Note: Not wanting to drag this arc out further, I'm pleased to be able to move into some more relationship development and possibly the return of the hateful eight as it were and possibly an appearance by Dukat and an expansion of the cast in future chapters so stay tuned! I didn't want to get too comical but there is a ridiculous picture of a flaming Garak running naked through the caves shrieking that wouldn't leave me alone. So look for some characters to be reappearing later and some new ones while we move on to the next stage or out grand adventure! Thank you all for reading and supporting me in this craziness and good or bad (though at this point I can't really make a whole lot of changes to what's already out there), your comments are always welcome!


The first thing that Garak notices upon waking is that he cannot move. Not that his body is itself incapable of those motor impulses, but rather he seems bound to tightly to the surface of... a bed if he has to hazard a guess. He resists the impulse to immediately struggle, instead keeping his eyes closed listening carefully for any sound around him. It would be far better that the culprits of his current entrapment are not aware yet that he has come back to consciousness. The brief spasm of his arms and legs that brought his bound state to his own attention could certainly be attributed to some involuntary motion. He doesn't hear anyone else in the room however, at least insofar as movement or chatter. Slowly, very slowly, he allows his eyes lids to lift, at first only enough to register the bright light in the room and a few vague shapes, but then-

"Thank god you're awake." That voice to his left snaps his eyes fully open, and Garak looks up to see Julian's face hovering above him. He opens his mouth, jaw strangely stiff and sore as a million questions and scattered recollections flood his mind. What's notable, aside from the ropes binding his arms, legs, and even his torso to the bed, is the wary look in Julian's eyes as he looks down at him. Garak takes note first of the spectacles newly returned to his face, and then notes that in spite of the fact that Julian has definitely cleaned up from his last memories, he appears to have hardly slept. He doesn't realize he's staring at those thin silver frames until he sees Julian adjusting them self consciously. "Ah, right, Yoshi had brought these back from a contact off world. He was meeting them in Central that's why he… ah…" Julian trails off still holding onto that uneasy expression. "You know I'm em… not entirely certain where to begin as far as the… incident or what you remember or…" Julian stops and Garak notices that he's been having difficulty the entire time in maintaining eye contact.

"Perhaps we might address the small matter of the restraints?" Garak asks, expecting to find his mouth dry but instead noting nothing of the sort and the lingering taste of lemon. His lips as well seem to have some slippery film over them and he can only guess that he must have been unconscious for quite some time for such medical intervention to be necessary. The last thing that he can vividly recall is standing outside the cave with Julian about to complete the last leg of their journey to destroy the Kironide. He supposes it's possible that he'd suffered some head trauma during that mission, which would also explain the strange dreams that he'd been having involving fire and Julian tied naked to a rock. Of course it could certainly be a subconscious projection of your own circumstances as well. Still, he has a suspicion that's not what it is. And then suspicion is confirmed when Julian looks away and absently massages the back of his neck.

"Yes, well, about that we ah… There are a few things that need discussion and the decision is one that's going to need to be made by consensus. How much do you… how much do you remember of what happened?"

"In the caves?"

"Yes, yes in the caves." Garak shifts, the restraints beginning to feel quite restrictive now that's he's fully conscious. He takes a moment to look around and he realizes that he's back aboard the airship, in his and Julian's shared quarters to be exact. That would account for a few hours at the very least, but again, something tells him it's been far longer than that.

"I'm afraid, I don't remember much. I have a few flashes perhaps of red, of the dark of the… walls…" he trails off, an involuntary shudder passing through him. Come to think of it, whenever those images lick around the corner of his memories it seems to him that he didn't quite feel the normal fear that he should have. As a matter of fact, there are parts of the memories, flashes of motion that almost seem exhilarating.

"That's it?" Julian's tone and face are oddly unreadable and that when Garak really takes in the bandage on the side of his face covering some injury or another.

"Was there… a problem?" he asks delicately, realizing that his bladder is just now finding itself in need of release. He's about to ask if he may at the very least be allowed to relieve himself when he notices an odd sensation from that region. Ah, of course, a catheter. He decides that he's not even going to ask what other indignities he may have been subjected to. Julian looks decidedly uneasy as he begins a cursory examination of his vitals.

