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Chapter Text

Born in the Bozeman Mountains of said city in Montana, Lynet Ross had a long history of wild living, hunting in the forest and savoring the thrill of a phaser, hunting stick, and assorted blade work - protecting not only herself but others around her. She never stayed in the house, never once stayed behind from a mission given by Starfleet, and never once disobeyed a direct order.

Lynet always dreamed of joining Starfleet as both her parents served - her father was Captain William Ross and her mother Lt. Commander Julianna Ross née Carlyle, but both parents were away from Earth much of the time, leaving her and her sister Kayley - who was six years her senior - alone for the elder to care for her younger sibling as well as herself, even managed school together while under the care of a longtime friend of the father, until Lynet was ten years old when her sister contracted a deadly illness that she passed away within half a year from. She was left alone to fend for herself until the caregiver who was like an uncle to her and her deceased elder sister died when she was thirteen years old. Until she was seventeen years old, Lynet fended for herself in the wilderness whilst completing her homeschooling and hunting for fresh wild kill to sustain her life.

Both her parents were impressed with her ability to fight and prowl as were her instructors and personal trainers, but Lynet possessed more prowess than any Klingon ever would - even more than her cousin Annora, daughter of her father's older brother James Ross. Yet no one would ever know that the hardness on her soul was due to the fact that she raised herself in the Bozeman Mountains - and the betrayal of her father's friend and mentor onto her very being. As time went on, she learned to distrust any man who crossed her path even though she came to accept it as a drive toward her future.

A young woman now, Lynet could still remember the first time she was taken flight into space. The excitement was uncanny, and she could feel it in her eyes and into her soul that the stars mirrored her irises - and it was as if she truly belonged amongst them. To think of the other races in deep space she would encounter as soon as she left Starfleet Academy...

Unfortunately, her future freedom and pursuit of happiness came at a price besides the wrong done to her as a teenager. Her parents had gone through a divorce when she had just turned seventeen, the strain and distances of their careers keeping them apart and away from their two daughters; it was the loss of their eldest that affected them the most, and impacted their surviving youngest who swore from then on that she would NEVER marry or have a family of her own.

During her studies and eventually becoming a cadet, Lynet isolated herself from crowds and kept to her own little world; hunting was kept from her as being an officer for the Federation would take up one of her prized hobbies. Her soul was shattered slightly when she was restrained from ever leaving the academy grounds due to her wild nature. But over time, she learned to live with it as she had learned to live with her sister's passing and the shame that followed. She received a promotion fast to Ensign when she was assigned to her mother's starbase in the Alpha Quadrant: Starbase 323.

An exceptional young officer as she fought long and hard for, Ensign Lynet Ross always obeyed orders, yet while she changed externally and cooperated well with her fellow officers, the inner hardness remained as did her fiery temper and cynical view of the new species around her. But when she will become lieutenant junior grade, her entire world would change forever with a chance encounter and assault by the mysterious and deadly Dominion.

Chapter Text

"Sir, we have not been able to pick up the fleets on our sensors."

"You honestly think I do not see that?" he snapped at his first-in-command. "I spot it as clearly as you, even if my eyes aren't as brilliant as yours."

The Jem'Hadar bowed his head in minor apology. "Forgive me, Commander. I meant no disrespect."

The Vorta snorted and turned his attention away. "Of course, you didn't, First Yaran'alon. But at least we both agree that we are on the same page." If there would ever be a way to agree that he was growing tired of waiting; it was not like his own men would ever turn on him. He had many dislikes but no great enemies so far. He shoved the thought aside and concentrated on the task at hand. Why did they have to wait so long for the Cardassians and the Romulans to come to them?

One hundred and fifty Jem'Hadar fighters were cloaked and waiting for the targets to arrive. The other side of the galaxy, in the Alpha Quadrant, was an impending danger to the Dominion as they intruded more times than enough, something the Founders no longer tolerated, although Yelgrun and his fellow Vorta always knew along with their gods that someday soon, the Federation would come into their territory again - and they'd be ready for them.

Yelgrun hated to wait. He liked to think he was the only one of his own to admit his lack of tolerance in waiting. First Yaran'alon and the rest of the unit knew that very much, even his peers. Even the Founders knew but did nothing to change that part of him. It seemed as if it didn't matter if the Vorta carried the trait of perseverance or not, as long as they mastered the abilities to trick and trap the opponent, and revered their makers.

And now, the long wait had ended, after days of it. Yelgrun thought he would die from the boredom. But if there was one thing that kept him from going mad, it was the little...daydream that he would not let anyone know about at a time like this, if only for a few minutes before the First reminded him that their mark had not yet appeared on their sensors.

Until the long-awaited recently decloaked fleets. The twenty Cardassian vessels present must have modified their cloaking so the Jem'Hadar did not detect them on the sensors. Very impressive.

The Founders wanted the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar to combine and eventually arrive to attack their homeworld, and that was also why they initiated an automated transponder to give the fleets the false sense that they were still in the Omarion Nebula and that they would be no match against the Jem'Hadar. The Founders were safely away from this location, but their armies were ready for the attackers. The Cardassians and the Romulans thought they could just strike at the heart of the Dominion without thinking that the other would strike back, did they? Or did they just assume they would come through victorious? Yelgrun thought with a smirk as he watched with his men - and the rest of the fleet - as the combined forces fired onto the surface of the Founders' homeworld.

This was the signal of their time to strike.

The Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order both needed taken care of, which Yelgrun looked forward to, but that still left the Klingon Empire as well as the Federation - and they would be the even bigger issue to focus on against the Dominion very soon.

~o~

"First, report!"

In accordance: the Cardassian Koranak met its demise, and its crew would lose their chance soon enough - this was Yelgrun's doing, and one of his greatest prides. Nothing but a thrill of the field of fire, only unlike many of his people, he was satisfied with himself that he survived so long in each of his past three lifetimes unlike most of his people. He was positive that this time would be made just as recognizable as his past accomplishments; the credit would not go to just himself, but to the entire fleet - namely those who lived through in their current incarnations. The Vorta were all decent but replaceable, and he knew it. But how could anyone object to the Founders?

His ship was wracked then with an impact. A Romulan warbird had fired on them - and it targeted their dorsal field junction. Which meant - "Men, get us -!"

The last thing he knew was being consumed painfully with fire, and his men's roaring echoed into his eardrums...and then nothing at all but darkness.

~o~

He opened his eyes and groaned at the light in his eyes, hearing the hissing and echoing of voices in his ears. Just his luck. Yelgrun 4 was right on schedule. He laughed sarcastically at the thought, turning his face away from the figure beside him.

Borath frowned down at him. "Honestly, Yelgrun, I do not see anything funny about waking into your fourth incarnation."

"No, of course, you don't," he replied, sitting up and stretching. "Am I allowed to know how the rest of the fight went when I lost my senses and my men - AND the ship?"

The scientist shook his head, muttering something to himself even Yelgrun could not catch. "I'm afraid I was not told every ounce of the details, but I will tell you there were no survivors from the Obsidian Order." Unless there were any, then they would be taken to the Internment Camp 371. "And if it is any consolation, Yelgrun," Borath said, interrupting his thoughts, "you did a fine job as always, as did the others. But you have more than another chance to prove yourself to the Founders."

"As ever," he muttered as he stood from the table, not caring about the blanket on his body and accepting his new wardrobe from the cloning assistant. She looked at him reproachfully but kept her mouth shut. "Will the Founder wish to see me anytime soon?"

"Perhaps, but I can't be certain. But...there is one other thing."

Yelgrun did his best to not roll his eyes. "Enlighten me, friend," he said sarcastically. Borath might treat all of his subjects like blood children - a rarity within the Dominion - but with Yelgrun in particular, it was his attitude that prevented mutual respect between them. But it was not like Yelgrun ever had the time for what Weyoun enjoyed for himself, having Eris and Gelnon, and several others in a circle. Yelgrun was not welcomed into that circle.

"It might seem like terrible timing for you in recent events," Borath began, irritably calm and the other, impatient man wished that he would just get it over with, but his back faced him that the scientist and cloning overseer did not see his face, "but it is the Founder's wish. We have recently received the DNA of a new cloning candidate who will become one of us in a matter of time - a new Field Supervisor in our ranks. She thought you would be the likely choice to oversee the new one's training."

Of all the things...! Did the Founders deem HIM out of all people to train a new little seeker?! Whoever this one was...

"So, this is Yelgrun."

He whirled around at the sound of the purr of a voice, laced with curiosity and suspicion at once. He thought he was going to turn into ice when he looked at the face, struck at what he found but shoved it down. The new Vorta was...young. Much younger than he thought, visually different than the rest of the males of their species, and completely opposite of Yelgrun. The latter Vorta kept his face stoned expressionless as he continued to look down and up the younger male, wondering what good would come of this one. A trainee would just slow him down, for all he knew. "Yes, and you are?" he asked, not afraid to show this side of himself notorious to everyone else.

The younger Vorta lifted his chin and sniffed before responding. "Keevan."

Borath cleared his throat, coming between them. "The record of Keevan's progenitor is extremely remarkable that the Founders deemed him a wondrous candidate," he said with a slight smile, gaze switching back and forth between the senior Field Supervisor and the newest one. "You will be impressed by the results. He is like no other Vorta that has ever served the Dominion in existence; I have the utmost confidence in him, Yelgrun."

"I will not let you or the Dominion down," Keevan promised, his wide amethyst eyes shining and glittering with so much life that they contrasted with Yelgrun's dull dark purple ones. He inwardly recoiled; why were his gods doing this to him?

He snorted as he returned the gaze. "We'll have to see about that...little one," he almost sneered.

In response, Keevan's nose scrunched up as his lips almost curled, the obvious competition making Borath sigh and shake his head behind them. This was going to be difficult to get his newest student to get along with one of the longest-running, more restless agents.

Yelgrun himself, however, felt his anger subside the longer he looked deep into the younger man's eyes, something along the lines of heat growing in his stomach and twisting his insides in a knot he had not...felt in a long time.

~o~

"You're nothing."

He spun around to look at the older Vorta's gray-violet eyes, fuming with more fire than before. All these weeks progressing into months had turned into strain in their relationship. They weren't together physically; how could they? Keevan was never interested in Yelgrun in that manner, but the older Field Supervisor took nothing to heart. The backlash was to be expected, but to be called nothing? How could he call his best pupil this?!

Keevan lost his cool then and swung his fist over a table, knocking some useless items off the table. These were Yelgrun's quarters, but he didn't care. "How dare you call me nothing!" he yelled back, the corners of his eyes burning with hurt. "You're not favored all that well by the Founders while I am their newest and so far favorited, most prized. You simply do not take refusals and never forgive for anything. What was I thinking you would be a better man than this?"

Yelgrun's face was unflinching, but the fire was there, reflecting Keevan's. So was the betrayal. "And what was I thinking about, thinking you would be more than just my student?" He moved forward then, leaning halfway so his face was meters away from Keevan's. "And you were the first to ever accept me, understand me and never once questioned me, never complained about anything about me -"

He was just reaching up to cup Keevan's face with both his hands, but the young Vorta wanted nothing to do with any form of contact. Scoffing disgustedly, he drew back and snarled, baring his teeth. "Nothing other than your lack of patience. I could put up with Borath and Eris better than you. Sometimes I wished I was assigned to another teacher than you, Yelgrun." Someone who actually treated him as an equal, praised him more often than Yelgrun would sigh and shake his head at any mistake he made, make him feel special - he would never bring in singling out his gods. He would accept glares and disapproval from the Founders if he erred, disappointment from his friends, but not from someone whom he wanted to call...a friend.

"I thought you would be my friend, Yelgrun," he said softly, throat closing in around his esophagus as he felt the tears finally roll down his cheeks. He never cried, the original Keevan never cried, so why was he now? He never thought he would long to find someone to actually care about him in a way more than just appraisal of his talents. He didn't want just the love that the rest of his people scrambled for from their makers and gave them because they had to; he wanted more. But not the way Yelgrun of all people wanted him.

"And I thought you would see more in me than just a friend and teacher," Yelgrun returned, softly but still dark with anger. "I could see and smell it off you. You saw the way I looked at you, you might have heard me call your name at night, and I never stop having those thoughts about you -"

Something in his being broke that he exploded. "Stop this!" He turned to walk out of these quarters, wanting to get away, but Yelgrun would not let him go that easily. The young Vorta was grabbed by the arm and pulled back, his body enveloped against Yelgrun's. He struggled. "Let me go this instance!"

"No," Yelgrun growled, leaning down and smashing his mouth against Keevan's, his tongue forcing his mouth open so he could taste Keevan for the first time, but the young man wouldn't have this. He did NOT like this in the slightest; he knew little to nothing about physical attraction, but this did not feel right. Yelgrun did not say the words directly, but he had fallen for Keevan who did not feel the same way. He would stand his ground and fight to protect himself. Yelgrun had become a danger to him now.

He brought his hand up in an effort to caress that one vulnerable spot on a Vorta's body besides between their legs, while one of Yelgrun's arms held him as his free hand explored Keevan's back and eventually came down to grope his buttocks, and Keevan grasped Yelgrun's left ear and scratched his nails along the sensitive ridges, causing the older Vorta to roar in pain and release him, only to swing out and strike Keevan's face, the impact sending him onto the table facedown. Another blow had come, this time to his backside as an addition to wound his pride. He bit back the groan as he tried to stand up, but Yelgrun was on him again, reaching for the tight waistband of his pants. He yelled to the computer to send in the security team to Yelgrun's quarters in time for the other Vorta to slap his hand over his mouth.

"You're selling me out after everything, after betraying my trust, Keevan! They'll keep you away from me, do everything to keep us separated! Do you realize what you're doing to me - to US?"

He looked up with Keevan in time to see three Jem'Hadar guards beam into the quarters and raise their rifles at them. "Stand down, sir," one of them ordered, "and step away from him." Yelgrun begrudgingly obeyed and released Keevan, who ran away for the doors as the guards moved to handcuff Yelgrun and take him in for questioning. The Dominion wasn't entirely brutal, executing without further investigation, but Yelgrun would be dealt with most accordingly if not executed for assaulting a fellow operative. He was currently incarnation number four, so they'd have to see. Keevan was about to open the doors and return to his for the time being, but Yelgrun continued to explode with hateful words that would haunt Keevan for a long time to come.

"We're not done, Keevan. I took you in and you thank me this way. You can go about your business and serve the Dominion as faithfully as I do, but you will always be a pretty little face with nothing from the inside to give back. You will always be alone as I am, even if you do manage to feel something for another and they don't return it to you. When that day comes, you'll feel the same pain that I do. You'll NEVER be happier than you are giving your life for the Founders."

Chapter Text

"The time is 0500 hours."

She mumbled to herself as she woke up to the sound of the computer aboard the USS Lakota. Being up all night going through the reports of the attack on the Antwerp Conference had worn her to her bones, but she couldn't just lay in bed all day. This job tended to get the best of you, which was why she sometimes wished she could get out more often, and take a break on Earth at home in the mountains, but as a soldier for the Federation, you were to go where you were stationed. As a young officer, whether you were male or female, you had loads of burdens on your shoulders as well as your mentality that it was difficult to have any peace.

Like it had been when she lost Kayley at age ten. And what happened three years later to follow.

As well: her parents' divorce when she had just enlisted in Starfleet. And that hadn't been easy, either. Not that it ever was for anyone of any culture.

Lynet Ross was celebrating her promotion to lieutenant junior grade today. She had been an Ensign for the last two years, and the day had come. She was the most promising young officer - and the youngest on the crew - but it wasn't like she had any real friends outside work to celebrate this with, except her mother and the man who was her supervising officer for a short time at the academy.

She found herself standing and stretching, turning to look at herself in the mirror beside her bed. Her ebony hair, cropped short to cover her ears, was frizzy and all over the place. She never cared about her appearance other than for the sake of the uniform, and when her hair had once been longer, she cut it herself to keep it out of her face when she was accepted into Starfleet. It was one of the characteristics that her mother used to tell her she needed to keep out of her face to prevent distractions.

Polished and refreshed, she took another look at herself, taking in the gray and black uniform over the lavender turtleneck, as well as the Federation badge over her chest - the badge she was proud to wear. She would gladly trade her own life before she gave up her soldier's vows. Anyone would have to kill her first if they asked her to defect from the Federation; Dad taught her that himself. Lynet huffed and straightened her posture before turning to leave her cabin and join the rest of the crew. First, she had a job to do before the celebrations would ever begin.

Ever since the revelation that the mysterious Founders of the Dominion - Changelings - infiltrated the Federation, the entire Starfleet Council and the people in every fleet, and the people to protect, were wracked with jitters. Nothing major as of yet...until now. During the Antwerp Conference - the gathering of representatives from both the Federation and the Romulan Empire on Earth - a bombing occurred, concluding that it had been terrorism...and footage of a Changeling amongst living proof, according to Deep Space 9's Chief of Security. Twenty-seven people were at that meeting altogether. President Jaresh-Inyo publicly declared it an official mourning worldwide, and her cousin covered the story herself.

Lynet held her breath as she replayed this news in her head, a bad habit she could never help.

The Changelings found their way to Earth.

The attack was only yesterday, and it couldn't have been at a more perfect timing that one of the most important men in Starfleet was here just for today to promote her, one of his best and brightest former students besides one Benjamin Sisko.

Admiral Leyton was a good friend of her parents for a long time and an uncle figure to her - who also mentored her while she still attended Starfleet Academy until she became Ensign and stationed at Starbase 323 - and now he was here to oversee her promotion, along with Commander Erika Benteen whom he was considering placing in charge of the Lakota as Captain Eisenhower was among those who was killed in the attack. He was the one to tell her that a good officer respected the superior officer, and that was why they were perfectly matched as teacher and student. Whether you agreed with the order or not was irrelevant.

"It is my distinct honor to present you as Lynet Ross...lieutenant junior grade."

She inhaled through her nose and let it out as she looked into his eyes. Lt. Lynet Ross...had a nice ring to it. If she kept this pace up, she might end up in Leyton's position one day. Her father had the rank of admiral, so he would be very proud of her - IF he'd still be alive to see it by then. She turned around and looked around at the crew, notably her mother, the executive officer and lieutenant commander. Julianna Ross was beside Commander Benteen, keeping her face calm and smiling lightly, but her eyes shone with tears that were hard to fight back because her daughter was making it faster than she or her ex-husband ever did.

"Congratulations, baby," she whispered under her breath so no one would have a slight frown at the indomitable Lt. Commander Ross crying in front of them. Not all crews in the Federation considered each other a family, but a professional group. In this case, Lynet and her mother were on those terms. It was so with her father who could not make it today, not that it was ever his fault.

"Forgive me if I do not stay here," Leyton spoke as he came up to them, with Benteen at his side, the woman nodding her congratulations to the newly promoted lieutenant, "but the commander and I are due back on Earth. Starfleet needs us both. Commander Ross, as of now, you are to command the Lakota for the time being."

~o~

TERRORIST BOMBING AT ANTWERP

A crime such as this had NOT taken place on Earth in a century.

Annora O'Neal stared down at her latest article for the News Services, partially numb to the event. It was events like these that sometimes sent her into a frenzy. She had gone to Earth to interview the survivors and the president himself without being too pointed in her questions. The bomb was of unknown origin, no solid beings planting it and certainly nothing of the sort caught on camera, so the question remained as to who did this.

"Hey, constantly obsessing over this isn't going to give you the answers, babe," Jeffrey told her as he came home later that day. It had been two days since the attack, and she was back at Starbase 375 following the completion of the interview with Jaresh-Inyo who had been extremely hostile with her as he despised interviews, but Annora never took no for an answer. Her husband sat beside her on the foot of the bed and kissed her temple, but she paid no mind to him as the theoretical question entered her mind.

Had a Changeling been involved in this act of savagery?

~o~

It was as he feared, but the obvious question itself was kept out of Annora O'Neal's articles for the sake of not sparking immediate panic. It was between him and the crew for now, and Admiral Leyton himself would know along with the rest of the Federation Council very soon. His worst fears about the Founders infiltrating their ranks had come true.

Leyton was one of the finest officers he'd known in his career. He'd served as the former captain of the Okinawa's executive officer, and Sisko was one of the only officers he would ever speak highly of. Benjamin was known himself to question his commander, but in the end, he respected the decision as the right one as it was deemed to be. It was also Leyton who recommended him to Captain Picard for the position of DS9 - and again, it had been the right decision, because look at the results Benjamin never thought would happen.

Now that he was here in front of his former commander with Odo, Commander Benteen at the man's side, things had gotten more serious now that there was a Changeling infiltrator. The constable would cause quite a stir as long as they would be here investigating. "What exactly would you like us to do?" Sisko asked, the sun bearing down on them, brightening the greenery around them, the beauty masking the greater threat within.

Benteen inclined her head. "We'd like to confer with you and Odo. See if there is anything about the Founders left out in your official reports." There was nothing new they could ever give that wasn't in the intelligence reports, but what could he and Odo say? Even the constable himself stated the given information was thorough enough.

What else could they be here for? Certainly not just a simple debriefing. Deep Space 9 was waiting for them as it was, but it wasn't like the rest of the crew couldn't make do without him.

"Ben," the admiral answered, solemn and grim, "Earth is in danger - maybe the greatest danger it's faced since the last World War. Something has to be done about these shape-shifters. You know more about the Dominion than anyone else in Starfleet. And so, effective immediately, I'm making you acting head of Starfleet Security...here on Earth."

~o~

He was placed in charge of this operation while the Founder he was assigned to was on Earth. He had been here for a few weeks with the Jem'Hadar cloaked and some light-years from Earth while the god was gleaning out Starfleet Headquarters, and this time involved a gathering of the high-level diplomat of both the Romulans and the Federation. Yelgrun thought it an excellent plan that involved the lives of twenty-seven important beings in that one room; it succeeded without an error.

The Founder got away just as the bomb exploded and killed every being in that conference room. Now they would have to wait, which was what the impatient Field Supervisor loathed the most, but it was his god's order.

He gazed through the viewscreen headset at the great system against space, pursing his lips together as he got curious as to what it would be like to live there if he and his fellow Vorta ever got the chance. Once it was conquered, the Federation would fall. He heard many fascinating things about how it was not much different from Kurill Prime, albeit more advanced than other planets. Earth was one big planet with many cultures and methods, advanced technology, and military - but the Dominion was moreso. Even Weyoun expressed great joy in taking Earth someday soon.

The president of the Federation had expressed such naïve beliefs that the "Changeling threat", according to the Founder's spying, was "somewhat less serious than Starfleet does." Yelgrun scoffed and laughed at the same time, getting some eyes on him from a handful of his men. He glared at them to get back to their work without saying the words aloud. Timid thoughts like that made the hidden predator more likely to pounce and attack once vulnerable, and Earth was indeed more vulnerable than Deep Space 9.

Captain Sisko might sound a little paranoid, according to Jaresh-Inyo, but he was looking to "save paradise". It made Yelgrun shake his head. Paradise was always so easily shattered. It was an illusion, in the imagination, that reality had to be forced upon.

He looked over at the second-in-command. "Gotar'arar, it seems we have more than enough time to wait here for the Founder to finish his job," he said, bored to his bones. Now he wished he could spare some private moments down there on Earth, in San Francisco, but since Starfleet knew more than enough about his people and their gods, it would not be so simple. Nothing was ever simple, and a Vorta's work was never done unless the Founders said it was done.

Chapter Text

Being home with his father was supposed to be a happy reunion, a great break from Deep Space 9 for Jake and Mia, but with the Changeling threat as well as Joseph's stubborn difficulty in keeping himself happy and healthy for as long as he needed to be, it wasn't wholly pleasant. With Jake at Pennington and Mia at the dabo tables, as well as Ben at Headquarters, it proved to be even more difficult to even spare a few hours in New Orleans.

Jake got to see Nog again, who was settling in a month in at the academy but having a difficult time fitting in; Benjamin remembered his first time at the academy, even though some of it was best forgotten. However, still, it was a memorable experience for him.

But with his own father, it was as memorable now as it could get.

Joseph had said that he'd been going to the doctor's as he should, but according to the physician, it had been eight months since the last time they saw each other - and that his father had atherosclerosis. His arteries had begun to well up with cholesterol and a blockage occurred. Which meant Joseph was at risk of either a heart attack or a stroke at its best. This made Ben angry that he had not taken better care of himself, but as Joseph said for a man at his age, being healthy was a full-time job. "If you don't take better care of yourself," his son argued, "then this restaurant will be looking for a new owner."

Why couldn't his father, for once, listen to him and go to take vascular regeneration therapy for the SAKE of it?!

The Changeling eventually revealed itself when it took the form of Admiral Leyton, the most powerful and influential man who knew more about security and protocol in Starfleet, which meant that no choice but to have everyone take the blood screenings. Most of everyone who agreed was fairly cooperative - except one. If Jake hadn't called, then Joseph would be in custody for attacking a Federation officer.

Mia had greeted him as soon as he arrived at Sisko's Creole, panic etched in her face. "Thanks for coming, Daddy," she'd said as she led him into the main lobby where Jake, Joseph, and two officers in yellow were. Joseph was putting up a hell of a fight that he would not let anyone take his blood sample unlike his grandson and adopted granddaughter. Ben did not like this any more than he did, but it was HE, his son, who authorized the screenings.

They could have fought all day regarding the protection of families in Starfleet if not for the fact that Joseph cut his hand while chopping onions and veggies. Without thinking, Benjamin's eyes found their way to see that the remaining blood on the knife had not changed. His father was not the shape-shifter they were looking for, and upon seeing this, he accused his own son of actually believing he WAS the threat. What could he say? He didn't know what he was thinking.

"THIS is what the Changelings want," Joseph pointed out, obviously betrayed by his son. "Everyone is so scared now that even they are beginning to distrust their own families!" In time for Jake and Mia to come in and see as well as hear everything. "This job must really have gotten to your head, Benjamin Lafayette Sisko. If the Changelings are all that smart, they will eventually find their ways around the blood screenings, and there is no way that they'll get around like I did - because I am NOT ONE OF THEM!"

The emotional outburst had caused him to collapse then, causing his entire family to surround him and take him to the doctor immediately. Joseph was cleared eventually by Starfleet, but that did not erase what happened - or even the conversation remaining in Benjamin's mind.

He had not trusted his own father - this was what the Founders wanted, for the soldiers and everyone they fought alongside to turn against their loved ones.

Joseph was on bed rest for now, with Mia and Jake beside him for the duration, and Sisko was back at Headquarters, in his assigned office, with Odo in tow. "The EMTs said he'll be all right," he said to the constable. "It turns out it was just a mild stroke brought on by his atherosclerosis." Because he was so over his raging border that he overexerted himself.

"How are Jake and Mia handling it?"

Sisko sighed. "They're both very upset, but I think my daughter is crying more than my son is. They know as well as I do that if my father doesn't take better care of himself..."

Odo harumphed and shook his head, agreeing altogether. "I've found that when it comes to doing what's best for you, you humanoids have the distressing habit of...doing the exact opposite."

"I can't argue with that." Ben found himself looking down at the exotic mahogany desk surface, gleaming underneath the sunlight behind him. "But what bothers me most is that for a few moments there, I REALLY believed that my own father was a Changeling."

"A reasonable assumption considering the circumstances," Odo said as he sat down behind the opposite end, although he doubted it as much as the captain did. Sometimes Sisko wished he had told someone else who wasn't a shape-shifter like this one before him, even though Odo was with him on this.

"I don't care if it's reasonable or not," he said angrily, "but when a son can't trust his own father..." If he were in Joseph's place now, he couldn't imagine his own children being in HIS current place, which seemed to hurt just as much or even more.

Odo interrupted him carefully. "That's why my people came here: to undermine the trust and mutual understanding the Federation is built on."

But what if Joseph WAS right? What if the precautions taken were useless? They were not going to give up. Odo's people were here, and they had to fight with what they've got. Sisko had been looking out the window at the serenity of San Francisco, and now he looked back at his chief of security grimly.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, Constable," he said softly, "but there are times when I wish you never found your people."

The constable's blue eyes, filled with such melting sorrow, made him wish he could take the words back. "Believe me, Captain, sometimes I wish I hadn't either, but I can't change that."

~o~

The Lakota was being hailed. "Commander -" She was never allowed to call her commanding officer "Mother" on duty, and the same went if she were in the presence of her father. "- we're being hailed." Lynet was stationed at the communications system when she made the announcement.

"On screen," Julianna Ross said as she sat down in the captain's chair.

The ship's First Officer, a Vulcan female named S'Nan, patched them through to the communications system, and appearing was none other than Admiral Leyton as well as Captain Sisko and Constable Odo, all three men in dire distress and somber. "Admiral," Ross said, sitting higher in her seat and gripping either side of the chair, "what is the situation at Starfleet Headquarters?"

Leyton bowed his head briefly. "Commander, the situation has gotten entirely worse than it was before. Captain Sisko was trapped in his office and the constable and I had to tear the doors open. The entire planet is enduring an outage."

If the whole planet was suffering a power outage... the global power grid was knocked out. Lynet closed her eyes. That meant the transporters, sensors, and all forms of defenses were useless. Earth was unable to defend itself, which meant the Dominion would come and strike when its chance came. It seemed now was their opportunity. The end of the Federation was coming. She reopened her eyes when her mother demanded, "If the grid has been sabotaged, Admiral, then what about our backup power?"

"It's out, too, Commander," Constable Odo said. "But if there is a chance we can use the Lakota's transporters to beam us to the president..."

Commander Ross nodded and stood. "Stand by while we beam you aboard. Chief, five to beam aboard from Headquarters."

The three men, now five since the two yellow-clad security officers were included. The admiral looked over in Lynet's direction and cast her a small wink before returning his attention to her mother. "I could not have thanked you more for this, Commander," he said, then motioned for the four others, in particular - "Captain Benjamin Sisko and Constable Odo, this is Lt. Commander Julianna Ross."

"The pleasure is mine, Commander," the captain said, accepting a brief handshake, "if not for the fact that our planet is defenseless to the enemy in our ranks. The president is trapped in his office, and we have got to do something soon."

Ross nodded, face grim as he was. "I agree, Captain. We'll lock onto the president's location and beam all five of you as soon as possible."

Lynet watched from her position as the men were taken back down to get to the important man himself. The Lakota was needed more than ever to be as close to Earth instead of out on the frontlines of a possible war - which she dreaded along with her comrades from happening. She'd heard the stories about the Jem'Hadar and how they never cared whether the ones they shot dead were soldiers or not, and how the Vorta were sly, manipulative, and backstabbing - even provocative in both tongue and appearance. She despised all enemy beings, no matter an individual different from the rest.

~o~

According to intelligence, the Earth's power grid had been sabotaged. Yelgrun frowned when he read this report despite the fact he was delighted; there was no way the Founder could have done this alone, and the unit certainly had not organized this. When they first came through the wormhole, their ships were cloaked to prevent Deep Space 9 from uncovering them before they arrived at Earth's location - courtesy of the destroyed Cardassian-Romulan fleet. He would have assumed the Federation had this tech form - given he automatically assumed - so they could put their planet in danger. Someone in the Federation must have been desperate enough to betray their own people since there was no other theory to put it.

Yelgrun licked his lips and smiled at this. He wasn't sure if this was part of the Founders' plan or not, but he liked this.

~o~

President Jaresh-Inyo looked on in horror at the five of them materializing in his office when the backup power was out along with the rest of the planet's power relay system. But then again, they would have been Jem'Hadar. "How did you get in here?" the president demanded.

"We contacted the Lakota and used their transporters," Sisko answered. "Mr. President, as acting head of Earth Security, I must advise you to declare a state of emergency."

Jaresh-Inyo reeled back, aghast. "With the exception of the Borg incident, there hasn't been a state of emergency declared on Earth in a century."

"I'm aware of that, and with good reason. I have reason to believe that a Dominion war fleet may be in the Alpha Quadrant headed for Earth." There was no one hundred percent solid evidence to back this up, other than - "Just before we left Deep Space 9, the wormhole was exhibiting some unusual behavior: opening and closing for no apparent reason."

Odo cleared his part. "We didn't detect any ships at the time, but the Dominion might have been using some kind of cloaking technology. The combined Cardassian and Romulan fleet destroyed by the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant was equipped with these devices. Who knows what my people might have taken from the wreckage."

The president looked minorly shocked at this revelation, having assumed the Dominion had cloaking technology purposefully left out in the reports, and would have remained that way had it not been for Odo's put-in. "How long before we restore the power relay system?"

"From what we can tell, the Changelings infected the system with some kind of..." Admiral Leyton struggled with the right words. "...self-replicating computer protocol. It jumped from one power relay to the next, disrupting every system it came in contact with."

The only way to correct this problem, according to Odo, was to shut down the entire grid, purge all the operating systems, and restart the relays - all of which would take days to operate. This was WHY Jaresh-Inyo had to declare a state of emergency, otherwise, Earth would not stand a chance against the Dominion unlike against the Borg.

In the meantime, with no other means of defending themselves, the Lakota's transporter and communications systems would mobilize every Starfleet on Earth in under twelve hours.

"We've been preparing for something like this a long time," Leyton pressed on, and something like a passionate undertone took place. "We have stockpiles of phaser rifles, personal force fields, photon grenades - enough to equip an entire army! I can start getting men on the streets immediately."

The whole time Sisko was listening to this, a part of him internally questioned this. What this proposition was would eventually lead to... martial law. This was a non-peaceful way to defend the Federation's people. This was something the Dominion would do, and the Federation was everything the Dominion was not. "What I'm asking you to do is let us defend this planet!" Leyton returned when the president objected to this idea of "martial law". "We don't know what the Changelings will do next, but we HAVE to be ready for them. Ben, tell him."

A part of him was wanting to crash down, but he was a fighter, and a fighter stood for his people. This was more major than it was with the Borg. "Sir, the thought of filling the streets with armed troops is as disturbing to me as it is to you...but not as disturbing as the thought of a Jem'Hadar army landing on Earth without opposition. The Jem'Hadar are the most brutal I've EVER encountered; they don't care about the conventions of war or protecting civilians. They will not limit themselves to military targets. They will be waging the kind of war Earth hasn't seen since the founding of the Federation." At the same time, Odo's people would be continuing to undermine Earth's defenses in any way they could. The power outage was only the beginning.

~o~

Armed Federation troops in the streets...civilians in fear...

What was Starfleet now coming to?

President Jaresh-Inyo did not relish this and spoke very clearly that it was martial law - correction in Lt. Ross' mind: he did not say it aloud in that manner, but it was obvious enough. This was not how their peoples were made to defend themselves, but what else could they do to stand a better chance against a Dominion invasion? The Lakota was primary for all communications and transportation, alerting all Starfleet personnel at every chance.

Right now she had the chance to steal a moment away from her post with her former mentor and superior officer. "The president isn't happy with this, Admiral," Lynet softly while they were in the hydrolift, leading downstairs together. His eyes were now downcast as he nodded.

"He's not. In fact, he made it clear, my dear, that he wished he said no to becoming Starfleet President, that he only wanted to represent his people on the council, but this is not the time to regret anything, Lieutenant."

She nodded, biting her tongue. The people in the dark all over the planet were scared of what might happen next, wishing for there to be a sign of hope and reassurance, so Jaresh-Inyo had a job to do as they all did. Now Captain Sisko, the admiral, and Constable Odo as well as the rest of Starfleet Security were here to take care of everything.

Perhaps it was too much power. It was like an ancient dictatorship in that once you had that power, you might become afraid to lose it and therefore reach the brink of tyranny to the people you swore to protect.

Lynet was never one to question any decisions, but it seemed she had to make an exception now. She could not stay low forever. "Admiral, I never questioned you in my life," she said, looking him directly in the eyes, "but isn't this too much authority for one man, and three others with him?"

Leyton sighed. "I never thought I would hear you question your commanding officer. But in answer to your question, he needed to make the right decision in putting our world in the hands of these...three men you speak of. Until we have control of our power relay system once more, get to the bottom of this sabotage, and find that Changeling we are still after, extreme security measures must be taken." His eyes hardened then. "If you were in my position and rank right now, Lieutenant, then you would do the same. Does that make you understand now?"

She chewed her lip and nodded. But as she looked deeper into the eyes of the man who trained her and adored her like a niece - did not betray her trust as the last one did - she could have sworn she saw something that she never detected before...

The hydrolift beeped at their stop. But as soon as Leyton took the lead, Lynet continued to stare at his back as she tried to piece together her suspicions that she knew she could not talk to her mother about, or even to Captain Sisko.

Chapter Text

Underneath the sleeve of her right wrist, the weight was carried with her along with the fear regarding the man who gave it to her. Pushing it up to reveal the item, Lynet's eyes matched the color of the stone, set in a silver cuff, the light blue oval ringed with gold.

For centuries, the Aztecs considered turquoise more prized than any other gemstone in the world, even more than silver and gold themselves. It was because the pale blue stone was a symbol of the sky and the ocean, which connected man to the gods. However, like in those times, the upperclassmen afforded it as royalty in ancient Egypt prized lapis-lazuli. But today it was affordable to anyone. Lynet felt her eyes burn as she remembered Leyton giving it to her as she finished her schooling and was promoted to Ensign. He had told her she was more than just a student to him now, and that she possessed more soul than any other officer he could recall.

But now, was the man who mentored her changing?

"That is not allowed to be showed in uniform on duty."

She quickly covered her wrist and looked up to see - "Commander," she stated, "I was having thoughts. I was thinking about the admiral."

Commander Ross' serious face then broke out into a little laugh. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. And we're alone for now; you can still call me Mom."

She lowered her eyes. Given both her parents were seldom home, she rarely saw either of them except for Kayley before she died; Kayley had been the substitute of a mother before illness took her away. It had happened so fast that it was too far down in the stages to notice on time. Bozeman had been struck with the sickness that ten-year-old Lynet was lucky...except her sister. The fact that both Julianna and William were devastated at leaving both children while they were off serving their planet was what caused their separation. Not even Lynet could get any closer to her parents following the loss of her sister.

And it was difficult more than ever to hold a simple conversation with your own mother - and when your mother was your commanding officer. "I'm sorry, Mom," she said, looking back up at her and forcing a smile. Social groups were never her forte, and neither could she ever find someone she truly trusted. You should trust your fellow officers and be married to your career, and everything else comes second.

Being married to a fellow officer, in Lynet's experience, was not a good way to go. Being married period. Look how her parents turned out now, and she got the career she always wanted; she certainly was not looking to get married or fall in love at all.

"Now, what were you thinking about, Lynet?"

She looked around herself, knowing that this could not be heard amongst the crew, and it might not bode well since Julianna had known Leyton for a long time herself. "It's about the admiral, but what I have to say is mere speculation," was all Lynet could say. She found herself staring at the bracelet again. She never liked jewelry, but this one meant the universe to her. "Mom, with everything that's happened, the sabotage of the power grid, all of this...power given to him, Captain Sisko, and the constable -"

Julianna cut her off gently. "It's for the best. What else can we do at the present? Once we have cleared off the Dominion threat and perhaps driven away the Changeling in our midst," she said, sitting down at one of the tables in the mess hall, folding her hands in front of her, "then President Jaresh-Inyo can cool his heels off. And Sisko and Leyton would have to take the men off the streets of our planet. I honestly do not like this any more than you do." An eyebrow raised. "Lynet...you're not questioning Admiral Leyton's decision or Captain Sisko's, are you?"

The daughter reeled back, clenching her fists on either side of her; this was behind the table so her mother would not see. Her lips were pursed tight enough to hide her clenching teeth. How could her mother question her like that? She did not know how to answer that; she never made a record or a habit of questioning the chain of command. "Of course not, Mother," she replied evenly. "Because I love the Federation and all the people we serve, it is in our oaths to do what's best for the people. But what if..." She stopped herself right then and there. The question - or should she say theory? - had risen unbidden again in her mind. How could she think that way of a man she considered a teacher and friend? A man who had been the one to prepare for what he had convinced along with Captain Sisko to arm Starfleet soldiers and put them out on civilian streets like the Germans in the Second World War? The Federation was not like that...or at least, it wasn't until yesterday.

"What if?" Julianna Ross pressed. Her daughter shook her head.

"Nothing," she lied. "It's nothing more than speculation. I could be wrong."

In truth, there was one man she knew now she could go to. He'd served with Leyton, too, and it was Leyton who put him in charge of Deep Space 9. Benjamin Sisko had a reputation for integrity; he was one of the best and most trustworthy. But how could she question him regarding the man they both knew as one who made the right decisions?

~o~

Right now, he was aboard the Lakota - for the moment - with Admiral Leyton and would return to Earth with Odo, but right now he was approached in the mess hall by a young woman wearing a lavender turtleneck beneath her uniform - and she wore a lieutenant's insignia. Her raven hair was cropped short to reach her ears, and her eyes were wide turquoise blue, filled with loyalty and courage. The resemblance to Commander Ross was uncanny. "Lieutenant...is it?" Sisko asked.

She stood full height with her hands clasped behind her, bowing her head briefly with a small smile. "Yes, sir. Lynet Ross."

So she must be the commander's daughter. Now he remembered Bill Ross; he and his wife Julianna divorced and had a daughter, who stood right in front of them. She was Annora O'Neal's cousin; he'd never met said cousin until just now. "Congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant," Benjamin said, motioning for her to sit down before him. She sat down with more grace than he'd ever seen any young officer in his life. However, her smile was gone as quickly as it came.

"I apologize if I am bothering you, Captain. I understand what a busy man you are..." She respected every superior officer's wishes, which pleased Sisko, but maybe it seemed she was a bit too obedient...

"Lieutenant, thank you, but if you have something to say to me, you have plenty of time, but I'd appreciate it if you spilled the beans now." He hoped he did not sound too sharp, but Ross gave no indication that it affected her.

"It's about Admiral Leyton, sir."

He felt his brows furrow in a frown. "Go ahead?"

"I understand the...extreme militaristic measures taken to keep our planet defended from the possible Dominion invasion," the lieutenant said, hesitant and wary at the same time, "but I do not feel right about this, Captain. I know it's not my place to question my chain of command, but...I'm only expressing my concern as the admiral is my mentor as he was once your commanding officer."

"Well, I appreciate the concern, Lieutenant, but I assure you the situation will be well in hand." However, now that she said it, Sisko's initial discomfort returned as though it were only yesterday. And when he got back to Starfleet Headquarters, he was given more reports about the continual unanswered questions about the sabotage. How were the Changelings able to infiltrate the Planetary Operations Division? How could they have gotten the codes, AND how did they manage to disable every power relay on Earth at the same time?

Odo grumbled and shook his head at the question himself. But then he took him by surprise with his own question. "Have you ever heard of a group called...Red Squad?"

Sisko hesitated. Of course, Nog told him that they were a fairly new group of elite cadets at the academy. Also, according to the Ferengi, every student at the academy wanted to be a part of it. "According to this transporter log," Odo said as he held up a PADD to him, "a group called 'Red Squad' was beamed back to Starfleet Academy twenty-six minutes after the state of emergency was declared."

He frowned. During the blackout, hundreds of Starfleet units were mobilized. Why didn't they do the same to this Red Squad?

Odo shrugged. "That's why I brought it up. But if they're cadets, I suppose Starfleet would want to keep them out of harm's way."

It would make sense, if not for the strange bit of information on the security file screen that, three hours later, Starfleet Command issued an order assigning the entire corps of cadets to field duty. That meant it was not to protect the Red Squad...but to have them on duty. Why would the squad be demobilized only to be remobilized three hours later?

Unfortunately, contacting the Bolian Commandant of the academy gave more questions than answers - especially when the Commandant questioned if Leyton of all people knew about the transporter record. Remembering Lt. Ross' concerns, Benjamin began to have the feeling he might need the young woman's help on this. He had only just met her, but somehow she reminded him a bit of himself at that age. Even more disturbing was the fact that the Commandant ordered the record destroyed.

But this was what he gathered: Leyton had been the one to talk to the Commandant about USING the Red Squad, but the latter man had declared it a mistake - however, it turned out that they "performed their mission admirably". That was grounds for suspicion.

What mission?

The question itself might as well be written on Odo's face. "Well, that raised more questions than it answered."

~o~

The Lakota was hailed again by none other than Captain Sisko. "Onscreen," Commander Ross ordered, this time standing before the viewscreen as the man's face appeared. "What can we do for you now, Captain?"

"Commander, if it won't be a problem, I would love to have Lt. Ross beamed down to my office at Headquarters."

Lynet stiffened but whirled around to look up at him in amazement. The captain was requesting that she be brought to him on Earth, and for what? Her mother appeared just as skeptical. "It won't be a problem, but may I inquire what purpose?"

"It seems your daughter might be more valuable to assisting me with a minor investigation of the sabotage. I am familiar with her record of achievements that I have come to the decision, Commander - and the fact she has not settled on just communications and decoding - unless you object at an unfortunate time like this."

Julianna's back was facing Lynet, but she shook her head. "Of course not, Captain Sisko. I will have her sent to you right away."

It was not long before she was in Starfleet Headquarters and arrived at the office of the man himself. She bowed her head briefly to him and then to Constable Odo. "Captain, Constable. Lt. Ross reporting."

The captain chuckled and motioned for her to ease. "Lieutenant, after our last talk, I have since contacted the Commandant of the academy regarding an elite cadet group known as the Red Squad. Are you familiar?"

This...Red Squad did not exist when she was still a cadet herself, so they had to be new guys and girls. "Negative, sir. But I trust they must have to do with the...recent events?" she asked carefully. She began to have suspicions that it had to do with the outage of the grid after all, and this spelled even more disaster...

"You could say that, but I have called Cadet Nog on getting a name of one of the members for me, and the Commandant has told me that Admiral Leyton went to him in recruiting these young men and women for some mission he never quite specified." His brows furrowed as he recalled the conversation. The constable stood by the captain's desk with his arms folded across his chest. "He said it was a mistake, but on Leyton's part, they were admirable and brave, accomplishing without error. Does that sound...suspicious to you, Lieutenant?"

"It does," Lynet answered, feeling more relaxed around him than she was before. He was asking her to work with him even though she was a lesser officer because they were both connected to the one man in their conversation.

And Leyton was connected to the Red Squad as well as their unknown mission.

She turned behind her upon hearing the doors open again. In strolled a young man in a gray and red cadet's uniform, dark hair slicked and parted down the middle, and with a stoic handsome face. Lynet assumed the position as she looked him square, turning her back to Captain Sisko. This must be the squad member he wanted to see.

"Cadet Shepard reporting as ordered, Captain."

"Riley Aldrin Shepard," Sisko answered sonorously, eyes hard, hands clasped in front of him, "Starfleet service number C953O4699427 - a third-year student at Starfleet Academy with a specialty in tactical operations."

"Yes, sir." Lynet tried not to roll her eyes at the smug apparent. And Sisko wasn't pleased, either.

"Cadet, I have been reviewing a record of Red Squad activities on the night of the twenty-third - the night of the power outage."

Shepard blinked once. "Record, sir? We were told there would not be any written record."

She looked over at the constable when he rolled his eyes, and from what she could tell, he was trying not to laugh in amusement. Internally, she wanted to laugh herself. "Are you...contradicting me, cadet?" Sisko asked dangerously.

"No, sir," Shepard answered quickly.

"Good. Now, who told you there wasn't going to be a written record?"

"The briefing officer, sir."

"I want that officer's name."

"She didn't give us her name, sir, but she did say there would be no record of our actions, and that our role would have to go unrecognized...at least for now."

And because of that, this was one big mess of things. "Maybe if you'd done your job better, it would have," Sisko said angrily, leaning into his face; he had been walking up to the young man while Shepard was speaking. "But you fouled it up, didn't you? You cadets did some sloppy work - some DAMN sloppy work."

He turned his back from the cadet, whose face softened but eventually hardened again. "With all due respect, sir, it's not true, sir. The mission was successful. If anything, it was easier than the simulations."

Sisko whirled back around, PADD in hand and angrier than before. "Now, son, if you think by lying to me, you're going to save your own hide, you can forget about it. Mistakes were made, and I will find out who's responsible."

Lynet watched Shepard's face the whole time as he voiced his honesty, that he was telling the truth and the fact that he was at Planetary Operations the entire time. "If anything had gone wrong," he stated, "I would have known about it."

"Is that so?" the captain asked, voice a low, deadly hush; she could imagine that his eyes were wide as a predator's as they searched for whatever hidden lies there were in the windows called eyes. "All right, cadet. Let's go over this step by step from the time of your mission deployment to your return to base at nineteen hundred and forty-seven hours PST on the night of the twenty-third."

Shepard seemed to think there was no way to back out now from his current predicament. "Yes, sir," he answered readily. "We assembled on the eastern quad at seventeen hundred hours on the eve of the twenty-third. By 'we', I mean myself and the Red Squad. After assembly, we beamed aboard the Lakota. Once aboard, we received our equipment as well as the necessary codes and were transported directly to the Division of Planetary Operations in Lisbon. At four hundred hours exactly, local time."

Lynet felt like she was turning to ice at the revelation of the beaming aboard the Lakota. She was away from her station ten minutes before said beaming at seventeen hundred, aiding with the rerouting of the communication channel as there was a slight malfunction and she was the only one available. "Our contact inside the DPO," Cadet Shepard continued, "gave us access to their computer control network. From there, we used the access codes we were given bypassed the security lockouts, and downloaded the disordering protocols into the network."

And from there, the protocols spread to EVERY power relay on the planet. It had to have been impressive to watch the relays wink out, and it was a pity none of them were there to see it, Lynet thought sarcastically as she saw the same thought reflect on Captain Sisko's face. Cadet Shepard seemed to find it more amusing as he reflected on his and the squad's dirty work.

"After that, all we had to do was sabotage the restart sequencers and get out."

So the answer was there in short: the Red Squad sabotaged the global grid's relays.

He was dismissed afterward - and a blood screening showed that he was human and not a shape-shifter - leaving the three of them alone. Lynet wasn't sure how long she'd held her breath before she let it out and turned to look at Sisko. "Captain," she said slowly, "are you sure he's telling the truth?" He admitted to committing acts of treason against the Federation; how could you fake that to your commanding officer? Sisko shook his head.

"If he was going to lie," he answered, "I think he would have made up a better story."

The shape-shifter hummed. "Well, then, if he's telling the truth that his superior officers ordered him to sabotage the power relays, that still doesn't rule out Dominion involvement."

She wasn't sure what came over her. "Captain, may I speak?"

"Go ahead." He sounded more tired than irritated.

"If the Lakota was where they got their weapons, then that means my mother's ship has to be involved in this." If it was true, then her mother must not know about this - or did she? Or...could a fellow officer aboard have a part in giving these saboteur cadets the weapons and codes? Either way, everyone aboard her own ship - including her own mother - was a suspect, too. She felt more than betrayed as she was sure the captain did.

On the other hand, if the Dominion must have no part in this given that nothing else happened since the outage, and with the power restored now...

She stopped right there. Someone more important in Starfleet was organizing a coup d'état.

Someone wanted to militarize and take over the Federation, but not before taking out the government first.

Odo growled as he was thinking the same thing as she was. "She's right. What are you going to do about it, Captain?"

"Well, that's the bottom line, isn't it? These aren't evil people, Odo; these are people the lieutenant and I worked with - people we respect." His dark eyes briefly met her light ones, mirroring the despair she was feeling. How could they turn against their people like this? Never did she think she'd walk this line too far down.

"It seems that even if they have committed acts of treason against the Federation - the Federation you both have sworn to protect - you wouldn't be turning against them," Odo pointed out. "They will have turned against you."

Even notably the one man especially on Lynet's mind. The man in charge of the armed officers currently in their streets.

~o~

Leyton was the one responsible for all of this.

He had no proof of any of this, but it was worth going to the president anyway. The man had been with him on this thus far.

And as expected, he was shocked. "Captain, I've been in politics for seventy years. I'm no stranger to statement and exaggeration, but the idea that Starfleet would PLOT to overthrow the Federation government is the single most astonishing accusation I have ever heard!"

"Sir, if you'll hear us out -!" Sisko exclaimed, but he was cut off.

"As I intend to, but you'll forgive me if I remain somewhat skeptical. Start at the beginning."

He stepped aside, Lt. Ross beside him, and Odo stepped forward, head briefly bowed as he began the story. "Several months ago, I learned from one of my people that Changelings had infiltrated the Federation. Not long after I gave this information to Starfleet, reports indicate that...Admiral Leyton," he said somewhat hesitantly for both Benjamin's sake and Ross', "led a contingent of high-ranking officers to meet with you and recommend implementation of sweeping security measures meaning to protect Earth."

Jaresh-Inyo nodded. "And I rejected their measures as extreme," he answered.

"It's no secret that Leyton," Ross added, having read the reports herself, "disagreed with you, and despite your calls for calm, his concern about the Dominion threat continued to grow. And when the Antwerp Conference was bombed, Leyton became convinced that the Changelings posed a greater threat to Earth than YOU were prepared to admit."

Overall, if Leyton was the one in charge of sending the Red Squad to sabotage the power grid, making it, therefore, look like an attempt for the Dominion to invade Earth - given bombing the conference in gaining the authorization wasn't enough - then this act of treason was an inexcusable one, albeit patriotic. President Jaresh-Inyo nodded. "And so, Admiral Leyton approached me again - this time with you two at his side - and I agreed to his proposals."

That did happen, indeed, because how could they have seen deep into this plot before? Leyton did a fantastic job at covering his tracks until this slop of a mess as he called to Cadet Shepard. Neither Leyton nor his supporters were satisfied with the limited security procedures authorized by the president himself that they needed more extreme measures.

None of this made the president happier than before. Standing up, he slammed his fist on his desk. "Starfleet officers committed sabotage?!" Lack of solid evidence this was, but it was the truth! The president shook his head and looked down at the floor, avoiding the three of them altogether. "I'm sorry, but I find it all difficult to believe. Admiral Leyton may be somewhat grating and inflexible at times but for a man of his accomplishments - a man of his distinguished record to commit treason?"

He had been looking out at the fallen evening sky while speaking, and now he looked at all three officers with furious eyes. Sisko looked down at the lieutenant, a young woman who considered the admiral a friend as much as Benjamin Sisko did - but with the revelations of this TREASON... "President, if you will forgive me for this," she said, stepping forward and allowing a little of her anger to show, "but Admiral Leyton and his followers don't see it as treason. They see it as justified; they are afraid of the Dominion as we all are, but they are taking it too far now, Mr. President. Would you please think about it?" Her tone became breathless, heated, and dispassionate. "The power grid fails, and the next thing you know, Starfleet security officers are in the streets."

"Armed with phaser rifles," Odo growled, moving to stand beside her, "and blood-testing citizens at random. Listen to us!"

A tense silence followed, and Benjamin could hear his heartbeat picking up each second that ticked by. The Grazerite president had served many years, representing his people and loathing violence which had been the main reason for joining the Federation, and now with the sabotage, it was no exception. "Gentlemen, young lady," he said solemnly when his eyes briefly landed on Lynet Ross, "your story has a certain logic to it, but what it lacks is proof." Benjamin drew himself up indignantly.

"You want proof?" he challenged. "Order Admiral Leyton to withdraw his troops from the streets. See what he does."

"See if he would refuse a direct order from his Commander in Chief," Ross added with a twitching smirk, but in those eyes - from what he saw from the corner of his own - there was an underlying tension. Not that he could blame her, but if he was wrong after all when Leyton ordered his troops to stand down - and if Leyton wasn't the one responsible after all, which could always be the alternative - then he would gladly resign. If that was for the best for his mistakes, he would take Jake and Mia back to New Orleans or Bajor if necessary, and live quietly with his family for the rest of his days. See if anyone else in Starfleet would have the balls to pick up the pieces for him.

"But," Sisko added harshly, brushing those thoughts altogether, "with those troops in place, Admiral Leyton controls Earth, and he's not going to give up that control until he's convinced that he has ended the Dominion threat."

Jaresh-Inyo shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Captain. If what you say is true - if the power outage was part of Leyton's plan - then it's worked perfectly. Right now, the public overwhelmingly supports the increased security. If I try to remove those troops over Leyton's objection, I'll have a planetwide riot on my hands."

Then in order to avoid a worldwide riot against the president for removing this "protection", there had to be a way, hardly as it was, to find solid proof linking Leyton to the sabotage of the power grid. Then that way, he would be forced to stand down and withdraw his troops.

It also meant for Leyton to hand in his resignation.

Chapter Text

The Founder returned to them in no time, smiling from what was mimicked best of ear to ear. "It's proceeding well," he said to Yelgrun as he joined the Vorta at the console. "The planet is in the effect of martial law."

Yelgrun chuckled as he bowed his head in reverence. "Going well, indeed, Founder. The planet relied on the one ship until they got their power back. It was excellent in effect." He could just picture the millions of citizens in the dark of their homes whilst wondering what would happen next, thought they'd be coming. The Dominion would strike, but not right now. The time would come eventually; it was all just to scare the Federation into drastic measures that would bend the morale they had spend centuries building.

"One Admiral Leyton is managing well, from what I have heard," the Founder spoke, turning his attention to the rest of the Jem'Hadar. "He was behind the sabotage of the power grid, including a squad of cadets doing all of his dirty work." The word dirty was meant in a positive light on their side; Yelgrun let his face split into a smile again of his own. The god then turned his attention to the Vorta. "The rest of the Dominion would be pleased to hear about this. Fear and panic spread will weaken the Federation and its allies."

Yelgrun found himself looking down briefly at the console where the various controls beeped before him. Admiral Leyton's motives were pure patriotism albeit treason in the eyes of his former comrades, these cadets he enlisted were just puppets who performed their deeds well. The man intended to have complete control over Earth now that he had this power, but once the Dominion had his beloved planet in its grasp, he would be eliminated immediately, according to the Founders. What Yelgrun would love to do was have his men perform the deed themselves - that is if no one else beat him to the job. Adding that to his record of achievement would be another great honor.

But, knowing Captain Benjamin Sisko, he would try to stop Leyton first as Yelgrun himself knew from his psychographic profile - he stood out from other soldiers and captains encountered in the past. "Founder, if you don't mind me asking," he said, and the god turned unblinking eyes to him. He stopped himself right there.

"Go on."

"If Leyton is gotten to before us, what would you have me and the men do?"

The Founder sniffed. "Four more of my people are still down there, but no harm yet. There is the USS Lakota to deal with; their part will be over somehow soon. When it is, we will turn our attentions there before we return home."

~o~

Lynet Ross went to New Orleans with him, and it had taken a great amount of convincing to her mother, the commander, to let the girl work alongside him for the time being. Now they were both in his father's restaurant along with Odo as they waited for both Nog and Cadet Shepard. He was intending to give the latter boy the hell of a talk of the century.

Unfortunately, when Nog came - "Where's Cadet Shepard?" Sisko asked suspiciously.

"That's a good question, sir," the Ferengi answered. "I couldn't find him. He's gone along with every other member of Red Squad. Uh..." he stammered, nervous now. "...the rumor is that they've all been sent on some kind of...training exercise."

Lynet Ross huffed, and all three men turned to look at her. "If they're all gone," she said to Nog, "then what good chance do we have now?"

Behind them, the door opened and closed. It was Admiral Leyton, his face knowing. Sisko held his breath, and so did young Ross; they were all in trouble. Odo looked at the man with venom on his face. "I'm afraid," Leyton said without a hint of emotion, "Cadet Shepard won't be returning to Earth anytime soon." His sharp eyes switched to Nog. "Return to your quarters, cadet."

Nog looked panicked between him and the other three. Benjamin nodded for him to leave; there apparently was not much of a choice. As soon as he was gone, Leyton began to walk their way. "Ben, I think you and I have to talk...in private." His attention was now on Lynet, who returned the look with an equal expressionless mask. She stood her ground when Odo announced he'd be in the next room. This was the first time he'd seen her decide to remain in the same room. "Lynet, will you give us privacy?"

"No, sir," she replied without a beat. "It grieves me to refuse a direct order, but whatever it is, you'll have to share with me now. I think you know why." Her eyes were cold as ice, matching her tone.

He nodded but said nothing as he helped himself to a cup of coffee, claiming to not have gotten enough sleep lately. "Maybe you need a vacation," Lynet pointed out, smiling wryly now, making him laugh. It was rare that a young obedient soul found it in them to stand up; he had no idea when she started, but it was impressive. Leyton seemed to know that, too.

"Mmm, somehow," he said casually, holding his cup up, "replicated coffee never tasted this good."

Ben's mind was shouting at him to get to the point, but on the outside, he remained as calm and collected as he could make himself. Seeing the look on the captain's face, the admiral sighed and sat down, avoiding looking even at the lieutenant who was like a niece to him. "I'm afraid I owe you both an apology." The hinted implication behind the meaning of the words was clear enough.

"The way I see it," Sisko said coldly, "you owe a LOT of people an apology."

"Yes, even to me," Lynet pointed out coolly, "the girl who looked up to you when I lacked a male figure in my life. What kind of man sacrifices and betrays his oath to start a panic over something that hasn't even taken to fruition yet? For all I know, you drove the Changeling away with the satisfaction that the rest of its people began what they wanted of us."

Leyton did not change his mannerisms or his monotone, nor did he take his eyes off either of them. "I wish I could have told you from the beginning," he admitted, but to Benjamin Sisko, that was a hell of an excuse as it could go as he knew people who said those words too easily, "but somehow I suspected we wouldn't see eye to eye on this thing."

Sisko seethed. "Then why did you bring me here?"

"Because I needed someone who knew how to fight shape-shifters, and that's you. And I suppose, on some level, I hoped that when you saw what we were accomplishing, you'd join us. You always had a strong sense of duty. And Lynet -" he said when he looked at her finally, but she leaned back, turning her eyes away from him and sick of looking at him. She took it much harder than Sisko did. "- you always followed without question. That was one of the things I was proud to train you for."

"You trained me to protect the Federation," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "Not to sabotage its protection grids and cause mass hysteria. All those years I thought you were better than that. What a fool I was to think I could trust anyone on a personal level again."

Hearing the snip in her voice, Sisko detected something hardened her very being, but now was not the time to swell on it. He agreed with her that their duty was to protect the Federation they served, not what this man they both trusted did.

"That's what we're trying to do!" Leyton insisted, leaning across the table to both of them. Sisko growled and leaned across in return.

"What you're trying to do...is seize control of Earth and place it under military rule." Have millions of citizens scared out of their wits, tested for blood against their will, afraid to do anything in fear of being shot at...he could go on forever with the whole list.

"If that's what it takes to stop the Dominion."

Lynet Ross finally lost it then as he did. She reeled forward so she was level with Ben's distant measurements. "So, you're willing to destroy paradise to SAVE IT?"

He glared at her. "Lt. Ross, what has gotten into you? You're questioning my every decision."

"I wish I did," she replied, "because right now, this man with a deluded insanity of a vision to wreck everything we worked hard for in the last two centuries and more to turn it into a world no different than the Dominion government!" She jumped up from her seat and turned her back to him. Now Benjamin felt obliged to do the same. Several tense moments passed before Leyton spoke again, to him.

"Remember when we were aboard the Okinawa fighting the Tzenkethi? That time when I wanted to take the ship into an asteroid belt to chase down those three raiders?"

Sisko nodded. "And I said it was an unnecessary risk." During the Federation-Tzenkethi War when everything was about "unnecessary risks", as he said it. Leyton was always a man to make brash decisions of his own when he saw fit during a time. But it was also Benjamin Sisko to speak his mind, which was what a good executive officer was supposed to do. But Leyton always overruled him - and in the end, it was the right choice to make.

But not this one.

Leyton chuckled. "After the staff meeting, you followed me into my ready room and tried to argue your point again. But...you remember what I told you?"

Ben was about to answer when Lt. Ross spoke up for him. "You told me the same thing," she said softly, soft just for the moment. "That a good officer must respect the chain of command. That there comes a time when you must accept the orders of a superior officer and carry out those orders whether you agree with them or not." Now it seemed the doubt was present. She was a young woman, still impressionable, but at least she caught up fast.

"And without the chain of command," Leyton said, standing and walking over to them, "Starfleet will cease to function, and we wouldn't stand a chance against our enemies." He was saying that if Benjamin was not with him on this, then he was against him - and the same went for Lynet even though she was not in charge of the security as they were. Leyton was also saying that without obeying orders, chaos would follow. "To the both of you," he said softly, although poisonous, "I am still your commanding officer, and now more than ever, I need you both to respect my authority."

And that was something he could not do, not now with THIS. Lynet bit her tongue, but he knew that she was thinking the same thing. "Admiral, I simply will not this time," she said, agreeing with him altogether, "not with what you are doing to our people. The people you swore to protect. I respect the chain of command, but I'm also a defender of the people as much as this man who was once your inferior officer."

"Then..." Leyton gritted his teeth. "...as of now, Captain, I'm relieving you of your post as temporary head of Earth Security and sending you back to Deep Space 9. And Lynet, I'll send you back to the Lakota - and your mother will agree with me on stationing you on Deep Space 9 as well. Neither of you belong here."

~o~

How could this happen?! Lynet was tempted to throw a temper tantrum and break something in the restaurant, but she doubted Captain Sisko's father would be pleased - even the captain himself. They were so close to exposing Leyton for his betrayal, and now he relieved them both!

So much for her promising young career.

And so much for her and Benjamin - now that she was free to call him that - trying to save Earth along with Odo.

She followed him out of the restaurant, sitting beside him as he had not dismissed her if he wanted to. "As much as I want to be alone," he admitted, looking down at his closed hands, "I could use your company, Lieutenant. I imagine it's also been a while since you yourself had some actual informal company."

Lynet had to agree; she could not remember when. All her life she spent alone in the wild since her sister's death as well as their caregiver, then dedicating herself to her studies and career instead of being with friends. She and her parents weren't on the warmest of terms, either. "You're correct, Captain," she answered, finding herself pulling her right sleeve up and looking at this trinket her deceitful former mentor gave her. How could someone you knew as well - or maybe not as well as you thought - turn out to betray everything you stood for? This was the first time for her besides what happened when she was thirteen. She wouldn't be surprised if Benjamin Sisko had his share; he was older and much wiser than her, after all.

"Pretty bracelet," he noted when he took note of the turquoise. "Your parents?"

She shook her head. "Leyton...when I became Ensign. He was the one to promote me then as he did recently to lieutenant junior grade. As naïve as it sounds, I still can't believe he'd do this - if only we could do more than sit and mope over this." The sad truth was there was nothing else to do. They would both go to Deep Space 9 and by morning her own mother would send her away. But she supposed it'd be better to be near Captain Sisko than no one at all. She'd heard many great things about DS9 and Bajor...

"I take it you and your parents aren't close."

"That's right. I spent my childhood on Earth in the mountains. My sister who was six years older than I passed away from the sickness that spread; I was ten years of age at the time. Until I was thirteen, I was cared for by a friend of the family, until he died, too. And up until the time I was seventeen and got into Starfleet, I lived off of wild animals and took care of myself. You can see why I have difficulty having more than colleagues - such as real friends."

In many ways, she was wild at heart like her cousin and Mia, but life at the academy must have put a damper on her hunting hobby, which interested Sisko to no end. Lynet Ross had been a wild child once before she learned to live controlled and became a promising young officer. Sisko wasn't sure if he could imagine being changed from the free, primitive life in the mountains. "Lynet, you must have been disobedient at one time - like your cousin is notorious for."

She looked at him, wide-eyed surprise but at the same time not as she knew that he had knowledge of the fact she was related to the renowned journalist he hadn't the fondest times with. "Annora is my father's brother's daughter; she never learned to listen to anyone. I used to have fun with her when she and Uncle Jim visited on vacation times, my father sometimes coming when he could spare. She always did what she wanted, but when we grew up, I began to learn restraint while she did the opposite. Some people never change." Ben chuckled; he supposed not. She saw he started to feel a little better, but not for what was ahead now.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this."

"We all tried our best, Benjamin."

