Refugee
by Kathy P.
Part 5
Julian Bashir watched as Larin and Marrett left the bar. He was curious about the scene that had just played out between Larin and the Bajoran but was hesitant to go over as Captain Sisko's face looked like a thunder cloud. *Ah, I think I'll let him calm down for a bit.*
He turned to Garak who was still gazing at the exit where the two men had just left.
"Garak," he said to get his attention. "What do you think of them?" He asked curiously.
Garak looked thoughtful. "They certainly are interesting. I have a feeling that we haven't exactly seen the whole package yet."
"What do you mean?"
Looking over to where Captain Sisko was still talking to Odo he replied. "Well first of all did you see how Larin reacted to being attacked?"
Thinking back Julian replied. "Yes I did. He certainly seemed to be able to look after himself. That kick was very good move."
"Exactly, he is intentionally giving the impression of being passive yet he seems to be a well-trained fighter. It's curious." Garak said.
"What was Larin saying to you earlier?" Julian asked.
Garak glanced around to see if anyone could over here their conversation. "Nothing really. We were talking about some old Cardassian beliefs."
"Really? What beliefs?" Julian could tell the Garak was a little uncomfortable with the subject matter. His curiosity was perked as Garak tried to explain.
"It's silly. He was telling me that he was Marrett's yan'ie," he held a hand up when Julian almost interrupted. "A yan'ie is your bonded lifemate. It means that you're meant for one another."
"Ahhh," Julian said. "Your true love is what we Terrans call it." Julian started to understand his husband's discomfort. Garak was a very practical man who did not have time for any mysticism. He thought that it was waste of time that could be put to better use. "So you don't believe that they are bonded like Larin claims?"
Garak pursed his lips. "No, it's not that. They seem very close and if Larin wants to believe that they are yan'ie that is his prerogative. What bothered me was he told me that we were bonded as well."
Julian had to stifle a laugh at that. *No wonder he looked uncomfortable. Knowing Garak he wants undeniable proof of the fact before he would ever admit to such a thing.*
"Oh, and that's a bad thing?" Julian teased pretending to be insulted. He couldn't help tormenting his stern lover. Garak took things way too serious sometimes.
Garak eyes widened as he realized that he had just put his foot in his mouth. "No. No, that wouldn't be a bad thing, I just don't believe in the possibility," he said as he tried to get himself out of the hole he just dug.
Julian started to snicker at Garak.
Garak leaned forward to whisper in Julian's ear. "You are such a brat Julian. Just wait to I get you back to our quarters," he said with a sparkle in his eyes.
"Ya? And just what are you going to do?" He replied with a big grin. He loved teasing Garak and was amused when his husband figured out that he was being teased.
Drawing even closer Garak breathed on one ear. "Wouldn't you like to know." He slipped one hand onto Julian's thigh and started to stroke it. He felt Julian start to turn to putty and chuckled triumphantly. "Maybe I won't do anything."
Julian suddenly stood up and looked at his exotic lover with glazed eyes. "Wanna bet?" He said softly. *Oh how I want this man!*
Garak laughed and stood up with him. "Bed?" he asked.
"Bed," Julian replied.
As they left Julian thought of the day coming up tomorrow. He was hoping that Captain Sisko would ask him to be at the meeting. The Hebitians seemed very friendly and he was looking forward to seeing the outgoing Larin again.
***************
"No," Larin said loudly slapping a hand on the table. "That is not acceptable. I will not have my people living on some cramped, decrepit space station."
The meeting was only an hour gone and already there was a point on contention. Larin was struggling with his anger over the proposition from the Federation. In exchange for the location of a Jem' Hadar base near the badlands Larin was asking that any refugees be located on a planet in Federation space.
He had already given them a detailed map of the Cardassian system and was using the information on the base as a bargaining point. It was his hope that the Federation would be so eager for the location that his demands would be met for replacement on a planet.
Instead the Federation wanted to put the Hebitians on an old space station. Larin refused to have his people shoved into a tin can and was demanding a neutral planet.
"Gul'en you must understand," Admiral MacDonald replied. "There are no planets nearby that are willing to harbour Cardassians. There are just too many bad feelings."
"No, I don't understand Admiral," he tried to reply calmly. "I don't understand how the Federation can expect almost seven hundred Hebitians to live on a station that was built centuries ago. There aren't even any replicators on board. We would have to depend on an outside source to bring us the food we need. No, I can't accept that," he said firmly.
Minister Garrett looked at the Admiral and then spoke up. "Maybe if I put out the request myself we might get a different answer. It would be taken as a show of trust if a Bajoran asks. I have a couple of questions though. How many refugees are you expecting? And how large is you actually population on Cardassia V?"
At the meeting with Larin were Marrett and their historian Nieret Yon'dor. They were there to give support to Larin and to help him with his negotiations.
"As Larin said before there are roughly seven hundred refugees seeking asylum. As for our population it is around five-hundred thousand," Nieret replied. "We would have liked to get them all off the planet but that was beyond our capabilities. The Dominion is making targets of the leaders and the intellectuals so it was our priority to get them off the planet first."
