The BLTS Archive - Admiring Fools
by Victoria Meredith (vmeredith@in-con.com)

---

Disclaimer: All characters and settings are owned by
Paramount. This is a not for profit creative endeavor and no
copyright infringement is intended.

Archive: With the permission of the author.

Acknowledgements: Thank you, Melissa, for your beta and for your
encouragement. Also many thanks to Paula Stiles for all your helpful
input.

---

"You're going to have to do better than that if we're going to escape
this bastard!" Damar bellowed over the din as he clung to the
weapon's panel of the shuddering patrol ship. Smoke billowed within
the cramped, dimly lit bridge too quickly for atmospherics to vacuum
out.

"If you don't like my piloting," Kira growled from the helm at his
side, "then you take the helm."

Blinking in the acrid environment, Damar focused on his targeting
display, trying to get their pursuer, a stubborn Jem'Hadar fighter,
within his sights. He had made his comment as a jesting challenge,
but Kira's reaction confused him. Did she take offense? Her tone and
her words indicated that she did, but then if she really was insulted
and meant her words, wouldn't she have given up her post to him?
Over-thinking again, he lectured himself. He had gotten into the
habit of analyzing nearly everything Kira said, looking for clues
about how she really felt. Signs of her animosity, hints of insults.

It really just came down to feelings, and what they were both feeling
right then was clear: frustration, desperation, and more than a
little fear. Their words meant nothing; the only thing that mattered
was the emotions behind them. He had vented at her and she, as usual,
had vented back.

"You're doing fine right where you are," Damar called over the roar
of the ship.

"Glad to be of service," Kira called back, her focus on her controls.

"Just give me five more degrees starboard," he ordered, "and I'll
have him."

"If he doesn't have us first," she quipped.

"I'm instigating a new policy," Damar replied. "Only one pessimist
per ship, and on this ship, I'm it."

"I don't know, Damar," Kira shook her head as her fingers danced over
the controls of the helm. "You used to be pretty good at pessimism,
but lately you've been slipping."

Startled, his head snapped to the right to stare at her, then he
caught himself and put his focus back on the weapon-targeting screen.
The Jem'Hadar continued its relentless pursuit and was far too adept
at dodging the rear disruptor fire Damar kept barraging the ship with.

That had been a compliment of a sort. Damar felt sure. Kira
complimented him. That felt odd. Rather nice, but odd. Not that her
assessment was correct. He was just as pessimistic as he had always
been, but he had worked hard in the past few months at battling that
pessimism back. Apparently the effort showed and that couldn't please
him more.

A leader shouldn't be a pessimist. Damar would never be an optimist,
but in his effort to become a better leader, he was learning the
value of hope. He couldn't do any of this, rebel against the
Dominion, make alliances with the Federation, take on a Bajoran as an
advisor - especially this particular Bajoran - if he didn't have
hope. His hope had dipped very low at times during all of this, but
he refused to ever let go of it.

Momentarily, the Jem'Hadar ship slipped into his sights and Damar,
with quicksilver instinct, fired on their pursuer. A direct hit that
only impacted on the shields, the ship didn't stop its forward
movement. The Cardassian scout ship didn't have much firepower, and
though it did have speed and maneuverability, Kira wasn't able to
shake the Jem'Hadar. The Dominion knew Damar was on the patrol ship,
and they weren't about to let go of their chance to kill him. The
Jem'Hadar fired upon them, forcing Kira to veer off their trajectory
at such a fast, sharp angle that they had to grip the consoles
against the sudden pressure of gravity intent on smashing them
against the deck plates.

Kira's maneuver did little good. Their ship was spared the brunt of
the impact of the Jem'Hadar disruptors but not entirely, catching a
graze on the port side that made the entire ship buck and shudder. In
the violent shaking of the ship, Damar heard a crash behind him and a
cry of pain and fear that broke off with an abruptness that made
Damar's skin crawl.

"Shields at eleven percent, sir." Glinn Paken at Operations had a
carefully dampened desperation in his tone.

Damar heard him but didn't take the time to acknowledge the Glinn as
he leapt from his seat towards the source of the crash on the tiny
bridge. A wall plate had buckled from the bulkhead over the
engineering monitoring panel and had slammed down on top of one of
his crew. Damar grabbed the edge of the heavy, bulky plate and
struggled it off the injured crewman. Injured, not dead, he realized
with relief at the sight of the blood seeping from the crewman's
shattered forehead. Not dead yet, but death could come soon for the
young man if he went for long without medical care. Damar, nor any of
them, was in a position to give the needed care at the moment.

"Damar," Kira snapped, glancing quickly over her shoulder at him.
"Deal with him later."

His eyes lingered on the young man's still face before turning back
to take his post at Weapons. The crewman may not be around to deal
with later. He felt hope sinking fast, and he struggled to maintain a
grip on it.

This mission was a failure. An infiltration into the weapons plant on
Sestrak V gone terribly wrong. It wasn't anyone's fault. Kira's plan
had been well laid out, and they all had followed their instructions
to the letter. It was just a case of bad timing and bad luck. Of
their five-person team, one soldier had been left dead in the plant.
Now another lay dying on the deck of his ship.

A rare failure, Damar reminded himself as he repositioned his
targeting scanner. His rebellion had known many more victories than
defeats. Small victories, to be sure, and nothing on the scale he had
been used to as the commander of the Cardassian Military Forces when
his greatest victory had been the capture of Betazed, and his
greatest defeat had been the loss of the Chin'toka system. Feeling
the highs of victory and the lows of defeat from such things as the
destruction of weapon plants and shipyards occasionally grated on his
already damaged pride. But victory, however small, was victory, and
his rebellion's successful strikes kept the Dominion suitably
off-guard and harassed. Damar's constant bombardments against
Dominion outposts were starting to take their toll on his enemies.
Failure, all in all, had been a rare thing, but he knew this failure
could well be their last.

They weren't going to make it, he thought, then tried to push that
defeating thought away. Kira kept the patrol ship constantly dodging,
constantly shifting and racing forward. She was a good pilot. He knew
that. He also knew that he was equally skilled. Perhaps this was one
of the few areas where they could be considered equals. One of the
few areas where Damar could trust Kira. He trusted her skills.

Areas where Damar felt comfortable in trusting Kira made a very short
but rather vital list. He trusted her with his rebellion, with his
men, and with his resources. He had come to trust her with his life.
Yet he knew he could never, ever trust her with his emotions.

Kira had made that abundantly clear - in case he ever had a doubt
about that - when she forced him to learn one of the harshest lessons
of his life while he stood before her in grieving vulnerability. That
had been necessary. Damar knew that. All the harsh lessons of his
life had been unfortunate necessities, necessities he had brought on
himself. He had needed every one of them. Still, he boiled with
resentment whenever he thought of that particularly devastating
lesson Kira had dealt him two weeks earlier. Yes, he had needed to
hear what she said. But did he really need to hear it then? Clearly,
Damar's grief and pain had meant nothing to Kira, and clearly he
could never allow himself to be emotionally vulnerable around her
again.

The resentment he'd get over but not for a long time. She had tainted
his grief. Every day Damar thought about his wife and son murdered by
the Dominion for the sole purpose of causing him pain, but when he
did think of their deaths, Kira's words haunted him. Yeah, Damar.
What kind of people give those orders? That had been cruel. Ruthless.
And necessary. Every day, when his mind lingered on those words, some
new revelation about his past, about Cardassia's past, about Bajor,
would come to him in clear, bitter and unvarnished truth. It made him
a better man. It made him stronger. And it made him ache with pain
and anguish and remorse.

Damar knew now that he could trust Kira not to stab him in the back,
but he could never trust her not to stab him in the heart again.

The patrol ship took another hit. Damar's entire body shuddered and
bucked in rhythm with his dying ship. Smoke gagged him. Giving up on
the weapons, he stumbled to the back of the bridge to examine the
atmospherics panel, looking for ways to clear the air while Kira did
everything she could to keep the ship roaring forward and away from
the Jem'Hadar.

"Shields gone, sir," Glinn Paken reported a bit unnecessarily. Damar
knew their shields were gone. Another hit and their ship would be
destroyed. At least death was guaranteed to be fiery but very quick.

"I'm reading a containment leak in the warp core," Kira said with a
shake of her head.

"See to it, Paken," Damar ordered then took over Operations as Paken
hurried from the bridge. There had be a way to coax a little power
back to the shields. "How far are we from Federation space?"

"ETA to the Denarios Belt is fifteen minutes," Kira reported.

"A good place to hide," Damar nodded. "That's what you're planning."

"Right now, I don't see much of choice."

"Agreed."

The patrol ship rushed forward, trying and failing to shake off their
pursuer. Damar divided his attention between trying to clear out the
choking smoke from the bridge and coaxing the shields to go back on
line. Beneath the deck plates under his feet, the patrol ship gave a
strange shudder.

"Plasma fire in Engineering," Kira called out. "The warp core's
unstable."

"Paken," Damar gasped out in horror and raced from the bridge.

He couldn't afford to lose another man and especially not one as
talented and loyal as Paken. Racing through the small ship, fear
gripped he as he came upon the emergency bulkhead blocking his way to
Engineering. He slammed his fist against it in frustration and felt
the heat radiating from the bulkhead. Plasma fire. Paken couldn't
have survived being trapped in the engine room engulfed with plasma
fire. And the warp core wasn't going to last long with a containment
leak Damar couldn't reach to fix because of the fire. He started to
choke on the smoke curling through the air, and he rushed back to the
bridge. He headed for the engineering controls.

"We're going to have to jettison the warp core," Damar told Kira.

"I figured as much," Kira said grimly.

"Take us to impulse," he ordered.

"It might at least take the Jem'Hadar by surprise to drop out of
warp," Kira said.

"I doubt it," Damar grumbled. "Their sensors probably picked up the
leak. They know how bad off we are."

The ship jerked abruptly as it came out of warp. He worked in the
data commands to jettison the core.

"Ready for this?" he asked tersely as his hand lingered on the
command key.

"Give me a minute."

"A minute we don't have. I'm jettisoning it now."

"Just wait," Kira's hands danced over her controls. "Wait for my
signal."

"Why?" Damar growled. "The core is going to blow any second."

"I know. I know. Just . . . Now!"

Damar activated the command to jettison the core. A second later, a
massive wave from an explosion slammed up against the patrol ship,
pushing it at near warp velocity through space. The entire ship felt
about to shake itself apart and Damar right along with it. Clinging
to the monitor, a strange sensation crawled over him, similar but not
quite like the feeling of being transported. The sensation made him
shiver.

At last, Kira regained control of the ship and brought it to a
standstill while Damar checked the scanners.

"No ships in immediate range," he reported. "What happened to the
Jem'Hadar?"

"They had the misfortune of coming too close to a ship about to
jettison its warp core," Kira replied coolly but humor lit her eyes.

"Excellent," Damar smiled. He couldn't help but admire how quickly
Kira was able to think on her feet. He continued to study the
sensors. "We're close to the Denorios Belt. Once past the other side,
we'll be safe in Bajoran space."

"At impulse, that's going to take a while," she commented.

"True," he said, "but at least it doesn't look as though we'll need
to worry about pursuers."

He left the sensors to go to the side of his injured crewman. The man
was unconscious and the wound on his forehead had visibly swelled.
Rising to his feet, Damar fished out the emergency medical kit on the
bridge and looked helplessly at it. He had field medical training
from his years as a foot soldier, but that had been a long time ago.
His slight knowledge wasn't going to be much use to his dying man.

Damar cleaned the wound and prepared a hypospray with an
anti-inflammatory that he hoped would ease the swelling in the wound.
Beyond that, there wasn't much more he could do. The man needed
surgery and he needed it immediately.

"This doesn't look good," he heard Kira mutter. She turned to him. "A
Galor-class cruiser is coming into sensor range. It's dropping out of
warp."

"Great," Damar groused as he moved to the communications panel. "At
least the holo-emitter's still working. We might be able to bluff our
way out of this if they take notice of us."

"Oh, they've noticed us all right."

He watched the ship approach on his sensor panel and fed the Galor's
registry information into the computer. It would be good to know just
whom they were going to be up against, but the computer gave him no
data.

"That ship's registry isn't in our computer banks," he told her.
"That doesn't make sense. Every ship in the Cardassian fleet is in
our data banks. I don't even recognize the name. The Aesaran."

"There are thousands of ships in the Cardassian fleet," Kira
shrugged. "Your technicians just missed one when they programmed the
data on this ship."

"Unlikely," Damar shook his head. "Even if they did miss one, I still
should recognize the name."

"One Galor out of thousands?" Kira asked then shook her head. "Right.
Cardassian photographic memories."

"Added to the fact that I was once this Galor's supreme commander. I
know the names and the commanding Guls of every ship in the fleet.
Something's not right about this. It's coming into visual range."

He keyed the image of the ship onto the main viewer and magnified it.
It looked like a standard Class 3 Galor, but the insignia on the hull
wasn't the Cardassian Imperial seal. In fact, it looked like an
amalgamation of the seal with the Bajoran and Klingon symbols. Kira
sucked in her breath at the sight.

"I don't believe this!" Kira gasped in horror. "This can't be
happening."

"What can't?" Damar came to her side, looking down at her. "What is
that ship?"

"It's an Alliance ship," Kira breathed.

Damar frowned at her. "Which Alliance?"

"The Alliance of the mirror universe," she fairly growled. "That's
where we are. In an alternate universe."

"How can you be serious?" He demanded. "Alternate universe? That's
absurd."

"I wish it was," she shook her head. "But the only place you're going
to find an insignia like the one on that ship is in the alternate
universe. I know. I've been here before."

"But how did we get here?" he sat at the weapons post next to her,
not believing what she was saying. It was too insane. "And, more
importantly, how are we going to get back to our own universe?"

"I don't know how we got here," she said impatiently. "Maybe
something to do with jettisoning the warp core."

Damar snorted. "Ships have to jettison their warp cores from time to
time, and they don't end up in alternate universes as a result."

"I don't know," Kira snapped. "What do I know about temporal
mechanics? It doesn't matter how we got here. We're here and we have
to deal with that. Fortunately for us, I do know how to get back.
We'll have to bluff our way past that Galor then get to the wormhole."

"The wormhole's sealed on the other side," Damar pointed out.

Kira rolled her eyes at him as if he was an idiot. "Not in this
universe. The people here don't even know that the wormhole exists.
There's no Dominion here."

"I like this place already."

"I don't and I don't think you'll like it either. The ones who hold
the power here is the Alliance between Bajor, Cardassia and the
Klingons."

"Bajor and Cardassia are at peace here?"

"Hardly. The three powers are at each other's throats and the last I
heard, the Klingons hold more power than the Cardassians."

"You're right," Damar grunted. "I don't like it."

"Well, we won't be staying for long."

"So you're going to enter the wormhole and ask the Prophets to get us
back?"

"No, there's another way, but now that you mention it, that could
work."

Damar shook his head. "This is a lot to swallow."

"It is," Kira agreed. "You'll have to trust me on this. With luck, we
won't stay long enough to interact with anyone besides that Galor.
But you have to remember that this universe mirrors our own.
Including the people. I have a duplicate here. You probably have a
duplicate here and so does everyone else. But the duplicates aren't
at all like the people we know."

Kira suddenly looked even more nervous than before. "Are you sure the
holo-emitter is working?" she asked intently.

"I'm sure," he replied.

