Chapter Seven

Voyager moved silkily through the Ocampa star system, skating back towards the planet and the Array. Captain Janeway glanced about her bridge crew – for the first time since the incident, the bridge was beginning to feel like it was well staffed once again. Tuvok had returned to his rightful place behind the tactical console and Ensign Rollins had moved over to operations in Ensign Kim's absence. Tom Paris, wearing a red command uniform devoid of any rank pips, sat at the conn. She was still missing a man at the engineering station – Joe Carey was far too busy to serve on the bridge – and the first officer's chair was a void that needed to be filled.

On the viewscreen, the Array steadily grew. Next to it Janeway saw Gul Evek's warship. The Vetar still looked pretty bad, but her running lights were lit again. Janeway waved up at Rollins. "Ensign Rollins, hail the Vetar."

Rollins stabbed his console, fiddling with the controls. Then the viewscreen lit up again and Janeway found herself looking into the Vetar's bridge. Gul Evek occupied the ship's captain's chair. Glancing about, Janeway found Evek's first officer, Glinn Talek. Looking at him, she scowled, remembering his antics on the Array, but was also relieved. If they've recovered Talek, then they've probably got Harry and the Maquis officer as well.

"Captain Janeway, I trust your pursuit of the Maquis was successful?" Evek asked. Janeway nodded.

"The Maquis vessel was destroyed, but her crew was apprehended and is now safely stowed in our cargo bay," Janeway acknowledged. "Did you recover Mr. Kim along with Glinn Talek? There is also a missing Maquis officer, one B'Elanna Torres."

Evek nodded slowly. "Yes Captain, both your officer and the Maquis are being held in one of our crew quarters. The missing members of our crews were infected with some kind of genetic parasite, but my physician has managed to negate the ailment." Evek leaned back into his chair. "Now, Captain, are you prepared to turn over the Maquis captain and the Bajoran terrorist to me as your orders require?"

Janeway made a throat cutting hand gesture and Tuvok cut the audio. "Tuvok, send a security team down to cargo bay one. Get Commander Chakotay and Seska and bring them to the Bridge." Tuvok nodded, tapping his combadge. Once he was finished, Janeway glanced over at him. "Resume audio," she ordered.

Evek tilted his head. "Well, Captain?"

"Give me a second, Gul. Chakotay and Seska are on their way to the bridge and we'll discuss this matter with all those affected present," Janeway said. At the back of the Bridge, Andrews escorted the two Maquis from the turbolift. "Commander, Ms. Seska," she nodded to each of them as they came to stand with her in front of the Bridge.

"What do you want, Cardassian?" Seska spat at the viewer.

"You, actually," Evek said. "I currently have two people in my custody. One I believe you know, Mr. Chakotay. Her name is B'Elanna Torres. The other is a Starfleet ensign, straight out of the academy – one Harry Kim. Captain Janeway, I'm afraid I won't be able to return these individuals to you unless you hand the two prisoners over to my custody. Those were your orders."

Janeway's eyes narrowed. "I don't respond well to threats, Evek."

"It is not a threat. It is simply a fact. I will contact you again in five minutes, please have the prisoners ready for transport by that time. Evek out." The viewscreen blinked out.

Chakotay turned to Janeway. "Captain, you can't allow the Cardassians to hold B'Elanna. You have no idea what Cardassians do to their prisoners. They'll torture her for hours to get any information, not matter how small, and then kill her for their own sadistic pleasure," he said violently. "You cannot let her remain over there!"

Janeway's eyes narrowed. "Would you two join me in my Ready Room for a moment?" she said quietly. Then she led them over to the sliding door that led to her office. She held out her hand, preventing Tuvok from coming in as well, and then the door slid shut again. She spun to face Chakotay.

