The Cardassian Incident- Part III Concluded
Part I Part Ib Part II
Part III
-\/-
Vorlem was used to quiet. His job was simple: Verify that everyone inside the building was authorized to do so. It was a thankless job but one he enjoyed nonetheless. Rooting out potential suspects, however few the actual numbers were, was always challenging and stimulating. As long as he served his Union, he did not care what exactly he did. He did not expect however, that anyone would enter or exit the compound at this time, what with the military calling for total clearance in the face of the rebel rousers and the fact that it was a holiday.
“You,” an authoritative voice snapped Vorlem to attention; as a plain-clothed Cardassian hauled a…human into the reception area.
Vorlem stood, alarmed.
“Goddamn, could you at least loosen your grip a bit? You’re breaking my wrist,” the human snarled, but the Cardassian ignored him.
“As you can see, this prisoner escaped. I need you to grant me access to the prison levels so I might…return him.”
“Your authorization code?” Vorlem asked, smoothly retaking his seat.
The Cardassian snorted. “Do you really want to tell Legate Recar you are responsible for this human’s attempted escape?” he hissed.
Vorlem’s eyes widened. “But - but, it was not my fau - ”
“By the time the Obsidian Order is through, it will be your fault entirely unless you grant me access. Now.”
A member of the Obsidian Order? Vorlem shuddered but tried to maintain his composure.
“I’d heard-“
“Rumors of the Order’s destruction have been greatly exaggerated,” he snapped. “How else would we root out those cancerous dissidents?”
“Be that as it may, sir,” Vorlem added hastily, “I still need an authorization code.”
“Fine. Red-alpha-six-zero-black. And I suggest you hurry,” the agent said as the human once again tried to wrest himself from his captor, even going so far as to bite and kick the man.
Vorlem entered the code into his database. “It checks out, sir,” Vorlem said as he pressed several buttons, releasing and opening the elevators. “I hope this doesn’t happen again. May the Union remain strong.”
“May the Union remain strong,” the agent said as he dragged the human into the elevator, with the human cursing under his breath.
As the doors closed, Vorlem sighed and hit the comm.
“Gul, I believe you are going to have some company.” Always the good of the Union came first.
-\/-
Things were going so damn smoothly; and that put Jim on edge as the elevator shot up the building. He was about to say something but then remembered Cardassian paranoia, and figured that they had probably rigged a camera or three even in this small, confined space. He half-heartedly tried to break Ghemor’s headlock to no avail. He had to admit now that they were alone in an elevator, just the two of them, on their way to rescue seven scientists from a building full of Cardassians, that maybe this wasn’t the brightest idea. Sure, it was their best chance, and Spock, Bones, and his squad were listening in should anything go wrong - but still.
The doors to the elevator opened, though without the accompanying swish Jim was used to. The floor was mostly empty as he and Ghemor made their way through the maze of corridors, with just a couple of guards here and there. Once Ghemor directed them into a janitorial closet Jim was released. He whipped out Spock’s tricorder and scanned the floor, which indicated their targets were ten meters to the left and twenty to the front. Ghemor nodded and recaptured Jim, then made his way back through the maze.
They came across a few secluded, almost ordinary looking doors, wood paneled with only a key pad as a means of entry. Dammit.
“Don’t suppose you intercepted codes for this, huh?” Jim whispered as he tried to figure out how the hell to get out of this jam. Phaser fire? Maybe, but the noise would draw every Cardassian in the place. The seconds ticked by as the duo scrutinized their new obstacle. And then the decision was made for them.
“Tekham?” called a breathily uncertain voice.
Jim reacted a split second faster than his guide, breaking Ghemor’s loosened grip and grabbing the startled Cardassian, before shoving him into the nearest wall. He placed his hand over the Cardassian’s mouth as Ghemor moved to help keep their new prisoner in place. The Cardassian bit Jim’s hand, causing the human to wince slightly and mentally moan about Bones and anti-Cardassian rabies hypos, but Ghemor then put him in an arm bar lock.
“Call the guards and I will break your neck before you finish a single cry,” Ghemor threatened in Standard.
The man nodded quickly. Ghemor fed Jim a look and he released the man’s mouth.
“What are you doing here?” the man hissed quietly. “And with a human no less?”
The term ‘human’ was said with so much venom and bile that Jim answered him first. “This human,” he mocked, “has the means to save your damn Union.”
The Cardassian fed him a skeptical look.
“Don’t believe me?” Jim quipped, “Let’s look at the facts. My captain’s up there probably kicking your military’s ass. The why’s simple: you people have our citizens imprisoned, and I’m ordered to retrieve them through whatever means necessary. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Easy means you unlock their cells and help us get out of here. In exchange, our ship leaves that little space battle that much faster, leaving your ships to deal with just those rebels. The hard way….well, let’s just say I’m banking on you choosing the easy way.”
The Cardassian shot a glance towards Ghemor.
“He is telling the truth,” Ghemor said. “Why else would I be here, Pre’lock?”
The man shook his head. “I can’t,” he said, a small quiver in his voice. “The Central Command would kill me and my children. And that’s if the Obsidian Order didn’t get to us first.”
“And if I offer you protection?” Ghemor asked quietly.
The Cardassian’s eyes widened as Jim himself began reevaluating the rebel.
“W-why would you do that for me?”
“A true patriot deserves no less,” he answered. “Doing such ensures Cardassia’s future. That is the true definition of a patriot, my friend.”
Pre’lock relaxed minutely. “On your family?”
“On my family.”
Pre’lock nodded and Ghemor released him, with Jim following a second later. Pre’lock shakily walked towards one of the doors and began pressing the combinations.
“So,” Jim drawled quietly in the intervening seconds, “protection…”
“My family’s status is no concern of yours, Commander,” Ghemor answered shortly, as he and Jim readied their phasers.
“Done.”
Ghemor nodded at the now open panel and withdrew something from his belt. “Get out of the building and present this to three-five Darmok Street.”
The man grabbed the item and was off like a shot- okay, so really, he strolled calmly down the hallway, the better to not attract attention. Jim was already in the closet-like cell where the seven Federation scientists were chained to the interior wall; alive and a little worse for wear, but unharmed thank goodness.
