Chapter Fifteen: Star Witness
Julian binds the Andorian's hands with a tourniquet from an emergency med kit before leading him out of the infirmary.
On their way to the security office, Chris notes that the station's primary physician pointing a phaser at a wounded Andorian in a Federation uniform draws surprisingly little attention. His vantage point for this observation is ideal because he sluggishly lags behind the pair by several paces.
Chris is dreading what he is positive will be an extremely uncomfortable reunion with Kira. He recalls their previous encounter where she deliberately ignored him in her devastated office.
I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I only thought about what it would be like to kiss her, but it was enough—she caught on.
The closer they get to the security office, the more Chris wishes he was still at the bottom of a bottle at Quark's.
When Julian and Chris arrive at the sealed door of the security office with their Andorian prisoner, Kira and Ezri are once again fixated on data-filled screens within. Julian taps on the door to get their attention, then starts pointing to his prisoner despite the obviousness of his presence.
Much like before, the women are startled by the sudden disruption of silence.
"Dammit Ju…" Kira's words, muffled by the door, halt abruptly as she spots the Andorian.
As Kira peers through the glass bewildered, Chris pretends to be distracted by something on the upper level of the Promenade. Though there's no way she could know any of it, Chris feels a twist in his gut as if she were privy to all of his actions, words, and private thoughts over the past couple of hours. He's terrified to look in her eyes as he believes he'll see that embarrassing knowledge lurking behind them.
Kira releases the door lock and eagerly awaits an explanation as to how Julian apprehended the Andorian.
The trio shuffles inside and the door seals behind them. Chris steps off to the side, happy that Kira is keenly focused on Julian and his captive. As he settles into a corner, he briefly meets Ezri's eyes as she welcomes him with a warm "hello again" and a smile, but his self-consciousness quickly draws his attention to the floor after an abbreviated "hi."
After a brief delay, Ezri speaks excitedly. "Oh my goodness! Chris, are you bleeding?"
"Huh?" Chris looks up and blinks, then follows her gaze to his shirt. "Oh, that; no. I uh, lost a fight with a bottle of steak sauce."
Williams scoffs. "I'm surprised you're not covered in…"
Julian applies sharp pressure to a tender spot of the Andorian's shoulder, replacing his words with a grimace.
Kira closes her eyes and shakes her head subtly. Not only has Julian yet to explain how he's come to have the Andorian in custody, but she already regrets asking that Chris be brought here. She's still mad about the way he looked at her in her office—and that he dared touch her. The fact that he has feelings for her and provided the warning that allowed her to narrowly escape an explosion intended to kill her is beside the point.
I don't know what he was thinking, but it sure as hell wasn't "you're welcome."
Kira finds Chris' behavior immediately aggravating. He's been keeping his distance, turning away any time she looks in his direction, and generally acting uncomfortable in his own skin. She has a pretty good idea of how he feels, but his behavior strikes her as highly immature.
I wish Julian hadn't found him.
Shoving the thought aside, Kira looks to Julian for the explanation she's been waiting for.
Julian quickly recognizes Kira's expectant stare. "Ah, yes. We, uh, 'crossed paths' with this fellow along the way," he reports. He omits mention of the infirmary and details of the Andorian's apprehension to minimize the odds that Chris' embarrassing display becomes a topic of discussion.
"You just… 'crossed paths'?" Kira straightens from her inquisitive lean and blinks.
Julian ignores the request for clarification and changes the subject. "More importantly, I'm afraid he's killed one of our security officers. I'm not sure who."
Ezri gasps before her face droops in sorrow. At the same time, Kira's face warps with rage.
"You need to get him to a cell before I do something…" Kira begins sternly.
"What… that you'll regret, colonel?" Williams scoffs. "So cliché. Sisko was much more eloquent. He had presence."
"Oh, I am so sorry to disappoint you with my simple words. I was going to say: before I do something that I'll have to answer to the admiral for. There were two men I sent looking for you, and they're both practically family to me. Don't think for one second I'd regret eliminating your 'presence' right here."
The Andorian's wide eyes blink twice before Julian pushes him towards the holding cells and out of Kira's sight.
