Beginning: A Star Trek Novel (New Frontier Reloaded Book 2)

by ROVER MARIE TOWLE

  Her cheeks turned pinker. "Well, I'm sharing a tram with the most dashing man on Bajor." She touched his hand. "Forgive me for admiring you right back."

  Their eyes locked and they both snorted at the same time.

  "Too much?" Odo asked.

  She slapped his shoulder. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

  They went quiet and held hands for the rest of the trip.

  Odo glanced up when the tram pulled in next to the Ital's front entrance. He got out and opened Kira's door for her. Then he repeated the gesture on the door leading into the restaurant. They walked through a vine-encrusted foyer and stepped onto the wooden platform of the outdoor eating area.

  Strings of lights decorated the perimeter. A crystalline chandelier hung off a beam to mark the exact center of the glossy dance floor. The dance floor itself glowed with thousands of tiny, twinkling LED's that brightened whenever someone stepped on them.

  Odo approached the impeccably dressed Bajoran standing behind a podium. "Good evening. There should be a reservation for two under the name Odo."

  The Maitre d' consulted his PADD, smiled and nodded. "Right this way."

  He led Kira and Odo towards a secluded table by the railing. It offered a lovely view of the river, the bridge and...

  Odo's substance ran cold. The Bajoran Institute of Science loomed like a shadow from the past. He hadn't seen that structure since he left it so many years ago. The triangular white fixtures illuminating its front entrance were accusing eyes glaring at him. He wanted to shrink from it and disappear.

  "Odo?" Kira hedged. "Odo, are you all right?"

  "Hm? Oh. Yes." Odo pulled himself together. He eased her chair out for her and didn't sit down until she did. Once they were seated, the building was out of his immediate view.

  The Maitre d' lit the tall centerpiece candle and handed them gold-trimmed PADDS containing the menu.

  "Would you like to start the evening with a drink?"

  "Springwine for me, please," said Kira.

  "And you, sir?"

  "The same." Odo replied.

  "Coming right up." The Maitre d' departed from their table.

  Kira's attire and face became more spectacular as the sunset progressed. The candle softened her features and reflected the fire always burning behind her eyes. Odo once again found himself amazed by her inner beauty radiating to the surface.

  She asked, "So, you eat and drink now?"

  "Er, sort of. I don't want to disgust you with the details, but yes. I still can't taste or smell." Odo glanced at the menu. "So, what will you be having tonight?"

  Kira smiled and studied hers. "Ooh! They have shrimp sautéed with klavaatu. I've always wanted to try that."

  Odo chuckled. "Then I will have the same and experience it with you."

  The Maitre d' turned over the wineglasses on the table and poured the pale blue springwine. "Are you ready to order?"

  Kira's eyes tilted when she smiled. Odo nodded to her silent request. She said, "Odo and I will have the shrimp and klavaatu sauté."

  "Ah, a nice choice." He reached for their menus. "Your meals will be out shortly."

  Odo gestured his thanks. Kira sipped her wine.

  Off to the side, a small orchestra played tasteful classical music.

  "So," she set the glass down. "You look like you saw a ghost."

  The subject made Odo shift in his seat. He folded his hands around his wineglass. "The building over my shoulder is the Bajoran Institute of Science. Where I...began, and something I hoped to never see again."

  Sympathy crossed her features. She reached across the table and touched his hand. "I don't mind going somewhere else if it bothers y-- "

  "No, no, Nerys, it's all right." Odo managed a small smile and rubbed her knuckles. "I didn't realize it was right across the river. Don't let my past demons spoil your evening. It's been three decades since we had a night like this, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

  At that, Kira lifted her glass. "Then let's toast to the here and now. I don't want to be anywhere else."

  Smiling, Odo raised his glass and tapped it against hers. "To here and now."

  Together, they sipped. Their food arrived moments later. Ten large shrimp arranged in a circle around a bowl with chopped klavaatu and some sort of lettuce decorating the center.

  Odo didn't have the faintest clue how to begin eating such a meal. He awkwardly took one of the shrimp off Kira's plate and held it up to her lips. She giggled, guided his hand to dip it in the juice and took a bite.

