Chapter 7

At this time of night, he should be done with his duties, asleep or at least relaxing a little, maybe joining friends at his uncle's bar or having a bite at the replimat, Nog thought to himself as he hurried down the corridor. Instead, he'd spent the evening working on the main sensor array to install the upgrades the Sutherland had brought. True, he hadn't really minded spending the time working with the starship's chief engineer and his own crew, now that they actually respected and worked with him. But it had been a long day; he was finally-

He heard something ahead of him, and slowed to a more sedate pace, in case he was about to run over a senior officer - or be run under, he thought to himself wryly.

It rounded the corridor at a trot, then froze when it saw him.

He stared at the beast. It stared back at him.

It was nearly the height of the corridor, lean and long-legged, with a long mane of thick red hair that matched the rest of its coat. Matching spiral horns jutted out of each side of the mane. It shook its heavy head, blowing hard and loud, pawing at the floor with one triple-hooved foot.

"What the-"

It made an unusual sound - and then it charged.

They strolled back to the habitat level, finally at ease and relaxed, and reached Kira's quarters. They gave genial nods to the security officer standing at the door as they passed him.

"Brilgar," Kira said pleasantly.

"Colonel."

"No trouble, I presume?" Odo asked.

"None, Constable ... uh, Odo." The husky officer fumbled uncertainly over his words, still looking unsure what to say as the door slid closed behind them, leaving them in near-darkness except for the starlight through the window port.

"Light!" Kira commanded when the computer failed to bring up the illumination automatically.

A very dim light came up. It was enough to show a handful of candles on the low table by the couch, waiting to be lit. It also revealed a bucket with a bottle of spring wine on ice, and a small warming tray with an assortment of bite-size delicacies. Along with the dim light, music began to play somewhere, low and melodious, the tune a masterwork of one of the Bajoran serenists.

They stared at the tableau, then looked at each other and started to laugh.

"If I were a gambling being," Odo observed, "I would bet that Quark arranged the songs for this evening at Vic's - as well as this late night repast and the candle-lit atmosphere."

"Really? Why would he do something like that?" Kira kicked off her shoes and headed for the couch.

"For nefarious purposes, I'm sure."

"In other words, his usual reasons," she replied lightly.

"We tend to assume the worst about Quark, don't we?"

"It tends to be the most accurate. So, Nerys, you haven't told me what you think Bajor should do next as far as the Breen situation."

"Odo," she laughed again, "you've had me talking about myself and Bajor and Alpha Quadrant politics all night! What about you? I want to hear how you've been doing." She curled up on the couch, tucking her bare feet under her gown. She patted the cushion beside her as if to make the perfect hollow for him.

He waved off the question and the implied invitation. "I've been doing what I went there to do - learning about my people, and letting them learn from me about you, about solids...."

"Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?" she asked quizzically, studying him.

"Actually, Nerys, there is ... something else I need to tell you," Odo began. Sudden tension was obvious even in his controlled solid form.

"What is it?" she asked, leaning back.

"It's about ... my time with my people."

"Yes?"

"I.... There was something I wanted to experience, and to learn."

Her expression turned more serious. "I'm listening. What is it, Odo?"

"I wanted to learn how our people ... reproduce."

Her eyes shot open. "I see...."

"I recalled when you carried the O'Briens' baby, and wondered if a child of your own was something you would wish to have yourself ... and I wanted to experience, in some fashion, what you experienced, to understand what you felt...." He paused, fumbling for words.

"I see...." Her voice sounded strangled. "And...?"

"I have ... an offspring."

Kira looked ready to faint, then visibly steeled herself. "I ... see," she repeated again. Several beats. "Tell me about her ... or, whoever."

"My offspring?"

"Yes. No. Your ... partner. Mate. The one with whom you had the child."

He shook his head. "There is no mate, Nerys. My people are not like yours. We are capable of reproducing both parthenogenetically and through sharing of genetic material with one another. My offspring is my own; I have no mate. There is no one but you in my heart," he insisted.

"A child...." Her voice faltered again.

