The Cardassian prisoner stared up at the ceiling as the Denver’s medical team worked on him trying to stabilize him.  Death was knocking at the door.  His breaths were shallow and ragged. 

Prol grabbed one of the Starfleet officers by the uniform leaving a bloody handprint on her collar.  “Not all of us are friends of the Dominion,” he pleaded.  “Promise me your people will do all to liberate my…  my world,  and I will…” He sucked in the air, as a wave of pain washed over him.  He waved a nurse away with a hypospray,  “I must say it, and I must have a clear mind.  I will tell you Starfleet, everything I know.”

Riandri stood by the door to Sickbay and watched as the team of doctors and nurseries worked to save the life of the injured Cardassian. ‘No rest for the wicked it seems’ she thought to herself, ‘if what he says is true the interview, yeah “interview”, will be easy.’ Before she had a chance to think much more on the matter a doctor walked over to her, as she approached Riandri turned to face her, “Lieutenant Commander Seong I presume? I’m Lieutenant Nalem, the new intel Officer who just transferred from the Tigris. I wanted to check on the patient.”

Seong shook her head. “I am sorry Lieutenant, but I can not allow that at this time,” she said as she turned and headed into sickbay. She looked back at the Lieutenant for a brief moment and then returned her attention to the severely wounded Cardassian.

Riandri frowned as she watched Seong walk away, ‘Did she think I wanted to question a half-dead Cardy? What good would that do if he died…’ she thought to herself. “Completely understand Lieutenant Commander,” she said as she continued to watch for a few more minutes. 

“Prol, I am Doctor Kyo. I need you to relax and allow my nurses to help you otherwise you will not be able to tell us what you know,” she said in a calming, relaxing tone. Her eyes locked on the Cardassian’s eyes as she spoke to him.

He coughed.  Breathing was almost impossible now. His head was light, and he could feel what was probably a trickle of blood running down his cheek from the corner of his mouth.  He simply nodded giving in to the medical staff.

Seong smiled and turned to her nurses with a nod. They moved over to Prol and began to treat his wounds. Seong tapped on the medical console next to the bed and it began to scan him from head to toe. She shook her head as she read the monitor. ‘I’m not sure if I will be able to save him, but I will give it my all.’ she thought as she turned to look at her patient, a smile, thought faked, was in plain view.

“Prol, you have some internal bleeding and for myself and my team to treat them, I must place you to sleep. I know you want to have a clear mind about this, and I know that if you are treated you will have such a state of mind, and no pain.”

She allowed the urgency of her words to sink into his mind as she stood there with all confidence radiating from her.

Prol allowed the darkness to take over knowing he very well may never wake up again.

The doors to the sickbay suddenly opened, and a medical team pushed in another patient. Seong turned to see who had come in, and her eyes widened when she saw her husband lying on the hovering gurney. She dashed over to his side without a second thought. Despite the fact that most of the color had returned to his skin, he was still unresponsive.

She turned to face the medical team, who were relaying what Lieutenant Halfcock had told them. She nodded at their information and was already making a mental list of what she needed to do and how it compared to her husband’s medical chart. A hand came out and locked onto her wrist as she was about to turn and head for a nearby medical station. Seong turned and was about to chastise whoever was preventing her from saving her husband when she realized it was Cheon.

He looked at her with a smile on his lips. “Miss me?” he asked, his voice weak. He then let go of her wrist and shut his eyes. “If you’re going to give me something, give it to me as a stimulant, and don’t argue with me right now.”

Seong opened her mouth to object, knowing that she could tell her husband to go to hell and relieve him of his command under the medical policy, but she knew he had something on his mind that he needed to do. Instead, she nodded, retrieved the hypospray, and inserted a stimulant. “Once you’ve finished whatever you’re about to do, Commander Kyo, you get your ass back here and into a biobed,” she said as she pressed it to his neck and leaned in. That is a direct order.”

BRIG-

A Cardassian officer sat on the edge of his bunk. He wasn’t particularly high ranking and was just a soldier.   First for the Central Command, now for the Dominion.   He didn’t have much opinion of either. He simply served the legitimate ruling body of Cardassia.

