Note: Happy to have this early with time for some good edits! Also want to give a shout out and thanks to the Cardassian dictionary project by tinsnip and Vyc for giving me some assistance with my own word for "warm piss water". I'm excited for the next few chapters- I'd actually wanted to get in a research trip to some caves but it seems that won't be happening soon enough. Ah well I do want to thank everyone who's been reading since the beginning, your encouragement is amazing! C&C is also always welcome.
Garak is thankful that the remainder of the trek isn't long. As ill advised as it may have been (depending on who one asks), the shortcut did in fact cut down a great deal of the travel time. It's fortunate since no one seems to be feeling particularly loquacious in spite of Garak's best attempts to initiate conversation. Admittedly, inquiring as to the nature of the explosives Julian plans to detonate may not be the most tactful, but it's a vital bit of information that's particularly relevant to his continued existence. Garak doesn't quite put it past Julian not to engage in some noble self sacrifice for the greater good and while that may be well and good for the human and his nobility, it doesn't exactly bode well for the rest of them. Garak also isn't entirely sold on the wisdom of detonating such a substance even in what may as well be the middle of nowhere. Surely there haven't been the necessary studies to know what may arise from exploding 2 tons of such a substance into the air without thought for the local flora and fauna. Every rudimentary experiment thus far has determined, of course, that the effects of Platonian Kironide are cumulative and require constant upkeep to maintain their efficacy, he doesn't relish some successive generations of telekinetic sandworms terrorizing the west continent. It seems he may well be stuck here for the rest of his natural life and at some point he'd like to enjoy a little sightseeing free of genetically mutated creatures.
Well, perhaps not free of all genetically mutated creatures… He catches himself admiring the sweat soaked white shirt clinging rather nicely to Julian's body; what he can see around the pack that is. He answers Julian's turn- preceded by a tensing of shoulders and accompanying suspicious glare- with a pleasant grin. Julian looks about to snap something at him as they approach the rather impressive site, and Garak decides that while a little flirtation is all well and good, he'd rather save such things for the long trip back to Indigo.
"My, that's a big one," he remarks completely innocuously as it becomes evident that the cave mouth resembles more some massive ancient amphitheater than the mysterious hole in the ground he'd been imagining. Julian coughs. Garak thinks he mutters something along the lines of "must you cache it in those terms exactly," but really, he can hardly help Julian's dirty mind. It's a perfectly apt descriptor given its imposing size; the rock face must cover some thirty meters high as it curves towards them. He can see where the ground begins to slop up, a steep elevation that stretches as far as the eye can see. It's quite breathtaking actually- a shell carved out of dark stone, a brilliant green moss patterned up the west side, glistening with moisture that drips down from above in a waterfall of liquid diamonds catching the sunlight majestically.
Garak can also make out traces of rudimentary handholds carved though he doesn't envy anyone foolish enough to try and climb such a slick surface at that angle. Further down appears to be some steps carved into the stone, equally perilous, as it follows that curve, steep slick rock dark with water. He can see where those steps lead back into a nice opening in the center. The sound of the water is musical; quite lovely really as it streams down and Julian begins a rather bland, pedantic explanation of the history of the caves, the geography, the underground springs that come together to culminate in the wonder that he's currently beholding. The sight of the water as well as it streams to a narrow channel before disappearing into that large opening worn in the rock also reminds him that he's quite thirsty.
And their water, while perfectly potable isn't particularly appetizing as tepid filtered rubbish in a metal flask. Of course you've had enough survival training to know that one mouthful of… hmmm.. what would the word be in Federation Standard? They've such a limited lexicon when it comes to describing the nuances of water with a simple term, no, it's always adjective upon adjective until you've got a towering mouthful of vestigial descriptors. We may be a more loquacious species, but we certainly know how to compensate for the extraneous particles with efficient nouns… In any case, a mouthful of t'harit is infinitely preferable to a million happy parasites traipsing through his intestines. Though you could always experiment with the carbon filtering tube Jadzia has provided you. It isn't if it would hurt anything to test it out…
"Alright, Nog, you said the shipment was here, and unless there's more than one Thrandian Cavern that I'm aware of, I cannot fathom where two tons of Kironide are hiding." Julian's voice brings him back to the slightly more important matter of their presence here, that point making him curious. Julian makes a fine point, Garak notes as he examines the rather straightforward layout of the rocks. There's only the large scoop dripping water rivulets down and a few rocky steps behind into some darkness that he cannot quite peer into. There aren't any other rocks, any other formations where one would hide containers that size. Unless of course they're at the top in which case he may very well leave the rest of this in Juilan's surely capable hands. He's not acrophobic by any means- he'd certainly prefer the peak of a mountain to some musty miniscule mystery cave- but the thought of trying to scale that without any sort of safety equipment doesn't exactly appeal to him.
