By: Carolann C. Potee "Standard orbit," ordered Captain Benjamin Sisko as he forced himself to sit back in his command chair and relax. He had ordered the crew to activate the cloaking device over an hour ago, but so far, there had been no sign of Dominion activity. For once, Quark told the truth, he thought to himself, wondering if moments later he would be telling himself he'd spoken too soon. Quark had insisted on coming on the survey mission of that particular area of the Gamma quadrant, telling them everything he knew about that region of space: solar systems, M-class planets, none of which seemed to be inhabited by star-faring races. Quark neglected to mention what Sisko thought might be the real reason for Quark wanting to come along; there had to be something here that he wanted. The planet they had been headed for appeared to be L-class, barely habitable, by the long-range sensors. They had received an automatic signal traced to this planet. Lieutenant Commander Dax at the science station had spent what little time they had trying to decipher the old encoded message and filtering out the static caused by the planet's continually shifting magnetic field. "Coffee anyone?" asked a voice from the turbolift. "It's on me." "Quark, what are you doing here?" complained Sisko, clearly annoyed. "Just asking if anyone wants some refreshments," he replied innocently. Actually, the crew seemed to welcome the opportunity to sip some raktajino or coffee to ease some of the tension that seemed to choke the whole bridge. Quark's interruption was a welcome distraction that seemed to brighten things up a bit. Both Dax and Chief O'Brien eagerly took a cup off of the tray Quark help out to them, muttering a soft word of thanks. Major Kira and Constable Odo tried to ignore him with a look of suspicious contempt on their faces. Lieutenant Commander Worf ignored all of them completely, concentrating on the sensor readings and keeping an eye out for Jem'Hadar ships. Dr. Julian Bashir, however, was unsure. He wanted a cup of coffee just as badly as Dax and O'Brien, but looked up at Captain Sisko questioningly instead. Sisko's hands flew up in defeat as he fell back into his command chair and said, "You might as well, Doctor," to answer Bashir's gaze. Julian quickly grabbed a cup off the tray and walked over to where Dax and O'Brien had returned to work at their consoles. Captain Sisko swiveled around in his char to face Quark and glowered at him menacingly. "Quark, you know that this bridge is off limits to everyone but authorized Starfleet personnel. So, what are you doing here?" "Can't a Ferengi ever do something for a few friends out of the goodness of his heart?" he replied, feigning shock. "Not that I've ever known," retorted Odo, who had just come up to stand behind Captain Sisko. "I'm hurt you would say such a thing!" Quark faked. "Quark," Sisko demanded sternly, "tell me what you're really doing here right now or I'll have Odo throw you off the bridge." Odo smiled, and to show that they meant it, he grasped Quark by the arm and began to yank him back towards the turbolift. "All right!" Quark yelled., pulling away from Odo. He cleared his throat and continued. "I was just curious to see what the sensors might pick up on the planet's surface: alien artifacts, ancient ruins, maybe a couple of readings of unusually high concentrations of valuable minerals..." "So that's why you were being so helpful," Major Kira said, very annoyed. "You dragged us all the way out here so we could take you treasure hunting." "I'm willing to compensate everyone for their troubles!" Quark stammered. "I'll give everyone here a reasonable share." Then, in a lower almost imperceptible breath, "Say... two percent..." "Hmph," Odo growled, approaching the Ferengi once again. "Get him off my bridge," Sisko said as Odo happily complied. "No! I meant three!" Quark yelled. Then, "Four?" just as the lift doors closed. Captain Sisko turned again to face the main viewscreen and saw the planet. At the moment, the area around the equator looked to be similar to Earth's, but when it got to about as far as twenty degrees toward either pole, it began to look more like Pluto, covered it ice. The temperature changes in each area must've been drastic each season, making the task of setting up a colony impractical without having to move it four or even five times a year. "Dax, have you been able to decipher any of that code yet?" he asked impatiently. "Not much, Benjamin," she replied. "I have a few words translated, but the message is still incomprehensible." "Quark said there might be ancient ruins still left on the surface," Bashir said. "Perhaps they might hold a clue to deciphering this message." "I don't think I'm going to be able to figure much more of this out without help," Dax pointed out. "All right," Sisko agreed. "Mr. O'Brien, I