"That's… that's certainly one way of putting it. You know, I'm not sure if it's for better or worse that you don't remember. Better for you maybe but that may make it more difficult for everyone else. I've asked that no one else come in.. wasn't too hard really though I expect Jadzia will be picking the lock once she hears you're awake, she was quite concerned." Julian continues to work in silence and Garak as well is unusually taciturn as he does. Garak can see that he's trying to decide how to broach what is becoming clear to be a delicate subject. Julian's evasiveness, while admirable, is hardly productive and as far as Garak's concerned, if he's going to obfuscate the truth, he might have the decency to come up with a plausible lie.

That silence stretches on until finally, with a deep breath Julian begins slowly, hesitantly at first, until he gathers full steam into a string of conversation rushing past Garak's ears barely pausing for breath. It sounds wildly fantastic, of course, but Garak can feel a strange pressure starting behind his head when Julian describes his eyes and the near hemorrhage that he'd feared from the effects of the Kironide.

"But you know, it's not surprising," Julian explains much more animated. Garak notes that as he walks around the room it's gingerly, carefully, and he cannot help but feel a slight lurch in his stomach at that. Really, for a man you were attempting to torture to death and likely immolate, he seems perfectly content to remain in your company. No, that's not entirely correct, Elim, look a little more carefully why don't you? You can see a wariness in his eyes as he watches you, you can see a tension, you can tell that he's ready to jump back should you suddenly attack. That sparks a sudden admittedly irrational annoyance in him. After all, he'd made it quite clear that he'd wanted no part of those damn caves while Julian insisted that he accompany him inside.

Still, it's understandable, and Garak is beginning to feel a greater annoyance with the situation as a whole. He's taken great pains, after all, to work himself to a certain level of intimacy with Julian and his associates in Indigo and though the situation was primarily out of his control, he is well aware of the deep instinctual visceral response that his presence is likely going to cause if not outright hostility. And that's without Julian having finished the account of what happened between that impromptu interrogation and the present. He has a feeling that whatever it is it's somehow only going to make things far worse. Garak sighs, already cursing himself a thousand different ways for bring Dukat or Tain to Julian's vocabulary for any reason. And he's not going to forget it either, you can count on that. Whether or not he has any ill intent, he's sure to harangue you about it when this is all over. But then again, Garak has a few burning questions of his own, most of which revolve around Julian's own suspect dealings with Section 31.

Garak takes a deep breath, acclimating to the situation, adjusting, allowing his body to relax into a meditative center. He can feel the convergence of different thoughts, different emotions into some chaotic state and that certainly won't do. Julian has taken this moment to pause, regard him thoughtfully, and allow that reprieve before deciding on whether or not to continue. After all, they've only reached the point in the narrative where Garak flees like some violent troglodyte into the darkness; certainly not one of his finer moments.

"I'm sure you must be hungry." Julian says at last. "We've been able to keep you hydrated and thank God for some of the modified offworld tech that allowed us to do it, but You haven't had a thing to eat since breakfast that morning." As soon as he says the words, Garak feels immediately ravenous. He wonders if that's not the result of a little basic psychology coupled with Julian's own esoteric techniques of persuasion or simply the fact that it's been days since he's had a proper meal. Garak shakes his head. Julian's impromptu attempt at distraction only further cements that he absolutely must know what happened. So Julian tells him.

Garak listens as Julian takes a deep breath filling in the necessary extrapolations of what Garak must have been doing alone down in the caves after running off. Garak, for his part, finds that no recollections comes to him as Julian describes his cold blooded killing of Dorian Collins and the other two Starfleet officers. There's a cold pit in his stomach as he listened to that narrative, Julian having pieced it as best as he can from Nog and later Keiko. It seems the Ferengi had been suffering intense hallucinations, and by the time they were even able to string a coherent answer out of him, the tale had devolved into some mythical battle between good and evil, Garak being the immolated incarnation of the devil itself or Pah wraiths… or something along those lines at least. It seemed that once the somber moment passed where he described the final moments of the two gentlemen that had been holding Yoshi captive, that the narrative took on an almost comical tone. For him, that is, not Julian. As Julian had postulated that the sheer volume of Kironide dust he'd inhaled had given him the ability to telekinetically direct at least a portion of his mass up that improbable tunnel, Garak was finding the picture that painted to be surreal to the point of comedy. He doubted Julian would appreciate that in light of the heinous violence that'd he –knowingly or not- perpetuated upon the lot of them.

