Wrong

Prologue: The Request

*Author's Note: For those who might need a refresher, Kilana appeared in Season 5 when Sisko fought to keep the wreckage of a crashed Dominion ship. She attempted to negotiate a compromise with him, but their mutual mistrust led to tragedy, as her true goal was not to reclaim the ship but save the Founder hidden in it, who later died. This story takes place in Season 6, when the Dominion forces are occupying the station. Please excuse any minor inaccuracies in reference to Canon events; it's been a long time since I've seen this show. Reviews encourage updates, so if you like it, please let me know.*

The war was not going well for the Dominion. At least, not well enough.

The mine field. That damned mine field. It irritated him to no end that they had a legion of reinforcements, just waiting on the other side of the wormhole, but could not bring them to the Alpha Quadrant, all because of those cursed mines. Even as he grudgingly admired the cleverness of using the self-replicating mines, it infuriated him that Dukat, despite all his posturing and promises, had not managed to find a way to deactivate them yet. And is if that weren't enough, he found himself strangely … lonely.

The Vorta were, after all, inherently social creatures. It made sense that this was part of their genetic make-up, given how they interacted with multiple species as the Founders required, so loneliness was sometimes something they had to live with. But it wasn't that he lacked company; it was that he lacked friendly company. Of course, he would plaster a gracious smile on his face in front of Dukat, Damar, and the other Cardassians, exchange pleasantries with them and try to keep his impatience from showing when he inquired about progress with the mines, but he was no fool. He was well aware that Dukat and his ilk did not like or even respect him; at best they tolerated his presence as a necessary evil, and the other inhabitants of the station treated him no better.

He was always exceedingly polite with Major Kira, even as he felt the antipathy pouring off of her in waves every time they were required to interact, but he made no progress in establishing any kind of real understanding with her, or any of the others. And even though he felt blessed to be in the presence of not one, but two of his gods, the truth was that Odo was quite uncomfortable around him, and the Female Founder was increasingly dismissive of him, her patience growing thin as time marched on without the mine field being taken care of. He couldn't blame her, of course, but he felt the sting of her rejection keenly, as only a Vorta could. No one would have guessed it from the way he acted, but truth be told, Weyoun found himself rather desperate for a confidante, an ally … a friend.

It was this desperation, which, at least in part, gave him the courage to bring up a new subject at the next meeting between himself, Dukat, Odo, and the Female Founder, who served as the ruling council of the station. His tone peremptorily apologetic, he explained quietly that the Vorta diplomats who had been tasked to be "facilitators" on Bajor had not done so, as they knew, because of what he could only refer to as the "unfortunate incident," the protest-by-suicide of a Bajoran Vedek. Most of the Vorta had been re-tasked already – captaining Dominion ships, overseeing production of Ketracel-white in the Alpha Quadrant – but a few had yet to find a permanent assignment.

Among them was Kilana, a relatively "young" Vorta with whom he had worked in one of his previous incarnations. She was "young" in the sense that she was only on her third life, her previous clone having opted for voluntary termination after she failed to save the Founder in her difficult negotiations with the intractable Captain Sisko. Despite her failure, however, he had found her to be quite the capable and versatile diplomat, and reasoned that the Cardassians as well as the Bajorans might respond more favorably to the sincere, soft-spoken female Vorta than they did to him.

And truth be told, he felt himself stretched rather thin managing things at the station, and believed having a counterpart would allow for more efficiency and effectiveness in the work. His motives were far from selfish, he told himself, even if he couldn't deny the simple fact that it would be nice to have a friendly face around.

After he finished presenting his argument – request, really – he fell silent, waiting for the Female Founder to approve or disapprove of his suggestion. It didn't really matter what Dukat thought, although Weyoun could tell that he didn't relish the though of having another Vorta to deal with, and Odo probably didn't care one way or the other. The Founder looked at him appraisingly, and he met her eyes briefly before respectfully lowering his gaze, patiently awaiting her decision.

"Why Kilana?"

Startled, he looked back up, to find her regarding him expectantly, waiting for an answer. He had assumed she would simply grant or deny his request, not that she would question the particulars of it. She had caught him off guard, but as she began to look impatient he hastened to answer:

"She is one of the most capable negotiators we have …"

"Even taking into account the incident with Captain Sisko?" The Founder's tone was sharp, and at the mention of Sisko's name, both Dukat and Odo looked at her with interest. Before, they had been somewhat indifferent. Now they were genuinely invested in the conversation.

Weyoun bowed his head in acknowledgement of the grief over the tragic loss of the life of one of his gods, but after a brief pause, still answered: "Respectfully, Founder, yes, even taking that into account. I assumed you still had faith in her, since you opted not to delete her template. Forgive me if I presumed too much."

"You did not presume too much," the Founder replied, her tone softening, to Weyoun's relief. "However, I am not entirely certain we need another Vorta on the station." Anticipating her next words and quickly camouflaging his disappointment, Weyoun nodded dutifully. "Therefore, I am not inclined to grant your request –"

"I am." Weyoun, the Founder, and Dukat all turned in surprise to look at Odo. The Female Founder in particular stared at him, not in annoyance but in shock, that he would be willing to interfere in was so clearly a Dominion matter. Uncomfortable with the sudden attention, he shrugged in an attempt at approximating nonchalance. "What's the harm in it, really?" He asked her. "Another Vorta might prove useful in running of the station." She appeared to consider his words – his was the only opinion she really took seriously, anyway – and finally nodded as if seeing the wisdom of them.

"Very well, Odo," she said, and then turned to Weyoun. "Your request is granted. But understand, if Kilana does not prove useful in her post here, I will re-assign to a position in which she can better serve our interests."

"Of course, I understand," Weyoun said, bowing. "Thank you, Founder." He had absolutely no idea why Odo had intervened for him, but he was very grateful, not to mention completely honored.

Had he known of Odo's true motives, he might not have been so pleased. Still loyal to his Alpha Quadrant friends, Odo was hoping that this new Vorta might be more easily influenced than Weyoun. He knew the man was in awe of him, as all members of his species were, but still, he would never side with Odo over the Female Changeling, or the interests of the Dominion. Perhaps this new Vorta would prove to be more … flexible. At least, that was what he hoped.

As it was, all Weyoun knew was that he would soon have a colleague on board the station with him, someone who would shoulder some of the burden of his workload, perhaps even ease the tensions between himself and the others – and best of all, someone who would understand his situation as no one else, not even the Founders, could. Kilana would arrive in a few days, and Weyoun found himself actually looking forward to something for the first time in very long while.