Star Trek: The Next Expansion
Prologue
By Oberon
Beta: Entilza
The twin moons of Romulus hung in the night, barely visible in the early morning light. It was a scene many poets had written about, but nothing could surpass the beauty of seeing the Valley of Chula in person.
A young Romulan girl strolled across the cliff that overlooked the valley. Before her, an unfathomable abyss extended for miles. A forest of spires rose from the abyss, their roots covered by a thick blanket of fog. The little Romulan girl shivered, her expensive robes felt cold and damp against her skin.
"Tal'aura, the transport is leaving," a matronly woman called out.
"Just one minute mother." The little girl took one last look at the twin marvels of the Romulan night sky. Savoring every last moment, she climbed the closest pile of rock to get a better look, even though it was only a few feet higher.
A shadow crossed one of the moons, dominating the sight like an ominous omen. The young Tal'aura watched curiously as it drew closer. For a second she thought it could have been a species of bird found on the western continent. "Definitely not a bird," Tal'aura whispered. The shape became more distinct as it got closer. At once her mind screamed as she recognized what it was.
"I have been betrayed!" The little girl jumped from the rock she stood on as she tried to flee from the approaching shadow.
"Tal'aura, help me."
The young Tal'aura turned to the voice of her mother. To her horror the woman began to turn a pale shade of grey. The little girl rushed to her mother's side but before she could comprehend what was wrong the woman violently shoved her away.
"This is all you fault!" the woman screamed just as her skin and flesh became like burnt ash. The woman was silent and a moment later collapsed in on her self.
"No!" in the deepest reassesses of Tal'aura's terrified mind she understood and recognized what was happening. As her mother's remains was scattered to the winds Tal'aura could feel the burning sensation of the process repeating in her own body. She screamed.
"Praetor Tal'aura," her assistant's voice woke Tal'aura from her nightmare. "Praetor Tal'aura, Admiral Sela for the Tal'shiar is on a secure channel."
Tal'aura straightened up. "Jolan Tru, Admiral."
"Jolan Tru, Praetor. Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Not at all, Admiral, what can I do for you?" Tal'aura hid her displeasure under a cold calculating Romulan mask.
"I bring news of our expeditionary fleet. Two days ago they encountered a civilization 3,000 light years outside our frontier. They did not possess any technology, however, we did find something very interesting in the far end of their system." An image of a large construct appeared on the corner of Tal'aura's screen. Four cylinders hung suspended in space in a diamond configurations. It spoke of age; the signs of it's millennia in space unmistakable as dents and holes from meteor impact riddled the surface.
Tal'aura could not hide her excitement, not completely. "Were you able to activate the device? Is it gateway like the legends said?"
"The device has been damaged; the expedition is working to repair it. However, according to the locals they used it for traveling outside their system at one point in time." This was not entirely unexpected.
"Their claim differs significantly from the other accounts we had received. Very well, keep me informed of their progress."
"Good day Praetor," Sela gave a curt reply.
"Admiral, I don't have to remind you how important this operation is for reclaiming the Empire's glory." Tal'aura stated as a matter of fact.
"Of course, Praetor. Sela out."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The Romulans had named the device the Hyperspace gate. A device that is capable of opening a hole into an entirely new realm of possibilities. As Lieutenant Rhiana Gaius kept an eye on the device, a pulse of energy passed along the cylinders, the power readings of the scale. The energy pulses jumped back along the gate struts, converging at the rear into a glowing orange vortex. A massive disturbance rippled in the space between the cylinders. The distortion swirled like a maelstrom of orange energy, on the other side was what Lieutenant Rhiana had named hyperspace, a place completely undreamed of by subspace physicists anywhere in the Alpha and Beta quadrants – a nonlinear space where distance related to real space is only measured by speed.
"Take us in, Pilot," the subcommander ordered. He was a stern man with a maternal connection to the military. His features were angular and grey hair showing for an early age. The man had rank but was not of noble birth. He looked much older than when Lieutenant Rhiana had first met him.
The Temet, a Valdore class warbird, entered the vast expanse of the twisted hyperspace. As before, sensor range was instantly limited to a 500,000 kilometer radius. An incompatibility between subspace physics in hyperspace had created a severe weakness in the Romulan systems.
"How soon before the new sensors will be ready Lieutenant?" The subcommander had ordered new sensors to be developed based on what they had learned so far.
"I cannot give you an estimate at this time." Rhiana wished she had made more headway but the truth was that effective hyperspace sensors would likely take years of research.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Subcommander Argelian leaned back on the command chair. This time they would be traveling at one quarter impulse along the same route previously established.
