Angels And Addicts

"Angels and Addicts" (Pt. 1)
Jason — 11 Oct 1998, 8:33 PM

(Okay, so I lied, "A Little Princess" will be coming later.)
This story directly follows "Down for the Count"

Ambassador Weyoun surveyed the town square as he spoke to Marshall Tuvok. 'What a... quaint village.' thought Weyoun as he awaited Tuvok's response. Quaint, but just thirsting for order to be imposed on to it. He could just feel it-- there was an underlying chaos to this town which made it an ideal project for himself and those he served.

"You say that you are German?" inquired Tuvok..

"Vorta Indian, actually." Weyoun offered. "Many Houses of importance find that those from my tribe make exemplary servants. A reputation which I have been honored to uphold."

"Vorta Indian? I do not believe I have ever heard of that particular tribe." Tuvok said.

"They're a Canadian Tribe. I'm afraid the climate in this region is not quite to our liking. We prefer the cold."

"I see," said Tuvok, noting that Weyoun's pale skin must have come as a result of the frigid temperatures in which he was raised.

"Now, if you don't mind," Weyoun said, "do you recall the person I am inquiring about? I have it on good authority that he may have come here at some point."

"Gresgrendek? The name is not familiar. That is not, however to say that he was not here. Perhaps you might have better luck at the Voyager City Hall of Records. They would undoubtedly hold any record of the person you are inquiring about if, indeed he was here." Tuvok advised.

"Thank you very much, Marshall. You have been quite helpful." Weyoun said. "If I could impose on you further..." he asked, "would it be possible for you to direct me towards the local hotel and gambling establishment?"

***

Inside Carey's Tailor Shop, where she had been peering out the window, Samantha could not make out what Marhsall Tuvok and Weyoun had been talking about, but sensed trouble when she saw Tuvok point Weyoun towards the hotel. Weyoun was probably here to stay, she realized. At least, until he was convinced that she and her husband were *not* here. A million different thought raced through Samantha's mind. What was she to do? Should she and Naomi try to leave Voyager City?

While her previous personal encounters with Weyoun had been friendly enough, it was not truly him that she was concerned about-- it was those he served. She could try to meet with Weyoun-- reason with him. However Weyoun had a veneer about him which made it difficult to discern what his true intentions were.

As Weyoun's carriage rolled on down the street, Samantha cautiously left the store. "Come on, Naomi, we have to go home now." she said. She knew that this turn of events would probably require her to take drastic measures.

"Angels and Addicts" (Pt. 2)
Jason — 11 Oct 1998, 8:37 PM

"I need a room with accomodations for five." Weyoun said, at the check in counter of the Ritz-Kradin Hotel.

"Five beds?" routinely inquired the clerk, Voyager City's orphan girl Tora Ziyal, who had recently (in fact, just the day before) become employed at the Hotel.

"Only one." Weyoun smiled in his overly polite voice which exuded an underlying sense of deception.

"One bed? ...For all of you?" she said incredulously, taking note of the four large men carrying rifles behind him.

Weyoun motioned behind him.. "Oh, they don't sleep."

"Um, I see." Ziyal said, pulling out a key for a room. She wasn't going to push on that particular issue. She knew enough not to ask if she didn't want to know. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to check your weapons here with us." Ziyal said.

"Impossible." Weyoun said. "Do you know who these men are?"

"I have no idea," Ziyal said, innocently. "The Annual NRA Convention was last week."

"These men are the Jem'Hadar Guard. My personal security detachment. They are here to ensure my security and to obey the will of the Founders." Weyoun said.

"Regulations are regulations, Mr. Weyoun. And Mayor Cavit is determined to see that Voyager City's tough new gun legislation sticks." Ziyal explained.

"Do you realize that you are risking an international incident?" Weyoun asked, temper flaring. He wasn't used to not getting what he wanted on his own terms and he wasn't going to let a young girl be an obstacle.

"Mr. Weyoun, if it's protection you are concerned about, I'm sure your men can handle any challenge without their guns. But surely you understand our predicament. How can we expect gun control to work if it doesn't apply to everyone?" Ziyal reasoned.

Weyoun conceded that there was a logic to her reasoning-- she was preaching the very order that he and the Founders sought. Weyoun relented, and Ziyal summoned a man to take their bags up to Weyoun's room. Brone came up to Ziyal and collected the guns of Weyoun's men. "I don't trust them." Brone said.

"Maybe you should go up with them. Make sure they aren't up to something." Ziyal said. Brone nodded and followed Weyoun up to his room. "You will hear what I glimpse up there in the Soon After," Brone promised to Ziyal quietly, and lead Weyoun and his men upstairs to his room.

"Angels and Addicts" (Pt. 3)
Jason — 11 Oct 1998, 8:37 PM

"It is time for the White!" the second guard said to Weyoun, as Brone and another bellhop were bringing in Weyoun's extensive luggage.

"Quiet!" Weyoun shouted angrily.

"It has been twelve hours, I cannot wait!" the third guard said.

Weyoun turned to the First. "Temak'talan, if you cannot control your men then I will have no other recourse than to--"

"We beg forgiveness," Temak'talan said. "The men grow anxious when they are denied the White for long periods. How can you expect them to perform as soldiers when they are deprived of White? We are dependent on it."

Brone took interest in the conversation, but didn't entirely understand it. (And that's what people often said of him.)

"Very well," Weyoun said. "Can you vouch for the loyalty of your men....?"

Brone pretended to be still unpacking but was truly most interested in what was going on. A ceremonial exchange went on between Weyoun and the soldiers for a moment, when Weyoun opened a silver box in his possession. Inside it were vials which Weyoun distributed to each of the men.

***

"Drugs!" Ziyal exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. "If it's not guns in this town, it's drugs. It's a cultural epidemic!"

Brone shook his head, "What course of action should we take in the now, Ziyal?"

"Inform Marshall Tuvok!" Ziyal said.

"Do you fathom that wise?" Brone said. "Without their weapons, those guards could easily still send us in to the Way After."

"But drugs on the streets of Voyager City!" Ziyal exclaimed. "Think of the children!"

Voyager City had never seen a young woman as idealistic as Ziyal. To a large extent, that idealism was reflected in her naivete, a quality that had not been dulled by her relationship with the jaded tailor Garak.

"To think that this was once nothing but a sleepy town. We have to defend it, Brone!" she cried. "Shake off your trembles and dream of your sisters and mother while we go in to glorified battle in their name!"

Her rallying cry stirred Brone's underlying sense of radical nationalism. "Nullify the Jem'Hadar Beasts!"