Much had happened since the arrival of the sick baby Changeling. While Odo did not generally like rapid change, this time it seemed like everything that was occurring now was bent directly in his favor. The life of the changeling being saved had been miracle enough, but for Odo to have his identity returned thanks, in part, to his bond with the newling…This had undone something in Odo he hadn't realized had been bound up. He was a changeling once more and along with that had come a new, unexpected responsibility. A responsibility Odo had never seriously considered undertaking until now.

"Well, Papa? I bet you can't wait to put this all together." Kira remarked with all due pleasure as she helped Odo carry his old things back into his rooms.

"I must admit, had this happened under other circumstances it may have been less satisfying than it feels now. When I thought I was going to be a solid forever, I tried to let go of most of what I'd been. But now? It's exciting. So much more exciting and joyful than I ever imagined it would be. I, of course, am glad to be able to shapeshift again but…"

"But now you're going to have a baby in the house, and they consume all your thoughts." Kira chuckled. "Trust me it's completely natural. I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you. I must admit there were some enjoyable things about being a solid. Sleeping in a bed comes to mind, though it's out of the question now that I tend to revert to my gelatinous form when I sleep. Small sacrifices, I suppose." Odo remarked wistfully.

"Ah well, we can put it in storage for now. What about these PADDS? Finding and Winning Your Perfect Mate by Dr. Jennings Rain…Parenthood For the Unorthodox Parent by S. J. Walzer…" Kira read aloud.

"Uh…I'll take those. Research purposes. At first when I thought I was going to be a humanoid for the rest of my life and then later with the baby…There were certain things that I felt…" Odo began.

"You don't have to explain, Odo." Kira remarked sensing his discomfort.

"I only read the first three chapters of the first and haven't started the second." He reasoned.

"Maybe you should finish them." Kira encouraged him.

"The first seems like a waste of time. Romance is for solids, and I have an example to set now." Odo replied as if he was trying to convince himself of something.

"Odo, you ARE a solid eighteen hours a day, and as a role model I would think you'd want to show this new changeling that they don't have to feel limited about pursuing anything that's important to them regardless of the obstacles," Kira argued. "Furthermore, I'm sure there are plenty of women on this station who would be very interested in you if you'd give them a chance."

"I'll…Keep that in mind, Major. Though right now romance is the last thing on my mind. The doctors say the changeling baby should be well enough to leave the infirmary soon and I want to get everything in order before that happens." Odo explained.

Kira looked as if she was planning to say something, but the computer system cut off her thoughts.

"Dax to Kira and Odo." The voice said.

"Go ahead, commander."

"There's something we'd like you to take a look at in OPS." Dax relayed.

"We're on our way." Kira confirmed.

As it turned out one of the Federation's listening posts in the Gamma Quadrant had picked up what first appeared to be a Cardassian Military Code, however, none of the usual encryption algorithms could decode it. After sending it to Bajor with no immediate results, the assembled officers concluded that the stations resident tailor and former Cardassian spy Elim Garak could perhaps shed some light on the message for them and was promptly summoned to look at the information. The call had interrupted Garak while he'd been taking brunch with Ziyal and Julian.

"I'm sorry for the interruption." Garak said in his typical eager and theatrical way as he returned to his friends at their table a little while later.

"Well? How did it go?" Ziyal asked brightly.

"I'm afraid I disappointed them. I think they were hoping that the message they picked up would contain the key to defeating the Dominion. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I explained to them that it was a five-year-old planetary survey report." Garak emphasized.

"A planetary survey report?" Julian asked rhetorically with a look of distaste.

"That's the look, exactly." Garak said pointing to Julian for Ziyal's benefit.

"I thought you would have been a little disappointed, too." Julian remarked gently as a confused expression played across his feature. "After all, it could have been from one of the survivors of the Cardassian fleet that was lost in the Gamma Quadrant."

"Oh, I'd given up hope on ever finding any trace of them long ago." Garak proclaimed dismissively.

"Really? I never saw you as a giving-up type." Ziyal remarked mirthfully.