"Commander, don't you ever tell me what I do and do not know. I told you, I've read your file and you obviously don't have mine. I know exactly how Cardassians treat their prisoners, mister. Unlike you, I've been a Cardassian prisoner of war. I've been a victim and I don't need you to tell me what it's like to be one, is that understood?" The rage in Janeway's eyes did not push her out of control, like it might have for other people. Instead, Chakotay could see the steel in Janeway hardening, her control firming. Hers was a cold rage.

Seska was the one to speak first. "Chakotay, I'll go," she said. "You know what they'll do to B'Elanna. She's my friend and I can't leave her over there with those bastards. You know what they'll do to her."

Janeway and Chakotay didn't look away from one another to glance at Seska. The battle of wills had been won, Janeway was victorious as usual, but now they were appraising each other. Chakotay's opinion of Janeway suddenly and completely changed. She was not the woman he had thought her to be – he had recognized her strong will, and had known that she had fought on the front lines, but that she had been a Cardassian prisoner…

Chakotay broke the contact. "You're right, Seska. And I won't leave an idealistic young Starfleet officer in their hands to pay for crimes that I committed. I won't have that on my conscience." He turned back to Janeway. The steel had gone again, as had the anger, and her sympathy had returned. "We will turn ourselves over to Evek, Captain."

Janeway nodded slowly. "You might not know me, Commander, but you are the man I thought you were." She rested her hand on his shoulder. "I hope you'll believe me now when I say I understand, Mr. Chakotay. I'll make you a promise – if there's anything I can do, anything at all, I will. You have my word."

Chakotay's lips pressed together in a thin line. "Thank you, Captain." Janeway's face softened and she squeezed Chakotay's shoulder slightly, then she led the way back out of her ready room.

"Mr. Rollins, get me Evek," Janeway ordered. The screen activated and Gul Evek's face appeared again. "Gul Evek, I accept your terms. We'll hand over Chakotay and Seska in exchange for the safe return of Mr. Kim and Ms. Torres."

"Your decision is appreciated, Captain," said Evek. "We will make the transfer immediately." The screen went dark once more. Janeway turned imperceptibly and glanced at Chakotay and Seska. Ben Sisko said there comes a time when the price of peace is just too high. But how can we know? How can any of us ever know when that time has come? Irrationally, Janeway thought that maybe right then she could feel the stain on her soul.

Chakotay and Seska materialized on the Cardassian transporter pad. Standing across from them were two men, Evek and Talek, and a small escort. As they dematerialized, Talek raised his phaser and pointed it at Seska. "I will take this one, sir," he said. He waved his phaser. "Get down off the pad," he ordered. Seska stalked down the steps until she stood eye to eye with Talek.

Seska opened her mouth. "My name is…" She was cut off as Talek violently backhanded her across the mouth. Chakotay moved forward to strike Talek, but two of the guards grabbed each of his arms and held him off.

Talek grinned down at Seska. "This will be interesting," he said. "Lets go." He reached down and grabbed Seska by the collar, heaving her down the hall. Evek glanced at Chakotay, struggling with the two guards.

"Hello, Commander," Evek said.

"What do you want with me?" Chakotay demanded. He ripped his arms free from the guards, who released him but stood close by in case he tried something. "I don't know anything that could possiblyhelp you."

"I know," said Evek. "Curious, that. I'm still not sure why our orders demanded your presence, although it does give me a chance to answer a few questions." He gestured to the two guards. "Take him to detention. Put him in the main cellblock. I'll be along to question him later."

Talek shoved Seska into a room – normal crew quarters. "Evek wanted the brig for Chakotay, so we're going to leave you here." He turned and gestured to the guards behind. "Leave us," he ordered. The guards glanced at one another, but followed the commands of their superior.

Seska wiped her bloody mouth with a sleeve. "You are a fool," she said. "Do you have any idea who I am?" She stood straight up. "I assure you, I am no Bajoran terrorist. My name is Seska, and I work for…"

"The Obsidian Order, yes I know," Talek said dryly, running a finger along the wall. Seska's mouth dropped open. "Don't be so surprised. As it turns you, you're the reason I'm here, stuck in this dismal quadrant with a crew of Guard incompetents, a crippled warship, and Starfleet looking over my shoulder." He smiled a toothy, sarcastic smile. "Thank you for that."

