Disclaimer: I did not have the good fortune and creative ability to come up with the whole Star Trek idea. I'm not, nor have I ever (nor, likely, will I ever) benefit financially there from.

Chapter 17

Kira woke up slowly. She was sure she had heard something, or was that just a dream?

"Ops to Kira." The voice issuing over the comm system sounded impatient. He must have been paging her for some time.

"Go ahead," Kira called as clearly as she could.

"Admiral Ross is on subspace, and he insists on speaking with you and Captain Sisko."

Kira groaned. "Tell him I'll be a few minutes."

The voice, which she now recognized as the new communications officer Leri Ghendar, paused, as though considering whether it would be worth it to urge haste. "Acknowledged," he replied.

Kira pushed herself up. She looked over at her sleeping companion, now in the form of a beautiful shimmering fluid. She reached down and ran her fingers through it. Though he moved like a liquid, he felt dry and smooth and warm. She smiled. Then she reluctantly slid out of bed.

Sisko was waiting for her in her office. He gave her a cautionary look, to which she nodded in acknowledgement.

"Admiral Ross," she said as pleasantly as she could. "What can we do for you?"

"You can explain why exactly you brought representatives of a new species to Deep Space Nine without so much as notifying Starfleet. For starters." He was every bit as irritated as she feared.

For a moment, Kira was tempted to defer to Sisko, but a mixed sense of responsibility and loyalty prevented her. "I decided it would be prudent to act as quickly as possible, sir."

"Not to mention that we can't be sure who in Starfleet we can trust," Sisko added, eager to accept his share of the responsibility.

"Putting aside the fact that first contact situations are delicate matters, Starfleet Medical is the first place the Beta Quadrant representatives should have been brought for debriefing on the nairait situation. Don't you think?"

"With all due respect, no," Kira answered. "We're the ones who actually had infected people in stasis. We also still have a contingent of Starfleet Security in the sector in case anything went wrong and we needed to enforce quarantine again."

Ross's expression changed. "You have a cure?"

"The Beta Quadrant aliens do have a treatment, yes," Sisko confirmed.

The admiral blinked, then nodded. "Just keep me updated, okay?"

"Of course, sir," said Kira.

"Ross out."

Kira and Sisko were silently thoughtful for several seconds.

"If Starfleet knows, then they know," Kira muttered.

"I'm afraid you're right. I think I should have a talk with Dr. Vo'xa."

"I think that's a good idea. I'm going to go to the Infirmary to check on Ezri and Vaughn. I'm guessing Vo'xa will be there, too."

They went to the Infirmary, where they found Bashir alone.

"Where's Doctor Vo'xa?" Sisko inquired.

"And the patients?"

"Ezri, Vaughn, and Doctor Grek are recovering in their quarters. I released them earlier this morning. They don't seem to have suffered any permanent damage from the infection. I think Doctor Vo'xa is in one of Nshevalth's holosuites."

They turned to leave.

"Captain," Bashir said quickly. Both Kira and Sisko halted. "Kira," he clarified, "Do you have a few spare minutes?"

"For what?"

"There are some tests I'd like to run."

She glanced at Sisko, whose eyebrow was raised in curiosity. "I trust you can brief Vo'xa on you own?" she asked.

"Of course."

Sisko left and Kira took a seat on a biobed. "What kind of tests are you talking about?" she asked nervously, memories of the medical procedures she endured while carrying Yoshi O'Brien only too clear.

"I want to see whether your...pregnancy is effecting your blood chemistry. Whether it is or not could tell me a lot about what exactly is happening in you."

"Okay. Let's get this over with."

Bashir ran a medical tricorder over her. Then he took a blood sample for closer examination. "No, it looks like your blood chemistry is perfectly normal. Except for an unusually high level of trimethylxanthine. I suggest more sleep and fewer raktajinos."

"I'll keep that in mind..."

"Why wouldn't her blood chemistry be normal?"

Bashir and Kira looked up at the intrusion of the voice. Odo stood in the door.

He looked at them almost accusingly. "Kira, what's wrong?"

Bashir glanced at her. "You haven't told him?" he whispered.

"Told me what?"

"The opportunity didn't come up."

Bashir shook his head in mock dismay, but couldn't suppress a half smile. "If you'll excuse me, I think you two have a lot to talk about." He took Kira's test results and retreated to his lab.

