Ferri Emlott - Lucky

[Arys Trovek]

((Starbase 118 - Promenade))

Ferri Emlott was, for all intents and purposes, what the Federation wanted to see in a modern Cardassian woman. Born in the ruins of a destroyed Cardassia, and to parents who were part of the Hibalek - the service class, it was hard to blame her for any of the atrocities her species had committed.

The young woman often reflected on how lucky she had been.

Lucky because the phrase ‘times were tough’ barely managed to convey what it was like to grow up in a Cardassia that had lost so much of its ancient and rich culture, and that grieved the loss of so many of its citizen. Despite that, it would be wrong to pretend that she didn’t know how much she had benefited from the changes that Cardassia had been forced to undergo. 

Lucky because, had Cardassia remained the same, Ferri would have grown up in her family, and learned a profession appropriate for someone like her. She would, perchance, have become a kanmaktivah - a governess like her mother had been, in service to one of the wealthier families. She would have strived to marry someone who would elevate the family further, been a good wife to her husband, and mother to her children.

Instead, Ferri had grown up in a Cardassia where food and water were even more sparse than prior to the war. Where previously harmless diseases such as Craat’s killed the young, and where family no longer meant anything, because there was barely any family left intact. Society had crumbled, and it had taken years until a new and ‘reformed’  Cardassia rose from the ashes.

Lucky that she, as one of the frighteningly few surviving children that made it to their teenage years, had been able to attend the University of the Union, a school her family would never have been able to afford. 

Lucky because excellent performance was now rewarded more than ever, and having finished top of her class, Ferri had been promised a bright future - she hadn’t known just how bright that future would be until she accepted an intern position at the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau. 

Even though the CIB that had replaced the Obsidian Order after its destruction, it couldn’t quite compete with the mystery that had surrounded it. Cardassia and its citizens were a lot more free than they had been before the war, but saying that she was working for the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau still put people on edge. 

As exciting as that sounded, Ferri wasn’t a glamorous spy or secret agent. She had a desk job, or rather, she assisted someone with a desk job. 

And now that someone had sent her into Federation territory. 

She was here to meet with the Cardassian Ambassador, Lukin Zorkal. Officially she would provide him with information about Taril Zantett, a man he had started to look into. Officially, she would only arrive tomorrow. 

And unofficially? Truly, Ferri didn’t have the slightest idea. She didn’t need to. She just followed orders. Information was provided on a need-to-know basis, and her superiors had deemed the scope of her assignment here as something she didn’t need to know at this very moment. Of course it annoyed the young woman, but putting her energy into complaining would get her nowhere. 

Despite having been well-prepared prior to her arrival, Ferri now had to admit that she felt a little overwhelmed. The Starbase she had arrived at was huge, modern, and she had never seen so many different species in one place - or ever. And it was chilly. Even though she was on a budget - did the Federation even use money? She had always imagined it as a socialist dystopia - she committed to eventually getting some warmer clothes and a place to stay for the night. 

Tomorrow, she would ‘officially’ arrive at the Embassy. Until then, well, why not keep eyes and ears open. 

With some luck, she’d learn something useful. 

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Ferri Emlott 

Cardassian Visitor

Starbase 118 Ops

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