by Shards
Eddington folded his hands into his lap and nodded. "Probably true." He glanced at Miles. "Should we start again, from the top?"
A sudden explosion shook the room. The klaxons sounded, and the lighting changed to display alert status. A rough voice filtered over the comm system, calling all senior officers to ops. Keiko joined Miles and Eddington in rushing up to the station's command center.
There, Luther Sloan worked at the tactical station. Leeta was at an engineering panel, and there were a handful of others hard at work.
Sloan glanced at the three of them as they piled off the lift. "There's been an explosion in engineering. We've lost long-range sensors."
"What about the backups?" asked Eddington.
Miles said, "I had them taken offline this morning for overhaul." He glanced at Keiko-it had been her idea.
"They were long overdue," she said. "And the mains showed no signs of problems."
Miles shook his head and turned to Sloan. "Any other damage? Any casualties?"
Sloan worked his console, then shook his head. "No one was scheduled to be in the immediate area when the explosion occurred. There is minor damage to supporting systems but nothing we can't handle. The long-range sensors are the most affected system."
Miles considered that. "Any idea what caused the explosion? A power failure, something else?"
Leeta looked up from her panel. "Hard to tell. Internal sensors for that area are unavailable. We'll have to get a team down there to check it out."
Miles nodded. "Probably just a relay blowing out. Those Cardassians never could build a reliable power-transfer conduit."
Eddington cleared his throat. "There's another possibility we should consider."
Keiko turned to him. "What's that?"
Eddington stared at Miles. "This may be the prelude to an Alliance assault. We did discuss the possibility that an attack on this station might be preceded by an act of sabotage."
Miles clenched his hands on the central ops table. "I can't believe that. We may have been spinning our wheels for the past two weeks, but there's no way our screening process could have missed an Alliance operative here on the station."
Keiko rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "While that may be true, I don't think we have the luxury to discount the possibility. If the explosion was the result of sabotage, it's likely an Alliance attack is imminent." She gave him a steady look and added, "We need to be ready for that attack."
Miles stared into her eyes, then nodded.
Keiko turned to Eddington. "Michael, let's gather up a scanning team and go see what we can find." She returned her gaze to Miles. "You can start getting the rest of the station ready for a fight."
Keiko gave Miles a quick peck on the cheek, then moved toward the lift with Eddington. Before they left, Miles said, "If this is sabotage, I want you to find out who it is and hold them until I've had a chance to have a little chat with them."
Keiko traded a look with Eddington and gave her lover a nod before the descending lift blocked him from her view.
2361
Glinn Broca pushed Keiko to her knees. She managed to flex her legs just enough to avoid the worst of the impact on the hard stone floor, but it still hurt like hell. There were plenty of thick, comfortable-looking rugs in Gul Zarale's antechamber, but they weren't for slaves-only the cold, unyielding floor for her and her kind.
Broca pressed a hand hard against the back of her neck and leaned in close. "I'm not sure how you persuaded me to do this, but if you so much as look at the gul cross-eyed, I'll hurt you in ways you haven't dreamed."
Keiko dropped her eyes to the flagstones and nodded. She folded her hands in her lap and settled her rear on her ankles, trying to take what weight she could off her knees. Having her knees and ankles driven into the cold floor was perhaps more painful than any torture Broca could devise, but she didn't vocalize the thought. Broca wasn't all that creative-she knew that much from the past three years of cultivating him-but now was not the time to test him.
Apparently satisfied, Broca stood and crossed in front of her. He knocked on the door leading to Gul Zarale's inner chambers. After a long pause, a muffled voice from within said, "Enter."
Broca glanced at Keiko, as if to remind her of his threat, then opened the door and stepped into the room beyond. He shut the heavy wooden door behind him, leaving Keiko to stare at the unexpectedly attractive bas-relief carved into it. The Cardassians may not have a lot of imagination when it came to inflicting pain, but they had an interesting artistic style.
She heard a muffled conversation through the door, but the two Cardassians talked low enough that she wasn't able to make out the specifics. The tone of the discussion suggested that Zarale was at least intrigued by what Broca had to say. Keiko would have expected yelling and a dismissed Broca otherwise.
She returned her gaze to the floor when she heard the voices move closer. The door swung open, and two pairs of heavy Cardassian boots moved into her field of vision. One pair she recognized as Broca's-they'd decorated the floor of her hovel often enough.
The other boots were immaculate, shining with an odd metallic luster. Keiko pursed her lips. Gul Zarale had a bit of vanity, then. She'd suspected it for some time, seeing as he had never bothered to enter the mines or the slave pens in at least her four years on Korvat.
