"New transfers?" Kira asked.

Sisko nodded. "One junior engineer, one junior command officer and one junior medical officer. Their records are quite something. Just read this one."

The Major took one of the records from the Commander's desk.

Lieutenant-Commander Zophar Kirk, junior engineer with a minor in micro technology and a major in trans warp beaming.

"He's half-Cardassian, are you sure that's a wise choice?" the Bajoran woman asked.

"I'm not in charge of that." the human replied.

*//*

A small shuttle arrived from the USS Excelsior, carrying only three passengers.

Security Chief Odo stood at the entrance portal to greet the new officers.

The first transfer to come out was a young man in a blue station suit. He was young, most possibly around his twenties, with Vulcan, Hatorian and Bajoran features. His hair was dark brown, as were his eyes and he wore no Bajoran earring. He greeted the Security officer with a wide smile. "You're Odo, right? I'm Sayal, Doctor Bashir's new assistant."

"You'll find the medical sign on the promenade, from here to the right." the Changeling said.

The young man smiled. "Thanks." and he went on his way over the promenade with his large bag carried on his back and a smaller suitcase carried in his left hand.

Then, the other two came out.

The other part-Bajoran without earring was wearing a red command uniform. His hair was blonde, his eyes greenish and his facial features were expressionless and his eyes radiated a cold sense of calmness like Vulcans.

The last transfer was half Cardassian, and quite a bit older than the half Bajorans. He had the usual Cardassian features, but less prominent. Also, he was quite some smaller than the average Cardassian he'd met.

"Lieutenant-Commander Zophar Kirk and Lieutenant Soval." the greyish skinned officer said. "Where must we report to?"

Odo looked on his PADD. "Commander Kirk, you must report to Chief Engineer Miles O'Brien. Lieutenant Soval, report to Ops."

*//*

Miles O'Brien wiped the sweat from his brow as he climbed out of a shaft underneath the floor. He sat down for a moment to catch his breath.

"Chief O'Brien?" a gentle voice behind him asked.

The Starfleet officer turned around to see another officer, who was part Cardassian. "Who're you?"

"I'm Zophar Kirk, I've been transferred here. I was told by Mr. Odo to report to you."

"Ah, yes. Now I remember. How much do you know about fixing replicators?"

"Micro technology is a minor of mine."

"Great, then we can get started."

*//*

Everything in Ops was quite peaceful when the turbo lift stopped there with a person on the platform.

Sisko turned around. "You're Lieutenant Soval?"

The blonde man nodded. "Reporting for duty."

"Very well. Major Kira will introduce you to your station workings."

*//*

"Where is that bloody medicine?" Doctor Bashir was practically growling as he was searching through the cabinets.

"Doctor Bashir?" someone suddenly asked from the doorway.

Julian turned around to see a young Bajoran male with pointed ears wearing a Starfleet medical uniform. "Are you Lieutenant Sayal by any chance?"

"Yes, that's me." the young man replied.

"Could you help me finding hexadrin? I seem to have forgotten where I put it." the Middle-Eastern looking officer asked.

Sayal smiled. "Of course." and he put his bags in a corner before helping the good doctor.

"So... why did you join Starfleet?" Bashir asked as he opened yet another cabinet on his eye height.

"My dad, my paternal grandfathers and a grandfather's father have been serving in the 'fleet. Six of my nine siblings are ass well." the Bajoran replied.

"So... you're not pure Bajoran?" Julian looked at his new assistant.

The young man pointed at his ears. "One of my paternal grandfathers was half-Vulcan. My mom's Bajoran."

"You don't wear the usual earring."

Sayal laughed. "I'm not a believer of Bajoran faith, I'm a believer of logic and science."

"That's gonna piss of Winn badly."

*//*

"How was your day." Sayal asked when his brother entered their shared room.

Soval shrugged. "Ops is much like a ship's bridge, nothing special. How was yours?"

"Well, we spend our time talking when we weren't treating any patients. Do you know there's one leftover Cardassian on the station? He owns the clothing shop just across, he visits Doctor Bashir almost every day."

