tried again, then a third time, finally managing a squeak. "WHAT?!"
"I'm referring to your future. You know, you're going to have to get used to the way we do things here. Espionage is simply out of the question!"
"But I'm on my way to DIE!" Sisko shook his head.
"That was before Dr. Bashir hunted me down, grabbed me by the beard and demanded to change his vote."
"I didn't grab you by the beard."
"Close enough."
"You mean I can - That is, I'm not going to - I mean, you're granting me -" She forced herself to shut up, until she could think of a question that didn't make her sound completely stupid. "What about Professor Sisko and Captain O'Brien."
"Oh they were furious. Absolutely livid. But when we brought out that you had a motive for not destroying the 'Abraham Lincoln', they decided that 'dead and gone' or just 'gone' amounted to the same thing. You just can't go back."
"Believe me, I am not going back!"
"Well then, it's just a matter of figuring out what you're going to do here."
She turned to Julian. "And you turned the vote around."
"Well, yes." She leapt into his arms so unexpectedly, kissing him so enthusiastically, that they both almost toppled over if Worf had not caught them. Dax tapped Tigan on the shoulder.
"Down, girl. Mine." Tigan looked at her twin brightly, Julian looked bemused, and the twins hugged one another enthusiastically.
"Everyone to Quark's!" Miles shouted. They cheered. "On Julian's tab!" There was one less cheerer, but in a few moments, the knot of celebrants was gone, leaving Sisko and Odo behind. They would follow in moments, but Sisko stood looking thoughtfully at the just closed door.
"Tell me, Constable. Do you think the universe is ready for two Ezris?"
He hrmmphed. "Not a chance."
Epilogue
Over the next month life aboard Deep Space Nine gradually returned to normal. Ezri Tigan had spent, as Sisko had suggested, a week there adjusting to her new life, then a fortnight on Bajor before departing for Trill. Ben Sisko sat in his office, mired in reports and other work, when the large door to Ops slid open and Dax entered. "Got a minute?" He smiled brightly.
"Of course, Old man. Get me away from this work, you can have all the minutes you want."
"I received a communication this morning from Ezri Tigan."
"Ah. How is she?"
"Doing pretty well. She says Trill is like coming home as a tourist. She keeps running into people who think she's me. And she keeps running into people she thinks she knows, but they're not."
"She's going to have a lot of adjusting to do. But she has an advantage there. That entire planet is full of people who are used to adjusting to new lives."
"She'll be fine. But she wanted me to know that she'd been to the doctor. Apparently, she has a souvenir from her Julian Bashir she didn't know about when she left."
"Are you saying - ?"
"She's about a month along."
He smiled broadly. "Well, that is good news!"
"Trill gestation is about Earth ten months, since our planet rotates just a bit faster, 22 hour days and all that. Anyway, we figure in Earth time that's about September 6th. She says she wants to come back after that to show little Julian off."
"She's already got the name."
"Oh yes, it'll be 'Julia' if it's a girl, but that part is settled already."
"When she calls again, please give her all our congratulations, and tell her we're looking forward to seeing your nephew or niece soon."
"O.K." She stopped. "That is really weird."
"Tell me about it."
"Well, anyway, I just wanted you to know. See you later."
"Thanks, old man."
She turned and left, starting down the stairs, but then stopped, one hand held low on her abdomen. She stood for a few seconds, a small smile appearing on her lips.
