From Cardassia With Love

FROM CARDASSIA WITH LOVE

TIMING: In the 5th season episode "Dr. Bashir I presume?", Bashir said that it had been three years since his last visit home. This story is set during that visit, which would make it around about the middle of season 2.

DISCLAIMER: Star Trek, the station Deep Space 9 and all of it's characters are owned by Paramount Pictures. All rights are reserved, and no infringement is meant.

In the main bar on Jupiter station that particular night sat Julian Bashir, feeling bored. He was in the middle of a two week visit to Earth which so far had not proved to be very relaxing. Julian had been staying at his parents' house, but right from the moment of his arrival the atmosphere was heavy with undercurrents of suppressed anger and resentment. The conflicting feelings that Julian felt whenever he was in his parents' company were fully reciprocated, which made for a difficult time for everybody.

Three days into the visit Julian had received a message from Dr. Stephen Cody, who was one of the Starfleet doctors working on Jupiter station. Cody had been in Bashir's class at Starfleet medical academy, and the two men had got on well together without being really good friends. When Dr. Cody invited him to come to Jupiter station and stay overnight for an evening of drinking and catching up on old times, Julian jumped at the chance of getting away for a while. However, he arrived at the station just after 18.00 hours only to find that Dr. Cody had left it that morning. He had been assigned at the last minute to the crew of the Vigilant, which was heading to Betazed for a month-long medical research project. Stephen always had been a little absent minded - sometimes Julian wondered how on earth the man had managed to pass the academy entrance tests, let alone graduate. Clearly he had forgotten to tell Julian about the change of plan. The nurse to whom Bashir had spoken had been amused, admitting that this wasn't the first time this sort of thing had happened. "I reminded him to contact you about the Betazed thing twice this morning. He never listens to me!"

And so Julian had been forced to remain on the station until the following day, since there were no shuttles leaving for Earth until the next morning. He was allocated temporary quarters, and after eating a quick meal he headed to the bar. Although it contained a number of Starfleet personnel, there was nobody that he recognised. The doctor resigned himself to having a few drinks and then going to bed early. He had just finished his first drink when a familiar voice grated in his ear, causing him to groan inwardly.
"Well as you humans say, it's a small quadrant. Have you recently been transferred to this station, doctor?"
Bashir swivelled round on his bar stool. Gul Dukat stood next to him, eyeing him curiously. Of course he had been hoping to run in to someone that he knew in this bar, but did it really have to be this man? Well, be careful what you wish for...
"No Gul Dukat, I'm on leave and just came here to visit a friend."
"You aren't with your friend now."
"He had to leave the station unexpectedly on a mission. What are you doing here if I may ask, it's a little far from Cardassia isn't it?"
"My ship suddenly developed serious engine trouble and it was not possible to correct the problem without the facilities of a space station. The Federation gave us permission to dock here whilst the repairs are completed. We should be underway again by early morning. I wish to leave at 05.00 hours, preferably sooner. My crew will work all night if necessary to accomplish this, but there is no need for me to be there all of the time. Since your friend is not available, may I join you?"

Julian hesitated. He had no desire whatever to spend any time with Dukat, a man with whom he had absolutely nothing in common. And really, he could think of no reason why Dukat would want to socialise with him. But as far as the doctor could see there was no polite way to get away from the man, and Julian preferred not to offend people if he could avoid it.
"Please do, but I won't be staying here for much longer." About 20 minutes of stilted small talk should be enough for the sake of politeness, then he would leave.

