Weyoun watched carefully as the transporter particles resolved into a woman wearing the uniform of a Starfleet captain. She crossed her arms across her chest and waited for him to speak as the Jem'Hadar surrounded her.
"You are in a dangerous position," Weyoun said finally. Gul Dukat sneered at her.
"I don't think I agree with that assessment," Captain Mackenzie Calhoun replied, putting her hands on her hips and blowing a loose strand of black hair out of her face.
"First of all," Dukat interrupted, "You're not carrying a weapon. Secondly, you have no help. Third-"
He was cut off as Calhoun suddenly leapt into action, using a hidden weapon to cut down the four Jem'Hadar around her. She smirked at them even as the gleaming blade dripped.
"To answer your obviously stupid observations, I'm always armed. It's a good policy to go by," she said, "And I've got help. Calhoun to Crusher. Commander, get your ass down here!"
A team of sixteen Starfleet security officers appeared. The leader, a blonde woman with the pips of a Lieutenant Commander, pointed her phaser directly at Weyoun.
"What do you think would happen if I decided to shoot him?" she wondered aloud.
An ensign piped up, "He'd be dead."
"That sounds like good results to me!" a lieutenant grinned.
"That's enough people," Calhoun ordered as Weyoun whispered a few words into a communications device.
"Let's-" she was about to order the goons to do something when the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar disappeared along with Weyoun.
"Damn," she said, "That would've been a good chance to learn a bit more about our enemies."
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Captain Jean-Luc Picard met secretly with a Tal Shiar general, a man who was rather reputed for his cruelty. General Volskiar was waiting patiently on the small plateau they had agreed on as the meeting place.
As Picard walked out of the shuttle, the General was waiting. A Romulan shuttle sat a short distance behind him, with someone working on it.
"General Volskiar," Picard greeted the other officer.
"Captain Picard," the General greeted him. The officer working on his shuttle stood and walked over, brushing back dusty blonde hair.
"Father, that's the best I can do. I'll never be an engineer or a technician. We need to get to a repair facility before that damned thing falls apart," she said, brushing dirt and dust off of her clothing.
Picard felt a wave of shock come over him when he got a good look at her. The ears were definitely Romulan, but the blonde hair and blue eyes weren't, not to mention the fact that her eyebrows weren't slanted and she didn't have the distinctive forehead ridges of a Romulan.
"Ah, Captain, this is my daughter, Commander Sela," Volskiar introduced them.
"Commander," Picard greeted her. She just nodded.
Captain Elizabeth Shelby warily stepped out of the Federation shuttle and looked around.
"Something doesn't feel right," she said without preamble.
"General, Commander, this is Captain Elizabeth Shelby of the USS Trident. Elizabeth, this is General Volskiar and Commander Sela," Picard said.
Shelby nodded and reached inside the shuttle to grab a tricorder. Picard turned back to the pair of Romulans.
"Perhaps you would like to visit our ships?" he asked politely.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Sela looked around the Federation starship carefully. Captain Picard and Captain Shelby had led them into a rather large shuttle hangar that seemed to swarm with troops and officers. As they walked the hallways, she saw the strangest manner of creatures.
There was a Brikar, a Hermat, even a rather sarcastic Vulcan who seemed to sass everyone in her path, including the captains.
"Lieutenant Soleta!" Shelby called out. The sassy Vulcan turned.
"Yes, Captain?" she asked, although the air about her seemed to say that she didn't care about anything.
"Have you seen Captain Calhoun?" she asked.
Soleta shrugged, "Maybe on the holodecks. She just got back an hour ago from the little distraction party you people came up with."
With that, she went on her way. Shelby turned to Sela and Volskiar, a slightly pained look on her face.
"Sorry about that. Lieutenant Soleta was just reenlisted a week ago. She's still acclimating to protocol," Shelby said apologetically.
As they continued, they ran into a woman in exercise gear and holding a sheathed sword.
"Jean-Luc! Elizabeth! I'll assume these are our Romulan guests that Burgy just warned me about?" she said.
"Yes, they are," Picard said, "Kenzy, these are General Volskiar and Commander Sela. General, Commander, this is Captain Mackenzie Calhoun."
"Oh God, the formalities are back," Calhoun said as she continued on her way.
"Kenzy," Picard started.
"Don't you start on me, Jean-Luc. I'm off-duty," she replied, not stopping.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Tasha Yar stretched and moved in the style of Klingon Mok'bara. She'd had a Klingon officer under her command, but Worf had left a few years ago. Tasha wondered if he was one of the Alliance's lackeys now.
