"Are you still conscious Ensign?"

Taya felt a dull jab to her arm and her eyes cleared, she let out a tiny gasp, smiled causally and then made a quick excuse about bring lost in thought.

"Oh I'm sorry, I really do apologize.

I was distracted.

Now where were we again?"

"Odo was just leaving and I was wondering why I was still here".

"Yed of course.

Dreams, I have these dreams, reaccuring ones.

Done are quite vivid and graphic, they sometimes so bizarre they even border on being actual nightmares.

They aren't just random thoughts though, I believe they repeat for a reason and some if the images even make sense but then there are some detail that just aren't very clear to me.

I'm hoping that if I understand these dreams maybe I'll finally be able to have some peace".

"Peace? What do you mean by peace?"

Sisko raised one menacingly arched eyebrow at her.

"She means that these dreams have nearly become a liability to her.

They disrupt her sleep patterns consistently to the point she doesn't even bother sleeping at all, at times.

These dreams have become very disruptive to her everyday life and if this continues, she may not even able to work in security any longer."

"That bothers you and I can tell.

You don't want to lose her yet do you?"

Sisko smirked rather goofily.

"Yes, naturally I'd hate to lose such a valuable member on my security team.

I'd hate to lose anyone on my staff at the moment but that's not the point, what I want to know if if you can fix it?"

"Odo, she's a person not a broken tricorder scanner.

I can try my best to help her but I have no way of knowing if I can stop these recurring nightmares from happening."

"Just fix the problem, Sisko.

Give her your blessing, pray to the prophets, burn a little incense, mind meld with her, do a crazed dance around the room, for all I care.

I don't care how you do it, just fix the issue and when you get it done, we can talk about it then, Alright.

I'm going now, I've wasted enough time staring at the both of you, I'll be in Operations if you need me but please don't bother contacting me.

I don't want to hear from either of you today until all of this is resolved.

Just don't do anything I wouldn't do and you should be just fine."

"Oh come now, Odo.

If I did that however would I have any fun?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something.

Be creative, you're good at that, why else would your son be a writer?

Please don't get distracted and don't try to distract me.

No Project Genesis, no interrogative discussions and there will no mental manipulations on any of the equipment in this room, is that understood?"

Odo gave them both a severely chastising glare as he left the room.

"Well that was fun.

I love Odo when he's in this kind of mood. Excuse me as I subdue the oncoming tremors of joy that are reaching my heart

Anyhow what of these dreams?"

"I'm sort of relieved he's gone Because well, the dreams are not just personal, they are very heavily involved with him."

"Heavily involved?

You mean he's always in there?"

"Yes, he always is for some reason. I know what the reason is but then I'd have to admit the Truth and I don't think he's ready for that kind of truth".

Taya eyes bled at the corners slightly as she explained this to him.

"Then the question is, what is this truth?"

"The truth isn't About me so much it's about him.

It's always About him or Bajor.

Now because of these dreams I know things about him I don't think I should even know, things regarding Nerys".

"That must be very awkward for you.

What else troubles you about these dreams?"

"Well the first reoccurring nightmare I had of him, there was a great crowd, the crowd consisted of millions of Bajorans.

I recognized the market place of the Dahkur province.

I've been there before, it was a long time ago but I had never met Odo on Bajor but in the dream he is everywhere.

He is always somehow separate from the crowds, he always seems to be slinking away from them, almost secretly over looking the flow of people that are passing him by.

Then I find myself straying from the crowds, sometimes I find myself running to the woods other times I'm simply beamed down right in the middle of a forest.

The trees are of pine, eventually I walk a little ways and I see a massive rock and atop that rock there is equally massive bear.

I run from the bear but everytime I run my feet always bring me right back to that rock with the bear regally posed upon that rock.

I can't run and I can't escape, so after awhile I stop to face that bear, then when I do it just jumps out at me.

The bear then lands right on top of me, pinning me down but instead of tearing me to pieces, it somehow recognizes me.

The eyes are not like any bear I've ever seen in my life, the eyes are familiar and before I can recognize who's eyes they belong to, the bear reveals itself to be Odo.

Odo is the bear.

In the dream I still don't recognize him.

When I ask who he is, he tells me that we've met before.

He then proceeds to poetically describe how, I came to him for help and how often I've thought about him over the years.

He literally tells me that he is everything to me; all my hope, my light, my comfort, my guidance and in a way a end to all my loneliness.

He mentions Dukat briefly and he explains how he used to serve under him right before the end of the occupation.

He asks how well I know him to which I reply to him that it's none of his business and that it's far too personal

I back away but I lose my footing by mistakenly backing into a tree and I fall into the dirt below his feet.

He proceeds to tell me things about my past, I dare not even repeat, let's just say Garek and Madred were involved.

I try to deny some of these truths and then he starts yelling at me.

"That is a lie!"

He screams, then he hauls me up by my shoulder and throws me into the brig behind a containment field.

He claims I'm guilty of lying to a superior Officer and that I used unauthorized clearance of Enlisted Personnel to enter a Federation Alliance Space Station.

He says I have no chance of defending myself because of how much I love Cardassian justice.

