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The gripper-slippers were just a little too big for Dolores, but an extra pair of socks took care of that; then she could get used to them and had an easier time of it. For the first hour or so, anyway; after that her legs and feet began to ache because of the different way a person had to move, walking with just Velcro to hold you down.
The woman showing her around was nice enough. Kynon Nagada her name was, built slim but strong, with long blue-black hair and a complexion no makeup could match. Said she came from northern Japan, which Dolores wouldn't have figured just by her coloring..
Anyway, when Dolores got tired and needed to rest, Kynon didn't complain about waiting, but showed her on the plansheets where they were and where they'd been. It wasn't encouraging; all that space and not much covered yet. Even with Lucius and the marshal working their own routes to split the job. The thing was, just the three cylinders of decks between the rotating part of the ship and its central tube, they added to something like 3 or 4 acres, all in sections you had to go back and forth through a lot, to cover. Up one corridor and down another, checking to see what might be hiding behind each and every door.
And that didn't count the big central tube (mostly sealed cargo, thank God) or the Deployment Module or rotating belts or 12 damned fins Kynon helpfully showed her on the plans and Dolores would just as soon she hadn't. All this had to be checked, and maybe Marshal Gammon knew for sure Jacqueline couldn't sneak past the micro-vidcams he and Lucius and Dolores were all using, planting them for to monitor points of access while specific areas were searched. The devices weren't going to run out of film (or tape, or whatever the hell they used) he explained, because they were motion-activated. When something changed in the field of view, the thing began recording, and then kept going as long as any motion continued. So all you saw when you ran it off was people moving past, not the long stretches of no action.
But Dolores still had her doubts. Although Gammon had marked for her, on the plansheets, the camera sites and the order in which she was supposed to utilize them.
The whole mess was discouraging as all hell.
But after booting herself four years ahead on the calendar by the time she got back to Earth, Dolores Deacon Sisko (and to hell with Vinson!) hated to give up. Enduring twinges, she stood. "Okay, hon. I'm ready for another lap if you are."
Seeing the ready bright smile and springy stance, Dolores almost hated young Kynon Nagada.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbzzTaxm5P
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Tensed inside, Ben shoved the bottle of wine at Marlena Moreau as soon as she opened her door. "Here, I thought...."
"Well, thanks! You didn't have to. Come on in." She didn't look so standoffish now: a casual dress, her hair's rebellious waves unbound, even a hint of perfume.
As he moved to step past her as she caught his arm. "Let me open this. If it's---ah yes, you've chilled it." They stood facing and close; why? What'd she want?
Tentatively he started to put an arm around her but she stepped back, saying, "Sorry, wrong signal. Sit down, won't you? We can sample the wine." As she walked toward her kitchen area she added, "J.M. told me you give good listen. Well, that's what we need first of all....I think."
Ben's brief laugh ended more relaxed than it'd began. "Whatever you want." He chose a compact armchair facing a little table, and waited while she brought two glasses, filled higher than your average restaurant usually does. She pulled a lighter chair over to face him, and raised her glass.
He responded. "Here's to listening. Talk away."
After their ritual sips, Marlena said, "I had you all wrong, Sisko; I thought it must be your doing, Jim's being pulled off the ship and you taking his place. Because you had previous space experience and were senior, and maybe you wanted...."
As he started to speak she cut him off. "Oh, I know better now. I was fighting the idea that Jim Kirk would leave us of his own accord." She made a sourmouth face. "I never did find out exactly what happened, just that he ended up on the wrong end of some kind of official inquiry. But I do know that when Jim left this ship it wasn't his idea---or yours either."
She spread his hands. "So."
"So thanks for telling me." Tasting the wine again he felt self-congratulatory about his selection. But now what? "Uh---is there anything more you think I should know?"
Her grin came impish. "I wouldn't touch that line with a decapod from Belgrade."
His mind was tuned in another direction, so for some moments he didn't catch on. When he did, first he chuckled and then he kissed her, and it all went well enough. But not where Ben partly hoped and halfway expected; they wound up sharing a kind of foldout chaise lounge and watching an old holo of The Bold Vera starring Dixie Rolfes and Helene Bouchard. That one really took him back....
