Revenant

Alex White

• Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781982160821
• eBook ISBN: 9781982160838
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Science Fiction
• Index: Literature

An all-new novel based on the landmark TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from the acclaimed author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe!

Jadzia Dax has been a friend to Etom Prit, the Trill Trade Commissioner, over two lifetimes. When Etom visits Deep Space Nine with the request to rein in his wayward granddaughter Nemi, Dax can hardly say no. It seems like an easy assignment: visit a resort casino while on shore leave, and then bring her old friend Nemi home. But upon arrival, Dax finds Nemi has changed over the years in terrifying ways…and the pursuit of the truth will plunge Dax headlong into a century’s worth of secrets and lies!

™, ®, & © 2021 CBS Studios, Inc. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

1 ABSENCE

“What about that guy?” Jadzia Dax asked.

Jake Sisko’s irrepressible smile boiled over. “Kemocite smuggler.”

The captain’s son was a gawky, dark-skinned teenager, perpetually looking for the next adventure. Maybe that’s why Dax always found him on Deep Space 9’s Promenade mezzanine, people watching. Everyone on the station had to pass through there at one point or another, and that meant the diversity of occupants was always on display.

The science officer narrowed her eyes. “I’m pretty sure he works in the Replimat.”

“That’s only as a front for his insidious activities,” he said. “Pick another.”

“Okay, her.” Dax surreptitiously pointed to a robed Bajoran woman passing underneath.

“She’s on a secret mission, carrying… isolinear rods with”—he paused to search his thoughts, eyes glittering—“the names of Cardassian double agents.”

Dax couldn’t restrain a laugh. “A Bajoran?”

“That’s why you wouldn’t see it coming.” Jake tapped his temple.

“Oh. Well, I don’t know how I missed that.”

“You’ve got to think of these things if you want to be a mystery writer.”

Dax folded her arms and leaned on the handrail, looking for the next interesting target. “I thought you wrote poetry.”

He demurred. “Sure, but it never hurts to play around with other genres. What if I’m not good at poetry?”

“Then you’re like most poets.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I like poetry, but I think making up stories is, well, more fun.”

“Show me what you’ve got, then.”

A crowd dispersed into the Promenade beneath the pair—a ship unloading its passengers into the ring. They were well dressed, the tailoring reminiscent of Dax’s homeworld. Some of the newcomers turned to talk with one another, excited to be able to stretch their legs, and she noted a few spotted necks; these were her people, the Trill.

Jake pointed to the fellow in the center of the pack: a silver-haired, pale-skinned Trill dressed in pleated finery. His was a diplomatic style, emblematic of grace and propriety.

“Take that guy right there,” Jake said. “He’s looking for someone important, and I bet it’s—”

“Etom!” Dax called down to him, and the man turned to find her. “Etom Prit!”

The older fellow’s face lit up with a familiar warmth. “Well now! Jadzia Dax! I was hoping to run into you!”

“I’ll be right down.” Then, to Jake she added, “You were right about him looking for someone important.”

Jake gave her a cocky shrug. “Call it writer’s intuition.”

“Be good, Jake,” Dax said. “I’ve got to go say hi to an old friend.”

“Of course. See you around.”

The shops were just starting to get crowded, and Dax had to fight through a small throng to get to Prit. When she reached him, she could scarcely believe her eyes.

It’d been more than five years since she’d seen the man, but Prit hadn’t changed a bit. His mahogany irises were still sharp. Kindness and smiles had worn wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. He wore his suit stiff, and not one hair was out of place on his coiffure, nor his short, white goatee.

“Etom!” She threw her arms around him, and he gave her a quick squeeze before pulling back. “What an incredible surprise! What brings you to Deep Space 9?”

Prit’s gentle, age-roughened voice warmed her heart. “Oh, is this Deep Space 9? We must’ve taken a wrong turn!”

The other members of his cohort tittered with laughter.

