Tony looked down at himself. "Hmm. Maybe you have a point; I seem to recall I was wearing something similar at Pat and Shell's wedding. Anyway, talking about weird clothes; what are you all up to? You look as if you're going to a disco." He cast a glance at Nerys' revealing costume and smiled. (2)

"Exactly!" exclaimed Shermeen. "As soon as Holosuite Two is vacant, we'll be off to Studio 54. You know, the famous 1970s New York disco!"

"No, I can't say I do," said Tony. "I was a bit too young to catch the disco craze first time around. Barring a couple of things like Saturday Night Fever, that is."

"Anyway, this place is great," said Jake enthusiastically. "We went there last night and we thought we'd go with more people this time."

The Alphans started discussing the pros and cons of 'discos' and 'night clubs' from various periods, finally concluding that 'Studio 54' was probably the best of a bad lot. Nerys didn't join in, as she had no opinion on the subject, but she did take the opportunity to observe Tony to her heart's content. There was no harm in looking, after all.

"Sorry about that," said Tony, approaching Nerys once the conversation had drifted onto topics he wasn't interested in. "I didn't mean to ignore you completely, Nerys." He gave her a charming smile and added, "That's a lovely dress you're wearing."

"Proof that I look good without my uniform?" suggested Nerys. "Shermeen and Annette got hold of me and before I could do anything, they'd convinced me to put this on. I'm told it's ideal for a 'disco'."

The dress was short and low cut, made of a silvery material that was a lot more obnoxious than anything in Nerys' regular wardrobe. The other women were wearing similar costumes, so Nerys had allowed them to select a dress for her. She wasn't entirely comfortable with their choice; she usually went for clothes in shades of red similar to her uniform because she thought red suited her... not that she was used to seeing herself in any other colour these days.

"It looks great," said Tony, observing her appreciatively. "Really... great." That seemed to be as much as he could say about her dress, but he obviously liked it. "There must be something wrong, here," he added, leaning close to her. "I thought I was supposed to be half naked whenever I met you."

Nerys laughed and looked around self-consciously. She noticed that some of the patrons of Quark's were watching her disapprovingly and she felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps she should have opted for a quiet night in her quarters -- she had been too easily convinced by the Alphans' invitation to join them. But on the other hand, Jadzia was always encouraging her to have "fun", and this 'disco' certainly sounded fun.

"So you decided to give Vic's a miss?" she remarked, casting a glance at the upper level of Quark's although the holosuites weren't visible from the bar. "Didn't you like it?"

"Oh, it was good fun. My parents would have loved it," he said with a grin. "And I got on like a house on fire with Vic. But let's just say that Maya's presence made it all a bit awkward... and if the choice is between that and a disco, then I'm definitely up for the disco. I love dancing. I think I'll need a change of clothes, though."

"The holosuite won't be free for another half hour. Why don't you go and get changed... and maybe you can bring some of your beer too." Nerys had enjoyed Tony's beer when she first tasted it and she was looking forward to drinking some more. She noticed Tony looked unsure, so she added, "I'll make sure Quark doesn't mind."

Nerys looked around at Quark, who was studiously wiping glasses at the other end of the bar. He gave them one of his dirty looks and Nerys wondered if she was making the right decision by encouraging Tony. The answer, obviously, was no.

"If you say so." Tony smiled pleasantly and Nerys' momentary misgivings vanished. "Well, I'd better go and sort all that out. I'll see you in about an hour's time -- it usually takes me that long to figure out what I want to wear," he informed her.

As he left, Tony evidently felt compelled to check with his hand that there were no creases at the back of Nerys' dress. Surprised, but not unpleased, the Bajoran smiled as she watched him walk away.

Maya accepted the drink the holographic waitress brought her and sipped it thoughtfully. She could understand now why the humans had been so interested in creating their own alcoholic beverages on Alpha; if Tony's beer, for all its foul taste, could offer them the solace of this Martini, then it was no wonder he brewed it with such dedication.

And if there was one thing Maya felt she needed right now, it was solace. The artificial alcohol seemed to amplify her emotions and clarify her thoughts, making her realise just how incredibly stupid she was. Maybe the flaw in Psychon nature wasn't insanity; maybe it was just an inherent inability to see what was best for them. (3)

"I am so stupid," she said out loud.

