Chapter 1: Within the Shadows
Silence broke by the ship's intercom singing to life, a soft, womanly voice weaving a strict military tone with her own song of words, "Sub-commander, one hour till we arrive at Deneb 4. Nothing new to report." Her voice paused, as if waiting for a response a moment, waiting to ensure her message was heard before hearing the captain respond in her own words thanking her for the call before clicking off.
Deneb 4. Seeking to join the Federation. It was always the Federation. The inhabitants had somehow built an impressive station on the harsh world with an energy source and ability far outstretching even most classified anomalies in the Romulan archives. The planet was unimpressive and so were its people.
She got up from her bed, rubbing the back of her neck eying the datapadd on the desk beside her. She hoped meditating a few hours into a deep sleep would help her perspective in finding some hidden variable. She had read well over a hundred articles and memorized the report and still nothing. Her crew had no idea, skilled in their own way and masterful compared to any other in the quadrant, she dared not risk being a security leak to compartmentalized information.
With a few commands her computer ran a full sensor sweep, logged all the data collected so far, encrypted it and sent it back to command for analisis before looking it over herself. Seeing her name Duni on the report, her first official report with her first assignment caught her breath. Pausing to appreciate where she was in her career. It was a small ship and a small crew but still, it was hers to command. When she dressed, she made sure every hair and stitch was in the proper place before leaving her quarters.
The two guards outside her door gave a formal bow as she left for the bridge, her mind occupied by this mystery of the planet, the people and if there was a way to tip favor or secure whatever this might be. It had to be a scam, or they would have sent a far more impressive ship. Command probably knew already what was going on and were certain of the outcome, it was just a test, it was always a test. She wondered who on her tiny vessel was Tal Shiar or evaluator. She had her suspicions but played no favors.
She had walked a full tour of her ship, making sure to be nothing but a shadow to her crew, looked over every subordinate, every console, every task being performed, staying out of their way though kept a mental note of anyone who seemed to pretend to be busy, wasting time or doing their job.
It was a small ship, but it was hers to command. Her little science vessel of 96 personnel under her command.
Arriving on the bridge was a little game for her. She liked sneaking when possible and only a few times managed to stand side by side with her second in command without anyone noticing. Hearing him quietly threatening the crew behind her back if such an offense happened again there would be consequences was more entertaining than a problem. This time however he was ready. The eager young officer standing at full attention, handing off his log stiff and sharp in his stance waiting to be evaluated and tasked. Sublieutenant Caliu held his breath watching her take and read his work over.
They had no idea how nervous she was. If he was the one to evaluate her she would have been impressed by his acting. The report itself was hardly useful. She had access to the classified readings in her room, what the crew saw was far less unless a threat or serious problem arose. One could hear a pin drop with how quiet the bridge was as she read over the log, looking, looking, looking for anything suspicious.
Nothing. No mystery, nothing out of place, no mistakes that she could see or clues to a test. Everything was quiet and boring. He released his breath when she took the sub-commander's chair with her next order, "Satisfactory work. Ready two teams for infiltration against a federation science vessel and Farpoint Station for intelligence gathering. I want no one to know we were here, that is the top priority. Be aware that the Federation has sent an Excelsior-class, USS Hood to Farpoint Station dropping off personnel and equipment. You're to find out what they know before the next ship arrives. Keep track of William T. Riker, it's likely he'll be the center of the Federation's own intelligence gathering efforts."
"Yes sir. I'll personally see to it." With a bow and sharp step he was off to work.
The moment he left the room she leaned to the side and took a long breath. Something, something, something had to be done. She was missing something, her first task had to be a test. It's always a test. Dull and mundane or wild and exciting. Either way she looked to turn every rock and be ready for anything the command threw at her. How much of this was real or not was still a mystery. For all she knew, her ship may still be docked, faked sensor readings and reports looked as real as anything else.
The game must be played however.
Farpoint Station. Constructed fast and exact it seems using only geothermal energy from the planet. Tech, organization and effort far outstretched every statistical possibility of its people. What was even more astounding was the tricks it seemed to play. Every merchant seems to have exactly what is desired, if not on the spot, they will within moments or even hours of asking.
