The Alpha Quadrant.

Shifting Haze Nebula.

The Hidden Shadow Research Facility.

The Enviro-Simulation Deck.

The artificial sun blazed hotly within the simulated sky as the chosen platoon from the 121st Romulan infantry company diligently worked to fortify the solitary hill where their superiors had decided to be their starting location for the Hidden Shadow's first-ever war game.

Like ants endlessly working to construct their nest, Romulan troopers removed sandbags from their assigned crates and placed them between the gaps of the natural rock formations, thus plugging any holes in the hill's defences. Patrols of no less than five Romulans could be seen marching across the defences at any given time. Machine guns based on disruptor technology were stationed at critical points on the hill, primarily focusing on sections where the Remans would've had an easier time climbing up the hill if they chose to go for a full-frontal assault.

Stationed at the top of the solitary hill was lieutenant Dulos Anseel who was selected to act as the commanding officer for the Romulan platoon given the mission to defeat the Remans. Surrounding Dulos were several sergeants who'd be performing as his operations staff for the duration of the war game. A metallic terminal was set up between the gathered officers. It showed a hologram of the entire hill, the surrounding grassland and the outermost edges of the jungle where they knew the Remans were lurking in the shadows.

Lieutenant Dulos's gaze was fixed firmly on the holo-image as he addressed his subordinates. "Have our perimeter defences been fully set up yet?" A sergeant heard the question through the hive of activity that made up the hill's command centre and swiftly moved past the other officers to stand next to his commander.

"Sir," the sergeant saluted his superior. "The perimeter defences are almost complete. We just need a few more hours to properly set up the minefield near the bottom of the hill." Dulos nodded in approval as Major Soteen had gifted the platoon some mines to assist them in the upcoming battle against the Remans. However, Dulos told the sergeant to contact the men assigned with burying the mines and inform them to keep an eye out for the Remans as the lieutenant had little doubt the savages wouldn't just wait for them to set up every defence they've planned to employ on the hill.

The sergeant saluted again before racing off to contact the minefield team. Once out of sight Lieutenant Dulos grabbed another sergeant from the horde of soldiers running around the makeshift command centre. "Are the health sensors our men equipped with working at maximum efficiency?" The health sensors were an essential item used in Romulan war games. The device in question functioned as a sort of health monitor; when the person wearing it received something classified as a 'fatal wound', the sensor would flash red, and the soldier's weaponry would lockdown, thus preventing them from continuing to participate in the battlefield.

The sergeant checked on his personal data tablet before responding. "Yes, sir, the health sensors are all equipped and functioning at optimal efficiency," the officer continued to read from the data tablet. "Also, our troops on watch duty report zero signs of the enemy and have speculated that they're waiting for us to move into the jungle before striking against us." It was a logical assumption since the Remans would be basically committing suicide if they attempted a full-frontal assault on the hill without any vehicle or artillery support.

Lieutenant Dulos chuckled upon hearing what the troopers on watch duty had speculated on what the Remans were plotting within the jungle. "If the troopers' thoughts on the matter are true, then the Remans will be waiting within that jungle until the end of the universe." The surrounding sergeants and lower-ranked officers laughed as well since the idea of abandoning their highly defensive position simply to hunt down the Remans within the jungle was considered to be foolish in the extreme. Besides, Dulos figured those lesser creatures would eventually grow impatient and rush the hill in an attempt to end the war game.

Another advantage Dulos platoon had over the Remans lurking somewhere within the jungle was the difference in troop size. Romulan platoons held two hundred soldiers compared to the Remans miserly fifty. The reason behind such a dramatic difference in numbers was that it allowed the Romulans to have a much easier time controlling their Reman slaves. Plus, with such a small number of fighters in each platoon and army group, it would've made any open Reman rebellions unbelievably challenging to succeed.

"Huh, Remans are truly a lesser race," Dulos committed after regaining control of chuckling. "However, Major Soteen wants them crushed, so we'll stay on our fortified hill and listen to their communications until it's time to begin eradicating them." The Romulan Major had made it absolutely clear before the start of the war game that failure wasn't going to be tolerated and that a fate far worse than any death imaginable would wait for Dulos should he somehow be defeated by the Remans lead by captain Ravek.

