The Alpha Quadrant.
Shifting Haze Nebula.
Hidden Shadow Research Facility.
The Command Bridge Of The Romulan Convoy.
Captain Ejuk Xututh, commanding officer of the convoy vessel Seven Stars Of Romulus, frowned with displeasure as he gazed at the viewscreen, which showed a real-time image of the Hidden Shadow research facility. The request identification signal was received by the convoy's communication relay several minutes ago. As protocol demanded, Captain Ejuk had the required identification code transmitted to the station for verification. After the identification code is accepted, the commander in charge of the Hidden Shadow's military garrison should attempt to contact them.
However, as the seconds ticked past, Captain Ejuk became worried as the commander of the Hidden Shadow research facility's garrison should've responded within mere moments after receiving the identification code. Yet, no signs of an attempt to open communications were shown on the Seven Stars Of Romulus's sensors. An eerily silence soon blanketed the convoy's bridge as Captain Ejuk and the crewmen chosen to operate on the aforementioned bridge stared at the unresponsive space station with growing anxiety.
"Something isn't right," Captain Ejuk's eyes narrowed in suspicion whilst analysing his vessel's sensor readings from the comfort of the bridge's command chair. "The commanding officer onboard the Hidden Shadow should've responded within moments after our identification code was sent for confirmation." Ejuk's worriment grew stronger when his vessel's sensor reading showed that the station indeed received the identification code, which could only mean that for some unknown reason, the commander of the Hidden Shadow was intentionally ignoring the convoy.
The fourth son of house Xututh typed a command into the computer attached to the bridge's command chair. Within moments the convoy's communications relay attempted to forge a link with the Hidden Shadow's own communication systems. However, the effort was proven to be fruitless since the station's communications systems refused any attempts to establish a communication link between itself and the Seven Stars Of Romulus.
Captain Ejuk's displeasure slowly grew stronger with each failed attempt to communicate with the Hidden Shadow. "1st Lieutenant Catrik," the fourth son of house Xututh, addressed his second-in-command, standing at attention next to the command chair. "Assemble two squads of our finest men and lead a discovery mission onto the Hidden Shadow." Ejuk knew ordering his crew to enter a highly classified research facility without permission was against every security protocol established by High Command. However, the convoy's Captain needed to understand why the station wasn't responding after receiving the identification code.
"I'll have the men ready to go within the hour, sir," Catrik responded while she went through a mental list of crew members who might be suited for such a mission. The two squads would've to be kept small since the convoy's crew didn't know what was happening onboard the station, so low numbers and adaptability was essential for the mission.
"Better make it thirty minutes, 1st Lieutenant," Captain Ejuk's expression was grim as he gazed at the image of the Hidden Shadow. "We've little knowledge of what's happening onboard the station, and if our fellow Romulans are in danger, we must identify and terminate such unknown threats as quickly as possible." And if the reason for the lack of communication was a technical malfunction rather than some unknown threat. Then Ejuk would be spending the rest of their vessel's stay grovelling at the station commander's feet to convince them not to tell High Command about his breach of military protocols.
"Understood, sir." Lieutenant Catrik would've preferred an hour to get everything ready for the mission, yet she did understand why the Captain wanted the investigation team sent over as soon as possible. "Should I also have one of the Reman platoons accompany us?" If there was anything dangerous on the Hidden Shadow, having a platoon of their slave warriors could tip the odds in their favour. Should the situation turn towards the worst possible outcome, then at the very least, the Remans would make a good distraction so that Catrik's people could escape back to the Seven Stars Of Romulus.
Captain Ejuk scratched his chin thoughtfully upon hearing the suggestion of having Reman support. "Hum, the Remans would make excellent cannon fodder should an enemy presence be found on the Hidden Shadow." High Command surely wouldn't blame Ejuk for placing the valuable lives of his crew above those of the Reman slaves currently rotting down in the cargo hold. "Very well, have Lieutenant Sikad Jerukir informed of the situation and order his platoon to report to the transporter room." The Captain of the Seven Stars Of Romulus planned to have the Remans transported over first as it helped mitigate the risks to his crew.
