~ Emallia Janor ~

The first thought that came to mind was how much it hurt. The second was
what had I been drinking? After that little escapade with the Andorian
brandy, Bajoran Spring wine and all of that latinum, I swore I would never
drink again. At least not if money was involved. Then, the sudden
realization of what had happened hit me.

"Laizia!" I cried as I sat up and very quickly crumpled back on to the bed
from pain. "Ohhhhhhhh, I swear, I will never stick my nose anywhere that it
doesn't belong again! I promise!" I said as the wonderful feeling of a
painkiller made its way into my system.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff." I said as it took effect.

"I do believe I will hold you to that." came a voice that I knew so well.

"Julian? What are you doing here? Or am I there?" I asked.

"I am here to put you back together and make sure you don't do anything else
stupid. I'm also here to give your CMO time to recover."

"Yeah, she's had some bad luck." I thought for a moment. The painkiller must
have had a sedative in it. It was getting harder to think. "What about
Laizia? Is she okay?"

"She's fine." he said as he ran a hand through my hair. "A little shaken
up, but she's fine."

"Julian, was there a sedative in that wonderful little hypospray?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

"I can't believe it! You drugged me!" I yelled, well, as loud as I could
muster. That phaser burn really hurt!

"Well, since I can't count on you to keep a simple promise to me, I figured
that I'd just help you out a bit." I gave him a small smile and felt my eyes
starting to drift closed.

"I can look out for myself." I said as I entered the blessed darkness.

"Sure you can, I just want to make sure that you don't miss any road signs
on the way."

~ Catava Okal ~

A Ktarian traitor? Me? I was so angry I could probably have punched a solid hole through any of our bleeping and blinking conduits.

I walked down to sickbay. Arsinoe was guarding the door.

"Can I go see him?" I clenched my fists. My knuckles were turning white.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, Okal." She held up her hands to reinforce her point.

"But I need answers! How the hell did a changeling get on board this ship?! What in that box was so damn special that my name was used as a decoy to get it on this ship and off again?" I didn't like these types of games and this Gavin seemed an expert.

"Listen," Arsinoe started, "You gave your report to Lt. Nu'Daq." She looked both ways down the hall. "You know that Romulan scout ship right in front of us? Well, I heard Lt. Nu'Daq speaking of it to another security officer that the Captain and Commander Dax have invited the Romulan captain and his first officer over for dinner."

"Do you think they'll make any head way with them?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"All we can do is hope." At that moment, Commander Dax turned the corner. We both stood at attention.

"Ma'am," we both said right after each other.

"At ease," she said as she walked by. Laizia was with her. They passed us, and as she clutched her stuffed targ, she turned to look at me and wave. I waved back. Commander Dax, most likely being motherly, noticed said action of her daughter, and made her stop. She didn't look back however. It was okay though. At that same moment, we heard banging, clattering and yells from the sickbay.

"Apparently his painkillers have worn off. Time for questioning. Pain is such wonderful bribery." She turned on a heel and went inside.

I decided that since my duty shift was over early due to my altercation with the Mr. Friendly Gavin, I was going to go to the holodeck. I had no quarters, and all of my undamaged belongings were in a storage locker in cargobay two until new quarters were arranged.

I gave the computer the instructions to search its database for something relaxing. That in turn spurred a whole new set of questions, and finally when all parameters were met, I settled on a program of a Risian Jungle Hot Spring. I stepped out of my clothes and watched the water ripple as I stirred it with my left foot. I sank into the pool and sat on a carved rock made like a seat. I must have been there for at least an hour. I dozed in and out of sleep and listened to the tropical wildlife. Halfway through I had the computer play some soft, melodic music.

When I had been in the water long enough to look like a raisin I decided it was time to get out.

"Computer, towel, one hundred and fifty centimeters by sixty centimeters, blue."

"Please specify desired fabric."

"Karemman fleece," I replied.

A dark blue towel materialized in front of me and hovered in mid air. I grabbed it and started to dry off. I should have my new quarters arranged by now, perhaps that should be the first thing to attend to.

