It would have been a simple matter of using the main computer to locate the chief of operations, but voice communications and the voice interface with computer were down. So, Kail had to find an operational computer terminal that hadn't overloaded from the power surge that blew out the main computer's interface. Chief O'Brien was on level eleven, only three levels down, in the main computer core directing damage control teams and replacing some of the more intricate circuitry himself.

"What happened here?" Connie asked the chief from just outside the main core.

"A bomb went off over there," he said and pointed to the mangled bulkhead on their left without even looking up from his work. "Just powerful enough to do major damage, and the sensors didn't even pick it up until it was too late."

"How can we help?" Kail volunteered.

"Join one of the damage control crews," O'Brien said, still not looking up from his work.

They did as they were told and joined someone repairing holes in the plasma regulator conduits and replacing burnt out diodes. A couple hours work saw that most of the damaged circuitry was repaired or replaced, except for the gaping hole in the protective bulkhead where the explosive was set.

Kail, like a good engineer, kept an eye on everything going on around him and noticed the only man who had managed to get the chief to look up from his work on the complex circuitry of the main computer interface. He was a dark-skinned human man with an air of command, and the Starfleet rank pips on his collar told Kail that he was Captain Sisko, commander of the station. Kail could just barely hear them talking, and he listened carefully as he worked.

"How are the repairs going, Chief?" the captain asked.

"Well, the damage was pretty extensive," the chief answered. "Whoever planted that bomb got past the main core's security protections and made that concentration of the explosive material just potent enough that it would blow out a good deal of circuitry, and yet not quite concentrated enough to be detectable by the station's sensor net. I don't know of any species that is cunning and fast enough to do all that, even Ferengi, and not set off an alarm, or at least leave a trace they were here."

"Chief, I want you to get the personnel information of everyone here," Sisko ordered. "Don't let anyone leave until Dr. Bashir has had a chance to take blood samples from everyone. I had the area sealed off after the blast. I think the culprit is here among us."

"So you think those rumors about another Changeling infiltrator are true?" the chief asked, clearly concerned.

"It's very likely," Sisko confirmed. "Who else could have possibly pulled it off?"

"The only way whoever it was could have planted that bomb without having to completely disable the security alarms was to come through the ventilation grate up there," O'Brien said and pointed up at the grate in the bulkhead above them. "I scanned it and there's no sign of any breaking in."

"This is it," Kail thought. "This is where I will be found out."

His coloring went noticeably paler and it looked as if a sweat-like sheen suddenly covered his face, which Connie immediately noticed. She approached him and laid a cautious hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right, Kail?" she asked him. "You look ill."

"I feel ill," Kail said, not bothering to hide his depression.

"Maybe you should go to Dr. Bashir." Connie tried to comfort him. "I saw him just a few minutes ago around the corner, I think."

"No." Kail pulled away further. "I'll be fine."

Connie looked up at him sympathetically as the chief started rounding everyone up to be tested. Kail stood just to the left of the chief as Doctor Julian Bashir appeared and began the testing, going from Kail's left to the right in a line. The minutes passed too slowly for his liking, and Kail could not bring himself to look up from the floor as Dr. Bashir settled almost directly in front of him.

As Dr. Bashir pressed his medical instrument against chief O'Brien's arm, Kail almost panicked with anxiety. "What will they do to me?" Kail wondered and suppressed an intense urge to bolt from the room. "I have to face this like a man. Maybe they'll go easier on me when I explain that it wasn't me."

For a long moment, Dr. Bashir did not move. Kail, curious, looked up to see the doctor staring blankly; but the person whom his attention was fixed was not Kail, but Chief O'Brien. He was even more curious now to see what the matter was, and realized it when he looked at the little vial in the doctor's hand. It contained a small amount of a gelatinous, amber-colored liquid, a Changeling's substance.

"It's him!" someone shouted.

But he hasn't taken a sample from me yet! Kail thought to himself, confused.

A frightening smile crossed O'Brien's features, and he suddenly morphed to escape through the vent that he had come through to plant the bomb. Captain Sisko had promptly ordered security to lock down every force field in the area, but some of them were still non-operational. All the non-essential personnel would have to be sealed in their quarters and tested, including Connie; but Kail, with his engineering experience, was asked if he would stay to help finish the repairs, so it was possible for Kail to avoid being tested a while longer. Connie seemed to realize the fact that Kail may not be staying with her when she was told by a security officer to go back to her quarters.

"Will you wait just a moment?" Connie asked the security officer sternly, and then she turned back to Kail as he sullenly returned to his repair work. "Kail why don't you come with me? I personally would rather not be alone, and I'm sure you could use some friendly company as well."

"I... I can't, Connie," Kail said, continuing to do repairs. "They need my help."

"I'm sure they can do without you!" Connie exclaimed, becoming concerned again, and the security officer was becoming impatient. "Won't you stay with me? Please?"

