Captian's log, Stardate 49938.1:We have rescued First Minister Shakaar from where he was being held by the Dominion. We are currently en route back to Deep Space 9.
Dr. Julian Bashir gazed over the body of First Minister Shakaar. He was in very ill health, and Julian did not think he would be taking up his old position until the current Minister's term ran out.
Suddenly he began tossing and turning. Pulling out a hypospray, Julian woke him.
"Lupaza!" yelled Shakaar. "They-" then he stopped, breathing heavily.
Julian spoke. "You're in the Infirmery on the Defiant. We've just rescued you."
Shakaar's head turned this way and that. "Thank you." he said.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I just fell off a cliff."
"You look like it to." added Major Kira Nerys as she entered. This was the Shakaar Edon she knew.
It had been barely a month since they uncovered the changeling impersonating as Shakaar. About a week ago they had gotten a signal from the real Shakaar. Since then they had tracked it, and rescued him.
"First Minister." said Captain Sisko as he entered.
"Captain Sisko?" asked Shakaar. But before he could ask anything more they were interrupted yet again, this time by Jadzia Dax's voice over the combadge. "Dax to Sisko."
"Go ahead, old man."
"We're approaching the wormhole. You should come to the bridge."
"Coming. Sisko out."
Quickly, everyone filed out, leaving Julian alone with Shakaar. Satisfied by his patients condition, Julian started to think about a more immediate problem. Jadzia.
One month ago, he would have thought himself over her. They were friends, nothing more. Then Odo and Kira had gotten together. The rumor was flying around they were secretly preparing to be married. Julian personally didn't believe the rumors, but thier relationship itself was obvious. And he was jealous of Odo. Come to think of it, he was jealous of Kira too.
He was jealous that they found happiness, while it still eluded him. His relationships never lasted more then six weeks. Just a week ago, he had broken up with Leeta when she said she didn't think he really loved her. And the worst thing was that she had been right. He didn't.
He loved Jadzia. He always would, and seeing Odo and Kira together, then seeing Jadzia alone, and knowing he was also alone, had made him realize that. But she had made it clear on no uncertain terms she didn't feel the same way.
Little did he know on the bridge, Jadzia Dax was thinking the same thing. She wished now she had not pushed Julian away when they had first met, but back then, it had just been an infatuation. Now, he was obviously over her, and though they were close friends, Jadzia sadly doubted they would ever be anything more.
Jadzia's gaze traveled to Nerys. She could tell the the rumors were true, that she and Odo had gotten engaged. She was happy for her friend, but at the same time, she was jealous.
They were through the wormhole, and the space station Deep Space 9 loomed before them. Within minutes, they were docked.
Shakaar, still weak, staggered out of the airlock, to be greeted by a crowd, who were overjoyed to hear he was alive.
"Hey," said Kira, as she attempted, unsuccessfully, to clear a path, "get out of the way. He is not in good health."
She watched as Odo came up. He cast a nervous glance at Shakaar, and she gave him a reassuring smile.
They had barely started along the Promanade when suddenly they heard Quark's voice. "Attention, everyone!"
As the crowd turned, Quark announced, "We are all delighted with the rescue of First Minister Shakaar, and also with the pending arrival of Grand Nagus Zek. In honor of these two magnificent leaders arrival at this station, I am throwing a Quadruple Dabo tournament! Players are limited, so sign up now!"
Some attention turned away from the First Minister and towards the bar, and Shakaar started his way towards the turbolift. He hadn't gotten very far when a green-skinned girl who was not clad very well crashed into him.
"Oh! So sorry-" started the girl, then she saw who he was. "Well, First Minister! Welcome back!"
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Stormflower Leaflet." She shook his hand and dissapeared into the crowd.
Stormflower slid over to her friend, Cela Lelti. "What do you think?"
"I don't want to." Lelti said. She had her fingers buried in a mound of felise, a glasslike substance.
"Why not?" demanded Stormflower. "He's not the changeling."
"I know," sighed Lelti, "but..."
"But what? Lelti, you're being irrational."
"Stormy, I looked at him as he exited the airlock. I thought about him. I do want to think about him anymore!" She then turned and began working furiously on the mound of felise.
Noting her suspicions, Stormflower took a look at the sketch Lelti was molding from. How she understood it Stormflower couldn't figure out, but there were some simple sketches next to it, and they were of Jadzia Dax, sitting at Quark's and looking lonely.
"What did you think about him?" asked Stormflower.
