Quite an interesting story that imagines how Garak spent those six months after he tried to destroy the Founders’ home world (plus Bashir, Odo, Sisko, and everyone else on board the Defiant, himself included). Bashir gets Odo to let Garak do his sentence in his quarters rather in the brig, and he also decides he ought to visit the man. I don’t think I’ve come across another story that covers this period. Meanwhile, the plot takes an interesting turn, which I won’t reveal.
Excerpt
Garak watched, fascinated. “Did – Did I invite you to lunch today, doctor?”
“Huh?” Bashir looked up, loaf poised at his mouth.
Garak could feel icy fingers clutching his gut. There could be only one reason the doctor was here.
“I don’t need your pity, Dr. Bashir,” he said with as much dignity as he could manage.
“Pity?” Bashir looked genuinely puzzled. “The pity would be to pass up a Kannish loaf. That vendor – the one opposite the florist’s, you know – he rarely has them. They’re very good.” He began his assault on the food.
As Garak continued to gaze at Bashir, he slowly felt the knot in his stomach loosen. He turned to the replicator to get a proper set of dishes and utensils. He turned back; Bashir was more than halfway finished with his loaf. A fleeting look of bemused tenderness passed over Garak’s face. As Bashir put down the Kannish, a drop of red sauce fell to the carpet. He glanced quickly at Garak. His host, setting the trappings of civilization on the table, pretended he hadn’t noticed. Bashir silently shifted his chair so that the leg covered the spot.
“I brought you something,” Bashir said, missing Garak’s exasperated expression that came and left in a pulse. He took out an isolinear rod and slapped it down on the table. “This one, I know you’ll like.” A look of triumph. “Dostoyevsky.”
Metadata
Title: Sacrifice (you can hit Next or it’s Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4)
Author: PrelocAndKanar
Year Posted: 2008
Approx. Word Count: 9,000
Chapters: 4
GB - Slash or Platonic: Slash
My Rating (1-5): 5
Keywords: Sacrifice, “Broken Link,” Garak in the Brig, Literature