Her tone provoked a deep pink flush in Yevir’s cheeks. His eyes fixed on Kasidy. “I know I’ve come without an invitation, Captain Yates, but my business is urgent. I’ve come to believe Bajor’s spiritual health is at stake.”
Kira was impressed. To Kasidy, she said, “I’ll take care of this.” And to Yevir, “Take it up with the Vedek Assembly.”
Kasidy stopped her. “I’m not the Emissary, Vedek. Even though it seems I keep having to remind people—”
“Please,” Yevir said. “Captain, I need—I assure you the situation is quite dire.” Yevir took a step toward Kasidy. Kira glared at him and he promptly stepped back.
Still the master of overstatement,Kas thought, and still unable to take a hint.“I’m sorry, but we were in the middle of something and—”
“A moment of your time—that’s all I ask. I beg of you.” The look in his eyes was imploring.
Suspecting he might be prostrate on the porch at any moment, Kasidy wondered what to do next. If she shut the door on him he’d probably still be around at dawn. Kasidy sighed. I can’t put Nerys through that.To Kira she said, “Why don’t you start walking without me? I’ll catch up with you after the Vedek leaves.” Please Nerys, take the hint,she wished fervently.
Puzzled, Kira looked over her shoulder at Kasidy, raising a questioning eyebrow. Kasidy shrugged as if to say, Let’s just get this over with.
Kira stepped aside, gesturing for Yevir to enter.
When he made a visible point of squeezing through the door frame rather than touch Kira, Kasidy began to wonder if she’d regret her invitation. She indicated she wanted Yevir to follow her to the sitting room where she and Kira had been only minutes before. Kasidy felt Kira’s eyes trained on their backs as she waited for Yevir to misstep.
If Kira’s scrutiny bothered Yevir, he didn’t show it. Walking behind Kasidy, Yevir’s apologies continued until they were both seated. Once Kasidy heard the door close—with Kira on the outside—she felt reassured that her friend would be spared any further indignities.
Dealing with Yevir should be easy in comparison to some of the tight spots she’d had to negotiate her way out of over the years. She recalled arguing with a Nausicaan who insisted Kasidy had picked up the wrong cargo. Hewas difficult; Yevir was merely bothersome.
Since Yevir had been the one to request speaking with her, Kasidy expected him to initiate the discussion. She would nod her head politely in response, tell him there was nothing she could do and send him on his way. Folding her hands in her lap, Kasidy waited.
Yevir sat perched on the edge of the chair, blinking nervously, saying nothing, unwilling or unable to meet her eyes. Uncomfortable silence followed.
At last Kasidy said, “Please get on with your business, Vedek.”
He cleared his throat, shifting a few times, and licked his lips. “The present state of affairs troubles me,” Yevir stammered. “I believe recent events bode ill for Bajor.”
“I’m not in a position to do anything about the state of Bajor, Vedek,” Kasidy said pragmatically.
“But Ishould be!” He stood up, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, his robes swishing as he walked. “I was chosen by the Emissary to be a spiritual leader among my people. As such, I should know how best to guide them. But for the first time since Captain Sisko set me on my present course, the way is dark to me.”
Kasidy shook her head. This was a mistake…“If you’re truly concerned for Bajor, Vedek, you need to have this conversation with someone else. Somebody in the Vedek Assembly, the Chamber of Ministers…”
“I’m not sure I know what to say to any of them. What I do know is my people have reached a crossroad on the path of the Prophets, with no arrow to point us toward the true way. They’re in danger of becoming lost, and I must learn what I need to do to help make things right.”
“If you want to make things right, start by rescinding Kira’s Attainder,” Kasidy said tightly.
Yevir frowned and looked away. “The Colonel’s standing within our faith is unrelated to this issue.”
“If you want to have this conversation with me, in my house, it’s not.”
Yevir was silent a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I know you have a close relationship with the Colonel. And in a way, Kira’s situation is part of the crisis in which my people now find themselves.”
Concerned by where Yevir might be headed with this, Kasidy said, “Go on.” Give me one more reason, Yevir, and I’m tossing you out on your ass. See how good that looks on your application for kai.
“As I said, from the start, I’ve tried to follow the way your husband laid out for me. Or, more accurately, what I believed that way to be. I sought to destroy Ohalu’s book because I truly believed that was best for Bajor. But now…now I’m not so sure…” He fell back into his chair, folding his hands tightly before him as he concentrated on what he needed to say. “The greatest moment of clarity in my life came when I spoke with the Emissary. I knew in that timeless instant he was setting me on the path I was always destined to walk, and that it would lead me to become kai.”
“You sound almost as if you don’t believe that anymore.”
“I don’t know what to believe,” Yevir said softly, in tones that convinced Kasidy the admission was painful for him to make. “Nothing is unfolding in a manner I understand. The Ohalu text, the sundering of the faithful, the failure of the peace talks with Cardassia.…So much is happening that threatens Bajor’s spiritual well-being, I no longer feel I understand the role the Emissary chose me for.
“I came here tonight—to you—hoping that whatever illumination filled him might have touched you and that you might…” His voice trailed off into silence. Finally he shrugged and said quietly, “I felt compelled to come.rdquo;
Kasidy probed his face, searching for insincerity, and found confusion; Yevir appeared truly flummoxed. Not for the first time, Kasidy wished being the wife of the Emissary came with a handbook. “I wish I knew what Ben would have told you if he were here.”
Closing his eyes tight, Yevir slowly shook his head. “I understand. I apologize for disturbing you. Forgive me.” In a paternal gesture, he lifted her hand off the armrest and pressed it between his own. “Thank you for your time, Captain Yates. I’ll let myself out.” He backed away, bowing—and froze, eyes fixed.
Kasidy scanned herself, the floor, the furniture, for a clue as to what had transfixed Yevir. “What is it?” she said, worried.
Still staring, he appeared not to hear her.
She followed his eyes to the figurine Kira had placed on the coffee table before answering the door. Amber and gold, the flecks inside caught the firelight and shimmered with otherworldly radiance.
“What isthat?” he whispered.
“It’s from B’hala. Unearthed during the excavation,” Kasidy explained. Jevonite,Eivos had said it was made of. Have I missed something?
Hesitantly, Yevir reached toward the figurine, his trembling hand hovering. He looked at Kasidy. “May I?”
“Go ahead.”
Yevir scooped up the figurine, holding it in his palm, slowly turning it over and over. “I don’t have the right to ask, but—” He raised his eyes, wide with childlike wonder.
“Take it. Please,” Kasidy said. “If it has some significance to you, then by all means, it’s yours.”
He clutched the figurine tightly in his hand. “Thank you.” His head dipped in a respectful nod. “Thank you truly, Captain.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Kasidy protested, rising.
“I believe the Prophets led me here for a reason. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but this—” He held up the hand closed around the figurine. “—I think this may be the arrow I’ve been searching for.”
Puzzling over his effusiveness, Kasidy walked him to the door. He believes he found what he came for,she thought as she waved good-bye. And knowing where you’re supposed to go can make all the difference.She watched Yevir until he disappeared around a bend in the road. I hope that soon the same can be said for Kira.