"Except they don’t drink," said Gus, taking a seat at the bar. "You’d have to serve strong, sweet tea rather than alcohol."

"Nothing wrong with that," said Quark. "There’s more profit in non-alcoholic beverages. It’s just tea and water."

"And," said Jack, taking the seat next to Gus. "You’d have to go back to the Gamma Quadrant. Not that there aren’t quite a few people who are going to be happy now that Rusawa’s gone. But I still don’t think that any of our faces would be very welcome in Zunigian Space."

"Yak! Goose!" called Ognij as he bounced up to the bar. "Come. Delights most joyous at wheel dabo. Kvark, friend most dearest…"

"I know," said Quark. "Another tea." He handed Ognij a fresh cup. "So," he turned to Gus and Jack. "What can I get for you?"

"We need your help," said Jack. "It’s about Buck."

"What about him?"

"Here we were thinking he was dead, and he isn’t, but they still have him locked up in Security, and your Colonel Kira and her watchdog Marshall won’t let us in to see him to see if he’s okay."

"I know," admitted Quark. "They won’t let me in either. Listen boys, Buck’s going to be okay. My sources tell me that there was a little bit of trouble involving a changeling while we were away. Everyone’s just being a little paranoid that’s all."

"But what about your friend?" asked Gus. "The changeling,"

"Yeah," said Jack. "That Odo fella. He’s pretty tight with the staff."

Quark leaned forward. "That’s not Odo," he said softly so no one else could hear. "Okay, he looks like Odo and he talks like Odo. But he’s not. And further more they know he’s not. Something’s going on, I just can’t figure out what."

Kira stood outside the cell with Marshall and Bashir. "So," Kira asked Bashir. "How is he?"

"Which one?" asked Julian. "Because if you are going to say Odo, well, biologically, they’re both Odo as far as I can tell."

"Another one?" asked Marshall. "How many are there do you suppose?"

"And how do they all end up here?" replied Julian. "I don’t suppose either of you are going to tell me what’s going on? I mean to say, you bring me three changelings: two Odos and one unknown. The unknown one runs off and gets himself killed. You beam the two Odos to the infirmary but one apparently dies in mid transport. Then a third Odo shows up on the Station, only apparently he had no idea he’s a changeling."

"I believe the good doctor has as good a grasp on the situation as we do," commented Marshall.

"Later, Julian," said Kira. "Now answer the question. How is he?"

"They are both fine, as far as I can tell," he replied in a slightly snippy tone of voice. "The one that looks like the Odo I know…"

"His name is Guardian, Julian."

"Thank you, colonel. Guardian, apparently suffered no ill-effects, although there were dramatic differences in his specific density readings from the last time I had a chance to examine him. The one called Buck, I have no idea what’s wrong with him..."

"Shortly after he left the Link, he was shot several times with a Klingon disruptor, Doctor," said Guardian, stepping out of the cell. "Changelings are still in a rather fragile state for awhile after leaving the Link, and are particularly susceptible to any type of strong energy charges. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it did a good job of scrambling his programming."

"Programming?" asked Julian. "You make it sound like…"

"Thank you, Julian," said Kira firmly. "I’ll call if we need any further assistance." Bashir opened his mouth to reply, but catching the looks on the faces around him, thought better of it. "Well," he said eventually, gathering the tools of his profession. "I will expect a full explanation…"

"I promise," Kira assured him. "But not now." Julian left with as much dignity as he could muster. Kira watched him disappear out the doorway. She glanced at Guardian. "You too, Mr. Marshall," she said. Marshall merely gave them both a curt bow and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well?" asked Kira.

"He’s one of my line all right," confirmed Guardian, walking back into the cell and coming to stand before Buck. "He’s at least a Secondary. You can tell by the face. Supernumeraries can’t make proper faces, makes them easier for us to spot in the field…." He paused and sat down rather abruptly.

"Are you okay?" asked Kira. "Should I call…?"

"No. No, I’m fine. It’s just an adjustment. Funny. In my line of work it’s not unusual to have more than one voice in my head, but it’s never been like this before. Wisdom has quite a willful personality. So does your young man, when it comes to it."

Kira swallowed hard at the mention of Odo, but pushed her emotions to the back of her mind. "How did he come to be here?" she asked.

"Well, remember that I only know what he knows and he doesn’t know much. As far as he can remember, his mission was to allow himself to be delivered to a fellow named Rusawa.."

