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The “ink” had dried on the treaty. The Dominion War was now over. At least as far as Cardassia, the Federation, and the Dominion felt it was. However, the Maquis were not satisfied with the final verdict of the treaty. They never forgot the carnage that the Cardassians and the Jem'Hadar had caused. And, they wanted revenge, in a pound of flesh. It did not matter to them whose flesh it was, as long it was fresh and bloody. Damar had barely survived the taking of Central Command. He was reportedly killed, but had barely survived his plasma burns. Now, he had to rebuild his homeworld, at least what there was of one. There was only a handful of survivors left and nothing which remotely suggested an economy. The Federation was sending all available aid to help the ravaged planet. Damar hated to accept the help, but at this point Cardassia had no choice. If the Cardassians were to survive as a species, they would need all the help they could get. Even the Bajorans were assisting them with medical and other humanitarian aid. Damar was enroute to a meeting with the Federation top brass, in order to determine the best way to get the Cardassian economy up and at least breathing again. And the best allies to assist in that were the Ferengis. Damar hated that thought even more, but the new Grand Negus was at least reasonable. Damar stepped onto his bridge. He looked around at his new officers. There was a young human Lt. Commander that was sent from the Federation to be Damar’s aide de camp, to help him navigate the complex waters of the Federation. The Federations’ rules were so complex that Damar was actually thanking his Cardassian gods that he had someone to help him through the labyrinth. Debra looked up at the Leget. He had been through a lot in the past six months since the treaty. But to her, he looked like he was enjoying the challenge of rebuilding his home world. His wife and son had been killed by the Dominion, but that was almost forgotten by him now. He had other things on his mind at this time. Rebuilding an entire economy for a whole civilization would be a huge order. Debra stood up from her post and approached him from his left. “Legate, I understand that Rear Adm. Dixon will be joining you for your negotiations with the Ferengi.” Damar looked up at her. “Correct. How much do you know about him?” Debra smiled at him for a brief second. “Leget, Adm. Dixon is a woman. And she is a bigger pain in the neck than I am. When you have a moment, maybe we should discuss the negotiations. She will have her own interests in mind, and not Cardassia’s.” “Why are you telling me this?” Debra leaned over slightly to him and lowered her voice to a whisper. “The Admiral attempted to keep me out of the Academy at one point. She did not think that I had the determination to see it through. This is my version of payback.” Damar looked at her for a moment. “I see. Well, far be it from me to stop my aide de camp from getting her payback. Shall we discuss this over….dinner?” Debra tried to hold back her look of shock on her face. Did she just hear correctly? Did the Legate ask her out on a date? “I would enjoy that Legate. What time shall I meet you in the officers mess.” Damar glanced back at her. He was more out of practice than he thought. He almost had corrected her and said that he wanted dinner to be in his quarters. Then he had to recall that this was an officer-not a comfort woman. He then decided to exercise the better part of valor “Can you join me at 1600 hours?” “I’ll be there.” She turned and stepped back over to her post. Debra was taken aback by Damar’s request , but then dinner with the Leget would be nice. She had just not planned on it yet. Damar left the bridge and walked back to his quarters. He had dinner to prepare for. Debra looked at her duty PADD. Her shift was over. Of course as a Legate’s aide her shift was never really over per se, it just changed course a lot. She gave her report to her Cardassian relief and then left the bridge. Debra stood and made her way to the turbo lift. Her mind went over the Legate. Sure Damar was powerful, more so now, then during the war. Yes, he was single, his family had been killed, and his grieving period (if there was one) was now over. And yes, he was very good looking (for a Cardassian that is). But then to become emotionally involved with him would be a huge conflict of interest for her. Debra McGivers wanted her own command, and that was paramount in her mind. But all this concentration on her career was getting a little lonely. She decided to allow herself the privilege of enjoying dinner, and conversation, but allowing the Legate to set the tempo that she would need to dance to. Damar, on the other hand, had his own ideas. Command was getting lonely for him also. And true his aide was human, but she was intelligent, beautiful and was just as power hungry as he was. He would need an aide for quite awhile. Rebuilding a civilization from scratch would take an awful lot of time. Damar made his way to the officer’s mess. He looked at the mess staff and then checked the room. He smiled to himself. Maybe he hadn’t lost his touch after all. If the Commander did not want to have dinner with him in his quarters as he had hoped, well this was just as well. It was down the hall from his quarters. Damar had made sure that the mess hall would be empty for at least three hours. He also had special Bajoran orchids replicated for her; they were on a centerpiece in the middle of the round table. There were two tall, tapered white candles in the middle and the table was set for dinner au deux. He had researched human courtship practices, and this was about as close as he could get. He looked at his mess officers and nodded. Now, all that was missing was the Commander herself. Hopefully, she would have taken the hint and dressed out of her uniform for her “date.” Debra looked around her quarters. She went over her brief conversation with the Legate on the bridge. Was this a date, or was this just another meeting with her as his aide? Damned she couldn’t tell. Damar was one hell of a poker player; he was so good in fact that she had a hard time telling what he was up to. She walked back into her bedroom, and looked through her closet. Row, after row, after row of crimson tunics greeted her. Gods, she hated that color. Then way in the back she found a green Andorean silk dress she had forgotten about. She gently removed it from the rod and held it up. The dress was cut above the knee (way above) and wrapped around her small frame. She decided against her better judgement to try it on, it had been awhile since she had worn it. Putting it mildly, it fit her like a glove. Then she remembered who had made the dress for her-so very long ago. Now he was Damar’s first officer, not bad for an expatriate. She shook the thought from her mind. The dress brought out her figure that she worked so hard on to maintain. If this were a date with the Legate, he was in for a real surprise. If it wasn’t she would look like a complete fool. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of Nebbian silk stockings and finished getting dressed. Damar requested the time from the ceiling. She was already ten minutes late. This was not like her, she had been more prompt then any Cardassian officer he had ever known. In fact, you could set your chronometer by her. It was then he heard the doors open from behind him. Unfortunately it was not Debra, but rather his new first officer. Garak. Garak looked over the room with a look of curiosity. Obviously, Damar was expecting someone-and it wasn’t him. “I see. I apologize for interrupting your evening Legate. However, I believe you wanted to know about the Maquis in the area. They seem to be intensifying their attacks in the past 24 hours.” Garek walked over and handed Damar a PADD. Damar, needless to say, was not happy with the intrusion or the news on the Maquis. He looked at Garak and then at the PADD. “I see, go to yellow alert at least until we have reached our Federation escort. Then after that we can breathe easier.” “As you wish.” Garek turned to leave the room. “By the way, Debra will like the orchids. Very nice touch.” He walked over to the door. And it was then that the doors slid open for him. What waited on the other side was not what Garek had expected. It was not what Damar had expected. Debra, putting it mildly, looked beautiful. Her red hair had been pinned to the top of her head, with a few small curls on the side of her face. Her freckled shoulders were showing through the lace that trimmed her dress. Her legs, in the silk stockings, were definitely her best assets. Garek looked at her, then turned back to look at Damar. He had the same thoughts he did. Garak at that point decided his company was no longer needed and it would not be tolerated. He took one more look at the aide and then walked through the open door. He never said another word to her. Debra, on the other hand, admired the Legate’s work. She had guessed right. This was a date. And far from looking like a complete idiot, she looked like the best thing the Legate had seen in probably two years. “I take it you like the dress?” Damar was taken aback by the question. He had not meant to be so discourteous in regard to her. “I apologize for my staring. It has been quite awhile since I’ve seen someone ‘socially’ and I may be more than a little out of practice. I have had my mind on other things over the past three years.” “I can well imagine. First the war, then the rebellion, and now rebuilding an entire civilization. I am glad that you decided to allow yourself some downtime this evening.” “May I offer you some Cardassian champagne? I believe that it’s better than your earth’s. It’s not quite as tart. It’s a little sweeter.” Damar walked over to the table and poured some of the orange beverage into two tall, narrow glasses. He handed her one of the glasses. “What shall we drink to Legate?” “Debra, for tonight, I would like you to call me Damar. And I want this first toast to be for beginnings." “Damar. To beginnings.” He gently touched her glass to his. “I’m very glad that you did not wear your uniform. This is much more flattering on you.” “Thank you. To be honest with you, I was not sure if this was social or if this was business. I’m glad that I chose correctly.” “You always have the ability to read my mind. How do you do that?” Damar led her to the table and held the chair out for her. He was not sure why, but his research said that human females liked it. And he wanted to make a good first impression on his date. “That is what an aide is supposed to do. To anticipate what you need, before you need it.” Damar looked at her. She was even more breathtaking in the candlelight than she was before. “I’m going to be very straightforward with you. One of the things I appreciate most about you is that I do not have to mince words. I want you to become more than my aide de camp. You are an extraordinary aide. You have impressed me a great deal. But, I want you to be more than that to me.” Debra looked at him for a second. To say that Damar had just been blunt would have been a major understatement. This could be career suicide for her. “Damar, I prefer to take things a little slower if you don’t mind. We have our careers to think about here--at least mine. And I would prefer if we just moved a little slower and not take such drastic steps.” Damar looked at her a little dejected. He had not been shot down in flames, but at least he was on yellow alert. This would not be as easy as he had hoped. OK. Back off. Allow her some room. Give her some breathing space. “So Debra. What do you like to do during your down time?” He attempted the Cardassian version of small talk. “Well, Damar. I enjoy reading about Earth’s ancient history. My favorites are the early and middle twentieth century, especially the military history. Then I like to hike, martial arts, and I read technical manuals.” “OK. But Debra, what do you do for fun?” “That is what I do for fun.” “You don’t get out much do you?” Damar half smiled at her over his champagne glass. “No. You’re right, I don’t. I’ve been concentrating on my career. That has been paramount in my mind. I want to make admiral by the time I’m 35, at the latest by forty.” “Why are you on such a tight timetable? Why are you putting so much pressure on your self? Take it from someone on the top of command…it’s not that much fun once you get here. The responsibility begins to eat you alive. I really don’t think that I have truly slept in three years.” “That’s sad.” “It’s perfectly acceptable to focus on your career. But you should take time out-as you humans say-‘to stop and smell the roses.’