"But… but...?" Seska stammered.

"Oh, wipe that look of your face. As it turns out, you are the closest thing I have to a friend and vice versa." He leaned forward. "You are Seska, an Obsidian Order agent ordered to infiltrate the Bajoran underground and then the Maquis. Your mission was simply to gather intelligence and wait for an opportune moment to take advantage of that intelligence for the good of Cardassia. I was sent to give you new orders and bring you home."

Seska's usually unflappable composure returned. "I see. What were these orders?" she asked. She reached up and wiped her lip again, prodding it as the blood continued to stream from the cut there. "Did you have to hit me so hard?" she asked sarcastically.

"All Obsidian Order agents have been recalled. In less than six months, the Order will be in control of the Cardassian government. The Guard will be disbanded. The Central Command will be deposed. The Order is building a fleet of ships in the Orias system – those ships will be used to attack the Dominion and eliminate the leaders of the Dominion – the Founders – triggering an interstellar war. The Cardassian Guard and the Federation will be forced to respond when the Dominion comes streaming through the wormhole. The Dominion's forces will not live for very long due to their dependance on Ketracel White, but it will be long enough to do major damage to both the Guard and the Federation. After this has occurred, the Obsidian Order will strike first in Cardassia, eliminating the threat posed by the Guard."

Seska ignored the cut on her upper lip and sat heavily on the bunk. "The Order is planning to take over the government? All of Cardassia?" She shook her head in astonishment. "We've been waiting for this day for five hundred years… most of the Order had started to believe it would never come."

"The Dominion gave us this opportunity. We intend to seize it with both hands. Once the Guard is out of the way, we can return to the Cardassia of old – a Cardassia that was not afraid to fight the Federation, a Cardassia that had the will to hold Bajor… a Cardassia that can be proud again," Talek whispered forcefully. "The Obsidian Order is Cardassia and it always has been. It is time for the Order to rule." Talek leaned towards her. "We must return to Cardassia and take our place in the fleet. We must find our way back to the Alpha Quadrant and join our comrades in arms. It is time."

He stood and headed towards the door. "Keep quiet here for now," he said. "You will be most valuable if no one knows who you really are. Do nothing and wait for the proper time." Then he left.

As the Cardassian door slid shut he could hear Seska begin to laugh.

The heavy metal door slid shut. This room was dark – the few lights illuminated the fact that it was a holding cell. It was little more than a large metal box. The floor was covered in some kind of powder that was scorched along the floor. The walls were cold and grey.

Chakotay stood in the middle of the room, across from his enemy. Evek paced back and forth in front of the door, staring at him. Finally, Evek stopped. "Why did you join the Maquis, Commander Chakotay?" he asked.

Chakotay was silent for a long second. "You know why," he finally answered. There was no breeze, but his spine chilled as Evek looked away and began pacing again.

"Your family was killed on Dorvan V," Evek said. His voice echoed through the empty room. "I know this, and I know that you hold me and Cardassia responsible. What I don't understand is why." Evek stopped his pacing again and met Chakotay's ludicrous expression evenly. "Tell me why you blame me for the massacre, Commander."

Chakotay laughed incredulously. "Are you serious?" he asked. At Evek's unchanging expression, he breathed out heavily. "All right, Gul Evek. I blame you because you were the one who signed the treaty with the Federation that handed my world over to the Cardassians. I blame you because you were the one who negotiated with Jean-Luc Picard and reached the compromise that allowed them to remain on Dorvan even after this was done. I blame you because you were in command of the Cardassian units that were responsible for the demilitarized zone and it was Cardassians who murdered my family. I blame you because you claim that you were unaware of those events and punished the ones who were responsible. I blame you, Gul Evek, because their blood is on your hands." Chakotay heaved as he finished, breathing a little heavier. In his eyes, Evek saw the fire of hatred.

