Summary
Zod was born on Cardassia in 2356 to his father Dassot, a military commander of a Galor class starship and his mother Rije a member of the science ministry. The eldest of three children, Zod was expected and trained to be a ‘leader’, he grew up learning of the ‘victories’ of the Cardassian Union and how the state was everything to fight for. Vurr was an exceptional student, but he hid what he truly believed, over time and with gentle guidance from his mother he read about science subjects, but not always state approved. His mother had access to various intelligence reports about new technologies and discoveries that were made from other powers, such as the Romulans, Tholians but more importantly to Vurr, the Federation.
Throughout his younger years Vurr had an ability to ‘read between the lines’ when it came to Cardassia’s reports on history and science. His mother would leave out reports and papers out to guide him in a new direction, she believed the way Cardassia society was run was detrimental to it’s citizens and society as a whole, she wasn’t obvious about it and she protected herself and her family, a feat that what easier when the Obsidian Order was destroyed in their fool hearted attempt at destroying the Dominion.
When Vurr reached 15 he was accepted into a lower tear Cardassian Union military academy, this would separate him from his parents but allowed him to experience new training. Vurr wasn’t the best soldier, he was known to hesitate during live fire drills, he was always willing to help injured colleagues but he was noted as being extremely intelligent. His assignments changed to medic, a position that was looked down on by other Cardassians, until they needed one and many would need one.
Training was rushed when Cardassia joined the Dominion, when he was 16 he was pushed into the front lines, he was told it was for hands on training but in reality he was a soldier used to fill the quickly dwindling lines. Vurr served on Chintoka where his reputation grew as a medic and was requested by many injured colleagues, this changed when he was reprimanded for assisting a wounded Starfleet Officer, he went from serving on various stations in the Chintoka system to front lines.
Starfleet and their allies first invasion of Chintoka changed Vurr’s life, during fierce fighting he was captured by a group of Starfleet Security Officers and was transferred to a POW camp. For many this was a nightmare, until they experienced what it meant under Federation law. While he understood many Federation values he was still surprised that he wasn’t beaten, starved or mistreated, other Cardassians tried to lie and say they were going to be tortured for information, however Vurr realized this was all lies to paint the Federation in a bad light. When Starfleet realized Vurr’s age he was given a case worker, over a brief time Vurr acknowledged his admiration of the Federation and explained how he was ‘drafted’ into the Cardassian military. Various sources confirmed Vurr’s story and over time his ‘restrictions’ were limited. He was able to try human food, read Federation and ally papers and history from their perspective. This opened his mind more to what it meant to be part of a more inclusive society.
Vurr spent the remaining of the war in the camp, becoming friendly with his captors and being labeled a traitor by other Dominion POW’s. Some of the animosity ended when reports of Cardassians being slaughtered by the Dominion. The news reports rolled in, images of broken civilians, destroyed buildings, Vurr watched as his home was virtually destroyed.
When the fighting ended he received word that his father was killed when his ship fought the Dominion. Vurr found out his mother and siblings were able to survive, he also discovered his mother was able to send information to allied intelligence throughout the war. While much of the information wasn’t ground breaking it did save lives on both sides. While being held in the camp he made comments on how he would want to become a Federation citizen, many mocked him for this, some from the Federation personnel but most from his own people.