Ezri came out of the infirmary, where she'd been telling Dr. Girani about the party for Dr. Bashir's return. Endar, who generally refused to enter the infirmary unless carried in unconscious, was waiting for her. They hadn't gone half-a-dozen steps when Nog caught up with them.

"Ezri?"

Alden and Dax both looked at him.

"Yes, Nog?"

"Kira said to let you know, we just got word the Mankellin has apparently been attacked by an unknown ship, near the Dozaria system."

"Are they all right?" the Trill asked with concern.

"Too soon to know,"the short Ferengi engineer replied apologetically. "We just heard."

"Just heard...." Alden looked ready to leap into action. "Are we sending the Defiant?" he asked eagerly.

"No, I'm afraid not," Nog replied. "Klingon High Command has a patrol ship in the area -- they were the ones who passed along the information, and they've been dispatched to provide assistance. We're just standing by and continuing to monitor the situation."

"What about--"

Dax elbowed him. "Thank you, Nog. I appreciate it. Jadzia was very close to Boday, and I'd hate to hear that anything happened to him."

Looking a bit puzzled at their reaction, Nog bobbed a farewell and headed on his way.

"Klingons." Alden made a face after the departing Ferengi. "Why did it have to be Klingons?"

"Endar,"Dax asked, "what is it about you and the Klingons, anyway? You get this grim look whenever you hear one of their ships is docking, even if it's just a cargo freighter. You refused to attend the reception for the Klingon governor last month. Every time you see Lintak you practically throw yourself at him, if he doesn't throw himself at you first. You don't seem to have much good to say about any of them."

His mouth tightened. "I fought the Klingons at Ajilon Prime. Ground forces. Hand to hand. Wasn't nice."

The silence hung between them for a long time as they walked.

He tried to shake it off. "I suppose that's one of those little battles you never heard of--"

"Julian nearly died there, and Jake Sisko too, responding to a medical emergency," she replied. "We arrived just as the Klingons were pulling out."

"So you saw what happened there."

"Some of it. Jadzia did, anyway."

"Then you should understand why I hate Klingons."

"You know that mess was instigated by the Dominion, meant to put us at each other's throats and weaken both our forces before they attacked. The Klingons are our allies, Endar--"

He cut her off ruthlessly. "They'll never be my allies." He halted, his violet eyes staring into the distance of the Promenade. His voice was tight; she thought she heard his teeth grinding. "Too many good people died there.... Lintak ... was there. I don't think he remembers me. But I ... remember him. I saw him. I know what Klingons can do...."

"I don't suppose this is a good time to tell you that Jadzia married a Klingon."

"No," he said shortly. After a moment, he resumed walking. "I better get to Ops. Keep an eye on things. Who knows," he finished more optimistically, "maybe we'll have to take the Defiant out after all."

Dumping their pods hadn't earned them more than a few seconds reprieve; their pursuer ignored the potential pickings of their cargo and continued after the Mankellin, firing at unexpected moments.

And occasionally hitting home.

"We're losing atmospheric integrity!" Denin reported. "Auto-repair systems can't keep up!"

"Have we received any communiques?" Boday asked.

"None."

A second's hesitation.

"To the escape pods." The Gallamite looked down at the teddy bear sitting beside him, that had silently observed their struggle to escape. "You, I think, will share mine."

After waiting a moment to see his crew each sealed into their own escape pod, Boday slid into the captain's pod, the bear tucked under his arm. His fingers raced across the control panel, locking the safety harness and sealing the pod, then launching them away from the Mankellin. The pod lacked a strong enough internal system to completely block out the stresses of the launch, but it was well-padded for the safety of its occupant, and the forces were short-lasting.

Boday glanced at a side panel, where five lights glowed steadily -- the captain's escape pod registered the progress of the crew's pods.

"All away, and intact," he announced to himself and the bear, relieved.

Through a small port, Boday watched his ship seem to spin away from him. Then, through another port, he saw their attacker, still distant and small but gaining ominously in size as it closed on the Gallamite ship.

"They stopped firing," Boday breathed in his rich voice. He looked down at Kukalaka, held tightly to his chest. "I wonder, Kukalaka, if they realize we have abandoned ship, and will now take it at their leisure, or if they are simply taking time to scan for us?"

He considered shutting down the escape pod's scanner, to have one less emission for the enemy to home in on, but decided against it.

"If they are looking for us and want us dead, suddenly shutting a system could attract their attention," he informed Kukalaka, his subdued voice absorbed into the padding around him. "If we keep the passive scanners operational as they are, and change nothing, those raiders may not find us so easily."

