Kira plucked the two steaming glasses of bluish liquid from Quark, the elephant-eared bar owner, and, with a piercing look, dismissed his attempt to hang around.

She waited until he had turned and taken several steps away before her stern face dissolved into a giggling smile. She slid one of the glasses across the smooth, round tabletop as she turned to her companion.

"So tell me, Jadzia, what was it really like?"

Jadzia, a slim, dark-haired young woman with a leopard-like pattern of spots curving down from her forehead, took a sip of the potent brew and smiled with her eyes over the rim at her friend.

"What was what like?" she asked, putting down the glass.

The wrinkles running across the bridge of Kira's pert nose got even deeper. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, and don't you try to tell me different," she said, with laughter behind her words. "So come on, tell me. You've been putting me off too long."

Jadzia, the space station's computer expert, seemed to enjoy dealing with a real human being instead of bits and bytes; she took the teasing lightly but appeared disinclined to give in so easily.

She and Kira, the second-in-command, would have made an unusual pair in an Earth bar. There was their alien appearance, of course, although in both cases the differences from Earth form were small. And there was a slight Mutt-and-Jeff look, with Jadzia's lean look and long hair contrasted with Kira's smaller, more husky build and close-cropped head. And then there were their personalities. Though both showed hints of girlishness, Jadzia hid hers behind a serious expression that seemed to bear the weight of centuries; Kira's softer side was often hidden behind a gruff, easy-to-anger exterior.

For all that those things would make them a mild curiosity on Earth, however, here in the weird goulash of Quark's multi-planetary clientele, they looked positively boring.

So boring, indeed, that no one turned a head, or any other eye- bearing appendage, when Kira playfully prodded Jadzia's arm and the taller woman burst out in laughter.

"OK, OK, I'll tell you," she said, washing the statement down with another swig. "But it's not really easy to put into words. I mean, I've had hundreds of years to work it out."

"You mean Dax has had hundreds of years," Kira said.

"Dax, Jadzia, every day it gets harder to tell us apart."

"But there's still a lot of Jadzia there," Kira pressed. "And I want Jadzia, the woman, to tell me what it was like for Dax to be in men's bodies. How did it feel? What was it like to be in love as a man? What was -- what was it like to MAKE love as a man?" She ducked her eyes down as she finished.

"Kira Nerys! I knew that's what you were after all along. So much for grand philosophical insights! You just want to know what it's like on the other side of the sheets."

Kira blushed faintly. "Well, why not? Weren't you a little curious before -- you know?"

"We're prepared very carefully to receive the symbiont," Jadzia said, trying to keep a straight face. "We must deal with many serious issues. There's no time for..."

Kira had tilted her head and her stare was boring into Jadzia's eyes.

"... Oh, OK, you win. Of course I wondered."

"So?" Kira was leaning forward now, whispering conspiratorially. "What was it like?"

"What can I tell you? It was -- different."

"Better? Worse?"

"Yes."

Kira sat back and sipped at her drink, waiting out her friend. Jadzia finally went on.

"Well, it was. Better and worse. Or -- well, maybe 'better' and 'worse' aren't the right words. It was -- well, it wasn't as - - sophisticated? Complex?"

"You mean wham, bam, thank you, ma'am?"

"No, not -- well, yes, one or two of Dax's male hosts were like that, in fact. But most of them were a lot more thoughtful. No, I mean that the feelings on the inside don't seem as complicated as in a woman's body. It's like we make love with our whole minds and our whole bodies."

"And a guy just thinks through his cock, right?" Kira barked out a laugh as she drained the last of her drink.

Jadzia smiled slightly. "Something like that. But, if you really want to start to understand -- there's a better way to explain it." Her eyes narrowed. "If you're really interested, I mean."

Kira raised her eyebrows. "Sure, I'm interested. So try me."

"Not here." Jadzia rose from the table. "And unfortunately not now. I've got to go over some subroutines with Chief O'Brien. But come to my place after dinner."

Kira nodded her assent and then left the bar as well.

Odo, who looked like a clay sculpture someone hadn't quite finished, looked up from his reports as Kira entered the cubicle that served as office for the security chief.

"Major Kira," he said, leaning back in his chair. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Just making the rounds, Odo," the young woman said, striding over and sitting down on the other side of the cluttered desk.

"Nothing more?" He steepled his hands before him.

"What do you mean? Can't I just drop in to chat?"

Odo leaned forward. "Yes, of course, Major. It's just that -- well, isn't there something you're not telling me?"

Kira closed her eyes for a second. "Odo," she said as she opened them again. "Is there anything that goes on that you don't know about?"

"I certainly hope not," the security chief said, somewhat smugly.

Kira smiled. "Just where do you get your information from, anyway?"

