“Thank you, Father, yes, you have mentioned, but it does me good to hear it again. Father, there is something I would like to discuss with you. This is a matter that I believe transcends the military.”

His expression sharpened. “Kalisi, I will contact you on another channel. End the call now.”

She did as she was told, and waited for another call to come through. This was standard protocol for any message relayed that might concern the Obsidian Order, though Kalisi hadn’t had much occasion to make reference to them before now.

Yannik Reyar was not actually a member of the Order. He acted as liaison between the Order and Central Command, and both organizations considered him an impartial entity. His position was unique, and important. Historically, there had been others like him, but none had been active in a time where there had been so much conflict between the two bodies. It made his job a dangerous one, especially since Central Command needed him more than the Order did—and the Order had the means to make him disappear at any time. They had the means to make anyone disappear, but Yannik’s position put him at much higher risk. He knew it, and his family knew it, too. But he considered his work to be of value to Cardassia, and bore the risk with some measure of pride. As a result of her father’s involvement, Kalisi had come to view the Order with a great deal of respect—in fact, she respected them more than the military, though the latter funded the science ministry’s research.

The comm blinked as a scrambled message came through, and Kalisi entered a password to access her father’s incoming transmission. “Is it safe to speak freely, Father?”

“Yes, this channel is secure. What is it you wish to tell me?”

“It will sound very strange, I’m sure. But…the Ministry of Science is in possession of an…object that may be of some significance. It came to my attention some time ago, but it’s only been recently that I’ve learned of its apparent effects.”

“What kind of an object?”

“It’s a religious artifact from Bajor. But it seems to have technological capabilities that can’t be explained—at least, not yet. The ministry’s computer system was disabled for a short period when the object was being studied. The sensors gave false readings.”

“Really?”

“The ministry plans to study it further, but…you know how inefficiently things are being done of late. It may be years before anyone gets to it. At any rate, after being exposed to it, my friend Miras was raving in a most disturbing manner, and then she became ill. Now she seems obsessed with the thing, wishing to see it again for some unknown purpose. Whatever it is, it has powers far beyond what meets the eye. I’m sure of it.”

“Now…just a moment. You say your friend was raving when she saw the object. And then she became ill?”

Kalisi nodded. “She was speaking of the destruction of Cardassia. That there was a man on Bajor who was going to find something…I don’t remember what it was…” Kalisi closed her eyes for a beat, trying to recall—the eidetic skill that so many Cardassians had perfected had never come easily for her. “Another of the artifacts, I believe. There are supposed to be a series of them. She was quite specific about a man called…G’ar, I think. G’ar Osen. But then she said it wasn’t his real name, that he wasn’t really a Bajoran. It sounded like nonsense, but she was obviously quite deeply affected. I admit, I’ve grown concerned about her.”

“G’ar Osen? And you believe it was this object that made her so hysterical? This Bajoran artifact?”

“She’s a very sensible person, normally. I’m telling you, Father, I have a bad feeling about this thing, as though it could be some kind of sophisticated weapon, sent under the guise of being a harmless religious object. I think the Order’s scientists should see it. Central Command…”

She trailed off, knowing that her father felt as she did, about Command’s disregard for the sciences, despite its funding of the ministry. But he still appeared uncertain.

“There’s more, Father. A professor at the ministry told me, long ago, that there was a rumor about the object. I did not take it seriously at the time, but she confided that she had heard the object may have had some connection to the Order. It’s possible that during the transition when Enabran Tain took office, the item was somehow removed from the Order’s storehouse. I couldn’t imagine how such a thing could have happened, but…”

Her father frowned. “When Tain became head of the Order, certain objects were alleged to have gone missing…”His eyes went faraway as he seemed to make a decision. He refocused on her, nodding once. “I will see to it that the proper channels are opened.”

“Thank you, Father. You are good to indulge me.”

“A father always indulges his children,”he said, his broad face breaking into a kindly smile. “Especially children who have always been obedient and who have always made him so proud.”

Gul Dukat delivered the news to Damar personally, coming down from his office landing to tell him. The two men faced each other, standing at Damar’s station in ops. Damar was eager to return to his quarters so he could contact Veja and give her the good news, but he would not have dreamed of excusing himself from Dukat—especially considering that the gul was responsible for seeing to it that Damar’s promotion had been approved so quickly. He was now a first-tier gil, up from second in under a year; he’d never imagined that he could have risen in rank so quickly. He knew that without Dukat’s recommendation, he would not have.

“I can’t think of a man better suited to climb so swiftly up the ladder of military responsibility,” the prefect said warmly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you made glinn before the year was out, Damar.”

“Thank you, sir. I am honored to be the recipient of such confidence.”

“You’ve earned it.”

Damar shifted a little. He wanted to excuse himself without seeming rude or ungrateful, but it seemed like an awkward moment to do so.

“Veja will be overcome when you tell her, I imagine.”

“Yes. In fact I was hoping to—”

“I understand the two of you have planned a little retreat.”

“That’s right, sir. We’re going to the old resort at Tilar.”

“Ah, yes. The vineyards. I went there shortly after first arriving on Bajor. It’s beautiful there, and usually very private. It used to get very crowded in its heyday, but after rumors started that Bajor wasn’t such an ideal vacation spot—well, it’s fair to assume that you and Veja won’t have much company there.”

Damar smiled. “I can’t complain about that.”

“No. Well, I’m sure you’re eager to convey the good news to her. I will see you tomorrow morning, Gil Damar.”

Damar grinned helplessly and made his way to his quarters. Veja was sure to be beside herself when she heard the news—for he would be a glinn even sooner than he could possibly have hoped, and when that happened, there would be no reason to delay the enjoinment ceremony any further. Veja would be able to conclude her work with the Information Service, and Damar could expect to have more flexibility in his assignments. He could even hope to be stationed in the Cardassian system, instead of out here on the frontier—for of course, Veja would want to go back to Cardassia Prime once they had been enjoined. He and Veja could expect to spend somewhat more extensive stretches of time together; even if he was called away now and again, it would be a distinct improvement over those sporadic lunches he had shared with her on the station, those too brief stolen hours on the surface. And, of course, they could begin extending their family. He could be a father. That was the part that Damar looked forward to the very most.

He hurried his stride, barely able to contain his excitement.