Riandri stepped into the observation room of the brig and looked over at the cells and the current occupants before turning to the ensign manning the station. “I trust everything has been ok with our guests?” She asked to which he grunted in an affirmative. “ Good, let us get started, the officer would be the best start. Can you bring him to the interrogation room? It’s time to ask some questions.”

She watched as several security officers escorted the Cardassian officer out of his cell and into the room. After a couple of minutes, one of them returned giving her the all-clear.  Riandru took a deep breath and walked into the room. Before she was the officer, sitting and restrained at a small table and looking a little worse for wear. He had after all been recovered from a heavily damaged ship. She sat at the table and put down a PADD and a cup of steaming liquid. “My name is Lieutenant Nalem, what is yours for the record?”

The Cardassian stared a Riandri and scowled.  He crossed his arms in defiance though remained silent.

Riandri smiled as she recognized the challenge and defiance of the officer. “You can play it that way if you like,” she said as she tapped a few points into her PADD. “I had hoped to have a pleasant conversation with you.” She leaned back in her chair and looked the Cardassian up and down before reaching to the cup and taking the lid off releasing the scene of Cardassian Red Leaf Tea, “Hope you don’t mind but needed a drink. I have been a fan of Cardassian Red Leaf Tea for, well, 60 years or so now. Came across a merchant from your homeworld who got me hooked.” She paused to take a sip as she watched the officer “I had planned on visiting Cardassia decades ago to visit dinner of the plantations but alas I was never able to make it.” Talking another do and inhaling the event of the tea she continued, “If you would like some just let me know if.”

“Gil Baxlin Gerot,” the prisoner replied without emotion.  “Weapons officer.”

Riandri smiled softly, this was barely the first step but it was a step. “Well Gil Baxlin Gerot, it is a pleasure to have met you.” She said and took a long sip of the tea, “I always loved the soft and subtle sweetness of the tea myself, never found another like it but what really surprised me was how sharp and overpowering the flavor can become if the leaves are left in to long; ruining it completely.” She watched the Gerot trying to get a read on him before continuing, “It reminds me on a way of the current situation, from what I have heard Cardassia is not becoming the perfect world the Dominion promised when they took over. Started so nicely but didn’t turn out so well after a while. Would you agree?”

“I serve Cardassia,” Gerot replied defiantly. “Whether it’s Central Command or the Founders makes little difference to me. But we will defeat you Starfleet.  Crush you under the heel of our boots and Gul Dukat will stand over the utter destruction of Earth.  It is inevitable.  As we speak there are 2,800 Dominion ships assembling on the Gamma Quadrant side of the wormhole.  You have your little mines in the way… for now.  Cardassia will defeat those mines, and when they are disabled Dominion forces will pour into the Alpha Quadrant. Cardassia will be rewarded for our loyalty… our sacrifice. And you… if you are dead you will be one of the lucky ones to escape the labor camps.  It will be good for you. Knock that smug expression off your face.”

A little smile creased Riandri’s eyes at the response from Gerot, ‘A loyalist to his supervisors it seems, a soldier who does as he is told…’ she thought.

Suddenly a hand came down Riandri’s shoulder. Cheon had appeared in the interrogation room without so much as making a sound. His dark brown eyes were cold as he looked at her. “Ensign, Brix stop recording and depart,” he said out loud to the young clerk that sat behind the mirror window. “Lieutenant, what I am about to do can not be told to anyone. Is that understood?”

A frown flashed across Riandri’s face as she was interrupted and a hand landed on her shoulder. Normally she would not allow those emotions to be seen during such an interrogation. She turned and looked up at the Commander who was standing beside her, ‘Who is this…the Captain didn’t tell me to expect anyone…’ she thought before the realization hit her, ‘I guess the XO is not missing anymore.’ She nodded towards him. “Understood, the room is yours, sir.”

He then looked at the Cardassian officer. “I sir would eat your words right about now,” he stated as he reached into a pocket in his shirt and retrieved a small object; a Tal Shair insignia. He placed it carefully on the smooth surface of the metal table, in plain view so that Gerot could see it. He then reached over and poured himself a small teacup of the Red Leaf and then after taking a sip looked at the Lieutenant, “Red Leaf?”

