Chapter 11: All out of Cards

Kira woke up first to see her hands were bound over her head with maglocks, attached to the rim of the chair of the Sprague. Her ankles were also bound. To her left was Garak, in the same predicament and attached to the other chair. He was slowly bobbing his head back and forth in an attempt to ground himself.

Ahead of her, Intendent was clad in her red uniform and they had long departed from Bajor.

Her phaser was strapped to her hip, and the Ark was resting next to her.

"You're finally awake." Intendent muttered. "I was afraid I'd actually killed you two."

Garak's eyes fluttered open.

"You." The Major said to the Intendent in half accusation and half disbelief. "You murdered your own child? Why!?"

"Heard about that, huh? To tell you the truth, I don't have time for babies. Besides, I have no interest in sharing attention with anyone." She said dismissively, placing the ark closer to the Major. "Honestly I don't know why he couldn't get over it. If we started to like that thing, it would have only become a liability. It was a weakness neither of us could afford."

Garak exhaled loudly, but the Intendent ignored him.

"I don't understand you."

"I can say the same for you. Now how does this thing work?" The Intendent rotated the ark this way and that.

"It doesn't work the way you think it does. You won't be able to change anything."

Fast as lightning, Intendent drew her phaser and whipped it across the Major's face, causing Kira to shout in pain.

The Intendent paused, then struck her repeatedly. Moisture brimmed in her eyes and she sat on her heels.

"That's not like you. You regret killing him, don't you?"

"Just tell me how to use it Nerys. and I'll stop."

"I already told you it won't work." Bruises were quickly forming across her cheekbone.

"I've killed more important people for less!" She pressed it between Kira's eyes, just above her folded nose.

"You want to kill me? Do it. Pull the trigger." She challenged, and made a silent prayer that the Intendent was bluffing. Intendent's finger began to descend.

"Yes!" Garak shouted. "Destroy one more thing you value! Why stop now? You're on a roll!"

She lowered her phaser.

Kira closed her eyes. Garak, I hope you know what you're doing.

"You know, I have never been so doggedly followed in an escape before. That was your doing, wasn't it? You two have been cooperating with each other this entire time."

"It wasn't difficult to anticipate your moves; I could tell you let Garak do the plotting. He is me, after all." Albeit, less creative. He thought after the fact.

"Indeed he was you. You two make a damn good team, just like we used to." She said, with almost a hint of sadness, but also slightly tinged with what Kira thought was jealousy. "You're just like him, my First Officer. Before he changed." She said in such a way that made Kira think the Intendent blamed him for the way he turned out.

"No thanks to you." Garak echoed Kira's sentiment. "From what I can see, nothing has benefitted from your leadership." The Intendent slowly walked towards him, eyes twinkling darkly. He continued his performance review, despite her predatory approach. Garak had fancied it was Gul Dukat who stood before him instead of the Intendent. "You were so busy parading about the station, flaunting your sexual conquest-of-the-week that you couldn't see a rebellion growing under your very nose! People are just objects for your entertainment, and you blame them when they finally see you for what you really are: A spoiled child. You didn't deserve to sweep Terok Nor's floors."

She landed a fist across his face so hard that his head swung back. She grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. Her chin jutted out in stubborn defiance. "Say that to me again."

A low sounding laugh erupted from him, partially smothered by his swollen lip. "Just a spoiled child, angry that she broke all her toys!" Finding his response infuriating, she readied herself for another strike.

"Stop it, Nerys!" Kira finally shouted, then softened her voice. "Please."

"'Please?'" Intendent quoted with a glare. "Now you remember your manners? Now you will say please to me, when I'm teaching this wretch a sliver of respect?" She approached Kira until she was nose-to-nose with her. "Why do you care what I do to him? I saw how you look at Cardassians, you hate them."

"I just don't want to watch a senseless beating." Kira answered honestly. Intendent turned away, walking into the middle of the runabout. "You don't get respect that way." Kira added.

"Oh! I get it now! You two are friends!" She spun around on her heel, leaned forward, and planted a hand across her chest and whispered loudly. "Is it a secret? You don't want other Bajorans to know you're chummy with a Cardassian?"

"It's not like that at all-"

"-No?" She tapped her phaser on her lower lip in thought. She sized Garak up, head to toe. He may have looked identical to her version, but she could see he was quite different in every other way. He was clever, stood with pride and confidence, and there was a spark of vibrant life in his eyes that the other lacked.

Her First Officer was ruined. But this one? Fresh and untainted, like ripe fruit begging to be plucked, tender and easy to bruise.

"You don't want me to beat him because it would hurt your feelings?" She reached out and ran her hand alongside his neck chord. His soft, smooth scales were a familiar sensation under her fingertips. She ran her fingers just over the fourth scale and began to rub it, just the same way Cardassians engaged in foreplay. He tried to move away from her touch. "But did you stop to think about my feelings, Nerys?"

What are you doing? Kira wanted to shout, but Garak beat her to it by a second.

"What. Are you doing." He said with a curl to his nose and moved his head away, trying to increase the space between them as much as the maglocks would allow.

