Star Trek: Reign Of Terror
Chapter VII: What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Deep Space Nine, Commander's Quarters, 0700 hours
Station Log, Stardate 48249.3: The Ha'Husia has successfully returned to Deep Space Nine. Major Kira and Jadzia Dax immediately returned to Ops and implemented my new, standing order to quarantine all vessels currently docked here. At first I considered limiting the lockdown to ships carrying cargo, but we still have a lot to learn about the methods used by our unusual enemy. Therefore I concluded that a complete, comprehensive hold on every ship in port would be the quickest way to draw him back out into the open. We need more information about this mysterious alien in order to mount a proper defense.
Both Odo and Lt. Commander Eddington are working to supplement station security in key areas, especially around Ops and the senior staff working there. Until the lockdown is lifted, many of us who regularly work in those positions will no doubt be targeted by our unknown enemy and its allies. We are in the process of taking all necessary precautions needed to insure that enemy activity aboard DS9 can be identified and confronted as soon as we detect it. On this particular occasion, there are also a lot of intangible options at my disposal that normally would not be available to other...
Sisko trailed off suddenly, realizing that he was on the verge of saying too much. He frowned deeply, and then said forcefully, "Computer, delete the last sentence please." Frustrated, he turned off the log recorder and decided to complete the log entry later. They had only been back for a few hours, and yet already he was dealing with the consequences of his decision to hold all ship arrivals and departures. Complaints had poured in by the dozens, especially from civilian merchants who were bound by tight deadlines. The Captains in charge of exploration vessels weren't all that happy either, and overall the mood among the civilians living on the station had darkened considerably.
So far the hold order had been easily implemented and remarkably effective. Ships arriving were given the simple choice to stay or leave, and - at least on a temporary basis - if they chose to dock with the Bajoran space station then those vessels were also held indefinitely. He hadn't expected his announcement to be a popular decision, and yet Sisko had been pleasantly surprised when the usual protests from Quark on this occasion turned out to be minimal. The Ferengi knew that something nasty was in progress... something that was getting people killed. Choosing survival over money had always been Quark's preferred pattern of behavior, but only after taking a few minutes to thoroughly think the decision through. The Ferengi businessman's many colleagues had not been nearly as pleasant.
Sisko took a drink of the hot raktajino in his mug and then placed it carefully on the coffee table next to his newest project. He was seated on the couch in his quarters, using a set of small tools designed for intricate, precision work and working steadfastly on modifications to a hand phaser. The door to the sleeping quarters remained closed, but the Commander could hear his son Jake rattling around back there. The boy was probably already done showering and brushing his teeth or dressing for his daily school sessions with Keiko O'Brien. Smiling and feeling comforted simply because his son was in the next room, Sisko's thoughts warmed considerably. Taking a deep breath, he picked up a small drill and continued working on the weapon's delicate, internal circuitry.
Behind him the bedroom door opened and Jake emerged, still working hard to towel dry his damp hair. "Mornin' Dad," he said casually.
"Good morning Jake," replied Sisko without glancing up. Curiously, Jake moved closer to the couch and peered over his Dad's shoulder at the hand phaser's open casing and its exposed, inner electronics.
"What are you doing?" Jake asked inquisitively. "Trying to improve firepower?"
"No," chuckled Sisko. He carefully considered just how much information he could realistically share with his son. "I guess you could call it a new hobby of sorts. I want to see if I can modify this phaser to fire a reasonably powerful invisible discharge, greatly reducing or even eliminating its sound."
The younger Sisko quickly replicated himself several slices of peanut butter toast and a glass of orange juice. He munched on the toast while continuing to watch his father's work. "Is that something that station security asked for, or just something you came up with on your own?"
"It's too long and boring a story to tell you the entire thing," the Commander decided. "However, it may eventually be something that security needs. There are a lot more people than we're used to who are currently assigned to various projects aboard this station, and I'd like to have the capability available to knock troublemakers unconscious without drawing a lot of attention. So far, I've noticed that flagrant displays of weaponry on the Promenade have a tendency to panic many of the civilians."
"Hmm..." Jake continued eating his toast and took a drink of orange juice. "You'd think that Starfleet would already have thought of the invisibility part. I've always wondered why you guys insist on giving away your position while firing weapons. If I was a Starfleet Admiral, an invisible phaser beam would be at the top of my list of things that needed to be changed."
Sisko laughed with obvious amusement. "If you were a Starfleet Admiral, things everywhere would probably run much more smoothly," he told his son with a warm smile, shifting his gaze back to the weapon. "Invisibility isn't the primary problem in this case, and it's the easiest obstacle to overcome. Some of the lower settings are already close... and there's always the pulsing option." He sighed, setting down the tiny drill for a moment. "It's actually the part about diminishing or eliminating the sound from the emitter that has me constantly scratching my head. Creating a sufficient energy discharge with the strength needed to knock out tougher targets has historically tended to make a great deal of noise."
Jake finished his breakfast and placed his plate and glass back into the replicator. "Where did this idea come from?" he wondered. "What suddenly made this so important?"
The Commander cast an imperious gaze at his son. "Have a good day at school, Jake-O."
"Now there's an evasive answer if ever I heard one," grinned Jake. "You have a good day too Dad." He opened the exit door and almost walked directly into Lt. Commander Michael Eddington. Apparently, Eddington had just arrived and was about to sound the door chime.
"Hello Mr. Sisko," Eddington said politely to Jake. The Commander's son smiled cheerfully in reply as he ducked playfully out into the corridor and promptly disappeared.
"Come in, Mr. Eddington," said Sisko as he continued to use the tools from his kit to poke and probe around the innards of the hand phaser. "I already read the report that you submitted, but I'd still like to hear your thoughts on what happened during my recent absence."