"I see." Evek resumed his pacing. He walked across the room and back. Again. A third time. He stopped and faced Chakotay again. "Reach down and touch the floor," he said.

Chakotay's eyes lost their fire, replaced by confusion. "What?"

"Reach down and touch the floor," Evek repeated. Chakotay remained standing, so Evek reached to his belt and pulled out his phaser, pointing it at Chakotay. "Touch the floor, Commander."

Chakotay shrugged slightly, then dropped to one knee. He ran his hand over the ground, feeling the dust that coated the ground. It was thick, heavy… but was merely dust. He looked up at Evek, who had resumed his pacing. He pushed off the ground and returned to his feet.

Evek walked across the room twice more as Chakotay watched. Evek did not look at him, but appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, Evek stopped once more. "Do you want to take revenge on the people who killed your family? Do you want to find them and kill them, to keep them from killing any other innocents?"

Chakotay was growing increasingly more confused. "That is why I joined the Maquis," he said. "I joined the Maquis for the same reason we all did – to keep the Cardassians from killing any other innocent people. To find the ones who had given us pain and make sure they could never inflict it on anyone else. And for justice."

Evek nodded. "I know, Commander," he said flatly. He paced across the room and then stopped. "Reach down and touch the floor," he said. They stared into each other's face, two blank, stoic facades that revealed nothing. Finally, Chakotay went back down to one knee. His hand caressed the dust that coated the floor. "I am afraid, Commander, that it will be quite impossible for you to take vengeance on the ones that killed your family," Evek said. He had resumed his pacing. "You see, they were here before you."

Evek spun and pointed his phaser at Chakotay. "Touch the floor, Commander. Know that those who killed your family have met the end that you desired them to. They met it here, in this room, on this ship. They stood where you are kneeling now." Evek walked forwards and knelt in front of Chakotay. "I negotiated that treaty in good faith, Commander. I meant every word I said. You see, you and I are not so different. I lost my family to you people. I lost my sons to the Federation in a meaningless battle over a meaningless world. But I did not lose myself to my hatred, Commander. I did not lose myself to my grief."

The two returned to standing positions, but Evek continued speaking, hands waving emphatically, his fingers stabbing down towards the ground. "That dust, Commander, is all that is left of the Cardassians who killed your family. They died as traitors to Cardassia, people who violated a treaty that I negotiated, a treaty that was to keep there from being further violence, a treaty that would make sure that my last son would not die as my others. I could have joined the Cardassian colonists who attacked Dorvan, Commander. I could have given in to my hatred for your people. But there was too much to lose."

"You are lost, Commander. Lost to your own hatred because you have stopped caring that your actions have repercussions beyond those that you see tomorrow. Do you know why I killed those Cardassian colonists? Because they believed, as you do, that their hated and their rights were more importantthan the rights of their people. They believed that they were fighting for a righteous cause, a cause for freedom, for liberty, but they had nothing in mind beyond their own selfish desire for vengeance. I had them executed for their betrayal and if Captain Janeway was a more prudent woman, she would have had you shot as well."

Evek resumed his pacing. "You have nothing to say to me, Commander. It is not for me to judge your crimes, because your crimes are not against me. Your crimes are against Captain Janeway, against the Federation, because it is the Federation that will pay for the mistakes of the Maquis, just as it is the Cardassians who will pay for the mistakes of the colonists who murdered your world. Because, Commander, if we cannot see past our hatred, this struggle that seems so large, so all encompassing to you now, will be nothing more than a footnote in the history of the most terrible war that ever involved either of our peoples." Evek's voice had fallen to a low, violent hiss.

He stepped forward. "I want my son to live, Commander. I want my people to live. And I will do whatever it takes to reach that end." The heavy metal door slid open and Evek walked in between the two doors. Over his shoulder, he took the parting shot. "Captain Janeway understands. Perhaps now, you do as well."

Behind him, Chakotay sank to the floor, heart pounding in his chest.

