Sacrilege

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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Sacrilege
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AUTHOR: Steve Ortman (steve_ortman@hotmail.com)

BRIEF PLOT SUMMARY: This Star Trek: Deep Space Nine story is about the battle
between an evil being that thinks its God and the rest of
the universe. Our heroes fight a brave struggle, but as
it becomes evident that this being can control feelings
it becomes a fight against themselves and their inner
emotions. While Bashir is caught in a different universe
and struggles to get back, O’Brien’s love and faithfulness
to Keiko is put to the test…

The young Vulcan female looked worried at the calm Klingon doctor who was standing
slightly higher. He looked back with confidence in his eyes. Her eyes went back to the
human who was lying on the bed in front of her, she was sitting at his side. He didn’t
move and it did appear as if he had died because his eyes were closed. She started to
cry. She couldn’t help it but he was all she had, he was her sweetheart.
“He’ll be alright”, the Klingon doctor assured her calmly. The self confidence of the
physisist brought new hope to her, that he would one day awake from his coma to say
‘I love you’ again. She missed him, at nights she was unable to sleep because he wasn’t
there, his arms would not toch hers. Worse they could not get children anymore if he
didn’t return, and she had so hoped to have another child.
“I hope he will be. I can’t live without him.” She said holding back the tears. Meanwhile
the doctor had moved to the darkest corner in order to think better. What could he possibly
do? The hopes weren’t that well, but he couldn’t see people cry. He wanted to help, to bring
this young man back to reality. It had been the reason why had beome a doctor, he wanted
to help everybody, yet he had also to learn that not everybody could be saved.
She slowly moved over him and gently kissed him on the lips and then whispered:
“I love you! Do you hear me? I love you and I don’t allow you to die! We have so many
things we always wanted to do, don’t you remember? There…” She couldn’t finish it, the
tears were running down her cheeks making her face look red. He had to wake up.

To us 20th century people it was a strange situation, but for him, a young ambitious 23rd
century person, it was as common as a TV set or a radio. His spacecraft evolved out of a
huge artificial building that is to be known as a space station. There were many small
shuttles like his and a few larger crafts that were as huge as a middle sized town. He was
alone in his shuttle that was little bigger than a 20th century car. He used the many buttons
on his control board as if it was as easy as to play a computer game, or even easier. To him
it was routine, merely like shifting the gears in a car. As his shuttle entered the vastness of
space he was surrounded by endless darkness that was only interrupted by the stars and a
sun nearby. Behind him, Altoriac a Vulcan research center far away from the Vulcan home-
world which was built on an inhabitable planet “only” a few light years away from Deep
Space Nine, the home of our young humanoid doctor. His name was Julian Bashir, but all of
his friends called him Julian. Which he certainly preferred, yet on Altoriac he was called Dr.
Bashir. It certainly made him more like a physician but refused to give him a homely
atmosphere which he longed for. He had been assigned to Altoriac to help the victims of the
most vicious murder attempt in Vulcan history, which was perpetrated by a Vulcan which
was most strange because that had never happened before. Even more strange was the
statement of the murderer, who proclaimed that he had only done it because of his “love for
the Vulcan empire”. The Vulcans had decided to ask for an outside investigator because, as
they assumed, that this was a disease of their mind which might spread. Dr. Bashir had
been a logical choice because he was the closest humanoid doctor there was. The leaders
of Starfleet grudgingly agreed despite of the Doctor’s importance on board the Frontier
station.
The voyage home, so the doctor anticipated, was one of the easier tasks of his trip to
Altoriac. But as always when we expect the least to happen everything goes wrong. It was
only a two and a half light-years from Altoriac, that the little capsule of a space ship
approached a monumental metal container. That is strange, Bashir thought. There was not
supposed to be garbage out here. This must be some kind of a space ship, or something
like that, he concluded.
“Computer”, he said. “Scan the object for life forms.”
With it’s usual swiftness the computer replied: “There appear not to be any.”
As the doctor looked at the star constellations of the shuttle he saw that it had taken a turn
and approached the unknown object.
“Report”, he ordered, but the computer replied, “Nothing new to report.”
“Why are we approaching this thing.”
“It is the course you have entered.”
“I have not…”, he trailed off. It was not necessary to argue with a computer, they could not
err. Now that he was as close to the ‘thing’ as a picture is to the wall, he thought he just
might investigate it.
“Computer, what is this object made of?”
“It is made of 25 percent Molybdenum, 10 percent mercury, 7.5 percent Gallium, 7.4
percent Iron and the rest are unknown substances.”
“Thank you.”, he said. This wasn’t what he wanted to find out. What was this thing really? If I
might find a hatchet or some other opening, I could go inside and find out some more, he
thought. But what will Captain Sisko think when I will not be back within the hour? He
decided to send out a message asking the captain for permission to investigate it further.
That seemed to be a good idea, but as he opened a channel for communication, the huge
object opened huge hatchet, which appeared as if a hungry monster opening it’s mouth to
divulge it’s poor , innocent victim. Then suddenly the spacecraft began to rock, and shake. It
began to move into the black monstrous object. Bashir reacted fast: “Full thrusters back“, he
ordered the Computer in a harsh and agitated voice. The thrusters worked, but they had
little effect on the pull of the gigantic mass of metal. Like a tractor beam he was pulled
inside, Warp speed, the fastest speed failed and as he entered the black hole, Bashir yelled
“Report“. But the Computer didn’t answer. “Computer…“, he cried out, but the Computer was
dead. Suddenly another voice came out of the shuttle’s speakers, it was a harsh male voice
very much in contrast to the normal soft female voice of the Computer.
“You have entered the ferocious temple of the Rontuiods. There is no way of escape for
you. You will have to stay within me for a long time. For ever. You will get a new life, a new
identity.“
“What do you mean?“
But faster then he could answer he was suddenly no longer in his shuttle.

Deep Space Nine is a gigantic space station. It has a few hundred personnel and a lot of
civilian inhabitants on it. It has two rings, one is called the Habitat Ring for there are the
quarters and the Docking Ring for storage and scientific stations, but primarily for the trade
between the Gamma and the Alpha Quadrant, the quadrant to which our Mother Earth
belongs. Here all of the major ships, including the U.S.S. Defiant, dock to make trade or just
stop while they are passing through on their way to, or from the Gamma Quadrant. In the
middle of this martial station is the so-called OPS, the Operation Station of DS9, as the
station is called in customary lingo. Though it is a dark and peaceful space station it looks
mighty and honorable. The people to whom this space station belong are the Federation, an
alliance to which many planets in the Alpha Quadrant belong, including such famous planets
as Earth and Vulcan. The commander, a man named Captain Benjamin Sisko, has his
office at the highest spot within OPS, which he regards not so much as an advantage. He
regarded it as a sign of oppression, which the Cardassian Empire, the former owners of the
station, saw as a necessity in commanding a space station. But for him it was a separation
between him and the rest of his crew. Yet after more then 4 years he had gotten used to it,
and, he would certainly not admit it, but he started to like the goddamn place at the edge of
the Universe. Many days on his posts had been routine, but some extraordinary things had
happened over time. He remembered funny things and dangerous ventures. He
remembered Gul Dukat, the former Cardassian commander of DS9, being imprisoned on
his own space station with the self-destruction countdown still running. He thought of Quark,
the Ferengi business man, who tried to keep his traditions amongst so many different races
who had gotten into trouble more than once, and who had unwillingly put the whole station
at risk.
But that day, he thought, it was bout to be as normal a day could be on such a Frontier
outpost. There had been his daily encounter with his Bajoran first officer, Major Kira, who as
always pointed out what he had to do in order to help the still young democracy on Bajor.
Then there had been Odo, his chief of security demanding again the privilege to search
Quark’s bar for suspicious goods. There had been nothing out of the ordinary except maybe
the welcome party they had planned for their old friend, Julian, the chief medical officer of
this station. At 1600 hrs. he was due to arrive at DS9 and everyone would be there for the
homecoming event including Major Kira, Chief Engineer Miles O’Brien, Bashir’s best friend,
and O’Brien’s family; Security officer Odo, a former changeling; Lieutenant Dax, a female
Trill and a friend of Bashir; Lieutenant Commander Worf, the only Klingon in the Starfleet;
and even Quark was there. But at 1600 hours, there was no Bashir. Sisko immediately
smelled trouble, something had gone wrong, his feelings told him. And they didn’t betray
him because only seconds later Dax reported that was no sign what so ever of the little
shuttle which meant that he was at least one hour overdue. At 1800 hours, they found out:
Something had most certainly gone terribly wrong. Sisko’s decision was prompt as it was
expected from a commander.
“I think we should take the Defiant and search for Dr. Bashir.”, he said in a crisp voice. Dax
nodded in full agreement.
“But I think, I will stay here, I have some important business to attend to. Dax, you will take
command, Ensign Matula, Constable Odo and Ensign Jones will accompany you.” Dax
nodded again, and said: “Aye sir.”
“What about me, I would be perfect…” Worf exclaimed. “I need you here, Worf,” Sisko cut
in. “And besides, how should Ensigns learn if we don’t take them on trips. This one is
perfect.” And Worf understood. Yet he was sad, every time he saw an adventure, he wanted
to be part of it. Maybe this time it’s only a routine flight, no adventure at all, he thought.
“So, if that’s all, back to your posts.”
Life on board a space station was often frustrating. Many friends were far away, there was
no nature or natural things. All was artificial, even the food. It was most of the time
replicated out of energy and other molecules. But life was also rewarding: You were part of
a small community and you could accomplish something if you wanted. Everybody knew the
Commander, he was no stranger as the politicians are to us. He was supposed to have time
for everybody.
When the rescue crew entered the craft, Sisko monitored them from his observation post. I
wish I could go with them, he thought. But right now, there was little time for him to go on
such an unimportant mission. His superiors would have agreed, but if he wanted to go, he
could have. Yet the work would wait, no one could do it.
“Are you ready, old man”, Sisko asked through the speakers of the Defiant. The friendly
remark about the old man dated back to the time Dax occupied a male body. The ‘old man’
replied: “Yes, Captain”.
Dax stood on the bridge, as she had often done before, but a little part of her told her to be
afraid. Not that she minded the responsibility, it was just that you could concentrate better if
she was fearful. Yet this was not visible to the outside, she knew how to hide her emotions,
she had learned it from her former hosts. Ensign Jones was Engineer, and so not on the
bridge. Ensign Matula, a beautiful Vulcan female, was their pilot, a very good one with high
grades from the academy. Odo took the area of scanning, which he, as security officer knew
well. This was a minimal crew, not designed to fly longer then a few hours. And all they
wanted was to look for any signs between, here and Altoriac. They wanted especially to
follow the neutrium beam, that followed every starship.
“Impulse speed, steady ahead, reaching 5.6 mark 3.”, Dax ordered his pilot. She followed
her orders swift and efficient, which everyone expected from a Vulcan. First time I got the
seat in command. Matula thought with pride. Maybe they were considering her for a higher
position. Maybe she would be lieutenant in a year. This was the test for that and she would
do the best she could.
Ensign Jones, a half Bajoran half Human male of the age of 29 was feeling alone among
only engines. He was not used to so much machinery and no personal contact. Yet also he
thought that this was his possibility to show them all what he could accomplish. And as
Matula he assumed by the time the next promotions came around he would be considered a
first choice. And come to think of it, he thought, they were already next month. The
happiness that he felt deterred any feelings of loneliness he had before and besides he had
a lot of responsibility as the only officer in engineering. Then fear came to him, what if I
make just a slight mistake and the ship blows to pieces? No, that won’t happen, he
reasserted himself. There was no reason to worry, this mission was just two hours long.
There was just not the time for major things to go wrong.
The departure from the station was a picture perfect take off. Odo could see the familiar
spacestation disappearing, the point got smaller and smaller and as the full speed was
achieved the point became one with rest of the darkness that prevailed out there. To Odo it
was a strange feeling, and as he watched the stars coming and going by the window he
realized that he no longer had a home, except this tiny space station. That he as the only
one had no home he could return to. Except maybe a few other dissidents. Like Worf for
example, he thought. He had, like he himself, betrayed his people for what he had thought
was right.
When they were almost half the distance of Altoriac and Deep Space Nine, Odo’s scan
indicated neutrino residue in space.
“Here are traces of a small spacecraft. But… strange…”, Odo stopped.
“What is it?,” Dax asked anxiously.
Odo didn’t know what to say so he stumbled: “The beam j-just st-stops here…”
“What, that can’t be,” Dax reacted astonished. The readings show a sudden end of all
neutrino particles at one mark twenty.
“How, could that be: There is no other sign of a ship. There is no planet nearby. And no
signs of destruction. How old are these particles?” Dax asked. Odo replied: “Only about two
or three hours.”
“Three point two six hours to be precise”, Matula added.
“Have you been monitoring this too?” Dax asked.
“Yes, since we’ve stopped here, I made my own readings and I find the whole situation
highly illogical.” She’s fast, Dax thought. She could outsmart anyone on board.
“But there has to be an explanation for this,” Dax said desperately.
“I’m afraid not, Lieutenant,” Odo said.
“I agree,” the Vulcan pilot added. Odo was surprised, a Vulcan agrees with him.
Two against one, Dax thought, Bad luck.
“Do I get this right,” Dax asked “Julian vanished like this in the air.” She snapped with he
fingers.
“That can not be possible…” Matula said.
“Yes, I know, there is no air in space, that was just a saying. Maybe, there was a space-time
continuum at place…”
“Wait a second, we can trace that,” the Vulcan replied swiftly. And a second later they had
one mystery more on their hands. No space-time continuum. Not even the slightest sign of
anything.
“Just a moment.”, Matula said.
“What is it?”, Dax said eagerly.
“Oddly there seems to be some sort of telepathic energy emitting from 4 point 6 mark 5.”
“How could that be possible?”
“There seems not to be any logical explanation, sir.”
“Keep on looking.” Dax was convinced that they had found the lead that they needed to find
Bashir.

His shuttle had dissolved and he had lost his consciousness. As he awoke he found himself
on a bed. Close to him a strange woman was sitting. She was Vulcan, so much he realized.
She sat at his side with an illogical worry in her eyes. I must be dreaming, Bashir thought.
But then the woman reacted to Bashir’s awakening.
“He woke up doctor. He’s left the coma.” Now he realized a dark Klingon man who was
standing on the darker side of the room.
“I told you he would.”
The woman seemingly elated said “Hello Stan!” Bashir looked into the room. There was no
one else. Then he realized that she meant him.
“What is going on?”, he asked.
“Doctor, he seems not to realize me”, the woman asked the doctor, worried again.
“That is just natural, when a patient comes out of a coma, they don’t remember things. This
is called amnesia. He will remember again. You have to be patient.” The unusual soft words
of the doctor seemed to reassure the Vulcan.
“Do you still remember me, Stan?” the female Vulcan took her eyes back to Bashir. What is
this all about. A bad joke? A holographic adventure? He decided to play the game.
“No, unfortunately not.”
“Matula is my name.” This sounded familiar to the doctor, but he couldn’t remember where
from.
“Can I contact my friends?” Bashir asked.
“Why?”
“I want to tell them where I am”
“But they know where you are. Here on Camaria. Where you were born!”
“Born? I was born on Earth.”
“Earth, I’ve never heard of such a place.” And again worried she looked at the doctor.
“He’s fantasizing”
“It is maybe worse then I thought”, the doctor said earnestly. “I would like to take him to a
mental hospital for a few days.”
“No, no, I don’t want this,” Matula said with so many feelings, Bashir was baffled. The doctor
still quiet, if you will, more like a Vulcan, said: “If that’s your wish, I will not disagree. But if it
won’t get better in a few days, I strongly advice you to take him to a mental hospital. Maybe
the one in Traghoto.”
“O.K. Thanks Doctor.” She smiled at him, like no Vulcan had ever smiled.
“That was nothing. It was a pleasure.”
The Klingon doctor left the room and Matula looked back at Bashir.
“Stan, I will bring back your memory in no time at all.” Then she gently touched Bashir’s lips.
Just the way he liked it the best. Then he kissed her, more powerful. The emotions rocked
high in the room. It was a strange feeling for Bashir, making passionate love with a Vulcan.
He thought that this was impossible. After the love making, Matula whispered in his ears: “I
don’t think you need a psychiatrist. You just need a loving wife.” And he agreed. He had
always dreamt of a wife and children. The only problem with that was that he would be
bound then. And life for a wife on a space station was just not the right thing.
The next day when he woke up, it was strange again. Nothing had changed. It looked and
felt so real. He wondered what job this Stan had. Was he a doctor, too? Like that Klingon?
“Breakfast”, Matula exclaimed. He stood up. Looked at his clothes. They were not his
Uniform.
“Your clothes are in the left wardrobe,” Matula said from the separated kitchen as if she
knew his problem. He peered carefully in the wardrobe and saw odd looking clothes. They
were very stiff and had short leaves. But what was most annoying was the color. They had a
very strong and metallic green or were pink or black and blue. He took the black and blue
garment because it resembled his uniform the most. As he entered the kitchen and Matula
saw him in this dress she asked: “Who died?”
“Why? Is anything wrong?”, Bashir asked astonished.
“Your dress.”
“What’s wrong with my dress?”
“Stan. This is supposed to be your funeral dress. Don’t you remember. You wore that when
your mother died last year?”
Should he remember? He was for certain, no 1000% sure that he was Dr. Julian Bashir,
medical officer on Deep Space Nine. But all this here, the lovemaking, the food, the light,
the sleep, all seemed real, too. Was he brought into an alternate dimension. He had been
once into an alternate dimension where he had to fought a war. Yes, this was a possibility
although he had seen his counterpart in that other adventure, here he seemed to replace
him. Maybe the black object was the key to the mystery. Yet there were not many clues
now. He decided to play the role of the Stan, or who ever he was, until he found out more.
And who was this Stan anyway?

“Benjamin Sisko to Rescue Team”.
“Dax here.”
“We have found Bashir.”, Benjamin Sisko said.
“You have found whom?”
“Dax, Julian is here on DS9.”
“This is impossible”, Ensign Matula replied. And it was. The ionic trail had ceased at a spot.
Furthermore Bashir could not have gotten to DS9 undetected by the sensors of the Defiant.
Something was wrong here and the crew of the Defiant was determined to find that out.
“I order you directly back to DS9”, Sisko continued.
“But Ben don’t you see: Here is something terribly wrong.”
“What in the world could be wrong: Bashir is back. Healthy and fit for duty.”
“But the ionic trail of his shuttle vanishes at a certain point in space. How could he have
gotten to DS9 without leaving some sort of residue. Furthermore, Matula has found some
telepathic energy emitting from the place where Bashir disappeared.”
Sisko answered coolly: “I think Bashir can explain that to you when you get to DS9.
Benjamin out.”
The crew looked into each other’s eye. The doctor will have to have a pretty good story
about this or they wouldn’t believe it. But they were reassured and eager to find everything
out. They made some final tests and headed back to DS9.
As they reached DS9 they were greeted by Bashir, Kira and Sisko. Not the group that had
waited for Bashir but still more than usual.
“Hello, I’m glad that you’re back. I am happy that nothing happened to you.” Sisko said. A
strange way to greet, Dax thought.
“What could have possibly happened?”, Odo asked surprised and as security officer
seemingly worried.
“I think the doctor can best explain what happened. Isn’t that so doctor?”, Sisko said.
“Y- Yes.”, the doctor replied distractedly.
“I think we should do that in my office.”, Sisko suggested and no one disagreed. From the
docking ring to the operation center, the OPS, it was not a long stroll. Turbolifts, called this
way because they are faster then 19th century elevators, lead from there directly to OPS.
The four crewman, Bashir and Sisko entered the lift, Kira excused herself. She didn’t want
to miss an important religious event, the Barghork, a Bajoran ceremony like the Baptism in
the Christian religion.
When they reached OPS, they were greeted by Worf, the tactical officer on DS9. He
accompanied them to Sisko’s Room. As the automatic doors closed behind these 7 persons
the doctor immediately began to tell his story.
“During my voyage back from Altoriac, I was suddenly sucked into something like a black
hole or something . I have ever seen something quite like it. It was suddenly there.
Everything around me went black and I didn’t know what was happening. And all of a
sudden: I was here. At a docking pylon. It is a complete mystery to me.”
Dax couldn’t say anything. There was nothing to support the story. Yet nothing that should
held against this scientific impossibility, because phenomena happened all the time. It was the
strangest story she had ever heard. And if it wasn’t Bashir who told the story she wouldn’t
have believed it.
“Black holes do not come out of nothing”, the young female Vulcan pilot replied more
courageously than Dax.
“This one did,” the doctor said coolly, “for me it’s a mystery, too.”
Jadzia Dax was eager to find out more. “Julian, where is the shuttle? I would like to take a
look at it.”
“Docking Ring five.”
“Then I will be going there.”
“I am afraid that this will not be possible,…”, Sisko started to tell her.
“Why is it not possible?”, she took a short look at Matula who shook her head in agreement.
“O’Brien is already working on the damage.”
“So fast?”, Dax was surprised. Normally procedures like this could last days, even weeks.
Sisko added to explain “It was Bashir’s wish.”
Bashir’s wish? That was strange. Since when did Julian get interested in those things. And if
knowing the question in Dax’s mind, Bashir said:
“It was badly damaged. I wanted it to be repaired as quickly.” She was still not convinced.
“Very well then,” Dax said. Sisko interrupted her and said “I want you and your crew-
members to have some time off. Maybe get some sleep.”
Thanks, Jadzia thought.
“I want to talk to you for a moment. In private” she said to Matula and they left into the
turbolift.

Odo, his eyes always open wondered the same thing. Bashir’s story was strange and he
suspected of either Bashir doing something wrong or perhaps that this man wasn’t really
Bashir. He preferred the first but wasn’t sure this time. After Dax and Matula had left, he
asked Sisko to talk to him in private. Sisko agreed grudgingly. He thought that Odo had
again something that he wouldn’t like, some bad nightmare to haunt his nights. And he
wasn’t so wrong about that.
“So what is it this time,” Sisko asked after he had dismissed Ensign Jones, Worf and Bashir.
“I duly suspect that something is wrong with the doctor’s return,” Odo said with his orderly
kind-of-British accent. Sisko sat down, seemingly distressed by Odo’s suspicion.
“Do you think the doctor might have done something wrong.”
“No, not necessarily. But when Dax told me that Bashir’s shuttle had disappeared some
where in the galaxy, seemingly without trace and then there is that part about telepathic
energy.”
“That could be totally unrelated.”, Sisko said.
“That’s true. But then how do you explain that his shuttle appeared so suddenly on our
viewscreens?”
“The doctor has already explained…”
“Yes, but what about the report I received from one of my informants who supposedly saw
Bashir twenty light-years in the other direction.”
“Yes?” Sisko asked playing dumb.
“I only thought…”, Odo asked, seeing no sense in continuing this idea any longer.
“I know,” Sisko replied, seeing the dilemma in which our poor security chief was.
“But moreover I witnessed a change in behavior in Bashir. He seemed to be less confident”
“People change,” Sisko tried to reassure Odo, and himself for that matter. But it didn’t work.
This man might not be Bashir? Sisko didn’t know but he was determined to find out.
Sisko wasn’t feeling very well with that. Maybe it was Q again or another dark force trying to
destroy all humans, but it was also possible that it was Bashir, and that he had taken an
illegitimate side trip to some place else. Sisko wanted to find out the truth about it before he
would wrongly suspect his best officer. Odo left Sisko’s office disappointed, had he not
hoped to go to Altoriac to do some research or maybe to that place where his informant had
supposedly seen him.

