Read The Long Night for Free Online Page A

the station at the moment. Sisko didn't want to take any chances, so he hadn't told anyone where it was at.
    "If that's all then," Quark said, "I have a bar to clean up."
    "That's not all," Sisko said. "The constable is going to tell us what he learned from the Caxtonian, and so will you."
    "He didn't tell me anything," Quark said.
    "You were talking a long time," Dax said.
    "About value," Quark said.
    "Haggling?" Kira asked.
    "No!" The force of Quark's denial made Kira raise her eyebrows, and Sisko made sure he didn't even let a hint of a smile on his face. Dax put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.
    "But he did imply," Quark said, "that there was more where this came from."
    "He said as much to me," Odo said. "The statue is not an heirloom as he originally claimed. He found it in an old wreck crashed on an asteroid."
    "What asteroid?" Quark asked.
    Sisko could almost see the drool of greed dripping from Quark's mouth. "I thought you weren't interested in the Nibix," Sisko said softly.
    "Don't be silly," Quark said. "Everyone's interested in the Nibix."
    "I'm not," Kira said. "I don't even know what it is."
    The conversation stopped. Everyone stared at her.
    This time Sisko let himself chuckle. The Nibix had been such a passion for him for so many years, he couldn't comprehend anyone not knowing about the most famous lost ship. But since Kira had spent her years fighting the Cardassians, she would never have had the chance to learn or even hear about it.
    "What's so funny?" Kira demanded as Sisko's chuckle spread lightly through the others in the room, easing the tension that had started to build.
    Sisko took a deep breath, forced himself to get control, and held up his hand for the others to stop laughing. "Major," he said, "the Nibix is one of the most famous lost ships in the history of the galaxy."
    "So you're laughing at my ignorance?" She raised her chin, clearly angered at the thought. "I don't find this at all amusing. What's so important about a wrecked ship?"
    "A great deal, I'm afraid," Sisko said. The least of which were the thousand bodies that had to be scattered among the wreckage. Except for one body. One body that might or might not be recognizable. But if something as delicate as the statue survived, then perhaps the wreck wasn't as bad as it sounded. "I'll download some information on the Nibix for you after this meeting. You will need to read it at once."
    Kira started to object, but Sisko stopped her with a sharp look. He had to have her up to speed on this. He had to have all his people working on it. It might turn out to be the most important thing they did with their careers.
    "We really should know what asteroid it's on," Quark said again.
    "That information is privileged," Odo said. "It's against Federation law to touch the Nibix. That statue alone could cause an intergalactic incident. And I won't let you make things worse, Quark."
    "I didn't ask him to bring the statue to me!" Quark said.
    "Maybe not," Odo said, "but you're not going to make any profit off of anything to do with the Nibix, do you understand?"
    Quark opened his mouth, but Sisko interrupted before the situation got out of hand. "You're here, Quark, because I want you to have the information we give you instead of starting rumors by trying to discover what we know. You promised you would say nothing about the Nibix, and I expect you to say nothing, to do nothing, and to pretend everything is normal until I tell you otherwise. Am I clear?"
    "You were clear earlier," Quark said sullenly.
    "Good." Sisko crossed his arms. "Because I will not hesitate to shut the bar down and to place you in the brig with the Caxtonian."
    "Now wait a minute-"
    Sisko made sure his gaze never left Quark. He wasn't kidding, and he needed to make sure everyone knew it.
    "Quark," Odo said in his most menacing voice.
    "He can't shut me down," Quark said. "It will hurt the station. Do you know how many people stop here just for Quark's?"
    "Too many," Odo