Helena was talking to Julian about medical problems and evidently didn't hear her, so Maya sighed and looked around. The holographic singer had finished his show and probably gone off for a holographic break, leaving his orchestra to play some jolly music. Dax, Worf and John were talking about football with Chief O'Brien, who was describing some match he had played as a young man on Earth. Sandra was dancing with Odo -- an incongruous sight, but it appeared that they were the only two people in the holosuite who both knew how to dance and actually wanted to do it. Kate and Alibe had left the night club about half an hour after Tony did and were no doubt entertaining themselves elsewhere.

Maya wouldn't have minded dancing, if she could dance with Tony. She could have danced with him, of course: all she had to do was say yes. But she didn't and that was that. Yet another opportunity missed.

She had seen Tony talking to the singer and then watched him approach, feeling her heart beat wildly as she realised he was going to ask her to dance. At that moment, more than anything, Maya had wanted to dance with him, even if she didn't know how and she would probably tread on her dress or do something ridiculous. But then she remembered seeing him with Kira earlier, heading for the Habitat Ring, and what could he be doing on the Habitat Ring with a woman like that? What if he had slept with Kira already? With that thought in her mind, there was only one answer Maya could give when he asked her to dance.

The minute she said no, Maya knew she should have said yes. The expression on Tony's face made it clear, in her opinion, that he was completely innocent. Or if he wasn't, and if he had slept with Kira, at least he wanted to be with Maya more than the major. But before she could say anything to change her answer, Sandra had whisked him away.

And now Tony had gone. Maya was sure she could locate him and apologise, beg him to forgive her if necessary. All she had to do was walk out of the holosuite and ask the computer for his location. But what if he was with Kira right now? That would be too embarrassing for all three of them. Aside from anything else, Maya knew that she was drunk, and that would hardly encourage Tony to fall into her arms. Maya decided it was probably safer to sit in Vic's and stare into her Martini. At least the drink gave her some comfort.

//Like the days of stopping at the Savoy
 Now we freak, oh what a joy
 Just come on down to 54
 Find a spot out on the floor...// (4)

Even though he was leaning against the bar with Nerys beside him, Tony's body was automatically moving to the vibrations of the music. Just when he thought his life couldn't become more surreal, it took another turn for the bizarre. Having waltzed around with Sandra in a Sixties night club barely an hour earlier, here he was now watching the colourful holograms of a Seventies disco.

"So what do you make of it, Nerys? Human decadence of yesteryear," said Tony, waving his glass at the assorted holograms and Alphans. Some of the holograms -- in particular the night club's busboys -- weren't wearing much; the Alphans' attire was, so far, less revealing. Ben was the only one who had dared go for a pristine white disco suit; not that anyone was likely to mistake him for Travolta.

"It's not like anything I've ever experienced before!" said Nerys with a laugh.

"I'll bet! I'll have to teach you how to dance so you can enjoy it properly." Tony paused and then pointed to the dance floor. "Basically, you do what Shermeen is doing: hop up and down and wave your arms around. There, I've taught you. Now enjoy yourself!"

The Bajoran laughed again and leaned against him with the sort of free familiarity alcohol encouraged. Instinctively responding to the invitation, Tony wrapped his free arm around her and let it wander down the shiny material on Nerys' back. She turned to smile at him. Boy, she was one pretty girl. Even with the little pleats on her nose, she was very cute -- in fact, the pleats themselves were pretty cute. Tony slipped his other arm around Nerys, careful not to pour beer down her back in the process, and then pulled her against him and kissed her. He was probably quite good at kissing, he thought, considering he never got to do anything else in the past four years.

As promised, Tony had come to the holosuite with a keg of his beer, which was now officially called Strange Brew to avoid confusion with the far superior replicated beer that the holographic bar dispensed. Not surprisingly, Tony and Nerys were the only ones drinking the brew, though Nog tried a glass as well. Nerys had explained that she wasn't used to real alcohol and should take it easy -- but she evidently found the taste of the brew irresistible, since she was on her third glass. It seemed to have a liberating effect on her; Tony certainly wasn't complaining.

Tony was about to say something about the beer when his gaze was distracted by a white disco suit boogying towards them.

"I said Freak!" sang Ben Vincent as he side-stepped his way into Tony's field of vision. "I'm surprised you're not dancing, Tony. And what on Earth happened to your famous Italian fashion sense? You look as though you're wearing your uniform trousers!"

Tony glanced down at his cream trousers and dark brown shirt. "My sense of disco fashion was curbed by good taste," he informed the doctor. "And what's with everyone criticising my clothes these days, anyway?" He glanced at Nerys.

