Mean Things I've Done To Dr. Julian Bashir (or Sue's Revenge)
by Lyda Mae (RavenDove) Huff
Chapter Two: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fire Eye
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The following is the first Dr. Julian Bashir story I wrote out. It is also my first failed Strange New Worlds entry and not my best work. I thought of choping it, but decided to leave it intackt.
Lyda Mae (RavenDove) Huff
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The alert klaxon rang all through the transport ship. Dr. Julian Bashir knew it was only a matter of moments before the warp core breached; leaving all souls a loss. He hadn't seen anyone as he made his way to the shuttle bay with Captain Kasguard. His only hope was the Teimian shuttle that stood before him. He helped his weakened charge up the ramp and into a seat and then helped Captain Kasguard strap in; knowing it was going to be a bumpy ride. Then once he was sure the hatch was sealed, he triggered the sequence that would open the bay to space. By the time the bay doors were half open he had already punched the engines. They barely cleared the opening, and were almost buffeted by the wave of the exploding ship. Debris caught the port nacelle, and Bashir wrestled for control.
When he was finally able to look at the aft monitors he could see nothing left of the Teimian transport. He could read escape pods, but no other shuttles. Their attackers flew one man fighters of a wedge shaped configuration that he had never seen before. They were coming right at the shuttle, and the Teimian craft was unarmed. Their only hope was to head for the Briar Patch. If he could lose them among the clouds of metron gas they might have a chance.
They had only gone a kilometer in when one of the fighters fired. Bashir managed to dodge. The next shot hit a gas pocket and took out all three pursuers. Unfortunately it hit the shuttle as well. They were thrown out of control.
Bashir had not strapped in and was thrown about the cabin. He struggled back to his seat and fastened the safety straps. Engines were gone so he used thrusters to steady them.
When Bashir had finally steadied the shuttle he unfasten the safety harness and checked on Captain Kasguard. She was uninjured, but he feared she had grown weaker. He ran a tricorder over the freighter Captain. Her body was rejecting the bio-technical Teimian Fire Eye. Humans and Teimians were close enough in physiology; it was the cellular damage in the old wound. She was only half conscious
He looked at her and sighed. Ziona Kasguard was a pure Dane. He long blond hair was streaked with white, especially at the temples, and it was disheveled. The left side of her face was beautifully unmarred and unwrinkled, but the right side was one big scar that ran from eyebrow to collarbone and ear to nostril. She was short, but powerfully muscled. Her one normal eye was watery blue. The right one had been replace by a glowing green orb that was a shade somewhere between; sagebrush, pampas grass and mint ice cream. It was the organic, engineered Fire Eye of a Teimian Seer. She wore the grey pants, vest, and white sleeveless shirt that were the freighter Amazon's uniform. On the left side of her chest was a silver North Star shaped combadge. Concealing part of her right ear was a gold Bajoran earring. Captain Kasguard was in her mid-forties, and had once been a Starfleet Lt. Commander. She and her husband had even served on the Saratoga with Captain Sisko, who called her "The Valkyrie".
It was a promise that Julian Bashir had made to Captain Sisko several months before that had led him to be on the Teimian transport with her. It had been seven years ago that Lt. Commander Kasguard had lost her right eye to a Romulan disrupter on Teimia. The neurological, and cellular damage had made a bio-synthetic replacement impossible. The Teimians had declared her chosen of the Seer's path. They had insisted on her accepting the endowment of The Fire Eye before they would agree to join the Federation. She had agreed to accept the Eye only on Bajor, the birthplace of her late husband Tana Elo who was lost at Wolf 359, but only when it was truly free. When the time drew near Sisko made Bashir promise as a physician to help the former Starfleet officer see it through. It was too bad that Ben Sisko was not there to see the day.
Julian leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had brown eyes, short, neat dark-brown hair, tanned skin, and handsome features that betrayed his Arab ancestors. His Starfleet uniform was disheveled but untorn.
