Disclaimer: As much as I wish I could take credit for the Star Trek universe, I did not create it, and have no legal rights to it. But that doesn't mean I can't expand it.

Chapter 15

Burnau Bez knew Ro was in a foul mood well before he arrived at the security office, but for once it wasn't directed at him.

"Sorry I'm late. What did you want to see me about?" he asked somewhat politely.

"What, can't you read my mind?"

"I've been trying not to do that lately."

She wore a scowl that looked like it hadn't relaxed in hours. "Kira's not infected. I've been watching her closely since this whole thing began, and I'd stake my professional reputation on it."

"Do they have her in stasis?"

"Yes. The Defiant will be arriving in under an hour. The Beta Quadrant aliens say they can create a cure as soon as they have access to the nairait in Bashir's lab. But to be honest, I don't trust them."

Bez suddenly understood. "And you want me to use my telepathy on them."

"Exactly. Come on." She grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out of the office.

They went to a place on the upper level of the Promenade with a good view of the airlocks.

"This is a great view," Bez commented.

"Will this be close enough? It's the closest spot I can think of where we won't be obvious."

"I think this will be fine," he answered.

They didn't wait long before the Defiant docked. Sisko was the first person to disembark.

"He's feeling a tug of doubt," Bez informed Ro, "but he believes they are really trying to help."

He was followed by Dr. Bashir and the woman with white hair.

"What can you tell me about her?" Ro questioned.

"She's a scientist, a doctor. She's very old, and has lost many friends. She truly believes Kira's infected, but she also believes she'll be able to help her. She's not naturally inclined to either lie or keep secrets."

Nog and some of the other crew came into sight, accompanying two other of the new arrivals: a giant worm and lizard.

"I can't read the vermiform," he said. "The reptilian has a masculine imprint, a competitive streak…just spotted Quark's and decided to go there at the first opportunity."

A smile flickered at the corner of Ro's lips. "I'd love to be there when Quark gets a drink order from that thing."

A man with long black braids and a bright purple dress came next.

"This one's more mysterious. He's very complex. He's multi-layered and philosophical. Also, I'm picking up that he's distrustful."

None of this surprised Ro. The man's face was neither expressionless nor serene, but completely unreadable.

Bez hesitated. "But I don't sense he's hiding anything, either."

Another came out, a woman. She was distractingly beautiful, and unusually tall. She glanced around with the suspicious, calculating eye of a security officer and carried an unusual weapon, which Ro decided to talk to her about when official introductions were made.

When Bez made no comment, she glanced over at him impatiently. His face was contorted.

"So much pain," he squeaked out. "Such a heavy burden of guilt and uncertainty. I've never sensed anything like it. I don't know how she can survive with such deep wounds. Her pain soaks her every thought. It's as much a part of her as her blood. I can't stay here." He stood up. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Her anguish is too powerful; I can't shut it out." He ran to the nearest turbolift.

Ro took a better look at the woman who had caused such an adverse reaction in the telepath. She looked completely normal.

While the other BYSEV representatives were shown to quarters, Bashir lead Vo'xa directly to the Infirmary.

Vo'xa's eyes fastened on the clear, airtight containers in which Bashir kept the nairait he'd isolated. She reached out, as though about to touch it, but her hand stopped above the transparent aluminum. Bashir noticed a strange ring on her finger.

"It's a remote sensing device," she explained, noticing the direction of his gaze. "It sends readings directly to the Tenix implant in my brain."

"Ia Zh didn't use a ring," he noted.

"Ia Zh doesn't have an implant. Not many d'Yniln do."

"Why not?"

Vo'xa shrugged. "Beids and d'Yniln don't even try to understand each other. It's one of our necessary compromises." She looked down at her hand, confusion evident in her expressive eyes.

"Why not? How are the Beid and…d'Yiniln," Bashir struggled with the pronunciation of the unfamiliar name, "related?"

"Beidic and Yns are the fourth and fifth planet of the same star system, Thamna-Zrid," she explained, looking distracted as she processed the nairait readings. "That two planets in the same star system produced sentient Beidoid lifeforms is an amazing coincidence. When we first made contact, the d'Yniln had never even come up with the concept of convergent evolution, so they explained our similarity by saying it must be a consequence of the implicit metaphysical connection between everything in the universe. That was the first thing our civilizations agreed to disagree about."

"That's fascinating. Did you make contact before…"

She interrupted him. "This makes no sense."

"What doesn't?"

She glanced up at him, then back at the nairait. "It looks like a descendent of one of the strains the BYSEV encountered, but…" She shrugged in impotent perplexity.

"But what?"

"It's not the same strain Kira Nerys is infected with."

"How can that be? What other strain…" he trailed off.

"I don't know. I can't imagine two different strains coincidentally attacking at the same time. I've never heard of that happening before."

