All characters claimed by Paramount are theirs. Any other characters created specifically for this story are copywrited to me, as are the ideas and plots within this context. Please don't use, abuse, or steal these names without my permission, or I'll have to come round and rip your arms off. Comments can be made to me at dakhur@iinet.net.au

Hope you enjoy the story.

BETRAYAL

By Felicity Carthew (with help from R. Cooper)

Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax sighed as she brought the runabout's nose around to head towards the station, and glanced at her co-pilot. "Ever get the feeling that it just wasn't your day to get out of bed?"

Major Kira Nerys smiled weakly as she rubbed her temple, trying to will her headache away. "I know that diplomacy isn't my strongest suit, but am I really that bad at the negotiating table? I thought I'd learnt something during the last few years of watching Sisko deal with trouble on the station, not to mention the odd angry Bajoran that we might have come across."

Dax laughed and powered the craft up to full warp, wanting to get home as fast as possible. "No, you're not that bad. But it helps if the people you're talking to at least want to listen to what you say. You can't make someone see things your way when they refuse to understand where you're coming from. Curzon used to believe that understanding was a three edged sword."

"Well, the only place that minister was coming from was that we should be planting his outpost at the top of the priority list for financial assistance. He didn't even listen when I told him that I had just spent three days arguing the same problem with all the other outpost leaders." Kira held her head in her hands. "The government isn't going to be pleased with this trip, and neither is Sisko."

"Don't be ridiculous, Benjamin will understand that you did the best you could. After all, he knows just how stubborn Bajorans can be, we have been here for four years now."

"That's four years longer than I thought you'd stay when Starfleet first arrived." Kira turned to face Dax as her enjoyment of a good argument got the better of her. "And what do you mean Bajorans are stubborn? We're a peaceful, gently-spoken people, who simply like to ensure that whoever we're talking to has a clear understanding of what we mean."

The two woman were just getting into their argument when the computer announced an incoming message from DS9. Opening a channel, Kira saw the image of her commanding officer, Captain Benjamin Sisko, looking at her with a worried expression. "So Major, how did the last few days go. Any progress?"

"Not a bit. Everybody wanted to talk, and nobody wanted to listen. I would have got a better response if I'd been discussing business ethics with Quark." Kira's expression sobered as Sisko smiled briefly, and then spoke again.

"Well, by the looks of things, you're going to get to try out those diplomatic skills of yours again over the next few days. How soon can you get back to the station?"

"We're at least two hours away from the station, Benjamin. What's the problem, are the Klingon's annoying us again?" Dax had put the runabout on auto-pilot and turned to face the monitor.

"No, not Klingon's." He took a deep breath and prepared to calm panicked nerves. "Major, in just under six hours, a delegation of Romulans are arriving at the station. They would like to renegotiate wormhole access for the Romulan empire, and as the leading Bajoran on the station, it's up to you to sit in for Bajor."

"ME?!" Kira looked like she'd just been hit with a wet fish. "Captain, talking to Bajorans is one thing, but I'm no diplomat by a long shot. The last time I tried to talk to the Romulans, it turned into a yelling match!"

"I know, I don't like it either. But you are the only Bajoran they've dealt with, and therefore, the only one they'll talk to." Sisko sighed. "I'll transmit details of their requests to you, and meet you as soon as you get back. Sorry to spring this on you Major, but we only just found out, and the Bajoran Government felt that it was better to take them on now, rather than later."

"Wonderful." Kira closed the channel, and slumped back into her seat. "How can I be expected to handle an intergalactic negotiation, when I can't even talk around a few fellow Bajorans?" Standing, she paced up and down the cabin, until Dax reached back and handed her a data padd.

"Here's the information Sisko mentioned. You might as well at least look at it." Grinning, the Trill looked at her worried friend. "Don't panic, Curzon dealt with the Romulans many times, and I'm sure Benjamin will be more than happy to allow me to sit in on the talks with you. Besides, isn't the best way to learn something to be thrown in at the deep end?"

"Dax, the currents that look like they'll make us stronger are the ones that will destroy us." Shaking her head, Kira had the computer play her favourite music, and studied the information before her.

"Adan, you can't be serious about me doing these negotiations!" Kira looked at First Minister Shakaar pleadingly. "I have the diplomatic skills of an assault rifle. Can't you send a real diplomat, and I'll just sit in and pretend to be in charge?"

"Nerys, the Romulan's have forbidden anyone else but you and an aide to be present during the talks." Shakaar shook his head in sympathy. "I'm sorry, Kira, but you have to do this. I wish we had more time to talk about options, but we don't. Who are you going to have advising you?"

Kira sighed. "Dax. Curzon spent years working with the Romulans on peace treaties. Her assistance will be invaluable, and she'll also be able to help me with the Federation regulations regarding any requests the Romulan's make." Kira looked at her lover and shook her head. "But, if anything goes wrong, don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't. And when it's finished, you can come down to Bajor for a few days, and give me a complete brief on what happened." The man smiled seductively. "I'll even take you out to dinner at your favourite restaurant when it's all finished. Promise."

Kira shook her head. She never had been able to resist those pleading grey eyes. "Alright. But it's going to cost you a weeks undivided attention." As she closed the channel, the Bajoran wondered yet again how a man like Adan had ever fallen in love with a woman like her.

"Alright, the Romulan's have docked at upper pylon two, and the conference room is ready." Sisko looked at his First Officer, and smiled in sympathy at her nervousness. "Will you start the talks today, or tomorrow morning? It is pretty late, and you look like a good night's sleep wouldn't go astray."

Kira tugged at the collar of the new Bajoran Dress Uniform. This wasn't the first time she'd had to wear it, but she still hated it. Kira wondered if Starfleet officers took a special class in dress uniforms 101. "I thought I'd welcome them to the station, invite them for a quiet drink in Quark's, and start the official negotiations in the morning." Kira glanced at Sisko desperately. "Are you sure you can't come into the room as well? If I screw it up......!"

"Sorry Kira. They've specifically stated that no Starfleet personnel are to be involved, with the one exception of Dax. And the only reason they allowed that concession is because Curzon had spent a great deal of his career across the table from them working out peace treaties." Hearing the first airlock open, Sisko muttered a quick 'we're on', just as the first Romulan came into view.

Kira looked up......and up. The man before her couldn't have been a shade under seven feet, and with his uniform adding to his already considerable bulk, he towered above the smaller Bajoran. Gathering all her courage, Kira stepped foreword, smiled, and raised her hand in greeting. "On behalf of the people of Bajor, and the United Federation of Planets, welcome to Deep Space Nine. I'm Major Kira Nerys, Bajoran Liaison to and First Officer of DS9, and this is Captain Benjamin Sisko, the station's commanding officer. I'll be the negotiator for the Bajoran's." Kira flashed her most charming smile.

The Romulan looked at her face, and took Kira's hand. "We thank you for your welcome, Major. I am Senator T'gan, and I am here to talk to you on behalf of the Empire. May I also introduce my advisers, Rultan and Goral." Sweeping his hand back, T'gan indicated a Romulan woman standing in the background. "And this is our personal security officer. We hope you won't take offence, but our government wants to make sure there are no..... accidents during our visit."

"I realise that you have had a long journey, and I would like to invite you to join the Captain and I for drinks at the station's casino, and, after a good nights rest, we can begin the talks tomorrow morning." As T'gan nodded, Kira led him and the others to the nearest turbolift, and down to the promenade. When the doors opened, Kira felt the man beside her almost bound out of the lift and onto the deck.

"Amazing." The senator paused as his eyes swept the triple-story structure with its myriad of shops and bustling life. Kira led the group to the one place on the station where a person could be guaranteed to get anything they could want--for a price. Quark's Casino and bar. As the Ferengi scuttled over to the table to take their order, Sisko and Kira took a moment to take stock of the Romulans. T'gan seemed the picture of charm, as he chatted amiably with Quark over the price of two bottles of Romulan ale, while his two aids were quietly examining the surrounding patrons of the bar. But when Kira glanced towards the fourth Romulan, she found herself looking straight into the woman's eyes, as she stared at Kira without reservation.

Noticing Kira's unease, Sisko turned to T'gan. "So, Senator, have you any time limit on your stay here? We hope that you will be able to take some time out to enjoy the station."

"My government would like these talks concluded as quickly as possible, but I would like to take some time out to see the station. Not that it is as good as a Romulan station, of course." The man seemed almost to be looking forward with respect to sight-seeing. Kira instantly assumed he was quite looking forward to having a little time to poke his nose into things and concerns that were not his own. "Of course, our stations are much bigger and more efficient." Sisko trod on Kira's foot as she opened her mouth to argue, and she closed up again.

Quark arrived with drinks; on the house, as the little leech had said. Quark never gave drinks on the house. Something had to be going on, and Kira would find out later on just what it was, but for now, she had to play happy host. T'gan reached for his drink, but the security officer beat him to it, and took a cautious sip. After a moment, she nodded tersely, and gave the drink to T'gan who raised his glass in a toast. "To mutual wishes of good-will." As the others at the table echoed his sentiments, T'gan casually sized up the Bajoran he would be talking to. "Well, Major, I believe this used to be your battleground when the Cardassian Occupation was at its height." He noticed Kira's eyes tighten a little bit, as his statement appeared to catch her off-guard. Nevertheless, he continued. "You've come a long way for someone who has spent their life fighting. Let us hope that the rest of Bajor has travelled that road with you."

"Don't be mistaken: the Occupation has left many scars that are still being healed. I hope the Empire is mature enough to realise this, and meet us halfway." Kira smiled sweetly, still smarting about the terrorism crack.

The Romulan woman leaned forward on to the table. "Of course the Empire is. We just need to establish where exactly halfway lies." T'gan placed a hand on her shoulder, and drew her back into her seat, giving her a warning glance to keep quiet as he did so. "In every relationship, there is some give and some take. I have been in politics long enough to realise the same can be said of diplomacy." He smiled disarmingly. "But our journey here has been a long one, and we are all tired. I believe it would in our best interests if we all turned in for the night." He stood, pushing his chair out. Kira stood up as if she had just sat on a pin, and spoke to the security officer.

"If you come with me, I will show to our security chief's office," Kira gestured out down the Promenade, "where you can co-ordinate security arrangements with station security." She held her hand out in front of her, indicating that the Romulan delegation should precede her. T'gan smiled, and walked out as if the blatant show of distrust didn't bother him in the slightest, while the others completely ignored the Bajoran major, and followed their superior out the door. Kira stole a glance at Sisko, who gave her a nod of encouragement, before she followed the Romulans out the door.

No one noticed a holosuite door open upstairs, and a sweaty Klingon walk out, wiping his brow. He gazed down over the balcony, and noticed the Romulans leaving Quark's, and gave a low, animal-like growl. Klingons had never liked Romulans, it was something about the two species' expansionist dogmas. It wasn't until he noticed that one of the delegation was blond that he took a closer look.

Sela.

Sela prowled around the room with a hand scanner, running it through every nook and cranny of the Cardassian-designed room. She cross- checked every result from those taken on the other side of the room, while T'gan, Rultan, and Goral talked almost amiably.

"And should we ask the Captain if we can have a tour of the Gamma Quadrant, or this sector?" T'gan asked, his voice pleasant. He looked at Sela; she shook her head.

Goral glanced around nervously. "In the Defiant? We contributed to the cloaking device."

T'gan nodded. "That might be a good idea."

Sela finally finished scanning the room. "Nothing unusual. Everything is as it appears to be." She placed her device down on a bed, and turned to face T'gan. Before she could open her mouth to speak, T'gan grabbed her arms, and shoved Sela roughly into a chair. Goral attempted to pretend he was somewhere else as Rultan beat him to the bathroom.

"You jepodized our entire mission here with your - your provocation's of the Bajoran major." He raised a hand, as if to slap Sela around the face, but caught himself, and stepped away instead. "We are here for a reason...you are only here on sufferance. You are still on probation, after your last disgraceful failure in the heart of the Empire." Sela began to rise, her temper flaring, but she took note of T'Gan's face, where storm clouds were gathering. "We can't afford loose cannons here, Sub-commander... this mission is very important... not just to you and your future, but to the future of the Empire itself. If we fail, then we will have a very long journey to contemplate our deaths. And I do not intend to fail."

"I -" Sela started, but T'gan cut her off.

"If you attempt to circumvent my work here again, then you will be sent back to Romulus... for trial and summary execution." He paused, his eyes growing even harder, if that was at all possible. "Am I understood?"

Sela went to say something more, but noticed the look in T'Gan's eye, and knew she had pushed him a little too far. She dropped her gaze, and nodded sourly.

"While we are here, you will do everything I say, and you will work with the Bajorans... and Starfleet, if need be." T'gan paused for a moment. "Serve me well, and I will do all I can to make sure your background is no longer held against you." Sela's eyes flicked upwards at this, and T'gan held her eyes for a moment, then turned, and left the room.

Goral walked up to Sela nonchalantly, and murmured softly, "Just remember who the real power lies with..."

"I'm in HELL!!!!" Kira allowed her head to softly hit Sisko's desk, as he handed her a mug of ginger tea, and chuckled quietly. The first day of the talks were over, and Sisko, Dax and Kira were dissecting it.