Bashir had left Sisko’s office and headed for the promenade. He knew that he wasn’t the
real Bashir but a man named Stan Bodner, a man with no family history to speak of.
But that wasn’t his original name either, the name he was born with was kept a good secret.
He even didn’t remember. There was business to do, he thought. He needed an ally on DS9
and he thought immediately of a Ferengi named Quark who had a bar on the Promenade.
At the time he left the turbolift he already heard the noise coming from the bar. There is a
man I could need. A gambler, a possible crook, just the person he needed. Then he saw the
colorful surroundings of the bar. As he entered the noisy place, he was shocked by it’s sheer
appearance. So much liquor everywhere. And easy women. All things that were either illegal
in his religious group or seen as evil signs of hell. But that fit to his job. Straight from his
guide book, the Bible, this pretending to be someone else was also wrong. Yet he saw it
necessary for his cause. How could Humanity survive otherwise? He detested many things,
he didn’t like this station for instance. The Heaven was for God, planets for Humans. That
was his believe. And as time would come, he knew that it would, he would destroy DS9 and
possibly the whole Starfleet. No more hitting on God who was out here in space, he thought.
And there he was: Quark, the Devil himself, standing at the bar.
“Hello, Doctor”, Quark shouted through the bar. “Want to play dart?”
“No, not this time”, he replied. “I want to talk to you!”
Was that a mistake, he thought. Making business with the Devil could bring someone to Hell.
Yet he was prepared to go to Hell. For the sake of his religion. For the community he liked,
for his wife he loved. As he remembered his wife he was hit by pain again. He knew that he
would not survive this mission, but he hadn’t told her.
His thoughts were shattered by the quirky voice of Quark.
“Maybe you want to go to a Holosuite.”
“Where ever we are save”
“Save?”, Quark asked astonished. The Doctor needed a save place. Does he have any
sexual fantasies no one knows about?
“My Holosuites are the safest place on DS9”, which was a blunt lie. Odo was listening into
them since the withdrawal of the Cardassian Empire. But what could Bashir tell him that was
so private as not to allow Odo to hear it. And there was no safer place, at least none Quark
had access to.
“Start program ‘Hula'”, Quark said before they entered the large cabin. Holosuites, or on
starships they are called Holodecks, generate out of energy temporarily matter. You can
have real-time adventures with knights or cowboys or sex or what ever you wish. After
exiting a program, the matter goes back into energy, the whole event, however realistic was
only fantasy then. ‘Hula’ was a erotic program where half nude girls danced on a stage.
When Stan alias Bashir saw them performing their unworthy sins he was shocked and
reacted to it in a way Bashir never would have.
“Stop that. Stop that immediately. That’s horrendous!”
“What?”, Quark asked astonished.
“I- I am not Bashir,” Stan said abruptly. This was the best way to do it. Fast and short. And
easy to understand even for a weird Ferengi like Quark.
“What?” Quark asked even more astonished than the first time.
“You heard right! I am Stan, the ambassadors for the Ugato Religion.”
“You are what?”, Quark asked buffed, although having heard of the Ugato. They were, so
everyone said, a strange religious group who had designated a planet almost 65 light-years
from Deep Space Nine as their secret realm where they worshipped their god. Yet no one
knew what their true beliefs were all about because no one was allowed to witness the
religion nor is a member ever allowed to leave the group. This man now was either lying, or
he was Bashir, either playing a stupid joke on him or he was standing under drugs.
“I am Stan, follower of Ugato, the highest spirit of the galaxy.”
A fanatic, Quark thought. He didn’t like fanatics but he wasn’t against doing business with
them. Money is money, no matter who gives it. Nevertheless, he was a true believer of the
Ferengi saying: A religion of spirits never equals money.
“I have lots of gold-pressed Platinum”
Quark was astonished again. Either not a true believer or the saying was wrong. The latter
proved true.
“For the highest spirit we want you to do something”
“Yes?” Quark smelled money. He knew: Staying careful was the highest priority in any deal,
but in this it was even more important. Fanatics are never to be trusted, a Ferengi rule of
acquisition.
“To provide us with means of moving this space station. We want it to orbit our Holy World.
”
“What?”, Quark was getting more and more surprised all the time. He is a lunatic, Quark
thought. No one would ever do something like that. Stealing a whole space station. And then
with all of Starfleet after him.
“We need it to protect our world against intruders.”, Stan offered an explanation for motive
also he knew that this wasn’t true. It was moreover a first step in getting rid of all space
travel.
“And how on Ferengi Nar do you want to escape the Federation?”, Quark asked.
“We have a hostage. Actually it’s the man they all think I am.” He wasn’t sure if that was
true. Yet God has told him so, and he trusted god.
“Dr. Bashir!”
“Yes, that’s the name.”
“But don’t you think a hostage is not enough for the Federation to start a war with your
people?”
“We are not going to steal the station. We are going to buy it.” Again, a lie. He felt miserably
about it. God had wanted the war, not he. But why did God make him do this? Why did god
wanted him to lie. Deep with in him something told him that this was for the better of God
himself.
“I see you want to forcefully buy the station. No one tried to buy the station before. But with
that kind of means. I am very much interested in your plans.” He did not thought that they
were good or anything but lunatic. Yet he was interested in money and in adventures.

Matula smiled. But Bashir wasn’t that happy. It was not enough that he didn’t knew where or
who he was, but that all things that he had gotten used to where so different now. Where
was the Vulcan logic in Matula, where the Klingon Prowess in the doctor.
“What are you smiling at?”, Bashir asked.
“Just everything. I am so happy. You are back from your long disease and finally getting
sane again”
Sane meant that he began to ‘believe’ what he saw was real, he thought. No, No, No, this
wasn’t true. Some how the black monster had abducted him and taken some medicine to
influence his brain. On the other hand, it is so real. He looked her deep into the eyes and
they were genuinely happy.
“I am Stan, am married and have no children. That’s right isn’t it.”
“Stan, you forgot about little Tom our son.”
“Our son?”, he sounded again astounded and shocked.
“Tom was 5 years when he died.”
“Died? Why?”
“Now you disappoint me. He died because of Colan Fever because you…” she halted and
didn’t know how to continue.
“Say it…”, Bashir commander, already thinking to know what she was going to say.
“Because you refused to call the doctor…”, she began to cry. Bashir felt sorry for that
woman, although the laughing was sounding estranged because of the fact that Matula was
a Vulcan. He wanted to tell her that he was a doctor, but he thought she wouldn’t believe it.
How gruesome was this Stan anyway, did she really love him. Judging from the night he
spent with her his answer was yes. But maybe she was a slave of her feelings, so
uncommon fur a Vulcan.
When she left the room, he thought that it was better to let her cry and precede with his
investigation of who Stan was, what planet he was on or what ever was going on. The first
thing on his list was his identity. He had already found out that there was a computer net on
Camaria. Yet it was not that easy to break in that net because it was not designed for the
general public but for the government. He had stolen a computer and found out that their
net was accessible via the telecommunication net. If you have the right knowledge. He
wished that he could have O’Brien to his side to assist him. He definitely had more
knowledge about that kind of things, Bashir had preferred people against machines. But it
wasn’t that hard to get into the net. The basics that were taught in Starfleet Academy were
enough to break the easy codes that were laid around the system. He wondered whether
they wanted him to break in or if they were fools. Once in he searched for his name. Stan
was all he had. Luckily there were only about 300 Stans on Camaria. And only one that was
married to a woman called Matula. What a coincidence, Bashir thought sarcastically. And
there it was:

Name: Stan Bodner
Wife: Matula
Race: Human
Birthplace: Thoujerds on Camaria
Birth time: 234564
Age: 35 turns
Children: none at present
Workplace: Factory
Job: Assistant Helper
Former sicknesses: Colan Fever, fell in coma for 1 turn
Offenses against state: Actions that led to General Upheaval
Punishments: 5 turns for AGU
Notes: Person is not allowed to travel

What made him most ‘interested’ was the one about offenses. 5 turns, something like 5
years he guessed, for something that sounded like some totalitarian law. He remembered
that kind of offense only from history class. Names like Adolf Hitler or Stalin came to his
mind. Now he wanted to look for more information, he searched for the laws about AGU,
what they seemed to call “Actions that lead to General Upheaval”. He found many laws that
included the AGU, but only one that defined AGU:

§ 45.1 AGU- law. Actions that lead to General Upheaval:
An individual, or group is not allowed to
A] demonstrate
B] reveal it’s opinion in public
C] write any unauthorized books, papers, pamphlets, etc.
D] use a Computer for any means.

This is an outrageous law, Bashir thought.
Suddenly Matula entered the room and screamed: “What are you doing?. Hasn’t it gotten
you in prison for 5 turns before?”
Now he knew what this Stan had done wrong.
“I don’t see why the government can forbid people from using a computer. Or writing a
book?”, Bashir asked.
“Now there’s my Stan again. I told you before and you didn’t listen.”
“What did you tell me?”
At first she didn’t answer but moved toward the Computer and put it off. Standing close to
the unlawful machine, covering it like the money from a bank robbery, she continued with
her explanation. She told him that this law was supposed to protect the government. A
healthy nation, she told him, needed a strong government. He had doubted that and told her
about the USA She had replied that she had never heard about such a place.
“I think there are no USA on Camaria!”
“No, not Camaria, the United States of America were on a planet called Earth.”
“Never heard of a planet that is called this way. Where do you have the information from.
The Computer?”. He wanted to tell her that he was actually from Earth. Yet he had also said
to himself that he wanted to continue the game.
“Yes, should I show you?”
“No are you crazy? The computer is illegal, I don’t want to have anything to do with it. I want
you to bring it back immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because,” she halted shortly, “they can trace us down”
“Okay,” he understood. He didn’t want to unnecessarily upset Matula, and maybe even bring
her to prison. He took the machine, actually not bigger than a small medical instrument, and
left the room. While he stepped out of the house he took another look at the building where
he had found the computer. Should I bring it back?, he thought. Normally he would have
done so, but in this case… He decided to clean it up carefully and remove every trace like
Fingerprints and genetic material. That’s what he knew better than using a computer since
he was a doctor, he knew the possibilities better than anybody else. As he buried the device
he felt eyes peering at him. Someone was behind him, watching the whole affair. They’ve
found me, he thought. Frightened by the approaching shadow he turned around to face his
enemy. He felt a déjà-vû; he had once felt that way before. But that time it had been during
his Starfleet time. He had kissed someone else’s girlfriend, and then the guy came and
killed him almost.
“You’re Stan Bodner?” came an all too familiar voice out of the dark. It seemed to be Quark,
the owner of the gin joint on DS9.
“Quark, is that you?”, Bashir asked.
“Do we know each other?”, the dark shadow replied.
“It’s me-“ Bashir stopped. “No, I don’t think so” Bashir added. This must be an alternate
dimension, like the one Sisko had told him. This is gonna be interesting. Bashir shook his
head. The dark shadow emerged into the immediate realm around Bashir and for a short
second he saw the man’s face. It was a Ferengi, and he looked just like Quark, with few
difference. He wore a dark, long sleeved coat with a high cap. His orange face was
darkened by the deep position of the cap.
“Come with me Mr. Bodner.”, Quark said.
“Where to?”
“To our headquarters. We are the Freedom Fighters” he said coolly.
“Freedom Fighters?”
Quark did not tell more. He just turned around and started to walk. Bashir followed him with
interest.

“We have developed a new kind of transportation. In fact it works similar like beaming. We
build a satellite a few hundred miles away from the station. Then we will point the beam at
the station and dematerialize it and save it in the Computer. Then we will take the satellite
and bring it to our home world.” Damn it, he thought. How can I get around telling lies.
Wasn’t this machine designed to destroy the station rather that to steal it.
“Unbelievable…”
“But true, and it’s simple. Furthermore all people aboard the station will be consequently
beamed down to a deserted place on Bajor.” No, they will not. They will be all killed. For the
better of the world. He felt god saying that to his conscience.
Quark was astounded. What a devious plan.
“There is just one simple problem: where do we find a computer that can save so much
information?”
“We use compression. The data will be pressed on a computer almost 1T bytes less of
saving capabilities. Our method allows us to compress data a billion times. The data of the
whole Alpha Quadrant could be pressed on 12 Mega Byte.”
Good , Quark thought. But good enough? The Federation will find the station and he and
everyone else participating in the venture will be severely punished. This was the first time
in Quarks lousy life that a business seemed not to be worth the risk. Furthermore he would
lose his bar, his guarantee for a steady flow of income.
“So what do you think? Are you going to participate?”
Quark still wasn’t sure. 500 bars of gold pressed latinum were a lot, and then he could give
up the bar and live on Ferengi Nar as one of the richest Ferengis and be envied by
everyone. He might be a holy man in the future, a Prophet even. But then on the other
hand, can you trust a religious fanatic? He thought of Bajoran’s religious extremists and
thought that this would be foolish.
“No,” Quark answered, “I think it’s not worth the risk!”
“Not worth the risk?” Stan said indignantly “500 bars of gold pressed latinum.”
“All or nothing, right?”
“Yes, all or nothing. I thought that was like you. Everyone I talked to told me that you were a
man of high risks.”
Quark felt flattered. And even though he knew that the risks he had taken before had been
nothing compared to what the Ferengi’s call a high risk. This one now was a high risk. Many
Ferengis have become rich through similar high risks. I am a gambler, he reminded himself.
“That is true, risks are my way of life. I take risks every day here on…”
“Are you in or do I have to eliminate you?” He took a big phaser gun out of his pocket.
“Are you threatening me?”, Quark became agitated. A fool to threaten a Ferengi!, he
thought.
He did not say anything, he just released the trigger and fired a shot into Quark’s direction.
It barely missed him but the shock hit him in the middle of his heart. He was convinced that
the anti phaser alarm would be alarming by now but it wasn’t. This guy was dangerous, more
dangerous then 15 drunken Klingons in his bar could ever be.
Grudgingly he gave up. “OK I’m in. But don’t get me wrong, if you don’t give me my money I
will blow the whole thing.”
“You will get your money, Ferengi,” the wrong Bashir replied.
Stan Bodner knew that their group needed a place not only to defend their planet from all
kinds of intruders from outer space but also to destroy possibly all space fearing people
including the Federation. God’s place was violated all the time and they had to put an end to
all of that. Money didn’t matter to them, they got it from a dark figure deep in the woods of
their planet. This figure had become a religious symbol to them. It commanded them what
to do, like destroying this space station. Furthermore it also had given them the inventions
necessary for this venture. This figure, a statute about 4 feet high had become a prophet, a
mediator between them and god. The Figure even knew every verse of the Bible in side and
out and could explain every detail to them. Sometimes, he thought this figure could follow
him wherever he went. Any time he thought that he was doing something wrong, some inner
voice reassured him.
“Good bye,”, Stan said in a harsh voice and left this part of hell, the holosuites, immediately.
Quark still shaking from the shock then he stood stand still, as his younger brother Rom,
carrying a tableau, yelled to him “I have heard a shot, brother. Is everything all right.”

“Headquarters” was a basement of a huge obliterated house. This building looked like the
tenements of a poor underprivileged social class. As Bashir had seen the huge devastated
building it reminded him of his adventure into Earth’s history. They entered the front door, or
at least the rectangular hole of what was once a door.
“Here we have to turn left,” Quark indicated. His fingers pinpointed at a door that was after a
steep letter downstairs. They tiptoed carefully the rotten stairs down for fear they could
break. The Quark tipped four times at the door and said “Live long and prosper”, the Vulcan
saying. Shortly after the big strong yet wooden door opened evolved behind it a huge crowd.
Many unfamiliar faces were crowded into the small windowless room.
“Good that you are back.”, a Romulan woman said to Quark.
“Good to be back”, Quark replied.
“Quark may I ask you who that is?”, a colored Vulcan asked.
“This another man for our group, his name is Stan Bodner”, Quark said.
Bashir wanted to immediately reply that his real name was Julian Bashir, but he was still not
sure whether this was just another trick by the black box to get something from him that he
wasn’t willing to give, something that he even didn’t know for sure what it was.
“I have checked his background,” a man not visible behind the many people said. As he
appeared this man gave the impression of being the right hand of the leader. “and found out
that this man is clean for our purposes”
“Has he done anything that could be related to AGU?”, the skeptical Vulcan asked.
“Yes. He has stolen and used a computer. Was in prison for 5 turns.”
“So, a computer, eh? But what tells us that he has done anything that would further our
cause. Maybe he just wanted to steal money from the government…”
“He has gotten a high penalty of 5 turns…”
“That proves nothing, though I will be convinced if this young man proves to be helpful.
Otherwise…”
“Stop that.” Quark ordered. He is the head of the group, Bashir thought and asked this
question immediately.
“Yes, I am the Chief. Yet I am elected for two turns. Then another one might come.” Quark
replied. “I want to introduce you my friends. This skeptic is Tuvok, our chief of security right
now, this man, my right hand, is Roger Howell. This pretty lady, her name is Taluuda, she’s
my wife. The others might introduce themselves…” And they did, many names and
professions and so one swept to him and melted into his brain. These all too familiar things
made him feel dizzy and after all of the about 30 people had introduced themselves Bashir
couldn’t remember a single name. Except for the Vulcan’s because of his typical Vulcan
features (he was the only Vulcan of the group) and Taluuda, the Romulan beauty for she
showed a sense of happiness that Bashir loved so very much in a woman.
“So Stan, tell us something about you,” Taluuda said.
Oh my god, Bashir thought. He didn’t know much about this Stan Bodner, except for the few
facts he had read in the computer net.
“I think you know all about me already,” Bashir said.
“Correction, Roger knows much about you,” Tuvok said.
“Okay. I am 35, I have a wife named Matula. She’s a Vulcan. I work in a factory and am an
Assistant Helper.”
“That’s not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to know what your character is.”
He paused. He didn’t know what to say. This Stan Bodner was a stranger to him as he was
to them. Should he tell him what a character he was. He as Julian Bashir?
Fortunately, Quark jumped in. “He’s a good man. He will show it to you.”
Everybody was quiet. Only Tuvok was replying to this unsatisfactory answer from the wrong
person.
“If this should go wrong, Quark, it will cost you your head.”
And Quark knew it that this was no false promise. Every time he tried to bring in a new
member he risked his head. But for his goal, unlimited democracy, he would do anything.
Even Tuvok had been such a risk two turns ago when their group had consisted of only two
members, Taluuda and himself.
Bashir on the other hand was fascinated about the group, although he believed that they
were only part of a fantasy that the black box had created out of parts of his brain. This
game stared to get interesting: it made history alive to him.
Later after the meeting he was called into Quarks’ office, which was a dark little cabin at the
end of the room. It wasn’t much bigger then the bathroom on Deep Space Nine was. It was
even more dark in their, only a candle illuminated a little bit the outlines of the cell. “Sit
down”, Quark pointed at a chair opposite to a wooden box, what was supposed to be a desk.
He sat down on a huge wooden chair and looked Bashir in the eyes.
“I really hope that you are on our side, Mr. Bodner?”
“I am.”, Bashir said in an unfamiliar cold voice. “What can I do?”
“I know that you can handle computers very well, and so I think that you can be very helpful
for our course.”
Bashir was quiet. He actually wasn’t a genius in the field of computers, he was a doctor. Yet
this time he had to remind himself of his basic knowledge from the Academy. He was
convinced that he knew a lot more about computers then any one of them. Then some other
idea came to his mind. Maybe I am on a foreign planet in another dimension, then I would
not be allowed to help them. It would be against the Prime Directive, a law imposed by the
Federation to keep them away from influencing not yet developed planets in order not to
violate the natural process of development . This oath had been a problem many times. But
Bashir refused this idea, this was a fantasy. And aside he could and would not bring any of
his technology into this world.
“Have you changed your mind?,” Quark asked after a while of reckoning.”
That might be otherwise a chance to get home, Bashir thought.
“No, I will help you the best I can.”
“Good,” Quark was seemingly relieved. Now their group measured 39 members in total.
This wasn’t an army yet. But soon they might be able to make powerful demonstrations. As
always during those meetings they swore that no one would talk to anyone, that they would
do all that they could to improve their situation, and that when the time comes they would be
ready to fight. They wanted the right for free speech and a fair trial. Not more.
“When will that be?” Bashir asked.
“No tomorrow of course. When we are strong enough.”
“When will that be.”
“When we have more than a thousand men.” A thousand men were not easy to come by,
Bashir thought and he wondered whether they were really serious about this.
“Here we have a first and hopefully easy task for you. We have 4 members of our group
imprisoned. I want you to give us access to the prison. You know, they are guarded only by
one person and a computer. If we could get access to it…”
Easy task?, Bashir thought. What do they think? That if you know how to use a computer
you are also able to break the code of a high security area?
“I can guarantee nothing…”, Bashir admitted.
“We will see. Tomorrow I will organize a computer for you. But now you will have to go
home. I think you wife is already worried. She might think that you go imprisoned again and
call the police. So please hurry.”
“I have one buried.”
“What?”
“Where you found me, lies a computer. I buried it there because my wife was worried about
it.”
“O.K., I’ll dig it up for you. You go home now.”
Bashir understood and agreed to return the next day at eight in the evening. That would be
after working hours, so it would not arouse suspicion. Yet there was another problem, his
wife. How could he convince her of doing something like this. And he couldn’t keep it secret,
she would find out sooner or earlier.
Suddenly a cold shiver went through his spines: had he just felt married? Had he just
forgotten his true identity?