The dark-haired, slightly balding Starfleet security officer entered the room and surveyed Sisko's small project for a moment but did not comment. He declined an offer to sit and instead clasped his hands casually in front of him, simply standing and watching quietly before replying to the Commander's request. "Nothing of any consequence took place," Eddington informed Sisko. "There were more of the gravimetric fluctuations... all of them minor. Several of them barely registered on our internal sensors."
"Hmmm," mused the Commander thoughtfully. "Apparently our mysterious foe has significantly more control over subspace then it first let on. It only creates a major disturbance if it needs to."
Eddington nodded affirmatively in response. "During one of them, another ship Captain was threatened by the dark robed, unknown entity that has been visiting us. No one was harmed this time, and by the time my security team arrived everything was already back to normal."
"Thank you for assuming temporary command of the station during my absence." Sisko smiled appreciatively in Eddington's direction. "The Ha'Husia is an old ship with inadequate sensor systems, and it was extremely helpful having their assistance in effectively tracking everything."
"You're most welcome Commander. You should also know that Odo and I are coordinating our combined efforts much more consistently now. He has finally begun to realize that I am here to represent Starfleet's interests and not to step on his toes." Eddington continued watching Sisko fiddle with the phaser's internal circuitry. "Did you find out anything useful during your visit to Denali Prime?"
Like a ton of bricks, Sisko felt the weight of command suddenly land squarely on his shoulders. Sometimes he was able to push that burden aside for a short while, but sooner or later a simple phrase or some random, seemingly insignificant action would bring it crashing back down on him. Thoughts of Captain Data, the future, and his continual need to be discreet while dishing out information on a 'need to know' basis roiled in his mind... all of them generating conflicting emotions. "An alien insectoid of some sort tried to steal the perishable medication that we had on board," he replied tersely. "Data, Chief O'Brien, and Doctor Bashir offered to remain behind and follow up on that lead, so I allowed them to."
"That is very interesting," Eddington decided. "Whatever this subspace entity is, it obviously needs allies out here in our world to work with."
"Yes it does," agreed Sisko.
"I'll let you continue your work," the Lt. Commander said sharply, snapping to attention. "You can reach me in Ops if you need to talk further."
"I'll certainly do that," the Commander replied firmly.
Eddington nodded respectfully and exited from the room, leaving Sisko to continue steadily with his work on the hand phaser. He was still tinkering with various components approximately twenty minutes later when his communicator suddenly vibrated for attention against his chest. Sisko paused for a minute, since his Comm-badge had never done that before. Finally, remembering that it was a 29th century imitation, he tapped it lightly with the fingers of his right hand.
"This is Ducane... are you alone?"
"For the moment," Sisko replied informatively, rising to his feet and promptly locking the door. "It's good to see that your modified communicator works as promised. What can I do for you?"
"You don't have much time Benjamin," the Relativity Commander told him honestly. "There is another significant change in history about to occur. Our most recently updated telemetry indicates that over sixty percent of those changes occur after Quark is murdered."
"Quark, huh?" Sisko paused thoughtfully, dark twists of irony tempting his thoughts.
"No jokes Commander," Ducane requested sharply. "This is very serious business. Updated station records indicate that his body will be found in his quarters shortly after a murder that will take place in less than an hour. Odo's subsequent interviews with witnesses who last saw that Ferengi of yours indicate that he postponed opening his bar to return to his quarters with an unidentified female. So get out to the habitat ring and save his life... we need to prevent another premature death."
Ben Sisko glanced down at the partially refitted hand weapon still lying on the coffee table next to the raktajino mug. Most of the cover pieces that normally protected the inner circuitry had been removed and were scattered across the table's glossy surface. The Commander picked up the weapon and slowly shook his head as he chuckled with amusement. "I'm on my way," he promised. "If history doesn't promptly change back to normal after I intervene, let me know why as soon as possible."
"We'll certainly do that. Hurry Commander."
Seconds later, the Sisko family living area was empty and quiet.
Using one of the service crawlways - areas that he had become quite familiar with during his first year aboard DS9 - Benjamin Sisko eventually found his way into a ventilation shaft leading directly to Quark's private quarters within the space station's habitat ring. The ventilator chute narrowed at the branch-off point where it descended downward to a grating looking down inside the Ferengi's living area. There was no way for a grown man to fit inside the air duct, but by leaning forward the Commander quickly discovered he could get close enough to the metal grill and covertly observe any activity below. He placed a cautious hand against the metal lattice work crisscrossing the vent, noticing that it was securely attached to the wall.
Removing the air vent's cover would undoubtedly arouse suspicion, and yet Sisko was somewhat disappointed upon discovering that the slats were designed specifically to direct fresh air flow into the room and therefore aligned in a manner that limited his ability to see. Setting his phaser to a low-power setting he carefully burned a fist-sized hole in the metal, noticing that - as hoped for - the beam that emerged from the weapon was now almost totally invisible. Unfortunately, the open areas created by the weapon's missing cover pieces allowed energy blowback from the phaser discharge to emerge from inside the weapon. The hair on Sisko's hand immediately stood on end, and he felt a distinct electrical tingling sensation in his right arm that bordered on the low end of painful. He wondered briefly what the feedback would feel like if the need arose to fire it at a higher setting.
Recognizing that he would likely have cramped muscles if he remained in such an awkward position for any significant length of time, Sisko eased himself slowly back into the larger, main ventilator shaft connected to the adjoining crawlway and patiently waited for the inevitable event to come... the murder that Ducane had warned him about. It had taken the Commander quite some time to first locate and then move into a hiding spot that would meet his requirement for concealment and also allow for a quick retreat. Thus he was not surprised to hear voices outside the door less than fifteen minutes after positioning himself in the most tactically sound location available to him.
