PART II

After nearly a two-hour delay, Nicot was finally boarded on the flight to Risa. He was now relaxing in a plush, Tholian silk-upholstered luxury seat and sipping vintage 2359 Saurian brandy. The ship had unusually high security for a personal transport, but nevertheless, it wasn't enough to keep out Nicot. That 'delay' had been a computer favor in his error, upgrading his seating from general seating to a private suite. Things like these were what made private transportation so much more fun than a simple Starfleet runabout or, worse yet, a shuttlecraft. He'd been partial to grand opulence since he was young.

A transporter beam seized Nicot, interrupting his indulgence. A moment later, he stood in what appeared to be a standard Starfleet transporter room--at gunpoint.

A Vulcan male and a human female dressed in all-black leather uniforms trained Type II phasers on him; farther behind them, a lean Zakdorn male dressed in similar garb stepped out from behind the console and stared coldly at Nicot. None were recognizable to him.

"Lieutenant Commander Nicot of the USS Phantom; a pleasure," greeted the affable Zakdorn.

Nicot tried not to appear so bewildered, but he had never quite mastered Rojc's art of deadpan--the alcohol he had been drinking didn't help. He ended up glaring at the officers, before the recognition finally set in. "Can't you people ever give any warning?"

The Zakdorn Section 31 agent smiled an exaggerated smile as he regarded the new recruit before him. He gestured for the guards to lower their weapons. "Director Cannis Lidorichm. Welcome. If you'll accompany me to the briefing room..."

Nicot stepped down from the transporter pad and walked out of the transporter room and into the adjoining corridor. Director Lidorichm and his two guards followed him closely upon exit, the Zakdorn taking point when all were out in the corridor.

The corridor too, was very clearly Starfleet in look. Expected, but Nicot had been hoping to see something a little more...dramatic. He suppressed the thought and finally steeled himself; though by this time Lidorichm had already concluded his observation and evaluation. Director Lidorichm stopped at a room and entered a security code to open the door; he motioned Nicot in.

Nicot obliged the Director's cynical courtesy and entered the room. Cannis nodded to the guards and entered the briefing room alone. The Zakdorn walked behind his desk and sat, silently gesturing Nicot to do the same. Nicot sat.

"You don't belong here. You're in way over your head, Mr. Nicot," began Lidorichm, coldly. "I'm not normally disappointed by my Lieutenant's recommendations."

"I don't appreciate having my vacation time invaded," Nicot snapped back.

The Director was taken aback by Nicot's response. Despite what his file said, he expected a solemn, serious response from the Bolian. "As an agent, you are expected to be ready for assignment at any time, Mr. Nicot." Lidorichm furrowed his brow. "Fraud and drunkenness are unbecoming of an agent."

Nicot was mildly drunk, and high on his sense of self-importance--he wasn't about to back down--Director of Section 31 or otherwise. "I suppose if I had attempted to wipe out an entire race, that would be all right, though."

"That--"

"--Was for the Federation," Nicot finished. "Yeah, I've heard that one before. What I do on vacation does not concern you or the Federation's security. Now am I here for a reason, or does Section 31 find it necessary to once again 'impress' and intimidate me with its high-and-mighty power?"

Lidorichm silently stared at Nicot for a tense moment before letting out a loud belly laugh. "Of course, I did leave myself open to that. I'm glad to see you haven't been 'intimidated', Mr. Nicot. You stick to your convictions and don't back down--traits I appreciate in a good agent."

"It was all an act? A test?"

Cannis smiled. "You can call it that if you wish. You will understand that we can not simply induct new agents on the good of their word and impressiveness of their file."

Nicot's temper was soothed, but he was still upset. "So is this the official welcome?"

The Zakdorn stopped smiling and reassumed a serious guise. "Not quite yet, Mr. Nicot." Cannis produced a PADD from a drawer; an image of ruins on its display. "This is the Cardassian capital city as it is today. In a couple weeks' time, elections will be held here. Elections for the new Cardassian government."

Cannis stood and walked to the display unit on the wall behind him. He entered a few commands, and the screen showed the images of two Cardassian insignia. "There are two principal parties running in this election: the Heg'ta--the democratic party seeking to change Cardassia for the better; and the Zunni--the conservatives who want to rebuild the old Cardassia." More information scrolled across the screen, including images of the primary political candidates.