The holodecks doors swished open and let in Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi, who were followed by Elizabeth Shelby, Kenzy Calhoun, Robin Lefler, Kat Mueller, Selar, and the newest addition, Soleta.
"Right then," Tasha said, "Where should we begin today?"
Deanna shrugged, "Maybe with some Tai Kwan Do."
"Sounds good," Tasha said, "Let's split up into pairs and take each other down."
This gathering of women on Holodeck Four had turned into a weekly thing since the war started. Although it was only senior staffs of the three starships in their squad, the other officers and enlisted crewman would randomly start sparring in the Ten-Forwards of their respective ships, irritating the bartenders, but getting some exercise. Hell, people would even start up a holodeck program, just to fight everything they saw for exercise.
Tasha paired off with Selar, who proceeded to deck her so fast that Tasha barely had time to blink. Soleta stood off to the side, looking a bit nervous. As they switched pairs, Tasha walked over to Soleta.
"Wanna go?" she asked. Soleta simply nodded. Not surprisingly, Tasha decked the Vulcan on the first try. Soleta scowled and tried again, this time with Selar.
Even as everyone else finished, the pair of Vulcans were still going strong. Selar swung out in a snap-kick, which Soleta grabbed easily and pulled down, dragging Selar off balance.
The doctor retaliated with a fierce boxing swing, but again, Soleta blocked it. Tasha looked over at Deanna, who had a small smile on her face. Beverly and Robin were awestruck, but the other three didn't even blink.
Selar finally dropped Soleta with a simple, yet quick move. As Soleta reached out for Selar's neck, probably to apply the nerve pinch, Selar grabbed her wrist and twisted behind the younger woman's back, pushing Soleta to the ground and pinning her there.
Kenzy clapped, "Not bad, ladies. Remind me not to piss either of you off."
"There should be an 'again' at the end of that statement," Elizabeth said. Kat stifled a laugh.
"Not today, Eppy," Kenzy retorted. Deanna smiled, probably catching all of their vibes. The routine was interrupted by a group of ensigns walking in. Though the younger crewmembers were nervous, the pair of captains all but ordered them to join the little sparring match they were having.
! #$%^&*()))(*&^%$# !
William Riker had no idea what he was getting into here. As he looked around the table, Tasha Yar kept a perfectly straight face as she held her hand in front of her. Data, still wearing that ridiculous visor, was flipping a poker chip between two fingers. Beverly Crusher's face was scrunched up as she contemplated her cards. Geordi LaForge had folded already and was laughing silently at the expression on Deanna Troi's face, which was one of mischief.
"Fold," Beverly said, laying her cards down on the table. Data folded too.
Tasha and Deanna whispered something to each other before smiling and focusing their attention on Will, who suddenly felt nervous.
He looked down at his cards, a King of Hearts and a Queen of Hearts. Tasha and Deanna continued to smile at him.
Beverly laughed out loud, joined by Geordi. Data cocked his head to the side.
"What are you laughing about?" the android asked.
"Just watch, Data. Just watch," Beverly said.
Will finally was fed up with the creepy smiles.
"Fold!" he said quickly. The pair of women revealed their hands to be a four of hearts with a three of spades and a two of spades with a ten of diamonds.
"How the hell?" Will demanded, "They cheated."
"I see what you were referring to," Data said before turning to Will, "I believe, sir, that you 'caved under the pressure'."
Will was pretty sure that crewman passing in the corridor could hear the laughter from the table. As Data shuffled for another round, Deanna leaned over and smiled.
"Maybe next time, Will," she said sweetly.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Captain Shelby didn't exactly look happy. As Lieutenant Commander Gleau waited in front of her, the blonde human woman looked back and forth between him and Lieutenant Soleta, who had a bruise on her cheek.
"So you had an accident, Lieutenant Commander?" Shelby finally asked.
"Yes, Captain," he said. Soleta lifted an eyebrow.
"You have something to say, Lieutenant?" Shelby asked the Vulcan.
"Yes, Captain. I believe that the Lieutenant Commander is too ashamed to admit that I kicked his ass for tormenting Lieutenant M'Ress by assigning her to duties that I was doing back at the Academy. M'Ress is a full lieutenant, and therefore should be assigned duties in accordance with her skills," Soleta said.
"So you got into a fight, then," the captain said, sighing.
"Yes ma'am," Soleta replied calmly.
"Here I thought you would be easy to handle. Damn, I should have listened to McHenry. Okay, Lieutenant, you're not to leave your quarters except for duty until further notice. Lieutenant Commander, if you're not on duty, you're either in the labs or in your quarters. Neither one of you sets foot in Ten-Forward at the same time for the foreseeable future. Got it?" Shelby ordered.
