Received: from [66.218.66.28] by n50.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:22:38 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 39751 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:22:38 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.167) by m22.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:22:38 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta6.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:22:37 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560MPQX022837 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:22:25 -0500 Message-ID: <011001c44b5c$6c22a220$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:22:58 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 1/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Title: Cardinal Attractors Author: Penumbra Contact: penumbra at clinched dot net Series: VOY/DS9 Rating: NC-17 Codes: J/G Summary: During a case of industrial espionage, Admiral Janeway gets Warnings: language, explicit sex, voyeurism, occasional Brit spelling and vocabulary (my English is in a state of flux), possible muck-ups with Starfleet rank continuity. Note: Well, all I can say is that this plot (?) and pairing came to me in a dream after watching too many eps of Voyager in one go and the concept was odd enough to pique my interest. At least, that's my official excuse... sometimes, my mind boggles my mind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 1/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The intercom buzzed. "Ma'am, Admiral Nechayev to see you." Startled out of her reading, Admiral Kathryn Janeway almost dropped her coffee. Setting the cup carefully down on her desk, she touched the intercom button. "Send her right in, Eugene." "Right away, admiral," the voice of Ensign McNamara confirmed. The door whooshed open and admitted the compact, energetic form of Fleet Admiral Alynna Nechayev. As Janeway's immediate superior in the Starfleet Emergent Technology Propagation Group, together they were responsible for approving or denying requests for any cutting-edge technology the Federation produced. On her more pessimistic moments, Janeway often thought that while her job sounded glamorous enough, the reality was often nothing more than rubber-stamping permits to use Borg transwarp nodes for research purposes or deciding that the Federation settlement on Keltak Prime would need to do with three instead of five type 9 science shuttles; in other words, the business of bureaucrats. "Have you read the latest from Intelligence?" Nechayev asked without preamble as she slumped into a chair on the other side of Janeway's desk. She tossed a padd in front of Janeway with a disgusted air about her. Janeway's polite smile brightened. The only thing recently bringing any excitement into her life had been the growing suspicions of industrial espionage at various Federation science laboratories. "I have, ma'am, and it's quite worrying," Janeway said and gestured at the silver thermos perched on the corner of her desk. "Coffee?" Nechayev waved in the general direction of the thermos. "Please." As she poured, Janeway kept an eye on Nechayev. "So Intelligence doesn't yet know who or where our mole is?" "It's all suppositions. They assume it's just one person, not within the core research teams but someone with ample access and the ability to fool some very serious security measures." "A Starfleet insider?" Janeway conjectured as she placed the coffee cup in front of Nechayev. "Or a free contractor?" "No idea," Nechayev said and snorted. "Intel needs to live up to its nomenclature better. All they'll tell me is that someone, somewhere, is doing something for unknown reasons." "Are there any rumours?" Janeway's question produced the first smile she'd seen on Nechayev's face in days. "That's a whole another matter. Rumours are aplenty, most pointing towards Section 31 doing a bit of business with the Tal Shiar. Everything's circumstantial and inconclusive, of course," she said and nodded towards the padd she had brought. "See for yourself." "Section 31 and Tal Shiar?" Janeway asked and frowned as she finally picked up the padd. She quickly glanced through the data and true enough, the clandestine intelligence agencies of both the Federation and the Romulan Empire were mentioned. "That doesn't seem to make any sense." "It didn't to me, either, until yesterday when I spoke with Venar at Intel," Nechayev said and leaned forward, obviously warming to her topic. "You see, the two intelligence agencies have something in common: they hold a sizable grudge against a shared enemy." Janeway inhaled sharply, the puzzle pieces clicking to place. "The Cardassians?" she breathed. Of course. "That's right. It's a well-known secret that Section 31 has been keen on sabotaging our supply runs to Cardassia Prime and it seems even fanatics see the sense in synergy sometimes. And voila, Federation experimental technology in exchange for various cargo ship explosions that have the Tal Shiar's paw prints all over them." Nechayev finished her monologue with a frustrated flourish of her hand before sitting back, biting off a sigh. "A bloody mess if you ask me." "They need to be stopped as soon as possible," Janeway concluded, spelling out the obvious. "What can we do?" "Until we find the Section 31 mole, not much, I'm afraid." Nechayev glanced at the wall chrono. "But that's neither here nor there. I actually came to say hello before heading home." Janeway frowned and glanced at the chrono, too. It wasn't even 1600 hours. "You're leaving this early?" "The party, remember?" Nechayev said and cocked her eyebrow at Janeway. "Don't tell me you've forgotten." "Oh lord, the party," Janeway groaned. For a moment there, she had forgotten all about it -- the best two minutes of her day. Propping her elbow up on the table, Nechayev leaned her cheek against her palm. "Kathryn. I trust you're not thinking of not appearing?" she asked, giving Janeway a steely look. "That just wouldn't do." Janeway grimaced. "The guest of honour not appearing at her own party? Even I'm not crazy enough to risk the wrath of the Admiralty that way," she muttered and gave her superior a sardonic look. "Whose hare-brained idea was this party anyway?" "Mine, as it happens," Nechayev retorted, not unkindly, and smiled as she stood up. "We'll continue this tomorrow. Go home, Kathryn. Have a bath, relax, have a stiff drink or two, and put on a brave face. It's just a party." "More like a circus, if tradition holds, and I'm the main attraction," Janeway groused good-naturedly. She rose as well and saluted Nechayev with her cup. "See you tonight, ma'am." Nechayev nodded and with a minuscule parting smile, she left. As soon as the doors closed behind her, Janeway slumped back into her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger for a moment. The party was still four hours away and she was already developing a severe headache. "Eugene," she said into her intercom after a moment. "Please go and pick up my dress uniform from the cleaner's. It should be ready by now." "Right away, admiral. Anything else?" "A double dose of painkillers or, barring that, a loaded phaser," Janeway muttered and closed her eyes. "Ma'am?" She exhaled with measured calm. "Never mind, Eugene. Just go get my uniform." "Yes, ma'am." The intercom chirped as the channel was cut and Janeway opened her eyes; her gaze focused on her silver coffee thermos. Attached to its polished if slightly dented side was a small plaque bearing the name and serial number of the Voyager and the sight of it made Janeway sigh. To say that she was not looking forward to the party was to make an understatement. ----------------------------- End of part 1/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:26:11 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n2.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.75]) by sparrow (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLrb513NZFjV0 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:22:57 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8180-1086481376-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [66.218.66.158] by n2.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:22:57 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 48817 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:22:56 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.172) by m18.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:22:56 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:22:55 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560MdQX023128 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:22:40 -0500 Message-ID: <011501c44b5c$74d7f140$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:23:13 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 2/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 2/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Janeway smirked into her drink, pleasantly amused and surprised to be in such good spirits even after several hours at the party. After the first eighteen or so rounds of toasts and congratulatory handshakes, she'd sought refuge in a calm corner, leaned her shoulder against a pillar, and decided to enjoy the party -- and to hell with Starfleet celebratory protocol. She'd enjoy the spectacle of the crowd that ran the gamut, from Ferengi ostentatiousness to Vulcan sobriety in the sartorial sense and from Starfleet sobriety to alien boisterousness in the behavioural. This was possible because while she did loathe official Starfleet functions on principle, they did provide ample opportunity for people watching. And what a group of people it was -- aliens and humans alike -- that had gathered together for the dual purpose of gossiping and celebrating the fifth anniversary of Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant with all due pomp and circumstance. The latter was especially well embodied by her perennial party favourites, the diplomatic corps accredited to Earth. As Janeway saw it, every diplomatic corps has its archetypes and she'd passed time by picking them out of the crowd. As the clock approached midnight, her *dramatis personae* had grown to include various characters: the negotiator (Ambassador Baq'ke of the Nausicaan Union); the nepotist with his sycophants (His Imperial Highness Kshhrrh and assorted parasites); the softest son of a tyrant (the Bolian ambassador, already three sheets into the wind); the soldier promoted against his will (Ambassador Growan in all his uncomfortable glory); the urbane seducer (the Cardassian ambassador and his entourage); and so on, in endless variations of colourful casting. Momentarily, her eyes strayed back to the Cardassian ambassador -- the latest addition to the mostly familiar faces that frequented the official Starfleet party circuit in San Francisco. Janeway smiled, pleased with herself for finding the perfect label for him so quickly, even when it was because it was so very obvious what he was: a sybarite. Indeed, Ambassador Garak of the New Cardassian Republic was a burning black hole in the tapestry of monochrome Starfleet formalwear and colourful alien ceremonial costumes. The ambassador's waist-length hair was gathered in a thick, obsidian braid and threaded with pale bronze ringlets that sparkled in the low light as he discussed something in animated gestures with a dour-looking Starfleet admiral. Next to the lustrous, gleaming midnight splendour of Garak's outfit -- a long frock coat over a plastron starched to an inch of its life and fitted trousers, all black and in what Janeway surmised to be of Bolian silk -- the admiral looked uncannily like a member of the waiting staff in his white jacket and black trousers with yesterday's presses. Janeway mused that in these official functions, she always gravitated towards the former soldiers and tried to avoid the sensualists but at that moment, she didn't feel like talking to Growan and strangely enough, she found herself fascinated by the Cardassian. She'd never met him but was of course familiar with his credentials, both diplomatic and otherwise. Oh yes. Sipping her champagne, Janeway eyed the young man standing in rapt attention at Garak's side and smiled at her low mental trails. The good ambassador had quite the reputation. "There's something about Cardassians that still makes me feel uneasy." Jolted out of her thoughts by the familiar voice, Janeway glanced at her side and smiled. "Professor Chakotay," she said, her lips twitching at the look of consternation on her former First Officer's face at her address. "Kathryn," he said, both warning and laughter in his voice. "Being called a professor makes me feel ancient." "How do you think 'admiral' makes me feel?" Janeway drawled and turned back towards the throng. "You were saying something about Cardassians?" "If you had asked me ten years ago on whether I'd stand in the same room with a Cardassian and hold nothing more lethal than a glass of synthenol in my hand, I would've answered with a resounding no," Chakotay said and nodded towards the ambassador in question. "And that's after I would've called you a collaborator and punched you in the face." Janeway smiled despite the stab of sadness in her gut. The note of world-weary wonder in Chakotay's voice was new but not unexpected. His face was as ageless as it had always been but ever since his divorce, Janeway thought he'd been not quite himself. She couldn't really blame him for he had lost so much: a home with the Maquis when Voyager had been lost in the Delta Quadrant, a cause when peace with Cardassia had been established, and a family when Seven had moved to Galor IV. "I'm glad you're not here to punch me in the face, then," Janeway said and reached out to touch Chakotay's forearm. The man felt as solid and warm as he'd always had, and Janeway knew to suppress her 'what ifs' even before they'd taken full form in her mind. "Interesting times, these are." "With interesting people," Chakotay agreed and sipped at his scotch on the rocks. "Uh oh. Speak of the devil," he added and cocked his head, eyes focusing into the crowd. Following his gaze, Janeway saw that the Cardassian ambassador had detached himself from both his companion and the admiral and was making his way towards them. Grimacing, she glanced at Chakotay. "We've been made, my friend." Chakotay grunted in agreement and drained his drink. "This is one introduction I don't feel like enduring. So if you'll excuse me..." he said, making a minute bow before retreating towards the thicker mass of people. "Once a Maquis, always a Maquis, Chakotay?" Janeway muttered to herself, not unkindly, as she watched her friend disappear in the general direction of the buffet. Shifting her champagne flute from one perspiring hand to another, she turned back towards the floor and plastered a bland smile on her face. She caught the approaching ambassador's eye just as he managed to yank his hand back from the grasp of the cheerfully intoxicated Andorian ambassador who, judging from the vigorousness of his handshake, had seemed intent on a Cardassian arm for a souvenir. When Ambassador Garak finally reached Janeway, the smile on his grey face was far more benign than she could have managed under the circumstances. "Admiral Janeway," he intoned, and his voice was a dark tenor, all smoke and molasses -- not at all what Janeway had expected. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance yet. I'm--" "Ambassador Garak of Cardassia, obviously," Janeway said and took the offered hand. She was surprised at how warm it was and with a mild internal shock, she realised she'd never touched a Cardassian before. "The pleasure is all mine, Excellency." Garak's fingertips brushed the pulse point on the inside of her wrist. "I do doubt that, my dear admiral," he said and let go of her hand in what appeared to be great reluctance. "I take it my reputation precedes me?" "Only in the sense that one still doesn't see many Cardassians in these parts," Janeway said and gestured towards the crowds. True to her words, the only other Cardassians present were the three dark-suited men of Garak's security detail; presently, they were glowering at her at an unobtrusive yet strategically sound distance. "Hm, yes. Here on Earth, it seems any member of my species is still a bit of a novelty." Garak's smile turned almost impish. "Yesterday, I even saw a wearable mask in a crude approximation of a Cardassian face. According to the understandably embarrassed salesperson, the mask should be bought in celebration of something called Hallowe'en, if I'm not mistaken," Garak said at length and paused to regard Janeway with a curiously evaluating gaze. "Bizarre, yet somehow reassuring." "Reassuring?" Janeway asked. The calm, languid quality of Garak's voice was making it hard for her to concentrate on the small voice of warning at the back of her head. "Yes, that humans allow their offspring to wear the faces of erstwhile enemies in the firm conviction that they won't be gunned down in the streets by over-zealous if myopic defenders of the Federation. Such faith in strangers is rather charming." Janeway smiled and this time it was a genuine one as she finally felt herself relaxing in Garak's company. His erudition was Cardassian yet his manner not and so, it seemed that despite all the eclat -- controversial or otherwise -- Mr. Garak was not your usual Cardassian. In fact, in addition to the usual adjectives of devious, predatory, and loquacious attributed to his species, in the stories that circulated the social circles he was often described as warm and congenial -- descriptors Janeway was beginning to agree with. With the mild intrigue prompted by this discovery, she took a closer look at Garak, who endured her scrutiny with the deprecating, aloof patience of someone used to it. In her scrutiny, Janeway could only surmise that regardless of his unusual personality, the ambassador displayed all the usual outward characteristics of his rather striking species -- from the intricate fractals of scales and the faded pewter sheen of his skin to the features curiously abstracted yet sharpened by the ridges trailing the high planes and dark hollows of his face and neck. Janeway leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. "One could be tempted to call the reappropriation of a controversial face for purposes of amusement empowering, if not cathartic." "Quite so," Garak murmured and twirled the champagne in his glass, his voice turning softer. When he bent his head down closer to Janeway, the shadows swallowed his eyes until nothing but the gleam of his gaze was visible under his browridges. "Speaking of controversies, admiral, it turns out we have a mutual acquaintance." Janeway frowned, surprised, as she searched the crowd for Tom Paris. She'd of course heard those rumours, too, but had thought Ambassador Garak better versed in Human social conduct than to commit a tasteless solecism by referring to such things in a public setting. The sudden change of conversational direction baffled her. "We do? I didn't realise that," Janeway temporised as she re-focused on Garak, trying to figure out the true reason why he had approached her. It was dawning on her that perhaps he hadn't done it merely out of curiosity, but because of an ulterior motive. "Or do you prefer Legate Garak?" Garak produced a thin-lipped smile that spoke of limited patience for the universe in general. "Please, admiral. I'm so very tired of these cumbersome titles. Do call me Garak." The corner of Janeway's mouth twitched in amusement. The ambassador was certainly not an average Cardassian if he eschewed titles. "Very well, Mr. Garak." "Just plain and simple Garak. At your service, admiral," Garak said with a baroque flourish of his hand. A private smile flashed on his face but it was so fleeting that Janeway was not entirely sure it had been there in the first place. "Of course," Janeway said, amused despite herself. "And it's Kathryn." "Kathryn," Garak murmured, obviously delighted, and the way he seemed to taste the syllables of her name made something unusual and unrecognisable yet not entirely unpleasant scale up Janeway's spine. "You said, a mutual acquaintance?" Janeway prompted and sipped her champagne. Garak's answer almost made it go down the wrong way. "Ah, yes. A one-time crewmember of yours I believe, by the name of Seska." Swallowing the champagne with haste, Janeway turned to fully face Garak. "Seska?" she hissed, hearing the gathering storm in her voice. The Delta Quadrant and those lean years were in her past and many lightyears away, but she made a point of never forgetting betrayal. "I of course knew her by a different name...and that was a long, long time ago. Another life, in fact." Garak's tone was light and he appeared quite unruffled if not unaware of her tone. "I'm assuming I'm the first of my crew to know this," Janeway said, her words more a declaration than a question. "Yes, quite so. One would assume your crew and especially Mr. Chakotay would not welcome information of this kind." The implied warning was clear in his tone. "Elinia -- Seska -- is gone and so there is really no need to elaborate on either her or my history with the Order." "The Order? That would be the Obsidian Order, correct?" Janeway said and made a mental note to read the ambassador's Intelligence file at the first available opportunity. "Let me guess. You were her...teacher? Mentor?" Garak smiled and leaned in with a whimsically conspiratorial air about him. "I would characterise my role as more of an overseeing one," he said, voice smooth and slick like oil on water. He caught Janeway's gaze and held it. "Elinia was quite the prodigy in her own, rebellious way. Rather too independent-minded at times, though, and not as good a tactician as we would've preferred. She was in need of a lot of guidance, but at the end, she turned out to be a decent operative." "Guidance," she repeated, lacing her voice thickly with sarcasm. She lifted an inquiring eyebrow at Garak. "Guidance you undoubtedly provided. In how to deceive both the Federation and the Maquis? Or maybe on how to ally yourself with enemies when it suits your short-term plans?" Garak waved his hand, brushing off her barely veiled accusations with a nonchalant air about him. "Of such things, I know nothing. I was merely an administrative overseer during the old empire, nothing more. A government bureaucrat." Janeway was certain his evasion was as false as the synthenol champagne she had been drinking for the past two hours. She didn't need to read the Starfleet Intelligence file on Garak to hear the assured, practiced grace of his speech or see the barely visible map of scars over his knuckles or notice how his constantly moving eyes seemed to miss nothing and no-one. These things, almost unnoticeable to anyone without a trained eye, spoke volumes to her. Ambassador Garak was no mere civil servant. As she studied Garak, Janeway wondered with absent curiosity how she hadn't before noticed how blue Cardassian eyes could be. The colour reminded her of the midwestern sky, all cornflower and freedom and it made her think of Indiana -- an association she found amusing in its absurdity. When Garak blinked and the nictitating membranes flickered over his cornea, Janeway started out of her mental tangent. "A bureaucrat. Of course," Janeway said to cover her startlement and banished the absurd images from her mind. She glanced at her side to see if they'd gathered eavesdroppers but none were obvious. "So why are you telling me all this, Garak? Don't try to tell me you don't have an ulterior motive, because you do." In the minute pause before Garak spoke, Janeway could feel the almost tangible amusement and appreciation in his companion. "My motives are not nearly as nefarious as you obviously suspect them to be. I approached you only because you appeared almost as bored as I was, Kathryn." The abrupt lightheartedness, unexpected after the eloquent evasiveness Garak had previously affected, made Janeway smile. Whether it was out of relief at the apparent deferral of ulterior motives for another time or rueful amusement at Garak's ability to so effortlessly hijack her attention, she didn't know. However, she was beginning to understand the allure Ambassador Garak represented and how he'd managed to accrue his not inconsiderable reputation as the liveliest of the usually so staid diplomatic corps: with him around, neither life nor conversation could ever be boring. "Mr. Garak," Janeway said throatily, lapsing back into formal address, "I'm willing to bet my reputation that your epitaph will have just two words." Garak waved his thimble-sized decanter under his nose as he thought, and the gesture and his grasp on the glass struck Janeway as strangely epicene next to the potent, masculine elan of his presence. "'Truth incarnate,' perhaps?" he mused, that same cool smile on his lips again as if his words were a private joke. "No." Janeway made a deliberate pause, schooling her features to a smug transparency. "'Plausible deniability.'" The bronze ringlets in Garak's ebony hair jingled with a sharp discord as he threw back his head and laughed. That laughter surprised Janeway; it was rich and rolling, a thoroughly pleasant sound that was generated somewhere deep in his chest, and it turned heads around them. As she joined his mirth, the devil in Janeway was secretly delighted at the spectacle they were making -- the star of the day's proceedings standing scandalously close to a Cardassian, with both of them chuckling in a manner that suggested not polite small talk but off-colour remarks about everyone around them. "I'll never stop admiring the human talent for succinct delivery," Garak managed as he recovered from his bout of laughter, a very white smile still gracing his lips. "Not something my people are capable of, I'm afraid." "Ah, yes. Cardassian eloquence versus human bluntness. The cause of several wars, I gather," Janeway said, feeling light-headed from her mirth. "To say the least." Garak's eyes focused on something behind her and he assumed a displeased mien. The change was quite startling; it was as if the air around them was suddenly ten degrees cooler, yet not quite as cold as his voice was when he spoke. "Alas, it seems I must pardon myself from your exquisite company," he said, eyes slowly moving back to Janeway. "Duty calls, in a manner of speaking." Glancing behind her, Janeway saw that the intoxicated Andorian ambassador had cornered Garak's young human companion by the bar and was in the process of invading his space with persistence the human found clearly unwelcome. She turned back to Garak and gave him a lopsided, knowing smile. "The things we do for love, Garak?" Garak's eyes flashed with something akin to intrigue. "I never considered a Starfleet admiral could be such a romantic," he said, his tone half tease and all flirt again. She caught Janeway's hand in his and brought it to his lips for a fleeting moment. "Until we meet again, Kathryn." With that, he turned only to disappear into the crowd in a brief jangle of his hair ringlets and a swish of silk, gone as if he'd never been there. In the air remained a lingering scent Janeway tried to name but couldn't; it was the scent of black coffee and autumn leaves, of old blood and spices from a dozen alien worlds, and it tickled her senses. "Until then, Ambassador Garak," Janeway said absently and squeezed her hand into a fist. She could still feel the burn of Garak's lips on the back of his hand, that fading ghost of his touch that had been oddly electric, and she had a feeling his parting words hadn't been a mere empty platitude. ----------------------------- End of part 2/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:26:11 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n22.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.78]) by bunting (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLrx3j23NZFmR5 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:23:19 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8181-1086481392-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com eceived: from [66.218.67.194] by n22.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:23:13 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 97247 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:23:12 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.172) by m12.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:23:12 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:23:11 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560MtQX023383 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:22:56 -0500 Message-ID: <011a01c44b5c$7e6f14e0$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:23:29 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 3/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 3/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hours later, the party was still in full swing. The late hour was evident only in the tired stances of the security men and in the ever-louder din of conversation that drowned even the orchestra. The couples manning the dancefloor were swaying with liquor-fuelled lack of inhibition and as Janeway found her various colleagues from the Admiralty in the crowd, she could easily spot the ones that would be nursing the most serious hangovers come the next morning. Turning to her companion, Janeway leaned in and lowered her voice. "Now here's a combination that boggles the mind," she said, pointing into the crowd. Their chosen vantage point by the wall and in the shadow of a pillar was perfect for people watching, which was what they'd settled on as a way to pass time. "Ah, quite so, Kathryn," Jean-Luc Picard commented at a low voice when Admiral Gupta swayed past them. He was flanked by an equally drunken Klingon and a young woman from Ambassador Kshhrrh's entourage. "Imbibition, the universal equaliser." "Not to mention the blind matchmaker," Janeway added with a low chuckle. "Which reminds me," Picard said with a humoured smile, "I trust you're coming to the Halloween ball?" "Of course," Janeway assured and touched his sleeve for emphasis. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. But, Jean-Luc -- no offence, but what in the world prompted you to throw a party in the first place?" "Despite my somewhat staid reputation," Picard pronounced solemnly but with an impish glint in his eyes, "I do sometimes let loose. This shall be one of those occasions -- for people to unwind, socialise, and put forth the goodwill that the Federation is known for." Janeway eyed her long-time friend with suspicion. "You made a bet with Riker, didn't you?" Picard sighed. "Am I really that obvious?" "Yes, my friend, you are." "*Merde*," he enunciated with heartfelt emphasis. Straightening, he glanced around. "Well, I must be off soon." "Trying to slip out of here before Ambassador Troi finds you?" Picard saluted her with his glass of champagne. "That would be the general idea, Kathryn. Have a pleasant evening, and I look forward to seeing you in two weeks." "Good night, Jean-Luc," Janeway replied softly and watched as Picard disappeared into the crowd. She stood silent for a moment, swirling her flat, warm champagne around in the glass. She didn't mind the sorry state of the expensive alcohol because, truth be told, she felt she shouldn't have any more to drink; the effects of various toasts were already quite pronounced. Deciding to clear her head for a moment, Janeway set her glass on the tray of a passing waiter and slipped towards the French windows lining the ballroom. Thankfully, she wasn't intercepted and was able to slip into the surprisingly balmy night with minimal fuss. "Mmm, much better," she muttered to herself as she leaned against a tree in the garden. Closing her eyes against the moonlight, she felt her head spin. "No more champagne for you, Katie." She stood there, leaning against the tree, for several deep breaths before opening her eyes and looked around. In the pale moonlight, the garden was quite beautiful. The old oaks and elms were still in full autumn leaf and surrounded by artistic if artificial rock formations and small ponds gleaming like lakes of quicksilver in the velvet night. Starting on one of the circuitous pathways of the garden, Janeway breathed in the cooling air that held the last taste of their Indian summer and the vague scent of salt rising from the neighbouring San Francisco Bay. For long, blissfully quiet moments, she thought she was alone in the garden until she rounded a boulder and heard whispering voices. Pausing, uncertain of what to do, Janeway went off the path and into the shadow of an ancient elm and peeked around it to see who had also felt like a midnight stroll. What she saw made her breath catch. On a garden bench facing one of the ponds sat a shadowed figure, clad in all black and holding a glass of champagne in his hand. His hair was a deep, oily slick that gleamed silver in the low light; his face shone almost bone white wherever the moon touched it and the shadows deep where it couldn't reach. Ambassador Garak's figure was unmistakable, as was his companion's: it was the young man that had arrived with him and was now kneeling on the ground between the ambassador's legs. Their heads were bowed close together and the quiet whispers of their conversation were almost inaudible to Janeway as she strained to hear them. As she watched, the young human looked up at Garak and smiled, saying something so softly all Janeway could hear was the loving tone of his voice. The ambassador replied with a murmur and leaned back, sipping at his champagne as he looked down at the young man. Since their forms were mere silhouettes in the dusky night, Janeway couldn't quite see what had produced the look of concentration on Garak's face, but she understood the moment she heard the sound of a zipper being undone. "Oh dear god," Janeway whispered, her eyes widening. Unblinking, she watched as the young human leaned forward, his face hidden by the ample folds of Garak's frock coat. However, what he was doing was unmistakable from both the look of wordless bliss that smoothed Garak's features and the shifting shadows between his legs where his hand went, resting on his companion's head. At the back of her mind, Janeway thought how bad it would be if she -- a Starfleet admiral of good moral standing and reputation -- was found playing a Peeping Tom in her own