He had to get the engines running if they were ever going to get out there. Bashir took stock of systems and supplies. He had his med-kit. There were rations, and a working replicator. They had life support, navigation, thrusters, and minimal senors. Only the forward shields were working. The subspace radio wouldn't work in this part of the Briar Patch. Impulse was down, and the nacelles were venting plasma.
His priorities were simple. Stop the plasma leak before it ignited another gas pocket. Then restore impulse engines, and aft shields so they could exit the Briar Patch and call for help.
Julian took off his jacket, clipping his combadge to the vest that was underneath. He then found the emergency tool kit. Before heading aft he placed a hand on Captain Kasguard's shoulder. She stirred, but then returned to staring at nothing.
"Don't worry Ziona." he said, trying to comfort himself as much as her. "I promised I would see you through this, and I will get you to Teimia," he looked down at the floor, "but it may be without The Eye." He gently removed his hand from her shoulder and headed aft.
---
Julian swore under his breath as he dropped the palm beacon into the crevice beneath his head. He rolled onto his stomach to try and retrieve it, not an easy feat in such a tight space. He just got his fingers around it when a powerful voice called from outside the crawl space. He jumped hitting his head, and dropping the palm beacon again. He swore, but not under his breath this time. He grabbed the beacon again, and backed out of the confining space.
Captain Kasguard looked down at the grimy creature that crawled out of the wall. "I don't think I've heard that one before." she said, refereeing to Bashir's choice of expletive.
He looked up at her wiping a sleeve across his brow. "It's old Aramaic, and does not translate into standard."
"Oh!" she said, shaking her head. "I was just wondering if you knew we were adrift?" the way she put it was more a question of why.
Bashir stood, "Yes, we have been for the last twelve hours." He started in the direction of the forward cabin. "After I was able to shut down the plasma leaking from the nacelles I shut down the stabilizing thrusters to conserve power."
"That makes sense," she stated, "but we appear to be drifting further into the region."
Julian pulled the medical tricorder from his med-kit and passed the sensor over Ziona. "The currents will eventually bring us back out again." He paused a moment to look at the readings, and then repeated the scan.
"You have a very cavalier attitude about it." she said with clear annoyance.
He looked her in the eye. "If the impulse engines and shields aren't working, and we emerge to find more attackers it's a mute point anyway."
Julian folded up his tricorder. "At least it would appear that your body has stopped rejecting the eye." He reached out, and pulled back the brown eye patch that she customarily wore.
She flinched as light hit the orb, pulling away and recovering it. "It's a little sensitive."
"That just means that it is starting to integrate with what's left of your optic nerve." he said as he placed the tricorder back in the med-kit. "If you're feeling up to it I could use some help making repairs. The Teimia use bio-tech circuits in everything, and I've had to wire around most of the damaged ones." Bashir shook his head. "I wish Miles was here. I'll be the first to admit I'm a doctor and not an engineer."
Captain Kasguard chuckled, "Engineering is my son Michael's department, but I'll see what I can do to help finish what you've started."
The shuttle rocked beneath their feet. They both practically leaped to the two piloting stations, struggling as they ship rocked again.
Bashir examined the screens. "We're caught in a gravitational eddy."
Kasguard pointed out the front viewer. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"
Bashir looked up. "If you see a ringed M-class planet, your seeing what I'm seeing, and we're being pulled toward it."
"Can we bring thrusters back on line?" Ziona asked.
"We can, But at the rate we're going we'll need them to land." Julian was already trying to calculate the course.
"I don't know anything about this region, but sensors are picking up a settlement." Ziona said.
"The Ba'ku," Julian answered the unasked question, "most information on this sector is classified, so I don't know much. I know they shun technology and their off-shot culture the Son'a tried to drag the Federation into their civil-war." The shuttle entered the atmosphere and Julian struggle with the controls. "Prepare for impact, this is going to be a hard landing."