No doubt an obvious trap really, maybe that was it. Bait by the Federation to lure and test the abilities of the great Romulan Star Empire. It worked, at least for this little ship. If its a mystery then the Federation will send a science vessel to investigate. If it's a trap they'll send a warship ready to search and destroy. One key player was sub-commander Riker. Loyal to a fault defending his captain from a mutiny over top secret research on the Pegasus. A Starfleet deserter claimed it was dangerous whatever it was and needed to be stopped.
But that was it.
A loyal to a fault sub-commander, an incredible station built by dull people and a ship on its way. That's where we were. Scanning and searching for clues. Various Federation ships seemed in range but one very big one was what she was watching. It would be silly to be the first Romulan vessel to tiptoe around it, no way she would be that lucky or foolish to dare sneak around such a ship's top of the line sensors. If this was real, some boring science vessel would be arriving soon with a diplomat and a lot of very boring talk and tests. Riding Federation frequencies to soak up all that precious data easily. What if this was real? What if this was unexpected? What if her sub-commanders didn't see this coming and all this was the real deal and that ship, the Federation flagship was coming?
What if the U.S.S. Enterprise-D were to show up in full might.
They arrived in orbit of the planet easily enough. Sublieutenant Caliu had taken a ground crew posing as Vulcan civilians to see if the claims were true. No one questioned them either. It seemed far too easy to move about without issue. Security was non-existent. The Bandi were dimwitted and dull. What was impressive was just how resource rich they were and cheap as dirt rates. It was also no replicator work as they managed to simply ask for latinum and crystals the Federation couldn't possibly replicate, wealth beyond comprehension and not just available, but acquired for a cheap trade. The people had no clue how much to charge.
This had to be a test, it was too obvious. She had them push their luck and send back the rarest of resources to be examined. When asked how such things were manufactured, the merchant would simply shrug and say they just sell what they had and hope the Federation likes it.
She took the opportunity to play with this impossible deal. Asking for something impossible to acquire or replicate in such a short period of time. If only to get whoever is running this test a reason to say it can't be done or found.
But it was done. She held it. A dazzling crystal of impossible size, the few officers on the bridge awed in amazement. Glowing swirls of blue and green and purple, one of this size would be one of a kind. She scanned it personally, let the others scan it and hold it. She had a dozen transported on board. If this was real, her little ship was the wealthiest in the quadrant. Between various crystals, elements and the amount of latinum onboard this couldn't be real.
When she looked at the stack of crystals in a cargo hold that cold feeling ran down her spine and took her breath. The crew were fascinated, scanning and looking over everything.
Duni went back to her quarters to double check scanners and run a little test to see if this was one big hologram. This was too much. No fighting, drama or squabble. This was far too easy. She even placed a crystal on her desk as a kind of trophy. Such a thing would buy a fleet of top of the line ships and it was a paperweight for the moment.
She ran the test.
Again.
And again.
And again.
It was real.
This was real. She really was sent out to investigate this planet, Farpoint Station and monitor events. She really was quite possibly the richest captain, for the moment at least, in the quadrant. Her little science ship. Even split equally with the crew, they all could buy moons and some planets or even star systems.
Her crew had a good idea as well. Or maybe they too believed this was another training simulation or test. It was hard to tell. She wasn't going to let the Federation get this hand however, whatever this was the Federation couldn't get another card to play.
The speaker voiced, "Sub-commander, a Federation ship has just arrived in orbit. They don't seem aware of our presence. It's… It's the Enterprise-D, Captained by Captain Picard. Shall we continue the plan to infiltrate their ship? They beamed up sub-commander Riker sir. Also, the Enterprise is missing its saucer section and are running heavy scans on Farpoint Station."
Her heart leaped in her throat at the words. The truth. This was the real thing. She rubbed her temples, watching the report fill her screen. It was the Enterprise. No saucer section. Scanning. Torpedoes had been fired only hours ago, it had seen combat, but where? Why? What would dare attack the Enterprise?
