The Mist Read Free

nearest chair, chased away a yellow-and-green gecko with a stumpy tail, grabbed his mug, and took a long drink, slopping some of the liquid down the side. Miraculously, Arthur managed to avoid getting drops on his robe.
    Two patrons quickly pulled another table over to Sotugh's. Sisko nodded to Cap and moved over to the group table, sitting across from the Klingon. After a moment everyone in the bar, except for the Caxtonian at the bar and the strange lizard-man near the door, had gathered at the large table with drinks in their hands.
    "Sotugh," Sisko said, smiling at his old adversary. "Would you like to start? Klingons are legendary for their ability to tell a story."
    Sotugh simply waved his hand in disgust. "Klingons tell stories of honor. But this story has no honor for anyone. You tell it. I will correct your errors."
    Sisko took a quick sip from the bottle of cold ale, then nodded at Cap, who stood near the bar.
    "In my years in Starfleet, I have seen many strange things," Sisko said. "But little as strange as the Mist."
    "Now that," Sotugh said, "is something I agree with."
    Sisko smiled at Sotugh. He had known it would be impossible for the Klingon to keep silent during this story.
    Cap laughed. "Sotugh, you have given the story over to Captain Sisko. Please let him tell it."
    Sotugh sat back in disgust, the mug of blood wine clutched in his hands.
    "Go ahead, Captain," Cap said.
    "As you may have gathered, most of this story will be hard to believe. But I'm sure Sotugh will correct anything I may get wrong."
    Sotugh only grunted.
    "I first heard the legend of the Mist," Sisko said, "when I was a cadet in Starfleet Academy, but I didn't encounter them until many years later. By then I had almost forgotten who and what they were...."

Two
    MY CONTACT WITH the mist occurred during the period of tension between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, just before this quadrant's problems with the Dominion began. For those of you who do not know, I command Deep Space Nine, a former Cardassian space station, one of the farthest outposts of the Federation. We are the guardians of the wormhole between the Alpha and Delta Quadrants.
    We run a twenty-four-hour clock on Deep Space Nine, following the long-standing Federation tradition of maintaining an Earth Day in space. I am in my office which used to be the Cardassian commander Gul Dukat's office in Operations by 0800 hours, and my staff knows not to disturb me until I have finished my first and only glass of raktajino. It is not that I awaken slowly, or even in a bad mood. I simply prefer a few moments of silence at the beginning of my day, since I know that, if the day runs true to form, those will be the only moments of silence I will have.
    So that morning, when my first officer, Major Kira, our liaison with Bajor, knocked and did not wait for my response to enter, I knew we had trouble.
    She stood in the doorway, with a slightly apologetic look on her face. She held a padd in her left hand.
    "What is it, Major?" I asked, my hand wrapped around my steaming and so far untouched glass of raktajino.
    "I am sorry to interrupt you, Captain," she said. "But I think you need to look at this."
    I should say here that Kira is one of the best officers I have on Deep Space Nine. She breaks protocol only when necessity calls for it. An interruption from Kira is never frivolous, and always deserves my attention.
    I took the padd.
    Kira nodded once, then turned and left my office, the door hissing shut behind her. Through that door, I could see my morning staff at their usual positions, and I found comfort in that. Kira spoke briefly to Jadzia Dax, a joined Trill who sat at the science station, before going to the replicator to get her own morning glass of raktajino.
    Before I turned my attention to the padd, I took what would be my only sip of raktajino that day. Then I read the report the major had prepared for me.
    It seems that a few moments before my arrival, the station picked up