"Please enter my humble abode my dear Miarla," Quark said with his usual attempt at charm as the door to the room slid open. "I have the finest food and drink in the sector to tempt you with, and perhaps a few other surprises as well."
Once again, Sisko leaned forward into the smaller connecting ventilation shaft and peered through his newly created spy-hole. He watched Deep Space Nine's Ferengi bartender enter the room followed very closely by a scantily clad alien female. The Commander was unable to recognize her species, but he noticed that she was tall and thin and displaying ample cleavage - exactly the type of female that usually attracted opportunists like Quark and his trading partners.
"What's that smell?" Quark asked suddenly, sniffing the air and glancing around the room.
Miarla shrugged her bare shoulders, pulling the thin fabric of the bright green and gold dress that she wore more snugly around her. "What smell?" she asked. "I haven't noticed anything."
"It smells like something is burning in here," insisted Quark, his eyes moving back and forth as he scanned the room. "And I haven't even started cooking yet. Maybe Rom was here earlier... that no good brother of mine is always burning things."
From his position in the ventilator shaft, Sisko simply shook his head. Leave it to the Ferengi to have a sense of smell just as sensitive as their hearing, he thought to himself wryly.
Quark paused for a brief moment longer before returning his attention back to Miarla. "No matter," he decided finally. "I think that we should progress directly to our dinner, and then on to even more pleasurable distractions. Just name the activity of your choice my dear... tonight I'm going to make all of your dreams come true."
Lying fully concealed in the airshaft, the Commander shook his head with dismay as he listened to the odd, unrestrained courtship ritual of the greedy Ferengi bartender. Reaching down toward a tricorder tucked snugly between his legs, he activated the device... just for a few brief seconds. Glancing out through the hole in the air vent it was blatantly obvious that Quark was now otherwise occupied. He was replicating food and drink at a record pace, making so many clanking and clattering noises that Sisko doubted he would have heard the tricorder even if it were used for an extended period of time.
"All I want Quark," decided Miarla coyly, "is for the lockdown on our ships to be lifted. Honest commerce must be allowed to take place or innocent business people like me will suffer the consequences." She took several steps forward until she was standing directly next to the Ferengi and slowly, gently stroked the edge of his left ear. "Everyone on the Promenade says that you have the most influence with Commander Sisko. I'm hoping that you will throw your full support behind our efforts to restore free trade to all vessels in this sector."
Quark poured two glasses of an amber fluid, handing one of them to his girlfriend. "Of course I can speak with the Commander," he admitted with obvious fluster at the beautiful woman's unrestrained praise. "However, I've already done so and know him well enough to recognize that he doesn't do these things without a reason. There has been some serious trouble on board Deep Space Nine lately, and I wouldn't want him to put anyone else in danger." He clinked glasses with her and took a sip, watching her stand quietly while holding her own drink. "People are dead, you know." Miarla's mood darkened noticeably at his words.
Pulling back from the air vent just far enough to glance down at the tricorder, Sisko's eyes widened in surprise. The small display clearly showed only one identifiable life sign inside of the room... the Ferengi. Curious, the Commander pressed his face back against the grating in order to get a better look at Quark's date. She didn't appear to be much different from the usual, odd assortment of alien visitors that regularly frequented Deep Space Nine. Aside from bright, flaming red hair, several odd tattoos on her forehead and dark, captivating eyes there wasn't a whole lot that Sisko found unusual.
"I don't want you to speak with him," Miarla protested irritably. "I want you to convince Sisko to change his mind and allow the normal flow of cargo to resume."
As the conversation between the pair grew more heated, Sisko risked another quick scan with the tricorder. He used it this time to search for odd or unusual energy patterns, and it didn't take long for him to discover a few. Immediately he recognized the familiar, odd gravimetric disturbances recorded by the station's internal sensors during previous visits from the alien known only as the Overseer. The readings were much more subdued and emanating at a substantially lower level than during past occurrences, but the familiar pattern was distinct and immediately recognizable. Using his left hand to remove the tricorder from between his legs, Sisko lifted it up to eye level and studied the screen's display curiously.
A simulated diagram on the screen clearly outlined both Quark and his companion, and yet the woman still gave off no identifiable life signs of any kind. Sisko leaned as close as he could to the air vent and carefully studied the female from top to bottom. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, noticing a small, glittering emerald green energy tether connected directly to her left ankle. The small rope of gravitons wound its way backward, away from her lovely legs, snaking its way several centimeters backwards toward a tiny, almost completely hidden subspace pocket hovering nearby. The Commander decided that this was a very interesting method of quite literally 'hiding something in plain sight'. The only reason that he had seen the tendril was that he was expecting trouble, had use of a tricorder, and knew specifically what to look for.
The sight of the unusual astral cord immediately reminded the Commander about Chief O'Brien's recent encounter with the intimidating, dark-robed Overseer while aboard the Ha'Husia. Realizing that the appearance of the alluring woman was in all probability a complete masquerade, Sisko decided not to wait any longer. The time Ducane had given him for Quark's unexpected death was fast approaching, even as the Ferengi's companion continued to grow angrier. She was screaming at him now... screaming obsessively about the need to move cargo through the demilitarized zone and the rights to free trade that Sisko's directive closing down Deep Space Nine so obviously violated.