"Rusawa," said Buck nodding his head.

"Right." said Guardian. "The purpose of which was for him to look for an opportunity to assassinate him."

"Assassinate him?"

"That’s the story. This Ru, ah, this fellow was supposedly the head of a Zunigian Criminal Organization not too dissimilar to our own Orion Syndicate."

"But why?" asked Kira.

"Well, as far as Wisdom can tell me, the object was to link up the two Organizations and wage war on the Dominion. Rusawa, thank you Buck, we know." Guardian rolled his eyes at Kira as Buck repeated the name. "Wanted two things. One was a Jem-Hadar ship. This would allow his people to design weapons that would be effective against them. The second thing was a Founder. It was the Link’s intention to give him both."

"Why?"

"As far as I can tell, so the Zunigian could destroy himself, with the Dominion’s assistance, of course. This Zunigian figured with a Founder, at his disposal, he would have a puppet in hand to place at the head of his government once the Dominion was defeated. But not just any Founder would do, it had to be one newly released, that he could train to do what he wanted. That way, rather than try to defeat all the Jem-Hadar or the Vorta, he could just wipe out the Founders and have his own standby for the rest of the Dominion to swear loyalty to. It’s a neat package when you think about it. Buck’s job was to eliminate him before he could put his plans into place."

"But what went wrong?"

"Everything apparently. Somehow, our friends Mr. Fellows and Mr. Ferguson got to the ship first. Buck only vaguely remembers that part of the story. But after losing their own ship, our boys headed for home, taking Buck here with them. It wasn’t until sometime later, when the Zunigians started to catch on and pursue them that Buck remembered what he was supposed to do, which was to take, you know who, out of the picture."

"So what happens to him now?" asked Kira. "You said Secondaries were usually given a job to do and the skills to do it. What happens when the job is done?"

"Usually," said Guardian. "They are rounded up, and cleansed, and moved up in rank and sent out again as Primaries."

"Sounds rather monotonous to me. Do you ever reach a stage where you aren’t cleansed? Are you ever allowed to just be?"

"Certainly. In the Link, once you pass Primary level then you are considered a full fledged Founder and are allowed to progress at your own pace. On this side of the wormhole, we don’t really hold much to the old system. Except for Guardian rank. Guardians play a vital role in rounding up Supernumeraries and keeping an eye on those in the field. Quite frankly, I’m going to miss it."

"So, you are going to go back then?"

"I have no choice. It’s where Wisdom belongs and he can’t get there unless I take him."

"What about Buck? Couldn’t he do that?"

"Well, he could," admitted Guardian. "But that kind of depends on you."

"Me? What have I got to do with it?"

"All you have to do is say the word and I can give you Odo." He read the look on her face. "I’m serious," he declared. "We have a vessel, I have the memories. It’s an easy matter to put the two together. He won’t be exactly as good as new, but it’s the closest you’re ever going to get."

"No," said Kira, taking a step back. For a moment, her heart swelled with the prospect of having him back. Despite the sudden blossoming of hope, one thought nagged at her. It would be Gaia all over again, she thought. Only this time it would not be 8,000 people who existed purely by accident, this time it was real and very personal. Swallowing hard, she shook her head. "No. Buck has a life. He’s an innocent party to all of this and I can’t take his life to suit my own purposes."

"You are right," agreed Guardian. "He does have a life, but look at his choices. He can remain here in the Alpha Quadrant as a slightly damaged changeling, or he can return to the Link only to be cleansed and sent out again. By giving him a life that has all ready been taken by the Link, I’m offering him a third choice."

"And what does Buck say?"

"Well, he doesn’t really understand the concept, but he likes it here."

"No."

"Kira," said Guardian pleadingly. "Odo has twice given his life for the Link. Isn’t it time the Link gave him a life back? Don’t you think he deserves that?"

"But at what price? Look…" She gathered her thoughts. "I would willingly march straight into the mouth of hell if it would buy Odo one more second of life. I would be willing to slit the throat of anyone who dared to harm him. But he’s gone, you said as much. Now you dangle his life before me as though everything were up to me, and yet you offer no guarantees that what you give me will be Odo. I’ve been through this once before, giving someone back life doesn’t mean they will be the same person. We Bajorans believe that each person has a soul. You say you can restore his memories, but can you restore his soul? Can you restore everything he was? And what of Buck? You offer to end his existence as if he didn’t matter. I’m beginning to think that life doesn’t matter to any of you. It’s cruel…"

"There are more things in heaven and earth, colonel, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

She was just about to ask what that meant, when she was interrupted by her comm badge.

