“You made the only choice you could, Elias,” Dax said. “You must know that. And it sounds to me like Ruriko knew it, too.”
Vaughn nodded, but said nothing.
“I don’t think there’s anyone on this crew who blames you for wanting to restore Commander Tenmei. Nobody deserves what happened to her. But you can’t let yourself lose sight of the bigger picture.”
“I can’t let this opportunity go by, Dax,” Vaughn said. “I’m being given a chance to save her. How can I not take it?”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t,” Dax said. “We need to investigate that wreckage, see if we can determine what its mission was. We need to find that changeling on the surface and try to return her to her own people. And you need to address this situation with Prynn. All those things can be done while Julian continues to treat Ruriko.”
Vaughn released a long breath through his nose. “You’re right, of course.” For a long time he said nothing more, and try as Dax might, she couldn’t begin to guess his mind.
Finally he asked in a quiet voice, “It isn’t easy being my first officer, is it?”
Taken aback by the question, Dax didn’t know how to respond at first. “No,” she admitted. “I’d have to say it isn’t. But then, I didn’t take the job because I expected it to be easy.”
Vaughn nodded as if confirming something he’d long suspected. “You know, I never expected to be in a position like this. That I would face a moment when I would put my needs ahead of duty. All my life, in every situation I was thrust into, I always felt as if I knew what the right decision was, even when I didn’t want to make it. Always. Whatever saved the most lives, that’s what I chose. And I knew down to the last cell of my body, from the moment you brought me that padd in the mess hall, what the right decision was here. But this time, I made what I knew was the wrong decision. Because I couldn’t bear the thought of failing her again.”
“These are extraordinary circumstances that no one could have foreseen,” Dax said. “The odds that she alone would survive the crash, much less be detected by the very ship you and Prynn are serving on, have to be astronomical. Beyond astronomical,” she corrected, and suddenly realized something she’d never considered until now. “It’s an impossible set of coincidences.”
“No,” Vaughn said. “It isn’t. There’s an explanation for all of this, and until now I’ve managed to avoid looking at it too closely. But it’s high time I dealt with it.” Vaughn rose to his feet and Dax stood with him. “Assemble an away team and send them down to the planet.”
“Aye, sir.” Dax turned to go, but Vaughn stopped her.
“Ezri.”
She turned to look at him.
“Thanks for being my first officer,” he said. “And my friend.”
14
Why is it that everything always goes to hell around here at the most inconvenient time?
The thought hung over Quark’s head like a black cloud as he stalked through the habitat ring. After years of navigating political changeovers, wars, religious upheavals, treacherous business partners, the FCA, the Orion Syndicate, and even democratic reforms on Ferenginar, it astounded Quark that he could still run aground in the Great River, even when he was about to set course for deeper waters.
He and Ro were supposed to be making plans to leave the station for good, but ever since that shifty Trill had killed Shakaar— I knew he couldn’t be trusted—she’d refused to speak to him, or reply to his messages. She seemed to have forgotten all about the fact that she was supposed to be putting her life on the station behind her. They both were.
The thought of going to Rom’s old quarters didn’t help his mood. Not just because his idiot brother and former employee was now Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, but also because its current occupant was proving to be an even bigger pain in the lobes than Rom had ever been.
At least she’s paying her rent on time,Quark thought. Subletting the rooms to Treir had its financial benefits, to be sure, but he felt he was being consistently overcompensated in aggravation. Still, Treir was an Orion female, and that alone made her one of the bar’s main attractions these days. Her,he thought grudgingly, and her heavily muscled protégé, that Bajoran dabo boy, Hetik.
Dabo boy.Quark repressed a shudder, as he did every time the two words came together in his mind, and steeled himself as he stopped in front of Treir’s door. He pressed the touchpad mounted into the bulkhead and signaled admittance.
There was no answer, but Quark could hear giggling coming from inside the room.
“Treir, it’s Quark,” he said brusquely. “Let me in, I need to talk to you.”
“Go away,”came the reply.
“That’s no way to speak to your employer.”
“It’s my night off,”he heard her say. “Besides, I’ve got company.”
“Come on, Treir. Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking. This is important.”
Even through the metal door Quark’s sensitive ears heard the satisfying sound of a sigh of resignation. “I’m sorry about this,”he heard her tell her visitor.
Probably Hetik,Quark thought darkly. If those two are sleeping together, I’ll have to watch them even more closely than before.
The door opened, and to Quark’s abject shock, Morn walked out.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Quark demanded.
Morn favored him with a waggle of his meaty brow before he lumbered passed and headed off down the corridor. With his jaw hanging, Quark turned back to the doorway to demand an explanation from Treir, almost bumping into her. With one hand on the door frame and another perched on her curvacious hip, Treir stood in the threshold and glowered down at him from her two-meter height. “This had better be important.”
All questions about Morn suddenly evaporated as Quark focused on Treir. She looked terrible. Clad in dull gray sweatpants, floppy sandals, and a baggy T-shirt that read KISS ME, I’M IRISH, Treir looked… frumpy.Her long, lusterless hair was tied back in a knot, except for a few ropy locks that hung carelessly in front of her face.
“Are you sick?” he asked.
Her eyes narrowed. “It’s my night off,” she said through her teeth.
“Look, I’m sorry, it’s just—I’ve never seen you so…relaxed.”
She leaned forward menacingly. “Look a little closer. Do I seem relaxed?”
Quark swallowed. “Now that you mention it, no. Actually, you look like someone who’s spent too much time around Morn.”
Treir rolled her eyes and went back into her quarters. “What do you want?”
Quark followed her inside. “I just need to talk to you for a few minutes.”
Treir dropped onto a massive plush couch and crossed her feet atop the coffee table. “You already said that. What’s on your mind?”
“Ro,” Quark said.
Treir dropped her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Oh, please, not this.”
“Would it kill you just to listen to me?”
“Why me?”
“Because I need some objectivity,” Quark admitted angrily. “You’ve seen Laren and me interact more than anybody, and I need to talk to someone.”
Treir sighed. “Get on with it,” she said resignedly.
Quark sat on the edge of a chair facing the couch and leaned forward as he spoke. “You know I’m giving up the bar.”