Not A goodbye

Chapter 3

THE CHAOS SEEMED TO have died down. It was three hours after Fujita and the group of thirty-two Vreoi had gotten back to Deep Space 9. A total of nineteen hundred and thirty-eight Vreoi had made it safely to the station. Some of them had been wounded, but Doctor Bashir had treated their injuries and none of them were in critical danger anymore. The other Vreoi had been assigned quarters and had all settled in.

Fujita – who had discovered the bar about an hour ago – was sitting at Quark's, drinking a cranberry coffee. She had just token a sip and was looking around the rest of the bar, when she heard a voice behind her.

'It's not your fault, you know that.'

Fujita turned around and saw Kira standing behind her.

'It's the only thing you could do. You're the entire reason they're alive, really. It's not your fault that they're dead; if you hadn't been there, they'd all be dead. You saved them', Kira continued, worry visible in her eyes. It might have been years since the women previously met, but they knew each other well, and Kira knew what was going through Fujita's mind right now.

'Yeah, I know. I saved them. But I didn't save them all, and I'm damned for not finding a way.'

'Fujita, there was no way.'

Fujita sighed irritably. 'There is always a bloody way!'

Kira took a step back. She knew Fujita's temperament was not something to play with, even if you were trying to help. The woman did not like talking about her feelings. Certainly not if she felt forced to do so.

'I'm sorry, I-'

'No, it's alright.' Fujita sighed again, her right fist clenched. She should not be getting mad, Kira was right. 'I just... It feels like I should have done more, even if I couldn't. I'm a Starfleet Admiral for God's sake, it's my job.'

'Where in your job description does it say that you have to save every single life that's out there?' Kira muttered, but Fujita knew that she was thinking back at the times that she had not been able to save someone. Kira had to know how Fujita was feeling right now. That the Human woman technically could not have done anything else, did not mean that she did not feel responsible. And it hurt.

Kira pulled up a chair and sat down next to Fujita, her head resting in her hands. 'What a day.'

Fujita looked at her friend, trying to guess what was going on in her mind. She sensed something curious. Dread, but... not really. She was not sure what she sensed exactly.

'There are so many lives we should have saved but didn't.'

Fujita shook her head. 'You're thinking about Arya, aren't you?'

---

Nerys lifts her head from her dirty and bruised arms when she hears a sudden and loud bang. Her guards must have heard it too, because they look at each other with puzzlement and walk away, their guns still lifted. Kira looks around at her friends and colleagues – Leri Arya, Beyten Rubio, Hom Cerbetel and Seibian Ruggtei – who lie stumped on the muddy ground around them.

Two days ago, they – a group of members of the Shakaar resistance cell – had entered Karahna Prison Camp, pretending to be prisoners. Their goal was to get information about any recent and future Cardassian actions. However, they had been caught and imprisoned before they could get their hands on anything that might be of any use to them.

'What's that?' Ruggtei whispers; even though the guards might seem gone, they cannot know when they come back, and the Cardassians do not exactly appreciate questions. Ruggtei's question must be rhetorical however, because clearly none of the group knew the answer.