by John Peel
“Ask me again in just over four minutes,” Nog suggested. “If we’re gonna get killed anyway, what difference does it make? So start looking, okay?”
Jake didn’t reply; he couldn’t think of anything to say. In four minutes they might both be dead…. He swallowed hard and watched Nog kneel next to the bomb. He really hoped that his friend did have some idea of what he was doing. Almost anything could go wrong and set the bomb off early. The best thing he could do was to find a communicator—fast!
He could feel himself sweating uncomfortably as he moved to the counter and started to search the drawers there. He found plenty of small measuring devices, size charts, and style books. There were computer disks and even antiques like scissors. But there was no sign of a communicator.
Nervously wondering how long there was left, he moved across to a small storage alcove. Jake started to search the alcove. Once again, there were plenty of supplies, but no sign of a communicator. There couldn’t be much time left now…. He used a spare piece of cloth to wipe the sweat from his brow and then glanced at Nog. His Ferengi friend had managed to take part of the clock apart, and there were several small pieces scattered on the floor now. From the mutterings he could hear, though, it sounded as if Nog hadn’t disarmed the device yet. Now what?
His eyes fell on one of the tools he’d found. A laser cutter, used by Garak to rough-cut the clothes he made. He picked it up and clicked the switch on. The beam that was produced was faint and feeble, but it was better than nothing. It was only meant for cutting cloth and such, but maybe he could use it to cut through the lock on the door so they could escape. He opened his mouth to tell Nog, then decided against it.
Slipping past his friend, he rushed to the door, clutching the cutter. He switched it on again and held it against the lock. It was hard to see if he was having any effect for several long, frightening seconds. Then he saw a faint glow in the door, and a drop of metal dripped free.
It was working! But would it be in time? He darted another look at the bomb. He wished he could ask how long they had left, but he didn’t dare distract Nog. Instead, he concentrated on the lock. Another gleaming drop of metal trickled down the doorway.
It was going to take too long….
“Uh-oh,” said Nog.
Jake’s stomach did a backflip. “What do you mean uh-oh?” he almost yelled.
“I mean we’ve got about five seconds left on the clock.” Nog jumped to his feet and ran to join Jake at the door. “I think I managed to stop the detonator. But I’m not sure.”
“Be sure!” Jake yelled as Nog tried to hide behind him.
There was a very loud click from the bomb.
Then nothing.
Nog peered out from under Jake’s arm. “I’m sure,” he finally said.
“You did it!” exclaimed Jake. “You stopped the bomb.”
“Yeah,” agreed Nog. Jake would have been happier if Nog had looked less surprised. “I’m an expert at scavenging,” he explained. “I learned it when the Cardassians were here. I guess you never forget stuff like that.” He grinned, showing all his pointy teeth. “Hey, maybe I could sell that vebrite?” he said. “It’s pretty valuable stuff.” He went back to the littered remains of the bomb and started to scoop them up in the cloak.
Jake returned to work on the lock. The urgency was gone now, but they still had to get out. Finally there was a dull snick, and the door gave slightly. “I’ve done it,” he called to Nog. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Nog muttered. He had all the pieces of the bomb wrapped back up in the cloak, which he tucked under his arm. “Let’s go.”
Jake slid the door open, and they almost jumped out of the store. Jake slid the door closed behind them, and they turned to flee.
Facing them was Odo, and he had his sternest expression on his face.
“Well,” he growled, “what have we here? Late-night shoppers, I assume. Let me have a look at that,” he added, pointing at the cloak Nog was clutching.
“You’re not going to like it,” Nog warned him.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Odo snapped. “Let me see.”
Reluctantly Nog opened up the bundle. Odo’s eyes opened wide.
“A vebrite bomb?” he said in shock.
“I told you you weren’t gonna like it,” Nog muttered.
Jake winced. He almost wished the bomb had gone off. It was quite clear from the grim expression written on Odo’s face that he and Nog were in very serious trouble this time.