Given the little time he had had to choose an outfit, Tony wasn't dissatisfied with the result. At least he had made more effort than Jim Haines, who was wearing a T-shirt and a worn-out pair of jeans, or Pat Osgood, who hadn't even bothered to change out of his uniform at all!

The doctor stopped boogying for a moment as he waited to identify the next song. Hearing Little Michael Jackson's high pitched squeak, Ben started gyrating again. Tony was strongly tempted to do the same. It had been too long since he had been in a disco, and as he had told Nerys earlier, he loved dancing. All he needed was a little more drink and a good song, and he would be down there strutting his stuff with the holograms.

"Anyway," continued Ben, still dancing, "me and the other guys were thinking about doing the LSRO song later on. I'm sure Major Kira will enjoy it," he said, grinning at Nerys. "A 20th century folk song about the Lunar Science and Research Organisation we all worked for."

"No, please. We suffered enough back on Earth," pleaded Tony. "Let's not do that."

"And all this coyness from the man who penned one of the verses!" exclaimed the other Alphan. "You'd think he was embarrassed... A.B.C. - Easy as 1, 2, 3!"

Tony laughed as Ben suddenly pirouetted. "In case you're wondering, Nerys," said Tony, pointing at the doctor, "This is Dr Ben Vincent, one of the leading lights of Alpha's medical team."

"Not anymore -- unless I can get the hang of hyposprays and tricorders," said Ben cheerfully. "The medicine I knew is the equivalent of leeches and bleedings to these people!"

Tony felt a twinge of regret at the thought that this was true of all the scientists on Alpha. It was all very well partying in the holosuite, but it didn't take away from the fact that the Alphans' future in the Federation looked pretty bleak. Most of the knowledge they had spent their lives learning was useless now.

Ben didn't seem bothered; he was still boogying like there was no tomorrow. "Ah well, at least I still have my cool moves. And Ah'm lookin' good!" he exclaimed, pointing at his reflection in the mirror on the wall. (5)

"Dr Ben Vincent," declared Tony in mock seriousness, "the human version of the Cat. Mind you, Nerys, it's a well-known fact that black people and Italians have natural rhythm."

"Ha ha ha!" Ben positively roared with laughter. "Pull the other one! He's just making it up, Nerys. The truth is that humans are colour-coded. The darker the hue, the better the deal. Hey, it's an indisputable fact, mon," he exclaimed as Tony began to protest. "Once they've had black, they never look back!" (6)

This made Tony speechless with laughter. "That is the silliest thing I've ever heard!" he declared when he'd got his voice back. Nerys also seemed to find this very amusing. Tony instinctively held her closer, just in case she might take Ben at his word.

"Anyway I'll leave you two to it," said the doctor. He looked from Tony to Nerys and back again with a dubious expression, no doubt asking himself what was going on. Tony met his eye and Ben shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll go and tell the others you're up for the LSRO song, Tony," he said as he danced away.

"Oh no..." The LSRO song was not something Tony wanted to sing in front of Nerys. He was hoping to impress her with his charm and sophistication, not frighten her off with a rude version of a disreputable disco hit.

He realised Nerys was observing him, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She smiled as she caught his eye. Tony knew why he was attracted to her, but he wondered what made her so willing to go along with this seduction. Perhaps she was very unhappy in her relationship with Odo. Perhaps she was very attracted to Tony -- that was a gratifying thought. Or perhaps she was just very drunk.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a change in the music. "Oh boy, I have got to dance now!" he exclaimed. "Are you coming?"

Nerys hesitated, evidently surprised by the request, but then nodded. Tony guided her onto the dance floor, accidentally in close proximity to Ben and Alibe, who had evidently decided they'd be better off together after all.

"Hey, look who's joined us. I bet this was your favourite as a kid, Tony," said Alibe.

"A trendy movie about a guy called Tony?" exclaimed Ben. "He probably had posters of Travolta on his walls!"

Tony rolled his eyes at Nerys and she responded with a smile as she danced. She wasn't doing too badly for someone who had never heard disco music before. The bass line was evidently proving irresistible, because she was soon undulating her hips as expertly as Alibe. Maybe Bajorans had 'natural rhythm' too.

Tony moved to dance closer to her, almost near enough to touch. Nerys didn't back away. Upon reflection, Tony didn't really want to know what her motives were. It was enough to know that she fancied him.