Riandri glanced at the insignia, instantly recognizing it for what it was but sure what it meant in this situation, ‘Was the XO a Tal Shair agent? Or was Gerot one? Best to let this play out…’ As she watched Cheon pick up a small teacup she nodded, “Yes, sir. One of my favorites. Thought Gerot here might appreciate a taste of home.”

The Cardassian stared blankly at the badge, “So what do you people call this?” He paused to think of the unfamiliar term. “Good cop, bad cop? You don’t scare me Starfleet, and a replicated Tal Shiar badge is meaningless. I can replicate an Obsidian Order badge if I wanted to.  I’m not afraid of you. The worst you can do is bore me to death. Murder and torture isn’t your way… hooman.”

Riandri rolled her eyes at that, ‘Always with the human assumption…I would happily up the anti here to get the info I, we need…’ she thought as she waited for Cheon, she assumed, to take the lead.

Cheon finished the small teacup of Red Leaf and carefully placed it on the table. As he listened to the Cardassian Officer, his face was expressionless. “Tell me Gerot,” he began, his voice deafeningly flat. “Why would an Obsidian bastard like yourself take a registered Cardassian cruiser that was actually returning to the homeworld before being ordered to join the fleet that was to attack my ship?”

Cheon’s dark, cold, brown eyes were fixed on the smooth, dull steel table the entire time he spoke. Cheon, unbeknownst to Gerot and possibly even Riandri, was creeping closer and closer to the other. When it came to interrogations, Cheon was cold and calculated, meticulous and merciless. Especially toward those who possessed information he desired and knew Gerot possessed.

Gerot leaned back in his chair. His arms remained crossed across his chest. “You still don’t impress me,” he said as if this human’s knowledge was pitiful. Though on the inside, he was terrified that he had allowed his identity to be discovered by someone other than the Order.

The coiled Cheon sprang forward, grabbed the back of the Cardassian’s head, and slammed the man’s face down onto the cold, hard, steel tabletop. The movement was so precise and unexpected that it appeared blurred. The sound of a steely thud echoed throughout the room, and the Cardassian’s face came to a halt, facing the insignia, which was only centimeters away. 

Cheon had moved his face right next to the man’s ear and said, “By the way, this insignia isn’t a replica, and is in fact mine,” For a brief moment, he allowed the words to sink into the Cardassian’s mind. “That’s right, I am the only human who has ever been granted such an honor by the Tal Shiar.”

Cheon sat up, pressing the Cardassian’s face deeper into the metal table’s surface. “Should we start over?” He looked over at Riandri to make sure she was aware of what had happened between himself and the officer.

Riandri sat back and watched the exchange with interest. She was able to keep her face emotionless as the commander slammed the Cardassians face down; though she did jump ever so slightly in her seat. She had sensed his subtle movement and figured something like that was going to happen. Though this went against the traditional star fleet regulations she was not one to mind. Gerot had the information they needed. If he was telling the truth about being the weapons officer he would know useful information. Though based on what Cheon said she had the impression Gerot was more than he appeared. ‘How does Cheon know this? Where is he getting his information fr…” she thought as Cheon leaned down and spoke. His words cut off her train of thought completely…’a human with Tal Shiar insignia?’

She looked straight at Cheon as the thought passed through her head and frowned slightly, several possible implications they could have. Could he be trusted, does SFI know about this; there had been no mention of this in the briefing she had with SFI before she came to the USS Denver. She pushed the various implications aside for later discussions and focused on what was before her. “I think Gerot may benefit from starting over Commander. It may be possible that he has now come to understand the reality of his situation.”

Looking back to the Cardassian, his face still pressed into the surface of the table. “Tell me Gerot, Shall we start over?”

Gerot sat up and wiped the blood from a broken nose.  His arrogance was gone and was replaced by fear that he tried to hide. “I don’t know what you want from me. I’m nobody.  When the captain orders the weapons fired I fire them. And if I did know something I wouldn’t betray Cardassia. I’m not a traitor.”

