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6. Aftermath of the battle.
As they all gathered on Deep Space Nine, Sisko surveyed the room. He had chosen the large conference room, and he was glad he had done so. The room filled with his Senior staff. He counted several members of the Maquis, including Julie and Sabi, the Ferengi Daimon was present, the Bajorans were represented by Kai Winn and two Council members, Terfa Sen and Oryan Pasoi. Both stayed as far as they could from Dukat. Kulak came in last, as he had seen the invaders off into Cardassian space.
Sisko addressed them all. "Today, we beat off a Cardassian invasion. I thank all of you -good work. But we've won just one battle in a much greater war. The Cardassians might be back, the next time it might be the Romulans, or anyone else. If we can not stop the Founders stirring up the Quadrant, this is going to be just one battle in a long line of them. The group we have here today," he looked around the room, "is unprecedented. I hope we can continue to work together to stop this war before it spreads any further."
Oryan looked at Dukat, then at Sisko. "Work together? With a Cardassian? We fought all our lives to get rid of them!"
Rainor, one of the Maquis, agreed. "We will not work with the Federation or the Cardassians," he said.
Julie looked at him, but as she spoke, she addressed everyone.
"In case you had not noticed, since this afternoon no one here is supported by 'the Federation' or 'the Cardassians' anymore. Look, you have to remember what we are fighting for. We didn't start to fight the Federation, or the Cardassians. We started to fight to keep the Zone safe. Two years ago, that meant fighting the Federation and Cardassia. Now the Founders are a much greater threat. Don't confuse the methods to reach your goal with the goal itself. That goes for you, too," she turned to the Bajorans.
"We can all fight one another. But don't you see? That is exactly what the Founders want. They want us to fight each other. If we all fight each other, we're too busy to bother with the Gamma Quadrant. Then, when we've all decimated our forces fighting amongst ourselves, they come in and pick up the pieces. Or perhaps they'll just sit back and expand their influence in their own Quadrant, not bothered by ships coming through the wormhole.
"The major powers are in no shape to take action. The Klingons invaded Cardassia, the Romulans are attacking the Federation as we speak, the Federation is too busy holding the Romulans at bay, every last chance of the Cardassian Empire listening to reason collapsed this morning. We are the only ones who have a chance of stopping this madness."
Kira surprised Sisko by supporting the Maquis woman. Only a few years ago she'd been in the Kohn Ma, but since then she'd seen on many occasions that the issues generally weren't so black-and-white, and she had worked with Cardassians and some surprising others during the last years on Deep Space Nine.
"She is right. The Founders are trying to stir up the Quadrant, and the very fact they are doing it suggest that we are a threat to them if we work together. I don't know how we can ever get this point across to the Councils of the Federation, Cardassia, Romulus, or anyone. But if we split up our little group again, we will be crushed in the middle."
One by one, the Bajorans nodded. They still didn't like it, but they reluctantly agreed. Rainor indicated his assent, as well. The only Maquis who had not spoken, a Bolian named Tre'Vore, added his support to Julie and Sabi.
Dukat had known since this morning that he would not be going home again. Sisko was surprised by the ease with which Julie had talked the Bajorans and the Maquis into accepting him. Or perhaps accepting was too big a word. There would be conflict, but at least they had seen the necessity.
Kulak agreed to stay with his troops, but was not ready to break with his government. He made it clear that if he received orders to do otherwise, he would follow those orders.
The Ferengi Daimon did not agree to stay, but he saw no problem trading with them. From the way Julie looked at the Ferengi, she was planning on ways she could use the Ferengi and his vessel in her intelligence work.
Sisko had watched as Julie expertly pulled the others together. He knew he did not have any place to return to, either. If anyone had told him this morning he would turn his back on Starfleet, he would've laughed. He had taken the decision in a split second, but he knew that if he'd had an hour or even days to think about it the result would've been the same. At other times Starfleet might have sent a reprimand, and left him alone after that. These, however, were not normal times. The Federation had declared official war with the Romulans, and disobeying orders in war time counted much heavier than in peace time. An order to inform him he was suspended from his command, computer generated, had been waiting for him when he had docked the Defiant. He recalled the time almost two years ago, when he had faced his former comrade who had joined the Maquis, and how he had tried to pull him back to Starfleet. He smiled a grim smile, wondering to himself if he still would be in the Maquis.