The older brother rolled his eyes. "Any run-ins with Bajorans?"

"Not yet."

"I had. There's one Bajoran up in ops, a female Major. I guess she was surprised to see a part Bajoran without any traces of that heritage except for the nose ridges."

"Get used to that one!"

*//*

Major Kira Nerys had been stunned from the moment she'd seen that new Starfleet Command officer. In her eyes, he was completely alien to all Bajorans.

He didn't wear an earring, his ears were pointed and his attitude was extremely cold. He reasoned with science without a trace of faith in the Prophets.

Kai Winn wasn't going to be pleased.

*//*

The next day, Sayal was up early after having slept from 10 in the evening to 5 in the morning. He was used to waking up early. He had to be silent, to not wake up his brother.

Once dressed and washed, the medical officer went to the infirmary on the Promenade.

When he put the key in the keyhole, he saw something in the corner of his eyes. So, he turned his head.

In the middle of the Promenade lay a man. The dimmed lights showed the skin was grey with a blue hue around it. The uniform was an military Cardassian one.

The Lieutenant walked closer but stopped as soon as he noticed that the eyes were open and glazed over with something blue-silverish. "Oh, fuck." and he went to press the nearest alarm button.

*//*

The alarm woke the entire station, and it was only 5.19 AM.

Captain Sisko growled as he strode up the Promenade. "Who pressed that fucking alarm!?"

"I'm sorry Captain Sisko, that was I." the new medical officer said before he pointed at the body near the board. "I found him this morning when I was about to open the infirmary. I had woken up pretty early this morning."

Security Chief Odo leaned over the body. "Do you know the cause of death?"

"Cobalt diselenide, nothing else could cause that blue hue around him." the lieutenant told.

"How sure are you?" the Changeling looked at the part Bajoran.

"Ninety-eight point nine seven percent."

Just that moment, the Cardassian tailor arrived on the scene. "Oh my, what happened here?"

"Lieutenant Sayal, how familiar are you with Cardassian anatomy?" Sisko asked.

"I have a Cardassian stepmother, so I believe I can say I'm pretty familiar with it."

"Perform an autopsy. I'm informing Gul Dukat about this."

The part Bajoran nodded. "Yes sir. Can somebody help me load him up?"

*//*

"Now I'm certain it was cobalt diselenide. There's even an injection entrance behind his right neck ridge."

Julian looked at his new assistant. The young man had explained him all about Cardassian anatomy and even showed him where to cut and where crucial organs were placed. "How can you see it?"

"Cobalt gives the skin a blueish hue. It affects the skin like the Plague on Earth in Europe during the Middle ages. Do you see that? The left cardiac atrium of the heart, that's where it entered the heart. The cobalt diselenide was injected in the one bloodstream that went from brain to heart. It caused immediate cardiac arrest. Time of death: midnight."

"Jesus! What a thing to put in a report."

*//*

Sayal entered the Captain's office with the autopsy report in his hands. The entire Ops crew was there, and an important Cardassian officer. "Captain, the report you asked for."

"How did Legate Tankan die?" the Gul asked.

"He was injected with cobalt diselenide in his oxygen-lacking blood vessel. It went directly to his heart and caused cardiac arrest. It was a painless death." the Lieutenant replied.

"Cobalt diselenide? That stuff is impossible to get around here." Odo said.

"Not here, but the Maquis in the Demilitarized Zone do have it." the Captain told.

Dukat looked at the young medical officer. "What's your name and who're your parents, officer?"

"Sayal Sarek Kirk, son of Christan James Sarek Kirk and Meressa Alenis." the half Bajoran replied.

"Your father, he's also married to Illnoira Garak."

"Yes."

Dark eyes narrowed. "Where does your father's loyalty lie?"

The medical assistant sighed. "With Starfleet Command and the Vulcan High Council. And if you are going to ask about the Maquis, he, like anyone else in our family, has no contact with them."

"Dukat, don't harass my officers without any proof of that person being guilty." Sisko said.