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"How do you know? How can you be sure?" Soaking her aching legs in the pulldown sitting-trough that passed for a bathtub in her assigned quarters, Dolores glared at Marshal Gammon. "This rat's nest of a ship! When you search a section, how do you know my daughter hasn't doubled back and gotten past you?"
The way the big man's brows drew down, his patience had to be worn close to blowout. He said, "If you placed the microcams as marked, in the order I indicated, leaving them in place each time we stop to eat or sleep, your coverage should be complete. Mine and Gotham's surely are."
More than once they'd worked straight through the night; Dolores had no idea how long since she'd felt caught up on her sleep. There had been another attack of 0G nausea, but not for long; now she seemed to have it whipped. But not the main problem. "We must've missed something."
"I promise you, Ms. Sisko, that young Jacqueline did not evade our search. She is not, in fact, on this ship."
The residential belt? The high-weight auxiliary? The external fins? All 3 operating-tube decks? The central tube with all that cargo space and the drive rooms? The Deployment Module? "You haven't missed a possibility, Ms. Sisko. And neither have I. She's not aboard. I've broken my ass for you on her, lady, and I'm happy to tell you my work is finished."
"The hell it is! There's still Ben."
Gammon sighed. "All right; what is it you expect now?"380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6yhCvGYEx
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Talking with Marlena Moreau, Ben decided, was habit-forming. On this second meeting in her digs, she was wearing more casual clothing, they were practically exchanging life stories. A bit at a time, really, as one of his experiences would remind her of one of hers, or the other way around. He was into an area she couldn't match, though---his tour on Jupiter---when the chime interrupted.
She reached to the intercom. "Moreau, here."
"Lt. Moreau, is Sisko with you?" Colt. "I've checked the galley, rec room, his quarters---and he's not here in the lounge. He..."
Now how had J.M. picked up, so soon, on this barely budding attachment? Oh well; Ben moved over. "Sisko here. What's up, J.M.?"
"Trouble, and lots of it. Your interloping friends demand presence. Given a chance, the captain would have them tossed into the Earthgate bag and baggage, but you know as well as I do that regs don't give him that authority Bottom line---you need to report."
Sisko sighed. "All right, I'll be there." He turned to Marlena. "I'm sorry. Maybe this won't take long, but just in case...." He'd been looking forward to smooching her again; now he did, and surely she was putting more into it this time.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6PMU5ofQu
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J.M. Colt figured it was quickly becoming his business so he'd better pay attention. As Ben Sisko entered the main lounge he looked around to see who all was in the game.
The raven-haired harpy, of course, and the outsized badge-toting bureaucrat and skinny lawyer. Gotham had to be a fairly young man, but between lowering brow-ridges and prominent cheekbones his eyes were sunk so deeply as to give him a cadaverous look. Well, it sure as hell matched his attitude. And all three had their things packed, luggage sitting next to the seats they occupied.
Paul Stamets held the watch, backed by Hikaru Sulu and Kynon Nakada. So with Sisko and himself, the only ones sitting and belted in, the bridge was just as full of people as J.M. had ever seen it.
"I'm reporting as ordered, Captain," said Ben, and Archer acknowledged. When nobody else spoke, Sisko said, "Whatever it is you want, Dolores, get to it. Or whichever stooge is next up to bat."
The marshal cleared his throat. "Since you've failed to comply with the court order, Ms. Sisko demands that I cite you for contempt and extradite you to Earth to face charges. How long will you need to get your belongings together?"
Seeing Ben's grin form, J.M. braced himself. But he spoke mildly. "No time at all. Because I'm not going anywhere with you. If you're leaving now, then bon voyage."
Lucius Gotham raised his voice. "You're defying not only the courts but the authority of a United Nations Marshal?"
"You're light-years out of your jurisdiction, my friend," said Sisko.
"On a WASA ship?" Gammon shook his head. "Distance doesn't change anything. You're in contempt and you'll answer for it."
Jonathan Archer's expression brightened; here, it said, was his chance to get a word in edgewise. "WASA built this ship, yes, but funding was provided by way of the United States Space Consortium. And beginning with the precedent set by Stargazer, all ships are crewed and administered under US auspices. I'm sorry, Marshal Gammon (well, no, he wasn't, not really) but you have no more authority here than you'd have in Washington D.C. back on Earth. You might say that aboard this ship Mr. Sisko enjoys the protection of the United States of America."
