"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 very 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. Kim could see his fists spasmodically clenching and unclenching, and the muscles beneath his shirt tense. "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 shouted, fully enraged.
For a split second, Kim was sure he was going to completely lose control and kill her on the spot for what she'd said, but his wild eyes locked with hers and he snapped out of it with such suddenness it was as if he'd been slapped. Seeing Kim shrink away from him in fear, he made a visible show of calming himself: he unclenched his fists and laid his palms on his knees and took a few deep breaths.
"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. The wild man was gone, once again replaced by the charming stranger. "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!"
"Escaped? From a Cardassian labor camp?!? Wow! I've got to hear this story." 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 would never be put off that easily. Sighing, he returned his gaze to the fire once again, and his focus turned inward as he mentally prepared himself to relive those times.
"After the War -- after Cardassia was destroyed by the Dominion -- the Cardies' few remaining resources were spread thin. It didn't take long for all the outlying military garrisons to be recalled to Cardassia Prime. They had no more use for Lazon II, so they abandoned us.
"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 salvagers 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 of the small 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 start spreading the news right away, she moved to get up.
"NO!" barked Riker instantly, some of the uncontrollable wildness returning to his eyes. His hand whipped around the small campfire and locked her forearm in an iron grip. "You don't understand!" he shouted.
"Ow!" cried Kim, twisting and yanking, trying to wrest her arm from Riker's hold, but she had no hope. Wincing with the pain, she cried, "Let go! That hurts!"
Instantly, Riker released his grip and recoiled as if she'd actually slapped him. "I'm sorry-- I didn't mean--"
Kim backed away from Riker as soon as he released her, and after making sure she wasn't seriously damaged and that he wasn't making any other moves to hurt her, she said, "Well, no harm done, I guess." Rubbing her arm, she muttered under her breath, "I'll bet that leaves a bruise."
After letting a few uneventful moments pass just to make sure, she returned to the campfire and hunched down again, studying the man opposite her. He was such an enigma: withdrawn and shell-shocked, yet cocky and self-confident -- and prone to violent outbursts. Considering that he'd spent the last fifteen years in a brutal Cardassian labor camp, it was understandable that he'd be a little messed up.
Tom looked at her, the wild-eyed frenzy gone, some of his pleasant self-confidence having returned. "No one can know about me, but I do need your help."
"Why don't you want anyone to know you're here?"
"Well, I'm not exactly Starfleet anymore," he chuckled ruefully. "If you'll recall your history, I abandoned my post on the USS Gandhi and joined the Maquis. Then I stole the USS Defiant from DS9, shot and kidnapped Major Kira in the process, and foiled the secret Cardassian plot brewing at Orias. That means I'm wanted by Starfleet, the Bajoran Militia, the Cardassian military, the Obsidian Order, and God knows who else!"
"Oh. I guess I can see how that might make you a little unpopular."
"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 shield modulating, which let me slip close enough to this station to beam myself into an uninhabited section. All the machinery down here blocks the internal sensors from picking me up."
"That's all amazing," said Kim, interrupting. Thomas Riker's story was quickly becoming a little too much to take in all at once. "You seem to be doing pretty good so far. What do you need me for?"
Riker hesitated. Kim could see the indecision in the lines around his eyes. Could he trust her? Or would she turn him in? 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 what seemed to him a lifetime ago. "I abandoned my stolen freighter when I beamed off it," he said. "But I still need to get out of Federation space."
Here it comes... thought Kim. Sudden excitement thrilled up her spine unexpected, surprising her with its intensity.
"I want to steal your ship."
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