Twilight

They walked like that all the way to her quarters.

70

Pry

Dad,she thought, remembering the great gray column, expanding outward, obviously from an explosion—an explosion where he had been. Pry

At the periphery of her perception, Pry

“Ensign Tenmei?” Through the sounds of her grief, she heard the voice of Dr. Bashir. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she opened her eyes. Before her, she saw the shape of his face, though she could not make out his features in the shadowy lighting. “Are you in pain?” Bashir asked.

Pain,Pry

“Oh,” Bashir said. “Ensign, your father’s going to be fine.”

Her tears seemed to stop immediately. “What?” she asked, raising her head. “What?”

“Your father’s here in the medical bay,” Bashir told her. Pry

As the illumination in the medical bay increased, Pry

Pry

“Yes, he is,” Bashir said. Pry

“Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm as he started to go. “How did we get here?”

“I wasn’t on the bridge when it happened,” he said, “but I believe that the clouds cleared above you, and we just beamed you up. You and Ensign ch’Thane were wearing environmental suits, so you were able to survive down on the planet during its…transformation.” He tapped at her hand, then softly pulled it from his arm and set it beside her on the bed. “I’m going to get something to help you through the night,” he said again, and he walked away.

Before he returned, Pry

71

As Kira prepared to leave her quarters for her office, she thought again about contacting Kasidy. She had tried to reach her last night, right after Shakaar’s a

Now, even though it was still early—more than an hour before the start of the day shift—she decided to try again. She sat down at her companel, opened a cha

“Good morning,” Kira said. “It looks like I’m not contacting you too early.”

“Not at all,”Kas said. “I always love hearing from you. Of course, if I could only get you to come for a visit…”

“I know, I know,” Kira said. “As soon as I can get away…”

“Nerys, if I have to wait for a day you’re not working, then this child—”Kasidy reached down below the view on the display, obviously ru

“I guess…I’m pretty excited,” Kira said, putting her anticipation into words for the first time.

“‘Excited’? Now that sounds good,”Kas said. “About what?”

“About Bajor.” Kira realized that Kas did not know what had happened yesterday. “You haven’t heard, have you?”

“Apparently not,”Kasidy said. “Why don’t you tell me?”

“Kas, Bajor’s been accepted into the Federation.” The words actually sounded like something out of a dream to Kira. This time had been in Bajor’s future for so long now that it seemed strange for it to finally be in the present. “The official signing will take place in six weeks.”

Surprise showed on Kasidy’s face. “When did this happen?”she wanted to know. Kira told her about Akaar and the ambassadors and the summit, and then about the first minister’s speech. When she had finished, Kasidy said, “I didn’t realize this was so close to happening.”

“I don’t think any of us did,” Kira agreed, “other than Shakaar.” She noticed that Kas’s expression had slipped from surprise to what looked like discomfort. “Are you all right?” Kira asked. “Does this bother you?”

“I’m fine,”Kasidy said. “It’s just…I’m not exactly sure how I’m supposed to feel about this.”She paused, and then said, “I mean, I’ll be living in Federation territory, so that’s a good thing.”

“It will all be good.”

“I know, you’re right,”Kasidy said. “It’s just that…”

Just that Captain Sisko should be here,Kira thought. “It’s all right, Kas. You had a sacred vision, so you know that Benjamin is with the Prophets. And that means he must know about this.”

“Of course,”Kasidy replied, a forced smile appearing on her face. “You’re right. I’m sure Ben’s very happy about this.”

“I’m sure he is,” Kira said. “He worked hard for this, against a lot of opposition and through some difficult times. But this is all happening because of him.”

Kasidy smiled again, and this time, it seemed genuine. “He really was—he reallyis— something.”

“Yes, he is.”

For the next hour, they talked about Benjamin Sisko.