This story takes place during the episode "Return to Grace." In that episode
Gul Dukat (in disgrace because of his half Bajoran daughter) is sent to
escort Major Kira to a conference at an outpost on Korma. When they arrive
they discover the outpost has been destroyed by the Klingons. With Kira's
help Dukat sets out to avenge those murdered on Korma.
 Paramount owns the Star Trek universe and all the characters therein. This
story is written merely for entertainment purposes and in no way intends to
infringe upon Paramount's rights.


Redemption
Chris Heinemann


 The young Cardassian officer stepped onto the bridge of the freighter
Groumall and cursed silently. He regretted the day he had ever crossed paths
with Gul Ramet. That fat, old arrogant Gul had seen Damar's drive and
ambition as a personal affront and had made sure that Damar would never gain
his position in the Central Command. Ramet had orchestrated a ridiculous plot
 that implicated Damar in some sort of black marketeering scheme. It was
preposterous, but Damar was young and did not have enough friends in high
places to extricate himself from Ramet's clutches. He could have been exiled
from Cardassia. However, much to Ramet's chagrin, Damar was spared literal
exile and instead, his military career was all but ended as he was stationed
aboard this aging freighter.
 Damar could see only one saving grace to this assignment, and he was sitting
in the command chair. Gul Dukat studied the data padd in his hand, his long
legs stretched out in front of him. Dukat looked like he was on the bridge of
a Galor class warship. He still carried himself with the same air of
authority that he had when he was the Prefect of Bajor. Damar remembered the
Gul from his stirring reports to the Central Command during the Occupation.
 "Glin Damar reporting for duty, sir."
 Dukat turned to face him, "Ah yes, Damar, my new first officer. Under normal
circumstances I prefer to choose my own officers...but then these are not
normal circumstances. Take your post, Damar. We will be leaving orbit
momentarily."
 "Father?"
 Damar turned to see a lovely young Cardassian woman. She was small, with
blue eyes that shone brightly. She also had Bajoran ridges on her nose.
Instinctively, Damar recoiled, but he found he was more than a little
impressed with the daughter of Gul Dukat.
 "Yes, Ziyal, what is it?" Damar was quick to note the protective tone in
Dukat's voice.
 "I am settled into my cabin. When will we be leaving? Do you have time for a
meal?"
 Dukat smiled at his daughter. Even in these surroundings, she managed to
bring a smile to his face. "No, Ziyal. There is no time now. We will be
leaving for Deep Space Nine in a few minutes. Once we are under way, I will
join you for dinner. Before you go, I want to introduce you to my new first
officer. Ziyal, this is Glin Damar."
 Damar nodded to Ziyal. He was unsure of how to react. This was, after all,
the Gul's daughter. He could not afford to be too friendly or too hesitant.
He opted for what he hoped was middle ground.
 "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ziyal."
 The young girl bowed her head, "Thank you."
 Dukat seemed satisfied that Damar had shown the proper amount of respect for
his daughter. In the past months he had become used to the contemptuous
glances of his fellow Cardassians, but his new first officer appeared to be
unphased by Ziyal's Bajoran heritage. With this realization, Dukat decided to
take Damar under his wing. With the proper tutelage, this young man could
become an important part of the future of Cardassia.


 Finally! This day was over!  Damar walked resolutely to his cabin. If he
weren't so tired, the very corridors of this ship would have angered him. He
was a trained military officer. He was among the top of his class at the
Academy, and he had done nothing to deserve being placed on board this
hulking, old freighter. He was aware of the tremendous irony in being placed
under Gul Dukat's command. Damar had always admired Dukat even though he had
only known him by reputation until today.When Dukat had returned to Cardassia
with Ziyal, he had been publicly disgraced and then demoted to the captaincy
of the Groumall. Damar had no idea at the time that he would soon be joining
his long-time idol in disgrace.
 Damar entered his cabin and called for the lights. They came up to a
soothing half-strength, and Damar made his way to the replicator for a very
late dinner. While the replicator worked on his meal, Damar removed his armor
and put it away. He kicked off his boots and stretched. For a moment he
debated just going straight to bed and forgetting about dinner, but he could
smell his meal, and he was too hungry to turn down even replicated food.
 Just as he settled into his chair with his dinner spread in front of him,
the doorchime rang. Damar tossed his napkin to the table in disgust.
 "Come in," he barked.
 The door slid open, and Ziyal stood silhouetted in the doorway. She wore a
silver dress in the Cardassian style and wore her coal black hair pulled back
simply with none of the ornamentation Cardassian women were so fond of.