Kail turned to face Connie with a sad look on his face. "Connie, I can't... There are just things you don't know about me. These people will need more than just assistance repairing the damage; I must stay and help. I can't hide from it any longer."

Sisko and Bashir, who had been chatting behind them amongst themselves for a few moments after O'Brien's disappearance, couldn't help but overhear his statement.

"Hide from what?" they both said in unison.

Kail grimaced with anxiety as they all looked at him expectantly. He hesitated for a long moment, refusing to meet their eyes in shame and said, "I... am a Changeling."

"What?" Sisko said with surprise. Dr. Bashir stared with shock, a look of horror etched on his face. Connie's expression had not changed, however, but she looked at him as if awaiting an explanation.

"I'm not supposed to be here," Kail implored, his eyes fixed on the floor. "I was content living by myself on Bajor; no one knew I was a Changeling, so I was accepted when I moved to the village. I never wanted to come here because I knew I would probably be caught and found out. I assure you, I am not a violent person, and I did not set that bomb. I only wanted to live in peace."

Seeing that Kail had admitted himself and had not tried to run away, Sisko and Bashir relaxed a little. Since the other Changeling had already shown himself to be the most likely culprit, the last thing Sisko wanted was to have to worry about Kail.

"I'm sorry, Connie," Kail said sadly. "I never wanted to hurt you. I suppose I can't really expect things to be the name now, can I."

"I don't see why not," Connie said almost happily. "I already knew about it, Kail."

His head snapped up. This time, it was Kail's turn to stare.

"Do you remember when I asked you what made you think I didn't already know all your secrets?" she continued. "I've known since before we started hiking."

"You... You did?" Kail was at a loss for words.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes, Kail, I did. It doesn't matter to me that you're a Changeling. I'll admit, when I first saw it, I was a bit cautious; but I see you for who you really are: the man I've fallen in love with."

With that, she pressed her lips against his and pulled him closer in their embrace. Kail was so happy that she didn't hate him that he almost felt as if he would literally melt in her arms. He returned her kiss deeply and wrapped his own arms around her. When they finally parted, both were smiling happily and Connie was left slightly breathless.

"Excuse me, Sir, but I still have to take her back to her quarters," the security officer said, who had been momentarily forgotten.

"No, Kail, please come with me!" Connie pleaded, taking his hand. "I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"It's all right, Connie," Kail reassured her, giving her hand a squeeze. "I'll be fine; I just have to help Captain Sisko find Chief O'Brien and the other Changeling. After that, we can do anything you want. For now, please go. You'll be safer if you go back to your quarters and wait."

The security officer took her arm and pulled her back towards the turbo lift to the habitat ring down the corridor and she did not resist. Kail watched her go as Captain Sisko and Doctor Bashir approached him.

"How can I assist in your search, Captain?" Kail asked as he turned to face them.

"I've contacted Constable Odo and he's on his way," Sisko answered. "I'd like you to help Odo and Dr. Bashir find the chief while I lead five other teams to find the Changeling. What's your full name, Kail?"

"Tescar Kail, Sir," Kail said as an alien-looking man with a very smooth, and relatively featureless, mask-like face turned the corner to join them. The only part of him that seemed to hold any expression was his eyes; other than that, he seemed downright professional.

"Excuse me for asking, but I don't think I'm familiar with your species," Kail said politely.

"Yes, you are," Sisko said. "He's a Changeling too."

"You are?" said Kail, surprised, and Odo nodded once in confirmation. "Forgive me, but why does your face look different?"

"Well," Odo began in his low, almost scratchy voice, "it's one thing to copy the face of another persona, but I chose to attempt to create my own. I am a shape-shifter."

"I see," Kail said understandingly.

"Wait a minute," Odo said, suddenly remembering the captain's last sentence. "What did he mean, 'too?' Are you a Changeling as well?"

"Yes, but don't worry," Kail assured him. "I'm not the one who set that bomb. There is yet another Changeling aboard who did."

Now it was Odo's turn to look at Kail strangely. "How did you manage to get your face to look so Bajoran?"

"It's not really a unique face that I created myself," Kail explained. "This was my father's face when he was younger, long before he died. Of course, I couldn't copy his face exactly, but after some practice, I created this reasonable facsimile."

"Your father...?" Odo said questioningly.

"Well, he was the man who found me and taught me everything I needed to know about being Bajoran," Kail continued explaining. "He'd told me after I learned to speak that I was like a son to him, so I called him my father. He was very good to me, and when he died, I was lost until I found my place in my home village in the Lerrena Valley."

"Gentlemen," Captain Sisko interrupted. "I'm sure this is a fascinating conversation, but we need to find the chief as soon as possible. He may be hurt."

"Yes, of course, Captain," Odo said.

"Oh, and Odo?" Sisko added.

"Yes sir?"

"See if you can help Dr. Bashir keep his mind on his work instead of his new girlfriend, huh?" the captain said with a teasing smile.

"I'll try, Captain," Odo said with a little smile of his own, making Julian blush beet red at the realization that he'd been caught kissing Kelsee in the infirmary while he was on duty.