Ben stared; obviously he'd had no more idea than J.M. that Jonathan had it in him!
Gammon glared. "That's not what I was told when they sent me out here. And I'm not going to piss off four years' C-Gatelag, going to Earth for confirmation and coming back." He turned on Ben. "All right mister, your smartass tactics just cost you a few more points. Your buddies can send your effects along after you. Right now, you're coming with me."
"You and what army?" Unbuckling, Paul Stamets approached the marshal; Colt and Sisko weren't far behind him. "Just how do you figure to kidnap our man?"
Gammon stood also. "The word is arrest and the means are right here." From inside his bulky jacket he drew a large, awkward-looking laser gun. "Any more questions for me?"
J.M. felt his face draw tight. His voice came out shrill.
"One you should have asked before you came here! You idiot, do you know the penalty for bringing that damn thing aboard a starship?"
He'd rattled him! Overcoming a sudden stammer the marshal blurted. "I'll worry about that when we get back. Come on, you," to Ben, and to J.M. "you too. You're an officer; should be able to work the C-Gate for me."
Damn him. "I'll come, all right, and I'll be right behind you at Bolt Park. You won't so much as even get off the base before you're in custody. Whatever you expect the courts to do to Ben won't be a a patch on what you get."
For moments he thought the marshal was really going to shoot....whether him or Ben, or both, he wasn't sure at all. But even while his gut clenched in fear he glared, trying to stare the man down.
Finally the marshal lowered the gun. To Dolores he said, "My fault. I didn't do enough homework after all." Then to Ben or J.M. or maybe both. "I could still take the round trip and come back with a warrant that would hold up. But it's not worth it; a man has to take a loss every once in a while."
He exhaled an explosive snort. "All right, Gotham, Ms. Sisko. Let's get our lazy asses in gear and go home." He turned to match J.M.'s glare. "You figure you can work the C-Gate now? And think again about charging me with anything, since I won't be taking Sisko, I doubt anybody's going to do more than slap my wrist about the piece." The gun, he meant....
"Forget the piece," said Ben Sisko. "Just keep it under your coat, or maybe stow it in your bag. So long as you're leaving peacefully---and I trust you'll keep things that way at the far end?"
Gammon nodded. "That seems best, Mr. Sisko."
"Then I see no reason we should even mention the weapon in our own reports."
Now J.M. saw why had stayed silent through so much of this hassle. If others wanted to carry the ball, and could, he let them. But when his turn came around he spoke up, all right.
He found it him to smile at Paul Stamets. "That sounds reasonable to me." He gestured. "This way to the C-Gate, folks."380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNL140psii
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Walking to the rear quadrant of the bridge, then halfway around its circumference to Earthmouth, Ben carried Dolores's bags. Moving beside him, still incongruously awkward on the Velcros, his ex-wife held silence. When they were almost there, J.M. up ahead already bringing the C-Gate's circuitry to operational mode, he said, "If Jacqueline's back on Earth, Dolores, I'm asking Senator Berman to set up a guardianship for her." The request hadn't gone in yet, but let this woman think whatever she wanted to think. "Don't fight it, okay?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Her tone made it a question of reason, not spite. Then, abruptly, her eyes widened. "You mean you really don't know? Where Jacqueline is, I mean?"
"I really don't. Sorry."
He saw her chewing over his answer. But then: "How can you ask me never to see my own child?"
"I'm not. Just don't try to make her live with you, that's all." His mouth twitched; play acting or not, his anger was real. "What she told me about that bastard Vinson..."
Dolores stopped in her tracks. "All right, what did she say? She didn't stay around long enough to tell me anything, and I never did get any answers out of Arthur."
The old rage clogged his throat; finally he said, "He had them both naked in the bathtub and got grabby. Is that enough?"
In a rasping whisper she said, "I'll murder him!"
"If he's using half as much dope as Jacqueline seems to think, by now the stuff may have done the job for you. For us. And speaking of dope...."
She shook her head. "All right, I let it get out of hand. That's over." She paused. "Anything else you want to say?"