"I can tell you've had some training against torture. I could inflict pain on you all day long, and it wouldn't mean anything to you." Intendent closed the distance again. "I think what you need is a ... gentler touch." She saw something new flash in his eyes: fear.

"We were intimate, you know. On several occasions. I know what you like. All your little sensitive spots, your little... secrets. Like here." His body went rigid, as if she really had inflicted pain. "Nothing you can do to stop me. Powerless." She whispered into his ear, locked eyes on Kira, and flashed her a sadistic smile. There's more than one way to inflict pain on you. How about I destroy your friendships? One by one...

She ran her fingers inside his shirt and down his side, trailing the direction of his scales down his body. She saw the horror in Kira's eyes, and felt emboldened. She planted a kiss under his chin and nibbled down his neck, just as Elim used to enjoy. He swallowed, but kept his eyes focused on nothing, likely trying to incorporate some Cardassian trance to cushion his mind against her ministrations.

"None of that." The Intendent whispered, then continued, and a startled gasp escaped his lips, barely audible. "You tried to spare her punishment by diverting attention to you. Saying all those nasty things. Well, you succeeded."

She felt his muscles flex as he tried to stress the maglocks in an attempt to get away. "Oh, you used to love it when I touched you here..." She moved her hand lower. "...But especially here." An involuntary shiver ran up his spine that made him shudder. "And I'm not even started yet."

"The Major and I have enjoyed each other's company many times, Intendent." He spun a lie and struggled to mask that angry-hot sensation she ignited in the pit of his stomach. Kira resisted the urge to correct the record. Just what is your angle here?

"You may know my secrets," Garak continued, "but I doubt you are up to par with the Major." He said with a voice so smooth it made Kira wish to never hear that voice again.

Intendent hid a wince and faked a smile. "We'll see about that." She ran her hand over his arm and towards his maglocks as if to disengage them. His heart skipped a beat and a surge of adrenaline made him tremble. So close...wait for it...

"A little Occupation would do wonders for your personality." He whispered into her ear before nibbling it, but instead of encouraging her further, something about that word made her freeze. Hadn't Nerys said something about some 'Occupation' here? This was beginning to sound less like a flirt and more like a threat.

I went too far. Garak thought suddenly. Of course his Kira would have told the Intendent about the Occupation! He realized with sudden dread that he had just squandered his opportunity to turn the tables.

The Intendent laughed nervously and pulled away: Her First Officer had given fully to her charms; this one resisted and resented her. No, he was still too dangerous to release. He had to be shattered first.

"Now, did you forget you're supposed to cooperate?" She tapped him on the tip of his nose. "I'm going to have to break you of that independent streak of yours! We can start by you kissing me."

Garak hesitated to respond. His hesitation lasted only for a moment. A new strategy was in order.

"No." He said firmly but gently, knowing the repercussions of that answer, then looked her in the eyes, and resigned himself to whatever may come next.

There was a subtle curl of her nostril. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pressed her lips against his forcefully. When he did not reciprocate, she pulled away. He wasn't staring at her anymore - not even fearfully. She followed his gaze to the phaser on her hip. Another thrill ran through her.

"You want to take that from me?" Never mind his maglocks preventing any such possibility. "You'll be dead before you do. Now I said kiss me." She warned.

"And I said 'No.'"

"What are you going to do to stop me?" She hooked her thumb around the rim of his trousers and tugged them downwards. "I'll make you beg, just like Elim did." She leaned in again, so tantalizingly close, and whispered. "I love the way your scales lift when you feel threatened." She said with mirth. "It's a good look on you-"

He thrust his head forward to where his bony spoon collided against the reinforced bridge of her nose with a sickening crunch that made Kira wince. The Intendent fell to the floor, her phaser sliding out of its holster and skidding across the runabout floor, out of reach of the prisoners. She screamed with both hands cupping her nose: The pain was so searing it blocked out her vision. A gush of blood ran down her upper lip.

"You b-broke my nose?!" She shouted, her hand shielded the blood from pooling as she spoke. She began to calm, her vision returned in splotchy patches. Her nose was throbbing, and a headache was forming behind her eyes. She could see Garak sitting there, spoon bleeding and leaving a crimson trail down both sides of his nose, looking rather proud of himself.

"You broke the cardinal rule of interrogation, Intendent. Never get too close."

"It's actually broken." She said to no-one specific, palpating her nose gingerly. "That's...Hard to do on a... Bajoran..." She struggled to rise from the sudden dizziness, balled her fist, and threw a punch across his cheek. He exhaled from the impact, caught sight of Kira's worried expression, and almost smiled. This is more what I'm trained for.

"I should do more," The Intendent said, rubbing her sore knuckles. "But I have a terran war to win." With the unexpected introduction of pain, her sadistic side had faded, and she realized she had gotten sidetracked: the original goal was to learn how to use the orb, not to break in a new First Officer.

"How do I use the ark!" She shouted at Kira, then pointed the phaser against Garak's temple. She resisted the urge to pull the trigger just for the hell of it. The last time she killed him, she immediately regretted it, and this version was even better than the previous one.

"Just open it." Kira explained simply. "And think about where you want to go." Figure it out for yourself that it won't do what you want it to.