"Yes." He closed his eyes and rocked back and forth on his heels. "It was important to me, to learn that about myself and my kind."

"And...?"

"And I couldn't help remembering when we discovered the Founder infant, how I felt during those few days and then when it died, and its gift to me. I wanted to give a gift of life in return."

"Life...."

"It is ... a marvelous experience. To reproduce a part of yourself, to bring forth a separate life, a new sentient being. To teach that child, to experience the universe through its eyes, to marvel at its growth and development of body and intellect." His voice was awed and far away, as though he were re-experiencing the time. "I see, now, why parenting is so important to so many of your people."

"All that, in so little time?"

"My people grow fast, in our own environment, with our own to teach us. It was only as an outsider, without any of my own to show me how to grow, that made it take so long for me, here." Pause. "Does it make a difference to you?"

She swallowed, looking down. "No.... No, I just.... I didn't expect it."

"I was afraid you wouldn't understand, or that you would see it as a betrayal."

"No.... Always be honest with me, you can tell me...." She stopped for a moment, then seemed to force a smile. "Tell me about your child, Odo. I want to know-"

Chirp.

They both jumped.

"Kira here."

"Constable Emyn here. Is Odo there?"

"Yes. What's happened?"

"We may have an incident here in the habitat ring, level 5-2, involving one of the Founders. Can he come?"

She glanced at him. "We're on our way."

"Hold still!" Dr. Girani exclaimed. "How can I get clear readings-"

"I thought she was Tellarite, I swear, I thought she was Tellarite like me! I would never have done anything if I'd known...." The young man babbled on, his usually pale skin mottled with shock under his facial hair, his hands waving desperately. He looked like he couldn't have risen from his chair if he'd wanted to.

"Kalcheb, you didn't do anything," his companion tried to reassure him, patting his shoulder.

"But I thought it, I thought it, I offered her tey'ar'it...." He grunted, long and mournfully, rocking. "Gavera's clan will denounce me, I'll be ostracized...."

"He's not injured," Girani assured the constable, reviewing her findings and closing her medical tricorder. "He's just had an emotional shock."

"So what's the problem?"

Everyone except Kalcheb turned as Kira and Odo strode into the Tellarite's quarters, the colonel still in her evening gown, her companion changed into something that stood out less than the stylish suit.

The constable stopped pacing and answered impatiently. "Colonel, Odo, it appears Ensign Kalcheb had ... an encounter with one of the Founders, in the shape of one of his own people. They came back to his quarters, where the Founder revealed itself, and then left him."

Kira studied the traumatized engineer for a moment, then her gaze turned to the young Ferengi. "And your role in this?" she asked Nog, giving Kalcheb a few more seconds to calm down.

"Colonel, I had just gotten off duty, and I was nearly run down in the corridor by an Andorian wildebeest, that seemed to be ... laughing. And then I heard Kalcheb screaming. I found him at his door, pointing and babbling. I called the infirmary and security."

"He can't seem to stop grunting and screaming long enough to give us a coherent report of what happened," Emyn said, a frown puckering her forehead and nasal ridges. She looked tired. "But it sounds like nothing really occurred, beyond a little embarrassment."

"Which way did the Andorian wildebeest go?" Odo asked Nog, sounding resigned.

"I think it was heading toward level four."

"Of course. Back to the others." Odo half-turned to Kira. "I suspect it was D'kem'ir - and I expect I'll find her with Laas by now. I'll investigate this, and deal with it...." He stopped, quickly deferring to Emyn. "If it's all right with the Constable."

The Bajoran security officer nodded efficiently. "This is your area of expertise, Odo."

"Colonel?"

"Go ahead, Odo."

He nodded and left the chamber while the others returned their attention to Kalcheb.

"Ensign," Emyn asked with a weariness that suggested she was asking for the dozenth time, "do you wish to file a formal complaint or not?"

"No! No, I want it not to have happened..." His voice trailed away again.

Emyn blew an exasperated sigh. "Ensign, I have to file an incident report!"