The ship slowly expanded in his vision, a dark shadow swallowing stars until it caught enough starlight to become a silvery ghost in the night.

Then Boday's heart nearly stopped. Another ship had suddenly appeared, a shimmer against the stars, revealing itself with the dropping of a cloak.

"Ah, what is that? A companion to this raider, or another scavenger to battle over the prize?" He peered anxiously for a moment.

"Klingons!" he determined, almost elated.

A string of glowing red lances shot out from the newcomer. Before the Mankellin's attacker could turn away and flee into warp, those red lances struck in half-a-dozen locations on the ship. It began to tumble -- then disintegrated in a moment's halo of fire that silently, quickly darkened as the ship's atmosphere ignited and burned away in a flash of time. Glowing bits of metal continued to spin, fading away.

"Ah, Kukalaka, how things change." Boday observed, a slow smile crossing his face while the pulse through his frontal arteries quickened with excitement. "There was a time when the sight of a Klingon war cruiser in this system would have meant death for any unarmed vessel that encountered it. But today, the appearance of that ship means we may both survive to reach our destinations...."

The engagement was brief, not enough to be considered a glorious victory for a Klingon captain and crew. The enemy ship was dispatched with a withering fusillade of torpedoes that targeted engines, shields, and weapons at the same time, and successfully struck them all. Retrieving the Gallamite survivors afterward took longer than the fight. Afterward, the Klingons were happy to leave repairs and collection of the merchant ship's cargo to the next ship to arrive on the scene.

Telok, commander of the Klingon warcruiser K'Voln, strode into the cramped, acrid-smelling chamber that was his ship's bridge. He carried with him a fuzzy, worn-looking, stuffed animal.

"The Gallamite is being towed by one of his own people's vessels, and all of its crew are alive and accounted for," the scan officer reported, sounding bored. "The only other debris is from the vessel which attacked them. No enemy escape pods."

"Good. They did not try to run. Continue scanning for traces of any other vessels," Telok boomed. "The pirate may not have been acting alone."

Lintak, one of the brawniest security personnel on the ship, scowled at the object tucked under Telok's arm. "That is what the Gallamite wishes us to carry to Deep Space Nine, for their executive officer?" he sneered. "Soft and fuzzy. How appropriate for a human like Alden."

Telok cuffed Lintak, forcing him back despite his larger size. "This belongs to the Trill named Dax, the heir to the great Curzon!" he growled. "Alden's request is for her!"

Lintak growled back, still focused on the bear. He clenched a fist.

Telok caught his gaze and glared him down fiercely. "Is that where the honor of your house lies? Do you declare war on inanimate objects and then parade your victory as though it had meaning? To your post!"

The other Klingon slunk away, scowling.

The captain carried the teddy bear to his own chair, and settled it there. "We do not always understand the ways and weaknesses of other races. But this is of Dax," he proclaimed again to the entire bridge crew. "And we honor the name of Dax! Curzon Dax understood Klingon ways. He dealt with us honorably and with the respect due a warrior! Jadzia Dax fought beside us and was welcomed into the House of Martok. She was a fearless warrior and a fitting bride for a Klingon, as Lukara was to Kahless! This...." He cast a somewhat dubious eye on Kukalaka. "This is claimed by Ezri Dax. And we will return it to her! On our honor as Klingon warriors!"

The bridge crew roared an echoing battle cry.

But not Lintak.

It was over an hour before the report came through. Kira took it in her office while her two officers waited tensely by the door. Finally, the colonel stepped out again. Dax and Alden both had to jump back so Kira could clear the door.

She looked from one to the other of them. "Captain Boday and his crew are safe. The Klingons reached them in time and rescued them."

Alden and Dax both visibly relaxed, looking at each other with a smile.

"So Captain Boday's back on his way?" Dax asked hopefully.

"No. His ship was badly damaged in the attack. The Klingons retrieved their escape pods, with no casualties. The Mankellin's under tow to the nearest base for repairs, with the crew aboard the towship. Now, Ezri, I know why Jadzia--"

"How long will that take?"

"How long will what take?"

"The repairs."

"Possibly a week, once they arrive at the base."

"A week!" Dax repeated in shock. "No, it can't be that long!"

"Believe me, it won't be that long."Kira's eyes narrowed. "At least, not for their cargo. The Klingon captain made a point of saying they would be on their way here, after a perimeter sweep that should only take two days. With something supposedly needed by our executive officer and station counselor. Now what might that be?"

"The Klingons are coming in two days?" Dax said hopefully.

