The Casualty «Dukat/Damar & OFC» 🔞 ✔️

26. Fallen city

With long-range communications still out, they had no idea what the space front of the war looked like. It was difficult to get information about the situation on the planet itself. They could not afford to stop fighting, though. Garak finished his explosive and they met with the rest of the local resistance cell to execute their plan to take the Dominion headquarters and capture the female Founder.

A few more Cardassian soldiers joined them on the way, bringing in weapons and ammunition -- apparently friends of Roik. Their numbers were still depressingly few compared to what they were likely to face inside the building, but they did not have the luxury of stopping to rethink their commitment. If they could not finish the job, no one would.

"According to this map, it's a long way from the cargo bay to the briefing room," their new pledge showed Kira.

"It's the longest way," Nyran pointed out. "But there's no better entrance point. There's usually very few guards in that part of the building. It only gets worse everywhere else."

"But it could be a problem if we get trapped in a corridor," Kira said. "We'll have to move fast, before they can flank us, or we'll be done before we even properly begin."

An explosion cut their conversation short. It was close and shook the whole house. Everyone stumbled around for a second, trying to find lost balance, throwing bewildered glances around.

"What the hell?" Kira exclaimed.

"It's the Jem'Hadar!" Garak, who was upstairs on the lookout, hurried down to them. "They're leveling the city, building by building."

"What?" Nyran gasped. "Did someone else provoke them into retaliation, or did they just finally decide to get rid of us all?"

"Maybe we have more people on our side than we thought?" Damar guessed hopefully.

In a grim response to his words, there was a new wave of tremors. It almost felt like an earthquake, combined with the teeth-rattling impact of buildings toppling into rubble all around them. Neshkar was a big city and if they had to work in small strikes to avoid any Dominion targets, it should take them some time to finish, but Nyran's heart had already sunk deep. Her home was getting demolished and there was nothing she could do about it -- unless they managed to snatch the Founder herself and make her stop.

"Alright, we have to go now," Kira barked decidedly, as the whole building shook again. Everyone started moving out, weapons in hands.

"Once we get inside the complex, we stop at nothing until we capture the changeling," Damar ordered. Approving shouts sounded from the crowd.

"We're with you!" -- "Let it be done!"

"For Cardassia!" he yelled and Nyran was the first to follow him in the war cry.

They all spilled into the streets and headed for their target. Out there, though, the sight of crumbling buildings hit them hard. Everyone stopped for just a second to take it in. They all lived here... if their houses still stood, they would soon turn to rubble, as well.

"I'll join you in a bit if you don't mind," Nyran said when she saw houses going down one by one towards a familiar part of the city. "I have to get my sister, I can't let them all die there while we play heroes."

She was already turned to the direction of Karissa's house when Garak, coming though Mila's front door last, stopped her.

"This is probably happening all over the planet, Nyran," he peered intensely into her eyes, trying to will some sense into her. "She's most likely already aware of the danger and I imagine she has more friends here than we do. You can't be any help to her right now, you'd just get yourself killed. The best way to help anybody now is to stop this war. We don't know what we're getting into, we can't spare you. If we fail now, your sister's fate is sealed just like ours."