Chapter Four: Divine Guidance
Odo swiftly descended the shuttle ramp, pleased to find several officers waiting for him. A Captain, a Lieutenant and three security officers. The Captain, a tall man with thinning black hair and a long scar down one cheek, snapped a salute which Odo quickly returned.
"Captain Filch, Agent Odo, welcome aboard the Ryvius. This is my Second, Commander Fallace. Would you mind explaining what the hell happened here?"
"In private Captain," Odo replied. "The information I have is for your ears only. But first, a side trip to your sick bay."
"As you wish. Commander, return to the bridge and oversee the salvage operation," Captain Filch ordered.
"Yes sir!" The Commander replied, snapping a salute before walking out.
"Captain," Odo began as the two men stepped out into the corridor, "if you detect any bio matter, quarantine it at once."
"We're heading back to wormhole command now Mr. Odo. We should reach in the next ten minutes."
"Very good, but once I've made my report I'll require transportation to the Athena system. I was scheduled to rendezvous with our commanders there," Odo replied as he opened the door to the turbolift.
"Is something the matter Agent Odo?" Captain Filch asked, noticing that Odo's hand had not once moved from its position above his phaser pistol.
"Once I've finished in sickbay I'll explain," Odo replied, pleased that the Captain was keeping his composure so well. When the turbolift doors opened, Odo motioned for Filch to go first. Sick bay was just around the corner ahead. The room inside was standard, sterile and smelling faintly of antiseptic. A young man with thick glasses was reading a padd in the office on the far side of the room. He glanced up as he heard the door opening.
"Captain, something I can do for our guest?" The doctor asked.
"Agent Odo, Section 31," Odo replied curtly. "She ship I was traveling on was destroyed by a Dominion agent. He was brainwashed and I want to make sure no one on this ship has been subjected to the same." Odo knew there was a risk in revealing the information, but he had learned that people worked more efficiently if the had a good reason. And his hand was still near his phaser.
"I see," the doctor replied. "Well I'll do anything I can to help. My wife and son were killed by a Dominion agent who blew up the freighter North Star a year ago. Did you hear about that?"
"I did," Odo replied, seeing an opening he could exploit. "You have my condolences, and I'll tell you this. The crew of my ship didn't die quickly or painlessly as your son did."
"You were captured?"
"No, something much worse. Assist me and I may share that with you," Oro enticed.
"All right, what do you need me to do?"
"Neuroscans of both yourself and Captain Filch," Odo answered.
"Simple enough. Oh, I never introduced myself. Doctor Owen Barkins at your service," he said, holding out his hand. To his surprise and alarm Agent Odo quickly stepped back and flipped open the holster for his weapon. Dr. Barkins immediately put his hands in the air. "Hey, whoh there."
"The scans," Odo repeated, his eyes never leaving the two people in the room as he stepped back to a corner. His hand still burned slightly at the thought of repeating his experience aboard the Pegasus. Flipping open his tricorder, he spoke softly enough that his voice wouldn't carry. "Kira, did your scans pick up anything out of the ordinary?" He asked.
"Not that I could detect, but then again I AM stored in a tricorder at the moment," Kira whispered back somewhat sarcastically. "I have however, been able to access the holographic emitters for this room. Give me the word and I'll be solid and ready to fight if you need it," she added eagerly.
"I guess I can't blame you for being restless," Odo smirked. "After all the data systems in there must be terribly slow."
"You have no idea. This thing can barely play a game of solitaire with me taking up most of the space," Kira replied in an annoyed tone.
"You make it sound like you're calling yourself fat," Odo joked, pleased to hear a hiss from Kira.
"You realize I can deliver a powerful shock to you at any time?" She asked.
"Of course I do, but I'm the one with his finger near the delete button," Odo countered. He always enjoyed these games with Kira. He had played several with her corporeal counterpart before her death, and he used them as away of remembering her.
They continued their back and forth insults and threats for nearly an hour before Doctor Barkins came over with a pad in his hand, which he tossed to Odo, not wishing to repeat the phaser incident again.
"I've completed the scans and found nothing out of the ordinary," Barkins reported, hoping the results would satisfy the Section 31 agent. He watched as he linked the pad to his tricorder and waited several minutes before a soft ping sounded. Barkins felt his heartbeat quicken as Odo set the pad down.