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

Both looked up at the additional voice which startled them. He was a man, Irish perhaps with curly auburn hair, and in a yellow uniform. "Chief!" Sisko exclaimed. "How did you get here?!"

Lynet frowned. Chief, as in...his Chief of Operations on Deep Space 9? "Lynet, this is Miles O'Brien," he said quickly, getting to the introductions. "And Chief, this is Lt. Ross."

"Pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand, and he shook it.

"You've a lot on the both of your minds, I bet. How's your father?" he asked, apparently trying to change the topic that Sisko wasn't willing to get around. Lynet slinked back a little and watched as the men exchanged back and forth.

"There's no way the Defiant could get here so soon." His face clearly said everything: unless this was a Changeling impersonating his Chief of Engineering. She felt her bones freeze; if this was a shape-shifter, then she was prepared to pull her phaser at the first attack. As if reading her mind, the impersonator looked her way, mouth twitching at one corner.

"Do you both really believe that phasers will do any good against shape-shifters?"

"You're not really O'Brien," Sisko stated, almost growling.

The O'Brien imposter laughed. "Oh, no. Being in one shape all the time is..." He trailed off, impressing Lynet. These creatures were really good, she'd give them that credit. "Oh, and don't bother calling for help," he said when Benjamin stood abruptly. "It'd only cut short our conversation, and I do enjoy the both of your company." He gave Lynet a charming grin she couldn't help but return. But the captain was far from happy at being in the "company" of a Changeling.

"If you have something to say to me," he snapped, "say it."

The Changeling sighed, shaking his head. "You solids - so impatient. But to humor you, Captain, let me ask both you and the lieutenant a question: how many Changelings do you think are here on Earth besides Odo?" Sisko fumed at having to play a guessing game, which the lieutenant herself felt she wasn't in the mood for, either, but she answered to humor the being.

"One?"

He laughed. "Not even close. There are only four on this entire planet, not counting Odo, of course." He grinned. "Just four, and look at the havoc we've wrought."

Lynet frowned. Only four, not including the constable? If there were only four, shouldn't they plan to take the planet with more than just that? Or was this one lying to her and Ben just to try and let their guards lower? "How do we know you're telling the truth?" she asked, dangerously low as Ben normally would be.

"Oh, four is more than enough," the shape-shifter answered lightly. "We're smarter and better than you solids, and most importantly: we do not fear you as you fear us. In the end, it's your fear that will destroy you." He stood then. "We're done for the moment, but I promise you both we have barely begun with our plans for Earth - and the Alpha Quadrant itself."

~o~

A hell of a fine mess he got into. Sisko paced back and forth in his holding cell as he reviewed the events that happened.

He and Odo had gone back to Starfleet Headquarters, allowing young Lynet to stay at the restaurant in his old sleeping place so he and the constable could gather the evidence themselves. The admiral had been one busy man with over four hundred officers in the past three weeks for reassignments - and each and every one of them having served under him at some point, some on the Okinawa when Sisko had served himself.

Now they were all either in certain positions on Earth or commanding their own ships in this sector. The Lakota was included.

And there was also another set of reassignment dates to take place on the fourteenth. Which happened to be the day before the president's speech. Perhaps Leyton didn't intend to let the president carry it out...

He was going to have Jaresh-Inyo taken out.

Before they could proceed, he needed to have his family as far away from Earth as possible, taken back to DS9. Odo had promised his father and the children would be safe, and they were, the last time he heard. Lt. Ross, however, he had not heard from since then. And Erika Benteen had been promoted to captain of the Lakota; the word must have gotten to Commander Ross about her daughter by now. He needed the girl more than ever, but tonight he didn't. And then her would-have-been new commanding officer walked in on him and Odo in the office; the Lakota itself was due to be reassigned on the fourteenth.

He would have gotten the evidence to the president if only that forged blood test did not get him into detention. However the forgery was, Leyton did the last card VERY well. It was as Lynet said, the man was insane. He needed to be stopped, but how could he while he was locked up?

The president was in danger.

~o~

She had been awake by morning, putting her uniform back on as she'd slept in Captain Sisko's old room. Since she was young, she'd sleep naked in the wild as she always considered herself one of the fauna in the woods - always in warm shelter, of course, as hypothermia was always out of the question. Lynet brushed her hair out and for some reason, she never needed perfume as she always smelled naturally the same: citrus and flowers along with amber and musk. She did not see Sisko's family - his son Jake, daughter Mia, or his father Joseph who ran this restaurant - anywhere.

"Captain Sisko wanted them away from Earth as soon as possible," Constable Odo told her when she found him in the kitchen. She could use some coffee right now before she went to look for the captain and a croissant. She didn't get her chance, though, with the latter as she began to notice that Captain Sisko had not yet returned. Odo himself began to notice.

"We found the evidence regarding Leyton's activities and reassigning Starfleet officers on Earth and at key points in the sector," he explained to her as he sat down with her while she enjoyed her coffee. "Sisko was going to the president to present the proof - but unfortunately, Leyton and security as well as Captain Benteen were there. Blood test showed a...false positive. It turned into Changeling gelatinous form." His blue eyes burned with a righteous rage that mirrored Lynet's own eyes and the fire in her body.

The captain was framed for being a Changeling.

"Leyton, you son of a bitch," she hissed, feeling her grip tighten on her mug to the point of breaking it with her bare hands. "You planned this part all along, didn't you?" It was meant to be to herself, but asking it aloud to Odo made it feel a little less tense.

"Hmm, I agree. Lieutenant, by now Sisko is in detention, and now it's up to us to go and get him out. Once Leyton has control over Starfleet, he won't give it up. I have to contact Major Kira of Deep Space 9 before you and I can do anything about this..."

Lynet nodded. And if she was given the opportunity, she would slap the traitor in the face once he was finished.

It was halfway through the day that they decided to act out their plan to get to the captain. He would morph to blend in the cart of the tech taking the blood screenings; this was where Lynet would play her part. She intended to strike down her fellow officers who tried to stop her as much as it pained her. As of this moment, her morals were on hold as well as obeying a direct order. A good man DID say it was okay to do that only once in a while for the greater good.

"Lt. Ross," the tech said coldly as she recognized the Lakota commander's daughter coming up to her. "What are you doing here? Eager to help the Changeling escape?" she sneered, making Lynet's lip curl.

"Not at all. I simply came on my own to volunteer for a screening, if that's okay with you." She pushed her sleeve up - her left one as she was right-handed - after the male officer in yellow had his turn, and then Lynet turned her attention to the captain on the other side of the force field.

"If it won't be a problem, let me give another blood sample." His eyes told her he was grateful she came to him, but wondered where Odo was. The tech sneered at him, too.

"You really think I'll lower that force field and get in with you? I don't think so, shape-shifter."

An impact caused all attention to be on Odo, materializing from liquid gold form to solid form. "He's not the shape-shifter you should worry about," he growled, "except me."

Lynet took this as her cue to attack. She whirled around and threw a punch at the tech in charge of the blood screenings, while Odo took out both security men. All of them lay unconscious at their feet, giving them the opportunity to hot-wire the force field controls. "Nicely done, Constable, Lieutenant," the captain told them.

"Well, it wasn't difficult, considering I helped you revise the security measures of this building."

"Have you contacted Major Kira?"

"The Defiant is on its way to Earth," Odo answered. "They have found what we were looking for."

The wormhole that the station stood to guard had been opening and closing at random, but it had not turned out to be cloaked Jem'Hadar ships or any Dominion vessels - that anyone knew of. It was caused by one Lieutenant Arriaga who had been arrested; it was due to a communications relay in the Gamma Quadrant, fixed with a subspace modulator so the wormhole was unstable and starting the panic and suspicions. The suspect was also more than willing to testify now as it seemed he had no other choice. "Odo," Ben said as soon as he was out of the cell, "you have to get to the president and tell him everything we know, warn him that Leyton is going to make his move sometime today."

The shape-shifter nodded, but there was some doubt. "What about you and the lieutenant?"

She looked up at the captain when he answered. "I believe we both have some business to take care of." She grinned at him, then reached and pulled out the phasers she had prepared for. If she had to stun that bastard, she'd be more than glad to, and help Sisko drag him out of his office.

Chapter Text

"Planning to stun him, Captain?"

"If we have to, Lieutenant, if he tries to run, but we do need him in case he has any more surprises."

She nodded her agreement. They had no trouble along the way to arriving at the office where the admiral was. Somehow, on the other side, she could have sworn she heard him give orders to a woman on the communications channel to "do your best" unless she must be hearing things. On the captain's order, she held her phaser as he held his. The doors opened for them; the man himself sat at his desk, glaring murder at them - and also having expected them somehow.

"Are you both planning on using those?" he asked, somewhat casually.

"Against a fellow officer?" Sisko returned, walking in first. "I hope not."

"Unless we can stun your ass and drag you out of here ourselves if you so much as try anything funny," Lynet added fiercely, following him in, and the doors closed behind her. "You can give us your resignation to make this easier, spare you the trouble of a court martial." Sisko concurred as he reached for the admiral's badge and grabbed it without trouble or even a little fight.

Leyton sneered. "You'll both forgive me if I don't leap at the opportunity. I won't give in that easily."

"I have enough evidence to convict you of treason," Benjamin said, his grip on his weapon tightening. "We have Lt. Arriaga in custody; he's more than willing to testify against you if you will not be willing to volunteer for your hearing. He is prepared to admit that, under your orders, he attached a subspace modulator to the relay satellite on the far side of the wormhole. All of to look like a cloaked Dominion fleet was entering Federation space."

"So that when the Earth's power relays were sabotaged," Lynet said furiously, her finger itching to pull the trigger like the huntress she still was that captured the prey, "the people would think that an invasion was imminent." Unfortunately, the admiral burst out laughing, both amused and unimpressed with their little plan of attack against him.

"That's a very interesting theory, but it's not going to do either of you much good."

"And why not?" Lynet seethed.

"Lt. Arriaga isn't going to get to Earth," he answered smoothly. "I've sent the Lakota to intercept the Defiant."

Both she and Captain Sisko looked at each other in horror. He'd sent her mother's ship, now under the command of newly promoted Captain Benteen, to ATTACK another Federation vessel?! Ben exploded. "You think that ONE Starfleet ship is going to fire on another?!"

"As far as Captain Benteen's crew is concerned, the Defiant isn't a Starfleet ship. They've been told that everyone on the Defiant..." He stopped right there, apparently enjoying toying with them both.

"They've been told what?" Sisko demanded.

Leyton made a habit of going back to "work" at the desk, not looking at them anymore. "Everyone in your little crew has been replaced...by shape-shifters."

Something inside her burst. He - that BASTARD! He lied to Benteen AND her mother, telling them both that the very crew Captain Ben Sisko considered a family and most valuable to him were - his entire face reflected her thoughts. It seemed great minds thought alike.

"That's a hell of a fine way for you to take another drastic step against someone trying to stop you," Ben raged. "Admiral, do you even realize what's happening? Even if you win - even if you manage to oust Jaresh-Inyo, you still lose. We ALL lose!" No matter his taking control of Starfleet; the Dominion could still take over, and the rest of the Federation would never accept an illegally risen leader like Leyton, who turned his back to them and looked out the window. "Do you really think other Federation worlds are going to sit back and let their president be replaced by a military dictatorship?!"

"Hardly a dictatorship, Ben." Damn it, Lynet was boiling now and wanted to shoot him, but instead, she lowered her weapon and stalked around the desk, not caring about the consequences. She forced the chair around and raised her open palm, striking loud and clear across flesh. She hoped it would leave a mark. His face remained unchanged.

"I'm so ashamed of you," she seethed. "You're a worthless excuse of a Federation officer, Admiral. You're not the man who mentored me, gave me this -" She held up her right wrist in which the bracelet still lay, and it still didn't move him, either. "- and you don't see that overthrowing a legitimately elected president and giving Starfleet direct control over the government is tyranny!"

Ben came around to join her, leaning over her shoulder. "I concur with her. It sounds like a dictatorship to us, and we're not the only ones who think so."

"Oh, there will be dissenters at first, but I'm sure they'll fall in line once they realize that strengthening Earth is the first step towards strengthening the Federation."

"And what if they don't agree? What then?" Sisko shook his head. "Are you willing to risk a civil war? If the Lakota fires on the Defiant, you will be opening up a Pandora's box that may never be closed." And that was a black path he was not willing to risk anyone going down on, but Leyton the stubborn and blind man wasn't giving in each word - each sentence that passed - and turned it onto them that they would all be opening Pandora's box together. The woman of the legend had allowed her curiosity to get the best of her and let the vile diseases of the world onto man in the beginning.

Just as Leyton's view of an empire would do the same to everything they built on.

He changed the subject by offering them Bolian tonic water to "calm the nerves". Her nerves on fire, Lynet struck at him again. She wanted NOTHING offered from him; the water splashed him in the face and onto his uniform. He huffed at her and looked at Sisko when he snickered; somehow Lynet felt much better. She hadn't done anything like that since she was eighteen.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Leyton said after a drink of his own. "Ben, when you came aboard the Okinawa, you were more interested in engineering and ship design than command. But I did promote you to Lt. Commander, gave you the post of executive officer, and taught you everything I know about being a leader...and as for you, Lynet, you were a little wild card to play, but I was also the one to teach you restraint and discipline. You were a fighter, which I still like about you, and I used to take you hunting away from this place when the rare opportunity presented itself, but you were also so dedicated in your studies that you didn't hunt for wild as much as you used to. I sometimes thought you had a thirst for blood like a Klingon." She supposed she did, but a Klingon she was never fond of despite the treaty between them and the Federation; the meat was always delicious in the end, the blood sweet - not that she was ever a barbarian in name.

And Leyton was a good teacher, to the both of them - but now with this senseless act of treason, the past did not erase anything. He wasn't the man they both knew anymore.

"I only wish I'd taught you, Ben, more about the importance of loyalty as I thought Lynet."

"And I AM loyal," she retorted. "You dare speak of loyalty with your actions!"

"You want to talk to us about loyalty!" Benjamin balked as he stalked around. "After you broke your oath with the Federation - LIED to the people on Earth!"

"And ordered one of our own starships to fire on another!" Lynet exploded herself, feeling tears prick her eyes. She always kept her emotions in check, never allowed her weaknesses to show, but this was the pain she was feeling. "You don't have the right, Admiral. I used to understand you as much as Ben did. We thought you were a man of principles, a man of honor!" But they were both mistaken. Unconsciously to herself but to her body, her hand holding her phaser raised itself again and pointed at his chest, all composure forgotten. "I swear to all the people that our Federation serves if you don't call Captain Benteen to stop firing on those great men and women on the Defiant...I'll KILL you where you stand!"

~o~

The sudden change in demeanor in the young woman shocked both him and their adversary, but Sisko was not sure who was mortified even more at the sudden heated bloodlust in Lynet Ross' eyes. She wanted to kill the traitor but didn't want to at the same time. She wanted to do the whole universe, but importantly Starfleet, a favor - but they needed Leyton to call the Lakota to stop trying to kill fellow officers. Benteen and Commander Ross needed to know they were being deceived.

"Lynet, please," Ben pleaded softly but kept his phaser at the admiral. "Don't kill him."

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "I don't want to, Captain, but you know how one should feel when they look at a man they thought they knew all these years - but it turns out they were fooled. Admiral, I'm not a murderer," she said icily to him, "but at least I'll give a mild form of injury just to make myself feel better..."

"Admiral, you have an incoming message from the Lakota."

Benjamin heaved a sigh of relief when Ross lost her chance, but she snarled as she put it down, then moved beside Leyton so she put it behind his back; Sisko did the same. A call from the Lakota...they had a small chance to reason with Captain Benteen. "Put it through," Leyton ordered.

The woman's face flashed onscreen. "We've been unable to stop the Defiant," she said regretfully. "Someone has equipped her with ablative armor and neglected to inform Starfleet Operations."

Sisko held his breath in; the crew made it alive, but that also meant they were still under pursuit. Ablative armor was known to be protective of starships, but upon her first deployment to Deep Space 9, the Defiant had come in handy with this armory against Klingon disruptor firing. Knowing that the ship was tougher than he first realized, Leyton ordered, "Under no circumstances is that ship allowed to reach Earth."

Lynet interrupted him, demanding, "Is the Lakota still carrying her quantum torpedoes?"

Benteen frowned at her. "Lieutenant, you're no longer stationed, and you don't have the authority to ask -"

"Answer the damned question!"

"Yes," the captain answered reproachfully.

"Then use them, Captain," Leyton told her.

Now she looked baffled. "Sir," she said, then jerked as a firing impact from clearly the Defiant wracked the ship and caused the rest of the crew around her to do the same, "my orders were to disable the Defiant, not destroy her."

"Your orders are to keep the Defiant from reaching Earth by any means necessary," Leyton snapped. "Is that understood?"

He could not take this anymore and pressed the barrel of his phaser against Leyton's back. "Captain," he said, insisting now, "you know as well as I do that there aren't any shape-shifters aboard the Defiant. No matter your orders, you will be killing your own fellow Starfleet officers. If you use those torpedoes, you will be killing fifty lives!"

"Captain Benteen knows where her loyalties lie!" Leyton cut in. "She has her orders."

His face turned red when Lynet struck him again with her free hand. "Captain, he's lying, and you know he is!" she shouted. "Do the right thing and not kill innocent lives! You'd better tell that to my mother, or else neither of you will be any better than this defect between us!"

Benteen stared at her in shock, then looked at both Sisko and Leyton, obviously more confused than ever - but also considering the lieutenant's pleas as well as the possible truth that she had been lied to herself. Nevertheless, she ordered the communication channel cut. When the screen turned black, a furious Leyton turned his attention to her.

"You're going to regret laying a hand on your commanding officer, Ross," he growled, clenching his fists. She snorted and spat at him.

"You're no longer my commander."

The sight would have been called fun to watch if not for the circumstances. But it would have gone on for a while longer as well as the continual argument over ordering the Lakota to stand down if the informant contacted again and informed that there was a message from the DEFIANT.

And it was Mr. Worf!

Leyton looked like he was going to refuse, but Benjamin ordered him to put his strategic operations officer through. The Klingon's face was onscreen, making him smile now. "I apologize for the delay, Captain," he said, "but the Lakota has powered down its weapons and is allowing us to proceed to Earth."

"Casualties?" If Dax, O'Brien, or any of the others were gone, he would -

"Bartlett and Ramsey are dead, sir. Several others are seriously injured. Captain Benteen thinks there may be as many as twenty-four casualties on the Lakota."

Even though only two dead and seven or so injured but not in danger, it still felt like a cost to him. "Get here as soon as you can," Sisko said, weary to his core. "The president's expecting you." He looked at Lynet when she inhaled and exhaled sharply.

"My mother," she said. "I wonder if she's among them..."

"Lieutenant, I promise we'll keep you informed," Worf assured her, though not smiling, and ended the communications. Seething, Leyton glared at the screen before turning to them.

"You're both making a mistake. The both of you talking to your ship from my office, and now security knows you're here. You'll never make it out that door." He still refused to accept the fact he was done for; his fight was over, and by now Odo would have given the president all the evidence against one of his former best soldiers. "I still have enough officers to make a fight out of it."

"Who will you fight?" Ben challenged. "Starfleet? The Federation? Don't you SEE, Admiral? It's OVER." And by now Benteen herself was against him, and she had been the one he thought he could trust on his plot. She had left him by now, now that she called off the attack. It wouldn't be long before any other loyal officers did the same.

Lynet, knowing that this was over now, lowered her phaser. "You're fighting the wrong war. Don't make anyone else pay for the mistake you've made. You're outnumbered twenty to one."

Leyton did not look at either of them; he had made a fine job of doing that all the time lately, but now was appropriate as he finally nodded in acquiescence. He then stood and reached to take off his insignia, knowing he had to hand in his resignation before he'd be arrested for treason and terrorism. He laid them down on the desk.

"I hope you're both not the ones making the mistake," he said, then walked out on them from the office - and from Starfleet - forever.

~o~

She still could not believe it the entire time when she sat with Ben as they waited for the others to come. She still did not learn yet whether or not her mother was amongst the dead or injured, and a part of her worried for Julianna. They might not be that close, but she was still her mother. The woman who gave birth to her and Kayley. Lynet wasn't sure what she'd do if she was dead...

"Well, good news," Captain Sisko said when he came to be beside her outside the building. Behind them, the water of the fountains sprayed musically, but it did nothing to soothe her. "The state of emergency is over, and Leyton will be going to be before a court martial to answer to everything." Even he didn't sound happy, or even feel like it. Life might be returning to normal, but for how much longer? "My family and I will be leaving very soon, but first a goodbye to my father is in order. I'll be going to New Orleans soon - but I had to see you first, Lieutenant."

She lowered her eyes to the green earth, but the vivid color was too bright for her already blind eyes to bear. Leyton's betrayal was not all that would haunt her for the rest of her life as well as the others'; it was the fact she wanted to kill him. She had wanted to KILL her former teacher and friend; somehow the memory of her innocence taken when she was thirteen had provoked the primitive need. An honorable soldier would never think such a thing, and Klingons would think of blood mixed with honor. She was a human being - but it was also in human nature to have mixed thoughts, both positive and negative.

"You did a fine job, Ross," Sisko told her, making her look at him again.

"But it never takes away the fact that this was a man we once trusted, who taught us all we knew. We might have saved our people, but...was it worth it? I spent the last several years training under Leyton, under my parents - but it was he I looked up to most of all. Why is it that everyone I love keeps betraying me and everyone around me?"

He sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I don't know. But I'll tell you something: my career got my wife and the mother of my son killed. It also took the life of my best friend, my daughter Mia's real father. It takes great soldiers from their families. It's always a price to pay for peace, I suppose."

Lynet's hand found its way to the wrist where the bracelet he gave her was. This was now nothing more than an uncomfortable, horrid reminder. She unclasped the cuff from beneath her wrist where her pulse throbbed and looked at the majestic turquoise, once shining bright and now seemed nothing but a tricked memento. All these years of planning a coup d'état, Leyton had, and this he gave her a long time ago was not going to change that. The past changed nothing of what he did today.

Furiously, she threw the bracelet ahead, where it vanished elsewhere; whether it was in one of the water spots or the shrubs, it didn't matter. What mattered most was that she threw aside this thing that had to be removed to eradicate all traces of Admiral Leyton...now former admiral. Sisko watched her perform the act but said nothing. He knew why she did it and didn't stop her.

"I suppose I would have done the same thing," he said after a moment. "Lynet, let me tell you something."

"Captain?"

"You're one of the bravest, most fierce young women - and gifted officer - that I have ever met. You're obedient, and that is a good quality in a soldier. But once in a while, if you keep silent, it makes you submissive and not qualified to be a good leader. A great leader questions what is right and what is wrong, and never lets another tell them otherwise. I do that myself when the right time comes, and there comes a time any one of my own crew members do the same thing," he added with a slight smile. "Think about it, Lieutenant. Growing up is all about making mistakes and learning from them. You have your entire life ahead of you to just keep quiet like a good little girl if you take my meaning."

She nodded. He did not say this directly out loud, but he was hinting to her that sometimes you have to let that free, wild child inside of you out into the open. She might be a cool, refined fighter, but inwardly, she was the visceral wild animal she raised herself as a teenager. She was independent and deserved the right to be. "And above all," Captain Sisko went on, "don't ever let whatever happened in your past affect the present and your future."

Chapter Text

Twenty-four casualties on the Lakota.

Thirteen crew members were injured, the rest dead. It was a disaster when Lynet returned to the very ship she served. She was greeted by Captain Benteen as soon as she was beamed aboard. The older woman looked at her with an unreadable expression, and she knew she was in for trouble.

"Lieutenant."

"Captain," she responded, lifting her chin up and not smiling. "I suppose a debriefing is in order for my recent questionable behavior."

Benteen sniffed and looked her over. "We'll evaluate your actions later, but right now...it's good to have you back." Now a smile formed, taking the younger woman off altogether. "Your mother was among the ones hurt, but she'll make it. In fact, she has been asking to see you. She's in the infirmary right now."

Lynet breathed a sigh of relief as said feeling washed over her like a splash of cool water. Her mother...Julianna was alive. Nothing life-threatening. "Thank you, Captain," she said. "When can I see her?"

"You can go now." But before she could, she was stopped by the captain with a hand on her shoulder. Benteen's hazel eyes were filled with such remorse and regret. "I followed Leyton's shadow, obeyed his orders - but that was the first time I saw you physically altercate with him. I have never seen a soldier do such a thing in my career that I can remember. It was...uncalled for, but valiant."

The praise surprised the lieutenant altogether. She had expected a reprimand, but appraisal? She didn't know what to make of it. Her subconscious urged her to not question it but to accept it, after everything that happened. She'd helped the hero of Starfleet, Captain Sisko, take down the defect who would have put them up vulnerable for the Dominion had they not interfered. The two of them risked their careers - maybe their lives - to save the Federation. She hardly even received a welcome home from anyone else aboard the Lakota, because everyone was busy with the dead and injured in the infirmary. She had to pretend she didn't care because these people were more important.

It wasn't like she was anything like the loners praised for their heroic efforts in the stories and the ancient times. She was just a lower-ranking officer who helped a more important one; it wasn't like she did it alone.

She found herself beside her mother in a matter of time. Julianna was in the gray pajamas of a patient, cleared for a few days' rest. Her long black hair was freed from its tight bun, covering the pillow beneath her in an inky stain. She looked up at her approaching daughter with a slight smile which faded quickly as she winced, still in some pain. "I'm going to live," she said even though her daughter didn't ask her how she was. Lynet snorted.

"Leyton betrayed us all. You almost died, and so did several others - and more of our crew because of him. You would have killed everyone on the Defiant if Captain Sisko and I didn't interfere."

Julianna sighed. "I know how you must be seeing us right now, but I assure you, I knew nothing about the...Red Squad until we were approached. I'm as ashamed as you are." She reached for her hand, but Lynet drew back. Their ship still played a part in all of this, whether anyone knew or not. Benteen HAD been involved with Leyton and Lynet wasn't sure if she could even trust anyone above her anymore. Not even her own mother who was lying on a medical bed before her.

"Mother," she said, ignoring the rule of addressing altogether, "for a moment, I'd had thought you and the crew were well aware of what the admiral had been up to all along, but as of now, I'm having difficulty trusting anyone right now. For now, I just...need some time to think."

Her mother looked like she was fighting to keep her emotions in check, but she said nothing. "I understand," she said at last, turning her face away. It seemed she didn't want to speak to her, either - and Lynet suspected it had to do with the light of her recent rebelliousness. Somehow it hurt more than telling her mother and commanding officer how she felt.

And somehow, she felt more alone than ever. She never realized how much it DID hurt. With Sisko gone, especially.

On the other hand, speaking her mind had never felt so good.

~o~

They were en route home. Mission accomplished for now, but they would have to be distances away for now - at the same time, they would keep their attention on the USS Lakota.

A part of Yelgrun wondered what the Founder's interest was in for that one particular ship, but he liked to think it was because of the active role it played in the involvement of the sabotage as well as how it tried to destroy the Defiant - Captain Sisko's ship - at the order of Admiral Leyton, the traitor. He was currently facing justice for his crimes, making Yelgrun make the cruel joke to himself as to "how the mighty have fallen". He sometimes wished for the little nothing who used to be his student.

Now WHY did he think of Keevan at a time like this?

It had been months since everything ended with him and the little upstart. Neither he nor the younger Vorta have spoken since he betrayed him, exposed to the Founders and some of his peers what he tried to do to him. He was the victim, Yelgrun the monster...of course that would stain his reputation unless he pulled off another success that could take an amount of the hate from him. He never used to care whether or not he was scorned by his fellow Vorta, but his career was his life. And he was a faithful servant, more than that little traitor ever would be.

"I took you in and you thank me this way. You can go about your business and serve the Dominion as faithfully as I do, but you will always be a pretty little face with nothing from the inside to give back. You will always be alone as I am, even if you do manage to feel something for another and they don't return it to you. When that day comes, you'll feel the same pain that I do. You'll NEVER be happier than you are giving your life for the Founders."

He meant every word of it and hoped it was no less than the little one deserved. He wanted him to suffer for breaking Yelgrun's heart the way he did. Ever since then, Yelgrun had not been able to stop thinking about him, either, at night most likely - and it made him burn hotter with more hate and rage than he could muster. But it wasn't like he could do anything about it; it would excite the attention of the gods and the other Vorta close to Keevan.

Perhaps there would be a chance Keevan could screw up for life and deem him as much a replaceable scrap as the rest of them were.

Yelgrun grinned to himself. That would make him feel much better. Keevan was too confident and arrogant, too proud.

"Obedience brings victory," he heard First Yaran'alon say to the Founder in their presence, who concurred except -

"Only we have not yet taken out the ship in our sights, First. We are to remain focused on the Lakota and monitor its every movement, and when the right time comes, we will strike. However long it will take."

~o~

Only three days and life was back to normal. Except for one relationship in particular.

Lynet was at her post monitoring the communications channels with Trill Ensign Yelan Nahn when she stole a glance over to where her mother was on the opposite end of the bridge. Julianna, however, upon catching her gaze, would often quickly look away from her. Their relationship was somewhat strained the last few days ever since the daughter told her mother on the sickbed that she needed time to clear her head given she had assumed her crew had known about Leyton's intentions. But as it turned out, Julianna Ross knew nothing about what her former friend and comrade had tried to do. It still did not change the tension.

Lynet knew she had to put her personal feelings aside for now, so she went back to work - until the voice of the Bolian science officer got everyone's attention.

"Captain, there's something out there!"

Erika Benteen straightened in her chair. "Onscreen," she said, keeping her eyes on said screen as the order was carried out. Shifting around, Lynet saw space and stars, as they were en route back to Starbase 323 - and a glob of brown-gold, whatever it was, was floating amidst the stars in their direction. The sensors beeped rapidly as they detected the strange object floating their way.

"Whatever is that?" Benteen demanded.

"Life-form," Lt. Commander Ross stated. "I'm picking up...readings of a..." She trailed off there, suddenly gaping - heard visibly in her tone - when she examined further. "...morphogenic structure."

It was a Changeling.

A shape-shifter was floating through space. What was it doing in space if it could perhaps die from no oxygen? Lynet learned nothing of this in the Starfleet until she remembered they were not human or humanoid, so they had none of the qualities solid beings possessed. Was oxygen included? She heard Captain Benteen order it beamed aboard and that the containment field be set up immediately.

And when it was, the glob of brown-gold shimmered before everyone's eyes as they gathered around - Lynet included - and it slowly twitched and swirled before a part of its stretching gelatinous form reached out and touched the force field; the sparks of yellow energy sent it backward and recoiled madly before it took control of itself and instantly became a...solid form. It had managed the best it could of a being. It was a...man. Dressed in somewhat of a gown that matched the peachy color of his clay-like skin. Blond hair slicked back, his face barely resembled much of a human. His eyes were the widest blue Lynet or any of the others had ever seen - wide and filled with curiosity and confusion.
Lynet's mind clicked that it could not be one of the Founders. This had to be a new one, one who did not know where he came from. Now she found it in her to look up at her mother. "He doesn't know what we are," she whispered to her. "And he doesn't seem to know who he is, either." If only Odo were here; he knew more about his people than any of them did.

This was the first time Julianna spoke to her daughter, too, personal feelings aside for the sake of duty. "You're right," she whispered back when she took a small step forward to have a better look at their finding. "Captain, what are your orders?"

Benteen had her part of looking at the young Changeling male in the eyes. He returned the look without a word; either he didn't know how to speak yet or just chose not to give anyone the satisfaction. "Commander, you and Dr. Manners are free to examine and understand him in the lab. Lieutenant, contact Starfleet Command and tell them -"

And suddenly, it came without warning.

The Lakota was wracked with an impact.

~o~

There was a lost Founder floating in space. Their sensors picked up the life-form before them, but before they could beam it aboard, the Lakota was there before them. He, the Founder remaining with him, and the Jem'Hadar all saw it happen.

"Yelgrun," his god said beside him, leaning over as if in deep thought, "a hundred years ago we sent out a hundred infants of our own, to study the various races across the stars. Now we have another." He pulled back and began to pace back and forth.

"Except we need to get it away from that ship. Lock onto the Lakota's hull and then beam aboard. Once we have what we need, we take care of the crew."

Yelgrun chuckled. "Excellent. The Founder is wise in all things. What about any survivors?" he asked, reaching behind the back of his head to scratch his spinal end, the sensitive part sending jolts through his nerves. The Founder looked his way without a change in emotion.

"For your reward, Yelgrun, you're free to take one of them as a prize for yourself."

Chapter Text

Everyone was back to their stations; their ship was under attack.

"Arm phasers and quantum torpedoes for the target!" Captain Benteen shouted as she jumped to her chair. "Commander, who fired on us?!"

"A ship is decloaking!" Ross answered, apparently shaken now, seldom seen. "Shields are down now to sixty percent."

Lynet checked her readings, too. There would be no way to call anyone for help; they were out here alone, and at the mercy of the sudden threat that eventually revealed itself to the Lakota, and it was not a Klingon Bird of Prey. She had thought that there had been none of these guys especially when it was revealed one of their own had done the work at Leyton's order to the wormhole.

A Jem'Hadar fighter had made itself known to them and decided to open fire on them. Because they were beaten to catching a Founder. Lynet acted on impulse and without thought, abandoning her post right away and running up to Benteen's chair. "Captain," she said, "I think we both know why they are firing on us." She cried out and fell off her feet to the floor when the ship was shot again; they had been hit in the rear. In response, the Lakota tilted forward so everyone nearly fell forward and lost control of their posts.

Benteen's face ranged from strain to impending loss of control. She shouted for the phaser targeted on the enemy ship, then turned her attention back to the lieutenant. "They know about the shape-shifter. They're disabling us so they can retrieve it."

"Yes." She managed to pull herself up by grabbing the armchair facing her, standing on her knees as she looked up at the captain. "They're attacking us so they can claim their -"

Another fire to the Lakota's hull caused sparks to fly, stations to blow, and people injured in the process. As for Lynet herself, she found herself thrown off her feet yet again. She landed on her stomach, grimacing as her body was wracked with mildly numbing pain. She wished there was a way to send out a distress signal, but knew it was impossible. She looked up when she saw Captain Benteen fall to the side, away from her protective chair. "Shields down to twenty -!" The words from that all-too-familiar voice made her scream herself when the sentence never finished as fire burst from that station, sending the person flying backward and flopping like a fish before lying terribly still.

Lynet heard herself scream out in horror, reaching out: "MOTHER! NOOOO!"

Julianna's dead body fell before her, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, eyes wide open, and looking at her daughter without even a spark of life.

That was the last thing she saw before something flew her way, and pain burst into her entire face, especially in her eyes. She howled in agony, blindly reaching out and eventually grasping the side of the captain's chair. "Captain!" she screamed. "Are you there?!"

She got no response, which told her Erika Benteen must be...dead. She did not hear anyone else, either, except the shrieks of horror from the thing in the force field. The thing that got her and her entire crew in this disaster. She sobbed as she held onto the captain's chair, wishing death would claim her soon.

~o~

The ship was going to explode, or perhaps lay there in space, dead, if they did not hurry and retrieve the Founder or any survivors left.

Yelgrun, the male Founder with him, and the Jem'Hadar beamed aboard, seeing the fires about, the scattered bodies of the crew. There was some blood littering, depending on the damage each crew member sustained, and some of them were either burning to death or dead already. Burnt flesh, blood, and coppery electrical charges mingled with smoke and flames reached his nostrils. A part of him wanted to retch, but he held it in. His people's eyesight might not be perfect, but he could tell which were alive and which weren't.

"Third, follow me." He looked around to see the Founder and said Jem'Hadar Third marching the opposite way, where a figure was frantically fighting to get out of the force field. The Changeling they were looking for, which made him smile.

"Commander, we found one." Fifth Telar'ritak came his way, carrying a limp figure whimpering in his arms.

Brows furrowing, Yegrun took a step forward to take a look, but not a good one as they needed to get out of here now. A human girl in a Starfleet uniform was in the soldier's arms, but she appeared to be in so much pain she wasn't aware of what was happening around her. Yelgrun tapped his comm badge as soon as the Founder, the younger shape-shifter, and Third Gonak'orak joined the lot. "Fourth, get us out of here and get us home," he ordered.

They were back on the fighter in no time - and in time for the Lakota to go into flames, transforming into a chaotic mess in space, taking the bodies of its crew with it. Yelgrun did not get to see this until he placed his virtual headset on his head and saw the disaster itself, smiling to himself. "We achieved a victory, Founder," First Yaran'alon said, bowing his head. "Victory is life."

"Indeed," the god responded before turning his attention to the new one like himself, taking him by the shoulder and leading him through the back, the doors opening to take them both below. Now that he thought of it, Yelgrun had made his decision as to where to put the survivor until they returned to the Gamma Quadrant. He couldn't be taking care of an injured little creature when he should be concentrating on getting them all away before they were eventually discovered by any other Federation ships coming along.

"Fifth," he said, "take her below and put her in a cell for now." He would not go down there unless he was absolutely bored during the trip back home, now that the idea rose unbidden at the unplanned time. He found himself looking at her still in the Jem'Hadar's arms, seeing the damage done to her face while it lasted briefly; she would very much lose her eyesight. She had by now lost consciousness and would wake up to whatever darkness had taken over her visual senses - and in enemy territory.

To think of the fun he might have with her when he had her alone.

~o~

Her head pounded savagely when she came to. She wondered where she was, but she guessed she was no longer aboard the Lakota. If she was, she'd be dead by now, or she'd at least be still smelling fire and death.

She remembered her mother, Captain Benteen, and the rest of the crew, feeling the empty pain in her heart. They all might have been on professional terms instead of personal, but they were all she had. Her father was farther away, making him the last one, and there was also her cousin who was always in the field but also married - but it had been a long time since she'd seen or heard from him, or Annora.

Either way, she was alone. Wherever she was now.

The Jem'Hadar must have taken her off the ship as they saw she was still alive. But why didn't they kill her right away? They must think she was useful, and provide valuable information on Starfleet - but what could she tell them? Lynet moaned and laid back down on the cold, hard floor of what she now knew was a cell aboard the fighter. Even if she said she knew nothing much, they might torture her anyway. Even execute her if their Founders deemed her useless. Perhaps death was the best way for her as she would never give anything to live as their slave.

If they didn't kill her, then she might as well be a slave until the day they DID decide she would die.

That was not just the worst of it. Her entire face was still in pain, and when she did manage to open her eyes, all she saw was darkness. It wasn't the darkness of the cell, either, that she knew of. No matter how much she blinked, nothing changed. The stabbings of fire in her nerves were living proof that she wasn't imagining it either.

Her howls of agony, descending into wails, bounced off the walls so that no one above or outside this room would hear her grief.

~o~

The time came finally one hour later when he decided to pay the prisoner below a visit. Wherever the Founder was, trying to teach the new one whatever he could before they returned home, Yelgrun did not wish to bother him.

The Third accompanied him down below, unlocking the door for him and stepping in with him. The girl was lying on the ground, curled up into a ball. He chuckled; was a brave young soldier always so scared of imprisonment and death? Or just covered it up with masks of integrity? This one fascinated him so much that he thought he could find out for himself, but not here. Not when the Founder was present and could intrude anytime he wanted. Hearing his laugh, the female ceased her sobs and instead drew further into herself. She wasn't going to shrink away into nothing just like that; he wasn't going to leave her, either. "You know I won't leave you alone," he told her calmly, resting his hand on his knee. "You might as well look at me when I am talking to you."

She said nothing, instead raising her face in his direction. Her eyes were marred with rough, dark flesh and seared areas, and pieces of metal evident that she didn't seem to be aware were still in her face. Clicking his tongue, Yelgrun reached over without a thought and latched a finger onto one of the metal pieces, pulling with his might. In response, the girl screamed and drew back. "Hold her," Yelgrun ordered Third Gonak'orak, who nodded and strode over, getting behind the prisoner and holding her in a sitting upward position. She was still screaming and struggling, mostly due to her pain. Yelgrun sighed sharply and rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"I know it hurts, but I'm taking it out anyway. Why haven't you bothered pulling it out yourself?" he asked, waiting impatiently until she stopped her howling to answer.

Her words were without a breath or pause. "I d-didn't know they were still there. I didn't...feel around."

She must have lost the circulation in her optic nerves, Yelgrun realized, but it would take a physician to determine the final answer. "Hold still, then," he ordered, moving closer so his job was easier. "There's no doctor on the ship, and the Jem'Hadar aren't the best at this. You're lucky I will make this easier for you, girl."

Her lips curled, baring her teeth, her fear shoved aside. "I hate being called 'girl'," she snapped. "And don't bother asking for my name, either."

"Well, then, what can I call you? I could always make something up," he told her with a nasty smirk. "Something you don't even like..."

She spat at him. "It's better than my real one, scum. What satisfaction can I give you when you and your monsters killed my crew and took my eyes from me?" she almost shouted, making the terrible mistake of lunging forward only to be held back by the Jem'Hadar. As a consequence, she cried out when she felt part of a bone in one of her forearms break. Yelgrun glared at the soldier; he might have taken delight in seeing her restrained, but to have another part of herself broken when he wasn't a skilled doctor was more than he needed right now.

Scoffing, he turned his attention back to the prisoner. "Your people had a Founder on board, and that was supposed to be our job. It's not like we leave loose ends or ask nicely. And it wasn't the Founder's orders to leave your ship untarnished."

"So, you kill us when we never knew you were there, all because of one shape-shifter." She shrieked when he pulled another shard from her eye. He counted three more left, and they were much smaller. One was in between her eyes instead of inside. Upon studying her face further, Yelgrun felt a familiar heat overcome his being. Vorta were naturally drawn biologically to physical beings, their appearances more appealing - and oftentimes not - than artworks and scenery, and other forms of aesthetics. Taking in the girl's narrow face, her sharp lips with a definite fullness to them, as well as her raven hair cropped short to the length meeting her ears...

Yelgrun shook his head of those thoughts immediately.

"That shape-shifter happens to be a god," he returned, in answer to her somewhat question. "We had our orders. Being a soldier yourself, you know an order is an order." By then, he managed to pull the shard from between her eyes. Blood was beginning to seep down her face from her wounds, the vivid red fluid an interesting contrast against her pallid flesh, not unlike his own and the rest of his people.

There was nothing he had that resembled even closer to a handkerchief to clean the life liquid, so he settled on tearing a part of his jacket to dab the oozing cuts. She winced - her mouth being the only form of emotion to give now - at the contact but didn't draw back given she remembered what happened last time, didn't want any more broken bones. Smart girl.

"You're not a Jem'Hadar," she stated after a long pause. He chuckled.

"Nope. I'm a Vorta. And while the Founders are the masters, as we, too, are their servants, the Vorta lead the Jem'Hadar. But, you will also find we're not as...physically volatile as our soldiers."

"If you're so...merciful," she said sarcastically, "why don't you kill me right now instead of...treating me?"

Yelgrun withdrew, the bloodied cloth still in his hand and the gore-etched metal shards on the floor between him and the young woman. Kill her? Not unless the Founder said so, and not unless she provoked him in a way he didn't like. But unless there was a way for her to be valuable for them, if she had any information, but she was a mere...lieutenant, wasn't she? His gray-purple eyes fell to the insignia on her collar, giving away her rank. "You're no good dead to us...Lieutenant. So, are you going to tell me your name now?" he asked mockingly, nodding for Third Gonak'orak to let her go, but not before he pulled the last of the shards from her eyes. Her hands then flew to her eyes, trying not to cry either in renewed torture or the fact her eyesight was lost for however long - maybe permanently.

He handed her the cloth, pressing it against the back of her hand so she would know what it was. She took it and brought it to her face, covering it entirely as she wheezed into it. "Well?" Yelgrun pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"Lynet."

He smiled. "See? That wasn't so hard. Why did you have to make it that way, hmm?"

"Because you and your 'gods'," she sneered, lowering the cloth to show her tight face and unseeing bleeding eye sockets, "won't get anything on me. It's not like I'm a captain where I know every inch."

"Quite so, but you are a member of Starfleet. The Founders can always arrange for your torture to extract information," he stated. "But they could always ask me to be the one, make it easier for you." In truth, he wasn't the easiest one to get along with; just ask anyone who knew.

She turned her face away, to her right, apparently knowing the Jem'Hadar was to her left, so she was not looking at him either. "Nothing with the Dominion is easy, whatever YOUR name is," she returned, folding her arms across her chest. "You all might as well kill me like you killed my mother and the entire crew."

Yelgrun blinked. She - her mother was also a crew member. He almost slipped with his smile, but what did he know about losing a family member? The only feeling he knew was being betrayed by someone you thought would see more to you than everyone else did. Why should this girl be any different, now that he thought of it? He had to admit, he found her appealing, no different than he did with Keevan. No women in his life - until this one in front of him. "Well, I'm sorry to know that," he said, "but there's nothing I can do to ease your pain. We're on our way home, so I wouldn't be getting too comfortable if I were you." He nodded for Gonak'orak to stand; they needed to get back to the bridge. "I'll be back for you when we arrive at our destination...Lynet."

To say her name was a...delicious drawl on his tongue, the "L" in particular. But that letter could be used to label anything: lie, loss...love. The last one being on his long list of impossible. All he knew was lust and control. The Founder had given him permission to have a prize - and that meant whatever he pleased with her.

~o~

Captain Sisko was called to the main area of Ops. It had been not many days since the return from Earth, and life returned to normal after the trials. "Major, what is going on?" he demanded when he came up to join her. The viewscreen was on, showing the spot where the wormhole was supposed to be.

"That's what we all want to know," Kira Nerys answered, frowning. "The wormhole just opened and shut yet again."

Sisko stared first at her, then looked at the rest of the crew - notably Dax - and back to the screen. The wormhole...opened again? And they had figured out what the cause was before! Arriaga testified and admitted to everything, so there should have been no problem again. But it also called for an investigation, just to be safe. "Major, Dax, you have permission to take the Defiant out."

A few hours later, the word got back. There had been no modulator disruption, but Jadzia picked up a...faint ion trail left in the wormhole. Which meant that a ship had gone through and then entered the Gamma Quadrant. Everyone looked at each other in horror as they all knew the answer: a Dominion ship had been cloaked in the Alpha Quadrant all this time, and neither of them had known it. "Benjamin," Jadzia Dax said, "do you want to notify Starfleet Command right away?"

He nodded. "Right away," he repeated. "But no pursuit until necessary." And for all they knew, the Changelings left on Earth must have been taken off and decided to return home for now.

Chapter Text

He was back on the bridge, but ever since returning, he had not been able to stop thinking about that girl. How she set him on fire, how defiant she was - no different than Keevan - and how she spat at him with hate and disgust. What did she expect?

What did HE expect? Just because he pulled metal from her ruined eyes did not mean she would thank him. Whoever thanked him for anything?

Some time passed until they entered the wormhole, undetected, but it wouldn't be long before Deep Space 9 noticed the opening and closing; they ought not to be stupid to track them if they wanted to risk their skins. The Founder and the younger one were still off the bridge, not that Yelgrun expected to see them anytime soon. However, a part of him wanted to just make sure the gods were well; sometimes he got too soft and despised it. Being soft made you weak. He learned that the hard way.

Happiness was always fought for, always secondary - he never saw himself lucky enough; he always wanted what he couldn't have, including young Keevan. He wasn't surprised by how many others his former pupil must have rejected. The boy - because he was - might be a pretty sight, but if he kept his arrogance up, he would remain the way he was now. Weyoun might be taking care of him now, but that would not be the same as Yelgrun wanted to give him.

But now there was that woman in the cells beneath them.

Yelgrun gritted his teeth when he thought again of Lynet. Why did she occupy his thoughts so much? Just because she was visually striking and could not see him did not mean she would return any favors. He would be giving her in as a prisoner anyway; he would not get his hopes up too high.

His memory clicked. How could he forget yet again? She was all his to do as he wished. The Founder said so himself.

What made it even better: she would not be able to know what he looked like. That made it a step easier. Yelgrun confessed how he was self-conscious about his looks, as they were one thing that did not get him the ideal partner besides his temper. But that meant she would have to learn to deal with him somehow. Where would she go once he had her all to himself? Yelgrun ceased his thoughts when he was informed they had just left the wormhole. They had arrived home, but they were still light-years away from Kurill Prime.

There was Kilana that he knew of to settle with the girl, given she was one of the few Vorta to truly talk to him. Kilana was, should he say, the more innocent of the rest of them, given she had never been outside the Dominion - much - but the truth was she never dealt with anyone from the Federation, only studied and learned. She was still fairly young, only in her second incarnation. But all Vorta were exposed so "young", in a figurative speech. If the Founders did not send her out yet, then she was suitable to keep his new girl occupied when he wasn't around. But Yelgrun always had a backup plan. Borath himself, even though they weren't so cordial. But Borath was a scientist; he even knew medical connections to see if anything could be done about Lynet's eyes.

Several hours later, they touched down on Kurill Prime. The sweet air blew into Yelgrun's face, one of the few things to make him at home. He looked behind him to see Third Gonak'orak carrying the blind prisoner in his arms; she didn't fight. She must be smarter than he thought, given her eyes were destroyed and she had no idea how to defend herself. He smirked. A part of his mind wondered if she would be able to resist him once he took her into bed with him.

"Yegrun," the male shape-shifter said, turning his attention to him, "I'm placing you in charge of her interrogation, but you will leave her to me first, and in the meantime, you will contact the doctors regarding the damage done to her eyes."

He nodded. "Yes, Founder."

"We won't kill her, but she'll be all yours when we are finished."

~o~

"A Federation officer - and my first time encountering a young one with my own two eyes."

"You're a Changeling, aren't you?"

"I am one of the Founders, yes. You are a lieutenant. I don't think you have anything valuable to hide from us, but one can never be too careful. I doubt you will not survive what we will take you through. All we need to know is if you can give us anything valuable on the Federation."

"I won't give you and your people the satisfaction. I would rather die than betray those I love and serve. Is that the one thing the Federation and the Dominion have in common?"

"Love is not a weapon within the Dominion. We have allowed our servants - save the Jem'Hadar - to experience amongst each other as long as they do not abandon their creators, but not to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to our enemies. But loyalty? I believe so. And that is why we must proceed..."

She was not sure which head pain was worse: the destruction of her optics or the aftermath of the cortical implant and mental probing as she was tortured both physically and verbally. She hardly remembered anything much, just passed out. If the lights over her WERE bright, then she was spared from that at least. She awoke again - she thought she did, given she heard voices - before she felt herself drift away again into unconsciousness. She recalled feeling a prick in her neck, assuming it was hypospray.

She never even had the chance to ask what was happening now, either. She cursed the Dominion and all it stood for.

~o~

Lynet suffered severe pain to her cranium, from his knowledge, but she would live otherwise. Yelgrun's ears were used to all forms of high sounds, but this time they could not stand the wails and pleas of the girl as she lay on that table, strapped down and injected, asked all forms of questions. Sometimes she never answered because of the agony of the implant.

All in all, she gave nothing important that they could use against the Federation.

But he DID learn interesting facts about her personal history.

All he gathered was that her parents were both Starfleet commanders - her father an admiral, and the mother a science officer, now dead like the rest of the crew aboard the Lakota. Her parents divorced just before she was accepted into Starfleet Academy. She'd had an older sister who died when they both were still so young, from the plague that spread in their hometown in a place on Earth called Montana. Fascinated, Yelgrun went on to find that she'd raised herself alone in the wilderness following her sister's death, having no other relatives as well as her parents always away from home, until she left the wild to join Starfleet to become one of its finest youngest officers.

However, there were certain mental blocks that not even the probes could pierce her mind and decipher, making him frown as well as the Founder.

What did this girl have to hide from them?

"She's been sedated for now," the doctor, Manama, informed him when she came out. "But it begs more than enough questions about her eyes. By restoring her sight, we can give her ocular implants..."

By giving her these medical orbs meant they would not be the same eyes she used to bear. They might be similar in appearance, but to a better, observant eye, these mechanical devices would have the details of mechanism in the irises and pupils especially. In the Federation, there were these devices as well as the VISOR, or Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement - but an ocular treatment was thus advanced within the Dominion. Unlike Federation implants, these would give the appearance of a real eye without visible mechanized lines. Lynet would have her old appearance back, in a way, however it was.

But that also meant she would be able to see what he looked like and would be repulsed by him, like everyone else.

"I don't think ocular implants will be necessary, Doctor," he interrupted.

Manama looked shocked. "Yelgrun, you honestly want her to be blind for the rest of her life?!" she asked, clearly outraged. Even though her latest patient was the enemy, she loathed seeing injury of any kind. But how could she possibly understand Yelgrun's insecurities and his...desire for the girl?

"For my own reasons, frankly," he said icily. "She's mine, but if there is one thing I will not allow - it's for her to see me and shrink away from me."

"What could she mean to you?"

"The Founder explicitly granted his blessings for me to have her, and that is all I will tell you," Yelgrun snapped, his patience thin, and he would have exploded if a familiar voice had not stepped in and saved him.

"Manama, I believe this should be taken up with me now. If you want to, any more patients you have need you." The doctor nodded, pursing her lips before huffing at Yelgrun and turning back inside. He turned to look at the female Vorta who came to his aid.

"Thank you, Kilana."

She smiled before replacing it with a thin line of the mouth. "Sometimes I wonder if it will be the last time," she stated, hands on her hips. "But what is this situation with this new...prisoner? Assuming she isn't as valuable as you and the Founder thought. Which means..."

Yelgrun replied without shame, smirking. "She's mine now."

"Assuming, of course, she's your luck that you never thought you'd have."

He grinned at her, pleased she caught on. "Precisely, my friend. You know me too well." In fact, his only friend. Everyone liked her, but despite it all, the Founders had yet to send her out on a big mission to deal with the Federation. "I have been meaning to talk to you about the girl."

She laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Well, it's been a while since you asked for my help, friend," she said, slapping her hand on his shoulder, a trait which irritated him but sometimes bemused him. "But what is it?"

"She's sure to remain blind permanently, or however long necessary, for obvious reasons."

Kilana drew her hand back, eyes wide in shock, no different than the doctor's. Then, again, it was replaced with a scowl. "Yelgrun, aren't you being a little...paranoid?" she asked slyly, even though the disapproval remained. "Afraid she'll try and get away from you?"

She was trying to be funny, but he saw nothing humorous about any of this. "Kilana, I know exactly what I am doing here. She won't know that she could get her precious sight back, but this is for the best - the way I see it. And yes, you are right that she is the luck I never thought I would have; I intend to keep it that way. But as we both know, I won't always be there, and since you are the one I know for the job -"

"Until I am actually called away," she corrected, interrupting and making him roll his eyes.

"- she won't be able to walk around or do anything on her own, and I don't trust anyone else but you."

She huffed. "You don't trust anyone, and we both know that. You don't trust me at times, remember?" Yelgrun scoffed; as if he needed reminding.

"Will you help me with her?"

She nodded. "What's her name?"

"Lynet. Lynet Ross. Not only is she a fighter herself, but she's the offspring of two others - and one of them was on the Lakota with her when the Founder ordered it destroyed," he answered, smirking. "She's a sole survivor. I don't think anyone will ever come looking for her."

~o~

She had been crying for hours, curled into herself, and turned away from the doorway, wherever it was. She had awoken from sedation only to be told her eyes would heal, but her sight would not. Unlike the Federation which had the proper eye treatments optional to all, the Dominion did not yet possess such technology. It was all that cruel after all, she decided, or they just had it and decided not to give it to her.

She was going to be blind for the rest of her life. She counted off the things she had lost in a day.

That meant no more hunting.

No more fighting.

No picking up a phaser or a Klingon blade.

No seeing where enemies were coming.

Just completely useless.

It also meant she would be given to that monster who mocked her in her cell aboard the fighter, who ordered the deaths of her crew, and who took away her eyesight - one of the things she valued most. Now he took away her freedom. What else was he going to take from her?

She wasn't suicidal, but if there was only a WAY to kill herself, it was the only option left.

She never had the opportunity before another voice entered the air after she heard the doors open. It was another female voice who wasn't the doctor who gave her the news that changed her entire life - and it wasn't that Vorta monster either, thank God. But she knew it was a Vorta.

"Lt. Ross?"

Lynet hissed and curled deeper into herself; she always hated being weak, and right now was no exception. The stories about the Vorta always said that if you refused to do what they asked, they sent in the Jem'Hadar - and you died. "I have nothing to say to any more of you," she retorted, hearing the person sigh and could almost picture her shaking her head. "Go away. And tell your friend that I want nothing to do with him."

"Lynet, I mean no harm," the woman tried to placate. "I only want to talk to you."

Now that her ears picked up that the person was in front of her, she raised her head even though she couldn't see. "I said I have NOTHING to talk about," she growled. "Go ahead and send in the Jem'Hadar."

There was a pause. "Very well, but I'm not here to make things worse than they already are for you," the woman said, and she recoiled when she felt the feel of another body sitting down beside her, disregarding her personal space altogether. "Is it fine if I call you Lynet - or do you prefer 'Lieutenant'? I only want to establish a connection of trust. My name is Kilana."

"You're a Vorta, too."

"I am. And so is Yelgrun."

It was then that she remembered she never asked that demon's name. "Yelgrun...that's your friend's name. The one who ordered my torture." She could still feel the pain in her eyes when he pulled the metal shards from them. He had done it even though no physicians were aboard. He must have gotten some form of amusement from it, and it sickened her.

The woman, Kilana, affirmed. "Yes. He's a good friend of mine. He was my teacher when I was a little younger than I am now. And really, he didn't mean to order the destruction of your ship. All he wanted was the Founder aboard. He simply followed orders as did the Jem'Hadar." She was doing a hell of a fine job apologizing, wasn't she? Well, it wouldn't work on Lynet.

"If you're trying to apologize for him," she snapped, "you're both dreaming that I'll ever accept it. I have no family, no life anymore, and I'm a prisoner to his sadistic wishes now."

"Now, Yelgrun really isn't as bad as you think. Once you get to know him. All of us Vorta have been through a negative form one way or the other. Why don't you at least give him a chance?" A hand made its way to Lynet's bared leg, as a means of trying to comfort and assure her or try to get her to understand, but Lynet wanted nothing of it. She wanted no one touching her, not even these brainwashed servants of the enemy. Snarling, she reached over and swiped Kilana's hand away, then folded them angrily across her chest.

"I don't want to get to know that beast. And I certainly don't want to get to know you or any others like you either. You can tell Yelgrun that I don't want anything to do with him!" she shouted, sharply turning away and curling into a ball again. She felt the pang come again along with the tears, hoping the Vorta would leave her alone. The sigh she heard as well as the clicking of footsteps vanishing told her that her wishes were respected. She continued to cry until sleep claimed her, and no dreams came.

Just darkness.

Cruel, unfeeling endless black.

~o~

He slammed his hand flat on the desk after Kilana told him everything.

"If I may make a suggestion," she said softly, burning him even more, "why don't we just leave her in peace for a while, let her cool down, and then come back to her? Manama is going to keep her for a few days more, which should give plenty of time. And more time to prepare your quarters for her stay, given she will be here for more than quite some time."

If she was trying to cheer him up, it wasn't working. Yelgrun was having difficulty keeping his anger under control. She wants nothing to do with you... Who could ever forget those words?

Somehow it hurt worse than when Keevan abandoned him.

He found himself looking down at the trinket in its pouch. It was one of Kilana's trinkets she collected but had no real interest, in that he found himself thinking Lynet would like. Females normally liked things regarding jewelry, food and wine, and nice dresses, but he had no idea if Lynet did or not. Charming a female was common in the male side of all species. He picked up the pouch and untied the string, allowing the necklace to fall into his palm. According to a natural Vorta shopkeeper in the city, the charm was tear-shaped, intricate gold around an intoxicating dark blue gemstone the color of the sea at night. If Lynet's eye color used to be like this, then this could be the best reminder of what she had lost.

But if not, then what else? He knew nothing about women besides what he was told.

He shook his head, closing his eyes. "No, Kilana. I doubt any of this will work. I could very much be fooling myself like I did before. She will only see me as nothing more than a...monster."

With that, he closed his fingers around the necklace and lowered his palm back to the table surface, still feeling her eyes on his back, unsure of what to say now, but he didn't need her side anymore.

~o~

Sisko felt like a part of him had been knocked out altogether. He received many reports in his lifetime and his career, and gave them to his comrades...but this time was an even greater impact than he remembered.

The USS Lakota had been destroyed.

And its crew with it.

The Jem'Hadar ship they tried to track had destroyed it, now that the connection was made even though the ship itself got away into the Gamma Quadrant. He closed his eyes and held the PADD to his chest, ignoring Dax's hand on his shoulder to try and calm down. "I'm sorry, old man," he told her, "but I can't relax. There is one name for sure that catches me the most. She helped me and Odo regain Earth and place it back to the way it was." Lt. Lynet Ross was dead as well, and her mother with her. Admiral Ross, whom he worked with before and attended the academy with - he must be taking it much harder than they all were. Not only was his ex-wife dead, but his daughter as well. It made Benjamin wonder if Annora O'Neal caught on to this yet. But then again, there were a few things the brash young journalist never caught on in time.

Either way, he said a little prayer to the young woman for her safe journey into the next life.

~o~

She was dispatched from the infirmary four days later - and right into the arms of the man she did not want anything to do with.

Yelgrun sighed as he supported her, one arm around her and against her back while hers wrapped around his shoulder. To even touch a part of him made her want to retch. "You're going to live with me now, so you might as well accept it and hope for the best."

"If I had any choice in the matter," Lynet snapped back, making him chuckle. Her anger must have turned him on. What a bastard.

She wound up being swept into his arms, carried like a bride. "Oh, will you put me down before I scream?" Lynet demanded furiously but didn't fight. It would only serve to get her beaten, and she was always careful not to be so. "I can walk on my own."

"But alone, you won't even last a day or a week on your own," he stated coolly. "You can spend all your time sassing me, but it won't get you anywhere, my dear. I'm all you have, and Kilana as well, so if you need anything that the replicator or the computer can't give you, all you have to do is ask."

She snorted and wanted to spit at him. If there was anything she ever wanted, it was to get out of here and hunt. She would be denied that for sure. There was nothing else she could ask that she really wanted. "If there's anything I want, it's not here on this hellhole of a planet."

"On the contrary, Kurill Prime is a paradise. But that's what we are told. Our people don't have the ability to describe or appreciate anything that normal beings like yourself do. But not that it is ever important."

Lynet chewed her bottom lip as she took this in. By not appreciating scenery and beauty...Yelgrun was telling her that the Vorta had no sense of beauty. Not able to enjoy anything other than working. All work and no fun. That meant nothing recreational like hunting for her. But before she could ask, he stopped and set her down. They had arrived at his quarters - and now hers, too.

"Well, what now?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest and facing ahead. The temperature felt quite comfortable to her liking, as it must be for all his people.

He chuckled. "How about I get you something to eat? The Vorta menu is very limited; all we savor are rippleberries and kava nuts. Our ancestors stem from apes in ancient times." He took her arm, but she kept her feet planted down. She felt like making this harder by defying him at every chance she had, and this made him angrier. "Lynet, what did I tell you about making this difficult?"

"I don't care. I did tell you that you ought to have killed me while you had the chance," she said, finally cracking a smile as she enjoyed this game she played with him. "Or is there another reason why you don't want me dead?"

He growled, taking her by the forearms but not grasping enough to bruise. "You want the real reason? Fine, then. I'll give you the reason. I was hoping to wait until tomorrow or a few days at least while you adjusted here, but it seems you left me no choice, girl. You're going to be my wife."

Chapter Text

Kilana always looked up to Yelgrun, to anyone around her when she was in need of advice. She wasn't experienced in the field as much as her friends and colleagues were, so it was a miracle Yelgrun even put up with her over something she didn't learn in time. She had been the first to see more to him than the impatient, unbearable man that he was called. She was kind and patient, far more than anyone else could be with him.

And that was why she intended to have the peace begun between him and Lynet.

It had been a couple of days since she last saw either of them and from her gatherings, nothing was going well. They were feuding at their best, and Yelgrun had already told her what would become of her now. He was taking her as his new mate.

Kilana nervously rubbed her hands together as she stood in front of the door to Yelgrun's quarters. To force her into marriage wasn't going to bode well. She prayed to the gods that those two would begin to come to an agreement instead of stubbornly fighting the other off - that was Lynet's part; she needed to accept her fate, as much as it pained Kilana to use such words. She was Yelgrun's one hope to help him towards the light and fill his lonely days that should have been completed a long time ago. Kilana would have done the favor for him, but she just wasn't drawn to him that way.

She'd heard the stories of what transpired between him and Keevan, and she'd made damned sure to watch out for her own skin, not catching any certain way he'd look at her. He didn't even try to touch her in a way she didn't like either, making her wonder why, and ultimately learning from his mouth that "I don't want to have a repeat of what I did." His eyes hardened when he said those words, even more with what came next. "But I came so close, and it ended as everything before it did. I lost my chance. I'm nowhere near like the rest of our people in finding the one." Basically, he said he didn't want to lose a friend like he did and drive one away like before.

In other words, no one understood him.

She made her decision before deciding to leave the two for now, turning on her heel and heading in the other direction. She didn't abandon what she promised her friend, but that girl needed to start figuring on her own.

~o~

Someday Yelgrun wanted to strike the insubordinate woman.

Starting with after he told her he wanted her as his wife, she stuck her chin out in the same defiance. "I'd rather die than agree to such a torture," she'd said, keeping her arms across her chest. She was young and happy by herself, but she was fresh enough for him. Her handicap made it easier for him, and her insults were not affecting him, for some reason, just driving him towards wanting her even more. Insults were powerful IF you let them control you, and he never let any control him.

"Nevertheless - it's your destiny now," he'd said instead, smiling when her frigid form did not soften. "We will fight this no more; the decision is made."

"By you," she retorted, finally dropping her arms and in acquiesce, making his smile broaden. She seemed to finally allow herself to think it was pointless to fight him. "When will it happen?"

He frowned, having not given it much thought and eventually deciding to speak to Kilana about the preparations. "I do not know yet, but first comes me helping you get settled. Now, will you eat something, or would you prefer to starve to death?" he teased cruelly, making the curling of the lips return.

"I won't take my chances and starve."

"Excellent."

He helped lead her over to the table, then went to the computer to order a rippleberry and q'lava dish. Placing it in front of her, he ordered, "Eat up now." Sitting in front of her, he watched as she hesitantly reached and felt around until she found the dish, then took one of the q'lavas and popped it into her mouth. For a moment, he thought she was going to spit it out as a means of enraging him again, but then her mouth twitched as though trying to fight a smile as she liked the flavor.

"For limited taste, I'm impressed," she said after a moment, "but I don't think I'll always be happy with just nuts and berries, and exotic fruit. Humans aren't made the way you all are."

Yelgrun snorted. Stupid woman; didn't she think for a second that the Dominion did not provide pleasure for prisoners? But she was going to be his wife in a matter of weeks. Marriage happened to be about compromise. There were several connections he knew of to give her anything she asked for. All he knew was that if she wasn't satisfied, she would go insane. He could not have a mad mate in his life until he killed her himself.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best," he told her, and this was the first time he saw her smile. Somehow it made him feel a LOT better.

The smile made his body burn again which made him refrain from taking her across the table and slamming her down so he could claim her right then and there. One of the thoughts he hadn't had in a long while, too.

He had seen how others looked at Keevan, and somehow that marked Keevan as a symbol of desire - that it began to spark something in Yelgrun the more he thought about the young Vorta, and eventually went far to ask him if he was interested in him; he had known the way Yelgrun looked at him, heard him call his name as he dreamed at night, having thoughts about him.

Keevan understood him, accepted him, and looked up to him - but he didn't desire him. What could hurt much worse than that? And WHY didn't anyone understand that besides Kilana?

