PARADISE LOST…
LINE 713

Weyoun sat in his ready room. The diplomatic negotiations were over. True, he had obeyed the Founders instructions to the letter. They would make very strong allies for the Dominion. There was no doubt in his mind of the Founders wisdom. The Cardassians were, at their best, unreliable. The Breen were better. However, it was best not to put all the earth bird eggs in one basket. And the fact that the war had gone on this long testified to the need for more radical moves on the chessboard.

Now Weyoun had achieved another feather in his cap. He sat back in his chair and warmed his hands over his cup of tea.

“Weyoun, we have arrived at your designated co-ordinates. There are no ships in the area.” Damar sounded disgusted as ever.

Weyoun’s eyes raised to the ceiling. Ever since he had lost Sara to the Cardassian, he had been filled with more hate than he knew what to do with. Oh, well no sense in crying over spilled Saurian Brandy. “Oh course not, they have technology that far surpasses the Dominion. That is why we are fortunate to have them as allies.”

“Who as allies? Who are they?”

Weyoun cradled his nose into his fist. Gods he hated this Cardassian. “You will find out soon enough. I am on my way to the bridge. I will be there momentarily.”

Weyoun stepped out on to the bridge. Damar paced back and forth. The Cardassians always hated waiting. And the only thing they hated more than waiting was being left out of the loop. Now, both were happening.

“Weyoun, I was left in the dark in the matter of the Breen. And now I am being left out again. Who is the new ally of the Dominion?”

“Ambassador--a ship decloaking off the portside. It is an unknown configuration.”

Damar looked at his terminal. “Shields up. Red alert.”

Weyoun snapped around. “Delay that order. That Damar…is who we are here to see.”

Damar looked at the huge ship. It made the Galor class vessel seem puny in comparison. It could swallow it whole. The engines alone dwarfed the small vessel.

“The propulsion system alone is light years beyond Cardassia. Who are they?”

The Jem Hadar looked down. “Ambassador, you are being hailed. By name.”

“Understood. Hail universal greeting at bandwidth 9856.23.”

“That high of a band width will be unhearable-except to a Klingon Targ.” Damar was just as confused as ever. He swallowed down another Kennar.

“Damar-I highly suggest that you keep those thoughts to yourself. These allies are very powerful and have traveled a considerable distance. They are not in the mood to be insulted. And I will not protect you.”

Damar hated this. The loop he was out of was too huge for him to comprehend.

“They have responded Ambassador. They are welcoming you to their space. They are prepared to meet you.”

“Good. Give the co-ordinates to the bridge. Invite them to beam over when they are ready.”

“They say they are ready now. Transport has begun.”

Weyoun and Damar turned. The center of the bridge glistened in the background. Then congealed.

In the middle of the room were two life forms. Both were virtually identical. Both stood about eight feet tall. Their yellow eyes cut through the darkness. Their forehead ridges were deeper as they went towards the back of….what was supposed to be the head. The nasal area was a set of vertical groves. What was supposed to be a mouth was one huge slit. The language was one long set of clicks.

“Put on the universal translator please.” Weyoun turned to face the Breen General.

“…It is good to meet you finally Weyoun. It is a long journey from the Delta Quadrant to here. I do hope that we have not made this trip in vain.”

Damar looked at him….they’re from the Delta Quadrant. This was insane. Past insane. Maniacal. That was the correct term for it.

“You have not wasted your time, I assure you. We will be more than happy to share the Alpha Quadrant with you. And after the defeat of the Federation, we will help you defeat the Borg….” Weyoun took a single step forward.

Damar looked at him. The Borg. Now he had to be kidding. At least he hoped so.

“We are pleased to be part of the Dominion.” The creature lumbered forward. And held out what was supposed to be his arm. Weyoun gently grasped it per custom of the creature.

“My Jem Hadder will show you to your quarters. We live to serve the Dominion.”

With that the two creatures left the bridge. Damar waited until the doors closed.

“Let me see if I understand this correctly. They are from the Delta Quadrant. They are enemies with the Borg. And now they are allies with the Dominion. Who are they?”

“The Federation calls them Species 8472. They are light years beyond our technology. They are huge assets to the Dominion.”

“And just how did the Dominion find out about this Species….”

“The Dominion took a Federation vessel called the ‘Righteous” about two years ago. It was at the very edge of the Alpha Quadrant and contacted a vessel called the “Voyager.” In the download from that communication we seized-we learned of Species 8472. We sent Weyoun 11 to the Delta Quadrant about a year ago. He opened diplomatic negotiations with them-and brought us to where we are today.”

“So here we go…into a war with the archenemy of the Borg.”

“We will vanquish all who oppose us.”

“Said like a true asshole Weyoun. I’m leaving. I’ve had enough of your pompous wordiness for one day.”