“Hang on a sec, guys,” Jim said as he withdrew a small laser from his boot and proceeded to cut the chains.
“Commander Kirk,” various voices whispered and he nodded at each of them.
“Rescue party’s on its way, guys,” he told them quietly. “Anyone unable to run?”
All seven sentients shook their heads.
“Had you arrived any later, Commander, I do not believe that would be the case,” the Vulcan scientist and Valo station leader, Seshmu, said.
Jim cocked a grin. “Glad to know my timing’s getting better,” he whispered as he went to the next one. “Everyone okay?”
They all nodded quickly, though one of the humans was holding his arm at an awkward angle. Jim winced in sympathy - broken arms in hostile situations were definitely no fun.
“You,” one of the women hissed.
Jim looked over his shoulder to find Ghemor entering their little closet. His eyes widened.
“You bastard,” another one spat.
“Easy folks, he’s on our side,” Jim said as Ghemor released the last one.
“I do not know what he has told you Commander, but that man is responsible for our current predicament,” Seshmu said.
Jim gaped. “Responsible? You, you mean - “
“He was on the ship that captured us,” the fiery woman said, rubbing her raw wrists, “He transported to another ship and not two hours later, we were caught by these clowns.”
Jim gritted his teeth, seeing red, but forced himself not to react beyond that. Ghemor himself, meanwhile, was not reacting with hostility to the accusations. If anything his eyes remained on the ground, almost in embarrassment at having been caught. Suddenly his earlier disposition made sense. He knew the prisoners would recognize him.
“Guys, now’s not the time.” Oh, how he’d be interrogating the Cardassian later; but much longer and their friendly neighborhood captors would get in on the act. “We have to get out of here now.”
“I agree, Commander,” Seshmu said. “What would you have us do?”
“Well first-“
“Drop your weapons!” rang across the hall, accompanied by what Jim assumed to be a warning shot not two inches from his head.
Shit. Damn it.
“Hope you’re getting this, Spock,” he whispered as he prepared to return fire.
“We have you surrounded,” the voice continued and three shots came from three different directions, just to prove that they weren’t lying. “Drop your weapons and exit the cell, or I will order my men to shoot to kill.”
Jim gripped Ghemor’s shoulder hard to remind the man who was in charge, and nodded at everyone.
“All right,” Jim called as he threw out the phasers, “we’re coming out. Don’t shoot.”
“The same goes for you, Commander,” the voice ordered.
Jim’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he slowly led the group out, hands raised, subtly pushing the scientists behind him and Ghemor.
“You know me?” he asked as he got a proper look at the bulk of their attackers. Seven Cardassians in front, eight behind, all situated so that each had a clear line of fire.
“Really, Commander,” a Cardassian said as he swaggered forward from among his men, “I should be offended.”
Gul Inson. The Cardassian who had opened fire on them. Jim played dumb.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t recognize you,” he said, shoving a bit of arrogance in to his stance. Stall. Bluff. He was good at this. “Can’t blame me though, it’s not like physical diversity’s something your species has.”
Inson’s bug-eyes narrowed but trailed over to Ghemor.
“I should have known,” he hissed.
“Yes, you should have,” Ghemor agreed.
“Of all those to betray our people, I never pegged one of the Ghemor House as a traitor.”
“No one of my line has ever been, nor ever will be, a traitor, Inson.”
Inson smirked. “Oh, I believe the courts will disagree with you there, Ghemor,” he said. “You do realize how foolish that endeavor of yours up there is, I hope. Just when the people were beginning to listen to your corrupt viewpoints, too. I must say your leader hasn’t done a very good job. He’d be drummed out of the service for incompetence.”
“We’re still alive, aren’t we? The Order couldn’t root us out, could they?” Ghemor’s words seemed to slap the Gul. “All we have to do, Inson, is survive. Keep the hope for a more equal Cardassia alive, even if it must live in mere whispers.”
Inson’s face scrunched in anger.
“Let us go, Inson,” Jim said. Keep them talking, keep everyone here. “Trust me, you don’t want to piss off my captain. We’re rather attached to each other.”
Inson’s expression hardly changed. “Oh, but don’t you see Commander?” he practically purred.
Jim barely managed to keep the cocky stance in the face of such a display.
“There is no way to let you leave. With your presence, we have definitive proof that the Federation has sought the destruction of our great empire by siding with enemies of the state.”
“Empire, Inson?” Ghemor asked, “I thought we lived in a Union, not an Empire.”
“Hey, you guys started it,” Jim asserted. “Our people went missing and you had them. But instead of letting them go like sane people, you decide to keep them. What, exactly, did you expect to happen?”
“We expected you to not risk all out war,” Inson hissed angrily, but reined himself in quickly. “We expected you to give it up as a lost cause and leave. You should have.”
“You obviously don’t know much about humans,” Jim retorted. “Look, you let all of us go, we’ll tell the Enterprise to leave. Seriously. That’s all you have to do. You think we want to be here? Trust me, we’d rather be anywhere else.”
For a second, it looked like Inson would consider the idea. Then he opened his mouth.
“Why would I let you go?” he asked slowly. “With one fell stroke, we can destroy Cardassia’s enemies and bring her people against the Federation.”
A phaser blast - Federation red, not Cardassian yellow - shot through the corridor. Jim threw himself and several of the scientists down to the floor, out of the line of fire, as blasts rang through the air. He saw the Cardassians attempt to return fire but it was useless, especially with Travers covering a visibly irate Spock; who took out three that Jim could see with the nerve pinch. The fight lasted less than thirty seconds.
“Spock, have I mentioned lately I love you?” Jim groaned as he stood.
Spock raised an eyebrow as Bones swooped in on the scientists with his tricorder and emergency hypos.
“I did not believe our relationship had progressed to that point, Commander,” Spock returned, a hint of cheek in his tone.
Jim and a few others snorted.
“I’ll let you know when it happens again,” he said. Spock nodded his affirmation.
That taken care of, Jim rounded on Ghemor.
“Talk. Now.”
“What happened?” Bones asked absently, as he jabbed the scientist with the broken arm in the neck.
“Apparently Ghemor here is pretty well acquainted with these scientists, Bones,” Jim said, glaring at Ghemor while silently demanding his explanation.
