Chapter Eleven: Differences

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Trek, but I do own the characters of this fanfic, the end.


TIMELINE B—ROMULAN BRIG

The senior staff had just consigned themselves to being bored and unenlightened when Subcommander Jergon made an unexpected visit.

"Hello," he drawled, in a voice so superior-sounding that it caused everyone in the brig to feel slightly ill. "I have been ordered to check on your condition. Is everyone still alive? Unharmed?"

"You could say that," Arandel said, voice like ice. She did not like people who snuck up behind her and hit her on the back of the head, especially when they came back before the bump stopped hurting. "We had an addition to our ranks."

The Subcommander gave Eli a once-over, not showing much interest. "Yes, the spy. I suppose you thought that we wouldn't discover that she was married to the traitor? Pity you underestimated us."

"They didn't," Eli snapped at him, in spite of herself. (Why was it so easy for her to yell at this man?!?!) "They believed you to be arrogant pigheaded extremists whom claim to have intelligence."

The Subcommander was outraged. "You would do better than to say lies about those who hold the end of your leash, human."

"I'm not lying," Eli told him with fierce pride. "You may think you have intelligence. Tactical knowledge, ability to build weapons—yes, you have those. But are you wise? Can you truly claim to know what you are doing when it comes to humans?"

"Obviously, due to your state, I know enough," the Subcommander replied, amused by this little show.

"Well, if you're so smart, if you're so superior that you can't take a helping hand from our inferior species, why don't you take a stab at our problems? Right now, on that planet," she jabbed a finger in the direction of the porthole, where the edge of the Earth could just be seen, "There is a region called Darfur where people are killing each other in mass groups, just because they are different. How would your Empire handle that, huh? How?"

Subcommander Jergon was truly taken aback. "We would send in ground troops, state martial law, and ensure that they did not have the resources to fight each other."

Eli laughed. "That's by your rules. But what if they don't comply? Just because they don't have weapons doesn't mean they can't still hurt each other. Sticks and stones still hurt, and there's no way you could gather all those up. And what if both sides decide to put aside their blood argument and obliterate your people from the face of the planet? We aren't Romulans! We don't heed to sense, we don't always follow the stronger side! No matter what, we want things our way, and we have always been willing to die to make that happen."

"You would do well to keep a civil tongue in your head," Jergon snapped. "I would do well to slap you."

"Go ahead," Eli told him, lowering her voice to a deadly level. "Just be prepared to have my boot crunching down on your face if you do."

The Subcommander glared at her. "You shall be punished." And with that, he walked out of the room.

TIMELINE B—FEDERATION BRIG

Rathana was so focused on the task at hand that she nearly jumped an entire meter when someone said, "Is it done yet?"

"Not yet," was her terse reply. "I still have a few more things to do. We've got to make sure that the bridge doesn't catch us at it."

"Right," said the voice below, not comprehending.

Rathana rolled her eyes, but resisted giving a sarcastic reply. It wasn't their fault that she was the only engineer. That was the fault of the Romulans, and they were going to get theirs pretty soon, so she was patient and withheld her snarky comments.

The unsure voice came back again. "I thought these cells were escape-proof."

Rathana wanted to say, Just like nothing intelligent can escape your mouth? She restrained herself, barely. "That was true eight years ago, when we left Utopia Planitia. However, eight years have passed, during which we engineers have become well-acquainted with these cells. I can get us out."

"Okay," the voice said, doubtfully.

Rathana thought she would scream.

TIMELINE B—ROMULAN BRIG

Subcommander Jergon had returned, but with friends.

"You." He pointed at Eli. "Come."

Eli didn't rise from the bench where she was seated. "I'm not a dog, or whatever kind of creature you Romulans keep as pets."

"Obviously, you are not. If you were, you would have teeth." The Subcommander flashed his teeth, to make his point. "Now, comply, or be vaporized."

Reluctantly, Eli stepped up to the forcefield. "What do you want?"

"You shall accompany me to your punishment," he said, with a small smile. Eli noticed that he made a quick glance at the honor blade he was fingering at his belt. "A prisoner insulting their keeper is a serious matter. They cannot merely be allowed to go unpunished. Your skin shall feel my blade, and perhaps that of the others." His cronies grinned widely, and not in the friendly sense.

And for the first time, she believed that the Subcommander was being serious, and was afraid.

TIMELINE B—ROMULAN BRIG (AGAIN)

Subcommander Jergon was not surprised to find himself smiling. He was a man of his word, first and foremost; he had said he would punish the girl, and he would. It was that simple, he told himself. Nothing else mattered—nothing the girl had said mattered to him. There was no room in his heart except for the glory of his Empire and his honor, he repeated to himself.

Subcommander Jergon was a very good Romulan. At least on the outside.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:...Hokay, let's explain the title, shall we? It probably doesn't make sense, but I ran out of inspiration for a title because today is Sunday and I have this psychological association with Sundays that makes me unable to do anything creative. So...the chapter is titled "Differences" because we see how things are going very...well, differently from how things in Timeline A are happening. Whether this is good or bad, I've no idea. ...I can't think of anything else to say, so see you next chapter!