Somewhere deep within the Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone, lurked a cloaked vessel, more specifically a cloaked Romulan Warbird. Its presence being kept under wraps for a particular rendezvous with a Federation starship called the U.S.S. Pureshashu. Within the bowels of the Warbird were several Romulan officers across the bridge of the ship. One of which would turn in his seat towards the central point of the bridge, where an important female officer was situated.
"Commander Keirianh, we have reached the designated co-ordinates given to us by Starfleet. What are our orders?"
It was clear that many of the officers on the bridge were tense to say the least. After all, relations between the Federation and the Romulan Empire had always been…difficult. In fact many of the Romulans on board the Warbird had lost friends or family to battles involving the Federation. The only reason the officers aboard had gone on this mission at all had been due to it being a direct request from Empress Sela.
The woman of whom the male Romulan spoke to appeared to have her eyes closed and hands rested on her seat. She was clearly a decorated Romulan due to her rank of Commander which was the equivalent to a Starfleet Captain. She unusually had long hair instead of the typical short hair style and was dressed in typical Romulan uniform. The woman proceeded to open her eyes as her mouth opened.
"I see. Maintain our position here, since these Humans always have a thing for being late I will be in my quarters. Do not disturb me unless it is absolutely necessary."
The woman known as Commander Keirianh commanded before proceeded to stand up from her seat and began to make her way towards what was presumably a turbolift. She stopped as she waited for it to arrive before turning her head.
"Do I make myself clear?" She stated with authority towards every officer on the bridge.
"Yes Commander!" Said every officer on the bridge in obedience to their superior officer's order. And with that the Romulan Warbird Monolaire would sit and wait for the arrival of their Federation ally, unbeknownst to them however, they were being watched and were about to come under heavy fire from an unknown enemy.
On board the Federation starship the U.S.S. Pureshashu, a newly formed yet skeleton crew were beginning their preparations for their maiden voyage. A simple mission, rendezvous with a Romulan Warbird in the Neutral Zone, transfer its commanding officer to the Pureshashu and then travel back to Federation space to pick up the remaining transferees at Deep Space Nine. However this simple voyage would soon become more than anyone ever expected.
"Ensign Challice, are we prepared to leave McKinley Station?" A stern man in the center of the ship's bridge asked towards a much younger and clearly very nervous man sitting at the helm.
"Almost sir! Engineering is just making the final checks before we release the docking clamps, sir!" The younger man known as Ensign Challice responded.
"Ensign Challice. Please, there's no need to be so…nervous? Just relax and you'll be fine." The sterner man replied. It was quite unusual as well since the sterner man who seemed to be the ship's Captain not only had unusually white hair but also appeared to possess feline like ears and a feline tail that he kept wrapped around his own waist.
The stern man would heave a sigh before tapping the commbadge on his chest. "This is Captain Jenkins to Engineering. Please respond."
After a few moments, there was a beep followed by a feminine voice that chirped out from the commbadge. "This is Engineering Captain. What can I do for yah?"
"For a start, Lieutenant Commander Watson, you can tell me how much longer these final checks are going to take. We are on a schedule after all." Captain Jenkins stated, clearly in a bit of a bad mood with how they were being held up.
"Ah, so it's about that. Well we actually just finished the final checks. So you can begin releasing the docking clamps and prepare to depart. Captain." Replied the feminine voice belonging to Lieutenant Commander Watson.
"Understood. Captain Jenkins out." The stern feline man would say before darting his eyes towards the Ensign at the helm. "You heard the lady Ensign. Begin releasing the docking clamps and getting us under way."
The Ensign gulped slightly as he began to tap several parts of the helm console. "Understood sir, releasing docking clamps and increasing speed to one quarter impulse." The Ensign responded as many clamps on the outside of the ship removed themselves and the ship itself began to leave the station it was docked at, heading towards the edge of the Sol System.
"Ensign, once we reached the outer edge of the Sol System I want us at maximum warp. Is that understood?" Captain Jenkins commanded before standing upwards. "In the meantime, I think I'm going to take a nap, or would that be catnap…hah."
Everyone sort of looked at the Captain unsure of how to respond. But the Ensign simply responded with. "Understood sir. Shall I inform you via comms once we arrive at our destination?"
"Yes, please do. Now if there isn't anything else, I'll be off. Ria, you have the bridge." Captain Jenkins stated looking towards his sister who was also the Security Chief for the ship.
"Actually, sir. If you don't mind I'd like to discuss some things with you before taking the bridge off your hands." Said the familiarly feline individual, much in the way that the Captain had feline attributes with an unusual hair color, Ria's hair and fur were pink.
"Very well Ria. Let's discuss what you want to talk about on the way to my quarters." The Captain stated before making his way over to the turbolift, in which Ria also made her way towards the turbolift. After the lift arrived, the two entered it.
"Deck Two." Captain Jenkins stated as the turbolift's doors enclosed on the two feline humanoids and the lift before to make its way towards Deck Two. The usual lift humming noise occurring for several moments before the turbolift's doors opened. The two would then exit as the Captain opened his mouth.
"So…what's up sis?" The Captain said in an informal manner, something that a Captain should never do but a Captain had to have some privileges in private.
The female known as Ria would heave a sigh as the two began walking, side by side. "Well firstly, do you need to be so informal with me? I may be your younger sister but I'm also part of YOUR crew. But the reason I wanted to talk with you is that, well…" She paused for a few moments. "Some of the crew, myself included aren't happy about this whole Romulan being our XO deal."
