Act Two

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don't know.
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say:

Chapter Five

Gul Evek was not a happy man. The Vetar was finished – he doubted the ship would ever create a stable warp field again, which meant that he had very few options. Whatever power had spirited him away from the Badlands and into that damnable simulation on the Array had effectively stranded him and his crew on Ocampa – a planet that had no water of any kind on the surface.

That meant, if he wanted to leave, he had two options: find a way to get the Caretaker to send them back or beg Janeway to take his crew aboard her ship. Neither was particularly enticing, but the Caretaker solution had the benefit of getting his crew back to Cardassia. The Janeway solution was just a disaster for all parties involved.

Evek, like his father and his father's father before him, was a member of the Cardassian Guard, Fourth Order. His father had fought the Bajorans before and during the Occupation. Evek himself had been much too young to fight on Bajor during the invasion, but he, like all members of the Guard, had fought the Bajorans during the fifty years that followed. He had fought the Federation during this time as well – the conflicts and war that was precipitated on their borders provided the Guard with great amounts of combat experience.

All three of his children were members of the Fourth Order, carrying on the family line. Two were dead – killed fighting the Federation – fighting Janeway. His youngest, and last child, Veroz, joined the Guard and the Fourth Order when he was old enough to enlist. Evek hoped – and prayed – that Veroz would never have to fight the Federation and that he would never know the kind of war that killed his brothers.

But, like all Cardassians, Evek's first duty was just that – his duty. For five hundred years, since the unification of Cardassia and the formation of the Cardassian Union, every Cardassian had two loyalties. Their first was to Cardassia – to their people, to their government, and to their nation. The greatest work of Cardassian literature was The Never Ending Sacrifice, a story of seven generations of a Cardassian family, each of which had lived and died in service to the state.

Their second was to family.

Now, lost in the Delta Quadrant, Evek knew where his duty lay. He had a mission – return Chakotay and Seska to Cardassia Prime. Janeway had asked him why the Federation had agreed to extradite them and the honest answer was Evek didn't know – he didn't know the significance of either one of the two Maquis terrorists or why they were so important. His duty, however, was clear – he had to return them.

Thankfully, this coincided with Evek's duty to his family. He wanted to see his son again, see him promoted to Gul, and see him given a warship, as his own father had seen him. Ghosar and Hogue had been killed long before they reached that level of experience – the Federation, and war, had robbed them of their chance to serve Cardassia. But Veroz would someday have a ship of his own and Evek intended to be there when it happened. He wanted to see his family live up to the standard set by The Never Ending Sacrifice.

First, Evek needed to get home. And before he could get home, he needed Chakotay and Seska. And before he could take possession of the two Maquis, he needed to fulfill his half of the bargain – recover Janeway's missing crewman. Not to mention, find his first officer Glinn Talek. Evek wasn't particularly happy with Talek at the moment – the stunt he had pulled on the Array was not something Evek had in mind – but he intended to retrieve him.

With the Vetar in her current crippled condition this was proving to be a most difficult task. Her sensor suite had been relatively undamaged, but there was nothing on the planet to see. No water, no life, nothing. His officers had traced the energy blasts fired by the Array down towards the planet in the hopes of finding something at their endpoint, but there had been nothing to find.

Gil Talarn, his only remaining bridge officer now that Talek was gone, was hunched over the only functioning bridge console and staring at it, arguing with the ship's computer. Evek worked adjacent to him as the two worked tirelessly to find something, anything that could give them a hint to where Talek and Kim had gone.

In frustration, Talarn slammed his fist into the console. "Gul, I don't see anything down there except sparse encampments of native humanoids. The planet is dead. I've never seen anything like it. Talek and the Federation officer must still be on the Array," he muttered. Evek shook his head – that possibility had already been eliminated. The Array had no shields they could see and scanning it was a simple procedure – there were vague life form readings, but nothing that registered as humanoid. They relayed all their findings to Doctor Parmak, the ship's only remaining physician, but he assured them that there was no possible way Talek and the Federation officer were producing the readings.

Talarn stabbed his broken console as it beeped at him. "What now?"