Odo reflected the events of the last few weeks with wonder. A lot of things had happened
that seemed strange to him. It wasn’t only the strange return of Bashir it was many more
things. For example there had been Kira, who had taken more time for religion than usual.
That might not mean much, but he had become interested in it. To his mind came a recent
meeting that he had with her:
“Major, can I have a word with you?”
“Don’t you see, I’m busy.”
“Please Major. It’s important.”
“O.K.”, she had reluctantly agreed. “Can we do it here, then?”
“No, it is secret. I would rather discuss it in my office.”
Then she had unwillingly gone to his office.
“What in the world is so important to disturb the Barghork?”
“Major, I am really concerned in the way many people act on this station recently. Like you
for example, since when are you so much interested in religion that you put it above your
responsibilities.”
“I have always been interested in religion. And I would never put anything above my
responsibilities.”. The anger within Kira had raised. She had wanted to get up and leave
immediately, and stop listening to this nonsense.
“Last week,” he had continued, “You didn’t want to go over the station reports, and this week
you refused to do it again.”
“I will get to them next week.”, she had grudgingly agreed. She had hated to go over those
reports. Especially during such a time as the Barghork. “If you don’t have anything else.”
She had already got up from her chair.
“You’re not the only person that, may I say, acted peculiar. There is for example Gintek, the
Bajoran engineer who quit his job because of this Barghort.”
“Barghork”
“Whatever. Yet I have seen him always as one of the people who like to work on Deep
Space Nine. And he is not the only one quitting.”
“So what? People can quit, can’t they?” Odo had slightly nodded. “I have thought about that
myself.” She had said, and then, before he had said: “What?” she had left his office.
The alarming number of people quitting their job was amazing to Odo still. Most of them
were Bajorans, but there had been also some humans affected. At least that’s what he
thought it was, an infection that had swept to DS 9. He thought of alarming Bashir, but as
he remembered that he must have been the one who had been infected first he discarded
that idea again.
After some thinking, he was sure. It was an illness, and it had all started on Altoriac. That’s
were this strange murder had happened and that’s were they had suspected an illness at
first. There were only a few things that worried him still, like how could Bashir have come to
the station without prior noticing. And if he thought about it the strange behavior had not
necessarily started with the Doctor’s arrival.
This he had to tell Sisko immediately.
“What’s so important constable that you are disturbing me now?”, Sisko said as Odo entered
the office of the captain. Sisko meanwhile had not turned to face his chief of security,
instead he continued to at a candle that was burning in a circle of Bajoran symbols that all
seemed to stand for something else. Odo was faintly familiar with them, they were all
symbols for different seasons on Bajor and the candle in the middle represented fertility for
all those seasons.
“But it is important…”
The captain grudgingly turned around and faced the constable with an angry face.
“What can be so important as to disturb the Barghork?”
“Captain, I have found a recorded conversation that you might find interesting.”

Rom had listened to the whole conversation. He was shocked by the cruelty of the man
pretending to be the friendly Dr. Bashir. Everyone believed that he, Rom, brother of Quark
was dumb. Now he got the chance to prove himself. He wanted to save his brother out of
this misery. Yet he didn’t know what to do. Should he go to Odo, the arch rival to Quark, or
report the instant to Sisko, or Major Kira? They were all not an option, they wouldn’t belief
him since he was a Ferengi, too. He decided to make an extraordinary step, he went to
Garak, the Cardassian tailor aboard Deep Space Nine. Garak, he thought, had the expertise
and the knowledge to handle such a case. Since he was believed to be a spy for the
Obsidian order, or at least a former agent, he seemed to be fit for a way of getting rid of the
fanatic. As he went into the shop full of garments and other clothes, he was immediately
welcomed by it’s owner, a large Cardassian man with a wicked smile.
“Oh who do I see there coming into my store. Isn’t that the Quark’s little brother Rom.”
“Garak, you got to help me.”, Rom said desperately.
“Has Quark dismissed you again?”, Garak referred to a past instant.
“No. The fate of DS9 is at stake this time.”, Rom said very plainly and straight forward.
“No.”, the Cardassian stressed with disbelief.
“The man who says he’s Bashir wants to steal Deep Space Nine.”
“What?”, Garak asked although he had understood what the Ferengi had said.
“Bashir wants to…”
Garak interrupted Rom “I have heard what you said. But do you really honestly believe it?
That’s nonsense.”
“I have heard it. They were both in a Holosuite. The man who looked like Bashir said that
they had developed a method to dematerialize the station, take it with them and materialize
it some place else.”
“And Quark believed this humbug. I thought he was more intelligent!”
“He had to. The man pointed a gun at him…”
A gun, Garak thought. That’s quite abnormal for Bashir, who is a long time friend to his. He
wanted to find out everything about it, maybe Bashir was a secret agent, too, like himself.
There was something very interesting behind this.
“I will look into it, Rom.”, he answered, not making any commitments in any direction. Yet
Rom was satisfied.
“Thank you. If I can help…”
“No thanks. I can handle that alone.”
Rom knew that he would hold his eyes and ears open, and make his own investigation. He
knew that his brother never suspected it, but he watched anything in Quarks bar closely,
with the hope of owning the bar himself some day. Rom left the tailor with satisfaction. His
brother was save now, Garak would guarantee it.
But Garak was not interested in Quark’s well being yet interested in Bashir and his strange
behavior. He remembered past conversations he had with the doctor, and so he was eager
to find out what Bashir had to say about that. Yet he did not believe in anything the Ferengi
had said. That was nonsense. Maybe Bashir had gone mad? Or the Ferengi wasn’t listening
very well. His big ears heard maybe more then there actually was..

“Everything is working perfectly here.”, Stan said.
“Then it’s good. Have you any ally aboard the station?”
“Yes, a crooked Ferengi, named Quark. He wants money, and we don’t need money. He
may be the devil himself but he can help us. He knows how to distract the Federation.”
“I hope that you will not talk more with the Ferengi than necessary. It rubs off on you. May
god be with you.”. The transmission suddenly ceased. Stan was satisfied. Stage one was
over, now he only had to find a way of getting the satellite close to the station without the
station recognizing the machine. Quark would find a way for that, he was sure. God would
help him, like He helped the Jews to their Promised Land many thousand years ago.
His views wandered around his living quarters and as he looked out of the window there
were many stars, all of them God’s children. Then he saw the energy outburst of an
undocking spaceship. “God forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing.”
Stan said to himself. To him all space fearing people were sinners, and he wanted to put an
end to that. God never wanted the violation of his habitat. He knew that god defied murder
but he allowed it this time, because this time it was more then necessary and besides the
figure in the woods, which had been called Ugato, had told them that God would forgive all
their evil deeds if they were directed for the better of the universe and god, himself.
“Dax to Bashir, I have something to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”, Stan replied.
“We will have a medical conference here on Deep Space Nine in a few days. The
Federation wants to know more about your findings on Altoriac.”
“Do you think that this is a good idea?”, Stan asked.
“Do you think that it’s not?”
“No, no. It will be a pleasure for me to attend this meeting.”
“That is more the Bashir that I know. Dax out.”
He wasn’t pleased at all with that message. That would mix up his plans. He should have
made the last step in a week or so. Now he had to attend a conference he knew nothing
about so he would not arouse any more suspicion then necessary. Terrible only that his
knowledge in medicine was so trivial that no one would believe that he is a real doctor. He
had to prepare himself and read a lot, the other thing could, had to wait.
“What? Are you mad?”, the angry voice came out of the speaker as soon as he had told his
homeworld about his problem.
“What should I do?”, Stan replied quietly and frightened. “I can’t say no. They will realize my
identity.”
“You can tell them you’re sick. You are the doctor aren’t you?” the agitated voice answered.
“Y- yes. But if they want proofs for my sickness? If they don’t believe me?”
“If you don’t act as I say, you will be dispelled from our world.”
“I can’t work if I’m sick… I mean while I pretend…”
“I am getting angry now…”
“I- I understand”, he stumbled. He was frightened, he should not only steal, but also lie! That
were already two sins, if God could forgive him that. He said to himself: Maybe I can
proceed with both things and get them both done. The angry voice had ceased. He was glad
about it. Immediately he drew himself to his computer and read as much about medicine as
he could. I will make it, with God’s help.

“You have what?”, Matula said angrily.
“I have become a member of an organization that works for freedom and democracy.”
“We are doomed We are doomed”. She began moving around frantically. She believed that
the secure life was over now.
“Don’t you see it’s something worthwhile, something I always wanted to do.”
“But why? Why do they take you of all the people on Camaria?”
“Because of my expertise in computers.”
“You have been imprisoned for this once. Will you never learn?”
“It wasn’t important that other time. This time it will be. And I promise you, Matula, I will be
careful.”
“You men always say careful, but what you mean is dangerous as jumping out of an
airplane.”
“I did this once,” Bashir admitted.
“I know.” How could she know? Ah, Stan did this once! He wanted to meet this Stan, if he
really existed.
“I can’t really be mad at you.”, Matula replied. “I am the one to blame. How could I marry
such an adventurer in the first place?”
“I think you are most beautiful when you are angry.”, Bashir said without knowing where that
came from. He hadn’t been in love for quite some time, but now he seemed to be again. He
loved everything about the woman he knew for only about 48 hours, and he started to
believe that he knew her. But that was impossible, in such a short time?
She smiled. The remark made the world look brighter.
“If you want, I can ask Quark if you can become a member, too.”
“Who is Quark?”
“He is the leader of the group I’ve been talking about.”
“Do you know him well.”
“Nope”, Bashir lied flatly. He had to, he could have never been able to explain. “So, are you
very angry?”
“No. I could never be angry with you. You can do what you want…”
“Thank you.”
“But I don’t want to be a part of this. I’m too scared. If you get caught I’ll, I’ll…”
“I’ll be more careful this time.”
“I hope so.” She wasn’t happy about her husbands decision but she knew she couldn’t
change his mind. He seemed to be her old Stan again. Now, she was convinced, he was
healed. Thanks, she said to herself. Thank you, doctor, she repeated. Although she saw that
her worrying wasn’t over yet, though his well being was far more important than anything.
Bashir was also glad. This went much better than he had expected. It was her memory of
Stan that convinced her, she thought now that he was the old man again. Maybe they
weren’t so different after all. Yes, maybe that was part of the plan of the big black monster,
too. But, why was his name so different, and Quark kept his own. Stan, Stan, Stan…, he
thought, trying to remember a man with that name. No real person came to his mind, and
the fictitious characters he remembered had nothing to do with Bashir at all. Like Stan
Laurel, the Comedy actor from the early 19th century. Bashir was tiered now, he went to bed
almost immediately. Yet he wasn’t able to sleep. Too many questions bothered him still. If
that black box being could intrude his mind and create a fictitious world then it could get all
the information with out the game it was playing. There was yet another possibility that
came to his mind: Maybe he wanted to play a game to find out how humans react in
different situations. He wanted desperately to sleep, but every time he shut his eyes he saw
the black object snatching him. Sometimes it became an evil monster with deep wide red
eyes and a monstrous mouth. It followed him everywhere, like the devil himself. As he
finally found sleep, he still dreamed about the big monster with it’s claws and it’s deadly
rhythm. Then he heard the voice again: “You will not be the same man again. Ha. Ha. Ha.”
It started to laugh like a malicious animal.

The next morning he woke up, relieved from his nightmares, but still trembling. The gentle
touch of the sun beams streaming into the little sleeping room soothed him enormously. He
sat up and looked to the other side of his double bed and saw Matula sleeping there as an
angle. He loved her beautiful face and her eyes, he looked at her and a smile filled his
young face. How could that be, Bashir was reminded, how could he have such feelings
toward this woman that he had met under such peculiar circumstances. He remembered
now that he had these feelings since the beginning when he awoke from the ‘coma’. She
awoke, too and stretched her arms.
“What a lovely morning,” she said after seeing ‘Stan’ awake.
“Good morning to you, too”
“How have you slept.”
“Not, so good.” he admitted, immediately realizing that he knew no good answers on the
question why he had nightmares.
“Why that.”, she replied with sleepy eyes. Then she groaned and stretched again.
“I had a terrible nightmare.”
“Yes, I heard you screaming in your dream. What was the nightmare all about?”
“A big monster. But I don’t want to talk about it.” And she understood. Many people don’t like
to talk about dreams they don’t understand themselves, yet in this case it was not quite this
way. Bashir knew what the dream was all about.
“Do you want to have breakfast in bed?”, Matula asked.
“That would be fine. But it is not necessary if it causes too much trouble.”
She did bring breakfast to their bed, and Bashir genuinely enjoyed the meal.
“I will go to another meeting with Quark today.”, Bashir announced.
“Do you like the bread? Is it well toasted?”, she replied seemingly disturbed by the
statement.
“I said, I…”
“Stop,” she said aloud, that sounded like an explosion in Paradise. The morning was so
nice, she didn’t want to be reminded by the inevitable truth. It was enough that she knew of
her husbands activities, she did not want it to intrude their ‘normal’ life. Bashir acknowledged
the wish of his ‘wife’. Although he realized her wishes, he also knew that she wasn’t able to
possibly grasp what he was starting to do. If possible, he thought, he could change the
history and consequently the fate of this planet.
After this pleasant breakfast, except for this little instance, Matula told Bashir that she was
going to go shopping because of the upcoming holidays and although Bashir didn’t know
what she was talking about, he did not ask. He would look that up in the files at the
computer. Before she went she promised him to go to his boss and call him sick.
“But if they come and look…”
“I know!” Bashir answered although he didn’t know, and didn’t even want to know what could
possibly happen. It couldn’t be worse then something on Cardassia, he reassured himself.
The walk to Quark’s secret quarters was a long one, taking the detours in account he had to
take. Masked with a mustache and faked glasses, with whom even his mother would have
had problems recognizing him, he entered the dim, shabby place.
“Good that you are back.”, Quark welcomed him. “I will show you your new workplace where
you will be mostly at night.”
“I understand.”, Bashir said. Quark just smiled, and pointed to a carpet on the floor, and just
like in ancient gangster movies, there was a wooden door.
“Although this is the cellar of the building, there is something deeper.”, Quark said while
opening the door. With a crank the door cracked wide open revealing a little cabin with
enough room for a computer and a chair.
“The air isn’t very well down there,” Quark acknowledged. “But you won’t choke. We got
enough air holes leading into it!”
“Good.”, Bashir said. He was happy, this could become the adventure he was always
looking for.
“I will leave you now. By the way, did you tell your wife?”
“Yes.”
“Did she understand?”
“I don’t know. But she won’t say anything about this to anybody.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes” Bashir said. But was he really? He wasn’t sure, maybe love really made him blind.
Love?, he thought. How could he think about love again? Yes, he was really in love, yet
uncertain from where the feeling came. He felt as if he had been in love for many years,
and Matula was him more familiar then he previously had thought.
“Good bye, Stan.” and Quark carefully closed the door. When do you return? Bashir wanted
to ask but he had already left. He tried the door and it was open. But could he leave without
arousing unwanted attention?

“I don’t believe that proves anything.”, Sisko had said after he had reviewed the recorded
interview.
“I don’t see how you can doubt it’s authenticity…”, Odo answered quite distressed.
“This whole thing could be forged, I can’t believe that the doctor has said anything like that.”,
Sisko said stubbornly.
“Not Bashir, Stan. And besides my tapes are always correct. No one could forge them and
actually I even tested them.”
“Then maybe Bashir staged all this to play a trick on Bashir.” Odo couldn’t said anything to
that, yet he looked at his commander with great disbelief.
“But I think it’s rather strange that he would invent quite such a story…”
“That’s enough, Odo. I don’t want to hear anything more about it.”
Odo stayed quite for a second and considered what to do to convince the captain. This tape
was so clear that there shouldn’t be any doubt.
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes, I want permission to investigate the doctor further. I might find more evidence.” The
captain acquiesced silently and uttered a “Dismissed” clearly annoyed by the conversation
with the constable.
After he had left the office he made a stroll across the Promenade as he usually did. His
impression shocked his observing eyes. Not only that it had grown more and more quiet but
also many businesses had just recently closed. Garak’s store was still open, and so Odo
decided to take a look into it.
He entered the front part of the shop and a peculiar odor met his nose. It was perfume.
“Garak, where are you?”, Odo screamed.
Odo heard a laughing somewhere in the back of the store. It sounded like an amused
female.
“Computer, localize Garak.”
“Garak is in his shop.”
“I am over here, Odo.”, Garak said happily as he raised out of the dark area in his shop.
“What’s the matter?”
“I thought you might know something about the…” He wasn’t able to finish the sentence as a
Bajoran women raised next to the tailor. She giggled, and then asked:
“What’s the matter, Garak?”
“It’s only Odo, the chief of security.”, and after turning his face to Odo he said:
“What can I do for you?”
Odo quite surprised by this, Garak was a strange Cardassian which made him not quite an
attractive person for a Bajoran. And Garak wasn’t the type for a Bajoran.
“It’s nothing.”, Odo said.
“If you wanted to ask me about Bashir, I advise you to talk to Rom.”
“Rom? What does Rom have to do with all this…”
Garak didn’t say a word anymore and he and his Bajoran mate vanished into the darkness.
Odo then left the room quite frustrated with Rom on his mind. He had only hoped he
wouldn’t have to deal with Ferengis.

“The medical conference was a splendid idea.”, Matula agreed. Dax was satisfied, they had
found a way to test Bashir. She had the funny feeling that the man who left Altoriac wasn’t
Bashir but a double. She had scientific proof for it. Yet there was also the possibility of a
scientific phenomenon, but she wanted to get sure about it. Matula was the only person Dax
could trust at this point, except for the other persons that witnessed the strange event
between Altoriac and Deep Space Nine. They had put together a long and honorable list of
doctors from all over the galaxy.
List of Guests to Medical Conference
1. Dr. Beverly Crusher (Starship Enterprise)
2. Dr. Luang Lee (Earth)
3. Dr. Vador (Vulcan)
4. Dr. Karosok (Romulus)
5. Dr. Kong (Ferengi Nar)
6. The newly developed Holo Doc
There were these six important medical scientists, and if this list might not look long, for an
remote outpost as Deep Space Nine it was one. These doctors had all agreed to come
despite the risk of bombs or other terrorist threats on DS9. The last one on the list was
actually the least concerned about any dangers, he was only a computer program that
stored an unbelievable large amount of medical data. And in the right environment, that is in
reach of holographic generators, this ‘doctor’ was an unbelievable help. In some cases it
would also be possible to replace actually the real doctor with the machine, that was at least
the opinion of it’s inventor, who by the way looked exactly as his programmed holographic
doctor. Dax and Matula had though that he was the best man to distinguish a professional
doctor from a fake, like they thought this Bashir was.
The day of the conference came, and they were all already assembled in the Holosuite in
Quarks bar, the only place where the Holo Doc could exist on the station. Stan arrived late
for the meeting to which he was not supposed to be. All the doctors were already seated at a
large round table. He recognized Dr. Crusher to his left, Dr. Kong to his right. And he saw
the Holo Doc sitting opposite to him, yet he did not know of his real identity until they were
introduced.
“First I want to show to all of you who haven’t seen him already,” Dax started, “the
holographic doctor. He is a scientific breakthrough. He can assist a doctor very well on a
long, and tedious space flight.”
“That’s right.”, Dr. Crusher, a pro-activist for the new program. “It helped me for example in
our fight against the Borg.”
“Don’t you think that this computer taking over human activities isn’t going a bit too far.”, the
Klingon doctor said in obvious apprehension toward the thing.
“Once I agree with my Klingon colleague,” Dr. Lee pointed out, “A real person is better in
helping people. One who knows no pain can not discern what is good for a crew or not.”
“It is only a doctor’s assistant…”, Dr. Crusher said.
“I think this program can help. It is only logical to assume that it can provide a ship with
100% help in the most devastating situations. Like during an attack a program could survive
much longer then humans, or Klingons, or Vulcans…”, the Vulcan doctor, Dr. Vador said.
Dax carefully peered over to Bashir and saw him only quietly listening. She saw no specific
emotion in his eyes, and that made her even more suspicious. Matula glanced over to her,
and Dax knew what she wanted to say: Ask him. Ask Bashir about his ideas.
“I think we should hear what Dr. Bashir has to say about it.”
With that all their eyes fell on Stan and he became the centerpiece of the round. He felt
insecure and unsafe about what to say.
“I don’t know. I think this might be a good invention..”
Now she was sure, and the nodding head of Matula indicated that she was convinced, too,
even though she had never met Bashir before.
“Now, Dr. Bashir.” , the Romulan doctor said, “we want to hear what you and your team
have found out about the ‘black box’. From what I’ve heard you were able to determine from
where exactly in the galaxy it came and moreover why they died out.”
“Yes,” Stan stumbled. “I – we think that the black box came, came from…”
“What’s the matter, Dr. Bashir?”, Matula asked, showing her blank suspicion.
“N- Nothing. I’m just not feeling well.”
“That is just an excuse…”, Matula returned.
Now every face of the conference looked estranged at the Vulcan sitting outside of the
table. “What do you mean by that?”, Stan asked, trying to regain his self-confidence.
“I mean that you are not the real Bashir but an impostor.”
“Do you mean he’s a shape shifter?”, Dr. Kong asked.
“Maybe.” Matula pointed out.
“There is a test, you know,” Dax added “where we can find out whether he is or not.”
She took a big syringe out of her pocket and injected the needle to Stan’s body. The test
was negative, real blood flew into the needle.
“He is a human being.”, Dr. Kong exclaimed.
“But now we can go further. I got Bashir’s DNA and now we can compare.”, Dax said
triumphantly. The test was soon finished and all medical experts came to the same
conclusion: The DNA of this man was not identical with Bashir’s.
“Dax to Odo.”
Out of the Comm Badge Odo replied: “Yes?”
“We have a suspect here, would you come and take Dr. Bashir or who ever he is to the
prison.”
“Aye, sir.” Odo said. He was relieved that Dax and Matula were finally convinced that his
tapes were authentic.

“Here we can see,” Dr. Crusher pinpointed at a chart that was displayed on the screen, “that
this man is a human being, with genetic material 100% from Earth. Yet his genetic
substance has been altered to the degree that he resembled Dr. Bashir in many aspects.
Nevertheless it is no perfect duplicate, it differs in many essential details. Moreover the
person we have here is in a different state of mind as his counterpart, he has different ways
of thinking.”
“Yes,” Matula continued, “from what we gathered. This man, who calls himself Stan, wanted
to steal the station.”
“Steal the station? But Ensign Matula, that sounds unlikely, even impossible.”
“No, Odo. Our source has told us that they have developed a way of data compression that
is very much superior to the one we know. They wanted to ‘beam’ the station away and
transport it at their planet, presumably for protection.”
“Then he is not alone. Someone is in it with him.”
“That is only logical to assume.”, Matula agreed.
“Yet,” Dax added “we believe that his accomplice is not on DS9. During our investigation,
we regarded a transmission between Bashir, rather Stan, and a planet approximately 60
light years away.”
“But isn’t it also likely that our man has also looked for an accomplice on DS9.”, Sisko
contradicted.
“Our source has told us that there is one, but he won’t tell us who it is. Yet we have a
suspicion in this regard…”
“Quark!” Odo exclaimed. “It’s always Quark who mixes up with bad guys.”
“Yes, that was our suspicion. But from what we’ve heard, the accomplice on DS9 was
pressured in doing this. With a gun.”
“Pah.” Odo exclaimed in grave disbelief. Then he grumbled more to himself: “He would do it
for the money all right.”
“What did you say, constable?” Yet everyone did understand.
“Nothing…”
After a short pause, Sisko put up an order. No one was allowed to enter or leave the station
for the next 48 hours, until testing of all people was finished. The doctors were not happy
about this, but they grudgingly agreed. Odo said that he was investigating this thing further,
Matula and Dax agreed to cooperate, and Sisko decided to question this Stan to find out
more.