“Can’t a fellow pay a visit to his favorite Dax?” he asked.

“I’m not sure Curzon would appreciate you saying that.”

“No, I suppose you’re right. He never liked being in second place.” He elbowed her. “But he’s not here!” Then he turned to his small group. “Friends, I’d like you all to meet Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax. We go way back. Jadzia, these are the members of the Trill Shipwrights’ Council. We’re here to discuss a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Bajoran government.”

Officially, Prit was the commerce commissioner, charged with overseeing the Trill government’s economy. His job was high stress, high pressure, and mostly on the homeworld. It certainly didn’t involve sticking his nose into regular trade missions.

Dax shook hands with each of the party in turn. They were an odd crew, mostly older Trill, with a few middle-aged folks. Though some of them seemed like they could stand to get out of the boardroom more often, they were generally amenable.

Dax cocked her head. “You’re leading a delegation?”

“Never too old to go into the field, I say!” Prit said, spreading his hands. “Speaking of which, you’re pretty far flung yourself!”

“What do you mean?”

“Feels like the edge of space out here. Middle of nowhere, wouldn’t you say?”

Benjamin Sisko’s rich tenor cut through the noise of the Promenade. “A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere.”

Dax turned to find her commanding officer approaching, a wide grin on his face. He was dressed in his usual: a command uniform without a speck of dust on it. He was more hands-on than most captains, appreciated decorum, and always looked his best.

“Commissioner Prit,” Dax said, “this is Captain Benjamin Sisko. Captain, this is Trill Commerce Commissioner Etom Prit. He’s a friend of mine—and Curzon’s.”

The captain shook Etom’s hand. “You knew the old man too?”

“It was a mixed blessing.” Prit winked, and Dax batted his arm.

“Any friend of Dax is a friend of mine.” Sisko folded his hands behind his back and nodded. “Welcome to DS9, Commissioner. I know the commander will give you a tour. You’ll find there’s more to this place than meets the eye.”

Prit nodded. “There would have to be to keep Jadzia interested. What do you do out here?”

“Science officer,” she said. “And I can assure you, we’re never bored.”

Prit’s laugh took her back many years. “Of that, I have no doubt!”

“Do you have time to look around?” she asked.

“We need to get settled in and set up for talks, but I’d like to take you up on your offer.” He gestured toward the way he came. “My ship, the Steadfast, is a fine vessel, with an even finer chef.”

“Ah.” Sisko raised a finger. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jadzia turn down a gourmet meal.”

She winked at Prit. “Hard to say no when your captain insists on cooking for you.”

“You haven’t complained about my gumbo even once,” Sisko said.

“And I wouldn’t dare.” Dax held up her hands in surrender.

Prit’s eyebrows knit together. “What’s gumbo?”

“Unless you want to be here all day, that’s the second-worst question you can ask Captain Sisko,” she said.

Sisko’s hands fell to his hips. “And the first?”

Dax shrugged. “ ‘What’s baseball?’ ”

Prit’s delegates began to move, beckoning him to come with them. “I really must be going, but I’d love to hear more about this gumbo. Captain, you’re welcome to join us.”

“You know”—Sisko’s mischievous smile told Dax she was in for a long evening—“I think I might.”

---

That night, they ate and drank, discussing philosophy, politics, literature, and, of course, baseball. The Steadfast was just as beautiful as promised, with sleek Trill design at its heart. The meal was a bounty of nostalgic flavors, not only to Jadzia, but her previous hosts. Curzon’s favorite dishes were there, along with some of Torias’s and Emony’s.

After a rousing recount of the 1959 World Series of baseball, Sisko excused himself, wishing both Dax and Prit a fond farewell.

“Here,” Prit said, passing Dax a syrupy purple bottle and a glass. “Lidashk. Helps with digestion.”

Dax resisted the urge to pat her overfull stomach and took the liquor, pouring herself a glass. “Oh wow. Haven’t seen this since the last time I visited my uncle.”