Filing away that piece of data, Keiko shifted her eyes to watch Zarale's boots as they moved to her right and then out of her line of sight. Zarale was circling her, looking her over, evaluating her.
In a deep, confident voice, Zarale said, "So, this is the slave who had the temerity to request an audience?"
Keiko sensed the question wasn't for her, so she kept her hands folded in her lap and her eyes aimed at the flagstones.
Broca said, "Yes, sir. She told me she had some important information and that she'd share it only with you."
Zarale's boots entered Keiko's field of vision again and moved to stop in front of her. "Indeed? And why did you not simply beat this important information out of her?"
Broca cleared his throat. "This one has proven to be...useful...over the last few years. I thought perhaps you would wish to hear it from her personally. I can vouch for her good conduct in your presence."
Zarale grunted. "Well, slave? What information is so important that you need to tell it to me personally?"
Keiko straightened her back, sitting high on her haunches. "If it please you, Gul, it is a matter concerning Overseer Kozak and his slave gangs."
Zarale's boots moved closer to her. "Indeed? And what important information would a little slave girl have about one of my overseers?"
Keiko risked lifting her head to meet Zarale's eyes. In a steady tone, she said, "I have reason to believe that some of the slaves under his management are planning to...remove him." She held his gaze, willing herself not to look away.
Zarale pursed his lips and made a noncommittal sound. He leaned down to trail one thick finger along Keiko's jaw line. She didn't flinch back, didn't move a centimeter. She widened her eyes just so, inviting Zarale closer, slowly spinning her web.
Zarale said, "And why would I care if a few dirty slaves tried to harm my overseer? They should know better than to imagine they could ever succeed."
Keiko gave Zarale a languid blink before responding. "If this were merely a couple of slaves, of course it would not be worthy of your attention, Gul Zarale, but I can prove that the plot is much more extensive than that. There are at least a dozen slaves planning to kill Kozak."
Zarale cupped his hand under her chin and moved her head from side to side, as if he were inspecting a piece of succulent fruit or perhaps judging livestock. He glanced at Broca. "This one is lovely. How do you think she manages to stay so clean in those dark, dirty mines?"
Zarale chuckled, clearly not expecting an answer. Broca offered a laugh, but a glare from Zarale stopped him in mid-guffaw. Zarale pressed his hand against Keiko's jaw, encouraging her to rise to her feet.
&n
bsp; She did so, slowly, letting each limb stretch and shift the folds of her clothing. She had worn a loose-fitting tunic today, anticipating that the rumors about Zarale's taste for attractive female flesh regardless of species were accurate. She had known she would be on display for Zarale and needed to give him a good show.
Judging from the subtle change in his coloration and the slight widening of his eyes, she was succeeding. He nodded at her and indicated that she should turn around. She did so, careful to adjust her position in such a way as to show off her curves. She spared a glance at Broca as she conducted the display and noted that he was as engrossed in her as Zarale was.
She finished her rotation and stared into Zarale's eyes, offering a questioning glance. Zarale's smile widened as he raked his eyes over her frame.
"Tell me, Glinn, is this one familiar with how we Cardassians prefer our women?"
Broca cleared his throat. Keiko suspected he hadn't anticipated the question. "Ah, yes, Gul Zarale. She has proven to be most capable in that respect."
Zarale lifted an eye ridge at that. "Indeed? Well, then." He clasped his hands together and addressed Keiko. "You will provide Glinn Broca with the details of this slave uprising. We must not let our dear Overseer Kozak come to harm, now, must we?" He offered her a toothy grin and turned to Broca.
"Take her information, gather up the slaves she names, and eliminate them."
Broca nodded, but Keiko cleared her throat. She offered Zarale her winningest smile. "May I dare ask a boon of you, Gul Zarale?" He seemed to like the way she said his name.
He indulged her with another smile and crossed his arms. "This should be interesting."
She took a deep breath, as if to steel herself for her request. "I am led to understand that productivity in Overseer Kozak's section has been less than sufficient for your needs." Zarale's eyes darkened, so Keiko pressed on. "I believe it would be far more effective to discipline these slaves than to kill them. Kozak has had more than thirty slaves killed in the last two months. His methods are, shall we say, less than effective."
Zarale's face dropped into a glower. "Do you presume to tell me how to run my mining colony, slave?"
Keiko shook her head slowly. "Of course not, Gul Zarale." She held his gaze a moment longer, then dropped her gaze back to the floor.
Long seconds passed, and Keiko feared that she'd be tossed out of his quarters. Instead, Zarale chuckled again. "You prove most interesting, little one. I will order Broca merely to discipline these slaves. In return for this gift, you will make yourself available to me whenever I may have cause to call upon you."
