by Неизвестный
Sisko stepped out of the Wardroom to look down the corridor in the same direction Kira did. Past Worf's security detail. Where, surprisingly, four Bajoran monks were striding toward him in great haste.
"Didn't you say you contacted the Kai and the
Inquisitors?" Sisko asked Kira. "That they were no longer needed because the Red Orbs of Jalbador don't exist?"
"These aren't Inquisitors," Kira replied. "And they aren't here about Quark's Orbs." She frowned at Sisko, lowered her voice. "Word got out about the Cardas-sians arriving for the bodies."
"Captain Sisko," the lead monk called out in a booming voice. "I am Prylar Obanak. It is most urgent we speak."
Sisko was doubly taken aback. First, by the fact that a Bajoran monk had addressed him without calling him 'Emissary.' And second, by the narrow band of red cloth the prylar wore tied around his forehead under his hood. Recent events had compelled Sisko to study a wide range of ancient Bajoran texts dealing with the fallen Prophets known as the Pah-wraiths and he had learned that a strip of red fabric was often worn by those who worshiped them. When the red cloth was worn about the arm, Sisko knew, it was a symbol of a Pah-wraith cult which had been around for years, but which most Bajorans treated as a joke. What the fabric meant when tied around a monk's head-well Sisko wasn't actually sure, now that he thought about it-but each of the three monks accompanying Obanak was also wearing one in that position.
Sisko was not anxious to become involved in a new distraction. He still had O'Brien's search to contend with, along with the mysteries of the murdered Ando-rian and the dead Cardassians. He tried to deflect Obanak into Kira's care. "You can discuss anything you'd like with Major Kira and-"
"This does not involve Nerys," the prylar rumbled. Even though he pitched his voice at normal speaking
level now, its timbre was still remarkably deep and res-onant.
And once again he had surprised Sisko. For a monk, it seemed to Sisko that the prylar was unduly familiar with Major Kira, addressing her as he had by her given name. But then, even before he had uttered a word it was clear to the most casual observer that Obanak was
not a typical prylar. He was a full head taller than Sisko, and despite the loosely fitted robes he wore, it
-- as clear the monk had the musculature of a plus-grav powerlifter. Whatever kind of religious he was, Obanak did not appear to be living a life of quiet con-templation.
Kira offered her own explanation to Sisko. "We were in the Resistance together."
Obanak bared his teeth in a fierce smile, revealing ess than a full set. Sisko wondered if the missing ones
had been knocked out in battle and if so, in the past or
more recently. "And my followers and I consider our-selves to be in the Resistance today."
Now Sisko was thoroughly confused. "Resistance to-" But that was all he was able to say before being cut off by a deafening roar.
"Murderer!" Obanak raised his arm and pointed accusingly past Sisko and into the Wardroom.
To Sisko, there was no doubt that Obanak meant one of the three Cardassians behind him and, as cap-tain of DS9, he acted swiftly to prevent escalation of a potential incident that could involve the entire station.
Setting aside any consideration of how deserving his visitors might be of Bajoran wrath, Sisko twisted the enraged prylar's arm down and pushed Obanak back against the far bulkhead of the corridor. At the same time, Worf's two security officers held back the other
three monks. Meanwhile, Kira stepped in to keep the Cardassians safely in the Wardroom.
As he held Obanak in position, Sisko became aware of the monk's improbably massive biceps. The only reason Obanak wasn't moving was clearly because he chose not to-it was doubtful even Worf would have been able to stop the Bajoran prylar.
With order restored, Sisko spoke sternly to the four Bajoran and the three Cardassians that he and his staff now held apart from each other. "You are all guests on this station. Do I have your word you will not disturb the peace again?"
"Of course, Captain," Obanak said thickly. "I apolo-gize. I was unprepared for the sight of such kheet'agh in this place."
Sisko frowned, but he released his grip on the pry-lar, whose only response, fortunately, was to adjust the position of his robes. Though the term Obanak had hurled at the Cardassians was unfamiliar to Sisko, he could guess it was not a flattering one. His own atten-tion, moreover, had been caught by the prylar's omis-sion of a term that he was accustomed to hearing from Bajoran religious figures. It now seemed somehow wrong not to be addressed as 'Emissary.' But that was the least of his concerns at the moment.
Sisko turned back to Terrell, Dr. Betan, and Atrig, who had yet to give their word that they would not cause trouble.
Atrig had moved into position directly in front of Terrell, as if to shield her from attack. His legs and arms were in an unmistakable fighting rest-stance. Now Sisko was positive that the bald Cardassian was no more a civilian than the two dead Cardassians in the Infirmary had been.
"I assure you, you are in no danger," Sisko informed his visitors.
Terrell stepped out from behind Atrig, though Atrig was still poised to defend her. "So you say, Captain," she said. "Of course, we've come to expect this sort of overwrought emotional outburst from Bajorans. It's not their fault, you know, any more than a beaten dog is responsible for snapping at its rescuer. It's that the Bajoran neural-"
A powerful voice drowned hers out as Prylar Obanak intoned dramatically: "Leej Terrell. Prefect of the Applied Science Directorate, Bajor Division. Per-sonally responsible for the deaths of over two thou-sand Bajoran citizens during the conduct of medical implant experiments. It was said that even the Obsid-ian Order feared her for her ability to make opponents simply disappear."