They said if you obsessed over one thing that tore you apart internally, it would eventually take your life away mentally. He could feel it so, but he couldn't help himself. He could only hope this woman in front of him would be his salvation.

That was two days ago, and now he was at his desk and staring at the necklace from Kilana, having not given it to his future bride just yet and automatically deciding now was the time.

~o~

Slowly, she was learning to feel around the room, learning to walk on her own even if Yelgrun wasn't always there. She hated his help, hated being handicapped, but the doctor gave her a cane. It wasn't the same as ocular repairments, but it sufficed. She would tap through and it gave her an indication of where she was going and what item she touched; she was always careful, too.

Yelgrun had the habit of getting irritated over the littlest of things himself. Such as when she shouldn't have knocked something over - such as once a PADD he was working on, but how could she help it? This was a challenge for her. But it was also not free from making mistakes. The man who was her unwilling husband - she could still feel herself getting ill again, and not just from the pounding headache she got sometimes - had no sense of patience, not even over a given period. He always set a specific amount of time, but no over, unless you wanted him raising his voice or rolling his eyes, which she had known other men to do.

To even THINK about getting into bed with that demon, too!

She was no stranger to why he would want her. Men were all the same. She clenched her fists as she tapped the cane around, eventually finding the sonic shower as she needed one. He hadn't touched her yet, but she would not let her guard down like she did nine years ago. Nine years was a long time, but the memory was fresh as though it were only yesterday.

Lynet's Starfleet uniform was allowed to be kept with her, but she was also given new clothing that felt like it was Vorta required. Their garments must wrap around their forms, to show off their bodies; by the phrase, it was one fine way of saying "seducing" the opponent. Who knew what real seductive methods the Vorta possessed physically. She never forgot the pain she felt, but if there was a way she could use that now if Yelgrun was in any way like that...

She learned how to fasten these Vorta-like garments around herself by now, tracing the curved line of the outer jacket and discarding that before moving to the shirt beneath, which fitted to her body. The pants somehow felt tighter as they partly rode into the fork between her thighs. If anyone noticed that, they must have said nothing, but it was like no one cared within the Dominion. The boots were two inches high above the ankle and short-heeled. Lynet despised heels, but these were also comfortable. Naked, she turned on the sonic shower and left her cane beside the controls before stepping in.

"You'll have to get used to me by the time I begin to join you, anytime I want."

She screamed angrily and whirled around, quickly covering herself, knowing where the entrance of the shower was, at the sound of Yelgrun's unwanted voice. The damned nerve! "You just think you can look at me anytime you want, can you?!" And it wasn't the first time, either. The first night in this place, she was changing so she could clean up, and unluckily so, he was standing there the whole time, to which there was the conflict of her asking him to turn away so he didn't see her - and she could NOT tell if he respected or not. That was the biggest problem.

Yelgrun chuckled. "Married beings see each other any time, sweetness." She hissed and backed into the wall behind her, the warmth and comfort of her sanctuary forgotten and ruined by this man. She could even hear the frown in his voice. "You know, I'm beginning to think this resistance isn't just because you hate me and my people."

Lynet reeled. "What is that supposed to mean?" Oh, she knew very well what he was implying.

"It means," he drawled, "that you are not telling me anything that the probes did not find."

Squeezing her eyes shut even though she couldn't see, she turned away from him, not caring about her nude backside. He couldn't - would NOT - know. He would never understand. Why couldn't they just agree on one thing for once, and why couldn't he understand if she didn't want to tell him something, then she didn't WANT to? "For the sake of argument, some things are best left undisturbed - until I am ready to tell you," Lynet said, finally managing to calm herself down, taking a few deep breaths to soothe her rapidly beating heart. "I don't care about your lack of patience, either, or your natural curiosity, for that matter."

His sigh of exasperation was audible. "And I thought things were going to get easier."

"Well, newsflash," she retorted, "marriage isn't easy. Which is why I never planned on it in the first place."

"Hmm, well, that makes two of us. I never found the right mate because no one was able to...not resist me." She scoffed; she couldn't imagine why. He was stubborn as a mule on Earth and pig-headed. And cocky.

"All men are the same," she said. "They never show women the proper respect."

~o~

He could not make out her silhouette well through the curtain of the sonic shower, but he did see that her back faced him, unable to "look" at him. She could not stand the fact he had invaded her space, but it wasn't like he could resist her. Yet somehow, this was not doing anything to help draw her to him, either.
Yelgrun was never a man to compromise, but Kilana had said that this was what marriage was all about, and she had never been mated. He was tempted to growl, but she was his closest and only friend, so he might as well take her advice if he wanted THIS to work. "Very well, if you want your privacy, I'll leave you be. But I'll come and get you as soon as you are done."

"Fine," she answered simply, and he saw her relax. It would have been nice to see more of her. Yelgrun nodded and left the bathroom, making way for his computer console to catch up on some work. But when he tried to work on his newest intelligence report, his mind eventually dwelled back on something Kilana also said. She should be more experienced in relationship matters and the like instead of being in the field as he was.

"To spend the rest of your lifetimes with someone else requires more than just fondness for...body parts and carnal pleasure. It requires hard work, smooth and edgy roads, but in the end, it is all worth it," she'd said with a smile. "Sometimes I wish I found myself as lucky in that department."

Like him. Sometimes he knew that was why he...cared about her so much and learned from his mistake to not force onto anyone else. Until that girl in his sonic shower - now theirs - came into his life.

He eventually found himself wondering: was he beginning to have real feelings for this girl, the feelings he desperately craved for several lifetimes?

"I'm done," Lynet called, and he turned behind him to smile, seeing her standing there with a towel wrapped around her body, soft to the touch. The pouch was beside the computer on the desk, and he picked it up before walking over to her. "What do you have for me?"

"Something that Kilana helped me pick out for you," he answered, pulling the necklace out and unclasping it, draping it around her neck and securing it. Her body stiffened, and his ears detected a sharp inhale of breath.

"Why would you give me a necklace?"

He also detected a hint of defense and disgust in her voice. "You don't like jewels," he stated, knowing even before she answered - and the addition took him off altogether.

"Not really. There was one I truly loved - a bracelet from a man I considered an uncle, for he taught me all I know, and promoted me twice...until he betrayed us all. I threw that filthy thing away because jewels mean nothing." Her hand was reaching up in an attempt to take it off, but something snapped inside Yelgrun that he knew he couldn't have this. He just wasn't sure if he could take another rejection like this. He stopped her from removing the gift he really wanted her to have.

"I mean every word when I give you this. It's not a...definition of possession." In his mind, she wasn't a trophy even if she believed she was; he was a man, and it was in his nature. "It's because you're mine now, and I won't lay a hand on you, hurt you, or betray you in any way. You can be assured I'll stay to that promise." His eyes hardened. "If only you agree to cooperate with me on occasion and listen to me when I tell you something. Is that understood?"

She nodded. Turning to "look" up at him, that smile was not back, just yet. Never mind; everything took time, as much as he always hated it. Looking her over, Yelgrun's body thrummed when he took in the bare skin of her neck and shoulders, a brief view of her back, and the long, toned legs disappearing beneath the knee-length towel. The top curves of her breasts were even better for his eyes, delectable and firm, that he wished he could touch, but decided to wait until the wedding night. Usually, it was traditional, but there were rumors that half of the Vorta population engaged in physical intimacy earlier. Yelgrun inhaled through his nose as he fought to keep his urges under control.

"Lynet, I won't force you into bed, but would you...just let me see you?"

He detected all the signs of shock and terror as he noticed how she stopped breathing, chewed her bottom lip - which fueled his inner fire even more - and clenched her hands into fists so the knuckles turned white. "Lynet?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Remember what I said?"

"Yes." Her tone was clipped, and finally, she reached up with one hand to unfasten the wrap in the front before letting her hand drop back to her side at the same time the fabric fell to the floor, pooling around her feet.

Chapter Text

She was naked in front of Yelgrun.

She had wanted to scream and pick up the towel to cover herself up again, but then she felt his hand on her shoulder, and he spoke as though reading her thoughts. "There's nothing to hide from me. I won't do anything you don't want, my dear. I just want to look at you."

Lynet swallowed. No one had seen her naked except once when she was thirteen. Her body was honed by years wild in the mountains, then in training at the academy, as well as hand-to-hand combat. The memory threatened to resurface, but she did her best to shove it down. His hand was still on her shoulder, squeezing it tenderly before removing and trailing down her back, which she sensed that he went around to examine, perhaps check her out from there...

"Ah, this is interesting." His long, bony fingers brushed against her lower back, not that far above her buttocks, making her hiss. "What is this?"

Lynet realized that he must have been talking about her tattoo which she got when she was fifteen. "You don't recognize it?" she asked, cracking a naughty grin even though her back faced so he wouldn't see.

"Not really," he answered, laughing a little. "Weak eyes, remember?"

Her eyes closed out of habit. "It's a knotwork, from planet Earth, in a faraway country from where I come from. Ireland, which is across the ocean, has various forms of them. This one is called the Quaternary knot, or 'four-cornered'. It's a symbol of protection, according to some legends. One Druid - one of many ancient Celtic tribes - philosophy talks about the four entities, one for each of the four corners of the world, and how this symbol represents their protection." Her cousin Annora had one of her own, in a more private area than she did, of course, and eventually convinced her best friend to get one, too. Celtic symbols were prided for their mythical importance and strength given to the bearer.

Yelgrun hummed as he seemed to have been absorbed in her story. "Fascinating. I'd love to learn more." His hand was still stroking her back up and down, enjoying the feel of her skin. She held her breath and kept her eyes closed. She was supposed to hate it so much, because of who and what he was...

...but his flesh was warm and smooth, if not silky, unlike the last one's calloused hands. Inviting despite - NO! She shouldn't think like that! This was wrong...wrong...WRONG!

"Stop," she burst out, gritting her teeth.

"Why? You weren't objecting before."

"I shouldn't..." She bit down her words, and he snickered, making her nerves light with fire.

"Shouldn't what? Enjoy it? Your body seems like it's enjoying it. I see every sign of it, but you're trying to resist me. Go ahead and pull your towel back on, but I promise you won't forget about this," he told her, his hand stopping down the middle of her back. "I dare you."

Oh, so he dared her now! Lynet fumed. He was torturing her, making her angry, and touching her body in a way that shouldn't be -! Her train of thought was interrupted just like that when he continued his journey, this time bringing his hand around to grasp her hip, squeezing the firm curve. His other hand did the same, but then it moved north - too high, for it grasped the breast there, cupping and fondling it. Her breath hitched, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. He was touching her breasts, both of them now with that same hand while his other snaked down between her legs. His touch was uninviting yet strangely tender.

Oh, God, now she moaned.

Yelgrun's laugh was deep and triumphant, angering her further but turning him on. His body pressed against her bare back. While he went on to play with her folds, his mouth found its way to her neck, the sensitive part where her neck and shoulder bases met, the vein pulsating beneath his teeth. This was biology, the body's natural instincts, but it wasn't because she actually wanted it...yet her body burning felt the wrong kind of good. His bony but soft hands held her in place, trapping her against him while he tortured her with his lips and fingers, his deep rumbling an intimidating but sensual tune to her ears...

"I'm surprised," he said after a long moment, his fingers now just simply toying with her sex. "Why no hair?"

Lynet gasped when the sensitive nub was thumbed. Her heart began to beat so much faster that she thought it would burst like a water balloon. "Because...it's wrong," she gasped. "Doesn't feel right..." When she was twelve years old, she'd made the long-ago decision to have the hair between her legs removed permanently because she simply did not like how it looked with her femininity, even though everyone had it when they got to be certain ages; if Kayley had lived, she would have laughed it off and told her little sister that she was being silly. Her old caregiver had supported the decision as there had been no secrets between them, until that day...

Lynet froze instantly, the erotic tingles from Yelgrun's touches suddenly unpleasant but did not have the words to stop him.

She began to be afraid of the wedding night when Yelgrun would eventually know she wasn't the virgin he must have thought she was.

~o~

He couldn't get enough of her body. To even feel her skin beneath his fingers, her body against his, and the flames of his need that he wasn't sure if he could wait another minute...it was too much. Her vein throbbed beneath his mouth, her breasts firm and plump beneath his hand, and the sweet soft flesh between her thighs on his fingers...

What aroused him even more was the fact that her womanhood was without the bristles that he was familiar with. And her reasons: even more so. "It doesn't feel right," she'd said, moaning. And how he agreed when he let a finger probe deeper; his thumb, actually. She felt pretty dry, but deeper, the pool was forming. He would have gone deeper if not for the fact that she suddenly went stiff beneath him, and it wasn't just the fact that he was invading the most private part of her body.

Yelgrun frowned, ceasing his fingering altogether. "What is it now?" he asked in irritation.

"Nothing."

The air was thick with sweltering heat, and it wasn't good either. Even though no one ever saw them, the Vorta were skilled with detecting whether or not the being they were dealing with was lying or telling the truth; right now, Yelgrun heard the invisible jagged lines in the single word, gritting his teeth that she'd say such a simple word that made all the difference. "Why am I having trouble believing that?" he asked dangerously, removing his hands from her body entirely. She seemed to relax now that he was away from her; keeping his eyes on her, he knelt to pick up the towel and did the honors of wrapping it back around for her, handing her the cane afterward.

"Are you Vorta all lie detectors?"

He sniffed, though he was smiling again, if absent of actual humor. "We all can tell lies and spot them from others, yes. I'm beginning to think that you don't like me touching you not simply because you hate me so much..."

She made way for the closet, the end of the cane tapping in front of it and then pulling it away to push the button on the console to open it. "It's none of your business. Perhaps it's because I don't want to be touched until our..." She stopped there, and he knew what she was talking about.

"You're right," he agreed. "We'll wait until then." Although his loins were tight and burning, his member straining from the blood coming downwards. He watched her as she dropped the towel again, revealing herself to him once again - those breasts and that sweet spot below her waist, as well as the firm abdomen with a slight six-pack. It made him wonder if they would be able to reproduce; he never thought young ones were on top of his list. To even handle screaming babies drove him insane, and he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't want any, either. This matter should be taken up with Manama very soon.

Right now was a wedding to plan. They had plenty of time before an appointment with the physician could be set up.

Three more weeks - he was not sure if he could wait that much longer, but in times like these, he always knew what to do. "Excuse me, but it's my turn to clean." With that, he departed into the bathroom and stripped, stepping in to fix the issue between his legs.

~o~

The wedding day was here, three weeks later. Her stomach was in knots when she was helped into her dress by Kilana, whom she began to like over the course. The Vorta was extremely kind to her, treating her better than she expected to be, but it still did not erase her loathing at living within the Dominion and the fact that everyone at home believed she was dead.

She might not be in a cell, watched and followed by Jem'Hadar all the time, but she was still helpless and despised it. However long she would be here, she couldn't take it. Add in the fact she HATED dresses, but it was traditional for a bride to wear one, and she had no choice in the matter. And it was white, too, which symbolized what she was not - which was also another level of wrong, yet it was no one's business to know the reason behind it.

"I wish I had better eyes," Kilana told her as she did the honors of closing up the back, each button going through the loop without difficulty, and fitting her body enough to show what curves she had as well as to accommodate her. "But I think I mean it when I say you look...glowing."

Lynet sighed. If only she could see what she looked like - and if only this was all a bad dream she would wake up from. The last few weeks hadn't been that hard on her, but her old life was still ripped from her. Her hands came up to feel each part of the dress: slim satin with ruched lines to flatter, strapless but complete with a dramatic cover-up of sparkles, and short-sleeved. Her short raven hair was set with a dramatic chainlink piece set with some crystals; she felt all of this around. She was supposed to feel as beautiful as she must look, but she didn't feel like it. This just...wasn't the right way to go. Marriage was supposed to be each other's consent, not his over hers.

Vorta matings never were broken off like humans, she learned from Kilana. They were bound for life - and that was for the rest of their lives. Which meant no divorce possibilities, Lynet thought, nearly crumbling with despair. Sensing this, the Vorta woman helped her stand. "Now, now, don't be afraid," she said softly. "It won't be a vast affair; he likes to keep things private. It will be just us and Borath."

She felt her brows crease. "Who's Borath?"

"The Vorta scientist in charge of us all. He treats us all like we're his children. He's like none other you'd ever know," Kilana said cheerily.

Lynet made the habit of pursing her lips tight again. She wasn't sure if she wanted to meet another Vorta. They did their Founders' bidding, and toyed with you - but not Kilana. No, she was really sincere; if she had wanted to harm Lynet herself, she would have done it a long time ago. They were...not all the same as she thought they were.

She was taken on transport and brought to a private garden in the city, but she couldn't see anything, and nothing Kilana could tell would help matters either. When they finally arrived, it was barely noon. She was given her cane as soon as they all stepped out, and it wasn't long before they were greeted by a male voice who wasn't Yelgrun.

"Kilana, I thought I would see you. And this must be Lynet if I'm not mistaken."

It took her a moment to realize he was speaking to her when her friend did not respond. "Yes, I'm Lynet. Are you...Borath?"

He laughed. "I am. It's a divine pleasure to meet you." She felt him take her hand into his as he was well aware of her condition. "I'm terribly sorry to learn about your loss." By loss, he meant her optics destroyed. She almost doubled over again before she held it in. He cleared his throat. "I apologize, but we must not keep Yelgrun waiting, ladies."

By the feeling beneath her feet, she was walking on...sand. They must be on a beach somewhere, or at least near one. Flowers reached her nostrils, as well as assorted fruits and greenery. The air was calm and serene to the senses. She felt a tear fall finally, wishing she could see it. If only some memento had been captured in the event she MIGHT regain her eyesight somehow...

They stopped, informing her they were there. A pair of hands - bony and smooth, familiar - grasped both of hers and held her in place. Her cane had been taken, held at Kilana's offer as she and Borath stood by to witness. She held her breath, wishing the burning of her lungs would eventually soothe her instead of adding further pain, even when another voice began; a Vorta priest had been summoned for them both.

Yelgrun's thumbs both massaged the backs of her hands as if sensing her distress, doing no real purpose to calm her fraying nerves and rapidly pounding heart as those fateful words - "I swear" in response to both sides, man and woman accepting each other and standing beside each other against all opposing - linked her to this man. This man who was involved in the attack on her ship and the deaths of her mother and the crew, her blindness - and touched her in a way not like when she was a teenager. And the sliding of the RING on her finger was the end of it. As well as -

"Then let all present here know this man and woman are now mated. Yelgrun, you may kiss the bride."

She barely had time to exclaim at that shocking word, but the moment his lips touched against hers...it was as if the sun above them had exploded in a supernova no different than a star would. Burning and consuming, deep and rough, yet also being tender enough as this was the most important day of their lives - in a funny way of speaking. Yelgrun purred against her mouth, his hands holding her into place, one against her back and the other around her waist; despite herself, Lynet's hands came up to caress his shoulders and eventually wove into his thick hair, which was pretty coarse on the surface, but silken beneath. An odd combination, but an interesting one at that.

When they broke apart, she could finally breathe, but her lips were still tingling from the pressure. And there were no words to say to her new husband or even describe what had just happened. This was the first time anyone had ever done this to her.

Yelgrun leaned in and whispered to her then; behind them, the applause from the only two Vorta present seemed mixed with praise but also with doubt. "I'm looking forward to tonight." By tonight, he meant the wedding night.

It was by then that the fear returned with a vengeance. She was alone with Kilana as it was traditional for the bride to be prepared by a female friend for the consummation. Kilana was the only other Vorta allowed to see her naked as it was just the two of them, and this was customary that she had no choice. Lynet instantly felt like one of the dames of classic literature - specifically the one from Arthurian legend in her name albeit spelled differently - as she took a sonic shower and then let herself be sprayed with an interesting Vorta perfume which smelled of assorted flowers, woods, and greens - fresh and earthy. Her breasts and womanly folds were treated with it, too. Lynet bit her lip once again as she tried not to think too much of how her husband would treat them very soon...

"Lynet, would you please relax?" Kilana scolded. "The last thing any first night needs is a shattered marriage."

She looked down at the ground even though she couldn't see anything. Standing here naked and the smell of perfume getting to her nostrils made her stomach queasier. What could she tell Kilana? "It's not that at all," she finally confessed. "It's something more...something I can't tell him..."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"I'm not a..." She stopped right there, throat clenching again. Kilana seemed to know what she was trying to say, and the horror and disbelief was evident.

"You mean you've..." She lowered her voice. "...been with someone before?"

Who knew if Yelgrun could be outside listening to them, with his good ears and all. Lynet nodded, finally lifting her head and bringing her hands to her damp breasts, covering them. "Yes, but it wasn't a positive form -"

"Ladies!"

Both women froze at the sound of Yelgrun's voice. He sounded impatient and waiting for his new bride, ready to get it over with. That did not make it easier for Lynet as she dreaded this night for weeks to come. "I'm coming," she called back, trying to keep the warble from her voice before lowering it. "Kilana, how am I going to tell him?"

The other woman might be shaking her head sadly. "I'm sorry, I wish I knew. You're going to have to make the decision on your own." With that, she led the young bride out of the room, naked and into the bed which she would share with her husband now. "Good luck," Kilana whispered to her, patting her hand before taking her leave.

She drew the covers up to her bare chest, shivering uncontrollably despite the warm temperature of the room. She absently turned her head to the side just as a small source of comfort. It wasn't long before she heard his voice as well as the weight on the bed as he joined her, but she could not acknowledge him. He sighed.

"Lynet, don't do this tonight."

"Do what?" she asked blankly.

"Don't shove me away."

He sounded like he was a broken man being rejected now. Even though they were still enemies, even though she didn't want this marriage, he was still a being like she was; she knew that by now, but it still didn't make THIS right. "I'm afraid," she said in spite of herself, yet a part of her did want him to know it. Didn't he possess a conscience at all to know that himself?

It was right then and there she finally felt his body against hers beneath the covers, naked as she was. She almost shrieked and jolted before his hand on her shoulder eased her back down. "Calm down, please." It was almost an order that could not be refused; that same hand removed itself so it could draw down the covers to expose them both, her to his eyes while she could not see an inch of him. That made her feel a little safer as she was worried she might be repulsed by the sight of him. Then his hand began to caress one of her thighs until it reached her stomach, caressing where she carried a womb that would eventually bring forth a little one between them - as it was the duty of a wife in these times, was it not? Like it was in medieval times - her hip coming next and then the feminine curves of her chest, fondling them again. "If it's any consolation," he said after several long moments of tense silence, bordering on masculine huskiness, that made her skin shiver, "I really prize the sight and the feel of you. You must be proud to have this of yourself only to share it with another man."

He was speaking as though she was dignified of herself enough that she had to protect herself when he did not know what happened. He did not know the shame she went through when she was but an innocent girl of thirteen. Which she had yet to tell him but, for a second, thought she could go through with this on their wedding night and then wait for tomorrow - but her worry broke with one last shard.

His hands were still caressing her trembling body when she finally broke. "Yelgrun, please stop." She quickly scrambled to sit up and pull the covers to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut and trying not to cry. This set him off indefinitely and she wanted to die right here and now.

"Damn it, woman!" he bellowed, angrily punching the bed before them. "Why must you keep refusing me?!"

"It's NOT my fault!" she burst, sobbing now, leaning forward and wrapping the blankets around herself so he had nothing for himself, curling up as she favored to protect herself the best she could. "You don't understand a damned thing, Yelgrun! I was proud of this body once, but how could you understand what a mere thirteen-year-old girl went through not long after losing her sister and whose parents she rarely saw?"

An echo seemed to take place in both of their ears until her whimpering and stifling cries were the only noises heard until Yelgrun finally broke it. He sounded more curious than angry now, and...a small case of concern. This was the first time.

"What...are you talking about?"

Lynet lay on her back and "looked" up as she took a few breaths to calm herself before she told him her story.

Chapter Text

She knew these forests like they were her mistresses, promising her she would become one of them as long as she proved herself worthy. The Bozeman Mountains of said city sat in a beautiful valley, serving as a winter and summer shelter for wild buffalo and assorted creatures, vast with fields of wildflowers of yellow and purple in springtime and covered with pristine white snow in the coming season.

This was her home.

Lynet was running the field with her sister, both in their airy blouses and trousers, their long hair free in the spring wind. Unbothered by modern technology that surrounded their parents whom they rarely saw except on vacation times, leaving the two sisters with each other - the both of them complemented each other very well even if one was very tall, graceful, and feminine while the other passed herself off as wilder with a masculine temperament. Kayley's hair was curly and dark, sometimes kept out of her face with braids that she taught herself, acting as the mother of the two, but Lynet preferred hers in a simple ponytail. Mother Julianna would sometimes contact from space or Starfleet Headquarters when the opportunity came just to see how her daughters were doing, sometimes being disappointed that her youngest had not yet learned restraint. Kayley, being the elder by six years, had done everything she could, but it seemed she and Lynet were in need of a -

"A caregiver?" nine-year-old Lynet fussed as she sat in the carved wooden chair that their grandfather had made long before they were born. She crossed one leg over the other and stuck her chin out at fifteen-year-old Kayley who was carving up potatoes, sighing in response to her more stubborn sibling. "Why would we need a caregiver? We're great the way we are."

"Mom insists," Kayley answered. "Dad agrees with her."

"That's not good enough."

Lynet always had a sharper mind to tell right from wrong, but sometimes begged the question as to why she didn't listen half the time, but she was only a child, so it was only natural. Kayley herself knew that. "He's a friend of the family, Dad says. They were childhood friends, but Dad went off to join Starfleet while this man remained behind for the civilian trades."

"What kind of trades?"

"The likes, such as furs and carpeting, et cetera. Nothing important. He might have not had the strength for Starfleet that our father has." Her sister shrugged nonchalantly and continued to carve vegetables. She took the mother role while their own was away, both of them going to school in the manner of having a teacher brought in from town to teach them at home. If there was one thing the younger sister wanted anything in the world, it was to become a soldier for Starfleet. She loved to fight and loved to run free, and it was her father and Uncle Jim who taught her to hunt buffalo.

How could this man be of any interest in all of that then? Lynet might not enjoy his caring at all if the case is no.

"When is he coming?" she asked, reaching for a tomato that was on the wooden slab, much to the disapproval of the elder.

"Early as the morning of two more days."

~o~

She stopped her story right there, "looking" at Yelgrun who remained perched in front of her, probably with his legs brought up to his chest as he surveyed her. She felt very small and vulnerable, using the blankets as her source of covering up while he remained naked in front of her and not shy about it.

Why was she even telling him this?

"So, you were a wild card, eh?" he asked, trying to make a joke about this. His shift in demeanor was giving her lashes that she wasn't sure how she would ever keep up with him in this marriage. She nodded, not even a good snark coming to mind.

"Yeah, and it was the only home I knew even long before I joined Starfleet. But you wouldn't know what it's like to cherish a place as though it is your religion, obviously," she retorted. "Kayley was my best friend until the following year she was taken from me. When the plague struck, taking so many lives. Children were lucky enough, myself included, but she wasn't." Her throat wrenched as she remembered her grief at losing her best friend who had taken care of her while their parents were gone, served as the acting woman putting the wild child in her place of reason. "My parents weren't even there when she died, no matter how hard they tried to be. The man who cared for us was, serving as my acting father figure and I had begun to like him and trust him from the moment we met. I was nine at the time, and at first, I thought he'd be nothing like me - but I was wrong. He shared my fondness to hunt and ride, weapons and so on...until when I was thirteen years old."

~o~

She stared at the sickly face of her sister as she sat beside her bed, hands in her lap and face burning with tears. Kayley was dead. The plague took her, while she herself was still contracting remnants of perspiration. Her nightshirt reached her knees, and she didn't bother brushing her hair because she came in here just to check on her sister...only to find her like this.

Her sister was gone.

And their parents were not here to grieve for the loss of one daughter.

"Lynet, I'm so sorry."

She did not - could NOT - look up at the sound of the voice behind her. "Norman," was all she could say, devoid of emotion to her ears. Norman Talons was her father's oldest friend - and the only male figure she'd known every day the last year. She had grown fond of him as the father she barely saw in her lifetime. He knew how to hunt and shoot weapons, and taught her all she knew in the last year. Even he knew to respect her wishes.

She felt him come and kneel beside her. "She must have died during the night," Norman said, unsure of how else to comfort her, as he'd loved Kayley as much as she did. She felt her lips quiver; who could talk at a time like this? She was only ten years old, and Kayley was just sixteen. She shouldn't have gone; she should have lived. A part of the younger sister felt she didn't deserve to be alive. It'd be selfish to think she was going to make it through life.

"I have just spoken to your parents, Lyn." He was the only one to ever call her Lyn, a name she never thought she'd hear from anyone, even Kayley. She had little to no friends because the other children liked to do sports, and read books, instead of hunting in the woods and mingling with the animals. Norman was her only companion for this. "They'll be here in three days for the funeral, but then they'll have to leave, as we both know it."

Lynet nodded. It'd be the first time in a few years she'd seen her parents, wondering if they actually changed since the last time they saw each other. She jumped slightly when she felt Norman's hand on her shoulder; he'd touched her like this before and ultimately welcomed it because she needed some form of contact right now.

~o~

"It began from there, but at the time, I didn't think much of yet - yet it was clear as though it were yesterday for the next three years," Lynet said, having not moved from her position at the foot of the bed. There was no ending frame, so she had to watch out if she didn't want to fall backward while continuing her tale.

Yelgrun hummed; he had not moved either. "He...touched you like that." The way he said it indicated he was disgusted, bordering on protective. "For three more years. And you didn't suspect anything of what would happen next because he kept putting a hand on you at every opportunity he had," he seethed, making her reel back again, but she pulled herself forward.

"I was just a child! I didn't know much about those matters at the time! Norman was the only man figure in my life that I'd known when my own father was away fighting for our planet and the others aligned with it. I had no idea it would be the first time someone I trusted with my being to betray me as Admiral Leyton would do much later." Whereas she had a tear held in her eyes, she allowed them both to fall as her memory returned and escaped through her lips to him - the one day that changed her entire life.

~o~

She was wearing a loose shirt and tight shorts, her shoes fitting for the summer weather and the forest. Phaser and dagger strapped to her belt in case a wolf came out or anything with glazing sharp teeth; she needed to be alone for the day, and Norman respected her for that, understanding exactly what she was going through since Kayley died.

Oh, the wind in her hair. Her skin cooled by the sweetness of the flowers, even if some were scentless.

Sometimes she considered cutting her hair because by now, at thirteen years old and practically on the brink of womanhood, she was tired of it in her face and coming out of its ponytail. Norman objected, however, one of the few arguments they had. Men's and women's hair meant the longer the mane was, the more to work with. That was what she learned last year when she began to develop her breasts and the hair between her legs - which she despised and called a coarse intrusion of the one feminine side of herself, had it deforested permanently with help from Norman and specialists in town. Add in her monthly cycle in which the blood below her waist would leak out just so she did not clog when the time came to have a baby.

She had heard the stories about having a baby, and how much it hurt. She'd never seen it in person, but she was afraid. Afraid of it happening to her someday, even though she was too young right now. She wasn't sure if she could take pain like that for hours. Kayley had wanted to get married and have a family, but her sister had to come first. Sometimes Lynet wondered if her care deprived her sister of that chance.

"No, these things happen," she'd assured the younger, with a smile and a pat on the back filled with affection. It seemed there were things she was willing to do for her little sister.

She pulled herself up the tree base, rope supporting and grappling upwards and giving all her weight to pull herself upwards, then reached for her binoculars to look for the latest buffalo. Norman had made plans to make barbeque out of it, which was one of her favorite foods and his. He even taught her to make it herself.

She did not know how much time passed by the time she heard a voice from beneath, and by then, she found nothing of what she was looking for. "Found nothing, I take it?"

"You scared the life out of me!" she scolded, putting her binoculars back and climbing down the rope to the ground. "Norman, I didn't think I'd see you."

He chuckled. He was well-built, but not in the means a young girl would dream of to whisk her away, blond-haired and blue-eyed with impressive stubble. He had the entire look of someone that you could trust, and that was what she did. He knew to make her laugh, was the best teacher she ever had - he was her best friend. What more could a thirteen-year-old girl want from an older man who always watched her back?

"I already got us a kill."

She gaped at him, wiping her hands off her shorts. "You cheated!" she said in mock rage, although laughed when he did, leaning over to catch her breath when the laughter became too much for them both. "Where is it?"

"In the clearing. And it's a cause to celebrate," Norman answered with a grin, making her return it. "As a matter of fact, we could use its blood after we feast. Be wilder than usual like a pair of Klingons."

His bold statement shocked her. Never did she ever use animal's blood for whatever means - including this. "Normal, seriously? What are we going to use it for?"

He grinned. "I'll surprise you after we have all of our strength."

~o~

Yelgrun had managed to keep himself together thus far, but he could feel himself trembling with rage. To know all of this - to know that his new wife had been...he couldn't finish the thought. "Do I need to ask what the blood was used for?"

She was chewing her lip. The tears had come in heavier streams to the point where he could not take this anymore; he couldn't stand her being hurt. He knew he was forcing her to tell him why she could not let him touch her. The answer was obvious all this time, but he still needed to know from her own mouth. They were married now. No secrets from either.

"We had our meal, as planned," she answered, dully monotoned. "Delicious; if only you could enjoy barbeque as much as I do." A ghost of a smile showed on her face at the very fond memory taken from her. What was the matter with him? Was he actually starting to...sympathize with the girl? His guard was lowering each time he let himself adhere to her. "But right after that, hours later, and by the time it was bed for me, I had finished cleaning up when he came into my room just as I was naked and getting into my sleeping gear. He didn't bother knocking because he had the blood in a bowl from the kitchen. He blocked me from leaving my room until we were done. I didn't know what he meant until he bade me to lie down in my bed. I'll never forget anything that happened, my entire body smeared with blood that he licked off, and then...I can't finish what I felt below."

He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. He didn't want to hear any more of this part. "You don't have to." It made him think back to what he nearly did to Keevan, but no blood was involved...it unwillingly brought up what she'd look like in her current state with real blood from his enemies smeared over her for HIM.

Her tormentor had a perverse pleasure that had built up on years of caring for a girl who trusted him. He was supposed to protect her, not HARM her. "But he got what he deserved," she said suddenly, her tone now dark and filled with such anger and hatred. Pure malevolence that Yelgrun never thought he'd hear from her. "By the time it was over, I was loathing myself for being helpless, but what could I do? He held a knife to me and told me to not do anything, or else." It should be obvious what that "what else" was: he threatened to kill her. He'd call the threat empty, but she didn't know at the time. It made him want to kill that man if he had the power to hunt him down, wherever he was now - "He's dead."

"What did you do to him?" Well, what else could have happened? A raped teenager full of hate towards her attacker, and with knowledge of the hunt, could have taken it into her own hands.

She laughed, again humorless - or WAS there? Either way, it made him smile to know that she wasn't entirely the noble warrior she made herself out to be. There was a dark side to her yet, and it made him thrill that he was eager to help her down that path, to revel in his world and use her blindness to her advantage. Even when she answered him. "I considered taking a knife to his throat, but that would point to me, for sure. Instead, I put poison in his morning coffee; I used gloves to hide my DNA so that it would look like it was a suicide on his part." Both sides of her mouth curved upwards into a broad smile. Even though she couldn't see him, Yelgrun smiled, too.

Sadly, he thought poison too simple, and one of the things Vorta were immune to - with the exception of a few in existence. "What happened to you afterward? How did you manage to take care of yourself?" he asked, even though the answer was in the report of the mental probing. "It begs how you survived on your own if not always on wild beasts."

"It IS how I lived," she answered. "But I eventually continued my education and got to prove myself enough to join Starfleet. My parents took care of it all, but I was sixteen when they filed for divorce, shattering my life altogether more than it already was." She inhaled through her nose. "You see now why I never wanted to be married and have children?"

Yelgrun nodded but also answered because she couldn't see the action. Her hatred and distrust of men interested in her hand in any form - the result of childhood trauma - was the driving force for her laid-out path. "It's also because I grew up with parents never home, losing my sister, and her death affecting them that it eventually resulted in their separation. I don't want to endure anything like that or with a child having no choice in the matter to experience the same. The same goes with telling them anything they can't do, something I never lived with."

He closed his eyes, knowing where this was going now as much as it pained him. Below his waist, he was ready to consummate, but it seemed tonight would not be it. From his learnings, violation left the victim abstaining from consensual carnality for as long as they wished. It put to mind the events of...

"I thought you would be my friend, Yelgrun."

A friend...that was all Keevan saw him as. And he could see now that he betrayed that trust with what he did. There was nothing he could do now to make amends; Keevan made loud and clear how much he loathed his former teacher. He couldn't help his feelings then, and he would never forget it. His heart was crushed then and there. Forcing himself onto his wife for his own needs would not work, either. "You're tired, and I see that," he said, although she showed no signs of it. "We don't need to continue tonight."

Her posture relaxed, but the confusion was evident on her face. "Are you...sure?" It wasn't whether or not she was confused about him and his needs, but the fact she was relieved she would not be taken against her will. "A wedding night is traditional -"

He was on the verge of losing his patience. "I don't think I'll take a bride unwilling unlike myself, Lynet. We'll just sleep for now. Computer, lights off."

The lights turned off, and he settled down for the night, holding his new bride close to him without touching any part of her other than wrapping his arm around her, her back against his chest, his body heat matching hers that made him worry - slightly - if he would end up sleeping well after all.

Chapter Text

He didn't force her to consummate the marriage, marking her nerves as relieved, but he still slept beside her, holding her close to him. Yet they didn't fall asleep yet. Lynet wanted to since she allowed a small amount of peace to come into her soul for the first time in a long time, but she couldn't. The feel of his body behind hers was comforting now that she didn't feel like fighting tonight. His arm was around her waist, holding her close and nothing more.

Was it as simple as that which made him decide not to take her just like that?

She closed her eyes. She remembered the blood smeared over her body; Norman had the notion planned for some time before that day, but she never found the answer. How could you ever? This was the first time she ever told anyone about the wrong done to her, and she'd have thought Yelgrun would be disgusted - well he was, but he didn't say he was with her. But he was hard to read and she felt even more scared to ask him. She used to be bold and ask questions, taking Sisko's words to heart - had it really been that long ago? It had been weeks, but not that many. A part of her began to wish she'd transferred to Deep Space 9 when she had the chance...

But even that wouldn't have erased the touches this man gave her. Or the forceful way he made her tell him why she didn't want him to have her body tonight on their wedding night.

The question which she long shoved down came back to the surface, slipping through her lips in the dark, knowing Yelgrun had not fallen to sleep yet. "You think I'm a...whore, don't you?"

He stiffened behind her; she felt him raise his head and stare at the back of her head. "Why would I call you that? I'm not as simple-minded as you think I am, Lynet. This wasn't...your fault."

Lynet snorted. How was she supposed to believe that? She wanted so much to believe him, but she couldn't. He couldn't understand exactly what she endured. "How would you know that? I'd have expected you'd blow up worse as a man would so. Your lack of patience is proof of that. Even if you say you'll learn to control it more, I doubt that. I've known men like you all my life. Your tolerance of keeping it in your pants won't work forever when earning trust with me."

She'd expected him to explode on her again, but he didn't. Maybe there was hope yet. "You're right; it won't. But Lynet, I won't repeat myself. I won't make myself out as a Cardassian brute or a Jem'Hadar. My people don't resort to that kind of violence. Have we established that understanding, or are we going to fight all night again?" he asked, a warning edge to his voice now. Now she knew this was the last time to face his frustration with her; constantly fighting him was hopeless. She wasn't getting anything out of it. Lynet bit her tongue and nodded.

"We've come to the end of the road. But we'll still have to discuss my future living now that I'm your wife." She still held onto the fact she would not live like a useless prisoner within these walls.

"Hmm." He leaned against her and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, making her shiver. The tingles weren't so unpleasant now, for some reason. "I believe I might be willing to oblige, my dear."

~o~

Now Yelgrun knew that it was settled; he had to start doing something, do anything he could to make sure his bride was happy. She'd "confided" in him about her rape when she was an innocent young girl in the forest - it made him all the more determined to protect her from the outside. From the Founders especially, but one in particular had absolute word over his ownership.

She fell asleep in his arms, held her, and inhaled her skin and hair, relishing it, and unable to sleep as he feared. Looking down at her in the dark, he could only picture an innocence that had somehow remained despite being taken from her. He should have been the one, but it didn't stop him now. He closed his eyes; he needed to talk to Kilana about this, and he needed to do it now. It was very late, but it had to be done.

Gently, Yelgrun let his bride go and slipped out of bed, putting some clothes on before leaving the quarters and made way down the corridor, taking the couple Jem'Hadar he commanded with him.

He buzzed her quarters, holding himself together and waiting until the resident herself came to the door, wearing slinky sleepwear, wiping sleep from her eyes. "Yelgrun, it's very late," Kilana said.

"I apologize, but I need to talk to you now. About my wife."

She stepped aside after he ordered his Jem'Hadar to wait outside. "Did you two...?" she asked hesitantly, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Not at all. She told me a very...disturbing account," Yelgrun answered, sitting down in the chair nearby. "She had been...taken against her will before I could get the chance. She was a young woman when this occurred."

Kilana had been standing over him, hands on her hips with her lips pursed together in deep thought, then relaxed and let loose an exhale of disbelief. "That's - I didn't think she'd tell you," she said.

He gaped at her. She...Lynet TOLD her?! He thought he was going to explode, but it was a matter between women, as she'd told him once. By she, he meant Kilana. "She did," he answered. "We were about to take the final step in bed when she broke. She started to cry, and it kind of..." He shrugged, looking down at the floor, leaning forward, and clasping his hands in front of him. "...went downhill. I lost it for just a second."

"Did you strike her?" She sounded like she was accusing him, and his head jerked up. Was his one and only friend accusing him of lashing out at his new mate?

"Of course not!" Yelgrun snapped. "You should know better than to ask me that. I have not done such a thing since..."

Kilana held her hand up, her smile on her face now. "Of course; forgive me for even asking." The hand lowered back to her side. "Continue."

"She lost her sister as a child, having only a male friend of her father's until he...forced himself on her when she was thirteen years of age. Blood from an animal called a buffalo from her homeworld used in the act that he licked off her body for his pleasure." Yelgrun gritted his teeth. To repeat the details of the degrading act repulsed him to his core. "She cried the entire time."

Kilana looked like she was going to melt the entire time he spoke before she sat down beside him and put her hand over his. "Yelgrun, she was a child -"

"I know that," he interrupted impatiently. "She even asked me if I would think of her as a...I think you know the answer."

"Of course. A foul term, indeed. Yelgrun, give her some more time. She lost everything she ever had. And the fact her eyesight is no more is no help in the matter. You and I are all she needs now even if right now she won't admit it, or even feel it." She put her hand over the exposed crevice that was her breastbone for emphasis. "But it's you who needs that privilege."

Yelgrun looked her over and allowed his smile to form and match hers, his confidence returning. Her hand then came up to rest over his chest - his heart notably - and the heavy beating heat returned to his skin and inner system. Her eyes spoke it all: he was not feeling mere pity or sympathy for his captive-turned-wife. He wasn't sure if he could use that word just yet, but he knew the feeling when he felt it.

But would Lynet ever return it to him, as he longed?

~o~

"Well, everything checks out about you," the older Vorta woman explained to her as she lay on the bio-bed, with Yelgrun beside her. Lynet was wearing a long hospital gown with her knees raised and legs parted so the examination was easier to poke and prod, and the tricorders run. "You're in very good shape, no abnormalities - but I see only two. Aside from the fact that your monthly courses are two weeks off." She looked at her patient with a raised eyebrow.

"You were active before your marriage."

Lynet felt her cheeks flush furiously, and she immediately closed her legs and sat up. She turned her back and "looked" up at her husband, loathing being here right away. She knew his face was unreadable, but his eyes were blazing with fire. "Manama, that was straightforward," he said harshly, looking up at her. "You didn't even ask her if this was of her free doing or if it was forced onto her."

She stopped him with a hand on one of his. "Please, I'll do it. Doctor, I was thirteen years old, and my husband tells the truth," she answered calmly. "It wasn't of my consent, either."

The woman let out a gasp before clearing her throat. "Forgive me, dear. I meant no offense. But, now that we have gotten to the bottom of this, you want to know if you will still be able to...conceive," she stated, getting a nod from Lynet, and the word yes aloud from Yelgrun. "Well, if you would lie back and we can have another scan..."

She obeyed, and some time passed before the results came back. The results on her fertility level were negative, of course. She would not be able to have a child with Yelgrun.

Lynet supposed she would be relieved, but there was a part of her that - she shoved it down immediately and held his hand in hers, feeling his fingers tighten around hers as a means of assurance that they would be fine the way they were.

~o~

He could now breathe a sigh of relief as he held Lynet close to him as the physician gave the word that they would not be able to conceive. It at least spared the trouble of what he constantly burdened himself on his mind, and her as well. "Should we say that it is good or bad?" he asked Manama, who shook her head and raised a single shoulder in a shrug.

"That would depend on whether or not either of you want a child."

"No," Lynet answered quickly, and he smiled gratefully. "I have heard the stories and cannot bear such pain of the hours of torturous labor. All that blood, and holding something that hurt you so much you thought you could love just like that..." She stopped right there. Yelgrun looked down at her with his brows furrowed. She never cared about anything else other than herself and her career, having only one or two trustees to soothe her liking - but more than one deceived her when she let her heart get the best of her. That was why he saw her as his...equal. She was like him whether she would admit it or not; he was proud to have her at his side. No one, nothing - and not even a child - could interfere with that.

From then on, Yelgrun decided he needed to act and not sit but moping about anything. Lynet was getting all the more bored each day, and in Kilana's company would not always be enough. He decided to head out into the city and gather anything that natural un-cloned Vorta possessed, from music to personal possessions like jewelry - although he learned she despised it, except she didn't object to the one from him that she continued to wear. Some part of him still wished he could appreciate it on her as he appreciated her.

For the next several weeks to come, he would often come home and listen to the tunes breaking through the air. He sat back and watched, not making his presence known as he merely got curious to watch his wife enjoy herself to the mystical tunes belonging to his people. Unfortunately, he could not enjoy it as much as she was. Drums, flutes, and free-flowing dancing - it was the way the Vorta lived since ancient times.

What's more: he managed to get his hands on some different foods from the trades the Dominion made in the Gamma Quadrant. She happened to like any of them, yet he'd sometimes forget which ones until she reminded him herself, and it was then that Yelgrun began to see that she was less and less insubordinate every day. The more he pleased her, the more silent she was and followed his lead when he asked her to.

Sometimes she would ask him to listen with her, although he admitted he only did it for her, just because she asked him to. "She just wants your company," Kilana told him when he confided in her. "I think she's starting to appreciate you more."

If he didn't know better, he'd say so himself, but they still had not bedded the way he expected they should. It had been weeks since she told him of her childhood terrors, and it seemed like they were closer than ever. She was no longer constantly shoving him away, and it couldn't be just because she accepted her fate. He wanted so much to hope for it, but it was only some weeks in that it was too early if you asked him. But one time he was listening to an old folk song with Lynet, he found himself looking at the bright smile of happiness as she fantasized about whatever it was on her mind - it made him smile, too, just because the song and moral of its theme filled her with joy.

He was just about to lean in and place a kiss on her lips - the first in a while, on her mouth, as lately, he'd given her one on the forehead and sometimes on the shoulder - when the computer called him to the command center. "I'm sorry," he said to Lynet, "I'm needed."

Kilana was there, too, along with Keevan - whom he stayed as far away from as possible - and others, including Weyoun, and the Female Changeling who spoke for her people, a handful at her side, all met regarding a dire circumstance in which the entire Dominion depended on it. With no Jem'Hadar present, of course, and the reason revealed was vastly more sensitive and dangerous than anticipated.

Chapter Text

He had wanted to be the one to lead his men against the Jem'Hadar who betrayed the Dominion over the Gateway which had been discovered on Vandros IV. A team of Vorta scientists had been stationed there only to be killed off - save for a meager three who hid very well and escaped with their lives - by their own soldiers who had decided to take matters into their own hands and complete the ancient transport themselves. Yelgrun saw this as a refreshing next mission for him; a part of him assumed Keevan would be the one as he was always one step ahead and the more ambitious, but the older Vorta was relieved when he was not.

In the end, it still wasn't Yelgrun. Weyoun had been placed in charge of seeking out the renegade Jem'Hadar himself and handing out the punishment they deserved.

He sneered, though kept it to himself and turned his back to the others. Weyoun was the Founder's personal favorite, and there was talk that he could be selected to be their leader and second-in-command to the Female Changeling. It would be some time before it happened, but sometimes Yelgrun wished he had that honor. It was a high responsibility, but a great one.

"You're disappointed," Kilana whispered when she came up to him as soon as the meeting adjourned. "So am I, but at least I am grateful I won't get killed just yet. Not that I am saying -" she stuttered nervously, but he waved it off, knowing what she was going to say. There were some things Kilana was afraid of, and death was one of them. But she was still young, after all, metaphorically speaking yet again if he hadn't already. She would learn to come to terms with death and cloning in the future.

"I know what you mean. Don't worry; I won't complain."

She nodded. "Keevan was looking at you in a certain way, but you probably did not notice."

Yelgrun hissed. Of course, he noticed, but made damn sure he did not look; he could feel the other's eyes on him. "I'll never forgive you for this" - that was what the younger Field Supervisor said when Yelgrun was taken in for questioning before he stalked away forever. They never spoke again - he never spoke to anyone again until Kilana not that long later. She was the voice of reason for him.

"The Founder might give us something in time, though," Kilana added, hopeful and smiling as ever. She always knew how to lighten his sour moods up. "But in the meantime, how is Lynet?"

"Better. She enjoys the music I give her; sometimes she invites me to stay and listen with her. It has become somewhat of a means of how we should enjoy each other's company, even discuss the origins. I just learned music is another favorite of hers."

Her smile broadened into a grin. "I told you music would help. I take things are improving."

Yelgrun wanted so much to say so; he decided it was now or never to admit it. "Indeed, but there is still the matter of my...feelings for her. You already know what that is."

She sighed and nodded, the smile fading right away. "It's much more difficult than we thought. Just music won't be enough, either." Her brows furrowed in thought as she tried to think of something else. "What about, hmm...outdoors?" she suggested by the time they reached the turbolift and the doors opened. "Habitat ring, section twenty beta," she said to the computer.

"Outdoors?" Yelgrun repeated, looking at her in disbelief and folding his arms across his chest. "When I'd have to make sure she watches her step and ensure she doesn't fall into a stream -"

She laughed and threw her head back. "Of course, you fool. The outdoors is all she ever lived for. How long has it been since she's been outside, hm? Several weeks, barely even two months. I might find the time, but the Founder needs me for a briefing about my first mission in a month maybe, or two, but it depends entirely. I'm afraid I won't have time to assist you." She batted her lashes sadly. "And as for your feelings, you really DO care for her, don't you?"

"More than anything," he answered, at the same time they arrived at their destination. "But I doubt she loves me. She only smiles and thanks me when I do what she wants. Sometimes it's not enough." Indeed, there was more than just making your mate happy with the trivial things she wanted, and one thing missing in their lives was what he had waited too long for. "I don't know how much longer I can wait for..."

"I know. But if you're going to pique her interest in you in that manner, then you have to hold her the way you are holding her now. Continue to make her happy and give her anything she needs, but in order for her to give you what you want, it has to be of her own will, not because you demand it. Marriage is all about giving and receiving in return."

He tried not to roll his eyes. So he heard, but he hoped this...outdoors matter would be the last straw for him to have his wife the way he could not stand to wait for - "Fine, I'll do this."

~o~

No need for a blindfold, but she was being led somewhere from the quarters that it hit her with impact; it had been weeks since she had been outside those walls, and Yelgrun was taking her out. But he would not say where they were heading. "Why won't you tell me?" she demanded.

He chuckled. "It's a surprise you'll have to wait. You won't be disappointed is all I can tell you, wife."

For the last several weeks, he'd been spoiling her with music collections and different foods from other systems in the quadrant based on trades done, doing everything to make her life a little more pleasant. She began to find he was a little more lenient the more time spent with her husband. He was still impatient as ever, but how could you change a man like that? Lynet would call it tolerance on her part. He didn't lay a hand on her, either, and he didn't force himself onto her. He was nothing like Norman, and he certainly was not like Leyton. He might have given her a necklace as she'd once been given a bracelet, but he meant it when he gave the charm to her. He wanted her to have it because he had never done this before.

She frowned. What ulterior motive was there? He had to have wanted her from the start for another reason, but how could it be love? She didn't remember the last time someone ever said those words to her, and she was twenty-two years old. She didn't even know what it was other than in the stories, and how anyone used it to get what they wanted from others. Experience taught her that.

But Yelgrun hadn't done anything so far, hadn't betrayed his word. She began to wonder if he was as bad as she'd originally thought he was if Kilana was right all along...

She closed her eyes even though there was nothing to see. He was still her enemy; they were still on opposite sides, and she would NEVER betray the badge she swore an oath to. But it wasn't like she gave any valuable information to determine the doom of the Federation. And it wasn't like she switched sides, so it couldn't be all that bad. But she was still blind and thought to be dead back home, so it was not entirely pleasant.

"We're here," Yelgrun announced after a seemingly long journey down the turbolift and after some corridors passing. No one stopped them, and two Jem'Hadar were with them. Before them, doors opened and air washed over her face for the first time in a long time.

They were outside.

"Yelgrun?" was all she could get out, reaching out with her free hand that didn't hold her cane but grasped nothing in particular. All she could feel was the sun and breeze on her skin. She inhaled the smell of fresh air and flowers, sighing and feeling herself tear inside. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because you've been inside long enough. Time I brought you out for something you've missed."

So, he finally decided to take her out of the command center so she had a breath of air - but she was still deprived of the activity she thrived on all her life. She lost the ability to wield a weapon and defend herself, and he would just laugh if she asked him for a place in the gym. Facing Jem'Hadar would not bode well, either. She would end up with broken bones and who knew what else.

"Lynet, do you want to be out here or not?" She hadn't realized she'd been standing here that long to gather her thoughts. "We can always go back inside."

"No!" Perhaps she spoke too fast. "I want to be out here."

"That's what I thought."

The first step she took felt like she had met gravel - or was it sand? "It's gravel, yes," Yelgrun answered when she asked him, then he ordered his guards to wait here while he took her out. "And I don't think you'll need that right now." She felt his hand on hers, which rested on the handle of her cane.
Lynet gulped. Why was he telling her to leave her cane? She hesitated, and he sighed. "Don't you trust me?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Just do it, please? I've wasted enough time and used what precious left of it to plan today just for you. Better not waste any more just standing here. This is one of the gardens that leads out to the seashore..."

She swallowed again before she took another risk and let him lead her out and away from the Jem'Hadar, from the door itself, and forward into the wildlife ahead of them.

The ground shifted eventually to a softer feel, based on curves and texture beneath her boots; she had reached the sand. The whispering winds gave off the presence of plants and trees surrounding them. There was also the sound of birds in the air above them, crying and calling to others of their kind. There was no change of the fragrance in the air, but as they went on, salt began to come into being, telling her that the beach was approaching. He was taking her near the actual shoreline. "We're almost there," he said after a while.

He was enjoying tormenting her, this time by taking her to a more private place if not at the actual shore. Lynet growled through her teeth, making him laugh. Somehow she had grown to like the sound of his laugh as it sent more trembles through her nerves she couldn't shove down. More minutes passed before they finally stopped. She breathed a sigh of relief; by now her feet were tired from all that walking, but it was also difficult given she did not have her cane. But there WAS Yelgrun, an uncomfortable form of comfort in this place.

"What does this place look like?"

"I'm afraid I can't explain it in color and technique, but we're at one of the gardens near the ocean like I said. We're standing in front of a pond and stream connected to it, which leads into the forest. Flowers and fruits are around us, especially our q'lava and rippleberry favorites. Trees are around us, so we have privacy. It's paradise even if we don't appreciate it. All the wild you would live for. Our ancestors lived like this long before we were as we are today."

It was as if some force stuck her feet to the ground and wouldn't let her walk free. She heard previously heard it if only vaguely, but to learn the Vorta hadn't always been like this took her aback altogether. "What were your people like before...?" She had to tread carefully if this was a forbidden topic.

But Yelgrun didn't make it sound like it was. "It's not something we discuss every day, but we were forest creatures, small and ape-like living in the trees. We were nothing like the powerful, confident beings we are now, helping conquer others to keep ourselves and our gods safe. One day, a Changeling came injured through our land and was saved by one of our families - in return, he promised we would someday be much, much better." He sounded like he was pleased with the story, proud to worship the Founders - but with a hint of doubt, she could have sworn. Lynet was almost swayed herself, but she was never one to believe in fairytales, as that was what it seemed to her. Was there any basis or fact to this?

Yelgrun might be frowning at her again when she asked him this. "I don't believe we are ever meant to know for sure; this story was told orally for centuries. How could there be truth behind it? At least we are grateful for what the Founders did for us," he stated, "and what we give them in return."

"Servitude," she stated, too, unafraid to risk a return back to the command center, or even a strike now. But nothing happened; he only sighed in response and said nothing. "Nothing to say?" she asked coyly, turning her face in his direction.

"We obey the Founders in all things," Yelgrun said simply. "That's all it is. We are never in our right to betray them; the same goes for the Jem'Hadar."

She snorted. Of course, more loyal soldiers, but how would you explain the ones she heard betrayed their oaths of allegiance? "Then how about those traitorous ones?" she challenged, allowing a little smirk to show. For all she knew, the Dominion wasn't as almighty as it appeared and that Yelgrun wanted her to believe. But he laughed and placed his hand on her shoulder; she cringed but didn't pull away. Why did she let his touch dominate her so much?

"It happens, but it's rare - and the rare times are always fixed. The Dominion is too proud to let little errors get away with it."

Lynet wanted to spit at him, but something stopped her. She despised the Dominion for all it was, and this man along with the rest of his people were blindly following it without question. Kilana herself was ignorant, too; the Founders were not gods. However they ensured the loyalty of the Vorta - the Jem'Hadar were engineered with ketracel-white - they did a damned good job she doubted it would do any good to get Yelgrun and Kilana to see reason. "Enough talk," he said suddenly, taking her hand into his. "I brought you out here today, it's been so many weeks since you have had freedom of any kind, and I thought to be kind enough to allow you out here for precious time while you have it."

She nodded. Might as well. She loved the air on her skin, her hair rippling in the breeze, but it would have been so much better if she could see it. She wanted to thank him, but it was difficult. "Why is it so hard to say a simple thank you?" he asked as though reading her mind, leading her forward so they journeyed through the soft sand.

Lynet shrugged. "I thought it was obvious." They both stopped at that, and his hands were on her shoulders as he turned her to face him.

"You think that because two men in your life hurt you, you think I am no different than they are?" He was definitely angry...and hurt, too, since she could tell emotion from emotion. Now she knew it was more than him keeping her as a prize, more than just desiring her body - it frightened her to no end. It was something that she shut herself a long time ago. "Answer me, Lynet," he demanded, shaking her a little. "I have been lenient with you thus far, but I am growing thin on my patience."

Somehow the fear returned. They were alone, no Jem'Hadar nearby, and it was isolated paradise hiding something about to burst. Lynet felt her eyes burn with tears she hated coming. "I don't know why," she whispered finally, "but I can't trust any man anymore."

He snorted. "Like I believe that. Your attacker and your former commanding officer were not the only ones you trusted - you have to have done so to a handful of others, and I can see it in you even if your eyes don't tell me much of anything. I don't believe your...heart is as hard as you made it out to be, my dearest wife."

She gritted her teeth. He never knew when to quit, but she also never knew when to let her guard down. She did not want to tell him the answer was yes, that there were a few men she did look up to - Captain Sisko and Odo being the main ones even if for a short amount of time - but those always left. She didn't want to tell him she couldn't let him be the next one only to - "That's none of your concern. It's not like you truly care after all this time."

"Oh, please, spare me the lecture," he said indignantly. "You are so narrow that you don't see beyond a man's shell, even if your eyes are not what they used to be. You think all men are the same because we have beastly appetites; it is not entirely true. Some of us in all races have more than that, but you're too busy constantly pushing me away to even give me a chance. I gave you enough of what you need, but it's not enough." His hold on her loosened, calming himself down now. "Alright, I rest my case. Do you understand me now?"

A finger came up to wipe something off her cheek - when did she begin crying at the levity of the pressure of his words? Everything he was saying made enough sense to crack her enough. She was being too hard on him as she had always been on herself; Kilana had been telling her that her friend was not the man Lynet thought he was, and it was true. "I'm sorry," she managed, although she was far from completely embracing it. "What do you want me to do?"

He didn't answer, but he did do the one thing he had not done to her since the wedding day. Lynet jumped when she felt his lips on hers for the second time.

He was a good kisser, she would give him that. It was nothing that made her body respond the way it was in her life. It was thrilling to her senses but also terrifying that she couldn't give in entirely. Yelgrun growled against her mouth, holding her body close to his, wrapping his arms around her back and keeping her ensnared like a snake. Lynet thought she was going to suffocate, but his lips were firm and soft on hers at the same time, no different than his hands were on her bared flesh. Her arms went around his shoulders, grasping before moving upwards to feel the sides of his face, tracing gaunt curves and marble skin - but then she was taken aback by what appeared to be his ears. They were long, going upwards and curving into his head, disappearing beneath his hair, thick and coarse as ever but silky underneath; ridges lined the outer shells. She learned that this was a sensitive part of him, for it made him tighten his embrace on her and break the kiss to sigh harder than she ever heard him. She found she didn't want to stop, given the noises he made caused her to twitch in her own body. The deep purrs and murmuring of nothing in particular were nothing she ever heard that pleased her to her core.

She didn't want this moment outside to end, but even if she wanted him to take her back, it wouldn't take away what she felt below her waist. Yelgrun's body against hers, his sensitive ears touched by her, and his kiss which made her lips burn and tingle...it all led to one word.

Desire.

"Yelgrun, no," she gasped, ceasing her touching of his ears altogether. "I can't - do this."

"Why not?" he demanded, more disappointed than furious. "You're enjoying this like you enjoyed my hands on you before, and you didn't push me away when I kissed you at our wedding."

"That was -"

"No," Yelgrun interrupted, putting his hand over her mouth. "None of that was in any shape or form different. You're denying yourself this one important thing, Lynet. I have had these feelings before, but they were taken from me, too. That's what should have us together. You can't run forever."

His hands moved again, this time unclasping the jacket and removing it from around her body. "You know I'm telling the truth, Lynet. Stop running and stop now." Damn him! Why was he so good? The Vorta always won their little games. The heat between her thighs was too far to the boiling point to be quenched now. He reached down then and grasped the waist of her trousers, sliding his hand underneath and finding her opening, slicked with her fluids and making her gasp when he touched the pearl in the middle. And before Lynet knew it, she was hoisted upwards, her legs around his waist, and her back hit something solid that could not be mistaken for a tree. Lynet grunted when she threw her head back and opened her mouth to moan when Yelgrun's hand ravished her womanhood, caressing her in and out. Her legs wobbled when she stood on her feet, bending at the knees when the muscles shook with pleasure shooting from her groin. "That's my good girl," Yelgrun crooned, leaning against her and pressing a kiss to her lips in an innocent manner completely different from the way his fingers played her.

"You bastard," she hissed, then whimpered when her innermost nerves jolted like a sudden burst of electricity.

Yelgrun chuckled. "Fascinating choice of word."

Her breasts heaved and ached. She was tempted to reach up and pull her shirt up, and when she did, he stopped her. "Oh, no, don't even think about it. That's for me only, and right now you need this." He demonstrated by pinching her nub and rolling it over like a smooth stone in his fingers, increasing the pressure and bringing her towards the chasm that was pleasure. The pleasure she never felt back then in her innocence, but she never knew what real longing was either as no men interested her back then. Even though she could not see her husband, he was doing a fabulous job of bringing her to her first orgasm with his fingers - and out in the very place he granted her the one wish she wanted most.

Her vision might be black, but white exploded in front of that darkness as her body lit up with fire and was consumed like an inferno, pleasure spurting through her like a sweet beverage that was good and bad at the same time. She writhed in ecstasy, then slumped against Yelgrun when he withdrew his fingers from her sex, his fingers still covered with her essence that she was too tired to care. Her hair matted to the back of her head, and she was sweating now. Her heart was beating faster than she could recall, and her arms were too weak to even wrap around her husband's shoulders. His laugh rumbled against her neck, then he kissed her. "Mmm, I don't need to ask how you enjoyed it. I don't think you'll say no to me now."

Another kiss that she allowed, to her mouth, and she murmured against him, her mind in a daze. "You desire me now, don't you?" he whispered huskily against her, helping her lean back against the tree again, but Lynet was too weak to stand. "Will you give yourself to me now?"

~o~

He let the most malicious of grins come to appear on his face as he watched her succumb to the weakness now dominating her body. He had her wrapped around his fingers - in a manner of speaking and literally moments ago; he could still feel her slick on his bony fingers that he was tempted to bring to his lips before deciding against it, nothing personal. It gave him immense pride and confidence to bring her to her first physical climax out here where it was just the two of them; there would be no way she would ever refuse him now.

Her skin was shining immensely, from both the sun and the intensity of the hand-done intimate culmination. The reaction was everything he ever wanted to see in a desired partner. To savor the molten pulsing of her muscles around him, his nerves firing beneath the temperature and the look on her face as well as the noises she made...you could never fake enjoyment.

They were close now. Once he had her and the bond established, she was all his.

"Do you want me to stop now?" he purred, kissing her again before parting away to let her breathe, and then gave her another. He could never get enough of tasting her. "Your body still tells me otherwise, my precious." Indeed she was to him. The more he said it aloud or to himself, the more true it was. She was precious to him, and he would never let her slip from his side.

"No..."

Yelgrun hissed. That did it - that was IT. That was all he wanted to hear. "That was just all I need to know. And about time, am I right? You feel like you're ready, and I'll be the one to erase the sickness that plagued you for so long." He would take her and take away the monstrous memories of the one who took away what Yelgrun should have, erase her pain, and make this memorable for them both. He would strip her, ravish her, and mold her into his being for eternity. She belonged to no one but him now.

Lynet grunted and feebly pushed against him, her hands against his clothed chest. "Where are we going to do this, and when?" she asked, opening her eyes, showing milky orbs unseeing and unblinking.

He pondered for the moment. He could say out here where she had her freedom, and only he with her, or they could take it to the bed like originally planned. He would be fine with either way; right now the choice was hers. "You choose either here, now, or we can return and take it to our bed," he purred, breathing hot against her ear and making her shudder. Her lips were swollen from contact with his. "My wife has the choice given I have made all of them."

"Then," she breathed, nodding, "out here." Her entrapment rendered her incapable of speaking the way she should, unlike he - until he let his body mate with hers, of course, which he looked forward to. His groin tightened and burned with fire. He was close to getting this over and done with, but he forced himself to wait a little longer as he shoved her upper garments the rest of the way off, exposing her aching breasts to his touch. She squirmed beneath his hands, both of hers gripping either side of the tree for leverage, helpless to his delectable affliction to her body. "Yelgrun, don't stop." She was begging him now, and it made him smile.

"I won't dream of it," he promised, squeezing her breasts tighter but being careful not to harm her. "After we're done..." He let go of her left breast so he could move down to her trousers, grasping and pulling it down to expose one hip and partially the smooth curve between her legs. "...you'll thank me for bringing you out here."

Now he let his other hand go so he could free her from her trousers, her glory before him and even more titillating than the paradise surrounding them. Snarling, Yelgrun hurriedly removed his own clothing until he stood in front of her, but she could not see him. He did not look down at himself, given he admitted he was rather self-conscious of himself despite he accepted the state his body was in. He was built the way a man was, but he could not put it into words since the musculature was so tight that you could see veins in the limbs. His length was average, but the sight of it would genuinely repulse another; thank the Founders for Lynet not able to look upon him as he always feared.