Intendent turned around, wiped the blood off her lip just in time for another gush to re-coat it.

"Just open it and think? I thought Bareil was lying when he said that." She took in a breath through her mouth, slid open the ark, and stared into it.

I think I have only one good jump left in my transponder. I'll use the orb, then jump back to my dimension. I'll kill Jennifer in front of Sisko, then I'll kill him, then O'Brien, the entire lot! Before they ever become a problem for me. I'll have my Odo and First Officer back. That's all I need.

It shone like a thousand diamonds, filling her senses with light, amplifying her headache.

"It's so pretty." She said, ignoring the pain, then disappeared in a flash.

.

.

"I'm surprised major," Garak mumbled, dizzy from the impact, spoon throbbing. "By the look on your face, one would think you were violated and not me."

"I heard what you said about the Occupation and my personality." She said in a low voice.

"Am I wrong?" He challenged almost breathlessly. He hoped he wouldn't faint - spoons evolved to pick up pheromones, not absorb blunt-force trauma like a Klingon's ridge.

She remained quiet, and looked back at the orb.

"This isn't good, is it?" He finally asked.

"Honestly, I don't really know. Every time I used it, I was so sure I could change things, but in the end nothing really did. I think Kai Opaka is right."

"I find your wishful thinking refreshing-"

Through the window of the Sprague, they watched as a ship not much larger than the Runabout decloak and match speed.

"What is that?"

"I have no idea. It doesn't look like Orbital Security."

A broad-range message began to play throughout the Sprague.

"This is Condor to Sprague. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. Any attempt to resist will be grounds for lethal force."

Garak and Kira stared at each other. And what were they supposed to do while confined by maglocks?

"This is Condor to Sprague. Lower your shields."

"Is it a PMC?" Garak offered.

"Hired by who?"

He looked away and locked his gaze onto the runabout floor. Now that the orb was successfully stolen, shall I take a wild guess.

The Runabout shuddered with a strike.

WARNING: SHIELDS AT 66 PERCENT. The automated computer voice announced.

Another shot fired.

WARNING: SHIELDS AT 41 PERCENT.

"They're trying to disable our shields." He announced needlessly.

"If they aren't careful, they could destroy us."

Another shot sounded that caused a shower of sparks overhead that they tried to duck. A final shot caused the runabout to moan.

"Will they stop firing!?"

WARNING: STRUCTURAL DAMAGE DETECTED. VACCUM LEAK DETECTED. LIFE SUPPORT OFFLINE. INITIATING WARP CORE BREACH PREVENTION MEASURES: EMERGENCY SHUT DOWN. They were plunged into darkness.

Four people beamed aboard, and Kira recognized them as Bajoran.

"I am so glad you're here!" Garak shouted almost too cheerfully. "We were just beset by some Ferengi marauders..."

They ignored Garak's off-the-cuff lies and tapped their comm badge.

"Captain, the orb is here, but Major Kira is not." They focused the torches of their rifles at their faces. "Just those two."

"What do we do with them?"

"Major," Garak whispered. "They think you're the Intendent. On account of your clothes!" Was this a good or bad thing?

They heard the captain respond. "Orders still stand, take the Orb, leave the two, send out an SOS and let someone else pick them up."

"They have no life support."

"That's not my problem."

A flash from the orb signaled the return of the Intendent, who immediately reached for her phaser. The Bajoran men turned in surprise and aimed. There was a flurry of brightly-colored laser shots that pierced through the intense dark of the Sprague. The shootout ended quickly, having lasted only a couple of critical seconds.

The remaining two men announced their capture of the Major Kira Nerys, who appeared to have been stunned and lay prostrate on the Runabout floor. They collected the Orb of Time and the Intendent, and beamed off the runabout, leaving both Kira and Garak in the lonely dark. The ship passed them by, turned, and left.

They tried to exchange worried glances in the dark.

"Did they just leave us here without any life support?" He asked unnecessarily.

"They put out an SOS. Maybe a freight or Deep Space Nine will pick it up."

"Will we survive long enough to be rescued?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "Maybe we should stop talking to preserve oxygen."

Garak nervously pressed his lips together. This is bad.

.

.

It didn't take long for the Runabout to lose heat.

It felt like they had been abandoned for nearly an hour in that vast, cold dark. Their breath came out in thick puffs and they shivered. The cold had turned into a powerful, unrelenting force that sank into their bones.

"Any time now." Kira had said before falling into a violent shiver, her body's last-ditch effort to stay warm. The Intendent's metal tiara nearly burned against her skin from how cold it was. Her teeth hurt, and there was a thick coat of frost on their eyelashes.

Where the Intendent and the Orb had been taken to was anyone's guess. But if Garak was right, she was being sent back to Bajor to face charges, in a warm ship, under Major Kira's identity. Oh, Kai Winn was in for a surprise.

Would it have killed them to take us both, too?

Kai Winn must not have specified. Maybe their orders were to simply retrieve Major Kira and not bother with the other two? It was impossible to conjecture at this point what the Kai was thinking.

She felt sleepy despite the cold and began to nod off as Garak had, when she felt her body begin to tingle from a transporter picking up her signal.

.