Pointing the phaser downward toward her feet, Sisko fired a small, narrow beam of energy toward the graviton tether. The energy discharge was almost completely invisible to the naked eye and made almost no discernible noise. Again the hair on the back of his arm tingled noticeably from the feedback while a dark burn appeared on the floor of Quark's quarters, right next to the woman's shoes. Since he could not see the beam, Sisko maintained a constant rate of fire while sweeping his aim up and across the glittering green energy tether. As soon as the phaser beam crossed it, the woman's image flickered noticeably and actually disappeared for a brief second.
"This is getting to be too much for me," Quark decided, his back facing her as he continued to set out dishes of food. He set down his glass and turned back towards her, holding up both hands with obvious frustration. "Miarla, I refuse to put innocent merchants in danger... I need them to line my pockets with latinum!" The romance was obviously gone as the two of them glared at each other almost spitefully. "I think it's time for you to leave."
"I'm not going to leave," the woman snarled, raising her arms above her head. "At least not while you're still alive, you spineless little worm!" Her eyes suddenly flashed brightly with crimson red and her body transformed swiftly into the dark-robed, familiar form of the Overseer. Quark screamed with obvious surprise at the unexpected confrontation and - turning to run away - he stumbled over a small table. Landing helplessly on his back he continued to frantically back away, crab style, from the intimidating presence of the strange alien.
With one smooth motion, Sisko upped the setting on his phaser and fired directly into the bottom half of the creature's body. As he had observed on the recording from Chief O'Brien's encounter, the creature's body parts regenerated as swiftly as the phaser discharge disintegrated them. Several times the invisible energy beam poked completely through the Overseer's robes and burned deep trenches into the deck plating. With the alien creature standing imperiously over him and smoke and flames suddenly rising from the floor, Quark didn't know what to think. He continued shrieking in terror, doing his best to crawl backwards toward the far side of the room.
Frustrated, the Commander once again redirected his phaser beam, this time aiming it directly at the glittering energy tether. The response was immediate - and the towering dark image of the Overseer flickered and instantly began to fragment. Continuing to focus the phaser shot completely on the creature's graviton supply, Sisko maintained fire until the Overseer finally gave up and retreated. The alien back peddled several steps and then its dark robes once again simply collapsed into the depths of the rippling, anomalous subspace pocket. Seconds later the encounter was over, and only a panicked Ferengi bartender remained in the room.
The Commander waited several minutes longer to insure that the creature had no immediate intentions of returning and then abandoned his vantage point. Finally, the still terrified Quark gathered enough courage to leap to his feet. Spurred on by adrenalin and fear, he immediately placed a call to the station's security office. Nodding with satisfaction and moving silently back through the ventilator duct; Sisko crawled back into the adjoining work crawlway and slowly but surely made his way away from Quark's quarters. By the time he emerged into an isolated corridor next to a utility office, Odo had already contacted him and requested that the Commander meet him as soon as possible in the habitat ring.
"I hope that's the solution you were looking for Commander Ducane," Sisko growled softly. He linked the Comm-badge signal to the output of the tricorder and uploaded the new telemetry that he had gathered directly to Commander Ducane. Then he terminated his transmission to the 29th century and headed back in the general direction of the habitat ring.
"...it was a demon lord!" Quark was saying to Odo when Sisko walked into his quarters. "It approached me on the Promenade and lured me back here disguised as a very attractive fe-male. But that's not what it was... it was actually... it was..." The Ferengi held up a cautious, trembling hand for emphasis.
"...a demon lord. Yes, yes, we heard you the first time," nodded Odo, his expression of disdain for the station's bartender quite obvious. "How do you know that it intended to harm you?"
Standing next to both Odo and Michael Eddington, Quark's eyes widened with fright. "I know because she... it... refused to leave. It tried to get me to press the Commander to lift the ship embargo, and when I wouldn't it changed into a dark-robed alien and then started on fire!" He pointed to the dark, charred scorch marks burned into the deck plating, and Sisko noticed that he could still smell the smoldering remains of the residual smoke that had not yet been filtered out of the room.
The Commander swiftly found himself in the first of what would probably be a series of uncomfortable situations as Odo crossed the room so that he could speak with Sisko privately. Eddington remained with Quark, continuing to ask him additional questions about the unusual incident. Sisko decided to play the situation professionally, pretending that he knew absolutely nothing. "What's the story?" he asked Odo with a casual glance at the Ferengi.
"Apparently, our unseen intruder is getting better and better at manipulating subspace," decided the Constable. "We detected at least two dozen minor gravimetric anomalies on internal sensors, scattered across the station," Odo informed him. "We had enough people in key positions to investigate most of them within minutes, but as with prior incidents we went after the strongest concentrations first."
Sisko nodded with approval. "To protect key systems from damage."
"Yes," Odo continued. "Projecting the image of the woman seems not to have required a very strong concentration of gravitons, so we were unconcerned with this particular anomaly. We had Quark's 'companion' low on our list of priorities until she began moving. Unfortunately the two of them had several minutes alone before we were able to get here, during which time the alien apparently threatened to kill Quark."
"Do you think she was bluffing?" asked the Commander, curious to hear the Constable's reasoning.
"No, I think that Quark's mysterious girlfriend fully intended to kill him," declared Odo sincerely. "Perhaps the alien was simply retaliating against his lack of cooperation, or maybe she simply wanted to re-emphasize that she is capable of killing us - any of us - if we refuse to comply with her demands. Regardless of her motives, our good friend Quark was extremely lucky... much more fortunate than his dear, departed friend Captain Keyoun."
"Why do you say that?" Sisko wondered, although he was already anticipating the response.