The journey to find the device had been arduous and often at times going on nothing but rumor and legends to guide their way. The expedition had left Romulus six months ago with the order to seek out new resources and technology. At this point these were two things the empire needed desperately.
Shinzon's recent attempt to destroy the Federation had shown how far the Empire had fallen behind in terms of technological development. The Enterprise, with its lighter armaments and older design, had defeated the best and latest in Romulan technology, albeit built by the Remans. The diplomatic fallout from that incident had all but derailed any Romulan ambitions in the near future.
Despite the heavy losses thus far, Rhiana could appreciate the Praetor's position. This expedition would be a key step in evening the odds with the Federation - a necessary key step in restoring military pride to the Romulan people. However, she questioned Tal'aura's true motives. Still, one could not be Romulan without at least a few things hidden. Rhiana was no exception to that rule. At times, during the voyage she wondered what some of her friends would say about this most Federation-like endeavor.
The road had been painful for the most part. During the 3rd month in deep space the fleet of 12 had lost 2 ships to a spatial anomaly. Four others were lost 1 month later when they encountered a long dead civilization, only the thing that killed the people on the planet was very much still alive.
The lieutenant could still remember the thing of nightmares as it rose through the rubble of the planet's surface. When it passed it was like space itself screamed in protest. Dark as space and a million times more deadly than the venomous spider it resembles, the thing had easily destroyed two D'deridex warbirds like their shields were not even there. Then it had turned and fled. The commander had ordered the fleet to pursue and in the process got another two ships destroyed before the thing engaged a cloaking device of some kind. It disappeared from sensors and hadn't been seen since.
Of the planet itself, there was nothing worthwhile remaining. Nothing, that is, except several pieces of documents that pointed to the device at the edge of the system. The inhabitants had called it the 'Gateway of the gods.' When the Romulans got to the location all they found was debris that looked like it had been there for a very long time.
For the next month the expedition found several primitive civilizations that had, at one point, developed space travel. What was so surprising and curious was the one thing they all had in common. This people all referred to something called the 'Gate of the gods,' or some variant of those words. Rhiana was beginning to suspect these people had all belonged to some ancient and advance empire at one point. The remnants of this dead empire might bail the Romulan Star Empire out of its current troubles. Some of Rhiana's allies back home would also be very interested in the findings, if only for the archeological significance.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The Temet had been traveling in hyperspace for almost 20 minutes.
"Coming up on the 20 minute mark."
"Full stop." Subcommander Argelian ordered.
"Projectors charged and ready," Lieutenant Rhiana reported. She no longer needed to hide her excitement; the first 3 attempts had already opened her eyes to the possibilities.
A swirling hole in hyperspace opened.
"Pilot, how far did we go?"
"Approximately 42 light years." The helmsman went over his charts, comparing the location to the last run. "Four times further than at 1 tenth impulse."
"Set a course back to the gate."
Just as the ship entered warp the comm. officer notice something odd. "Subcommander, I am unable to establish communications with the Makar and the Tamar."
Argelian rose from his chair. "Check for malfunctions."
"The other ships have all responded."
Argelian looked at the helmsman. "Pilot, what is our ETA?"
"6 hours."
"Increase speed to maximum warp." This felt wrong to him. Something must have happened to the commander's ship. "Inform the others."
Sometime later the Temet was back to the system where the commander's ship was supposed to be, but nothing was there.
"Slow to impulse." Military instincts from previous battles took over; he readied his mind for the worst. It would be advantageous to see without being seen, he reasoned. "Engage the cloaking device."
The bridge lights dimmed in response.
"Sensors, can you locate the Commander's ship?"
"Negative, I am detecting two separate debris fields near the gate."
"On screen." The remains of Romulan battleships were seen floating in space, plasma fires burning the hulls; signs of resent battle.
"The Makar. Scan the debris field."
"I'm detecting a biomass in the area of the debris."
"Show me." The green blood in his veins sped up in anticipation. Truly, this could be a chance for advancement, although somewhat unfortunate for the Commander. The creature, or ship, the Subcommander was unsure which, looked as it belonged to some alien ocean than among the stars. A squid like thing that as it passed through the wreckage its yellow skin reflected the fire that consumed the Commander's ship. The creature turned and began to move to their direction.
"It's coming this way, we had been detected." The comm. Officer was a sublieutenant that had just transferred in before the expedition left Romulus. To the crew he sounded panicked.