"Good. I don't want to be mistaken for my duplicate here."

"You've met her? What's she like?"

"If anyone can be my complete and utter opposite, it's her," Kira
said with some bitterness.

"You mean she's a coward," Damar said, trying to imagine what Kira's
opposite would be like. She blinked at him. "Unintelligent? Weak?
Shallow?"

"Shallow," Kira nodded, looking at him with bemusement. He realized
that she took what he said as a compliment which, in a way, it was.

The comm unit beeped and they both stared at it.

"Time to start bluffing," Damar said. He quickly fed in the data into
the hole-emitter that would change their appearance on the monitor of
the approaching ship.

"Ready to look like a Cardassian?" he asked Kira.

She shrugged. "It won't be the first time."

"It won't?"

"Long story," she replied dryly as his comm panel beeped again.

"Answer it," Damar ordered.

"Me?"

"You know this so called mirror universe. I don't. Besides, you're
better at thinking on your feet than I am. Answer the hail."

Looking none too pleased, Kira answered the hail and an image of a
Cardassian Gul came onto the monitor. They both gasped at the sight.
Dukat. Back to looking like a Cardassian and in full uniform.

"How did he get here?" Damar muttered, forcing his features to remain
stoic.

"Alternate universe," Kira muttered back as Dukat began to speak.

"I am Gul Dukat of the Imperial battle cruiser Aesaran," he said in a
bored tone, giving the two of them thoroughly disinterested looks.
"You are?"

"Glinn Estek," Kira answered. "And Glinn Treanar."

"It looks as though you have had some trouble," Dukat drawled.

"Yes, sir," Kira said.

"What kind of trouble?"

"We were attacked, sir."

"By the rebels?"

"Yes, sir."

"Which rebels?" Dukat sounded annoyed that he had to ask this. "The
Terrans or the Cardassians?"

The Terrans? Another name for humans, Damar recalled. They were
rebelling with the Cardassians? But against what if the Dominion
wasn't there? This Alliance? Kira gave Damar an uneasy glance.

"The Terrans," Kira answered.

"Ah," Dukat shook his head as thoroughly displeased. "There has been
reports of the Cardassian rebels in this area."

"I wouldn't know, sir," Kira replied.

"I see. Well, cut your engines and prepare for my inspection team."

"Inspection team?"

"Standard procedure. But you know that. Or at least you should. Cut
your engines now."

Worry shone from Kira's eyes as she worked the controls. "Engines
cut, sir," she sighed.

"After your inspection," Dukat told them, "we'll bring your ship on
board and start repairs."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll need a physician as well," Damar said. "One of our crew is
injured."

"It will be taken care of," Dukat replied, again sounding strangely
bored. "Dukat out."

As soon as Dukat's image left the screen, Kira leapt from her chair.

"How can this be happening?" she ranted. "How are we going to turn
this around?"

"Dukat seemed different," Damar said. "How did he get here?"

"This is an alternate universe, Damar!" Kira snapped at him. "An al -
ter - nate universe!"

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot!" Damar snapped back. "This is my
first time here so you'll excuse me if I'm having trouble taking it
all in."

"I'm sorry," Kira said, still pacing in agitation. "You're right.
It's hard to believe. But you believe it now, don't you?"

"I suppose that I do. That wasn't the Dukat I know."

"Exactly. No one here is like the ones we know. Keep that in mind."

Damar stood. "We'll have to come up with a story to cover why we hid
our appearance. But if Bajor and Cardassia are allies . . ."

"A story!" Kira groused. "Oh, I have a story all right, and you're
not going to like it. Take off your Legate's badge."

He cupped his hand around the badge and slipped it off, watching as
Kira stripped off the jacket of her Star Fleet uniform. She looked
down at herself with a shake of her head.

"No one's going to believe that the Intendent dresses like this," she
grumbled. "Well, I suppose there's no time to replicate something
else."

"The Intendent?" Damar asked.

"That's me. The Intendent. My mirror duplicate in this universe, and,
the Prophets forgive me, I have to pretend to be her."

Clearly that idea enraged her. Whoever this duplicate of hers was,
Kira hated her.

"You're going to have to follow my lead here, Damar," Kira ordered,
jabbing a finger at him. "Don't be surprised by anything I have to
do. Anything. No matter how shocking or absurd, just go along with it
and trust me."

"All right," Damar frowned at her. "Just calm down."

"There's nothing to be calm about. I can't believe I have to do
this." Kira took a deep breath. "Now. We're going to say that I was
taking a trip to Cardassia Prime for some Alliance meeting when we
were attacked. And you're here as . . .as the Intendent's companion."

Kira blushed at that, and Damar didn't like the connection between
the blush and word "companion".

"Companion," he said flatly.

"The Intendent always has companions with her," Kira said with an
uneasy shrug. "Though the Intendent being interested in a grumpy,
hard-assed Cardassian like you is a bit of a stretch."

Feeling insulted by that, Damar heard the whine of an incoming
transporter behind them. They turned to watch three Cardassian
soldiers materialize into the bridge.

"Here we go," Kira muttered then suddenly straightened and thrust out
one hip and placed her hand upon it. Her face took on a decidedly
self-satisfied expression.

"How good of you to come to our rescue," Kira purred at the three
soldiers. The soldiers stared at the two of them in shock. Then all
three moved forward with their disruptor rifles aimed at Damar.

"Gul Damar!" one exclaimed.

"The Intendent!" another said. "Did he hurt you? Are you all right?"

"Don't I look all right?" Kira simpered though doubt came into her
eyes.

One of the soldiers stepped forward with an eager expression and
thrust his rifle in Damar's face.

"The Central Command will reward us well for your capture, traitor,"
the soldier hissed.

Damar remained silent and gave the man an arrogant glare. So much for
pretending to be Kira's "companion", Damar thought with relief.
Traitor to the Central Command, was he? Maybe this universe wasn't so
different from his own after all. He only had to act like an
imprisoned rebel. Not much of stretch since he was now in fact an
imprisoned rebel.

"As will Bajor," the second guard gave Kira a lustful look. "For
saving their Intendent."

"Saving me?" Kira gave the soldier a cold glare. "Saving me from
what?"

The soldier hesitated. "Clearly, this rebel traitor has abducted you."

Kira gave a languorous laugh. "How absurd. He didn't abduct me. This
traitor is my prisoner. The rebels attacked us trying to rescue him."

"It is well that they failed," the soldier nodded then looked over at
the unconscious crewman. "This is the injured party?"

Kira shrugged. "He looks injured to me."

The soldier looked over to one of his companions. "See to him."

Another soldier went to the prone crewman and produced a medical
tricorder. He passed it over the crewman then shook his head. Rising
to his feet, he lifted his rifle, aimed it at the injured man and
shot him in the chest. The odor of burning flesh filled the smoky
bridged.

Outraged, Damar sprang forward. "You murdering bas . . ."

His guard smashed him back with his rifle, and Damar stumbled against
the weapon's panel.

"Was that necessary?" Kira spat in rage.

"He was beyond healing," the soldier said.

"He was my body guard, you fool!" Kira snarled.

"My apologies," the soldier said, not sounding the least bit
apologetic. "At least now he is out of misery."

"Misery?" Damar growled. "He wasn't in misery. He was unconscious.
His life could have been saved, but you murdered him in cold blood."

"You are as pathetic as they say," his guard sneered at him. "A
soft-hearted dog."

"Soft-hearted because I care about the lives of my fellow
Cardassians?"

"If you cared about your fellow Cardassians, then you wouldn't be
rebelling against us."

"I don't rebel against you," Damar sneered, deciding to gamble on his
instincts about this situation that seemed so like his own. "I rebel
against this Alliance that have made Cardassians second-class
citizens in this quadrant."

"We'll regain our power soon enough, Terran-lover," the guard glared
at him. "And it won't take a fool-hardy rebellion to do it."

"Enough," the lead soldier barked. "We'll beam them back to our ship
and let Gul Dukat deal with this dog."

Kira snaked out her hand and gripped the soldier's arm. The soldier
winced in pain.

"Let's get this straight," Kira hissed at him. "This 'dog' is my
prisoner and I say what happens to him."

"Of course, Intendent," the soldier said. "I'm sure Gul Dukat will
agree."

Kira let go of him and the soldier issued the beam out order.

Damar materialized with the others onto the bridge of the Galor, two
rifles still aimed at his face. Dukat rose from his command chair
with a frown and moved forward.

"Intendent," Dukat said with a hooded expression. "And Gul Damar.
What an interesting surprise."

In an unexpected rush, Dukat grabbed the front of Damar's uniform and
slammed his fist into Damar's face. Damar staggered back, held up by
his two Cardassian guards. Dukat reared his fist back for another
blow when Kira leapt in front of him.

"How dare you treat my prisoner that way!" she snapped.

"Your prisoner, Intendent?" Dukat demanded.

"You heard me," Kira drew herself tall in front of him. "My prisoner.
Gul Damar was taken by the Bajoran Militia two days ago. We were on
our way to Cardassia Prime to turn him over to Central Command when
we were attacked."

"I see," Dukat said. "Since your ship is no longer in the condition
to make that trip, I think you should turn him over to me."

Kira snorted. "I don't think so. I'm not turning him over to anyone
until I get to the Central Command. And if you don't like that, Gul
Dukat, then perhaps I should reconsider. I could always give Damar as
a gift to the Klingons. I'm sure the Regent would be most
appreciative."

Dukat gave a lazy smile and looked Kira over from head to toe, his
eyes lingering on her breasts. Kira's cheeks flushed hot and Damar
grimaced. He might as well be in his own universe if he wanted to see
a scene like this one. He had witnessed similar scenes between those
two often enough during the Dominion occupation of Deep Space Nine.

Taking a step closer to Kira, Dukat purred, "So you know my name,
Intendent. I'm flattered."

"She knows your name," Damar dared to sneer, "because you told us
your name, you fool."

"Silence, traitor," Dukat snapped then looked back at Kira. "I'm sure
Regent Worf would enjoy having this disgraceful dog as a plaything,
but you know his place is with his people."

"Hmm, I suppose," Kira said then gave Damar a strange look. "But
then, I'm hesitant to part with him. He has made an interesting
plaything for me as well."

Damar stiffened. Plaything? When Dukat said plaything, he clearly
imagined Damar as a subject for torture. Kira sounded as though she
meant something entirely different. Dukat caught the connotation as
well.

"Really?" he drawled. "I heard that you didn't have much interest in
Cardassian playthings."

"Oh, I always keep my eye out for the perfect specimen of any race,"
Kira gazed at Damar with feigned lust and moved to his side. Reaching
up, she ran a finger around the edges of his eye ridge. Her touch on
his sensitive ridge gave him a shiver of pleasure he didn't want, and
he reared back from her.

"Keep your hands off of me!" he barked at her, not entirely acting
his role as her prisoner.

Kira chuckled and pressed against him. Damar tried to step back, but
the guards held him tightly, both of them grinning at Kira. She
trailed her finger down his cheek to his lips then looked him in the
eye.

"Trust me," she whispered so softly that he barely heard her.

"Not likely," he grunted.

"You never did know how to keep that beautiful mouth of yours shut,"
she purred at him, a note of danger in her voice.

Her finger ran along the edges of his lips. With a growl, he pulled
his head away.

"Oh, growl again," Kira said with a throaty laugh. "I like that."

Disgust filled Damar. What was Kira thinking? Clearly she was trying
to play the part of this Intendent, but it seemed absurd to him that
this apparently powerful woman would behave in such a wanton manner
towards a hated prisoner. And in front of strangers, no less. Damar
had no idea how he should be responding to this. Should he continue
to be resistant as all his instincts demanded or pretend to enjoy her
attentions? The idea of even pretending to enjoy this felt far too
unnatural for him.

Kira laugh was pure lust and she turned back to Dukat. "I'm not sure
yet if Gul Damar is the perfect Cardassian specimen. You see, I've
never seen him smile. No matter what I do. He's like a rock. A
strong, rather handsome rock. I have to admit, though, that I do like
the challenge."

"I can't imagine how any man could resist your charms, Intendent,"
Dukat said smoothly. Much like the other Dukat, Damar noted.

"Perhaps you could coax a smile out of him," Kira suggested and Damar
felt his knees go a little weak. Was she implying . . .?

"Well, I do have my own charms," Dukat smiled. "However, I wouldn't
want to waste them on this pathetic traitor. I'm not very interested
in seeing him smile. I much rather see him screaming in pain. For a
very long time."

"I'm afraid that torture won't work on him," Kira shook her head.
"Like I said. He's a rock. Very loyal to his cause. We did what we
could with him on Bajor, but he just wouldn't break."

"Cardassian methods are more effective than Bajoran methods in this
matter," Dukat said. "I'll make him talk for me."

"You'll just be wasting your time," Kira shrugged.

"It's my time to waste," Dukat replied. "And it's never a waste to
hear a man scream for mercy. Don't you agree?"

"That depends on the reason he's screaming. Out of pain or out of
pleasure."

"You're right," Dukat chuckled. "Both are highly satisfying."

With a lustful smile, Dukat moved to stand in front of Damar. He
reached out and traced his finger over Damar's eye ridge. Finding
this even more disturbing than when Kira had done this to him, Damar
yanked his head away. Dukat grabbed his chin with one hand then held
the ridge over Damar's left eye in a vice grip between finger and
thumb. He bit back a groan of pain as he tried to pull away.

Dukat laughed at Damar's agony then let go of the eye ridge and
traced his finger over Damar's lips. Damar could hardly bear the
humiliation of that.

"You do have a beautiful mouth," Dukat said, moving his face close to
Damar's, his eyes intent on Damar's mouth.

Suddenly terrified by what he imagined would happen next, Damar
grimaced and thrashed against the guards. Dukat laughed again and
patted Damar's cheek.

"You have much to answer for," Dukat purred. "And much to tell us. I
intend on hearing it all."

"I have nothing to say to you," Damar growled the truth and Dukat
laughed again.

"You're right, Intendent. I like hearing him growl as well. I'll like
it better when I hear him scream."

"Too bad you won't get that chance," Kira replied from behind him.
Damar looked up to see concern in her eyes. Whatever game she was
trying to play wasn't going well for either of them.

"Now, I suggest," Kira went on, "that you stop playing with my
prisoner and see to the repairs on my ship. I expect a new warp core
installed within the hour."

"Of course, Intendent," Dukat sighed, clearly disappointed, and he
turned away from Damar. "I'll have my engineers see to it
immediately. But an hour is too much to ask for. The damage to your
ship is quite severe. It will take at least a day."

"Fine," Kira huffed. "Then put Gul Damar on my ship in the crew
quarters under guard until we're ready to leave."

"I wouldn't hear of it," Dukat protested. "You and Damar will stay
here, of course. You are my guest, and you deserve the best
hospitality I can give you."

"That's very kind but I prefer . . ."

Dukat cut her off. "And Damar will stay here where he will give me
the answers I seek. The location of his rebel bases and the location
of the Terran bases."

"I forbid it!" Kira snapped. "I will say what Damar's fate is until I
turn him over to the Central Command."

"His fate? Our interrogators aren't so clumsy that they will kill
him. But they will extract the information the Bajorans failed to
retrieve from him."

"I will not allow you do to that to my prisoner," Kira glared at
Dukat.

"You have no choice."

"Of course I do. I am the Intendent."

"On Bajor. You're not on Bajor. You are on my ship, and I say what
happens to the people on my ship."

