Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Emrys sighed quietly and pinched the bridge of her nose as the voices of the men down the table from her increased in volume, desperate to be heard over one another. She’d been sitting at this table far too long for her own liking and it still felt as though everyone was talking in circles. It’d be a miracle if they accomplished anything today.

A familiar voice began climbing, adding to the chaos. Without looking, Emrys could identify it as her one-time communications partner, Varsek – a hulking Aenar with limited patience. How he’d managed a career in communications, Emrys would never know.

As had been the case over the two weeks, Emrys knew that once most of the Cardassians and Federation members present, Starfleet officers included, had descended into a rage-fueled argument, there’d be no progress for the remainder of the day. Out of the corner of her eye, Emrys spied the only person she could count on to always remain calm - another Federation delegate, the Vulcan, Romar - but even he was sporting a raised eyebrow. As the highest ranking Starfleet officer and only woman present, Emrys was disinterested in the prospect of another pointless day and opted, yet again, to put her foot down.

Placing her finger and thumb between her lips, she let out a short, shrill whistle. The yelling halted immediately, with all eyes suddenly on Emrys as she rose from her chair and planted the palms of both her hands on the long conference table before her.

“Gentlemen,” she began, before anyone could interrupt. “We are getting nowhere, and quickly.” She made eye contact with each participant around the table in turn, recognizing the importance of acknowledging everyone present, if only to soothe their pride. She found in the responding gazes of the Cardassians genuine frustration and hostility, but perhaps also some desperation there. And in her fellow Starfleet officers, exasperation and some retrospective shame.

“We’ve agreed that shouting will not solve the issues we’ve come together to discuss, but we seem to end up engaging in this behavior with every meeting,” Emrys continued. “It is unbecoming of us all.”

In her momentary pause, she was interrupted by the Cardassian Gul-Tar Ziven, who also rose from his seat. She met his gaze with a calm confidence that she hoped belied the feeling of overwhelm that had been slowly settling in her stomach. Failing in this mission could mean losing the peaceful relations between Cardassia and the Federation that had only so recently been won. And given everything that Emrys had lost in the Federation-Cardassian War, she couldn’t allow that to happen.

Stoic as ever, Ziven’s expression gave nothing away as he addressed the men and women, so recently enemies, gathered around. “Lieutenant Commander Beck makes a fine point,” he declared, his voice a peal of thunder across the table’s expanse. The lighting deepened the shadows beneath his eye ridges, his face a series of sharp planes in black and gray. He made for an imposing figure among the brutal Cardassian architecture of the room and clad in solid brown armor, and Emrys took a deep breath to try and remind herself that this head of the Cardassian Union was no longer her enemy.

“Perhaps it would be best,” he suggested, planting his clenched fists on the table before him, his widening stance reinforcing the power he commanded over the room, “if we took a recess.”

As Emrys opened her mouth to respond, Ziven held up a hand to silence her. “The short breaks we’ve been taking have clearly not had a lasting effect. I suggest that we adjourn for a few weeks, giving us all time to review proposals and consider our options individually. Perhaps when we reconvene afterward, we will all be more amenable to compromises.”

Emrys’ lips pursed into a frown as she exhaled hard through her nose. Although she agreed that a longer break might be more effective, she was loath to leave Cardassia Prime without anything set in stone. Peace was too tenuous at this point to feel confident that it would continue, especially without near-constant Starfleet presence to remind the Cardassians of what they’d lost in the war and why they had signed the armistice in the first place. The prospect of having to report yet another extended recess back to Captain Jellico and Vice Admiral Nechayev, without any results, also sat heavy on Emrys’ mind. They were sure to be displeased, and neither were known for mincing their words.

“I propose that we reconvene in three weeks time, so that our… esteemed guests,” he added with a hint of sneer that Emrys wondered if anyone else caught, “will have adequate time for travel in addition to this little hiatus.” Emrys glanced around at the various Federation members present, recognizing that some of them genuinely looked like they needed a visit to their homes. They had already been on Cardassia for two weeks, and for some, like Emrys, this was only the most recent in a long string of visits designed to soothe tensions with the Cardassian Central Command as they collaborated on developing a more formal treaty. 

“We are in agreement, Gul-Tar.” With a conciliatory nod, Emrys took her leave. She wound her way through the broad, windowless halls of the Central Command building lost in thought, and made for her temporary quarters. She hated the gloom of the capital buildings on this planet - it was much more pleasant outside, in the bright and balmy sunshine. But inside, surrounded by intense and inhospitable architecture, with dark halls and rooms bearing strange combinations of outdated construction and modern technology, she felt out of place and unwelcome. Like many of her fellow Federation members, she was eager to get off-world, although she would not have time to go home.

Not that she had a home to go to. 

In her quarters, she contacted Captain Jellico, trying to maintain composure despite her frustration as his face appeared on the viewscreen. 

He gave her a tense smile. “Beck. The negotiations?”

Emrys sighed. “Ziven has called for a three-week recess.”

“Three weeks?” His clasped hands on the desk before him tightened.

“Aye, sir. As I’ve mentioned, there has been significant opposition to the points presented in the last couple of weeks, and today’s session was devolving into absolute chaos, frankly. I will have to rethink our approach for when we reconvene. I believe we can still make progress, but there are some items that I don’t believe the Cardassians are willing to compromise on, such as their continued contact with the Xepol-”

“Commander, it sounds as though you might be losing some control here,” he cut in, sounding aggravated.

Emrys opened her mouth to object, but he continued on. “If you cannot bring the Cardassians to compromise on the Federation’s priority points, we will need to bring someone else in. This peace was too hard-won and is too precarious for us to allow the Cardassians to continue drawing this process out.” The edge in his voice had Emrys’ hackles up and she took a deep, discreet breath to calm herself. Jellico might be her superior, and one of the people who had helped initiate the truce in the first place, but he could still be an ass. Emrys knew from experience.

“Sir, with all due respect, you say that as if we have the power to pressure the Cardassians into meeting our demands.” She hinted at what she knew the captain wouldn’t say out loud, wouldn’t confirm, not to her anyway. “We don’t have that kind of power right now and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardassians knew as much.”

“Enough,” he snapped. “That is beyond the scope of your rank. Your job is to follow orders and they have already been given to you.” Emrys sat back in her chair, aware of the ticking in her jaw. 

“You were selected for this position for a reason, Lieutenant Commander. Arbitrate, make them settle. Preferably in short order,” he demanded, glancing away from his screen for a moment, as though someone had come into his office.

Given a direct order from her superior officer, there was little she could say or do next.

“Aye, sir,” she replied through clenched teeth.

She watched as Jellico was handed a PADD by someone off screen. He reviewed it for a moment, then turned back to Emrys.

“The USS Enterprise is currently passing near the Cardassian border on a mapping survey before returning to cross Federation space. I am arranging transport aboard for you - their findings may be useful in nailing down some coordinates on the Demilitarized Zone,” he said almost dismissively. “They’ll be in touch to pick you up.”

Emrys sighed, barely managing to suppress the desire to roll her eyes. “Thank you, sir.”

Jellico ended the transmission without another word and Emrys tossed her head back against the top of her chair, heat rushing to her face as Emrys vacillated between wanting to scream and wanting to cry. She settled for neither, instead hanging her back over the deeply uncomfortable chair and gazing around at the temporary quarters she’d been assigned - a room that reminded her a little of a prison cell.     

— — —

Emrys clasped her hands tightly behind her back, her shoulders drawing upwards instinctively as she rematerialized aboard the Enterprise – transporting always made her stomach turn. With a deep exhale, she glanced around at the familiar faces gathered in the transporter room and smiled. 

“Welcome back aboard the Enterprise, Lieutenant Commander,” Captain Picard announced, and Emrys stepped eagerly off the pad to shake his hand. 

“It’s been a long time, Captain,” she replied. “It’s wonderful to see you again.” Without waiting for a reply, Emrys glanced to the Captain’s side and her smile grew into a grin as she launched herself into the waiting embrace of Counselor Troi. 

“Deanna!” she exclaimed, pressing her face into her friend’s shoulder, letting her excitement run rampant, knowing that Deanna would feel the wave of it and realize just how much she’d been missed.

“It’s so good to see you, Emrys,” the counselor murmured, squeezing her tightly. The two women had attended the academy together and been fast friends ever since – but their veering career paths had led them away from each other for far too long. 

As Emrys withdrew, she noticed Captain Picard tempering a grin of his own as he cleared his throat and moved to introduce the other crewman present. He motioned to the handsome human man with striking blue eyes standing beside him. “You know my first officer, Commander William Riker, I presume?”

“Of course!” Emrys exclaimed with a firm shake to Will’s hand. “Good to see you again, Will.”

“Good to see you, Emrys. Glad to have you on board,” he said with a wink. 

Deanna ushered Emrys into the hall, the captain and Will lingering back in the transporter room. “I’ll show you to your quarters, and then perhaps we can grab some dinner and catch up,” she offered. Although she and Deanna corresponded regularly, Emrys was excited for the chance to catch up in person, and eagerly agreed.

After tossing her bag atop the bunk in her quarters, she and Deanna headed for Ten Forward, grabbing a table near one of the large glass windows. Emrys’ shoulders relaxed at the sight, glad to be back in space and off Cardassia Prime for a while.

“So, how have you been?” Deanna asked eagerly, a spoonful of chocolate ice cream halfway to her mouth.

Emrys groaned. “I’m better now,” she muttered. “But long stretches on Cardassia listening to men argue about exact coordinates of the Demilitarized Zone hasn’t exactly been pleasant.”

“I take it the peace talks aren’t going well?” she murmured, glancing to make sure no one could overhear her. Emrys appreciated her consideration. The last thing the Federation needed was more worried citizens.

Emrys shook her head behind her glass of Alvanian brandy. “We’re a little… stuck,” she said quietly. “I think it will turn out alright, I mean, negotiation is an art, you know? We have to cycle between slow and quick progress. If everything happens too quickly, or we push too hard, the Cardassians may find themselves having misgivings. We could wind up right back where we started. But my superiors don’t seem to agree - it’s like they expect progress at warp nine.” 

Deanna patted her hand empathetically. “Yours is a difficult spot to be in. I certainly wouldn’t want to do your job.”

Emrys snorted. “They’d shit themselves if you offered. They’d consider your abilities to be giving them the upper hand.”

Deanna smiled around a spoon full of ice cream. “That’s why I’d never offer,” she muttered. She paused thoughtfully before pinning Emrys with a meaningful stare.

“Have you been home recently?”

Emrys sank back into her seat. A pang of guilt settled below her heart. “I haven’t had a lot of time to make it all the way back to Earth,” she muttered, not meeting her friend’s eyes. “And… with Silas gone, there’s really no reason to.” She shook her head slowly, trying to clear the dull ache that was forming behind her eyes as she thought about her brother. 

Deanna, perhaps sensing Emrys’ discomfort, changed the subject. With a sly grin, she sat back and crossed her legs. “And have you been… seeing anybody lately?”

Emrys laughed harshly, the sound carrying in the mostly unoccupied Ten Forward. “Yeah, a whole bunch of angry Cardassians.”

Deanna snickered, but doubled down, wanting an actual answer. She waited, gazing at Emrys with a raised brow.

With a sigh, Emrys shook her head. “This post has been taking all my time and energy. I go where they tell me, leave when they tell me - I’m always working or on my way to work, essentially.”

“What about that Vulcan on your team? What was his name? R-”

“Romar,” Emrys groaned after another pull of brandy.

“Romar!” Deanna repeated excitedly. “What about him?”

Emrys shrugged, trying not to call to mind her efforts to become closer to Romar, only to be brutally (for a Vulcan) rebuffed. “He wasn’t interested.”

With a frown, Deanna grasped one of Emrys’ hands. “I’m sorry, my friend. It seems like you don’t have a lot of time for yourself right now, and I can’t imagine how difficult that must be,” she fretted. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Emrys pulled her hand from under Deanna’s, only to place hers on top and pat Deanna’s hand softly. “Let’s just talk about you, hmm?” She gave her friend a small smile. “I’ve missed you, you know?”

With a hum and smile tinged with heartache for Emrys, she nodded. “I’ve missed you too.”

Chapter Text

When Emrys awoke the next morning, she was sorely tempted to remain snuggled under her blankets - spending weeks at a time dealing with the tense atmosphere of peacekeeping and treaty-writing was beginning to wear on her. She had stacks of PADDs to work through and she almost certainly had new, pressing messages from her superiors, the tone of which she could already guess.

She sighed and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, rubbing away the sleep and steeling herself for the day ahead - at least aboard the Enterprise she could be a bit more leisurely. With no Cardassian timetables to keep to, and no meetings to report back on to her superiors, Emrys could sit and review things methodically and interruption-free.

As she flung the covers away from her, a tremendous jolt rocked the ship and sent Emrys rolling off the bed. She stumbled to her feet just as the thunderous roar that had followed died down. Immediately, the red alert klaxons began to wail and Emrys reached for the comm in her quarters.

“Do you need any assistance, Counselor?” she called to Deanna. If her memory served her correctly, her friend would be on the bridge this morning.

“We’ve got things under control for now, but standby.” Emrys could hear Lieutenant Worf barking orders in the background and let her communication line close. They’d call her if they needed. Trying to keep any anxiety at bay, she took to pacing.

— — —

A brief chime sounded, interrupting Emrys’ review of what little progress her group had made on Cardassia Prime, before Captain Picard’s voice came floating through her temporary quarters: “Commander Beck, I hope I’m not interrupting, but I have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead, Captain,” she responded, gathering up the stack of PADDs on the table before her. The red alert klaxons had stopped sounding not too long ago and she had a sinking feeling this favor had something to do with that.

“The red alert this morning was called after we were fired upon by a Cardassian vessel,” he began, and Emrys frowned. “The crew of that ship was apparently retaliating, due to reports of a Federation starship destroying an unarmed science station in the Cuellar system.”

Emrys couldn’t contain the groan that pulled at her throat. This incident certainly wouldn’t help when she had to return to Cardassia next. 

“The USS Phoenix is responsible for the attack,” the captain continued, “but they have since gone silent and are not responding to Starfleet communiqués. Admiral Haden has asked us to find the USS Phoenix , and the crew of the Trager , the Cardassian vessel, have offered safe passage, provided that we allow a delegation aboard while we do so.”