But that meant she could still touch him if she wanted.

Her voice made him look back up at her. "Are you ready?" She sounded as impatient as he was. He had almost forgotten and cursed himself for it.

"Yes. But it's a good thing you can't see me, my dear. I'm not the best sight you would ever enjoy," he confessed. "I have to tell you I am not very...proud of my body as you are of yours."

Her brows furrowed. "Why?"

He shook his head. "Let's just say that it's one reason I was never lucky to have another bound to me as you are now."

Her body stiffened, and she stood straighter, letting go of the tree. She was biting her lip again, which he found very endearing. "Your body is..." She stopped there, as if afraid the word she would use would make him angry or worse. "Should I really be disgusted?"

Her face showed no emotion that he could see, but...it seemed like she was also thinking about something along the lines of sympathy for him. He probed further and assumed she was relieved but also would not care in the slightest about how he looked; spoken words were not enough to give him that answer. She didn't care about appearances, it seemed, and it made him calm a little. But touch would be another story to change that. He walked over and placed his hands on her hips, bringing her a little closer to him. To finally be this close to her and have his naked body in close contact willingly was a dream come true, and the antidote to his impossible wishes. His wife held herself so rigidly, making him wonder if she was thinking back to the day she was raped; if she was, it made him fume. He didn't know if this would work, but he leaned down and captured her lips with his again, praying this source of comfort would do the trick in reminding her it was him and not the other man.

"I'm here," he whispered. "Not he."

She leaned against him, her head turning to the side so she was listening to his heartbeat. It was picking up faster than ever. He held her to him when his need and hers were aching and threatening to burst. He groaned. "Lynet, I want you now. I know you want me, too," he went on, his hand caressing her back while the other took her hand which lay on her side, bringing it up and just holding it in midair. To see their hands together like this made him tempted to close his eyes. His Lynet's hand was in his...but then it removed itself to drop down and find its way to his abdomen, caressing his skin and muscles, up his chest. His musculature was firm, raised, and defined. Yelgrun's eyes closed and he sighed; she was now doing the job of touching him herself. His heart pounded harder when her palm rested there; a small smile formed on her face at the reaction. Then it traveled down to glide over his hip and side, down further and cupping his buttocks, which were firm but also flat. His breath hitched; he didn't like to be touched there, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her as she seemed to enjoy touching him there, despite having never done it herself. Her hand abandoned his backside and grasped - "Oh, Lynet," he moaned, almost growling when her fingers wrapped around his manhood. This was the first time anyone other than himself touched him there, and it was EXQUISITE.

"Enough," he growled when it became too much, and he picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist once again, so he laid her down on the smooth sand, hitching her further up so he thrust himself into her and hit home. Her cries that he got out of her were the loudest he could remember hearing - and exactly what he wanted to hear from her. Yelgrun gritted his teeth as he began to pull himself in and out of her, not bothering to be gentle - she didn't even ask him to slow down either - her velvet heat wrapping around him and guiding him to make their first time together easier, the sun shining down on them and making their skins shine, slicker and slapping gently with a frenzied primal pleasure.

Lynet's fingers grasped his shoulders, her nails digging into him to leave marks; he hissed in delight at the ferocity that he pulled from her inner being, satisfied that he got her dark side to come out in the act. The faster he drove into her, the tighter her legs closed around him and the speed of their coupling picking up...the hotter and whiter the climax reached them both.

Yelgrun threw his head back and yelled to the heavens when his coil burst inside her and released until there was nothing left but a sizzling sensation of gratification. He didn't pull out, instead laid himself on top of her for a while before he did roll off of her and looked up at the sun which had lowered itself behind one of the trees, giving them both some protection for the time being. No words were spoken, only pants of breath as they fought to regain oxygen, and their nude forms lay beside each other without a care or fear of anyone - Jem'Hadar, Vorta, and Founder alike - coming to walk in on their sanctuary.

Chapter Text

Laying with Yelgrun under the sun was relaxing, but her body was a little sore like it was that one time nine years before. But she gave in because she had been afraid to have a panic attack and remember everything again because it was a known side effect for someone like her - and nothing happened. Nothing except Yelgrun assuring her she was safe, in his own manner, and repeating he was NOT Norman.

If she were another person, she would have said he was selfish in satisfying himself instead of her. But she did enjoy it. No bloodlust was involved, no fear, but the thrill in her nerves was the same and made her melt, unlike the first time. Yelgrun's hands touched her the way they did that one time, his arms held her to his body - and she could never forget the feel and outlines of his physique. He was narrow-formed, but his musculature was strong and defined, yet she could feel the veins sticking out from his arms in places. Somehow, it made her sad, but was this just because he was naturally made this way?

The feel of his body beneath her hand was bold on her part, but he let her touch him. Her curiosity got the best of her, that was all. The texture of smooth flesh and hard muscle, however, felt pleasant to her senses. Every inch of him, from his abdomen and chest to his back and rear end - everything firm. But to grasp him below the waist...she blushed madly and thought she would melt. But he didn't disgust her at all; she never did this for - she shoved him back to her mind altogether. Yelgrun had told her that no one had touched him the way she was doing before, telling her that he knew enough about these matters but hadn't gotten the one. He'd had a bad experience or two but made it clear without much need for words that he did not want to discuss it. Somehow, Lynet wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

What was more, surprising or not: he had been uncertain about his body being caressed, worried he'd be disgusting to her. She couldn't see him, not caring right now in the slightest. If she ever had her heart get the best of her for any man she might have gotten earlier, in which the chance never came, then she'd judge him based on his being and his soul, not what he looked like. Yelgrun felt...pleasing to her. Feeling was another matter entirely instead of seeing. There was an old story that said appearances were deceiving, that they did not matter.

What followed, his hands holding her and thrusting into her in that way, both possessive and stimulating at the same time - it was wild and heated, but perhaps it was the atmosphere around them that enhanced. It fed Lynet's self, the wild side of her that had been hidden beneath the Starfleet uniform for so many years. She was kept restrained for so long, but it was law and order, so it was required.
But here, now, with Yelgrun, she was set free and with a man who captured her and was more damaged than she thought in the start.

"How did you like it?" he asked her, laying behind her, still bare as she was, but he didn't make any inappropriate moves on her other than wrapping his arm around her waist as he was prone to do. He seemed to enjoy keeping her close to him, and she found she was starting to enjoy it because of the sensations her body felt being in such close proximity. "I hope I did not hurt you..."

"You didn't," she answered honestly. "I feel so...worn out." A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I don't know how to explain it."

He chuckled. "Do you feel as good as I do right now?"

She shrugged. "I suppose."

He sighed. "Yes or no, please."

The mood was on the verge of being ruined, and she didn't want that. "Yes, I do," Lynet replied, laying down on her arm which was bent beneath her head and serving as a pillow. "It was...intense, but still nothing like that one time. And no blood, thank you. I do not know any other beings who do that, and I certainly do not want to know if the Klingons do that in their mating rituals." She shuddered; all she could guess was that Klingons used violence to arouse their partners, which was too brutal for other delicate species.

"Mmm," Yelgrun agreed. "You know, I'm kind of glad you said no blood. I envisioned it as an idea only, but now my mind is changed entirely." She jolted and raised her head, shocked that he even thought of it even though she specifically told him her story! "Not that I would resort to it," he added quickly, seeing her reaction, and she calmed. "I will never, if you don't want me to."

Lynet hummed and laid her head back down. She wondered what was going to happen to them now, now that they had finally consummated and near the ocean of all places. This wasn't one of those romantic oasis tales, but the atmosphere was no different. This man who forced her to wed had begun to make her feel a way she never did, scaring her but also exciting her. Her old world was gone, without means of getting away from him, and her eyes were taken but also granted her the mercy of being spared from being sick at the sight of her unwilling groom. "I'm glad we agree on that," she said at last, reaching over and picking up a handful of sand out of habit before letting it sift through her fingers.

His lips kissed the sensitive base of her shoulder. "I'm going to do my best not to boast, but I have never felt better," he told her. "I'm thinking that I have no need to regret bringing you out here. It pleases me that you are pleased yourself. I can bring you here anytime you want, but all you have to do is ask."

Lynet did not answer him, but she let a smile show on her face that she was not sure if he saw or not.

"I must also confess that I have never met anyone like you before - so fierce, so independent, and no other words to describe," Yelgrun went on, running his fingers through her hair, making her sigh at the feel of the massaging of her scalp. It made her feel a little drowsy; she wanted to go to sleep out here with him, right now, not care if her skin burned or not when the sun came back out. "Not many, at least. The first one I truly did long for was never interested in me the way I was with you. You're the first one to embrace me, make me feel this way..."

Lynet felt and heard herself begin to hyperventilate, the comfort slipping away beyond her control. He...Yelgrun was saying that he was...in love with her. Her eyes squeezed shut and the horror returned without mercy. It was a kind of uncertain, meek form in its own way, and she had sensed it before, but still...!

Yelgrun was in love with her.

"Lynet?" he asked her, the frown evident in his voice once again.

She quickly pulled herself from his embrace, sitting up and "looking" ahead, drawing her legs to her chest to cover herself from his eyes, but her heart would not calm down. "I don't know - what to say," she stammered, unable to control her tremors. No one - and she meant no one - had ever...no...

"Lynet," he repeated, desperate now, "don't be afraid of me. I've kept this to myself long enough because I feared your response. Don't make this more difficult than it already is."

Her eyes remained squeezed tight. She did care about him in a way, but not the way he was describing. There was no way she could be in love with this man; this wasn't like the stories or the way others described it to be. She might have enjoyed the experience with him, let him start to help her forget about what happened when she was thirteen, but it did not mean she... "This is hard for me more than for you," she returned. "How can you love me? And how can I love you? I can't remember when someone last said they loved me and meant it. It's often used to just get what you want in return, and often it means nothing. Feeling is often laughed upon. Trust and requirement are present, but REAL love is hardly seen."

He didn't answer her. He must be having a difficult time thinking of an appropriate answer. If only she could see his face to read his expressions, but -

What I feel for you IS real love.

She jumped up but found herself sitting back down again. She...she heard him speak, but it sounded more hollow than verbally natural. "How could you love me when I am practically a -"

You are not a prisoner to my heart. I give you everything you want, and I treat you more fairer than you anticipated to be. I'm not the monster you thought I was. Listen to me now, Lynet, and listen to me one more time: Kilana is a cherished friend, but it is you who have the way into my... He stopped there, taking her shaking hand then and placing it over his chest, where she felt his rapidly beating heart. I'm not entirely chivalrous and romantic, but do you FEEL it? She bit her lip and nodded. Then this is what it is. I can feel yours, too, from afar, but you're frightened. You're still afraid of breaking down permanently because of two men who hurt you; I promised I wouldn't do that, and I respect it. It is time you begin to accept that and let yourself go.

The more she heard that dark, hollow voice, the weaker she became and leaned into his chest, continuing to listen to that heart. Another tear slipped down her cheek. She was still denying herself the one thing that made her alive. He protected her, gave her everything, made her body burn with enthusiastic desire, and now this...it was happening so fast, but were two months or so really that fast?

"Lynet, please," he begged, his hand on her back again, caressing her soothingly. "I only want to be happy, but I also want you happy with me."

~o~

"So, you haven't told her?"

He rolled his eyes as he looked at Kilana from his side of the couch. "Of course not. She would flip out on me in a second."

The female shook her head, her favorite earrings swishing side to side. "I pity the both of you. But -" Her expression immediately changed to that of a bright, childlike grin. "- she enjoyed what you...?"

Yelgrun nodded, smiling tightly. "She did. Her body is so exquisite I can't put it into the proper words. For my part, mmm..." He closed his eyes and closed his hands into fists. "The Founders' Greak Link is said to be a never-ending cycle of bliss and happiness, exchanging thought and feeling - I believe it could be described as such for Lynet and I. Her body and mine molded into one...was everything I ever wanted. Nothing short of perfect. I don't believe I have ever felt so happy in all my lifetimes," he told her when he reopened his eyes. "Can you picture my relief when I finally told her a form of my feelings for her?"

It was then that the happy mood shifted to that of the unwanted uncertainty. "But she was...petrified," Kilana pointed out, tapping her fingers nervously against the side of her glass of rippleberry juice. "She didn't run, but she was confused, that is all. I could talk to her for you," she offered.

Yelgrun pondered before nodding. Lynet had said that she needed time to think this over, but it had been two months at the latest since he first brought her here to Kurill Prime. She was all his now; the soul mate link was established, which he had yet to explain to her, but that would not make her any better in her current state, either. If Kilana could explain it to her for him, then he would be grateful. He was in no way a coward, but if Lynet lashed at him, he was in for more trouble. He would let Kilana take it from there. It had been two days since he finally admitted his love for Lynet, making him feel relieved even if he was disappointed with her answer. Give her time - that was what she asked him, and he would gladly respect it. He loathed to wait for that long, but patience was a virtue he had to accept.

He remembered her words which involved how love was used to get what you wanted, how real feeling was seldom and pretended just for appearances' sake at times. What he had was real, which others always thought he wasn't capable of. He was a man, a man who felt like she should. Why could she not let her past go for the sake of her future with HIM, her husband?

I'm still with Kilana, but I'll return soon, love.

~o~

She screamed at the sound of the bowl dropping and shattering in front of her. Over the last couple of days, she was beginning to finally learn to walk on her own, find where things were, and imprint the layout in her memory in a map, but now she was scared out of her wits again when Yelgrun's voice was heard, and he wasn't even home! What the hell was going on? Was she going MAD?!

No, you're not going mad. Perhaps - He sighed then. - I should tell you then.

Lynet leaned back against the counter and bowed her head, inhaling heavily through her nose, too worn to speak. I had thought Kilana would be the one to say it better than me as you're not going to be any happier about this now. When Vorta mate - even with another outside their kind - an eternal spiritual and mental bond is established. It's called the soul mate bond. You and I can hear and share each other's thoughts, acquire each other's physical abilities, and other things. Lynet, you and I are forever bound in spirit, too, rather than just body. This is what strengthens a couple.

She threw her head back and began to sob. Everything was shattered altogether. Married to Yelgrun, her body his now which also meant he was hers...and they were connected by an invisible thread for all eternity. Why was life so cruel to her?

Lynet, I know you love me, deep down. But you need to stop fighting me, stop fighting because you and I are from opposite sides. It should never keep two people apart like that. That was all, and he stopped speaking to her through this...mental link which sent her crying to her knees amidst the shattered pottery. She didn't care if she would get cut; she just wanted some form of pain right now as a release of tension.

Some time passed before she heard his voice, and this time it was much closer than before. "Lynet, are you asking for a death wish?! You could have gotten cut and bled!" Yelgrun scolded as he knelt beside her, helping her stand. "I leave for an hour, and I come back to find this!"

She stuck her lower lip at him, not caring if he noticed or not. "Because of all of this," she replied. "I don't need to explain what it is even if you ASK me."

He stared at her, and she could feel it even as he showed it to her with his thoughts. She had no experience with these things - I'll teach you how to do it, he promised her, but right now we have to clean this mess up. And soon you and I will have to teach each other what the other doesn't know. I suppose I need to help you back on your feet with defense.

He had stunned her altogether. "You're..." she whispered. "...saying I can learn to fight again? I can learn to fire weapons and such again?" Hope sprang in her chest. She was growing slow and lazy each day that passed and it began to take its toll on her body; was Yelgrun doing this just for her, even though she wasn't needed as a fighter anymore?

He was smiling again, too. Sincere and real. What else do you need of me from this? I could learn some tricks from you, too. Vorta love to learn from others.

She forced all her emotions inside herself once again. Why was she always afraid of him, always questioning and overanalyzing? She began to accept the fact that he did truly care about her, that he wasn't manipulating her or using her needs to earn her trust - he really wanted her happy. It was what she always wanted of herself and didn't think she was capable of it. Captain Sisko was a man she looked up to; Yelgrun was right when he said not all men were the same.

"You think because so many men hurt you, you think I am no different than they are?"

She could never forget those words, and when he saw this, it made him frown again at her. "You never knew when someone was in love with you, did you?" he asked her, taking both her hands into his and just holding them. "You thought by straying far away, you would be so lucky. But let me tell you, my dear, that being alone all your life can only get you so far; it's nothing worth much if you have no one to share it with. My experiences taught me that myself."

Just like me. She gasped when she automatically thought and had let him see this - and it made him smile again.

His lips were against hers, and this time she didn't fight him off. His words made her melt against him. I have never given my heart to anyone before. I have once before only for it to be broken into millions of shards. I don't want to lose you that way.

Chapter Text

Yelgrun could not remember how much happier he had ever been in his life. His wife was finally starting to trust him a little better, and their arguments were less and less, but he could not count that no more would come. And the fact she was slowly accepting the bond they now shared made it that much more meaningful. With help from Kilana, he now bore the mark his wife carried on her lower back, inked into his own flesh which Lynet could not see but took his word - mating like these were very rare, having symbols in the flesh seldom involved. But that was what made it possible for the mates to last forever.

Four-cornered...symbol of protection...who could ask for anything better than that?

Both of them were protected by a power as simple as a Terran symbol. Yelgrun smirked to himself as he once studied himself in the mirror of the bathroom he shared with Lynet, naked and ready to join his wife in the sonic shower soon. He grinned when she finally called for him and strode in that direction. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, my dearest wife," he crooned, slipping behind her and pulling her towards him, kissing her damp shoulder and making her giggle.

"I think I'm starting to turn into you." Days had gone by since she accepted his feelings for her - but she had yet to tell him herself that she loved him just as much. And when she did, it would be because she meant it, not for his sake - and he would know she was lying or not.

Yelgrun pouted even though she couldn't see. "That's supposed to be my job," he mocked. "Are you stealing my duty from me?"

She laughed haughtily. "I'm picking up from you quickly." Sadly, they never got to enjoy their privacy before the door to their quarters buzzed; she groaned whilst he growled and wondered who it could be at this unexpected time, but there was one person they both knew. Why was Kilana here? But it wasn't like she knew the couple was taking a shower together. Yelgrun stepped out himself and left his wife where she was, wrapping a towel around himself and calling for her to come in.

And when she did, she was grinning ear to ear, but it was gone as soon as she saw his state of undress. "Oh, Founders, I didn't know," she said, taking a step back. "I'll come back later..."

"No," Yelgrun said briskly. "You can tell me fast."

It hit the ceiling as soon as she let it out and was jumping up and down like a natural young one. He wouldn't be surprised if Lynet jumped herself.

"The Founders gave me my first assignment!"

~o~

"When does she leave?" Lynet asked as she stepped out of the sonic shower after she and Yelgrun finished cleaning each other up. She let him dry her body, but he didn't touch her with his bare hands. Was he still doing it to just respect her instead of pleasing himself?

It certainly is, he told her through the bond which she was still learning. She jumped at the fact he could read her mind, which meant she had to be extra careful. I can teach you to block certain things from me. Vorta are natural at the gift, but for non-Vorta, it needs practice. By this time, he was helping her into the long sleeping gown that was so heavy in appearance that it hid her curves. It felt so light on her that she thought she was still naked.

"She leaves tomorrow morning," Yelgrun answered. "Who knows when she will be gone, but I have nothing important to do for the next few days, even weeks. Either way, it'll be just you and me." He let her in by opening the window in their now shared minds that he was smiling, and she returned it. She realized that she'd never been without Kilana, so this would be the first time she would not see the Vorta woman for some time now. Suddenly she felt like she was missing a friend more than ever.

You have me, he sent to her, the simple act comforting her if only a little. It made her realize that even if the time came for him to be taken from her on assignment at any time, they would not be apart for sure, both physically and mentally.

"Which means after that, I am taking you to the gym, which is normally reserved for the Jem'Hadar and their training," he went on, brushing the slowly growing raven locks out of the way of her ears, tucking them behind the latter, "and you're getting back to your old self if it pleases you. We could always use an extra hand when we become short of it."

A lump formed in her throat. Did that mean...? I get to...? She stopped herself there. Did she just -? She couldn't believe it!

Yelgrun was grinning proudly at her. Finish it. You're starting to learn. You're doing it so well.

I get to be a fighter again.

Yes, my love.

He had a strange way of professing feelings, and she had yet to finish her evaluations, but she did come to care about him to a degree or two, even if she hated the Founders he served, and she could not say the same for the other Vorta. They were all innocent, ignorant pawns who were not brave enough to say no to their so-called makers. It made her wonder if Captain Sisko or anyone else caught on to that yet; probably not.

I could use a good little sidekick of my own when I go out.

Lynet pulled herself free of her own volition, maybe because her muscles and nerves reacted faster than she did. The warmth of the moment was forgotten altogether. "Yelgrun, I still am loyal to my people whether I am dead to them or not," she said firmly. "I won't let myself be seen and betray them..."

"You won't have to be seen, and you won't get to see my men shoot any enemy fleets down."

How could he be so casual and careless?! "You don't see the fact they are good people," she said icily. "I served noble beings, and what are the Founders? Murderous, shape-shifting monsters."

He sighed in pure exasperation. "Lynet, must we argue again?"

"It's a perfectly good time to do so, yes. You and your people are so blind you don't see it. You and Kilana are all I have, but it sickens me to know you are nothing like I was, and the rest of the Federation. My people are bound by friendship, love, and nobility - what about you, the Jem'Hadar, and the false gods?" Lynet sneered, turning around and curling her lip at him. "You're tied with fear and death, anger and hatred. Why do the Changelings hate solids so much? Just because the solids tried to eradicate them centuries ago? I read all about it in Captain Sisko's report from Odo."

Yelgrun nodded. "It's all true. But the Founders are not vulnerable as long as they have the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar at their side. Just as I myself am stronger than ever since I have you beside me." He reached up and placed both his hands on her shoulders, as means of affection. She wanted to melt under the touch, but it was too difficult. This made him sigh again. "Lynet, nothing is entirely right and wrong. The Dominion imposes order when it is time to die because you did your duty for your gods. That is all it is, and all the Dominion wants to do is coexist with anyone it meets. And as for us: all I want to do is serve my gods while all I want you to do is to love and accept me as a man, not a demon."

~o~

They have been married for a few months now. A few months of living with him, and she had been nothing short of helpless. He would take her out to the gardens once in a while when his duties permitted him, but much of the time she was in their quarters that both of them wasn't enough. He was now taking her to where the Jem'Hadar worked themselves out. She was now in a tight undershirt that bared her arms, and the shorts were high above her thighs to gather at her crotch area. It made Yelgrun twitch in that certain place on his own body.

They...made love anytime, the term befitting for her sake instead of simply having sex as they called it in her culture. He thought the phrase lovemaking befitting and interesting, more complex. She had not cringed or objected any time he succeeded in arousing her body; she was starting to enjoy it as he was. She did not have nightmares as expected of a victim of what she endured, nor did she scream and have a flashback during their sessions. Usually, when he came home, he would be the one to sneak up behind her while she was cooking - she had managed to make it to the kitchen and find her way around without his help based on feeling - until she would warn him to back off unless he wanted her to burn down the quarters and everyone in the command center. Other times she would surprise him and rile him up by reaching down and grasping him between the legs.

He remembered chuckling mischievously when she did this. It made him wonder how she got to be such a teasing minx now. It was that dream I had the night before. It made me so bothered I couldn't take care of myself without waking you.

The night before she'd had a dream that turned out to be one they shared, a common trait with bonded mates. The both of them woke up sweating and burning below the waist; Lynet, however, flushed with embarrassment, but not Yelgrun. He then volunteered to show her just how much the dream they shared was not wrong on any level.

~o~

It was dark, nothing to see, but based on the fact that their bodies were touching and the feeling that they were both unclothed, this was perfect for him - but for her, it was still lingering uncertainty, yet she burned with anticipation. It was the anticipation that had laid dormant for years that he was slowly bringing out into the open. The anticipation she should have felt a long time ago - but her lost innocence should not stop her from this now.

"Let go of him, Lyn," he breathed into her ear, then grazed that shell of her ear with his teeth, eliciting the jolting nerves that shot throughout her system and reached her breasts. She shivered beneath his strong, sinewy body which held her down because it was his and no other's. Somehow she felt a little safer than she ever remembered in her life. She needed no one else to run her life; she'd run it all her life until he came along. The wild animal inside her was subdued now, but it was being let out of its cage again in a whole new manner.

"Lyn..." There was a slight begging edge to his voice. He really wanted her to let go of her past for both their sakes. She'd freed herself from that monster a long time ago, did everything good for herself since then, and now she had someone who treated her well even if they were not on the same page.

But there was one more thing she could not stand from him. "Don't call me Lyn," she hissed, turning her face from him. "That's what he called me."

"I apologize, Lynet. No use of the short name from him. So..." he added slyly. "...what would you like me to do instead of talking, little wife?"

She couldn't help but laugh a little at his singular way of seducing her. "What do you want to do first?" she returned, setting him off at once; he reared his head back and then brought it down to take the top curve of her right breast into his mouth, suckling the heavy skin and licking it after, searing her with flame. Lynet moaned and groaned at the same time, her head tilting backward on its own without coinciding with her brain's thinking. Yes, she was enjoying it now. Yelgrun was giving her pleasure now that matched his own. "Don't stop." She hadn't said it since the first time in the gardens.

But he did stop, only to answer her. "As you wish." He proceeded lower, avoiding the other breast entirely, and trailed down over her stomach until he reached the seeping slit between her thighs, her sensitivity driving her mad that she twisted beyond her control beneath him...

~o~

Somehow everything in her dream was true, bringing forth what was going on now between her and her husband. Somehow it helped erase the anger towards the man who defiled and betrayed her as a teenager, it helped her towards the way that not all men were like Norman and Admiral Leyton - and it showed her that she needed to love, to have someone to share her life with. It didn't have to be like in the fairytales and novels, either.

Yelgrun is not so bad once you get to know him...

Kilana had meant it from day one. Yelgrun cared for her more than she thought, in his own way. He was the gray area in the darkness that covered her vision; he helped her and made her a little happier than she remembered, protected her, and made her body light with so much fire that she welcomed with vigor and relief that made her flood internally like a waterfall. It was like some part of her was released from the cage she locked herself in for so many years, keeping the tears in so no one saw. But Yelgrun had seen them and used them for his own means - those means got her to break down in his deadly but torrid embrace. She had let an agent of the enemy take her into his bed and realm without a fight, but the fight was an outkill from the beginning she shamelessly had no regrets.

She did not know what he looked like, but it didn't matter. What mattered was how he felt and the kind of man he was. He was impatient, but tolerable all the same. He was strong and confident, even if he were blind to the senses if not to the physical vision like she was. He would never accept the fact the Founders were not the Vorta's creators. She might have no eyes anymore, but at least she knew by her well-enhanced senses. She learned where she would be going with or without an escort. It was a challenge she had so far managed well with confidence, and Yelgrun was proud of her, too.

Her bare feet worked on the padded floor, feeling free in her gym garment given to her by her husband. "Ready?" he teased her, letting her go and taking her cane with her, as she would not need it and he would be helping her in another way that wasn't physical.

She scoffed. "I've been ready for months, and that is long enough for someone like me," she reminded him, making him laugh.

"How do we start this? Vorta aren't physically active, unlike the Jem'Hadar."

Lynet grinned. "Start with helping me with my crunches and the jumping jacks...all the acts humans do for exercise..."

She showed him how to do every one of the basic aerobics that would get the blood flowing and the heart pumping as it sent the oxygenated fluids throughout her body in the healthy manner it was supposed to be; she felt a little clumsy given she'd been inactive for some months now and not counting those trips to the seaside gardens. Her lungs burned at first before toning down when she willed herself to take easier breaths through her mouth when it turned out she'd held it and inhaled as well as exhaled through her nose. She wasn't supposed to do that.

By the end of the routine, she was sweating hard and the smell of it reached her nostrils that if Yelgrun was in the "mood", she wasn't sure if he'd like to be with her in this current state. Not to mention, her heart rate picked up with a far more powerful speed, and her bones and muscles ached. She was tired, but it was worth it. She felt energized and invigorated again - redeemed.

"How does it feel, my dear?" Yelgrun smirked as he looked her over from top to bottom. "A thank you in order?"

"Yes, thank you," she answered, feeling rushed with more energy in her blood and lungs. "I want to set up a routine of how often to come here."

"Hmm."

Lynet bent forward and took a few breaths through her parted mouth. A part of her wanted to fall asleep or even do more activity, but her husband had to call it a day for her as he was apparently the acting doctor. "Maybe tomorrow, or the day after. It depends entirely. We should in the meantime welcome Kilana when she returns."

She felt herself being scooped up into his arms and carried as though it were their wedding day again. Kilana had been gone for nearly a week, with the same Founder that had been with Yelgrun on the day...she didn't want to think about the past again. As she learned the hard way, obsessing over the past was terrible for your health both mentally and physically, but that did not mean she stopped thinking about her mother, Captain Benteen, and the others. Three or four more Jem'Hadar vessels had gone out with her, perhaps on a routine patrol in space and nearby to make sure the Federation did not bother them again. She wouldn't count on it; she did her best to not let Yelgrun see this or let the thought linger long enough to be noticed.

Kilana was back by the next morning, but when she arrived, she was not in the best shape both physically and emotionally; Yelgrun sent this to her. She's lost her men and the Founder she was supposed to rescue - the one who gave me permission to have you, my dear. He's dead.

"And so are my men; they took their own lives because WE failed to save him," Kilana told them, tears on both her face and in her voice. "I was a fool to attempt to negotiate with Captain Sisko. The ship crashed on Torga IV, but the crew was already dead except the Founder. I was supposed to save him, bring him back safely...but I failed. I said the wrong things, and should have trusted the captain myself because of everything in Weyoun's report."

Lynet closed her eyes. Benjamin and the others were on Torga IV when this ship crashed, but so many of his men were killed when Kilana and her team arrived. As the story went on, Kilana could not tell the good captain about the Founder aboard for fear that he would make a hostage of the Changeling. But all Sisko wanted was the ship because of the old trade salvage right that the Dominion was not familiar with. All of which led to one devastating conclusion on Lynet's mind:

Their men - both Sisko's and Kilana's - all would still be alive only if they had some establishment of trust. Now Sisko was left with the wrecked Jem'Hadar fighter and poor Kilana returned with some of the Changeling's remains in a tube, which she placed in Lynet's hands to feel herself. It was small and as tall as her palm, hardly much to bring back. She was to be debriefed as early as tomorrow morning.

"The both of you," she said to Lynet and Yelgrun, heartbroken, "I'm so ashamed of myself. I'll never forgive myself for this."

"There was nothing you could have done," Yelgrun told her, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. "The Founders do not tolerate failure, but you did the best you could." There was a trace of heartbreak himself, for the Changeling had been the one he was proud to serve time and time again, but he was also the one to order the destruction of the Lakota - and now he was gone.

Lynet did not let her husband see this either, but she was pleased this Founder got his just desserts, as cruel as it sounded. Odo would always be the one to be the better man than any of his people ever would be.

Kilana left them alone, returning to her quarters with the desire to be left alone. When she was gone, Lynet turned and leaned into her husband. "I really do feel sorry for her," she said softly, and he nodded even though he knew better.

"But not for the Founder."

"Not at all," she answered. "No matter how much time passes, I'll hate your 'gods'."

He would never miss the quotation marks around the word. "And that I'll never get to change out of you," he agreed.

Later that day when she was cooking them dinner, making a fish dish that she could taste but not he - texture was the best word for him and his people to enjoy - when Yelgrun suddenly had a change in his behavior, and it had to do with their friend who had come home not that long ago from a failed assignment and suffering a great loss. "Lynet, I think we should go and see if she is faring any better," he suggested, and she had to agree. How could you ever leave a friend alone to suffer without checking up once in a while?

However, Kilana didn't answer the door when he buzzed. Worry coursed through the both of them. Then Yelgrun overrode the security locks, and they both went inside to search for her.

Something at Lynet's feet sent her falling to the ground and losing hold of her cane. "Lynet!" Yelgrun yelled, diving for her and helping her back up, looking down to see what had caused her to fall. "Oh, gods!" He sent the image to her which made her retch internally and collapse against him, crying without a shed of a tear at what - or should she say who - lay sprawled on the ground, dead.

Kilana.

Chapter Text

"Oh, God, Yelgrun!" Lynet wailed, holding onto him with the strongest grip he ever received from her. "She's dead, really?!"

He had not seen her this terrified and broken down since the day the Founder - rest him, the loss still present in Yelgrun's being and no doubt affected Kilana that much, and then her unit took their own lives because they let a god perish - ordered the destruction of the Lakota. He supposed he should have been a little harsher on the dead woman as she was his former student, thought he was too soft...that was going too far. Who could have foreseen this? It was not like Kilana was made for the field to begin with? Sometimes he thought the Founders chose her as a candidate because of her seductive traits and charm, but apparently, her negotiating skills turned out to not be enough.

He did not let Lynet see this, but Kilana would be back soon; the memory of the burden would remain with her. She might have learned her lesson - or did she? - and carried on, but it would not bring the Founder back. He held onto his wife as he continued to stare down at the body, the jutting veins visible on her right forehead and the base of her neck; it was an after-effect of the termination implant. Yelgrun had so far not experienced such, but his time would come for that in the near future. But if there was one thing, he could not let himself get captured by the enemy.

Something told him, as he looked at the jutting wounds, that voluntary self-termination was quick and painless...it was a lie. Kilana suffered as she died as much as she did over her guilt.

A part of him bubbled with rage that it made him think for himself and perhaps any other fellow Vorta before them, and more to come.

"Shhh," he told Lynet tenderly as he held her. "I'm going to call for the security." She wobbled on her legs, too weak with shock and grief to walk, that he picked her up and carried her over to the sofa nearby and laid her there, kissing her forehead and shouting at the computer for the medics and said security team.

~o~

Her mind was a matter that was up in the air for the duration of the questioning and the clearing of the corpse of her friend. Thankfully, there was nothing much to tell the interrogators, since all she and her husband wanted to do was to see how Kilana was doing - only to come in and find her dead. She'd killed herself because the guilt of letting the Changeling die had driven her to do what her Jem'Hadar did.

Lynet wanted to scream why she did this when she could just use the loss to make her stronger and carry on so she could make sure it didn't happen again, which was exactly what she herself would have done...but instead, the failure made her take her own life. The Dominion was that cruel to have this built into the Vorta's code of living for succession and collapse. And this was only her first assignment - and dealing with Captain Sisko of all people! She'd wanted to ask Kilana to tell her about him just so she could know how he was doing now, but it didn't seem appropriate under the circumstances, and her friend had been through enough as it was.

Some part of her seemed to see now that nothing was black and white anymore, no matter the Founders' motives for conquering other races being as simple as "solids always posed a threat to us". The Vorta and Jem'Hadar were bred to serve them, the latter merciless and living nothing for but fighting and dying, the ketracel-white being all that kept them alive and ensured loyalty to the Dominion. And the Vorta? They commanded the Jem'Hadar, but it seemed they got much harsher treatment - including what she just learned that Kilana had done.

"All Vorta have a termination implant in their brain stem, activated behind our right ears," Yelgrun explained to her, holding her hand into his. "It's customary to volunteer when we see fit for certain failures - as well as if we are captured by the enemy, so to ensure we do not trade valuable information on the Dominion we serve. But if we do not trigger the implant and we return alive, then we shall be executed."

And if that happened to Yelgrun, she would end up losing him as she lost Kilana. If that happened, then she would end up a real prisoner of the Dominion - or maybe she'd be forced to take her own life since nothing else was worth living, and she wouldn't spend the rest of her life -

Don't think like that, Yelgrun sent to her. I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that from ever happening. You're everything to me and more, and I won't let you live without me.

~o~

As soon as they were free to leave Kilana's quarters, he took her back to theirs; she was still too limp to walk, so he had to carry her in his arms. She had been crying ever since they left; she had really begun to think of Kilana as a real friend only to lose her - she didn't know the truth just yet, but Yelgrun couldn't tell her the truth yet that his people were subjects to cloning. He despised keeping this from her, but somehow she might not believe him despite the fact that she believed him about the soul mate bond. He decided to just surprise her, even if she would scream at him for not telling her. His main reason, however, was just to prevent himself from being insensitive towards his wife's suffering.

They had gotten home from a good day in the gymnasium only to find out what happened to their friend. He wasn't entirely insensitive; Kilana would be back, but Lynet didn't know that just yet. To discuss death in front of the grief-stricken? It was not on his watch. Looking at his shivering wife curling into herself and not seeing anything other than darkness and pain, he sighed, wondering what he could do to alleviate her just a little. "Is there...something I can do for you?" He was never much good at these things, no matter how hard he tried.

"Not really," she whispered, turning her face into the pillow on the sofa, "but I want to go to bed."

Yelgrun blinked. Bed - was it too early for that? She didn't want to sleep, really, so he sensed there was more. His mind clicked at the idea, and he almost smiled. Intimacy was not just for love and passion, but to comfort the other partner after losing someone as well as a stress reliever after a long day of work. "As you wish," he stated simply, reaching down and picking her up again, carrying her into the bedroom and palming the doors open, which closed behind them so he deposited her onto the bed. He intended to ease her suffering, alright, and he knew just how to do this for her.

"Time to get these off first." He had her garments on the floor in no time, and her beautiful body was no longer shining with sweat, but harder in appearance if not masculine - even better than he. By the time he himself was nude as she, her hands were over the front of his body, caressing him and enjoying the feel of him. He saw she truly enjoyed the feel of his body and how it saved her from the pit she fell through for years, from the tunnel that caved her in anger and hate and the marvelous feel of it that this was how a man should be even though he was the first she consented to.

He closed his eyes briefly, letting a tear roll down his cheek, and was grateful she could not see, before leaning down and kissing her before guiding her to the bed.

~o~

Three days passed, and she had the quarters all to herself so she could do more physical fitness - without breaking something and making her husband angry through their bond while he was away doing whatever it was, but it was always the Founders plotting the conquering of the Federation.

Indeed, no plans to change. If you go to the Founders yourself, you won't live to see another day, my dear.

She sighed and nearly lost focus while in the middle of the ninth crunch, her feet beneath the side of the sofa, her lower back muscles straining with the pause. What is it this time?

Weyoun, a colleague who loathes me very much, has been promoted as ambassador. He is negotiating with Gul Dukat, the new head of the Cardassian government. For the last month, the talks have progressed, and within another month or two, the agreement will be finalized. This new partnership will be the first step in taking over the Alpha Quadrant, according to Weyoun.

She could just imagine Captain Sisko and the rest falling under the control of the Dominion and the Cardassians - and Bajor coming back under Cardassian rule just like the original occupation. What a bright future for the Alpha Quadrant, she thought sarcastically. And there was nothing she could do about any of this. Ever a Starfleet officer first and foremost - she shut this from Yelgrun - she wanted to get the message out if only she wasn't sightless.

The door to the quarters buzzed. Frowning and exhaling to get the oxygen through her lungs again, Lynet stood up after stretching her leg muscles, calling for whoever it was to come in. She was shocked to her core altogether when she heard a familiar voice she NEVER thought she would hear again. "Lynet."

"Kilana!" she exclaimed, both horrified and relieved. How was she alive? Hell, she'd stumbled over the corpse herself, and Yelgrun never lied that it was her. "I thought you were dead!"

"I was," the Vorta answered, guilty crystal clear. "I'm shocked Yelgrun didn't tell you before I came back."

Lynet reeled back, falling onto the sofa. What...didn't Yelgrun tell her? "What are you talking about?" she demanded. Her friend - her and Yelgrun's FRIEND - was dead for three days, and how was she back? "How did you come back?"

Kilana sighed, and she soon felt the weight of the other woman sitting beside her. "Our people have expertise at cloning," she answered readily. "It reduces the risk in our line of duty, but it also helps us learn from past mistakes for the future. I'm Kilana 2."

Now that she knew the Vorta were all clones... "What about Yelgrun?"

"He's number four."

So, the Vorta were not entirely a single incarnation with only one life; they got to experience many more to come...and her husband had to keep this from her. She felt a little angry that he didn't tell her this - I wanted to tell you before. When she died - the last one, I mean. But it would have been too insensitive of me, my dear. You have every right to lash at me now, and her if you please.

She wanted to so much, but what would have she gotten out of it? They must have had reasons for not telling her. "Why didn't either of you tell me this before?"

"It's not an openly discussed topic. And if you are wondering, I am still the same one you remembered, and I remember everything of my predecessor." The immense sorrow was back just like that, and Lynet knew why. "I still have the remains of the Founder. I know why I am keeping it, too. Not only because of my failure but because I loved him. He was one of the few gods to love Yelgrun and I. And speaking of Yelgrun..."

Lynet quickly cut her off, somehow knowing where this was going but also didn't. "We're doing...fine. Since you left on your mission, and after we found your...predecessor. He's been helping me back on my feet, as he put it," she answered. "He's been taking me to the gym, made me stronger..."

"Has he done the same?" Kilana asked.

Lynet didn't even blink at the unexpected question. "No...why do you ask?" she questioned suspiciously, thinking that Vorta were not physical like the Jem'Hadar.

"Well, when Vorta mate, they inherit strengths and abilities from their partners who carry them. Since you are a fighter, he should learn to be one, too." She was surprised altogether. Yelgrun never told her this part. To be honest, I forgot, he admitted, almost sheepish, before adding slyly, I could use some of that next time, though.

"Oh, and," Kilana added, "what about you and him? Have you come to your...conclusion left?"

"What conclusion?" Lynet asked, feeling her defenses rise even though she KNEW what the other woman was hinting at.

"You and Yelgrun have gotten so much closer I see that you're still denying it even though you know deep down..."

Something inside her broke.

"No, Kilana," she begged, sitting further away so she backed into the armrest behind her. "Don't force me into this."

Kilana sighed in pure exasperation. "Lynet, you need to stop running from it and face it." She tried to pull back but couldn't; the Vorta's hands grasped both of her hands and pulled her closer so there was near-body contact. "Don't you understand? You love Yelgrun, and you know it. He loves you, too, in his own way. He might have played his part in what happened to your crew and your ship, to your eyes and everything you had - but he also gave you the one thing that you tried to deny yourself for so long, and that is love. He has suffered enough as you have suffered enough. He is all you have, shares your body and your soul, and you have accepted him for who he is and not what you want him to be; the same goes for how he has embraced you, Lynet. Now, stop trying to flee and say it before it eats you away any more than I know it already is!"

Her inner soul as well as her heart cracked altogether at the pressure and truth of the words.

"I LOVE HIM!"

Chapter Text

She said the words.

She loved him.

He thought he was going to collapse with thorough happiness and the flood swelling in his heart. He wanted to thank Kilana for breaking her for him, for finally getting her out of that hard shell cracked beyond repair. And it was about time, too.

He could not think of a single thing to say. All this time she fought him, but in the end, she gave in because there was nowhere else to run to. You could never run away forever; you had to stop one day and let the truth have its day and its way with you. But he needed to hear it from her himself when he returned home, yet he could not stop listening to the conversation between her and Kilana.

Lynet must not be aware this time because she was too wrapped up in her own feelings and telling them to the other woman to even notice. I love him, she repeated, shaking now and crying, both out of happiness and confusion. She had followed a code to not love the enemy, which was treason, but no one was here to tell her right from wrong. She should make her own choices now, not out of fear or the past affecting her - and it was then and there that he saw the words "do not let your past affect your future", spoken to her once by none other than Captain Benjamin Sisko.

I love him, okay, Kilana? he heard her say angrily, hurt now. Because it drives me insane both good and bad. I've accepted the fact now that the two men in my past who hurt me are done for, that they should in no way affect me or what Yelgrun wanted from me. I hated him because he was involved in everything I lost, but it was the Changeling who started it, and Yelgrun is the most... She choked there, truly struggling. ...riveting man I ever met. He drives me insane in a way I can't describe, but he's nothing like any other I ever met. I love him because he protects me and treats me like a person. I still don't like his impatient attitude, but I'm willing to overlook it. If I can't go back to my people, and if I can't get my eyes back, then I want to spend the rest of my life with no one but him. That's all I want, someone to share my life with. But it still won't change how much I despise the Dominion for what it is.

Yelgrun thought the wind had been blown from his body when he heard her confess in a way he never thought he would hear from her. He had broken her but remade her, and she in return submitted herself to him. She didn't throw him aside like Keevan did, and she didn't call him a monster anymore. Lynet, his little sightless warrior, had done him proud.

Your views don't change anything, he heard Kilana say. All that matters is you have each other.

~o~

Braille was an old Terran alphabet for people who lost their eyesight, having been written on embossed paper but eventually became on the PADD form; it was a total shock that the Dominion had been merciful enough to have this for anyone in the Gamma Quadrant, for Lynet had not read anything free in such a long time. Despite living in the forest, she often read recreationally sometimes for educational means, even if elements were fictitious. It was one of the few things that kept her from going mad with ignorance.

She and Yelgrun had not spoken all day; only a day had passed since she and Kilana fought over her feelings for him, having kept buried both of her own will and unintentionally for so long. She wasn't going to analyze anymore, but this was still too much, and she needed something to calm her down and take her mind off things for now - especially off the incoming finalized Dominion-Cardassian alliance. This new arrangement would be the first step in spelling doom for the Federation and all her former comrades. Lynet still despised this; everyone out there was fighting for the freedom of their people while she was sightless and doing nothing. Not even the control consoles and data systems of the command center were brailles for her to warn Captain Sisko or even her father if he was still alive yet.

This reading she got from Kilana was a romance novel, surprisingly so, and romance was never on her agenda - yet Lynet found herself drawn to the content. It was compelling and rich, and an involving of the dark arts, the powers of one of the main nemeses. As for the two major characters, both stemmed from enemy families, but they were wed for political means arranged by the bride's uncle; she wasn't very classically attractive yet slowly began to change into a swan, in a figurative and literal manner of speaking. But despite everything that happened over the course, the two fell in love. It hadn't been easy either, obviously enough.

It took Lynet two days to read this, as she never once paid attention to anything or anyone else - including Yelgrun - and found herself breathless by the book's end.

"Finally done, are we?"

As quoted in the book, "contest of wills at rest and peace restored" between the main couple could be said the same for her and her husband. "Have you ever read this?" Lynet asked, holding up the PADD, feeling it taken out of her hands when he came to stand over her. "It's kept me more than preoccupied the last couple of days."

"So I noticed," Yelgrun answered, and a silence lapsed for a moment before it broke some minutes later which felt like longer. He seemed to know what it was despite the language not being his forte. Because for a short time, I was an instructor on the subject of permanently blind Vorta, with your condition, he clarified, then spoke with a hum. "Interesting. I don't indulge in these works outside field reports and history."

"Me too," she said. I used to read recreationally when I was younger, both for fun and educational means - in the forest, notably, but when I got into the academy, it was no longer an option, like hunting no longer was.

She felt him sit in front of her, his back against her and butting against her stretched, closed legs. "Richard really judged his wife too harshly in the beginning, especially in regards to his wife's knowledge of witchcraft, especially when it came to his obnoxious cousin who caused the rift upon arrival. She got what came to her," he said with a wry smile. Lynet laughed, agreeing altogether. "The lady herself was not brave enough to get back at her rival, but her servant did it for her. Yet she blindly protected her caregiver from the furious groom," he stated, rolling his eyes. "Lynet, if I were in her position, I would have stood by and let the real perp take the fall."

She stiffened. So, he did read this before. It's been a long time, but yes. This is the first and only one my attention was ever set on - like yourself. "Elizabeth assumed responsibility for the actions of her servant," she defended, "and she still stood her ground when she confessed that her husband's cousin was a menace, even though she was only a 'child', as he said. Just needed attention. Because cousin Anne pretended to sympathize with her, shocked by the far-from-beautiful appearance of the bride and asked how her husband would think if he saw her."

Which reminded me of myself, he sent to her, but you looked past it.

She stares through my shadow
She sees something more
Believes there's a light in me
She is sure
And her truth makes me stronger
Does she realize
I awake every morning
With her strength by my side

Lynet's heart swelled, for it also put to mind Beauty and the Beast, the classic French tale of how it never mattered what a person looked like. Richard had seen that in his arranged bride, and over time she transformed as their love blossomed - in time for darker forces to threaten them. Unconsciously, she ran her hand through her hair, which was getting longer enough to reach her shoulders. I want to cut my hair again sometime soon. I prefer short.

Hmm, I'm sure we can arrange that, but I confess weak eyes won't do the job for you without butchering that exquisitely soft mane of yours.

She leaned back against the arm of the sofa. You don't object? she queried, making him laugh.

It's your decision; I would not pretend otherwise. So...the fact that husband and wife are honest with each other, but the wife was a bit of a rebel herself in the beginning, particularly with showing him respect? A little bit of you in her...

"Oh!" Lynet huffed and sat up fast, flexible as her legs remained straight down. "You're calling me names again!"

"Because I know she's still in you," Yelgrun pointed out sardonically, still smirking. "No one ever changes themselves. I know that myself even. Admit it, wife. We've worked out our understandings for sure, haven't we?"

"Oh, Yelgrun, you have a strange way of romanticizing," she said, returning the gesture of rubbing his nose against hers when he made the first move. "But we have, and maybe it's time I say the words..."

"Yes?" he piqued, smug now but not antagonizing her.

"I love you."

He chuckled, then moved forward to kiss her on the lips tenderly. "That's the second time I hear you say it from your own mouth and the depths of your heart." Lynet had not blushed for a long time, so she felt the heat creep to her cheeks. No doubt they turned to that shade. But then he cleared his throat. "You were avoiding me for the last two days, reading this PADD novel, and now you tell me you love me because you didn't know how to deal with me not long after."

She chewed her lip again, making him rumble in his throat. "Yes."

I am not a hero
I am not an angel
I am just a man
Man who's trying to love her
Unlike any other
In her eyes I am

"I know I said it before, and I will repeat it only one more time." His hand closed around hers. "You don't have to avoid me anymore. We are married, we have each other, and we have nothing more to hide from each other. I love you even more than the one who rejected me, and you love me more than the ones who hurt you, too. That is why we are meant to be, and that is why my heart always beats when I see you, when I think of you - and when I share the bed with you." He brought his hand up to kiss the back, sending shivers through her nerves. "May I show it to you?"

Her belly felt like it had the butterflies, knowing what he meant, and she wanted it. This was also his way of making up for the two-day estrangement. "Take me to bed," she answered, letting herself be picked up again and then dropped onto their bed, laughing when he crawled on top of her. He undressed her as always, unclasping her jacket and revealing the tighter fits beneath, which made her growing arousal fire flare and tighten. However, unlike always, this time involved his hands and lips exploring each section of skin revealed to him and suckling on her most sensitive places, making her sigh and gasp when he struck gold below, licking at her moist gathering and highly flammable core, making love to her without directly bringing his part there. No matter the way Richard made Elizabeth forget their troubles; Yelgrun did it much better than that. "Oh!" She arched her hips upwards when his tongue slid into her slippery tunnel. Her breasts and nipples ached with the furious flames in her body. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she burst in spite of herself.

Yelgrun stopped his oral work and looked up at her with both brows raised. "For?" he asked, curious and confused at the same time.

"For blaming you for everything I lost. For hating you, for fighting you, for cursing you - and for not realizing you really did love me and not just lust after me." Lynet panted when her core built up to a point she thought she was going to release so soon if he neglected her any longer the way he was.

His answer was plain and simple, satisfied. "Apology accepted."

When their bodies finally joined, she let herself smile, but it wasn't because of the book itself, or her sheer idiocy and lack of control - it was the fact she was happier for the first time in a long time.

This world keeps on spinning

Only she stills my heart

She's my inspiration

She's my northern star

I don't count my possession

All I call mine

I will give her completely

To the end of all time

~o~

Pure, unbridled happiness on a few more months passed by. How could anyone describe the bliss Yelgrun felt that had been ripped from him only to be sewn back into place?

Since the love confession, he had begun to call Lynet his best friend and wife - besides Kilana alone. There were almost no hostilities between them anymore. Barely a year she had been his, and now she began to smile every day when he came home at the end of the day, took her to the gardens and the gym - and during that period, she taught him how to harness some physical fighting of his own - and made love to her as often as they would without fear of conception. Things were looking up to them both...except when it came to the news of the Cardassian alliance finished, and it officially joined the Dominion.

"My people are doomed," Lynet replied somberly, and this turned out to be the only argument they would ever have now. He sighed and put his PADDs down.

"I'm afraid so. And as a result, all of our Cardassian prisoners will be freed from our internment camps and returned home," he told her, although with the exception of Elim Garak whom he had learned from Deyos had been found in their territory along with a Klingon - yet another - but the exiled ex-spy was to remain in Camp 371 because of the order of Gul Dukat, both personal and political. He smirked. "And Deep Space 9 was infiltrated by one of our gods."

"Of course," she stated bluntly while in the middle of chopping up some vegetables. "Which Captain Sisko and the others do not know about. Who is this 'god' impersonating now?"

"One certain Dr. Bashir, whom we have in one of our camps at the very moment," Yelgrun answered smoothly, sitting down so he could review the report. "At this very moment, more than enough of our Jem'Hadar will storm the Alpha Quadrant and make way for Cardassia Prime, in favor against the Klingons. It has left Cardassia somewhat...third-graded, my dear. We won't attack Deep Space 9 yet."

She stopped her cutlery use and "looked" at him with a clenched jaw. "But you will when the time comes," she said coldly. "The very station commanded by a man I served for a short time alongside for the entire quadrant, maybe the entire galaxy."

"And even that is only the beginning. Imagine a universe of law and order, as the Founders say," he said with a wider smile, which faded quickly as she spoke.

"You still believe that nonsense that they are gods, don't you?"

"Lynet, they are gods," he said, infuriated. "You're not the first to say it, but you're wrong, too. You might not be Vorta, but it's irrelevant whether or not you believe they are deities who created us all."

"They're mortal beings like you and I!" she argued. "Only they don't function as we do, and they change their shape before our eyes instead of behind them. They're not your makers, either. And how could you believe that story of how they made your people better than they were then? In my culture, there is a similar theory as to the fact we stemmed from monkeys ourselves - but the fact that IF we came from monkeys, how come there are monkeys today?" she sneered. "Maybe they're still taking time to grow and evolve naturally like us. The truth is that we'll never know the truth, and you don't use technology and science to evolve a species. Nature does that, not beings." She stopped there and sighed heavily, picking up her knife after a long moment of tense silence.

"When you head out with the others into the battlefield, I hope you think about what I said and come to your senses. I hope someone else in your people has done so."

He didn't answer her. His mind was already thinking over her words as well as remembering his past lifetimes and experiences.

~o~

Just three more months, and do the math as to what happens today.

The Dominion had been coming through the wormhole every week for the last several weeks with supplies of ketracel-white and convoys for Cardassia, but then word got back that the entrance to the wormhole had begun to be mined, according to a spy, to which Ambassador Weyoun had confronted the captain and came back furious as he knew Sisko would refuse.

Now they were all on their way into battle and forcing the Federation presence to evacuate.

Lynet closed her eyes as she sat down below the deck of the Jem'Hadar warship Yelgrun commanded, bowing her head in despair as she knew all hope was lost for her people. Retaking Deep Space 9 - Terok Nor now, as it was still Cardassian - was the next step, as the Dominion signing a non-aggression treaty with Bajor had been the first. If the enemy attacked, then the "aligned" would sit by and let them get away with it.

Bajor was not the only planet to sign the pact; the Romulans and a couple of others had done so. They might not be friends, but they were hell-bent on protecting themselves, which made her even sicker than she was.

Chapter Text

Ever since Captain Sisko and the rest of the Federation were forced to leave the station, which had been renamed back to Terok Nor, the Dominion and Cardassia gained the upper hand, sending their enemies and the Klingons away. But the main issue, from Yelgrun's learnings, was that the Bajoran wormhole was mined with self-replications that always reformed another if one was shot. They might be winning for the moment, but they needed the rest of their reinforcements still in the Gamma Quadrant, and it had been three months to pass.

Along with several other Vorta and their units, he was among those to patrol Federation space as well as Cardassian as a means to seek new grounds in the former's mentioned space. Currently was the Tyra system, where he and others including Kilana and an older, high-ranking Field Supervisor named Telvaun were ready to meet more Starfleet ranks. First Yaran'alon told him that the Seventh Fleet was on their way to meet them. "Very good, First," he said with a grin. "I look forward to meeting them and for us to open fire."

They would not be the only ones, and neither would be the others, but more Cardassian armies and Jem'Hadar were cloaked and coming to their aid. The Seventh Fleet would be the latest casualty to show the rest of their people that they were weak and cowardly, no matter how they tried to prove to be stronger than the combined powers against them.

For a moment, Yelgrun thought of his wife beneath the deck. Jem'Hadar did not sleep or eat, but a cell had been fashioned to accommodate Lynet so she could sleep, and there was a replicator installed for her, having been taken from Kurill Prime all the way into the Alpha Quadrant. Rarely did this happen for any Vorta who had a prisoner or a willing companion aboard a Jem'Hadar warship or a fighter. In this case, the warship was better.

He scanned the space through his virtual headset. Cardassians could tolerate this as much as Vorta, but for a human, it would give them a massive migraine headache; their minds and optics were not as strong to withstand a "viewscreen in your head". Having the eyes with the Jem'Hadar, Yelgrun saw that the enemy fleet was coming closer on the sensors.

"Prepare to arm phasers and launch full-scale torpedoes," Yelgrun ordered. He was sure Kilana and the others caught on and ordered their Jem'Hadar to do the same. Cardassian soldiers were on their way but would make it in time.

Their sensors were not the only reason for finding the enemy ahead of time; the Argolis Cluster near the Tagra system, not many light-years away, could detect rival ships from far away than two light-years in five sectors at a time. If anyone thought they could think to find out about their secret weapon, they would think twice before they attacked from the front without risking going through the cluster itself and being torn apart by its severe gravimetric shear.

"Commander, they're here, but in greater numbers than the last," Yaran'alon spoke after speaking to Fifth Telar'ritak. "One hundred and twelve and counting, sir."

"Excellent." One hundred and twelve against more than four hundred undetected combined Dominion-Cardassian troops? Starfleet must be that overconfident if they thought just a little over a hundred could keep them away this time. "The order stands; we fire on sight."

He had to admit he and Kilana were lucky that they were one of the Vorta here in the Alpha Quadrant, Weyoun included - but so was Keevan. Yelgrun could hardly contain his disgust when he remembered encountering the younger Vorta again just before the war began when they were amongst those to first come through the wormhole before the minefield began to be set up. It hadn't been pleasant, obviously.

They had been on the same ship at the time, with Lynet elsewhere, and still not knowing about their history after all this time. Yelgrun still could not find it in him to tell her about him and Keevan for fear of her hating him, and that fear had returned when he and his former student and friend ran into him unintentionally. He could still hear the conversation in his mind.

"Yelgrun, what an unexpected 'surprise'."

"There's sarcasm, my old friend."

"We're not friends anymore, and you know it. Why should I pretend otherwise?"

"You don't have to. I never thought I'd see you here myself."

"Well, instead of saying 'How have you been?' or anything ludicrous, I'll cut right to the chase and say that I hope this is the first and only time we speak to each other since we are at the impending beginning of a war, and that we speak from now on only because the Founders deem it suitable we work together - not that it will ever be the way it used to be. Is that clear?"

Keevan had gotten bolder since the last time he'd seen him, he'd give the little Vorta that. Nevertheless, the sting was so present that Yelgrun turned away from him then and there, just for the sake of showing Keevan he was still strong, unlike last time. He didn't care whether or not the other Vorta had made himself better than he thought. Keevan must still think he had not gotten someone who could give him what the younger one never could, but the subject was never on their minds, no matter how much Yelgrun wanted to prove him wrong.

It made him smile to know that he'd beaten Keevan after all, that the smug young upstart was still just as he promised him he'd be.

~o~

Each time there was an impact on Yelgrun's warship, she felt herself fall to the ground from sitting on the makeshift cell, but she would always pull herself up on the side of the bed slab. She was here because there was no place for her to sit aboard the brig, or even play a part. It was a small act of mercy to not take any life of her former comrades, but it still didn't make it right.

She was still sitting by while they died at the hands of the Dominion and Cardassia, and right now it was like she was a prisoner of war again. Beneath her husband's ship.

It will get better, my dear.

She curled into herself on the bed, gritting her teeth painfully. In what manner will it get better? My old friends and comrades are dying, and I can't do a damned thing. I might not have converted to the Dominion, but I am still loyal to Starfleet first and foremost. You're playing a part in waging a war against honorable, moral people!

These "honorable" people are a threat to the Founders, he sent back defensively, making her roll back and bristle to her core.

They never did anything in the beginning to your Founders! Your Founders are nothing but cowards who think they can protect themselves by controlling others they deem beneath them, she sneered. And as for you and your people - you're all innocent victims in this and don't even know it. You were brainwashed somehow and engineered -

Lynet, I'm busy now. We can talk about this later.

She almost screamed in outrage that he dared to interrupt her like that and cut off their link. He just thought by distracting her with the excuse of work! They were NOT done, and she knew it - even he knew that! He still did not see that the Vorta were victims as much as the rest of the Federation and others under the enemy's rule were, and Kilana did not either. So far, her attempts to get them to see reason had been futile, but you could never break that vow of Dominion loyalty in a short period of time.

It took dramatic action to make you have a change of heart.

Lynet closed her eyes and wished sleep would come as she didn't want to be awake when the Seventh Fleet met its doom like the others before it.

~o~

Ninety-eight of the Seventh Fleet were blown to smithereens and others injured beyond repair, the remainders in minimum retreating back to where they came from. The major losses would do a number now, making Yelgrun smile and concur that "victory is life" - but his wife below could not say the same. Her heart shattered beyond repair as she learned of the latest losses of her people.

She tried to tell him that he and his people were being played for fools, that the Founders were not...he stopped the thought there. He had his doubts, yes, but no one would ever know from his own mouth - but now he remembered the battle over the Omarion Nebula, in which the last Yelgrun died, but not before he thought back to how his people were not indispensable despite their decency...

The Founders are NOT gods...

He had been well aware of how he was spat upon by the Female Founder herself, and at times by the Male Founder before he died before Kilana could save him. Keevan must have all along, but who knew how long. There had to be more of their people, but who would dare go against the Founders if they wanted to be terminated and a new clone activated? Yelgrun knew what would happen and what it would do to Lynet.

He did regret cutting her off the way he did, but to let his emotions cloud his job was not acceptable. Yet he could not stop wondering...

"Commander?"

"Third," he replied in irritation when he looked at Gonak'orak. "What is it?"

"Forgive me," the soldier stated with a bow of the head, "but you seemed distant. I was only concerned." Besides his First, the Third was the sharper in detection and one of the few of his men Yelgrun could count on.

"I'm very well. If that's all, then back to your post." In truth, his frustration bubbled to a point where it affected a certain area of his anatomy and not just the pit of his stomach, his rapidly pounding heart as well as his brain. He needed to do something about this pent-up energy, and there was one way without resorting to what he was beyond now. What was left in the past and remained so.

For now, there was no activity or any more incoming Federation, so this was the perfect timing. He left the bridge and descended to the level beneath, finding the cell Lynet was staying in, and pressed the button on the console. The door swooshed open for him to step inside. "Lynet," he said when he saw her on the bed, facing the doorway but her eyes closed; he knew she was only pretending to sleep until she actually followed through. "I know you don't want to see me, but I want to make it up to you."

She scoffed. "I know what you mean, and the answer is I'm not in the mood. If you think you'll distract me from my attempts to persuade you the truth, you won't do a good job this time." She then turned over, her back facing him now, making him roll his eyes.

"My love, distraction can be a good thing half the time," he stated as he walked over to her. "We both need it before I return to the bridge. How long has it been since we..." He trailed off and purred when he sat down and reached to run his fingers over the bared section of her back; this one was a sort of Cardassian-styled tunic for females that Kilana had acquired for Lynet, flaunting his fierce little mate perfect at every angle. "I think this is making it a little easier." He felt her shiver beneath his touch and knew she would not resist now. Yelgrun crawled on top of her at the same time when she rolled onto her back, expressionless in both the dead eyes and her entire face. "That's my girl," he said with a chuckle. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has," she answered without a struggle. "But this still won't change anything -" He silenced her with a kiss, bruising her and stimulating on the spot. No, it won't, but I missed you since the war began, my precious prize. Mmm, been a while since I called you that.

Somehow...I like it better nowadays.

Yelgrun smirked against her mouth. She roused him to no end by admitting to the dominance over her. Taking note of their assessment, he could not have them both stripped down as he had to return soon, but he also wanted it to last while it still could. He reached between their bodies and found her clothed core, taking her in hand and stroking her, making her moan and arch beneath him, writhing. Hastily, she reached to unfasten her belt and then open the front of her trousers; he let her do the job on herself this time because he needed to do the same for his own impatience between his loins. As soon as the stiff length was freed, he quickly but carefully inserted himself into her, making her cry out again and arch her head back as he began to pump himself into her at a brisk pace, grunting and stretching his body over her for the expansion of ecstasy through their bodies.

There was no change in position, but when the peak collapsed downwards for the thrill of the fall, he collapsed on top of her. Her arms wrapped around his torso to hold him close. He welcomed the embrace and melted into it, but he had to get back unwillingly. Hesitantly, Yelgrun withdrew himself from his wife's arms and fixed himself back into place. He watched as she did the same. "The wait was worth it," he noted smugly. She nodded her agreement but said nothing. "I wish I could stay longer, but we know I gotta get back to work."

We should try again next time, then, next time you're free. That stress and impatience should be taken care of more often, she teased, making him snicker and shake his head.

~o~

Not many days later, Lynet got some good news for the first time, hearing it from Yelgrun - through their bond, of course. He was in one of the worst moods ever that he left the bridge and took it out on a wall outside her "cell" instead of in her presence, which she was grateful for, given her reaction would only make it worse. The Jem'Hadar couldn't have taken it very well, either.

The main ketracel-white facility which was stationed on an asteroid in Cardassian territory had been destroyed.

Her husband stormed into the cell then and just stood there before the doorway, seething and clenching his fists at his sides, gritting his teeth. He was madder than any time she remembered seeing him. He was enraged about the sudden decline in the fortune of the Dominion's favor and no doubt the others were. She could only imagine Kilana's reaction, for it was the same Jem'Hadar ship she let Benjamin Sisko take after the deaths of the Changeling, her men as well as Ben's.

"She's losing it," Yelgrun told her once he calmed down. "No doubt what the Founder herself is thinking of right now, now that this has gotten to her at Terok Nor. She calls Kilana a disappointment, something I was tempted to do once. But Kilana is a rare treasure, no matter what mistakes she made before. But it still happened: the Jem'Hadar are now short of white. We have a small amount for everyone now, but we still need our reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant. Our armies are sufficing, but without their white, hope for them is lost, Lynet." And without the Jem'Hadar, the Dominion had no warriors. The Cardassians were military people, but the Jem'Hadar were twice as fierce. Lynet did not let him see this, but she would gladly see the day come when those brutal reptiles living off an unhealthy drug would see their end come.

A couple of weeks later, she got her wish. Well, sort of.

Things should have been turning for the worse for the Federation, given when word got out that the minefield was deactivated, but in time, Captain Sisko and his crew as well as the Ninth Fleet came. Yet somehow, the Gamma Quadrant reinforcements vanished while they were in the wormhole; how DID that happen? The answer did not matter at the present, for the Dominion and Cardassia as well as what spare forces in the Alpha Quadrant - her and Yelgrun included - were ordered to fall back to Cardassia Prime so they could lie low and rebuild the armies before they reemerged.

Even though the Dominion had fallen low, and only for the moment, Lynet cheered with relief to herself that Sisko and the others were safe. They had gained the upper hand again and took back the station, calling it Deep Space 9 once again. If only she was there to congratulate them.