To Evek's astonishment, the main viewscreen came to life. On it was an unusual alien – a species he didn't recognize. Blondish, yellow hair popped out of the top of his head, very unlike Cardassian hair. He had fur on his cheeks and defined ridges on the side of his head. "Why, hello there! My name is Neelix and…" the alien hustled forward and pressed his nose close to the viewer, staring into the screen at an oblique angle, "I don't think I've ever seen a ship quite like yours before! Is there anything I can do for you today?"

Evek suppressed his desire to stab the weapons console and blow the alien into fragments. He stood and began to speak, but Neelix interrupted him. "Wait, wait… don't tell me… you've been spirited here against your will from some distant part of the galaxy and you're wondering if I have a way to get you home, or why you're here, or if I have any idea where your missing crewmen are. Yes?"

Had he not spent so many years in the military, Evek's mouth might have gaped open. As it was, he found himself fighting to find something to say in response to the alien's accurate assessment of their current situation. Neelix nodded knowingly. "I thought so. Tell you what Mister… Mister…."

Evek finally spoke. "Gul Evek of the Cardassian warship Vetar."

"A warship? Well, pleased to meet you Mr. Gul Evek! As I was saying… I think I have knowledge that might be able to help you get your people back. I'm not sure if you can get home, but I do believe I know where your people might be. But if I help you… you're going to have to help me. And if you're from a warship…" Neelix straightened out his clothes, grinning into the screen, "You might be exactly what I need."

Evek turned to Talarn. "Gil, are the transporters still functioning?" He ignored the alien's gibber – Neelix was asking what a transporter was.

Talarn looked up and nodded. "Yes sir, the engineering staff just finished getting them back online."

Evek waved at the viewscreen. "Beam that… man… over here." Talarn nodded and worked the controls on his panel while Neelix continued to jabber at them, then stabbed a button. Next to the viewscreen on a transporter pad a red and gold light shimmered and Neelix materialized on the bridge.

"What… where…" Neelix stared at Evek then started wandering about the bridge, scraping dust off panels and prodding broken consoles. "Wow! You actually grabbed me off my ship and made me appear over here! That's incredible! Ouch, looks like this ship has seen better days… still worth a ton in salvage revenue though…"

"Mr. Neelix." Evek said in a loud voice that carried throughout the bridge. Neelix stopped his appraising and turned to face him. "You said you had information and would be willing to share it with us in exchange for our assisting you in a problem of your own. Speak or I will send you back to your garbage scowl."

"Ah… yes. Well, it's like this. I don't know where your crewmen are." Seeing Evek's face lose some of it's emotion and him turn almost imperceptibly towards Talarn, Neelix quickly continued, "But I know someone who does know where your crewmen are, I think, and rescuing her is what I wanted your assistance with. So, you see, we have a mutual problem."

Evek stood face to face with Neelix, towering over the alien. Neelix flinched, but continued to meet the Gul's glare. "Where is this person being held, Mr. Neelix, and by whom?" Evek's voice was low and dangerous.

"Her… her name is Kes." Neelix had lost his enthusiasm and was now just nervous. "She's being held by the Kazon, by Maje Jabin. We could try to negotiate her release if you have something they would value."

"Such as what?" Evek asked. To himself, he noted the reference to the Kazon. The Caretaker mentioned them too. Maybe this alien is more valuable than he appears.

"Do you have… water?" Neelix asked tentatively.

Evek turned to Talarn. "I wonder if they'll drink Canar instead," he said dryly. "We wouldn't have to replicate that."

Evek and Talarn accompanied Neelix down to the surface. With them were six Cardassian troops – all the soldiers that had survived their transit to the Delta Quadrant. Neelix had pinpointed the location of Maje Jabin's camp from orbit with the Vetar's sensors and the transporter had placed them within easy walking distance of the camp – along with a large amount of water they carried.

The camp was scrawny and scattered. The Kazon were warriors, Evek could easily tell, but these were obviously not their best. Their weapons, what he could see of them, were primitive by Cardassian standards – and their need for water told him all he needed to know about their technological limitations.

