The Battle

The Promenade was alight with panic and movement and nervous energy. Tensions were high and nerves were frayed. We all knew how the meeting between Captain Sisko and Weyoun had gone at that point: poorly. With both parties laying on thick layers of sweet platitude that meant nothing. Nearly every civilian had been evacuated in preparation for the coming threat. Many of us might not make it to the next day, as sickening as the thought was. We had been briefed and prepared for battle. War was inevitable.

I, however, had one last thing I needed to do before I was called to battle stations. Death would be crossing over the station soon and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to find Julian before then.

By the time I got to sickbay, it was clear they were still only midway through their triage preparations. But medical preparations be damned, I thought to myself. Julian could spare a minute. I scanned the room for him and found, to my surprise, that he wasn't there. The nurses were buzzing around with a nervous hum, setting up supplies and prepping sickbeds. So then, where was the doctor?

"Sweetheart?" I heard behind me. I turned, recognizing the voice, and found Julian in the doorway, looking like he'd just paused a difficult task. I relaxed.

"Julian," I whispered, giving him a big hug. He patted my back gently, but seemed too tense for physical affection, and so I pulled back. He we staring down at me with a concerned expression, though other than that it looked like he was trying to suppress his feelings.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Aren't you meant to be... to be going to battle stations?"

"Soon," I admitted. The Jem'Hadar hadn't yet come through but they would. Oh, they would. "But I had to see you. I had to say... to tell you... no matter what happens, I'm sorry about our last disagreement. I'm sorry about them all. And eventually this is going to be over." I reached up, and I kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Stop that," he sighed, seeming legitimately frustrated. My face fell.

"What?" I asked softly. He'd never spurned my affection with irritation before.

"Sweetheart, I—" he paused, taking in a breath and tilting his head. "I love you. But if you kiss me like that again I don't know that I'm going to be able to force myself back to work."

I sighed softly. It hurt, but I didn't blame him.

"... Things are dire, aren't they?" I asked softly. Julian looked down, his eyes glazed with pain.

"The odds aren't in our favor," he admitted. "I've done the calculations. I won't lie to you... they're dismal. But I'm going to do everything I can to maximize those statistics."

"Julian," I whispered. He looked at me weakly. "Do... do what you do best. And remember that I... I love you."

"That helps," he whispered, raising his eyebrows, but I couldn't quite get him to smile.

"... Go," I whispered softly, and I squeezed his arm. "Continue setting up sickbay." I loved him more than I could express in words. The only kind of person I could expect to understand would be an empath.

"One more thing," he said quickly, as I started to turn. "The countless lives that we're going to lose are bad enough but... but don't you dare die with them."

Promising my continued life to Julian was impossible. I had no idea what would come in the following hours, and I couldn't guarantee anything. But I could always lie. Tell him what he wanted to hear. I gave him a slight nod, though I had trouble maintaining eye contact. I was a terrible liar. I didn't have a silver tongue like Garak, or Weyoun. The nod was all I could manage.