“What? You’re kidding me.”
“No Doctor, I’m afraid it’s true,” Ghemor stated quietly. “Yes, I was aboard the vessel which captured these men and women. Now, I suggest we get moving before Inson decides to wake up. He thoroughly enjoys thwarting his enemies’ plans, I assure you.”
“Now listen here, you bastard,” Bones snarled, finished with his last patient. “You don’t get to just not take-“
“While I agree with your sentiment Doctor, I believe we would be better served to return to the Enterprise as quickly as possible, so as to minimize the impact the ship has on the course of events,” Spock said, shooting Ghemor a subtle look, “We can deal with this new testimony at a later time.”
Bones grumbled but backed off.
“All right everyone, going out the way we came. Stick together and move quickly. Let’s go,” Jim ordered before addressing Ghemor quietly, “We’re not okay.”
Jim had to say the revelation of Ghemor’s of the entire rebellion, now that he thought about its manipulations, stung; even with Ghemor’s offer of and true assistance. Helping them find missing people and then manipulating them into a fight was one thing. Kidnapping said people and blaming it on their enemies was another thing entirely.
He forced the anger and hurt back until he could deal with it properly.
“I understand,” Ghemor said simply.
Jim nodded and they all piled into the elevator.
They quickly left the main lobby, though not before Jim spotted the Cardassian from earlier; crumpled and muttering in a heap on the floor. He whistled.
“We were in something of a hurry, Commander, and I was in something of a bad mood,” Ratani explained, a gory smile on his lips. “Don’t worry about that sorry sack. He’ll come out of it later.”
“How much later?” Jim warily asked his squad leader. “No, wait, on second thought, don’t tell me. I’ll let you take that one when Pike’s on the rampage.”
Ratani winced as they entered the skyway. “Still worth it, sir,” the old veteran said proudly.
“If you say so,” Jim replied as the group made its way across the skyway, once again encountering few problems.
“Never thought I’d be so glad to see trees,” Bones remarked as they quickly entered the preserve.
Jim had to agree with him. Nothing like a hostile, office takeover to make one appreciate the simple things in life; like cover from enemy fire. And was it just Jim or were the trees darker than they were earlier?
An inhuman snarl echoed through the trees, answered and reverberated back by several more.
Ghemor winced. “Hurry,” he ordered as he broke off into a full sprint.
Unfortunately, Jim and some of the other security officers couldn’t exactly do that. Eliams, as two of the scientists were, were not built for sprinting. Even the group’s quickened walking pace was straining their systems, especially after probably days of starvation and dehydration.
“You guys all right?” he asked in concern at the darkening color of their skins.
They nodded but slowed down. Jim, Ratani, Bones, and another security man stood guard around them as the hissing and snarling increased in volume and warning.
A slash of movement from Jim’s left and the man reacted faster than he thought possible, putting himself between a large hound-like creature and the Eliam it was targeting. The beast slammed into him, throwing him to the ground and biting at him. Stuck underneath the thing’s massive paws, it was all Jim could do to avoid those large teeth.
From a quick glance it seemed like an entire pack attacked the group. Ratani, Bones, and Rutgers were keeping the others at bay as the Eliams tried firing at his hound-thing. The beast looked, and felt, too starved to worry about the potential danger when a meal was literally a paw away.
One second he brought his arms up to defend himself from a swipe, the next second the beast howled in agony as Jim spotted the tip of a knife sticking out from its side.
Jim scrambled out from underneath it as the light dimmed in its eyes and it toppled onto its side, revealing a grim-faced Cardassian. He was dressed in civilian clothing much like Ghemor but his clothes were ragged, his hair lose and unkempt, and his whole framed looked gaunt. He slowly looked at Jim, who raised his arms and backed away from the beast’s corpse. Deciding the beast deserved more attention, the Cardassian crouched down and began skinning it.
“Jim,” Bones called worriedly as he grabbed his friend into a hug. “You all right?”
“Yeah, Bones, fine,” he said and meant it, glancing back at the Cardassian. Bones placed a hand on his chest and Jim winced, noticing for the first time the torn shirts and sluggish bleeding.
“Looks like you’re getting a rabies shot when we get back, kid,” he told him, amusement coloring his tone despite the grim situation.
Jim groaned good-naturedly.
“Commander,” Ghemor came back from further along the trail. He stopped before he got to the hound’s corpse, eyes obviously sad even at that distance. “Come, your people need you,” he called.
Ratani nodded and he and Rutgers flew past the Cardassian, carefully giving the corpse and now three Cardassians skinning it a wide berth. Jim, Bones, and the Eliams maneuvered around them as well, before picking up speed to meet with whatever was threatening their people.
“Ghemor?” Jim asked.
“Some of the unfortunates,” he said quietly. “They are not as uncommon as I would wish.”
That punched Jim in the gut. Cardassians, any sentient, in such a technologically advanced society as the Cardassians - reduced to hunting game in a fucking preserve just to survive? What kind of place was this?
“One we wish to change, Commander,” Ghemor whispered. “You have to leave as quickly as possible. The land to air cannons will be up soon, if they aren’t already.”
Jim didn’t have time to question him on his word choice as they hid behind the trees, starting to trade fire with several Cardassian soldiers who held themselves between the shuttle and rescue group. Good news was that they were surrounded. Bad news was there were a lot of them. Lovely.
“Commander Kirk,” chirped his comm., which he flipped open.
“Kirk here, Des,” he said, as he shot a stupid Cardassian who decided switching trees might be a good idea.
“Sir, we’ve got a back way open. Sending you the route now. We can cover you all,” he said.
“Relay to the rest of us. Scientists first. Ratani, Rutgers, and I’ll stay behind to cover this side. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” he barked.
Jim took a deep breath and waited a second before spinning around to the other side of the tree and drawing fire. In the smoke and haze, he made out Spock and the scientists on the move. One down, however many more to go.
He ducked behind the tree again, reappearing on the other side to take aim at a low-lying Cardassian. A shot later, the man was unconscious. There, in the bushes. He fired again, hiding behind the tree. On and on the cycle continued, some shots successful, some not so much. If the grunts from the other side were any judge though, the Cardassians weren’t faring much better with his other snipers. He winced at the too close shot to his left, barely half a foot from its target, but returned fire. That one was done.