The Director sat again. "Cardassia is in chaos, and even we can't be sure who will emerge as the majority party, or if there will be any movement against the vote count center. We cannot allow the Zunni to take power. A Cardassia rebuilt under them will either result in the total destruction of the civilization, causing a power vacuum, or a very bitter and angry people."

Nicot didn't miss the opportunity as the Zakdorn paused. "My assignment?"

"Your assignment, Mr. Nicot, is to see to it that the Zunni do not win a majority in these elections," replied Cannis. "This will entail monitoring the building designated as the official vote count headquarters and, if necessary, changing that vote in the Heg'ta's favor." He paused. "I'm aware of your impressive talent for computers of all types, but make no mistake that this will be a stretch of even your abilities."

"Isn't this a rather important mission to entrust to a new agent?" Nicot asked suspiciously.

"No more important than our usual day-to-day operations, Mr. Nicot," Cannis responded. "Make no mistake, this is no mere 'test'. Do you have any idea what would happen should it be discovered that a Federation citizen was tampering with other race's affairs? I can assure you that if you fail at this, you will die."

When Arona Illysa had disembarked from the Phantom, she expected Jaden to be present. He was not, much to her disquiet.

She'd first met the Bajoran militia colonel almost eight years ago, shortly after graduation from Starfleet Academy and assignment to the USS Tianannamen. The Tianannamen had been assigned as one of the earliest ships to conduct relief work on the newly free Bajor. Arona herself had never been to her home world before that; naturally she found it disconcerting after her years on Earth at the Academy.

Arona, of course, hadn't been looking for romance--she had a hell of time as it was taking care of the flood of patients at a temporary hospital they'd worked to set up in the Rakantha province. As fate would have it, she'd met Jaden, then only ranked major, when he brought in several children who'd been badly injured by a legacy of the Cardassians--land mines. Though it had been the most inopportune, most inappropriate, most stressful moments of either of their lives, something just clicked.

It was unusual for Arona, to say the least. She'd always been so guarded and private--

Arona shook off the reverie, and with more irritation wondered where Jaden could possibly be. This was very uncharacteristic for him--he usually kept the tight schedule of a Vedek. After all, Jaden was a former Vedek.

She sighed and pulled a PADD from her case that held the location of her temporary quarters on Deep Space Nine. She hadn't bothered to commit to memory, figuring she wouldn't have much use of them, but now Arona was glad she'd taken the time to procure a room.

Arona made her way through the maze of corridors that was DS9 quickly, arriving at her quarters in no time. She entered the proper authorization code and the door opened obediently, allowing access to the room. Arona walked through the doors, oblivious to the Bajoran who had been following her in the shadows.

Upon entering the quarters, the first thing Arona noticed was a beacon flashing on the personal access terminal. She set her case on a nearby chair and walked to the terminal. A message from Jaden, she guessed. Arona keyed in another code, and the message popped up on the screen--sure enough, it was Jaden.

"Illysa," Jaden began in the message, and instantly Arona already knew this would not be good news. "I am very sorry I was not present for your arrival, but my duties have necessitated a change of schedule for me. It seems one of our agents picked up a tip about a possible location of a Pah-Wraith terrorist stronghold, so naturally it must be investigated with all haste." Jaden paused, an even more somber expression forming on his face. "I am unsure as to how long this will take, Illysa. My apologies for the inconvenience. I will be in contact with you as soon as possible. I love you."

The message ended, leaving Arona more curious than usual. His tone had been so dour--and rarely, very rarely did he actually express such sentimentality in a message. It all left her with a...chill.

Paranoia, Arona decided weakly. Jaden was merely under a lot of stress lately, she needn't concern herself.

Melina Iv'Oor sat in the mess hall nursing Andorian Ale. It was now past 2100--T'Senishra was uncharacteristically late for their meeting. Melina set the frothy drink on the table in front of her and tapped her comm-badge. "Iv'Oor to T'Senishra."

The seconds ticked by; there was no reply.

"Computer--location of Commander T'Senishra?"

Iv'Oor stood, mildly concerned, and walked out of the mess hall, heading towards the turbo lift. It wasn't like T'Senishra to be late, despite being one quarter human.

At the end of the hall, Melina entered the turbo lift. "Deck 16." She was curious as to why T'Senishra had asked her to meet. With Arona and Guitarrez off on shore leave, she and T'Senishra had decided to forego their "girls' night out" (Guitarrez had coined the term) in favor of catching up on a backlog of work. Of course, what with the seemingly endless convoy duty and cargo runs, the Science Department didn't really seem to have all that much work.