They were soon on their way, searching the corridors on the way to Chief O'Brien's quarters for the missing engineer as Captain Sisko had ordered. Dr. Bashir walked fearfully between Odo and Kail, wary of a possible attack by the enemy Changeling. Level by level, they searched through research labs and other work areas, as well as maintenance lockers, storage lockers, and down every adjoining jefferies tube they could pry the hatch off of.

When they finally reached level five, the level that O'Brien's quarters were located on, they stopped to begin searching a nearby group of maintenance lockers. Suddenly, a barely audible THUMP emanated from a group of lockers on their right, and Dr. Bashir jumped back and away in surprise. The gray steel lockers were old but well built, and so would not open without the proper authorization code for the lock, which Odo knew from being chief of Security.

The locks popped open one by one and the locker doors slip open. As Odo approached the fourth locker from the right, the loud THUMP repeated itself. They could immediately tell that, whatever it was, it was in that locker. The locker door slipped open as all three of them jumped into defensive positions to reveal a semi-conscious Chief O'Brien who, being suddenly released form his prison, fell to the floor.

Dr. Bashir let out a sigh of relief at finding his friend alive, and after examining him found that the chief suffered from a mild concussion and a nasty gash on his forehead where it appeared that he'd been hit several times, as the blood that still oozed from the wound had caked itself to a large portion of the right side of his face.

Dr. Bashir rushed to remove his equipment from his medical kit. After cleaning off most of the dried blood from his face, he took out a dermal regenerator and started healing the chief's wounds. Odo and Kail stood over them, watching protectively.

"Attention security personnel," Sisko's voice shouted through the station-wide com-system. "The changeling was spotted in section twelve on level six, heading upward. Proceed with extreme caution."

Chief O'Brien started regaining consciousness and saw Dr. Bashir almost drop the dermal regenerator at the announcement. That was the level and section just below and ahead of them. Odo and Kail had realized the same thing and were looking around nervously.

The sound of a piece of metal clattering on the floor echoed down the corridor from ahead of them right where Captain Sisko said the Changeling was moving. Walking just far enough down the corridor to see him, Kail and Odo were close enough to witness the Changeling burst out through a weak deck plate in the floor. He somehow knew they were there and immediately leapt up towards the ceiling and broke through to escape.

Kail and Odo were not about to give up and let him go, so they both leapt up after him to follow through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Dr. Bashir tried to follow the, but could not pull himself up through the hole and was forced to abandon his pursuit to tend to the semi-conscious O'Brien and warn the Captain of what they had witnessed over his com-badge.

Odo had been the closest behind the enemy Changeling and so tried to follow from behind as closely as possible while Kail attempted to cross a junction in a ventilation conduit to cut him off. Their strategy worked and soon the Changeling was forced to slip in between the bulkheads of the corridors to escape, a place where he could easily be cornered.

Sitting next to the chief and attempting to aid him in his struggle for complete consciousness, Julian Bashir could hear the ceiling plates above him creaking eerily as Odo and Kail pursued the Changeling over his head inside the ceiling. When the noises stopped after a few moments, a flicker of relief went through Julian's thoughts and he assumed that Kail and Odo had finally managed to corner the intruder. He was about to gather up the chief to take him safely to the infirmary when the bulkhead behind him virtually exploded and an amber-colored, gelatinous liquid poured out onto him angrily.

Bashir pushed O'Brien aside out of harm's way but only just before the changeling had decided to keep the doctor in his grasp so as to use him as a hostage. The changeling backed up against the bulkhead with his hostage as Odo poured out through the bulkhead where he had recently come through and Kail poured into the corridor from another hole in the ceiling on the other side.

As all three Changelings reformed into a humanoid form, Julian attempted to struggle free from the Changeling's choking grasp, but to no avail. His grip was too strong. The doctor cursed himself for leaving himself open to be taken hostage.

"Give it up," Odo demanded and kept his distance for fear that the changeling might hurt the doctor. "You can't escape and you can't run forever."

"I can, and I will," the changeling spat in reply. "You can't stop me."

With that, the changeling started to morph with the doctor still in his clutches. Doctor Bashir gave a yell as it dragged him back, stretching his arms at an obscene angle, and then together they slipped back toward the gaping hole in the bulkhead. Kail knew that if the other changeling escaped that it would take more hostages as many times as it took to finally escape the station. He inched forward slowly.

The changeling stared him down; he knew what Kail was planning. At the same time, the changeling released the doctor and Kail jumped him. Kail forcibly shoved the other changeling away from the hole with every ounce of strength he could muster, cutting off the closest means of escape. He struggled fiercely and was determined not to let this thing that could not possibly be related to him get away, when suddenly a sharp jolt bit into his lower extremities, paralyzing him and his prey in a death grip.

Seconds stretched into what seemed like minutes and hours when the shock finally released him and he fell to the floor with a soft slosh of liquid.