want you to run a thorough scan of the planet's surface. Find a suitable beam down point." "Already underway, sir," O'Brien said. "Doctor," Sisko continued, "you, Dax, Odo, and myself will be on that away team, so I have a feeling we should fetch our jackets and meet in the transporter room." "Yes, sir," all four of them said simultaneously. "Everything's ready, sir," said Chief O'Brien. "The coordinates have been entered and you're ready for transport." "Thank you," said Sisko. "Is everyone ready? As I thought, we'll be beaming down into one of the more temperate zones. Does everyone have a jacket?" The three others in the away team all nodded and began to put on their jackets. "The temperature should stay around six degrees Celsius for the next couple of hours, then start to steadily drop as it gets darker. However, because of the severe temperature differences in that general area," explained O'Brien, "there will be heavy winds that will make the temperature feel like it's six degrees below zero. That's how strong the gusts are." "Everyone is to secure their combadges inside their jackets, just in case," Sisko warned. After that, the four officers took their places on the transporter pad and Sisko said, "Energize." The away team materialized in an area that appeared to be on the edge of a wood. As they looked on, the trees grew more and more sparsely spaced out until they emerged into a field. It was a deceptively small field, though, as they came to what they thought was the crest of a hill, and found themselves looking over the face of a cliff. Layer upon layer of ice lay in chunks at the bottom. The view was breathtaking. As the weather had gradually become warmer, the ice began to melt away, letting growing streams of water trickle over the edge, many creating small waterfalls. Sisko had seen some of the few remaining waterfalls on Earth, and wondered what beautiful works of nature such as these small trickles of water would mature into at the height of the spring season. They all stared at the expanse in awe, then Dax took out her tricorder to record it. "Benjamin," she said. "I think this cliff was formed by glacier movements." "It looks that way," he responded. "Yes," she continued, "but according to my scans, it's only a few centuries old." "No wonder it's so stunning," commented Bashir. "All right, everyone," said Sisko. "Why don't we all split up. Doctor, you and Dax go north, while Odo and I go south. If one of us finds anything, the other group is to be contacted immediately." They all nodded in agreement, then headed off in their respective directions. Sisko and Odo had a clear path, but Dax and Bashir had to eventually go back through another wood. This one was different, though, in the fact that the density of the trees kept changing. The two had just entered a patch of the woods that was almost a clearing except for a couple of big trees evenly spaced out so that the canopy above was still pretty much complete when Doctor Bashir decided to strike up a conversation. "So," he said, "what were you planning on doing when you got back to the station?" "Oh, I don't know," she replied. "I'm thinking about just going to bed and sleeping for a few days. This last week has been hell." Bashir smiled. "I know what you mean." "How is that?" she asked playfully. "I wouldn't think that a conference followed by a detailed planetary survey mission should keep you all that busy." "Well, you know what they say," he said smiling. "Misery loves company." She smiled back at him and stepped between two twinned trees as they left the clearing. He followed her, and they continued north. A short time later, they came to a part of the woods that seemed to be growing over top of an outcropping of rocks, some of which had strange markings on them. Dax pulled out her tricorder and called Captain Sisko at the same time, then, when she'd finished conversing, approached an old stone monolith. Although Bashir couldn't see much that was still discernible, he was sure Dax saw much more with the aid of her tricorder. He was curious as to what Dax seemed to be so intently studying, so he walked up behind her to look over her shoulder. Or, at least, he attempted to, but never made it. Dax had felt the slight touch of his hand on her shoulder and turned just in time to see him fall through a hole in the ground that seemed to open up from out of nowhere. He didn't have time to grab anything, not that there was much to hold onto, nor she to reach out to him before he was gone. His communicator had fallen to the side and the hole shrank into nothingness, trapping the doctor beneath the ground. "Julian!" she yelled, but knowing he could no longer hear her. She reached into her jacket to contact Captain Sisko and told him what happened, then just sat down on the ground next to where the hole had been, and waited. He