ACT THREE

FADE IN:

20 INT. CARDASSIAN SCIENCE ACADEMY - SECURITY ROOM

FLAMES, SPARKS and SMOKE. A fallen sheet of metal is pushed aside, letting Kira struggle to her feet. Her face shows bruises and scorch marks, her clothes are singed, and she coughs from the smoke. She looks around, eyes wincing...

...at the blasted control room, where computer panels have ruptured and at least one Cardassian soldier is dead.

KIRA
Nyra! Linjarin! Is anyone there?

YEVIR (o.s.)
We’re here, Nerys...

She homes in on the voice, YANKS a toppled table out of the way, and finds Yevir and Nyra huddled behind it. Yevir is cradling Nyra, protecting her as if she were his daughter. Kira helps them to their feet, looks around again...

...and sees the Cardassian soldiers pulling themselves out of the debris. Kira instinctively takes charge.

KIRA
Yevir, you and Nyra get out there
and look for survivors.
(to Cardassian
soldiers)
You and you - you’re with me.

YEVIR
What are you doing, Nerys?

KIRA
The pilot of that shuttle ejected
before the crash. He’s still out
there, and I’m going to find him.

The venom in this is not lost on Yevir. But before he can do anything to stop her, she leads the soldiers out...

21 EXT. CARDASSIAN SCIENCE ACADEMY - DAY

Kira emerges onto the street, the two soldiers with her. They pass the security station, whose former guardians are even now running inside to help. She is single-minded, ignoring the burning building behind her, glaring at...

...the SKY over the city, and the ENGINE TRAIL of the shuttle leading towards them. But Kira looks closer...

...and sees that there is a smaller trail leading off the first. That is where the pilot ejected, apparently wearing some kind of personal jetpack that leaves its own trail.

KIRA
This way.

She heads off, determined. The Cardassians follow her...

22 EXT. LAKAT CITY STREETS - DAY

Morad comes to land, his jetpack sputtering out as it drops him to the ground. Morad looks back the way he came...

...at the burning Academy, explosions still going off...

...and he grins. That was a good day’s work.

SIRENS as the city’s emergency services begin to react...

...and Morad decides he’d better get out of there. He rips off the jetpack, throws it down an alley, and RUNS.

As another EXPLOSION sounds off-screen, INTERCUT WITH:

23 INT. CARDASSIAN SCIENCE ACADEMY - MAIN LABORATORY

Yevir THROWN BACK by the force of it, shrapnel and flames landing around him on the scorched and pitted floor of the laboratory. Nyra calls out...

NYRA
Vedek! Please be careful!

Yevir reclaims his dignity, gets to his feet, brushes off.

YEVIR
Not to worry, Nyra. I was Militia
before I joined the priesthood. I
faced situations like this before.
Now let’s find those survivors.

He forges on to look for the Cardassian scientists who were working here, hoping to save as many as he can. Nyra watches him go, impressed and proud. She looks around...

...at the laboratory, machines destroyed, ceiling collapsed in, Cardassian soldiers quickly picking through the burning ruins to find and rescue her whimpering colleagues.

Nyra is heartbroken. All her work is now in flames.

Then she resolves herself, and follows Yevir’s example.

24 EXT. LAKAT CITY STREETS - DAY

Kira chasing down the street, sniffing out her prey by sheer instinct, sirens still wailing in the background...

...she finds the alley, sees the jetpack Morad left there, growls in anger. She pauses to look around, figure out the most likely course he took, and takes off running again.

The Cardassian soldiers come running behind her...

25 MORAD

feeling the authorities on his tail... he realises now that his fun might actually come with consequences, so he puts on an extra push of energy... but he is just an ordinary freighter pilot, and not a highly trained soldier...

26 EXT. LAKAT CITY STREETS - DAY

...and as he passes another alley, looking back over his shoulder the other way...

Kira LAUNCHES out of the alley and TACKLES Morad to the ground. They tussle on the ground...

Kira in an absolute rage, PUNCHING him over and over...

Morad fighting her off as best he can, confused at what the hell a Bajoran is even doing here...

One last PUNCH from Kira knocks the fight out of Morad. She DRAGS him to his feet, THROWS him against the wall, TWISTS his arm behind his back, furiously HISSES in his ear...

KIRA
Murderer. Cardassian murderer.

The sounds of BOOTS and weapons charging up, as the other Cardassian soldiers finally catch up to Kira...

...and she realises that right now she looks like the crazy one, with Cardassian soldiers pointing weapons her way...

...she lets go and steps back, hands in the air. Morad slumps to the ground, half-conscious...

...and the soldiers come to grab Morad, SOLDIER 1 even nodding his thanks to Kira for her actions.