  "Mm!" Her eyes closed in delight. "It's sweet and a little tangy. Do you remember the margaritas you tried while you were a humanoid?"

  "Oh...yes. Doctor Bashir's birthday party. Sisko hosted, and I remember I liked his homemade margaritas so much I was too drunk to walk. Then I woke up in my quarters with no idea of how I got there."

  "Someone helped you." She smiled and sipped her wine. "Me."

  "It was you?"

  Her expression sobered. "You were mumbling and upset. I couldn't leave you alone like that. I wish I'd known you were talking about me."

  Gulping, Odo fiddled with the stem of his wineglass. "What did I say?"

  "You mentioned loving a woman who loved someone else. That you wished you had the courage to come out and tell her. Um..." She bit into a slice of fruit. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I figured being that drunk was embarrassing enough. Alcohol does things to people."

  Now Odo longed to ooze under the table. "I didn't try anything on you, did I?"

  She shook her head. "I held you until you fell asleep. You needed someone, and I was there. Friends take care of friends."

  Odo dipped a piece of shrimp and stuck it in his mouth. It felt wet and spongy when he chewed it up. Not his favorite texture, but not awful either.

  "Before I was humanoid, I spent a lot of time wondering why people purposely intoxicated themselves in Quark's bar. Then I got drunk, and it all made sense. Liquor took away my ability to care about how miserable I felt, but it was still there, waiting for me after I sobered up. It wasn't worth it." He set his shrimp down and smiled ruefully. "I know this is late, but...thank you for being there, Nerys."

  Kira's grin reached all the way to the corners of her eyes. Odo loved it when she made that face.

  She finished her food. Odo asked to have his boxed. He consumed enough to be polite, but he figured someone with taste buds might appreciate the leftovers more. Nobody noticed him discretely dangling his foot over the side of the wooden platform. Everything he ate went right into the water below.

  "I heard Kejal sing today." Kira tilted her head. "It was beautiful. The tram driver liked it so much he waived the fee."

  That made Odo shake his head in amusement. "Kejal has always been musically inclined. I don't know where he got it. Certainly not from my genes."

  "Really? He mentioned Pol having a good voice."

  Odo shrugged. "I've never heard Doctor Mora sing anything. My first exposure to music was someone at the lab singing a lullaby every night during lights-out. I wish I knew who it was, because he did it nicely. I looked forward to hearing it."

  Kira finished her wine. "Could have been a Prophet watching over you."

  He made a face, which won a snicker out of her.

  The musicians started a slow Bajoran waltz. Kira's favorite classical piece, simply titled Into The Light.

  Odo stood, offering Kira his hand. "Nerys, may I have this dance?"

  Kira set her napkin on the tabletop and accepted his invitation. He pulled her close. They swayed together amid the twinkling lights and candles.

  And nothing else mattered.

  "Odo?"

  "Yes, Nerys?"

  "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it's meant to be yours." She gazed into his eyes. "You came back to me."

  "Mm...I did, but I won't be staying."

  "The point is you're here with me. It doesn't matter if you can't stay long. Here we are."

  Od
o smiled, twirled her and led her into a chaste kiss. "I certainly have no complaints."

  She mirrored his expression. Then her face grew serious.

  "Odo, we're still as much in love now as we were when we said goodbye."

  Truer words had never been spoken.

  "I really believe we're meant for each other," she went on. "I've thought about this since you left, and I regretted that we never did it while we were together. It's time. Let's get married, Odo."

  Odo's mind did a wipe-rewind. He missed a step in the waltz and barely avoided tripping over Kira's feet.

  "Married?" He blinked. "Nerys, I'm still making peace within the Dominion. I want this. Oh, you have no idea how much I dreamed of it. But we may be apart for years at a time. Perhaps even decades. How can a marriage work that way?"

  "Nobody said it's going to be easy. And didn't you tell Laas once that the fact that it isn't easy is what makes it worthwhile?"

  She took his hands. Her eyes held only tenderness.

  "I have no intention of falling in love with anyone else. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. Knowing we have that bond-- even if we have to wait decades to see each other-- that's enough for me. I love you, Odo."

