Twist of Faith (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) by S. D. Perry; Weddle David; Jeffrey Lang; Keith R. A. DeCandido

Author:S. D. Perry; Weddle David; Jeffrey Lang; Keith R. A. DeCandido
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science fiction, Star Trek fiction, Space Opera, General, Science-Fiction:Star Trek, Science Fiction, American, Adventure, Fiction
ISBN: 9781416534150
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2007-04-30T09:01:45.645000+00:00

Chapter Six

With less than an hour before the Euphrates was to depart, Ro Laren sat in the security office, studying the copious and astonishingly detailed files Odo had left behind.

All but a few of her deputies and supplemental Starfleet personnel were already gone. With so few people on the station, and so much of it currently powered down, onboard security was far less complicated. Ro had decided to use her remaining time to listen to some of Morn’s stories, attempt to uncover whatever skullduggery Quark might be engaged in, and read through her predecessor’s database. She enjoyed Morn’s stories, had managed to quietly sabotage the worst of Quark’s indiscretions, and was dutifully amazed at the quantity and quality of Odo’s records. There was information buried in the security office that she suspected was unknown even to Starfleet Intelligence.

Shortly after she first came aboard, she had uncovered the first cache of redundantly encrypted files in an innocuous subsector in the office’s dedicated mainframe. She wondered if even Kira knew they were there. It had taken Ro five full days of studying the computer system just to figure out what Odo had done to safeguard the hidden files. Then another twelve days to devise a way to access them without tripping the EM pulse that would wipe the data if she’d made a single mistake. Her persistence paid off in the end; the files were hers now, and it was gratifying to know that some of the more subtle skills she’d learned with Starfleet and the Maquis could be combined so effectively.

After she started reading, Ro had been tempted to anonymously contact a couple of the most begrimed individuals mentioned therein and send them a tidbit or two, just to see what would happen. Fortunately, she waited long enough to let the temptation pass. Within a day or two, the wisdom of Odo’s designs had become clearer. This wealth of material was meant to be salted away until a moment in the indefinite future—the proverbial rainy day—when it would be most useful. Strangely, that day had apparently never arrived, even in the darkest moments of the Dominion War, but then again, this was not that kind of data. It wasn’t the sort of information that would save an empire or a world or even an army. It might save one or two lives—special lives, the lives of those who might someday change the luck of armies or worlds or even empires.

If Quark ever learned about this—She smiled at the thought.

Ro noted the time and decided she’d better get to the Euphrates. She closed the files and checked the encryption codes again. She’d considered backing up the data, a risky move, but she didn’t trust the station core right now for obvious reasons. Instead, she’d taken the precaution of asking Nog to physically retrieve the security datacore in the unlikely event that DS9 had to be abandoned. She was taking a chance trusting Nog, but not, Ro thought, a big chance. Ro liked him.

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