"It's underneath everything," Nog says as if that should be the most obvious thing in the world and Garak decides in that moment he doesn't care if this Dominion flies down right now on a magic carpet, Julian can very well save the Gul's dd universe without him.
In fact, he's already reaching into his pocket to retrieve the keys before they even think to venture into that inky darkness. If Watters and some undead hoard appear before him he'll gladly fight the lot of them off before stepping one foot near that narrow tunnel at the base of the rock.
"Underneath everything?" Julian asks incredulously taking another look around. Garak as well is wondering how such a thing would even be possible with only the eleven that Nog had spoken of and 2 tons of Kironide.
"We dead dropped it," Nog said as if that should explain everything. At least it makes sense to Julian as Garak sees him practically leap in the air.
"You dead dropped it?! Two tons of cargo containers?!"
"It was contained! We used the old transporter trick on world, the engines held to stop the descent and with the location and weight I calculated that it shouldn't be more than a kilometer or two below-"
"More than a kilometer or two?! For God's sake you may have collapsed the entirety of the caverns themselves! I'm amazed there isn't some massive sinkhole here already!"
"They're sedinium, Doctor Bashir… I know because Jake and I were here. Those walls are solid to even a strong detonative force… We learned that the hard way when trying to mine. We were trying to start an operation but we couldn't get the capital together for the transport or even the miners that we would have needed. It would have been very profitable if we-"
"Alright, alright, bugger the profit, so there's a massive sinkhole at the top a ways out and we've got to trek through God only knows what when I'm sure the debris has washed over, the storms, God, it could be buried under there a thousand years for all you know! It's already been a few years, why why didn't you tell me any of this?!" Yes! Exactly! Garak takes this all in, almost reaching Julian's level of excitement though for an entirely different reason. Yes, leave it! No one's going to find It, it's buried so deep it's likely rotting next to the Ancients as they say. Let's go home! Surely we can find other mischief to get ourselves into that doesn't involve moving through these catacombs like voles.
"I ran a scan. I managed to acquire the pieces to assemble a rudimentary scanner during one of the open windows before it shorted. I had Dory work up the map. She ah…" Nog swallows, trying to pointedly ignore the silent woman hovering around. "Her cartography skills were second to none."
"I'm not dead, Nog," she protests quietly.
"You are to me," he answers in an overly dramatic fashion. Likely a bad habit picked up from living amongst so many humans. "But I have the map that we pulsed out before the power went. It's a scan of the entire layout, you can see every tunnel from our viewpoint here down to the river running beneath the ground.
Garak doesn't particularly want to glance at the artist's rendering of the mouth of ll but curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself peering at the impressively drawn map of the tunnels. He also makes a note of the scale, seeing the tunnels are for the most part far wider than what he'd expect. From the looks of it they'll need to traverse down a few levels and he wonders how they might accomplish this feat without any specialized equipment. Especially considering that Julian did not anticipate such a journey. Garak makes sure to commit that map to memory having a sinking feeling that he might have need of it later. He sighs, taking a step back. Perhaps he should've let the two operatives finish him off in the desert if this is the way things are going to go. Yes, far better to go out with a shred of dignity- a quick bullet to the head. Not a blubbering wreck buried beneath five tons of a collapsed tunnel.
"There's just one thing, Doctor," Nog says looking distinctly uncomfortable as his eyes dart furtively between Julian and Garak. Garak isn't sure why, but he has a sudden sense of impending doom. Julian looks up, already unshouldering his bag looking for what Garak hopes will be some sort of light.
"The Kironide, as far you know it's non reactive, right?"
"Yes, but it's highly flammable."
"What about firedamp?"
"it's safe. That's one of the first things that Jake and I scouted.
"Your sure?"
"I would never lie about a past business venture, Doctor Bashir. Nog sounds almost offended.
"The oil lamps then," Julian murmurs and Garak thinks, as he takes out the two small metal casings surrounding the clear glass, that it must be some terribly dense substance to not have cracked from the fighting.
Garak sees Julian retrieve a skin filling them both. "Thought we might need these. I had aether lights in case there was a risk of firedamp but it's far better not to use those unless it's an emergency." He sighs. "Dare I ask what this one thing is?" Garak watches Julian preparing the lanterns not particularly looking forward to skulking around with such potentially volatile light. Aether might be subject to the damp fire or whatever Julian was talking about but he's seen firsthand living in Indigo that it can be far more destructive. Leeta insists on the ambiance, but after the accident at Quark's last month following that altercation between Klingons… Garak decides to bring the picture of the map to mind as a distraction, determined to make sure the n thing is memorized before he sets foot near that opening. He intends to stick to Julian like newly grown scales, but he could almost see himself being left behind "accidentally" as a matter of convenience. It certainly wouldn't be the first time in his life such an events has occurred.
