Mogai City

Khhiuelh Anhelæfv (Landing Site)

New Romulus


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Two days on Repulse felt almost like a Holiday for Mark. For once, he had nothing to do, so he simply enjoyed the ride as much as he could.

Not that there weren't an entire mess of things to be done. Ginny's Iron Star had sent the Federation Scientific Community into a veritable tizzy, as the egg-heads all but started fighting each other to be the first to explore it's secrets.

After he had nearly shot Virnas for the third time in two years, Mark had also been discussing his plans to continue converting the Borg Collective into the Borg Cooperative.

From what he understood, Virnas had replaced that hateful bitch called the Borg Queen, and was now effectively the Borg King, but actually asserting control was much more of a challenge. The Borg Collective was spread out across hundreds of thousands of light years, containing further hundreds of thousands of ships and even more individual Drones.

As individual Cubes and Drones received updates and passed information to the Central Plexus, the new protocol Virnas had designed would overwrite the /root/ command, but that would obviously take time, and Mark worried that the Collective would find a way to counter the Cooperative.

I assure you, most Excellent General, everything is working out according to plan.

Vir kept repeating those words over and over again, and though Mark still trusted him, he had to wonder if Murphey's Law wasn't in effect.

He looked over from his seat on the Loft, watching as Kayla ran from one end of the bridge to the other, taking in the picturesque views and happily chatting away with the crew.

"So how fast does thing really go?" she asked Ensign Kent at the helm.

"We cruise at about Warp 7.3, but on a good day I can probably get her up to Warp 9.97."

Kayla pushed a button on his helm console, "You can probably cruise at Warp 8 if you set your dilithium injection rates to .654 like this. Did you ever try that?"

Kent looked over the screen, and said in shock, "What?! How did you know how to do that?!"

Mark simply laughed, "My niece is as sharp as a bat'leth there, Kent. Come on Kayla, let the guy do his job."

Kayla instead walked over to one of the science consoles and started talking about quasars. Beside Mark, Comrose had fallen asleep, rocked by the gentle humming of the Battleship's impulse engines.

As Mark gently patted her head, he thought to himself, Was I ever this innocent?

"Dropping out of warp now, Captain Tovey," Kent reported from the helm.

And Mark found himself floating in front of the awesome beauty that was Mol Rihann.

Before D'Tann and five hundred million survivors of Hobus had arrived, Dewa III was a missing jewel in the Federation's crown. Uninhabited and uncharted, practically the only thing known about it was that it was once home to a civilization thousands of years ago that might have achieved interplanetary transport levels of technology.

The Dewan civilization had been lost to time with only patches of stone ruins left of their legacy. The Romulans however had quickly started to build their own legacy.

Huge space stations and orbital habitats ringed the planet, while freighters and shuttles went to and from the planet in every direction, carrying the lifeblood of the Republic's Economy. And standing guard over the planet was the now – somewhat – friendlier looking RRW Courser and her escorts, flying a slow patrol across the horizon.

"New Romulus Orbital Control, this the Federation Starship Repulse. Requesting approach-controlled vector to beam down President McClair and party to landing site," Tovey said from his comm.

"Starship Repulse, Orbital Control. Request approved. Approach heading 1-2-1 at one-third impulse. Welcome to Mol Rihann."

The massive Battleship gently glided her way into orbit. Mark rose and looked at the Captain, "Sure you don't wanna come, Mikey? Plenty of Ale down there for both of us."

"Another time, General," Tovey smiled back, "Besides, I'm not very fond of that blue poison the Romulans call Ale."

Mark walked down the steps of the loft and took Kayla by the hand as she asked, "Can I have some Ale, Uncle Mark?"

"How old are you now?" He asked in turn.

"Eight."

"No fu—riggen way. Your mom would finally kill me for that."


Short seconds later, Anna, Mark, Rain, Sean, Kayla and Comrose beamed down into the wide valley.

Kayla looked around and did a full circle in wide eyed amazement, "Oh wow! Look at all this!"

The sky had a strangely purple twinge to it, the result of a Dewan chlorophyll equivalent mixing with ultra-violet light. Huge trees grew nearly one hundred feet in the air, surrounded by plants of all sizes, shapes and colours.

Despite being a settled planet, with a modern economy and industrial base, there was a wildness to New Romulus that simply didn't match anything else in the galaxy.

Mark smiled, watching Kayla and Comrose run across the wilderness. Her innocence was the anchor to his soul, the only thing containing his rage at what Section 31 – the name Rain gave to the group that Red, Yellow, Gold and Purple belonged to – had done to Kayla.