As I was drying off my legs, I heard the holodeck doors swoosh open. My uniform, complete with phaser and comm badge were on the other side off the steaming pool. I covered myself with the towel. Nonchalantly, I mustered a

"Hello?"

~ Xenia Rafko ~

I woke up, feeling refreshed and somewhat ready to take on the day. At least I didn't feel nauseous anymore and the room wasn't spinning.
I hobbled over to the replicator.

"Raktijino," I said. I had developed a taste for the Klingon beverage even before I had met Nu'Daq. Gagh, however, I could not stomach, nor could I stand the pulsing, bloody heart of targ.

I fell into my easy chair and took a look around. The quarters were quite nice, nicer than any others I had inhabited. The furnishings were comfortable and
attractive, done up in muted shades of maroon and gray. Even the artwork, standard Starfleet issue and usually without much personality, was pleasing.
The door chimed and instantly suspicious, I asked for the identity of my visitor.

"Bashir."

"Come in," I said in relief. The doors slid open and Bashir walked in, medkit in hand.

"I hear you've been a difficult patient," he commented as he set the medkit on a table.

"As is expected," I answered. "I've always been the worst possible patient."

"That I can tell," he pulled out a tricorder. "How do you feel?"

"Better."

"Good."

"So how long are you with us?" I asked. "When can I have my sickbay back?"

"Two more days," he said. "Then I have to get back to Deep Space Nine."

"It was nice of you to take the time to be here now," I told him sincerely.

"Well, the Captain was uneasy about leaving for the peace talks without a doctor," Bashir said.

"And you wanted to spend more time with a Lieutenant Janor?" I teased.

To his credit, Bashir blushed. He pulled out his tricorder and started scanning me.

"Looks like everything is healing fine. How is the scar?"

"It's there, ugly and red," I said. "But a few more dermal regenerator treatments and it will be gone. Speaking of which, what's going on? I haven't seen
anyone since Okal was here hours ago."

"I think they've found Gavin," Bashir said. "And it turns out Ghanim is a changeling."

"Will wonders never cease?" I finished my raktijino and Bashir gallantly took the empty cup from me.

"There's also someone new on board," Bashir said. "A Vulcan, I think."

"A Vulcan?" I frowned.

"Her name is Morgan. She and Nu'Daq seem rather... friendly," Bashir said. "The whole ship is talking about it."

"Talking about what?" I asked sharply. I had never heard of this Morgan woman.

"She apparently followed him onto to the Valjean and then he went to Captain Worf and got her a position on the ship. He's spending all his free time with her,"
Bashir shifted from foot to foot. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to let you know what was going on."

I cleared my throat, "It's all right, Julian. Really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I stared down at my hands. I didn't know what to think and I certainly didn't have all the facts. And to be honest, I was too exhausted to even feel a
bit of jealousy for this Morgan woman. No doubt she was more compliant, more honorable, more obedient... all those things a Klingon would want and all the
things I wasn't. There were so many reasons why Nu'Daq would want someone else and I had come to accept that when we were involved before and I knew I could accept it now.

"So," I said brightly. "Tell me what else is going on. Tell me about you and Emallia."

"There's not much to tell... yet," Julian's face reddened and I laughed at him.

"Have breakfast with me," I told him. "Or rather, how about you eat and I'll watch you?"

"Sounds good," he said. "Sure you don't want any warm milk?"

My stomach turned at the suggestion. I felt sick and didn't really want to even contemplate the notion of food. Everything - all the events from the last few
days - were starting to blur together and I was feeling absolutely drained of energy and emotion.

Something has to go right, I thought. Just once, something has to go right on this mission.

~ Nu'Daq ~

It was early morning. Nu'Daq had just left Morgan's quarters. She had
promised him to get the information he wanted. If it kept going like this,
he would soon owe Morgan too many favors...