"Kira, whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Sisko chuckled again, enjoying the major's predicament. "But, seriously, Nerys, everything will be all right." He steepled his fingers. "In fact, I'd be surprised if anything went wrong with this...the Romulans appear to be very... calm and collected."

"If someone can say that about the Romulans, Benjamin," Dax added. Kira nodded towards the section of the habitat ring that the Romulans were stationed in. "I did some checking on those... people," she said quietly. "The senator is well-known to be a man of the truth, and he believes that the way for the Romulans to go is through a union with the Federation. His record goes on for some forty years..." "His male aides have no records worth mentioning. Golan worked on the Warbird Khazara for a short amount of time, while Rultan spent most of his life hiding from 'official' records on Remus." Kira turned back to Sisko and Dax. "It's his third aide, Sub-commander Sela, that worries me."

"And why is that?" Sisko asked.

"Because she's a known criminal in the Federation! She orchestrated the last major Klingon war, and that she is supposedly the offspring of a Starfleet officer, who died nine years ago on the Enterprise!" Kira paused to take a breath, and Sisko gave a small smile.

"That wasn't in our records here on the station, Kira. How did you come about that piece of information?" "Someone sent me a message last night, a 'concerned citizen' of the area, he or she said."

"Did this... concerned citizen say why he or she was telling you about this Romulan crossbreed?" Sisko let his mind wander, and put the two facts about the Klingon war and the mention of the Enterprise together, and decided that he really must speak to Worf about passing information to Kira and not her superior as well.

"Apparently, they wanted to be sure that I realised what I'm up against. I think it's simply a warning not to underestimate them." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "At least today's talks went smoothly... we seem to be establishing a common ground." Kira stood up. "Well, if anyone wants me, I'll be in Quark's. Examining a very deep glass of synthale. For a long time." To Dax, she added, "I'll meet you in the ward room at oh nine hundred."

Sisko and Dax watched her leave Ops, and grinned at each other. "Should we warn Odo that Quark should probably give her a wide berth, or simply wait until Julian calls us to the infirmary?" Dax's innocent voice belied the wicked gleam in her eyes.

"I think we'll let Quark work it out for himself." Benjamin's expression sobered. "Seriously, how is she doing? I can't help thinking that the Romulan's demanded Nerys negotiate because they know she has no training and a notoriously short temper. Although, I'm pleased to admit that Kira is learning to hold her temper in check a lot better these days."

"She's come a long way in the last few years, not least of all due to a certain Bajoran man that I can think of." Dax smiled briefly at the memory of seeing her friend laughing and relaxing with a handsome young man, before his untimely death. It had taken a long time before Kira let go of the pain that his death had caused her. "But I think that she's going to make it, at least as far as these talks are concerned." Dax stood to leave as she saw the night-shift swing into action. "Right now, I think I'm going to follow Kira's example, and have a quiet drink before turning in. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, old man." Sisko sat quietly in his office and looked out over the stars. He had no doubts about Kira's loyalty, indeed she sometimes seemed more loyal towards the Federation than her own people. No, not the Federation. To him. He was the one who had given her a firm hand when Starfleet had arrived at the station. He was the one who had backed her up when Starfleet officers had questioned her authority, and it was he who had chewed her out whenever she had screwed up. But none of her mistakes had become part of the official record, or she wouldn't be an officer now. No, they had remained part of the many secrets that this old station held within its' walls. What really saddened him was that it was her own people who had kicked her in the teeth.

Especially the Kai. He doubted if the woman realised that until she had interfered with the station, Kira had supported her. Sisko thought back to the time when Kira had entered his office, and told him that Winn had forced her to blackmail Bareil out of becoming Kai. And he remembered when he and the rest of the station's command crew had stood in the monastery gardens on Bajor, and watched Nerys, too exhausted to cry any more, bury the man who had laid claim to her heart and soul, and was probably the only force who could have taken his first officer away from the station.

Standing, Benjamin strolled down to the habitat ring, taking the scenic route as he did so. This consisted of avoiding all the places that he knew would have people in them, even at this late hour. Rounding a corner, he came upon the very woman who had been dominating his thoughts only minutes earlier. "Major, what are you doing here?" Sisko noted her startled expression, and realised he'd done what junior officers considered impossible: He'd managed to sneak up on Kira without her hearing him.

"Sir, I didn't realise....I thought you'd be.." She stopped stammering and turned to look out onto the stars again. "I'm just watching the stars go by." A ghost of a smile crossed her face as she continued. "Did you know that Bajorans used to believe that, when someone they loved died, a new star shone in the sky. It was that person looking down to guard and guide them."

"Which star are you looking for?" Sisko knew that his First Officer wasn't that orthodox in her beliefs, but he also knew that she was desperately seeking strength from those beliefs, and he wasn't about to destroy her faith for the sake of science.

"The small one just to the left of that bright blue star." Kira seemed to be in a world of her own. "Bareil always said that bright star was Opaka's star, and that he could never do anything but be a small symbol of what she had been to the us during the occupation. The strange thing is, that I never noticed that little star until after he....he was gone." Kira turned to face her Captain. "Sir, I'm no diplomat. I shouldn't be the one doing these negotiations. Please, speak to Bajor and ask them to send a proper negotiator, I can't do this."

Sisko decided that his friend had done enough brooding, and gently took her arm, leading her to the door of her quarters. "You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow, and probably for the rest of the week. Get some sleep. You've done well so far, don't let yourself get depressed just because of one day. I believe in you." With those words, Sisko saw Kira into her room, and turned towards his own.

Sela was fuming as she stalked along the Promenade. Instead of making the Bajoran tremble with fear, her superior seemed almost concerned with putting the major at ease. They all knew she had had almost no experience with diplomatic skills, and the reports from the last Romulans who had interviewed her indicated an unstable personality that would be easy to provoke into throwing away any opportunity for a decent agreement between the all-powerful Empire, and these Bajoran rabble. Their only good point seemed to be that, when provoked, they became incredibly stubborn and inn innovative fighters. Their long struggle with the Cardassian Conquerors had proved that. Fleetingly, Sela allowed herself to dream about what the Empire could achieve if it could only bring these people into a subservient role within the Empire. She was just beginning to day-dream about having a regiment of disposable Bajoran warriors under her command, when a rather large, solid, chest appeared in front of her.

"Excuse me." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Then she looked up--and almost hit the deck in fear. Before her stood the one Klingon that she truly feared. Not because he was a Klingon, but because he was the only Klingon who had the power of the Federation behind him.

Worf looked down on his nemesis, bared his teeth, and growled. She seemed frightened, but this was Sela, the woman who had almost bested Captain Picard, and who had managed to start a war within the Klingon Empire.

"Commander Sela, what a surprise to see you here." Worf was content to let her know that he knew who she was, and leave it at that. He had already passed on to Kira all the information he knew about the Romulan before him.

"Obviously the Duras sisters were even more incompetent than I thought they were. They were supposed to kill you, not let you go." Sela was shaken, but not panicked. These things happened, especially when you made a point of dealing with the Federation. "However, as it happens, I'm here with the Romulan peace delegation, and we are dealing with the Bajoran's, not the Klingon's," Sela decided she'd been nice for long enough that day, and stuck a barb in. "not your Federation keepers." She had been known to make better career moves.

Worf roared openly and, to the astonishment of the passing Bajoran citizens, grabbed Sela by her uniform tunic and pushed her half-way up the nearest wall. But before he could send her to meet her ancestors, an arm snaked up and forced him to release his grip on the woman. Turning, Worf was relived to see that it was the stations security chief, Constable Odo, who was looking at him with a mixture of understanding and annoyance.

"Commander Worf, I regret to remind you that you're not allowed to threaten our Romulan guests. Well, not in public anyway." Odo grimaced. "They tend to get upset."

"If you'll excuse me," Sela growled, as Worf lowered her to the ground "I have to get back to the Senator." With that, she stalked off to the turbolift, pushing other people out of her way.

Watching her go, Odo shook his head and turned to speak to Worf. "Do you want to explain why I caught you trying to strangle that Romulan, or do I just tell the Captain that you'd rather not be assigned to a security detail while they're here?"

"I would....appreciate it if you don't mention this to the Captain. He has already spoken to me about my attitude towards that particular person." As the two men walked along the Promenade, they quietly discussed the problems of peace treaties that allowed known criminals to walk freely around their territory.

Over the next two days, Kira and Dax found their diplomacy and their patience tested to the limit. After a day of niceties, the Romulans had swung straight into demanding complete access at all times to the wormhole, the station, and refused point-blank to accept anything less. Sisko had supported Kira with her refusal to agree to the conditions, and both he and Worf had taken over her station duties so that she could concentrate on the talks. It was the fourth morning that Kira received a call from Bajor, and considering who it was from, she should have guessed that it was going to be one of those days.

"Good morning, Major." Kai Winn, Kira's most dangerous enemy, looked at the young officer from a suitably safe distance of several thousand kilometres, and felt relatively secure that Kira wouldn't be able to reach down the comm line and throttle her. Well, not today. "I'm glad I caught you while you are having a break from the talks. I'm just calling to enquire how they are progressing."

"Not too badly. We appear to be making headway, although with Romulans you never can tell." Kira wasn't normally so polite to Winn, but she was feeling generous today. "I have been sending regular reports to the Government, so Minister Shakaar will be able to bring you up to date, should you ask him for my reports."

"Actually Major, you'll be able to brief me in full when I arrive on the station. My shuttle will be docking within the hour." Winn savoured the look of pure, unadulterated shock that appeared on the major's face. "In fact... would it be possible for me to sit in on today's talks?" Kira caught the tail end of the sentence, and nodded dumbly. "I don't think that will be a problem..."

Winn smiled. "I will be looking forward to seeing you soon, then." The channel closed, leaving Kira to stand, dumbfounded, in the middle of her room.

Ten minutes later, she was standing in the Wardroom, looking out the windows, waiting for someone from the Romulan delegation to turn up. She turned around when the door opened, and was mildly surprised to see Sela enter the room. Of course, it was normal to have a bodyguard entering the room before the diplomat, but T'gan seemed almost like the person who had no enemies, and had no fear of others.

Sela just glared silently at Kira for a few moments before even looking anywhere else. If she was surprised to see Kira in the Wardroom early, she didn't show it. She took up position behind a chair. "What do you want?"

Easy, Kira murmured silently to herself. Don't get baited. "I'm here early to ask if it might be possible to delay today's agenda until this afternoon, as the spiritual leader of Bajor, Kai Winn, would like to sit in on the negotiations, and if this is possible, I have to brief her on events..."

Sela narrowed her eyes, and pulled out her hand scanner, running it over the room. "Don't ask me," she said, "I'm just a bodyguard." Was that disgust in her voice? Kira didn't know, but as it was, it didn't matter, since T'gan and his two other aides entered the room, with Dax close behind them.

Kira turned to T'gan. "I'm sorry, but do you mind waiting until this afternoon to continue negotiations? The Bajoran spiritual leader Kai Winn, would like to sit in, and I have to brief her on what has gone on so far."

T'gan pondered for a moment. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does your spiritual leader want to sit in on these talks?"

Kira faltered for a reason, until she looked out the window at about where the wormhole was situated. "Because the Prophets wished it." 'Hey', she thought, 'it works for the Kai.'

T'gan glanced at his aides momentarily, who shrugged and nodded. "Very well, then. We shall reconvene at thirteen hundred." Without another word, the Romulans walked out of the room.

Winn looked almost uncomfortable in Sisko's office, alone with two of her worst enemies. She shouldn't have been surprised. Neither Kira nor Sisko would hesitate to introduce her to the wonders of deep space through an open airlock, if they thought they could get away with it.

"So these talks are going to last a while longer, I understand?"

Sisko leaned back in his chair, nodded shallowly, and rumbled agreement. "The major is doing her best, Kai. But the Romulans are notoriously difficult to work with when it comes to diplomatic functions."

Kira's head swivelled from Sisko to Winn. "We've made some progress... but we're still stuck on arms limitations. The Romulans want to permanently station several cloaked ships at the mouth of the wormhole, but this is unacceptable under current terms of our Federation alliance."

"Why should this be a problem?" Winn asked Sisko. "Surely the greater firepower will deter the Dominion from making an attack on the Alpha Quadrant... and Bajor in particular."

"You obviously haven't been briefed on current events, Kai." Sisko's smile was like liquid steel. "The Dominion have an ability that allows them to impersonate anyone, and the Romulans, like the Federation, and everyone else, have been infiltrated already. They have already impersonated the major, and if it wasn't for Odo seeing through the disguise, we could all have been in deep trouble."

Kira smiled sinisterly. "In fact, you could be a Founder... the only way we can tell is to cut you open." Kira made sure the Kai could see her hand straying towards the ceremonial Klingon dagger on Ben's desk.

"That isn't necessary, child, I assure you." Panic set in on the Kai's face as Sisko frowned at Kira, with just the hint of a smile on his own face. Kai-baiting was almost a station sport these days.

"So, senator T'gan has agreed to allow the Kai into the talks this afternoon?" Sisko asked.

"Yes, but he can't understand why we need a spiritual leader in the room with us." Kira smiled wryly. "One of his aides suggested we need her as a crutch."