"I can't go in," he hears Nog say and his first thought is that by the State and everything just, that Ferengi is going in there if he has to sling him over his shoulder kicking and screaming. Nog looks distinctly uneasy. "This was supposed to be Jake and I doing this. Actually it was going to be the three of us," he continues firing a disgruntled look at Collins, seated on the ground cross legged staring quietly at the rocks. "And Jake and Dory knew what we had to do… they were prepared to do this without me." He swallows hard. "There's a… field of effect. There's a range. It's not radioactive, it's not dangerous… not to humans but… its properties… the range of effect even in the containers I can't…" He clearly doesn't want to divulge the nature of the substance's effect and Garak is feeing just sadistic enough to not let him get by with it.
"I can only imagine," Garak chimes in with as much honeyed mock sympathy as he can muster "the effect that such a volatile substance must have for it to so easily fell a race as noble and brave as the Ferengi. Why surely, the very sight of it must conjure some nightmare creature beyond one's imagining. Does it perhaps cause you to hallucinate a bevy of fully clothed women making off with your vast fortune and burning it in a grand conflagration?"
"Garak,"Julian warns, and if he's not careful he's going to be next.
"Watch your tongue, Cardassian!" Nog snaps at him angrily. "You're only here because you couldn't keep out of other people's business. I don't even understand why you're still here."
"Some might say because no one's killed me yet," Garak replies breezily. "Other perhaps might suggest that my presence is the cumulative result of a lifetime of inability to leave well enough alone but as for me, I'd like to think it's because I've grown fond of such charming company." Julian's response is to practically throw the lamp at him without looking. Garak takes it with a grin tight enough to keep him from retching right there at the thought of going inside. It's also going to be cold, he realizes dismally. Garak coughs delicately as he tries to hand the lantern back. "Of course it might be best were the rest of us to remain out here and keep a look out for any unwanted company…" Julian shoves the lamp back at him.
"Oh no. if you think for one second, I'm letting you out of my sight when we're this close to the Kironide, you're not just a sneak but a madman as well."
"Sneak!?" Garak draws himself up with an affronted sniff. "Really, Julian, of all the offensive descriptors you might have used…"
"You're coming with me," Julian reiterates, wiping the dirt off his hands onto his pant legs. "Who knows, I might just need your expertise on color patterns." His grin is far too smart and Garak sighs as he examines the lamp.
"You know it's going to be cold," he remarks glaring at the flickering faint light. Julian for his part simply looks smugly ahead as he readjusts the pack on his back.
"Yes, I suppose it will be." He looks at Nog. "I'd feel better with you guiding us, but I trust you can hold the entrance secure." He shoots a sidelong glance to Collins. "Unless you think it might be better after all for Garak to remain here…" Yes, it would be much better if Garak remains here. It would be much better if you just lobbed the explosives over the top and pray they blow the entire thing out.
"I've got it," Nog answers with a shake of his head. "The others are still coming here to meet up with us. I don't think that Yoshi would be held so far out that they couldn't make up the time. If they double back to the Piranha then two could even make it here more quickly. We can… we can talk about everything after that," he finishes looking down. Collins sits up a little straighter looking as if she might say something but sits back again.
Garak supposes that settles it and he marches on gamely.
"Well then, let's not, what's the expression, continue burning daylight." He hides his growing unease behind a smile. "I shall endeavor to leave my life in your hands, my dear. I'm sure you'll take good care with it." He can see a faint shadow flicker across Julian's face at that lighthearted remark, a shadow on his entire life if Garak were to cache it in more dramatic terms. To date he's never been able to get any details from Julian or even Jadzia on the matter of his multitude of ill fated liaisons. Still, that reminder, a brief touch to Julian's shoulder that follows is a carefully planted manipulation and he can see the distrust, the paranoia warring with what Garak has already determined to be Julian's deeply ingrained instinct to protect.
"Of course I will," Julian says softly. He clears his throat, taking the lead around the rocky overhang, dripping ice cold water off the lip and around the sides. The opening, much to Garak's relief is larger than it appeared when viewed from a distance set against the face of the massive wall. Even so, he can feel the blood in his veins freezing over just thinking about it.
"Look on the bright side, Garak," Julian offers as he takes his first tentative step into that seemingly endless tunnel, "At least a little chill is the worst you can expect from this point on." He takes the lead with a hearty clap to Garak's back unaware of how close he's just come to an irritated knife in the kidney. Oh what's the point, Elim? The damned augment would probably just dodge it anyway. Squaring his shoulders, Garak follows, far too experienced to be lulled into a false comfort with such pithy nonsense. This is the worst that can happen? I'll believe it when I see it.
