The following fanfiction is a short-story which takes place before, during and after the events of the TNG episode 'Chain of Command' of 2369. This fanfiction proceeds my story "Shadows of War, Part I - Awoken" and prepares "Shadows of War, Part II" which is in planning.

However, it is not necessary to know "Shadows of War" to read this story. It is completely independent, solely its last chapter refer to the story, although explaining its events completely, and also leads to guessing what Part II will be about.

This story makes use of the invented character Tallara Shran, an Andorian introduced in my story "Shadows of War, Part I". It is not necessary to know much about her, as important information about her is provided within the story.

I would like you to review this short-story and perhaps ask you to read my story "Shadows of War" as well, which is mostly DS9 based with main focus on Elim Garak and Tallara Shran, and is about the end of the Dominion War, genetic engineering, treason and love. I have not uploaded "Shadows of War" to , and I do not consider to do so. When you are interested, and I hope so, please write me a private message and I will send you the story as .pdf via e-mail. I do not upload it as important formatting would be lost, and also because editting it to make it suitable to be read online would consume amounts of time. So please do not hesitate to contact me. (If you don't want to give me your e-mail address, I am sure we can find another way to give you my story.)

We write the year 2369...

I do not own anything. The following story, as well as "Shadows of War", is based on the canon Star Trek universe, as well as the novel 'A Stitch in Time' by Andrew Robinson and some information provided by non-canon memory-beta. org . It features mainly TNG and DS9.

Chapter 2

"Surgery?" Tallara asked surprised. "How exactly may I understand that?" She, Tain and Sloan were sitting in Tain's office, pretty much the safest place on Cardassia right now.

"We will alter you physical appearance into the one of a Cardassian woman. Looking like that, you will easily gain access to the military's station on Celtris III," Tain said.

"Well, ignoring the fact that Celtris III is supposed to be uninhabited, you want to smuggle me as a gul's new secretary into a secret military station to retrieve certain information they have gathered about a space station at the Cardassian border? Can't you get the information somewhere else? I mean, you're the Obsidian Order, Enabran?"

"Unfortunately, I can't without sending someone there."

"The current status of the negotiations reveal that the Cardassian military will withdraw from the planet of Bajor, and the space station Terok Nor is located right at it. It is only logical to assume that the Federation will get it into their hands as well. This might be the last chance to get any information about the station before it will be given into Federation hands. Of course, the Order will have its means to get to information about the new crew and any events there as well, but it will become more difficult," Sloan intervened.

"The way Gul Dukat and his men are running the station is known to almost everyone. But as you may know, we never trust the official rumors. The last member of the Order who was sent to Terok Nor died three months ago during a Bajoran Resistance attack. We would send someone new to Bajor, but we don't have the time. We need every piece of information that the station's staff has gathered about the Bajoran 'government' and the Resistance as well as every single incident that happened on the station itself. Only with that information we can predict the new power system which is about to be establish on Bajor and its environment," Tain further explained.

"And the military station on Celtris III is the only one gathering this information?" she asked.

"The data gathered by the Intelligence branch of the military needed to be stored where not even the best Bajoran Resistance fighter could get his hands on. So everything was sent to the military base which had only been founded there one year ago. Two months ago, the base also got a political meaning because of a certain plan of the military," Tain said and handed her a padd. "You can read this when you'll be preparing for you current mission. But the mission planned by the military will not affect yours and I assume I won't have to tell you that they have no idea about your operation."

Tallara nodded. So much information, she thought. "Okay, I get it so far. But what does Section…whatever, has to do with it?" she tried to politely ask.

Sloan gave her that smile again, that was both warm and cold, depending on how much you knew about him. And right now she had the feeling that she knew far too much about him. "Section 31 is like the Obsidian Order, only with the difference that no one knows about our existence. We are an Intelligence agency without any borders, and without any limits. While our governments are preparing for war, openly or secretly, we rather see our own people as our enemies – just like the Order. Therefore cooperation has not become uncommon. We support the Order with the operation, and get the same information that you will gather on Celtris III. But in addition to that, we have our own operations going on and we need your help. Smuggling you into a military camp which is about to keep a Federation officer hostage is exactly the thing we need."

