Star Trek Deep Space Nine - 54 - Fearful Symmetry by Star Trek

Author:Star Trek
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781416567813
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2008-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

2

2357

They moved as one. Skin against skin, their bodies entwined, fingers gently roaming as their breathing gradually fell in step and their hearts began to beat in unison, faster and faster toward a shared ecstasy that came in steady, surging waves. Iliana held on to the feeling, prolonged it, gasping as it reached its zenith and overwhelmed her…then released it, her breath escaping with an audible sigh as she floated back to the world.

Afternoon light warmed her eyelids as her head fell upon her pillow. She felt Ataan settle against her, their hearts and lungs slowly resuming their natural, separate rhythms.

When the breeze from her dormitory window caressed her skin, dissipating its heat and stimulating the nerves toward wakefulness, her eyes opened to night. The darkness was broken only by the glow of Letau, Cardassia’s innermost moon, throwing soft blue rays into her room. She no longer felt Ataan against her.

Shifting, Iliana saw him sitting up in her bed, his handsome face tinged orange from the glow of a padd in his hand. He looked at her. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” he whispered.

She shook her head slightly, not yet ready to raise it from the pillow. “What time is it?”

“Almost midnight. Are you hungry?”

In fact, she was famished, but her sudden distress pushed out any thought of food. “Midnight? Why’d you let me sleep? You have to leave in the morning!”

He shrugged. “Once I board the transport, my time is my own. I can sleep during the voyage. Now you’re rested, and we can both be awake for our remaining hours together.”

Remaining hours. It sounded like waiting to die. This past month with Ataan had seemed surreal, dreamlike. They’d spent every possible moment together, including her enrollment and relocation to Pra Menkar University. Ataan’s duties had been thankfully light during that time; he’d even been around to help her get settled into the dormitory…and subsequently shared a number of nights in her bed. Now on this, the eve of his departure for Bajor, it felt as if an essential part of her life was ending.

She pushed the unpleasant thought away, tried to focus on something else. Her eyes found the device in Ataan’s hand and she tried to lose herself in its pinpoint lights.

Ataan followed her gaze and, mistaking her interest in the padd for curiosity, explained, “Cultural briefing on Bajor. Gul Pirak insisted we brush up on the customs and recent history of the planet in preparation for our mission. He’s convinced we need to bond with the locals if we’re going to make any progress against the terrorists.”

Iliana nodded but said nothing in reply, hoping Ataan would take the hint and change the subject.

Instead, he continued, “He has high hopes about the assignment. He wants to show the Bajorans that we’d be much stronger working together than we are by remaining at odds.”

She remembered Pirak’s enthusiasm for the “more subtle approach” toward Bajor that Gul Dukat had espoused. Their apparent interest in, as he put it, “altering the message” Cardassia was sending Bajor had struck her as an encouraging sign.

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