The Mist (19 page)

"It is more efficient to kill the offender early so that time is not wasted in senseless pursuit," Sotugh said.

Sisko grinned at him. "Or so that the pursuers don't have a Cardassian ship sharing their position in out-of-phase space."

"I did not say that," Sotugh said.

"But if Sisko had taken out Captain Victor earlier, you would have missed that wonderful experience," Prrghh said.

"Believe me," Sotugh said. "It was worth missing."

"So did you catch him?" the Quilli asked, climbing even higher on his chair. The Trill had to put his other foot on the seat to keep the chair from tipping over. "Or did you kill him?"

"Captain Victor?" Sisko said. "I had Worf target his ship."

"Fire on my mark," I said.

"Ready, sir," Worf said.

With one final shot at the Madison that bounced harmlessly off its shields, the Mist ship suddenly stopped firing, slowed, and stopped.

"Well, that's a surprise," Dax said.

"A trick, sir," Worf said.

"Hold position and we shall see," I said.

"They are hailing us, sir," Nog said.

"On screen."

Councillor Näna appeared, his gray features dominating the screen. His mouth was opening and closing as it did before. Behind him, two humans were holding a struggling Captain Victor on the ground near an instrument panel.

Councillor Näna's mouth opened. "We," it said. Then the mouth closed. A second later, it opened again. "Surrender." Its eyes rolled forward toward me, and I realized just how hard it was for the councillor to speak aloud.

"Excellent," I said.

I turned to Jackson. He was watching Näna with his mouth open. When he saw me look at him, Jackson's mouth closed. Apparently he had never heard Näna talk before either.

I grinned at Jackson. "Do you have enough healthy personnel to take over and control that ship?"

"I do," Jackson said.

"Then it's all yours," I said.

"Thank you, Captain," Jackson said. For a moment, his gaze met mine. The respect, it seemed, was finally mutual. Then he quickly spun and headed for the door.

I turned back to Councillor Näna. "Jackson and some of the others will be taking control of your ship. Do not fight him."

Councillor Näna nodded slowly. Before the screen cut off, one of the men sitting on Captain Victor slugged him, knocking him out. Clearly Captain Victor's days of leadership were over.

"I had hoped for a glorious battle," Sotugh said. "Instead, I chased a few weak ships, shot our weapons a few times, and did nothing. The battle was without honor. We fought an enemy that looked powerful, but in truth, had nothing but weakness at its core."

"That's some story, Sisko," the wraith said, pulling its entire left hand. The Trill yelled a caution from the other side of the room. The wraith immediately flattened its hand against its chest.

"Yes, it is quite a story, despite Sotugh's disappointment," Prrghh said. "It reminds me of the time"

"The story is not over yet," the Quilli said, waving its tiny paws. "How did the Defiant get back to normal space? Did you meet your time limit?"

Sisko smiled. "I am amazed at all of you. You have forgotten an important detail."

"And that is?" the Trill asked.

"The Cardassians," he said, "are still about to attack the station."

Sotugh slammed down his empty mug of blood wine. "That's right!" he said. "We still had to deal with those filthy Cardassian dogs!"

Nineteen

"YOU DON'T SEEM to like the Cardassians much," the Trill said, with a slight smile playing on his face.

"They are a lying, duplicitous race, worthless in the extreme," Sotugh said. "They exist only to create trouble, and to spread their vileness throughout the quadrant."

"Sounds like Klingons to me," Prrghh said, moving just far away enough that Sotugh couldn't reach her.

"Actually," Arthur said, "Klingons have honor. They don't try to spread their vileness throughout the quadrant."

Sotugh nodded at him, in grateful acknowledgment.

"Could've fooled me," Prrghh said.

The Quilli was frowning again. "I thought you said that the Cardassians ran like ents? whatever those are. I thought you said they were gone."

"Ants," the Trill said, "an Earth insect, usually about the size of your nose bristles. They live in colonies the ants, not your nose bristles often called anthills. When one is kicked, the ants scatter."

"How come you seem to know all this stuff?" the Quilli said to him.

"Because I understand stories," the Trill said, "instead of collecting them."