Weyoun turned to ignore the Cardassian. He had other things to worry about. Like how to best use his new allies.

Damar walked into his quarters. Sara stood in the living room waiting for him as always. She stood there in a blue gown. The lace clung to her body. This was all the ally that he needed.

“Damar. It is good to see you. You look concerned.”

“AAAhhh yes. I need your counsel again, Sara. It appears that Weyoun has opened diplomatic relations with yet another life form. And again without Cardassias knowledge or consent.”

“Oh, and who is it this time.”

“Species 8472.”

“That’s an unusual name. Who are they?”

Damar walked over to the replicator and fixed himself two Kennars. Sara had now developed a taste for the beverage. He turned and gently handed her a huge green glass.

“Let’s see…they are from the Delta Quadrant. They're ugly. And….oh yes….I almost forgot….they are the archenemy of the Borg.”

“What?”

“You heard me correctly. They are the archenemy of the one species totally devoted to the elimination of the carbon-based lifeform. And he has a pact with them.”

“It sounds like a pact with the devil himself.”

“He did. If we survive this war, We may not survive the next. We’d be assimilated.”

“I think I’d prefer death. Rather than that form of ‘life’.”

“Agreed. But now what do we do. The pact has been made. The deal is sealed. And we are the ones who will pay the price my dear.”

“Wonderful. Now we haven’t finished one war before we have to worry about the next. What can I do to help?”

“Well, for right now. You can have dinner with me. It’s the only thing that I have looked forward to all day.”

Sara stepped forward and placed her hands gently on his armorplate above his shoulders. Damar found his hands on her small waist. “I will always be here for you. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll be there for you.”

“I know. And I appreciate that. I just wished we could find a way to eliminate all Weyouns from the universe.”

“From what you just said…the Borg may do that for us.”

The Borg staggered in the darkness. He was one with the collective now. He had served the collective for over a year. He was one with the Borg. Resistance was now futile.

It lifted its mechanical arm and impaled an implant into his biochamber. He needed to regenerate and the Queen had given him authorization to do so. His eyepiece glowed in the dark and was held in place over the elongated, ridged ear by an implant. Robotic eyes had now replaced his poor eyesight. All the better to see in the infrared with. The poor foolish life forms of the Alpha Quadrant, Cardassian, Human, Klingon, Romulan, Ferengi….and Founders. How pathetic they were compared to the magnificence of the collective. When he compared them to the supremacy of the Borg nothing else mattered.

It would be only a short time before they would be assimilated. Borg 9 of 10 would be sure of that. It was the only thing that mattered to him. Flawlessness.

Sara awoke next to Damar. He snored in his sleep just as always. She curled up to his huge shoulder and felt his Kennar breath on her face, but by now she was used to it. It had been over six months since she was given political asylum. Weyoun had learned to give her a wide berth-or he would die in his sleep. Sara's finger came up and brushed against Damar’s leathery cheek. He flustered a bit. She felt his arm wrap around her--his chin rested against her head. Her leg gently went over his and cuddled next to him.

Sara went back over what Damar had said-about the new allies-Species what ever they were. Damn that Weyoun. She was glad there was only one of him in the universe. She couldn’t handle two. No way she could she handle two. That was one too many. Of course….one was one too many at this point.

But what could she do about it? She couldn’t kill them. She didn’t know if they even slept. No, that wouldn’t work. Heaven knows they were too powerful.

There had to be something else. There had to be.

Borg 9 of 10 walked through the hallways to his Queen. How wrong he was about the Founders. What a mistake. The perfection of the Borg made everything else inconsequential. It had assisted in the turnover of sensitive material on the Dominion to the Borg. That included the alliance with the enemy. Species 8472 aligned with the Dominion had brought the Dominion into a war with the Borg. Except they did not know that yet, and they would not know it until it was to too late.

Way, too late.

Borg 9 of 10 looked at the Borg schematic of the Chantaka system. Everyone would be gathered in one place: the Klingons, the Romulans, the Dominion, the Cardassians, and the Breen. He smiled, how advantageous to have everyone congregated in one place. He looked up to his Queen enter the chamber.

“Borg 9 of 10, have you determined the best course of action for taking sector 5236.9?

“Yes, it appears that most of the species that will be assimilated are gathered in one place. It will be very easy for the Borg to take that sector.”

“Good. Time to intercept?”

“At transwarp 6, we should arrive within two days.”

“Affirmative. Make the calculations. And begin to prepare for the assimilation process.”

“Yes my Queen. Have you looked over the schematics on the assimilation of the Founder species.”

“Yes, it should not be a problem to synthesis nanoprobes to overcome and assimilate their gelatinous structure. We have also reprogrammed the weapons and the shields with the Dominion prefix codes. It will make the assimilation process much more expeditiously after we lower the shields. ”

“I will begin the synthesis immediately. Is there anything else you require?”