party, but she squelched the voice of warning. What she was seeing was as illicit as it was erotic and she found the spectacle intensely arousing precisely because it was voyeuristic -- a teasing taboo, even when the reality of it was more suggestive than graphic. She still couldn't understand their quiet words, but the rough, thick edge of Garak's voice was clearly audible, as were the wet sounds that punctuated his heavy exhalations. As Janeway watched, the ambassador shifted in his seat and tossed the champagne glass into the pond, both of his hands now coming to cradle the head at his crotch. She could see the shivers that traversed Garak's body and the tension coiling in his back; she found herself mirroring his tension and rapid, explosive breaths as if she was part of the erotic tableau, too. The human apparently took his time despite the increasing urgency in the words Garak whispered to him, because Janeway was starting to feel light-headed from near hyperventilation. She consciously held her breath, counting the long seconds as the frissons in Garak's body became more pronounced. Finally, he tensed like a bow pulled taut and threw back his head, his mouth opening in a silent scream as he came. The look of concentrated pleasure on his face was finally what jolted Janeway back to her senses. Her heart in her throat, she gathered her wits and doubled back to where she'd come from. She sneaked back into the grand hall in a state of haze, not quite knowing whether she should pinch herself or drink more champagne. "Lots more champagne," Janeway muttered to herself, somewhat breathless. "Maybe then, the next time you meet the ambassador you can look him in the eye, Katie." * * * * * It turned out to be almost two weeks until Janeway saw the Cardassian ambassador again, and it happened quite unexpectedly. It was a rainy Thursday morning, as Thursday mornings tended to be in the Bay Area during October, weather control systems notwithstanding. As she materialised in the foyer of the Admiralty building, Janeway sighed with a modicum of dismay; it had been a cold day of clear skies in Indiana, yet in San Francisco the indoors were darkened by the clouds colouring the sky to a grey that reminded her of wet clay. "Good morning, admiral," the security lieutenant manning the beam-in site greeted her. "And what a lovely morning it is." Janeway glanced up at the skylights. "Mmm. If it keeps it'll be perfect for Halloween, though." "I wouldn't know, ma'am," the Bolian lieutenant said and glanced at his screen. "You're good to go. Have a nice day, ma'am." "You, too," Janeway said and returned the lieutenant's salute with an absent nod. Draining her commuter coffee mug, she stepped into the turbolift. "Eighteenth floor, section alpha-two." Her second unpleasant surprise for the day was waiting for Janeway when she stepped into the anteroom of her office, only to be greeted with the sight of two Cardassian military cuirasses with insignia denoting them to be glinns. "Eugene?" Janeway asked, stepping around the Cardassians towering above her. "I didn't know I had a morning appointment." Her assistant rushed to her side, taking away her empty coffee cup and overcoat with an apologetic air about him. "My apologies, admiral," the young ensign said. His gaze darted from the two glinns to a third one standing by his desk and then back to Janeway. "They don't actually have an appointment, but..." he trailed away, nodding helplessly towards the small group of waiting chairs by the windows. "I insisted," Ambassador Garak finished for Ensign McNamara and stood up from where he'd been sitting in one of the chairs. "Good morning, admiral." "Ambassador Garak," Janeway said warmly and glanced back at her assistant before focusing on Garak again. "I had a feeling you'd be the kind of man who doesn't take no for an answer. I hope you didn't have to wait long?" "Not at all," Garak said and smiled. His eyes shifted to McNamara for a moment, and his look of speculation almost made Janeway laugh. "Your young man here was a most enjoyable conversationalist." "I offered them coffee or tea but they didn't want any," McNamara added, quite unneeded. "And the replicator was unfamiliar with Rokassa juice." Janeway tsked. "I'll need to have that rectified," she said and eyed Garak. The amusement twinkling in his eyes was almost contagious. "Yes, I don't suppose you would enjoy Earth beverages." "You'd be surprised at what I enjoy, admiral." At Garak's words, Janeway's breath caught in surprise. She scrutinised the ambassador with greater curiosity, watching him watch her expectantly. Standing there in her anteroom, dressed in well-chosen if neutral shades of grey and royal blue, Garak hardly resembled the daring sensualist he'd been at the anniversary ball. Yet, there were traces of that persona even in this daytime facade of his -- in the voluptuary, lissome essence of his gestures and in the subtext of his words. In Janeway, the slow, seductive cadence of his voice triggered memories of the night of the party. She vividly recalled the clean autumnal smell of the air, the cool glow of the moonlight, and the shadowplay she'd witnessed in the garden; her memory of the look of numinous ecstasy on Garak's face made her insides constrict in a sudden thrill of unexplicable arousal. Janeway plastered a smile on her face to cover for her momentary discomfiture and willed down her excitement. Her smile turned to a grin when she caught the look of perplexity on McNamara's face. "Somehow, I don't doubt you, Mr. Garak," she said warmly. Garak's return smile was no less warm, if not quite as genuine as Janeway would've liked. "As pleasant as I find small talk, I do have official business I wished to discuss with you." "Of course. Please, Excellency, come in," she said and gestured towards her office, intensely curious. As they entered, Janeway was peripherally aware of Garak's entourage assuming positions of general looming in McNamara's vicinity before the door swished closed behind them. "What can I do for the New Cardassian Republic on this lovely day?" "You're familiar with the experimental propulsion research conducted at the Daystrom Institute Annex on Galor IV?" If there had been something Janeway had expected Garak to address, that had not been it. "Pardon me?" she said, even as her eyes went to the picture of Seven, standing on her bookshelf between an Admiralty plaque and a Talaxian statue. Garak, having obviously followed her gaze, smiled. "Ah. Of course you are," he said, and the significance of his words was not lost on Janeway. "As much as you're aware of the dark underbelly of the Federation, namely an operation with the depressingly unimaginative name of Section 31." "Propulsion research is generally classified, Mr. Garak," she retorted, even as she wondered why Garak knew so much about her and of Seven. "As for this Section 31, I don't know what you're talking about." "There are secrets, and then there are public secrets. The definition of the latter greatly depends on the public in question -- in this case, me. You'll find me a most discerning public, Kathryn," Garak said and produced a padd from within his tunic. "I make it a point to keep in touch with some former colleagues of mine and they've come across information you and Admiral Nechayev will undoubtedly find interesting." Frowning, Janeway took the offered padd and flicked it on. Wandering closer to the window she glanced through the data on it and with every new bit of information, her blood grew colder. After a long, quiet moment of reading she lifted her eyes from it and focused on the murky San Francisco skyline beyond the window. Her mood was as cheery as the lead grey cloudscape outside for if Garak's information was true, the implications were very serious indeed. "I see," she said faintly, watching the ghost of her reflection on the window. "Do you?" At the condescending question, Janeway turned and eyed the Cardassian standing in her office. She didn't know what to make of him. "Perhaps not yet, but I will," she said with dire emphasis. "That's the best I can promise you." "In that case, I thank you for your honesty," Garak said with a smile. "It's so very refreshing." As he spoke, Janeway thumbed the padd off, thinking. The information had been carefully presented, a collection of facts and evidence that had been gathered over time. She suspected Garak had had the information even before they'd met -- a carefully engineered occasion with this specific goal, Janeway suspected -- yet he had waited. "It's been two weeks, Garak. Why wait this long to come to me with this?" "There's an old saying," Garak said as he joined Janeway by the windows. In the dull glow of the hidden sun, his skin was the colour of brushed steel. "'Acquaintance without patience is like a candle with no light.' There were uncertainties I needed to resolve before coming to you." "And why me?" Garak turned away from the window to face her, and his smile was as clouded as the sky behind him. "Why not you?" he countered. "Why not Admiral Venar at Intelligence, or even Nechayev? I'm a nobody." "Oh, quite the contrary," he said and stepped closer. Janeway could feel the heat radiating off him. "I didn't go to Venar or Nechayev because I don't know them. I know you, Kathryn. You, I trust." Janeway didn't quite know what to say to that. She was almost certain Garak was not telling the entire truth if any truth at all, but she did know he had his reasons and in due time she'd figure out what they were. Meanwhile, she needed to keep a close eye on the ambassador -- a proposition she found she was looking forward to. She'd been so very bored for so long and her new acquaintance didn't seem like a man who would be anywhere but at the centre of intrigue. "Mr. Garak, a friend of mine is hosting a celebration tomorrow night," Janeway said at length. She was almost certain she was making a mistake but she couldn't help herself; there was no puzzle that didn't appeal to her and Garak was an enigma of a kind she hadn't faced in years. "A Halloween party." "Ah -- the Terran holiday we discussed recently?" "Yes. As it happens, my invitation is for two. Given the state of my social life," Janeway said, glancing at the picture of Seven before offering Garak a slight smile, "I intended to go alone. However, I was wondering whether you'd like to accompany me." Garak blinked and Janeway was secretly enjoying the fact that for once, she'd managed to surprise the Cardassian. "Me, accompany you? To what possible end or purpose?" he said with a small gesture of confusion. Janeway leaned in closer, thinking of what to say but finding herself increasingly distracted by Garak's proximity. She was really beginning to like his scent and she could almost taste the heady tang of his pheromones as she inhaled them. They heated her core and the quicksilver of her nerves and it was a pleasant sensation -- the frisson of arousal that shot through in her. Janeway mused that ennui was not the only thing she'd had to endure for too long: she'd missed other things, too. Perhaps getting to know the ambassador better could alleviate some these other droughts and if it did, well...Janeway smiled to herself. She wouldn't necessarily be adverse to such adventure. "For you, it'd be a chance to see us humans at our strangest. For me, it'll be a chance to enjoy myself for once," she said and let her speculative thoughts leak into her tone of voice. "Conversation at these parties can be so very dull." "Conversation," Garak murmured and cocked his head. The innuendo in his voice was clear, and Janeway was taken on quick he was to catch up on her subtext. "Among other things." Janeway extended her hand, half in invitation and half in solicitous dismissal. "So. Are you game, Mr. Garak?" "How could one say no to such an opportunity?" he said and touched her hand with his fingertips. The contact was not quite a handshake, more a caress of her palm than anything else, and over before she could react to it. "I am, as the human saying goes, all yours, Kathryn." His soft words made Janeway smile again, and she knew it was not one of her pleasant smiles. It was obvious that Garak was well aware that he was stalking another predator; his boldness even at the face of that awareness was what made him so very attractive to Janeway. She mused how much Garak was like her, all hard edges and primal instincts tamed by their uniforms and disguises. She was looking forward to seeing what sort of a costume he'd select for the party and whether it would reveal more of him or even less than the trappings of ambassadorship did. "My assistant has the details." Garak nodded, the sly smile on his lips not budging an inch. "Very good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Kathryn. Until then, I bid you a good day." With that, Garak exited. As she gazed at the doors closing in Garak's wake, Janeway's smile widened. She would very much enjoy the look of bewilderment some people were going to sport on her arrival to the party at his arm. "This should be interesting," Janeway murmured to herself and tapped the padd in her hand against her other palm. She went over to her chair and sat down with a small sigh, her slender fingers coming to rest on the gleaming surface of her desk. She rapped the hard duranium that had once been hull plating on the Voyager, feeling the strength of the polished metal against her fingertips as she thought. After a moment of silent contemplation, she came to a decision and pressed the intercom button. "Eugene? Bring me a new thermos of coffee and see if Nechayev has any free time in her calendar this afternoon. Oh, and call Admiral Venar and ask if they'll be finally willing to part with Ambassador Garak's intelligence file." "Yes, admiral," came the prompt answer. "And what if Admiral Venar refuses again?" "Then remind the good admiral that we're on the same side and that paranoia is very unbecoming of a Vulcan." "Yes, ma'am," McNamara said with laughter in his voice. "Right away." Sitting back, Janeway folded her arms across her chest, feeling vaguely uneasy despite her earlier excitement. Things were in motion but she didn't quite yet understand why or what those things were, and such uncertainties bothered her. ----------------------------- End of part 3/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:26:11 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n12.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.67]) by bunting (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLsr3pf3NZFmR4 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:24:15 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8182-1086481455-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com eceived: from [66.218.66.31] by n12.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:24:15 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 94701 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:24:14 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.172) by m25.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:24:14 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:24:14 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560NuQX024361 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:23:57 -0500 Message-ID: <011f01c44b5c$a2dec780$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:24:30 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 4/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 4/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following evening, Picard's Halloween party turned out raucous and very entertaining -- much like such things tended to do when generally sensible adults were plied with intoxicants and given free reign to play out their favourite holosuite fantasies. Janeway found herself quite enjoying the spectacle in all its silliness and felt right at home in her baroque gold and pewter dress that came with a whalebone corset and a neckline so generous that it had produced more double-takes than her chosen companion. "I'll never stop being intrigued by the lengths to which humans will go to celebrate their holidays," said companion commented and offered Janeway a congenial smile. For a moment, Garak's eyes trailed one of the waiters, who had chosen an abbreviated angel costume. "Although this custom seems to trump all else in strangeness, including Christmas." Janeway could only agree as she looked around: strange seemed to be the overall theme. The outfits present ranged from the exquisite (Ambassador Troi in an uncharacteristically subdued replica of ancient Betazoid coronation robes) to the silly (an unnamed gentleman Janeway suspected was Captain Riker in a gorilla suit) and from the elaborate (Jean-Luc Picard himself in a 17th-century captain's outfit, tights and all) to the thematically appropriate (Captain Data as Frankenstein's monster, complete with neck bolts and a missing arm). In addition to the colourful guests, costumed waiting staff and assorted decorative suits of armour crowded the wine cellars where the party was held. In the catacomb of caverns and rooms, rows and rows of dusty bottles lining the walls and massive oak barrels of Chateau Picard provided ambiance along with ample opportunity to sample their host's grape products. The juxtaposition of costumes with the sombre cellars was interesting, as was the carefully modulated mood lighting and appropriately unobtrusive selection of classical music. All in all, Janeway surmised, Picard had done a wonderful job. "It's not often I get to indulge in playacting any more," Janeway said and tried in vain to remember when she had last relaxed with a holonovel. "And you're right in that the circumstances provided by Halloween are quite unique." Garak hummed in agreement. "Sometimes, I rue my people's inability to have a good time." "Don't tell me Cardassians are adverse to celebration?" "Oh, quite the contrary, Kathryn," Garak said smoothly and stepped aside to let a pair of women in togas pass. "However, our aesthetics in that regard tend to lean more towards the practical rather than the whimsical. Such a mindset does not lend itself to such elaborate traditions such as this Halloween of yours," he said at length, gesturing at the milling crowd. "We Cardassians are, at heart, a simple people." Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Janeway grabbed another glass of wine from a passing waiter's tray. She could find many adjectives to describe Cardassians but 'simple' wouldn't be among them. "You didn't have to go through so much trouble to procure a costume, though. You could've just worn one of your old uniforms, for example, and none would've been the wiser." "Well, yes. But you see, the agency I was associated with was a remarkably practical collection of individuals. There never was any use for the usual trappings of such organisations -- inspirational slogans, rank markings, or even uniforms," Garak said and glanced at his side, a sly smile on his lips. "Besides, wouldn't it be an insult to our host not to take the invitation as seriously as he has obviously taken the arrangements?" "You're right, of course," Janeway admitted. "Although Jean-Luc tends to be very informal about such things." Garak gave Janeway a look. "Perhaps. But in any event, it would've been terribly uncouth of me to wear a reminder of my former life, given Captain Picard's less than pleasant history with the Order," he said smoothly, yet with a measure of odd satisfaction. "So perhaps it's merely fortuitous I was not tempted by such a choice." "Perhaps so," Janeway muttered, frowning. She made a mental note not to discuss Garak's work history with their host, if only because Garak's apparent knowledge of Picard's torture in the hands of Gul Madred of the Obsidian Order raised some uncomfortable questions. "Regardless, I'm glad you succeeded in finding an outfit on such short notice," she said and gave Garak an evaluating look. Garak's chosen costume -- a ceremonial warrior's armour and accessories of unknown origin to Janeway -- was indeed worth a look or two. The outfit was a remarkably complex contraption of small, interlinking plates with etched decorations flowing from one plate to another from his hips and elbows to his chest, gathering across the triangular cuirass into a sea of swirling lines. Towards the abdomen the aegis tapered to a sharp, curving point where the bodice met the battle skirt which, in turn, covered Garak's legs from hips to mid-calf in wide strips of hide and layered tasses. The golden metal plates were carefully set in the dark chartreuse leather that had a pattern of gleaming, transparent scales that reflected the light whenever Garak moved. The ensemble was completed by similarly plated boots and his gleaming hair that was slicked back and up into an elaborate, oiled maze of ringlets that rivalled Janeway's own baroque hairdo in complexity. She nodded to herself, approving of Garak's choice -- a unique costume, yet eminently suitable for the broad, muscular build of its carrier. Making a mental note to ask about the significance of the armour, she focused on Garak's eyes again. Their cool regard was disturbing in its intensity and it reminded Janeway again who and what she was dealing with. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble," she said, recovering from her momentary lapse. "Considering it certainly didn't come out of any standard clothing replicator." "Producing this costume at a day's notice was, shall we say, challenging," Garak said and rapped his fingers against the vambrace on his other arm. Hedging for a moment, Janeway decided to take the opening provided for her and steer the conversation to her intended topic for the evening -- something she'd been itching to do ever since she'd read Garak's Intel file earlier that day. "Challenging, for a man of your employment history?" she said and cocked her head. "Somehow, I doubt that." "A good tailor, not even one as accomplished as I was, can't make many sartorial miracles," Garak demurred. "But that wasn't what I was referring to, Mr. Garak. The challenge posed by costume acquisition mustn't have been that hard for a man used to delivering much more, shall we say, delicate goods." Janeway paused deliberately, her eyes narrowing as she gave Garak her best look. To her consternation, the look that usually made men twice her size fidget produced in Garak nothing more than a minute twitch of his eyeridges. "Delicate?" Janeway nodded. "For the son of Tain, a costume is not really a challenge at all, is it?" she asked, her voice gone throaty and low. She was quite enjoying this flirtation with obvious danger -- and danger what was Garak was, dark and deadly. Taking such risks was nothing new to Janeway, of course. She'd met people like Garak before -- people with a thin veneer of civilisation masking the stained depths of their souls. They tended to be the dark centres of gravitation in any crowd, these men and women who seduce almost accidentally as they draw people to them like moths to a flame...until they get too close and are burned by the fire. The air between fairly sang with tension, even when Garak's pose didn't change one iota. "You're quite right, Kathryn," he said evenly, and there was no malice in his voice, no surprise of any kind at her words. If anything, there was intrigue in the way he spoke and in the unblinking way he was looking at Janeway. "My assignments within the Order tended to be much more complex than acquiring a Halloween costume. I thank you for the perspective." Frustrated again, Janeway downed the rest of her wine. "Doesn't it ever get boring, Mr. Garak?" "Doesn't what get boring?" "Not being surprised by much of anything." The look of delight on Garak's face was instantaneous. "Oh, but my dear admiral, you're so very wrong," he said, smiling as he sipped his drink. "You continuously provide me with surprises and for that, I must thank you. It's rarely that I meet someone so...engaging." Amused despite herself, Janeway smiled and let go of her frustration; it would get her nowhere with Garak. The man had not only an uncanny talent in speaking more with unsaid words than what he really said but also in managing to turn whatever conversational topic they had to an argument or small talk, depending on his needs. It was time to move to safer grounds. "You continue to surprise me as well, Garak. For example, this remarkable costume that you're wearing. I assume it has special significance?" Garak touched the filigreed breastplate and smiled. "It's a Hebitian ceremonial costume -- a historical relic from my home planet." Intrigued, Janeway leaned in and studied the fine swirls and curves of the decorations engraved into the dully-gleaming golden metal. Although she was not quite as passionate about xenoarchaeology as Picard was, it was something of a hobby of hers. "The real thing?" she murmured, resisting the urge to touch the breastplate where it curved over Garak's broad chest. "Alas, a reproduction. Our Hebitian ancestors had a body shape that is quite different from modern Cardassian build, so certain artistic license needed to be taken for me to be able to don it." Janeway nodded as she studied the outfit. It was an intricate, barbaric costume that spoke of a complex and well-evolved civilisation of warriors and wealth, and the influence of Hebitian culture in modern Cardassian military uniforms was obvious. Hiding vulnerabilities and presenting strengths, it was quite a telling choice for Garak: historical, heavy with symbolism, and somehow grotesque in all its beauty. "It's remarkable, not to mention beautiful." "Thank you. As is yours," Garak said, his tone warm and rich with appreciation. The look he gave Janeway was speculative enough to make her feel suddenly warm, and she was certain it had nothing to do with the drinks she'd had. "A historical period piece as well, if I'm not mistaken?" "You're not," Janeway said and gestured down at her dress and its layers of skirts. "From a more elaborate if less civilised period of Earth history, some six hundred years ago. The styles of the time are often referred to by the ruler of the time -- in this case, Louis XIII of France." "A most interesting costume, admiral. The colours are perfect for your complexion and the shape..." Garak said, trailing off as he touched one of the bones of her corset with his fingertips. "Undoubtedly painful, but very flattering regardless," he finished. "An excellent choice." The sudden and unexpectedly effusive praise made Janeway feel flushed, terribly flattered and somewhat uneasy at the same time. It was the kind of unease that when coupled with her slight intoxication, it made her mind ponder several unusual things -- for example, Garak's reported preference for men or whether the rest of him was as solidly built as his corded, thick arms suggested. The hint of muscled thigh the battle skirt sometimes afforded was certainly tantalising to Janeway, as were her idle musings about the patterns Garak's scales and ridges would take under his clothes. Janeway was pulled out of her pleasant speculations by a hand that landed on her shoulder and a greeting that was pronounced with a tad too much volume and with the slurred syllables of moderate intoxication. "Admiral Janeway!" Janeway turned to the intruder and her eyes alighted in recognition. "Mr. Kim," she said and tried very hard not to laugh. Her erstwhile Ops officer was decked in a glorious Emperor Ming costume with the tall, embroidered hat on his head set at a jaunty angle. "I didn't realise you'd be here." Kim smiled and his eyes gleamed in a way that spoke of copious enjoyment of Chateau Picard's offerings. "I've spent the past six months designing Enterprise's new engine components with Mr. LaForge. During that time, I've come to know Captain Picard quite well," he said with obvious pride in his voice. "And you?" "Oh, Jean-Luc is an old friend," Janeway said with an airy wave of her hand. "Of course, admiral," Kim said. As his gaze turned from Janeway to her companion, his eyes widened. "Wow. Now that's what I call a costume." Janeway glanced at Garak just in time to see his small smile and nod. "Thank you," he intoned. "Much appreciated." "It must've taken you an awful lot of time," Kim continued, narrowing his eyes as he studied Garak's countenance. "Is it latex or some sort of a holographic mask?" That time, Janeway couldn't help her laughter, especially when she heard the slight purr of amusement from Garak. "Neither, I'm afraid," Garak answered evenly and with calm Janeway was certain she'd never manage under such circumstances. Kim frowned, his drunken gaze still tracing the intricacies of Garak's ridges. "What'd'ya mean neither?" "Mr. Kim," Janeway said firmly before Garak could explain further. She waited until Kim's eyes came to her again. "He means it's not a mask," she continued and laid her hand on Garak's forearm. The metal of his vambrace was smooth and warm to the touch. "This is Ambassador Garak of the New Cardassian Republic. Mr. Garak, Lieutenant Commander Kim of Starfleet Engineering." Kim's eyes widened even as a delicate rosy hue rose to his cheeks and Janeway found his look of utter consternation and mortification the most humorous thing she'd seen all evening. Biting the inside of her lip to keep from laughing out loud, she turned to Garak just in time to see the amused smile twitching on his lips. "Charmed, commander," Garak said, tolerant humour colouring his pleasant tenor voice. "I'm, uh, terribly sorry, your Excellency," Kim said, sounding suddenly degrees more sober. "It's just that, well..." "One doesn't see many real Cardassians on Earth," Garak finished his sentence, complete with a slight, urbane smile. "Your mistake is understandable." Kim sighed, obviously relieved that an impending diplomatic disaster had been averted. He offered an apprehensive smile yet still refused to meet Garak's eyes. "No offence meant, ambassador." "None taken, I assure you," Garak replied and cocked an eyebrow at Janeway. "Now, my dear Kathryn, it seems we've both exhausted our drinks. Shall we?" he added, extending his arm towards the freestanding bar by the far wall. "Of course, darling," Janeway drawled, ignoring Kim's renewed puzzlement at the familiarities. "Enjoy your evening, Mr. Kim," Janeway said with a parting wink and started towards the bar. As she pushed into the crowd, she was aware of both Kim's dumfounded gaze on her back and Garak's warm hand on her waist guiding her through the crowd. Both made her smile. The bar area was slightly less crowded than the main causeways and Janeway exhaled in relief; being corseted in a crowd was somewhat claustrophobic and thus, any extra space was welcome. She flicked open her fan and put it to use as Garak conversed with the sommelier. "What a charming young man, your Mr. Kim. So earnest and innocent still," Garak said and handed Janeway a new glass of wine. "He reminds me of someone I used to know." Janeway swirled the wine in the glass. Since it was impossible to determine the exact colour of the drink in the low lighting, she kept her eyes on Garak. The implications of his contemplative tone of voice were unmistakable. "Do you ever stop looking?" she asked, genuinely curious and somewhat bothered for reasons she didn't feel like examining too closely. "Why should I?" Garak replied before sniffing at his wine. "I must say, Captain Picard's vintages are quite remarkable," he added. Janeway could only agree; the heady, complicated bouquet was quite enjoyable even for her amateur's palate. "He's married, for starters," she persisted. "And don't you have a partner?" Garak frowned. "You're referring to Alejandro?" "The young man that accompanied you to the anniversary celebrations? Yes." Garak paused for a moment before he spoke again, and when he did, his voice had gone low and quiet, almost intimate. "My dear Kathryn, we Cardassians are inordinately fond of all things that come in threes," he said and paused to take a sip of his wine. "So, it shouldn't surprise anyone that there are exactly three things a Cardassian needs: something to pass time with," he continued, ticking off the items with his fingers, "something to enjoy, and something to love." "And in which of those categories does your Alejandro fall in? Or in all three?" Garak studied her with interest, obviously thinking carefully before answering. "Let's just say that my one and only love is -- and always will be -- Cardassia." "I see," Janeway said with a smile for she was genuinely amused. There was something to be said about the eloquence of Garak's roundabout way of conveying information. "And what about me, Garak? Into which category do I belong?" "I've experienced many ways with which to pass time, but few quite as enjoyable as you are, my dear admiral," Garak said with a small, fleeting smile. "Although I suspect I've yet to encounter the full range of your considerable charms." Janeway narrowed her eyes. The invitation was there and she was tempted, oh so very tempted, to take Garak up on it -- to have this adventure he was offering. However, a few things were still nagging at the small part of her brain still operating despite the alcohol and Garak's pheromones, both of which were wreaking havoc on her self-control. Deciding on the direct approach, Janeway set her now empty glass down on the bar before focusing on Garak again. "I thought you preferred men," she said bluntly, deciding to forego inquiries regarding his motives because they would certainly be futile. "Preference does not always imply exclusivity, Kathryn," Garak said, his voice gone quiet and private again. This non-reaction to her question didn't ambush Janeway in any way; it was expected. "As I predicted yesterday, you'd be surprised at what I enjoy." Without thought, Janeway reached out and touched the thin ridge on Garak's chin. She traced its straight line up to the shape of his earlobe, observing with curiosity the effect her touch had: the thick scales decorating Garak's neckridges bristled and the smooth, inviting skin underneath darkened to a dusky pewter grey. She didn't know whether the reaction signified anger -- or arousal. Her fingers again on Garak's chin, Janeway looked into his eyes. They seemed ancient, yet the intense look in them was more accessible than she'd ever seen it before. "Strange, how a man like you can be so soft-spoken," she murmured, almost absently, as she learned the alien shape of his face and decided it was arousal that darkened