Getting to the bridge, watching everyone quietly checking systems without an alarm needing to be sounded was assuring. Quiet. It was all so very quiet. This was really happening. She kept her ship a good distance away from the Enterprise to avoid detection the situation was too good to be true.
Then the Saucer section arrived. The Enterprise paused its scans only to reunite with the saucer as if all was well, only to shortly after meet up with the U.S.S. Hood before returning to orbit. She had the ground crew acquire more resources as the Federation was distracted, bugging the main Bandi office to listen to negotiations.
Listening to those very discussions break down raised more questions. Not only was Picard not satisfied with what the Bandi wanted, they had no idea what was actually going on. It seemed that they too were in the dark but unwilling to entertain a treaty unless the Bandi explained how they were able to build such an impressive station and were so unwilling to leave or make more. They were at an impasse.
Shields were down. The only sensors active were towards the planet. The planet itself was emitting its own interference. There had been a crew exchange, meaning personnel weren't familiar with the new arrivals. This was the flagship of the Federation with the latest and greatest of technology it had to offer. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and this was far beyond her scope.
She could pass as a Vulcan easily enough. When she expressed her plan to Caliu his eyes went wide. It was reckless, bold and certain she would be caught, not even mentioning what wealth making it back would mean for the Empire from their hold alone. Arguing that they need to either convince the Bandi to join the Empire or destroy it if possible before the Federation discovers whatever secrets it has.
She snapped at him, in front of the rest of the crew they argued, "You are to wait and get me on my signal or I'll have you thrown in the brig." Her hands shaken from the exchange. Arguing in front of the crew, simulations often had a loyal crew who obeyed orders even to their death. She needed him here, now, not to argue but to wait, that was it, just wait and here he was challenging her.
The sound of being thrown in a cell shut him up however. Nodding obedience then taking the chair, giving orders to maintain position against their rival ship.
Her hands were still shaking with every step out. Time might be limited and now she might have her own crew mutiny against her if she leaves. This opportunity was too good to pass up and she needed obedience. Locking out her room and the ship's systems to only what was needed to do his job until she got back. Both her guards looked surprised to see her walk out in a newly replicated Federation blue uniform.
Her voice trembled slightly trying to keep herself together, "I want you both to go to the bridge and make sure Caliu does his job. He is to avoid detection and pick me up when I give the signal. If he fails, kill him and anyone else that supports him. Got it?"
And they did. Both nodded without a word and marched right to the bridge. She went to the transporter room.
Luxurious. That's what this Galaxy class starship was. Luxurious. Lieutenant Duni had been walking the grand halls of the Enterprise for nearly an hour now, her tricorder recording everything, the crew paying her no mind except the few males and their crude advances towards her. The contrast with how astounding this was contrasted the dressed up primitive behavior she couldn't get away from.
The first few times she stopped to scan and pretend to work on a ship system a male would come up and talk to her like they were friends. At first she feared she had been found out, watched by others around her and getting cornered, federation officers all around her getting ready to take her away.
But they would stop talking when she left. The second and third time a male stood far closer than she'd like able to smell his breath and hear his heart beat in his chest, she made up an excuse to leave and diagnose another system.
When she found a secluded place to perform a download, she took a long breath trying to calm down. No alerts were going, no alarms, nothing. Her hands moved along the ships console, accessing more and more files with each press and swipe of her fingers. It was here, logs and records of the ship, schematics, it was all so easy to access.
A man's voice made her nearly jump out of her skin, "Didn't know there were vulcan chicks on board!" He stood well over 6 feet, dark blond hair and a strong jaw of a human male with the body of a bodybuilder. Her eyes first looked to see if he was armed, when he wasn't she could tell he was certainly well armed from the shoulders down and a big dumb smile, "Names Rick, are you busy tonight?"
