Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"Is this going to be one of those 'time is a river' arguments?" Captain Sisko leaned forward in his chair.

"No," the temporal agent said. "We hear a lot of those."

The other agent nodded. "None of them are valid."

Sisko shrugged. "You're the experts. Explain it to me, then: Why is Deep Space Nine a..." he enunciated carefully, "Time Convergence Area?"

"A TCA is cross-temporal point in the chrono-matrix which is both stable, and the terminus of several-" the agents exchanged glances.

"...streams?" Sisko suggested.

"It's not a river."

"In short: Weird things happen here."

The agents nodded, slowly.

"Our children", Worf whispered in her ear, "will be glorious."

"Okay," Jadzia yawned, fighting the remnants of sleep, "settle down. This is only our third real date. The holodeck doesn't count."

"I will teach them the traditions of their ancestors, so that they may stand with pride among the generation born in the stars."

"Too early," she muttered into her pillow.

"You are not taking this seriously."

"Okay, fine. I'm sure whatever children you-"

"You and I."

"-I know you'll raise them to be proud Klingons."

"Borscht."

"...what?"

"My mother's recipe. It must be honored."

Jazia went back to sleep.

"It's about immersion."

Quark hunched down and looked at the bottle Julian handed him. "Are you sure that's not Odo? I'm not sure I want to shake that thing."

"What?"

"Wouldn't be the first time. But sure, I'll give it a go." He glanced at the recipe on the padd. "Three measures of gin..."

"Gordon's gin. Specifically."

"Whatever. This one, right?" He shook the bottle.

"Careful!" Julian reached to steady it.

"You wanted it shaken!" When Julian glared, he grinned. "Just kidding. I still don't get it though."

"Immersion." Garak smirked, winding an arm around Julian. Quark rolled his eyes.

Garak took another sip of his drink. From his vantage point, Julian could not see him, nor could the charming girl with whom he was engaged in conversation. They had just returned from the holosuites.

"That was amazing." The girl laughed. "We don't have anything like that on Bajor."

"No holosuites?"

"Nowhere near as advanced. I felt like I really was on a Terran sailboat."

Julian took her hand. "It's just lights and omicron particles. None of it really exists." He looked into her eyes. "A journey into emptiness."

As they kissed, Garak sighed. A journey into emptiness. How appropriate.

"Was it something I said?" Julian craned his neck, toward Major Kira's retreating back, as though it would explain what had just happened.

"Really, Julian." Garak sighed and gestured to one of the waiters.

"All I said was that I enjoyed Bajoran opera!"

"And..." Garak's eyebrow ridges did not raise, but there was, Julian felt, a clear implication thereof.

"I don't know!"

"You said," Garak cleared his throat, "that you wish they'd written more of them."

"So?"

"Inter arma silent Musae."

"Pardon?"

"Just an Earth phrase I picked up while taking measurements. Latin, I think." He raised a glass, smiling.

Garak was smiling, which in Julian's experience meant his mind was elsewhere. When Julian sat down opposite him, something in his eyes shifted.

"Julian! I have a question about that delightful novel you lent me."

"Yes?" Julian leaned forward.

"The term mental gymnastics. There seems to be no Cardassian equivalent."

"Oh." Julian thought for a moment. "I suppose it... describes creatively flexible thinking. Or the process by which one might arrive at a desired conclusion by manipulating the available facts."

Garak nodded, slowly.

"Cardassian doesn't have a term for that?"

"It does, actually." Garak's smile shifted. "We call it thinking."

"So." Jadzia leaned across the table. "Tell me everything."

"Tell you what?" Julian shifted in his seat, his mug steaming nervously.

"You know." She raised an eyebrow. "Everything! I've never dated a Cardassian." She narrowed her eyes, "not a male Cardassian. That I remember."

"Jadzia, honestly." Julian sipped his tea. Just a plain tea, nothing fancy this time. Though he was beginning to wish he'd gone for coffee.

She smiled at him, all teeth. "You had sex!"

"Yes, well, I don't like to broadcast it."

"With Garak".

"Yes." His eyes flickered.

"Some say, they have a sort of proboscis-"

"Jadiza!!"