Nathan, otherwise known as Captain Jenkins came to a halt. He turned to his sister, with a serious look on his face. "To be honest, I'm not entirely happy about the whole idea either. I would have liked to have some choice on my First Officer, but dad said this was important to the Federation and the Romulan Empire's best interests. Who am I to argue with that? You know what dad's like."
Ria simply sighed softly. "I suppose you're right. Usually when dad says things like that, he isn't joking. Heck I don't think I've ever seen him crack a smile…ever. Have you?"
Nathan merely chuckled as the two of them began walking again. "Honestly…neither have I. But then the man is a Caitian, I don't think those fur balls would know what fun was if it smacked them in the face." The two of them simply began to chuckle together as Ria began to talk again.
"In any case, I think we should try to restrict the Romulan's access as much as we can while she's with us. The last thing we need is some Romulan virus infecting our systems. Don't you agree?" Ria asked, wondering what her brother's stance was.
"No, I disagree on that one, also the Romulan's name is Isha Keirianh. And before you say something, it's not because I don't think you're right to suggest we do so. But the last thing we also need is Starfleet down our throats about how we caused trouble for an alliance that by all accounts is very shaky after that whole supernova incident that destroyed the entire Romulan system." Nathan said as they both came to a halt, this time outside of his quarters.
"Well, I suppose you have a point. In any case, I'll return to the bridge and let you know once we arrive at the Neutral Zone. Captain." Ria stated before turning away from Nathan and making her way back down the corridor towards the turbolift. Nathan on the other hand would enter his quarters and make his way over towards the bedroom section of his quarters before laying down.
He would press his right forearm against his forehead for a few moments before letting it fall to his side. "This whole Romulan as a Starfleet First Officer situation is starting to look more and more like one huge bad idea. I hope things get better…" Nathan would mutter to himself out loud before closing his eyes and attempting to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, back aboard the Monolaire that was presently maintaining its position whilst also being cloaked in the Neutral Zone itself, the commander of the vessel Commander Keirianh was laying on her bed seemingly unable to sleep at all. She would turn over and tussle several times before rolling back onto her back. The Romulan female looked up at the ceiling before sitting up, placing her hands on her knees.
She then proceeded to stand up and move over towards the washing sink, slapping her face with water. She was also in her sleeping attire as she leaned against the sink. "I'm not sure why…but I have this sinking feeling in my gut that something is going to happen…" She bit her lip, letting some of her blood seep from her lip as she turned around. She was planning to try and sleep once more when the entire ship was rocked back and forth by a sudden impact causing Isha to fall down to her hands and knees.
The proud Romulan quickly got back to her standing position as she leaned against a nearby wall, pressing a button on her comm device. "This is Commander Keirianh. Report!" She ordered as the ship shook several more times as Isha grabbed her clothing and began to make her way back to the bridge, getting dressed in the process.
A shaky voice shot out from the communications panel on the wall just before Isha left her quarters. "We're under attack Commander…while cloaked!" The voice stated causing Isha to come to a halt and subsequently fall down again as a look of shock came over her face.
"Please respond Commander Keirianh. I repeat, we are under attack while cloaked." The shaky voice stated.
"I heard you the first time!" Boomed Isha. "So decloak the ship and return fire already!" She muttered before continuing to make her way towards the bridge. It wasn't long before Isha appeared on the bridge, where sparks were flying everywhere and many of the Romulans were out cold on the floor. The bridge was a complete mess.
"Status report." Isha ordered as the owner of the earlier shaky voice spoke up. "It's not good Commander. Weapons are offline, the cloak is down. And our shields are on the verge of collapsing. We still have life support systems, but we may as well be as the Humans say…dead in the water."
"Do we know who these guys are?" Isha asked as the ship effectively shook about several more times.
"Uncertain Commander, the ship's design is similar to a Federation ship, but its general power readings don't match any known Federation signatures. If I had to guess they want to make it seem like we were taken out by the Federation ship we're meeting.
Just then a massive blast came over the view screen of the ship as it got closer and closer. "Oh sh*t!" Isha muttered as the blast collided with the ship sending debris flying, along with most of the officers on the bridge. Including Isha herself. But as soon as the unknown attacker had appeared and disabled the Romulan ship, it disappeared as if it had never been there. The ship itself was now completely disabled, the only system remaining being the life support system. The ship slowly began to drift towards a nearby moon.
Unlike Isha who had been unable to go to sleep at all. Nathan was completely passed out, he turned over onto his side slightly as he was awoken by the beeping of his communicator which he answered.
"Jenkins here, report." He stated as he sat up on the side of his bed.
"Captain, we've arrived at the designated rendezvous that Starfleet gave us before we left McKinley Station but…" Ria stuttered as she was talking on the comms.
"But…? Is there a problem Lieutenant Commander?" Nathan asked his sister, but concerned and also curious about what might be the issue.
"Well…there's no sign of the Romulan ship. We've scanned the area multiple times but have been unable to locate a Romulan ship's energy signature. To make matters worse, we have however discovered an unknown weapon's fire signature along with Romulan weapon's fire. My best guess is that someone attacked or destroyed the ship. However we haven't been able to find any debris in the area so it's hard to be certain." Ria stated, unsure how Nathan would take the report.
