He had survived the latest Dominion attack on the station. 

He also survived doctor Crusher's medical aid, barely.

God, I know she's a good doctor but there's something about her I don't like, O'Brien thought as he sat quietly aboard the Enterprise shuttle that ferried him back to DS9.

He thought about his time on the Enterprise.

He snapped his fingers. 

Wesley.

I never liked that kid, Miles thought.

Shaking his head, he remembered the countless times the teenager had gotten the ship and it's crew into trouble.

"Moron." O'Brien said quietly.

From the front of the shuttle, the pilot spoke.

"Did you say something, Chief?"

Miles O'Brien Stood up quickly, embarrassed that he had been thinking out loud. He was more embarrassed that he didn't know how much he had said aloud.

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud." he said, sliding into the co-pilot's seat.

The pilot, a young female ensign nodded silently and continued her approach to the station.

O'Brien stared out the cockpit window of the shuttle in amazement at how quickly the damage from the attack was being repaired.

He tried to count the space-suited engineers outside moving about outside DS9, but quickly grew bored. 

"Looks like an ant hill doesn't it, Ensign?" O'Brien commented, nodding towards the station.

The ensign looked up. 

"I suppose so. I heard that nearly one thousand engineers were brought it to repair the station."

O'Brien's jaw dropped.

"A thousand. They must be tripping over each other."

"Probably." the ensign replied, glancing at O'Brien.

O-Brien stared out the window again .

"It'll take me a month just to get everything back to normal after those butchers get done."

"Excuse me?"

"Now don't get me wrong. I'm sure those are all first rate engineers that Starfleet sent in, but DS9 is like nothing they've ever worked with before." O'Brien continued.

"She's a stubborn old thing." the chief said, chuckling quietly. "But she's never let me down."

The ensign nodded as she guided the shuttle into its final approach to the station.

"Do you know if commander LaForge is still on the station?" O'Brien asked.

"I believe that he and commander Data are both aboard," then ensign replied. "I think they are packing up, though. We are scheduled to leave in less than an hour."

O'Brien shook his head.
 

"I was hoping to catch up with them a bit. Oh well, so much for that idea."

"So Chief, what's it like out here on..."

Suddenly, alarms sounded throughout the shuttle.

"Warning. Proximity Alert." the shuttle's computer announced.

"What the hell!" the ensign said angrily.

"Dear, God!" O'Brien yelled, staring through the cockpit window.

The cockpit view of the station was replaced by the sudden appearance of another ship.

The ensign stabbed the shuttle controls, sending them diving under the other ship and narrowly avoided colliding with it.

"Computer registers it as Defiant class." O'Brien stated as he regained his composure. "It came out of warp right on top of us."

"U.S.S. Justice." the chief stated as he continued to scan the information on the new arrival.

As the ensign slowed the shuttle and brought it back to its original course, the chief stared at the starship ahead of them in disbelief.

The Justice was spinning as it moved towards the docking ring.

"What the hell is the pilot of that thing doing?"

"Elleron rolls." the ensign replied, shaking her head.

O'Brien felt his headache getting worse.

That had to be an officer pulling a stunt like that, O'Brien thought. No self-respecting enlisted man would show off like that.

"They're moving in front of us, the dirty so-and-so's." the ensign said through gritted teeth.

O'Brien nodded, feeling sorry for her.

"It's not your fault, Ensign. Look there, we can still dock at lower pylon one."

"Don't think I'm not going to give whoever that is a piece of my mind, chief." the ensign replied, altering the shuttle's course.

Miles O'Brien smiled at the red-haired, red-faced ensign as she quickly brought the shuttle down to the lower pylon docking area. Someone was going to catch hell today, he thought.

The shuttle gently came to a stop at the station docking clamp. O'Brien heard the familiar hissing sound of the docking collars as they equalized the pressure.

O-Brien stood.

"I guess this is my stop. Thanks for the ride, Ensign."

