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A Temporal Shiver

By: JackalsGroove



Drisana paced the promenade nervously. Three weeks ago, she had been on Earth enjoying a simple walk through the northern Utah mountain side. She never could have planned on what happened next. On her way back down the mountain side, a sudden overwhelming dizziness overcame her, followed by the feeling of being pulled in a direction she never even knew existed. Then, she blacked out. When she came to, she was in a large metal holding cell, dimly lit except for some reddish lighting that seemed to come from the floor and ceiling, but no light source could be immediately seen. She was interrogated by humans-or people who at least looked human, as well as by some beings she never ever dreamt existed. 

It took her interrogators a solid week by her count to realize she did not have a translator implant, and another week for her to get adjusted to it enough to understand what was said to her. The questions once she could understand them were fairly basic, and once they realized she was not a threat, that she had in fact been pulled through a temporal anomaly, they released her and gave her own quarters and a small stipend of money until she could figure out what to do with her life as she would never be allowed to go back, even if she could-she had seen too much and could change the timeline. 

Not only had the temporal anomaly take her more than four hundred years into the future, but it had pulled her to a section of space that in her day was not even known to exist. She had landed at a space station on the end of the Gamma quadrant called Deep Space Nine, or DS9 for short. It wasn't long before the entire space station knew about her, if not her name. 

The humans and bajorans on the station tried to be as friendly towards her as possible, but she could sense the guardedness in which they talked to her, that the friendliness was fake. Drisana had never felt so alone in her life. It was during one of these depressing self-reflections of her new life; sitting in a small bar called Quark's that was run by a Ferengi bartender that she finally connected with someone in a most unexpected way. 

As she sat at the bar counter, sipping at a light beverage they called synthohol that she happened to overhear a rather interesting and intelligent debate between the merits of two races; Human, and one she had never heard of before-Cardassian.

She turned to look at this hot bed of debate and saw Doctor Julian Bashir, whom she had met once or twice during her interrogation and whom had given her the translator implant needed for communication...and the most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on. He was certainly not human but to her eyes he was so much better than human it did not matter. Turning so it wouldn't appear that she was staring she listened surreptitiously to the conversation they were having and discovered he was a Cardassian, exiled to this space station and that he owned his own business as the station's number one Tailor. 

Later that night in her quarters Drisana dreamt of the attractive Cardassian. Wondering what it would feel like to run her fingers along his elongated neck, down the scaled ridges that ran along the sides of it, or perhaps over the light ridges that made up his eye brows and the light plating over his nose bridge. She started awake from her dream, half engulfed in the passionate sensuality of the dream and half laughing at herself, for being so insane. For all she knew, human females could disgust him. 

Still, she did clearly hear he was an exile from his own people, completely alone. While she did wonder what had caused his exile, she was more interested in knowing how he spent his time, wondering if he might just be as lonely as she was.

Pacing her quarters the rest of the night, Drisana decided she would pay a call to his Shoppe first thing in the morning. She had finally decided she had nothing to lose by his rejection, and if nothing else, might end up with what she would consider her first real friend aboard the station. Unable to sleep any further, Drisana prepared a bathe and some very light perfume and laid out her best clothes. 

She thought visiting him first thing in the morning might give them a chance to talk before most of his actual business showed up. She looked forward to getting to know the handsome, exiled Cardassian Tailor, no matter what direction the conversation took. 

Garak sighed deeply as he slowly opened his eyes and peered at his old-fashioned digital clock above his bed. Another glorious day of being bound alone to this insipid station, complete with fake smiles and courtesies for his customers all the while slowly dying inside from utter loneliness, a feeling he would rarely admit even to himself for fear of sinking into a depression nothing could shake him out of. Pulling himself out of bed and slowly stretching his long neck he headed for the shower and to ready himself for yet another day as the station's Tailor. Considering he had once been a top spy for the Obsidian Order and an Assassin of considerable talents (though admittedly hidden behind a disguise of being a gardener), he considered this to be without a doubt the bottom rung of his now pathetic existence. Yet, he was in fact an excellent Tailor and did take some small measure of pride, of condolence from that fact. 

Garak had just barely unlocked the doors of his business when the familiar buzz of a customer crossing the threshold sounded. Emerging from the back room with his fake smile in place he was about to put on his usual act until he looked at her. He did not know her name, but he did know her background as did the rest of the station. Garak slowed his approach. He had seen her sitting alone in the bar yesterday. He had also longed to join her, but his luncheons with Julian had become such a tradition he didn't feel it right to break it, not with the only person who had gone out of his way to make any sort of friendship with him. He hated to admit it but those luncheons were one of the few things that kept him able to go on living in his five years of exile that he had thus far endured.

What caused him to slow was not that he had seen her before, but rather what seeing her had done to him that night. Garak had been plagued with sensual and sexual dreams of this human female to the point he awoke half-way through the night to discovered he had soiled his sheets with his own male essence in the passions of his dreams, a problem he had not had since first become a full adult male more than twenty years ago. 

He was about to introduce himself, but she spoke first. Her voice was deeper than most human females, but still very feminine with a smoky almost sultry quality to it that made his member jump a bit of its own accord-which he dearly hoped she did not notice as she spoke.

"My name is Drisana. I am sure you know all about me. Everyone on this station seems to know how I got here. I . . . Well, I was at the bar yesterday and could not help but overhear the conversation between you and Doctor Julian. I um . . . I thought you made some excellent points. I...I'm sorry, I must sound insane but I was wondering if you would mind having dinner with me tonight? I don't really know anyone and the few I've met seem to think I'm fragile or cursed or something-but from the conversation I overheard, I thought well, that you might be different. The truth is I am lonely and could use the company. So....if I haven't totally scared you off with my bluntness, would you consider it? "Drisana rushed the words out, barely pausing to catch her breathe. To her ears, she sounded exactly like she felt-nervous and desperate. She also knew if she were in his shoes she would say no and get out of my store any second. She wouldn't blame him either. You think spending half the night rehearsing this speech she could have come up with a few better lines!

Garak swallowed hard. Here was the woman who, dreaming of her alone was enough to get him to orgasm. Here was that same woman asking him to have dinner with her. Him! A Cardassian and an exile at that! He could hardly believe his luck and when he tried to answer her found he had to swallow three or four times before his vocal cords would work properly. His body however had no problem in acting on its own accord. Before he even knew he had done it, he had crossed the distance between them and very gently grasped both her hands in his own. He looked deeply into her dark brown eyes with his own vividly blue ones before finally managing to say in a half-choked voice "I would be honored-what time?" 

Drisana could hardly believe her ears-he had accepted! Not only that but he was holding her hands, which she couldn't help but squeeze back just a little in return. "1700 hours sound okay?"

Garak nodded and once again hoped his male urges would go unnoticed by her when he felt her squeeze his hands. Finally, after forcing himself to release her, he asked "By the way-where shall I meet you?" 

Drisana blushed-how could she of overlooked such an important detail? "How about we meet for drinks on the promenade, just outside Quark's place? I'd love to hear some of those interesting conversations you have with the good doctor- Or about them, anyway. By the way-I never did catch your name. Shall I ask around or will you tell me?" She grinned in what she hoped would be taken as a light tease. But she really did crave to know his name more than anything else.

Now it was Garak's turn to feel embarrassed-of all the things he never forgot to do, introducing himself was at the top. That he had managed to forget to do this simple thing that he did every day was almost too much for him. "My name is Elim Garak. But everyone just calls me Garak. You however can call me as you wish." He grinned at her in what he hoped would be interpreted in a flirtatious way and was well rewarded by her slight cheek blush. Drisana smiled back "Garak it is then. I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends." She then turned and walked, rather hurriedly, out of his Shoppe. 

Garak walked back to his counter and leaned against it for a moment. His whole body was tingling and his palms sweated, not to mention his well-endowed member was standing at full attention. He hurried to his back room to relieve himself as quickly as possible. Not out of pleasure but simply so he could go on with business. It would hardly do his business any good for a customer to see him in such a state of extremely impassioned masculinity.

Drisana walked to the promenade and sat by a fountain, splashing its cool, crisp water over her face and on the back of her neck. She had managed to secure a date-one date, with Garak. There was no good reason to feel such infatuation with the Tailor . . . at least not yet. They had barely had one conversation. Still, she looked forward to dinner with Garak in a way that she had not looked forward to anything, past or present, in years.

What she could not foresee was how Garak was feeling at the same moment, that this was the first time in his five years of exile that he actually felt any sort of true happiness-even to the point of being happy he was trapped on this station even if it meant being a lowly tailor for the rest of his life if it also meant being trapped together with the very sort of woman he had always dreamed of having, a woman he could only ever dream would show any interest in him at all. 

Garak was going to take no chances on this date. He planned to close his Shoppe early and bribed the Ferengi owner, Quark, well to help ensure everything went well. There was a private table on the third floor of the bar, and a lineup of the best drinks of human preference. Garak even went so far as to ensure instrumental music that had hidden within it highly exotic and sexual subliminal messages playing during the entire dinner. He even ensured her food was made from scratch-no replicator cuisine mishaps would do. 

In the meantime, he read her profile from the security office. Illegal of course, but worth the risk in his opinion just to find out her every like and dislike. He wanted nothing more than to give her the most pleasurable night she had ever had. 

Drisana...her name drifted throughout his mind all day and into the evening. The time was drawing near for his date with her. Still, he could not help day dreaming of her and the mixed pleasures he hoped to share with her eventually, the two of them becoming as one. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to pleasure himself to the thoughts of her-middle of the work day or not. He was relieved when he closed his Shoppe early and went to change into something more suitable, even choosing musky cologne to wear along his lower neck ridges, having read she loved the smell of a now extinct plant called Patchouli but whose oil could still be replicated. He hoped she would enjoy it. 

