The BLTS Archive - Reptilian Romance
by Kira-Nerys (kardasi@kardasi.com)

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is my first attempt to write fanfiction and
I enjoyed it immensely. If it has any real literary value is up to you
as a reader to decide. It takes place sometime close after "Return To
Grace" Feel free to copy this for your own reading pleasure, but
please don't archive without permission on another site and if you do
read it - tell me about it - I would like to know if someone read it!
And feel free to send me any comments you might have.

DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dukat and Kira and the setting of
the story are the property of Paramount Pictures. The name Deep Space
Nine and anything attached to the concept of Star Trek is theirs. But
the plot line, the story - is mine. I borrowed their characters only
to give life to my own idea. No infringement is intended.

---

The Gul, named Dukat, stood silently over the helmpanel. His
Cardassian features strict with control. He was not about to show
Kira, Ziyal or his crew, how he reacted to their position. This
mission he promised to help Major Kira Nerys with, proved to be quite
the adventure....

He, Major Kira, his half-Bajoran daughter Ziyal, and the rest of the
crew on the Klingon Bird of Prey he and Kira had captured a while back
were caught in a Particle Storm, and lost pretty far from either
Cardassian or Federation space. It would take them nearly two months
to get home even if they traveled at maximum warp all the way. A
couple of hundred light years had just swizzled by them a few hours
ago and they were now caught a pretty long way from the Wormhole.

Major Kira was quite upset. She wasn't exactly reluctant to show her
travel companions how she felt about the whole thing. Dukat did what
he could not to smile at her. But it was hard. He really liked Major
Kira although she would probably knock him out cold if she ever found
out just how much he liked her.

He would - of course - never admit it, but he was a bit hurt by her
attitude although he could understand her. He regretted many of the
things he had done. But few as much as the occupation of Bajor, and a
lot of the things he had been forced to do as a Legate of the
Cardassian military during that same occupation.

Ziyal had told him about a conversation between her and Kira last time
they met. Ziyal had told Kira how many of those things still really
bothered him. Kira had stated that she really doubted he would have
felt the same way if Cardassia had won.

But he knew she was wrong. He knew Kira thought of the Cardassians as
cruel, violent people that found no greater pleasure than playing mind
games. And Gul Dukat agreed that this was very true, but there was a
lot more to them than that.

It was as if Kira had placed all her hatred towards the Cardassians
onto him, which he didn't feel was justified. He had been one of the
few trying to end the horrors the Cardassians had inflicted on Bajor.
But then again - he would never tell Kira that. He was too proud to
try and justify himself or his actions to her. But Ziyal had put her
finger on the spot when she insightfully commented:

"You really wish that Major Kira would forgive you - that would make
it easier for you to forgive yourself, wouldn't it, father?"

Ziyal had, during these months since he found her, gotten to know him
pretty well. She knew more than anyone how he felt about the first
officer of Deep Space Nine. He was envious of how well Major Kira and
his daughter were getting along, and wished he could be part of their
comfortable friendship. He suspected that Kira was as close to a
mother figure Ziyal had come since her captivity on Dozaria, where her
real Bajoran mother, Tora Naprem, had died. He wasn't jealous of Ziyal
about that though. He just wished Kira would let him become her friend
as well.

But she saw only the ridges on his head and the distinct Cardassian
features in his face. She didn't want to like him, and the easiest way
to avoid that was to not get to know him too well, so she kept her
distance. Which of course made it even more fun for Dukat to try to
get closer. A challenge never went unheeded where he was concerned...

Although he understood that Kira remembered how he was about to kill
Ziyal when he first found her, it bothered him that she wouldn't allow
him to get to know her. In her mind, his actions then, on top of the
hatred she already felt for him for simply being a Cardassian,
justified her refusal to let him inside her defenses.

But he had become a different person since then. He wished Kira would
allow herself to see it. He knew they were more alike than she would
ever care to admit. They really did make a great team even though Kira
hated when he said that - and of course, she would never admit it
although it was obvious to him.

His love for Ziyal grew stronger every day. He was the only family she
had. And not a single day passed without him silently thanking Kira
for saving his daughter's life. He knew himself the way he used to be
too well to fool himself. If it weren't for Kira, Ziyal wouldn't be
alive today.

"Dukat, I'm talking to you!" Major Kira's voice pierced through his
thoughts like a spear. He adjusted his features to the sardonic smile
he knew she really detested - he couldn't help himself. Maybe it was a
defense, but her loved to tease her!

"And what can I do for you Major?"

---

Kira looked at Dukat and suppressed a strong desire to place her fist
across his smiling Cardassian, lizard-like face. She saw red. She
could not comprehend how he really managed to press her buttons so
effortlessly. No one she knew could get her so off balance, so quickly
and so easily as Dukat and she truly hated the feeling!

"I asked you how long it would take for a subspace communication to
reach DS9?"

"Two or three days, depending on where exactly we are," Dukat
responded with a voice more concerned than the situation called for in
Kira's mind. She frowned and looked curiously at him but he turned his
back on her and kept touching the panels in front of him. "Until now,
all we have established is how far we've traveled, and in what
direction. I am not even sure in what solar system we are."

"Then let's find out!" Kira said decisively. She couldn't sit around
just waiting for things to happen, no more than Dukat could.

---

He stretched himself trying to lose the unwelcome thoughts that had
been occupying his mind for a couple of hours, and then followed Kira
to the science station to more accurately find out where they had
ended up when the Particle Storm dropped them off.

"There are no inhabited planets as far as I can see on the scans,"
Kira said about half an hour later. Establishing their whereabouts had
not been an easy task. "But there is an M-class planet just two
light-years away and to get there will not take more than an hour and
a half," she finished.

"I detect a large amount of Dilithium on that planet," Damar
explained.

"Then let us head for that place," Dukat decided. The Klingon Bird of
Prey wasn't equipped for such a long flight and they had to refuel it
somehow.

"I detect no sentient life, but there is a flourishing wildlife." Kira
reported from her station. "There is also a cave system where there
seems to be a vast amount of raw Dilithium.

"We will have to gather some of it to refuel the ship," said Dukat.

They set course for the planet, Melkor 5, as the star-map suggested
its name was, and Kira went off to find something to eat. Dukat
decided to let Damar take the bridge and went after her. She hadn't
lived with Cardassians long enough to know some of their most - urgent
- needs. He couldn't say he was looking forward to informing Kira
about them, but he couldn't expect any of his younger officers to do
it.

Hell, he wouldn't *let* any of his officers talk to Major Kira about
such things - besides, it was *his* problem...

He felt utterly uncomfortable as he walked through the lower decks of
the ship and wondered how he would approach this delicate matter. It
was nothing he wanted to do, but he knew he had no choice but to tell
her in time. Or else the good Major might be in for a few unpleasant
surprises. Dukat couldn't help but grin after all...

He was less concerned about Ziyal, Ezett and Marza who were the other
three females aboard his ship. They were all Cardassians and they knew
what to expect...

Unfortunately they were all his close relatives - all three of them.
Ezett was his half-sister, one of the few in his family who could see
beyond the Bajoran ridges on Ziyal's nose, and Marza his family's
"black sheep", the soft and warmhearted one, who refused to either
join the military or the Obsidian order and who was - his cousin.

All this could seem no problem for a non-Cardassian. But Dukat knew
what problems would arise in only a week, if that. Fortunately he was
the only one who was closely related to all three Cardassian females.
Which only left Kira to mess it up for him... The fact that it didn't
really matter if there had been a non-related Cardassian female was a
thought he pushed away. He cursed his weakness for Bajoran females in
general and for Major Kira in particular.

He couldn't fool himself this time. This would be an ordeal. He hated
to have to show his weakness to her this way, but there was no other
solution. He had to tell her and he had to ask for her help, because
he knew the Cardassian Urge too well to imagine he could suppress it
for so long. This was the only flaw he could see in the Cardassian
race.  Apart from our unfortunate intolerance of the cold, he thought
wryly. Dukat had never planned for Kira to find out the truth... If
there was some way he could, he definitely *would* keep the specifics
away from her.

---

"Please run that by me again," said Kira a while later. They were in
her quarters and he just explained the problem to her.

Her face looked paler than his Cardassian, grayish skin. There was no
anger in her voice - only shock, and what more, for the first time
since he got to know her, helplessness. He hated to make her feel this
way, but what could he do? It was as unstoppable for the Cardassians
as the drive for all humanoids to eat when they were hungry. Like the
Vulcans' Pon Farr even.

Kira understood. She didn't like it, but she understood. All too well,
and she felt trapped. And strangely enough for the first time in her
life she felt what could be pity, or maybe even compassion, for Dukat.
Deep inside she knew what it had taken for him to come to her and tell
her this, knowing how completely sick it would make her.

"I don't think I have to, Kira Nerys, you understood perfectly well
the first time," Dukat said mildly.

"But how the hell can you travel on a ship with only females that you
are related to when you fully well know the Cardassian physiology?"

Kira's voice mirrored all the anger, fear and disgust she felt at what
Gul Dukat had just explained to her.

"Normally we are never out longer than a couple of days, a week at the
most, in a row, Nerys. You know that!" Dukat started pacing back and
forth in her quarters. It was so annoying Kira felt like kicking and
screaming. Dukat continued: "The Urge doesn't appear that quickly. Our
mission to that remote Cardassian moon was supposed to take about five
days, which is no problem at all!" Dukat sounded just as frustrated as
she felt.

"I am still Major Kira to you, Dukat, and don't you expect me to..."
Kira's voice fell silent as she began calculating their situation.
Fear grew in the pit of her stomach.

We have already been out here for six days including that mission we
originally were on.... Within a couple of days Dukat will start to
suffer from this Cardassian Urge, only because I am on this garbage
scow? Kira shivered at the thought. She couldn't believe he had put
her in this situation. She corrected herself. Oh yes, she could. He
probably took great pleasure in seeing her in this situation!

"I don't expect you to do anything but help me by staying out of sight
when it's beginning to get too strong for me to handle, can you do
that for me, or more so for yourself?" Dukat stopped pacing and stared
intensely into her eyes. "I have never forced myself on a female and I
am definitely not going to start now,  especially not with you, Major
Kira. I respect you too much for that"

If Kira hadn't been so upset she would have laughed in his face.
Respect her? Instead she said with distress: "But what about Marza and
Ezett, why don't they affect you this way?"

"The Urge only applies on females that aren't family. As long as there
are only males or only family members around, that reflex is not in
effect. Unfortunately I have noticed that Bajoran females can lure it
out, at least for me." Dukat refused to acknowledge the fact that he
wasn't telling Kira the truth - at least not the whole truth. "I loved
Ziyal's mother and she experienced it, but to her it was welcome."
Dukat's smile was almost sad. If Kira hadn't known better she could
almost think that he wanted her to feel differently...

"Will you please tell me when, and I'll stay out of your way. And
Dukat - is there nothing you can do - yourself?" Kira didn't blush,
far be it from her to do such a silly thing, but Dukat could tell she
was uncomfortable.