"If you do this, you won't have your ship for long," Kira threatened.
"I'll lodge a formal complaint to the Central Command against you.
You will be ruined. I have many powerful friends on Cardassia. I
think you're forgetting that."

"I haven't forgotten," Dukat shook his head. "I'm well aware of your
power."

"And I'm well aware of your lack of power," Kira sneered.

Dukat chuckled. "True. I'm just a common Gul. However, if I can make
Damar talk, my influence will grow with the Central Command. Rather
than stripping me of my rank and ship over your protest, I think they
will reward me."

"That's an awfully big gamble over a dog like Damar," Kira pointed
out.

"Perhaps, but gambling is so entertaining. And I've been dreadfully
bored. I know your reputation, Intendent. I know you really don't
mind that we torture Damar. You like pain, don't you?"

Kira snorted. "On the contrary. I like pleasure. And I have my own
ways of dealing with Damar, I assure you."

"I'm sure you do," Dukat smiled. "But your ways haven't been
effective. You've been trying to break a rock with a gentle hand. To
break a rock, you need a hammer."

Abruptly, Dukat turned away from her and nodded to Damar's guards.
"Take him to the interrogation room."

"Yes, sir," the guards responded eagerly and began to haul Damar away.

Damar struggled against them, knowing that was futile. Kira had
gambled and she had lost. Now Damar was going to pay the price. He
gave her a spiteful glare as they dragged him out of the bridge.

**

"You're going to regret this, Dukat," Kira snapped.

Damar's eyes bore into hers, all his resentment and rage piercing
her, as the guards forced him off the bridge. Her stomach tied itself
into knots.

"Perhaps," Dukat gave her another long look that made her skin crawl.

Everyone in the mirror universe was different, but Dukat didn't seem
all that different. He was still arrogant, though less self-assured,
and he definitely had less power. And his behavior towards Damar was
certainly surprising.

What was worse for Damar? Being tortured or having Dukat touch him in
such an intimate way? Or having her touch him in such an intimate
way? He must have hated that as much as she did.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to pretend to be sexually
attracted to Damar, but the Intendent couldn't be in a room of people
without acting sexually attracted to at least one of them. In this
case, the choice was either Dukat or Damar. Neither choice was
pleasant, but she couldn't abide even imagining herself acting
wantonly to Dukat even if he wasn't the same Dukat she knew. She had
hoped that by acting attracted to Damar she could protect him in some
way, but that didn't seem to be working.

"I am curious," Dukat said suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts,
"as to why you chose to hide your appearance when we contacted you."

Kira gave a nonchalant shrug. "Like you said. There have been reports
of rebel activity in this area. When you contacted me, I didn't know
if you were going to be friend or foe. I didn't want to take the risk
of revealing who I was."

"A wise precaution," Dukat nodded. "Don't worry. Your ship will be
repaired and your precious prisoner returned to you. You have my
word."

"A Cardassian's word? I've never had cause to trust a Cardassian.
Will you be the one to prove me wrong?"

"I will endeavor to do so," Dukat nearly growled, insult in his eyes.
"If you will excuse me, I have an interrogation to witness."

Dukat nodded to one of his officers. "Show the Intendent to the guest
quarters and see to her needs."

Kira gave a wary glance at the officer coming to her side. This was
quickly going from bad to worse. Somehow she had to stop Dukat from
torturing Damar but how? Acting like the Intendent as much as she was
able to, Kira strutted off the bridge, following the officer until he
brought her to the guest quarters.

She entered the dimly lit quarters glad she was no longer wearing the
jacket of her uniform. Like any Cardassian ship, this one was far too
hot, and she immediately lowered the temperature of the room. She
gave the room a study. Spartan as she expected it to be, with a
single bed and a desk set up with a computer terminal and a chair.
Kira sank down on the side of the bed. She had to turn this around
somehow. Their ship won't be ready for at least a day, assuming that
Dukat would keep his word, and that meant Dukat was free to do
whatever he wanted to Damar for that day.

Of course, Damar deserved pain. He deserved any pain that he
received. He deserved to be punished. Clearly justice was never going
to be served for his murder of Ziyal, so whatever punishment life
brought him, he deserved.

But torture? Did anyone deserve torture? Even him?

Well, she thought with a bitter snort, Damar wouldn't hesitate in
torturing someone else. That gave her pause. Or would he? He seemed
to have changed so much that Kira wasn't really sure just who Damar
was anymore.

Damar had lived quite comfortably as the sole occupier in a niche in
Kira's mind labeled "murderous thug". It was quite disconcerting to
have him burst out of that niche to vie for the position of "strong
and competent leader", a position he would share with Captain Sisko
and Martok among others in Kira's mind. That didn't sit well. Damar
might be on par with Martok as a leader. Maybe. But never with Sisko.
It was true that few people were on par with Sisko, who was many
things to Kira.

Kira's mind seemed to want to put Damar into many niches as well. He
was shouldering his way into the "strong, competent leader" and,
oddly enough, with his talk of a new Cardassia and with his bold,
open-minded approach to his rebellion, Damar was toeing into
"visionary". Damar a visionary? Kira would never have suspected that
to happen. Far worse was that Damar kept trying to sneak into the
niche labeled "freedom fighter", a niche filled with Bajorans, and
none of them would like to have a Cardassian join their company.

It was very annoying, but the more she tried to force the label
"murderous thug" on Damar, the more he slipped away from it. He had
simply outgrown it, and Kira knew she would have to accept the fact
that he wasn't just a murderous thug. He was a freedom fighter and a
strong leader fueled by the depth of his love for his people and his
vision for a better future for them. She had to give him those
things, whether she wanted to or not.

He inspired the people around him and held them all together with his
drive and commitment and hope-filled vision of Cardassia free and
renewed. Even Garak had gotten it into his mind that Damar was the
man to lead this new Cardassia. It had startled Kira when Garak had
said that. Garak wasn't someone to put so much faith into another
man, especially a man with Damar's history. After all, Garak had been
just as fond of Ziyal as Kira had been. At the time, she had wondered
what had gotten into Garak, but lately, she began to see why he felt
that way about Damar.

Standing, Kira paced the room. She hated Damar but he had begun to
earn her respect. It startled her to realize that sometimes she even
liked him. Regardless of how she felt about him, she couldn't bring
herself to actually believe that he deserved torture. That felt far
more like revenge than it felt like justice.

Kira circled the bed in thought. How to turn this around? What would
the Intendent do? Kira shuddered. She really didn't want to think
about what the Intendent would do, but Kira did have to pretend to be
her. How would the Intendent react to this? For one thing, she
thought with grim humor, she would hate this room. So drab and
uncomfortable. In fact, the Intendent would probably be a real bitch
over it.

Kira chuckled to herself and went to the comm unit.

"Intendent to Gul Dukat," she purred into the unit.

"Yes, Intendent," Dukat's voice filtered into the room.

"I need to see you immediately in my quarters."

"Can it not wait?" Dukat complained. "I'm a little busy right now."

"Certainly not," Kira snapped. "I'm not going to stay in this awful
room another minute unless you start showing me that famous
Cardassian hospitality and do something about it."

"Do something about what?"

"This room! Get in here now!"

"Very well," Dukat sighed with annoyance.

A few minutes later, Dukat arrived and Kira lit into him. She
complained about the bed. She complained about the chair. She
complained about the lighting and the color of the bulkheads and
anything else she could think of. Then she reminded him that she was
the Intendent of Bajor and expected to be treated as such. Kira made
such a pest of herself that Dukat had no choice but to comply with
her wishes.

That was how this Dukat was different from the Dukat she knew, Kira
realized as he rushed to obey her. This Dukat was too easily pushed,
too easily manipulated. She would have to use that to her advantage.

With the help of seemingly the entire crew and the ship's industrial
replicator, the room was transformed. A suitably large and
comfortable bed was installed. A padded chair for the desk. Paintings
for the walls and standing lamps around the bed. For at least an
hour, Kira had Dukat distracted from his bloodlust against Damar.

"Is there anything else, Intendent?" Dukat asked at last, sounding
annoyed and frustrated.

Kira grimaced. She couldn't think of anything else to keep Dukat
distracted. She shook her head and Dukat left.

A lot of fuss for nothing, Kira thought grimly, except to give Damar
a bit of rest. She started pacing again. This wouldn't do. Certainly
the Intendent would have made a stink about the shabby quarters. But
more in character would be to use her sexuality against Dukat. Invite
him to stay with her, have dinner and hint at more. Keep him
distracted from Damar. Only, there was something about this Dukat
that told her he was far more interested in Damar than he would be in
her. This Dukat like pain and he liked men and he apparently liked
the two together. Maybe he liked women and pain together as well.
Kira shivered. She never did understand sadism.

Kira moved over to the computer thinking that if she knew more about
Dukat and Damar in this universe, she could find something to end the
torture. She scanned the files and found standard military records.
Dukat was indeed a low ranking officer, and records hinted that his
current state came from the fact that he tended to be indecisive and
not follow through with his plans, which was certainly not like the
Dukat she knew. The various postings indicated a certain restlessness.

The Damar of this universe was more interesting. This Damar had been
born in the highest ranks of Cardassian society and had gained power
and rank at an early age. He had been on Council of the Central
Command and had a great deal of influence until he rebelled against
the Alliance.

The current situation certainly paralleled Damar's life in their own
universe. The Alliance had made Cardassia second to the Bajorans and
the Klingons, and though there were many plots to change that around,
only Damar had chosen to take up arms and rebel. Apparently, he had
some kind of loose alliance with the Terran rebels not unlike Damar's
loose alliance with the Federation. But unlike the Damar of her
universe, this universe's Damar didn't have much success in his
rebellion. In fact, it didn't look as though he had any successes at
all. She found no record of the alternate Damar attacking or
destroying anything, even though Central Command considered him
highly dangerous.

All in all, however, there wasn't much in the records that Kira
hadn't already guessed at. She rose from the desk feeling helpless.
Again, she wondered what the Intendent would do. Go and try to seduce
Dukat. As disturbing as that thought was, there didn't seem to be
another choice and even that might not work. Kira went to the
replicator. If she was going to act like the Intendent, she should
look the part. She ordered a new set of clothes, a tightly fitting
catsuit made of synthetic Tholian silk. The Intendent would have the
real thing, but Kira took what she could get.

Feeling vulnerable in the form-fitting suit, Kira left the quarters
and made her way down to security. There she found Dukat standing in
front of a large window and beyond the window, Kira saw a room.
Strapped to the platform in the middle of the room was a naked Damar
arching in pain. Perspiration poured over his body, and his scales
glistened under the unusually bright lamp positioned over his face.
Even Kira would have found that brightness intolerable. It must be a
hundred times worse on Damar's light sensitive eyes. Damar grunted
and growled as he quivered in agony, his face contorted in pain and
rage. Then the interrogator standing next to the bed hit a device,
and Damar's body slumped down in relief.

"I ask you again," Dukat said, his voice amplified into the
interrogation room. "Tell me the location of your bases."

Damar lay panting on the platform and ignored Dukat. Kira shook her
head. Was he still playing the rebel even through all of this? The
saddest part was that Damar actually didn't have the answers Dukat
wanted. How would he know where the rebel bases were in the alternate
universe? Damar could just as easily tell Dukat he wasn't the real
Damar here, that he came from another universe, but why should Dukat
believe that? All this pain for nothing.

"Pretty boring, isn't it?" Kira asked Dukat. "You turn on your
torture device, Damar grunts and flails with pain, you turn off your
torture device and he ignores your questions. The same thing over and
over. If I were you, I'd be falling over with boredom."

Dukat snorted. "It's not always the same. Sometimes I question him
when the device is on."

"But he hasn't said anything?"

"Not a word."

"Not even a scream?" Kira asked, running her eyes up and down Dukat's
lean body.

"No," Dukat sighed almost petulantly.

"There are other ways to break a man," Kira said. "And my favorite
way is to use his own body against him."

"That's a novel approach," Dukat's fingers rubbed at the side of his
eye ridge. "I'd like to see such a thing."

"Would you?" Kira gave a lustful chuckle. "I usually don't work with
an audience."

She nearly bit her lip after hearing those words coming out of her
mouth.

"I think you're right," Dukat said with a nod towards Damar. "This is
a little boring after a while. The man barely whimpers. But if he
whimpers for you, I would be satisfied. If I can watch."

"Oh, I'll make him do more than whimper," Kira said, knowing that if
she was going to go through with this, Damar would howl with
humiliation. "But I don't want you to be there."

"Of course," Dukat smiled and Kira almost sighed with relief until he
said, "I'll monitor your activities using the surveillance devices in
your quarters."

"You have surveillance devices in my quarters?" Kira went livid. "How
dare you invade my privacy!"

"They're standard procedure," Dukat said hastily. "And they're not
turned on, I assure you. However, they will allow me a full view on
the proceedings."

Kira turned away. This was bad. Very bad. How could she even consider
this? She was going to have to do penance to the Prophets for the
rest of her life for this one. Still, was there a choice? Which was
better, to have Damar suffer torture or suffer humiliation?

"Changing your mind, Intendent?"

"No, of course not," she snapped. "Have him cleaned up and brought to
my quarters immediately."

"As you wish," Dukat nodded and rubbed his eye ridge again.

Suppressing a shudder, Kira stalked away. This was bad, she repeated
to herself. How could she do this to a man she respected? How could
she do this to herself? Maybe there was another way out. She moved
down to the bays where their patrol ship was being repaired.
Engineers crawled the ship and Kira went up to one of the men.

"How much longer before this ship is ready?" she demanded.

"At least twelve hours, Intendent," the engineer replied.

"Good," she said and hurried away. Twelve hours. That seemed like an
eternity. She didn't see any shuttlecraft in the bay, so there didn't
appear to be any way off this ship until the patrol craft was ready
for them. At least it looked as though Dukat was keeping his word
about the repairs. Kira arrived back at her quarters and paced the
room until two guards dragged Damar in.

"Put him on the bed," she ordered and they shoved Damar down onto the
mattress. "Now, leave us."

The guards left the room. Splayed across the bed, Damar groaned. Kira
stared down at him. He was naked and he looked out of uniform pretty
much as she imagined him to look. Muscular and hard with a broad
shoulders and heavy thighs. Scales covered his body in interesting
and rather pleasing patterns. Instead of hair, layers of tiny scales
swirled around his testicular pod. For one insane moment, Kira
wondered what those scales felt like. Would they be stiff and hard or
soft and yielding?

Kira had seen a naked Cardassian before, but she had never taken the
time to study one up close. And just when she was nearly finished
taking in the sight, Damar curled up to sit and dragged the bed
covering over his body. She looked up to see humiliation and anger in
his eyes.

"Please, Commander," he grumbled. "You're taking this Intendent
business far too much to heart."

She moved closer and crouched down beside the bed. "We're being
monitored," she whispered. "Watch what you say. Are you all right?"

"As well as can be expected," he snarled.

"Look, I'm sorry it came to this."

Damar visibly swallowed his anger as he nodded.

"I know," he admitted. "You tried to stop it. And you did. What did
you say to Dukat to make him stop?"

"Nothing you're going to like. Dukat's given you a choice. Would you
prefer to be tortured with pain or tortured with pleasure?"

"Tortured with pleasure?" A wild look came into Damar's eyes. "What
are you talking about? You don't mean with Dukat! I'll take the pain!"

"No, no," Kira said softly. "Quiet down. I mean with me."