The turbo lift came to a stop and Melina entered the corridors of Deck 16. Well, reasoned Melina, T'Senishra has been distant lately--something is obviously on her mind. Why she had finally decided to talk to someone was anyone's guess. She turned the corner and entered the Science Lab.

T'Senishra had been slouching over a console reading, but upon Melina's entry, resumed "proper" posture.

"Hey Nish. It's past 2100, you know," Iv'Oor began, "You didn't respond to the comm."

T'Senishra looked up from her console with an expression of mild surprise, which quickly turned to something of a frown--Dade's nickname for her had started to spread among the crew. "Apologies, Melina. I did not realize it was so late."

Melina shrugged. "Don't worry about it." She glanced at the odd, multi-colored, blinking conglomeration generated by the Lab's holo-unit. "What is that...thing?"

"I was conducting a simulation for some research about artificial intelligence," replied T'Senishra. "Dade would like to improve upon the existing algorithms in the Echo Papa 1107 security system." She walked over to the display. "I recalled an incident aboard the Enterprise-D seven years ago which resulted in the creation of a post-emergent life form." T'Senishra gestured towards the replica. "This is the physical appearance of that entity."

"The holodecks were acting up again, I take it," mused Iv'Oor.

"Partially," replied T'Senishra with amusement. It seemed as though of all the ships in the fleet, only on the Enterprise were such incidents of holotechnology mishaps a regular occurrence. "I am currently investigating the means to duplicate the conditions which led to the 'birth' of the post-emergent entity. The goal is to produce something similar. I believe that if 'tamed', the entity could serve as a processing and regulating center for the security system, bypassing the computer core."

"Sounds great," remarked Melina. "Just let me know before you make a test run so I can arrange some shore leave ahead of time." She chuckled at her own joke. "Anyway, was there something you wanted to discuss?"

"Indeed." T'Senishra walked back to the console she had been sitting at and shut down the holo-display unit. She turned around to face Melina. "I am strongly considering leaving the Phantom."

"Why?" she blurted out.

"I am...bored," replied T'Senishra furrowing her brow. She caught herself and continued, "As a scientist, I find the cargo runs and convey duty imposed by Admiral T'Lara most frustrating. There is little opportunity to apply my skills or further my command ability." T'Senishra paused; a slight hint of anger had surfaced as she stated her reasons. "I find Captain Knight a fascinating subject to study, but there is little to learn under these 'milk runs'."

Melina was still a little taken aback. "When a regular officer starts to prefer SIC work over their normal duties, I suppose then it's time to be concerned."

"Precisely."

"Dade doesn't know about any of this, does he?" asked Melina poignantly.

"He suspects as much, but I have not voiced my desire to pursue a new commission to him yet." T'Senishra broke eye contact. "It is because of Dade that I had wanted to discuss this matter with you."

"He'll be disappointed to say the least," replied Melina, stating the obvious.

T'Senishra shook her head. "I have already accounted for Dade's reaction to my wish to leave the Phantom. I was instead hoping to get your reaction to something of a more personal nature."

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"

"Most likely yes," confirmed T'Senishra, "My leaving the Phantom will be especially hard for Dade, and knowing something of the history between the two of you, I would not object to you and Dade pursuing each other in my absence."

Melina's eyes went wide with shock. "I don't--I mean, he and I never--err, he hasn't--frack!" Melina stopped and stared at T'Senishra.

T'Senishra raised an eyebrow interrogatively.

"I...my relationship with Xanthus took a turn for the better a couple nights ago. To my surprise--and everyone else's too, apparently, he finally asked me out on a date date." She flashed T'Senishra a wide grin.

Now it was T'Senishra's turn to be surprised. "...In that case perhaps it would be best if we forget I ever said anything," she stammered.

Melina tried a reassuring smile. "I'm...honored--I think--that you would ask about, ah, you know. But other than the fact there's now a definite relationship between Xanthus and I, I don't think Dade would go for it--he's a lot more devoted to you than you may realize."

T'Senishra smiled nervously, showing the obvious embarrassment she felt. "Thank you for your time Melina and congratulations are in order for you and the Captain." She awkwardly brushed past Iv'Oor and left the lab.

Melina heaved a sigh. "No problem...really..."