Nu'Daq headed for the bridge. He still had to secure the ship for the
meeting between Worf, Dax, Commander Tebok and the romulan
second-in-command. And whatever unwanted guests who might try to sneak
onboard.

On the bridge ensign Arsinoe was waiting for him. Somehow Nu'Daq was
impressed by the energy and efficiency of the girl. And he was considering
to ask the captain to promote her and make her his right hand in security
dealings.

Nu'Daq went over to Arsinoe and handed her a padd. "Ensign, here is the plan
for the deployment of security teams at strategic positions throughout the
ship and patrol routes for increased security patrols. Make sure they are
implemented as of now."

"Aye sir". She took the padd from Nu'Daq and looked through it. "Anything
else sir?"

"No, ensign. Dismissed".

"Aye sir". She turned and left the bridge.

That took care of the increased security measurements in regards to the
personnel. Now on to the monitoring devices.

"Nu'Daq to Engineering"

The answer came promptly. "Lan here."

Aha, Lt. Lan, the hard working chief engineer. Nu'Daq didn't know much about her, but she seemed to be an efficient and hard working engineer.

"Lieutenant, we need to increase the efficiency of the low field sub space detectors inside the ship. I need to make sure, that if any unauthorized transports take place, I will know and be able to stop them."

"We will take care of that ASAP. Lan out."

Nu'Daq turned to his console. He initiated a program to make random sensor
sweeps of the ship, looking for any unauthorised people or items. He
inititated a low level distortion pattern around the ship, so no energy
transfers or remote beam interruptions could be used to damage the ship.
Half an hour later he was finished. Engineering had reported, that the low
field sub space detectors efficiency had been maximised. Ensign Arsinoe had
reported the new security measures in place. Finally Nu'Daq was able to rest
for a moment. It had been hours, since he had looked in on Xenia. He entered
the turbo lift and headed for the living quarters.

As he reached the door, he motioned to ring the bell, but something made him
stop. He heard muffled voices from inside. One of them was Xenia's voice. He
would recognise her whispering through a thunder storm, her delicate voice
sounded like a water drops in a quiet pool. Nu'Daq had always loved the
sound of her voice. But there was someone else in there.

The voice was male, without a doubt. But who was it? Nu'Daq focused on the other voice, and he soon realised who's voice it was. Bashir! Immediatly a rage ensued inside Nu'Daq. Bashir had been after Xenia since the first day. He had been hitting on her, even though Nu'Daq had resented it. He had literally spited in
Nu'Daq's face and asked her out in front of him - and she had accepted. But
after the reunion of Xenia and he, he had let it pass. Because Xenia had
told him, that she loved him and no one else. And now he was in there,
whispering. Nu'Daq could imagine what they were up to.

He lowered his voice. "Computer, emergency override of doors on Lieutenant
Commander Rafko's quarters, authorization Nu'Daq Charlie-6-Theta."

The doors slid open silently, and Nu'Daq entered.

Inside he saw, what he had feared. Xenia was sitting on the edge of her bed,
wearing only her night shirt. Bashir was sitting right besides her, his hand
on her shoulder. On the floor was an empty breakfast tray. Pictures of Xenia
and Bashir kissing and caressing each other filled Nu'Daq's mind. The fury
within him grew, he reached for his mek'leth and rose to his full height. He
left the shadow of the doorway and shouted out loud "bIjeghbe'chugh vaj
bIHegh Ha'DIbaH" {surrender or die, animal}.

Xenia and Bashir got to their feet, surprised at seeing Nu'Daq coming at them with a drawn mek'leth. Bashir looked afraid, while Xenia's eyes projected a mixture of anger and embarassment. Bashir walked backwards until he reached the wall. He was genuinely afraid, that Nu'Daq might hurt him. Xenia reacted differently and walked up to Nu'Daq, blocking his way to Bashir. Nu'Daq looked at her.

"naDev ghoS" {move away}.

But Xenia didn't move.

"No I won't. What do you think you're doing, barging in to my quarters uninvited and with your weapon raised? This is not a Klingon battle field. Explain yourself or leave!"