"Understood, I'm on my way to the bridge now." Nathan commented as he got up from the bed, grabbing the main top piece of his uniform and putting it back on before heading back down to the bridge via the turbolift.
Upon exiting the turbolift onto the ship's bridge, the bridge officers all turned towards Nathan unsure of what to make of the current situation beyond what Ria had told him over the comms before he arrived on the bridge.
"Right, I want continued scans of the area. We need to know what happened here before we arrived in the Neutral Zone. If there isn't any debris then we have a Romulan ship lurking about." He would say before looking towards one particular individual, a female Trill to be exact. "Lieutenant Devine. I want you to try whatever you can, because I have a hunch that the nearby moon may be causing interference with our sensors."
Lieutenant Devine nodded her head before turning around back to her console. "Aye sir. If I'm able to pick up anything after modulating the sensor array you'll be the first to know." She said as she began to work on messing around with the sensors to get past any potential interference.
With that Nathan plopped himself down into his seat before looking upward at his sister. "I'm really worried about this Ria. If we aren't able to find that ship, it's going to look like we destroyed them…and then the Romulan Empire will turn its broken fangs towards the Federation."
Ria would lean forward a bit as she looked down at her brother. "I know what you mean. Not to mention that since we're related to dad…he'll be affected more than he may have normally. So I hope for our sake that we find that ship."
Just as Ria finished speaking, the doors to the turbolift opened up and a female Human exited from its doors. The female in question was one Lieutenant Commander Watson. The ship's Vice-Chief of Engineering as well as Acting-Chief of Engineering during the ship's maiden voyage.
Nathan looked towards the turbolift and stood up, readjusting his uniform before speaking. "Samantha. Something must be bothering you for you to come to the bridge like this. What's wrong?" Nathan asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
The woman that Nathan had identified as Samantha folded her arms a bit before replying. "It's just something I need to talk to you about in person. Perhaps in your ready room?" She questioned as she glanced towards Ria, shaking her head at the feline woman as if to say that she wasn't coming to Nathan about the Isha situation, but something else.
Nathan nodded his head before beginning to walk towards his ready room, he briefly passed by the Operations Officer, Lena Ralor as he whispered something into the Bajoran's ear about assisting Lieutenant Devine with the sensor relay before disappearing with Lieutenant Commander Watson into his ready room. Leaving Ria in charge of the bridge for the time being.
Nathan made his way over towards his desk, walking around it to sit down in his chair placing his fingers together whilst leaning his elbows on the table. "So then, what can I help you with Sam? Or is this to do with my future First Officer?"
Samantha upon entering the ready room simply came to a halt, placing her hands behind her back in a formal manner before speaking. "I know that many of the crew are not particularly happy about that choice of First Officer, sir. However that is not the reason I wished to speak with you, though I also do not agree with the decision."
Nathan brought his hands down to his desk, almost folded as he leant forward. "Well then Lieutenant Commander, what exactly is it that brings you to speak with me…and at such a critical time in our maiden voyage too."
Samantha bit her lip before speaking. "It's about the position you assigned to me as Vice-Chief of Engineer, sir. I believe you have made a mistake in assigning a random engineer as your Chief of Engineering. Nobody among the crew has worked with the inner mechanics of a Vesta-Class's engine room as much as I have. Sir."
Nathan merely sighed softly. "I see. So you not only disagree with my First Officer choice, but also my choice for the Chief Engineer position aboard this vessel. I will be noting your grievances of these things in my log. But I made my choice for reasons I can't really go into at the moment. But because of your experience with this vessel, I chose you to assist the Chief Engineer. I hope you understand that I chose both yourself and Commander Dilan for your individual skill sets and qualities."
"I see. So there's no changing your mind on your decision then?" Samantha asked, knowing the answer to her question.
"There isn't. Despite that, you are my acting Chief Engineer so I need you ready and prepared for whatever might happen. Can you do that for me Samantha?" Nathan asked.
"Of course Captain. Maybe I'll even convince you to give me the spot permanently, heh." Samantha chuckled as the doors to the ready room opened up behind her, causing both Samantha and Nathan to bring their attention towards Lieutenant Devine who had entered the room.
"Lieutenant Devine. Report." Nathan said with keen interest considering the fact the Lieutenant seemed very abrupt in her arrival.
"We've managed to discover a ship, sir. Can't tell if it's the Romulan ship. Though it was quite a surprise…I was about to implement a new scanning routine to get past any magnetic interference from the moon like you said when it just…came up on sensors. And it's near the moon."
Nathan smiled before standing up from his desk. "Very well then, let's all return to the bridge and find out who we've found. Lieutenant Commander Watson, I want you back in Main Engineering."
"Understood Captain." Samantha responded as she left the ready room first, followed by Nathan and Lyla. Whilst Samantha returned to Engineering like Nathan had instructed, Lyla sat back down at her Science station and Nathan returned to his Captain's chair.
"Well then, let's see what we've got. On screen." Nathan promptly said as Lieutenant Ralor tapped a few parts of his console and the viewscreen brightened up with a display that showed the vastness of space, with the large grey moon to one side. And the shape of what appeared to be a vessel could be seen near the moon. "Lieutenant, magnify the viewscreen." Nathan said as the Lieutenant did as he was asked.