Neelix hobbled ahead of the pack, calling to the Kazon. "Jabin! Jabin! I've brought water to replace all that I borrowed… and then some!" Evek didn't like the content of the alien's speech – he was not fond of thieves.

One emerged from the largest structure and strode forwards, escorted by two others. "Jabin, my old friend! How are you?" Neelix chattered. Jabin grabbed him by the throat.

"What do you want, Talaxian? You should have known that you had overstayed your welcome and that coming back would mean the end for you." Neelix gasped, unable to speak, and Evek decided to make his presence known.

"The… Talaxian… is with me," he said. Around him, the Cardassian guards planted both hands on their rifles and swept the barrels over the Kazon, picking out targets in case the negotiations stalled.

"And who exactly are you, foreigner?" Jabin snarled.

"My name is Gul Evek of the Cardassian Guard, the Fourth Order. I am captain of the warship Vetar, one in a long line of servants of Cardassia. If you know what's best for you, you would not cross me. Release the thief," Evek said in a low voice that carried. "I have come for the woman you hold – the Ocampa. Release her to me and I will let you keep the water that I carry."

"What makes you think my men and I won't just take your water and keep both?" Jabin said. His solid tenor was no match for Evek's.

"You are welcome to try." Evek glared at the Kazon Maje. The battle of wills lasted only seconds before Jabin relented.

"Bah. Fine, take the woman. She told us nothing and she will tell you nothing. She's a poor servant, a worse slave, and all around worthless. I will have your something for my nothing."

Evek nodded slowly. "A wise choice, Maje. Now, tell me, what do you know of the Caretaker?"

Jabin's eyes gleamed. "You're one of those? One of the lost ones, plucked away from your home without reason or cause? Interesting." He released Neelix, who rushed over to a near structure. Opening the door quickly, he came out with the Ocampa prisoner – she had been badly beaten and Neelix helped her out of the house.

"This is Kes, Gul Evek," he said. "She will help you find your missing men in exchange for our freedom." Evek spared a second to glance over the two of them, a pair of ragged, scraggly refugees. He recognized their ilk from his time on Bajor. Then, he turned his eyes back to Jabin.

"Stay out of my way, Maje," Evek barked. "I have no interest in you or this planet. You obviously know how we came to be here and so you must know we are from far from this place. Where I come from, men like you have long since fallen and your technology is so outdated that even a crippled Cardassian warship could destroy a fleet of whatever you could muster. Do not interfere and you will live."

Jabin smiled. "I've heard that before," he said.

Evek grinned and his teeth shone. "I'll bet you have." Then, staring at Jabin with a piercing glare, he nodded at Talarn. Before he and his men finished dematerializing he saw Jabin's eyes widen in shock and knew that he had won this round.

"How is she, Doctor?" Neelix's energetic nature was beginning to grate on the Cardassian crewmen. Doctor Parmak was running a medical instrument over the Ocampa, analyzing the damage the Kazon had done to her body.

"Will someone get this tramp out of my infirmary?" Parmak muttered. Evek nodded to one of the guards, who grabbed Neelix and dragged him out of the room.

"Wait! Kes!"

The Ocampa, Kes, just gave him a tiny smile to let him know that she would be all right, then the door slid shut. She turned up to Evek. "I want to thank you for helping me. I know Neelix can be frustrating but he means well. I'm Kes."

Evek nodded. "I had deduced that." He towered over the Ocampa. "You know that the Talaxian bargained that you would be able to assist us if we got you away from the Kazon." Kes sighed and turned away, but she nodded.

"Yes, and I will keep my end of the bargain. You are missing one or more of your crew, yes?" Kes asked. Evek gave no sign of acknowledgement, so Kes continued. "Millennia ago, there was a great catastrophe on Ocampa. The rains stopped falling, the oceans disappeared, and none of it came back. The Caretaker saved us – took our people deep under the surface of our world where there was still water. Ever since, he has taken care of all our needs – food, water, energy to power our technology – the Caretaker has protected our people for as long as any of us can remember."