Evek stormed out of the brig, breathing heavily. He wasn't quite sure why he had felt obligated to clear the air with Chakotay – for all his words, in some ways he did feel responsible for the massacre of the Dorvan colony. He had negotiated the settlement that kept them on that world, and while he had brought the ones responsible to justice, he had failed to uphold his end of the bargain.

It was incredible, he reflected, that the massacre had occurred so soon after the meetings on Dorvan. The treaty had been signed in early 2370 and the destruction of the Dorvan colony had taken place only months after the treaty had been signed. One of the reasons that the Maquis had responded so aggressively after it had taken place was the timing – it seemed too convenient, and many in the Federation had been convinced it was a deliberate act of war. In fact, some accused Evek himself of gathering intelligence on the planet in order to make the attack the most effective, even while the treaty was being written. He had not, of course. His crew was loyal to him, and he wanted nothing more than to prevent another war.

His clinking boots stopped as he pulled up short outside of the bridge. Wait. There's something else here and all the pieces are beginning to fall into place. Could it be possible? Evek thought of Chakotay and the timing of the Dorvan assault. He thought of their mission to capture the Bajoran terrorist and the Maquis captain – the mission that made no sense. He thought of the channels those orders had come through, the people who had most emphatically supported them, and the recent actions of his crew.

Evek's clanged through the halls, back in the direction from which he had come. Coming upon the door he sought, he hit the panel and overrode the security and he marched inside. From one of the chairs opposite him, Talek rose to greet him. "Gul Evek, what can I do for you?"

Evek strode over, noting the face-down Cardassian datapads that lay on the table. Talek took a step forwards, an innocuous expression on his face, and Evek slammed him across the jaw with a fist. Talek went down hard, bouncing off the table. He came back to his feet and stared upwards into the barrel of Evek's phaser. "I'm still not sure why you wanted Chakotay and Seska, but the Guard certainly doesn't. Any Guard member would see our mission as a secondary priority at best, and you've been insistent that we fulfill it as quickly as possible. That was the first piece," Evek said. "Then was the fact that the orders didn't come from the normal Cardassian Guard channels, but instead came through the Central Command itself. That was odd, but not too unusual, but the facts just keep adding up."

Talek rose slowly to his feet, sneering. "Then you went and the first thing you did was hustle the Bajoran woman off to her own cell, but not until after you punched her in the face to shut her up," Evek continued. "Why she is so important, I don't know, but you do. Which means either you have security clearance above mine, which you do not, or…"

Talek smiled. "Or I don't work for the Cardassian Guard." He straightened out his breastplate, fingering the emblem of the Guard in the center. Finally, he reached in and plucked it off his uniform, tossing it down to the ground. "Maybe some of us aren't cowards, like you. Some of us aren't afraid of war, Evek. Some of us would like a chance to seize our pride back from the Federation because we lost it in the last war. The Guard lost it. Your sons lost it."

Evek's hand shook, but he held the phaser steady on Talek. "I have just one question for you," he whispered in a rage. "Did you spy on Dorvan's defenses while I was negotiating peace? Did you give that information to the colonists who carried out that attack? The colonists I had youexecute after Dorvan was destroyed?"

Talek laughed. "I'll have to increase your intelligence rating in your Obsidian Order file," he said. Evek's eyes closed slowly, in pain. Talek started forwards to assault him, but Evek pulled the trigger instinctively. Talek fell limp on the deck.

"I should kill you," Evek murmured. "But I think Commander Chakotay would like that privilege." He exited the room, closing the door and locking the Glinn in his quarters. He slowly returned to his bridge.

Talarn glanced up as he entered. "Sir, where's Glinn Talek?" he asked.

"Talek is… indisposed," Evek said. He collapsed into the captain's chair, mindlessly tapping a computer console. A small red light flashed on the console and Evek sorted through the data. On the viewscreen, an image of a small, light brown vessel appeared. Evek grimaced. "The Kazon," he muttered. He glanced at Talarn. "Get me Janeway. We have much to discuss."