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Atkinson thought it interesting that Pa’Dar named the major powers in the quadrant. Only two were left off. One was the Gorn Hegemony, though one could argue whether they counted as “major.” The other were the Ferengi. One could argue their having so lofty a status as well, but just in terms of territory, the Ferengi weren’t a power to be ignored, for all that they preferred capitalistic endeavors over imperialistic ones.

“As of this day, the Cardassian Union has absorbed the Ferengi Alliance.”

A rumble of surprise went through the chambers. That explains that, then, Atkinson thought as he started taking notes on his padd.

“Grand Nagus Zek has retired. All citizens of the Ferengi Alliance are now citizens of the Cardassian Union-and all contracts with Ferengi are now to be considered contracts with Cardassia. This means that these contracts may be subject to renegotiation in order to conform with Cardassian law. On behalf of the Detapa Council, as well as our comrades in Central Command and the Obsidian Order, we thank you for your time.”

The screen went dark.

More rumblings went throughout the gallery on the north wall, where Atkinson sat furiously typing notes into his padd. The president then said, “Silence, please!” and the room quieted-a neat trick, considering how soft-spoken the bulky Grazerite was.

“Thank you. Gentlebeings, obviously this sudden expansion of the Cardassian Union will have serious repercussions, both on our shared borders, and on any contracts that might have to be renegotiated as First Speaker Pa’Dar pointed out.”

President Jaresh-Inyo went on, but Atkinson was already composing his notes for his next column. And he had some people to get in touch with. Cardassia had been holding steady of late. They hadn’t changed their borders in years-they even ceded several border colonies to the Federation, after agreeing in principle to an arrangement whereby several Federation colonies would become Cardassian property and vice versa, as well as the establishment of a Demilitarized Zone. The reversal of the Cardassians’ position had been spun as a major diplomatic victory, but Atkinson’s sources had told him that this was purely an internal decision on Cardassia’s part.

So why are they choosing to expand now? And how did they get the Ferengi to just become part of the Union like that? Knowing the Ferengi, there had to be a lot of money changing hands, all in the direction of those big-eared capitalists. So where did Cardassia get the latinum? They’ve never been the richest nation in the quadrant.

Too many questions. Atkinson was looking forward to trying to dig up the answers.

5

The Great Hall First City, Qo’noS Klingon Empire

Savalor, Romulan ambassador to the Klingon Empire, hated his job.

Klingons had an appalling inability to clean up after themselves. The fastidious Savalor had found living on Qo’noS to be an incredible chore, because everywhere he looked there was food and garbage and dirt and sweat and filth. Even the wealthiest Klingon lived in putrid squalor by Romulan standards.

It had, of course, been his own fault. He had spent his academic years studying the Klingon Empire, having been fascinated by its ebbs and flows over the centuries-the internecine squabbling, the unification by Kahless, the Hur’q invasion, the emergence as a spacefaring power, the virus that caused the QuchHa’, the Praxis disaster, the rebuilding-and thus became the Romulan Empire’s leading expert on Klingons.

Becoming the ambassador to Qo’noS should have been the pinnacle of his career.

Instead, he found out the one thing that his years of study never told him: Klingons were filthy. They did not bathe, they ate like animals, they drank in a manner that left more liquid on the ground and in their beards than went down their gullets. Savalor knew everything there was to know about Klingon history and culture, could not only sing along with all the most famous operas, but also could list all the places that opera had been performed