Duni took a small step between him and her work, feeling her heart pound in her chest. How much did he see? Was this his station? Why the hell was he grinning like that? Was he saying she will be busy in a cell tonight now that she was caught? A game? "Lieutenant Duni." She held her breath, he looked massive though humans were far weaker than they looked. Her eyes darted around the area for any signs of alarms but the few that were around were talking to one another or doing work it seemed. No one was armed. At all. "What do you mean by busy?"
Rick had his hands on his hips and took a step closer, "I always wanted to see what a girl like you can do, how about a drink tonight at ten forward?"
Duni's face narrowed, looking up at his eyes, hands ready to fight off whatever move he might try with that terrible fighting stance. Ten forward? What the hell was that? A time? Was he challenging me? "A drink? What is ten forward?" She decided to play it simple.
"Oh you must be new. Good to have you aboard! It would be my pleasure to show you around. Ten forward is on the tenth deck, the most forward of the ship, gives a great view and there's a bar there. It's a great place to hang out, dance and just relax. What did you think of that whole thing earlier? Oh cool you're fixing the computer or something?" Looking over her shoulder, romulan letters danced on her device as it downloaded more and more files.
He was hitting on me? She thought, trying to make sense of this nonsense. As he looked over at her work she readied to strike in what she hoped was a sensitive organ but waited, "Yes, I am doing maintenance. I was too busy to catch up on what happened, can you tell me all about it?"
Rick fell to his heels with a smile, "Oh yeah? That's so cool! I don't know how that stuff works, but yeah, apparently some alien showed up before we got to where we were going and we surrendered to it. Apparently we fired torpedoes at it and it didn't bother it, we even tried to run away and it caught up! That's what my buddy said. I can tell you more over dinner."
She relaxed, he wasn't any kind of threat. Just an idiot. Possibly a useful one. "I would like that." She lied, looking down at her tricorder and seeing it complete its work. She didn't know what else to do from here. She had data she wanted, the readouts, frequencies, she had no idea how to plant anything or what to do next. Picking her tricorder up and looking over the files…
His hand gave her ass a firm smack and a laugh, "Love all that tech stuff hu?" Then wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her in. She felt so small but didn't want to bring attention to what she was doing, It must have been a human thing. Some kind of mating ritual, whatever. As long as she got what she needed and could leave.
Duni closed the device shut, "Okay well I need to get back to work. I'll see you tonight at ten forward then." Giving him a big, fake smile and tried to move away from the larger man, he just held her shoulder.
"Oh? I can help, it's a big ship afterall."
"I think I can manage, I just have a lot to do and I like working alone"
His voice went low along his hand down to her ass, giving it a firm squeeze, "Sounds like you need a break then."
"You treat your human females like this?"
"Only the ones I like." He gave her ass another squeeze. She needed to get rid of him and get back to her ship and certainly didn't expect to be part of some kind of mating ritual. She couldn't afford to raise any kind of suspicion either. Humans were weak, she didn't even know if he could engage in anything without getting broken in the process. Ahhh but he thinks she's a vulcan. It was getting harder to think with his hand exploring the freedom she was allowing, cornered, she wasn't sure what else to do. She would have to be gentle at least.
sub-commander Duni stepped off the transporter pad still in the starfleet uniform she left in and marched straight towards the bridge. The dark green halls felt far more comfortable than the large and bright cooradors of the Enterprise. Her head spinning from what she had just finished doing in order to get off that damned ship. The moment she stepped foot on the bridge she barked, "Report."
One of the guards had stood up from the sub-commander's chair to give a sharp salute, "The Enterprise is engaged in some kind of massive lifeform little more than twelve times its volume and has been firing on the planet, avoiding the station. We were able to get our team back up, everyone is safely aboard."
Duni had to take in the absence of Caliu, looking around, all eyes watching her walk front and center of the bridge out of uniform, tricorder on her hip. "A life form?" She turned to the screen to see a massive floating disk dwarfing the Enterprise, firing red bolts towards the planet over and over again. "What the hell is going on? Is that all it's doing?"
