Disclaimer: Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry and is owned by Paramount Pictures

I make no monetary profit from my fanfic

Summary - A story about the alternate universe Garak and Ziyal

Author's note: This story is set immediately after "The Emperor's New Cloak."

Rated PG

Bashir laughed triumphantly and raised his fist in defiance.

"Strike another one for the rebels! Smiley, if you were a woman, I'd kiss you."

"If you do, I'll phaser you."

Bashir chuckled. "I don't doubt it. I dunno about you, but I could do with a big steak."

Miles smiled. "Make that two."

"Gladly."

The seething Regent roared a virulent curse, his rage almost tearing the ship apart.

"WE WERE SO CLOSE!!!!!" He bashed his armrest violently, leaving it with a permanent battle scar.

"I've heard that before..." The Intendent sauntered up to him.

Worf bashed her away. Kira stood, glaring at him, wiping blood from her nose. "I don't take kindly to men touching me in undesirable ways, Regent."

Worf grabbed his Bat'telh. "Silence, woman, or I'll gut you where you stand!"

The Intendent said not another word ... the Regents rage had no limits. She waited a few moments until his volcanic temper had boiled down to a simmer.

"What do we do with Garak?"

"He is a coward and a fool," the Regent growled.

"Oh, I agree totally."

"I did not ask you!"

Kira was beginning to tire of his insolence. "So what do we do with the Cardassian?"

"If he's not dead already, he will be soon," the Regent snarled. "If that poison wasn't coursing through his body, I would feast on his raw innards and bathe in his blood!"

The Intendent screwed up her face. "Eww. Must you be so graphic?"

"Silence, or I will feast on yours!"

Kira shut up instantly.

"And bring me that traitor wench. She will face her death with him."

"Gladly," Nerys said, her mouth curving up into a cruel smile.

The Intendent stood in front of the cell, holding a disruptor, smiling at her prisoner.

"You must've known you'd never get away with it..."

The prisoner said nothing, her eyes burning into the Intendent.

"You disappoint me, Ziyal. We could've been so good together."

"Until you tired of your new toy, as you always do sooner or later," Tora spat.

Kira smiled. "Though, it would have been fun while it lasted."

"I'm sure."

The Intendent lowered the forcefield and thrust her disruptor into Ziyal's middle.

"You're lucky you're not dead already for what you did. I'm surprised Garak didn't kill you himself when he found out his lover was a traitor."

"The rebels are struggling to survive, Nerys. It's wrong of us to treat Terrans-"

Kira laughed. "A lecture on morality ... How quaint..."

"Why should I bother? Compassion and reason are wasted on you."

Kira smiled as she lead Ziyal to where Garak had fallen in the prison cell.

"The Alliance will win, have no doubt of that."

"Don't get too comfortable, Nerys."

"Ah, Ziyal ... have you forgotten I'm the one with the disruptor here ... and it'd be such a shame to kill you now. I'd much rather wait see what the Regent does ... Did you know that every person has a unique scream? ... That should be fun while it lasts too ..."

The Intendent kicked Garak's stomach, inducing vomit and a painful groan. "As for you," Kira spat, "it'd be a shame if you died before the fun begins ... Leaving me to die, ohh that was good. Did you enjoy being the Regent's pet? Did he feed you enough ... Ohh Garak ... we could've been soooo good together..."

"O ... over ... my ... dead body ..." he rasped.

"Ha! Apparently."

Ziyal glared at her, as the forcefield went up. She couldn't care to watch the Intendent's small black clad butt saunter off, as she knelt down to Garak.

"I always knew you'd get yourself in the shit one of these days."

Garak moaned something unintelligible. Ziyal touched his cheek gently. "It's all right ... I'm going to get us both out of this." From between her breasts, she pulled a small hypospray. "I had a feeling someday that virus you're so fond of using would get you in trouble."

She held Garak still. "So, I developed an inoculant. This is gonna feel worse before it feels better." She administered it to his neck. Garak's immediate reaction was to vomit, rather violently. Ziyal made it out of the way just in time.

Garak groaned and vomited again, wondering if death could cure the pain, but shortly after, he felt it start to dissipate, grateful to be able to breathe again without feeling like he was going to explode. He shook his head and combed a hand through his dishevelled hair.

"You never cease to amaze me, my dear Ziyal."

"So, what do you propose we do now?" he asked. "The Regent's going to schedule painful executions soon enough. I can't get out of this one, the Intendent'll see to that."

Ziyal snorted.

"But you, My Dear are another story. They'll torture you for information, you did assist the rebels and you've been aboard their ships..."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill me."

Garak smiled. "I should have, My Love." He kissed her cheek. "But it's clear to me now - the rebels will win - eventually."

"I'm glad you finally see it that way ... C'mon, we gotta get outta here."

"Even if we escape, that Bajoran bitch won't stop until you're dead and I doubt very much I'll be welcome amongst the rebels... Bashir would gleefully fry my liver with Terran onions..."

Ziyal smiled and produced a micro laser scalpel from her chest and deactivated the forcefield.

"Impressive."

"Amazing what you can learn from the rebels."

Garak gave a smile. "I'll admit they're resourceful."

Ziyal knew full well that Garak could turn on her any moment, and she had taken precautions.

"How do you plan to escape, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You'll see."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"You there!"