The ensign's face was slowly returning to its normal color.

"You're welcome, Chief. Good luck."

"You too. Give 'em hell." O'Brien said as the shuttle doors opened.

O'Brien entered the station and promptly tripped over something in the darkness.

Chief O'Brien cursed the emergency lighting as he picked himself up. He squinted to see what he had fallen over.

"A power conduit?" he said slowly, tracing the large cable to the wall near the docking collar.

"They're running the docking rings on emergency power?" he said to himself. "The reactor must be bad."

As O'Brien turned and started towards the reactor chamber.

I should have stayed in bed this morning, he thought.
 

Chief O'Brien knew that things would be a mess in the reactor chamber, but he was not prepared for the chaos that awaited him.

Dozens of Starfleet engineers, officers and enlisted alike, worked furiously. Some were running new power conduits, which O"Brien noted quickly, was their first mistake, while other were removing the old Cardassian power transfer nodules.

O'Brien's jaw dropped.

"What the hell's going on."

From the other side of the chamber, a familiar voice came to him.

"The reactor output is zero."

Commander Data.

O'Brien moved towards Data, hoping his old shipmate could tell him why everyone was tearing his station apart.

"Good. Prepare to jettison the reactor on my mark." Geordi LaForge replied as the chief joined them.

"Chief!" Geordi said happily, extending his hand to the other man.

"It's good to see you."

O'Brien numbly shook LaForge's hand.

Before O'Brien could speak, LaForge's hand was replaced by Data's.

"Yes, yes. It's so good to see you Chief." the android said, smiling.

Smiling, O'Brien thought. 

He stared at the android as he continued to pump his hand.

What a stupid grin, the chief thought.

"Data." LaForge said.

Data stopped shaking the chief's hand and moved back to the reactor control console.

"You'll have to excuse Data, Chief. He sometimes gets carried away." LaForge said as he patted O'Brien's shoulder.

"That's ok. I'm glad to see him too, I guess." O'Brien replied, still confused.

"Jettison the reactor in ten seconds, Data." LaForge stated.

Data's hands darted over the controls faster than the chief's eyes could follow as he worked.

O'Brien shook his head.

"Wait a minute."

"Five seconds." LaForge announced.

"Commander, you can't jettison the core." O'Brien said, moving toward Data. "I can get it working normally again. Nobody knows DS9 like..."

"Now." LaForge announced.

"Jettisoning the reactor core." Data said.

The station trembled.

O'Brien watched helplessly as the core shot from the reactor chamber. He peered over the railing and watched the dead reactor tumble away from the station through the invisible force field that protected them from the cold vacuum of space.

LaForge tapped his communicator and spoke.

"LaForge to Liberator. Doctor Brahms, the reactor core has been jettisoned and we're ready to start the power transfer."

"Very well, Commander. Initiating power transfer beam in thirty seconds." a female voice replied. 

"What's going on, now?" O'Brien asked, giving up on the reactor.

Data turned to him and smiled again.

"As you know Chief, that without the power from the reactor the station's battery reserves will expire in exactly nine point five four hours."

"I'll take your word for it." the chief replied.

Data continued.

It is necessary to initiate a power transfer beam between Deep Space Nine and the U.S.S. Liberator before the reserves extinguish themselves."

"The Liberator?" 

"Yes, the Andromeda class starship currently in geostationary orbit around the station. She will provide the necessary energy to power the station until the new reactor is installed and brought online."

The chief looked at the android officer and smiled.

"A new one?"

"Yes. The components for the replacement reactor are being ferried from the Liberator as we speak."

"I suppose that the Cardassians just gave us one out of the goodness of their hearts." O'Brien replied.

"Cardassians?" Data replied, his eyes widening in apparent surprise.

"Ah, I see your confusion, Chief. 

"No, the reactor is being replaced by a standard Federation anti-matter reactor."

The lights suddenly grew dim and brightened again.

Data looked at the control console.