"Why are you repeating everything I say?" Kira demanded. "Now why would Telok--"

"Captain Telok...? No, not them, no, don't say it's the K'Voln...." Alden groaned in misery. "Please don't tell me I'm going to owe that Klingon a favor...."

"All right, I won't tell you -- because I don't want to hear about it!" Kira scowled, as unhappy at the thought of owing the Klingons as her executive officer was. "But I do want to know what is going on!"

Dax swallowed hard. She couldn't get an image out of her mind -- Kukalaka with a bat'leth through his furry little chest. She doubted even Julian would be able to stitch that back together.

She capitulated. It couldn't be kept secret any more, not from Kira. "Has Julian mentioned Kukalaka to you?"

"Kuka-what?" Kira repeated.

"Kukalaka. Let me explain...." Dax wet her upper lip with the tip of her tongue.

"I'm waiting," Kira prompted, after a glance at Alden said more clearly than words that she knew he was in on this somehow and would need convincing that he wasn't responsible for it, whatever it was.

"Kukalaka is ... something special to Julian. A memento of his childhood."

"Yes?"

"And ... well, I was supposed to be taking care of Kukalaka while he was on Cardassia."

Kira managed to look irritated and puzzled at the same time. "Did Kukalaka need taking care of?"

"Kira--"

Dax's hand all but flew of its own accord to clamp over the executive officer's mouth. "No. Kukalaka is a stuffed animal toy. It was Julian's favorite when he was a child. He brought it here with him. It didn't need 'taking care of,' really. But...." She considered, then admitted, "It was special to him, and it was ... a way for us to feel close to each other while he was gone."

Kira's expression softened. "I see. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is ... I loaned it to ... one of my patients. A little boy. And he took it with him."

The colonel's eyes widened and she leaned back in her chair. "You gave Julian's sentimental toy to a child and he took it with him? And...?"

"And now I need to get it back."

Kira frowned.

"It's not what you think," Alden interjected aggressively, seeing her expression.

"Palani is willing to return it!" Dax cut in quickly again. "In fact, Kukalaka was already on the way back, with Captain Boday, when they were attacked by pirates ... or whoever they were."

Kira stared at her.

"And the K'Voln rescued Boday, and Captain Telok agreed to bring Kukalaka back to the station," she finished more quietly.

After a moment, Kira mused, "And that's why you've been so concerned about Boday's schedule -- so you'd know if Kukalaka would be back before Julian got back from Cardassia." A beat. "Looks like you've got nothing to worry about."

From her tones, Dax knew Kira wasn't going to make an issue of the situation. She relaxed.

"Except, of course, for one thing."

She tensed up.

Kira smiled. "You've still got to plan that party!"

Telok paced the bridge of the K'Voln, his heavy brow furrowed. He would have sat down, but the bear now occupied the captain's chair, and the Klingon was not about to displace what he himself had set there -- the Kukalaka belonging to Dax. He studied the brown creature for a moment.

He would never express aloud his thoughts, but it seemed abundantly clear that Ezri was not the warrior that Curzon and Jadzia had been, in their days as Dax. Still, he knew that the name and heritage of Dax carried weight in the Empire.

Jadzia Dax had been the bride of Worf, adopted into the House of Martok. Martok was now Chancellor of the Empire, and Worf was an ambassador afforded near-plenipotentiary status. Surely a favor performed for Ezri, the heir of Dax, would earn the gratitude of those in positions of great authority and prestige.

He contemplated the best use of that gratitude--

"Captain Telok," Kah'nel interrupted his thoughts.

"Report."

"We have received orders from High Command. Classified and confidential," reported the comm officer in his rough voice.

Telok grinned toothily and strode to his chair. Leaning over his private screen, he keyed in his personal security codes, then rested his arm on the hard seat.

The stuffed animal fell over, for all the world looking like it was trying to peek at whatever the captain was viewing.

After a moment, Telok stood up again. His blood raced, the eagerness for the chase quickening through him. Excitement was palpable to the crew who had come through the war under his command.

"We are to rendezvous with a task force assembling outside the Dozaria system, under leadership of the Ya'Vang. We are granted the privilege of joining the search to locate and exterminate the pirates that have been troubling shipping in this sector since even before the end of the war."

There was a quick cheer.

"When does the hunt begin?" the weapons officer asked eagerly.

Telok grinned at her. "We are to report in three hours."

Then he cast an eye toward Kukalaka in consternation. There was barely enough time to reach the rendezvous site; there was no time to continue on to DS9. Yet the Gallamite had been clear that time was of importance. What was to be done with the bear?