Stardate: 2421.0129. Shulh Ei'krih System, Near the Romulan Neutral Zone


General Vaebn ir-Nn'Verih tr'Radek hoped the thunderous storm harassing the area around his manor home did not foretell a bad omen to his endeavor. He waited for his guests to arrive by sitting on the veranda, overlooking the tamed wild woodland hunted by his ancestors for centuries. He enjoys hunting, but the game he chased was the sentient variety.

Radek had a choice between committing honorable suicide or fading away to never trouble the so-called leaders of the Empire.  He chose forced retired.  Radek now spent his time planning for the return of his Empress, for the revenge exacted upon his enemies, and for the day when he would return the protector of the Empire. Radek had a plan, and he would see it through, no matter what the cost. Today, Radek would meet those whom the Elements of the Universe brought together to help him in his quest. 
Thinking of his guests, Radek recalled the humans had a term he peculiarly liked when he thought of them and what they all wanted to accomplish, "Frenemies." 

What a delicious word, he thought, Radek would never invite any of them over for a feast, however, under any other circumstances, they would be the bitterest of enemies. One, Radek thought of as a lunatic fanatic; another, while respecting him as professional, Radek thought of him as a psychotic killer. And the third, Radek paused a moment to take a sip of a vintage ale, savoring it before continuing with the thought. His third guest is nothing more than a brutish thug. Despite their shortcomings, however, Radek had a use for all of them.

The lunatic had a marvelous gift of persuasion. She even persuades Radek to join her foolish cause, at first, until he figured out how to manipulate things for his purposes. The killer, well, he was a consummate professional. While in the Tal'Shiar, Radek became aware of this man and was duly impressed by the way he carried out his terminations. 


Radek kept tabs on the young human's career and disapproved of what the Federation had done to him. They were kindred spirits of sorts, perhaps Radek could use that in some way. Of the Cardassian, he is nothing more than a diversion.

In his endeavor to use his allies, somewhere in the deep dark recesses of his brain there was a small tether of a thought perhaps, it was he being used. It departed as quickly as it arose. Taking another drink, Radek continued with the personal synopsis he was giving. Radek utterly despised Cardassians. 


He considered them bullies whose use of brute force to get what they wanted tiring, old, and stale. He also had to use would-be traitors. Radek was well-informed of this Cardassian terrorist group called The Way and hated their absolute existence. They were barbaric terrorists and under other circumstances, Radek would save the galaxy some time and dispose of them. 

"My Lord General, your guests have arrived."

Asena was the first to arrive. She entered as serenely and sedately as she always did, with her shimmering blue-black hair coiled tightly in a braid above her head and her silk white robe swirling around her ankles as she walked. She displayed a pleasant smile to him as she walked into his banquet hall. 


Asena stopped in the doorway, fondled the sapphire pendant nestled between her breasts and whispered what sounded like a prayer. When she was done, Asena took a few steps forward and did a small courteous bow. 

"My Dear General, how pleased am I to be a guest in your illustrious house," Asena said with obvious pleasure.

Radek raised an eyebrow, was she murmuring a blessing or a curse upon his house? He was always skeptical of fanatics and more watchful of well-meaning ones. It was clear to him that this Vorta was of the later than those who willingly spread their malice upon others. Radek took a quick slip of his chalice and forced a smile upon his lips in reply to Asena's cheer. 

"I am honored to welcome you here, Asena," Radek said as he took her hand and kissed it before ushering her to a seat, "Please, sit and allow me to share a most delicious vintage from my familial vineyards."

He started to pour her a glass of wine when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, forgive me, I forgot about you Vorta..."

"Oh that's quite alright, General, the Gods favored me with the ability to enjoy life to the fullest," Asena beamed, "In the last year or two, I have been gobbling up and drinking everything I could get my hands on...making up for lost time I guess."

Radek grunted and set the bottle aside and resumed his seat. He let silence settle for a moment, thanking the Elements that the Vorta did not fill it with senseless chattering. A soft exhale escaped his lips, and he turned to the Vorta. 

"Perhaps we should meet in a more intimate setting," Radek said, "Especially for what we are to discuss."

Asena tilted her head and looked at him. His seemingly sunny demeanor had gone and was now replaced with the seriousness of a seasoned diplomat during a difficult negotiation. 

"Why General, would you have me believe that in your most sacred place, there are ears and eyes that do not belong to you?"

Radek looked at her and saw her humor and reigned in his temper. "What I meant was considering our guests...and I use that term lightly, mind you, I do want my house exposed to them."

Radek sipped his wine.

"This is meant to be a meeting of murder, mayhem, and malfeasance," He said, "My grandmother would roll in her grave if she knew we were discussing such in this great room."

Asena smiled again, the seriousness gone, leaned back in her chair taking a long sip of her wine. "I find this room fitting for such sedition, if we are going to fulfill the wishes of the gods, perhaps let us do so in grand style."

"Those are your gods, not mine Vorta," Radek murmured under his breath while only sounding a grunt.

Silence reigned again before Radek's majordomo once again appeared with a stranger trailing behind. "My lord, the Cardassian."

"This Cardassian has a name, goddammit," Gul Tomak said in a gruff raspy voice as he forced his way past. He stopped a meter inside the threshold and looked around the room. His hard features, the typical monochrome Cardassian uniform, and pale gray skin clashed with the richly decorated room of colorful Romulan antiques. He stood there gazing around a moment longer before letting loose a grunted what sounded like a pleased sound before marching forward. 

"And I hope I am not wasting my time here."