All Garak could think of as he changed his attire was of her-he wanted her, and not as a one night stand. He wanted her forever. He even day dreamed of her helping him in his Shoppe-what would be their Shoppe. Even children, different ages, some looking like him, others more like her. He was sick from loneliness and felt only she could ever fill his need for companionship. 

Garak knew he could help her too-he could employ her, that would give them time together, to work together and perhaps play together when business was slow-the back room was there, after all. More than that-he could love her; he could offer her his total loyalty and devotion. He had never felt this way about any female, Cardassian or otherwise, in his life. 

All he had to do to make his dream reality was to win her heart. It became Garak's goal from that point forward. He would have her.

The time approached and he left his quarters, dressed to the nines and smelling lightly of the musky scent of patchouli oil. Soon, very soon, he would be having dinner with the most beautiful woman in the world. 

Oh, how the other occupants of the bar would stare at him. Garak, the exiled Cardassian, having dinner not just with a female which would shock them all enough, but with a human female and not any human female at that but the first and only one to ever transverse a temporal anomaly without a vessel and also what was probably the most beautiful human female on the station. Or so he thought of her at least.

Garak thought of her form.

Drisana was about six feet tall barefoot, tall for a female of her species, but he liked that. It meant he wouldn't have to bend to kiss her every time he wished to show her affection. She was also heavier than the other human females. Not fat, but thickly built. Large thighs and a round solid rear, a small waist and decent sized breasts that were naturally perky (no detail of her chest or thighs had gone unnoticed by his perceptive glacier blue eyes). She had what used to be called an Amazonian build and an hourglass shape. He found he loved the combination. It suited him. 

Drisana was strong yet feminine, tall and graceful in her walk and above all carried her head high-her long neck almost reminded him of a Cardassian female, minus the ridges. Her skin was pale moon white, so pale it almost glowed and her hair was long, a deep brownish red and done in a very old style that matched the rest of her perfectly. 

She had worn on her visit to him a simple black t-shirt as they had been called, black thick cotton jeans, a black leather belt with silver studs, and black lace up boots. Her outfit was almost military but the almost too-tight t-shirt, showing the firmness of her breasts as it did, give away her civilian disposition. As he made his way to the promenade, he prayed-though he wasn't sure to whom or why he felt the need to do so. All he knew was his prayer was sincere. "Drisana" Garak prayed, "Let me love you." 

* * * * * * * *

Garak was delighted to see her waiting for him near the fountain of the promenade before Quark's establishment. So nervous he was not even sure he could stomach a single bite of the dinner, he forced himself to walk casually towards her. Drisana smelled him before she saw him; her back was turned to him, but that familiar scent of patchouli drew her attention-and was delighted to see whom it was coming from. Garak was dressed in what she would call a tunic cut top, black with a gold trim at the throat in a rectangular pattern. His pants were of the same soft yet firm material, black with small pleats that ran vertically all the way down and black boots with thick, solid rubber heels. Drisana had, in other words, never seen a more well-dressed or attractive man in her life...and she was about to have dinner with him. 

Drisana dearly wished she had had something better to wear, something to match his regalia. All she could manage was a silk purple tank top and a short black skirt with knee-length black leather boots. She didn't have much in the way of a wardrobe yet so she had hoped this would suffice. 

She felt completely out-classed by his outfit but, reminding herself of his profession, decided not to try and compete with him on that aspect and merely hoped he would find it acceptable. Garak, on the other hand-could not take his eyes off of her legs or the tops of her breasts as he approached her. Try as he might to look her in the eyes, to not betray his lust for her his eyes wandered continuously to the bare skin of her thighs and the vertical V-neck slope of her sleeveless tank top that somehow seemed to make her skin glow of its own accord. Swallowing again, he extended his arm to her as he had watched many humans males do to their dates. "Shall we enter?" He tried to sound as casual as possible, not wanting to overpower her or frighten her away from him. 

Drisana nodded, accepting his arm and together, they walked into Quark's bar. Just as Garak had expected, the bar all but fell silent at the sight of them, of the fact she was walking with her arm entwined in his. Drisana on the other hand just kept wondering if her outfit was breaking some Bajoran law she hadn't been told of and hoped it wouldn't cause any trouble. She was glad when he led the way to a private table on the third floor landing of the bar. 

She didn't like the staring glances of the patrons, thinking they were judging her. Drisana had no idea that the real reason they stared was because of her choice of company. The bribe Garak had given Quark paid off splendidly-the drinks arrived almost once they were seated. The first thing Garak had ordered for her was a Sumerian sunset-a crystal clear drink -or so it appeared-she had brought it to her lips and was about to taste it when he stopped her, placing his hand gently over its top and lowering it a bit from her mouth. "Watch" he said, and with a fingertip, flicked the glass rim lightly, making the sound ring beautifully. The liquid in the glass changed colors-exactly like watching a miniature sunset-reds, oranges, pinks, even a hint of blue. 

Once it settled down to a solid orange Garak took his hand away and motioned for her to drink it. Drisana sipped at it slowly, more mesmerized by the beauty of the drink than its taste-which while good, was nothing compared to its visual effect. Drisana gazed at Garak after finishing the last drop of it. "That was very good. I think I like it for its beauty more though." She smiled at him, unabashedly. She was right-Garak was great company. She could tell he had gone to a lot of trouble for her, and wanted to show she appreciated it. 

Garak could not contain himself. He tried to at first, swallowing his drink as she did, making light conversation, showing her how to properly enjoy a Sumerian sunset...but when she smiled at him like that his physical impulse overrode any reasoning he had, any reservations about not rushing this. Looking back at her smile, he did not smile-but looked deeply into her eyes and very subtly, very gently, placed his hand upon her bare left thigh and held it there. 


A Temporal Shiver



Drisana lost her smile. She felt his warm touch-she didn't know until now how much warmer Cardassians were than Humans-but she did know its meaning. She was not sure how to act-did she pretend it didn't happen that his hand was not there on her bare thigh? No. . . . .That could send the signal she was not interested. Did she play with him under the tale? No-They were both adults, well beyond such games. So, she decided to take the plunge. Leaning in, she kissed him on the right side of his long neck, not once or twice, but multiple times, working her way up the right side of his neck to his lips and savoring the smell of the patchouli oil, knowing now where he had placed it. The feel of his lips was extraordinary, like hot clay that molded perfectly to her own lips. She also noticed he did not pull away from her in the slightest. It was the best kiss she had ever had. When she leaned back she looked down at her empty drink; almost afraid now to look him in the eye. She wondered what would happen for the rest of dinner-they had not been here ten minutes and she had already all but made out with him in public. 

For Garak's part he could not help but stare at her. The ridges on his neck were completely raised with the excitement he felt throughout his body-luckily, no one but a Cardassian would know that signal and being the only Cardassian living on the station, at least that much could be hidden. What he could not hide was his avid interest in her, his desire for more of her. He had touched her and she had responded in kind! He was thrilled beyond words and wanted nothing more than to take her back to his quarters immediately-but no. She had asked him to dinner, not to bed. He would not push her so hard...so he kept telling himself over and over, trying to keep control of his emotions. 

Drisana was relieved when a Ferengi waiter brought them dinner. They were served an odd black pudding dish for Garak and a simple chicken salad for herself. They ate in relative silence. She was not sure what to say after kissing him and was almost too embarrassed to speak whereas Garak had no idea what to say to her that would do anything but diminish the romantic situation they were in. He wanted her to want him. He did decide to keep his right hand on her left thigh the entire time. Never once moving it, afraid if he did, he would do something that would cause her to leave by moving too fast. After dinner, more drinks arrived but Drisana could barely touch hers-some drink that the waiter had told her was called a Black Hole. Garak, taking it as a hint dinner was over, paid the tab and standing, reluctantly taking his hand slowly away from her, offered her his arm again and walked her down the spiral stairs and out of Quark's bar-everyone staring at them once again as they left much as they had entered, arm in arm. "I would be honored to walk you to your quarters." Garak offered, almost shyly but trying to still sound as friendly and casual as he could manage. 

Drisana did not say anything at first, wanting them out of the range of the general view of the promenade, then turned suddenly behind a pylon pillar, pulling Garak with her and kissed him passionately. She was unsure what he would do but she could not resist it any further... he had all but taunted her to do so all night with the placement of his hand, so she was willing to take the risk, come what may. 

Caught completely off guard, Garak moaned a little in his desire for her, completely out of control. He pressed his lips against hers harder, then focused on pressing the rest of his body against hers, as closely as possible, running his hands up her firm, thick thighs and under her skirt to feel the soft roundness of her buttocks, squeezing them firmly but gently, and showing nor having any inclination to let go. 

Finally, Drisana pushed him away-not out of desire to stop, but because she needed oxygen. Almost gasping she looked at him for the first time since they sat down to dinner in the eyes. Garak entwined his arm into hers tightly and this time, he led the way, knowing exactly where he was going and not caring who saw them at this point. He was leading her directly to his quarters above his Shoppe. He knew now she wanted him, and he was damned if he was going to end the night without at least trying to show just how interested in her he truly was. Once they got there, he pressed the key code that opened the door and pulled her inside. 

As soon as the door shut, he pressed her against its alloy framework and started kissing her passionately everywhere: her arms, her breasts, her cheeks, her lips, her forehead, and of course, her entire neck. It wasn't until Drisana pushed him away, almost worried by the level of passion he showed her, that he was able to stop. But he could no longer hide his passion. His masculinity was at full force, and it showed. Every one of his ridges was raised to the highest point, his member was at full alert, and heat emanated from every part of his being.

"Drisana...I..."He began. Drisana stopped him with a soft wave of her hand. "Why...I mean, no, not why...it's hard to put into words." Drisana thought and tried to put her thoughts into coherent words that wouldn't be insulting. Garak motioned for her to sit on a couch, and when she did he kneeled at her feet and looked up at her "Try. Try to tell me. Please." Garak implored her. 