Right now, she and her husband were following the others back to Cardassia, where they would rest quietly for now.

Chapter Text

Cardassian way of life was sharp and proud. To even be here was a relief from the frontlines, for his wife's sake, but also a great disappointment. The Founder, Weyoun, and Gul Damar as well as the rest of the armies retreated when their reinforcements vanished in the wormhole just like that, and Dukat himself was left behind. According to Weyoun, he was a failure and would not be welcomed back. He might as well be spending however long of his life in a Federation prison cell.

But Yelgrun right now was focused on himself and his wife, and the temporary home they were given. This meant while the armies and supplies of white in space were being reconstructed, he had the break to spend with his Lynet.

He watched as she walked around the quarters, knowing when and where she was going by now that he was in the room and mapped it all out despite his weak eyesight, transferred it to her in place of a VISOR. Pretty soon she didn't even need her cane anymore because he helped her "see" better if not the way she used to. Feeling and sensation were more important than sight itself.

Even as he helped her settle in after placing his Jem'Hadar on guard, as he beheld the sight of his men as they departed, he sneered when he thought of the one man who betrayed not only him in the past but their people and the Founders. Not many weeks ago, Keevan's ship had been attacked and driven away from the main ketracel-white facility, leaving it vulnerable, and crash-landed on a dark-matter nebula of a planet and sacrificed his Jem'Hadar unit to save his own skin. The white supply was low, the communications beyond repair, but none of it made it right to describe the rebel Vorta's actions.

Keevan was a traitor and a disgrace - everything Yelgrun ever said he was.

The last he heard of his former student and friend was that he was somewhere in Federation space, resting comfortably as a prisoner of war. Surrendered so easily and without a fight! Yelgrun angrily slammed his palm flat on the table and hissed at the pain that shot through his hand. But it fed his ebbing anger and hatred at the younger Vorta even more. He had wished that Keevan would do something to make him lose favor with the Founders, and it came to fruition that it made him inhale and exhale to feel the rush of pleasure through his body. Never mind that he was over what broken, unrequited affection for the other who rejected it, he still hated Keevan for this.

"Yelgrun?" His wife's voice was heard behind him that he did not sense her coming. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing that will concern you," he said bluntly, not turning around to look at her. She tsked and walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"But it concerns me that it bothers you."

He sighed and relented. Never was there any use in letting her pester him. "Well, nothing much except the case of one of our own who, shall we say...turned against us," he answered, making her frown.

One of Lynet's hands came up and caressed his face as an act of tenderness. "Would this happen to be the one who...made you uncertain of ever finding someone like me?" she asked. "The one you loved but didn't love you back?"

Yelgrun's breath hitched as he closed his eyes, blocking the entire truth from her as best he could. He loathed keeping the secret from her as he had come to despise keeping the truth of her blindness from her all this time, but it had to be done. "You could say that. But you won't be happy to know that, unlike other races, the Vorta are...opened in terms of sexuality." Perhaps he shouldn't have said that after all, but she had to know the truth. She pulled her hands back and "looked" at him in shock.

"Yelgrun, you're telling me that you're...neither homosexual nor straight?" she asked, flabbergasted. "The Vorta and the Dominion have absolutely no problem with it? Where I'm from, that sort of issue with sexuality is best kept private." Both eyebrows raised. Why didn't you tell me before?

"Why"? he returned. Would you have been disgusted by that fact?

Her face had been filled with disbelief, now softened. "I'm sorry," she said, her tone matching her face. "I shouldn't have assumed anything contradictory."

Apology accepted. "His name is Keevan." Even saying the name aloud made him sick again. "Didn't end well."

"I gathered that. But what happened?"

He cleared his throat and sat down in front of her, looking up at her as she remained standing and comfortable as she wanted him to tell her everything that he never confided to her before. He owed her now. "He was a friend of mine ever since I took him under my wing when he was a newly activated member of the ranks, but while he tried to be the same as us all, he was actually more...rebellious, to put it frankly. Even though I knew the Founders never cared, that didn't mean I would turn on them. None of us can, as you know. I sometimes think Keevan saw it, too, but he was a good little Vorta like I was," he admitted with a small laugh that meant no humor. She didn't laugh, though, not that he expected her to. "He was the opposite of me, but I think I began to see more than I did before, Lynet. He was gifted, bright, and filled with life, feisty - like you."

He gave her a smile that she returned, but it faded from both their faces in a matter of time. "Though, just like you in the beginning, he couldn't stand my lack of patience. He constantly pointed it out from time to time, reminding me more often than Kilana ever did when she came along afterward." He stopped there, feeling the clench return; he had not thought of this for some time now, and it was slowly coming back to the surface that he tried to shove it down. "Over that time, in spite of our constant disagreements, I began to have...Lynet, I'm sorry." He quickly turned away from her, wishing he couldn't deal with this right now. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't burden you with this.

No, please tell me. What happened between you?

"I developed the feelings for him that I have for you now...but he didn't feel that way," Yelgrun confessed. "One day, I crossed the line. I went beyond where I should have drawn the line, should have known even before I confessed. Keevan exploded on me, I lost my temper and called him nothing in retaliation, tried to kiss him and when I did, things got worse from there. He struck out at me and cursed me, called for security, and let me be taken in for assault." He never once looked me in the eyes again after that, or even spoke to me anymore, until that one time when this war began. When we first arrived in the Alpha Quadrant.

A long tension lingered between them for a while before he sensed the cracking of her soul. He allowed his gaze to travel to her eyes - and there was a tear rolling down her cheek. There were no spoken words between them at that moment, both aloud and in their link. She was not sure what to say or do at this point, and he was worried that she would turn her back to him because he admitted to assaulting a young man whose trust he should have kept solid, and should have worked harder on himself...

Love can make you blind, make you not see some things in front of you.

He was not sure if she said it herself, or if it was spoken from somewhere above them, or anywhere else they could not recall hearing it from, but it did not matter. What mattered was that she knew the wrong he did, but she didn't flee from him.

She knelt in front of him and cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand, making him look at her, into her milky, sightless eyes, and at her painful smile. He pushed you away. I tried to push you away, but it was because I was afraid of you, I was helpless and lost everything I had. He didn't understand you well, just like I didn't understand you. But I know the man you truly are now - you have a heart.

So do you. And you never thought you would ever show it.

~o~

She had gotten better with herself lately, but Yelgrun had not yet had the chance to do it for himself. No wonder he was still pretty slow compared to herself. "Excuse me," he exclaimed when she allowed him to see this, and they shared a laugh when he brought her to a reserved gym in the Cardassian Central Command. "But I got time on my hands to lead the troops into battle, negotiate, and all the likes. We're in a war now, so we'll be back out there in no time - but now I got enough time to fix it with you." He winked down at her; she "saw" he was.

"Then I'll have to go easy on you, Senior Field Supervisor," she purred, leaning up to lick along his ear playfully, only making him chuckle deep, just sending a shiver of pleasure through his spine without directly arousing him. "Slow old man versus a faster younger lady..."

He interrupted her with a bark of laughter. "Excuse me, 'young lady'," he mocked when they stopped after entering through the doorway, the doors closing behind them, "but you have not been in real combat for many months now. I might be an old man in appearance as you put it, but that means I have more stamina than you." He shrugged. "But you'll be teaching me, so what do I know about combat?"

Seeing through his eyes the layout and the fact they were on softer ground covering harder one, and wearing her shorts and shirt, Lynet saw this as her time to strike and threw herself down, spinning and throwing her leg out under him, catching him off-guard and his body hitting the floor, landing straight on his back. He was stunned for the moment, as no one had ever done this to him before, and he lay there laughing his behind off. Lynet knew that she stunned him and bruised his pride. "I did the job very well, baby," she told him. "I took you off and wounded what meant most to you. Who knows how long you'll get it back after today."

"Believe me, it's something I know all too well," he told her when he slowly got up, and on his knees, looking up at her. "Why did you have to do that, hm?"

"Something I first learned a long time ago, when I got into Starfleet," she answered. "No one ever waits for you, so you always have to be prepared for any move that you'd never expect. They never went soft on me just because I was a female." She was sixteen years old when her already hardened body began to sustain the training bruises - blood in the case of the Klingon martial arts - in her skin, the pain in her legs and arms, sometimes her entire body, lasting for weeks at a time. Yelgrun might not be any luckier than she.

He scoffed and stood up, dusting himself off. "You're not going soft on me, Lynet; I'm glad you're not soft as anyone else would expect you to become. How do I fight back? Like...this?" He threw his fist that he made out at her, but she ducked and then dove beneath him, standing up gracefully. He whirled around and followed her with his eyes. "Oh, you haven't lost your touch, yes."

"That's right. Now, come and get me, big boy," she sneered, wishing she had her optics back on normal so the old twinkle of mischief in her eyes was for his only. She threw another kick at him and shot him in the middle of the abdomen, overwhelming that part of his body with a burst of mild pain, but this wasn't the kind his body was used to. "Be a man and take me out because I've been a bad girl."

Woman, why do you do this to me?

Because it's my job to put you on your toes. You've done it to me before; now it's my turn to return the favor.

She knew the blow was coming, but it did not reach her face as he never laid a hand on her. If it were another she was fighting, then she would have taken it willingly. But her husband striking her would make her retaliate both physically and mentally - and emotionally - and not want anything to do with him for as long as she wanted. He knew by now to respect her wishes.

By the time the fist fighting was done, it was moving onto the use of kar'takin and Jem'Hadar combat daggers, both of which she was familiar with, and felt the power surge through her veins as to hold the deadly blades in both of her hands - it was a power that she never thought she would convey again. To hear the terrible clashing of blades and the piercing slicing effect through her eardrums instead of seeing them, the soundwaves getting to Yelgrun's as well was never enough that she could get.

When it was done, she found herself flat on her back, but only because she let him. The true enemy in front of you never let you win that easily. Yelgrun knew that as he loomed over her with his knife at her throat, both great swords tossed aside. To lie on her back for a change felt like a relief for her aching bones. "Mine are sore, too," he told her with one corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. "But I think this was worth it. I've learned enough in one day."

Lynet batted her lashes at him. "Don't be too sure. There's more to come."

"I've got plenty of time to learn from you."

They were back at their quarters and in the sonic shower as usual, before they dried off and settled down on the bed together, both tired to their bones after the excitement. It was then that Lynet remembered an important factor she hadn't thought of for a long time. "Kayley used to play fight with me when we were children," she said. "But it was never anything real. It was just something she did to show me how it worked, even though she wasn't skilled in martial arts and was always afraid of our parents finding out."

"You never told me much about her besides...before she died," Yelgrun said, slightly surprised. "What brought this up?"

She shrugged. "I hadn't thought of it for years. It's one of the few good times I remember. I was really young when I was exposed to fistfights. In school, I saw them all the time but never got into them. Kayley and Mother always drilled it into me - but my mother notably - that a young lady who wouldn't be a soldier should never do such things. But Julianna was too...old-fashioned at times. I suppose she wanted both daughters to be what she never was, yet she could never do anything to stop me. I ended up living wild and then joining Starfleet as you know."

He rumbled with laughter in his throat before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad you were a little rebel. I don't know if I'd like a passive girl for a wife in your place," he purred.

~o~

For the next couple of months - or barely - to follow, he sustained bruises and barely broken bones as it was, but it was nothing permanent. Kilana even noticed with a barely hidden smirk that he was finally getting into what his wife excelled at, but how could Yelgrun say he enjoyed a little pain? He had never been an athlete in four lifetimes, and neither was the original Yelgrun. Sometimes he thought commanding Jem'Hadar was enough of a nuisance, but this was twice as high.

You like having fun with me and you know it, Lynet teased, making him roll his eyes. What's romance without a little hurt and danger?

He snorted and laughed at the same time. I think you're right. It's boring without either. Maybe we should start taking our "bedtime" to more extreme levels? I have in mind leather bonds, whips perhaps, blindfolds... In fact, he'd overheard Gelnon talking about it to Kilana, who passed it onto Yelgrun himself as she heard the other male Vorta had an interest in coaxing his unnamed lady partner into taking their own relationship to the next level, asked Kilana for her opinion, to which she nervously said if he wanted to, then go for it. Uncertain being the keyword.

"I don't know about you and Lynet," she admitted, "because it might bring back memories..."

He did not recall her telling him how her attacker had tied her up with leather as a means of spicing things up. If he did, then she would not have kept it from her husband. "Perhaps I'll take it up with my wife," he told Kilana, who relaxed and agreed with him.

And then she gave him her answer. I've never been whipped before, but I'm told it hurts. I don't know about it. Have you? she questioned.

No, he confessed. He was with her on this; he had no idea what it felt like to be struck behind, but it never hurt to try.

To see her spread out on the bed, laying facedown like that - and the pattern of marks on her behind and back, some other parts - and at his mercy thrilled him to his core and seemed to do so to her. She had been nervous at first, but so was he. He could not remember the last time he felt such trepidation - and it was the first time he acknowledged being afraid of hurting her, for sure. He couldn't remember feeling it before, either.

Perhaps bondage wasn't to be their style after all. But that was only if she wanted him to, and so far she hadn't asked him to stop. Yet he couldn't stop the uncertainty of it.

"Lynet, perhaps we should ease up," he told her despite himself. "Something tells me that it's too...painful." He found himself looking down at her exposed chest curves and arms, could have sworn the much softer side of himself was getting to him. He thought it might be beneficial enough to keep their relationship as it was before, that not all things had to be based on the way others lived. "I mean, I don't know if I'll one day lose control and break your..."

"Mind," she said, knowing that her body had nothing to do with this. He nodded. "My mind broke a long time ago; there's no reason it will now, but you're right. Bondage isn't us." Her sweet smile formed. "Maybe stick to just tying to the bed and taking control without whips and such."

Yelgrun grinned that they had an agreement, that their times in the gym would be enough room for bruises and broken bones - and then the computer called him and said the Female Founder wanted to see him.

~o~

Lynet just did not understand this. Why would the Founders be sending her husband off of the planet and to a deceased, abandoned station which was the sister of Deep Space 9? Empok Nor had not been touched in years, from her little understanding. "How long will you be gone?" she asked after he was done telling her why.

Keevan, his former friend and the "traitor", was being taken to Empok Nor, held by a group of Ferengi. For the last couple of months, he was in detention by the Federation after what Yelgrun told her he pulled off with Captain Sisko and his crew after they destroyed the chief white facility in their space. His own Jem'Hadar forfeited for his own life? She could understand he thought his own life was important more than drug-starved monstrous soldiers, but with the Dominion, it was not okay in any form. Termination implants were for in the events of capture - she still considered it crueler than any existence. No matter her husband telling her the history between him and the other Vorta, Keevan must have been smarter than the rest of his people.

"I'm leaving in a few hours, but the men are ready when I am," Yelgrun answered as he held her close to him. "I'm not looking forward to this in the slightest, dear. The Founder could have chosen another, but it was me she first thought of. It's obvious why." The bitterness was crystal clear. They're laughing because of what transpired, and I won't be surprised if they are keen on getting rid of me.

That alone made her heart freeze. If that was true, then she might end up losing him on this "mission". It would mean that those Ferengi might have a hidden agenda and she knew what they were like. "I would be careful if I were you," she told him, gripping his hand in hers. "Those Ferengi are cunning..."

"I'll keep it in mind," he promised, returning the squeeze. "All I can think about is getting Keevan and getting out fast. The Founder is more than ready to see him executed for his crime. I'll be damned if he isn't. I won't stand to see his face again." I love you now, he swore, because you are the life that he never gave me. After I retrieve him and bring him back for debriefing and execution, I'll come home safe and sound. He placed a kiss on her lips as the seal, refreshing her senses and easing her worries.

You'd better. I don't want to lose you.

Chapter Text

He added to his wife that the reason for going was not to simply retrieve Keevan from Empok Nor, but to trade him with Ishka, a Ferengi female captured some days ago for a reason Yelgrun never learned. Ferenginar was nowhere near Dominion-Cardassian space, and the Ferengi weren't even on the list of conquering - yet, anyway.

Lynet warned him that the Ferengi were probably planning something he did not know about; he would not take it too lightly and say his Jem'Hadar would handle it all. Over a dozen of them versus six Ferengi and their prisoner? It would be an outmatch six to one, indeed. He looked forward to it even before he left Cardassia Prime. Kilana would watch his wife while he was gone, and he trusted her with his life in case something happened to him.

He was a clone, immortal in a way, and would come back to her, but she wanted him back alive and well. He was not going to think like that; he was going to get the job done and get home as fast as he could. Don't break your promise to me, she ordered through their link.

You're the first I keep a promise to. You won't be disappointed. I have to go. Work to do.

He'd had Ishka downstairs in one of the cells, glad he'd never have to deal with her chatter - or perhaps he could use it instead of his silent, obedient men on the bridge. He visited her only once and listened to her business talk as well as the reason for going onto that transport vessel from Ferenginar despite it being illegal for a female. The Ferengi dominated their women and forbade them from being independent - something he'd done to Lynet, but it wasn't like he made her naked all the time, and it wasn't anything permanent. Maybe when you get back, I'll give you a "surprise", she sent to him. I can do it many ways: I can already be naked by the time you come home, or I can be naked AFTER I have a sonic shower so you can see me wet and dripping - or I can wait until you return and you can tear my clothes off.

Yelgrun smirked. All three sound tempting, and hard for me to decide, my dear. You couldn't have picked a more perfect time to do this to me than at work.

Oh, of course. You got a Ferengi to trade for your rival. Have fun.

He chuckled in his throat. Indeed he would have fun - but that meant dealing with this woman's obnoxious son who had arranged this business meeting on an old Cardassian space station where fatal experiments took place. An alarm was ringing by the time he and the men, Ishka in cuffs, arrived at an airlock with no crew to assist, which meant that the Ferengi and Keevan had to be hiding somewhere on the Promenade. He was ready to seek them out and have his men kill them all; Keevan's death certificate had already been signed, so the Founders would not care if he was killed now or not.

The Ferengi showed up, alright, but not in their whole group or with Keevan present. Instead, only three - one of them had to be Quark, presumably the one in the lead, and one was a young one in a Starfleet uniform - came out, along with a human woman. Yelgrun blinked; the blasted Ferengi never told him a human was involved in this! Things had only gotten more interesting.

He instantly grew tired of the reunion and meeting between mother and sons, and his learning that the human was named Annora. He began to think she had to do with Keevan. "I don't have any more time for this," he cut in sharply. "Where's Keevan? I wish to conclude this transaction." The sooner he got his prisoner and returned to his wife, the better.

And of course, Quark had to stall him with more in store. "All in good time," he promised, "but first, I need some assurances."

"What kind of...assurances?" Yelgrun asked suspiciously.

"Well, first, I don't want any Jem'Hadar soldiers on this station."

He tried not to laugh as he thought of how funny the request was, and the fact of how serious it was. If there were none of his men here, then he was left to the eight of them. "That would leave me in a vulnerable position: one Vorta against six Ferengi - and a human girl." These were armed, but Keevan could not be, and this girl in front of him carried a phaser pistol herself. He would be alone and outmatched six to one instead. But then Quark made him relax.

"Well," he said, "if it makes you feel better, these two can stay." He nodded at First Yaran'alon and the Second beside him and the mother, who was disgruntled as ever. Yelgrun felt a whole lot safer, but he did not come all this way for nothing. "Hold on," Quark said impatiently, "I'm not done. Then, you're going to tell your helmsman to head back to Dominion territory, warp nine."

"That would...leave me stranded here for a few days."

And for a few days, he'd be with the prisoner and two of his best soldiers, delayed and not going according to the plan he and Lynet laid. Three days at least gave the Ferengi time to get away with their female, and by the time the rest of his unit returned, they would be gone. The woman, Annora, spoke her part for the first time.

Annora...she's my cousin.

He blinked. Lynet heard his thoughts and pieced it together. Explain to me the details when I finish, he said before abruptly cutting the link off in time to hear her speak. "That's the idea, whatever your name is." She had the same fire and courage his wife had, which pleased him greatly. It must run in her family; how come she never mentioned any other relatives?

"It's Yelgrun," he told her, equally cool. And the Dominion never left loose ends. "On the other hand, I can have my Jem'Hadar storm the infirmary and kill you all - and you included, my dear." She looked like she was about to retaliate before she was stopped by the Ferengi boy in front of her.

Quark stood his ground, defending her. "If you attack the infirmary, Keevan will be the first to die," he stated. Behind him, the woman looked furious somehow, making the smile on Yelgrun's face wider that this got even more interesting.

"Keevan's fate has already been sealed," he answered smoothly, looking back at Annora.

"If his fate is sealed," she said hotly, "then so is mine, Yelgrun. I won't let you kill Keevan, because you probably wanna know what secrets of the Dominion he revealed for the Federation." Her eyes were amber or something, burning with her voice, and her hold on her weapon tightened to show white knuckles.

Raising both eyebrows at her bold behavior no different than Keevan's, he stepped forward and nearly met eye-to-eye, ignoring the young Ferengi in between. She must have a death wish of her own if she was going to defend the honor of the little traitor. "That's why the Founders want him back, girl," he told her saucily. "But after they debrief him for any valuable information he still possesses, they'll have him put in the gas chamber or whatever is available afterward. You've begun to interest me. Why would you beg for one Vorta's life?" he questioned even though he knew the suspicion. She had to be if she was willing to trade her life for his...

His thoughts were interrupted when he found his eyes watching as her hands moved upwards to place over her abdomen, the strange gesture making him frown, which faded at her answer.

"He's my lover."

Yelgrun felt himself stiffen even though he was still smiling. Keevan had a...lover. So he'd been wrong after all; he got lucky. Did this happen after his ship crashed on that planet? He thought her brave if she wanted to save his life and give her own. He almost got distracted with the thought that he should tell Keevan he was sorry for everything, that he was happy he was proven wrong - only gotten soft for just the moment - but it was too late now. "Your gods can do whatever they want with me," Annora continued, "if only his life is spared. I repeat, you want him alive enough as well as these Ferengi to crave any sensitive information he divulged to my people."

"She's got you there, Yelgrun," Ishka chirped, and he almost rolled his eyes. He had to admit, he was more impressed than he expected to be. This woman was spirited, like his wife, even if she loved the new enemy of their people and allied with these crafty beings. Perhaps their traits could be used to make them valuable allies.

So, after it was agreed that the exchange would be in half an hour, Yelgrun took Ishka and began to order his Jem'Hadar to evacuate the station, as hesitant as he still was and as impatient as he was. Perhaps he should have refused when he had the chance, but Lynet had to beg him to not spill any blood today. He would obey her wishes.

If he was going to bring Keevan back, then his lover would come with him. His wife's cousin...he still couldn't believe it. He remembered everything from the mental probes after the Lakota was destroyed and she the only survivor left, there were no other relatives besides estranged parents and a dead sister - could that information have been blocked somehow? He would ask her once he returned, no hard feelings.

Unfortunately, by the time he had the rest of the unit gone and it was just him, the First and Second, and Ishka, Quark had to stall yet again. Five more minutes, after his brother ran unnecessary sensor scans to make sure the Jem'Hadar left Empok Nor. Yelgrun could not remember the last time he exploded the way he did, and he thought the Breen were worse, especially with their shrill mechanical garbling nonsense. But five more minutes and no more; he needed Keevan and Annora and no more. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to have Yaran'alon and the Second kill Ishka and the others.

Ishka continued to talk about the investment of seventy-five hundred hipecat futures, in the use of the plant root which was common in certain medicines, defractive optics, and beauty supplies such as the cream she wore on her head. He thought he would be sick from even touching the wrinkled skin, but he was also impressed with the work of magic.

"I'd love to hear more," he told her, "but if your son doesn't show up soon, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." Her visible terror was priceless, but then a familiar voice called from the end of the corridor; Quark had switched locations to Airlock Three. This lack of trust angered him to no end.

He'd been ready for hours, but to even SEE Keevan at the end with his lover made the long-quenched rage return. At the same time, it made him thrilled that lovers were going to experience a fate worse than death together - that is if the Founder should decide to let him live for whatever reason.

"On the count of three, we release the prisoners," Quark called down. "One...two...three."

Ishka looked uncertainly at the couple walking their way, hand-in-hand together - how touching - but then she looked at Yelgrun as if asking him with silent permission. He nodded, and she began to walk in the direction of Keevan and Annora. He felt the smile show as he was more than ready to order all of them shot if he saw one thing go wrong...

However, it happened in a flash. The couple stopped when they turned to see mother and son embrace, and then Annora leaped so Keevan caught her arms and swung her in a buzz. Yelgrun did not know it was directed at him until he felt the impact on his chest, and he found himself on the ground. Now he knew this had all been a setup. Why hadn't he suspected it when the Ferengi traded locations for here?! "STOP THEM!" he shouted to the Jem'Hadar just as Quark took his mother to safety through the nearest doorway for the rest.

Yelgrun watched as another door opened and there were two more Ferengi, one who threw out a knife and struck down the Second to the heart, saving Keevan's life and giving him the opportunity to pick up his fallen phaser and aim it at him, a look of pure venom and hatred in his eyes that Yelgrun never forgot.

"Don't do anything foolish," he warned, seething under his breath that only the older Vorta would hear. Those were the first words he'd said since the war began, after that one time.

First Yaran'alon was shot down by the last two Ferengi who jumped out of the blue, saving Annora as well after she kicked him back and slid across the floor and away from him. That left him vulnerable now; the prisoners were "safe", and that meant he would be now. That meant he'd be forced to break his promise to Lynet, who was halfway from here and waiting for him.

Keevan looked like he was ready to shoot him dead here and now; Yelgrun's eyes dared him to do it, to put him out of his misery, but then one of the Ferengi who killed his First told him to stand down. "You can leave him to me now." This one was wearing what looked like a bar of latinum around his neck, and he certainly was not someone you could enjoy the company with. Yelgrun let himself be pulled to his feet, phaser rifles pointed at him as he was brought over to the others. "What do we do with this one?" the Ferengi asked Quark, who looked the new prisoner over before laughing.

"We'll take him with us," he answered. "He'll be our gift to Starfleet. They gave us a Vorta, and now we'll give them one."

Yelgrun's lip curled. These Ferengi...he should have listened to his wife better. He should have done the backup from the beginning; he hated these critters indefinitely, at the moment even more than the other Vorta who helped them, the one with his lover beside him and boldly looking him in the eyes, a ghost of a smile showing.

"You most of all, Keevan the traitor," he snarled, knowing this was the last time they would see each other, and decided now was better than never to insult him one last time, in front of his woman and the rest. "Trading your unit's lives for your own -"

"And this one with me," Keevan interrupted, motioning to Annora who was looking back and forth with calm uncertainty. It was also here and then that Yelgrun thought perhaps he could pay him back by partially revealing what transpired if he hadn't told her before. He doubted it.

"- and I always knew you were nothing," he finished angrily. "You're a disgrace to the Dominion, just like you were a disgrace to me a long time ago. You're not even good at making impressions. I don't even know what your woman sees in you that I didn't..." He looked at Annora once again, seeing the same fire burning in her eyes, but before she could open her mouth and spit back, the other Ferengi behind him without the knife or the bar of latinum around his neck barked sharply at him. Whether it was to shut him up for talking to the lady like that or not, he didn't know.

"Alright, you! Get moving!"

He was being led away, but as he was, Keevan hurried to catch up with him with his beloved in tow. The little rogue knew to not let him get away with this. "You also said I would always be alone, never find a mate to share my life with. You said I would know your pain, and I hate to disappoint you, but I found her." His hand had placed itself over her stomach. "And we're having a child."

Shocked, Yelgrun looked at the place where the young Vorta's hand rested, where her own had earlier. Now he knew what the gesture meant - a child. Annora was here to spare the life of the father of her child. It made him furious all the more; Keevan had also been lucky to conceive a child with a human woman, while he himself had not done so with his own wife even though they agreed that no offspring was necessary. The smirk on Keevan's face made the fire in his blood spread further with a vengeance.

If only he could get Keevan for this. But he was going to Federation detention, where Keevan had spent. As he was led into the Ferengi ship, the real reason dawned on his mind as to why his hated rival spared his own life and didn't take it while in prison:

He did it for his lover and the mother of his child.

~o~

No, Yelgrun! No, no NO NOOO!

This could not be happening...it couldn't...!

She crumbled, somehow feeling broken down with the knowledge of what happened to her husband, that the promise made would not be kept, not that it was his fault by any means. To learn that her cousin had been involved in it made her angry, but Annora knew nothing about her and Yelgrun being married. It still did not make this right.

Her husband was captured and taken away from her. Keevan got away with the Ferengi and her cousin - and what Yelgrun sent to her made her stunned through her pain. Your cousin is pregnant by him.

How did this happen? How could Annora be pregnant by Keevan, and how could she be with him? Lynet thought she was married to Jeffrey, whom she met in school. Too fast, if you asked her, and when you had your life to live. But Annora was known to break rules if she wanted to; did she leave her husband, or did he die? Lynet Ross had lost contact with the outside world ever since marrying Yelgrun and losing all she loved, and her cousin was an unexpected shock. It seemed she must have come to her senses about Jeffrey O'Neal.

Annora was the daughter of her father Bill Ross' older brother. Lynet saw her at the Academy on occasion, but only in her first year and the second to follow until Annora got married and graduated with her husband. She might no longer be close to her cousin for unknown natural reasons, but at least she and Yelgrun had one thing in common: his former friend turned enemy had become romantically involved with her estranged cousin, and both having a baby. Something which had made things more complicated. How would Lynet know what it was like to have a baby?

She lay in her and Yelgrun's bed, alone physically and mentally even though he was still with her in the latter. What was she going to do now that he was a prisoner? It wasn't like anyone in Starfleet would believe a deceitful Vorta, or that they'd risk their lives to come rescue her - IF he told them about her, or even if they believed his story. Chances were none.

The tears burned her eyes that she tried to hold in but couldn't. She wasn't sure if Kilana was here, but all she wanted right now was to be alone. It was the first time she could remember being truly alone and knowing her husband wasn't coming home for a long time. The Jem'Hadar unit was heading back to Empok Nor to retrieve him, only to find he wasn't there as well as the wanted prize. This would get back to the Founders now, and they would see that they were done for good with him IF he'd gotten away from capture, or if another prisoner exchange would take place.

The Founders threw me out, too, he sent to her. Apparently, he was not talking to anyone aboard his prison ship. It's why they sent me out here instead of someone else: to see if I got captured like Keevan, wanting to see if I'd activate my termination implant as he should have.

See, she told him all along what the Dominion really was, and now he saw it for himself. They did not care about him or his people, just saw them as disposable fools. And as for her, Lynet was stuck in an oppressive reign while her husband was on the other side of the quadrant in "enemy" territory, and captive.

And much later that day, upon seeing that she hadn't moved a bit since Yelgrun left, Kilana came in, obviously shocked. "Lynet, what is -?!"

"Yelgrun was taken." Her answer was dull and hollow to her ears.

"I gathered he would be!" the Vorta exclaimed, her weight beside Lynet's in time. "He let you see this! What about...Keevan?" she asked hesitantly.

Lynet kept her back facing her. "What do you think? He got away with the Ferengi. And he's involved with my cousin, and might be the father of the child she's carrying."

Kilana was gobsmacked, letting out an unidentified noise to match. "I can't believe any of this. Keevan just - got away from us for good! He might be..." She lowered her voice. "...defecting. I won't be surprised if he did already. I don't know any of us who ever did this. Even if they did, then they never live to tell of it. And he did." And now her husband was taken prisoner for this. The Founders despised their servants. Lynet squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears burned and escaped anyway. She wanted to say Keevan was lucky, that was all, but luck had nothing to do with this. Never mind his history with her husband, he was brave to get away from the Dominion. He had come to his senses.

"I suppose," Kilana said upon being told this, "but he rebelled. The Founders won't forgive him, and who knows if they had him labeled as the last in his line and had his template destroyed. Yelgrun isn't perfect either, but he could always get the same treatment Keevan would have been given. And that's...not good if you and he have the bond," she stated worriedly. Lynet could not swallow her regrown fears. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know what it was, and Kilana noticed this.

"If he activates his implant, there is immense agony for the other mate no matter how many days the death lasts. He'll be cloned again, he'll have the memories and feelings for you, but on your part, you're going to suffer more than it is for an average being to grieve for the one they lost."

~o~

To learn that Federation was comfortable with prison in its own form, just to make sure that the prisoners were not unjustly treated. Yelgrun didn't really have anything to worry about while he'd be here, for all the requirements were here; he could imagine how Keevan must have been while he was here. He didn't know what to expect, but it certainly was better than expected, and they wouldn't kill him right away.

He despised Keevan for getting him into this, then got away with his whore and the little thing she carried for him - who knew what circumstances brought them together if he captured her like Yelgrun captured Lynet. He certainly was not in a rush for anything important, so he had plenty of time to gather his thoughts now. He could not sit here and mope any longer about his losses, but Lynet was nothing without him. Kilana could take care of her, but this was just...he couldn't finish the thought. Yelgrun missed his wife already.

He had no authoritative figures coming in anytime soon, but he was prepared. If they asked if he had any information, then he would just tell the truth. It wasn't like they used forceful means to extract information, or did they? The Federation was filled with so-called noble people, but the Founders called them threats, and he had believed they were.

He was here because he was a "gift to Starfleet", but it was more than just punishment. His people were leaving him here, and he couldn't ask Starfleet to risk any men infiltrating Cardassia to save his wife; they just wouldn't understand, or they just wouldn't believe him. As far as he and Lynet were concerned, he was just like Keevan, only he might not be lucky to get his woman back.

Yelgrun considered pulling the plug in his brain, so to speak, but it would not be well for his wife if he did that. He shook his head; why was he thinking this? He was still loyal to the Dominion, counted his life and Lynet's for it, Kilana as well, but now that she told Lynet, his conscience was telling him to keep himself alive...just for her.

~o~

"Lynet? Lynet, can you hear me?"

Her head was spinning, but the voices were crystal clear as she was slowly coming out of unconsciousness. She wasn't sure what happened, but the last thing she remembered was waking up in the morning to the face of Kilana, but then the fogginess of sedation seemed to overtake her. She wanted to know why she was put under, feared upon waking now if she underwent an operation against her will -

But when she opened her eyes, she gasped in both horror and extreme happiness.

Instead of darkness as she had grown to live, her vision was clear albeit foggy, and she could make out a sterile ceiling combined with a disturbing shade of red that could match the blood in her veins. Blinking and frowning, Lynet wondered if this was all a dream - a cruel dream she would wake up from - but after blinking more than a few times, her vision got clearer and clearer to a point where she decided it was real enough.

She could see.

Her vision had returned to her.

Instantly when the reality hit her, she bolted up and nearly fell off the bio-bed as a consequence. "Lynet, careful!" Two beings came to either side and helped her back up. She was still wearing her sleeping gown, her privacy respected. Looking up and her eyes still adjusting to the brightness that took her off-guard, she saw both women - or should she say, both Vorta?

"You should lie back and let your eyes be readjusted," one of them said, the older-looking one, the voice she remembered even if only two or three times. Manama, the physician, one of the Vorta lucky to be here on the other side of the galaxy. Now that Lynet could see - how did this HAPPEN? - her dark hair was cut short but in a fashion resembling the ape-like ancestry Yelgrun told her, the ears long and ridged even better than her imagination, and her eyes were gray-purple, her face quite handsome if not classically stunning. And the other one she found herself looking at -

"Recognize me?" This one's hair was reaching her shoulders, dressed rather suggestively and with wonderful curves to flaunt, her ears hung with spiraling golden earrings unlike the other, her violet eyes more vivid, and her lips a lush dark red, but Lynet couldn't tell if it was natural or painted. She felt her eyes widen as the voice also helped her piece it together.

"Kilana, it's you," she answered, amazed.

"It is," the Vorta replied with a smile she could now see, that it made her cry. It still left the unanswered question that her buzzing brain could not control because -

"Why am I seeing you again?" Lynet whispered, trying not to cry again, then looked up at the doctor who had a somber expression mixed strangely with a smile of relief. "Doctor, you and Yelgrun told me I wouldn't be able to..."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "We did, but I'm afraid it couldn't go on forever."

Dread washed her cold once more as of late. She slowly sat up, keeping her eyes on the older woman. "What are you saying?" she demanded suspiciously, and Manama sighed.

"You see, on the day you were captured and you suffered from the attack after I performed the examination, the extent of your damage was indeed beyond repair, but it couldn't stay that way forever. Yet when I broke the word to your husband, it was he who told me not to tell you this. You would have received ocular implants to replace the eyes you lost, for his reasons that should be obvious enough."

Her insides crumbled as the truth was given to her. Ocular implants...she had been told she'd be sightless for the rest of her life, but the reality was that she could have been given replacements at any time! Betrayal coursed through her that she lost sense of whatever else Manama was saying as Lynet leaned into Kilana as her lungs closed in and blocked precious oxygen.

Yelgrun had lied to her.

Chapter Text

How could he do this to her? LIE to her - keep this from her!

Lynet didn't know what to think anymore, or how to feel anymore.

She could have gotten her eyes back anytime, but Yelgrun had to keep this secret from her. What else did he lie to her about? She was so angry and hurt she couldn't describe it right now. After she got away from Kilana and the doctor, she would have a serious talk with him. But first, questions and answers came. "Why would Yelgrun do this to me?" she whispered, feeling but not acknowledging her friend's arms around her.

Kilana sighed and stroked her hair, massaging her scalp. "His fear of you cringing at his appearance," she answered, the softness making her blow up inside and pull back, her cheeks burning with angry tears.

"We sorted that out! I wouldn't care about it, and he had to hide it from me! If this is what our marriage is about, secrets and lies -!"

"Dear, please, don't overexert yourself," Manama begged gently, reaching over and putting her hand on Lynet's shoulder. "You have every right to be angry, and I was myself. I did not want to do this to you. No matter you being the enemy, I despised what you were put through. I never put my patients through any harm..." She stopped there. "I should have put my foot down and talked some sense into him from the beginning," she said instead, but as much as Lynet was happy the older woman was on her side, she couldn't accept any apology right now. All this time of living a lie...it was a burden that hurt more than what happened so many years ago.

"I told him he was nothing but paranoid," Kilana added, clasping her fingers together, "but he didn't listen to me."

"The both of you," Lynet interrupted, both hands up and closing her eyes, this time being blackness that would for sure fade away when she reopened them - the weight had been lifted from her being and soul only to be replaced with a new one, "I don't want to hear about him or to hear an apology. He lied to me, and I can't forgive him for this."

She meant it. She had lost everything she had because of his lie. Secrets and lies were all everything was! What, did he lie about loving her, too?! He wasn't lying about the other things he told her, but...! She was so mad with hurt and rage that she couldn't control herself right now. She looked back up at Manama when the doctor spoke softly. "Believe me, child, I understand definitely. If he were here now, I would clip off his tongue myself for this. Your friend here -" She nodded at Kilana. "- decided now was the time to fix this, that you deserved the truth with or without your husband's permission."

Kilana was beaming proudly when the young human looked at her, puzzled but also happy that she did this for her. "I wanted to say so sooner, but decided a hypospray and a surprise waking up after the procedure did the trick instead," she explained, but then her smile faded. "Except it's also called betraying my friend and his trust." Her eyes closed as she imagined Yelgrun's wrath targeted towards her. She had known all along that Lynet needed new eyes but kept her mouth shut because he wanted her to, and she did so like a good friend. Because he had been captured, now was the time she decided to act.

Lynet had it in herself to thank the Vorta woman for this.

And right now, she was so tired she wanted to rest - but that also meant a certain huge conversation with her husband for this, and their future now.

~o~

He supposed he should be angry at Kilana and hate her for doing this to him, but he knew why she had to do it. Lynet could not survive without him if she remained blind forever; she needed the truth. And look what the truth cost them both.

How could you lie to me like this?

He was sitting at the small desk brought in for him, several reading PADDs for him given, when she demanded the question. Yelgrun responded very calmly. Because I love you and didn't want you to hate me for how I looked, remember?

I told you I wouldn't care! Once you knew that, you could have told me the truth at any time! And don't say the more time went on, the harder it became because it's no excuse.

He thundered with fury. No, you're right, it's NOT an excuse! If he jumped up and the surveillance caught it, security would come in and restrain him. But self-esteem is never easy to handle, and you know that yourself! You're the most beautiful woman that ever captured me, but that's not the only reason. You're everything and more to me, but if you even saw my face, which is far from your imagination, you'd become sick and not want to look at me or even touch me again - much less let me touch you again. You're free to hate me now that I am no longer with you, but I still love you - and I never lied to you about that.

She was alone at the moment, struggling to accept his apology and explanation, torn between not accepting because she didn't like reasons and excuses, but a real man never gave either of them to the woman he loved. And I'm not going to simply apologize, because it's too simple.

Lynet nodded brusquely and swallowed the hard lump in her throat, still conflicted and very angry with him. She would be so for a long time now. You bet it is. I want so much to say we're way past sorry...but I still love you. I just need some time to think.

Yelgrun clasped his hands together as he agreed. He would give it to her, leave her alone, and not make one attempt to communicate with her. He would let her come to him. The girl he captured long ago wasn't here anymore. She was back to the way she was before, and that meant if she saw him in person if she was still as furious as she was, she would kill him where he stood if she wanted to. The proud little warrior was back and would do what she wanted without him now.

The link was closed off now, and he was alone. Yelgrun sighed and closed his eyes, bowing his head forward as he mentally cursed himself for his foolishness.

Let his isolation and silence be his purgatory.

~o~

Ever since getting her eyesight back, she had been able to see what Cardassian Central Command looked like. Basically, no Cardassians knew she was there, so Kilana continued to protect her from being discovered - even from the Founder herself, whom Lynet knew was more ruthless than the rest of her people; she was the one who spoke for them all, so she had to be the one that Ambassador Weyoun whom she had not met and did not want to served and was called the favorite.

Central Command was a place practically of wealth and razor-sharp egotism as well as powerful domination. The Cardassians were not called conquerors for nothing, centuries-old people who were never afraid to fight, and precisely why Gul Dukat brought his people together with the Vorta, Jem'Hadar, and their masters because fighting the Klingons left Cardassia on the verge of destruction. It seemed from the beginning that conquering Bajor wasn't enough - or maybe the fact the Dominion offered the entire Alpha Quadrant if they would help conquer it first, but with this war happening now and the fact that it should have been done a long time ago, the Cardassians were being called a disappointment.

"Because of Dukat," Kilana told her when they both boarded her ship. "We should have won months ago." Lynet shrugged. Not everything went according to plan, and her friend agreed. "Yes, but when the Founders and Weyoun in particular want it finished soon, it stays that way. Failure to do so is never accepted."

She no longer had a place in the cells because she could walk around if she wanted to now, but as long as she was nowhere away to get the suspicions of any of the Jem'Hadar raised. The day she was discharged from the infirmary at Central Command, she returned to the quarters she shared with her husband, feeling empty despite her old freedom given back to her. She thanked Kilana for this, but as a price to pay, a hollow feeling came about as she walked about the area to see the place she had lived in all this time. All this time, feeling the location and moving about without actually knowing what it looked like...

It was the same, but so strange at the same time.

The mapping was not the only thing she had to worry about. To finally see what clothes she had been wearing - it fit her body perfectly, but it was nothing like she imagined either. She had to admit she liked the interesting exotic prints and leather accents, the feeling she had grown used to, but it was nothing like her Starfleet pride. She found said uniform in the closet and was happy it was untouched - but when she reached out to touch it, it was right then and there that she found herself looking at her wedding ring for the first time.

Lynet felt like the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. It was the most...beautiful thing she had ever seen.

It was a brilliant flash against her hand, violet-blue stones in a small cluster, surrounded with twinkling white stones, all set on a band of gold. Since she knew rare tanzanite when she saw it, it was hard to believe that it was found in the Gamma Quadrant, or anywhere else in the galaxy.

And it had been from Yelgrun.

To even think that the day she got this had not been the best day of her life, but then it turned out to be the best in a strange way. The entire time she wore this thing, never took it off, constantly felt it around but couldn't get a great image of the actual ring, and Yelgrun couldn't even describe it for her other than how rare it was - and for a man who couldn't appreciate anything like this, he had picked well.

And then there was that necklace he gave her not long after taking her in. Seeing it bump against her heart, that golden teardrop with the dark blue stone, the color of the deepest ocean...the depths that swallowed you whole and never let you go. Just like her heart and soul had been swallowed by the darkness that had taken her from the life she had. The darkness she lived in had dominated her, but it also didn't break her down.

It also helped her get rid of the darkness that her heart had lived in after numerous betrayals. The man who played a part in it served what her people were fighting against, leaving the both of them caught in the middle of it all...he was the one who kept her blind, kept her shielded from the outside for reasons to protect her, but he also lied to her. He should have trusted her. Wasn't that what love, marriage, and relationships in general were about? Trust?

Lynet still loved him even though he kept this from her, and so many other things, but still...she just wanted to be alone from him for a while. Like she told him, she needed to think. To reevaluate their relationship and their future, which didn't seem possible anymore even with a war going on, as well as their differences which seemed to catch up to them.

It was like she and Kilana were back to the beginning when the Vorta noticed she was still the same as ever when it came to the discussion of her husband. "Kilana, please, I do not want to talk about him," she begged when she leaned against the wall as she had no place to sit at the moment. "He lied to me about my eyes, and he could have told me the truth at any time once we've learned to trust each other."

The other woman bowed her head and lowered her eyes in thought. "Lynet, you're being too hard again."

"Please, spare it from me." She waved her hand and turned her head in the opposite direction. "Anyone can see that we were never meant to be, to begin with. I'm still from the Federation whether anyone agrees with me or not, and he is a Vorta, which means he serves my enemies. But now he's taken away from me, locked away in detention while I am here with my sight back, and opened more than ever..." She sighed. "...yet I feel so alone. I don't even know what to do now, besides always being on a Jem'Hadar ship, with my only real friend here. While my husband is on the other side of the quadrant."

Kilana shook her head. "I don't know. I honestly don't know - but we must make the best of it in these times."

~o~

Ever since her friend had been captured, his wife had begun to get stronger to a point where she was back to her old self, but you never knew when she could find her chance to pick up a weapon and turn on you. Kilana wanted to believe that Lynet would never do something like that, but she kept her eyes open.

Not that long ago, Chin'toka had been lost from Dominion hands and into the Federation, but the ones that captured it had been trapped there with the obsessive defense to keep it out of enemy hands. Weyoun had lost it over the loss of their most important communications relay station in Cardassian space, but the good news was that the scared individuals remained behind if they wanted more Jem'Hadar after them, and she was one of the Vorta in space to be sent out with her soldiers after the remaining Starfleet officers on Chin'toka.

Lynet was sometimes allowed on the bridge, but every time she looked through the extra virtual headset that gave her a migraine headache to follow, she would bottle up whatever emotions she had because it seemed now she was being forced to fight against her people, if not officially.

Kilana found herself second-guessing herself as much as it scared her. She sometimes thought back to what Yelgrun used to tell her that Lynet heatedly claimed the Founders were not gods, that they were just masters who pulled the strings of the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar because that was just what they wanted their servants to believe.

She squeezed her eyes shut. This was wrong; a defective clone would think of something like this, and she wasn't. She was nothing like Keevan, and Yelgrun certainly wasn't either. But based on his wife, he was still alive in that Federation cell, angry and loathing. They were not defective, or turning on their gods, and Lynet still did not understand this, or was...?

The Vorta shoved those horrendous thoughts to the back of her head. She was supposed to focus on the system they'd lost; it had also been the fault of Legate Damar that his new orbital weapon platforms did not prove to be a match after all that they should have been against the allied forces against them. Yet Kilana could not stop wondering.

~o~

Just when she thought she couldn't fall any further than she did, she was wrong, and her stomach sunk that much lower.

Nowadays the lists to Starfleet stations - DS9 included - consisted of missing and dead soldiers in the space fields. There never seemed to be a day that no one in the Federation noticed a friend or loved one's name. For two weeks to go by, this continued and Lynet Ross realized she could not control her emotions any longer. Her friend's ship was in Romulan space on the day it crossed paths with the USS Cairo, the latter patrolling the neutral zone and unexpectedly came in contact with an enemy ship that could not let it get away.

"Another murder list," Lynet spat when they were both alone below the deck and away from the Jem'Hadar. She couldn't keep this in any longer. This was her friend, but she was still as blind as ever, and she wouldn't care if she spent another minute arguing with her now.

"Lynet, the Cairo was in our allies' space -"

"Just because the Romulans have a treaty with the Dominion doesn't mean they're your friends!" the human shouted angrily, throwing her hands in the air. "Goddamn it all, I've had enough of this! This non-aggression pact is a waste of time and desperation, but the Romulans are all without a sense of righteousness, just like the Dominion is! They side with no one but themselves. They didn't with the Federation when the war began, and that means they don't with your people either."

For once, Kilana was at a loss for words, and it was about time she saw it. This was the last time she would say this to anyone, and enough was enough. "Yelgrun and I might not have spoken in weeks now, but I can see he's slowly coming to his senses. That ship might as well be the latest of losses of friends and loved ones to the rest fighting for their freedom because WE ambushed it! That loyal soldier still inside of me still wishes I could have saved it; not a day goes by that anything like this takes me back to the helplessness I felt when my mother and my crew were killed because of the Changeling we found in space, and when my eyes were destroyed. Or maybe it should take YOU back to the way you felt on Torga..." She said it on purpose, and it worked, for Kilana's shock was plain and visible before it contorted into fury.

"How dare you bring up the Founder like that!" she snapped, clearly hurt and trying to keep herself under control. "I'd be defective if I think about that and even consider abandoning and betraying my people for the enemy. I'd have been executed or worse: my line terminated permanently. The Vorta are helpless to even attempt to flee the Dominion."

Lynet huffed. "Well, now you know what it feels like. The next time you bring me out here on your famous patrols at the order of the rest of the Changelings, I hope you follow Yelgrun's example. I'm so damned tired of wasting my breath trying to get you to see the picture. Not only that, I'm not sure where your loyalties lie if you're going to be my friend or carry out the order of the deaths of honorable people. I'd have thought Captain Sisko taught you that." With that, she turned her back on her friend and made her way back up to the bridge because she knew Kilana would follow her, and because she didn't want to hear anymore. A part of her was angry at herself for hurting her friend like that.

But she also secretly hoped her criticisms and the reminder of the gut-wrenching past did the trick.

Chapter Text

The fighting ceased for now, from what Yelgrun had been keeping in touch with. But he had nothing personal that he could keep himself entertained with except the novel PADDs given, and he was beginning to go mad with insanity.

He had nothing and no one here to make his life pleasant.

Lynet still was not speaking to him, which made matters worse. Well, actually, she kept in touch with him and informed him how Kilana was, but in issues regarding each other? Nothing changed. She was still angry with him - and her anger had not flowed from furious ebbing, and it was not just for him. She was angry at the Dominion and Cardassia, no surprise there...

...and at Kilana.

Several more weeks turned into months to pass by, and this latest loss of another Federation ship his wife knew well from the past had set her off. She must have been so blown up that she wasn't aware she let the shields down for her husband to hear every word in the conversation away from Kilana's Jem'Hadar. Lynet was tired of fighting and trying to get them to see that the Founders were monsters and using them all, that the Vorta could make do without them - and that made them the murderers, too, for carrying out ordering the deaths of others, including the latest Starfleet vessel destroyed. His beloved was losing her mind over this, and he loathed it. And she wasn't the only one.

He had spent weeks gathering his thoughts on this. At first, it didn't seem like anything sincere, only to pass the time by thinking about his wife's spite and the...truth behind the words. She had been right all along, though, and the "human" side of Yelgrun began to crumble as he lay in his bed, feeling vulnerable for the first time in a long time he could remember.

Was this how Keevan must have felt? He liked to think so. Keevan betrayed the Dominion and sacrificed his Jem'Hadar because he loved the mother of his child. He saw the Founders for what they were, so he saved his own life. But who knew if he and his lover were hiding away now, or if anyone in Federation space accepted them. It didn't matter; no matter the fact the younger Vorta still hated him now, Yelgrun was happy for them now, because the both of them found someone who gave them eternal bliss.

He remembered the day he and Lynet found the last Kilana's body in her quarters following the deaths of her men and the Founder. He could never forget the sight of the veins in her flesh, jutting out with such poisonous contempt, the irony. They had been lied to when they were told self-termination was quick and painless...and she'd suffered by the looks of it. That was also why Yelgrun did not have it in him to kill himself. The pain to shoot through would do the same to his poor wife.

It was official now: he did not believe the Founders were as they said they were. They were just playing to be, taking their spite on his people and enslaving them. And if he ever was returned to them, he would be labeled a traitor as Keevan had been - but his wife was on Cardassia, with his one trusted friend left, and he could do nothing to save her or even get Kilana to open her eyes as he did.

He just hoped Lynet had enough fight in her for this.

~o~

I know you don't want to talk to me, but I've realized the truth.

She closed her eyes. This was the first time in a few months since she and Yelgrun had spoken, and just now - What is it? Oh, she'd been keeping in touch with his thoughts and he didn't know it. He'd been giving everything she'd told him more than some thought, more than Kilana might have done - and he comprehended that she'd been right all along.

I'm so sorry, my love, Yelgrun sent. To be taken from you, left to rot here and executed if I was returned a failure - or worse, mocked at if they allowed me to live - or trigger my implant and suffer what Kilana did. How can I ever forget the sight when we found her?

She had never seen the last Kilana's body dead, only felt, but to think of how she must have appeared sent her into a near-convulsive state. Good thing she wasn't here right now; both of them were back on Cardassia Prime for now along with a handful of other Vorta. The reason was that Ambassador Weyoun and the new Legate Damar were attempting to call for "peace talks" to the Federation and broadcasting it across the quadrant, but who knew if it would even work. Knowing Captain Sisko, he might not believe it or even attempt to let his guard down. Lynet just knew it. But that was another story entirely. I remember.

I don't think I will be a fool and assume it would be any different with me, Yelgrun told her. I see it all now: the Founders have been lying to us all this time. I'm not afraid of them anymore, but it won't change my status with them now. I'm ever a failure to them as I was once before. Which means that there are a number of the worst that can happen to us both... He trailed off from there, and a part of Lynet cracked as she felt and heard him begin to weep in sorrow. He was more vulnerable than he ever was before. Please forgive me...for everything.

There was still so much of her anger with him for lying to her about her eyesight, but he loved her so much, so that was honest. He wasn't lying now when he just now told her she had been right all along - I'm still angry at you for keeping the secret from me... She swallowed back the tears and the lump in her throat. ...but I love you and I forgive you.

He was wracked with the impact of happiness. Thank you.

But I swear to you, if you EVER lie to me again, she warned, closing her fingers in a fist, I'll shut you from my mind and never let you in again. Or if you are ever released, then we are done. Understand?

Understood. He responded tightly and equally thickly.

She sat at the desk looking over the intelligence reports that she had borrowed from Kilana, seeing everything and the rising counts that were the fault of the Dominion and tempted to smash them to smithereens. She had her eyes seeing everything now, seeing the words without braille...and her fury erupted that she finally did carry out the act and picked up one copy of the same report, screaming with a vengeance and throwing it at the wall, shattering the screen and destroying all the information. If only she had it in her to pick up a phaser from the Jem'Hadar weaponry and shoot every soldier on sight, fighting her way out till she got to a cargo hangar and escaped with everything she had!

Yelgrun laughed, making her angrier. Take it out on the work; that's an interesting side of you I never thought I'd see. I'm sure anyone else in Starfleet would be happy to see this.

Yes, well, this isn't Starfleet I am taking it out on. The Dominion deserves to be crushed, and the Federation keeps losing more and more every day. But while they grieve for their losses, the Dominion never blinks a tear as they clone more Vorta and breed more Jem'Hadar every day without remorse. I want to get away from here if I can try if I have to bet my own life on it.

She meant every word of it and would not take it back. Weyoun might be using Damar to attempt to call for a treaty of peace if that was what it took to bring the war to an end, but it changed nothing. The Dominion and its Cardassian allies were still monsters that needed to be stopped no matter what it took. Yelgrun, enough is enough, she told him, and he only shook his head.

I agree, but I wouldn't act so brashly if I were you. You're only one woman, and they'll shoot you down without hesitation. If they killed you, I'll never forgive myself. You don't know how much it will tear me apart inside when I feel you die.

Lynet could feel her heart beating more than before once again. All this time of being a hidden prisoner the Founders didn't know of except one who was long since dead. Kilana was her protector in all of this ever since her husband was captured - but her protector needed her guidance now. What can I do? she asked him. Kilana is too...afraid to face the truth.

As we all are, he answered, but I believe in you. You must do it, and the sooner the better.

~o~

For her few lifetimes, Kilana devoted her life to serving the Founders, never once questioned them, and never did she ever think to abandon them. Since the original swore allegiance and then gave her DNA for cloning subjection, Kilana took the oath of loyalty crystal clear:

"I obey the Founders in all things. I live to serve the Founders...I live to die for the Founders."

And the Founders were gods. They were the reasons she was still alive. They allowed her line to continue to live no matter what the last one failed on her mission, mourned the loss but took her own life because her soldiers had done so. No failure like this was ever redeemable. The new Kilana lived with her mistake and swore never to fail again. She learned to own herself and fix anything; Yelgrun taught her to never let herself be torn down, taught her to use her wits and charm, and so many other things...but it failed to earn the trust between Captain Benjamin Sisko, an "honorable man" whom Lynet spoke so highly of that it was the reason Kilana had looked forward to meeting him.

Unfortunately, his dealings with Vorta and notably Weyoun had prevented it. And the Jem'Hadar trusted the Vorta no more than they trusted their enemies. The Founders were the ones they solemnly served devoutly and would never break their oaths of loyalty - and Omet'iklan had killed Weyoun 4 for questioning that loyalty.

The more Kilana thought about how the Vorta seemed to break with doubt more than the Jem'Hadar, the more fearful she became...and Lynet's harsh words came back to haunt her at every turn.

The next time you bring me out here on your famous patrols at the order of the rest of the Changelings, I hope you follow Yelgrun's example. I'm so damned tired of wasting my breath trying to get you to see the picture. Not only that, I'm not sure where your loyalties lie if you're going to be my friend or carry out the order of the deaths of honorable people. I'd have thought Captain Sisko taught you that.

No matter how many times she tried to shut them out of her psyche, she couldn't. She would break out into tears at the fact she might be defective after all made it worse. She was NOT disloyal...she wasn't...

But then she remembered the pain felt when her last incarnation triggered the implant behind her right ear.

Self-termination was supposed to be quick and painless, but it hadn't been. There were no words to describe the pain as it burned her system and shut down every blood vessel, every organ in her body, and finally stopping her heart for last. It seemed like the Founders...LIED. They lied that it would be as speedy as electricity going out, but it took its sweet time to make sure she suffered for her downfall.

Kilana cracked inside and screamed through her tears. She had nowhere to go, nothing to do, but to go to the one person who had done well in breaking down the barrier that she and Yelgrun had for so long. Without looking well and not caring if she ran into anyone, Kilana stormed the corridor and found Lynet's quarters, hitting the buzzer. The doors opened at the owner's permission, and she stormed inside, nearly colliding with her friend.

"Kilana! What's wrong now?!"

She couldn't speak. "I'm sorry," she croaked out. "So sorry...you were right..."

Falling into the human girl's arms, the two of them fell to their knees and sobbed at the fact they were both trapped. Lynet had her turn to comfort the Vorta now, patting her back soothingly and rubbing small circles which alleviated the grief somewhat temporarily.

~o~

Lynet had not been outside in a long time, not without anyone, and on Cardassia Prime, it would be a danger given the Cardassians were brutal and would know that she was valuable, use her somehow - but Kilana was determined to not let that happen to her friend.

"I still don't think it is a...great idea," she said hesitantly, "to go out hunting outside Lakarian City at a time like this..."

She sighed. "I know, but Yelgrun isn't here, and you aren't needed either. You and I need a break from the confines of that prison called Central Command." She had changed into a wrapping tank and tight pants with boots, armed with a phaser and some blades cleverly hidden in her boots that could not be detected. Her hair was cut shorter now than originally, but it did well to keep out of her face. She felt more...womanly than she could ever remember. It was a masculine kind of feminine, with no right words to make it easy to understand, but it was exactly how she felt.

Ah, the thrill of the wild again. She beheld the sight of the capital city and inhaled fresh air if humid and warmer than she expected it to be. Cardassians loved the heat. She and her friend were going to have fun whether there would be Jem'Hadar to catch them or not, but Kilana knew her way around the soldiers better than Lynet. Her breasts ached with pleasure - not the carnal kind - as her nerves sizzled with excitement. Even if tonight might be the only night or just the beginning.

Cardassia had only one moon, but it provided enough of a shine onto the lands beneath. To see it made her think back to home, and to be in the transporter with Kilana and two Jem'Hadar with access cleared without exciting the attention of the Founder herself and Weyoun, even Legate Damar. Weaponry concealed well, she found herself behind the eyes of the command center and in the city with her friend and the guards. Humid, warm air washed over her face in a slight difference from Kurill Prime, which she wished she could have seen before and knew she never would. She wouldn't be surprised if cousin Annora didn't get the same experience.

Cardassia's wildlife was definitely nothing like Montana and more jungle like India or perhaps Africa. Since the Cardassians themselves stemmed from reptiles, there were guaranteed to be animals related to them in this somewhat subtropical climate. Such critters known were wompats - resembling Terran ferrets - which were common as house pets, as well as wild gettles.

But one such wild beast with no exotic name was called the riding hound, inhabiting the countryside not too far away. The sun had set, so the night was her mistress. Hunting at night was what made it even more exciting. She felt the thrill in her system that had not been present for a long time, been locked away as long as she had been kept prisoner - and now she was free.

"Wait here," Kilana told the Jem'Hadar by the transport vehicle. "We will survive. She's a fighter and a survivor." She gave Lynet a wink.

Now that the assurances were out of the way, the Vorta stayed close behind the human as the former did not have the best eyesight, and the latter was armed. A tricorder had been given to her so she could inspect the area for any wild fauna. So far, nothing but fresh vegetation that they could bring back if no such luck with the beasts in the trees and shrubs...or anywhere else ready to pounce the unsuspecting visitors.

Her skin felt moist from the humidity, her hair became frizzy in the process, and she saw Kilana suffering the same treatment. "My people's skins are sensitive to anything," she whispered. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh, I hear something."

So did Lynet. Her ears were nowhere near as clear as the Vorta's, but she heard the scuttling just as much. The two women ducked behind a tree in time for both of them to see the shape ahead of them, snarling and sniffing the air as it searched for its late-night snack. Kilana stifled a gasp because Lynet looked her way warningly to not excite the creature's attention.

A riding hound, dead ahead.

The beast was a strange combination of wild dogs that you would find on Earth, as well as the ancestral lizard of the dominant species of this planet. The ears and head looked like they belonged to a coyote, along with the fur-lined sides of the body, but the front and hind legs and claws as well as the tail and scaled back were predominantly reptilian. Let's call it a Frankenstein of two different animals in one. Lynet almost shuddered at the comparison, and Kilana did not like the sight either. She reached for her phaser and aimed it at the animal, seeing how it could be a good, refreshing challenge for her and the bloodlust that had been quenched for so long...

...but something was holding her back. Without thinking, Lynet lowered her weapon and turned her back to the target, ducking behind the tree with her friend who looked at her, baffled. "What is it?" Kilana whispered. "Why won't you shoot it?"

She closed her eyes. The fact she hadn't hunted an animal in so long must be the reason for hesitating, but on the other hand, it couldn't be that. She ignored Kilana for the moment and opened the bond to her husband, who was not the least bit happy she had broken from Central Command at this time of night. You could be caught and who knows what will happen! he scolded, but she ignored him.

You can lecture me when I get back, but can you tell me why I'm...afraid to have my first kill?

He hummed as he thought long and hard. Perhaps because of me, and you've been stunted for so long that you're not as...thrilled to spill blood as you used to be. I was hoping to see this side of you, but apparently, you've changed as much as I have now. We're both tired of spilling gore on the ground.

Why couldn't she accept that? She wanted to say yes, but looking at the beast which was known to be a common ride into the wild for Cardassians...maybe this wasn't worth it right now. Also, there would be no use in it without getting the attention of her enemies around her. That great beast, dead and hauled in by Jem'Hadar and easily recognized would get her into even bigger trouble for sure. It wouldn't be worth the risk, so she reluctantly accepted it and put her phaser back into her belt. This whole trip had been a waste and a great disappointment - but Kilana laughed and begged to differ.

"I don't believe so. We have plenty more to bring back just for you - and perhaps a dive into a watering hole somewhere. It's been a long time since I've had such a luxury for myself."

Chapter Text

By the next day, she and Kilana heard some very disturbing - and amusing on Lynet's part - news: Ambassador Weyoun had mysteriously been killed on the transporter returning from Deep Space 9 following the failed peace negotiations.

Kilana had come back to her, shaken to her core, giving Lynet the details that Weyoun had been found dead with several wounds that looked like they'd be self-inflicted but also very suspicious: flesh missing behind his left shoulder, his genital area brutally castrated, and overall a great loss of blood which was the likely cause of death. Lynet was used to autopsy reports, but this one just...made her stomach churn.

Somehow something told her he couldn't have done this to himself, no matter he not being a favorite of hers. "This doesn't make sense," she said to her friend as she reread the details. "I don't even know him other than what I've heard, but how could he do this to himself? 'Suicide'?" She scoffed and put the PADD down on the table in front of her. "Murder is more like it."

The Vorta nodded, her face passive. "I've been wondering that myself, but an investigation is underway. Only one other was present with him: Legate Damar."

Damar had been there...could he have killed Weyoun? Lynet pondered this. If he DID commit the crime, how did he cover up his tracks? He must have done a damned good job, she sent to Yelgrun, who nodded in disgust.

They'll never find out the truth, I know it. But I like to think Weyoun got it coming. He was always another I despised and he despised me in return, not just because of Keevan. Damar hates Weyoun even more than me, it seems, but another clone will come. It all would have been a waste to attempt to get rid of his pestering partner.

Lynet bit her lip and nodded. "What incarnation is this one going to be?" she asked Kilana.

"Six," the other woman answered patiently. "And I have to tell you he's a decent man, too, like Yelgrun, even though the two hate each other, too."

Well, that just made her feel a little better, she thought sarcastically. Another Weyoun coming and mocking Damar for his futile attempts to murder - if it were true - and then continuing what he did best, no doubt. Who knew what the new Weyoun would be doing, as only he knew the truth behind his predecessor's death.

~o~

Kilana was due to abort Cardassia Prime for yet another patrol along the border in a couple of weeks. Let's say that things had been a bit...strange ever since Weyoun was killed. Three days ago he was dead, and now a new one was in his place.

However, she was quick to spot that there was something odd about Weyoun 6.

She wouldn't pretend to know that each clone carried on the memories of their predecessors and therefore defined them to change a little to prove they learned their mistakes. But it still begged why the last Weyoun had done the horrendous deed to himself that had made her stomach lurch. Someone else could have murdered him, but no other DNA other than his own had been found at the scene. As far as anyone else was concerned, the case was closed.

But this new one had to know the truth.

Why was she dwelling on this so much? She was well-acquainted with Weyoun, but he wasn't her friend like Yelgrun was. Speaking of which, Yelgrun was still alive and well. He was strong enough to last this long now. Who knew how much longer it would be for Lynet without her husband. From what Kilana had been seeing, her friend was becoming even more lonely and frustrated in the sexual sense. There had been no one else to comfort her or love her, and she was still married to Yelgrun no matter the distance. Lynet was slowly returning to her old self, but it was not the same without her husband.

Sometimes the Vorta would find her friend snuck out into the gardens at night, just sitting and looking ahead, up at the sky, closing her eyes in deep meditation - whether it be in conversation with Yelgrun or just soothing her senses - or just looking at nothing in particular. Lynet was calmer than she'd ever been.