With two wrecks of Romulan warbirds floating near the alien, Argelian decided not to take a chance. However, the creature itself presented a temptation Argelian could not ignore. If only there was some way to take the creature alive.
"Drop cloak and raise shields." He didn't' want to destroy it if he could capture it. "Lieutenant, analysis of the creature." Still revenging the dead commander would buy him approval as well.
"Cybernetic life form, internal cavities… corridors, no distinguishable weapons or shields."
"It's some kind of ship?" If so, it would not be the first time. The Breen, who had sided with the Dominion in the last war, were known to use extensive biotechnology in their ships. Of course there was also the creature that appeared in the Federation Romulan neutral zone several years back. Argelian had no desire to repeat the incident that had left several warbirds destroyed.
Lieutenant Rhiana looked over the life signs detector. "I'm not detecting any life forms in the ship's interior." It also seemed that the aliens didn't take any prisoners. With the lack of escape pods it seemed the crews of the Makar and the Tamar had been lost with all hands aboard.
"Hail them," Argelian proceeded with caution. They have no evidence that this creature was responsible for the destruction of the Commander's ship. Of course he wouldn't let that stop him from claiming it if he had the chance.
The crew waited precious seconds as the alien closed in. "No response on all subspace bands, I am not detecting any emissions form the alien that would indicate communication."
The alien came toward the Temet fearlessly almost like it was challenging the Valdore class warbird. It came almost within the Romulans weapons range. The bridge crew waited for the subcommander's next order, a little fear kept in check by stern discipline. By now the alien was almost on them. Still Argelian held firm. The last subcommander to open fire on a bioship without warning had gotten himself blown up.
Military protocol demanded a Romulan crew to follow the commander's order without question with the commander's decision usually being the first and last word. This rigid system of discipline was drilled into every Romulan as far back as childhood. Subordinates didn't speak out of turn.
"Lock disruptors," Argelian finally gave the command.
The tactical officer moved with more efficiency than normal.
"Power spike!" Rhiana called out, just a few seconds from a full panic.
"Evasive maneuvers," immediately he braced himself. "Fire all forward disruptor banks."
The Temet turned away even as it fired off its disruptors. Four beams of green energy splashed against the hull of the living ship. Where they struck dark scorch marks marred the creature, but it did not stop. In response, the forward facing tentacles of the ship pulsed with power. From the tip of each tentacle, beams of destructive energy merged into one point.
A powerful blast slammed into the Romulan shields, causing them to flare a bright green. The shields held despite the massive explosion that occurred as a result. The Temet was tossed about by the force of that the explosion, the shields generators strained to maximum tolerances just by one shot.
On the bridge of the Temet, the crew tried the best they could to hold onto their stations. Warning klaxons blared in the background while consoles exploded, injuring some and killing others. The first officer was dead, a support beam had impaled him. A flash of sparks had splashed Lieutenant Rhiana, causing her to scream as it burnt the back of her neck and hair. The helmsman lay on his controls; he gave a moan to show that he was still alive. The subcommander himself was on the floor after being thrown out of his seat.
The Lieutenant was the first to recover. She looked around, noticed the tactical officer was also dead. The man's body and face was charred by plasma burns and his features almost unrecognizable. Rhiana pushed his body aside, almost casually, she need to gain access to the weapons controls. Charek Hiren would be given a formal burial later, but right now they needed to survive.
"Shields are down to 20 percent. We have lost warp drive and cloak. Impulse drive at 52 percent." She wondered if anyone was still able to hear her report. To her surprise the subcommander managed to drag himself to his feet.
"Do we have torpedo control?" Argelian climbed back into his command chair, Romulan blood spilled from a nasty head wound.
Rhiana's green blood was pumping with adrenaline and she let her training took over. "Rear torpedo locked on."
"Fire,"
They waited anxiously as the torpedo traversed the distance between them and the alien ship.
"Premature detonation." The Torpedo had been destroyed before it can reach the target, however the proximity of the explosion was enough to leave a large plasma wound along the alien's bio amour.
"They're coming in for another attack."
"Pilot, take us into the system's asteroid belt. Best speed." The torpedo may not have done much damage but it did hurt the aliens. It made them mad, mad enough to chase the limping Romulans into an obstacle track.
"How soon before reinforcements arrive?" Argelian's hope was for their sister ships to arrive in time to make a difference.
"45 minutes," the comm. reported.
He had no choice now; he had to destroy the alien before his ship was lost too. If not at least he could buy them enough time to reach the asteroid field that lay ahead. The alien came in for the kill.