Now, they are going to kill me… , Stan thought after Odo had detained him to a cell. He
thought of his friends on his homeworld. And while he thought about his dreadful mistake his
memory slipped back to the beginning. He remembered the black figure in the woods, and
how it had told them everything his people needed to know. It knew every verse of the bible
inside and out. The most famous speech, he heard, was the one about space travel and
what god thought about it. The figure was only telling them what god had told the figure, and
that’s what they believed. This famous speech became known as the ‘Sacrilege’-speech:
“Oh my children on this planet. Here is another message by your almighty god. The God
who helped you to escape the vices of the old Earth. He says to you: Do not reach for the
stars. Every entity who travels through space without my permit is evil. I shall allow you, my
dearest people, to take every necessary step. If necessary, I shall allow you to even destroy
those who are still disturbing me. I know that you are bound by the Ten Commands, but
when the very existence of me, your lord, is threatened I shall make an exception.
Extraordinary deeds are necessary to reach this goal, and I shall add a new Commandment
to your list. It will be included in the Respect-for-god Commandment and it shall be like this: I
will not allow any entity to fly in god’s realm, the heavens, the universe. Everyone who
enters space, so the lord has said to me, commits therefore sacrilege. And I shall add to
that, that if you are not complying with god’s wishes, you will be gravely punished. One
possible punishment may be the exclusion of any one of your people from heaven. If only
one of your people changes his mind and goes against the lord almighty, you will be obliged
to eradicate this individual or all of you will not be permitted to heaven.”
The words screamed through his mind. If only one of your people will change his
mind…Gravely punished…Not permitted to heaven. This all frightened him, not only that he
had to die now, honor committed him to commit suicide, but also that he would be barred
from heaven. His place now was hell, he would be damned to eternal fire. This also led to
his personal assumption that suicide would not be a proper method, it was them who sent
him here into this devil’s place, but he decided to try to take them with him. These Starfleet
people would certainly not allow that he be killed, he would try his best at dying a natural
death, which would mean damnation to all of his religion. He wanted to show them what
they got from sending him, who didn’t even want to go, here to this treacherous place. But
suddenly Stan’s thoughts were disturbed by the buzzing of the automatic doors. Odo, the
security chief, entered the detention area with a determined mind set solely on his victim.
Stan was shocked by the former shape shifter and deterred by the distorted face. Odo did
not linger a second after his advent.
“So who are you, I mean who are you really.”
Stan did not answer.
“I will find out sooner, or later. I have my informants on Deep Space Nine.”
Still silence from the extremely similar face.
“I have someone who wants to talk to you. It’s the captain of this station. A man named
Benjamin Sisko.”
Sisko entered the prison with deep concern in his eyes, his worried looks indicated that he
wasn’t up to something good. He commanded the security chief out of the detainment area.
Then he paused. His eyes stared dead into the face of the intruder. Without saying ‘Who are
you’, this view explained all to Stan. Yet he wasn’t frightened. These godless people knew
no better, they would have acted the same way he did. Then after a pause of about 2
minutes, the time seemed endless for them both, Sisko suddenly approached the man and
said:
“What have you done to Bashir. Have you murdered him?”
“No…”, the man said, shocked by the accusation.
“Now, that is something. Can you now tell me more…” But the room fell silent once again.
The sound of the engines far away sounded hollow behind the walls. For the first time, now,
Sisko had heard the real stranger speak. His voice had become entirely different from the
one he remembered from Bashir. Stan was shocked by his outburst, he had believed that he
was under control of his emotions and now that. He decided to return to this stable state of
mind and say nothing no more.
“So what have you done to him, then?”, Sisko asked harshly.
Stan did not reply, he just turned around, appalled by the captain.
“Did you take him hostage?”, Sisko asked again.
Still no reply.
“Will he return?”
Still silence.
“I will come back, I hope you will be ready then to ask more questions. Odo?”
“Yes, sir?”
“This man will receive no food from us.”
“But sir…”
“I know,”, Sisko knew that Federation regulation forbid such excessive measures, but they
were not exactly a Federation station, but one that stood under Bajoran jurisdiction. And
they did allow this ‘mild’ way of punishment.
And Odo understood.

AGU- The Prime Law
How to keep the masses in control
All governors are obliged to enforce these following laws strictly, if one fails he will be
indicted and punished with the worst punishment possible, the death penalty.
§1.1 People are not allowed to assemble, discuss issues at their work-place or on streets,
demonstrate.
§1.2 There is only one controlled newspaper allowed in each state. The same applies to
Radio stations, TV stations, or other distributors of opinion. Every journalist must write what
the state orders, if he does not comply he will be punished severely, and if it gets printed
the editor will be also punished with the highest penalty.
§2.1 There shall be only one court, controlled only by the emperor of this planet. A citizen
has only the right to sue if the governor of the state agrees.
§2.2 The governor shall be appointed only by the emperor, as the judges, and the police
men.
§2.3 If the governor commits a crime, only the emperor is allowed to prosecute him.
§3 The emperor shall be of the Sisko family. The oldest son succeeds the father. The
emperor is not only allowed but also obliged to have what ever woman he desires in order to
guarantee the succession of leadership.
§4.1 All laws made by the emperor shall be included in this AGU- law. Every law made by
him is only for the well being of all.

Under paragraph 4.2 many laws followed that were written by the emperor himself, many of
them were written in the same undemocratic style as before. That made the young
ambitious doctor furious. This were the laws humans had fought for and against so many
years ago on his home planet. Therefore it was the more extraordinary that a group of
democrats could exist, most people he knew would have declined to work under such
circumstances. Here you have to accept the possibility of death every day, and not only you
are endangered but you’re whole family. Bashir was aware of the dangers, but he knew that
some one had to do it. It needed very brave men and women. His file search continued, and
in hours and hours of hard searching he had forgotten the time around him. Suddenly hard
steps pondered on the floor of the basement. One hard food just stepped on the door of his
compartment.
“They were here all right,” a deep male voice grunted. “But I think they’ve left this place.”
“I’m not that sure,” a harsh female voice echoed through the empty room. “Here are fresh
traces. I think that they were in here last night. I would guard this place and see if they’d
return tonight.”
“Agreed.”, the dark monster roared back. “But first I want you and your men to search the
whole building for witnesses and traces, is that understood?”
The female jackal meowed a yes back and retreated. Seconds later the room was filled with
men and women, aggressive footsteps crashed on the little room deeper then the cellar. Will
they find him? Was that the question he should ask himself, or rather when will they find
him? Frantically he made the light out and looked at the floor and saw that the floor
consisted only by a board. If he could quietly stand at both walls and grab the board he
might be able to hide underneath. His actions became smooth though his whole body
trembled. While being spread he touched the two grips that had been nailed on the floor.
Slowly he opened the door, at least it looked like one. After he could take a look into it, he
realized that there was no floor anymore. The darkness didn’t disturb him, yet he would
have liked to see where and how deep the hole was. After carefully touching the four sides
of the shaft he felt cold iron. A ladder, Bashir thought. He was relieved, even happy. A fast
jump to it made a loud noise, but apparently no one heard it because of the greater noise
they were doing upstairs. Bashir decided to take the computer with him but his trembling
fingers made it slip out of his fingers. Bashir’s heart halted as it fell, but after a longer than
anticipated fall the computer splashed quietly into water. Carefully he closed the door and
took one step of the ladder at a time, deeper and deeper down the dark shaft. Although he
had been glad that the computer had fallen so silent, he was frightened by the sheer depth
of this shaft. Cling, cling, cling…It went on like this for what must have been at least 10
minutes. Then he felt the water underneath, he wondered whether there was any path along
the water. He frantically touched his surroundings very carefully but unfortunately there was
nothing but the what he believed was the towns sewage water. It stank terribly, and the only
option was to jump into it. He already felt the breakfast coming up in his stomach when he
heard the noise at the top of the shaft. Apparently the shaft’s opening had been detected, he
had therefore to jump fast. And without more thinking he just slipped into the dirty water. He
drifted and drifted. It seemed almost endless, and as he had already given up hope of a safe
exit he was washed out into a river. The river, although outside of the town stank as much
as the sewage. He swam softly to the shore where he was greeted by a dark crippled figure.
He could barely recognize the face of the shade, when the dark voice creaked: “I want your
money!”
Bashir replied wholeheartedly: “I- I don’t have any money.”
“Don’t gimme that buster.”, the man replied.
“How do you think that I have any money. I came from the sewage, didn’t I?”
“Townie, you come from inside?”
“You mean if I come from the town, you’re right.”
“Ev’rybody who comes from inside has money.”
“I don’t.”
“If you don’t, buster, you ain’t gettin’ in there anymore!”
“Why is that?”
“Are you dumb, or what? They charge ya’ for entering the town. Where do you come from?
From Outer Space?”
That wasn’t so wrong, he thought, and maybe he should tell this man the truth.
“Yes, I come from Outer Space.”, Dr. Bashir said.
“Are you kiddin’ me? So you think you are a Martian?”
“Something like that. Where is that planet Mars?”
“Don’t know. It’s just a sayin’ around here. Martian means little green men from Outer
Space.”
“I come from a planet called Earth.”, Bashir admitted.
“Earth, that means dirt, right? So your planets a dirty one?”
“My planet is the most beautiful planet in the universe.”
“So why call it Earth, then?”
Bashir did not answer, holding on to this theme would bring him nowhere.
“I will go now.”, Bashir stated and walked away. Yet the man, still unidentifiable, followed
him steadily. “And how will you do that?”, the stranger implied sarcastically. Bashir did not
answer, he had already talked enough with this specimen. Undisturbed, Bashir steadily
walked toward the steep, yet blurry walls of the city. As he arrived at the outer sides of the
wall he was baffled by its sheer height, without the proper gear there was no way of entering
the town. The sewage, he remembered. He left the town through it, why shouldn’t it be
possible to enter it this way.
“If you think that you can enter it at all, you’re wrong. There ain’t no way not even…”
“The sewage?”, Bashir asked.
“Yes, not even the sewage.”
“So, how do you know? Have you ever tried?”
“What do you think we are. Naturally we tried it and failed dismally. You always get sucked
out, the way you went. There’s too steep to climb.”
“How about special gear?”
“Where you gonna take ‘special gear’, we are poor!”
“There is always a possibility.”
For the first time the man said nothing, and the quietness of the night came in as a third
player. The stranger just stared at Bashir, investigating this thing he couldn’t quite estimate.
Then a light from the town’s interior ran over them and a loud voice, coming apparently from
a megaphone yelled: “Who are you and what are you doing?”
“My name is Stan Bodner, I’m from inside.”
“Then go to the gate and pay for entering.”
“I lost all my money!”
“That’s your problem, but if you don’t leave now you will be imprisoned.”
The dark beggar pulled Bashir out of the limelight and into the dark uncertainty of the
woods. They walked for about an hour and then entered a rundown cabin that was part of a
huge settlement. As Bashir entered the room, he recognized the face of the stranger as one
all so familiar face.

What can I lose when I tell this captain?, Stan thought. Yet there was his once strong faith
into God and the dark statute in the woods. For the first time he had realized that there was
more then just their little planet in the universe, and that many things were interesting out
here, there were lots of things to discover, and lots of adventures out here. Life on his home
planet had always been the same dull thing, being born, working for a living and dying,
which included taking no risks. The father told the son what to do, which was normally to
take on the family business. Here everything was different. When he had first seen the
station from outside it had evoked a strange feeling in him that he hadn’t been able to
describe until now, it was the pioneering spirit that was deeply rooted within him. The night
went about without sleep, he had to think about so many confusing things that he wasn’t
even sure what was right and wrong anymore.
The next day came without notice, then long into the day the captain came back into the
brig. He saw no reason to drag this thing on for much longer and so he asked outwardly: “So
you are Stan Bodner, aren’t you?”
He hold quiet though knowing they knew all, all he had told this rotten devil. They had
outsmarted him and he didn’t care, no more. All was over anyway, he thought.
“Where is that wonder gadget of yours?” Sisko asked trying to find out about the high
capacity beam.
“Wonder gadget?”, oops, he had said something, his strategy of keeping quiet had slipped
away.
“You know what I mean!” Sisko said seemingly relieved because the stranger had finally
responded to his method of interrogation.
He had finally given up, he now had decided to tell this black man everything he knew about
his mission to hell. Sisko heard the story of a black figure in the woods that had given them
everything they needed, including the invention to steal the station. Furthermore he told him
that the figure was the center of his people’s thoughts, it was their prophet and they did what
it told them. In his case it was supposed to be a mission of great relief for god, because it
was supposed to be part of the destruction of all space fearing people.
“But what happened to Bashir?” Sisko asked.
“That black figure in the woods has given me the looks of your medical officer and sent me
here to steal the station. I have never seen the real Dr. Bashir and I don’t think I want to
meet him.”
“Always the black figure in the woods,” Sisko had complained.
“But it’s true. I’ve seen the figure. If you want to get sure on it’s existence you have got to go
to my home planet and check it out.” Sisko was satisfied, everything he wanted to know he
had found out, and he was almost positively sure that this man wasn’t lying this time. But he
also knew that he had to send someone to Thorrok, Stan’s home world. And he knew just
the right man for this job…

“Why on earth me?”, O’Brien said exasperated. “I am no detective. Why not Odo? Or
Worf?”
“Because you know technology like no one else on this station. You are an experienced
scientist. And besides I need a human for this mission, since these fanatics seem to be
uniquely humans.” Sisko replied calmly.
“But what if the Klingons attack the station?”
“Ensign Saroda will be fine. Haven’t you said that he’s your best man and that he knows the
station almost as good as you?”
“I did, but…” But there was no more lamenting, and O’Brien knew it.
“So will you go?”
“I will!”, though he hated it. He had to go, it was his duty and moreover Sisko was his
commanding officer, he had no other choice.
O’Brien left Sisko’s office, the head down, to go to his quarters. This mission meant going
through a lot of data and analyzing it thoroughly. His life would depend on the correct
interpretation and assumptions he would make about this people. Keiko, his wife who was
currently on a visit to Deep Space Nine, waited for him in his quarters. That was the only
good thing, he thought. Naturally surprised by O’Brien’s upcoming excursion, Keiko
congratulated him on his adventure.
“Won’t you be worried at all?”, Miles Edward O’Brien asked.
“Yes, Miles, I will be as much as you are when I am investigating Bajor for biological
phenomena.”
“But that’s not the same. I will be in real danger!”
“Does that mean, you think that what I do on Bajor is completely danger free.”
“I mean I might get killed.”
Keiko didn’t answer. She knew it was futile to continue this argument. Since it was only a
short time they were together they had to do things that were nice to remember. She
detested to part in an argument, as they had before.
“Do you want to drink your favorite tea?”, Keiko said finally to break the tide.
O’Brien grudgingly accepted. He wasn’t really annoyed by his wife’s reaction and so her plea
for reconciliation made him forget his anger. No it was this mission what made him uneasy.
One day later the Orinoco was ready to leave spacedock. Sisko was there to wish him luck:
“I wish you luck, Miles.”
To his surprise Major Kira was on board of the little runabout.
“Oh, I forgot, Major Kira is accompanying you on this perilous mission.”
“But haven’t you said, only humans?”
“Major Kira will be in the runabout all the time. If you are in danger, she will beam you up in
no time at all.”
O’Brien understood, and moreover he was really pleased by it. Now he wouldn’t be alone,
now there was someone to talk about. Furthermore Keiko had not to worry, because she
knew that there was nothing between them, never had been and never will. And she knew of
Kira’s sense of honor and O’Brien’s loyalty.
The Orinoco departed at exactly 1203 hours and headed for the Thorrok solar system. It
reached it three hours later where O’Brien beamed down to the surface. As he materialized
he saw the outlines of a very primitive village. “What technology?”, O’Brien said to himself,
and opened a channel to the Orinoco.
“This is O’Brien.”
“Here, Kira. How is it down there.”
From my first impression, I take them to be very primitive.”
“But what about this Stan, is he a liar?”
“I will find that out. O’Brien out.”

He looked just like O’Brien, but his voice, his dialect was anything but Irish. In the darkness
Bashir had not been able to see the tramp’s face clearly, but as his friend’s face appeared
Bashir was stunned at best.
“Look Garcie, I found someone who claims to be from outa space.”
“Huh? Haven’t I told you Ben not to bring home ya’ friends. We have no food. Nothin’ to
offer.”
“He’s from inside and has no money to get back in. That’s right?”
Bashir was baffled and couldn’t say a word, this resemblance to an old friend was
overwhelming. He just nodded.
“Didn’t you jest say that he’s from outa space???”
“Yeah. I figure that his UFO landed within and that he fell into the sewer. You know, that’s
the place I fished him out.”
“And now he needs to get inside back to his UFO??? What a story, Ben, but haven’t you
been drinking too much today, haven’t you?.”
She looked at Bashir now with a demanding face, almost asking: Why do you tell my poor
husband such stupid tales?
“It’s true. I am from outer space.”, Bashir admitted adding: “but I haven’t got an UFO inside
the town walls.”
“So how did you get then on the planet, wise guy?”
“O.K., I am not from Outer Space, but I am from inside, and I am working for a free
democratic society where poor people like you and your husband get an even chance in
life.”
“Even chance? Marcie, have you ever heard something ridiculous like that before. Besides
should I believe you now? Since you lied once before?”
“You don’t have do, but it’s true.”
“Well, well. Now that you’re here I can offer you some of our soup. It isn’t much, but it’s all
we have.”
“That’ll be fine with me.”, Bashir said, feeling now the immediate desire to eat, a compulsion
hardly to suppress.
The meal was anything Bashir had ever seen, a small bowl of soup was brought to the
shabby wooden table in the middle of a barely furnished room. Bashir sat, like a king at the
top of the table, to his left and right were five children and at the end of the table were Ben
and his wife Garcie. Ben opened the meal with a short prayer, and then the food battle
started, it was like a Klingon battle. Through screaming, shouting, fighting the little children
tried to get something.
“Stop.”, Ben said. “We have a guest today. His name his Stan.”
The children’s chorus said: “Hi, Stan.”
“He should get a whole plate full of soup.”
“Don’t bother…”, Bashir interrupted.
“O.K.”, the children replied all at once.
Bashir received a plate full of the light soup, that resembled water rather then a soup. Then
the battle continued, and the amount Ben and his wife got was hardly anything. Amazement
and shock filled Bashir and he could now understand the past better. Here it was worst then
on his voyage back in time, where he and Sisko had to fight for the better of humankind.
After the meal Bashir said to Ben, if he knew anyone who could help him get back into the
town. Ben answered, that he didn’t but that he could assemble some people to make a plan
for him to get in.

Amazing two hours later a large group of citizens were assemble in front of platform. Bashir
and Ben were standing on the stage. Then the O’Brien of this world began to speak in his
American style English to the crowd in front of him, and that without the use of any help,
microphone or otherwise.
“Dear people of the outside world,” he started what astonished Bashir, because he had
gotten used to his bad grammar. “I have to show you a man who comes from inside and
wants to change the world for us and for those inside.”
The masses applauded to the magnificent words.
“The only problem is, how do we get him in again. He has no money what so ever.”
The sounds of ‘why not?’ and ‘really?’ filled the arena.
“He fell into the sewage and lost all his money. Then he drifted out here and stranded right
before my own eyes.”
“And you believe that dude? He could be a fake tryin’ to make an impression.”
“He sure could. But he’s the best chance we’ve got right now. He said he belonged to an
organization for democracy. They are way big in there folks…”
Bashir listened with bewilderment and amazement to the enormous speech. There were a
lot of exaggerations in it, like that their group was ‘big’ in the town, but Bashir didn’t
contradict. As the speech proceeded Bashir felt more and more strange. There was this
feeling in him that longed for home, and that was his place on board the space station Deep
Space Nine, on the other hand he was strangely drawn to Matula, his wife in this reality.
Since Deep Space Nine seemed blurry and long gone his memory of Matula was vivid and
clear. She would be worried now, that he had disappeared. Indiscernibly he feared that she
might think that he was caught by the police. It was his inner mind that told him that it was
his fault, and since he might be caught here for ever he should have thought of an easy life
in advance. Now he was caught in a big mess and no idea how to get out of it. Fight, his
conscience told him and he knew that he would do this, and naturally he understood that he
had taken the right choice: how could he have lived peacefully in a world full of oppression
when he was used to absolute freedom?
“And that’s why we have to help him with all our force…”, Ben concluded, and their was
applause and a huge standing ovation. One man came forward with a plan to get in, then
another one came forward, all did they had ideas how to enter, some of them were good,
some not.
After hours of discussing various plans they came up with an almost perfect plan.

Many faces looked at him with bewilderment. A stranger who came to their town was so rare
that it was almost ever greeted with welcome. Everyone came forward as O’Brien entered
what seemed to be a market place. As he stopped at the fountain that was in the center of
the town he suddenly asked: “Where is the mayor of this beautiful town?”
A little man stepped awkwardly forward and whispered: “That’s me, James Halloway.”
“I have come a long way and I need a room for the night, do you know a place where I can
sleep?”
O’Brien thought that this must have been the feeling of a stranger in old Western movies.
Except that he came on foot, they did on horses.
“You can live with us. My wife is going to prepare a room for you.” And there was more that
resembled an old Western town, there was this church in the middle built out of gravel and
the wooden fronts of the little homes, the painted advertisement on top of the general store.
It seemed as if there was no technology of even the 20th century and the people that
surrounded them looked all rather poor with one type of clothing, the women had long
traditional Christian dresses and the men had long pants and wide shirts.
“If I don’t bother…”
“No, not at all, but if you want to take a bath beforehand you should go to the barbershop at
the end of the road.”
“I will.”, O’Brien said trying not to offend his host. And since this might give a good start to
his investigation he started walking right away. The other inhabitants of the town slowly
dispersed again, going back to their daily duties. In spite of O’Brien’s first impression of the
settlement as being primitive he started to like it, it appeared to him like walking through the
pages of a history book. It was different than on a holo deck: here everything was real and
he felt it. Here there was no command to end the program.
The barber shop had a beautifully painted sign on top of the building, it said: Steve Jones,
jun. Barber. As O’Brien cranked the door open he found himself in a sparsely lighted room
with a chair in the middle and a cash counter at the end of a room. Leisurely an old man sat
on a chair that was leaning at the wall.
“Can I do somepin’ for you?”, the old man said in an old Western dialect.
“I was told I can get a bath here.”
“You heard right, man. I have the best bath tub in town, and the only one.” He laughed
about his own joke as if he had told it for the first time. O’Brien smiled just slightly but
showed no other emotions. The old barber showed him the way to the back yard where a
wood ton full of water was standing.
“There’s you’re bath tub.” He started to laugh again but coughed then. Automatically he
drew a bottle of alcohol out of his pocket. First he smelled it then he took a large gulp of the
liquor and coughed again, and spitting part of it on the floor.
“This stuff is hot,” the man said. O’Brien wondered how this man could drink hard liquor
although this religious fanatic had told him that this was a devious thing.
“I know it’s illegal. But I make it myself and it lets me stay alive out here. Want a sip, too?”
“No thanks.” O’Brien answered. “But can I ask you something?”
“Sure, I tell everybody everything, that’s another bad habit I got!”
” Is this town really as religious as I’ve heard?”
“You can bet on that. But isn’t any town. This stupid, please excuse me, stupid God brings
us all to the knees.”
“Why is that?”
“He wants us to live pure and drink none of the good stuff. Furthermore he doesn’t allow us
to go out there, into the galaxy. I think there’s a lot of money just waiting to be picked up.”
“I have read nothing about that space travel is against God’s law. And I’ve read the whole
bible.”
“Some strange figurine in the woods has told them the nonsense…”
“Have you seen that figure?”
“No, but why am I telling you that…”
“I can give you a chance to get away from here…”
“Then you’re not from this planet?” The man seemed to be more intelligent then he had first
appeared.
“Let me say I am from far away. Can you bring me to that figure of yours?”
“I’ve never been there. I’ve got better things to do then to look for crazy figures in the
woods.”
Then the man retreated into the building and O’Brien undressed himself to bathe. After he
had left the cold water he went back in the house.
“That makes 50 ¢.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“If you don’t pay, I will call the sheriff.”
“And then I will tell him about the whiskey.”
That did it, the barber didn’t say another word he just went back to his chair and leaned back
toward the wall.
“I only have one advice.”, O’Brien said like a Western hero telling a morale tale, “Don’t tell
strangers everything.” The man didn’t show any emotion, not that O’Brien had expected any.
He just answered: “Tell no one that you’re not from here. They’ll kill you.” Good answer,
O’Brien thought and left the stingy place when a cold breeze shook him, and a deep voice
pondered: “O’Brien, I know you have come to see the truth.” And he felt the presence of
something, and it smelled like death. Then he shook his head, this must have been the
wind, he thought.