.” He cut into his meat and speared some with on his ‘fork.’ ” “I will-as officers say-take it under advisement.” “I’m glad to hear that. Now, what do you think about baseball?” Debra slowly began to relax around Damar the man; she began to think of him as that. He made her laugh, as she had not done in a long time. The smiles came easy for both of them. The Cardassian champagne was doing exactly what Damar had hoped for. It did not get her drunk, but at least relaxed her. Damar’s huge hand stretched over to hers and softly held it. He was somewhat surprised when her fingers closed around it. “I want you to know Debra, that I have enjoyed your company this evening.” “And Damar I’ve enjoyed yours also. But I think that the Commander does have an early morning appointment with the Legate tomorrow. We need to plan for the meeting with the Grand Nagus, and my nemesis.” “Yes, duty calls us tomorrow. But, if you have no plans for the evening I was hoping that you could enjoy a holodeck simulation with me. Your Earth’s Paris, twenty-first century. Dinner and maybe a show.” “That sounds wonderful. I’m looking forward to it already.” “May I walk with you to your cabin.” Debra looked at him. She would love to have him escort her back. However, discretion was required. She could come under pressure from the brass for having a social dinner with him as it was. “Damar, I don’t think that’s a good idea as of yet. I think that maybe I had better say good night to you here.” Damar would need to play this very slowly. He was used to comfort women at his beck and call, but this woman had already had shown him that she had a mind of her own. And she was already expressing her own viewpoints. Damar stood and held out his hand to her. Debra cautiously stood and slipped her hand into his. It gradually closed around hers and gently squeezed it. He led her a few steps away from the table and then stopped. His hands gingerly went to her small waist. He was even more surprised when her fingertips crept up and rested on his huge shoulders. He looked down at the small human female. Her green eyes looking up at him. Debra held her breath as to what would happen next. It had been quite awhile since she had kissed anyone. Now here she was saying and hopefully kissing the leader of an entire civilization good night. Damar finally decided that he would end the uncomfortable silence. He closed his eyes and began to lean over. Debra closed her eyes and came up to her tiptoes. Damar‘s lips gently touched hers. At first he was a lot softer than she had expected, almost shy about kissing her. Debra found her arms going around his neck and arching her back slightly. Damar took the invitation and slowly, gently eased his tongue into her mouth. He gently touched his tongue to hers. It was then that Debra realized that his hand had moved to her ass and pulled her closely to him. She decided that this was getting a little too warm for her comfort. She slowly pulled back. She opened her eyes only to see his face smiling down at her. He made no attempt to remove his hand, and she made no attempt to stop him from pulling him closer to him. “I will see you tomorrow--Commander.” “Oh, is that an order, Legate?” “I would rather not make it one. I’m hoping that you will be there on your own free will.” “What time can I meet you at the holodeck?” “How about 1400 hours, Commander?” “I will be there, on my own free will. Good night, Damar.” She slowly pulled away from him and walked through the doorway. Damar stood there watching. The only thing left was the smell of her perfume. Damn he would have a hard time sleeping tonight. But for some reason-he didn’t want one of the comfort women. Damar, as he had predicted, had a rather frustrating night in trying to sleep. Everyone on the bridge knew it, especially his first officer, Garek. And when Debra walked on to the bridge looking just as bad, it did not take a mathematical genius to add one and one together. An ensign could see that these two had something going on. Debra relieved the Cardassian officer at ops. She had begun what would be a very long, uncomfortable shift, especially with Garek having a cat that ate the canary smile on his face the whole time and Damar doing his best to ignore everyone. “Legate, we have a Maquis vessel off our starboard side. Bearing 8426.7. Closing fast.” “Shields up. Lock phasers on target.” Damar thought the Maquis ship had a death wish to take on a Galor Class Cardassian ship. Debra looked at her screens again. She was hoping that she was seeing things, preying that she was seeing things. “Legate, there are two more Maquis vessels decloaking off our portside. They are on an intercept---“ Debra never finished her last sentence. The phaser fire was directed right at the engineering section. “Legate, shields down to 25%. Massive hull breach on decks 10,11,12. Emergency forcefields in place. We are on impulse engines…..” Again they were hit with a phaser blast. This time the ship was hit just above the bridge. Damar turned to see his first officer unconscious on his bridge. “Attack pattern Omega!” Damar was now screaming above the noise of the bridge. “Debra take the tactical station.” Debra left ops and went over the tactical screens, stepping over Garek. Her fingers glided over the displays. Except the ship had been so badly damaged that there was nothing left for her to do except to figure out where the life pods were. Damar came up from behind and gently touched her hand. “It looks like dinner’s off.” Debra almost laughed. How on earth could he possibly be thinking of that at a time like this? “Yes, it looks that way, doesn’t it?” It was then that the bridge was filled with a glowing purple light. Debra glanced over at Damar and then felt a surge of pain rack through her body. Then the world swirled around her once and then faded to black. Debra awoke first. Her head throbbed in agony. It was worse than any headache she had ever had in her life. Next to her, still unconscious was Damar. His forehead bled from a gaping open wound, and it looked like half of his head was covered in his own blood. It was then that she noticed that she was no longer on board her ship. The light source above her head glared down on top of her. If she had not seen it with her own eyes she never would have believed them. Glaring on top of them was an ancient electric lightbulb from the twentieth century. She looked around again and noticed there were racks of fabric all around them. She grabbed one of the pieces of cloth and gently patted Damar’s head with it. He slowly came around. And noticed his surroundings almost immediately. “Where the hell are we?” Damar’s hand went to his forehead and felt his own sticky blood. “I don’t know yet. I just woke up also. You have a bad energy burn on your face, and I’m trying to stop the bleeding.” “Thank you. I was wondering why I was in so much pain.” Debra unfolded the towel and found a semi clean area to put to Damars face. It was then that she noticed some small blue printing on the towel itself. She unfolded the towel and raised it up to be able to read the letters. In a heartbeat she wished that she hadn’t. Her blood turned to ice. The terror was written all over her face. Damar had known his aide to be almost unflappable. She was by very definition grace under pressure. So what ever she saw it terrified her to her own soul. “What is it Debra? What’s wrong. And tell me the truth.’ Debra was to terrified to even answer the Legate. On the towel, that was soaked with his blood, were the words: “R.M.S. Titanic.” Damar looked at her terror filled face. He was not used to repeating himself, especially to her. As Legate, he was used to seeing terror, but not at the level that he was seeing right now. “Debra, what the hell is wrong?” “We’re in trouble. Deep trouble.” “How do you know? Where are we?” Debra looked at him. There was no point in hiding the truth. It was written all over her face. “We are on board the Titanic. It was an early twentieth century sailing vessel. It sank on its maiden voyage with half the passengers dying. Evidently, we are on that same ship right now. I don’t know how-but it appears that we are.” “OK. You said that you enjoyed studying history. What do you suggest we do?” “WE are not going to do anything. This is a very primitive culture. You’re being a Cardassian; you would be dissected and killed in that order. With all do respect Legate, I can do better for us if you stay here.” “I understand. I’ll wait here-and wait for the bleeding to stop.” “Thank you. For the time being at least. I need to find out the date. After that we’ll talk about a plan of action. I need to leave you. I’ll be back as soon as I can, believe me.” Damar watched her leave. He knew better than to try and stop her, and right now she had a job to do. And besides, she was much better suited to this job than he was. That much was very clear to him. Debra snuck down the hallways; she preyed that no one would see her in a Federation uniform. That would be too much for her to try to explain to these “primitives.” She went past one of the housekeeper’s linen carts and saw that there was a gown on the top, complete with the correct lingerie. She didn’t care if it fit or not. She needed to be less conspicuous than she was right now. She grabbed the clothing and quickly turned back and went to the linen closet. Damar was startled to see the door open so quickly. She looked at him, for some reason his face looked different, she couldn’t figure out how, but he definitely looked different. “Legate, I’m sorry that I startled you. But I need to change my clothes. These make me stand out too much. I’ll try to get you some appropriate clothing also.” “Why?” “We can’t stay here in a linen closet. Some one, somehow will find us. We’ll need to move as soon as we can. If you’ll excuse me, I ‘d like some privacy to change.” “Yes, of course.” Damar turned his face away. Debra looked at him, and then decided that now was as good a time as any to change. Damar was watching from the corner of his eye. He tried to be a “gentleman” about this, but this was too tempting. He caught a glimpse of her with her back towards him. She still had her lacy bra on; her panties were of matching lace. Her body was freckled and pale. Her muscles were well developed from her martial arts classes. She turned to the side, he could see her beautiful body. Damar wanted her so badly at the time. He wanted to go over there and touch her. But right now she was in her Federation survival mode. And she needed to be that way. Not only for her sake but for his sake also. He needed to get back to Cardassia. He didn’t care how-he just needed to get back there. Debra slipped inside the dress. She brought the bodice over her shoulders and began to button the front. “Thank you Leget. How do I look?” “I don’t know-how are you supposed to look?” He looked at the mass of buttons and course fabric with a great deal of curiosity. Debra looked at him. She needed to get him to safety as quickly as possible. But she needed to know the date first. Quickly.
