Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Young Adult Books #1: The Star Ghost

by Brad Strickland

  TERRIBLE DANGER!

  While living on Deep Space Nine™, Jake Sisko has seen a lot of strange things. After all, his father, Commander Benjamin Sisko, has opened the space station to every lifeform who passes through this sector of space. Ferengi, Bajorans, Cardassians, Andorians, and Vulcans all stop at the station before passing through the Bajoran Wormhole, a gateway to the distant reaches of the galaxy. But when Jake’s Ferengi friend, Nog, insists he’s seen a ghost. Jake doesn’t believe him.

  Then a shimmering figure with glowing red eyes appears in Jake’s quarters…and Jake is convinced.

  Jake must now follow the mysterious figure on a dangerous mission to the depths of the station where Jake himself must become a ghost in order to save Deep Space Nine!

  Cover art by Alan Gutierrez

  Interior Illustrations by Todd Cameron Hamilton

  “Maybe it’s all your imagination,” Jake said.

  “I don’t think so,” Nog replied. “I ran all through the Promenade, and when I turned around, I could see that monster’s eyes watching me, towering up above the crowd—”

  Nog stopped short. With a trembling finger he pointed toward thin air. He yelped, “Look! Look there! It followed me!”

  Jake stared in shocked disbelief. The living room lights had dimmed automatically at nine o’clock. Now, in the darkness, he could just make out a shimmering, transparent silver form, taller than his own father but so slim it looked emaciated. The face was in darkness, beneath what seemed to be a hood. The skin on the back of Jake’s neck prickled into goose bumps. He could see nothing of the thing’s features.

  Except two glaring orange-red eyes.

  Star Trek: The Next Generation

  STARFLEET ACADEMY

  #1 Worf’s First Adventure

  #2 Line of Fire

  #3 Survival

  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

  #1 The Star Ghost

  Available from MINSTREL Books

  The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed.” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped book.”

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A MINSTREL PAPERBACK Original

  A Minstrel Book published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1994 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.

  STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.

  This book is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., under exclusive license from Paramount Pictures.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 0-671-87999-5

  First Minstrel Books printing February 1994

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

  A MINSTREL BOOK and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover art by Alan Gutierrez

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  For Marilyn Teague:

  “Hailing frequencies open!”

  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 were times when Jake Sisko hated living on a space station. The fourteen-year-old Earth boy much preferred the open spaces and excitement of a living world to the metal and glass confines of Deep Space Nine. However, he had to admit that sometimes living here had its advantages. For one thing, it was easy to slip away from the adults and meet his friend Nog.

  Nog’s uncle Quark owned a bar and restaurant on the Promenade, the commercial section of the space station. Not too far away was the Bajoran-owned Galactic Adventures, a high-tech arcade where, for a price, you could play all sorts of holographic games. The arcade was a maze of booths, nooks, and alcoves, and it was just the place for a boy to meet his best friend—especially when the best friend’s father disapproved of Earth boys.

  With his school computer padd under his arm, Jake slipped into the darkness of the arcade and went past a booth where two visiting Bajoran kids were playing Cardassian Shoot-out. The two were in a simulated Bajoran landfloater, and they were zipping through a battlefield of heavy Cardassian armored death-tanks, zapping tank after tank as they yelled with exci
tement.

  Jake paused for a moment to watch. From outside the booth, the holographic effect was not as realistic as it was to the players inside, but it was still pretty convincing. He knew the two children were pretending to be Bajoran freedom fighters, hit-and-run daredevils who had struggled against the Cardassian overlords for years. Jake blinked as a death-tank exploded with a vivid flash and roar, and then he went on.

  No one was playing the next game, Starfleet Commander, but someone was in a secluded corner just beyond playing Ferengi Trader. There Jake found Nog, listening intently to a computer readout being spoken in the hissing, whisper-soft Ferengi language.

  “Hi,” Jake said, sitting beside him.