"There may be another possibility," Bashir said slowly. "Is there any way I can get the readings you took of the nairait in Kira?"

"I could probably program your equipment to pick up the nairait resonance frequency," she suggested. "Though it could take a while. What are you thinking?"

"Have you ever encountered nairait that formed beneficial symbiotic relationships with hosts?"

"One," she answered. "An ancient, powerfully telepathic alien. The last of its species, it had survived for centuries through a symbiosis with a unique strain of nairait. We kept it at BYSEV headquarters to study. Unfortunately, during the war with the Kriel, when the headquarters were attacked the lab was flooded with radiation that killed the nairait. The alien died shortly after."

Bashir gave her access to his medical scanners. She began working on the upgrade.

"I believe we've found another species that exists in a symbiosis with nairait, in the Gamma Quadrant."

"The Gamma Quadrant? I didn't know your ships were capable of traveling that far."

"They're not. But there's a stable wormhole that connects us to the Gamma Quadrant. In fact, Deep Space Nine is the nearest outpost to it. When it was discovered, we moved the station here to claim it for the Federation."

"Amazing. We've never found or succeeded in creating a stable wormhole."

"Our scientists haven't been able to figure out what keeps it stable," Bashir said. "The Bajorans, like Kira, believe their gods live there…that they created it, which is why it's stable."

"Interesting hypothesis."

Bashir was burning with curiosity about the BYSEV and its technology. "How are you able to cure nairait infections?"

Vo'xa flashed a distracted, amused smile. "The Beid don't view medicine as treating a disease, Doctor; we treat the patient. Nairait relies on neurological connections with the host, the injection of a material tweaked to vibrate at the exact resonance of the specific nairait preferentially replaces those connections, and the nairait, which is no longer able to think for itself, responds to the sudden lack of nourishment by evacuating the host."

"I see. Fascinating."

"That's just one method. The easiest and safest. There are other ways."

"Such as?"

"Freezing the nairait out. We've had to resort to that in some extreme circumstances. It has the benefit of working on all strains of nairait. So you think the strain you found in the Gamma Quadrant is what we're detecting in Kira?"

"I don't know. It's highly possible. She's had…extensive contact with one of the members of the species."

"Tell me about them. How integrated is their symbiosis?"

"Complete," Bashir replied. "They are able to shapeshift into any form by manipulating the quantum differentiation of the nairait."

"Incredible," gasped Vo'xa. "Can you imagine what could be done if we could harness that power?" She grew quiet and thoughtful. "There's a story from Dass, dating to before they had interplanetary travel technology, about a shapeshifter that fell from the stars, was found and raised by a small farming community, and eventually became a hero and helped overthrow an oppressive tyrant. Eventually, he left in search of others like himself, promising to return one day. Of course, everyone thinks that's just a myth."

"Odo lived here for several years. Some Bajoran scientists found him, and he grew up in a lab with no idea of where he came from."

"He was your friend?"

Bashir nodded.

"But he found his people in the Gamma Quadrant."

Bashir glanced at her in surprise.

"You said they were from the Gamma Quadrant," Vo'xa explained. "I take it he drifted here through the wormhole?"

"Yes. We have no idea how long he spent floating in space before he was found."

"Like nairait," she noted.

"But he didn't go back to his people when we made contact with them. They turned out to be very xenophobic, secretive rulers of a political entity called the Dominion, which conquers other species through the use of genetically engineered soldiers called Jem'hadar. We fought a devastating and costly war against them when they tried to invade our quadrant. After we defeated them, Odo went back to his people to try to…reform them." Bashir wished he had phrased that in a way that didn't sound almost laughable.

"War is always so painful. Even the winners lose," the Beid doctor remarked. The look of pain and sadness indicated she spoke from experience. "I joined the BYSEV shortly after its conflict with a Yniln rebel group known as the Mahhina, was on a diplomatic mission to Torgo when civil war broke out there, and I was on the front lines during the war with the Kriel. That lasted years, and I lost many friends. The Kriel were ruthless. They are powerfully telekinetic, especially their Queen. She looked down on everyone and everything in the universe as inferior to herself, even the other Kriel. That was her undoing; the tide of the war turned when one of her closest lieutenants betrayed her for revenge against an unduly harsh punishment she'd inflicted years earlier."

"Odo betrayed the Founders—his people—out of his love for a humanoid."

"Love is as good a motive as revenge. The Dassa believe love and hate are equally powerful emotions, and both are necessary to a fulfilling life."

Bashir wasn't sure what to think of a species that believed that way. Vo'xa reminded him a little of Jadzia, with her cheerful passion and her frequent tangents. "Odo was instrumental in ending the war," he said. "The Founders have the ability to exchange information and feeling by linking their quantum string matrices. Odo linked with the Founder who led the war effort and convinced her to surrender. They were already losing, though they made us pay for every kilometer we retook, and they had been infected with a disease that would have killed them if Odo hadn't shared the cure with them."