CHAPTER 6
Ashley stared at her computer pad for something like the sixtieth time. Still no sign that anyone had tried to tamper with the replicator. As she looked up, she saw T’Ara try to hide a yawn and felt guilty. T’Ara acted much older than her age, and Ashley often forgot that she was only seven. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s kind of late, isn’t it, and you must be really bored.”
T’Ara managed to raise her right eyebrow in the Vulcan equivalent of a puzzled expression. “Boredom is an emotion,” she replied. “And Vulcans do not have emotions.”
This wasn’t really true, and Ashley knew it. T’Ara did have emotions, but Vulcans weren’t supposed to let them take control of their lives, so they buried them. Though she was pretty good at it, T’Ara wasn’t perfect. Ashley wondered if most Vulcans ever were completely in control of all of their emotions, whatever they claimed.
“Well, it’s still late,” she said. “And I’m bored. It’s been a complete waste of time, hasn’t it?”
“It has been rather … uneventful,” agreed T’Ara. It was probably as close as she could come to admitting she was totally bored. “It might be best to—”
The alarm on Ashley’s pad suddenly beeped several times very rapidly. Even T’Ara looked startled for a second before she could wipe the shock off her face.
“There’s someone at the replicator!” Ashley said, grinning. She hadn’t screwed up, after all! “All right!” The two girls clambered to their feet and moved quietly down the corridor toward the schoolroom. They had deliberately hidden in an adjoining corridor so that any intruder wouldn’t see them. Outside the schoolroom they both stopped. There was a small glass panel in the wall next to the door. Even with the lights on low to save power during the night, it was possible to see some details inside the room. T’Ara, being several inches shorter, had to stand on tiptoes, but together she and Ashley peered into the room.
The place was still and dark. At first only the black shapes of the desks were visible. Then Ashley gave a soft exclamation. Beside the small replicator she could just make out a shadowy figure.
“Shall we go in?” asked T’Ara in a whisper.
“Not yet,” Ashley replied. “I want to see who it is first. When he or she turns around, we should be able to spot them. You wanna bet it’s that Riv?”
“Vulcans do not gamble,” T’Ara answered, somewhat smugly. “And certainly not on such a bad bet as that.”
“Chicken,” muttered Ashley. She held her breath as the shadowy figure inside the room put the replicator cover back in place. When the mysterious saboteur turned around, Ashley couldn’t stop herself gasping in shock.
It was obvious that the saboteur wasn’t Riv. Nor was it anyone else in their class. In the pale light the gray and scaly skin was quite clear, as was the long knot of dark hair that ran down the young girl’s back.
“It is a Cardassian girl!” exclaimed T’Ara—in her shock completely forgetting her claim to not have emotions. “But … how?”
“Stay still!” hissed Ashley furiously. All her plans had collapsed with this revelation. She’d been expecting Riv—and, if not him, then someone else that they knew. Ashley had then intended to open the door and switch on the lights, catching the culprit in the act. But this revelation had shattered her ideas. Cardassians were very quick and very nasty when they wanted to be. Whoever this girl was, she had to be here illegally. If Ashley opened the door and surprised her, th
en the girl might be desperate enough to attack them.
If she were on her own, Ashley might have risked it. The Cardassian was tall and thin, but she didn’t look any older or stronger than she was. But there was T’Ara to think about.
The Cardassian was looking around the schoolroom. Ashley froze. Could the girl inside see them at the window, despite the low level of lighting? She didn’t know how good Cardassian eyes were. After a moment, though, the girl seemed satisfied. She tapped in a command on the replicator board. There was a sparkle of light, and the now-familiar shape of a bowl of stew and cheesecake appeared. The girl picked it up and then hurried to the side wall. Ashley hadn’t been looking in that direction before, but she now saw a thin, metallic rope hanging from a gap in the ceiling of the room. With astonishing speed the Cardassian climbed this rope. A moment later it was jerked out of sight. Then the dark shape of the hole also vanished as the girl obviously replaced the ceiling tile she’d slid aside earlier.
Ashley let her breath out in one long gasp. “So that’s who’s been sabotaging my repairs,” she muttered. “A Cardassian, hiding out in the ceiling.”