"Major," he said, seeming to draw a breath, "I've run the security on this station under the Cardassians and now the Bajorans. I've got sources the Cardassians wouldn't have been able to get a word out of with all their torture. Do you really think your Bajoran charm is going to get them now?"

"Charm? Why, Odo, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Odo's face seemed to blur or even melt slightly; one might guess it was what passed for a blush with him. He bent his head back down to his papers.

"Yes, well, if you're not ready to talk to me about it yet..."

"Oh, all right, Odo. It's nothing important, really."

"Not important? Just that after all this time the Bajoran government has decided that I have to undergo a yearly evaluation to make sure I'm doing a good job?"

"Well, yes, but -- did your sources tell you who's doing the evaluation?"

He was still looking down at the desk; he didn't see her grin. "No," he said, "but I would presume it's some bureaucrat from..." At Kira's giggle he lifted his head and stared.

"You?" he said, at last.

"Yes, me," Kira said. "Who else? So don't worry about it, Odo, you've already passed the evaluation. We just need to fill out some forms for the record."

"Well, in that case, Major, how about now? I'd just as soon get this over with so I can get on with my job."

Kira began to nod, but then stopped. "Oh, sorry, I can't. I've got to talk to Commander Sisko before dinner, and I'm meeting Jadzia at her place after that. How about tomorrow? First thing after the shift starts?"

Odo nodded, once. "Very well." He paused, then went on. "So you're seeing Lieutenant Dax tonight? No problem with the station's computers, I hope."

"No, nothing like that. She's -- well, I guess I can tell you, Odo." Kira smiled broadly as her voice fell to a whisper. "She's going to tell me what it was like when she was a man -- I mean, when Dax was in men's bodies. Can you imagine what that was like?"

Odo's eyelids fluttered. "I think I have an idea," he began to say.

"No, Odo, I mean -- what it was like to be a man with a woman! I can't wait to hear what she has to say!" With that, Kira bounced out of the chair and strode off.

As she left, Odo looked after her. He kept looking at the door opening long after she'd gone through it.

The portal of Jadzia's quarters blooped when Kira approached and then opened with a swoosh.

The lights were dim. Soft music -- alien to Kira's ears, but vaguely pleasing -- filled the room. An almost unnoticeable scent wafted on the imperceptible breezes stirred so softly by the space station's life support units.

Jadzia was no longer in her well-tailored Federation uniform with the long-sleeved tunic and slacks. She had changed into a filmy gown that seemed to change from one pastel to another every time she changed position. It was held up only by two thin straps, allowing a clear view of the spots running down her neck.

Kira was still in her uniform, all well-pressed creases. She looked a bit uncomfortable as she walked over to where Jadzia was sitting -- lounging, really -- on what apparently passed for a couch. The smaller woman perched on the edge, testing it for support.

"I'm sorry about the uniform," she said, settling down into the thick, soft cushions. "I..."

"Don't be silly," Jadzia said. "It's perfectly all right. Besides, I don't know if I'd recognize you without it!"

Kira's face reddened slightly. "What do you mean? I do have a life outside of command..."

"Relax!" Jadzia tugged at Kira, pulling her back against the pillows until she, like Jadzia, was lying almost flat. "I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a joke. Come on, we're off duty now." With her long, slender fingers, Jadzia expertly massaged the stiff muscles of the smaller woman's neck and shoulders. "There, doesn't that feel better?"

Kira sighed. "Yes, thanks," she said, as her whole body seemed to release its tension. "Wow, that feels great. Where did you learn to do that?"

"It's a little trick Curzon Dax picked up, a few decades ago. You really like it?"

This time Kira purred and said nothing.

Jadzia continued to massage her friend, working out the kinks in Kira's arms.

"I could just lie here and let you do that forever," Kira said, wriggling her shoulders. "But you said you could tell me more about -- you know."

Jadzia's fingers worked their way down past the smaller woman's elbows. "Oh, you haven't forgotten? I must not be doing this right." She motioned to Kira to turn over. Then Jadzia straddled her and began to press her knuckles into the small of her friend's back, working her way up.

"I don't think you could do it any better," Kira said, her voice muffled slightly by a pillow. She kicked off her boots and wiggled her toes, which hung just over the edge of the couch. "But I still want to know. How did it feel -- being inside a man?"

"I don't know where to start," Jadzia answered, her fingertips pushing against Kira's shoulder blades.

"Well, how about -- how about a kiss? What did a kiss feel like as a man?"

"Compared to what?"

Kira laughed. "Compared to as a woman, of course!"

"Hmmm, let me see. Well, I'm not really sure. Maybe I have to refresh my memory." With that, Jadzia rolled Kira over onto her back, still straddling her. The taller woman bent down and pressed her lips to her friend's smiling face.