Kasguard barely had time to fasten Bashir's safety harness before adjusting her own. "This is going to be one adventure I'll never forget." she said. "If I live to regret it." she added under her breath.
Julian wondered if he would ever see Ezri again as the shuttle impacted with the landscape. Her smile played with the fringes of his mind. Then there was blackness...
---
The sheets of the bed felt soft against Julian's skin. He slowly became more aware of his surroundings. The evening breeze through the window. The slender figure that had just entered the room. The soreness where the safety straps had cut into his chest. He needed to thank Ziona for that.
He stretched taking a mental inventory. Aside from bruises he seemed to be fine. He was naked under the thin sheets, and wondered where his uniform was.
Julian opened his eyes. The room was small but cozy. Ziona lay on a bed across from him, sleeping peacefully. The figure was a woman with dark-blond hair, and a kind face. She looked younger than him, but her blue eyes were ageless. Her long hair, and simple dress seemed to mark her as a Ba'ku.
The woman turned to look at him. "You're awake." there was a smile in her words. "My name is Anij."
Bashir swallowed before responding, "I'm Dr. Julian Bashir, of the Federation space station Deep Space Nine." He sat up slowly, and gestured to Ziona. "My companion is Captain Ziona Kasguard of the freighter Amazon." It wasn't the first time he had found himself grateful for Starfleet's new practice of using in the ear universal translators as well as the ones in combadges.
Anij smiled, "We don't get many offlanders here, but after what Jean-Luc and his crew did for us, Starfleet Officers are welcome here."
Julian put his feet on the smooth floor, careful to keep the sheet between him and Anij. "I don't suppose you know what happened to my uniform?"
She knelt, and pulled the neatly folded articles of clothing out of a basket on the floor. "One of the ladies in the village was kind enough to launder it for you." She handed the uniform to Bashir, and then reached into her pocket for his combadge and pips. "I'll go tell Sojef you're awake." At that she turned on her heel and left.
Julian dressed quickly, finding his boots at the foot of the bed. His jacket was missing, but he hadn't been wearing it at the time of the crash. His vest was still unfastened when he bent down to take a closer look at Captain Kasguard.
Even scared she was beautiful. She was as naked, as Bashir had been. They had even removed her eye patch. He looked closely at her scar, and could have swore it had faded in the hours since the crash. He wished he had his tricorder.
There was a knock at the door, and a tall man with curly brown hair, and blue eyes, dress in the same type of garb as Anij entered. "Is it alright if I call you Julian?"
Julian straightened up and offered the man his hand. "Yes, and you are?" his eye wondered to what the man was holding behind his back. It was his med-kit.
The man took his offered hand, "I'm Sojef." He then held the med-kit out to Bashir. "My son Atrim found this. He said you wore the color of a healer, and it is a healer's bag."
"Thank you." Bashir said with exuberance. He flipped open the tricorder, and began testing it for damage.
Sojef sat down on Bashir's now empty bed. "Atrim was right, I looked at the contents. You Starfleet people believe in being prepared."
Julian took a close scan of Ziona's scar. "Actually that's the motto of the Boy Scouts." He double checked the scan results with the ones he'd taken earlier. "That's odd."
"Who, or what are the Boy Scouts?" Sojef asked.
"A four- hundred year old youth organization from Earth that dealt in self esteem, and wilderness survival skills." Julian answered. "The things they teach are helpful, but I find my Academy training more through." He double checked his scans again, and then ran the sensor over himself. It all came back anomalous, and made no sense. His brow creased as he studied the results.
"What seams to be the problem Julian?" Sojef asked.
Bashir looked at the man with concern. "She appears to be regenerating neural tissue that has been dead for years, and my genetic structure is fluctuating slightly." He folded up the tricorder.
"Then you don't know about the effects of our atmosphere?" Sojef asked.
"I know that after Worf was exposed to it he appeared to be in better health, and better spirits than he had been since the death of his wife Jadzia." Julian answered.