The silence in the corridor lasted only a moment.
"Is that all?" Terrell said, unperturbed and now in command of herself again. "Surely you're not finished. There are so many more crimes I'm supposed to have been responsible for. Prefect of medical research. Commandant of a work camp on a colony world. In charge of mining operations here on Terok Nor. I think once someone claimed I was even responsible for the assassination of Kai Opaka."
"Kai Opaka wasn't assassinated," Kira said grimly.
"Of course she wasn't," Terrell agreed soothingly. 'And neither was I responsible for any of the other crimes I supposedly committed. It's just that your peo-ple have a great deal of displaced anger, and you-"
"I think you should leave it at that," Sisko warned.
"Good idea," Kira added.
Terrell looked past Kira as if she didn't exist. "Cap-
tain Sisko, again I appeal to your humanity. Given the unwarranted hostility you can see we're facing here, and the unfortunate consequences that might ensue if it's allowed to continue, would it not be to everyone's advantage if you simply let us receive the bodies of our fellow citizens with dignity and-"
"They cannot take the bodies," Obanak thundered.
Terrell's cold glance flicked off the prylar. "Sir, be reasonable. No matter how your mind's been twisted against us, you can only kill a Cardassian once."
"Unfortunately," Kira muttered.
"That's enough, Major," Sisko said firmly. He turned to the Bajoran prylar. "Why is it any concern of yours what happens to those bodies?"
Obanak nodded his head in the direction of the cor-ridor. "May we talk in private?"
Sisko gestured to Worf and Kira to maintain the sep-aration of the remaining Bajorans and Cardassians. Then, together with the prylar, he walked away from the Wardroom and down the corridor, until not even Obanak's deep voice could be overheard. And it was then that the prylar dropped his posturing and made the case for his position.
"Captain, I don't know how much you know about what happened on this station during Withdrawal, but there were many deaths."
Sisko knew that wasn't the case. He braced him-self for other untruths. "The official death toll was four."
"Four Ba
jorans," Obanak said. "Among the Cardas-sians... well, certain Resistance members undercover on Terok Nor saw the confusion of Withdrawal as their chance to strike a final blow against the enemy. At least one hundred Cardassians were killed on that last day."
"That's never been part of any account I've heard." Sisko could not recall Major Kira ever alluding to such an event. But then she did not readily discuss the dark days before the Federation had taken over Deep Space 9.
"Why would it be? If the Cardassian people ever learned that their troops were slaughtered during a retreat, don't you think they would demand retribu-tion? Either against the Bajoran people or against the Cardassian leaders who accepted the slaughter without retaliation?"
Sisko could see the logic in that, though it was still not a full explanation. "But then why didn't the Bajo-ran Resistance publicize their great victory against the oppressors?"
"Captain, think of the consequences." Sisko couldn't help noticing that the Bajoran prylar out of the pres-ence of the Cardassians was a most persuasive fellow who presented his arguments in a reasonable, not a rigid manner. "In the past," Obanak continued, "it would be quite one thing for the Resistance to take credit for wiping out one hundred Cardassians on patrol in some desolate mountain region. Under condi-tions such as those, it was next to impossible for the Cardassians to be sure which cell was responsible. But up here, as I'm sure you know, the situation was more tightly defined. Consider this: The names of every Bajoran on the station at the time of the Withdrawal exist in Cardassia's Central Records. Among them, inevitably, are the Resistance members responsible for those last acts of righteous revenge. So my point is this: If the Cardassians show no signs of making an issue over what happened, then why would any Bajoran risk calling attention to it?"
"All right," Sisko conceded. "I agree that both sides have something to gain from hiding the truth. But what does that have to do with Terrell and the bodies we found?"
Obanak paused and took a particularly long, deep breath. The action reminded Sisko of a stress-reducing Bajoran meditation technique Kira had once recom-mended he try. "As of now, Captain, those actions, those deaths.,. they belong in the past. The two bod-ies you found, chances are they are two of the hundred from the Day of Withdrawal."
Sisko saw a shadow pass over the prylar's face as he gave name to the terrible last day of the Cardassian occupation of the station. "Now, what happens when those bodies return to Cardassia and an investigation begins? We on Bajor believe that witnesses will be tracked down, events reconstructed, someone will remember that a certain Bajoran was the last to see a certain dead Cardassian. A few days later, that Bajoran will be murdered in his home by assassins hired by the grieving family.
"And we can't forget the possibility of physical evi-dence as well," Obanak added. "A physical altercation during Withdrawal might have produced a fleck of Bajoran blood, a scraping of Bajoran skin under a fin-gernail, or a single strand of Bajoran hair caught in the fabric of a dead man's suit. Each body could provide hundreds of different ways for Cardassian investiga-tors to identify a member of the resistance who may or may not have been responsible for a Cardassian's death." Coming to the end of his argument for Sisko's help, Obanak folded his arms within his robes. "If you allow that to happen, Captain, then the cycle of vio-lence will continue."