"Yes, sir!" The 1st Lieutenant saluted Captain Ejuk. "I'll personally inform the Remans of the situation myself." She immediately made a beeline towards the turbo-lift. However, before 1st Lieutenant Catrik reached the turbo-lift, its doors opened wide, revealing the vampirish form of Lieutenant Sikad. Sikad's amethyst eyes, rare eye colour for his specie's, scanned the bridge crew for a few seconds before stepping out of the turbo-lift. The Reman Lieutenant wasn't alone as two platoon members flanked both sides and held their disruptor rifles at the ready.
"Captain Ejuk, 1st Lieutenant Catrik," the Reman Lieutenant politely greeted the two highest-ranking officers onboard the convoy vessel whilst his subordinates dutifully followed after their commanding officer. "I'm terribly sorry for this sudden intrusion, but I must inquire why neither mine nor Lieutenant Viakix's platoons have been transported over to the Hidden Shadow." Catrik withheld the urge to draw her disruptor pistol and fire upon Sikad. While he was polite and respectful towards his Romulan betters, something about the amethyst-eyed Reman always put the 1st Lieutenant's nerves on edge.
"Ah, Lieutenant Sikad, excellent timing," Captain Ejuk smiled beyond pleased that his 1st Lieutenant was spared the trip down to the cargo hold. "We've a slight communications problem with the Hidden Shadow and are considering the idea of sending an investigation team over to check to see if anything serious has happened to the station's inhabitants." Sikad returned the smile while he walked over to stand next to the command chair. 1st Lieutenant Catrik felt like something was off since Sikad usually tries to avoid being in close proximity with Romulans.
"By the excitement within your tone, I'd wager you'd like my platoon to be the first to transport over to the station." Sikad's expression was serene, and his tone conveyed he was more than happy to serve the Romulan Empire. Yet, 1st Lieutenant couldn't shake the feeling the Reman was faking his loyalty to the Empire, which wouldn't surprise her as Remans were savages and such wild beasts rarely ever understood the concept of loyalty.
Meanwhile, Captain Ejuk nodded his head. "Yes, your platoon shall be transported over first, followed by 1st Lieutenant Catrik and two squads of crewmen after the transport site is secured." Catrik watched from a reasonable distance as the Captain, and the Reman went over the finer details of the station boarding plan. However, as the two conversed, the turbo-lift opened once more, revealing another group of Remans. The 1st Lieutenant immediately recognised them as members of Lieutenant Viakix's platoon.
"What are they doing here?" Catrik's gaze followed the newcomers as they spread themselves throughout the bridge. "Lieutenant Viakix and those underneath his command despise Romulans and makes absolutely no attempts to hide it." The platoon of Lieutenant Viakix even went so far as to stay within the cargo hold during most of the trip to the Hidden Shadow and only came interacted with the Romulan crew members when it was either time for meals or light military drills. 1st Lieutenant Catrik's heart hammered louder within her chest when the turbo-lift opened again, allowing for another set of Remans to enter the bridge.
Captain Ejuk immediately noticed the sudden increase of Remans on the bridge. "Lieutenant Sikad, why are there suddenly more Remans on the bridge?" The fourth son of house Xututh demanded to know whilst glaring at the Reman Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Sikad's serene expression didn't falter as he responded to Captain Ejuk's question. "There's nothing to worry about, Captain," 1st Lieutenant Catrik and other Romulan crewmen felt nervous when all the Remans on the bridge began to smile with satisfaction. "They're simply waiting for the signal to start the main event." The atmosphere grew heavy as the Romulans tried to make sense of Lieutenant Sikad's words. However, after a few seconds, Ejuk became frustrated with the Remans and thus decided to just demand answers from them.