  "May I come in, Damar?"
 Damar rose slowly and approached Ziyal. Inviting her in was probably not a
wise career move, but then having her stand in the corridor for anyone to see
did not seem like a good choice either.
 "Yes, please come in," he tried to keep the concern from his voice. "Is
there something I can do for you?"
 Ziyal glanced shyly at her feet, "I would like to ask you a favor. First, I
want to thank you. You are the first Cardassian besides my father who has not
looked at me with complete contempt. I would like to think that there is more
to that than just trying to curry favor with my father," Ziyal looked up
through her eyelashes at Damar before continuing, "He has been through a lot,
and that has been because of me. Father would never admit it, but I have been
a burden to him. It is because of me that his military career has been
ruined. I no longer wish to be such a burden. Since he has chosen a life with
me, I want to make his life easier. I want to make him proud of me."
 Ziyal stepped into Damar's quarters. He motioned for her to sit on the couch
while he brought a chair from the table, set it in front of her and straddled
it . 
 "As you may be aware, I have spent the last six years as a prisoner of the
Breen. I was thirteen when I was captured, and before that my mother and
father both said that I was an extremely bright student. I'm afraid that
there was not any time for learning in the mines on Dezaria, except for
learning how to stay alive.
 I want you to teach me, Damar. Teach me about computers and engineering,
navigation, military tactics. I want to learn everything I can so that I can
be of some use to my father."
 Damar watched Ziyal for a moment and then rose from the chair. He found that
he was moved by Ziyal's words, and that surprised him. He was not a
sentimental man. Yet, it was very obvious how much this young woman loved and
respected her father. Damar agreed that Ziyal owed her father a great deal,
but it shocked him that she was aware of her debt. Perhaps there was more
Cardassian in her than Bajoran after all. Bajoran! What to do about that? He
did not know how to behave around her, and it bothered him that he found her
attractive. Because of her Bajoran heritage, she was untouchable. In effect
that should make all of this easier, but it didn't. Then something occurred
to Damar. If he became Ziyal's tutor and at the same time her protector, then
surely he would win Dukat's approval and appreciation. A smile spread slowly
across his thin grey lips.
 "All right, Ziyal, I will help you."
 Her face brightened considerably, and her eyes sparkled in the low light.
Damar had to fight the urge to make some scathing remark that might indicate
his interest in her. Then he realized that she wouldn't understand that his
abrupt manner would indicate an invitation to his bed. He was amazed at the
feelings of desire that Ziyal engendered in him. Perhaps it was just his
fatigue, but tutoring Ziyal might be the most difficult job he had ever had.
 "Thank you, Damar. Can we get started right away? I know that it has been a
long day, and you are probably very tired, but we will be picking up Major
Kira soon, and I want to be able to prove myself to her as well."
 "You don't have to prove yourself to that Baj..." Damar bristled. The
disappointment was evident on Ziyal's face. Stiffly, Damar said, "I
apologize. I am tired, but if you wish we can start with navigation. I do
have considerable experience in that area. All Cardassian ships navigate in
roughly the same way. Though as you will soon discover this ship's navigation
system is outdated as are most of its systems. Come I will show you." Damar
stood and led Ziyal to a display screen on the wall. He called for the
computer to show him a diagram of the ship.
 "We rely, of course, on our navigational sensor array, both long and short
range. The sensor arrays are located here and here on this ship," he said
indicating two areas on the diagram. "A rather ineffective location for a
warship, but I suppose adequate for this vessel."
 The lessons went on until early in the morning. Damar found Ziyal to be a
woman of her word. She was indeed bright. She learned quickly and had a
tremendous lust for knowledge. Damar stood close beside her as she
triangulated navigational positions and plotted courses for far off star
systems on the data padd he had given her. She smelled wonderful. He wanted
to twine his hands in her hair, pull her head back toward him and kiss her.
He wanted to pick her up in his arms and carry her to his bed. Damar shook
himself when he realized how close he was to Ziyal. She was intent on her
work and had evidently not noticed. He was tired; he had had almost no sleep
for 39 hours.
 "Ziyal, I think we've done enough for tonight. I'm on duty in three hours."
 "Oh Damar, I am sorry. Of course, you must be exhausted. I suppose I am too,
but this was all so new and exciting for me. I'll go now so you can get some
rest. Thank you." Ziyal stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed Damar's cheek.
It was an impulsive thing to do, but she didn't know of another way to thank
him. He was looking at her with an expression that Ziyal could not define.
 "Have I done something wrong, Damar?"
