Senior Centurion Valik waited for the newest group of arrivals to the new Mogai-class warbird Valdore.
Transporter Chief Tylra deftly manipulated the controls, bringing into view a single form. When the form finished rematerializing, Valik was startled.
She was a tall young woman with bright green eyes and black hair, wearing a simple black tunic and pant combo. She held a carry bag in one hand and a data tablet in the other.
"Hello, ma'am. I'm Senior Centurion Valik, chief tactical officer," he introduced himself.
"Well, hello Centurion Valik. Perhaps you could show me around? I haven't had a chance to familiarize myself with the schematics of the Mogai-class yet," she said.
Assuming she was a Tal Shiar officer looking around, judging by the clothing, he nodded, "Of course, ma'am. This way."
The tour was brief, but she seemed to memorize the locations of everything quickly. When they reached a set of quarters, she excused herself to put the bag inside before continuing.
On the bridge, Doctor Venora was treating a tech who had somehow managed to burn himself.
Looking up, the doctor straightened, "Commander Donatra."
"Hello, Doctor. Judging from the fact that you're already busy, I'll say that the medical bay is good to go," the commander said. Valik started when he realized that this was the commander, not some Tal Shiar officer.
"Indeed it is," Venora replied before turning back to the tech.
Donatra walked briskly into her office and sat down.
Valik stood awkwardly, then sitting down quickly when she gestured for him to take the chair across from her.
"So, Centurion. How long did it take for you to realize?" she asked.
"Until Doctor Venora pointed it out," he said, fighting the flush that crept into his face.
Donatra leaned back in her chair, "Good. It means I was doing something right. Last time I tried that, I almost got killed by someone with a grudge against the Tal Shiar."
After noticing his guilty start, she laughed. He was startled at how melodious her laugh was. He slapped himself mentally. Now was not the time to start becoming infatuated with his commanding officer. Especially when there was a war going on.
"So, you believed I was Tal Shiar, huh? You don't need to worry, Centurion. I occasionally do some work for them, but it never goes beyond translating some message that they don't understand," she assured him.
"You're a linguist?" Valik asked.
"That's was my secondary degree at the War College and my first position in the fleet was as a communications officer. But primarily, I'm a tactical officer. I break 'em, and I leave the fixing to the experts," she replied.
Valik suddenly remembered a story he'd once heard about someone having to destroy a replicator because a cadet had screwed up when they fixed it.
"So you mean like that story I heard about a cadet who had to have their replicator blown up in orbit because they didn't know how to fix it?" he blurted. Donatra flushed dark green and put her head in her hands.
"That's STILL going around?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled by her hands.
"Wait, that was you?" he asked, confused.
"Unfortunately, yes, that was me. To this day, I have never lived that down. And it was thirty years ago," she replied, looking up. The expression on her face was priceless, he couldn't help but to laugh.
She looked startled, "What is it?"
"It's just… just… the look on your face…," he tried to answer, but couldn't. He was laughing too hard.
She mock-scowled, "Now, now, Centurion. Someone might think you're dying in here. I don't want to make Venora angry."
Valik struggled to control himself, but managed to stifle the laughter. He'd re-read the latest letter from his brother as a way to get that out of his system later.
Donatra leaned back in her seat again and smiled, "Now that that's over, how soon until we're ready to go?"
"Two hours and fifteen minutes. Chief Engineer Havri wants a bit more time to calibrate the new singularity core warp engines. He's only had sim time with them so far," Valik reported.
"Good. Let's hope that we'll be officially signed out of port by then. Dismissed. I have plenty of paper work to do to get us out of here," she said.
"Too bad that the war hasn't changed that any of that," Valik said on his way out. A derisive snort followed him out.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
The first battle the Valdore had ever been in was a disaster. Seventeen crewmembers dead, including the new helm officer. Twenty-seven more wounded, including Donatra herself, all because she had screwed up.
And she remembered it all too well.
"Commander! We have orders to retreat!" Subcommander Talig yelled over the chaos.
Donatra's palms felt sweaty, but she ignored the niggling doubt in her mind.
"Ignore them!" she ordered, shouting as well, "We can easily destroy this batch of Jem'Hadar in one blow!"
"Aye, sir!"
Even as the crew followed orders, Donatra's overconfidence turned out to be her downfall. Six more Jem'Hadar cruisers dropped out of warp to join the first two.
