This never should have gone this way, Glinn Ulani Miran thinks, sitting quietly in one of Lorgot's escape pods. If we had been planning this, it never would have gone this way. Typical Central Command fuck-up.
State's sake, just half an hour ago, she'd been planning interrogations of the Enterprise crew! This was supposed to be an easy ambush. Lorgot and Karnack, combined, massed more than their quarry, and packed a lot more firepower. And, of course, the enemy was supposed to be surprised, not setting off a solar flare.
The mission must have been compromised. For all she knows, the traitor (or traitors) could be here in this pod. Probably not, but with little else to do, the Obsidian Order agent figures it'd be good mental exercise to work out who it might be.
"Why are they just leaving us here?" Kaj Macet asks. "Why haven't they shot us or captured us?" Gil, assigned command over a weapons crew. Young, impressionable. Intently studies the Federation in his free time (at least, what we allow a gil access to; he's not clever enough to secure greater access), which sort of explains why he'd had images of Amarki and Andorians hidden in his quarters. That, and a probable taste for exotic blue aliens. Certainly a possible candidate... but as a junior gil, he wouldn't have had access to the plan, nor any means to communicate it.
"Maybe they've detected help arriving?" Prieta Tredgar suggests. Garresh, the one actually running Macet's weapons crew. One of the senior garreshes on - well, off, now - the Lorgot. She could've known. Certainly, if any of the enlisted knew, she'd've known. Ceterian, so suspect origins. Friends in comms, so she could have arranged a message. That said, she's a long-service professional, and as far as Ulani can tell, thoroughly loyal. Which may mean she's simply covered her tracks well.
"Perhaps they're trying to take control of Karnack first," Una Khevet says. Glinn, a mess officer. Has a taste for exotic food, and a stalled-out career. And a mess officer could overhear incautious bridge officers. A strong candidate, to be sure, if perhaps lacking the means to betray Lorgot.
"If she even survived," Geleth Yenhaal says. Gil, an engineer. Only recently a gil again - thirty days ago, she'd been a glinn. Quite unhappy with her new rank. Would have helped with hiding Lorgot's emissions in preparation for the ambush. Knowledge, possible motive. Another candidate, though the timing would've been tight.
"Maybe they want us to be picked up by our crewmates. Maybe this is a message," Kaj suggests.
"And what message would that be?" Prieta asks.
"That, um, that they can beat our best ship?"
That they hold us in contempt. That's the message Enterprise is sending. We don't matter enough for them to take us prisoner, or even bother to destroy us. Chalk it up to Federation arrogance ... but then again, based on today's results, it's justifiable arrogance.
"They don't exactly need us alive to show that," Alkor Rejal says. Gil. Junior comms officer. Has a lot of friends on the ship, including everyone else in this pod. Occasionally fraternized with a crewmate, though that's tapered off recently - most likely, they've broken off whatever relationship they had. Could have picked up the orders ... though if the Central Command had any sense, they'd've been sent in code. Definitely someone to interrogate, when they're recovered - with him as the means, any of the others could have relayed a traitorous message.
So, in true enigma tale style, everyone in this pod is suspect. Including me. I ought to be preparing for my own interrogation, come to think of it. I failed the Union today. And through me, the Order failed Cardassia.
***
The scene in the Trager's viewscreen is sobering. A cruiser, adrift, dead in space ... and a flock of escape pods, isolated survivors from the cruiser's larger consort. No other signs of the Lorgot - not even a shattered hulk. Penelya Miran had been told what to expect. But it doesn't make it any less of a shock, seeing it in person. Hundreds of fellow Cardassians dead - friends, possibly even family, among them. One of the biggest ships in the Fleet, just ... gone. "Sensors. Any signs of anything else in-system?"
"No, ma'am. No planets, no asteroids, no ships, no satellites, nothing. Just Karnack and the Lorgot's survivors."
"What happened here?" Jil Yarra, Trager's XO, asks.
"Command says navigational accident. That's the official line; that's what's going into the documentation file." Miran looks over at Yarra, briefly - just long enough to let her know they need to talk about this matter. Alone. Yarra acknowledges with a small nod. The gul then looks over to her weapons officer. "Glinn Zarov, take charge of rescue and recovery operations. The bridge is yours."
Miran makes her way to a crawlspace in engineering, followed shortly by her XO. As far as she has been able to tell, there are no recording devices present here - in fact, it'd be difficult to install one that would be able to pick up any usable recordings, given the loud hum of the engine spaces below.
"'Navigational accident?'" Yarra asks, incredulous.
"Of the blue kind. But Command isn't ready to admit that yet, so."
"Ah. I'd've thought they'd be more careful about that."
"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Command clearly doesn't, though. I told them, mass. Use our superior doctrine. Did they listen? Of course not. Why weren't we there, anyway? Why did we turn back for Indoria, instead of joining the fight? Someone doesn't trust me, I think. I have the most experience dealing with her, and it's being ignored."
"Have you considered that that might be related? That they might distrust you because of your experience dealing with her?" Jil means 'her' as in Nash, Penelya realizes. Not as in Enterprise.
"Fair point. It's horsshit, but a fair point, all the same."
"So you're saying if you'd been there -"
"I would have done my duty," Miran snaps. Whatever her misgivings, and she certainly had some about this whole plan, she would have followed orders. She's a loyal soldier of Cardassia.
Isn't she?
She could have fired on Nash, if it had come to it, couldn't she?
"You wouldn't have liked it." Statement, not a question. Yarra knows her CO too well. Dangerously well ... though the fact that she hasn't turned on Miran suggests she likely won't. Or that she's waiting for something more damning.
No, I wouldn't have liked it - I'm a soldier, not a murderer. But I would have done my duty. "Irrelevant." Miran sighs. "I know I'm disliked and distrusted. I know they think I'm soft. But orders are orders. But... They don't seem to realize who we're dealing with."
"Perhaps, at least, this will be a wake-up call."
"Quite a high price to pay for it."
Yarra sighs. Her brother was - had been - an officer on the Lorgot. "Did we even hurt her?"
"We'll have to check Karnack's sensor logs, but certainly not enough to prevent Enterprise from escaping. One would imagine that we must have done some damage... but I can't say for sure. For all I know, she could be completely operational."
"Given the way things have been going, I think we have to assume the worst."
"If so, she no-sold our most powerful ship, and an escorting cruiser. Fuck."
"Alright... so, we're now down a BC, and a Jaldun. Still business as usual?"
"Central Command, in all its wisdom, says yes. For now, at least. Which means we're still alone against her, if she's still out there."
"Spectacular."
