"Fascinating according to my read outs you don't exist, not only does this report say you don't exist but apparently you have no traces of DNA whatsoever.
Would you mind explaining why?"
Odo's voice rang with a harsh lilt that reminded Taya of a pendulum swinging back and forth swift and official; frankly it terrified her, how the abrasiveness swung down on her ears like a hungry hammer.
"Are you going to answer me?"
Odo's tone was softer but still had a bitter and angry edge.
"I think your equipment maybe faulty because I assure I had DNA before arriving on this station.
Maybe if you check again you'll find me in the database.
Don't you remember who I am Odo?
I'm real, I exist, you even met me once."
"That is preposterous.
Taya Nollo you said it was, I searched every database I have clearence to and there is no record of any Taya Nollo entering this station.
There's not even any descriptions of someone who looks remotely like you.
You also claim to come from Cardassia but there hasn't been a Cardassian ship dock this station in over 6 months."
"That's because I was running from them.
Why would I take a Cardassian ship all the way here if I was running away from them?
They put trackers in those ships, I couldn't risk being followed not after working so hard for my freedom.
So I took a Romlun ship to get through the Alpha quadrant."
"You're lying. Cardassians rarely trade with Romuluns, so it would be highly unlikely that you could stowaway in a Romulun Vessel all the the way from Alpha quadrant to the Beta quadrant.
You are a stowaway aren't you?"
"I had to, I had no choice.
I was escaping both the Cardassians and the Dominion."
"Oh this is an interesting twist I must say.
Who else was on your trail, The Maquis?"
"You think I'm lying but I can prove to you I'm telling the truth.
I am Taya daughter of Anetra, I am from Yandera Prime located in the Gamma Quadrant.
My planet was overtaken by The Dominion, so my grandfather Rurigan came up with a plan to save us all.
Many of us were either killed or enslaved but those of us that survived escaped to a nearby planet that was named Yandera 2.
I was one of the lucky ones but my father wasn't so lucky.
He was killed by the hands of the Dominion.
Thankfully I was too young to remember yet many years later on my 18th birthday Cardassians raided our planet.
I was separated from my family by a certain Cardassian known as Gul Madred.
I was originally to be a slave to Gul Ducat but he retired shortly before I was processed into the Cardassian System.
If you look into the Cardassian database I'm sure you'll find my name on file. Other than that you should remember me by now".
"Taya? You're Taya?
You were that little girl that used to follow me around during my investigation on Yandera Prime.
I used to take long walks with you and you'd tell me stories while we were exploring the Yanderan Territory.
You were very brave if I remember correctly, you had a very interesting outlook on life and you weren't a bad story teller from what I gathered.
I was rather fond of you yet I don't know how to say this to you without coming off as harsh or rude but for you to be here on this station is quite impossible.
You see I was sent by The Fedaraton to Yandera Prime to investigate a series of disappearances, your mother was one of them, yet later I came across a little discovery of my own, your Grandfather Rurigan confirmed my theory.
You see Rurigan claimed that all of his people perished at the hands of The Dominion.
So he recreated his whole civilization by creating a rather primitive holodeck program in other words you were all holograms, except your grandfather of course.
So I know for a fact that you aren't real.
You and the rest of Yandera Prime do not EXIST.
So that would certainly explain why none of the fingerprints scans have been working but it does not explain, who you really are. Now for the last time Who are you?!"
"I am exactly who I say I am!
Just Check the Cardassian records and you'll see that I do exist!"
"I Suppose you expect me to have enough clearence to access those records!"
He shouted at Taya scornfully.
"You are still a member of the Cardassian court so yes I have high hopes that you will be able to uncover the truth".
"High hopes! HA! I'm sure.
The moment you walked into this Station you've been telling me one story after another, none of which I doubt are true.
Now my advice to you is it would make your life as well as mine a hell of a lot easier if you just told me the truth!
You are wasting valuable time that was given to me by the Fedaration and the Bajoran government.
Time is a privilege and you are wasting it, stop wasting my time and just tell me who you are and why you are here!"
Odo was very frazzled at this point and if he had any nerves to speak of they would be frayed at this moment.
Odo didn't like this girl, although she had a slight resemblance to Taya, the story just didn't match up to his version of the truth.
