From day one, this mission had seemed like a bad idea.

Captain Sisko was sitting on his uncomfortable Klingon bed in Dukat's stolen Bird of Prey. He allowed himself a brief moment as a human. It was tiring being a Klingon all day. And despite his appreciation of Commander Worf's *training*, he liked to remember once in a while who he really was.

Sisko went into the sparse adjoining bathroom. It contained merely a sink, almost large enough to completely crawl inside, but he would have given a lot for a real bath or at least a sonic shower.

There was an excuse for a mirror on the wall above the sink, but it was almost blind and he had to squint to see anything at all.

Playfully, Sisko bared his Klingon teeth and chuckled. How did they eat with these? Sure, they looked intimidating enough. At least when they weren't plain silly like those of the unfortunate Chief O'Brien. Sisko was quite certain that Bashir hadn't given his friend those by mistake.

He grinned, as to smile was impossible with those fangs. But he had to admit to a certain degree of annoyance that he still hadn't quite mastered the intake of food, currently staying mostly on liquids and mashed up vegetables.

"I do like the hair though," Sisko said to himself. A bad habit, talking to oneself, but he found he'd started picking up lots of bad habits since he'd become a Klingon. Shaking his head, he stepped back from the mirror. High time he went back to being Benjamin Sisko, human.

As he returned to the bedroom, he heard a knock on the door. Frowning, he called out in his deepest voice, "Enter!"

Dukat stepped into the room with his hands intertwined in that gesture so typical for him. "Captain Sisko." He smiled. "It is a tradition that the captain of a Cardassian ship invites an honored guest to dinner. I've come to ask you to join me in my quarters tonight."

Sisko raised his eyebrows. "This isn't a Cardassian ship, Dukat."

"How true," Dukat admitted, disapproval of Klingon design clear on his face as he eyed the sparse surroundings bathed in tacky red light. When he turned back to face Sisko he added, "But you are nevertheless an honored guest, Captain, which is why I decided not to break with Cardassian tradition."

Sisko didn't feel like having dinner with Dukat. At the same time he had to acknowledge that the Cardassian was taking certain risks in transporting him and his officers to Tiger Core. He couldn't very well deny a simple invitation. "All right. What time?"

Dukat beamed from ear to ear. "At 21:00 if that suits you, Captain. My quarters are right next to yours. I'm afraid these two rooms are the best there are on this Klingon piece of garbage." He sighed, his Cardassian flair for interior design clearly offended by his temporary lodgings.

"I'll be there," Sisko boomed, nodding.

Waking a couple of hours later, Sisko rose slowly, stretching sore muscles not used to Klingon bedding or rather the lack thereof. He groaned in pain but decided he'd better freshen up and honor his promise to join Dukat for dinner. He left his quarters to go next door just after 21:00.

Sisko found to his relief that the Cardassian had set a table with mostly Terran and Bajoran food. Then he realized that his fellow officers weren't present. "Where are Chief O'Brien, Odo and Commander Worf?" he inquired.

Dukat shrugged. "I'm afraid they all turned down my invitation. It seems they're not too fond of my company."

'What makes you think I am?' Sisko thought, but instead he said, "I'll have to talk to them about their manners."

Sisko took the seat Dukat offered him and watched as his host poured Bajoran spring wine into a pair of silver-plated goblets.

"I'm afraid Klingons aren't as fussy about storing real food as they are about their various ornamental - and I suppose ritual - containers for the replicated food." Dukat smirked as he took a seat and found Sisko smiling back ever so slightly.

When Dukat raised his wine, Sisko joined him. "To a successful trip into the enemy's encampment for you and your men, Captain Sisko! And may you return to Terok Nor - I apologize, Deep Space Nine - safely." The Cardassian touched his goblet to Sisko's and they drank.

"Somehow I don't see you shedding any tears should we not make it back," Sisko stated, depositing his wine back on the table.

"Come now, Captain, don't forget, I am the one taking you on this fool's errand. I may not be convinced you'll make it back alive, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't hope that you will." He sounded almost convincing.

