The BLTS Archive - A Conversation Between Two Vorta
by Aurora West (pini0002@umn.edu)

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Published: 11-03-06 - Updated: 11-03-06

Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's very sad.

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"And so the mighty Dominion ran with its tail between its legs."

"That's one way of putting it, yes." Weyoun raised his eyebrows at his
companion. "Did you really need me to tell you this, Eris, when you
clearly already knew what had happened?"

She laughed. "I'd much rather hear your account than read the daily
transmissions from the listening posts."

"I can't see why."

"Because you'll tell me what happened."

"Hm. I had no idea you put such stock in what I have to say."

"Don't be silly. After all, you're the /liaison/ to the Alpha
Quadrant. Don't I have to put stock in what you say?"

Weyoun smiled slightly, something he hadn't done much of in the past
week. Since abandoning Deep Space Nine, he'd requested a leave of
absence to spend some time on his home-world. He'd only arrived
yesterday, and when he'd beamed down to the small house that the
Weyoun line had always owned, Eris had been lounging on the porch. Not
having seen each other in months, an embrace led to a kiss, which in
turn led to other, more time-consuming activities.

Now it was morning, and the two of them had laid in bed talking for
hours while the sun crept across the blankets. Weyoun hadn't had the
luxury of doing so in months, not least of all because there was no
sun on Deep Space Nine. He leaned back into the pillows and sighed a
little. "I enjoyed Deep Space Nine. The people there were very. . .
fascinating. It's a pity the Federation took it back."

"You don't think you'll have another opportunity to spend time there?"
Eris asked idly.

Weyoun glanced sharply at her, but her expression was bland. "Of
course I will," he answered, "when the Dominion wins this war." He
paused and stared into space for a moment, and then added, "Whenever
that may be."

"I hope you're not going to tell me that you got to be friends with
the station's residents?"

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. They couldn't see me as anything other
than the Dominion's representative. Given time, though, maybe. . .
well." He smiled a bit wistfully. "As I said, it's a pity the
Federation returned. Major Kira was really beginning to grow on me."

Eris laughed. "I thought you said Dukat's behavior towards her was
sickening? Don't tell me you were beginning to understand it."

Raising an eyebrow, Weyoun replied, "Oh, make no mistake, Dukat was
deluded beyond all belief about the Major--and other things. The way
he carried on with Kira was revolting. Amusing, but revolting. No, I
admire the Major for her obstinate forthrightness; her. . . inability
to hide what she's feeling. And for the fact that she maintained her
dignity in a most humiliating situation. But," he added, his eyes
twinkling a bit with amusement, "I still like you better."

"Such eloquence," Eris remarked, rolling her eyes. Then, she asked, "I
suppose she thought you were a weasel?"

"Most likely."

She stretched her arms behind her head and watched as Weyoun shifted
into a more upright position. With a thoughtful gaze on him, she
commented, "I think what amuses me most are the Cardassians."

"Ah, yes, well, they amused me, too, until they lost the station for
us," Weyoun said sourly. "To think all those weeks, all those precious
hours I wasted listening to Dukat's pathetic, self-righteous egotism.
I /told/ him, time and again, that we couldn't afford to be
overconfident. And did he listen?"

"No."

"I'm glad this story is so predictable. No. No, of course he didn't,
and he had the audacity to accuse /me/ of being anhedonic." Weyoun
shook his head. "Cardassians are, without a doubt, the most arrogant
people I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with." He sighed, but
then added in a somewhat brighter tone, "Of course, it /does/ make
them so much easier to manipulate. Dukat made the mistake of thinking
that he could predict the actions of people that he doesn't
understand. Myself included."

Eris' eyebrows were arched. "Anhedonic? You?"

Weyoun offered her a small smile. "While I'm glad you find it
unbelievable, was that all that caught your attention in the tirade?"

"That's just the part I didn't understand," she replied with a smirk.

"I suppose he just couldn't see that I had very little to be pleased
about. It was hard enough to keep a pleasant expression on my face
most of the time."

"I thought you /enjoyed/ Deep Space Nine."

"I did. But I had quite a bit to be concerned about."

Weyoun crossed his arms over his chest and Eris slipped her hand into
the crook of his elbow, saying in a quiet tone, "Rightly so, from what
you've told me. Placating the Cardassians sounds like a. . . demanding
task." She looked up at him. "Now that Dukat's gone, what is the
Dominion going to do about Cardassia?"