"You're both clean," Odo announced. "Dr., I assume the sickbay computer system is isolated from the rest of the ship?"
"Of course Agent Odo. Sickbay was designed to function even if the ship takes severe damage. We have a separate power generator and computer core as well," Dr. Barkins replied. "Is this related to the AI in your tricorder?" Seeing Odo's sharp look he smiled. "Don't worry, it was easy to see. I've worked with several AIs before, and from the way you were whispering I knew you were talking to an AI you've stored there. I also think they'd be a lot more comfortable in the sickbay mainframe."
"I believe you're right," Odo said as he placed the tricorder on a slot next to a diagnostic console, and a moment later Kira shimmered into being. She gave a stretch and a groan.
"Damn it's nice to be out of that box," Kira spoke as she glanced around, her eyes settling on Captain Filch and Doctor Barkins. "Nice to meet you. Agent Kira of Section 31," she said in a friendly voice.
"Likewise Agent Kira. Doctor Barkins, chief medical officer," Barkins replied, taking the hand Kira offered. Their two small grins soon matched each other.
"Well you're better than the last man I got introduced to," Kira grinned. "He got quite the bruise."
"I see. Well I've worked with an AI or two before and I know how much you hate people thinking of you just as machines," Barkins replied before turning to Odo. "Just as I know you're possibly the only Changeling to be requited by the Section. Don't get me wrong, I don't like you in any sense of the word, but I know the Section wouldn't have given you that badge if they didn't trust you." Barkins waited for Odo's response. He was never a man to hide his thoughts, which was one reason he was stuck on a patrol vessel. He was pleased and relieved when Odo gave a small nod.
"Well Dr, at least you know how to show respect along with dislike, something I respect. Now then, Captain Finch; I have a project I'd like for you to begin once we've docked at Deep Space Nine."
"Of course Agent Odo," Filch replied, reaching up to brush a piece of stray lint off his uniform. "What do you need?"
"I'd like for you to speak to any trusted friends you have on the station and find out if any of them have crew members who were taken prisoner at any time during the war. This may be crucial to the security of the Empire," Odo answered. "I'd like a list of your crew with the same parameters."
"Of course, I'll get right on it," Captain Filch replied as he left the sickbay.
"Now then," Odo began once Captain Filch had gone. "I have a very important task for you Doctor, but first, since you've ship has been stationed in this area for some time I assume you have some friends on Deep Space Nine?"
"Oh yes, with the absence of combat in this area the medical personnel in this area don't have a lot to do, so we've learned to entertain ourselves. Why do you ask?"
"I've read your file Doctor. I know you studied biogenic weapons at the academy and graduated top of your class," Odo said, knowing that this was his best chance to uncover what he feared could be a covert infiltration of the Empire. "The reason I wanted the neuroscans of yourself and the Captain was because of a new Dominion weapon I uncovered and which resulted in the destruction of the Lexington. Kira, show him."
"All right," Kira replied as she closed her eyes for a moment until one of the large diagnostic consoles changed to show the security footage Kira had downloaded from the Lexington's main computer before the ship was destroyed. Dr. Barkins became very pale as he watched the black sludge creatures carry out their mission, infecting and transforming members of the Lexington's crew.
"So the Dominion created this?" Barkins asked after the footage had stopped. He had never seen anything like that, not even n his studies. "I've never heard of a virus that can spawn from a replicator and spread like that."
"Nor have I, and my information is much greater than your's," Odo replied causally. "Now then, the virus originally lay dormant inside a member of that ship's crew. Kira detected an anomaly in Haft's neural readouts. That, I believe, is the key to finding those infected with the virus."
"And you want me to coordinate the search for these infiltrators," Barkins answered, now understanding what Agent Odo wanted with him.
"Yes; you said you have friends in the medical section aboard DS9. I want you to scan then first, then if they're clean, coordinate a station wide examination. Don't make it obvious, as my confronting Haft on my last ship is what triggered the virus."
"That won't be a problem," Dr. Barkins replied with confidence. "As a Doctor I know a thousand different excuses to run a physical. It won't happen overnight you understand, but you'll get your carriers Agent Odo," he promised, the knowledge of what could happen if another carrier activated providing more than enough motivation.