//Well now, I get low and I get high
 And if I can't get either, I really try
 Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
 I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose// (7)

Julian was having a good time. He wasn't exactly using the venue for all its worth, but he was thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to talk to Helena at Vic's. She was an attentive and interested listener, and he took great pleasure in provoking different responses on her lovely features as he detailed some of his adventures. After nearly seven years on DS9, Julian had plenty of stories to tell.

"So you actually discovered that your serum would cure the children?" said Helena. "That's fascinating. You saved a whole planet from the Quickening disease!" (8)

"I saved future generations," corrected Julian glumly. "I could stop their children from developing the disease, but I couldn't save the current inhabitants. The Dominion had seen to it that they could not possibly be cured."

Thinking about the Dominion, Julian involuntarily looked at Maya, who was sitting with her back to them as she presumably watched the dancers. Julian wondered vaguely what she had discussed with Weyoun the previous day. On the other hand, that was Odo's concern -- Odo, who was currently dancing with Sandra, a privilege Julian could have reserved for himself had he not found Helena's company more agreeable.

"You've had some fascinating adventures, Julian," continued Helena, interrupting his thoughts.

Julian smiled at her, admiring her elegant features. "I wanted frontier medicine, and that's exactly what I got. Mind you, I don't get the impression you were exactly bored in your time on Alpha."

"No, I wasn't..." Helena lowered her eyes sadly, and Julian kicked himself for being so tactless. The Alphans had barely had a day to get over the destruction of their world. He was about to apologise when he noticed that Koenig had come over to join them.

"Helena, I think we should call it a night," he suggested, sitting on a chair beside his wife. "It's getting late."

"Oh..." Helena was visibly disappointed by the interruption, but she looked at her husband and smiled. "You're right, we should be going. We didn't get much rest last night," she explained to Julian. "It was a pleasure talking to you, Julian, and thank you very much for inviting us here. We had a great time."

Julian muttered some polite responses and shook hands with both the Koenigs. He was sad to see Helena leave when they'd been getting on so well. On the other hand, however, he did realise he would be better off using this opportunity to talk to an Alphan woman who was not married.

After the Koenigs had left, Julian looked around the holosuite. Miles had already gone, Maya was watching the dancers, Sandra was dancing with Odo, and Dax and Worf were also waltzing around in a corner -- this latter sight was only slightly more bizarre than seeing Worf in a tuxedo in the first place.

Julian sighed. His original plan had been to spend the evening with Sandra, but things just didn't click between them. There was no particular reason for this; it was a case of not being on the same subspace frequency. Perhaps it was just as well, since Sandra would be gone in just two days' time.

He was wondering if he should strike up a conversation with Maya when he noticed that one of the Alphan women who had left earlier had returned. Her name was Kate as he recalled; a plain English girl with brown hair and a pleasant smile. He rose to greet her as she approached.

"Heya," she said familiarly. She looked at Sandra and Odo on the dance floor. "I came to see if Sahn wanted to join us in the other holosuite. We're having a disco; I know she loves dancing. Looks as if she's enjoying herself here, though."

"Yes," said Bashir with a nod. He wasn't sure if she was expecting him to say any more.

Kate turned towards him with a shrug. "Oh well, I think I'll leave Sahn to it, then... But why don't you join us, doctor?"

Encouraged by her smile, Julian was tempted to follow her suggestion. He didn't know much about discos, aside from the fact that they belonged to the decade immediately after Vic's. He finally shook his head; he was the one who had booked the holosuite and he felt he should stay there. In any case, he really enjoyed Vic's. "No, I... I'll stay here. Thank you."

"Okay," Kate nodded understandingly. "Maybe later, then."

Watching her leave the holosuite, Julian wondered if Kate had really wanted him to go with her. It had been a while since he'd been out with anyone -- his long running affection for Dax coupled with the anxiety of the war had limited his love life in the last few months.

Julian sat down and turned his attention to the stage as Vic came back to continue his show. While Vic started on his first song, the doctor noticed that Maya was ordering another drink. Although he hadn't been keeping track, Julian counted this was probably the fourth or fifth Martini she had had that night. The replicated synthehol drinks that the holosuite dispensed were harmless, however, so he thought nothing more of it.