"Uh, constable..." Nog interjected diffidently. "Kalcheb has a fiancé - if it became public record that he and a non-Tellarite were ... nearly involved, her family would likely break off the engagement and make no secret about the reason why."

Emyn and Kira both stared. Kalcheb just hunched over and rocked in his chair, looking like he wanted to dig himself a lair and collapse it behind him.

"If he has a fiancé, it sounds like he should be a little more discreet, if he's going to have other relationships," Girani muttered, visibly trying to control disgust.

"Tellarites have arranged marriages with long engagements - they don't expect absolute chastity during that time. They're supposed to learn and experiment a little before settling down with their life partner. But they're very strict about keeping those ... experiential relationships within their own species," Nog quickly explained.

The three Bajoran women stared at him, eyebrows arched.

He hunched his shoulders a little apologetically. "One of my friends at the Academy was a Tellarite."

Emyn sighed again. "All right. Ensign, if you don't wish to file a complaint, the matter can be closed - there'll be no record of this incident."

"Kalcheb, will you be all right?" Girani asked.

He just fluttered his hands, eyes still darting around his chambers as if expecting his fiancé or the Founder to appear from the walls.

"Nog, would you help him to bed?" Kira ordered politely.

"Yes, Colonel. C'mon, Kalcheb, let's go...." Nog helped the young officer to his feet. Supporting most of the ensign's weight over his shoulders, the mismatched two made their way to the sleeping chamber.

"I'd better get back to the infirmary," Girani muttered, and left as well.

Kira and Emyn studied each other.

"Are they going to be here much longer?" the constable asked, sounding weary.

"I hope not," the colonel answered. "I expect we'd both like to be able to get some sleep again."

Emyn nodded agreement.

Striding through the habitat ring, Odo had no doubt it had been D'kem'ir masquerading as both the Tellarite woman and the Andorian wildebeest. For one thing, she'd already demonstrated a willingness to pretend to be something she wasn't, and a spiteful lack of consideration for anyone else. The likelihood of it being one of the others was all but non-existent. Laas hadn't been interested in interacting with anyone on the station, that Odo was aware of. And Arlamar, wide-eyed and interested in everything as he seemed to be, never seemed to go anywhere without one of the Cin'tisali.

There was no one at the door. Odo glanced around quickly, feeling wary. Where were the Cin'tisali servants who should have been on guard? Did this mean Laas and his New Link were wandering the habitat ring, out to cause further mischief? Had they left the station to avoid retribution for D'kem'ir's behavior?

The door opened, framing Laas.

"I knew you wouldn't be long," he said. "Come in."

He entered. Laas had moved to rejoin the other Founders. They sat in a triangle, only the upper halves of their bodies intact, the lower halves forming gelatinous lumps with tendrils extending to connect with the lumps composing the others of the New Link. Similarly, they held hands, forming what appeared to be amber gloves surrounding their joined fingers.

Odo focused on D'kemir. "Why?"

D'kem'ir looked bored. "Why what?"

"Why did you taunt that crewman the way you did? You had no right. I told you what would happen if you-6

"I was invited," D'kem'ir cut in insolently. "Very invited, I can promise you that."

"Yes - under false pretense, as something you are not."

"If it's against the law to appear as other than your absolute natural form, then you have to arrest every male and female on the Promenade who's wearing color or clothing on their face or body," she challenged.

He studied her. She met his gaze for a moment, then shook her head and turned away, closing her eyes and very deliberately letting her features go smooth to reveal no emotions.

"You have no concept of consideration or respect for others."

"Others have shown no consideration or respect for me," she answered resolutely.

"So you feel that no one deserves anything from you, because of the acts of a few?" He felt a sense of foreboding. "And you will continue to treat other solids this way? As servants and toys to be used, because you were used? Letting distrust and contempt guide your choices? How do you expect your New Link to interact with other peoples here in the Alpha Quadrant?"

She didn't respond, but her lips twisted mutinously.

"Odo," Laas cut in, "you worry too much about the solids. We are going away, we have our own place being prepared. If the time comes when we must deal with them again, we will be ready."

