Star Trek - Gateways - 4 - Demons Of Air And Darkness

by Demons Of Air

  "What?" Quark couldn't believe his ears.

  "Three years ago, he worked with Starfleet on a

  sting operation to bring down a weapons dealer named Hagath. Two years ago, he bartered a prisoner exchange on Starfleet's behalf involving a Vorta named Keevan."

  "Those are lies," Quark said to Malic. Starfleet had nothing to do with either instance, and Gaila knew it-he was there for both incidents, after all.

  "Are they?" Malic said quietly. Quark felt his blood freeze. "It would explain why you've been dragging out these negotiations-it allows your friends on Deep Space 9 to find a way to destroy the merchandise."

  "They're not my friends," Quark said. His lobes started to ache. This was not going in the direction he'd hoped.

  "Really?" Gaila's smile widened, which was never a good sign. "These are the people who kept your bar going when the Ferengi Commerce Authority banned you."

  Quark sighed. Technically, of course, that was true-Captain Sisko and the others on the station, even Odo, had provided him with the resources to keep the bar going even when he was forbidden from doing business with any Ferengi.

  Malic made notes onto his own padd, then stood up and moved toward the table. "I've been growing more and more suspicious of you, Quark. I have been un-happy with the length of these negotiations-and I was unaware of all these connections you have with Starfleet."

  "The negotiations are almost complete," Quark said.

  Gaila's smile changed to one of pure viciousness. "I wouldn't presume that if I were you, Quark."

  Ignoring Gaila, Quark continued, "And I don't have

  'connections' with Starfleet. Yes, my bar is on a sta-tion that is jointly operated by the Bajoran Militia and Starfleet, and yes, my nephew is an officer in Starfleet-a career path I strenuously objected to, I might add, and which I have never, ever supported. If Nog remained working for me, he'd be making more money and still have the left leg he was born with."

  Malic looked at Gaila. "Let me see this transmis-sion."

  "Of course." Gaila got up and, smiling his "you're doomed" smile at Quark the entire time, handed the padd to Malic.

  Putting his own padd back in the jacket pocket, Malic took the padd from Gaila and examined it "This is definitely Starfleet, and definitely from one of the runabouts assigned to DS9."

  Malic nodded to his bodyguards, and they moved forward and removed sidearms from holsters inside their jackets. Quark recognized the weapons as modi-fied Klingon disruptors, each pointed directly at his head.

  Tamra made a squeaking noise.

  "You'll either tell the truth, Quark, or you'll die."

  As a general rule, Quark found it best to keep nego-tiations as complicated as possible. It made it easier to find loopholes and get a better deal for himself. This negotiation, however, had just gotten depressingly simple: either tell Malic the truth, or be killed.

  For Quark, that was no choice at all.

  "All right, all right-I'm working for DS9 security. They sent me here to drag out the negotiations for as long as possible."

  Malic shook his head. "And I thought having lever-

  age over you meant I could trust you. I should've known better than to trust a Ferengi."

  An Orion pirate is talking to me about trustworthi-ness? Quark thought, but wisely did not say aloud. At this point, saying anything else could prove fatal.

  After making a few more notes on his padd, Malic said, "Kill him anyway."

  IO

  EUROPA NOVA

  "I believe you've mistaken me for someone else, Colonel"

  Now that Kira had a moment to take a good look at the Cardassian on the viewscreen, she had to agree. The face and voice were frighteningly similar to Dukat's, but there was a slightly less arrogant tim-bre to the voice, and his facial ridges, while similar, were arranged a bit differently. Most distinctively, this Cardassian had facial hair, something Kira couldn't remember seeing on any member of the Cardassian military. Two dark tufts extended from the corners of his mouth to his chin in small cres-cents.

  "/ am Gul Macet," he continued. "Skrain Dukat

  was my cousin, and I can assure you, the family re-semblance is not something that's done me any fa-vors."

  "Surprised to hear a Cardassian say that," Kira mut-tered.

  "/ suppose you would be. But my relationship to Dukat has not been a beneficial one-especially of late. It seems that our resemblance has become more pronounced over the last few years. The more fa-mous-or infamous-he became, the more people mistook me for him." He leaned forward. "I know you have a history with Dukat, Colonel. I would ask only that you no more hold it against me than you would hold it against his daughter."

  Ziyal. "I wouldn't go there if I were you, Macet. What do you want?"

  "Simply stated...I want to help, Colonel. The Trager is at your disposal to aid in the evacuation of Europa Nova."

  Letting out a bark of derisive laughter, Kira said, "Out of the goodness of your heart?"

  "You've been willing to make use of my services in the past, Colonel-though, come to think of it, you wouldn't be aware of it." Macet's face formed a smirk that was eerily similar to that of his cousin. "The Trager is the ship that destroyed the cloning facilities on Rondac III."

  Bunking, Kira said, "You were part of Damar's re-sistance."

