Chapter 2

There was no reason to delay, and every reason to make haste. Laas was obviously in end stage, and didn't have much time; presumably however many of his people were aboard the Kalep'tyrink were in no better condition. Kira gave quick, general orders to as many of her senior staff as were in Ops, not even bothering to call a full briefing. They were good people; she was generally confident they could handle just about anything that came up while she was gone.

"Keep a guard on the infirmary," she instructed Emyn, knowing it likely wasn't necessary to tell her so.

"Of course," the constable stated with cool matter-of-factness. "I've also taken the precaution of assigning additional deputies to patrol all vital parts of the station while the Cin'tisali ship is within transporter range."

"Good idea." She glanced around.

Alden's gaze seemed less overtly hostile than usual, and perfectly content to let her go without argument or comment.

Probably glad to see me go, she thought. But then, I'd feel the same if it were him leaving. He's been a little more subdued since the Ferengi incident, but Ezri, you'd better do your job if he can't handle his.... She could read a little concern in Nog's posture, but knew the young chief engineer had plenty to keep him occupied, and that he trusted her judgment.

Kuhlman looked professional as ever; he would be untroubled about her absence and would simply continue his duties, whoever had the watch.

Kaoron, on the hand....

"Colonel, I volunteer to go to the Founders' world and attempt to contact Odo," he offered.

Kira could tell eager curiosity as well as military protocol motivated him. But she knew she was the best choice to go for Odo. The Founders knew her, they would recognize her - Odo would recognize her, and listen to her. And she knew him. She would know what to say to convince him to return.

There were also treaty considerations to keep in mind. The Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans had all agreed never to set foot on the Founders' world, one of the few concessions Starfleet and the other powers had made in the surrender. Kaoron's presence would be a violation of that agreement. However, Bajor was not part of the Federation. The only agreement between Bajor and the Dominion was the non-aggression pact that Benjamin had instructed them to sign, what seemed an eternity ago. She could approach the Founders' world without risking an interquadrant incident; her Starfleet science officer could not.

Additionally, she wanted to go. She very much wanted to see Odo again. She wanted to spend those few hours of the flight with him, to talk to him, privately, personally, with no interruptions. She had missed him a great deal over the past months.

And she'd made a personal commitment. She'd told Laas she would go.

"No, Kaoron. Thank you for the offer, but in this case, I think I'm the best choice. We don't need an interstellar incident if they decide to view your presence as a deliberate flouting of the treaty. And besides, I promised Laas that I would go myself. If I don't go, he may bolt, with the rest of his people, and I don't think we want that."

She hoped her desire to see Odo again wasn't overriding her military instincts.

"Prepare a runabout. I'm leaving in ten minutes," she ordered firmly.

"Aye, Colonel."

Laas and his Cin'tisali captain remained in the infirmary in the intensive-care ward.

Dalik'javin took position beside the biobed where Laas rested, all but glowering at the medical staff as they worked. "Founder Laas," he murmured in the high-pitched near-whistle that passed for a whisper among his people, "do you believe the dalik'al woman will bring the other to heal you? Our transporters and communications can penetrate their shields; we can take you away from here, to any other place."

Laas would normally have no problem hearing the high sounds, but his hearing was suffering along with the rest of his senses. He gestured the Cin'tisal to bend closer. "There is no other place we can go," Laas told him heavily. "If Kira does not find Odo, or if Odo does not come, we will die."

"We can wait on the Kalep'tyrink, beyond their reach, ready to escape if we must, then return when the Founder Odo comes."

"There is no escape for us. We must be here if Odo comes. And I am not sure ... I would survive another transport." His voice was thick, as though it were getting harder to form words.

The other looked even more alarmed. "What are we to do if ... if Founder Odo fails you, Founder Laas?"

Laas stared up at the ceiling. "I do not know. I think ... you would have to find others of our kind, tell them who they are so they know.... And bring them to our world so they can find their future...."