Garak's skin. "Equally strange is how a beautiful creature like you can be so hard inside." Janeway smiled when Garak captured her hand and pressed it against the warm, hard metal of his cuirass. The texture of the etched metal was almost as interesting as the textures of his skin. "I'm not hard," she objected, feeling a bit breathless under Garak's unwavering regard. "Merely principled." Garak leaned in closer until his cheek was but a hair's breadth away from Janeway's. "We'll see about that," he hissed into her ear, and his breath was like fire on her skin. "The things I will do to you, Kathryn...I can make you forget your precious principles." The cadence of his low voice was fairly hypnotising. "I've met and persevered over many men like you, Garak," Janeway whispered, her voice gone thick with the heat skittering through her veins. She could almost hear the hard edge of Garak's smile in his reply. "You've never met a man quite like me." She knew to expect the kiss, yet she did not; the act was familiar but his touch was as alien as anything she'd ever experienced. Garak's mouth on hers was as hot as the feel of his hand on her waist, and when he drew her up against his body, Janeway couldn't help the small sound of surprise she made at the back of her throat. That sound turned into an appreciative moan when Garak's tongue traced her lower lip and then the inside of her mouth, inquisitive and demanding. Janeway breathed in his scent, revelled in feel of the agile, slender tongue in her mouth and his equally skilled hands on her bodice, his touch tracing paths of fire across her nerves. Sliding her hand into the slick mass of curls on Garak's head, Janeway sought to deepen the contact. With his mouth ravishing hers in a kiss unlike any she'd had before -- so foreign in textures yet familiar and primal in the reactions it triggered in her -- she felt herself sinking into a sea of want, the need to touch more of him and have his skin slide against hers. She moved her other hand along his waist, between the leather strips of his battle skirt and down the elongated curve of his thigh. Her fingertips found the pliable edge of a ridge there and it was hot to the touch, its scales soft as flower petals as they shivered under her fingers. Janeway didn't know whether it was her bold touch or simply his need for oxygen that made Garak break the kiss but she didn't really care, either. Still leaning against him, Janeway kept her eyes closed and simply enjoyed the proximity and his complex scent. Sandalwood and bergamot and burning leaves, she decided hazily through her arousal and conceded Garak's point: he was like no other man she'd ever met. "We are causing quite a stir amongst the natives," Garak whispered into her ear, obviously amused. "Mmm, undoubtedly," Janeway hummed and took a deep breath. "What sort of a reaction would we get if we were to leave now?" she asked, eyes still closed and her chin resting on Garak's shoulder. "Certain if restrained outrage and persistent rumours, at least," Garak theorised, matching her smug tone with his own. "Possibly a few speculative looks of both dismay and envy." With effort, Janeway straightened and opened her eyes. "In that case, let's not keep our audience waiting. Walk me to my transport, Ambassador Garak?" With one of his minute bows and a decidedly sly smile, Garak offered his arm to Janeway. "It would be my sincere pleasure to do so, my dear admiral." "Of course it would be," Janeway muttered and took his arm. As they made their way through the crowd, she mused that at least there was one thing Garak had in common with most of the men she'd met: he did know how to play the gentleman when necessary. ----------------------------- End of part 4/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:26:11 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n34.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.102]) by penguin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLsE2z73NZFl40 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:24:28 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8183-1086481468-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com eceived: from [66.218.66.29] by n34.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:24:28 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 53418 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:24:27 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218) by m23.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:24:27 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:24:27 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560OEQX024564 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:24:14 -0500 Message-ID: <012401c44b5c$ad594640$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:24:48 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 5/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 5/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "You ready to go, admiral?" Janeway lifted her hand to stall Ensign McNamara's urgency, even as her gaze remained on Garak and Picard. "In a moment, Eugene. I need to have a word with the ambassador before we go." "Very good, ma'am," the ensign replied, unease thick in his voice. Amused by her assistant -- a young man of certain intelligence, she knew, but not quite knowledgeable about the ways of the world yet -- Janeway strained to hear what Garak was saying to Picard. "I won't be long, Eugene," she murmured absentmindedly. As she strained to hear them, Janeway could distinguish Jean-Luc's even, graceful baritone from Garak's melodious tenor but the topic of their conversation remained a mystery because she couldn't quite hear the words. Judging from the gestures, the ambassador was offering profuse superlatives to the captain, who accepted them with the smile and grace of a seasoned diplomat. The topic segued to Picard's outfit, which apparently interested Garak somewhat for they launched into a gesticulating, intense discourse. From Picard's smiles and tone, Janeway could surmise that he was giving an abbreviated history of his admittedly odd, colourful uniform to Garak's obvious delight. At length and with one final handshake, Garak detached himself from the dialogue and approached Janeway. He still had that same predatory, speculative look in his eyes when he stopped a few feet away from her and smiled. "May I invite you to have a nightcap at my house? The sun rising over the Nile is quite spectacular." Janeway smiled. "No, thank you," she said, not unkindly. "I don't think that would be wise." "All I'm offering is a drink and conversation, Kathryn," Garak protested with a humoured tone. It was obvious to Janeway that he understood how the game was played and that the invitation was as much a ritual as her refusal was. "Your honour will always be safe with me." "I have no doubt of that, Mr. Garak. It's merely my desire to get out of this," Janeway demurred and gestured at her bodice, "corset as soon as possible, in the privacy of my own home." "However you wish, of course. But the invitation is always open." Her smile turning warmer and more private, Janeway stepped closer to Garak until she could feel the heat of his body driving away the chill of the night air around them. "I just might take you up on that...Elim," she said, enjoying the flash of surprise in Garak's eyes at his given name, for he'd never given it to her. "I stand in awe of you, Kathryn," he murmured and caught his hand to press his lips to it. "Until then." Ignoring the sound of a startled intake of breath coming from McNamara's general direction, Janeway touched Garak's browridge. "Soon," she promised, not quite knowing what exactly she'd signed up for but recognising the inevitability of it. With an understanding nod and a small bow, Garak stepped back and headed for his transport. His usual entourage of the three silent Cardassian glinns that escorted him everywhere detached themselves from the shadows of the parking lot and followed him. "To the Marseilles transport centre, Eugene," Janeway said as she climbed into her hovercar. "On the double. I want to be back in San Francisco as soon as possible. What time is it there?" As he started the hovercar and made liftoff preparations, McNamara glanced at the control console. "Almost 1530 hours, admiral," he replied promptly. "Is there someone you'd want me to contact?" Janeway tapped her fingers against the transparency window as they took off, her eyes on the French countryside speeding past under her in a blur as she thought. The solution to the Garak puzzle was eluding her and presently, she didn't even know how to go about uncovering it. "No," she finally said. "But set up a meeting with Nechayev tomorrow." It'd be a start, and it was not like she needed to hurry when she didn't even know where she was supposed to go. "Very good, ma'am," McNamara replied smartly. Janeway smiled ruefully at her muted reflection on the window. "No, it's really not good," she muttered to herself and sat back with a sigh. "Not good at all." * * * * * By midday the next day, Janeway felt sufficiently recovered from her insipid hangover that she could stop chain-drinking coffee. After lunch, she took two antacids and a few deep breaths before entering Admiral Nechayev's office. "Good afternoon, ma'am," Janeway said and stopped to stand a few steps from her superior's desk. "Any word regarding the mole?" "There's been plenty of progress. We've identified the Section 31 operative from the data Ambassador Garak gave you -- a man working in the xenobiology lab at the Annex," Nechayev said curtly. She nodded at one of the visitor chairs in front of her desk. "Sit down, please." Somewhat dazed, Janeway sat with an audible thump. "That was fast," was all she could think of saying through her surprise. "The information was remarkably thorough and conclusive," Nechayev countered with a small, cold smile and folded her arms across her chest. "All that was left to us was follow the ample breadcrumbs to the most logical suspect. A five-year-old could've done that." "Has he been taken into custody?" Janeway asked, referring to the uncovered mole. "Not yet. Venar and I both agree that waiting for a few days might yield some additional results -- accomplices, comm procedures, that sort of thing. He might also do something self-incriminating," Nechayev explained, her cold smile twisting wider. "Not that we can't convict him on the evidence we have now." Janeway glanced at the padd resting in front of her superior officer. She cocked an eyebrow. "May I?" "Go right ahead." Janeway took the padd and pulled up the profile of their suspect -- work history, contacts, and surveillance holos. Giving it a quick glance, she couldn't help the frown that gathered on her brow. "So that's it?" she asked, setting the padd down on the desk again. "We've got him, no complications, no doubts?" Pursing her lips, Nechayev shook her head. "None." The clean-cut nature of the case was obviously bothering her as much as it was bothering Janeway. "Who is he, really? Who is he to Garak? Why now, why me?" Janeway asked, leaning forward. "What's really going on here, admiral? What kind of a game have we been pulled into?" Nechayev shifted in her chair, obviously uneasy with Janeway's barrage of questions. "I have no answers to give you." Janeway glanced at the ceiling, frustration boiling in her mind. "I think I need to have another chat with the good ambassador of Cardassia," she muttered after a moment of silent contemplation, feeling peeved with the whole affair. "It seems he's the one with all the answers." "Is that wise?" Focusing her gaze back on Nechayev's worried countenance, Janeway sat forward. "Probably not," she admitted with a rueful smile, "but I don't think I have choice in the matter. I need to know." "Just...I've heard things about him. Just be careful with him, Kathryn. Please?" "Oh, you know me better than that," Janeway admonished her obviously worried superior, recognising the familiarity as a sign that they were supposed to interact as friends. "Don't worry, Alynna. I'll be fine." Nechayev smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "It could already be too late for that." ----------------------------- End of part 5/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:26:11 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n20.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.76]) by quail (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLt6W13NZFkZ0 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:24:55 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8184-1086481494-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com eceived: from [66.218.66.27] by n20.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:24:54 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 45679 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:24:54 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.166) by m21.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:24:54 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta5.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:24:54 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560ObQX024871 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:24:38 -0500 Message-ID: <012e01c44b5c$bb2a4300$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:25:11 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 6/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 6/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When Janeway got to Cairo, it was already late in the evening. A transport took her from the city centre to the new residential areas by the river, where among the opulent mansions of the nouveau riche and the summer houses for Starfleet's brass was the Cardassian ambassadorial residence. She was admitted without much inquiry and one of the dour glinns of Garak's security detail quickly scanned her for weapons. When none were found on her, she was given over to what turned out to be the butler -- a Bajoran man, Janeway noted with some amusement. Without so much as a word, he took her through the sprawling, massive residence to a deck that spanned the entire width of the house. Paved with terra cotta tiles, it opened to a magnificent vista over the Nile; its gleaming waters were tinted ochre and green by the setting sun. Scattered about the deck were several groups low chaises longues and plush seating pillows and she found Garak resting there. He was wearing loose-fitting white linen pants and tunic and his long limbs were spread akimbo over several pillows. His face to the sun, his eyes were closed and a small smile was playing on his lips. "Hello, Kathryn," he said, not moving or opening his eyes. "I must say, I do like your perfume." Janeway started, and then frowned at her own reaction. Of course Garak would know who she was -- with his better than human sense of smell, he had probably tracked her even before she'd set foot onto the deck. Coming to stand next to his lounging form, Janeway folded her arms across her chest and looked down at him. "Who is Julian Bashir?" At her words, Garak finally opened his eyes. They shone in a disconcerting shade of pale blue and appeared almost fevered in their intensity. When she spotted the hypospray nestled between the cushions, Janeway knew it was pharmaceuticals that were causing that look. "Someone I used to know a long time ago," Garak said. His voice was throaty and languid with the drugs in his system. "In a different life." Janeway crouched down, uncertain of what to think of the non-answer. "This was when you were exiled to Deep Space 9?" she asked. The hot, dry air was making her perspire and she felt her hair stick to her temples. Garak's smile had the same sluggish, unsettling quality that was evident in his voice. "My time aboard Terok Nor is not something I care to think of often. An unpleasant period," he said and waved his hand around in an expansive gesture. "Not very different from these days of misery." "Is that why you drug yourself -- to forget?" Janeway said, unable to keep the disapproval from seeping into her voice. "Turning a blind eye is not a solution, Garak." "Hypermnesia can be a curse, Kathryn," Garak said, his eyes on the setting sun. "Memories never fade and nightmares are never forgotten. It's been two years since I've last been to Cardassia, yet I can still taste the dust in the air and smell the odour of decaying bodies as vividly as I did on the days after the Dominion's act of genocide." "I'm so sorry," Janeway said. She touched his shoulder in sympathy and felt the burning heat of his body through the thin linen of his tunic. Garak turned his head to look at her and his lip curled in disgust. "I don't need your pity, Starfleet," he said and bared his teeth in an unkind smile. "My pain is mine to have, no-one else's." Janeway smiled. "Pity is the last thing I'd dare to offer to you." Quicker than she could react, Garak rolled off the cushions and crouched down in front of her. The flickering, predatory way with which he moved was such an obvious reptilian atavism that Janeway had to suppress her own primal response that was compelling her to flee. Instead, she remained unmoving in her crouch and observed