An hour later, Julian and Dukat still sat together in the bar. They had moved to a table and were each onto their fourth drink. Julian had expected Dukat's brand of conversation to be patronising and a little rude, but in fact it was nothing of the sort. Dukat seemed to have temporarily abandoned his usual arrogant and abrasive attitude. Hard as it was for Bashir to believe, the man was actually proving to be a pleasant companion. Their conversation flowed freely, as they skipped rapidly between subjects as diverse as architecture, fashion trends, starship design, music, current events, food and theatre. Bashir began to realise that Dukat was in fact a cultured man, who possessed an understanding of many subjects. As for Dukat, he felt that the evening was turning out to be unexpectedly pleasant. When he had first spotted Dr. Bashir, his main reason for deciding to join him had been to covertly learn as much as possible about current developments at DS9. And just possibly, he might try to poison the doctor's mind against Garak if an opportunity to do so presented itself. It had not escaped Dukat's notice that Bashir was Garak's only friend back at the station, and if he could damage that friendship then it would make the tailor suffer. Dukat really had no other interest in the human.

As the evening wore on however, Dukat began to understood just why Garak liked spending time with the doctor. Bashir clearly had a quick mind and enjoyed the mental stimulation that intellectual debate could bring. Socialising with this man seemed so refreshingly normal! Dukat understood that he would always be the focus of other people's suspicion and distrust, it came with the territory. Whatever he said on DS9, even if it was just "hello", was examined for some double meaning. Most of the time this didn't bother him, in fact it pleased him, but every now and then the chance to have an ordinary conversation about ordinary things seemed just wonderful. So Dukat forgot his little agenda and relaxed, enjoying the moment. And he drank. And so did Bashir. After a while they started to mix drinks, selecting a variety of alcohol from different planets to sample. As all of the drinks were real alcohol, rather than synthale based, this was really not a good idea.

Towards the end of the evening both men were totally intoxicated, especially Dukat. He was finding it difficult to talk, as the words seemed to get confused in his head. He also had a splitting headache.
"We had a LOT to drink. Perhaps we should go back to quarters now" Julian said slowly and with the air of one making a great and solemn announcement.
"Don't think I've - got any" Dukat muttered. "Can't go back to the ship like this, sets a bad example."
Julian looked puzzled, but after a minute his face brightened. "Come back to my quarters. You can sober up there. I'll replicate something to help. When I've remembered what it's called."

The two men got up unsteadily, although it took Dukat three attempts before he could stand upright. Each one leaned heavily on the other as they made their way out of the bar. As Bashir and Dukat roamed through the station's habitat area, Julian realised that he was unable to remember where his quarters were. This simple fact struck the two inebriated men as extremely amusing, and they giggled helplessly as they moved along the corridors. It was only with the help of a smiling station engineer that they found the right quarters at all. Both men staggered through the door and flopped onto the bed, still laughing.

When he finally managed to control himself, Bashir got up and carefully made his way over to the replicator.
"Computer, I need something for a...for a...for a...no don't tell me computer, I'll remember...oh, yes, for a hangover." A pale blue drink materialised and he swigged it down in one long gulp. It tasted vile, but Julian took this to be a good sign; all the best medicines tasted awful in his experience. He replicated another one, and took it over to the bed where Dukat was lying down, still awake but a little dazed. The doctor offered him the drink, and wordlessly Dukat slung it back. Julian couldn't help but laugh when the Cardassian pulled an agonised face as he tasted the liquid. They both slumped down on the bed again to allow the remedy to take effect. After about five minutes both men were starting to feel more alive. Dukat suddenly sat up and regarded Julian with interest.
"I'd really never noticed how handsome you are doctor."
Julian blushed, embarrassed both by the words and the sincerity with which they were spoken.
"Thanks for the compliment. If you're feeling better then perhaps I should walk with you back to your ship. You'll want to check on how the repairs are getting along."
Dukat smiled lewdly. "I could do that of course, or I could remain here for a while. I am starting to feel much more myself now."
"Well that's good, so am I actually but it's late and-"

As Julian spoke Dukat moved with incredible speed to grab hold of him. With one fluid movement the Cardassian pulled Bashir close and began to kiss him, cutting off his words. Julian struggled to free himself but despite his genetic enhancements Dukat was still the stronger of the two. Dukat continued to kiss him passionately, thrusting his tongue into Bashir's mouth with considerable force. Despite himself Julian moaned, swept away by the strength of the sensations that were being produced within him. He ceased to resist and Dukat took full advantage of this, running his hands down Julian's body to touch every part of him in turn. Bashir gasped as two strong Cardassian hands kneaded his ass methodically. He moved to stimulate Dukat in turn by reaching up to stroke and bite his neck ridges, and Dukat delighted in his touch.