"The power transfer beam is operating within acceptable parameters." the android announced. "Disengaging emergency power."

The normal station lighting returned.

"LaForge to Liberator. It looks like everything is up and running over here. My teams are finishing packing up and beaming back to the Enterprise."

"Everything looks good from this end. I'm beaming over in a few minutes to start installing the new reactor." doctor Brahms replied.

"I'll be waiting. LaForge out."

Chief O'Brien, who had been waiting patiently during the exchange, saw his opportunity.

"Commander LaForge, I can see what's going on here now, but does anyone realize how long it's going to take to run new power conduits to every system throughout the entire station?"

"Sixty one point eight three hours." Data replied for LaForge.

O'Brien was unconvinced.

"Look, sir I'm sure you believe that its possible to install a completely new reactor and run the necessary conduits to power the station, but believe me, it isn't as simple as you think." 

"Take it easy, Chief." LaForge placing his hand on O-Brien's shoulder. "I'm sure that once you take a look at the schematics and the timetable, you'll feel a lot better about the whole thing."

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't need to see any schematics or timetables."

O'Brien closed his eyes to calm himself before continuing.

"I'm sure these engineers you've brought are all very competent, but none of them have had any experience with Cardassian systems, at least not enough to accomplish what you're saying."

"Chief, these guys have all been working aboard a Cardassian station for the past three months drilling for this day." LaForge said.

O'Brien's eyes widened.

"A Cardassian station? Where?"

Data spoke.

"Empok Nor. I believe that you have visited that particular Cardassian facility in the recent past."

"Empok Nor? That's in Dominion controlled space and you cannot convince me that they just watched while who knows how many Starfleet engineers crawled around in it for three months." O'Brien told the android.

"You are correct in you assumption the Dominion would not allow the Federation to utilize a Cardassian facility in their space..."

"See." O'Brien said as he turned to LaForge. " I believe Commander Data is confused."

"...that is why Empok Nor was moved to a secret location inside Federation space." Data finished.

O'Brien turned back to Data.

"Moved! You've got to be joking. The entire station?"

"Not at all. Once Empok Nor was moved into Federation space, Starfleet took the station and converted it into a training facility in order to effectively study Cardassian technology."

O'Brien was shocked.

"Who in the hell would go to all the trouble to move an entire space station all the way into Federation space just to study it?"

Before Data could answer, a voice behind O'Brien spoke.

"Well laddie, I guess that would be me."

Miles O'Brien slowly turned to look upon the face of God.

That is, O'Brien thought, if I ever get to heaven, God will look exactly like Montgomery Scott.

O'Brien tried to speak but the words were lost in his throat.

"Ah Scottie, you're here." LaForge said. "We're just finishing up here."

"Aye, lads. You've done well." Scott replied, shaking LaForge's hand.

"I suppose we better get back to the Enterprise."

Scott nodded, turning to O'Brien.

"So, this is your station, is it?"

"Well, I..." O'Brien began.

"A damn fine job you've been doing here, laddie."

"Well, I..." O'Brien tried again.

"It's amazing what you've accomplished with this Cardassian trash." Scott finished.

Scott extended his hand to O'Brien.

"By the way, I'm Montgomery Scott. Call me 'Scottie'."

"I...I'm Miles O'Brien, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

Scott laughed.

"The pleasure's all mine."

LaForge and Data had gathered their equipment and rejoined O'Brien and Scott.

"Well, I see you're in good hands, Chief. It's a shame we couldn't stay and help finish what we've started." LaForge said.

"Yes, it will be very interesting to see the outcome of this endeavor." Data added.

"Take care and good luck." O'Brien replied.

After shaking hands again, Data and LaForge departed the reactor chamber.

"Well now laddie, I think it's time we get to work." Scott said.

O'Brien looked at the older man.

"You stole a Cardassian space station and turned it into a classroom?"

Scott shrugged.

"They weren't using the damned thing, were they?"

O'Brien laughed.

His headache was gone.