Damar froze. "With you?" he stammered. "I think I'll still take the
pain."

Kira felt oddly insulted by that. "Believe me, there won't be any
pleasure in this for me either."

This time Damar looked a little insulted.

"I have to keep playing the Intendent," she whispered. "That means I
have to do what the Intendent would do. I have to seduce you."

Damar snorted. "Good luck with that."

"You can react to this any way you want. Resist it as much as you
can. I'm just trying to buy us some time and keep Dukat from hurting
you."

His icy eyes softened. "Kira, you don't want to do this," he
whispered. "Spare yourself this humiliation. I can handle Dukat's
torture. Don't do this to yourself. It's demeaning for both of us."

"We're in this together, Damar. In this universe, we're all we have.
Dukat demands that you suffer. At least, this way I'll be suffering
with you instead of helplessly watching. I've made him think that I
can get you to talk if I seduce you."

"And he fell for that?" Damar whispered. "He thinks I'm stupid enough
to talk just by having sex with you? Not that I know anything about
this other rebel Damar to talk about."

"You're not going to have sex with me," Kira shook her head, and
Damar looked confused but relieved. "I told you this is torture
through pleasure. It'll keep Dukat distracted and satisfy his . . .
whims."

"His whims!" Damar barked then immediately quieted down. "You said he
wasn't going to . . . be a part of this."

"He is, in a way," Kira hedged then gave a grimace. "He's going to
watch."

"What kind of sick bastard is he?" Damar hissed. "First this
Intendent of yours then Dukat. Is everyone in this universe like
this?"

"From what I can tell, yes. It's all sex and violence and power
struggles here. Except maybe the Ferengi. They're the only ones who
seem to have any decency here."

"The Ferengi?" Damar let out a laugh. "This is a twisted universe."

"It is," Kira agreed softly. "Just keep playing your part and pretend
to be the other Damar."

"I wonder how twisted he is," he grumbled.

"He might not be so different from you," Kira told him. "You know
he's rebelled so you have to have some things in common with him.
Also, he was once very powerful and had an influential position in
the Central Command."

"Which position?"

"Head of the Ministry of Finance."

"So, my counterpart gave up an awful lot of power," he murmured
thoughtfully.

"Just like you did."

He grimaced. "Commander, I never had any power. Just the veneer of
it."

"Your counterpart hasn't been as successful in his rebellion as
you've been."

"Probably because he doesn't have you helping him."

She blinked at him, realizing that he had just complimented her. As
she opened her mouth to respond, the door of the quarters slid open
and Dukat walked in.

"What are you waiting for?" he demanded. "Is this your idea of
foreplay? All this whispering?"

Kira straightened from the bed. "I'm just trying to calm him down.
Look at him. He's in bad shape. I think your torturer was a little
sloppy."

"If he is weakened, then your job should go easier," Dukat sneered as
he looked Damar over. "What a lucky man you are to go from my
interrogation chamber to the Intendent's bed."

"Torture is torture," Damar snarled. "Nothing you or she will do to
me will break me. This is a lot of nonsense anyway. Who ever heard of
torture through sex?"

"I admit, it is unorthodox," Dukat nodded. "But you know the
Bajorans. They can be very creative when they decide to humiliate a
person. Just imagine, Damar. Once you were an influential man with a
seat in the Central Command just one step away from becoming one of
the youngest Legates in history, and now here you are about to become
the Intendent's sex toy. How low have the mighty fallen."

"You wouldn't know about falling from such great heights, would you?"
Damar sneered. "You're just a common Gul. You don't have the
wherewithal to even try to attain the power I have had."

"Whatever power you have had, you were born to," Dukat spat. "Unlike
you, I've worked for what I have attained. And I don't intend on
letting go of it."

Damar laughed. "What you have attained is a mere Galor with a crew of
three hundred at the beck and call of the Alliance. Do you think I
should be envious of that?"

Kira stepped between them, noticing something that perhaps Damar
didn't. Dukat's neck ridges were darkening. A definite sign of
arousal, if Kira remembered correctly.

"Now, Damar," she admonished him. "Stop flirting with Gul Dukat or
else I'll think you're more interested in him than in me."

Damar opened his mouth to protest then he turned a dark gray from
humiliation and snapped his mouth closed. Dukat, on the other hand,
looked pleased and far too self-satisfied.

"Can I or my men assist you in any way?" Dukat asked her.

"Yes," Kira said. "Secure him to the bed."

"What?" Damar leapt up, holding the blankets around him.

"I don't want you running away from me," Kira simpered as Dukat
signaled to the two guards outside the room.

Two guards weren't enough to hold down Damar, and Dukat was all too
willing to help haul the struggling Damar onto the bed and tie his
hands and feet to the bedposts.

"Stop this!" Damar bellowed. "Kira, don't do this to me!"

Kira shook her head. "It's either pain or pleasure, Damar."

"At this point," Damar growled. "I don't see much difference in that."

"Not too tightly," Kira warned the men. "Let him move a bit. That's
better. Now, leave us. All of you. Including you, Gul Dukat."

"Of course," he gave an evil grin at Damar lying prone on his back on
his bed. "Enjoy yourself."

Damar grunted, still a dark gray from the humiliation of it all. And
he shivered. Kira realized that the room was too cold for him.

"Computer, raise the temperature to 32c," Kira ordered.

"That's too warm for you," Damar muttered and Kira smiled at his
thoughtfulness. "I can deal with the pain. Really. Let him torture
me. I'll be all right."

Kira shook her head.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" he bellowed and pulled at
the constraints around his wrists.

"I told you," Kira sighed, moving to his side. "You can react to this
in any way you want. You can even try to enjoy it, though it is
keeping character for you to resist."

"Oh, I'll resist all right," he sneered at her. "You think that you,
of all people, can make me aroused? Don't bet on it. Certainly not
this way. I don't like these kind of games."

Dukat should be watching them by now, Kira thought. Time to start
acting the part. Kira leaned over Damar and trailed her finger around
the scales that swirled around his right nipple. The scales were soft
and yielding to her touch. He scowled at her.

"What I have learned," Kira said in a louder tone, "is that all
species are, in the end, slaves to their own bodies."

She moved her finger slowly around the nipple, then gave the nipple a
firm rub. It hardened at her touch.

"And it will be your body that will betray you, Damar," she purred.
"Whether you want this or not."

Kira stoked his chest, feeling the scales ripple under her palm. She
had never had any sort of sexual encounter with a Cardassian and had
never wanted one. True, she had nearly been raped a time or two, but
she had successfully fought off her Cardassian aggressors. Kira
didn't have first-hand knowledge about what would please a
Cardassian, but she had heard some interesting gossip in the past.
The eye ridges and neck ridges were erogenous zones. They liked their
mates a little rough and aggressive as long as they could be rough
and aggressive back. Once they were aroused, the males and the
females were considered insatiable. But that could be Cardassian ego
talking. Kira had never been interested in finding out if that was
true or not, but now she might have that chance.

Kira continued her close and intimate inspection of Damar's body,
running her hand down over his scaled breast and smooth-skinned
abdomen, stopping for a moment to examine the navel in his flat
stomach. So interesting that there were mammalian and reptilian
traits in Cardassians. She hadn't considered that before. Hair and
nipples and breasts along with scales and ridges and cool skin.

She ran her hand down to the tiny scales around his testicular pod.
They seemed to flutter under her fingers in a pleasing way. Soft and
yielding as she had hoped them to be. Glancing at Damar's face, she
saw that he had his eyes squeezed shut. Probably imaging some
Cardassian woman was doing this to him rather than her. Whatever will
make this easier on you, Damar, she thought.

Kira hesitated at looking down further to his testicular pod nestled
in the bed of soft scales. All her senses of morality screamed and
bucked at her to stop this. But her morality couldn't allow Damar to
suffer physical pain either. At first look, Cardassian males didn't
seem to have an external sex organ, only a bunging, scale-covered
pod. The scales interlocked together looked pump, like the leaves of
a succulent plant. The danger was in the opening of the pod. Once it
opened and his penis free, it couldn't be closed again until he was
sated.

Her eyes moved away from Damar's thick pod, down to his thighs. Damar
would never win a contest for beautiful legs, but those thighs looked
powerful and strong. Scales covered the outside of his thighs, but on
the inside, his skin was smooth. She ran her hand along the inside of
his thigh, feeling muscle and fat and tissue, firm yet yielding under
her hand. Damar twitched a bit and she smiled. She continued to
massage the inside of his thighs then ran her hands up around his
hips, and she slipped her hands beneath his butt. His cheeks were
smooth and taut, a bit like how she expected them to feel. She had to
admit that she had always thought Damar had a nicely shaped ass.

Kira pulled her hands away then took a deep breath. She went back to
his face and caressed his eye ridges, feeling the bumps under her
fingers. Damar tried to turn his head away from her, but she held his
chin and lowered her mouth down to lick the edges of the ridges. As
an experiment, she bit lightly at the ridges and Damar gave a slight
grunt. Then she kissed the ridge and moved her mouth down along his
smooth cheek towards his mouth. Very lightly, she kissed his lips.

Damar struggled violently away from her, and she saw him glaring at
her in horror. He was right. No kisses on the mouth. That was
something lovers did. This wasn't about love. Kira moved her mouth
away from his and down his ridged chin.

She found the spot under his chin just above the throat and gave it a
little lick to see how he responded. That was a Bajoran erogenous
zone, that soft, yielding area under the chin, but it didn't seem to
do much for him. Kira leaned down over him, nearly lying on his
chest, and moved her mouth to the neck ridges. There, she knew, she
had to begin her assault. She ran her tongue over the edges, feeling
the interlocking ridges bump over her tongue.

---

Damar tried to lie perfectly still and ignore what was happening to
him. It wasn't working. He couldn't believe Kira was demeaning
herself and him like this. It was almost as if she had turned into
this Intendent. And having Dukat watch? The real Dukat, his Dukat,
would never stand for such a thing. He would never be a passive
voyeur, and he would be in a fit of jealously if he knew Kira was
giving Damar exactly the kind of attention Dukat had always craved
from her.

At first, Damar was sure Kira couldn't arouse him. She was going at
it a bit too slowly and gently, as though unsure of herself. She
probably was. He doubted that she had ever had sex with a Cardassian.
The way she had examined almost every inch of him with her eyes and
her hands, she had probably never even touched a naked Cardassian.
She seemed a bit fascinated by him, in a detached sort of way. As
though he was some kind of specimen to be examined and experimented
on.

Still, what she had done so far had felt nice. He always did like to
have his nipples rubbed and that massage she gave his thighs was
certainly pleasant. Not arousing but a nice way to begin foreplay.
Kira seemed to know how stimulating his eye ridges were, and he
almost wished she had caressed and had bitten him a bit harder there.

Then she had kissed his mouth and Damar couldn't abide that. He could
spend hours kissing a woman he wanted, a woman who wanted him, but
that sort of kissing was far to personal for this. Kira seemed to
understand that and backed off.

So, Damar felt secure that he could resist Kira's rather hesitant
attempts to arouse him. Then she started on his neck ridges and all
hope fled. She laid over him and Damar could feel the softness of her
breasts against his. She nibbled and licked and rubbed his neck
ridges, becoming a little, then a little more rough with him. Then
she buried her wet mouth into his shoulder crest and ran her tongue
up against his scales and a shiver of pleasure rippled over his body.
She suckled at his neck and nipped at his skin and the more she did
this, the warmer he felt.

He knew he had lost the battle when she began to rub her body against
his. Under the soft, synthetic silk, Damar felt her hard erect
nipples caress his breasts. She kept her face calm, but those erect
nipples told him that she was enjoying this. Suddenly, Kira swung her
leg up and she straddled his waist, her abdomen to his abdomen, her
breasts against his. The weight of her felt good and the edge of her
ass shifted against his testicular pod.

Damar tried to maintain his composure, tried not to give any
indication that he was finding this increasingly pleasurable. This is
just a biological response, he lectured himself, and willed himself
to keep control. That didn't work. He felt himself harden, his penis
pushing against the interior of his pod, prying open the thick,
glandular scales that began to pull apart in response.

Kira's mouth continued to explore his neck, her warm, wet lips
pressing down hard against his ridges. Then she shifted up and
started on his eye ridges again, this time much more roughly. In
spite of himself, he groaned. Licking and biting him, Kira arched
over him, and he felt her breast rubbing up against his chin.

Oh, that breast. How he longed to have his hands free so that he
could cup that warm flesh in his palm and caress the hard nipple with
his fingers. Then the breast bobbed close to his face, and he saw her
nipple straining against the silk. Damar snaked his head forward and
nipped at it lightly with his teeth.

Kira immediately reared back and glared down at him. Damar met her
glare with a scowl. So that's how it was. She could touch him all she
wanted but he wasn't allowed to reciprocate. He never did like this
kind of one-sided sex. This game of bondage that made one player
passive to the actions of another. As arousing as all of this was,
Damar found far greater satisfaction in pleasuring a woman while she
pleasured him. Nothing pleased him more than exploring a woman's
body. He loved being with women, to the detriment of his marriage. If
he wanted, if he could, he would find immense pleasure in exploring
Kira in the same fashion she had explored him.

Kira turned away and shifted in her seat on top of him to look behind
her. She gave a smug nod and he knew what she saw. His pod continued
to open, his glandular scales pulling back to reveal the soft,
sensitive skin on their undersides. Damar couldn't stop it if he
tried. Her smile turned a bit too self-satisfied for his liking. She
was enjoying her control over his body far too much. He met her smile
with a scowl.

Kira shifted again then she was off of him, slipping between his
thighs, her face towards him, her eyes on his opening pod and his
penis nearly erect enough to flower into full view. With a light
touch, she traced her finger around the edges of his glandular scales
and a shiver of pleasure shook him. Becoming more rough, she rubbed
her hand over his throbbing pod, pressing and kneading. Maybe she did
have experience with Cardassian sex after all.

Against his will, his penis thickened, his heavy scales pulling back,
and the exquisite, frustrating pleasure from the pressure made him
groan. Kira smiled in response, and Damar glared at her as she
continued to rub his sensitive scales. With a throaty growl, he felt
all his glandular scales open and fall backward as his engorged penis
became fully free.

Kira's eyes widened as she watched his body respond to her
ministrations. Clearly it fascinated her, and while he found that
flattering, his humiliation only deepened. He had never been very
modest but having some one give him such a close examination was
disconcerting. Damar had never felt more vulnerable and he hated it.

Kira continued to explore his sex with eyes and her hands. As though
hesitant to touch his penis, she continued to rub the soft, yielding
skin of the undersides of his scales. That alone gave Damar paroxysms
of arousal. Finally, her hands moved to his penis fully erect within
the bed of thick scales. She caressed him, exploring every inch of
his penis with her fingers. Then she wrapped her hand around his
throbbing shaft and gave it a squeeze. Damar gasped.

She rubbed him and rubbed him, up and down, and Damar's body jolted
with every movement as he became harder and harder. He saw desire in
her eyes and a hungry smile on her face and that only made him
further aroused.

Then she did the unthinkable. From Kira, the unimaginable. She
hesitated for a moment then closed her eyes and sank her mouth down
over his shaft. Damar nearly lost control as he entered her hot, wet
mouth. This was too much. He tried to rear back, but there was no
where he could go. Kira didn't relent. Her mouth felt electrifying
and her tongue lapped around his penis, exploring every ridge,
sucking and licking around his glans. She sucked and Damar groaned,
suddenly afraid that he was going to come into her mouth. He wanted
to come. Had to come. But that would be too much. He would only prove
her point that he couldn't control himself.