Maya was lost in thought. The clarity she had felt a couple of hours earlier was gone, and her thoughts were now a muddle, as if large quantities of packing foam had been poured into her mind. What she did know was that she had gone from feeling horribly guilty to being angry with Tony for making her fall in love with him in the first place. The very idea of him with Kira made her furious; he was just like the rest of the humans, as disloyal and selfish as they depicted themselves in all their books. If he had been within reach, she would probably have changed into a monster and given him a thrashing.

Maya was just starting to imagine in detail what would happen if she caught Tony, when she realised Doctor Bashir was sitting beside her and had placed his hand on hers. She stared at his hand, surprised by the unexpected touch.

"Maya, are you all right?" asked the doctor. "You look as if you've had a drop too much to drink. Your species may be intolerant to synthehol: it shouldn't be affecting you like this. Do you want me to accompany you back to your quarters?"

Maya withdrew her hand and stared at him coldly. "You humans, all you think about is sex!"

Bashir was visibly taken aback by her icy comment. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," he said gently. "Look, why don't I get one of your friends to take care of you? I can get Sahn to walk you home, all right?"

"No! It's not all right," exclaimed Maya loudly, deciding to vent her anger about Tony on any of his miserable species. "And what are you calling 'home'? I don't have a home! You people just blew it up -- you humans, you always have to ruin things and blow them up. You destroyed my home planet and now Alpha. And don't call those black, dark... ugly holes you call quarters 'home'. It's like being in a tomb with little spotlights. I hate humans, you're all murderers and heartbreakers and I hope the Dominion will win because then I can be rid of you all!"

By now, she had got the attention of everyone in the holosuite. Even the holograms had stopped playing their music. Sandra and Dax tried to calm Maya down, but the Psychon was having none of it. Unconcerned by the disturbance she was causing, she continued to express the muddle that was currently in her mind.

"Let go of me," she screamed, shaking off Dax' well-meaning hands. "You, Dax and Worf: you call yourself aliens, but you're just lackeys to the humans. They're a disease, a galactic disease! Look, even Odo, who's from a species of perfect Metamorphs, pretends to be one. And Worf the great Klingon warrior, who likes to dance to syrupy human music in a game that isn't even real! You're pathetic, all of you!"

Worf's eyes widened, lifting his bushy eyebrows. "If you were not a woman..." he growled.

"Worf. That won't help," admonished his wife before looking up at Bashir. "What's wrong with her?"

"Allergy to synthehol," explained the doctor. "Some species can't control its effects. Yridians, for instance, are incapable of sobering up without sleeping it off. In those cases, the effect of synthehol is indistinguishable from that of real alcohol."

"Oh do stop babbling!" exclaimed Maya, getting up. She was tired of being constantly surrounded by humans, of listening to their incessant chattering and their arrogant belief that they knew everything about anything. Even the holograms were humans!

She left Vic's and managed to make her way down from the holosuite to the upper level of Quark's. The stairs were a lot harder to tackle than she remembered; something seemed to be affecting her sense of balance and the long evening dress she was wearing didn't help. Maya tripped and fell to her knees at the bottom of the stairs. She was still struggling to extricate herself from the folds of her dress when a column of shimmering orange shifted down from the holosuite level. Odo changed back into this humanoid form and tried to help Maya up.

"Let go of me," she snapped, hitting him impatiently. "You dirty... shapeshifting spy! Don't think I don't know about your little plan to find out what I told Weyoun. You've been eavesdropping on all my conversations, haven't you, Odo? I'll bet you were even there when I was having a private conversation with Tony right here last night. I'll bet you really enjoyed that, cause you really hate him, don't you! And you know what he's doing right now, don't you? Making you a big cuckold. I'm sure you'd look really good with a pair of horns!"

"She is drunk, she does not know what she is saying," apologised Sandra who had come down to join them.

Maya felt sudden misgivings when she heard her colleague defending her. Sandra was a human, but she was a good human. As the operative crouched down to help her up, Maya wrapped her arms around her and began to cry. "I'm so stupid," she lamented. "Why am I so stupid, Sahn?"

"You are not stupid, you are very clever," said Sandra soothingly. "But right now, you are also very drunk."

Maya straightened up a bit to look at Sandra. "If I'm so clever," she said with a hiccup. "Why did I tell Tony I didn't love him when it should be obvious even to me that I do?"

"I really do not know," admitted Sandra. "But now you mention it... You are right: you are both very stupid."