through her unease that she'd again forgotten how dangerous Garak could be. "Then what are you offering, Kathryn?" he asked, voice gone dark and thick. He flexed his shoulders and there was none of the earlier drugged indolence left in Garak's moves, only razor-sharp reflexes and grace that was so very alien that it was hypnotising. "Why did you come here? Tell me. Please." Janeway inhaled unsteadily but met Garak's burning gaze. She'd come all the way to Cairo on business that could've been conducted over a comm channel, so why indeed had she come? "I came to see you," she said. There was a breathless quality to her voice because as she spoke, she realised she'd come because she had been curious -- because she could vividly remember how Garak's mouth had burned on hers, how smooth and warm his skin had been to the touch, and how much she had wanted him for that fleeting moment at Picard's party. She'd come, like a dog in heat, and she found it most curious that she felt little shame in it. Garak smiled again, his thick forearms resting on his knees and his body coiled and tense as if ready to pounce. When he licked his lips, Janeway couldn't help noticing how slender and agile his tongue was. A frisson of want shot through her at the memory of that tongue in her mouth and at her idle speculation on what other delights it was capable of. "Just to see me?" Janeway matched his smug smile. "Among other things," she whispered and leaned forward to press her mouth on Garak's. In the kiss, she tasted the bitter echo of the drug but the decadent tang of the forbidden only served to heighten her interest. She felt the slick texture of Garak's lips and then the fiery heat of his mouth as she pressed forward, deeper, hearing the sound she made at the back of her throat when Garak's tongue wrapped around hers. She was half aware of Garak's hands on her shoulders guiding her up as they stood but she was too preoccupied to really notice the hands until they slid into her hair and held her close. Their kiss turned almost bruising as they fought for supremacy and Janeway grasped two handfuls of Garak's linen shirt to haul him closer. She felt his hands undoing the front catch of her uniform and she let go of his clothing to move her hands down until they reached the hem of his tunic. Underneath it, Garak's skin burned with his heat and Janeway slid her palms across his abdomen and sides. Her breath caught at the slick, textured feel of scales and the complex network of ridges she found and she explored the unfamiliar contours as she pulled back from the kiss, breathless and feeling altogether too hot in her stifling uniform. Garak caught her eye and smiled. "Don't tell me I'm your first alien," he said, his voice thick and thrumming with energy as he pushed her uniform jacket open. "Not the first alien," Janeway husked, glancing down to see her hands roaming over Garak's torso under the white, thin fabric of his shirt. "Just the first Cardassian." Garak pulled her hands away from him, kissing each palm in turn before he let go to push the jacket off Janeway's shoulders. "In that case, I better make a good impression," he said with another small smile. "I've no doubt you will." Hearing the catch in her voice as Garak undid her pants and let them drop down, Janeway suspected her words were indeed prescient. In quick, efficient moves, Garak divested her of the last of her clothing and stepped back. Standing naked in front of the setting sun as the hot wind caressed her skin, Janeway felt vulnerable yet oddly liberated from the vestiges of her everyday life. It seemed more like a holodeck fantasy than life: the exotic setting, the delicate colours of the sunset that made her skin glow warm, and the dark, mysterious alien seducer standing in front of her with eyes burning so bright she felt liquid fire in her veins -- all enough to make her painfully aware of how much she wanted this. Wanted him. "You are...as beautiful as I imagined, Kathryn," Garak said and the naked appreciation and want in his voice was almost too much for Janeway to bear standing unmoving. "Perfect," he muttered, reaching to touch her chest with the back of his hand. His knuckles slipped down over the swell of her breast and down her quivering abdomen. "You have me," Janeway breathed and tugged at Garak's clothing, "at a disadvantage." In one smooth yank, Garak pulled his tunic off and tossed it aside. Seeing the wide, muscled breadth of his chest and the ridges that traced the contours of his ribcage and shoulders made Janeway's heart beat faster and when she met Garak's eyes, she felt absolutely weak in the knees. His pupils were dilated to inky wells of dark desire, staring at her with naked hunger she'd never seen in any of her partners. It made her realise what was so different about Garak when compared to Mark or Cheb or any of the others: for once, there would be no taboos or doubts, only that which she desired in her deepest, darkest, most secret fantasies. Her surprised yelp when Garak lifted her up turned into an appreciative moan when she was deposited on one of the reclining chairs and felt Garak's hot weight press down on her. It was an exquisite feeling to be trapped under him and feel the friction of his skin against hers, goosebumps skittering all over her body at the touch. "I want to taste every inch of you, Kathryn," Garak's voice whispered into her ear before his teeth found her earlobe. "Touch you everywhere...hear you scream my name because it's the only word you'll remember when I'm through with you." His words slid into an appreciative murmur when he moved his head down and Janeway could feel his teeth and tongue graze the tendons on her neck and shoulder. "Oh, god," she panted, her eyes closing on their own volition when that hot mouth traced a fiery path down to her breast and clamped around her nipple. "Oh, god, oh...Garak!" His name came out as a strangled scream when she felt teeth around her sensitised nipple, pain mingling with her pleasure. Her other nipple was treated similarly, both teased to painful hardness by talented lips and teeth and fingers. Janeway had lost her way with words already; her breath was coming out in gasps and moans as she raked her fingernails down Garak's back. That and her firm grip on his neckridges produced low groans deep in Garak's chest -- sounds Janeway more felt that heard against her inflamed skin. She focused her attention on the ridges, pinching and kneading them until she could feel the blossoming heat in them. As Garak made his torturously slow way down her shivering body, Janeway could feel his erection against her leg, still inside his loose pants and twitching as he slid further down. The thought of his hard length inside her made a new wave of moisture pool at the apex of her legs and when Garak finally reached his target and his hot breath was on her most intimate flesh, Janeway almost came right there and then. "Please...don't tease, Garak," she moaned as she felt his mouth trace the contours of her muscles, nipping at the skin on the insides of her thighs with small bites. "If there is a tease here, it's not me," Garak said and his low, rough voice barely audible. He rubbed his nose against her sex and it made Janeway see stars. "Because that's what you are, Kathryn. A temptress." "We'll debate th-- oh god!" Whatever she was going to say Janeway promptly forgot when she finally felt Garak's tongue press down on her wetness. He traced the shapes of her labia and lapped up the moisture with small, appreciative murmurs that Janeway mirrored in breathless, pleading moans. The need throbbing in her was a living thing, her world centered on the pleasure building inside her. Intensely pleasant as it was, it seemed like an endless wait before his tongue finally sought out her clit and when it did, Janeway's mouth opened in a wordless scream. Arching her back to push more of her into his mouth, she felt every firm, skilled stroke of his tongue push her higher until she could do nothing but lay there and let the waves of exquisite pleasure wash over her. "Garak, I'm...oh, right there," she moaned, near incoherent as her hand tangled into Garak's hair. "I'm going to...oh god oh GOD!" Her words turning into a scream, Janeway squeezed her fistful of Garak's hair with whitened knuckles as she came. Her peak was fierce, sudden and savage in its intensity; for that endless moment, she was blind to all else but the sensations coursing through her body; all that she could feel was her white-hot pleasure. Slowly, she came down from her orgasm and back into her quivering body that jerked with aftershocks. Garak's mouth was still on her sex, sending sparks through her fried nerves, but Janeway had no words with which to protest; all she could do was to focus on catching her ragged breath. Tugging feebly on Garak's braid, she caught his attention and he obeyed the unsaid command, his hands and mouth tracing fiery paths up her torso. It wasn't until he laid down between her spread legs that Janeway found words again, prompted by the feel of something hot and heavy pressing against her opening. "You're not--" she began, a pronounced rasp in her breathless voice, but didn't bother to finish her sentence. She opened her eyes and looked up at Garak, poised above her and his body heaving with his deep inhalations. There was a look of raw desire on his face. "You taste so very alive, Kathryn," he whispered and bent his head down to kiss her. Janeway could taste her musky, heady essence in the kiss and felt disappointed when he pulled back. "It is...quite irresistible," he added breathily. Before Janeway could formulate a reply, Garak had captured her lips again. As she instinctively spread her legs wider apart she could feel the thick head of his cock push its way into her and the delicious feel of it turned her blood to fire again. She moaned her approval into the kiss, sucking at Garak's tongue as more of his hard length slid into her. It was almost too much: she felt too tight and out of breath as his considerable girth stretched her to her limits. Tearing her mouth away from his, Janeway threw her head back and inhaled in great, open-mouthed gulps as she fought to relax her inner muscles that burned with the strain. "Oh...oh, god. You're so..." she panted, feeling the throb of his hardness inside her. It was the most erotic thing she'd ever felt in her life, the shiver of his scales against her skin and inside her. "I'm so...what, Kathryn?" Garak murmured against her neck. "Adequate?" Janeway hissed in pleasure when he bit down on her shoulder. "Different," she said and barely stifled a scream when Garak slid further into her in a torturously slow push. "Perfect," she amended in a whisper, eyes closed as she enjoyed her abandon. "Just...oh god...so very perfect." Slowly, he filled her completely and when he shifted, his groin ridges rubbed against her distended clit. Janeway wanted to scream again but couldn't, not even when Garak pulled out only to slide in again. The feel of his hardness, textured yet slick and almost too big, was beyond rational thought for Janeway; all she could do was groan in perfect pleasure whenever Garak's shaft impaled her, the slow dance of his body above hers maddening and more arousing than anything she'd ever felt. >From the warmth coiling in her abdomen, she knew she was close to coming again and judging from Garak's harsh panting and his ever-frantic motions, he was not far behind. Shifting her pelvis, Janeway almost passed out when Garak's strokes suddenly brushed at a hidden spot inside her that brought her to new heights of pleasure. "Garak...that feels just...oh god, oh," she whispered, fevered, grasping Garak's neck ridges as hard as she could. He threw back his head and roared something incomprehensible, driving his throbbing length into her so hard she saw stars. "*Shel'kta, mek*," Garak growled into the sky. He lowered his head to her neck and Janeway could feel his hot breath, coming in sync with his thrusts. "Kathryn, oh, Kathryn...*shel'kta*." The sound of her name coming in that primal, thick voice coupled with the feel of his cock in her was the final push for Janeway. She closed her eyes and her words nothing but a hoarse scream, she came with fury she'd never before experienced. Toes curling in pleasure and every muscle pulled taut, she rode the waves of her bliss that seemed to go on endlessly. She didn't feel Garak bite down on her shoulder hard enough to draw blood but she did feel his cock grow even thicker as her contracting muscles squeezed it, milking out every drop of his seed when he came into her tight confines. Gradually, still breathless, Janeway floated back into her body. She felt sticky and warm in the cooling night air, pleasure tingling in every nerve ending and quivering muscle. She had no strength left to resist when Garak rolled off both her and the chaise longue and it took her some minutes to catch her breath and gather enough energy to open her eyes. Turning to her side, Janeway looked down at Garak with heavy-lidded eyes. "That was nice," she whispered, hearing the smug, sated tone of her voice. Garak was sprawled boneless on his back over various cushions and he didn't open his eyes when he smiled at her words. "To say the least," he said, breathing with a pronounced rasp in his voice. Shivering with her aftershocks, Janeway gazed at him and smiled. His broad, muscled torso was heaving with each breath and she could see his scales shiver as the excess blood drained from them. Strands of hair had gotten loose from his braid and clung to his shoulders and chest that were gleaming with perspiration and their combined fluids. Reaching down, Janeway brushed the hair back, admiring the play of light on the sharp planes and hollows of Garak's body. Moving her eyes further down, she studied the ornamental fractals of his scales that gleamed in the waning light and the thick, blood-black column of his erection that still jutted up from its ridged base. At the sight of it, Janeway smiled as desire blossomed anew in her. "More?" Garak opened his eyes and they shone with calm intent and want. "Do you even need to ask?" he replied, glancing pointedly down at himself. With still slightly trembling limbs, Janeway slid off the chair to straddle Garak's upper thighs. Grasping his cock firmly with one hand, she leaned forward and smiled at Garak's involuntary gasp. "This time," she husked and gave the thick, slick shaft a firm stroke, "we do it my way." "However you want, Kathryn," Garak replied, breathless, his hands clasped on her thighs. Janeway squeezed the heavy, hot weight of his cock and felt his rapid pulse against her palm. His leg muscles flexed under her as she looked down at him and touched the three ridges that adorned his hardness, recalling how absolutely inflaming they had felt inside her. Looking back up, Janeway caught Garak's eye. "I think I want to learn what you taste like...Elim," she whispered and licked her lips in anticipation. She wondered if he would taste as intoxicating and musky as his pheromones seemed to promise. Garak's smile would've been almost serene if it hadn't been quite so lascivious. "Please, go right ahead. I won't stop you." Janeway mirrored his smile dreamily and all her earlier doubt and hesitation were gone. "I just bet you won't." ----------------------------- End of part 6/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! 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Sat Jun 05 20:26:11 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n1.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.64]) by robin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLuI4sx3NZFjX0 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:26:36 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8185-1086481596-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com eceived: from [66.218.66.95] by n1.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:26:36 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 34363 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:26:36 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218) by m7.