“Commander, all the scientists are aboard the shuttle. Awaiting you and the two others,” Spock’s voice chirped on the comm. Best damn news he’d heard all day.
“Ratani and Rutgers are on the move,” Spock reported and Jim could see them through the dust and haze making their way towards their escape paths.
Time to blow this joint. Jim sprinted over fallen logs and dodged around trees as the shots picked up behind him. There, he could see the clearing now. Thank god, his burning lungs and screaming lungs sang, as he cleared the last of the trees.
From behind he heard the Cardassians sprinting towards him, heard their phasers charging. He zigged to the left and zagged to the right, hoping the ‘it’s hardest to hit a moving, zigzagging target’ drills his Academy instructors loved torturing him with paid off right here. He glanced behind him, saw one Cardassian’s arm following his every move precisely, and somehow ran faster.
Just a little more. The shuttle was twenty-five meters. Twenty. A yellow round rang past his ear, spurring him on. Fifteen. Another shot, this one made glancing contact. He groaned at the sudden numbness in his right leg, almost tripping. Shit. Fuck.
A red shot zipped past him and, from a distance, he heard a body drop to the ground. He focused on the person just inside the shuttle’s door - Lan, his phaser steady in the kid’s hand and a fierce look in his eye.
Jim gasped and just made it to the shuttle, where Bones bodily hauled him inside as Lan shut the door. All around them, the pings of Cardassian fire thunked the ship.
Jim did a quick head count and asked Bones, “Where’s Ghemor?”
“Told us to leave him,” Bones answered. “Helped draw some fire off of us and took out more than a few of those bastards. Said he’d be fine.”
Well if anyone could survive all the madness outside, it was him. But still, just leaving him? That didn’t sit right at all. Still he glanced at Lan as Spock fired the primary thrusters.
“Sure you don’t want to be a sniper?” he joked.
“No sir, thanks anyway. I’ll take dead people over killing them,” he said.
Jim laughed at the ensign’s better spirits. “See why I brought you along now?” he said as he shrugged the doctor off, forcing himself into the co-pilot’s chair beside Spock. Together, they hauled ass off the planet Jim never wanted to see again in his life.
The trip into the atmosphere was smooth, but the trip to the Enterprise was anything but. All around the large ship, Cardassian models circled like orca trying to drown a whale. Shit, how were they going to get back inside?
-\/-
“Captain, shields down to forty-seven percent,” Chekov reported as he targeted the weapons systems of various ships. Damn it, where the hell was Kirk?
“Captain, I’m picking up the emergency sequence - and the shuttle!” Sulu exclaimed.
Thank god. Sometimes, Pike really adored that kid.
“Captain, we will have to lower our shields to let the shuttle in,” Scott reported from engineering.
Sometimes, Pike really hated that kid.
“How close can we shave it, Mr. Scott?” he asked, before barking at Sulu to execute 359 around a Cardassian ship.
“Sir, their phasers are powerful little things. And if they manage to get a torpedo through, it’ll burn through whichever deck it impacts and the seven surrounding it,” the harried Scotsman replied.
“Options, Mr. Scott,” Pike said calmly, as the ship rocked from another shield impact.
“We could try extending the shields around it sir, but I’m not making any promises one way or the other. Also means if any Cardie ship’s close enough, it’ll get in too.”
“Divert the necessary power, Commander,” he replied. “Chekov, be ready to shoot whatever else we catch before it has a chance to try anything.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Now, Mr. Scott.”
The view on the screen flashed a bright blue as the shields were lowered. In the split second between it and the re-raising, a shot got through. Lights blared and several crew members flew across the bridge amid the screeching emergency read-outs. Pike hauled himself back into his chair as Chekov kept firing, braced as he was by his console.
“Are they in, Mr. Scott?” he called down.
“As nice as it is to know you were worried about us, Captain,” came Jim’s voice from the shuttle’s frequency - and Pike breathed a sigh of relief, “We have to get out of here right now. We’ve been had.”
“Had?”
“Sir, the rebellion had the scientists kidnapped, not the government as we were led to believe,” Spock said.
Pike blinked. Damn it.
“Understood, Mr. Spock. You and Kirk get up here now,” he ordered calmly, reining in his icy fury. “Sulu, Chekov, you heard the man. Get us out of here.”
With more than relieved ‘aye, sir’s’, his officers complied.
-\/-
Between Scotty’s sensor modifications and Uhura’s constant scanning of the Cardassian channels, the Enterprise was beating a peaceful retreat back to the border. There had been a close call with an ‘eighth fleet’ heading to Cardassia Prime, but Uhura caught it before they were within sensor range.
“Here,” Bones said gruffly, shoving a cup of coffee under Jim’s nose.
Jim raised his head off of the mess table, took the offering, and sipped it quietly. “Vodka or whiskey?” he said casually, gesturing to the cup.
“Good old-fashioned southern whiskey,” Bones said. “Don’t quite think vodka’s appropriate.”
Jim snorted into the cup as Bones sat beside him and raised his drink.
“Here’s to never dealing with those people again.”
Jim copied the gesture.
“Here, here,” he said quietly.
Epilogue
Declaration of Alliance
Preamble
On this day, stardate 2032264.5 by Federation standards and 5748301.2 by Cardassian, the Cardassian Union declares its allegiance to the United Federation of Planets, from today forward. Let it be known through the quadrant that these two Powers are allies in military, economic, and social endeavors. The Union swears to answer the Federation call to arms, swears that all Federation ships may find safe port in the Union, and swears to aid the Federation in the event of a crisis. The Federation swears in return to the above, as well as to fair prices on goods and services between the two peoples. Together, may our peoples prosper and grow.
-Economic terms: pp 2-60
-Militaristic terms: pp 61-200
-Intelligence terms: pp 202-387
-Exploratory terms: pp 388-589
The Detapa Council, The Congress of the Federation of Planets
To Captain James T. Kirk
I first wish to offer you congratulations on your promotion. I have ordered the It'thal to meet the Enterprise at the prearranged coordinates for the Officer Exchange. Legate Enal will send you a list of the five officers she has selected for the honor. I hope you find this experience as enlightening as I am sure we shall.