"But isn't it strange? This man arrives and suddenly there's a murder!"

Soval stepped forward. "As did I and our brother Zophar, but we are not accused."

The Bajoran Major looked on a scanner in the office. "Uh... I believe we should let this conversation slide. Something's coming through the wormhole."

"On screen." the Captain ordered.

The wormhole opened up and a battered solar sail ship came through.

"A lightship?" the elder half-Bajoran asked, frowning in a Vulcan fashion.

"I don't know where it came from. According to remote sensors it never entered the wormhole." Kira said, turning to the group behind her.

"Get to your stations in Ops, try hailing them."

All officers who worked there went to their stations.

Sayal placed the report on the Captain's desk and left Ops completely.

Dax raised an eyebrow from behind her station. "From these readings I'd say that ship's about three hundred years old."

"Lifesigns?" the dark skinned command officer asked.

"There's someone on board. A Bajoran." the Trill replied. "Whoever's in there could be injured."

"No response to our hails." Soval reported.

"Tractor the ship into transporter range and beam the passenger directly to the infirmary."

*//*

The patient was a middle-aged Bajoran man with a goatee beard and drab clothes.

"Take it easy, you're disoriented. Sayal, dermal regenerator." Bashir said.

The young medic handed the regenerator, so that Julian could heal the wounds.

After the wounds were healed, the Captain entered.

"He's still disoriented."

Sisko nodded. "I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko. You're aboard a Federation Space Station near Bajor. This is Kira Nerys, my First Officer."

"Who are you?" the Major asked.

The unknown male looked up to them. "I am the Emissary."

Everybody in the room was suddenly shocked.

The man continued. "I was headed back to Bajor. My lightship was caught in an ion storm. It nearly tore it apart. A girder came loose from the bulkhead and impaled me through the shoulder here. I remember thinking I was going to die, alone in space, when a strange opening appeared in the sky. I was terrified at first, and then I realized what was happening. The Prophets were opening the gates of the Celestial Temple and drawing me to them."

"Captain Sisko, I can identity this man as Mr. Akorem Laan. Writer of the Gaudaal's Lament."

Sisko's eyes went wide. "How do you know his name?"

The Command Lieutenant shrugged. "My mom once showed me de digitalized portraits of famous Bajorans, I'd recognize those faces anywhere. Photographic memory. That man disappeared in ninety-one seventy four, it's twenty-three seventy two."

"By the prophets!"

"Akorem, a great deal has happened since you've been gone. Maybe Major Kira can spend some time filling you in."

"Major Kira?" Akorem asked.

The Major nodded. "That's right."

"But your family would be part of the artist D'jarra."

Doctor Bashir was confused. "D'jarra?"

Before the woman could reply, Sayal already did. "It's like the caste system in India, a person's work was dictated by what family they were born into. My father pleaded with Kai Opaka to let go of them in twenty-three thirty two, to strengthen Bajor's troops during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor."

"The Cardassians occupied Bajor?"

"For over fifty years."

"It seems you're right, Captain. A great deal has happened since I've been gone."

*//*

"Ever since the Prophets returned me to my people, I've asked myself the same questions over and over again. Why did they keep me with them for so long? Why did they return me to my people now? I now know the answers. Bajor suffered a great wound while I was with the Prophets. The Cardassian occupation. The Bajor I have returned to has lost its way. People no longer follow the path the Prophets have laid out for them. They no longer follow their D'jarras. Artists have become soldiers. Priests have become merchants. Farmers have become politicians. We must heal the wounds of the occupation. We must return to our D'jarras. We must reclaim what we were and follow the path the Prophets have laid out for us. It is their will that the farmers return to their land, painters to their canvasses, priests to their temples. If we do this, if we follow our D'jarras, then Bajor will flourish again and become the green and peaceful land I remember. It will be as if the occupation never happened. By returning to our D'jarras, we will have erased it forever."

*//*

During Akorem's speech, Soval was standing in the back. He was scoffing.

This man wanted to go back to the Bajoran middle ages.