Sisko studied the prylar. He still hadn't decided on a course of action. But he now understood Obanak's position. "What would you suggest I do?" he asked, truly interested in the Bajoran monk's answer.
"My followers and I will take the bodies and, in accordance with Cardassian rituals, we shall cleanse them, prepare them for their journey through their Divine Labyrinth, and then cremate them."
"Evidence and all?" Sisko asked.
Obanak nodded. "To keep the past in the past, where it belongs."
Sisko considered his options. Obanak seemed sin-cere but hopelessly naive. "Prylar Obanak, do you honestly believe I can convince Terrell and her people that you-a Bajoran monk-will perform any sort of Cardassian funeral rite with the proper respect?"
"We are incapable of doing anything except show the proper respect. Captain, my followers and I are not the type of religious with which you are familiar. I refer to the misguided ones who adhere to flawed texts imperfectly chosen from the long legacy of our world's relationships with the True Gods of Creation. Such misguided ones as might call you Emissary."
That explains his reluctance to call me by that title, Sisko thought. "You're right," he said. "I'm not famil-iar with your approach-"
"More than an approach, Captain. We follow the One True Way."
This encounter with Obanak was causing Sisko to feel both intrigued and uncomfortable. He was well aware that there were many sects on Bajor. Many dif-ferent ways of interpreting holy texts, the Prophets, and their actions. But for all those different ap-proaches, Bajoran religion was rarely, if ever, con-
frontational. All but a few Bajoran religions were based on the one central tenet of the Prophets' undeni-able existence. But past that point, any group was free to go its own way. Most accepted the guidance and leadership of Kai Winn. Some did not. And, at least in Sisko's experience, Bajor was unique among most worlds of the Federation in that in the face of such diversity, religious intolerance did not appear to exist. Of course, he had also thought that given that the proof of their gods' existence was so tangible-in the form of the Orbs-there wasn't room for much argument.
"You will forgive me," Sisko began as diplomati-cally as he could, "but I have seen on Bajor that there appear to be many ways to worship the Prophets."
"Many ways," Obanak agreed. "But only one way that is correct above all others."
Sisko looked back down the corridor toward the door to the Wardroom. Obanak's three companions were still waiting there with Worf's security officers. Kira was standing with them, apparently having no desire to remain in the Wardroom with Terrell and the other two Cardassians.
Cardassians, Sisko thought. Cardassians back on DS9. A Bajoran monk from a sect he had never heard of. Two murdered Cardassians from six years ago- perhaps from the very same day Quark, Odo, and Garak could not remember. One murdered Andorian from four days ago. Quark missing. Smugglers every-where. Counterfeit Orbs and...
Where is the pattern? Sisko asked himself. He could envision all the separate pieces swirling around like flotsam on the steep sides of a whirlpool or like tiny runabouts tossed by the negative energy flux of the wormhole. Yet he couldn't help but feel mat somehow,
in some way, all those pieces should fit together-if not among themselves, then around some missing final piece.
"Captain?" Obanak asked.
Sisko returned his attention to the Bajoran monk, not quite sure how long he had been staring blankly down the hall in search of answers.
"Were you with them?"
"You mean, with the Prophets?"
Obanak nodded.
"No," Sisko said. "But I thought you didn't believe I was the Emissary."
"Clearly, you are not," Obanak said. His thick brow suddenly deepened over his large, dark eyes. "Do you believe you are?"
Sisko paused before answering. It was ironic, but that was exactly what Commander Arla-a Bajoran of no religious beliefs-had asked him. And now he was being asked the same question by someone on the exact opposite end of the curve of religious possibili-ties-a Bajoran who seemed to believe that all other Bajoran beliefs were wrong.
"That is what the Prophets call me," Sisko said. "And that is what many Bajorans call me. So I accept that that is what I am-to them. What it means, though, I really cannot say."
Obanak regarded Sisko gravely. Almost, it seemed to Sisko, with respect. "I must say I hadn't expected you to be so open-minded, Captain. Usually, when the False Prophets cloud an innocent mind, that mind remains closed."
"False Prophets?" Sisko was certain he had never heard a Bajoran use the word 'false' in the same breath as 'prophets.'
"Those that dwell in the Jalkaree. The Sunde
red Temple. What the unenlightened call the wormhole."
It was then that Sisko realized why the prylar wore the sign of the Pah-wraiths. "I see: you consider the Pah-wraiths to be the true Prophets."
Obanak touched the thin red cloth strip on his fore-head. "Oh, no, Captain. Open your mind even more. This compulsion that exists for people to choose only one path or the other-that of the Prophets of the Jalkaree or of the Pah-wraiths in their prison of fire-it is a deliberate obstruction of the One True Way."
"And what way would that be?" Sisko asked, won-dering if he would ever truly understand Bajorans and Bajoran belief systems.
Obanak held the edge of his robe like an ancient orator about to deliver a speech. "Not so long ago, the misguided believed that a long-prophesied confronta-tion took place on this very station-the Gateway to the Temple. Is that not right?"
