In DS9's Ops Centers, Dylan exchanged pleasantries with Admiral Paris before being ushered into Sisko's office.

"How does it feel, Captain?" Sisko asked, motioning Dylan to a chair across from his desk.

"How does what feel?" Dylan asked as he sat down. "Oh, and please, call me Dylan. I've grown used to a certain amount of informality."

Sisko took his seat. "In that case, you may call me Ben. And I was asking how it feels to be the alien visitor."

"I haven't really thought about it, Ben. And I've had to get used to so many things over the past few years, this doesn't really phase me."

"Yes, there has been some…speculation about your officers."

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"Well…I grew up in the System's Commonwealth, pretty much the greatest civilization ever. Your Federation sounds a lot like it, although the Commonwealth spanned three galaxies."

"Yes, Dax told me your FTL drive should make it easy to travel between galaxies."

Dylan nodded. "Three hundred years ago, the Nietzscheans rose up against the Commonwealth, and it collapsed in the resulting war. Andromeda and I fought in the opening battle, a trap sprung by the Nietzscheans. We were outnumbered and outgunned. I ordered the rest of the crew to abandon ship while I tried to slingshot us around a black hole. It might have worked if my Nietzschean first officer hadn't betrayed me. Andromeda and I were frozen in time for three hundred years. Captain Valentine and her crew, along with Tyr Anasazi, had been hired to recover and ….loot the ship. But I recruited them to… well, to help me rebuild the Commonwealth. And we succeeded, although there have been…problems lately. But that's why Beka isn't regular military. In fact, when I recruited her, she said, 'I won't salute, you, and I won't call you Captain.' It's kind of a running joke between us."

"I should say," Sisko said. "But I find it astounding - you woke to find your civilization had fallen, and straight away, you set out to put Humpty Dumpty together again, without any of the king's horses and none of his men. It's amazing you're still sane."

Dylan just started at Sisko.

"I'm sorry," Sisko said. "I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"It's not that," Dylan said. "The last time someone like you said something like that to me, it turned out he was crazy, and I had to helps his XO mutiny against him."

"Ah," Sisko said. "Well, Dylan, the voices in my ahead assure me I am still sane. My story is…it almost feels more mundane than yours. This station was built by a race called the Cardascians, who had occupied the planet Bajor for decades. When they pulled out, the Federation was asked to run this station. I was assigned here, and Major Kyra was assigned as my liason. She was a resistance fighter during the occupation, and although she had a commission…"

"She had a little problem with military etiquette."

Sisko smiled. "Only a little. In any case, she disagreed with the provisional government over inviting in the Federation."

"But wait, why was she assigned here? This sounds like a plumb assignment, not the sort of place you'd stash a trouble maker."

"It wasn't a plumb assignment at the beginning. The station originally orbited Bajor…."

"Ah, I get it."

"Yes. But then the wormhole was discovered. We have a 'pokey' FTL drive, so a stable wormhole became *the* strategic location. And DS9 has been one of *the* assignments in Starfleet ever since, as long as you don't mind being precariously balanced on the tip of the spear."

Dylan smiled. "You're right, Ben, compared to my story, that is mundane."

"I didn't get to the best part, Dylan. The Bajorans worship the aliens who created the wormhole, call them The Prophets. When I contacted them, I became a a religious Icon, the prophesied Emissary of the Prophets. It has been trying, at times. But on the other hand, it was a religious order that-"

The com beeped. "Benjamin?" Dax's voice said. "Can I have a moment?"

"Can it wait, Dax?"

"I don't think so."

Sisko tabbed a control on his desk. The office doors slid open and Dax entered.

Sisko said, "Old Man, you have that 'We're in trouble' look."

"There's a look?" Dax asked.

"Can't miss it. What's wrong?"

"There was seismic activity all over Bajor at the moment Tyr and Worf changed places, as well increased activity in Bajor's sun," Dax explained. "I've collated reports of similar activity from all over the Federation. I've also detected disturbances on the sub-quantum level. I've already checked with Andromeda. They don't have FTL communication on their side, but they had seismic and solar activity of exactly the same locations and magnitudes as we did."

"Some kind of shock wave from the connection between the universes?"

"That's the optimistic scenario, Benjamin."

"And the pessimistic scenario, Dax?"

"Apocalyptic."

"I see. Keep me apprised."

Dax nodded and left the office.

Dylan rubbed his eyes. "Damn…I knew things were going to going too smoothly. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Sounds like that's something that happens to you frequently."

"A little too frequently for my taste. Just once…It's never easy."

"Doesn't sound it."

"Nope. Uh, just one thing, if you don't mind, Ben."

"What, Dylan?"

"Why did you call Dax 'Old Man'?"

"Ah…"