Sojef chuckled, "As I understand it, while he was here he reverted to puberty."
Bashir shook his head, "Now there's a scary thought." He sat down in a chair at the foot of Ziona's bed. "You mean to tell me that the atmosphere of this world reverses aging?"
"Yes," Sojef answered, "the metaphasic radiation in the planet's rings continually renews the genetic structure."
"No wonder most of the information on this world is classified."
Part of Sojef couldn't help but feel sorry for Julian. "So what were you doing in the Briar Patch?"
"We were in route to Teimia when our transport was attacked and destroyed." Julian answered. "We escaped into the Briar Patch and were following the current while making repairs in hopes of finding a safe way out when a gravitational eddy drug us here." Julian took a deep breath, "Now we need to find another ship, and get to Teimia before they withdraw from the Federation."
"Why would they do that?" Sojef asked.
"Her accepting the endowment of the Fire Eye was part of the agreement." he gestured to Ziona, who was beginning to twitch all up and down her left side.
Julian stood, and scanned her again. "I'll need to shut down her mobile assist implants." His fingers danced over the tricorder's key pad as he made the adjustments. She stopped twitching, and her eyes began to flutter open. "Do you know where her eye patch is?"
"Anij has it." answered Sojef as he stood and headed for the door.
The door opened before he got there. "I was wondering if you will be joining us for the communal meal?" Anij asked.
Captain Kasguard reached up with her right hand to cover her eyes. "Dr. Bashir?" she called out.
Julian half sat on the bed, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm right here Ziona."
"I can't move my left side." there was no fear betrayed in Kasguard's voice.
"I had to shut down some of your implants," Bashir explained, "the atmosphere of this world is causing your neural tissue to regenerate, and the implants to malfunction."
"Where is my eye patch?" she asked.
"Right here." Anij came forward, and helped Ziona position it.
"Thank you." Ziona said. She clutched the sheet over her chest, and awkwardly managed to sit.
Julian stood up as she swung her right foot to the floor. "Perhaps you should lay back down." He reached out a hand to steady her.
Kasguard shrugged him away and forced her left foot to take its place with the right one. "I haven't always had mobile assists Doctor." She looked at Anij, and then Sojef. "If it's not too much trouble, I would like my clothes back."
Anij grabbed the basket that she had pulled Bashir's uniform out of, and set it on the chair that he had just vacated. Bashir barely had time to grab his med-kit before she shooed both men out of the room.
---
Bashir looked to Sojef as the door closed behind them. "How old are you?"
"Old enough." he answered. "Anij and I are among those that came here to escape the outside. We don't want others to come here, and disturb the peace we have found. The crew of the Enterprise proved that there are good offlanders. They didn't tell everything about this place to protect us. You and your friend will have to keep our secret as well."
Bashir nodded, "I'm sure I can convince everyone that her neural regeneration was caused by the Teimian Fire Eye."
Sojef was willing to accept that. "We don't have any working ship, but I know someone who can help you with that." Then he put a hand on Julian's shoulder and began leading him out the front door of the house.
---
Sojef had introduced Bashir to a man named Gal'na who lived on the edge of the village. Gal'na had been one of the more important Son'a, and the years away from this world still showed. He kept mostly to himself, but reluctantly agreed to help Bashir restore one of the smaller Son'a craft into working order. When they went to join the others for the evening meal Gal'na stayed behind. Sojef explained that Gal'na still did not feel comfortable among his own people.
Sojef had also given Julian a short tour of the village. It was a very beautiful place. The Ba'ku lived a simple life, and they all wore functional cloths of pastel and earth shades.
Now Julian sat at the long table near the center of the village by himself while others finished preparing food, or busied themselves with other chores. He looked up to find a blond boy of what appeared to twelve or thirteen staring at him. "Artim?" he guessed by the boy's resemblance to Sojef.