Drisana swallowed hard. "I do like you, Garak. I like you as much as you like me but...I don't want a one night stand so...so perhaps I should go. Now, before we both regret this night." It was this thought Garak had been dreading-having her thinking this was a normal act with him, something he did with all females. Love them and leave them as he saw so many human and admittedly, other Cardassian males do to females. 

He shook his head and tried to explain it to her. He went into detail about how he had been an exile, how he had been alone-completely alone-for over five years. He went further, telling her that he had never married, never had children. He had spent most of his life on his work. Once that ended in his exile, he was now nothing but a lowly Tailor-perhaps a great Tailor-but still a simple, lowly Tailor condemned to die, alone on this station. None of the women on the station ever showed the slightest interest in him. Some, mostly the bajorans male and female alike, outright hated him simply because he was a Cardassian, a member of the race that had forcefully occupied the Bajoran home world for more than fifty years. He even admitted to her that the only thing that made life tolerable was the lively debates with Doctor Julian Bashir once a week as a luncheon. 

"But now..." He continued "I have met you. I want you, Drisana. I want you to be here on this station. I want to help you in every way I can, and I want to love you. Please" His voice almost sobbed in its plea "Please, let me love you. Love me in return. End my loneliness."

Drisana was speechless. She knew a few of the things he had said from her accidental eavesdropping. She could also tell by tone of his voice alone that regardless of how others might view Cardassians or what he may have done himself in the past, Garak was being honest with her-so honest it was causing him pain. She grabbed the sides of his neck, gently rubbing the ridges of his neck up and down. "In that case.....where do I sleep?" She grinned slightly, trying to take the seriousness out of it and let him know she accepted his proposal, or at least was granting him the opportunity to prove himself as a worthy man. Garak, for the first time, his glacial blue eyes filled with tears, smiled at her, a full, brilliant smile. "If you will come with me, I will show you." 

Standing up, and pulling Drisana up with him gently to her feet, Garak led her into his bedroom. For a bachelor, her kept things in immaculate condition; the bed was made with a thick comforter on it; the Dresser drawers were of Cardassian design as was the rest of the furnishings but everything had its place. It was certainly cleaner than she had expected and this was definitely a pleasant surprise. 

As she looked around the room, Garak slowly pulled back the thick comforter and soft cotton bed sheet and then motioned for her to slide into the bed. Drisana smiled slightly at him. "I sleep in the nude. I hope that doesn't bother you." 

She slowly slipped off her short black skirt and purple silk tank top, then the laced, black satin bra and underwear, saving the boots for last, slowly unlacing them before removing them and the black cut off socks she wore beneath, setting all her clothing neatly to one side of the bed. Laying down on the bed, she looked up at Garak who seemed to be trying his hardest to memorize every aspect of her nude form.

After waiting a couple of minutes, Drisana smirked at him. "Are you going to join me, or do Cardassians sleep standing up?" Grinning and faster than he ever had before, he stripped to nothing and lay beside her. Laying on his side, he looked her over and lay propped up, resting his head on one hand. The other hand he let trace over the perky, aroused breasts and hard nipples of the beautiful woman in his bed, slowly moving his hand down her stomach to her soft, furless mound. Gently, he rubbed it. He could tell she would naturally have fur there-but that she shaved it off. He did not quite know why, but he did know that for whatever reason he also preferred her that way. Everything about her in his eyes was utter perfection. 

Drisana pressed up against him gently as he used his hand to fondle her erogenous zones. "So, you know my areas of choice-what are yours, Cardassian?" Garak grinned at her mischievously. "Well, you will have to figure them out for yourself won't you? It would ruin your fun if I just told you---oohhh" He trailed off as she bit and sucked gently on the lower left part of his neck ridge. After this small, painless but very pleasurable bite that led to his quivering beside her, she let go and he finally managed to speak. "Lucky guess" He said softly. Drisana grinned back at him. "You shouldn't have put patchouli oil there if you didn't want me to play with them" She said softly, lightly flicking his neck with her fingertips. 

Thus they spent the night, exploring each other's bodies, finding each other's arousals before finally making love slowly, and rthymically. Drisana, lifting up and against him every time he surged gently forward into her depths, a little deeper each time. He slowly pulled her upward to where she was straddling him as he sat upright in bed, her kissing every square inch of his chest and neck and lips as he ran his long tongue over her nipples, to the top of her breast line and up her neck and cheeks to her lips. As their tongues intertwined, Drisana began to slowly grind herself back and forth against his engorged member, and she could tell he was so ready for release he was all but begging for it. She lay back down and pulled him on top of her. 

Lifting her legs up smoothly and with ease, she wrapped them high around his long neck, allowing him to penetrate as deep as possible, as deep as he wanted to go. She wanted him deep, to fill her completely. Drisana had been more than a little surprised when she first saw Garak completely nude, seeing that the ridges that ran on his neck and on parts of his face also applied to parts of his back and legs, as well as either side of his long cock. She had been a little nervous when he first entered her, not knowing if it would be pleasant or not. Instead of pain she found it gave a feeling inside her that no human male could ever match, a pleasure she had never dreamt it possible to feel as his ridges rubbed sensually against her inner walls. In a soft whisper only a lover could hear, she breathlessly gave him the only command he needed to hear as she pressed up against him and looked deep into his eyes. "Take me." 

Garak could not control himself after those words. His vision blurred as he began to pump her soft, wet opening harder and faster, bit by bit, until he was making her almost scream his name, and he was moaning her name in unison, as well as using loving terms in his native Cardassian tongue, not even aware he was doing so. Her gasps of delight only served to drive him to greater depths of passion. In his fury of passion he pushed against her hard enough to slam both of them against the wooden headboard of the bed and crack it slightly-but both were so lost in passion that neither noticed or cared about it. 

Garak reached down and grabbed her arms roughly, lifting them to so her hands almost touched her shoulders, pinning her wrists down to the sides and, holding her this way, lifted his waist off of her, pumping her as fast as he could and as he did so he felt the barbs of his cock rising, digging into her flesh-and she felt them too, but was too lost in ecstasy to feel anything but pleasure, even as the barbs dug in and caused her to feel the small drops of blood as the sharp barbs penetrated her deepest flesh. Garak was beyond ready and beyond control. A few more pumps, and as she pressed up against him, meeting him with ease no matter how hard or fast he pushed, harder than either of the had ever done it before- he leaned his long neck back, and a primal sound escaped his throat as he gushed his hot, male liquid deep inside her. At the feel of his hot liquid erupting inside her, Drisana reached her own climax, mixing her own Luke-warm female liquid with his-so much so that it dripped from his still hard member down his thighs, to drop in tiny, mixed, milky white rivulets onto the bed sheet beneath them.

A few more pumps got a few more smaller eruptions to eject from him at the feel of her release. His head still tilted back as far as it could go he closed his eyes and a second primal noise, unlike anything she had heard until tonight heard surged from him again- but even still she did know its meaning- that he felt total ecstasy and was as happy and lost to it as she was. Then, completely exhausted, his thighs shaking from the expended energy he fell gently on top of her, gasping for air, finally releasing her wrists as his head rested comfortably sideways between her breasts, which he continued to stroke with his fingertips as he tried to catch his breath. Exhausted as he was he could never tire of her beauty-or the beauty he at least seen in her. Drisana wrapped her arms around his back and held him there gently, stroking the slight grayish blue flesh of his shoulders and back up and down, feeling content, safe and secure for the first time since she had arrived at this station and more than that- truly wanted for the first time in years, even before she had wound up so very far from her home.

Kissing his forehead lightly, she gently pushed him off to the side of the bed. "Don't get me wrong- I like you on me-but you are a little too hot for me to sleep comfortably using you as a blanket." She said, half out of breathe herself but smiling in a way he had not seen before and knew her smile was due to his pleasures, which made it all the better. Garak laid again on his side facing her and wrapped one arm around her waist lazily, pulling her to her side and cuddling against her, placing one leg over hers as he did so. "Fine, but I can at least be a back warmer for you. Humans are so susceptible to the cold and to getting sick from it. I have no intention of ever letting you get cold." 

Drisana laughed and Garak looked at her puzzled. She turned her head slightly to look at him and said in close to a whisper "If that is true, master Tailor, with you as a lover I'll never get sick again." With that she kissed him deeply, slowly, gently and then said good night. He returned her kiss with a passion and said good night and for the first time since was five years old, Garak fell asleep feeling relaxed, content, and truly happy. 

I may be a simple Tailor now exiled forever from my home land, Garak thought before falling deeply asleep, but I am also the luckiest Cardassian who ever lived. 

The following morning the air was abuzz with gossip. It was no secret that Garak had a date, but whom had actually chosen to go out with him came as a complete surprise. Drisana was considered good looking by most humanoid standards, and many, especially the Bajoran occupants, felt she could of done far better than that outcast and exiled Cardassian. 

Even Gul Ducat had asked about her during a senior Starfleet staff meeting. While Drisana had nothing to do with any side-she having predated the Federation, she belonged to no-one and was free to pick any side or no side at all-how she had come to be there had been brought to the Cardassian Military's attention and Gul Ducat in particular had gotten ahold of her file-what Starfleet would release of it anyway-and her picture. 

It was also obvious to everyone at that senior Starfleet meeting who heard his questions about her he was not just interested in her because it was his job. He felt drawn to her by his hormones almost as strongly as Garak had been. The difference being Gul Ducat had been married once, had children, was a known cheater and liar-but had far better resources and could give her the lifestyle Garak could only dream he could have for her. None of that mattered though as far as he was concerned. Gul Ducat was also considered one of the best looking Cardassian men in the military, and his looks far surpassed those of Garak's. Gul Ducat felt sure she would not hesitate his advances, if he went about it in a smart manner, even if she did find out about his past.