"Marshall to Kira."

"What is it, Mr. Marshall?"

"Admiral Ross is on subspace."

"I’ll be right there."

She paused to look at Guardian and Buck. She raised her hands, as though about to make a point, but with a great sigh, she allowed her arms to fall limp at her sides, and left the room without speaking another word.

He had just reached the part where he was about to receive the thanks of a very, very grateful Colonel Kira, when the door to the Security Office hissed open and a highly excitable Quark stood on the threshold. Just barely saving himself from falling backwards over the swivel chair, Ensign Wicker, recovered his balance and stood abruptly. "Yes," he said, noticing his voice break slightly. He cleared his throat and in a much deeper voice continued. "How may I help you, sir?"

Quark, trying hard not to laugh, grabbed Wicker and pulled him to the door. "Quick," he said. "There were two known smugglers just in the bar. They tried to sell me one of the missing Bajoran Orbs. I told them I’d have to see it first and they went to their ship to get it, but I think they were suspicious. If you hurry to Docking Bay 17, you can catch them before they get away."

"Orb?" asked Wicker only half heartedly resisting Quark’s attempt to push him out the door. "What Orb?"

"Ah…" Quark tried to remember the names of the Orbs. The boy was slow, but he may not be stupid after all. Finally giving up, Quark said the first thing that came to mind. "Ah…the Orb of Disbelief."

"Disbelief?"

"Yes," said Quark with conviction. "The Orb of Disbelief. Don’t tell me you have never heard of the Orb of Disbelief?"

"Is it important?" asked Wicker, his voice breaking again.

"Is it important? I’ll forget you just asked me that question. Of course it’s important. Why the man who restores the Orb of Disbelief to the people of Bajor will be a national hero. Parades, rewards, women…."

"Docking Bay 17?"

"If you hurry…" Wicker was out the door before Quark could complete the sentence. Not moving from the spot he counted softly to himself. "One, two, three." The Security Office door slid open again and Wicker slid to a halt.

"But who will look after things here?" he asked. "I’m the only one on duty."

"I will," Quark assured him. "I’ve been known to step in from time to time to perform the offices of Deputy before. No, don’t bother asking, I don’t mind. Now go."

"Docking Bay 17?"

"Parades…mothers naming their children after you…."

"Orb of Disbelief?"

"Celebrations in your honor…Wine! Women!…."

Wicker was gone so fast, he was little more than a blur. Humming softly to himself, Quark strolled to the door and waived to his two accomplishes. In a way, he was disappointed, he would have given anything to see the look on Wicker’s face when he arrived at Docking Bay 17, only to find a half naked egg shaped little man who spoke no recognizable language. In the blink of an eye, Quark had keyed in access to the Holding Cells and he, accompanied by Jack and Gus, released the force field to Buck’s cell.

"Make it quick," said Quark. "We haven’t got much time."

Jack leaned forward and gently cuffed Buck on the ear. "How are they treating you Buck? You okay?"

"Don’t worry," Gus assured him. "We’ll get you outta here soon. Even ifin we have to break you out ourselves."

They were startled by the sound of a gentle cough. The trio turned to find Guardian standing in the doorway.

"Boys," he said. "We need to talk…"

"So you blamed the dead man?" asked Guardian.

"Precisely, it would have been better if we had actually had a confession from Rem Keshwan to provide as evidence, but right now, Starfleet is happy with the results, and the Bajoran Militia has more than enough evidence to keep General Torias busy with explanations for quite some time."

"All’s well that ends well."

"For the time being at least," observed Flato.

Guardian paused at the top step outside the Security Office and surveyed the crowd. "You know what I’m I think I’m going to miss the most?" he asked.

John Marshall and Flato Ray exchanged glances. "I have no idea," Marshall replied. "Pray enlighten us."

"I think," said Guardian stepping down the steps and making his way through the crowd, Marshall and Flato on his heels. "I think, I’m going to miss just being able to walk around this place just as I am, as a changeling. Not having to alter my form to blend in with the locals. You have no idea the feeling of absolute freedom it gives me. You know, I don’t think your former Chief of Security ever realized exactly how good he had it."