"Is he right?" the Quilli said. "About the ants?"

"Yes," Sisko said.

"Then they scattered. Or you used the wrong metaphor."

Sisko smiled at the small, fierce creature. "No, I didn't. Ants scatter, but sometimes they return to the nest, especially if their queen is inside. Sometimes they even rebuild that nest"

"Which is a perfect analogy for Terok Nor," Sotugh said, "which is the Cardassian name for the Cardassian-built station Deep Space Nine."

"It was theirs?" the Quilli said.

"Initially," Sisko said. "How we came to be in possession of it is yet another story."

"You won it in a war?"

"Not exactly," Sisko said.

"Wow," the Quilli said. "Another story. If this one ends like I think it will, I'll want to hear the others."

"Another time," Sisko said. "I am not done with this one yet."

"So," the wraith asked, "what happened when the station shifted back to normal space? What did the Cardassians do?"

"They saw the station's double disappearance and return as an opportunity," Sisko said. "And a weakness, especially with all the Klingon and Starfleet ships gone."

"Like dogs on a dying animal," Sotugh said. "Cardassians are nothing better than scavengers. We should have wiped them out when we had the chance."

"You want to wipe everyone out," Prrghh said.

"Some more than others," Sotugh said, glaring at her.

"When the station reappeared for the second time," Sisko said, "Gul Dukat must have been going slightly crazy himself, attempting to discover what was happening."

"Yes," Sotugh said. "Another hint as to his future."

"So," Sisko said, "he decided to take over the station and ask questions later."

"Typical Cardassian stupidity," Sotugh said.

"Captain," Worf said. "The Cardassians are in attack positions around the station."

This was the last thing I needed. I was tired of Dukat trying to take advantage of every situation that came his way. The man had lost Deep Space Nine years ago, but he had never gotten over it. I wished he would stop trying to take it back.

"Is the station able to defend itself?" I asked.

"According to my readings, it is," Dax said. "They have recalibrated the shields for normal space."

"But they will not last long with a full-out attack," Worf said. "There are too many Cardassian warships."

"Major Kira is warning them to stand down again," Nog said. "She is being very clear about it."

Kira was yet again going head to head with Gul Dukat. I think, in some ways, he was her greatest nemesis, the one person she could not seem to get out of her life, no matter how hard she tried.

"The Cardassians are not responding."

How unlike Dukat. He usually crowed over his battle plans. He was probably uncertain as to what sort of trick the Federation was playing on him now. I wished he would respond as he normally did. Then I would have known what sort of battle loomed before my crew.

I studied the mess I saw on the screen in front of me. An entire fleet of Cardassian Galor-class warships surrounded Deep Space Nine. In Mist space, invisible to the Cardassians, were three Starfleet starships and nine Klingon battle cruisers. If the starships and Klingon fleet got back to normal space before the Cardassians attacked, the odds would be in our favor. Dukat would not fight such a force. We would win without firing a single shot.

"Cadet," I said, "open a channel to the Madison, and Daqchov and connect in the rest of the Klingon and Starfleet ships."

"Open, sir," Nog said as the image on the screen changed.

Captain Higginbotham was in his command chair, the grease wiped from his skin. His eyes were bright, and he appeared to be exhilarated from the earlier battle.

Captain Sotugh was on the other side of the screen. He was looking a bit queasy

"Klingons do not get 'queasy,' " Sotugh said.

"Dizzy, then," Sisko said.

"Klingons do not get"

"Come on, Sotugh," Sisko said. "I know you felt the effects of that ship going through yours. Do you want to describe it?"

"I was looking a bit off-balance," Sotugh said.

"I don't think that's better," the Trill said, with a laugh.

"It doesn't matter how he looked," the Quilli said. "What did he do?"

"Actually, it's what I did," Sisko said. "I told them ..."

"The Cardassians are about to attack the station," I said.

"I already noted that, Ben," Higginbotham said. "Shift us back over. They'll think twice about it then."

"I hope so," I said. "Make the necessary adjustments to your shields and gather in this area."

Sotugh looked disgusted. "Someday we will take care of Cardassia, once and for all."

"But you haven't yet, have you?" Prrghh said.

