Garak was busy tying up the laces of an exquisite gown onto a metal hanger when he heard his shop doors slide open. He lifted his head to greet his customer. By the time he had realized it was Kira Nerys, she had already landed a clenched fist across his jaw so hard that he staggered backwards to keep his balance.

"Is there a purpose behind this assault, major?!"

"You were an infiltrator in the Bajoran Underground. You impersonated a War Hero!"

"I infiltrated nothing and impersonated no one!"

"Aeroin Primm."

He broke eye contact and looked downwards.

"I was hoping no one would discover that alter ego."

"Oh it was discovered. And you had better have a damn good excuse for what you've done!"

A silent stare and perfectly still body was the response to her volatility: Passionate fire met cold stone. He was so still could have been described as statuesque.

"Tell me. Did he ever exist?" She asked. Despite his clenched fists and stiff shoulders, he looked like a snake coiled around itself in self-defense.

"He was always you." She concluded.

"That's right." He had always wondered how he would feel, in telling this secret. Now he knew, and it felt much worse than he suspected.

"Why? Was it for entrapment? The Obsidian Order helps to create a resistance just to arrest and interrogate its members? How many agents did you apprehend?"

He tentatively raised a hand to rub his sore jawline. His skin felt hot and tight. There would be a bruise later. He flinched as his fingers brushed his split lip. The sting of it was a welcome distraction to the uncomfortable conversation he now found himself in.

"The Obsidian Order had nothing to do with it. For once, I had done something without their guiding influence. Central Command suspected Cardassian involvement within the movement and also suspected Aeroin Primm, but I had falsified so many authenticated records, I had them chasing ghosts for years. Gul Dukat was the only one who actually suspected me, and by that time it was too late."

"You didn't answer my question. How many Underground agents did you interrogate?"

"None who weren't infiltrators."

She rounded the central table and pressed her fists into his soft wares. A stack of silk ribbons, to be exact.

"You want me to believe you posed as a Bajoran in the militia to help us out of the goodness of your heart?"

"It wasn't entirely selfless. Aeroin fulfilled what I needed."

"And that was what, exactly?"

"Penance. For my own small part in the Occupation."

She took in a deep breath and looked down at her fists. How could she know he wasn't just saying what she wanted to hear? He was always lying. She could beat him to a bloody pulp right now, and drag his sorry hide in front of a war tribunal and be done with it. It would be easy, and Odo would love the opportunity to drag him through the promenade in cuffs. Nearly every Bajoran on the station would cheer at the last Cardassian being booted out and sent to prison.

Sensing her hostility, he leaned forward. He knew he was risking another strike, but he spoke as softly and carefully as possible and disregarded the risk to already tender flesh.

"I didn't do it for your people's forgiveness. It would have been folly to expect that kind of reaction. I could have announced his real identity after your people regained your independence. That's certainly something Gul Dukat would have done had he been in my shoes. But what good would that have done anyone? By then Aeroin had grown beyond me, and became a symbol of strength to quite a few resistance fighters. It would have done them no good to discover he was actually a Cardassian. I concluded it was far better to simply cut communication entirely without explanation, and allow the Bajoran people to form whatever story regarding his disappearance as they needed."

Her head snapped up. Her expression reminded him of an Earthen Tiger he had seen as a boy visiting a zoo on Cardassia once: It was a beautiful and majestic creature that held its power on reserve. Its focused stare had sent chills up the spine of the young child. The eye contact was enough to convey the message that had the force fields not been present, no one in that room would be alive, and certainly not him, small as he had been. Kira's eyes held that same intensity as well as the sense of danger. Perhaps she had been that tiger in her past life. Nevertheless, in this moment, Garak felt just as small now as he had then.

"Did you ever report any Underground activities to Central Command or the Obsidian Order?"

"None that were true."

"I don't know if I can believe you. So far Gul Dukat has a more honest reputation than you do, and there's no reason why I can't call Odo and have you locked up as a war criminal."

"You could try. But ask yourself this: did any of Aeroin's intel lead your fighters to ambush? And was his intel sound? Did it ever fail scrutiny?"

She sighed. Near as she could tell, Aeroin had been as essential to the resistance as anyone else. He had helped forge the resistance when it was still in its infancy. She wondered if that was why this discovery had upset her so much: It hadn't only been a resistance by Bajorans for Bajorans. Apparently there was a Cardassian in there, too.

"I'm not asking for recognition, friendship, or even forgiveness. I'm asking you to let Aeroin live on, major. Let your people keep their symbol. Hate me all you want and you will be right for it. But don't tell anyone it was me."

A moment of silence passed between them as she considered, then she finally spoke.

"Gul Dukat wanted me to deliver this message for you. Here." She thrust a data rod into his chest. "Don't ever talk to me about Aeroin Primm again."

And with that, she stormed out of his shop.