"There comes a time when one must face reality, my dear. Those people are gone and are never coming back." Garak insisted with great effectiveness. "Well…My young friends, I'd like to stay here and chat all day, but I have dresses to make, trousers to mend. It's a full life if a trifle banal. And do tell Captain Sisko that I'd be more than happy to decode any Cardassian laundry lists that come across his desk."

Rising out of his chair Garak touched hands with Ziyal and took his swift leave.

In his wake Julian leveled a suspicious glare in is general direction that came from knowing the man as well as he did.

Filled with pleasure, Ziyal turned back to Julian to confess herself. "My father would be furious to hear me say this, but…There's something about Garak I find…Fascinating."

"Yes, he has his moments." Julian agreed with a sour look of concern still present across his features.

Shortly after, Julian concluded his brunch with Ziyal and headed back to the infirmary with some haste. Gaven had taken Julian's morning shift so that he could have time to make his brunch with Ziyal and Garak, but now Julian needed to beg a further favor from him.

"Gaven, I need you to do something for me if you would." Julian asked.

Gaven had just finished up his morning rounds when the other Doctor found him.

"Something wrong, Julian?" Gaven asked in his flat, deadpan manner while he scrubbed down his hands.

"I don't know yet. It could be nothing. I just have to check on something, and I don't know how long it will take. Can you take point, please? I'll make it up to you later." Julian pressed.

Gaven took a moment to look Julian up and down before he bothered responding. "All right. It isn't as if I have anything else to do."

"Thank you. If everything goes well and quickly, I'll stop back and relieve you early." Julian promised.

"Julian." Gaven said sharply just before the other man was about to leave. "Be careful. Whatever you're about to get yourself into? Remember, life is not a game."

The off-hand comment made Julian pause, but instead of inquiring he looked Gaven straight in the face and nodded. "Right. Thanks."

Julian wasn't the only one in a hurry that day.

While the doctor begged off his shift, Garak was busy swiftly packing. Per usual, Garak had not been wholly or even at all honest about the details of the encrypted code he'd been asked to look at.

Knowing its actual contents, Garak was eager to get off the station as quickly as possible. He was so keen in fact that he didn't bother to generate an excuse for shutting down his shop that day. His plan was simple. Steal a runabout and leave to take care of business, consequences be damned.

Garak made it as far as the runabout without attracting suspicion and used one of his contraband gadgets to hack the door locks. It looked as if he was going to be home free, at least for this part of the trip, until a familiar voice landed a fly in his proverbial soup.

"Going somewhere?" Julian inquired as he swung around from the front of the runabout's chair and pointed a phaser directly at Garak.

"I really must remember to stop underestimating you, Doctor." Garak said swiftly as he tried to recover his surprise at being caught so seamlessly.

"How did you know?" Garak asked self-indulgently.

"You mean, that you were lying about the contents of the message? You said that you'd given up on the Cardassian survivors who were lost in the Gamma Quadrant. Well, Ziyal was right. You're not the giving up sort." Julian deduced.

"Very good, Doctor." Garak sad with satisfaction, while putting down his bag. "You've come a long way from the naive young man I met five years ago. You've become distrustful and suspicious. It suits you."

"I had a good teacher." Julian responded satisfactorily. "What did the message really say, Garak?"

It was a call for help. From Enabran Tain." Garak disclosed, carefully watching Julian's reaction.

"Tain?" Julian wrinkled his nose. "But you said you'd seen his ship destroyed by the Dominion."

"I did, but Tain was head of the Obsidian Order for twenty years. If he can survive that, he can survive anything." Garak pointed out. "I have to find him, Doctor. I owe it to him."

"You don't owe Tain anything." Julian objected. "He had you exiled from Cardassia."

"Yes, but, aside from that, we were very close. He was…My mentor and I'm not going to turn my back on him." Garak picked his words carefully but was ultimately firm. "If it'll make you feel any better, you can come with me. All you have to do is come up with an excuse why you need the Runabout, and we could leave immediately."