“Negative, not at this time.” The Queen turned and left. Borg 9 of 10 had much to do.

Damar watched the huge, lumbering creature on his bridge. This was too much to take. First the Breen, and now a species whose name wasn’t a name-but rather a number. Damn he hated Weyoun. Both of them. All of them. He never met a Weyoun that he liked.

The Species 8472 came forward and shoved the Breen General out of the way. They hissed and glared at each other. But the Breen backed off. This was worse than third grade. The two biggest intimidators in the universe, and Damar was caught in the middle. Not a good place to be.

Sara came onto the bridge. The Cardassians were used to her presence as Damars “aide de camp.” That was the polite way of putting it. The Breen merely tolerated her. The Species 8472 barely gave her a glance. Sara walked over to Damar and handed him a small PADD. “I thought Cardassia may need this.”

“What are they?”

“They're the prefix codes to Federation vessels. The ones that I can remember. The sooner that the war is over, the sooner I have you to myself.” Sara whispered into his ear.

“What’s a prefix code?”

“They are used by the Federation to keep a mutinous crew from overtaking a vessel. They can lower shields, take weapons off line. Or self-destruct a vessel. I thought you could use them.”

“You never cease to amaze me.”

“Well, if I did…you’d get bored with me now wouldn’t you?”

“Never around you.”

“I better leave. I don’t like it here.”

“I’ll talk to you tonight.”

Sara nodded and briefly touched his hand. Cardassia would have the information, not the Dominion. Damar would be sure of that. The doors sealed behind her. She walked into Weyoun in the corridor.

“Sara, it is good to see you.”

Weyoun walked down the corridor. He flipped through a PADD, casually determining the best course of action for using his new allies. He had heard through his COMM link that Sara had gone to the bridge. The bridge was the one place she hated the most. So she had to have a very good reason to be there. He would need to find out exactly why she had gone out of her way to go to the one place she hated. Weyoun almost walked into Sara as she left the bridge. “Sara, how good it is to see you. How have you been? I have not seen you in several days.” Weyoun’s attempt at civility was wearing her thin.

“I wish I could say the same Weyoun. I can’t. What can I do for you?”

If only she knew. “Well you could answer a question for me.”

“Yes. I’m listening.”

“What was on the PADD that you just gave your lover?”

“Unfortunately, I forgot. Isn’t that a shame Weyoun? Maybe Damar will tell you.”

He knew better. He hated this dynamic duo. But he had no one to blame but himself. Sara was a Latinum mine of information that he did not have access to. And he hated that. He despised that. “AAAhhh yes. Well. Maybe the three of us could have dinner together.”

“I don’t think so. Damar and I are busy. We are always busy.”

He was afraid of that. What was on that PADD that now belonged to Damar? He had a feeling that it was important. It was important enough to bring Sara to the bridge.

He hated to be left out of the loop. Weyoun watched Sara walk away from him. Sure he could have her executed. But what fun would that be. He wanted to know what was on the PADD. She hardly ever came to the bridge. This had to be critical. Weyoun turned and stepped into the small room himself. Damar stood there flipping through his present. Weyoun only got a quick glance before Damar turned off the PADD.

“Damar, it isn’t nice to keep secrets.”

“Oh, and how many have you kept from me recently?”

Touché. He did have a point. “That was an unfortunate oversight on my part. You are correct I should have informed you of our new allies. And I assure you it will not happen again.”

Damar looked at him. Was he really expecting him to buy that drivel? Oh what the hell. “Fine. I just hate to be left out.”

“And it will not happen again.”

“Good. Now, that we are back on speaking terms again. That was Sara wasn’t it? I just saw her leave the bridge?”

“Yes. She was here for a short time.”

“AAAhhhh. And how is she?”

“Good.” Damar turned. For a champion poker player….he was as easy to read as the PADD he wanted to look at. “My birthday is coming up. She wanted to know what I wanted for dinner.”

Weyoun looked at him. His “birthday” was not for nine months. But he would play along. “I’ve never had a birthday…mainly because I do not have a mother.”

Damar thanked his Cardassian gods for small miracles.

It was then one of Damar’s officers came up to him. There was an enormous energy surge outside of the Chantaka system. It was there only for a split second and then it vanished. But the officer was sure he saw it. It was too huge of a spike to be a natural phenomenon. Damar walked over to the console only for a split second.

That was all Weyoun needed. He took a Dominion PADD and put it back to back with Damar’s. It copied all the information in less than a nanosecond. He slipped his PADD into his tunic pocket. And returned Damar’s to the console. He then turned and left the room. Congratulating himself on his own ingenuity. He went to his quarters to decipher his information.