Emrys blew out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding as quietly as she could. The tension that was sure to accompany these Cardassians aboard would be difficult to navigate. Peaceful relations were so new that there were certainly still members of the Federation who would be unable to stay quiet, even if it went against orders.

“Given your experience on Cardassia and in helping to navigate the formation of the treaty in general, I was hoping that you might be available to assist in the… handling ,” Picard added delicately, “of their delegation while they’re aboard.”

Although the situation was sure to be tense, Emrys reasoned, drumming her fingers on the tabletop, it had the potential to be a net positive. The vast majority of Emrys and her team’s interactions on Cardassia had been limited to members of the Central Command. That made sense, of course, but Central Command wasn’t exactly known for its tolerance of dissenting opinions. If she could manage to broker or at least maintain positive relationships with the delegates who came aboard, perhaps she could gather some additional perspective to take with her into negotiations. 

Emrys cleared her throat and tossed her stack of PADDs into her travel bag. “Of course, Captain,” she replied. “I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

“Excellent,” the captain responded. “The gul and two of his aides will be beaming aboard in one hour. Please meet us in Transporter Room Three.”

“Aye, sir.”

Gulping down the rest of her red leaf tea, Emrys rushed to get ready as her first day of “vacation” was suddenly dashed. A strand of hair came loose from her braid as she tugged on her boots and she blew it out of her face exasperatedly. Smoothing the wrinkles in her uniform shirt determinedly, she stepped out into the hallway to make for the Transporter Room with only a few minutes to spare. 

In the Transporter Room, Emrys took her place beside Deanna, who gave her a friendly bump with her shoulder, and Will, just as three imposing Cardassians appeared on the transport pad. Their helmets still donned, and clad in brown armor, Emrys was reminded acutely of her trips to Cardassia over the past several months, far from friendly faces and never too far from underlying currents of tension and anger.

Immediately, Emrys noted that she didn’t recognize any of these men in particular, although she understood their insignia easily – the aide to the left of the gul had a much friendlier look about him than the other two. Although the firm set of his mouth remained, his wide eyes curiously took in his surroundings, and Emrys smiled to herself.

“Welcome to the Enterprise,” Will offered. “I’m First Officer William Riker.”

He motioned to the two women beside him. “Counselor Deanna Troi and Lieutenant Commander Emrys Beck,” he introduced, as Deanna and Emrys nodded in turn. Emrys smiled as the friendlier-looking aide caught her eye and dipped his head in acknowledgement.

“I am Gul Macet,” the Cardassian in the center declared, stepping down off the transporter pad. “My aides, Glinn Daro, Glinn Telle,” he added as his men followed, standing at ease behind him.

“This is our Transporter Chief, Mr. O’Brien.” Will motioned to Miles as he spoke and Miles nodded curtly at the group. A tinge of dread began pooling in Emrys’ stomach as she watched the interaction, remembering that Miles’ reaction to the Cardassians on board would hardly be an isolated incident. A glance at the mostly well-concealed concern on Deanna’s face told Emrys that she wasn’t alone in her worries.

“Shall we?” Will asked, leading the group into the busy halls of the Enterprise.

The group was quiet as Will guided them to the Observation Lounge, and Emrys found herself wanting to bridge the gap, to be as welcoming as possible, if only to shake off the lingering effects of Miles’ terseness. 

“Gul Macet,” she remarked, matching her pace to his as he looked at her in mild surprise, “on my most recent visit to Cardassia, I had the opportunity to speak with the Prefect of Bajor stationed on Terok Nor, Gul Dukat. I can’t help but notice that you bear a striking resemblance to him - are you of any relation?” Emrys turned to await his response, noticing the glance that the two glinns walking behind them shared.

A dark look passed over Macet’s face. It was quick, but Emrys caught it and filed it away to be analyzed later.

“Yes,” Macet responded blithely. “Dukat is my cousin. Although, I am significantly more interested in hearing what brought you to Cardassia, my dear.” He appraised Emrys with a critical eye. Even with the armistice in place, few non-Cardassians came to his home world for any reason.

“Well… I assisted in forming the armistice between Cardassia and the Federation,” she admitted. “And now I lead the team of Federation members who are working with Central Command to formalize a treaty.”

“Ah, so you’re a diplomat.” He seemed almost disdainful, but Emrys thought she’d seen the barest hint of a smile on his face.

“Not entirely, Gul,” she countered. “In fact, I’ve served as a communications officer on several Starfleet ships. Weeks at a time on Cardassia is the most time I’ve spent on land in years,” she added with a light laugh.

Emrys was robbed of Macet’s response as the door to the observation lounge opened and their group joined the captain, who was already seated at the head of the table. Emrys found herself seated beside Glinn Daro as Miles and Commander La Forge trailed into the room. 

As Will and the captain discussed the steps they were planning to take to locate the Phoenix, Emrys allowed herself the opportunity to subtly study the Cardassian beside her. He seemed more at ease than his counterparts, his broad shoulders relaxed as he listened intently to Captain Picard. Emrys had spent more time than she could reasonably quantify around Cardassians in the last year, and none of them had been half as agreeable as this one. She wondered briefly if it was an act, some elaborate display designed to catch adversaries off guard. She dismissed the idea just as quickly, however; Cardassians could certainly be devious and underhanded, but in the more recent past, they’d preferred to rely on brute strength, a trait that Emrys had noticed was perpetuated by most members of the military and Central Command. She then wondered how this Glinn Daro’s seemingly pleasant nature served him there.

The sound of Miles snapping at something the gul had said brought Emrys back to attention. As the captain intervened, she made a mental note to have Deanna check in with Miles later. If the information Emrys had from Vice Admiral Nechayev was good, the Federation wouldn’t be able to handle falling back into conflict with Cardassia; they were still reeling from their losses to the Borg. Emrys often felt that her job was akin to walking a tightrope, and she wanted to ensure that at the very least, no one on this ship would be pushing anything off balance.

The captain’s combadge chirped as Worf summoned him to the bridge. The gul and captain exited the lounge and Emrys turned to the glinns, rising from her seat.

“Would you like to join me in Ten Forward for a drink? It seems likely that it will be a while before we catch up to the Phoenix .” 

Daro nodded his agreement and gave her a small smile. Emrys was struck again by Daro’s height as he rose from his seat; he was several inches taller than her, and carried himself with a cool confidence that only accentuated his stature. Telle fell in step with them as they approached the turbolift, looking for all the world like someone had just hit him. 

Emrys’ heart rate picked up slightly as she stepped into the turbolift and realized that Miles had joined them. 

Miles called for deck six and Daro, seemingly intrigued by the command protocol, called for deck ten. There was a moment of awkward silence while Miles glared at the wall, but just as Emrys opened her mouth to break it, Daro spoke up.

“Your captain is most impressive,” he proffered kindly. She couldn’t be sure whether he was speaking to her or Miles.

“Yes, he is,” Miles agreed, his voice clipped.

Daro’s eyes slid to Emrys’ for a moment and she gave him an encouraging smile.

She watched as he bolstered himself slightly, standing up just a bit taller. “Chief O’Brien, our transporting system is still operating with active feed pattern buffers. I would like to talk with you about your technology.”

Emrys felt a momentary fluttering in her chest. He was trying to be friendly! Even though Miles had already been standoffish, Daro was still trying to build bridges, something Emrys could certainly appreciate. His attempts to break the tension in the turbolift were endearing.

“I’ll have to get Commander La Forge’s approval on that.”

“I understand.” Daro paused, as though hesitant. “In the meantime, we’re going to your Ten Forward. Will you join us?”

Emrys felt the dread deadening her limbs again as the turbolift halted and she glanced at Miles’ face. He looked murderous.

“If my Commander tells me to discuss the transporter with you, I will,” he began acidly. “If Captain Picard orders me to tell you everything I know about Ben Maxwell, I will-”

“Miles,” Emrys warned quietly. 

“But who I choose to spend my free time with,” he ground out, ignoring Emrys and stepping into Daro’s space, “that’s my business.” His proximity to Daro suddenly sent anger crackling through Emrys like lightning.

“O’Brien,” she barked, placing a hand between the two men. Miles glared at her before stepping aside and exiting the turbolift. The doors closed and they were off again. Emrys exhaled sharply before finding a smile for the glinns.

“My apologies. In my experience, the chief is not usually quite so… prickly.”

Telle, who Emrys had yet to hear speak at all, addressed her sternly. “Perhaps that is your experience because you are human.”

“That is very likely,” Emrys replied softly. “I apologize for it nonetheless.” The turbolift halted and she guided Daro and Telle to Ten Forward, eager to move on to more pleasant conversation.

At the bar, over kanar and Alvanian brandy, the trio kept the discussion light, discussing how the glinns came to be posted on the Trager and how Emrys was enjoying her visits to Cardassia. Emrys did most of the work, which she had anticipated, but once she started getting responses from the thoroughly stiff Telle, she gave herself a mental pat on the back.

After a while, Telle excused himself and Daro seemed to relax even further. Until Miles appeared. He spotted Emrys and Daro and approached hesitantly. Emrys appreciated that he at least had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. Emrys glanced at Daro questioningly. He gestured to the open barstool and Miles sat down as Emrys hid a small smile behind her glass of brandy, affected once again by Daro’s civility.

“I wanted to say,” Miles began sheepishly. “I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have popped off like that in the turbolift.” He peeked at Emrys before looking down at the bar top.

“I think…” Daro replied quietly, “This has been hard on all of us. I know I’ll be happy when I’m back on my own ship.” A delicate tendril of something like sadness curled around Emrys.

Miles nodded thoughtfully. “I guess that’s true. I hadn’t thought about that.”

“I was on Setlik III with Captain Maxwell,” he continued, “the morning after the massacre.” Daro’s eyes widened just slightly. Emrys knew this story - knew how Chief O’Brien became the “Hero of Setlik III”. She understood why Miles felt the way that he did. Part of her job in the formation of the treaty had been thoroughly reviewing Cardassian war efforts, in addition to all the things she’d experienced firsthand. There were atrocities she’d seen and heard about that she’d never be able to forget. But she was also capable of considering the big picture, the long term: that continuing to behave like enemies would only lead to a ceaseless war that no one could afford, certainly not the Federation. 

The chief carried on, as if determined to get this out. “We were too late, of course. Almost everyone was dead.”

To Emrys’ surprise, Daro spoke. “That was a terrible mistake,” he murmured, gazing down at his kanar glass. “We were told the outpost was a launching place for a massive attack against us.”

Miles shook his head sadly. “The only people left alive,” he contended, “were in an outlying district of the settlement. I was sent there with a squad to reinforce them.” His eyes studied the wall behind the bar despondently. “The Cardassians were advancing on us… moving through the streets, destroying, killing. I was with a group of women and children when two Cardassian soldiers burst in. I stunned one of them. The other one jumped me.”

Daro regarded him wide-eyed.

“One of the women threw me a phaser and I fired.” Miles grimaced. “The phaser was set at maximum. The man just… just incinerated there before my eyes.” He looked at Daro meaningfully. “I’d never killed anything before. When I was a kid, I’d worry about swatting a mosquito.” Grief swelled in Emrys’ chest for Miles, knowing that nothing would ever take away or undo the burden he carried from his time in the war. It was yet another reminder for Emrys why she was working so hard for this treaty.

Miles got up from his barstool abruptly, and both Daro and Emrys regarded him with concern.

“It’s not you I hate, Cardassian,” the chief added with a note of finality. “I hate what I became because of you.” Before Emrys could even consider responding, he was gone.

Daro studied the glass in his hands intently. Emrys opened her mouth, but he cut in. 

“Please don’t apologize for him,” he said, finally meeting her eyes. “I understand him.” He nodded, seemingly to himself. “We all carry things with us that we’d sooner forget.” He drained the last of his kanar and set the glass down lightly.

“I think,” he added quietly, “that I should return to my quarters.” That tendril of sadness around Emrys squeezed a little tighter, wishing that this visit could have been easier, more positive. A small part of her whispered that it also would have been nice to have more time to talk to Daro alone. But she couldn't imagine how exhausted he must be, how uncomfortable.

“Of course,” she replied. “May I walk with you?”

Daro gave her a small smile. “I would enjoy that very much.”

Emrys noticed how Daro slowed his pace as they made their way through the halls of the Enterprise and hummed thoughtfully.

“You know, Glinn Daro,” Emrys admitted, tucking her hands behind her back and glancing up at him thoughtfully, “you are unlike any Cardassian I’ve ever met.”

His eye ridges rose slightly as he looked back at her. “Is that a good thing?”

Emrys nodded emphatically. “Definitely. You are infinitely more approachable.”

“Well,” he replied as they reached his door, “if that is what has allowed me the pleasure of your company, then it is a trait I am happy to have.”

Emrys flushed, dipping her head to hide her flustered expression. Forcing herself to look at him, she found her voice again.

“The pleasure has been all mine, truly.”

The warmth in his eyes seemed to spill over as he gazed at her. “I bid you goodnight, Commander.”

Emrys inclined her head, allowing a smile to pull at her lips. “Goodnight, Glinn.” 

Chapter Text

Early the next morning, Emrys had donned her Starfleet uniform once again and made her way back to the temporary quarters that had been assigned to the glinns of the Trager.

She found herself surprised when, after pressing the door chime, Glinn Daro answered, already fully dressed in armor. 

With a kindhearted chuckle, she teased, “Do you sleep in that stuff?”

She might have been seeing things, but she could have sworn there was the slightest tinge of blue fanning across his scaled neck. He returned her smile readily.

“Only when I must share quarters with Telle.”

Emrys couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled giddily out of her chest. She leaned toward him conspiratorially. “I would do the same,” she whispered.

“But!” she returned to the matter at hand, pulling herself upright and tucking her hands behind her back, still grinning at the glinn. “I believe we should be encountering the USS Phoenix today, but until then, I wanted to see if you and Glinn Telle would like to join me for a stroll around the arboretum?”