But even Garak could only hold out so long when Julian quite matter of factly painted a picture of a naked Cardassian, arms akimbo, fire blazing from his every pore charging at the lot of them as they'd rushed past an unconscious Nog to subdue him. He delicately masks that as a cough.

"And you know when he regained consciousness, Nog was swearing that he'd been attacked by some sort of flame monster; some angry rock golem from the ancient times. I think that was some tale Miles had read when they were all younger. Of course you know, it was the Kironide." Julian crosses his arms and shakes his head. "I told you it was highly flammable, in fact I recall warning you to take care." Garak blinks at him a few times.

"I assure you, Julian, the next time I find myself having taken leave of my mental facilities I shall endeavor to recall with precision your every detailed instruction." Julian looks somewhat abashed at that and clears his throat.

"Right, s'ppose that was a rather stupid thing to say. You really did scare me. I mean… I mean discounting the… the other things, seeing you on fire half flying at us, I was almost afraid we'd have to shoot you. We didn't of course but it was definitely a concern…"

And with Julian having reiterated that detail about the fire, Garak looks down to what parts of his body that he can see and finds them strangely without mark. Odd. They certainly don't have the technology onworld to perform anything half as close as a dermal regenerator can manage. Julian seems to read that confusion, sitting back up straight once more animated.

"I'm sure you're wondering why there aren't at the very least second degree burns. From what Keiko had described once the lantern had fallen down the shaft and broken it was a firestorm coming out and engulfing everything. Thankfully you had the presence of mind to remove the clothing. If you hadn't then we'd have seen a lot worse than the first degree burns I was able to treat, more around the middle but I don't think it should still be tender. It's actually quite fascinating though. Some of the tests they'd performed on the standard Kironide isotope had shown that it's highly flammable and combustible under the right circumstances. Really, it's a wonder we didn't blow ourselves to kingdom come, but in fact, it seems that the fire was limited almost strictly to the Kironide itself. It's like alcohol when it burns on your skin, it creates that protective layer until it evaporates off. Again that's not the standard isotope, but all things considered I'd say you ought to consider yourself quite fortunate."

Garak did consider that as he absently flexed his hands in the restraints. But Julian isn't finished and it's that next bit that leaves him with strangely half sick feeling.

"You ah... you might not want to look at your hair for awhile. We did the best that we could, but it's are different than skin and well... You're a tailor, right? I'm sure you might be able to cobble together a hat or-"

"I'm not a hatter," Garak interrupts primly, noticing that Julian seems to have to keep himself from making some remark at that comment. He decides right then he's not even going to think about looking at a mirror until Julian assures him that it's clear. Really, vanity at your age, Elim. Still, Garak stares up at the wooden planks of the ceiling breathing in deeply, slowly, that meditative feeling washing over him. Now that he's awake there seem to suddenly be so many things to consider that are now at play- his poor hair not withstanding- and it nearly makes him want to close his eyes and pass back out again.

Except of course you've sleep for the last three days and now you're awake. If Julian is to be believed on his recount of the events, then it's a miracle that the extra activity, the strain to your neurological system didn't give you a stroke. It seems unlikely so far that anything he's presented is false. Cleaned up perhaps in a misguided but well meaning attempt to spare you any additional trauma, but you ought to be thankful that he didn't leave you in the caves to burn to death. Which makes Garak wonder how they even escaped with the flames blocking the entrance. He asks Julian and is left almost in awe as Julian describes the heroics of Yoshi and Molly in carrying the two of them to safety from one of the exits points at the top of the cave opening. Apparently Jadzia had stressed her shoulder in carrying Nog, though according to Julian ,she'd only herself to blame by stubbornly refusing to let Keiko help.

Garak takes another few moments to process all of that information while Julian sits back somewhat anxiously.