Damar returned to his counsel. He noticed the PADD had been moved. Damn that Weyoun. He should have remembered to never turn his back on the Vorta. Not even for a second.

Borg 9 of 10 turned to face his Queen. It handed her a data cartridge.

“Borg 9 of 10 these are the prefix codes of the Dominion vessels?”

“Yes. Unfortunately I do not have the knowledge of the Cardassian codes.”

“Weyoun, that was in your frail days. The days before you joined the perfection of the Borg. When you were frail living cells only. You have grown past that. You are now closer to perfection than those you called Founders.”

“And I have you to thank for making me that which I am today.”

“The Borg are closer to perfection now because of you. And we will be even closer after the assimilation of another half dozen species. Their individualism will enhance the perfection of the collective.”

“And they will be enhanced by the collective. My Queen.”

She nodded and turned to leave.

Damar walked into his quarters. Sara was cleaning his quarters just as she always does. He did not know how to tell her-that Weyoun, more than likely had the information. If he did-by now the entire Dominion had it.

Sara looked up at him. She automatically knew that something was amiss. Cardassians do not hide their feelings very well. She knew that from being a comfort woman. And, she knew Damar too well, he was a horrible actor. “Weyoun has them, doesn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Weyoun may have just shot himself in the foot.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If Weyoun tries to download the file to his personal database and then read it…he will delete his own database. The security password is yours. Anything else will delete the file and launch a virus that Weyoun will have a difficult time recovering from.”

Damar looked at Sara. She was good. Very good. Better than he even gave her credit for. She was almost as underhanded as the Vorta himself. He laughed at her ingenuity. Then at himself for doubting her.

“Are you hungry Damar?”

“Very.”

“I’ll get your dinner at once. Your Kennar is on the table.”

“Somehow I’m not interested in Kennar.”

Sara blinked at him a few times. Did she just hear correctly?

Damar looked at her as he slowly stepped forward. He did not enjoy bring up the subject of her former employer-but this was a necessity. “How much does the Federation know about the Borg?”

“They were working on a defense against the Borg when the Dominion War broke out. Then that was put to the back burner. The most they had for a plan was shifting the shield modulation frequency, and that’s not much of a defense.”

“No, it’s not. My first officer saw a rather huge energy spike a few hours ago. I couldn’t see it myself. But if it got his attention and I trust his judgement, and I must do a worst case scenario. The Borg will visit us. The only questions are where and when?”

“What do you want me to do Damar?”

“I am going to trust you with information that only I and my first officer know-the Cardassian prefix codes. If something happens to me. You are to go to Central Command and make sure they change all of them. I do not want Cardassia to be a colony for the Borg.”

The thought made Sara shiver. The thought of Damar being assimilated made her uneasy at best. Was she-dare she even think the word-in love with him? “I understand. I hope that it won’t be necessary for me to have these. But I understand.”

“I hope that you won’t need these either. But, it’s good to have Plan B. Is dinner ready?”

“I’m sorry. It’s ready.”

Sara disappeared into the kitchen. She spooned some of the food onto a plate then to hers. She was now used to eating in front of a male. Her culture be damned.
She came out and set both on the table. She sat down across from him.

“Sara, I’m afraid we must have a rather serious conversation. I need to ask you about your operative days-for the Federation.”

“I understand. How can I help you?”

“The Federation-What does it know of our new Allies?”

“To be honest with you…less than they know about the Borg. They come from an area of liquid space. Almost a parallel universe but not quite. The Borg are not able to assimilate them because of their gelatinous structure….”

“So they are like the Founders?”

“In a way, I suppose they are. But as I said when the Dominion War broke out, the Borg were moved to the back of the priority line. They were moved way back. I don’t think the Federation has done any research in at least three years on the Borg. Much less on the Dominions new friends.”

“They may not live long enough to regret that. How do you think Cardassia should proceed?”

“Damar, I will be brutally honest with you. I don’t know. Unless we can figure out a way to make it so that we can not be assimilated by the Borg.”

“I don’t think we can do that in 48 hours.”

“Why do you say 48 hours?”

“Think about it, so many different species in one place, in the Chantaka system. It would be like shooting earth fish in a barrel.”

Sara looked at him in horror. He was right and she knew it. Klingons, humans, Vorta, Founders, Cardassians all right in one spot. Not to mention the intelligence that the Borg would be able to gather would make the battle worth the long distance.

“Sara, I don’t want you in this fight. I want you to take a runabout and return to Cardassia. You are not going to be at Chantaka. Is that clear?”

“Yes Damar. When do I leave?”

“Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I will join you as soon as I can. This war will soon be over, one way or the other and I will not be in another war. I’ll be in Central Command.”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

“I think maybe we should get some ‘sleep.’”

