Tarik had found the carolers charming, the wreath puzzling, and the elf deeply disturbing. As he left to meet Kassia, he noticed a hat on his desk. A red felt cone-shaped hat, edged with white fur and with a white pompon at the tip. By some strange impulse, he put the hat on. The fur edging tickled the points of his ears.
Immediately he saw Felix and three other elves in his office!
"The point goes down, Tarik," Felix said. "Unless you're from Remulak, in which case the hat's going to fit the form of your head perfectly!" Tarik reached up and pulled the tip of the hat down.
"Do you mind explaining to me what all this is about?" Tarik asked.
"You meet several conditions that we need in order to accept you as a Helper," Felix explained. "You have a good heart."
"I've killed thousands of people," Tarik said. "I'm a warrior by training and inclination -- I've never been known for spreading joy and happiness."
"You did so out of necessity, and you derived no joy from the act," another of the elves said. "Do you think that warriors have not Helped us before? Nonsense -- we've been Helped by men and women and beings of all professions and every race."
"You said conditions. What are the others?" Tarik asked warily.
"You must have the capacity to love unconditionally. You've demonstrated that with Kassia, and Tiyanna, and even Sikal once you learned he was not a threat to you." another elf said.
"And you must be a parent to at least one child," the last elf said.
"I'm not Tiyanna's true father," Tarik explained. "I've adopted her, but I've never actually fathered a child."
"Piffle! Millions of men create children without bothering to be their fathers! You are Tiyanna's father now, in every way that counts. Her birth father would have approved -- he Helped us once as well," Felix explained. "It's about love, as my colleague Wexlo explained."
"How do I help?" Tarik asked, now curious. Ancestors help me, I'm buying into this! he thought with amusement.
"You Help us by facilitating our efforts here, and by spreading as much of the spirit as you can amongst your friends and family. The carolers were the final test," Felix said. "That was a breach of military discipline, particularly in wartime. But you saw past the letter of the law and looked to the hearts of your subordinates. Beyond Tarik the Warrior is Tarik the Man. He's the one who has to come out!"
"Just look for opportunities to spread the spirit of peace and love!" Wexlo said. "Anywhere and everywhere you can, all the time but especially at this time of year!"
"We need to go now, but we'll be in touch with you later. Happy Helping!" Felix said as all four elves vanished.
Around the station the same story was being repeated: with Kitty and Troy, with Kassia and K'Tag and several of the shopkeepers. Soon many of the station personnel were sporting the red hats, and going out of their way to extend courtesy to others.
There was a certain shopkeeper, who had every right to be bitter. He was alone, and had been alone in the universe for many years, until recently. His life for more than twenty years had been a life of torment and confusion. Only now was he beginning to gain a semblance of order, and for that he was grateful even if it was due to the actions of others. I need to start standing for myself, Loomis thought. I can't keep relying on other people -- my uncle, now Tarik -- to stand up for me!
Suddenly a small figure appeared in his store. "Nice merchandise!" Felix said. "Elf-made is better, but for stuff made by purely mortal means you've got a good selection," the elf commented as he looked over the toy aisle in the store.
"Are -- are you for real?" Loomis asked.
"One hundred percent! Ask Tarik -- he can tell you now!" Felix said, laughing. Suddenly his face became very serious. "I think I see what your problem is. You haven't celebrated Christmas in a long time, have you?"
"Uhhh... no," Loomis said. "Not much reason to celebrate."
"The way your business is booming? You've got a lot of credits -- I mean reasons -- to celebrate!" Felix said. "I know... it happens to people in your position every year. You get lonely. You think about what you've missed out on in life, and don't see any hope."
"That about sums it up," Loomis said glumly.
"Well, cheer up, my friend! You've got something coming in the mail today you might like! And by this time next year you too will be one of our Helpers! This holiday is all about hope, and new chances, and bringing light to a world gone dark! Your world's been dark for a while, Eugene. You don't have to keep it that way. Now, get out there and live!!!" Felix exhorted him.
Loomis laughed bitterly. "I suppose you're going to tell me I should go to church next? They didn't help me either!"
"It wouldn't be a bad idea, at that," Felix said. "One small group of narrow-minded people didn't help you. This is a new place! Take a look outside, just down the corridor. Every church and temple and shrine on this station is busting at the seams right now! Even the Kolinahr school has doubled its enrollment this month. Get out there and live, man!"
Loomis looked out his storefront and up the corridor. Several doors down was a small storefront Baptist church, which was doing a booming business -- as was the Bajoran temple across the corridor. Members of both congregations were mingling together in the corridor, talking and laughing. He saw a familiar blue-skinned woman in the midst of the crowd, who saw him and waved for him to come over. Without even bothering to lock his door, Loomis left to join the crowd. One advantage to doing business on a Starfleet base was that the crime rate was consistently extremely low... and if Starfleet didn't take care of the bad guys, the mineworkers would...
Felix smiled as he locked up Loomis' cash register and left the Get-It-All Mart. Just as the Master planned, he thought as he vanished.