"OH YES! Doctor, do that again please!"
"You're very polite" teased Julian. "Funny how you never say please so prettily when you're negotiating with Commander Sisko."
Dukat growled with mock anger, gripped Julian with more force and pushed him back down on the bed.
"You dare speak insolently to me? You federation cock teaser!"
"Cardassian scum!" Julian started massaging Dukat's thighs.
"Human filth!" Dukat nuzzled into Julian's neck and ran his hands though his hair.
"Military whore!" Julian licked Dukat's ears and nibbled on the ridges surrounding his eyes.
"Starfleet slut!" Dukat stroked and kneaded the muscles in Julian's arms and shoulders.
"Arrogant bastard!" Julian began rubbing his groin against Dukat's, stimulating them both wildly.
"Decadent fool!" Dukat gave Julian's ass a stinging blow with his hand.

Julian started laughing at this point, and Dukat smiled back at him. The human's enthusiasm for their little game was most surprising. The verbal sparring had sharpened Dukat's appetite for what lay ahead, in fact he could feel himself getting hard already. Perhaps it was time to move things along a little. He began to remove Julian's clothes, struggling a little with the unfamiliar uniform until Bashir helped out. One by one the items of clothing came off until Julian was naked before him. The doctor smiled, revelling in Dukat's intense scrutiny of his body.

Dukat had seen other bodies with a similar structure to Julian's, but even so he was captivated by the wondrous beauty of the man who lay at his side. Such smooth light coloured skin this Julian Bashir had. And a lithe, slim body with no blemishes, no wrinkles, no marks at all in fact. Plus one hell of a penis! Dukat couldn't really imagine what it would be like to be fucked by such a man. It had never happened to him before. Perhaps later on he would find out...

"I must confess doctor that it is a little hard for me to believe that someone as young and attractive as yourself might desire me. After all, I am many years older than you."
Julian smiled. "Commander Sisko often says that it's always useful to cultivate friendly relationships with high ranking officers in alien governments. I'm sure that he'd want me to do anything I could to satisfy you."
"In that case I do hope you're going to serve Starfleet well doctor."
"I always do my duty" replied Bashir with a grin as he assisted Dukat to take off his uniform. The doctor looked just as openly at Dukat's body. The Cardassian was broader and stockier in build than himself. His skin was much darker, and the ridged markings ran in one long line down his body from his shoulders to his feet. Dukat's muscles rippled as he moved, and he was already erect. Julian was fascinated by the sight of his moist sex, and on impulse he reached out to stroke it. Dukat gasped, and moved closer. Bashir continued to stimulate him, pumping his shaft with vigour. At the same time Dukat kissed and fondled him, producing feelings of sheer ecstasy in the doctor. Before Dukat could come Bashir stopped, causing the Cardassian to groan with disappointment. But the doctor only moved away for a moment to replicate some lubricant. With trembling hands he stooped to lather Dukat's pulsing manhood with the gel, and the Cardassian had to struggle to prevent himself coming right then and there. With a supreme effort he held himself under control, determined to wait until he was right inside Julian. He drew the doctor back on the bed, and pulled him close once more.
"Are you absolutely sure that this is what you want? Unlike some others of my kind, I would not find it acceptable to take you unless you are willing."
"Oh Dukat, I can't think of anything that I want more" whispered Julian earnestly. He turned over, and Dukat was presented with the wonderfully arousing sight of his pert ass. But still he hesitated. Although loath to admit the fact, Dukat was nervous. He had never been with a human before and knew nothing of their preferred lovemaking techniques. Now that the time had come he was worried about the blow to his pride if he failed to pleasure Julian, and also Dukat thought that he could easily damage the doctor if their mating was too vigorous.
"Dukat, what is it? Don't you find me attractive any more?" Julian's voice was sad.
"Ah yes, of course I find you attractive, but compared to a Cardassian your species is not very strong and-"
"Oh is that all! Well you don't have to worry for one moment about causing me harm, Dukat. Believe me when I say that I'm a lot stronger than I look. You can take me as hard as you want, it won't matter but just please take me!"