"Yes ma'am," the pair chorused before leaving.
Gleau marched sharply to his quarters and sat down at his desk. As he typed out a message to an old friend of his back on Selelvia, he knew exactly what he was going to do with Lieutenant M'Ress.
He was going to transfer her off this ship and out of his damn hair. She was becoming too much of a problem. Gleau wasn't about to let himself get beat up by a Vulcan half-breed with anger and abandonment issues.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Picard listened carefully to what General Volskiar was telling him. Romulus had just sent him a priority message telling him that he should return soon.
"It is most likely that the Empire has come under attack by the newly formed Alliance," Volskiar finished.
Picard looked at his two fellow captains, both of whom scowled.
"My crew's been itching for a fight since Cor Coroli IV, Jean-Luc. Let's give it to them," Calhoun said. Shelby nodded in agreement.
"Well," Sela started, speaking for the first time since the impromptu meeting had started, "I may be able to confirm these facts through a few… resources I have at my disposal."
"Do it," Volskiar ordered.
"Ensign Crusher will show you how to operate our communications console on the bridge," Picard said. Sela nodded and left to follow the orders she had been given.
"So, General. Want to see how the newly reformed MACOs managed to beat the Empire two hundred years back?" Calhoun asked.
Volskiar stared at her, "Excuse me?"
"She was asking if you wanted to use the MACOs for defensive purposes if Romulus is truly under attack," Shelby clarified.
"At least someone understood that," Picard said.
"I put up with her for four years back at the Academy," Shelby explained.
Calhoun snorted, "Put up with me. More like you were stuck with me."
"And I like that description better," Shelby replied without missing a beat. As the two captains bickered light-heartedly, Volskiar turned to Picard.
"Is this normal?" he asked.
"Always, General. Always, with these two," Picard said before noting the expression on the General's face.
"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly.
"I had an elder daughter, Sela's older sister. She disappeared from her ship seven years ago. They used to have frequent arguments like that," Volskiar replied.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Data noticed the Romulan commander's face slowly pale as she read the messages she was receiving.
"Oh Elements," she murmured, almost to herself before turning to Commander Riker.
"I'd go to whatever your Starfleet form of battle preparations are. Yellow Alert, correct?" she said.
"Yes. Why?" Riker asked.
"Romulus is under siege from a massive armada of Klingon, Cardassian, and Dominion ships. Civilian casualties are already over a million," Sela explained.
Riker's face paled, "Red Alert!"
The three captains and the general came onto the bridge quickly.
"Romulus is under siege, Captains," Riker reported as Volskiar and Sela conferred quietly, "Over a million civilian casualties."
"Merde," Captain Picard murmured. Shelby and Calhoun requested emergency transports to their own bridges. Volskiar looked over at Picard.
"Who is your science officer?" he asked.
"I am, sir," Data replied at Picard's nod, "I am Lieutenant Commander Data."
Sela leaned over to Volskiar and murmured something to him. The General nodded in reply.
"Can you get any long-range scans of Romulan territory?" he asked.
"Yes sir. I have been correlating the data for the past 6.78 seconds. Romulan territory holds now more than a thousand Alliance ships and only three hundred Romulan ships have survived so far," Data reported.
"Shit," Sela swore, "Maybe Liviana's near the border, or Charvanek. They can be trusted."
"Agreed," Volskiar said, "Contact any ship that you believe will help and not just flee."
"Aye sir," the younger officer replied before turning back to the communications station she had been using. The bridge lights were dim and the Red Alert lights flashed as the klaxon went off.
Data noticed just how oddly ironic it was that the color was red when they were to be fighting for Romulans, who were green-blooded, as he computed the necessary data needed to rescue as many civilians as possible.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Commander Charvanek of Romulan Intelligence sprinted through the dank tunnels, drawing closer to her target. As she ran out into a massive cavern, she saw who she was looking for: Ambassador Spock and his followers.
"You need to leave, now!" she shouted over the rumbling from the orbital bombardment of the city above. People trickled into the cavern around her, bringing wounded and survivors.
"Commander, you know very well that I cannot leave these people to die," Spock said.
"Then don't!" she shouted in reply, "Three Federation ships just entered orbit, along with nearly two hundred warbirds. More Federation ships are on the way, at least a hundred. They'll be here in a few more hours."
"Very well. D'Tan, prepare to transport the wounded to-" Spock began, only to be cut off by the shimmering of transporter beams nearby.
A team of twenty officers and personnel materialized, quickly dispersing to provide aid. The rumbling from above slowly tapered off as the attacking ships were distracted by the newcomers.
