Chapter 69
The Honor of the Thief
In catacombs underneath the Government Palace
Cardassia Prime
February 1, 2278
"How long has she been gone," asked Ro Laren.
"Eight hours. She should have been back by now. How much longer do you want to stay here," replied Thomas Riker.
"Hmmmm...let's give her another hour, just to be sure. I don't want to leave her here alone unless it's unlikely she's going to return."
Moments later, the two, in heavy Cardassian makeup, were relieved to hear the voice of Dureena Nafeel echo through the catacombs.
"Who's there," Dureena asked.
"Gideon's trumpet.," replied Riker.
Durenna flashed her light at the two, then breathed a sigh a relief. "Sorry I'm late. I got into the main information center and got caught up downloading some intelligence."
"How much did you get? What did you get," asked Ro Laren.
"Quite a lot. I'm sure Captain Wildstar will be pleased. I got into their defense mainframe and downloaded like mad. I'm sure not all of it will be useful, but from what I saw, it looked like troop lists, battle plans, and much more.," replied Dureena.
The three made their way out of the complex maze of catacombs, using directions placed inside in an ancient language unknown to the modern-day Cardassians. These tunnels were centuries old, and hardly ever used anymore. Rodents, rats, and other assorted vermin were far from scarce here, but they kept away from the three as they walked down the tunnel.
They made their way out of the catacombs in the outskirts of the city, which was a hidden place inside the gardens of a prosperous Cardassian merchant. Dren Norvak was a sympathizer to the resistance, mainly because his position within the civilian government had been taken away from him. It wasn't much, but he had wanted to help bring democracy to his people. He was an avid collector of Earth items: books, videos,music, art; and had been one of many supporters of Garak's reforms.
He was technically under house arrest, but Gul Dukat didn't see him as much of a threat. So how was he to know that the guards assigned to watch Norvak were part of the resistance? The fact was, Dukat had no idea.
The three entered the luxurious mansion, and Laren once again felt the unease of being in a lavish Cardassian residence when, not so long ago, these people had enslaved her own Bajoran race. However, she also knew about the bigger picture, and, like a true professional soldier, she suppressed her unease and took a seat in one of the living rooms.
Several other Cardassians came in, some who were really from this world, others who were in heavy makeup. It was hard to tell who was who from appearances, but the voices soon told the differences.
"From what I've found, it looks like they have no idea that Wildstar is at Orak Tor, nor do they have any idea as to what happened to Empock Nor. I think they feel these two stations were old and outdated, so not worth the effort to maintain.," reported Dureena.
"It wouldn't surprise me if that were so. I've always known Dukat to be a bit blind when his ambitions are stirred," said Norvak with a cynical laugh. "He's so impressed with these Ragendorans that he's thrown away a lot of old, unused equipment, and he's run roughshod over a lot of the Central Command. We still have to be careful, though, because it only takes one traitor to undo what we've done."
Greel Maivek, a university professor, spoke up, "Indeed. I've had to be careful about coming here, because all it takes is for one person to get suspicious." She was a thin, middle-aged woman who had both the wise presence of an elder as well as the energy of a youth. "So when are you sending this information out?"
"Immediately. We're sending it out via several couriers, on roundabout routes. Hopefully, one will get to Wildstar within two weeks, perhaps sooner.," replied Riker.
A signal came in on the personal communicator for Norvak. Without a word, some of the others began to head towards a secret passage that led to another tunnel. From there, they would depart his home. "Yes, Virtal, I'll see him.," said Norvak with a sigh. The rest stayed there to mask the presence of the other visitors, and they had been approved to see Norvak, so they would, hopefully, not arouse suspicion.
A tall, lanky Gul by the name of Rempar walked into the house with two aides. "Norvak, this is your weekly debriefing. It's good that you've been a good prisoner. Perhaps, if you continue your good behavior, you may be allowed to move freely among the people."
"Well, that's good to know, Gul Rempar. I wasn't exactly a major figure
within the government, so it's not like anyone would rally to me"
replied Norvak with his cynical laugh.
"No, not really. You've always been more for profit than patriotism, but you've always been loyal, and that, according to Dukat, makes you worth keeping around. He has no problem with you becoming the greatest merchant in the history of our world, just as long as you know your place.," said Rempar menacingly.
Norval looked at him levelly and said, "He needn't worry, because a man my age doesn't have the patience nor the temperament for a revolution."
Rempar nodded and left without another word. After he had departed, the others cursed him for his impudence, but only Norval knew of Rempar's real game. He was head of another cell group, and had been transmitting information to a hidden computer as he spoke. Later that night, Riker, Dureena and Laren returned to meet with Norval.
As they looked over the information, it reconfirmed the information that Dureena had spent most of the day finding out herself, as well as adding much more to it. "So they intend to attack our Earth? Interesting.," said a musing Riker.
"They also want to take out Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine as well. They know all about how the Legendorans and our allies use it to transport between the dimensions and universes, so it's no surprise that they would want to take those two away from us.," added Norval. "I've sent several copies ahead to Wildstar, this time on different transports. It's damned inefficient, but it's necessary."
Dureena nodded, "You did send the non sequiters, like I recommended, did you not?"
"Of course. I hate shell games. I hate gambling completely, but here, we have no choice.," said Norval.
Riker looked at his timepiece and said, "It's time we got back to our residence. They'll be wondering where we were."
"Before you go, can I ask you one last thing, in return for all my efforts," said Norval.
"What do you want," said Laren.
"When this is over, I want to see your real faces. I'm just curious as to what you really look like.," he said as he laughed.
"For an kind, old man like yourself, it'd be a pleasure," said Riker. They left shortly afterwards and made their way back to their safehouse.