The Cardassian looked as old and rugged as he sounded. Recalling the profile Asena sent to him, Radek knew the Gul was nearly as old and looked used up. A frown formed on Radek's face and as he stood to respond to the offense by the Cardassian, Asena jumped up and approached him, slipping an arm around the Cardassian.

"How pleased am I to see you Gul Tomak," Asena said as she escorted Tomak to a seat near her and away from Radek. "I hope your trip here was pleasant?"

"Apart from being questioned by the Grand Inquisitor himself, upon arriving in this star system, it was fair enough," the Gul commented as setting in his chair, eyes on Radek. "One would think they weren't wanted here."

"It is good then, Gul Tomak, that you followed orders, then," Radek finally said, "Or else you would find out what we do with uninvited and unwanted guests."

"Spoken like a bloody Romulan," Tomak said, "with friends like those who need enemies."

"Gentlemen, please," Asena said in a stern yet delicate voice, "Please remember why we are here...Gul Tomak, would you like some wine?" She placed a new glass before the Cardassian and filled it until he said when. 

Embarrassed by the deed, which showed his lack of civility, Radek cleared his throat and grunted an apology. While he genuinely disliked the man, Gul Tomak was still a guest in his home and obligated hosting privileges that only Radek should perform. 

"Yes, Lady Asena is right," Radek said, "There are more important matters to discuss."

"It's about time too," said a voice from the shadow in the dark corners of the hall. 

The shimmering image before resolved into a humanoid form before solidifying into the form of a Terran dressed in all black uniform of what Radek recognized as the now defunct Section 31 of the Federation. 

"I see that I must speak with my senior armsman about the maintenance of high security, even in peacetime." Radek growled as he took his finger off the silent alarm and slid a disrupted back into its hiding place. "How long have you been here, Mister Sauda?"

"Long enough, General," Kimo Sauda said as he took the last chair at the table, "to get bored with listening to what sounded like a bunch of bullshit."

Tomak grunted a rumbling laugh as Asena gave him a smile. Radek wondered if it was a default setting for a general greeting for her. Once again, he regretted holding this conference in his home and vowed the next time they should meet, it would not be in place that exposed him so much.

"Very well, then," Radek said as he moved to Sauda's side and filled a glass with wine for him. "To bring this meeting to order, I have several proposals to bring before you all and how we can each fulfill our sacred duties to the gods, empresses, and country."

At his vocal command, the side panels that displayed a tapestry of his familial martial history transformed into the galactic map of all known space. Radek highlighted a section at the far side of regular Federation space but near the Romulan and Klingon space as well. 

"This is our current area of operation," Radek said, "Here we will find plenty to raid and pillage by our Cardassian friends; Fleet headquarters to infiltrate, and volunteers for the newest round of experiments aided by our benefactors."

"So much promise and opportunity," Asena said.

"You never said who our benefactors really are," Tomak said. "How can I trust my warriors to "kindness" of unseen folk? I'm not going to go by the word of an insane Vorta."

Radek shook his head and sighed. When Asena looked at him, frowning, he wanted to say I told you so. Having a Cardassian as a member of their quorum was a bad idea and one he hopes to mitigate by unleashing the bastard upon the Federation. Therefore, letting them do the job of killing Tomak for him. Of their two guests, Radek thought the human was the better tool and more pliable. 

"Gul Tomak, I appreciate your concern," Radek began, "But I can vouch for the validity of our benefactors and if they want you to know who they are, I'm sure they will reveal themselves to you." 

"Until such time," Radek said with another breath, " I suggest you do best to keep the more astute opinions to yourself."

Tomak snarled and moved toward Radek, drawing a dagger from his belt. However, before he could do so, Sauda gripped his hand, holding the knife still. Tomak snarled at the Human and tugged away from him. "Get your hands off me, Human."

Sauda held his grip on Tomak and shook his head. "I suggest you hear what the General has to say," Sauda said in an even tone. He showed no sign of struggling as Tomak tried to free himself.

"Yes, Tomak," Asena said, "Please let us be pleasant about this and soon, I promise there will be much to unleash your rage upon...but not here...not now...and not on the General."

All eyes were on Tomak and that made him feel uneasy. A string of doubt wormed through him and it was enough to relax his grip on his dagger. Sauda saw him relent and let go. He growled again as he slid the dagger full into his belt and sat down. 

"This better be good," he said, crossing his arms and murder in his eyes.

"As I was saying," Radek said, pointing to the map. "Tomak, you do get to unleash hell upon the Federation. Across this region of space, no colony, no station, no outpost, no starship will be safe from the wrath you will unleash."

"How is that going to help my cause? That's one the other side of Cardassian space!" Tomak said.

"Yes, it is," Radek said, "It will draw Starfleet's attention, allow us to influence things in the border regions...besides any weakening of Starfleet helps your cause Gul Tomak."

"I don't have enough people for all that," Tomak countered. 

"Of course, Tomak, you will also use my Jem'Hadar," Asena said cheerily, "There will be so many converts to follow the will of the gods. You will see, it will be glorious."

"So why am I here?" Sauda asked, "Other than the obvious--opening the back doors for him."

Sauda pointed a thumb to the Cardassian who still looked at him with heat.

Radek approached Sauda and placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder and smiled. 

"Tell me, Mister Sauda, what would you say to a chance to repay those who are responsible for having you cast out and forgotten about like yesterday's dirty bath water?"

Sauda thought for a moment and replied in the stoic manner he maintained. "I would like that very much; I would cast them into the dark as they all deserve."

"Yes... I thought so," Radek beamed as he turned to face Asena and Tomak. "Humans have such a way with words, don't you think?"

He picked up his wine goblet and raised it into the air. "Into the dark...with each and every of them."

CHAPTER ONE: PERUNOVA AND ASSOCIATES

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