So, when Gul Ducat found out whom her first date on the station had been with (Gul Ducat did have eyes and ears everywhere on DS9 it seemed) he was outraged. Not only at not having been chosen himself, but because he and Garak were longtime rivals. They hated each other and to Gul Ducat's mind, Garak had only taken this female because he must of somehow found out how much Ducat wanted her for himself. 

Never one to sit idly by and accept an enemy insult, Ducat scheduled an official meeting to discuss the temporal anomaly situation with Starfleet, under the pretense of preventing it from happening again. In reality, he wanted only to meet this woman who had captured his senses so completely and if at all possible, win her affections in a very permanent manner. 

She did, after all, like Cardassian men. 

Garak had helped him decipher at least that much about the beautiful female of the past, and he intended to use that to his advantage.

As for himself, Gul Ducat was patient, resourceful, and smart. He had survived the Occupation of Bajor intact and many skirmishes before and since which had claimed many of his own superior officers, simply by being more resilient and persistent and quick-witted. Gul Dukat thought this female-Drisana, that was her name-would be no different than any other battleground, though the battle would be of a far different nature. She was a prize-the ultimate prize-something to be won, conquered, and ruled over with a gracious hand. He was already seeing a traditional Cardassian wedding ceremony in his head. The thought of her made him realize he did not just want her on a temporary basis. Perhaps his long list of flings was about to come to a very happy ending.

An ending that would mutually happy for them both.

This is what he hoped in his deepest of hearts. 

However, Gul Dukat had been sloppy on one point; he had not gone to Garak's lengths to hack Starfeet security and read the full report about her and knew even less about Earth's history four hundred years ago than most Cardassians did. In short, he had no idea what he was about to be in for. What he thought would be an easy conquer, the one woman that would finally give him the happy personal life he had always craved and searched for in many a female would be one of the hardest battles of his entire life and there was no guarantee of the victory he saw as a sure thing.




A Temporal Shiver



Drisana woke earlier than Garak, who was still cuddled around her as if afraid she would vanish during the night if he did not. She smiled despite herself, finding this almost infant behavior in this full grown, very powerfully built adult almost cute in a way she couldn't quite describe.

Usually she was a late sleeper, but the operator of the station had called her to come to the main ops stations as soon as possible-as if she even knew where that was. Ah well. Unwrapping herself from Garak's embrace, she quickly gathered her clothes and dressed, running her fingers through her hair wondering how she was going to fix that before spying Garak's brush on a shelf above the bed. Shrugging, she grabbed and used the odd comb/brush combination until her hair at least looked somewhat presentable. Placing the hairbrush back in its allocated spot on a shelf, she left Garak's quarters with him still soundly asleep.

It didn't matter that much, she kept telling herself. After all, she still had no idea what would happen to her now she was her, if she would even be allowed to live on this station or pushed out the nearest airlock. She shrugged off any thought of Garak, and asking for directions multiple times, managed to find the ops station where the station operator-what was his name, Sisko, had called her. He was an average height human male with a rather strikingly unfriendly demeanor. She disliked him after five minutes of conversation. All he had woken her up for was to tell her how she needed to follow station rules while she was there and that he expected her to be a "good example of humanity at its finest". The nerve. She did predate him by about 400 years-it was hardly any fault of hers she had been brought here. She was just leaving when she heard a message come in from Cardassian space.

Slowing her approach to the turbo-lift, curious to see if all Cardassians looked like Garak, she looked slightly at the monitor as she stood near the turbo-lift and was close to dumbfounded by the looks of the man on the view screen. If Garak was handsome, this man was a god. She mentally slapped herself. Was that all she could think about-how they looked? For all she knew he was a total asshole. She got onto the turbo-lift and headed for another day on the promenade, the central gathering community space for the station. She wondered what she could do for a living here and began looking for work.

Still, the image of the unknown but extremely good looking Cardassian male on the view screen kept jumping into her mind, along with his commanding voice. She wondered why she was so fond of him given her dislike towards the station operator-oh that was not his true title but she hardly cared-was for much the same reason as her liking the unknown Cardassian. Unfriendly, strong-willed, and militaristic to the core. She should hate him for those reasons but something inside her made her want to meet him. Then it dawned on her why: she wanted to break him. She wanted to see this ultra-handsome, strong male brought to his knees. She was caught off guard by herself. Never, ever had she desired to overpower another? Not in any way, and certainly not in this way. The thought of breaking him, even in that flash of an instant, made her body tingle all over.

Then, she thought of her night with Garak and how it had even started. She wondered why she had dreamt of him then. Had it been purely of loneliness? The more she thought about her handsome Cardassian Tailor, the more she wondered. He had been so eager to please her, to do everything for her. She enjoyed it immensely, his urge to see her satisfied in every way, going so far out of his way at dinner and beyond. He could have done as most males did and simply taken her when she returned to his quarters with him-but he did not. He was focused entirely on her, and it had made her feel truly desired in every way, served even. She had loved every moment of it.

Drisana wandered over to her usual spot by the fountain and sat down. She had to clear her head of these thoughts before she started asking for work, or before someone noticed it. Drisana had not been here long and did not know how rare a true telepath was, but in her day movies used as entertainment played on that theme heavily. She certainly did NOT want her current thoughts read. Get a grip, she told herself. You need a job. Stop thinking with your body and get moving! She mentally chewed herself out for her lapse of judgment and while she could make excuses for it decided not to. Standing, she wandered the promenade Shoppes, mentally noting any that might need someone to lend a hand in any sort of capacity that she could provide or learn to provide. 

Garak awoke from his passion induced, coma-like slumber. He dressed himself in his usual greenish-blue outfit. He noticed Drisana vacant of the room, but thought nothing of it right away. He headed downstairs after his morning meal and decided to go for a walk until he had to open his shop for the day.

Garak kept thinking "Is this all for real? Is this woman my Goddess in waiting?" He shook his head to clear it of these thoughts and began a leisurely stroll along the Promenade. He noticed Drisana sitting by the fountain as usual, reading through a form of businesses looking for helping hands.

Reading through the digital scroll was a new experience in and of itself-at least she could now check that off her list of things to learn. Putting it down on the white-beige marble of the fountain she stood and stretched herself slowly, figuring she would head back to Quark's, soon. If nothing else, she could at least learn the latest gossip and for a little info on herself maybe score a free drink or two from the trip. Quark was talkative by nature-this much she could tell quickly and easily, and she planned on using that to her advantage. If she had to resort to blackmail to survive, so be it. She really did not believe for a second she would sink so low, but she was still in a bad mood from Sisko's words. Gods that man annoyed her. He might be a good leader but she could tell they would never get along. She wondered idly if humans had really changed so much in the past four hundred years that he now had more in common with another race than her own.

Speak of the devil, she thought, catching a glimpse of the familiar green and blue tunic out of the corner of her eye and knowing immediately whom it belonged to, so familiar had she become in one night with the look and movement of his body. Turning but not rising to meet him she smiled slightly. "So you finally pulled yourself out of bed I see. I've been here for hours. Can you believe that operator-commander-captain-emissary-whatever he wants to call himself combed me, made me go to ops, just to lecture me to behave properly? I don't know what hour he did this either, but I would definitely feel justified to call it way too damn early!"

Drisana vented to Garak once he was in normal talking range, and rather louder than she wanted to, but she honestly had no respect for the man so did not care who overheard her dislike of Sisko and his criticisms of her. She also knew somewhere deep down she was feeling slightly guilty for her earlier thoughts and was doing her best to hide them entirely, again with that irrational fear of telepathy being used against her. She had many secrets and while most were long since buried in the past she would rather her skeleton closet remained closed.

What she did not see was the marked raise of his ridges or the sweating of his palms. She did however smell the pheromones coming from him, and they affected her much more than she wanted to admit. Drisana felt an almost overwhelming desire to force him against the fountain and soak them both, the cold water be damned. Again, she shook herself mentally. 

She tried to show no signs of what she had just been thinking on her face but had no clue if she succeeded. Clearing her throat she changed topics.

"So, any idea where I can find some work before they throw me out an airlock for being totally useless?"

Garak looked down in a nervous demeanor. "I...I was coming to ask you actually....if you would like to work for me Drisana? I can't promise the best pay, but I can provide a safe place to eat and sleep and something to keep you from going completely insane on this wretched station." He said with a hint of flirtation in his voice. 

He turned towards Quark's bar, motioned to it with a bored wave of his arm. "Why don't you think it over....Come, I want you to meet up with the good Doctor and have lunch with us." That was the last thing he remembered saying before being slammed in the back of the neck with a military tactic he knew all too well.

If he had not of turned, he could of seen it coming. He had gotten sloppy, careless in his time on this station. When he came back around, Drisana and whomever had hit him were gone. 

Caught completely off guard three times in one day and it was not even lunchtime yet. Either she was getting slow or this was a madhouse. First Sisko lecturing her, then Garak's out of the blue offer-which was almost a plea, to her ears-and now this. She looked at the two men who were almost carrying her to the upper pylon levels carefully. 

Full black armor with a diamond cut silver fabric overlay. Then she actually woke up to the fact they were Cardassians. 

Great, now what have I done? Drisana wondered. She didn't attempt to resist them figuring she was just being hauled in for yet another do's and don'ts, probably because of her associating with a member not of her own race or some other such nonsense. Not to mention two to one did not make for the best of odds, especially when the two in question were armored and had weaponry way past anything she could recognize beyond the fact that it was probably highly dangerous, and to top it off they were trained. She was about to demand that they at least tell her where she was being taken when they all but threw her inside a conference room on the third upper pylon.

As Drisana tried to recover and just barely succeeded in recovering her balance, she saw the one person she had never thought she would meet. There, sitting calmly behind the desk was the same, ultra-handsome Cardassian Male she had caught a glimpse of on the view screen. She was about to demand to know what the hell was wrong with him, but he spoke first in a calm, clear, and commanding tone that stopped her before she even started yelling. 