"Very good, now I have business of my own to take care of. If you need to contact me, use frequency theta nine five. My comm. badge encrypts that channel."
"Understood. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to start compiling a priority list for my exams."
"Good day then," Odo said as he downloaded Kira back into the tricorder, much to her displeasure. As soon as he'd left sickbay she spoke up.
"Are you sure it's wise to trust something this dangerous to a ship's doctor? We could call in Section medical teams and they'd find these carriers a lot faster," she suggested.
"That may be true, but from what I observed with Lt. Haft the virus can recognize potential threats and act even while remaining hidden. That's how Haft managed to plant that phaser in my quarters and later having no memory of it. If we call in Section personnel the carriers may react before we're ready," Odo explained, having already run that scenario a hundred times in his mind. "Now then, once we dock at Wormhole Command I'll send a message to Director Sloane informing him of the situation before we resume our own mission," Odo replied as he moved toward the airlock, eagerly wanting to get off the ship and contact Director Sloane. This new Dominion weapon had the potential to solidify his reputation and with some luck earn him the respect of his peers in the Section as well.
…
As soon as the docking seal was secure Odo was moving through the still frigid atmospheres of the airlock. The opposing door groaned open with a hiss and a small cloud of mist as cold air met the more temperate atmosphere of the station. No one was waiting for him this time, unsurprising since no one knew he was coming.
Odo quickly made his way through the crowds of personnel towards a turbo lift. Once was inside he took his Section badge and placed it in the center of a faded stain on the floor. At once the lift moved faster, stopping after nearly a minute of high speed travel. The doors opened to allow the light from inside to partially illuminate a dark corridor which lacked even the basic ornamentation of the rest of the station. The only additions visible were two Empire sword and world symbols, one set into the floor, the other decorating the shoulder which supported a disruptor rifle aimed at Odo's head. "Odo, agent third level. Code name Two-Face. Authorization Delta nine-three-seven-echo-zero-nine," he stated calmly without flinching.
"Codes confirmed. Welcome Agent Odo," the main said, lowering his weapon. "We weren't expecting you."
"I was recently attacked by a new Dominion weapon the section needs to know about," Odo replied. "I need access to an encrypted comm. channel to Director Sloane."
"Follow me," the Section guard replied, turning and heading down the corridor. Odo followed, aware that at any moment any one of a dozen security devices could vaporize, stun or transport him to a shielded holding cell. He smiled, he felt home.
The end of the corridor resolved out of the shadows into a reinforced titanium door adorned with the Imperial seal and the Roman numeral thirty-one. Odo pressed his badge into the reader slot and placed his palm onto a second scanner plate. Machinery behind the door hummed for a moment before, with a clang of retracting seals, the door slowly opened, revealing a spacious cabin with one entire wall taken up by a sophisticated communications set-up. The rest of the room was decorated rather well for a section installation. Portraits of famous battle cluttered the walls along with busts of famous commanders. Overhead a two dimensional hologram of the Milky Way slowly rotated. A chair turned silently on an anti-grav unit, brining the owner of the room into view, bringing with it the portly body of a man. He had a full beard and was dressed in casual wear rather than the uniform of a Section 31 agent. His eyes lit up when he saw Odo.
"Ah, a visitor at last! Welcome to the Hole in the Wall, at least that's what I call it," the man said in greeting. "Deputy Agent Clark, how do you do Agent Odo?"
"I do just fine," Odo replied, more than a little irritated at the blatant casualness of the man in front of him. "I take it you don't get many visitors down here?"
"You're the first one in at least a month," Agent Clark replied, starting to produce a smile. "Now I know what you must be thinking, but I'm not even a full agent. I'm a communications and decryption expert. That's why I have Big Bill over there. We keep each other company. Well, him and Xindi of course," he added as a black cat jumped out from under the desk and lay in his lap. "She's my best creation yet," he boasted.
"Best yet," the cat parroted in a quite female voice.
"A hologram, very nice," Odo replied, a bit amused. "I need a channel to Director Sloane immediately."