“But—why?” asked T’Ara. She’d finally managed to get her face under control again, and she looked as blank as usual. “I do not understand.”
“Nor do I,” admitted Ashley. “But I think we should take a look, don’t you?”
“Now?” T’Ara sounded a little worried.
“No,” Ashley replied. “In the morning. I’ll bet she sleeps in the daytime and comes out like that at night when she’s on her own.” She snapped her fingers. “Of course! There was that Cardassian freighter that docked here a week or so back! I’ll bet she came here on that and has been hiding out ever since.”
“It is logical,” agreed T’Ara. “But not sensible. Why should she do that?”
“We’ll find out when we talk to her tomorrow.” Ashley smiled grimly. “We’ll get Jake and Nog in on this, too. They’ll be surprised—and impressed with what we’ve discovered! I’ll call Jake now and get him to meet us before school starts so we can catch that girl.” She tapped his room number on the pad, but there was no reply.
“You think he has gone to bed?” asked T’Ara.
“No way,” Ashley said firmly. “He hates going to bed early.” She glanced around and saw one of the computer terminals in a nearby wall. She hurried over to it and slapped the panel. “Computer, where’s Jake Sisko?”
The panel lit up. In a pleasant voice the computer replied: “He is in Odo’s office.”
“Odo’s office?” repeated Ashley, puzzled. “What’s he doing there?” She hadn’t meant this as a question for the computer to answer, but the computer didn’t know that.
“He is being questioned about a bomb,” the computer said.
“A bomb?” T’Ara couldn’t keep the astonishment out of her voice. “What’s he doing with a bomb?”
“What are you doing with a bomb?” asked Commander Sisko, obviously trying hard to keep his temper under control.
Jake felt miserable. He liked his father a whole lot; they were best of friends, most of the time. But his father was in charge of Deep Space Nine, and Jake knew he wouldn’t let anything or anyone—not even his son—endanger the station. But he just didn’t know what he could say in reply. It was bad enough facing Odo’s firm but insistent questioning. Answering his father was even worse.
“Uh … we found it,” he finally said. He realized how lame that was.
“You found it?” his father repeated. “You tripped over it on your way home, you mean?” His eyes were almost blazing with anger.
“Well,” Odo said carefully, “they might have … if their way home happened to be through Garak’s locked store.” He tapped the laser cutter in his hand.
Commander Sisko turned to glare down at Nog. “What were you two doing in Garak’s store?” he asked.
“Finding a bomb?” Nog answered hopefully.
“I see.” His father turned back to Jake. “And did you just run into it purely by chance, or did you happen to know it was there?”
“Well,” Jake admitted, “we didn’t exactly know it was there. But we did know that something was. When we investigated, we found it was a bomb.”
“That’s right,” Nog agreed quickly. “And we were just being good citizens and bringing it over to give to Odo when he found us.”
“I see,” Commander Sisko said again. “And did you happen to see who it was who was careless enough to leave this bomb lying around for you to trip over?”
“Yes,” said Nog.
“No,” said Jake quickly. He glared at Nog. “We can’t just tell them who it was,” he hissed.
The Ferengi boy looked puzzled for a moment. Then a wide grin spread over his face. “Smart thinking!” He turned to Jake’s father. “We saw who did it—but it’ll cost you to find out.”
Jake groaned. Nog picked the wrong times to try and make money. “That’s not what I meant! You can’t sell your friends!”
“You can sell anything if you know how,” Nog replied. “Besides, the person who planted the bomb isn’t our friend. He said so, remember?”
Commander Sisko broke in. “Let me get this straight,” he said, ice dripping from his voice. “You saw who did it but you want to be paid to tell us?”
“Yes,” said Nog.
“No,” Jake insisted. Nog scowled at him, but Jake ignored it. “Look,” he said to his father, trying to get him to understand, “I don’t think telling on him will help.”
His father glanced down at the remains of the bomb. “Help him or help us?” He shook his head. “Jake, I don’t understand you in this. Whoever planted this bomb has no regard for property or life. You must tell us who it was.”