"We will do whatever you ask, Founder-"

Confident, even footsteps approached. Laas held up his hand for silence.

It was one of the doctors, the slim human female with dark hair. She was pale complexioned, especially next to Dalik'javin's ash-gray skin. She wore the uniform of Starfleet.

"Laas," she smiled briefly, professionally. "As you may recall, I'm Dr. Monrow. We need to know how many patients to prepare for."

Laas continued to study her. Every now and then, a tic distorted his features. The Cin'tisal stirred restively.

She repeated herself. "We need to know how many of your people we'll be caring for until Colonel Kira and Odo return."

A second more, and he answered, "There are three of us."

"Do the others have names?"

"The other two ... are D'kem'ir and Arlamar."

She looked up from her PADD. "D'kem'ir," she repeated. "That sounds Orion."

He didn't bother answering.

After a moment, she continued speaking. "Are all three of you at approximately the same stage in the progression of the illness?"

"We all ... began manifesting symptoms at the same time. The progression seems to have been similar. We are all ... near death, if that is what you wish to hear."

Her expression didn't change. "I trust you'll all want the same ward?"

"We are a Link," he replied stiffly. "We will be together."

Monrow nodded, accepting the words and continuing to ignore the tone. "Not a problem. As you can see, there are five biobeds in this ward; just the right size for your ... Link, with a few left over." The doctor touched codes into the PADD, then looked at him again. "I'll let Dr. Girani know we're ready, and your people can beam aboard as soon as they're ready. I'm assuming we don't have to worry about dropping shields for them," she finished somewhat dryly.

"Bring them here," Laas murmured to Dalik'javin as the doctor turned away.

Monrow had barely exited when the shimmer of a Dominion transporter touched the air.

Four beings materialized in the middle of the ward.

Two were Cin'tisali, gray-skinned, dressed in green and gray, each standing protectively near one of the others. Both had colorful beads and metal dangles in their dark braids, although substantially less than Dalik'javin wore. Both were stocky, of muscular build.

One of the newly-arrived Founders was female, apparently Orion and young, if not for the ravages of the disease. She was hunched over and her skin was a deep, sickly green, her green-black hair a brittle, tangled mane. Her "clothing" was a short, sleeveless tunic of tan that looked as though most of it had been stuck to her flesh. Sections of it appeared alternately frayed and charred. She seemed as battered as Laas, with her bare arms and face almost fringed-looking.

The other was of indeterminate humanoid semblance. He appeared male, middle-aged, with a deep golden complexion. Triple grooves split his forehead vertically before separating at his eyebrows, one following down his nose, the others forming ridges out to his temples before turning down again to follow the side of his face down into his "neckline." He had six fingers on each hand, marked by narrow grooves that went from fingertips up to wrists, then vanished into the "sleeves" of his deep blue "clothing." Deeply bruised-looking spots and tattered strips marred his entire body, "skin" and "fabric" equally. His hands trembled as if with a palsy, and his chin kept dipping like he was nodding jerkily.

"Will they help us, Laas?" the female Founder asked immediately, her voice cracking.

"They will try, D'kem'ir," Laas responded.

"Only try?" she repeated.

"As we were told, the one who created the cure is not here and cannot be contacted, and his records are gone. Kira is going to the Founders' World to bring Odo to us."

"Why should we not go to Odo?" asked the other, his voice soft and quavery, at odds with his features.

"No. We will not go their Link." Laas's voice was uncompromising.

"They sent us out alone, Arlamar," D'kem'ir reminded the third Founder. Hatred flashed in her deep green eyes when she raised her head. "They abandoned us to ignorance, slavery, and death among the solids. Laas is right, we shall never go back to them." She staggered as she tried to take a step forward.

The Cin'tisal with her reflexively caught her before she could fall. "I beg your pardon for laying hand to you, Founder D'kem'ir," he said humbly as he held her up. "I feared you would fall...."

