Chapter 6

Rateg, Romulus

"Hey! You there! Get away from that fence!"

Commander Sela drew her attention away from her PADD and looked up. She heard a child shriek, a thud, and scuffling noises retreat away from the fence that surrounded Colonel S'Harien's compound. The weather was particularly nice today. So nice, that she had decided to work outside rather than in that cramped excuse of an office the colonel had set aside for her.

But, there was always a downside for being outside...

The staring.

The people here in Rateg stared at her as if they had never seen a woman before. Hardly three days had passed, and she already had to put up with peeping toms. Thankfully, the guards knew how to take care of them.

"There you are, Commander. I knew I would find you out here."

S'Harien had come out to join Sela. He pulled up a chair and sat across the table from her. "So, what is the latest?"

Sela went back to reading the PADD. "Virtually nothing, sir," she answered. It had been a particularly quiet day: no robberies, no shootings, nothing. Sela had hoped her assignment here would land her something big, but it did not. Crime here in Rateg was not like the big-city crime found in Ra'tleihfi or Mhiessan; it was more like flaky, Rateg-style crime. And still no sign of that Vulcan that S'Harien had told her about. "These damn reunificationists are too difficult to find."

"I'm sure they have a base camp somewhere where they meet," S'Harien replied.

"I find that unlikely," Sela said. "I've dealt with these people before. They don't stay in one place for very long."

"Then perhaps you can find out where they havebeen meeting before they left, and then find a way to track them."

Sela put the PADD down. "And how do you suggest we trackthese people? They are very discreet. They don't leave anything behind that indicates they were in a certain location after they have left it."

"Oh, but they do," S'Harien said. "You and your soldiers are just incapable of finding the right clue."

Sela glared at S'Harien. How dare he insult her! But then again, he was probably right, considering her previous failure with the reunificationists. "Then tell me what this clue is, and we will track them for you," she sneered.

S'Harien smirked. Now they were getting somewhere.

Mhiessan, Romulus

Aeryrn refused to have the cut on her hand sealed. She bandaged it, but did little else.

"Must you leave so soon, rinam?" Liha asked. "You still have to claim your inheritance."

"You can look after it for me," Aeryrn said. "I should not be long in Rateg."

"This really isn't necessary, Aeryrn," Liha said. "Those old traditions that Mother carried on can wait."

"No, they can't, Liha," Aeryrn said. "It's been a week and a half since our parents were executed. It is tradition in Mother's family for her children to return to her homeland and pray to the gods and elements for our family's safe passage to Vorta Vor."

"Can't we do it here, in Mhiessan? Traveling to Rateg is a waste of time, don't you think?"

"It's tradition, Liha! If our aunt had some tradition to follow I know you would follow it."

Liha rolled her eyes. There was some truth in Aeryrn's statement; Admiral Toreth did tend to favor her over Aeryrn at times.

"Like I said, I should not be long. I will only be there for a day," Aeryrn said. "I'll be sure to return in time for my next assignment."

Liha crossed her arms and said, "You'd better. Admiral Toreth is not a patient woman."

Rateg, Romulus

Aeryrn stepped off the transport shuttle at the station in Rateg. She had not been here in so many years. And yet, it hardly looked any different. The mountains soared toward the heavens, their bald, treeless peaks capped with snow. The air was cool and dry, the sky laced with sleek cirrus clouds. The buildings that lined the main thoroughfare were old and worn, yet their sweeping, curved roofs gave them a sense of timeless beauty. The administrative building at the center of the city sat on the tallest of the nine hills, its curving roof resembling the wings of the mighty Mogai.

Aeryrn slung her bag over her shoulder as she made her way to the shrine where she would pay her respects to the gods, asking them to guide her parents' and brother's souls to their final resting place in Vorta Vor. The shrine's hall was lined with tapestries depicting the local deities. She knelt before a statue of one of the gods - in this case, an embodiment of the element fire. She took a stick of incense and placed it into the burner. She drew her fingers over the tip, snuffing it out, allowing for the sweetly-scented stick to smoulder slowly while she prayed. She muttered her supplication quietly, but in a firm voice. She prayed to the fire deity to guide her parents and brother to rest, and added for his guidance in her quest for vengeance. She would make this S'Harien person pay for killing her beloved brother, her beautiful mother, her brave father. She vowed to avenge them, with this god, and all the other deities here bear witness to her oath of vengeance. There was no way her family would betray the Empire.

The incense stick had smoked its way down to its last inch by the time Aeryrn had finished her prayer. She picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder and left. She stood outside the main entrance, tilted her head toward the sky, and breathed deeply. The mountain air smelled so fresh and clean. This was her mother's homeland. Aeryrn could not believe her mother would want to leave such a beautiful place...

The next morning, Aeryrn decided she had enough time to explore the city. She left the inn with her bag slung over her shoulder again. She had inquired with the innkeeper about her mother's family, the Laris family. He told her that the Laris family was scattered all throughout the region, many of them had married into other clans, losing the name altogether. But rest assured, her clan's blood ran through plenty of people here.

The outskirts of the city and surrounding villages were surrounded by thick forest. The river Isa tumbled from the mountains and cut through the middle of the city, dividing it in two before continuing its journey into the lowlands far to the south.