Tallara wanted to ask something, but Tain simply pointed at the padd in her hands. "The details are noted in the padd. Have you ever heard of the USS Enterprise?"

"Which one? As far as I paid attention to Federation History lessons at the Institute, there were several."

"The Enterprise D."

"It's the flag ship of the Federation…in case of war, it will certainly lead the main fleet."

"You will find the information about our plans in the padd as well, but the only important thing you need to know is that we need to plant some ideas and more or less false facts in the head of the UFP head members," Sloan explained. "We have put everything together on a little data chip which you are going to implant into the Enterprise captain's body. Captain Jean-Luc Picard will be the captured Starfleet officer whom the military's mission is all about," Sloan said.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Tallara asked confused. There was too much information being processed in her brain. Her antennae started to twitch nervously.

"No need to worry, Tallara. Everything within its time," Tain said and smiled at her. He side-looked at Sloan who eyeballed Tallara skeptically. She continued looking outside the window while he admitted to himself that Tain seemed to have kept his word. Tallara was in good physical health and her marks at Bamarran were as he had expected. She had grown taller than he would have thought but changed little since he had seen her the last time. Of course, she wouldn't remember. The Order had always been known for developing biological pills that affected the memory system and with all the tests they had done with her, it was good that she had no memory of that…

"I am sorry but we will have to remove your antennae," the Cardassian surgeon said with a strong accent that Tallara assumed to be spoken in the Chin'toka system.

"What?" she asked anxiously.

"Have you ever seen a Cardassian with blue antennae sticking out of his head?" the doctor repaid.

"But I need them. They're helping my sense of balance and orientation," she defended her blue antennae which were hectically twitching on her head.

The doctor hesitated and looked at Sloan who was calmly watching. "They need to be removed. You will feel sick and be unable to do much for the first thirty-six hours, but after that you should adapt," he explained and nodded to the doctor und started searching his tools for the operation.

"They need up to nine months to re-grow. It will handicap me for the first half of the new year at Bamarren," she said. She couldn't imagine a life without her antennae. Andorian physiology made them necessary to her bodily system and functions.

"You will learn to live without them. If you keep working for Tain, it might be that you lose them during an operation or a fight and then you won't have any time to recover," Sloan said sharply.

Before Tallara could complain, she felt the cold itch of a Cardassian Hypospray at her neck skin and slowly lay down. The anesthetic came to work and she lost consciousness.

=/\= Stardate 46360.8 =/\=

Picard woke up by the noise of the doors opening and closing. He couldn't turn around as he was still hanging down from his hands tied up in cuffs at the ceiling. A shadow was moving directly beside him. The hand cuffs were lowered and he could finally touch the ground again. His knees felt wobbly and as soon as the hand cuffs were not connected to the ceiling-device anymore, he fell to the ground. The rest effects of the drugs made his vision to be blurry and the lights were too bright. He saw the shadow of a person kneeing down in front of him.

Whoever it was, he or she gave him a Hypospray and although the lights were still burning in his eyes, his vision got clearer and he recognized a Cardassian female. "Captain Picard, can you hear me?" she asked with a soft voice.

He tried to look around but there was no one else except for the two of them.

"Can you hear me?" she repeated.

His body was aching and he didn't know if he could talk so he simply nodded.

"Listen to me, Captain. I need you with a clear mind. The Hypospray I gave you contains enzymes that disintegrated the chemical components of the drug given to you which are responsible for your dizziness. I will soon give you another dose because I was told by Gul Madred to implant this device into your body," she explained and held up a two times five centimeter device which had several lose wires sticking out.

"I cannot tell you my name but I am a Starfleet officer sent here by the Intelligence Agency of the Federation," she continued and touched his cold arm. "I need certain information to reach Earth and I implant a data chip along with the Cardassian torture device into your body. No one is going to notice it and you will not feel the data chip in any way. I can't promise the same for the torture device however."

"If so, you'd do something wrong," Picard moaned and tried to manage a smile. He had had no idea that the Intelligence Agency was bold enough to send one of their agents to a secretive military base but in the same moment he wondered why he had been sent here with Crusher and Worf if the UFP already had someone down here. He made a mental note to ask if he ever got out of here.