Weyoun chuckled. "Most likely, Gul /Damar/ will be installed as the
new leader."

"Hm. A puppet?"

"Oh yes. Damar's an idiot; all his motivations are utterly
transparent. I should have no problem controlling him."

Eris pursed her lips. "Perhaps. But surely it came as a surprised that
he killed Dukat's daughter?"

Weyoun hesitated before admitting, "A bit, yes. Though his reasons for
killing her were not."

Eris didn't respond right away, and when she spoke, she asked, "I
wonder, Weyoun, what you would have done with Dukat's daughter had you
been in Damar's place."

Flicking his eyes towards her, Weyoun clarified, "You mean when she
confessed to being a terrorist?" At her nod, he raised his eyebrows in
thought and slowly exhaled. After a moment, he said, "I suppose. . . I
would have taken her into custody and had her executed. Why do you
ask?"

"Curiosity. She was just a girl, wasn't she?"

"Yes." Weyoun mulled over his next words before continuing, "But girl
or not, she was a terrorist."

"How very harsh of you."

"What /should/ I have done?" he demanded.

She smiled. "I'm not judging you. But I think you, maybe, would feel
just a bit guilty about doing your duty."

"Well." Weyoun averted his eyes from hers. "She /was/ just a girl. I
only spoke to Tora Ziyal once--Dukat gave a dinner party for her and
invited /me/, of all people--and I was struck by her. . . naivety. Her
innocence. She was. . . a fool. Her father managed to delude her into
believing that he was the vaunted savior of the Bajoran people--that
he was trying to /protect/ Bajor from the Dominion. Interestingly, I
was the one taking a more lenient position with Bajor, but that's
another subject entirely." He sniffed in contempt. "I almost pitied
her, after talking with her. Everything she believed in was a lie, yet
she couldn't see it." Glancing at Eris, he remarked, "I wouldn't have
relished Ziyal's execution, but there's no doubt that she was
dangerous to the Dominion. And there was certainly a benefit to her
death--it drove Dukat mad and saved me the trouble of removing him
from power myself." Shaking his head, Weyoun went on, "That man. . . I
never did figure out whether or note /he /believed the ridiculous
nonsense he spouted to his daughter. He thought he was so clever. He
thought he could use the Dominion to regain his control over Bajor.
That was all he wanted. Power over those poor, misguided Bajorans who
just refused to see reason and believe he was anything other than a
power-hungry despot." He laughed a little. "I pity them if he ever
gets that control."

"Don't tell me he's crueler than /you/."

He looked at her, hurt reflecting very faintly in his eyes. "I'm not
cruel."

"You don't think so," Eris said in an amused tone, running a hand
gently through his hair to ease the pain from his expression. "But in
case you haven't noticed, we have that reputation. We Vorta are only
liked by those who can't see past surface appearances. And who wants
to associate with those dullards?"

"But we're not so bad once you get to know us," Weyoun lamented, a
hint of melodrama in his voice.

"I don't know about that. You probably are."

"All right, I get the point. Your opinion of me is dismal. Feel free
to leave at any time." As Eris rolled her eyes good-naturedly, Weyoun
smiled smugly and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "You know, you
should really be kinder to me. I can only be here for a week."

"On the contrary, that's precisely why I /shouldn't/ be kind to you.
You're only sparing seven days for me." She sat up in order to look
him in the eye. "You'll be on Cardassia Prime?"

"Yes." He sighed. "I hope Damar isn't doing anything stupid, though
I've come to expect it from him. I left him with strict orders not to
take any offensive action until I return. And as I'm still not
convinced he's capable of independent thought, really, that shouldn't
be a problem for him."

Eris' mouth twitched. "Oh, you poor, long-suffering. . . dictator."

"I'm not a dictator yet. Just an ambassador."

"Planning on becoming one?"

"The Founder hasn't decided what territories will fall under my
jurisdiction once we win the war. But no, I wasn't planning on it."

"That's probably wise; I imagine the Founders wouldn't appreciate it."

"I'd guess not. Now." He brushed a hand across her cheek. "I'm tired
of talking about the war and Dukat and the entire mess. I'd rather
think about something more pleasant."

"I think that can be arranged." Eris kissed him lightly, but it
quickly deepened, and soon the two of them were far too preoccupied to
even dream of talking.

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The End