The Wasteland
Jake Sisko and his best friend, Nog, make plans to sneak aboard a shuttle Doctor Bashir is piloting down to Bajor. After all, it’s been a while since Jake has been on a planet. And they’ll be back before Commander Sisko returns to Deep Space Nine from his diplomatic mission in a nearby star system.
The boys expect to have a great time—they will secretly follow the Doctor around and see the sights of Sakelo City. But what they see terrifies them as they watch the doctor being kidnapped!
Now with the help of a Bajoran girl, Sesana, Jake and Nog strike out on their own to find the doctor. First the three friends must make their way through the dangerous territory that surrounds the city. But finding the doctor in the Bajoran wastelands is only part of their problem. Then Jake and Nog have to rescue Doctor Bashir from an army of killers without getting captured themselves…
Cover art by Alan Gutierrez
Interior Illustrations by Todd Cameron Hamilton
Crash!
The sound of a huge rock bounding down the side of the Rip somewhere up ahead yanked Jake out of his worried thoughts. Then, with a roar and a clatter, more stones fell. He grinned. Nog was outdoing himself up on the cliffs.
Jake heard shouts of alarm coming from the Turnaway camp, and he set off at a trot, bending low and trying to keep boulders between him and any watchers. As he got closer to the entrance to the camp, he could hear the Turnaways shouting.
“Another fall! Get away from the cliff!”
“We need help over here, quick! One of the huts is blocked!”
A metal drawbridge lay across the central drainage channel, but fortunately the guards had not drawn it up. Even better, it was unguarded, the Turnaways having run off to help rescue others trapped in the rockslide. Jake hurried across the bridge … and blundered right into a group of rebels carrying shovels and pickaxes….
Star Trek: The Next Generation
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This one’s for Jonathan,
and he knows why.
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Cast of Characters
JAKE SISKO—Jake is a young teenager and the only human boy permanently on board Deep Space Nine. Jake’s mother died when he was very young. He came to the space station with his father but found very few kids his own age. He doesn’t remember life on Earth, but he loves baseball and candy bars, and he hates homework. His father doesn’t approve of his friendship with Nog.
NOG—He is a Ferengi boy whose primary goal in life—like all Ferengi—is to make money. His father, Rom, is frequently away on business, which is fine with Nog. His uncle, Quark, keeps an eye on him. Nog thinks humans are odd with their notions of trust and favors and friendship. He doesn’t always understand Jake, but since his father forbids him to hang out with the human boy, Nog and Jake are best friends. Nog loves to play tricks on people, but he tries to avoid Odo whenever possible.
COMMANDER BENJAMIN SISKO—Jake’s father has been appointed by Starfleet Command to oversee the operations of the space station and act as a liaison between the Federation and Bajor. His wife was killed in a Borg attack, and he is raising Jake by himself. He is a very busy man who always tries to make time for his son.
ODO—The security officer was found by Bajoran scientists years ago, but Odo has no idea where he originally came from. He is a shape-shifter, and thus can assume any shape for a period of time. He normally maintains a vaguely human appearance but every sixteen hours he must revert to his natural liquid state. He has no patience for lawbreakers and less for Ferengi.
MAJOR KIRA NERYS—Kira was a freedom fighter in the Bajoran underground during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. She now represents Bajoran interests aboard the station and is Sisko’s first officer. Her temper is legendary.
LIEUTENANT JADZIA DAX—An old friend of Commander Sisko’s, the science officer Dax is actually two joined entities known as the Trill. There is a separate consciousness—a symbiont—in the young female host’s body. Sisko knew the symbiont Dax in a previous host, which was a “he.”
DR. JULIAN BASHIR—Eager for adventure, Doctor Bashir graduated at the top of his class and requested a deep-space posting. His enthusiasm sometimes gets him into trouble.
MILES O’BRIEN—Formerly the Transporter Chief aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, O’Brien is now Chief of Operations on Deep Space Nine.
KEIKO O’BRIEN—Keiko was a botanist on the Enterprise, but she moved to the station with her husband and her young daughter, Molly. Since there is little use for her botany skills on the station, she is the teacher for all of the permanent and traveling students.
QUARK—Nog’s uncle and a Ferengi businessman by trade, Quark runs his own combination restaurant/casino/holosuite venue on the Promenade, the central meeting place for much of the activity on the station. Quark has his hand in every deal on board and usually manages to stay just one step ahead of the law—usually in the shape of Odo.
CHAPTER 1
There,” said Dr. Julian Bashir, Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Nine. “That should feel better in a moment, Jake. How did you manage to pull a ligament, anyway?”
Wincing at the pain from his throbbing ankle, Jake Sisko began to reply, but his father, Benjamin Sisko, answered for the injured teen. “He was playing baseball.” Sisko crossed his arms, looking stern and strong, just as the commanding officer of a space station should look—if only he wasn’t so bossy with me, Jake thought.