"Oh, will you?" He glanced at D'kem'ir again. "And what will you be ready to do? Sneer at their offers of friendship? Entice them with pretense and then mock them? How do you think they'll respond to that - knowing what our kind have done in the past? Knowing how some solids react to taunting? Knowing how some of them react to what they don't understand, to what is different?"

"What does it matter?"

"It matters! Not all races would have been as generous as the Federation was, in the war. Had it been-"

"Generous! They nearly destroyed our entire race!" Laas shot back.

"If you continue to act as you have acted here on the station, you will invite destruction on yourselves."

"We will do what we must, for our own survival," Laas replied stubbornly. "Against whatever enemy we face."

Odo couldn't help shaking his head. "Laas, you are wounded, you and your New Link, and the scars it is leaving could bring about the end of your Link! How can you not see that?"

Laas studied him for a second, then changed his tack, his tone turning wheedling. "We should not be arguing, Odo, we are one kind, we should be as one in other ways as well. Perhaps you are right, perhaps we are wounded from our long time alone and what we have faced. But you could cure us of that, as you cured us of the Founder's disease."

"Then you will return to the Great Link and learn what it means to be part of us?"

"No. Never," he said decisively. "We are apart. We are the New Link. We will choose our own destiny."

"We will see."

"Yes, you will see." Laas forced down frustration with an obvious effort. "Odo, you admit yourself that we are strangers among solids, uncertain of what is in our own best interests, unsure who to trust, how to proceed. But we are determined - we will be our own world, our own Link. We need you. You are truly one of us. If you will not join us, we will still go. But we would rather you joined us. Teach us, Odo. Be one of us. You told D'kem'ir she didn't know how to be a Founder - you know how, you could give us that. You're the only one who can show us how to be a Link and how to function as a Link in a universe of solids."

"Please?" Arlamar's soft voice echoed.

Odo glanced at the third Founder, who thus far had been quiet. His expression was open, honest. There were no threats, anger, or fear.

"We have so much to learn, and there are so few of us. Mistakes can cause the death of all. Don't leave us alone. Please?"

Laas's frustration and D'kem'ir's bitterness lost some of their strength in the face of Arlamar's simple, vulnerable plea. Odo remembered the inexperienced Founder's terror of being left alone again.

A long, expectant silence began, stretching for several minutes. Odo's resistance drained. He knew what he wanted, and there was no way to reconcile those opposing wishes. He wanted to stay here, on the station, with Kira, to love her and be happy with her. He wanted to rejoin the Great Link and be part of his people, to continue to learn from them and to teach them what he had learned in his life's journey, to be part of their order.

Unless Kira gave up her post and her people to join him, his conflicting desires couldn't be satisfied.

But he knew she could never be happy if he asked her to give up her life here; and she had understood his need to experience the life of a Founder, as part of the Great Link. He had gone where he needed to go, and she had let him go. There had been no compromise that could keep them together, and each had respected and cared for the other too much to try to interfere with what they had to do.

He had gone to the Great Link because it was his duty, as well as his wish. It was the best way he knew how to save his people. Now, he realized, that responsibility remained - to help his people. He could be the best chance the New Link had, adamant as they were to be on their own. But he could only do that if he went with them.

Once again, he had to sacrifice the security and order of a life he knew, for a greater good.

He bowed his head. "I will go with you. For a time, at least."

He saw relief spread over all three of their faces - they had not been sure of his answer, but he could tell they had desperately hoped for it, however indifferent they had tried to appear.

D'kem'ir let out a little squeal, then quickly ducked her head.

"We are grateful, for whatever time you choose to share with us," Arlamar replied simply.

"Yes. And we should leave now," Laas said quickly, unable to keep elation from his voice. "We left others of our gathered peoples to prepare our new home, and we should return to them as soon as we can."

Odo nodded. "Yes. But there's something I must do, first."

"You must tell your Kira."

"Yes. I ... won't be long," he said reluctantly.

"We understand. And we will wait for you."

Perhaps, Odo told himself as he walked the habitat ring for the last time, he would find consolations in the New Link that would make up for what he was leaving behind, for a second time.

Chapter Eight

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