The boy took a seat across from Bashir. "Yes." the boy smiled. "What's your name?"
"Julian." Bashir answered. "Thank you for finding my med-kit." he said as he propped his chin in his elbow.
Again the boy smiled. "Dr. Crusher kept hers with her the whole time we were hiding in the caves." Artim set his hand on the table, revealing the small creature in his palm. "I guess healers always need their things with them."
Julian nodded, "It's true. That's an interesting little friend you have there." he pointed to the creature.
"He's a rhyl." Artim looked over to see his father approaching, and put the rhyl in his pocket. "I know," he said in a dejected voice as he stood, "don't bother the offlander."
Sojef raised an eyebrow, "Actually I was going to ask you if you had washed up." People were beginning to take their seats, and Artim did as his father said.
Bashir saw Captain Kasguard coming with Anij's assistance. He stood to lend a hand but was overcome with a wave of dizziness, and soon found himself on his hands and knees. He reached back for his med-kit, and scanned himself with the tricorder. The results were not good.
"Are you alright?" Sojef asked as he helped Julian back to his seat. By now Anij, and Ziona were at his side with concerned faces as well.
Bashir looked at the faces around him. "I just lost my balance." he lied, deciding it would be better to tell the three of them later. Without the other eyes and ears present. He tried to smile, "I haven't had decent meal since we left Bajor."
"Then you must be starving." said Anij, as she placed a heaping plate in front of him.
Julian's stomach growled at the strange scents, and he had to admit the food looked good. "More so than I would like to admit."
---
Julian drummed his fingers on the case of his tricorder as he paced in front of the fire. Anij was beginning to get dizzy watching him. "Why don't you have a seat Julian? Before you wear a rut in the floor."
Bashir looked from Anij to Sojef before sitting. Ziona had retired already, but that didn't make things any easier. "You told me that the metaphasic radiation in your planets rings continually renews your genetic structure."
Sojef nodded, "Yes." then thought a moment. "Does this have something to do with what happened at supper?"
Julian couldn't face him, only nod. "When I was very young, my genetic structure was severely altered."
"Why?" Anij asked.
"My father couldn't face the possibility of having a son that was below average," Julian began to pace again, "so he had me enhanced. It's not an easy subject to talk about. He was released form a penal colony only recently. He was sentenced to two years when the crime was discovered over twenty-five years later."
"What are you trying to say?" Sojef asked with concern.
Julian stopped in his tracks, and looked Sojef in the eye. "My genetic structure is slowly reverting to what it originally was, but there isn't enough of the original structure left for that to work."
Anij looked at him with a pained expression. "What does that mean?"
"If I don't leave this planet soon," Julian said seriously, "I will either died of completed synaptic failure, or my cellular structure will collapse."
"How much time do you have?" Sojef asked, fearing the worst.
Julian sat down again, and held up his tricorder so they could see. "A standard week at best, but if I don't exit the Briar Patch in a little less than four days the damage may be irreversible."
Anij and Sojef exchanged glances. Sojef then looked tat Bashir, "We'll just have to make sure that you leave here in time."
"I wish things didn't have to be this way." Bashir admitted sadly.
---
When Bashir had talked with Anij and Sojef, he had estimated that he had ninety hours. Sixty-four had passed since then, and the work of putting the Son'a shuttle back together from its half disassembled state went slowly. As the hours passed he found it harder to concentrate, and such simple things as speaking became harder. He forced himself to go on, but he had developed a slight stutter.
There was the sound of a tool hitting the ground followed shortly by a strange guttural sound. It was something of a cross between a purr, a rolled R and someone coughing up a hair ball. Ziona soon emerged from a hole in the side of the craft to retrieve the lost item.
Bashir was glad they had gotten their story about what had happened straight, the Ba'ku deserved to keep this world to themselves. "I-I don't believe I've h-heard that one before." he said as he continued checking connections. He winced at the sound of his own voice.
