RITE OF PASSAGE, PART 3

A few nights later, Garak sat alone at a table in Quark's, amusing himself by watching Bashir soundly defeating O'Brien at darts. Despite the numerous extra advantages that the genetically-enhanced Bashir granted O'Brien in a fairness-attempt to compensate for the friendly opponents' wildly different skill-levels, the Irishman still nearly always lost. But the dear friends took their predictable results completely in stride: the engineer did not grumble, and the doctor did not gloat. At the end of their match, they moved aside to let others play, and the Cardassian tailor beckoned them over to join him at his table. They accepted.

            Since this was Bashir's first encounter with Garak since his nerve-wracking session in the Cardassian's quarters, he greeted him with a friendly but shy smile. Fortunately, O'Brien missed seeing Bashir's uncharacteristic reserve toward the Cardassian. Garak noted the uncommon reaction, of course, fully understood the reason for it, and marveled to himself that this was probably the first time that O'Brien seemed more at ease with encountering him than Bashir was. For a while, the three chatted amiably enough about such bland topics as how each had spent his day.

            Presently, they received a completely unexpected visitor. Jake Sisko dashed up to their table, eyes shining in absolute delight. "Guess what, Mr. Garak!" he enthused. "The Federation News Service really liked my article on you! And they published it! Look, see?" He pushed the padd in front of the tailor excitedly, and seated himself in their only remaining empty chair, uninvited. "And it's all thanks to you! I'm so grateful for all of your help! All of it!" he added meaningfully, positively glowing.

            Garak flashed him an infinitely brief look of warning, but then instantly smiled and said, "So they did. Congratulations, Jake."

            Bashir caught the miniscule cautionary reminder, recognized the nature of it, and stiffened slightly.

            All of that was missed by O'Brien, who was the only one frowning. "An article on Garak? What did the FNS want with him?"

            This drew Jake's joy up short. He remembered belatedly that the engineer knew nothing of this, nor of any of the background behind it. He also remembered the fact that Chief O'Brien would be the last person on the station to be supportive of the entire endeavor. Suddenly quite subdued, he carefully responded, "They wanted me to interview him."

            "About what?" asked O'Brien.

            Jake, Bashir, and Garak exchanged uneasy looks. The two humans were clearly unwilling to answer. So Garak said flatly, "About Cardassian interrogation techniques."

            Instantly, the blond looked revolted. He demanded, "What kind of an unsavory topic is that for a young fellow like this to hear about?!" He glanced at Bashir, did a double-take, and challenged, "You knew about this??"

            Bashir fumbled, "Well, yeah...uh...umm...yes."

            "And you approved??!"

            Stiffly, Bashir replied, "It wasn't up to me. But..., yes, I had reservations."

            "And what about Commander Sisko?? Did he know?!"

            Jake managed to murmur, "He knew."

            "And he was okay with it???"

            "Not entirely. But..., he left it up to me."

            O'Brien made a rude sound, and pinned Garak with a look. "Well, I certainly hope that you were...subtle and...gentle with him!"

            Jake, who had just been hiding his uncomfortable face in the drink that he'd brought to the table with him, choked  on it and snorted resultantly at O'Brien's last three words. Bashir rolled his eyes at the unfortunate double-entendre, and Garak folded his arms in displeasure.

            O'Brien looked among the three, frowning in perplexity at their odd reactions, his eyes fixing at last upon Jake.

            The station commander's son managed to say very quietly, "He was."

            O'Brien harrumphed, dissatisfied, picked up his empty glass, muttered about refilling it, and stalked away from the table.

            Its three remaining occupants sagged.

            "I'm sorry!" Jake whispered.

            "I understand," Garak responded generously. "You were excited. And I suppose that the chief would have found out about the article eventually anyway, one way or another."

            But now Jake glanced worriedly and repeatedly at Bashir, clearly wondering how the latter might interpret his choke-and-snort, until Garak noticed and assured him, "It's all right. The doctor knows about our secret, too."

            Jake did a double-take. "Huh? How??"

            Bashir sighed, and Garak explained bluntly, "For the same reason that you do."