Tarik returned to Kassia's quarters -- a place he was spending more and more time at lately -- to find a huge Christmas tree in the center of the living room. The tree was decorated with ornaments from cultures throughout the galaxy. He would have sworn that a Klingon trefoil adorned the top as a star! The rest of the room was decorated as well. Garland was strung over every doorway. As Tarik entered, he noticed a small sprig of berries hanging over the main entry.
Kassia came from behind the tree with Tiyanna. They were giggling and smiling, looking at the tree. Kassia felt a presence and glanced toward the entryway. There she saw Tarik. She went to him and kissed him. "Happy holidays," she said.
Tarik returned the kiss with enthusiasm. "This is a custom I'm not familiar with," he said, grinning. Tiyanna yanked on the leg of his trousers, begging for attention. He gathered her up and kissed her on the nose. Tiyanna giggled, and pointed at the hat. "What's that?" she asked.
"It's a hat from Santa Claus. It appears I've been drafted as one of Santa's Helpers!" he said. Tiyanna had been told the story of Santa Claus as soon as the Christmas decorations had started appearing around the station.
Her eyes lit up as she look a surprised breath in. "Really??" she asked with her childlike exuberance.
"So was momma," Kassia said with a wink, and kissing Tiyanna's cheek.
"Wow!" she replied. "I wonder if I can help Santa too!"
Kassia smiled and looked at Tarik. Who was going to break the news to her?
"Someday, child, perhaps you will! But I think we can best help Santa right now by helping the people who need it here on the station. A lot of people who came from the camps on Az'reel haven't done as well as you have. We should see about assisting the relief efforts somehow." Tarik winked back. Tiyanna didn't need to know the full truth just yet. Besides, he wasn't sure what it was anymore at this point.
"What can I do?" she asked in an eager voice.
"Well, we can start asking for donations for gift baskets and any kind of offering to help with the holidays," Kassia suggested. "After all, they need some holiday cheer!"
"Good idea!" Tarik said. "Why don't you start spreading the word with some of the other merchants? I'll front the costs for this one -- anonymously, of course," he said, grateful that he could make such a grand offer. The fact that so many were in such terrible need had crystallized for Tarik just how fortunate he'd been in his life. Even without the family fortune, his salary made him a wealthy man in his own right. His needs were few and nearly all of his money sat in a bank account on Vulcan gathering interest. The reason we have wealth is to do good. The reason we do good is to abolish evil, he thought, quoting one of his father's poems. Why have I never thought of this before?
Kassia's smile sparkled in all the twinkling lights of the room. "Then we'll take care of that first thing tomorrow, after we've had a chance to figure out how to approach the matter," she said. "Tonight... I don't know... Let's do something fun! Let's celebrate being together and it being the Christmas season!"
"Like what, Momma?" Tiyanna asked.
She laughed softly. "You know, I have no idea, but I have this feeling of wanting to go out and do something! Even if it's just getting another ornament for this beautiful tree!"
"Let's do it!" Tarik said. "I understand that the Easy Inn is turning out a genuine Victorian Christmas dinner tonight -- roast goose, plum pudding, the works! And after that we can do a little shopping and maybe join some folks I know are doing a little caroling in the off-hours..." Tarik was also caught up in the enthusiasm. He had no intention of coming down, either. At least, no more than he had to.
"Can we??" Tiyanna asked with excitement.
"Definitely! I think that sounds like a must for kicking off some holiday celebrating!"
Loomis and Lera returned from the gathering to his Spartan quarters just off the Commerce Section. "I didn't know you attended a human church," he said. "I figured you'd want to go to a Bolian service, if you went at all."
"I used to not go, but with all that's happened I felt the need. You should keep going, too!" she said encouragingly.
If you're going, I'm going, he thought, although he admitted to himself that the service had filled a void he'd felt for years, since leaving New Omaha. "Would you like to come in?" he asked.
"For a little while. I need to be to work early tomorrow, and I don't want to give people the wrong impression about me!" she said, with a grin implying that she wouldn't mind if she did.
"It would only be for a short time," he said as they entered the small but very neat apartment. Loomis' terminal was flashing. "It looks like I've got some mail!"
He checked his mail, and found a text message. He read the message. Starfleet Academy had exonerated him of the cheating scandal from 20 years earlier based upon further review.
Loomis was stunned silent. Then it finally sank in. "WHOOOOO-HOOOOOO!" he yelled!
"What is it?" Lera asked. She'd never seen anyone -- much less Eugene Loomis -- this happy about anything before.
"Let's just say that an old rivalry has been put to rest once and for all!"
Several decks down, in a more disreputable part of the station, a similar apartment was occupied by Wayne Balmer, former Starfleet officer and newly-employed mercenary. He'd signed on with a Nausicaan pirate crew earlier that evening. "That'll get me some money for a while, anyway... at least until I desert!" he said to himself. Wayne opened the door to his quarters... and was hit head-on by an avalanche of hard, anthracite coal!!!!!
"Damn replicator must be malfunctioning again!" he yelled. In the corner of his eye, though, he could have sworn he saw a little person who looked a lot like a Vulcan...
Felix laughed as he vanished from sight.