"I’m sure he does now," commented Marshall.

"I sincerely hope so, Mr. Marshall."

"Colonel Kira," said Flato. "Wished me to convey her regrets…"

Guardian turned to wink at her. "I’m well aware of the colonel’s regrets, captain," he assured her. "Just tell her that perhaps the next time we meet it will be under more pleasant circumstances."

"Then you intend to return?" asked Marshall.

"Perhaps. Don’t look so concerned Mr. Marshall, I swear that should I return, I will give you plenty of warning beforehand."

"Indeed."

Quark threw up his hands in surrender. "I’ve never been more positive of anything in my life," he replied with conviction. "From now on, I’ll stay right here where I belong."

"Ifin you ever change your mind," said Gus. "Give us a holler. Now that we’re workin’ for them Centurion fellas, I figure we’ll be comin though this neck of the woods more often."

"Do us a favor, Quark." Jack glanced toward the air lock, where Ognij held Buck in close conversation. "Take good care of Ognij for us will you?"

"I don’t know that he needs my help, Jack. Yestos seems to be doing an excellent job without my assistance."

"Careful Quark," warned Gus. "He’ll most likely try to convert ya."

"He can try."

"Well," said Jack, spying Guardian and his escort approaching. "Here comes the new boss. Quark, Ognij I guess this is adios for now. Gus, you and Buck get ready to take off."

Marshall fingered the isolinear rod that lay in his pocket. "They may suspect changeling involvement. Starfleet and the Bajorans may even suspect Rem was a changeling, but without a body, there’s no way of proving anything."

"Ah," Guardian looked thoughtfully at Marshall. "Not an ambitious man after all."

Marshall allowed a faint smile to cross his face. "Ambitious in my own way, sir." He produced the rod and handed it to Guardian. "I am afraid I am no longer in need of this."

Guardian held the rod up to the light. "An insurance policy?"

"In a manner of speaking."

With a sigh, she turned away from the window and picked up her work. Now that the wormhole was back open, there was more than enough work to keep her mind occupied for quite some time. She had long ago accepted the fact that, for her, burying herself in work was preferable to sitting alone in her quarters nursing a heart that, for some ineffable reason, the Phrophets seemed determined to break.

It was much later in the day, when she realized not only was she exhausted, she had completely forgotten to eat. Powering down the computers at her desk, she made her way through Ops to the lift. She was waiting for the lift to arrive, when she was approached by Bryan Landis.

"Just before they left, Captain Fellows asked that I relay a message to you," he said. "In all the rush, I am afraid I forgot to deliver it."

"That’s fine, Mr. Landis. You can deliver it now."

"Well, it’s not really from Captain Fellows, but relayed through him. The message was to tell you, avoid strong light for the first three or four days."

"What?"

"That’s what he said. Low level light for the first three or four days and if the shaking gets too bad a hot bath will help. I assumed you would know what it meant."

"Lights? Baths? I have no idea. Are you sure the message was for me?"

"Yes, sir. He was very specific."

Kira shook her head. The message meant nothing. "Very well," she said. "Thank you, Bryan."

The door slid open and she stepped through, not noticing how dark the rooms were until the door slid closed behind her leaving her in the dark. Hardly caring, she took a step forward and heard a slight clinking noise as the toe of her boot struck something in the dark sending it skidding away from her. There was an accompanying sound, a soft moan.

She froze, suddenly realizing she was not alone. Her fist instinct was to reach for a weapon. Her second to realize she was unarmed. She stood perfectly still, her hand hovering over her comm badge, torn between calling for assistance and not really caring what happened to her. She finally compromised and ordered the lights to maximum.

She ducked behind the protection of a chair while her eyes adjusted painfully to the light. A scrambling sound from near the door drew her attention. Huddled on the floor, lay a figure wrapped in a blanket. She cautiously approached, and pulled the blanket away.

There on the floor, arms and legs pulled tight in the fetal position, quivering as though frozen, lay Odo.

She blinked.

She blinked again.

Captain Fellows words came back to her in a flash. Avoid bright lights for the first three or four days and if the shaking gets too bad a hot bath will help.

Quickly ordering the lights to 25%, she knelt next to him, wrapping the blanket around him. It was then that she saw the padd. The padd she had accidentally kicked on her way in. The face of Guardian looked back at her.