In his hand, he was holding a sharp object. It took him only a moment to decide and threw the object just past the 'Emmisary's' head to get stuck in the wall behind.

Everyone looked back, to see the half-Bajoran fueled with anger.
"I am not allowing you to rule over people's lives like that. Putting the Bajoran's back in a specific closet shall destroy Bajor forever. No longer the choice of what you want to be, no longer to speak your mind of politics no matter what family you were born in... all the work 'the One' did for nothing." the command officer shouted. "Your previous Kai said that a specific individual was 'the One'. If you believe in those texts, you know that the D'jarras are long gone like they are supposed to be. If you throw it all back, be prepared to see your people leave society forever. As for the Prophets, I'm quite sure they no longer want them. Otherwise, they would've told Captain Sisko so. Since he is the one true Emissary of the Prophets." and he left the scene to go to the Promenade.

Major Kira looked at him until he'd disappeared from her sight, wonder in her eyes.

*//*

Sisko knows he's hallucinating when he sees the Promenade so closed and quiet. Then there's the sound of a wind then it all went dark.

Kai Opaka appeared out of the dust. "Who are you?"

"Kai Opaka?"

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing here? How did you..." he couldn't finish his sentence.

Now the female Bajoran was suddenly behind him.

"Who are you?" she repeated with a stern face.

"Don't you know me?"

The previous Kai was behind him again. "Know you? How can I know someone who doesn't know himself?"

Opaka vanished and the lights came back on.

*//*

The Captain went to infirmary, Doctor Sayal was present and checked him over.

"From what I can tell, I think you had what the Bajorans call an Orb Shadow. Sometimes people who've been exposed to the Orbs of the Prophets experience hallucinations weeks, even months later." the new arrival told.

"What triggers them?" Sisko asked.

"Medical textbooks would say an excess of neuropeptides, but of course, we're dealing with something that isn't science. The Bajorans believe you only have a Shadow experience when you ignore what the Prophets have been trying to tell you during an Orb encounter."

"Interesting." the dark skinned man commented.

The new medic sighed. "Captain, Major Kira, Soval and I believe you are the Emissary. You need to believe it yourself as well."

"But the two of you aren't believers?"

Sayal shrugged and sat down on the chair beside the bed. "We were raised to be neutral, no religion was forced on us. It was up for us to decide our own path, our own journey. Our mother did tell about the Bajoran faith, and how it had delayed them so much. She warned us for the extremists, and Mr. Akorem is one of such extremists. I will not follow someone with such a radical vision, any knowledgeable person knows that that man is not the Emissary."

Sisko smiled. "Thank you, for believing in me."

*//*

Thalassa entered the Captain's office at 16.30 precisely. "Captain Sisko, you wanted to see me?" she asked from the doorway, hands behind her back.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you can just call me Ben." the dark skinned man commented with a smile. "And yes, I wanted to see you. If all of the Bajorans on this station are leaving to follow their caste, what would the impact be?"

The half-Klingon woman pursed her lips as she thought. "If literally all of them are leaving, we only have one third of the original workforce. The station would be out of operation within three weeks without any intervention from Starfleet Command."

"Dang, that's graver than I thought." the human said, placing his chin in his left hand.

"Do not worry, Ben. We shall find a way to expose Akorem Laan as the fake Emissary." the woman promised as she walked inside to the desk, the doors sliding close behind her graceful steps. "He will go too far, and that will be the moment."

"Before you go, would you please thank your little brother for what he did right after the speech?" Sisko was smiling. "It was brilliant."

The engineer laughed. "Sure I will."

*//*

Soval was on the Promenade, talking to a few Bajorans who'd came after him right after the speech of the 'Emissary'.

"It was pretty brave what you did." Major Kira commented.

"How do you have such strength?" another woman, about a decade older than himself.

The third woman narrowed her eyes at the second. "Sagila..."

"Ah, Paimin, can't I just ask?" the lieutenant sighed.

"My father is both a warrior and a diplomat. Our early education was all about choosing the right words to speak to different people." the half Bajoran replied.

