Now, even though it was still early—more than an hour before the start of the day shift—she decided to try again. She sat down at her companel, opened a channel, and sent a greeting. After only a few seconds, the display blinked and Kasidy appeared. “Nerys,”she said with a bright smile. She looked as though she had been awake for a while.
“Good morning,” Kira said. “It looks like I’m not contacting you too early.”
“Not at all,”Kas said. “I always love hearing from you. Of course, if I could only get you to come for a visit…”
“I know, I know,” Kira said. “As soon as I can get away…”
“Nerys, if I have to wait for a day you’re not working, then this child—”Kasidy reached down below the view on the display, obviously running her hand across the swell in her midsection. “—will probably have a command of their own by then.”Kira chuckled, and resolved again to find some time to visit Bajor. “So how are you?”
“I guess…I’m pretty excited,” Kira said, putting her anticipation into words for the first time.
“‘Excited’? Now that sounds good,”Kas said. “About what?”
“About Bajor.” Kira realized that Kas did not know what had happened yesterday. “You haven’t heard, have you?”
“Apparently not,”Kasidy said. “Why don’t you tell me?”
“Kas, Bajor’s been accepted into the Federation.” The words actually sounded like something out of a dream to Kira. This time had been in Bajor’s future for so long now that it seemed strange for it to finally be in the present. “The official signing will take place in six weeks.”
Surprise showed on Kasidy’s face. “When did this happen?”she wanted to know. Kira told her about Akaar and the ambassadors and the summit, and then about the first minister’s speech. When she had finished, Kasidy said, “I didn’t realize this was so close to happening.”
“I don’t think any of us did,” Kira agreed, “other than Shakaar.” She noticed that Kas’s expression had slipped from surprise to what looked like discomfort. “Are you all right?” Kira asked. “Does this bother you?”
“I’m fine,”Kasidy said. “It’s just…I’m not exactly sure how I’m supposed to feel about this.”She paused, and then said, “I mean, I’ll be living in Federation territory, so that’s a good thing.”
“It will all be good.”
“I know, you’re right,”Kasidy said. “It’s just that…”
Just that Captain Sisko should be here,Kira thought. “It’s all right, Kas. You had a sacred vision, so you know that Benjamin is with the Prophets. And that means he must know about this.”
“Of course,”Kasidy replied, a forced smile appearing on her face. “You’re right. I’m sure Ben’s very happy about this.”
“I’m sure he is,” Kira said. “He worked hard for this, against a lot of opposition and through some difficult times. But this is all happening because of him.”
Kasidy smiled again, and this time, it seemed genuine. “He really was—he reallyis— something.”
“Yes, he is.”
For the next hour, they talked about Benjamin Sisko.
72
“I’ll see you on the bridge, Captain,” Nog said.
Before Vaughn could respond, Dr. Bashir offered his own opinion on the matter. “Not for at least a day or two, you won’t,” he said, walking over to Vaughn’s biobed. The doctor held a padd in one hand, which he referred to as he checked the diagnostic panel.
“I’ll be there soon enough,” Vaughn told Nog. The engineer smiled and nodded, then left. This had been Nog’s second visit today—earlier the lieutenant had also gotten the opportunity to speak with Ensign ch’Thane—and he had not been the only crew member to stop by the medical bay. In fact, the only person among Defiant’s small crew who had not come by, not surprisingly, had been Prynn.
Vaughn might have had a profound experience down on the planet, and come to a deeper understanding of his relationship with his daughter and of the troubles between them, but he had no reason to expect that she had done the same. According to Dr. Bashir, who had clearly noticed Prynn’s conspicuous absence, he had released her to her quarters this morning, with orders to remain off her feet until tomorrow. Of the three members of the away team, Prynn had been in the best condition after their ordeal, but even she would need time to recuperate. Vaughn had tried to accept what the doctor had told him, but it seemed less like a real explanation for Prynn not visiting him, and more like wishful thinking. And the truth was, no matter the troubles between them, it hurt him that she had not come in to see him.
“So how are you feeling?” Bashir asked.
“Tired,” Vaughn said, and though that was certainly true for him physically, it was in an emotional sense that he felt most drained. Since he had regained consciousness, he had attempted to shake off the effects of his experiences down on the planet, but he had not been completely successful. All those memories of loss that he had carried with him through his life, most dulled by the passage of time, had been made current again for him, and all at once. He suspected that only time would help him mend the reopened wounds. He would be able to get through it, he believed, but he did not expect the process to be particularly pleasant.
Not wanting to dwell on all of that right now, though, he asked the doctor, “How’s Ensign ch’Thane?” Bashir glanced across the medical bay to where the young man lay sleeping.
“He’s doing well,” the doctor said. “He’s got a strong constitution. I’ll probably release him tomorrow morning.” Vaughn had already learned that ch’Thane would not lose his leg, although Bashir had noted that if the ensign had gone without major medical treatment for another few hours, not only might he have lost his leg, but his internal injuries might have killed him. “You, on the other hand,” the doctor continued, “I may want to keep here for two more days.”
“I understand.” What had physically happened to Vaughn during his time within the thoughtscape, up until his eventual rescue, remained something of a mystery. Vaughn had hypothesized that, although he had dived into the vortex, he might never have actually passed into the universe of the Inamuri, or if he had, that he might have been carried quickly back into this one when the Inamuri had made the transition itself. Either way, he had guessed that the thoughtscape, sensing his plight via their strange mental and emotional connection, had formed an atmospheric pocket around him.
Dr. Bashir, on the other hand, had developed a different theory. He had detected residual energy readings within Vaughn’s body, leading him to conjecture that the Inamuri had actually reorganized matter within Vaughn’s lungs into respirable air. And because the residual energy spread throughout Vaughn’s body, the doctor also thought that the Inamuri might have essentially pressurized him from within.
Whatever the explanation, Vaughn felt confident that his survival had been the result of action taken by the thoughtscape, and Bashir concurred. Because of the uniqueness of that situation, Vaughn understood why the doctor wanted to keep him in the medical bay for a couple of days. While there appeared to be no deleterious effects on Vaughn—other than to his emotions—he agreed that remaining under direct medical observation for the time being seemed like a good idea.