  The bald, huge-eared Ferengi boy barely glanced at him. “Just a moment,” he said. “Let’s see … if I hold on to my dilithium mines but sell my interest in the trans-system transport company, I could afford to—” He spoke some orders to the computer, and the readouts changed. After a moment a chime sounded, and the computer reported, “Congratulations, player. You have reached a new high score of fifty billion, three hundred and seventy million, one hundred fifty-seven thousand, nine hundred and seven. This qualifies you as a Ferengi Tycoon. If you wish to continue to play, transfer one credit within the next fifteen seconds.”

  “Too easy,” Nog said, giving Jake a pointy-toothed grin. “I’ll be a Plutarch by tomorrow, and I’ll make Nagus by the day after. It isn’t as much fun when it’s not challenging—and you can cheat at harder games, too.” He glanced past Jake. “You sure you weren’t followed?”

  Jake sighed. Ferengi were traders, wheeler-dealers, and con artists who valued profits above everything else. They were also very suspicious. “No, Nog, I wasn’t followed. Where can we go that’s a little more private?”

  “That’s taken care of,” said Nog with a mysterious grin. “Follow me.” He ducked out of the booth, glanced cautiously all around, and then hurried to the back of the arcade. An automatic door whished open, and Jake followed his friend into a small room, bare except for a round table and a few chairs. “This used to be the snack room,” Nog explained. “That is, until my uncle tricked the owner into removing the food replicators. Now when players get hungry, they have to go next door to my uncle’s place to eat.”

  “That was pretty smart of Quark,” Jake said.

  “Good business,” replied Nog with another of his fierce grins. “Now, what’s your problem?”

  With a sigh Jake said, “It’s still math.”

  Nog rolled his eyes. “What’s the matter with you, Jake? Don’t you see how important math is? And how much fun it is?”

  “Fun!” Jake shook his head, put his school padd on the table, switched it on, and plugged in a data clip. “Algebra is about as much fun as—as stepping barefoot on a Klingon prickle-mouse! And when we first took up geometry in class, I remember you didn’t like it yourself.”

  Nog looked sheepish. “Well, I’ll admit that I used to find it hard before Uncle Quark explained things to me.”

  Jake blinked at Nog. Quark was a Ferengi with an overdeveloped greedy streak, a sly sense of humor, and a crabby attitude. Jake had never thought of him as a math wizard. “How did he explain algebra?” Jake asked.

  “Oh, he didn’t explain it. He just made it a lot more interesting,” replied Nog.

  “Okay, how did he do that?” asked Jake.

  “Simple. Uncle Quark said that if we Ferengi know all the mathematics of all the life-forms in the galaxy, nobody can ever cheat us in a business deal. And besides, if we know some math that others don’t—” Nog grinned, his sharp teeth wolfish.

  “You can cheat them instead,” Jake finished for his friend. He smiled. Ferengi values were not the same as those of humans. If a Ferengi passed up a chance of cheating someone, it was as terrible a mistake as it would have been for Jake to come to school wearing just his underwear. But Quark’s pep talk on the advantages of math didn’t help Jake. He sighed. “I think I could get it if only I could see how these numbers go together. Anyway, I wondered if you would just help me with this homework.”

  “Your dad can’t help you?” asked Nog.

  Jake made a face. “I don’t want to ask him,” he said. “He’s too busy.” Jake’s father, Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko, was in charge of Deep Space Nine. He had to keep peace among the dozens of different intelligent species on the station, guard the Bajoran Wormhole that led to the far side of the galaxy, and do a hundred other jobs.

  Right now, for example, he had to play host to a visiting crew of aggressive and unpleasant Cardassians. Although they had recently signed a peace treaty with the Federation, the Cardassians had once been Starfleet’s bitter enemies. For half a century they had exploited the whole Bajoran people. The Cardassians had built Deep Space Nine as a base to supervise mining operations on Bajor, and they had all but ruined the Bajorans’ homeworld. When the planet had been stripped of its minerals, the Cardassians had withdrawn, abandoning the space station.

