"You're Thomas Riker!" squeaked Kim. She had suspected from the start that she knew the stranger's face from somewhere, but when he'd said 'Call me Tom,' full recollection had suddenly sprung forth.
Suddenly nervous, Kim began edging slowly away from the warmth of the campfire and the man hunched down on the opposite side. Still, her natural curiosity kept her from running. In part to bolster her courage, she asked, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in a labor camp on Lazon II."
"Supposed to?!?" snarled Riker, sudden fury and hatred smoldering in those dark eyes. "Yes, that was the thanks I got from Starfleet for exposing the Obsidian Order's secret shipyards in the Orias system! A life sentence in a Cardassian labor camp!" He was shouting, but when he saw Kim shrink away from him in fear he made a visible show of calming himself.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, and looked guiltily into the fire. After a moment: "I didn't mean to frighten you."
"You didn't," lied Kim. She decided to risk scooting a little closer to the fire again. "And I didn't mean anything by what I said either...."
"I know," said Riker. He flashed her a reassuring smile. "It's just that I've been through kind of a lot lately."
"I'll bet," said Kim, relaxing again now that Riker seemed once again in control of himself. She found herself strangely attracted to this enigmatic man, and wanted to draw him out. "I'm still curious, Tom--"
"How I got here?" he anticipated her question. He looked her square in the eye and smiled a cock-sure smile. "I escaped!"
"Wow! Tell me more." She made herself more comfortable, crossing her legs under her, leaning forward with elbows on knees and chin in hands. She looked for all the world like a small child waiting to hear a story about Santa Claus.
"There's not much to tell," said Riker, but could see Kim wouldn't be put off that easily. Sighing, he returned his attention to the fire, and his gaze turned inward as he mentally prepared himself to relived those times. "After the War -- after Cardassia was destroyed by the Dominion -- their resources were spread too thin. Eventually, all the outlying garrisons were recalled to Cardassia Prime. They had no more use for us so they abandoned us on Lazon II.
"Those were difficult times. Scavenging and fighting amongst the former inmates was out of control. Food was scarce. More died during that time than when the Cardassians were still in charge.
"Myself and some of the other Maquis joined together and dug in at a former Cardassian guard outpost. We held off the other prisoners for years -- naturally they wanted our shelter for themselves -- but they were slowly wearing us down. We couldn't have held out much longer.
"Then, as luck would have it, (he said that with a sneer), a Cardassian civilian freighter landed near our compound. They were probably looking for scrap. I doubt they expected anyone to still be alive there. My Maquis companions attacked the freighter intending to steal it -- there was nothing I could do to stop them -- but they met more resistance than they'd planned on. They were all killed, but in the struggle, all the crew aboard the freighter were also killed.
"By this time, the rest of the prisoners realized that a ship had landed. If they got their hands on it, they'd tear it to shreds in their insanity. So I got on board and took off, and here I am."
"Wow," said Kim again, then suddenly brightened. "You're a hero!" she exclaimed. "We've got to tell everyone you're here!" Eager to spread the news, she started to get up.
"No!" said Riker firmly. He reached around the small campfire and locked her arm in an iron grip. "You don't understand."
"Ow!" Kim tried to wrest her arm from Riker's hold, but to no avail. She winced with the pain. "Let go! That hurts!"
Instantly, Riker released his grip and recoiled as if she'd slapped him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean...."
Well, that's okay," said Kim rubbing her arm, but under her breath she muttered, "I'll bet that leaves a bruise." She returned to the campfire and hunched down again.
She studied the man opposite her. He was such an enigma: at once both withdrawn and shell-shocked, as well as cocky and self-confident. Considering that he'd spent the last thirteen years in a Cardassian labor camp, it was understandable that he'd be a little messed up.
Tom looked at her, some of the cockiness having returned to him. "I do need your help, but no one can know about me."
"Why not?"
"Well, I'm not exactly Starfleet anymore," he chuckled. "If you'll recall, I abandoned my post on the USS Gandhi and joined the Maquis. Then I stole the USS Defiant from DS9, kidnapping Major Kira in the process and foiled whatever was going on at Orias. That means I'm wanted by Starfleet, the Cardassian military, the Obsidian Order, and God knows who else!"
"Oh."
"I managed to get this far by running and hiding and ducking through places like the Badlands and the Briar Patch, I disabled the IFF transmitter on my stolen freighter and did some creative modulating to the shield frequency and managed to slip close enough to this station to then piggyback my transporter beam onto another vessel's and beam myself into an uninhabited section."
"That's all amazing," said Kim, interrupting. Thomas Riker's story was quickly becoming a little too much to take in all at once. "So what do you need me for?"
Riker hesitated.
This is it, thought Kim. He's got to come clean now if he wants me to help him.
Riker decided. All traces of his former neuroses were washed away; he was once again the efficient, confident Starfleet officer he'd been oh so many years ago.
"I've abandoned my stolen freighter. It'll be discovered any time now by station personnel, and I've got to get off this station and out of Federation space."
Here it comes..., thought Kim, excited.
"I need your ship."