 “What the hell do you mean you can’t find them?” Garek was in a panic. The Legate of his civilization and his aide were missing. And they were missing on his watch. This was not a good sign. Garek and the crew had already determined that they were not killed, or vaporized by the phaser fire. But they weren’t here either. The Defiant II had come to their rescue and captured one of the Maquis ships. Garek was to “assist” in the inquisition of a few of the Maquis officers. That suited Garek just fine. He needed to know where Damar and Debra were, and he needed to know five minutes ago. If it wasn’t for his training in the Obsidian Order-he would be in a full fledge panic mode right about now. The Federation did not recognize the Maquis as a government. Therefore they offered no protection or asylum, and besides one of their own was missing. They gave the Maquis over to the Cardassians--and to Garak. It was then Garak looked up and the Defiant II was gone. It vanished in front of them. It didn’t cloak. It was just gone. Vanished. Disappeared. He knew something was wrong. He just could not figure out what. Now he really needed some answers. “Where the hell are they now? Officers, I need answers and I need them now!” “Gul, I do not understand what has happened. But we are now in Dominion space.” Garek looked at him. He half ran to the console. There were two Jem’ Hader vessels bearing down at him at warp two. That was impossible. The Dominion had lost the war. All Jem’ Hader had been killed or taken as POW’s by the Federation. There were none unaccounted for. “Attack pattern Omega. Now. Let’s get the hell out of here until we figure out what the hell is going on.”
Debra went up to the main deck. She was in the first class section, or at least she assumed that from the way people were dressed. She went to the aft section of the ship and looked out. There was a coastline. She couldn’t tell if it was South Hampton or if it was Ireland. She only knew that they were not in the middle of the Atlantic. Or at least not yet they weren’t. She looked around at one of the deck chairs and picked up a newspaper. The date was April 11. Good she would have time in which to figure things out. She turned and went back down the corridor that she came from. She passed two White Star Employees and barely nodded at them. She would need to act as arrogant as she could if she were to pass as a first class passenger. She went over to the same linen cart. Only this time there were no housekeepers around, and the door was left wide open. She entered the room and walked over to the wardrobe. She quickly entered and found a suit of men’s clothing. She picked it up off the rod and held it up. Yes, Damar should be able to fit into this. A Cardassian in a twentieth century suit, dressed as a “gentleman.” She half laughed. She turned and ran down the corridor. She needed to check back on the Legate-before someone else did.
Garek had put about as much “ground” between him and the Jem’ Hader as he could get. Now he looked back at the notes. True, he was not a genius at physics but something was not right. From what he and his crew had determined, there was no Federation, no Cardassia, and no humans. Basically, everything he knew no longer existed. They were essentially alone in the middle of the Jem’ Hader. With no hope for calling in reinforcements, that was because none existed. Garek went back through the ship’s records. From what he could tell, which at this point was not much, the Federation had never formed. Cardassia was now home to 14 billion Vorta. Bajor was now a Jem’ Hader cloning facility. But for the life of him he could not figure out why. Garek hung his head in despair. It looked like he would need to fight the Dominion war all over again…by himself. Debra opened the door and quickly stepped inside. She knew that it was getting close to the dinner hour, soon it would be safe to move Damar from a linen closet to someplace “safer.” She shut the door and jammed it closed as best she could. She then turned and looked at Damar. What she saw chilled her to the bones, more so than the towel did. Damar was slumped against the wall. His face was still covered in his own blood. But his skin was now pale, and for a Cardassian that was a very bad sign. His breathing was labored and not very deep. In short the Legate looked like hell warmed over twice. “My god, Damar.” She knelt beside him. She would have killed for a medical tricorder, but all she had was her communicator that was attached to her uniform. And that wasn’t going to buy her much right now. Her fingers gently touched his face, and part of his scales came off and fluttered to the floor in a mass of puss and blood. Underneath was pink. In short, this was the last thing that Debra needed right now. “I feel like shit.” “Yeah, well you look just as bad.” “Do you have any idea what is wrong with me?” “No. I don’t. All I know is that for right now, you look like, as you said, shit.” “Great.” “And I hate to tell you this. But we need to get you moved. Now would be a good idea.” “You must be joking.” “I’m afraid not. I don’t know if you’re going to get better, or worse. We should move before you get worse. Also, we have a day before the ship sinks. We need to be on the portside in order to be safer.” “Why?” “The iceberg will hit on the starboard side. Until I get something figured out, that will be the best option.” “Agreed. Well, obviously you’re in command here.” “Legate…” “Debra. Right now…I would prefer to be on a first name basis. Let’s leave the rank here in the closet, and move while I still can.” She looked at him. Why did she feel so uncomfortable calling him by his name right now? She had shared a rather passionate kiss with him only hours before, and now she was just trying to make sure they survived the week. “Agreed, Damar. Now let’s get you up-while we still can.” Debra grabbed some blankets. Where they were going there would be no heat. And Cardassians did not do well in the cold. But right now they had no choice. The portside cargobay would not have that many people going in and out. Privacy was of the essence right now. And that would be as private as they would get. Debra helped Damar to his feet. He staggered up and leaned against the wall. “OK, Debra, let’s go. While we can.” Debra gently opened the door and carefully peeked outside. Good, as she hoped dinner was being served, so everyone was enjoying themselves. Hopefully, they would have clear passage all the way to the cargo bay. At least she preyed that they would.
Garek and his first officer went over the data on the new Maquis weapon with a photon microscope. They had determined that only crewmembers that had direct contact with a computer terminal were missing. Since Garek was unconscious on the floor he was spared. But Damar and Debra were missing because they were touching Tactical and each other when the weapon was dispersed. It was only sheer chance that Garak was spared from whatever the hell it was. Garak left his bridge with his first officer in charge. The rank of Gul wore heavy on him, but there were not enough crewmembers left to argue. And quite frankly no one wanted to debate with a former member of the Obsidian Order. He walked into the “medical bay” and looked at the female officer who was tied to the Cardassian scan grid. At it had been a long time since he had supervised an interrogation, but she and her cohorts were responsible for the missing Legate and his aide, and heaven knows what else. He saw nothing wrong in performing a brain scan of the human female. There was nothing wrong with it at all. “I will ask this question only once before we begin tearing your mind apart a little at a time, what the hell is your new weapon? And you better damn well not lie to me.” The woman swallowed hard and looked forward. Garek could tell that she would rather die than talk. At this point he saw nothing wrong with that possibility either. He needed answers and he needed them an hour ago. “As you wish human.” He nodded and began his scan. The woman screamed in agony. But at his point Garak didn’t care. He turned and walked to the replicator and ordered his lunch…he had all day.