 Damar pulled himself up to his full height and stepped backward, away from
her. "No, I'm sure you are unaware of the significance of a kiss in
Cardassian society," he hesitated, trying to decide if he were the right
person to explain this to her. Under normal circumstances, her mother would
be the proper person to discuss these sorts of things. Well, there was
nothing to do about that. Damar cleared his throat nervously, "After the age
of maturity, young women in Cardassian society do not offer kisses to men
unless they are engaged to be married. It is considered an invitation...an
invitation I am sure you did not mean to extend."
 Ziyal blinked then turned away, "No, I apologize. I did not mean to
imply...the kiss was merely a gesture of gratitude. I suppose it is a Bajoran
custom. I am afraid I know very little about my Cardassian heritage. I hope I
have not insulted you or made you uncomfortable."
 Uncomfortable? He was extremely uncomfortable. Damar found himself wishing
she had known what that kiss meant so that he could accept the implied
invitation. Instead he simply said, "No, I am not uncomfortable, just tired.
We can continue your lessons after my duty shift today if you like."
 Ziyal nodded and left his quarters. Damar sincerely hoped that no one had
seen her leave. The assumption as to her presence in his quarters would be
obvious. He groaned and asked himself what he had gotten into as he climbed
into his bed for a couple hours of sleep before his duty shift began.


 Damar hurried to the cargo bay. There was some last minute work to do before
the disruptor from Korma could be loaded into the bay. Gul Dukat had asked
him to oversee the final preparations. Damar hoped that Major Kira knew what
she was doing. Loading one of the planet's disruptors into the cargo bay and
going after those murdering Klingons was a bold plan. He had to admit, she
had surprised him. He had not known what to expect from her, and at first it
was difficult knowing she was on the same ship with him, but it was obvious
that Gul Dukat had a great deal of respect for her. She was bright and
certainly innovative. She even had an undeniable air of authority about her.
So, twice in the last  39 hours he had been surprised by a Bajoran.
 "Damar!" he heard Ziyal's voice behind him and slowed for her to catch up to
him.
 "Ziyal, I don't have time to talk right now. I am on my way to the cargo
bay. We'll be beaming the disruptor up shortly, and everything must be
prepared."
 "Then it's true. We are going after the Klingons."
 "Of course, we are. They can't be allowed to kill our people with no
reprisals. Ziyal, you have not been among Cardassians for very long, but the
Klingons have been destroying the Cardassian Empire, eating away at us a
little at a time." Damar could see the worried look in her eyes. He took her
by the shoulders and spoke to her with a quiet ferocity, "Your father and I
are trained soldiers. We were not meant to be ferrying freight on this
decaying ship. He is cunning, shrewd and strong. We will find a way to defeat
the Klingons and bring glory back to Cardassia!"
 Ziyal looked into Damar's eyes and inhaled deeply, "I want to stay with you.
I want to help."
 Again Damar debated the wisdom of what he was about to do, but there was no
time for lengthy decision making. "All right, let's go," he said as he took
Ziyal by the arm and led her into the cargo bay.
 What had once been filled with valuable cargo was now an empty, cavernous
shell. Damar shook his head at the loss. Not only was it Cardassian tradition
for the captain of the ship to take a percentage of the haul, but often the
captain shared his take with his first officer. Before arriving on the
Groumall, Damar had kidded himself about losing his military career, but
gaining a fortune from replicator parts or yamok sauce. In all seriousness, a
fortune in cargo had been jettisoned from this cargo bay, and in all
likelihood the crew of this ship would not live to see another day. At least
they would die fighting for Cardassia.
 Damar looked at Ziyal, who was busy stripping off the control panels around
the perimeter of the cargo bay as he had instructed her. She was such an
innocent. He supposed it was the years as a prisoner of the Breen that had
kept her from becoming a typically ambitious Cardassian woman, or perhaps it
was her Bajoran blood. Nevertheless, this woman, barely more than a girl,
stirred him. He had an urge to protect her, and he had other urges where she
was concerned as well. Selfishly, he found himself hoping that there would be
further opportunity for tutoring sessions with Ziyal. There were so many
things he could teach her though not all of them would make her father
especially proud.
 Damar smiled inwardly at the thought and returned to his work until Dukat
called him back to the bridge. He took Ziyal aside as other crew members
entered the bay awaiting the transport of the disruptor.
 "Ziyal, it is time for you to find somewhere safe until this is over. I want
you to go to your father's quarters and stay there. That area of the ship is
relatively well protected. Wait there until your father or Major Kira or I
come to get you."