“Start audio playback of Tromhaok’s melodies.”, Kira ordered the computer. This was one of
here favorite Bajoran melodies, she associated it with the days she was in love with Vedek
Bareil. As there was nothing to do right now she laid back and relaxed, her views went out
into the galaxy where she could see the endless blackness. Then the lyrics, written by Tduk
Nos set in and drew her back to the days they were fighting. Somebody might think it would
make her angry, hateful and callous but instead it made her happy and vigilant because she
had been able to help defeat the despotism of the Cardassians. The title to that poem, that
Tromhaok used for his song, were as perfect a description to her past as possible. Yet she
had never heard this song, or the melodies, the operas or anything else Tromhaok had
written during the war because she had been to occupied with her labor, but Vedek Bareil
had shown her all these masterpieces of the war.

Somber is the night
Death leans to our right
Deadly weapons shell toward the black.
Terror is the name of the rack.

Shall we move on in endless grief
We are left alone in this mischief.
They took us those dear loved
While we were retreating so soft.

Let’s move on to the weapons
They want it no other way.
Shall death take possession of those
Who put us into endless grief.

Yet after one or two minutes a black object appeared at her view screen, Kira immediately
ordered the computer to scan the object. “It is an empty metal container made out of 36.3 %
Iron,”
“That’s enough.”, Kira was not interested in it’s chemical composure. She decided to leave it
by itself, their mission was something else anyway. The only thing she did do was say a
special note in her log, informing Deep Space Nine at this point would not be necessary.
Yet suddenly the little runabout began to move. “Computer, report.”, Kira said immediately
alert.
“All systems are normal.”
“But we are moving. Computer, full thrusters away from the pull.”
The engines started to work. “Go to impulse.”, Kira ordered but still her little runabout was
drawn closer to the black box.
“Go to maximum warp.” Kira said with desperation.
“Impossible. Warp drive has been disabled.”
“How could that be possible?”, Kira cried aloud.
“Insufficient data.”
As the black box came closer and closer Kira decided finally to inform Starfleet and O’Brien
down at the surface. “Kira to Deep Space Nine.”
There was no response.
“Computer, what is happening.”
Suddenly a deep voice came out of the speakers of the computer: “Your computer is gone. I
am now your guide. You will now enter me, this black box.”
Fearfully she saw a hatch opening, then her little spaceship entered it. After that the ‘door’
closed behind her and she suddenly left the spaceship. “What is h- happening… to… me.”
She stumbled.
But as she had said the last word she found herself lying in a bed.
“Have you had a bad dream again honey?”, another voice said, that sounded very familiar
to her.
As she looked toward this person she saw Benjamin Sisko next to her. He had nothing but a
pair of shorts on.
“What’s this?” Kira cried out frantically. In that instance she realized that she was also
sparsely dressed.
“Honey, I brought you breakfast.”, Sisko replied not irritated.
“I mean what are you doing with me in one bed?”
“What do you mean? We are married, aren’t we?”
What has happened? Kira asked herself. Was she now caught in an alternate reality as
Sisko had been once. He had told them that he had met a devious Kira there, she must be
caught by that black metal container. She couldn’t help but think that O’Brien must be in
great danger.
Kira looked at the breakfast, which was rich of fruits and meat, thinking that she might be
caught here for good.
“Nerys. How do you like it?”
“What?”, Nerys? She hadn’t allowed many people to call her this way because it was a
personal name. Although her second name this was her own name, give by her mother,
which was preserved for special friends like Bareil.
“The breakfast, of course. Are you still sleeping?”
“Of course. It’s, it’s really pretty.”
“Pretty? It’s a masterpiece.”
She allowed herself to peak over to Sisko, and deep in her heart she suddenly felt
something she couldn’t quite understand. She breathed deeply and her eyes widened, she
wanted to kiss him. No, this can’t be true, she said to herself, I am not in love with Ben, he is
my commander.
He apparently understood the signs and kissed her gently on the mouth. Kira, who
remembered those sensations only from Bareil, was drawn unwillingly closer. Their tongues
touched each other and Kira felt love for the first time again.

He hated to stand guard. Especially at the north west gate which was the least frequented
one of the six entrances of the town. Since he got his salary from the people who wanted to
pass this one was the worst. He was only glad he had no family to feed. It was a terrible job,
and he would have quit immediately if that would not have meant leaving the town. In here
you had at least clean water and electricity for little pleasures like watching TV. Out there
were only poor people who got cholera and many of them died at the age of 30, many even
earlier. Now it was late in the evening and he sat on the chair as usual and read some
magazine with nude women in it, dreaming of them.
Suddenly he heard a noise from the wood, there was someone who said “Psst.”
“Who’s there?”
He saw a beautiful blonde girl in the green of the woods. “Come to me and I show you
something.”
I can’t go away, he thought. Then he could see a piece of cloth falling into his direction.
Damn it, I can risk a short look. And he ran fast, constantly looking back and forth, and as
he reached the girl a branch hit his head and a black out followed.
“Here take these clothes and the money and hurry, we will both go into the town.”, Ben said
to Bashir.
“Oh, no. I will go alone, you have wife and children.”
“No, I will be a decoy and then after stealing some food or something I will escape. Don’t
worry, we need you to get in there unnoticed.”
“O.K., but I still think it’s no good idea.” Bashir was truly worried, since at home this man
was one of his few friends. Yet he understood the logic behind Ben’s plan.
After Bashir had changed dresses and Ben had taken Bashir’s in the hand they both entered
the little gateway that wasn’t larger then a normal house door. First they walked quietly
along the shadows of the houses then they looked for a dark place to change dresses
again.
“Now it’s time to say good bye.”, Ben said.
“I will see you again.”
“I have no time now. Bye.”
“Bye.”, Bashir said but the man who looked like O’Brien had already disappeared in the
dark.
Bashir’s thoughts now were to get home as quick as possible, Matula must be dead of worry
by now, he thought. The only problem was, how to find their home. Since he had been here
only for a few days now he felt totally lost in this monstrous town. As it seemed it was at
least 10 square kilometers large. He decided to take a taxi cab, which was something
normal here.
“Good day,”, the computerized taxi driver said as Bashir halted one of these vehicles.
Bashir didn’t say anything but entered the cab.
“Where do you want, if I may ask.”, programmed to be friendly all the time.
“I want to go home.”
“May I ask you where that is. I need at least the name of the street.”
“I don’t know for sure.”
“If I may ask you: are you sure you don’t want to a mental institution.”
Bashir said not irritated: “Do you have some sort of telephone, or communication book with
a list of all people?”
“I am programmed for that.”
“Bodner, Stan. Where does he live?”
“There are 24 persons with the name Stan Bodner in the town. Which one do you want?”
“Bodner, Matula. He is married to her.”
“That is 23rd Street B14. Should I take you there?”
“Yes”, Bashir said with relief.

Finally he stood in front of his house. Was she at home? He rang the ordinary door bell and
Matula appeared on the view screen. “It’s you?”
“Who did you expect?”, Bashir answered quite shocked by his wife’s response.
“It’s just… I thought you might be dead.”
“Dead? How did you think I was dead?”
“Because… Why are we talking at the door. Come in.”
The large door opened automatically. Then he walked down the long corridor and Matula
opened the door to B14. She looked as lovely as ever. Her eyes were wide. Bashir ran into
her arms. They embraced for quite some time, kissed each other for almost half a century,
or that’s what they felt, and entered the apartment arm in arm.
“You know you had me worried so much I almost went nuts. Tell me, what happened.”
“It’s a long story…”
“I have time, tell me it.”, she said it with that look in the eyes. Happiness and elation filled
his hole body, it was love what he felt. He had never felt it that much before in his whole life,
and what frightened him, he liked it. He even liked it so much he thought about staying here
forever. Deep Space Nine was too serene and without love.
Then another memorable night followed, something special that you never forget in your
life. And as he awake the next dawn Bashir felt more happy then he had ever felt before. A
smile filled his face as he saw the light of the early sun touch his nose. This was something
he had always longed for: a loving wife, a great family. Then the communication device,
known as telephone from Earth’s history, made an alarm sound. Bashir took the receiver,
that was built in a banana shape, and held it to his ear and to his mouth.
“Yes?”, he asked with a sleepy voice.
“This is Quark, oh it is you Stan?”
“Yes it’s me.”
“You’re still alive. We will make a party immediately…”
“Halt. Stop, Quark what makes you think that I will still…”
“…and then you will tell us how you survived. We thought you were taken from the police
and then possibly executed. So I will come and take you to our secret rendezvous location
at -eight- is that all right.”
Bashir answered just stunned by the persistence that was so much like the Quark he knew:
“Y- Yes?”
“Good. Bye.”, and then he was gone.
“But.” Bashir muttered but Quark had hung up before he could have answered correctly.
Matula who had happened to awake from the telephone conversation, asked sleepy eyed:
“What is it honey.”
“Nothing honey, they only asked if I would come to work today again.”
“Are you?”
“No, We don’t want to miss our second honeymoon, aren’t we?”
“But, honey we need the money. You call them up right away and say that you are coming.”
“And what should I tell them? And besides tomorrow I will go again. We are both sick today,
O.K. Just this one day.”
Matula grudgingly agreed.
They spent the whole day in bed watching TV and loving each other and as the evening
came the door bell rang and on the screen appeared the face of a Ferengi- it was Quark.
“Hello. Are you coming?”
He had anxiously awaited all day long for this moment, and hoped that he might not come at
all. What should he say, his love to Matula was very important to him and he hated to lose
her. Yet the fight for a more democratic society was a higher cause, one that he always
supported.
“Don’t go. Remember what happened last time.”, Matula urged him.
“Don’t you want to live in another society, where everyone is free.”
“I like it this way very much. And I like you alive.” Matula started to cry.
“Don’t cry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
They had all but forgotten Quark who was standing at the door and who was watching the
hole scene.
“Are you now coming?”, Quark demanded.
“I am.”, Bashir said, hating it on the one hand, but his sense of honor and responsibility
made it inevitable for him to go. Matula understood this, it was one of her reasons why she
had married Stan.

“O’Brien to Kira, can you hear me?”
No response.
“This is Chief Miles Edward O’Brien calling the Orinoco.”
There was still no response. What had happened to the little runabout? If it had been in
trouble, why didn’t Kira inform him about it. But maybe she couldn’t, it maybe went too fast.
He had to inform DS9 right away, but how without a long distance communication device.
One thing was for sure, he couldn’t built one. Not without arousing attention and lifting his
cover which would probably be deadly.
O’Brien went to the mayor’s house, which was down the whole Main Street. A beautiful oil-
painting could have been made out of the little house, and with all it’s flowers it looked
homely and romantic. As he approached the little building the mayor, his wife and his
daughter appeared at the house front and greeted the traveler. O’Brien thanked his hosts
very much and Mrs. Mayor said that he may enter
“It is most extraordinary that a stranger happens to come to our village.”, she said.
And he added: “By the way this is my wife Marie and my daughter Eve.” O’Brien looked at
them and as his eyes fell on Eve his heart almost stopped, to him it seemed that he had
never seen so much beauty in his whole life. I am married. O’Brien’s reason cautioned. I
love my wife very much. Yet she was so beautiful he couldn’t help but thinking what it would
be to start flirting again. No, that can’t be, he reassured himself. “My name is O’Brien. Miles
Edward O’Brien.”
“Nice to meet you.”, Mr. Halloway said.
“If you may come in,” Mrs. Halloway said with eloquence, “then can I show you our house.”
“Thank you” O’Brien said, trying to avoid looking at Eve.
They entered the little wooden house and it was as dark in there as in the barber’s shop, yet
much more comfortable.
“Here is our living room. Sleeping quarters are upstairs and the kitchen is in the back of the
house. Toilets are across the back yard…” O’Brien listened to her, being constantly
reminded of the old “Wild West”. Then his thoughts wandered back to Eve. He had to be
strong, Keiko wouldn’t understand this and he wouldn’t want to lose Keiko for all the money
in the world. Eve’s beauty was so overwhelming a normal man couldn’t have resisted her,
but he would, he knew it.
“Yeah, yeah mum.”, Eve said. “But don’t you think our traveler will be quiet from the long
journey?”
“Yes, I suppose so. I have a room for you on the second floor, it is opposite to Eve’s.” Was
this a coincidence?, O’Brien wondered but if not he didn’t like it at all.
“Eve, would you show the gentleman his room?”
“Yes, mum.”, she vividly answered. “I’ll be glad to.” Then she turned to O’Brien and said:
“Would you follow me?”
O’Brien didn’t say anything but quietly followed the Venus. One step at a time he climbed
the steep letter upward, with his eyes on the stairs because Eve’s dress allowed him too
deep a view for comfort.
As he retreated into his room he was glad to be finally alone. What was going on with him?
How could he even look after a woman where he was happily married and with a child. The
room was fairly well furnished, with a petroleum lamp on the table and a wooden bed that
was smaller then a cot on the Defiant. It, though suited him well. He sat on the bed as
suddenly that strange voice came back: “You like that girl, Eve, don’t you?”
“Who are you?”
“You even love her, but you deny it to yourself because of your wife far away that you will
never see again.”
The voice appeared to come from the window, so he walked to it and looked out of it. Yet
aside of some dark thunder clouds nothing was visible.
“Where are you?” Suddenly lighting rocked the dark skies and thunder roared consequently.
“You need not see me, but I assure you I’m here. You love Eve, am I right?”
“So you are the God they all pray for on this planet.”
“You are a wise guy. And they believe the truth.”
“I don’t think so. What ever you are, you are no God. Especially not the Christian.”
“I never said that I was a Christian God. I am God and you can’t do anything about it.”
“I still don’t think so. Prove it to me.”
“I will tell you that you will marry Eve and not return to your devious space station.”
“O.K., that’s a bet. But what will you do if you lose?”
“I will not lose!!!”
“But if, we need something.”
“I will return your Doctor and Major Kira.”
“What happened to Major Kira?”
“Nothing, she is in good arms right now.”
“I still think of something higher for you: How about leaving all humans and other sentient
beings to themselves”
“That is a lot. Yet I agree.” Then the croaking voice disappeared.

“Sisko to Odo.”
“Here, Odo. What is it captain?” the former shapeshifter asked with concern.
“Have you heard anything from O’Brien yet?”, Sisko asked.
“No. Nothing yet. Neither from Kira and the Orinoco. We believe something might have
happened.” Odo added.
“We have to investigate. You Odo and Matula will go take the Defiant and look for them at
the planet,”
“We depart immediately, captain.”
“Good, Sisko out.”
After Sisko had returned to his papers the door signal buzzed. “Come in”, he replied. It was
Keiko O’Brien, the wife of his missing officer. She looked very despaired and frightened as
she entered the office.
“Is he alright?”
Sisko didn’t answer at first, he just looked out of the window. After a while he said: “Frankly I
don’t know.”
Then a strange feeling hit him, Keiko was so beautiful. Immediately he had forgotten Kasidy
and his strong affection to her. Violently he tried to avert the feeling but as he looked deeply
into Keiko’s eyes he felt a strange affection for her that was unmistakably love. He felt the
urgent need to comfort her.
“Frankly, I don’t know.”, he said awkwardly.
She cried at his words. As he came over to her she laid his arms around her. These kind of
strange feelings he had might be another outburst of Lwaxana Troi’s disease. No, he
reminded himself, this was not possible, because to his knowledge she was not on DS9.
Maybe it was a true honest feeling.
“Should I tell you something funny?”, Keiko suddenly said, still weeping.
“What might be so funny in such a situation.”
“That I think I’ve fallen in love with you. I can’t explain it. It’s just such a funny feeling.”
Sisko was surprised, and he didn’t understand the world anymore. How could his logic, his
idealism, his love to Kasidy turn out to be so shallow in this situation. Then he gently kissed
her.
“Odo here. Captain we are ready to depart from Deep Space Nine immediately.”
“Make it so.”, Sisko replied quietly and filled with emotions Odo could hardly grasp since he
hadn’t turned a human not before long.
The U.S.S. Defiant embarked with eight crew members. Matula, being a Starfleet officer,
was given the duty of captain. She kind of liked it although science was more her subject
and she would have preferred to stay with Dax on the station. There were a lot of
experiments to be done and although Dax had been more interested in this mission she had
been barred from it because “too many senior officers were already missing” and Sisko
didn’t want to lose another one.
As Odo investigated the bridge of the Defiant he was strangely drawn to Matula, a feeling
Odo never had this way before. Humans had often discussed it and he almost never had
understood it at all, there had been many books written about it, movies had been made yet
Odo had not understood it. Naturally it had been the process of melting together and
becoming one that had been most important because it was his race’s method of making
love. But now there were feelings that were quite different to the ones he was used to, he
got aroused when he saw her and Matula returned this emotion like he had never seen it in
a Vulcan before.
Matula herself got worried about the feelings she suddenly sensed. It was highly illogical that
there was something that drew her to Odo, wanting to touch him, caress him. This was a
human feeling not a Vulcan one that came to her mind and made her lose concentration.
“Do you know that you are attractive?” Matula finally asked the Constable.
“What?”, Odo answered in confusion.
“I said you are quite handsome.”
“Really?” Odo’s face got red, which made Matula laugh and wonder because she had
always assumed that the constable was incapable of that skin color change.
“Can I be frank with you?” Matula asked. Odo nodded.
“I always liked the way you looked.”
“What’s wrong with my looking?”
“Nothing. It’s what I always loved about you. It is such an honest and just look.”
“Thank you,” Odo answered getting red again.
“Commander Matula,” Matula had been promoted in the meantime, “we are now entering
the Thorrok solar system.” Ensign Aeneas said.
“When will we reach the planet.”
“We should be a Thorrok in approximately 15 minutes.”
“Good.” Matula was feeling stranger and stranger every minute they neared the planet.
Odo’s presence made her feel pretty nervous indeed. Vulcan behavior did not allow her to
give in to love, but since they were so far away from Vulcan…
Odo wondered the same thing as they neared the planet. As they had reached their goal the
Ensign on the bridge asked “Should I hail O’Brien or scan the vicinity for the Orinoco?”
“Do what ever you want!”, Matula said and she and Odo left the bridge arm in arm.
“Sir?”, the Ensign asked.
Matula only said: “Are you like a human, I mean…” as they disappeared.
Yet Ensign Aeneas had hoped for such a moment because there was that beautiful Ensign
in engineering that he always wanted to meet. “Ensign Dido would you come to the bridge,
please?”
Yet the Defiant did not hail O’Brien, not even tried to, or scanned the vicinity of any traces
that could lead to the reason of Kira’s disappearance. Love had completely taken the crew
of the Defiant, and the being down on the planet laughed and told the story to O’Brien. “You
have to be very strong. And I doubt you will, though the stakes are now higher…”

“We have a hero among us tonight. A big hurrah for Stan Bodner.” The group of 30 or 40
people applauded very strongly and Bashir looked at it with great joy. Another wish had
come true, he had always dreamt of being celebrated as an hero, but he had never
imagined in his boldest dreams that it would ever come true.
“Thank you. Thank you.” Bashir said with conviction.
“We are all glad that you are back again, safe and sound.”, Quark added.
Again the mass cheered immensely. One man stepped forward and asked for the whole
story.
“That’s a pretty long one.”, Bashir said. “But I will tell you some time. Now we have a bigger
a obligation. We have to make sure that a free and democratic government comes soon. I
say we should take up the fight. We could tamper the computer system of them and we
could try to overthrow the government by a mass rally. Maybe they will see how big our
group really is, maybe even get help from outside.”
“From outside?”, Quark asked suspiciously.
“Yes. There are many good people out there. They have guts to help us because they have
nothing but their skin. They have nothing to lose.”
“But are they not only thugs and deadly sick people out there.”
“You’re quite wrong about them out there. I have seen many who are there because they
were just poor, or because they lost their job. Yet I agree that there are many sick people
out there and their diseases are very serious, but they got sick because your, our
government has thrown them out only to stay as rich as they want.”
“So you know some people from out there?” Quark asked elated because he could see
Bashir’s vision.
“Plenty. They will be our allies. Maybe we have to fight, but as I know us we are prepared
for that. We will no longer allow ourselves to be oppressed, yet I warn every one of you not
to use more force then necessary and when we will have achieved our goal, and I’m certain
we will, we will make this world a more democratic world with equality for all people, even
those who are against us now.” This gave a general uproar which Bashir tried to counter.
“Those who have betrayed us, those who have killed, imprisoned and harmed otherwise our
people, those will be imprisoned, getting a fair trail. Yet I am sure they will be punished
severely.” The group cheered again, getting enthusiastic about Stan Bodner alias Julian
Bashir’s ideas of a new society that was already an old and proven concept to Bashir.
Bashir’s enthusiasm grew as the group got louder and louder, more and more convinced by
Bashir’s ideas. The only thing that frightened him participating in this rally was that Hitler in
the early 20th century could drew the same conviction with the same method that he used
now, by sheer enthusiasm.
The battle had began, and as the Klingons say: May be victory with those who are more
courageous. Bashir thought of the similarities with Earth’s history and hoped that he could
avoid the mistakes done in his history. Another Klingon saying came to his mind, “History is
written by the winners”, and they needed victory desperately; now it was all or nothing. The
plan was very simple, Bashir was supposed to go out to the people outside and rally support
for a massive attack at the mayor of this town. This town including all suburbs would be a
major success to their mission, but nonetheless it would only be a first step. In the eyes of
Bashir, the conquest of this city would mean war against all other cities.
The trip back outside was much easier, Bashir took on the smallest gate again and passed it
without problems. On the outside he and Ben convinced about 200,000 people to help the
democratic movement inside, and although they had no military training like many members
of the Democratic League inside they impressed with the sheer number. Moreover they
intended to use the advantage of surprise. So while Bashir shut down the computer net
which would be vital to the town’s defenses, the mass from the outside would forcefully
enter different gates and overthrow all police and guards, seize all weapons and approach
the building of the local government. The members of the Democratic League would
overwhelm posts that where critical, guide the masses from the outside, deliver them with
the necessary gear and maybe try to overthrow the government too. The whole event was
planned as a joint venture in which both parties looked at each other with prejudice yet were
they both agreed on the same principles.
Bashir felt that his task was the hardest because he hadn’t actually acquired enough weak
spots in the computer net. It was, so it seemed an almost flawless system that functioned
well, Bashir felt the pressure mounting because now the fate of this whole civilization could
be in his hands. What could he do to tamper the net? A virus seemed fit, and since he was a
natural expert of viruses this was his favorite plan. A virus that infected all executive files
would be the best, and he had a funny idea with what that would infuriate the whole
authorities of this world.