Julian didn't look moved.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to lie to my commanding officer, violate Starfleet regulations, and go with you on a mission into the Gamma Quadrant, which will probably get us both killed." Julian reiterated as he settled back into his chair.

"I'm ready when you are." Garak said.

It was worth a shot if nothing else.

"In that case…Let's go. To Captain Sisko's office." Julian replied as he trained his phaser back on Garak.

It appeared the jig was up.

"How do you know that the message isn't a fake?" Captain Sisko asked a short time later in his office where Julian had escorted Garak at phaser point. "That it was really sent by Tain?"

"The code sequence was personally designed by Tain and myself. No one else knows it." Garak replied insistently. "Now, somehow he got that message out, and I have to follow it back to its source."

"Did the message contain any coordinates?" Sisko pressed.

"No. Most of it was an identification code. The rest of it was just one word "alive", repeated over and over again. So, it should be easy enough to triangulate the source." Trying to emphasize the strength of his feelings Garak took a step toward the Captain and sought to compel him further.

"Captain…Tain might not be alone. There could be others. Troops from the Cardassian-Romulan fleet, survivors from the Dominion attack on New Bajor, and even crew members from those Federation ships that disappeared in the Gamma Quadrant. This is a mission of mercy. You can't ignore it."

"I'm still not totally convinced that it's a genuine message." Sisko argued. "But I suppose there is only one way to find out."

"Captain," Julian interjected. "You can't let him go. It's too dangerous."

"Your concern is touching, Doctor, but I assure you I can take care of myself." Garak insisted.

"Maybe you can." Sisko conceded. "But you're still not going alone."

Garak's eyes widened again seeing another opportunity to bring Julian into his fold. "Doctor? I think you've just volunteered."

"Dr. Bashir isn't going anywhere. But I do have someone else in mind." The Captain said.

The order had come down from Benjamin personally that Worf was to accompany Garak. A detail that had Jadzia Dax in a rare rage when she happened to find out, not from Worf, but the Captain that he was to go on the mission.

"I don't know what makes me angrier—That you agreed to go into the Gamma Quadrant with GARAK, or that I had to hear it from Sisko." Jadzia fumed as she walked back and forth while Worf stoically sat nearby polishing his weapon.

"I was going to tell you." Worf said firmly but calmly.

"When? On your way out the airlock?" She demanded.

"A Klingon warrior does not have to explain why he chooses to face danger, not even to his par'machkai." Worf remarked, quoting Klingon sensibility.

"So…In other words, you were afraid I'd make a scene. That I'd embarrass you, maybe even cry." She said pointedly.

"You are capable of anything." Worf replied, believing his own words.

"Don't worry Worf. I won't be shedding any tears over you." She replied just as earnestly.

Worf sighed. "Ah. Then you came to wish me a good death in battle."

"No." Jadzia said bluntly quirking her brow. "I came for these."

In a showy manner, Jadzia reached slowly into a nearby drawer to remove a small handful of music rods.

The gesture had the exact effect she wanted it to have as Worf's eyes widened in complete surprise. "My Klingon Operas."

"Well, you won't be using them for the next few days." Jadzia reasoned coyly. "Somebody might as well enjoy them, and I promised to introduce Dr. Ore to them. Now seems like a good a time as any."

At this Worf turned away and crossed the room.

"What? Something wrong?" Jadzia asked gently.

"You have a tendency to misplace things." Worf replied after turning around.

Jadzia scoffed mockingly. "And you're afraid I might lose your precious Operas?"

"Yes." Worf admitted flatly.

"It's a distinct possibility. If I were you, I would hurry back." Jadzia said innocently. "That is…If you want to keep your collection intact."

Jadzia neared Worf, the ever-present passion between them smoldering now and oozing up through the surface of her tone. Not surprisingly the couple embraced passionately and exchanged a lover's kiss. Their quarrel was utterly forgotten.

"Have a glorious death…Or don't. It's up to you." Jadzia reassuringly said before she turned away and walked from the room leaving Worf both dazed and confused as well as inspired.

In Dax and Worf's case, their goodbyes were always worth their quarrels.