"When you get back to Federation space, please contact the Intelligence Agency and ask a doctor to remove both this device and the data chip. It is essential for maintaining peace in this quadrant. I will have to put you under drugs again to implant them," she said and loaded the Hypospray again.

"What makes you so sure that I will ever come back to Earth?" he asked, not very much believing into any future. He didn't want to think about the future, his past would make him stronger.

"If everything fails, and the Central Command is ordering either your execution or life-long conviction in a Cardassian prison, I will be ordered to rescue you and bring you back into Federation space with all means necessary. But I hope that it will not come to this. The stakes are very high this time and no side is prepared for a war. The occupation of Bajor has weakened the military and a strike against the Federation is not supported by many politicians. Your life is the only ace in their sleeve."

"I am glad that they see me like this. But you could also be one of Gul Madred's games to get me to talk or to weaken," Picard said and moaned loudly in pain. Somehow this enzyme Hypospray didn't do its work properly.

"I don't want you to talk. At least not now. And don't worry, even under torture you won't be asked any questions that would make you reveal my identity. You simply have to remember about the data chip, that's all what I am here for," she said and finally placed the Hypospray on his arm. He felt a pain passing through his arm and into his shoulder. He wished back already the Hyposprays of the Federation. The drugs took effect very quickly and he had hardly reached his position hanging down again that his vision became blurry again.

Unfortunately, these drugs hardly did anything against the pain. He felt blood trickling down his skin and finally the stitches being done. The blood was warm but the metal wires felt so cold. The blood was wiped away and the only hint of this surgery was the pulsative pain in his chest.

"Until tomorrow morning, Captain Picard," the Cardassian said. "It was a pleasure getting you to know." She nodded at him and then walked out of the room, turning off the lights.

Tallara left the office again. It was late but she first had to see Gul Madred to report that she had successfully implanted the device. She knocked at her boss' private quarters and he let her in. He was still sitting at his computer, probably finishing some reports.

"Have you implanted the device?" he asked and already pulled out the remote control.

"Yes, I have. Do you want me to set the control on the right frequency?" she asked. He held out the device and she came closer to pick it up. She arranged a few things and set it on the lowest level. Gul Madred would increase it anyway during the interrogation. "Still having work to do?" she asked to make some small talk.

"The Central Command wants to know about our progresses in the interrogation. I assume that all those politicians have forgotten – or never learnt – that a true interrogation cannot be done under time pressure."

"I take along they don't know about what it takes anyway. Why else would they have become politicians?" she muttered and handed him the device back.

"I want you tomorrow to attend the interrogation, Dara," he said and looked up from the computer screen. "You have been working in an office position on Cardassia IV for too long and I want you to actively learn something."

"That is news to me. Most officers are glad when I am at the desk, filling out some reports," she answered sarcastically.

"A lot of people don't want women in the military, they think they belong into the science department only. But there are men working in great scientific careers and only too few women protecting their beloved planet. And you definitely belong to the women who could play along with the male officers. I haven't heard of any new incidents since Glinn Benil attacked you."

"Is he out of medical treatment already?" she asked interested. He had been the first and only one to comment a woman being a military officer. She supposed that none of the other soldiers wanted to risk a broken nose and arm.

"Yes, and he has been transferred to Cardassia Prime by the Central Command. If you ask me, it was because they couldn't afford more embarrassment to a soldier who was so close to promotion," he said, expressing that he was completely on Tallara's, or rather Dara Telak's side. "Well, perhaps you should get some sleep, Dara. I want you to report back here at seven hundred hours tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir. Have a good night," she said, nodded and left his personal quarters again. She headed back to the dormitories of the lower ranked officers. Part Two of her plan was accomplished so far, but part one was still to complete. She hadn't had time or the necessary access codes yet to unobtrusively download all the information of the base's data core which contained the most update information about Bajor and its space station. When she entered the hallway of the Gil's and Glinn's quarters, she noticed two Cardassians standing in the corridor talking to each other. They turned to her when she approached and remained silent.

"Have you heard about the transfer of Glinn Benil?" one of them asked her.

