Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Soul Key Read Online Free Page B

moba.
    “Not terribly,” Opaka said. “But I see qualities in you that she couldn’t even begin to emulate, and I say that as someone who has made a study of Intendant Kira for many years, albeit from a safe distance.”
    “Lady Opaka,” Vaughn said. “Is it true that the Bajoran religious enclaves are aligned with the Terran Rebellion?”
    Opaka’s expression as she turned toward Vaughn seemed to border on amusement. “Yes,” she answered. “In fact, you could almost say that Vekobet representsthe marriage of the two groups. Years ago, I was one of the first to rally to Benjamin Sisko’s banner, after he took up the cause of freedom for the Alliance’s underclass. I fought at his side until we both came to realize that a violent uprising of former slaves would not be enough.”
    “What did you think you’d have to do next?” Vaughn asked.
    “There wasn’t much more we could do, at least not without widening the conflict,” Opaka said. “For the rebellion to succeed over the long term, it needed sympathizers within the Alliance itself—willing accomplices who could support the rebels secretly, with resources and intelligence. I left the front lines of the struggle and returned to Bajor to see what I could accomplish behind the scenes on the rebellion’s behalf, for I knew I was not alone in my dissidence; others on Bajor felt as I did—men and women who yearned for the dissolution of our unholy pact with the Klingons and the Cardassians, for a return to the kind of world that Bajor used to be. But it wasn’t until I came to Vekobet that I learned what it would truly entail to recapture that lost identity.
    “Here I found kindred spirits among the enclave’s leaders,” Opaka went on, nodding toward Winn. “And working together we have tried to unify the Bajoran dissident movement with the Terran Rebellion. As you’ve undoubtedly gathered by now, Vekobet is far more than a labor camp. It is both a religious sanctuary and a secret training facility for freedom fighters. The workers here are not really slaves; they are soldiers awaiting their moment. They continue to do the work of mining ore in order to maintain our cover…and because our minesyield far more uridium than even the Bajoran Parliament knows. This makes it possible for us to smuggle out a sizable quantity of unprocessed ore through third parties to rebel bases beyond the B’hava’el system.”
    “And the other enclaves?” Vaughn asked.
    “Not all of them are like this one, but each does what it can to advance the dual causes of Bajoran renewal and freedom from the Alliance.”
    “That must be a huge risk for all of you,” Kira said.
    “The risk to our pagh would be far greater if we did nothing, child,” Winn said.
    “Well spoken, Adami,” said a new voice. Vaughn and Kira turned to see a tall man with close-cropped white hair entering the refectory through a back door. He strode toward the table, his tan-and-blue medical smock flattering his broad-shouldered frame. “Please forgive my tardiness. I was with a patient, but I came as soon as I could.”
    The words had been softly spoken, but had an edge like steel. Kira recognized him at once—as the man who, in her universe, had once attempted to seize power on Bajor by leading a military-backed political coup. She rose automatically.
    “Jaro.”
    “Doctor Jaro Essa,” the man clarified. “I’m the camp physician, and the third leader of the Vekobet enclave. I’m quite pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Kira.”
    “It’s Captain Kira, actually,” she said. “This is my first officer, Commander—”
    “Elias,” Jaro breathed, a glint of surprised recognition suddenly evident in his dark brown eyes.
    “You know my counterpart,” Vaughn said, evidently making the same deduction that Kira had.
    Jaro merely nodded, studying the human commander in apparent fascination.
    “Since we’re all here now, let’s get to the heart of it, shall we?” Opaka said as Jaro