Odo handed him a tricorder and the Commander examined the information displayed on its small screen. He pointed to the dark streaks burned into the room's floor. "Those are residual phaser burns," the Constable replied sternly. "The alien didn't start on fire... I double-checked the readings to be certain. Those marks were created by energy discharges from a standard issue, Starfleet hand phaser." He pointed toward an air vent on the opposite wall near the room's ceiling. "Notice the hole burned in that duct cover? Someone was hiding in there Commander... someone who watched the whole thing and fired a weapon at that alien. And as much as I might personally have preferred a different outcome, I must admit that whoever did so probably saved Quark's life."
"How did someone get into the ventilation system?" Sisko asked, moving closer to the air duct so that he could inspect the very hole that he himself had created earlier from the other side.
"There are too many projects currently in progress aboard this station," growled Odo irritably. "Half of the security systems and internal sensors are regularly shut down for several hours at a time. When they finally come back up, their counterparts on the other side of the station get turned off. It makes rapid detection and response to these graviton-based incursions virtually impossible." He shook his head back and forth several times, clearly upset. "Every time I protest, your Starfleet engineers refer me back to you... stating that they have no choice but to tap into our power grid if they're going to hold to their schedule and bring the new weapons systems on-line."
"I know you're frustrated, Constable."
"Frustrated doesn't begin to describe my feelings on this matter," Odo replied sternly. "So far the Dominion hasn't done anything since we returned to the Alpha Quadrant. Right now we don't need weapons on the outside of this station... but we do need our internal sensors on-line and functioning so that my people are in place and able to properly fight the battle for the inside."
"Perhaps Quark's 'guardian angel' will continue to help," Sisko suggested.
"Not if I catch him first," snapped Odo angrily. "You know how I feel about vigilantism."
"Yes I do. I'll be in Ops if you need me."
As the Commander turned to leave, Odo pointed at Sisko's empty waistband. "I would suggest that you requisition and keep a hand weapon of your own available at all times, Commander. This lockdown of yours has obviously elevated the anger of our enemy... its attacks on our personnel are likely to increase. Whether you realize it or not, you have made yourself its primary target."
"I am well aware of that Constable," replied Sisko. "But thanks, nonetheless, for the suggestion."
Deep Space Nine, Main Operations (Ops), 2105 hours
Lt. Jadzia Dax carefully studied the results of her newest computer model curiously, anxious to determine if she would learn anything new. She had been at her post in main Operations, steadily working on the data record from Chief O'Brien's tricorder for several hours. Her initial analysis had produced several noteworthy discoveries, but after those first few initial successes the trail had grown steadily colder. The quest for additional information about their mysterious adversary was proving to be both frustrating and unsuccessful... a failure that she was unaccustomed to.
She was still working on yet another test when the doors to Commander Sisko's office snapped neatly open and he emerged confidently. He descended the small flight of stairs in front of him and crossed over to where she was sitting. Major Kira had been standing at another main Operations command console, but after noticing the sudden presence of the Commander she immediately moved to join them. Jadzia continued her steady, thorough analysis of the data drifting across her screen while Sisko and Kira stood patiently, watching from behind.
"Have you learned anything new?" asked the Commander.
Dax shrugged her shoulders, wrinkling her attractive nose and hesitating to gather her thoughts before responding to his inquiry. "I'm not entirely certain," she told him honestly. "I've run over a hundred different analytical subroutines against the telemetry recorded by Chief O'Brien during his encounter with the alien aboard the Ha'Husia. So far all I can say with certainty is that the creature uses gravitons to open pockets of subspace. It also apparently has the ability to manipulate them in some unknown manner and completely change the look of its physical appearance. The result of that process gives it a distinctive, shapeshifting ability that visually appears to be very similar to what we have seen Odo do. The exact method it uses to simulate a visual presence, however, remains unknown. Its technique is obviously much different than what our Constable does, given that its presence doesn't register as any sort of identifiable life form."
"How different?"
Again Dax shrugged, this time shaking her head back and forth negatively at the same time. "I honestly don't know how to fully explain this Benjamin," she replied. "According to the tricorder, there were no other life forms in that room other than Chief O'Brien. Odo may choose to look like a tree or a part of the wall, but he does usually register as a life form while wearing his humanoid shape. I've gone over this data quite a few times, and I can tell you for certain that only one thing was out of the ordinary and detectable by that scan - the presence of a great deal of concentrated gravitons." She pointed to the display in front of her. "Here... take a look... I mapped them out for you."
On the screen they could see a rough image of scattered green dots that vaguely resembled a hooded, robed humanoid. The area surrounding its eyes had the greatest concentration of green, and its long sleeved arms and covered legs had the fewest. Dax had frozen the image at a point where the creature was standing still, its arms hanging loosely by its side. Even with the visual image of the creature eliminated and the remainder of it reduced to a scattered sprinkling of computer-colored dots, the unusual nature of the alien remained more than a little bit intimidating. There was a definite pattern still very much in evidence, a pattern that clearly defined the alien's shape and size.
"The gravitons are used to define the basic outline of the shape that this creature chooses to take, but as you can see from this diagram they don't account for everything. Even so, nothing else unusual registered on Chief O'Brien's tricorder." She paused, shaking her head with dismay. "Yet somehow this alien was able to project the intimidating image of a dark-robed, cowled creature - the same image that so many others have reported seeing. Our mysterious visitor is definitely utilizing plain old gravitons to preliminarily define the shape that it chooses to take, but how it goes about filling in the rest of the details... well, I haven't the vaguest idea how it accomplishes that."
Major Kira's dark, piercing eyes studied the display with interest. "Quark reported seeing an alien woman; someone he was tempted by and willing to take back to his quarters," she reminded them. "So whatever this thing is, it's definitely getting better at its ability to simulate humanoid form."