He didn't want this. He didn't want his first sex act with Kira to go
like this. What was he thinking? He didn't want any kind of sex act
with Kira at all! But oh, he wanted his hands free to feel her and
caress her while she caressed him. He wanted her and that felt
strange. Just a physical reaction, he reminded himself. He respected
Kira and admired her but that was all that he felt. That and this
suddenly incredible desire to feel the inside of her vagina. He tried
to banish that thought as his penis became so hard and throbbing that
he thought it would burst.

"Kira, stop," he whispered, knowing he was going to ejaculate at any
moment. The pressure nearly made him dizzy with ecstasy. But her
mouth kept going, sucking, in and out, hot and wet.

The wonderful, agonizing pressure built and built and just when he
was about to lose control and come, suddenly Kira was off him. She
rose from the bed and stared down at him. In astonishment, he glared
at her, his cock throbbing, begging for release. Was she just going
to leave him like this?

"Now," she said coolly. "Tell me the location of your rebel bases."

Damar nearly laughed. "They're on Risa. Where you and I should be."

Kira didn't seem to appreciate the joke. She only stood there looking
down at him with a smug expression and Damar could swear that she was
gloating. Grinding his teeth, he felt the heat of rage soak into him.
She really was going to torture him by leaving him in such need. By
utterly humiliating him with her power over him in this sordid
situation. He knew he couldn't trust her. Damar nearly howled in
frustration.

---

Kira had to give him credit. Damar certainly had an astonishing
control over himself not to allow himself to come as he clearly
wanted to. Maybe that trait was a Cardassian thing.

"Tell me where they are," she repeated then leaned over to run her
finger over the fascinating ridges along his engorged shaft. Damar
bucked under her touch, straining against the bindings around his
wrists and ankles in a futile attempt to get away from her.

"Tell me and I'll give you release," Kira said softly. "You're so
ready to now."

She rubbed him, bumping her finger over the ridges. Damar let out a
shuddering groan.

"Please, Kira," he stammered, wild in the eyes.

She wondered if he meant please leave him alone or please satisfy
him. Oh, yes. This was torture for him all right. She chuckled,
holding him in her hand, pleased to have made him beg. Then she
stroked his thick penis just to hear him groan again.

This was getting to her. At first, she told herself that it was just
the heat of the room, but she knew the growing wetness between her
thighs wasn't sweat. This was more arousing than she had imagined it
would be. She almost wished she could untie his hands. Doing all the
work herself was a little tiring.

"I thought you said there wouldn't be any pleasure in this for you,"
he accused in a raspy voice, his face growing dark with rage and
humiliation.

Annoyed that he seemed to read what she was feeling, Kira remained
focused on her act as the Intendent. "It's always a pleasure to have
a man squirm in my hands," she said smugly then gave him a little
squeeze.

He grunted more out of frustration than pleasure then fixed his angry
eyes on her. "So, how long have you been wanting to do this to me,
Kira?" he sneered at her.

She stiffened in insult at that and bit off a retort of denial.
Instead, she reached down and grabbed one of his thick pod scales,
squeezing it as hard as she could. He was forgetting that Dukat was
listening. She couldn't allow that. Damar's face contorted in agony
as he visibly struggled not to scream in pain. His back arched,
trying to pull away from her.

"You forget your place, rebel traitor," she spat.

"I beg your pardon, Intendent," Damar snarled through his pain,
spitting the word "Intendent" very pointedly at her.

Instantly, Kira let go of him and he slumped back onto the bed, his
face still creased in pain. She felt suddenly soiled by her actions.
This was supposed to be about pleasure, not pain. Maybe Damar had
been right. Maybe she was taking this Intendent business too much too
heart. This was just a game, after all. Nothing more than an act for
Dukat. No need to take it so far. Just an act. She ran her fingers
lightly over the soft scales surrounding his open pod.

"If you don't tell me where your bases are," she purred, "this cock
of yours will be left unattended and unfulfilled. You want
fulfillment. You want to tell me so you can feel my mouth again."

"That's the last thing I want," Damar growled, though she knew that
was a lie, then he let out a shuddering sigh of frustration.

"Are you telling me you'd still rather be in Dukat's interrogation
room?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"I'd rather be anywhere than stuck in this room with you," he spat.

"Really?" Kira grasped his throbbing penis, sliding her hand over it,
feeling the ridges bump, bump, bump against her palm. He was so hard
and erect that the small ridges stood out straining against his skin.
She wondered what it would feel like inside of her then banished that
tantalizing thought. Bending over him again, she rubbed her tongue
down his shaft.

"Really?" she repeated, as she licked about his dark gray glans,
savoring his taste. "You really don't like this?"

He grimaced and looked away. "I like it and I hate it. It's against
my consent."

Stiffening, she reared back as a horrible shame came over her. By the
Prophets. What was this other than rape? Her hands flying up to her
mouth, guilty tears came into her eyes. How could she have done this?
She looked away from him.

"This is what your Alliance has brought you to," Damar's voice cut
into her thoughts. She blinked at him. He was still acting his role.
After all of this. "Demeaning yourself for the pleasure of that
pathetic voyeur Dukat with a man who doesn't even want you."

Kira felt so ashamed that no words came to her.

"Do you even know what sex is anymore, Intendent?" Damar challenged.
"I mean real sex between two people finding sheer pleasure in just
being alive with each other. Or is sex just these twisted games to
you? Bondage and enslavement of your powerless 'companions'? Do you
even know what it's like to just make love? To let a man simply hold
you and love you?"

Kira's mouth fell open as she realized what he was saying. He was
giving her an opening, an excuse to untie his hands and end this
demeaning game of bondage. Damn, he could be clever at times. Kira
moved towards him.

"Is that what you want?" she asked. "To feel me? To caress me? Or are
you just saying this because you hope I'll allow you to enter me if I
let you hold me?"

"Yes, I want to enter you," Damar said with arousing conviction. "I
want to feel myself inside of you and release myself. I want to hold
your breasts and bite at your nipples and feel your pubic hairs
against my face."

Kira swallowed. She suddenly wanted that too. She wanted that very
much and just the thought of Damar touching her sent ripples of
pleasure over her. Her sex throbbed with anticipation. She stepped
closer still then the door of the quarters flew open and Dukat rushed
in.

"I'm beginning to wonder," Dukat said, glaring at Kira, "just who is
the seducer here."

"Go away, Dukat," Kira snapped at him. "I'm not finished."

"This game of yours is going nowhere," Dukat sneered.

"Oh, I don't know," Kira shook her head coolly. "I have him aroused
and begging for release. It's only a matter of time. I can keep him
hard like that and unfulfilled for hours. When I finally do give him
mercy and allow him to release himself, he will tell me everything I
need to know."

Dukat snorted. "Look at him. He can barely contain himself as it is.
One touch will send him over the edge."

With that, Dukat reached out and ran the back of his fingernail along
the underside of Damar's penis. Horror and disgust and ecstasy
twisted Damar's face as he let out a ragged breath and tried to pull
away from Dukat. Dukat grabbed Damar's cock in his hand and squeezed
it hard. Pre-ejaculation cum glistened on the tip. Kira grimaced.

"Leave him alone, Dukat," she insisted.

"I don't think so," Dukat snarled at her. "I think he likes me
around. Don't you, Damar?"

Dukat's hand tightened around Damar's cock, then slid down it in a
quick, fast movement.

"You're deluded, Dukat," Damar gasped out, his face dark with rage.

Kira grabbed Dukat's arm and tried to drag him away from Damar.

"I said, leave him alone!" Kira insisted, succeeding in pulling Dukat
away. "He's my prisoner and I'll do what I like with him without your
interference."

"As long as he's on my ship, I consider him my prisoner," Dukat spat.

Then suddenly, oddly, Damar began to laugh.

"The two of you," he said in humored disgust and his laugh had an
edge of wildness to it. "Don't you see how pathetic you are? Arguing
like two dogs over a scrap of meat. I'd feel flattered if I weren't
so disgusted by the both of you. Dukat, you're a Cardassian. Have you
no self-respect? Or has the Alliance crushed that out of you? Like
they are doing to Cardassia itself."

"I don't need a lecture about self-respect from a traitor like you,"
Dukat sneered at him.

"Ah, but that's why I rebelled," Damar smiled. "Out of self-respect.
You see, you've been asking me the wrong questions. Instead of asking
me where my bases are, you should be asking me why I rebelled."

"I couldn't care less," Dukat declared.

"I'm curious," Kira said. "Why did you rebel? Why did you leave the
security and order of the Alliance for the anarchy of rebellion?"

"Because I was losing the last ounce of my self-respect under the
thumb of the Dom . . . Alliance," Damar told her. "I finally realized
what they were doing to me and to Cardassia, and I couldn't allow
that to continue."

Damar looked at Dukat. "And you, Dukat, if you love Cardassia,
shouldn't allow it to continue either."

"I do love Cardassia," Dukat protested. "And I know Cardassia's
rightful place is in the Alliance. I know things aren't going how we
wanted at first but we'll turn that around. Your rebellion isn't
helping Cardassia. It's hurting Cardassia."

"Don't you see what's happening under your nose?" Damar snapped.
"Don't you see what this Alliance has done to you? Look at yourself.
I've never seen a man more bored with life. Day in and day out
running errands for the Alliance. You're so bored it takes torturing
and demeaning a man just to give yourself a little jolt. You can be
so much more than this, Dukat. You long for action and adventure, and
you long to give the best service to Cardassia that you can give. And
you know that the best service to Cardassia isn't being a lapdog to
the Alliance. I can give you those things, Dukat. I can give you
action and adventure all on behalf of the Cardassia we both love. You
can feel the adrenaline of a noble, righteous fight. With me, you'll
never be bored again. I promise you that."

Kira stared at him. She couldn't deny that Damar had his moments and
this was undoubtedly one of them. Here he was in the most humiliating
position a man could be in, yet he radiated power and authority and
leadership. Dukat couldn't help but be swayed by him. She felt swayed
by him herself, her admiration of him making her heart thump. All she
had to do was to push Dukat over the edge.

"Oh, don't listen to him, Dukat," Kira sneered. "You know he's a
fool. Action and adventure? What nonsense. You need the safety and
security of the Alliance. The peace and the easy life we give you.
Cardassia belongs in the Alliance. Cardassia is too weak to stand on
its own. It always was and it always will be. Without the Alliance,
Cardassia will crumble."

"There, you see, Dukat," Damar said. "That's what the Alliance thinks
about Cardassia. That we're weak and pathetic. Well, I plan on
proving them wrong. We are strong and courageous, and when we have
defeated the Alliance, the Klingons and the Bajorans will cower in
fear of our power. You can be a part of all of that at my side,
Dukat. Join me."

Dukat studied Damar, confusion and doubt and more than a little
respect in his eyes, then he shook his head.

"Finish him," Dukat said, gesturing to Damar's still swollen cock.
"Or untie him and let him do the job himself. I'll turn off the
surveillance monitors. Torture may not break him but neither does
humiliation."

With that, Dukat left the room, and Damar sank back against the
pillows of the bed, clearly relieved.

"What do you think he'll do?" Kira wondered. "Do you think he'll join
you?" She laughed. "I mean, the other Damar?"

"I don't know, nor do I care," Damar growled. "I just want away from
this insane universe. Commander, untie me. I assume we're done with
our little charade."

Kira moved to the bed and tied his wrists and ankles. "You were . . .
well, you were very convincing."

"I assume you mean with Dukat," Damar said as he sat up and rubbed
his wrists. "Just trying to stay in character."

"I think you were more than acting," Kira said.

"Well, I meant some of the things I said. The rest," he shrugged. "I
really don't want Bajor to cower in fear of Cardassia. We've tried
that and look where it's gotten us. It just brought out the worst in
us. I want us to be the best we can be, not the worst. When the war
is over, I hope to open a real dialogue with Bajor and work out a
real peace."

"I want that, too, Damar," Kira replied.

"I know you do," Damar said. "You started the peace by coming to help
me, Commander. If you and I can work together, I don't see why
Cardassia and Bajor can't."

"Perhaps so," Kira nodded. "But I didn't start it. You did. Because
you were strong enough to agree to work with me."

"And because you were equally strong," Damar gave her a smile.
"Everything we've accomplished, we've accomplished together."

He pulled his legs over the side of the bed with a groan and sat for
a minute shaking his head.

"Are you all right?" Kira asked, coming closer to him.

"I'm just reminding myself that this isn't the worst day of my life,"
Damar said. "I've almost convinced myself of it."

Kira looked down at him and saw that he was still very hard. Very
erect. He looked uncomfortable. And some part of her, even now that
their act for Dukat had finished, wanted to feel him again. She felt
just as unfulfilled as he obviously was. Just a biological reaction,
she told herself, only it felt like more than that. It felt as
though, through their intimacy, they had reached some kind of a
breakthrough.

Damar had never spoken to her in such a way, so sincerely and
earnestly, with a touch of gratitude and a sense of unity. He had
never talked so openly about Bajor and Cardassia and his hope of
peace. In the end, they shared the same goals, and for the first time
in a long time, Kira felt assured about the future of their two
peoples. As long as Cardassia had a leader like him, and as long as
she could continue to help him towards the goal of peace, she
believed true peace would come at last. It all made her respect and
admiration for him deepen.

After the experience of intimately touching him, and in their
strange, precarious situation in the alternate universe, and with
their shared goals, Kira felt united with Damar. She sensed he felt
the same.

"Are you . . ." Kira started to ask then made clumsy gesture at his
engorged penis. "Are you sure you're going to be all right?"

Damar looked at her with conflicted eyes, and an awkward moment
passed between them. He wanted her, Kira realized, and he knew he
couldn't have her. She wanted him and knew how wrong that was. It had
all been a game, after all. Just an act for Dukat. Arousing,
unsatisfying and not real. Damar stood.

"I just need a shower and some sleep," he said then turned away from
Kira.

She watched him walk across the room. Realizing her eyes lingered on
his rear, she looked away and wondered what might have been.

---

Damar shambled into the shower room, grateful at last to a have a
little privacy. His need to be sated would go away on its own
eventually, but when a Cardassian had been aroused as much as he had
been, it would be quite some time before his need was completely
gone. A cold water shower would help but not this basic sonic shower.
If anything, the pulse of the sonics would just arouse him further.

He took hold of his cock and looked down at it. If he didn't take
care of this, he wouldn't be able to pull his pants on.

"Ah, my betrayer," Damar chuckled at his engorged penis. "Kira was so
right about you. You have gotten me into more trouble than even my
temper has. Well, this isn't first time, and I'm afraid to say that
it won't be last."

Turning on the sonics, he leaned back against the wall and jerked at
his cock. This wasn't going to take long. He closed his eyes and
imagined the faces of his myriad mistresses. So soft and kind they
were, so yielding. So easy to please. Too easy. They had only wanted
him for his power, and he had only wanted them for sex. Sad, really.
How much different was that from being like Kira's Intendent?

He thought of his wife and felt nothing but sorrow. He had loved her,
the mother of his only child, the kind of love that only came from
arranged marriages. The kind that grew slowly. How much more could he
have loved her if he had given her more attention and spent less time
with his mistresses? She had been a strong, stubborn woman, and he
had only just begun to see her compassionate side when they were
forced to separate at the start of his rebellion.