Daro leaned forward this time, his tone playfully furtive. “Well, Telle has been confined to quarters for the remainder of our journey-” Emrys’ eyes widened playfully. “I am not entirely certain what he did to warrant such a penalty; however, I would love the opportunity to join you.” 

Emrys felt her grin slipping into a much softer smile, but couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it. The door hissed closed behind Daro as he stepped into the hall and adopted the same stance as Emrys, back straight, hands tucked behind his back.

As they made their way down the halls, Emrys found herself once again appreciating Daro’s bearing. He carried himself with a quiet confidence and seemed to be constantly surveying his surroundings curiously. 

When they had arrived at the arboretum, Daro hesitated for a moment, falling slightly behind Emrys. She paused and turned to look at him as he stood there, gazing at her earnestly.

Before Emrys could ask if he was alright, he took the step forward that would carry him to her side and offered her his arm, his eyes locked on hers.

For the first time in a very long time, Emrys allowed herself to act without thinking. In her current assignment, every word, every movement, every interaction had to be carefully considered. There was too much at stake for anything to be perceived the wrong way. For once, in the quiet calm of the Enterprise ’s arboretum, standing beside a charming and terribly unorthodox Cardassian, she wasn’t worried about anything. She linked her arm with his, shooting him a shy smile, feeling heat pulsing around her cheeks.

As they ambled slowly past the Cypirion cacti, Emrys allowed her nosiness to get the best of her. “So, Glinn, did you always know that you wanted to join the Cardassian Guard?”

He glanced down at her briefly, his expression contented. “Please, Commander, call me Daro.” His free hand came to rest atop Emrys’, tucked around his arm, warmth spreading through her limbs at the touch. 

He continued casually. “I don’t believe I ever thought there was another option, to be quite frank. All of the males in my family before me were somehow involved with the Guard or the Central Command, since its inception. So I followed in their footsteps.” He paused pensively, but began to smile again. “It wasn’t until my younger brother came along - well, he decided to do away with all that tradition.” Emrys caught the hint of a proud smile crossing his features and let it prompt one of her own. 

“What did your parents think of that?” she asked curiously, hoping it wasn’t too personal a question.

“Ah. Well, my father did not approve, as you can probably imagine.” Daro didn’t seem too troubled by this. “He was actually quite furious when my brother announced that he would be continuing his studies at Central University… My mother, however, was more understanding. She always fostered a sense of independence and determination in my brother and I.”

“It sounds like she did a wonderful job with you two,” Emrys added kindly.

“She is an exceptional woman,” he agreed. "And what about you, Commander? Do you have any siblings that you tortured in childhood?"

Emrys stumbled just slightly, surprised by the question though she had no real reason to be. Daro was quick to tighten his grip, keeping her upright. He noticed immediately that something had shifted, his concern altering his countenance completely. Emrys attempted to recover, but the smile she fixed upon her face seemed somber. Daro noticed that she couldn’t meet his eyes and he gently guided them to a stone bench beside a small pond near the center of the arboretum. His thumb idly rubbed at her fingers that were still clutching at his shirt.

"An older brother," she said quietly. "He was just a couple of years older than me… We were very close growing up. I mean, he still tortured me the way only an older brother can," she added with a distant chuckle, seeming lost in her memories.

She continued on after a moment, unaware of the grief darkening Daro's eyes. "He joined Starfleet as soon as he was old enough, and I followed right after. He was an excellent officer - clever, confident, kind-hearted. Once he graduated to lieutenant, he was posted to a ship that was involved in several skirmishes along the Federation-Cardassian border." Emrys paused, her breath hitching.

"Their ship was destroyed - there were no survivors." She let out a deep breath, trying to center herself as Daro laced his fingers comfortingly with hers. She looked up at him and flushed, remembering where she was.

"I'm so sorry," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"You haven't," Daro reassured her. "On a planet with as long and harsh a military history as ours, these conversations are very… familiar."

Emrys examined the way their fingers were twined together, an alternating pattern of smooth and pale, and scarred and ashen.  

"I am so very sorry about your brother."

"You know," Emrys said thoughtfully. "I think that people like Miles expect me to feel the same way that they do about Cardassians, because of what happened to my brother." She shook her head slowly, taking in the lush and cheery garden around her. 

"But I like to think that I'm honoring his memory by making sure that the wars that killed him don't claim the lives of anyone else. Maybe I'm deluding myself," she shrugged, "but I just know that he would never have wanted anyone to kill in his name."

Daro lifted Emrys' hand from where it rested on his arm and brought it to his lips, his eyes shining with something like wonder.

“I must say, Commander-”

“Please… just Emrys,” she urged with a slight shake of her head, flushing slightly at the way his lips had felt against her skin.

He smiled. “Emrys. You have done nothing but surprise me since our introduction. I can certainly see why you were chosen to conduct peace talks with my people.”

The faint blush coloring her cheeks deepened. “You flatter me, Daro.” Suddenly intrigued, she glanced at him earnestly. “Although I’m somewhat ashamed it took me this long to consider it, I suppose I should probably ask you how you feel about the war and the signing of the armistice.”

Daro sat up a touch straighter, but did not relinquish his hold on her hand. He was quiet for a long moment, but Emrys was patient, a skill she’d been practicing since the war ended, and waited for him to collect his thoughts.

“I am sure that, to many,” he began somewhat haltingly, focused intently on the glassy surface of the pond, “it makes little sense to feel this way when one makes a living as a member of the Cardassian military. But, I have never felt pleasure at invading or occupying other planets, at political games, at senseless killing… at so much destruction.”

He sighed. “When I was young, and under the powerful influence of my family’s legacy, I believed that joining the Guard was a measure of protecting my home, my people. And that was something I wanted to be able to do.” He was very still as he spoke and Emrys shifted closer to him reassuringly. 

“But I was blind to the realities of war. I learned quickly enough how mistaken I had been, how naive , and I have been trying to reconcile my own personal beliefs with the path that lies before me ever since.” He finally tore his gaze from the water and met Emrys’, finding comfort in the way she had moved closer to his side. “For my part, I am very glad an end has been called and the armistice has been signed. The day a treaty is finalized will be a magnificent one indeed.”

“You may be waiting a while,” she countered with a chuckle, bumping his arm with her shoulder. 

“Ah, well. I am nothing if not patient.”

“An important skill to have when dealing with Cardassians, I’ve found,” Emrys quipped.

Daro’s eyebrow ridges rose marginally, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Except for you,” she added in playful haste. “You seem reasonable enough.”

Daro laughed, the sound sweet and almost musical, and warm triumph flooded through Emrys at having earned that jovial sound from him. 

“I am glad you think so,” came his rejoinder. “Although, if I had to guess, given your role in navigating concord with my people, you would likely be uniquely capable of handling me if I were not.”

Emrys hummed. “That may be so. But it would seem such a chore - I much prefer you this way.”

“Then I will continue endeavoring to remain as I am.” His words hung in the air between them, loaded, but with what, exactly, Emrys couldn’t be sure. He was, after all, a Cardassian glinn who would likely be returning to his ship very soon. She might never see him again - that thought heralded the return of that tendril of sadness that had coiled around her the evening before. She was disinclined to consider more deeply what that was about.

She was denied the opportunity to respond (although her mind had been floundering for an appropriate response to his potentially layered statement) when a brief chirp emanated from somewhere along Daro’s armor. His expression slipped into a stoic mask almost immediately, but Emrys thought she saw a hint of disappointment flickering in his eyes just before.

“Glinn,” came the clipped, disembodied voice of Gul Macet, “we are returning to the Trager . Meet me in Transporter Room Three immediately.

“Yes, sir.” 

Emrys did her best to hide the disappointment that she was dismayed to find tugging at her chest. Instead, she fixed a supportive smile on her face and rose from the bench, pulling Daro up with her.

“May I escort you?” she asked quietly.

“Please,” he murmured, a confused jumble of emotions playing over his visage.

As Emrys did her best to shove down the unpleasant emotions that were threatening to crawl up her throat, she guided Daro towards the exit. In an instant of clarity, she realized how the rest of their trip to the Transporter Room would go, as opposed to the relative freedom they’d enjoyed in the empty arboretum. Halting their progress just before reaching the doors, she turned to Daro. The doleful look on his face felt like a punch to her gut and before she could overthink it, she hugged him. Perhaps it was more for her own benefit than his, but maybe, she thought, he needed this just as much as she did.

For a moment, as Daro froze in her grasp, she worried that she’d made a mistake and, although she was not afraid to have offended someone as easygoing as Daro, she was more concerned that she was making him uncomfortable. But as quickly as the thought occurred to her, he was returning her gesture, gathering her fully in his embrace. His lips pressed meaningfully against the crown of her head and he sighed into her hair. 

Silently, Emrys drew back, giving him a small smile before pulling herself up to her full height and placing her hands behind her back so he wouldn’t see the trembling of her fingers. He mimicked her posture, offering a rueful smile of his own, and the pair made their way back towards the Transporter Room, a professional distance between them. 

As they reached their destination, Emrys halted outside the door and Daro turned to face her, studying her intently.

“ Kiba'avzayn ,” Emrys intoned as Daro’s eyes widened. “Safe journey, Glinn Daro.”

Daro cleared his throat quietly. “Your pronunciation is… very good.” He inclined his head respectfully. “Be well, Commander Beck. Pokor malin çad lox-Cardăsa Terăm . I hope that our paths will cross again soon.”

She gave him the brightest smile she could muster as he nodded with a note of finality and entered the Transporter Room. The door hissed closed behind him and, feeling her throat constricting, muttered, “Computer, locate Counselor Deanna Troi.”

— — —

Emrys spent the next few days aboard the Enterprise as they returned to their original position before the incident with the Phoenix occurred, completing their mapping survey. She had found it difficult to focus on her work initially, but insistent communiqués from both Jellico and Nechayev found her throwing herself into various tasks, determined to take her mind off Daro. She’d spent so much time holed up in her quarters, in fact, that Deanna had taken to coming to fetch her, if only to convince her to stop working and join her for a drink for an hour or two. She expressed her concern openly, but Emrys brushed it off, downplaying her despondency about Daro and trying to convince both of them that she simply had too much work to do to spend time on anything else.

As the Enterprise finished their survey, they turned their course toward Starbase 395 and Emrys opted to stay aboard. She hesitated a bit when Picard had announced their next destination, as Admiral Nechayev had an office aboard that base, and Emrys had no desire for another chewing-out from a superior officer. But the desire to work down her never-ending to-do list won out.

“What are you going to do while we’re docked at the station?” Deanna had asked over dinner the evening before their arrival. 

Emrys laughed around a bite of Fettran risotto, covering her mouth belatedly. “Work, of course.” She swallowed her food before continuing. “A friend of mine is a stellar cartographer posted there, and she’s agreed to help me look into some claims the Cardassians are making about borders and mapping errors.”

Deanna looked surprised. “They’re claiming our maps have errors? Where?”

“In various places along the hotly disputed borders, of course, but specifically around Minos Korva.”

“That’s right,” Deanna replied thoughtfully. “I think I remember the captain saying something about them trying to annex the area before the war ended.”   

Emrys nodded apprehensively, drumming her fingers on the tabletop. “Whatever information I’m able to collect, in addition to verifying the accuracy of our Federation maps,  is certain to be necessary during our next round of negotiations. The Cardassians are pushing hard for their claim over the disputed planets."

Deanna sighed, perhaps sensing her friend’s flagging energy. “I don’t envy you. Not knowing how long all of this could take must be very difficult.” 

Emrys sunk lower in her chair, meeting Deanna’s eyes only briefly, hesitant to share the vulnerability in hers. She bit her lip and fiddled with her spoon.  

“Perhaps we will reach an accord quickly,” she said, but she knew it sounded hollow.

Deanna sighed. “Perhaps.”

That evening, Emrys called it an early night, eager to get to her next destination and focus on something so complex and expansive that there would be no room in her mind to consider anything - or anyone - else.

Chapter Text

The sleek interior of Starbase 395 never failed to amaze Emrys, although she had been there a handful of times before. With soaring glass viewports and spacious, open designs, the tranquility of space was welcomed in, lending its calm to the bustling of people inside. 

Although 395 hadn’t initially been a very lively base, its proximity to Cardassian space meant that its atmosphere had changed somewhat during the war and since the armistice. Using the base as a primary location for repairs on ships along the front lines had brought more people - more engineers, more command officers, sometimes their families as well. Even with the signing of the armistice, the station remained busy, and more Starfleet officers had been offered posts there; more exploratory research was being done on the nearby Tama star system, more exobotanists were taking interest in the unique flora and fauna of New Halana, test probes were being sent to the nearby Vaultera Nebula. 

To Emrys, it was a nice change of pace to be at a starbase. In her recent past, the only other time she was surrounded by this many people was on Cardassia which, naturally, presented a completely different atmosphere. There, she was an outsider, one who her native counterparts considered a threat to their expansion and authority. She represented, to them, everything they hated about the Federation. Which was fine, if that was the job she had been tasked with. She was following her orders. But it took a profound emotional toll to bear the brunt of that hostility for such long periods of time. 

After Emrys had located and dropped her belongings off in her temporary quarters, she made her way to the stellar cartography lab. The lab at this base was truly enormous - several small rooms full of desk terminals and spherical interfaces preceded a large, 360-degree projection room with a rotating central terminal allowing for extremely detailed mapping and examination. The first time Emrys laid eyes on the space, she almost considered switching careers. Almost.

“Em!” Catching the flash of bright blue in the corner of her vision, Emrys turned just as she was crushed into a veritable bear hug by Lieutenant Byha Safar, her favorite Bolian star mapper. Emrys and Byha had met during Emrys’ very first communications posting aboard the USS Avondale , where Byha was already working in the stellar cartography lab. The women became fast friends, and Emrys had even been to visit Byha’s home on Bolarus IX. Emrys found their personalities to be a good match – Byha’s bright, bubbly energy made her instantly likable to almost everyone and covered some of the gaps in Emrys’ own self-confidence. And Emrys had a way of calming her friend, reminding her of consequences and how to keep her cool in times of tension.

“I’ve missed you so much, By!” Emrys croaked out, her chest constricted with the force of Byha’s arms wrapped around her. 

Finally, Byha relented, releasing Emrys, but placing steadying hands on her shoulders and carefully sizing up her human friend through narrowed eyes.