Without further hesitation Dukat pressed the tip of his sex firmly against Julian's tight opening. Julian cried out excitedly for him to keep going and wiggled his hips impatiently, thrusting back towards Dukat to bring them closer together. Dukat could no longer hold himself back; the human was just too intoxicating to resist. The scent of him, the look of him, everything about him drove Dukat wild. He thrust into Julian, forcing his way into his ass with a shout of passion. Julian cried out with pleasure, and twisted happily beneath him. The doctor had never had a lover as sensual as this before! Dukat seemed to understand exactly what he wanted, before he even realised it himself. Julian intended to make sure that he did not disappoint Dukat in return, and he responded to the Cardassian's advances with vigour. Dukat was all the way inside Julian now, and Bashir revelled in the new sensation of being penetrated. Dukat's body pressed against him for it's whole length, and he continued to caress Julian's face, neck and shoulders all the while. Cardassian endearments were whispered tenderly into his ears, and Julian murmured loving words to Dukat in return.

After a moment's pause for breath Dukat began moving again, increasing the pace of his thrusts and establishing a rhythm which brought incredible fulfillment to both men. Dukat grunted and gasped with delight as he worked the doctor's beautiful body. Julian was crying out uninhibitedly, telling Dukat with every word and gesture how much he adored what was happening to him. His fears dispelled, Dukat moved his hand around to Julian's throbbing member and began to pump it strongly. He intended for them both to come at the same moment, and timed his thrusts accordingly. Julian was almost incoherent with excitement, and tears of pleasure were rolling down his face. Dukat smiled to see them and bent his head to lick each one away, enjoying the salty taste. With a final push Dukat came, and a split second later so did Bashir.
"Oh Dukat, that was truly incredible! You're the best I ever had, thank you so much!"
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it. You were pretty good yourself as a matter of fact" said Dukat smugly, as the two men lay back on the bed and curled up close to one another. Later on they made love again, and Bashir took Dukat with a tenderness that moved the Cardassian considerably. Bashir could sense this instinctively, although the other man did not use any words. There was no need, for at that point their understanding of one another was complete.

After their passion was finally spent Dukat began to feel cold, so Julian turned up the heat and pulled the covers over them both. For a while they chatted again, more intimately than before as the memory of their joining stayed in their minds. Dukat talked of his love for his family, and proudly listed his children's various accomplishments.
"My second daughter scored a 97% average marking on her end of year tests at school this year, can you imagine that!"
He also spoke of the pressures and disadvantages of military life, and especially of how difficult his constant absences were for his family to cope with. For his part Julian told Dukat about his life on DS9, and even mentioned something of his parental problems. In the comforting darkness both men felt able to talk about issues in their life that they would never even have considered mentioning at any other time, even to close friends. Somehow it felt right to let down their guard. Finally they grew tired, and at Dukat's invitation Julian climbed on top of him to sleep. The Cardassian enjoyed feeling the weight of Bashir's body pressed against him, and Julian found that he could hear the lovely sound of Dukat's heartbeat in his ears. Both of them were completely content - the room was warm, the bed was comfortable and the company was delightful. Within minutes they were asleep.