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:26:36 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:26:35 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560QJQX026374 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:26:19 -0500 Message-ID: <013301c44b5c$f79184c0$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:26:52 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 7/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 7/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When she woke up the next morning, it took Janeway a moment to get her bearings and remember where she was. Investigating her surroundings, she found that she was lying face down in a strange bed that smelled of sex and alien incense and that her sore body was surrounded by fine sheets of pure cotton and the warm, golden glow of the sun. She jolted fully awake when the previous night came to her in a flash of memories -- dark, vivid, very erotic memories. "Oh, lord," she groaned and rolled onto her back, throwing an arm across her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Have I gone mad?" she mumbled to no-one particular. Mildly grateful that she was alone in the bed, Janeway stretched and felt her tired muscles protest at the movement. She was sore in places she'd forgotten she had, sticky from goodness knows what, and bathed in a feeling of both smug contentment and terminal embarrassment. All in all, she concluded with unease, the evidence was irrefutable: she'd spent the night with the Cardassian ambassador to the Federation to fuck him six ways from Sunday, and it had been some of the best sex of her life. Propelled to action by that thought, she rolled off the bed and onto her unsteady feet to take stock of her surroundings. She surmised she'd spent the night in a guest room of sorts -- a lavish affair with dark, warm slate floors, thick Kelim rugs, and dark wooden furniture both alien and antique. Wrapping a sheet around herself, she searched for her clothes without luck. When she found the bathroom she gave up on her clothes and made a beeline for the shower. As the warm water cascaded over her aching muscles, Janeway sighed in relief. She counted the bruises that marred her pale skin and touched her shoulders and chest where the half-moon shapes of Garak's bites marked her. The bite marks were no longer bleeding but were still painful and like the pleasant soreness of her insides, they were stark reminders of what had transpired: she'd been fucked thoroughly senseless and she'd enjoyed every breathless, ecstatic second of it. At the thought of her wild abandon and the orgasms she'd screamed through, a small, smug smile rose on Janeway's lips. It had been so very good indeed. When she got out of the shower and towelled the excess water off her body, she made her way to the clothing replicator. "I wonder...," she muttered, eyeing the machine with suspicion. "Computer, one Starfleet uniform." "Please specify rank, department, and measurements," the computer instructed in its standard, pleasant voice. A rueful smile spread on Janeway's lips. Civilian replicators were not supposed to have Starfleet uniform patterns programmed into them but somehow, it didn't surprise her that Garak's did. "Vice admiral, command branch. Starfleet measurements file Janeway theta-three-oh-one." The requested uniform materialised and Janeway dressed quickly. Unable to recognise any of the cosmetics or beauty implements in the room, she ran a hand through her damp hair to set it and exited through the room and into the quiet hallway outside. Deciding on a direction at random, she set off. The corridors, stairs, and occasional opulent foyers of the residence that were done in a curious mix of Cardassian architecture and ancient Egyptian aesthetics were a veritable maze. Janeway wandered around with no real plan, stretching her legs and taking in the art and relics on the walls with the curiosity of an amateur archaeologist. Sometimes, she heard voices and she was almost certain she was being watched but it wasn't until she reached the third foyer that she came across another person. "Alejandro, right?" Janeway asked warily, recognising the man. The young human nodded and smiled. He had impeccable teeth that shone white against the bronze tint of his skin that in turn was accentuated by the eggshell white shorts and button-down shirt he wore. "Yes, admiral," he said in a voice that was surprisingly soft. "You're looking for Elim?" Janeway noted the possessive use of Garak's first name and bit the inside of her cheek to keep her face impassive; jealousy was practically rolling off Alejandro's well-toned if tense form. "Yes, that's right. Is he awake?" she asked cordially even as her mind tried to tell her there was something important about the young man she should recognise. Something very familiar. "He's having his breakfast." Janeway glanced down the hall where Alejandro had pointed. "Thank you," she said and finally smiled. "And he won't mind if I bother him?" Alejandro's smile turned cooler. "I wouldn't know." With that, he turned and continued on down the hall. Janeway watched his retreating back, trying to figure out what had seemed so familiar of him. It wasn't until she'd taken two steps when it came to her: Alejandro was a dead ringer for Julian Bashir. The implications of her realisation made Janeway's mood sink. "Garak, you son of a bitch," she said to no-one particular. "I'll get you for this," she promised as she hurried her steps. * * * * * She found Garak after some further travels in the airy, warm corridors of the residence. At the end of one such hallway was a large dining room with floor to ceiling windows shielded with wooden slats and in the warm morning light squeezing through them, the dark wood furniture and thick rugs of the room seemed almost decadent. Garak sat at one end of the long dining table and he smiled when she entered. "Good morning, Kathryn. I trust you slept well," he said with his habitual hospitability as if this was the most normal of mornings for him. He indicated the lavish breakfast buffet set on the table. "Please, help yourself. Alejandro tells me my chef has outdone himself with the coffee today." Without a word, Janeway poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat from across Garak. Seemingly unaware of the chill in the air between them and of Janeway's sour disposition, Garak continued to read the padd in his hand with the occasional glance towards her. "This Julian Bashir -- I don't think he's not just anybody. He's more than a Section 31 spy to you, isn't he? And you used me to get to him," Janeway finally said, hearing the storm in her voice. She sipped at her coffee but couldn't taste it through the bitter tang in her mouth. Her palms felt slick against the oiled Merbau wood of the table that was gleaming dully where her nails scratched its surface. "You used me, Garak." If her blunt statement surprised Garak, he didn't show it. Instead, he only smiled in a manner that was almost beatific and put down his padd. "Yes, in a manner of speaking, I did. My apologies. Perhaps there is some way I can compensate for my deception?" For a moment, Janeway regarded the man sitting across from her as her disbelief at his audacity warred with her grudging respect for the fact that he didn't even try to deny what he'd done. She wanted to reach across the table and slap Garak, yet she couldn't help admiring the skill with which he had played the game -- for it was a game he'd devised for her and she'd stumbled right into it like a green cadet. In the end, Janeway settled for a rueful smile and words that came to her from the heart. "'Artifice is allowable in deceiving a rival; we may employ everything against our enemies,'" she intoned quietly. The words were more a reminder for her than anything else. "I'm not your enemy, Garak." Garak's hands were delicate on his cup of tea. "That sounded like a quote," he said and the implied question was obvious in his tone. Not answering right away, Janeway sat back and tapped her fingers against the table. She needed to give Garak some sort of a disincentive, yet she knew a direct threat would not only be beneath her but would go ignored and result in diminished respect. Smiling one of her less pleasant smiles, Janeway decided to play the game like Garak did: not through action but with allegories. "You recall the costume I wore to Captain Picard's ball?" Garak glanced at her beneath his pronounced brows. "That complicated excess of silk and lace? Of course." "And you recall I told you it was done in the style of Louis XIII, a one-time king of France?" Janeway continued, refusing to rise to the bait. Garak's smile was somewhat ingratiating. "As you're well aware, Cardassians have eidetic memory, Kathryn," he said calmly but with growing impatience if such a thing was possible for him in the first place. Janeway didn't think so but decided not to press her luck regardless. "So I am," Janeway said with a smile of her own. "The period in Earth history from which my costume was from is interesting in many ways, one of them being the particulars of Louis XIII's court. Especially his prime minister, a man known as the Bloody Cardinal, is of great interest to me...and to you." "He is?" Garak asked. "How come?" Janeway observed that even though his tone was indifferent, she had his attention. Fleetingly she found it slightly surreal to be politely discussing Earth history over breakfast when not six hours before, she'd been screaming the man's name in the throes of ecstasy. Memories of the night made desire scale her spine and she shrugged the sensation away angrily. It wouldn't do to be distracted when she had a point to make. "You see, Cardinal Richelieu reminds me of you," Janeway continued. She leaned forward, propping her chin up on one hand as she gazed at Garak over the breakfast dishes. "Not only was he a spymaster and a statesman but much like yourself, he was a man of cloth." Garak frowned, obviously decoding Janeway's archaic simile. "But I'm not a--" he began but paused. His eyes lit up with a fire that made a pleasant shiver run through Janeway's core. "Very clever, Kathryn," Garak murmured, his voice gone low and intimate. "Please, continue." Clearing her throat with the futile aim of clearing her head, Janeway forged on. "Cardinal Richelieu is the originator of the quote that came to me earlier," she said and sipped at her cooling coffee. "He was so much like you -- a grey eminence, who pulls strings behind the scenes and never gets his hands dirty or allows his true nature to be exposed." Janeway paused and met Garak's steady gaze. "But I figured out your game, Garak." "Regardless of how your Cardinal Richelieu saw things, I don't consider you to be an enemy, Kathryn," Garak said quietly and picked up his tea again. His smile turned softer. "What I did was merely necessary, not an act of malice." "In that case, I advise you to refrain from deceiving me, ambassador, because that's what it takes to make an enemy out of me," Janeway said, relieved that she was able to keep her cool, if only barely so. "Next time, you could just ask." Garak's expression turned serious. "Believe me when I say that I had no choice in the matter. Affairs such as this," he said, gesturing vaguely around them, "are delicate by nature and cannot be handled directly. If there's something I can do to repay you, just say it, Kathryn." Janeway snorted in disdain. "You could start by sounding sincere when you apologise." "A lifetime of conditioning is a hard thing to overcome," Garak said and his familiar charming if insincere smile was back. "I won't apologise for what I am." "You could've just asked me, Garak!" Janeway barked, suddenly at the end of her tether. She set her coffee cup down so hard she thought she was going to shatter the saucer. "You could've asked me and I would've helped you. Yet you chose to go about it in this infuriating cloak and dagger manner, using not only me but also the Federation as your errand boys to get even with a former *fuck toy* of yours!" Garak blinked, slowly, obviously blindsided by Janeway's outburst. Recovering quickly, he rested both palms flat on the table and leaned forward. His royal blue gaze was intense and far colder than Janeway had ever seen it. "Don't try to tell me you didn't use me as well, Kathryn. You like making a grand entrance and what better way than to arrive to Captain Picard's gathering than at the arm of your pet Cardassian? Or does it stroke your ego that I chose to take you to my bed even though I usually have men as my, as you put it, 'fuck toys'?" Garak spat. Janeway's eyes widened at his uncharacteristically coarse language. "Or perhaps you were just bored and decided to play nice with the alien, without realising the alien was to play you?" He clicked his tongue as if scolding her. "Don't pretend innocence. It doesn't become you, Kathryn." Stunned to momentary silence, Janeway choked on her outrage. "That's Admiral Janeway to you, ambassador," she finally managed and stood up. "And I don't know why I expected anything else than deceit from a Cardassian -- after all, all we've done is help your people back on their feet and this is the thanks we get from the official representative of the Cardassian Republic? How very unsurprising." Biting off her last words, Janeway balled her napkin and threw it on the table, not even meeting Garak's eyes for she knew there would be nothing but seething anger there. Turning to go, she didn't get more than three steps towards the door until Garak's quiet words stopped her. "Have you ever loved someone with all your heart, only to lose them?" There was no anger and no rancour in Garak's voice, only despair so bleak and black it made Janeway's rage drain in an instant. She turned and gaped at the man in shock. Seated still like a statue and his chin propped up on his entwined fingers, Garak was gazing back at her expectantly. "Yes," Janeway whispered automatically. There were so many she'd lost count. "Yes, I have. Many times. Why?" "I'm not ungrateful of the help Federation has provided for Cardassia but my people are dying regardless of it. Dying of thirst, hunger, and diseases so horrible that I can't stand to hear the details. I can't read the reports any more, Kathryn," Garak said and laughed. It was an unpleasant sound, a bark of dry air that held not a shred of humour. "I'm a former Obsidian Order interrogator who used not to bat an eyelid at violence or torture and now, I can't stand to face the reality of what has become of my home world." "Where are you going with this, Garak?" Janeway asked, still rooted to the spot despite her best intentions. The pain and frustration in his voice were almost too much for her to bear. Garak shrugged and through the fine silk of his robe, Janeway could see the tension that corded his muscles. "It seems that everything I've ever loved I end up killing. I love Cardassia, yet I was party to her downfall in the war against Dominion. Twelve hundred million people since the end of war," Garak said, and his voice cracked at the last word. "Twelve hundred million dead and here I sit, lightyears away from home and with no way of helping the ones still alive." "It's not your fault," Janeway said, her voice gone to a whisper. "This is your job now." Garak bowed his head as if he was in physical pain and when he spoke, his voice was thick with that same pain. "The Federation are a tourniquet, Kathryn, a crutch for a man with no arms. There's no saving Cardassia, not any more." "You can do more good for Cardassia here than over there." "You don't understand, Kathryn," Garak said and stood so abruptly that he sent his chair tumbling down. It landed with a resounding crash that made Janeway flinch. "Everything I do," Garak said with emphasis, leaning forward with his hands on the table, "*everything* I do turns to ashes. Everyone I love, I end up destroying. It's what I've done to Cardassia, and it's what I did to Julian." Understanding dawned on Janeway. "You...*loved* him," she whispered, shocked. "And you still love him, don't you? And that's why you needed my help -- not for vengeance, but to get him out of Section 31." Garak's smile was hollow. "If I can't help my beloved Cardassia, the least I can do is help Julian when I can." "Does...does he know?" Janeway asked, still reeling from the shock. "Of you?" "No, and he never will because it's simply too late for us. Once, I had the power to help him and I didn't and as a result of my inaction, he's become what he is now," Garak said and he sounded centuries older than he really was. After a deep breath, he smiled a watery smile. "We were -- we are not meant to be but still, my love for him is the only good and pure thing left in me, Kathryn. I cherish it as it is, regardless of the distance between us or his meaningless dalliances or my poor substitutes." "Substitutes?" Janeway's heart ached for Garak and the bleak hopelessness in his voice. "You mean Alejandro?" Garak nodded. "Among others." "And was I just one of them, one of your substitutes?" "You were -- are -- something completely different, Kathryn. Unique," he said and his smile turned a notch warmer. "You could never be anything less than what you are." With a deep breath, Janeway made a split-second decision. She wouldn't forget that Garak had used her but perhaps she could forgive herself her folly in the matter. There were no winners in his game, she realised, only people. Walking back to the table, her feet silent on the plush rug and the cool slate stones of the floor, Janeway re-seated herself. Watching Garak and knowing him as well as she did, she knew he wouldn't want her pity, but at least she could be a placebo for his proud, broken soul. She waited until Garak had sat down again, too, and then smiled. "Talk to me about him, Garak," she said with all the warmth she could muster. "Tell me about Julian." ----------------------------- End of part 7/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:30:58 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n12.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.67]) by bunting (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLyT3q23NZFmR1 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:30:55 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8186-1086481853-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com eceived: from [66.218.66.95] by n12.