            Jake stared at Bashir. Bashir blushed and nodded an acknowledgement. Jake looked back and forth between the two, doubtlessly wondering how and why that had come about, until Bashir murmured, "Don't ask."

            "I think I'd better go," Jake said uneasily, and the other two, not disagreeing, bade him goodnight.

            When he'd gone, Bashir remarked, "Well, this is a fine mess. You know that Miles is not going to let this go."

            Garak admitted it with a nod, and said, "I will have to handle it."

            Slightly worriedly, Bashir responded, "What do you mean by that?"

            Sure enough, before Garak could even reply, O'Brien stalked back to the table and demanded, "Are you two out of your minds??? Exposing an innocent youngster like him to a vile topic like that??!"

            Garak retorted, "Do you really believe that the young man was so naive that he had never read or heard about such things? And what business is it of yours, anyway?" he added frostily.

            O'Brien blinked in obvious resentment. "Jake used to be apprenticed to me for quite some time, before he made up his mind not to join Starfleet. I got to know him quite well, and he's a fine boy. And for crying out loud, Keiko was his teacher for years! We care!!" With that, he turned and stormed out of the bar.

            The next morning, O'Brien caught Sisko in his office and expressed his misgivings at what he'd discovered the previous evening, regarding what he considered the unsavory project between Jake and Garak.

            Sisko sighed. "I know. I didn't much like it either. But Jake was so depressed about what he saw as his cowardice during the mission with Dr. Bashir, and Garak offered a way to build Jake's confidence. Plus, when I talked to Garak about it, he was amazingly sensitive in his reassurance that no harm would come to Jake, nor had ever come to any Cardassian youth who had ever undergone the procedure...and that was all of them, of course, because it is a requirement in their culture...."

            O'Brien blinked. "All Cardassian youth are required to interview Garak for the Federation News Service???"

            Now Sisko did a double-take. "What?? No, I was referring to what came after: Garak's offer to subject Jake to the Cardassian Rite of Passage."

            "Rite of Passage??? Subject Jake????"

            "Yes, and he came away all smiles, and confident that he was not a coward after all."

            O'Brien trembled with outrage and horror, and mumbled, "Are you saying...Garak...tortured Jake??!!"

            Sisko regarded the engineer in consternation in turn. "Well..., only the sanitized version that all Cardassian young people are required to undergo."

            O'Brien stood there shaking his head. "I...was...only talking about Jake interviewing Garak on the subject! I had no idea that...that monster actually did something to the boy in demonstration!"

            Now Sisko shook his head. "It wasn't like that. The two events weren't really connected. Or at least, they didn't start out that way. And anyhow, Garak was only trying to help my son, who was inconsolable, depressed, deeply ashamed, convinced that he was a worthless coward...." Perplexed, Sisko watched O'Brien storm away in fury, and out of Ops entirely.

            "Are you two completely out of your minds?!" O'Brien roared at Bashir and Garak, where he found them in the Replimat at lunch time.

            Garak speared him with a look. "Keep your voice down! We are in a public location."

            "You...you...you...tortured Jake??!!" O'Brien obediently fumed in a hoarse whisper.

            Bashir groaned in dismay.

            "You knew about this??" the Irishman demanded of the doctor. "What did you do to him?!" he hissed at the Cardassian.

            Garak's eyes turned increasingly dangerous. "We will discuss this no further in this public place."

            "I don't care where; just tell me...!!" O'Brien  broke off as his arm was seized by the now standing Garak. The engineer was all but dragged to the tailor's quarters, with a morose Bashir following along behind them.

            Once behind Garak's closed and locked door, O'Brien repeated his demand.

            Garak studied the blond calculatingly while Bashir just stood shaking his head.

            At length, Garak told him, "There is only one way in which you will ever find out what I did to Jake, and that is if I do it to you."

            O'Brien blanched.

            "Let it go, Miles," Bashir urged. "It's really not that bad."

            "Oh, and how would you know? He'll tell you, but he won't tell me?!" Something in Bashir's face enlightened the engineer. "Oh no. He did it to you, too??!! Why????"

            Bashir sighed from his depths, sat down, and hid his face behind his hands.