Sisko's face was carefully composed as he turned his chair to face out the window, where his shoulders seemed to be shaking. Only Kira saw the laughter on his face. When he turned back, he was careful not to look the Kai directly in the eyes, and not at Kira at all. The Kai squirmed uncomfortably in her chair as she turned to the major.

"Child, I hope you explain to them that one the duties of being a spiritual leader is to understand politics and to participate as much as possible in the rebuilding of Bajoran society." Her smile infuriated Kira, who had already heard the arguments as she had said the same lines, almost verbatim, to the Romulans a short while ago.

"The Romulan delegation have graciously allowed you to sit in on the events this afternoon, Kai," Sisko said, making sure Kira didn't put her foot in it. "But you are only allowed to sit in, they will throw you out if you attempt to take over from the major. They will only deal with Kira."

Winn nodded. "I understand, Emissary. In fact, all I -"

A comm channel beeped open. "Odo to Sisko: Captain, when are the negotiations scheduled to start again?" Winn appeared to be mildly miffed that someone had interrupted her.

"In about half an hour, Constable. Why?"

"In that case, I think you and the major had better come down to my office - immediately. We have a problem that requires your attention." The channel closed and Sisko looked at the Kai.

"I'm sorry, Kai, but we will have to continue this conversation some other time." Sisko and Kira stood up to leave. "In the mean time, Lieutenant Commander Dax will be happy to show you to your quarters."

Kira glanced at Dax and grinned as she heard her friend mutter "What'd I ever do to you, huh?"

The Kai moved to intercept the two officers before they could depart. "If you have no objections Emissary, I would like to accompany you to the Constable's office. This sounds as if it has something to do with the Romulans, and I feel as I should be in on this."

Immediately, one million and one reasons flashed into Sisko's mind as to why the Kai couldn't accompany them, from a long and boring talk, to the fact that it was a very important code that said "the sky is falling." But the Kai wouldn't fall for it. For all her apparent stupidity, she was clued up to certain things, particularly something that she could twist to her advantage. "Of course, Kai, it would be an honour." Behind Winn, Sisko saw Kira roll her eyes in disgust. He motioned towards the turbolift. "This way."

Once on the Promenade, the three moved quickly to the Constable's office. Winn insisted on being the first in through the door, and was vaguely put out when no one stood for her. She remained standing, letting her eyes play over the Romulans, who were already seated.

"Constable," Sisko said, by way of greeting as he walked into the office. Kira nodded at Odo, and gazed curiously at the Romulans, who seemed to be staring at her with undisguised hostility. "Senator? Is something wrong?"

"I hope she will suffer the full penalty under Bajoran law for attempted murder." T'Gan's face hardened. "I understand this is death."

Kira glanced at Odo for reassurance, and found only a questioning look. "Constable, what is the senator talking about?"

"On a random security sweep, your security chief found an explosive device, timed to go off half an hour into the session this afternoon." Sela glared at Kira before Odo interrupted.

"I believe the question was intended for me." Odo glared at the Romulan. "As our guest said, I found a bomb. The problem is, sensors detected you - alone - in the room this morning... a security sweep last night showed no trace of a bomb, and no one else entered the room." He seemed to be uncomfortable with his next words. "When I examined the device, I found traces of your DNA, and a clear thumbprint, that station records confirmed as yours." Odo looked her straight in the eyes, almost pleadingly. "Major Kira Nerys, I have to ask you, under Bajoran and Federation law: Did you plant this device?"

Kira's mouth dropped open, stunned. "Why would I... I don't do that anymore!" Kira swivelled around to face Sisko desperately. "Sir, I swear to you with all I believe in, I DID NOT plant that bomb."

Sisko looked at Kira for a full minute before saying anything. "I would like to see more evidence, Constable, before we go around accusing the station's leading Bajoran of terrorism."

Odo nodded. "There is more evidence. Unknown to all but myself, I installed security cameras in the room, just before the talks began. The cameras are activated by movement, so when you entered the room, they began recording." He pressed a button on a console, and a monitor flickered into life.

The monitor showed Kira walking through the door of the wardroom. She paced around for a few minutes, staring out of the windows, running her hand along the computer station, before leaning against the back of a chair where the Romulan's usually sat. Her hand dropped down the back of the chair for a few moments, as her mind appeared to wander, before returning to rest on the top of the table. Suddenly, Sela entered the room, and stopped short as she saw Kira. They spoke for a moment, before Sela pulled out a small object, and ran it over various objects in the room. Next, the rest of the delegations came into the room, and crowded around Kira, as she spoke to them for a moment, before all the Romulans left the room. Kira stayed for a few moments, shook her head, and left, ending the recording.

Kira stood stunned, as every eye turned to her. "We found the bomb on the back of the chair you were leaning against, Major. The one you ran your hand down. That must have been when you planted the bomb."

"How could you do this?" Winn was hissing like an angry snake. "I trusted you to be responsible and gave you one last chance to prove yourself worthy to wear that uniform, and how have you repaid that trust? With betrayal and treason." Winn looked at Kira as if the major were something she had scraped off her boots. "Who were you trying to kill with that bomb, the Romulans....or me? I will see you hang for this."

Kira looked wildly around for support, but it was Odo's next words that sent a chill down her spine. "The evidence is stacked against you, Major." He stood, as if a great weight had settled on his shoulders. "Under Bajoran and Federation laws, I am forced to place you under--"

The Kai was in Sisko's arms before anyone knew anything was happening, and the Romulans groped for disrupters that weren't at their sides, as Kira bolted out of the room, sprinting faster than she had ever moved before. Odo could have stopped her, Sisko thought dimly, but he just stood behind his desk, watching Kira disappear around the curve of the Promenade. Sisko smiled; he probably would have done the same thing.

Kira Nerys hugged the wall, as she peered around the corner to see if security had tracked her down yet. She couldn't hear any noise, so she quietly padded down the corridor, searching for an entrance to the transit conduits. Her combadge had been discarded back on the promenade, but it was the station's internal sensors that really worried her.

"Sorry Captain. I didn't betray you, but I can't prove that from a prison cell." Kira whispered gently, as she pulled a grating off from a conduit opening, and crawled in, effectively hiding from the station's computers.

An hour later, a dusty, dirty, Bajoran female pulled herself out of an air-duct, and landed face first on the deck beneath. Standing up, she winced at the bruises that seemed to cover most of her body, and looked at her surroundings. "Well, that was fun." Her voice echoed in the darkness. Limping over to the wall, Nerys tried to operate an old replicator, but it simply fizzled at her, and spat sparks. "I knew I should have paid attention when the Chief tried to teach me electronics!"

Sitting against a wall, Kira collected her thoughts, speaking aloud into the darkness. "The security logs say that no-one else entered the room. I know that I didn't plant the bomb. Therefore, either somebody else has changed the logs, or that bomb was planted under my very nose." Kira thought about both options for a long time, before speaking again. "Odo would have spotted a change in the security logs, he's seen enough of them. Therefore, that bomb was put there while I was in the room."

Nerys' eyes grew large, as she realised the enormity of what she had said. "Sela." The single word weighed as heavily as her impending death, should the station's security teams catch up with her. There had been a close shave earlier, when a team had come close to her hiding place, but they had turned and gone away before reaching the cabinet that she was holding closed, literally by nothing more than a fingernail.

She had found her way into the bowels of the station, the places where no-one, not even the Chief, dared to come. Unstable decking meant that this part of her command was declared off-limits to all personnel. O'Brien was trying to work his way down to these levels, but it was slow going. Kira had always hated the fact that the Cardassians had made this part of the station useless, but for now, it was a refuge that made her more than happy about its existence.

Kira suddenly found herself very hungry, and very tired. The food she couldn't do anything about, but sleep.....Nerys took off her jacket to use as a pillow, curled up in a corner, and let herself slip into a dreamless sleep. She would search for a working replicator when she awoke.

Sisko stared out of his office window, looking at a small star just to the left of a blue giant, ignoring the Kai who sat quietly in front of his desk. He heard the door open, and saw Odo's reflection in the window, as the Changeling entered the room. "Have you found her yet?"

"No." Odo's voice was unusually soft. "She knows this station better than almost anybody else, and the simple fact is, that if she doesn't want to be found, there's very little we can do about it."

'Which means that he doesn't want to find her, either.' Sisko thought. Turning, Benjamin sat down and motioned for his security chief to do the same. "So, what you're saying is that I've got a suspected bomber running loose on my station, and I can't do anything about it?"

"Basically. In a few days, I might be able...." Odo found himself cut off in mid-sentence by the woman next to him.

"Can't find her?" Kai Winn's voice broke into the conversation. "Do you mean that a terrorist, with unlimited access to this station, is uncatchable?"

"Major Kira is NOT a terrorist." Sisko slammed his hands down on table, and leaned over until he was only centimetres from her face. "She is a valued officer of this station, my crew, and a personal friend, and I intend to prove her innocence in this matter."

"Captain." Kai Winn rose to meet Sisko's stance. "I expect that all Starfleet and Bajoran rules and regulations will be followed to the letter, and that when this....terrorist is captured, that she will be turned over to the proper Bajoran authorities for trial and probable execution. Is this clear?" Winn was clearly satisfied that she had Sisko by the throat.

Sisko nodded tightly as Winn stalked out of his office, and moved towards the turbolifts. Dax, Worf, Bashir, and O'Brien came into the office as Sisko sat down, and spun around to face out to the stars again. "People, I want her found, and I want it done as quickly and quietly as possible." Turning to face them, he noticed the worry on their faces, and knew it was echoed in his own. "Does anybody have any idea where she might have gone?"

"She obviously used the conduits to get away." O'Brien spoke first, after a long silence during which they all just looked at each other helplessly. "I was trying to track her as soon as the constable called me, but nothing showed up, except her discarded combadge."

"She might have gone back to her quarters." Julian seemed hopeful, but pipped down as Dax shot him a withering look.

"Julian, we're talking about an ex-resistance fighter here." She turned to address the rest of the crew. "Kira's going to go to ground in the last place we'd look for her, which means that she could be anywhere, even in the airducts above us right now."

"This is the problem of having people around who aren't trained by Starfleet." Worf rumbled quietly. "She should have stayed and faced her trial with dignity and honour, not run like a coward."

"If she had, Kira would be dead by the end of the week." Dax almost yelled at the larger Klingon, but reigned her temper in, just in time. "Kira isn't a coward, but she isn't stupid either. The evidence was against her, so she took the only course of action that was open to her. Besides, you don't know the Kai." Dax's voice had become softer, almost afraid. "If there's one person in this universe who would be glad to see Nerys dead, it's her."

"Agreed." Odo spoke for the first time. "Winn has already asked that we hand Kira over to the Bajoran's as soon as we find her, and Winn holds enough power within the government to see that Kira dies, whether decided by a trial, or by an 'unfortunate mishap'."

"Not quite." Sisko looked up at the others with a gleam in his eyes. "The Kai has requested that we follow all rules and regulations to the letter. So we're going to." Standing, he motioned the others in closer. "As of now, you are all off duty. Go back to your quarters, and leave messages on your consoles for her, giving Kira a contact code if she wants to talk to you. Chief, take a small team and scan all conduits by hand for DNA traces. Once we've found her trail, I'll follow it personally. That way, I'm the only one responsible. Dismissed." As the officers left, Ben motioned for Odo to stay for a moment.

"Odo, I want you to pull off all security details that are watching Quark and Garak."

"You think she might try to contact either of them?" Odo seemed to consider the idea briefly, and nodded in agreement. "It's what a fugitive would do, if they had no-where else to turn."

"I'd like to think that she would turn to us, but that's a chance we can't take." Sisko walked to the door, and continued to talk to Odo. "Right now, she's scared and angry. Someone's set her up, and if I know Kira, she's going to try to get hold of equipment to prove her innocence, and only two people on this station can provide that kind of assistance."

As they reached the promenade, the station monk, Prylar Griff, approached Sisko. "Captain, is it true? The rumours say that our Major Kira has attempted to kill the Romulan's and the Kai, and is running for her life." A crowd of Bajoran's gathered around to listen to the answer.

Sisko took careful stock of the crowd, and decided to take the risk. "We need to help Major Kira prove that she didn't commit this crime, but we can't do that while ever she's hiding from us. I need to get her side of the story, so I can find out who set her up. Please, if you see Kira, ask her to stay with you, and I will come to her, or to arrange to meet me somewhere. I promise her it won't be a trap. Thank you."

"If Nerys contacts me, I'll pass on your message. But Captain," the monks face turned hard. "I won't force her to go to her death." With that, he turned and walked back to the station shrine.

"Kira could be in there right now, and there's no way we'd know." Sisko mused quietly, as he and Odo continued towards Garak's.

Rultan and Goral sat in their room, and tried to ignore the moans of pain that were coming from the main room, where T'gan was punishing Sela for failing to detect the bomb discovered in the wardroom.

"You know," T'gan was using a conversational tone. "Once upon a time, we had to actually inflict injuries on a criminal when we wanted to punish them. Now, all we have to do is put an electronic collar on them, and push a button to 're-educate' you." With this, he stroked a switch on his belt, and watched as Sela groaned in agony on her bed as the belt around her waist sent electric shocks through her body.