Aeryrn felt slightly giddy from the high altitude, but that was the least of her troubles. Sure, there were mountains in Mhiessan, but not as tall or as majestic as the mountains here. She was used to high altitudes, so it was not a problem. She wondered how people survived the freezing cold winters up here...

"There he is!"

A harsh voice jolted Aeryrn from her thoughts. A small boy sprinted past her, dodging between the pillars of one of the old buildings off a side street.

"Get back here, boy!" The voice came from a soldier, who was pursuing him. A second soldier followed close behind, with a guard-set'leth on a leash, barking loudly. Aeryrn sank into the shadows. She recognized their uniforms as those of Tal'Shiar officers. Within a moment, both of them had the boy cornered.

"We're the wrong people to be playing hide-and-seek with, boy," the first soldier said. He swung his arm out to strike him, but the boy ducked under it and ran, but did not get far. The second soldier had loosed his set'leth. The boy turned and fled further down the street, the soldiers and their doglike set'leth close behind him. Aeryrn followed them at a distance. At length, she reached them; the soldiers were standing at the base of a tall tree in the middle of a courtyard, the set'leth barking frenziedly.

"Come down, boy! Hide-and-seek does not include tree-climbing! Centurion, get him down."

"Hold it!" Aeryrn shouted. The two soldiers turned and faced her.

"If I may ask you gentlemen, what kind of creature is so swift and fierce that it takes two full-grown male Rihannsu and a set'leth to catch it? A small boy?"

"Back off, lady. This is none of your business."

Aeryrn crossed her arms. "Well, what manner of crime would a mere child commit to have two Tal'Shiar officers come hunt him down?"

The soldiers glared at her. "This boy was caught stealing from the marketplace."

"I stole nothing. I paid for those ryllhir," the boy said. His voice sounded strangely cool and level for someone in trouble.

The other soldier spoke. "This boy is no Romulan, therefore he is our concern, not yours."

His comrade elbowed him sharply. "You idiot! You don't go around telling people those things!"

Aeryrn looked up at the boy. He was wearing baggy clothes, and his short black hair looked a little unruly. His face was strangely calm, almost Vulcan-like. In fact, his forehead was smooth.

"Romulan or not, I still don't see what kind of threat this boy poses..."

The first soldier was clearly fed up with Aeryrn's interruption. "You susse-thrai," he growled. "I will show you what kind of threat youpose!" He drew his honor blade before his superior could stop him. The man charged toward Aeryrn, hoping to skewer her on the tip of his blade, but she was too fast for him. She drew her own honor blade and parried his attack. The two of them fought fiercely.

The soldier with the honor blade attacked with a thrust, but Aeryrn was too quick for him. She blocked his attack. As she did so, his blade caught into a small slit in the center of her blade. She twisted her wrist, instantly disarming him.

The signature of an honor blade forged by master swordsmith S'Talon...a single slit ran down the center of her honor blade, its metal thin and light, but just as strong as any other honor blade.

She stood there, now holding two swords. The soldier with the disruptor pistol looked as equally shocked as his comrade.

The other soldier had drawn his disruptor pistol. He aimed it at Aeryrn.

"Behind you!"

Aeryrn heard the boy cry out. She ducked just in time. The disruptor fire missed her, but hit the other soldier in the shoulder. He disintegrated in less than two seconds flat. She turned and faced him, brandishing both honor blades threateningly at him.

"It would be a waste to kill me," she growled.

"Who are you?" The soldier asked. He continued to point his pistol at Aeryrn.

Aeryrn did not let her blades down. "I am Aeryrn i-Mhiessan t'Laris, commander of the Warbird Keras. You?"

The Tal'Shiar officer smirked. "Well, well. I might have known you would come here. Your brother is a sorry excuse for a Romulan. Ha! He loved those havamir so much, he should have bobbed his ears and joined them. Of course, we would catch him in the end. And your parents...what veruulir. Fraternizing with the enemy, they were."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your parents are traitors...It looks like that quality runs in the family-"

Aeryrn charged. She had the soldier pinned to the wall in an instant.

"Drop your weapon."

The soldier smirked, but did so.

"Who do you work for?" Aeryrn asked, her voice soft and dangerous.

"Colonel S'Harien of the Tal'Shiar," the soldier answered, smiling maliciously. "Go ahead, kill me."

Aeryrn shook her head. "No. I have seen enough death in the past few months. I will spare you so you can tell S'Harien that I have come to Rateg. And you tell him what happens to his men when they pick on small children." She released him. The soldier glared at Aeryrn as he walked off, ordering his guard-set'leth to follow.

"You can come down, it's safe now," Aeryrn said to the boy. He slowly climbed down and faced Aeryrn.

"You fight bravely. A quality that is the mark of a true warrior," the boy said. His voice was calm and almost sounded...expressionless. His face had the same unamused, unemotional look. But his eyes were shining brightly.

"Warrior? You flatter me, boy."

"My name is Solan," the boy said. "I am most grateful to you for saving me, Commander Aeryrn."

Aeryrn smiled. She crouched down so that her eyes were level with his. "Promise me you will stay safe, Solan."

The look in the boy's eyes changed slightly. He seemed to blush too. "I am able to defend myself if need be," he answered. "My journey home should be safe."

"Good." She stood up. The boy turned to leave. Aeryrn was about to give him the Vulcan salute, but thought better of it; besides, Solan had sprinted off too quickly for her to say another word.