He felt sorrow and he felt hatred roil within him against the
Dominion. They would pay for her death. For the death of his precious
son. That odious Vorta would pay.

In his rage and sorrow and arousal, Damar ejaculated in a milky
stream, cleaned away by the sonics. But Kira had aroused him too
much, and he went back to work trying to ease the enormous pressure
still captured within him.

Kira. How he longed for her. How amazing that he longed for her. He
had never imagining lusting for her but now, after seeing the desire
for him in her eyes and knowing just how arousing she could be, he
longed to feel her hidden breasts and feel himself inside of her. No,
when he had said those things to her, he hadn't been acting. And he
thought that she wanted him just as much.

He wondered how this was going to play out. Was this another personal
feeling he was going to have to shunt aside for the sake of his
cause? Would they pretend this day had never happened and continue on
as though they had never shared such passionate looks between them?
Probably. She may lust for him as he now did for her, but she still
hated him. That was understandable. He didn't expect forgiveness. He
didn't deserve it. And Kira's heart belonged to another man. She
loved Odo. Kira was, in spite of her activities this day, a very
moral, spiritual person. Not someone to give in to a purely physical
attraction.

Very well, he thought, Kira's face, her shining dark eyes, in his
mind as he ejaculated a second time. He wouldn't want to hurt her or
Odo. If they had to pretend none of this had happened, he could live
with that. It was only lust, after all. Not love.

He walked out of the shower and into the room, still nude. He didn't
see any reason to cover himself. Kira sat at the edge of the bed and
when she looked up, he saw shame and confusion in her eyes.

"Commander?" Damar moved towards her. "Are you all right?"

"I will be," Kira said, and Damar watched her put on her cool,
professional mask, the same face she wore whenever she had to deal
with him in the resistance. Now that he had seen what she was like
when she was warm and caring, he didn't like the mask. She was
distancing herself from him again. He dampened down his own feelings
about that. It was, after all, to be expected.

"We're not out of this yet," he said, sitting down on the bed a
respectable distance from Kira. "If Dukat decides to join the
rebellion, he's not just going to let us slip away."

"You'll think of something to tell him," Kira said.

"You're the one with the plans, Commander," Damar pointed out.

"Well, obviously my plans don't always work out," she snapped, her
cool mask slipping off.

Looking away from her, he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure how
to respond to any of it. She was clearly upset about what had
happened, more upset than he was.

"I'm just feeling confused, that's all," Kira murmured.

"I'm feeling that way myself," Damar admitted.

"I really didn't want any of this to happen."

"Neither did I. It worked out."

"But when you said that it wasn't with your consent, I . . . I," Kira
stopped and shame came into her eyes.

"I see," Damar said. "Don't let that bother you. It was just an act."

"No, you didn't want to do any of that. I went too far. I've . . .
I've never done that to anyone," she ended in a whisper with her eyes
on the floor.

While a part of him felt satisfied, knowing that she should feel
ashamed, it bothered him to see her so upset. She nearly seemed on
the verge of tears while she struggled to maintain her hard demeanor.
Feeling unsettled by that, Damar wasn't sure what to do. Let her
wallow in her shame or comfort her somehow? An instinct within him
wanted to lash out by saying something biting and make her suffer in
her shame. A conflicting instinct wanted to pull her against him, to
hold her and reassure her that he wasn't going to hold her actions
against her. So she had extracted a little revenge against him. He
knew he deserved it. Hopefully, she had gotten that out of her system
now.

Reaching out, he took her arm gently in his hand and touching her was
a mistake. The instinct to hold her suddenly blossomed into an
instinct to kiss her especially when she looked up at him with her
shining eyes. Damar swallowed.

"Commander, it's over," he told her. "We'll put this behind us and
move on."

Kira nodded, the shame fading from her eyes. "We're getting pretty
good at putting things behind us."

"We don't have much choice but to keep doing that," Damar replied,
feeling shame himself. Most of the things they had to put behind them
in order to work together had been his fault. "When is our ship going
to be ready?"

Kira looked over at the chronometer. "About another six hours."

"Good. If you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."

"Good idea."

Damar curled down onto the mattress. He could still smell her in the
mattress. He could still smell her on his skin. He smiled. It was a
very nice scent.

---

Kira dozed on the couch in the room while Damar sprawled on the bed.
Neither slept well, but neither of them wanted to be awake. They'd
either end up talking about what had happened, or they'd have to
leave the quarters and run the risk of spending time with Dukat. They
didn't want that. The less time spent with Dukat the better.

They didn't want to talk either. What had happened was too dangerous
a subject. Kira still felt very confused about him. Reminding herself
that she hated him didn't help much. She could never forgive him for
murdering Ziyal but she did admire him, even more so now, so much
that she desired him. It was all a strange contradiction that she
couldn't quite figure out. Damar didn't help matters by being honest
and understanding. He had nearly become noble. She lay on the couch
and wondered what it would be like to kiss him and what it would be
like to feel his strong hands on her breasts.

They lay separately in the room sleeping, or pretending to sleep,
until the six hours had passed and Damar arose from the bed. Kira
watched him move through the quarters. He didn't bother to hide
himself as he stood in front of the replicator and ordered a fresh
uniform. He did have an intriguing body. All those muscles, all those
scales. And that very nice rear end. So nice that Kira wanted to
reach out and touch it.

"The way I see it," Damar said as he dressed, typically getting
straight to business, "if Dukat does join the rebellion, then I'll
claim you as my prisoner. If he doesn't, then I'm still your
prisoner."

"Makes sense," Kira said. "If he doesn't join you, then I'll demand
my ship back and we'll be on our way."

"And if he does join us, then I'll demand the ship and tell him to
rendezvous with us later."

"Good. Where?"

"I don't know. Something in the opposite direction from where we're
going. Nefir?"

"That's suitably remote."

Kira moved into the bathroom to freshen up then returned. Damar
looked up as she reentered the room, his eyes lingering on her for a
moment before he looked away. Kira felt a slight thrill having him
look at her like that and tried to will that feeling away. It was
best that they just forget the whole thing happened and go forward.

They left the quarters together and moved silently through the Galor
until they reached the bridge. Gul Dukat turned to them and spread
out his hands as he rose from his chair.

"There are my lovers," he said. "Did you two enjoy yourselves after I
left?"

"Oh yes," Damar said. "I always enjoy sleeping."

"Me, too," Kira added. "One of my favorite activities."

"Sleeping?" Dukat scoffed. "The way you two were lathered up?"

"Dukat, we have more important things to discuss," Damar said. "The
Intendent here thinks that you don't have what it takes to join me."

"I couldn't care less what the Intendent thinks," Dukat dismissed.

"Then you're with me."

"I haven't decided," Dukat shook his head.

"I told you, Damar," Kira sniped. "He isn't going to go through with
it. He knows the value of the Alliance."

"I said I haven't decided yet," Dukat insisted.

"I don't have time for your dithering," Damar barked.

"Sir!" one of Dukat's officers called out from his station. "We have
three Galors closing fast on us."

Dukat turned to him. "Hail them and find out what they want."

"One moment, sir," the officer said. "On screen."

They looked to the main screen as it changed its view of the
surrounding space to a scene in another Galor bridge. A very familiar
looking Cardassian appeared on the screen. Dukat looked from the
screen to Damar and back again.

"Two of you?" he spat.

Kira blinked at Damar who had turned a very pale gray.

"Hail, Gul Dukat," the Damar on the screen said. "It is Dukat, isn't
it? I've received the most interesting report. It appears that I have
been captured. And look! There I am!"

The Damar on the screen laughed and pointed at the Damar on the
bridge.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dukat demanded.

"The meaning for you, Dukat," the mirror Damar said, "is that your
ship is surrounded and will be fired upon at the first sign of
danger. You will lower your shields and turn this Damar over to me
now."

"I'm not going with you anywhere," Damar snarled.

The mirror Damar chuckled. "Oh yes, you are. You see, I know your
little secret. If you want to make it out of this predicament you're
in, you'll come with me."

"I already have a way out of this predicament," Damar responded.

"Really? Obviously, Dukat and the Intendent have you imprisoned. I'm
trying to rescue you."

"The Intendent happens to be in same predicament," Kira said,
stepping forward, "that this Damar is in."

The Damar on the screen considered that. "I see. You are giving us a
return visit, if my memory of the records is correct."

"I am," Kira said.

"Very well. Beam them both over, Dukat," the mirror Damar ordered.

"I will not," Dukat said. "Damar is my prisoner."

"He is not," Kira insisted. "He's mine."

"Dukat, you have no choice," the mirror Damar insisted. "Your ship
will be destroyed if you don't. Now, swallow your pride and do it."

"No," Dukat snapped. "I demand an explanation of what is going on
here. And I don't think you'll risk these people's lives by
destroying my ship."

The mirror Damar shook his head. "Very well," he sighed. "Come along
as well. I'll give you your explanation."

"Lower the shields," Dukat ordered his officer.

"Wait . . ." Damar started to protest but he was caught in the
transporter beam with the others. Kira materialized with Damar and
Dukat inside the bridge of the other Galor and found herself face to
face with Damar's doppelganger. The mirror Damar beamed at his
counterpart.

"My, how intriguing this is," the mirror Damar gave him a good
looking over.

"I'm finding it a bit disconcerting, myself," Damar replied coldly.

"Oh, yes. I can see why," the mirror Damar said. "Follow me."

As the mirror Damar turned to leave, Kira and Dukat started to follow
but Damar stayed put. The mirror Damar looked back at him.

"Follow you where?" Damar demanded.

"To my office. Come along," the mirror Damar waved him forward with
his hand. Under his breath, he said to Kira, "He's very stubborn,
isn't he?"

"Very," Kira agreed.

They entered an office unlike one Kira had ever seen on a Galor.
Nothing looked military issue. Couches lined the walls and in the
center stood a large desk made from a light wood. The mirror Damar
gestured them all to the couches. Kira sat down next to Damar and
found the touch of her thigh against his very comforting in this
bewildering situation. Damar didn't look too comfortable by the fact
that Dukat had chosen to sit next to him rather too closely.

"May I get you some tea?" the mirror Damar offered, standing in front
them with his hands spread before him. "Some kanar?"

"Kanar," Dukat nodded.

"Gul Damar? Intendent?" the mirror Damar looked at them. They both
shook their heads. "I suppose that I shouldn't be calling you
Intendent. It's Major Kira Nerys, correct?"

"Colonel, actually," Kira said.

"Ah, you've been promoted since the last time you were here," the
mirror Damar beamed at her. "Good for you."

"Thank you," Kira nodded. "And Damar is a Legate."

"A powerful man, then, in your universe," the mirror Damar said as he
went to a cabinet and drew out a bottle of kanar and a glass.

"That depends on your point of view," Damar replied.

"Out of favor, are you?"

"My situation is not unlike your own."

"Really? In what way?"

"You're rebelling against this Alliance. I'm also leading a rebellion
against a similar alliance in my universe."

"What an interesting coincidence," the mirror Damar breathed.

"What is all this talk about universes?" Dukat demanded.

The mirror Damar handed Dukat his drink and told them a story Kira
had already heard, a story about how a Star Fleet captain named Kirk
first traveled to this alternative universe over a century ago. Kirk
had upset the balance of power that allowed the Alliance of the
Cardassians, Bajorans and Klingons to take power from the Terrans and
enslave them.

"So the directive from the Central Command," the mirror Damar told
them, "is that any visitor from our parallel universe must be turned
over to the authorities immediately. Luckily for you, I'm not in the
habit of following directives from the Central Command."

"Then what do you plan to do with us?" Kira asked.

"Why, help you get back to your own universe, of course," the mirror
Damar gave her a benevolent smile.

"You can't do that!" Dukat protested. "Your orders are to turn them
over to the Central Command. You said they pose a danger to us."

"They might, but how I am to know that?" the mirror Damar shrugged.
"Have the two of you done anything to upset the balance of power
here?"

"I did try to convince Dukat to join your rebellion," Damar confessed.

The mirror Damar grinned at him. "Did you? How thoughtful. Thank you.
I can use every good man can I can get."

"I haven't decided about that yet," Dukat grumped and drained his
glass.

"So, you're just planning on letting us go?" Kira asked the mirror
Damar in skepticism.

"Certainly. Why not?"

Damar shifted in his seat, his thigh rubbing up against hers. She
thought he did it on purpose.

"Why not?" Dukat said. "These two could be very useful to you.
Imagine having a duplicate of yourself and the Intendent around to do
your bidding."

"Against their will?" the mirror Damar didn't look as though he liked
the sound of that.

"If they're not willing on their own accord," Dukat said, "then yes."

"But that wouldn't be very nice," the mirror Damar protested.

"Nice?" Kira blurted out. She looked at Damar, and they both burst
into laughter the moment their eyes met. In their laughter, they
slapped each other's thighs and when they calmed down, Kira realized
that she was still holding Damar's thigh and he held hers. They let
go of each other at the same time. Just being near him made her feel
warm.

"What's so funny?" the mirror Damar asked.

"We're just not that much alike," Damar told him. "I'm not known for
being nice."

"But you're improving," Kira told him.

"Am I?" Damar looked surprised.

"You've been very courteous to me ever since I joined you."

Damar shrugged. "Just a matter of putting aside personal feelings and
staying on the high road."

"The high road suits you, Damar," Kira told him and patted his thigh
in a gesture of support.

"Thank you, Commander."

"Commander?" the mirror Damar asked. "I thought she was a Colonel."

"Long story," Damar said.

"Well, I think we need to get you two back home as soon as possible,"
the mirror Damar said. "I'd hate to think that something here could
ruin such a touching relationship as yours."

"We don't have a relationship," Damar snapped.

Dukat snorted. "They're in love. It's obvious. You should see the two
of them in bed together. They have a very interesting sex life."

"That was an act," Kira protested. "To make you believe I was the
Intendent and to stop you from torturing Damar."

"If you say so," Dukat said.

"We're not in love," Damar glared at him.

"You're not?" the mirror Damar asked. "What are you in, then?"

"That's none of your business," Damar snarled at him. "What is it
about this universe that makes everyone so interested in the sex
lives of other people?"

"Curiosity, I suppose," the mirror Damar shrugged. "If you're not in
love, then what is your relationship?"

"We don't have one," Damar grumbled.

"Not even friendship?" the mirror Damar asked.

Kira and Damar glanced at each other. "Not exactly," Kira said.
"We're allies."

"It must be more than that," the mirror Damar shook his head. "You
two can barely stop touching each other."

"What?" Damar snapped.

"Look how you keep rubbing your leg against hers," the mirror Damar
pointed out. "You're not in love, but there seems to be more than
just lust here."

Damar sprang up from the couch. "I've had enough of this! I've had
enough of prying eyes and snooping noses and sex being the topic of
nearly every conversation. This in none of your business. What part
of that don't you understand? Now, if you're going to help us get
home, then help us."

"Of course, Legate," the mirror Damar smiled. "You're right. Getting
you home is the paramount concern here. Now, I have friends among the
Terran rebels, and I understand they have an inter-dimensional
transporter device. I'm sure I can get one for you."

"That won't be necessary," Kira said, rising from the couch. "All we
need is our ship. I know how to get us back to our universe."

"If Gul Dukat has made the repairs on our ship," Damar glared down at
him.

"Of course I have," Dukat snapped as he stood. "I'm a man of my word."