            "What in the bloody hell is going on here?!!" He looked to Garak for answers, and came up short at what he saw in the Cardassian's face.

            Bashir verbally scrambled to hide his own secret. "Miles, Garak did it to me for the same reason that he might just do it to you; I wanted to know what he had done to Jake."

            Garak gave to Bashir a tiny nod, acknowledging that they could stand by that story and allow Bashir to save face in that way, at least.

            Bashir smiled a quick thanks, and then soothed, "Miles, it honestly gave Jake back his self-confidence, and actually, ...gave some back to me, too."

            O'Brien lowered his eyes. "There's no way that such a thing would have an effect like that on me."

            Garak returned his own appreciative smile for Bashir's last remark, and then, he tried to be reassuring to O'Brien as well. "It is certainly not even remotely like what you endured at the hands of Gul Evek's guards, before the tribunal."

            The blond turned visibly bitter. "I don't want to even think about that." But he looked so forlorn.

            Bashir tried tentatively, "Garak, would it be all right if I stayed with Miles...while...."

            "No," Garak said flatly.

            "Just as a comfort. To help get him through it."

            O'Brien's head came up in shock. "What??? You two are crazy!! I'm not submitting to that! I've got to get out of here!"

            So saying, he fled.

            Commander Sisko called the meeting of his senior staff to order. "You may be wondering why I've asked Mr. Garak to be a part of this meeting. It's because I believe that what I have to announce concerns him every bit as much as it does the rest of us."

            Everyone observed him expectantly.

            "A contingent of Cardassian ships is headed this way for diplomatic purposes."

            Kira emitted a rude snort. "Diplomatic?! How many ships are we talking about, Commander?"

            "Three."

            "Let me guess: one of them is Dukat's ship."

            "That's correct. The other two are captained by Gul Evek, whom some of you know...."

            O'Brien sat up rigidly in his seat.

            "...And one Gul Lemec, with whom I do not happen to be acquainted."

            "Captain!" O'Brien said sharply.

            "Yes, Chief?"

            "Request permission for immediate leave of absence, sir."

            Sisko looked rueful. "Now, Chief, I know that you have good reason to be uncomfortable toward Gul Evek, but...."

            "It's not just Evek, sir. It's also Gul Lemec."

            "You know him?"

            "He's the one who was on the Enterprise, who leered at us and gloated that they had Captain Picard, sir."

            Kira asked him, "And Dukat's presence doesn't bother you?"

            O'Brien shrugged. "Well..., we see him fairly often. I guess I'm...used to him." At her expression, O'Brien continued, "Look, Major, you haven't seen Lemec's sadistic grin: like a grinning skull!"

            "What about a grinning cobra? Have you ever seen Dukat in profile?"

            "People, as you were," Sisko said. "Look, Chief, I sympathize, but I can't spare you right now. I need you. All of you. More than ever because of this difficult situation. Besides...." He quirked a conciliatory half-smile. "Don't you think that they would notice your absence and guess the reason for it? Do you really want to give them that satisfaction? And aren't you too proud a man for that?"

            O'Brien looked skeptical at that last sentence, but subsided.

            "Besides, Chief," Garak said soothingly."If they're already on their way, you're safer here. Would you really want to be caught out in a runabout, with their ships nearby?"

            O'Brien sagged in his chair in remembering that that was exactly how Gul Evek had caught him, before the nightmarish tribunal.

            The initial meeting was every bit as uncomfortable as O'Brien had imagined. Gul Lemec focused his leering grin on O'Brien like a searchlight, and announced for all to hear, "I know you." Gul Evek did not verbally address the chief, but he eyed him disconcertingly. It took everything that the blond had not to flinch at the gazes of his two nemeses. And they kept their sinister eyes quite steadily on him throughout much of the awkward, unpleasant gathering. Only Dukat remained the consummate professional, his gaze lingering on no one person overmuch.

            O'Brien's misery only worsened during the less formal luncheon-reception that followed. He made every possible attempt to migrate subtly, randomly through the room. But however hard he tried, Evek and Lemec managed to nearly always be nearby, causing the nervous human to relocate yet again. It was like a very slow pursuit.

