Free Vectors by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch Page A

inside of her heel. These boots were too small, even without the swelling. She had taken them in a gift really-from a dying friend. Amazing, that all they had to give each other anymore were items of clothing, bits of food, things that they had once taken for granted.
    Her earring tinkled in the breeze. She had been wishing for a breeze not too long ago, but it only seemed to make things hotter. She was outside a rebel cell, and it wasn't even her cell. That's why they kept her here, waiting, until they made some decision about her.
    She stared at the makeshift tents. Whoever ran this cell didn't plan things real well. They were in a hidden valley, one that was not on the maps but was pretty well known in this part of Bajor. The tents were pitched near a small creek, bone dry in the summer heat. If she had been in charge of this cell, she would have had them pitch their tents on the mountainside, where scraggly trees and boulders would have provided cover. As it was, if the Cardassians found this valley now, they would have found the cell. Not that she was in any position to give advice. She was here chasing rumors. She had heard of serious illness to the south, and had actually seen some of the bodies in a message sent to her by Shakaar. The problem was that neither she nor Shakaar had seen them die. There was talk of a disease, there was talk of a plague, but-so farm no one in her part of Bajor had seen evidence of it.
    Not that she doubted that it existed.
    She was told that Javi's cell knew more about it, and she had set up a meeting with one of her contacts. It had brought her here, a long trip through areas that weren't friendly to people like her. She was known as a member of the resistance, and even before last year's escapade on Terok Nor the Cardassians had been watching for her. They didn't know she had been to Terok Nor-the station's constable, Odo, had seen to that-but they suspected her. They suspected her of everything, but could never catch her. Not for want of trying.
    She sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. She could feel the sweat at the roots. She wished Javi would hurry. She didn't like waiting in this heat.
    Finally, a woman slipped out of one of the tents. She wore a ripped dark dress, stained with sweat and dirt. The poverty here-even among the resistance-broke Kira's heart.
    "Javi will see you now," the woman said.
    Kira wasn't sure she wanted to go inside the tent. It had to be even hotter in there. But she climbed up the small incline to the creek side where the tent was, and slipped inside.
    She had been right. It was hotter here. The heat felt old and oppressive, as if it had been accumulating for days instead of hours. Javi sat cross-legged near his portable computer system the heart and soul of each resistance cell, Shakaar had once called those things. Javi was thinner than he had been the last time Kira saw him. His skin had the look of malnutrition, but his eyes were still bright.
    Near him sat Corda, his second in command. She was taller than Kira and too thin as well. But on her it looked tough, as if the dry air and the heat and the lack of food had hardened her skin and made her more resilient.
    "Sorry to keep you waiting, Nerys." Javi spoke slowly, as he always had. He had been part of Shakaar's cell for a brief time, and he had always irritated Kira with his cautious consideration of each decision. Apparently he had annoyed Shakaar too, because one day Kira heard that Javi had left with some of his own people to form a new cell. They were on speaking terms, though, and still had the same goals, unlike some of the resistance cells Kira had come into contact with. There were some that frightened even her, with their talk of noble suicide and total destruction.
    "If I had known what it was like in here, Javi," Kira said, "I would have insisted you keep me waiting longer."
    Javi shrugged. "You get used to the heat."
    "Maybe you can get used to this heat. I certainly