Maya paused and frowned thoughtfully. "I scanned her life form when we were on the Dominion ship. I didn't really think about it at the time, but there was something... different about her. She didn't 'feel' the same as Odo; it was as if she wasn't quite from the same species. I was too preoccupied to worry about it then, but comparing my mental map of the two of them now, I'm beginning to think she had some kind of disease. That'll give her something to worry about as well. Maybe all this will divert the Head Founder's attention from the war and give Starfleet a chance to fight back." (1)

"I suppose that could be a help from the Prophets' point of view," said John dubiously. "Goodness knows what the war looks like to a race of non-corporeal beings. They might think they did the Bajorans a great favour, even though it looks like nothing to us. But I still don't see why the Prophets wasted so much time and energy for such a meagre result."

"Neither do I. The Prophets evidently move in mysterious ways, as you humans would say. But at least we're amply rewarded for our help." She indicated the landscape with a sweep of her hand.

John noticed a shiny white object in the blue sky and shielded his eyes as Eagle One landed a few hundred metres away. Tony, Alan and Helena were back from their own survey of the surrounding area. John and Maya approached the Eagle once its engines were cut; Tony and Alan hopped out to greet them -- Helena was evidently still working inside.

"Ah, here come Starsky and Hutch," said Maya mischievously as she went to embrace Tony.

"And what would you know about Starsky and Hutch?" challenged Tony, though he returned her embrace and kissed her.

Like all new lovers, they seemed to find it impossible to keep their hands off each other. John found their new intimacy amusing; he could remember a time when he and Helena had been similarly afflicted. Not that he didn't enjoy touching Helena even now, but they had become somewhat more dignified as time passed.

"So, what do you all think of the planet?" he asked.

"It's beautiful," said Alan. "Blue skies, thick forests, endless prairies just begging to be tilled... and it's all in a much better state than Earth has been for centuries. I know we've been talking about finding some kind of garden of Eden for years now, but I never thought we'd actually find one!"

"You should have had more faith," said Helena, who had just come to join them. "Don't you know John Koenig always keeps his word? Oh John, this planet is perfect! We've been here a week, and still nothing has gone wrong. Maybe it's time to move everyone else down."

"They're all impatient to settle here," agreed Tony. "Shermeen says hydroponics isn't good enough for her anymore; she wants to do some 'real work with real soil'."

John smiled and slid his arm around Helena. "I think you're right; it's time to settle down," he said with a grin, before adding more thoughtfully, "The only thing I find a bit worrying is that there's no intelligent life here. Lots of plants and animals, but no Bajorans. Why don't they exist in this universe? Did they get wiped out, and if so, by what?" He was concerned that the absence of Bajorans might reveal a hitherto undisclosed danger on the planet.

"I was wondering about that too, so I had a chat with the Addis-Ababa's computer," explained Maya. "It seems there's some doubt as to whether the Bajorans in the Starfleet universe really originated on Bajor. Their civilisation suddenly appeared on the planet around 30,000 years ago, but there are few traces of intelligent life before that time. If this theory is true in the Starfleet universe, then it's possible that the Bajorans just didn't make it to Bajor in this reality. It doesn't mean there was any kind of sinister cataclysm that wiped them out."

"Hey, do you think the Prophets sent us here because they wanted some disciples in another reality?" suggested Tony. "I mean, since there are no Bajorans here. Perhaps they thought it would be a good idea to populate Bajor with some grateful people."

"Actually, Maya and I were discussing that earlier," said John, amused to find that Tony had had exactly the same thought.

"Aha, great minds and all that," declared Tony. "So what was your conclusion?"

"That the Prophets move in mysterious ways," said Maya with a grin.

Alan didn't look so pleased. "I'm not so sure I like the idea of being one of the Prophets' hand-picked disciples."

"Don't worry, I for one have no intention of worshipping them," John assured him.

Helena smiled up at John and then looked around at the landscape. "Well, we don't need to worship them, but at least they've given us plenty to be grateful for."

Tony was also observing the scenery with obvious satisfaction. "I have a feeling Bajor will be my favourite planet after all -- ack!"

John laughed with the others as, inexplicably, Maya pretended to strangle Tony.

Time had passed. It had been months since the Alphans left Deep Space Nine. Sisko rarely thought about them nowadays; the war, Jadzia's untimely death, his own doubts about his role as Emissary had all given him far more important matters to dwell on. The pressures had been such that he had finally chosen to take a leave of absence -- time to grieve for the loss of a dear friend, time to rethink his role in the grand scheme of things.

Sitting on the doorstep at the back of his father's restaurant, Sisko peered into the warmth of a New Orleans night and remembered the Alphans. Deep Space Nine had gone back to normal after they left. The Eagles were sent to the Daystrom Institute, along with the reports the senior staff of DS9 had compiled on the Alphans. The crew of the Addis-Ababa were verbally reprimanded for the loss of their ship and then reassigned to other vessels. Maya's information about the Vorta's genetic engineering had had no visible effect on the Dominion. Whether he had been reengineered or not, Weyoun looked and behaved the same as always. Whatever the Prophets had hoped for on that side, their plan seemed to have failed. The Romulans' entry into the war had so far tipped the balance in the Federation's favour, but that had nothing to do with the Alphans or the Prophets. Odo and Kira had made up, with the Bajoran -- now promoted to colonel -- seemingly more determined than ever to put the incident with Verdeschi behind them. As far as Sisko knew, they were still together.

Sisko had all but forgotten about the Alphans until he saw an Eagle in one of his dreams the previous night. The image, no doubt retrieved from his subconscious, had stayed with him all day as he worked in his father's kitchen. Now that he had the time, Sisko thought about those wanderers he had known so briefly.

The Alphans had been through worse ordeals than his, he thought. Losing their home, all their families and so many of their friends, drifting uncontrollably through space and time until they encountered the Prophets and lost even that one part of their Earth which they still possessed. And yet they hadn't lost hope. Sisko knew that even when he was pretending to go along with Starfleet's plans, Koenig had remained doggedly faithful to his belief that he could find a permanent home for his people. He had believed it was his destiny.

Sisko wondered if Koenig had fulfilled his destiny. It was possible that the Prophets had intercepted the Addis-Ababa and sent the Alphans back to their universe, just as they had intercepted the Moon originally and brought the Alphans into Sisko's universe. Or maybe the ship had simply drifted into the Gamma Quadrant to be destroyed by the Dominion. But either way, Koenig had had no doubt that his destiny was in his own universe, and he had had no qualms about doing what needed to be done to return there. If Koenig could keep such a strong faith after so many ordeals, why can't I believe in my own destiny? Sisko asked himself.

He looked up at the full moon shining above the ancient city and suddenly knew without a doubt that his own destiny lay on Deep Space Nine. He had to return there and continue the fight.

Story by Ariana -- Let me know what you think