"No Major, there isn't, but I wish there were," he said simply and
turned around to leave.

---

He wasn't about to tell Kira that it was almost two weeks since he
last was with his lover on Cardassia, and that the Urge was already
beginning. It was yet very weak, but he could feel the desire building
up inside him, and the feelings he had for Kira Nerys would make it
strong pretty soon. Fortunately, he knew he could suppress it at least
for another couple of days. But then what? He would be making a
complete fool out of himself either day, he could just feel it. Dukat
grunted irritably to himself as he made his way back to his quarters.

---

Kira looked after his disappearing slim body a long time after he was
gone. She shivered. Cardassians! Just her luck to be the only woman
who could help Dukat with his problem. The mere thought of having
to... With Dukat... made her sick, didn't it? Her sudden uncertainty
made her uncomfortable and caused her to wonder if a little
soul-searching could be in place. But she shrugged and forced herself
to forget that small hesitation. Her subconscious whispered:

*I think thou art protesting too much...*

Maybe her feelings for the Cardassian Gul were more complex than she
would ever want to know? Soon enough she might be forced to face them.
Kira knew herself well enough to know that she disliked Dukat so much
because he was Cardassian. But she wouldn't admit it, because that
would force her to examine her true opinions of the sarcastic
reptilian son of a - Cardassian bitch! This whole situation made her
so angry she could scream! It was much easier to hate him than
anything else.

---

Dukat went to his quarters to turn in for the night. He had been awake
for almost 36 hours and he really needed some sleep. Damar could pilot
this vessel just as well as he could. And Damar would also be pretty
lenient towards Dukat for the remainder of this trip. Gul Dukat was
upset that it would be necessary but he was also grateful because he
knew he was going to need it. He turned out the lights and went to
bed, but he couldn't sleep, all he could think of was Major Kira
Nerys, and what he would like to do with her.

He grunted and was thankful she didn't know the whole truth about the
Urge. He found some comfort in the fact that she thought it was purely
sexual. A drive that he could not suppress and something that had
nothing to do with feelings. Unfortunately, this wasn't entirely true.
Actually it wasn't true at all. All he could hope for was that no one
aboard the Bird of Prey would enlighten her. He had to talk to Ziyal
about that and stay as much out of Kira's way as he possibly could. He
didn't want this to affect her too, as he knew it would eventually, no
matter how much he, or she, fought it.

---

The next morning when Kira came to the bridge, it was still early, but
nonetheless they had reached Melkor 5 several hours ago. An Away Team
had already beamed to the surface, lead by Dukat. Kira was relieved
she could postpone meeting him for a while longer. Fortunately the
news was good. They had been able to extract Dilithium from the caves.

"They will have enough to support us for the trip back to DS9," Ziyal
explained to Kira.

"Unfortunately it won't make us reach the wormhole until a nearly two
months from now anyway."

"There is another solution," Kira said.

She had been lying awake for several hours the evening before. Instead
of allowing herself to dwell on what Dukat told her before she went to
bed, she had been occupying her mind with ways to get home sooner. And
she found one solution that just might work if the Prophets were
smiling on them.

"And what is that?" Ziyal's voice indicated a lot of interest in Kira's
solution. "You know, the sooner we get back, the better it is for you.
Papa told you yesterday what is happening to him, didn't he?"

Kira's answer was short and didn't invite any elaboration on the
subject.

"Yes." She turned silent for a few seconds and then she continued.
"Now, about my idea. I thought we could trace that particle storm we
were caught up in and investigate if it has the same pattern all
along. Maybe it travels the same places in cycles, sort of like a
comet."

"And then we could enter it on its way back to the Alpha Quadrant?"
Ziyal's voice turned excited. Then she looked distraught.

"What is it?" Kira wondered mildly.

"The only one who could possibly have enough knowledge to help you
with that is my father, Nerys. That means the two of you will have to
spend a lot of time together. This is not what you should be doing if
you want to fight the Urge."

"Uh - maybe I could do it myself?" Kira paused to contemplate her
chances of completing the task alone, but she came to a depressing
conclusion. "No, I don't know enough about these kind of phenomena
myself. Oh Holy Prophets, what shall we do then?" Kira spat out. She
realized she had run out of options and she didn't care for the
feeling.

---

Several hours later when Dukat and his team came back to the ship,
they discussed the problem and Dukat said: "The subspace communication
we sent off to Deep Space Nine should reach them by the end of
tomorrow. They will probably send out either the Defiant or some other
starship to our aid, and they should reach us within a couple of
weeks. During that time Damar can pilot our Bird of Prey as far as we
can get to meet up with the Defiant. And during that time you will put
me in stasis. That is the only way, or else I will, no matter how hard
I try not to, hurt Major Kira, not physically but mentally."

Ziyal's soft voice protested: "But Father!"

"It is the only way, Ziyal" her father said mildly. But that he didn't
want any arguments was obvious to all. And that was the end of the
discussion.

---

Damar had taken Dukat's place on the bridge and the crew of the Bird
of Prey kept piloting the ship on its way back to Deep Space Nine.
Kira found herself with a visitor in her quarters a couple of hours
later. It was Ziyal.

"Nerys, can I talk to you?"

Ziyal was the only one on the vessel Kira had allowed to call her by
first name. She felt protective of the girl, as if they were related
somehow, and she had been Ziyal's guardian for months on Deep Space
Nine by now. She considered Ziyal as close to her as if she had been
her own daughter and she was also as a close friend.

"Of course you can Ziyal, I've been meaning to talk to you anyway."

Ziyal seemed hesitant to mention whatever was on her mind, so she
quite obviously grasped for the opportunity to put it off for a while.
"What about?"

"On the bridge earlier today - Dukat mentioned he would put himself in
stasis in order to keep himself from carrying out the Urge. That would
be a good idea, but you began protesting. Then he silenced you," Kira
said mildly and looked into Ziyal's face. "Is there any other reason
for you not wanting him to go into stasis - other than the fact that
some Cardassians get very sick when they are brought back?"

Ziyal turned her gaze to the floor. Kira had gotten right to the point
after all. "My father would kill me..." she looked up with a rueful
smile on her face, "Or maybe not - but he would get very angry with me
if he knew we were having this conversation. But yes, there is another
reason. As you just mentioned a lot of Cardassians don't take well to
being put in stasis, but what you might not know is that some will not
wake up at all." The expression on Ziyal's face was very concerned.
"Father has only been put in stasis once before, and it nearly killed
him. If he hadn't had the best equipment available, designed for the
sole purpose of helping Cardassians with this disease to wake up, he
would never have been here today. To put my father into stasis could
very well be a death sentence."

Kira felt like screaming. Wasn't there *anything* they could do?

"But with the proper equipment they will be able to help me." Dukat's
voice from the entrance to Kira's quarters did not accept any attempts
to argue.

"Go on Ziyal, and help Marza with her training, OK?" Dukat said, but
didn't look at his daughter. His eyes were glued to Major Kira's shape
where she was sitting in the sofa.

"Will you two be okay - alone?"

"Go on, I said, It's not that bad yet, daughter. Now leave us!"

Ziyal left with one more troubled look at Kira, which told her that
Dukat might not be as trustworthy as she would like him to be.

"I promise you Major, that I will not let myself forget that I am
appalling to you. Believe me, the mere thought of that makes my Urge
easier to bear for a while. Now I will leave you alone. He turned his
back on her and was almost out in the corridor when Kira's voice
stopped him.

"Dukat..."

He turned around. "Yes Major."

"I will *not* let you go into stasis. I refuse to endanger your life
or anybody else's aboard this vessel if I can help it!"

"Major, do you realize...?"

But Kira interrupted him. "Yes I realize what that means, it means we
will have to work really hard to find those traces of that Particle
Storm and try to go back with it so you can go home to your lover and
lose this Urge of yours. And do me a favor Dukat, suppress it as long
as you possibly can, and then please warn me when you can no longer do
it, OK?"

"I'll do my best Major, but don't trust me too much."

"That will be easy, I never trusted you, so I'll just keep an eye on
you as I always do!"

But when Dukat looked at her, as he was about to leave, Kira wondered
how any man could suppress such desire for very long. It had already
begun, she realized. But her fear did not amount to the threat. What
was happening to her?

---

Oh no, Dukat thought to himself. I am strong, I can handle this!

But the desire that was beginning to burn inside of him, making him
long for the woman, second in command of DS9, would only get stronger
the next days to follow. He knew he couldn't keep it away for long. He
had to let Kira know what she was getting into before he let her
persuade him not to go into stasis. He realized he had not choice but
to let Kira know the truth - the whole truth.

"Ziyal!"

He called out when he reached his daughter's quarters.

"Yes father. "

"The book, give Kira the book."

"Are you sure, father?" Dukat knew Ziyal knew exactly what book he was
talking about. .

"No, I am not sure, but that stubborn Bajoran female will not let me
put myself in stasis since you informed her of my disease, so I just
have to make sure she knows what she's getting herself into and what
that means, for both of us"

"I am sorry father!" Ziyal said and looked into his eyes with
compassion. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a tender hug.

"Don't worry Ziyal. I know you did it because you love me and because
you care! Now go and give that stubborn Bajoran female the book."

Ziyal pulled away from his embrace and nodded. "Yes father, I'll give
it to her right away."

Ziyal smiled. "Stubborn Bajoran female," she muttered to herself.
"Well I know a very stubborn Cardassian Gul too!"

---

The sound when someone rang the doorbell irritated Kira. She wanted to
be alone to think. She couldn't endanger Dukat's life - but the
prospect of having to have sex with a Cardassian wasn't her idea of
fun!

That *was* what would eventually happen. She knew that after seeing
the look on his face. No man could fight such desire for very long.
She could see how it was already eating away at his pride and his
dignity. She didn't want that for Dukat. No matter how she felt about
him, she had always admired him and the Cardassian race for their
pride. They were a strong, confident race. They were grim - but
beautiful. But on the other hand, she was not prepared to sleep with
Dukat just to let him keep his dignity. If she were really set on
revenge to make him pay for all Cardassians mistakes she would take
great joy in this, but she didn't. Kira realized she would never want
Dukat stripped of his dignity.

"Come in," she said. Her voice tired. "Ziyal?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you so late Nerys, I just want to give you
this."

"Would you like to come in?" Kira was puzzled as Ziyal handed her a
book.

"No Nerys, I think you should read this, right now, there are some
things you should know about, so I will leave you to it, Good night,
Nerys."

"Goodnight Ziyal" she said, but the doors were already closed behind
the young female, and Kira's attention had already strayed to the
book. It was a rather thin volume, maybe 100 pages or so, but it was a
large book and it seemed very old.

The title said:  CARDASSIAN PHYSIOLOGY,  SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR

Holy prophets! What is this thing? This is a book I never saw myself
reading... But she understood why Dukat's daughter had given it to
her. And she guessed that some of what she was about to read was
things the Gul could never bring himself to tell her in person. She
could see that he took no more pleasure in the situation than she did,
even if he kept the usual facade of smug irony, which was his
personality.