“Revolution! Damn it. Those brainless bastard of Thoujerds have allowed themselves to be
overthrown by the government. I should have known it, this Picard I took as mayor and
governor was a low minded fool when I allowed him to reign Thoujerds. And now see what
he has done!”
“What is it honey,” Kira asked innocently.
“There’s a guy who calls himself Stan Bodner and his companion, a Ferengi called Quark
who have stolen a town from me.” His fingers pointed at a picture on his computer screen
where he showed Kira very familiar faces. She wanted to cry out loud: “That’s Bashir! With
Quark.”, but she did not, it was too dangerous for her. “We have to attack this town as fast
as possible and tear it down. Or this disease might spread to the whole planet which could
be disastrous.”
“Why do you think it could be so disastrous, honey?”
“’cause it will dismantle order. It will change everything and you and I will have to live in
poverty. They’ll probably hang us.”
“Why is that so, honey?”, Kira liked to play dumb. Then she felt this love again that was in
her heart, yet on the other side her aversion grew towards this man who looked like a twin
brother to Benjamin Sisko on the outside quite contrary to its inside.
“Don’t you see. They will not like us because we have so much money…”
Kira understood. It was more then money, it was about a battered people seeking out for
freedom. All her life she had fought against the Cardassian Empire and the oppressions that
they brought upon her people. Ugly images ran through her mind, feelings that were
stronger then love overwhelmed her and averted her emotional attraction to this Sisko into
hate. In her preceding life she had wondered how a person could commit so many evil
deeds, how a single soul could come up with so many dreadful ideas that it was sheer
unimaginable.
Since Emperor Sisko did not worry his wife because he trusted her to the ends he made
almost all of his transactions toward the upcoming war in his personal sleeping chambers.
Kira listened to them carefully, finding to almost any aspect a relation to her Bajoran past.
“And Admiral Asmodeus, use every force necessary!”
“Aye, sir!” the admiral answered.
Kira sensed that it soon became time for her to act so that she could save the doctor. Yet
what could she do? How could she inform him fast enough. This world was so different to
the one she was used to, she thought praying might be her only hope. The Prophets will
help me, she reassured herself, even so far away from their actual home, the wormhole.
“Come here honey. Don’t be so agitated.”, Kira said softening.
“I need now some one I can trust, some one I can lean on.”, Sisko said with a desperate
undertone.
“You can trust me.”, Kira replied reassuringly and self-confident.
“Our plan to succeed here is very delicate. I hate to order my men to kill or torture people.
Little children will die and it will my all my fault.” Kira sensed remorse in the Emperors
assertions, maybe it is not his fault but the fault of his upbringing, of his father and the father
of his father and so on.
“Yet we will make it, they will have no chance. Everyone who will stand in my way will have
to die. There is simply no other way.” The remorsefulness had disappeared, his mind was
set to war and to win the war by all means necessary. Even if killing little innocent children
was part of the exercise.
Suddenly a messenger called at the door: “Emperor, we have more bad news for you.”
“How can the situation be worse than it is already?”
“They have started to built up an army and now they plan to attack Natum and Shabblik, the
towns which are closest, tomorrow. And they have large support from inside. We have to act
fast.”
“I am coming. Inform Admiral Asmodeus about my arrival.”
“Aye, sir.”
In the room, Kira virtually saw the anxiety building that reminded her very much about the
man he looked like. “Where are you going?”
“I will join my troops in the fight against the revolutionaries.”
“Take me with you.”
“I would like to. But its to dangerous. I don’t want to leave you but yet it is for the better of
you.”
“I love you. Don’t leave me now.”
“I have to.” In the meantime Sisko had dressed up and packed all the stuff that was
necessary for the trip. Kira was determined to follow him, even if that meant to go sub-rosa.

“Dinner.” , Mrs. Halloway said aloud.
“I am coming”, O’Brien said. Yet first he wanted to scan the vicinity one last time and then
he tried to hail the Orinoco. Maybe this meeting with that strange being was just a dream.
He suddenly realized that there was another space ship in the orbit of Thorrok. According to
his readings it was the Defiant. But as he tried to hail them he got no response. An eerie
feeling struck him as he realized that they had apparently become victims of that strange
being, too.
Suddenly something knocked at the door. As he said: “Come in.” He saw that it was Eve.
Again he was blinded by her beauty and her sexual attraction that it was hard to look her
straight in the eyes without becoming weak this very instant. “Are you coming?”, she asked
friendly and very lovely.
“Yes, yes.“ He immediately left the room with her, trying to look somewhere else without
offending his hostess. The dinner table was decorated beautifully and there was a good
selection of terribly good looking food. He took a small slice of bread and some sausage.
“Feel free to eat as much as you want“, Mr. Halloway encouraged.
The meal was gorgeous and O’Brien was determined to find out more about that black
figure in the woods, so as the right moment came he said: “I have heard so much about that
black statute in the woods, I would like very much to see it myself.“
“I think Eve could take you there herself tomorrow morning. Isn’t that right Eve?“ He looked
questionably to Eve.
She returned with a big and happy smile: “You know daddy, I will.“ And with a smile at
O’Brien she gestured that her feelings were at least as strong as his. Yet O’Brien didn’t look
that happy at all, but how could he say no to such a generous offer.
“So do you agree?“, Mr. Halloway asked. Bashir nodded while Eve began to smile with joy
to O’Brien.
“Now that this is over with, I’d like to know more about you.“ Mr. Halloway demanded. In the
eyes of Mrs. Halloway and Eve he could see that they were very much curious about what
he had to tell. Judging from Eve he also thought that it might be a marriage investigation.
How should they think that he’s married? He has come such a long way, and that without a
wife. He planned to tell them a great white lie.
“I come from a village far away that is called Methone. We are simple farmers but one day
the heaven talked to us and said to us that there is a black figure that knows the whole truth.
So we have hold a town’s meeting to discuss the subject. All of the families came to the
decision that one person should seek out to this figure and bring proof of it’s existence. The
decision of who should go fell on me because I had the unlucky gift of losing at a lottery. So
here I am.“
Eve immediately asked: “Are you married, Mr. O’Brien?“
“Yes, I am“, he admitted, silently thinking that he had won the first round against the ‘black
monster’.
Oh. She answered a little bit disappointed.
At this very point Mrs. Halloway jumped in trying to avert the impending catastrophe by
bringing in a delicious desert, apple pie. “Here comes the best apple pie, Camaria has ever
seen,“ Mr. Halloway exclaimed.
“Don’t blow it out of proportion, James“, then turning to O’Brien: “He always eats the most of
my pie.“ O’Brien just smiled, this was just like he always had imagined family idyll, but it had
come different. With Keiko it had never been easy since they had moved to Deep Space
Nine, she could not totally follow her studies in biology on the station so she had been to
Bajor a couple of times. Those expeditions always lasted quite some time and they didn’t
wore very well on their relationship. Why couldn’t she be with him much longer? This
loneliness was sometimes unbearable.
“Thank you,” he said peering over to Eve and smiling. He took a good bit of it and it tasted
marvelous.
“For me it’s the best apple pie I’ve ever tasted in the whole universe.” They all laughed and
Mrs. Halloway said that here was finally some one who could overstate the excellence of her
cooking perfectly and they laughed again. Yet suddenly O’Brien realized that he had never
been more happy in his whole life, and he stopped laughing.
“What is it?”, Mr. Halloway asked truly concerned.
“Nothing.” O’Brien said, moving toward the verandah. Then he stared out for a second and
then said quietly: “Now. You almost had me.”
“What are you talking about?” Eve said.
Totally embarrassed O’Brien replied: “Nothing. Just nothing.”
“But you said something, something like ‘You had me’. Are you a criminal?”
“A criminal? No.”
“But what was it then?”
“I just talked to me. I meant myself.” He was prepared to tell more then he wanted, yet
sticking to his earlier white lie. “I almost fell in love with you, there at the table. The trouble
is: I’m married and I can’t break my oath, you know.” My oath? He asked himself. What I’m I
talking? I really love Keiko. Suddenly the dark voice said from within his head: “Do you
really love Keiko? Or has the love long been replaced by wont?”
“No, I still love her!”, O’Brien said aloud. Eve distanced herself from him, and asked
“What?”
O’Brien didn’t answer but walked straight up to his room. Eve, astonished by his strange
behavior, followed him as fast as she could. Mr. And Mrs. Halloway, who had still been
sitting at the table, wondered what had happened between them.
“I think they are in love, Marie.”
“That can’t be. He is a married man.”
“But he’s far away from his wife and lonely.”
“Don’t talk like that. You know about marriage in the Bible. It’s holy and I think our guest
knows this as well as you.”

He closed the door abruptly. Eve opened it as fast as he had shut it. “Go away!”, O’Brien
said angrily.
“I don’t…”
“Shut up and leave.”, he said persistently.
She did so and wondered why she had done this. Had she fallen in love with that stranger?
Why in God’s name? Naturally he was handsome but she didn’t know who he really was, yet
there was this feeling deep in her heart that made her fall for this traveler.
O’Brien was glad that he was finally alone. This struggle was going to be much harder then
he had first thought. All of his thoughts mixed with his feelings, reason was overwhelmed by
emotion. The deep voice came again and said: “Don’t you want to give up? I control your
feelings and you can’t do anything against it. It is as easy as this.”
“No it is not.” O’Brien protested. “We sentient beings have reason. We can control our
emotions with it.”
“No, you can’t. And I can prove it, do you know Matula, the new Vulcan scientist officer on
Deep Space Nine?”
“Yes?”
“She is now presently in love with your constable Odo. Believe it or not they have found
love on the Defiant that is presently in orbit of this planet. She is normally controlled by
ration yet with my influence even the most resistant Vulcan can’t control his feelings.”
“But that will kill her, Vulcans can’t live that long in a state of emotions.”
“I will stop if you give up. But then all of Starfleet and any other space travel has to
disappear.”
“I will never give up.”
“You will murder her. It will be then your fault if Matula dies.”
“I can’t give up. I hate you, you, you evil being.!” O’Brien exclaimed exasperated and
agitated. “Why are you doing this all? Is it just for fun or what?”
“I do it for my very existence. Every time a space ship crosses the space at warp speed my
whole existence is threatened.”
“But I have never heard of such a kind of species as you are.”
“That’s because there is only me and no other being. I seem to be born out of something like
a subspace fluctuation, that’s why I am not bound to one dimension. I later realized that I
was capable of manipulating the feelings of all sentient beings.”
“Then you got the idea of using feelings as a method of destroying space travel.”
“Yes. It seemed easier as I initially thought, that was when I found myself accidentally on
this planet. They were comparably primitive because they liked it, this was perfect for my
cause. So one day I made one of them believe that he had seen a black figure in the woods.
Shortly thereafter all of the people of the town came to see me.”
“And then you told them that you were part of God?”
“That was their own idea, and I played with it. It was perfect.”
“I still don’t understand how you created the black figure in the woods, or had it always been
there?”
“Both wrong. I made them perceive it through their emotions. It was like a fata morgana or
mirage, not real at all.”
“Can’t we get another agreement that could be favorable for both of us, something like you
retreat to a place in the galaxy where we will agree upon never to cross it with our
spaceships?”
“Out of the question. I need freedom, and furthermore could you guarantee that your
promise will be kept as long as I live? And that might be as long as eternity, I don’t know.”
O’Brien was quiet, the power that this being inhibited was far bigger then he could imagine.
How could he stand his own emotions? How could he fight such powerful things as love? He
had to plan a strategy that was on the same level as the being and he was sure that this
would be anything but easy.
“You will kiss her tomorrow, on that trip to my mirage.”, the dark voice croaked.
I will not, O’Brien thought, yet he said nothing and so the being disappeared. At least it could
not read his thoughts.
Two hours later O’Brien had recovered from the shock and he went down into the living
room again. It was 10:30 p.m. and almost all lights were out in the house. Only Mr. Halloway
still seemed to be awake. He recognized his guest immediately and started like a father: “Do
you love her?”
Not irritated O’Brien said that he’s prepared for the trip the next day. Mr. Halloway thought to
understand what his guest was up to, but for O’Brien this would become one of the most
difficult tests in his life.

The computer screens in Thoujerds blinked the same sentence over and over: “Those who
make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”. It was a
sentence Bashir remembered from history class, it had been said by a now famous US-
president call John F. Kennedy in a speech 1962. He and Matula were standing in front of
the holding cell that inhibited the former owner of this mansion, the governor and mayor
Jean Luc Picard.
“This will never succeed.” the elderly man with the few white hair screamed. “Never! Never!
Never!” He repeated it so often as to make himself believe it. For Bashir it seemed
ridiculous that such a famous man from his history could do just the opposite in another
galaxy. He wondered what Kennedy would have said here.
“We have already succeeded. The towns of Natum and Shabblik have already fallen, more
towns will surely fall, too.”
“The Emperor will not allow it. He is more powerful then all of you.”
“He may try.”
“Yes he may try. But when he attacks many of you will die, probably this whole town will.
Including me.”
“Do you really want to die for this?”
“What are you to criticize this order? You bring terror and pain to this world and you are not
ashamed?”
“There has always been terror on this world and you won’t admit it. Look what people are
deceived every day when the press is not allowed to say something opposite, when political
dissidents are executed for saying their own mind.”
“I have always allowed people to state their opinion freely.”
“But what about the AGU laws?”
“How do you know about these laws. They are top secret.” Picard started to wonder what
this young man already knew. “Yes, you are the one that destroyed our computer nets, you
know your bits from your bites. How did you learn so much?” For Bashir it hadn’t been that
much, in his world this was standard knowledge, here it was a privilege. That was maybe the
reason of why they were that much less developed than his dimension.
“I know more then you think. But I still can’t understand why such a developed world can be
so savage. Yet we could be much further without the oppression that came from you and the
other leaders.”
“It was never my idea. I would have brought chance but the Emperor wouldn’t let me
because he said that would undermine our power and certainly lead to revolution.”
“And he was probably right.”
“But the revolution came anyway, didn’t it?”
Bashir regarded it to be futile to talk to this creature any more and showed a sign to Matula
that he wanted to go. She understood and they both left through the long corridor. It was
halfway out that Matula said: “I am beginning to wonder who the man is that I’ve married. I
am so surprised, that I doubted at one point that you are the real Stan Bodner.”
“And why is that so?”, Bashir felt relief that this heavy shadow of a strange man was slowly
lifted from his shoulders.
“You said that you can’t understand why such a developed world as this can be so savage.
This world had always been this way, we have thought that it was natural that there were
strong leaders who told us what to do.”
“This will end now. Freedom and liberty for all.”
“Before you went into the coma you never talked like this. Was it the coma? Did you dream
anything bad?”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and that they are
endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Do you know who wrote this?”
“No. What are you talking about, I think I should call a doctor?”
“No, no. Not a doctor. I am perfectly alright.”
“You said that before. Do you remember, before that dreadful disease started which led to
the coma.”
“I promise you this time it will not happen again.”
Suddenly a messenger entered the mansion and cried: “We have big losses at the battle of
Arcadia. We are standing in front of the town’s walls, yet the emperor and his guards of
more then a million heavily armed men are inside and at the gates. Mr. Bodner we need you
their immediately.”
“I am coming.”
Looking to his wife he said: “I have to.”
She kissed him: “Take good care.” Then she silently added: “Who ever you are, I will always
love you.”
Bashir hadn’t heard it anymore. The real battle had begun.

“They will have their ‘violent revolution’. Attack them again.” Emperor Sisko yelled.
The artillery was shooting straight shots at the mostly civilian militia that was standing only a
few hundred meters away from the town walls of Arcadia. The noise was heard a miles away
and as the carriage of Major Kira reached the town’s walls she feared the worst.
“Driver…”
“My name is Buck.”
“Anyway. Can you bring us in, undetected?.”
“That’ll be hard, ma’am.”
“Try it- Buck.” Then he diverted the horses to a secret road that led to a lower end of the
monstrous wall. There he showed Kira a secret door, that he, according to himself used
quite often to meet a woman. “You are a magnificent man, Buck“, she said. This was a great
entrance, here she could show Bashir and Quark a way in, the only problem was: how to
contact Bashir.
“Driver, ahem Buck, can you bring me to this man called Ba- I mean Stan Bodner.”
“That criminal? What do you want from him. They’ll kill you ma’am.”
“Don’t talk so much, just do it.”
The man, almost sixty years old looked quite shocked. He was buffed by the Emperors wife.
First she had wanted to follow her husband secretly, now she wanted to meet his top
adversary. Maybe she knew more then he did, and it wasn’t one of his tasks to understand
all of this. So he decided to do what ever she wanted, without too many questions because
if the Emperor finds out that he hadn’t trusted his wife he would get furious.
He led the horses to turn and run fast toward the hills. It was a pretty uncomfortable way of
traveling, which was due to a lack of invention on the planet of Camaria. Though a highly
developed and sophisticated computer net, the people of Camaria hadn’t been able to
develop a automobile vehicle or another comfortable way to travel.
“Can’t you drive softer?”, Kira protested.
The driver quickly rebutted. “If those scientists had found out a way to make traveling easy
it’d be better by now. Yet I’ve heard they haven’t figured out how to fuel them so they drive.
If I’m asked I would say they should take the same invention they use to make the rockets
fly. But its way too expensive here.”
Kira didn’t answer, she had already seen that suppression cost a lot of money with all the
weapons you needed just in case those dumb citizen revolted just like now. She wondered
whether they had before.
“I am now heading for Thoujerds. That’s where the civil war started.”, the driver said briskly.
His old face had grown seemingly older in the past half hour that they had ridden through
“enemy” territory and as they got stopped by revolutionaries Buck’s heart almost stopped.
“Get out, you bastards. That’s one of the Emperor’s carriages.”
“I have to talk to Stan Bodner, your leader.”
“So, you have to, haven’t you? But are you sure he wants to see you, you rich bitch.”, he
laughed about his joke that he almost collapsed. His mouth stank immensely after hard
liquor and his beard had not been shaven for at least a month. Kira was disgusted by the
appearances of the men that were now approaching the little vehicle, they all seemed to be
anything but sober and prepared to do even more for the revolution then necessary. Murder
and killing seemed to have become a daily event, so regularly that it could frighten any
normal citizen. Yet she wasn’t a normal citizen, she was the wife of the hated Emperor of
Camaria. One of the men yelled: ” That’s the wife of the Emperor”
Another one screamed: “Hang her.” The vast majority of the people that had streamed to
the little carriage returned the man’s wish like a refrain. “Hang her. Hang her.”
Suddenly a man emerged from back in the group, it was Bashir or Stan Bodner. “Stop it. We
won’t kill her, she can be useful for us.”
“Useful? That imperial whore sold herself to the Evil Empire, to the darker side of the
Force.”
“If I say she can be very helpful for our cause. Now we have something in our hands the
Emperor may want back. Or maybe we can get some information from her.” The troubled
mass retreated and acknowledged their leader’s arguments. “But if she makes trouble, I will
hang her.”, the angry man returned as the others kept silent.
Kira wanted to run to Bashir immediately and thank him for her rescue, but could she be so
outwardly to that man who seemed to be the Doctor they were all looking for. Yet she didn’t
want to cause trouble for him, now that he had so many people behind him, on the other
hand she wasn’t sure just yet whether this was really Bashir or really a man called Stan
Bodner.
One of the dark characters approached her and threw her out of the vehicle. She fell
dismally into the dirt and hurt herself a bit, but not more then she was hurt during the time of
the Cardassian occupation. With many dirty words they dragged her along the road. Kira
struggled to get on her feet and stumbled along with three of the ugliest and most dangerous
looking monsters toward, as they called it, Hell on Earth for her, to Thoujerds. In her mind all
terrible memories flashed back through her mind. She saw suddenly three Cardassian
pushing her, throwing her down on the Earth and crying dirty words at her head. Then she
heard the sound of the mining engines aboard Terok Nor, thundering over and over again
and the echoes of innocent people screaming their last cry for help. Yet she stayed calm,
followed the aggressive movements of the pushing and pulling brutes who schlepped her
along the many hours they had to pass on their way to the mighty gates of Thoujerds.
She was put into a confinement cell next to the ex-mayor and ex-governor Picard, whom
she realized from her time line. Before she could think of a way to reach Bashir he was
already in the prison.
“So you are the wife of that devious Emperor, what was his name?”
Was he Bashir or was he someone else, that Stan Bodner. Picard had turned around and
looked at the revolutionary with disgust. At once he tried to spit into the face of his captor,
yet the magnetic field did not allow it to pass. Stan Bodner alias Bashir just smiled at him.
“I am not your judge, Picard, but I think that you will not receive any lenience if you act that
way in court.”
“You disgust me. You say you want to make a free state with free people. How can you keep
me captive?”
“You will get your fair trial, I can assure you, but your chances are not very good, I guess.”
“I admire you, Mr. Bodner, for your courage and your new and revolutionary ideas.”
“Yes, yes. You admire me, but you wouldn’t want to change it yourself, would you? You like
that filthy money of yours so much for that.”
“You’re quite wrong about that, Mr. Bodner. I would like to give up all my money for
freedom.”
“So why haven’t you acted earlier and waited until the revolution started? You could have at
least tried to change something, but as I recall you even proposed once the death penalty
for a man who talked his mind.”
Picard didn’t say anything anymore. Kira, who had been following the conversation was now
certain that this was not the Doctor from Deep Space Nine but this alien hero from another
time zone. It was too much to expect to meet him again here. Yet suddenly she also felt to
be at home here, and there was that emotion that money was special to her although it
really had never been that before in her other time line. Then a thought ran through her
mind. Maybe her Bajoran past had just been a dream, a very long and intensive dream?
Stan Bodner turned to Kira without taking another glance at the former mayor. He observed
her from toe to head, wondering why she seemed so familiar.
“But anyway, you can help us now.” Stan Bodner still quite agitated by his conversation with
the mayor.
“How?”, she said enthusiastically.
“You can give us information on the Emperor’s actions and maybe even help us destroying
your husband and beating that most important town of ”
“I will!”, Kira said with conviction, even though she realized that it would become a battle
against her emotions.