Weyoun sat at this terminal in his quarters. He almost rubbed his hands together in Vorta glee. Sara was very good at obtaining information. As a former Federation operative-she had to be. And what ever this is-it had to be luscious.

He downloaded the information from his PADD to his personal database. He took a sip of his Saurian brandy. The download had been completed faster than he thought.

He set his brandy down and typed in his password.

It was then his computer went dark and then lit up with a series of characters that he did not recognize. He then heard the voice of his nemesis-“Weyoun….I thought you were better than that-you underestimated your opponent-and for that you will pay a high price.” Sara’s voice ended….it was then he realized exactly what the computer was doing…it was transferring everything in his system to Damars…letter for letter…word for word….page for page. When it was done…it erased his database completely.

Weyoun sat back and seethed inside. He would not make the same mistake twice.

Sara stood at the airlock. Damar was seeing her off to the safety of Cardassia. He hated to say good-bye however this was necessary. The information that she carried could not fall into the wrong hands. Weyoun’s or the Borg. And he trusted her with his life, and the safety of his home world. Damar ordered privacy with his “aide” until the ship left, and his men knew better than to interrupt him.

Damar’s hands went to her small waist, her fingers rested on his shoulders. In a short time Sara had gone from comfort woman to his most trusted adviser. But he could not let her be harmed. And he trusted her with the future.

“I will join you on Cardassia as soon as the battle is over.”

“I’ll wait for you there. And I will also make sure that your position on the Central Command is secure.”

“I have no doubts on that at all.”

“I wish I could go with you but you know I can’t.”

“You’re right here with me….here.” Sara’s hand went to her heart.

“Sara-are you saying that you love me….” Damar smiled down at her, he held her a little tighter and closer to him.

Sara looked at him for a second. What did she mean? Had he gone from spoonface to lover-and she didn’t realize it? “Yes, Damar. I suppose it does.”

Damar bent down and touched his lips to hers. Sara felt her arms go around his neck. She raised herself to her toes. He pulled back and watched her eyes flutter open. “I will discuss that with you on Cardassia, over dinner and a fine bottle of Cardassian Champagne. You better leave…before I change my mind.”

It was then Sara looked over Damar’s shoulder and saw Weyoun standing in the corner. Watching with a look of interest on his face. “Please Damar-do not allow me to interrupt-I always enjoy watching interspecies mating rituals….they are so intriguing to me.”

“Weyoun. What are you doing here? I left orders not to be…”

“Disturbed. Yes, I know. However, the Founders have called me back to Cardassia for a meeting…and your shuttle craft was conveniently heading in my direction.”

“How convenient for you-Weyoun.”

“Yes. Isn’t it? Sara, it will be good to have a long journey with you….just think we’ll be together for sixteen hours.”

“Oh, joy.” She looked at Damar. This was her worst nightmare come true.

“Sara. I must leave. I will see you on Cardassia. Remember what I said.”

“I have it in my heart.”

With that he glared at Weyoun and turned to leave. He turned and looked back at her one last time. He needed no reassurance. She was Damar’s, and she belonged to him heart and soul. There was no one else was in her heart.

Weyoun looked at Sara. “Shall we Sara? There is no point in delay. Cardassia needs us.”

“Yes, I suppose we should. The sooner we begin--the sooner we shall arrive.”

Weyoun allowed her into the ship first. Sarah sat down and watched the Cardassian pilot go through his pre flight checklist. He had been selected by Damar to be in charge of her safety. He looked at her. Now he knew why she was Damars “Aide”….quite frankly she was beautiful…for a non-Cardassian that is.

Weyoun sat across from her. He flipped through a PADD and casually threw it to the side.

“Is something wrong Weyoun?” She knew that his personal database was now in shreds.

“No. Nothing, I just detest space travel in small vessels.”

“You can always leave. Believe me.”

Weyoun smiled. Nice try but it didn’t work. “That would not suit the Founders. No, I’m afraid that I’m needed on Cardassia.”

“Why?”

“I have a meeting.”

“Yes, of course.”

“And why are you going to Cardassia? I thought Damar would want you by his side when victory is the Dominions.”

“He wants me out of harms way. We will celebrate on Cardassia. It will be a private celebration. English translation-you’re not invited Weyoun.”

“I would not want to impede on your private moments with the Leget.”

“That’s the first smart thing you’ve said in weeks.” Sara looked up.

The docking clamps were removed-it was now too late to turn back. She would spend what would seem to be an eternity to her-with the one lifeform she wanted to see dead. Weyoun.

Sara put her feet up and became as comfortable as she could. She pulled up her favorite PADD and began to page through her favorite stories, Shakespeare and Paradise Lost. She would glance at Weyoun, trying her best to be discreet. It wasn’t working.

“Sara, how could you be one of the Federation’s best operatives…when you are so transparent.”

“Weyoun…how could you be an ambassador….when you are such as asshole.”