Nu'Daq looked into her eyes. As he had expected he saw in her eyes no
intention of letting him fight Bashir.

"There is nothing to explain. Bashir has dishonored me by pursuing my
parmachkai, and for that he will die!"

"I don't know what you think happened here, but he was just checking up on
my condition. If someone here should be angry, it should be me.

Nu'Daq looked at Xenia with surprise. "You! Why?"

"It's you, who've been flirting around with that Vulcan woman, while I've
been lying alone in bed recovering from a bad wound. And now you roaming
through my quarters like a mad man. But you can keep your Vulcan mistress, I
don't want anything to do with you anymore."

Nu'Daq was genuinely surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"Bashir told me, how the two of you have been consorting ever since she got
her position on board the ship - a position you made available to her. I
know what the two of you have been up to."

Nu'Daq looked at Bashir. What had he told Xenia? What lies had he given her
about Morgan and Nu'Daq? And then he did something unexpected to both
Bashir, Xenia and Nu'Daq himself.

Nu'Daq took a step back, put the edge of his mek'leth in his hand and stated: "In the name of Kahless I swear, that I have done nothing wrong. I am an honorable man and have been faithful to my parmachkai."

Nu'Daq moved the mek'leth in his hand and gave himself a large and deep cut. His blood started dripping onto the floor.

"With this sacrifice I seal my blood oath: One day I will make Bashir pay for his
dishonorable actions against me."

Nu'Daq placed his mek'leth back into the holder and clutched his fists. He looked Bashir straight in the eyes and said: "I will make you pay". Then he turned and left.

Xenia stood silent for a moment. First Nu'Daq had sworn in the name of
Kahless. No Klingon does that without telling the truth. Perhaps her
accusations against Nu'Daq had been wrong. Xenia cursed herself for
listening to rumours. Damn her hot temper. But what was even more erie:
Nu'Daq had sworn a blood oath against Bashir.

This was serious. She turned towards Bashir, and from the look on his petrified face he realised the seriousness of the situation too. They both looked on the floor and saw the trail of blood leading out of the room.

~ Rafko ~

I could not take my eyes from the trail of blood. It led out of my bedroom and through the main living quarters and eventually out the door. I had this
gruesome vision of Nu'Daq spilling blood all the way through the corridors of the Valjean. Damn Klingons. Damn their honor, damn their traditions. Crazy stubborn bunch, the whole lot of them.

"Are you all right?" Bashir asked.

It was only then that I realized that my hands were shaking.

"I don't know if I can do this," I confessed. I hobbled over to my closet and pulled out a uniform.

"What are you doing?" Bashir demanded.

"Getting dressed."

I dropped my clothes right there, not caring if Bashir watched; nothing he hadn't seen before.

"Why?"

"Because he is ridiculous," I jabbed a finger towards the door. "You need to get off this ship. He's going to kill you."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm not the one who is serious, Nu'Daq is," I said. "I want you off this ship, Julian. Come on, I'll walk you to the shuttle bay."

"You're in no condition to do that," he objected.

"Look," I said. "I don't want you dead. It's that easy. Nu'Daq thinks there is something between us and a few weeks ago, he wouldn't have been wrong. If I
want this to work, you have to leave."

"What about the sickbay? Your assistant CMO isn't here yet."

"I'll manage somehow," I said. I zipped up my jacket and then took a quick look in the mirror, smoothing my dark hair into a barrette. "I'm thirty-six years old,
Julian. I'm tired of this kind of pettiness. There's got to be more than this, you know? More than me not trusting him and him not trusting me."

"You sound like you really care," Julian's tone was wistful.

I leaned forward, "I do care. More than I want to and more than I can possibly admit to you."

"Look," Julian said. "I'll go with you. We'll talk together."

"No," I said firmly. "I have to do this alone. Please? Plus, you have to pack."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Do I have to order you off this ship?"

Bashir's eyes narrowed.

"Don't fight for the principle of the matter. It doesn't apply this time around."