Kira began reading, and the more she read the more discouraged she
got. Dukat had lied to her. Kira had thought that this Urge of his was
purely sexual, and struck at random, as long as the Cardassian male
didn't have a mate. But that wasn't true. Cardassians were more like
other humanoids than she had thought. First they were attracted to
someone, then they might fall in love, and then and only then, did the
Urge set in. Not before, and not after.

And this only if the male didn't already have a mate that he really
loved. Obviously Dukat did not love his former wife, or the lover he
left behind on Cardassia Prime. The conclusion she had to make from
this passage of the book made her cringe.

This meant Dukat had feelings for her that she had never known, and
probably never would have known about - unless they had been swizzled
away by that particle storm.

But the worst part of this Urge wasn't that. It was something even
worse, it was - infectious. Kira felt a lack of a better word to
describe it. The book referred to it as 'Forced Love'. According to
the book this meant that if a female spent a lot of time with a male
who was affected by this Urge she would get it too, or vice versa, no
matter how hard they struggled to fight it. The only way to escape an
unwelcome counterpart was to put a lot of distance between the two
people. Kira felt the fear settle down on her. As she could see it,
she had only three choices:

Either I let Dukat go into stasis and I will be safe. - Or I refuse to
let him do that and confine myself to quarters for the remainder of
this trip - which, at best, will be at least a month and a half. Her
third choice was to refuse Dukat's stasis and work with him on
tracking the Particle Storm and hope they would get caught in it
before the Urge overcame them both.

Not much to choose from. She couldn't risk Dukat's life by allowing
him to go into stasis whether he was Cardassian or not. And she knew
she would never be able to stay in her quarters for a month plus. That
would kill her. And putting herself in stasis wouldn't help. When
Dukat couldn't fight the Urge any longer. No stasis, no confinement
would stop him. He would get to her. Wake her up from the stasis if he
had to. Some of the examples of the book made that abundantly clear.
So she would have to take her chances on getting to DS9 before she was
*infected* with this 'Forced Love'.

And if we don't make it in time? I will probably be pretty happy by
then, Kira thought to herself. But the mere prospect of herself
falling for the former dictator made her want to cry. Her innermost
self opposed that very thought. It would be against everything she
was, everything she believed in, to fall in love with a Cardassian, no
matter how unwillingly. She was trembling. Not many things scared
Major Kira Nerys of the Bajoran militia - but right now she wasn't
scared, she was terrified.

"Damn you Dukat! Typical Cardassian behavior!" she shrieked. "You just
take what you want with no consideration, no compassion, nothing!" She
threw the book into the wall, its pages shuffling softly as it lay to
rest on the floor in front of her bed. Then Kira Nerys buried her face
in her hands and cried. But her mind was made up, and only minutes
later she was asleep, confident that her decision was, after all, the
right one.

---

When Kira woke up the next morning she decided to go on reading that
book a little while longer. She wanted to be fully prepared and know
exactly what to expect from Dukat, and herself. As she read on, she
got her hopes up a bit.

[Some races are not affected at all, such as Vulcans and Klingons, and
some races are more resistant, as are Bolians, Bajorans and...]

Kira stopped reading. Maybe, just maybe she would be lucky? Maybe she
was immune to this thing? It would be a great help to them both, since
they were going to have to work together the next couple of days. Kira
was just hoping they would find the traces of the particle storm
pretty soon, and that its cycle wasn't too long.

What if it won't turn back in months? What if it doesn't have a cycle
at all? Kira shrugged and tried to think positive, it wasn't like her
to be so pessimistic. But she couldn't help herself; the odds they
were facing were too big. Ziyal's mother had been affected by this,
and she was a Bajoran. And the book also said that fighting against it
would only make it stronger, which meant that Dukat was in for a
trial, as was she.

The scariest part was that she felt herself already getting friendlier
towards Dukat and she didn't know whether that was because she was
getting to know him better or if this Urge had already started to
affect her. The fact that Dukat might not even fight the Urge didn't
even dawn on her at this moment.

Someone was at the door.

"Enter!"

Dukat was standing in the corridor. Kira felt her heart jump, when she
saw him. It was a rather strange sensation actually. Kind of an uneasy
anticipation - as if she didn't know what to expect - from either of
them. She felt uncomfortable, unsure of the situation and mostly of
herself.

"We'd better get started on tracing that particle storm before it gets
too late." Dukat said harshly.

He wasn't as full of mischief as usual, and that in itself gave Kira
some idea of how much he had to restrain himself. That made her feel
some kind of admiration for Dukat - maybe even a tiny bit of
gratitude. The thought occurred to her that he didn't have to do this.
She never figured him to be a caring person. But he must care quite a
lot for her to do this. He seemed determined to not lose his
integrity, and even more determined not to make her feel
uncomfortable. He was a proud man; she must admit that.

"I'll be right with you."

As they were walking together to the science lab Dukat kept silent,
and Kira actually felt speechless. She did not know what to say. But
when they reached the science station it was empty and Dukat said:

"You have read the book." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes."

"Then you know I lied to you."

"That's not the first time!" Kira said with a humorless bark of
laughter. "But I don't blame you, I would have done the same thing. My
attitude towards you haven't really allowed any revelations of that
kind."

"So after reading what you have to expect, are you still sure that you
will not let me go into stasis? Eventually you will want this as much
as I do..." Dukat turned around and looked straight into her eyes.

His gaze was intense enough to make her feel like he was examining her
very soul. A passing thought in Kira's mind was how well she
understood that the Cardassians made such fine interrogators - even
without torture. They had hypnotizing eyes...

"Yes, Dukat. I'm willing to take my chances here. At least I won't die
if it turns out we can not resist this Urge of yours. Besides the book
says some Bajorans can withstand it."

"For a while Major, yes, but not as much as a couple of months which
it will take for us to get back to the Wormhole."

"Not if that particle storm will help us back, so let's get to it. If
this works we might be back by the Wormhole within hours!"

Dukat smiled. "As you order, Major!" He made it sound like her wish
was his command.

---

She will never know what this is costing me, Dukat thought. Not even
if it kills me. He smiled ironically to himself. I should be grateful
she's not a Betazoid...

The next couple of hours they worked on trying to reprogram the
scanner to detect the particles from the storm. The work went well,
and soon they had modified the equipment to begin the scan, and if
Dukat had a hard time being around Kira he didn't let it show for a
second.

---

But when Ziyal showed up with some food for them, she realized that
her father wasn't so unaffected as he tried to appear.

"Do you want me to stay for a while, father?" she asked
compassionately. She knew that the presence of a female family member
could help keep the Urge down for a little while, so she offered him
help the only way she could.

---

"Please do, Ziyal." Dukat said and sat down beside one of the consoles
with some Hasperaat - a Bajoran dish he had grown to like on Bajor
during the occupation. It was spicy, and he thought maybe that would
help him keep his mind off - *things* for a little while.

He could feel his daughter's presence soothe his edgy nerves like a
warm blanket and he allowed himself to relax a little for the first
time in many hours, but he knew this was only temporary. If he was
lucky, Ziyal's presence would help him for an hour or two at the most.
But he was hoping he would gain some better control of himself during
those precious minutes of pausing from the Urge that was actually
becoming rather disturbing to him now. Time and again he caught
himself thinking about Kira, the way she moved, talked, looked or just
the light shining on her auburn hair and such stupid things. He was
beginning to feel very distracted. At least he hadn't begun thinking
about her sexually, yet - at least not while he was occupied... He
felt some consolation in that fact. He hoped that wouldn't happen yet
for another couple of days or more. But he wasn't sure if he was
hoping too much.

---

Kira was sitting in her own thoughts.

I guess I should be grateful Dukat has such self-control. If he'd been
a Klingon he would probably have grabbed me by the hair and dragged me
to his quarters by now. Correction - if Dukat had been a Klingon, this
wouldn't have happened!  She couldn't help but smile at the thought of
a mix between Cardassians and Klingons in this matter.

Ziyal seemed to find the a bit disturbing, so she broke it: "How are
you coming along in your scanning of the particle storm?"

"Our sensors tell us we are now at the exact location where we were
when we entered this region of space," her father replied.

Kira got up, and went over to the scanner, and started to do one of
the first series of tests. First they had to determine if the storm
indeed had a cycle. Then they must find out how much time went between
every cycle, and also if they were left off during its course further
away from where they came from.

Or maybe we were dropped off at the location where the storm turned
back to the region of space where they had been when they were caught
in it, Kira thought to herself. That would indeed be their best hope
of coming home soon.

---

Several hours later Kira and Dukat were both discouraged. From what
the scanners told them the particle storm did actually have a cycle,
and it would go back to where they came from. But they had been
"dropped off" along the way, and there was no telling where the
"returnstream" of this storm was. If they were to enter it at their
present location it would only move them further away from home.

"We could use the long-range scanners to search for the returnstream,"
Dukat said when he saw how the bad news affected Major Kira.

"Wouldn't that really just be a waste of time? That storm could have a
very large cycle, and there is no telling when it will return," she
said pessimistically.

"We can't go searching for it, but we can put the scanners on a
continuous long-range scan so that they will alert us if we come
across this returnstream on our way back to DS9."

Dukat watched her with a puzzled look on his face. He knew she wasn't
usually this depressing. "If we keep the same course we will hopefully
meet the stream on its way here, and then at least we will know how
far between the cycles, and since we have the long-range scanners at
work we won't be caught in it again. I think that is about the best we
can do for now. And it would be better for both of us if we didn't
work so closely for a while." It was the first time in several hours
that Dukat even hinted that this Urge was tough on him. Kira felt a
flash of sympathy.

"How are you holding up?" Her voice was concerned.

"So far, OK, but please don't be compassionate, that'll only make it
worse. And for the time being I think you should leave."

Kira looked at him for a few seconds. His face was blank, but she
could see the fire in his eyes and understood that it was getting
worse, and fast. His hands where gripping firmly at the edges of the
consoles he was leaning against. His knuckles where white from the
pressure.

"Now, Major - or I will kiss you. And as much as it hurts me to admit
- I know you won't like it"

Kira quickly turned around and left the science lab. She walked
straight back to her quarters, without looking back. She was beginning
to know how he felt.

Because he was wrong - she would have liked it.

That scared her half to death.

---

She sat down on her bed and tried to help herself by remembering the
occupation of Bajor. How the Cardassians took her friends and
neighbors to the forced labor-camps. How her mother had been taken
away from her.

She made herself remember all the suffering she went through as a
member of The Shakaar Resistance. And that helped her enough - helped
her not to long for Dukat, at least for a while.

---

That night she had all kinds of dreams and they all were about Dukat.
She was on the Defiant, crawling around in the Jefferies tubes. Dukat
was after her and it didn't matter how fast she crawled, he just kept
coming closer, and she longed for him to catch her. Still she kept
running away as if driven by a force she couldn't control.