She nodded. "Yes, I have," she answered coldly. "Anything you want to tell me about that?" she asked provokingly.

The Cardassian snorted contemptuously, looked back at his friend, nodded, and left to his quarters.

"A lot of people didn't like Glinn Benil. But some still don't want to admit it even when he's transferred to another planet," the other Cardassian said.

"He had influence?" Tallara asked.

"His father works at Central Command but is told to be a member of the Obsidian Order," he answered.

"I take it you didn't like Glinn Benil?"

"No, I didn't. He is as arrogant as his father. I met him while I had been stationed on Bajor," he said and offered her a smile that disappeared again immediately.

"You've been to Bajor? What did you do to be send to an underground base on this lost planet?" she asked although she already knew. Tain and Sloan had made her learn every soldier's history by heart who was stationed on this planet.

"It would take some time to explain."

"Would you…care to take this time?" she asked with her half-nice, half-dangerously-looking smile.

He thought about it for a moment, eyeballing her. "Why not?" he responded. "But we shouldn't do that out here in the corridor," he added and led her into his quarters.

"You're Glinn Damar, right?" she asked when the door behind him closed.

"Yes, Corat Damar. And you're unmistakably Dara Telak," he answered and poured in two glasses of Kanar for them.

The two guards walked out of the room and Picard heard the doors shut behind him. He couldn't say if it was simple pain or the feeling of itchy needles all over his body. He couldn't put his arms down, the less painful position was at the height of his shoulders. Only Gul Madred and a female Cardassian, probably his secretary or advisor, were left with him in the room. Gul Madred sat down and poured himself a cup of a smelly beverage, Picard remembered to have heard that Red Leaf tea was favored among Cardassian soldiers – if they didn't prefer Kanar, as they usually did.

The female Cardassian, he hadn't seen many of them in the past, probably because they were rare among the military, wore a uniform similar to his, although her upper clothing resembled more that of a sweatshirt with a wider neckline.

"Perhaps you are aware of the incision in your chest," Gul Madred said after Picard insisted on seeing four lights. "While you were under the influence of our drugs, Gil Dara Telak implanted you with a small device. It's a remarkable invention."

Picard started to remember her face again when she looked at the woman's dark grey skin and the painted blue on her tear-shaped ridge reaching from the start of her hair down to between her eyes. She had long black hair which was draped in a voluminous bun which was both handy during work and definitely drew some attention on the men-dominated military base.

"By entering commands in this padd, I can introduce pain into any part of your body," Gul Madred further explained and Picard remembered what the Cardassian woman had told her. Madred activated the device and Picard would have never thought it to be so effective. A sudden pain shot through his body. It was more intense than anything he had ever felt and it lasted within his bones. Gasping for breath he collapsed and held onto the desk. Madred already deactivated the trigger but the pain stayed. Picard felt numb from the aftershock. The pain was only leaving very slowly.

"Surprising, isn't it?" Gul Madred asked and stood up from the chair behind his desk. He had a short look at Gil Telak, who was calmly standing next to him, watching Picard with eyes full of interested. He decided that it was a good decisions to having brought her along, he should probably train her in the techniques of interrogation, something that most students usually missed during their training at the military educational facilities in the main Cardassian system.

"I know nothing about Minos Korva," Picard repeatedly said.

Tallara observed Gul Madred. He was definitely an experienced officer, but he was tempted too much to pure violence, switching nearly abruptly from a long talk about archaeology to the application of brutality. And he wanted to teach her! She had learnt a lot at Bamarren – and from Tain. And torture wasn't the best way to retrieve information, well, physical torture wasn't the most efficient way to retrieve valuable information. If someone really wanted to get something from the enemy, be it information or other services, time and patience of both sides were needed. However, time was the factor that wasn't available in this context.

Time is the fire in which we burn. Where had she read this quote? It must have been something historical, Tallara remembered. Probably Federation, 23rd century, she recalled. There indeed was a point in learning historical facts by heart, as the docent of Federation history told them every time.

Tallara spent the whole day with Gul Madred at his office, she silently witnessed how Picard weakened more and more, although Madred didn't notice. Somehow she wondered how Cardassian military officer got promoted so easily. It was early in the evening, when they both left the office again and returned to his private quarters.