I didn't wait for Bashir's answer; I was already out the door, moving much faster than I thought possible.

"Computer, location of lieutenant Nu'Daq."

"Lieutenant Nu'Daq is in his quarters."

"Xenia!" Bashir was running after me. "Don't do something you're going to regret."

"Ha! That's the story of my life," I shot back. By now, I was breathing heavily and Bashir had caught up to me.

"Look, you're angry," Bashir said kindly, his hand on my arm. "And he's angry. That's not a good situation. Why don't you just take some time, rest and then
decide what you want to do when you are calm?"

I considered Julian's suggestion; he was right. In general, I did not want to face Nu'Daq. I was tired of fighting him, of having to justify myself to him every
time and I hated the fact that he didn't trust me in the first place.

"This could be a huge mistake," I said to Julian. "Us getting back together. It won't work."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," I said. "The thing that broke us up the first time, I mean, the straw on the camel's back, that reason still exists. I don't know, Julian, if we can get past that."

"Look, calm down," Julian said. "Maybe what you need is some time in the holodeck. Maybe a little bit of nightclub music?"

"No more Vic, no thanks," I said. "But thanks for the offer. It's sweet of you."

By now, we had passed Nu'Daq's quarters and I was able to breathe a little better. I was also feeling a bit nauseous.

"I need to sit down," I said, finally admitting my weakness to Bashir. "Somewhere...?"

"How about the holodeck?" he suggested. "We're almost there."

"You're determined to get me there," I smiled, but took the proferred arm.

Julian punched in the codes to open the door and we were greeted with a steamy bath scene.

"What...?" Bashir asked. My eyes however were immediately focused on two people embracing. One of them was Okal, a blue fleece towel wrapped around her slender body, and the other was a stranger too me, but he was a very handsome Terran dressed in a Starfleet uniform. I noted the yellow stripes on his sleeve and the two pips on his shirt.

"Uh..." I said, getting the feeling that we were definitely interupting something. Bashir grabbed my arm to drag me out but Okal saw us. Her face flushed.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "We didn't know anyone was in here..."

It sounded stupid; Bashir could have certainly checked before we barged in on Okal and her company.

"That's no problem," she smiled, looking absolutely radiant. "I have someone I'd like you to meet."

~ Morgan ~

It was pure luxury to sleep in real quarters, instead of a jeffreys tube! I
spent a few days just lazing about and playing with the computers.I haven't
lived like this in a long time. Nu'Daq had really pulled through for me.

Although I teased him a lot, I really did have a lot of respect for him. He
is an excellent security officer, as well as being a proud warrior. He just
had one weakness, his honour, and I had no problems with exploiting it.
Just as I was starting to get bored, Nu'Daq appeared at my door.

"Nu'Daq! To what do I owe the honour?" I said.

"Morgan. I need your help", he replied. Nu'Daq admitted to needing my help?
That had only happened once before, and he won't even talk about that. I
nearly fell over with surprise.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

Nu'Daq took a very deep breath. "You know that there has been a Romulan plot
to prevent us from attending the peace talks? Well it appears that the
person who engineered to whole plot, Ghanim, was in fact a Founder."
For the second time in one conversation, I nearly fell over with shock. If
the Tal Shiar had gotten their shape shifter involved, then this was
serious. I tried to remain calm as Nu'Daq kept talking. There was no need to
alarm him just yet.

"What I want to know is: is there a Founder working for the Tal Shiar, or
has the Founders infiltrated them? And to make things worse, there is a
Romulan ship claiming to be escorting us to the peace talk, with no apparent
knowledge of what has happened! What is going on?!?" Nu'Daq was starting to
get agitated, as he paced up and down my quarters. He was the kind of man
who liked to know exactly what was going on around him. He was not suited to
dealing with Romulan plots. Luckily, I was.

"Calm down, Nu'Daq! I think I have some ideas, but I need to chase up some
leads. Why don't you talk to your captives, and I will let you know what I
find."