Odo sat on the biobed next to Kira. He was clearly very concerned.

"Odo, I'm not sure how to tell you this. I'm pregnant."

When he didn't answer, she looked up slowly. His face was carefully blank of emotion, but she saw pain in his eyes. "That's...wonderful. I'm very happy for you," he whispered miserably.

At first Kira was struck dumb with incredulity, then she laughed out loud. "You don't understand." She gently took his hand and pressed it to her belly. "We're pregnant. It's ours.Yours and mine."

"How is that possible?" he asked. "How could that happen?"

"Julian says it's my DNA integrated with your morphogenic matrix, but he's not exactly sure how it happened. I think I know when it happened, though: that night in the cave on Ulobi Eight."

"But you're barely showing."

"Well it's not a Bajoran pregnancy, it's a changeling pregnancy. It's not the same." She smiled. "And I can't say I miss the sneezing."

Discordant emotions vied for expression on Odo's face: confusion, disbelief, bliss, love, hope. Bliss won out. He closed his eyes. "Nerys...I can feel it. I can sense it."

"I wish I could. It would make it easier to believe. It seems so unreal."

"If you wouldn't mind...Would you mind if Kalaran examines it?"

She flinched. "Kalaran? Why?"

"When she told Bashir she had some medical experience, it was an understatement: she's one of the best geneticists in the Dominion."

Kira considered it, and quickly realized that the only reason she wanted to refuse was her lingering resentment and distrust toward the Dominion. "Okay."

The Shkalek's medical bay was a sparse room that originally served as a kind of triage center for Jem'hadar, but lately Kalaran had set up some equipment of her own in it.

"It's definitely a changeling," the Vorta announced, smiling broadly. "Perfectly healthy, and except for the Bajoran DNA perfectly normal. Congratulations."

Since her medical equipment was specially calibrated to administer to changelings, she had been able to do a much more thorough examination than Dr. Bashir. She was even able to confirm Kira's theory of how old it was.

Odo said little during the examination. That he was going to be a father was beginning to sink in .

"Thank you," Kira said. She looked at Odo, not quite able to read his silence.

"Incidentally, if you want to alter its DNA in any way, now would be a good time to do it," Kalaran mentioned.

"I don't think so. Odo, what do you think?"

"Hm?" He looked up, then realized what she just said. "That depends. I had a desire to return to the Great Link hardwired into my genetic code. Will she...?"

Kalaran shook her head. "No. Only your shapeshifting ability was passed on. Her genetic code is identical to Kira's."

Odo gazed fondly at the Bajoran . "Then I don't want you to change a thing."

"Whatever you say," Kalaran joked. "She's your kid."

"You're not like any of the other Vorta I've met," Kira observed.

"Kalaran," explained Odo, "lost faith in the Founders lifetimes ago."

"I've been a gene engineer for most of my existence. I've worked on tweaking the Jem'hadar and designer slave laborers for different planetary conditions, as well as creating diseases to punish or control rebellious species. It didn't take me long to realize that if the Founders were really gods, they wouldn't need Vorta and Jem'hadar to do their dirty work. I suppose they would consider me 'defective,' but I managed to keep quiet and keep myself useful enough that they didn't try to 'correct' the error in any of my subsequent clones."

"I see."

"She's working on deprogramming the Jem'hadar and the Vorta," Odo added. He looked at the results of Kalaran's examination like a humanoid father would look at a prenatal image of his child. "A job that might become much easier now: once the Dominion knows changelings can reproduce—knows that changelings can only reproduce with the help of solids..."

"We'll win," Kalaran stated softly.

Odo locked eyes with Kira. He suddenly seemed uncertain. "If that's what you want."

"'If that's what I want'?" Kira laughed. "As far as I'm concerned, this is a miracle from the Prophets. They sent us a child for a purpose, and maybe part of that purpose is to help reform the Dominion."

The door opened. Rinak'vaka entered.

"First Rinak'vaka," Kalaran greeted him with a friendliness that undermined her formality. "I'm gratified to see you're recovered."

"Thanks to your Doctor Bashir," he said to Kira. "Are you injured?" he questioned, confused at finding her in the Shkalek's medical bay.

