A Puzzle Piece Falls Into Place

Rahel walked through DS9, making her way to the infirmary where she had arranged to meet Doctor Julian Bashir. She had questions for him in regards to the Jem'Hadar rogue Ger'Tax and his anomaly, knowing that the Doctor had been somewhat of an expert of the Jem'Hadar. But as she looked around she thought about how under different circumstances, she would be there walking the Promenade, gazing into the shops . . . A sigh escaped her.

"Wanting a break already ?" Ash mused as his hand touched her back gently as they walked.

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say." She replied. "I don't think I'm the only one on the Taurus that could use a day to just forget for a moment."

Ash nodded. "You're probably right. Maybe when everything is done and we've located the rogue Jem'Hadar ship with our scientists we'll have some R & R here. Then you can have that walk around the promenade and do that shopping you want." He said with a wink.

She laughed softly and shook her head. "You've been looking at my mental wish-list again." She chided with a smile.

"I'm your big brother. I'm suppose to !" He replied with a Cheshire cat grin. "How else can I get you what you deserve ?"

She laughed again, her green eyes dancing. "When I was little there were plenty of times you thought I deserved a spanking !"

Well . . .You thought the same thing about me though too !" He smirked.

"True !" Gently she leaned into him as they walked. Their closeness apparent to everyone around them as they walked. As they finally reached the infirmary Rahel straightened up her uniform and ran a hand through her hair.

~You look beautiful, Rahel. You don't need to worry about what he'll think of you~ Ash replied.

~Well, first impressions are important.~ She replied, knowing that Dr. Julian Bashir was very eminent in his field.

Ash just smiled and shook his head as they entered. Almost as soon as they didn't Julian saw them and came up to them.

"Maybe I help you ?" He asked, his eyes looking them over curiously.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Rahel Kahfre from the USS Taurus."

"Ah yes." He began as he took her hand. "You were the one inquiring about the anomaly with that Jem'Hadar you autopsied."

"Yes." Rahel replied. "And this is my brother, Dr. Ashraf Kahfre."

"Welcome," Julian replied. "Why don't you both come into my office where we can speak."

They followed him.

"Can I get you anything ? Tea ? Raktajino ?" Doctor Bashir asked.

Ash and Rahel looked at each other for a moment and then back to Julian and shook their heads. "No, thank you, Doctor."

"All right." He replied with a sigh as he took a seat behind his desk. "You had asked me if I had ever seen an anomaly like it before . . .Well . . . I have . . ."

Rahel's green eyes grew big. "What? !" She replied. "Where ? When ?"

"It was many years ago, before the Dominion War on Bopak III in the Gamma quadrant." He started to explain. "Chief O’Brien and I were forced down onto the surface by Jem’Hadar forces using a subspace magneton pulse, which disabled our Runabout. There we found a group of Jem'Hadar soldiers, lead by a Jem’Hadar called Goran’Agar. From what I recall, he had crashed on the planet some four years earlier, the only survivor and after his supply of ‘White’ had run out, expected death. Instead he survived and was recovered by the Dominion. He believed that there was something in the environment of Bopak III that had kept him alive. Four years later, he brought his soldiers back to the planet in order to ‘cure’ them as well."

"Did he succeed ? " Rahel asked. "Did they also become free of the need to take the ‘White’ ?"

"No." Julian replied. "They started to show signs of withdrawal from the ‘White’ and with the supply of ‘White’ running low, he forced our Runabout to the surface. He forced me to find out why his soldiers weren’t cured. What I found was that infact Goran’Agar had a mutated gene that made him non-dependant on the ‘White’, which was the reason for his survival. When I told him, he was very disappointed and frustrated, his dream of freedom from the Dominion had become an obsession."

"So how did you escape ?" Ash enquired. "And what happened to Goran’Agar and his men ?"

"Goran’Agar released us when he realised he could no longer control his men. He remained on the planet to deal with them as best he could. What happened to him after that I don’t know." Julian admitted. "Chief O’Brien made me destroy all the samples and erase the data I had collected. Several weeks work just gone."

"So how do you know that Ger’Tax and Goran’Agar have the same mutation." Rahel enquired. "If all your records and samples were gone."

"There was one sample which didn’t get destroyed." Julian explained. "I didn’t find it until I unpacked my medical kits after our return. I’ve checked it against Ger’Tax’s DNA and they match perfectly. Not only do they both have the same mutation, they have identical DNA."

"So they’re from the same batch of Jem’Hadar." Rahel exclaimed, putting the pieces together. "And you have no idea what happened to Goran’Agar after you left ?"

"None." Doctor Bashir replied. "I went back to Bopak III soon after the Dominion war ended, but found no traces of any Jem’Hadar presence, he could have got away or been killed."

"You said his freedom from the Dominion had become an obsession, do you think he could have continued to look for a cure after you left." Ash enquired.

"If he survived and left the planet, most definitely." Julian admitted. "Once he had realised that he no longer needed the Dominion or the ‘White’ to survive, he rejected both outright."

"Could I borrow a computer terminal a moment ?" Rahel asked, an idea coming into her head.

"Be my guest." Julian replied.

Rahel linked the Doctor’s terminal with the central computer onboard the Taurus and accessed the downloaded data logs from the Tartan Genoa outpost that had been attacked.

"There it is." She exclaimed.

"What ?" Doctor Bashir asked.

"Our missing link." Rahel replied. "Ash, remember the Jem’Hadar we found on Tartan Genoa said that they stunned two of the guards and took them away, well take a look at the garrison roster."

Ash looked over his sister’s shoulder and at first could see nothing, then he saw it.

"They have the same batch number as Ger’Tax." Ash exclaimed. "Someone is gathering up all the Jem’Hadar with the mutation."

"Thank you Doctor." Rahel announced. "Ash we need to get back to the Taurus and inform McQueen."