CHAPTER 27

SISKO STUMBLED OVER the deck and opened his eyes to see—

Ops.

Everyone who had been there before was there again, even Worf on his stretcher.

Sisko tapped his foot on the deck. The gravity felt right, but . . .

“Chief?” he asked.

O'Brien looked up from an engineering console, shook his head. “We're not in the wormhole, if that's what you mean.”

Sisko wasn't sure what he meant. Nor what he was looking for.

He saw Kira watching him.

“You were with Them, weren't you?” she asked, no question as to whom the word ‘them’ referred.

Sisko nodded. Touched a communications control on the console beside him.

And instantly a squeal of subspace static raced through the speakers surrounding Ops, until a single voice rang out.

“Dad? Are you there?”

“Jake?!”

And then father and son both spoke together, asking the same question at the same time.

“What happened?”

They knew the answer in minutes, provided by Captain Halberstadt of the U.S.S. Bondar and Captain S'relt of the U.S.S. Garneau. The two Akira-class starships had been dispatched to Deep Space 9 when the Bynar computer virus had degraded its defensive capabilities. That deployment had proved invaluable when the time came to evacuate the station as the red wormhole opened.

But what had happened at that time was most easily understood by viewing the visual sensor data the Garneau transmitted to the main viewer in Ops.

At first, Sisko had trouble concentrating on the images he watched. His son had been returned to him! The Defiant was powerless but intact, safe within the protective grip of the Bondar's tractor beams. Jake would be beamed back to DS9 within the hour. Once some routine radion isotope decontamination had been performed on his section of the ship.

The Garneau's sensor log showing the fate of Deep Space 9 was no more than ten minutes old, and it began exactly like the one Sisko had been shown almost twenty-five years in the future.

A glow began on the Promenade as the red wormhole opened in Quark's. The station was deformed by the tidal stresses of the wormhole's immense gravitational well. Escape pods misfired and were drawn to their destruction. Docking pylons collapsed toward the opening mouth of the wormhole as the Defiant released her docking clamps and pulled away.

And then, like the familiar Bajoran wormhole seen through a colored filter, the red wormhole opened in just the same way, and Deep Space 9 shrank faster than the sensor log could smoothly record, as if the station had suddenly plunged into a bottomless pit.

This was where the record Sisko had seen in the future had ended.

But here on Ops, the log continued.

The Defiant suddenly swung past, gyrating wildly, taking phaser fire from an unseen enemy.

Terrell's ship, Sisko knew.

The Defiant spun on its y axis like a sailing ship in a maelstrom. It shrank just as Deep Space 9 had, into the still-seething energies of the red wormhole.

An instant later, Terrell's Chimera-class vessel—a Cardassian warship engineered to resemble a Sagittarian civilian liner—blurred into view as its illegal cloaking field failed, and the craft followed the Defiant into a hyperdimensional realm.

Yet this time, unlike the fall of Deep Space 9 or of the Defiant, as soon as Terrell's ship vanished within the red wormhole, an enormous gout of energy burst from its mouth, and the wormhole collapsed far faster than its blue counterpart ever had.

Sisko watched as the background of stars and the Denorios Belt suddenly shifted, although the timecode at the bottom of the log continued to count without interruption. That told Sisko the transmission from the Garneau had switched from one visual sensor to another to show events as they occurred in quick succession.

From this second viewpoint, Sisko saw the Bajoran wormhole open slowly and majestically as always, and when its mouth was open and the passageway revealed, he saw Deep Space 9, intact, tumble out of the blue wormhole like a child's toy rolling out of a funnel.

And just behind the station, the Defiant followed, the ship slowly spinning, out of control, but out of danger, too.

Then the image on the Ops viewer changed again, this time to show Captain S'relt on the bridge of the Garneau. If Sisko didn't know better, he'd swear the elderly Vulcan was smiling.

“Captain Sisko, were the events clearly depicted?” S'relt asked.

“Clearly depicted,” Sisko agreed. “But what exactly were we seeing

there at the end? When Terrell's ship entered the red wormhole?”

The captain referred to a padd he held. “According to spectral analysis of radiation and debris ejected from the red wormhole at the moment before its abrupt collapse, we were observing the result of a high-speed collision between two vessels. Molecular samples recovered positively identify one vessel as the Chimera-class ship observed entering the wormhole immediately prior to the collision. Additional molecular samples and fragments of unusual hull debris suggest the second ship was of some undocumented Klingon design.” The captain looked up again. “My science officer has so far been unable to identify the class.”