She quickly jerked away from him, looking around. "I would not have fallen! You are here to obey my will, not to anticipate my failure and violate my being! Go back to the ship! Send another who will remember his place!"

His face flushed deep gray with shame. Head bowed, the thick braids concealing his eyes, he stepped back. A second later, he faded from view.

D'kem'ir glanced back to Laas, still shaking angrily. "Are we to rest here until he comes, then?"

"We have little choice, I think. I will not live more than a handful of days, without him," Laas sighed. "One of their doctors said this would be our chamber until Odo returns."

"Will you take a bed, Founder Arlamar?" the other Cin'tisal solicitously asked his Founder. "I will help you to the one of your choice, if you wish it."

"That one...." Arlamar lay a six-fingered hand on the arm of his aide, then tottered his way to the chosen biobed. The aide carefully helped the Founder onto the bed, then unfolded the blanket and lay it across him with reverent care.

D'kem'ir hobbled to her own bed, crawling onto it with a sigh, followed by a cough as she pulled her own blanket up to her chin.

Laas lay back as a spasm shook his body, then he glanced at Dalik'javin, who had remained respectfully silent, eyes downcast, as the Founders spoke.

"Javin," he said quietly, "go back to the ship now. Send a birif'al to tend me, and make sure Lereel is sent for Founder D'kem'ir. She knows her place." He closed his eyes, and seemed to collapse in on himself.

On the other side of the door, just to one side, Monrow listened intently to the brief exchange, her expression thoughtful. Then she slipped away just as silently.

Kira took the runabout Rubicon for the trip to the Founders' Planet. On a whim, she chose to wear civilian clothing. It was partially a desire to show respect for the treaty, to demonstrate that she had come for non-military reasons, and partially a desire to greet Odo less formally. She wasn't sure why that was important to her, at the moment, but she couldn't help remembering her last view of him - in an old-fashioned Terran suit, looking like he'd just stepped on stage at Vic's.

Girani sent her a quick update on the Founders' conditions as she launched.

She passed through the Wormhole without incident. The Bajoran ship To'kem, currently serving as sentry on the far side of the Wormhole, had been alerted to her coming. The captain sent a greeting but didn't challenge her.

She set course for the Founders' Homeworld, that distant, sunless world in the Omarion Nebula where the Great Link lived as one.

Kira beamed down from orbit. After a moment's indecision, she had chosen the same site where she'd been before, while her fellow crew were prisoners. She figured she had the best chance of locating Odo there.

The small rocky plateau, jutting out from the sea that was the Link, was unchanged. She knew the planet wasn't entirely rocky and barren, but without its own sun, only the diffused light reaching it through the dust of the nebula, it would never be lush. A handful of shrubs clung to life among the rocks. Modest grasses and mosses occupied their niches, contributing little in the way of scent to the air. None of the plant life was very colorful; little of it was even green. The light breeze barely stirred the plants, just enough to make her doubt her eyes that they were moving, and wonder if maybe they weren't plants after all. A few insects hummed through the flora. There weren't many higher life forms, not on this part of the planet, anyway, although ship's sensors indicated there was a wider variety of plant and animal life on larger land masses to the north and south.

None of the life forms were known to be dangerous; knowing that, and in recognition of the existing treaties as well as a mark of trust, she'd come down unarmed.

Kira paused at the fallen stele, its design so reminiscent of something Jadzia and Dr. Mora's scientific team had once brought back from the Gamma Quadrant. Odo had been fascinated by it. To find so similar a design here had made sense, after the fact.

It made her feel like she was being stared at.

Maybe she was. She remembered the Founders practiced shaping themselves into whatever was around them. She moved on.

She reached the shore where the sparse rocky beach gently sloped down to meet the Link.

Kira studied that sea of shifting color and deep-layered light. She realized she didn't even know how to call to Odo.

Undecided, she stood there for several minutes. Would he answer if she called his name? Was he close enough to hear - or in any physical condition to hear? She knew the Founders had some solid technology on the planet, in the form of sensors, medical equipment, and weapons - had they already detected and identified her? Was her presence significant enough to them to pass it along to him?

