Chapter Text
Nobody on DS9 was surprised when Julian signed up for a six-month stint on Cardassia Prime. In fact, he’d even overheard a comment that there had been a betting pool on when he would leave since the end of the war, a disconcerting discovery since Julian had only determined to go two weeks prior. The Federation relief effort was extremely short on medical personnel, and he did have more experience with Cardassian physiology than most. With so many Cardassian doctors and nurses killed after being conscripted for military service, Cardassia was looking at many years before it had enough medical professionals. It was natural for Julian to go assist once he and Ezri parted ways.
Ezri and Kira both came to see him off. Two and a half weeks after their split he was finally thinking that he and Ezri might actually be able to manage the ‘let’s be friends’ plan. God, he’d wanted their relationship to work. He did love her, and he believed that she loved him, but he hadn’t really been able to argue when she called it off.
You can’t say how much of this is because of Jadzia, can you? Neither can I. And we both deserve better than that. He knew even at the time that she was right, loathe though he was to admit it. But leaving – even if only for half a year – made the breakup seem very final.
“Take care of yourself, Julian.” She gave him a chaste hug, and Julian had to swallow hard because he would miss her hugs along with everything else.
“I will.”
“The Cardassians are very lucky that you like frontiers,” said Kira.
Julian shook his head slightly, amazed at how naïve he’d been when he first arrived on DS9. “Not a frontier. Their home.” He knew now that he’d initially ignored the scope of Bajor’s tragedy, blinded by his romantic views of practicing heroic frontier medicine. He’d never really apologized for that, but his remark got him a genuinely pleased Kira Nerys smile, so he figured she understood.
It was a good start, Julian thought, that the Cardassian sent to meet him wasn’t dripping with hostility. Avrek, as he introduced himself, collected Julian’s cargo and completed the necessary paperwork with great efficiency. It wasn’t long before they were in a ground transport and Julian could see the heartbreaking extent of the damage. They were heading through the city, or rather what was left of it, and he’d never seen so much rubble in all his life. The three months since war’s end might not have passed at all.
“If you would, Doctor, please look the other way.”
He did, turning his attention to Avrek just as he realized that a body was being removed from rubble. He suspected that at some point, he was going to start seeing dead Cardassian bodies.
For the present he wondered where they were headed. “Where am I going to be working?”
“You have been assigned to the Elgin’kor District.” After a pause, he continued, “The district hospital will be delighted with the additional supplies you brought, I’m certain.”
Julian was really hoping that the district hospital would appreciate him as a doctor, and not just for his supplies.
“As you are undoubtedly aware, housing is in short supply.”
“Yes. I was told to expect a communal living arrangement.”
“The Relief Coordination Office found a volunteer who has a spare room in his house. I would caution you, Doctor, that on Cardassia it is not wise to pry into your host’s past.”
“I understand.” Judging by the look Avrek gave him, Julian seriously doubted the Cardassian believed him. No matter. He was used to secretive Cardassians, or at least a secretive Cardassian, and he wasn’t particularly worried about his safety. Much as it galled some of them, the Cardassians needed Federation aid to avoid the deaths of millions more. The Relief Coordination Office wasn’t about to imperil that aid by placing a Federation volunteer in a truly dangerous living situation.
“Your host is the district pur-nim.”
“I’m sorry, the translator didn’t catch the last word. Pur-nim?”
“An ancient word that we have recently taken to using. The pur-nim is responsible for the equitable distribution of relief supplies, maximizing the resources of the district, and keeping order.”
“I thank you for expanding my Cardassi vocabulary.”
“You are learning our language?” Avrek sounded almost impressed.
“I’m afraid that at this point my knowledge is mostly limited to medical terminology.” That seemed a sensible place to start. He wasn’t terribly concerned about picking up basic Cardassi vocabulary, but so much of the language was based on context that he felt it would take far longer than six months to be truly fluent, even for him.
“Naturally.” A pause, and then, “I will deliver your supplies to the hospital. Your host will escort you in the morning.”
“Thank you.”
If the size of the houses was anything to go by, this was previously a wealthy neighborhood. Some houses seemed more or less intact, but everything was covered in the dust which had lately been settling out of the atmosphere.
Amid this bleak setting, though, he saw signs of hope: a small garden here or there; a group of children playing some kind of game with two large balls; a house under construction; groups clearing away rubble. But it was going to take a long time, that much was plain to see. Suddenly, his six months seemed like no time at all to really help Cardassia.
Avrek stopped the transport in front of a barely damaged house, set back on one of the more expansive lots in a stretch where the destruction seemed less pervasive. “I trust you have been given the contact information for the Relief Coordination Office.”
“Yes.”
“Should you require assistance, the office is staffed twenty-three hours a day.”
Right. He had to remember that Cardassian days were only twenty-three hours.
When they opened the rear of the transport, he pulled out his personal medkit and two bags. “The rest is for the hospital.”
“Cardassia thanks you, Doctor. Ah, here is your host.”
To Julian’s great shock his host was none other than Garak, who was wearing one of the smiles which Julian had at length realized was vaguely self-satisfied. “Really, Doctor, I would have expected a letter informing me that you were coming to Cardassia.”
“I was planning to show up on your doorstep one day and surprise you for once.” But with Garak, Julian supposed, he ought to have suspected something like this.
Avrek nodded his farewell and left Julian wondering if he should be flattered or annoyed that Garak had arranged this, because there was no way in hell it was a coincidence.
“You have surprised me before.”
“Name once.”
“Your fascination with Second Renaissance Bolian prose-poems. But I am neglecting my duties as your host. Do come in.”
It was warm and dark inside, as opposed to warm and sunny outside, but without the acidic smell of the dust. Julian stood for a moment while his vision adjusted, waiting to look at the place. When he could see, he realized that he was in a small entryway which branched off left and right, with a staircase in the middle. It was undecorated except for the geometric glass lights set into the wall.
“The guest room is this way.” Garak led him down the left hall. “Here is the washroom. We only have water for four hours a day, I’m afraid, and it’s rather strictly rationed, but there’s a sonic shower powered by the solar panels.”
The guest bedroom was spacious, with a bed easily large enough for two adult Cardassians, and Julian was starting to wonder about the lack of others. “Garak, I thought housing space was at a premium.”
He didn’t need to elaborate. One rarely did with Garak. “It is indeed. However, nobody wants to live in Tain’s house.”
“I hadn’t thought Cardassians believed in ghosts.”
“Nothing so foolish as ghosts, Doctor. They were worried about the booby traps, to use your peculiar human phrase.”
“There were booby traps?”
“There still are. No need to be alarmed. I have not had the time to enter Tain’s suite. I assure you, Doctor, the rest of the house is perfectly safe. Simply avoid the right wing upstairs.”
“I’ll do that.” He paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. “You came back to this house.”
“It would have been quite selfish to take up space in other housing.”
Garak was probably also protecting Tain’s secrets, but Julian knew better to than to ask. Besides, he was busy asking himself why he was relatively unbothered about living the next six months in a booby trapped house.