The early morning dust had retreated and the birds sang a beautiful tune of spring and love.
The sun had risen to the highest peak east of them, it’s red eyes lingered like the devil
himself. It appeared unreal and the second moon to the north implied the surreal couple a
sense of doom’s day. A loud bird screamed out of a wood nearby, telling the hikers that it
was a treacherous voyage with many traps and problems ahead. As they walked along a hill
side that was totally green and without trees, except for the valley down below, the black
figure appeared so suddenly that it shocked O’Brien.
“There it is.”, Eve said with a smile, pinpointing at a huge black monster reaching far above
the surrounding wood. From what he imagined it was at least a mile big. Yet on the other
hand it wasn’t really real, it was only a fata morgana, but a very realistic one. He took his
scanner out of his back sack and investigated the mirage. The device displayed that there
was really a big metal figure composed out of many different chemical substances. Then it
must be real, how could the scanner show anything if there wasn’t some truth behind it. He
saved the scan results for later studies.
“What is this?”, Eve said astounded by the ‘primitive’ stranger’s little gadget.
“It is a scanner, it allows me to test the figure in the woods if it’s real or not.”
“Wow, I’ve never seen something quite like it. You can’t be that primitive because we don’t
have such a thing.!”
Suddenly the dark croaking voice reappeared, sounding like an almost old enemy. “There
you are, young man. I am God’s direct messenger and you and the beautiful girl besides you
have to follow my wishes. My wishes are God’s wishes. You may ask what God may want
from you, but that’s simple: He wants you to kiss each other and love each other until the
end of time.”
“But isn’t it against God’s holy word that a girl kisses a married man.”
“The marriage has been dissolved, his wife has found another one.”
“I don’t believe you…”, O’Brien stepped in agitated.
“See for yourself…”, suddenly smoke came out of the mouth of the black figure. A picture
appeared in which the interior of Deep Space Nine was depicted. Then he saw Ben Sisko,
his commander, walking arm in arm with his wife Keiko.”
“You manipulated them, like you manipulate everybody. But you won’t get me, I am stronger
then they are because I know who’s behind all of this.”
Eve had just been watching the whole ‘miracle’ and was astonished by it.
“You are not from this planet?”, she asked buffed.
“No, I’m not. I have come to investigate an attempt to steal our space station.”
“You mean Stan has failed?”
“Not only Stan, all sentient beings have. And if I can’t save them now they are lost for ever,
or space travel for that matter.”
“But isn’t space travel evil?”
“He told you that, he can control your emotions, Eve, that’s why you believed every word he
said. And that’s why you feel love towards me, but this is not real, Eve. Not real, do you
understand?”
He repeated it in order to believe it himself.
“That figure can control such things as love?”, she said with disbelief.
“Yes. Unfortunately.”, he paused and kept silent for a minute. The black figure is not real,
the being had confessed. Yet the tricorder had reported differently.
“No, I truly love you. It may be God’s will that we found each other but love is what I have
found.”, she said convinced. O’Brien felt that everything he said sounded strange to her
because she didn’t know everything. Furthermore he doubted it himself, maybe he was just
getting insane. But then there was the Defiant in the orbit that was every proof he needed.
“I want to see that figure close up and personal.”, O’Brien said firmly.
The deep voice echoed in a deep and terrifying voice “If you proceed beyond the edges of
the wood you will not come to Heaven, Eve. God does not want intruders in his realm and
the wood is God’s realm.”
“Are you going with me, Eve? Or are you still believing in this devious god like being.” He
stressed the word being in order to underline the fact that this was not God, yet Eve still did
not belief what O’Brien told her. Who should she belief, God or that stranger who came from
a space station from deep space?
“You have to go with me, I need you to defeat him. If you love me then follow me where
ever I go.”, O’Brien said earnestly.
“What word is more important to you, God’s or this single human being? Do you want to be
damned for good just for this little mistake you do today?” Eve fell on her knees and started
to cry. The world around her had changed, her innocence began to deteriorate and she was
just not yet ready to give up everything she once believed in.
“Don’t you understand, that I can’t go with you. If I will go all of my family will end up in Hell.
I can’t do that to them.” She still cried and O’Brien laid his arm comfortingly around her
shoulders. After a brief moment of silence he hugged her. “I know it’s very hard for you, but
you have to understand that this is not God. God is not someone who hates, he is a loving
God. He would allow you to follow him where ever he was and moreover he would not
create a figure as a means to talk to people, he does not need this.”
“Yes, the Bible says all of this. I have read the Bible from start to end and I know all of this.”
Then she turned into the direction of the black monster and yelled: “Isn’t that right, you can’t
be a prophet because you do what God would never had allowed.” The figure remained
silent, considering what argument to bring next. In the meantime O’Brien pulled her down
the slope and toward the wood. Reluctantly she followed him, dragging down and down. The
walk downwards was tedious and dangerous, there were many holes on the floor that
seemed to be deeper then the deepest well. O’Brien wondered whether they were real or
just part of his imagination.

Darkness predominated the interior of the wood, and there was virtually no plant on the floor
which seemed to mirror the existence of a divine being or deity. The dark voice started to
say a line and repeating it constantly: “This is the end. You both will end up in Hell!”
Although Eve constantly tried to break free from O’Brien’s hands who schlepped her deeper
and deeper into the woods. Every time the voice had spoken it’s line she returned a: “Leave
me go. I don’t want to go to Hell.” And sometimes he comforted her with the words: “Eve,
don’t believe what he says. Don’t you see he’s unlike the God from the Bible. He’s unlike a
God at all.” Yet the illusions seemed like miracles, and there was no logical explanation to
doubt what you saw, except that O’Brien knew the truth. Suddenly they had reached the
figure and it still stood there as if it had been there for centuries. It can’t be, O’Brien said to
himself. There is nothing, it’s only an illusion created by that being. So he dragged her
closer and closer, in the process he shut his eyes and moved against the outer wall of it.
Eve cried: “We will crash. God, Mr. O’Brien, stop.” Yet he continued undeterred and finally
bounced of the wall with a heavy and sudden smash.
“Oh my God, it is real.”
The dark voice began laughing to the utmost extent and the wind began to blow through the
trees. The emptiness around the two lonely adventures became eerie and unreal. The
headache in O’Brien’s head ceded and he began to think normally again. For the first time in
days he could think clearly again. What had happened, O’Brien thought at first but then he
realized: the being had played another trick at them. Because he had felt deep in his heart
that there was a figure because he had always trusted his tricorder, or his eyes for that
matter. So it was his mind that had created the wall, and the pain, inflicted by the mirage,
was just another emotion to hinder him from winning the bet.
“Mr. O’Brien, have you hurt yourself?”, Eve gestured with a smile. She tried kiss his
forehead which he successfully averted, thinking that it stood now 2:1 for him and that he
had almost already won the battle. He returned back to his feet, clumsily but determined. He
had his mind made up, he grabbed Eve with a harsh pull and again walked against the
figure. Yet this time he did not close his eyes, he just cleared his mind of everything and just
concentrated that there actually was no figure. She struggled to release herself but he tried
to hold her with all his power, and as he entered the outer surface of that mirage he was not
thrown back by it, there wasn’t even the slightest bit of pain. Eve on the other hand
screamed of pain, and O’Brien had to drag her in. Finally she realized the truth and the
figure disappeared entirely. “You are a brave and intelligent man, Mr. Miles Edward O’Brian.
And frankly I0 hate you for that.”
“So you admit that you have lost the bet?”
“Bet?”, Eve asked more to herself.
The dark mysterious voice changed to a regular human voice and said: “We agreed that I
will go away if you don’t marry Eve and leave this planet for good.”
“I won’t marry him.”, Eve said with determination. “Now that I know that you were the
perpetrator of my feelings toward him, I don’t love him anymore. I just hate you for being so-
so infiltrating.”
“See it, you have lost. Now you have to leave all sentient beings and give them back their
control over their feelings.”
“No, I haven’t lost, yet. You said you would ‘leave’ the planet. But if you stay you might
change your mind, or maybe Eve. You have only won if you leave this planet, and I don’t
think that this will be possible, considering the fact that I still control your friends aboard the
Defiant.”
“You- you dastardly arrogant beast.”, O’Brien exclaimed.
“What will you do now?”, Eve asked.
“I will find a way.” They both confronted each other in an awkward way. It was as if they had
just met and needed an introduction to one another. Her beautiful smile had disappeared
and the once happy innocence was gone.

Bashir had released her and taken her to his newly elected office in Thorrok. It was time to
investigate on which side this woman was. Furthermore he was really interested how the
Kira of this time line was. He remembered now that this woman was part of his past, or of
his coma. And since he was absolutely sure that he had never seen her in this world, how
could he for she was the wife of the Emperor.
“Here’s my office, Mrs. Kira. Make it yourself comfortable.”
“Mr. Bodner, I am surprised that you want something from me. I must seem awfully evil to
you. Since I am married to that despot Emperor.”
“Marriage makes no one evil.”
“That is true, but isn’t everybody assuming…”
“… that someone who lives with someone, is even married to him, has the same ideas.”
“Yes.”
Bashir was surprised how she reacted. It was unlike anything he had ever expected from a
Queen. This Kira was more like the Kira he remembered, this was strange because every
one here seemed so different from the one’s he remembered.
“I have always said that those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”,
Kira said and to Bashir that sentence sounded so familiar, he had heard it before. But how
could he? Then he saw a strangely expecting look in her eyes which made his brain work at
the speed of light. There he remembered the sentence came from a famous person from his
home planet called Abraham Lincoln.
“How did you on Earth come here, Major?” He said, surprised by what he knew.
“That’s a long story…”, Kira said with relief. “What I want to know is whether you have a plan
to leave this place and go home.”
“I kind of like it here. I’ve got a beautiful wife and I am a hero to those people. What can
somebody want more.”
“To live in his real world. Be himself. I think that if I replaced someone you did too. And you
played this role of this Stan Bodner very well, but don’t you want to be yourself again?”
“I don’t know.”, Kira’s arguments were true. He hated to play someone else, or was it more
then playing?, but on the other hand he had brought a lot of himself into it. Bashir had
merged into this Stan Bodner, he himself had started to believe that everything before the
coma had just been a nightmare and his real identity was here on Camaria. Her quotation
had brought the blurry past to life again.
“So you don’t have a plan?”
He had never thought of leaving this place, it had always seem impossible to him.
“I can not think of any possible return since I can’t explain how I did come here in the first
place. The only thing that I remember is that I was dragged into a big black metal box that
looked like the probe from the Gamma Quadrant.”
“I was also dragged into a black object, mine was nonetheless something indescribable yet
not this probe.”
“At least both our incidents have something in common. But this doesn’t bring us any
further,”
“But there must be something…” They both held silent for a few minutes until the speaker in
Stan Bodner’s office beeped: “Mr. Bodner, the situation at Arcadia is very critical. We have
lost many men and we need your assistance.”
“I know a secret way to enter the city.”, Kira said.
The messenger replied in an angry tone: “Who’s that?”
“A secret agent to the Democratic League”
The messenger just nodded and retreated without another word. Bashir was delighted to
have someone from his home to join him in this glorious battle that he planned to win. In his
mind the fight for democracy had become more important than anything, far from plans to
return home. He just hoped Kira would act the same way as he did. Without another word
Bashir reached for his jacket and left the room, Kira followed him. They both entered a
carriage that once belonged to the governor of Thoujerds but was remodeled for the
Democratic movement, it had bold letters in bright red color painted on it that proclaimed
the Revolution in glorious words.
“It is a long ride to Arcadia, and with these primitive vehicles a torture.”
“I know.”, Kira smiled. “I took this road before, you know.”
“I can’t imagine why such an advanced people hasn’t invented a better method of
transportation”, Bashir stated, Kira just grinned. “On we go on the bumpy ride. Whoa,
horses.” Bashir had to drive the horses himself, although he had never done this before in
his life.

“We go in there now, men. One word in advance, this is not going to be a cinch. You’d
better be prepared.” A group of 30 dangerous looking adults, both male and female had
been assembled in front of the secret gate. They were all heavily armed and ready to do the
cruelest deeds they could. Ironically they should fight for a better world where peace,
harmony and democracy should be primary to anything. Yet they were the best Bashir could
have assembled, one of them was Akkilez, a man with a long reputation for fighting at
rundown bars, he was even allegedly a killer. Kira was standing next to Bashir with a
backpack and ready to go, the only thing that surprised her was how Bashir had changed.
He had so much commitment and excitement for this cause that an outside observer could
not have distinguished him from the others.
Then the warriors entered the town, inside the walls they approached the building of the
governor. Bashir had planned to enter the governor’s office, he hoped he could do so with
all the attention of the town’s folks directed at the battle in front and the guards killed by his
men. As Bashir and Kira finally reached the building, some of Akkilez men lay slain around
the monumental structure. Along with them, however lay a lot of guards. With so many
guards lying dead in front of the building, hanging in the windows and on the rooftop Bashir
could only have barely grasped the total amount of guards. The strange couple entered a
secret door at the left wing of the building. As they entered Bashir could smell the scent of
death and ammunition. It was a very eerie feeling as they ascended up the dark stairways
with all the blood splattered on the ground. Bashir hold his hand over his mouth as he
entered the second story, there was a mutilated woman laying on the floor. Her head had
been smashed violently on the floor and her breasts had been cut open by a large knife. The
face was completely soaked with blood, and the rest of her body showed numerous cuts. As
Kira wanted to enter the room Bashir warned her gently, and as Kira saw the young woman,
she said quietly: “Holy, prophets.” In all the years of the Cardassian occupation she had
never seen a person so badly mutilated.
“She must have been mutilated even after her death.”, she investigated. “How could
anybody do something like that.”
“It was one of our man.”, Bashir said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Look at the knife that I’ve found over here, it’s one of those we marked with the words:
‘Democratic League.'”
“And here is the perpetrator, he hasn’t come far. It’s Akkilez himself. ”
The brute had been shot in the back by someone other than the dead woman. In the gloomy
light he appeared like a monster with an evil soul, this reminded him of the man he must
have been. A cold shiver went through his spines, was democracy worth all the killings. In
other times they would have damned this man for murder, but in these times he might be
celebrated as a hero. “Here is a computer.”, Bashir said pointing at a dark table in one of the
corners. He made it on and started immediately to search for possible ways to undermine
the military operations of this town, which were largely founded in the local computer net.
Kira leaned over him and was astonished as Bashir handled the Computer as one of his
own. Maybe Bashir has become one of them, Kira finally concluded.
Suddenly they heard footsteps in an adjacent room. They immediately covered themselves
and tried to keep as quiet as possible. Every step this human being did sounded like a
hallow thunder creaking across the wooden floor. A loud and intense clicking indicated a
loading of a weapon. Instinctually Bashir took his already loaded weapon out of his pocket.
He was frightened by the fact that he could get pretty close in using this deadly object, he
almost saw it as inevitable. Five minutes the pounding stopped suddenly, a shadow
appeared at the door to the room. The shade at the wall kneeled over the dead body of the
woman. The dark shadow play at the wall revealed that the figure was affected by the body,
then they could hear the person cry quietly. Moved by the situation, Kira’s hands slipped and
touched a pen on the table. The pen started to move and crashed on the floor. The shadow
got on his feet again, and moved into the room: “Is someone in there?”, a male voice
shouted into the chamber. Kira and Bashir hold as still as possible, any move could be fatal.
Slowly the man advanced into the room, straying light into the endless dark. Bashir took to
the closest chair and picked it up. The noise made the man vigilant: “Where are you?” The
chair crashed on the man’s head, knocking him unconscious.

It was silent as a funeral, it seemed as if doomsday lingered and the devil prepared to take
them all. Mr. and Mrs. Halloway sat at their table looking with concern at the two young
people which they regarded as children due to the difference of age. The two children who
just lost what is commonly seen as typical childish behavior, the innocence of a young baby,
just loomed over the dinner as if the whole world had crushed. Yet the parents thought that
there had been something going on between these two persons, and they weren’t
completely wrong yet the love that had existed between them had been kind of artificial and
not their own doing. O’Brien now only thought of a way to escape this planet in order to save
the rest of the galaxy, which was relatively a small step concerning the effect his little step
would have. Yet he wasn’t even sure whether this obscure being would keep his promises.
“Let us pray for the Almighty who has honored us with so much to eat although we do not
deserve it. Amen”, Mr. Halloway said. “And now let us eat.”
They did not recognize the prayer nor the invitation to eat, they weren’t hungry anyway.
“Excuse me.”, O’Brien said, leaving the table suddenly and totally unexpectedly. That wasn’t
normal behavior for a guest and under normal circumstances a host would have been
annoyed by it, but these were anything but normal circumstances.
As O’Brien entered his room, his thoughts were only concentrated on the Defiant. There
must be a way to communicate with them, or with their computer. Somehow he had to figure
out a method to use his tricoder, his comm badge and his expertise to reach the orbiting
vessel. Then suddenly Eve entered the chamber, with that question in her eyes that wanted
to know everything.
“Go away.”, he said seemingly agitated.
“I only want to help.”, she said helplessly. “And since I am the only one who knows your true
identity I might be a good help for you.”
She wanted to try to convince him with blackmailing, and O’Brien realized it. Yet any help
would be positive at this moment of utmost desperation. “Yes, indeed you can help me. If I
make a list for you and you buy some things for me?”
She agreed joyfully, almost reaching the peak of her naïve happiness. O’Brien took a pencil,
scrapped some items on it and handed it to her. She stared at it for a while and asked then:
“For what do you need all those things.”
“To get back home.”
It still looked strange to her, and aside of her knowledge that he was an extra-thorrokian,
she wasn’t quite sure how she could possibly understand this strange being. On the one
hand it had become a normal human being, on the other hand it had so much power that it
was something far beyond her imagination.
Instinctually he then built out of relatively primitive parts a high tech instrument that he
designed to work as a locator of the Defiant, its computer and also as a communicator. The
first task O’Brien gave this new gadget was to first locate and then log in to the computer of
the Defiant After numerous attempts the signal finally reached the orbiting ship, and he
could locate the computer. Yet it wasn’t a victory yet; there were many security blockades in
the way that he had to overcome. His own clearance on the other hand just might be enough
to enter the ship, if they hadn’t changed anything which wasn’t so far out because he was on
a potentially dangerous secret mission which would be reason enough to change the codes
in order to protect the ship. Then it came: “Access denied.” He cursed, and Eve shook her
head to show him that this was not Christian at all.
“Maybe I can find out how to crack the new code.”, Bashir said more to himself, and only the
idea that he could made him shiver. If he could, maybe someone else could too?
Yet there was a certain system to the codes and if you knew it, it was half as difficult to you.
After two hours of hard work he had finally programmed a program that would run through
all the codes in two days. Then there wasn’t much he could do but watch it. While Eve
continued to entertain him with talking he kept an eye on the code word program. As the
next approached, in the break of dawn, the alarm buzz sounded and O’Brien had made it.
“Now stop me if you can.”
I will, I can assure you. The dark voice thundered through the building that frightened
O’Brien for a short second. Maybe he could, he thought. If he made the Defiant avert its
course and head back to Deep Space Nine…

“I love you so much, Aeneas.”, the Ensign said, while sitting on Ensign Aeneas leg. He
looked her deep in the eyes, and then gently kissed her lips. The world around him evolved
and became a huge pink environment. Then he felt a sudden temperature increase, but as if
the systems failed, no it was the erotic that lay in the air.
Suddenly the main console on the bridge beeped. Inadvertently Aeneas was drawn to it and
as he investigated it closer he realized something odd.
“We are changing course. We’re leaving orbit.”
“Does that matter? Captain Matula doesn’t care, why should we then?”, Dido said
undisturbed.
“I have a funny feeling that something is very wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong, if the ship wants to fly back home. It just got homesick, that’s all.”
“If you could hear yourself, Dido. The ship doesn’t want anything, it’s a machine.”
“But maybe Matula got sick of this stupid planet and just ordered the ship to head back to
DS9.”
“That’s impossible, because we are the crew to execute her orders, and we didn’t do
anything.”
“That’s not correct. You kissed me and now you want to make love with me…”
“That’s not what I meant.”, he then realized that he could not talk reasonably with Dido. He
was determined to stop the ship, but first he would talk to the captain. He initialized his
Comm badge and asked for Captain Matula.
She did not answer. “Computer, where is Captain Matula?”
“In her quarters.”
“Is she alone?”
“No, Odo is with her.” That was a good sign. They are probably discussing what’s wrong
with the ship. Aeneas was proven otherwise as he entered the quarters. After an unusually
happy “Come in” from Captain Matula Aeneas was baffled by the way these two extremely
different species were holding themselves. “Oh, isn’t that our handsome Ensign Aeneas?
Come on in, we want to tell you something.”
“Yes,” Aeneas said in anticipation of getting some news about why the ship had left the
orbit.
“We are going to get married!”, Matula said amused, laughing out loud.
“What? You are going to get married? Odo, Matula are you out of your minds?”
“On the contrary, we are quite sane.”, Odo answered, and Matula laughed, and kissed Odo.
That was strange behavior for any Vulcan, and, Aeneas concluded, that she must have
gone insane. Suddenly he felt a shiver, something had gone dead wrong and he had to
change what ever it was. The first thing he would do was to bring the ship back into orbit of
Thorrok.
“Computer, “, Aeneas ordered, “change course back to Thorrok immediately.”
“Authorization denied. This operation needs approval of captain or a first officer.”
He cursed, but without taking a second look he went to the turbolift to go down to
engineering to change the course manually. But then Dido said: “Where are you going?”
“I am going to engineering to change the course of the Defiant?”
“Why are you doing this without the order of the captain?”
“The captain has lost her mind, she wants to marry Odo.”
“So what?”
“She’s Vulcan. Vulcan’s don’t love each other, nor do they love at all.” With these words he
continued to go to the turbolift, ordering it to come. But as the door opened, Dido said:
“Don’t leave me, please.”
“I have to go and change the course.”
“If you go I will kill myself.”
“Then come with me, honey.”
“That would be mutiny, I can’t do that.”
Without another word, Aeneas disappeared in the lift, leaving Dido crying on the bridge. He
did what he thought was right, in that moment honor was more important then love ever
was. He had been this way all his life, that’s why he decided to join Starfleet into space
where he’d be at a different place every day. Yet it was more then honor, it was his fear of
relationships that drew him away from any woman when ever he felt a little bit of love. And
this wasn’t without reason, as he had been just a little child, around 6, his beloved mother
died and he had to go to foster parents because there had never been a father and still
today he didn’t know what happened to him. Anyway, his foster parents weren’t the nicest
people, but this is another story.
Down in engineering it wasn’t easy to overcome the many barriers that were laid by the
computer. Yet he worked frantically to overcome those, and to him it lasted an eternity in
which he felt a deep pain in his heart for leaving Dido back on the bridge. It was
unexplainable to him and yet he fought against it terribly. Finally he succeeded in his efforts
and he felt a strong ripping movement of the sudden turn of the ship so that he tumbled
across the room. Immediately after recovering from the fall he returned to the turbo lift. His
inner emotions revolted, his heart burned and he couldn’t expect to get back to Dido. The
turbolift moved unbelievably slow, or was it just his perception? The seconds went by as if
they were minutes, and as the turbolift stopped, and the doors opened to the bridge his heart
stopped. As he saw it, he immediately turned away, the view was anything but pretty. Ensign
Dido’s body lay bloodless behind the captains seat. There were no marks on her body, and,
although a world broke down for him, he concluded that she must have take some kind of
drug she had replicated. There was no doubt in his mind, she had taken suicide because he
had left her. Then after the immediate shock was over, guilt aroused in him and anger.
Anger toward the captain, Matula, anger toward Odo, for he was the chief of security, anger
toward Dido, for she had been so stubborn. And then again guilt, and anger toward his own
sense of honor and his stupid ideas, at least that’s how he saw them.