While Worf and Jadzia had their lovers tiff and mending, Garak was doing his best to explain to Ziyal why he needed to leave the station. Her shock was evident, to his satisfaction, but Garak couldn't resist stoking the fires of her confusion and pain at the thought of his departure.

While he knew perfectly well that Ziyal was fond of him, a more substantial part of Garak secretly wanted the reassurance of her regard for him.

"You can't go to the Gamma Quadrant." Ziyal protested.

"Oh, I can…and I will." Garak corrected her. "I have to."

"But if something were to happen to you, I…" Ziyal began. "I don't know what I would do."

"Oh, I'm sure you could find someone else to eat your meals with. Not that you'd have to. I fully intend to return." Garak reassured her.

Ziyal shook her head gently. "It's not just the meals."

"Yes, I know." Garak tore his gaze away from her hiding his true feelings. "I'm the only other Cardassian on the station."

"It's not that either. You know that." She insisted. "It's just that you're intelligent…and cultured and kind."

Garak wanted to laugh at her "kind" description of him. Given that he had spent a lifetime conducting business for the Obsidian order and torturing too many people to name with proficiency and glee, "kind" was not a word he would have ever assigned himself. As wrong as Ziyal was thanks to her ignorance of him, it was entirely possible that she was also right so far as his conduct towards her and others he cared about was concerned.

"My dear, you're young, so I realize that you're a poor judge of character." He pointed out.

"Why do you always make fun of my feelings for you?" Ziyal said in frustration.

"Perhaps because I find them a bit, huh, misguided." Garak offered knowing the right word was actually "uncomfortable".

"Well, if this is what you think, why do you spend so much time with me?" She asked, her feelings stung.

As always Garak couldn't bring himself, to be fully honest even though it pained him to tell a half-truth to her. "Because I'm exiled…and alone, and a long way from home. And when I'm with you, it doesn't feel so bad."

"I'm glad I could help." Ziyal said gently.

"Ziyal…No matter what happens, no matter how bleak things may look, I promise you I will come back." It was the closest thing to a profession of love Garak could manage. "You have my word."

"I believe you." Ziyal reassured him.

Seconds later their sweet moment was destroyed by the unexpected arrival of Ziyal's father, Dukat.

"Take your hands off her!" Surprising them both Dukat wasted no time in seizing Garak by the shirt front and threatening to drop him backward over the balcony near their table.

"You touch my daughter again, and I'll kill you." He promised.

"Go ahead. Kill me. She'll never forgive you, you know." Garak baited him while Ziyal protested from the sidelines.

The scene attracted the negative attention of almost everyone in sight, and just as Quark was ready to spring into action, an unexpected interloper intervened.

"Gul Dukat, I presume. I believe you had some routine business with Dr. Bashir today among other things. Seeing as I have agreed to take over his shifts that means you have business with me. Now you wouldn't know it, but I'm planning to be very busy today, and I would kindly appreciate it if you wouldn't complicate my day further by killing this gentleman on the promenade. Best case, I'd have to subdue you and try to save his life, and I really don't have time for that right now. Not to mention I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your blood pressure down before I have to see you." Gaven had been eating at his usual table alone when the trouble had started.

Turning Dukat glared at the stranger. "If I were you, I would learn to mind my own business."

"Yes. Yes. We should all mind our own business. But I'm afraid, gentlemen, that I can't have you fighting in my establishment. Take the good Doctor's advice and settle your disputes somewhere else." Quark interjected.

"I will act as I please, Ferengi." Dukat growled.

"Well, then you'll excuse me while I call Security. I'm sure Odo will get a big thrill out of having you locked up in one of his holding cells." Quark urged.

"Father…please." Ziyal implored him.

"Public opinion seems to be running against you." Garak quipped as Dukat still had him half hanging off the balcony. "You know…I think that actually helped my back."

"Let's go, Garak." Quark said slyly. "I'll buy you a drink. Dr. Ore? I'm sure you have places to be. Don't let us hold you up any longer."