"Why did the Dominion suddenly start harassing you? I thought they were your allies?" The Minister's aide Heb Kirat said suspiciously.
Larin bit back a sarcastic comment for the aide. He was very new at this negotiation thing and was having a little trouble controlling his temper. He relaxed when he felt Marrett hand come to rest on his thigh. He made eye contact with him to let him know of his gratitude for his calming influence.
"No Heb," he replied. "The Dominion were never our allies. They are aligned with the Cardassian military which happens to be in charge of Cardassian government right now. Hebitian does not follow that regime."
"I can't believe that the Cardassian military would allow an autonomous group to exist." Heb replied a bit smugly. "Another thing. How did you manage to get all that information on Dominion activity? How can you guarantee it's validity?"
Larin looked over at Nieret. "Neiret I think I will get you to address the first question," he said.
He could tell that the rest of the Federation delegation was very interested in their answers. Larin was a bit amused at the prospect of unleashing Nieret's vast intellect on the unsuspecting audience. Nieret's roll as chief historian called for an almost photographic memory, and Nieret could be counted on to recall every last detail.
Neiret clasped his hands together on the table and began his explanations. "Hebitian has been in existence since before records were kept on Cardassia. We started out as an agrarian society with a strong connection with the planet that gave us life. There was a strong belief in the spirits of the natural world and we respected the resources that the planet gave us to live. The society flourished and we were making great technological advances. Then the famine struck. To a lot of us it was a total betrayal from the spirits of the planet. Our technology could not restor the soil to give us enough food to live. Many turned their backs on the old ways and a militant group took control in the chaos. They decided that to acquire the resources that they needed they would have to expand off the planet and conquer other worlds. Our predecessors disagreed but were ignored. They were thought of as harmless pacifist who couldn't take the necessary risks to ensure survival. So we closed ourselves off from them and found new ways to coax life from the soil. This started the pattern of the Cardassian relationship with Hebitian. As long as we stayed amongst ourselves they left us alone. When we moved off Cardassian Prime to Cardassia V our link was even further diminished."
Larin took over the explanations. "But when The Dominion "allied" itself with Cardassia everything changed. The Changelings do not ignore anyone. They started to watch our activities closely. One day a Jem'Hadar squadron beamed down and took some of our civilians away," Larin looked down at the table sadly. Lifting his head he made eye contact with everyone at the table.
"The Jem'Hadar took them and they were never seen again. When we inquired we were told that the civilians were forming a resistance group," he laughed bitterly. " A resistant group. These men were simple farmers. It was an obvious warning to us. Soon there was a squadron of Jem'Hadar soldiers stationed in our city. They started keeping tabs on the royal family and anyone they thought might be a threat to their plans."
Marrett leaned forward in his chair. "So we decided to take action," he turned a cool look to Heb who was clearly not accepting what he was being told. "There were six Jem'Hadar guards posted to our area. We found out that they checked in with their Vorta every night to report on their progress. I arranged a force to take the outpost to get rid of them," he said bluntly. "After hacking into their system we found out who their primary targets were and we evacuated them from the planet. Larin's whole family was on the list of targets to be neutralized. We learned that there was a larger force to arrive in a couple of days. After downloading all the information that we thought we would need we escaped and destroyed the compound so there would be no evidence of our tampering. It was decided to contact the Federation and try to apply for refugee status. A convoy of ten ships headed for the badlands while we came here and that is the whole story up till now."
"So, we have information on Jem'Hadar base locations, space docks, White laboratories," Larin said ticking them off on his finger. "We also have statistics like troop strength and there are some battle plans as well. We have already given you the map of the Cardassian system as a show of good faith. What I need to know now is, are you willing to help us?" He looked frankly at the men sitting around the table. "Because if you can't we need to start thinking of alternatives."
Admiral MacDonald keyed some information into a PADD and laid it on the table. "Yes we can help you. The information you possess would be immensely valuable to us. As Minister Garrett has kindly volunteered to try to find you a place to settle we will leave that part up to him. What the Federation can offer is an escort for the rest of your people out of the badlands," he glanced down at his PADD then at Larin. "As another show of good faith we would like to request some more information though. The stelar map of the Cardassian system is very useful to us but we had obtained a lot of that information already. Is there anything else you can offer us at this time?"
Marrett leaned towards Larin and they held a whispered conference. Picking up his own data padd he keyed in some information and handed it to Admiral MacDonald. "Here is the location of five Jem'Hadar bases near the badlands. I hope this is acceptable."
Glancing at the information Admiral MacDonald passed it to Sisko to review. Sisko was aware of one of the Jem'Hadar bases near the badlands and was checking to see if any of the
coordinates matched.
They did.
Nodding to the Admiral he handed the data padd back to him. "Thank you gentlemen. We will send this information to StarFleet Intelligence right away," Captain Sisko said.