Kasguard sucked on an injured finger briefly. Her ability to move had improved greatly. She no longer wore the eye patch, and the Fire Eye had become more faceted on the inside as it integrated with her body. She had even began to have flashes of Seer trance, but saw nothing in them. Her scar was only a pink whisper, and her hair, which she had tied back in a loose bun, was missing the streaks of white. "I learned that one from my First Mate Fash, back when we were at the Academy. It only translates to something along the lines of, 'Your Mother'."
Julian just shook his head.
Gal'na emerged from the cockpit. "All systems are fully operational." he didn't look either of them in the eye. "All we have to do is fasten down the hull plates."
Bashir took a deep breath before speaking, "That shouldn't take long."
Gal'na smiled through his stretched face, "No, it shouldn't. You should be able to take off in an hour, and I've plotted the shortest possible course for you."
"Thank you Gal'na." Kasguard said with a smile.
---
The villagers had all bade them goodbye as they boarded the shuttle. It had only taken moments for the small craft to climb out of the atmosphere and past the planet's rings. The course would take twenty-three hours at the maximum safe speed. That only left Bashir two to spare, but if there wasn't a ship in range he still might not survive.
Ziona rubbed her temples, "I will be glad when this day is over."
"H-headache?" Julian asked.
"Yes."
"Your implants are c-causing it."
"You told me before." she said gently.
Bashir thought, "S-so I did." He shook a little. This was going to be a long ride.
---
Twenty-two hours passed, and Bashir prepared an encoded beacon. Captain Kasguard had succumbed to the pain and the vision trance three hours before. Julian was now unable to speak at all. He initiated transmission, then checked the auto navigation. All that was left was hope.
He leaned back in his seat. His mind drifted to thoughts of his life. The things that were, what might have been, and what would never be. He thought of his father and mother, of his comrades, and of Ezri. Slowly his consciousness faded...
---
On the bridge of the Enterprise Lt. Daniels looked down at the consol twice before speaking. "Captain, I'm reading an encrypted beacon." The officer shook his blond curls trying to make sence of it.
Captain Picard stood, straightening his jacket. "Slow to impulse." he ordered the officer at conn. "Mr. Data?" he asked his gold-skinned Operations Officer.
"It is a Starfleet encryption code." Data answered. "It appears to be a distress call coming from a two man Son'a craft that has just emerged from the Briar Patch."
"Bring us within range." Picard ordered the conn officer. "What does it say?" he asked Data. The bridge lighting reflected off the Captain's head as bent over the Second Officer's station.
"It consists of two numerical sequences." Data turned to face his commanding officer. "They are the service numbers for Dr. Julian Bashir, who is assigned to Deep Space Nine, and Lt. Commander Ziona Kasguard, Starfleet retired."
The names both sounded familiar to Commander Riker, and he stood to join the Captain and Mr. Data. The First Office was a dashing figure with his dark hair and tall build. Now that he'd aged a little he didn't look so baby faced without a beard.
Riker had first met Dr. Bashir after an experiment intended to analyze a piece of unknown technology had gone wrong and shut down Data's consciousness. That was how the android had discovered the ability to dream. Riker and the other Enterprise crew members had met up with Bashir and other DS9 crew members on more than one occasion since. The fact that Worf and O'Brian had been assigned to the space station had helped.
The second name Riker knew from his time aboard the Hood. "Not Captain 'Valkyrie' Kasguard of the freighter Amazon?" he asked as he placed his hand on his chin in much the same manner that he had used to stroke his beard all the years that he'd had one. He'd heard much of Zi's war time exploits, though he didn't keep a running record.
"Yes," Data admitted, "is she not a friend of yours?"
Riker nodded, "Yes, but we haven't spoken since she left Starfleet. Weren't Bashir and her on that Teimian transport that was destroyed in this region a week ago?"
Data turned back to his station, "Their names were on the manifest."
Picard turned back to Daniels, "Are they responding to hails?"