"Looks like we found the Romulan ship, though it looks like she's damaged." Nathan said as he brought his right hand to his chin, thinking about this turn of events, whilst leaning his right elbow on the armrest of his chair. "The question is, who did this to the Romulan ship…and more importantly. Are there any survivors, particularly Commander Keirianh."
Whilst Nathan was in his thoughts, the voice of his sister got his attention. "Captain, I recommend forming an away team to beam over to the Romulan ship to investigate. I'd recommend asking Lieutenant Commander Watson to be part of it."
"I agree. Ria, you'll assemble an away team including Lieutenant Commander Watson. Don't forget to bring any survivors back to sickbay." Nathan said as Ria nodded before tapping her communicator. "Samantha, I need you in Transporter Room One, we've found the Romulan ship and we need to assess the damage to its systems." Ria said as she waited a moment for a reply. "Understood Lieutenant Commander Jenkins. I'll be right there." Samantha said before ending the communication.
Aboard the Romulan ship, there was no lights to be seen, the odd few sparks flew about on the bridge as debris was everywhere. All of a sudden, the bridge lit up slightly as five energy beams began to appear before disappearing leaving Ria, Samantha and three other security officers including the young Half-Human Half-Klingon Lieutenant Valkris Kylie Starad-Huston.
"Alright everyone, turn your wrist lights on. We need to start checking for survivors. Samantha I want you to head down to their engine room, the last thing we need is that thing tearing open a black hole and sucking all of us into it. Valkris, Michael and Angelica I want you three to start searching the other decks. I'll stay here on the bridge." Ria clearly was familiar with these kind of situations as she handed out orders.
All of a sudden a green beam of energy shot forth from one of the pieces of debris right towards Ria who quickly shifted sideways, as the beam grazed the side of her arm and blasted one of the consoles behind her. Causing the feline woman to hiss as she pulled out her phaser and readied it. "Hold your fire. We're from the Federation ship you were ordered to meet up with." Ria shouted out as the others also readied their weapons.
"Liar!" A voice shouted out before attempting to shoot another shot from its weapon. Fortunately the individual was shot with a phaser blast from Samantha, knocking the individual unconscious. "Phew…" Commented Samantha as she moved over to the individual to check on them.
"Man…this is why I don't like Romulans…they shoot first and ask questions later." Huffed Ria who made her way over to Samantha with the other three security officers. "How is he Samantha?"
Samantha turned her head up towards Ria in a knelt position as her index finger checked on the male Romulan's pulse. "He's alright, looks like he got banged up a bit before we got here. But for now he's out cold. We need to be double alert in case other Romulans decide to attack us." Samantha would say before standing up and making her way towards the turbolift with the three security officers.
"In any case, be careful the four of you. And let me know of any developments that occur. I'm going to check on things here on the bridge…may even find our lovely First Officer if I'm lucky too." The four officers nodded as the turbolift began its descent and Ria strolled over towards the center of the bridge, moving a piece of debris so that she could sit in Commander Keirianh's chair. "Heh…surprisingly comfortable."
Meanwhile the turbolift would come to a halt as Valkris and her fellow security officers would exit the turbolift leaving Samantha to continue towards the engineering section in the turbolift. That's when the male officer raised his voice. "So…what are we even doing here anyway. Romulans are always bad news after all."
One of the females spoke up in response, in particular the Human named Angelica. "Your guess is as good as mine Michael. What do you think about the whole thing Valkris?"
Valkris who had gone on a little head of the other two would finally speak up. "Honestly I think you two are just being really annoying. It's attitudes like yours that made Klingons start the war with the Federation…" She muttered before noticing several injured and presumably unconscious Romulans who she quickly went to check on.
"Well god Valkris, no need to get so touché." Angelica said, it was clear that both the two Humans were cynical at best.
Valkris made a note of their attitude whilst also paying attention to the injuries of the several Romulans. "It looks like they are still alive, however we should probably keep looking around before reporting back to the Lieutenant Commander." She'd say before standing back up, the three of them would then continue to keep searching.
Samantha heaved a short sigh as the turbolift came to a halt and its doors opened only for sparks to be flying everywhere. "It looks like this place has been to hell and back…" She'd comment as she stepped out of the turbolift beginning to make her way across the large room. "I seriously hope I can do something with this ship, I never prepared myself to deal with Romulan starships when I accepted this position…" She sighed once more as she arrived at a console.
"Sh*t…and these consoles are absolutely no help, it's in friggin Romulan…" She was clearly frustrated as she banged the console a bit. "Maybe I should be trying to see if there's any Romulans here who can help me…"
As Samantha had said this out loud a Romulan stumbled into the section she was in, she was clearly pretty banged up but she just stared at Samantha for a few moments before opening her mouth. "Federation…?"
Samantha nodded her head a bit. "Lieutenant Commander Samantha Watson. I'm from the USS Pureshashu."
The female Romulan seemed to smirk as she got closer before leaning against the console that Samantha was near to. "A shame it took you Humans so long to get here."
Samantha tilted her head a bit. "What exactly happened to do so much damage here…?"
"We were attacked." The female said before turning around to tap the console some. "Well at the very least it looks like the core isn't damaged. I'm also guessing you're the Chief Engineer then?" She asked as Samantha shook her head.
"Vice-Chief, but it's good to know that it's not damaged. Honestly I wouldn't have a clue since I'm not familiar with Romulan console designs."
