The Long Night by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

know if any ships are hiding there, waiting to find the Nibix. Assist him in his efforts, Dodds."
    Both ensigns bent over the task. They worked furiously-a little too quickly actually-but that was to be expected from such a young crew as this one.
    "No, sir. The system is clear," Harsch said. He was barely out of the Academy, a thin blond human who had chosen a deep-space assignment over working his way up the ranks of a starship.
    "My readings are the same, Commander," Dodds said.
    Sisko hoped his spur-of-the-moment decision was the right one. He also hoped Kira was ready for a fleet of Cardassians to descend upon her. It amazed him that the station could go from calm to near disaster in a few short hours. He hadn't even had a chance to tell Jake he was leaving.
    Someone would bring him up to speed.
    "Ensign Kathé, follow the Cardassian ships to a point exactly halfway between the Nibix and the station."
    "Yes, sir." She frowned as she plotted in the coordinates. The Defiant turned sharply and then righted itself. "Done, sir."
    "Good," Sisko said. "Hold this position. Mr. Harsch, continue monitoring the asteroid belt. I want to know if anything changes nearby."
    The crew bent over their tasks. Now the tough part of the mission would occur. These young ensigns would realize that they were part of a space battle, and they would learn that the fighting was easy. Waiting was hard.
    And Sisko was prepared to wait days if he had to. Protecting the Nibix was his top priority. Kira would take care of the station, and the Supreme Ruler's life was in Dr. Bashir's hands.
    What Sisko wouldn't give to still be on the Nibix walking the corridors while Bashir did his work. Sisko could still remember the glow of the green staff beneath his gloved hands. He had read thousands of articles over the years about what would occur when the Nibix was found. Almost all of them had assumed everyone aboard would be dead. The handful of other articles, written by less reputable scholars, speculated that the Nibix had found its planet, and a long-removed descendent of the Supreme Ruler lived there, awaiting discovery. But not one article speculated that the same Supreme Ruler who was overthrown eight hundred years ago would still be alive.
    And if Bashir was half the doctor that Sisko knew him to be, the Supreme Ruler would be up and moving around very shortly. What would they do then?
    Sisko had no idea.
    And he wouldn't even allow himself to think about the possibility of the Supreme Ruler dying as Bashir tried to revive him.
    Half an hour ago, Sisko had thought finding the Supreme Ruler alive was his worst nightmare. Having the Supreme Ruler die on them would be much, much worse.

    Bashir had expected a lost ship to be dark. The bright light over the coldsleep chamber was a bigger surprise to him than the chamber itself. He had seen a hundred coldsleep chambers, some in the Federation's space museum and even more in the rudimentary ships he'd practiced on in his training. In his sophomore year of medical school, he had devoted an entire semester to the science of cold and cold sleep to fulfill his history of medicine requirement.
    Nothing had prepared him for the grandeur here.
    Nor the cold.
    O'Brien was crouched near the side of the coldsleep chamber. Dax was holding a tricorder next to him, pointing it sideways in a most unusual manner. They hadn't unpacked the supplies that the commander had beamed down for them.
    Bashir shivered in the chill, reached into the supplies, and pulled out deepcold jackets for all of them. With the Cardassian threat above, there was no telling how long they would be down here. He would make certain they rationed their three days of supplies.
    "Well, here you are, Julian," O'Brien said as if they hadn't seen each other in days instead of hours. "This chamber is still working."
    Bashir picked up his equipment. He glanced at the two coldsleep cocoons near the platform. One look at the occupants told him they had died a