There was something rather odd about her face.
He had noticed over the many years of observing various humanoid species that faces were often not symmetrical yet her face on the other hand was absolutely flawless.
Her eyebrows were perfectly shaped, her eyes were perfectly even, her nose was just the right size, not too small not too wide, no bumps, no freckles just the perfect celestial nose.
Her skin was a powdery white, ghostly yet nonetheless she had a regal luster and underneath each cheekbone she had a round splotch of radiant cherry blossom rouge.
Her hair was long and glistening, her lips although they were rather unimpressive, were painted in with a dark wet magenta lipstick.
Overall she was a exceptionally bedazzling vision but he rarely trusted what he saw and he often mistrusted people who appeared to be too perfect and that's just what she was, she was too perfect.
Although he did have sympathy for her predicament whatever it might be.
He had a vague concept of what her story was, it was mostly just a string of theories he cooked up inside his head but he'd seen this kind of case before and presumed this case was no different.
Although he was too much of a gentleman to admit to her what was really on his mind, he had come to the very loose conclusion that this imposter known as Taya, was really just a an escaped courtesan.
She was not just a common prostitute, not with that hair, the garish make up and that face, the fake shimmery kimono, no doubt she had to be a trained intergalactic courtesan.
She was a woman who was responsible for being a companion and often an escort for rich nobles and sometimes even royalty.
She was a high paid mistress, a woman hired for pleasure yet she still had enough class to somewhat pass as a lady who contributed to everyday society.
If this was the case, he had to change his approach, he'd been playing a verbal game of cat and mouse for the last 3 hours and all his yelling, his huffy attitude and his irritated complaints of frustration just wasn't working.
So it was time to change tactics.
I need to stop shouting at her.
No doubt she's exhausted and still very disconcerted.
Perhaps I speak to her gently this time instead of shouting at her she may open up and cooperate with me.
She's flustered, confused and most likely terrified of me.
I'm not exactly easy on the eyes and I am highly domineering and intimidating.
I should soften my attitude a bit before I speak with her again.
Odo reflected to himself while a peculiar shine of sincere terror glazed over her eyes.
"Alright, Let's get this straight, you are a slave or shall we say former slave, you've had a bit of bad luck with the Dominion and then several years later, you have a nasty encounter with a certain Cardassian known as Gul Madred.
You escaped undetected somehow from Cardassia by the use of a Romulun vessel which apparently does not exist.
The Masquerade as You called it which sounds very much like a Maquis name to me.
Tell me, are you working with the Maquis?"
"No, I was a stowaway on a stolen Romulun vessel.
You see I never said this ship was run by Romulans now did I?
The vessel was stolen property, stolen by the Maquis to transport
rare goods.
It was just a simple cargo vessel, nothing really that special, I hid in the cargo bay, in a corner behind some boxes of chroniton generators.
There was some freeze dried goods down there so I managed to stay alive for the majority of the journey.
There was a rather peculiar Cardassian on board, perhaps you know him, he used to be a common Tailor aboard this station, Elim Garak l Believe his name was".
"Yes we occasionally worked together. I can't say we were ever friends as he was rather a shifty sort of person, I suspected him to be a double spy, yet overall in the short years of knowing him he was relatively harmless but that's just from my experience.
Did this Garak help you escape by any chance?"
"Well yes he did in the end and in a way he was responsible for snuggling me onto this station.
Please don't report him, he was kind to me and it wouldn't be fair for me repay him that way.
He was the only member of the crew aboard the cargo vessel that knew I was down there, he kept my existence a secret not only from the crew but from the Entire Cardassian Empire not to mention keeping me a secret from the federation itself.
I know I'm not supposed to be here but this was the only place I had left, there was no place else for me to go and then Garak mentioned you had resumed your usual post here as Chief of security, so I had to come here as you were the only one I could turn to".
"Oh wonderful, it's very nice of Garak to recommend me and send you my way.
I may just thank him personally".
"No please don't.
He's done nothing wrong, he's not even a member of the Maquis, he's a infiltrator, a spy, for who, he didn't say, so what he told me wasn't something he wouldn't say to you himself.
Don't punish him, you should punish me instead".
"Punishment will depend solely on your honesty and the solid evidence that proves you are clearly telling the truth.
Now I can call upon Garak myself so he can corroborate your far fetched stories or I can use a few security codes I have on hand to access the Cardassian database.
If there's one thing I like about Cardasssians, it's their meticulous value for details, they record everything that was ever been done in Cardassian history, they keep tight records of every event, every transaction, every peace treaty and every deed is written and recorded in their database which makes it extremely vast.
Cardassians have the most sophisticated database I've ever had the privilege to encounter, so this may take some time, in the meantime if you remain quiet within your cell and you stop your idle jabbering I may be able to focus better and in turn get this investigative process done sooner than later."
Odo grabbed one of his security tablets and furiously typed in an old security code from his days of service to the Cardassian government.
He typed in Taya Nollo.
There was a huge buffering symbol that appeared on the page which caused Odo to sarcastically roll his eyes in annoyance.
When the buffering symbol finally cleared, there was a washed up mug shot of a familiar face that popped up on thr screen.
Sure enough, she had told the truth, her name really was Taya,
Taya Thornton Nolo, daughter of Anetra and Voraxa, the only surviving relative of Rurigan Nollo.
Had She somehow survived and Rurigan was too ashamed to tell Jahdzia and himself the truth of her survival?
If she was kidnapped by marauders or by some angry Cardassian troops, he no doubt didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he wasn't able to save her.
The main question was which Taya was the real one?
Had he met the real Taya that day or had he been merely speaking to a decoy that was intricately designed by Rurigan himself?
"So you do exist and you are real after all yet what puzzles me is why the Federation database doesn't recognize you.
This system has never done this before.
Did you have your fingerprints burned before you came here?"
"Well I have this weird quirk, I was born with it, it's like a genetic defect of some sort and it makes my fingerprints pretty much non existent.
You see my grandfather was of Romulun descent, he even claimed he had a Cardassian uncle so I'm somewhat of a mixed breed.
I have a very unique genetic make up.
However if you do a simple mouth swab or if you take a simple blood sample from me I'm sure my DNA will be easily traceable then".
"Thank you, that's very helpful but I have others things that I have to attend to that are far more important than a few DNA samples.
First of all you'll need a proper place to stay".
"You mean you're not going to keep me in this cell... for the night?"
"No, I have no right to detain you in here any longer and I certainly have no need to interrogate you any further.
You will be assigned your own Private quarters but you are not to leave the station until you've been fully cleared and processed into the Federation System.
You will remain in your quarters until either I or the Commanding officer aboard this station summons you for further questioning."
"I thought I wasn't going to be interrogated any futher."
"Questioning is different from an interrogaton.
The questioning that will be conducted later, will not be intrusive or painful, it will be relatively mild and it will be done in a professional and hopefully in a non emotional manner.
Oh, please be sure not to wander, loiter or idly roam around the station, there are penalties for exploring certain parts of the station and it is against Federation policy to loiter in such places such as the promenade.
So if you go anywhere at all,
don't linger, keep moving and don't open any doors that aren't already open.
It will keep out of trouble as long as remain here.
Follow the rules and You may not have to see my face quite as often".
"I don't mind seeing your face, so why would I care if I see it often?
It is a nice face after all."
"Ehem...well...thank you... I'm glad you approve of this present form but I have work to do so as much as I'd love to escort you to your new quarters, I don't have time to catch up with you.
We can catch up...later.
In the meantime I'll have a ensign show you to your quarters.
Stay out of trouble now."
He called in a ensign that was on duty via intercom badge.
He was glad to have gotten this interrogation over with.
Even though he had worked with the Cardassians long before the Bajoran Provisional government had taken over the Deep Space 9, he still did not enjoy vigorous and invasive interrogation methods.
Odo knew that being a Inquisitor made him the bad guy and it was not a position he enjoyed to take.
He wanted to be warm and friendly, smiling and passionate like Officer Kira had been.
Although even Kira had her share of foul moods, Kira had never been intentionally cruel to him even though many of her insensitive and impulsive acts had left his heart rather bruised he didn't care if she was rough around the edges.
She had always been a real fireball by nature and she had always been a rebel at heart.
That's what made her attractive, she wasn't perfect, she was flawed yet she was strong, stubborn,she constantly was challenging herself and even though she could be highly hypocritical she had enough humility to admit she was wrong.