  The Cardassians had reluctantly given up Deep Space Nine to the Bajorans and the Federation. Spitefully they had almost wrecked the station before turning it over to the new owners. Now the Cardassians were supposed to be friendly with the Bajorans. Jake knew, though, that Cardassians still despised Bajorans, and vice versa. A small Cardassian ship under the command of Gul Chok had docked at Deep Space Nine four days earlier. The lingering hatred between Cardassians and Bajorans had made the four days a tense time for Deep Space Nine and for its commander. “Dad can’t help me right now,” Jake told Nog. “So I want to ask you to explain these problems to me.”

  Nog’s gaze grew keen with interest. “What’s in it for me?” he asked, his voice a little too casual.

  Jake couldn’t help smiling. This was another way that Ferengi and humans were different. A Ferengi never did a favor without expecting to be repaid in some way. And it would do no good for Jake to remind his friend of the tutoring sessions they had held in the past, when Jake had helped Nog learn to read. That was only human friendship, Nog would say; this is Ferengi business.

  “Well?” demanded Nog. “What is it worth to you?”

  Jake knew something about Ferengi bargaining traditions. Politely he did not immediately name a price. “What would you suggest?” he asked, giving Nog the honor of setting a high value on his math tutoring.

  Nog thought for a moment. Jake got ready to bargain. Ferengi always wanted a profit, but they prided themselves on the give-and-take of haggling. The human boy knew that his friend would demand repayment that was just good enough for him to feel that he had made a smart deal. Finally Nog said, “I’ve been wondering what Earth is like. Next time you run a holodeck program of Earth, take me along.”

  “No,” Jake said, although he thought that was a terrific idea. Jake missed his homeworld and often dreamed about going there. Whenever he was able to get some holodeck time, he always ran programs of Earth, where he fished, played an old-fashioned game called baseball, or hiked. The holodeck created flawless replicas of all these things, and when he was using one of the programs, Jake could almost believe that he was really on Earth. It was fun, but a little lonely because all the people he met in the holodeck were just computer illusions. However, even though Jake wanted Nog to come with him on a holodeck adventure or two, he had to say no because he would insult Nog by giving in too soon. “I’ll let you come along on a Mars program instead,” he offered, knowing Nog would turn down that compromise.

  “That isn’t good enough,” Nog returned. He was obviously enjoying himself. “I’ll help you understand algebra and geometry if you’ll let me use an Earth program with you.”

  Now it was Jake’s turn to give in. “Well,” he said, “all right. But not just any program. I’ll let you come along only on a hike through the Rocky Mountains.”

  Nog frowned. Like most Ferengi, he was not fond of exercise. “I refuse,” he said. “Now, if there is something less strenuous, we might have a deal.”

  It was
time to wrap everything up. With an air of reluctance Jake said, “I suppose I could let you come along on a fishing trip. we wouldn’t be exercising. We’d just be floating in a boat on a nice, sunny day, catching fish.”

  “Could I catch more fish than you?”

  Jake considered this request. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Three more,” Nog insisted.

  “Two,” offered Jake.

  “But mine will be larger,” said Nog.

  “Okay,” Jake agreed. “It’s a deal.”

  Nog laughed. “Great,” he said. Then, looking slightly puzzled, he said, “Just one thing: What are fish?”

  “I’ll explain later,” Jake told him. “Let’s do the math first.”

  Nog pulled his seat closer so he could see the computer screen and said, “All right. Which problem are you on? Oh, that one. Now, think: What are you trying to find?”

  “How far the wheel will roll if it revolves completely two hundred and fifty-five times.”

  “Good. We’ll call that X. Now, remember your geometry—” Nog leaned forward and Jake did, too. Slowly, as his friend explained the connections between the numbers, Jake began to understand.

  Finally he said, “Oh, now I get it. What I should be doing is finding the circumference of the wheel. Then I—multiply, right?”

  “Right!” Nog said. “Try that.”

  Jake entered the formula and the numbers. The screen flashed a warm message to him: “Yes, Jake! That’s exactly right. Now try this one.” Another problem came on the screen.

  With Nog’s help Jake worked his way through all fifty problems. The homework took more than an hour, and when at last Jake switched off his padd, he finally felt as if he had started to understand a little about math. “Great,” he said. “Hay, why don’t we get something to eat? I’m hungry.”