“You look tired,” she offered.

“I am tired,” Emrys replied with a snort.

Much more gently this time, Byha pulled Emrys back into her embrace. “I’ve missed you too, Em.”

Pulling away again, she offered up a brilliant smile and led Emrys by the hand to her workstation. 

“I took the liberty of pulling up some of our most recent maps from the Kalandra sector so I can get an idea of what we’re working with,” she said as she plopped herself down at her console. Emrys leaned over behind her to get a view of her screen as Byha pulled up the 2-dimensional rendering of the area. 

Byha hummed thoughtfully, enlarging the area around Minos Korva and locating the closest established Cardassian border. “So, what exactly are they saying is the problem?”

Emrys sighed. Glancing around to make sure no one could overhear, she pulled another chair up beside Byha’s. “Well, during the war,” she explained, “the Cardassian Central Command attempted to annex Minos Korva, saying that it fell within Cardassian borders, that it wasn’t in Federation space, even though it’s been considered a Federation territory for almost 30 years now.”

Byha ran a worried hand over her bare scalp. “Then what happened?”

“They didn’t manage to annex it – the problem is that now that we’re in negotiations, they’re claiming our maps are in error because of a miscalibration and that, if that miscalibration were to be corrected, Minos Korva would belong to Cardassia. Needless to say, they haven’t exactly been forthcoming about their plans for the system, but given what’s happening on Bajor, I think we can probably guess,” she added bitterly.

“They’re just… pushing really hard on this one,” Emrys lamented. “Figuring out borders has honestly been the most high-intensity part of these negotiations so far. Nobody wants to give up anything they think is theirs.” She rolled her eyes.

Byha laughed somewhat grimly. “Sounds about right,” she added. She took a deep breath. “So, it sounds like what we need to do is prove that a miscalculation did not occur, thereby confirming that Minos Korva’s current location is mapped correctly and does not exist in Cardassia’s existing borders.”

Emrys nodded decisively. 

“Alright, no problem,” Byha added cheerfully. “Well… I hope,” she added more seriously. “I’ll have to search for the records on that particular cartography survey and find all the specs on the reference beacons used. Hopefully that should prove everything was running correctly at the time the survey was completed.”

Emrys grinned. “You’re an absolute lifesaver, By. I will buy you dinner every night that I’m here if you can find that information.”

Byha cackled. “Oh, well, with free dinners on the line, I will work harder than I’ve ever worked on anything before.” 

— — —

Emrys kept her promise to Byha that evening, the women tucking eagerly into plates of clamda rice pilaf, Terran beef, and I’danian spice pudding. Deanna and Will had passed by their table shortly after their own arrival, and Byha had jumped up immediately to hug them both, insisting that they join her and Emrys for dinner. 

It was the most fun Emrys had had in a very long time, her cheeks beginning to ache from laughter. It was the closest she’d come to feeling surrounded by family since Silas’ passing and Emrys allowed the warmth expanding in her chest to settle for a while, hoping she could easily recall the feeling once she’d returned to Cardassia.

“So, Byha,” Deanna began slyly, her eyes flickering over to Emrys for a moment. “Have you heard about Emrys’ new beau?”

Emrys choked on her Trixian bubble juice, coughing powerfully as her face turned crimson. 

“ What ?!” Byha squealed over Emrys’ coughing, her eyes wide, darting between Emrys and Deanna.

Even Will looked intrigued, his eyebrow quirked as he gazed at Deanna.

“A beau ?” Emrys croaked. “Really?”

“I need all of the details,” Byha continued, propping her chin on her hand, eagerly awaiting an explanation from anyone at the table.

“Ugh,” Emrys grumbled, finally clearing her throat. “I’m not sure that choice of words is appropriate,” her eyes slid to Deanna’s to shoot her a glare, “considering that I’ll probably never see him again.”

Byha’s lips immediately tugged into a frown, her eyebrows knitting in concern. “Aw, really?”

“No,” Deanna said, at the same time Emrys contradicted her with her own, “yes.”

Rolling her eyes, Emrys sunk lower in her chair, wrapping an arm around herself. She knew Byha would never let it go, so she braced herself to get it over with.

“Did you hear about the Phoenix incident last week?” she asked with a sigh.

Byha nodded.

“I was on the Enterprise when Captain Picard was ordered to find Maxwell. There was a small group of Cardassian soldiers who came aboard to offer passage through Cardassian space as we searched for the Phoenix . Since I’ve spent so much time dealing with Cardassians recently, he asked if I would help escort them, keep an eye on them, keep them entertained, you know….” She took another gulp of bubble juice, the carbonation blending with the gloom swirling uneasily in her stomach. 

“One of them – one of the gul’s aides – was very different than any Cardassian I’ve ever met. He was quiet and curious and introspective. And in front of a Federation member, no less… He was really sweet and really, really cute,” she added, cringing slightly at how that sounded. Like a schoolgirl with a crush.

Lost in her brief memories with Daro, she missed Deanna and Byha’s eyes meeting in shared hopefulness for their friend.

“Did anything… happen ?” Byha asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Will snorted into his brandy and Emrys turned, unbelievably, an even deeper shade of red.

“No! Of course not!” Emrys ran tired hands down her face slowly. “He was just… I don’t know. It felt like there was something there, some kind of spark or something – ugh, that sounds so corny.” She dropped her hands dejectedly into her lap. “Plus there’s the whole element of like, ‘we were just at war with these people’ – even if, in some miraculous turn of events we got into contact and started something, I can’t imagine that it would reflect well on either of us.”

“Oooh,” Byha sighed dreamily. “Forbidden love.”

Emrys groaned and flicked Byha with some of her juice.

“We just want you to be happy,” Deanna offered. “You’ve had a rough couple of years, and I can feel how much this current posting is draining you-”

“But they’re my orders…”

“I know,” she nodded gently. “I’m just saying that I think there should be something that’s just for you, too. You’re giving up a lot for Starfleet, for the Federation, and right now it’s preventing you from living your own life outside of your job. And that’s not healthy.”

“You deserve to be happy,” Byha cut in kindly. Deanna nodded her agreement. 

“You can’t give your whole life to the job, Em,” Will added, his blue eyes meeting hers meaningfully. “It will take it, if you let it.”

Emrys nodded reluctantly, hot tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. With a great sniffle, she straightened in her chair.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have a way to contact him, and even if I did, I have no idea when we’d ever be able to see each other again.”

“Do Cardassians have shore leave?” Byha asked curiously to no one in particular. Emrys shrugged. 

“That’s what I mean,” she grumbled. 

Deanna cleared her throat pointedly. “You’re a communications officer, Emrys. If anyone could figure out how to contact him, it would be you.”

Emrys sighed in resignation. “Maybe when I get back to Cardassia, I’ll see if I can pull some strings. I think I’m owed more than a few favors at this point.”

— — —

The next several days found Byha and Emrys poring over their respective and joint work efforts. Emrys spent much of her days drafting up a revised plan for shipping allowances. Her third day on the station, however, she received a message from Admiral Nechayev with details on new points that Emrys was to bring up at the next meeting on Cardassia. These particular points filled Emrys with dread, bubbling just beneath the surface of righteousness. She bit at her thumbnail as she read the message over and over again, trying to work out how to present the Federation’s strategic condemnation of Cardassia’s Occupation of Bajor in the most indisputable way possible. Initially, little was done about Bajor’s plight, Emrys had learned, as it was not widely known. Even Starfleet had refused to intervene. She found herself ruminating over whether or not the Cardassians would bring this up - if they would want to know why the Federation “suddenly” cared.

Emrys was, of course, personally against the forced occupation of any planet, and she’d been made well-aware of the atrocities that were being committed on Bajor by the Cardassian military. She was angry and disgusted by them. She also knew that the Cardassians were likely to fight hard against this term; that this term alone was something that could draw out the treaty process another few years if they thought it would get them a positive outcome. Especially since the Federation was now adamant that no treaty would be signed unless Cardassia withdrew from Bajor. 

The Federation’s goal in this treaty point was one Emrys agreed with. Bajor should be free. She just needed to figure out how to win that argument against Ziven and the Cardassians. She sent a carefully-worded message back to Nechayev in an effort to get something she could compromise with.

For days after that, Emrys shifted gears to the Bajoran front and began carefully researching the history of the Occupation and its impact on Cardassian trade and economy. 

Nearing the end of her stay on the station, Byha found Emrys hunched over a PADD near one of the windows in the replicator lounge.

Plopping down beside her and startling Emrys out of her trance, Byha smiled cheerfully. “I have good news! Well, it’s not good, I suppose, but it’s not bad, either. It’s just… you know, factual.”

Emrys chuckled. “Ok. What’s the news?”

“I want to show you! Come on!”

Emrys followed Byha back to the stellar cartography lab, where her friend led her straight past all the work terminals and into the projection room. It appeared that Byha already had it set up, with the star map depicting Minos Korva and its surroundings displayed in a 360-degree panorama. 

Emrys turned in a slow circle, the image of deep space and all its shimmering contents breathtaking.

With a few taps on the central panel, the image altered, red lines and colored expanses appearing on various sections of the image. Emrys’ hands landed on her hips as she turned in a circle again.

“Ok, so what am I looking at?”

“Well,” Byha sang, “I can confirm that our maps are not wrong.”

Emrys nodded thoughtfully. “Ok, I’m going to need you to prove it to me because I’m going to have to prove it to them.” 

“Of course!” Byha sat behind the control panel and zoomed in on some of the colored lines composing the map’s three dimensional overlay.

“This tan section here denotes Cardassian space, as has been defined by Federation maps. However, these borders have been the same since before the war, without dispute from them.” Byha glanced back at Emrys over her shoulder. “So you can use that point in your debate, if you need to. Based on the notes you sent me from the last treaty session, it seems that they’re now trying to say that their whole border is off by about 4.7 lightyears,” she pivoted the projection again, adding a red line that overlapped the blue Federation space sections by a rather large margin, “and that their border should be shifted that amount towards galactic center, which would be giving them huge swaths of territory all along it.” 

She shook her head slowly, zooming her projection out further, to show the extent of that change. “If we did that, they’d be able to annex everything in what you’re trying to establish as the Demilitarized Zone, large parts of the Maxia and Actium sectors, several Federation starbases, and of course, Minos Korva.”

“But!” she continued almost triumphantly. “I did some digging. The Cardassians are trying to say that these borders are incorrectly mapped because of an error caused by the reference beacons used in the mapping, right?”

Emrys nodded, Byha’s excitement managing to rub off on her just a bit. A smile pulled at her lips.

“I have triple-checked the specs on every reference beacon used during that survey, and they were all in good working condition!” She leaned back in her chair, a smug look on her face.

Emrys’ smile grew into a full-fledged grin. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

Byha nodded unabashedly. “Yeah, I know - I went ahead and sent you all the documentation you should need so you have access to it when you get back to Cardassia.”

Emrys threw her arms around her friend gratefully. Although she knew from experience that Cardassians could - and would - argue about these borders anyway, even with proof, it bolstered her confidence to have this kind of information to back up her arguments.

“How will I ever repay you?” Emrys asked drolly.

Byha sighed, but her smile remained. “Honestly? You could pay me back by giving that Cardassian guy a call?”

Chapter Text

Several Cardassians that Emrys had come to recognize as various heads of state were already gathered around the long, angular conference table when she arrived. They stood gathered in small clusters of dully colored armor, whispering fervently as Emrys strode in, trying to appear calm and confident. She felt the presence of Romar and Varsek behind her, which helped a bit – strength in numbers and all that – but dread settled in her stomach nonetheless, knowing that today’s session would most likely not go well.

Her commanding officers had been downright rigid in their demands of the Cardassians and had given Emrys little room to bargain. She knew that Ziven might find some of this to be actually offensive. 

Emrys stood behind her usual seat, waiting for more of her team to arrive. As she glanced past Romar toward the door, a familiar face appeared, and he spotted her just as quickly. The surprise on his face did not dissipate as he strode toward Emrys.

“Lieutenant Commander Beck,” he ventured, extending his hand toward Emrys, “it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Gul Macet,” Emrys replied calmly, trying to mask her rapidly increasing heart rate – perhaps, wherever Gul Macet is, Glinn Daro should also be… “The pleasure is mine,” she finished with a genuine smile.

“Will you be joining us for this session?” she asked, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her. Macet had never attended any of the previous sessions, and she wasn’t sure of his standing within the Cardassian Union. She bit her tongue to ensure she didn’t ask the questions she really wanted to ask. 

“Ah, not for its entirety, thankfully,” he said with a chuckle. “I have been asked to report on our confrontation with the USS Phoenix before this gathering, as the Gul-Tar feels that it may serve as strong evidence that not all of the Federation is interested in building peace with Cardassia.”

Emrys’ smile dropped, but she quickly recovered, schooling her features into a mask of impassivity, despite the anxiety and irritation raging in her chest, wreaking havoc on her empty stomach as bile burned in her gut. The calming warmth of a hand rested on her shoulder and Emrys felt Romar behind her, an ever-present shadow accustomed to steadying her during these sorts of surprises. She took a slow breath, resigning herself to whatever might come, but it seemed that Macet had seen right through her. He took a step closer and, despite Romar tightening his grasp just slightly on Emry’s shoulder, she didn’t back away.

He met her gaze with a slight smirk tugging at his lips, “Don’t worry, my dear. Your Captain Picard and I had a nice chat about Maxwell and how this… incident might impact our attempts at peace. Despite my own personal feelings about Starfleet botching the issue, I am capable of seeing the bigger picture. I will provide the facts as delicately as possible.” Emrys inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement, still working to wrap her mind around what he just said and what he could possibly be getting out of it himself. 

As Macet turned away to take his seat near Ziven, he glanced pointedly at Romar’s hand on Emrys’ shoulder before meeting her gaze once again. “Oh, by the way. A certain Glinn of mine has asked after you. I’ll be sure to tell him you’re well.” He sauntered off toward Ziven and an expanding group of Cardassian military leaders as all the breath expelled from Emrys’ lungs.

Her mind whirled with all the new information she needed to process, but the thought of Daro asking about her slowed her thoughts like molasses. Romar, perhaps sensing her distraction, removed his hand and guided her by her sleeve to sit beside him.

