Scorched Earth

Acknowledgements

I know bugger all about Star Trek. I also brilliantly decided to set my AU shortly before the bulk of the episodes of DS9 that I have seen. Therefore, I would like to thank all those people who helped in many ways to root out errors in my narrative and who took the time to read as I was working.

Firstly, this piece would not exist at all without the generosity of Ina Hark, who brainstormed this story with me at a very early stage when I was feeling extremely despondent, beta-read at breakneck speed beyond the call of duty, whose encouragement and persistence kept me writing, and who provided high-speed trans-Atlantic ego massages in the difficult final stages. All the best plot twists are hers, all the clumsy ones mine. Thank you, Ina. Let's hope there'll be more Una-Ina co-productions!

Big 'thank yous' to: Laura Taylor, who reined in my verbs, cleansed the story of British colloquialisms and did a first-rate editing job; Victoria Meredith for enthusiasm, deftness with commas, and demanding I make a better job of the end; Matt Edwards for beta-reading so quickly (considering I owed him a reciprocal read!) and then helping me break the deadlock on chapter 4; and Kay Oulds, who provided feedback, encouragement and demands for the next installment.

Many thanks to the Psi Phi DS9 community, particularly Lord Garth and KRAD, who patiently supplied advice on stardates and continuity information.

It would be impossible for someone as slapdash about detail as I am to be able to write a DS9 story without constant reference to Tracy Hemenover's magnificent DS9 Encyclopedia and Lexicon. Timeframes, plot synopses, details of Cardassian society and culture - it's all there.

Background

The seeds of this story lie in Gitta Sereny's remarkable biography Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth. Speer, originally Hitler's architect, went on to become Minister of Armaments and War Production and, by 1942, was the second most powerful man in the Reich. A man of perception and intelligence who also apparently lacked anything beyond a rudimentary capability for moral judgement, he denied ever being aware of what was happening to the Jews; his articulate - and much disputed - contrition at Nuremberg saved him from the hangman. Sereny, one of the most outstanding journalists of this century, chronicles his life with insight, courage and unflinching integrity, and untangles the 'Great Lie' of Speer's life. I would urge people to read this important book, in which Sereny demonstrates not only her skill as a journalist, but also that she is an historian of awe-inspiring talent.

The New Zealand place names are accurate. 'Onekaka' is a Maori word meaning red-hot or burning sand. There is a prison at Rangipo, south of Lake Taupo (pronounced 'toe-paw'). The volcanoes are there in Tongariro National Park; the whole area is one of intense volcanic activity, with mud pools, bright blue lakes, geysers, and a strong smell of sulphur (is it any wonder this is where they filmed Mordor?). George Bernard Shaw, visiting Rotorua, just north of Taupo, famously quipped that the area 'reminds me too vividly of the fate theologians have promised me'.

Hope you liked it. Drop me a line.

Una McCormack, Cambridge, March 2000 - January 2001