Keiko forced herself not to smile. She injected what bright-eyed innocence she could muster into her expression and raised her head to meet his gaze. "Thank you, mighty Gul."
Zarale's smile widened. He turned to Broca. "You heard me, Glinn. Gather the slaves she names, and have them disciplined. But not killed. Should I hear that one of them died under punishment, you'll be working the mines right alongside them."
Broca nodded in acquiescence, then led Keiko out of the chamber. Keiko gave Zarale one last inviting smile and followed Broca out of the room, grinning inwardly at all of the prospects ahead of her.
2376
Keiko leaned down to place a scanner in Eddington's outstretched hand. His hand disappeared under the ruined machinery that had once been one of the power relays of Terok Nor's primary long-range sensors. Keiko stood up straight to stretch out her sore back muscles. She brushed her sweat-soaked hair away from her face. The explosion had also taken out the local temperature regulators.
She glanced in the direction of the other power generator in this section and gave Shar what she hoped was an encouraging smile. The Andorian stared at her, the antennae sprouting from his short-cropped white hair flicking back and forth. She hadn't known him all that long, Shar being one of the station's newest arrivals, so she attributed the action to annoyance. She pursed her lips. Truth be told, Shar always seemed to be annoyed.
Eddington pulled himself out from under the machinery. Keiko took the scanner back from him and examined the data displayed on the small screen. Eddington rested his greasy arms on his knees and glanced up at her. "Well, I'm no expert, but the damage doesn't appear to be as severe as it could have been."
Keiko turned her attention to him. "How so?"
Eddington shrugged and pulled himself to his feet. "My guess is that whoever did this was either in a rush or just didn't know much about Cardassian power generators."
Keiko frowned as she thumbed through the data contained in the scanner. "So, you're confident we have a saboteur to thank for this?"
Eddington nodded and started to put his tools away. "No doubt about it. I found a few pieces of the detonator, and there are traces of sarium krellide all over the place." He snapped shut his toolkit. "We have a saboteur onboard, and a sloppy one at that."
Keiko shook her head and offered him the scanner. "Just what we need."
"General, you're going to want to take a look at this." Keiko and Eddington turned toward the sound of the muffled voice. A pair of boots, a pair of legs, a long torso, then two gloved hands emerged from underneath the second generator, followed by the mottled alien face and copper-red hair belonging to Tiron.
Tiron reached under the machinery and carefully pulled out a small, sinister-looking device. He handed it up to Shar, who took it gingerly, his antennae in constant motion.
Keiko moved over to the two of them. "What did you find?"
Tiron wiped the sweat from his pronounced forehead with the back of his gloved hand. "A second explosive device."
Shar's antennae flattened against his head, and he offered the thing back to Tiron, who took it with a smirk. "It's inoperative, Shar. Nothing to fret over."
Tiron rotated the bomb to show Keiko the detonator. "This has to be one of the most amateur devices I have ever seen. The saboteur used a power cell too weak to bridge the final connection."
Eddington moved over to them and took the device in order to get a closer look. "Rather fortuitous for us, I suppose." He frowned. "It's not like an Alliance operative to make such an error."
Tiron stared past Eddington, finding and holding Keiko's gaze. "Quite so, General. Perhaps the saboteur was indeed in a rush. Or"-he inclined his head toward Keiko-"perhaps the saboteur left this one to be found on purpose."
Eddington glanced in the direction of Tiron's gaze and gave Keiko a puzzled look. Shar followed Tiron's look and stared at Keiko. Keiko focused on Tiron. "You have something to say?"
The corners of Tiron's mouth quirked up. "I seem to recall you leading a repair team in this section a couple of days ago."
Keiko crossed her arms and nodded. "And? I'm afraid I'm missing your point, Tiron."
Eddington angled an eyebrow upward and glanced at Tiron. "Yes, Tiron. What's your point? You're not accusing Keiko of working for the Alliance. I thought we'd heard the last of that nonsense."
Tiron met Eddington's glance. "Have we, General?" He turned his piercing gaze over to Shar. "Isn't it convenient that most of her detractors ended up on Empok Nor just in time for the Alliance attack? And isn't it convenient that none of them has returned from that...abominable disaster?"
Keiko traded an amazed look with Eddington. She glanced at Shar and frowned. The Andorian's face had flushed a new shade of blue, and his antennae were at attention. Clearly, he was considering Tiron's words with great interest.
Keiko asked, "You are not suggesting that I had anything to do with that disaster?"
Tiron shot Shar a significant look. "What I'm suggesting, Miss Ishikawa, is that an Alliance collaborator shouldn't be leading this security investigation, much less be living on this station."