"But this?" Kellec said. "Surely we wouldn't do this." He swept his hand over the corridor.

Ficen shook his head. "Of course not," he said. "But we know what it's like here, and it's easy even for us to contemplate the idea. Imagine how easy it is for the Carda.s.sians."

"The ones who aren't already in the know," Kellec said.

Ficen sighed. "I don't think sending one of our people there is a good idea."

"I don't see any other choice," Kellec said. "Dukat is sending a team of his own to Bajor to investigate this. You know what he'll find."

Ficen cursed. "If they believe we did this, they'll retaliate."

"That's why we need real information, gathered by our own people." Kellec glanced over his shoulder. No guards so far. "But it has to be people we can trust."

Ficen nodded. "I'll see what I can do." "Not good enough," Kellec said.

Ficen stood and handed the hypospray back to Kellec. "All right then," he said. "I'll let you know as soon as our team leaves Terok Nor."

Kellec smiled. "That's better," he said.

Chapter Eighteen

KIRA WAS VIOLATING HER AGREEMENT with Odo, but she had to. Ever since she had heard that a representative of the Federation was on Terok Nor, she'd been trying to figure out a way to make contact. And if Odo's report was accurate, she had to do so quickly. She had been exposed to the virus, and didn't have a lot of time left before she would have to seek out medical attention. She had heard that Kellec and his team had found a cure to the disease, but only after someone already had symptoms.

She wasn't looking forward to that.

She was in the habitat ring, near the quarters a.s.signed to newcomers. It had taken her most of the evening to find where their rooms were located; she couldn't ask anyone, and her computer skills, while good, weren't good enough to find all of the alarm triggers the Carda.s.sians had built into the system.

The only thing she had working for her was that as many Carda.s.sians were sick as Bajorans. There were very few guards, and the ones she had seen were more preoccupied with the state of their own good health than with keeping an eye on Bajorans. Kira made sure she was wearing tattered old clothes, and she kept her hair tousled, so that she looked as if she were struggling-either with ore production or keeping her family alive somewhere.

She was struggling; that much was true. All of her contacts here were either ill or dying. She still hadn't found Ficen and she didn't know how to ask for him. Most of the Bajorans in the Bajoran section were preoccupied with their own families; they couldn't keep track of anything else.

Since she had arrived, she had been uneasy, frightened. She wished she could see Kellec Ton, but that was clearly becoming impossible. She thought of approaching the Federation a.s.sistants who were working in the Bajoran section. She had even come close to them once, close enough to overhear their discussions and to realize they weren't in charge of this mission. They were all on their first a.s.signment outside Federation s.p.a.ce, and were as baffled by it all as new recruits always were when brought into their first resistance cell.

No. She was in this corridor because she had no other choice. She hoped no one had found her tracks yet in the computer system. She had looked up several things, just in case someone was trying to find her, and had buried her request among half a dozen others. She figured it would give her time.

It had also given her the access code to the visitors' quarters' door. She hoped the Federation doctor wasn't paranoid enough to change her locks when she arrived. This would be the test.

Kira moved away from the wall and turned to the door. She punched the access override code into the 1ockmand heard the door shush open. One more step completed.

The quarters were dark. Apparently the doctor liked to sleep in total blackness. Kira stood completely still for a moment, letting her eyes adjust.

They did.

She listened, and heard deep, even breathing from the next room.

This was her first opportunity with the Federation doctor. The woman hadn't come to her quarters until very late. As Kira's eyes got used to the light, she saw clothing scattered on a nearby chair. Kira had heard that the woman had been awake for thirty-five hours straight. When she got to the room, she probably couldn't wait to get to sleep.

Well, Kira had no choice but to interrupt that sleep. She knew the layout of the quarters. It was like all others in this side of the habitat ring: a large main room, with a sleeping room to the right, replicates and the bathroom to the left. Kira slipped into the bedroom, and said softly, "Computer, low-level ambient light."

She wasn't sure if that gambit would work, but it did. Apparently the computer was programmed in the guest quarters to accept commands from any voice. The lights came up just a little, relieving the complete darkness and adding a very faint golden glow to the room.

The bed was in the center of everything. The woman who had been sleeping there was older than Kira had expected, and she wasn't particularly beautiful-which struck Kira as odd. With Kellec Ton's natural charm and good looks, she would have a.s.sumed he would have found a gorgeous mate. Apparently he was attracted to nice-looking women with a lot of brains.

"Who're you?" the woman - Pulaski, wasn't it? - asked. She was amazingly calm, given that she had just awakened to find a stranger in her bedchamber.

"My name doesn't matter," Kira said. "And I don't have a lot of time, so please listen to me."

Pulaski sat up in bed, adjusted the blankets around her, and pushed brown hair out of her eyes. "Computer," she said, as if Kira hadn't spoken, "how long have I been asleep?" "One hour, three minutes, and forty-five seconds." She sighed and leaned her head against the headboard. "One hour, three minutes, and forty-five seconds. I was hoping for at least two hours." She looked up at Kira. "This had better be good."

