Cathedral Cathedral is a Pocket DS9 novel – part of the and the third novel in the " " series – written by Michael A . Martin and Andy Mangels . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in . Summary . The Cathedral . As the crew of the encounters a large alien object , Julian Bashir , Nog and Ezri Dax start to revert to some former versions of their selves . Julian reverts to Jules , the man he would have been without his genetic enhancements , increasingly forgetting his knowledge and training , but ultimately recognizes that Jules is still part of him – his compassion , the care for his friends , his love , all these emotions had nothing to do with his alterations . Ezri gets separated from – while the young woman struggles with a life she could have been forced to live with her mother Yanas Tigan , she finally understands that even she brings value to Dax – her unique experiences form part of the symbiont ' s life now . Dax , at first , is relieved to be split from Ezri – but as the symbiont is confronted with its deepest fears of predators ( as a result of an encounter during its lifetime as Audrid Dax ) , Dax understands that rejoining with Ezri is necessary in order to warn the others and to work against this threat . Nog gets his leg back – the leg he lost at the battle of AR - 558 . He also encounters a life in which he never joined Starfleet , in which his father is dead and in which he is part of Ferengi society – to finally understand that his experiences , including the loss of his leg , makes up his full personality . The " Defiant " s crew encounters strange aliens , one race ( the Nyazen ) worshiping and thus protecting the alien artifact ( also known as " the cathedral " ) , the others ( the D ' Naali ) fearing and thus trying to destroy it . Commander Elias Vaughn manages to maneuver around the conflict , never sure of whom he can trust , and ultimately leaves the conflict unresolved . All of the affected crewmembers are reverted back to their original selves after returning to the cathedral , but emerge more experienced and self - confident of what they are . Yevir and the Cardassians . After studying the figurine given to him by Kasidy Yates , Vedek Yevir Linjarin finally understands that the figure , as old as it might be , is made of a metal only found on Cardassia , and depicts a person being half Bajoran and half Cardassian . He approaches Gul Macet , and together they travel to Cardassia , where , with the help of Elim Garak and followers of the Oralian Way , recover four missing Tears of the Prophets : The Orb of Unity , the Orb of Truth , the Orb of Souls and the Orb of Destiny . Yevir reveals the orbs on Deep Space 9 , trying to reinforce the Bajoran - Cardassian peace talks that were stalled recently . Bajor and the Federation . Despite the recent troubles in the Bajoran - Cardassian peace talks , Admiral Leonard James Akaar and the other Federation officials are working with prime minister Shakaar Edon to welcome Bajor into the federation . Shakaar ' s role remains unclear and somewhat sinister , and even his second minister , Asarem Wadeen , feels that something is wrong with Shakaar . Nevertheless , the signing ceremony takes place – when Shakaar is shot by Hiziki Gard , a Trill , who then beams off the station . Other storylines . Joseph Sisko is depressed and sad , counting days since his son , Benjamin Sisko , and his grandson , Jake Sisko , have disappeared . He finds some relief in doing gardening work , but is later found unconscious by a neighbor . On DS9 , the relationship between Ro and Quark evolves , while they have their second big date in Vic Fontaine ' s nightclub . Ro also is attracted to the Trill security guard Gard , making Quark quite jealous – a fact that she enjoys very much . Kira is finally approached by members of the newly created Ohalu sect , which exists because of her upload of the old Ohalu texts into the Bajoran comm system . She refuses to become some religious figure , but understands that she might have started new religious tensions back on Bajor , especially with the kai elections ahead .