“Are you all right, Commander?” The deep greens and browns of Romar’s traditional Vulcan robes swam before Emrys’ unfocused eyes before she managed to snap herself out of her reverie.

“I- yes, I’m fine. I apologize, my mind was elsewhere for a moment,” she muttered.

Romar inclined his head, his eyes not leaving Emrys as she turned to face the remainder of the table. 

Only a few moments later, Gul-Tar Ziven rose from his seat. The legs of his chair screeched against the marble flooring, an awful noise that echoed in the chamber, forcing a silence over the room.

“It is my sincere hope that this recess has been restful for all of us, and that we may continue building peace between the Federation and the Cardassian Union with clear and refreshed minds,” he declared. Emrys rolled her shoulders back, shifting back into the necessary headspace for this job.

“Before we return to the points of negotiation introduced during our last session, I feel it important to mention that during our break, the Cardassian Union witnessed the loss of 750 citizens at the hands of the Federation-”

Varsek, seated beside her, rose angrily from his chair, protestations forming on his tongue.

Emrys’ hand shot out to grip his white forearm without leaving her seat. “Sit down,” she ordered, as Varsek turned to stare at her.

After a moment, he yanked his arm from her grasp and sat, grumbling to himself.

Ziven seemed almost amused by this display, continuing on as though nothing had happened. “A Starfleet ship was responsible for unprovoked attacks on two Cardassian vessels, in addition to the destruction of an unarmed science station in the Cuellar system.”

He paused, and Emrys replied from her seat, her palms resting flat on the table before her. A smug grin stretched across his face as he waited for her to say or do something. Perhaps to react like Varsek.

“Excuse me for interrupting, Gul-Tar,” she uttered, keeping her tone even and polite. “I believe that you have invited Gul Macet here today to attest to the events that occurred in the Cuellar and Kelrabi systems. As I was also present with Gul Macet on the Enterprise -” Ziven looked surprised by this information, but held steady “-I would appreciate the opportunity to add my own reporting as well.”

Ziven studied her intently across the table for a moment before clasping his hands behind his back and giving a sharp nod.

“Very well.”

Gul Macet stood and began speaking, detailing the events of the Phoenix incident. To his credit, and Emrys’ unconcealed amazement, he was concise and factual. He stressed the level of involvement that he and his crew had been allowed aboard the Enterprise. He did not seem to be laying blame at the feet of the entire Federation; he emphasized Maxwell’s involvement and even mentioned Picard’s own condemnation of Maxwell’s actions. 

When he had finished speaking, he nodded politely at Emrys, but there was something more earnest in his dark eyes, as though he was attempting to show her that he meant what he’d said. He lowered himself back into his chair and Emrys rose in turn.

“Thank you for sharing your experience, Gul Macet. I would only like to add that I am very appreciative of your perspective; it seems that you too understand that ascribing the actions of one, unwell Federation citizen to the entirety of the Federation is both misguided and detrimental to our ongoing treaty efforts.” She gazed meaningfully at the people around her, deliberately making eye contact with Federation citizens and members of the Cardassian Union alike. 

“As is evidenced by this particular group of people who have dedicated and sacrificed nearly a year of their lives to forge peace with this Union, I can say with certainty that Maxwell’s conduct is not an accurate reflection of the Federation as a whole.” Emrys took a deep breath, knowing that the next part might not be pleasant. “Additionally, these thinly veiled attempts to breed divisiveness and derail negotiations undermine the work we’ve completed so far - while there is obviously significant discord about particular negotiation points on both sides, the fact remains that our ultimate objective is peace. Let us not forget that we are here to work as a team, to ensure that the violence and destruction of the last 20 years does not continue.”

As she’d spoken, Emrys had noted the uncomfortable shifting of some of the Cardassian leaders; it read almost like guilt, although so far, she’d found that to be a distinctly un -Cardassian emotion. As she resumed her seat, folding her hands slowly in her lap, her gaze met Ziven’s, only to find him glaring at her. Even from the far end of the table, she could see the pulsing of his jaw as he ground his teeth. Perhaps he’d disliked her implication that he was intentionally sowing discord. Emrys attempted to put it from her mind - she’d spoken the truth, and Ziven was in for a great deal of that today.   

— — —

Emrys stepped through the main doors of the Central Command building and into the sweltering heat of Imperial Plaza. Although Cardassia wasn’t her favorite of the planets she’d visited, she appreciated the scrubby landscape, and the way both sun and moon light glinted off the tips of the sharp, talon-like spires adorning most of the major architecture. It was especially serene at night, and the gentle drone of whatever insects thrived here reminded her of her own home back on Earth.

Sweat prickled almost immediately beneath the collar of Emrys’ uniform and she rummaged in her bag to find a hair clip. As she glanced up, she spotted a familiar face exiting the War Room building across the plaza and laughed to herself, barely noticing the way her heartbeat sped up.

“Glinn Daro!” she called across the mostly empty square shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.

She grinned as he looked up, tracking her voice, a smile of his own stretching across his lips as he spotted her. He changed directions immediately, making his way toward her. As he arrived before her, Emrys hugged him fiercely, glad to see a friendly face after the day she’d had. 

“You’re here,” he breathed in amazement, his eyes studying her intently.

Emrys pulled back and smiled up at him, nodding. “It’s good to see you, Daro.”

He nodded his agreement, his hands settling hesitantly on her shoulder blades.

“Are you here for leave?” she asked. "Gul Macet was at the negotiations this morning."

He nodded again. “The Trager is undergoing some extensive repairs, and Gul Macet’s presence had been requested by both the Gul-Tar and at a meeting of the Detapa Council,” he paused, glancing around him cautiously. “With the exarch,” he murmured.

Emrys quirked an eyebrow. “With Pa’Dar?” she whispered, slightly taken aback, her mind already trying to formulate an explanation for the meeting.

Daro nodded again, but his expression conveyed that he had no other information.

She shrugged, quickly becoming unconcerned with Macet’s affairs while Daro stood before her. “Whatever the reason, I’m so very glad to see you.” 

"And I, you. Perhaps," Daro began gently, his eyes searching Emrys' for any hint of hesitance, "you would like to join me for dinner this evening in my home? It has been a long while since I've been back on Cardassia and I would enjoy spending time with you."

Emrys didn't attempt to hide the delight that stretched across her face. Her heart fluttered behind her ribcage as she nodded, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy.

"I'd love nothing more," she murmured, smoothing her hand down Daro's forearm to link their hands together.

Daro squeezed her hand and began to lead her out of the plaza and further into the capital city. Given the tensions that still remained between Cardassians and members of the Federation, Emrys hadn't ventured far from Imperial Plaza in any of her stays on the planet. She was glad for Daro's presence - even with him by her side, she caught the harsh glares and mutters of disapproval being sent her way as they made their way down a wide boulevard that headed towards the outskirts of the city. Daro seemed to notice them too, and warmth swelled in Emrys' chest as he pulled her closer against his side and shot withering looks at Cardassians who dared to make their disapproval known. It had been a very long time since Emrys felt the touch of someone else's protectiveness.

Emrys found herself pleasantly surprised as Daro led her towards a well-kept, low-slung apartment building that stretched the length of the block. Like much of the outer city’s landscape, the building’s unassuming sand-colored exterior was dotted with large glass windows, the late afternoon sunlight winking on their surface as Emrys and Daro passed. It was a pleasant distinction from the more overwhelming and intimidating architecture near the capitol buildings, Emrys thought, as Daro guided her up a set of stairs. At the top, he punched a code into the keypad beside a heavy metal door, which hissed open quickly. 

Emrys followed him in and gazed wide-eyed at his home – a small living area with an even smaller kitchen attached, and two doors, one open, one closed, leading off the main room. For a moment, Emrys forgot she was even in the capitol, the room around her hearkened so much to the Ithian Forest outside the city walls. Lush plants of every shade, some that Emrys didn’t even recognize, sat on most available surfaces, pops of color vibrant against the tawny walls. There were family pictures and paintings hung on the walls, and a large, overstuffed couch in the center of it all. A desk with a large, attached viewscreen and a precarious stack of PADDs huddled in the corner, Daro’s helmet hanging off the back of its chair.

As Emrys’ gaze returned to Daro’s, she found him looking at her curiously, and smiled. “Your home is lovely,” she assured him. She released his hand to take a step closer to a peculiar-looking plant with turquoise pods all over it.

“I thank you,” Daro replied softly. “Although I cannot take much of the credit. My younger brother also resides here,” Emrys glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, “but he is currently off-planet,” he finished hastily, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“Most of the belongings you see here are his. He resides here permanently, while I am only able to return when my orders allow.” Daro fiddled nervously with the fleshy leaves of a deep purple succulent as he watched Emrys explore his home. “I don’t think I mentioned it before. He teaches ethnobotany at Central University,” he added, explaining the preponderance of plants adorning his apartment. 

“That’s fascinating! Is he very much like you?” Emrys asked, making her way back to stand in front of Daro again. 

“I find him to be,” he replied with a small shrug. “He can be a bit more methodical , shall we say, but I suppose that’s the scientist in him.” 

Emrys rubbed her chin thoughtfully, gazing past her companion. “As a younger sibling myself, I find myself wanting to ask – were you a kind older brother?” she teased.

Daro laughed, and Emrys delighted in the way his face changed as he did so, his eyes gleaming and a light dusting of blue appearing on his chufa . “I like to believe that I was. But I would imagine that my brother might disagree. We were very… rambunctious as children.”

Emrys grinned. “I can believe that.” She glanced around her again. “Either way, it feels very comfortable here.”

“I’m glad you like it. Are you hungry?”

“Quite,” Emrys admitted. “I skipped out on lunch to finalize some points of debate about the Demilitarized Zone.” 

Daro’s eyebrow ridges lowered as he studied her critically. “You need to take care of yourself, Emrys. I know that the formation of this treaty is important - but so is your health.”

Emrys studied her shoes, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.  She was unused to anyone caring what she did or didn’t do, especially in respect to herself. “I’m just a pawn in all of this. If something happened to me, there would be a list of people they could go down to replace me in these negotiations. I’m not really that important in the grand scheme of things,” she said sheepishly.

The feel of Daro’s palm cupping her cheek brought her gaze back to his. He shook his head softly. “It isn’t just about the negotiations. You are valuable in your work, certainly, but you are so much more than that. Your very existence is important to others, I assure you.”

Losing herself in Daro’s dark eyes, her lips were forming words before she’d even thought about what she was saying. “And… does that include you?”

“Yes,” Daro offered tentatively, his expression focused and unwavering. “That includes me.”

Emrys’ struggled to pull in her next few breaths, the fervor building between them making her feel practically combustible. She knew she couldn’t find the words – she could hardly remember how to breathe under Daro’s heated stare – and she hoped that the Human idiom “actions speak louder than words” would hold true as she stepped up on to her toes and pressed her lips to his.

Chapter Text

For a moment, Emrys fell through space, her mind whirling in the unknown as she waited for Daro to respond – but it was only the briefest moment before Daro was kissing her back, his hand slipping from her cheek into her hair as his other arm wrapped firmly around her. Emrys’ fingers trailed along the ridges and edges of his armor, deftly finding the soft fabric of his shirt beneath his chest plate and grasping on for dear life.

She couldn't help the little sigh that escaped her as Daro pulled back to brush his lips lightly over hers, the prominent ridge along his nose caressing her cheekbone as he placed a delicate kiss just below her ear. Emrys' head tipped back against the palm of his hand still wound in her hair, gazing at him with hooded eyes.

She couldn't recall the last time she felt this flustered, and the need to explore this with Daro tugged at her resolutely. Nervousness prickled like needles along her limbs.

"Is-," Emrys cleared her throat as her voice cracked, beginning again. "Is this something that you want?" 

Daro laughed quietly, the warmth of his breath fanning across the miniscule distance between them.

"I have wanted this since you attempted to intervene on my behalf with Chief O'Brien in that turbolift," he murmured. The ridges around his eyes furrowed slightly. "You have been so kind, so welcoming, from the very beginning. It is… not what we were taught to expect from the Federation." He paused, pressing his forehead gently to hers. "Spending time with you has been a most… enlightening experience."

Emrys felt the press of heat in her cheeks that usually heralded tears – it was the nicest thing anyone had said to her in a very long time. She slid a hand from Daro's side along his back beneath his chest plate, watching him shudder slightly as she did.

"I find myself very eager to continue this," he muttered, the hand tangled in her hair tightening just a bit. "But-," he added, and Emrys groaned.

He chuckled, pressing his lips against the crown of her head.

"You just told me you haven't eaten since breakfast, and I did invite you here for dinner, so I would be remiss if I did not feed you sooner rather than later."

He stepped back from her slowly, looking as though he'd never wanted to do anything less. Grasping one of her hands, he led her to the small kitchen table, and gestured for her to sit. 

"What can I get you to drink?" he asked as he stepped over to the replicator. The kitchen was truly tiny, with limited counter space that was already cluttered with fruit Emrys recognized as native to Cardassia, and a series of mismatched glass bottles full of colorful liquids.

"Kanar?" she asked, her voice laced with curiosity. 

Daro looked at her in surprise. "You've had it before?"

Emrys shook her head. "When in Rome, though," she said with a shrug.

Daro looked confused and Emrys laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "If I'm going to try it for the first time, I'm happy to do so with you."

The glinn smiled to himself and replicated two glasses of kanar, handing her one before taking a sip of his own. He eyed her carefully as she took a sip, almost immediately sputtering as the alcohol burned in her throat.

Emrys was caught somewhere between coughing and laughter as her nostrils stung. She looked up to see Daro trying to hide his amusement.

"That is… potent," Emrys croaked.

"It takes some getting used to," he replied rather cheerfully.

He set his glass on the counter and began unbuckling his chest plate, revealing a soft brown undershirt as he pulled the armor over his head and moved to set it on the desk chair in the main room. 

Emrys allowed her eyes to follow him, biting her lip at the way his shirt fit comfortably across his shoulders, snug enough to show the ridges that ran the length of his neck and shoulders. 

"I just realized I've never seen you without your armor on," Emrys commented and Daro glanced at her in surprise.