 Ziyal nodded, then stood on her toes and softly kissed Damar's cheek. She
held the kiss for a long, lingering moment, trying to breathe in his scent,
his essence. Then she was gone...down the corridor toward her father's
quarters. Damar touched the spot on his cheek where her lips had been, and
hurried to the turbolift that would take him back to the bridge.


Ziyal paced the floor in her father's quarters. Every fifteen minutes she
requested the ship's location from the computer. They appeared to be drawing
closer to a planet called Loval, but she had no idea why. She assumed this
was where the Klingons would be. Fear gripped her heart. She was terrified
for her father and Major Kira on the bridge, and she found she was almost
equally afraid for Damar. This time when she had kissed him, she was aware of
what it might imply. She hoped that Damar understood that it was a Cardassian
kiss tempered by Bajoran sensibility. She did not know him well enough to
take him to bed, but she knew she wanted to know him better. In time
perhaps....of course, none of them may have any time left at all.
 The ship shook violently as the modified disruptor fired. The alarm went off
signaling that battle had begun. Though she was tempted to run to the bridge,
Ziyal stayed in her father's quarters. She began to pray silently to the
Prophets to carry them all through this battle. The thought of losing her
father again was too much to bear, and she pushed it away. She found she
could almost hate these unseen Klingons for trying to destroy her family, her
people. The ship shook again, knocking Ziyal to the floor, this time from
enemy fire.
 "Attention crew, arm yourselves and prepare for immediate transport to the
Klingon vessel. Your first duty is to secure weapons and engineering." 
 Her father's voice calmed her. Ziyal retrieved a phaser rifle from its
locker near the door then stood perfectly still as the transporter beam
captured her and then reassembled her inside the Klingon bird of prey.
 Ziyal found herself standing just behind Damar as they shimmered into
existence just outside the doors to engineering. Damar signaled for her to
stay behind him and then nodded to another Cardassian officer who released
the door's closing mechanism on the wall panel. Ziyal's heart was pounding
out of her chest, and the blood rushed loudly in her ears as she watched
Damar and the others storm through the door into the empty room on the other
side. Ziyal breathed a huge sigh of relief at the fact that there were no
longer Klingons aboard to confront. However, she noticed the look of
disappointment on the faces of Damar and the others. She sincerely hoped she
would never fully understand the type of bloodlust they were feeling right
now. Watching as Damar and the others secured control of the alien ship,
Ziyal was impressed with their knowledge. It fueled her desire to make her
father proud...to be more than just his half-caste daughter.
 Damar came up behind Ziyal and put his hand on her shoulder, "Everything is
secure here. Let's go report to the Gul."
 Damar's enthusiasm could not be contained. His breath tickled her ear, and
his closeness made her feel strange. She nodded to him, and they made their
way to the bridge of the bird of prey.



 "Hang on, Ziyal. Help's on the way." Major Kira's reassuring voice came to
her in engineering. Ziyal was frustrated, but happy. She knew nothing about
Cardassian ships, let alone Klingon ships. Still, she kept remembering the
look of pride in her father's eyes when she and Damar had reached the bridge
and informed him that the ship was secure. She didn't know exactly what the
future held for them now, but she was sure that Damar would continue teaching
her the things she needed to know to make her a valuable part of her father's
crew.
 "Here Ziyal, let me help you. Klingon technology is so...well, strange.
There seems to be no order to it at all."  Ziyal had not seen him enter
engineering, but there was Damar coming closer, leaning over her to get to
the console. " I think you'll find the backup plasma manifold over here,
and...ah yes, the phase compensator. Ziyal, are you listening?"
 Ziyal stopped staring to answer, "Yes, I'm sorry. I agree that  this
technology is strange, but I was just thinking that I know so little about
any ship. It is all strange to me."
 Damar smiled at her, "That may actually be an advantage for you. I find that
I am fighting with everything I have learned about military vessels. I think
something ought to be located in one place, and it's another. You have no
preconceived notions on which to fall."
 "Then maybe I will be teaching you some things."
 Damar laughed. It was a warm sound. Ziyal had discovered that Cardassians
did not laugh often, but when they did it came from their hearts.
 "That may be true, Ziyal, but we won't return to your lessons just yet.
Tonight we will celebrate this victory for Cardassia. Have dinner with me
tonight in my new quarters. It's hard to tell what will come out of the
replicators, but we can live dangerously."
 This was a side to Damar that Ziyal had not expected. He was suffused with
triumph at capturing this ship. She had thought him to be quiet and
introspective as she was, but he obviously was not. She liked this side very
much.