The next minute they were in the cave where they had found Ziyal, but
instead of remembering how Dukat was close to shooting his own
daughter the dream kept repeating the reunion between the Cardassian
Gul and his daughter. She saw the love in his eyes when he looked at
Ziyal. She longed for him to look at her the same way, but spiced with
passion... And in her dreams she kept repeating:  'He would never have
told you about Ziyal if he really wanted to kill her....'

She woke up several times. Sweaty and with a soft ache between her
thighs. She moaned and tried to ignore it. She still felt guilt of
knowing *who* made her feel this way.

---

When Kira woke up the next morning the dreams were still very clear
and real in her mind. She started questioning herself and the
judgments she had been passing on Dukat ever since she met him for the
very first time. Her intelligence told her that this might be the
effects of the Urge talking, but that didn't stop her from questioning
herself. Some things she experienced during her dreams; such as the
truth about him and Ziyal were things she knew deep in her heart, but
thoughts she never wanted to deal with.

Maybe I have been very judgmental when it comes to Dukat?

She remembered conversations they had had long before this Urge became
an issue. Dukat always used to blame her for not wanting to see him
the way he was. She remembered when they had been on Dukat's freighter
maybe three or four months ago. During that voyage Dukat talked a lot
with her, trying to get her to know him better, trying to tell her
they were more alike than she wanted to admit. But the words she
remembered most were these:

"I am a much more complicated man than you give me credit for, Major"
She also remembered her quick response; "Then I guess I prefer simpler
men"

She had always been so sure that she was right when she thought he was
a ruthless, cruel, scheming and lying Cardassian, whose sole purpose
in life was playing mind-games.

Oh, she was very aware that he was definitely all that, now she had
been forced to be around him a lot more than usual, and she had come
to realize that there was more to the Cardassian than that. He was a
caring man, a wonderful father, who wanted nothing but the best for
his daughter and for his people. And he cared about her in a way she
could never have guessed. The mere fact that he didn't succumb to the
Urge because he knew it wasn't what she wanted, was proof of that.

She realized that a lot of the things he did during the occupation he
justified with the words "it was for my people". And even though she
couldn't  see it the same way, she knew that she had done the same
thing as part of The Shakaar Resistance Cell. Many of the things she
had done for the best of Bajor were cruel things. She had killed
countless Cardassians in the name of freedom. And what had Dukat done
that was so much worse?

What has he done that I am not able to forgive? How could I ever
forgive myself for all the deaths I caused during the occupation if I
can't find it in my heart to forgive Dukat?

Tough questions. Questions she never wanted to deal with.

He had done the very same thing she had for her people. He had
followed his convictions, and done what he thought was best for his
race. Even though the Cardassians were the aggressor in the Occupation
she couldn't help thinking that they were more alike that she wanted
them to be.

Kira asked herself; If Dukat had been Bajoran, wouldn't I really,
truly *admire* him? She couldn't - or wouldn't give herself an answer.
Maybe it was enough that she even asked herself that very question?

A knock on her door abruptly disturbed her thoughts and she felt her
heart jump. What was wrong? Whoever was out there didn't use the door
communicator. Was there something wrong with the ship?

"Computer! Open doors!" she tried, and the doors slid open as easily
as always. And outside was Dukat.

"Dukat? What is the matter? Why are you knocking on my door?"

His face looked puzzled for a short moment. "Knock? Did I knock on
your door? I didn't realize I was doing that. Well I guess I am a bit
preoccupied. I apologize if I startled you."

Although that was exactly what Dukat had done, of course Kira didn't
admit it.

"That's okay, what can I do for you?"

She half expected him to look at her with a seductive smile and tell
her to come to his bed, but he didn't. Was that disappointment she
felt?

"As much as I hate to admit this - I think we have a problem. I hope
you don't mind if I'm being very candid with you, Major."

She kind of had a feeling what was coming, but she replied anyway: "Go
on..."

Dukat entered the room and the doors closed behind him. Kira felt how
her already small quarters shrunk even more. Dukat wasn't a tall male
by Bajoran standards, but he was a very charismatic person. His
presence didn't go unnoticed in the small room. The way he kept pacing
around didn't help matters either. His movements made her unable to
avoid looking at him. Her eyes followed him as he kept walking back
and forth, glued to his slender body, savoring the animalistic
magnetism that came at her. She swallowed hard and felt that tingling
sensation in the pit of her stomach that she'd been fighting for
hours.

Kira shrank at the thought. She never used to react this way to him
before.

She was really afraid that she was being affected by this damn
Cardassian Urge too. It wasn't really bad yet. But she realized these
were probably the first signs of her being affected.

So much for immune Bajorans, she thought.

"This is getting really difficult for me, and being alone with you
right now does not make it easier, but I am afraid I will have to
endure this for a while longer. But I came up with an idea that might
help us both."

"And what is that?" Kira couldn't keep the anxiety away from her voice
and the look on Dukat's face was very expressive.

Thank you for making me feel like a disgusting worm, it said... or
something to that effect.

"This is ironic, isn't it?" he said. "You have to enjoy this
tremendously. I know that you really don't like me very much, Major,
and seeing me so helpless and totally vulnerable to you and to this
Urge must make you feel very good. At least so long as you yourself
aren't affected," Dukat's voice was filled with self-irony and his
eyes glittered with humor but was, at the same time, filled with a
sadness that gripped her heart.

"I don't find this enjoyable at all. Yes, I admit you weren't..."
Dukat's eyes flew open at the imperfect word and Kira soon corrected
herself... "...aren't...  exactly one of my favorite people, but I do
not want to see anyone completely humiliated, and that is what we both
will be unless we find a good solution to this. So what is your idea?"

"You are beginning to feel this too, aren't you Major?"  He took a
step closer to her and Kira couldn't move. She couldn't back away from
him. His eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that made Kira avoid
his gaze. "I am truly sorry" he purred and didn't really sound sorry
at all, but he hung on to her gaze and looked straight into her eyes,
and Kira could feel the magnetism inside that gaze. She felt like the
prey that was being paralyzed by a snake's hypnotizing glance. And she
couldn't break the contact no matter how much she wanted to, all she
wanted was to give in, to love him...

"Don't look at me that way, Dukat!" Kira blurted out angrily. Much to
her surprise Dukat looked away even before she finished speaking. Then
he turned his back on her.

"I'm sorry Major, I hadn't realized it had gotten so far."

The relief when he let go of her gaze was enormous.

"How far? "

"I'm using my eyes to try and mesmerize you, and I wasn't even aware
of it. Ziyal was right!"

"About what?"

"I'm not as strong as I think I am, and this thing has gotten further
along than I thought which is all the more reason for me to tell you
what I came here to say."

"Yes, it definitely is, and I am still waiting impatiently."

"As you well know there are no holding cells on this Bird of Prey, and
therefore no force-fields.

"I know that. That is why I haven't suggested we lock you in your
room."

Dukat turned around with an ironic smile on his lizard-like features.
"Oh, that hurt, Major!"

"Dukat! Will you please get to the point! We don't have time for these
little word games, no matter how much you enjoy them! We've got to
solve this before it gets too late!"

"You are so right, Major. Well, as I said, there are no forcefields on
this Bird, but it is still rather new to me so I went to inventory
what exactly is in the cargo-bays. I found out we have all the
components we need to create a forcefield around my quarters. That way
you won't have to put me in stasis, and you will still be safe. There
is only one small problem. As you well know, you and I are the only
ones capable of setting this thing up, and it will take at least a
couple of days to arrange even if we work very quickly and don't run
into too many problems on the way. And to be quite honest with you,
that forcefield should have been up yesterday..."

---

Dukat hated to admit the truth to her, but he had to. Right now he all
he could think of was Kira and her... attributes. The sexual desire
had set in and he wanted so much to give in to it. He knew he could
make her feel the same way just by looking into her eyes again, but he
wouldn't. He just wouldn't!

---

Kira looked down, she did not want to be caught in that gaze again,
and although she didn't look at him she could feel his eyes burning
her skin. She felt a growing longing to be with this man, and she
craved to understand this Urge.

"How do you feel? I mean... What is actually happening to you? We all
get excited and everyone has felt passion but this completely
different, it is so much stronger, I can sense that at least."

"You have no idea, Major," he hissed.  "But if I am right about what I
said earlier, you will have a pretty good idea within the next couple
of days. This state of mind defies all explanation but I will try to
tell you, but right now I think we should go see Ziyal for a little
while."

"But..."

"To see Ziyal, right now, Major, I am not made of stone."

Only minutes later they were in the cargo-bay sitting by one of the
replicators with Ziyal. She seemed a bit uncomfortable and Kira just
had to ask why.

"Didn't you read the book I gave you, Nerys?" she asked.

"Yes I did." Then she turned silent for a second after which she
admitted, "Well not all of it."

"Obviously," Ziyal's words were no accusation, merely an
acknowledgment of facts, and her voice was soft and she was smiling
tiredly. "The Urge is getting so hard on my father that my presence
doesn't help very much, and his feelings are becoming a bit ...
uncomfortable for me. He is - after all - my father."

Kira felt herself almost panicking. "But what then, what are we going
to do?"

"There isn't much we *can* do, Nerys," said Dukat. "All I can do is
fight it, which only makes it stronger, and you can fight it, and we
can pray that we get this forcefield up in time for me not to do
anything to compromise you. I know that your feelings by that time
will be different, but I also know that your mind will never accept
this 'Forced Love' that is being inflicted on you. I have never had to
force myself on a woman, I told you this before, and I do not intend
to begin now, okay? Now, Ziyal, you must leave us. I do not wish you
to suffer from this."

"Can't Marza and Ezett help us?" Kira wondered.

Dukat shook his head. "If Ziyal, who is my daughter, which is about as
closely related as you can be, cannot help me, neither can Marza and
Ezett. And us being forced together on this small vessel is making
this more or less inevitable."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I am afraid you are right."

I wonder what will happen when I get really caught up in this thing,
and Dukat is locked up in his quarters, will I be strong enough to
keep myself from going to him, Kira wondered to herself. As she was an
honest person she had to admit to herself that Dukat had become a lot
more appealing to her these last few days. She didn't look upon his
Cardassian features with disgust or hatred anymore. She only saw the
warmth in his eyes, and the humor and self-irony with which he looked
upon himself and life.

He was a power-hungry man, true, but he would never let those he loved
be hurt in his chase for power and high rank. He thought he could do
that when he had looked Ziyal up, but her being alive was the perfect
statement. He just wasn't capable of hurting those he loved.

The fact that he agreed to help her with this mission proved that. In
afterthought she realized he had done this only because of his
feelings for her.

Ziyal had nothing to do with it. She had been happy on DS9 and Dukat
could have visited her whenever he wanted to, so that wasn't it. The
only reason he agreed to help her to investigate that Cardassian
outpost was his interest in her. This though she knew how much it
meant to him to fight the Klingons to help his homeworld. Yet he left
the battle to help her investigate the traces of an old friend of hers
on a remote Cardassian moon! Be it only for a short time, but all the
same...

She couldn't understand how she could have been so blind. But a few
days ago, the mere thought of a Cardassian having romantic feelings
for her would have made her sick. In fact, it still did, as long as
the Cardassian wasn't Dukat. That made her feel - well, not sick
anyway...