Larin gave a little smile. "Shall we call an end to this meeting for now? We can reconvene for the results of Minister Garrett's quest for our living arrangements," he said whimsically as he stood to leave. Nodding goodbye he left.
*******
"What do you think Marrett?" Larin asked his husband after they left the meeting. They were walking down the promenade taking in some of the sights.
Stopping by one of the big windows they turned to look at the field of stars. "I think that it went well Larin," Marrett replied. "They have a right to know where the information was coming from. I think that they will bargain in good faith with us. The Federation has a very good reputation for fairness after all."
"Hmm. I don't trust Heb Kirat though. I can't believe he was assigned to this mission with that kind of attitude," Larin said with a frown.
"You should just ignore him," Marrett said looking down at his frowning mate. "His role in this is small. The Minister seems to be very forth coming with us so I don't think we really need to worry about his surly aide. I'll keep an eye on him if you like though."
"Yes if you don't mind. I have a bad feeling about him."
Marrett laughed and put and arm around him. "I always trust your feelings. You are an excellent judge of character."
Larin grinned impishly at him. "I am, am I? So why did I marry you?"
The two men shared a laugh and started to walk the promenade again.
They stopped when they heard someone calling their names. Turning they said Julian walking over to them with a welcoming smile on his face.
"Hi there. I was wondering if you would like to join Garak and I for lunch at the replimat," Julian asked.
"We would love to Julian," Larin replied. "What time would you like us?"
"What about now? I am on my break from the infirmary and I'm just heading over to Garak's shop to get him." Julian said.
"Now is fine. Can we come to Garak's shop with you?" Larin asked.
"I don't see why not," Julian said as he lead them to the lower level of the promenade.
The three men enter the tailor shop and saw that Garak was ringing in a customer's purchase.
Larin started to wander around the store looking at the different outfits.
"I think this would look marvellous on you," a voice said behind him.
Turning around Larin saw Garak fingering a light blue silken shirt. "You do huh?" Larin said with a smile. He reached out to stroke the soft fabric. "I usually only wear silver and black but this is a lovely colour."
Garak looked at his curiously. "Why do you prefer those two colours? I think this blue would match your eyes perfectly."
With a shrug Larin replied. "They are my family colours. My tailors seem to be fixated on tradition and it is easier to go with their suggestions. Tailors are so temperamental," he said with an exaggerated sigh.
Hearing laughter behind them they turned to see Julian chuckling. "Temperamental? You don't know the half of it Larin." Julian noted that the shop was now empty. "Can we go for lunch now? I only have forty-five minutes left and I'm starving."
"Let me lock up and we'll go," Garak replied. "Larin, think about that shirt. I'll even give you a discount."
Leaving the store Larin turned to Marrett. "Oh, a discount. How can I refuse them," he said with a chuckle.
Garak, Larin and Marrett sat at an empty table waiting for Julian to replicate their food. Julian was getting them to try some earth food and was carefully going through the list of possible choices. He came over to the table with an over loaded tray a few minutes later. He placed a steaming plate of food in front of each man.
Larin looked down at the square of beige, white and red food that sat on his plate. Picking up his fork he poked at it. "What is it?" he asked.
"Just taste it Larin," Julian said. He was already eating his meal and was waiting for the others to start.
Raising a forkful to his mouth Larin took a bite of the food. He looked pleased as he started to chew. "This is delicious! What is it?" he said after he swallowed.
"It's lasagne," Julian replied. "It is an old earth dish. Pasta, tomatoes, cheese and meat. It's a classic."
The four men ate their meals happily, enjoying the taste of the food.
Julian finished first and sighed contently. "That was great," he said.
"Thank you Julian," Larin replied as he finished. He turned to Garak. "It must be great being exposed to so many new things."
Garak glanced at Julian quickly. "Yes it is. It certainly keeps life interesting."
"Did you have a hard time adapting to your life here?" Larin asked. He took a sip of his drink and gazed at Garak curiously. "I don't mean to be nosy, but most Cardassians seem to have a hard time adjusting themselves to different circumstances."
"I take it you don't include yourselves in that statement," Garak replied.
"Nope. We Hebitians are raised to be very resilient. We can handle just about anything thrown our way."
Folding his napkin Garak replied. "No, I didn't have much trouble adjusting to life on board the station. Even Cardassians can learn to be resilient if their lives depended on it," Garak said ironically.
"I don't know about that," Larin said skeptically. "Exile is thought of as the ultimate punishment on Cardassia, even death is preferable. When you think about it Cardassians are raised to be utterly devoted to the state. If you take that away from someone they usually tend to go mad." Larin looked at Garak solemnly. "You're lucky you escaped that fate. Not many could."
Garak gazed through narrowed eyes at Larin. "I suppose you can say that I am stronger than most Cardassians. Besides," he said turning to smile at Julian. "I found something even more important to live for."
He was about to say more when Jadzia came over to their table. "Gul'en," she said to Larin. "Captain Sisko wants you in Ops right away. There is a message coming in for you."
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