 "All right, I will join you...if I can find your quarters that is," they
smiled at each other and went back to work repairing the damage done to the
ship by the Groumall.


 Damar busied himself in his new quarters preparing for Ziyal's arrival. He
had spent an hour programming the replicator to produce a Bajoran dish and a
few Cardassian items as well as kanaar. It would be synthehol, but it would
still taste like home. Now he had to do something to make the room look less
Klingon. At least these were officers' quarters and so contained more than a
metal bunk and a chair. Damar hid the bat'leth that had been hanging on the
wall and several ceremonial daggers. The Klingons certainly had an
appreciation for blades, he thought. He had just placed a hideous bust of
Kahless in the waste reclamator when the doorchime rang.
 "Enter."
 The door slid open revealing what looked to be a very sad Ziyal.
 "Ziyal, what is it?"
 Ziyal walked into the room and waited for the door to close behind her.
Damar stood in front of her wondering what could have made her so troubled.
 "My father has decided that I am to remain on the space station with Major
Kira. It seems the Detappa Council was not interested in what we accomplished
today. Father is going to fight the Klingons on his own until Cardassia comes
to her senses. I can't believe we are going to be separated again. We have
only just begun to know each other after all those years apart. And you,
Damar. You are the first Cardassian that I have had any connection with at
all. I will be all alone on that station."
 Damar did not hesitate this time. He went to Ziyal and folded her into his
arms. She did not cry, but simply let his strength and warmth comfort her. He
led her to the horribly uncomfortable Klingon bed and sat down with her.
 "Ziyal, I knew about the Detappa Council, but I did not know about your
father's decision to leave you on Ter...Deep Space Nine. I have to say,
though, I think it is a wise decision."
 Ziyal sat up and looked at Damar with her crystal blue eyes, "But..."
 Damar tentatively reached a hand out to smooth her hair, "I mean that  I
understand your father's decision completely. He wants you out of harm's way.
He loves you very much, and he wants to be able to protect you this time."
 "But that wasn't his fault. He was trying to protect my mother and me by
sending us away. He had no control over the Breen."
 "He's Cardassian, Ziyal. Of course, he blames himself. He will carry that
personal shame with him always, and he will make sure you are safe now. What
we are about to do is dangerous, but it is right. Cardassia needs us, needs
to see that we are not broken, needs to know that Cardassia is still worth
fighting for. I'm sure your father does not want to be parted from you. He
will miss you...so will I."
 "You will?"
 A small smile crept across Damar's face, "Yes, I think you are
extraordinary. In other circumstances I might ask your father's permission to
see you. He probably would have said no," he laughed.
 "No, he wouldn't. He thinks very highly of you."
 "I am glad he does, but your father is a traditionalist. I doubt that he
would find a demoted and disgraced Glin suitable to accompany his daughter."
 "You forget, Damar, that  my father has also been disgraced, and I don't
think his actions today would hold him in good stead with other Cardassian
'traditionalists'."
 Damar grew quiet and raised his hand to trace Ziyal's soft eyeridges, "No,
probably not. I am beginning to see many advantages in breaking tradition."
He leaned toward her and softly kissed her nose ridges. What an unusual
sensation. Tentatively, he touched her skin with his tongue and listened to
her sharp intake of breath. Ziyal looked up at him then and did some
exploring of her own, first with her fingertips then with her lips.
 Damar's breathing shortened. He encircled Ziyal with his arms and drew her
close until he could smell the sweetness of her skin. He kissed her eyes and
the tip of her nose, and then was surprised when she leaned into him and
covered his mouth with her own. The kiss was quiet, delicate, but there was
an urgency that surprised Damar. He returned Ziyal's kiss and felt his own
need surging through him. With quite a bit of effort, Damar broke away.
 "What is it?" Ziyal asked.
 Damar left the bunk and stood in the middle of the room, a safe distance, he
hoped. "We had to stop...or else we would have...regretted it.  I could not
dishonor you that way. I guess you'll have to let me keep some of my
traditions."
 Ziyal smiled shyly and stood. She went to Damar and took his hands, "Thank
you. I would not have stopped you, but perhaps you are right. I hope that
this war with the Klingons does not keep us apart forever."
 Damar raised her hands to his mouth and kissed them. "You had better go now.
Come say goodbye before you leave."
 "I will." 
 The door closed behind Ziyal leaving Damar to wonder what could have been.
He went to the replicator and ordered a bottle of kanaar. He sat down, opened
the bottle, and poured himself a very tall drink.Yes, it did taste like home.
Damar savored the flavor knowing that it might be a long time before he saw
Cardassia again. 
 
...end...