"Do you find it strange?"

Emrys shook her head. "I find it… very appealing,” she said meaningfully, and bit her lip as a flush of cobalt blue colored his chufa and a pair of scales on his neck. 

He regarded her from his place beside his desk, eagerness and hunger rampaging in his stare. Heat pooled in Emrys’ belly as she held his gaze. She watched as Daro took a deep breath to center himself, loosening his shoulders and lifting his chin, breaking the intensity of the moment. 

A small smile played over his lips as he returned to the kitchen and stood before the replicator again. “As it so happens, Emrys, I am very much looking forward to seeing you out of uniform as well.” With his back to her, he couldn’t see her grin.

Eager to share some of his favorite foods with Emrys, Daro replicated them plates of sem'hal stew with yamok sauce and meat rolls. An undercurrent of flirtation ebbed between them, every word and glance shared colored with want.

Daro was enchanted by her delighted exclamations as she tried her food and the way her peals of laughter danced around him as he told her stories of his childhood. With a great clenching in his chest, he realized how much he wanted to always hear that sound in a home of his own, how fitting it felt to have a mate who enjoyed his company and found him charming. Not that she was his mate, he reminded himself sternly. He wasn't even certain how that would work, given the differences in their background and careers, and she might not even want that with him. But he found himself hoping anyway. 

Emrys found herself more comfortable than she had been in a very long time. She had no home of her own, so to speak, with a job that sent her across the Alpha Quadrant almost constantly. She could see friends, of course, as she had during her brief stay on the Enterprise, or by taking brief trips to space stations or Golana or Risa. Sometimes Earth if she was lucky. But she was never really home . Daro’s home, on the other hand, was cozy and pleasant, completely reflecting Daro himself.  

Emrys giggled behind her kanar glass as Daro explained why Gul Macet and his cousin, Gul Dukat, were on such poor terms with one another, something Emrys had been wondering since Macet had brushed off her question aboard the Enterprise .

When Daro rose to clear the table, Emrys put a hand on his forearm and stood. “Please, let me. You’ve been an excellent host, the least I can do is clear the dishes.”

Daro moved to protest, but Emrys was quicker, sweeping the plates up and moving them to the replicator to be recycled. As she turned back around, she found Daro leaning casually against the counter, studying her.

She raised an eyebrow playfully. “See something you like, Glinn?”

“Without question,” he replied seriously, offering his hand. She stepped toward him and placed her hand in his as he pulled her close. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as his hands slid down her sides, coming to rest on her hips. As her fingers slipped under the fabric of his shirt, caressing the smooth scales along his torso, Daro captured her mouth with his, a groan bubbling up in his throat. 

His tongue traced along the seam of her lips and Emrys welcomed him in, a pleased hum caught in her chest. She crowded him, pressing her body against his desperately, as though he could consume her entirely. Goosebumps prickled along the length of her arms at the thought. One of Daro’s hands surged upward to cradle her head, tilting it back languidly as his lips skated downward, quickly finding the places that sent shivers crawling up her spine. 

She gasped as Daro’s mouth worked at the sensitive spot just below her ear, her fingers pressing more urgently into his skin. Heat built between them, a fervor that Emrys knew could swallow her whole. Daro shifted slightly, one of his knees spreading Emrys' thighs. At the sound of her pleased sigh, his hands began an eager ascent, capturing the zipper of her uniform jacket and tugging it down until she could slip out of it. She let it fall to the floor, then slid her hands up Daro’s side, pushing his undershirt up to expose the stunning pattern of scales along his sides and across his chest. He tugged it quickly over his head, revealing the ridges that spanned his shoulders and trailed up the sides of his neck. He tossed the shirt away hurriedly, as though he couldn’t bear to be parted from her for long. 

Emrys dragged her fingers teasingly up his chest, circling the blue-tinged spoon formation there and pulling a heated moan from Daro as he pressed his forehead against hers. 

“I need to see you,” he begged, thumbing the hem of her undershirt. “Please, irc’lin , I want to see all of you.” 

Locked so closely against him, she felt the hard ridge of his length nudging insistently against her. Emrys couldn’t help the whimper that slipped between her lips as his thigh clenched, desire sparking to life fully between her legs. Practically ripping her shirt in her haste to get it off, she watched Daro’s eyes as they raked over her form. 

He swallowed hard, a cautious hand rising to cup her breast, his fingers tracing slowly over the delicate lace of her bra. As the pad of his thumb brushed over her nipple, she exhaled hard, her fingers grasping at the waistband of his pants. Her eyes met his, the hunger there new and intoxicating. Emrys was so used to the gentle, thoughtful Daro; and while those characteristics were the reason she was even in his home with her top off, and while those traits certainly remained in that moment, it was captivating to see him so overtaken by his desire – a twin to her own.

He tilted his head to the side, motioning toward the room with the open door beyond them, before cupping her face in his palms and pulling her in for another slow, deliberate kiss. He moved her easily, guiding them away from the kitchen counter and toward what Emrys assumed to be his bedroom, their lips breaking apart only to steal quick pants of air before diving into one another again.

Emrys gasped when the backs of her legs hit his bed, and he used their momentum to lower her slowly onto her back, watching her intently. He fumbled slightly with the fastening on her pants, refusing to take his eyes off her, in love with the way her flushed chest heaved on the bed before him. Admiring the way her dark hair spread around her head like the corona of the Cardassian sun. As he finally managed to unfasten her pants and began to slip them down the length of her pale legs, she propped herself up on her elbows, her hooded eyes home to a heady stare that made his Cho’Ch jump. He slipped his palms along her soft skin, leading the way with greedy kisses and nips, worrying her skin between his teeth as she groaned above him, squirming impatiently. 

He hesitated as his lips reached the apex of her thighs, breathing in her scent, and brushing his thumb lightly over the lace that covered her sex. She shuddered above him, her eyes closing in pleasure. Emboldened, he slipped the fabric to the side, allowing his fingers to skim delicately around her soaked folds. The vision of Emrys panting and whimpering atop his bed, at the execution of fingers he’d only just begun to use, sent a wave of possessiveness and adoration clamoring through him. In that moment, despite his desire to go slow and be tender with his fragile little Human, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back. He would give anything to please her. He glanced up at her, a hint of worry in his gaze. 

“I’ve never done this with a Human woman before,” he murmured, massaging the flesh of her thighs even in his insecurity. With a soft smile, she leaned onto one elbow, her other hand stretched to caress his chufa . 

“I wouldn’t have guessed based on how you’re doing so far,” she breathed. “We can teach each other.”

She pushed herself into a seated position, with Daro still kneeling between her legs. She reached behind her back and with a quick flick of her wrist, pulled her bra off and tossed it to the floor. Daro groaned at the sight of her pale breasts, his Cho’Ch painfully hard in his pants. Hands still kneading at her thighs, he watched for her reaction as he took a pink nipple into his slick mouth. He teased and tested, letting it pebble against his tongue as Emrys’ head fell back and short pants slipped between her parted lips. While she was distracted, his fingers dipped below the waistband of her panties and worked them down her legs.

When he glanced back up at her, she was already looking at him, her eyes slightly unfocused, her cheeks flushed, her lips rosy and kiss-swollen. His gentle, stunning mate. His . 

It took her a moment to find her voice and when she spoke it was in a whisper - “H-human men usually use their fingers and their mouths to prepare women to take them…”

Raw hunger gleamed in his eyes as he gently pushed her back to recline against his sheets again, pressing a soft kiss to her sex before flicking his tongue between her folds, collecting the dampness gathered there. The taste of her had his Cho’Ch twitching again. Without stopping his exploration of her cunt, he used a hand to unfasten his pants, freeing his everted length and grasping at his irllun with a tight fist.

Daro noticed the way Emrys’ hips jerked whenever his tongue swept over a small bump near the top of her slit and focused his attention there, eager to hear more of the wanton sounds pouring from her mouth. He felt her tensing as he fixated on that spot, and responded by pressing a gentle finger below his tongue, pushing into the damp heat at her center slowly, testing and giving her time to voice any displeasure. None came, her hips lurching until he had to use his forearm to hold them in place. A chorus of yeses and groans of his name rushed around his head as he slid a second digit into her. As she climbed, she threaded her fingers into his hair, grinding her hips against him restlessly. Her taste and scent surrounded him and he buried his fingers deeper, curling them against a spongy spot inside her as he nipped lightly at that delicate bundle above her entrance. 

With a shameless cry of Daro’s name, Emrys crested over the edge, shuddering helplessly as aftershocks raked through her, even as she pushed Daro away gently. 

“Fuck,” she panted, draped limply across Daro’s bed. Turning her head just slightly to meet Daro’s eyes at the end of the bed, she caught the little smirk he wore and gave him a silent thumbs up before dropping her arm heavily on the bed and laughing breathlessly.

He lingered there, between her legs, even as he rose to his feet. Emrys bit her lip hungrily as his stiff length bobbed, emerging from a scaled slit, the tip of him curving upward to rest against another spoon formation surrounded by slate-colored scales. Emrys’ cunt clenched around nothing as Daro took himself in his hand, studying her greedily.

“Come here,” she urged, lifting an open palm toward him. “Please, I need to feel you.”

Daro exhaled hard before crawling over her on the bed, slipping his fingers between hers and gripping them tightly. His lips found hers again and she mewled at the taste of herself on his tongue. She slipped her free hand down to glide her fingers along his slippery length.

His mouth broke away from hers with a gasp as her warm, small hand caressed him. 

“What do you call this in Cardassian?” she whispered against his lips before shifting her attention to the ridges on his neck, specifically the ones she'd seen turn tinged blue earlier, kissing and licking and biting as he groaned fervently above her.

“ Ch - Cho’ch ,” he choked out, settling his knees before grabbing Emrys by her hips and tugging her closer, draping her thighs over the top of his own, keeping her spread for him. His Cho'Ch was perilously close to her glistening entrance.

Her fingers slid down his length before delicately circling the ring of small scales around the base. Daro shuddered above her, gasping as he dropped forward over her, planting his hands beside her shoulders. He let his head drop and his mouth took up residence beside her ear. As he alternated between grazing his lips along the curve of her ear and giving in to the moans that thrummed in his throat, Emrys’ fingers trailed past the top of his slit to caress the scaled spoon that rested just above it. Daro’s elbows buckled at her touch, growling hungrily.

Although there was delight to be found in Emrys’ leisurely exploration of him, Daro already missed the feeling of her grasping his length, of the steady massage of her fingertips on his irllun . It had been a… not insignificant amount of time since he’d last been sexually involved with anyone, and he was sure that these light, teasing touches would finish him well before he intended. Pulling himself upright, he grasped both of her soft, eager hands and pressed them into the bed above her head, capturing her lips with his as he did so. She whimpered beneath him, her hips rocking, her back arching to press her chest against his, determined to feel him on every part of her. 

She pulled back desperately for air, gasping the word “please” against his lips, and the sound of her begging so prettily dissolved whatever restraint he’d managed to hang on to. Fingers digging into the supple flesh of her hips, he buried himself into his mate’s soft heat in one long stroke, her plush walls enveloping his Cho’Ch like nothing he’d ever felt before. He waited for a moment, giving her a chance to adjust, watching as her lips parted in pleasure.

When she tangled her fingers in his hair, tipping her head back and baring her neck to him, he took it as a sign to move, drawing his hips back before hilting himself inside her again. The brush of her folds against his swollen irllun as he nudged himself deeper had him groaning against the delicate skin of her neck. His teeth grazed a spot below her jaw and as he did, a beautiful cry of his name tumbled from her lips. She clenched around him, rolling her hips to meet his as he sank into her again and again. 

Chasing the gasps that escaped her whenever he was fully seated, he stopped thrusting, instead grinding his hips against hers, building the friction between his irllun and that sensitive bundle of nerves he’d discovered earlier. She moaned shamelessly, her eyes glazing over as he pushed her toward her peak.

He was following right behind her, pleasure surging in every tensed muscle, every shift of his hips, every call of his name that left her lips. She tightened her grasp around his shoulders, pulling herself up to press her brow against his, rocking against him. He was surrounded by her – her scent, her arms, her soaked core – and the combination sent him barreling towards his peak.

“I-I’m close,” Emrys gasped against his lips, her hips grinding against his with more force now, desperation driving her every move.

“Yes,” Daro growled, wrapping an arm snugly around Emrys, pulling her closer against his chest. “Yes, e’zIra , come for me. You take me so well, my mate.”

Emrys flushed at the term, crying out as she came, galaxies bursting behind her eyelids. Her walls squeezed Daro so tightly he faltered for a moment, a grunt caught in his throat as he barrelled towards his own climax. His gaze met the heat in Emrys’ as his Cho’Ch throbbed. Her lips brushed against his ear, an overstimulated whine heralding her murmured, “make me yours, Daro.”

With a ragged moan, he hastily pressed Emrys onto her back in the sheets again, lurching forward to chase her lips and shield her beneath his broad chest. His hands stilled her hips with bruising force as he came, his length twitching as he spilled inside her. Mine , his mind told him dazedly. 

Emrys’ hands splayed across his lower back as he hovered over her and she placed a sweet kiss against his lips, one that made his heart stutter in his chest. She looked so open and content beneath him, a combination of emotions that could be difficult to find in others, given his career and lifestyle. 

Shifting his weight onto one of his forearms, he cupped her cheek with his other palm, studying her like she was the most precious mineral in the galaxy. “ Irc’lin ,” he uttered, pressing his chufa softly against her forehead. He took one last deep breath of her scent before he withdrew from her, resting back on his heels, watching his seed spill from her with a lingering greed. Emrys reached out for him as his own length began to retreat back into his ajan . 

“What does that mean?” she asked with a sleepy smile. “ Irc’lin ?” He moved into her embrace, stretching himself along her side and wrapping her in his arms. 

“It’s a bit of a… I believe Humans call them ‘pet names’? It would roughly translate to… ‘my dearest light’.” He seemed almost bashful as he said it, but Emrys’ eyes widened, the warmth in them brimming over.  

After a moment, she hummed, burrowing further into his grasp as he ran his fingers lightly up and down her side. “Perhaps I need to find a pet name for you,” she murmured. 

