Alden crossed Ops again. He knew from several looks his way that the near-midnight, on-duty crew were uncomfortable with his restless pacing, but he didn't care. His mood had become increasingly sour as the day went on, and there were things he was regretting saying and doing. At least with the colonel off duty, nobody was taking him to task for his scowls.

"Commander?"

Alden glanced up at Kuhlman's approach. His expression remained unchanged, somehow sharp, as though a person would cut themselves trying to get near him.

"Commander,"the ensign reported quietly, "word from the Ya'Vang task force. They confirm they've engaged several ships in the Dozaria system."

"So they're finally talking to us. And word on results?"

"Not yet, sir. And it might be difficult to get further information. There's apparently a plasma storm expanding through the system."

"Thank you, Ensign. Let me know if we hear anything more."

Kuhlman nodded crisply and headed back to his console.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and the pirates and storm will take them all out,"Alden muttered to himself darkly He glanced away -- only to see Kaoron studying him, one eyebrow raised. Oh damn, of course.... "What?"he challenged under his breath, counting on Vulcan hearing to catch it. So much for being allowed to brood in peace.

The science officer moved closer. "You seem disturbed, as though you had a dark cloud over your head, I believe the human expression is."

Alden snorted. "Haven't you talked to Ezri? I don't qualify as human."

Both eyebrows shot up.

Alden resumed pacing.

"Scan? Weapons?"

B'Ekendra shook her head, still intent on her targeting computers.

"Nothing on our scanners except debris, asteroids, and our own ships,"K'h'met stated.

"The Ka'Vang is ordering all ships to regroup,"Kah'nel added.

Telok paced. Gravity was restored; other repairs continued. Outside, there were no more enemies left to fight. It was hard to resist the urge to leave the bridge and seek out whatever remaining pockets of combat might be left on his ship. But....

Lintak limped onto the bridge, chest still puffed with the elation of victory, a bandage awkwardly wrapped around his thigh. His disrupter was holstered, but he carried his bat'leth still at the ready. "The Breen boarding party is eliminated,"he announced.

"Then as soon as engineering confirms hull integrity, we can release internal security fields."

"Teams are completing their sweeps now,"Kah'nel passed along.

"Breen. If they fought as well as their ships,"Telok mused, "they were worthy opponents."

"They fought to the last,"Lintak boasted. "It was a glorious victory."

"Worthy of song,"the captain agreed.

B'Ekendra threw back her head and howled. By the time the echoes had faded, most of the bridge crew was joining in a traditional song extolling the elation of battle and the mingled fiery tastes of bloodwine and victory in Klingon veins.

After a few moments, Telok flung out a hand to silence the impromptu victory celebration. "What losses did we sustain?"

"When I left the medical bay, Dr. Krule said there were four dead in battle, nine wounded in need of care, and two injured during our loss of gravity,"Lintak spoke up, sneering a little at the latter part of his report.

The captain glanced at the rough bandage. "That does not seem Krule's work."

The security officer shrugged it off. "I tended my own wound. It is nothing. One of the wounded was in the mess hall, G'Imara. I took her to the medical bay while Motbur completed repairs there."

"Captain, we are receiving transmissions from a freighter,"Kah'nel reported.

Telok perked up. "Another distress signal?"

"Negative -- they report they are trying to contact us on behalf of Lieutenant Dax of Deep Space Nine. They wish to discuss a certain item the Trill is seeking."

A lupine grin split Telok's face. "On speaker...."

"Our comm system is still damaged, we have no visual,"Kah'nel cautioned.

"Then let me hear."

The burst of high-pitched static had even the battle-hardened warriors flinching against it. Kah'nel quickly cut it off.

"Perhaps,"Telok snarled, "you can at least allow me read the message!"

The comm officer quickly sent the communique directly to the captain's private panel.

Telok settled his girth into his chair to read the message. After a moment, he raised his head. "They are to return the Kukalaka to Dax at the Bajoran station."His tone was equally mingled relief and disappointment. For a second his gaze shifted around the bridge. Then Telok's expression changed. "Where is the Kukalaka?"he bellowed.

The bridge crew exchanged glances, then began looking around.

"It is not here,"one of them ventured.

"If it were here, I would see it!"the captain roared furiously. "I do not need to know where it is not, I need to know where it is!"

"I think,"Lintak recalled suddenly, "that it was in the mess hall with G'Imara and Motbur."

Telok's gaze swept toward the security officer, who scowled back at him.

"Then get it,"Telok ordered brusquely.

"The Trill's toy?"Lintak objected.

The bridge crew fell deathly silent, watching.

"It is a treasure of Dax. You could wipe out a Breen boarding party, surely you are capable of retrieving one Kukalaka!"

"I am a Klingon warrior, not--"

Telok was already moving. He cut off Lintak's complaint with a backhanded cuff.

Lintak landed on the edge of the command dais, struggled for balance for a second, then lost it and fell sprawling on the deck.

"And that was an order,"the captain finished flatly. For a second he held his security officer's eyes.

Humiliated and cowed, Lintak looked away, then got up and obeyed.

The chain of command tested and proven, all returned to their duties.

The early morning crowd at Quark's was seldom large, but it was dependable, for many reasons. By the time shift change was complete, with the arriving day shift having a quick breakfast on their way to their duty stations, and the evening shift stopping in to relax for a few minutes, the Ferengi barkeep and restauranteur had heard all the potentially significant gossip passing through the station. He was also ready to start determining which of the tales were true, which were false, and which he might best use to his own advantage. So he was prepared when Nog appeared at the bar for his usual morning beverage.

"Nog!"Quark himself filled the mug. "Here you are, one tall mug of root beer."

His nephew was instantly and appropriately suspicious. "What, no insults about me drinking disgusting Starfleet beverages when, if I were a true Ferengi, I'd be having a snail juice instead?"