Debra opened the door to the cargo bay. Her breath froze into a mist as she helped Damar inside. He looked around and at this point he needed to rest. His strength was almost gone. He leaned onto Debra a little further. Debra looked around and saw what she knew was a vehicle called an automobile. She opened the passenger compartment. It was more comfortable than the floor, and with the windows rolled up it may hold in more heat. Damar stepped up and quickly collapsed inside. He lay back on the velvet and tried to recover from his exertion. “Debra I’m not moving again for awhile. I need you to know that.” “That’s OK. Hopefully we won’t have to. Just try to rest.” She opened the blankets and wrapped him in it as best she could. Damar pulled them around him. “Damar, I know that you don’t like the cold very much. But for right now, this is the best that I can think of.” “I know. And I want you to know that I appreciate all that you’re doing.” “Thank you. Right now I think I need to get us some food. I think I can trust that you’ll stay put for awhile. I’ll have my comm badge with me…” She handed him his and made sure that it was in his hand. “If you need me while I’m gone…just ring me. I’m going to get some food. We both need to eat.” She made sure that he was as warm as he could be, and then turned to leave. He gently touched her elbow to stop her for a second. “Debra, you know you didn’t need to go through all this trouble to impress me…” Damar looked up and smiled at her through his pain. Debra smiled at him. She stepped back into the car and leaned over his face. She gently kissed his lips. “You should see what I do for an encore.” “I’m almost afraid to ask….” Damar kissed her mouth back. Debra looked back down at him. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Believe me.” “I do.” Garek listened to the woman scream, and then she fell unconscious again. He set his plate of lunch down and walked over with a hypospray. He placed it to her throat and injected a small amount of the contents. She slowly awoke. Garek roughly lifted her face and checked the pupils of her eyes. He nodded. So far there was no significant brain damage, only a cardiac arrhythmia was present. “So my dear, do you feel like discussing the weapon yet, or do we go for round four?” “Anything , just please stop. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” Her voice was hoarse from screaming and was barely audible even to him. “I know you will. Now, where are my friends?” “It’s not where Gul, but when.” Garek looked at her. He could tell that she was not lying. But what she said made no sense. “Go on.” “They have been taken back in time to face a certain death. If you check your records you will see that the weapon caused a shift in the time displacement that corresponds with the computer terminal frequency. We wanted your ship, not the crew, so we disposed of them. Your shields were stronger than….” “The hell with the shields….How do you know when they went.” “I don’t. That is the truth. I have no idea when they are. Only that most returned to the home planet of their origin.” “Most, but not all. Is that correct?” “Yes. There could be a causal delay.” “Is there anything else that I should know?” “It affects DNA.” That was the last thing Garek had in his mind. “How?” “If a member were transported to a planet other than his own homeworld the DNA will be altered to the species of that world. In other words if a human were sent to Cardassia…” “They would be altered to appear Cardassian.” “Correct. That is all I know. I swear it.” “Take her off this thing and take her to the brig with the others. I’ll decide what to do with them in a while.” Garek watched the female fall to the floor when her restraints were loosened. He no longer cared about her well being. At least he had a starting place, somewhat anyway. Debra went to the kitchen. Dinner was over, and the galley crew were playing a game of poker and grumbling over the upper class passengers. She took two full plates of some food and a half bottle of wine and left by the side door. She needed to return to the Legate as quickly as possible. She had no idea what was happening to him, she just needed to make sure that he was at least safe, which now of course was a relative term. Debra checked to make sure there was no one following her. She slowly opened the cargo bay door and stepped through. She quickly walked through and half ran to the car. She opened the door and stepped inside. Damar looked up at her. His breathing was not as labored, but the disease had now spread to his arms. His face and arms had more pink to them, but the inside of the car now looked like a snake shedding its skin. Debra tried not to look too shocked as she stepped inside. “Room service.” “What’s that?” Damar attempted to sit up and focus his eyes in the darkness. “A little joke. I guess I’ll need to explain the punch line later. Anyway, I have some food for us. It’s not hot, but it’s better than Federation food rations.” “I remember those. They tasted better than the Cardassian version.” “That doesn’t say much about Cardassian food I take it.” “No, it doesn’t. What is it-if I may ask?” “It’s what humans call chicken, and some vegetables.” “OK. I’m all for trying new things, but right now I’d kill for some yamic sauce.” “And some Kennar.” She held up the half bottle of wine. “You read my mind.” He uncorked the bottle and brought it to his mouth. “Hey, not too much too quick.” “Why, are you afraid I’ll get drunk?” “No, Damar. But I don’t need alcohol on top of what ever your body is going through right now. Besides, we need to talk about what we are going to do about our situation. In a few hours, this ship and us are going to be in a world of hurt.” “What exactly will happen?” “This ship will hit an iceberg and sink. Half of the ship’s passengers will die a very gruesome death.” “Debra, I think I’ll skip that part. OK, what happens if we don’t hit the iceberg.” “I don’t know. That’s one option. And then we do an awful lot of praying that the timeline is not altered that much.” “Well, if I have an option of playing Dabo, I’ll take the Dabo, what do you think?” “Agreed. Now how do we prevent an iceberg from sinking a ship? We don’t have much to work with here.” “I know. I would kill for a tricorder right now.” “I know. Right now I’d kill for a medical tricorder to see what’s wrong with you.” “OK. Let’s take an inventory of what we do have.” “Let’s see. Two COM badges and that’s about it.” “Not much of a list, is it?” “No, but it’s what we have, and that will have to do. May I see your COM badge Damar?” Damar gently handed her his COM badge and tried to sit up more to eat. Actually the human food tasted pretty good to him. He cut a larger bite of the meat and began to chew it. “Damar, your COM badge looks like it may generate a magnetic field. Am I right?” “Not usually. But it can if it’s not set right. But then you can’t communicate over it at all. Why?” He picked up a piece of broccoli and looked at with a great deal of curiosity. “The navigation system on this ship is based on magnetism. They haven’t figured out portal navigation systems yet. If I can get it to generate a large enough magnetic field it could throw off the compass enough to prevent the impact. At least it would be worth a shot. What do you think?” “Right now, I think we need some sleep. We have both been through enough today.” Debra looked at him and then looked at the small car. She had not considered where she would sleep that night. Damar could tell what she was thinking, she read like an ancient earth book. “Debra, I can scoot over a bit and you can sleep next to me. You do not need to worry, I will be a perfect gentleman tonight.” Debra looked at him suspiciously. However, it did make sense, conserving body heat would make it easier for both of them to sleep in the ice box they were in. “OK.” “Good. Now this is going to be a tight fit, but I think we can both be somewhat comfortable here.” He scooted over as far as he could. Debra lay next to him, her head rested on his huge shoulder, she put her right leg over his and wrapped the blanket over both of them. “There now, that’s not so bad. Now, I will say good night to you Debra. And we will discuss the COM badge tomorrow.” “Good night Damar.” She looked up at him one last time and then tried to get some sleep in his arms. Damar gently kissed her forehead and held her to him. Garak went through what he could of the New Dominion files that he was able to access from Cardassia and the files that were on board his ship. He looked for anything in Earth’s history that was not congruous in the time lines. It seemed that the first thing that was different was that World War II never occurred on Earth. That was the first major event that was missing on the timelines. Garek went back even further to determine why. The United States had become a pacifist country. It no longer felt that war was the way to sort out the issues of the day. As a result Hitler had taken over much of Europe, Asia, and South America. It was only a short time before the Democracy fell to Hitler as well. With that much going on…the entire scope of world history had been changed. The Federation of Planets never formed. Therefore, Starfleet never formed as well. The Dominion reached Earth three hundred years later, and exterminated all humans. Governor Weyoun 20 was now in charge of the entire Alpha Quadrant. Garek went further back in United States history. He went over it with a fine toothed comb. It was then that he found the first minor incongruency. John Jacob Astor had been voted as President of the United States in 1924. He had single handedly changed the course of World Politics. He looked up in his terminal exactly what was supposed to have happened to him. He was supposed to have died on the Titanic, in April of 1912. Garek had found the beginning of the end of the Alpha Quadrant. And it all began with one human male. And the end began almost 600 years prior to where Garek was sitting. But he still wasn’t sure that was where Damar and Debra were, but if he needed to play Dabo that was a good place to start. Damar awoke first. Debra slept in his arms. Her leg over his, most of her shapely leg showed through her dress. Her red hair was now tousled over his shoulder. Her breathing was soft and regular. Debra’s beautiful breasts rose and fell with each breath. Her cheeks were a little red from the cold of the cargo bay. Damar looked at his hands and arms. They were pink now. And his skin was not shedding quite so much. He felt better. In fact he felt like his old self again. He glanced down at the sleeping female next to him. He needed to remember one of the last things he had said to her before they drifted off to sleep the night before. He would be a gentleman. That was about the furthest thing from his mind right now. He leaned over and gently inhaled her perfume. She slightly stirred in her sleep. Then moaned and snuggled up even closer, her fingers drifted down to his hip and gently rested there. Now this was getting interesting. His fingertips came up to her face and carefully brushed the hair away. She groaned and snuggled up even closer. Her leg raised up and her dress came up even further. His hand lowered and rested on her bare thigh. He gently caressed her warm skin. He looked at her face and saw no resistance. Damar raised his fingertip and traced a line from her bare throat down to her snowy white, smooth breast. Damar let out a soft moan. His finger lowered to her hard nipple that was poking through the coarse fabric. It was then that he looked into her open eyes. “So Damar, is this what you would call being a gentleman?” “I’m sorry. I should….I mean…..I really shouldn’t……” He felt like he had his hand stuck in a Cardassian cookie jar. “I’ll take that as ‘guilty as charged.’ You know I really should be upset right now…but I just can’t be angry at you ….” Debra and Damar both looked down at his finger which still rested on her hard nipple. “I think maybe I should get up and try to figure out how to create a magnetic field.” “Agreed. But at least…” Damar looked at her breast one last time, and reluctantly pulled his hand away. “I feel better today. Much better.” Debra sat up and rearranged her clothing. She then turned on the small interior light to see what was around her. “Good, I’m glad to hear it.” It was then she turned and looked back at Damar. Half of his face was illuminated in the dim light now. And Debra’s chin hit the floor. The half of the face that she could see was human. Gone was the famous Cardassian neck, and gone were the even more famous Cardassian scales. Damar looked human. And to Debra a very good looking human male at that. “Oh god, what’s wrong now?” By this time he was almost afraid to ask that question. “I don’t know how your going to react to what I’m about to say-but Damar you look like a human male.” “Yeah right.” “Damar, I’m not kidding.” Debra reached over to the driver’s side of the car and pulled out a small mirror. She held it to Damar’s face. Damar glanced at the mirror. And then glanced at his reflection again. His stomach heaved and then fell back again. “My gods, you’re right. I’m ugly. I’m horrific.” “Damar, by human standards, you are a very good looking man.” Debra looked at his sandy colored hair, his beautiful hazel eyes, and his soft moist mouth. She almost wished…..well, maybe she would just stop that thought. She needed her thoughts about her. “You are very good looking.” “You really think so?” “Oh yes.” Debra needed to get up and look for something other than her own thoughts to think about. “Thank you. At least now maybe I can leave this human Rurapente and see some of this ship we’re about to try to save.” “That sounds like a good idea. I borrowed some clothing for you. Hopefully, it will fit you halfway decently. I’ll let you change.” “I’ll be with you in a moment.” Debra stood outside the car and waited. She needed to collect herself. Debra fell back on her training from the Academy. There, now she was in control of herself again. “Debra, I’m afraid I’ll need your assistance again.” Debra walked back over to the car and opened the door. Damar looked down and was totally mystified at what Debra knew as buttons. Debra almost snickered since the buttons were on the fly of his pants. “Damar, you take the round part and put it through the hole on the other side.” “So, that’s how it’s done. Thank you.” “No problem. I’ll just stand over here.” Debra went back about ten feet away and struggled to keep from laughing. Garak had finished all he could on the subject of the Titanic. In fact he was almost sick of the subject. He went to sick bay and reported to one of the doctors to begin his transformation. Under further “questioning” Garak had learned that the alteration of the DNA would take a minimum of 24 Earth hours. He would need to have his DNA rewritten to be sure that he was sent to Earth’s past and not Cardassia. He took a small PADD with him with the history of Earth on it, as it should have been. The Federation would look down on that-but then Garek didn’t care. He needed the Leget back and this was one weapon he really needed.