"I would like you to come with me to Bajor," Kira said.

Pulaski frowned, just a little. "I've already been through this with GUL Dukat. I'm afraid I can't leave the station."

"He doesn't have to know," Kira said. "I'll smuggle you down there and I'll bring you back." "How is that possible?" Pulaski asked.

"I was on Bajor just two days ago. There are ways," Kira said. Her hands were damp. She was nervous. "I understand you've found a cure. They don't need you up here right now-"

"On the contrary," Pulaski said. "They do need me. The cure is only effective if someone is symptomatic. That means this disease can still spread all over the quadrant because we haven't found a way to take care of it in its incubation phases."

"But that's not urgent," Kira said. "Taking you to Bajor is."

"And why is that?" Pulaski asked. "We've already sent them the formula for the antidote, and we're sending some live cure down in shuttles. I'm not needed."

"You are," Kira said. "Not as a doctor. As an observer. We've been trying to get Federation representatives to Bajor for a long time, to see the conditions the Carda.s.sians have imposed on us during the Occupation. Please. I'll take you to a few places, and we can do it quickly. No one will know you're gone. There are rumors of Federation negotiations with the Carda.s.sians. We-"

Pulaski held up her hand. "I'm sorry," she said.

"No." Kira clenched her fists. "I won't take no for an answer. I won't. We need you."

Pulaski closed her eyes for a moment, then leaned her head back. It seemed as if she were making a decision. Finally she opened her eyes and looked at Kira.

"Now it's your turn to listen to me," Pulaski said softly. "The Carda.s.sians didn't want us here. We had to agree to a lot of terms before we could arrive."

"One of them was turning your back on Bajoran suffering?" Kira asked.

"That's not fair," Pulaski said. "We're here because of Bajoran suffering."

"And Carda.s.sian. I guess those rumors were correct. You are working with the Carda.s.sians."

Pulaski shook her head. "I am here as a consultant on this disease only. I have strict orders to stay out of the political fights. In fact, I have to."

"Have to." Kira took a step forward. How many times had she heard that argument before? "Of course. You have to. So you won't see the atrocities being committed under your nose. So that you have deniability."

"I didn't say that." Somehow Pulaski's voice was still calm... what would it take to get this woman riled up? "What I did say was that in order to come here, we had to agree to terms. Or we wouldn't have been able to come at all." "What does that have to do with me?" Kira said. "Everything." Pulaski got out of bed. She was wearing a nightshirt, and her feet were bare. She grabbed a robe from her suitcase. She apparently hadn't even had time to unpack. "If the Carda.s.sians find out that I was meeting with a Bajoran in my quarters, I would be reprimanded at best."

"You're afraid of a reprimand from Gul Dukat?" Kira couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice.

Pulaski shook her head. "One of the terms we agreed to was that if one of my team got caught spying-or there was a suspicion of spying we would all be killed." "That's traditional Carda.s.sian rhetoric," Kira said. "You don't believe they'd do it?" Pulaski asked. "Oh, they would if they caught you. But right now they're not going to catch anyone. So many of the Carda.s.sians are sick, and those that aren't are concerned about staying well. It's a perfect scenario. Like I said, they won't miss you."

Pulaski's smile was small. "I wish I had your confidence in that. But I'm responsible for three other lives, and I'm not willing to risk them."

"How Starfleet of you," Kira said. "Your lives are so much more important than ours."

"You have quite a temper, don't you?" Pulaski asked.

Kira felt a flush build.

"It prevents you from seeing clearly." Pulaski took a step closer to Kira. They weren't that far apart now. Pulaski was slightly taller, but Kira was in better shape. She could kidnap the lady doctor and get her on that shuttle with no trouble at all. "I see clearly enough," Kira said.

"Then you understand why I don't risk my team," Pulaski said.

"Because you are afraid of violating an agreement with the Carda.s.sians." Kira spit out that last.

Pulaski shook her head. "We've had the privilege of coming to Terok Nor. As far as I know, no other Federation group-official or unofficial-has come here. I have spent most of my time in the medical lab, but my a.s.sistants have been all over the station, caring for Carda.s.sians and Bajorans. The majority of the work two of my team members have done has been in the Bajoran section."

Pulaski stopped there. The words hung between them. Kira was beginning to understand where Pulaski was going, but wasn't sure she wanted to join her.

Pulaski's face was filled with compa.s.sion. "The Carda.s.sians have worked hard to keep up their little fiction that everything is going well. But they've been having trouble doing so. As you said, there are very few guards and very little security right now. And my teams have had to venture into areas that I'm sure would have been off-limits otherwise." "It's not the same as seeing Bajor," Kira said. "No," Pulaski said. "It's not. But it will have to do. We'll be debriefed when we leave. And we'll be honest. We won't have to make anything up."

"You're trying to pretend that you sympathize with us when you make agreements with the Carda.s.sians."

Pulaski's shoulders sagged. "If I were a Carda.s.sian sympathizer, do you think I would have been married to Kellec Ton?" "But you aren't any longer."