"Enough with the riddles, Lieutenant Sikad!" Captain Ejuk stood from the command chair to glare directly into the cold amethysts eyes of Sikad. "Tell us what the main event you mentioned a moment ago is!" Sikad returned the glare with an amused smile. Before Ejuk or the Romulans even had the chance to say or demand anything else, the Reman Lieutenant calmly walked away from Ejuk's location and moved forward until he stood in front of the viewscreen. The image of the Hidden Shadow still continued to hover silently within the cold void of space.
"The main event Captain Ejuk will change history itself," Sikad gazed at the Hidden Shadow, seemingly uncaring how the Romulans on the bridge reacted to his words. "It's the glorious day when we Remans break the chains forced upon us by a specie's that can't even go a single day without living underneath the delusion of their so-called superiority." The Romulans wore furious expressions as they listened to Sikad. 1st Lieutenant Cateik and other security officers moved to detain the Reman. However, such actions were halted when the surrounding Reman soldiers raised their disruptors against them.
1st Lieutenant Catrik cursed as the Remans had the entire bridge crew totally surrounded. Judging by the nervous expression on Ejuk's face, the Captain of the convoy vessel knew how outclassed they were in this situation. The vampirish race also held the advantage of combat experience since Remans were generally deployed on the frontlines when intergalactic wars or the occasional border skirmish was conducted by the High Command. By comparison, the Seven Stars Of Romulus crew just couldn't compete with the military trained Reman soldiers since they rarely ever saw active combat against the enemies of the Romulan Empire.
"Stop this madness at once, Sikad!" Ejuk demanded while the Remans forcefully removed the weapons from the nearest Romulans, who wisely chose not to fight against the vampirish soldiers. "High Command wouldn't tolerate such rebellious behaviour and will surely punish your entire platoon once they've learned of this treachery!" Viakix's platoon would also have to be punished since it was clear that they were assisting with Sikad's little mutiny of the Seven Star Of Romulus.
Lieutenant Sikad openly scoffed at Ejuk's threats involving the High Command. "High Command wouldn't understand anything that's truly happened here once we're finished," Sikad raised a hand, causing the surrounding Remans to aim their weapons at the Romulans gathered around the command chair. "In fact, the only truths they'll know are the ones we'll create in the next couple of hours." Sikad snapped his fingers which was the signal his soldiers had been waiting for and immediately opened fire upon the bridge crew. Unlike what happened within the security hub onboard the Hidden Shadow, these blasts of disruptor energy were lethal.
The bridge crew massacre lasted only a couple of heartbeats. Once the disruptor fire ceased, all that remained was the Romulans' burning corpses and the satisfied Reman soldiers. They were already in the process of dragging the bodies into the bridge's turbo-lifts. After the Romulan corpses were removed from the bridge, Reman Soldiers took over the stations of the former bridge crew and started to familiarise themselves with the terminal controls. Lieutenant Sikad was pleased with how the mutiny was proceeding and, without much fanfare, took a seat upon the bridge's command chair.
A soldier from Viakix's checked the internal sensors. "Sir! Engineering has been taken by Lieutenant Viakix, and the sensors indicate all Romulan life signs within that section of the vessel are registered as terminated." Sikad wasn't surprised by the news regarding engineering. Even with his bloodthirsty tendencies, Lieutenant Viakix was an experienced military officer. Those Romulan greenhorns down in engineering would've never stood a chance against Viakix's platoon even if they somehow had an advanced warning regarding the mutiny.
"Excellent, have Viakix station guards within engineering," Sikad studied the computer attachment on the command chair whilst the Reman from Viakix's platoon immediately executed Sikad's commands. "After that's done, inform my colleague; he's to immediately report to the bridge." Coordinating the hostile takeover of the Seven Stars Of Romulus shall proceed more smoothly once Viakix is on the bridge. Plus, Sikad would prefer his bloodthirsty colleague nearby encase any Romulan survivors attempt to retake the bridge.