"I'm touched, Dukat," Sisko said sarcastically.

"And so you should be. After all, who do you think I'm doing this for?" Dukat dished up some replicated meat stew and potatoes, as well as a small portion of Bajoran Kestrels, bean-like bluish vegetables.

Sisko smiled. "For me personally, I suppose."

"Quite right, Captain. I've told you in the past I have the utmost respect for you, even if I can't agree with most of your Federation politics." The Cardassian sat back. "But from one man to another, let me tell you that I admire you. You've come a long way since you've taken over my job."

Dukat took a large bite off the meat and chewed it carefully, not taking his eyes off Sisko who was shaking his head in disbelief.

"There's one thing about you, Dukat, that never ceases to amaze me," Sisko stated.

"Really? Don't keep me in suspense, Captain, please." The Cardassian leaned forward.

"You can package an insult within a compliment better than anyone I know." Sisko pushed aside the dreaded replicated vegetables and went to work on the potatoes, mashing them up slightly and feeling very embarrassed about it. But what was a human with Klingon teeth to do?

"Thank you. I am relieved to hear that you appreciate my conversational skills." Dukat chuckled and returned to his own dinner, once in a while eyeing Sisko curiously.

Once they'd finished their meal, Dukat offered some more wine and Sisko accepted, not really feeling like returning to his quarters just yet. Dukat's weren't exactly more comfortable, but at least he had company, if not the kind he would have chosen.

Finding himself thinking about Jake, Benjamin Sisko sighed. He looked up, surprised, when Dukat commented, "I suppose you're wondering whether you'll be seeing your son again?"

"I see you've taken to mind-reading, Dukat." Sisko shifted uncomfortably, as much due to the Cardassian's insight as to the hard metal chair he was sitting on.

"Not at all," Dukat said, smiling. "But Cardassians value their families very highly and I imagine you humans aren't too different in that respect. I think about Ziyal everytime I knowingly put my life in danger."

"You have quite a way of cheering up your guests." Sisko found that his head was beginning to spin slightly. If he didn't know better he'd think this wine contained real alcohol. He was probably just tired.

"I'm sorry if I depress you." Dukat was about to pour his guest some more wine but Sisko shook his head and held his hand over the goblet.

"No more for me. I might actually start listening to you."

Dukat laughed heartily. "You could do worse, Captain. By the way, I believe the Order of the Bat'leth is a rather wild and hearty bunch. If you can't handle a bit of Bajoran spring wine, how will you deal with their bloodwine?"

"Let *me* worry about that." Sisko rose from his chair but felt the blood rushing to his head instantly. He explained in a laboured voice, "We'll be using anti-intoxicants. Something I should have done tonight as well." He attempted to steady himself but wasn't very successful. "This is real wine!"

"Yes, it is." Dukat grinned. "I took the liberty of purchasing it from your bartender before we left the station."

"You might have told me." Sisko leaned on the tabletop until he regained marginal control of his balance.

"Do you need help, Captain?" Dukat asked, rising to his feet.

"No. I think I'll return to my quarters and get into bed." Sisko took a few careful steps, trying not to appear too drunk. Surely he'd be able to make it next door...

Dukat caught him just as his knees buckled. "I really don't think I should let you try this by yourself." The Cardassian took Sisko's arm and steered him back towards the table.

"Maybe I should have some raktajino." Sisko sat down and watched as Dukat went to the replicator and ordered the Klingon coffee.

The Cardassian passed Sisko the steaming hot mug, and Sisko gulped it down as fast as he dared. "You want to be careful, Captain, that's hot," Dukat warned.

"I can't feel anything," Sisko replied. He looked up at Dukat and saw a smile of great satisfaction on the other's face. "What are *you* so happy about?" he asked.

"I never thought I'd see the day... the upright, dignified, in-control Captain Sisko... inebriated, just like a real Klingon." Dukat laughed.

Sisko set down the empty mug. "I'm not inebriated. And if you'd bothered to tell me that I was drinking real alcohol, I wouldn't even be feeling this disoriented now."

