"Hello Ari! I'm Nedal," the grinning Romulan said.

Ari tried to lift her hand but found it only moved a decimeter and a jolt of electricity passed through her arm, causing the muscles to clench painfully.

The Romulan's smile grew.

"Come now, Nedal," A voice to Ari's left said. "Those are no longer necessary."

Nedal stepped back out of view as Ari tried to look around at the voice. She was unable to move her head and could not focus on him.

There were soft clicks and the binds released Ari.

Ari sat up, looking around the room. She was in a medical bay of sorts, the hull was a light gray color, matching the uniforms of the Romulans around her.

Ari felt very calm, a sensation that she got when she was in high stress situations, as she swung her legs around and rested an elbow on one leg and her palm on the other. Normally the feeling came when she was doing something extremely stupid, such as when she had picked a fight with 10 drunken males of various species a year ago. "You do realize what you have done, correct," she asked the Romulan that had spoken, clearly the Captain of the ship.

The Romulan's lips twitched. "Why don't we discus this over a meal? I have taken the liberty of having one prepared in the conference room."

Ari tilted her head slightly to one side, finding the Captain mirroring her. She raised an eyebrow, which was again mirrored. "Very well. So long as you promise to stop doing that."

This time the Romulan truly smiled. "I believe that can be arranged. I am Captain Lintus."

"I would give you my name," Ari said, planting her hands on the table and pushed off landing in the middle of the room, "but you already know it."

Two Romulans standing next to the door raised their weapons in surprise.

"Put down your weapons," Lintus snarled in Romulan at the two men.

"Yes," Ari said mildly in perfect if slightly accented Romulan. "There's no need to shot me again."

The Romulans stared at her in disbelief.

"You speak Romulan," Lintus said in surprise.

"Among others," Ari said, crossing her arms, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.

Lintus studied Ari, noting her changes in expression. "You are not like other Vulcans," he said, no longer speaking Romulan.

A thin smile curled Ari's lips. "How many Vulcans have you met, Lintus? I for one have never met a Romulan before."

"You would be the first I have spoken with," Lintus said, looking her up and down. "The Romulan Empire keeps to itself."

"So I've heard," Ari said uncrossing her arms and sliding them into her pockets.

"Come," he said, stepping back and extending an arm. "We wouldn't wish for our dinner to get cold, would we?"

"After you," Ari said.

The Romulan Captain nodded and left the room, Nedal following him. Ari walked after them a moment later aware that the guards at the door followed after.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Spark's Workshop

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Spark could find no blame in Ari's dislike of Jane. He could barely stand the woman and found her possessive of his uncle's time until Spark had to prearrange meetings with him despite the fact they lived under the same roof.

But as Jane put it, Spark was a man, an adult and could take care of himself. Spark had nearly rolled his eyes when Jane had told him that.

His opinion had worsened when he found out that she had called Ari and accused his cousin of forcing him to speak of Sierra, Ari's mother, to his uncle and of being a liar. Ari did not lie about things like this, she had stretched the truth or not told the hole truth before but never lied. His opinion was only worsening after Ari's kidnapping.

Right after Spock had asked him what had happened he was told that he should inform Sparik of what happened while Spock informed Kirk and then Star Fleet. Spark had said that he could simply bring the head of Star Fleet to his workshop and Kirk could give the report to both Command and Ari's family. Spock agreed and now Spock stood with his uncle and Jane waiting for Spock, Kirk and the representative for Star Fleet Command.

Spark had not counted on Jane coming and was wishing more and more for Ari's presence. Ari would simply tell the woman to shut up and go away but Spark could not do that. He was a Vulcan and had no human bloodline allow himself to show emotion.

"I don't see how this could happen," Jane was saying. "Aren't Star ships suppose to be protected?"

"I am sure the is a logical explanation to what had happened on the Enterprise," Sparik said.

Jane humphed.

Spark stood as far away as he could from Jane, unsure if he could be close to her without strangling her into silence. She had not stopped talking since Spark had informed Sparik of Ari's abduction. He had not invited her into his workshop for the meeting but could not tell her to leave so long as Sparik permitted her presence.

"How is it that you know about this, Spark," she asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time though it may have only been the 3rd.

"I was with Ari when the Romulans appeared," Spark said, not looking at her. He was being to have doubts about Jane's intelligence or her hearing.

"How could Romulans get to Ari's quarters? How did they even know where it was?"

"Ari was not in her quarters at the time," Spark said, fixing his eyes where Spock and Kirk would appear, a blank wall in his workshop.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura suddenly appeared as they stepped into "Ari's Forbidden Chamber" to Spark's great relief. Jane did not usually speak in the presence of other Vulcans and hopeful Spock would seal her lips.

Jane looked at the Star Fleet officers in shock. "What is this," she blurted.

"The projectors have improved since I last saw them, Spark," Sparik said, the tiniest tone of approval in his voice.

"Ari is to thank for that," Spark told his uncle.

Sparik nodded.

"I was not told that there would be others," Jane said quietly.

"That is because you were not invited to join us," Spark said before he could think let alone stop himself.

Everyone was staring at him in various forms of surprise.

Perhaps I have been spending too much time around Ari, Spark thought. Not because he had spoken but because he did not regret the words. Jane needed to know that she was not welcome every where that his uncle was.

Before anyone could comment on his words the representative arrived, pausing when he saw the holograms of the Enterprise officers.

"Well," the man said, "I had thought we would be speaking to the Enterprise on the Com not actually seeing them here. I was told that the Enterprise is on the border of the Neutral Zone."

"We are, sir," Kirk said. "You are seeing us with the assistance of a program created by Mr Spark and Cadet Ari." Kirk had nodded to Spark.

"The program is Ari's, Representative," Spark said. "I simply assisted her."

