AN: You guys should be proud of me. I totally just blew off my homework to finish this chapter. It feels kind of short to me but there are some major things coming in this story. Again, I extend my gratitude to all of my readers. You guys are what keeps the whole going. Now, on with the show!

Chapter 28

The Obsession Speaks

In the end, he called me, Uleni.

After that final caress, when his feverish eyes clouded my own with their river of sentiments. Tears from down his cheeks and onto my chest. I was no more than a barren land that no amount of water could bring back to life.

In the end, when he had experienced all that he wanted in me; I was ultimately Uleni.

Maybe, that was the transformative step for myself in Entek's eyes. Perhaps, it wasn't enough for me to appear Cardassian and to act Cardassian; he needed to take me as a Cardassian woman.

But there is nothing that can satisfy it. Originally, my assumption was that he wanted another pawn, another agent to be had. Instinctively, I still keep this formula in the back of my mind for it may still be plausible. Nonetheless, I am at a loss for ideas and answers about Entek.

I never knew him. I have existed with the intention of never knowing him unless it is to terminate him. Even now, I have no desire to discover who Corbin Entek actually is, but I do understand him in such a way that I feel no hate. Only a hallowed thing of some unnamed feeling. Like the weariness of watching a battle with the only outcome being that more of my fellow Cardassians will be sacrificed. Even comparative to watching the defeat of the proud cities that one once walked through with safety and pride; yet, now they are erased from all that is. I imagine that it can be described as a sort of loss.

As though he has taken away a part of me. Not my innocence. I believe that it is a sort of unawareness that he has twisted out of me.

Possibly, in the end, this ignorance is what made me, Erica. I miss her. Whoever she was. Erica could always be Uleni…

But then Uleni cannot be Erica any longer.

"Yaval, Kira will be in sight within 45 seconds. She has just departed from Bajor." He rumbles through the system as if he were standing right behind me. Entek.

My hands descend from their position of holding my head up and rest against my legs. Yes, my thoughts have overcome me so many times since I departed from that lab on Cardassia. I cannot stop them and I have no reason to stop them from plaguing me. I was silent as he dressed, and ordered me to also dress before meeting him at the ship. I did it stiffly and quickly. I walked onto the Cardassian Galor and did not speak to him for the duration of the journey.

He only watched me from the corner of his eye. Sometimes, he would smile as though we were on a trip that was solely for enjoyment and relaxation. However, there were the moments that all joy left his eyes and he only would stare out to space. I could have read this expression but it was unguarded and severe. Hardly, worth the effort of asking him if something was amiss.

Then once we arrived at the Bajoran freighter that he had left tucked away on one of the Bajoran moons; he dismissed me without any inquiry. Until this moment, I find that I do not wish to obey him. Strangely though I cannot stop myself. With none of the soul that I had possessed, I reply evenly as I enter the charting positions for the rendezvous. "I will intercept the Major and we will convene at these coordinates in three hours."

"I look forward to it."

Admittedly, he is more tolerant. However, the situation is not deflated by an occasional flash of what should be a common courtesy. Despite that, I do not "look forward" to seeing Entek. If there is anything left of who I was, it is the twinge that flits through my veins and is telling me to run. Run now. Run before Kir-

Again, my thoughts are far too late. My ship's sensors are detecting her vessel.

If I can, I'll do everything possible to ensure that she returns to Terek Nor.

As predicted, her ship's engines stall. The bulk floats by my ship as it sits in its cloaked mode.

Then all power fails.

The darkness inside the ship can be viewed from my forward windows. I watch it drift farther and farther until the distance feels appropriate. I estimate that she is ten clicks away. By this moment, she will have calmed down and she will be concentrating on sending out a message to the station.

I pass over controls. My fingers pat against the system screen and I assign the course for transportation.

First, I must stun her then bring her onto my ship.

Second, I will take her to Entek.

Third, Entek will change her as he has changed me.

However, I am not giving her up until he does discuss these impertinent pieces of information. I am not known for having pity and sympathy for targets but I can not allow a threat to rise against Central Command. I have virtually nothing to lose.