awoke in a dark stone chamber, obviously beneath the wood he had been traveling through with Dax. It had felt like he'd fallen quite a distance, but when he looked up, the ceiling was only about two and a half meters from the ground, made up of the root systems of the trees above. Strangely, there was no sign of the hole he'd fallen through, so he decided to wander throughout the caverns around him. He hadn't taken three steps around the first bend, when he saw a light emanating from an adjoining stone corridor. As he approached the source, he saw that the light was a rich yellow-orange color and it flickered a little. Torches, he thought to himself. But there's no one here to light them... is there? His curiosity got the better of him as he continued onward, ignoring the pleas of his common sense to just stay where he was and wait for Dax, Sisko, or Odo to find him, or for the Defiant to beam him up. The number of torches lining the walls became more and more numerous until he came to a large stone chamber with a somewhat higher ceiling, about three meters from the ground, or perhaps just a little more. Although there were about nine or ten torches on the walls, the light from them never cast more than a soft yellow glow, completely different from the intense beam of light that shone through a circular shaft in the middle of the chamber's ceiling. The light was completely white, so bright compared to the darkness of the underground cavern, that he couldn't see through it. It reminded him of a pillar of pure marble, only whiter and brighter. He was so awestruck, he didn't notice the slab of stone moving behind him to block any possible escape back through the corridors, and then he jumped when he finally felt it impact onto the ground. He turned to see where the sound had come from, and saw the exit was blocked. Julian began to panic and banged his fists against the slab, hoping that it might give way, but it didn't. He tried to calm himself and to consciously slow his breathing and rapidly increasing heartbeat. When he felt he'd finally gotten at least partially ahold of himself, he leaned back against the slab and pondered his situation. The Defiant's sensors would find him. There shouldn't be anything to worry about. "Step into the light," said a low voice that echoed off of the walls. Now, Julian was getting worried. There wasn't supposed to be any one else on the planet, but this was underground. could something in the rocks have shielded this person's life signs from the sensors? Would the same fact prevent the Defiant from locating his own life signs? Julian pushed those thoughts from his mind to concentrate on the request that was just made to him. "Julian stood. "Who are you? Why have you trapped me here? What do you want of me?" "Step into the light," the voice said again, "and the test will begin." "What test?" he inquired. "A test of character and worthiness," the voice boomed, yet still low. "Step into the light." Seeing no other options, Julian slowly complied. Upon entering the blinding circle, he shielded his eyes, but found that soon after that he no longer needed to. He was in a wood, very similar to the one had been in before, but the trees were of a more various degree of species and he was surrounded by a warm breeze. He definitely wasn't in the stone cavern anymore, but how did he get here? Transporter? He thought about that, and formulated that it was more likely that this place was some sort of holo-recreation of what the planet looked like centuries ago, before the magnetic poles shifted, creating the temperate wasteland it now was. Julian was turning around slowly in circles to take in the complete scene around him when suddenly, he faced an armor-clad figure, a very impressively built man, and he shrieked in surprise. "Don't worry," the figure said. "I won't hurt you." Julian visibly relaxed, almost convinced that this person really didn't want to kill him. "Who are you?" "My name is Maxin Linnus," he said. "I am a warrior from the great clan of Linnus. Have you heard of me or of any of my valiant quests?" "I'm afraid not," Julian answered. "I don't come from around here. My name is Julian Bashir." "You're clan name is not familiar," Linnus said, "but I sense that you are from a very noble heritage." "Not really," Julian said, blushing a rose red. "I'm just a doctor. A good one." "What is a... Doctor?" Linnus asked. "Well," he began, "a doctor is a healer. I heal the wounded and make medicines for the sick." "Then you are a very honorable man indeed to help so many people in need. Come, I will show you the town in which I lived." He led Julian through the wood a ways, and stopped just after exiting it. Julian's gaze followed his pointing finger toward a small village, located almost directly at what he thought must've been the beamdown point. They entered the