Now he simply had to wait until the Order summoned him. He passed the time by giving a final proofread to his report—which would be hand-delivered once the summons came. Such sensitive intelligence could not be transmitted.
Shortly after he finished reading the report over a third time, his comm unit beeped and a voice read out a coded message. Entek’s keen mind decoded it instantly—and then he blinked his wide brown eyes in surprise. He had expected to be sent to the business office that served as an Order front, where he always met with his supervisor. Instead, he had been told to report directly to Order headquarters.
Briefly, Entek worried that someone might see “Kallar” entering that edifice, thus blowing his cover, but the Order would not have summoned him there if they thought that would be a problem. That meant either that the cover was no longer a concern, or his being seen wasn’t one. Besides,he thought, Kallar is a lowly intern, not worthy of being noticed. I suspect I could walk right by Zarin or Olett on the street and they would not even know who I was.
It only took thirty minutes to traverse the distance from his apartment complex to Order headquarters via mass transit—his orders included no mention of permission to use transporters, which were generally reserved for high-level operatives, or agents actually in the field. Entek took advantage of the opportunity to study his fellow Cardassians, all moving about their lives blissfully unaware that they were under scrutiny. Well, truthfully, they probably knew they were under some kind of scrutiny at all times. Monitors in the train car provided a steady stream of governmental decrees—propaganda, truly—to remind the masses of the great nation they lived under. Entek had always been of two minds about the practice. On the one hand, it was good to reinforce doctrine to the citizenry. On the other hand, familiarity could breed contempt. The very omnipresence of the propaganda lessened its effect, as it became part of the background, something that was seen and heard, but not really observed or listened to.
Still, that was Central Command’s decision. Like most of Central Command’s decisions, it was questionable. Such as, for example, breaking our agreement with the Federation and hiding ships in the Betreka Nebula.
When the train arrived at the downtown stop proximate to Order headquarters, Entek disembarked and walked up the stairs. The streets were crowded with pedestrians of all ages at this late afternoon hour—parents with their children, who were just let out of school, workers leaving their offices to return home to their families, merchants selling their wares.
One woman stood at a cart, selling biscuits and assorted libations. Entek noted that she palmed something into the bag of one customer before handing it to him, and she and the customer exchanged what Entek viewed as a significant look. He committed their physical descriptions to memory and made a mental note to report them to the Order. If they were engaged in seditious acts, the Order needed to deal with it. If, on the other hand, they were engaged in legitimate covert business, they needed to be more discreet. True, Entek was trained to notice such things, but the merchant was still too obvious, as far as Entek was concerned.
Entek turned a corner into a dead-end street. Almost the minute he made the turn, the ambient noise level decreased and the number of people on the street dwindled. The fifty-story gray edifice at the end of the cul-de-sac was not one that many Cardassians went to willingly. Entek knew that this was not truly the Order’s stronghold, simply where they kept several administrative offices; it was the Order’s sole public face, necessary to give the citizenry a point of reference. Still, Entek had never actually set foot in this building before.
He approached the reception desk, the padd containing his full account of the Betreka Nebula incident in a duffel bag he carried over his shoulder.
“I was instructed to report,” he said simply.
The woman at the reception desk barely looked up from her computer. She pointed to the retinal scanner. Entek dutifully leaned into it, allowing the amber light to scan his eyes. Moments later, it verified his identity and ran that through the computer, searching for a match in the day’s appointments.
“You’re to report to Room 2552,” the receptionist said a moment later.
“Thank you,” Entek said. “I also wish to report a possible act of sedition.”
The receptionist activated a recording device, and Entek gave every detail he could about the biscuit vendor and her customer.
Then, content that he had done his duty to Cardassia, he proceeded to a turbolift and instructed it to take him to the twenty-fifth floor.
The office in question was in the center of the building, on the middle floor. Entek realized that this put it in probably the most secure above-ground part of the structure: its epicenter.
A woman with black-and-white hair sat at a workstation right outside the door marked with the numeral 2552. The moment Entek entered, she looked up, then activated an intercom. “He’s arrived,” was all she said.
“Send him in.”
She looked up at Entek with a bland expression. “You may go in.”
Nodding his assent, Entek walked up to the door, which opened at his approach.
Inside was a simple, undecorated office, with a small wooden desk—real wood, as far as Entek could tell, or as good a fake as made no visual difference; expensive either way—and a viewscreen on the eastern wall that showed a view of a swirling nebula. Entek realized after a moment that it was, in fact, the Betreka Nebula. He wondered if that was a deliberate choice.
The desk’s occupant was turned facing the bookcase that lined the southern wall behind the desk. As the door closed behind Entek, the chair whirled around—
—and Entek was barely able to control his reaction when he realized that he was in the office of Enabran Tain.
Entek fully expected to spend many years serving Cardassia in the Obsidian Order without ever being in the same room as the Order’s head. To have his first field assignment debriefing be conducted by the Order’s leader meant—
In truth, Entek had no idea what it meant.
“Have a seat,” Tain said in a surprisingly pleasant voice. Entek had expected someone more—well, frightening to be occupying this office. But Tain was a pudgy, unassuming Cardassian wearing a simple green outfit. Entek doubted he’d even notice Tain walking down the street.
Belatedly, Entek realized that it was probably a deliberate choice on Tain’s part.
He followed Tain’s instruction and sat in one of the two guest chairs. “Would you like to read my report?” he asked.
“Very much so, yes,” Tain said. “Though based on what I’ve heard from Central Command, I suspect I’m not going to like what I read.” Entek must have shown apprehension on his face at that, because Tain quickly added, “This doesn’t reflect on you, Entek. In fact, Central Command may well have blundered into a prime intelligence-gathering opportunity. This may well be a blessing in disguise.”
If it is, it’s a very good disguise,Entek thought, but was wise enough not to say aloud. Instead, he simply reached into his duffel and retrieved the padd. Tain took it from his hands, and keyed the display to show him the report.
While Tain perused Entek’s words, the young agent watched the swirl of the nebula. He hadn’t had much chance to observe the stellar phenomenon while on the Carthage—between his duties as Zarin’s toady and his undercover work, there simply was no time—so he took advantage of this opportunity to watch the stellar nursery at work. Entek had never been much of a stargazer, but he had to admit that the swirl of gases and electrons and protostars made for almost hypnotic viewing.
“An excellent report,” Tain finally said, setting the padd aside. “You’ve done well. Your observations on the Federation staff are especially useful.”
“I am only sorry I was unable to inform the Order of the fleet in the nebula.”
Tain shrugged. “There was little we could have done.”
“Central Command made us look like fools before the Federation.”
“Don’t underestimate the Federation, my young friend. They may appear soft and unworthy, but they have thrived. They are the true power in this part of the galaxy, and they have resources we can only begin to guess at. The very fact that they saw through Central Command’s deception shows that they are a force to be reckoned with.”