"Disoriented?" Dukat grinned. "You're far more than that, Captain. And I have to admit, it's fun seeing you this way." He was about to turn and walk to his own chair when Sisko grabbed his arm roughly.

"Don't ever try to have *fun* at my expense again, Dukat!"

The very Klingon tone alarmed Dukat but he couldn't help being sarcastic about it. "You seem to have lost your sense of humor together with your human face."

Sisko stood close to Dukat as he hissed, "Then you should be very careful."

Dukat smiled rather than backing off. "Maybe I will. At least while you are a Klingon."

"That would be wise, Dukat." Sisko started towards the door when he sensed Dukat still close behind him. He turned and found the Cardassian's piercing gaze fixed on him.

"What are you staring at, Dukat?" Sisko grew increasingly more uncomfortable around the Cardassian. It seemed that in addition to his usual bizarre sense of humor, Dukat had lately developed some special interest in Sisko - the nature of which wasn't clear to the human yet.

"I'm staring at *you*, Captain." Dukat grinned from ear to ear.

"Have you never seen a Klingon before?" Sisko growled in his best Klingon voice.

"Of course I have," Dukat said with a strange tone in his voice. "But believe me, Sisko, I'm not fond of the way they look. And especially the way most of them smell."

Sisko raised an eyebrow. "What's your point, Dukat?"

"Clearly, you have no idea what an attractive Klingon you make..." Dukat said in a mere whisper, causing the Starfleet officer to retreat another step.

"And you probably have no idea that I'm familiar with several Klingon fighting techniques." Sisko glared at the man in front of him.

The Cardassian merely smiled. "Are you really going to tell me that you'll fight me off, Captain?"

"I wouldn't risk finding out, Dukat!" Sisko's voice was even deeper than usually. He growled at the Cardassian in true Klingon fashion, realizing only too late what a turn-on that would be for a member of either species.

"That's a risk I'm more than willing to take." Dukat had backed Sisko into a corner and with his hands fastened on the other man's shoulders, he pressed him back against the wall, his lips a mere breath from the human's.

Sisko tried hard to think of an escape plan, but to his great dismay, he felt himself becoming uncomfortably aroused - a predicament that did not escape the Cardassian's attention.

Moaning under his breath, Dukat ground his body against Sisko's armor-clad form. He noted with great satisfaction that his guest was reacting just the way he had hoped. "I knew it," he growled, pressing his hardening erection against Sisko's groin.

"Dukat," Sisko gasped, wanting it to sound like a threat but only succeeding in stirring the Cardassian further.

"Yes..." Dukat grasped Sisko's wrists and raised them at shoulder level at the other man's sides, effectively pinning him into a submissive position. His tongue began to explore Sisko's finely textured face, his jawbone and cheeks.

"Wait!" Sisko exclaimed, his voice not as steady as usually.

"What?" Dukat stopped his ministrations, allowing the human to move away from the wall.

"If we're going to do this, we'll do it right. I am a Klingon, after all." Unable to fathom why he'd said that, Sisko gripped Dukat's arm and pulled him forward.

Before the Cardassian could grasp the meaning of Sisko's words, he found himself being flung down on the floor, hitting it hard and painfully. But the stabbing sensations in his shoulders and back quickly subsided as Sisko crouched over him and growled something in Klingon, his dark eyes fixed firmly on Dukat's blue gaze.

"I'm in pain, Captain," Dukat groaned, but he earned no more than a triumphant grin from the man straddling his prone form.

"I know. That is the idea when you mate with a Klingon." Sisko was enjoying the mix of terror and arousal in Dukat's face. Just as the Cardassian was about to say something, Sisko struck him. Hard.

As soon as the surprise had left Dukat's face, it was replaced by flushed excitement. The Cardassian's lips curled into a satisfied grin.

Sisko's fingers closed around the slim wrists of his opponent and he slammed them down against the hard floor just above Dukat's head. The faint whimper this caused made him uneasy. Was he getting too carried away in his Klingon guise?