Garak looked at himself in the mirror. Garak had the weapon transferred from the Maquis vessel to his. He would need to go back in time and try to undo the damage that Damar had caused. He just hoped that he would wind up in the same place and at the same time. There were no guarantees on that-but anything was better than doing nothing, and waiting for the Jem’ Hader to pounce. Garak stood in front of the weapon, his hand went to the computer console and rested there. He looked around one last time at his surroundings and nodded. Then the pain hit. He felt like he was on his own scan grid. The agony poured through every pore in his body. Finally the blue light subsided. He slowly lifted his head and found himself on board a ship, in the middle of an ocean. He looked around and saw a round flotation device. On it was written: USS Carpethia. That name sounded familiar to him for some reason. He pulled out his PADD and began to finger it. He smiled to himself slightly. This was the vessel that would rescue the survivors from the Titanic. Assuming of course that it hit the iceberg. He just needed to make sure if J.J. came on board that he would never see New York. And he was the perfect Cardassian for that job. Garek looked around and decided it would be best to lie low for awhile until Providence straightened itself out. Debra looked up and saw Damar come out of the car. He adjusted the jacket and pulled up the trousers slightly. The clothing was a little loose, but then he was not in a place to be particular about much of anything. He just wanted out of the icebox before the Cardassian blood congealed. He looked at Debra for the first time with his semi-human eyes. Debra looked at him. Damn, he was a good-looking human. He was very good looking. The brown suit and silken ivory shirt definitely brought out his best assets. He looked at the timepiece that he found in his jacket and showed it to Debra. “Here. That’s what is called a pocket watch. It goes into this pocket and attaches to the jacket with this clip. Be careful-this may be very important. Time will be very critical to us.” “You are the commander, Debra.” “You are the Legate…” “Debra, you know more about this time period than I do. You are the only hope that I have of getting back to my home world. You are the only hope that my people have to regain its strength and one day join the Federation.” “You wish to have Cardassia join the Federation?” “Yes. But that stays with the two of us. No further.” “I understand. Now, Legate, would you like to see the ship we are going to try to save?” “Anything is better than this Rurapente.” “OK, first lesson in this culture is this is male dominated. Women are considered to be objects or possessions. When we reach the deck you need to walk on the outside-I walk on the inside. Do not start conversations with anyone, at least for the time being.” “Understood. Shall I escort you to the deck-my lady.” Garak sat in the cargo area of the Carpethia. He knew that if he came out-he would not be recognized as a member of the ship’s crew. As good a liar as he was, he was not at all sure what type of imaginative half-truth he could use to tap dance his way out of that one. He decided to wait until the confusion was over. To sit and wait until the disaster had struck. If indeed it did happen. It was then that the cargo bay had opened and a single human male walked in. He looked down at a small case he held in his hand. Garak stood up a little more and tried to see exactly what was he carrying. And then he figured it out. He closed his eyes, and then reopened them to be sure of what he saw. It was a Dominion tricorder. The male scanned the area and then looked up right into at Garak. Garak stood and aimed his phaser directly at him, at point blank range. Except Garak’s phaser never fired. “Come, come now Elim, surely you don’t think I’m that foolish.” His voice was soft, melodic, almost sweet. It took a few long moments before Garak recognized the voice, especially since it was coming from a human male. “Yes, Mr. Garak it is me-Weyoun. Except that I am clone 21. I am here to make sure that the Dominion wins the Alpha Quadrant. You upset my time line. I am here to set it right. Killing you, the Founders say, will set everything to right again.” “Always the asshole-aren’t you, Weyoun.” Weyoun turned and sat down on some wooden crates. “You serve Cardassia, I serve the Founders. You would kill to protect your life and what you know. So would I. There really isn’t that much of a difference between us Mr. Garek.” “Except I didn’t kill millions…” “How many Bajorans died during your timeline, during your occupation Mr. Garak?” “That was different.” “Yes of course it was. I am sorry but my window will be opening in a few moments. I must kill you now.” That was Weyoun’s first mistake. Garak let his Obsidian order training take hold. He grabbed Weyoun’s arm and pulled towards him. He then found his death switch and used it. Garek looked down at Weyoun. That was two he had killed. Hopefully it was the last left. He aimed the phaser at the body and vaporized it. He then picked up the Dominion tricorder. Now, he had something to really work with. He looked at the tricorder. There were twelve hours left until the iceberg. Debra looked at the Cardassian COMM badge. She adjusted the microcircuitry one last time. She just wished there were some way to test it to make sure that it would work. The only thing that would verify it would be to wait-for the iceberg. That and a whole lot of prayer were needed. She just wished she knew if she were doing the right thing. What if the time line were so upset that Damar would never get back to his homeworld. Then again anything was better than freezing in the ice cold water. Garak had almost figured out how the Dominion tricorder worked. He looked down and noticed that a green light had begun to flash. It was then that his body was caught in what felt like a transporter beam. He blinked a few times and saw himself standing on a transporter pad surrounded by Jem’ Hader. “Damn.” He then felt his first amount of pain-in the form of a phaser blast. Damar looked outside on to the deck of the Titanic. To him it appeared strange and yet wonderful at the same time. He was used to the hot desert sun baking his leathery skin. Except all around him it was water, as far as he could see. Debra slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow; she walked in step with him. “What do you think of Earth, Damar?” “Beautiful. So much water. I never have seen Earth before, except in holopictures.” “Damar, be very careful what you say. Remember we are strangers here. This is a primitive culture. We are the outsiders.” “Understood. What’s the next step?” “Since we are posing as upper class passengers, we should be able to get a tour of the bridge with no problem. While we’re there I will place the COMM badge on the bridge and hopefully throw off the compass. Then we will begin praying.” Damar felt his hand go to hers and held it while inside his elbow. “Your hands are cold.” “Thank you. I haven’t been able to find gloves as of yet. There’s the bridge.” “Good. I’ll try to distract the Captain. You can plant the COMM badge.” “Sounds like a plan, Damar. Good luck.” “I like you to.” Damar looked down at the small woman and playfully winked at her. Garek awoke on what he presumed was a biobed. His head throbbed, and his arm felt limp. He tried to move his hand but it was no use. He had no control over his fingers at all. He looked up at the bright lights. Then he saw the shadow of a face. One that made him cringe. The elongated ears, the gray eyes, the soft voice….it had to be Weyoun. But which one was it. “AAAAhhhhh, Mr. Garak I believe. Or at least that’s what your biomemory scan says. You are from an alternate time line, of the 24th century. Interesting.” “I’m sure you’d love to hear about it, but I’m afraid that I must keep a previous appointment.” “Yes, to kill President John Jacob Astor. For obvious reasons, I can not allow you to do that. I enjoy this timeline too much for you to alter it. I have never seen a Cardassian before. That is, except for holopictures in a book of extinct species, much like the Earth’s Dodo bird and the California Condor.” “Bastard.” “And your point is? You will be taken to the brig. Tomorrow you will be dissected and then killed. We lack Cardassian physiology in our history books, you will be a very nice addition to it.” With that Governor Weyoun turned and left with a flourish. Damar and Debra approached the bridge of the Titanic. There was Captain Edwards on the bridge enjoying his tea. He had no idea that he would go down in history as the killer of hundreds. Damar looked him up and down-as one captain to another. He then decided that this would probably be easier than he thought. Damar’s eyes went over the equipment. It was primitive to say the least. How did these humans ever find themselves in space when they could barely cross one of their own oceans of water? “Excuse me, Captain.” Damar attempted to talk to him as one captain to another. “Yes, how can I help you?” “I was hoping that my wife and I could have a tour of the bridge that we have heard so much about. That is if you have a few moments of your time.” Debra looked up at Damar for a split second. Did he just say “wife?” “Yes, of course. I apologize. I make it a point to meet all of our more distinguished passengers. However, I do not remember meeting you?” “Of course, with this many passengers it could be you do not remember. I am Patrick Biggs and this is my wife-Debra.” Damar took a step forward and assisted his “wife” up the stairs. Captain Edwards extended his hand and gently shook Debra’s. “It is nice to meet the both of you. Now, this is the main navigation area….” Debra barely heard the captain’s monotonous drone. Her eyes skimmed over the bridge. That’s when she found the compass. “Captain, what is this used for?” Debra knew what it was, but with what was at stake, she needed to be sure that this was the compass. She would not be able to come back to the bridge. “That is our compass. It’s what we use for our navigation.” “It’s larger than I thought.” Damar distracted the captain for a moment. It was then that Debra planted the COMM badge under the compass on a small ledge. She turned and faced Damar and slightly nodded. He smiled at her. The deed had been done. It was now out of their hands and into the hands of whatever god they believed in. Damar listened for a few seconds to the captain. Then he excused himself and his “wife” to afternoon tea. He wasn’t sure what that was, but it sounded like a good reason to leave. Besides, he was getting hungry. Debra slipped her hand into his elbow, and Damar led her down the steps to the main deck. “Wife--?” “It sounded good. How else could I have explained it?” Damar was more than a little flustered at the question. “Yes, right. Sure.” Debra looked at the Cardassian. She could have sworn there was a slight blush to his cheeks. “How about some high tea?” “Sounds wonderful. I’m not sure what that is-it sounds like it has something to do with food.” “It does. The ceremony of high tea is rather complicated. You may want to follow my lead.” “I understand.”
