She took a deep breath and then touched the console. "This is how the Archaria virus was formed." She set the screen in reverse motion.

The screen showed a computer image of the DNA of the virus shifting, breaking apart, until finally all that was left was three prions, the smallest life-form known to science. Prions were so tiny that not even transporter biofilters could remove them, so light they could blow on a slight breeze, and strong enough to live through freezing cold.

"The three prions are harmless separately," Pulaski said, "but when all three were present in the body of a cross-species humanoid, they merged and somehow rewrote their own DNA to form a deadly virus. Watch again."

She set the screen in forward motion and the three prions joined, changed, and formed the deadly Archaria virus. "Amazing," Kellec said.

"So if the virus was killed," Narat said, "but the three prions remained in the body, the patient was reinfected." "Almost at once," Pulaski said.

"Which is what we're dealing with here," Kellec said. "This is pure evil," Marvig said.

"Again," Pulaski said, "I need to caution you all that our patients getting reinfected is just a similar symptom. There might be a completely different cause, we don't know yet. But at least this gives us a starting place we didn't have before." "So our next step is what?" Governo asked. Pulaski pointed at the tables where the sick were. "We take a few patients, both Carda.s.sian and Bajoran, and cure them of the virus. Then we watch the prions in their blood to see if this pattern, or something similar, occurs. Once we know that, we might be on the track to a permanent cure." "We can hope," Kellec said. "You'd better do more than hope, Doctor." The voice spun Kellec and Narat around. Marvig stepped further away from the door. Pulaski had seen Dukat come in just a second before Kellec spoke. The Gul now stood in the doorway of the medical office. He nodded to her.

"Fighting has broken out in a dozen places on Bajor," Dukat said, not waiting for a response from Kellec. "If it spreads here I don't have enough healthy guards to contain it. And if I can't contain it, the Carda.s.sian fleet will."

"They're getting afraid back on Carda.s.sia Prime," Kellec said. "I thought the mighty Carda.s.sian warrior never showed fear."

"Kellec!" Pulaski said, making her voice take on the command authority she'd learned over the years. "Now is not the time."

Dukat nodded to her. He didn't even bother to smile. He was worried now, and not at all interested in baiting Kellec. "You'd better listen to her, Bajoran," Dukat said. "At the moment I am the best friend you have. Find the final cure and find it fast. The Carda.s.sian government will not allow this to reach Carda.s.sia Prime."

Dukat turned and strode from the room.

Pulaski turned to say something to her ex-husband, but then stopped. His face was as white as she'd ever seen it. Narat was hunched so far over that he looked as if he were going to be sick.

Kellec glanced at Narat. "He means it, doesn't he?" Kellec asked.

Narat nodded.

"Means what?" Governo asked. "Yeah," Marvig said, "what was that all about?" "The Carda.s.sian fleet will destroy this station and everyone on it and all of Bajor-to stop this," Kellec said.

Again the Carda.s.sian doctor nodded, as if destroying an entire planet's population was something they talked about every day.

For all Pulaski knew, maybe around here they did.

Chapter Twenty-three

KIRA SLIPPED INTO THE SECURITY OFFICE, looking both ways before dosing the door. No one saw her go in, which was good. Very good.

The office was empty, of course. The constable was everywhere except where he was supposed to be. She didn't know how to summon him. Create a ruckus on the Promenade? Who would notice now that the disease was back? Only it wasn't really back-at least that's what one of the human medical a.s.sistants had told her.

It had never really left.

At least they had found a way to keep everyone from dying. That was a step in the right direction.

She made her way behind the desk and stared at the security console. Carda.s.sian design, of course; but there had been modifications, modifications she didn't entirely understand. She threaded her fingers together, then eased them forward, cracking the knuckles. Since Odo wasn't here, she would just play with the console until he arrived. That would get his attention, and she might learn a few things in the process.

She placed a hand over the screen, wondering where to start.

"Touch that," Odo's gravelly voice said, "and you will spend the rest of your life in the brig."

"Oh, you frightened me," she said, but she moved her hand. Then she looked up. He was standing before her, his brown uniform trim as always. The door was closed, just as she had left it. Had he slid in under it? Or hadn't she heard him enter?

"You like to take chances, don't you?" he asked.

She gave him a half smile and shrugged. "One gets used to a certain level of danger."

"Maybe you do," he said. "But people who play dangerously around here more often than not get killed."

"Is that a threat?"

"From me, no," Odo said. "But if Dukat were to know you were here, then it would be. You need to be more cautious." "Actually," she said. "That's why I'm here." "You want me to teach you to be more cautious?" He actually sounded surprised. And then she realized he was making a joke. Not a very funny one, but it was at least an attempt. "No," she said. "I need your help."

"Well," he said. "Isn't that an interesting turn of events."

She wasn't used to being a supplicant, especially with someone in a position of authority in a Carda.s.sian government. "I need to get off the station." "I thought we discussed that," he said.

"We did," she said. "That's why I'm here. I need your help to leave." "Why should I do that?"

"Because," she said. "Kellec Ton has asked me to go to the surface to help him with the research."

"Kellec Ton?" "And his ex-wife Pulaski."

"Why would they want you to go, when Dukat has already sent a team below?"

She stared at him for a moment. He worked for the Carda.s.sians but he had always struck her as different. How different, she didn't know. And she couldn't rely on a guess.

"They need independent confirmation of the Carda.s.sian findings."