"Rear torpedoes, full spread." Argelian fully intended to eliminate this threat.
"Ready."
Before the subcommander could give the order to fire the ship rocked as another pulse hit the Temet from behind, though this time at greatly reduced power.
"Rear launchers destroyed."
The only option now was to run. Argelian could not contain his displeasure under the professional demeanor of a warrior. "Pilot, if they hit us again I'll personally make sure you'll never fly anything but freighters no matter how well connected your family is. Is that clear?" He severely regretted ever taking the young Romulan as a pilot for this mission. Noble blood be damned, the man had no talent. A last minute replacement from command, no doubt the young Romulan's parents had called in quite a few favors.
The warbird fled deep into the asteroid belt of the system. Not far behind them the alien ship stalked them like a predator in the ocean. But the living ship was falling behind. The superior maneuverability of Romulan design gave the Temet an edge. But the alien was staying within sensor range. A sign of relief came from the crew of the Valdore class warbird. They were not out of the woods yet but Argelian had brought them some breathing room.
"How long before warp power is restored?" Argelian asked. Warp speed would give them a significant advantage in the next fire exchange. The creature did not seem to be capable of faster than light travel, at least not in the conventional sense.
"At least 2 hours."
There was no way their sister ships would arrive and there was no way to run. He did not intend to die this day and the prospect of having to be bailed out by his sister ships were unacceptable.
"I need a way to kill this thing, and I need it now."
"Subcommander, I believe I have discovered the reason why our torpedo detonated prematurely." Lieutenant Rhiana had an idea which she was just about to explain when Argelian cut in.
"Can you compensate?"
"Yes sir."
"Make haste, we do not have much time."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
At first Lieutenant Rhiana had thought the aliens possessed some form of shielding technology they were not able to detect. However, disruptor fire and the proximity blast of the torpedo were not absorbed. The initial theory was not completely wrong as further analysis had indicated. The aliens did not possess shielding in the conventional sense. The bio armor of the alien ship generated a biometric field which interfered with the guidance system of the torpedo. The jamming was what had caused it to detonate before impact. Baring a redesign of the guidance circuitry, the simplest solution was to add an addition layer of isolation to the tracking computer. Of course the shield frequency would have to be precisely calibrated.
The crew worked feverishly in preparation. The asteroid field was thinning out. It seemed another confrontation was imminent. The alien ship was less than 10 minutes behind them and warp drive was far from ready. Rhiana's fortune, and that of the subcommander's and the crew's future, depending on her being right.
"I have modified 6 torpedoes. However, there will be a slight decrease in range."
"Two minutes until we're cleared of the asteroid field." The pilot reported.
"Shields have been restored to 83 percent integrity." A young sub lieutenant had replaced the dead tactical officer. Kaol Cretak, Lieutenant Rhiana thought was his name. She didn't know much about the young Romulan. The only thing she can recall is that like the pilot, he came from an influential family.
The Temet cleared the last large asteroid. The aliens were right behind them, making the same turn.
"Turn us around." The warbird spun in its axis, ready to face the living ship. "Load forward tubes, regular torpedoes. Target that rock."
"Fire solution ready."
"Fire!"
A full volley of Romulan torpedoes impacted on the large asteroid just as the squid ship passed. The large rock formation shattered under the explosive fore of the torpedoes. Large chunks of rock were sent every direction. The living ship immediately tried to evade as a large portion crossed in its path.
Argelian waited patiently for the alien, knowing they still had targeting lock. "Load modified torpedoes." Any second now, he thought.
"There," a golden burst of energy from the other side of the debris fragmented a large rock that gotten in the alien's way. The bioship started to emerge from the fire.
"Torpedo tube one, fire!"
This time it struck true. The squid ship caught it head on. The two portside tentacles exploded off along with a portion of the front. Without its weapons the alien had only one choice.
"Vortex formation, the alien ship is retreating," Lieutenant Rhiana called out as fast as she could.
"Full ahead, ready disruptors. I'm not letting it get away." Now was his chance to take the creature alive.
But they were too far off. Even as they came within disruptor range the vortex opened and the creature disappeared into hyperspace.
"Follow them," Argelian was not about to give up now. Not when they were so close. Not with honor and prestige seconds away.
"Negative, the projectors are offline."
He sighed, another opportunity lost.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Meanwhile, back on Romulus, bad things keep happening to Tal'aura.
"Praetor, there has been another incident," an aid reported, placing another data pad atop the ever growing pile on Tal'aura's desk. The Praetor sighed. Something had to be done about these attacks, and soon.