"So...back to his shared quarters with Lt. Commander Data?"
"Yes, and Laura we need to go back to the original schedule with Odo"
"Of course sir"
"Can you have someone else finish his shift first though?"
"Don't worry Odo warned me that this could happen and we already have an off duty officer ready for the call"
"Good, why haven't you called them yet then?"
"I did sir, very discreetly, however I also gave them orders to do an Engineering check first for obvious reasons"
"Got it"
Everyone knew that what wasn't being said was that Data was currently in Engineering helping LaForge with a complicated task that was best suited for both of them to work together, and that Data needed to know about the change in schedule regarding his roommate. Two minutes later and Odo's replacement was at Odo's former post before he regenerated in the middle of the shift
"Have you briefed the correct people?"
"Yes sir, things are as normal as possible...how is he anyways?"
"Looks like he's simply going back to his normal schedule and needs rest"
"Understood, emergency preparation from now on?"
"Indeed, but that will be for later"
"Let's hope this doesn't set off a pattern for however long Odo's on board"
"It shouldn't, but missions might change that, we just don't know yet"
"Understood, hopefully though nothing major happens"
"Agreed"
"In the meantime we have a known schedule with Odo and we're going to do our best to keep it, Laura is Odo going to be in charge whenever you're off ship every time?"
"No sir, he's agreed to rotate with my second in command if he's on the ship, if not usual chain of command goes into place"
"Understood"
"So...where next?"
"Not sure actually, we have no direct orders from Starfleet plus the conference actually isn't officially over for another two days"
"Right, forgot about that considering that there's been one issue after another since we got here"
Ultimately the rest of the conference was peaceful and surprisingly enough the rest of the three months that Odo was aboard the Enterprise for the first time ever was relatively calm in regards to missions, yes he did have to transform twice more during said missions and his gelatinous state saved his life at least twice when it came to solid objects, and his comrades life at least five different times (he forceably dragged those officers to safety via the feet being pulled out from under them) but that was more because they were dealing with riots on planets that were dealing with their own emergencies being pretty much over and the Federation aid was simply being given to bring stability sooner and some extra food than anything else. Finally though the three months were over and Data and Odo were heading back to DS9
"So...do you know if Captain Sisko has figured out arrangements for Data?"
"Yes Captain Picard, Sisko has already made different arrangements for Data than what I had with this ship, primarily because it would be...unwise to have the same arrangement on the station that we have here on the Enterprise for complicated reasons"
"How unwise, and how complicated?"
"Part of the complication is in regards to how my quarters are arranged, the other aspects are...not classified per se but not easily discussed either"
"Understood, but how unwise would it be?"
"Extremely unwise considering everything that I haven't said being factored in and other non important but still necessary for station functioning also being factored in"
"That makes no sense Odo"
"I know sir...it's hard to explain to people that don't live on the station on a regular basis"
"Very well, we'll be reaching DS9 in five hours, Data is already getting ready for transfer, I suggest you do the same"
"Understood sir"
Five hours later and Data and Odo are welcomed aboard DS9 by the senior staff
"Welcome back Odo, Lt. Commander Data welcome back aboard DS9 as well, quarters have already been arranged and both of you are going to go through a physical before reporting for duty tomorrow"
"This is going to happen every time isn't it?"
"Yes Odo it is, it's an unfortunate necessity but it's a necessity required by Starfleet regulations"
"Indeed, by the way Data and I have an update for you regarding...certain aspects regarding the Enterprise that Captain Picard didn't trust subspace communication to and since we were already scheduled to transfer here he decided the two of us would be enough especially with Data have perfect memory"
"Understood, I'll see the two of you tomorrow in my office at 0900"
The next day and Odo and Data were in Sisko's office with their medical clearance but primarily to discuss their secondary mission as was discussed in code the day before
"So...Section 31"
"We've unfortunately made very little progress in regards to that mission Captain Sisko, they are very adept at hiding and what little we've managed to do seems to be a situation of one step forward two steps back if I recall the human saying correctly"
"Understood, return to your duties Odo, you know the rules regarding Section 31 missions more than anyone else, I need to inform Lt. Commander Data exactly what his posting is on this station considering where he normally works on the Enterprise"
Ten minutes later and while Odo was dealing with Quark Data had been told that he would work alongside Kira Nerys helping her with her duties in regards to how the station ran, his other duties were that if needed he would help Odo with security issues at Odo's request and he was also to help smooth out a new procedure regarding transportation of certain goods that the Federation was only just starting to accept as legal trading goods but had the potential to be volatile under certain conditions
"Basically it's like you're still on the Enterprise just with a few differences"
"Understood sir"
"Now then in regards to your secondary mission I know that you and Odo want to handle this by yourselves as much as possible but on the station Doctor Bashir might be a good ally considering his dealings with Section 31 in the past, it's up to the two of you to decide if that's what you want or not but I am giving you that option"
"I will discuss this with Odo first, what about Colonel Kira?"
"She already knows about and has agreed to this arrangement"
"Where do I start then sir?"
"Go to Kira and the two of you will go from there together...oh by the way how much do you know about Cardassian Voles?"
"Not much sir why?"
"Because we have another infestation of them and we might need to do an elimination sweep if they get any where's vital"
"I will read up on them then"
"Good idea"
Data then went to where Kira Nerys was and started his shift
"Okay, I think that until you get more used to the station you should handle Starfleet docking requests and also any Starfleet departure requests, and depending on what's going on you can handle a few of the Klingon requests depending on what ship it is"
"Understood"
"Don't worry, you'll be completely up to speed in no time from what I know from my sources, and in all honesty that means you'll give me more time to deal with issues on Bajor that only a fellow Bajoran can deal with"
"Understood"
Ultimately within a week the entire station was learning just how useful having Data was, because while he did take downtime like other officers and was on a set schedule they also learned that he occasionally worked overtime and that overtime was for the benefit of station security in small but important ways, though initially the core group wasn't too happy