"Commander! We need to get out of here now!" Talig shouted, "There are too many of them!"
Even as he said that, a hit from a Jem'Hadar ship rocked the Valdore and threw the crew to the deck.
"Commander!" Decurion Yarik at communications, "Six Romulan vessels inbound. One of them has a tractor beam on us!"
Donatra leaned back, defeated, as her ship was towed away from the battle. Later, as she received casualty reports, she felt that niggling feeling of self-hatred in the back of her mind.
As they were on their way back to Romulus, Yarik looked up from his board, "Commander, Admiral Tareth requests permission to beam aboard. He says he would prefer not to have to force his way on board."
"Let him on. I'll be in my office," Donatra murmured, just loud enough for Yarik to hear.
Almost as soon as she sat down at her desk, Admiral Tareth walked in, his lined face dark.
"You must have been injured in the battle," he said without preamble, "Maybe a blow to the head."
"No," she replied, confused. His glare remained in full force.
"Then what explanation do you have for disobeying direct orders to retreat?" he demanded.
"I don't, sir," she said, struggling to keep her voice under control. Tareth didn't fail to notice.
"Feeling guilty, are we? I'm sure the families of the dead crewmembers will appreciate that at least. After all, nothing can being back their loved ones," he said acidly.
"Sir, I-"
Tareth cut her off, "No. You will, for once, listen to your superior officers. I'm unsure of how you got away with this under Suran's command, but it won't happen anymore. When you return to Romulus, you will face a committee and you will most likely lose your command. I hope you're pleased with what you've done today."
"I'm sorry," Donatra said, fighting her own emotions, "I noticed your daughter's name on the casualty list."
Tareth snorted and turned sharply on his heel and stalked out. The door was only open for an instant, but it was enough for the crew. They all sharply turned away. Even Centurion Valik did, but only after a moment's hesitation.
Donatra straightened her formal dress uniform and took a deep breath. The doors to the chamber in front of her swung open and a pair of dour-faced young uhlans stepped out.
"You will come with us," one of them said.
"Of course," she replied, following them. A committee of three Senators and three military flag officers waited for her inside. All of them were blank-faced, but Donatra could see their eyes all too well. Accusing her of purposely throwing her crew's lives away.
The only good thing here was that this was a closed door meeting and that all of the committee members had no connection whatsoever to her or her crew. They were completely neutral.
Senator Varyet, bless her sweet soul, spoke up first, her gentle voice filling the chamber, "Commander Donatra, you stand here before us with three charges today. The first, disobeying lawful orders of a direct superior. The second, willingly sacrificing your crew's lives to satisfy your own needs. The third, and most serious, seventeen counts of murder, all lost during the battle. How do you plead?"
She hesitated for a split-second before replying, "Guilty to all, Senator."
No one noticed the look on Admiral Braeg's face that flashed across in a fraction of a second. But Donatra did and it hurt her deeply.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Valik heard the boisterous noise as he walked into the bar. People were gathered around a screen, cheering on the teams playing a sport that had become rather popular from the Federation: baseball. The Cestus Pioneers were taking on the Starfleet Academy Niners. As usual in a game like this, very few cheered on the Niners.
A few people were gathered at a table, casting dirty looks at the lone figure hunched at the only corner table in the place: Commander Donatra, who listlessly sipped her drink.
They stood up and moved over. Valik could hear their voices.
One of them, a burly man in a commander's uniform, sneered, "How's it feel to be the screw-up now, girl?"
No reply.
"Come on, Li'sen. She's not worth it!" another urged the first.
"No!" Li'sen said drunkenly, "She threatened me years ago and I'm willing to take her up on it now that Little Miss Perfect has stooped to our level."
Valik stood and walked over, much to the astonishment of his fellow crewmembers.
"That's enough. Leave her be!" he snapped, brandishing the disruptor pistol he never left his home without.
"Why should I, Centurion? What stake do you have in this little whore? Got a piece, do you?" Li'sen jeered, not noticing how the whole bar had hushed in the presence of another commander who had just walked in.
A hand landed on Li'sen's arm and spun him around, the other delivering a punch that knocked him clean out.
"Anyone else?" Commander Sela asked, the scowl on her face never dimming. Valik damn near choked on air. She was actually here! He'd had a rather childish crush on Sela ever since they'd met in school, however briefly. She'd beaten up a bully who was picking on him because of his small stature.