After being released, Garak glanced towards Ziyal and touched hands with her once more. "A pleasure…As always, my dear."

He then couldn't resist a final quip at Dukat for Ziyal and his own benefit. "You do have a lovely daughter. She must take after her mother."

As everyone began to disburse, Ziyal glanced sidelong at her father. "You're wrong about Garak, father. He's a good man."

Calming now, Dukat leveled a fatherly look at his daughter. "You have no idea how much it pains me to hear you say that."

Sighing dismissively Dukat tried to smooth things over. "It is good to see you again, Ziyal."

Smiling at his effort, Ziyal clasped his arm. "It's good to see you too, father. What are you doing on the station?"

"Oh, I had a little skirmish with a Klingon Battle Cruiser. My ship was damaged, so I came here for repairs, a check-up, and to spend some time with you. And I can see…We have a lot to talk about." He said squeezing his daughter's hand.

As the hours ticked on, much began to happen.

Julian was caught up in meetings most of the day. Worf and Garak had left and been gone for almost twenty-four hours. Gaven had agreed to pick up Julian's workload for the next few days and had a tense though civil exchange with Dukat as he checked him for minute injuries from his previous battle.

All was calm about the station until word started coming in of a possible imminent attack by the Dominion. Soon after contact with Worf and Garak were lost entirely and everyone began to fear the worst.

Though Gaven had his hands full, Bashir kept him in the loop as meetings progressed. Much of their plans to protect against a changeling invasion weren't entirely in place yet, and even if they had been, there was still the Jem'Hadar forces to contend with. To confirm things Kira was sent alone with the Defiant and was met with the shocking reality of their situation. The Dominion was indeed coming. After engaging a brief battle, Kira made it back in through the wormhole though unbeknown to her she was not alone.

Tired and anxious for the impending Dominion invasion, Bashir hurried on his way back to the infirmary to check on Gaven and to see if they could expedite any of their plans before the Dominion ships arrived. While traveling through the promenade Julian caught sight of a young child crying alone near the side of one of the shops with a badly scraped knee. Being a doctor and with everyone else scattered and either trying to get off the station or hunkered down, Bashir instantly stopped to assess the situation.

"My, hello little one. That looks uncomfortable. Where are your parents?" Julian inquired.

"They're inside. I fell, and it hurts." The child cried.

"Shh. Come on. I'll take you to them, and we'll get you all patched up." Julian picked the small girl up in his arms and hurried into the abandoned shop to meet the girl's parents. But once inside he found the space completely abandoned. "Hm. Strange. I don't see them."

Once they were inside and out of eyesight. To Bashir's horror, the little girl suddenly transformed into what appeared to be a white-haired yeti and attacked him. Julian didn't stand a chance and was almost immediately incapacitated, bound, and left for dead in the back of the shop.

Shortly after the impostor shifted again. This time into Bashir himself and adjusted his uniform.

"Yes. Strange, indeed." The changeling replied in a perfect replica of Julian's voice and tonality.

Captain's Log: Supplemental.

A full-scale Dominion invasion appears imminent. Still, I remain confident in my crew's ability to face this crisis as they have so many others—with dedication and with courage.

"Our last listening post in the Gamma Quadrant just went dead." Kira confirmed as the impostor Bashir looked on between the officers.

"That was right on the other side of the wormhole." Dax added trying to remain calm.

"Which means the Dominion's fleet is just minutes away. Doctor Ore reports we have no other alternative on his end. Cheif!" Sisko barked.

"Nearly ready." Miles replied.

They were about to try and blow the wormhole as a last-ditch attempt to shut down the invasion.

"Worf…" Jadzia couldn't help herself.

"Is a Klingon Warrior." The impostor Bashir coldly remarked. "He'll understand."

"Neutrino levels in the wormhole are rising." Kira said.

"If we're going to do this, it's got to be now." Sisko said.

"Ready." Miles responded.

"Here goes nothing." The impostor Bashir remarked prophetically.

"Activate the graviton emitters." Sisko ordered.

Kira did what she was told and before holding her breath muttered a barely audible prayer of forgiveness.