She had a lot of heart yet her spirituality often would complicate things in her work at the station yet her spirited nature was really what drew him to her.
She was unexpected, often erratic and when she first arrived to Deep Space 9 so many years ago but eventually she adjusted and mellowed out after a year.
Now Kira was gone now, she had decided to resign after being promoted to the commander of the station due to Captain Sisko's change of occupation.
After Sisko embraced his religious title and position given to him by Kai Opaka and he became the long awaited bridge between Bajor and the other humanoids, Sadly this ignited an even greater religious spark in Kira.
This spark lead to her resigning and joining the religious order on Bajor although some might have misconstrued the events and gotten them slightly out of order, the fact still remained she was gone and although they had met previously in a Bajoran Temple, she informed him in their last few days together that she would not be returning back to the station.
She however encouraged him to return to his position at the station which surprisingly the commanding officer that had replaced Kira was more than happy to give him back his old job as Chief of Security as there had many security employees that had tried to maintain the demands of that particular position but had all failed due to the extreme pressure of the job itself.
Captain Kurland however was not entirely responsible for his reinstatement as he did work for the Bajoran government but Kurland was able to pull a few strings for him so that his reinstatement could be possible.
It was still with a heavy heart that he returned to the station, knowing that he'd probably never see Nerys ever again.
Their relationship was finished now and as much as he would have loved to stay with Nerys on Bajor, her religious duties clearly outweighed her romantic pursuits with Odo and he knew this so he left having high hopes to be rejoined to the Great Link again but just like the first meeting with his people, too much had changed.
He'd been living with the solids for far too long and after focusing on humanoids for most of his life, the fascination even now was hard to kill.
There were so many solid forms he still wished to take, so many experiments and challenges awaited him in the solid world.
James Kurland Commander of DS9 and Captain of the USS. He was even willing to give him back his old room as well so arriving to the station and returning back to the work he knew and loved for so long had been all too easy but it was getting harder and harder without Kira's constant encouragement.
He'd always been glued to her side it seemed, now all of that time with her seemed to be a waste of time to him, so lately he had become grumpier than usual.
This new girl was nothing like Kira, she was perfect looking, she acted perfect and she spoke vacantly like she was some sort of robot.
There was a few times she had displayed some sort of emotion but then her face would swiftly return to this numb and highly disinterested expression.
Her eyes were so lost and tragic, so it was hard to deny her story especially when those eyes, were clearly the eyes of a innocent child.
Those eyes were about the only thing he recognized, the rest was a mystery to him.
What was troublesome was she had come to him personally for help.
How the hell was he supposed to help her?
He still wasn't sure about her story but Garak no doubt he could confirm the validity of her situation and possibly even shed some light on her rather dubious past.
Elim was not going to be happy to be summoned back to Deep Space 9 again but it was absolutely necessary for Odo to speak with him on the matter.
He'd most likely deny all of it anyway but in the case that he did confess anything, Odo wanted to be there to hear it.
It gave him a sick sort of pleasure to see such a formidable species as Garak to tremble nervously under his scrutinous and unrelenting questioning.
It was in times like these that he really relished in his finely tuned interrogative skills.
Justice was sweet when someone blurted out a quivery confession, especially when the one confessing was guilty in every way and Garak in his eyes was always guilty, that and Quark and the rest of his other Ferengi counterparts.
Eventually those rules of acquisition held very little merit especially after he decided to educate himself on the Ferengi Laws.
Eventually Odo began quoting the rules of acquisition and it became a new game for the two of them; Quark and Odo would take hasty turns debating over the Ferengi laws, constantly trying to out do each other with their knowledge of the rules of acquisition.
Quark was still around and he still ran the bar that was on the station, his brother Rom however gave up his hopes of inheriting the bar himself and he joined Star Fleet to become a invaluable engineer on both the Defiant and the Bajoran run station of Deep Space 9.
Perhaps Quark could prove to actually to be useful to him this time.
Maybe Quark knew where Garak was and perhaps he even knew how Taya had entered the Delta Quadrant and the station itself without being detected by anyone.
No doubt Quark was the one that got here in the first place.
So Quark's Bar was to be his next stop... unfortunately.