"I must say, Sisko," Dukat whispered, "I've sorely underestimated you. Literally."

"Oh?" Sisko raised a curious eyebrow.

"I've always considered you to be a gentle man. How wrong I was..."

Sisko couldn't help but smile. "I am, Dukat. You shouldn't have approached me while I'm training to be a Klingon. And you certainly shouldn't have given me that wine."

Dukat grinned. "I take all the blame for whatever happens to me. I'm at your mercy, Captain." He was clearly enjoying himself.

Sisko's nails were digging into the skin of Dukat's hands until he drew blood. He watched with growing excitement as the Cardassian's eyes shut and he all but purred.

"I'm beginning to like this," Dukat murmured when Sisko lifted one of his hands and pressed the bleeding palm against his lips, sucking eagerly.

"Of course you are."

Sisko spoke with a tone that conveyed desire as much as hatred, and Dukat didn't fail to recognize the double-meaning.

"There are a lot of things I despise about you, Dukat," Sisko declared. "And I'm going to teach you a lesson as much as I'm going to..."

What *was* he going to do to Dukat? He wanted him. Desperately. He had done so from the beginning. But he couldn't think of it as making love. No, not with Dukat.

The Cardassian nodded in resignation. He knew that the Starfleet Officer shared Major Kira's hatred of him and his methods during the Occupation. Maybe one day, both of them would know just how much he hated himself for it.

To Sisko, right then, Dukat merely said tiredly, "I know."

Sisko saw the regret and resignation in Dukat's face, but then the Cardassian was a master of deception.

Letting the bleeding hand fall from his grasp, Sisko lowered himself down for a kiss. His dark curly mane fell down past Dukat's face, caressing him with its softness.

Dukat moaned when Sisko's lips parted his mouth, his tongue pierced almost into his soul, and his fingers moved slowly over his lean face and over the prominent ridges leading down the sides of his neck.

Jolting at the touch, Dukat's hips bucked in response. He raised his hands and closed them over Sisko's, effectively forcing him to continue the slow, even strokes of those sensitive ridges.

"Don't stop... please," Dukat begged breathlessly when their kiss ended. His eyes were closed. He knew if he'd look up at Sisko, if he would find those incredible, black eyes smoky with passion, he'd come immediately.

Sisko felt empowered by the Cardassian's submission. He began to roll his hips, forcing their erections into a slow, sensuous battle. When he could feel Dukat coming close, he stopped.

Dukat's eyes flew open and he instantly grasped that the human wasn't going to help him out anytime soon. He saw the change in him immediately. "Sisko!!"

But it was too late. Sisko had changed position and was now crouching over him menacingly. His right knee was pressed against Dukat's side, threatening serious injury should he attempt to get away.

Sisko was in charge now, and he knew that Dukat was aware of it, too. "I hate you, Dukat! You deserve to die *right* now! For everything you've ever done and each and every despicable deed you'll inevitably do in the future! And I hate you because you make me want you. Despite everything!"

Sisko raised his arm and before Dukat could move aside, he was struck hard across the face. He groaned in pain. Sisko's large Klingon ring had scraped his cheek. He could feel the warm trickle of blood making its way to the corner of his mouth.

"You didn't think I was going to make this pleasant for you, did you?" Sisko asked, his voice heavy with anger.

"Captain, please..." Dukat attempted, but Sisko struck him again, this time scraping his ringed hand past his ear, tearing open one of the fine ridges leading to the Cardassian's cheek.

"No!" Dukat reached up and his right hand closed around Sisko's neck in a tight grip, trying not to let his growing panic show in a tremble of his fingers. "What are you going to do, kill me? I don't think you're the type, Sisko, and that Klingon get-up doesn't change that."

Sisko groaned. "Damn you, Dukat!"

The Cardassian knew where the Starfleet officer would draw a line. Nevertheless, he breathed a sigh of relief when Sisko's eyes mellowed and he no longer looked ready to murder him.