And while he understood the reason behind Anna not wanting him involved, a part of him longed to stand beside Rain to cut the cancer from the heart of the Federation.

A little further down the hill, D'Tann walked up to Anna's party, accompanied by Bragg, Donatra, along with a group of Romulan school children, most of them carrying little Epohs that were kept as pets by Romulan children.

"Welcome, my friends! I hope you had a pleasant journey!" he shouted, slowly walking his way up the hill.

The parties met one another, exchanging handshakes and largely sincere hugs.

"Mr. Castle," D'Tann said with a smile and a firm grip, "It's been a fair number of years. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Hey man," Mark smiled back, again putting the desire to be casual ahead of his screaming emotions, "Good to see you too. And that we're shaking hands instead of shooting at each other."

"Indeed. A most regrettable business, these last few days. However, I too share your good feelings in meeting you as a friend. And you as well, Madam President. May I be as bold as to say you look positively radiant?"

Anna smiled, as she grasped Sean's hand to keep his own emotions in check, "Oh ye silver tongued devil. Thanks again for the invitation. I really need to come here more."

D'Tann bowed, before he took a knee to greet Kayla, "And you, my Little Friend. Kailyex spoke often of you. She told me once that you were one of her most promising students, high praise indeed for someone from Thaes."

"Thank you, Mr. D'Tann. Have you seen a dog before?" Kayla asked.

Comrose walked up to D'Tann, who petted her gently on the head, "Border Collies are not uncommon here, but she seems particularly intelligent," he said as he turned to the group behind him, "Children? Come and say hello."

The Romulan kids approached slowly, several of them lowering their Epohs to the ground. The little creatures approached Comrose, who gently sniffed each of them before chasing off in a run, being led on adventures by the little industrious creatures.

Another Romulan girl approached, and to Kayla, she seemed sad, "Are you okay? Why are you sad?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be… It's just," the Romulan girl replied, barely holding her tears back, "Kailyex was, I'm not sure what the Terhahan word is, but she was my theirr"

"Mr. D'Tann, what does that word mean?" Kayla asked.

"The direct translation would be Guardian, young Kayla. Kailyex looked after young Rela here. Sadly, her parents perished on the journey to our new home, defending our convoy from an attack by Orion Pirates," said D'Tann.

Kayla walked up to Rela, and gave her a tight hug, "I'm sorry Rela. Kailyex was really brave. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be here. So if she was your friend, that means I'm your friend too."

Rela returned a small smile, "Thank you. I've… never had an Alien friend."

Kayla suddenly turned with an idea, "Miss Rain! Rela doesn't have a house anymore. Can I bring her back to mine?! We've got lots of rooms, and I can teach her about cooking and stuff!"

Rain smiled, in awe of her innocence, "As long as Mr. D'Tann has no objections, you have my approval Little One. That house belongs to you, don't forget."

D'Tann nodded, "I find that arrangement acceptable. Very well, Rela, you may depart with young Kayla when she returns home. Please mind your manners, you are still Rihannsu, and I'll expect you to represent our people well."

"I will! Jolan Tru, Proconsul! Kayla, let me show you the Nanovs! I'll bet you don't have creatures like that on Terha!"

The two new friends chased after the Romulan children, as D'Tann led the dinner party to a tent housed beside Dewan Ruins.

Mark just kept smiling. Finally, it seemed like there was a silver lining in the black sky.


As everyone found a space and a glass, D'Tann rose from his seat and held his glass high, "I must confess, I do have one ulterior motive in inviting you all here tonight. It took a long time to get this, but the Senate passed it this morning with a unanimous vote."

He then turned to Anna, and handed her a PADD, "Madam President, as the duly elected leader of Rihann Illomna, with the authority of the Republican Dehu'kri, we formally submit our petition to join the United Federation of Planets."

"I think you will find most of the requirements are in order. The Rihannsu are led by a unified, planetary government. We have done away with any form of discrimination, and all citizens are treated equally in the eyes of the law. Our education and health care programs are among the best in the Galaxy. And of course, our technological skill is the equal to your own."

Anna continued reading the PADD, but caught the one catch that Mark had warned her to expect.

"However, the Republican Karansu will be maintained as our planetary defence agency. We are, of course, fully prepared to cooperate with Starfleet and the Federation Marine Corps, but I think you'll understand when say it is a Varrul's folly not to be prepared for any eventuality," D'Tann said as he sat back down.

Anna took a sip of Ale before she replied, "Well, that'll be for the Council to make a formal rulin on. But, for what's worth from I, you have me full support in every aspect. I graciously accept this petition, Proconsul, and may I be the first to welcome you to this United Federation of Planets. Jolan Tru!"