"No, ma'am," one of Li'sen's friends said, dragging the others away.
"Thought so," Sela said, pulling up a chair next to Donatra.
Valik walked away and sat back down at his table. Yarik leaned nervously away as a couple of others stood up and simply left.
"You defended her," Subcommander Talig stated.
"I did," Valik replied.
"Why?" the first officer asked.
"Because we all screw up and we all deserve second chances. Besides, I've never turned my back on a commanding officer, no matter how badly they've screwed up, and I'm not about to start today," Valik answered honestly.
"We should all take a page out of your book then, Centurion," Talig said before getting up to leave, followed by Yarik. Valik was alone at long last.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Donatra carefully slipped through the crowds, making her way back to her apartment. Anyone who recognized her shied away. Some even sneered. She didn't pay attention. When she got back to her small apartment and opened the door, he was there.
"What you did was stupid and careless," Braeg said simply.
"I know. I truly do. I damn near got my ass kicked at the local bar by Li'sen," she replied, taking a seat across from him at her small dining table.
"Do you?" he asked.
Her temper flared, "Damn it, Braeg, what is this really about?"
He leaned back, "You tell me. Why else do you think I'm here?"
"Oh hell," she murmured, feeling defeated.
"Exactly. You've been reassigned. The Valdore's been given to me, temporarily. You will be on the Federation station Deep Space Nine, acting as our liaison there. The Senate has ordered that you send daily reports and to follow Captain Sisko's orders to the letter, no matter what little ideas pop into your mind," he said, "You've also been given an assignment by the Tal Shiar, to check up on a woman named Kela Levanthi."
"While Levanthi is a common enough name on Romulus, Kela is the family name of a rather important political family on Bajor. She's half-Romulan and half-Bajoran?"
"So, it didn't take you that long, after all. Looks like you just won me a bet with Tareth," Braeg said, keeping his voice light.
She snorted, "Tareth. I bet he had a word in this, too."
"He did. Actually, he was the kinder of the two groups fighting about you. The section headed by Senator Tal'aura wanted to exile you, but his wing simply wanted to teach you a lesson. You truly made an impression on Varyet," he said.
"I hope so. I have always been impressed by the way she goes about in the Senate. She seems to be the champion of all downtrodden peoples," Donatra replied. Braeg laughed.
"Indeed. Anyway, you're to depart in two days. That does leave some time for me to ask you a quick question," he said, leaning forward and sliding a small package across the table.
Donatra leaned forward as well, a bit hesitant, but she picked up the package anyway and opened it. Inside was a rather ordinary looking bracelet, but as she turned it in her hands, her breath caught in her throat. On one side, it had both hers and his sigils carved in. As she looked up, she saw that he held its twin in his hand.
"Are-" she started, but couldn't finish.
"Yes. I am asking you," he said, already one step ahead of her.
Donatra stood quickly and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him up for a kiss. That led to a bit more than anticipated.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Captain Benjamin Sisko waited at Docking Ring 2 for their newest crewmember. The transport carrying her from Romulus to Bajor had been delayed by a day due to an ion storm, so it wasn't until today that it actually arrived.
As the hatch opened, a small group of Bajoran merchants filed out, talking about sales amongst each other. At the very end of the queue, a Romulan waited, sharply dressed in a typical military uniform.
"You must be Commander Donatra," he said.
She smiled, "And you must be Captain Sisko. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Likewise, Commander. First things first, I hope you won't mind putting on a Starfleet uniform. Odo might think you're trying to pull a typical Tal Shiar trick on us. And to save you from Mister Quark," Sisko said.
"Of course, Captain. And Constable Odo needn't worry. The Tal Shiar and I have no intentions on getting along any time soon," she replied easily.
"Good. Now let me show you around a bit."
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Julian Bashir watched carefully as Miles O'Brien targeted the board in front of him, aligning the dart perfectly with where he thought it would go. As he threw it, he had looked slightly to the side and his aim put the dart into the wall.
"You're paying for that, Chief!" Quark yelled from the bar, never missing a single detail. O'Brien ignored him; too busy staring at the oddest thing that either of them had ever seen.
Over at a table with Jadzia Dax and Kira Nerys, sat a Romulan woman in a Starfleet uniform. The trio of women chatted amicably and occasionally Dax or Kira would make some snarky comment.
"Is that what I think it is?" O'Brien asked Julian.