For Sisko, however, the picture was complete. “The second ship was called the Boreth, Captain. An advanced-technology Klingon vessel. We will provide a full report.”

“I am certain I will find it fascinating,” the Vulcan replied. “Garneau out.”

The viewscreen looming over Ops became an empty frame.

Sisko's silent contemplation of it was broken by the voice of his chief engineer.

“Am I getting this right?” O'Brien asked. “Terrell's ship collided with Weyoun's, and that's what pushed us out of the wormhole?”

“More likely, it was the subspace bubble formed by the explosion of the two ships that pushed us out of the wormhole,” Jadzia said.

Sisko had no real interest in the details. All that was important to him was that something had pushed them out of the wormhole before Jake had been able to follow through on his plan to sacrifice himself by destroying the Defiant.

And then a different puzzle came into Sisko's mind. His brow became furrowed as he searched for an explanation he wasn't at all sure he had.

“Captain?” Kira asked in concern. “Is something wrong?”

“I was just trying to remember who shut off the—”

“Benjamin!”

Everyone in Ops instantly stopped talking and turned to see Jadzia at her science station, absolutely dumbfounded.

“Benjamin,” she said again, “you are not going to believe the lifesigns readings I just found.”

Two minutes later, Sisko sympathized with Jadzia's amazement. He, on the other hand, had the experience of punching himself in the jaw. Compared to that, what was waiting for them in Quark's was just another day on Deep Space 9.

This time, the temporal refugees numbered four. Five if Sisko included the still unconscious version of Quark whom he had rescued on the Day of Withdrawal.

Two of the refugees, dazed and considerably confused, were the blue-and-brown-suited Cardassians whose autopsies Bashir had performed no more than a week ago.

The other refugee was a less dazed but even more confused Odo, accompanied by a remarkably calm Garak.

Wherever these people had been taken on the Day of Withdrawal, when Sisko had seen them pulled into Leej Terrell's lab, the collapse of the red wormhole had now deposited them in this place and time.

Sisko couldn't help noting that all four of them were gathered in the center of the main room, in the same location where he and Garak had also appeared after their passage through Terrell's lab.

The same site had been the center point of the triangle formed by the Red Orbs of Jalbador as they had floated together in perfect alignment.

Now the Orbs were scattered widely in the bar, all three glowing but not near enough to each other to cause any dimensional effects. To ensure this secure state, before Sisko even approached the disoriented group of time travelers, he instructed O'Brien to delegate a team to gather the Orbs, one at a time, then take them to three different and widely separated storage sites on the station, in the constant company of armed security officers.

Sisko still couldn't be certain who among the group of travelers had stolen the Orb from Quark's bar six years ago and then replaced it just before Sisko had searched for it, but he did have his suspicions.

He was certain that none of those present was a suspect, though.

In the debriefing that followed, the Odo from the past doubted everything he was told, even when he was told it by his counterpart of this day. Sisko thought it might actually benefit Odo to see his stubborn streak through his own eyes, the way others usually did.

The Garak from the past easily accepted what had happened to him, and from what Sisko could overhear of his conversation with the Garak of this time, it seemed that someone had ‘forgotten’ to take a certain neural inhibitor. Sisko made a mental note to discuss that with Dr. Bashir.

From the first, there was no question that Odo, Garak, and Quark would have to be returned to their own time. Since they had already lived through those intervening years, it was obvious that they had been returned, though with their memories of what had happened carefully excised.

As he considered the Quark of the past, who had finally regained consciousness with Bashir's help, Sisko realized he would be sorry to see this version of the Ferengi go back. The Quark Sisko knew in his own timeframe appeared to be the one casualty of the journey through time whose fate wasn't known. The last time the barkeep had been seen by anyone was by Odo, after Dukat had been neutralized. And where Dukat had ended up was anyone's guess as well.

But the most problematic decision Sisko had to make was what to do about the two Cardassian soldiers.

For now, they both conveniently believed that they were the victims of an elaborate Bajoran plot, one whose purpose was to make them think the conflict between the two worlds was long over and that they should feel free to reveal military secrets.

These two sat together, apart from the others, stoutly refusing to talk with anyone except to supply their names, ranks, and DNA samples.

To send them back, Sisko knew, would be to condemn them to death. Their bodies already had been found, merged with the hull of the station. Yet if Sisko didn't send them back, how could the investigation of Dal Nortron's murder ever be linked to their deaths? The past would be changed.