"They don't trust the Carda.s.sian findings, you mean," Odo said.

"And with cause," Kira said. "The Carda.s.sians started this thing."

"It seems to me," Odo said, "they shouldn't trust the Bajoran findings either." She stared at him.

"But then, it would be the prudent course to get information from both sides and compare. Somewhere in the middle they would find the truth." He tilted his strange head at her. "Do you have written permission from Kellec Ton to leave the station?"

He was playing with her again. Why did this shape, shifter always make her feel off-balance? Because she had never encountered anyone like him before? Or because he knew how to get to her when no one else did?

"Of course I don't have written permission," she said.

"Then how do I know you're not making this up?" Odo asked.

"Why would I make it up?"

"Why indeed." He frowned, musing. "I suppose I'll just have to check with Kellec."

"Okay," she said. "And Dr. Pulaski."

"And Dr. Pulaski," he said.

He didn't move, though; he didn't try to use his console or leave the room, either. He just watched her for a moment and then, to her surprise, he attempted a smile. It looked as if he didn't make that expression very often. It came out as half a grimace.

"All right," he said. "You may go."

"As easy as that?" she asked.

"As easy as that," he said.

"It's too easy."

"It's what you wanted."

"Yes, but you didn't check."

"You weren't worried about it. That's confirmation enough for me."

"What about the quarantine?" Kira asked. 'Aren't you worried I'll fly off somewhere else?"

"Why should I worry about that?" he asked. "Even if Carda.s.sian s.p.a.ce weren't so heavily patrolled, you would never try anything like that."

"Just two days ago, you were worried that I might leave here and infect someone else."

"Two days ago, there wasn't a Carda.s.sian fleet surrounding Terok Nor and Bajor. You couldn't go anywhere besides Bajor if you were the most cunning pilot in the quadrant."

Kira sank into the constable's chair. "The Carda.s.sian fleet? What are they doing?" "Think about it," Odo said. "The plague is back." "And they don't want it to spread to Carda.s.sia Prime." Kira pounded a fist on the console. "Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds?'

Something beeped beneath her hand.

"I would prefer it if you take your anger out on something a little less sensitive," Odo said.

"Well, then, I guess my mission becomes even more urgent," Kira said.

"It would seem so." Odo rounded the desk. 'TI1 give you clearance. Then the fleet won't give you any trouble."

She looked at him. Those eyes. So sad. She wondered why she always thought of him as sad.

"That's the second time you've done me a favor. Why?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I'll ask for repayment one day."

"Maybe." She slipped from behind the desk. "Anyway, thanks."

"You're welcome," he said. "But be careful. If this disease is a designer virus, like they're saying, finding information about it won't be easy."

She nodded. "Thanks for the warning." "And it might also be dangerous."

"That one I figured out on my own." She glanced at the door. Two Carda.s.sian guards walked through the Promenade. "I hate to impose on you one more time," she said, "but do you think you could beam me to my ship from here?"

He sighed. "What's one more violation among friends?" he asked, and pressed the console a few times.

As the transporter beam caught her, she saw him look up. His expression was unguarded-and worried? No. That had to be her imagination. She vowed to shut that imagination off while she conducted her investigation on Bajor. She couldn't afford to indulge in speculation.

Especially since that's all her Carda.s.sian counterparts would be doing.

Chapter Twenty-four

DISTANT PHASER FIRE ECHOED throughout the station. Quark had the doors to the business shut and bolted and was still hiding behind the bar. His ear was swollen and covered with blisters. It itched so bad he couldn't think, and he was doing everything he could with his hands to keep them from scratching.

"That's the last of it, brother," Rom said as he came out of their quarters. His right ear was bleeding again. Quark shook his head. If the bar had been open, if he had had any customers, if he had still been serving drinks, he would have forbidden Rom to come out in public. But none of that mattered anymore.

The Bajorans had started rebelling in the Bajoran section, shooting the remaining Carda.s.sian guards. Gul Dukat didn't have the forces to keep the Bajorans in check. It would only be a matter of time before they overran the station-and then Quark really didn't know what he'd do. The Bajorans weren't well known for having a lot of latinum.

Nog entered the bar behind his father. He was wearing the cap the Volian had made for Rom, attempting to follow Quark's edict not to scratch.

Quark sighed. He had hidden away all of the latinum, and had made Rom and Nog hide the expensive liquor. Now there was nothing he could do except m "Aeeiieee!" He clapped a hand over his left ear and fell backwards. The itching suddenly got so intense that it was painful. Rom hurried to his side. "Let me see, brother."

"You're not touching me with those infected hands," Quark said and rolled over, pressing his ear against the floor. "I'11 wash them first," Rom said.

"Just let us see, uncle," Nog said, crouching beside him. Slowly Quark rolled the opposite direction so that they could see his left ear.

"Oh, my," Rom said.

"Oh, my?" Quark asked.

"Oh, my, my, my," Rom said.

"Oh, my, my, my, what?"

"Oh, my, my, my, my, my."

With his free hand, Quark shoved his brother. "Stop it! What do you see?" "They're too big to be blisters," Nog said. "What are?"

"The lumps, with pus, traveling toward your ear ca.n.a.l."

"Brother, you know how sensitive ear ca.n.a.ls can be. If one of those gets down there and bursts..."

They all stared at each other. Then Quark got to his feet.

"I don't care who is shooting at whom, we have to get to the infirmary." "People are dying, brother," Rom said.