After all, I am already dead.

I tag the coordinates for beaming and within the moment of stepping back, the computer is sending me.

"…Computer, what is the status of the ship's medial capacitors?"

I survey my surroundings as my senses return to me. I am in the back holding of her ship. My palm slides against my long coat and the phaser reaches out to me. I hold it steadily and feel the security of it through my skin. My steps remain light as I creep out into the hall.

Kira continues her assessment of the ship without interruption.

Her Bajoran uniforms fall under the light as garish against its surroundings. The soft tan vibe of the ship's interior allows me to feel even calmer about what I am going to do. My heart is hardly raised and my breathing has steadied to a slow rhythm. My arm raises and my sight aims to be true.

"Major Kira Nerys."

Quickly, she spins nefariously. Her cheeks already blushed with frustration begin to redden with fury.

"What do you want?"

I make no other motion than a moving of lips, "Please stand up."

"Why? You can't shoot a Bajoran if they're sitting down?"

"Makes no difference to me. I'm just giving you the courtesy of not having to suffer through chest pains in the future."

Her eyes close in a dilemma then barely open. They're narrowed in hate and rebellion. I know Kira. Even before I came to Terek Nor, I knew her file and I know that in situations like this; the Major is something of an unscrupulous opportunist.

I pause with a slight yawn and wait.

She knows this game. Her eyes go between the phaser and me until the realization takes place that it might be wiser to do as I have said. Pushing herself out of the chair, Kira doesn't bother raising her arms in submission but juts out her chest in character defiance.

"I will be missed. Command at Deep Space Nine will notice I'm missing."

Cocking my head to the side, I try to imagine how this might end. I'm not killing but kidnapping her. I have no perception of what will be for her once we reach Entek. I know that she is not to be harmed and Entek would not waste such a resource as Kira for a cheap termination. If it is possible, there could be the option of taking out of this situation when it is at its end.

My finger steadies itself on the trigger and my placid tone predates the beam.

"That is the least of your worries, Major."

0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0

Admittedly, shooting the Major was not as difficult as I had envisioned. One well-placed shot to her abdomen and she fell. Within the credible time of 15 seconds, I had her further sedated and secured in a stasis pod.

Her vitals are strong, however dampened in their unconsciousness.

I track them across the ship's controls as I fly through the black atmosphere outside of Cardassian space. We are nearing to the meeting point. By my calculations, at any moment. Entek should be here.

Unless, some infinite stroke of luck has come upon me then he will not be here.

Upon my ship entering the coordinates, I halt the engines. A small pull of force gives me a push forward. I drop the shields but keep the cloaking device at full capacity. Everything that he has ordered is completed but where is he

A gasp of frustration is all I can offer to the silence of the Bajoran interior. My head leans back on the chair and exhaustion oozes into my system. The familiar sense of peace and tiredness hovers around me. How tempting the thought of sleeping days and days away can be.

Eyes flutter on their own. Breathing pace is diminishing to relaxed. Sleep is within reach.

Only for a moment…

A fluttering sound happens overhead.

I am always too late. Too late to escape. Too late to save Kira. Too late for a nap-

"Yaval! Do you have her?"

I use all my control to not groan in annoyance. "Yes. She is secured and ready for transport."

"Both of you are to be transported in 10 seconds. Stand by."

Springing up from my seated position, I bring my heart rate down. I must remain as placatory as possible. I hav-

What am I doing?

I have no strategy organized.

I truly do not know what to do.

The final thought clutters in my mind like a dropped corpse. It reeks and is a sign of further defeat. Then the scavenger of downfall arrives with the transport.

Fear.

0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0

The wreckage of the Bajoran ship slips through space unevenly and tangled. All I can see is wasted fire and metal. Wreckage is not the appropriate term. Considering the fact that Entek just drew fire on the vehicle and destroyed it.

He did it without further recognition of me or the physically anesthetized Bajoran in the cargo space. I merely watched. Only the gods know that I could not stop him even if I had the urge. Instead, I consoled myself with one settled fact.