Their gazes were fixed on each other, assessing what kind of danger they really posed to one another. Sisko hated to admit it to himself, but the sight of the injuries he'd inflicted caused his chest to tighten and a surge of shame to rush through his body.

When Dukat saw the change in Sisko's expression, he knew that at least for now, he was relatively safe. "Are you all right, Captain?" he inquired carefully.

Sisko nodded, strangely moved by the fact that the man he had just assaulted should ask him that question. "Your wounds..." Sisko started, ready to go and find a medkit, but Dukat reached for his hands and pressed them against his own chest.

"I'm fine." There was something in the way he said it, a hint that there was something else Sisko could do...

The human instinctively bent forward until his face was barely an inch from the Cardassian's. Gently like a cat licking from a bowl of cream, he lapped at the gashing wound on Dukat's cheek, ignoring the initial pained moan, licking it until all of the blood was gone.

When Dukat didn't resist, Sisko did the same to his second wound, lingering for a moment, close to the grey, finely chiseled ear. Something made him want to kiss that ear.

"Dukat..." he whispered, and when the only reply was a low sound from the other's throat, he lowered his lips to the pale shape, nibbling at it, licking its outline, touching the tip of his tongue to the hypersensitive ridges.

Dukat moaned with delight, his head fallen back with one cheek pressed against the hard floor. "Captain... please." His lips hardly parted as he spoke.

Just the idea of the Cardassian putting himself willingly in such a submissive position was provoking. The tone of his languorous yet melodic voice begging was too much to resist.

Sisko moved back, and with his hands on the Cardassian's shoulders, he raised Dukat's upper body off the floor. Holding him like that, he was able to look deep into those mesmerizing pale eyes.

Dukat was as docile as a child when Sisko stood and pulled him up to stand in front of him. But when the human backed him against the wall, he could no longer hold back.

Grasping Sisko's slim hips, he pulled his adversary forward and against himself, his eyes closing as he groaned with pleasure.

The Starfleet officer gave up trying to form another coherent thought, instead pinning the limp alien body against the wall. His mouth sealed the grey lips which opened to him so willingly.

Dukat's hands were on his hips, his buttocks, his back and finally his shoulder blades, roaming to make contact wherever the restricting Klingon armor allowed it.

"Can we *plese* get out of these clothes!" the Cardassian pleaded and Sisko stepped back. He stretched out one hand and led Dukat to the far side of the room and the narrow bunk. He waited for him to lie down first, determined to stay in control of the situation.

Watching Dukat undress, Sisko realized that he couldn't blame the wine for his actions. He had sobered considerably and still, he wanted nothing more than to touch the Cardassian he had grown so comfortable hating.

"What about you?" Dukat asked. He was lying back naked, stretching out one arm to reach out to Sisko.

The human removed his leather vest and undershirt and was about to strip off his pants when Dukat stopped him. "No. Let me do this."

Sisko nodded and watched the Cardassian sit up and slowly bring his hands to the fastening of the tight black garment. But he didn't undo the hook, instead letting his fingers glide over Sisko's hips and then over the bulge beneath the smooth fabric. Sisko watched Dukat and couldn't believe how gentle he was.

With his hands on the human's hips, he pressed his mouth to Sisko's hardness, inhaling the scent of his arousal through the fabric. "Benjamin..." he whispered.

Sisko shivered at the sound of his name in Dukat's warm and unusually tender voice. Stroking over the Cardassian's black strands of hair, he waited for Dukat to free him from the restraints of his clothing.

The Cardassian gently rolled down the satiny material, exposing inch after inch of Sisko's smooth, dark skin. He took his time, kissing and nudging the silkiness with his lips.

Sisko placed a finger under Dukat's chin and raised his face. "I'm sorry I hurt you before," he said softly. "I meant to. I can't deny that. But..."

Dukat nodded. "I understand." And he did. Better than the human could possibly imagine. He wanted to make Sisko forget, at least for a while, that he had every right and reason to hate him.