The youngest female smiled. "Your father must be a wise man."

"He is. My mother married the diplomat."

Suddenly, the young man heard something and turned his head to the story railings before running towards it.

"Soval!" the Major called out.

Soval ran past the mass of people and slid over the floor with a graceful slide before catching a falling Bajoran, preventing him from hitting the ground.

As soon as the half alien stopped, the Bajoran man started gasping for air.

The Command Lieutenant lay the man down on the Promenade floor and held his hand as he catched his breath. "Are you alright?"

A lot of people assembled around the two of them, all with shocked faces.

The monk on the ground looked Soval in the eye and reached with his free hand out to the young man's shoulder. "Thank you, for saving my life. May the Prophets bless you."

Kira pushed herself past the surrounding crowd. "What happened?" she asked.

The Command Lieutenant just wove his free hand around. "I... I just heard a voice inside my head calling for help from that hole above the Promenade."

"It was the Prophets you heard." the monk commented with a smile.

That moment, Odo also came on the scene. "Alright people, mind telling me why everybody's gaping?"

"Odo, this Lieutenant catched this man when he was falling. You might want to give him some credit for what he did." the Major spoke as she stood up.

"Can you stand?" the half-alien asked.

The man on the ground nodded and was helped up. "What is your name, young man?"

"Soval Kirk."

"I'm Vedek Imutta, I thank you again for saving my life."

Just a few moments later, Vedek Porta arrived.

The monk jumped behind the Lieutenant. "He pushed me over the railing!"

Odo looked at Porta. "And why did you do that?"

"His family name is Imutta. Their D'jarra is unclean." the Vedek replied, face stern. "I asked him to set the proper example and resign from our order. He refused."

Soval growled lowly and his eyes started to illuminate amber light.

"What's happening to him?" Kira asked.

The Changeling sighed. "This man is part Hatorian, their genetics are crazily dominant. No matter what species you mix in, ancient drives are impossible to control. Male warriors tend to enter a state of complete mindlessness when they believe innocent lives are in danger."

As he was telling this, the half-Bajoran jumped upon the middle-aged monk.

People got out of the way as the man rolled on the ground.

Soval smashed Porta's head to the ground before grabbing his collar with his fist and throwing the Vedek to the other side of the Promenade.

Odo sighed. "I'll look if he's okay and then I'll lock him up."

"What's the heist all about?" it was Sisko, almost standing right behind them.

"I'm sorry for Vedek Porta's actions. He pushed me over the railing, second story, because I refuse to resign and follow my D'jarra. My father and grandfather stand behind Luma Shikahr, at least that man was honorable."

"You were almost killed because of your D'jarra?" it was clear that Sisko was raging on the inside. His eyes spew fire.

Imutta nodded.

"Thow that piece of shit in jail! I'm going to have a conversation with Akorem."

*//*

Once the Captain was gone, Nerys turned to the Vedek beside her. "Who's Luma Shikahr?"

"It's 'the One's' pseudonym, he was one of the resistance initiators. He was an alien, quite a diplomat and a warrior. There aren't many who know his real name." Imutta replied.

"Do you know it?" the Major asked.

The monk shook his head. "My father hasn't told me yet. The only thing he let slip was that Luma came here with Ro Tishito, the portrait painter. She might have a portrait of him somewhere in her studio, you should go visit her."

*//*

In the wardroom, the Captain confronted the 'Emissary' with Soval by his side.

The Bajoran sighed. "I regret what happened here today as much as you do, but change is never easy, and the road that the Prophets have asked us to walk won't always be a smooth one. It had to be done."

The dark skinned human gave him an angry look. "And forcing people to follow their D'jarras won't make it any smoother. What almost happened on the Promenade was just the beginning."

"Must I remind you, Captain? I am merely fulfilling the will of the Prophets."

"And how would you know?" the Captain asked, raising an eyebrow

Akorem sighed. "I'm the Emissary."

"And what you've done with the position has made me wish I had never given it up."

"But you did, and it was the right decision." the middle-aged man pointed out. "You never truly accepted the role in the first place."

