Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Soul Key Read Free

had seemed perfect for the job. Maybe too perfect, Sloan had thought when O’Brien decided to bring her into the loop. She knew how to bypass the security systems that Bajor employed, she was an expert at covert ops, and she was Cardassian—one of only two species besides the Bajorans who could walk the planet unchallenged. When rumors began to spread that Intendant Kira was returning to Bajor to meet with its ruling political body, O’Brien chose Ghemor to see if the rumors were true—and if they were, to amass the intelligence she needed to make sure Kira never left Bajor alive.
    Ghemor had embarked on her mission to Bajor, but had never returned.
    She had been expected back in five days’ time. By the second week, it was clear that something must have gone wrong. Of course, it was always possible that the delay had been unavoidable; Ghemor might still be looking fora window of opportunity get back to Terok Nor without being noticed by the Alliance’s ever-vigilant forces. But Sloan had never trusted her entirely, and he suspected that O’Brien’s mood these last several days might have stemmed, at least in part, from his own growing doubts about the Cardassian. But with no way to contact the enclaves without jeopardizing their safety, all the rebels could do was bide their time and wait.
    And now here they were, listening to Ghemor as she spoke to them from the alternate universe, warning them about a threat she seemed to think surpassed anything the rebellion had yet confronted. Sloan couldn’t help but notice her conspicuous avoidance of the exact circumstances that had led up to her decision. And she seemed entirely less than clear about what she thought was at stake.
    “Emissary of who now?” O’Brien asked.
    “Emissary of the Prophets,” Ghemor repeated. “Look, it’s complicated, but what you need to know is this: the same wormhole, the same aliens, that exist in this universe also exist in ours. They just haven’t been discovered yet. But the act of finding them is something that the Bajoran people will recognize on a primal level, whether they still keep their old faith or not. The person who succeeds in opening that door and making contact with the beings on the other side—that individual will be known to the Bajoran people as a religious icon with tremendous influence, much the way it happened here. And what I’m telling you, O’Brien, is that the person who is actively seeking to fulfill that role right now is the deranged Iliana Ghemor of this universe, in the guise of Kira Nerys. If she succeeds in finding that wormhole, she’ll be like a demigod to Bajor, and you don’twant to know what she’s capable of if she gets the chance to wield that kind of power.”
    Ghemor paused before continuing. “I know I should have come to you before I crossed over. I let myself become emotionally involved because of who she is, and I thought I could stop her on my own. I was wrong.”
    “Iliana, I’m not sure how much of this I can believe,” O’Brien said, scratching the back of his head. “You’re telling me that the Intendant may already be dead, but not really because your own counterpart may have taken her place in order to fulfill some Bajoran religious prediction?”
    “I realize it’s a lot to take in,” Ghemor said, “and I’m sorry that it’s taken me this long to report back. But you have to understand that I was trying to combat an outside threat not just to the rebellion, but to the entire balance of power in our universe. If this woman succeeds in doing what she intends, Bajor will follow her like some kind of messiah. She could even start a damn holy war within the Alliance.”
    “You make that sound like a bad thing,” Tigan said laconically.
    “It would be,” Ishikawa said. “A war like that would devastate the region. People like us would be its first victims.”
    “The faithful versus the infidels,” Eddington agreed. “With a madwoman calling the