"Lieutenant Viakix has received your orders, sir!" The Reman operating the bridge's tactical terminal reported. "He's already gotten a security detail set up within engineering and reports that he shall arrive on the bridge within ten minutes." Sikad nodded while internally pleased with Viakix's efficiency and professionalism. When Captain Ravek had gone over the plan for the mutiny, Sikad was admittedly worried Viakix's desire for Romulan blood would cloud the man's judgment. However, it would seem that his fears were unfounded.
"Very good," Sikad brought up the vessel's weapon schematics and thoroughly studied them. "Are the other Romulan crewmen contained as planned?" He inquired to the Reman operating the tactical terminal, who paused for a moment before accessing the internal sensors.
"Yes, sir! The containment fields activated several seconds after Lieutenant Viakix commandeered engineering!" The Reman soldier gave the sensor readouts another glance before continuing his report. "Most of the Romulan crew are trapped within their own quarters. However, a couple are scattered throughout the ship's lower decks." Like their counterparts in the sleeping quarters, those within the lower decks were trapped within containment fields and thus unable to escape or pose a threat to the mutinying Remans.
Sikad grinned viciously at the news. "Perfect, establish contact with those not involved with maintaining this vessel's systems and have them terminate the contained Romulans." The Reman Lieutenant relaxed into the command Chair as the new bridge crew fulfilled the necessary tasks required to maintain the vessel's operating systems. Various reports soon flooded the bridge regarding the Romulans contained within the crew quarters. Apparently, almost half were now taken care of, and the squad leader on that deck speculated that they'll be done terminating Romulans within the hour.
Sikad had a member of the new bridge staff thank the squad leaders for their efforts before shifting his attention to more important matters. "Attention, all Remans!" Sikad's voice thundered throughout the vessel's internal communication systems. "We've taken control of the Seven Stars Of Romulus and shall shortly begin the modifications to the weapons systems as per Captain Ravek's orders!" The Reman Lieutenant watched from the comfort of the command chair as his fellow Remans began to reconfigure the convoy's weapons to a specific energy signature.
"Once the modifications are complete, we shall proceed to phase two of the plan," Sikad heard the turbo-lift open, meaning his fellow Lieutenant had finally arrived at the bridge. "And remember, we're fighting for our freedom and the future freedom of our entire race." The sound of heavy metallic boots echoed throughout the bridge as Lieutenant Viakix came into Sikad's field of view. Viakix was taller and possessed far more muscle mass than a general Reman. Viakix also wore an eyepatch over his left eye whilst the other eye was covered with a patchwork mess of scars, second-degree burns and a good chunk of dead tissue.
Needless to say, Lieutenant Viakix was quite an intimidating sight to behold, especially if you're unluckily enough to face this dangerous Reman on the field of battle.
Sikad's tone became passionate as he continued to address the Reman crew. "Never forget our people's ancient Battlecry 'only through blood and sacrifice is internal glory achieved!' Remember these words, my comrades, for that very Battlecry shall again be sung by our legions as we march upon the Romulan Empire!" Of course, such a war wouldn't happen for many years as they'll have to secretly build up their military strength. However, there was nothing wrong with igniting the fighting spirits of his subordinates/brothers in arms.
Sikad raised from the command chair and placed a hand on his heart. "The first chapter of our new Empire begins this day! Show no mercy to the Romulan filth onboard this vessel, for they'd show us none if our situations were reversed!" The Remans' expressions turned stoney as they understood that the Romulans wouldn't have shown any mercy if their situations were indeed reversed. Hell, the pointed-eared bastards would've likely gotten their families executed just to make a point regarding the master/slave relationship between their respective races.
"Now, let us march forth towards our new future!" Sikad thrust a hand forward to point towards the endless void of space. "For glory, honour, freedom and our shared dream of a liberated Remus!" The Remans' cheered and, within seconds, returned to work on the weapons systems with a new sense of purpose and pride in their people. Sikad, upon witnessing the motivational speech, had done what he desired, retook his seat and went about his duties as commanding officer of the Seven Stars Of Romulus.