He thought about it. "Just----Dolores, you knew me pretty well; for one thing, you knew I couldn't lie worth owlshit. So why wouldn't you believe me when I told you I'd had no track with Tasha on Jupiter?"
Shockingly her face turned white. "Don't you ever ask me that!"
And then J.M. had the C-Gate ready. Without another word Dolores joined her two companions in the booth, and after a few seconds while the Cochrane fields built up, Ben saw the colors burst to conceal the group's departure.
Whatever reasons Dolores had, he'd never know them now.
Closing down the C-Gate's transmit mode, J.M. came over and grasped his arm. "It's over, big fella. Marlena's waiting for you at the exit. She wants to buy you a drink."380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQpoZvl9MW
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It was the best thing that could've happened to him all night, but passing the bridge on their way to the transfer ring, Ben and Marlena caught a hail from Jonathan Archer. "Now I need you to fill me in on our legal position here. We've got to be careful...."
"Oh, really, Captain!" Marlena looked every bit as steamed up as she sounded. "We all heard everything; it's in the can."
Frown. "Lieutenant, please don't let your emerging affair with Mr. Sisko blind you to the possibility that we may not be legally clear...."
Ben just had to laugh. "Now look, cap'n, sir. You talked 'em out of jurisdiction, J.M. nailed the big teddy bear on what amounted to a heavy weapons violation. He bluffed, we bluffed, our bluff worked and his bluff didn't. End of litigation, before it starts." He took a deep breath. "Okay, captain?"
"I suppose so." Archer looked plaintive. "But how do I write this up in my report for Earth?"
Marlena sighed. "Who says Earth's gotta know everything? Look, I can do the log for this past hour or so. I'll submit it to J.M., see if he likes it, and if he likes it---and you like it---just put your name to it."
After a moment's frown, Archer nodded. 380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwGfV5PwpR
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"You were great----so was J.M.---all I could do to keep from laughing----scared for a minute there----me too----wondered why you didn't speak up sooner, but then----really nailed him----almost felt sorry---all over now---let's hope so----here, let me unfasten that----sure; oh, I see how----yes, there, yes now...."
For a time then, in Marlena's quarters, no talking except brief and urgent words, very much to the point. Until after a spell of silence. "My God, did I do that? I didn't mean to."
"It's all right; look at yourself, right there. I'm sorry."
"Same here. Or better, let's don't be. I guess it's been a while for you, too."
"Yes, I don't normally...."
"Me either. It just..."
The wounds of love proved minor, with just a few real scratches. Ice helped the swellings but induced a side effect: giggling. "Not there, you beast."
"Can't seem to keep my hands off you."
"Don't try---but hey----!"
"Well then, let's...."
This time was slower, more gentle---and on Ben's part at least, ended with all tension gone. As he lay, feeling his pulse slow to something near normal range, suddenly he realized what it was he had unaccountably, unforgivably forgotten.
"Marlena?"
"What?"
"Did J.M. say what he did with Jacqueline?"
Marlena stared him eye-to-eye. "All right, here's what he told me." He nodded. "She came into control panicked, keeping herself on tight rein but not by much; she was horrified all to hell and it showed. On a hunch I made up errands for Al and Kynon, so she could talk freely. Well, you know the story. And here came mama to drag her back to that. So"---spreading her hands-----"I went out on a limb all the way. The loop C-Gate was what she wanted; she insisted it was the only really safe answer. Finally I agreed and in she went."
For a moment he hugged her so tight something creaked, then eased back. "That's the best. I'd hoped, but there didn't seem any way it could have worked. And no one suspected at the time? Asked any questions?"
She shook her head. "No; it was the errands, you see. Al's was to get some treats from the galley, and J.M. sent Kynon for an item he knew wasn't there. They weren't thinking about Jacqueline."
Already his mind surged forward. "How long----? Let's see, it's been---what?"
"Another two weeks, I think. Give or take a day." He stood; she said, "What are you doing?"
Turning up the computer, Ben said, "Composing a message for Jonathan to send to Earth two weeks from now."