"That's how the Beid and d'Yniln defeated the Sorono. The Sorono were a warlike race back then. They had fought each other for control of their world for thousands of years, but when they developed interstellar travel, they decided to conquer other worlds instead. The first inhabited system they came to was ours—this was almost a thousand years ago, after Beid and Yns made contact with each other, but before they had interstellar technology. The Sorono had vastly superior weapons and ships, so they thought the war would be over quickly. They were right in that, but not in who would win." She took obvious pride in her species' past accomplishments. "Even then, Beidic had medical knowledge superior to any other civilization we've encountered. The first Sorono body Beid doctors got their hands on provided them with enough genetic information to engineer a species-specific virus with a long gestation period, and a long and painful symptomatic period. Within weeks, most of the Sorono were infected. They surrendered unconditionally. That's how Beidic and Yns got interstellar technology."

Bashir stared at her. He felt ill. He didn't want to criticize Vo'xa or her people when they so obviously needed them, but he couldn't help it. "That's horrible!" he exploded. "You…you engineered a virus to wipe out your enemy! Have you no conscience?"

Vo'xa looked confused and a little hurt. "But you just said you did the same thing to the Founders."

"That was the work of a small group, acting without regard to Federation law or any semblance of common decency. I almost died to extract the cure from them."

She blinked, a gesture so fleet it was almost indistinguishable. "They didn't offer them the cure in exchange for their surrender? You mean they were actually trying to kill them all?" It was her turn to feel disgusted. "The Beid would never do that. We only did what we had to—fought back with the only weapon we had that would prevail against an enemy superior in arms and numbers."

Bashir realized he'd leaped to judgment too quickly. "I'm sorry, it's just…doctors in our society have a responsibility…we take an oath to not use our medical knowledge to harm others."

"Beid doctors take no such oath," Vo'xa said, a little defensively. "Who better to decide when it is necessary to take life than those who are devoted to saving and improving lives?"

The two doctors looked at each other across a cultural chasm they doubted they could ever bridge. It was Vo'xa who broke the silence. "Well…I hope we can at least agree to put aside our differences long enough to cure your friends of the nairait."

"Doctor Vo'xa, I wouldn't presume to pass judgment on your cultural practices."

"But you just did." She looked down at the bioscanner. "Got it."

Bashir walked over and examined the readings. "That's it," he confirmed. "It's not nairait she's infected with, it's changeling."

They simultaneously noticed the distribution patterns.

Vo'xa turned to Bashir with a wry smile on her lips. "Just how extensive did you say her contact was?"

The patrons of Quark's bar tried not to stare at the new arrivals. The first one wasn't incredibly unusual; most of the people in the room had met sentient reptilians of some species before, but his long, narrow tail sticking straight out behind him, his triangular snout, and the fact that he was wearing a loincloth all served to draw attention. The other one was unlike anything any of them had ever seen. While the reptilian walked with a jittery, graceless gait, the vermiform moved in a regular, almost hypnotic vertical wave. Its dramatic coloration was also eye-catching.

The reptilian halted in the middle of the room. His companion came to a smooth, eerily-motionless stop beside him. Its antennae twitched.

"Nice place," said Gicu. His voice was throaty, and included a barely-perceptible yet annoying low croaking sound.

Uyiy's left antenna vibrated, producing sounds the universal translator recognized as speech, but couldn't peg as masculine or feminine. "Seems friendly; no one's tried to kill us yet."

They continued to the barstools. Gicu sat down with his tail and legs sticking out at equal angles. Uyiy coiled itself on the seat like a snake, head raised to the eye-level of the nearby humanoids.

Quark prided himself on being an equal-opportunity swindler—just as the 154th Rule of Acquisition said: "Discrimination is bad for business; if you don't like the look of a customer, focus on their latinum." But he couldn't imagine these two being anything but trouble.

"Give us two of your most popular," Gicu instructed.

"Wait," Uyiy put one antenna on his shoulder like a hand. "We should find out what they use as currency in this quadrant."

"Gold-pressed latinum," Quark informed them.

"Gold-pressed latinum…That may present a problem," Uyiy said.

"What do you use as currency where you're from?"

"It varies," Gicu answered. "On Dass we use gemstones, on Sorono they use small, decorative knives, Yns uses cloth…"

"Qwa has a barter system," Uyiy added. "Ecroshim don't use currency; they have a strict code of mutual cooperation. The Kriel traditionally used slaves, but now they use small metal tokens. The Beid used to use tidbits of knowledge as money, but now they keep track of all resources electronically. I don't suppose any of this sounds enticing to you?"

