“Some of the creatures may have abandoned this place in favor of a more secure nest,” said Taran’atar, who appeared impatient to get the mission back on track. Dax was grateful for the interruption.
“I doubt that,” Ro said. “I think it’s likelier that they all died down here after they lost their telepathic link with the reproducing female.”
“Why?” Vlu asked.
“Because I think they’re smart enough not to leave any bodies behind for us to study. If any of them had survived, they probably would have tried a little harder to cover their tracks as they fled.”
Vlu nodded as she conducted some additional scans of the cave floor. “You may be right. One would think they would have taken more care not to leave so many DNA traces lying about, come to think of it. One of their hosts could easily have eliminated those simply by using a phaser on the way out.”
Dax thought this scenario made perfect sense. But she also wondered if this was because it was exactly what she wanted to believe.
“None of this tells us why they chose such a remote base of operations as Minos Korva in the first place,” Vlu said. “I don’t understand why they would set up shop so close to Cardassian space. They don’t appear terribly interested in us, after all. Cardassians, I mean.”
Ro shook her head. “No, they don’t. But they areinterested in Trill. I think they originally intended to mount their next offensive on the Trill homeworld directly from here. But getting hold of Shakaar gave them something even better: the opportunity to infect a population of billions on a world about to enter the Federation. The damage they could have done from a position like that would have been incalculable.”
“Trill appears to have dodged a bullet,” Julian said. “That’s something to be thankful for.”
Dax nodded, her spirits buoyed by the prospect of leaving this horrible place forever. She could only hope that her homeworld could soon put the parasite horror behind it and move on.
“If there’s nothing more to see here, I’d like to get back to the runabout,” Dax said, taking a step backward.
She felt something hard crunch and scrape between her boots and the cold stone floor, breaking her chain of thought. Turning her wrist light back on, she cautiously dropped to one knee to take a closer look at whatever had gotten underfoot.
She stood, holding up a curved shard of pottery that measured perhaps a few centimeters across. It was clearly a manufactured object, and looked extremely old.
“Can anyone hazard a guess about this thing?” Dax said.
Julian shrugged and offered her a lopsided smile. “Perhaps the parasites enjoy making ceramics. Even monsters must need hobbies.”
Dax felt a tart rejoinder springing to her lips, but it was diverted by the chirp of her combadge. Since everyone who might be communicating with her via combadge was present, it had to be an incoming signal from the runabout they had left parked at their landing site a couple of klicks to the north.
Handing Julian the ceramic fragment, she tapped her combadge and said, “Dax here. Go ahead.”
“Incoming priority message from Captain Kira Nerys on Federation Starbase Deep Space 9,”the runabout’s computer reported, its pleasant alto voice displaying not a trace of emotion.
“Send it through.”
“Channel open.”
“Dax here. Go ahead, Captain.”
Though the scattering effects of the refractory minerals in the topsoil overhead created a background wash of low static, the runabout’s powerful subspace transmitter had established a strong connection with Dax’s combadge. A familiar voice reverberated through the tomblike chamber, muffled only slightly by the dozens of light-years that separated the station from Minos Korva. “How’s the search going, Lieutenant?”
“It’s going just the way we hoped it would,” Dax said. “We found the parasites’ nest and confirmed that First Minister Shakaar was lured here and probably infected here as well. The parasites themselves are all dead now, and have been for some time. We’ve found no trace of infection among the planet’s population.”
Kira paused a moment before answering. “Good work. That goes for all of you. Well done.”
Despite the congratulatory words, something in Kira’s tone warned Dax that whatever else she had to say couldn’t be good.
“Ezri, Starfleet Command has just informed me that the Trill Senate is planning to conduct official inquests into the entire parasite affair.”
Dax’s eyebrows climbed skyward. “That’s kind of surprising, Captain. I thought the last thing the Trill government would want right now is publicity about the parasites’ attack on the homeworld.”
“I’m sure you’re right about that, Ezri. But the government no longer seems to have any choice in the matter. The word has already gotten out among the Trill populace. Your people are demanding that their leaders come clean.”
“About the relationship between the symbionts and the parasites?” Dax imagined she could feel her symbiont squirming uncomfortably in her abdomen.
“That seems to be part of it. They also aren’t happy about the fact that officers of the Trill Defense Ministry have participated in the assassination of a high Bajoran official. However justified.”
Dax clearly heard the pain that underlay this reference to Shakaar, who had once been Kira’s lover and whose orders Kira had followed during her years as a resistance fighter.
“The parasites and the assassination have caused ripples that go way beyond Trill,”Kira continued. “Officials on other Federation planets are starting to howl about ‘Trill secretive-ness,’ and they’re making demands that something be done about it. Starfleet Command believes that the Federation Council might even be forced to take action if things don’t calm down soon.”
Dax swallowed hard as she imagined the worst possible outcome: Trill’s status as a Federation member being placed in jeopardy.
When she replied, her voice came out almost as a croak. “What can we do?”
“I think the question is, what canyou do?”Kira said.
“Me? Come again?”
“You’re a joined Trilland a Starfleet officer, and you have contacts in the Trill government who could use your guidance and assistance.”
Dax considered reminding Kira that her closest contacts inside the Trill government—Hiziki Gard, an internal security operative, and Taulin Cyl, a general in the Defense Ministry—were the very ones responsible for Shakaar’s assassination. As long-term “watchers” of the parasites, as well as keepers of the now-compromised secret of the parasite-symbiont genetic relationship, Gard and Cyl were arguably part of the current problem more than part of any solution. Of course, the creature that had hijacked Shakaar’s body had left Gard and Cyl little choice other than killing him. But still…
“My…guidance,” Dax echoed incredulously, though she knew what was probably coming next.
“Also, Admiral Ross and I agree that your testimony at the upcoming Trill public hearings could be invaluable in heading off a real crisis,”Kira said. “We need you on Trill, Ezri.”
No. The one you need is Curzon,Dax thought. A real career diplomat, not just someone who hears the echoes of his memories.
Aloud, she said, “All right. We’re just about finished mopping up here. Once we get back to the station, I’ll—”
“I want you to take theRio Grande directly to Trill,”Kira said, interrupting. “Immediately. Tenmei is en route to Minos Korva in theNile to pick up the rest of your team. You should get them back to the Federation settlement as soon as possible.”
Dax hesitated only a moment before answering; ever since she’d made the switch from a counseling career to Starfleet’s command track, she had always tried her best to expect the unexpected.