"I think you're on your last mission, Sub-Commander." T'gan turned off the shocks, and waited until Sela stopped shaking, and he was sure she could hear him. "You let me down, and almost got us killed with your stupidity. Not to mention making us look like fools in front of the Bajoran's and the Federation." He glared at Sela as she looked up at him "Be assured. The moment we re-enter Romulan space, you will be executed for your failures, as should have happened years ago. But for now, I need to know more about this new negotiator, this 'Kai Winn'." T'gan looked at the formal Bajoran request to change negotiators that he had accepted only minutes before. "She seems to be an easy target, but looks can be deceiving."

"You said that the major would be easy too," Sela sat up from the bed that she had been lying on, and turned to face the Senator. "but she lasted three days and showed no signs of giving in, until she planted that bomb." Sela's expression was thoughtful. "I don't understand why she did that. It doesn't fit with what I had learnt about her at all."

"It doesn't matter now." T'gan smiled wolfishly. "She will be tried by her own people, so the matter is no longer our problem."

Sela shook her head, and looked down at her boots. Unlike the others, who had been given private rooms, she had been ordered to sleep in the main room on a camp bed. After all, what was a bodyguard for, if not to be the first to get shot? Still, it didn't make sense for the Bajoran to go to such lengths to upset the talks, and particularly such violent ones. Sela hadn't had much to do with the Bajorans, but she did pride herself on being a good judge of character, and Kira had seemed genuine enough.

"Well, what are you sitting around for?" T'Gan's voice brought her back to reality. "Get down to the promenade and see what you can discover about this new Bajoran that we have to deal with." With that, T'gan turned and ignored the Romulan as she marched out of the room, and went to Quark's.

"Minister Shakaar, the evidence against the Major has already condemned her to death. There is no possible excuse for the sentence to be commuted to a prison penalty." Winn's expression curdled the coffee on Shakaar's desk. "I realise it's a great shock to you to realise that your lover is a murderer, but facts are facts. Goodbye, Minister." Winn stood and flounced out of Sisko's office, as the Human turned the monitor to face him.

"Captain, please tell me that the Kai has jumped ahead of herself, and Nerys isn't a killer." Adan's face pleaded with the officer before him.

"I'm sorry, but so far, all the evidence points to Kira being fully responsible for what she's been accused of." Ben shook his head sadly. "I can't even try to help her myself. Right now, I have to hunt down my own First Officer, and as you well know, her past is going to make that an almost impossible task."

"All this because I talked her into accepting the situation." The Bajoran was trying to hold back tears. "Captain, when you find her, please let me talk to her, before she's executed. There's a lot I need to say." Ben nodded. "I'll see you're given as much time as I can, before the Militia take her away." Shakaar nodded abruptly and turned off his monitor, as Sisko turned off all the lights in his office, and spun to face the stars.

It was night on the station, but the security details were still out and about, searching in all the places that might have been overlooked earlier. The chief had found Kira's trail, and tagged her to a deep, disused storeroom, but she was long gone by the time Sisko had arrived.

"Well, at least we know she's alright." Benjamin glanced at Dax. "Have you checked with Garak and Quark recently?"

"Yes. When last asked, they were still waiting on the materials for your new suit to arrive, but they'll contact us when it comes in." Dax had spoken in hushed tones so that no-one, aside from Sisko and O'Brien, would hear the code phrase that had been set up to let them know when Kira made contact with the two local rogues.

"Well, we're not achieving anything down here." Sisko raised his voice, and motioned for all present to leave the area. "She's backtracked down her trail, so we can't follow anymore." Turning, he spoke to constable Odo. "Leave a detail here for the next day or so, but I doubt she'll be back. Meanwhile, alert all other teams that the major is on the move, so they're to be extra careful. And make sure they understand that phasers are to be set for stun only."

Sisko's comm badge chirped. "Delany to Sisko: we've found the major. She's just gone into a Jeffries tube on level twelve, we don't know where she's heading, but we have a trail now... she's wounded."

"I hope that she was wounded before you saw her," Sisko growled. "Because I gave explicit instructions that she was not to be harmed."

"Uh, not... exactly, Captain," Delany stammered. "We thought we saw something else running around, a vole, and we fired at that, and instead we hit a wall, and the shrapnel sliced into the major..."

Dax slipped forward, and banged her head against a bulkhead. "If she's injured, Benjamin, she'll be that much harder to find."

Sisko nodded agreement. "Find out where she's going, Ensign. But not too far: she's a cornered animal now, and she'll be at her most dangerous." He paused, looking at Dax for a moment. "How severely was she injured?"

"Ah...bad shrapnel wound... she won't have much use in her arm for a while. And that's even if she gets medical treatment." Delany paused, as if going over his orders. "You don't want us to try and capture her? Or follow her to wherever she's going?"

"She's an ex-resistance fighter, Delany," Dax interjected. "Do YOU want to give her a chance to strut her stuff?" The channel closed. To Sisko, Dax simply said, "He was asking for it. Want a drink at Quark's?"

Sisko took a look around. "I don't think we'll find any trace of her here," he said slowly. "A drink to get a new perspective would be fine." He looked around the cargo bay. "Clean up the bay, Mister O'Brien."

"Captain, Delany needs -" Realisation dawned on O'Brien's face. "Oh, of course. My job, isn't it?" He bustled off as Sisko and Dax walked to the Promenade, where they ran into Worf, striding along the almost empty deck.

"We've put sensors in all turbolifts, and placed scanners next to all working replicators, except for the ones open to the public. If she tries to use any of them, or use the lifts, we'll detect her immediately. Odo and I are taking spilt shifts so that there will always be a security officer on duty, and all security personnel have been rostered to check on all outgoing vessels, including shuttles to Bajor."

"The Bajoran government has informed us that they have taken all private transporters in her home province off-line. If she makes it to Bajor, she's got a long walk ahead of her. Dakhur is in the middle of the back country, in the southern continent. Its only export is that the people it breeds are as tough as the land itself." Dax chose her words carefully.

"Make sure to test the sensors often." Sisko grinned evilly. "If I know Kira, she probably knows ten different ways to confuse our sensors, and I wouldn't put it past her to practise a little sabotage to help her get around. I know I would." He took a glance at an airduct. "And she's wounded now, so make sure the infirmary is secured as well."

Worf nodded. "I understand."

With that, the command crew left the area, unaware that a body in the airduct had heard every word, and was spitting chips about her Captain's damn efficiency. However, Nerys knew something that Sisko didn't: that Garak often used his shop's clothing replicator to grab a snack, since he had rewired it to provide food as well as sewing supplies. And if there was one thing she had memorised, it was Garak's authorisation codes for his shop. Sliding backwards as best she could with her injured shoulder, she moved towards the duct that would take her close to the Cardassians shop.

Which was exactly what Sisko wanted in the first place.

Garak was sitting in the darkness of his shop, when he heard a small noise under the floor. He wondered if it might be a vole, when a thud told him otherwise. Grinning, he decided that, unless voles had learned to swear in fluent Bajoran, it was probably a certain major who was playing hide and seek with the station crew. Waiting just a little longer, he heard the grating being removed from the shops air conduit, and a body stealthily moving towards his well-lit replicator. Standing, the Cardassian took a step around the corner, and saw Kira Nerys trying to read the menu on the side of the machine, one arm hanging at her side.

"I believe Hasperat is number twelve on the menu, Major." Garak savoured the expression on the woman's face, as she whirled to face him, panic clearly setting in. Raising his hands slowly, Garak showed her that he was unarmed, as he continued quietly. "It's alright Major. I was expecting you to pay me a visit. After all, every fugitive needs a new set of clothes." Gently, Garak lead Kira to a chair, and placed a full bowl of food on the table in front of her, checking her wound briefly before continuing the conversation.

"It's common knowledge that you have apparently tried to kill the Romulan delegation and Kai Winn. What isn't so well known, is that Captain Sisko will help you as much as he can, but he can't do it publicly. Openly, he has to continue trying to hunt you down." Kira raised her head slowly as the Cardassian mentioned her commanding officer.

"What does he believe?" Kira's voice was full of worry, as she wincingly touched her torn-up arm and found that she was still bleeding. "Does he think I'm innocent, or not?"

"He isn't sure, but he wants to get your side of the story before committing himself to a decision. He's already made it clear that he's prepared to meet you anywhere you want, and that it won't be a trap, so he can get your story." He smiled as Kira finished wolfing down her first meal in twenty hours, stood up and pulled out a satchel and handed it to Kira. She found it awkward to grab things now with an injured shoulder. Garak wondered how long her immune system would keep infection out. Probably not long with all the blood and dirt that was in her injuries.

"What's this?" Kira spoke quietly to the Cardassian in front of her. She had obviously been set up, but it seemed that the station's local troublemakers were on her side.

"A change of clothes. As appealing as that uniform is, it makes you stick out in the crowd. This way, if anybody sees you, you'll just look like any other Bajoran." Nodding towards the back, he added "You can get changed in there. I'll just pull the station's access tubes plans out of the computer, and we'll be on our way."

"Where are we going?" Kira wanted to trust the man, but years of mistrust still held her back.

"To Quark's. If anyone can hide you, he can." Garak took a worried glance at her shoulder. "Are you okay? That looks pretty painful."

"I'll be fine." Turning, she stumbled into the changing rooms, as Garak debated whether to call Bashir, but eventually decided against it. A few minutes later, Kira and Garak were crawling through the station's internal system, taking the scenic way to Quark's. As they went passed a tunnel junction, Kira noticed a Cardassian vole watching as they moved by. Reaching out, she tried to kick the animal, but it merely sat up and chattered at her.

"Careful major, you never know who you might meet down here." Garak nodded knowingly at the vole, and moved forward a little with a sly smile.

"Odo?" Kira looked closely at the animal, and could have sworn that it winked at her.

The vole turned and ran back down the corridor, as the two people continued towards the casino. Finally, they reached their destination, and Garak kicked in the grate that led to the Ferengi's office. Standing in the office, he reached back and helped Nerys out of the conduit, just as Quark walked in. "We need to put her in your storeroom, and it needs to be done fast." Garak normally would have liked to tease the little man, but there simply wasn't time at the moment. Afterwards, perhaps.

"This way." Without another word, Quark led them to a well hidden room, thats' door looked like just another wall panel. "I used to hide supplies for the resistance in here, not to mention people themselves. I didn't think I'd ever be hiding you in here though, Major." Opening the room, he pointed out various articles. "Bathroom through that small door at the back, camp bed against the wall, blankets, and food. I apologise for the dust, but I wasn't given much warning."

"I really do appreciate this Quark. Honest." The Cardassian and the Ferengi looked at each other; Kira must really be worried if she was thanking Quark!

"In." Garak took charge, and began to shut the door. "They'll be scanning again soon. I'll tell you tomorrow what's going on. Sleep well."

With that, the door shut, and Kira Nerys sat down on the bed. She knew that Sisko and the others would do all they could to help her, but the real question was, would it be enough. Turning out the light, she lay down and stared into the darkness for a long time, before the pain finally took over, and she cried herself to sleep.

Above the bar, a figure watched the three below, taking note of the exact positioning of Kira's hiding place, before slipping away into the shadows and creeping back to their room.

T'gan glared across the Wardroom's table at Winn, getting visibly angry as time went on. Dax knew the Romulan was near his breaking point, as was she. As a negotiator, Winn had no experience. Political intrigue and backstabbing, yes. The finer points of diplomacy, no. Definitely not. Rultan stood, almost as if to strike the Kai, but thought better of it, whispered something to T'gan, and left the room.

"Where is your aide going, Senator?" Winn asked, breaking off in the middle of a 'request'.

"That is none of your business," T'gan snapped, his temper fraying even more. The major, he could take. The Kai... well, her demands - postured, of course, as requests - were getting more and more unreasonable. The latest was demanding that the Romulans hand over all available information on cloaking technologies to the Bajorans. Unreasonable.

Goral placed a hand on T'Gan's wrist, and whispered something in T'Gan's ear. T'gan pulled his temper down under control with difficulty, and took a deep breath. "Excuse me, Kai. Where my aide is going has nothing to do with the talks." He was lying, and Winn knew it. But she didn't know that Rultan had left because he had nearly leapt across the table at her. That would have been... an unfortunate diplomatic incident. But perhaps the Bajorans wouldn't mind, and then they could send a real negotiator. Right now, T'gan would have given anything to have suggested a slap on the wrists for the major rather than execution.

Winn went to continue; she hadn't yet reached her stride, and she had been talking straight for three hours. And two hours before that, before the earlier break, when Dax had been called away by Sisko. And Dax had had enough. She lightly placed her hand on Winn's, while looking at the Romulans. "I think that this interruption would be a good time to end the talks for today." About time, she thought. Had Curzon seemed like this to people on the other side of the table? She hoped not. Causing entire species to commit suicide through boredom could cut an ego down to size very quickly... if you were intelligent enough to realise that it was you that had caused it. Winn wasn't.

But she readily agreed, and walked out of the wardroom. T'gan looked appreciatively at the Trill for a moment. "Curzon Dax's reputation as a diplomat is well deserved."

Dax shone brightly, and suggested a drink at Quark's to talk over the Kai's... unique... style of diplomacy. T'gan agreed readily, and stood to leave.