Something told Kilana that she had to get Lynet away from Cardassia if it was even possible.

Which brought her back to the situation with Weyoun.

"Why, Kilana, what a pleasant surprise." She halted upon hearing her name as well as seeing the man coming her way. Weyoun was smiling from ear to ear. "I was looking for you for some time now." She went rigid when she turned her full body around and looked him in the eyes with her best smile. Somehow his orbs contained smaller traces of the cruelty and trickery that he always radiated from his being. Looking deeper into his eyes, she detected there was more than what he recalled of the death of his predecessor. Something much deeper...

His voice cleared, telling her she had gotten lost in her musings. "Kilana?" he questioned curiously, brows furrowing.

She quickly pulled herself together. "Forgive me, Weyoun. I just...noticed something different about you." She had to tread with extreme care. He had to have a reason for wanting to speak with her. "What can I do for you?"

He smiled, more timidly than she remembered ever seeing in his previous lives. "Well, it's a matter on a mere...personal level," he replied, folding his arms across his chest. "If I can talk to you in private." He gestured for her to lead the way down the hallway so they ducked under an isolated alcove. Kilana got the feeling that it was going to send her stomach dropping much lower than it was now...

"It's a matter of you and that interesting human girl I might have accidentally seen you with on occasion."

Now her mind and entire body besides her insides melted to the floor in sheer panic, but she could not look away from Weyoun's searching eyes. There was no fooling the great Weyoun; nothing ever slipped past the Vorta, so she bit her tongue and boldly kept her attention on him. But that meant her friend was in trouble now that he knew. She cursed herself for not doing a better job. Weyoun sensed her emotions and softened his smile. "Now, no one is in danger. I merely want to know about your...lady friend. Why is it that no one ever knew she existed until I saw the two of you every now and then, away from the Founder's eyes - and away from my own and my predecessor's?"

Kilana lowered her eyes now. "She's Yelgrun's prisoner," she confessed, "and a good friend of mine."

"Really?" His enthusiasm prompted her to look at him again. "I would love to hear more about her. If we could go someplace quiet."

Now she began to see that Weyoun had gotten even softer than the last one ever was. The old Weyoun had been far more callous yet gentle - and this one was more placid and empathetic like she was. She had never harmed a soul, which also marked her from her peers. What happened to Weyoun 5 must have done a number on him...but was this one becoming what she, Yelgrun, and Keevan had?

She saw this as her opportunity to try and use his help to get Lynet and herself off of Cardassia, just to keep her friend safe, and who knew what else to follow especially when you were at the frontlines of war.

~o~

It was then and there that she finally picked up that phaser and fired the target, in the wilderness and away from Lakarian City.

A riding hound had come onto her the second she had lowered her guard. As it turned out, these beasts could not be tamed unless a Cardassian could, and they saw human flesh as an easy target compared to their humanoid superiors. But there was also the saying that no man was superior to any beast in existence. And it was beside the point.

She had enough of being here on Cardassia. She meant it this time. Staring at the wild, dead beast on the ground beneath her, her clothes covered in blood and her face sticky with it...and this time she snapped when she looked down at her kill. Her very first one, because this thing was a part of the culture of the people allied with her enemies. Why had she hesitated before? Yelgrun had never seen her do this before, but now he did through their bond - and he thrummed with passion at the image of her covered in blood. Dark, but desirable, he said. He wished he was there to take her into his arms and into their bed so he could lick off that blood then and there, but he wasn't here.

Lynet decided she could not waste any more time here. She found herself looking down at the blade she used to carve the beast's heart out and hold it in her hands. I should run away from here. Sneak into one of the cargo bays and get a patrol ship -

Yelgrun cut her off. I doubt it will go well. They'll shoot you on sight for unauthorized take-off. Unless Kilana can find a damned good plan to get you both away only to have a battalion of Jem'Hadar after you.

She bit her words. He was right; the Founder herself could find out that one of her Vorta had left Cardassia Prime without her permission, even took her men with her - or the chances were they could turn on them both the moment they found out the truth, given the Jem'Hadar were more loyal than the Vorta. But didn't those other soldiers do the same thing over the Gateway found on the Iconian homeworld?

"Lynet!"

Only Kilana knew she was here. She had found out that the human left without her consent. She spun around to see the other Vorta standing there - and with another Vorta. This one was male, dressed a little grander than she, and he had an air of regality and grace about him. Both of them looked shocked at the sight of her covered in gore and the dead hound behind her. Kilana was mortified. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed.

"What does it look like I was doing?" Lynet responded calmly, though she could not stop looking at the man who was studying her and scrunching his nose up as though he'd smelled something pungent. The smell of dried blood wasn't that bad, to her anyway.

"In broad daylight when you could be taken in and questioned, maybe killed, you silly girl!" he scolded, then looked at Kilana from the corner of his eye and saw the look she was giving him. He quickly apologized. "My apologies, Lt. Ross. I am Weyoun." He gave a humble bow of the head forward.

Sudden fear gripped her that she almost lost hold of her weapon, dropping the bloody heart to the ground with a soft plop. This was...this was Weyoun... "Relax, I won't harm you," he said with both hands raised and baring his teeth in a slight grin. "I have just heard an interesting story about you from Kilana."

She took a small step back, clenching her jaw. She wasn't sure what her friend said exactly, because how could they trust this man who was the Founder's right hand? And WHY did she tell him about her? "How can I trust you?" she asked suspiciously. "I've heard about you, Weyoun. You're the second-in-command of the dictatorship called the Dominion, which I have been a prisoner for over a year. Yelgrun was protecting me from you, and so was Kilana." She looked over at the other woman, who gave her a look of sheer worry which also silently begged her to not provoke him.

But Weyoun looked far from offended - or should she say, pained in the face? "Lieutenant, it saddens me that you misunderstand. You were taken from your home, your crew, by none other than one of our own, and you don't deserve to remain here any longer. Yelgrun kept you as a prisoner for his reasons..."

Lynet's mind shut off altogether as she locked eyes with Kilana again, alarmed to her core. She didn't even tell this man that she was married to Yelgrun and loved him, too! Why didn't she?!

"But now perhaps you should be taken elsewhere, away from here. Kilana departs in less than two weeks, so perhaps you should take her away from Cardassia Prime, and when the time is right, get as far away from the space as you can. Perhaps go to Captain Sisko," he offered, stunning her altogether. "See if he will protect you now. Yelgrun must have done too much a number on you."

She still wasn't sure if she could trust this man, but the way it was seen now, she had an opportunity and a choice: either she stayed here for the rest of her life, or she could escape with Kilana and her life. Her friend's life, too. She had no choice but to agree.

"Why didn't you tell him about us?" Lynet demanded as soon as they were both alone. "He thinks Yelgrun was nothing more than my kidnapper and me as a toy for his own selfish pleasure!"

Kilana nodded, guilt in her entire posture. "Because they are still enemies, and Weyoun would never understand it truly. He has never taken a mate that I know of, like the way Yelgrun took you." Her beam was back in a flash. "But do you have any idea what this means? I can rally up my men, and we can get you away from this planet for good. I'll get you to Deep Space 9, find myself a haven there -" She stopped there, the anxiety now present. Lynet knew exactly why.

"But I doubt the captain will be very pleased to see me."

"Especially with what transpired between you two on Torga."

"Yes. But at the same time, we both agreed we should have trusted each other. I was very sincere with him, and I should have known he would have let me have the Founder." She sighed. "I just hope that we get to come to that understanding this time around."

Since her friend had her problems to face, Lynet Ross had her own: everyone would see she was still alive and demand to know her story, which she was willing to give, but that meant lying to protect her husband - even if it meant labeling him as the villain he never was. I love you, and I will never lie about our love...but they will see me as crazy for telling the truth.

His reply was expected and far from what she wanted to hear. Do what you must, my precious. A wave of a kiss made her light on her feet. I'm far beyond relieved that you are getting away - even if it was from Weyoun of all people. He was definitely distrusting of the ambassador, but he did prove to be more...reasonable than either expected him to be.

A new fear washed over her heart: she was afraid of the unknown in space, and constant Jem'Hadar warships and fighters on the lookout. Hopefully, Kilana would keep them off for however long as necessary.

~o~

She was getting away. He could feel it in his system as he lay on his back, closing his eyes to the ceiling, ignoring the door opening and the announcement that his food had been brought to him. Lynet and Kilana were both getting away - but that left so many Jem'Hadar to face if one of them found out that the girls were planning to flee the Dominion. The Jem'Hadar served the Founders more loyally than the Vorta ever would never mind that one time of rebellion.

The Jem'Hadar thrived on ketracel-white to swear they would never betray the "obedience brings victory" oath; the Vorta were killed and cloned time and time again. They were no better than the reptilian lizards that fought under their command.

Be careful, my love.

~o~

Here she was, back on the Jem'Hadar warship with her friend - and today was the day, or so she hoped. She had no further plan to act, but what could they do right now? Kilana had a job to do first, and it might as well be the last one she would ever do for these monsters.

Lynet had no choice but to wait. At the moment, she was examining the weapon she had been given: a phaser rifle. None of the Jem'Hadar objected, only because their Vorta commanded she be left alone, that they ought to know better by now. She was given a small room that had enough furnishings to her liking now. "I'll come and get you," Kilana promised, "when we are finished. If there is a chance, we will come across a class-M planet on the way back."

By class-M planet, she meant a place to lie low for now. Lynet would have no problem with it, but she had to teach her friend how to hunt, too. Remembering how queasy Kilana was when she saw her covered in blood, she doubted the Vorta woman would enjoy the lifestyle.

She decided to take a nap for now, and it was quite restful, with her weapon secured in her embrace...and a hand shook her awake. "Lynet..."

"Mm - what?" she murmured, opening her eyes and blinking the sleep away, rubbing them so her vision was clear and Kilana's face was above her. The smile that was reserved for a smooth negotiation was in place...only this time was not intended for peace talks. It was something far more dangerous that the Dominion deemed in its eyes that they failed to keep from some of their most loyal subjects. It had to be the case with Weyoun; that one clone was defecting, it seemed. Why else would he have helped them? His predecessor's death made him realize his affiliation wasn't as...stable as it was meant to be.

"It's time," Kilana whispered. Her hand went to her belt, where Lynet saw the phaser pistol strapped. She'd taught the other woman how to use the weapon.

They were both now standing outside the door that led to the bridge, where every one of the Jem'Hadar units was inside working and not bothering to wonder when their compassionate Vorta female would return - and not suspecting the "diabolical" plan against them. Kilana had suffered the losses of her last unit, but this time she didn't shed a tear. She was ridden with anxiety, however, as she had never fired a phaser before and never thought she would be in combat. "You got this," Lynet whispered to her, having complete faith in her friend.

Kilana gave her a little smile and raised the weapon higher, keeping a good grip on it and removing the safety. On Lynet's signal and counting of the fingers:

One...

Two...

Three...

NOW!

The doors opened, and phaserfire burst from both the doorway and the inside of the bridge from both women and a dozen Jem'Hadar. Smoke clouded the air as the fighting for control began.

Chapter Text

Six months. How time flew but seemed forever.

He'd been a prisoner for half a year, and his wife escaped from Cardassia for four months but had been on the run with Kilana - the both of them going from place to place to avoid getting captured - and sometimes barely escaping with their lives. Their Jem'Hadar warship had somehow remained in shape for some time until it sustained damage that they both thought they would die...before a Cardassian fighter came to their path recently and requested assistance before the pilot wasn't so lucky.

Lynet was free, and he was still here. Some part of him wished she would come and rescue him, so he could be with her. They had been apart for far too long...

"Vorta."

He looked up at the opening door to see yellow-uniformed Starfleet security men in a group; one of them ordered him to stand up, which he did. Yelgrun was confused. "What's going on?" he asked as he held his hands out in front of him for the cuffs to be placed around his wrists. A part of him thought perhaps it was because he was finally going to be taken before a court, or if not that -

"Captain Benjamin Sisko contacted Starfleet Command and petitioned your transfer to Deep Space 9."

He blinked. He was being...taken to Deep Space 9. He was being transferred from prison to where the Dominion's major enemy was stationed with the rest of his band. The man Lynet had spoken highly of, worked with for a short time - why did Benjamin Sisko want him? Something told Yelgrun it was not the man's original idea...

Lynet, I'm getting out of prison, he sent to her, shocking her.

To where?

Deep Space 9.

That's where Captain Sisko commands, she gasped. Why would he ask for you?

He shrugged. I wish I knew, love. But I'm going to find out. And all I can do is breathe a sigh of relief, because I have no friends here and I thought I would die just from boredom in here, and without you. I had been hoping you would come and save me from this place.

She was lying on her side, on a bunk, while they were communicating, trying not to cry. I'm coming to Deep Space 9, then. I don't know when yet, but I'll come for you. With that, she sent him a kiss and tried to embrace him for sure with her arms. Kilana and I will find a way.

~o~

Their ship was being followed by a Starfleet class fighter that had come on their sensors and began to pursue them, but no firing yet. Some part of her believed that because she and Kilana did not fire on them, they meant no need to engage. Common sense speaking that the enemy not firing on them defined that they were not looking for a fight, so she could breathe a sigh of relief that they were not in trouble right now.

It had all been a false alarm. But the other ship was still following them.

"I don't know why they're so interested in us," Kilana said as she helped the other woman maneuver, exhausted from the running. Four months of flying and landing from planet to planet to rest, to lie low, and now intercepted by a Cardassian patrol that had no idea the rest of the Jem'Hadar crew was dead - nor did they know the motivations. The women had been beamed aboard after the excuse had been that their soldiers had turned on each other and then tried to kill their commander and her friend, but not before the women fought back and killed the last of their soldiers. The Cardassians aboard had no idea what awaited them when a Vorta and a human shot them down to get a better, smaller ship to suit their liking now.

But now a Starfleet vessel, uncloaked, was following them. "I wish I had the answer," Lynet replied, sitting beside her friend and pressing the button to open the ship's logs on the screen. Perhaps there could be something of good use that might give a clue...

"Oh, God," she gasped when the most recent log detailed it all, and read it aloud to Kilana who was at the controls. "Starfleet USS Clarity was destroyed by our arms today for attempting to infiltrate Cardassian space -" She stopped there; that was two days ago, and the one after them must have found out it was the same one tagged. So that was why they were following this ship, and if either she or Kilana thought to fire back, they were dead as part of revenge.

And Kilana was ever horrified. "I wish I could open a channel to them, but I doubt they would be able to communicate well with the Cardassian ship that murdered their comrades!" she said fearfully, trying to stay collected. She tried accessing the communications channel, to no avail. They were being blocked, so the women couldn't get through to them. Whoever was after them decided it was not worth negotiating with "murderers". It seemed they were as good as dead after all.

The red lights blared then as another ship came onto their readings: another Jem'Hadar ship that began to fire at the "enemy" ship. They were trying to "help" a "friend" - poor fools, she thought sarcastically. She helped bring the ship away as they both watched the firing on the viewscreen. The attention was no longer on them, but Lynet's heart said it was wrong to stay out of the fight. There was one thing to do, but it could end up costing them both for sure.

"We're joining," she said. "Go behind the Jem'Hadar and target their most vulnerable spot. Maybe that will prove to Starfleet that we are not the enemy -"

Both of them shrieked when their ship was wracked with an impact that meant only one thing: they had been hit beneath. The damage done were the shields was down to forty percent - not much, but it still gave them enough to work with - but no danger of a plasma leak. They still had the firepower in the frontal phasers to fly above the Jem'Hadar ship and target the dorsal field junction which was their weakest spot. "Bringing us up," Kilana announced. It was impressive how she could still understand the visuals despite her limited eyesight, but technology could hardly be classified as aesthetics.

The Jem'Hadar vessel was gone in a flash of fire and debris, saving them as well as the Federation vessel, which decided to take off instead to save its own skin. Lynet knew there were few cowards within her people, and some of their morale from the war unlike Benjamin Sisko and his comrades was dampened. This ship's motives for coming out here were not in any way admirable - namely because they could not know that the Cardassians that killed their comrades were no longer alive - if you asked her. Look what it almost got.

Kilana gasped when she began to check the damage done to their ship. "By the Founders..." Lynet read the readings with her, closing her eyes. They were near Deep Space 9, but because their warp core had been damaged, it would take them three more weeks to get there, maybe more.

Great. Just...great.

~o~

Upon arrival at Deep Space 9, he was placed in security holding for safety reasons until the Chief of Security and his aide came to speak to him before there could be any final decision made to set him free. The aide was none other than Weyoun. He could barely contain his shocked surprise. How did Weyoun survive DEFECTING from the Dominion?

Now it seemed there were two Weyouns in existence, on two different sides of the Alpha Quadrant. But did this one expect him to think he'd be happy to see a familiar face? He obviously still loathed Yelgrun for what occurred between him and Keevan, who was also now living on Deep Space 9 - and with a wife. None other than Annora, the mother of his child. He was not the only Vorta with a human spouse; Weyoun had married Captain Sisko's daughter and had a child with her, too.

It had been then and there that Yelgrun finally decided to tell them about his beloved wife, but because she was on the move now, she wasn't on Cardassia any longer. How could he explain it? It wasn't like she was on the planet and an investigation could be conducted so she would be found and brought safely to Deep Space 9. She and Kilana's warp drive had been so impaired that it would take several weeks to make it to DS9...and it was then that he began to fear for them now. But in the meantime, he had a life of newfound freedom to adjust to.

To see the face of Weyoun when he told of Lynet, but didn't mention her name. The other Vorta must have been hit to the spot that he'd been a fool to think Yelgrun would never be as lucky as he and Keevan - and speaking of the latter, the former prisoner decided now was the time to amend things between them, even if Keevan and his wife didn't want to see him.

It hadn't been easy to get through to Constable Odo and Weyoun about this, but when he finally got his wish, Keevan and Annora came to him...and the first thing was Yelgrun getting an outrageous but unsurprising astonishment: Keevan was with child. He knew his former student couldn't have been with a man when he had his woman, but he had decided to toy with him when he asked who the father was, getting the reply it was his and Annora's, then explained a shooting by Jem'Hadar had forced the baby to be moved from Annora to her husband until the due date.

The hostilities were still present, as he expected, so why not knock it out of the way however it may be? "I always wondered what happened to you two after our last encounter," he told them with a smirk. "Where would my old student and his lover go in the midst of wartime? The options are just so limited, but when you think you found the perfect hiding spot, the odds are against you." Just as his wife and cherished friend were always on the move unlike these two. "But I wasn't as lucky as you were." Being tricked by them and their Ferengi friends was never going to be overlooked, but how could they have known at the time that he had a lover like they were? Annora O'Neal appeared to be thinking the same thing, but it was clear she and her husband hadn't been told of his Lynet yet.

"I never thought we would ever see each other again after last time. We captured you with our Ferengi friends." She tried to contain her laughter, which made him angrier. "It was so easy, wasn't it?" she said.

"Easy is an understatement," Yelgrun sneered, wishing he could wring her slim little throat himself, but the fire in Keevan's eyes dared him to try. He might be pregnant, but he was still strong as ever.

"Too easy for you to just come and retrieve me," Keevan said, wincing as he sat down apparently because standing was short-lived for his body, "send your Jem'Hadar back to Dominion territory but two - you must not have been smart enough to see through the Ferengi's trickery. Look where it got you, Yelgrun." He grinned, making the other Vorta angry, and he snapped.

"Took me away from my wife on Cardassia," he burst angrily. "Now you both know why I didn't kill myself like you never did. It took me a long time to figure that out." As it took him a long time to accept the Founders were not gods, just slave drivers with vast technological processes to change an entire race's way of life. Annora seemed to read the message in his eyes, but she said nothing.

Keevan's jaw dropped, leaning back and holding his huge belly as though trying to protect it. "You have a mate." He spoke as though disbelieved. "How can I believe that myself?" he snapped. "I remember you too well, Yelgrun, or did you forget that? I swore I would never forgive you for what you did to me. What makes you think I would now, now that you were taken out of prison and given a position on Captain Sisko's bridge?"

He didn't know what he would be doing yet, but Sisko gave him a place on his bridge - and amongst his senior staff. That meant he wouldn't see the couple before him much during the day, so he had to get this out now. He would not let his feelings be hurt this time. "You don't have to, but I'm telling the truth," he insisted, leaning forward. "But she's trapped on Cardassia and I can't return to her a failure. You and Weyoun - and everyone else - thought I was not capable of loving, but she's more to me than anyone or anything else. She was my reason to survive prison...and she's always with me. You both know what that's like." By the unbreakable bond. "I'm not going to play a fool and say I don't know that you know what it's like to be betrayed because ever since I was in detention and remembering the two of you together, it was enough for me to accept that you never wanted me in the start. My wife was the beginning of it. She made me forget all of it...she began to make me a better man than I was the one you remember, Keevan."

He wasn't the man the young Vorta remembered anymore, and he knew it in himself as Lynet did. Why was it so hard to see that? Vorta could exhibit emotions and sense truth from a lie. If only his former friend could LOOK at him in the eyes like his human wife was doing...!

He'd done it. Keevan was broken down, for he leaned over and put his hands over his head, wanting to shut it all out - but Yelgrun knew he got to him. The long-lived rivalry had gone on long enough; they ought to let bygones be bygones, as the humans put it. What made him melt inside: Keevan was wracking with sobs. His wife saw this and was trying to comfort him. Seeing this made him think about what Lynet used to do for him, and much of the time how he would do it for her. Keevan continued to cry no matter Annora's ministrations. Knowing him, he wanted so much to believe his old friend, but after what he did to him, it was that much more difficult. Yelgrun wanted to push harder, but he'd done enough.

Annora was still looking at him, understanding in her soft eyes, a contrast to his wife. She was Lynet's cousin, fierce and determined, and she could read his eyes very well. You're telling the truth, her eyes said, and so much more. She was peering into his soul, seeing the truth, and by the looks of it when she turned her attention down to her weeping husband, she was sending him a message to him, urging him...

And a long tension passed before the stricken Vorta finally spoke to him. He might have been proud and arrogant, but at rare times he was a forgiving being. He had been taking visible breaths to relaxbefore finally speaking.

"I f-f-forgive you."

Yelgrun felt like he was going to let his wall crumble and release the flood, but he only cried in front of his wife. He couldn't have been happier now that the man who once looked up to him, who hated him for betraying what they had, who found love as he did - and abandoned the Dominion for seeing it for what it really was - had forgiven him. But there was still so much more to do, he knew. He said nothing, only smiled and watched as Keevan began to stand up...

He jumped in his chair when Keevan cried out as though in immense pain, and he fell forward onto the table before landing on his back. "Keevan!" Annora yelled, diving for him and supporting him. Having some knowledge of pregnancy, Yelgrun knew the fourth and final month was taking over. He didn't even need to ask. But instead of going to the infirmary, Keevan was being taken back to his and Annora's quarters - and for a home birth, perhaps? Given there would be no necessity to move him.

"You're going to be fine," he assured the younger Vorta, just as Weyoun and the others came to join. "We're here for you." There was still so much he wanted to add to his sincere apology, wanted to say he was NEVER a failure and he was never nothing, but everyone was too busy getting him situated for Yelgrun to have his chance. He decided a visit to the happy couple would be in order, later today but no later than that.

~o~

The beverage she wanted shimmered into existence; she'd ordered a red-leaf tea which tasted very sweet and spicy at the same time. She liked it together and it made her relax after all the action. Firing and barely escaping with their lives, as well as flying at the rate that would take them three to maybe four weeks to get to Deep Space 9. Yelgrun was safe now, but she couldn't say the same for herself and Kilana.

She sat down at the controls with her tea, just not feeling like she should be away. Taking a drink, a comforting heat washed over her system and made her want to go to sleep here. Chuckling, Kilana noticed this. "It works wonders, doesn't it?" she chirped. Lynet cupped it both in her hands and nodded.

"Mmm. It won't last, though." And the fierce protectiveness and uncertainty of every corner in space would return from too much zen.

"I know. I can't even taste Cardassian cuisine and beverages, but I know for a fact it isn't compared to our herbal remedy of rippleberry tea."

She set the cup down, halfway finished as she had to recalibrate the backup power to their shields and weapons. There could always be more Federation coming after them, but she didn't want to kill any more of her fellow officers. It was called a severe offense to assault and kill your comrades, but it wasn't like she had a choice.

It still didn't make it right. But would anyone let her off the hook when she returned?

She needed distraction. "He and Keevan are reconciling," she said, the topic changing drastically and stunning the Vorta, who turned to look at her and gasped softly before making a noise of utter baffle.

"Oh, I never thought they would. How did he...do it?"

Lynet leaned back, still gazing at her friend. "He was talking about me, saying that he never should have treated him the way he did in the fashion he knows best," she said with a smile, feeling her heart flutter with the soul recognition that had overtaken her husband when he was finally blessed with forgiveness - who had ever thought it was possible? Whoever thought Keevan would finally be willing to put the adversarial stage behind now? And whoever thought finally telling him about her would help do the trick? "And above all, comparing me and him to those two. Keevan is married to my cousin, Annora."

Kilana's eyes grew wide and round. "Y-your cousin?" she repeated. "That's wonderful!" She laughed lightly before she stopped, getting serious. "So, you two used to be close?"

Lynet nodded. "We used to be as children," she answered. "I told the story to Yelgrun once. But as we matured, we kind of grew separate." But Annora had always been close to Lynet's father, Bill Ross. Now that she remembered her father, Lynet had to assume that her father would be in for a horror to learn his daughter was alive. Yelgrun never even mentioned who his wife was by name, so no one knew who she was, which made her feel a little sad. Why didn't he say her name?

It wasn't personal. Everyone believes you are still dead, and there is still an ounce of distrust in the air. Perhaps it's best if you come.

~o~

No matter how much time went on, it meant that Keevan could forgive him. To tell his wife the story had made it easier, another weight taken off his being, but it had unnerved her. Yet Annora still understood. She was a reporter, and it was her job to get facts straight before jumping to any conclusions. Keevan was lucky to have such a woman.

But now that it was out of the way, it left his new colleagues in Ops to deal with, including Captain Sisko.

Weyoun working as a mere security aide? It made Yelgrun want to laugh it off. Once he was the high and mighty ambassador of the Dominion, and now he was still serving a shape-shifter - but Odo was called a good man; according to the Ferengi bartender, and none other than Quark whom he was not glad to see, the constable was a "no-good misanthrope" who was always on his tail, yet proved to show mutual respect. Weyoun's wife, Mia, worked for the Ferengi as a dabo girl and cherished the Changeling as a dear friend and protector. She was also Annora's childhood friend, and lighter in nature than the reporter. She had potential, could have been what her friend was or anything, but instead, she was a free spirit who chose to be a wife and mother yet still have any adventure she wanted. It made Yelgrun wonder how the former powerful Vorta could have had his eyes and his heart set on a gentle young female who didn't match his position. Nevertheless, Weyoun was proud to have her and their baby daughter, Riona.

As for everyone else besides Quark and his brother Rom and nephew Nog - who had recently lost a leg in battle barely a couple of months prior - Yelgrun had been given various tasks to work with the Chief of Operations regarding the system of the station, even with Lt. Commander Worf who was the strategic operations officer - but the moody Klingon was not someone the Vorta would enjoy the company with. His wife, Jadzia Dax, however, was very pleasant and flirtatious, someone he could hold intelligent conversations with and entertain.

There was also Major Kira Nerys, a former Bajoran resistance fighter who was also married to Constable Odo and a month and a half pregnant with a child that wasn't the shape-shifter's. Not adulterous means, but by donation. Changelings did not possess what solid males carried in fertilization. Sometimes it made him think back to the one thing he and Lynet had not been successful with - but he pushed it to the back of his head. Just because everyone else around them had children did not mean they should.

Thus far, Yelgrun enjoyed his line of work and the lack of dullness, but his intolerance of time was the one thing that did not change. For example, the time it took for a certain rerouting conduit to get back online, any ships to arrive for the sake of the captain and everyone else; he could go on forever. As a result, he noticed certain rolling of the eyes but didn't see from whom. He was getting on the nerves of his colleagues, not that he cared. It was his nature.

He'd been here for two weeks when Weyoun finally approached him about his "behavior". Who did Weyoun and his father-in-law think he was? A child who needed to be taught better manners? "I also want you to pay a respectful visit to our humble home," the other Vorta continued, smiling ear to ear, "and share a sumptuous dinner that my wife will prepare."

"Really, what good will an evening with the family do for me?" Yelgrun asked disgustedly.

Weyoun narrowed his eyes. "To soften your manners. You've been here for two weeks, and proved yourself worthy for the Federation thus far - but we need to work on your 'bedside' manners. Your lack of tolerance won't be tolerated much longer. My wife won't like this any more than I do, but once you've come to savor the joys and begin to give it to those around you, you'll receive some greater respect in return."

By being around a wailing infant? Yelgrun doubted it would be that much fun.

Two days later, he came to the habitat ring and arrived at the quarters Weyoun and his family shared. As always, the former diplomat - the defective sixth clone - was calm and welcoming, but his loving wife with that little look-alike in her arms looking at him curiously was far from it. Chilling and formal, she threatened to grab both his ears and bleed him if he so much as hurt their child, to which Yelgrun only smiled to let her know she didn't scare him. Just this one night, maybe, and he'd be done...or how much longer?

The evening wasn't as terrible as he thought it would be, save for the baby constantly demanding attention, until the topic came to him being asked about his wife whose identity neither of them knew. "How did your wife feel about having children?" Mia asked after she calmed the little one down.

He never thought he'd ever be asked that question. "Infertile," he said anyway. "She confessed to me that she was forced onto when she was younger, so she's unable to bear children." Her face displayed all the emotional signs: disbelief, regret, and sorrow. She regretted her cold formality earlier, but she couldn't have known. And then the child started to cry again, making him roll his eyes. Didn't she ever get tired of wailing? Would he be taking care of her for them, be the babysitter, while he would live here?

"Yelgrun," Weyoun said through his teeth, locking eyes with him while the little wife held the screaming baby, "she's just a baby. She can't help anything she does, so if you want to keep yourself here on this station, you're staying in my home until you learn how to be humble and more respectful, learn to love more, I can go on forever." He leaned across the table after slowly standing up, keeping the predator's gaze in place. "So, as a start, I believe you doing the honors of getting our daughter to stop crying will suffice."

Yelgrun jerked in his chair. He - Weyoun - was expecting him, Yelgrun, to HOLD the baby?! How could he do this? He never held a child in his arms, and they were more than trouble with so many things like squirming, depending on you, but the moment Riona was placed into Yelgrun's arms after being taken from her mother, her father began to hum some lullaby he learned which seemed to calm her down. Mia watched on with a soft, loving smile.

He didn't know what to make of this, but he was damned glad he didn't drop her. The baby looked up at him with her father's eyes, hiccupping and reaching to take one of his fingers into her tiny ones. A warm sensation shot through Yelgrun that he never felt before; his heart began to pound as heat washed over him. In his arms was pure joy and innocence that should not be harmed. This was what Lynet had been afraid of - what HE had been afraid of. Now he began to wonder what either of them was thinking in not wanting this...

...but was he even thinking straight right now?

I'm holding Weyoun and Mia's daughter, he sent to her. I don't know...how to explain it. She's so innocent.

He saw she was struggling to keep her emotions in check as he let her see the child through their bond. It was like she was trying not to cry, suddenly second-guessing herself and thinking perhaps parenthood would have been lovely for them both. But she was thinking the same as he: would they have made excellent parents like the two in front of him?

A week later, another arrival took place. Keevan, who had been confined to bed rest, had gone into labor and given birth to a healthy half-Vorta, half-human baby boy. He and Annora named their new son Kei. Yelgrun was there with the rest of the senior staff - as well as Weyoun and his family - to witness the new joy in Keevan's arms, his wife beside him and letting streaks of tears fall down her cheeks. Seeing the happy family made him melt again; what a fool he'd been. He closed his eyes as he opened up to his own beloved...and as it turned out, she was closer than anyone thought.

~o~

"Deep Space 9 ahead," Kilana announced, breathless and amazed. "I never thought I'd actually find myself here." She turned her attention to the lieutenant, her old title finally in use now that she was at the one place she had fought long and hard to be at...and right now she had the ship parked outside the station, a channel opened up for communication to Ops.

Lynet had been the one to take charge of speaking, not letting her friend be seen yet. And there was the face of the man she had not seen in so many months - and she waited so long for it. His reaction was priceless, not that she meant for it to be funny. "Hello, Captain," she said, not smiling.

"Lieutenant, I thought you were supposed to be dead," he said, disbelieving. "Your ship and crew were destroyed -"

"I was a prisoner since not long before the war began," she answered. "I've been in the Dominion, but I've escaped. I have so much to tell you, but can I request protection now and spare the details later?"

It took some seconds to pass before Benjamin Sisko let out a little laugh, running his hand behind his head, trying to get himself together in front of his crew. "I don't see why not. I'll tell you right now that I am happy to see you alive and well. Your cousin and your father will be happy to hear about this." That was what she was dreading. She hadn't seen her father in so long, so she couldn't say their reunion would be the least bit warm.

And now she was permitted to dock at Airlock Seven. She looked at Kilana, smiling now. "Brace yourself," she whispered, notably about how the Vorta would be received apart from her. The moment had arrived for them both. They were safe now...but that meant old acquaintances and maybe animosities on the rise.

Chapter Text

The airlock door opened for them to enter Deep Space 9 for the first time. Kilana held her breath and counted off to calm her beating heart. This would be the first time she and Captain Sisko would see each other again, and the rest of the crew. But Yelgrun was here, and he had so far been accepted along with Weyoun and Keevan - but what about her?

"Relax," Lynet whispered to her as they disembarked and walked out the door of the ship, setting foot on the station -

"Lt. Ross."

"Captain!" she called out, a wave of exhilaration and emotion washing over her that she couldn't help but run over to him and throw her arms around him, hugging him in front of his accompanied crew - including Constable Odo, Chief O'Brien, and a couple of other yellow uniforms. "Oh, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again. I've been trying to get away from them for so long, but there has been more than enough..." She hadn't rambled this much in such a long time that it all let loose in a flash. Chuckling, Benjamin disengaged himself from her and held her hands in his.

"We'll discuss incarceration and all of that in my office, Lynet." His face fell, and he sighed. "All this time we thought you were dead. First you, then your cousin, and now you're back."

Annora was believed to be dead before? Knowing her reckless cousin, she must have gotten her husband in that direction, which was what the captain implied. "I heard she was here," Lynet said, wondering again how reuniting with her cousin would turn out.

"She and her husband have just had their first child," Sisko explained with a beam. "Just like my daughter and her husband have my first grandchild." She didn't think she'd ever see him smile so broadly the way he did, but then it faded when his attention shifted past her shoulder. It wasn't in any way detestable, but plain shocked. "Kilana, what are you doing here?" He looked down at Lynet when she answered.

"She's with me, Ben," she told him gently. "She's done with the Dominion, too. She's been with me this whole time I was a prisoner. Now she escaped with me. It was Weyoun who helped us get away four months ago."

"Weyoun...you mean the one my daughter married."

Weyoun 6...yes, it was the one. She nodded. And then Kilana decided she should speak. "You probably thought of me as the last person to see, Captain," she stated softly. He gazed at her in a way that was nowhere near hostile, but still questioning.

"I didn't think I would," he answered, "but I suppose the more Vorta on my station, the merrier."

Both women gasped. He...he just said that Kilana was welcome to live on DS9. "Now that we have this out of the way, I believe an explanation in my office is in order."

~o~

She was used to telling long stories, but with Kilana's help, it was easier to give everything to Captain Sisko in his office. Long hours didn't do anything to her body and mind, but at the end of the day, she was tired and wanted to rest. She was given quarters...and none other with Yelgrun.

Sisko had been stunned to find out that she was the newest Vorta's spouse and the reason for being in the Dominion all this time. He'd been furious to know he'd played a part in the destruction of the USS Lakota, as well as the fact she'd been temporarily blinded - but then unspeakable passion ensued. An old Terran medical condition was known as Stockholm Syndrome in which the victim felt sympathy for her captor, but this was nothing like that, and Ben didn't label it as such.

Yelgrun abducted her because he loved her. He didn't know she was on the starship until he and his men and the Founder beamed aboard for any remaining survivors, and he was drawn to her the moment he laid his eyes on her. He pulled the broken shards from her eyes, he was there for her in every step of her blindness, and he touched her in a way she never felt before. He was desperate to love again, he cherished her more than anything else in his way - and she was looking forward to seeing him again...and this time she had eyes to see his face with.

But first, a visit to her cousin was in order, and then she would find her husband.

"I would like to meet your cousin," Kilana said with her wondrous smile in place now that things had turned out for the better. Somehow she thought because more Vorta began to leave the Dominion alive, more of their people, herself included, would be welcomed with open arms. But not everyone on DS9 was forgiving, so not everyone was fond of any Vorta living on their station.

"Let's hope Annora likes you just as much," Lynet stated as she buzzed the quarters, still in her old uniform that needed a cleaning up, and she could use a sonic shower and some food. But she was a big girl; she could handle this. She reached and buzzed the quarters. One of the residents called for them, and the doors opened for them. Her heart didn't beat so rapidly this time, but that didn't stop the trepidation as she set foot into the residence of her cousin's family with her friend behind her. She called out with a lack of indecision. "Annora? It's Lynet."

"In here." The voice had come from the bedroom to their left, and that was where the women ventured for - and the family was sitting on the same bed, but the positions were reversed as to who held the baby after birth in the same spot. As a result, Lynet halted her steps and stared with Kilana behind her at the sight.

Annora's long sandy hair spiraled over her shoulders, but it also wasn't she who had given birth. Her husband, Keevan - who was quite handsome and not like any other Vorta, not to be compared to Weyoun - was in sleepwear and holding the baby wrapped in blankets in his arms. Both looked at her and Kilana with amazement. Annora was the first to make a move, sliding off the bed and landing gracefully on her feet, walking her way until she stood in front of her cousin. It had been so long since they saw each other.

"Lynet...it's really you." That was the best she could manage, because how do you speak to someone you hadn't seen since school years? Annora looked like she wanted to embrace her but wasn't sure if it was a good idea. She was just as bewildered as Lynet was. Why couldn't they catch up on lost time?

She shrugged. "Hard to believe?"

"Oh, please, the both of you," Kilana interjected. "You're both reunited once again, so at least enjoy the family reunion and sort the details later."

It was then that Lynet remembered her manners to introduce her friend to her cousin. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "This is Kilana. Kilana, my cousin Annora O'Neal, journalist."

"One of the best," Kilana answered sweetly, taking the woman's hand for a small shake. "I've heard about you and your work. And Keevan is lucky to have you." She then directed her attention towards the man in bed, with the baby still in his arms. "Long time no see, Keevan."

"Kilana," he answered tersely, apparently on cordial terms rather than personal. "I never thought you'd have it in you, either. What brought on the change?" He quirked a brow and smiled to one corner of his mouth.

"My predecessor suffered from her...self-termination implant and several other things," she answered, heartbreakingly sad. "I think you know what it's like to be detested by the ones you thought made you, no matter what you did. I believe that might be enough without any more words to say, don't you think?"

His face softened, and he nodded. "Yes. And for that, I am more than pleased more of our people are beginning to see the light," he said graciously. The child cooed in his embrace as he looked down and smiled, gently bouncing it up and down. Annora laughed and walked over to sit beside her husband again, reaching to caress the little head before leaning down to kiss it. Lynet walked over to look at the child's face - and saw a face resembling Keevan, as well as the ears and lavender eyes of a Vorta. The child was half human, half Vorta. "Lynet," Keevan told her, "this is Kei, our son."

"He's a...beautiful boy," she whispered, stricken to her core. "My husband and I couldn't have a baby."

An immediate, stunned silence filled the room as both pairs of eyes were on her now. Keevan's angelic face was scrunched up slightly in skepticism while Annora's was full-on incredulous. She was the one to break the silence. "H-husband? When did you get a lover?" she questioned, a smile beginning to form.

"While I was on Cardassia Prime," Lynet answered, remembering everything her Yelgrun told them. Their expressions immediately transformed to pure surprise as the truth revealed itself with the pieces of the puzzle coming together.

Now it was Keevan's turn, as he handed the baby to his wife. "You mean...you're Yelgrun's wife?" he gasped. "You were believed to be dead by everyone else, and all this time of being a prisoner of the Dominion, you married him?"

She nodded, not the least bit afraid. "That's right. I have the whole story to tell you both..."

"Which runs in our family," Annora cut in, though she was just as paralyzed - and not surprised, at the same time. "I'd love to know everything, but if you're wondering where he is, he's staying with Weyoun and Mia."

Lynet felt herself being washed with excitement again. "I'm going to see him," she announced, turning on her heel before being called back by her cousin.

"You said you and he...couldn't have children?" Annora sounded so broken that her cousin couldn't experience the joy she had, even if it wasn't from her own body. Somehow Lynet envied her for not experiencing the pain she didn't want to. But she nodded her answer and left them, but not before being told where Mia Sisko and her family lived, which was next door -

- and where her Yelgrun was waiting for her. At long last.

It was then that she detected the uncertainty in his voice, which she had not seen or sensed in a long time. She would be seeing him with her eyes for the first time, but she wasn't afraid. All this time she loved him for the man he was, not worried about his appearance. You could always change your mind.

Not in the slightest, she promised, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was right...

She met her cousin's best friend and her husband - Weyoun, who looked rather shocked to see her, realizing the woman he had helped escape was Yelgrun's WIFE, having not been told by Kilana before and probably wondering why - and greeted sweetly by Mia whom she met a few times in teenage years, who hadn't changed at all. She and Weyoun's baby daughter was named Riona, and an equally beautiful combination of half human and half Vorta. To see two babies in a day made her feel light in her own body...before she was jerked back into reality when a familiar voice filled her ears instead of in her mind all these months.

"My love." He was standing behind her, and the faces of Weyoun and Mia were unreadable, but when Lynet turned around, she put a smile on her face.

Only the moment she saw her husband with her own eyes for the first time did she let out a soft gasp at the sight. "Yelgrun..."

~o~

He and the family were having fun with the baby, watching her crawl about the floor and learn to sit up on her own when the quarters buzzed. Knowing who it was, Yelgrun decided it best to stay hidden for now, until she asked for HIM. He watched from the bedroom doorway as she conversed with the happy couple and got to know them a little more, then got to hold the baby for a little bit before giving her back to her mother.

But as much as he was happy to see her - Lynet had not changed at all, except the fact she was back in her old uniform, her hair beginning to grow a little past her ears - he decided the wait had been worth it, so he stepped out from his hiding place, getting the attention of Mia and Weyoun...

...and when she saw him, she gasped. But it wasn't of horror and disgust, but rather that he was more than she imagined.

Yelgrun closed his eyes and turned his back to her, his face halfway still within her visual range. Now she knew how unattractive he was, how bony he was, the fact his eyes were not vivid, and how he looked nothing like Weyoun and Keevan. She'd met both other Vorta to see the differences - and she even saw why Yelgrun had been attracted to the youngest of the three males. His breathing became so labored that he fought to keep it to the lowest levels possible. He couldn't look at her right now; the shame returned.

"I apologize," Weyoun spoke suddenly, slightly alarmed, "but I should have realized that this woman was your wife and not just a prisoner. Kilana never told me everything."

"She didn't know if she could trust you," Lynet stated, having temporarily shifted her eyes from her husband.

Mia was stunned. "Baby, you helped her...escape? When did this happen?"

The smile was present in his voice, and Yelgrun's ears detected the sound of a soft kiss placed. "Before I left the Dominion for you," he answered. Yelgrun finally found it in himself to smile, then let his attention transfer to the table before him, which carried a framed photograph of Weyoun and Mia on their wedding day, with their daughter in between them both, depicting a happy family despite their different sides.

Something inside him made him remember their wedding day, how he forced her to be his, and regret tinged him because she had not been happy that day, but she did grow happy as time went on and grew accustomed to him. The couple before them, and the other next door to them, were wed with family and friends from the Federation whereas he and his beloved had been very shaky in the beginning.

And the way Mia was looking up at her husband with such undying devotion that he returned to her, the baby staring at the camera with a broad, toothless smile...he wanted Lynet to look him in the eyes now and smile at him in that manner, but the insecurity returned as quickly as it vanished. The fact that her body would stop becoming drawn to his by the time she did view what his naked form looked like - he shut this from her - could come true made him more fearful...

"It was a difficult beginning," he heard her say, not the least bit angry in any form, "but I fell for him, for lack of a better word. He changed my life." Gods, what was wrong with him? Why couldn't he look at her? He knew he must have hurt her - no, you were nothing like the one before you. I've come to terms with it, remember?

"Oh, Yelgrun," he heard Mia say impatiently, "would you please turn and look at your wife, for God's sake? You've been apart long enough that you should be happy to see each other." She was a hopeless romantic and it was so easy for her case to fall in love with Weyoun at first sight. That was what set her apart from Annora and Lynet together, but all three women were so independent that they knew what to do. Sighing, Yelgrun turned around and looked at Lynet but avoided direct eye contact. Mia didn't pester him any further and guided all of them over to the two sofas facing each other so they could talk more about their "love story".

Half of Yelgrun regretted telling about his wife's violation and infertility, but it wasn't like anyone else would tell. Amelia Sisko never gossiped like most females would, and even though it never happened to her, she sympathized with their situation. She could be kind and forgiving if she wanted to be, knew to respect other people's business, and didn't pry - unless absolutely necessary, according to her husband. She could bring herself along on a mission, but now that she had a child, she must be restraining herself and had others doing the same to make sure that Riona needed her mother. The same could not be said for Annora, a reporter who pushed the boundaries and had her husband to try and hold her back from getting killed. He laughed; he liked to see Keevan get all protective mode to make sure the woman he loved and the mother of his son wasn't harmed.

Weyoun had protected his woman from the Founders, Keevan chose to abort first because of his own, and now Yelgrun had been captured because the Founders let him be disposed of. All three of them were nothing to their gods because they loved the women they chose. None of them were any different beneath the surface, as Yelgrun discovered. On the top they were, but deep down the answer was no.

He felt like he had more friends than he ever did.

"I'm sorry," Mia whispered as the couple were leaving to move to their own residence - and he saw Lynet relieved and anticipated that they would finally be alone. "I wish I had better words to express it, but I won't breathe a word," she promised to Lynet, reaching out and putting her hand on the other woman's shoulder. Lynet smiled tenderly.

"Believe me, the past should never affect your future."

"Words to live by," Weyoun said, canting his head forward. "Good evening to you both. I look forward to the future to come."

He and his soul mate - ah, to finally say soul mate without doubt, and why hadn't he before? - did not say any words to each other, or even exchange through their bond until they reached the quarters he was given.

She whirled around to look up at him as soon as the doors closed behind them both, but he lowered his eyes to the ground. Will you please stop being a coward and look at me in the eyes? she pleaded. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, turning his face upwards to look into her now-seeing blue eyes. Eyes filled with crystal clear spirit and vitality that he never thought he would see, that had been present long before they met. This was the wild fighter he abducted with his arms and his heart, who hated him for the deaths of her crew and the cost of her vision - and who saw a man instead of a demon. Had her eyesight never been given back to her, she would have accepted it as true permanence and never found out the truth if he had never been captured, and if Kilana had never taken matters into her own hands...

In her eyes, she was accepting the sight of him. She wasn't scared or repulsed, and she wasn't leaving him.

"Yelgrun," she whispered, still looking at him - more likely, peering into his eyes, "there is an old story called Beauty and the Beast."

"Oh, really?" He was baffled; why was she bringing this up at a time like this, and what did this story have to do with them?

"I haven't read it for years, but it's a story about a beautiful girl in love with a beastly man who actually is a prince underneath. The message is that true love and beauty come from your heart, and that looks...don't matter."

True beauty comes from within...

No one had ever once told him he was beautiful, and no one had ever touched him while doing so. Something hot stung his cheek; he was crying again. She leaned up and surprised him by licking the tear away, a bold move he never thought she'd do. She touched him greatly. Then her lips found their way to his, drowning them both in physical bliss that life lacerated from them only to be restored. His bride, his reason to live, threw her arms around him and pulled him down to her. They were nowhere near a bed, but they would get there soon.

"Gods, Lynet," he groaned when he broke the kiss; her eyes had been closed and now reopened to gaze longingly at him. "I've missed you so much, waited forever to be with you again - and I can scarcely catch my breath right now." His lungs felt like they were burning fire while keeping his oxygen in check. Just as I could barely stand to wait any longer, he sent, demonstrating this by taking her hand and then bringing it straight for his swelling groin, where he was burning with desire for her.

His mind snapped then that he was perhaps being too bold. But she laughed as she closed her fingers around him, pinching and searing another flame of pleasure through him that he sighed. Oh, intoxication was never so sweet as it had been before... "My turn, my love," he growled, bringing his hands up to grasp her hips, squeezing them and bringing them up to ghost over her sides, finally cupping both her breasts and groping them. Her head fell back as she moaned. She'd missed him, too. Her bones were aching with the tension of the sexual contact neither of them had felt for months.

"What else are you going to do?" she panted, looking back up at him with dark turquoise eyes languid with lust that made his stomach pool with liquid fire and add more to his need below his waist.

Yelgrun grinned at her, removing his hands from her breasts and reaching behind her to unzip the back of her uniform, pulling the top down to expose her turtleneck and pulling it over her head to leave her in her tight-fitted undershirt. "I intend to do more," he replied, "to make up for what we missed. I'll have my hands and lips over your body before I take it in the bed we'll share once more."

The rest of her clothes gone, she was naked in front of him, and as beautiful, irresistible, and fierce as he remembered. Now that he was sure she was no longer afraid to have blood on her body given the experience with her last kill on Cardassia Prime, he wished he could see her this way now, but the mental image would have to do for now. He swallowed; now was his turn. He let her unhook his jacket in the front and shove it off before shedding the rest of his garments. Every gaunt outline, every vein in his arms, and his bony musculature - he was beyond her imagination. She never saw him before, only touched him and savored him without vision.

Yelgrun sucked in a breath when her hands roamed over his chest to feel him as she took in every inch of his bare flesh. Instead of repulsion, she let herself go with passion. This was enough to pick her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, and take her over to the bed in the other room.

"Oh, Yelgrun, I -" Her voice failed her when he attacked her neck with his teeth, taking the place where her vein throbbed into his mouth, sucking and drawing more gasps from her. Against his chest, he felt her breasts throb. Chuckling, he leaned down and ravished them both with his teeth and tongue, drawing louder cries from her. "Oh, God!"

That's right, scream for me.

Sadist!

Now his chuckles deepened into rumbles of laughter in his throat. This was the first time he heard her acknowledge him with such a term. How very endearing, little wife. You should say it more often from now on.

The word escaped her lips a second time, verbally, and that was more than enough to drive himself into her wet heat, setting himself at an intense pace that made her arch up against him and elevate off the bed when she felt like it; when she fell backward, he followed her. Sometimes he would lift himself and look down over her shining form, notably at her aroused breasts which heaved up and down with each drive. Oh, I LOVE you! she yelled through the channel to his mind, making him grin.

My precious, I love you, too, he answered.

The sweat covering them both slicked and slid when they both climaxed and fell onto the bed together. Rolling onto his back, Yelgrun inhaled through his nose and let it out through his mouth to bring back air into his lungs, Lynet doing the same. It was like their first time again, only she saw every ounce of him and caressed him with more care than the finest of silk. Their energy wearied them both, but when it passed, neither was tired. "I want to go again," Lynet said after a few more breaths, turning to gaze at him again. Returning the gaze, Yelgrun smirked infamously. Her engine was ready to get going with his for a second ride - and however many more there needed to be tonight. They were not going to get a lot of sleep tonight, it seemed.

Chapter Text

Not even a week passed for Kilana's time on the station. She thought she would get rude looks at every turn, but she always smiled at them because everyone back home loved her smile. It was nothing new with her people, but maybe because of Weyoun and Keevan, people - Bajoran and others alike - were seeing that not all of the Vorta were terrible.

She was given a position as the station's counselor, since there was a need for anyone with some psychological issues, and she excelled at guiding anyone in need through their issues. She loved to help people - when was she ever not? - but she couldn't say everyone needed or wanted it.

Besides Lynet - who had been assigned to Deep Space 9 now, but hadn't yet spoken to her father as it made her very uncomfortable - and Yelgrun, she warmly opened up to some of those she already was familiar with, Weyoun and Keevan being the others she felt made her at home because she was one of them, but somehow it wasn't enough. She wanted to be welcomed like them, because somehow lingering spite was around her, especially with a handful of her patients that came in would sneer at her that "your people are without dignity that the Federation carries". A part of her snapped inside that she wanted to open her mouth, but she clenched her jaw instead.

Sometimes she would go to Quark's bar and speak with the Ferengi, who slyly commented that there was finally a Vorta female aboard that he could finally see with his own two eyes - and not counting Eris, of course, who had been the first of their kind to infiltrate the Federation, if only this bartender in front of Kilana didn't discover the deception with the "telekinetic block collar". "But to know you're a counselor?" he said, amazed when he looked her over - but they lingered looking down on a certain place that she narrowed her eyes, knowing where he was looking, and she leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. "Counselors do not flaunt what they have."

"This counselor happens to have more than just the body," Kilana returned. "Not everyone can be a dabo girl if that is what you are thinking about." The glint in those eyes certainly implied it all.

"You're right," another voice said, and another being sat down beside her. None other than Amelia Sisko, Mia to those who knew her. Captain Sisko's daughter and wife of Weyoun. She was filled with life and independent, experienced but free-spirited, which was why everyone seemed to adore her. "You know, Kilana," she said with a grin as she sat down, "you'd make a great dabo girl, but I know you're too good for that."

Quark snorted and turned his back to both women. "Here, have a Starduster," Mia offered, giving her the two drinks she ordered from her boss. Kilana thought Quark was charming enough, but the Ferengi thought women were low-based - except his brother Rom, as it turned out, who was married to fellow dabo girl, Leeta. "How are you liking Deep Space 9?" the human asked conversationally. She was straightforward, and very tender, marking her as the soul you didn't see every day. She hadn't met anyone like this breath of fresh air beside her.

"It's very invigorating," Kilana answered kindly, swirling the interesting beverage in the glass. "I find it time-consuming and more than I could have asked for." When she looked over the young woman, this one in particular made her feel like she could use another female friend besides Lynet. She was the best friend of Lynet's cousin. She seemed willing enough to say yes if Kilana asked.

But before she could ask, both women turned around at the sound of shouting. Or should the Vorta say, snapping? Elim Garak, the tailor, stood up and stalked out of the bar after apparently becoming frustrated with how...close the other patrons of the Ferengi's bar were around him. Chief O'Brien, Dr. Bashir, and Constable Odo noticed this, and the shape-shifter took it upon himself to follow the Cardassian out, suspecting more.

On Kilana's part, she had seen such behavior before and knew she couldn't ignore it. "Excuse me," she said to Quark and Mia, standing and going out the door to follow the constable, where he'd gone to the tailor shop...and Garak was lying on the floor writhing. He shouted for medical attention. Kilana knelt beside the panic-stricken man, biting her lip anxiously and wishing she had some healing strength to calm him down before -

"It was claustrophobia," Dr. Bashir said after completing his diagnosis before her and Captain Sisko, and Odo. "Which is what he was known to suffer, given his childhood with Enabran Tain."

Sisko scoffed and ran his hand over his head. "I don't understand this, Doctor. Mr. Garak's shop is a...good size," he stated, before turning his attention to the chief of security. "Thank you, Constable, for finding him." He dismissed the Changeling then and there, the latter nodding before leaving. "Doctor, isn't there anything we can do for him now? He's very important to decoding the messages from Cardassia that Starfleet Intelligence has recovered."

"I'm afraid not," the doctor said sadly, shaking his head. "What our friend needs is his...head examined." Both men's attentions were on HER now. Kilana took a nervous step back.

"You both want me to be Mr. Garak's counselor," she said. They were both asking her to do one thing that wasn't going to be easy, even when this was a man who was cast away from his homeworld and forced to fight against it. Even before she found out the nature of Garak's condition, the fact that the Cardassian was only helping add to the death toll of his people instead of helping them was at the front of her mind.

She was left alone with him after Bashir and Sisko left, and he was looking up at her with a wry smile. "So, you'll be poking about my reptilian brain," he stated with a trace of humor, but she had a feeling he didn't trust her. Well, she would get through to him.

"You don't have to, Garak," she told him, "but I think I know what is causing this."

~o~

The first time Mia met Kilana, she remembered that it had been so few years - which felt longer - since she saw a female Vorta. Eris had seemed like she could have been eligible for becoming one of the human's many friends...until discovering she was sent in to spy on all of them for her Founders. Mia never believed that the Vorta could become noble like her father, Odo, and the rest - but her Weyoun did.

To follow was Keevan, her somewhat brother-in-law, and then Yelgrun - one married to her best friend, the other to her best friend's cousin; Lynet had been believed to be dead all this time by everyone, even though she never truly knew the younger woman as well as Annora. That was three men in a row, and now there was Kilana whom Ben had told her about. Tragic, to say the least, and due to the fact both commanders of different sides had difficulty trusting each other over one Jem'Hadar ship and their soldiers - and a Changeling died between lives lost. That was all Kilana had wanted, and her father the ship which was now at the bottom of the sea of an uncharted M planet in which Annora, Keevan, and his Jem'Hadar had crashed.

How was it that she and two other women in her life had gotten their Vorta men in the most interesting of situations? Luck certainly had nothing to do with it.

Eris had been very beautiful, if garbed like a man and had her hair cut as such, but Kilana was everything feminine and sexy. With her bright violet eyes and dark-lipped, sincere smile, her luscious body flaunted if appropriately covered, she could have every man falling to their knees in front of her - but not all of the males of DS9 weakened because they knew some facts about her people. What did they know besides what the Vorta did? They were prejudiced. Weyoun and the others proved that they were not the monsters they were thought to be. If only the Federation could win this damned war soon and then there could be a way to free the other Vorta...

Learning the terrible story of the lovely female being marked by her gods and some of her fellow Vorta broke Mia's heart. Today was her day off, and she had Riona with her today to give her daddy a break. When she was a little older, she might need a daycare center and schooling, so both her parents couldn't be with her all day. She sighed; they grew up too fast, but Riona was only almost five months old.

Right now, she visited the replimat with the baby in her arms, cooing at the sight of those around her. Mia had fed her before they left their quarters, and Weyoun had long since left for the security office. Keevan had gone back to work with him, leaving baby Kei with his mother; that meant Annora had no new assignments for now, so she would be the next Mia would visit today, for some "girl time" - and speaking of which, when she came to her destination, Kilana was standing before the replicator and trying to decide what to have today...before she was approached by none other than the dashing Dr. Julian Bashir.

Julian was offering a couple of choices of a certain cake she forgot the name of or his favorite Tarkalean tea, both she eventually decided on, which made Mia laugh to herself. As she continued to watch, the good doctor gestured over to an empty table that the Vorta shyly agreed and sat before him. Based on the way he was looking at her, it seemed like he had a bit of an...infatuation for her. Giggling, she turned away and held the baby close to her. Julian had three or four cases of failed romance that she knew of, so she wouldn't get her hopes up if he was thinking about it again. And Kilana had never been with a man, had she? By the looks of her, too, she must be taking a shine to Bashir. It had been a while since she set anyone up, but she wasn't a schoolgirl anymore, so it wasn't her business. It was between those two.

"Mia!" Her name had been called by none other than Kilana, who had somehow known she'd been watching. She waved her over with her teeth bared in a grin. Bashir himself was smiling. He always enjoyed her company and her help sometimes in the infirmary. How could Mia refuse the pleasure? Returning the smile, she walked over and sat down with her daughter still in her arms - but then the conversation soon turned to the topic of none other than Garak.

"This morning, his claustrophobia came back with a vengeance, just like that," Kilana said sadly, lowering her eyes to the table. "It was a relapse, if only temporarily, but it still transpired. But he had to try to escape it at Airlock Seven, not knowing there was no ship on the other side."

"He would have died," Julian added vehemently, "if we hadn't been contacted right away and stopped him." He sighed. "He's back doing the decoding, but I'm guaranteed he'll get his condition back under control. This has happened before, ladies." Mia nodded; of course, it happened before. The both of them knew Garak well enough. His wife, Ziyal, had panicked upon learning the nature of her husband's medical status and pleaded with the counselor - Kilana - to help him soon, which the Vorta promised. Mia prayed she would. She might respect his loyalty to his own people who turned their backs on him, but he was needed to help end the war. Several times tried, and it prolonged.

Something had to happen soon.

I hope it does, too, Weyoun agreed with her. Enough blood on everyone's hands has been spilled. Then Odo can do his part to ensure peace between our peoples.

~o~

Seven years of living on this station, long abandoned by the Cardassians when they occupied the one planet eventually gave him more friends and people to look down over and see how much had changed. Benjamin Sisko could not believe any of it. Just as he could not believe that his daughter got married - and to a defective enemy of all people - and gave him his first granddaughter, but his son had no plans of that yet.

Despite a war still shedding blood amidst their ranks and on the Dominion-Cardassian side, it seemed everyone was finding happiness. The brighter things looked, you could only hope for the better. And right in front of him - as well as beside him - was living proof of it. In it were a few wild moba trees, as well as a creek that ran through the meadows and into the surrounding forest. This was Bajor's Kendra Province, south of the Yolja River. He'd bought it during the latest conference after one of the vedeks requested the captain to visit his monastery. The shining image of traveling through the mountains as the sun went down, illuminating the valley in sight...

It was the very place he knew he wanted to build his house. A house where he could retire after the war ended, where Mia and Weyoun could bring by Riona and any other children they would have, where Jake would bring his own family...and where Benjamin would live with Kasidy beside him. When the war was over, the construction would begin.

"Oh, I can see you now," Kasidy said, "sitting in your rocking chair with your teeth in the glass beside you, just like your grandfather. And sitting out on the porch watching the sun go down every night." Who had known he would ever grow to love Bajor so much that he would decide to spend the rest of his life? Who knew that ever since reconstructing Deep Space 9, nothing would ever turn the way he imagined? It was funny how life played. It was supposed to be temporary - and it became so much more. It was like he was...destined to come here. He was the Emissary of the Prophets, and the word destiny meant so many things.

~o~

How funny life ended up being, Lynet thought as she sat with Annora, Kilana, Jadzia Dax, Dr. Bashir, and Chief O'Brien in the replimat. She'd had few true friends, but ever since being stationed on Deep Space 9 and meeting these wonderful people, she found she began to enjoy life more than she ever thought she would. She happened to even find Dax's husband, Worf, very...interesting. He was favored enough, but a few people - including Quark - called him a "walking frown", and she did see why. Yelgrun worked beside him and called him so, too, but tolerated him enough.

He holds a grudge against me notably, her husband sent to her, still at work at least for another hour before his break would come, but seldom did he truly take off from work ever since coming here. He found it more enjoyable than with the Dominion where it was very boring at times. Middle-age-looking he was, but he enjoyed excitement just like Weyoun and Keevan. Nowadays he would gather with the other two Vorta to just share how their lives turned out, noting the drastic changes now that the three of them had come together - it was just that simple despite the complexities. Mia was the one who took it that simple, only choosing to see beyond when there was anything suspicious; it was not so with three enemies coming together on another side of war.

Whoever would have predicted that three couples - two cousins, two somewhat friend-brothers who were rivaled with one outcast, two female best friends - would come together the way they were now? Lynet reconnected with her cousin just like that, far easier than it had been for Yelgrun and Keevan to renew their friendship, for example. This hardly did justice to the old saying "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer".

The Trill was coming back with her raktajino and with a bored expression that usually was not part of her demeanor. "I bumped into Captain Boday yesterday," she told them all when she sat down in front of them.

"Captain Boday?" Miles repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"The Gallamite," Julian clarified, rolling his eyes.

"The one Jadzia used to date before she married Worf," another voice announced, getting their attention and causing Jadzia to hiss and draw her to sit down, but everyone laughed. "The one with the transparent skull and showing his brains..." Mia teased as she slouched down between her best friend the reporter and the Vorta female, who made a disgusted sound.

"Transparent minds? I doubt it's an attractive sight," Kilana noted as she inhaled her heated raktajino.

Annora nodded. "It's not pretty at all. I've seen better men, even known better. Jadzia -" She shook her head. "- I don't even know what you ever saw in him other than the fact he was interesting."

Dax scoffed. "He talks too much, for one. He has not changed at all."

"Then what was he doing here on the station?" Lynet asked with a snort, warming her hands up around her cup.

"The Gallamites are supplying duranium for the war effort. I really don't know what I saw in him either," Jadzia said, laughing with the ladies, Lynet herself included. "He's insufferable."

Julian refrained from bursting out into uncontrollable guffaws. "You took the words out of my mouth. He's opinionated, arrogant..."

You really wouldn't have gone for someone like a toothy, transparent-headed Gallamite over a devilishly charming fellow like myself, would you? Yelgrun teased her, trying to rile her up by pinching a nerve in her, but she straightened her posture. That would wound my self-esteem indefinitely.

Not at all, she replied, kissing him.

"Colonel!" O'Brien said, looking past the women, who followed his eyes along with Bashir to see Kira Nerys - now three months pregnant and promoted colonel only a week ago - standing there with a face bearing bad news.

"We just got word from the Klingons," she answered, looking down at her friend the science officer. "The Rotarran and the Koraga were ambushed by a Dominion patrol near the Badlands."

Jadzia gasped softly, leaning back. "Worf was commanding the Koraga! Is anyone still alive?" she asked, trying to keep calm and clear-headed...but the answer from the Bajoran was worse: the Koraga didn't make it, but six escape pods had been recovered by the surviving Rotarran...except Commander Worf wasn't among the survivors rescued. The Trill closed her eyes and bowed her head, worried for her husband's life if he was still even out there.

Lynet had her own thoughts, well aware of the others around her hoping Worf was still alive as he was a friend and fellow officer who couldn't just be left out there. He had to have been swept away deeper into the Badlands somehow. "I guess we all know what this means," she announced. "Captain Sisko won't let our strategic operations officer go without a fight."

"If he's still out there," Bashir pointed out, getting a look of disapproval from Dax.

"I know he is," she said, determined. The same loyalty any wife would have for her husband, which Lynet Ross knew all too well. And because she was a wife herself, she would be out with the others to help recover her husband before any Dominion patrol ships returned to that area.

~o~

Commander Worf had not been found amongst the survivors of the Klingon Koraga. Yelgrun wasn't exactly a friend as he was with his fellow Vorta, but the Klingon was the husband of the intelligent, sane-minded Dax who he sometimes wondered why she married that schizoid. He got to thinking maybe she wasn't as sane as she appeared; he liked to think she wed him because he was a part of her predecessor's life and the culture he understood more than anyone else.

His wife seemed to find Worf interesting, but for what reason? Lynet seemed to have none this time around, other than the fact she shared her love of the hunt with him and his brother-in-arms, Martok. She could very much travel to Qo'noS for a trip to spill blood and drink the wine in the name afterward. The smell of it made Yelgrun retch inside and came close to literally doing so.

Lynet went off with Captain Sisko and others of the Defiant to tear the Badlands in and out to find their comrade, while he took a break in the Ferengi's bar and found the Trill officer sitting along with her coffee in front of her, but she was not thirsty as she was consumed with her husband on her mind. You're being a little judgmental, he heard Lynet's voice. If you were in Worf's place, same with Weyoun and Keevan, I would worry for you - and my cousin and Mia would agonize the same way. He sighed to himself; she was right, as always. He sat down beside Dax and cleared his throat, getting her attention. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, having nothing of the sort on his mind - and a familiar obnoxious voice made him roll his eyes.

