Section 31_ Rogue - Andy Mangels [125]
Hawk looked down at his hands, which were clasped in his lap. Zweller made sense, more so than he had during their earlier too-brief exchanges. He was more persuasive than even Tabor had been.
“You asked what made us different from the Maquis,” said Zweller. “If you’re speaking of pure idealism, there isn’t much that’s different. The passion and the drive for freedom are the same. And sometimes in the particulars of technique, we don’t differ that greatly either. Sometimes, you do what you have to do, even if it gets ugly.
“But the major difference between them and us is that Section 31 exists within Starfleet. It knows the rules and follows them whenever possible, and when circumstances compel us to break those rules, we do it with the greater good of the entire Federation in mind.”
“So you wouldn’t fight for the same aims as the Maquis?” Hawk asked. “The Federation citizens that the Federation-Cardassian Treaty uprooted were no less important after the treaty than before.”
“Those people chose to stay behind, knowing the likely consequences,” said Zweller.
Hawk tried not to flinch, but he did nevertheless. Zweller saw it, and put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder as he spoke again, more soothingly this time. “I’m not saying that those citizens deserved to be brutalized by the Cardassians. But the Maquis represent an instability in the power struggle, a violent and confrontational wild card. Instead of fighting head-on, and losing lives needlessly, Section 31 has worked to undermine Cardassia’s hold on the disputed worlds from within the Cardassian government. You’d be amazed how much change you can effect simply by replacing a few strategically important guls and legates.”
“You and Tabor were working to undermine the referendum so that the Chiarosans would vote against Federation membership on Chiaros IV. And ever since the escape on the scoutship, you’ve avoided telling me the truth as to why.”
Zweller sighed. “It was concluded privately by many Starfleet higher-ups that Chiaros IV wasn’t valuable enough-or politically stable enough-to fight over. Especially not when you consider what the Romulans offered us in exchange for our withdrawal from the system.”
“Which was?”
“Extremely important information. Data about most of the Romulan spies working within the Federation and Starfleet.”
Hawk was suddenly extremely uncomfortable with what he was hearing. “You came here to trade an entire star system-and its people-for some ephemeral information? You lost a ship, risked all of our lives-“
Zweller rose as he spoke, his tone more strident. “None of that was part of the plan! The Slayton was destroyed, apparently, because she stumbled onto the secret the Romulans were hiding.” His voice softened. “I told you what my initial mission was. My own secondary objective was to help Falhain and his Army of Light in their struggle against Ruardh. Her regime is brutal by any society’s standards. In my judgment, my aiding her opponents was compatible with Section 31’s plan for Chiaros IV and the Geminus Gulf.”
“But in doing so, you were helping the Romulans!”
Zweller smiled slightly. “Not exactly. Falhain’s rebels were anti-Federation already, and weren’t terribly open to persuasion. Most of them saw us as friends of their enemies, after all. At least until I aided them in their struggle for freedom. Given some time, though, more of them might have come around. Even the Chiarosan electorate might be friendlier to the Federation later on-especially once they’ve experienced a few years of Romulan oppression