"Yes it is, Chief. That is our new Romulan exchange officer. I hear tell that she was sent here because of some major screw up," Julian said, sharing a bit of gossip he'd heard exchange between a trader and Quark a few minutes ago.
"Well, I want to meet her. Come on!" Miles said, pulling Julian along. As they arrived at the table, Kira looked up.
"Chief, Doctor. What can we do for you?" she asked.
"Oh, we just wanted to say hello to our newest crewmember," Julian said nonchalantly, earning him a snort from Miles.
The Romulan looked up, pushing a bit of black hair back into the confines of her braid.
"Hi," she said, her green eyes carefully observing their surroundings, "I'm Commander Donatra."
"So I hear," Julian said. Jadzia snickered. Worf came over and grabbed a chair.
"I wasn't aware of a meeting here," Odo said, perching on a stool nearby.
"Well, why not?" Jadzia said, "Let's have a little party while we're at it."
Worf just looked at her, "We are at war, Jadzia. I do not see how a party is part of that."
"Oh, come on, Worf," the Trill science officer shot back, "Have a little fun. It'll lighten the mood around here. It almost feels like the last time Lwaxana Troi was here."
Odo grumbled something under his breath about that particular incident.
"Well," Miles chimed in, "Why don't we order another round of drinks and toast to the hopes that we win the war."
"On it," Donatra said, pulling a bottle of Romulan ale out of a bag by her feet.
"Oh, we're keeping this one," Julian said, drawing laughs from the rest.
Worf just sighed, "I am going to regret this."
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe everyone in here needs some common sense?"
All eyes turned to the woman who had just spoken. Commander Charvanek didn't even blink.
"You heard me. We just sent away a perfectly capable commander to some Elements-forsaken planet because she screwed up. Haven't we all screwed up?" the Intelligence chief asked.
Senator Varyet spoke, her quiet voice seeming to fill the room, "We felt that she needed to learn patience and control. She could best learn that on the front lines of the war."
"Even so," Admiral Braeg said, rubbing a hand down his face, trying to wake himself up, "We need all the officers we can get, especially with the Dominion using Betazed as a launch point to invade our space."
Senator Tal'aura snorted derisively, "She would only have hindered our attempts to drive away the cursed Dominion. Her actions at the Azure Nebula only prove that."
General Sarjak shrugged, "And now we've turned over a decent officer to the Federation to use in their fight against the Dominion. Maybe that Vulcan was right, we are a bit out of touch."
The final committee member, Senator Hiren, tapped the wide table with a finger, "We have already made our decision. She has six months to be there and learn. By then, her ship should be out of dry dock. Admiral Braeg?"
"Well, the damage is extensive, but the crew is working hard. They want to be back in the fight as soon as possible. Oddly enough, many of them are asking when she'll be back. It seems that a Centurion Valik made an example in a bar and they all jumped to follow. Only two transfer requests total," Braeg reported.
"Only two?" Charvanek asked, "I've heard reports that at least half of them were going to leave. Obviously, someone needs to be reminded that current information is important, not past details."
"Well," Varyet cut in, seeming to sense an argument brewing, "Let's all take a moment to reconsider what exactly happened at the Azure Nebula. Reports are uncertain, but so far, it is believed that the Valdore received orders to retreat, but ignored them, leading to the deaths of seventeen people. All were loyal soldiers and all were young. Six died from plasma burns in engineering, ten died from decompression injuries, and the other one died of uncertain causes."
"Who was the final one?" Sarjak asked.
"A Decurion Levanthi," Varyet said. Shock rippled around the room. Sarjak's fist clenched.
"That's impossible. There's no such person as Decurion Levanthi," he snapped, "Your information is faulty."
"General, please calm yourself," Tal'aura said, "She was listed in the crew manifest and she was also confirmed as being there by thirty of the other crewpeople."
"The only person named Levanthi who has a military commission is that half-Bajoran woman Kela Levanthi," Hiren said.
Braeg stood, "I will confirm that with the Tal Shiar at once, Senator."
"Check in with Commander Donatra as well. Something is going on here," Charvanek said crisply.
Braeg nodded and left.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Major Kira Nerys yawned as she sat at her console. Nearby, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax groaned. Lieutenant Commander Worf sat sullenly at his station, staring at the deck plating. Chief Miles O'Brien was rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. Commander Donatra sat at the communications station, perfectly alert and drawing glares from the others.