"No sir." Daniels replied.
"Life signs?" Picard asked Data.
"Two humans, though one of them appears to be fading." the android responded. "There are two combadge signatures. One is Starfleet, the other is of the commercial type that the crew of the Amazon use."
Picard pursed his lips, "Beam them both directly to sickbay, and tow their craft into the main shuttle bay."
---
Julian awoke to the familiar sights and sounds of a Starfleet sickbay. He tried to sit up, and found soft hands at his aide. They belonged to Dr. Beverly Crusher, so he knew without asking that it was the Enterprise that had come to his rescue.
"Take it easy Julian." Beverly told him. She brushed back a lock of red hair that had slipped loose of her bun. "You might experience some dizziness."
"Were you able to revers the damage?" he asked in a horse voice.
"Just barely." she admitted. "I had to send to DS9 for your medical records. It will take a few more treatments before your genetic structure is completely stable, but you will make full recovery."
She went over to a replicator and asked for water, then she returned handing it to Bashir. "I have to admit that this leaves me with a bit of a moral quandary."
Bashir sipped the water gratefully, "No doubt the same one I've lived with most of my life."
Crusher nodded, "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"
Bashir shrugged, "Go ahead and ask.".
"Do you ever wish that your father hadn't taken you to Adigeon Prime?"
Julian thought a moment before answering. "I'd be lying if I said no," he admitted, "but what ifs don't change the facts... I think M.J. Balla put it best when she wrote 'The Seeds of Peace'." He quoted the pre-Cochrane book of Philosophy. "I cannot change who my father is. I can only forgive him, and love him in spite of himself. For though he may do wicked things; he is still my father." He took another sip of water. "It took me years to understand that."
Dr. Crusher ran a tricorder over him. "I suppose that could apply, but M.J. Balla was born in the 1970s, and her father was an abusive alcoholic that didn't pay child suport to spite his ex-wife."
"How is Ziona?" Bashir asked to change the subject.
Beverly set the tricorder down. "She's been doing just fine since I removed her mobile assist and synaptic implants. Commander Riker is giving her a tour of the ship." She loaded a hypo-spray, and injected it into Julian's neck. "The metaphasic radiation actually made the Teimian Fire Eye integrate more thoroughly into her body than it would normally do, while at the same time causing her body to reject the purely technological implants." Just then Captain Picard entered with Commander Riker and Captain Kasguard in tow.
Riker shook Captain Kasguard's hand, "I have to get back to the bridge, but it's been nice talking to you again Zi." Riker turned to leave, "Don't be a stranger." The First Officer left with a grin on his face.
Bashir took a good look at Captain Kasguard from across the room. Her golden-blond hair had been braided, and pinned around her head. Aside from the green glow eminationg from right eye socket she looked like a purfectly normal thirty year old. Captain Sisko had told him she had always looked young for her age, and been a truely stunning figure before the incident on Teimia. Now Julian knew he hadn't been exagerating.
Picard and Kasguard made their way over to where Dr. Crusher was helping to ease her patient back onto his biobed. "How are you feeling Dr. Bashir?" Picard asked.
"I don't know." Bashir responded. "How should I feel Dr. Crusher?"
"Very lucky." Beverly answered as she went to attend to another patient.
"I'll be fine Captain." Bashir reasured Picard.
Picard nodded, "We should reach Teimia in two days. Dr. Crusher tells me you should be well enough to be release from sickbay by then, and arrangement can be made for your return to DS9."
"That sounds good to me Captain." Bashir admitted. "Though what about the attack on the transport?"
"Teimian separatists." Picard said bluntly. "Most of their number were killed in the attack, and the High Seer has assured me that they are no longer a problem."
"You will have fulfilled your promise Julian." Ziona added in a comforting tone. "I think Ben would be proud."
"Yes." Bashir admitted, "I think he would." and for the first time since the ceremony of the Fire Eye, he began to relax.
---