village, passing quite a few people who looked up from their work to greet them, then returned dutifully. Linnus led him to the main hut, which doubled for an armory. As pitiful as it may have seemed, the villagers were very proud of their name and accomplishments. They entered the hut and Julian came face to face with the biggest man he'd ever seen, obviously the clan leader. "This is my older brother," Linnus explained. "His name is Shae." The man just seemed to stand there for a few seconds, looking Julian up and down, then a broad grin came over his face and he embraced Julian in a bear hug, making him think he was being strangled. "Maxin!" he exclaimed as he finally put Julian down. "I'm glad to see you, little brother. Many of us were getting worried about you, but I told them, no man as honorable and skilled a fighter as my brother could ever be killed." "I'm flattered you think so," Julian said slowly, confused. "A lot has happened since you've been questing, Maxin. Things have changed," Shae said, then smiled. "I want you to meet my wife, Juni, and my son, Maxin, named after his uncle." Julian smiled as Shae held a bundle out to him that he had picked up off of a small bed in the corner next to where his wife was patiently sitting. He held the little boy tenderly, noticing as he studied the baby's face how much like Maxin he really looked. Maxin admired the baby proudly over Julian's shoulder. "My nephew," Maxin said longingly. "This was the proudest day of my life when I found I had a nephew." "Why did your brother think I was you? "Julian asked. "I have already lived this proud moment," he explained, "and I may never live it again." "I don't understand." "All of this took place centuries, maybe even millennia ago, I'm not sure any more. You don't possibly think I could be alive after all this time, do you?" "No," Julian said, then grasped the real meaning of his statement. "You mean you're dead? A ghost?" "I told you before, I will not hurt you, do not be afraid," Linnus said soothingly. "I didn't bring you here to hurt you, only to test your worthiness." "My worthiness for what?" Julian asked. "I vowed to complete one more quest before I died, but I wasn't able to fulfill my vow," he explained. "If you are worthy, you may be chosen to fulfill it for me." "If I am chosen, and if you think I'm going to go out looking for a fight just to help you fulfill your quest, I'm not that crazy." "That is not what I ask," Linnus said. "I will wait to assist you in a righteous quest you yourself wish to fulfill." "Oh," Julian said. "So, what do I do now?" "Do what you think is right." Maxin disappeared from existence, and Julian put the baby back into the arms of his waiting father. "Come, Maxin," Shae said. "It's late. I'll show you to a place where you can rest." Julian followed him to another hut across from the main hut that was furnished simply with a small bed and a wooden foot table. There was a jug with water in it along with a glass sitting on the table for him. Shae left him to rest and he laid back on the bad, wondering if the rest of the Away Team would ever find him, then fell into a fitful and restless sleep. The rest of the away team had returned to the Defiant, unable to find a way to locate the doctor from the surface. Dax had returned to her position at the science station, Sisko to his command chair, and Odo to the communications console. Sisko rose from his chair to speak to his science officer. "Have you made any progress?" "Yes," she said. "A little. I was able to translate some of the writing on the monolith, even though it wasn't anything of real importance. It was a marker to signify the existence of a village or town. The writing is a brief history of the village and its accomplishments. I'm still in the process of translating the rest of the message, but the impression I get from it so far, is that it's some kind of list. Of what, I don't know, but there are detailed descriptions of each listed subject, which I still can't read." "Keep working on it," Sisko said. "Let me know when you find anything interesting." "Captain!" Odo yelled from the communications console. "The signal is gone. It just stopped." "Chief, do another scan of the planet, and keep scanning until you find either Dr. Bashir or the reason that signal stopped. Somehow, I have the feeling the two may be linked." Julian awoke to a feeling of comfort and well-being that he hadn't felt in a long time. the smell of cooking food wafted into the small bedroom, if that's what it could be called in a hut so small, but it only seemed that way from the outside. Inside the sparse yet well-crafted furniture made the small hut look double the size inside that it looked outside. The wonderful smells that penetrated the loose-fitting door that separated the two huts enticed Julian to slowly open his tired eyes. His