He got involved with his wording that for the first time since boarding Arrowprize he was late relieving the watch.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGa8fDtgjmi
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To Ben, the next days dragged; waiting for Jacqueline's reappearance was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do in his whole life. She was all right, of course---he knew that----but still and all.....
To distract himself he began checking the general news from Earth. On each of the two earlier ships, he knew, there had been an initial period of isolation from home developments; from the time the C-Gates were energized to transmit the first relief cadres until approximately the end of acceleration. Then news would start arriving---but 2 years out of date and compressed ten to one.
Here on Arrowprize there'd been a no news-dry period, but the time lag existed and compression was even worse. A year's events in 2 weeks, for God's sake! Even with severely selective culling at the far end, the glut had a paralyzing effect on Ben's interest; unless someone else told him about some Earthside event it passed him by totally.
Now he began skimming the incoming reports---and found he still wasn't much interested. Scandals of all kinds: political, financial, and general celebrity-type hanky-panky. Sports? he'd lost track of the changing headliners. Disasters, crises at this apparent rate of occurrence they all blended together in an almost-uniform stream of alarm and concern.
Yet he was fairly sure things in general were no worse than we hadn't been there to experience them in real time.
The hell with it. Siskko's attention reverted to his own concerns.
More and more his excitement built. If he had the timing right, his daughter's return would happen on one of J.M.'s watches. To be on the safe side, he showed up nearly 1 hour before his best guess.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6iWQ3IBMZ
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Once the tall 2nd officer sent the other two out of the control room, Jacqueline talked fast; why she couldn't let Dolores take her back, why daddy mustn't be be left in a position to be blamed, why the back-to-back C-Gate pair was the only solution that wouldn't put her in the power of strangers, why something had to be done fast. Colt frowned and shook his head a lot but at last agreed, so Jacqueline stepped into the local Mouth.
She'd brought her travel bag so they'd think she'd left the ship; now, having no idea how a C-Gate transit would affect her balance in 0G, she squatted on the lumpy thing, her Velcros holding her in place, and leaned against the booth's rear wall. From last-second urgency she called out, "Don't tell Daddy. Promise! Because---" But the flare of colors cut off the final word, and.....
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.............she found herself saying, "he can't lie!" from the different perspectives of the Ass and to Ben himself, seated next to Marlena Moreau and holding her hand. As Jacqueline stood, man and (new) mistress came forward, smiling, and both hugged her. Wow; just turn your back a second, and look what happens!
"Did Dolores come? Is she gone now? What...." Still wound up in the anxiety that brought her here just a few minutes ago, Jacqueline couldn't quit talking. Although now she had time to notice several others in the room, watching with evident curiosity, J.M. Colt included.
Finally Ben hushed her up. "Came and went, Jackie. A bity of a hectic time but it's over now." He told it so fast he had to be skipping a lot, but she thought he got the gist.
A UN marshal, no less, besides that vulture-faced Lucius Gotham; Dolores hadn't spared the horses. "But you got rid of them. And they won't be back?"
"What'd be the use?" Ben shrugged. "By Earth time it's well past your 16th birthday. Before you could reach there, your 18th will have passed. In fact we're sending a message to that effect, to be filled with the court of record. Want to see it?"
"Sure do!" He handed her the single sheet; after a long official-looking address and salutation the text part read:380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMClZznEce
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INASMUCH AS THE PRESENCE OF JACQUELINE SISKO HAS BEEN DISCOVERED ABOARD THIS SHIP, AND
INASMUCH AS HER DATE OF BIRTH IS MORE THAN SIXTEEN YEARS PAST AS OF THIS WRITING AND
INASMUCH AS, DUE TO THE TRANSIT TIME INHERENT IN ANY COCHRAN GATE, SHE WOULD BE CHRONOLOGICALLY ADULT BEFORE SHE COULD REACH EARTH.
THEREFORE, THE QUESTION OF CUSTODY IS NO LONGER GERMANE ON EARTH, AND IT IS REQUESTED THAT THE COURT DISSOLVE ANY ORDER PERTAINING TO SUCH CUSTODY.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZWb2PuUOu
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Signed by none other than Captain Jonathan Archer, now sitting with a self-conscious grin on his face.
"Thank you, captain!"
"Thank your father; he wrote it. I just signed it."