Sela, however, reminded T'gan of a communication that needed to sent to Romulus, and the Praetor. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Commander, but it seems that I won't be able to join you for that drink after all."

T'gan left, with Goral close behind. Sela stayed back, observing the Trill with a curious glance. "I'd keep a close eye on that Ferengi of yours," she said, finally. "He's keeping watch on endangered species." Sela turned on her heel, and walked out the door after her companions.

"I hope you didn't get that message wrong, Old Man," Sisko muttered, feeling uncomfortable entering Quark's in his civvies.

"Sela isn't as devious as Garak, Benjamin. She's more like transparent aluminium than a bulkhead." Dax scanned the crowd for Quark, and saw him heading towards them with an air of innocence.

"Captain, Lieutenant Commander," he said, opening his arms out wide, welcoming them to the bar. He attempted to kiss Dax's hand, but it somehow escaped him, and slapped his face lightly. Unperturbed, and with a cheeky grin, he turned to Sisko. "I have something for you, Captain." Leading them to the bar, he sat them down, and grabbed Nog's ear.

"A bottle of Bajoran brandy, Nog, and hurry." To Dax, "On the house. For a lovely lady." When Nog returned, he took the bottle, and clipped him around the ear. "Go and study, you haven't been doing that for some time."

"Because I haven't had the time, uncle," Nog muttered as he left.

"Kids," Quark laughed. He stared straight into Sisko's eyes. "I recently came into possession of a very rare plant. A Bajoran flame plant, as a matter of fact."

Sisko just stared at the Ferengi. "I'm not interested in plants, Quark. I've heard you have something I want."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Captain!" He started waving his hands around in the air. "The type is rare, one of a kind. No Starfleet captain could be without one. It has a unique survival camouflage that hides it from it's predators... which number in the, oh, hundreds."

"I'm not interested in hearing about plants, Quark." Sisko winced as he found an elbow dig deeply into his ribs. He looked at Dax, who glared at him meaningfully. Sisko snapped into the present, and thought about what Quark was saying... or, rather, what he wasn't. "A plant? It wouldn't be a rare, red-leafed variety from the Dakhur province, would it?

"Yes!" Quark almost jumped in the air, but he knew he couldn't afford to: you never knew who might be watching or listening, and it just wouldn't do to have the Kai ask for a flame plant at all. "It's been mistreated lately, and needs some attention... especially that of a plant doctor." Quark paused for a moment, wondering if there really was such an occupation, then continued. "Sh... It's in the back room, ready for you to inspect, if you want to."

"No... No." Sisko straightened, and noticed a confused glance from Dax. He turned to talk to her. "I've heard that plants respond to sound and speech in particular, rather than to a physical presence." He turned back to Quark. "Tell it... that a botanist will be in to make a thorough examination... and that we're trying kill off the predators, but it could take some time before we manage to eradicate them all, and find out who was responsible for the mistreatment he's suffered."

As Dax and Sisko left the bar later, after copious amounts of free Bajoran brandy had flown down dry throats, Dax stopped Sisko for a moment. "Benjamin... what did you mean, he?"

Sisko replied with a grin. "I call all inanimate objects 'he'. It's a habit. It's also safer."

Julian was just finishing his daily shift in the infirmary when Dax strolled through the door. "Julian, I need you to inspect a plant that Sisko bought. It's a Bajoran Flame Plant, apparently a rare one of the species."

"Dax, I'm hardly a botanist." Bashir gathered up all his loose equipment, and stowed it away. "I think you should get Keiko O'Brien to have--"

He found himself being led out the door as Dax grabbed a field triage kit, and almost dragged him to Quark's. "First, we're going to have a drink, and then you're going to have a private dinner with Garak, at which you're going to examine the plant." As she signalled Quark to bring over two drinks, Dax saw Garak enter the bar. "Don't forget: You're having a quiet, private dinner, at which, you examined a sick house plant." With those words, Dax waltzed out the door, as Garak smoothly took her place.

"Doctor, what a pleasant surprise." The Cardassian's face creased as he seemed to have an idea. "Why don't you join me for dinner? I hear that Quark's replicator can make a great meal of Tuspah eggs and Yamok sauce."

"Why not?" As Bashir picked up the nearby med-kit, he muttered to Garak "Is anybody going tell me what's going on?"

"All in good time, doctor. All in good time." As Quark bustled up, Garak asked for a private room, and the Julian found himself being led to a small room at the back of the casino.

"Doctor, I would appreciate you forgetting that this room exists." As the Ferengi spoke, he pushed a small panel next to the light switch, and a piece of the wall swept back, to reveal a long, narrow room.

Stepping inside with Garak, Julian heard a light switch being flicked on, and gasped at the sight of Major Kira Nerys lying on a bed, her right arm swathed in bandages that were covered in blood, obviously suffering from a bad infection. "How long's she been here?" Julian swung into action, slicing the cloth off Kira's arm, and hypoing her full of antibiotics. Kira moaned, and tried to push the man away from her.

"Since last night." Garak helped hold Nerys down as Julian began to clean up her wound. "We wanted to get you in here sooner, but she wouldn't let Quark call you. Then he brought her lunch, and she was like this." Kira had fallen quiet after Bashir had given her a painkiller, and seemed to be coming around. "We were about to get a message to the Captain, when he and Dax walked into the bar."

"Did anyone get the name of the shuttle that hit me?" Kira's eyes opened up, and she glanced at Julian. "Nice to see you, doctor. I suppose Sisko knows where I am by now?"

"I wouldn't know. I'm just examining a sick Bajoran Flame plant." Bashir smiled himself as a grin appeared on Kira's face.

"Nice analogy." The woman groaned as she slowly raised herself off the thin bed, and swung her legs around to hit the floor. "Julian, I didn't know you travelled in pairs. There seem to be two of you here."

"No, only one." Bashir pushed the injured woman back down as she tried to stand up. "Forget it, Nerys. You're not going anywhere, but to the infirmary, for a long rest."

"If you do that, she'll be dead within the week." Garak looked at both officers before him, and explained. "I overheard a rumour that when Kira was captured, she wasn't to leave the station alive."

"I guess that this means that I'll be staying here for a while longer, then?" Kira held Bashir's gaze for as long as she could. "I didn't plant that bomb, Julian. I swear I didn't, but I think I know who did." Nerys leaned forward, as her eyes blazed with their old intensity. "I've been thinking about what happened that day, and I wasn't the only one in the room. Sela came into the room, just after I did, and then all the other delegates came in."

"They were your prints on the bomb." Julian seemed almost to be talking to himself. "I checked it myself." Bashir pulled himself to his feet, and packed up his equipment. "I have to go and talk to Captain Sisko. He'll be able to figure out what to do, and I need to tell him that his 'plant' is going to be okay."

"Before you go, how are the talks going?" Kira seemed anxious to find out what was happening in the outside world. "Please tell me that they are doing alright?"

"The Kai has taken over, with Dax as her adviser." Julian walked to the door. "You are to have plenty of food, fluids, and rest. And no arguments will be entered into." Julian pretended to be stern, but couldn't keep the grin off his face, as he marched out the door, leaving Kira and Garak looking after him with unabashed astonishment.

"So, doctor, how is my flame tree doing?" Ben Sisko caught up with Bashir just as the young doctor left Quark's. "Will it survive?"

"For the moment, but I'd get rid of its enemies soon." Julian dropped his voice, as both men hurried towards the security office. "Soon it's going to need serious attention, more than I can give it in a back storeroom."

They entered the office to find Odo and Worf having an intense 'discussion' with the Kai, who seemed to be trying to get permission for someone to come to the station.

"Kai Winn," Sisko's voice was as soothing as a bed of six inch nails, and about as pointed in its dislike. "Is there a problem with your visit to us here on the station?"

"Your security chief is blockading my efforts to bring aboard extra security staff to assist in the hunt for the terrorist currently at large on the station." Winn paused for breath as Odo broke in.

"She wants to bring aboard enough Bajoran Militia to perform a complete station sweep, and they'll have orders to shoot to kill." He glared at Winn, and continued. "The local station personnel will be excluded from the 'hunt', as she insists on calling it."

"So, what you want to do is put this station in a state of emergency over just one person." Sisko moved around, and took Odo's place at the changeling's desk. "Kai, I think you're over-reacting to the problem."

"I don't believe there is such a thing as over-reacting, in this case. Your own officers have admitted how dangerous Kira is, and now she's wounded, I expect Kira's even more deadly." The Kai reminded Sisko of a documentary he had once seen on an ancient Earth creature called a shark, and she was about as dangerous. "I have warned you many times that she was a violent person, and have tried to have her removed from this post, for the good of Bajor and the Federation, on several occasions. I regret that it has taken an event of this kind to prove that I was right."

"Since I took command of this station five years ago, Kai, I have never known the Major to be anything but trustworthy and respectable." It was a bit of an exaggeration, but Sisko didn't really mind. He was similar himself when it came to the rules and regulations that Kira regularly broke. They were far enough away from Federation space to allow themselves a few breaches of law. "If something is in the station's best interests, Kira will not do anything to interfere. If something's in Bajor's best interests, then Kira won't interfere. This treaty is in both of our best interests. Kira did not plant that bomb."

"You can ask your security chief, Emissary," Winn replied. "The major's DNA and fingerprints were found all over the device." She sat back, entirely satisfied with her case.

"I'm afraid that fingerprints and DNA traces no longer hold much validity in Federation law," Odo smiled pleasantly over the desk at the Kai, who grimaced in disgust. Odo smiling could be a disconcerting experience. "And there were no witnesses, so we have no proof that the major did plant that bomb. At best, all evidence is circumstantial. And that's not enough on this station." Odo leaned forward and glared at the woman. "By both you and the Romulans finding her guilty as accused, and sentencing her to death before a trial, we may have lost any chance of proving Kira innocent."

"Captain, it appears as if your information is out of date." The Kai grinned evilly, and Sisko knew he was about to hear the death blow to Kira's chances of life. "This afternoon, the major was court-martialled in absentia, and sentenced to death by hanging. When she is found, she will have the regulation twenty-six hours to complete her affairs, before she is taken to the public gallows, and executed."

The officers in the room were as still as stone, stunned by the words they had just heard. Slowly, Sisko turned to face the Kai, who was leaning forward as if she expected him to make Kira appear out of thin air. "Then I have no choice," he spoke slowly, not believing what he was being forced to do, "but to declare Major Kira number one enemy of this station, and order all security teams to shoot to stun on sight."

Kai Winn stood with a look of utter triumph on her face. "In that case, you should have no objection to me bringing the militia to the station, to assist your forces in bringing this criminal to justice?"

Sisko nodded dumbly, but talked again, just before the Bajoran left the room. "Don't bring them aboard just yet, please." He stood, and moved around to stand before her. "I want another twenty-six hours to try and find her ourselves, and close this matter relatively quietly. And when they do come in, they will be under Constable Odo's command with orders to have their phasers on stun only. Agreed?"

"Very well." Winn was feeling benevolent, since she would now be able to place her own puppet officer within the command crew, and that would give her control over the political, spiritual, and military future of Bajor, and more direct control over the wormhole. "I, meanwhile, will attempt to wind up these talks as soon as possible." With that, she swept out of the room, and headed towards the station shrine.

The four officers watched her go and then turned to face their commanding officer. "What do we do now?" Bashir gulped. "We can't let the Kai find her, Kira won't stand a chance, especially since she's injure-" Julian suddenly stopped, as he realised he'd almost said too much.

"Doctor, why do I think you know more than you should about her injuries?" Odo steadily looked the young man. "If you know where she is, I have to ask you to tell me."

"The doctor has merely been examining a new house plant for me, a Bajoran Flame Plant as a matter of fact." Sisko stared at Odo, until a ghost of a smile crossed the shape-shifters face, and he nodded. "So I don't think we need to bother him any more do we?"

"Not at all. How is the...plant...?" Concern crossed Odo's face. "I hope it's doing okay."

"It'll be okay, but we need to remove all predators soon so I can take it to the infirmary for more specific treatment." With that, Julian escaped to his quarters for a well earned rest from political intrigue, while Sisko, Odo, and Worf discussed security long into the night.

Dax wandered around her room restlessly. Her friend was lying in a back room of a casino, dying from what Julian had said, and they had no way of getting her back. Bashir had shown Dax the file he had opened so that he could keep track of Nerys' injuries, and the changes weren't good. He could keep the infection at bay, but only for a little while longer, and any movement might damage the shoulder permanently, not to mention causing excruciating agony.

Sipping a drink, Dax looked at the birthday present that Kira had given her only three weeks before. It was an enclosed bowl showing a traditional Bajoran village with people working in the fields, building, living their lives, and it had a holo of the Bajoran national symbol with the wormhole behind that. Kira had said that the soil in the bottom of the bowl had come from her home province, so that her friend would always have a little bit of Bajor with her, wherever she went.

Curzon had made many friends over his life, but Kira Nerys was the best friend that Jadzia Dax had made. It hurt the Trill to know that the last five years had still not helped heal the pain and trauma that a lifetime's worth of survival had caused. Dax knew that there were still deep places within Nerys' heart that harboured vicious scars, places that no-one would ever manage to heal, scars that it would take another lifetime's worth of counselling and therapy before they would even begin to stop hurting, stop waking the Bajoran up at night with cold sweats, dreaming of hells that Dax could not possibly imagine surviving.