With nerve-jarring suddenness Bashir was roughly shaken awake several hours later. When he opened his eyes he almost gasped at the scene before him. At his side lay Dukat, still sleeping soundly. And around the bed, grinning at him lewdly, were six Cardassian soldiers.
"What on earth are you doing in my quarters? Get out all of you!"
The highest ranking of the Cardassians smiled thinly. "We will, when we've collected Gul Dukat. His orders were for us to leave by 05.00 hours, and when he did not arrive at that time then we feared that he may have been harmed in some way. Instead it would seem that he met with a... distraction on his way back to our vessel. I was wondering why we were been unable to wake him. Now I know why, he's had too much exercise."
The other men laughed loudly. They all took great pleasure in observing Julian's obvious feelings of embarrassment and discomfort at being found naked and in bed with their commander. Bashir checked Dukat over quickly, and was relieved to find that he was fine.
"He had a lot to drink last night, that's all. Take him back to your ship, he can sleep it off on the way back to Cardassia."

Still grinning, the soldiers fetched Dukat's clothing and dressed him. Dukat stirred a little as he was handled but did not wake up. The soldiers then lifted Dukat up and carried him out of the room. The Cardassian officer paused at the door. "I'll be sure to give Gul Dukat your regards. Perhaps you can give me your name in return? The Gul keeps a notepadd to record all of his conquests, so it would be useful to have full details. He gives each one marks out of 100 you know, and maintains a league table of his top 10 fucks for the year. I'm sure you'll get a very high score."

"Get out or you'll be thrown out" said Julian furiously. With a last derisive laugh the man went away, leaving Julian alone with his thoughts. Last night had been special to him, an event to be valued. The way that the Cardassians had acted made him feel debased and unclean. In addition, the thought that Dukat might clinically assess his performance in comparison to dozens of other lovers was an unpleasant one. And what if Dukat told everyone what had happened on his next visit to the station, or even before then? It would be impossible to face people after that. They would despise him and he couldn't really blame them.

Julian knew that he would never have slept with Dukat if he hadn't been drunk. And yet, despite that fact he did not regret what had taken place. Dukat had treated him with respect throughout, and acted as if Julian were indeed special to him in some way. As he continued to think about things, Julian decided that a group of insensitive and arrogant Cardassian soldiers weren't going to take away a good memory. Maybe he was just one of a very long line of Dukat's lovers, but last night the Cardassian had made him feel as if he were the only one ever. It was enough. Julian got up and headed to take a shower, suddenly smiling as he thought about the many pleasures which Dukat had given him.

Two weeks later and Julian was back into his usual routine on Deep Space 9. The rest of his holiday had been uneventful but dull, and he had been glad to get back to the station. Within hours of his return he'd spoken to most of his friends, and it was clear that none of them knew about his visit to Jupiter station. Perhaps Dukat had also decided to not to mention their meeting to anyone. After all, he probably had a lot more to lose than Julian did. That evening Julian was in his quarters getting ready to go out for a drink with Chief O'Brien.
"Ops. to Dr. Bashir, you have an incoming message from Gul Dukat. He says it concerns a medical emergency with one of his crew."
Bashir grunted to himself. Medical emergency indeed! Well, he had no idea what Dukat was going to say but it had better not be anything annoying. After taking the time to chat with Garak about Cardassian family values the other day, he had realised that Dukat would need to keep their tryst a secret in order to safeguard his career. Although he had no wish to hurt the man, the thought of Dukat's lovers' notepadd still rankled. After a moment Julian asked Ops. to put the message through, and in due course Dukat's familiar face appeared on the viewscreen. He looked cautious and wary.