"Bah," Sotugh said, moving his hand in dismissal. "They will run from us, tails between their sorry little legs."

"One story at a time, please," the Quilli said, and leaned even harder on its chair back. The Trill had to bend his knees to accommodate the shift in weight.

"At that moment," Sisko said to the Quilli, "I didn't care about the future either."

"Today," I said, "let's just concentrate on Deep Space Nine."

"My ship will remain here to help you," Sotugh said. "Send the other Klingon cruisers back."

I hesitated for a moment, then said to Sotugh, "Adjust your shields anyway. In case we both have to cross back over quickly. Sisko out."

"You had no intention of letting me stay, did you?" Sotugh asked, his mood shifting suddenly. "You lied to me. Are you without honor, Sisko?"

"Honor, shmonor," Prrghh said. "I think we all know that Sisko has honor. Come up with a new accusation, Sotugh."

"Of course I wasn't going to let you stay," Sisko said. "The destruction of the Mist Grey Squadron was over and I couldn't deprive you of a good fight with the Cardassians."

"That is not why you sent me back," Sotugh said.

"Helping me with the Mist was not why you intended to stay," Sisko said. "You wanted the Mist's device."

"Of course," Sotugh said. "They had already crossed into our space once. Who is to say they would not do so again?"

"No one," Sisko said. "But we didn't need that device."

"You are not one to make decisions for the Klingon Empire!"

Sisko smiled. "At that moment, I was. I was the only one who controlled whether or not you remained in Mist space."

"And you sent me back."

"I sent you back," Sisko said.

"The Cardassians are powering their weapons," Worf said.

"Dax," I said. "Are the three starships in position, close enough to shift?"

"Yes," Dax said.

"Cadet," I said. "Warn them they have thirty seconds until we shift them."

"Aye, sir," Nog said.

"How about the Klingons?"

"Taking formation now," Dax said.

"I was a fool to listen to you," Sotugh said. "If I had not taken that position"

"Good," I said to Dax. "Shift the Klingons as close together as possible."

"All of them?" Dax asked, glancing back at me.

"All of them," I said.

"You had no right, Sisko!" Sotugh said.

"I had every right," Sisko said. "This was my fight, from the beginning."

"Sisko's right," the Trill said. "The Intergalactic Rules of War have been the same throughout all of my lifetimes."

"There were devices floating in that debris," the wraith said. "Sisko said as much. You had a chance. You blew it."

"We were searching for devices," Sotugh said. "We did not find any."

"The story! Please!" the Quilli said.

"You can't change the past," the Trill said. "You may as well accept it, Sotugh."

"I accept it," he said. "I simply do not like it."

"Well," the Quilli said, focusing its beady eyes on Sisko. "What next?"

"Before we could transfer the starships," he said, "the Cardassians attacked the station."

They engaged in a full frontal assault, concentrating on the station's weak areas. Dukat knew where those areas were. He had been the head of the station for years. He might have even known the station better than I did.

What he did not know was that Kira had already sabotaged many of those weak areas, when the Mist had attacked. I knew that. And I knew that, if we did not hurry, Dukat would take over the station in no time at all.

Laser fire lit up as it hit the station's shields. Just as I had expected, Dukat was targeting the weak points in the station's defense systems.

"The station's shields are holding," Worf said. "But I do not know for how long."

"Get them help," I said.

"I'm transferring the starships," Dax said.

On the screen the white line of mist formed, then expanded into a large cloud covering the three starships, blurring their outlines. Then, as quickly as it had formed, it was gone.

"Transfer complete," Dax said.

All three starships instantly went into motion, moving with phasers firing at the attacking Cardassian ships. Once again, I was glad that Higginbotham was on my side.

"Transferring the Klingon fleet," Dax said.

The white cloud expanded, covering every Klingon ship for a moment before vanishing.

"Transfer complete," Dax said.

Even though I knew that Sotugh was surprised to be transferred back to normal space, he was thoroughly professional. He sent his ships directly into the battle, each ship focusing on a different Cardassian vessel.

"You are being charitable, Sisko," Sotugh said.

"I'm telling it as I saw it, Sotugh," Sisko said.