A dangerously depressed Garak goes to desperate measures to find help.

Similar to the previous episode, this is of course also an already officially published story, Andrew J Robinson's direct sequel to the rightly lauded A Stitch in Time (which I had previously adapted as part of season 8). Again, I chose to adapt an existing story because it fit my plans for the season perfectly. In fact, much of the Cardassian storyline over the entire season has been written with the knowledge that I was coming to this point.

This is also the reason why I chose to upload two stories at once just this time - because they are both adaptations of existing stories rather than new works, and therefore it wouldn't be fair to ask readers to wait again to read something they may well have already read.

When this story was first released, I think it confused some readers. I have tweaked a few small aspects, hopefully made some things clearer. I also dug in and found the way in which this story slots seamlessly in with the larger developing arc of the season, as you'll see in the final act.

Unlike with "Reservoir Ferengi," I do not have official permission to upload this story, mostly because I do not have the ability to ask for that permission. The same caveat applies: I lay no claim to the original storyline, dialogue or scene descriptions, which come almost entirely from Andrew's story and are his intellectual property. If anyone objects to my uploading this, please tell me and I will happily remove it with apologies. No offence is intended. I also heartily recommend that everyone buy the book in which "The Calling" first appears - the excellent DS9 collection Prophecy and Change, available here.

All that said, onto the episode. As usual the PDF can also be downloaded at 10x18 - The Calling. Enjoy!

Season 2, Episode 3:

The USS Lambda Paz, as part of the Kalandra Campaign, is assigned to a strike force on the outer reaches of the sector. Former Obsidian Order operatives aboard station Sentok Nor are feeding information to Starfleet Intelligence, which Section 31 believes is part of a more devastating plot that is a threat to both the Federation and Cardassian Union. Doctor Aurellan Markalis is recruited to infiltrate a mysterious Augment cabal.