Riandri looked over at Cheon, a smile hidden in the corner of her eyes. “The commander may have something specific in mind that he wants to know Gerot, but myself?” she said as she leaned forward, her green eyes locking on his and a cold tone crept into her voice. “In general? I want to understand why the Dominion vessels just turned tail and ran. Why would they leave their allies such as yourself? Doesn’t seem like they are good allies or value you, does it? But what I want to know is why were your ships there. Where did your fleet stage, and gather beforehand? You may have been the weapons officer but I know that you don’t just fire the weapons. We have your ship after all; it may be dead in the water, so to say, but if the information you provide matches with what we find, your life will be easier than if it doesn’t.”

“Why?” He shrugged,  “I don’t know exactly… I know Gul Gozec and the Vorta don’t like your ship much since you escaped them at Tyra.  A clever bit of avoidance on your part.  As for leaving?  I haven’t a clue, but I expect it had something to do with a Federation fleet arriving as reinforcements.” He carefully avoided telling her where they hid along the border. That was the one bit of information that may or may not be damaging to the war effort.

Cheon shook his head as he retook his seat and leaned back in it. He grimaced on the inside as his body protested to the stimulant slowly wearing off and the internal damages started to show themselves.

Riandri looked at Gerot without expression as she spoke but logged a few details away for later, ‘Need to review the ship’s records, never got the chance properly.’ At the last bit, she cocked an eyebrow at him, “I can see that three heavily arms ships catching you unaware can be unpleasant, especially those three. But let’s circle back to that later. I am not new to this, or life on a ship. Either you give me something actionable, that broken nose will be the least of your worries.” She looked him square in the eyes, “And it won’t be the Commander her who does it. I have decades on him, centuries really, of experience to draw on when it comes to getting what I want. Right now you are what is between me and it, it is up to you if you want to be left standing at the end of it.” She leaned back without waiting for a response and calmly took another sip of her tea. “This is good,” she mused.

“You’ll have to kill me,” he said coldly.

A smile appeared slowly on Riandri’s face as her lips curled up and she exhaled as a flood of adrenaline washed over her. She stood up and walked around the table until she was standing beside him. “I had hoped you would see reason,” before Gerot could respond she hooked her foot around the chair leg and yanked it out from under him causing him to hit the table before landing on the floor. “Let us hope you reconsider as we are going to be seeing a lot of each other in the coming days. And as the Commander, here demonstrated it won’t be a fun experience.” 

Cheon stood up and placed a hand on Riandri’s shoulder. He motioned for her to follow him. Once the two of them had left the room he informed medical that a Cardassian would be heading their way. “Do me a favor Lieutenant,” he said in a low tone as he spoke to Riandri. “No interrogations of Cardassian’s without informing me and,” he looked around discreetly before continuing, “No physical contact without me present either, understood?”

Riandri looked at the commander with an expressionless face and simply nodded before following up with “Sir.”

Brig, Holding Cell 2 –

The Obsidian Order agent sat restlessly on the bunk.  Every so often she would take a moment to glare at the brig officer.   There was no helping it.  She was captured like a vole in a trap. Her nose was still broken and her right eye swollen shut with the scuffle with the Denver’s security teams, and she had refused any medical treatment. 

She shot to her feet suddenly and walked to the perimeter of the force field.  “You have nothing Starfleet,” she snarled at him.  “You have won nothing.”

“The prisoner will remain quiet,” he ordered. 

“For Cardassia!” She shouted before chomping her teeth together. Clack! Clack! The third time she stopped.   For a moment she stood motionless glaring at her enemy with unbroken defiance. Then like a marionette whose strings had been cut she crumpled to the deck lifeless. 

Annoyed the brig officer glanced at one of the other crewmen assigned to the brig. “Cover me,” he said with annoyance in his voice.   Dropping the forcefield he growled, “You better be dead or dying in there.”

Entering the cell and kneeling next to her and his eyes went wide in surprise and horror. Slapping his combadge, “Brig to Sickbay.  Medical emergency!”