“Baseball?” asked the doctor, a puzzled expression on his lean face. “What’s that?”
“An old Earth game,” Sisko replied before his son could answer. “Jake and I play it on the holodeck from time to time, but the unrest on Bajor has kept me so busy lately that he’s been playing the game alone.”
“Lots of physical activity in this game?” Bashir asked Ja
ke.
Once again, Sisko answered: “A pitcher throws a ball, a batter tries to hit it with a wooden stick, and other players try to catch any ball that’s hit. Playing baseball involves lots of running, leaping, and sliding. That’s how Jake hurt his ankle—sliding into second base.”
“Mm,” said Dr. Bashir. “Well, I don’t know what ‘second base’ is, exactly, but you really strained your ankle. Still hurt?”
Jake Sisko glanced at his father. The big man raised an eyebrow. “Well?” he asked his son.
“Sorry,” Jake said. “I thought you were going to answer for me again, the way you always do.”
Dr. Bashir laughed.
With a frown on his dark face, Sisko began, “Now, see here, young man—”
“No, don’t scold him,” the doctor said. “Jake’s absolutely right, Commander. Parents have been doing that for ages. My father was the same way, Jake. So, just between us long-suffering sons, how is your ankle feeling now?”
Lying back on the infirmary examining table, Jake flexed his right foot. A biosynergic accelerator, a kind of fat, hollow tube, covered most of his lower leg. Lights on the instrument’s control panel blinked red and yellow to show that it was radiating healing energy into his sore ankle, and moment by moment the pain was easing. “It’s getting better,” he said. “I can move my foot a lot more now, and my ankle isn’t as stiff as it was.”
“Good,” Bashir said. “Another few minutes and we’ll have you up and about again. You’ll need to exercise the ankle carefully for the next few days, to make sure that the ligament doesn’t stiffen up. I’d recommend walking for a half hour a day, but no running for the rest of the week. All right?”
“Sure,” Jake said.
“Good man.” Bashir turned to Commander Sisko. “He’ll be fine. Now, as long as I have you here in my infirmary, Commander, what about giving me an answer to my question? While the Excaliber is docked here at Deep Space Nine, may I have your permission to visit Bajor?”
Sisko sighed. “Dr. Bashir, if your destination were any place other than Sakelo City—”
“But it isn’t,” Bashir said pleasantly. “Commander, the Excalibur’s medical staff is excellent, and Dr. Somak has agreed to take over my duties aboard the station for three days. I can attest to the fact that the crew of Deep Space Nine is in excellent health, thanks to my outstanding medical knowledge. Except for minor accidents, like Jake’s, nothing demanding any real treatment has come up in weeks. This is a perfect time for me to visit Bajor and learn more about its people and customs, and Sakelo City is the perfect place for me to do it.”
“It’s a hotbed of revolt,” Commander Sisko retorted.
“Dr. Bashir, ever since the Cardassians left, the Bajorans have been desperately trying to pull themselves together as a people. There are factions within factions there, and civil war is just a single raid, a single assassination away. Sakelo City is the most notorious hive of rebels and revolutionaries on the planet. Why, even the Kai Opaka couldn’t command full respect there while she was still on Bajor, and you know how all Bajorans honored her.”
“Three days,” Bashir said. “Only three days. And look at it this way, Commander—I could be a secret agent.”
“A what?” asked Sisko, sounding both puzzled and amused.
The young doctor leaned forward, his expression intense. “A secret agent. I could find out the real story of the rebellious factions in Sakelo City. I’ve never been there, and no one there would recognize me. Lots of off-worlders land there. As you say, it’s a regular den of iniquity, swarming with smugglers and shady characters. I could pretend to be an asteroid miner, or a space pirate with arms for sale. Any rebel group would get in touch with me, and I could learn all about—”
“Dr. Bashir?” asked Jake. “Uh, my ankle feels fine now.” On the control panel all the lights had turned green.
The doctor coughed self-consciously and switched off the biosynergic accelerator. He opened the cylinder, and Jake pulled his foot out. “Here,” said Dr. Bashir. “Let me help you down, and you can take a step or two on it to see if it will hold your weight.” He put his arm around Jake and helped the fourteen-year-old slide off the examining table. When Jake stood on his own, the doctor stepped away from him. “How does that feel?”
Jake took a step, then another. “Feels great,” he said with a grin. “Thanks, Doctor.”
“All in the line of duty,” Bashir said, returning his grin. “Now, Commander, about Bajor—”
With a rueful chuckle Sisko held up his hands. “Enough. I surrender. All right, Julian, you have my permission to visit Sakelo City for three days. On one condition, mind you.”
“Condition?” asked Dr. Bashir, drawing himself up. “Yes, sir. Anything for Starfleet. What do you want me to do, Commander?”