"Don't worry, sir," a Corporal spoke up, unaware what could happen to their platoon should they fail in crushing the Remans. "We've got every possible advantage thanks to Major Soteen." The unnamed Romulan Corporal smirked whilst the operations staff busied themselves with tactical operations. "By the time those filthy Remans realise what's happened, they'll already be laid low by our Romulan might." The other officers voiced their agreements as it was impossible for Romulans to lose to a species they view as nothing more than expendable slaves.

"True, our victory is already assured thanks to the Major," Dulos's gaze shifted between his subordinates for a moment before returning to the holo-map. "However, I still want every trooper to be on high alert as I want nothing else except a flawless win against captain Ravek." The operations staff saluted their commander before rushing off to complete the work needed to keep everything running at optimal efficiency. After his orders were carried out, lieutenant Dulos knew it was now a waiting game to see who strikes the first blow.

Enviro-simulation Deck's Jungle Environment.

Reman Camp Site.

"Captain Ravek, sir, the Romulans are fortifying their position for a drawn-out siege just as you've predicted." A Reman scout trooper currently seated on top of a nearby tree reported whilst lowering a pair of binoculars. "Also, they appear to be planting landmines at the bottom of the hill to prevent us from simply climbing up to the top of it." The scout frowned as minefields were constantly a headache to deal with at the best of times. Fortunately, the Romulans were amateurishly burying the mines, thus making it much easier to figure out where the explosives were placed.

"Hum, so Soteen has gifted the Romulan platoon even more advantages for the match," Ravek frowned as those underneath his command checked than triple-checked their gear for any malfunctions that the Romulans might've tried to sneak into the equipment. "Most likely before the war game started, which is why we never knew about the mines." Ravek knew that the mines were only a minor inconvenience and could easily be subverted with the correct strategy. Besides, with the plan Ravek had devised, they wouldn't even need to get close to the hill, so the mines weren't really a factor in this situation.

Nikrax Renatek, Ravek's second-in-command, spat to the side in disgust. "Damn Romulans, they can't defeat us honourably on the battlefield, so they're resorting to trickery and using better quality equipment to win." The other Remans muttered their agreements that the Romulans were cowards who fought without honour. Ravek allowed his soldiers a few minutes to vent their frustrations with the enemies' dishonourable tactics before simply raising a hand to restore order to the campsite.

Once the Remans soldiers had calmed down, Ravek called out to a specific pair of subordinates. "Onutix, Oviruk front and centre!" A scuffle of feet was heard near the edge of the campsite. Within a few seconds, a pair of Reman twins came rushing to stand before their captain. These two were Onutix and Oviruk, the platoon's resident engineering specialists and demolition experts who've destroyed a fair amount of enemy bases, defensive emplacements and a few starships when a boarding action was needed to take out an enemy vessel.

"Onutix." The aforementioned Reman saluted his captain whilst tapping his utility belt filled with engineering tools.

"And he's more handsome, brother Oviruk." Oviruk continued for his twin while playing with a stick of explosive gel, causing the other soldiers to step backwards. They remember when explosions would suddenly happen near Oviruk whenever he decided to play with explosives.

"Reporting for duty, captain Ravek, sir!" They finished in perfect unison.

Ravek nodded at the twins. "Excellent," the Reman captain waved a hand to signal that they could now stand at ease. "Onutix, Oviruk, I require your personal skillsets when it comes to the art of engineering to 'persuade' our Romulan friends on the hill to leave their little fort." Megalomanic grins stretched onto the twins' faces as they pulled out identical data tablets and swiftly started to fire off ideas on how to get the Romulans off the hill.

"Oh, we should send a hail of antimatter rockets at those pointy-ears that should really get them moving!" Oviruk smiled wickedly at the idea of blasting the Romulans into bloody and burnt pieces of meat.

"Now, now, dearest brother Oviruk, I'm sure the captain wants the hill mostly intact." Onutix gently reprimands his twin. "Besides, where would we even find antimatter in the jungle?!"

"We can simply find a maintenance panel and take the antimatter from a power cell." Oviruk huffed at his brother's refusal for creating rockets. "Honestly, Onutix, must I do all the thinking for the two of us?" Amusement coloured Oviruk's tone whilst Onutix playfully shoved his twin's shoulder. The identical duo always argued over ideas that involved engineering and blowing shit up. Yet, everyone within the platoon knew that it was just their way of showing affection for each other without saying that they cared.