Sisko could see no way out of the hard decision he must make soon.

Until Bashir came up with a solution.

“I could clone them, and we could send the clones back,” the doctor suggested. “The clones wouldn't have to be perfect. I'd make sure they had no nervous tissue so they wouldn't really even be alive. But after six years in hard vacuum fused to the hull plates, even I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them and the real soldiers, so the past could remain unchanged.”

Sisko gratefully accepted Bashir's audacious plan and told him to begin work right away.

As for Odo, Garak, and Quark, everyone was in agreement that the less time these three spent in their future, the better. So, on Sisko's instruction, Bashir set to preparing the memory inhibitors he would need to wipe out their entire experiences of the Day of Withdrawal.

“At least now I know why I was so impressed by the way their memories were erased,” the doctor said with a chuckle.

Within the hour, Sisko was satisfied that all the plans were in place. The Cardassian soldiers would remain on the station for another two weeks while Bashir engineered their pseudo-clones. But Odo, Garak, and Quark would be sent back at once.

And the technique to use was one Sisko already knew would work.

He would carry the third Red Orb of Jalbador to Terrell's lab himself.

“Are you ready?” Sisko asked the three time travelers.

Odo looked from Sisko to his present-day self with dour skepticism. “Can you at least tell me if by now I know where I come from?” he asked.

But the Odo of the present crossed his arms and shook his head. “No one told me,” he said.

Garak, on the other hand, appeared to be having immense fun. “I shall enjoy going back, knowing how much I have to look forward to.”

“Undoubtedly,” Garak of the present agreed. “Except this time, I shall watch you take the memory inhibitor myself.”

The Quark of the past, however, was not enjoying himself and had moved well beyond skepticism. “If this is my bar,” he said suspiciously, “then where am I?”

“Uh, don't worry, Brother,” Rom tried to reassure him. “It all works out.”

“Don't be too sure,” Quark snapped. “As soon as I get back, I'm changing my will, and you are out.”

“What . . . ever you say,” Rom agreed.

The past Quark threw up his arms, perplexed. “All right, what's the deal? Who's this pushover, and where's my real brother?”

Sisko had called ahead to security to make sure the way to Terrell's lab was clear. “Rom's right,” he assured the travelers. “We just have to—”

And then a Ferengi squeal shook the few unbroken glasses behind the bartop as Quark of the present came flying out of his back room as if chased by a demon.

“I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't mean to lethimgo RUNNN!” Quark screeched.

A heartbeat later, Sisko knew exactly what Quark meant.

Dukat was behind him.

Red sparks flew from every centimeter of exposed gray skin as he floated over the deck, both outstretched hands encased in writhing globes of red energy.

“You are the dead!” he proclaimed in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. “Give me an AMOJAN!”

Then, with his white hair flying out in all directions, he raised his hands as the fires intensified, and just before he could release his first blast of energy—

—a phaser beam struck him from behind.

An attack Dukat had not expected.

His personal forcefield briefly flared into life but faded just as quickly.

The phaser beam stayed in operation, and once the red glow left Dukat, the blue haze of phased dissolution began to spread over his body.

Dukat hovered for an instant in front of the openmouthed victims he had intended to immolate.

But then what life he had left him, and he fell dead to the deck, his dark eyes dulled and empty, a curl of blue smoke rising from the back of his robes.

Only then did Sisko see who had shot him.

Jadzia.

She was shaking.

Sisko went to her. He took away the phaser she had grabbed from one of Odo's officers.

“He would have killed us all,” she said.

“I know,” Sisko told his friend, understanding her remorse at taking the life of even a monster like Dukat. “But that's the end of it, Old Man. The Pah-wraiths. The Ascendancy. Kosst Amojan . . . it's over.”

Jadzia didn't look convinced.

Later, they assembled by the door to Leej Terrell's hidden lab. The two Cardassian soldiers were part of the group, though under guard, because Sisko wanted them to see the truth of how they had come to this time, to prove that there was no deception. The three other time travelers—Odo and Garak and Quark—were accompanied by their counterparts, for reassurance more than any other reason. O'Brien and Jadzia were also present to take readings with various probes. Two weeks from now, when the two Cardassians' lifeless clones were ready, this procedure would have to be duplicated.

Sisko had the Orb.

With a look to Sisko, Bashir now injected the three time travelers with an inhibitor so sophisticated, he said with a smile, that he absolutely guaranteed it would fool even him.

With the Orb so close to whatever equipment Terrell had installed in her lab, the door began to glow.