Jake was well and truly caught now. If he told them about Riv, then the Bajoran boy would be convinced that everyone hated him. It would only make him worse. On the other hand, he couldn’t let his father down, nor allow Riv to come up with more plans that might be even more dangerous the next time. “I need to think about it some more,” he finally replied.
“Take as long as you like,” Odo suggested. “I’ve already sent one of my deputies out to bring in the person responsible.” At the surprised expression on Jake’s face he almost cracked a smile. “It’s not hard to deduce who could have made that bomb, and who’s been having problems ever since he arrived on this station.” As he spoke, the door hissed open.
The deputy saluted and escorted in Riv and his uncle Bothna. The tubby man appeared to have been woken up from a sound sleep. He was grouchy and untidy, still straightening his clothes.
Riv simply looked part angry, part bored. His eyes fastened on the remains of the bomb and then on Jake and Nog. “So you saw me plant it and ratted on me?” he said. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“We didn’t tell them anything about you,” Jake answered, his cheeks burning. “Odo guessed it was you.”
The constable did smile this time. “And we all just heard you admit it,” he added.
Riv shrugged. “Big deal.” He gave Jake a curious look. “You didn’t tell?” He was clearly puzzled.
“He didn’t,” Commander Sisko said. “And he could have been in very serious trouble.”
Scowling, Riv stared at Jake. “I don’t want anyone taking the blame for my actions,” he said. Turning back to Odo, he crossed his arms. “I planted the bomb in the Cardassian’s store,” he confessed. “And I’m willing to accept my punishment.”
His uncle went pale. “You what?” he squeaked.
“Planted this firebomb in Garak’s clothing store,” Odo explained, tapping the bits and pieces on his desk.
Bothna whirled to face his nephew. “What were you thinking of!” he cried. He was half-panicking and half-furious. The veins in his thick neck were throbbing.
“They’re the enemy!” Riv yelled back. “And Garak was trying to stir up trouble against me. I know he was.”
“The war is over,” Odo said
firmly. “You have no enemies at the moment. Though, with your attitude, I suspect there’ll be no shortage of them soon.” He glowered at Riv. “And Garak refused to press charges against anyone over the missing clothing. It was just one outfit, and he felt that nothing would be gained by making a fuss over it.” He picked up the wad of explosive. “I wonder how he’ll feel when I tell him about this?”
“Well,” demanded Bothna, “what are you going to do with this little terrorist? Throw him in jail?”
Commander Sisko shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I think the best thing for now is to release him into your custody.”
“What?” Bothna went pale again. “But … you have to lock him up! He’s a potential killer!”
“He’s a boy,” Odo growled. “And you’re his uncle—and legal guardian. You’re responsible for him.”
“I don’t want anything to do with him,” Bothna insisted. “I didn’t from the start of this. He’s a murderous savage!”
Jake had kept quiet, not wanting to get back into trouble himself, but he couldn’t stay silent. “Maybe if you were a bit nicer to him, he wouldn’t be so angry all the time,” he said.
Bothna glared at him. “Who asked you?” he snapped.
Jake felt his face burning. His father placed an arm about his shoulder and stared back at Bothna. “In this case,” he said, “I think Jake is perfectly correct. What that boy needs from you is a little affection and understanding.”
“Lock me up!” begged Riv. “I’d rather be in jail than back with him.”
Jake’s father shook his head. “We can’t always get what we’d like,” he said with a slight smile on his lips. “Sometimes we have to accept what is best.”
Odo stood up and faced Bothna. “Take the boy home,” he growled. “And remember—you’re responsible for his actions. If he causes any more trouble, it’ll be your skin I’ll nail to my wall.”
“That’s not fair!” Bothna wailed.
“No,” agreed Odo with another of his rare smiles. “But that won’t stop me from enjoying it.”
Both Bothna and Riv were obviously in agreement about one thing—probably for the first time in their lives. It was that neither wanted to be with the other. Both of them glared at Odo, then turned and stormed out. When the door closed, Odo turned to face Commander Sisko.