As they lead Morad off between them, Kira tries to get herself under control. She is a whole mess of emotions - rage, guilt, fear, and confusion about her own reactions.

27 INT. DS9 - OPS

An ALERT on the main OPS table. Dalin Slaine checks it, is curious so she reads further...

Her hand goes to her mouth in tearful horror...

She looks around the room at the other Ops crew, who are going about their own business. She doesn’t really know these people, she can’t possibly share this with them.

So she turns back to her station, gets on with her job, fighting to concentrate even as tears threaten...

28 INT. DS9 - SECURITY OFFICE

CENN enters the office, finding Inspector RWOGO standing and reading criminal activity reports from a wall screen. She turns at his arrival, and smiles toothily...

RWOGO
Major Cenn! To what do I owe the
pleasure of your company?

CENN
Hi, Inspector. I’m just checking
in, seeing how you’re doing.

RWOGO
(wryly)
Checking in? Or checking up on?

CENN
I don’t follow...

Rwogo chuckles to herself, heads back to her desk, sits.

RWOGO
Captain Ro sent you here to keep
an eye on me, didn’t she?

CENN
Not at all. She asked me to make
sure that both the new exchange
officers are settling in.

Rwogo nods sarcastically - Sure, Jan.

RWOGO
Well, you can tell Captain Ro that
her new security chief is hard at
work keeping the station safe for
all. And that she’ll continue to do
the job the best way she knows
how, until the captain figures out
she can actually trust me with it.

Cenn sighs inwardly - this feud between Ro and Rwogo is going to make life difficult on the station.

Then the door opens again, and SLAINE enters, hesitant and nervous, on the verge of tears. Cenn turns, surprised...

CENN
Dalin Slaine? Are you okay?

SLAINE
I’m sorry, I didn’t know who else
to ask, and the computer said
you were in here...

Slaine looks past Cenn to Rwogo - they have not yet been introduced. Rwogo gets up and comes to greet the younger woman garrulously if sensitively.

RWOGO
Hello, you must be Slaine, our new
strategic operations officer. I’m
Inspector Rwogo, security chief.
Come on in, my dear, take a
seat, and tell us what’s wrong.

Slaine is grateful for Rwogo’s friendly, motherly manner. She lets herself be led to one of the guest seats, Cenn sits opposite her, while Rwogo heads to the replicator.

SLAINE
There was a news report from back
home, Cardassia. It said there’s
been an explosion... at the new
Science Academy annex in Lakat.

CENN
Did you know somebody there?

SLAINE
My friend Nyra. She’s one of the
junior researchers.

Cenn sighs. Rwogo arrives with a mug, hands it to Slaine...

RWOGO
Here you go. Red leaf tea.

Slaine smiles with gratitude. Rwogo returns to her desk...

RWOGO
Now then... I read the same news
report hours ago, and it made
no mention of the scale of the
explosion, what caused it, or of
who might have been hurt by it.

CENN
Of course not. Cardassians never
want to admit to any weakness.

A frown from Slaine and a glare from Rwogo...

RWOGO
My point is, we should not jump
to any conclusions.

SLAINE
It’s not just Nyra. Yevir was
there too.

CENN
Vedek Yevir? How do you know?

SLAINE
Because Nyra told me she was going
to invite him. She said it in her last
message - the one I didn’t respond
to before I left, because I was too
eager to get here. And now they’re
both probably dead... and I never
said goodbye to them.

RWOGO
Wait - I thought Yevir travelled
back to Cardassia on the same
ship that brought you, the Ghedri.
You didn’t cross paths?

Slaine glances at Cenn, a bit embarrassed...

SLAINE
My first day in a new assignment.
I could hardly ask for a favour. I
just wish I knew what’s going on.
But my superiors in the Cardassian
Guard will tell me nothing, I know
that. It’s not even worth asking.
(pleading)
Will you help me, please? Help
me to find out if they’re safe?

Cenn smiles, glad to be the bigger man (he thinks)...

CENN
Of course we’ll help.

RWOGO
And as it happens, young lady,
you’ve come to the right place.
This station boasts four of the
best investigators in the quadrant
working all together. I’m sure that
between us we can find some
information about your friend.

CENN
Four of us?

RWOGO
You, me, Lieutenant Douglas, and
Captain Ro.
(sour)
The latter of whom I’m now going
to have to go and grovel to, if I
want to make use of her contacts
in the Cardassian Union.
(rallies)
Still! I’m a Ferengi, grovelling
is in our blood. Return to your
post, dalin. We’ll let you know
what we find.

Off Rwogo’s let’s-get-this-over-with grin...

BLACK OUT

END OF ACT THREE