The man looked Spark over with great interest. "I would like to speak with you about this program after this meeting."

Spark's jaw tightened slightly. "You will have to wait until Ari can join us. As I said, this is her program not mine."

"I see," he said slowly and Spark wondered if he really did see. "Well what's this all about, Kirk?"

"Sir," Kirk said. "At 0920 hours, the Enterprise scanners picked up an unknown object in the Neutral Zone. It disappeared moments later. At 1020 hours, a Romulan Bird of Prey appeared on our port side. I ordered a Red Alert and attempted to hail the ship to no avail. Commander Spock left the bridge to check on his assistant, Cadet Ari. 5 minutes later at 1025 a breach was located and a security team was called to Emergency Storage Room 10. There it was found that Cadet Ari had been abducted by Romulans and the Bird of Prey vanished from our sensors."

"And how do you know that Cadet Ari was taken by Romulans?"

"Because I witnessed the abduction myself," Spark said. "Four Romulans came through the door, one stunned Ari and beamed out."

"How where you there," the man said.

"The same way the Enterprise officers are standing in my workshop."

"Oh," he said, flushing slightly. "Yes of course. Well this is a problem but I do not see why Romulans would break the Neutral Zone for one girl of no real rank."

Spark felt his jaw tighten again. This man did not believe him? For what reason could he seem for this if it was not true? "Sir," he said no emotion in his voice. "Ari has been assisting me one a project for the Vulcan Council. If the Romulans got hold of the Project then they could use it against the Federation and break the Neutral Zone undetected by our patrols."

"And what is this project?"

"I cannot say."

"What! Why not," he demanded angrily.

"You do not have the security clearance for it," Spark said simply.

The man began blubbering. "I am the personal assistant to the," Spark tuned him out, a trick he had learned from Ari.

"If you had the clearance," Spark said after he had stopped talking, "then you would know what the Project is. Since you do not then you do not have the clearance."

There was an angry flush in the man's face. "So if the Project is so secret how could the Romulans know about it?"

"I do not know," Spark said, the thought had bothered him as well. How could the Romulans know about the Project? And even if they had somehow found out about it how could they have known he and Ari were working on it?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The Romulan Bird of Play

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Lintus sat at the head of the table with Nedal on his right and Ari on his left.

The meal consisted of a dish of jumbo mollusk, viinerine and a salad of some kind. A bottle of Romulan ale sat between Ari and Nadel.

Ari stayed away from the beverage. Vulcan's had a high tolerance for alcohol but she did not wish to test the tolerance on the notorious drink.

"Tell me, Lintus," she said after the food had been past around. "Why have you taken me?"

Lintus smiled thinly. "Right to the point, Ari?"

"I see no point in beating around the bush."

Lintus raised an eyebrow. "Well, Ari, the reason is quite simple. You have information the Romulan Empire wants."

Ari rested her chin on the back of her hand, his fork woven between her index, middle and ring finger and made a show of trying to thinking. "I do not believe I have any information that the Romulan Empire would find of any interest."

Lintus blinked and Nadel frowned slightly.

Lintus smiled again, seeming to realize that she was bluffing. "You are one of the two Vulcans working on a project referred to as only the Project."

"I work on many projects, Lintus," Ari said waving her hand slightly.

"This project is different," Nadel said. "It would affect the Empire directly."

"Still don't know what you're talking about," Ari said, sounding bored as she stabbed at her salad.

"How did you get those scars on your hand, Ari," Lintus asked suddenly.

Ari glanced on the thin white scars on her knuckles and the backs of her fingers. "During fights," she said simply. "Humans refer to this type of injury as a 'Fight Bite'. It occurs when you punch a person in the mouth and their teeth rip open the flesh."

"Who did you hit," Nadel asked, peering at scars.

"Another Vulcan child," she said, making a fist so that the scars popped out. "Among others."

"You fought another Vulcan," Nadel said with some confusion.

"He had made a rather insulting comment about my mother," Ari said coolly. "I lost my temper." She looked at them evenly. "She was a human."

"A hybrid," Nadel murmured.

"You said was," Lintus said. "What happened to her?"

"The ledge she was standing on gave way," Ari said simply, fixing her eyes on Lintus's.

Lintus took the hint and dropped the subject of her mother but not the fact Ari was a hybrid. "It must have been hard," he said his voice filled with sympathy.

Ari shrugged.

"There is no need to be strong," Nadel said, catching on to his Captain. "As Romulans we understand being looked down upon by others."

"Imagine, Nadel," Lintus said looking at Ari trying to judge her emotions. "To be an outcast to both your worlds? Romulans at least have each other but to be part of two worlds but not excepted by either."

Ari set down her fork and interlocked her fingers. "You can stop that now, gentlemen," she said in a neutral voice. "I am aware of what you are doing and it will not work." She pushed away her plate"I will not betray the Federation," she said firmly, "or Vulcan." she stood up and clasped her hands behind her back. "We have nothing more to discus."

Lintus and Nadel looked angry at the fact that their ploy did not work.

"Guards," Lintus said angry laced in his voice, "take the Vulcan to her cell."

The two Romulans from before stepped forward to flank Ari, who stood with her chin held high.

"You will regret your choice, Vulcan," Nadel said darkly as the guards led Ari away.

"I highly doubt that, Nadel," Ari said before the door slid shut behind her.

Ari was led to a small room, 2 meters by 1½ meters, painted a much darker gray then the rest of the ship. There was a hard looking cot bolted to the far wall which took up most of the space. There was a dim light fixture set into the ceiling casting more shadows then it did light.

One of the guards shoved her roughly forward and the door slid shut throwing the room into a deeper darkness.

Ari scowled at the door and laid down on the steel bed. She wove her fingers and put them behind her head, sighing. This should be interesting, she thought.