Star Trek - DS9 - Heart Of The Warrior - Book 17

by John Gregory Betancourt

  "That's a risk I'm willing to take," Sisko said. After

  everything that had happened so far, he knew Admir-

  al Dulev would back him. He nodded to Bashir. "The

  Maquis ambassadors next, if you please, Doctor."

  Ambassador Twofeathers went first and passed, as

  did Ambassador Kravits. Sisko nodded; he'd ex-

  pected no less. Now would come the real test.

  "Now the Cardassians, if you please."

  "I feel the same way your own negotiating team

  does," Gul Mekkar said, rising. "However, I bow to

  the inevitable. Begin your tests, Doctor."

  Mekkar placed his hand on the scanner. Sisko

  leaned forward in anticipation.

  "Subject DNA passes," the scanner announced.

  "Subject is Cardassian."

  Sisko relaxed even as Bashir took Mekkar's blood

  sample. He isn't a changeling. Now I can be rid of

  Werron once and for all. At least something good had

  come of it, he thought.

  He glanced over at Vedek Werron, who had

  watched all this impassively. The Vedek's face showed

  not a flicker of emotion. Nevertheless Sisko knew it

  had to hurt. He'd staked his reputation on it, after all,

  and now he'd be deported from DS9 like a common

  troublemaker. I'm sure he'll manage to put a good spin

  on it, though, Sisko thought. He'll just declare his

  mission a success and leave. That'll be the end of it.

  Only the Valtusians remained, but testing was little

  more than a formality. The whole conference had

  been their idea, after all, and they had been the ones

  working toward peace.

  "Now the Valtusian ambassadors," he said.

  Ambassador Zhosh and the others rose. But rather

  than argue as Sisko expected, Zhosh removed a small

  tube from a hidden pocket in his robes, twisted it

  once, and suddenly the hum of a transporter beam

  filled the room.

  Sisko whirled. "Stop them!" he cried to the guards.

  It was too late, he realized a millisecond later. They

  were already dematerializing. In the transporter

  beam, he saw them starting to shimmer and turn gold.

  They were reverting to their changeling forms.

  "Dax to Sisko," his communicator said with a

  chirp. "We just picked up a small Jem'Hadar ship on

  our scanners. It was hiding on a Bajoran moon. Now

  it's heading for the wormhole at high speed. Do you

  want the Defiant to give chase?"

  Sisko tapped his badge, frowning. "No, Dax," he

  said. "it's too late. We can't possibly catch them."

  And what wouM we do with them once we caught

  them? he wondered.

  "But at least another changeling plot has been

  stopped," Bashir said. "That's the important thing."

  "Thanks to me, "Vedek Werron said, puffing out his

  chest,

  Sisko shot a glare at him, and the Vedek shut up

  suddenly. They both knew he'd only accused Mekkar

  as an excuse to harass the Cardassians. Now leave it

  to the Vedek to claim he'd seen the whole thing--

  probably in a vision based on one of the ancient

  Bajoran prophecies, Sisko thought.

  All the other ambassadors were staring at him in

  shock. Even DuQuesne and Mekkar had run out of

  insults for once.

  "What happened with your DNA scanner?" Sisko

  asked Bashir. He'd watched the Valtusians pass the

  test on the docking ring. How had they fooled the

  computer?

  Bashir hesitated. "They must have had real Valtu-

  sians aboard their ship," he said. "When they left us

  to confer--"

  "They must have gone inside and taken skin sam-

  ples," Sisko finished. He nodded; it all made sense

  now. Like his father had said, they would find a way

  around any security measures the Federation came up

  with. It had only taken them ten minutes. So much for

  any technological advantage a DNA scanner might

  give them.

  "Skin samples... or worse." Bashir swallowed

  visibly, and Sisko realized he must be thinking of

  severed limbs. "I'd better get over to their ship. I

  think it's still docked." Turning, he sprinted for the

  door, calling for medical backup to meet him there.

  Sisko knew he'd get a full report later. Hopefully there

  weren't injured or maimed Valtusians being held

  prisoner aboard the changelings' ship.

  Now, though, he had the ruins of the peace confer-

  ence to deal with. Admiral Dulev would definitely not

  be pleased, he thought.

  "I'm sorry," DuQuesne said to him, sounding

  sincerely apologetic. "It seems we were on the verge of

  giving the changelings exactly what they wanted."

  "The Maquis buffer state might have given the

  changelings a toehold in the Alpha Quadrant," T'Pao

  mused. "They might have taken over and used it as a

  base to launch their invasion of the rest of the Alpha

  Quadrant."

  "It's possible," Sisko said.

  Gul Mekkar looked at the other negotiators. "I

  move for an adjournment for today," he said. "We

  can reconvene tomorrow to finish up. Not," he added

  hastily, "that we can use the Valtusian--rather, the

  changeling--plan now, of course. But we can offi-

  cially dismiss their plan. And perhaps something new

  will occur to us."

  Sisko nodded. "I think that's wise." Although noth-

  ing was likely to come of these talks now, the negotia-

  tors could still wrap things up nicely. At least they

  hadn't made a terrible mistake.