- First Minister Ghemor, The Cardassian Union
End Notes
Part III
-\/-
Vorlem was used to quiet. His job was simple: Verify that everyone inside the building was authorized to do so. It was a thankless job but one he enjoyed nonetheless. Rooting out potential suspects, however few the actual numbers were, was always challenging and stimulating. As long as he served his Union, he did not care what exactly he did. He did not expect however, that anyone would enter or exit the compound at this time, what with the military calling for total clearance in the face of the rebel rousers and the fact that it was a holiday.
“You,” an authoritative voice snapped Vorlem to attention; as a plain-clothed Cardassian hauled a…human into the reception area.
Vorlem stood, alarmed.
“Goddamn, could you at least loosen your grip a bit? You’re breaking my wrist,” the human snarled, but the Cardassian ignored him.
“As you can see, this prisoner escaped. I need you to grant me access to the prison levels so I might…return him.”
“Your authorization code?” Vorlem asked, smoothly retaking his seat.
The Cardassian snorted. “Do you really want to tell Legate Recar you are responsible for this human’s attempted escape?” he hissed.
Vorlem’s eyes widened. “But - but, it was not my fau - ”
“By the time the Obsidian Order is through, it will be your fault entirely unless you grant me access. Now.”
A member of the Obsidian Order? Vorlem shuddered but tried to maintain his composure.
“I’d heard-“
“Rumors of the Order’s destruction have been greatly exaggerated,” he snapped. “How else would we root out those cancerous dissidents?”
“Be that as it may, sir,” Vorlem added hastily, “I still need an authorization code.”
“Fine. Red-alpha-six-zero-black. And I suggest you hurry,” the agent said as the human once again tried to wrest himself from his captor, even going so far as to bite and kick the man.
Vorlem entered the code into his database. “It checks out, sir,” Vorlem said as he pressed several buttons, releasing and opening the elevators. “I hope this doesn’t happen again. May the Union remain strong.”
“May the Union remain strong,” the agent said as he dragged the human into the elevator, with the human cursing under his breath.
As the doors closed, Vorlem sighed and hit the comm.
“Gul, I believe you are going to have some company.” Always the good of the Union came first.
-\/-
Things were going so damn smoothly; and that put Jim on edge as the elevator shot up the building. He was about to say something but then remembered Cardassian paranoia, and figured that they had probably rigged a camera or three even in this small, confined space. He half-heartedly tried to break Ghemor’s headlock to no avail. He had to admit now that they were alone in an elevator, just the two of them, on their way to rescue seven scientists from a building full of Cardassians, that maybe this wasn’t the brightest idea. Sure, it was their best chance, and Spock, Bones, and his squad were listening in should anything go wrong - but still.
The doors to the elevator opened, though without the accompanying swish Jim was used to. The floor was mostly empty as he and Ghemor made their way through the maze of corridors, with just a couple of guards here and there. Once Ghemor directed them into a janitorial closet Jim was released. He whipped out Spock’s tricorder and scanned the floor, which indicated their targets were ten meters to the left and twenty to the front. Ghemor nodded and recaptured Jim, then made his way back through the maze.
They came across a few secluded, almost ordinary looking doors, wood paneled with only a key pad as a means of entry. Dammit.
“Don’t suppose you intercepted codes for this, huh?” Jim whispered as he tried to figure out how the hell to get out of this jam. Phaser fire? Maybe, but the noise would draw every Cardassian in the place. The seconds ticked by as the duo scrutinized their new obstacle. And then the decision was made for them.
“Tekham?” called a breathily uncertain voice.
Jim reacted a split second faster than his guide, breaking Ghemor’s loosened grip and grabbing the startled Cardassian, before shoving him into the nearest wall. He placed his hand over the Cardassian’s mouth as Ghemor moved to help keep their new prisoner in place. The Cardassian bit Jim’s hand, causing the human to wince slightly and mentally moan about Bones and anti-Cardassian rabies hypos, but Ghemor then put him in an arm bar lock.
“Call the guards and I will break your neck before you finish a single cry,” Ghemor threatened in Standard.
The man nodded quickly. Ghemor fed Jim a look and he released the man’s mouth.
“What are you doing here?” the man hissed quietly. “And with a human no less?”
The term ‘human’ was said with so much venom and bile that Jim answered him first. “This human,” he mocked, “has the means to save your damn Union.”
The Cardassian fed him a skeptical look.
“Don’t believe me?” Jim quipped, “Let’s look at the facts. My captain’s up there probably kicking your military’s ass. The why’s simple: you people have our citizens imprisoned, and I’m ordered to retrieve them through whatever means necessary. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Easy means you unlock their cells and help us get out of here. In exchange, our ship leaves that little space battle that much faster, leaving your ships to deal with just those rebels. The hard way….well, let’s just say I’m banking on you choosing the easy way.”
The Cardassian shot a glance towards Ghemor.
“He is telling the truth,” Ghemor said. “Why else would I be here, Pre’lock?”
The man shook his head. “I can’t,” he said, a small quiver in his voice. “The Central Command would kill me and my children. And that’s if the Obsidian Order didn’t get to us first.”
“And if I offer you protection?” Ghemor asked quietly.
The Cardassian’s eyes widened as Jim himself began reevaluating the rebel.
“W-why would you do that for me?”
“A true patriot deserves no less,” he answered. “Doing such ensures Cardassia’s future. That is the true definition of a patriot, my friend.”
Pre’lock relaxed minutely. “On your family?”
“On my family.”
Pre’lock nodded and Ghemor released him, with Jim following a second later. Pre’lock shakily walked towards one of the doors and began pressing the combinations.
“So,” Jim drawled quietly in the intervening seconds, “protection…”
“My family’s status is no concern of yours, Commander,” Ghemor answered shortly, as he and Jim readied their phasers.
“Done.”
Ghemor nodded at the now open panel and withdrew something from his belt. “Get out of the building and present this to three-five Darmok Street.”
The man grabbed the item and was off like a shot- okay, so really, he strolled calmly down the hallway, the better to not attract attention. Jim was already in the closet-like cell where the seven Federation scientists were chained to the interior wall; alive and a little worse for wear, but unharmed thank goodness.
“Hang on a sec, guys,” Jim said as he withdrew a small laser from his boot and proceeded to cut the chains.
