"Major, I am taking your record here into account. That's why I'm giving you a break. As I said, I'm handling this informally for the time being—and that's not going to be easy." Sisko tapped a finger against his computer panel. indicating the lines of text glowing on the screen. "I've also received an account of the murder of a Bajoran citizen named Malen Aldris—who was in fact one of Odo's network of intelligence contacts on Bajor. There are indications that his death was a politically motivated assassination—and that you, Major, had been in contact with him as well."
"I could tell you all about Malen's death," said Kira dryly. "Since I was there when it happened."
"Indeed?" One of Sisko's eyebrows raised. "Then that will give you something to do while you're relieved of normal duties. You'll need to prepare a full report on the incident that resulted in the death of this individual and deliver it to Odo. I'll review it at such a time as I can document that your statements had no bearing on my decisions regarding the current Bajoran political situation." With his fingertip, he blanked the computer screen. "That's all we have to discuss right now, Major. You're dismissed."
She didn't move from the chair. "Commander, I really was on Bajor for a good reason. I was there working for the interests of DS9 and the Federation."
"I know that." Sisko's voice modulated softer. "Off the record, of course. But you've also demonstrated to me enough times in the past that you have a great deal of impatience regarding red tape and formalities—you're always trying to cut a straight line to the core of these matters. And that works sometimes. But this is one occasion when you should have stuck to official channels for whatever you hoped to accomplish. This mess is going to take a considerable amount of cleaning up."
She had no answer for that. Because she knew it was true. There had been instances when Sisko's actions as the station's commander had seemed so overly cautious and deliberate to her that she had barely been able to contain her frustration. Only to wind up acknowledging later that his years of experience had given him a degree of hard-won wisdom that far outstripped her own instincts.
It had never become any easier for her to admit, though. Silently, she pushed herself up from the chair, turned headed for the office's door.
One of the lab benches was converted to a conference table by the simple expedient of moving several tall stools over to it. The researchers into the station's epidemic of murder sat and waited for the last needed person to arrive.
"I'm sorry I'm late, people." The lab's door slid shut behind Commander Sisko. "I know your time is valuable—now more than ever." He took his place at the head of the bench. "Shall we begin?"
Dax spoke for herself and Dr. Bashir, detailing what they had discovered on their expedition into the altered holosuite's hallucinatory world. When Bashir laid the whiplike instrument on the bench, Odo reached across from the other side and picked it up, examining it minutely.
"Their analysis of this object's origin is undoubtedly correct, Commander." Odo turned toward Sisko. "When this station was under Cardassian control, I was provided with just such a device for use on possibly recalcitrant prisoners. I destroyed it and told Gul Dukat, the Cardassian then in charge, that I had my own methods for maintaining order. To the best of my knowledge, there were never any more of these introduced to DS9—until now."
"I've scanned it," said Dax, "and I found the telltale atomic structure of a replicator-manufactured object. A review of Ahrmant Wyoss's records shows no period at which he might have been exposed to such a device in reality; the few times that he was incarcerated for minor offenses were all in various Federation jurisdictions. Obviously, the only experience could have had of such a device would have been inside the altered holosuites. Short of doing an exhaustive deconstruction of the CI modules' programming—and that might take months—I believe we have as solid evidence as we're like get regarding the Cardassians' involvement in their origin."
The implement had been passed to Sisko. He studied it for a moment before nodding. "I quite concur. If nothing else, bringing the CI modules on board the station would be consistent with the Cardassians' previous attempts to regain control over the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant; anything that would disrupt our mission here would be to their advantage."
"But how were the CI modules brought aboard?" Bashir pointed to the only other object on the bench, the black casing for one of the units that had been removed from the holosuites. "That's the big question. Security has been so tight on the pylons that nothing could get through without being detected."
"I'm afraid that we may be encountering some deficiencies in our perimeter maintenance." Odo's voice indicated a brooding tension. "That this might turn out to be the case is something that has been on my mind for some time now—since Starfleet took over the administration of DS9, as a matter of fact. There are large sectors of both the station's interior and exterior that we've simply sealed off as having been sabotaged too extensively by the departing Cardassians to be of any practical use. It's not inconceivable that the vandalism on the part of the Cardassians was not the relative-simple destruction that we had initially thought it to be, but actually a cover for various entry and exit points—trapdoors, if you will—that could remain undetected until such time as Cardassians would need them." Odo shrugged. "A crew member working on the hull of a ship docked at one of the pylons, a small craft passing by and releasing a packet with a magnetic honing device attached . . . there could be any number of ways that something might be placed outside the station and later retrieved from one of the sealed-off interior zones. But only the Cardassians, or someone working for them, would know how to go about it."
"There's one other element which points to our old friends." Sisko looked around the faces assembled along the bench. "A Cardassian vessel commanded by Gul Dukat himself has reentered our navigational sector; it's not a warship, but a top-level diplomatic emissary. Before I left Ops, I received word that Dukat had already extended official recognition of the new Bajoran government on behalf of the Cardassian ruling council." Sisko allowed himself a wry smile. "I find it difficult to believe that the Gul just happened to be in the neighborhood when the Severalty Front's coup d'etat took place. Or that the coup could have taken place at a worse time for us here aboard the station, with our resources and attention distracted by the murder epidemic."
A look of doubt crossed Dax's face. "What you're suggesting, Benjamin, is collusion between the new Bajoran government and their bitterest enemies. General Aur and the other leaders of the Severalty Front all risked their lives fighting in the resistance against the Cardassians. What could possibly induce them to join in a conspiracy with the only force in the galaxy they despise more than the Federation?"
"I don't know . . . but I have a feeling we're going to find out." He tossed the lash back into the center of the bench. "There's only a few general possibilities, and none of them are very savory. Gul Dukat may have managed to dupe some of the elements of the Front—I know from past experience that he can be quite convincing, even dazzlingly so, when there's something he wants to achieve. The Cardassians did not rule and exploit Bajor for such an extended period of time by force alone. If there's been some kind of arrangement worked out between Dukat and the Front's leaders, they simply may not be aware of its consequences. Or—and it's not a possibility I can lightly dismiss, either—some elements of the Severalty Front may actually be traitors to the cause of Bajoran independence. The Cardassians didn't stay in control of the planet for so long without collaboration on the part of at least some of the Bajorans. If some of those individuals have managed to keep what they did during the occupation a secret they could have maintained their pro-Cardassian sympathies while establishing themselves in the Front—and now they're actually part of the new government."