  Odo nearly forgot how to mimic breathing. This moment made him more nervous than any other of his lifetime.

  They both knew the time they had together was short at best. She had duties aboard Deep Space Nine, and he still had a lot of work to do with the Dominion to undo the damage it caused. Neither occupation allowed much time away. And there was the matter of her short lifespan compared to his biological immortality. One day, she would be gone from him.

  Somehow, we will make this work. Just like she said. We always make it work. Don't worry about the future...just live now!

  Odo looked up at the elaborate chandelier above the dance floor and prepared himself. Then he sank slowly to one knee, gazing up at Kira with promises shining in his clear blue eyes, and asked the question he only voiced in his dreams.

  "Kira Nerys..." He squeezed her hand. "Will you marry me?"

  Kira's lips quivered. She answered without hesitation. "Yes, Odo."

  Odo rose up, wrapped his arms about her waist and spun her around once. Afterward, they shared a breathless kiss under the stars.

  He didn't notice the other patrons in the restaurant until the applause started.

  "You know the planning is going to be hell, right?"

  "Maybe." She kissed him again and let her forehead touch his. "Let's do it while Pol is still with us. I think seeing you get married will mean a lot to him."

  Getting everything ready on such short notice meant utter chaos. "It would, but it's still going to be hell."

  "Doesn't that make it more fun?" Kira gave his hands a squeeze, and her smile outshone the candles. "Come on. Dance now...we'll talk more on the way home."

  .o

  Assuming the shape of a PADD took no effort. Kejal loved this game, and he was glad to see Mora feeling strong enough to play it with him.

  Footsteps shuffled into the living room. They went right past the table.

  "Hm..." Mora's voice was a vibration. "You're the chair cushion, aren't you?"

  Nope.

  "No? Well then...aha."

  Kejal sensed Mora heading towards the kitchen. Two more guesses before he could reveal himself.

  "Oh, hidden well this time. You aren't the countertop, are you?"

  Try again!

  Finally, the scrape-scrape of feet approached the back door.

  "Are you the door sensor again?"

  Kejal concentrated on his humanoid shape. Arms, legs, a torso and a head. He reformed sitting on the table, grinning.

  "Gotcha."

  "Ah! I should have guessed the PADD."

  Kejal chuckled. "I hid the original."

  He pulled the real PADD out of a drawer and set it on the table.

  "You scoundrel." Mora snapped his fingers in mock annoyance. "I should have guessed!"

  "No rule states I can't move an object and replace it," Kejal said smugly. "Classic infiltration trick."

  The front door hissed on its housing. Kira and Odo stepped in holding hands, and the invisible bubble surrounding them excluded everything else. They looked absolutely starry-eyed.

  Kejal hurried to take the box of leftovers Kira carried. He made a face at the contents and stuffed them in the cooling unit under the kitchen counter.

  Mora eased himself into the chair by the oval window. "Well, well, you two aren't in love at all, are you? How was dinner?"

  "Dinner was great," said Kira. She leaned against Odo, smiling.

  "Yes it was. I'm glad you two are here together." Odo added. He kissed Kira's cheek and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Kejal, Doctor Mora...Nerys and I have decided to get married."

  Mora sat up straight. "Really?"

  "Mother? Mom?" Kejal mirrored his father's posture. "You mean it?"

  "Yeah." Kira was practically glowing. "If everything works out and I can get the extra time off, we'll have the wedding a month from today." She knelt down in front of Mora and gently touched his knee. "We want you there, and I want you to pass my hand to Odo's at the ceremony."

  Nodding, Mora clasped her hand between his. "I'm honored."

  Odo bumped Kejal's shoulder with his own. "I want you to be the dais bearer...and I'd like you to sing."

  "Mother? Really?" Kejal jumped into Odo's arms and kissed his cheek, laughing. "I'll do anything you want for this wedding. It's going to be great!"

  In response, Odo plopped Kejal down on the couch. "You're heavy."

  "And you're noticeably less grumpy."

  Odo offered a fake scowl. "Hmph!"

  Kira sat down beside Kejal, smiling. "I'll really be your mom. Mother-in-law, technically, but..."