"Practice makes perfect," growled Sisko. "What about the cord-like attachment Chief O'Brien reported seeing? Have you discovered anything more about that?"
This time Lt. Dax nodded with enthusiasm. "Once it pokes through subspace, the tether is undoubtedly the method the alien is utilizing to enter and interact with our environment," she informed them. Touching the keypad next to the visual she rotated the green dotted image of the robed humanoid so that they were looking at it from its left side. Immediately obvious to them was a heavily concentrated, tightly wound stream of dotted gravitons stretching out from between the creature's shoulder blades and reaching back through the subspace pocket it had used to enter the Ha'Husia Captain's quarters. "This astral cord serves as a basic conduit of sorts for the graviton flow. Using this method, the alien can enter the station at any weak point it finds in subspace. It just pokes its way through like a needle through a piece of paper."
"At first the graviton surges were massive, but they have diminished during recent encounters," Sisko noted. "We have an entire airlock under repair as a result of the damage this thing caused, not to mention one of Quark's holosuites. Whatever this thing may be, I believe that it is slowly but surely learning how to rupture subspace wherever it wishes to emerge. And based on the incident earlier today in Quark's quarters, I would venture to say that the alien is getting much more effective in its efforts to interact with us. Just like Odo and his people, this thing can now literally look like anyone."
"I don't have any idea how it generated the image recorded on O'Brien's tricorder," admitted Dax with a frown. "I am also unable to explain how it pulled off its latest trick... successfully managing to manipulate gravitons and simulate an attractive, humanoid female."
"Keep in mind that this alien emerges from subspace," Sisko pointed out. "Wherever it lives, I don't think its origin is anywhere near our own physical universe. I think this life form is currently in the process of experimenting with our physical laws, mainly by using tricks and tests to discover the best ways to intrude in our space. We are unable to scan anything significant because there isn't anything. Our tricorders, after all, only detect what they are programmed to find. And they are programmed to detect energy and locate objects based on the laws that govern the physics outside of subspace."
"I don't like this at all," declared Kira fiercely, crossing her arms in front of her. "Whatever manner of alien life form this creature turns out to be, it obviously already knows a lot more about us than we know about it. The tactical advantages it must possess are enormous."
Sisko placed a finger on the screen, right on top of the glittering, concentrated pattern of green dots that comprised the winding energy cord that connected the alien to its origin point. He touched the controls, slowly replaying the entire recording from O'Brien's tricorder. This time, however, he limited the visual image to the pattern of graviton dots as defined using Dax's new filter. The playback displayed only the gravitons, and it was immediately obvious that the vast majority of them were flowing out of the subspace pocket and toward the hooded, dark-robed alien.
"Very interesting," decided Major Kira while the three of them watched the new, unique view curiously. "As the creature confronts Chief O'Brien, the gravitons are flowing into its body - obviously they are used to somehow sustain whatever image the intruder chooses to project. After Data shows up and begins shooting at it, the gravitons suddenly reverse themselves and begin flowing backward until the humanoid image finally collapses. Within seconds the tendril retracts and the subspace pocket closes too." She turned toward Sisko. "I forgot to ask you... how did Data get in there so fast anyway?"
The Commander's smile did not betray the irony of his situation. "Your internal sensors on the Ha'Husia were not very effective. We were monitoring your situation from the Yellowjacket and immediately pinpointed the disturbance." His strong bond of loyalty to the two ladies tempted him to tell them more, but he paused hesitantly. Partly Sisko held back filling them in on further details because he was fully aware that he also did not know the entire story. Once Data had beamed away, he had no idea what the android Captain from the 29th century had been up to.
"This certainly isn't a lot of new information," sighed Kira apprehensively. "I don't know what we're supposed to tell Odo."
"This alien isn't restricted to the limits of this universe in the manner that you and I are," observed Sisko, "But it obviously does have to abide by at least some of them. We now know for certain that the creature requires a constant flow of gravitons in order to power its presence here in our space."
"It obviously hoards them whenever possible," guessed Dax. "It only intrudes on our space at specific, premeditated points, and once it returns to its origin it takes the gravitons along with it."
The Commander took a deep breath and thoroughly thought the matter through. "Phasers don't appear to have any serious, lasting effect on this alien." Once again he pointed directly at the graviton cord still displayed on Dax's screen. "What about attacking the source of its power?" he asked them. "If we fired phasers on a higher powered setting directly at this graviton conduit or at the subspace rupture..."
Kira nodded. "...that might be enough to disrupt whatever the creature is doing, at least long enough for us to get additional defenses in place."
"It's not much to go on, but at least we can tell security something," agreed Dax.
"Please continue your study of this and all future disturbances," requested Sisko. "If you discover anything else of significance, let me know. I'll be in my office."
The Commander was still busy, intensely studying the recorded data on the alien visitor more than an hour later. He glanced up sharply and rose from his seat immediately upon noticing that Ops had suddenly been placed on high alert status. By the time he emerged from his office there were already at least six of the smaller, rippling gravimetric distortions surrounding the central work area. All of them had emerged from subspace near the upper ceiling area and were moving slowly but steadily downward toward the central computer stations currently in use by Jadzia Dax and Kira Nerys.
Several Bajoran crewmen and women manning the outer consoles watched the eerie phenomenon with obvious fear etched into the lines of their faces. Already Sisko could see green tendrils of energy poking through each of the anomalies. With both Lt. Dax and Major Kira trapped between them, they continued moving closer and closer to the two ladies. Dark, malevolent shapes with the recognizable hoods and blazing red eyes began to materialize at the far end of each tendril. Their robes swirled furiously, wrapping around their hidden legs as they glided smoothly through the room. It appeared as though they were moving relentlessly through a driving wind, even though there was absolutely no detectable breeze in the artificially controlled atmosphere.