Nu'Daq seemed satisfied with that. "I will trust you to find information for
me'.

"You can always count on me, Nu'Daq. Have I ever let you down before?"

Nu'Daq didn't look pleased to hear me say that. I know he feels
uncomfortable because of the 'terrible secret' I know about him. But at
least he could relax a bit. Why couldn't he understand that we worked really
well together as a team?

"I will hear from you soon?" he asked.

"As soon as possible" I replied.

As I watched him leave my quarters, I felt the panic I had been controlling
rise within me. The Tal Shiar changeling!! It was one of their best-kept
secrets. They only used him on really important missions. I needed to find
out what was going on, and I needed to find out fast!!

~ Jadzia Dax ~

Jadzia paced. Back and forth, up and down. If she kept this up, she would wear a path in the carpet. Three days on the Valjean and already the crew had
managed to involve itself in all sorts of mischief. If this was any sign of things to come...

The doors slid open and Worf entered. Jadzia put her hands on her hips.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a tone of restrained fury.

"On the Bridge," Worf answered. He took off his sash and laid it on the back of the sofa.

"Do you have any *idea* of what's going on in this ship?" Jadzia asked.

Worf looked at her curiously, "What are you referring to?"

"I'm referring to all the craziness... your daughter was kidnapped, someone got stabbed, now you have a changeling running around the ship *and* a Romulan spy
of some sorts?"

"That is a worthy synopsis," Worf admitted.

"And now... *now* I hear that you have promoted some stowaway to civilian military advisory?" Jadzia was absolutely livid.

"She has some experience in the relevant areas."

"And how do you know this?"

"Lieutenant Nu'Daq recommended her to me. I trust him."

"You trust him? Worf! I don't believe this. Who is running this ship? You or some renegade Klingon?"

"Jadzia!" Worf said in a warning tone.

"I'm concerned, Worf," Jadzia jabbed her finger at her husband's chest. "You didn't even ask me about this Morgan person. I had to find out from Julian!"

"I was meaning to tell you..."

"Yeah, when?"

Worf sighed, "It has been a difficult day, Jadzia."

"I'd say," she spat back. "How much do you know about your crew, Worf?"

"I know enough."

"What about this Nu'Daq fellow? He seems suspicious to me."

"You do not trust him?"

"No. I don't trust any of them. Except for Lieutenant Janor, perhaps. I knew her family back on Trill," Jadzia mused. "And Ensign Arsinoe is doing a very good
job. But the rest... you need to do some more investigating, Worf. These people aren't what they seem and it frightens me that you have promoted this... woman without investigating her background first."

"I am the Captain of the ship. I am authorized to make such decisions without approval."

Jadzia glared at her husband, "So it seems."

And with that, she thundered out of their quarters.

~ Mora Arsinoe ~

Arsinoe slumped back into her quarters, thoroughly frustrated. For hours earlier she was supposed to have been getting information out of her "friendly" prisoner, but it was clear that she had missed a lot of history behind him, his actions, and a few members of the crew. After hours, the only thing that she had been able to come to the conclusion of was that he was, beyond a doubt, absolutely crazy, but still a little too sane to be considered at all safe. All he had done was ramble about Maquis, changelings, Ghanim, and two of her new friends, who were apparently both traitors and cowards... though the last part she had trouble believing.

Mora decided to keep that last bit under wraps until she had more information.
In her frustration she had left him locked up with some other members of security as guards about an hour ago and then on her way back to her quarters had stopped on the bridge to assist her department head for a moment. It had felt so good to actually be able to accomplish the small task without another spy or something causing trouble and convoluting even more, the twisting story she was trying to understand.

With a sigh, Mora collapsed onto her bed and was silently grateful that her roommate wasn't in their quarters. Mora rubbed her temples with a groan and tried to banish from her mind the unusual plots that were plaguing the ship.

"Try to think of something calming.... relaxing..." she told herself wearily. Her first inclination was to go work out in the holodeck, work off the tension, one of the few ways she knew to relax, but immediately she decided that the few holodecks on the ship were probably already in use.

