. - . - .
. - . - .
Chapter 10: Tears for the future
. - . - .
. - . - .
The blinding flash of light was disorienting, and sounds rushed through their ears like deafening ocean waves before slowly calming.
The noises and light died down, and they found themselves transported to a bleak temporary Cardassian structure in Bajor's capital city. The sky was littered with small ships going to and fro, making deliveries and transporting people.
Garak looked for any nearby Cardassian soldiers but found their surroundings peaceful.
I wonder if my younger self is about to help those street urchins escape interrogation. Maybe if I warn myself, I won't be exiled. He dismissed the thought. Stopping the Dominion War and saving countless Cardassian lives was far more important.
In the corner of an unguarded space, a woman draped in red and purple robes and crowned with a headpiece sat at a desk. A large book lay open before her. Her lips moves subtly as she scanned the ancient manuscript.
"Kai Opaka." Kira breathed. She was filled with love at the sight of her familiar face and felt her throat clench with the desire to mourn the inevitable loss of her in the future.
The Kai turned in her direction from where she sat, but their eyes failed to lock. Her pointer and middle finger stretched outwards, barely hovering over her lip, as if they were antennae sensing the air.
"The air is heavy with a Tear of the Prophets." She announced simply.
"We are using a Tear, yes."
"Why have you come to me?"
"We're here with a grave warning from the future."
"The future? So the Orb of Time is returned to us."
Kira approached the older woman and wrapped her cool hands around hers in a pleading gesture. "Several years from now, we will regain our independence from the Cardassians. We claim Terok Nor for our own and forge an alliance with Starfleet. We find the Celestial Temple. We even have our Emissary with us."
Kai was dumbstruck, but after a moment of silence, a warm smile spread across her face that she willingly shared with the Cardassian who stood silently behind Kira. He bowed his head slightly towards her - a rare show of respect that a Cardassian in her time would never indulge. His gesture served as confirmation to the Kai that her visitor was speaking the truth.
"I never lost faith that the prophets would deliver us."
"They were with us the entire time, Kai Opaka."
Behind Kira, Garak resisted the urge to roll his eyes and kept a respectful distance.
"Then what is wrong for you to seek me here?"
"When we found the Celestial Temple, we discovered it's also a wormhole into the Gamma quadrant. We regulated travel through it."
Kai looked offended. "You used the temple for profit?"
"It was a terrible mistake. We thought it would strengthen Bajor. There is a force on the other side. The Dominion. We have been at war with them ever since." She paused and took in a pained breath. "I don't see how we can win it."
"I take your presence to mean Cardassia is under threat as well?"
"Cardassia is no longer in a position to fight." He confirmed.
"I see." She slid her hands out of Kira's grasp. "And you think I can help you? Here? Now?"
"After we claim Terok Nor, if you order us not to move the station-"
"'I'm sorry my sweet, dear child. I can do nothing for you." She responded apologetically, without the slightest hint of condescension. Kira's mouth opened in shock.
"Nothing?" Garak quoted and approached her.
"Why?" Kira managed to utter.
"Everything that happens has already been authored by the prophets. You can not change what they have intended. The Orb of Time was not gifted to us to change that which we dislike. It is to gain new perspective to grow beyond ourselves!"
Kira closed her mouth and exhaled quietly out of her nose. She had expected nothing would change, but having her suspicion confirmed still chilled her like a bucket of cold water.
"We must play our roles in faith." The Kai continued.
Garak looked from his left to his right in an attempt to dispel his agitation. So all this was a waste! "Major, if we were to contact-"
"-Am I to understand your government returned the Orb of Time to us willingly?"
"They did." He looked irritated by her interruption but confirmed her suspicion.
"Would they have returned it if they found it served their interests?"
Her question made him pause in thought. She reached out her hand and grabbed his ear, feeling for his pah. He resisted the urge to pull away. "The prophets have a role for you, too."
"I don't believe in your prophets."
"You don't have to." She let go of his ear.
The light from the Orb of Time began to flash. Kira lowered her head in solemn defeat.
"Prophets guide you." She heard her Kai say gently before the Orb returned them to their time.
. - . - .
. - . - .
The Intendent reached the highest level of the temple where the sun hung low in the sky and shone a neon-red through the smoke. The first thing she spotted was an altar with assorted, unblemished fruit nestled atop it - an offer to the prophets. She rushed towards it and plucked a ripe fruit off the altar and sank her teeth into it.
"Mmm!" She vocalized and grabbed another one and bit into that just the same, sweet juice dripping down either side of her mouth. When she finished one she dropped the core to the floor and grabbed another, and another, gorging on the fruit intended for the gods.
When she passed satiety and into a level of fulness that made her stomach hurt, she scanned the room more carefully. This is where the orb should be. But there was no sign of it. Did they take it with them? Dread sank into the pit of her stomach. I did not come all this way for nothing. It must be here!
Then she remembered the time she spent here as a child in her dimension, crawling through ancient tunnels and admiring their murals and hidden alcoves.
What harm would it be to check every square inch of her old hiding spots? She popped the last fruit into her mouth, despite the pain in her stomach, and headed back downstairs.
. - . - .
. - . - .
"Well, that was a waste of effort!" Garak lamented as the light faded. "I must say I am disappointed."
"Yeah." She whispered, careful not to blaspheme but placing a hand on the wall for balance.
"I understand now why my people returned it!"
"I think it's time we go home." They could pack the orb onto the runabout for safe keeping, and let Bajor's authority arrest Intendent - Or Elim, depending on who shot who. Grand arson and threatening a temple was likely to garner more attention where their previous crimes hadn't.
"I couldn't agree m-" He arched his back in shock, then sank to the floor. Just as Kira had registered that he had been shot, another shot rang out, and she too fell to the floor.
. - . - .
. - . - .
It wasn't easy for Intendent to swap clothing with an unconscious Major, but since the only defining characteristic between them was what they wore, she assumed it was a good precaution. "I'm going to miss this." She said lovingly to her solid latinum tiara. "But no one else is worthy of it." She slipped it over Kira's head and placed a gentle kiss on the other woman in appreciation of her beauty.
She glanced again at Kira's wrist. She had seen it before but hadn't cared to investigate, but now that they were fully dressed in the other's clothes, she took a better look.
"Now what is this?" The Intendent detached the remote control from Kira's wrist. With a simple tap of her finger, the face of it blipped to life, offering its various command options for the Sprague. "Oh, Nerys! You've brought me a gift!" She slid the utilitarian unit over her slender wrist and tilted her hand this way and that. "Not very flattering."
She called the Sprague to descend and glanced over at the ark.
"Now all I need is for you to tell me how to use it."
The smoke had grown so thick that she was constantly clearing her throat and rubbing her burning eyes. It wouldn't be long before the fire reached the temple. She stared at her copy who lay on the floor. I just can't leave you here to burn. She cast her eyes over to Garak. Her Elim was now dead, but there was still a chance this one could replace him.
Her hair quivered with the disturbed air as the Sprague descended and opened its hatch. She tucked the ark underneath her arm and boarded.
. - . - .
. - . - .