  Mekkar rose, picking up his files, and nodded to the

  other Cardassian negotiators. They joined him, head-

  ing for the door.

  Suddenly an explosion rocked the station. As the

  floor bucked and heaved beneath him, Sisko rolled

  with it as best he could, ignoring the panicked

  screams and shouts from the ambassadors. Alarms

  began to blare.

  "Keep calm!" he shouted over the noise. "Hold on

  to something and try to stay where you are!"

  Was it an attack? Had the Jem'Hadar ship returned

  and opened fire on them? If so, why hadn't Dax

  warned him?

  Desperately he gripped the edge of the table to keep

  his balance, then tapped his badge. Smoke began to

  fill the room. Then everything went dark as power

  failed. A second later, red emergency lights flickered

  to life.

  "Dax!" he cried. "Status report!"

  A second explosion hit, and the force of it knocked

  him flying backward. He tried to grab hold of some-

  thing for support. Smoke and red flames leaped

  everywhere.

  "Dax?" he screamed. "Dax?"

  CHAPTER

  23

  mIRA SWALLOWED HARD, feeling like she'd just walked

  into a nest of pit spiders. Her every instinct made her

  want to grab her phaser and duck for cover, but she

  knew she'd be dead before she made it two steps.

  "My name is Kira Nerys," she said. "I'm looking

  for a Groxxin named Orvor. Has anyone here seen

  him?"

  "What do you want with him?"
one of the aliens

  called from the bar. She couldn't see which one, but

  she thought the voice came from a green glob with

  three eyes and five or six bony ridges on its broad

  face.

  "Our business is with him alone," she said. "We're

  not here to start trouble."

  "Dead, you won't," another voice called. There

  were chuckles all around.

  "Let me handle this," Worf said to her in a low

  voice. "I am a trained security officer, after all."

  "By all means," Kira said.

  Worf stepped forward. "l speak for my companions

  and myself," he said. "We offer you no threat. Put

  down your weapons."

  Nobody answered. Kira scanned the hard faces

  looking at them and thought they were getting ready

  to open fire. She'd better do something fast, she

  thought, or they'd all end up little piles of ashes.

  "You have five seconds to live," the bartender said.

  "Any last words?"

  Worf frowned and opened his mouth, but before he

  could speak, Kira stepped forward.

  "Just... hyperspace links lead us all together."

  It was the password phrase they had been given so

  they'd know the real Orvor when they met him. There

  didn't seem to be much choice but to use it now.

  Hopefully the Groxxin was somewhere in the room,

  and hopefully he'd act to save them. It was a long

  shot, she knew, but she didn't have a better idea.

  Instead of one person stepping forward, everyone

  in the Empty Coffin seemed to relax a little, almost as

  though she'd passed some test. Did they all know that

  password? She felt a wave of confusion.

  "What about that one?" the bartender demanded,

  nodding toward OdD. "Isn't he...?" "A changeling, yes," Kira said.

  "I am OdD, not 'that one,'" OdD said. "I was

  brought up in the Alpha Quadrant, and I have re-

  nounced the Founders and their philosophy."

  "I've never seen a Founder before," the bartender

  said, lowering his disruptor rifle, "but we all know

  enough to fear them and their evil ways."

  "They are powerful," Odo said. "Determined, yes.

  Wrong, yes. And certainly stubborn. But not evil."

  "So you're defending them--"

  "No, I'm saying they're wrong."

  "But..."

  Quietly, Kira drifted toward the back of the bar,

  searching for a Groxxin. Most of the patrons had put

  their disruptors away. Half of them were following the

  bartender's argument with Odo, but the other half

  had resumed their own conversations.

  Kira spotted an alien with dense yellow fur sitting

  alone in one of the booths. She slid in opposite him,

  noting his snoutlike mouth and eight-fingered hands.

  A Groxxin... but was he the one they wanted?

  "Orvor?" she asked.

  The Groxxin shook his head. "He was picked up by

  the Jem'Hadar last night."

  "Picked up? What do you mean?"

  "They took him on the street outside." He jerked

  his head toward the door. "It had to be something

  important. The Jem'Hadar never come to Old Town

  unless they have to." He chuckled. "Snipers killed six

  of 'em on their way out."

  "Where would they take him?"

  "Probably one of the interrogation centers."

  "We have to get him out."

  The Groxxin laughed bitterly. "Nobody escapes

  from the Jem'Hadar. He's probably dead already."

  Then we've come all this way for nothing. Kira

  shook her head. "I can't accept that," she said. "If

  there's a chance he's still alive, we have to try. Where

  would he be?"

  "Try their central interrogation center; it's located

  on Peace Street." Quickly he gave her directions.

  "Thank you," Kira said. She slid out of the booth

  and rejoined Worf and Odo by the door. Odo's

  argument with the bartender was still going strong.

  "Did you find him?" Worf asked in a low voice.

  She shook her head. "He's not here. The Jem'Hadar

  picked him up."