Weyoun looked up at her and laughed. “Touché. You’re right-there are times when I enjoy being a thorn in someone’s side.”

“I should hope so-that’s what your best at.”

Weyoun snickered to himself. Then returned to his PADD.

Several hours had passed by. The tension in the small shuttlecraft was intense. Even the pilot was wishing he had been anywhere but in the craft.

It was then that he noticed a large energy surge approaching his position. It was too huge to be Cardassian, Federation, or anything else for that matter. At first he thought it was a natural phenomenon but then it was matching him move for move.

Sara noticed his panic. He had seen Cardassians in war. It took a lot to “rattle their cage.”

“What’s wrong?”

“An energy surge. It is larger than anything else I have ever seen.”

Weyoun stood and looked at the gauges. Whatever it was-they could not out run it. And a shuttlecraft was hopelessly outgunned. “Send out a distress beacon.”

“Done.”

Sara’s heart sunk. She knew it was the Borg. She did not know how she knew. But premonition told her. Weyoun turned to look at her. His face was almost worried but not quite. Sara shook in her seat. If the Borg assimilated her, they would have knowledge of the Federation and Cardassian military files. Nothing could be worse than that to her.

If Weyoun were assimilated all of the Dominions knowledge would be open to the Borg. Nothing would be spared. He wished he had never opened diplomatic relations with his allies.

It was then a flash of green light filled the shuttle. Sara, Weyoun and the pilot were rendered unconscious.

The Borg cube was now in visual range. Putting it mildly the cube was huge. Of course, the Borg never do anything half way. It would swallow the ship as an appetizer. The Borg had covered the distance in moments. Sara slumped in her chair. Weyoun fell to the floor in a heap. The Cardassian collapsed over the control counsel.

Sara awoke first. Her arms ached as they were stretched to the breaking point above her head. They were fastened to a conduit with pipes and hoses. Weyoun was next to her. Fastened the same way. At first Sara could not make out what was going on around her.

Then she wished she hadn’t.

The Cardassian pilot was laying on a table surrounded by Borg. He appeared to be “awake.” However, he was lying there still as a corpse. Then he mechanically raised his “arm.” It was then that Sara realized what was happening. His Cardassian arm was amputated at the shoulder. Replacing it was a mechanical bio-structure. Sara turned her face in disgust. It was too much pain for her to bear. She looked at the Cardassian. She watched one of the Borg place a needle into the Cardassians neck-his face became a shallow gray color-and then turned blue.

It was then that she looked at the one Borg. Even though he had his back turned towards her. There was something vaguely familiar about him. She couldn’t place it. But the same gestures. The same movements. It was then the Borg turned around.

Weyoun.

Sara looked at the Borg and then to the Weyoun that was tied next to her. It couldn’t be. She had to be in a nightmare from her only living brother. It had to be.

“No Sara. This is not a nightmare.”

“How could you be there…and .”

“I was Weyoun 8. I am now known as 9 of 10.”

“What are you going to do to us?”

“I think you know the answer to that. You will be assimilated. We have already begun assimilating your Weyoun. We are almost through with the Cardassian. You will be last. The nanoprobes will need to be adjusted to your Chian physiology. That will be in 48 hours. After that you will know the glory of the Borg.”

“If it’s all the same to you…I’ll pass.”

Weyoun 8 almost smiled at her. “Your needs are irrelevant. So you and this Weyoun were once lovers. I had almost forgotten about sex. That is now irrelevant. However, I would like to ask a question. Who is Damar?”

Good he didn’t have all the answers yet. “He’s a Cardassian. I’m his girlfriend.”

“A Chian and a Cardassian. That’s an odd match. But then that is irrelevant. This Weyoun feels that you have the Cardassian command codes. Give them to me.”

“No.”

“You will give them to me. Now, or after the assimilation. It is all the same to the collective. I must finish now. You also have the ability to enter dreams.”

Sara shook with fear. The Borg being able to enter dreams terrified her.

“You do have the ability. I must tell my Queen. That will add more perfection to the Borg. What a wonderful ability you will give the collective.”

Sara almost cried. The Cardassian sat up on the table and mechanically turned his head. The green light of his prosthetic eye glowed in the darkness. He jumped off the table and turned to the much shorter Vorta/Borg. “I am 2 of 12. Resistance is futile. How may I serve the collective.”

“You will tell me all you know about the battle to be waged in the Chantaka system.”

Sara watched the two walk down the corridor. She was thankful the pilot was an enlisted officer. He had no real information the Borg could use.

She turned to Weyoun. His face was now turned towards her. She could see part of the cortical implant that glowed in the darkness. The veins of his neck and face were engorged. He was no longer the Vorta asshole of the alpha quadrant. Now he was Borg. And right now that was far worse.