Ravek cleared his throat to gain the twins' attention before things escalated into a shouting match, as was their custom. "While antimatter rockets do sound like an excellent idea," Oviruk shot Onutix a triumphant smirk at having his idea being called excellent by the captain. "However, I was thinking of something a bit more low tech," Ravek explained what exactly he wanted the twins to build, and by the time their captain was finished, the twins were smiling from ear to ear.

They couldn't wait to see the surprised faces of the Romulans when their creations were unleashed upon them.

Time Skip, Four Hours Later.

The Romulan Occupied hill.

Bottom Check Point.

"Gods dammit, it's been hours were are those worthless Remans!?"

Corporal Baveen Belek rolled his eyes at the frustrated screams of his guard partner. Private Demeel had never been a patient person, which was why a promotion was forever out of the man's reach. The private's usually bad temper was also why he was assigned to assist Baveen guarding the first checkpoint. The higher-ups didn't want Demeel causing problems with the rest of the platoon whilst everyone else set up the primary defences of the hill base. Honestly, Baveen hoped that a promotion was in his future after putting up with the annoying private.

"Oh, would you stop complaining!" Baveen glared at his temporary partner for a second before returning his focus towards the jungle's edge. "Honestly, the Remans are probably just cowering somewhere and praying to whatever divines they worship that we don't just hunt them down like the filthy primitives they truly are." Baveen sneered as his entire family believed that the only place a Reman should be was either working within the mines until they die or serving their betters as household slaves for the rest of their pathetic lives.

Private Demeel scowled at his partner. "Hey, I'm just saying that those savages haven't made a move for the hill yet," the ill-tempered private thumbed the trigger of his disruptor rifle as the sounds of their fellow soldiers working on maintaining the defences echoed through the air. "It's almost as if the Remans are plotting something." Usually, the idea of Remans plotting would've made Demeel laugh like a hyena, yet with hours having gone by since the start of the war game and zero signs of the Remans, Demeel was beginning to suspect that something was wrong.

Baveen snorted, clearly possessing a different opinion on the matter. "Remans plotting?" The Corporal was highly amused by the very thought that the race their ancestors enslaved could be capable of forming any kind of plot against the Romulan Empire. "Please, Demeel, we've a higher chance of the Klingons forsaking their precious honour and becoming a servant race to our empire." Given how highly the Klingons valued honour and their freedom meant, the likelihood of them willingly slaving themselves to the Romulans was none existent.

Demeel growled at Baveen and was about to retort when suddenly a strange sound reached his ears. "Hum, what's that sound?" Demeel asked his guard partner while searching for the source of the unusual noise.

Baveen scanned the surrounding area with a slightly concerned frown. "I don't know," he reluctantly admitted as the guard duo failed to spot the source of the sound. "But whatever that sound is, it's definitely getting closer." Baveen listened closely to the sound and realised it sounded like a high-pitched whistle. The Corporal's gaze shifted upwards as the whistling continued to come closer and saw multiple small objects flying towards the hill; judging by the trajectory of those objects, they'd been fired from the jungle.

"What in the name of the senate are those things?" Baveen narrowed his eyes while trying to get a better look at the incoming objects. "They almost look like…." The Corporal let out a gasp as realisation hit him like a rampaging Klingon who had one too many drinks. Without even giving it the slightest thought, Baveen grabbed ahold of Demeel's uniform and proceeded to throw the ill-tempered private behind some of the more substantial rocks which made up the hill's natural defence.

Baveen followed after his comrade a moment later whilst screaming out. "Incoming grenades, everyone get down now!" The Romulans surrounding the bottom of the hill stared where Baveen disappeared in confusion. A fatal mistake as the soaring grenades smacked into the hillside with tiny thumps, within moments of contact with the earth, the grenades exploded sprays of orange and crimson flames danced violently. Romulans caught within the blast zone were sent helplessly into the air for a few seconds before crashing back onto the earth, where their health sensors flashed red on impact, indicating that they were now considered dead.

"What the hell!?" Demeel gazed past the stone pillar he was hiding behind, after regaining his senses from Baveen unexpectedly throwing him behind cover, and stared with disbelief at the smoking areas where the grenades exploded. "How did those filthy Remans manage to throw grenades far enough to hit our position without having to come out of the jungle?" The private watched as his fellow soldiers moved their unconscious comrades away from the blast zone and were beyond thankful that the war games were enacted with non-lethal weaponry.