"Excellent," the mirror Damar smiled. "I'll transport you to your
ship and Dukat will release you."

"Why would I want to do that?" Dukat stood.

"Because I have the disruptor banks of three Galors pointed at your
ship," the mirror Damar pointed out.

"You're making a mistake," Dukat said.

"It won't be the first time," the mirror Damar laughed.

"Very well," Dukat grumbled. "I'll go see to the ship."

He left the room, and Kira swore she heard Damar let out a sigh of
relief.

"I don't think he'll join your rebellion after all," Damar said to
his doppelganger.

"Just as well," the mirror Damar shrugged. "He's not the sort I would
want. I need open-minded people with me and he isn't one of them."

"I've found that I appreciate open-mindedness as well," Damar told
him.

"In your universe," the mirror Damar asked, "what are you rebelling
against?"

"Against the oppression and tyranny of a powerful alliance," Damar
said. "Like yourself."

"Oh, I'm not rebelling against oppression and tyranny," the mirror
Damar said.

"You're not?" Kira asked in confusion.

"Well, the end to oppression and tyranny would be the outcome of my
goals," the mirror Damar told her. "But that is only one part of what
I want to accomplish."

"And your goals are?" Damar asked.

"The spread of a free market economy throughout the Cardassian
Union," the mirror Damar beamed at them.

Damar blinked at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"That is what this quadrant is lacking. Free enterprise. Economic
growth. Trade and investment."

"So you want," Damar said, looking about ready to burst into
laughter, "Cardassia to be like the Ferengi."

At that thought, Kira had to fight back a laugh as well.

"The Ferengi?" the mirror Damar frowned in confusion. "They are a
generous and courageous people, but what do they know about economic
theory?"

"Nothing, obviously," Damar smirked.

The mirror Damar looked disappointed. "Don't tell me that you don't
have economic freedom in your universe."

"Some of the Alpha Quadrant does," Kira said. "In the Federation."

"But not in Cardassia," Damar added.

"So you have the same problem that we all have here," the mirror
Damar looked sad for him. "The problem with this universe is that all
the powers are constantly fighting one another and constantly going
out and conquering other worlds. And do you know what that constant
conquest leads to?"

"Oppression and innocent people suffering and dying," Kira said.

"Yes, yes, but more than that," the mirror Damar said. "It leads to
stagnation and the destruction of the culture of the conquered
people. First, we conquer them for their resources but then, because
the stagnated culture can no longer grow and produce the resources as
efficiently as before, they lose their value, and off we go
conquering another group of people, doing the same thing over and
over."

"You have a point," Kira said, remembering how the once vibrant
Bajoran culture had nearly been ruined by the Cardassian Occupation.

"Of course I do," the mirror Damar agreed. "And it just leaves to all
of these powers here in weak economic straits. All their expenditures
go out to building ships and weapons and armies but nothing comes
back in but scraps from conquered worlds. Free market enterprise will
free us from that deadly cycle."

"So you're fighting for economic security?" Damar asked, clearly
trying to wrap his mind around this.

"Well, I'm not 'fighting' per se," the mirror Damar said. "I'm moving
forward in my goals through negotiation and the creation of new
trading opportunities."

"But you have these Galors," Damar pointed out. "Why do you need them
if you aren't going to fight."

"Unfortunately, the Central Command is quite hostile to my efforts,"
the mirror Damar said. "They consider my ideas to be a danger to the
State. We do need to protect ourselves every once in a while."

"This has been enlightening," Damar said as though just being polite.

"Yes," Kira agreed.

"I'll send an armed escort with you," the mirror Damar smiled at them
both. "Just in case Dukat tries to take matters into his own hands."

"That's appreciated," Kira said.

---

The mirror Damar was good to his word and so, apparently, was the
mirror Dukat. Damar and Kira piloted their scout ship out of Dukat's
Galor and into space. The mirror Damar's ships traveled with them for
a little while just to make sure they got away from Dukat safely.
Soon enough they were gone, and both Damar and Kira began to breathe
a little easier. Kira piloted the scout ship through the Denorios
asteroid belt with expertise.

They remained quiet through the trip, neither comfortable now that
they were free and alone. Damar didn't know quite what to say to
Kira. He'd have to keep battling back his desire for her. The last
thing he needed was for his men to think he had taken up with his
Bajoran advisor.

Better to leave the memory of her pleasuring him back in the
alternate universe. Though he wasn't sure he could do that. Her
pleasuring had been arousing but ultimately unfulfilling for them
both. That only made Damar nearly crazy with curiosity to know just
how Kira would be like in bed with them both free to do whatever they
wanted.

Kira definitely looked uncomfortable. She'd glance at him every once
in a while, occasionally opening her mouth as though she had
something to say. Then she'd close it and left Damar wondering what
she was thinking.

"How much longer to the wormhole?" Damar asked her as they neared the
edge of the belt.

"About ten more minutes," Kira said.

"Good."

He could smell her still on his skin. Her scent in his nose only made
him want her all the more. He wanted to show her how he could
pleasure a woman and how he liked his sex. It frustrated him to think
that her only memory of sexual pleasure with him would be him tied to
that bed.

Once the ship made it past the last asteroid in the belt, Damar stood
and moved to Kira. "Computer, all stop," he ordered then reached out,
grabbed her hand and pulled her up out of her chair. Her eyes flashed
with outrage, but she didn't struggle as he pulled her against him in
an embrace. Lowering his head, his mouth sought hers and he kissed
her long and deep.

She could stop this. She could lay him flat in an instant. He had
first hand experience with that. But her mouth met his as eagerly as
his own found hers. He pulled away from her and saw that desire
replaced the outrage in her eyes.

"I've never forced a woman," he said. "I'm not about to start."

"You couldn't force me if you wanted to," Kira rejoined.

"I know that all too well. But I want you. I want you now. I must
know. Do you want this as well?"

"I shouldn't. I really shouldn't."

"Me, neither."

"But I do. The Prophets forgive me."

Damar kissed her again, enjoying her taste in his mouth, until she
pulled away.

"Ah, Damar," she said, then reached up and knocked at his hard
breastplate with her knuckles. "This is a little uncomfortable."

He looked down and noticed that the crest of his armor had been
rubbing against her throat. "Of course. Sorry."

Damar unclasped his armor, pulled it off and set it aside. Beneath
it, he wore a black undershirt that hugged his torso. Kira reached
out and stroked his chest with her hand.

"That just made it a little more difficult to resist you," she said.

Damar lifted her hand to his mouth and sucked lightly at her
fingertips. "Don't resist."

"I have a life-long habit of resisting Cardassians," Kira said coolly
but her eyes were humored.

"Ah, yes," Damar laughed and pulled her against him. "The resistance
fighter."

She reached down and held his buttocks in her hands. He smiled and
kissed her again. Kira seemed to enjoy it, but then she pulled away
from him again and her hand left his butt. To Damar's disappointment,
she stepped back. She was going to resist after all.

"We have a choice here," Kira said. "The right choice is to put this
aside and ignore the fact that we suddenly find each other so
arousing."

"You're right," Damar said. "Only, I don't want to make the right
choice."

"Neither do I," she sighed. "What are we going to do? I can't believe
that I feel this way about you."

"I know. It's strange. I've never felt any kind of attraction for
Bajoran women before."

"Exactly," Kira nodded. "And I've never felt any kind of attraction
for Cardassian males. Just the opposite, in fact. No offense."

"None taken," he told her. "I know what you mean."

"And, again no offense, but I've never found you in the least bit
attractive."

"Just the opposite," he nodded.

"Although, I have always thought that you had a nice rear end," she
confessed.

"I've thought the same about yours."

Kira gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Look, Damar. I love another man. I
love Odo with my heart and soul."

"I'm not asking that you love me, Commander," he said. "I'm still
grieving for my wife. I . . ."

Damar broke off. Here he was ready to engage in an intimate act of
sex with her, yet he still didn't feel he could trust her enough to
express his emotions to her. It was ridiculous but he couldn't help
it. Kira stepped forward, understanding in her eyes.

"You're not ready to give your heart to another woman," Kira said.

"No. Probably not for a while. I ache whenever I think of her."

Damar's desire for Kira dampened a bit as sorrow filled him. He
longed to hold his wife again. He longed to hold his son and tickle
him and make him laugh. He still couldn't fully believe that they
were dead. Damar's head bowed but Kira moved close to him and touched
his cheek.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," she said. "I don't regret what I said to
you. You needed to hear that."

"I did," Damar looked into her eyes, so gentle now and understanding.
"And it forced me to learn and see the truth of things. I resented
you for it but I know I'm stronger because of you."

"You are," Kira said. "But I am sorry about the timing. I'm sorry
that I added to your pain."

He swallowed. "That's one of the things I admire about you,
Commander. You can be so compassionate."

"It's something I like about you, too."

"Me? Compassionate?" Damar snorted. "Hardly."

Kira chuckled. "I know. It didn't seem likely to me either, but you
do have compassion, Damar. You're fighting for the lives and the
freedom of your people. What is that if it's not compassion? You're
driven by your love for your people. You should see how your eyes
light up when you talk about this new Cardassia of yours. I don't
think you realize how much you inspire your men when you get like
that. You inspire Garak. He believes in you."

"That's good to know," he smiled.

"And that's one of the things I admire about you," she told him
sincerely. "The love you have for your people. It's so deep and pure.
You're a good, strong leader. I admire your strength. I admire your
courage."

"Those are exactly the things that I admire about you," Damar said.
"Your strength and courage. And your passion and your love for
freedom. You inspire me to love freedom as well and to long for it.
Not just freedom from the Dominion. Freedom from the past
oppressions. We Cardassians oppressed other people, but we oppressed
ourselves as well. Our government has been so harsh, so controlling.
I want that to end. I want real freedom for my people."

Kira chuckled and touched his face again. "You see. There you go
again. Being admirable again."

She was so close, and her eyes were so warm and inviting that Damar
couldn't help himself. He pulled her close and kissed her again. When
he gave her back her mouth, she sagged against his chest.

"This is impossible," she groused.

"It is," he sighed with frustration. "I respect you a great deal,
Commander. I need for you to know that."

"And I've come to respect you, too."

"I just hate thinking that the one and only time that we, well, we
were together, it was with me strapped to that bed."

"I hate knowing that I violated you like that."

"No," Damar cupped her chin in his hand. "Don't think of it like
that. I don't feel violated. Humiliated, yes. But not violated
because I understand your motivation. You thought it was the only way
to protect me from Dukat. I'm glad to know that you cared enough that
you didn't want me in pain. And I did prefer you to his torture, when
everything is said and done."

"Well, I wasn't able to protect you entirely from him," Kira gave a
sad smile.

"I suppose not," Damar said. "I'm not interested in men, but I've
never been squeamish about that kind of thing. But it was Dukat! Not
the Dukat we know, but still. It was so disturbing having him touch
me like that."

"Maybe you know a little about how I felt about him pursuing me."

"I sympathize entirely."

"Where does this leave us then?" Kira asked.

"I have no idea," Damar shook his head.

"Well, we know we're not in love."

"No, we're not. But that other Damar was right. This feels like
something more than lust. So, what is it?"

"I don't know. It's like we're . . ." Kira suddenly laughed. "I know.
We're in admiration."

"In admiration?" he smiled.

She shrugged. "We just stood here and got all passionate about
telling each other how much we admire each other. I feel that my
admiration for you has deepened into desire."

"Maybe you're right," he said. "Something less than love but more
than lust. Admiration."

Damar let go of her and went to program the sensors to give an alert
to any approaching ship. Then he went back to her and took her hand.

"Come on," he said and led her away from the bridge.

"Where are we going?" she asked but didn't resist.

"The Gul's quarters," he told her. "I want to admire you some more."

As he led her through the ship, he kept expecting her to come to her
senses and refuse. Instead, she held onto his hand, and he enjoyed
the feel of her slender hand engulfed in his. It was so pleasing to
know that she felt the same way he did.

They entered the quarters. It was a tiny room but better than the
crew quarters with their cramped bunks. The bed there wasn't large
but it was enough. Damar immediately took off his boots and Kira
kicked hers aside. Then they climbed up on the bed, kneeling in front
of each other, knee to knee, abdomen to abdomen. To his delight, Kira
made the first move. She took his face in her hands and pressed her
lips against his.

Damar enjoyed the kiss, her tongue probing his mouth, his tongue
twisting around hers. He loved the interplay of softness and hardness
found in women and in kisses. The softness of the lips, the hardness
of the teeth and gums, the tongue that could go from flaccid to stiff
in an instance. Damar held her back then ran his hands down to her
waist, over her hips and around her buttocks. Kira did the same
thing, exploring his broad back, his waist and hips, his butt, all
the while locked in their kiss.

Ready to go further, Damar's mouth left hers and he kissed at her
nose and licked the hard, little ridges there. He wondered if they
were like his eye ridges and thought that they weren't since she
seemed to like this, but it didn't give her any jolt of pleasure to
linger there. He kissed her check and the hard bone of her jaw then
moved further down to her throat. He suckled there a moment and
nipped at her skin. Kira raised her chin almost invitingly as he
trailed kisses around her throat and up under her chin. She gave a
little start as he kissed under her chin, and he found pleasure in
knowing he had found a sensitive spot. Kissing and licking there, he
lingered while Kira made murmurs of pleasure.

He moved down her throat and felt the fabric of her shirt against his
chin and he knew that had to come off. Pulling away from her, he
looked down then slid his hands into the waistband of her pants to
pull out the edges of her shirt. She smiled and helped him to take
off the shirt. Damar admired what he saw.

How he loved the femininity of women. Beneath the shirt, Kira wore a
simple, white bra, plain except for a scalloping of lace along the
edges. Damar stayed still and admired her breasts captured in the
white fabric, the mounding of her cleavage and the lacy edges and her
hardened nipples straining the fabric. The bra was exactly what he
expected her to wear. Nothing flashy or extravagant or frilly. So
much like Kira herself.

She came across as hard, sometimes even a bit masculine, but beneath
that exterior was a warm, passionate woman. Though she dressed in
plain uniforms, the uniforms' severity didn't hide the feminine
curves of her body. She seemed so hard and almost plain, yet she had
delightful touches of femininity that Damar hadn't noticed before.
Her large, liquid eyes. The little braids she wore in her hair. Her
flawless skin. And now this. Her bra, plain and simple but with an
adornment of lace. Damar trailed his finger over that lace then took
one of her breasts in his hand, finding pleasure in the soft material
of the bra and the softness of her.

He moved his arms around her to unfasten the bra and pulled it off
with her help. Then he went still for a moment and admired her again.
Such soft, white skin. Such perfect globes of flesh. Such pretty,
dark pink nipples and areolas. He took a breast into each hand and
massaged the soft flesh and the hard nipples then he bent over one
and kissed and explored the breast with his lips and his tongue. He
suckled at the flesh and nipped at the nibble and lapped at it with
his tongue. All the while, Kira made delightful little noises of
pleasure. She curled her fingers into his thick, dark hair.

Kira's hand trailed down out of his hair and down his face until she
found one of his eye ridges. Damar felt a slight jolt of pleasure
from her touch, and he straightened to allow her to caress him. The
nicest thing about the eye ridges was that they could be used to give
pleasure while looking at his partner in the eye. If Kira were a
Cardassian woman, Damar would massage her eye ridges while she
massaged his. Instead, he held onto her breasts, his fingers playing
with the nipples, pinching them and caressing them.