surroundings were unfamiliar, and he remembered what had happened the evening before. He rose from the bed, unwrapping himself from he incredibly soft covers that had somehow entwined themselves around him, and pulled open the door to the next hut. In the center was a small table with four places set, and bowls of something that oatmeal and fruit adorning the settings. Shae was sitting at one end of the table, holding his son in his arms and playing with him while Juni emptied the contents of a large pan into the four more bowls next to a small stove in the corner that emanated a comforting heat even he could feel from where he was standing. "Good morning," Juni said. "Come have something to eat." "Thank you," Julian said as he sat down next to Shae and little Maxin climbed into his arms. He was surprised at the boy's actual size. When he had held him last evening, he would have guessed the boy to be less than a year old. As Maxin squirmed deeper into Julian's arms, he thought that he looked nearly two years of age. "How old is he?" Julian asked, almost feeling embarrassed asking a question that, as his uncle, he felt he should have known. "I almost forgot how long you've been away," Shae replied. "He's almost six seasons old, and quite big for his age." One and a half years, he'd been close. Maxin snuggled up against his chest and Julian pushed a lock of hair from his eyes affectionately. The embrace was interrupted by a scream from outside. Shae was instantly on his feet, and pulled out a sword from underneath the thin carpet that served as a floor for the hut. Julian gave the frightened boy to his mother as he joined Shae and was given a sword of his own. Together, they exited the hut to see a group of five warriors clad in the most impressive armor he'd ever seen, second only to Linnus' own glorious armor. Shae screamed his war cry, and ran to intercept the three attackers that were hacking down defenseless villagers with their swords. Julian swiftly joined the swordfight and hacked away at the nearest attacker, even though he'd never handled a broad sword in his life. He hoped his performance didn't look too pathetic for the spectators who had come out of their huts to see what the commotion was. Apparently, he wasn't all that bad because with each blow, it seemed he had more strength and more energy. He was so strong, he actually broke the blade of his opponent's sword and knocked him to the ground. The attacker looked down at his bladeless hilt, then tossed it aside and drew a knife from a sheath hidden behind his back. He lunged at Julian, who jumped back to avoid it, then slashed his arm that held the knife. It was lacerated badly, and he fell to the ground in pain and fear, but Julian didn't have time to worry as another took his place in battle, his sword raised to strike him. Julian parried the blow almost easily and they began to exchange slashes and parries. Just when it seemed there would be no end to the battering, a hole appeared in the enemy's defense: he lifted his elbow a little too far, leaving his gut exposed. Julian lunged and mercilessly impaled him. In the moment of victory, he looked up to see Shae valiantly fighting the other three all at once, and then two as he landed a fatal blow to an attacker's side. Julian stared at Shae's skill and in fright. His feet didn't seem to want to move him to help Shae. All the sudden, Julian felt very angry and found himself being flung, apparently by the power of his own two legs, over to tackle one of the armored attackers. He bashed his head with the butt of his sword and rose to see that, despite Shae's skill, he'd become tired and the remaining attacker had overpowered him. With a single continuous sweep, he was nearly cut in half through the gut, and the attacker stood over him triumphantly. "No!" Julian screamed, then lunged at the remaining enemy. He parried Bashir's lunge, the impact of which knocked them both to the ground. The attacker was the first to get to his feet and he immediately took advantage, bringing his sword up over his head to strike. Julian rolled to the side just in time to escape death, but winced as the blade impacted with his shoulder, and was deflected by the shoulder plate of Maxin's armor that had suddenly appeared around him. He was stunned. He hadn't even been aware of it at first, but didn't have the luxury of contemplating it further as the battle went on. "Why are you doing this?!" Julian pleaded as he scrambled to find his lost sword. "That's for my employer to know and you to find out," he replied, then kicked Julian harshly in the side. The attacker brought up his sword to decapitate him on the spot, but Julian suddenly found his sword and swung it with all his might upward at the man with every ounce of strength he could muster. The final attacker was dead before he hit the ground. "I