Taking the human's erection in his mouth, never diverting his eyes off the gentle face looking down at him, he let his tongue play tenderly with the soft underside. He loved the feel of warm, human flesh against his raspy snake-like tongue.

Sisko's fingers were still in the Cardassian's silky hair and he absent-mindedly began to move his groin, pushing deeper into the other's throat. But he was gentle now, not wanting to inflict any more pain.

Letting the slick pole glide in and out of his mouth, Dukat looked up and watched the expression on Sisko's face. He found himself wishing for the courage to show his true feelings. Just this once. If there was one creature in the universe whose respect he wanted, it was Benjamin Sisko.

But he was no fool. And he didn't try to comfort himself with false hopes. He was grateful that he would at least have Sisko's body, even if his soul and forgiveness were denied to him.

Licking and sucking Sisko, he wanted nothing more than to pleasure the man he'd wanted for longer than he cared to admit. He worked on him so hard, so desperate to taste his essence and feel it running down the back of his throat...

"Dukat!" Sisko groaned when he came. He was barely aware of the tender movements of the Cardassian's hands on his buttocks. All his attention was focused on his seed spilling into the other's mouth.

While the human slowly relaxed, Dukat's head sank against his stomach and his arms reached around Sisko in an almost childlike gesture. Sisko was at a loss. He had never expected such tenderness from the ruthless Cardassian.

"I don't know... what to say," he murmured, but Dukat silenced him with a soft kiss on his stomach before reaching out and pulling him down on the bunk next to him.

They lay together for a few minutes, their arms wrapped around each other, finding unexpected comfort in listening to each other's breathing.

"Thank you," Dukat finally said.

Instead of a reply, Sisko pulled him close and kissed him, softly at first, then more urgently, rekindling the fire in his groin and making Dukat's own hardness almost unbearable.

The human closed his fingers tenderly around the pale, ridged organ and began to stroke, aware that he owed Dukat.

"You don't have to..." Dukat started, but Sisko hushed him.

"I want to."

The Cardassian sighed quietly, focused intently on the human's face, wishing he had the courage to ask.

"What is it?" Sisko could tell something was on Dukat's mind.

"Nothing, Ca... Benjamin." Thinking about it, Dukat continued, "I wish you would trust me... enough."

Sisko knew what the Cardassian was asking. And the responding surge of desire deep inside him was unmistakable. He wanted it just as much. But he was also afraid. "I can't, Dukat."

The pain and disappointment in the pale blue eyes looking at him were hard on Sisko. The human struggled to hold onto a trace of his hatred. He had to, or he would be lost. Pulling the Cardassian closer, he tried to explain, "It's not that I don't want to, but I don't think we should." Then he added, "Eventually, the alcohol will wear off."

"Yes." The reply was short and cool, but it also conveyed the hurt. Dukat found himself wishing there was some way he could make the human trust him, give himself to him, just once. It would mean so much...

Pressing Sisko gently down on his back, he began to kiss him softly, letting his tongue touch the full lips of the human and explore his mouth. He felt any resistance fade away in that soulful, gentle kiss.

Encouraged, Dukat began to caress the smoothness of Sisko's chest, his lips scraping gently over hardened nipples and soft surrounding skin. He ran his hands down over the human's stomach and barely past his almost fully hardened cock. Then he parted Sisko's legs with the side of his hand and closed his palm around the warm, bulbous shapes below.

Sisko's moans of pleasure caused Dukat's own erection to stir and he very carefully moved a finger to the tiny opening between Sisko's buttocks. Circling around it, probing gently once in a while, Dukat felt it relax under his touch and allow him entrance.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sisko asked huskily, betraying his own words with a movement designed to allow Dukat's finger deeper access.

"I need to be inside you, Benjamin. I need to feel that close to you. Just once."

More than the touch, Dukat's words made the last of Sisko's reservations crumble to dust. In a way, Sisko was grateful for the residual alcohol still in his system. Without it, he'd never be able to follow his base instincts over his mind. But that was what he wanted, against his better judgement.

Sisko touched Dukat's shoulder and when the Cardassian looked into his face, he nodded agreement.