            It had long been said that Cardassians hunted in packs, like wolves. And right now, O'Brien was their rabbit. He was fairly successful in not meeting their eyes, but he was a total failure in avoiding their presence.

            All of this, Dukat watched shrewdly, from a distance, even as he charmed his way around the room, as was his style.

            At long last, Bashir and Garak managed to subtly, "accidentally" corner O'Brien.

            In low tones, Bashir murmured, "They're pursuing you because they know that you are frightened of them; they can sense your fright. You must relax, calm down, enjoy yourself, no matter how much you have to fake it."

            Garak agreed, "I remind you that we're predators, and you, my dear chief, are behaving exactly as prey."

            Dukat had managed to slide in, unnoticed, behind the group. He spoke into the pause, startling them. "Choose someone you trust, remain with that person or those persons, and stand your ground. Stop circulating."

            O'Brien's eyes still nervously shifted wildly, but he forced himself to say, "All right. I choose you three. Please, stay with me!"

            Instantly, cooperatively, Garak and Dukat emitted spontaneous, pleasant laughter, as if someone had just told a joke. Quickly catching on, only a beat later, Bashir joined in with them. O'Brien then realized, and faked it as best he could. He still sensed the nearness of Evek and Lemec now once again directly behind him, but this time, he refused to budge. He told himself that they were unlikely to do anything to him in this crowded gathering. But it was still a long afternoon.

            After such an excruciating day, Bashir, O'Brien, and Garak were glad to unwind together at Quark's. The engineer thoroughly put aside his previous unease toward the tailor in the midst of far worse enemies.

            After a few hours of relaxed camaraderie, the three exited together to return to their respective quarters. And nearly collided with Dukat, Lemec, and Evek just outside of Quark's.

            O'Brien gasped.

            Without preamble, Lemec leered and said, "It's certainly interesting to see you again, O'Brien. I so enjoyed informing your crew of the ill-fortune that had befallen your poor Captain Picard. The only thing that could have pleased me more would have been to exchange places with Gul Madred. How I would have loved to have been the one torturing Picard, instead of merely reporting his misfortune to your crew."

            "Leave me alone." O'Brien tried to go around the three.

            "Let us pass," agreed Bashir.

            Then Evek said, "And I enjoyed having you in a similar position, O'Brien. Pity it didn't last long enough. I believe that I'd like to have another chance at you, now that these events have once again brought us together. You will accompany us."

            "I'm not going anywhere with you!" O'Brien was fully aware that he was quoting his own prior words to Gul Evek from the time of his abduction.

            "Now just a minute!" Bashir protested.

            Garak smoothly inserted himself between the two humans and the other three Cardassians. "If there is to be any torture of this human, I will perform it."

            Shrewdly interpreting the gratuitous sadism of his compatriots, the not-really-well-concealed fright of the two humans, and the creative attempt at extrication of Garak, Dukat agreed smoothly, "Garak is right. After all, he is the member of the Obsidian Order here; we are not. It is his area of expertise. He should therefore be the one to torture the human."

            Playing along with their impromptu charade, Garak possessively took hold of O'Brien's arm, and O'Brien obediently, meekly followed along, without the least resistance. Dukat shot Bashir a look of warning, a hint of continued danger. Bashir returned to him the subtlest nod, and rapidly circled around to catch up with his two dear friends by another route, out of sight of the visitors.

            Bashir gestured to O'Brien and Garak to come close, and whispered to them barely audibly, "There is still danger. There must be no subterfuge, no fakery. Dukat warned me. You two can't just pretend this; it must be genuine. Lemec and Evek will be watching...or listening...somehow." At O'Brien's wide-eyed expression, Bashir gently squeezed his arm. "You'll be all right. Trust me. Trust Garak."

            Then, not knowing the extent or the nature of the Cardassians' surveillance, Bashir disappeared around a corner into obscurity again.

            However, a short while later, the doctor couldn't resist sneaking quietly, surreptitiously back around to the area of Garak's quarters. Seeing no one, he risked just an instant of listening at his Cardassian friend's door. And he smiled gently as he heard Garak say to O'Brien, "Give me your hand...."