Soon, they broke up the meeting to get some sleep. A time was set for the next afternoon to continue talks and plan a strategy to stop the Founders.
Early the next morning, Julie met with Garen Telel, her contact in the Bajoran intelligence. She relied on information from Bajor in between her own missions, and with the history of Bajor it hadn't been difficult to find someone willing to help the Maquis. Even though the situation had changed, she still kept the meeting hidden from the other parties -she would wait and see for a while before playing out in the open.
"What do you have on Cardassia?" she asked.
"Nothing good. Horet was killed in the attack, but Bukel and several other people high up never left the planet. Their support dwindled somewhat after their defeat, but they have gained other followers because of it. People who see it as a confirmation that Cardassia should take these areas of space back, who don't like the threat of a strong force this close to Cardassia."
That was not what Julie had wanted to hear. She had hoped Bukel's faction would be hurt by the defeat, allowing the civilian government to re-gain control. But she was not really surprised it hadn't happened that way. From what she had seen on Cardassia that morning -was it only yesterday?- there wouldn't be many members from the civilian government who were still alive, and it would take time for the few who escaped to build up strength again.
"How is the situation planet-side?" she asked.
"State of emergency, most opposition killed or imprisoned. The borders are closed, aliens either imprisoned or shipped off the planet. Civilian life continues normally, but the military remains in a state of alert. That is all we know as of yet," Garen reported.
Julie thanked him, and went off to find Dukat.
She found him on the bridge of the Keldan Class, which had been renamed the Unity by popular vote, checking the logs. She told him what she had just heard. He hadn't expected anything different, but he had still hoped for better news. He stared at the viewscreen for a long time.
After a while, Julie said, "You're worried about Ziyal."
"Yes," Dukat answered. "Life on Cardassia has not been easy for her. I shouldn't have taken her to Cardassia with me."
Julie thoughts raced. She'd been thinking of this ever since they left Cardassia, ever since they had failed to reach the residential area.
"We'll go in and get her. And the boys," she said.
Dukat looked at her. "The Maquis will never agree to such a mission."
"The Thalys is mine. The Maquis work differently than the military. I can take on any mission of my own, as long as it does not interfere with Maquis duties. It's the only way I will work for anyone," Julie told him.
"You cannot risk everything. You're too valuable to the Maquis, and you know too much to risk getting caught," Dukat said.
"Nobody is so important that they can not be missed. Yeah, I can't allow myself to get captured, but that's nothing new. Comes with this line of work." She saw Dukat wasn't convinced. "Look, I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't think it would work. See me on the Thalys tonight, after the meeting, I'll show you how we can get in."
Dukat had seen her in action on his bridge, but he just didn't see how she could possibly take that tiny ship of hers to Cardassia Prime through all the defense lines Gul Bukel would have set up. He wanted to believe she could. Ziyal would be in a very difficult position if she were to remain on Cardassia. The boys could probably live with their mother; hell, Mikor might not even want to leave Cardassia. But Ziyal had no place to go. He would see what she had in mind.
"I will be there," he replied.
The meeting that afternoon was attended by the same people who had met the day before, except for the Daimon, who had taken his ship away from the Station. He would be returning with parts, normal Ferengi trade items, and, Julie hoped, information.
The meeting started somewhat unruly. Everyone had their own priorities.
"I would like to contact the Federation and try to negotiate with them. They are the most reasonable group out there, we should at least make an attempt to talk to them," Sisko said.
"The Klingons will fight whoever attacks the planets we're holding. They'll help us defend them if necessary," Kulak claimed.
"They sure sent us a lot of ships yesterday," Terfa, one of the Bajorans, retorted.
"The Federation can't be trusted. They didn't defend us yesterday, who says they will next time?" Rainor said.
"Cardassia will not talk to us as long as the current leadership is in place, and there's no indication yesterday's battle will cause any changes planetside," Dukat stated.
"We could talk to the Romulans," Tre'Vore suggested. "They at least know the Founders are to blame for this, that's why they went through the Wormhole."