"So, shouldn't we get started on that forcefield?" Kira wondered.

"Will you please count me out, Nerys?" Ziyal said.

"Of course Ziyal, I think your father and I will have to make it on
our own from now on."

"I'm afraid so, Nerys" Dukat agreed.

---

Ziyal couldn't help but notice this was the second time her father had
called Major Kira by her first name, Nerys, without her protesting.
Secretly she was hoping that Kira would give in to her father
eventually. She knew how Dukat felt for Kira a long time ago. She had
seen that right away, when Kira saved her life. And she knew that the
Urge didn't make the love any less true - on the contrary, but Kira
didn't know that, and Dukat was surely not going to tell her.

He didn't like the Urge, he never did. He thought that love should
come voluntarily, and he had been affected by it only once before,
with Ziyal's mother, Naprem, and back then he was welcome. Her father
had told her all of this, when she had asked about her and her mother.
She therefore understood that he didn't believe in forcing Kira to
him. He refused to use his gaze, and he didn't stay closer to Kira
than necessary. Couldn't Kira see this? Ziyal wondered. Couldn't Nerys
see how much her father cared about her?  In Ziyal's opinion they were
only fighting this against all odds. When finally in full effect, the
Urge wouldn't just go away only because the two of them went their
separate ways. She would be able to see Kira long for Dukat back on
DS9 for a long time if she didn't give in right here and now. But her
father had forbidden her to tell Kira this.

"Maybe she is stronger than we think, maybe this doesn't have such a
profound effect on Bajoran females as on Cardassians. We don't know
that. And Kira should have the right to decide this for herself. To
her, I am the embodiment of all bad things that ever happened to Bajor
during the Cardassian occupation!" Dukat had said to his half-Bajoran
daughter. "Kira sees me as a murderer and nothing else, I must never
forget that, because if I do that I am only fooling myself and that
will hurt more than anything."

Ziyal had to respect that. How could she not?

---

A few hundred yards away, in the cargo-bay. Kira and Dukat were being
helped by Marza and another male Cardassian named Jak'raar to gather
all the equipment needed for the forcefield. Then they would use a
site-to-site transporter to get it to Dukat's quarters. Kira felt
Dukat's presence as if they were joined at the hip. And the yearning
to be closer to him grew more intense as the minutes passed by. One
minute felt like ten, and she was ready to scream, as he accidentally
touched her or she stroke her arm against his when he passed some
equipment over to her. It was painfully obvious to her that his
torment was much worse. His eyes burnt her as he looked at her and the
gasps for air when he stroke his hand against her arm or leg made his
position abundantly clear to her.

This was horrible, and as far as she could understand she wasn't half
as badly affected as Dukat. How could he stand this? She was amazed at
the fact that he hadn't done as she thought he would have if he had
been Klingon...

How come he has done nothing to persuade me to come to him? All he has
to do by now is ask!

She understood that his Urge must be almost unbearable, or else she
wouldn't be so badly affected so soon. She had heard about this only
three days ago. And it was only a week and a half since they left Deep
Space Nine. According to the book she shouldn't be so far gone yet.

An hour later the transport was complete, and all the other
Cardassians, who had been helping them, suddenly disappeared.

"I'm sorry Major, but Cardassians can sense the Urge. To those not
affected it is quite uncomfortable. Embarrassing in fact. The Urge is
a private matter..."

"I do understand, Dukat, I just don't trust us alone together anymore.
I am already longing to give in to this thing, and it'll take us at
least two days to fix this forcefield. I don't see how we can possibly
make it. We will be fighting ourselves, and what we both really want."

"What our bodies want - not our minds, at least not yours!" he said
with a tired smile. "And I am not going to force you into anything,
Nerys."

"Why are you doing this Dukat? Why are you fighting this? It's been
all you want for several days now? You know I will give in if you try
to make me. Why don't you? I just don't understand it. Why are you
being so considerate? Why do you care about my feelings? I will be
happy when I finally give in!" Kira looked at him intensely as she
continued: "According to the book you gave me. After we have
consummated our relationship, I will never understand how I could have
ever have disliked you?"

"You really don't understand it, do you, Nerys?" Dukat said with a sad
smile.

Kira was already irritable and angry, and his remark made her just
blow up. "Should I? This is the most frustrating thing I have ever
been through in my life! One of the few people I really, truly don't
like, has such a hold on me. Something inside me is yearning to give
in to this thing! And the truth is I almost wish it had been Quark
instead!"

Dukat's eyes started to glitter, and he couldn't help a smile from
breaking through. Kira flew at him and started punching her fists
against his chest. But Dukat could see her fighting very hard not to
smile, and he grabbed her wrists as he watched her lose the fight.
Soon they were both laughing their hearts out.

"Look at us, Dukat, this is really stupid! A few days ago I would
never have been able to laugh with you. I really don't like you enough
to be able to do that. And now look at me, what is happening to me,
Dukat?" The vulnerability in Kira's voice was obvious and Dukat felt
how angry he was at this Urge that really didn't consider the
individual's feelings. He knew it had been a necessary thing for
survival for the Cardassians centuries ago. But it was no longer
needed to keep the race alive and strong, and he wished this had never
happened to them. For Kira's sake, more than for his own.

He had wanted this a long time before the Urge set in. Which only made
him angrier with himself.  How could he have put her in this kind of
situation? Even if he thought she wouldn't be on the Bird of Prey long
enough for this to happen, he should have taken precautions. He could
have brought Kasz'a, but the truth was he didn't want his Cardassian
lover to meet Kira. Kasz'a would have expected him to be more
attentive than he could possibly be with Kira around. But at least he
could have spared the Major this experience... But a big part of him
just wanted her to give in and to let them both enjoy what this urge
could give them.

Giving in would be sweet, oh so sweet...  Dukat thought to himself as
he lifted his hands and put them on Kira's shoulders. Then, without
being able to resist any longer he pulled her towards him, and then he
kissed her. Feeling her soft, willing lips against his nearly undid
him. He felt his blood starting to boil as soon as their lips met. He
wanted her so much that it hurt, and when she kissed him back he
moaned softly and pulled her closer to him. He gasped when he felt her
touch.

He didn't like to be crude, but he had had a constant erection for
hours and it was beginning to hurt. Kira melted in his arms and
pressed herself towards him, and her lips were eager against his. He
took what he wanted, letting his tongue thrust deep into her mouth.
The tip of her tongue tickled his. Like a bird fluttering, and it sent
a thrill down his spine that made his legs weaken. All he wanted was
to lift her up in his arms and carry her to his bed; carry her to his
bed where he would take her without any hesitation, allowing himself
to finally enjoy what he needed, oh so badly. He could see himself
thrusting into her with a frenzy he had never felt before. He felt his
stiffness press against her crotch and he wanted her closer. Much
closer.

He almost did it. He almost pulled her up into his arms to carry her
to his quarters, but then he heard her softly moaning against him, and
he abruptly pushed her away.

"No!"

The single word was filled with frustration and self-contempt.

"Why Dukat? I want you too. You can feel it. Could you just explain to
me why you just don't make me give up?" Kira wondered. Her cheeks were
red and her eyes sparkled with passion. Dukat had never wanted
anything as much as he wanted her that very moment. Yet he restrained
himself.

"You *know* why I don't, Nerys." He truly believed she knew.

"You want me to humiliate myself and come crawling to you, is that
it?" Kira spat out.

Dukat's eyes turned black, as the words she uttered had the same
effect on him as a cold shower, then he turned his back on her and
left. Her words hurt him so much that he wanted to hit her. Instead he
left her standing before he did something he'd regret. He had been
hoping that she had gotten to know him better than that during the
past week, but obviously her hatred for him and the Cardassians was so
strong that her thickheaded skull couldn't provide him with any
positive qualities at all. The sad part was that he loved her, pure
and simple. He admired her incredible strength and courage.

She never bowed to anything if she was convinced she was right. She
was inventive and clever. Her hair reminded him of the hot sunsets of
the Cardassian deserts. He loved her fierceness and her humor. Her
temper was magnificent like fire. She turned that old freighter deadly
warship which had landed him *this* prize, with hardly any equipment
at all! She was kind and caring to people she liked. Look at how she
took care of Ziyal even though she had no love left for him, Ziyal's
father. Not many people would take on a half Bajoran- /Cardassian the
way Kira Nerys had done. And yes, he loved her for all those wonderful
qualities.

He wished he didn't. But he did. The saddest part was, he knew exactly
why she acted the way she did. His people - he - had been horrible
towards the Bajorans during the occupation, and he still was a
Cardassian. Many of the qualities Kira really hated about his people
were a large part of him. He might not be proud of all the things he
had done in his life, but he was proud to be a Cardassian, and that
would never change.

---

"What did I say? What did I do?" Kira wondered out loud.

The look on Dukat's face when he left really scared her. It looked
like he was only seconds away from being pushed over the edge. She was
glad he had enough sense to just leave her standing, because whatever
reaction she'd expected on those words, she never expected him to be
hurt. But he had been and Kira now had to re-evaluate him again, and
ask herself why those words hurt him so much. She soon realized the
truth, and admitted to herself that she had known how it for a long
time. Her last words had been uncalled for.

Then her heart started pounding as she realized neither she, nor
Dukat, would ever be in any condition to finish the forcefield for
Dukat's quarters. She wanted to give in to the Urge so badly. That
single kiss he had given her set her blood on fire, like never before.
Dukat had been right. This state of mind defied all explanation. Every
fiber in her body wanted to love him back, every cell inside her
wanted to feel him against her, and she wanted him in every way
possible, Cardassian or not, and after realizing that, she decided
what to do about it.

---

Hours later, Dukat was still in his room. He had just showered and
changed clothes from that uncomfortable Cardassian military uniform,
into something more leisure. He didn't expect to be able to leave his
room for as long as he had the self-control to stay there. He had
already spoken to Damar, who had agreed to take care of his duties for
the days to come. Cardassians seldom showed compassion for each other,
but Damar had uttered a few words to Dukat before he left:

"Stubborn lady, that Major Kira."

"Yes, stubborn lady.... and stubborn Cardassian". Dukat thought to
himself.

He had many ways to *convince* Kira to give in if he wanted to, and
his mesmerizing gaze was only one of them, but he was intent not to
use it or any of the others. He would fight this as long as he could,
and he was convinced  Kira would never come to him, so hopefully they
would be well on their way before he gave up.

Maybe we will even be met by the Defiant before it is too late. Maybe
we will find the return-stream before it was is late... Maybe...

His thoughts were abruptly cut when he sensed Kira outside his door,
long before she made her presence known. His acute senses had grown
stronger where she was concerned these last few days. He picked up her
scent like an animal. And it made his arousal grow stronger again. He
felt the uncomfortable sensation of himself pressing against the cloth
of his pants. He smiled ironically to himself. He had been fooling
himself into thinking he could fight this, but he had no way of
knowing how strong this Urge would become.