He then says the words I had to say a million times a day it seems.

The words I had to tell Madred everytime I saw him.

If you don't mind I don't feel like repeating them."

"There is no need.

No doubt those words are a traumatic trigger for you.

Cardassian brain washing methods are no joke or at least I've heard.

What of the other nightmare?"

"Now that's a fun one.

Where do I start with that one?

Let's see, oh yes, I'm on the Holodeck, it looks very similar to the one I just repaired recently.

"I never wanted to do this. Not at First.

I didn't think you were ready for this but that was a long time ago it seems, I think you're ready for it now".

Odo says to me as he types something into the holodeck console.

I find myself back at Cardassia, in Madred's Warroom.

Odo then transforms into Madred.

I recognize him and naturally he greets me.

I ask him what he's doing here and he says he misses me.

I shout at him very adamant about how I don't miss him, how I have a new life without him involved in it.

He can't live without me it seems.

I told him what I've been wanting to tell him for years.

How he's robbed me of my everything good and beautiful that was ever in my life.

He's what you could call a emotional vampire.

He lives for the sufferings of others, he loves the screams, he relishes in the anguished tears of his enemies and he takes great joy in breaking people to the point that they have no choice but to submit to his power.

He's like a leech, he lives on the emotional life force of others just so he can live, figuratively speaking of course.

Anyways I look up to see the face of Dukat, he tells me how special I am and that it was the main reason he rescued me.

Then I remembered he didn't truly care for me, he cared mostly for himself but there was a time he cared for another.

So one day he called me by her name once.

I was absolutely heartbroken but it was the same name that I heard Odo chant to me in the dream.

He spoke the name 3 times.

What's crazy is I've heard him say the name before in public when he was arguing over something with Quark and he repeated it 3 times just like he did in my dream".

"May I know the name or is that still too personal?"

"Oh yes of course the name is Nerys.

You see Dukat I believe must have been in love with her at one time and now whether I like it or not I just so happen to know that Odo was in love with her too."

"Dukat in love with Nerys.

Well that's certainly an interesting twist.

I'm really not surprised, she was strong,brave and fiercely determined to fight for what was good, right and just.

Dukat must have admired her for her strength and as for Odo, he admired for her fearless efforts in the resistance.

Incidentally that's how they met, War brings people together in strange ways and evidently it brought them to this station.

Odo was here during the end of the occupation and Dukat was overseer of it all.

Dukat often relied on Odo to maintain order and to conduct certain investigations around the station.

One of his investigations lead him straight to Kira.

He was not very happy with taking orders from Gul Dukat but eventually he too joined the resistance just like the rebel he always has been.

He may seem like a real stickler for the rules but Odo is a real rebel at heart.

You should know, Taya, The Constable is a real hero, he is responsible for saving countless lives aboard this station and he has risked his own life just to protect the innocent from further injustice brought upon them by the Law of the Cardassians.

Odo cares about the innocent, Taya and he cares for those that are either too ignorant or too weak to fight against the evils of the universe.

That's why you're here, Taya, he sees you as innocent in all of this and he wants to protect you.

I think that's why he's been so overly protective of you lately because he cares about what happens to you and he care about your safety.

However I think it is best that we don't talk about his past any further since there are certain chapters of his story that are all his own and he should be the one telling it and not me.

I'm sure you'd like to know more about the meaning of your dreams now don't you?"

"Yes of course.

I suppose one minor detail I should mention first.

After Odo explained the complexities of his relationship with Nerys, he uh sort of melted down to a puddle and then that puddle just disappeared.

Then there was this multicolor coat or jacket that was left behind.

It had these stripes visibly sewn into the material and every color of the rainbow would shimmer on it's surface everytime the light touched it.

Anyway that's the long and short of it".

"Hmmm... very interesting.

Well the first dream is fairly simple and even fairly self explanatory.

A Rock or Boulder always signifies truth that is concrete, for certain, for sure, set in stone so to speak.

You were in Bajor, you've been to Bajor, you wear their Uniform and Military symbol of Bajor, you live under their rules and laws,you are of Bajor in every way possible it seems.

Then Odo deemed it necessary to remind me of that fact and I don't think that any of this is just a mere coincidence.

Then you ran but you could not escape the rock and the bear that stood atop it.

The Bear was clearly Odo all along as usual and that rock is no doubt supposed to symbolize Bajor yet again.

Bajor is set in stone, it set in stone by the prophets and it is by their design that you cannot escape Bajor.

Bajor appears to be your destiny, you were destined to wear that uniform, to bare their crest of honor and to live and work under their law.

You are inextricably and inevitably drawn to this station and the position that you now hold here.

There are ties that cannot be severed within this universe and somehow and in someway Odo is closely tied to this destiny of yours that was set by the prophets.

He seems to not only be bound to your destiny he also seems to have a central role within this destiny of yours.

So forgive my forwardness but it is possible that this station is your destiny and Odo may be your destiny as well."

"So you're saying not only can I not escape from Bajor or this station but I can't escape Odo as well?"

"Precisely. I know that's a difficult truth to hear but destiny is usually never is easy to accept especially when the prophets have ordained it to be so.