Part 2A Jem’ Hader walked into the Brig and opened Garak’s forcefield on his cell. He looked at the huge body lying on the makeshift bed with curiosity. He stepped over and glanced into his face. It was then the Jem’ Hader noticed that his specimen was not breathing, nor was there any discernable heartbeat. Garek had beaten the executioner. It would not sit well with Governor Weyoun, and he did not want to tell him. The Jem’ Hader tapped his COMM badge, he summoned the coroner-there was not much else he could do. Damar sat in the main dining room. The warm sunlight streamed through the windows. A string quartet played classical music. He looked around inquisitively at the humans who had no idea (thank goodness) who/what he was, or worse yet what was going to happen. He looked at the beautiful woman that was responsible for saving his life, and keeping him alive. Her delicate hands unfolded a lacy piece of cloth and set it in her lap. She sat up perfectly straight in her chair. Her red hair blazed around her face. Damar looked at the lacy cloth with a great deal of interest. He unfolded it and set it in his lap. He didn’t know why-but then he felt it was best not to ask too many questions at this point. Debra leaned forward and poured a vat of brown fluid into a small cup and then to his. “Have you ever had tea Damar?” “I can’t say that I have. What is it?” “It’s an infusion of plant leaves in water.” She placed two lumps of sugar into her cup. “You’re kidding right?” To Damar the thought was nauseating. “No. Actually it’s not bad. It’s better than Kennar.” “Debra, nothing is better than Kennar.” “I’ll take your word on that. I will say the champagne the other night was nice.” “Yes, that was nice. But the evening did not end the way I would’ve liked.” Damar looked at Debra. He knew that the odds to him getting back to Cardassia were two: slim and none. So, Damar had to make other plans-Debra was definitely in them. “I know. I would have liked to spend more time with you also. That is-if we survive the night. We’ll know tonight if the plan works. Or if we are going to take a swim in some ice water.” “It will work Debra. Have some faith. You’re always telling me that-aren’t you?” “Yes. But I just wished I had the chance to check to see if the magnetic field was strong enough. That’s the only catch.” “Is there anything else you can use to check navigation-besides the compass.” “There is one way-but it’s even more crude.” Damar could not imagine what could be more crude than a device that measures direction based on magnetism. “ And what is that?” “The stars.” Damar looked at Debra over his cup of tea. “You must be joking. How did your species ever manage to get off earth?” “Damar. Please remember who and when you are. But yes. Before the compass humans navigated by using the stars and dead reckoning. It would not be my first choice but at least we would know. But it would be at least we would know if we were on course or not.” “I’m sorry. I don’t quite care for ‘tea’.” He set his cup down and picked up a watercress sandwich and changed his mind about eating that also. “Well, thank you for at least trying it. Some humans don’t like to try new things. At least I’m sure you will like dinner. It’s seven courses.” “And of course I will be having dinner with you-this evening?” “I wouldn’t miss it. I’m really looking forward to it. Do you want to see if we can eat in the main dining room?” “Debra, I really care about the company-not the food.” Damar’s hand reached over and gently touched hers. “You know if I don’t get back to Cardassia, I would like you to be in my life. In some way.” “I’d like that. We just have to make sure we don’t disrupt the time line any more than we have already.” The Jem’ Hader dragged the body into the morgue. Weyoun was not happy. He was hoping the dissection could be performed on a living specimen. But then this would have to do. It would still make a remarkable addition to the Dominion archives. The Jem’ Hader turned the lights off and closed the doors behind him. It had been three hours; finally the drugs that Garak taken had slowly begun to wear off. Thank his Cardassian gods that he still had the white pellets from the Obsidian Order. They gave the appearance of death…but none of the side effects. Garak still felt the world swirl around him. But then it was better than being cut open. He slowly sat up-and immediately decided that it was time to leave. Weyoun was many things; stupid was not one of them. Garak slowly stood up and tried to balance on his two feet. He was unsteady at best, but then the Alpha Quadrant was depending on him. He stood up next to a computer console he tapped the surface buttons. Yes, he could rig this to go back in time. He just had to make very sure he went back to 1912, preferably on the Titanic. He was running out of time. Of course on this machine time was a relative thing. Garak heard some noise in the hallway. A Jem’ Hader entered the room-and needless to say was very surprised to see Garak alive and well. Garak jumped the Jem’ Hader and tore off it’s Ketracel White, and then snapped it’s neck. Weyoun would know who could kill a Jem’ Hader that efficiently. He had no choice but to run through time. And pray that Weyoun would give him the head start he would need. Garak stepped to the console and tapped a few times. He then felt the familiar feeling of a transporter; he held his breath and prayed. Debra and Damar spent the afternoon exploring the Titanic. Enjoying the sunshine. There was not much else to do until dinner. For all they knew it would be their last meal together. Damar showed Debra genuine affection towards her. He gently held her hand, and once lifted his huge hand to her cheek. He had already made up his mind, that regardless of what would happen that evening he wanted this human female in his life. Central Command be damned. After all the years of war and killing, he felt that he had earned some happiness in his life. And that was Debra. Debra looked at Damar through new eyes also. She knew the odds of getting back to Starfleet were miniscule at best. Debra herself had to make plans for a new life that was assuming they lived to get to New York. Come hell or ice water, she was Damar’s Aide, she was under orders to assist him in any way she could. And she felt that he would not survive long in this time period without an aide. That had already been made clear to her. Debra stopped and watched the sun set for the last time on Titanic. The golden ball slowly slipped into the ocean. She leaned against the railing her red hair blowing in the breeze. Damar watched the sun set, then turned to her. “What’s wrong Debra?” “That may have been the last time I’ll ever see the sun set. I’m a little afraid right now Damar. As a matter of fact, I’m very afraid.” “I’m with you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’ll be there for you.” Damars arm wrapped around her waist and turned her to him. “You made me remember that there needs to be some happiness in life, that there is more to life than the military. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve already lost so much….I won’t lose you too.” “I…..love you too…Damar.” Debra waited for a reaction from Damar. He looked down at her small frame. “I…..love you too Debra. But why did we come this close to death…to be able to tell each other?” “I don’t know. I’ve cared about you a long time, but always from afar. Being your Aide always came first. Now since there is no Starfleet, I was hoping that….” Damar never let her finish that sentence. Morals and appearances be damned. His fingers came up and stroked the sides of her face. His mouth covered hers. His arms wrapped around her small body like a warm blanket. Damar felt her arch her back, and pull his large body to hers. His fingers stroked her hair and drifted down her back. He groaned once, and then felt her fingers go up the back of his neck. He finally pulled back and watched her eyes flutter open. “Debra. When all this is over…one way or the other….you will be in my life.” “I can’t wait. Somehow…being Admiral doesn’t matter so much to me now…for some reason.” She looked up and smiled at him. His blue-gray eyes looking down at her. “I’m glad to hear that. There’s more to life than the number of pips on your collar…” “Like you Damar?” He gently bent down and kissed her on the mouth again. This time more slowly. They were definitely drawing a crowd. Debra decided that discretion should win in this instance. She broke his kiss…before Damar decided to try for second base. “Maybe…we should dress for dinner Damar.” “That would be a good idea…wouldn’t it.” Garak opened his eyes. He was in a room full of boxes again. He couldn’t tell if he was back on the “Carpethia” or if he was on some other ship in the North Atlantic. He walked over to one of the boxes and took out the paper packing slip. On it were written the words “RMS Titanic.” Garak almost fainted. He had beaten the odds, and it was thanks to Weyoun. He looked around and started to feel the freezing cold of the cargo bay. It was then that he saw what the history books called a “car.” He figured that would be a good place to at least stay warm until the drugs from his death sleep had worn off. He opened the back compartment and was greeted by a nauseating smell. He pulled out the Dominion Tricorder and scanned the flakes of what ever it was that was on the floor. It was Cardassian DNA. Damar had been here…less than 24 hours ago. Garak felt better all ready. Now where were his legate and his aide? Debra had “borrowed” a green dress for this evening’s dinner. It contrasted with her red hair and pale skin. It’s golden brocade danced with every move she made. She tried to style her hair as best she could with the few items she could find. She placed a green hairpin into her hair. There, that was as ready as she could get. Damar on the other hand “appropriated” a white tie tux. He wasn’t sure how the tie worked. He came out from the car and glanced around the corner to see Debra putting the final touches on her hair. He watched her for quite awhile before making his presence known. To say she was beautiful would be an understatement. She was more so now then when they had dinner on his ship. The dress molded to her, and brought out her best features. Damar almost wished that he could just skip dinner and go to dessert. But then she had been looking forward to this all day. He would be the gentleman that she always wanted. “Debra.” Damar finally spoke from behind the crate. “Damar, you look wonderful. Do you need some help with the tie?” “I’m afraid I do. You look breathtaking. You will have the eyes of every male in the room.” “I only want your eyes on me. That is the only pair of eyes that I care about.” “May I escort you to dinner?” “Yes, please.” Damar gently took her small hand and placed it into his. Her hand gently closed around his. He paused and brought her fingers gently to his lips and kissed them. “I want this evening to be very special Debra. I want it to be something both of us will remember.” “It will be.” Garak acquired a White Star Line uniform for a cabin steward. He felt he could move around more freely. Trying to find a needle in the haystack with only six hours left. He would need to work quickly. Debra was led to the main dining room by Damar. The silver, china and candlelight greeted them. Debra was almost stunned by the romance of the atmosphere, until she realized that for most people on the ship it might be their last meal. Damar led her to a small table for two towards the back of the dining room. The table had a small centerpiece of roses on it, embellished with lilies and ferns. On the table, the crystal sparkled in the candlelight. It was more romantic then anything she had ever imagined. And who she shared it with was even more special. Damar held her chair for her, and then sat across from her. “Debra, you’ll have to forgive me. I’m not sure what is expected of me here.” “You’ll be given a menu for the dinner this evening. You’ll need to order for me. I can’t talk to the waiter; you will need to do