“I’m glad we’ll know soon.”
“And yet another triumph for Ezri. Without you, Jeshoh might have gone through with Tlaral’s plan. You might have saved him—and Keren—a lot of heartache.”
Shoving her hands in her pockets, Ezri said, “Are you hungry? I’m hungry.”
Julian laughed. “Not so much hungry, but thirsty. How about—”
“—a Tarkelian tea. You’re so predictable,” she said affectionately. “Sorry, you’ll have to wait until we’re back on Defiantto indulge that particular vice. Tell you what, though, try this.” She tossed him a self-heating bulb from among her gifts. “Local brew. You might like it.” For herself, she selected a slice of a fruit torte she’d grown to like during the official dinner parties she’d attended. Someone who’d apparently noticed sent her a dozen.
“Not bad,” Julian said after an appreciative sip. “We should save one for the replicators to analyze.”
“That’s a good idea. In fact, I should do the same with all the— OW!”Ezri dropped her plate on the table and hopped up on one foot while massaging the bruised toes of the other. Bending over, she reached for the offending item. “Your dufflebag belongs in the middle of the rug?” she said with mock annoyance.
“I was so eager to see you I didn’t bother to put it away in the sleeproom.”
“Yes, well explain that to my toes,” she said, hefting the bag onto an empty chair. “Hey…what’s this—” Ezri removed a padd from inside. Clicking it on, she thumbed through the contents. She read aloud, “‘Lughor pulled her close and bit her cheek, snarling, “You will be my mate, my Ngara—’ Umm, Julian, what are you doing with Burning Hearts of Qo’noS?”
“Oh, that.” He tapped his foot absently. “Commander Vaughn was finished with it, so he handed it off to me.”
“Did he say if he liked it?”
“I asked him. He just rolled his eyes.”
Ezri continued perusing the padd, thumbing through a few more screens. “You know, Jadzia wouldn’t consider this fiction, she’d see it as an instruction manual.” She raised a teasing eyebrow.
“And Ezri?” Julian said, rising from the couch.
“You want to find out?”
“Did you even sleep last night?” Nog asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Shar looked up from his computer terminal. After dinner, he’d come straight back to his Luthian quarters to work on his chromosomal studies. Once the Defiantresumed its mission his time would, by necessity, belong to Vaughn and the needs of the mission. Returning to Deep Space 9 having made meaningful progress on his goals would go a long way to silencing those who had cast aspersions on his choices (most notably, his zhavey). “It’s morning?”
“Morning usually is when the sun comes out. Unless this world is backward and they call it morning when it’s dark outside.” Nog padded over to the replicator, ordered up a root beer and collapsed on a chair.
“Adrenaline must have kept me up,” Shar said. He closed the file he’d been working on and uploaded it to the Defiant.“Yesterday was a rather unique day for me.”
“Don’t let it go to your head, Ensign. Even if you solve the universe’s problems, I still outrank you.” Nog winked and took a swig of root beer.
“Noted, sir,” Shar said, suppressing a smile. “Do you want to grab breakfast here or wait until we return to Defiant?
“What exactly isa Yrythny breakfast?”
“Fish, shmshucheese on kelp cakes, sea melons—”
Nog’s face puckered. “I’ll eat on the Defiant,thanks. Grubcakes in slug sauce. That’s a meal.”
The door chime sounded. Since Nog still sleepily nursed his soda, Shar figured he’d better see who their visitor was.
“Keren—” he said. Her rumpled clothes and grayed complexion bespoke the stress she’d been through since they’d landed at Luthia. He hadn’t talked privately with her since they’d left for House Perian to hunt the raiders.
“Try not to be so surprised, Ensign ch’Thane,” Keren said lightly. “Your feelings are showing.”
“What? Oh, of course. My antennae.”
“I wanted to tell you about the ruling before you heard it officially.” She peeked into Shar’s quarters and noticing Nog, said, “Can we go someplace to talk?”
“The courtyard?”
She nodded.
As she sat down, Keren dropped a small backpack on the ground beside the bench. Both shifted uncomfortably, neither knowing how to broach the events of the previous days. Finally Keren said, “The panel issued their findings for Jeshoh and me. They let me off easy. When the first colonists leave Vanìmel I will be with them. They’ve decided exile is better than prison. I think they’re worried that I might be a martyr to whatever is left of the underground.”
“You would have tried to go off-world anyway, wouldn’t you?” Shar asked. “Now that your people have a working defense against the web weapons—”
“Yes. But I have to admit that being sent away and never being allowed to return is a sobering thought. Whether the colonies are successful or not, I will live out my life elsewhere.” Keren reached over, stroking the velvety petals of a trumpet flower. “This is still my home and I love it.”
I wonder how I would feel if I could never return to Andor.The thought struck him as ironic, considering he’d been avoiding going back for over four years. The time has come. I’m ready for theshelthreth. And until the thought crossed his mind, Shar hadn’t known that he would choose the shelthrethwhen his current mission was over. In a few days, he’d sit down with Commander Vaughn and negotiate the terms of his leave. The more he imagined making a life commitment to Anichent, Dizhei and Thriss, the more excited he became.
“Understandably, Jeshoh’s sentence isn’t quite as lenient as mine,” Keren continued. “He will serve a prison sentence. The number of years will be decided after Tlaral’s hearing wraps up.”
“After prison, isn’t he free? There aren’t any more restrictions imposed on him.”
“Yes. At that point, he will join me wherever I am…” She gripped the edge of the bench, her shoulders tense.
A sense of dread filled Shar. “What is it, Keren?”
“With his position, with his involvement in the underground, the panel decided that they couldn’t excuse his relationship with me.” Closing her eyes, she whispered, “He’ll never be able to go into the waters.”
Her bravery, her resolve in the face of these consequences, humbled Shar. After spending her life working for the right to take a consort and have offspring, she wouldn’t have the chance unless she chose someone other than Jeshoh. Having witnessed their devotion to each other, Shar couldn’t fathom that she would abandon Jeshoh now.
“Of course I’ll wait for him, Shar,” Keren said. Seeing his puzzled expression, she clarified, “You’re wearing your feelings again.”
“I’m sorry. I wish there was a way…”
“We knew the risks.” With a distant look in her eyes, she said, “Jeshoh and I will have a home together someday. I know we will.” She patted his leg. “I have another reason for visiting. To say goodbye, yes, but I have a gift.”
“But—”
“No protests.” Reaching into her backpack, Keren removed a sealed container about the size of a dinner plate. “The eggs stripped from House Perian couldn’t all be saved. Most of them had been out of the water for too long under variable temperatures and became nonviable. The government destroyed them, but before they did I persuaded them to let me give you an egg pouch in thanks for your research.” Reaching out to take his hand, she turned it palm up and placed the container into it, smiling gently. “I know what you’re trying to do for your people, Shar. This way, you have proper samples to work with and not just computer models.”
Emotion tightened Shar’s throat. He swallowed, opened his mouth, but nothing emerged. Continuing to stare at her, he reached for her hands and squeezed them.