Star Trek: Eclipse/ Chapter 2

Chapter 2
"Who are you?" Julian Bashir asked.

"Me or my crew? I'm the leader of the Jem'Hadar Colony. My crew is a part of it. You are trespassing on Jem'Hadar territory. Care to explain why?" The Jem'Hadar captain spoke in a menacing tone. Evidently he was not happy to have intruders on his so-called turf.

"Our course was for Earth. There is a meeting we're supposed to be going to."

"Oh? Really? What sort of a meeting?"

"I can't give you any more details," Bashir replied. "Besides, the Jem'Hadar have no official government. Therefore, this entire sector belongs to the United Federation of Planets."

The Jem'Hadar captain leaned forward angrily and said,"The Federation promised that they would not trespass in our territory. Leave immediately, or I will be forced to take action."

"Jem'Hadar colony?" Ziranne asked, standing up. She hadn't been aware of most of the recent events.

"After the Dominion War, there were many Jem'Hadar soldiers who were left behind. I should say exactly eighty thousand soldiers," Bashir responded. "They were eventually given the right to colonize an uninhabited moon in this particular sector."

"What?! Are you insane?" Ziranne looked at Garak frantically, forgetting for the moment that he was a Cardassian. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Garak let out a sigh. "The Bajoran Alliance, Klingon Empire, and the Cardassian Republic attempted to convince the Federation not to allow the Jem'Hadar to reside in the Alpha Quadrant, but they didn't listen."

"Now I know why I never liked politics," Ziranne remarked quietly.

"Good thing is, they're not trying to kill us anymore. The Jem'Hadar, I mean," Bashir spoke. "We'd better get back into warp. Otherwise they will kill us."

Ziranne remained silent. There was something else on her mind.

___________________________________________________________________________________

''"No... no... she's dead?" Gradnak repeated in horror. "My wife is dead?"''

"Yes. I'm sorry. We'll catch the people responsible," the Starfleet officer that was with him informed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"Like hell you will. You're just like every other officer in Starfleet. You make promises you can't keep."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"The Cardassian doctor Crell Moset was responsible for your wife's death."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"If you do happen to catch him... kill him."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">_____________________________________________________________________________________

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">Ziranne sat up in bed in a flash. That nightmare again. Or was it a memory? Ziranne recalled the details and decided it was a mix of both. But it had shaken her to the very core, leaving her vulnerable at the moment. Ziranne let out a sob and cried until her pillow was literally soaked in her own tears. Then for some reason Gradnak's voice was saying something about Garak.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"And he's one of them. Kill him. Take vengeance."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"No, no," Ziranne replied to the voice. "I can't do that."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"His kind committed genocides. Genocides of the Bajorans, Vulcans, humans, even Klingons. Are you really going to let him live to commit another massacre?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"Stop. Get out of my head."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">There was a silence in Ziranne's mind. Gradnak stopped. But it was so powerful, the urge to listen. Was this just a taste of what Gradnak had done to Jarem?

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">________________________________________________________________________________________

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"Miss Kaz," Garak greeted as Ziranne came into the control room of the runabout.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"Mister Garak." Ziranne gave the Cardassian a court nod of acknowledgement before sitting down.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"Do it now, while Bashir is absent," Gradnak spoke, pressuring Ziranne once more.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"Let me guess," Garak spoke, looking at a computer console, "Gradnak is trying to pressure you into killing me and you're trying to decide whether or not it's right." Garak looked at the Trill female to see a look of astonishment appear on her face.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"I've seen that look in so many other people's eyes," Garak continued. "You know you want to kill me. You just don't have it in you to do it, do you?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">Ziranne glared at Garak with a fierce gaze when Bashir came in. "We'll be on Earth in five minutes, seven seconds, so you better get strapped in."

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">______________________________________________________________________________________

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">In Garak's opinion, Ziranne seemed like a lonely woman. And one who wasn't quite sure of herself. Of who she was. "Much like Ezri Dax." To Garak, both Ziranne and Ezri had a lot in common. Both didn't know who they were or how to prevent being controlled by the impulses of their previous hosts. Both had issues on decisions. "Maybe too much like her." But there was something that told Garak that, like Ezri, Ziranne had great potential. Ziranne just needed to realize that being joined with Kaz wouldn't stumble her in achieving her goals.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">______________________________________________________________________________________

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">Ziranne couldn't believe what she heard during the meeting. Assassination? Of the President of the United Federation? By what is suspected to be a Jem'Hadar terrorist rebel group? It all seemed like malarkey! "But if it is true? That there may be an assassination attempt on the President? No... no. Total malarkey!" Ziranne shook her head. It had to be fake. It had to be a hoax. But if it wasn't...

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">"We need to do everything we can to stop this assassination attempt. At all costs." <p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);"> <p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(58,58,58);">~ End of Chapter 2