Seconds later, Miles executed the command.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the beams tried to do their work until an explosion erupted from one of the consoles near Miles.

"We're losing it." Dax announced.

"What happened!" Sisko demanded.

"Someone sabotaged the emitter array." Miles explained.

"Captain! The wormhole is opening!" Someone yelled.

"Battle stations!" Sisko barked while they all watched the ships emerge through the hole.

Minutes later Dax and Kira took their battle positions on the Defiant while Dukat came into position with his ship.

"Nobody fires until we have orders from Captain Sisko." Kira ordered as she settled into command.

"There sure are a lot of them." Dax remarked.

"That'll just make it harder for us to miss." Kira assured her.

"They're still not responding to our hails." Miles muttered back on Deep Space Nine.

"I think they're trying to intimidate us." Sisko observed.

"Well, it's working." Miles replied. "I don't believe it. The Dominion ships are turning away from the station. They're laying in a new course."

"Heading?" Sisko asked.

"Straight for Cardassia." Miles said in wonder.

"Dukat's ship is breaking formation. He's going after the Dominion fleet." Dax observed.

"Open a channel." Kira demanded. "Dukat. Stop trying to be a hero. Get back to the station."

"Your concern is touching, Major." Dukat said over the view screen. "But I think you misunderstand me. I'm not attacking the Dominion fleet. I'm joining it."

"What are you talking about?" Kira asked skeptically.

"I'm afraid I have a confession to make, Major. For the past few months, I've been conducting secret negotiations between the Dominion and Cardassia. And as of last week, Cardassia has agreed to become part of the Dominion." Dukat explained.

"You can't be serious." Kira said in disbelief.

"Good-bye, Major. You and I on the same side. It never seemed quite…Right. Did it?" Dukat asked rhetorically.

"Lock phasers. Open fire." Kira muttered.

"Too late. He's gone." Dax confirmed.

The next day the officers gathered to listen to Dukat's deplorable speech about Cardassia's defection to the Dominion. Almost everyone was still trying to absorb the depths of what was happening. About everyone except for Gaven who had been stuck in the infirmary since the day before without relief. This was further complicated when the Klingon Ships started to arrive in droves many with wounded.

"Julian. Where the hell have you been and what is going on around here?" Gaven demanded as the impostor Julian arrived in the infirmary just as casualties were coming in.

"War, Doctor. Haven't you been getting my briefings?" The impostor Julian asked just ever so more coldly and deadpan then the real Julian would have.

His strange tonality was not missed by Gaven who was acutely sensitive to all Julian's expressions.

"Let's get to work." Was all the impostor said.

"This is a dark day. Not only for the Klingon Empire but for the Alpha Quadrant itself." The Klingon Gowron said as he conferenced with Captain Sisko while his wounds were being tended.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Sisko asked.

"I will do what must be done. Pull back. Pull my forces out of Cardassian space, fortify the Klingon Empire and prepare for a fight to the death." Gowron said passionately.

"Maybe there's a better way." Sisko offered as he handed him a PADD.

"The Khitomer Accords?" The Klingon questioned. "The treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire is dead."

"But we can bring it back to life again." Sisko argued. "This is the most fortified position between here and the Klingon Empire. There will be a Starfleet task force here soon. If you could bring your fleet here—"

Sisko rallied.

"Then we could stand united against the Dominion." Gowron finished, before turning around to face him. "And if we do…"

"We might have a chance." The impostor Bashir affirmed.

"Think of it. Five years ago, no one had ever heard of Bajor or Deep Space Nine, and now, all our hopes rest here. Where the tides of fortune take us, no man can know." Gowron said handing back the PADD.

"They're tricky, those tides." Sisko remarked with zeal while the stoic impostor Julian looked on.

Unbeknown to any of them Gaven was in the background listening. His attention acutely trained on Julian in particular.

Soon after, the impostor Bashir left the infirmary with no word as to why or when he'd be back. A short time later he was lurking about the station. Sabotaging more systems as he went without anyone's notice.