"Heh. I'm also assuming you aren't the only one here, so where are the others who came with you?" The woman asked.
"You are correct. Some of our security are checking on survivors from the attack you received. Whilst the individual in charge of our group is on the bridge." Samantha said. "So I recommend we go back there to let her know. Once we locate the Commander of the ship I can try and get some of our engineers to fix the ship's systems."
The woman stared at Samantha for a few moments before beginning to make her way towards the turbolift, Samantha evidently following her. "Well, you should know you've found her. My name is Commander Isha Keirianh." This caused Samantha to be surprised as they began to make their way back to the bridge.
On the bridge, Ria was stretching her arms upward as she yawned softly before resting her hands on the armrests. "I hope things are going alright with the others. Seems like people here on the bridge are either dead…or out cold." That was when the turbolift opened up and the individual known as Isha stepped out only to speak up.
"Okay what the hell is your problem. Get out of my chair!" The Romulan roared caused Ria to turn her head towards Isha and Samantha as she got up from the chair to turn and look towards them. She was somewhat puzzled by Isha's comment. "Your chair? Does that mean you're Commander Keirianh?" She asked noticing that Samantha was a little on edge somewhat.
Isha would simply sigh as she made her way towards the center and stood face to face with Ria. "Yes, Commander Keirianh. And you must be the one in charge this girl mentioned, well I'm nowhere near impressed by you. Far as I can see you're an obnoxious arrogant Human." Oddly, as Isha mentioned this Ria's ears twitched and her tail moved about behind her.
Ria then got up closer to Isha with a clear look of defiance. "An obnoxious arrogant Human, huh? If you must know I'm only half Human. Though as far as I can see the only obnoxious arrogant one here is you, Miss Romulan." Isha and Ria were getting in each other's faces despite the injuries Isha seemed to have as Samantha tried to break the two of them up.
"Lieutenant Commander, Commander. I think you should calm down…" Samantha said as the two of them turned and glared at Samantha who tensed up even more than she previously was.
"Shut it!" Ria and Isha said before looking back at each other fiercely. The tension between the two was thick enough to cut with a knife. However in the midst of the tension Ria's commbadge chirped which caused Ria to turn away from Isha and tap it. "This is Ria, report Valkris."
"Lieutenant Commander, we've managed to find numerous members of the Romulan crew and we're preparing to contact the Pureshashu to beam them over so they can get medical attention." Said the deepened voice of Valkris.
"Understood, I'll be returning to the Pureshashu shortly with the Romulan Commander. Ria out." She then looked towards Samantha. "I'm going to be taking the Commander back to the ship and then sending some of our engineers over to assist you in rendering repairs to the ship. Okay?"
Samantha nodded. "Well hopefully we'll be able to do something. Otherwise we'll need the Commander's assistance." She'd say only for Isha to raise her voice.
"You do not need to take me anywhere. And your engineer is right, she'll need assistance from me unless you just happen to have engineers who understand Romulan systems."
"Commander Keirianh. Once medical have given you a once over and you've spoken with the Captain, then you can return." And with that she tapped her commbadge again, this time to contact the Pureshashu. "This is Ria to Transporter Room 2. Two to beam directly to sickbay." She muttered as the officer on the other side confirmed her command and Ria and Isha, the latter being reluctant to actually go, was beamed off the Romulan ship.
Samantha just sighed heavily before scratching her head. "Honestly…I get that what she said was true, but I honestly don't see us doing much without a Romulan's aid. Guess I better head back to the engineering deck and see if I can at least figure out what the Commander did to check the core…" And with that she began to head to the turbolift to get to work.
Meanwhile back aboard the Pureshasu within Sickbay two beams began to materialize in the forms of Ria and Isha. As soon as they materialized, Isha glared at Ria who seemed uninterested in Isha's feelings as she opened her mouth. "You insubordinate little..." Isha stated as she bundled her fists together, it was clear how unhappy and irritated she was, but before Ria could say or do anything another voice chirped up, namely Valkris' voice.
"Erm...Lieutenant Commander...Commander...please don't fight..." She said weakly trying to stop the two women from fighting.
Ria simply sighed as she turned away from Isha and towards Valkris. She was about to brush off the fact of how she had annoyed Isha but then she noticed that Valkris was alone in sickbay with the injured Romulans. "Valkris...where are Michael and Angelica?"
Valkris looked at Ria for a few moments as she pushed her index fingers against one another. "Well...they sort of...left? They said they couldn't stand being around Romulans and left me here by myself."
Ria merely sighed shaking her head. "I'll be speaking with those two soon enough." She'd say towards Valkris seemingly avoiding Commander Keirianh for the moment before speaking again. "Computer, activate Emergency Hologram, Medical." As she said that, a feminine form would materialize in front of the three females who was Asian looking in nature.
"Lieutenant Commander Jenkins, please state the nature of the medical...I mean. How may I help you?"
The form asked as Ria, Isha and Valkris all raised a brow at the typical EMH line, though Ria then chuckled a little. "Kazue, would you mind taking care of the Romulans here in Sickbay, including this one here?" She said as she pointed towards Isha who became even more annoyed. "Meanwhile, Valkris you're coming with me, okay?"
Valkris and Kazue nodded their heads as Valkris and Ria began to walk towards the exit of Sickbay. Isha was practically fuming at this point as she raised her voice. "Hey! You...how dare you...why I oughta..."
