"We didn't have much of a choice, did we?" Sloan looked up to the Cardassian named Danal for approval.
"I guess so," her coldness was not really comforting.
She had cared for him enough as to try to heal him with the emergency kit, but he needed urgent surgery. Obviously, he could not walk down to the Romulan ship's small infirmary. They were trapped in the bridge and now all the crewmembers outside were their enemies. Even if Sloan did not want to say so to Saavik, he had to admit to himself that Koval had used him, and now he had turned in his former collaborator.
A tractor beam kept the Romulan ship under the Numancia's control. They had lowered shields, shut down engines and weapons. They had surrendered the Firebird and now they were surrendering themselves. Better to Saavik than to Ajeya, Sloan grimly thought.
Sloan realized he did not care much about his mission anymore, even if he realized how important it would have been for the Federation to success, how much of an advantage it could have given them against their potential enemies. He did not care about the enhanced Jem'Hadar anymore; it did not matter what the rebel Romulans did with them. He cared about surviving first, and then learning about his mysterious clone, the one that insisted that he was just like him, that they were Koval's pawns.
Just like Saavik had. He realized the coincidence had probably influenced in his decision.
"Three ready to beam up," the Cardassian spy was talking with the Numancia.
"Three?" the transporter technician was questioning; he was probably checking. "Is the Romulan also boarding?"
"Yes, he is our very special guest."
Sloan hardly heard them. He did not care about them either. He was going to live. And he was going to discover what was going on. At least he had convinced the clone not to kill Koval yet. He just hoped he kept his word. Because if he was himself…
The transporter beam caught him at that moment.
Next instant, several hands were laying him in a bed. He noticed immediately the familiar colors of Starfleet, the voices speaking his own language. He hardly noticed the hypospray. He lost consciousness immediately; too tired to resist, he welcomed it.
There was security in the transporter room. Danal tensed inwardly but kept her hand away from her weapon. Garak was in front of her, smiling; somehow, it made everything easier. She did not resist when one of the Starfleet guards took her disruptor and left her unarmed.
Another security officer had neared the Romulan operative and was checking him, "He's just stunned, sir."
Danal did not recognize the Tellarite lieutenant commander the man had spoken to. She knew though who the lieutenant by his side was: Admiral Saavik's aide.
"Why finding you in the middle of this mess doesn't surprise me?" Garak was the one who broke the silence. "You're in every dirty operation, aren't you?"
"The same was usually said about you."
"But it's never late to repent," Garak replied in an obvious mocking way. "I guess your presence here does not imply the Cardassian Union in this… unpleasant matter?"
"It does not. Since the Obsidian Order was dismantled, one had to look for work… elsewhere."
Ba'el watched in disbelief how Garak exculpated his own government from all the illegal activities. It was not surprising at all, and Ba'el had to contemplate the possibility that Garak had known about the project since the very beginning for the simple reason that he was part of it. However, she allowed their little chat.
"Well, mister Garak, you will accompany our guess to her quarters now, won't you?"
"Sure. We have a lot to talk about."
"Yes, and a lot to report," the Tellarite officer pointed out. "I will escort you."
Garak's surprise was feigned, "Don't you trust me, mister Gaallash?"
"We don't trust her," Ba'el smartly replied. "Commander Gaallash will escort you for your own protection."
The young first officer nodded in agreement, "It's true."
Garak gazed at them both with disapproval; for him, it was a flagrant lie. But he did not contradict them. "Ok!" he cheerfully accepted, "but you know well I don't need any protection."
The Cardassian man held a hand to his compatriot, "So, do you want to take a tour around this ship?"
Danal smiled pleasantly, but Gaallash quickly corrected him, "We are going to her quarters."
Both his voice and his pose admitted no argument. Garak laughed, amused, at the oddity of it: Tellarites loved arguments. As in a clue of his thoughts, he said instead, "Now a guest isn't even allowed a tour around the ship. The Federation is changing so much."
The other spy burst laughing. All the Starfleet officers glared at them instead. With that, the two Cardassians left the transporter room, followed closely by Gaallash. Just when he was leaving, he turned to share a knowing glance with Ba'el. There was much at stake.
Next, Ba'el turned to the prone Romulan. She sighed. "Ok, let's take this man to the infirmary too."