"My name is Gul Dukat, head of the second order. That will not mean much to you but think of it as the same position your top military general would of held in your own time frame. Sit down." Drisana remained standing and glared at him, not saying a word. He grinned at her defiance and that just made her pissed off, and again set her to feeling the urge to break him, smash his ego into pieces. 

She forced the urge back and raised her head high, and with as much dignity as she could muster given how she had been flung inside this room like a rag doll, she said "I don't give a damn who you are! You do not go dragging off people who are just wandering the promenade causing no harm to anyone, without damn good reason. So make it good. I have a job to interview for." She added the last bit, thinking back to Garak and deciding she would take him up on his offer provided this conversation alone did not get her killed.

Gul Dukat merely raised both his hands, the same grin on his face, unchanged. "I meant you no harm. I will have to talk to my guards about your treatment. I do apologize for any inconvenience. Perhaps I should make it up to you. You will have dinner with me tonight. I am only at this station for the next three days. You will return here. My guards will escort you-and do so properly this time. I wish to learn about you, about how you came to be here. Starfleet only shared so much with us, and in the interests of retaining good relations they have allowed us-well, me-to meet with you personally. Oh but you did say you had an interview. By all means, go." He waved one hand casually towards the door, but before Drisana had the chance to leave, Gul Dukat stood up behind his desk, walked towards her and swept up her hand, kissing it long and lingering, using the tip of his tongue on the back of it. She wanted to pull her hand away but then again...she did not. Gul Dukat dropped her hand making the choice a moot point, rather pleased to discover she had not fought against his obvious advance. "I do hope we can be friends. You will need friends in this place. Trust me on that one." 

Drisana's teeth were on edge. She was torn between the urges of running out the door, kneeing this annoyingly smug bastard in the groin, or taking him on the conference table desktop without warning. Given his less than hidden flirt she doubted he would object. She decided to do none of these things. She was not going to give him the satisfaction.

It was then that it dawned on her why she had been commed by Sisko so early in the morning and told to be a model of humanity. Damn that man, he could of at least warned me a little! She thought angrily but tried to show none of it. Turning with as much casualness as she could, she walked out the door and guards immediately moved to stop her, but with a word from Gul Dukat they stepped aside and she left the small office where her world seemed to be set spinning once again.

Returning as quickly as possible to Garak's Shoppe, where she found him pacing and looking almost vivid until he saw her, then almost pale with relief. Drisana told Garak every detail once he led her to the back room, where he did the more intricate works of his business and where they could talk without being overheard. 

She told him how Gul Dukat had treated her, every detail of the encounter, except of course, for her own personal urges that she had (wisely, she thought), not acted on. Those she kept silent about.

She did, however, tell him at the very end how Gul Dukat had kissed her hand and asked, but more like said he wanted to be ' her friend'. She wanted to see what Garak would do. She didn't know if it was out of cruelty towards Garak, some twist in her desires or just the unfair way in which the universe seemed to be playing with her, but she wanted to see for just a second someone else suffer from the randomness of it all.

Garak lowered his head, the ridges of his entire body raising higher than ever before....the heat almost boiling from his skin. He was very quiet for a minute. When he spoke, it was in he clipped tones of a man trying very hard not to yell out of sheer anger.

"Drisana, Gul Dukat is a long-time rival of mine who began as a close friend to me in my childhood. He had you taken, not because of how you got to the here and now, but to spite me! He has eyes and eats everywhere, and he knows how we are together, and he wants that torn from me, to break me into a rage that knows no bounds. I should have been more alert to this possibility. I am sorry you have become involved in some very old politics between the Gul and myself."

If only Drisana had known that that Gul Dukat thought much the same about Garak's interest in her, it would of been very humorous. As it stood, she did not and merely watching him, listening intently to his every word.

Breathing heavily from anger but trying to calm down so he could think clearly Garak embraced her hand, grasping it firmly with both of his own and he placed her hand against his cheek holding it there as he spoke to her, his words still somewhat clipped but now also with another emotion, more powerful than his short bursting rage-it was the fear, the overwhelming fear of losing her. He did not know it yet, but was planning to keep her forever.

Drisana was pleased. Extremely pleased. She had gotten just the reaction she had hoped for-and yet, she didn't feel bad in the slightest.

She used her tongue on his hand sensually and slowly as it pressed against her check, trailing her fingers over his ridges- noticing for the first time they did raise when he felt a strong emotion as well as the heat, almost like a stove, coming from his muscles as they tensed in anger. Garak pressed his head against hers, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Drisana," Garak said just as she was pulling her hand away from his face, still pressed face to face against him "No harm will come to you from Dukat, I promise you that. I will do anything I have to in order to keep you alive and safe. Now, should you ever need it..." 

Garak stopped in mid-sentence and then, using a small button remover onto his work table next to them, pried up a couple of floor tiles. He opens a floor tile where a fully stocked supply room lay hidden beneath the floor. He spent his last five years here building it for safety, knowing Gul would be here to eradicate him. He had been on this station during the Cardassian occupation too. He knew the layout better than most, and he knew of this old small cargo hold that had been originally designed small as it was only ever supposed to temporarily house outgoing medical supplies deemed too dangerous to be anywhere else. As far as Starfleet engineering knew, it was simply an archaic Cardassian conduit station so they left it alone, an old ghost of the station's former masters. When he returned to this station, as an exile he had made sure his Shoppe would be above it. A multi-skilled assassin of the highest caliber, he had not survived this long by not having a plan B. Or C. Or D. 

He could call on old favors if the need arose, but given the station limits on weaponry and how many Cardassians (not including himself as he was a permanent resident) could be onto the station at any one time, that Dukat would simply have to lose at this particular small play at revenge.

She shook her head at the offer of his retreat, though she was to say the least very impressed and more than a little curious. 

"I have the feeling I am not going to be able to avoid this. I have to meet with him. Now with Sisko involved I think I would be forced either way. No to mention, his guards followed me. I may not be a top spy but I know when I am being followed -especially when they are not trying to hide. If I suddenly vanished from this spot, they would know who and why. No," She paused and sighed slightly, knowing there was nothing to be done for it.

"I have a better idea. I'll play along. I will be the 'model of humanity'. If he thinks there is nothing between us, or that it is one sided at least-then perhaps he will lose interest. From what you told me he is basically exactly what I expected. A pompous military goose-stepping asshole. We had plenty of those on Earth in my day, I can handle it." She said with confidence, and something else that seemed to linger in her voice that she was trying to hide. She bent down, replacing the floor panels herself, mentally noting which ones they were in case she ever did have to suddenly use it. Standing straight she hugged Garak tightly for a moment before releasing him. 

"I had better go; otherwise his minions will report that I am here for more than an interview." She smirked slightly at him just before leaving his Shoppe. She called back over her shoulder at him. 

"Oh by the way-do I have that job or has the position been filled in my absence?" 

"Funny you ask. There was a woman here today and she didn't seem interested, but she licked my hand and I gave her the job."

Garak smiled slightly at her. After she left, Garak closed the door to the backroom to continue the alterations he was backed up on-and to try and figure out what else had been in her voice when she spoke about meeting with Gul Dukat. He dearly hoped he was wrong, but his training, knowing how to read a person regardless of species was so ingrained in him he could not shake the feeling that Gul Dukat might just win the only thing Garak had left to care about without even trying. He feared it and only when he had pricked himself by accident more than once was he able to focus on anything but that feeling. He was worried, but there was nothing to be done about it. Drisana has a right. She can choose to be with whomever she wants, Garak chided himself. 




A Temporal Shiver



It was not as if he had not had his own fair share of flings in the past when he was the rising star of the obsidian order. But now...she was his only comfort. He wondered just how selfish it was to try and keep her. Back to work. He couldn't convince himself or make himself give up on her so easily, and he could not concentrate. Alterations were usually quick but he was making many mistakes. He hoped it was not a sign of things to come.

She forced herself to not smile as she left Garak's Shoppe. She did stop by Quark's, to made some false commentary against Garak. She knew it would quickly fill every listening ear-and that is what she wanted right now. Nothing better for a hunt than to throw the predator off his mark. That finished, she left Quark's and headed to the security office. 

Odo, the shape shifter head of security who hadn't quite perfected looking human but tried hard was reading the daily security logs when she entered. Odo stood and introduced himself. 

He was the strangest man she had ever seen, not just physically, with his face that to her looked like a melting wax work, but the fact he gave as close to no emotion possible to any situation or conversation was just...odd. 

Drisana nodded and introduced herself and without wasting any time let him know what Gul Ducat's guards had done to her. She left out mentioning Garak at all, not wanting him draw into this battle of the wills. If he was going to use his guards against her...okay then, she could play that way too.

Odo was to say the least less than pleased at the behavior of the Cardassian guards but not totally surprised by it. He had been the security chief when this station had been under Cardassian rule and he knew how brutal they could be when they felt so inclined. What really angered him about her story was the injustice of it. Odo was a creature of justice and anything that went against that tended to anger him, the only emotion he every really felt-a sort of divine fury. Drisana was grinning when she left the office. Gul Dukat was in for a nasty surprise very quickly. He would shortly be getting a lovely lecture of station rules and regulations from the very man whom used to work under him when the station was still known as Tyrak Nor. The only thing she felt bad about was she would miss the look on his face and those of the guards as they would all end up searched for weapons on the spot due to an unprovoked attack-not that it was really an attack, but if Odo wanted to get technical.... Well, turnabout is fair play, after all. 

Or didn't they teach you that particular tactic? Drisana mentally gloated at Gul Dukat's expense. But she also felt a delightful tingling in her nipples. Stop thinking about him, now! Drisana commanded herself as she headed for her own quarters.