that for me. Also, you will need to order the wine. I may be able to help you with that also. Let’s just enjoy this Damar.” “I intend to. I’ve wanted to have dinner with you also.” The waiter walked over with menus. Everything was wonderful. Damar held Debra’s hand through dinner. It was then that a quartet began to play a soft waltz. Damar looked up and noticed the look on Debra’s face. “I’m not a very good dancer, but may I have this dance?” “I would love to Damar.” Damar took her small hand and led her to the middle of the dance floor. Damar looked around and decided that the one way to do this was to play a very advanced game of follow the leader. Damar placed his large hand on her small hip, and then took her other hand into his. Her hand rested on his huge shoulder. He turned her to the music, trying not to step on her toes. Slowly he began to relax, and so did she. Her head rested on his chest, her eyes closed. Damar bent his head down slightly and kissed her forehead. Somehow she found herself outside on the deck, Damar still leading her in a dance. “Welcome back.” Damar looked down and smiled at her. “I’m sorry I must have been day dreaming. I must have seemed rude.” “That all depends on what you were daydreaming about…doesn’t it?” Debra looked away from him for a brief second, Starfleet be damned. Admiralty be damned. In one breath she wanted to throw out almost eight years or duty. “What it would be like to spend the night with you. Being one with you tonight.” “That is definitely not rude. I’ve been thinking about the same thing….” Damar looked into her eyes; he seemed like he would melt into them. “I hate to ask you this…where?” “That is a problem. I just want to spend what could be the last few hours of my life…” “No negative thoughts right now. I just have to figure out…where?” “How about the vehicle we were in last night…it may be crowded…but I…” “I was thinking the same thing.” Damar took Debra by the hand and led her down the hallways. The hallways were still empty since most of the upper-class passengers were enjoying a chamber music concert. Damar led her into the cargo bay again. The cargo bay was almost pitch black, however Damar carefully led her through the maze of crates. He slowly opened the door to the car for her. She carefully sat inside, trying not to wrinkle her dress. Damar slowly sat down. He looked at the woman in the dim light, and slowly slipped his arm around her bare shoulders. “Debra” was the only word she heard before his mouth covered hers. His strong hand went to her face and gently touched it, brushing back the hair from her pale face. Debra moaned and leaned into his strong body. Her fingers delicately stroked the back of his neck and down his shoulders. Then she felt herself being pushed down into the car seat. She made no attempt to stop him-but instead broke his kiss long enough to moan encouragement. Debra had waited for this for months…and now she would finally get her wish. She felt Damar loosen the fasteners on her dress and began to slowly pull it down. Her bare shoulders gave way to her breasts. “Oh Damar. Please take me.” “I will. I’ve wanted you for weeks. Weeks.” Damar lowered her face to a bare nipple and delicately took it into his mouth. Debra held his head to her; she tried to take the jacket off his shoulders and finally managed to ease it half way down. Damar’s hand slipped up her bare leg, up her thigh. He held her tightly to him. Her breathing was labored. “Debra, I think it would be easier if you could take off the dress now.” Garak had looked over most of the ship for his Legate, or the easier to recognize aide de camp. He had no luck. Garak looked down at his Dominion tricorder. He then picked up a faint Cardassian magnetic pulse. It would not be recognizable to anyone else. Garak’s curiosity got the better of him. Were they using the magnetic field as a homing device for him? He would need to take the chance.
Garak followed the magnetic field to the base of a set of stairs. It was then that he found out that the COMM badge was planted on the bridge. But why plant the COMM badge on the bridge? Garak took a deep breath he would need to dance his way onto the bridge, take a COMM badge and leave without arousing too much suspicion. He then saw a small tray of food off to the side; he picked it up and carried it with one hand in the air. The second officer looked at the unusual looking cabin steward that stepped onto the bridge. “May I help you?” “Good evening sir. The kitchen thought you might like a small bite to eat during your watch?” “Thank you. I am a bit hungry? I haven’t seen you before. Where are you assigned?” “Steerage class. I’m a cabin steward there.” Garak turned to leave and then “dropped” a towel that he had carried in one hand. He then saw the COMM badge that Debra had placed on the bridge and slipped it into his pocket. “Good night sir.” “Good night.” Garak walked quickly off the bridge before he needed to answer any more questions. He looked down at the COMM badge and found that it had been opened and had the magnetic frequency intentionally altered to generate a field. Why? Garak shook his head. Why would Damar do such a stupid thing? He could understand if he was using it as a homing device for other Cardassians to find him. But why in hell did he put it on the bridge? He slipped it into his pocket. He checked the time, and he had less than two hours before the collision. He needed to find J.J. and Damar and put a stop to all this silliness once and for all. Damar held Debra in his arms. She panted for breath and sweat coated her small body. “You are a wonderful lover Debra.” His huge hand came up and softly touched her lips. “You brought that out in me. I hate to say this but maybe we better go check where it is we’re going. It should be close to the time for the collision.”
“Actually, by this time device, we have two hours yet. And I can’t think of a better way than to spend this time with you. Here. The way I’ve wanted to for at least the past two months.” Damar pulled her closer to him, and pulled the blankets around her small body. He never realized exactly how soft and frail human females were until about an hour ago. “Kind of. But then you’re nice and warm.” Debra cuddled up next to him; her fingers gently went to his smooth human face. She brushed the light brown hair back and lost herself in his blue eyes. “You know-I can get very used to this.” Damar felt his own urges take over, he bent down and kissed her mouth again. “I want you again Debra.” Garak had been over every possible place that he could think of on board the ship. The bridge. The medical bay. Steerage. The dining room. He was out of options. He decided to return to the cargo bay and see if they had left any hints there as to where they were staying. He turned to look behind him to check to see if he was being followed. The coast was clear. He stepped inside the cold of the room. It was then that he had heard the unmistakable sound of Damar. He remembered the way Damar and Debra had looked at each other-right before the Maquis had struck. How could he be that stupid. Now he was in a real dilemma. Did he want to interrupt the Legate in his “pursuits” or did he wish to bide his time-and pray that he wouldn’t be noticed until he was “finished?” He decided to exercise the better part of valor and have a seat. An hour had passed; Damar gently rolled off Debra. It had been a long time since he had made love and not just had sex. In fact he had forgotten that there was a difference. It took Debra to remind him. “I think maybe we should take a look around now?” “Yes, that would be a good idea.”
Garak looked up from his “watch.” Damar and Debra both looked at each other startled. “Debra, you wait here. I’ll take a look around.” He gently kissed her lips and started to step out of the car. There stood a human male, he guessed in his late 40’s. His gray eyes cut through the darkness. Damar took another look into his face and than realized who it was. “Garak?” “Good. You recognized me. I was beginning to wonder whether you would know me.” “But how?” “I know. It’s a rather long story, and right now, we don’t have the time to waste. Is that your “aide?” “Yes, uuuuhhhhh, Debra is getting herself….” “Legate, with all do respect, please I don’t want to know. The fact is you’re safe, for now, and we need to get you back to Cardassia.” It was then that the ship shook violently. Damar and Garak both lost their balance and fell to the floor. Debra fell out of the car and to the floor. It had happened sooner than they had expected. The Titanic had met the iceberg. Now time was very short. Damar rushed over to Debra, and looked down at her. Garak took his Dominion tricorder to figure out what had just happened. “Debra, are you all right?” “I’m fine. Who’s your new friend.” “He’s not such a new friend. That’s Garak.” Debra blinked once or twice. “Garak. I never thought I’d be glad to see you.” “I’ll take that as a compliment. However, we have a problem. The Titanic has hit the iceberg 90 earth minutes early.” Debra looked at Damar with a look of horror. “I guess the COMM badge didn’t work-did it?” Garak took the COMM badge from his pocket and showed it to the both of them. “You mean this? What on earth--?” “Debra was trying to throw the compass off-to prevent the iceberg from sinking this ship.” “I see. Well, if you would have succeeded the Alpha Quadrant would have belonged to the Dominion.” Damar and Debra looked at Garak with a look of horror. Both had the same reaction “What? How? Why?” “I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to get Damar off the ship, and I have to kill someone to set things right again. Now, where would I find John Jacob Astor?” Debra didn’t argue. Neither did Damar. The last thing Cardassia needed was another Dominion War. Neither could handle that. Garak didn’t have time to go into the specifics, he just knew he had someone to kill and he needed to complete his mission. Debra, Debra, and Garak went to the boat deck. The panic had not begun yet. However, most of the upper class passengers were mingling with life jackets on. Still determined to party all the way to New York. Garak pulled out the tricorder and tried to find the DNA analysis of J.J. Astor. If he was going to kill someone, he needed to make sure he killed the right person. There he was, over in the corner, enjoying yet another brandy. According to his analysis, he was half drunk. This would be easier than he thought. Garak took a plate of empty brandy glasses and strolled over to his victim. He snuck up from behind J.J. Damar stood guard to protect his first officer’s rear flank. Damar than noticed a movement behind Garak. He knew he had seen that person before, but for a split second. He couldn’t figure out from where. Than he realized who he was looking at. Weyoun in human form. Damar stormed across the room and grabbed the Vorta from behind. “I have waited three long years to do this you bastard.” Damar grabbed the Vorta by the top of the head and bent his head quickly to the side. Debra heard his neck snap several times and then the body fell limp to the floor. His head hideously twisted to the back. Garak tapped J.J. on the shoulder. The millionaire turned to the side and was met by Garak’s fist. He then twisted J.J.’s head to the point where his face was to his back. Garak had completed his mission. Damar had completed the revenge of the slaughter of so many of his people-and robbed the Dominion of the Alpha Quadrant-AGAIN. “Well, gentleman, if you are finished. We need to figure out how we can leave the ship?” Garak looked at his tricorder. “That is the problem. This tricorder will allow only one person at a time to transport. And then there is a two hour window before it can be used again.” “Damar-you need to go first. Your-“ “NO. You need to go-you need to tell Starfleet…” Debra looked at Damar. In all the months of working with the Legate-she knew when he was becoming stubborn. And this is one of those times. Except she did not have time to argue. He was the leader of a civilization, he needed to transport.