Baveen grunted in slight pain while getting up from the grassy ground. "It shouldn't be possible," the Corporal grimaced whilst retrieving his weapon, which had been lying next to him. "The Remans might be a race of physically powerful warriors, but even they wouldn't be able to throw objects this far without some sort of technical aid." The distance between the hill and the jungle was almost over twenty meters. How did the Remans send those grenades over to their defensive line without any artillery or vehicle support.

Demeel listened to his comrade while staring towards the sky. "Well, whatever method they've used, it seems to be working quite efficiently." The private's expression turned grim as more whistling sounds pierced the air, and even without binoculars, the Romulans saw the shadows of the grenades coming closer by the second. "Shit, those bastards aren't stopping; find cover now!"

This time the Romulans found cover behind the stone outcroppings. However, the grenades soared further than before and landed behind their natural protection; the resulting explosions took out far more soldiers than the first volley had accomplished. A few grenades even hit the minefield causing a cascade effect which resulted in the destruction of multiple machine-gun nests and injuring the gun crews meant to operate the heavy weaponry. When the hail of grenades was finally over, forty-eight Romulan soldiers had been taken out of the battle, and a massive amount of equipment was damaged beyond the platoon's current ability to repair.

The surviving Romulans stared at the carnage brought to their front lines and realised that the Remans had scored first blood in the war game.

Meanwhile, With The Remans.

Within a clearing not too far away from the outer edges of the jungle, the Remans could be seen gathered around several wooden trebuchets. The primitive siege engines had been constructed to fire their grenades at long distances without putting themselves within the enemies' line of fire. The grenades themselves had been bunched together with a makeshift rope with tiny cuts placed at the keys area so that it would break apart during mid-flight, allowing the grenades to scatter and cause the most damage to Romulan defences.

"The payload has landed at the enemies' lines, sir!" A Reman assigned as lookout reported from the top of a tall tree. "They've received casualties of slightly over fifty troopers and are currently trying to put out the fires our grenades caused after exploding next to some of their gun nests!" The Remans below cheered at the news as it always felt good to humiliate the Romulans, and the destruction they've caused to the enemies' front lines without even losing a single member of their platoon would indeed harm the Romulans' pride.

"Excellent," Ravek kept a stony expression as his troops reloaded the trebuchets for another volley. "We'll retreat into the deeper sections of the jungle after this next volley and begin guerrilla warfare tactics when the Romulans come searching for us." The pointy-eared fools wouldn't stand for such a metaphorical bloody nose to be left unpunished and thus shall send their forces into the jungle to seek revenge against Ravek's platoon. Their arrogance shall be the Romulans' downfall as Ravek planned to systematically take apart the enemy soldiers once they've entered the deeper parts of the jungle.

"Yes, sir!" The Remans on trebuchet duty saluted their captain before getting to work on reloading the siege engines; Onutix and Oviruk could be seen adjusting the trebuchets' internal workings to improve the equipment launching power and the distance which the grenades could reach. After everything was adequately set, the Reman trebuchet crews fired the last volley of grenades towards the fortified hill; explosions thundered in the distance along with the furious screams of the Romulans. They were no doubt scurrying for cover in order to seek some form of protection from the grenades.

The Reman within the trees watched the explosions at the hill base with the help of his binoculars. "Another successful hit, captain!" A dark smile etched onto his lips as the lookout saw Romulan troopers ignore the damages caused by the grenades and start to march away from the hill towards the jungle. "The enemy has also taken the bait. They're heading towards our location and should arrive within twenty-five minutes!" The lookout climbed down the tree; once at ground level, he assisted his fellow soldiers with dismantling the trebuchets as they didn't want to leave such valuable weapons with the Romulans.

After the trebuchets were taken care of, the Remans disappeared into the shadows of the jungle. When the Romulans finally arrive, they'll only find an empty clearing with little evidence to suggest that the Reman platoon had even been there in the first place. The prideful pointy-ears would, of course, rage at the Remans' cowardice and thus storm into the depths of the jungle to hunt them down and show them why the Romulans were the superior race. Unaware, they're heading directly into a series of ambushes and traps that would decimate their entire fighting force.

Ravek's platoon shall delight in demonstrating to the arrogant Romulans why their enemies had fearfully gifted them the title of Shadow Legion.