The convoy vessel was now entirely under Reman control, and, within a few hours, it shall be modified to enact phase two of Ravek's and Xavier's master plan.
Time Skip.
Hidden Shadow Research Facility.
Section 61.
Pitch darkness consumed the entire 61 section of the Hidden Shadow thanks to the systems meant to regulate light within that particular area being shut off. The total absence of light was disconcerting for anyone forced to travel through section 61, which Private Demeel, from the 121st infantry company, could undoubtedly attest to since he was at this very moment carefully walking down a hallway while waving his handheld flashlight in a search patten. The Private was thankful his company's Captain made it mandatory for all members to carry flashlights; otherwise, he'd have been wandering the hallways without any ability to see in the darkness.
"Dammit, sure is a shitty time for the power to suddenly go out," Private Demeel's flashlight swept across the hallway while taking extra care to illuminate the junctions which branch off to another location within section 61. "And just as I was going back to the barracks." Demeel wanted to get some sleep after his security shift had ended. Yet, the turbo-lift he'd taken suddenly lost power, which forced Demeel to break out of the lift and search for another way to the barracks, hence why he wandered around section 61.
Demeel kept marching through the hallway while occasionally checking the rooms for any signs of other Romulans in this section. To Private Demeel, the rooms in question appeared to be chemical laboratories used by the station's scientists for experiments revolving around chemical weaponry or drug-based enhancements. Demeel vowed not to touch anything within the chemical laboratories since anything within those labs could be hazardous, and the Private didn't want to risk his life just to satisfy mere curiosity.
"Huh, can't believe High Command lets those scientists experiment on live test subjects," Demeel closed the door to another chemical lab he saw holding a dead earth monkey strapped onto a dissection table. "The sickos would've probably used sentient subjects if they thought they could get away with it." While Demeel was a soldier of the Romulan Empire, he drew the line of using people as test subjects. He was eternally grateful that High Command wasn't allowing such depravity to happen upon the Hidden Shadow.
As Demeel reflected upon his dislike for scientists, he noticed that bright white light from a flashlight suddenly appeared at the hallway's end. From the source of the new flashlight, voices could be heard echoing down the hallway, voices Demeel instantly recognised as Corporal Baveen's and several fellow members of his company. Without hesitation, Demeel raced towards his comrades while shouting to wait for him to catch up with their group. When the Private reached the others, they wore surprised expressions, almost as if they couldn't believe Demeel was still alive.
"Private Demeel?!" Corporal Baveen questioned with disbelief as the aforementioned Private stopped before his group. "How in the name of the senate did you survive the initial attack by the enemy?" The other survivors also stared at the slightly winded Private in undisguised curiosity as they wanted to know how Demeel got away from the foe currently invading the Hidden Shadow.
"I've no idea what you're talking about, Baveen," Demeel replied after catching his breath. "I was heading back to the barracks for some much-needed sleep when the turbo-lift I was on suddenly lost power which forced me to search this section for another way there." The Romulans following Baveen groaned in annoyance as they realised Private Demeel survived the initial assault from the unknown foe by sheer dumb luck.
"Great, the sole survivor we've found since coming down here, and he's only alive because of a stupid power outage." A Romulan in the back of the group grumbled as the others muttered their own disbelief at Demeel's luck. "What's next? We get chased by some kind of monster, and he somehow gets to live through it while the rest of us are eaten alive or some other kind of horrible shit." Demeel glared at the Romulan at the back before shifting his gaze to Corporal Baveen since he'd most likely answer his questions about what was going on with the station.
"Okay, could someone please tell me what's happening?" Demeel's gaze shifted from person to person, finally noticing each one was covered in green blood and disturbingly enough, most of it wasn't their own. "You've mentioned we're being assaulted by an enemy force, yet none of you has even mentioned what race or faction are attacking us!" The surviving Romulans glanced at each other for a couple of seconds before turning to Baveen, who stepped forward, indicating he was chosen to be the person to explain the situation to Private Demeel.