Instantly Ziyal drew a dagger from her breasts and stabbed the guard, twisting it as she wrenched it out of him.

Garak peered into her cleavage. "Anything else in there, I should know about?"

Ziyal gave a wry smile. "And spoil the surprise? Come on, this way." Tora lead him to an escape pod.

"You honestly don't think we'll get away in one of those ... By the Par Fates ... you're not thinking the Rebels will save us..."

Ziyal laughed "Never! Unless you want Bashir to sauté your liver."

Garak laughed. "You know I always admired that ragtag Terran. Pity ... He was kinda cute."

Ziyal eyed him.

"Second of course to you, My Dear," he added as they slid into the escape pod.

"The second we jettison, the Regent'll spot us on his scanners and blow us to kingdom come!"

"Elim ... you know me better than that ..."

A blast almost stopped the pod hatch from sealing behind them, more blasts shook the pod, and heard above them, the Intendent's shrill laugh.

"Ohh this is goooood, Garak ... If you come out and surrender your traitorous love, I'll spare your life."

"You'll spare me?"

Ziyal looked worried.

"The Regent has given his word."

"Let me get this straight ... I allow prisoners to escape and he's willing to kiss and make up? He'd rather have my balls for breakfast!"

"Ohh, come now, Garak, no hard feelings..."

Garak motioned Ziyal to the Pod's flight controls.

"Garak..." The Intendent sounded impatient.

"I'm thinking about your tempting offer, my dear."

Although he couldn't see her, he knew Kira was smiling, that annoying smile when she thought she'd won.

Ziyal nodded. "Ready."

Instantly, she released the clamps and the pod blasted into space, being hit by a blast from the guards, most of whom were not lucky enough to escape the pod's wake. The Intendent managed to grab onto a panel, cheating death yet, again. She wondered how many times before the Par Fates decided to cut her string. As for Garak and Ziyal, they wouldn't get far, she thought. How could they ever have hoped to escape, outrun this ship ... Even now the Intendent could feel the huge ship turning to pursue the fleeing pod.

"We can't outrun them in this thing!" Garak yelled frantically. "Ziyal, if you have anything else hidden in that wonder cleavage, now would be a good time."

"As a matter of fact," she said, taking yet another contraption from within her breasts.

Garak smiled and shook his head. "A transporter it the other Universe ... Ziyal, you're amazing."

"Compliments of the Intendent," She smiled. "Being raised by pickpockets has its advantages ... This is powerful enough to transport the entire pod and scramble the signature."

"Now I know why I didn't kill you."

Ziyal smiled and kissed him as she activated the transporter.

One would think that the Regents roar of rage could be heard even in the Alternate Universe, even the Intendent had scarpered, for better or worse.

"So, My Love," Garak said, toying with her dark hair, "where are we going?"

"Eyannan."

"That's a Z class world..."

"In our Universe. In this one, it's class M. Far from the Federation and this Dominion they're at war with. We'll be safe. Actually it's quite lovely there this time of year."

Garak smiled and kissed her neck. "You never cease to amaze me, My Love."

"Home, sweet home, I guess," Garak said, stepping out into the new world and looking about. "So natural," he breathed in. "Ahh... I can't remember the last time I breathed fresh air..."

"Makes a nice change from the Regent's breath."

Garak roared with laughter and Ziyal joined him. "That it does, My Sweet ... Are you all right? You look ... troubled."

She smiled at him, and sat down. "Are you sure that is what you want, Garak? We'll be safe here, but it's far from the position of power you had back there."

"Power I no longer have. I admit I played the Regent's puppy for a while, assuming I'd regain control, but it didn't seem to happen that way ... Perhaps a change'll do us both good."

Ziyal embraced him. "I was hoping you'd see it that way. We'll have to start afresh here, hunt for food, gather nuts, berries and build a house to be cool in the Summer months, warm in the Winter."

"And of course, populate this planet."

Ziyal smiled. "That too. But first we have to bathe. We're smelling worse that the Regent's targ!"

"There's no sonic shower in this thing," Garak noted.

Ziyal pointed. "There's a lake." She stripped off her black attire and ran towards it.

"I'm right behind you."

The two jumped into the lake, but not before Garak scanned it for hostile life forms, but all he found was some reasonably sized fish. Dinner, he thought. Later. He tossed the tricorder onto the bank.

Ziyal emerged from under the water, wringing out her glistening hair. Garak grabbed her, drawing an excited shriek as they bathed together. Garak felt a tad uncomfortable, this life so new to him, but he wanted to spend the rest of it with Ziyal, this life would be safer, less demanding and he slowly began to release his need to dominate.

The two humanoids, now almost dry in the afternoon sun, lay wrapped around each other under the shade of a large tree.

Elim pushed Ziyal's damp hair away form her face and kissed her gently. "I think I'm going to like it here ..." After a pause ... "Thank you..."

"My pleasure, My Love."

As he lay with her on the soft grass, Garak wondered what his counterpart was doing, and if he loved his Ziyal as much as he loved the woman he held in his arms.

On Deep Space Nine's Promenade, Elim Garak stopped his sewing for a moment, put down the pale blue-green Cardassian cross Bajoran dress he was working on - he had been making it for Ziyal ... and seemed to be staring into empty space. All he could think about was lying with Ziyal, under a large tree, holding her in his arms sharing their thoughts and love. A wave of sadness washed over him, knowing that was never to be.