"Hello, Nerys."

Kira whirled. She hadn't even heard Odo approach. For a second she was frozen, staring at him, unable to take her eyes off his face. Then she couldn't help the glad smile and a step closer. He looked the same as she had seen him for so many years - smooth-featured, ascetic wiry build, wearing the guise of station uniform - the old uniform, she reminded herself.

His features softened, then firmed up again. "I didn't expect you."

That was far from the greeting she'd expected - not that he was wrong, but she realized she'd subconsciously been expecting warmer words.

"I had to come," she said.

His expression was guarded as he tilted his head to the side. "I have responsibilities here...."

"I know," she said quickly. Did he think she'd come for him? Well, she had, but not in the way he seemed to think. Not completely, anyway. "It's Laas."

Now he stepped forward. "You found him?"

"No. He came back to us, he and two others of the Founders." She couldn't help glancing around at the Link. "They have the Founders' disease. They need you to cure them."

"Why didn't they come here?" he asked, taken aback.

"They...." Kira looked around again, feeling that prickling sensation in the back of her skull that said they were being watched. "They didn't feel ... they didn't want to. Maybe the same reasons as before, but you'll have to talk to them about why," she finished a little guardedly.

"I see."

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.

"This is ridiculous," she finally said. "Odo, it's so good to see you again." She considered throwing her arms around him, as her first impulse had been, but instinct was still telling her otherwise.

"It's good to see you again, too, Nerys."

"We probably shouldn't delay too long - Laas didn't look very good."

"I expect not," he replied introspectively.

This wasn't going the way she'd envisioned their first meeting when she chose the dress. There was nothing sentimental in the moment at all. "You'll come, won't you? I mean, you told me you'd come, if we ever found Laas...."

"Of course I'll come."

"Do you need to get anything...."

He shook his head. "No. We can leave immediately."

"Oh. Of course." Feeling foolish, she tapped her combadge. "Kira to Rubicon. Two to beam up."

As the whirling sensation of the transporter took over her senses, Kira thought she glimpsed one of the shrubs changing from plant to ... something else, watching....

Aboard the Rubicon, Kira quickly took her seat and turned the ship's heading back across the stars.

"Tell me what happened." Odo slid into the seat beside her.

"Actually, Laas just showed up, with a Cin'tisali crew aboard what appears to be one of their ships."

"Cin'tisali. I know of them. They're one of the more distant peoples of the Dominion. So Laas is here in the Gamma Quadrant?"

She shook her head, laying in several automatic course corrections that would be necessary. "No - the ship didn't come through the Wormhole. We don't know where they came from, but it must have been from somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant."

"Hmm." Odo looked thoughtful. "How many of the Hundred has he located?"

"According to Girani, there were two others with him. They're all in the same shape - not good."

He nodded, then stood up again. For a second, he rested one hand on the console, leaning on it.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned.

"Oh, yes, yes. I'm fine. I've just ... been shifting all day. I need to spend some time in my natural resting state," he admitted to her. "I hope it won't bother you...."

She smiled. "I'm not here by invitation. And I didn't exactly send advance word that I was coming. Besides, it's who you are. I'm not here to change you."

"I will need to find something to rest in, or else pool on one of the bunks...."

Kira had considered the possibility that he might need to resume his natural state for part of the trip back, although she hadn't expected him to need to retire immediately. She was prepared. "I brought your old bucket, just in case. It's on one of the bunks in the passenger compartment."

"Thank you, Nerys. I will talk with you later..." He made his way back into the small rear compartment.

Kira turned to face the front screen. The trip back was going to be a silent one. She'd expected that there'd be time to talk, but it looked like Odo would spend most of the time in his resting phase.

Well, she'd been telling herself she needed to set aside time for meditation. This was as good as time as any.

Chapter Three

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