"I'm willing to accept it now." Sisko stated.

Laan frowned. "You're challenging my claim?"

That was the moment Soval injected: "You have left him no choice."

"If we went to the people and asked them to choose between us, it would be chaos." the poet said, now facing the half Bajoran. "Sure you understand."

"Neither of us want to divide Bajor any more than you do." the Lieutenant said.

The time-traveler studied the half-blood. "You look Bajoran, but you don't behave like one. You're too alien for the people of Bajor."

"I do not mind to be alien to them, for I am meant to be among the stars." Soval stated.

Akorem smiled at the young Command officer. "That's quite poetic. But of course, Bajor wouldn't be divided for long. because in the end the people would choose me. My claim was foretold in the ancient texts. I was the first to find the wormhole. I was the first to be with the Prophets. They gave me back my life."

The Captain shook his head. "We're not going to settle this by arguing over ancient texts."

"Then how?"

"There is only one way to be sure which one of us is the Emissary. The two of you will have to go to the wormhole and ask the Prophets." Soval stated.

*//*

Soval was looking out of the large window in the Captain's office, seeing how the runabout Rio Grande disappeared in the wormhole.

The doors opened up.

"If you seek Captain Sisko, he is not here." the Lieutenant spoke.

"I was searching for you, actually." the female Bajoran voiced.

The Starfleet officer turned his head around. "And why would that be?"

The Major smiled. "I'm taking you to a Bajoran art exhibition. I've already arranged transport and temporary replacements for our positions."

"How thoughtful. What kind of art exhibition are we visiting?" Soval asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"A general exhibition, no specific style."

"Sounds promising. When are we going?"

"When the Captain's back, of course. I really wish to know who's the real Emissary."

*//*

Captain Sisko returned alone to Deep Space Nine.

Apparently, the Prophets had sent Akorem Laan because Sisko was reluctant to accept his position as Emissary of the Prophets.

Nerys let out a sigh of relief. "Good thing that you're the Emissary. Had Mr. Akorem been, I'd have to start making art!"

The dark skinned human looked at Soval. "You never told us to what D'jarra you'd have belonged through your mother."

The half-Bajoran huffed. "Mom had been a Prylar when my father arrived on Bajor. She belonged to the Sern'apa caste of priests and politicians."

"I'm not really capable of envisioning you as a Bajoran priest." Sisko stated.

"Me neither. I'm much more my father's son, a warrior and a commanding officer. I couldn't have pulled off the grab of a monk anyway."

"Let's go to Quark's after the speech, I need a drink after all this shit."

*//*

When the three of them sat down on a table in the bar, they saw O'Brien and Bashir coming down the stairs from the holosuites in Irish warrior costumes.

"It's your own fault." the Doctor pointed out.

"I can't believe you didn't cover me." the engineer said at the same time.

At the bar, Sayal was laughing soundlessly while biting his under lip.

Julian shook his head. "How was I to know you were going to insult the King of Leinster in his own keep?"

Sisko shook his head when he took out a PADD. "On my way back, I was just reading one of Akorem's poems, The Call of the Prophets."

Kira's eyes gleamed. "Oh, that's one of my favorites. It's a shame he never finished it."

The Captain smiled. "He did. Look."

The Major took the PADD with a frown, the Lieutenant looking over her shoulder. "This is confusing. The last time I read this poem it ended after the twelfth stanza. If the timeline's been changed, then why do I remember things the way they used to be?"

The dark skinned man laughed. "The Prophets work in mysterious ways."

Then, a male Bajoran approached them. "Excuse me, sir."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you but tomorrow, after evening services in the Temple we're having my daughter's ih'tanu ceremony. She's turning fourteen." and the man put an arm around the girl by his side.

"Happy Birthday." the Captain said.

"We were wondering if there's any chance you could come and give her your blessing. It would mean so much to us." the member of the Militia said.

"I'd be happy to."

"Thank you, Emissary."

And Sisko genuinely replied: "You're welcome."