This got Lelti to pause. "I'm not sure. I just felt something hit me, then felt angry, then-"
Oh Spirits! though Stormflower. She's in love with him and she's hating him at the same time. This is quite a mess. Out loud, all she said was, "I see..."
Lelti did not respond. Her cir was starting to take shape, and her attention was completely focused on it.
Lelti's love life was a tangle now. Untieing it was going to take patience and caution, and right now, Stormflower only wanted them friends. The situation was too delicate to really do anything else.
But as Stormflower watched Lelti cap a lonely Jadzia, she knew one pair of people she could help right now.
Soon after...
Quark was delighted. It had only been two hours and already he had 47 people signed up. Odo and Kira had just signed, apparently talked into it by Lelti, who Quark suspected was working as an agent for Stormflower. He had a moment to breath and count the latinum.
His favorite Dabo girl, Stormflower Leaflet slid up to him. "Are you selecting the teams?"
"Of course."
"Can I have some say in them?"
"Perhaps."
"Just perhaps?" Stormflower asked in mock upset. "I was hoping for something a little stronger."
"Well..." Quark started. He wished Stormflower wasn't looking at him like that...
"Maybe," Stormflower was continuing in a purr, "a yes." She touched his ear, stroking ever so slightly, causing Quark to moan in pleasure. Her fingers continued across his ears, leaving very aroused flesh in thier wake.
"I give you some control," promised Quark. Maybe this time...
Her fingers removed themselves from his ears. Her voice was still warm as she thanked him, but she had pulled away again.
Quark and Stormflower were very found of each other, but she always refused him more then oo-mox, insisting to him that to get her body, he must first surrender his heart to her. She was quite determined to win his heart. He knew her past led her to this precaution, but it could really try him sometimes.
Quark knew well Stormflower had started out as a naive young girl who heard about her home sun going nova, and wanted to get off her home world. One thing had led to another, and she had eventually ended up on Terok Nor, the mistress of some Cardassian Gul, who had then tired of her and left her without so much of as a slip of latinum to her name.
Quark thought the Gul had wasted a lot. Forced into prostitution in order to survive, Stormflower had first entered his bar in perpertual shame and despair. Her light green skin was covered with sweat and tears, her corn-silk hair tangled and matted, her soft brown eyes clouded, the grace in her step he would see later almost gone, but she had still looked beautiful to him. He had offered her a job as a Dabo girl and she had taken it without a second's hesitation.
Within a month, Quark had realized her value. Her experiences had left her with a good mind, and after she was cleaned up, she danced around the bar with a grace and beauty Quark had never seen equalled since then. Many of his Dabo girls had left at the end of the Occupation, and she could have easily found herself something better, especially since Quark himself had planned to leave, but she had stayed, and she was now his oldest Dabo girl.
She was clever, charming, unscrupulous, and able to have him begging for mercy with just a few strokes of the lobes, and she was willing to give him that to get her way. She usually got it too.
But why did she want control of the pairing of teams? Most of the time she found such work tedious. Now she eagerly tore into the data, making thougthful, surprised, and amused faces. But then he saw through that she was faking it. There was only one real motive she had, it it would be disguised from him. He really didn't like that.
Several minutes later, however, Stormflower's plans became the least of his worries, when Grand Nagus Zek walked into his bar. "Quark, my boy. What's the bustle about. "Are you throwing a tournament in my honor?"
Quark bolted over and kissed the Nagus's cane. He could clearly hear Stormflower's chuckle.
So did the Nagus. He sauntered over, and Stormflower put down the Padd of info she was holding.
"Hello, your greediness," she said as she politely kissed the cane. "Are you signing up?"
"You bet I am," cackled the Nagus.
Quark wondered exactly what Stormflower's look meant. Then she went back to studying the Padd.
Later...
Jadzia Dax entered her quarters. "Computer, messages."
"You have one message waiting."
It was from Quark. "Congratulations, Commander. You have been accepted into the biggest tournament of all time!" Jadzia chuckled at that. Quark said that for every tournament he threw.
"Your team number is 63. Come to the bar at 2000 hours to meet your teammates!"
"Computer, time."
"The time is 1953 hours."
Seven minutes. Jadzia hurried to the bar.
As she arrived, she asked the computer for the time. It was 2001 hours, and the bar was crowded.
Threading her way, through the crowd, Jadzia ran into Odo and Kira, who were standing together. "Hi! You two have the same number?"
Odo nodded. "63."
"Really? I do too."
"63? Came a voice. That's my number." came a voice, and they were joined by Julian.
From behind the bar, Stormflower nodded to herself.