“Commander Kirk,” various voices whispered and he nodded at each of them.
“Rescue party’s on its way, guys,” he told them quietly. “Anyone unable to run?”
All seven sentients shook their heads.
“Had you arrived any later, Commander, I do not believe that would be the case,” the Vulcan scientist and Valo station leader, Seshmu, said.
Jim cocked a grin. “Glad to know my timing’s getting better,” he whispered as he went to the next one. “Everyone okay?”
They all nodded quickly, though one of the humans was holding his arm at an awkward angle. Jim winced in sympathy - broken arms in hostile situations were definitely no fun.
“You,” one of the women hissed.
Jim looked over his shoulder to find Ghemor entering their little closet. His eyes widened.
“You bastard,” another one spat.
“Easy folks, he’s on our side,” Jim said as Ghemor released the last one.
“I do not know what he has told you Commander, but that man is responsible for our current predicament,” Seshmu said.
Jim gaped. “Responsible? You, you mean - “
“He was on the ship that captured us,” the fiery woman said, rubbing her raw wrists, “He transported to another ship and not two hours later, we were caught by these clowns.”
Jim gritted his teeth, seeing red, but forced himself not to react beyond that. Ghemor himself, meanwhile, was not reacting with hostility to the accusations. If anything his eyes remained on the ground, almost in embarrassment at having been caught. Suddenly his earlier disposition made sense. He knew the prisoners would recognize him.
“Guys, now’s not the time.” Oh, how he’d be interrogating the Cardassian later; but much longer and their friendly neighborhood captors would get in on the act. “We have to get out of here now.”
“I agree, Commander,” Seshmu said. “What would you have us do?”
“Well first-“
“Drop your weapons!” rang across the hall, accompanied by what Jim assumed to be a warning shot not two inches from his head.
Shit. Damn it.
“Hope you’re getting this, Spock,” he whispered as he prepared to return fire.
“We have you surrounded,” the voice continued and three shots came from three different directions, just to prove that they weren’t lying. “Drop your weapons and exit the cell, or I will order my men to shoot to kill.”
Jim gripped Ghemor’s shoulder hard to remind the man who was in charge, and nodded at everyone.
“All right,” Jim called as he threw out the phasers, “we’re coming out. Don’t shoot.”
“The same goes for you, Commander,” the voice ordered.
Jim’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he slowly led the group out, hands raised, subtly pushing the scientists behind him and Ghemor.
“You know me?” he asked as he got a proper look at the bulk of their attackers. Seven Cardassians in front, eight behind, all situated so that each had a clear line of fire.
“Really, Commander,” a Cardassian said as he swaggered forward from among his men, “I should be offended.”
Gul Inson. The Cardassian who had opened fire on them. Jim played dumb.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t recognize you,” he said, shoving a bit of arrogance in to his stance. Stall. Bluff. He was good at this. “Can’t blame me though, it’s not like physical diversity’s something your species has.”
Inson’s bug-eyes narrowed but trailed over to Ghemor.
“I should have known,” he hissed.
“Yes, you should have,” Ghemor agreed.
“Of all those to betray our people, I never pegged one of the Ghemor House as a traitor.”
“No one of my line has ever been, nor ever will be, a traitor, Inson.”
Inson smirked. “Oh, I believe the courts will disagree with you there, Ghemor,” he said. “You do realize how foolish that endeavor of yours up there is, I hope. Just when the people were beginning to listen to your corrupt viewpoints, too. I must say your leader hasn’t done a very good job. He’d be drummed out of the service for incompetence.”
“We’re still alive, aren’t we? The Order couldn’t root us out, could they?” Ghemor’s words seemed to slap the Gul. “All we have to do, Inson, is survive. Keep the hope for a more equal Cardassia alive, even if it must live in mere whispers.”
Inson’s face scrunched in anger.
“Let us go, Inson,” Jim said. Keep them talking, keep everyone here. “Trust me, you don’t want to piss off my captain. We’re rather attached to each other.”
Inson’s expression hardly changed. “Oh, but don’t you see Commander?” he practically purred.
Jim barely managed to keep the cocky stance in the face of such a display.
“There is no way to let you leave. With your presence, we have definitive proof that the Federation has sought the destruction of our great empire by siding with enemies of the state.”
“Empire, Inson?” Ghemor asked, “I thought we lived in a Union, not an Empire.”
“Hey, you guys started it,” Jim asserted. “Our people went missing and you had them. But instead of letting them go like sane people, you decide to keep them. What, exactly, did you expect to happen?”
“We expected you to not risk all out war,” Inson hissed angrily, but reined himself in quickly. “We expected you to give it up as a lost cause and leave. You should have.”
“You obviously don’t know much about humans,” Jim retorted. “Look, you let all of us go, we’ll tell the Enterprise to leave. Seriously. That’s all you have to do. You think we want to be here? Trust me, we’d rather be anywhere else.”
For a second, it looked like Inson would consider the idea. Then he opened his mouth.
“Why would I let you go?” he asked slowly. “With one fell stroke, we can destroy Cardassia’s enemies and bring her people against the Federation.”
A phaser blast - Federation red, not Cardassian yellow - shot through the corridor. Jim threw himself and several of the scientists down to the floor, out of the line of fire, as blasts rang through the air. He saw the Cardassians attempt to return fire but it was useless, especially with Travers covering a visibly irate Spock; who took out three that Jim could see with the nerve pinch. The fight lasted less than thirty seconds.
“Spock, have I mentioned lately I love you?” Jim groaned as he stood.
Spock raised an eyebrow as Bones swooped in on the scientists with his tricorder and emergency hypos.
“I did not believe our relationship had progressed to that point, Commander,” Spock returned, a hint of cheek in his tone.
Jim and a few others snorted.
“I’ll let you know when it happens again,” he said. Spock nodded his affirmation.
That taken care of, Jim rounded on Ghemor.
“Talk. Now.”
“What happened?” Bones asked absently, as he jabbed the scientist with the broken arm in the neck.
“Apparently Ghemor here is pretty well acquainted with these scientists, Bones,” Jim said, glaring at Ghemor while silently demanding his explanation.
“What? You’re kidding me.”