"I was always too curious… I was not willing to accept my role as a willing recipient of the Caretaker's generosity. I was enticed by stories of when our people lived on the surface and saw the sunlight, when we took care of ourselves and traveled far and wide to better ourselves, instead of accepting that we were beggars with a faithful benefactor."

Evek sat on a chair that Parmak grabbed for him. "You wanted to return your people to a better place – a proper place – and do whatever you could to prove that your people could be more than they are."

Kes smiled. "You understand. The stories tell of great achievements and great powers that my people once had and that have been taken from them. I wanted to see the sunlight and the stars – I wanted to try to be something more than my people would have me be." Kes sighed, the smile vanished. "My encounter with the Kazon taught me much about how much my people have lost and how far I need to go." Kes looked up. "But… you were not here to listen to me speak of my own flaws. Recently, the Caretaker began sending people to Ocampa – people who were ill with a virus and terrible lesions. All of them die."

Evek stared at the girl until she met his gaze. Unlike many, she did not flinch. Proud, this one. And stubborn. Had she been born a Cardassian, she would have made a fine one. "Can we recover them? Perhaps our medicine can cure them where yours cannot."

Kes stood and began to pace. "The tunnel I came up has been sealed. There are powerful energy shields that protect the tunnels down, and the one that I found that was weakened enough for me to slip through is no longer a viable possibility. There are gaps in the security, but I don't know how to get back down." She looked at him. "But… you made us vanish from the surface and brought us up here without a ship, like Neelix's. You made us just… disappear from one place and reappear in another. Maybe you can send us down the same way?"

Evek smiled a tiny, ambiguous smile. Smart, too. "It is possible. Talarn will look into the possibility."

Kes looked up at him. "I've told you my story. Will you tell me yours?" she asked. Evek turned away.

"My story is like yours in some ways, young one. But it is different, too. My people were never subservient, like yours, but we reached out to grasp our destiny as you tried to do. Our whole people was united in our quest – it took us a long time to finally come together as a people and take that step into the stars – but once we did, we learned that destiny does not come easily. For five hundred years, our people have served the state – served Cardassia – so we too could see the heavens." Evek sighed. "I serve Cardassia, young one, in all that it demands that I do."

Kes nodded. She glanced up at him. "But you are troubled," she said confidently.

"I am lost in this place, far from the stars of my home and far from my son. And the hand that once reached out united has never been more divided or fragile than it is today – the Obsidian Order and the Cardassian Guard, the Central Command and the Dissident Movement… Cardassia is a troubled world. It took me many years to see it, but the Maquis finally opened my eyes. I do what must be done to keep my people as one, young one. I do what I must to keep them strong." Evek looked at her. So wise for one so young. I find myself confessing things to this girl that I'm not sure I even confessed to myself. Evek grimaced. She's probably the most dangerous person on this ship. She would have made a fine Cardassian, indeed – if the Order didn't steal her away for her talents.

Evek gestured to Doctor Parmak. "Doctor, see to treating the rest of this one's injuries. I must return to the Bridge and start finding a way into the underground caverns." He turned to Kes. "There are many things in this galaxy that are dangerous. The drive to be better, stronger, and wiser is one of them. It can get you killed." Ghosar. Hogue. "But the chance of success is worth the risk." Veroz,I hope. And Cardassia.

Kes reached out and stopped him. "In some ways, you remind me of my father," she said. "He always wanted what was best for the Ocampa, even if it went against what the leaders said was best us." She smiled. "He was a wise man, too."

Evek departed from the infirmary. I do not question the Occupation, he thought. I do not question the camps, or the deaths, or the constant battle for supremacy. Nor do I question the Federation wars, though they killed my sons. I don't question the decisions that brought me to this place. I do not question the Guard, or the Central Command. I support the government, oppose the Dissidents, and fight for Cardassia. I will always fight for Cardassia – but I also fight so that perhaps my son will no longer have to, and his son, and his. I will do whatever it takes to keep there from being another war, because whatever our destiny, it is a war we would not win, even if we defeated our enemies. But if it should come, I would fight and I would not question.

Evek winced. Of course, if we truly are stuck out here, seventy thousand lightyears from Cardassia, I will never fight for my people again.