While the B-side plot seemed rather irrelevant, again ala DS9 style, it was a clever move to wrap it up with the A-plot. That was a clever resolution device!

As for Bashir being let off the hook, well he had to for the sake of plot continuity so I'm not really complaining. But I find it telling that Bashir convinces himself he made the right course of action after that conversation with Sisko. It was Bashir's way of burying the ambiguity to the righteousness of his actions, so there is a lot of psychological insight in that small scene alone.

All in all this story got over some important moral quandaries and it was clear that what the parents did was wrong. There is no other way of seeing it from the human point of view, but you were clever enough to balance that with respecting other cultures and believes no matter how much they conflict with our own sense of values.

Ultimately Bajor is not part of the Federation and so subject to its laws, so while Sisko may have morally made the wrong decision, in a legal sense and cultural sense he made the correct one. But such a decision merely delays the inevitable, the inevitable being when such a situation arises after Bajor has become a member of the Federation. Would Sisko's decision still hold under those circumstances?

For a story less than ten thousand words, there is a lot to think about from a cultural, spiritual, legal and moral position so this is a very well put-together story which addresses such sensitive issues. And to you credit you did address both sides fairly and didn't skew who was right or wrong to anyone particular side. You let the reader make that choice so that takes some skill getting rid of any bias.

The dialogue and characterization was nearly flawless (apart from Aron's lass line of dialogue were he was gleeful for some reason, that confused me if Aron is going to lose his parents why would he be gleeful?) and this could be a DS9 episode since the story was so on it.

To conclude I give this story four and a half stars out of five for being such a great little gem and for throwing in so much with less than ten thousand words, and yet there is a story which does not feel rushed. Condensed less but it does not detract from its effectiveness. I would have given five stars but the B-side was a filler, but I'll let you off the hook for mimicking DS9's episode format!

A great read!

Author's Response: Glad you enjoyed the whole story. The B-plot may have seemed irrelevant, but the two stories did sort of tie in the end. Kira made a bold move that paid off, while Bashir not so much. I thought I made the point that Bashir worried for Aron that he did not know his long term fate, but seems I didn't (a lot of these decisions regarding custody of a child are made without that child's input).