Kazue then brought a medical device to Isha's neck that had caused her to collapse to the floor. "Understood Lieutenant Commander Jenkins." The hologram entity would say before bending her knees and looking at Isha's collapsed body. "Romulans are such interesting creatures..."
Outside of Sickbay Ria and Valkris began making their way down the hallway as they headed towards the security office. "Valkris, I must apologize to you regarding Michael and Angelica...I had no idea they were such...ignorant people."
Valkris merely shook her head some. "It's okay sir. I'm used to it honestly. Being part Klingon doesn't get me very far as it is, what with the Federation and the Klingon Empire at each other's throats."
Ria seemed to be worried though, she had dealt with the cruelty of prejudice herself along with Nathan and their sister Neomi so she could feel some of the pain that Valkris had, on top of the fact that Valkris was a member of her security team. "In any case, I will be dealing with Michael and Angelica accordingly. I want you to make your way back towards the security office, I need to inform the Captain about Commander Keirianh being in Sickbay."
Understood Lieutenant Commander...but may I ask sir...will she really be out First Officer?" Valkris said shyly considering the tension both on the warbird as well as in Sickbay.
"If it were up to me...I'd throw that woman out the airlock. Sadly, yes she will be the First Officer of this ship. Why do you ask Valkris?"
"Well I just worry for our crew if there's so much tension...we're all supposed to be working together after all...and if something bad were to happen then..."
Ria stopped Valkris there and pulled her into an embrace. "Shh. It will never come to that. I may not like her, but when it comes down to the moment, I'm certain both myself and the Commander can work together. I'm certainly not that stupid." She said before pulling away from Valkris.
The half-Human, half-Klingon smiled softly. "Thank you sir. I'll make my way from here to the office." She said before pulling away and heading off towards the office. Ria smiled gently and sincerely before she too began to make her way towards her destination.
Back in Sickbay Kazue was checking on the wounded Romulans and also on Isha who was still irritated and several times would brush Kazue off wanting to be left alone. "Will you quit checking on me...I am fine you damn Hologram..."
Kazue simply shook her head a little. "Be that as it may, I was told to ensure you are fine. And that is what I shall do."
Isha grumbled even more. "Well my words should override that useless fluffball's commands. Do you know who you're talking to?!" She exclaimed in frustration.
Kazue paused for a few moments, she was about to speak until the doors to Sickbay opened up, and Nathan himself appeared and began making his way over towards Kazue and Isha. This actually frustrated Isha somewhat due to what Kazue did next.
"Ah, Captain Jenkins. Your sister asked me to take care of these Romulans and I am pleased to report that none of them will die. In fact this one here is very healthy..."
Nathan raised his hand to stop Kazue from talking. "That's fine Kazue, my sister already explained the situation to me, his eyes gazing over towards Isha who seemed about ready to erupt. Kazue was about to speak when Nathan spoke. "Computer, deactivate the Emergency Hologram."
"But Capt..." Kazue said before disappearing into the nothingness that Holograms were born from, the endless photons or in this case lack of photons.
"Christ...that Hologram was beginning to really irritate me..." Isha stated looking to Nathan. She could tell that Nathan's sister was Ria, they both had the same cat like features and aside from the difference in fur and hair color were also very similar in appearance as well.
"I must sincerely apologize. I am Captain Nathan Jenkins and you must be Commander Isha Keirianh. My sister has told me...some things about you. I also understand the two of you are already at odds...I assure you I will be speaking with my sister's behaviour. After all you are her superior officer...or will be at least."
Isha was quite surprised...she knew 'Humans' were compassionate creatures but this Captain was beyond what she was used to. After all most Romulans were terrible people and it's what made them such ruthless Commanders. It certainly wasn't something that she was used to at all. "It's...fine." Was all she could say. "I will make one thing perfectly clear though. I do not like your sister, I do not like you...I do not like your Federation. I am here for one reason and one reason alone. Because my Empress commanded me to take this assignment. Am I clear?"
Nathan merely nodded his head as his ears twitched amongst his white locks of hair and his white tail moved behind him. "And I respect that, Commander. All I ask is that we try to work together for our common interests. I thought I should also inform you that I have sent what little engineers I have currently to try and restore your ship to working order. I'm sure you will also want to have what's left of your own crew assist in that endeavour."
Internally, Isha was thankful that Nathan and his crew would go to such an extent since it wasn't even part of their mission, however externally she refused to show that...she refused to show such weakness. "You may do whatever you see fit. However I will not allow your officers to mess with my ship. So I and several of my officers will return to my ship and ensure your people do not screw things up."
"Understood Commander. You are free to leave whenever you wish, just inform the medical officers over there when you do." Nathan smiled softly and turned around before making his way over to leave. "And Commander..." Nathan said turning his head back around. "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Nathan smiled once more before leaving.
Isha wasn't quite sure what to think, but she glanced at the few officers at the other end of sickbay who were checking on her wounded. Her trust in the Federation was very little...if any at all due to the events that transpired with the Hobus Supernova but at the same time she felt...at peace because she wanted to believe that this group of people were genuine...well perhaps not Ria but still.
With that Isha pulled herself off from the medical bed and began to make her way over towards the other Romulans to organize a group to return to her ship, the IRW Monolaire, to which she was greeted by the medical staff.
