Free Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Soul Key by Olivia Woods

thing’s ineffable mysteries seemed to taunt her, making her more determined than ever to unlock the secret of its use.
    At Shing-kur’s suggestion, Iliana turned the artifact over to her for scientific analysis while Iliana pored over file after file of Bajoran prophecy and theological scholarship, looking for insights that went beyond the empirical. For the part of her that was Kira Nerys, becoming reacquainted with her culture’s sacred scripture and spiritual philosophy felt a lot like coming home.
    Even so, it was difficult to find anything that brought her closer to understanding the Paghvaram, in part because there was no reference to it in any of the texts that Taran’atar had sent her. It seemed to occupy no place in the history of the Bajoran religion, or in the indistinct visions of the future that paved the Paths walked by the faithful.
    Needing a break from what increasingly felt like a pointless exercise, Iliana set aside her reading to look in on Shing-kur, who had spent most of the last several days in the workshop that she had transformed into her personal laboratory.
    “Any progress?” Iliana demanded as she entered the lab. The Kressari was making adjustments to a ceiling-mounted sensor array whose scanning nodes were presently triangulated on the illuminated table directly below them, upon which rested the enigmatic bracelet.
    “That depends on your point of view,” Shing-kur told her.
    “Explain,” said Iliana.
    “The scans I’ve taken are consistent with the Orb studies done aboard Deep Space 9. This stone is an Orb fragment,” Shing-kur confirmed. “But like its larger cousins, it defies any more meaningful analysis by conventional scanning equipment. I can’t tell you what it’s made of, or how it works, or why it works.”
    Iliana found it difficult to keep the frustration out of her voice. “So what you’re saying is, you can’t determine anything beyond what Starfleet has already been able to learn about the Orbs.”
    “Not quite,” Shing-kur said. “There is one important difference. I can tell you with absolute certainty that this object is not from this universe.”
    “We already know that! It came from the wormhole—”
    “That isn’t what I’m talking about.”
    “What, then? How can you know it came from another universe if the scans can’t even tell you…” Iliana stopped herself and looked at the artifact, realization slowly settling in. “The bracelet?”
    Shing-kur nodded as blackness swelled in her eyes. “The bracelet.”
    Although Iliana was willing to concede that thebracelet that held the Orb fragment was beautiful, it was otherwise unremarkable. “What’s so special about the bracelet?”
    “Nothing, in and of itself. The metal is simply a solid band of gold composite, consistent with pre-modern Bajoran craftsmanship…but its quantum resonance signature places its origin in the Intendant’s universe.”
    The Intendant’s…? Iliana thought, her mind racing. But according to the files, the alternate Bajor doesn’t have any Orbs. They haven’t even discovered the wormhole that the Orbs came from yet!
    Then suddenly, she had the answer.
    “Of course,” Shing-kur continued, “I’m not quite sure yet how this information can help us, but it is a curious…Are you all right, Nerys?”
    Iliana had started pacing the room, feeling a smile begin to spread across her face that Shing-kur was already sharing with her.
    “It’s fate,” Iliana whispered.
    Shing-kur’s eyes adopted the aquamarine-and-pink hues of mild confusion. “I’m…not sure I understand.”
    Iliana could scarcely contain her mounting excitement. She went to the Kressari and grabbed her shoulders.
    “We’ve been thinking about this all wrong, Shing,” she said. “This thing is an Orb fragment. It’s a construct of the Prophets. The Prophets exist outside of time. A Bajoran would say it works when it’s fated to work.”
    “Meaning what?” asked Shing-kur. “We have to