  Macet smiled. Unlike Dukat's smile, which always carried an air of superiority and arrogance, Macet's smile seemed genuine, even warm. "Why do you think the Trager looks like this?"

  Taran'atar finally spoke. "You were one of those who betrayed the Dominion."

  The smile fell. "That would be your view. You must be Taran'atar, the so-called observer from the Domin-ion I've heard about. I admire your courage in allow-ing that creature on your station, Colonel, if not your common sense."

  Ignoring the gibe, Taran'atar said, "Treachery is a poor foundation for trust."

  "The traitors were the Cardassians who subsumed our empire to-"

  "That's enough!" Kira snapped.

  "My apologies, Colonel."

  Taran'atar said nothing.

  Kira considered Macet's offer. Every instinct told her not to trust him. He was part of Dukat's family. He was a Cardassian gul. And he had to bring up Ziyal, the bastard.

  That, in turn, was precisely why she couldn't let Macet's accidental relationship-and unsettling re-semblance-to Dukat influence her now. She remem-bered her thoughts upon arriving at Europa Nova the day before, regarding Taran'atar and her feelings to-ward Cardassians.

  She knew the size of a Galor-class ship, and had a good idea about the number of evacuees it could probably take on, even one as damaged as the Trager. And she thought about the rising levels of theta radia-tion, the extra time it was taking to get the refugees off-planet, and the scores of people in the rural areas who had proven harder to locate than originally an-ticipated. Europa Nova apparently had a good-sized contingent of "back-to-nature" types among its popu-

  lation, who were apparently ignoring the orders to abandon their homes, despite the danger, and were proving difficult to find.

  "All right, Macet. I can't say I understand why you're doing this, but I'm in no position to refuse, and I don't have time to discuss it. I accept."

  "Very well, Colonel. I believe it would be best for all concerned if I remained here and accepted refugees that are brought up from the surface by your taskforce. The Trager cannot land, of course, but it would speed up the process, and alleviate the need for your ships to evacu-ate to another star system once they've reached capac-ity. I assume you 're bringing them to Deep Space 9? "

  "And to Bajor."

  Macet nodded. "Then that would be our wisest course."

  Kira silently agreed. With transporters no longer an option, she had intended to use the Gryphon and Defi-ant just as Macet proposed: position them at a safe distance while the Intrepid, the Rio Grande, and the other landing ships relayed refugees from the surface. The Trager would be a big help in that effort.

  "
Colonel," Taran'atar said, "sensors are showing that the Trager is equipped with Dominion technology."

  Kira glanced down at the sensor readings. "I didn't know that had been done to any Cardassian ships."

  "Some twenty ships were equipped with Dominion transporters and sensors," Taran'atar said. "It was in-tended to be the first step toward integrating the Cen-tral Command vessels with the Jem'Hadar warships. For obvious reasons, the project was never completed, but the Trager was apparently one of those twenty ships."

  "Your observer speaks true, Colonel. We do in fact have sensors and transporters on par with those of a Jem'Hadar vessel-at least, that was what the Do-minion told us," Macet added with another smirk.

  Again ignoring Macet, Taran'atar said, "Colonel, if the Trager is equipped with Dominion transporters, they will still be viable for another six hours, based on the current rate of increase in theta radiation."

  Shooting the Jem'Hadar a glance, Kira said, "Are you sure?"

  "Quite sure."

  "In that case, Macet," she said, turning back to the viewscreen, "you'll be much better off transporting people from the rural areas. We've had trouble locat-ing all the people in the outlying territories. If you've got better sensors and can beam them out..." As she spoke, Kira did some quick calculations on her con-sole. This should cut the evac time considerably. She was growing ever more concerned as to whether or not they'd be able to get everyone off-planet before the concentration of theta radiation in orbit reached fatal levels.

  "I don't think that would be wise, Colonel."

  "Why the hell not?"

  "Let us just say there is a-history between Car-dassia and Europa Nova. Transporting Europani onto a Cardassian vessel without warning would be provocative to say the least. So, for that matter, would be entering orbit of the planet."

  "Macet, what are you talking about?"

  "/ must insist that we proceed with my proposed plan."

  "These people are going to die if we don't get them

  off-planet within the next day or so, and we can't do it without your help."

  "You have my help, Colonel. The only way you will get more help is if you talk to the local government. If they approve of our orbiting Europa Nova and trans-porting their citizens, I will be happy to do so. But, last time I checked, their military had standing orders to shoot down any Cardassian vessel entering their space. The Trager has taken enough damage lately, I'd rather not add to it while trying to commit an act of kindness."

  Kira had no idea about any of this. "I'll contact the surface and get back to you. Hold your position until then."

  "Of course. And Colonel?"

  "Yes?"

  "It's a pleasure to be working with you once again."

  "I hope I can say the same when this is all over, Macet. Euphrates out." She then opened a channel to the Intrepid. "Captain Emick, did you monitor that?"

  "Yes, Colonel," said Emick, "and I'm as in the dark as you. I had no idea that there was even any contact between Europa Nova and Cardassia."