"Apparently not, Yelgrun. Even if she asked for it, there's not much you can do that doesn't involve what her...husband can give her when she needs it," Quark leered, making him snap.

"I don't believe I asked your opinion, Ferengi," he growled until Jadzia raised both her hands.

"Alright, boys. I don't need this right now."

"Sorry, Jadzia," Quark apologized sincerely. "But, anything from the Defiant yet?"

She shrugged. "I talked to Benjamin this morning. He said that, according to the Koraga's crew, Worf was the last one to leave the bridge." And no one knew if he made it to the escape pod, which left a dead end. Quark nodded with his lips pursed.

"My money says he did. We haven't seen the last of that crazy Klingon."

Yelgrun raised both eyebrows. "What makes you so sure? The search has gone on for three days with nothing, and my old people constantly patrol that area," he pointed out.

"And it only takes a while," Quark returned. "They'll find him, and I know it. We all know what it is like in the Badlands - a lot of sensor interference." He looked beside him at the sound of Jadzia's defeated exhale.

"A part of me wishes I should have gone with them."

Quark reared back defensively. "And what would you have done that they can't?" he demanded, not to be rude but to speak logically.

"Probably nothing! But it'd be easier than just sitting and waiting." The normally cool and collected, humorous Dax had lost her sense because her beloved was out there, probably dead, and didn't want to believe it. Dax the symbiont was three hundred and a half years old, but obtained the same sense of inability to mature properly, and Yelgrun wouldn't be surprised if her Worf called out that fault to his wife from time to time. He chuckled to himself; those two were not much different from him and Lynet in that sense.

"He'll be back before you know it," he assured her, smiling, looking up at Quark and seeing the concurring nod.

Quark clapped in front of them for the correct answer. "Exactly! He couldn't enjoy the afterlife knowing I had something on him." Jadzia laughed, but the laugh didn't last, given hours later and in the evening, Yelgrun heard from her that she got the call from Sisko: the search had been called off, and the Defiant was coming back.

"A Dominion patrol, perhaps dozens, were on the way to the Badlands," she told him and Kilana, given she needed someone to confide in, devastated. "And they couldn't risk it." She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose as a means of alleviating the anxiety in her body, which Yelgrun knew too well, and Kilana wished she could do something to console.

And then the Trill surprised them. "But I won't give up on Worf," she declared, standing up from the table of her and Worf's quarters, walking out of the dining area and into the main room. "Look on that wall." She pointed ahead to show two bat'leth hanging. "One is Worf's, and the other was his father's which he gave to me not long after we met. This entire space -" She turned back to them and spread her arms on either side of herself for emphasis. "- has every memory of our relationship. And over there is where I remember playing with baby Kirayoshi O'Brien and he offered to take over." She motioned past them to where the edge of the sofa was. "I told him he might be a great warrior who won my heart, but he wasn't good with babies. Hell, he wasn't there when his son Alexander was born, but that wasn't his fault."

Kilana clasped her hands in front of her anxiously. "And what else? For example, your decision to marry?" she asked, almost excitedly, making Jadzia smile.

"From the beginning, I knew Worf wanted to ask me, and by the time the war began, and we all were evacuating this station, I told him I wanted to marry him as soon as the war ended, and he agreed - but when we returned and the plans resumed, Lady Sirella challenged us both because I was an 'outsider' who did not respect her authority. I wouldn't bow down before her, but even though I ultimately won her forgiveness, I still didn't give any part of myself up. Worf and I were married, sworn to 'join and stand against all who oppose us'," she finished proudly, putting both hands on her hips and lifting her chin. "And the story goes that when two Klingon hearts beat together, nothing can stop them. My husband is out there...and I'm not going to let anyone, anything - not even the Dominion - take him from me!"

His own heart was beating so rapidly that such a story was not one he had heard in some time. If we join together, no force can stop us... he sent to Lynet, who was on her way home on the Defiant. "What are you going to do now?" he asked Dax with a grin that she returned.

"What Dax does best: the right thing."

~o~

The Defiant parked at its usual airlock, the search called off, and with no success of finding Worf. Ben didn't want to give up any more than any of them did, but Dominion ships were approaching that they had to get back to DS9 safely. Lynet could imagine how Worf's wife was doing. They were all greeted by Colonel Kira when they arrived - and with bad news.

"We have a problem, Captain, and it's Jadzia. She's...gone."

Somehow Lynet knew this would happen. It was brash, something Annora would do and she wasn't even a Starfleet officer, and this shocked everyone. Going on, Kira explained a runabout was missing, and some of them wondered what she had been thinking. Calmly, Sisko answered for them all. "She's a Dax. Sometimes they don't think; they just do. We're going to Ops to bring her back." Beneath the cool tone, he was a little angry that his trusted friend had to leave without his permission but also understood why she did this in risking her own life.

Unfortunately, when they all did reach Ops, Jadzia politely refused to return and requested the logs from the Defiant to help her in her search - and the runabout stolen was the Ganda. Even Odo was surprised that the captain was letting her do this. Lynet watched as her commanding officer did the deed and let Dax pick up, promising to bring back both Worf AND herself alive and well. "If I tried to stop her," Sisko said to them all, "she would never forgive me."

~o~

The model for his dream home on Bajor was finished, and now he was showing Kasidy. It was beautiful and spacious, with a fantastic kitchen and gardens - and Mia could fall head over heels when she saw this. She might see this as an idea of a new home for her family, just to be near Ben.

Kasidy was coming out of the bedroom and seeing him finish. He'd been up late simply because he couldn't sleep - mostly because of Jadzia being out there and searching for her husband. "Hey, Ben," Kas assured him, "if Worf is out there, she'll find him." If only he could one hundred percent believe that, but if anything happened to either of them, he would have to live with it. Kasidy smiled as she admired the attention to detail. In addition to the moba trees, the soil was perfect for kava so he could make his own spring wine.

A kitchen debated on whether or not it should be separate or joined with the living area was not enough as much as one important factor was. For the last few weeks, he'd gone out of his way with Quark's help for the important question he'd been dying to ask this woman in front of him. Reaching over to push her hair out of her face, Benjamin whispered, "Let's get married."

"Do you mean it?" Kasidy asked, amazed.

"I love you," he answered, and that was sincere enough to give him a kiss that gave him the answer. After breaking it, he reached for the little vase on the table in the model of the living area, pulling out the one thing that wasn't easy to come by during wartime, according to Quark. Terellian diamonds were rare but precious; the gemstone popped from the sculpted golden band in a round drop of clear brilliance, even brighter than any star in the galaxy. Kasidy gasped when he slipped it around her finger.

"It's a beautiful ring, Benjamin Sisko. Yes, I will marry you."

Chapter Text

"Daddy is getting married!" Mia said happily when she came home with the baby in one arm and a brand new flower arrangement in the other, grinning ear-to-ear than Weyoun remembered seeing lately. "It's about time, too. I never thought he would actually pop the question to Kasidy, Jake."

"Neither did I," her brother agreed as he sat beside Weyoun on the sofa. "After all, I WAS the one to set them both up."

Weyoun laughed. Jake Sisko was not going to take all the credit just because he arranged the match between his father and the freighter captain. He would, however, get the credit to plan Sisko's bachelor party, which Weyoun looked forward to. Endless fun? He could go with that. He looked at the flowers that his wife set in the middle of the table. According to the brochure she acquired, it was a light green square dish set with some small bamboo, purple orchids, and soft pink roses as well as a palm leaf. Mia had fantastic taste and loved to brighten things up in their home. "Mrs. O'Brien helped pick it out," she said sweetly. "She's a botanist, loves plants."

"Of course she does, but about our dad," Jake said, taking the baby from her and cooing to her. "Hello, come to your Uncle Jake."

"You got a lot of responsibility coming up, little brother," she told him with one hand on her hip, waving a finger at him. "Kasidy asked me to be her maid of honor, which I gotta do with managing a baby and a husband at the same time." She threw her head back and laughed it off. "I haven't done it since Leeta."

Weyoun looked her over and smirked. He hadn't been to a wedding since their own as well as Odo and Kira's which occurred at the same time, same day. His father-in-law's would be the second - or third? - to count. "I think it's exciting," he told Jake, glancing back to see him bouncing Riona up and down on his knee, making her shriek with laughter and reaching out before her at nothing in particular. She was only five months old, but already he and Mia were talking and thinking about baby number two after the war was over...if anyone would live to see the day. He prayed it would. He wanted peace to prevail over tragedy.

~o~

Dax and Worf were overdue by four days, amplifying his fears tenfold that behind closed doors of his quarters, Sisko wasn't sure if he would ever see either of them again. Jadzia did what she had to, and he let her get away with it, but Curzon before her was notorious for doing the same so she carried him inside her. Dax had a long line of charm, manipulation, courage, and determination. If he and the others knew where they were, they would at least get a lock and retrieve them themselves...

It was getting late when he sat on the sofa, looking down at the model of his Bajoran dream home he would build himself when the buzzer rang. "Come in."

"I hope I'm not intruding."

He turned around at the visitor. "Weyoun." And in his arms was none other than little Riona. "I could use someone to talk to," he said, laughing and taking the baby to sit on his lap. She squeaked and reached for him, smiling wide. "Mr. Worf and Dax have not come back. You have any idea what might have happened to them?" If there was anyone who could help him out, if anyone believed the Dominion might have played a part in the disappearances of his two best officers - or if Jadzia hadn't gotten to Worf before the enemy - then Weyoun had to be the man to talk to.

His son-in-law inhaled through his nose. "I pray I am wrong, but it's possible the Dominion could have gotten to her, or both of them if she did find him successfully. But if not, then I have no idea who else. It's been so many months since I have heard anything regarding my former people," he confessed sadly, reaching and taking his daughter's little hand into his own.

Benjamin took this in and exhaled sharply. He would not believe Jadzia and Worf were dead, but there was nothing much he could do about it at the present. "I don't want to think about this," he confessed, "and it doesn't feel right to continue planning my wedding without Dax especially. When I first got married to Jennifer, my first wife, it was a quiet ceremony, and the night before, Curzon helped me plan my bachelor party." He cracked a grin at the memory. "And now Jake is doing the job for me."

Weyoun chuckled, his soft and pleasant laugh now something Ben could welcome without cringing inside. But he could not say the same for another Weyoun on Cardassia Prime at the very moment. Then the Vorta's attention diverted to the model home on the coffee table. "I wish I could say what a wondrous job you have done with this, if not for the fact my eyes are weak. A new habitat, I take?"

"I intend to begin building my new home on Bajor in the Kendra Province as soon as this war ends, where Kasidy will move in with me. Jake, you and Mia and your children can drop by at any time when it happens."

~o~

A fine several days she and Worf had after she saved him from the Badlands. He'd spent six days listening to and singing Klingon opera to pass the time, fasted on field rations, and they got no further away when they were attacked by Jem'Hadar and forced to crash-land on Goralis III, where they both forgot the communication system and had to hotwire their comm badges to try and grab a signal. While Jadzia worked on that, he hunted for them and stuck a wild beast to bring back for them both.

It was a hell of a night, and making wild love once before they both awoke then only to be stunned by Breen and wake up on their ship. What were the Breen doing on Goralis? They were only three weeks away from Breen space, but they would find out soon enough after enduring days of algae paste and other horrid menus, as well as shocking cortical probes before they were both brought to the bridge and face-to-face with Weyoun and Damar and their Jem'Hadar.

The Breen had joined with the Dominion.

"The Breen are without honor," Worf raged when they were both brought down to their cell below at Weyoun's order to "physically comfort each other on the long trip back home"; that slimy, purple-eyed bastard! He was nowhere near the man Weyoun 6 was. Number 7 was killed by his hand, so this one was eighth in his line. "And the fact they aligned with the Dominion and Cardassian -!"

Jadzia gritted her teeth; the both of them were hanging upside down, which was meant to be uncomfortable for them both, but it helped her back. Emony in her, the acrobat, enjoyed it very much. "It spells disaster for the Federation and the rest of us," she agreed. And that meant they had to get away soon by the time they got to Cardassia Prime to warn Ben and the others. But how were they going to with both Jem'Hadar AND Breen guarding every post?

They had been here for a few days with no contact outside except being given food twice a day, and Cardassian cuisine was neither's favorite. Jadzia remembered trying yamok sauce once and nearly threw it up, so being given it again was no surprise. In the meantime, she and Worf were busy trying to break a nail from the bed to use as a key to unlock their cell door from inside, and afterward, they would find means of knocking out any guards and taking their weapons. But now was not their chance, for they were given unwanted "visitors", and neither husband nor wife was in the best shape. Worf's uniform consisted of his red undershirt, trousers and boots, and his hair tied back behind his head; as for Jadzia herself, her hair was mussed and she was in just her sleeveless gray tank and the same below the waist as her husband. But Weyoun didn't seem to care about their lack of presentation, smiling from ear to ear and stepping into the cell - and beside him was none other than Mia's Vorta clone, Amaya, whose face was stoned with pure spite as she remembered them all too well. Jadzia returned the look with a lift of the chin, then looked back when the ambassador spoke.

"Allow me to take the moment to welcome you both to Cardassia Prime. I trust you both have been well treated so far?"

"You could say that," Jadzia answered sarcastically. He laughed.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way, I have been looking over the information you supplied to the Breen during interrogation, and I have to admit it was somewhat...confusing, as mental probes so often are." His eyes glittered. "If either of you wouldn't mind, would you...sift through and clarify certain issues for us?"

She tried not to gasp, only looked at Worf and saw the same question in his eyes: he could not be serious! What the Breen invaded from their minds was none of this creature's business, and neither was it his little concubine's. Amaya snickered. "Weyoun, love, I doubt they are willing. I can see it in their eyes. They don't think you mean well." She stroked his arm tenderly.

He snorted and pulled himself free before returning his attention to the prisoners. "Hmm, you are right, my dear. Dax..." The way he said her name made her recoil. "...I never waste my words. If neither of you do as I ask, I will have to hand you over to Legate Damar -" He nodded towards the doorway behind him. "- and you know how ruthless the Cardassians can be."

"And it is my duty," Damar answered, stepping forward and holding up a PADD, "to inform you that you will be turned over to a Cardassian tribunal - where you will be tried as war criminals."

"War criminals?" Jadzia spat. "And the charges?"

"Nothing necessary for you to know," Amaya said sweetly, "but know that the both of you are going to be found guilty and sentenced to death."

She wanted to close her eyes and shut everything out but found she couldn't. She and Worf - they would both be executed here on Cardassia without any hopes of getting the word out back to Benjamin about this new deadly alliance that tripled the power. "However," Weyoun spoke calmly, "if you should decide to join us to search for a quick end to this...miserable war, your sentence will be reduced to life imprisonment." That still meant no hope, but she would not give either of them the upper hand.

"Dax won't be intimidated or tempted by your pathetic offer," she snarled. "If you want this war over, then convince your gods to surrender. Your overconfidence is always your weakness."

The female Vorta started forward, ready to strike her, and Jadzia almost smiled that she struck a nerve. But Weyoun held her back and turned her around to give her a warning look before it lashed back into its bemused smirk. "You know, Jadzia, it amuses me that such a spirited, intelligent woman like yourself could even allow herself to be mated with a hot-tempered brute." At the remark, Worf growled and started forward only to be struck down by a Cardassian guard in the abdomen, groaning and falling to the ground. Jadzia knelt to support him, all the while glowering at the group.

"It appears I won't be able to get an answer from either of you today," Weyoun noted, almost sadly and shaking his head. He gestured for Amaya to come with him, leaving Legate Damar to direct a sadistic smile at the couple.

"Consider his offer, the both of you. You die in four days, depending on the legal protocol to take place before the trial."

~o~

Worf and Jadzia had been gone for over a week now, and by that time, wedding preparations had been made to take place at the Kai's monastery, where there was a grand garden of serenity that Kira recommended for Benjamin and Kasidy. When she and Yelgrun were taken off from DS9 along with everyone else just for the day because it was very special, Lynet could not get over how beautiful and breathtaking Bajor was, not just this location where Captain Sisko and Captain Yates would tie the knot.

She looked around as she stood with her husband and the others around the circle of smooth stones - the waterfalls, the flowers, and plants, calming statuary - in which a Bajoran vedek stood with the eminent Kai Winn Adami behind him and smiling her blessings. Though as she studied the powerful woman, Lynet wasn't quite sure how to place her thoughts other than the information she learned from Benjamin and Colonel Kira: ambitious, powerful, and cool were the three words of choice. Not that she was abusive or anything like that; in fact, she was a good leader enough. I don't quite fancy her, either, Yelgrun sent, wrinkling his nose as though catching something terrible. She tolerates the captain enough, same on his part. And Captain Yates didn't even want a great service, did she?

She shook her head. Kasidy wanted to have a fairly quiet affair, but a wedding was a once-in-a-lifetime. On her own part, she hadn't had the chance to enjoy the bridal moment because she had no eyes, but there was a human custom of renewing your vows after a significant number of years either to recapture the moment you missed or simply to reaffirm your love. Maybe someday she and Yelgrun could have that opportunity - but right now was her commander and his fiancée's moment.

The bride herself arrived with Jake Sisko beside her, leaning in and whispering to her how beautiful she was. Though Lynet didn't believe in the Prophets, she knew they were smiling down on this day. Yates' dress was made by Garak, who stood with his wife Ziyal and was proud of his work. It was understated but sweet lace and chiffon which touched the ground with a small train, and the neckline was a bateau complete with long sleeves. She was glowing and radiant. A flute was played to add to the ethereal atmosphere as she joined Benjamin in the middle of the circle while the vedek chanted sonorously in ancient Bajoran with his hand raised, and all heads bowed in prayer for the union. When that was done, he took a golden bowl from the Kai and handed it first to Ben, who took a small sip as part of the ritual, then passed it to Kasidy, and when it was done, the vedek spoke, "May the Prophets bless you both, and walk with you always until the end of time." Then he stepped aside for Admiral William Ross - her father - to say his part as it was an honor for him to officiate for his friend and colleague.

When Lynet met with her father again not many weeks ago, it was like she was talking to a stranger, and now hadn't truly changed just because they were both at the wedding of one person they cared about. Holding Yelgrun's hand gave her small comfort; speaking of her marriage, he was no more or less differed to the fact she, too, was married to a Vorta. She liked to thank Annora for that.

"One of the most pleasant duties of a senior officer is the privilege of joining two people together in matrimony," Bill spoke with a smile. "Today I have the honor of uniting Kasidy Danielle Yates and Benjamin Lafayette Sisko in marriage. Kasidy, do you accept this man as your husband to love and to cherish above all others until death separates you?"

She looked first at him and then at the man who would become her husband, VERY soon. "I do," she answered.

"Benjamin..." Now he had his attention to his brother-in-arms with no difference. "...do you accept this woman as your wife to love and to cherish above all others until death separates you?"

"I do."

"And these rings are a symbol of your love for each other - and a promise to abide by the vows you have made today." When said rings were exchanged, Lynet found herself looking down at her own wedding ring, with the tanzanite and diamonds sparkling in the sun, blinding her with the intensity that she almost lost track of what happened next. When her vision swam back into focus with a few dots dancing before her irises, a tear slipped and burned her cheek in a streak. "By the power vested in me and the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The applause roared to life, and everyone went to congratulate the couple: from Odo and his pregnant wife Colonel Kira to Miles and his family, to Julian Bashir and Kilana, Quark and the rest of the clan, Jake, Mia and her husband and daughter, as well as Annora, Keevan and their son, ending with Lynet and Yelgrun.

But despite the happiness surrounding them, there were only two important people left who were not present and should have been there.

~o~

They had no luck in trying to escape. When they did by the next morning, Worf had a crowbar taken from the leg of their bed and knocked out the Cardassians guarding them, but he and Jadzia didn't get far enough only for him to be shot and her foolishly staying behind to drag him along - and that got them both in a new cell.

Worf was taken to what was an excuse of an "infirmary" for a prisoner, leaving Jadzia herself to be beaten down by Jem'Hadar, electrified by Breen; the symbiont wasn't hurt that terribly, but her entire body was. She thought she was going to die before her husband was returned to her. When they were both locked away again, the security was even greater than before...and with zero chances of escaping. So, this was how it ended for them both: Jadzia Idaris being the final host to end the Dax legacy with an execution, and the Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance would not stand a chance with their ignorance.

"There is no honor in self-pity," Worf said. Sighing, she leaned into him.

"I know, but think of it as how it ends, my love. First, we fall, and then the Federation. Because of me. Because I went out to save you."

"Your motives were honorable, Jadzia," he told her. "You were honorable up to the very end." They would both die today, and they had to make their time together last while they could. His leg had gotten better, but when they made love one last time last night, it did not involve bruises or broken bones just for the sake of it.

And the door to their cell opened, signaling their doom had come. "It's time," Damar stated stoically, the Jem'Hadar behind him with their phaser rifles raised and ready in case they tried to escape. Standing and holding their heads high, Jadzia Dax and Worf held their hands together, walking ahead of their captors because it was required -

- and then phaserfire sounded, as well as bodies falling. Whirling around, the couple saw the Jem'Hadar dead and DAMAR picking up their weapons to hand to them. She gaped. Why did he help them? "Take these," Damar said. "There is a patrol ship waiting in the second cargo bay above, and all the needed information is in its computers to get you both safely away from here. I want you to give a message to Captain Sisko: he has an ally here on Cardassia."

~o~

He waited at the airlock with his Lynet, Bashir, and O'Brien as well as Kilana while they waited for the long-awaited arrival of the missing couple they thought was dead. According to one of the pilots of the Cardassian vessel, the Ganda had been destroyed near Goralis III along with its comm system so there had been no way to contact help - but here they were, alive and well, and with more than enough to tell them, no doubt.

Why did Yelgrun begin to think they might not be found after all? Barely two weeks of no news had been enough to get him aboard that train of thought. Lynet teased him. I told you so, darling. Dax and Worf made it. Element of surprise, like me and Kilana.

A tactic I know all too well.

Before the couple returned, Sisko had gathered Yelgrun and the others now to tell them what Commander Dax told them: the Dominion had chosen a new set of allies more dangerous than the Cardassians...the Breen. He had to talk to Weyoun and Keevan, the triumvirate they were together, soon. Oh, damn it, why did he have to leave Kilana, the only lady in their group, out like that? He shook his head. Their former gods were tired of how disappointing their reptilian allies had gotten so diverted their attention to someone more...competent. The Breen had weapons even greater than the Klingons and Cardassians ever would; they were even better than any existing warrior. Tripled, the Federation and its alliance were outmatched.

"I never doubted you would be back," O'Brien said after hugging Jadzia, then Bashir did the same, following the chief shaking Worf's hand. One by one - the remainder being Yelgrun himself, Kilana, and Lynet - Jadzia embraced the younger woman and then he, which made him feel a little awkward but welcomed, but he could not say the same went for the Klingon who shared his discomfort with Lynet's form of welcome back or even Kilana's taking of the hand into her own as a simple gesture. "Julian here was 'Doom and Gloom' the entire time."

"We must have missed more than a lot," Dax stated, guilt coming to her face. "Benjamin must be more than furious with me."

Kilana reached up and toyed with one of her earrings out of habit. "He is, but he's also been just as concerned for your well-being as the rest of us," she answered.

"He and Kasidy were wed on Bajor while you two were gone," Lynet answered. "We totally missed you both."

Jadzia laughed. "See, Worf?" She gave her husband a light slap on the arm. "I told you they would."

"It was not the same without either of you."

Sisko had made his appearance. He acknowledged Worf before guiding his attention to - "I know what you will say, Benjamin," Jadzia said with both hands raised. "I did take a runabout without permission and lost it, but I did get Worf here safe and sound like I promised."

"We'll evaluate your actions later, old man, but what I need to know is everything about this...Dominion-Breen alliance," the captain said gravely, Worf's response matching.

"I'm afraid we have very little information to share, Captain," he stated, Jadzia concurring.

"Weyoun...8," she added with a look to the other Vorta, not referring to the one living on this station, "and the others were more interested in asking us the questions rather than answering any of ours. I don't even know why Damar bothered to help us, but I can tell you one thing: he despises Weyoun's guts," she said, cracking a small grin before it faded. The Cardassians were a prideful race, but with the Dominion taking a new ally over them and even before that, they were treated no better than second-class. "His people's status is weakened, no doubt with the Breen in the picture now. Whatever his reasons, I think we owe him our lives."

Sisko nodded. "Maybe someday you will return the favor."

What can we do now, now that your former people are more dangerous than ever? Lynet sent to him, and Yelgrun shook his head.

I wish I had the answer. He jerked to look at her when she made a gagging noise and covered her mouth. Since last month she had been ridden with nausea at odd times, but mostly in the morning. "Excuse me, everyone," she said quickly, turning to leave them and find the nearest waste deposit she could find. "I'm sorry!" she called back before a retching sound echoed down the corridor, earning raised eyebrows from everyone.

"I guess she really must have ingested something she shouldn't have," Benjamin said, shrugging before answering a call from Colonel Kira - and they were all ridden with horrific news, even to Yelgrun.

The Breen had attacked Earth - Starfleet Headquarters.

"My God," Sisko said, rubbing his eyes in despair. "They struck home; we have to assemble now and try to fight back. Everyone, I'm going to contact Ross, Martok, and the others to get to the bottom of this. We all had friends and comrades in that building - and who knows if there are any survivors."

~o~

Just when Keevan thought his hatred of the Dominion could not get any worse...and now they attacked Earth with the Breen sent out, far worse than the Jem'Hadar.

He was assembled with his wife Annora and their son in her arms, along with Yelgrun, Kilana, and Weyoun. He wanted his beloved here because she deserved to be; Lynet had taken sick so suddenly and couldn't make it. As for Mia, she had taken it upon herself to take Riona and was staying with her brother. "And I thought I was going to finally hear that the Dominion finally grew their balls to attack my home," Annora said angrily, keeping her cool enough for Kei's sake. Looking down at him, Keevan smiled and reached to tap his finger on the baby's nose, making him laugh. Kei was his pride and joy. "But the Breen? It makes a story to scare everyone else - not that I'll be the one to do the exposure for other means," she added, holding up her hand.

"No one's accusing you of that," Weyoun reassured her before his anger matched hers. "It's atrocious; the Dominion has done the deed in striking fear in all of our hearts."

Starfleet Headquarters was in ruins because of the Breen attack; it proved that the Federation could easily be crushed. Who knew what was next in their space. Captain Sisko was consulting with Command at the very moment. "It's perhaps one of the boldest attacks ever committed in our history," Keevan replied, recalling all the countless victories won and never once losing; even Weyoun remembered that. "This could not measure up to even Klingon standards." He folded his hands in front of himself and sniffed disgustedly. He knew the Breen had a weakness, that they were not as indomitable, and neither was the Dominion. Both had a weakness to be exploited.

"I wonder what the Breen have as a weak spot," Kilana pointed out as though reading his mind. "Starfleet will find the answer before either of us, but the Breen is especially not my special race to know."

It was not a humorous topic, but Keevan looked at his brash, unlimited wife and joked, "My love, would you like to be the one to leave without permission and find out for yourself?" She burst out giggling and everyone joined in, including Yelgrun before the air tensed again. "But it brings us back to the one who is probably having the laugh of his life at this very moment along with the Founder herself," he sneered, wishing he could stand in front of the Female Changeling and spit in her face himself. To see her face would satisfy himself enough.

"My successor is, without a doubt, calling us all timid and cowering with fear," Weyoun snapped, slamming his palm flat on the table surface. Yelgrun sat beside him with his arms folded across his chest, flat-faced and seething at the same time. "He's wrong like the one before him. We just have to find a way to fight back, that is all."

"I'm sorry if I sound hopeless, Weyoun," Yelgrun said, "but all four of us Vorta alone won't do the trick alone."

"And neither will me alone," Annora added. "And what about Damar himself?"

Indeed, it was a question amongst them all. Weyoun's brows furrowed as he tried to figure out why the man who murdered Weyoun 5 had helped Dax and Worf get away from Cardassia Prime - and then his eyes grew wide and round with realization. "Oh, everyone, I believe I know why he let Commanders Worf and Dax escape." Everyone gathered around with surprised interest to listen to his theory - or should Keevan say theory?

"He's trying to free his planet and his people from the Dominion's clutches."

~o~

She never thought that Starfleet Headquarters would ever be attacked for sure, besides that one time in which the Changeling scare had set everyone off their heels, the rest of which had been set up by Admiral Leyton, Lynet's former commander as well as once being Benjamin's. Annora covered that story when the events took place.

But this was beyond the attempted coup d'état.

Riona was currently in her little "backpack" in front of her mother while Mia set up the table and helped Kasidy make dinner. Or perhaps she should have kept her new stepmother away from her father's prized Bajoran peppers. Tonight she wanted to stop by and help Ben's new wife make dinner just to make the end of his day easier. Weyoun was not yet home from his "meeting" regarding the recent attack; he and the other Vorta were just as affected with such rage. No doubt everyone else was feeling the same...but the most dominant emotion was fear.

Mia didn't worry often about anyone getting off the station, but Annora did travel off-station for her job, so that was one person. Her friend's husband must be feeling the same and must be back to trying to overprotect her again. Some people were just too stubborn, and allowed their pride to keep them from seeing what was best in front of them; Mia loved Annora, but she was much more arrogant than the dabo girl.

Smoke was filling the air that she coughed, and the baby did, too. At the same time, another voice entered the sizzling air: "Kasidy, Amelia! What are you both doing?!"

"Sorry, Ben," Kasidy choked out, turning down the burners. "I wanted to make dinner, and Mia was trying to help me, but I overdid the...peppers." She picked up one and awkwardly held it between the clippers much to Ben's dismay.

"It took me three months to grow this. No one touches my prized peppers but ME. From now on, I am the cook in the kitchen." He was trying to smile to lighten up the mood, but the attack on Earth shook him, too. No one knew when the Breen would strike again or where, but he was possibly considering something to be done to protect his new wife, for example. Whatever it was, Kasidy wasn't going to like it. There was a war going on that had gotten worse, but the war between husband and wife was just beginning. She and Weyoun hadn't had many fights since they got married, except the littlest of things regarding their daughter, but for her father and stepmother? Things had gotten more interesting.

~o~

She thought she was going to pass out again. She'd already done that earlier after taking off at lightning speed from the welcoming of Worf and Jadzia to release the next load of contents from her stomach, then being found by Nog to be taken to the infirmary where Nurse Jabara took her to lay down until the doctor arrived. And when he did, not long afterward, Kilana was with him, and he performed the usual examination when both he and Kilana revealed the priority one about the attack which made her vomit again. This made her sick even worse than Norman and Leyton's betrayals.

"I suppose you got off lucky you didn't hear it at first sight," Kilana said as she sat beside the bio-bed, hands in her lap and each resting on the tops of her knees. But she wasn't smiling as she always would; who could attempt to smile at a time like this? "The devastation is terrible, even for my poor eyes. I imagine you still had friends when it was fired upon."

Lynet nodded, but her answer was halfway from the complete truth. "Some old friends from the academy, but I haven't seen them in years. I suppose everyone from the Lakota was lucky to be spared from this fate." It sounded cruel, but it wasn't like she meant that she was glad her old crew and her mother were gone. "But some of us can wish that it should have been us instead of those at Headquarters."

"Indeed," Julian agreed when he came back with his PADD in both hands, face shadowed with both the lingering report of the assault as well as surprised by what he had found. "Lynet, you're healthy in every case except one thing that I didn't think was possible." She frowned at him; what was he talking about? He handed her the information, but when she took it, her hands weakened and she almost dropped it to the harsh floor and shattered it all.

"Oh, God, no...it can't be..."

Chapter Text

He was in Odo's office accepting the new terms and regulations for the safety of the station and arming their weapons if the Breen ever tried to come their way, or anywhere near them. This was also why, before coming to the security office, Benjamin talked to her employer about her safety - without using those words directly, as much as she made it loud and clear she would worry about it on her own.

And no surprise, Kasidy barged into the office angry that he interfered with her business and a month's paid vacation! She needed to understand her husband did this to PROTECT her. "I don't care whether or not it is only a day; I want you to call whoever you called and have them put me back on the active list! How would you feel if I went to Admiral Ross and told him to give YOU time off?" she'd demanded.

Sisko gaped. "It's not the same thing!"

"It IS from where I am standing! My job is just as important as yours is to you!"

They argued about this for about thirty minutes before she left the office in a huff. Benjamin was left in a state of utter defeat. Martok's story of how Sirella let his childhood targ out "accidentally" rang in his brain, reminding him of how a man would win many battles, but his wife would always be the true victor. But Benjamin Sisko wasn't what Sirella was, and because of that - because the general claimed to love his wife more than all the targs in the universe - he decided that he couldn't keep Kasidy from her job even if it was out of his sense of security and stability. Marriage was about compromise, after all. He supposed he should do this just for her.

So, he spoke to the Bajoran Cargo Freights and canceled the monthly absence, then went to one of the flower shops on the Promenade to get one simple item that might begin to win her back over: Bajoran lilacs and carnations, with some additional yellow and pink wildflowers. "They're beautiful," Kasidy commented when she accepted them and inhaled them before raising an eyebrow.

"Does that mean I am forgiven?"

"That depends," she said coyly. "Am I reinstated?"

"Yes." He grinned. "You're back on the active list, and I promise I won't ever interfere with your line of duty again unless YOU tell me to."

"You'd better not." She reached up and tapped his nose just to make them both laugh. Then the doors rang. For a second, Ben wondered if it was Quark with the necklace that had been in case the flowers didn't work. But it was Bill and with more bad news at this time.

He spoke low so as not to worry Kasidy. "Ben, the Breen have launched a counter-offensive against our forces in the Chin'toka system - and they've broken through our lines in two places."

~o~

This was not going to end well, and Lynet knew it. Chin'toka was the only foothold they had in Dominion space in the Alpha Quadrant, and if they lost it, then they were less than a few steps away from losing the war and becoming a vast conquered alliance. Today they would leave as soon as possible to make sure they kept Chin'toka safe, but there was no doubt the Breen would beat them - and even Nog knew that even before they left.

"This is bad," he was muttering. "This is very bad..."

"You say that every time, Ensign," a very pregnant Colonel Kira told him as she sat at the main controls in the center of the bridge.

"Impulse manifold purged and clear," he announced after checking on the main part of the ship's drive, before answering her. "If we lose the Chin'toka system, we lose our only foothold in Dominion territory. I think THAT qualifies as bad."

Lynet snorted as she passed him by. "Well, we haven't lost it yet," she said, initiating the impulse's prestart sequence, followed by the microfusion generators coming online. "Never mind the Breen being unstoppable."

"Lt. Ross is right," Worf agreed. "No one is unstoppable." Except none of them could go off into this battle too lightly...

Well, the mood of the ship certainly was light for now, might as well knock that out and deal with the heavy stuff sooner than later. Miles and Julian were arguing over a misplaced figurine of their new Alamo program and exchanging it back and forth with the rest of them, at the same time aiding in getting the Defiant ready before the captain stepped onto the bridge.

Docking clamps released, they set course to rendezvous at Chin'toka.

By the time they joined the rest of their allied fleets, Romulan attack wings three and nine reached the line of deployment while Federation squadron fighters seven and ten were ordered to break into sections and stand by: "Assume units to launch attack position..."

Everyone was beyond tense as they knew this was it, that the moment had arrived - their own lives as well as those in the Alpha Quadrant depended on this one footing in enemy space.

Lynet had been ridden with bouts of nausea that she held in since before they arrived at their attack point, and by then, thousands of combined Breen and Jem'Hadar attack and war vessels were against them, and the Klingon Birds of Prey, as well as Romulan warbirds, joining. The enemy weapons were locked onto them all - including Lynet and the crew that had become her family. She shoved the sickness to the farthest reaches of her stomach's chambers to be a part of the defense. "All auxiliary power to forward shields," Captain Sisko ordered. "Colonel, attack pattern delta."

"Aye, sir," Kira answered.

"Mr. Worf, quantum torpedoes."

"Target locked," the Klingon stated.

The torpedoes were fired at once, wasting no time in taking out the first Breen vessel there was before them. One of its wings separated from the rest of the ship, bursting into fire and floating about space as the fighting began. Another wasn't so lucky, either...

...but that very same ship fired a blast of blue that none of them had ever seen before. Very soon, the Defiant was wracked with explosions of sparks and threatening fumes. The power went out, counting off everything they lost: helm power, the comm system, and most importantly, the weapons! "Primary computer systems are off-line!" Julian shouted. Another shot sent him out of his chair and groaning in some pain.

"Manual controls are frozen!" Kira yelled. Everything led to one conclusion: whatever the Breen fired on them, it was draining every ounce of the Defiant's power. They were not going to make it unless they all got to the escape pods soon...and that also meant losing the ship Captain Benjamin Sisko and his crew had come to love.

Lynet held herself on, a somewhat selfish determination coming to her that she would not let herself be blinded again by any more shattered debris, or fire even. She had squeezed her eyes closed momentarily before another yell forced her to reopen - and see Colonel Kira lying on the ground, unconscious. Bashir had gotten himself up in time to move over and check her vital signs. Meanwhile, the fire suppressions were off, leaving the manuals as the backup.

"We're venting plasma coolant from over eight separate ESP ruptures!" Dax shouted to the captain. And with eight ruptures from the extrasensory perception, the air was becoming toxic and would kill them all if not for the fact they had to do the hardest thing ever soon. And Sisko knew that. The ablative armor was coming undone, and there were hull breaches on decks three and four.

"Abandon ship," he said somberly. "Everyone, get to the escape pods." He sighed. "She's a fine ship - and every battle we took her onto, including the ones we lost and now this time, she was worth everything."

~o~

"Poor Captain Sisko," Weyoun crooned as he beheld the sight of the ruins of the USS Defiant on his virtual headset. "I believe he was quite fond of that ship." It might have been even more relishing if the crew had been taken with it, but Sisko and his team were too strong to stay behind that way. Nevertheless, several escape pods made it out.

Even better: the entire fleet of the enemy combined turned to flee because they lost so many Federation and Romulans, but the Klingons appeared to have been immune to the Breen dampening weapons. No matter, however. The Dominion and Breen had won.

Amaya's smile twisted with his. "Founder, I believe you will be happy with the report. The Chin'toka system is ours once again."

The Female Changeling nodded. "A step in the right direction. Send my compliments to the Breen," she said.

"I'm sure it would please them greatly," Weyoun told her happily, but it was crushed when she rounded on him.

"Really? I have no idea what would please the Breen, nor do I care as long as they fight and win. I will NOT tolerate defeat any longer," she snapped. He bowed his head but with Amaya? She kept her chin held high, and somehow it brought him back to the memory of Keevan - before he turned against them all, like Weyoun 6, Yelgrun, and Kilana. The four traitors were behind enemy lines and against them all. He tried not to think about his mate suddenly becoming defiant at a time like this.

Weyoun raised his head back up. If it would make the Founder pleased, he wouldn't tolerate the defeat any longer either. To think of all those escape pods so small and so vulnerable, and to leave it to him to be the one to destroy them...

"No," the Female Changeling interrupted. "Let them return to the Federation, filled with frightened and demoralized troops."

"Troops that will spread fear throughout the Federation with tales of what happened here today," Weyoun breathed as he took his Amaya's hand into his own, longing to pull her close to him at this victory, but it was deemed inappropriate. The Founder was wise to let terror return to strike it into the hearts of innocent civilians and the soldiers fighting to protect them, that they were going to lose and become pets of their new owners: the Dominion and the Breen.

~o~

Mia had run to him and Odo in the security office, Keevan being there, too, crying and out of breath from running as she came to break them the frightful news as the crew came back - but the ship had been lost, and it was a prize to them all and the only one they ever counted on. They lost trying to protect Chin'toka, and the Breen had an energy dampening weapon that they were not able to resist.

"Oh, I only wish we had that kind of weaponry," Keevan muttered, having the baby in his embrace by the time Mia had broken the word. His lip curled. "Now that we know we might have a chance to see this as a weakness of the Breen - and none other than one of their most valuable weapons."

"But HOW?" Odo pointed out. "We have lost many a fine soldiers and ships, including the one that we have always considered valuable to us all. Now that we lost the Defiant, who knows what we will be able to do next now that we know the Breen can get to us all here on Deep Space 9." He walked over and took Mia into his embrace, patting her back that was supposed to be Weyoun's job, but he wasn't selfish. Odo was one of her dearest friends, and he'd delivered their daughter when they crashed on Soukara and with the Jem'Hadar on their trail. "What else happened, Mia?"

She hiccupped before continuing, constantly looking back between him and her husband and Keevan with the baby.

The escape pods were recovered by Admiral Ross and the others, but when they returned with several injured, one of them was none other than Colonel Kira - and her husband was sent into full-blown worry mode for her and immediately took off for the infirmary, where she was being cared for with the others. Weyoun and Keevan followed him, along with Mia and Riona in her arms, also finding out that three officers were dead from their wounds...and the colonel herself turned out to be a number one priority when the rest would make full recovery, the reason showed when Dr. Bashir went to the small group and told them that the colonel's amniotic sac had breached while the Defiant was crackled with Breen energy, getting stronger while she was in the escape pod with Bashir and another patient.

"She's going to have the babies within the hour if we operate quickly enough to save both of them and their mother," the doctor added, stunning them all. "She's carrying twins, Odo."

Weyoun was stunned to his core. The colonel and Odo were having not one child, but two. How was it possible? In his own race, natural Vorta had one child at a time. But not all people were alike. Odo's reaction was priceless as he just learned he and his wife were having more children than they thought, and when they were in the middle of an even greater danger than before. But the babies had to be saved, and their mother needed to be protected, too, as she'd been sent into shock.

Everyone waited outside, with the exception of the other crew members who had gone back to Ops, and Admiral Ross was meeting with the captain without a doubt to discuss a countermeasure they needed fast. Weyoun shut his eyes as he held his daughter close to him - Mia had gone back to the bar as her employer needed her at her dabo table - and sat with Keevan beside him, as well as Annora and Kei with him, and finally Kilana. Odo was more worried than the rest of them, it seemed because this was his wife and children. Weyoun remembered it all too well.

Nearly an hour later, his sensitive ears picked up a pair of high cries, and then another to give the additional pitch. He almost jumped, but it was Odo who did, and he was already going into the infirmary to see his children born. Keeping Riona upwards and looking in with him, followed by the others, Kira was sitting upwards and sweating from hard labor. In her arms were both little bundles that Odo was threatening to give way into his natural state at the sight of. He'd delivered one baby, now he got to have two more of his own. Weyoun couldn't have been any happier for him. In a crisis, two births had made a difference - and then another got the attention of himself and everyone on Deep Space 9 as the viewscreens throughout were turned on as Commander Dax had gotten a hold of and thought they would all find it interesting...and it certainly did, because a part of Weyoun felt enormous clarity, even though he still raged at the sight of the man who had murdered his predecessor - the father of the little one in his arms - and tried to have him, Odo and Mia, as well as their child, put to death.

~o~

The speech by none other than Legate Damar had been spread throughout the quadrant, even for his former allies to see and hear. Yelgrun allowed his face to stretch with a smile as he, Lynet, and the rest of the crew listened - along with everyone else on the station - to what they never thought they would hear from the leader of the Cardassian Union.

"And so two years ago, our government signed a treaty with the Dominion. In it, the Dominion promised to extend Cardassia's influence throughout the Alpha Quadrant; in exchange, we pledged ourselves to join the war against the Federation and its allies. Cardassians have never been afraid of war, a fact we've proven time and again over these past two years. Seven million of our brave soldiers have given their lives to fulfill our part of the agreement, but what has the Dominion done in return? Nothing." The bitterness and resentment were there, which was never easy to fake. "We've gained no new territories. In fact, our influence throughout the quadrant has diminished. And to make matters worse, we are no longer masters in our own home. Travel anywhere on Cardassia, and what do you find? Jem'Hadar, Vorta...and now Breen. Instead of the invaders, we have become the invaded. Our so-called friends and allies have conquered us without firing a single shot - well, no longer," Damar declared proudly like the man he was. "This morning, detachments of the Cardassian First, Third, and Ninth Orders attacked the Dominion outpost on Rondac III - the site of a Vorta cloning facility, none other. This assault marks the first step towards the liberation of our homeland from the true conquering demons - the Dominion and the Breen. I now call upon Cardassians everywhere: resist. Resist today, resist tomorrow. Resist until the last Dominion soldier has been driven from our soil."

True conquering demons - I never thought I would hear those words, Lynet sent to him before leaning into him. "About time," she whispered. "Damar might have saved us time to plan our next move. There might be hope for us all yet."

Yelgrun agreed. The Cardassians finally grew a set to stand up to the Dominion and resist, but Weyoun over there might be thinking they could all be crushed fast - and the Female Founder being the one to organize the search as they never wasted time. Let's only hope Damar and what best of an organized resistance couldn't be found before the Federation did. They might as well be the key to saving the entire Alpha Quadrant.

~o~

She had not been able to stop thinking about the broadcast all day. Damar, her unacquainted sworn enemy, had begun to organize a league of rebels against the Dominion-Breen alliance so he could free his people and perhaps help hers win this war. But she would not get her hopes too high; the fighting was still far from over.

The news was not entirely ambiguous; Nerys had endured what she had, the attack on the Defiant sending her into a shock and early labor, birthing two healthy Bajoran children - a boy and a girl, which took everyone, even Odo the father, aback altogether. Mia wished she was there like she had been when the colonel surrogated Kirayoshi, but Quark needed her to fill in the post of one of the other dabo girls who had taken sick during the day.

When her shift ended, she went straight home and to her family, bringing home dinner from the Bajoran café and finding Weyoun tired to his bones as well as Riona playing around on the floor in front of the sofa. She was learning to sit up so quickly, laughing and crawling around and pushing the ball around, her daddy giving a lazy chuckle now and then. But Mia knew better; her husband might be enjoying the fact his daughter was learning so quickly, but he was worn out after all day and taking her around so much. Perhaps they should start leaving her with Uncle Jake once in a while.

"If it makes you feel better, I brought something home," Mia said cheerily, holding up the bags, the smell reaching his nostrils. He chortled and sat up straighter.

"What would I do without you?"

She handed him the food while she went to pick up the little one underneath the arms and hoisted her up. Riona cooed and held onto her mother. "You get the food ready and I'll take care of her," she said, heading into the bedroom. "Has she been changed yet?"

"I did the job an hour ago, yes."

"She fed?"

"Two hours ago."

Mia almost laughed. Weyoun was adjusting to being a father. It was never easy business to be a parent, but it wasn't terrible once you got used to it. After laying the baby down and doing the deed, she thought back to the message she saw in Quark's bar with the others. Damar had said that he could not take his people being under oppression any longer, and called on all of them to stand up for themselves even at the cost of their own lives - but it would not be enough. He needed help, even if any of his men wouldn't agree to have the Federation side with them, or Bajor even. But you needed help whether you wanted it or not from the sources available.

But that was not all: if her father decided to send whoever out there to locate Damar and his resistance, and help them - then she would go there.

"Darling?" By the time she changed Riona, she went out to the kitchen. Perhaps now was better than later to tell her husband what she was thinking.

"You heard about Damar's rebellion."

"Of course." There was no trace of emotion in his voice. The main cloning facilities on Rondac III were gone, making him and Weyoun 8 on Cardassia Prime the last ones in the line. Setting out the hasperat and cups of ratamba stew, he raised an eyebrow. "I know you well, my love. What are you thinking about?"

She sighed and put the baby down in her high chair at the table. "You won't like this..."

He already caught up before she even let the words out, and she let him see so. "Mia, you want to go out there and fight a life-or-death battle when you are not even a soldier. Beloved, you can't possibly do such a thing!" He left the meal on the kitchen counter and strode over, taking her by the forearms and making her look at him. His lavender eyes were blazing with desperation. "This isn't just because you want to help, and I can sense it."

Mia tried to pull away and couldn't. "You're right," she answered. "It's because of what he did to the one before you." The topic of Weyoun 5 was still sensitive, but he was correct. A part of her wanted to settle a score with Damar for what he did, and if she did, it might give her a level of closure - maybe for their family, too. Maybe it would give Damar something to regret and lead him down the path of making up for the wrongs he did with his own hands. She hated him, and that hate did not give her any peace, nor did it give her husband clarity since he remembered every detail, and felt it as she felt it.

"I know exactly, but what would it achieve?" Weyoun asked. "Mia, you are all I have, and Riona needs her mother. This isn't some path of closure; this is the very dependence of the fate of the entire Alpha Quadrant, not some petty dispute. Surely you realize it. We cannot lose you over this. And if your father were here now, he would certainly agree with me."

She sucked in a breath and looked away from him to see their daughter looking at them both with a face of worry about the tension between her parents. Her mother knew this was wrong, but also the right thing to do, and it wasn't just to attempt to...make peace with Damar over the pain he caused her and those she loved. Maybe she wasn't completely destined to just be a dabo girl. Maybe if she left Quark's bar temporarily, she could become something better by actually helping the innocents of the galaxy. "He would," she answered to the man she loved, looking at him now. "But I've made up my mind. This isn't just about Damar and the Weyoun before you. This is about the Alpha Quadrant and defeating the Dominion once and for all. I'd love to see the faces of the female shape-shifter and Weyoun 8 when we beat them, and to know I have a family I love and loves me back is what will amplify it."

~o~

She was resting, but soon she would be discharged from the infirmary. The children were healthy and doing well, in the separate little bio-beds that Julian had set up for them, currently being checked again by the nurse. Kira looked over them both and smiled; the doctor was kind enough to have them near their mother. To think she never wanted children before she helped the O'Briens, but after the boy was born, it left an emptiness that she never thought she would feel, and wanted another baby of her own. Before deciding to marry Odo, it didn't seem possible not only because of the turbulence down the road but because his matrix prevented a seed from coming forth. A donor was in place to make it work.

Her husband looked over the little souls that they both worked hard to have in their lives to complete their union and make it more meaningful. "They're beautiful," Odo murmured, reaching over to caress the boy's forehead. He had auburn hair like his sister, his eyes opened to show blue as wide and vivid as the skies. As for the girl, she had not once taken her eyes off of both her parents - but she kept looking at Odo as though wondering if his face was supposed to be the way it was, which made Kira laugh. "I never thought such joy would ever be experienced again," he said when he leaned down and kissed her forehead. He would make a wonderful father, just like he was fantastic with Mia even though she was full grown; he was also great with babies Riona and Kei. How could he not be fantastic with his own children now?

A faraway look came in his eyes then that Nerys remembered too well when he lost the little Changeling. He'd wanted to teach it to become a Tarkalean hawk and so many other things, wanted it to last, and these two miracles in front of them were all they had now to make up for the infants they lost but could never truly replace. No one ever replaced anyone.

"We still have to name them," she reminded him after returning the kiss.

"Mmm, I can think of several, and for our son, we should call him after your father," Odo answered.

She drew back a little. "Taban," she stated, feeling herself tighten at the memory of her beloved father whom she had not been beside when he died at the hands of the Cardassians responsible. It made sense to name her son after her father to honor him. "It will do. But what about our daughter?"

He cleared his throat, doubt present. "I do not believe you may like this, Nerys. Because it is to be after a woman you hate, but necessary in spite of what you discovered..."

"Meru." To even speak her mother's name made her ill, because of what she found out because of Gul Dukat from the Federation prison - how could that bastard even dare to request permission to CONTACT her?! - and then the Orb of Time, everything she discovered which she was too sick to even think about. "Why should it be her?" she asked with disgust. Her father had said her mother was a brave woman, died in the Singha refugee center...but it was all a lie. She'd been Dukat's comfort woman, sitting by and drinking kanar and accepting gifts from him while her people suffered and died, believing every lie the Prefect told her. But while in the timeline, Nerys - her adult daughter masquerading as another woman - saw the tears as she played the message from her husband, pleading with her to never give up no matter what, to believe in what the Prophets laid out for her.

Despite it all, Meru was still her mother. She did what she could to save her family, but it still wasn't right. "I'm sorry, Nerys," Odo apologized upon seeing her face. "Maybe it's not the one..."

"No," she said quickly, smiling. "Meru is just right. Taban and Meru, after my parents."

"It rings louder than any bell on Bajor." Captain Sisko stood in the doorway of the infirmary, smiling down at them both and then looking at the babies. "Oh, the more the merrier. I should order the opening of a Bajoran nursery for all of us."

"Thank you, Captain," Odo said, inclining his head forward with a single bow and a smile, "for your blessing."

Sisko's smile was gone very soon. "And I have something that I am terribly sorry to intrude on you both at this time, but there is little time. Given that the Klingons will be the ones to stand between us and the enemy due to the fact they will now be immune to the Breen's weaponry, there is also the matter of Damar and his rebellion. Fifteen hundred Klingon vessels will not go head-to-head with the Dominion, but they will keep them distracted. In the meantime, Colonel, as soon as you're back on your feet, you'll be the one to go out there and teach his resistance movement how to be the fighters that you and your Bajoran rebellion were."

She scoffed disgustedly. He was seriously asking this of her. "You want me to be the one to go behind enemy lines and help a bunch of Cardassians adjust their tactics if they have a chance to fulfill their message," she stated, laying back and disbelieving at what she was hearing.

"I realize the irony, Kira, but you're the one."

Half of Damar's troops were killed during the assault on Rondac III, which meant they could not be alone forever - but Kira snorted and looked away from both the captain and her family. Ironic? It was both humorous and not so. How could she ever forgive Damar for anything? Sabotaging key facilities, hit-and-runs, small groups...just what he needed, but he was also by the book. He might not even agree with her on this, as they so often clashed in the past. If either of them wanted to work, then they would both have to put their personal feelings aside. And what Mia told him, what Damar did to the Weyoun before the one she married, the one that fathered Riona...

Just perfect. Here she was in bed after giving birth to two children following an assault and losing their foothold in enemy space, and Benjamin Sisko was asking her to go out and teach her guerilla tactics to Legate Damar and what was left of his Cardassian armies that abandoned the Dominion. She had no choice, as it turned out. Sighing, Kira nodded. "Well, I can't say no, can I?" she asked sarcastically.

"Damar and his men went into hiding after the attack on Rondac III," Odo said. "Who knows how we can locate them, Captain."

"Mr. Garak still has contacts on Cardassia. If I were you, I would ask him to join your team." He grinned now. "Him and Damar should be interesting if it makes you feel better." Now she and Odo could laugh with him; it should be interesting to see how two enemies would learn to work together.

But then the mood changed altogether. "And you will not like this, but there will be one more to join, to attempt to keep the peace between the Federation, Bajor, and the Cardassians now," Benjamin said, stepping aside and showing the person that both she and Odo were shocked to see, that neither thought would be bold enough even with a family to think about to step forward and take part in a dangerous mission like this.

"I'm going with you," Mia said, not smiling, but sincere and eager to show she was not the over-eager girl she once was. "I know what you might say, Nerys, but you and Garak need someone non-Cardassian and non-Bajoran to assemble the alliance. Besides, we all have something worth fighting for." She was talking about the fact they were both mothers, and Kira was Riona's godmother, so she would accept that. She could also see that Sisko didn't like this, that she was making a stupid move because she had a husband and child - but Mia knew what she was doing and could not be deterred or refused. She wanted to be a stronger woman than just sitting by and being at a dabo wheel, which Nerys found herself proud of, too.

~o~

Annora could not believe such luck for herself to give to the readers in terms of giving them hope which was what she dedicated her whole life to, and it was none other than the rising Cardassian rebellion. Damar was sending a message to his people and calling the Dominion the worst oppressors than the Cardassians ever were. Who could disagree with that? There might be light to shine yet, both on PADD and for the fate of the entire quadrant. Keevan had never been happier than she'd seen him lately, always cracking a grin when he would open his mouth about imagining the faces of the Founder, Weyoun 8, and the Breen as well as the other Vorta still loyal to their masters. They were going to get what was coming very soon.

She was discussing it with Mia when she had Kei with her, and Mia on her break. She was leaving tomorrow with Garak, Constable Odo, and Colonel Kira who had just given birth to twins named after her late parents. Besides being happy for the shape-shifter and the colonel, the fact Mia had to boldly stand and become a sort of soldier and peacemaker horrified her. Annora O'Neal could take off if she wanted to, but nothing like THIS. "Damar's men aren't exactly happy that a former Bajoran resistance fighter, the renegade 'Founder' and the outcast spy-turned-tailor - or the captain's daughter," she added with a point to herself, "for that matter - were coming to their aide. But they'll have to make do with what they have whether they like it or not."

"Hmm, yes," Annora agreed. You always had to make do with what was present for you, even from your enemies coming to your help. The Cardassians needed to be reminded the Dominion and the Breen were the common foes, not the Federation, Bajor, and the others. She looked down at her son when he cooed and reached for her, picking at her necklace chain. "Ah no, no, you don't." She took the charm from him and waved her finger at him, making him laugh. She'd gotten the hang of being a mother thanks to Mia's help. "The fact there will be a 'ragtag band of terrorists' coming to help their group is ironic enough, given the history of the Bajorans driving the Cardassians away from their home." She giggled into her baby while the other woman snickered into her drink.

Mia cleared her throat and wiped her mouth. "Irony, yes. And ironic I'll be trying to settle it between Damar and myself..."

The grunting of her son made the reporter look down at the floor beside their table in the replimat, gathering her thoughts. When you came together during alliances, it was a matter of setting aside personal feelings. She trusted her longtime girlfriend enough to do that and not get herself killed, therefore leaving her little girl without a mother and her husband grief-struck and devastated. That was supposed to be Annora O'Neal's job to defy orders and risk her own life, but not Mia Sisko. "You be careful, you hear?" she warned. "You don't want to break the promise you made to your family - and you do want to come back a hero and show Quark you're more than just a pretty girl charming his customers." Now THAT was worth laughing over, as much as the serious note was worth sticking to.

~o~

Yelgrun noticed the change in Weyoun when he stopped by to see him and Keevan supervising the security office while Odo was away. The signs were visible even before the former diplomat answered. "I miss her already," he confessed. "I might feel her and will be able to communicate with her, but I still miss my wife."

"A fact I know all too well," Keevan piped up from his desk, going through the latest changes made by Chief O'Brien's hands, nibbling his bottom lip in deep concentration. He had put his son as well as Weyoun's daughter with Annora and Jake Sisko for the day. "Rest assured, you told me once she could make it through anything. Colonel Kira and Constable Odo are survivors well enough, Garak a great agent, and your wife might be a mere dancer girl - but she has more than meets the eye," he added, raising his eyes without even lifting his head, winking once.

Weyoun laughed. "That's exactly my Mia." He turned to Yelgrun. "And speaking of wives, how is Lynet?"

Yelgrun inhaled through his nose and let it out there. His wife was still constantly throwing up in the mornings, even drinking less raktajino because it made her even more ill, she said. "No change," he answered. "She's getting sicker and sicker, even on duty. She's been to Dr. Bashir, but she wouldn't tell me what it really is." He remembered the abrupt manner in which she closed him off during their bond and often avoided looking him in the eyes as if she was afraid of something. She was trying his patience, and he often refrained himself from taking her by force to get her to tell him.

Seeing the looks on the faces of his fellow Vorta, as if Weyoun and Keevan must know more than he based on experience...his brain clicked just like that, and his body went light and on the verge of collapsing. Instead, he took a trembling step back. "Gods, you two must know something."

"I think so," Weyoun said, "because I remember this in Mia."

"As do I," Keevan agreed, holding the PADD close to him as if for protection. "And you might not like the answer." But Yelgrun already guessed as much.

"She's pregnant, isn't she?" He wasn't sure what to think of this. How could Lynet keep this from him; why did she betray their trust by lying to him like this? But he'd lied to her about her loss of eyesight before, so he knew what it felt like, but he could not tell whether or not this compared to that. And that was not all: Manama had told them both that conceiving a child would not be possible. She never made a known error in her lifetimes, so what had happened? Was it really just a misdiagnosis?

Keevan cleared his throat. He was looking at the older Vorta long and hard, warning him to not do anything to upset his wife. "I would consult her with this if I were you. It could not have been her fault as it wasn't yours. It is never the woman's fault she has a child at an unexpected time." He turned his attention from the other two, nodding absently in agreement. Keevan was right; it was neither his nor Lynet's to blame, but they still needed to talk about this. He wasn't sure how to feel about this right now, but he knew for sure about her: she was afraid.

He went back to Ops where she was working alongside Jadzia Dax, appearing to be normal for now until the next bout of nausea overcame her. He held himself together as he walked up to her post. "Lynet, I need to talk to you."

"I'm a bit busy right now," she said, averting her eyes, but he wouldn't let it slide.

"I realize that, but I want you to know that I figured out why you wouldn't even look me in the eyes, much less talk to me."

Her attention was rapt altogether. Dax was eyeing him in an almost protective way no different than Keevan, but Yelgrun ignored her. His wife looked like she wanted to faint, but he reached out and took her hand. "I know what it is," he whispered to her, doing them both a favor to make sure not everyone around them stuck their noses in. "I don't know what to do right now, nor do I know what to feel either, but I know we will both get through this together - and it makes me very happy to know we are going to have a baby."

Her emotions broke out then, and it was no longer a scary topic or even a secret to keep when he spoke the words, and it became the truth at once. Still holding Lynet's hand, he took her away from her console and held her in his arms, happier than ever as she was, even though she was still more terrified than he was. Not that it mattered right now; they had something to celebrate at a time like this.

Chapter Text

"It's a...miracle," Lynet said later on to Kilana, Yelgrun, and the others, finding her hands placed over her flat abdomen. According to Julian, she was a little over a month along, and now that she'd remembered, she had not had her period for a couple of months. Her courses were so irregular that she'd completely forgotten about it, been relieved that she had not been burdened with bleeding once a month for five, six days.

"I didn't think I would ever get pregnant," she went on, looking down and feeling the flip in her stomach but wasn't sure if it was the baby or her worries. "After we got married -" She looked to her husband who had said that he was happy; either that or he was just as confused as she was but believed they could do this as they survived everything before together. "- the Vorta doctor we visited confirmed my infertility beliefs."

"I was there when the examination and confirmation took place," Kilana added, clasping her fingers. "Manama was never known to make mistakes, as you remember." She glanced over at Weyoun and Keevan, both of whom lowered their eyes briefly before they made eye contact with each other.

Keevan wrinkled his nose. "She must have done the deed this time, or she just plainly does not understand human biology quite yet. Her years were just about getting to her," he said with a quirk of a smile on one corner of his mouth. "I'm happy you were spared the trouble, Annora."

"Oh, that terrible?" she asked with a laugh. "This physician must not have been completely good as you all believed she was."

Weyoun raised his hand. "If I may answer that, Manama was a wonderful medicine woman, and even if she did err, no one ever spoke of it," he said, looking down at the baby in his arms, the one thing he had of his wife if something ever happened to her while she was away, helping the Cardassians regain their homeland when she spent so much of her time loathing them along with Kira, and with Garak and his contacts. "But when Manama herself is wise in other matters of health, the matter of fertility is not on her list. Which can lead to one certain conclusion: she made a grave mistake with Lynet." He held her eyes with his, telling her that as ambassador to the Cardassian Union, there were unspoken mistakes of Vorta made amongst their ranks that could never be made public, such as the health issues that the Founders frankly did not care about. Which made it understandable as to why it was often overlooked, not just with non-Vorta and Manama's lack of understanding of their physiology.

Lynet's throat dried up at once. All this time of living with the relief she wouldn't have a baby, and now she was just learning about this. Manama's longtime expertise did not overshadow this one error, and her kindness did not take away the fact that Lynet had been in the dark yet again.

It was only a mistake, her husband sent to her, and you can never fault one for a mistake. Neither of us anticipated it.

No, she agreed, holding his hand and squeezing it. But what can we call it? I'm just...frightened. I don't think I will be a good mother like my cousin and Mia.

I've spent all my time running away from this, terrified as you are now. I was afraid to be a father because I wasn't the most decent man ever known - but I've changed. My love for you changed me, as you have always known. This child we never thought we would have is not going to change anything. We have our family and friends around us to help us get through this. She looked him in the eyes then, seeing the sparkle in the gray-purple orbs, a life that was getting brighter and taking the dull clouds away. It had begun with her entering his life, and now a baby was coming into theirs.

"Congratulations, the both of you then," Weyoun said, bowing his head forward once, smiling. He was followed by Keevan, Annora, and then Kilana. There was not one person who was not happy for the couple, soon to get out to the rest of the station. "I have the utmost confidence you will be wonderful parents."

~o~

Damar's resistance requested food replicators to be brought as their own had been destroyed and therefore supplies were running low. They brought the requested items along, as well as a couple of other things. When they were contacted by coded subspace, Damar appeared grateful for their assistance - a surprise to both Mia herself and to Nerys, his longtime adversary especially over Tora Ziyal, Garak's wife who was back on Deep Space 9 safely, had begun to open her own art gallery.

When they landed on the planet of the secret base of the Cardassian Liberation Front, they were greeted by none other than Damar and a handful of his most loyal soldiers - one called Gul Rusot seemed to be the least enthusiastic out of all of them. He was the one to still hate Kira above all else. Garak had to be the one to remind them all that they were not the enemies; the Dominion and Breen were.

And then the attention shifted to her. "Miss Sisko," Damar stated cordially, but even the politeness did not sway her.

"Legate Damar," she answered coolly, standing tall with her hands on her hips, lifting her chin at him. They exchanged no more words, but as soon as everyone's backs were turned, they would have their time alone to discuss eventually, move on - oh, they would see about that - and she would give him what she had.

Damar was perhaps the smartest to keep his yap shut, but not Rusot. "It does not amuse me that a mere girl with no soldier's record has foolishly thought her beauty and brains could keep us on our toes and weaken the enemy," he sneered before his commanding officer ordered him to stand down. And now that the formalities were over as well as the fact Kira had her eyes set on who wouldn't be so easily reconciled with, they got to work on instructing the group.

Resistance cells always operated in different, smaller groups and cells - ten or twenty people at most - so in the event of anyone being captured, the others would be safe. No names given, no plans, or anything. Garak's Obsidian Order functioned the same way. However, the idea wasn't exactly taken favorably by Rusot, who pointed out that with scattered resources, they wouldn't be strong enough against a Dominion assault; on the contrary, everyone in the same place would be destroyed in a single attack. Small groups were in the question.

As for where to start, there was a weapons base on Adarak Prime which had a weakness in their defenses. But it was also defended by a Cardassian garrison - and the response provoked was far from pleased. "You expect us to attack our own people?"

"If necessary, yes," Nerys answered calmly.

"That's out of the question!" Rusot spat.

"I agree," Damar said. "We'll limit ourselves to targets defended by Jem'Hadar and Breen instead, Colonel." But she was far from convinced for obvious reasons, based on her own experiences.

"Believe me, I understand how you all feel. During the occupation, I didn't want to attack any facility that had a Bajoran working there, but I did it because they were collaborators." And by collaborator, they were working with the enemy. If they were not with you, they were against you.

Rusot was still as stubborn as ever. "But we are not Bajorans, and we do NOT kill our own," he hissed. He was really working on Kira's nerves at the very moment, and so Mia put her foot down.

"Gul Rusot, and the rest of you who don't agree with us, you're more than welcome to give up now, because the minute the Dominion realizes that you won't attack your own people, they will station a Cardassian at every base."

"She's right," Odo concurred, raising his chin. "The Founders won't hesitate to play your people against you."

Mia grinned first at him before letting it drop altogether and bared her teeth. "Anyone not fighting with you fights against you," she said softly, and thank God Damar pulled through his thick shell.

"You were saying Adarak's perimeter defenses are vulnerable. And Rusot, not another word," he seethed, and back to work they were. What they needed to do now was to disable the security protocols, which was where Garak stepped in...

Later on, when they had a meal break, Mia took this as the long-awaited opportunity, but it would not be easy to keep harsh shouted words from breaking out back to her friends. All of them were supposed to be getting along, and she intended to follow through.