Watching quietly from a corner of the security office, Chris finds Kira's livid expression and tone all too familiar.
Damn, she literally wanted to kill me yesterday. Julian said she needs my help, but she does not act like she wants me here. Yet… here I am, hopelessly…
"Chris," Kira says calmly.
Kira's tone has changed so drastically from her angry words at the Andorian that Chris' cruel imagination interprets it as a beckoning call full of want. His eyes snap from the floor in surprise to meet a gaze that is instead overflowing with irritation. Her abbreviated eye roll stings.
"It seems we may have drug you in here for nothing," Kira says.
Still recovering from his gross misinterpretation, "huh?" is all Chris can manage in return.
"Williams and his friend have been busy," Ezri elaborates. "They've wiped out a large number of personnel records, including those for the entire security force."
"We were going to have you look through the image files, but those are gone now." Kira gestures with her hands then lets them fall onto the desk in a forced display of hopelessness.
"So?" Chris says dismissively.
"So?" Kira questions, surprised at Chris' attitude. "So… you can't identify our traitor."
"Not with the pictures, I can't. But I can still point him out in person." Chris demonstrates by pointing to the office doors.
"I've become a target. You seriously think I'm going to let you follow me around the station?"
"Yes," Chris speaks and nods slowly as he shifts his eyes between Kira and Ezri. "That would be the point."
"It's too dangerous," Kira shakes her head. "Completely out of the question."
"Oh, like you even care." Chris had the impulsive thought surely enough, but he's surprised to hear the words leave his mouth. He watches anger overtake Kira's features.
"Now look," Kira points. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to snap out of it and act like the adult you appear to be. You may have seven years' worth of crap in your head to base this… this… adolescent crush on, but I've known you less than two days. I don't think…"
"I saved your life!" Chris blurts out without thinking.
Kira smacks her palms on the desk and leans forward to glare at Chris. "Thank you! But that doesn't mean I'm going to jump into your little daydream. You may not believe it, but I do care. I care about you, I care about them, I care about everyone on this station. But everything we're doing right now? It's because the man I love is in danger! Yesterday you said you knew that. Suck it up and act like it!"
Chris falls speechless. It's true that he knows how Kira feels about Odo, but the angry statements hit hard. He looks to the floor, trying to find evidence of the heart that's been violently ripped from his chest.
"Ohhhkayyy," Ezri says with a clap. "I think we've all had a rough day. How about we take a little break and regroup. We need to shed some of the emotionally-charged opinions in here and walk through the facts when Julian gets back."
"I heard my name… did I miss anything?" Julian walks around the corner from the hall to the holding cells to find disparate expressions. Kira looks irate, Chris looks devastated, and Ezri looks overwhelmed. "It looks like I most certainly did."
"I don't need a break," Kira says angrily under her breath. "I need answers." She stands from the desk and brushes past Julian on her way to the holding cells.
"You were just trying to scare Williams earlier, right?" Julian calls after Kira.
Kira doesn't respond.
"Right?!"
Chris sits in a corner of the security office, lost in his thoughts.
Ezri and Julian stand near the small replicator in the office, slowly requesting hot drinks from it as they catch each other up in hushed tones.
"Who else is involved?!" Kira's muffled yell drifts around the corner.
Blinking and smiling in a poor attempt at ignoring Kira's voice, Ezri looks to Chris. "Would you like something to drink, Chris?"
With no sign of a forthcoming response, Julian answers for him. "Coffee. He was drinking coffee yesterday at breakfast."
"What am I going to find in that cargo?!" Kira's raised voice is heard again, the soft volume belying the strained tone.
"Here you go, Chris," Ezri kneels down to look a seated Chris in the eye as she holds out a mug of steaming coffee. "This might help shake the last of that alcohol."
Chris scoffs. "Told you about that, huh?" he says as he takes the mug. "Thanks. This hasn't been one of my proudest days."
"You saved someone's life today," Ezri squeezes his shoulder. "Don't forget that."
Kira's muted yell can be heard once more. "Fine, but when Starfleet's done with you, your ass is mine!"