What could you say to that? "Well, thank you, anyway."380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYH6dzbYKG
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"Okay, what else has been going on?" Back in quarters, Jacqueline seemed pretty well recovered from her scare; what Ben saw in her face now was pure curiosity.
"Like what?" She just waited, so he said, "Well, the ship keeps moving along. Nothing of special interest spotted in space lately, but we still scan the sensor records just in case. Jacqueline was frowning so Ben eased up a little bit. "You've got to realize I was worried sick, not knowing where you were. But of course neither J.M. nor Marlena could give me any specific information until Dolores and Company were gone; I understood that and I'm glad you thought to her."
He paused. "And what else? Well, your mother looked pretty well; she says she's off the dope and I believe her. 0G gave her a couple of sick spells early on, but then she got used to it. Well enough to give me as much trouble as she could manage, but there's nothing new about that. Especially with the carrion crow Gotham here to jog her elbow...."
Ben shrugged. "That's about it, I guess."
Jacqueline looked skeptical. "Nothing else important happened?"
"I can't think of anything." That I want to talk about......
"No? What about this new girlfriend of yours, this Marlena Moreau? You two looked pretty chummy, I thought." Her level stare held him. "Decide to pair up with her, or just working up to it?"
His hand brushed air, warding off the words. "I don't know. Maybe. I think.....it's early on; we..."
"Oooh-kay." She looked around. "Hasn't moved in yet, I can see that much. So I don't need to hustle my own quarters for a while, anyway."
"Quarters? Why? Don't you like Marlena?"
"Sure I do. She seems nice. But J.M. Colt's my real hero; he stepped in right when the marshal pulled his showdown. It's just that...." Jacqueline shrugged. "I'm the wrong age to live underfoot of a couple of newlyweds. Wouldn't you say?"
Now that Ben thought about, she was absolutely right. He told her so. And, "You're growing up too damn fast; you know that?"
Judging by her grin, she listened not to what he said but what he mean.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJmfj70UkA
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Partly by design and partly by luck, none of Arrowprize's crew had arrived on board carrying any cold or flu viruses to pass around. That no visitor, welcome or not, had done so was the purest of gravy. Be that as it may, the result was that in over seven weeks of shipboard life, nobody had come down with anything of the kind. Or for that matter, any ailment worthy of mention.
So when Kynon Nagada reported to Ben's next watch looking and moving like 20 years at hard labor, naturally he asked her what was the matter.
"I don't know; I just feel like hell. I can't eat, Mr. Sisko, and I'm not sleeping well at all. And then I get these awful pains." One hand to her right side. "Here." It looked a little tight for appendicitis, but you never know.
"Kynon, maybe you should just go lie down. I can call someone to sub for you. And then if you're not feeling better...."
No, she insisted, she'd be all right. But about 20 minutes later she grabbed her side and bent forward, groaning.
What the hell! Sisko considered; Arrowprize had no real medical facilities; none of the starships did. In case of urgent need the C-Gates gave immediate access to the best WASA had to offer, so why bother?
But Jet Ducote in his younger days had been a navy medic at the petty officer level, and for this assignment he'd had a crash update on that training. So Ben got on the horn for him, and soon the stocky man, looking worried, reported. His examination, eyeballing then palpating for soreness, took less than 1 minute.
"This is a guess, mind you, but I have to say gall bladder. I'm not that pat with the symptoms; notice how yellow the whites of her eyes are, though. That smells like jaundice."
Kynon was quieter now, but her face showed pain. Sisko said, "Can you do anything for her?"
"Yes. Send her back. Right now. Put in a message first to alert them at base, while we gather what she'll be needing immediately; the rest of her things can go later. But Mr. Sisko, I say send her right now!"
And they did. She was barely conscious enough to realize what was going on, and to say goodbye.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyg00IJNbtD
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Hoshi Sato, J.M. thought, looked like a kid who's just been told Santa Claus is a child molester. Carrying the last of Kynon's things to Earthmouth for transmission, she stood disconsolate as Colt brought the C-Gate up to operational mode.
"Don't look so sad, Hoshi."
"But I can't help it! If they'd left her stuff her, we could think she's coming back. But this way...."