"No. I'm fine."

"Rinak'vaka, look at these readings." Kalaran angled her console so the Jem'hadar could see it.

Kira watched them with interest. Though there was no hint of romantic attraction in their body language, the two seemed to have great respect for each other, and a camaraderie she'd never seen between their species before.

"I don't understand," Rinak'vaka said. "It appears to be a changeling."

"It is a changeling," Kalaran confirmed.

The Jem'hadar's head swiveled toward Kira. "But it doesn't seem possible."

"Captain Kira called it a miracle. But how do we know this isn't how changelings reproduced in prehistoric times? Perhaps the shapeshifting ability existed in only part of their population and they were dependent on the solids of their species to carry their offspring. Maybe the solids were bred out of existence or died from some plague or natural disaster that the changelings could survive…or they were killed off in a civil war."

"Doctor Bashir might be interested in trading theories with you," Kira mentioned.

They were interrupted by a comm. "Ro to Kira."

"What?" Kira responded.

"Could you come to the security office?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes. I would say definitely yes."

"I'll be right there."

Odo put a hand on her arm. "Kira, I want to go with you. I might be able to help."

Kira wasn't sure if Ro would appreciate that, but then remembered she was the captain. She nodded in aggreement. As they walked to the security office, she filled him in on the nairait crisis.

Ro went directly to Quark's after getting off work that night. She sat down heavily at the bar. Quark scurried over to her as soon as he finished pouring Morn's drink.

"Hard day?" he asked sympathetically.

She scowled. "Let me put it this way: do you have anything that will literally set my teeth on fire?"

"One Binary Supernova coming up." He began mixing obscure ingredients in a short, fat glass. "Do you want to tell me all about it?"

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather die."

Quark slid the libation to her and winced as she took a large gulp. "I understand completely," he lied. "I've had days that I just wanted to go home and forget the whole thing ever happened."

Instead of answering, she took a second swallow.

"But things always look better in the morning, right?" he said, trying to lift her spirits.

She scowled even harder as she put down her glass and glared at him. "I've never believed that stupid human platitude. And the news I got today...it will just be even worse tomorrow."

Quark was trying to think of some way to elicit exactly what news she was referring to, but then he froze with a frightened look in his eyes. Ro lifted her glass and watched a dark, distorted reflection approach from behind her.

"Lieutenant Ro."

She groaned, then turned around. "What can I do for you, Nshevalth?"

"I thought you might want to know that Burnau was just admitted to the infirmary with psionic trauma."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Ro actually sounded genuinely concerned. "I suppose Doctor Bashir has him under a neural dampener?"

"Don't you even want to know what's causing it?" Nshevalth huffed. "Or, rather, who is causing it?"

"I already do. But there's not much we can do about it."

The Tzenkethi scoffed incredulously. "How can you say that? Do you realize that my husband's life is in danger?"

"All our lives are in danger," Ro spat back. Some of the nearby patrons turned their heads sharply in her direction. She ignored them, but continued more softly, "We need their help. Bashir can keep Bez under for a few days."

"A few days?" Nshevalth whispered. "Is that how much longer they'll be here, or how much time we have left?"

At that moment, Ro noticed the BYSEV crowd enter. The five of them took over a booth near the bar, where one of the waiters hurried over to them. Quark, Ro, and Nshevalth looked at the waiter as he came back to get their drinks.

"What did they order?" Quark inquired.

"One synthale, one springwine, one Earth wine, one water, and one bloodwine."

"Who ordered the water?"

"The pretty one."

Quark nodded, remembering the tall, black-haired beauty had mentioned she didn't drink.

"It's her, isn't it?" Nshevalth questioned Ro.

Ro wasn't entirely sure she wanted to tell Nshevalth, but she didn't think a flat-out lie would sound convincing. "Mrs. Bez, she's not responsible for your husband's condition."

"Just remember, there's no profit in revenge," Quark supplied helpfully.

Nshevalth turned her head to him, but said nothing.

"Are you...Are you staring at my lobes?" he asked in confusion.

"I think they'd look very good spliced," she said in a tight monotone.

Ro quickly interrupted. "I understand your concern for your husband. I share it," she assured her, "but there's nothing we can do for him. Nothing."