Garak looked at Debra with a look of shock on his face. He had underestimated her, and her needs to serve the Federation and Cardassia Prime. He would not make that mistake again. “You realize that you have knocked out the leader of a world-don’t you?” “I know. But we need him back on Cardassia. Or who knows what will happen to the time line.” She grabbed the tricorder from Garak and stared at the face of it. “Is this set correctly…Cardassia….24th Century?” “It looks right.” Garak wasn’t a hundred percent sure. But a living Damar was better than no Damar at all.
“Correct. I’ve set this device to alert us when the two hours are up. Hopefully Damar will figure out a way to beam us both back.” “I hope you’re right. Or you better be one hell of a good swimmer.” The Cardassian Galor class ship had lost its Legate and its first officer in six hours. All they could do was wait and hope. Hope that Garak was successful in whatever he needed to do-but also to find Legate Damar. He was the only hope of Cardassia Prime. His place was on Cardassia. The ensign in engineering ran a final diagnostic check on the warp drive. He needed to do something rather than just sit and wait. Cardassians hated waiting. And this waiting was the hardest because there was nothing that they could do. All of the sudden he looked up to see a glittering that he was not familiar with. Then a human male appeared dressed oddly in clothing. The ensign cautiously walked over and noticed the male was breathing, and that the right side of his face was swollen and bruised. “Intruder alert. Security to engineering.” Debra walked with Garak onto the boat deck. “Let’s get one thing straight Garak, if you don’t leave, I don’t leave. That’s it. Neither one of us can change the time line.” “Agreed. So why don’t we try to get on the lifeboats.” “It’s not that easy.” “Why not?” “You’re male.” “What does that have to do with anything?” “Everything. It’s only woman and children into the lifeboats. If you do not leave-I don’t leave. And don’t try to change my mind.” “After seeing your right hook-I wouldn’t dream of it. So, with that understood, what do we do?” “Stay on the ship as long as possible. With the rate that the ship is sinking, it’s going to be close. Very close.” The male human was taken to sick bay and put on the biobed. It was that they found out exactly who the new arrival was. Damar was back. And thank the Cardassian gods that he was alive. The Cardassian doctor put the hypospray to his neck and awoke him. Damar looked around with a jerk. He was on the Titanic one moment and back on a Cardassian ship the next. Of course who was he to argue. Then he thought about the last thing he remembered. And that was his girlfriend with one hell of a punch, and his first officer were still on the Titanic, and with time running out. “Where is Garak and Debra. Now?” “We don’t know sir. You were the only one that transported from when ever you were.” “Damn her.” Garak himself tried to get on a lifeboat and found that it was impossible. Even for his lies and half-truths could not secure both of them a space on the ever dwindling lifeboats. Garak looked over at Debra who was huddled over in a corner. The ocean was getting closer and Damar was even further away then she could imagine. Garak walked over to her, for the first time he held her in his arms like she was a baby. “You have to faith that Damar will get us out of here. Just hold on a little longer.” “I know he will. But for right now, we need to take care of ourselves. We have to get to the stern of the ship. Before everyone else does. Now would be a good time.” “OK. Let’s go then. You obviously know more about this than I do.” Damar stormed into the transporter room. He wanted a full analysis on the Dominion tricorder that had sent him to his present. They finally determined how it worked, and the Cardassian ops commander felt that it was worth the risk to try to get them from where they were-to where they should be. Hell, anything was better than freezing to death. “How much longer until we can attempt to transport?” “Forty five of our minutes sir.” “That’s a hell of a long time to be in the water.” Garak and Debra joined the doomed souls up the stairs to the back of the ship. In one corner was a priest offering absolution. In the other was a woman in hysterics trying to save her child from the certainty of death. Debra looked down at the deck and saw two pieces of fabric. These would have to do. They only had a few minutes left before all hell would break loose. And these ropes would need to hold their lives. “Garak, listen to me. We need to stay on this ship as long as we can. We need to get to the outer railing and tie ourselves to it.” “What the hell for?” “This ship is filling with water. The bulkheads are not designed to deal with that much stress…so the ship will break apart down to the keel. When that happens…” “The ship will slam into the ocean. Got it.” Garak pushed other humans out of the way. He didn’t care about them, he only cared about the woman who was determined to keep him alive, and had saved the leader of his world. Garak climbed over the railing and then helped Debra do the same. The back end of the ship was now ascending even quicker. It would not be long now. Debra handed Garak one of the ropes. “Tie yourself down. Make sure the knot will hold, but that you can still untie it quickly.” “Understood.” Garak’s fingers worked quickly, even though he was already chilled to the bone. He tried his best to hide his condition from Debra. He just hoped that she wasn’t a mind reader on top of everything else. It was then that they heard a long, loud set of snapping noises. The ship was breaking up underneath them, they felt the deck vibrate underneath them, and then a louder snap. “Garak, here we go. Do NOT let go of the railing.” “If I don’t get the chance to tell you later….thanks.” “Hey, you’re buying the first round of Kennar, Garak.” Garak looked back at the human female. Yes, she and Damar were cut from the same cloth. They needed each other. “You have my word on that…Debra.” The ship then began to vibrate again. And then started to descend, at first slowly and then so quickly that Debra held her breath. The huge ship slammed into the water with enough force to make a tidal wave and turned over one of the small lifeboats that was underneath. Debra lost her footing at almost fell to the ocean below. The only thing that prevented her fall was the rope tied to waist, and that dug into her armpits. Garak pulled her up and back to her feet. “Now what.” Debra struggled for breath and then began to untie the rope that held her to the railing. “Untie yourself. Quickly. Remember, take a deep breath when I say, and hold it. Kick for the surface and keep kicking. DO NOT LET GO OF MY HAND GARAK. We’ll make it Garak. We’ll make it.” “I know we will. I know we will.” Garak looked in horror as the ship was sucked into the ocean. “Garak. One, two three…now take the breath.” Garak and Debra took a last deep breath and felt the spears of pain hit them at once. The water was beyond any agony that either had ever experienced. Garak’s scan grid could not even approach this level of pain. Garak bent over in pain, he accidentally opened his mouth and felt the seawater enter it. Debra felt her hand slip from Garaks. Then she decided the best thing for her to do was to survive. To do that she would need air, she needed to find the surface. And hope to Providence that Garak and Debra could find each other again.
“Legate, it’s time.” “Damn it, then energize.”
Debra’s eyes fluttered open for a brief second and through the cold looked at Garak. “You’re welcome. At least the Alpha Quadrant is safe. We haven’t died for nothing.” “I like you too. You remind me a lot of Sisko. He would have liked you.” “I can’t feel anything Garak. My body is numb.” “So is mine. Just hold my hand. It’s almost over. It’s almost over.” Garak leaned over and covered Debra with his body. He felt himself slip into a deep sleep, and then grow warm. Damar looked at the two bodies on the Transporter Pad. “Two, medical emergency to sickbay. Just transport them there now. That’s an order.” With that, Damar left the transporter room and rushed to sickbay. When he entered the room. The doctors had already formed two teams-one for each of them. Garak was faring better than Debra. Cardassian doctors knew more about his physiology then hers. Debra had not faired as well in the cold water. It took two attempts with a cardiac stimulator to have her heartbeat restored. Garak was already awake. He was still suffering from the severe hypothermia, but at least he was alive. Debra was still fighting for her life. Damar walked over and held her small hand. “You have never backed away from a fight before. Don’t back away from this one. I need you. Cardassia needs you. How else can I get Cardassia into the Federation-unless you are at my side. Debra come back.” Debra began to cough. Her lungs were partially filled with cold seawater. The Cardassian doctor gently pushed Damar away. He waved his diagnostic recorder over her head and down over her chest. He then turned and smiled “Damar, your ‘aide’ is going to be fine. She will need to rest here for a day or two, but she will be fine.” Damar looked down at her, he watched her eyes open. The first thing she saw was Damar, then she smiled at him. “Damar, my legate, how can I assist you?” She winked at him. “You can get better. After that we’ll talk. Over Cardassian champagne and dinner, in my quarters. And this time, I will not take no for an answer.” “Aye, Aye sir. You can bet on it.” Damar bent down and gently kissed Debra on the forehead, then watched her drift off to sleep. He would have all the time in the quadrant to spend with her. He would make sure of that. He looked down at the Dominion tricorder and gently closed it. |
 
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