Maya nodded miserably and started to cry again, smudging her mascara as she wiped her eyes. "Yes, I should have said I wanted him with me but I thought he'd be unhappy on Cardassia because he likes to be with his friends and I didn't want to take him away from you all just because I was being selfish and wanting to have him with me when I went to work with Weyoun but I thought it would be easier if he left with all of you and didn't see me again and I didn't even know how much I wanted him and now I wish I had said I loved him but I thought he was unhappy with me and now he's sleeping with Kira-a-a-" Her voice broke off into sobs and she leant into Sandra's arms again.

"Sleeping with..?" Bashir interrupted himself before he could say any more. Odo looked similarly affected; in fact, the Shapeshifter mumbled something about needing to regenerate and then left abruptly. Maya felt some satisfaction at having rattled the all-knowing Starfleet officers. The fact that Odo wasn't a Starfleet officer didn't cross her mind at that point.

Bashir soon recovered his calm. "Maya, we need to get you to the Infirmary."

"I should have told him I loved him," she said disconsolately. "I won't get another chance now. He likes her better."

Maya looked up at Bashir; he was smiling at her understandingly. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. You'll be able to sort things out tomorrow. Now, why don't we go to the Infirmary and make you feel better?"

Maya tried to think about that for a moment, but then gave up and simply nodded. Bashir helped her to her feet and guided her to the exit on the upper level of Quark's. Sandra said something about going to find Tony -- not that Maya wanted him to see her in this state. She doubted Tony would be easily found in any case; he was no doubt with Kira.

Judging from the looks they were giving her, most of the patrons in the bar had heard what she had said about Weyoun. But Maya didn't care anymore; Bashir was right, she would let Tony do whatever he was doing now and then she could sort things out with him tomorrow.

//It's fun to work at the LSRO
 You can get yourself clean
 You can have a good meal
 You can do whoever you feel// (9)

Nerys couldn't understand all the lyrics, but she decided that was probably just as well. She had rarely seen anything funnier than the five Alphan men dancing back and forth, waving their arms in haphazard unison as they shouted their lyrics over the blaring music. Bill and Alan had absolutely no coordination whatsoever, but Tony, Ben and Jim seemed to be executing some kind of simple choreography. She could see why it had taken two hours for Ben to convince all this colleagues to participate: it was one of the most bizarre sights Nerys had ever seen.

The humans from her time weren't like this, she reflected. They didn't make tasteless jokes about each other's skin colour or sexual prowess, or sing lewd songs about the organisation they worked for. The very thought made Nerys smile as she tried to imagine the likes of Sisko and Miles singing rude lyrics about Starfleet.

Strange as it was, the whole experience was delightfully inebriating. Tony's bitter alcohol and her conviction that she was only following the Prophets' plans by being here made Nerys feel freer than she had in a long time. The pounding music with its fast, regular rhythm seemed to will her body to move with it, and she was making no effort to resist. It was possible that she looked ridiculous dancing like this, but then she knew she couldn't possibly look more ridiculous than Alan or Bill.

In any case, no one was paying her any notice; the others were all dancing or watching the LSRO singers, except possibly for Shermeen and Jake who couldn't take their eyes off each other. Alibe and Kate were laughing hysterically, pointing at the singers; Nog was trying to impress the Japanese girl Yasko; Annette and the Osgoods were dancing more sedately further away, and Nerys didn't recognise any of the other Alphans who had found their way to the holosuite. But they all had better things to do than look at her.

Nerys knew she shouldn't be admiring the Alphan, not when she was involved with Odo. It wasn't as if Odo made her unhappy; he was the sweetest person she had ever been involved with. But there was something lacking, something she couldn't quite define, but which had evidently bothered her enough to pursue Tony in such a blatant fashion. Perhaps she had a need to feel real flesh and bones when she kissed a lover, rather than the smooth surface of Odo's simulated skin. Perhaps she wanted a lover who could sleep beside her without retreating to a bucket for his nightly rest.

Or perhaps all this had nothing to do with Odo at all -- perhaps it was just a sign that Nerys was incapable of forming a durable relationship. She had been a terrorist most of her life; she had learned to push people away before they became too close, before they became close enough for their death to break her heart. Perhaps it was simply too difficult to break the habits of a lifetime.

On the other hand, she might have had too much of Tony's beer. Nerys dismissed the thoughts and concentrated on Tony instead. Now that the LSRO song was finished, he was entirely lost in the music, his eyes half-closed, his whole body following the rhythm with a sensuality that the Bajoran found surprisingly enticing. She had never known that watching a man dance could be so beguiling.