"Stupid woman, why does she put herself in harms way like this? I
cannot withstand this desire for her if she keeps dropping by as if we
were just casual acquaintances." Dukat muttered to himself.

Then the doors to his quarters slid open. Kira was standing outside
his door, wearing a long, white dress. It was created in dozens of
layers that flew around her like not quite transparent mist. It didn't
leave much else to show, and the effect it had on him was profound.
Dukat gasped for breath and felt himself harden even more. If she
didn't get out of there within seconds he would push her down on the
floor and take her. Take what she was offering so carelessly without
knowing the repercussions.

"Did you know your lovely daughter kept these bottles in handy for us?
She knows we both like it" Kira said casually and held up a bottle of
Bajoran Spring wine.

---

Kira's heart fluttered when she saw him.

"What are you trying to accomplish here, Major?" Dukat growled. "Are
you trying to drive me insane, because you are doing a very good job
of it!" Dukat's eyes were burning as he looked at her. She could feel
the heat of them piercing their way through her heart.

"Leave, Major, please!" he pleaded.

"Nerys, Dukat, my name is Nerys, and I just gave up, in case you
hadn't realized. I don't want to fight this anymore. Your Urge has
become too strong for me. I want to apologize for my stupid remark
earlier, and just to prove it  - here I am. I am coming to you,
because I just realized you wouldn't come to me even if it would kill
you. You love me too much."

"Major, go away, please. Don't do this to yourself. Don't do this to
*me*!"

Kira was amazed that he kept struggling, as if he really was trying to
be considerate. No matter what the cost for himself. She could see the
black shades underneath his blue eyes and the stiffness in his chin.
Dukat turned around and leaned against the table by the bed. His back
was very  straight and his entire body tense from self-control.

"Do what, Dukat? This is what we want."

"Not this way, Nerys, not this way we don't" he uttered between his
teeth.

"What is wrong with this?"

"This Urge is forcing you to do something you really don't want for
yourself. If we make it to DS9, maybe, just maybe it will go away."
His voice sounded almost desperate.

"No, Dukat, I have been talking to Ziyal and she explained it all to
well for me. It is too late, and we both know it. Now this is what I
want too."

"Nerys! You don't know what you are saying, go away before I do
something I will regret. Something *you* will regret." Dukat's eyes
were burning. His whole body was tense with the huge desire he felt to
give in, and yet he kept struggling not to give up.

"I was trying to get some sleep, but all I could think of was the kiss
you gave me and how much I wanted you to kiss me again. Dukat, please
stop being so heroic and give up, because I have." Kira reached out to
him and lifted her arms to slide into his embrace.

"I am standing in a Cardassian's arms Dukat, and I feel like I have
finally come home. Ironic isn't it?"

---

Dukat felt how the Urge overcame him like a tidal wave. He couldn't
have fought Kira even if his life depended on it. He felt his muscles
relaxing.

All - but one... he thought and smiled ironically to himself. Then he
lowered his head and gave Kira what she was begging for. A kiss.
"Nerys, oh, Nerys I love you" he groaned. "I wish I didn't because if
I hadn't you would never be in this situation..."

Kira's laughter wasn't bitter, but disillusioned. "Well Dukat, at
least we do love each other, it's too late for anything else, and I
suggest we make the best of it." Now that they had decided to give in
to the Urge, it was no longer so overwhelming.

"Is it always like this?" Kira wondered.

"I wouldn't know, I have never felt this way before" Dukat admitted.

He lifted her up in his arms, and his hands felt smooth and warm
against her back. For some reason, Kira had always imagined a
Cardassian's skin to be cold, sort of like she imagined a snake's skin
to be cold, but she was as wrong about Cardassians as she had proven
to be about snakes. Kira suddenly felt grateful for this Urge, because
she understood now that the 'Forced Love' was stronger than she had
imagined, and that she and Dukat would be able to face any troubles
together, and that they truly were a great team as Dukat always
claimed. Dukat put her down on his bed and followed to lay on top of
her. His wiry body pressed against hers and her loins ached for him.
She lifted her abdomen to press against him and he laughed silently.

"Now, Nerys, for the last time I ask you, are you completely sure
about this, because if we go any further..."

"Yes, Dukat, I am definitely sure." Kira looked straight in his eyes
and pulled him closer.

No more words were uttered and Kira felt Dukat's hands pull the skirt
of her dress up. Again his movements were feverish and uncontrolled.
She looked at him with amazement. His face was so concentrated, so
stern. She could tell he had given up just like she had. She felt the
need suddenly overcome her and she was no longer capable of watching
him objectively. Instead her hands flew to his belt and opened it. She
opened the buttons and the zipper of his pants and pulled them down.

He started to undo the small buttons on her dress, but grew impatient
and tore it off of her with a hard pull. It turned into silky shreds
and fell onto the floor like a cloud made out of thin fabric. She
could no longer feel anything but the joy to finally see Dukat.
Because she saw nothing but beauty and her eyes feasted on his
Cardassian slim body as she pulled open his black shirt. His skin was
gray on his chest as well. But it was smoother than she'd imagined. It
was the first time she ever saw him wear anything but the Cardassian
uniform and it made it easier for her to enjoy what was happening. She
forgot he was Cardassian and all she saw was him - Dukat - the man she
had grown to love - however unwillingly.

Without further hesitation, but with impatience, she helped Dukat with
both his, and her own clothes. There wasn't much difference between
him and any Bajoran, or human male, except for the color of his skin,
the broad neck ridges, which was swollen and tense from the arousal he
felt. There was also the ridges that decorated his shoulders and arms;
and the scaly patterns of his pectorals and his abdomen. He was
beautiful in his alienness, but in everything important he was not
very different. Kira lifted her hands to caress him. To feel the
structure of the skin around his neck and he let out a surprised and
hard gasp of delight when she did. "Oh, Nerys, that feels so good, so
good..."

Encouraged by his reaction she kept caressing him, realizing that his
neck was an extremely erogenous zone. He closed his eyes at her touch
and she let her hands wander further up, to his face.  The distinct
ridges on his chin felt familiar to her; as if she had always known
them and loved them. His passion showed itself the same way it did on
any other male, on any other species, she'd ever been intimate with.
That felt like a comfort to Kira. This would be no different from any
other sexual relationship she had before.

Finally their clothes were gone and he lifted her as if she weighed
less than a feather and she was so ready for him she felt like she
would fall to little pieces if he didn't come to her right now. And
so, finally, he did - he slid into her with a quick, flowing movement
and she gasped as she could feel him fill her completely.

She opened her eyes and gazed into his. They were black with desire,
with only a thin ring of blue circling his irises and she leaned
forward to kiss him as she locked her arms around his neck and
followed his movements, which both gave them pleasure, greater than
anything she'd ever felt before. But she wasn't prepared for the
sudden flash of emotions she would feel. Her entire self felt
complete, whole, as if Dukat was what, and who, she had been longing
for her entire life. She gasped for breath as she let the feelings
engulf her.

"Oh Prophets," she sighed.

"Oh, Nerys, I know!" he cried out. "It's incredible, isn't it? And we
haven't even begun..."

"Don't move yet, Dukat," Kira whispered. Kira felt how she wanted to
move too, but stayed still in his arms. Just to savor the moment.
"This is too good to rush through."

And while he was inside her, but still, they both felt the incredible
strength of the feelings that the Urge had provoked between them, and
they both knew that there was no turning back now. Nobody would ever
be able to make them feel this way again, and both Dukat, and Kira
knew that this love would last until either of them died.

"We should savor this moment" Dukat said. "Cardassian poetry states
that no moment is like the first minutes after the first consummation
of the Urge."

"Like bathing in emotion. Love is all around you And it is eternally
yours."

"The words are clichéd, but very true," Dukat whispered as he bent his
head down and started kissing Kira's neck, shoulders and he kept
searching his way down to her breasts. His tongue was moving fast,
warm and wet over what felt like her entire body, and then he finally
started moving inside her. Kira, lying there underneath him, felt like
her whole body was a sensitive love instrument tuned perfectly into
his.

---

Dukat lay there beside Kira and he just couldn't believe she had
actually come to him willingly. His skin was tingling. His heart was
pounding and he felt like a young boy in love for the first time. This
moment he would never forget. He never thought this moment would come.
He never thought Kira and him would become lovers. He knew he had been
a bastard. He had so many enemies on Cardassia that he had learnt to
be cruel. He had forgotten how to be compassionate and good to people
around him. But all the while he had been in love with this Bajoran
woman that really hated him.

If he could have chosen he would never really have wanted this - for
Kira's sake. It was wrong, since she really didn't want this, but the
Urge had set in, swept away the hatred, like it meant nothing, and
that was it. They had nothing to put up against it, and now it was too
late and he couldn't feel sorry about it.

"Now what?" Kira asked. They had just made love for the second time
and Dukat could feel how the passion was wearing off for a little
while. Kira obviously felt the same way. So she was wondering - what
would become of them now. Dukat knew she hadn't read the entire book,
so he sighed. She probably thought that from now on the Urge would
become less prominent, since they had acted upon it. Like normal sex.

He knew how most humanoids worked. Mostly they had sex a couple of
times and then it could take hours or even days before they turned to
each other again, even when they had just fallen in love. The Urge was
a bit different. Eventually that was what would happen to them as
well... but not yet. He smiled. She'd find out in time...

She would find out that was more to it. Wasn't there always?

He knew that this would wear off for a couple of hours only to build
up again, as strong as it had been just before they consummated their
relationship. He wasn't sure if he would let Kira know or let her
discover it by herself... They would be walking around in a constant
arousal. And even though it could have happened at a more convenient
time in his life and with a more suited subject, he couldn't help
looking forward to the wonderful time life had in store for them.

Dukat grinned widely and made up his mind. She would discover soon
enough. And he couldn't wait. He rose from the bed and he could feel
Kira looking at him. He just hoped she enjoyed the view. His body was
slim - slimmer than most of his people, and he wasn't very tall by
Cardassian standards, but more than one woman had become attracted to
him. But he seldom returned the feeling. And none of them had been
able to make him feel the Urge.

Even his last lover Kas'za, who had really wanted to become his mate,
wasn't in love with him.

---

Oh, he is magnificent, how could I ever have thought that Cardassians
were ugly? Kira wondered as she watched him get out of bed and get
dressed. She didn't really want to admit it but sex had never been so
fulfilling. Never; not with Vedek Bareil, not with Shakaar, not with
anyone. The aversion she had always felt toward Dukat was completely
gone. She felt the same way about Cardassians as she always did, but
Dukat wasn't like them. Not any more. He was her mate.

Of course she still remembered all the bad things he had done during
the Occupation of Bajor. She remembered what his people had done. But
she also remembered Ghemor, the Cardassian who had almost become like
a father to her. She had loved him. He had done some bad things as
well... she had forgiven Ghemor, and now she had forgiven Dukat as
well.