Nathan began to make his way down the corridors as he began to think on the situation. It was one of those times that he wished they weren't on a Maiden Voyage, being so short staffed was absolutely terrible in these kinds of situations. The Enterprise-B was the biggest example, so much that he hoped that the ones responsible for damaging Isha's ship would not return.
But of course that was hopeful thinking on his part. Whilst Federation ships were more prepared for battle even under the circumstances they were not at full stability in multiple ways. Nathan then came to a halt before tapping his commbadge. "This is Jenkins to the Bridge."
A voice chirped back, and it was his sister, Ria. "Bridge here, is something wrong Captain?"
"I..." Nathan paused. "I'll be on the holodeck if I'm needed. You have the bridge Ria."
"Understood Captain, I will inform you if there are any developments regardless of how big or small they are. Which reminds me...I need to discuss some things with you so I'll meet you down there."
"I see, well then ask Lieutenant Devine to take charge for the time being. Nathan out." And with that Nathan began to make his way towards the turbolift as he had intended, but instead of heading towards the bridge Nathan simply said. "Deck 13." And with that the turbolift began moving as it headed towards Deck 13, the location of one of the ship's holodecks.
Back on the Bridge, Ria heaved a sigh as she turned around towards where Lyla was sitting, she made her way over and laid her hand on the Trill's shoulder. "Lyla, I need you to take charge of things here on the Bridge, you okay with that?" She asked as she waited for her reply.
Lyla who was working on her scientific duties shuddered at the hand on her shoulder as she turned her head around and looked to Ria. "Of course Lieutenant Commander, with such a skeleton crew there's only so many officers here on the Bridge who could handle that duty."
Ria smiled softly as she took her hand away. "Thank you, I'll be back in a short while I just have to make a report to the Captain." Ria then began her strides towards the turbolift as she turned to face everyone whilst stood inside the lift. "Computer, where is Captain Jenkins located?"
As she said this the turbolift doors closed in and a feminine voice played on the turbolift's speaker. "Captain Jenkins is currently located in Holodeck 2, Deck 13."
Ria had figured as much, one of the first things he had done prior to the current date was claim that particular Holodeck as his personal one...at least when he was using it of course. "Deck 13." She commented as the turbolift began its movements towards Deck 13.
Shortly afterwards, the turbolift doors opened and Ria began making her way down the hallway as she headed towards the Holodeck, she immediately stopped in front of the Holodeck as its doors opened up and then she saw her brother. He was in a simulation of what appeared to be some sort of Japanese training dojo, clearly he had not been here long as he was about to train with a hologram when he noticed his sister and motioned for the hologram to go.
"Ria, I didn't expect you to be so quick in arriving. It sounded like you needed to talk to me urgently." He said as he knelt down onto the floor wearing traditional Japanese attire for training in a dojo and placed his kendo stick down on the ground as well.
Ria didn't do the same as her brother as she wasn't going to stay long so instead she leaned herself up against a wall within the small dojo and folded her arms across one another heaving a sigh. "It's just my report with regards to the whole situation aboard the Romulan ship, particularly regarding our so-called First Officer as well."
Nathan stared at his sister for a few moments before speaking. "Ria...tell me you didn't..." He stated with concern in his voice.
"Fight with her? Oh yeah...she really doesn't like me and to be honest I can't stand her. But that's hardly what my report is about." Ria commented as she heaved another sigh.
"Well, that explains her words in Sickbay. That's not good at all, if she reports that back to her superiors it could cause problems for us as well. So please, try to get along with her...apologize to her if you need to Ria. For me." Nathan said sighing softly.
Ria sighed at the last part. "Apologize? Fine...whatever. In any case, when we was aboard the ship there was some issues with us getting shot at by scared Romulans and that I assure you had nothing to do with us. I also need to file a report on Michael and Angelica. They allowed their anger towards Romulans to cloud their judgement and left Valkris alone in Sickbay."
Nathan stood up holding his kendo stick over his shoulder. "Those two...I thought they might have looked past their feelings knowing how important this is to Starfleet. But clearly my assumption was bad judgement on my part.
Ria then pulled away from the wall. "In any case, I'll deal with them." She said as she smiled at Nathan for a moment before walking towards the Holodecks' doors and leaving. Letting Nathan resume his regular kendo workout.
Back aboard the Romulan vessel Samantha and several engineers was stumped on trying to understand how Romulan consoles work when Isha and several Romulans entered the Engineering section. Isha had a somewhat annoyed look on her face when she spoke. "I do hope you and your people haven't messed around in here. There is very sensitive things in this section of the ship."
"Honestly...we haven't been able to do a thing. None of us understand Romulan consoles. And if you mean the ship's core and cloaking device. We haven't touched a thing, in fact we've been waiting for you to return so you can help us." Samantha said as she stood up afterwards.
Isha sighed a little crossing her arms. "It will be you and your people helping US. So make sure you all follow the instructions of my officers here. And you specifically will be with me. Come." Isha then made her way past Samantha over towards the core to inspect it.
Samantha simply shrugged her shoulders and followed on behind Isha, though she was curious about what happened to the ship and simply wanted to get to know Isha herself. "So...Commander. What actually happened here before we arrived?"
Isha who was inspecting the core merely stopped for a moment to glance towards Samantha. "We were attacked, isn't that obvious?"
"Well, yeah but...if that's the case then how come your ship wasn't destroyed...these and many other things don't add up...like you were, well bait." Samantha said as Isha just stared at her for a few moments.