To distract herself from her unpleasant thoughts, Nerys wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and kissed him passionately, oblivious to the people around them on the dance floor. He was hot, his face and hair covered in sweat from the exertion of dancing. In an effort to cool him down, Nerys unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. She tentatively slid her hand under the clammy material, running her fingers along Tony's collarbone. She needed to undo more buttons to get better access to his shoulders and chest. By then, the shirt was half unbuttoned and Nerys decided she might as well undo it completely.

"Is this a subtle hint that I'm overdressed?" asked Tony, lifting his arms so that Nerys could disengage his shirt from his trousers and undo the last button.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're always overdressed," she said, wrapping her bare arms around him under the shirt. She had all but forgotten her earlier misgivings.

"Oh boy," he whispered as her hands ran up the warm skin on his back. That seemed to be the sum total of his vocabulary right then. "Oh boy," he repeated, closing his eyes as Nerys pushed the shirt down off his shoulders. She had absolutely no idea why she had this strange compulsion to undress him on the holosuite dance floor, but as long as he didn't protest, she assumed it was still acceptable behaviour. Somewhere in the back of Nerys' mind a little warning went off which suggested this was a perverted result of Tony's beer rather than 'acceptable behaviour'. She ignored this thought and kissed Tony again.

"Oh, come on, get your shirt back on, Verdeschi. You're attracting moths with that white skin of yours!"

Nerys didn't have time to see which one of the Alphan women had come up with this helpful comment, but it did bring her back to her senses. Tony was similarly affected; he opened his eyes and looked around.

"One of these days, I'm going to kill Alibe," he said. "But I guess I'll have to find her first..." He peered around him, but Alibe was nowhere to be seen.

"I wonder why she interrupted us," said Nerys, her arms still around Tony. Looking over his shoulder, she noticed that Sandra Benes, dressed in a full length yellow evening dress, was watching them from the entrance of the disco. Nerys ignored the woman and kissed Tony's shoulder as he spoke.

"Rule One of life on Alpha: nothing is sacred," he was explaining, oblivious to Benes' presence. "Especially not ex-boyfriends you're not particularly keen on."

"Ex-? Oh. I see."

Tony shrugged his shoulders. He laughed as Alan and Bill passed, both making exaggerated efforts to shield their eyes from the sight of his naked torso. "Boy, I must admit this is a bit like one of those dreams where you're somewhere public and you suddenly realise you're naked... I think I'll pull my shirt back on before anyone starts thinking I'm one of these half-naked waiters they have in here."

"I think you look pretty good like that," said Nerys without thinking. Tony's beer had definitely gone to her head; the only thing she could concentrate on right now was her sudden desire to be alone with him.

"Well, um, I prefer to be dressed in public," he said as he started buttoning up his shirt. Tony looked embarrassed and Nerys felt a pang of guilt. It evaporated as soon as he spoke again. "It's a different matter in private, of course."

Nerys smiled. She hesitated for a split second, some glimmer of conscience trying to break through the fog in her brain. This wasn't how she was supposed to behave. She knew this wasn't how she was supposed to behave. But her relationship with Odo was already over. She had gone too far to turn back now.

She leaned over to murmur in Tony's ear. "Now, how could I resist a promise like that?"

He drew back to look at her face and smiled as she took his hand, leading him towards the holosuite door.

//You're just too good to be true
 Can't take my eyes off of you
 You'd be like heaven to touch
 Oh, I want to hold you so much...// (10)

Maya was mortified. She sat disconsolately on the Infirmary's examination bed and looked down at her pink evening dress. Bashir had given her a shot of something to clear her thoughts, but now that they were clear, Maya realised she would have preferred them to stay muddled. This evening was not her proudest moment.

"You should be feeling better now," said Bashir. "But you'll still need a good night's sleep to work it off completely. I must say I've rarely seen such a violent reaction to synthehol. Most humanoids are able to control its effects the minute they feel them; that's certainly why it was designed. On the other hand, we did already know that your body is hypersensitive to any kind of stimulation."

Maya looked up sharply as something occurred to her. "Would that include sexual simulation?"

No doubt remembering Maya's reaction when she thought he was propositioning her earlier, Bashir took a step back. "I -- I can't speak for that," he said hastily. "At least... well, I -- obviously, I am a doctor and --"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'd better be going; I think things are just getting worse." Maya smiled wanly and stood up. "This really hasn't been my day."