She wondered if she had feelings for Dukat already back then. Maybe
those feelings had scared her so much that she hated him for it. It
was a lot easier to hate him than to love him. She knew they had a
rough ride ahead of them.Dukat wasn't exactly popular among her
friends and loved ones. She remembered the compliments he gave her
last time they were on a Cardassian freighter. She never realized he
meant them before. Until now. The words "which only gives me further
incentive to regain my position at the Central Command". She had
laughed at him then, as he was referring to her being drawn to
powerful men. Back then, the mere thought of Gul Dukat really being
attracted to her was ridiculous.

Another thing he had said was when she offered to take care of Ziyal
at the station made her even more aware that he had probably been
attracted to her for a very long time. He had said "You realize,
Major, that our lives have now become forever intertwined?" She had
answered something about the fact that he really enjoyed it. He
answered. "Major, I not only enjoy it. In fact, it gives me reason to
live". She hadn't been able to suppress her laughter.

Dukat's vibrant voice woke her up from the memories: "Wait here for
awhile, I'll be back in a couple of minutes"

He picked up his shirt and pants from the floor where Kira had thrown
them and he was gone before she could react. She quivered as she
remembered his words. That voice of his - it was so dark and rich. So
incredibly intoxicating. It was as if that voice could pull out the
emotions that was the Urge. And when he spoke her skin tingled with
sheer joy. She knew him well enough to know he was up to something,
but for some reason it didn't really bother her anymore. She stretched
where she lay naked in the bed, and then she fell asleep. The first
real sleep she had gotten in a couple of days. It felt terrific to
just dose off for a while. The bed was as comfortable as you could ask
from a Klingon spacecraft.

She woke about an hour later as Dukat came back. He was wearing his
Cardassian uniform now, and she didn't really like it. But when he
walked over to her and kissed her, she forgot all about it. She
welcomed his warm kiss with a slight moan, and let her hand slide up
his thigh. The cloth of his pants felt rough beneath her fingertips
and the sensation tickled up her arm. He grabbed her and pulled her
closer. The heatwave of passion drowned them completely. His breath
against her lips made the hairs on her neck stand on end. She couldn't
resist him. She drove her fingers through his raven hair and his eyes
turned darker as the passion grew. She felt the power over him
intoxicate her like a drug. But his power over her was just as strong.

"Oh!" she sighed. "Here we go again!"

---

Dukat couldn't help but smile at her reaction, her spontaneous
response to his kiss felt like soothing balm on his bruised feelings.
He felt like he had been fighting this Urge for so long that the pain
had become a part of him. He had almost forgotten how good it felt to
be appreciated. He pulled the top of his uniform off, and threw the
stiff, uncomfortable but necessary thing onto the floor. That ugly
uniform had saved his life many times.

He was getting hard again, and he pressed her slender, but soft, body
to his own. His erection pushed against her stomach with only his
pants in the way. He kissed her neck and caressed her back. Firmly
over the lower back where he knew Kira had a very erogenous zone. She
leaned her head back and exposed the soft, pale skin of her neck to
his tongue and lips and he indulged himself in tasting her blushing,
smooth skin. He grabbed her naked buttocks and massaged the firm
muscles underneath the ivory skin. Her cheeks filled his hands
perfectly and the skin felt like velvet against his hands. She moaned
out loud and pulled him closer to her. He could feel her hands
struggling with his pants and she rather impatiently helped him tear
them off.

In a matter of seconds she had pushed him down on the hard bed and
crawled on top of him. Her full breasts gave him the most wonderful
view as she impaled herself on him. He closed his eyes and groaned. An
exquisite feeling was spreading in his groin.

"Oh Nerys, Oh Nerys!"

He hardened even more inside her wet, soft cavity, as she lifted her
slender body and sank down on him again and again. His hand firmly,
but gently gripped her nosy breasts and he rolled the nipples between
his fingers. As she kept riding him he lifted his upper body from the
bed and held her close. They rocked slowly together sitting
comfortably on the bed. He needed to kiss her and his lips ached for
hers. Their mouths met in a moan and their tongues started dancing an
erotic dance as he held her closer to him.

The pace of their rhythmic movements increased and her chest pressed
against his. The feeling of her heart beating next to his finally
pushed him over the edge. He emptied himself inside her and her
muscles clasped around him in spasms when she reached her orgasm. They
both fell down onto the bed.

---

After they just lay there. He held her close, and he felt so
satisfied, so completely fulfilled that he couldn't move.

"I can't believe I feel this way when we are together" Nerys whispered
in his ear. "I really used to hate you Dukat."

"On Earth they have a saying that love and hate are only two sides of
a coin. Meaning that those two feelings are really one and the same."

"I can't believe that. All the things you did to the Bajorans during
the Occupation? How could I forget? But on the other hand. I feel so
good when we make love. I feel so good when you kiss me. I feel
content just being with you. Here, now. I don't long for anything."

"You did some pretty ugly things yourself. - I am not trying to
justify myself," he interrupted when she was about to protest. "Think
of it like this, Nerys, he begged her. If you had had the same
position I did during the Occupation and the roles were reversed. What
would you have done?"

Kira fell silent. And she thought about his question for awhile.
"Cardassians are a cruel people. I doubt I would have been so cruel"

"I'll give you that" Dukat admitted. "We are harsh against our
enemies. But we are even harsher to ourselves. You know that..."

"I do. Which is pretty discouraging actually - But I see your point,
you weren't more cruel to us than you were to your own had they been
criminals or dissidents."

"Exactly."

"But I still don't like your people" Kira stated. "I am sorry. "

"What if you become pregnant?" Dukat asked.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that just now, I use birth
control"

Dukat sighed and got up. He didn't want to argue with Kira about this,
and since she was Bajoran he wasn't going to bring it up. At least not
yet.

"What?" she demanded.

Dukat shrugged away his thoughts and then he avoided the issue by
saying.

"While you slept I spoke with the crew. We decided to get some more
Dilithium from Melkor 5. Now it is no longer as urgent we get home
right away. We can gather some Dilithium, refuel the freighter and we
should be back at DS9 in about a month. Tonight we should receive
subspace communications from the station as well."

"All right. Sounds good to me, and while we fly back home we will keep
a look out for the returnstream I guess?" Kira said.

Dukat nodded and continued: "We have divided into search parties and
are beaming down to the surface in a half hour. I thought you and I
could stay the night. We have scanned the planet. There is no sentient
life on it. There are animal life-forms, but it is habitable. I
thought you and I could use some privacy. What do you  say?"

Kira realized the two of them needed to be alone for awhile and a
night away from the Bird of Prey and all the other Cardassians
definitely had some appeal to it. Kira nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

---

Kira and Dukat beamed down to the surface with food and blankets to
last them over the night and then some. The other two parties were
beamed down to other sites. Kira hadn't noticed, but one of the
reasons that they were left alone was that the rest of the crew on the
Klingon vessel was still as uncomfortable around them as usual.

Dukat smiled. He could already feel the Urge setting in again. Kira
wasn't aware of it just yet. Maybe because she wasn't Cardassian, he
thought. But he was determined not to show her until she felt it too.
He wanted her to be the aggressor this time. Not like this morning,
when he had kissed her. He wanted to see what would happen if he
didn't do anything. Just kept pretending he didn't feel it. That would
be fun! Dukat grinned maliciously to himself. He had no intentions of
being mean. Just see what would happen if he fought it for awhile.

At the moment Kira was acting as professional as any Captain could
wish for. She scanned the area with one of those Federation scanners.
It chirped and beeped and she repeated the information out loud.

"Approximately two standard kilometers away from here, there is a
cavity in the ground that seems to be flowing with Dilithium. If we
get there...

Dukat stopped listening. He knew the rest of the crew would find all
the Dilithium they needed and just wanted the two of them out of the
way for awhile. To rest from the strain of feelings that their
condition poured over the rest of the crew as well. And all Dukat
could think about was Kira's own cavity....  Sometimes he felt a bit
angry about the blatantly sexual arousal that followed the Urge. He
felt it could be less - pressing. He'd like to get to know Kira
better, to enjoy talking and such. But in the beginning like this, the
Urge was 80 percent sexual drive, and 20 percent mental attraction,
friendship and such, but that would even out later, he knew that.

He knew they had difficulties ahead of them. His wife that left him
when she found out he had a daughter with a Bajoran female was still
his wife by Cardassian law. He'd have to divorce her. Divorce was an
almost unknown word on Cardassia Prime...

Kira would have some explaining to do. Shakaar would be hurt, angry
and even shocked. Not to mention the crew on DS9. How would they react
to this? They wouldn't believe their ears. Kira in love with *him* -
he former Legate? The one who tormented the Bajoran prisoners and
workers at Terok Nor during the Cardassian Occupation? Explaining the
Urge and what happened to Kira would not be easy. Dukat knew both
Sisko and Odo were Kira's close friends and he had often wondered why
Kira never once suspected that Odo had more than friendly feelings
toward her. Fortunately one positive side effect of the Urge was that
he would never have to be jealous. Neither would Kira. The Urge was
also one of the few reasons a Cardassian had ever been granted a
divorce. But right now... Right now he was aroused. And he knew they
would both stay that way for about a week before it started to fade
away. At least a week he corrected himself and sighed. But he had to
smile. He wondered what Kira would say if she knew.

"What *is* this Dukat?" Kira blurted out a bit angrily.

He grinned at her. So now it began again, eh? But he pretended he
didn't know *what* she was talking about.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Don't give me that face!" she spat and came closer to him. "Damn it!
I can see your arousal from over here! We can't work if we keep
getting distracted like this all the time!"

She walked up even closer and he could feel her hand reaching out for
him and a jolt of pure joy shot through his chest. He couldn't explain
how incredibly arousing it was to have her be so straight forward. She
grabbed him in a firm grip and started caressing him outside of his
pants. He lifted his hands and leaned them to her shoulders. It felt
so good he could hardly stand up straight!

He gasped as Kira kneeled before him and pulled open his pants and
took out his pride and joy. He was big. Hard, firm and smooth all at
the same time. He felt her soft, tender hands grip his testicles and
she scratched them with her fingernails. She then leaned forward and
took him in her mouth. He was utterly amazed. No Cardassian woman had
ever done that to him.

"Ahhhh," he moaned. Oh holy mother! That feels so good!

Her tongue swirled around him - soft, swift and warm. The tingling
sensation in his genitals became almost unbearable. She licked him up
and down, sucked all of him into her mouth and he could feel her
moistness hug him. Her tongue fluttered softly around the head and he
gasped. Then she took all of him in her mouth once again, and he could
feel the preparation of the release.

"Nerys, my lovely Nerys, you have to quit!" he begged. "I am coming!
Don't!"

She didn't listen to him. Her tongue just kept titillating him,
swirling around him and his vision became blurred as the pleasure
became too great and he shot his seed into her mouth in long,
wonderful jerks. Kira licked it all up and smiled at him. Her eyes
were wet and wild. Full of joy and humor - but also with passion and
desire.

"Felt good?" she teased.

But Dukat didn't smile at her. He just pulled her up, into his arms
and held her close. Then he kissed her. The taste of himself inside
her mouth was unusual, but not unpleasant.

"That was the most unselfish thing anyone has ever done for me" he
admitted.