Dukat moved up to kiss Sisko again before turning him on his side and pressing himself against his back. They lay like that for a moment, afraid of themselves.

"I promise I won't hurt you." Dukat meant every word and when Sisko nodded, he reached down to part the other's cheeks gently, once more sliding his finger inside before he pressed against him, feeling incredible resistance against the intrusion.

"I don't know if I can do this," Sisko murmured, but Dukat just paused, stroking him gently, and then resumed entering him as slowly as he could. Bit by bit, the human's muscles relaxed around him, allowing him access.

"Are you all right?" Dukat inquired, and when his only reply was a quiet moan, he knew he wasn't hurting Sisko. Beginning to move gently, he slid all the way inside and pulled back a little, feeling the incredible tightness squeeze him deliciously.

Before long, Sisko realized that the movement inside his body was beginning to feel less strained and far more pleasurable. "Did you...?" he started.

"No, it's... a peculiarity of the Cardassian anatomy," Dukat explained without actually explaining. The scaly texture of his sex was coated with enough natural fluids to smoothly glide into the hot, inviting passage.

Sisko muttered an incoherrent response. He had a vague idea what Dukat was referring to. But soon, he gave up thinking altogether. The gentle, silky intrusion was beginning to replace thoughts as well as reason.

Close to Sisko's ear, Dukat whispered, "How does it feel?"

"Mmm..." The reply was a quiet sound from deep inside Sisko's throat. He'd never experienced anything like this. Dukat continued sliding in and out of him, somehow always hitting the right spot and at just the right angle.

With one hand around Sisko's waist and the other at his erection, the Cardassian stroked gently, careful to keep to the rhythm that seemed to provide the most pleasure for the human. "You have no idea for how long I've wanted to do this, Benjamin!" Dukat declared, his voice hoarse.

"So have I," Sisko admitted, the Cardassian's confession adding enough to the stimulation by his hands and body to bring him close to fulfillment.

Dukat, at that moment, felt exhilerated like never before. Sisko's admission was a prize far beyond any conquest or battle victory he'd ever experienced.

"I can't take this any longer!" Sisko warned, just before he was shaken with an intense orgasm. He cried out when the Cardassian tensed up and filled his body with an incredible heat. Sisko felt as if he couldn't stop coming, drenching the other's hand with his cream.

Sliding from the human gently, Dukat moaned. He kissed Sisko's shoulder briefly and wrapped his arms around him. "I hope you won't hate me for this one day," he murmured, almost inaudibly.

"I hope I'll remember how to set this thing up," O'Brien said.

Worf looked at him. "If that is a joke, I am not amused."

"It's not easy being funny wearing these teeth," the engineer complained.

Dukat approached Sisko, a half-smile on his face. "Well Captain, I've enjoyed your company as always, but it appears it is time we said good-bye." Noting the way Sisko straightened up, he continued, "I don't envy your... assignment."

O'Brien cut in. "Orbiting this place for the next day or so won't be the safest job in the galaxy either."

Dukat replied, half-turning to the engineer, "Which is why we'll be leaving as soon as you've beamed down."

Odo looked up. "Leaving? For how long?" he demanded.

"I really don't see any pressing need to come back," Dukat stated, ignoring the displeased looks he received from everyone around him.

Sisko pointed out, "That's not what we agreed to."

"I realize that," Dukat acknowledged. "But how long do you think we can stay here undetected without the holo-filter? Besides, if you succeed, the war will be over and you won't need us. If you fail..." he broke off, and the look they exchanged made it clear they both knew he was right.

Worf broke in, "Did you add our names to the commendation list?"

Dukat turned to the Klingon with a condescending glance. "I haven't survived this long by being sloppy, Mr Worf."

He paused, his eyes once again fixed on Sisko's. "And now... Jolmos, Son of Kobar, your medal awaits you!" Quietly he added, "Be careful, Captain."

Sisko inhaled deeply, nodding in reply and their eyes met once more just as Dukat initiated transport.

THE END