Her science officer spoke up from the side, "I can't get any readings on it, whatever its made of it's preventing both the Enterprise and us from getting an in depth scan. There has been a lot of transport activity on their bridge and… something else. I don't know what but I believe there is an unusual life form with Picard. I've tried to get a reading but it'll vanish and reappear"
A bright light filled the bridge leaving behind a man dressed in a red, starfleet uniform. Spreading his arms wide and giving a smile the human cheerfully said, "Well well what do we have here. Did you have a good time sub-commander Duni? I know Rick did."
Her heart stopped at the words. This man, this human, standing in front of her without a single concern.
"Names Q, now if you don't mind I'm currently busy with Picard and I don't need your greedy and treacherous people getting in the way. You failed the test so… goodbye!" With that he snapped his fingers with a bright flash of light. Duni calling out, "WHAT TEST!?"
She stood at attention surrounded by darkness. A white light beaming down on her forcing her to wince when she tried to look up at the voices. Her superiors asking one question after another, still wearing the starfleet lieutenant uniform.
A man's voice with a stone down a driveway like gravel questioned her from above, "What do you think he meant by test?"
How long had she been here? She wondered, her mind a deep fog of memory, "I don't know. He called us greedy and treacherous, he said he was interested in Picard."
"Could the greed be related to the cargo you had in your hold? Or treachery in regard to your use of sex for favor with Rick?"
Her stomach churned thinking about it. The Federation would have done the same wouldn't they? Making full use of such an opportunity to expand their borders and take over. "That seems reasonable given what I know."
A female voice came next, that of a strict, sharp spoken woman making sure to pronounce every word perfect, "Yet he let you go with all the spoils. Why? Do you have any idea of the value of resources and information you brought back?"
Why did he indeed. If she failed the test, why then? "I don't know." She tried to think of how she got here, was she drugged? Is this a dream? She stood as straight as she could answering more questions the best she could for hours and hours on end, over and over and over again. What were her intentions? What happened here? Why didn't you do this? Could you have done that? So many questions covering every second from her departing to returning.
The man asked, "What happened to your crew?"
Her mind blanked, her crew? Did something happen? Thinking, thinking, thinking, she strained to try and remember what happened after the flash but could think of nothing, she's just here. "I don't know. Are they well?"
"All of them are dead."
The lights went out and she found herself standing alone in the darkness. Straining her ears to hear anything around her. All of them? Dead? "Wait!" She called. "What do you mean all of them are dead?" But no reply came.
Nothing.
She stood, waiting in place for what seemed like hours. Waiting for anything to happen, searching the darkness, listening for sounds. When she decided to move she found incapable of doing so, a force field held her in place like this giving her only enough room to breathe and adjust. She was on trial. Was this a trial? It was nothing she ever saw or knew of. Was this another test to fail? Did she ever leave that blasted simulation?
Hours passed as she could tell, before light came from behind, casting a shadow on the wall only a few feet in front of her, the force field vanishing, having to catch herself from the sudden loss of support she had been using it for.
That woman's voice said, "Turn around commander Duni."
She turned, one step at a time, taking it easy being able to move after standing for so long. When finally finished the 180, and old Romulan woman stood before her, decorated with awards and belts and insignias on her uniform. Those eyes seemed to pierce straight through her as she held up a shimmering medallion. "All evidence points to you telling the truth. In your very first command you came back with not just wealth and information, but something far more valuable to us, your loyalty."
"This, this was real? All of it?" Duni's mind was a buzz, taking the crest of the Tal Shiar, complete with its distinct chest harness to wear it on one's chest. Holding it sent shivers all through her body, this was hers for failing a test? She heard of the organization but to be part of such was far beyond her wildest expectations.
"We have a mission for you, a new ship and a new crew. A mission that will be kept at absolute secrecy, where should you be found out, it will be expected of you to burn all evidence of your involvement with the Romulan Empire in any way. Is that clear?"
Duni was still holding the promotion in her hands. The responsibility loomed over her, weighing her down with every thought grasping at what this would mean. She heard the women, comprehending its weight was still beyond her however, she nodded.
The woman grinned, watching Duni take it all in, "Good. Your mission shall be to shadow the Enterprise."