Yaet Esir awoke with a start. The Cardassian found himself sitting in a chair which itself was in a dark room. A single light shining down above him was his only illumination. As he was trying to collect his wits he heard a voice in the darkness.
"I would like to thank you for coming to the Midway station Yaet," the voice started before more lights turned on revealing a bare room and the voice belonging to a human male. The two were separated by a metal table. "For the record, can you confirm that you, Yaet Esir, were the weapons officer on the Cardassian starship Mepol?"
Yaet, still confused by how he came to be here, nodded affirmatively, "Y-yes, I was the weapons officer then. I'm a technician for a civilian transport now. Why am I here?" he asked finally getting his wits about him discovering that he was chained to his seat at the ankles.
The human brought up a holographic page from the table. On it, was a list of names. His, and the rest of the bridge crew he previously worked with during the Dominion war.
"You are here because you are being charged with war crimes," the human answered typing something on a control on the table and the holographic page changed showing a picture of the planet of the system these humans were now in. The floating page expanded showing images of the destroyed colony from the ground level. The noted star date reminded Yaet of the incident the human was referring to.
"We were ordered to remove a terrorist threat," Yaet countered, "We didn't commit any war crimes here," he stated defiantly.
The human drew back in his own seat wiping his jaw in thought.
"You were ordered to remove a terrorist threat," the human mocked. "We have been over and through the massacred colony and we could find no weapons to suggest terrorist activity. Your superiors ordered your crew to eliminate a small farming colony," the man brought up images that were taken from D.E.S. soldiers first arrival on the ground. "We have analysed the dispersion patterns of the weapons fire on the colony. Based on these patterns we have come to the conclusion that the attack was done in a way to make the colonists suffer before they were ultimately killed," he added. The man leaned forward, both hands clasped under his chin, "It would have only taken three torpedoes to wipe out the entire colony, so tell me, who gave the order to make these colonists suffer in such a way before dying?"
Yaet shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "I was only following orders," he told the human.
The man remained still, "Who gave the order to massacre the colonists in this fashion?" he asked.
Yaet swallowed hard, "Krurvirr Rid," he answered nervously, "He was the ships Gul that gave the order," he told him looking off to the side to avoid the human's gaze.
The human sat back in his chair exhaling loudly to convey his disappointment. He tapped a few more buttons on the table bringing up two images of other bridge crew he served with at the time. Yaet's eyes went wide. "We have already interrogated two of the crew you served with and they both tell us that your commanding officer gave no such order to 'make them suffer'. Apparently, your commanding officer didn't tell the crew what your orders were until you arrived in orbit," The man stopped at that and waited until Yaet finally worked up the nerve to meet his eyes, "Yaet Esir, you are found guilty of war crimes against a civilian colony. Under Descended Earth Systems law, such an action is punishable by death by firing squad," the human informed him.
Yaet slammed his hands on the table, "They're lying! I was only following orders!" he shouted.
The human only shut down the display before responding quietly, "You still carried them out. You could have made their deaths quick instead you let their deaths get drawn out. They died in fear, in pain, and in agony."
"The Federation won't accept your ruling," Yaet countered desperately. Maybe, if he got in touch he could request asylum in exchange for information he alone knows. But his hopes were dashed and instantly felt the weight of the world with the human's reply.
"The Federation gave us possession of the planet the colonists died on and we are not affiliated with any branch of the Federation. We do consider the massacred colonists having honorary citizenship under the Descended Earth Systems. Therefore, you are to be charged under D.E.S. law for war crimes." The man told him before getting up. "However," he added before pushing a button that released Yaet's bonds, "As a gesture of good will towards the Federation for their generosity, thus far, we will extend leniency in this matter and sentence you to exile to your home planet."
Yaet never felt more relieved in his life. Even then, he felt as if he was heading for an aneurysm considering this emotional roller coaster he'd been on. He'd be more than happy to stay on Cardassia. He could get work helping restore the capital to its former splendor if only to stay out of these human's way.
The human pushed one last button and the wall behind Yaet opened up revealing a desolate landscape marred by small ancient ruins that looked vaguely familiar to him.
"Where is this place?" Yaet asked, wondering why he was shown and brought here.
"As I have said before," the human started, "We are not affiliated with any branch of the Federation. And for that matter, we are not native to your universe. So, to ensure that your exile is upheld, we brought you to our universe," the human explained, "Thanks to the star charts the Federation has given us we have found that this planet is Cardassia. We are standing in what would be the capital in you native universe."
"But that's impossible. These ruins are so old," Yaet said in disbelief.
"Indeed," the man agreed, "The Cardassians in our universe were most likely wiped out by the Jikoran the last time they came through the sector. As I said, you will live out your life in exile on your home planet. We have placed the other two we interrogated and charged with exile to the east and south of here. With some time and effort, I an sure you can get in touch with them in no time."
Yaet started to get angry and turned to his captor, "You ca.." but he was shot in the chest by the human's katana causing Yaet to fall unconscious in a heap.
When Yaet woke up again he found he was alone, save for a bag of basic survival gear. There was no sign of the ship that brought him here. He was alone now, the only other of his own were an unknown number of kilometers. He regretted his decision to board the unusual human station. He had long since grown weary from the war and just wanted a simple peaceful life.
Yaet fell to his knees and stared blankly off into the sunset. He regretted firing on those helpless colonists. He tried the years since to forget about it.
Now...
...There was nothing else he could think about.