At least, the wretch waited until I was off the ship.

We turn away from the grave scene and settle at an even speed for Cardassia. I take the co-pilot's seat to his left and try to take interest in anything other than the dilemma that is drowning me. All of a sudden, the universe feels so small and treacherous.

"Was she difficult?"

I don't bother to look him in the eye, even though I feel him searching my face for an answer. "No more than expected."

His hand drifts closely within touching distance as he regulates the heating module in front of me. Entek speaks softly as he heightens the temperature by another 10 degrees, "You are pensive. Perhaps, I can be of some aid."

My jaw tightens into a grimace and I battle against the show of it. "Pensiveness is not a concern. No assistance is required for my thoughts."

"Then may I offer some relief of thought?"

He pulls my chair around to face him and I find that I cannot escape his attention. The blackened eyes threaten me with an intrusion that will prevail if I do not cooperate with his conversation.

"What are you going to do with Kira after you have Ghemor?"

A click of teeth precedes his words. I can't tell if it is nerves or surprise at my question.

"Where does such concern spring from for the Bajoran Major?"

I hold back from immediately replying. Somewhere in the depths of my logic, I am told to be honest. How strange of sensation to want to be truthful. Instinctively, it has been to deceive and twist and weave the impossible into a sort of truth to serve me. Maybe for once, the truth can save and not harm.

My arms cling together and I find the truth inside me. I find the fear and I hold onto it because it is going to save everyone. It must.

"Because what you do with her will reflect your intentions toward me."

Finally, he leans back in his chair. The disinterest in my comment leaves me feeling breathless. Like being trapped in a chokehold once again. Only this time, it is his silence that has me by the throat.

Entek bites his top lip intermittently with his sighing, "I believe that I had made my intention quite clear in reference to you."

"Will you kill me after this?"

"This is the second time that you have mentioned this subject to me. I am tiring of it, Erica."

Another question. "Why do you call me, Erica? I know that you don't think that I have 'earned' it but-"

"It is has nothing to do with privilege or merit." A cool hand rests on my knee and a closed voice is spoken to me, "You are not a Cardassian. You will never 'be' a Cardassian. However, on the contrary, you are very Cardassian. So Cardassian that I forget you were ever a human. The only reminder of that was your human figure. You would be shocked to find that I see you more as Erica now than I ever have before."

I view his words as I view his face. Calm and rooted in some thought or emotion that he has taken to a new level of deduction. He has taken me and surpassed my identity or self as human; even as Cardassian. He is maintaining the visage that he truly sees me. This Cardassian who has only expressed destructiveness and revulsion towards me; this is the one that claims to have a better idea of who I am than those who adore me.

Deep down, I want to turn away from the idea. I want to reject it as the Cardassians once rejected the Bajoran beggars at their doorsteps by hauling them off to the mines. I do not want to simply banish this concept from my mind. I want it dead. Tortured and raped. Burned off of my mind and miraculously left without a scar. But I know that revelations like this do not die. They are immortal and forever ablaze in the soul because of what they give. Clarity.

Peculiar. How everything can fit together and I can see the puzzle in its nakedness. Yet, I barely catch his movement of hand but I feel the small brush of the hypospray.

"Your intentions are becoming eerier by the moment, Entek." I actually smile at him. I am happy; pleased by his action because I expect this from him. It's familiar and assuring in its ill intent.

His own grin is thin and hardly joyous as he watches his injection go to work. My arms drop down to my lap. I fully sink into the padding of the chair as my body loses all sense of control. My neck drops back and I find that I am at his mercy. Throughout everything, it is possible that I always have been.

"Do not worry." He stands up and adjusts my position in the chair. He pulls me forward so I cannot strain myself. "It is only a paralytic. The sedative will come at a later time."

"You choose one that allows me the ability to still correspond. Were you afraid that I might run away or betray you to Central Command?"

"You are much too intelligent for such hasty decisions." A palm touches my cheek then it is gone as he sits back down.

I know that this is only a paralytic but that sensation of inebriation playfully floods my head. "A truth serum, Entek?"