Picking up her private notes on the treaty talks, Dax made Kira a promise: That whatever happened, those talks would be successful. And that it would be Kira who got the credit for making that success possible.

T'gan couldn't believe his ears. The Kai had been polite and civil all morning, and even conceded that, perhaps, she had been a little too enthusiastic over the previous days with the concessions that the Romulan Empire had to make to Bajor, before they would allow them access to the wormhole, so something must have happened overnight. But according to Sela, word on the station was that the major was still on the run, and that the station personnel were calling in extra help from Bajor to hunt for her.

T'gan had been letting the Kai speak for the last twenty minutes, and decided that the time had come to try and find out exactly what was going on. Clearing his throat, he broke in to Winn's speech. "On another matter, has station security managed to find Major Kira yet? I haven't heard anything about her capture or death."

Dax jumped in before Winn could gloat over Kira's fall from grace, and answered the Romulan. "Our security chief is pursuing all sightings, as the major has been declared an outlaw by Captain Sisko. Unfortunately, Kira knows this station better than almost anyone else, and as she is very experienced with hiding from the enemy, it means that it's almost impossible to find her without taking the station apart piece by piece."

"This is most unfortunate..." T'Gan's face almost made Dax believe that he may have even been genuinely regretful. Dax could see that Winn believed him, and that might not be such a good idea. "If any of my people can help... I would appreciate if I could be of some assistance." I bet you would, Dax thought with a smile. "That won't be necessary, but thank you -"

Winn laid a hand on Dax's arm. "I'm sure Captain Sisko will appreciate -"

"The reason for these talks are to find commonalities between the Romulans and the Bajorans... not to tell Captain Sisko how to do his job. Or to hunt down an accused individual."

T'gan didn't seem perturbed, but he leaned back in his chair, and took a look at Goral. "If you were, to say, allow us to take the major back to Romulus when she is captured..."

Winn jumped in. "I don't agree with that." Dax could almost see the thumbscrews come out of hiding back in the Vedek Assembly. Kira's relationship with Bareil had given her some very powerful alliances within the assembly, none of whom would be pleased if Kira was handed over to the Romulans.

"She did attempt to kill us," Goral added. "It should be on Romulus that she be tried."

"And in return, we will pull back all our other requests, and accept all your requirements for wormhole access." T'gan looked at Goral, who nodded.

Winn's eyes opened, and Dax saw thumbscrews being put away for an indefinite amount of time. Winn's mind went to warp speeds, wondering what she could get away with without her old nemesis nearby... or even alive. "That would be -"

"Up to Captain Sisko." Dax interjected.

"I'm afraid, child, that you don't have the -"

Dax removed Winn's hand from her arm, and glared at the Kai. "I'm afraid I do." She stood up, breaking the talks' momentum, and throwing everything out of place. "This station, while it's Bajoran property, is under Starfleet administration. Which means Captain Sisko has final say over anything that happens to his crew." She moved a little closer to Winn. "Which means, you have no say in whether Major Kira is tried on Bajor, on Romulus, or wherever."

"But she's a Bajoran National," the Kai protested.

"She's a member of this crew, on a station commanded by Starfleet. Starfleet made sure these conditions of administration were clear to the Provisional Government when we moved in. Obviously you haven't read the agreement yet. We'll recommence these talks tonight." Dax turned on her heel, and walked out of the room.

Quark sat uncomfortably in a chair in Sisko's office, wondering what he had been called into a meeting of the senior staff for. They were all there, except for Odo, who had decided that he didn't need to know about the whereabouts of an injured flame plant. Sisko sat in his chair, waiting for Doctor Bashir to arrive, and getting more and more impatient as time went on.

When the doctor finally arrived, he apologised. "I'm sorry, Captain, but your plant needed a little talking to, and some more antibiotics." He took the seat offered to him by Dax.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to purchase that plant now, Quark," Sisko said quietly. "The Romulans are getting interested in acquiring one." Quark nodded understanding. To Bashir, he said, "Which means, doctor, you won't be having so much spare time so as to tend to the plant."

"It's more of a weed now, Captain," Bashir said, his face turning to horror. "If I stop tending it now -"

"We don't want this plant out of the Bajor system, doctor. And if the Romulans find out... well, Starfleet Intelligence has informed me that one of the Romulan delegation may not be everything they say they are. Sisko dropped his eyes. "Besides, I've had to declare the plant a noxious pest."

Dax went to open her mouth, and looked at Quark. "Captain," she sad, indicating to Quark.

"Something wrong, Lieutenant Commander?" Quark seemed surprised. "I haven't heard anything yet, I seem to suffering from a hearing loss at the moment."

"Comes and goes, does it?" Sisko asked dryly.

Quark nodded.

Dax continued. "We're talking about Intelligence operative, aren't we?" Sisko nodded. "Tal Shiar. I thought we'd heard they had been disbanded after the Omarion Nebula incident, along with the Obsidian Order."

Sisko nodded again. "But we know, giving Starfleet Intelligence as an example, just how hard it is to get Intelligence agencies to die. I wouldn't be surprised if the Obsidian Order has only just gone underground for the moment." He sighed. "Quark, it may be dangerous - to you, personally - to hold on to that plant in your bar any longer. I can't protect you if the Romulans do want to have one of these plants of their own... also we have Bajoran militia on the way... we have only eighteen hours before we have to hand this plant back to them to be placed in its native habitat, where it will be destroyed."

"Benjamin," Dax said quietly, her face falling. "It was a Romulan who told me that Quark had a plant for you. You don't think -"

"I hope not," Bashir said. "Any more rough treatment - even to find a new home - may kill the weed a lot more effectively than an execution squad would... er, weed killer." He blushed, wondering if this conversation may have been recorded. "I suggest that perhaps we transplant it to an environment that's not... natural to it."

Dax laughed. "A Cardassian environment, perhaps?" She had meant it as a joke, and so nearly fell off her chair when Bashir nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly!" Bashir turned to Quark. "Quark, could we move this plant without anyone seeing?"

"Uh... if it's condition's as bad as you say, doctor, then no." Quark pondered. "Unless you can find a way to take it through the Promenade."

Sisko interrupted before Bashir could continue. "Is there any way we could disguise it as something else?"

Bashir considered. "It's leaves are seriously infected Captain. Metal is embedded in them, and the infection is only just being fought off. I need to continue to have access, or this plant isn't going to make it."

"You've got until midnight, then the militia start taking the station apart."

"It has to be moved fast." Dax muttered.

"Leave that to me!" Quark grinned.

Garak heaved the massive trunk of materials into Quark's, and dropped it on the floor. "I have the materials, Quark," he said, sinking into a chair. Quark bustled up to him, and tapped the trunk. "Ferengi Yhprum, as you ordered. In bright pink, lavender, and fluorescent green." Garak grimaced. "Although they don't go together. And I don't know why you still want it."

Quark motioned behind the bar. "Bring it back to my private quarters," he said. Garak followed, wondering if he might find something interesting out about the Ferengi. Always paid to find out something new about the Ferengi, you never knew when it might be useful.

Quark walked straight through his personal quarters, and Garak followed. "Aren't we stopping here?" the tailor asked, dragging the trunk.

"Oh, no," Quark replied craftily. "This isn't private enough for my liking. You never know when my brother will walk in."

"And a Cardassian is bad for business?"

"No, I just don't want Rom thinking things he shouldn't." A small door opened and Garak was rushed through. Inside was Kira, seated on her bed in her small room, her eyes closed, apparently asleep. Garak looked back at Quark's room, and noticed the Ferengi shutting the door, and as Quark ran a probe over it, the seams disappeared.

"Nice door." Garak stared at the wall. "I didn't even notice a door there."

"That's the point." He pointed at the trunk. "I'll get the latinum agreed upon when you get the major to your store."

Garak wasn't entirely sure about this, until Quark offered double the price for the honour of making a suit for the Ferengi. Garak still wasn't convinced, until the major tried to stand, and fell over. "Bashir can't come in here now," Quark said, "and she'll die if she doesn't get treatment."

"And no one would suspect anything if the good doctor came and visited me?" Garak's eyes opened innocently. "All right. Get the material out of the trunk, I'll get the major."

Quark was indignant. "Me? Why do I have to get the material out?"

"Because you're not strong enough to lift her." Garak let his face fall hard. "And you'll make four times as much money out of my material than I will."

"I'm just asking," Quark said, a smile beginning to show. Garak pulled the major to her feet, and waited patiently until Quark had cleared the trunk, except for some cheap material in the bottom for lining for the Bajoran.

Kira waved a hand weakly. "Put me down, Cardassian, I'll kill you..." Her voice drifted off into unconsciousness.

Garak raised an eyebrow. "She's living in the past. Interesting. I'll have to find out what she's been remembering."

"It'd make for a great holosuite program," Quark offered. He fussed around as Garak placed the major gently in the trunk, and shut the lid. The tailor strained to pick the trunk up, gave up, and attempted to drag it out the door. "No, no, Garak," Quark reminded him. "I don't want anyone to know about this secret door." Quark led Garak, with his trunk, through his quarters back into the bar. "And I'll expect you back for that suit tomorrow!"

Garak shot him a glance of pure death, and stumbled out of the bar, where he accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, excuse me," he apologised as he looked up.

It was Sela. And, for a change, she looked happy. Scary.

'Something's wrong', Garak thought. He smiled at the Romulan. "Is there something I can do for you, sub-commander?"

Sela reached out for the trunk. "That looks heavy, Cardassian. Can I help?" Garak snatched the trunk away, as fast as he could with a Bajoran major in it.

"Uh, no, no, not really, it's only material..." He stared at Sela for a moment, before allowing a sly look to cross his face, and he looked from left to right before leading the Romulan over to a wall that was presently unused by any vendors. "If you promise not to tell," he murmured quietly, "Quark and Morn, that drunken sop at the bar, have been caught before trying to... count... Cardassian voles by painting numbers on their backs. They... no, I can't tell you..."

"You've told me so much already, Cardassian, tell me the rest."

"Oh, all right. And call me Garak. Plain, simple Garak. Well, Quark and Morn ran into problems with station security a few months back when trying to count the voles in this way, and this time they've asked me to... hide them in a place where Odo wouldn't be able to find them."

Sela nodded sagely, something Garak hadn't thought she would have done, at least, not according to Obsidian Order security threat files. "I understand. Well, I'm interested in...protecting an endangered species, I believe...from the...Dakhur province on Bajor."

Garak almost swallowed his tongue. "Why would a Romulan be interested in protecting something that is practically dying?"

"Because I think it was wrongly attacked in it's environment." Sela trailed a hand along the edge of the trunk, before grabbing the handle and getting a good hold. "Where to?" she asked.

"I assure you, this isn't -"

"Where to?" she repeated, her face growing harder.

"Er... my shop." This was more the Sela he had read about. "Are you sure you want to.....I heard that the Romulan Empire wanted to get hold of the plant so they could kill it publicly?" Garak knew he was taking a risk, but that was often how the best information was obtained.

"I've heard that the Bajorans want the same thing." Sela watched the shop door close behind them, and changed tack. "She's in here, isn't she?" As Garak looked at her blankly, Sela snapped. "I saw you and the Ferengi hide her in his store room days ago, and I heard today that the Bajoran Militia was coming to track her down, so I figured you had to move her soon."

Garak continued to take a long stare at the woman, until he suddenly placed the trunk gently on the floor, and locked the front door. Opening the trunk, he was relieved to see that Kira was still breathing. "Help me get her into the last fitting room." Picking her up gently, he couldn't help but jostle her injured arm, causing her to moan in pain.

"The pain killers seem to be wearing off." Sela's voice was flat and unemotional as they dragged Kira to the room, and lay her on a mattress that Garak had put there earlier.

Opening her eyes, Nerys caught sight of the Romulan, and sighed. "I guess this means I'll be saying hello to Bareil again soon?"

Sela looked at Garak in confusion, as the Cardassian chuckled. "No Major. It appears that you have friends in high places, so you won't be dying today." Looking at Sela, the Cardassian nodded towards the door. "I'm afraid I can't leave you in here, and I need to invite Doctor Bashir for lunch. Major, I'll be back soon."

"The talks." Kira raised herself up on her elbows. "How are the talks going?"

"Well. Too well." Sela frowned. "That's part of why I'm suspicious. Everybody is being nice to each other, and that's not normal. But there's a few other things about T'gan that just don't ring true, such as offering to withdraw all objections to the Bajoran objectives, if you're handed over to the Empire."

"What was Winn's response? She probably jumped at the chance." Kira slumped back down onto the floor. "That would give her the two things she wants most: more diplomatic success, and rid of me."

"She tried to, but your Lieutenant Commander Dax broke up the talks before she could make any official arrangements with T'gan." Sela sat on the floor, and made herself comfortable. "There's also a few other things, but they're little things, nothing concrete."

"Err..ladies," Garak was getting dizzy. First a Romulan who knew all about what was going on, (obviously he was getting rusty!), and then that same Romulan sat down and began discussing her superiors behaviour with a Bajoran military fugitive, who was wanted by both the Bajoran's, and the Romulan's, if you don't mind. "Ladies, I hate to break this up, but I have to get the good doctor, so I'll have to ask...."