“No Doctor, I’m afraid it’s true,” Ghemor stated quietly. “Yes, I was aboard the vessel which captured these men and women. Now, I suggest we get moving before Inson decides to wake up. He thoroughly enjoys thwarting his enemies’ plans, I assure you.”
“Now listen here, you bastard,” Bones snarled, finished with his last patient. “You don’t get to just not take-“
“While I agree with your sentiment Doctor, I believe we would be better served to return to the Enterprise as quickly as possible, so as to minimize the impact the ship has on the course of events,” Spock said, shooting Ghemor a subtle look, “We can deal with this new testimony at a later time.”
Bones grumbled but backed off.
“All right everyone, going out the way we came. Stick together and move quickly. Let’s go,” Jim ordered before addressing Ghemor quietly, “We’re not okay.”
Jim had to say the revelation of Ghemor’s of the entire rebellion, now that he thought about its manipulations, stung; even with Ghemor’s offer of and true assistance. Helping them find missing people and then manipulating them into a fight was one thing. Kidnapping said people and blaming it on their enemies was another thing entirely.
He forced the anger and hurt back until he could deal with it properly.
“I understand,” Ghemor said simply.
Jim nodded and they all piled into the elevator.
They quickly left the main lobby, though not before Jim spotted the Cardassian from earlier; crumpled and muttering in a heap on the floor. He whistled.
“We were in something of a hurry, Commander, and I was in something of a bad mood,” Ratani explained, a gory smile on his lips. “Don’t worry about that sorry sack. He’ll come out of it later.”
“How much later?” Jim warily asked his squad leader. “No, wait, on second thought, don’t tell me. I’ll let you take that one when Pike’s on the rampage.”
Ratani winced as they entered the skyway. “Still worth it, sir,” the old veteran said proudly.
“If you say so,” Jim replied as the group made its way across the skyway, once again encountering few problems.
“Never thought I’d be so glad to see trees,” Bones remarked as they quickly entered the preserve.
Jim had to agree with him. Nothing like a hostile, office takeover to make one appreciate the simple things in life; like cover from enemy fire. And was it just Jim or were the trees darker than they were earlier?
An inhuman snarl echoed through the trees, answered and reverberated back by several more.
Ghemor winced. “Hurry,” he ordered as he broke off into a full sprint.
Unfortunately, Jim and some of the other security officers couldn’t exactly do that. Eliams, as two of the scientists were, were not built for sprinting. Even the group’s quickened walking pace was straining their systems, especially after probably days of starvation and dehydration.
“You guys all right?” he asked in concern at the darkening color of their skins.
They nodded but slowed down. Jim, Ratani, Bones, and another security man stood guard around them as the hissing and snarling increased in volume and warning.
A slash of movement from Jim’s left and the man reacted faster than he thought possible, putting himself between a large hound-like creature and the Eliam it was targeting. The beast slammed into him, throwing him to the ground and biting at him. Stuck underneath the thing’s massive paws, it was all Jim could do to avoid those large teeth.
From a quick glance it seemed like an entire pack attacked the group. Ratani, Bones, and Rutgers were keeping the others at bay as the Eliams tried firing at his hound-thing. The beast looked, and felt, too starved to worry about the potential danger when a meal was literally a paw away.
One second he brought his arms up to defend himself from a swipe, the next second the beast howled in agony as Jim spotted the tip of a knife sticking out from its side.
Jim scrambled out from underneath it as the light dimmed in its eyes and it toppled onto its side, revealing a grim-faced Cardassian. He was dressed in civilian clothing much like Ghemor but his clothes were ragged, his hair lose and unkempt, and his whole framed looked gaunt. He slowly looked at Jim, who raised his arms and backed away from the beast’s corpse. Deciding the beast deserved more attention, the Cardassian crouched down and began skinning it.
“Jim,” Bones called worriedly as he grabbed his friend into a hug. “You all right?”
“Yeah, Bones, fine,” he said and meant it, glancing back at the Cardassian. Bones placed a hand on his chest and Jim winced, noticing for the first time the torn shirts and sluggish bleeding.
“Looks like you’re getting a rabies shot when we get back, kid,” he told him, amusement coloring his tone despite the grim situation.
Jim groaned good-naturedly.
“Commander,” Ghemor came back from further along the trail. He stopped before he got to the hound’s corpse, eyes obviously sad even at that distance. “Come, your people need you,” he called.
Ratani nodded and he and Rutgers flew past the Cardassian, carefully giving the corpse and now three Cardassians skinning it a wide berth. Jim, Bones, and the Eliams maneuvered around them as well, before picking up speed to meet with whatever was threatening their people.
“Ghemor?” Jim asked.
“Some of the unfortunates,” he said quietly. “They are not as uncommon as I would wish.”
That punched Jim in the gut. Cardassians, any sentient, in such a technologically advanced society as the Cardassians - reduced to hunting game in a fucking preserve just to survive? What kind of place was this?
“One we wish to change, Commander,” Ghemor whispered. “You have to leave as quickly as possible. The land to air cannons will be up soon, if they aren’t already.”
Jim didn’t have time to question him on his word choice as they hid behind the trees, starting to trade fire with several Cardassian soldiers who held themselves between the shuttle and rescue group. Good news was that they were surrounded. Bad news was there were a lot of them. Lovely.
“Commander Kirk,” chirped his comm., which he flipped open.
“Kirk here, Des,” he said, as he shot a stupid Cardassian who decided switching trees might be a good idea.
“Sir, we’ve got a back way open. Sending you the route now. We can cover you all,” he said.
“Relay to the rest of us. Scientists first. Ratani, Rutgers, and I’ll stay behind to cover this side. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” he barked.
Jim took a deep breath and waited a second before spinning around to the other side of the tree and drawing fire. In the smoke and haze, he made out Spock and the scientists on the move. One down, however many more to go.
He ducked behind the tree again, reappearing on the other side to take aim at a low-lying Cardassian. A shot later, the man was unconscious. There, in the bushes. He fired again, hiding behind the tree. On and on the cycle continued, some shots successful, some not so much. If the grunts from the other side were any judge though, the Cardassians weren’t faring much better with his other snipers. He winced at the too close shot to his left, barely half a foot from its target, but returned fire. That one was done.