  Biting her Up, Kira said, "I'll talk to President Sil-verio."

  She opened the channel, and then was politely told to wait a moment. The president was busy with other duties, but would be with her as soon as possible. While they waited, Kira told the Rio Grande to pro-ceed to DS9 with their refugees

  As soon as she closed the channel to the Rio Grande, Taran'atar said, "You should not trust him."

  "Why, because he worked for Damar's resistance?"

  "In part."

  "/ worked for that resistance movement, Taran'atar. Yet you follow my orders."

  "I follow your orders because a Founder has in-structed me to. I have received no such instructions regarding trusting Cardassian guls who are known be-trayers of the Dominion. You don't trust him, either- yet you are willing to give him this responsibility."

  "Yes, I am," Kira said. "Because I don't have a choice. Look at the numbers, Taran'atar-we're not going to get everyone off Europa Nova in time. We've only got twenty ships and one gateway, and that gate-way can only take five hundred thousand people. There's a good chance we won't get everyone off the planet in time. If we accept the Trager's help, then maybe-maybe-we'll be able to do it. I made Presi-dent Silverio a promise, and I'm damned if I'll renege on it because of a Cardassian who reminds me of someone I hate."

  "Colonel Kira, I have President Silverio for you," said a voice from the com channel.

  Still glaring at the Jem'Hadar, Kira said, "Go ahead."

  Silverio looked just as haggard as she had when Kira spoke with her only a few minutes before. "Colonel, I'm told there's a Cardassian ship in our system."

  "Yes, and they've offered-"

  "/ want that ship gone, Colonel. I don't care how you do it, but get rid of them." For the first time, there was a hard edge to Grazia Silverio's voice. Gone was the pleasant, grandmotherly tone. Now she sounded like-

  Like me seven years ago, whenever the subject of Cardassians came up, Kira thought ruefully.

  "Ma'am - Grazia - they've offered to help with the evacuation."

  "/ don't care if they've offered to scrub out the theta radiation with their teeth, I don't want them in my home."

  "They have better sensors and transporters than any of the other ships in the task force - they can still use their transporters. If you allow them to go into orbit, they can transport the people in the rural areas that we've been having so much trouble with."

  "Colonel, are you familiar with the asteroid belt between the sixth and seventh planets in this sys-tem?"

  Kira shrugged. "I know it's there."

  "When we first colonized this planet a century ago, that was a planet. The only other Class-M planet in the system. We seriously considered starting a second colony there. Thanks to the Cardassians, that's now an asteroid belt. Our military has standing orders to - "

  "Shoot down any Cardassian ship that enters your space, I know."

  "You know?"

  "Gul Macet told me. He knew that, and he came anyhow. Grazia, I spent the first twenty-six years of my life fighting Cardassians - more than that, I spent all that time hating them. Nobody knows more than me what horrors they're capable of, and what they've done. And I'm telling you, we have to let them help. If you turn them away, people are going to die - peo-ple who trust you to lead them." She took a deep breath. "Look, if you tell me you don't want them here, I'll tell Macet to go back to Cardassia. But you're going to have to answer to the people who

  don't make it because you turned away a starship that could've rescued them."

  Silverio closed her eyes for a moment. Then she shook her head and waved her arm. "Apf. Let the ship in."

  Letting out a breath, Kira muttered a quick phrase of gratitude to the Prophets. "Thank you, Grazia."

  'Wo, Colonel, thank you for knocking some sense into this old head of mine. You're right, now's hardly the time to let old hatreds get in the way of good sense. I always thought I had more brains than that."

  "As long as you made the right choice in the end, it doesn't matter how you get there," Kira said with a gentle smile. "And call me Nerys. Let me put Gul Macet on." She opened a channel. "Gul Macet, I have President Silverio."

  "Gul, I hereby give you permission to enter Eu-ropani space. And I thank you for your generous offer."

  "You're welcome, Madame President. And may I say that I hope this marks a new beginning in rela-tions between our people."

  Kira shook her head. Macet was definitely going to take some getting used to-his voice was so like Dukat's. Yet those words out of Dukat's mouth would have had the listener waiting for the other shoe to drop. Macet, though, spoke with a sincerity that Dukat was, as far as Kira was concerned, congenitally incapable of.

  "We'll begin scans and beam-outs immediately," Macet continued.

  "Good," Kira said. "We're going to investigate the gateway, see if we can stop the radiation at the source. Captain Emick of the Intrepid will be in charge of the rescue operation whil
e I'm gone."

  "Understood, Colonel. Trager out."

  Silverio signed off as well.

  "Colonel, I have Commander Vaughn on subspace," Taran'atar said.

  "Good timing," she muttered. "Go ahead, Com-mander," she added in a louder tone.

  "Colonel, we're on our way back to Europa Nova. Admiral Ross has given us the go-ahead to attempt the disruption as soon as all five hundred thousand Europani have been evacuated through the Costa Ro-cosa gateway."