“Relax,” said Sisko. “Relax, enjoy yourself, and don’t play secret agent. Is that understood?”
Dr. Bashir looked mildly disappointed. “I suppose so,” he said with a sigh.
“Very well. How soon will the Excalibur’s medical staff be ready to relieve you of your ordinary duties?”
“I’ll need to bring all the medical summaries up to date. I’d say tomorrow, Commander.”
Sisko nodded. “The runabouts are tied up, but request one of the Excalibur shuttlecrafts—I think the Einstein is free. And I’ll expect you back, rested and refreshed, in three days.”
“Very good, Commander,” said the doctor.
Jake cleared his throat. “Uh, Dad, if Dr. Bashir doesn’t mind, do you think I could go along, too?”
“That isn’t a good idea,” said Sisko.
“Aw, Dad,” Jake complained. “you keep promising to take me down to Bajor, and you never do.”
“You’ve been there on field trips,” Sisko pointed out.
“For a couple of hours at a time,” Jake said. ..I want to stay on a real planet overnight, get outside, under a real sun, not just on the holodeck—”
“Dr. Bashir has made his plans,” Sisko said. “I’m sure he doesn’t want company.”
Bashir smiled. “Well, if Jake really wants to go, I don’t see why—”
“Doctor,” Sisko said pleasantly but firmly, “you have made your plans, and you haven’t included Jake in them. Am I right?”
“Oh,” said Bashir. He swallowed. “Well, I hadn’t really planned to take anyone with me, no.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Come along, Jake.”
Jake and his father left sickbay, with Jake fuming. “It’s always like this,” he complained. “You promise me that we can go to Bajor, and then something comes up on the space station and we can’t do it. When we were on Mars, you kept promising me that we could visit Earth, and we never had a chance. Dad, I’m tired of living in space. I want to be on a real planet for a change, even if it’s just for three days.”
They stepped into a turbolift. “Ops,” Sisko ordered, and the elevator car began to move. The commander sighed. “I know how much you’d like to go with Dr. Bashir, Jake. But evidently you didn’t listen to what I was telling him. Sakelo City was the headquarters that the Cardassians used while stripping the southern hemisphere of the planet of its minerals. It’s hardly a city, really—more a giant armed camp. It’s true that the Bajorans have been trying to civilize it, to quell the rebels and the malcontents, but it’s still an uncomfortable place for a human to be. Remember, the Bajorans spent forty-odd years fighting against their Cardassian overlords. A good many of them regard the Federation as little more than substitute slave-masters. Your reception in Sakelo City could be dangerous.”
“But you let Dr. Bashir go—”
“Dr. Bashir is an adult,” said Sisko. The turbolift stopped, and they stepped out.
Immediately a Bajoran ensign rushed up. “Commander,” she said, “Major Kira says that you need to speak with the captain of the Klingon research vessel Thuvis. He’s requesting clearance to—”
Sisko hurried away to Ops with the ensign. Jake, left behind,
sighed and walked to the Promenade, the bustling, noisy commercial decks of Deep Space Nine. Jake muttered, “It just isn’t fair,” but no one could hear him. He caught sight of a familiar figure, short, large-headed, with huge ears, and he hurried over. “Hi, Nog,” he said.
Nog, Jake’s Ferengi friend, turned around with a pointy-toothed smile. “Jake! I was looking for you earlier, but Odo told me you were in the infirmary. What was wrong?”
“Oh, I hurt my foot,” Jake said. “It was nothing.” The two boys reached a corner where they loved to perch, legs dangling, and watch the lively panorama of the Promenade swirl by below. As they sat there, Jake told the whole story of his injury, of Dr. Bashir’s planned visit to Bajor, and of his disappointment.
Nog grunted in sympathy. “I know just what you mean,” he said. “This place is all right, but it’s stifling. Not enough opportunity for adventure and profit. And grown-ups always around to boss you and bully you.”
This time Jake made a sympathetic noise. Jake’s mother was dead, and although he missed her terribly at times, he had to contend with only one protective parent. Nog had his father Rom and his uncle Quark, two Ferengi businessmen who had so far managed to keep barely inside the law as they ran a highly successful bar and restaurant on the Promenade. And both Rom and Quark never hesitated to put Nog to work or to discipline him if they thought he needed a little attention.
“I’ve got an idea,” Nog said suddenly. “Why don’t we both go to Bajor?”
“Right,” Jake said. “Fat chance.”
“I know a way,” Nog said, his voice tempting, insinuating.
“Nog, are you crazy?” asked Jake. “My father would never give me permission to leave the station.”
“Who said we asked permission?” Nog asked. His sharp-toothed grin was as ferocious as a shark’s.
Jake looked at his friend with deep suspicion. “You mean sneak away? You know I can’t do that.”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Young Adult Books #2: Stowaways Page 1