Suddenly the weapons fell silent. Only those of the terrorists still shot. “What’s happening?”,
an agitated Emperor Sisko screamed. One of his military leaders replied: “Someone has
sabotaged our computer nets that control all weapons and the energy they need.”
“Stan Bodner.”, the Emperor grudgingly muttered. “What?”, the soldier asked.
“Nothing. Just find the perpetrator and kill him. And bring those computers back on line.”
“Sir, the computers won’t be working for at least an hour.”
“Get them running in half an hour. And meanwhile use the old traditional weapons.”
“Yes.”, the general didn’t say anything anymore although he knew that his men were
probably not capable to fight with these dinosaurs.
The Emperor decided to take a peek. He went up to the highest tower of Arcadia and then
he looked across the valley that stretched itself along the lofty hillside. What he saw what
once belonged him, the green gardens to the West and the high mountains to the north and
the vast ocean that was barely visible in the East, he romanticized of the past. He hated
what these revolutionists had done to his land. They had built structures that he found to be
unobtrusively ugly. Like the port down at the sea that allowed more travelers to reach all the
places of Camaria, which formerly had been only his privilege, and he only needed one boat
but not a port. In a matter of three weeks the revolutionists had conquered the area along
the Tarleton Ocean reaching as far as 5 miles ahead of the town. Yet he didn’t think for one
moment that it might have been his mistake because he had decided to throw out those
unemployed and those unused for he had thought that he could get richer without them.
Suddenly the tower began to rumble earthquake like and everything started to shake.
Immediately he ran down the steps but the stones, from which the tower had been built
from, came tumbling down and crashed ahead and behind him and finally on him. He was
hit unconscious, then another stone hit him directly on the head, smashing the skull and
killing him instantly.
“General Jackson, we are under heavy attack. I don’t know if we can hold this any longer.”,
a young exhausted soldier said.
“We won’t give up as long as we have weapons to defend ourselves.”
“These ancient weapons are no arms to us. Many can’t use them and most of them have
rusting anyway. Don’t you see: We lost this battle.”
“We haven’t lost yet. The computers will be online in no time at all.”
“We have no time no more. The rebels have conquered almost all our defenses. At parts
some of them have already entered the city.”
“Keep on fighting. This is a command, do you hear me.”
“Y-yes.”, the young soldier uttered. And as the general turned his back, the soldier thought
of shooting him in the back. No one would know who or what had killed the general, no one
even would had cared. Yet something deep in him prevented him from him. He had a
dilemma, killing this man could save a lot of his friends and other young men, but how to
pull the trigger while the man is turning you the back, trusting you completely.
He thought of another way to end this futile killing of innocent men and women, and since
he was second only in command to the general he ordered his troops to stop shooting
immediately.
He took out a while flag showing the other side that they were ready to give up. As soon as
the general had heard that the shooting had stopped, he wondered what was going on. The
first thing he did as he reached the street, where now the people came running out of their
houses with joy and elation written in their faces, he asked one of the soldiers what was
going on.
“Ya’ don’t know? It’s over. Finally.”
“We won?”, he asked, astonished.
“Naw, they did. But now we’ll have peace.”
“Who ordered you to give up?”
“Sir, Commander Worf did.”
The lousy bastard, the coward of an dishonorable Klingon, he cursed quietly. He had
ordered him to stand the ground, but he had given up, deserted him. But what could he
have expected otherwise, he was Klingon and they were known for their friendliness and
peaceful behavior. They had been this way ever since this colony had been founded almost
200 years ago, they had been sent here to make this planet a piece of H’eaven, a Klingon
word for a peaceful place.
“Get back to fighting.”, he screamed into the joyous crowd. No one listened, except the
soldier he had talked to.
“We’re glad that it’s over.”
“I order you, soldier.”
“I am no longer a soldier, this war is over.”
“That’s deserting…I can kill you for that.” The man disappeared in the mass, clearly annoyed
by him. he wanted to scream that he will get him one day but he saw that it was futile. He
wanted to find this Commander to bring him to justice for disobeying orders. And so he
retreated to go back to Commander Worf’s post in hope that he was still there.

“We won, we won, we won”, was the chanting that went through the streets. Many people
from inside the formerly adverse town joined the festive crowd to celebrate the victory of
freedom over tyranny. Stan Bodner and Kira Nerys were standing slightly paramount to the
cheering mass, attracting the obvious interest of the general public. Kira was one moment
uncertain what Bashir would do, but then as he advanced a few steps and started to speak
she realized that the Bashir she had once known had mutated into a real Camarian:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Townsfolk and Countrymen. We mark today a special day in
Camarian history. We have today defeated the most evil empire there ever was on
Camaria. But may we not be deceived by this lucky moment, that our forthcoming days will
become easy. On the other hand, they will not. Yet, I say to you, we Camarians will work
hard and achieve the best we can, so our Children can be proud of us.”
Kira looked among the many anxious listeners who followed every word Stan Bodner, or
Julian Bashir, said. She saw women crying of joy, others cheering: “Stan. Stan.”, and even
others who showed happiness as she remembered it from the days Bajor had successfully
beaten the mighty Cardassian, with the help of the Federation of course.
“But we wouldn’t have won without the help of the wife of the former Emperor Sisko, Kira
Nerys.”
Suddenly she was in the center and had to step forward as Bashir retreated.
“Really it was nothing.”
“No, Kira tell them. Tell them about the secret pathway.”
“Y-es… I knew ever since I was a young girl that there was a secret way to enter the city. I
used it often to leave this town, because I was born here in Arcadia.” The mass cheered and
Kira wondered: Where did she know all this. Yet it all appeared to be so real, her emotions
told her that there was such a past, yet ration told her that she came from Bajor.
“Yet, I’ve never in all my life thought that I might use this secret way again.” The cheers
grew louder and louder, and she talked and talked about things that were totally unfamiliar
to her, and yet with telling them they appeared more real while she told them. As she looked
into the masses in front of her somehow everything grew blurry and as if she were going to
faint everything appeared unclear and faint. Suddenly a voice from inside her that were very
much familiar to her because it was her own said: “Thank, you Nerys. With your help this
planet is saved.”
“Who are you?”, Kira asked distressed by her own voice.
“I am the Kira of this world, the one you replaced. I don’t know how it happened, but
suddenly I was no longer in my body I could only see my body from the outside.”
“I don’t understand…”
“I didn’t understand at first, too. But then there was a dark voice that told me, I was destined
to lead an revolution. Yet, this voice told me, that I alone would not be capable for this deed,
especially because it would be my husband I would have to betray. So, it said, he would
take a woman who was looking like me from another world. I would be able to somehow
control this other woman with my feelings and thoughts. It wasn’t that easy, but it worked.”
“I realized that. But I still do not understand to whom that voice belongs.”
“I don’t understand myself.”
Suddenly everything fell dark around her, she only realized that she must have fainted.
“She’s coming to herself”, a female voice gently said. Everything around her seemed still
blurry and faint: “Where is Stan. Where are all the people.”
“She’s still in delusions.”, a familiar voice said.
“Odo, you are here, too?”
“What do you mean, Major, here, too?”
Her vision grew clear, and the sickbay of the Defiant evolved around her. “What
happened?”, she asked.
The gentle female voice said: “She’s coming out of her delirium.”
“Thanks heaven, you’re back, Major.”, Odo said without his usual criticism.
“How, what…?”, she asked confused.
“You want to know what happened?”
“Yes, yes”
“Really we don’t know, the only thing we know is that you must have abandoned ship and
beamed down to the surface. But why is very much a mystery to us because there is no
visible cause.”
“What happened to the runabout.”
“We found the remains almost a light year away from here.”
She was still confused, was this adventure with Bashir really only a dream or did it really
happen? The way how clear her memories where of this other world, she knew that she had
been to Camaria.
“Is the runabout destroyed?”
“A little bit, what we can fix it, eventually.”
Odo and all the others left the room, leaving Kira alone in her cabin, leaving her to wonder
what really happened and what was only a dream.

“Is she going to survive?”, an agitated Stan Bodner alias Dr. Bashir said.
“She just fainted, nothing to worry about.”, the Klingon doctor said. He had seen him before,
and he remembered, he was the doctor at the time he had left the coma. Vaguely thoughts
from a world appeared to him that was so much different to this one. Then the doctor had
told him that they were just dreams, but now they appeared more real. A sudden flash
brought him back to his first discussion with Kira that he had almost forgotten. He
remembered having heard “I have always said that those who deny freedom to others
deserve it not for themselves.”, which is a famous sentence by a man called Lincoln. Earth
appeared to him, stars emerged, and disappeared again. The hospital, in which he was,
brought back his urge to help people. Wasn’t he also a doctor?
“You can talk to her now.”, the doctor said quietly.
“Major, I am glad you recovered?”
“Stan, what are you talking?”
“You are Major Kira from the space station…”
Kira didn’t say anything, because she knew everything, she had witnessed everything from
the outside.
“Deep Spade Night, I mean Deep Space Nine…”
“You are still Dr. Bashir, the friend of this Major Kira Nerys.”
“Why yes, and you, are you no longer Kira?”
“Yes, now I am the Kira that belongs here and Kira is back home.” Then she told him
everything about the dark voice and how she had been able to influence her from the
outside.
“But why did he leave me here? And why am I called Stan Bodner and not Julian Bashir?”
Kira didn’t know the answer but Bashir was determined to find out. Since he learned how to
use the computer he wanted to do a little research. First he reviewed the files of his family
which did not sound familiar to him, there seemed to be only one similarity, a distant uncle,
Samuel El Fakir, who lived somewhere in the southern hemisphere of the planet. As a next
step he tried to find out if there is or ever was a Julian Bashir on this planet. Negative. Jet
he found his mother and his father in the logbooks of Shabblik and Arcadia, which made it
impossible to meet each other, but there was another reason why they couldn’t have
possibly met. His father had been stalked to death at the very young age of 20 by the police
for disobeying the law for § 45.1 (AGU). So what now?, he thought. Another thing he wanted
to find where he was and how so many different races had ended up on this world. But this
question wasn’t as easily answered as the others. The history didn’t last for more then 4
generations at best, and the maps indicated a maybe coincidental similarity to the Vulcan
homeworld. And as he asked Kira about that she answered:
“There is a legend how we all came together. There were 5 worlds that had an alliance, but
as a war broke out only but a few found refuge on one of the planets that was not destroyed.
Then there was a great man, called the Sisko, an ancestor to my former husband who
united these adverse people and restored order so that they could live happily ever after.
That’s how the legend goes.”
“How come that the world that survived is called Camaria?”
“That was the idea of the Sisko, the founder of this world. Yet unfortunately I don’t know
more about it. No one was ever allowed to talk about it.”
“But there must be some who know.”
“Not that I know, if there is such an individual, this one might come forward now but I doubt
it, because when ever anybody said anything against the state, or what the state didn’t like,
he was executed as you might know from the AGU laws.”
“Then I will go back to my family and my job.”, Bashir said, a little bit unhappy.
“But what about the people? They need you, they will elect you as their first freely elected
president.”
Bashir thought for a second as a deep voice suddenly announced: “You don’t have to.”
“Who are you? I remember you. You were the one who lured me into a black object.” The
memory returned as vivid as if it only happened yesterday. “I know him, too.”, Kira said, not
at all astonished. “That is the voice that kidnapped me into a world of shadows.”
“Yes, I am an energy based life form, born in a dimensional barrier.”
“Oh, then you are the monster that kidnapped Major Kira and me to this then god forsaken
world.”
“I had to kidnap you, my very existence depended on it. Let me tell you why.”, and Bashir
and the alternate Kira listened very careful to the story the being had to tell.
“So you have lost a bet, and that’s why you gave up?”
“At first I tried to talk myself out of it, but then I realized that I could not live this way, alone
with no friends to talk about. And so I figured that I might take corporal on this world, and
since I realized that that was possible I will be replacing you as Stan Bodner.”
“But how’s that?”
“That is very simple, this Stan Bodner’s brain actually died in the coma and now I can take
his place.”
“So you froze him in that world of shadows Kira was talking about?”
“That is correct. And now, I will be a hero and you can go back to your world.”
Bashir didn’t say anything anymore, he only saw it as unfair and unjust that such a
gruesome being could deserve such an honorable post. Yet, on the other hand, without him
he would have never gotten here in the first place. Maybe he couldn’t be angry at him,
because he did only act as he thought right. No one had taught him any moral values, he
just might learn them here.

“This is Dr. Bashir requesting to board Deep Space Nine.”
An unknown voice replied: “Sorry, sir?”
“This is Dr. Bashir aboard the shuttle Argo.”
The seemingly disturbed Ensign just looked at the office of the Commander who was
already standing at his door, looking at the picture of the man who claimed to be Bashir.
Again. Sisko was cautious, the last time a man who looked like Bashir had come here to
steal the station.
“This is commander Benjamin Sisko of the space station Deep Space Nine, are you the real
Dr. Bashir?”
“What’s the matter, Benjamin, don’t you remember? I can explain everything, I had been
trapped by a black metal container.”
“We have heard that before… Request for docking granted. Proceed.”
“Thank you”, and Bashir’s picture disappeared from the viewscreen and was replaced by the
starscape and the little runabout, the Argo. Sisko had received another message just a
minute ago, and that was from the Defiant but yet not less puzzling. They told him that after
they had been lifted of a strange fog that had been disturbing their minds. There had also
been a strange suicide on the bridge, it was one of his favorite ensigns, Dido. But Odo
promised to tell everything upon arrival. So he decided to make a meeting inviting all his
senior staff, including Matula as new commander and Ensign Aeneas. For that meeting he
put up a table like they used to have in starships, and he took his office so they could be
very private during this discussion.
“Captain, the man who says he’s Dr. Bashir has docked his runabout.”
“Ensign Tragu, for now this is Dr. Bashir, but thank you.”, he immediately opened another
line.
“Yes sir, Commander Worf here”
“This is your Captain, Worf would you please welcome Dr. Bashir and accompany him
directly to me.”
“Sir? It’s my time off, and besides I am not your security…”
“Commander Worf, you have been a security chief for a long time, and besides I want one
of my senior officials to welcome him, is that understood?”
“Yes, sir. Should I take special precautions.”
“No. For now he is seen as the real Bashir, don’t make him think otherwise, Sisko out.”
Klingons were never easy to handle, and Worf was no exception. Yet he regarded Worf with
great respect, and he wasn’t the least bit sorry that he convinced him to stay.
“The Defiant is now ready to dock.”, Ensign Tragu said in his even voice.
“Let them proceed.” And only ten minutes later all of the people he wanted to see where
united in his office. Sisko was sitting at the head of the table looking around from person to
person. After a minute of silence he finally said: “I think we all have a lot of stories to tell. I
think O’Brien should begin, because as I’ve heard he’s partly to blame that our galaxy is still
what it used to be.”
“That is true.”, Kira agreed, having heard a lot about his brave deeds. O’Brien then told
them why that childish being kidnapped Bashir, and later Kira. “It wanted the universe free
of space travel because each time a space ship took to Warp speed it destroyed part of it.”
“But why did it need me?” Bashir asked.
“Because it wanted to bring someone to the station that had the same interests as he,
destroying all space travel.”
“And this man was Stan Bodner?”
“How did you know?”, O’Brien asked surprised.
“That is another story.”
“Anyway,” O’Brien continued, “Later on in its still young life he learned that it could not only
make people forget things and bring them into other worlds, but also to influence the
feelings from anybody he wanted, even from those who weren’t close by.”
Sisko now suddenly remembered something he immediately averted. The face of Keiko
flashed in front of his memory, No way, this is just my imagination.
“So he got me to fall in love with a girl, called Eve, but my love to Keiko made me strong.
That’s why I could resist the temptation, and when I was confronted with the big figure this
Stan Bodner has told us about I realized that what I saw wasn’t real, it was only my
imagination, and that of the people of the planet.”
“But how did you make such a powerful being give in to such a weak human being as you
are?”, Commander Worf asked.
“It wasn’t as evil as you think, it had feelings too, sort of. It didn’t want to be alone.
Furthermore it had a sense of honor, since I had broken through this imaginative barrier and
found out the truth, it gave me, it gave us a chance. When I would be able to resist Eve and
return to the orbiting Defiant I would, we would be free of it.”
“What brings us to another point, what happened on board of the Defiant. Captain Matula,
why did you not, as ordered hail O’Brien upon arrival.”, Sisko asked.
“Because, because… My memories are vague, but I remember that that all had something
to do with emotions which I cannot explain.”
“I can.”, O’Brien said. “This being was able to induce emotions into beings, even Vulcans.”
“So, I barely escaped?”, Matula asked.
“That is correct. And that is because Ensign Aeneas brought the Defiant back to Thorrok.”,
O’Brien answered.
Suddenly the whole attention focused on the Ensign at the other end of the table. He was
sitting there, sad and resigned. Even as all the people looked at him, he did not notice them,
he had turned to himself.
“What’s the matter?”, O’Brien asked.
Odo answered: “Ensign Dido has killed herself because he left her on the bridge.”
“That is true.”, his voice was weak and wry, “I had always been fond of her but she had
never shown anything toward me. She didn’t even want to go out with me. But then she
mysteriously fell in love with me, it must have been the making of that- that being.”
“But how could you escape your strong feelings?”, O’Brien asked curiously.
“That has its reasons in my childhood which I do not want to discuss. Anyway as I saw the
Defiant changing course I was worried because I was the officer to execute the order. So I
looked for the captain. But as I saw that Odo and Matula wanted to marry, I knew that the
captain had lost control over the ship.”
“What?”, Sisko said astonished, and others echoed it.
“Yes, captain, but anyway, I saw that there was something wrong. I mean about the ship, the
people and everything. So I brought the ship back into orbit where then the chief beamed
himself on the bridge where I kneeled over Ensign Dido.”
“The power of love is one of the strongest.”, Bashir admitted. “I had a great life over there, a
nice wife…”, he trailed of.
“Please continue.”, Sisko said.
“It’s just that…”, and his eyes fell on commander Matula.
“What is the matter.”, Matula asked in the usual Vulcan manner.
“My wife there looked like you, commander.”
The Vulcan did not reply, but she wondered what kind of world that was where Vulcans
married humans.
“Anyway,” the Doctor continued, “I replaced this Stan Bodner. He was a normal worker who
was drawn into a Resistance organization headed by Quark.”
“Quark?”
“Yes, major. Unfortunately you never met this Quark. He was so very much different from
this world. But he wasn’t the only old face I met. There was O’Brien who had a different
name and there was Kira.”
“That was me you met.”
“I know, I knew it all the time.”
“How come?”
“First of all, why would the wife of the evil Emperor come to us, his enemies. When I saw
you, I realized that you were Kira. And when you said that sentence it became clear. Yet I
was completely in this world, you seemed as a faint memory back then.” Kira remembered
that the man she met there was only a slice Bashir and the rest Stan Bodner.
Then he told them about his unwanted escape from the town to his meeting with Kira to the
defeat of the Emperor.
“As we were standing there slightly paramount to the people who cheered us, Kira fainted,
and we took her to a hospital. I think that’s where Kira returned.”
“Why didn’t you return back then?”, Kira asked.
“I don’t know, I only know that I met the alternate Kira then. She explained some details, but
she couldn’t tell me more, I thought that my fate was there on Camaria. I investigated my
and Bodner’s family, I only found out that my parents from this world never met each other
there. Then hours later the dark voice from the beginning of my adventure returned and told
me that the Stan Bodner of Camaria had died in the coma, out of which I awakened at the
beginning, and that he would his place so I could go back to my world. I saw this as the only
chance to get home.”
“But you liked it there?”, Dax brought in.
“Yes, especially at the beginning, because I loved this Matula like my wife. There I had a
family that I don’t have here.”
“So why did you decide to go back?”, Dax asked.
“Because I could never live in the name of someone that I am not. And besides, this world
was, as memories returned, far too strange for me.”
“I can understand that, Quark as a hero. Pah.”, Odo said.

“So how was Matula as your wife?”, Dax asked, trying to tease the doctor.
“Life there made more sense to me then it does here.”, he said, without his usual wit. Quark
who had been nearby and was, as usual, listening to the conversation said: “So you’d been
married, eh? I have heard you met a lot of strange people over there.”
“Indeed.”
“I wonder,” Quark said more to himself, “whether I could make business with them. If I could
get there.”
“I very much doubt that, one Quark in each universe is definitely enough.”
“That brings me to another question,” Quark said. “How was the Quark of that world.”
“He was the most shrewd salesman I’ve ever seen. He would beat you to the punch, Quark,
like you’ve never beaten before “, he lied and Dax felt amused, even giggled a little bit.
“Just like I imagined, we Quarks are all the same everywhere no matter which time line.”,
and Bashir thought, If you knew.
“For that you get all the drinks this evening on the house. But only if you tell me more such
good news.”
“How could you be so generous?”, Bashir asked in an ironic tone.
“Today is my good day, and when the day comes that I get to my brother, I mean the other
Quark we will make the biggest deal you’ve ever seen.”, with these words Quark
disappeared behind the bar, presumably to calculate his future gains. Rom brought the
drinks then, and asked naturally about his doppelganger and Bashir was sorry to tell him that
he hadn’t met a Rom.
“What do you think Quark wants to know more from you?”, Dax asked more rhetorically
then in earnest. Bashir answered anyway. “How to get there, of course. But I have to
disappoint him, because I don’t even know.”
“I am only glad you had a great time, because here everything was mixed up…” In this
moment captain Sisko appeared and approached the two.
“Dax is quite correct, we have had our ehem troubles here.”, he said.
“Yes, I have heard that.”
“I still can’t believe how I betrayed Kassidy.”
“If you want to talk about it,” Dax said with affection.
“That’s quite alright, old man. It was all the cause of this evil being but something in me still
makes me feel guilty.”
“I understand.” Dax said.
Somewhere else on the spacestation were also trouble in the air, as in many good families
and relationships, the O’Briens had their trouble to get accustomed to the events that had
taken place.
“So I heard you kissed that beautiful Eva.”, Keiko asked jealously.
“I did not. But I must admit there were times I felt some kind of affection for her, but you
must understand that this weren’t my own emotions. They were all the cause of this being.”
“I only hoped I could believe that.”
“You have to because, as you know, it’s true.”
“I know.” And after a few moments, she looked at her husband with an earnest face.
“There is something else you should know Miles.” O’Brien looked at her wife with great
distress.
“What is it, dear?”
“I have kissed the Captain.”
“Psst.”, O’Brien whispered. “Don’t talk about it anymore.” Keiko started to cry and hurried
into the comforting arms of her husband. “Everything is going to be alright.”, he added. Yet
he wasn’t sure how long it would take them to get over it. The events had been very
traumatic.

THE END