"The truth is, Private, we don't know the name of our enemy or what they're seeking within the Hidden Shadow," Corporal Baveen said grimly as he chose to be honest with Demeel regarding the situation. "The only information we've managed to learn is that the foe is mechanical in nature and uses some kind of highly accelerated slug-throwers as their main choice in weaponry." Demeel was surprised at the news about the enemies' nature. The weapons they supposedly used as slug-throwers were considered primitive by the galactic community. Only pre-warp civilisations would ever think about using them for military operations.
Demeel filed the information regarding the slug-throwers to the back of his mind for later review. "So we're basically fighting against killer robots?" Honestly, it sounds like some sort of lousy holo-novel some of the guys back on his colony-world would've loved to watch. However, the tiny wounds and other injuries clearly not caused by Disruptor or any kind of energy weaponry gave the group's words some credibility. The idea of facing an army of robots wasn't appealing to Demeel by any stretch of the imagination. However, with these robots swarming the station, confrontation was sadly inevitable.
Baveen grimly nodded in confirmation. "I believe the correct term is synthetic lifeforms. Yet, that does about sums up our situation quite nicely." The Corporal then explained how around twenty-five 'killer robots' ambushed them during a routine inspection of the weapons lockers in section 82. The synthetic bastards didn't even give the warning to surrender before firing upon their respective squads. The Captain of the 121st died first as the synthetics somehow knew which of them was the commanding officer of their company.
Things only got worse after the Captain's death. The remaining troopers of the 121st returned fire upon their synthetic foes. However, before the disruptor blasts hit their opponents, the station's internal forcefields activated in front of the synthetics, thus absorbing the deadly energy and leaving the non-organic lifeforms unharmed. The unknown robotic foes continued to fire their slug-throwers after the forcefield was deactivated. The Romulans were so caught off guard by their station's own defences turning against them that they didn't even attempt to take cover, which led to many soldiers at the front being filled with multiple mass accelerator rounds.
It hadn't taken Baveen long to realise the situation in section 82 was hopeless. Thus, he led the squad underneath his command and a few others who also realised victory wasn't possible into the jefferies tubes. Granted, a few died whilst they were escaping section 82. However, with the enemies' ability to control the station's forcefields, it was better to retreat to a lower section than fight a losing battle against such a foe. All that's left of the 121st on section 82 was thirty-three Romulans, plus the newly joined Private Demeel, who was now as grim-faced as the rest.
"The bastards must've already taken the main security hub," Demeel commented after a moment of silence had passed when Baveen explained what he knew of the current synthetic invasion. "It's the only logical explanation why Major Soteen hasn't alerted the entire station of this invasion." It also explains how the synths had total control of the Hidden Shadow's forcefields as the systems that govern those controls were located within the central security hub. Major Soteen was either dead or captured by the synths, which unfortunately means, for the time being, the surviving Romulan soldiers would've to survive without a superior officer.
"Yeah, we pretty much figured that out after our failed attempt to communicate with the Major." Baveen had tried contacting Major Soteen immediately after they escaped into the jefferies tubes. Yet, all the Corporal got for his troubles was static from the station's communications relay. "Before running into each other, our group was planning to reach the hanger bay and commandeer a shuttlecraft in order to escape back into Romulan space," Baveen explained; he planned to contact High Command after reaching Romulan space and warn them of the synthetic lifeforms who've invaded the Hidden Shadow.
Private Demeel grimaced at the news. "The hanger bay is two levels down from here," the power outage this section was suffering from meant that taking the turbo-lifts wasn't an option. "By the time we've finished crawling through the jefferies tubes to get there, the place might be swarming with those things." That wasn't even taking into account those brave souls they'd be leaving for dead should they be fortunate enough to steal a shuttlecraft and complete the journey back to Romulan territory, which would take a fair deal longer than the convoy vessel usually took to travel between the two locations.