“It's still there, Benjamin,” Jadzia said as she studied her tricorder. “The wormhole precursor field.”

“Don't worry,” Sisko assured her. “Once these Orbs are off the station, the whole lab's coming out as scrap.” He turned to Bashir. “You give the word, Doctor.”

Bashir used his medical tricorder on the three he had injected. “Another minute for the reaction to begin.”

Sisko sighed, believing for the first time that it was almost over. Jake and Kasidy were already back on the station. Already waiting for him in his quarters.

“I wish I could leave you with something from this future,” Sisko told the three travelers. “You will all survive. And Quark, you will prosper.”

The past Quark snorted as he looked at his present self. “Not very much, by the looks of it. You call that a suit?”

But present Quark ignored the insult. “Norellian eel hide,” he blurted. “In three years, it'll become a fad on half the planets in the Alpha Quadrant. The price goes up by five thousand percent in two months!”

“Don't bother, Quark.” Sisko laughed. “He'll never remember. You didn't, did you?”

Quark stared at his past self. Mouthed the words Norellian eel hides. Gave himself a quick thumbs-up.

The past Odo looked over everyone again, as if comparing each face he saw to a mental file of mug shots. “At least I keep my job,” he said. “There's some small comfort in that, I suppose.”

The past Quark looked up at him with a sly smile. “And I'm still in business in spite of you doing your job.” The past Quark suddenly looked at his counterpart. “Hey—is Odo finally on the take?”

Dejected, the Quark of the present shook his head.

“Keep trying,” his past self urged. “He's got to come around sooner or . . . or . . .” He stopped in mid-sentence. Yawned.

“I think we're ready,” Bashir said drily.

Jadzia opened the door to the lab.

Sisko concentrated on the Orb just as he would with an Orb of the Prophets.

Red light began to glow within the lab.

“It doesn't look any different,” Jadzia said.

O'Brien showed her his tricorder. “But look at the chronometric flux. We're at six years. We've got a link just like when we were in the wormhole.”

Sisko nodded. Bashir guided a stumbling Quark to the open door.

Inside the lab, the Ferengi began to swerve left and right like Morn after a party, then fell to one side and was gone before he could hit the floor.

Odo guided himself to the door next. The changeling from the past appeared to have difficulty holding his shape, and when present Odo released him, he seemed to pour into the lab, then disappeared just as Quark had.

“Garak,” Sisko said.

Garak also escorted himself to the door, then politely shook hands with himself.

Sisko saw a sudden furtive movement between the two.

“Stop!” Sisko ordered.

The past Garak looked back at Sisko, then ran into the room to vanish like smoke.

“Garak!” Sisko said, furious. “You passed him something! What was it?”

Garak's usual pleasant expression became deadly serious. “A small memory rod with Gul Dukat's personal codes. For switching off the station's self-destruct sequence. Did you remember to shut it off, Captain Sisko?”

Sisko hesitated, as if waiting for some part of the present to change as a result of Garak's unwise decision.

“But Garak,” Bashir said, “what about the inhibitor I gave him? He won't remember how to use the codes. Or even if he should.”

But Garak only smiled. “As expert as you are in the field of memory

control, Doctor, rest assured that there are those whose techniques are even more advanced. In fact, I am quite sure that should your inhibitors not function as you had planned, I can be counted on to take one that will do the job required. After the self-destruct is terminated, of course.”

“And did you take the inhibitor?” Sisko asked.

Garak smiled. “Really, Captain, I can't remember.”

Sisko shifted the Orb in his arms. “Time to call it—”

“Look out!” Odo shouted.

But the warning was too late.

As one, the two Cardassian soldiers jumped away from their guards and barreled past Odo and O'Brien and Jadzia, diving through the open door to the lab to make their escape.

But they didn't vanish as quickly as the first three had.

Their bodies hung in midair for a moment, becoming more transparent, then finally settled through the deck at the far end of the lab where they disappeared from view.

O'Brien moaned. “The field was collapsing.”

“Then they wouldn't have been able to punch through on the other side,” Jadzia said. “They'd just . . . merge with the . . .”

O'Brien stared into the lab. “And the trajectory they were on . . . with the station's rotation . . .” His shoulders sagged. “Well, at least we know where they ended up, poor devils,” O'Brien said. “That makes it full circle.”

Bashir nodded. “Then everything's back where it belongs.”

The Orb suddenly felt very heavy in Sisko's arms.

“Almost,” he said.

Because there was still one last mystery to solve.