She had time enough, just long enough for a quick nap, a shower, and a change of clothes. Not that she had much yet-three outfits in total, two pairs of boots. She choose the only outfit she had yet to wear-a long flowing blood red silk shirt that emphasized her every curve and a pair of long, tight fitting black leather pants. She wouldn't of usually worn them-she knew the impression it would send-but they were also the most protective piece she owned, and allowed for a quick get away without the worry getting caught up on something should she have to crawl through duct work. In her day, doing such things were rare but not unheard of. At least that is what she kept telling herself, why she chose to wear this outfit. 

She was a generation born between wars, but her own father had been a top end sniper and had taught her well. She knew how to run, hide, and fight when needed-but she preferred to avoid the fight. Win by wits, that was the motto of snipers and all other forms of assassins. She was not a sniper, but she had been trained by one and took the motto to heart. She was just finishing buckling her left boot when her door chimed. It was time for the meeting. 

Breathing in and out deeply once to center herself, she opened the door and greeted the guards as if they were old friends and walked with them chatting happily. It threw them off and the confused looks on the faces of the guards almost made it worth the trouble. She entered the conference room where dinner was laid out, still steaming hot. Timing was something Gul Dukat did know very well, by the looks of things. 

She only hoped her false trail of info regarding herself and Garak had had the time to reach the ears of this man and throw him off. She may have been cruel in teasing Garak about this rendezvous, but she would not allow this man, this smug, military General-or Gul, as they apparently called that rank-to harm him. 

Garak meanwhile was working his last few alternations when all five of Gul Dukat's guards came in heavily armed, and dragged him away after knocking him unconscious. They brought him to a dark room, the only thing he saw was a heavily tinted window, and Drisana and Gul were eating dinner on the other side of it. He tried to move. No good, he been strapped in place. He was going to be made to watch this but for what purpose. Everyone knew Gul Dukat had certain tastes that could not be satisfied with his own world's offerings, so making him watch this seemed almost petty. It was then that suddenly the lights came on and he heard Gul Dukat say clearly "Ah and now for the evening entertainment my dear new friend Drisana...the beating of my dear friend, Garak! A class act, this man..." Dukat stood and swaggered a bit as he spoke in loud clear terms, looking at Drisana the entire time, never once facing Garak as he spoke. 

"Did you know he had my father assassinated? Or that he worked for-well, the name would mean nothing to you but I shall endeavor to explain, He worked for the Obsidian Order. They were the puppet masters of our political system, removing a player here and adding a new opponent there. Game players, all of them. Apparently when my father would no longer let them pull the strings Garak here, my close personal friend of more than twenty years, killed him. It's alright though, isn't it Garak? As you told me-it was not personal. Just following orders, weren't you?" 

Gul Dukat was opening his own deep emotional scars, but he did not care. He had planned vengeance against Garak for a long, long time. The fact he knew about Drisana's date with him just added the last bit of zest, the perfect amount of cruelty to complete it. He did not want Garak dead, not yet. He wanted him to know what loss truly was. He intended to show him that and make him live with it, for a while anyway. If he was in a kind mood one day, he might eventually kill. Not yet though. It could wait.

Drisana stopped in mid chew of something that resembled spaghetti but was blue and tasted like what she knew as lasagna. Forcing herself to swallow she tried to think as quickly as possible. There were plenty of knives on the table; all of them could be used to lethal effect with ease. Gul Dukat leaned forward, almost as if daring her to try for that. She knew she would never beat him that way. He was far too skilled and experienced a fighter. He had been through wars and survived. She never had. 

Under the pretense of swallowing her food and wiping her mouth with a napkin she leaned back in the chair slowly, stretching her breasts forward and forced herself to smile at Dukat. "I didn't know you were such good friends. You really should of told me, I would of told him to come visit you sooner as I had that interview at his Shoppe. Oh I did get the job, by the way." She implied far more into it than had actually happened that time, but got that same angry rise out of him-the raised ridges and heat, if not the yelling-she had gotten from Garak. Better, she got the cold silence of true, long lasting hatred. That was even better in a way. 

Good, she thought. Let him suffer. Later though. I need to get Garak out of there. Pushing herself back from the table she stood up casually, and only slightly glancing Garak's way, made to leave as if nothing at all was happening, or about to happen. Gul Dukat was take back by this woman. It had been a long time since any woman out-charmed him, or outwitted him. He had admitted to himself that he had lost the first one from the reaction he got from himself upon just seeing her photograph. He would not lose to a battle of the wits. He refused to lose.

Standing as she did, he asked in an off-handed manner "Where are you heading to my dear? You will miss the show." Drisana shrugged and said with a completely fake sigh of sadness "Well, I am once again out of a job. Or about to be. If you beat him I'll have no employment. Would you employ someone who just sat by, ate dinner, and watched as you were beaten? Of course not." She let out another elongated fake sigh. 

"I suppose I will simply have to catch a shuttle back to Earth. No one else on this station would give me a chance. Outdated, not up to speed you see. I guess your full report on me will just have to wait. I must get home now. You have a pleasant trip." Gul Dukat couldn't believe his ears and fumed, audibly before finally snarling for the guard to release his "friend, but hold him there a moment longer. I would hate for him to miss seeing at least how I treat my dear friends who have not betrayed me."

Jumping over the narrow table with the ease, Gul Dukat grabbed Drisana roughly and kissed her hard, pushing her against a wall and, doing so on the left side only for the viewing torment of Garak, twisted Drisana's breast as hard as he could but slowly so as to not cause her any real damage. She clenched her teeth and in return bit his lip and grabbed his manhood, twisting it hard and rough. It only lasted a moment but to the two it seemed like an eon, trying to see who would scream in agony or ecstasy first. Neither gave in. 

Finally, it was Gul Dukat who backed away. His lust for her was starting to over-ride the pain and as much as he wanted her, he also knew time was short and wanted her to come to him later and to do so willingly. Drisana simply straightened her shirt, looking it over casually for damage, giving away nothing of the pain she had been made to feel-or the lust that was growing inside her. 

Gul Dukat could not hide his pain nearly as well, limping more than a little back to a seat and sitting down slowly. 

"I do believe we shall have to try this again tomorrow. I seem to have offended you in some...unknown...way. I must make up for that. Dinner again?" Drisana shook her head slowly and gave him a look that on Earth would make any knowledgeable man cringe in anticipated fear. Drisana said in the softest yet coldest of tones "Oh, I think this have given you enough to make a full if basic report. I have work after all. I cannot take the time to go out to dinner every night. Good-Bye, Dukat". She would not give him the respect of his rank by using it.

She turned to face the tinted window once more, but saw, much to her relief, that Garak was gone. She hoped he would still have a head on his shoulders when she finally caught up to him. She would not know until tomorrow. She could not risk visiting him with Dukat after her as he was. It would have to wait until work started and that drove her to complete insomnia the rest of the night. She was worried about Garak, but more than anything else, she was furious. She had wanted to protect him but at what cost? Was Garak going o turn into a friend, could she really turn him away so easily for the arms of lust? She took some small measure in knowing she did not suffer these pangs alone.

At least Dukat won't be in any sort of comfort for quite some time. She smirked halfway through the night at the thought.

Morning rose and Garak was nowhere to be found at the Shoppe like he needed to be. No sign of him, yet it was open. Drisana became increasingly concerned, and then she saw the blood trail.

Worried, but not stupid, she cleaned up the blood that had dripped onto the floor here and there with a spare bit of cloth as she went. She was not about to leave his attackers an easy trail to follow. His Shoppe had been opened and Garak was the only one who could do that-she had no doubt that he was hurt, she only hoped he was still alive. 

Either way she swore vengeance on the head of Gul Dukat, come what may. No matter what standing Garak took, he was definitely her friend, and she always guarded her friends. But that would also wait. If she was to succeed against Dukat now, she would need help. Trained help. 

Moving into the backroom as she wiped up all the blood, she removed the panel he had shown her, climbing down underneath into a long forgotten cargo hold. Engineering thought it was an outdated Cardassian conduit post so Starfleet ignored it. What she found was nothing less than astounding. 

Food and water rations, a replicator and weaponry lined the walls, most of which she couldn't even guess at how to hold properly-and Garak. 

He was leaning against the back wall, slumped to the ground, covered in gashes from head to foot and bleeding profusely. He was pale and shaking, almost gasping for air from the accumulated blood loss, but still managed a slight smile at the sight of her come to him thorough one thoroughly blackened and puffy eye. 

"Guess I really pissed them off huh? Perhaps I should of stopped talking when his family names came into it." Garak said in his usual dry sarcastic tone, coughing up blood in the process. "Call Doctor Bashir. We can't stay here much longer; his guards are going to wipe me and this section out entirely if they don't find a corpse soon."

Garak attempted to stand but fell heavily back against the wall. He looked at Drisana, panting from the exertion. "Drisana, I need you more than ever. I will never leave your side, if you never leave mine."

Drisana helped him to his feet and with far more strength than he had realized she had before-noting, now, that she had been holding back that first night, more than a little pleased but in too much pain to focus on it in any enjoyable context. "Garak," She pressed her face against his, not caring how much blood he got on her. "How could I leave you-who would pay my wages then?" She tried to make it a small joke, but her eyes evaded his carefully and instinctively, and made no promise of forever as she pulled him from that miniature bunker to the center of his Shoppe before coming for Doctor Julian Bashir using the wall-mounted panel all Shoppes came equipped with in case of emergencies.

She did not know Bashir well enough to know if he could keep his mouth shut and be trusted but if Garak wanted Bashir, then Bashir it would be if she had to drag him from the med lab herself. She owed him that much. It never came to that though, Doctor Bashir was closer to Garak than anyone else-excluding herself, and was there in a matter of seconds. Once Doctor Julian Bashir arrived, it took his well-skilled eyes only a fraction of a minute to request an immediate emergency transport to the med lab.

