From the Romulan Empire with Love
Summary: In a chaotic series of events, human being Asha Sen is abducted from Earth and flown to Romulus, where she and a Romulan fellow prisoner are forced into marriage...Also features Vreenak later on in the story.
Foreword: The Star Trek universe belongs to Paramount Pictures. I'm only borrowing the characters for your pleasure. This story features original Romulan and Human characters, but includes Vreenak from "In the Pale Moonlight" (Deep Space Nine).
You won't find the Romulan Thorek tr'Darak in canon, as I was audacious enough to invent him and make up his names, though I did include the t'/tr' as per the Romulan language rules I found on the web. He is an original character. Parem is a Romulan who appeared in "The Next Phase" of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Asha is also an original character and as you might guess from the context, originally from India. The name – among other derivations and meanings – comes from Sanskrit and means, "hope", "desire". As you will see much later on, there is a very particular reason why I picked that name.
If there are any readers from my previous Harry Potter fanfics: thank you for your enormous encouragement and for nipping round to have a look at a completely different fanfic universe!
I was enormously inspired by the fanfics penned by the following authors:
Manufactured-triumph, Sensara, WikkityTweak, LornaWinters, cataloo456 and Jamille Shane.
Chapter 1: Kidnapped
Thorek stood up from where he had been sitting on the hard ground of his prison cell. He was uninjured, but extremely confused and very angry. A scientist and teacher in astrophysics, he had been arrested outside his workplace and thrown into prison without an explanation. He had been stuck inside his cramped quarters for a good four hours, during which he had been offered some food and water. He had refused both, his appetite wiped out by the massive disruption of his daily routine. As he glared at the force field blocking the entrance, he heard signs of a struggle and a furious female voice exclaiming: "Let me go!" Then the noise faded, and silence returned.
But not for long.
Heavy footsteps approached his cell. The force field was turned off, and two stony-faced guards stood in front of him, pointing disruptors at him. Firm hands were placed on his arms and he felt the weapons poke into his back. He wisely held his tongue as he was marched out of the oppressive room and into the well-lit corridor. After a few minutes, they arrived at another room, and its doors parted with a hiss. Thorek looked around, saw more guards and, facing him, a young Human woman with a mussed braid and a bruise on one golden-brown arm. She was dressed in Earth clothes – a black blouse and trousers consisting of a thick dark-blue fabric. She had a delicate face with large piercing eyes and her nose was adorned with a small silver ornate ring on one side. She looked very small between the towering guards standing behind her.
Another Romulan detached himself from the shadows at the back of the room – a general, to judge from his costume. Arrogance was etched in every line of his face, and a sneer made the corners of his lips droop downwards.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said mockingly. "I am General Parem from the Tal Shiar, and this," he pointed at the woman in a contemptuous manner, "is your wife-to-be." He looked at Thorek. He and the Human stared at each other in shock. It was she who spoke first.
"What are you saying? I am supposed to marry him?!"
"That is correct," he said. "It is a suitable punishment for both your crimes."
"Crime? I don't know what he has committed, but I declare myself innocent! In fact, you kidnapped me when I was trying to write my holonovel!" Bangles jangled on her wrists as she gestured with her hands.
"There is a strong possibility that you might be a Federation spy trying to gain insight into the technology of our military space vessels," General Parem stated coolly.
She laughed incredulously. "Excuse me? I was collecting material for my holonovel! I even contacted your embassy for permission in advance!"
"A pretext," he scoffed. "I am aware of your request since it was forwarded to our headquarters."
The woman actually sniffed scornfully. "That's complete paranoia."
"Enough," General Parem barked.
Thorek couldn't help half admiring, half disdaining her bravery, for whether it was reasonable when confronting someone in the service of the dreaded Tal Shiar was another question.
The bruise on her arm drew his attention again. He hated it, and the confusion and fear in her eyes did not leave him untouched. She noticed his gaze and looked at him, and he saw with surprise that one eye was dark brown and the other green. She was fighting hard to reign in her emotions; her hands kept gripping the seam of her blouse to have something to hold onto.
She started to speak: "Are you-"
General Parem cut across her: "You will not speak to him, Ms Asha Sen. His parents were arrested and executed by us, the Tal Shiar, for causing political unrest. We have not forgotten their shameful actions. It is their son's punishment that he should marry an inferior species."
"That's insane, and I am not inferior!" she snapped and actually tried to jam her elbow into the ribs of the guard behind her.
He reacted by viciously seizing her braid and yanking her back. She struggled ferociously and managed to backhand him across the face, and her bangles collided smartly with his nose, triggering a green nosebleed.
Thorek lunged forwards when the other guard raised his hand to slap her across the face, and was pulled back by his own guard.
"Don't hit her!" he exclaimed. General Parem removed his disruptor from its holster and fired at the wall, just above Thorek's head. Everyone went still. He nodded curtly at the guards. They let go of her but grabbed her arms instead. Her gaze met his again.
"Keep still," he whispered. The Tal Shiar was one of the most dangerous organisations on Romulus, cloaked behind the title of Intelligence Agency. Arguing with them was a very bad idea indeed.
She heard him and stopped struggling. Her eyes, however, kept burning like flames, and her lips were parted from her teeth. She resembled a Ter'ak, a fierce feline species that roamed some of the Romulan woods.
General Parem crossed his arms over his chest.
"Thorek tr'Darak, as you know, I expect you to marry this individual…" he cast a cold glance at Asha, who stared right back at him, "…as it is now impossible to return her to her planet. Why, if you are…fortunate, you might even father children with her…"
Asha took a deep breath. "What you are proposing is sanctioned abuse."
General Parem raised an eyebrow. "It is our way of doing things on Romulus, Human. Now that you are here and given our…ah…state of communications with your planet, it is very unlikely you will ever see your home planet again. You are unwelcome over here, and it is in our best interest…" he walked over to her, stooped and stared right into her eyes, "that you remember this every second of the day and night. As for you…" he straightened and approached Thorek, "a lasting reminder is necessary to remind you never to raise your hand against us, the Tal Shiar."
He paced towards the middle of the room and announced pompously:
"Tomorrow, you will be married, and you, Human, will live in your husband's home." And, addressing the guards: "Return them to their cells."
As Thorek was thrown back into his cell, he brushed up his memory about the state of affairs between the Romulans and Federation. The former had accused the latter of new destructions of Romulan outposts in the Neutral Zone. The Federation had denied these attacks vehemently, and the result was that the treaty between the two planets was in jeopardy. No doubt the Tal Shiar had taken steps to erase every trace of kidnapping a Federation citizen. The family, friends and acquaintances of that Human woman would have to give her up as lost. And in the meantime, he would have to marry her. He punched at the force field and grit his teeth as it singed his fist.