Quark waved the remark off airily. "Root beer's become profitable to me, why would I insult those who enjoy it?"

"All right, uncle, what do you want?"

"Who says I want anything?"

Nog set down the mug, licking off a light mustache of foam before replying. "No games this morning, I'm not in the mood. Let's cut to the chase, as we say in Starfleet."

"All right. Chase. Rumor has it that Commander Alden and Lieutenant Dax have argued about something,"Quark reported confidentially, leaning forward to invite a similar confidence in return.

"Impossible, Uncle. They were both fine yesterday when I saw them,"Nog protested.

"That was yesterday."Quark shrugged it off. "Today, I hear she's distracted, and he's scowling."

"Ezri's been distracted for days, ever since we got word Julian was on his way back."

"Not distracted like this. And not with Alden snarling at everybody in reach. Hey, now maybe she'll stop spending so much time with him,"Quark mused, two fingers brushing the top of his ear.

Nog made a face. "You make it sound like there's something going on between them!"

"You don't think there is?"

"Of course not,"the young officer replied firmly.

"Good!"Quark interjected.

"Everybody knows Ezri and Julian are involved."

"They were, when he left. By now, who knows?"Quark said with a hint of a leer. "Considering how much time she's been spending with Alden. Hmm, maybe that's why she's been ... distracted--"

"Uncle, you know better than that!"

Quark's eyes swept the bar. "What I might know ... and what the rest of the station believes ... can be two very different things."

Nog sighed. "All right, suppose they argued. What would they have argued about?"

Grinning, Quark suggested, "Maybe it's because I was able to do Ezri a favor, when Alden said I couldn't."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Maybe they fought about it,"the barkeep continued, his expression clearly enjoying some distant personal fantasy. "Maybe he was upset because he was wrong, and started insulting me to her. Maybe she defended my good name and reminded him that we were more than just friends long before he came here. Maybe he blew up at her like he does at everybody else. Maybe she finally got tired of it. Maybe--"

"Uncle!"Nog interrupted in exasperation.

Quark came back to the present -- then grinned again. "One can always dream."

"Keep dreaming!"Nog finished his root beer and left the bar.

"Oh, I shall, I shall...."

"Quark!"he heard a sulky voice call.

The Ferengi pushed away from the bar, still half-lost in fantasy.

The dabo girl M'Pella was standing at the end of the bar. Her expression and pose were both provocative and annoyed.

"What is it?"

She moved closer with her sinuous grace. "That Boslic freighter captain wants to talk to you."

"Ah, Rio!"Visions of a grateful Ezri gliding through his thoughts, he hurried to answer.

Colonel Kira's first task, after ordering her morning raktajino, was to check the overnight communications reports from Starfleet and from Bajor. Knowing Dax had a special interest in the K'Voln, she specifically looked for any updates on the Ka'Vang task force, but there was nothing after the brief communique that they'd engaged the enemy in battle.

She frowned, then cross-checked the station's long-range and incoming sector sensor reports. As Kaoron had predicted, the plasma storms in the Dozaria system were worsening. Their own sensors were unable to provide any data, and there were no updates from any ships in that region. Communication was impossible with any vessels in or near the system.

Dax walked out with her patient. "...And I'll expect to see you next week, Lieutenant -- but in the meantime, just remember, what you're feeling is absolutely normal,"she finished emphatically.

"Thank you, Counselor."The man smiled with genuine relief. "Intellectually, I know that's true. But when it's your family, well, emotionally, it helps to hear it affirmed by someone else. I'll be back next week...."

She watched him walk away, and was about to go back into her office when she heard the long hiss.

"Psst, Ezri!"

The Trill glanced over her shoulder. Hovering at the intersection of the corridors, she saw Quark. He seemed to be trying to look in all directions at once, failing miserably in an effort to look nonchalant.

"Hi, Quark."She looked around too. "What's going on?"

He scuttled closer. "Ezri, I, uh, need to talk to you...."

"About what?"

"Um, well..."

She gestured at the door. "Do you want to come into my office?"

"Couldn't we go to your quarters instead? Or better yet, mine?"

"I'm on duty,"she chided, "and I've got someone coming in less than ten minutes. And besides, you know better, Quark."

"All right, all right...."He looked around again. "Something's happened."

"What?"

"It's Captain Rionoj."Quark shifted uncomfortably.

"She's the one who's picking up Kukalaka, isn't she?"

"She was, yes."

Ezri blinked. "Was?"A beat, while her imagination suggested gruesome possibilities of Klingons and pirates and treacherous space. "Quark, what happened? Is she all right--?"

"She's fine, she's fine,"he hastily assured her. "At least, I think so."

"What happened?"

"She made contact with the K'Voln...."

"Yes?"

"But when they were scheduled to rendezvous...."Quark twitched. "The Klingons weren't there."

"Weren't there?"

"She couldn't find them--"

"How can she not find the Klingons? That crew makes so much noise you could find them in an asteroid field without sensors!"

"Tell me about it! Every time the K'Voln has shore leave--"

"Don't change the subject! What about Rionoj? And Kukalaka?"

He held out his hands in the traditional Ferengi surrender, palms up entreatingly. "She's going to look again! I talked her into it. She'll find the Klingons, and Kukalaka. When she sets her mind to it, Rionoj always finds what she's looking for!"There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, Ezri. I really am. But don't give up, there's still time. We'll have Kukalaka back before Julian gets here, I'm sure we will."

There didn't seem to be much to say to that. She nodded jerkily, unconvinced.

After waiting anxiously for a moment, trying to read her face, Quark mumbled something she couldn't make out, and scurried off down the corridor. Ezri swallowed hard and automatically entered her office.

Chapter 7