“They want to hire us.” Dain Kessler sat in the dank quarters he shared with his partner, Selene Voss. He was the voice, she was the killer. He watched her carefully. They had been stuck on the station since February and, despite their best efforts, could not kill the two Cardassians they had been tasked with eliminating.

She sat opposite him, leaning against the metallic wall. “Even though we’ve been sent to kill him and his newest novice?” Her glare intensified as the rage boiled beneath her controlled surface. He winced. Being on the receiving end of that rage was not on his list of events he wished to revisit.

He explained. “They want help killing Vaadwaur. I believe Hasara’s words were, ‘license to kill’ or something like that.” They had both watched their share of the Old Earth James Bond movies out of mild interest. Humans were an odd bunch back then, he had decided. Hell, they were weird in this modern day of 2402. “There’s a colony that needs rescuing. Removing as many Vaadwaur from the battle equation will help even things out.”

Voss cocked her head, “They’re not going to call in my warrants, or chips…or any of it? There’s got to be some catch. Something they’ve written in very small Klingon print. Bastards.”

Dain rolled his eyes. “That was years ago, and we learned from it. The thing is…it’s not a contract with Starfleet or the Federation. It’s a contract with Hasara.”

Her eyes flew open, her laidback posture broken as she leaned closer to him, “The Cardassian we’re contracted to kill? Doesn’t that seem a little…oh, I don’t know – fucked up?” Selene pushed herself off the floor, pacing in the dimly lit kitchen, “Our contracts are not up for modification with the Cardassians, Dain. They were clear on the results and the consequences for not accomplishing the contract as required.”

Dain kept his seat, a dry sigh cresting his lips. He had expressed his worries about this thing to her when they’d started working with the group that put them in Hasara’s scent. She’d ignored him, pushing for acceptance without sitting down with him separately from the Cardassians. He turned to stare at her. Something was off with her.

“You going to tell me why you pushed past our normal procedures? Or do I get to play the guessing game?” His stare remained locked on her as she paced. Her eyes darted to him, held his gaze for a few seconds, then searched the room wildly before repeating the pattern.

She pulled a chair from the table and sat roughly on it, cursing in several languages. He watched as she played with her hands. He had seen this look before. She was building up the courage to say something. She hated feelings.

She grumbled and spat on the ground, “Hasara was one of the Cardassians responsible for the death of my friend.” Voss shook her head, “Jason Mells.”

He replied, “He was more than your friend, Voss.” The connection made sense, and he felt the canyon between them filling with a deep grief.

“Yeah. Saying friend makes it easier somehow.” Her pacing had slowed, but the rhythm of the plodding of her boots continued.

“The partner before me. Your lover. You told me once you were engaged.” Dain swore, “When you said outsiders killed him, I thought you meant other mercs or something. Not…Cardassians.”

She shrugged, “I don’t tell you everything, Dain.” She kicked at the floor, “April 13th, 2392. We were running an operation on some Cardassians without any kind of scruples – the ones that’d take the bait without question. I was on my ship and got tied up at some station trying to get back out into the black…and it was too late. They’d ambushed him and left him for dead. By the time I’d transported aboard, he was gone.” He didn’t see tears in her eyes, yet her voice trembled ever so slightly before it returned to her standard menace. “It took a few weeks to sort out who had done it. I’ve managed to either take care of most of them myself or hire it out…but there are a few left. Hasara is one.”

Dain said, “You can still kill him. You just have to vent your frustration on the Vaadwaur while we put our initial plan on pause.”

She stopped, turning to him. He raised his eyebrows at her scowl. Selene grumbled, “I don’t like it when you make sense like this.” She returned to the chair and sat down. “I’ve never fought a Vaadwaur before. It would be nice to add it to the list.”

Dain replied with a small smile, “I’ll let them know we’re ready.” He stood, brushing off the dust from the floor. The depths of Montana Station didn’t offer any quality rooms. “You going to be able to handle this?”

She pulled a metal flask out of her pants pocket. “I’ll just put Hasara’s face on every Vaadwaur I kill.” Selene took a long pull, smacking her lips at the taste. “Trust me. Dealing death helps me process.” He left, and Selene sat back in the chair as the door closed behind him.

“I’m still going to kill that bastard.”