"I am a doctor, you know," said Bashir, who had evidently recovered his professionalism. "And I'm a specialist in xenobiology, so if you do have a problem you want to talk about, I promise not to be embarrassed."

Maya hesitated. "No, I don't think --"

"Is it something to do with Tony?"

"Hmm." Maya sat down again. It was perhaps time to admit that she did have a problem. She had never been able to work up the courage to describe her difficulties to Helena, feeling that it would be unfair to talk about Tony to such a close friend. Bashir, on the other hand, was a virtual stranger, and one with training and experience on alien species.

Maya briefly described her problem, but Bashir did most of the talking. He spoke about pheromones and reproductive cycles and sexual stimuli and procreative urges until Maya half wished she hadn't brought up the topic. The one thing she did learn was that instincts couldn't be trusted when engaging in a physical relationship with a humanoid from another species, because different species were aroused by different stimuli.

"It is quite possible that Tony's advances -- his kisses, for instance -- are subconsciously perceived as a threat by your Psychon instincts," said the doctor earnestly. "Do you know if Psychon lovers kissed on the mouth?"

Maya blushed; she had never known any Psychon lovers. "I-- I don't know. I think so."

Bashir was no doubt about to question her further, but they were interrupted as Kate and Sandra came in. Maya heaved an involuntary sigh of relief.

"Julian, a fight has broken out at Quark's, Alphans against Klingons," announced Sandra, though both women looked amused rather than worried. "We are afraid someone might get hurt."

"A fight?" repeated Bashir. He immediately grabbed a medkit and made for the door, followed by Maya and the two operatives. "Someone has to stop them. The Alphans will get slaughtered!"

"Oh, I don't know," said Kate airily. "They're having a great time. Alan started it, you know. He called one of the Klingons 'walnut-head'. That went down like a lead balloon, I can tell you."

"The Klingons do tend to be a bit sensitive," agreed Bashir with a laugh as they left the Infirmary. "Alan must be a very brave man; some of those Klingons are literally twice his size."

"It's not the size that matters," retorted Kate flirtatiously. "It's what you do with it. Look! It's like an old fashioned bar fight!"

They all stood aside as Alexei Petrov stumbled out of the bar, evidently the victim of a vigorous punch. He had no sooner fallen to the ground than he was up and racing back into Quark's to face his assailant. Peering into the bar, Maya could see it really was like a scene from one of the old 'Westerns' they had had in Alpha's cinema. The fight mainly involved the Alphans and the Klingons, although there were some Starfleets and Bajorans participating as well. Maya watched Alan knock one of the Klingons over the Dabo table, while Bill crashed a chair over the head of another one -- with minimal effect. Kate was right; they were having a great time.

"I'm surprised Tony isn't in there with them," remarked Maya.

She noticed that Sandra and Kate suddenly exchanged an embarrassed look. Bashir was evidently unaware of this exchange. "Oh yes, did you find Tony, Sahn?" he asked.

Sandra half shrugged, evidently unwilling to admit that she had. Kate also lowered her eyes and hesitated before answering. "Well, he's not in Quark's anymore, that's for certain," she said vaguely, before adding, "We'll probably see him around tomorrow."

Maya felt a horrible pain in her chest, as if Kate had suddenly stabbed her. She knew exactly what they were trying to tell her. Tony must have left Quark's with Kira.

"Oh," she said coldly. "Well, I'd better go and sleep off my synthehol. I'll see you all tomorrow."

She said goodnight and turned away from the bar. Sandra caught up with her. "I will walk with you to the Habitat Ring, Maya."

The operative cast a regretful look at Bashir, now in conversation with Kate. Even though he turned to smile at the women politely as they left, Maya could tell the doctor was far more interested in what Kate was telling him. She felt sorry for Sandra. Almost as sorry as she felt for herself.

"Human men are so unreliable," she muttered as they walked towards the Turbolift.

Sandra just laughed. "Oh Maya, you do not need to be so cynical! There are a lot of good men... Though I agree we two are not having a good evening tonight," she added, shaking her head.

Maya felt her earlier anger return as she realised exactly why she wasn't having a good night. She wouldn't have felt compelled to drink herself silly and start insulting the senior staff of DS9 if Tony hadn't been flirting with Kira in the first place. The Psychon decided that her plan for tomorrow -- after apologising to anyone she had offended -- would be to kill the man.