Rogard tapped his stylus in the padd several times before finally stopping himself. As a student in primary school, the instructor had beat his hands mercilessly when he was caught tapping his stylus and Rogard thought the habit was well long gone.

But since entering the Gamma Quadrant, he found the habit had returned. He hoped it didn't happen on the while he was on the bridge. He knew his second-in-command would find some way to use it.

Evok wasn't a bad second-in-command, he knew the ship well, he handled officers and crew assignments with deft and when it came to smoothness with superiors, Evok had all the skills. Tat was the hitch for Rogard. Evok was what Rogard had been 10 years ago.

Rogard knew 10 years had passed him by and while he was captaining a second generation Galor-class heavy attack ship and leading the wing into battle against the Jem'Hadar, he still couldn't help but feel that once this mission was over, if he survived, his career would begin a slow downward slide until he was an old Cardassian living on his memories and waiting for the end.

Despite all the great things he'd done in his career, the admiralty would never forget that it was his choice to switch sides during the war. True, doing so saved billions of civilian lives, thousands of ships and defense platforms and the military people aboard them and quite possibly the very existence of Cardassia as a people, but the admiralty would always know it was Rogard who'd made the choice to follow what he felt was best over what he'd been ordered to do.

Rogard was at the pinnacle of his career aboard this ship at this point in time. Once this mission was over, his career would be over, even if he brought back all six Cardassian ships intact and without a casualty, and the Dominion threat was put to a final end, Rogard knew he'd receive accolades in front of the cameras for all to see, but behind the scenes, he would be given some high-sounding dead end job behind a desk and slowly ushered out of the service.

"And now the Obsidian Order wants to get its fenshan claws into my neck," he said out loud to himself, remembering how his childhood pet would wake him with four very sharp claws scratching deep into his throat, a genetic memory, he supposed, that came from the animal's ancestors which would rip out a threat's throat with a single swift cuff.

Almost as if his second-in-command knew he was being thought of, the white flashing light on his master comm panel glowed.

"Rogard," he said, tapping the rocker switch.

"Gul, drill 45 has been completed," Evok told Rogard. "results are 96 percent efficiency on average for all six ships."

Without the video enabled, Evok couldn't see Rogard shake his head. Evok had given him the news in such a manner as to appear it was Evok's skill at leading the wing that made the the efficiency higher than any of the previous drills led by Rogard, or the captains of the other ships in the wing.

"Give me the breakdown by ship, Senior Legate, please."

Unlike the Federation, Klingons, Romulans and most other races in the Alpha Quadrant, Cardassians didn't give their ships names. They were numbered in a complex series which would let a knowledgeable commander know everything about the ship.

Evok, obviously reading directly from the situation monitor at his station read off the results. "10243-CR-GHD, 98 percent. 10243-CR-GHH, 98 percent, 10243-CR-GKD," this was Rogard's ship and one of the two he was most interested in, "99 percent..." Rogard nodded to himself. He'd trained this crew well since becoming captain. Evok continued with the other ships in the wing, "10243-CS-EHD, 96 percent, 10243-SR-GKD, 94 percent and," as Rogard knew it would be Gul Marnt's ship, "10243-DR-GKD, 91percent."

"Evok," Gul Rogard said in a very soft voice, the one he used when he wanted someone's undivided attention, "have Gul Marnt report to my quarters in 15 minutes, and prepare your quarters for a new occupant."

There was a pause and Rogard could tell Evok was wondering why in the Seven Pains of the Afterlife would Rogard quarter him with another officer.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Evok," Rogard said, savoring the position Gul Marnt had offered him. Marnt, a marginal commander at best could not seem to keep an entire battle in his mind when faced with it. Marnt was Rogard's friend from their earliest military recruit days. There was no one Rogard trusted more in the fleet than Marnt.

When the Wing was assembled, Marnt, as a veteran of dozens of black space battles, was ordered to command the SR-GKD. Rogard knew he was a capable officer, and an excellent tactician, but Marnt excelled best when in his environment, when he didn't have to take responsibility for the big decisions, when he could offer the best strategy and tactics to a commander and let the leader make the decision.

Rogard wasn't sure if Marnt had planned this. In every battle drill Marnt's ship showed well, but was always one or two points below every other ship, no matter the battle plan involved.

But he was a master tactician.

Tapping the rocker one last time, "Evok, you are relived of duty aboard this ship. Report to the SR-GKD and take command. Log it as my last order to you as a senior legate.

"And congratulations, Gul Evok." He clicked off the intercom.

To himself, Rogard thought one of two things would go through Gul Evok's mind. One would be pure pleasure at being elevated to command in the middle of a combat deployment, the second would that possibly Rogard was putting him in a position to fail by giving him the worst ship in the wing.

Either way of thinking was OK with Rogard. If Evok thought felt pleasure at being elevated, he would break every officer's back bringing up the SR-GKD's efficiency, which in turn would reflect nicely on his record.

If he felt he was being set up, he would break every officer's back to keep from failing at his first command of a major combat vessel.

Marnt, on the other hand, would be pleased to be made second in command of the Rogard's ship.

The light on his comm unit flashed again.

He clicked it without thinking. "I thought you were leaving Gul Evok?"

"Sorry, Gul Rogard, I didn't know I had been demoted," Admiral Janeway said and Rogard could hear the sarcasm in her no-nonsense voice.

All four painful deaths to me, Rogard cursed to himself, I should have activated the viewer.

"Apologies, Admiral," Rogard recovered, "just finishing up some reassignments."

"Well make it quick, Gul, sensors show we are about to have company."