Damar was jarred awake by the sound of the intercom. "Garak to Damar. We've arrived at our headquarters."
It took him a minute to get his bearings. He was in the cargo bay, sitting against a stack of Ketracel White barrels. Kira was not there. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. How long had he been asleep? It couldn't have been very long.
He headed up to the bridge to find Kira already there. She seemed to be all business. "We're receiving a message from the surface. It's for you, Damar." She handed him the headset.
"Put them through," he replied, putting it on.
The small screen blinked to life, revealing the face of Seskal, Damar's new second. Of course, he didn't know it yet. They didn't yet know that Damar had had to kill Rusot.
"Damar. It's good to see that you've returned safely. Is all well?"
Damar glanced at Kira. "We've had our losses."
"I'm sorry to hear that, sir. Much has happened in your absence. We've received a communication from Gul Revok. He says he's willing to meet with you."
Damar smiled. "Excellent! We'll be landing shortly. I expect everything to be prepared for our arrival."
"We will be ready for you, sir."
After having several soldiers beam up to secure the ship, Damar, Kira, and Garak beamed down to the base command center.
Seskal stepped foward. "Welcome back, Damar." He looked at Damar's companions, and looked a bit worried. "What happened to Rusot?"
Damar glanced at Kira, briefly wondering if he ought to tell Seskal the truth. After a moment's pondering, he decided that, for Kira's sake, the circumstances of Rusot's death would be better kept a secret. "He was killed while doing his duty."
"What of the shapeshifter?"
"He's also dead."
Seskal stepped forward and lowered his voice. "Some of the missions we planned are going to be nearly impossible without the changeling."
"Then we will plan new ones. Now, let me see the message from Gul Revok."
Damar walked into the bunkroom just in time to see Kira throw the cooling unit against the wall less than five feet from the door. Startled, he stared at the machine for a few seconds before turning to Kira. "It must have said something offensive for you to be so angry with it."
"It wasn't working anymore," Kira said, not making eye contact. Damar thought he could see a hint of a tear before she stood up and turned around. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands before hitting the on switch. To his surprise, the machine activated. "Seems to be working perfectly," he said.
She put her hands on her hips and hung her head silently. Damar took a step forward. "I don't pretend to know your business, Kira, but I don't think this has anything to do with the temperature."
She raised her head, her back still turned toward him. "No... I don't suppose it does."
"You miss him."
"More than you know," she whispered. Silence. "And the worst part is, you and Garak are the only ones I can talk to," she said a bit louder, turning around to face him. Her tone made it evident that she appreciated the irony of the situation. "You must be enjoying this."
"On the contrary, Colonel. Perhaps... a year ago I might have enjoyed it, but now..." He shook his head. "I get no pleasure from seeing a friend in pain."
"A friend?" Kira was surprised, and clearly more than a little irritated. "You think we're friends? You're the one who killed Ziyal, Damar. I haven't forgotten that!"
"I was a different man, then."
She stepped forward so that she was face to face with him, her eyes boiling with rage. "That doesn't change what you did!"
"No, I don't suppose it does," he replied. She turned away from him again. "I did what I thought was best for Cardassia. Perhaps you can appreciate that, since you undoubtedly killed dozens of Cardassians, military and civilian, for the sake of Bajor."
"That was different!" she spat.
"Perhaps it was. But at the time, I didn't see a difference. For better or worse, I did everything out of loyalty to my people. Out of loyalty to Dukat." He hestitated. "At least... that's what I tell myself when he see her face at night." Kira turned toward him coldly, but he could see a hint of... something... in her eyes. He wasn't sure what, but he could tell she was listening, no matter how much she hated what he was saying. "For what little it may be worth to you, I am sorry for killing her. If I could change what I did..." He stopped. Kira's cold stare was starting to soften. "But I can't. I know I killed an innocent girl, and I have to live with that until the day I die."
"What do you want, Damar? My forgiveness?" she asked, almost sarcastically. Almost.
"I have no right to ask for that." She seemed shocked by his response. "Did you expect me to demand it with my trademark Cardassian arrogance?" he asked, smirking bitterly as he began to turn away.
"Yes, I did," she said softly. He turned back, surprised. She was lookin at him almost compassionately. "You've changed, Damar. Until now, when I looked at you, all I could see was the man who killed Ziyal."
"That man is dead, Kira." He turned to leave the bunkroom. "He died with his wife and son."