swear I will find Daran and make him pay for what he's caused," Julian said in Maxin Linnus' voice as he knelt next to Shae's body. The sudden sensation of a blade being plunged into his back was the last thing he felt before falling to the ground himself, and the face of Juni standing over him with the blood-stained knife in her hand was the last thing he saw before the blackness of death claimed him. Her eerie smile was ingrained in his memory... He opened his eyes and the column of light that he'd just stepped into blinded him. Was everything that has just happened an illusion? A hallucination? It had seemed so real. Julian decided that it had indeed been real when he looked down at himself and found he was still wearing the armor. "Give me one more journey, one more quest I can be proud of, and I will rest peacefully," said Maxin's voice, seemingly right inside Julian's head. Julian made no effort to remove the armor, but just started back through the entrance to the cavern that had once been blocked by a heavy stone slab, but no longer. "They are never going to believe this," he said to himself as he headed out of the passageways through a cave that led up to the surface. He didn't know how, but he knew the way there. He soon found himself outside, right where the village had been, engrossed in the memories of his recent ordeal, when the familiar sensation of the transporter beam tingled across his skin, then the beam snatched him from the face of the planet to the safety of the Defiant. "Beam him aboard, now!" yelled Captain Sisko's voice from over the comm link. Chief O'Brien's hands flew over the console of the transporter, locking onto the doctor's life signs and said, "Energizing," just before the silhouette of Bashir began to materialize in front of him. The console beeped and he looked back down at it. Julian didn't weigh a hundred kilos, the mass was wrong. It was at least twenty-two percent above normal. He instantly hit the `decontaminate' button that paused the beaming process to filter out harmful biological substances and contagions. It bought him some time to call security and call Captain Sisko back. "Security to Transporter room two," he said. "O'Brien to Captain Sisko." "What's wrong, Chief?" he asked anxiously. "Did you get him?" "Yes, Captain," O'Brien said, "but unless he's gained fifteen kilos since he left the ship, something's definitely wrong. Maybe you'd better get down here while I run him through decontamination. I've already called Odo, just in case." "All right," Sisko said. "I'll be right down." Sure enough, he and Commander Dax arrived shortly after Odo and two of his deputies did. The console beeped again. "Decontamination complete, sir," said O'Brien. "Bring him aboard," Sisko ordered. The beam fully materialized, revealing a tall and imposing figure wearing stunning armor. The two deputies immediately tensed, nervously drawing their phasers. "Julian?" Dax asked. "Is that you?" "Yes," he replied calmly. "It's me." "Where the hell have you been?" O'Brien asked, letting loose his concern for the young man who was his best friend. "Actually, I'm not quite sure," Bashir replied. "It all happened so fast..." "You can tell us the whole story in Sickbay while your nurses do a check-up," Sisko interrupted. Sisko led them to Sickbay where, under the studious care of his own staff, Bashir began his story. "So, you see," Julian explained, "Shae had no idea that Juni was actually a rogue mercenary hired by Daran, an arch enemy of Maxin's bent on destroying his life and family. She totally fooled him, and even had a son with him. Daran took little Maxin away from Juni, who didn't really care either way, and tried to raise him as his own son. However, as Maxin got older and finally realized the truth of his origins, he turned on his surrogate father, who had a tendency to brutalize his children, taking his lands and his clansmen's loyalty to rule them as a wise and just king. He did his new family proud, even though his real family never lived to see their son's accomplishments. "Maxin had vowed to put an end to Daran's evil tyranny, and died before he fulfilled his vow," Julian continued. "He watched as his nephew triumphed over Daran again and again, and it was almost enough to finally put him to rest, until the magnetic poles shifted just a few years later. Everything and everyone was destroyed." "So, what does he want with you now?" Captain Sisko asked. "I'm not exactly sure," Julian answered, "but I think he wants me to use his armor to complete a quest for him. Nothing outlandish, something I would want to persue. Something to put right." "Use his armor?" Dax asked. "How? What's so special about it?" "Again, I'm not sure." Julian paused. "The impression I get is that this is more than just armor. I think it holds his spirit. And, I think that the metal it's made