Sara looked down at her feet as they hung in mid air. Then she realized something.

Something that made her soul stir in terror. One that made her cower in fright.

Where were the Cardassian command codes?

Damar contacted the Cardassian government. He had a feeling that something was wrong. His contacts were supposed to have contacted him upon her arrival. She was now over four hours late. The command codes and Sara were both missing. He didn’t trust Weyoun. But if Weyoun had hurt her, there was no place that he could hide from him.

Weyoun now stirred. He looked up in the darkness. For the first time in his Vorta life he had perfect 20/20 vision. Now he knew something was wrong. He glanced over at Sara. Her feet hung about three feet off the floor. Her breathing was hard and labored from the strain on her arms. It was then that the pain hit him.

His head throbbed. His arms were in agony. The cables that held him in place cut off his circulation to his right arm. He moaned so loudly that it woke Sara from her unconsciousness.

“Weyoun.”

“Where are we?”

“I think that’s obvious. We’re on the Borg ship. They assimilated the pilot. They have begun assimilating you.”

Weyoun looked at her in horror. With what he knew for the Founders in the hands of the Borg the Dominion would not last long. Everything told him to kill himself while he was still alive and individual enough to do so. However, his hands could not reach the death mechanism in his skull. “Gods, Sara, I wish you could kill me right now.”

“I know Weyoun. For the first time, I wish I were dead also. But this is no time for that. We need to get out of here. And not have a pity party for us. We need to think this through-without panicking.”

“What’s your plan?”

“They will need to untie us to take us to the table to assimilate us…”

“How do you know that?”

“I was conscious when the Cardassian was assimilated. I watched the process.”

Weyoun looked at the two tables in front of him.

“Weyoun, how strong are you physically?”

“I’m genetically engineered. I’m not as strong as a Jem Hadder is. However I am stronger than most humanoid life forms.”

“Good. We may need that-we may need to fight our way out of here.”

“That’s painfully clear to me.”

“Then somehow we need to contact Damar.”

“How do we find the communications area?”

“I have a small tricorder in my bracelet. It’s a leftover from my days as an operative.”

“When this is over, maybe you can show it to me?”

“Maybe.”

It was then the doorway opened and 9 of 10 entered the room. The Weyouns looked at each other. The Borg walked over to his counterpart and stood in front of him.

“You are to be assimilated then the female. You have information that the Borg need in order to assimilate the Founders. You will comply.”

“Go to your Borg hell you bastard. I am…”

“You are nothing. But soon you will be in the collective.” The Borg looked at him quizzically for a moment, then took a step closer. “You care for this female, or at least what she knows. Ah, but soon it will make no difference. You will be one with the collective. I had almost forgotten about intimacy and feelings. They are irrelevant. All that matters is the Borg. You will know that soon Weyoun. And then the Founders.”

“The Dominion will defeat you…”

The Borg laughed at him as if he were a small child making his first steps. He then stepped to the table and began to absorb his equipment for the surgery. Weyoun watched in horror.

Sara wriggled her wrist inside of the insulated cables. The coating of the cables made her wrist sweat and that was all the grease she needed. If she could have five more minutes she could have one wrist free. There, all she had to do was resist the urge to rest her arm. She could not let Weyoun know that her wrist was free. If he knew, the Borg counterpart would know. She grabbed onto the cable and held her own weight up as if her life depended on it. It did.

“It is time for you Weyoun to become one with the Borg. To embrace the beauty of perfection.” Borg 9 of 10 came forward and reached up to unfasten the Vorta and move him to the table.

It was then that Sara allowed herself to fall down. The Borg was startled. Sara grabbed the Borg around his head and with one swift move snapped his neck in two places. The Borg fell to the ground in a heap, his blank lavender eyes stared forward as if made of glass.

Weyoun looked down in horror. He owed Sara his life-again.

“Don’t look so startled Weyoun. The only reason that I saved your life is that I can not allow what you know to become part of the Borg.”

“I see. But thank you anyway.”

“You‘re welcome.” Sara opened her bracelet and began scanning for a communication relay system. “It’s over there…by about 20 feet. It’s in a small room. Come on. We need to get over there-before the other Borg show up.”

Damar contacted the Central Command. Sara had never arrived at Cardassia. Her ship had never even reached standard orbit. And Weyoun was also missing.

Damar began a scan of the last known trajectory. It was then that he made a discovery that chilled him to his bone marrow. A large energy surge unlike anything from the Breen, Federation or even the new allies: it could only be the Borg.

He had to make a choice now: the Chantaka battle or to go after Sara. He walked over to the window and stared out into space. With what Sara knew of Cardassia (and the command codes) as well as Weyoun’s knowledge of the Dominion, they would make the Borg even more formidable. It would be almost impossible to stop the Borg, but to leave his fleet right before a major battle would be the end of his career. But then Sara could be his career, or she could kill anyone that could get in his way.