"How the hell do you do it?" Jadzia hissed.
"Huh?" Donatra asked, spinning towards the Trill, who waved her hand to regain her composure.
"Too fast," she croaked.
"Sorry."
"Anyway, how do you bounce back so fast from a hangover?"
Donatra smiled, "I've got a concoction I brought with me. I was told that Quark is a sneaky sonuvabitch who'll jack the prices up according to how hammered you are."
"Can I have some?" Jadzia murmured. Donatra produced a spray hypo out of her sleeve and passed it over. Jadzia calibrated it for a Trill and pressed the tip to her arm, sighing as the drugs did their magic. Kira grabbed it next, and then passed it on to O'Brien, who in turn passed it on to Worf.
When Sisko came out, Donatra was just spinning back around and the other looked slightly less green than they had ten minutes ago.
"Glad to see you all feeling better," he said, pretending not to notice the slight bulge in Donatra's uniform sleeve.
"Aye sir," Kira said with a sly smile. She tapped out a message to Jadzia on her board.
-We're definitely keeping this one, Dax.-
Jadzia smiled when she saw it and typed back a reply.
-Agreed.-
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Jake Sisko heard the laughter before he saw the little girl. Molly O'Brien was playing hide-and-seek with him, but she seemed to be forgetting the part about being quiet. When he found her, she was bouncing around happily, with a rather irritated Quark watching her.
"She'll scare away all of my customers!" he complained, "I haven't had a decent crowd for about a week because Dax threw her little get-together."
Morn looked up, but didn't say anything.
"I dunno, Mister Quark, I think there's more people in here than I've ever seen before," Jake said.
"But look around, Jake!" Quark said, "None of them are drinking anything. That means they aren't buying anything. That means I'm losing profit."
"Okay. I'll grab Molly and take her by to see Doctor Bashir," Jake said.
"You do that," Quark muttered as Jake led Molly out of the bar and down to the infirmary.
Doctor Bashir smiled when he saw Molly, "Why hello there! I wasn't expecting a visit anytime soon from either of you!"
"Well, we were playing hide-and-seek, but Molly decided to hide in Quark's," Jake explained.
"Ah. He's still angry about that little party Jadzia threw rather suddenly," Bashir said as he reached into a desk drawer for a little bag.
"I happened to find these on Bajor about a month ago. They're still good and very tasty. Want some?" he asked.
Molly nodded happily. Bashir handed her a little piece of chewy candy, which she popped into her mouth just as Keiko O'Brien walked in.
"Julian, are you bribing my daughter?" she asked, a small smile on her face.
"Of course not, Keiko! Just some candy," Bashir said quickly, after offering Jake a piece, which he took.
"Sure," Keiko said, "Hello Jake! How's the writing been going?"
"It's going pretty good. I've got the characters down," he said.
The doors swished open again and in walked a Romulan.
"Hello, Commander," Bashir said, "Here for the physical?"
"I had to get it done at some point. Something tells me that you'll be like Doctor Venora," she said.
"I've no idea who that is, but I'll go with it," Bashir said.
Keiko led Jake and Molly out and they resumed their game. All the while, Jake couldn't help but to wonder what a Romulan was doing here. The last one had been Subcommander T'Rul, and she left pretty quickly after Dad had brought the Defiant to DS-Nine.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The small runabout was quiet except for that damned tapping noise.
"Alright, who the hell is tapping!?" Kira demanded.
No one replied. They were all too busy looking around to find the source of the noise.
The Rio Grande had been sent out to Bajor to retrieve a small cache of medical supplies that Julian needed to treat one of his more permanent patients.
So, Kira and Julian had headed out, along with Jadzia, who scowled at the noise.
"It's not me," she said.
"Same here. Maybe it's something to do with the impulse engines," Julian suggested.
"Well, seeing as it's a tapping noise, no, it's not," Kira retorted.
The noise turned into a thump and a clang.
"What the hell?" Kira was able to get out before they were drawn into a rather large Jem'Hadar vessel.
Meanwhile, on the station, no one noticed anything. A quiet Bajoran woman in an engineer's uniform put away her disguised communications and sabotage device and carried on with her work. Finally, three of the senior staff were out of her way so she could carry out her ultimate goal: assassinating Captain Benjamin Sisko.
AN- So, this story acts as a prequel to The Elements Series. I plan to continue that story as soon as possible and keep going with this one and others. Jolan'tru!