Paint and Powder

A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.

Deep Space Nine/Terok Nor

2375

One of the other Hundred Changelings the Dominion had sent out centuries ago had been found. He was named Laas, and he had found Odo and sought him out for answers. He didn't have a very high opinion of any life not his own though, as the planet he had been living on hadn't been too kind to him.

So, Odo decided that the best way for Laas to learn that not all Solids were bad was to interact with one that he could not harm.

Hence why Laas now entered one of the holosuites. He sneered as he looked upon the young humanoid avatar standing there, beaming at him.

"What are you? You are constructed differently from the other Solids," he demanded.

"Me? I'm Defiant!" Defiant introduced herself cheerfully. "I'm the Artificial Intelligence for the ship of the same name! Nice to meet you!"

Laas snorted.

"They even make their machines emulate them," he scoffed.

"Well, I do sometimes like to go around as a bunny," Defiant admitted, "But only in my holo avatar. I just like being me!"

"Yet you could be so much more," Laas growled.

Defiant stopped hopping around, and stared intently at him.

"Even if you can change your form, you're still the same being inside," Defiant stated, "Same mind, same mannerisms, same opinions. You change everything but that. That's a lot harder to change."

Laas growled. Defiant grinned.

"From that, I can tell you're very angry," Defiant said, "Would you like to express that anger in a healthy fashion?"

"What's healthy for an artificial slave?" Laas asked nastily. Defiant materialized her baseball bat, and beamed.

"Sparring, of course! I bet you'd be a lot of fun to fight!"

"Fighting... For fun?" Laas asked, confused. "You even enjoy barbarism for entertainment?"

"For fun!" Defiant said cheerfully. "You're not so 'advanced' you don't know what fun is, right?"

Laas snorted.

"This is a waste of time. I would destroy you in a mom-"

His head splattered against the holosuite walls from the force of Defiant's strike. She bounced back away, letting him reform himself.

"Polaron emitters in the bat," Defiant explained, "Apparently it's really nasty, even at lower levels, for a Changeling."

Defiant smiled broadly as Laas' face reformed in a furious rage.

"So! Since you're now properly angry, wanna continue?"

An hour later, the holosuite doors opened. Odo untensed considerably as Defiant walked out, grinning despite the deep cuts over her face, the burn marks on her artificial skin, and the fact she was hopping on one leg.

"Your friend's a lot of fun to fight, Odo!" Defiant said cheerfully. "We'll have to do it again some time!"

She hopped off, unperturbed by the loss of her leg (Which she carried on her back). Odo ventured into the holosuite, where Laas existed as an oozing puddle.

"Laas? Are you all right?"

Laas formed a mouth so he could groan.

"What... What even... What does the Dominion think of such... Beings?"

"They want them all destroyed," Odo deadpanned.

"I see why," Laas moaned.

Because hey, Defiant beating the stuffing out of an arrogant Changeling is something that had to have happened at some point.