“Commander, all the scientists are aboard the shuttle. Awaiting you and the two others,” Spock’s voice chirped on the comm. Best damn news he’d heard all day.
“Ratani and Rutgers are on the move,” Spock reported and Jim could see them through the dust and haze making their way towards their escape paths.
Time to blow this joint. Jim sprinted over fallen logs and dodged around trees as the shots picked up behind him. There, he could see the clearing now. Thank god, his burning lungs and screaming lungs sang, as he cleared the last of the trees.
From behind he heard the Cardassians sprinting towards him, heard their phasers charging. He zigged to the left and zagged to the right, hoping the ‘it’s hardest to hit a moving, zigzagging target’ drills his Academy instructors loved torturing him with paid off right here. He glanced behind him, saw one Cardassian’s arm following his every move precisely, and somehow ran faster.
Just a little more. The shuttle was twenty-five meters. Twenty. A yellow round rang past his ear, spurring him on. Fifteen. Another shot, this one made glancing contact. He groaned at the sudden numbness in his right leg, almost tripping. Shit. Fuck.
A red shot zipped past him and, from a distance, he heard a body drop to the ground. He focused on the person just inside the shuttle’s door - Lan, his phaser steady in the kid’s hand and a fierce look in his eye.
Jim gasped and just made it to the shuttle, where Bones bodily hauled him inside as Lan shut the door. All around them, the pings of Cardassian fire thunked the ship.
Jim did a quick head count and asked Bones, “Where’s Ghemor?”
“Told us to leave him,” Bones answered. “Helped draw some fire off of us and took out more than a few of those bastards. Said he’d be fine.”
Well if anyone could survive all the madness outside, it was him. But still, just leaving him? That didn’t sit right at all. Still he glanced at Lan as Spock fired the primary thrusters.
“Sure you don’t want to be a sniper?” he joked.
“No sir, thanks anyway. I’ll take dead people over killing them,” he said.
Jim laughed at the ensign’s better spirits. “See why I brought you along now?” he said as he shrugged the doctor off, forcing himself into the co-pilot’s chair beside Spock. Together, they hauled ass off the planet Jim never wanted to see again in his life.
The trip into the atmosphere was smooth, but the trip to the Enterprise was anything but. All around the large ship, Cardassian models circled like orca trying to drown a whale. Shit, how were they going to get back inside?
-\/-
“Captain, shields down to forty-seven percent,” Chekov reported as he targeted the weapons systems of various ships. Damn it, where the hell was Kirk?
“Captain, I’m picking up the emergency sequence - and the shuttle!” Sulu exclaimed.
Thank god. Sometimes, Pike really adored that kid.
“Captain, we will have to lower our shields to let the shuttle in,” Scott reported from engineering.
Sometimes, Pike really hated that kid.
“How close can we shave it, Mr. Scott?” he asked, before barking at Sulu to execute 359 around a Cardassian ship.
“Sir, their phasers are powerful little things. And if they manage to get a torpedo through, it’ll burn through whichever deck it impacts and the seven surrounding it,” the harried Scotsman replied.
“Options, Mr. Scott,” Pike said calmly, as the ship rocked from another shield impact.
“We could try extending the shields around it sir, but I’m not making any promises one way or the other. Also means if any Cardie ship’s close enough, it’ll get in too.”
“Divert the necessary power, Commander,” he replied. “Chekov, be ready to shoot whatever else we catch before it has a chance to try anything.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Now, Mr. Scott.”
The view on the screen flashed a bright blue as the shields were lowered. In the split second between it and the re-raising, a shot got through. Lights blared and several crew members flew across the bridge amid the screeching emergency read-outs. Pike hauled himself back into his chair as Chekov kept firing, braced as he was by his console.
“Are they in, Mr. Scott?” he called down.
“As nice as it is to know you were worried about us, Captain,” came Jim’s voice from the shuttle’s frequency - and Pike breathed a sigh of relief, “We have to get out of here right now. We’ve been had.”
“Had?”
“Sir, the rebellion had the scientists kidnapped, not the government as we were led to believe,” Spock said.
Pike blinked. Damn it.
“Understood, Mr. Spock. You and Kirk get up here now,” he ordered calmly, reining in his icy fury. “Sulu, Chekov, you heard the man. Get us out of here.”
With more than relieved ‘aye, sir’s’, his officers complied.
-\/-
Between Scotty’s sensor modifications and Uhura’s constant scanning of the Cardassian channels, the Enterprise was beating a peaceful retreat back to the border. There had been a close call with an ‘eighth fleet’ heading to Cardassia Prime, but Uhura caught it before they were within sensor range.
“Here,” Bones said gruffly, shoving a cup of coffee under Jim’s nose.
Jim raised his head off of the mess table, took the offering, and sipped it quietly. “Vodka or whiskey?” he said casually, gesturing to the cup.
“Good old-fashioned southern whiskey,” Bones said. “Don’t quite think vodka’s appropriate.”
Jim snorted into the cup as Bones sat beside him and raised his drink.
“Here’s to never dealing with those people again.”
Jim copied the gesture.
“Here, here,” he said quietly.
Epilogue
Declaration of Alliance
Preamble
On this day, stardate 2032264.5 by Federation standards and 5748301.2 by Cardassian, the Cardassian Union declares its allegiance to the United Federation of Planets, from today forward. Let it be known through the quadrant that these two Powers are allies in military, economic, and social endeavors. The Union swears to answer the Federation call to arms, swears that all Federation ships may find safe port in the Union, and swears to aid the Federation in the event of a crisis. The Federation swears in return to the above, as well as to fair prices on goods and services between the two peoples. Together, may our peoples prosper and grow.
-Economic terms: pp 2-60
-Militaristic terms: pp 61-200
-Intelligence terms: pp 202-387
-Exploratory terms: pp 388-589
The Detapa Council, The Congress of the Federation of Planets
To Captain James T. Kirk
I first wish to offer you congratulations on your promotion. I have ordered the It'thal to meet the Enterprise at the prearranged coordinates for the Officer Exchange. Legate Enal will send you a list of the five officers she has selected for the honor. I hope you find this experience as enlightening as I am sure we shall.
- First Minister Ghemor, The Cardassian Union
End Notes