I laugh as that tickling feeling of too much spinning settles in my chest.

"Just something small to make sure that there are no boundaries of information between us." He states it quietly.

"Then you better inject yourself as well." I try to stop giggling but everything is so unexpectedly funny, "You know, Entek, if you had shown even the smallest tinge of kindness; we might have been amicable."

A shade of green appears in his skin. The Cardassian blush makes another bubble of laughter gush out of me. "Don't be so easily embarrassed. You were awful to me and I was very horrible to you but I don't think that we ever really hated each other. Not when I really consider everything."

"I have not always been incapable of genuine decency towards you."

I look at him through a drugged façade and wait for the explanation.

Entek claps his hands together and the story springs forth. "Your first mission. I was there."

The fervor of the serum fades as the seriousness of his answer hits me.

"At which point? When I shot the Bajorans or when I bombed the Bolian café? No, no, no. I know. You watched me poison the Vulcan librarian-"

"I was there through everything."

I snort derisively, "Impossible. I was not being tracked."

"No, you were being surveillanced by me and only by me."

"Why didn't you report me to Central Command or terminate me in that case?"

He looks to space but does not turn away. "You were not a threat to our interests. A rogue agent with little competence but not dangerous."

I try to recall that first mission. The places that I had visited. The holes and shops that I had staked out when in search of my targets. Their homes and businesses that I had visited for only the intention of destroying all of it. No mention of another agent trailing me is shown in my thoughts.

My curiosity interrupts me and vocalizes itself. As if I could control it.

"Were you in love with me then? Had you always felt as you do now? Or was it some sudden sentiment?"

That brings his attention back to me and away from the far away stars. A second clicks by then another until I can practically see the workings of his mind being thrown into overdrive. I wonder if he even understands the base of his feeling.

"It was while you were in training. You were at Prehka Desert for your field exam. You were the only student to pass. I was impressed but not surprised. I was in charge of supervising your progress and I expected nothing less of you-"

"Central Command had you watching me and making reports. Is that why you were chosen for my interrogation and not one of the other agents?"

"Yes. That is precisely the reason. Central Command felt that I understood you better and would have a far easier time breaking you." A small glimmer shines in his tone. I cannot tell if it is respect or appreciation until he says, "But you would not crumble so easily, and I did not want you to. I did not allow even a fraction of respite to cross between us during your interrogation but I knew that you would succeed. This might sound incongruous but you are the only thing that I am truly sure of."

"In what way?"

"Your loyalty and mannerism. You appear so different than from what and who you really are. You are like Cardassia. The society is changing and is more of a purgatory than a Utopia for its people. Yet, the individuals are more practiced and fluid in their lives. They are powerful and are capable of anything. You can be cruel and cold but there is more life inside of you than anyone else that I have ever encountered. Cardassian and not."

The compliment is more than what I ever expected from Corbin Entek. The genuine heart of his speech is felt beating and alive in a way that I could not have imagined.

"Thank you. That might be the most considerate sentiment that you have spoken of me."

The conversation is stopped by that. It is not often that I have ever spoken with a friendly theme running through my words when conversing with him. Then again, I have never been paralyzed and drugged in front of him at the same time.

"Do you love Garak?"

If I could fluster and sputter, then I would do so. However, it is hard to appear flabbergasted when none of your upper body is operable. How lucky for me. Instead, I try to answer without letting the hypospray affect my thoughts.

"I am not certain."

"Would you give up everything for him?"

"Is that actually considered love or an obsession?"

His face remains solemn. "Is there a difference?"

"One could be more detrimental than the other."

"Then I would conclude that you are not in love."

A break in the statement lets me in, "In that sense, I am devoted and in love Cardassia then."

"More than Garak?"

Silence is my reply to that.

I stare past him and at the control panel. We are almost to Cardassia. Suddenly, I see him turn away and face the same object. A flurry of his hand causes our ship lurch forward and the hypospray emerges from his other hand.

Just as the instrument reaches my pulse, darkness meets my eyes and his lips arch against mine.