Drisana ran there herself on foot, asking directions from very alarmed looking passerby at the sight of her-disheveled and blood-covered. When she got there, she skid to a halt outside the facility and then walked in, not wanting to cause any further damage or distract from his care. She sat in the waiting room for close to two hours, forcing herself to be still and not pace or go looking for Dukat. When Doctor Bashir finally came into view, she pulled him aside in a 'no-time-to-be-friendly' way after he emerged from the room he had Garak in, who was currently under heavy sedation and sleeping off the worst of the surgical procedures that had to be done.

She demanded an answer at the same time that Julian demanded an explanation. Rather than argue about right of knowledge in a critical time, she let him know what had happened in two words. "Gul Dukat." Doctor Bashir was, for once, relatively quiet as well. He explained the damage in a few basic terms, broken bones, internal bleeding, spinal damage, gashes through major arteries. He finished by telling Drisana if she had been two minutes later in calling him, Garak would be dead. "By the way-how is it you found Garak anyway?" Drisana sighed. At least this one she could explain without any embarrassment or dishonesty. It made for a nice change. "He gave me a job-I just showed up to work on time." Doctor Julian nodded after considering her words but thought her tone was honest enough.

He had never really believed Garak's story of being an exile, a simple Tailor- he always thought Garak was some top level spy the Cardassians kept around to keep an eye on Starfleet activities. He was not surprised Garak had been injured, nor by whom, but the extent to which he had been tortured and left to die was almost too much even for him-and he had seen war battles. The level of cruelty and barbarism, the premeditation of it all horrified the young doctor in a way that chilled him forever, every time he thought about it afterwards.

"So what do we do?" Julian asked her. Drisana blinked at him "I-I don't know what you mean, I was just making sure my boss would li-" Julian cut her off "Oh come on, I know you two are" He lowered his voice to almost whisper level and looked her in the eyes "...you know...and with Gul Dukat involved now we have to do something to get him out of here. If not, there is going to be an 'accident' and it's going to cost you a lot more than a med lab visit." 

Bashir rushed out the words and looked sideways, as if looking for an assassin in every corner, or some spy with a hearing device on the ceiling. Drisana grabbed Julian's lab coat and lifted him almost off his feet, livid. "I don't care what you do-but do not repeat what you just said. Not to your personnel, not to Starfleet. Not to your beloved commanding officers. No. one. Got it?"

Julian swallowed hard and nodded quickly. Drisana set him back on his feet and released him but he grabbed her wrist "Just tell me what you are going to do then?" Drisana was about to offer a sharp retort and possibly slap him when the soft, yet ever sarcastic voice she knew so well drifted to her ears and both her and Julian fell silent.

"I think....I have an idea. Provided I am not dead of course." Garak, still fighting off the effects of the sedatives, but alert enough. He had managed to climb out of the bed, dress himself, and was leaning against the door frame. Julian was shocked. Tough son of a bitch, he thought silently. He had used enough sedative to keep a battle-raged Klingon out for at least six hours and it had barely been two; he had never had much experience with Cardassian biology, but he had seen some bodies, corpses of Cardassians, who had died fairly quickly from far lesser injuries. Garak was built to take a beating, if nothing else, that much had been proven.

Drisana went to him and lent herself as a crutch before forcing him to sit in a chair before he collapsed. "Let's hear it." She said.

Dr. Bashir waved his nurses and other curious observers away. They would not bother them here if he gave the order not to. He was young but well respected for his talents, and all who worked under him or were in his care showed respect here. He planned to help out even if he didn't know it, wasn't fully accepting that fact consciously yet.

Garak leaned over to whisper "We need to fake my death, and during communal mourning period, we rig my place of business and quarters to have a couple of explosions and then we take a run about to a star dock and from there transfer to a cruiser and get out of this sector and to Earth."

Drisana went to slap him, but only stopped because of his injuries. "Escape is one thing but blowing up the station? Are you out of your Cardassian mind?" She whispered in an angry, frantic way-Julian Bashir saying almost word for word the same thing but without the loving overtures in Garak's other ear. 




A Temporal Shiver



Drisana raised her hands and took a couple of deep breathes. "Okay, blowing up anything is out-it doesn't matter who does it, we could even try to make it look accidental it would still cause a war. This space station serves as defense for Bajor, or possibly for Cardassia -either way, with it under attack from an 'unknown' source with tensions still as high as they are, a war would break out quickly. All people need on either side right now is an excuse to go at it again. I know, I'm new, but I have ears and eyes. Secondly, I am still a human and this is now a human-dominated base. Thank Starfleet for that not me, I had nothing to do with it. That said-I think you need to die." She looked at Garak and just waited for a yes or no reply.

Julian almost fainted when she said that.

Drisana was quick to add when she saw the look upon the face of the young doctor in her still-whispering tone "Of course not really die-if I wanted Garak dead I could of just walked out of the Shoppe and 'seen' nothing. How do we make it fool Dukat though? You know that asshole won't take any chances. Besides....I want to pay him a visit afterwards."

Something about her tone left no doubt that very, very few men without a death wish would like to be in Dukat's shoes if she got a hold of him. He would be lucky if he came out in half as good of condition as she had found Garak in that morning.

Julian Bashir was not a man with a death wish and he felt a shiver at her words-or was it the tone? Either way, he was very glad to be himself at this particular moment. Taking a moment to swallow hard, hardly believing what he was getting involved in but also subconsciously getting a bit of a thrill out of it, Julian spoke up. 

"I can fool the vital readings, put him in an internal stasis that will shut down everything. It will only last 30 minutes though so we would have to prepare it well and...." Bashir stopped, and looked at Garak, then Drisana, Usually he did not divulge patient information but in this case he would make an exception"...and, how long can you stay in that box, unmoving, without sedation? If things go wrong you have to move fast but you-well-I remember when the turbo-lift broke down. You don't exactly cope well in tight places." Bashir put it as gently as possible. 

Drisana looked back and forth between the two. "You...you're claustrophobic?" She smirked a bit. "Well thank the gods we have found an ailment common to both of our races. Luckily not to me though." She turned to Bashir. "Look, I don't know the medicine now, or how to treat a Cardassian wound. But I do know how to hunt. You get me a layout of the air ducts." Julian blinked at her "Air ducts. You are joking? She is joking?" Julian looking from one to the other. Drisana smiled at them both. "Oh what's the matter? Never play hide and seek as kids?" 

Gul Dukat paced the conference room slowly, hands held in military fashion behind his back. Garak was dead. Or as good as dead. He only let him 'live' long enough to ensure Drisana would find him. He also knew she would come for him. Good. He let it leek out as a rumor, but only to those concerned, that his men would blow up an entire section of the station if they did not find Garak dead. He would never do that though-it would look bad on his record. However, he knew Garak would take the threat seriously and fall back to his "If I cannot have it neither can you" mentally. If Garak blew the station, or even part of it, away, that's all the better. He would let Garak die a slow miserable death and he would take Drisana.

She was willing and Gul Dukat knew it, could smell it about her just as he knew she understood him, his desires. She could fight him all she wanted but he knew her no's were just thinly veiled yes's. The ridges that ran on his legs and back raised slightly just at the thought of it. Ah, it would be glorious. 

One old betrayal repaid-Garak had been responsible for the death of his father, had killed him with his Obsidian Order and assassin training. Garak had said it was never personal. For Gul Dukat, it always was.

The one thing Gul Dukat had not planned on was Drisana's simple honesty. She really did have a job and found Garak before he could die or blow up that section of the station or both. Gul Dukat was simply waiting for the death report to role in now, or for reports of an explosion of unknown origin. Either way would suit his needs just fine. 

When the death report finally arrived he wondered what had taken so long, but then smiled to himself. In his arrogance he wrote it off that Garak must simply not of been found until long after the fact.

Well, my dear childhood friend do not worry. I will attend your funeral. I will do my mourning for you-right next to your female. Or should I say, my future wife.

Gul Dukat went to freshen up and to put on his dress uniform-reserved for ceremonies and funerals, it was highly decorated with all his badges he had earned over the years of his service. He almost whistled as he calmly dressed, planning to be in attendance as one of the very first visitors. It simply would not do to keep his old friend waiting.

Drisana however had other plans; leaving Garak in the care and planning stages with Bashir, Drisana studied the airducts. This place was far more complicated than she had ever seen but she only needed three routes. One to Gul Dukat's ship, One to his room, and one to the temple where every race and religion was welcomed, now being used for the funeral rites of Garak. It was rather impressive how many people showed up ahead of time. Most were simply curious, others wanted details and gossip, but most of them while not close to him had come to respect him on this station as it's tailor-and even some Bajorans viewed him as the only 'decent' Cardassian to set foot on the station since it had been first constructed. 

Drisana moved through the air ducts with ease once she had figured out which pathway led where, which was no small feat for someone untrained. She stopped at Gul Dukat's ship and left a simple note, with a black rose and small, transparent poisoned sewing needle inside. All of it symbolic and she was sure he'd get more out of that simple message than any long-winded letter or threat she could make. He note itself was simple. She had written only one statement on it in the center. "Catch me if you can." 

Next, she headed to the funeral. She watched the back side of the black and silver, Cardassian style coffin and saw, clearly, Garak's eyes looking back at her through a small sliding panel on the side, It had been a rush job but it served its purpose-the fresh air kept the claustrophobia to tolerable limits, even if it was extremely unpleasant for him in the tight, dark space surrounding him. He could at least keep from going into total mania from it with this little reminder of freedom so close at hand. He also had a small implanted button inside his chest he kept his hand over, placed so it would look like he was merely laid out in the fashion of all Cardassians once he pressed the button that would send him into a total body stasis, dead for all pretense and purpose for the next half hour. 

Drisana stared deeply into his eyes and wished she could pull him out of the box now, pull him to her hard and pin him to the ground and ride him, still injured or not. She was about to go having seen for herself that the plan was working so far.