"Now colonel, I know how you feel about all this," he said cheerfully. "But I got to thinking and I talked it over with everyone. By everyone, I mean Captain Fellows, Mr. Ferguson, Quark, Buck, Wisdom and Odo, and we all feel that the only solution to our problem is for me to go back to the Link and for Odo to take my place here. We kind of lied when we said that Wisdom had only Odo’s memories, it’s a bit more complicated than that, and most people don’t really like to think that more than one active intelligence can occupy the same body, so we make it a rule not to mention it."

"Kira, we aren’t Bajoran - hell, I can’t even tell you if changelings have souls or not, but I can tell you that this is Odo. The Odo you’ve always known and always will know. Now, he’s going to be a pretty confused little changeling for awhile. He’s skipped three or four stages of development in a matter of moments and that takes some getting used to even for me. The hardest part is having memories in two different time zones. He’s going to remember being in the Gamma Quadrant with Quark and the boys while at the same time he’s going to remember everything that happened while he was sharing a body with Wisdom. He’ll adjust eventually, but it won’t be easy for him in the meantime."

"So, you know the drill, low level lights for the first three or four days and if the shaking gets too bad, a hot bath will help. And before you ask yourself if it was worth it, he’s now been bestowed the rank of Guardian. My old job as a matter of fact. The key is, by all standards he’s now a full fledged changeling with all the rights thereof. None of us, not even the Link, will have a hold over him now."

"Well, that’s about it. Good luck. If you run into any problems, one of our people will be contacting the both of you in a couple of weeks. You’re both members of the Centurion family now, and I do believe our boy will enjoy being a Guardian. I know I did."

She put the padd down with a sigh, her heart pounding as though it would leap from her chest. It was all too much to take in. Sitting down on the floor, she gently pulled the edge of the blanket away from his face. She had to see his eyes, reminding herself that with changelings it was all in the eyes.

He lay with his eyes tightly shut. She stroked his cheek, gently calling his name. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking in the twilight of the room. It took a moment for recognition to dawn on them both. "Nerys?" he asked. "What..? How…?" With a sob, she gathered him in her arms. For in that brief moment their eyes had locked, she had seen pain, certainly, and confusion, but she had also seen the truth of all they had been and the promise of all that they would be.

Exhaustion dropped away from her. She had no doubt that the road ahead would be hard for them both, but she did not care. With him in her arms, she could face catastrophe itself.

The owner of the legs was enjoying the profound silence of the Promenade when his attention was drawn to the patter of feet. "There you are," called a voice. "And just what do you think you’re doing?"

He did not bother looking over his shoulder, he did not have to, he knew that voice as well as he knew his own. "Quark," he said.

Quark stood looking down at the changeling and with a sigh, sat next to him, dangling his short legs over the edge of the crosswalk. He looked at his friend. "You know," said Quark confidentially. "I’ve always wanted to do this, but I knew the moment I did, you would catch me at it."

"And never let you forget it."

"I’ll say. When I think of all those years you made my life a living hell…"

"It was my job."

"And you enjoyed it. Spying on me. Keeping track of my every transgression, no matter how slight…"

"Somebody had to."

"I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and you know, my life would be completely different - I’d be a completely different person - if you hadn’t always been interfering in my business."

"You’re welcome."

They fell into an easy silence. A silence that was broken by a voice.

"Gentlemen. Need I remind you there is no dangling allowed on the Promenade?"

The two miscreants reluctantly stood.

"Thank you," said Lieutenant Nog, Chief of Starfleet Engineering. Trying had to stifle a smile, he continued on his way back to his quarters. Odo and Quark exchanged a look and resumed their seats.

"So," asked Quark. "Have you considered what you are going to do next?"

Odo merely made a grunting noise.

"Well, you’re going to have to think of something. You can’t just mope around here forever."

"I have thought of something actually," was the reply.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Nerys and I have discussed opening a bar right across the Promenade from Quarks."

"You and the colonel? A bar?"

"And why not? Holosuites, dabo tables, cheating your customers. How hard could it be?"

"The colonel, I suppose would terrorize the staff, she’d be good at that. What would you do?"

"Me? I’d scare the customers."

Kira Nerys, having finished her prayers, and making her way back to her quarters, was startled at first by the sound of laughter echoing in the deserted Promenade. Startled until she recognized the voices, and for the first in a long time, she allowed herself to smile.

Hierarchy of Founders