“Where do you think I ordered it from? As the trade commissioner, I like to support small businesses.”

Once they both poured their viscous lida fruit cordial, they raised a glass to each other and drank. The liquor coated Dax’s mouth in potent sweetness, finishing with a toasted vanilla bite.

“I appreciated the baseball lesson,” Prit said. “I never knew statisticians had a sport.”

Dax laughed. “It’s a little different in person. I’m sure he could show you in a holosuite—if you have another century to stick around.”

“Alas, I could scarcely conjure the time to participate in this trade mission. I’m so busy nowadays.”

“You’ve been busy my whole life—and most of Curzon’s.”

Prit sighed, lounging in his high-backed chair. “You’re right. I never have enough of myself to spare for the things that truly matter. I need to fix that before it bites me.”

Dax set her glass on the table. She knew two things about Etom Prit: his heart was a wellspring of kindness, and he always had an agenda. No way he was required for such a minor mission.

“I got so caught up in seeing you again that I almost forgot to ask.” She folded her hands across her lap. “How is your family?”

“That’s why I’m here.” A pained smile played across his lips. “It’s Nemi.”

Over Dax’s long life, there were triumphs and tragedies, and Prit’s granddaughter, Nemi Prit, was both. She used to hang around his office, a spunky teenager excited to see the universe. It’d been Nemi who’d encouraged Jadzia to change history and reapply after she’d washed out of the initiate program. She’d pushed Jadzia to overcome Curzon’s assessment. Nemi dreamed of being joined one day, too, following in Jadzia’s footsteps.

Except when it was her turn, Nemi couldn’t handle the pressure. It’d been heartbreaking for Dax to watch her fail, and when Nemi needed a reference to reapply, Dax had happily obliged. However, when she washed out a second time, there was no way to fix it. Nemi Prit, who longed to be joined more than anything, would never experience it.

In the subsequent years, they grew apart. Nemi’s behavior became erratic. Her failure had been traumatic, and she couldn’t stand to be reminded of it by being near a joined Trill.

“She’s vanished.” Prit’s words snapped Dax back into the moment.

“Etom, I—” Her heart raced. “Have you contacted the authorities? Do they have any leads?”

He gave her a sour look. “Not like that, I’m happy to report. No, my granddaughter took off in our family yacht, and she’s flaunting our wealth with her new club.”

“ ‘New club’?”

“Yes,” Prit said. “The Kael’tach or something like that. She met them through a friend who also… who also didn’t make it through the initiate program. I thought it was a support group, but they almost seem proud of their failure.”

“What do they do?”

He shrugged. “Commiserate, I suppose.”

“She told you all of this?”

Prit’s face turned a little red. “Well, no… but when she disappeared, I accessed her journals. Don’t look at me like that, Jadzia. I couldn’t find her, and I was getting desperate.”

“But you know where she is now?”

“Yes. We tracked the yacht offworld and found her at a place called the Avendawn. The staff confirmed she’s there.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“A casino on Argelius II.”

Dax wrinkled her nose. “Oh. T...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Historian’s Note
• Chapter 1: Absence
• Chapter 2: Elevated
• Chapter 3: Shore Leave
• Chapter 4: Signal
• Chapter 5: Wake
• Chapter 6: Commission
• Chapter 7: Houseguests
• Chapter 8: Gathering
• Chapter 9: Retrieval
• Chapter 10: Mak’ala
• Chapter 11: Death House
• Chapter 12: Last Witness
• Chapter 13: Hard Exit
• Chapter 14: Shift Change
• Chapter 15: Path of Sky
• Chapter 16: Duplicate
• Chapter 17: Web of Light
• Chapter 18: Delving
• Chapter 19: Separation Anxiety
• Chapter 20: War Room
• Chapter 21: Striking Twice
• Chapter 22: Inheritance
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright