Free Star Trek: Terok Nor 02: Night of the Wolves by S.D. Perry

that They are still there. We can hear the voices of the Prophets coming from our own hearts, if we take the time to listen.”
    “And what does your heart tell you of what is happening to Bajor?” Fasil asked. “What will happen, if we cannot come together?”
    There was an answer, but she’d struggled so long to deny it, to adhere to what her own spiritual leaders had so strongly advocated. To embrace it as truth, she had to ignore a lifetime of teaching.
    She’d had dreams. Since she was a girl, she’d had dreams about things. Fire and death. Struggle and rebirth. People she knew but didn’t recognize. Her Orb experiences had been powerful, riddled with symbols and imagery that she barely understood, but the themes were clear and persistent.
    Always embrace the truth. Always speak your heart.
    “I don’t need to be convinced that the Prophets speak to us,” Fasil continued. “And perhaps the D’Jarra s were once the best way for us to live together. But things are different now. You’re right, the Cardassians were responsible for Father’s death. They are a violent people. They’ve taken Bajor from us—and we’ve let them do it, clinging to a system that doesn’t allow us to come together and stop them.”
    Sulan studied him, feeling slightly breathless. “Where did you learn to be so opinionated?” She wrapped a piece of coarse linen around the handle of the kettle and removed it from the fire. “Certainly not from me.”
    “From none other,” Fasil replied, smiling. “I know that I come from stubborn stock, and for this I am grateful.”
    Opaka used a long-handled pestle to mash the kava, turning the clear broth into a thickened stew. “Fasil,” she mused. “I see that you are becoming an adult…But the way you speak makes it seem as though it has already happened.”
    Fasil seemed to deflate slightly at her mild response, reminding her that he was still a child in some ways. “I don’t mean to defy you, Mother.”
    “I know that. You have always been a good son.” She sighed, smiled at him. “In truth, my heart tells me that you are right. The kai, what there is of the Vedek Assembly—they only wish to maintain the integrity of the faith, but this is no longer the Bajor of our forebears. Your assessment of the D’jarra s is what I believe.”
    It was a relief to speak it aloud, and she was suddenly hungry. A funny reaction to deciding that one’s spiritual betters were wrong, but there it was. She brought the kettle to the table, dishing out small portions of the chalky soup.
    Fasil hesitated before raising his arms in thanks to the Prophets for his meal. “If you believe it—then that is what you must teach.”

3
    G il Damar busied himself triple-checking the conference room’s comm feeds, to accommodate the individuals who would be “attending” the meeting via link. Among those would be Legate Danig Kell of Central Command, Dukat’s immediate superior. Damar knew that this meeting represented a great deal to Dukat; it was his first chance, as Bajor’s prefect, to actively demonstrate for these officials the direction he wished to take Bajoran relations. It was important that Damar and the other officers in charge of the preparations take care not to overlook anything.
    As the visiting officials began to arrive, Damar stepped aside to let them pass, bowing or saluting each man as he took his seat around the heavy table. Four provincial overseers were attending in person from the surface, as well as six of the more influential base commanders; for most, this was their first visit to Terok Nor. Seven more officials would be present via link, and recordings of the meeting would be viewed by a score of other important men.
    Damar lingered in the corner as Dukat had instructed him, waiting to be summoned by any of the attendees for a glass of rokassa juice or, for some of the coarser attendees, kanar . Damar himself couldn’t stand the syrupy stuff, never having developed a taste