"I could work out in here..." she suggested aloud to no one in particular... "That
would definitely be relaxing..." She quickly changed and retrieved her rapier, a long silver sword that was only still in use on one small Federation colony...

"This *will* be relaxing," she told herself sternly, "Don't you think about it... any
of it. This will be relaxing."

Maybe if she said it enough times it would work and she really would relax for what would be the first time in... how long?

"If I concentrate, I will relax and I won't be reminded." Reminded of *it*, her little secret that no one could find out. How no one had questioned her yet of why exactly she had had to beam onto the ship rather than arrive in a more traditional way... especially into that transporter room... Mora shook her head slightly...

"Don't think about it... No one noticed... No one noticed... You will relax... No one could ever find out."

She looked down at the rapier in her shaking hand. The shining silver tinted steel
gleamed in the dark of the quarters, with seemingly a light all its own. Though in
Mora's eye, the weapon suddenly gleamed not silver and pure, but with the slick, wet, red of light reflecting off blood.

The weapon tumbled on to the ground with a clatter as the door chirped suddenly,
announcing the arrival of a visitor. Mora's legs nearly gave way beneath her and she realized that she had gone completely into a cold sweat. She took a ragged breath, trying to calm herself, and then with a kick that sent the beloved, hated rapier into a corner and generally out of sight, turned to face the door.

"Come in?"

~ Dax ~

Jadzia was furious and everyone could see it as she stormed down the corridors of the Valjean. She was especially angry that Worf was making decisions
without talking to her first. Forget that she was his wife, she was also his first officer!

She stopped abruptly, an idea coming into her head and then whirled around, heading for the lower decks. Thankfully, the turbolift was empty; she didn't feel
like being polite or nice to anyone right now but she also didn't want to get a reputation of being generally unapproachable and bad-tempered.

On deck eight, she walked past several quarters until she found the one she was looking for. She chimed for entry and the doors slid open.

"Ensign," Jadzia said as she entered the quarters. Mora Arsinoe looked startled at the sight of the first officer.

"Commander," Arsinoe replied in an equally formal voice.

"At ease," Jadzia told the nervous ensign. "How are you doing?"

"Doing?"

"On the Valjean," Jadzia said. "Are your quarters comfortable?"

"Very comfortable," Arsinoe responded. Jadzia looked around; evidently, the ensign was still in the process of unpacking - clothes and posessions were still
scattered about. "I still haven't met my roommate yet. Apparently, she has come and settled, but we haven't had a chance to meet."

"Hopefully, you will soon," Jadzia said.

"Is there something I can do for you, Commander?" Arsinoe asked.

"I've been impressed by the way you handled the recent crisis. Especially helping with the capture of those responsible for kidnapping Laizia."

"I was only doing my job, sir."

"Well, I have something else for you," Jadzia said earnestly. "This is something between just you and me."

"What would you like me to do?"

"I want to know everything there is to know about our senior staff, including your commanding officer, Lieutenant Nu'Daq."

"I do not know about that," Arsinoe said.

"I understand he is intimidating," Jadzia said. "But I want to know who is on this ship and I'm afraid the Captain is not a great judge of character. If you
won't do it, I will ask someone else."

"No, I will do it," Arsinoe said. "I just don't like the idea of investigating Nu'Daq... it doesn't feel right."

"Start with someone else than. The doctor or the counselor," Jadzia suggested. "I want a full report, full histories on all of them. Do not skimp on any
details. I get the feeling that everyone on this ship has something to hide and I want to know what it is."

"When would you like this report?"

"In two weeks. Is that sufficient time?"

"Yes. I will have it ready by then."

"Thank you," Jadzia turned away and then paused. "Thank you and remember, this investigation stays between the two of us. Do not breathe a word of it to
anyone else."

"I promise."

Jadzia left Arsinoe's quarters feeling much, much better. Soon, she would have the answers she was looking for.

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