Damar left the bridge. Central Command be damned. He wanted Sara back. He needed to know where she was and if she were safe.

Sara and Weyoun sealed the door behind them. Sara changed the security codes to the best of her ability, then stepped over to one of the terminals.

“Weyoun-we are near the Chantaka system. Very close to the Chantaka system.”

“Good<,> then help should be close by also.”

“Weyoun-if you were facing a major battle would you want to take on the Borg?”

“No.”

“Exactly. Now, please Damar please be out there somewhere…please….”

Damar made his way to one of the shuttlecraft. And strapped himself in. It couldn’t be that hard to find a Borg cube. It would be the only one in the neighborhood. At least he hoped so.

He went through his pre flight sequence. It was then he turned on his comm system. He heard a small set of dots and dashes. It was Cardassian, but it was not one of the current codes. It was broken and to anyone else it would not have made much sense. Then he smiled. It was Sara. She was still alive and individual. Now at least he knew where she was. Now if he could only get there in time.

Sara looked over at Weyoun. He glanced at her.

“Sara, they’re coming. They will be here in a few seconds.”

“How do you know?”

“The implants. I have not been fully assimilated…but they are communicating with me.”

“Great. And I don’t know if I’ve reached Damar or not.”

It was then there was a pounding on the door. Then a laser was beating its way through the bulkhead. Weyoun moved to the other side of the room and stood next to Sara. She took off her bracelet and twisted it. Out came two capsules. She handed one to Weyoun and then took one into her own hand.

“Agreed. Thank you Sara. I will see you in the next world.”

“Weyoun. It was interesting working with you.”

They looked at each other one last time, and then swallowed the black capsules. Sara felt herself go weak in the knees. Weyoun collapsed on the floor. Her body felt tingly…almost like it was caught in a transporter beam. She barely remembered the Borg coming in the room and then blackness….

Damar looked up and came to the back. The transporter had barely gotten a hold of the patterns of the Borg/Vorta and the Chian through the shields. He looked back at the crumpled bodies. He stepped back with a medical tricorder.

Sara was barely breathing. Her heart was almost at a full stop. He reached up and grabbed his Cardassian medical kit. His huge fingers grabbed a small hypospray and placed it on her throat. He injected the contents into her bloodstream. “Come on Sara. You’ve never backed away from a fight…and I need you….I want you….Sara come back to me…”

Sara heard a voice in the background, melodic pleasant. It was almost a joyous song. She felt herself move towards the voice, move towards its song. She blinked a few times and then she felt herself cough. She strained to open her eyes to the voice that spoke so gently to her.

“Come on Sara. You can do it. Come on….you’re almost back….a little further to me…”

“Damar. Damar. I never thought I would see you…”

“I thought the same of you.” He helped her sit up against the bulkhead. “I couldn’t let them assimilate you. I couldn’t stand that thought.”

It was then that Weyoun began to awaken also. The Federation suicide pill had no effect on his Vorta metabolism. Having two livers would make it as harmful as taking an aspirin.

“Damar. I never thought I would hear myself say this…but it is good to see you.”

“Hello to you too Vorta.”

Weyoun looked at Sara. She was alive. He could not understand why-but then it was best not to ask. Her body still looked deathly ill. It was then he realized he was still in contact with the collective.

“Damar, I can still hear the collective. I can still hear their song.”

“Change the channel.”

Weyoun looked at the Cardassian. He would need to kill him later. “You do not understand. There is an Achilles heel on the cube, one that the Federation does not know about. The coordinates are…865.23. A photon torpedo will destroy the cube if it hits that exact mark.”

“You had better not be lying Vorta. If you are…you’re going to wish that the Borg still had you.”

“I am no longer capable of lying. The Borg implant has taken that ability from me. I am no longer able to serve the Founders with lying.”

Damar looked at him, maybe the Borg were not so bad after all. Damar walked over to the weapon section and turned his ship to face the cube. He entered the coordinates into the computer and hit the fire button. His finger then went to self-destruct button. He would not allow them to be taken alive.

It took a second. And then the cube suffered one small explosion, and then another. It was then like a domino effect. The last explosion…rocked the small shuttlecraft. The shock wave pushed them half way across the sector. The debris swirled around them. Damar tried to regain control of the vessel. And finally he succeeded.

“Is everybody all right?”

“I am fully functional Leget.” Weyoun sat upright in a chair. His eye implant glowed in the darkness. It made Damar shiver.

“I will be….my lord.”

“Weyoun, could you help Sara to the back and put her in bed. I think she’ll be more comfortable there.”

“Affirmative.”

Damar watched it lead his lady to the back of his ship. This would take a while to get used to.

A very long while.