Two Weeks Later
As CEREMONIES WENT,this was a small one. But it was one that Benjamin Sisko would remember forever.
He and Jake stood outside docking bay three. Dax stood on his left, and Bashir on Jake's right. At the entrance to the docking bay, General Caybe stood a few steps behind Jibet's Supreme Ruler.
The ruler still looked too thin. He wore the same robes he had worn in cold sleep, only they had been cleaned and pressed. He clutched his staff at his side. His hair had grown in the last two weeks, and his stamina had improved. His eyes retained their brightness, but his face had a few new lines.
Sisko remembered the look. He had seen it on his own face after Jennifer's death. But, like the Supreme Ruler, people had counted on him. In Sisko's case, Jake had counted on him. And Sisko had gone on.
The Supreme Ruler would to.
Sisko had said as much to him during their long talks.
The ruler had nodded. It was only when Sisko had been about to leave that the ruler said, "Mortal beings know they must get used to the death of loved ones. But not many of us must also mourn the centuries. I am not sure how to do that, Commander."
And Sisko had no answers for him.
"Forgive my presumptiveness," the general said. "But I would feel better, milord, if you rode to Jibet in the flagship."
The Supreme Ruler smiled at him. Clearly this argument had gone on for a while. Sisko just hadn't been privy to it. "For now, General, the Nibix will be the flagship. I need to return home in the same ship I left on. It is important."
Extremely important. Each decision the Supreme Ruler made these days had importance. His decision to imprison Ribe had been one he agonized over. Finally, he took Ribe into custody for his acts against the Federation, not for the sins his ancestor committed centuries before.
"I must put the past behind me," the Supreme Ruler had said.
"This time though," Sisko said, "you will see the parts of space you passed through."
"And," Dax added, "what took eight hundred years will now take five days."
The Supreme Ruler laughed. "Yes, this modern world is wonderful in many ways."
He had been like a child in the infirmary. Each moment he was awake he asked questions. Sisko finally assigned him two around-the-clock ensigns just to answer the ruler's questions about the past. If anyone could catch up, the ruler could, although he had already expressed his wish for a Federation councillor and assistance in his homeland. He wasn't sure if his mind was modern enough to rule Jibet.
Sisko suspected his mind was modern enough for any age.
The ruler turned to Dr. Bashir. "Thank you for your fine work. I have been told that waking me is considered groundbreaking in your medical world."
Bashir smiled. "I'm just glad we succeeded."
"As am I, Doctor. Otherwise I would have never had a chance to see this wonderful future." Then the ruler turned to Dax and bowed slightly. "Thank you, lovely lady, for being the captain of my ship through its first and only battle."
"It was my honor," Dax said.
Then the Supreme Ruler turned to Sisko. As the ruler regained his health, his eyes had become an even more vibrant green. It was almost as if his life force flowed through them and touched everyone he met. Sisko felt the warmth now.
"You are a brave man, Commander Sisko. Thank you." He stuck out his hand and after only a moment of hesitation, Sisko took it and shook it. The ruler's hand was warm.
"You're welcome," Sisko said.
The Supreme Ruler smiled. "I have no doubt our two cultures will work well together in future years."
"I think you are right," Sisko said.
"Of course I am," the Supreme Ruler said. "You can't live over eight hundred years and not know a few things."
There was a stunned silence—everyone knew how much difficulty the ruler was having with his leap into the future—and then Sisko saw the corners of the Supreme Ruler's mouth twitch with suppressed mirth.
Sisko laughed, and so did the ruler.
"Come," the ruler said to the general. "We have a long trip back, and I'm getting cold out here. You know how I hate cold."
The Supreme Ruler winked at Bashir. Bashir shot him a startled look and then smiled and winked back.
The ruler laughed again. He waved his staff over all of them, an ancient, formal Jibetian thank-you, and then he led the general through the airlock. Sisko watched them enter the Nibix, the ship of dreams.
And nightmares.
But the long night was over now.
The day had begun.