Chris rolls his eyes. "Well, at least I know there's one person who'd like thank me for it."
Ezri isn't quite sure if Chris' comment is sarcasm or some cryptic, brooding remark. The slight curve of one corner of his mouth implies he's jokingly suggesting Williams would like to thank him for saving Kira's life, but his eyes and brow underline his belief that Kira herself wouldn't.
As Kira slowly steps around the corner from the holding cells unnoticed. She spies Chris, still in the corner, staring into a mug of coffee. Julian and Ezri whisper behind the desk.
"…and the look on Williams' face when Chris got sick," Julian chuckles quietly. "He was thoroughly disgusted. That's when I knew I had an opportunity to catch him by surprise."
"Julian," Chris says at over-hearing the conversation. "I thought you weren't going to tell anyone about…"
Chris falls silent as he looks up and spots Kira in the doorway with her arms crossed. She watches his face pale in embarrassment.
"Feel better now?" Julian asks Kira before anyone else has a chance to speak.
"I do," Kira turns to Julian and replies. "I didn't get anything out of him, but I was able to vent some aggression at someone who actually deserved it." She faces Chris again. "I'm sorry, Chris. What I said was hurtful."
"It was the truth," Chris shrugs. "I'm sorry for making things complicated."
The tension in the room is high as the two stare at each other.
"That's wonderful," Ezri says with a nervous smile. "Apologies are a healthy start. And… I should be the last person to abandon this topic, but let's leave this one on a high note and focus on the bigger issue. The galaxy could be at stake, remember?"
"Right," Kira hesitantly ends her stare with Chris and nods. "Dax and I have been going through the data, so we have a better idea of what we're looking for. We'll head to cargo bay 12 and start digging."
"But that's one of the larger bays on the station," Julian says. "It could take hours for the two of you to locate a specific shipment in there. If they went to the trouble of hiding its presence in the logs, surely they wouldn't have left the shipment's ID transceiver in place. You'd have to scan every container."
"But they didn't hide it in the logs," Kira counters. "It was right under our noses. Tampering with transceivers would just draw attention to it."
"Granted, but there's still the small detail of this cargo being malicious in nature, nevermind the fact that there's at least one man willing to kill to protect it."
Chris clears his throat. "A man whose face I could recognize. I should go too."
Kira shakes her head emphatically. "That's not going to hap…"
"They both have good points, Kira," Ezri interrupts. "We should all go. Two more sets of eyes to find what we're looking for and… safety in numbers, right?"
Kira glances around as the others nod. "All right. We go together. But the two of you need to help keep an eye out for security personnel and discretely point them out to Chris. And likewise, Chris, be subtle about letting us know if you spot the man from your vision."
Another round of nods follows.
"Are you both armed?" Kira glances at Ezri and Julian.
"Yes, sir," Julian responds.
"Absolutely," Ezri answers.
Kira pulls a Bajoran phaser from an arms locker and changes the settings on it. She slides it into a holster and hands it over to Chris. "This is set to stun."
Chris is shocked and makes no move to receive the weapon. "Uh, are you sure you want me to have that?"
"You insisted on coming. I'm not going to take you into a potentially dangerous situation unarmed."
Chris hesitantly takes the weapon and attaches the holster to his waistband. He looks to Kira for a nod of approval that he's put it on correctly.
"How's it look out there?" Kira asks Julian, who's been peeking through the doors to the Promenade.
"No sign of anyone in a security uniform," Julian answers, continuing to scan passersby, "and no one acting suspiciously as far as I can tell."
"Considering your keen eye, doctor, I think it's as good a time as any to make our move."
Kira hasn't left the security office since the explosion in her office. Anyone aggressively seeking her out would know her location by now. By the same token, they would also know that her investigation is no longer private. Given the choice between killing multiple people to halt the investigation and changing tactics entirely, she hopes their secretive enemy chooses the latter.
"OK everyone," Kira says, "we don't want to spook anyone into doing anything stupid. While we're in the Promenade, try to act… natural." She scoffs at herself. "Damn, that Andorian's got me spitting out clichés now."
Kira disengages the door seal and leads the group out of the security office.