She did find him alone, and thankful enough. "You have a minute?" she asked flat out, getting his attention. He hardly gave her much of a reaction.

"I don't need to ask why you want to talk to me, Amelia."

"It's Mia," she snapped. "And I'm glad you guessed as much. We might be getting along right now, but you must also have an idea as to why I am here besides ensuring peace. But I'm going to do my best to make sure this doesn't go out of hand between us."

He laughed, but he wasn't finding it funny in any sense. He stood over and looked her down, but his large frame did not intimidate her. "Look, if you're here to kill me because of your last Weyoun lover and the attempt on the next one -"

"Damn right you tried to kill me, Weyoun, and our child! And Odo, too. But that's not the true issue. WHY did you kill Weyoun 5, the father of my daughter?" she demanded. Suddenly she found herself unable to control the anger and hate that began to resurface...and then his sigh made her snap.

"Because of the fact he had been intimately involved with my enemy's daughter, and I know I went too far, but how could I have known there was an unborn child involved?"

"I was seven months pregnant!" she exploded. "You could not possibly know what it did to me - to him! You could never understand the fact I spent barely four days living and feeling like a zombie, and I FELT the pain he did when his pride was crushed and the searing fire when he was BUTCHERED BY YOUR HANDS! I even saw the blood spilled when it felt like I was bleeding myself! Our child must have felt it, too, even though she was two months close to being born! Damar, you wouldn't know anything about family if you took a man away from his lover and unborn offspring!" Her cheeks were scalding with her tears that she reached up and wiped away, all the while taking a few breaths to calm herself, but her heart was beating so much and she turned away from him. "You don't know what it's like to have a child with the one you love," she croaked, stifling a hiccup.

His answer made her heart's core explode and the blood in it spread like a supernova outside her important vessels and chambers.

"You're wrong about that."

"E-excuse me?" Mia whirled around, her hair held in a ponytail so that she couldn't push any strands out of her face. Damar responded very serenely.

"You heard me. I have a family of my own."

Her breathing was erratic now, unheard of in her ears. Was he just saying this to try and compare himself to - he had a FAMILY? "I didn't know you were married," she gasped, disbelieving. He nodded.

"We have a son, too. He'll be four next month. They're both in hiding away from the Dominion and the war effort." The way he spoke of his wife and child made it sound like he did care about them more than she thought, that she had misjudged him in that sense, but it would never make what he did to Weyoun right. "And now you know," he said, coldly, locking eyes with her. "You understand me now?"

She nodded, as much as it hurt. "But it still doesn't change what you did to him," she said angrily.

Damar sniffed. "Oh, believe me, a broken heart cannot forgive easily - but I assure you it's not impossible. You have a better man in Weyoun 6 than the last one ever was, and you're happy now, aren't you?" he asked with a ghost of a smile. A small wave washed over her senses, calming her down and leaving her with a glassy peace that needed to be treated with care so as not to break. Mia found herself returning the smile.

But then the peace was shattered when they both heard shouting outside. "Oh, damn Rusot," Damar growled when he joined her around the corner and watched the confrontation. Whatever Gul Rusot started, he certainly was testing the enraged Kira to attack him; he must have said something about Odo because Nerys was certainly defending him. And Garak was warning that a brawl would not be worth anything. "I told him and the others to keep their comments to themselves."

She scoffed. "I do not know what you see in that man."

"He's served alongside me for years. He's important to me, Mia."

"Well, if he keeps this up, I don't see it ending well for him. Nerys will most likely kill him herself if not you."

And things did not improve in the slightest over the next couple of weeks. Days of practice, and now with the proof on the replay, were proof of that. Displaying the Jem'Hadar ship, the explosion began at the intercooler matrix when the bomb was supposed to be planted in the secondary plasma relay where no one else would find it in time, unlike the intercooler matrix. "But they never found the bomb!" Rusot argued.

"That's not the point," Kira returned. "Your men ignored their instructions AND their training. The only reason the mission was a success was because the Jem'Hadar security slipped up, and we got lucky." And so from now on, those same men would not be used for anything else other than routine reconnaissance, just to save them all the trouble.

"They're five of my best men!"

"And those 'best men'," Mia said, "could screw us up again a second time when we get to the even bigger deal. Do what she says and not use them again."

It was then that Damar decided to cut in. "It's been a long day. Why don't we all take a break?" he suggested. He waved Rusot off, and the man huffed one more time, glaring hostile at the colonel before stalking off.

"Well, are you going to do something about him?" Kira asked.

"I am. I'm giving him my support."

Mia snorted and exchanged a glance with Garak. That support would not last, and they both knew it. And then, Odo arrived from his own mission, a success and with no major errors made amongst the men.

~o~

The nerve of Rusot to challenge her to the death after the fighting was won, and she would certainly have no trouble over taking the joy in killing him herself. But for now, she put him out of her mind for the sake of the runabout trip to the Kelvas system where there was a Cardassian repair facility. Once they got their hands on a Jem'Hadar ship filled with Breen dampening weapons, they gave Starfleet more hope of a countermeasure.

On the way to the system, Nerys found herself thinking about the children who were still in the care of Nurse Jabara while both parents were away. Something told her that Odo should return to the station as soon as this one mission was completed. After that, it would leave her Garak and Mia. Things would get more complicated, and she knew it.

Things had just gotten even more so now that she left the helm for the moment to join Mia for a raktajino. The look on the younger woman's face was one she knew too well. "You miss your family," Kira said softly.

"I do, but I'm keeping my promise to come home to them no matter what happens," Mia answered strongly, holding her cup in both hands and raising it to the colonel's, clinking it softly. "As should you."

"I intend to."

Then the girl's attention shifted the opposite direction, where Damar and Garak stood - and the former Legate's face was blank and dim. "One of our listening posts picked up a message," Garak said. "The Dominion has succeeded in...locating Damar's family."

There was nothing else but one obvious factor, stunning her and making Mia gasp and nearly drop her coffee. "They're dead," Damar spoke, his tone matching his face. "They weren't even a part of this rebellion. The Dominion knew that, the Founder knew that - Weyoun knew that." He was looking at Mia, but in a non-accusatory way as this was not her husband he was talking about. "To kill her and my son, the casual brutality of it...the waste of life. What kind of state tolerates the murder of innocent women and children?! What kind of people give those orders?" he spat, gripping the PADD and wanting to crush it. Wishing it was either the neck of the Founder even though she could revert to normal, or Weyoun at least.

The way he spoke of the killings of innocent children and women reminded Kira of the way her people had been treated, and now Damar knew what it was like since it was his own family; her mind put up the image if it was her own children. "You're right, Damar," she whispered. "What kind of PEOPLE?"

He had no one to return to, no one to bring back home once the home was free again, and she had reminded him of that, for he looked at her with fire in his eyes before leaving without a word. She'd struck a chord. Mia followed him, hopefully, to try and console him. It seemed she made up with him now. Kira shook her head and wanted to hit herself. She'd been so stupid! "That was stupid of me," she voiced.

"Oh, not at all," Garak placated. "Damar has a certain...romanticism about the past. Sometimes a dose of cold water brings you back to reality." And she certainly could have chosen a better time than when he'd just learned of the murder of his wife and child. "Colonel, if he's the man to lead a new Cardassia, if he's the man we all hope him to be, then the pain of this news made him more receptive to what you said and nothing less."

She supposed he was right, acknowledging before they got the call they had reached the rendezvous point.

~o~

So, she was going to be a mother in eight more months, but that would mean great changes in her and Yelgrun's life even though he promised it might not be so bad. He was becoming another man instead of the one she first met, better than the one she fell in love with, and she couldn't have been happier. She even named the godparents just like Mia and Weyoun had Odo and Kira for their daughter - and on her and Yelgrun's part, none other than Jadzia and Worf.

The Trill was delighted, and the Klingon was as excited as he could get, but he was visibly worried about handling a baby now. But Dax had been telling Lynet about how she and her husband were thinking about a child of their own as soon as the war was over. Except it might not be easy for their opposite species to conceive offspring, so changes to the mother's metabolism and fertility had to be examined and made before it would be a solid yes or no. At least Jadzia would be luckier that she'd have a better doctor than Lynet ever did.

Worf was currently having a conflict with Chancellor Gowron who was currently out in the field with their soldiers, but he wasn't even close to the warrior General Martok was. Unlike Gowron, Martok fought his way to get to where he was now, but Gowron had years of merely sitting behind, plotting, and scheming to get what he wanted. That was the kind of man that Lynet loathed, and the Klingon Empire had a long history of corruption and the people willing to accept it. Rarely was a true good ruler ever found to lead the way.

Jadzia really looked at the Klingon Empire in a romantic sense, like her predecessor Curzon did because he was the one who negotiated the peace treaty. Lynet wasn't even near that, despite the fact she shared the thrill of battle and blood, but a corrupt government was what Worf needed to understand, and she needed to tell him and his wife now while they were in the replimat.

He'd just finished explaining that Martok would not betray the oath of brotherhood he'd sworn to the chancellor in the middle of the war, lest he risk dishonoring himself. "And in truth, I understand his position, so it was a foolish error to even ask this of him in the first place," he said to them both.

"Well, it was," Jadzia answered after a sip, "but you did the right thing."

He slammed his raktajino down in front of him. "How is asking this of the man whose House I am honored to be a part of the right thing?!"

"Because the Klingon Empire isn't what it used to be, nor is it what it appears to be," Lynet interrupted, getting both of their attentions on her, Dax visibly shocked and Worf even more. He sat back and folded both arms across his chest, not going to like it one bit. "Worf, you and Martok are both honorable men, but the empire is filled with corruption on every level and lived hundreds of years on it, but to spill blood in a cowardly way instead of with true courage, like the way Gowron is doing? My father might not be Klingon, nor am I close to him, but he's nothing like Gowron. He's honorable and would not betray his badge. Nor would I ever do the same for mine - and the both of you -" She gestured to him and Jadzia together. "- are dignified as well. This society is far from the idealistic sight that even the most romantic mind can fantasize and wish could come true for the greater good."

Words well spoken, love. Well spoke. Let's hope your friend the Klingon follows through on his actions.

To her surprise, Jadzia was agreeing with her. "I hate to say this, Worf, but she's right. Gowron is wasting the lives of your men and ships for his own personal reasons, and the entire Alpha Quadrant depends on it." She put her hand on top of his gently. "Do what you know is right and I'll support you every step of the way as I always do. And Ben wants this to be done and soon."

~o~

He got home, feeling more energized than ever for odd reasons, but this was nothing new. He happened to love his position amongst the security staff, but right now Odo was gone even though he was on his way back after the success of acquiring Breen dampening weapons for Starfleet and the Romulans. Weyoun had been supervising everything for the constable, therefore having Keevan as his secondhand and making them both in command for only a short amount of time. Not that either of them wanted to dictate law and order.

As he said, Odo was coming home because his and Kira's newborn twins were without both parents long enough and needed one of them. It was decided the colonel would stay out in the field, Mia as well, because they were needed more than ever for what everyone had waited for and fought long and hard to get to: they were going to take back Cardassia.

Some part of Keevan should have gotten a hold of Amelia and told her she should have joined Odo on the journey home because this was not her fight. Let Kira and Garak handle this. But she would be stubborn as ever and say she made a pact. She was just like his wife; she was not easily held back unless she wanted to be. She wanted to do this for all of them, was going to do her best and not sacrifice herself in the process. Weyoun believed in his wife even though he was worried for her.

"So, what is the latest book now?" he asked Annora as soon as the doors closed. She was at the dinner table feeding their son, all the while with a PADD in front of her. She paused and looked up at him with a smirk.

"No book yet, not after my last one. But this one will be the basis for the end of the war," Annora said with a beam. "Damar's rebellion and the hope it has to succeed, which could very much turn the war in our favor."

Keevan laughed and sat down beside her. She was beginning to sound like Weyoun, but she wasn't power-grasping or even fame despite the fact she had it already. "I really hope so. Because with Mia, the colonel, and Mr. Garak heading to Cardassia with Damar and his team, this has just gotten darker because we don't know what will happen next." The baby cooed and reached for him, Keevan smiling and taking him from his mother. Their son needed a better life than during wartime, and the end was drawing nearer than anyone thought. Which meant they needed to discuss their future.

"We don't know what the end of the war will bring us if we win."

She nodded, writing down some more on her PADD. "I know. We're both living here on the station, we both have a son and stable careers - but while I am off-planet sometimes, someone has to watch Kei for us," she said sadly. "I could take him with me, but the crossfires sometimes occurring? No place for a child. I don't want to keep burdening you with taking him to the office." He nodded his agreement. Their son couldn't have both parents all day, or one of them all day, and when he grew up, he would have to go to school or tutor at least. Weyoun and Mia's daughter needed it, too, and the same would go for Yelgrun and Lynet's child.

He never took Yelgrun as the parenting type, but he wasn't the man Keevan remembered anymore. Being married to a human really did change him and Keevan had a damned good idea. "Keevan?" Annora spoke, seeing he'd become lost in his thoughts. Yelgrun is going to be a good father, and I know it, too. We're both great parents ourselves, aren't we? She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Chuckling, he returned it.

Yes, we are. I still love you more than anything - the both of you. Kei grunted between them again and reached forward, grabbing the edge of the PADD to pull it towards himself. "Oh, no, not for you, mister," Annora chided gently, and when it was in Keevan's line of vision, he caught the words: the destruction of an old Cardassia and the beginning of a new one...the fall and surrender of the Dominion and the victory of the Federation Alliances...

This was going to be more than good, or even worthy of an orgasm. The use of the term made him and his wife both burst out into laughter. At least their son wouldn't know what the word meant until he was of age.

~o~

Cardassia is kind of...beautiful, but Garak would say so because he hasn't been home in so long a time.

I never even cared to notice despite my lack of aesthetics, Weyoun replied, reclining back in the chair with Riona falling asleep to the music playing. And it won't be as beautiful as they say it is unless the Dominion is driven away.

That's what Damar said, Mia stated, laughing a little before quieting. But now it is just the four of us and who knows what happened to the others when the traitor Gul Revok sold us all out - especially with over half a million men that should have joined us, including a Legate Goris'. She shook her head and wiped her eyes even though she wasn't crying. And Damar said they served for so long. You just never know who to trust anymore, even when they promise you even a hundred million soldiers.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He agreed with Kira that Damar really made a big risk bringing them all here, and what had it been worth so far? Their ship was lost, and now the four of them were in hiding until they figured out what to do next. Who knew how long until they reemerged - and who knew how long his beloved wife would be separated from them. Where will you all be hiding now? he asked.

Garak has an old housemaid who used to raise him while he lived in the basement of his father, the head of the Obsidian Order. It was the one place where he could not be publicly acknowledged. Ironic, isn't it? But Mila is quite an...interesting woman. We'll be helping her out in the meantime just to pass the time. Whatever else we'll do next might involve...sabotaging a few key facilities like we talked about.

You better be careful, my love. The last thing he expected was to feel her being shot down by Jem'Hadar or even Breen, or "loyal" Cardassians. Weyoun found himself looking down at the one thing he had of Mia in his arms, seeing her eyes close and hearing her soft breaths. Trying not to tear down, he placed a kiss on his daughter's soft head before resting his cheek atop it.

~o~

Gowron was dead, killed by Worf in the gathering to plan the next offensive, and challenged of his authority and lack of honor to lead their Council. But unlike traditional methods in which the victor was chosen to become the new ruler, he chose the one man who Gowron deemed a political rival even though the other man had no desire for power: Martok. General Martok who was the true warrior was the new Chancellor of the High Council.

Jadzia had been the one to go into the meeting room herself first, finding the corpse of her husband's enemy before calling for the security team and then the captain who had been displeased at this Klingon battle on his own station, but nevertheless congratulated Worf and Martok on solving their problem that Gowron was no longer to the Klingons - and notably to the Alpha Quadrant's safety. Lynet and Yelgrun were also there to see Gowron's corpse taken out of there by the medical team, relieved that the menace was gone. Thank God, she sent to him, spitting at the dead Klingon when no one was looking, just to make them both laugh. She never met Gowron, but it was she who saw him for what he was and told Worf to do what he needed to. The demon of corruption got what he deserved.

When Lynet went on shift today, not many days later, she was feeling a little better, but who knew when it would hit her again during work. She and Yelgrun were beside each other during the day, but she didn't want to bother him about this today. Perhaps later she could go see Kilana as a friend about this.

She didn't get the chance because Kilana came to her. And what a surprise it was, given the reason for her visit while the human was still working. "It's about Julian," she said in a hushed voice. "I don't know how to tell you this, but..." Her cheeks turned a soft shade of lavender which meant she was blushing. Lynet knew what that meant when she spoke of the doctor and smirked.

"You two seem to like each other," she stated, raising an eyebrow.

Kilana put both hands over her mouth for a moment and nodded. "We ran into each other at the replimat earlier, but we were somewhat...awkward because I couldn't help but admire how -" She struggled around the word. "- dashing he is. He's very intelligent, enjoys some fun, and he's passionate about his career. I frankly don't see anything else in him that doesn't fancy me."

"Oh, it sounds like you are...in love," Lynet said, laughing. "I think you should tell him soon, and see if you can get it out of him, too." The doctor and the Vorta had been around each other for a few months now, and a couple of times Lynet saw them alone together and just enjoying each other's company that they did seem comfortable around each other - with the exception of once in a while, either of them would try to look the other in the eye only to shyly look down, and she'd catch the obvious blush. It could mean only one thing, and it was as she said: love. It wasn't like in children's tales or silly sweethearts' fantasies, but the "real deal", as it was between Yelgrun and herself; it was a matter of falling for the one standing in front of you.

Chapter Text

She had enjoyed seeing her husband take off his successor's head so many months ago, and this time she wished he was here to do the same, but he wasn't, so that left her and Damar given their history. She always fantasized about taking the life of the one she hated most and had the training for it, but she had yet to take it out for good use. Weyoun 6 had done her proud, now she would do the same for him and Cardassia.

Mia was tempted to smash the screen of the news broadcast all over Cardassia, watching the detailed account of the recent events with the man himself, Garak, and Kira.

"And thanks to the heroic efforts of Gul Revok," Weyoun 8 spoke like the graceful diplomat he was, "Damar was baited and brought to Cardassia to meet with five other traitors...but his co-conspirators were killed before they could begin plotting against the people of Cardassia and the Dominion. And Damar himself was killed -" There was a cut to the footage of the destruction of their ship, and Seskal as well as the others on it were dead. "- while trying to penetrate our defense perimeters in a stolen Dominion vessel."

Kira sighed with relief. "Well, at least they are not looking for us anymore," she said. Mia leaned into her, and the older woman's arms wrapped around her for comfort - and the comfort was forgotten when the Vorta snake continued.

"...just hours ago, acting on information obtained by our intelligence operatives, our brave troops began a coordinated assault on Damar's terrorist bases: from Atbar Prime to Regulak IV, from Simperia to Quinor VII - our forces eliminated a total of eighteen rebel bases."

"Eighteen," Garak hissed with rage. Behind him, Damar looked like he wanted to pick up his phaser now and shoot that wicked face once and for all.

Weyoun's overconfidence had done it all with a final smile. "And with the rebellion crushed, nothing can impede our march to final victory. Truly, this is a great day for the Dominion." The screen turned black then and there, and the air blew up with so many questions.

How could this have happened? All of them took precautions, all of them scattered, no names given - and all of it just like they planned! "It doesn't matter!" Kira shouted, frustrated. "The point is, it's all done!"

"This means now we have to find a way off of Cardassia," Mia stated, feeling crushed. Just when things had gone from bad to worse. "Garak, can this comm system be used to contact the Federation?" His answer only made it that much more grim.

"My dear, with a signal that strong, the Dominion would trace our location in a matter of seconds."

"Well, we've got to do something!" Kira urged. "We are NOT spending the rest of the war in this cellar, are we?!"

None of them had an answer today, but one thing was for sure: they couldn't spend a long time down here while their allies were rebuilding their weapons and shipyards. For the next few days, there was nothing but lying down, helping Mila, and failing to plan a new move. Mia wished there was something she could do, but there was nothing. With the others in crushed spirits, she decided now was the time to talk to her husband. All eighteen of the bases are gone - and that leaves the four of us left. But we don't even know what to do now, baby.

He shook his head. I should have gone with you.

Mia rolled over onto her side on her cot, her back facing the others. And what good would it have done? We'd be depriving our daughter of both parents.

I wish I knew, but it's better than nothing at all, knowing I can't help you. But...if you could have been given the chance, you could shoot down Weyoun 8 for me like I did to 7 for you.

And then Mila's voice called down from the top of the stairs. "If only they could see you now," she said sarcastically, descending to them. "The people in the streets are all talking about 'Damar and his rebels'."

Mia sat up and crossed her legs, but did not sever her connection with Weyoun. "What are they saying?" she asked curiously.

"How stupid we were walking into a Dominion trap?" Nerys asked tiredly.

"How arrogant we were to think we could beat them in the first place?" Damar added with equal sarcasm.

Mia scoffed; their morale had become what it had amongst the other Federation soldiers that it made her sick - and goddamn Garak. "How GLAD they are that we're all dead?"

"Actually, they don't really believe you are dead," Mila said, excited as though she were young again, and their attentions were raptured, low morale forgotten altogether. Mia wanted to cry with excitement, too. "Oh, you should hear the stories: 'Damar is alive; my cousin saw him on Kelvas Prime. He faked his own death - and he is plotting a new offensive from his secret mountain hideaway."

She gawked and found herself giving it to Damar, Garak sharing her disbelief. Neither of them knew he ever had a "secret mountain hideaway". "It was going to be a surprise," Damar answered.

"I wonder why they all refuse to believe you're dead," Kira said, rising to her full sitting position and brushing her short auburn hair of dust.

"They've been lied to before, so often; they don't trust anything the Dominion says."

But what if it was more than that, that they had a bigger impact on the people than they originally thought? What if Damar was becoming a...legend? The people wanted to believe in him, so this was the group's chance to use that, never mind the organized resistance being gone; there was an entire population of people out there who were fed up with living under occupation. "And if Damar," Kira continued passionately, "the man they couldn't kill tells the people of Cardassia to rise against the Dominion -"

"Then we might have a revolution on our hands," Garak finished, loving every inch of what the colonel was saying.

Did you hear that, my love? Mia gasped. It's all going to work. We have another shot after all. This is one of the newest cases of an occupied people tired of living under oppression. And if this goes well, then YOUR people could have another chance once Odo grabs his opportunity. They both knew, along with his wife, that he needed to go back to his people to try and get them to see not all solids were terrible, that there was no need for conquest, and that the Vorta and Jem'Hadar needed to be fixed to be like real beings. But first things first, there was Cardassia to deal with.

But Mila was stone-shocked by this. "You might really get yourselves killed!"

"Well, it's better than rotting in this cellar," Damar answered, rising. "How do we begin?"

Perfect, they were back on track! "Where's the closest Jem'Hadar barracks?" Kira asked. A Jem'Hadar barracks was where they would start, and once they had the attention of enough civilians, then they would get them to fight for Cardassia's freedom.

~o~

Yelgrun was bringing in the latest readings of the status of the dampening weapons installed amongst their ships, and one to be in progress for this station just to be safe - if such a matter could be reconfigured into DS9's system. Which was what he was about to bring to Chief O'Brien's attention. "Chief," he called when he approached the man, handing the PADD to him when he was before the human, "I believe I might have a suggestion that will grasp your attention if only for this safety of having the advantage of our ships."

"Oh, really?" the Irishman asked curiously, taking the information and reading it over. Some time passed before he nodded and hummed his approval. "I see the potential, Yelgrun. This is really good."

"You approve," Yelgrun stated with satisfaction, pleased to his core. "I'm glad that you do." He bowed his head once, raising it only to see the chief's eyes adverted past him and his jaw dropped. Behind him commanders Worf and Dax did the same, and he followed their attention -

- only to see Kilana and Dr. Bashir in the turbolift, engaged in a passionate lip-lock and enclosing each other's arms around their bodies, oblivious to the eyes watching them, some with disapproval, some with amusement - and others, like himself, Miles and the other two with one thought on their minds that they knew was going to happen.

Lynet joined them both with a laugh. "They worked it out after all. I told her she would - especially after what she did for us," she added softly, looking up at Yelgrun. His mouth twitched to one corner as he tried not to laugh.

~o~

The Dominion and the Breen withdrew from the battle lines to "form a new defensive perimeter within Cardassian territory," Ross said to Sisko himself, as well as Chancellor Martok and Romulan Sub-Commander Velal. And with this withdrawal could mean only one thing.

"They must know we've developed a countermeasure to the Breen weapon," Velal mused, which was the captain's guess. Not being the first time they pulled away from the fighting - and also believing that the Federation must be thinking that they would not be stupid to attack lest they risked more ships - the Dominion proved to be weaker than they let on. As well, like Martok stated himself, there were advantages to falling back the way they did: they shortened their own supply lines while the Federation, Romulan, and Klingons' own grew in numbers.

"It would take a major offensive to break through their lines," Ross said.

If they went straight into that offensive, a thousand ships lost. "The wiser course would be to simply contain them within their perimeter," Velal stated, but that was exactly what the Dominion was counting on them to do - give them time to rebuild their forces.

Martok growled. "Captain Sisko is right," he said to the impassive Velal. "We have them on the defensive. We should hit them with everything we've got!" It would also be a very ugly, bloody job, but what else did they have? While they did nothing, the Dominion could sit behind that perimeter for the next five years rebuilding their shipyards and then hit them with a blow of a force they did not prepare for. God help them all if that did happen.

So, the Klingon Empire was the first to attack, no surprise there. Sighing, Ross agreed on behalf of the Federation, followed by Sub-Commander Velal despite the impending cost of lives. The decision was made on that day, at that moment.

They would arm and attack the Dominion outside Cardassia Prime.

When Benjamin left the briefing, his mind lingered back to his daughter whom he had not heard from since Odo returned to the station and the colonel informed him they were all taking a big risk in going to Cardassia. God help them, but most of all, his daughter - but she could take care of herself, and she did have Kira and Garak with her.

"You're up late," he noted when he came home, leaning down and kissing Kasidy. She responded, but there was an...uneasiness that he knew it could not be him. "Something wrong?"

A long moment passed before she answered. "I'm pregnant."

Ben drew back, surprised. She - she just said - they were going to have a baby? "Are you sure?" The question was stupid even before he thought carefully before saying it.

"Of course I'm sure." She sounded very hurt.

"Oh, baby, I didn't mean it like that! But a - a baby! You and me!" he exclaimed happily.

"Surprise," Kasidy said with a grin.

"Surprise is right!"

He had also been reminded that Julian Bashir had tried to remind him about a certain injection last month, but with the way things were going, he had completely forgotten - but it didn't matter now. Everyone else had been having a new child come in during a terrible war: first his daughter and Weyoun, then Annora and Keevan, followed by Lynet and Yelgrun...and now him and Kasidy. A baby for them both...Jake and Mia were going to be happy about this.

That is IF Mia came home safe and sound. He counted on it like her fearful husband did, for the baby's sake, too.

~o~

The day had come at last: they were officially rounding up their new and improved ships to make way for Cardassia Prime to defeat the Dominion once and for all. She awoke that morning in her husband's strong arms, her back against his chest, and rolled around to look at him, smiling at his peaceful, handsome face. "Time to get up," she cooed, reaching out to cup his chin.

Rumbling in his throat, Yelgrun opened his eyes and winked at her. "I'm not quite sure I want to get up today, love."

She scoffed and drew her hand back. "It's a big day ahead of us - and it's the one we all have been waiting for, remember? The Dominion goes down today," she said, moving closer to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Mmm, I've been looking forward to it alright, except last night was one hell of a way to spend before today," he joked, nuzzling her nose. "Marking it as one more time for the sake of our child."

"Yeah, because I was told intimacy during pregnancy might hurt the baby," Lynet said. "Just to be safe." Then something inside her collapsed. Today would be the end of the battle, and she knew it - but she would hate it if something happened to her and the baby, or Yelgrun...or even all three of them. It would be wrong for their child to grow up not knowing one parent, or her husband losing both of them. Seeing this, he smiled and kissed her.

"How about we both make a deal, and we both come home alive? I'll hold you to your side."

"And I'll do the same for you," she promised with one last kiss before they both left the bed to clean up and dress to join the others.

When they left their quarters, they happened to meet up with Captain Sisko who was just leaving behind his wife whom Lynet had just found out was pregnant with their first child together; she got to thinking that she and Kasidy might as well end up giving birth at the same time soon. Behind him, Jake was speaking to Weyoun with baby Riona in his arms, and it seemed they both would be with Mrs. Sisko while her husband was away, that way in case anything DID happen to him - but first, Jake was walking his father to the brand-new USS Defiant, which had been courtesy of her father, Bill Ross.

Keevan, Annora, and Kei were making their way, mother with son in her arms. "We thought we would walk you all," Annora said with a smile. "And if we do manage to see you all back in one piece..."

Benjamin grinned at her. "You will get your story, Ms. Reporter. The both of you," he added to his son.

The entire crew met at the Defiant. Kilana would be joining as an extra hand to Dr. Bashir - not just as a new lover - and Odo because his priority concern was to find his wife alive and well, as well as Mia. Before they all embarked through the airlock, they all turned to look at the others: Weyoun and his daughter, Ziyal Garak who had Odo and Kira's twins given the colonel was like a mother to her, Keevan and his family, Jake Sisko and the rest of the O'Brien family wishing them luck - and to bring back their loved ones in one piece.

"All right, people," Sisko said to them all when they were all at their stations, "what do you say we end this war?"

It sounded good to all of them. Yelgrun sent the message to his wife: I can't wait to see the Founder's face when she knows we have beaten her down.

Especially that smug Weyoun 8 I've been hearing about. He just thinks he can get what he wants, too, doesn't he?

And all of that would end today, with the joining of the rest of the fleets to make way for Cardassia Prime.

~o~

The Federation fleet left Deep Space 9, and there was no question where they were heading at this very moment. By tomorrow night, they would be here. Weyoun hummed to himself as he thought of how this would turn out; they turned out to not be foolish to stand by and wait for the Dominion to resurface but to take this as their opportunity to attack.

Thot Pran garbled to the Founder, who responded, "Our brave Jem'Hadar soldiers have a motto: 'Victory is life.' I see you're familiar with it because today those words have a meaning for us all. The outcome of this battle will determine the outcome of the war; either we destroy their invasion forces, or they destroy us. There is no other option."

The Dominion had never lost a battle since its founding thousands of years prior, and he would not stand to see it happen. When they won, then Earth and all its allies would become under his rule with the Founder's permission, to make sure no rebellions would stand -

"Fight and win, and Romulus will be yours to do as you wish," he heard the Founder tell Thot Pran. "And Earth, too."

Weyoun tried to tear his eyes away from her and failed. All this time he had been looking forward to being given Earth, and now she was promising the Breen what was supposed to be his prize! The Founder noticed him looking her way and raised her chin. "Is there something the matter?" she asked, not truly sympathetic. He bowed his head apologetically.

"Forgive me, but I was under the mistaken impression that all Federation territories would fall under MY jurisdiction...including Earth."

"And so they shall," she assured him, making him frown a little. Now he was confused because she promised the Breen. "I would promise the Breen anything if only they would help us win this war," she stated bluntly when he told her this, relieving him.

"Of course. The Founder is wise in all things."

Her disapproval in her eyes remained, having been that way ever since Damar betrayed them all and she blamed Weyoun, for that matter, because he had been the one to promise her that Damar would never turn on them. But no one could have foreseen it, honestly!

"Founder," Legate Broca, their new and more obedient ally and leader of Cardassia, said upon entering, "I have heard a disturbing rumor about the traitor Damar."

Weyoun whirled around. "What about him?" he demanded.

"He may be alive."

He was shocked. Damar was ALIVE? It couldn't be possible; his ship and rebel bases had been destroyed - but no body had been found. "They say he is here," Broca went on, "on Cardassia Prime and in the capital, no less."

The Founder's eyes darkened, and her mouth curled. "Look into this matter," she ordered dangerously. "If Damar IS alive..."

"He won't be for long," Broca promised, bowing his head before taking his leave. Weyoun found himself under the cold glare of his god once again for yet another grave error made in her presence.

~o~

So, the vote was unanimous - Garak's words - and the beginning of fighting back at the hands of the civilians would begin tomorrow. Damar and Garak really did their work today. Who knew things had gotten in their favor now? And if things proceeded this way, then Damar would have his planet freed, Garak's exile might be over and he could bring Ziyal home with him, and both Kira and Mia would return to their families on Deep Space 9.

"Power, communications, and transportation facilities," Damar counted off, smiling now, "will be sabotaged, which means the Dominion fleet will be cut off from all ground support."

Kira grinned, leaning her head back and still wearing her Breen disguise but her helmet off. "That means they'll face the invasion forces on their own."

"And once the Dominion is crushed..." Garak enthused before Mila appeared with their next meal and finished his sentence.

"All of Cardassia will be free again." She half-heartedly laughed. "Oh, when you were a small boy, Elim, I was worried about you. You were always so secretive, always getting into trouble - and so full of deceit," she spat. "Who would have thought those disgraceful characteristics would become virtues?" Her face immediately morphed into a loving mother's smile that Garak returned. "When this is over, I look forward to meeting that girl of yours - Ziyal?"

"Our former Gul Dukat's half-Bajoran daughter, yes," Garak answered proudly. "She takes more after her dearly departed mother than her father, Mila. You will love her."

Somehow Mia was reminded of her mother who died when she was a little girl. It had been so long since she ever thought about Rosa Delgado, and it wasn't every day that anyone asked her about her real family - and Weyoun knew about them from what she told him, but when she lost both parents, Benjamin and Jake were all she had left, as she was all they had when they lost Jennifer so many years ago. Very soon after the war would mark the anniversary.

By the next day, they carried out the destruction of the power and communications systems, as well as the transportation. She thought of the main place that got the treatment: Central Command, where Weyoun 8, that bitch Amaya and the queen bitch Founder herself were. That would be their next place to storm, because once they had the three surrounded, then that meant the Dominion was beaten whether they would admit it or not.

The blackout wouldn't last; the power would be back on in about half an hour, but no more. When Mia got back from upstairs after cleaning up, her hair tied back and her uniform similar to Kira's sans badges, she was told it had been twenty-four minutes since the power was out. If the Dominion hadn't been able to restore power to the capital, then the entire planet was a disaster. "This will send a CLEAR message to the Dominion," Damar said, "that the Cardassian people will fight to regain their freedom."

Kira snorted. "Well, I hope they realize their fight is only the beginning."

"We're going to have to hit the enemy again and HARDER this time," Mia agreed, and she was thinking of the one place where even Garak knew what she was implying.

"Oh, that won't be easy," he told her. "They will have tightened their security."

"But we can't lose our momentum!" she insisted. They had come too far in this fight to take it easy now, and even Damar knew that.

"She's right. We cannot rest until Cardassia is freed." He turned his attention to the colonel then. "And we have you to thank for it. Without you, this rebellion would have died in its infancy."

Mia laughed and looked down at Garak to see him sharing the same thought: it was ironic that the savior of Cardassia was a former Bajoran terrorist who was now helping the people who had conquered her own once before. At the same time, the lights came on, telling them all that the power had returned. "Twenty-six minutes," Damar announced. "Let's see what the Dominion has to say for itself."

And it was no surprise that Weyoun was the one to appear on the viewscreen - and his expression and tone were far from pleased or even amused. "Citizens of Cardassia, this latest wave of vandalism directed against your Dominion allies must STOP."

"Oh, shut up," Mia snapped.

"I wouldn't count on it," Garak piped in.

"We know that these disgraceful acts of sabotage were carried out by a mere handful of extremists, but these radicals must come to realize that their disobedience will not be tolerated," Weyoun said with a finger raised as if he was lecturing children. "That you, the Cardassian people, will suffer the consequences of their cowardly actions. Which is why, I must inform you, a few moments ago, Dominion troops reduced Lakarian City to ashes."

Lakarian, the capital...

Her husband was listening to every word of this, and he was raging as much as she was along with the others. No survivors, he repeated after his successor on the screen. It didn't matter how it happened so fast; the point was that millions of Cardassians - men, women, and children - were dead because of what they were doing. "Two million men, women, and children gone in a matter of moments." She wanted to pick up her phaser and do the job of smoking the viewscreen in her anger then and there, but that same voice that belonged to her love prevented her from doing so. "For each act of sabotage committed against the Dominion, another Cardassian city will be destroyed. I implore you to not let that happen and let us return to the spirit of friendship and cooperation between our peoples so that together we can destroy our common enemies: the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and all the others that stand against us. Thank you."

The message ended, and Damar's temper exploded. "I should have killed that Vorta jackal when I had the chance!" he raged. Quickly, Mia moved over to stand beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You want another shot? Then we do the one thing that should matter: we attack Dominion Headquarters."

Garak jumped up, liking what she said, and who else to say it other than herself? But Mila was far from happy with the idea of "chopping off the snake's head and it will die". And without a valid security protocol from Damar, there had to be force to use to barge into the belly of the beast. "What you are all proposing is suicide!"

"Mila," Garak said irritably, "if you have nothing positive to say..."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll prepare some food then. No one should die on an empty stomach."

And so the meal she prepared was worth it all, but both Mia and Nerys could have sworn because of the way she flirted with Damar that she might be in love even though she was old enough to be his mother. Then they were all startled by the sound of the ringing of the door overhead. "Now who could that be?" Garak questioned. Whoever it was, they had to hide everything and then themselves just to be safe. Once they were all finished, they hid underneath the stairs and in the alcove with their weapons raised...but for nearly ten minutes, she didn't come back down.

"What's taking her so long?" Damar hissed over to Garak. Mia had the faintest idea as much as it chilled her to her bones...

And then there was the sound of something - or someone - falling down the stairs, and it was - "MILA!" Garak shouted, jumping out from his hiding place, and at the same time -

"GARAK, GET OUT OF THERE!"

An explosion caused them all to fall and lose their weapons. Coughing, Mia blinked to get the smoke out of her eyes and crawled to grab her phaser again...before a boot stood on her wrist, nearly causing the bone to snap and her to cry out in pain before it removed itself and gloved hands viciously grasped her forearms and forced her to stand. A Jem'Hadar soldier glared at her and brought her over to join her friends. Mila was dead before them, and it was their turn now.

~o~

Amaya came in to try and help them, but frankly, there wasn't much she could do given he and the Breen were doing everything they could. But then the Founder had to ask what was taking so long with the engineers; hours, they informed Weyoun they would have the communications back on momentarily, but it was becoming increasingly intolerable because they had no means of contacting their ships and knowing how things were progressing.

"Founder!" Legate Broca called when he arrived. "Our troops have captured the traitor Damar."

At long last! Weyoun had been waiting so long to hear of this, and Amaya's smile was broader than his. "Finally," the Founder hissed, "some good news. Where is he now?"

"We are holding him, but there is more: Colonel Kira, Garak...and Amelia Sisko have been apprehended with him."

"Even better," Weyoun almost sighed at this wondrous news indeed. Damar along with the exiled spy, the Bajoran colonel - Odo's wife and mother of his children - as well as Captain Sisko's daughter who was also the wife of his traitorous predecessor and the mother of his child...who could ask for anything better? Damar and his friends were all caught and would pay for their crimes. "Shall I have them brought here, Founder?" Oh, to see his old friend once again, the tailor and the terrorist, and Weyoun 6's little whore as they all died...

But the Founder shook her head. "I do not want to see those saboteurs anywhere in my presence. Have them executed where they are now...immediately."

"With pleasure." Weyoun smiled most crookedly.

Chapter Text

"Understood. It will be done at once."

Kira closed her eyes. She stood with Damar, Garak, and poor Mia who was trying not to cry. She had been strong thus far, but now she was threatening to give way because she knew this was it - and as much as the colonel hated to admit it, she agreed. They were all going to be executed at once by order of Weyoun.

This one was worse than the ones before him; she could see it all in the young woman's eyes, and in those waterworks, the Bajoran saw the sparks of fiery rage that she should have been the one to kill the Vorta for all of them like her husband killed the one who tried to do the same. Weyoun 8 must have more vengeance based on the memory of his predecessor's death - and that was what made him even more dangerous.

As for the Female Changeling, she was about to get her wish and have Odo's wife killed so she could have him rejoin the Great Link and leave their children orphans. Nerys longed to fire away that shape-shifter if not for the fact they all had needed her to stand trial for her crimes...

She and Mia were both forced to stand between the men as they all trained their phaser rifles on them, the two Cardassians included. No final words were permitted, so on the mark, Kira Nerys, former Legate Damar, Elim Garak, and Amelia Sisko all raised their heads high and proud, ready for the deadly fire - but the shots that came were not directed at them at all.

The Cardassian man in charge curled his lips at the dead Jem'Hadar, snarling, "That's for Lakarian City."

"Well," Mia said, laughing and no longer sobbing, "that means we're back in business." She took one of the phaser rifles for herself before giving Kira her own, and then to Garak, all the while when the man who saved their lives pledged his life to Legate Damar, who smiled with gratitude.

"With men like you on our side, how can we fail?"

~o~

It was going well for them all, but not for long. The Defiant was taking heavy shots. "Jem'Hadar ship off the port bow!" Nog shouted. And that was not all, according to Worf; the shields were down to sixty percent, but not for long.

From what Lynet had heard through her hard concentration, Miles had taken a great shot to his right shoulder, in which Dr. Bashir told him he had to be taken to sickbay at once, but the chief insisted he was too busy. But he gave in when the captain granted permission, grim as he was. After the two left, another Jem'Hadar shot them in the port, resulting in all auxiliary power transferred to the port shields.

"Dax," Sisko said, "we need some support from our attack fighters." They would not be able to survive yet again if this continued, resulting in losing the second Defiant...

"Aye, sir," the Trill answered.

The ship wracked again, almost sending Lynet out of her seat. "Captain, Breen ship off the starboard aft!" she yelled. Looking over her shoulder briefly, she saw Yelgrun take up the chief's post as he had not yet been wounded. Show the chief you saved each other's skins, she sent to him, and saved all our skins.

I intend to.

And then Jadzia called, "Sir, most of our fighters are either destroyed or under attack!" So, with no support, they had no choice but to do one thing: get the hell out of here.

Nog did his best to try and get them out of there; besides the fact they were under attack, this new Defiant was more slow than the original. And as they maneuvered, trying to dodge fire from the Breen, they were all greeted with a shocking surprise that Odo discovered for them all. "Sir," he said to Benjamin, "the Cardassians...they're attacking the other Dominion ships!"

Lynet couldn't believe what she was seeing on the scanners and sending to her husband who was just as dismayed as she was. "They've switched sides," she gasped.

"And about time, too, Captain," Yelgrun agreed.

"The timing couldn't have been better," Sisko declared, taking his seat back into his chair. "Come about and head for the center of their lines. This is our chance to punch through."

And so, with their new allies on their side and helping them fight the Breen and Dominion ships, the Defiant was safe to continue fighting without further damage done. This day couldn't have gotten any better - but that still left what was occurring on the planet below which would come after.

~o~

Finally, the long-range communications were back online, so he could finally contact their forces in space to see how the battle was progressing - but what he discovered sent him into a state of shock: the Cardassian fleet was firing no longer at Federation, Romulan or Klingon ships, but at the Breen and Jem'Hadar.

Not only had the people turned against them, but their soldiers in space. The entire Cardassian population was now fighting against the Dominion. "I don't believe it," he gasped.

"How could they do this?" Amaya added, turning her face away from him and from the screen itself. The Founder displayed an unusual air of calm at the betrayal, and she ordered it just as softly.

"Have our forces pull back and regroup at Cardassia Prime." Weyoun looked at her, shocked. If they pulled back, they would all be completely surrounded. "There will be no more running," the Founder said tiredly. "I do not wish to admit it, but it seems I have no choice. We are outnumbered, our allies turned against us, and I won't let us all be killed this way." Then her voice rose after Thot Pran spoke to her, having shared what she thought.

"We should have rid ourselves of the Cardassians at the first sign of rebellion."

The attention was now on Legate Broca, who saw the blame was on him now, as he'd failed to prevent his people from coming back to their side. "But," he protested, a last attempt to save his skin but knew it was too late for that, "if I can talk to the people, get them to see reason -!"

"Perhaps you can reawaken their patriotic spirit," Amaya stated coolly, locking eyes with him.

"Exactly!"

"On the other hand," Weyoun said icily, "they're just as likely to convince YOU to betray us."

Broca started. "Me, betray you? Never!"

The Founder stepped forward and gestured the Jem'Hadar behind him to take him. "That's right. We're not going to give you that opportunity."

He protested all the way out the door. "Wait, I've done everything you asked! I obey the Founders in all things...!" The doors closed in on his pleas. None of them would ever miss him; he outlived his usefulness. This was the last Cardassian to ever attempt to rebel.

"Weyoun, begin the order of the extermination of the Cardassians - ALL of them."

~o~

Yelgrun wanted to laugh that his people were the cowards they were when they displayed it as they began to retreat to Cardassia Prime to regroup. They were beaten and they knew it. The victory was theirs today - but there was still the matter of the planet itself and its population, as well as the Female Founder as well as Weyoun 8 still down there. If Colonel Kira, Garak, and Mia were still alive, then they had to be going for that prize at this very moment.

He listened to the onscreen conversation between Sisko, Admiral Ross, and Chancellor Martok. The Dominion would be bottled up for some time, but they could always use this time to rebuild their shipyards yet again, and this battle would continue for more years to come. They were all tired of fighting - and Yelgrun was indefinitely. He wanted to see this done today even though he was no soldier.

A third of their own fleet was gone in the fighting and would have been more if not for the Cardassians who interfered. But they would make sure their lost soldiers didn't die in vain - and finish what they started was what they would do.

~o~

The city of Lakarian might have lost its population, but it was being destroyed building by building - and more cities and populations to come.

The entire Cardassian population was being destroyed. Exterminated.

Mia's heart fell. They were paying a horrible price for their rebellion, and she could see it on the face of Damar who risked his life and men just to free his people, and look what his enemies were doing to the planet he loved. But he wasn't going to give up; none of them would.

They were all feeling the impact when Garak rushed down the stairs to report what he was seeing, grief on his face, too. Besides that, they had to go now, but not before Garak began his mourning just to get it out of his system. And he was looking down at Mila's corpse when he spoke. "All during the years of my exile, I imagined what it would be like to come home. I even thought of living in this house again with Mila, and with Ziyal to bring home to her, for a better life for both of us...but now Mila is dead, and this house is about to be reduced to a pile of rubble. My Cardassia is gone."

"Then fight for a new Cardassia," Kira told him, and that was enough to get him moving and joining them.

"I have an even better reason, Commander," Garak told her, then looked down at Mia briefly, winking at her and making her blush. "Revenge." Both women laughed; revenge sounded much better and that much sweeter.

"Once we get inside the complex," Damar declared once they were all outside, "we stop at nothing until we capture the Changeling! For Cardassia!"

"For Cardassia!" the rest of the men shouted.

They wasted no time in finally reaching their destination of Central Command - or should they all say, Dominion Headquarters? To think her Weyoun - both the one she fell in love with and fathered Riona, then the next one who came to his senses and married her - had once been second-in-command to the witch shape-shifter and ordered the deaths of millions. Now she was here, and the thrills in her nerves couldn't feel that much more exciting. I'm here, she sent to him, and we are so close. To see the face of your successor and the witch when we storm and capture them.

He kissed her. I know I said it before, but I wish I was there to see it. You've done so well, my love. And send my compliments to Damar.

His response took her aback altogether. I thought you hated him.

I did, but with everything he's done to help you, in return for his people, and the fact he has helped US in his own way - I should be there to have made my peace with him. I should tell him myself, but you should do it for me.

She was behind a collection of storage crates and canisters, hiding with Kira while Garak and one of the loyal soldiers were working to plant a bomb to the entrance they found; this would not only get them inside, but it would sound the alarm that the surviving rebels would make it through. But when they returned, Garak said, "We have a problem, and I'm afraid it's a rather large one: the cargo door is made of neutronium."

Oh, damn it. And neutronium was invulnerable to explosives of all kinds. Kira almost groaned. "Then the explosives we brought aren't going to work," she stated. Garak nodded.

"You see the problem."

Damar exhaled sharply. "I don't know what to do now, but I'm through hiding in basements." He jerked at the sight of both Garak and Kira laughing for no obvious reason related to the situation. "I don't understand what is so funny about all of this!" In the distance, the bombing and firing targeting people and buildings from city to city radiated their senses while they were trying to break into the command center.

Garak tried to keep his laughter in and failed. "Well, isn't it obvious? Here we are, ready to storm the castle, willing to sacrifice our lives in the noble effort to slay the Dominion beast in its lair - and we can't even get inside the gates!" Something inside Mia made her crumble and giggle at how funny it WAS; somehow it managed to get to Damar that it was something worth laughing over at this time. Maybe they all should go up to the door and ask the Jem'Hadar to let them in, or better yet, they should ask them to send out the shape-shifter to them.

But the laughter died fairly quickly. "As I said," Garak sobered, "we have a problem."

"What if I gave myself up, pretend to be your prisoner?"

If they did that, they were all as good as dead. "No," Mia insisted. "They'll kill you on sight, and us along with you."

However, their fortune changed quickly. The doors opened, and voices shouted that they were loyal to the Dominion. All of the team poked their heads over to see what was going on: three Cardassian men - one of them whom Damar recognized as Broca whom he clashed with on occasion in the past - stabbed through their hearts by Jem'Hadar kar'takin for being "traitors". This set Damar and the rest of them off, pulled out their weapons, and began to fire. The two Jem'Hadar were dead for them all to storm the gates.

"FOR CARDASSIA!"

Another Jem'Hadar was met with the same fate as the two outside, and more were on the way. Mia was beside the Cardassian who had saved their lives at Mila's house - his name was Ekoor - and he killed that one for her. She barely missed a firing and screamed when she ran to the side in an effort to avoid it - but someone in front of her took the fire for her. She screamed again when she saw who it was. "Damar, NO!" She caught him along with Garak before he fell to the ground, not long before she furiously aimed her phaser and killed the Jem'Hadar who did this.

Damar...he took the shot for HER. Why would he do this when he was the savior for his people?! She barely heard Garak shouting at the others to fall back as they both laid the fatally wounded Legate to the ground. They were still firing, but Mia and Garak no longer were - just for the moment - and giving their attention to Damar who was now looking up at her.

"Mia...I'm so sorry." His hand came to grasp hers, holding it and once more telling her he was sorry for the pain he caused her and her family, even though they already made the amends. She bowed her head over his and found it in her to place a kiss on his forehead because he needed to know it this way. He sighed softly, despite being in so much pain, then looked up at Garak. "Keep..." was all he could get out before he exhaled one last time and closed his eyes. Mia closed her own and bowed her head again.

Legate Damar was dead. He died for his people - and he died to save her life.

"Remember his orders," Kira told them, assuming command now. "We don't stop, no matter what. We are not giving up until we have the Changeling."

~o~

"Darling, a security breach," Amaya announced, and he almost lost his temper because he saw it himself. Damar and his rebels must have made it alive after all - and now they had come for them. Weyoun became all the more determined to protect himself, Amaya, and the Founder. But there was one major problem: there were only a few guards they had left in this room, and the rest were out assisting with the extermination of the Cardassian population.

They were outnumbered.

And then there was the sound of phaserfire outside. They were getting close. Weyoun spun around to two of the Jem'Hadar nearby. "You two, get out there and make sure NO ONE gets in!" he snapped. "And you two, stay by the door in case they fail." However, deep down, they were indeed likely to lose...and that was exactly what happened when the doors opened, and the Jem'Hadar at the doors were shot and smoked before their eyes. Amaya shrieked and dove behind him and the Founder as their new arrivals made their way inside, their weapons raised.

Weyoun's lip curled as he beheld the sight of Colonel Kira Nerys, Garak - and Mia Sisko.

~o~

They had finally got into the main room of the Command Center, shot down every Jem'Hadar they had - and now they were here. Kira was the first to set foot and gaze upon the horrible shape-shifter who tried to separate her and Odo, made the Federation and their allies pay for everything that had happened, and ordered the destruction of the people of this planet. Beside her was her loyal little Vorta - and the one who escaped them on Soukara, who had been made from Mia's DNA.

Amaya was nowhere near the vengeful state that her lover and Founder were eyeing the group, but she stayed behind him for protection. She was nowhere near the brave man he was - but he was also not the good one Weyoun 6 was. "Well, well, Colonel Kira," he sneered, "what a pleasant surprise."

"The pleasure is all mine," she answered spitefully, keeping her phaser aimed at him. Then his eyes diverted to the younger woman beside her and Garak.

"Amelia Sisko, it makes it even better."

"Even better to see your faces and know we beat the three of you," Mia countered hotly. She didn't get the chance to say anymore because Ekoor had checked the status, telling them that the Federation fleet had surrounded the planet - and they were all done for.

"Now," Kira said coldly to the Founder, "I want you to contact the Jem'Hadar and the Breen, and you order their ships to stand down."

"And order the ships on Cardassia to do the same," Garak added smoothly.

The Founder sniffed and lifted her chin in defiance. "I will do no such thing, Colonel," she hissed, making Mia snap and take a step forward, aiming her phaser at the shape-shifter.

"You evil bitch, you better do what she says, or I'll shoot you where you stand, and I'm not afraid to do it." Kira looked at her worriedly and softly urged her to please let her handle this.

"Tell me," Weyoun said, narrowing his eyes, "where is my old friend, Damar?"

"He's dead," Nerys answered solemnly, remembering how brave he had been to take the deadly shot to his heart, not only for his planet but for Mia who would have been killed if he hadn't interfered. And of course, the Vorta was unsympathetic.

"What a pity," he mocked, making Garak angrier than the colonel.

"He died trying to free Cardassia."

"What's left of it anyway," Weyoun stated, offensive and making the biggest mistake of his life - what was left of it, anyway. Mia took another step forward and bared her teeth, courageous and ecstatic that her chance had come.

"He also died saving my life, you bastard!" she raged, pulling the trigger of her phaser and firing straight for his heart. Weyoun 8's last expression was that of horror and disbelief as he fell to the floor. Dead. Kira stared at the corpse with surprise that Mia had the guts after all to kill someone, and there was no mistaking the exhilaration on her face as she beheld the body before them all, knowing her husband would have enjoyed it, too. Amaya, like before, fell back and could not hold herself together, cracking down and turning away from them all.

Garak burst out laughing. "My dear, that was supposed to be my job for his mockery of my planet, but nice shot anyway," he praised Mia, who winked in response. But the Founder herself looked like she was on the verge of collapsing.

"I wish you hadn't done that," she said, almost in despair which was a shocker because she never really cared for her servants or any solids - except this one, her most loyal, it seemed. "That was Weyoun's last clone."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Mia sneered, "but my husband, the 'defective' number six, is the only one left. But you shouldn't get your hopes up that he will join you again. He's mine, and you stay the hell away from him and our daughter."

"Mia, you can save this for later," Nerys told her. "Now, Founder, you're going to do what I say now and call off those ships, and then you're going to come with us and stand trial for everything you've done."

~o~

The casualty list was enormous, and just kept growing and growing. Eight hundred million dead Cardassians so far, and right now, Admiral Ross, Captain Sisko, and Chancellor Martok were on the ground. The Defiant was still in space while their crew beamed down to see the terrors done to this once-proud planet and its people, seeing the dead - men, women, and children.

The sight made Lynet lean into her husband, feeling like she wanted to retch. The smell of corpses and fire remaining were the causes. This was what the Dominion did to the people whose leader sold them off for the entire Alpha Quadrant; Gul Dukat's motives had been out of desperation and more power because the battling with the Klingons had left them third-rate...and under the rule of the Dominion, they were lesser than third until they were nothing but rubble parts of buildings.

"I'll be glad when the Founder pays for this," Yelgrun stated, wrinkling his nose. "She deserves everything, deserves to see the smiles of victory in the eyes of her enemies if not on their faces."

"I couldn't agree more," Lynet agreed softly, looking up at the sky, which was soft blue clouded with pale pink and gray, darkening with rising smoke. "I won't be surprised if Chancellor Martok wants to drink the finest bloodwine vintage over these bodies. 'Poetic justice', the Bajorans would say of the people who once conquered their homelands, and now they got the same taste of their own medicine," she said bitterly.

He nodded. "Poetic justice is right. Most of everyone will say the Cardassians got what they deserved, but it IS...too much to say they had it coming. I know not all of them had a fault in this."

"And it's nothing worth celebrating over. I'd rather celebrate the fact we have triumphed over the Dominion back on Deep Space 9," she said with a smile before it faded. First things first before any partying could take place, the peace treaty was to be signed between the rival peoples, and then everyone would be getting on with their lives. She already knew what would become of this poor remnant of a planet and much of its destroyed people: the music, art, literature, and all classical elements had been destroyed, so this was no longer the Cardassia everyone knew. Garak's exile was over; he would be coming home to rebuild what would be brand new, bring his wife with him, and say goodbye to his friend Dr. Bashir for now, but not count on seeing him again too soon. That man was so full of intrigue, but that was why a lot of people always found him fascinating.

Who knew how life would go on now. They lived in uncertain times, after all.

She and Yelgrun were there when the Armistice took place not many days later. So were Keevan, Weyoun, and their wives and children, as well as Kilana, along with the senior staff of Deep Space 9, Admiral Bill Ross, and the alliances. Opposite of them, the Female Changeling filled out the paperwork with the help of a female Vorta who looked just like Mia, as well as a male Lynet didn't recognize; Jem'Hadar and Breen soldiers were right behind them at attention. Everyone watched on with somber, stoned faces. And there was no doubt cousin Annora was getting these events down.

"The war between the Dominion and the Federation Alliance...is now over," the Founder said formally and monotoned as she handed the official agreement to Lynet's father. Captain Sisko watched her with eyes that would never forgive her for all of this. Whoever would?

Ross lowered his eyes. "Four hundred years ago," he spoke, "a victorious general spoke the following words at the end of yet another costly war: 'Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. We have known the bitterness of defeat and the exultation of triumph - and from both, we have learned there is no going back. We must...move forward to preserve in peace what we've won in war.'"

The Founder had no more to say, but she didn't want to say anything to these "solids" she still so despised. She was going to spend a very long time in Federation prison, but she still had to be escorted out by her own guards, not before she stopped in front of Odo and briefly spoke some words to him, but Lynet couldn't make out what they were. Who cares? Yelgrun snorted. We won't be seeing her again.

She looked down. Odo wasn't going back to the Great Link for a much longer time. He knew he had to make his people understand that these people were not as terrible as they believed, but it would be a very long time before they understood that. Right now, he had a family to think about. If Lynet didn't know better, she'd say it'd be after Kira passed in many more years to come, but that was only a guess - and a thought for the future that wasn't hers to decide and would not dwell on right now.

But the future had to be discussed very soon, right?

~o~

They were all spending a last night together tonight in Vic Fontaine's holosuite club - and somehow, Weyoun felt more than sad that things were going to change. He had been picking up everything from the night while he stood with the entire crew and his family - the babies were all left with a Bajoran friend of Kasidy Yates-Sisko's who loved children and had two adult ones of her own, for the night - and they drank champagne, but Weyoun couldn't taste it other than smell how...ripe and strong it was, for lack of a better phrase. He rarely downed alcohol except for a special occasion like tonight.

First of all, Odo wasn't going back to his people anytime soon even though he intended to. His wife and children came first, and when his beloved was gone from his life - not that either of them would think about that, nor would they rush for that soon - he would go back to the Great Link, so his people could learn what he learned amongst living with solids, and to learn to trust them. It would be a long time, but it was Odo's decision to make.

But that didn't mean that it would prevent him from going with Weyoun back to the Gamma Quadrant for his mission, and his fellow Vorta would go with him, but not for another week, even a month but no final decision. Now that his successor was dead and the Weyoun line ended - save for himself - he was taking a dangerous risk to go back to the Gamma Quadrant to try and free his people as they long talked about, but it was about time the action was taken...and soon. But he couldn't do this without his fellow Vorta and friends on his side, and their "god". They would come back to their families with the right solid promises to be made. But not tonight.

Chief O'Brien was going back to Earth with his family, having been offered a teaching position at Starfleet Academy, but was still debating where to live now. It meant Dr. Bashir would be without another friend, but he also had Kilana to watch over him.

Worf and Dax, unsurprisingly or maybe so, were going to Qo'noS, as he had been made Federation Ambassador to his home planet, his outcast reputation done for thanks to Chancellor Martok; well, ironic, given it was Worf who helped his brother-in-arms become the great leader their people needed. Now his Trill wife was coming home with him, just as Ziyal had gone to what was left of Cardassia with her mate.

Everything was really going to change.

Not all changes were moving and heartfelt if you could count what Mia came back to when she returned to Quark's bar. "My idiot brother is the new Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance," he spat to her, "and the Ferenginar as I know it is GONE. Zek was manipulated by my mother to put Rom as his heir. Not only that, everything on Ferenginar doesn't involve greed and lust for profit anymore - it's all about economic virtues!" He'd slammed his fist on the counter. "But no matter; old Ferenginar exists in this bar and this bar only. My brother can lose his head in kindness and giving all he wants, and it's not my fault he wouldn't prove himself -" And then his face changed just like that, baring his teeth in a grin. "- but Moogie's right. I underestimated him all his life. He's the perfect Nagus."

Weyoun remembered doubling over with laughter when his wife came back to him and told him the story. But before that, she entertained him with the wondrous tale of her courage when she stood up to the Founder and killed Weyoun 8. When she returned to him and their daughter safe and sound, he had never felt such waves since their reunion when he contacted Odo to save him. She was a woman who kept her promises.

He found himself looking her over with her marvelous brunette hair wild about her shoulders the way he liked it and her signature; her dress hugged her body, reached her knees, and it was periwinkle blue with roses embroidered up the left side. His Mia, his soul mate and mother of his daughter, and reason for ever living. There was also Annora, her best friend and Keevan's beloved, the mother of his son who was in fabulous white with an exquisite, unidentified embroidery, her sandy blonde curls half-held up. Finally, Yelgrun's Lynet in ruffled bright yellow with no long raven hair to hold up. All three of them had gotten so lucky, but luck really had nothing to do with it - it was fate. He should also include Kilana who got Dr. Julian Bashir.

"I don't see how great everything will be," Quark had to complain when he overhead Julian and Miles talking about a real possible trip to the Alamo that wasn't their model. "Earth's nothing more than a rotating ball of boredom. If you ask me, you're better off staying here, and that goes for Worf and Jadzia, too."

"Oh, don't tell me you're getting sentimental, Quark," Annora said with a roll of the eyes. He snorted and waved his hand off at her.

"Me? Not a chance. I just don't like change, period."

"You'd better get used to it," Sisko told him. "Things are going to be pretty different from around here now." But from the looks of him, he wasn't too happy about some of his friends leaving, either - notably Dax, his two lifetimes' worth of friendship. And then he decided to lighten it up by raising his glass for a toast.

"To the best crew any captain ever had," he said with a smile, and every one of them raised their glasses, Weyoun included. "This may be the last time we're all together, but no matter what the future holds - and no matter how far we travel - a part of us...a VERY important part...will always remain here on Deep Space 9." And that was something worth drinking to, even to those who couldn't taste the exquisitely smooth fluid of celebration.

And then Vic Fontaine spoke into what was called a microphone, which was used so the being on stage could talk for all watching to listen to. "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a very special night for some friends of mine who have been together for a long time." Even he sounded very sad, was going to miss those leaving. "But like the man said," he went on, sounding like he was trying not to break down either, "nothing lasts forever. So, this one is from the heart - but it won't be from me, but three very special ladies who are among the heart and soul."

None other than his Mia, Annora, and Lynet - the Vorta brides - getting up there, despite the fact Lynet was not a very great singer like her cousin and best friend, but they were doing this one song for all of them, beginning with his beloved Mia.

Said goodbye, turned around
And you were gone, gone, gone
Faded into the setting sun,
Slipped away
But I won't cry
Cause I know I'll never be lonely
For you are the stars to me,
You are the light I follow

Everyone was moved by the song, knew she could sing as wonderfully as she did, and she and the other girls could not have picked a better choice. The melody did not touch the understanding segment in the Vorta, but Weyoun did understand the importance of it: it told of anything relating to saying good-bye, such as a tribute to a loved one you lost, or just saying farewell for now and you would be back someday. This next bit all three women let loose said so.

I will see you again, whoa
This is not where it ends
I will carry you with me, oh
'Til I see you again

He thought he was going to cry, and held it in. Looking over at Keevan and Yelgrun, the youngest Vorta allowed a shining tear to roll down his cheek when he listened to his wife Annora's part.

I can hear those echoes in the wind at night
Calling me back in time
Back to you
In a place far away
Where the water meets the sky
The thought of it makes me smile
You are my tomorrow

The rest of the crew was trying to hold themselves together, even Vic Fontaine himself and the rest of his guests even though they were just holograms - but this man was also a friend to all of them, helped them as much as Mia was known for.

I will see you again, whoa
This is not where it ends
I will carry you with me, oh
'Til I see you again

Lynet had so far been a backup singer, but that didn't matter to Yelgrun as he seemed to be proud of her anyway and was there for her. Annora was looking over at her friend as Mia seemed to be cracking up now as she was the more emotional of the three women. When she and her adoptive family, which had become her true family who looked out for her best interests, first came to this station, it was just an abandoned shell, but Benjamin Sisko turned it into something more for all of them - something called home. And now with a handful leaving, it was going to become empty in the heart in comparison.

"Sometimes," she chirped, on the verge of breaking completely, "I feel my heart is...breaking." She swallowed and pulled herself together. "But I stay strong, and I hold on 'cause I know..." And Lynet surprisingly picked up for her with a big smile on her face, confidence regained.

"I will see you again, whoa. This is not where it ends. I will carry you with me, yeah, yeah..."

~o~

Everyone left the next day, and Yelgrun confessed that it felt like parts of himself had been taken as it had become his home, too. And his wife had done wonderful last night with her cousin and Mia, and all three couples - bring in Kilana and Bashir to make it the fourth, actually - were remaining here.

He said goodbye to Chief O'Brien and the family when they left, along with Bashir and Kilana as well as the others. At the same time, Worf and Jadzia Dax left, following a near tearful response from the Trill to the man who was her friend for so many years, but Qo'noS was her accepted new home and life from now on, and she would be an ambassador's wife. It should be interesting to see how that turned out.

After the O'Briens left, Yelgrun himself was promoted to Chief of Operations, which took him off altogether; Nog had gotten one to lieutenant, too, so this was just out of the blue for himself. He hadn't expected a promotion so soon, but it was a great honor and recognition that he deserved it. "I'll be getting one sometime in a couple years or so, perhaps," Lynet told him when she kissed him his congratulations. "Lt. Commander Ross...just like my mother before me."

"I'm sure she would be proud of you, no matter you two never being close," he told her, placing his hand on her still-flat abdomen where their child rested for over seven more months.

He found himself looking at the others: at Odo and Kira, both returning to their residence to continue rearranging their living for their newborn children, named Taban and Meru after her parents...the Siskos, happily expecting a third child...Quark looking mildly glum at the change of life but continuing what he did best...Julian Bashir and Kilana eager to see how their new relationship would turn out...Keevan and Annora with their infant son, Kei...Weyoun and Mia with daughter Riona...and finally back to himself and his Lynet. He wouldn't be surprised at whoever else said this, but the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Everyone cleared but Weyoun, Keevan, and their families. All three of them gathered at a window that showed space beyond - and the opening of the wormhole which led to their former home, the Gamma Quadrant, and then closed. Each man keeping his wife and child close looked first at the vanished entrance of space, then at each other and back, knowing that someday soon they would go back through that wormhole so they could band together and begin the important mission they were meant to do, just as they had been meant to find happiness and love, freedom, and save the galaxy from utter devastation.