"All right then," Clark snipped as Xindi leapt onto his desk while he got to his feet and started running his fingers over several consoles, typing commands almost faster than Odo could follow. He realized then that Clark wasn't the slack off he'd first thought, but rather an intelligent man who simply had very little to do.
"All right, you're channel's active and waiting," Clark said with a smile as he returned to his seat and turned away. "I'm activating a sound bubble so you can talk freely," he added as he picked up his cat and turned away.
Odo smirked as he saw down and brought up the image of Director Sloane. The Director had some stubble on his face and it was then Odo remembered the time difference between Terra and DS9. "I apologize if I woke you Director," he began.
"It's fine, I'm used to it," Sloane replied. "Besides I know you wouldn't contact me unless it was urgent. I am curious however as to why you're still on Deep Space Nine rather than the Athena system."
"Director I just escaped death at the hands of what I believe is a new Dominion weapon. I uncovered a sleeper agent aboard the ship transporting me. He released a virus into the computer systems which caused the replicators to produce some sort of substance that infected the crew. I was forced to destroy the ship to prevent the virus from spreading, though not before I lost my hand," Odo reported, a frown growing as he said the last part.
"I see," Sloane replied. "Did you get any scans of this virus?"
"Yes, I'm sending the data now," Odo replied as he connected his tricorder to a reader slot. "Also, I've discovered a method of detecting those infected and I'm requesting permission to remain on DS9 until myself and a Doctor I've enlisted can ensure none aboard are infected. After that we can safely send in our own medical teams."
"You believe that's necessary?" Sloane asked in reply.
"I do. My interrogation of the first infected is likely what triggered the release of the virus. It's somehow able to monitor what its host hears, and if it believes itself discovered it attacks."
"Very well Odo, you have permission to remain. I expect daily reports on your progress," Sloane replied. "Is that all?"
"Yes sir. I'll contact you in twenty-four hours. Agent Odo, out." Once Sloane's image vanished Odo walked up to Clark's desk and turned the chair back around.
"You're done then?" Clark asked. When Odo nodded he grinned a bit. "The perhaps you'd care to join me for some…oh wait, I forgot about your dietary requirements. My apologies."
"No need," Odo replied. "I find most people like me better when they don't know what I am. Good day," he added as he walked out.
"Well then, it was time for the daily comm. burst anyway," Clark said to himself just as the comm. wall lit up with dozens of incoming messages for him to retransmit through the wormhole. "Well I suppose I should get to it. Tonight's movie night after all, right Xindi?" He asked his pet as she gave him a sideways glance before laying her head on her front paws. "Movie night," she replied before closing her eyes and going to sleep.
…
Odo pressed his badge to the reader and felt the turbo lift begin its ascent back to the main area. While he waited Odo thought back to his return trip through the wormhole. The strange energy he had seen last time had returned, swimming around his ship as if dancing. He had felt very strange as he watched them. He had studied the Bajorans religion and knew that the forms he'd seen were likely the "Prophets", the Bajoran gods. "Were they trying to communicate with me?" He asked himself. He wanted to find out because not knowing something was his greatest irritant. Then he remembered something. "Computer, are any of the Bajoran Orbs aboard this station?"
"Confirmed; the Orb of Time is aboard station. Located in Bajoran temple on level two-thirty-nine," the computer replied.
"Change destination to that level," Odo ordered. He didn't believe most of the rumors about the Prophets and their supposed god status, but if what he had seen in the wormhole HAD in fact been the Prophets, then maybe the rumors about the Orbs being contact devices had some merit as well.
When the lift came to a halt and the door opened, Odo was surprised to see that only candles lit the level, with thousands of them places in every accessible space. Robed Bajorans moved here and there, either praying or tending to the small shrines which littered the large chamber ahead. One of them approached Odo, dropping their hood and revealing the face of a young Bajoran woman. "Welcome, how may I help you?" She asked, taking a quick glance at Odo's clothing, which he changed to a civilian's in the lift.
"I recently came through the wormhole," Odo explained. "While I was in there I believe I saw the Prophets. It felt as though they were trying to tell me something, so I was hoping I could consult the Orb you keep here. If it truly was the prophets I saw then the Orb should respond to me."