He was immediately interrupted from several sides by people who absolutely didn't agree to working with the Romulans. Julie watched it all in silence. Then, she held up her hand.
"Hold it. We aren't addressing the real issue here. Yes, we have to talk to the Councils of the major powers. Probably to all of them, even if they might not listen, we have to try to make them see. But until we stop the Founders, none of it will make a difference. If we don't stop them from coming through the Wormhole, every time when we make any progress here, one new infiltrant in the right place can bring us back to where we started. We stop the Founders first, then we can start working on restoring relations in this Quadrant."
Sisko looked at the human woman. She would've been a good Starfleet officer if she hadn't been a mercenary, he thought. She knew strategy as well as anyone, and she knew how to lead people too.
"Julie is right," he said. "We should concentrate our efforts on the Founders if we want anything we accomplish to have a lasting effect."
"We can send an envoy through the Wormhole to talk to them," Kai Winn said.
Dukat waved his hand dismissively. "They're not going to be interested in talking to us. Why would they? Everything is going their way. If we want to stop the Founders, we have to destroy the Wormhole."
Kira jumped up. She couldn't believe it. Each time she started to think Dukat was a reasonable person, he would say something totally ridiculous again.
"Destroy the Wormhole? The Wormhole is the future for Bajor. Without the Wormhole Bajor will never be able to built itself up again."
Sisko sat back in his chair. "Sit down, Major." He waited for her to sit again, not knowing how long she would stay seated. He didn't like what he was going to say either, but he saw no other options.
"I agree with Dukat," Sisko said. Kira was so stunned she forgot to jump up again. "We have dealt with them before. You have dealt with them before, Major. They have no reason to listen to us. All of their plans are working. Every faction in this Quadrant is falling for it, except for our little group, and we aren't big enough to stop them with the Wormhole open."
Julie nodded. So did the rest of the Maquis, Sisko's staff, and Kulak. Only the Bajorans and Kira looked appalled. Kira stood up again, but Julie took the floor.
"Look, I don't like it either. But this isn't just Bajor we are talking about, this is the whole Quadrant," Julie said. "And with every faction in this Quadrant at war with each other, there won't be traffic through the Wormhole. All of our planets will suffer in a war of that magnitude, and none of them will be doing any building up. Wormhole or not." She finished her plea and looked at the others.
"Odo, what do you think?" she asked the shapeshifter.
Odo hesitated. He looked at the Bajoran council members, and then for a long time at Kira. From the time it took him to speak, and his expression, Kira knew what he was going to say.
"My people will not negotiate with us, or with any other faction in this Quadrant. I see no other option than to close the Wormhole," he said eventually. "I am sorry, Major."
Kira looked at him, then finally put her hands on the table and let out a long sigh. She bit her lip before she straightened and said, "Alright."
The other Bajorans sat in their chairs, looking stunned. Kai Winn slowly shook her head, but remained silent. None of them had any arguments to keep the Wormhole open. Perhaps they had kept it open too long. Maybe if they had collapsed it months ago, when the Founders started to come through, the Quadrant would not be at war right now. But the Wormhole was also the place of the Prophets. They would lose their Prophets for sake of a Quadrant that had shown little care for their interests in the past. There was nothing they could say.
For a short while, nobody spoke. Then Dax got an idea.
"We might not have to destroy it. If we can convince the Prophets to close the Wormhole it can remain there, closed. Perhaps some day, when relations in the Quadrant are more stable, it can be safely opened again," she suggested.
"Too dangerous," Dukat said. "The Founders could find a way to open it again, or they could coerce the Prophets into doing so."
This time, opinions were split more equally. While Kulak, Worf, O'Brien, Bashir, Tre'Vore and Rainor agreed, the others thought it was worth a try to talk to the Prophets, at least.
"The Bajorans have always held a special relation with the Prophets. From what we know, it is unlikely the Founders will be able to either infiltrate or otherwise influence them. We should at least give Dax's plan a try," Sisko said.
They finally called a vote. Dax's plan won by eight against seven, with Odo withholding. It was decided that Sisko, Dax and Kai Winn would go into the Wormhole by runabout the next morning, and the meeting was called to an end.