Gul Madred's daughter was sitting in his chair and he shooed her into her bedroom, promising to indeed read to her when he was finished with work.

"Why have you brought her after all? What about her mother?" Tallara asked.

"She's on a botanical research operation in the wilderness of Cardassia III. She couldn't bring her along and for the time that I am stationed here, she accompanies me. I couldn't do without her, she's my only child," he said and they both took seat. "So, what do you think of the famous Captain Picard?"

"He is stronger than I would have imagined a Starfleet Captain to be. But on the other hand, I'd never underestimate an enemy, whatever rumors had been spread. I honestly doubt that he knows about the plans of defense of Minos Korva. So what is the point in continuing this interrogation when you don't ask him about other things he knows about?" she asked.

"It is not about his knowledge as a Starfleet Captain. Not yet, anyway. It is about breaking him."

"And when you got him so far, he will tell you anything he can think of."

"Exactly," he said, glad that his secretary, his new 'pupil' discovered his way of thinking.

It was another twenty minutes that Tallara spent with her boss discussing the events of the day, until she could finally leave again. When she returned to the quarters, she was not surprised to see that Glinn Damar was waiting for her. Without a word, she followed into his quarters. "I don't think we would need Kanar tonight to talk," she said with a warm smile. In contrast to most Cardassians, his eyebrow ridges were more pronounced and perhaps this was what made him more attractive than the other Cardassians who Tallara had met. Or it was his typically-soldier-like attitude, his rudeness and his kindness, which was hidden deep in his characteristics. He was definitely more complicated than one would think.

"I don't think we will talk much at all," he answered.

Damar was peacefully sleeping next to her. Tallara sighed soundlessly. He wasn't such a bad man, of course, mislead by the Cardassian military. The problem of the people was, that the Cardassians were only told about their way of doing things, about their point of view. But what a good Cardassian mind needed was the exchange with other peoples and races. No wonder that generations of Damar-like by-the-book soldiers were created. But then there were few who were wider-minded, those with charm and political know-how.

At Bamarren, of course a wider view of political and historical topics was given and allowed room for thinking for oneself. Those men and women graduating became big wheels within politics, but only few of them really did think about what was right and what was wrong. She wondered how long Cardassia could live if the people didn't start to think for themselves.

Carefully, she stood up and got dressed, trying not to wake up Damar. Pulling her sweatshirt over her wide neck was difficult and she really wanted to get her own body back. She felt a slight moment of disorientation, due to the loss of her antennae and regarded Damar for a while. He was good-looking and had proven to possess other valuable qualities as well. She only hoped that he would find someone new after he had left his girlfriend with whom he had been on Bajor.

With a last look at him, and at the padd on his desk, she left his quarters. How foolish it had been of him to note all his codes and passwords into a padd, though it was hard to find if someone searched his quarters. But on the other hand, it was not a typically Cardassian mistake, a lot of people of all species tended to write down their most important codes. Tallara hadn't been surprised to find the padd hidden in his desk drawers, even high ranking Guls and Legates wrote down important notes. She left to the third basement level where the main server was located. If she wanted to download all the necessary information, she should do it the direct way. She permitted access and was granted. As soon as she reached the main console, she started scrambling and faking any signals that were sent through the base's digital network.

It took her nearly two hours until she had saved all information on the padd that she had brought along. She was astonished again by how Mindur Timot, a member of the Obsidian Order's science and engineering department, had managed to create a small padd like this with such an incredible huge data memory. When she was done, she made again sure that she had covered all her tracks and also the ones that could lead to Damar. After all, she liked him too much to get caught in such a risky operation.

Tallara hurried back to the quarters section and entered her room. She put the padd deep into her bag and then dressed for the night. She only had three more hours until Gul Madred wanted to see her again and she wanted to use them to sleep at least a bit. If everything went fine, Picard would be released to the Federation by tomorrow evening and she could return to Cardassia Prime to meet Tain and Sloan again.

Please review and tell me if you would like me to continue uploading and if you might be interested in Shadows of War.

Yours, sevenofmine :)