"Don't worry, Cardassian." Sela was back to her old form. "I'm not going to hurt Major Kira. There's a lot more at stake, than just her life."

"What do you mean?" Kira was intrigued by this person who was both an enemy, and, apparently, an allie.

Sela looked steadily at the wounded Bajoran on the floor. "T'gan has informed me that upon our return to Romulan space, I will be tried and executed, for failing to detect the bomb that you planted in the room." She smirked, as the two other people stared in shock. "In Romulan society, all people associated with a...crime...are punished. I need you alive to help me live."

Kira glanced at Garak. "Go get Julian. I want to talk to the Sub-Commander about what she knows. It might be the only way I can prove that I'm innocent as well. Then, the three of us are going to examine the evidence against me, and try to work this mess out. I know how to get around Odo's security locks. Besides, I have a feeling that I'm safe, for the moment." Garak shook his head, and left the two woman talking about the evidence condemning Kira.

It was ten minutes until midnight, when Kai Winn and Colonel Dar walked into the security office, as seventy militia officers milled around the promenade, waiting for their orders to begin the hunt. Odo looked at them in disgust, before turning to the colonel. "I understand that your people will be under my command?"

"Correct." The colonel didn't seem to mind in the least that he was having to track down a Bajoran. "It made no sense to me that I be in charge, when you know this station best."

"I'm glad we have an....understanding, Colonel." Odo sat down, and uttered a silent hope that wherever Kira was hiding, she understood that he was doing this because he had to, not because Odo wanted to. "I'll be putting one of my officers with every three of yours. That way, every team will have a deputy who is familiar with the station, and will recognise anything that's out of place."

"Excellent." Colonel Dar stood up, and moved towards the door. "Do you want to start with the promenade, or shall we start at the bottom and work our way up?"

"Colonel, you do realise that the woman you're looking for is an experienced ex-resistance fighter, who's not only severely wounded, but is also of the opinion that she has nothing to lose, since the Bajorans want to execute her?" Odo was astounded by the flippancy of the man.

"We have the manpower, and the determination to be able to find her. Besides, she's wounded and desperate. She's bound to make a mistake." Dar swaggered out the door and began dividing his forces into the agreed groups so that the station's security could fall in with the introduced soldiers.

"Okay, listen up." Odo took charge, praying to any god that might be listening that his friend would forgive him for what he was about to do. "You've all got identity holo's of Major Kira, so make sure you keep them with you. This woman is dangerous when cornered, and at the moment, she believes she has nothing to lose. She is also injured, with a shrapnel wound to the arm, but we don't know which one. Secondly, Kira is an expert in unarmed combat. Should YOU get cornered by her, don't be stupid enough to try and take her if you're by yourself. By now, she's going to be hungry, in pain, and desperate to escape. I cannot stress too much just how much care you need to take with capturing this woman." Looking around, Odo decided he couldn't delay any longer, and wound up his speech. "All station details have been assigned to their respective teams, and they will be the ones reporting back to me as you clear each area. Good....hunting."

With that, Dar strode forward and sent the details out, starting from the bottom of the station, and working their way up to Ops.

Winn watched the militia move out, with a smirk on her face. It felt good to have information that would clear the major when she was found. Winn had known from the start that Kira hadn't set the bomb, it just wasn't her style, but she had underestimated the Romulan's desire to see that Kira was punished. The Kai sighed, and had the computer replay the visual recording of the alleged crime, stopping it just before the Romulans left the room. Enlarging one of the sector's, the bomb was clearly visible in a Romulan's hand, being placed on the back of the chair where the bomb had later been found.

Turning off the recording, Winn went over the speech she planned to give when Kira Nerys was dragged before her for sentencing when they caught her. Oh, she would enjoy making the woman squirm, before she set her free, and that would put Kira in Winn's debt, a position that the Kai would play on as much and for as long as possible. Leaving the security office, Winn headed up towards the wardroom where she, the Romulan's, and the station's senior staff, would wait until the Bajoran security forces had managed to flush out Kira.

Sisko slowly walked around the wardroom, listening as Odo checked off areas of the station as they were cleared and filled with sensors. It had been six and a half hours now, since the 'hunt' had begun, and the lower half of the station was declared clean, so that meant that either Kira was being chased up towards Ops, or that her hiding place hadn't been found yet. None of the Ops crew had any contact with Quark or Garak since the rather unorthodox meeting in Ops with Quark, except for Bashir, who's lunch with Garak was a daily occurrence. When Bashir had last inspected the 'plant', he had reported that he had left antibiotics and painkillers to help it along, but that was all he could do, without taking it to the infirmary.

"They're about to start sweeping the promenade." Odo looked steadily at Sisko. "If she's hiding there, they will find her."

"She's a criminal, constable." The words felt like ashes in Ben's mouth. "We're here to find her, and bring her to justice. We know she couldn't have gotten onto any of the ships in the last four days, since all of the security details checked everything from baggage to identities of the outgoing personnel." He turned, and once again faced out into the stars. 'Please Kira,' he thought, 'put up a fight. I don't want them to take you back to Bajor to be hung. Make them shoot you, you deserve to go down in battle.'

Garak watched the teams enter the promenade, and sighed. He knew he'd be the first targeted, and he hoped the major knew what she was doing. "Here they come." Garak whispered to the shadow pulling a floor panel over herself, just as four armed security officers entered the shop.

"Open a little early, aren't you Garak?" The station officer spoke civilly to the Cardassian, while the other three just ignored him.

"You know how it is," Garak switched to high gear, as they began poking through his goods, and inspecting the shop. "Besides, Quark'll try and knock down the price on his suit if it's even a day late." Holding up the ghastly colours that he was sewing together, he grimaced at the Bajoran. "Honestly, can you imagine anyone other than a Ferengi wearing this?" As the Bajoran chuckled, Garak glanced at the other officers. 'Easy, major,' he thought, 'we might make it yet.' Slowly, all three of them returned to the front of the shop, and shook their heads.

"No-one here." They glared at Garak. "Not even a trace of her, and this would be the one place I thought we'd find a traitor."

"Well, I hope you gentlemen have a nice day." The tailor spoke brightly, and was exceedingly glad that they couldn't take his pulse at the moment. "I hope you find her. Bombers are such nasty, vicious people." With that, the four officers left the shop, as Garak locked the door behind them. Going back to his desk, he opened the floor panel, and looked at the young woman squeezed in there.

Nerys slowly pulled herself out of the space under the deck, and fell onto the floor. "Have you managed to get the information I need."

"Yes." Garak pulled a grey uniform out from a drawer. "This is what the introduced officers are wearing, and it's in your size." As Kira pulled the uniform on over the workout suit she was wearing, Garak handed her a small pouch. "Put this on your belt. It's got all the information in it that can get you cleared. I asked the computer if anybody else had wanted the same information that we did, and one other person has."

"Who?" Kira stood up, and held onto the desk for a moment, while her head stopped spinning. She had enough drugs in her system to knock out a horse, but it was barely enough to hold the infection at bay, and dull the pain. Her hair colour had been changed, and she had a different earing, but any other changes would have required surgery. Hopefully, that would be enough.

"Kai Winn." Garak knew that the Kai had been one of Kira's biggest enemies, and that Winn had been the principal mover behind the decision to have Kira declared an outlaw. "She did the same thing I did, but three days ago."

"Just after I went on the run." Kira slammed her hand onto the table, not even noticing it was her injured arm. Suddenly, both she and Garak stopped, as the door chime rang. Kira dived back under the deck, as the Cardassian went to unlock the door.

"Yes, yes." He opened the door, to find another team standing there. "I've already been cleared, thank you." The station officer checked with Odo and nodded.

"Sorry Garak. I'll make sure everybody else knows." As he motioned his team on, one of them stopped for a moment.

"I need to use the bathroom." The officer glared at the Cardassian. Before Garak could open his mouth, the Bajoran pushed past him into the shop. Shrugging at the station officer, Garak closed the door, and motioned towards the back of the shop.

"This way, officer." Garak strode to the back, and opened the bathroom door. The Bajoran had a three second view of the room, before a sharp object pierced his neck, and a hypospray full of anaesthetic was injected into his system. Garak looked at Kira and grinned. "What took you so long?"

Smiling, Nerys helped Garak drag the man into the bathroom, and took his combadge. "Julian gave it to me, in case someone decided to get 'fresh' while I was injured." Disconnecting the transmitter, she grinned as she tuned in to the station's security channel and heard Odo telling her exactly what the status was.

"I'm glad Quark and I decided that we could think of better ways to die," the tailor muttered dryly. "But now, I think you'd better go. Just let me see if the coast is clear." Garak opened the front door, and saw that all the teams were investigating Quark's. Actually, it looked as if quite a few of them were doing an intense search of his bar. "I have a feeling that a certain Ferengi is making sure that your fellow nationals are distracted for a while." He looked at her shoulder; Blood was already seeping through.

"Thanks." Kira walked out of the shop, and turned to the Cardassian, taking his hand for a moment. "In case I don't make it back, I want you to know that I appreciate your help. You didn't have to save me."

"You've never hassled me, Kira." Garak stepped back giving her room to leave. "Any other officer would have thrown me to my death. You gave me a chance to live. I could do no less for you. Good luck." With that, Nerys nodded to Garak, and walked swiftly towards the stairs.

"The promenade is declared clear, sir." Odo almost appeared puzzled as all the teams fanned out to begin searching the last seventeen decks up to Ops. "There are only storerooms and conduits to go."

As soon as Sisko heard that the promenade was finished, he sat down and leaned back in a chair, his hands locked behind his head. "Kai, didn't you say something about granting Kira an unconditional pardon if she could evade the security teams?"

Winn gave him a look fit to kill. "Yes, I did say that." She sat down opposite Sisko. "But don't get your hopes up. There are still all those bays to clear yet."

"Odo to Piper." The constable was getting angry, as he turned to Sisko. "One of our introduced officers has walked off on his team, and is heading towards the habitat ring."

"You're sure it's one of their officers, and not one of ours?" Ben felt his heart sink into his boots, as he thought furiously. "It couldn't be our target, could it?"

Odo looked at him in shock. "You don't think....she couldn't have." He swung back to his console, and began punching buttons. "If she was on the promenade, I'd give anything to know how she got into a uniform, and managed to get out of the area without being seen."

"I'll try and arrange a meeting." Sisko reached over to another console, and tuned in to the security camera's in that area. The screen showed an officer with blond hair, and several honour jewels on her earring heading swiftly down a corridor, before disappearing up a stairway. The right shoulder of the uniform was stained dark red and the arm was being cradled to her chest. "It's her." His heart reached the bottom of his boots. "I'd know that walk anywhere. But why is she heading out and up?"

"Towards the runabouts maybe?" Odo seemed to be confused as well. "But Kira would know that they've been locked down."

"You know, for someone who's been lying with a serious injury, no food, and is in the depths of despair," Winn began to glare at the senior Federation officers around her, "she seems to be doing remarkably well."

"Err...lots of adrenalin, and a strong self-will." Bashir began to think that he might have overdone the help.

"A call's just come in from the promenade. Apparently, an officer from Bajor has been found in Garak's bathroom." Dax couldn't keep the grin off her face as she relayed the message. "He demanded Garak let him in, and Kira is supposed to have hypoed him and stolen his uniform and badge. She has also laid Garak out cold."

"She's ditched the badge." Odo suddenly tightened his grip on the console, as the station's detectors went dead. "That's where she was heading, the internal sensor relay. Chief, can you get there soon?"

"On my way." The chief had remained in Ops in case Kira had been forced into the station's headquarters. Now, it seemed, she had managed to outwit everybody, and secure her freedom for the time being.

"I want teams down there, now." Sisko knew better than almost anybody else what kind of damage Kira could do. She had taught him things that the academy didn't even know about when it came to sabotage and the single-mindedness needed to go on living when the world turned against you. "Can we use anything to track her, Chief?"

"Not a thing Captain." O'Brien sounded as if he was about to cry. "She's smashed every rod in the box. It's going to take me a day to just give us normal requirements, let alone tracking a specific person down."

"Contact!" Odo spun to face Sisko. "A team just spotted her on level nineteen, heading towards Ops."

"What the hell is she up to?" Winn spoke for all of them.

Kira gasped for breath, and glanced around the corner. She'd gotten further than she thought before they spotted her, but with any luck, none would be able to figure out what was going on. Well, except for a Romulan who knew exactly what she was up to. Diving into an empty room, Nerys grabbed a satchel off a shelf, pulled out the Romulan uniform in it, and in seconds, had become a close enough resemblance of Sub-Commander Sela, to pass at a distance, even to the putty that had filled in her nose ridges.

Uncomfortable perhaps, but right now, life was more important than comfort. Stuffing the Bajoran uniform into the bag, she glanced out the door, and trotted towards the wardroom, looking for all the world like a Romulan, and not the Bajoran renegade that everyone else was looking for.

"Where the hell is she?" T'gan was pacing the room, well aware that at least one of his officers was looking at him with distaste. "If a Romulan was in charge of this problem, it would have been dealt with days ago."

"Senator," Sisko was fed up, "I've had just about as much as I can take of people telling me how to run my station. So, may I suggest that you and your crew sit down, and just stay put while my officers finish this amount of 'unfinished' business."