*//*

Kira had arranged tickets for the Bajoran State Museum and direct transport.

"You seem to like art very much." Soval said after observing the Bajoran woman for eight point three nine one minutes.

Nerys smiled. "My mother was an icon painter, she got me interested in it." and she looked at the small PADD again. "Oh, look, the icon painting of B'hala has been returned. And artist Ro Tishito is presenting one of her works today, personal reveal at 1900 hours."

The Lieutenant smiled. "The icon painting first then? It's only 1804 now."

"Good idea." and the two of them went into that particular direction.

On their way there, a middle-aged woman in traditional artists clothes bumped into the half-Bajoran.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." she said as she looked up.

Soval held up his hand. "You do not have to excuse yourself ma'am." and picked up what the woman had dropped on the floor.

"You're such a gentleman." and the woman left with a smile on her face.

The Major took Soval's wrist and pulled him along through the crowd to the icon painting.

The Lieutenant read the plate that was written in Bajoran.

'The ancient city of B'hala that was lost in history for over 20.000 years, only recently rediscovered. B'hala was revered as a holy city in the Bajoran religion. Like many ancient Bajoran cities, B'hala was built around a Bantaca spire that bore markings denoting the city's position in the cosmos. Only a person touched by the Prophets can truly find it.'

"Nerys, can you explain to me what a Bantaca spire is?" the Starfleet officer raised an eyebrow after finishing the little history.

"Well, they're obelisks. Ancient Bajoran cities were built around them." the brunette replied as she photographed the icon painting with her holographic camera.

Soval studied the icon painting. "Could you make a detailed picture of the Bantaca spire on painting? Maybe Captain Sisko would like such a photo."

"Sure, if you say so." and Kira made the picture. "Shall we go to the reveal?"

"Of course." and he held out his arm.

The Major smiled as she took it.

Arm in arm, the two of them walked towards the reveal stage.

There was an entire crowd standing before the podium.

"Never thought that an artist's work could draw the attention of so many citizens." the Starfleet Lieutenant said. "Is there anything on the work Ms. Ro is going to reveal?"

The brunette looked on her pad. "It only says it's a realistic portrait, 10 by 20 meters."

The half-Bajoran frowned. "Well, let's see what it is then."

The lights above them slightly dimmed and a pair of lamps shone directly on the tall purple curtain.

The man standing behind the microphone ticked on it, causing an eerie sound to be heard around the entire hall. "Welcome, visitors of today's exhibition, to the revelation of Ms. Ro Tishito's masterpiece. I give the word to the lady herself."

Everybody in the crowd clapped, politely or enthusiastically.

Ro Tishito stepped onto the stage, apparently the woman who'd bumped into Soval earlier. "Thank you all who have come to see my work. I've worked on this painting since 2331, when I stayed at the Vedek Assembly for some time. It has been an honor to me, to be the one to paint the person who lead us to freedom. I present, my portrait of Luma Shikahr."

The Bajoran male who still stood on the stage pulled on a rope, causing the curtains to fall.

The enormous painting that was revealed was the head and chest of a black haired male in a red tunic with a Bajoran pattern. On the background could be seen a high mountain with the sun disappearing behind it and ruins on top of that mountain.

But clearly, the man wasn't Bajoran. His hair waved in the wind to reveal the pointed tips of ears and eyebrows slanted upwards. There were no ridges on the nose nor an earring, instead he had a square shape pattern on the sides of his neck.

Major Kira looked at Soval with a gaping mouth. "He... looks like you."

That caused the heads of the entire crowd to turn.

"That woman's right!" a male Bajoran called out as he jumped up.

The artist on stage smiled at the half-Bajoran. "Could you please come on stage?"

The crowd made a path for him, on which the Starfleet officer walked before climbing up the stage in a smooth move.

Nerys went closer to the edge.

"You know the man who is Luma Shikahr to us." Ro stated.

Soval nodded. "That is true. He is my father."

The entire crowd gasped.

The artist smiled. "I'm honored to meet the son of the man who saved my life."

**////**

TBC