Baveen sighed tiredly upon hearing the Private's option on the plan. "Trust me, I know how desperate the plan sounds," It relied on far too many variables for Baveen's liking. However, with the given situation, it was either attempt an escape via shuttlecraft or stay onboard the station and possibly die at the hands of the synthetic enemy. "But, it's the best bet we've got of getting out of here alive." Demeel frowned at the idea of running away like a coward. However, the enemy was in control of the station and with the other members of their company either dead or scattered, it was the best option they had for survival.
"Fine, we'll try to commandeer a shuttlecraft." Demeel reluctantly agreed with the plan to escape the station. "There's a jefferies tube down the towards the next left-hand junction," the Private pointed in the direction of the mentioned jefferies tube. "It should lead us down towards section 26; from there, we can make a decent attempt for the hanger bay." The hanger bay was within section 13, which was thankfully connected with the same deck level as section 26 and should thus be possible to reach if there weren't any synths guarding the hanger bay.
Baveen nodded in understanding while pointing in the same direction with his disruptor rifle. "Very good; you'll lead us to the jefferies tube since it appears you have an understanding of this section's layout." Private Demeel readily agreed to lead them to the jefferies tube and proceed to march towards the junction that held the way out of section 61. As the surviving Romulans marched down the intersection, they kept an eye out for the synthetic invaders. It wasn't outside the realms of possibility that they'd soon come to this section in search of any foes they might've missed during the initial assault.
Minutes passed swiftly as they marched for the jefferies tube, and it wasn't long until Demeel asked a question that had been bothering him ever since the others told the Private about the synth invaders. "So, does anyone here know what's happened to the Remans?" Usually, Demeel wouldn't care about the vampirish creatures. However, with the station's sudden invasion via killer robots, the Private wouldn't complain to have them providing backup. Heck, with how badly the Remans kicked their assess in the war game Demeel was sure they could take on the entire invasion force by themselves.
Baveen swept a nearby corridor for synths before responding to the question. "No clue; the Remans last reported being down in their own barracks when those flashlight headed bastards showed up," after the corridor was safely examined as empty, Baveen moved on to the next one. "If the synths didn't strike their barracks immediately upon arrival, the Remans are either fighting to reach the hanger bay or attempting to breach the security hub to rescue Major Soteen." Personally, Baveen hoped for the former to be true since having Reman backup would increase their odds of living through this madness.
"Ah, the Remans are tough bastards, so we shouldn't be surprised to see them at the shuttle bay," Demeel was confident the Remans would survive the new enemy without facing too many casualties. "Perhaps they'll even have rescued the Major by the time we arrive." A couple of the others laughed at the idea since the Remans did seem skilled and crazy enough to pull such a stunt off without getting wiped out in the process. The survivors talked about what crazy plans the Remans might try to rescue Major Soteen until they arrived at the jefferies tube, which took thirteen minutes to reach from their starting location.
The Romulans pulled open the jefferies tube, and without fanfare, Baveen gestured for them to enter. "Alright, everyone into the tube and remember, stay quiet as we still don't know how good our uninvited guests' hearing is." The others nodded in understanding before carefully entering the jefferies tube. A few minutes later, only Corporal Baveen was the last one left to enter the tube. He scanned the corridor for any synthetic foes; after confirming there wasn't an enemy presence, Baveen got into the tube and sealed it behind him, leaving section 61 unoccupied once more.
Unfortunately, if Baveen had only looked towards the security camera across from the jefferies tube, he would've noticed that it was active and sending a transmission of the events it just witnessed back to the central security hub. Xavier and his Reman allies now knew unwanted Romulan survivors were crawling within the jefferies tubes. The artificial intelligence calculated the Romulans' possible destination and didn't like what he learned from the simulations. A whole platoon of Geth troopers was diverted from their original destination and sent towards section seventeen.
Xavier would not allow the Romulans from the 121st infantry to escape the Hidden Shadow. No matter the cost!