"And I suppose, the… incident in question brings us to the matter of my current indisposition."

"I'm afraid that Nog insisted. I'm sure you can imagine he's taking this quite hard." Yes, I'd imagine having to share the ship with the flaming lizard monster that murdered the remainder of his comrades and his significant other might make one a bit disturbed. But he isn't the only one with reason to be wary. Though he glossed over it rather neatly, what you'd done to Julian, cognizant or not isn't anything to be taken lightly.

"And what about the others?" Garaks asks cautiously prepared for any amount of enmity that could possibly be directed his way.

"Keiko understands but still thinks there ought to be some sort of reparation for what's happened though to who or how there's not telling. She agreed that it was better to keep you restrained but only so far as we can assess your mental state. I think if Molly and Yoshi had seen more than just me looking a bit roughed up they might be more inclined to call for your head, but the last they saw of you was a fiery screaming mess that Yoshi was trying to extinguish with his coat… And once I told him you were a tailor of the highest order, by the way, he insisted you provide him with a superior replacement." That last statement leaves Garak somewhat in awe of the easily forgiving nature of those he's traveling with, though he's hardly so naïve as to think the reception amongst Starfleet and the rest of the town may be quite so welcoming. Looks like you'll be another another name to the list of those who wish to see you "brought to justice" in some fashion or another.

"You have my word that I will leave no effort unspent in the pursuit of making proper reparations to your son and his beloved coat." Julian stops just short of slapping a hand over his mouth and Garak is both mystified and horrified at the ease in which he so easily spoke a secret he knew to still be carefully concealed amongst the rest of the world.

He's tempted to chalk it up to a mere slip of the tongue, but in all his years of work, Elim Garak has never made such an egregious slip of the tongue. He can feel his face pale slightly, wondering if there weren't in fact, neurological side effects after all. That's a risk that he cannot take under any circumstances. Especially in light of the reality that there is someone off world, or even possibly operating onworld who clearly has every intention of assassinating him. He's also completely lost contact with the Order and really, there very well may no longer even be an Order. Which is problematic. He may very be needed desperately back on Cardassia Prime, mission or no, and depending on the situation there may have been a recall that was intercepted. An emergency. Or it's bunch of nonsense and Tain will have his hide for even daring to return without completing what's necessary. But what is necessary, Elim? As long as you've been here, you haven't been able to figure it out. You might consider, if your mission was the locate the drop shipment to destroy it if necessary but playing ignorant has never held any swap with Tain. You could argue both points back and forth until the Ancients return and you'll be no closer to making a decision. One thing is certain for the time being you can't return to Indigo. You need to time things to settle. And as for-

"And as for Jadzia, well she's been trying to get in to see you, terribly worried but without knowing your state that wasn't a risk I was willing to take. But given what's happened and a few concerns that I still have, I have a proposition, for you." Julian's voice interrupts that monologue and he finds himself intrigued. Perhaps this is, as the Bajorans would superstitiously declare, the will of the Prophets to guide him to where he should go. And so he listens carefully as Julian details his concerns for his brain and the logistical impracticalities of trying to treat him on world. The conclusion would then seem to lead to going off world to have him looked at, but in light of Julian's status as a fugitive, that's immediately struck down.

"There may be, however," Julian hedges looking anxiously, "A man in Central who might be able to assist, since he's helped me with matters in the past. I can have Molly drop us in East Station on the other side of the pond where we can make the transfer. I've got a fair bit of capital I keep here for emergencies that should get us by though we may have to wash a few dishes of perform on a few street corners. That is if you're willing to trust me." Julian looks anxious for his answer, as if he's spent a deal of time replaying this in his head trying to guess at Garak's reaction. Garak, however, can find no better alternative at the moment. If nothing else he'll have time to think, to consider his next course of action with that little side trip. He nods, a wan smile on his face, feeling a bit lightheaded as he does. Yes, he'll definitely need to eat something soon.

"My dear Julian, I would be absolutely delighted."

And with those words spoken he sees the lock of the door click open, the door swinging wide, Jadzia standing there with a big grin on her face.

"Great! So when do we start packing?"