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 06 Jun 2004 00:30:54 -0000 X-Sender: campbratcher@psci.net X-Apparently-To: ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 38240 invoked from network); 6 Jun 2004 00:30:52 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.167) by m7.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Jun 2004 00:30:52 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailstore.psci.net) (63.65.184.2) by mta6.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Jun 2004 00:30:52 -0000 Received: from max (as4-d59-rp-psci.psci.net [63.92.109.155]) by mailstore.psci.net (8.12.2/8.12.2) with SMTP id i560UbQX029940 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:30:37 -0500 Message-ID: <013801c44b5d$9177b640$9b6d5c3f@max> To: "ASCEM-S" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 63.65.184.2 From: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" X-Yahoo-Profile: sileya MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEM-S-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list ASCEM-S@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 19:31:10 -0500 Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW VOY/DS9 Cardinal Attractors 8/8 (J/G) [NC-17] Reply-To: "Keith & Jessica Bratcher" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ELNK-AV: 0 Please see part 1 for codes, disclaimer, and warnings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardinal Attractors, part 8/8 by Penumbra (c) 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It took Janeway two days until she could sit without wincing, and three more until Intelligence took Dr. Julian Bashir of Section 31 into custody. Reading through the report, Janeway was surprised to find a familiar name in it. "Eugene?" she said into the intercom on an impulse. "Get me Commander Annika Hansen on subspace." Through the intercom came the sound of Ensign McNamara's typing. "Commander Hansen of, uh, Daystrom Institute?" "That's right." "I'll get right on it, admiral." When Seven answered, if she was surprised at Janeway's impromptu call, she showed none of it. Dressed in a Starfleet science uniform with the three pips of a Commander on her collar, she looked as impeccably groomed and calm as she always did. "Good afternoon, Kathryn." "Hello, Seven," Janeway said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "It seems it was only yesterday that I last spoke to you." "It has been fifteen months, eight days, and six hours since our last communication," Seven informed her with a warm look that was in contrast to the analytical nature of her words. She'd come far. "Too long, in other words," Janeway said with a rueful smile. "It's good to see you." "As it is you, Kathryn. Was there a specific reason for your communication?" Always to the point, as Janeway had expected. Leaning her cheek into her palm, she regarded the still young woman on her screen and felt the pang of regret she'd tried to suppress ever since Voyager's return. Then, as she did now, she had secretly thought it should've been her and not Chakotay that would walk into a new life on Seven's side. But that had not been the case, mostly because as it was with Chakotay, her relationship with the former Borg was...complicated. "I trust you've heard of the espionage case in your group?" "If you are referring to the arrest of our xenobiology expert, you are correct. It has been a constant topic of conversation throughout the day." "Well, that's why I called. To see that you're all right," Janeway said, feeling slightly foolish at her words. A frown line appeared next to the silver implant that rested above Seven's brow. "Why should I be affected by security matters such as this?" "Oh, hell, I don't know." Janeway shrugged and decided to go for honesty since it was really the only way one could deal with Seven. "I guess it just gave me an excuse to see you." "I am...gratified of your call, Kathryn. It gives me great pleasure to see you." A ghost of a smile graced Seven's full lips at her words. "While I do not long back to the Delta Quadrant, I find myself missing our daily interaction." "Same here. I know it hasn't been easy for you, ever since, y'know," Janeway said, waving her hand in the air. "Since we came back." "My situation within my chosen collective has improved since we last spoke." She paused and cocked her head in a manner that was painfully familiar to Janeway. "I have much to discuss with you but alas, my time is limited today. However, I will be on Earth for the Daystrom Institute user group conference in nineteen days. Would you like to join me for dinner during my time there, Kathryn?" Janeway's heart skipped a beat in joy. "I'd love to, Seven. Dinner and lunch and breakfast if you want," Janeway said and smiled. " I've missed you, Seven -- or do you prefer Annika these days?" "Seven of Nine still represents me more accurately than my given Human name." "Seven it is, then. I'll see you in about three weeks." Seven nodded. "I am looking forward to it. Good day, Kathryn." "And to you, Seven." With that, the viewscreen blackened and Janeway sat back with a deep breath. Seeing Seven so alive and healthy did her a world of good but it had also brought to surface emotions and feelings she thought she'd buried long ago. Stomping firmly down on her case of 'what ifs,' Janeway poured herself a cup of coffee from her thermos. Inhaling the rich, oily fragrance, she tried not to think of how much it reminded her of Garak. Her intercom interrupted her jumbled thoughts with its customary chirp. Setting her cup down on the coffee table, Janeway touched the toggle. "Yes, what is it?" "There's a, uh, a delivery for you, admiral," her assistant's voice informed her through the comm system. "From the Cardassian ambassador." Janeway smiled, her eyes softening in remembered pleasure. "Speak of the devil. Should I be calling the bomb squad, Eugene?" she asked, humoured. "Ma'am?" McNamara's confused voice asked. Janeway sighed and waved her hand in a vague gesture of surrender; a sense of humour wasn't among her assistant's many admirable qualities. "Never mind. Bring it in, whatever it is." 'It' turned out to be a flower arrangement of generous proportions and when McNamara entered with it, Janeway rushed to help her hapless assistant, who was unable to see from behind the greenery. "They're Cardassian moonswain flowers, I believe," the ensign said as he set the arrangement down on Janeway's desk. Janeway fingered one of the pale flowers. The petal was exquisitely soft and shimmering with shades of silver and bronze, transforming the bouquet into a complex work of art. "Beautiful," she murmured to herself, transfixed by the alien flowers for a moment before turning back to McNamara. "Please, get the ambassador for me." "Right away, admiral." It took only seconds until Janeway's comm chirped again to signify that her connection was ready. Seating herself behind her desk, she assumed a neutral if pleasant mien and activated the viewscreen. Unsurprisingly, Garak answered her call himself. "This is an unexpected pleasure, Kathryn," he intoned with his warm, pleasant tenor. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Janeway eyed Garak's clothing -- or rather, lack thereof: he was not wearing anything over his upper body that was gleaming with moisture. "I hope I didn't catch you at an inconvenient moment?" she asked while trying very hard not to stare. "Oh, not at all. I was just coming out of the steam room." Garak shifted his pose to a more attentive one and made a deferential gesture with his hand. "So, how may I be dishonest with you today?" Janeway cocked her head and smiled. "What makes you think I called because I want something from you?" "When people call, they tend to want things from me," Garak said. His warm, intimate tone was rich with innuendo. "Much like when they visit." "I've no doubt," Janeway said, feeling heat blossom in her cheeks. "However, this time I'm here merely to thank you. This is...quite extravagant," she continued, gesturing at the arrangement occupying half of her desk. "Extravagant, yet much appreciated. It's not often I get such elaborate deliveries." "Ah, the flowers -- when in Rome, do as the Romans do, yes?" Garak asked with a humoured smile. "Even when the preference is dead vegetable matter over more convenient media of communication." "As you've so often noted, we humans do have our peculiarities." "So you do. And speaking of such things, I read up on your Cardinal Richelieu. My esteem for human ingenuity rose considerably -- he was a veritable font of admirable qualities," Garak said, and his delight was obvious. "Any man who considers dissembling to be the knowledge of kings is a man after my own heart." Janeway snorted. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. But tell me something, Garak, and for once without dissembling," she said with sudden seriousness. "Why me?" "Without dissembling? I'll do my best," Garak said, his enunciation as careful as it was humoured. "My reasons were simple, really, mostly having to do with garden-variety intrigue. I wanted to meet the woman who captained a ship through unknown space for so many years -- an act of courage and certain character one can't help but admire." "Your kindness propels me to hubris," Janeway remarked dryly, flattered. "In addition to that, there were various less interesting reasons. For example, you are conveniently situated in the Starfleet pecking order, you are known for your sangfroid and independence, and you just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Garak paused and cocked an eyeridge at her as he smiled a decidedly sybaritic smile. "And finally because I enjoy but two things above all else: power and beautiful things. You are both, *shel'kta*." "I see." Janeway narrowed her eyes, thinking for a quiet moment until she came up with a suitably oblique way of putting her words. "Richelieu once wrote something I've always found to be an intriguing philosophy," she said, leaning forward to catch Garak's eye on the viewscreen. "He wrote, 'If you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find something in them to hang him.'" Garak's smile didn't waver an inch but a new kind of appreciation shone in his eyes as he processed her words. "I continue to stand in awe of you, my dear admiral," was all that he finally said and Janeway almost believed his words. "I suspect I'll do so also the next time we meet if such auspicious circumstances can ever be arranged." Janeway smiled and this time, it was a genuine smile. If not in so many words, Garak's tone had adumbrated that her warning had been understood and accepted: the next time he would try to use her -- even if it was for altruistic purposes -- she would hang him out to dry. "I have faith in your considerable abilities to make it happen," she said, and meant it. "As do I," Garak said and stroked his chin ridge in a manner Janeway found extremely lascivious. "I look forward to it." Janeway smiled and nodded. "Godspeed, Ambassador Garak." "And to you, Admiral Janeway." With that and his habitual nod, Garak cut the connection. After that, Janeway sat still for a long while. Her unseeing eyes were on the Starfleet logo rotating on her screen as she thought of the past two weeks and how it should've surprised her more that she didn't feel any lingering malice towards Garak. However, when she was ruthlessly honest with herself, she had to confess that she'd missed the excitement of adventure and the adrenaline rush of embarking on an emprise full of cerebral intrigue; in a word, she'd been in a rut. Garak had pulled her out of it and right into a challenge of a kind she used to relish during Voyager's exigent time in the Delta Quadrant -- and best of all, it had been for the noblest of reasons: love. Impulsively, she called up the Starfleet service record for Dr. Bashir. Julian Subatoi Bashir, MD; salutatorian of his graduating class at Starfleet Medical Academy; various decorations for courage under fire; commendations for performance above and beyond the call of duty; etc. Intrigued, Janeway dug deeper, speed-reading through various reports that spoke of the young man in glowing superlatives. All in all, the file was that of one of Starfleet's finest. Janeway frowned. Given his stellar record, he should've been promoted long ago, yet he'd held the rank of lieutenant (1st class) for over ten years with no advancement. It just didn't add up. It took her further two hours of reading through reports until she came across one signed by a Captain Benjamin Sisko. It was a masterful act of evasion and opaque language but it did manage to convey to Janeway that all of Mr. Bashir's talents were not the product of genetic happenstance but rather, of careful engineering. She called up the service record photo of Bashir and found him to be a terribly handsome man with glowing bronze skin and perfect smile. Looking dapper in his black and blue uniform, he was gazing directly into the camera with large, dark eyes Janeway was immediately envious of. She really couldn't blame Garak for his obsession. "You got the short stick, didn't you?" Janeway murmured. There was something hard and unsettling about Bashir's eyes, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his narrow shoulders. "You got betrayed by your parents and then rejected by us," she muttered, tracing the sharp point of his cheekbone on the screen. "Nobody deserves that." She didn't know whether Bashir had volunteered for Section 31 or coerced in some way but from Garak's oblique statements, she suspected it was a bit of both. In a way, she couldn't blame Bashir for what he'd done: he'd been rejected by the very system he had devoted his life to serving and only because of something that had been done to him without his consent. When Janeway tried to imagine herself in similar circumstances, she had to conclude that she'd be beyond bitter, too. Spurred into action by that uncomfortable moment of self-lucidity, Janeway called up the Security status report on Bashir. "Taken into custody, transferred to USS Titan for transportation...," she muttered to herself as she read. "Currently detained on Earth to await court martial; preliminary hearing set for stardate 59789.4." Janeway sat back, folding her hands over her stomach as she thought. Garak's words and the sonorous cadence of his voice were still fresh in her memory, as was his adamant opinion that it was too late for him and Bashir; yet, their lives seemed to be destined to be intertwined. They were like two stars orbiting one another, bound to a mutual destiny by indissoluble laws of nature. In a way, Janeway thought, Garak had saved Bashir from himself, yet perhaps endangered him in new ways. The court martial would lead to dishonourable discharge followed by a year or two spent in a low-security penal colony -- not a bad deal, all things considered. It wasn't the jail time that worried Janeway, though; it was Bashir's newfound uselessness for Section 31. They weren't the kind of people that let former employees retire in peace and so he would obviously need protection of some sort; however, as much faith as Janeway had in Starfleet Security, the harsh reality was that Bashir wouldn't be a high priority for them. No, in order to live he'd need the aegis of someone with means to ensure his safety. Janeway smiled as a plan formulated in her mind. Of course. The solution was quite obvious. "Eugene?" she said into the intercom. "Call up a shuttle from the pool. We're taking a road trip." "Yes, admiral. What should I log into the flight plan as our destination?" Janeway smiled. "Seattle," she said, glancing at the security file. "Starfleet Detention Centre #5, to be precise." "Uh, yes, ma'am," McNamara replied, incomprehension colouring his voice. "When are we leaving?" "Right now, Eugene," Janeway said patiently. "Yes, admiral." When the intercom channel closed with a chirp, Janeway tugged the front of her uniform to order, feeling rather pleased with herself. Garak hadn't hesitated to use her and so she didn't hesitate to reciprocate the favour, either. It needed to be done -- not only for Garak, but for her own peace of mind as well. Like it or not, her life was now intertwined with that of Mr. Bashir, too. "You're about to meet your *deus ex machina*, Julian Bashir," Janeway muttered to his image before switching the display off. It was time to go and educate Mr. Bashir with some new truths about an old friend who was about to become a saviour to him. ~~~ T h e E n d ~~~ ----------------------------- End of part 8/8. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEM-S/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCEM-S-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Sat Jun 05 20:30:58 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n39.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.107]) by condor (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bwLzbF33NZFjK0 for ; Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:31:12 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1978024-8187-1086481872-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com