"Good day Dr. Bashir. I apologies for disturbing you when you are off duty, but I thought we needed to talk. This is a coded channel by the way, so please feel free to speak frankly."
"What do you want to talk about?" Julian asked coolly.
"I have a question for you. Have you told anyone about us?"
"No, and I don't intend to either. As far as I am concerned I would much prefer to keep this whole thing a secret."
"A commendable attitude doctor, and you can be assured that I will do the same."
"How can you possibly do that? The men who came for you-"
"Are loyal. And they can also be bought, which is almost as good. It has been dealt with doctor. The matter will not become public knowledge here. And now that we have settled that issue, perhaps I can be more personal. I wish to thank you for a most pleasant evening. You made my stay on Jupiter station a very entertaining one."
"Oh, I'm sure that I did. What was my score by the way?" Julian could no longer resist mentioning it.
Dukat looked confused. "Score? I don't understand you."
Julian sighed impatiently. "Don't play the innocent with me please. The officer who collected you said that you kept a record analysing your various...partners with a score for each one, and that you-"
"A record? He said that?" Dukat laughed out loud. "Well doctor, believe me when I say that there is no record. I fear that the officer concerned was simply playing a game with you. I promise you, that is the truth. And really, there is no reason for me to lie."
Dukat was clearly telling the truth and Julian was relieved to hear it. "I'm glad about that. And... well, I had a most pleasant evening too by the way."
Dukat smiled. "That's good. May I ask another question?"
Julian leaned forward and briefly caressed the image of Dukat's cheek on the viewscreen. The gesture felt oddly personal to both of them. "Ask me whatever you want."
"When we were together, you said that I was the best lover you ever had. Was that true?"
"Yes," Julian replied shyly.
"Well, I'm most flattered by the compliment. I suppose that any man with as many children as I have should have learned a thing or two about pleasing a partner by now. And although there really is no notepadd, if there were then I would find it hard to give you anything but a perfect score." Dukat grinned impishly as he saw Julian blush bright red at the compliment.
"Well doctor I have duties to perform so I must leave you now. Thank you again for your company."
"And the same to you Gul Dukat. Goodbye."

Three years later...

Dukat sighed as he got up from the conference table to stretch his legs. All day negotiating and it seemed that so little had been agreed. Gaining entry to the Dominion had certainly not proved to be a quick process. Their chief negotiator Weyoun was being careful over every little detail. However, Dukat had no doubt that the final points would be settled in the near future, and that very soon now Cardassia would be an important part of the Dominion.

"Gul Dukat, there is one further point that I would like to cover before we finish today. There is concern amongst us that Starfleet may at some point decide to seal the wormhole, which would prevent our planned alliance from going ahead. To prevent this from happening, and also to collect intelligence data on Starfleet's plans, it has been decided to replace a key member of staff on Deep Space 9 with a founder. Whoever we remove will be sent to a prison camp in the gamma quadrant, and believe me they won't make it back from there. I thought that the chief engineer would be a good choice for the founder to replace, what do you think? After all you know the key personnel on that station much better than I do."

As Weyoun finished talking, images from the past crowded into Dukat's mind. Julian Bashir holding him, loving him, calling out his name joyously as they melded together. One night of breathtaking passion which was never repeated, and the fact of it had been kept secret by both of them. But soon he would be the leader of the Cardassian government, and there would be war. When that time came, perhaps Julian would not be willing to keep their secret any longer. Dukat looked back at Weyoun, who was waiting expectedly for a response.

"No Weyoun, replace their chief medical officer instead. He's still senior staff with a good security clearance, plus he has access to drugs and medical records which could be useful. Replacing the engineer would be the obvious choice, and it's the first thing they'd think of if things go wrong. You don't want your beloved founder to be caught do you?"
"Of course not. You're right, we should take the doctor. I'll arrange it immediately. Until tomorrow then, Gul Dukat."

Dukat stayed in the empty room for some time afterwards, thinking about the young man whom he had just sentenced to death, or at least to life imprisonment. Eventually he got up and spoke aloud to himself.

"There need be no regrets. I must not be compromised at the very time when I can finally unite our people so that we can crush our enemies underfoot. It had to be done, so let it go now and concentrate on your goal. Getting rid of Bashir was for the good of the state, for the good of Cardassia itself, and that is all there is to say." Dukat walked out confidently and didn't look back.

THE END