Later the remainder of Gowron's ships arrived, and the expected Federation task force was only hours away. Meanwhile, Odo and Kira began to discover more evidence of sabotage. In response, Sisko encouraged Kira and Odo to double their security measures and reach out to Gowron's forces for extra support. To add further fans to the flame, Dukat revealed his intentions to reclaim Deep Space Nine if the Federation did not follow suit and join the Dominion. The Captain was not amicable to this plan asserting that Dukat was welcome to try.

Nearly five days into the conflict, Gaven was growing increasingly suspicious of Julian's strange behavior. His instincts told him not to make any movements until he was sure. Was it possible that the saboteur everyone was looking for was Julian? If it was indeed possible, then Gaven surmised it was also more plausible that the person everyone thought was Julian was someone or something else entirely. There were ways Gaven knew of testing his theory. However, the problem remained that if the current Julian was an impostor, what then had become of the real Julian? Had the interloper subdued him somewhere? Had they spirited him away? Or killed him outright? The very thought of the final possibility sent chills up Gaven's spine. It became his main priority to figure out where Julian was and to secure him if possible before he made any other moves.

Gaven began his secret investigation by first trying to deduce precisely when the Doctor had likely been replaced. When had the subtle changes in his temperament first become noticeable?

Unlike Julian's mental recall that was only nearly perfect, Gaven's enhanced abilities and alien background meant his recall was perfect. The problem was Julian had been mostly away from Gaven since the current crisis had begun.

Nevertheless, Gaven was able to loosely determine through his recall that he'd started noticing Julian's too cold and unfeeling demeanor right around the time Kira had returned with the Defiant through the wormhole. A quick analysis of the reports Julian had sent him also showed a telling and subtle change in writing style that was most noticeable in the briefing that Gul Dukat had attended. That was almost five days ago Gaven calculated. If Julian was alive but injured somewhere and incapacitated, Gaven had to find him as soon as possible.

His discoveries narrowed the timeline. He'd personally noticed a change in temperament when Bashir had failed to check in on him as promptly as expected as the injured Klingon's first began to arrive.

What had he said? War, Doctor.

Gaven recalled how calculatingly he had said it. While Gaven of all people knew Julian hid much of his real temperament and personality, the man had always gone the extra mile to conceal it around Gaven. An effort which had only made the cover-up more evident to him. But this other Julian no longer tried to conceal himself. How he presented was who he really was. That meant that there was a good chance the impostor had tangled with Julian while in route to the infirmary. Which meant it was possible their touchpoint had been somewhere along the main promenade.

Gaven knew he had to be subtle from there on out. Almost all the everyday civilians had fled the station. Many, including Cheval and the O'Brien's, had gone to Bajor for temporary refuge.

This meant the promenade would be empty enough to look for clues, but it also suggested it would seem odd if Gaven were witnessed poking about and loitering for no apparent reason. Still, he had to try.

Gaven walked the promenade in sweeps using his breaks and mealtimes as a cover since the infirmary was quite full. His superior abilities helped make those sweeps as detailed as possible as he looked for anything out of the ordinary. A sign of looting or trespass among the shops, evidence of a battle in the nooks and crannies between them. Traces of blood. On his third sweep through the promenade on his way home for dinner Gaven finally found what he was looking for. A light in the back of one of the semi-secured shops was flickering on and off as if something were disrupting its power source. Although there was no sign of breaking and entering Gaven knew it was possible that Julian could have been lured into one of the establishments since an attack out in public would have been noticed.

Another interesting point was that this store, a small rug shop, was not as secured as the others. After all, rugs weren't exactly a hot commodity. At least not the ones being sold there. Not caring if he were breaking any rules Gaven made sure no one was immediately about and cut into the shop's side entrance where it would be less noticeable. If he got caught, he could always fall back on plan B and convince Odo to investigate.

Using the flickering light as a guide, Gaven made his way through the rug shop and into the back storeroom where he'd seen the slight flickering through a side window. Gaven's sensitive senses could smell something was amiss right away. The room reeked of stale sweat, blood, and urine.