Inside the box, Garak was nervous as all get out, the ridges were pulsing, the heat rolling and boiling, but he breathed slowly and softly as eulogizers and superior officers spoke of the beloved tailor. However, a man that no one remembered seeing before arose to speak....His name was Gundak Caulderson, an old training partner of Garak's Obsidian Order days. Garak knew the voice, and he began shaking in fear that Drisana would disavow and disown him for his cover up.

Drisana was about to head back to the last air duct to meet Gul Dukat head when he returned from seeing his 'dead' friend get his last rites read when she heard this one unknown speaker talk of Garak in a way that spoke of long time knowing, and as more than a just a random acquaintance. It sounded as if he had known him for years. She was curious to know who or what this man represented.Pausing, she listened in.

Gundak spoke of their time together on the job,(Though in typical Cardassian fashion was immensely careful to leave out any and all details as to what jobs these might of been), and their party days when they were younger. But his allotted time ended and he stepped away.

The ceremony was coming to a close, as the casket was slowly lowered into position for burial.

Meanwhile, Dukat was back in his office, re-reading some well-worn, very old letters, letters from his days of knowing Garak, Drisana watched him shed genuine tears, while reading some of the bolded words in the letters, "Father", "Murder".

Drisana was angry-she felt used all around and if any of them survived this she was going to have to start carrying around a list to keep track of all the people she needed to beat the crap out of. Why had Garak never, not once, mentioned he had ever been anything but a Tailor to her. 

Certainly he had ample opportunity before Gul Dukat's goons had gotten to him. She forced herself to focus. Punish him later. She was on the grate just over the head of Dukat and was about to bring to crashing down quite literally on top of his head, but she stopped. Crying, Gul Dukat? He was alone-there was no one there to put a show on for. No guards in his room and his tears feel under her watchful eyes. 

Pressing hard on the grate with her knees-grates which were never meant to hold weight-she fell directly on top of Dukat's head, knocking them both backwards, him tumbling to the ground and her right on top of him, and with one arm around his throat and a simple looking ball-point pen in her other hand -the replicator was a useful bit of technology that she had made sure to learn well as it gave her a taste of the home she had always known from time to time. 

Drisana grinned in true malevolence. "Good Hell, Dukat. Stop that crying, I'm here to help you join your friend!" She almost screamed the last words as she thrust the tip of the ball point pen towards his throat. He didn't try to resist her until the last moment. The blow hit it's mark and deep, he had defended himself just enough to keep the impact from being lethal.

He felt the impact of the blow, felt himself starting to choke on his own blood and he staggered quickly from the room. He wondered why he did not stop her, what caused him to give up quite so easily. He was a master of hand to hand combat and could of easily disarmed her, tortured her, killed her, done anything he liked. What made him hesitate? It didn't matter. A small lapse in judgment was all it was he decided. 

He would get to his ship, have this wound treated and then deal with her. Once he opened the door his guards saw him and he motioned for them to take him to the ship immediately. A couple also saw Drisana there, her left hand covered in Dukat's blood. They were about to move onto her but he motioned for them to stop. Drisana wiped Dukat's blood onto a small portion of the green-blue tunic that had been Garak's favorite. It had been covered everywhere with Garak's blood, completely ruined, except for this small, back portion scrap. She enjoyed the irony more than anything, and decided to pocket the scrap as the blood started to dry slowly. It would make a nice present for Garak, one day.

She stood and watched as the confused guards and Dukat headed towards the ship. "Debt repaid, Dukat. Your move." She said simply.

Drisana climbed sorely back onto the desk, reaching up and pulled herself inside the air duct, and returned to the funeral. It was time for Garak to have a miraculous recovery. She wondered if the plan B on the ship would claim Dukat's life. She somehow doubted it. He was much like herself, as much as she hated to admit it in that sense, and so was Garak. They had all survived things that had dropped many a more powerful and numerous set of beings. 

Still, she knew he would not be coming back from his ship. He would leave now, but only temporarily. Just as she was convinced of his ability to survive, she was also convinced he would find out of Garak's survival and the cycle of vendetta would continue. Tit for tat, or some such thing she had heard it called in her youth.

Back at the funeral once everyone had gone but Doctor Bashir she kicked open the duct and pulled the coffin box lid open-one nice improvement was how much lighter coffins had become. She almost laughed at the thought of being glad of something like that but then she looked at Bashir. "Do it, hurry!" Drisana knew nothing of the how's or why's of what Bashir had done, other than it had a time limit and knew they were really pushing the thirty minute mark and if he was not brought out of his internal stasis soon he really would be dead. 

"Got it!" Julian said, springing to life beside her, seeming thrilled for the chance to do something besides wait. He pressed a hypo to Garak's neck just beneath his jawline and with a push of a button, filled him full of pure adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. The basic brain function responded to these, the most basic building blocks of all humanoid based life forms. Quickly in a cascading effect the rest of his systems started responding-his heart rate increased, he started to breathe again, his color-albeit unique in her eyes regardless of the situation, returned to normal.

Garak opened his eyes and moved around a bit, sitting up before pulling his legs over the side of the coffin-at least now free to move, free of that oppressing mania he suffered from whenever he was forced into a tight container. Julian looked from one to the other and with more than a little awkwardness backed out of the temple shutting it's door behind him. Drisana stared at Garak as he sat there, legs hanging over the side of the coffin. She said not a single word.

"I guess you heard the whole, me being with the Obsidian Order thing. It was better that you did not know until this time, it was not my choice to wait, but I had to wait for a better moment...."He was struggling for a good excuse, something the usually slippery Garak never had a problem with. Julian Bashir was impressed that she could make him more nervous than being stuck in stasis. 

At almost the same time the three of them noticed three Cardassian guards trying to look into the now locked chapel, and were working on getting the door open. Hoping they didn't notice the sounds coming from inside, the three replaced the lid on the coffin then slipped back through the duct work and deep into the bowels of the station....thinking of the final portion of their plan...

"Well now that the good Doctor is God-like, what do we do now?" Garak was not usually open to suggested but he felt he had made enough of a mess of this to let someone else take over right now would be a good thing, although he would never admit to it as such.

Drisana had had it. With the flat of her hand she swatted Garak on the ass with a sound that definitely carried and a sting that went through the cloth he wore. She didn't stop there but continued to spank him a good twenty times before finally stopping. "A better time, like, when, per say? Before or after someone tries to kill you for no apparently good reason?" She was angry and relieved and happy and sad all at once. She had been hoping this station could be home but no-not now. When she finally stopped spanking him, much to the relief of a highly embarrassed doctor who truly wanted to know nothing of this sight, she sighed and shrugged once. 

"Home- Earth, anyway. It may not be a home I remember, or a home you've ever known, but it is so far away Dukat will not be getting to you unless he chooses to retire early. Somehow, I can't picture him doing that willingly. Doctor Bashir, I am afraid I'll have to owe you a favor for a while. You will need to let Starfleet know what happened, how despicable Dukat still is. This time it was personal but think how quickly he moved to attack me when he did not even know me." She didn't bring up the fact she had enjoyed sparing with him. She never would. Drisana simply continued to speak, trying to be as logical and as fast about this as possible. Time was still very limited. 

"Not to mention I think every Bajoran who ever met him would willingly tell you the same thing. Let them-Sisko, Odo, everyone who can do something about it- know. Meantime-I need to see Quark, get those run about tickets. Time to close Shoppe." She said, and looked at Garak to see what his response to all of this would be now she had finished being angry and gotten the doctor to agree to keep a close eye on Dukat and his minions.

"OWWWW!" Garak sarcastically screeched in very fake agony at the sting to his backside. Then he straightened up a bit and looked at her seriously for a moment. "But, I guess I deserved that. I am sorry. Never again will I lie." "To you." He added as an afterthought. He didn't want to break a promise of not lying with a lie, after all. It would be unseemly. 

After a few twists and turns in the labyrinth of ductwork, they headed to Quark's, who was surprised to see how they had gotten there-but with a couple of slips of latinum forgot all about it just as quickly. Good old Quark, the one Ferengi you could always bribe and know it would stick. Here, they parted with the good Doctor and got their tickets, heading out to the run about launching pads as fast they could without actually running,

The two headed quickly for the docking bay and entered the shuttle. Holding hands, they look at one another...."So shall we battle the Klingons next or just stick to seeing how far Ducat will go to come after us?" Garak says as the ship begins to lift and slowly pass through its automatic launching sequences before changing direction suddenly, taking them towards Earth.

Drisana looked at him and couldn't help but smirk. She did adore his sense of humor and couldn't hide it. "I think we can manage. You got me, after all. If you behave, that is...so behave." She said softly in his ear and drew her tongue up his left neck ridge to his cheek, then traced it lightly over his lips making him want so much more as she noticed by the slight rise between his legs. She felt the tip of his maleness with a fingertip lightly and leisurely before moving away from him to a front, single occupancy seat and pulling out a magazine.

Drisana grinned at the look on his face behind her digital magazine. Some things are priceless, and teasing this male was definitely among them in her opinion. 

It was a long trip by run about, as they called what in her time where simply referred to as shuttlecraft. Run abouts-a stupid name in her opinion, but then she hasn't been impressed with any of the humans from this era. She couldn't really count Bashir as human due to his breeding-a product of illegal genetic engineering, he would be better than other humans. She hadn't known that at the time but Garak was talkative and eager to fill her in on absolutely every dirty detail he had ever heard, or so it seemed to her.

Try as they might there were simply no passenger cruisers going towards Earth anytime soon. They would have to keep switching from space port to space port but it would still be by these run abouts, all the way across the long sectors of space. It was going to take almost a full year to get to Earth. More humans to deal with there, but at least it was familiar turf for one of them.

Drisana looked at Garak over the top of the digital magazine. Just me and him for company, with an automatic pilot to guide us home and land us there. A year...it is a long time to be cooped up. She tapped the top of her magazine and watched subtly at the gaze of longing Garak gave her almost non-stop, the way he adored her every move with open admiration.