"That's right," Pulaski said. "Yet he's the one who asked for my help. There are many qualified doctors in Starfleet-and many unaffiliated ones all over the quadrant. Why do you think he asked for me?"

Kira crossed her arms and turned away. The woman had a point. A good point. Kira was letting her own disappointment blind her. She wanted the Federation group to come to Bajor so badly. She needed someone there. She felt if there were outside observers, things would change. They had to change-She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see Pulaski's calm eyes measuring her.

"You could do us a favor, though."

"Us?" Kira said.

"Kellec and me."

Kira frowned. "How?"

"I tried to get permission to go to Bajor today. Gul Dukat refused, understandably. He's as afraid of letting me go down there as you are desirous of it. And probably for the same reason. He's worried about what information I'd take back to the Federation." "I know," Kira said. "If you"

"Please," Pulaski said. "Let me finish. We need to find the source of the virus." "I thought you had a cure."

"We do, but it's not as effective as we'd like. We'd like a cure that destroys this virus completely. I don't know if you've been told, but this is a designer virus-" "I know," Kira said.

"Then you understand that someone created it and someone planted it somewhere, we're not sure where. I wanted to go to Bajor to search for the source of the disease, but Dukat said no. He a.s.signed a Carda.s.sian team to conduct the search."

"Carda.s.sians!" Kira pulled away. "You know what kind of search they'll do. They'll search until they have enough to prove that Bajorans did this thing, and then they'll use it as an excuse to slaughter hundreds of us."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Pulaski said. "So we need a pre-emptive strike. If you would go to Bajor and get this information on where the virus started before the Carda.s.sians do, then we have two chances. The first is to find a solution that neutralizes this disease completely, and the second is to prevent the very scenario you're describing. If I can go to Dukat with proof that the virus started somewhere and it was brought inward, even better, we can find the virus's designers he'll have to call off his team. He wouldn't dare slaughter Bajorans in revenge. Not in front of a Federation observer."

"No," Kira said bitterly. "He'll wait until you're gone."

"And by then, the Bajorans at risk will have disappeared, won't they?" Pulaski asked.

Kira frowned. She had completely misjudged this woman. No wonder Kellec Ton had been attracted to her. Beneath that calm exterior, she had the courage of a Bajoran. "Yes," Kira said slowly. "They could disappear." "Good," Pulaski said.

"Before I go, I'd like to check with Kellec Ton, see if he agrees with the plan." "Then do so," Pulaski said.

Kira shook her head. "It's not that easy. I can't move about freely in the Carda.s.sian sections."

"Then I'll make certain he's in the Bajoran section in what? In forty-five minutes?"

Kira should be able to make it back by then. "That'll do."

"Good," Pulaski said. She headed back toward the bed. "I understand your need to check up on me. But you'll find I'm on the level. I'm sure Kellec will have no objections to your trip to the surface."

"If you send Carda.s.sian guards, I'll shoot them," Kira said.

"If I send Carda.s.sian guards," Pulaski said, "you have every right to shoot me." "Don't think I won't."

Pulaski smiled. "l know better than to double-cross a person like you," she said. "After all, I was once married to one. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll contact Kellec, and then try to catch at least another hour of sleep."

Kira nodded. She couldn't quite bring herself to thank Pulaski-things hadn't gone as well as Kira had hoped. But they were still moving forward. And Kira felt as if she were being useful for the first time since this plague began.

And for her, being in the fight was always better than standing on the sidelines watching.

Chapter Nineteen

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT WENT WRONG," Kellec said. He was in the office staring through the door at the green Carda.s.sians staggering in and the Bajorans brought up from below. Pulaski was at his side. She had never felt so discouraged in her life.

"Obviously something did," Narat said, and Pulaski could hear the blame in his voice. The two of them got along fine when things were moving well, but now they weren't getting along at all. They were taking the problems out on each other.

Reports of illness had started to come in only an hour ago. Now they had an official run on the reed lab. Patients who had been cured ten hours ago were coming back, the sickness obviously in its early stages. A few had waited until the early stages were long past, and so, Pulaski believed, continued pa.s.sing the disease on to others.

"Something did go wrong," she said without turning around. Governo was handling the Carda.s.sians as he did before. She had instructed him to give them another dose of the antidote. Marrvig was still in the Bajoran section, but Nurse Ogawa had come up with some of the sicker Bajorans to get them better treatment in the med lab. "You know what it is?" Narat asked.

Pulaski nodded. Kellec was looking at her too. She let the door between the office and the main room close.

"If you think about it, you know just as well as I do," she said. "We haven't found how the virus starts. We have succeeded in preventing these patients from dying, but they're clearly reinfecting themselves." "Or picking up the virus elsewhere," Narat said. She shook her head. "I don't think so. Even when a patient caught the disease from the virus-and could prove that it wasn't incubating-that patient took at least two days to show signs of illness. These patients are coming back within ten to twelve hours."

"That means," Kellec said, "that the infecting agent isn't the virus."

Pulaski nodded. "Perhaps if we run some cultures, we can imitate the course of this reinfection in the lab."