"Oh, Julian by whatever power's there might be let you be here and be alive." Gaven hoarsely said as he looked about the space.

At first glance, he saw nothing, but as his eyes swiftly adjusted to the dim flickering light, he caught the sheen from a pair of boots sticking out from underneath a set of heavy rolled rugs. As Gaven took a closer look, he could make out a familiar hand sticking out of the mess.

"Julian. My Gods. Julian, it's me. Dr. Ore. Julian can you hear me." Gaven didn't immediately try to move the heavy carpets Julian was hidden beneath.

Instead, he knelt and gently felt for Julian's pulse via his wrist. To his relief, Gaven could make out a subtle thready pulse. Julian was alive but barely. Given the stench of blood in the room, it was all too possible that he had experienced some internal or external injury that had caused him to bleed out slowly. If that was the case, it was also possible that the pressure of the rugs against his body had been the only thing keeping him alive.

"Alright, listen to me if you can. You're in shock, Julian and badly injured. If you can understand me, I need you to be strong until I can assess the damage and stabilize you." Reaching through the rugs, Gaven began to feel around using his empathic abilities to tease out the danger points as he went.

As he linked with Julian's body the pain was almost unbearable, and yet Gaven focused his attention, pushing through the signals Julian's body was sending him to zero in on the damaged areas. His assessment via this approach indicated that Julian had fractured most of his ribs, bruised his kidney, shattered part of his jaw and had his face savagely beaten with other superficial wounds all over his body. Whatever had attacked him had been mercilessly violent. The most troubling was a wound on the side front of Julian's head. This was the source of most of the bleeding, and although Gaven didn't think he'd fractured his skull, there was always a possibility that he had or that he'd suffered brain trauma in general.

At least now Gaven knew he could risk moving the rugs away from him without causing further damage. As he did this, the release of heavy pressure caused Julian to sputter and open his eyes as he gasped for air.

"Julian! Julian, try to relax. You're severely injured. I need you to hold still." Gaven ordered.

Despite this, Julian was trying to speak through his painful jaw and weakened state. "There…There…Changeling. Aboard. Danger."

His rasping was barely audible.

"I hear you. I promise I'll do something about it as soon as I can. I need to get you to the infirmary and alert the Captain." At this, Gaven decided to throw all other caution to the wind.

Changeling on board or not, his priority was to Julian's wellbeing.

"Computer, Medical Emergency at my coordinates. Dr. Gaven Ore to Captain Sisko. Sir. We have a serious problem. There is a changeling that's been posing as Dr. Bashir. He should be considered extremely dangerous." Gaven said.

"Tell me something I don't already know, Doctor. We have a crisis of our own up here and reason to believe the suspected changeling is no longer on board. Tell me, some good news." Sisko replied.

"I've found the real Doctor Bashir. He's alive but gravely wounded. I'm waiting on a medical team now. Good luck, Captain. May the Prophets smile on us all. Dr. Ore, out."

While Gaven had been busy searching for, discovering, and tending to the wounded Julian, the changeling impostor had by now high-jacked the Yukon and revealed himself to be heading for the nearest sun. No doubt he intended to destroy it and in one fail swoop wipe out every living thing within range their side of the warm hole. Luckily, thanks to Major Kira's quick actions her ship was in hot pursuit. Moments later the high-jacked runabout was destroyed. They had narrowly foiled their enemies plans of mass destruction.

"The roundabout's been destroyed." Miles confirmed.

"If the sun had gone nova, it would have wiped out the Dominion fleets, too. Chief, scan for those warp signatures again." Sisko ordered.

"Captain…"

"They're gone, aren't they?" He asked in mild awe.

"All I'm reading is normal background radiation." Miles confirmed.

"The warp signatures must have been faked." Captain Sisko concluded. "The Dominion's real fleet never left Cardassian space. This was all an elaborate trap—an attempt to destroy the station and Bajor, and cripple the Federation and Klingon fleets, without ever firing a shot. Tell our friends out there to stand down. Armageddon will have to wait for another day."