“I would like that,” he admitted, though he knew he’d be happy for her to just call him hers . “Though perhaps it can wait until you’re not falling asleep,” he whispered with a smile, peering down to find her eyes already closed.

Chapter Text

The distinctly ashy golden light of Cardassia’s sun filtered through the thin window coverings in Daro’s bedroom, and Emrys stirred. The light on this planet always reminded her of some old Earth photos she’d once seen of the sky during “wildfire seasons”, before fire suppression systems were so readily accessible, and as she found herself lying in a room bathed in dusky light, she was hit by a sudden pang of homesickness. 

She rolled over languidly, searching for Daro, but the bed was empty. Today was a day of rest on Cardassia, meaning she had a rare day off. She was sorely tempted to stay in bed, but the appeal was lost with Daro nowhere to be seen. Stretching, she pulled herself out of his bed, wincing at some soreness between her thighs and tightness in her muscles. She went to swipe Daro’s shirt from the day before off the floor to tug on, when she heard a content hum coming from the doorway.

She glanced up to see a smiling Daro leaning leisurely against the doorframe with two mugs in his hands.

“I could get used to this view,” he murmured. Clad in only a pair of his thin sleep pants, Emrys took a moment to appreciate his broad chest, the pattern of his scales and ridges beginning to feel familiar already. 

“I could say the same,” she volleyed back, her eyebrow piqued in interest.

Daro chuckled, moving into the room before handing her a mug. Dropping his shirt back to the ground, she took her cup and crawled back into bed with it. He followed her lead, settling himself beside her in the soft sheets and resting his back against the headboard. It was the most relaxed Emrys had ever seen him. She curled up against his chest and sipped her tea quietly.

“You don’t have to report to Central today, correct?” Daro asked, resting his cheek against the crown of her head.

“Blessedly, no,” she said with a quiet huff of laughter. Her mood soured slightly as she realized what the next meeting would be like - the next topic on the table was Bajor, one that was sure to fan the flames that characterized nearly every treaty session they’ve had over the past several months. 

Daro noticed the slight change in her demeanor and shifted, lifting her chin with a finger so he could study her. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed. “I know it’s counterproductive to spend time off worrying about the next time I have to go to work, and I don’t intend to dwell on it for long, but… I was just thinking about our next session. If I had to guess, it’ll likely get very ugly.”

“What points will you have to discuss?” he asked curiously, tucking her head back under his chin.

She hesitated, prepared to dance around the question as so often had to when meeting with Central Command, or other Cardassians in general. But this was Daro. He’d already made it clear that he disapproved of many of his government’s decisions, although Emrys would never share that with anyone else. 

She took a bracing sip of tea before setting it on the small table beside the bed. “The Occupation.”

“Ah,” Daro responded quietly above her. 

“The Federation won’t sign a treaty as long as Cardassia continues to occupy Bajor,” she noted.

“Understandably,” he agreed. 

Emrys breathed a laugh. “I wish everyone in power here thought like you.” She traced patterns absentmindedly along his chest. “I think I’m mostly concerned because I’ve been given so little to work with. It seems ridiculous to even have to say that - there shouldn’t have to be any bargaining to end a literal occupation, but to Ziven and the rest of Central Command, controlling Bajor is paramount. They won’t give it up, even though we know it’s costing them a fortune, and rather than recognize just how hard Cardassians will fight to keep their place on Bajor and give me something to negotiate with, my superiors believe that the Ziven will just… I don’t know, bow to my will. I suppose I just… I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, how I’m going to handle it.” 

Daro remained silent above her and, unable to see his expression, Emrys worried that she’d offended him somehow. She lifted her fingers from his chest but before she could move away, he’d grasped them in his hand and placed them back against his skin, pressing her hand flat to his chest beneath his. 

“I am immensely sorry that you are having to fight with them about this. We… we should have never gone to Bajor,” Daro murmured, his hushed voice full of regret as his thumb rubbed slowly against the lip of his mug. “The people on Cardassia had little knowledge of what was really going on – the Central Command painted a very different picture of the Occupation. They still do, really.” He paused, his eyes unfocused on the wall before them. Instinctively, Emrys adjusted her hand on his chest to intertwine their fingers together. Daro’s gaze followed the movement, his heart heavy in his chest.

“I appreciate,” he began gently, shifting so he could look in her eyes again, “that you do not judge every man for the actions of others. I am certain I don’t deserve that kindness.” His fingers tightened around hers for a moment. “I carry a great deal of shame for what has been done, and my part in it.”

Emrys recalled what he’d said to her when they first met. We all carry things with us that we’d sooner forget.

“Central Command,” he continued, “has always had a way of telling parts of the story, painting part of the picture, twisting facts and situations. That way, they can convince you to think and believe whatever they want. There are… many terrible things that I was a part of because we weren’t given all of the information, or because Central Command had lied to us. But even in those times when I wasn’t involved directly, or when, afterward, we’d discovered how they’d used us- I remained silent when I shouldn’t have. And I will have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

Emrys guided their clasped hands toward her, placing a soft kiss on the back of Daro’s. “If you hadn’t, it’s very likely you wouldn’t be here with me now. And for that, I’m very grateful.”

A somber smile crossed Daro’s face as he contemplated the woman in front of him. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to wind up with this merciful, lovely human in his arms, but he knew in that moment he’d do anything to keep her. 

Determined not to ruin their day, Emrys gently extricated herself from Daro’s arms and sat cross-legged on the bed facing him. 

“What are your plans for today, Glinn?” she asked with an impish grin. 

Daro schooled his features into a serious mask before leaning over and setting his cup on the bedside table. Before Emrys could react, he’d shifted onto his knees and pinned her beneath him on the bed. Her initial yelp morphed into an infectious giggle as his lips latched onto her neck. She could feel his smile against her skin between kisses.

“My plans look a great deal like this, irc’lin.” 

— — —

Emrys took her usual seat between Romar and Varsek, feeling prepared for the day’s session. Daro’s presence over the last few days had been a source of intense comfort for her, so gratifying that the mere thought of seeing him had the power to get through long days at Central Command. That very morning, she’d woken curled into his reassuring warmth – their sunrise had been colored by tender whispers and lingering touches. They’d had breakfast together and Daro walked with her to the Imperial Plaza before departing with a fervent kiss. Thoroughly lost in thought, Emrys’ fingers brushed fleetingly over her lips as she recalled the greed of his mouth on hers.

“Beck!” 

The gruff utterance from Varsek at her side broke through her daze and she shifted in her seat, pulling her shoulders back and lifting her chin. Varsek rolled his eyes and faced forward again, the disapproval in his visage obvious. 

Emrys tried to ignore it, knowing that he was likely on edge about the topic the Federation would be bringing to the table today. Just as she was. But unlike Varsek, she couldn’t afford to lose her head. She’d prepared as much as she could. She’d also requested more time to lay the groundwork with Central Command before bringing this particular negotiation point up - that her request had been denied wasn’t her fault. Should today’s session go sideways, she could always politely remind her superiors that she’d solicited a different approach.

Gul-Tar Ziven settled in his seat, his countenance severe and, as always, giving nothing away. His sharp eyes seemed to find Emrys more often than usual as the remainder of his officers seated themselves, and Emrys shifted almost imperceptibly in her seat when she noticed.

“It is my hope that everyone had a restful night.” The rumble of his voice carried over the long conference table. “As discussed when last we met, there are matters of critical importance to be raised today, and it is my sincerest hope that the Federation will be willing to recognize the,” his gaze zeroed in on Emrys, “considerable sacrifices that our great Union has made over the course of these negotiations, and will grant us the few propositions that we are extending today.”

Despite the growing desire to roll her eyes, Emrys maintained composure. Ziven was certainly starting on a bold foot this morning. 

“The Federation,” he continued, “denies our legitimate claims of mapping errors which detract from the expansion efforts that the Cardassian Union has worked toward for hundreds of years.” Varsek huffed loudly beside Emrys, a sentiment she shared although she wouldn’t show it – they hadn’t denied anything, they’d simply proven that their claims were unfounded. Ziven argued onward. “Despite this refusal, we are taking under consideration the request to finalize the border as it exists on Federation maps, despite the deleterious effects it will likely have on our nation.”

Emrys generally prided herself on her temperate nature; she was normally slow to anger and mostly unflappable. But almost a year of listening to Ziven make these kinds of arguments was starting to wear on her. “That is very gracious of you, Gul-Tar,” she asserted, her voice carrying strong and even across the room. “I assume that, in exchange for your acquiescence on that point, you would request additional allowances from the Federation on other points.” 

She paused, loath to detonate the room as she knew she was about to. “Bajor, perhaps?”  

The background hum of people shifting in their chairs and the occasional slide of water glasses against the table died down and a pall of utter silence settled over the room. All eyes darted to Ziven. He sighed dramatically.

“Please understand, Lieutenant Commander,” Ziven offered, an appeasing tone to his voice. Romar hummed quietly beside Emrys, an almost smug sound – Ziven was giving away just how important this objective was for him.

“Cardassia Prime is a planet with limited natural resources. Over the last two centuries, our people have faced famine, disease, and terrible poverty. We survived and came away stronger only because of our expansionist approach – we have successfully welcomed new worlds and new species in, to make a more perfect Union for us all, one in which we all distribute resources amongst each other to ensure the safety and prosperity of all of our citizens.”

Emrys had begun shaking her head before Ziven had even finished speaking. These outright lies were too much, even for Emrys. 

“And… the Federation is to believe that the Bajorans you’ve enslaved are safe and prosperous?”

One of Ziven’s eyes twitched – she could see it even from the far end of the table. But she didn’t give him the luxury of time to reply.

“Your continued occupation of Bajor is unacceptable,” Emrys declared, her tone sharp but unwavering. “It is a point of non-negotiation for continued peace with the Federation.”

Ziven opened his mouth to argue, but Emrys barreled onward, her hand held up to silence him. “I am well aware of Cardassia’s reliance on the materials that they… obtain,” she added, attempting to remove most of the derision from her voice, “from Bajor, and the Federation would be willing to help lessen the impacts of this transition with provision of certain resources, but the Federation can not, under any circumstances, remain on peaceful terms with an empire built upon oppression.” 

The room was quiet as Emrys finished, but she could feel the tension simmering below every Cardassian chest plate around the table.

“If I may, Gul-Tar,” Emrys ventured, leaning forward slightly in her seat for emphasis. “In addition to the significant cost that I am sure this occupation is creating for the Union, the Federation has received reports that the resistance on Bajor is only growing more fervent. Their continued plight is garnering sympathy from others – some of whom are not quite so diplomatic as the Federation and whom, I would imagine, would be quite happy to supply Bajor with materials needed to give the Union a run for its money.”

“If I recall correctly,” she added with emphasis, “I believe there have even been whispers that the power of the Bajoran Occupational Government is eroding, their stance against their own people softening.”

Ziven’s expression gave nothing away, but Emrys noted the uncomfortable look on the faces of the advisors seated closest to him.

Silence stretched onward, so Emrys opted to move forward with their demands, hoping that her reminder of the ways in which Cardassia’s occupation of Bajor was a greater cost than an asset had been effective.

“In addition to the cessation of the occupation, the Federation would require that the space station Terok Nor be surrend-”

“No.” The Gul-Tar’s voice boomed across the table and Emrys’ mouth snapped shut, her fingers clenched around the arms of her chair. 

Not wanting to risk losing ground, Emrys spoke up again. “To which part are you refusing, Gul-Tar?” 

“All of it.” He sat rigid in his chair across from Emrys, and she didn’t need Romar at her side to feel the anger coming off of him in waves. Many of the Cardassians seated by him began shooting concerned glances at one another. “The Federation demands too much,” he challenged, a sliver of a threat at the edges of his words.

The Cardassian seated directly to his right, Legate Domat, if Emrys remembered correctly, leaned close to Ziven, murmuring something to his leader before righting himself, his calm visage a sharp contrast to Ziven’s. A strained silence had settled over the room, everyone in attendance waiting with bated breath to see what might come next.

Beside her, Romar shifted in his seat, leaning closer to her as well. “He is reminding the Gul-Tar,” he whispered, “that the Union has expended significant resources in the course of the occupation and war and that they would be at a significant disadvantage in returning to combat with the Federation.” Emrys inclined her head towards Romar, meeting his calm gaze with lifted brow, once again grateful for exceptional Vulcan hearing. She studied her lap for a moment, trying to piece together her next move. With the Cardassians having little to bargain with themselves, she felt her confidence rebuilding. 

“Respectfully, Gul-Tar,” she began again, “the Federation has received reports of the working conditions and various… safety hazards on Terok Nor, which only reinforces the Federation’s insistence that Cardassia withdraw from Bajor. Releasing all Bajoran workers from Terok Nor would be a compulsory part of that withdrawal. And what purpose will a refinery station serve with no Bajorans to perform the operations of that station?” 

Ziven rose from his seat, despite Legate Domat’s hand on his forearm, perhaps trying to keep him calm. “Perhaps,” Ziven managed through gritted teeth, “you did not understand the gravity of my earlier explanations. Or perhaps… you simply were not listening.” Emrys fought not to roll her eyes and Varsek practically growled beside her. 

“Our Union relies on the uranium ore that is mined on Bajor and refined on Terok Nor. In destroying Cardassian efforts to expand and unite new planets with our Union, the Federation will be condemning innocent Cardassian citizens to the suffering of our past - to a future of famine and poverty.” Ziven had begun pacing behind his chair and even the Legates on either of his sides looked somewhat nervous. Emrys had to admit that this was the most agitated she’d seen Ziven in a while. She considered rethinking an approach – perhaps she needed to mollify him. There was, after all, a small but loud part of her that worried about what could happen if Ziven, or any of his men, truly snapped in this room. Would she survive it? 

But when she considered again what was at stake, recalling the detailed report from a Federation mole on Terok Nor, describing the truly hideous brutality there, she suddenly had no desire to offer Ziven anything. 

Straightening her back in her chair, Emrys interjected. “While I would hardly consider Cardassia’s forced occupation of other planets to be uniting them with your Union,” she responded sharply, and Ziven turned on his heel to face her, his expression murderous, “I was indeed listening to your shared concerns.”