"LIFT THE EMBARGO... LIFT IT NOW!"
There was a distinctive, separate voice for each alien but the words were spoken simultaneously. From the Commander's perspective, the voices sounded far too much like a lecture from the Borg collective. Pulling the phaser hooked to his waist free, he fired at the closest tether and missed it. The beam slammed against the hooded creature connected to it, instantly vaporizing the humanoid figure. Removing his finger from the trigger, Sisko quickly tapped the weapon's controls and upped the output by two settings. Within seconds of his attack, the hooded image of the creature completely rematerialized, and the small pocket of subspace trailing it slowed suddenly to a complete stop.
The robed creature swung its head around to face him, its facial features completely obscured by the cowl it wore. Twin red eyes blazed hatefully from within as it began moving away from the other five aliens and directly toward him. Bracing himself against a console, Commander Sisko fired a hot orange phaser beam directly into the center of the creature's chest. The discharge blew a huge hole through its torso and burned a hot, smoking hole into the wall near the ceiling behind it. Maintaining a steady fire, Sisko corrected his aim in time to direct the remainder of the phaser blast directly into the glittering green cord connecting his attacker to subspace. The tether absorbed the entire, withering output from the phaser shot and crackled angrily with distortion. Eerily similar to the earlier encounter in Quark's quarters, both the alien and its subspace entry point promptly collapsed and then vanished.
"LIFT THE EMBARGO... LIFT IT NOW! LIFT THE EMBARGO... LIFT IT NOW!"
The five remaining creatures continued to close relentlessly in on Jadzia Dax and Kira Nerys. Both of them were shooting phasers too, and their initial blasts struck the dark-robed forms that continued to approach them menacingly with both arms raised. Glancing toward the four security guards assigned to strategically defensible points around the perimeter of the cavernous room that was Ops, the Commander noticed all of them watching the events incredulously. Each of them was temporarily, understandably overcome with shock. The speed at which the attack had progressed since the initial alarm was remarkable... Sisko estimated that less than sixty seconds had elapsed.
"Shoot the cords... set your weapons to level nine!" he shouted fiercely at the guards, triggering the combat training skills drilled into them and snapping them immediately into action.
Shouldering their phaser rifles, all four security officers opened fire on the intruders who continued their surprise invasion of Deep Space Nine's center of Operations. Almost instantly, one of the Starfleet security men connected with a second tether, dissipating the alien in front of it just as swiftly as Sisko had. Major Kira took out another one seconds later, allowing both her and Dax time to retreat beneath its previous position and join the rest of the crew on the perimeter of Ops. The three remaining aliens slowed to a complete stop as their targets moved temporarily out of range, but not before one of them passed through one of the computer consoles. The metal frame melted away, and the top of the console shattered instantly as its internal circuitry exploded in a geyser of rapidly rising smoke and flames.
"LIFT THE EMBARGO AND YOU WILL LIVE... LIFT THE EMBARGO AND YOU WILL LIVE!"
There were only three voices now, and those remaining three didn't last long. The security guards, having already observed the aliens' obvious weakness, promptly blasted the remaining three aliens out of existence as easily as their counterparts had been eliminated. Dax was standing ready, bent at the knees with her phaser ready in case additional targets presented themselves. Fortunately the matter appeared to be settled, and she glanced with dismay at Kira. The Major remained standing rigidly on the steps leading up to Sisko's office, her dark eyes scanning the room for more of the strange, robed creatures.
Around them the alert lights continued to blaze bright red and then fade away as the alarm klaxon continued to sound in unison. Sisko noticed with frustration that the destroyed control console wasn't their only casualty - that some of their high powered phaser shots had damaged other systems as well. Flames still licked hungrily at several of the command consoles, and smoke whirled in waves as the ventilation filters struggled to sift it out of the breathable air. The Commander's gaze shifted first to Dax and then onward to Kira as the lift elevator slowly rose into view holding Odo, Michael Eddington, and half a dozen additional security personnel.
"It's over," Kira said, raising a hand to set them at ease. She smiled appreciatively at the obvious concern on her friend Odo's face. "You missed the party Odo. It didn't last long, but it sure was a memorable occasion."
"Are you certain it's over?" Eddington stepped forward, his phaser rifle firmly gripped in both hands.
"For the moment." Sisko attached the phaser weapon to the belt at his waist and sighed heavily. "Although I must admit that I had hoped to avoid facing the consequences of my actions so soon."
"You had no choice Benjamin," protested Dax. "We had to lock the station down... those aliens quite obviously need all of that gravitational equipment on board those merchant vessels or they wouldn't be trying so badly to obtain it."
"That's not what I was referring to," replied Sisko with a wry grin. He gestured toward all of the smoking, damaged computer systems for emphasis. "I took a tactical risk in assigning Chief O'Brien to assist Data. Leaving him behind on Denali Prime has turned out to be a mistake... I never imagined that we would need his services again so quickly!"
Kira laughed at his humorous tone of voice in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "Well you got what you wanted Commander," she reluctantly admitted. "Deep Space Nine has certainly drawn the attention of those aliens. Attacks everywhere else in the sector are virtually non-existent since we put our lockdown in place."
"Aliens?" Eddington's mouth fell open. "Did you say aliens... as in more than one?"
Sisko nodded. "At least six this time... and who knows how many others are floating around out there."