"I see. Very few on my people have been allowed into the Celestial Temple," the young priest replied. "I will take you to the shrine, but only the Prophets may grant you access to the Orb. Follow me." The young woman led Odo deep into the temple, past groups pf praying worshippers and candlelight vigils before they finally came to a large chamber decorated in soft tones of brown and bronze. Devotional script covered the walls, except for the arch which contained the Orb behind a force field. It was a simple rectangular box with a stone set into each side.
"Thank you," Odo said to his guide. As he looked at the Orb he felt the same sense of being watched he had felt in the wormhole.
"This is as far as I can take you. The Prophets will now decide if you are worthy to speak to them," the priestess replied as she bowed to the Orb and gently walked out.
Odo slowly made his way up to the force field protecting the Orb. He saw two unlit candles on either side and an igniter resting in at the base of one. Feeling somewhat awkward since he had never done anything like this before, Odo lit the candles and rubbed the back of his hand. "I honestly have no idea what I'm doing," he admitted. "Or even why I'm here. I only know I saw something in the wormhole, and I believe it was you. If you have something to tell me, I'm listening." Odo waited for several long minutes, but the only sounds he heard were the humming of the force field and a deeper, barely perceptible hum from the Orb. "Well I'm sorry to have bothered you," he said as he started to leave. Before he had gone two steps thought, the force field switched off and the casing of the Orb opened, allowing a bright green glow to escape from within.
Suddenly Odo was standing in a white light, with the echo of a distant heartbeat sounding in his ears. "What is this place?" He asked.
"The Odo is curious," came the reply, and Odo looked to find Director Sloane standing beside him.
"The Odo is impatient," came a female voice, and Odo was surprised to see Kira standing in front of him. "He comes seeking us yet does not recognize us."
"Are you the Prophets?" Odo asked, beginning to understand what was happening to him. The Prophets could only talk with people outside the wormhole by taking a host or through the Orbs. Which meant his body was still in the temple, but his mind was someplace else. "Are you the creatures I saw in the wormhole?"
"The Odo's task is an important one," Dr. Barkins added as he appeared as well, speaking in the same calm tones as the others. "A great darkness approaches which only He Who is of Bajor and the Temple can stop."
"You mean the Dominion? The Empire will defeat them soon enough," Odo boasted.
"No, the great evil is beyond what you know, beyond even what we know," the replica of Kira replied. "They live beyond the veil of your reality, waiting for the chance to come here, and destroy."
"But who are they?" Odo asked. "If you can show me who they are and how to fight them I may be able to get others to help."
"As we have said, they exist beyond the veil of this reality," Kira repeated. "They wish to enter this place, to use it as their own doorway, but here we are the masters of space and time. They cannot break through the veil, but they can send their influence to other places, command others to do their bidding."
"The Dominion," Odo breathed. "Are you saying that virus on my ship, that was one of their creations?"
"The dark ones care only for the destruction of life. Those that serve them do so only to survive. Their despair feeds their masters, making them stronger. Those of your blood suffer greatly, for their spirits are devoured again and again. Only those of Bajor and the Temple can halt their influence."
"You must find those of the Temple and bring them together. Only then can you reclaim your destiny," Barkins spoke. As he did Odo became aware of specks of black he had until now ignored. They were moving in patterns, as if they were the tips of claws tearing at the walls around him. "We have said all we can."
"Find those of the Temple, for the Emissary will know the path they must take," Kira added as Odo suddenly found himself back in the temple, a small group of Bajoran worshipers gathering behind him. "Am I in your way?" He asked.
"It has been many months since the Prophets have spoken to us," one of the onlookers, an old man dressed in brown robes. "What did they say to you?" He asked eagerly, a murmur of anticipation rolling through the crowd.
"Things I'll have to meditate on to understand," Odo replied, hoping to get out and find Dr. Barkins and talk to Admiral Sisco. To his relief the crown appeared to buy it and parted to allow him through. As soon as he was out of the temple Odo half ran to the turbo lift. "Did that really just happen?" He asked himself as he manually entered his destination, the main promenade. He couldn't deny that he had felt strangely at peace when he was in the white light, and that the specks of black had made him feel the same fear as on the Excalibur. He had to find answers, but at least now he knew where to start looking.