"A little harder," he encouraged her softly.

She complied, rubbing his ridges with her fingers and thumbs. Taking
away one hand from her breast, his fingers sought that sensitive spot
under her chin. There really wasn't anything there but taut skin but
he massaged the area with his thumb, making light circles then,
watching her carefully to make sure he wasn't hurting her, he rubbed
the area a little harder then harder still. She hummed with pleasure.

Kira's hands left his brows and moved down to his already swelling
neck ridges. Lowering her head over his shoulder, she kissed his
ridges and played with them with her tongue and her teeth. She
nibbled at them then bit down so hard that he suddenly bucked in
pain. Taking that as her cue, Kira went a little more gently but not
too much, and it was Damar's turn to make little murmurs of pleasure.

Damar shifted, his knees going a little numb from kneeling, and laid
her back on the bed until he was on top of her. Holding her, they
shared another long kiss, tangling their fingers into each other's
hair, and he found simple pleasure in feeling her breasts with their
erect nipples pressing up against his skin. This was how he liked it.
No props or demeaning bondage, no one person dominating. Just simple
sex with long, languorous foreplay building slowly to a long and
intense release. The mutual exploration of bodies and flesh, and the
pleasure and desire in the other's eyes.

He slid down her body, stopping to lap at that sensitive area under
her chin, then to suckle and lick at her nipples and down to her
abdomen. His mouth traced the outline of her ribcage under her
breasts, and he saw why he hadn't found her attractive before. Damar
never did find thin women attractive. He didn't go for large women
either, but he did like a little substance. He liked soft flesh over
hard bones.

Damar slid further down, exploring the taut skin of her belly with
his mouth. He licked around her navel and she tried to shy away a
bit. Looking up at her, he saw that she found that ticklish rather
than pleasing. He gave her a mischievous grin and licked her belly
again. Again, she shied away.

"Cut it out," she said with a laugh and gave a playful swat to his
head.

He obeyed her and moved his hands down to the waistband of her pants
and began to pull them down. He wondered what her panties were like.
After stripping her of her pants, he stopped and took off his own,
knowing that it was only fair that if she went without clothes, so
should he. Then he slid his hands over her thin thighs and noticed
that her panties were much like the bra, plain and white, but without
even a frill of lace. He slipped his hands into them on either side
of her hips and pulled the panties off.

Lying down between her thighs, Damar played with the dark curly hairs
over her mound. He rarely had sex with anyone outside of his species,
so pubic hairs were still a novelty to him. He liked the springiness
of the curls. Covering her mound with his hand, he massaged it and
enjoyed the feeling of the hairs under his palm and muscles under the
yielding flesh found there.

Parting her labia, he slid his fingers into her, feeling and finding
the nub of her clitoris. She was a little wet but they had only just
started. Damar massaged her clitoris with his fingers and Kira
quivered and twitched at his touch and her breath came out in
shuddering sighs. Her muscles opened and closed around his fingers in
a very enticing manner.

Withdrawing his hand, he lowered his mouth down, probing her clitoris
with his tongue. Oh, she bucked then. She quivered and her murmurs
turned into ecstatic moans. He felt her become hot and wet. He licked
and licked her, making hard circles and swirling patterns with his
tongue until her moans grew louder and more fervent. Not wanting her
to climax too soon, Damar pulled away and laid back down on the bed.
Kira moved so that she was on top of him and she kissed his eye
ridges and his face and his mouth.

Kira began to explore him much the same way as the previous day, only
this time she seemed to take much more pleasure in it. She rubbed and
nipped at his nipples then spent some time exploring his pubic
scales. They apparently fascinated her and her fascination stimulated
him. His penis began to strain against the sensitive interior walls
of his testicular pod.

"Get on top of me," he invited her, holding her hips to pull her
forward. Kira seemed curious about what he expected but she shifted
back up, sitting over his abdomen.

"Further down," he told her.

"All right," she said, her body shifting down until her mound rested
against his pod. In surprise, she lifted herself up then smiled and
came down on him again. He shifted with her until her labia cupped
his pod. Kira let out a gasp and started to grind against him. Damar
gasped with her, the weight and her heat stimulating him. Kira's eyes
glazed over as she continued to rub her mound over him, pushing down
hard enough to make him groan. Beneath her, his pod began to open,
the glandular scales swelling and pulling back as his penis became
free in its erection. All the while, Kira convulsed as his movement
beneath her aroused her. She rubbed herself against the underside of
his erection and Damar convulsed with her.

Kira lifted herself off him, again examining with his sex, her eyes
and fingers caressing the sensitive undersides of his plump,
glandular scales surrounding his penis. Then she moved to his
engorged penis and began to massage it with her fingers and rubbed
and pumped it. Finally, as he was so longing for her to do, she took
his cock into her mouth. Her hot, wet mouth sent him into rapture and
as she sucked at him, he groaned and thrashed and gripped the sheets.
When she rubbed at the ridges lightly with her teeth, he nearly came
in her mouth.

Damar pulled away from her and shifted positions, her on her back,
him over her. He dove back down between her thighs, reveling in her
scent and taste. He played with her clitoris with his tongue, feeling
her quiver beneath him. Then he straightened and moved on top of her.
He looked at her and saw the smile and the gleam of anticipation in
her eyes. Very slowly, he began to enter her.

Deeper and deeper, he thrust into her and every time one of the
ridges of his penis hit her clitoris, they both gasped in pleasure.
Finally, he was all the way inside of her, then he pulled out of her
just as slowly, and they both shook with ecstasy. A little faster, he
moved back into her then out again. A little faster and with a harder
thrust. Then faster and harder and the exquisite pressure built up
inside of him, and Kira's breath came in gasps and she thrashed on
the bed.

He pumped in and out, in and out until her muscles constricted and
her vagina flooded with cum. Kira let out a long, orgasmic cry. The
heat and wetness and the tightness pushed him over the edge and with
one final, hard thrust, he came inside of her. He stayed in her for a
moment, while she lay on the bed, panting. Perspiration glistened on
her face. Then he slowly pulled out of her and Kira's mouth fell open.

"I see the rumors are right," she said, staring at his still engorged
penis. "Cardassians really are insatiable."

"Why do you think we have such big egos?" Damar gave her a smug grin.

Kira rolled her eyes. "And why your people have so many children."

"Oh, we have so many children because we really like sex."

"Right," Kira said dryly and sat up. "Come here."

He lay flat on the bed and Kira curled over his cock and took it in
his mouth again. Every time her teeth hit one of his ridges, he
jerked and moaned. She moved his cock in and out of her mouth,
sucking it deeply until he came again, shooting a hot torrent of cum
down her throat. Too much for her to hold, the milky cum dribbled out
of her mouth and over her chin.

Wiping her mouth, she looked at him and shook her head with a laugh.
"Damar, we don't have all day," she said.

Feeling dizzy from the orgasms, he said, "Sure we do."

He laid down over her, feeling his erection against her mound and
every movement she made sent jolts of pleasure through him. He kissed
her mouth long and hard while he rubbed up against her then moved his
mouth down to her mound and lapped at her clitoris. To him, she
tasted sweet and exotic. With her fully aroused once more, he entered
her again.

With a little more roughness, he pumped in and out of her. Kira
flailed on the bed, gripping the sheets and moaning. Pumping until he
felt her climax, he thrust into her and released himself. Crying out,
his entire body shook in ecstasy.

He laid down over her while still inside of her, enjoying her heat
and her tightness and feel of her breasts beneath him. Then he pulled
out of her and flopped down on the bed at her side. Feeling wonderful
and stuporous, he thought he could sleep for hours.

"Finally," she said and shifted on the bed to lay her head on his
chest. "Is this the norm for you? Three times?"

"Why?" he asked. "Not enough? Do you want to go at it some more?"

"Not me," Kira laughed. "I don't think I can even walk."

Fully sated, they laid in each other's arms, resting, Damar knowing
that he would smell her on his skin for the rest of the day. He
didn't mind that at all. He dozed for a while until Kira lifted up
off the bed and tugged at his arm.

"Come on, you," she said. "We need to get back where we belong. Our
own universe, remember?"

Actually, he had forgotten all about that. They were still in that
insane alternate universe. "Oh, yeah," he murmured then stood and
stretched, his entire body feeling relaxed.

Damar sought out his clothes and boots while Kira dressed. As he sat
and pulled on his boots, Kira stood before him with a very firm and
resolute look in her eye.

"Now we both know that this was the last time, correct?" Kira said.

That disappointed him but he knew she was right. "Do you want it to
be the last time?"

The resolution in her eyes faded a bit. "No, I don't want it to be
the last time. How could I after that? I mean, you were so . . .
well, so . . ."

He gave her a cocky grin. "I was so what?"

Kira rolled her eyes. "Damar, you don't need a bigger ego than you
have right now."

"I don't want it to be the last time, either. I admire what a
generous lover you are."

Kira groaned. "You're practically reading my mind. That's exactly
what I was thinking about you. You're such a generous lover. This
mutual admiration business is going to get us into trouble. We have
to end this."

"You're right," Damar agreed with a sigh.

"Can you even imagine the threat to your authority this could be with
your men if we tried to continue this? And I certainly I don't want
to risk . . ."

She broke off, looking troubled and Damar understood.

"Hurting Odo," he finished for her and felt guilt rise up within him.
He respected Odo a great deal and taking Kira as lover was a betrayal
of that respect. It was hard enough to think about Odo as it was, a
hundred times harder for Kira. Odo, while they laid together in
orgasmic rapture, was laying in the Infirmary at Deep Space Nine in
agony from his disease. That realization made Damar feel awful.

"Oh, this is bad," Damar muttered.

"We'll just have to leave this here in the alternate universe," Kira
said, "and go on as though it never happened."

"Yes," Damar agreed. "It'll be hard but we must."

"We're both strong people," Kira said, sounding resolute again. "We
can handle that."

"Of course we can," Damar said and stood from the bed. "We're
professional soldiers."

"Exactly. Your cause is much more important than the two of us."

"It is. It's the most important thing in my life now, and I'm not
about to risk failure by indulging myself with you."

"Good. That's good. So, we're agreed? No sneaking off together in the
middle of the night? No trying to steal kisses when we think no one
is looking? We're going to behave just as we've always behaved before
this?"

"We're agreed," Damar said.

"All right," Kira nodded. "Let's get out of here."

Damar followed Kira back to the bridge and sat at the weapons post
while she took the helm. While he brought the shields on line, Kira
took the patrol ship into warp. He tried not to look at her. He tried
to not even think about her. Oh, yes. This was going to be hard.

Kira piloted the ship with ease. So cool, Damar thought, so
professional, and he admired that about her.

Cut it out, Damar.

He put his thoughts on Odo, reminding himself of Odo's suffering and
what a fine man Odo was, and how much it would hurt him if he knew
about Kira and Damar's activities in the alternate universe. Odo had
given so much to Damar's rebellion, too much in fact, at the risk of
his own life. He had shapeshifted too much too often and that had
accelerated the onset of his disease.

Damar wondered what it would be like to make love to a Changeling
then gave a shudder of disgust when an image flashed in his mind of
the Female Shapeshifter. No, he definitely didn't want to go there.
He could never understand why Changelings chose such drab
unattractive forms when they could be anything they chose. Why be
ugly when they could be beautiful?

Staring out of the view screen, Damar tried not to think about
anything but getting back to their own universe. Things may be bad
there with the Dominion, but it still felt better than the insane one
he and Kira had found themselves in. Though his doppelganger wasn't
so bad. A little insane, maybe. Or not. Perhaps the mirror Damar had
something there with his ideas about economics.

"What the other Damar said about a free market economy," Damar said
to Kira, "did that make sense to you?"

"It did," Kira nodded as she concentrated on her terminal. "A free
society needs a free economy. It's something you should consider."

"I should, I suppose," Damar said with a shake of his head, "though I
know nothing about economics. Except that Cardassia's economy is in
ruin right now. After the war, I do have to rebuild it or replace it
with something stronger. Perhaps I should consult with the Ferengi
about that."

Kira laughed. "It amazes me how open-minded you can be sometimes."

"The Ferengi are the economic experts of the Alpha Quadrant."

"They are," Kira agreed. "Just get an advisor that you can trust."

"Meaning, not Quark."

"Exactly," Kira grinned then turned to him. "Now, to get back to our
universe, we're going to have to recreate an accident from the first
time I was here. Set-up a plasma injector leak two parts per billion
per second."

Damar frowned as he moved to the Ops terminal. "That's a bit
dangerous."

"It could be," Kira agreed. "But if we do it right as we go through
the wormhole, we'll make it."

She looked back at the helm. "ETA to wormhole is one minute, forty
seconds."

"Setting up the leak," Damar reported as he worked. "Two parts per
billion. Just say the word."

They traveled in tense silence until they came upon the wormhole. It
swirled open in a glory of light.

"Engaging impulse drive," Kira reported.

"I've always wanted to see the inside of the wormhole," Damar
commented.

"You never have?" Kira asked, focused on piloting the ship.

"Never got the chance."

"Then enjoy it while it lasts," Kira said. The patrol craft swooped
into the wormhole. "It's quite a view."

"The Celestial Temple," Damar breathed in awe as light and color
blazed the view screen. He looked over at Kira to see her working the
controls with a peaceful smile on her face.

"Start the leak," Kira ordered in a quiet voice.

"Done," Damar reported after releasing the plasma injector leak.
"This won't harm the Prophets?"

Kira blinked at him then gave him a warm smile. "It didn't the last
time."

The journey through the wormhole ended abruptly as the ship came to
the mouth on the other side and raced out into open space. Kira
turned them around and reentered the wormhole at impulse. Suddenly
the ship began to buck.

"Commander, the warp field isn't fully collapsed," Damar called out
in warning.

"I know," Kira called back. "Don't worry."

As the ship traveled through the wormhole, the ship jerked and
shuddered, the engines making a deafening roar. Damar clung to the
Ops station.

"The plasma leak is igniting . . ." Damar began to call out but a
brilliant flash of pure light took his breath away. For an instance,
he saw nothing then his vision cleared. On the screen, he saw a field
of stars and in the distance, the familiar shape of Deep Space Nine.

"We made it," Kira reported, sounding triumphant and relieved.

Damar let out a deep breath. "It's good to be home. Do you want to
stop over at Deep Space Nine? You can check on Odo."

Kira hesitated then shook her head. "He doesn't want me to have to
see him in his condition," she said softly and to Damar, she sounded
sad and hurt by that. "He wants to spare me the pain of seeing him
suffer."

And instead, Damar thought but didn't say, make her suffer by being
apart from him and worrying about him. Kira straightened in her
chair, expertly working her controls.

"Better to get back to business," she said coolly. "Setting course
for the Cardassian border."

Damar quickly stopped the plasma injector leak then slipped into the
chair at the Weapons station.

"Warp engines fully functional," he told her. She acknowledged that
with a nod, her eyes focused on the controls.

Glancing at her, he noticed that she had her cool, professional mask
firmly in place. She would distance herself from him again, treat him
with due respect and little more. He knew he would have to have his
own mask in place and act as though he had never enjoyed the thrill
of exploring her body and climaxing in united, heated moments of
passion. The memory of that didn't stay behind in the alternate
universe and neither did his desire for her. Yet, he knew for the
sake of his cause and for her sake as well, he'd have to be satisfied
with the pleasant memory. It wasn't enough but it would have to be.

---

The End