The Commander worked steadily to assist the Ops crew in temporarily rerouting command functions from the damaged systems. After the work was completed and he was certain things had settled down, he left Kira in charge and returned to the habitat ring. Along the way he retrieved a duffel bag from a storage locker, something he had packed away earlier in the day. Upon returning to his quarters he opened it and retrieved the modified phaser that he had been working on. With his command instincts warning him that the weapon would soon be needed again, he sat down on the couch and picked up the small metallic sections of cover plating still laying there.
Satisfied by the weapon's performance during the earlier encounter in Quark's quarters, Sisko abandoned a brief impulse to try modifying its emitter further. He remembered well the brief, numbed lack of feeling in his arm after using the weapon while it was unsafe and resolved not to do it again. It would hardly improve station morale if his officers discovered their Commander's body after an unstable phaser exploded and killed him in the process of carrying out one of Thomas Ducane's assignments. The weapon worked well enough and all it needed now was the complete restoration of its safety features. Using the precision tools from the borrowed kit, he slowly but surely began reattaching the shielded metal plating to the hand weapon.
The room's door snapped open. "Are you still working on that?" Jake asked him with amazement. The boy had lots of friends on the station and routinely bounced back and forth from one location to the next, so Sisko was not exactly certain where he had been.
"I'm almost done, and you should know that I did go to work... at least for awhile today," the Commander grinned, looking his son up and down and sizing him up. "I see you're in the midst of socializing - is your homework done?"
"Yes," insisted Jake firmly. "Mrs. O'Brien has been keeping limiting everyone to light reading lately, since many of the kids are still frightened by the murders."
"This station is currently manned by more Starfleet personnel than ever... more than have ever served here in its short history as a major starbase. You should reassure the school children and Mrs. O'Brien that they are well protected here. The murderer is only targeting those who have supplies it needs."
"I will," Jake promised, gesturing casually toward his bedroom. "I'm just going to get a game and then meet Nog on the Promenade... we've been having a lot of fun with it lately."
"Don't forget about your supper. Be certain and eat something nutritious."
"I already did... Dad." Jake shook his head with dismay at the automatic parenting mode that his father went into each time the two of them had a conversation. Then he entered his bedroom briefly - just long enough to retrieve the electronic game that he had mentioned - before heading back out into the corridor in search of his young Ferengi classmate.
Less than two minutes after Jake's departure, Sisko's communicator vibrated using the same, recognizable pattern that Ducane had contacted him with earlier. Completing his work on the phaser, Sisko tapped his Comm-badge lightly. "I'm alone," he said reassuringly to his 29th century colleague.
"You're doing extremely well Commander."
"Are you certain?" Sisko asked doubtfully. "A short while ago, we shot the hell out of Main Operations. I can only imagine what might have happened if we didn't have trained officers in there."
"Timeline changes remain negligible, thanks primarily to you," replied Ducane, his voice sounding vibrant and confident.
The Commander tried to identify what was different about the sound of his voice... what had changed from their earlier conversation. Like the flip of a switch, the answer to his unspoken question suddenly dawned on him. "What happened to the distortion?" he asked curiously. "You sound close by."
"I am." Sisko had been examining the phaser to make certain it was completely sealed, but he paused upon hearing the Commander's announcement. "Both Jess Ingram and I are wearing uniforms from your timeframe and are currently aboard Deep Space Nine," Ducane informed him casually. "We need your help again... it's going to be two murders this time, each occurring at opposite ends of the station."
The Commander listened with focused interest. "It sounds like yet another test of our ability to respond."
"Exactly. Our enemy doesn't appear capable of seeing into the future... at least it's not monitoring events in my century. It's interest in our space/time would seem to be limited to this particular period in Starfleet's history."
Sisko crossed the room and entered his bedroom, carefully locking away the phaser that he had used earlier in Ops. He attached the second, modified weapon to his hip and promptly reentered the main living area. "What do you need me to do?" he asked Ducane.
"Your Starfleet engineering team currently has internal sensors disabled near upper docking pylon three," replied the Relativity Commander. "The crewman assigned to monitor installation of the new weapons array is going to be murdered in less than seventy minutes. We'd like you to handle that crisis while the two of us move into position and prevent the other killing."
"You're going where the sensors are still active? What if you get caught?"
Ducane chuckled at the comment. "Believe it or not, things are more dangerous for you right now," he replied in a cautioning tone. "Lt. Ingram and I can easily blend in with all of the other new faces on the station and - if needed - disappear at a moment's notice. Your presence draws much more attention, by contrast, and if you're caught where you shouldn't be it will be much harder to explain. I believe that you will find your Constable is starting to grow a bit suspicious of you."
Sisko nodded. "I am planning on saying something to Odo. However, I've postponed it so far because I'm still trying to find the best way of filling him in... without totally filling him in."
"How much to tell someone is always the toughest judgment call in this job," agreed Ducane.
"Be aware that the aliens now have the ability to alter their image... the one I confronted earlier in Quark's quarters looked exactly like a real, humanoid female."
"Yes... we noticed the accuracy of its projection while analyzing the telemetry you sent us. Thanks for that as well," said Ducane with the familiar weight of command obvious in his tone. "All of this has been tough enough, and now we have to worry about doppelgangers too." He paused briefly and Sisko could hear him discussing matters with Lt. Ingram. "Okay Commander, we're in position. If you would please move to the secondary docking port near lower pylon two, we can proceed." He paused. "Jessica is retrieving the specific details for your next assignment and will provide you with the location and name of the individual who will be targeted. Provide cover for him just like you protected Quark."
"I am familiar with the area and on my way." Gritting his teeth as he prepared for this newest confrontation, Sisko exited his quarters and strode briskly down the corridor in the direction of docking pylon two.
On days such as this one, a part of him wished he was still an Ensign.