He knew that she knew what this meant. He couldn't do anything about
her arousal right now. He was too satisfied. And doing something else
in the sands where they were at this very moment wasn't a very good
idea.

"I never thought I would say this. But I love you Dukat. I'd die for
you, and suffering for a few hours from a desire that is so wonderful
that it hurts - well - I can handle that. I enjoyed knowing I did
something for you that felt so good. I could see it in your eyes. Your
face was so tense with enjoyment and passion. I don't want to trade it
for anything."

Dukat pulled his pants up and buttoned them. Then he put his arm
around Kira and started talking: "Remember when we went looking for
the wreckage after the Ravinok on Dozaria?"

"Yes, we were away for a couple of days back then weren't we?" Kira
wondered.

"I loved you back then," he stated and they kept walking in silence.

---

Just as Kira had guessed. Dukat had had feelings for her for a long,
long time. Maybe longer than she knew. They kept walking, Dukat in
deep thoughts, and Kira yearning for more. She wanted to pull him
close and tear him down onto the ground where she wanted him to
penetrate her like he had never seen a woman before. She ached inside.
It was almost painful - she wanted him to fill the void, to make the
pain go away with long hard thrusts inside her. She was breathing
hard.

He pulled her closer to him, her nipples hardened as if he had
caressed them and all she could think of was feeling his lips and
tongue licking and kissing them. Normally Kira was the kind of person
who would feel degraded by this, who would fight even harder when she
felt she was about to be overcome. But this felt so good. It was so
wonderful, and all she wanted was to have sex with Dukat. Again, and
again, and again.

"How long will this last?" she asked weakly.

Dukat didn't even try to avoid the question as he caressed her cheek
tenderly. She leaned against him like a lovesick kitten. His eyes were
compassionate and a slow, burning deep inside them made her hope for
more, soon. His large hand against her face was warm and dry, almost
covering the whole side of her head.

"At least a week, probably more. Most people "suffer" from the Urge
for a month or even more."

"But I can't work, I can't think - I can't do anything."

"I know. It is pretty aggravating isn't it?" Dukat responded.

"How can Cardassians be such a proud people and warrior-like when they
have to deal with this kind of thing?" Kira protested.

"Mostly we aren't affected this strongly Nerys. And most men and women
who join the military have bonded. I hadn't before. Which is pretty
uncommon for a Cardassian male my age. We usually go through the Urge
much the same way humans go through adolescence."

Kira laughed tiredly. "And of course you had to fall in love with the
Bajoran woman who really used to hate you. Oh well - I can't complain.
Apart from the fact that I am utterly filled with passion, completely
foggy with desire, totally occupied with erotic thoughts and
completely aching for sex.. I have never been so happy in my life. I
mean that."

---

She stopped and grabbed a hold of his arms and made him look into her
eyes. Her gaze locked onto Dukat's eyes. He felt her words affect him.
Relief, passion, love and desire struggled inside of him.

They were approaching the place they had chose from the Bird of Prey.
It was a cave, not very beautiful or comfortable, but they had brought
what they would need.

"Are you hungry, Nerys?" he asked.

She looked up at him with her eyes burning, and he could have kicked
himself. Stupid question!

She didn't want food at this moment. He looked at her, felt his own
passion slowly awakening. The cycles were short. Less than an hour.
This probably meant that their Urge would last even longer. He didn't
want to tell Kira about this. She was troubled enough as it was. They
had been badly affected. But he knew they would be. The longer the
couple fought the Urge, the stronger it got. Considering how hard they
had fought it. Dukat was not surprised.

"Are you?" she asked.

He shook his head and pulled out the air mattress they had replicated
before beaming down to the surface. He had taken great precautions to
make this as perfect as it could be on this planet.

"Let's make ourselves comfortable first" he said.

---

Those hypnotizing eyes looked straight into Kira's and she felt the
seductive lure suck her in. This time she didn't feel intimidated by
his mesmerizing gaze. She felt so drawn to him she couldn't help but
reach out and touch his face. His ridged features felt warm against
her hand. She caressed him and he leaned his head so he could kiss the
palm. His warm lips sent a surge of desire through her body. But the
kiss was tender and loving. She wanted him so much.

She was amazed at the Cardassian physiology. How could they have sex
so many times in one day? It was incredible! But soon she forgot the
biological aspects of the Urge and just enjoyed the effects it had on
herself and the male she was with.

---

Dukat felt the desire grab a hold of him again. He rose from the
ground. This wasn't going to allow him to take care of Nerys the way
he had planned on their way over here.

"Come!" he said and held out his hand to Kira. With his help she rose
to her feet as well, and together they helped preparing their camp for
the night.

He had a small compressor that filled the mattress with air in a
matter of seconds. They spread the blankets and then Dukat grabbed
Kira and lifted her up in his arms.  She was warm and vivacious in his
arms. She smelled good despite the long walk in the warm sun that they
had just finished. Her lips were moist and welcoming and he wanted to
make her feel just as good as he did earlier. He lay her down on the
mattress and her body made it sink slightly. It rocked softly beneath
them, almost like the waterbeds that were so popular on Bajor. He lay
down on top of her and just enjoyed the feeling of her female, soft
body against his male, edgy body. He smiled.

"What?" she whispered silently.

"I was just thinking how happy you should be I am not wearing my
military uniform right now."

Kira laughed slightly back at him and wrapped her arms around his
neck. Her fingers played with his long, raven-black hair, which fell
into his eyes. Right now, his desire wasn't so overwhelming as hers
was. Maybe because he had been relieved so thoroughly by Nerys
earlier, he thought, but felt himself stiffen by the mere thought of
her moist lips around his manhood. She probably felt him harden
against her, because she writhed underneath him and pulled her legs up
so he would come closer to her pounding heat. He rubbed himself
tighter against her. His erection grew and she moaned. He started
kissing her neck and down on the chest. He pulled down her shirt and
breathed softly on her shoulder. She got goose-bumps and sighed softly
underneath him. Slowly he began moving, making intercourse movements
with their clothes on. She started writhing more under him.

She let her hands slide from his shoulder down to his butt. She
squeezed his buttocks and pressed him firmer against her. He felt like
they were meant to be together. They kept touching each other,
kissing, licking and caressing every part they could reach. His hands
flew over her hips, her stomach; her breasts, fingers brushing softly
over her pebble-hard nipples. She moaned underneath him and he ground
his hips against her again and he couldn't avoid letting out a soft
cry of pleasure of his own. That way they kept arousing each other
more and more by each minute that passed

"Please Dukat, you are driving me crazy" she pleaded. She started
pulling at his clothes. Pushed him away from her to reach the buttons
of his pants. "I want to feel your naked skin against mine" she
moaned. "I want you inside me, oh Dukat, now - please!"

But he pulled away from her. It took a lot of self-control, but he
managed to do it. Then he started taking her clothes off. Slowly and
teasingly. Even though he wanted to tear them off in a split second,
he managed to pull them off of her ever so slowly and carefully. She
whimpered softly under his hands and the pleading sound nearly drove
him mad. He couldn't stop himself from opening his pants and grabbing
himself for a short moment. He needed her, now, but he wasn't about to
take her. Not yet anyway.

He was determined to return the favor. So he pulled her panties off,
and let his hands slide softly up her legs, on the insides of her
thighs. He raked his nails ever so slightly over the soft skin of her
legs, and she shivered underneath his caressing hands. He placed long,
juicy kisses on her stomach and she was breathing heavier. Shallow,
quick breaths that let him know how much she enjoyed the way he
treated her.

Suddenly he felt Kira's soft hands grab him lightly, her nails
scratching the insides of his thighs. His erection grew harder and he
felt how easily he could lose the determination to let her enjoy this
moment all by herself. He clenched his jaw and focused on Kira.
Pushing away the sensations that her small hands provoked in him. But
it was almost impossible.

"Let me focus on you for a while Nerys," he said softly and pushed her
hand away. "The way you are caressing me I'll lose all good intentions
in a second."

She smiled at him, and leaned back on the mattress. Her content smile
shot through him like a spear. It was wonderful to see her so aroused
and know that he was the reason for her passionate feelings. No matter
how unwillingly she had been overcome by the Urge. He knew that now
she loved him. Now and forever. There was nothing false in these
feelings. He kept caressing her, moving his hands to her center, where
he knew she wanted him to touch her. He gently pulled aside the thin
skin-folds around her moist sex. He leaned down and licked her softly
around the opening and she shivered and sighed. His licks began
softly, teasing her, avoiding the spot he knew she really wanted him
to touch. Then his licks became faster and firmer. She stopped
breathing, kept holding her breath and turned completely still and
silent underneath him. He knew she was coming closer.

He pressed one finger inside her. Carefully he moved and then he let
his tongue swiftly touch the small center of her passion. She moaned
and he moved his finger a little faster. He pushed another inside her
and she gasped. He kept licking a little firmer, around and on top of
her little button. He could feel her fingers clasp around his head and
pull at his hair so hard it almost hurt. Then he sensed the
contractions begin deep inside of her. Her muscles grabbed his fingers
tightly and she had an orgasm that kept on going for several seconds.
He pulled his finger out and leaned over her and pressed himself
inside her.

She was wet and oh so warm and he sank all the way in, in one swift
move, and she threw her legs around him; squeezed him deeper inside
and less than a minute later he felt her muscles contract around him
again, but he kept going, it felt so good. He did all he could to
prolong the experience and she muttered in his ear.

"Oh, holy Prophets, I never knew it could be this good, oh!"

And her words just aroused him even more. He felt how close he was but
he withheld the sensation as best he could, but when Kira came for the
third time the feeling of her squeezing him deep inside her provoked
him to yield as well. He could no longer hold back. The pleasure felt
like a black hole where he floated in sheer ecstasy for a long while.

Moments later he fell on top of her, spent. He could feel her relax
underneath him. They lay still for awhile enjoying the aftermath of
their passion. Dukat lifted his hand and pushed away the locks of hair
that fell into Kira's eyes. His eyes looked into hers as he kept
mumbling.

"I love you Nerys, I love you."

---

Her chest tightened at those words. The love they provoked inside her
almost hurt. His lips left a trail of soft kisses in her face and she
felt the goose-bumps from the moistness on her cheek as the wind blew
in through the cave opening. She looked at him. Lifted her hand and
let her fingers follow the ridges around his eyes. They weren't as
hard as she'd imagined.

Instead of hatred, she felt fascination with the way he was so
different from her. And he was handsome. She loved him back, and she
pulled his head down and whispered the words softly into his ear. The
Urge was a beast that was fed for a short while, but the love was
still there. It wouldn't lessen. It wouldn't go away and Kira felt
happy that she was blessed with the experience of it after all.

They got up and went outside. There was water on the planet and
little vegetation, but they both walked into the well and washed
themselves. A few minutes later they went back to the cave.
Dukat smiled at Kira:

"So, now are you hungry?"

"Starving!"

And they both laughed out loud. His laugher dark and rich and hers
like the soft sound of trickling water in the spring.

---

The End