"Are you trying to imply that whoever attacked us left us in a damaged state to lure your ship? How preposterous. Who do you think you are to assume that your little ship is any more important than mine? This is the reason I cannot stand you Federation people..." Isha stated with frustration as she started to move over towards the cloaking device to make sure it wasn't damaged.
Samantha was almost insulted by that comment but she tried to ignore it. "I didn't mean to offend you...its just strange is all."
Isha heaved a sigh and turned around before leaning her hands against a nearby railing near the core. "It's...okay. Everything that has happened today over this whole incident has just not sat well with me."
Samantha had a look of concern on her face as she leaned up against the railing as well. "I think...I think it's important we try to discern what happened and why...they may come back to finish the job too."
Isha wanted to say something but she was reluctant but opened her mouth anyway. "I...agree. While I hate to admit it...you may be right about being bait. That ship came out of utterly nowhere, our sensors did not detect them...they weren't cloaked they just...appeared. They had us...dead to rights as you Humans say, and then they simply vanished. It did not add up as you said."
Samantha and Isha seemed to be coming to a general consensus that there was more to the strange attack than what meets the eye when one of Samantha's engineering staff appeared to the two of them.
"Ma'am. We have managed to restore most of the ship's systems." The Human male engineer stated before turning to Isha. "Ma'am, what do you want us to do now?"
Isha was clearly surprised by the engineer addressing her as if she was his commanding officer. "Erm..." The Romulan was at a loss for words.
"I suggest double checking things over, myself and the commander will return to the bridge to contact the Pureshashu, understood Ensign?" Samantha said taking charge of the situation. Isha seemed relieved by Samantha's quick thinking.
"Understood Lieutenant Commander Watson." The Ensign stated before scurrying off to inform the rest of the engineers.
"Watson, huh? Isn't that the name of a character you Humans invented?" Isha asked with some curiosity, as she admired Human Literature a great deal.
"Yes." Samantha answered with bluntly. "Not a name I enjoy hearing I assure you. But it is my last name..." Her words began to trail off as she looked to Isha. "How about we contact the Pureshasu, okay?" With that Samantha began to make her way out of Engineering.
Isha merely chuckled a little. However she would then follow on after Samantha to do as she suggested. As much as she hated it, these people would be part of her life forever how long her mission was to last. "Interesting people...for Humans." Isha commented.
As the two of them were in the lift, Samantha said something. "Did you say something Commander?" Samantha asked.
"No, nothing. Now, Bridge." She commented as the lift closed and began to return them to the ship's bridge.
Meanwhile Ria was sat in Nathan's chair on the bridge, her head was leaned backwards as she looked upward at the ceiling. Her mind seemed to be on a million different things. About herself, Nathan, Isha...just everything all at once. All of a sudden an alarm bleeped out as Lieutenant Ralor turned around at the Conn station.
"Lieutenant Commander, a ship has just appeared...orders?" The Bajoran asked. Of course Ria was about to reply when the ship shuddered about as the other ship appeared to be attacking them.
"Raise shields and report!" Ria shouted towards the officer who was at her normal post.
As soon as Ria had said that, Ralor pulled up the viewscreen so that they could see who was attacking them.
"I raised the shields just in time Ma'am. Minimal damage to shields, however they appear to be using an unknown method of weaponry." The random officer said.
The ship shook and shuddered again as Nathan appeared on the bridge. "Report people, what in blazes is going on?" Which in turn the ship continued to shake and shudder.
Ria got up dismissing the other officer as she took her station and Nathan sat down in his seat.
"Captain, an unknown vessel with unknown weapons and an unknown energy signature is attacking us. Our shields are down to 76% already...what are your orders?"
"Prepare to lock phasers on and load our quantum torpedoes. I don't like the looks of this and I'd rather we avoid all the damage that Isha's ship took." Nathan ordered as his hands gripped the arm rests of his chair.
A grim look came over Ria's face as she stared at her console. "Captain...we have no quantum torpedoes. We have a limited stock of regular torpedoes but I am attempting to lock on with our phasers."
Nathan gritted his teeth as repeated attacks to the Pureshasu continued to shake and shudder it. "And let me guess...not until Tuesday like the deflector dish?"
Ria simply nodded her head. "I'm afraid so. Attempting to retaliate with our phasers, however there appears to be no damage being inflicted at all."
Nathan stood up aggressively. "Have you tried to hail them?"
Ria nodded her head once more. "Multiple times, no response."
Nathan shook his head some more as his tail moved about wildly in frustration. "Suggestions people...we need suggestions."
Before anyone could actually offer a suggestion though a beeping came through to Ria's station.
"Captain...we're receiving a hail from the Romulan Warbird." Ria stated.
"Put it on screen Ria." Nathan commanded.
Ria quickly tapped her console answering the ship's hail causing the viewscreen of the ship to shift from the view of the enemy ship to change to the view of Isha and Samantha aboard the Warbird. A stern look on both their faces as the ship shuddered repeatedly.
TO BE CONTINUED
I hope you've enjoyed reading the first chapter of Season One. I am hoping to get the second chapter of STAR TREK: PRECIOUS out as soon as possible. Until then, live long and prosper!
Chapter One Completion Date: 08/10/2015
~FANFICTION CREATOR – WARREN MITCHELL / SUSHITHELEGEND~