T'gan sat down, shocked. No-one had EVER spoken to him like that, especially when it was only a Captain in charge of a run-down, Bajoran-owned station on the edge of nowhere. Bashir sidled over to his captain, and the two men faced out the window.

"Sir, if she's on the move, her arm is going to slow her down. I was only able to leave enough drugs for a few hours relief." A beep on Dax's computer interrupted him.

"Teams report that they haven't found her, but they would like to know when the Romulans entered the chase?" Dax was confused, as she looked at the Romulans present and visibly counted them.

"Romul-" Odo stopped, and stared at Sela. "Blond hair." The statement was barely out of his mouth when he slammed open the comm channel. "Odo to all units. Be on the lookout for a blond Romulan, probably heading away from the action. Take her in, repeat, take her in. With caution, she doesn't realise that we're onto her yet." Odo left the channel open, as he listened to the various reports coming in from the units, while everyone in the room held their breath as they listened to the voices. Finally, a call came over the line.

"Delany here." He was breathless from running. "She's on level ten. Just gone into-" The line was interrupted as a myriad of voices broke in. "Stop, or I shoot!" "I said halt." "Watch the belt, watch the-" "Officer down, officer down. Alive, but out cold." "She decked him with one punch! Never seen anybody do that before." "She's ditched the jacket, just a shirt and pants now."

Finally, a shot rang out, followed by another two, a scream, and then silence. At last, Delany came back on the line. "We have her, but she took down one of my team. He's okay, but she's not. Two leg wounds, one to each leg, and a shoulder wound that's obviously the one I gave her days ago. Other than that, we're fine. Do we bring her in to you?"

Sisko looked at the stars a long moment before nodding 'yes' to Odo. "Make sure she's handcuffed. I don't want her able to fight when she gets here." Sisko braced himself to face his ex-first officer, as she was condemned to death. He wondered if he couldn't somehow find a way of getting out of the funeral that he would be expected to attend. He had never attended a funeral where the person being buried was a friend who had been murdered by her own people.

A few minutes later, the doors to the room opened, and four security officers entered, one holding his head, and two others dragging Kira between them, her head bowed, obviously in pain. They threw her against the wall, where she slid down, leaving a blood trail, since someone had cut open the cloth on her shoulder, exposing the wound that was beginning to fester. Her legs were useless, with two phaser blasts burning into the muscles. Kira's hands were cuffed in front of her, and her legs were bound with her own belt.

Nerys looked up at her Captain, and wondered why she couldn't feel any pain. He was gazing down at her with a look that she hadn't seen before, it was almost as if he couldn't bear to be with her, yet he had to be. "Sir, I didn't do it. I know it looks like I did, and I haven't helped myself by running like that, but I've got some evidence that proves it wasn't me." She waited until he nodded before reaching into her tunic, and pulling out the bag containing the evidence she and Garak had obtained.

"This is the recording of the security cameras in this room, on the day I'm supposed to have planted that bomb. If you look at this recording, you'll see why it wasn't me, but how it was made to look that way." Kira held out the computer chip to her friend, and hoped he would giver her a last chance. Sisko took her chip, cradling it in his hands, while he knelt next to his friend, looking at her injuries, seeing the hurt in her face, and the desperate pleading that he would believe her because no-one else did.

"Play the chip." Without looking up, Sisko handed it to Odo, before reaching down and gently raising Kira until she could sit up, cradling her to his shoulder as he ignored the blood that soaked into his uniform.

Bashir quietly came over, and crouched down beside her, quickly running a tricorder over her wounds, shaking his head. Behind him, he heard the recording start, and play through, until Kira shouted "Pause record! Enlarge sector 13A." Julian looked at her curiously, as Nerys simply said "Look." Turning around, he gasped as he saw the very bomb he had examined in the hand of a Romulan. "Slow play continue." Kira was staring at the screen as the hand reached behind the chair, put the bomb in place, and pushed her hand down to press against it.

"Stop play." Odo turned to gaze at his friend for a full minute.

"Computer, identify Romulan holding the explosive device on the screen."

"Romulan identified as Senator T'gan. Explosive handed to him by Aide Goral."

The Bajoran security team looked at Colonel Dar, who had puffed into the room during the playback. "Captain, these men have tried to kill a Bajoran National. They should be arrested and sent to Bajor for trial."

"Agreed." Sisko swung on the Romulans, and stepped forward, at his most menacingly dangerous. Nobody, but nobody, hurt one of his friends and got away with it. "I believe that Major Kira will want to press charges-"

"Captain." Sela stepped forward, and nodded at the major. "I wish to formally request that, in the interests of Bajoran and Romulan relations, I be allowed to take the senator and his aide back to Romulus for trial and execution. And I can feel completely assured when I say that they will be punished for their crimes."

T'gan wasn't feeling very well. All that careful planning and hard work was going to end with him dead. It just wasn't fair, Sela was the one who was supposed to get killed, not him. The major was simply an end to the means of starting the war that would allow the glorious empire to finally rid themselves of the Federation. "You can't kill me, I'm a Romulan Senator. I have power in the Senate, you'll never get away-"

Sela broke in, as she pulled a disruptor from her holster. "I can and I have. You are both under arrest, for treason and attempted murder. I am the ranking officer in this delegation, and as such-" T'gan let out a growl, and angrily pushed a button on his belt. Nothing happened. He pushed again, and again, as Sela merely stared at him, and shook her head. "I seem to have forgotten to tell you that I removed the punishment collar from my uniform last night, before we came into the wardroom."

"But you had it on when we left our quarters!" Goral stood stunned as the Bajoran deputies handcuffed him in preparation to take him away. "I saw T'gan use it."

"I know." Sela couldn't resist a swift glance at Kira. "But I seem to remember going back for a notepad, and on the way, I accidentally seem to have misplaced the uniform I was wearing." Sela turned to Sisko, who nodded approval. It appeared as if everybody but the people who wanted to had known where Kira was hiding.

Winn cleared her throat, and seemed about to speak, when a glare from just about everyone in the room, silenced any arguments she might have had. "I think that will be acceptable to the Bajoran government, provided the Romulan Government is prepared to reimburse Major Kira for the pain and suffering she has endured."

"Of course. Captain Sisko, would you take over the negotiations with me tomorrow morning?" Sela nodded to the two prisoners. "I would like to return to my people with the treaty and the culprits at the same time. We can also decide on a suitable compensation amount for the Major."

"Certainly, Commander." Ben was surprised, but he wasn't about to argue. "I'll see you at oh eight hundred hours tomorrow morning." The Romulan marched out of the room, followed by her prisoners, surrounded by Bajoran security forces. Sisko watched them leave, before he and the rest of the command crew descended on Kira Nerys, Bashir desperate to help her.

She was still lying in a huddle against the wall, but she was smiling now, the pleading gone from her face, as Nerys saw her friends around her again. "Don't mean to be rude Ben, but I think your flame plant isn't going to make it." The pain was faint, and she wasn't scared. Her parents, her brothers, and Bareil were waiting to welcome her to eternity. It would be good to see them all again, it had been so long.

"It'd better." Sisko growled at his charge. The injuries she had suffered were much more serious than he had thought, and the shots which had brought her down hadn't helped the situation. "I've put up with a great deal from this plant, and if it dies on me now, I'll be very upset."

Dax was sobbing now, as she helped Odo and Bashir take the restraints off, and stretched her friend flat on the floor. Julian had contacted the infirmary, and was busy appraising them of the situation, but couldn't do a lot to stem the flow of blood from the woman's shoulder.

"Stay with us Kira, don't you dare stand down on me now. I'm not going to like breaking in a new First Officer when I've just got you trained right." Sisko looked at Julian urgently, as Kira's eyes began to close in death. "Nerys, don't sleep. For God's sake, don't go to sleep, please!"

Kira vaguely felt Sisko shaking her, and Bashir calling for an emergency transport to sickbay, and then nothing as the comforting feeling of the transporter caressed her and she passed into oblivion.

A week later, Sisko was gazing out into the gardens surrounding the ministerial building. He was on Bajor for two reasons; To oversee the signing of the new treaty between Bajor and the Romulan Star Empire, and to see off his First Officer. The treaty had been concluded happily to all concerned, but Kira hadn't been as easy to repair, her injuries so severe that Bashir didn't know where to begin the healing. The crew had waited in the infirmary for four hours, until Bashir had given them the news. The rest of the Deep Space Nine crew had returned to the station already, but he wanted to remember his First Officer for a moment, before he too, had to leave for the outpost.

"Nice day for it, Sir." Major Kira Nerys, in civvies and with her duffel bag over her shoulder, was limping along the path towards him with a grin on her face as wide as the sky. "The ceremony went well, anyway."

After a week in hospital, the longest period of time that anyone could recall her admitting she was sick enough to be in hospital and staying there without argument- well, not a lot of argument anyway- Kira was about to go on a well-deserved holiday with Shakaar to her home province.

"And the Kai has retreated back to the monastery, for the time being." Ben turned to face the young woman, and returned her smile. "Are you going to tell me the whole story now, or do I have to play twenty questions?"

Nerys laughed, and indicated that they should take a seat nearby. "I promised I wouldn't tell until the Romulan's were safely out of the area. I was hidden in Quark's, as you know, until he and Garak moved me back to the tailor shop just before the Militia arrived. Bashir had been helping me, but he couldn't remove the shrapnel fragments without taking me to sickbay, or bringing in nurses, which would have blown the entire thing wide open."

"But why didn't you just come to me?" Sisko looked at her with a sad expression. "If you had, we could have cleared the matter up within hours, instead of you running for your life, and almost dying because of it. Julian tells me that you were within minutes of not pulling through, that's why he kept you sedated for two days, to give your body a chance."

"I was scared." Kira looked at her boots, and sighed. "They say that hindsight is twenty-twenty vision. At the time, all I knew was that someone had set me up to die, and I couldn't prove I was innocent from a gaol cell. The whole deal smelt of a fix, but getting the evidence was the problem. Anyway, I had no idea what to do, when Sela suddenly told Garak that she knew it all, and that she didn't believe I was guilty either. So, the three of us examined the recording again and again, until we finally spotted the bomb itself. After that, it was a matter of timing, and me getting off the promenade and up to see you."

"You could have just given yourself up to the officers." Sisko waited until a group of cadets had passed by before continuing. "That would have had you brought straight to the wardroom."

"The rumour on the deck was that the security teams were ordered to shoot on sight, since I had been condemned to death anyway. I wasn't to know that it had been retracted, and I simply couldn't afford to take the chance." Nerys began to massage her shoulder. Bashir had told her the pain would fade in a few days, but for now, it still hurt. "What really annoys me is that Winn knew I was innocent for three days, and she still went ahead with her 'hunt'."

"Yes, well I think the little 'talk' we had with her today, will keep her quiet for a while." The two of them sat quietly for a while, until Sisko sighed and spoke again. "It's a pity that Bajor's spiritual leader is such an evil woman."

"I don't know that she's evil." Kira looked thoughtfully at her Captain. "I think she honestly believes that what she's doing is what's best for Bajor. And she's still scared that the Federation will engulf us and drain what little we have left. She doesn't live on the station, doesn't see the lengths that you've gone to to help Bajor. It's just fear, that's all. What worries me, is that her fear is going to destroy Bajor and drive the Federation away."

"Don't worry, she'll have to do better than this to get rid of us." Ben grinned savagely. "We haven't gone through all we have in the last five and a half years, just to pack it in now."

"It's been a long road." Kira looked at her Captain and smiled. "Do you ever regret keeping me as your First Officer? I know you've been offered more agreeable officer's, and that Starfleet wanted you to take a Starfleet officer. If you had replaced me, you could have avoided a lot of the trouble that's happened because of me."

"Don't flatter yourself." Ben grinned and gently placed his hand on her uninjured shoulder. "You don't cause trouble, you just attract it, and at least it stops life from becoming boring." They both laughed quietly, as he continued. "Besides, if I didn't want you, believe me, you wouldn't be on the station." Ben Sisko rose and greeted First Minister Shakaar as the Bajoran hurried down the path.

"I'm sorry I'm so late." The minister grimaced, but there was a twinkle in his eye as he embraced Nerys. "Just some last minute reports to be finished before I left."

"Nothing urgent I hope." Kira knew full well that duty came before friendship. "I think I can remember how to find our home province by myself, if you have to stay here."

"Not necessary." Shakaar took her hand gently. "I need a break, and you need a rest from what I've been told. And don't even think about trying to argue with me! I've already told the others you're coming home for a holiday." Sisko grinned as Shakaar took her bag, and turned to face the Human. "Thank you for making sure that Nerys survived. I hear that it wasn't made very easy for you."

"We managed. Besides, good First Officers are hard to find." Ben smiled, and stepped back. "Have a great holiday, Kira. And don't be in any rush to come back." Ben's voice became softer. "You'll always have a place with us on DS9." With that, Sisko returned to the station, while Kira and Shakaar returned to the place that would always be their home. ___________________________________________________________________________

Well, that's the first attempt. All flames, fires, and appreciation welcome. I wear asbestos boots, so feel free to let me know what you think.

Contact me on: dakhur@iinet.net.au