Now the last dream is a little tricky, thankfully I wasn't elected Emissary just yesterday, so I think I can handle this one just fine.

Odo wants to help you recover from your past Taya, he will help you do so within that Holodeck tomorrow.

You will face Madred in that Holodeck, Taya, but it will not be physically.

However you will face Dukat in person and Odo will be there when you do.

Odo will no doubt reveal to you what you already know about his relationship he had with Nerys.

It will be painful for him but he will risk his own vulnerability for you.

You're probably thinking that seeing him revert back to his natural state was some strange symbolism for his heartbreak or perhaps his desire to escape the truth about Nerys but if there's one thing I know about Odo, he never reverts back to a liquid in front of anyone unless he absolutely trusts them.

So let's just say that it isn't such a bad omen afterall.

Odo will trust you and very soon.

However the bit about the coat is rather puzzling.

I don't think there is such a symbol within the language of the prophets that even mentions Technicolor coats.

So that may be a symbol you might have to discover yourself".

"You really are the emissary aren't you?"

"I've had my doubts, so has the rest of people on this station.

Odo was skeptical as usual, O' Brian was always full snide remarks, Quark only believes in the power of profit, Bashir was rather open to the idea, Jadzia was cautious about the idea, Worf was much the same way but no one believed in me more that Nerys.

She believed I was emissary the moment I went through that worm hole.

She backed me up all the way but eventually I began to believe and embrace my role as Emissary."

"The Prophets spoke of you.

They called you "The Sisko".

I asked them about Odo and they told me that I could not escape Bajor, that I was drawn to their disciples as a moth to the flame.

They told me the Founder is of Bajor and That I was destined to love all that was of Bajor."

"Then they have indeed spoken. They have confirmed my predictions to be true.

What else did the prophets tell you I wonder".

"I saw Jadzia, Bashir and Odo.

They spoke to me through them.

I told them I was of Bajor and they were pleased with that.

"Now we are one".

They asked if Bajor welcomed me to which I answered "Yes and no".

Sisko chuckled at this.

"They weren't too pleased about that I can imagine."

"It confused them a bit but then They explained there is only Bajor and the Abyss."

"The Abyss, the wasteland, the void.

Yes that's what the prophets like to refer to whatever else is outside of their path of destiny so to speak.

They are unbelievers, the ones that cannot connect with them, the ones who can never possibly understand them.

They are the ones that are not at peace with them.

They are those that have closed off their minds from them.

They are outcasts in their eyes, outcasts and violent rebels who fight against their very way of life.

They reject peace and harmony with the universe.

You however live in the bliss and light they provide for you or you live in the shadow of darkness and death.

They want you to walk in light and bliss, so you can be free of the others that live in the void."

"Yes that's literally what they told me.

They called me their sister.

They called Bajor my shield, my shelter and my path set in stone.

I asked about my grandfather, they told me he was not of Bajor but I already knew the truth before they told me.

Anyhow they spoke of the hum, the hum of life, the Pagh.

The hum is the key to all truth and all knowledge.

The hum is life and the hum is power, a power I can control.

The hum unlocks all truths and all the mysteries of the universe.

I am the hum, I am the life flow of the Pagh.

All rivers of Bajor flow to me.

They warned me to be careful that not all hums are the same, some can destroy while others can brings life.

I will bring life through this hum and this hum shall become a great song that will heal all that hear it and bring new life to all that touch my Pagh.

I should not fear for there will be no hum that is too great for me, I will overcome them all and in the end I must use the rivers of Bajor to becomes victorious and I will walk upon the sea of endless hums, I will sing over them but never shall they destroy my Pagh."

Sisko was astounded by this but also horrified because the sea of hums he instantly understood were the founders, the founders who had nearly destroyed this station and the rest of humanity with it.

"You aren't from this world are you?"

"No, I am of Bajor".

Sisko understood what was being said, he understood then and there, that she was not from Yandera, she was from the wormhole itself, she was born of their race, she was not only born of them she was one of them.

She was one of the prophets herself.

A prophet in humanoid form.

She was a miracle.

She was a messiah in a way.

"You are one of the Prophets aren't you?"

Taya serenely approached him her eyes reflecting the eye of the universe once more.

"I am Bajor, I am Pagh, I am the hum".

"How are you even human?"

"Touch my Pagh and will know".

Sisko was not very eager to do this but reluctantly he placed his hand upon her ear lobe.

Sisko was blinded by a great light, that shimmered like a thousand rainbows.

The Eye came and swallowed him up, there was a great and mighty hum that did not just embrace him but it embodies every bit of his being.

The wormhole then dispelled him and he awoke just in time to see Taya slump over to the floor unconscious.

"Taya? Taya? Come back to me Taya. Oh no you're skin is like ice.

Sisko to Bashir, send medical help immediately, send in a stretcher, something has happened to Ensign Taya.

She's unconscious and currently unresponsive."

"Bashir to Sisko.

Why don't I just have O' Brian beam you in?"

"Yes that would be much easier.

Yes beam us in. We're currently in Security.

Odo's office, tactical floor on the promenade."

"I'll send the coordinates to O' Brian immediately.

Stand by. Bashir out".