  "You'll be mom to me whether you're married or not." Kejal hugged her, laying his head on her shoulder. "I always wanted to be in a wedding."

  "It's going to be wonderful." She patted his arm. "I need to get out of this dress. It's comfortable out in the cold, but it's hot in this nice, warm house."

  Chuckling, Kejal let her go. Odo followed her.

  Then Kejal faced Mora, held up his hands and pretended to scream at the top of the lungs he didn't have.

  "They're getting married!"

  "Married!" Mora replied. The smile on his face was one Kejal would never forget. "From a viscous mass in a jar to a man about to wed the woman he loves." He shook his head, sighing. "Incredible. This is just incredible. Kejal, help me up. I need to lie down again...I don't think I'll sleep-- not after news like that!"

  "Nobody will!" Kejal helped his father onto his feet and led him into the bedroom. "I'm going to regenerate for a little while. Will you be okay?"

  "Mmhmm...I'm going to work on my treatise." Mora reached for a PADD on the bedside table. He stopped for a moment, wide-eyed and tense. The odd look disappeared into another soft chuckle. "Married...heh, heh, heh!"

  Kejal, grinning ear to ear, bounded out of Mora's bedroom and into the living room. His excitement actually made it hard to hold his humanoid form, and letting it go was bliss.

  A short while later, he sensed his mother joining him. Time became fluid as they exchanged feelings of joy and wonder.

  Mother! You're really getting married!

  I never thought I would...if not for Doctor Mora's illness, we wouldn't be in the Alpha quadrant at all.

  It's the work of the Prophets.

  Or it's just a lucky coincidence.

  You have your beliefs and I have mine.

  I can't argue with that.

  ...Kejal, do you sense that noise?

  What n-- yes, I felt it that time.

  It's Doctor Mora. Something is wrong.

  Oh no.

  Quick footsteps padded into the living room.

  "Odo? Kejal?" Kira tapped on what ended up being Kejal's surface. "I heard a bang. I think Pol fell in his room."

  Kejal broke the lin
k with his mother and quickly reassumed his humanoid shape. Beside him, Odo did the same.

  A raspy shout sounded behind Mora's closed bedroom door. Kejal never heard his father yell like that, not even when angry. He pushed between Kira and Odo and keyed the code to open the door.

  The bedside table lay on its side, spilling PADDS and a water glass across the floor. Mora was on his hands and knees. He still had his right hand on the table's corner. His free hand clutched at the left side of his lower back.

  "Father!" Kejal knelt. "Father, I'm here. Tell me how to help."

  "Call-- Aleexa-- please, now!" Mora said through gritted teeth. "Medicine...not-- helping!"

  Odo got right on the comm system. Aleexa answered after two hails.

  "Aleexa, it's Odo. Doctor Mora collapsed. He says the medicine isn't helping his pain."

  "Can he walk?"

  "No. He fell."

  "Get him into the bathroom and run a hot bath. As hot as he can stand it. I'll be right there to assess."

  "What will that do?"

  "It'll help him relax. Tension and stress worsen pain."

  "...all right."

  Kira wrapped a shawl around her shoulders. "What can I do?"

  "Keep an ear out for Aleexa." Kejal scooped Mora up into his arms and carried him into the bathroom. He heard Odo explaining the situation behind him.

  "It's all right, father." Kejal whispered. "Can you get your clothing off?"

  Mora barely managed to strip off his nightshirt. He wore nothing else underneath. Kejal gave him a towel to cover up before he helped him into the tub. Mora did not appear to care about his state of undress. As a man of high dignity, that spoke of his pain louder than anything.

  Odo reached over Kejal's head to turn on the bath. The drain plugged automatically and steam soon filled the room.

  "Aleexa is on her way." Kejal rubbed his father's arm.

  "I'm not prepared for this much pain!" Mora gasped. "Not like this! Oh, it's starting agai-- " He pressed his forehead against the side of the tub, " --augh, dammit!"

  Kejal shut off the water. Mora couldn't stand any position other than laying curled up on his right side. Kejal laid his arm on the edge of the tub to give him somewhere to rest his head.