"Regulations, that's all. Maybe she'll be back, maybe they'll send a substitute. Either way it's two months before we find out." This was what? Day 54 since boarding. Something like that. Less than 4 years on Earth.
Hoshi sighed despair. "Somebody else, it wouldn't be the same. Kynon was my best friend."
"Yes, she certainly was," J.M. said. He thought of James Kirk and of Ben Sisko. "Things won't be the same without her."
Maybe they'll be better.380Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CkIHXt4TC
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Nearly 5 years! Dolores found it hard to believe. But besides the doubled C-Gate lag she'd been on Arrowprize about two weeks; times 25, that made almost a year in itself. Ben hadn't been kidding.
On arrival at Bolt Park she first proved to her own satisfaction that Jacqueline hadn't returned here. These people logged everything; she could see no way they might have doctored up the records----not, to be fair, any reason why they should. A lot of these weren't the same folks she'd seen before; mostly they didn't know here or Ben from Adam.
She had a bad day while she swallowed the bitter fact that Jacqueline was gone, gone, gone. Her daughter wasn't here, supposedly wasn't on the ship and she guessed Marshal Gammon did know his profession well enough that she could take his word for it. Which left one of those goddamned C-Gates---and anything that takes 2 or 34 years to check out each possibility, you can't do a helluva lot about. So she faced her loss and ate it.
Taking a final look around the place, she wondered what had become of the Taft lookalike; Dolores had some words to say to that one. Send her off to 0G in heels!
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At first bite Lucius wanted retainer for the full period and by Earth reckoning. She dickered him down from that, but still he took a whopping slice of her assets. Even though they had grown considerably, she having made some pretty good term investments before she left. And if Arthur had tried to do her any damage behind her back, as Ben had warned he might, it did not show in her overall accounts.
She still wanted to recoup a bit, though. And she had some ideas about that. Such as combining profit with paying off someone she figured she owed a good swift kick in the balls.
There was no way to get at Senator Berman and Dolores knew it. Oh, she could mount up a nuisance lawsuit for interfering with the execution of a court order, sending Ben warning of her arrival on the ship. But that would take years to prove, if she could at all; more likely, only Lucius would gain.
Arthur, though, Arthur, by God! She considered and discarded several plans before settling on one. When she rented an apartment across town from him, using the name Eartha Deacon, she wore a lightish skin toner to complement her hair---now shortish, curly, and dyed blonde. High heels gave way to flats, and sleek bright dresses to sober tweeds. Maybe her precautions were overly elaborate---but the way Dolores saw it, if nobody recognized her, nobody could nail her.
Then she had to check out a few matters. Things hadn't changed all that much; Arthur still lived at his home, of course, and there various young women came and went quite often. By frequenting some really seedy streets and taking chances she likely wouldn't have. Dolores learned the current whereabouts and phone numbers of two of his major supplies that she knew of. A third had vanished. That was the dope business for you.....
Then one evening she spent a brief but busy time at the telephone. If the orders she placed with "Butcher" Draven and with "Jackhammer" Bellisario, "calling for Arthur---you know, the ol' Vinson," were delivered as promised, the combined UNADO (United Nations Anti-Drug Organization)-and city drug bust her tipoffs had initiated might well establish what Dolores had reported on the phone: that Arthur was a really, really big man in the operation. He had done some dealing in the past, she knew that much for sure---but mostly as middleman, to insulate his rich colleagues from the likes of Butcher and Jackhammer.
She didn't stick around to see all the shit hit the fan, only long enough to collect her reward: a percentage of the rather modestly estimated value of the drugs taken at Arthur's house and then---when the wringer started to squeeze on Arthur---at Butcher's base and Jackhammer's. An hour after she cashed the checks (depositing the proceeds quickly into another bank under her legal name), she was in the Global Delta boarding line. And, with the temporary aid of the new blond wig, looking pretty much her normal self again.
Which wasn't all bad. One thing about this whole mess here she was, not just appearing but being five years younger than her chronological age. Over the long run, it couldn't hurt.
During the next 2 weeks Dolores caught the Arthur Vinson story in bits and pieces on the late news, from her high-rise suite overlooking the Golden Gate.
It was nice to be back in the Golden State!
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