of is not native to that planet. It has unusual properties, energies that protect the wearer of the armor. Maxin's father was one of the best blacksmiths on the planet, and called it `godly metal.' It was made by him especially for his son." "Where would his father have gotten this `godly metal?'" asked O'Brien? "Perhaps from a meteorite?" theorized Dax. "Maybe," Julian said. "Bu the big question is, how do I get it off?" "Well," Sisko said, "how did you get it on?" "I don't know," Julian said disconcertedly as he got up from the bio-bed. "It just appeared around me when I was fighting." "I do hope this isn't going to be too much of a problem," Sisko said to Chief O'Brien. "Don't look at me," he said with an exasperated grunt. "I don't know how to get the damn thing off." It took a while to figure out how to remove the armor, even with the aid of a tricorder, but once learned, it turned out to be quite easy. There was a hidden clasp beneath the biggest pieces that covered his torso and hips. After the clasps were released, the armor could easily be shrugged off. Julian looked at it sometimes before going to bed, but the last few days had been busy as usual. He hadn't had a chance to examine the armor very carefully. Everything was pretty much back to normal: work, work, work, then sleep. He did give himself a break every once in a while, though. Sometimes, he'd spend a little extra time at lunch chatting with Garak, and other times he would have to actually schedule free time for himself. Most of that time was spent in holosuites with Chief O'Brien, Commander Dax, or even Constable Odo occasionally. This was one of those few days, but only Jadzia happened to be free that evening. He had devised a way to re-create the town that Maxin had shown him on the planet's surface. The people and huts in the program may not be perfect replicas, though, but other than that, Julian thought he did a pretty good job. After all, he was a doctor, not a computer programmer, right? When the two stepped into the clearing that he had once disappeared from, the scene shifted into the cavern with the bright circle of light in it. There was Maxin, in his computer-generated armor, and he led Julian and Jadzia through the column of light into the same clearing: newer, warmer, and permeated with diverse species of vegetation. It seemed to Julian that this was more accurate than what he'd thought the program was capable of. They debated the possibilities, and finally decided not to perplex themselves over the miraculous differences. As with many things that are not very well understood, some must be left to faith. The spirit of Maxin that was somehow contained in the armor that Julian was carrying was one of those things, and it seemed the only explanation. Who knew what the psychic power of his spirit was capable of? And then amplified by the strange properties of the metal? They watched the program run in the third person, as observers, and Jadzia marveled at the feats of magic performed by Maxin's ghost. "This has to have been technologically based," she said. "Places just don't change instantaneously, or people appear and disappear at will. It had to have been some kind of transporter or holographic matrix." "That's what I thought at first, too," Julian replied, "but I saw no evidence whatsoever of any kind of holo-emitter or transporter beams." They argued over how anything that had happened there should have been absolutely as real as it seemed, but then agreed that neither had enough experience or evidence to really make any kind of guess. The only person that could was Chief O'Brien, and he was so snowed under with work from his absence, that he most likely wouldn't have given a damn how it was accomplished. He was a man who didn't dwell on the past, but looked to the future. The program ended and Julian invited Jadzia to dinner. She accepted, obviously flattered, but wary as to whether or not he might try to ask her out on a real date again. He didn't, much to her disappointment. She supposed that was good, because if he had, and Worf had found out, Julian would soon have had his guts splattered all over the station by a very jealous Klingon. They shared a chatty and un-rushed meal, mostly talking about what other seemingly magical properties the armor might hold. She was about to smack him when he asked if she thought women might be more attracted to him if he wore the armor more often, but she knew he was playing with her. He grinned and stretched his back, then excused himself to go to bed as she did the same. They were about to part company when the station shook violently, and they nearly fell backward onto one another. They glanced at each other in confusion, then, remembering their duties, Dax hurried off to a turbolift headed for Ops, and Julian made off for the Infirmary, still carrying the armor.