Emrys rose, hating the feeling of being looked down on by the Gul-Tar. Clasping her hands behind her back so he would not see her fidgeting, she lifted her chin and continued. “As I stated earlier, the Federation is prepared to support the Cardassian Union in ensuring its people’s needs are being met. We are happy to assist with the provision of resources – perhaps our assistance will be useful as your Union determines how they might provide for themselves without enslaving others.” 

Ziven had begun making his way around the table, but Emrys refused to show fear. “The Federation would be willing to assist in the formulation of additional treaties and trade agreements that would offer Cardassia access to materials that you are sorely missing.” As Ziven stalked menacingly around the remaining corner of the table, two of his own men rose and called out to him and Romar stood to tower stoically in front of Emrys. Emrys heard, rather than saw, Varsek and a few other Federation members rise from their chairs as Ziven encroached upon their space. The heavy press of apprehension seemed to slow everything in the room.  

“I would advise against this course of action, Gul-Tar,” Romar warned calmly, his hands still clasped loosely before him. He was the picture of calm and for not the first time, Emrys wished she could appear as cool and collected as Romar. 

Ziven stopped just short of Romar, the two men evenly matched in stature, although Emrys knew Romar was much stronger than Ziven. Not that that would matter if Ziven had a weapon, she chided herself. Sighing, Emrys stepped up beside Romar, gazing at Ziven’s furious countenance. 

“We mean no offense, Gul-Tar,” she assured him patiently. “However, it would seem to us that the relinquishment of Terok Nor should be neither surprising nor debatable. If the Cardassian Union agrees to withdraw from Bajor, would it not also follow that they would need to release the Bajorans in residence on Terok Nor?”

Ziven glowered at her, his chestplate shifting rapidly with the rush of his breath. Emrys’ eyes flickered to his jaw working, as though grinding his teeth, her hands trembling behind her back.

A wad of spit shot from Ziven’s mouth, landing on the floor just before Emrys, the sound of it slapping the ground harsh in the quiet, cavernous room. 

Before Emrys could even process what was occurring, Romar had stepped behind her to secure Varsek, who had taken an offended stride toward Ziven. Every Cardassian in the room stood uneasily, the screeching of their chair legs against the floor cacophonous in Emrys’ otherwise stunned mind.

With Romar occupied with a pissed off Varsek, Ziven leaned close for a moment, a deadly look in his eye as he hissed, “Hear me well, siml’vrerUj. Cardassia will never relinquish Bajor.” With that, he turned on his heel and marched from the room, leaving a host of edgy Cardassians and Federation members in his wake.

Chapter Text

Emrys stepped out into the cool evening air of the Imperial Plaza with a sigh of relief. Going toe-to-toe with the Gul-Tar the way she had, while not entirely unexpected for the day, had been more taxing than she thought it would be, and she found her energy flagging now that it was over. After Ziven’s departure, Legate Domat had called for a recess and she had met independently in her temporary quarters with the rest of her treaty team to discuss what had happened and what to do next. As her sense of overwhelm grew, she found herself longing for Daro’s presence. 

She gazed around the plaza, looking for him, but the open space was completely empty. A frown tugged at her lips – it wasn’t like Daro to be late, especially since the afternoon session with Central Command had taken slightly longer than she anticipated. He should already be here.

Fidgeting with the hem of her uniform jacket, she turned on her heel and went back inside, making her way to her quarters. She grabbed the PADD on her nightstand and sent a quick message to Daro. As she waited for a response, she went to the replicator for a cup of red-leaf tea, pacing around the room as she gulped it, trying not to let her mind conjure up worst-case scenarios.

After several minutes of no response, she set her cup down a little too hard on the nightstand and grabbed her PADD, stuffing it into the inner pocket of her uniform jacket. As a gesture of goodwill, the Federation group had agreed to bring no weapons with them to treaty proceedings. The Cardassians were theoretically abiding by the same rules, but they were still on their home planet, with far greater access to potentially hostile resources, even while in the legislative buildings. For the most part, Emrys had been unbothered by this demand, despite the loud objections some of her team members had imparted; for the first time though, intending to make her way through Cardassian streets alone and in the dark, she wished she had a phaser. Really any kind of ranged weapon would do. Checking to make sure that her KaBar knife was tucked safely in her boot, Emrys sighed and made her way back to the exit.

The plaza was still empty. Something was most definitely wrong, and Emrys allowed herself some momentary handwringing before making her way down the steps toward Daro’s home on the outskirts of the city.

She passed a few Cardassian civilians as she strode down the wide streets, attempting to appear calm and confident. Most of them eyed her in confusion or something approaching suspicion. As the last soft glow of evening disappeared from the sky, immersing Emrys in the full darkness of a Cardassian night, she picked up her pace and attempted to keep to the middle of the pedestrian streets, eager to steer clear of pitch-black alleyways and the deeps shadows of recessed doorways.

At the sound of a heavy boot too close for her liking, Emrys whipped her head around as she turned a corner. She was met by the sight of an empty road behind her, but when she turned to face forward again, her eyes glossing over the edge of yet another sand-colored building, a searing pain lanced through her chest, pulling a choked gasp from her throat. The pain knocked her off her feet in an instant and as the world tilted beneath her, the last thing she saw before her back slammed to the ground and her eyes closed was a dark Cardassian sky full of stars.

— — — 

Daro paced furiously in the grim, murky room. He’d assessed his surroundings as soon as he’d woken, finding himself in a small, empty room that was freezing cold. The stone walls were bare and grimy, except for where a heavy metal door was set. A single, dim light flickered in a sconce above it. No windows, no way to tell what time it was or how long he’d been out. He was disarmed, of course, his disruptor missing from his belt and his boot knife gone. Clenching his fists, he tried to push the limits of his memory, frantically trying to recall what had happened before he awoke here.

He'd gone to meet Emrys, he knew that much. He’d left his home, making his way toward Imperial Plaza, his chest feeling lighter at the prospect of having her in his arms again. He didn’t want her walking through the streets of the capitol by herself, not with relations still so fragile between their peoples. He’d considered briefly how they’d spend their evening, but he also had to contend with a scheduled meeting with Gul Macet via subspace in a few hours. The Trager’s routine maintenance was being completed at a nearby station, and today’s communication with his commanding officer would give him an idea of how much longer he had on Cardassia before he was forced to return to work and leave Emrys behind. It was a dreadful prospect.

He’d made it almost to the plaza before he felt the disruptor in his side, pressing in the gap between the plates of his armor. Before he had a chance to turn or reach for his own weapon, he heard and felt the sharp hiss of a hypospray against his neck. Then the world turned dark.

He was almost certain this was the work of the Obsidian Order – no one else would attempt an abduction of a military officer in broad daylight with witnesses around. Which left only the Order responsible for his current predicament.

His thoughts flickered worriedly to Emrys, wondering how she was doing, if she was safe. If the Order was behind this, he could almost guarantee she wasn’t. Anger flared in his chest, his desire to protect her nearly overwhelming him. Taking a few deep breaths, Daro calmed himself as much as possible, trying to avoid that particular spiral of thoughts. He wouldn’t be able to think clearly enough to get out of here if he couldn’t focus on the task at hand. If nothing else, his military training had prepared him for things like this.

“Ah, Glinn Daro.” The disembodied pronouncement slithered through the darkness. “You’re awake… Do you know why you are here?” A chill raced down his spine at the absolute delight that housed itself in the unfamiliar voice.

His eyes flickered, trying to assess any immediate physical threats. “No,” he uttered through gritted teeth.

“Hmm,” the voice followed. “Such a pity you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Daro remained silent.

“You see, Glinn, the Central Command is very unhappy with your… Federaji plaything.” Daro’s breath hitched, his most prominent fear confirmed. “The Federation makes too many demands for our liking, using these negotiations as an opportunity to lord themselves over our great empire. To take what’s ours, to tell us how we may conduct ourselves and our business. We cannot abide it. Cardassia will not sit idly by as the Federation becomes our overseers.”

There was a moment of silence where Daro supposed his captor wanted him to say something. But what was there to say? He could feel his breathing growing shallower, more frantic.

“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to see that the Federation understands our dissatisfaction completely – with a gift, of course… Tell me, do you think your Human’s superiors would like to see her die in real time? Or should she simply disappear?” A dark chuckle punctuated the perverse suggestion.

“What do you want from me?” he ground out, his fists clenched at his sides. “If you already know what you’re going to do to her, why do you need me? Are you simply planning to make an example out of me?” He began pacing again, the fury spilling out of him. “‘Here is what will happen to you if you dare to bed a member of the Federation?’” he spat mockingly.

A truly sinister chuckle flooded the room. “Oh no, Glinn. You see, we don’t actually need you at all.” Daro paused in his restless march across the floor, the ridges over his eyes furrowing. “We just need to keep you out of our way.”

“In fact, we rather enjoy the idea of you mourning the loss of the weak little Human you couldn’t protect for the rest of your years. Just think, Glinn, she put her trust in you and you’ve failed her. Won’t that be absolute torture to contemplate until your own death?”

Daro’s chest constricted, dread pooling in his limbs as he began to understand exactly how this would play out. Unbidden, his mind conjured up an image of Emrys, flushed and radiant beneath him, sharing his bed, smiling up at him like he was the greatest being in the galaxy.

Driven by a measure of anger he hadn’t felt in a very long time, Daro threw himself at the door to the room, roaring out his displeasure. He beat at the cold, heavy metal with his fists, bellowing incoherently in a chaotic mix of Cardassian and Standard, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes in his desperation.

“Ah, please do tire yourself out, Glinn,” his captor mocked, his taunt barely audible over Daro’s bellowing and the crashing of his armor against the door. “You might consider getting some sleep - you could be here for a while.”

Daro paused in his frenzy for a moment, a new threat seeding in his mind - if he was going to be here for a while, then they weren’t planning to take Emrys out swiftly. They were going to torture her. The large metal bolts ornamenting the door to his prison swam before his eyes as they unfocused, his breathing growing shallower. He vaguely registered the beeping that signified the end of a communication in Cardassian messaging. And then there was silence, punctuated only by his panting breaths.

Lowering himself slowly to the damp, frigid floor, Daro tried to focus. Despite his training, he could think of no way to get himself out of this predicament on his own and somehow manage to find and save Emrys. Even if he could find his way out of this room, no one escaped the Obsidian Order. Not for long anyway. The anguish that was rooting in every part of him turned all of his thoughts back to Emrys - to what he was about to lose.

Allowing himself to surrender to his growing sense of powerlessness for a few moments, he sank against the door and dropped his head into his hands.   

Daro was unsure how much time had passed when a faint click echoed in the quiet. He was on his feet in a second, his vision zeroing in on the door. He backed slowly away, in hopes that space would give him an advantage over whoever was about to enter. Tension held all his limbs at the ready.

The heavy metal door before him swung inward with surprising quietness. After several strained moments in which nothing happened aside from the wild thumping of Daro’s heart in his chest, he stepped slowly toward the threshold. He’d presumed that whoever he’d been speaking with earlier would have been stationed nearby, perhaps even on the other side of the wall. Confusion furrowed the ridges around his eyes. No one, it would seem, was manning the door; no one was coming in to attack him or retrieve him. The muted gloom was all that occupied the space on the other side of the doorframe. 

Suddenly presented with options for action, Daro found himself more focused, his thoughts coming quickly and more fully formed than the chaotic jumble he’d been dealing with since he’d regained consciousness. With practiced ease, he peered around the edge of the doorway and, finding the dim hall empty, slipped out into the gloom.

A light flickered erratically far ahead of him down the hall. He could barely make out his surroundings, leaving lingering questions over his whereabouts. He moved toward the light as quietly as he could manage in his armor, taking note of several open doors along the walls – the doors and the empty rooms beyond all identical to the one he’d been held in. 

As he drew closer to the light, his right hand clenched into a tight fist, he could just begin to make out the outline of a door before him – the hallway he’d been traversing had reached its conclusion. There was nowhere else to go but forward through the door, or back the way he’d come, and for a moment, he hesitated.

It was all too easy. With his military background, Daro was naturally suspicious of anything with an element of danger that felt too easily managed, too simple. Perhaps, since no guard had been stationed outside his door, there would be a sentry on the other side of this one? It was a reasonable assumption. And if there wasn’t, what did that mean – what could it mean that he’d been captured and held by the Obsidian Order, but then escaped so easily? Given their notoriety, Daro could only assume that was intentional. But if they wanted him to escape, why?

He'd been deliberating for too long. Regardless of what happened to him, he had to get to Emrys if he could. A fleeting memory of her walking beside him along the street, the early morning Cardassian sun glinting in her eyes as she gazed back at him, propelled him forward. 

This particular door was not one of the ancient, hinged-style doors that lined the hallway behind him – it was more modern, with a grimy, poorly backlit control panel set into the wall beside it. He wiped away some of the filth with the sleeve of his shirt and peered at the panel, trying to make out the controls. Opening the door required an access code. Daro huffed in frustration, feeling time slipping away from him. Who knew how long he’d already been in here.

He slipped his currently empty tactical belt from around his waist, grasping the sharp metallic tip between two fingers. He wiggled it into the slight gap between the panel and its housing; with a little force, he managed to pop the screen free and caught with nervous fingers just before it clattered to the ground. Setting it down lightly, he surveyed the mess of wires and isolinear chips before him. A brief flare of familiarity filled his chest and tingled through his probing fingers – this is where he excelled. He quickly mapped the wires in his head and sorted the chips into their likeliest subcommands. In only a few minutes, he’d managed to completely dismantle the panel. When he repositioned one last chip, he knew the door would hiss open and, not knowing what awaited him on the other side, he flattened himself against the wall on the other side of the controls. With a flick of his wrist, he’d moved the chip from one slot to another and, as he’d anticipated, the door slid open. The sound was loud, though he’d been in silence for so long that he really had no way to gauge it with any accuracy.

The threshold of the newly opened door heralded the open sky and empty street of the outside. Dread sunk a little lower in Daro’s gut as he considered the increasing likelihood that he’d merely been allowed to escape - it morphed into something like terror as he noticed the sky. It was early morning. He could just make out the distant shouting of vendors preparing for their morning markets. That he’d been trapped all night did not bode well for Emrys.