"What do you know of the political relations between the Romulans and Klingons, Commander?" Winters asked shifting in her chair to face Saracen. She knew the situation well, but she was using this as an opportunity to figure out how much her new first officer knows.
"It's no secret that the Romulans and Klingons aren't the best of friends," Saracen said. "Relations between them have turned incredibly sour since the twenty-third century. There was a treaty between them in the mid twenty-third that resulted in the trade of cloaking technology and D7 ship designs."
"But didn't the Klingons already have cloaking tech?" Miyachika asked. "They used it in the Battle of the Binary Stars. If memory serves, several Klingon ships had that tech."
Saracen turned around to face the tactical officer, surprised she could quickly refer to a 90-year-old event without looking it up.
"History is one of Lieutenant Miyachika's strong points," Winters said.
"We have something in common," Saracen said. Bryant looked to Ruckus with a little grin as Saracen explained why Klingons had to get cloaking technology from the Romulans despite having it prior to their short-lived alliance.
"Competition," Bryant mouthed to him. Ruckus scowled at her before turning his attention back to his console. "We're entering the Narendra System, Captain."
"Slow to impulse," Winters said. The Kaihime dropped out of warp on the edge of the Narendra System. Captain Winters stood from her command chair and slowly walked toward the viewscreen. She could feel her officers were tense. Their movements weren't as fluid as they usually were. The Romulans had them on edge.
"Report," Winters said.
"Sensors detect no ships in the system," Bryant said.
"None?" Winters asked. Saracen stepped forward, fearing the worst. He stared at the viewscreen but could tell Winters was glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.
"What else are sensors detecting?" Saracen asked.
"Debris from different types of ships," Bryant said. "Several Klingon ships, at least 1 Romulan ship and…"
"And what?" Saracen asked.
"And one Federation ship," Bryant said. Saracen felt sick to his stomach. The Enterprise, her crew, his friends were gone. He tried to anchor himself, but he wasn't sure how noticeable his emotions were to the rest of the bridge crew.
"What about the outpost?" Winters asked.
"Destroyed, sir."
"Go to yellow alert," Winters said. "Lieutenant Jae, send a message to Starfleet. We are rendering aid to the Klingons. Request reinforcements as Romulans may still be in the area."
"Yes, sir," Jae said as she spun around in her chair to send the message. Winters stepped closer to Saracen.
"Do you need a moment?" she asked in a whisper. Saracen exhaled and then shook his head.
"No, I'm good, sir."
"We're entering visual range," Bryant said.
"On screen," Winters said. The viewscreen switched over to an image of Narendra III. Just as Bryant had reported a moment ago, debris from various types of ships littered the area. Saracen could immediately pinpoint debris of the Enterprise. He clenched his fists in anger and sadness.
"Are there any survivors?" Saracen asked.
"I'm not detecting any escape pods," Bryant said. "There are survivors on the planet surface from the outpost."
"Isn't this an act of war?" Ruckus asked. "The Romulans launched a preemptive strike on the Klingons and destroyed a Federation ship."
"It depends on how we will respond," Saracen said. "In the past, the United States didn't join the second world war after the USS Reuben James was sunk by a German ship two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor."
"They also entered the first world war two years after a German ship sunk the Lusitania which killed over a hundred Americans," Miyachika said. Saracen smirked at her contribution. She was good.
"I don't know how Starfleet Command will respond to the loss of the Enterprise," Winters said. "We've always preferred negotiations over conflict. That is obvious. This isn't the first time the Romulans have preemptively attacked another faction's outpost along its borders."
"We're gonna let them get away with this too?" Ruckus asked.
"We didn't let them get away with anything, Lieutenant," Saracen said. "Captain Kirk pursued and destroyed the Romulan ship responsible for destroying our outposts. Captain Garrett was always one to jump in to help others in need. I don't think Starfleet will want to risk millions of lives jumping into a war with the Romulans when our only involvement was our ship getting caught in the middle of a skirmish we had nothing to do with."
"I agree," Winters said. "The Federation wouldn't want to get involved in a Klingon-Romulan affair. I don't see us doing much more than rendering aid right now."
A series of beeps came from the tactical console. Winters and Saracen turned to Miyachika who was tending to the beeping.
"Sir, I'm picking up a distortion," she said. "It's all around us." A few moments passed. "Sir, three Klingon Birds of Prey decloaking."