  "It's not their nature to be evil," she heard Odo

  saying a trifle hotly, "just as there is no species or race

  that is evil. It's a matter of environment and circum-

  stances. I personally am proof of that, as you can

  see--"

  "I hate to break up this fascinating argument," Kira

  said, taking Odo by the arm, "but we have to go." She

  pulled him out the door and onto the street, turned

  left, and began to walk at a brisk pace. Quickly she

  told them what the Groxxin had said about Orvor

  being captured by the Jem'Hadar.

  Odo stopped suddenly, looking pained. "I must be

  the reason," he said.

  Kira and Worf stopped, too. "What do you mean?"

  Worf demanded.

  "I mingled with one of the changelings. Just as I felt

  Selann's thoughts, he must have felt mine as well. He

  could easily have discovered you were on the

  Jem'Hadar ship and learned about Orvor from me. I

  feel like a fool," he added bitterly.

  "That's all right, Odo," Kira said quickly. She

  knew he would never had consciously given them

  away. "You couldn't help it. It's not your fault. We

  wouldn't have made it this far without you. Besides,

  maybe it's a coincidence. The Jem'Hadar never tried

  to find us aboard their ship, after all."

  "Perhaps," Worf suggested, glowering a bit at Odo,

  "that's what the hunt was supposed to do. Only we

  escaped before the net could close in on us."

  Kira nodded slowly. Of course, the hunt. She'd

  been assuming it was aimed at Snoct. Perhaps they

  had been lucky to get off the Jem'Hadar ship after all.

  "But that still leaves our informant," she said,

  starting forward again. "The Groxxin in the bar

  seemed to think he would be dead. If so, that's the end

  of our mission."

  "He might still be alive," Odo said. "He would

  make good bait if they wanted to capture us."

  "That's what I was thinking," Worf said. "It smells

  like a trap."

  "I know," Kira said. "But I don't see any alterna-

  tive other than trying to rescue him. Without him, our

  whole mission is a waste." And, she mentally added,

  he and his mate risked their lives to contact us. The

  least we can do is try.

  The streets had been growing steadily nicer as they

  walked. Fifteen minutes from Old Town and the

  Empty Coffin, the first few pedestrians appeared,

  busting about on unimaginable errands. Now, turning

  left at a huge apartment complex, Kira abruptly

  found herself on a broad street lined with open-air

  shops. Tall spreading trees with razorlike yellow

  leaves canopied the pavement, and ample street

  lamps cast a pleasant golden glow over everything.

  Hundreds, perhaps thousands of peoplemsome

  Groxxin, some Jem'Hadar, even a few Iffalians like

  Snoct--moved among the shops, browsing, haggling

  with merchants, picking up orders. Farther up, a few

  hovercars glided down the center of the street on

/>   antigrav skids.

  "Two more blocks," Kira said, eyes searching the

  buildings ahead. Finally she spotted their target, eight

  stories tall and built like a prison. "It's that tall stone

  building--see it?"

  "Yes," Worf said.

  "There's an alley just ahead," Odo said. "Turn in

  there."

  "Right." Kira ducked into the narrow passageway

  between two shops selling exotic-looking fruits and

  vegetables. It was little more than a deep doorway, she

  realized quickly. They had no real cover here.

  There, Odo shapeshifted into a smaller figure with a

  cloak and a hood that left his face in shadow. He

  gazed out at Kira.

  "Shop close by the building," he said. "I'11 go in

  alone first to make sure it's safe." "But--"

  He shook his head. "I'11 be all right, Major," he

  said. "Nothing can happen to me. You just take care

  of yourselves for now."

  "We'll keep you covered," she promised.

  "Keep your weapons hidden," he said. "The last

  thing I want is to be caught in the middle of a

  firefight."

  He strolled quickly out of the deep doorway,

  turned, and headed for the interrogation center. Kira

  watched with trepidation. She had a bad feeling about

  this whole setup. Now that the changelings knew their

  plan, what else might they have guessed? Perhaps

  Auron hasn't made it back to civilization yet, she

  thought, remembering how far they'd stranded him

  from the Jem'Hadar base on Skovar VI.

  She paused at a fruit stand and picked up what

  looked like a bright purple melon of some kind. When

  she shook it, it rattled faintly... a dried gourd with

  seeds inside? She passed it to Worf, who smelled it,

  made a face, and passed it back. Not to his taste

  either, she thought. She put it back on the stand.

  From the comer of her eye, she watched Odo reach

  the interrogation center. As he climbed the broad

  steps to the front doors, Jem'Hadar suddenly stormed

  in from all directions, surrounding Odo with drawn

  weapons.

  CHAPTER

  24

  MEKKAR DOVE FOR the floor when the first explosion

  rocked the conference room. It was those damn

  Bajoran terrorists, he knew. He'd been warned about

  them by half of his friends before he left Cardassia.

  Never turn your back on a Bajoran, they'd said. You 7l

  find a dagger in it if you do.

  Close by, someone screamed in agony, and alarm

  klaxons began to sound. A surge of anger ran through