"Ambassador!" one officer called out, a human female with red hair.
"Doctor Crusher. Thank you for coming," Spock said in greeting.
"Well, let's see how many people we can fit in our fleet," she said, "Lieutenant Soleta! Round up the unwounded to help transport the wounded aboard!"
"On it!" a Vulcan shouted over the noise in the cavern.
General Volskiar walked over to Charvanek, followed by another human officer, this one a male with the pips of a commander.
"Commander Charvanek, Ambassador Spock," Volskiar said, "Perhaps you should leave now?"
"No way in hell. Not until these people are out of here," Charvanek replied acidly.
"I concur," Spock said.
"Alright then," the human said, "I'm Commander Jack Crusher of the USS Excalibur. We'll see about setting you to work."
"I'll be on the surface rescuing people," Charvanek tossed over her shoulder as she left, "Coming, Spock?"
"Of course, Charvanek," Spock replied as he followed her into the tunnel system.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Sela ran amongst the rubble on the surface, using a Starfleet tricorder to search for survivors. The android, Data, kept pace, using his superior strength to pull up the debris as needed.
"I have one over here!" Sela shouted as her tricorder beeped. Before she could go any further, Data slammed into her, knocking her to the ground and out of the way of a Jem'Hadar blaster shot.
"Thanks," she said as she rolled up and took out the soldier. Her father and Commander Crusher ran over, followed by Ambassador Spock and Commander Charvanek. Subcommander Devras scuffled nearby with a Cardassian soldier, killing the enemy a short time later.
"We need to leave now!" Crusher said, "There's not much time left before the orbital bombardment of the city recommences."
"No! Not while there are survivors!" Sela snapped, running off. Data followed, only to grab her arm and pull her back.
"Whoever was alive over there is no longer alive. Look!" the android snapped.
"Data, turn the emotion chip off," Crusher ordered, "We don't need you getting overwhelmed now."
"Aye sir," Data said, his tone returning to a calm even one. Sela used the distraction to break free and turn around.
Only to see a bomb go off, destroying the pile of debris she had wanted to search for survivors.
Her face burning, she turned back to the group.
"Fine," she said, feeling defeated, "Let's go."
They were just about to transport back to the Enterprise when a trio of Klingon soldiers appeared and fired off three perfectly placed shots, all hits.
As they rematerialized, Sela's world went dark.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$#!
Beverly Crusher ran into Sickbay, intending to work on the three wounded that had just been brought in, but saw two body bags and an unconscious Commander Sela, who looked as if she had been shot.
Jean-Luc waited for her, his face grim. The fact that he occasionally glanced over at one of the body bags sent chills down Beverly's spine.
"Beverly," he began, but his voice failed him.
Finally, he simply said, "I'm sorry."
She turned to open the body bag he had been glancing at, only to see her husband's face. A Romulan officer being treated nearby pushed away the nurse treating her and slid off the biobed, walking over and putting a hand on Beverly's shoulder, pushing her into a chair situated nearby.
Beverly couldn't take it anymore. She dissolved into tears. Nurse Alyssa Ogawa took charge quickly, not wanting to disturb the grieving CMO.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
Wesley Crusher walked onto the holodeck with the intention of hiding from his feelings, but found Lieutenant Soleta there instead, taking out her anger on a punching bag, the kind that people back in Earth's 21st century would use.
As he turned to leave, Soleta spoke up.
"Feel like taking a swing at one of these?" she asked, almost conversationally.
Wes thought about it, then nodded, "Yea. I think I need it."
"Your dad was Commander Crusher, right?" she asked, not turning away from the bag as he stepped up to the one next to her.
"Yea. But I don't want any pity," he said, feeling defensive.
Soleta snorted, "I wasn't going to give any. My parents were murdered by Klingons back on Cor Coroli IV."
Wes said nothing to that, just punched and kicked the bag. After a while, he noticed Soleta watching him.
"You know, if you altered the form just a little bit, you could actually use those moves against a living person. Not that they would stay that way for long," she said.
"Would you teach me?" he asked, turning away to grab a quick gasp of air.
"Sure," she said, "As long as you don't mind practicing with a bunch of officers. I usually hang out here in the mornings. About 0400, before I go on duty."
"I'll be there," Wes said. Soleta nodded and walked out of the holodeck, leaving Wes to change the program to a martial arts training one, like the type that the MACOs-in-training used.
AN- So, here's the angsty ending to this particular chappie. Hope nobody minds how AU this has gotten. As for the Romulan survivors, they'll have a big part in the next chapter. Allons-y and Geronimo!