Nshevalth took a deep breath. "You're right. Of course. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to kill her or anything." She stood up and left quickly, not glancing in the newcomers' direction.

"You know," Quark said as he watched her leave, "as enemies go, I preferred Odo. At least with him I could be pretty sure he wouldn't carry out most of his implied threats."

"If you want me to reassure you, you're out of luck. It's hard to figure that one out, but I can tell you that she can be dangerous if she wants to be." She finished off her drink. "But I don't think she's stupid. I'm counting on that."

Quark risked taking her hand. "She'd have to be very stupid to try anything on your watch."

"Thank you, Quark." She rewarded him with one of her rare, restrained smiles. "You don't know how much that would mean to me if I didn't know you were a shameless flatterer with no idea of the true magnitude of the situation. It would mean a lot more to me if you got me another drink."

He smiled the apologetic smile of a gambler who just lost a long-shot, and filled up her cup. "On the house."

A minute or so later, another attention-grabbing group entered: Kira and Odo, accompanied by a female Vorta and a Jem'hadar. Kira spotted the BYSEV aliens and moved in to make introductions.

Ro sipped at the remains of her Binary Supernova. She and Quark were both interested in listening to the exchange between the Beta Quadrant and the Gamma Quadrant aliens.

"Odo, these are the people I was telling you about."

As Kira and her entourage approached, the white-haired, somewhat feline humanoid stood to offer a formal greeting. "Odo! I've heard much about you. I'm Doctor Vo'xa. This is my crew, Ia Zh, Uyiy, Tairis, and Gicu,."

"I'm honored to meet you. Kira tells me you're providing invaluable assistance against the nairait. These are my associates, Kalaran and First Rinak'vaka."

Kalaran was staring at Tairis. She opened her mouth, as though on the verge of asking something, but unsure if she should. When she realized people had noticed, she went ahead and asked. "You wouldn't happen to be Tairis of Thovi, would you?"

With a look of complete shock, Tairis stood up slowly. "How did you know that? How do you know the name of my home planet?"

"Each new generation of my species is cloned from the last, and we carry the memories of our predecessors. Two generations ago, I met a group of aliens traveling in multi-generational starships. They were looking for a planet to settle. I helped them travel through Dominion space safely."

"Were they led by General Asanasara?" Tairis pressed.

"No. Asanasara had died several years earlier. They were lead by the general's son, Anolanrac. They had four ships: the oldest one was named the Chlo, the newer three were the Thovi, the Asanasara, and the Tairis."

A dazed smile crept across Tairis's lips. "They survived." She met Kalaran's gaze. "Do you know where they are now?"

"No. I didn't keep track of them after they left Dominion territory."

"Thank you," she breathed. With tears beginning to wet her eyes, she sidestepped the Vorta and left the bar.

"That was interesting," Ro whispered.

Quark nodded. "I wish I could hear the rest of that story."

Kira, Odo, Kalaran, and Rinak'vaka took seats near Vo'xa's group. After ordering drinks and talking for a few minutes, they all decided to go to Vic's holosuite.

Ro jutted her chin in the direction of the departing group. "Can you imagine the looks they would get if they walked in a real ancient Earth casino?"

"No, but that worm looks like something that would be on the menu in a Ferengi restaurant. Is it a male or a female?"

"Uyiy?" Ro shrugged. "I haven't heard. Probably a hermaphrodite."

"A giant hermaphrodite worm. Can't be much of a hit with the ladies." He waited for Ro to make some snide comment, but she seemed distracted. "Seriously, Laren," he said sincerely, "If you need anything, I'm here to help."

She shook her head. "I don't think there's much you can do. There's not much anyone can do right now. It's times like this that I wish I had Kira's faith. She can hear the bad news, do everything she can, then go and have fun and tell herself the Prophets will take care of the rest"

"What's the bad news you keep talking about?"

"Word from Starfleet Security came in this afternoon: after Admiral Ross found out about the Beta Quadrant crowd here, he set some kind of plan in motion. It turns out, he's infected. Officers of Starfleet Security, Medical, and several starships have disappeared, along with five warships. The fleet that was supposed to be guarding this sector was sabotaged from the inside. The nairait know we can stop them now, and they're going to try to destroy us before we have the chance. They'll hit us with all they've got, and they'll do it soon."