Quark had the vague impression that they were mocking him, but he dismissed it and made a show of considering their offers. "Well, maybe the gemstones. If you happen to have any of those, we could make a deal."

"I have some silicon carbide crystals back in my mineral collection," said Uyiy. "Naturally formed, flawless, big as your head…perhaps we could sell you some?"

"Or maybe," Gicu suggested, "we could ask around to see how much they would be worth. That Captain Sisko struck me as an honest creature."

With the thought of what Sisko might say, Quark saw his potential profits flash before his eyes. "Of course, you could start a tab. That way you'd get your drinks right now without having to bother going back to your ship."

Gicu and Uyiy exchanged a look, which Quark didn't quite catch.

"That's acceptable," Uyiy agreed. "Since we'll probably be here until we can sort out this nairait thing."

"And who knows how long that will be," Gicu added.

Quark brought them two glasses of Yridian Ale. "Enjoy."

Uyiy dipped its antenna in the liquid.

"How is it?" Gicu asked.

Without taking its antenna out of the ale, Uyiy spoke by vibrating the other one. "Either they like their alcohol weak in this quadrant, or our bartender is unscrupulous."

Gicu wrapped his knobby, clawed fingers around his glass and lifted it to his scaly lips. "The latter," he determined.

Quark, who hadn't moved from right in front of them, was struck speechless for an instant. The instant dragged out much longer than it otherwise would have due to the entrance of two more strangers.

The discreetly curious eyes of the customers shifted to the tall woman with the voluptuous curves. Behind her was a smaller man with long black hair. He stood out for a different reason, which no one could quite put their finger on. He fit in the setting about as well as a droplet of mercury on an impressionist painting.

They went directly to their shipmates.

"Tairis, Ia," Uyiy greeted them, warning Gicu of their presense.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Tairis demanded.

Gicu didn't turn around. "Enjoying a drink, getting to know the locals…"

"Care to join us?" Uyiy asked.

"You know I don't drink," said Tairis.

"And we're all technically supposed to be working," Ia Zh reminded them. His tone didn't carry the condemnation that Tairis's had.

"Working on what?" Gicu retorted. "This station has plenty of new species to keep an exosociologist and exobiologist busy, but until we get back to the mission, there won't be much for a stellar cartographer and a geologist to do."

Ia Zh sighed. "Very well. Just make sure you're in working condition in case we need you."

He turned with a swish of delicate silk and walked out. Tairis followed him.

They didn't notice Ro Laren, who had been sitting alone at a table near the exit, get up and follow them.

Outside the bar, Ia Zh leaned against the railing and looked down on the lower level. Tairis stood beside him.

"Interesting place," Tairis commented.

"In some ways it reminds me of BYSEV headquarters, with representatives of so many species coming together. But it's…much less organized."

"Less clean," Tairis commented. "More organic. But I still almost expect to see Beidic when I glance out the window."

"I hear there's a great view of that stable wormhole from the upper pylons. I've been thinking of going there to meditate."

"You know, I don't remember your mother ever meditating," Tairis commented.

Ia Zh shrugged. "She was never very spiritually inclined."

"I guess that's another thing I didn't know we had in common," she said thoughtfully.

Ia Zh glanced at her. He concealed his emotions too well to tell if he was surprised. "What's your opinion on religion?"

"I prefer not to think about it. The idea of a soul surviving after death…forever…It's one of the most terrifying concepts ever conceived."

They shared a thoughtful silence.

"I don't think my mother ever blamed you," Ia Zh told her. "She never forgave Vo'xa or Cheran, or especially Mri Rercha, but she didn't blame you."

"I wish I knew that for sure. I don't think any of us ever fully forgave ourselves for abandoning her, for thinking she betrayed us. I'm surprised she stayed through the Kriel war. I'm also surprised she approved of you joining the BYSEV."

"It wasn't that she approved, she just knew it was futile to try to stop me. I grew up hearing her talk about the adventures she had, the places she saw, and the people she met…I think she realized she was partly responsible for me wanting some stories of my own."

Tairis turned her eyes downward. "I'm going to see if Vo'xa needs my help. I'll talk to you later."

Ia Zh watched her for a moment, then turned in the opposite direction.

Ro emerged from her hiding place in time to see that Tairis went to the turbolift instead of the Infirmary. Her curiosity was piqued, but she decided not to follow.

Kira blinked her eyes several times. She was on a biobed. Dr. Bashir and Dr. Vo'xa were the only others in the room.

"Am I cured?" she asked.

"Well…" Bashir looked a little embarrassed. "It turns out you weren't really infected."

Kira looked from him to Vo'xa and back. "Oh. That's good."

"Would you like to tell her in private?" Vo'xa asked Bashir.

"Tell me what?" Kira asked before he could answer.

"Kira…you're pregnant."