Cathedral by Michael Mangels (ebook reader color screen txt) 📕

“The guest quarters for our visiting dignitaries have been meticulously prepared. We’re doing a final sweep for spying devices right now. We’ve already made sure that every last food replicator is in working order, and that the climate and atmospheric controls are all on species-appropriate settings. We’ve even turned down their sheets and put mints on their pillows.”

Kira had no idea what Ro meant by that last comment, and the security chief obviously saw her perplexity. “Sorry,” Ro said. “Earth custom. I learned about it back in my Starfleet Academy days.” She offered a grin, and Kira gratefully accepted it, answering it with a smile of her own.

“Sounds as if you’ve got everything under control, Lieutenant, as usual.” Kira had used Ro’s title rather than her name, for the benefit of the two Bajoran security officers who trailed a few paces behind them.

“Thank you, Colonel,” Ro said. “And of course, I’ve got all available security personnel pulling double shifts. There’ll be no surprises during this ceremony if I have anything to say about it.”

They reached docking port six just in time to see the display pad on the bulkhead change color, indicating that Shakaar’s ship had docked. Kira keyed a command sequence into the control pad, and the massive, coglike door rolled to the side. Inside the docking-bay airlock stood Shakaar, Asarem, and two aides, one of whom Kira recognized as Sirsy, Shakaar’s personal assistant. Also conspicuously present was a Bajoran man whom Kira immediately assumed to be a bodyguard, though he wore a pilot’s orange flight suit.

“Ah, Colonel Kira, thank you for coming to greet us,” Shakaar said, extending his hands.

Though she was sorely tempted to ignore Shakaar’s gesture, Kira took the proffered hands. Her position as the station’s commander was tenuous enough without offering insults to Bajor’s highest political leader, however misguided his recent actions might be. She even managed to smile fractionally, if only for the benefit of everyone who stood by, watching and listening.

“First Minister, Second Minister, I hope that you had a safe and pleasant flight.” She hoped that the ice in her tone was not too noticeable.

Shakaar withdrew his hands and clasped them together. Kira caught a fleeting glimmer in his eyes that told her he sensed her discomfiture in his presence—and that he either didn’t give a damn about it or else positively enjoyed it. What was happening to the man she had once loved and followed into battle against the forces of the Cardassian Occupation? She knew well that there were some among her people for whom, sadly, the war they had fought all their lives would never be over. She had always thought of Shakaar as being beyond such vendettas. Could he be one of those unfortunates whose Occupation-inflicted wounds would never heal?

“The flight went without incident, Colonel,” Asarem said, her tone somewhat tart. Kira wondered if Asarem had noticed her nonverbal exchange with Shakaar. She also wondered how hard the second minister was really working to persuade Shakaar to return to the negotiating table with the Cardassians. Kira realized, of course, that her assessment of Asarem might not be entirely fair. Like Kira, the second minister had a public persona to live up to. And Shakaar had always been difficult to persuade when his mind was made up. Just after the end of the Occupation, when he and a group of his fellow Dahkur Province farmers had defied orders to relinquish several government-owned soil reclamators, Shakaar had proved yet again to be one of the most doggedly stubborn men Kira had ever met. He had not only prevailed in that conflict, but had earned enough public sympathy to be elected Bajor’s first minister.

Asarem continued, “Our passage from Bajor gave us both time to meditate on the historic nature of tomorrow’s ceremonies, and what the coming changes will mean to Bajor. I’m certain you are as enthusiastic about this ceremony as we are, and that you share our feelings of happy fellowship.”

Noticing a subtle tensing in Asarem’s body language—and Ro’s quizzical stare—Kira decided that the safest course of action was to keep things moving.

“Certainly, Second Minister. It is a momentous occasion.” Gesturing toward Ro, Kira added, “You both know Lieutenant Ro Laren, Deep Space 9’s head of security. She’s also in charge of making sure that all the dignitaries attending the signing ceremony have a safe and enjoyable time.”

Kira kept pace as the group followed Ro’s lead into a turbolift. She saw the “pilot” conversing with Sergeant Etana Kol, who had gracefully insinuated herself into the group of aides behind the ministers, even as Ensign Charles Jimenez took point near the exit. As the lift made its way coreward, Ro began explaining to the ministers and their retinue where their quarters would be, what new security measures had been taken, and where the signing of the Federation entry document would take place.

As they entered the Promenade, Ro pointed in the direction of the Bajoran temple. “And of course, you both know your way to the temple,” she said lightheartedly.

“Yes, we plan on going there to commune with the Prophets later this morning,” Shakaar said. Kira avoided looking in his direction, but she knew that his comment had been directed toward her alone. Though this wasn’t the first time he had rubbed her nose in her Attainder, it still stung. She decided she’d be damned if she’d give him the satisfaction of showing how deeply his words had cut her. What is his problem these days?

Kira recognized several of the Bajoran security officers in plainclothes, loitering about the Promenade. She also saw a larger than normal contingent of uniformed guards, both Bajoran and Starfleet. Ro really had beefed up security. Kira prayed it would all prove unnecessary in the end.

Passing Quark’s Bar, Kira saw Taran’atar standing just inside the doorway, as if unsure whether or not he wanted to enter. He was standing so still that he might as well have been a statue guarding the entrance. She doubted Quark would allow