6: RIDERS ON THE STORM
We were on another quickie exploration mission in Ravnica. This one was to a likely pair of stars a parsec apart and only 18 from Ravnica. Both class G stars could have a class M world. It turns out that we weren't the only ones interested in those systems.
K'Tee was on the comm. board. "We are picking up a distress signal, dead ahead … just a beacon, from the starboard sun." There was a pregnant pause … "The beacon is from The Inquisitor's Omen."
"That's Jace's Daedalus class o' goblins. Distance?" I asked.
"We are 3 parsecs out," Nergat replied.
"Four and a half hours at flank. Go to warp 18," I ordered.
"Warp factor 9.9 aye," Nergat corrected.
The intercom buzzed. It was engineering "I hope you don't plan on keeping this up all day. That's a brand new warp core and it hasn't been fully broken in yet," Pense complained.
"Then consider this it's first stress test. It needs to hold together at Flank for 5 hours!"
We thundered across the warp wall 30 minutes earlier than I had told Pense. This was a hard cross at flank to impulse. "Engineering I want a full diagnostic on my warp drive. Sara full scans please."
"They are behind us, leaving the system at impulse speeds. They are being … chased … by a Romulan cruiser … also at impulse speeds," Sara responded.
"Want to bet Jace torched their warp core? I wonder if they are still using quantum singularities?"
"I think I'll save my money," Razia answered. She had wisely sat down at tactical when she realized that I wasn't stopping to nicely carry over the warp wall.
"Spin her around. It looks like the only folks out here with an operational warp drive is us." I had that look.
Both Sara and Razia clued in. We were going after the Romulan. A few minutes later we were closing on the Romulan. A Mogai class cruiser was chasing down the Daedalus. "Relar?" Razia asked.
"Looks like it," I replied.
"Then he needs a good killing," Razia concluded.
"John, heat 'em up," I ordered. Both John and Pense now were on the bridge, as well as Sara and Razia. This would definitely be entertaining, regardless of the outcome. When John was on the bridge, Pense usually took up the engineering console. Or ops. Razia occupied the tactical and Sara occupied sciences. But right now Pense was giving me the cold shoulder.
It was the demise of Relar. Hs cruiser was disabled by the fact that it was missing a warp core, thanks to Jace. As soon as we were in range Jace appeared on our view screen. He explained that he disabled the Romulan warp core the same way as he took ours out, but the Romulan was still chasing his ship. We couldn't resist.
I looked at Razia. "Kill him," was her command. I looked at Sara.
"Finish this," Sara advised.
"All right, lets take out Relar. We have the advantage, in the fact that we have the only warp drive out here. Let's send his ship straight to hell!"
And that's what we did. He was no match for a warp equipped cruiser, and a couple of full barrages later, his ship became an expanding ball of plasma. Our attack vaporized his ship and left us without a Romulan threat! There was only the damaged Daedalus class cruiser, and us left. The lasting debris was a few sections of Relar's heavy cruiser. It was reduced to basic atoms by our guns.
The Inquisitor's Omen was in the new Ravmican shipyards, thanks to a tow by the Parhelion II. She was undergoing major structural repairs, as well as getting a technological refit. The Nimbus III was finishing out in another dry-dock and the 'Helion was back atop Sunhome. A trans-guild courier had just dropped off a message. Razia read it.
"Damn him and his luck!"
"Whose luck?" I had to ask.
"That Romulan. This message is some hate mail from Commander Relar of the 'new Tal'Shiar.' He apparently is hanging out in Duskmantle and wasn't on his ship. It ends with the threat 'wait until I get a new ship.'"
"Just great. He's pissed off and has practically moved in with Szadek. That's all we need," I replied.
"But I wonder when the Romulans stop giving him more ships?" Sara asked.
"He's a Commander in their Tal'Shiar. That's their secret police and espionage wing. That means he has an unlimited ship supply," I answered.
"OK, but why is he only a Commander? I thought you have to be at least a Captain to command a cruiser?" Sara asked again.
"Romulan ranks don't work the same way as ours. All of our navies have the traditional wet-navy ranking system, from Starfleet, the former Rim Worlds Navy, the Psychon defense force, and the Boros navy. You have 4 basic ranks of officers, second lieutenant, lieutenant, lieutenant commander, and commander. Commanders can be in captaincy positions on smaller ships. Then there are two command ranks, Captain and Commodore, or Fleet Captain. Lastly there are the flag ranks of the Admiralty, rear, vice, and full. Sometimes Fleet Captains are considered flag officers as well," I explained. "The Romulans have the basic rank of Centurion, with 5 steps in it, which would include our ensign. Then there is a rank of sub-commander, which would actually sit between our commander and captain. Their commander is a rank between captain and commodore. They have been known to command single ships and fleets of ships, while most single ships are commanded by sub-commanders."
I was ship shopping again. Now we do need a bigger boat: a capital ship. Then we needed a crew for it. I was shopping for a ship design list.
Annapolis class: successor to the Sovereign. Plans might exist at the Wa-Lu shipyards. She requires a crew of 1000 in standard form…
Ares class tactical cruiser. One was building at Wa-Lu. 600 crew, twice that of a stock Courageous. Two type 3 phaser cannon come standard!
Alexandria class: competitor with the Annapolis class.
Insignia class battle cruiser. It was another large 9th generation ship, which plans may exist for. It has a crew of 800.
Tempest class dreadnought. With 1500 crew probably too big!
Titan class: and I thought that the Tempest was huge!
Wraith class strike cruiser. Successor to the Akira class, with a crew of 600. Heavy on the torpedo armament.
Then there's my favorite, the Prometheus class cruiser with multi-vector assault mode. Even better is her crew of fewer than 500. Breaks into three ships with the equivalent firepower of the Tempest class!
The question becomes: is there plans for it, can we build it here and how much does the specialized materials cost? Basic materials like tri-titanium and transparent aluminum are actually readily available on Ravnica. They go under the names mizzium and invisio-mizzium respectively. That's how Razia's sword and armor were made originally. So it's back to the mana-less universe for some research.
Apparently the Prometheus class has been lost in time. But luckily for us the Ares class plans are still available. It's my second choice. And, as a bonus the plans are available so we can construct it at the Ravnican shipyards, out of indigenous materials. It has the greatest firepower per ton after the Prometheus. Thus the cost of constructing an Ares class locally is less than what it cost be to build the 'Helion. That worked for me, as my resources weren't unlimited. I still had a massive reserve, as the shuttle held skids of latinum…
Our Ares class cruiser started building just as our Nimbus III was released on it's shakedown cruise. The angels and other crew took it over, and Ericanj took it out on its shakedown. This was the test of our shipyards, whether they could build modern starships. He started the third Boros Starship Academy. That meant that I would have to guest aboard the Nimbus III.
"Welcome to the third Boros Star ship Academy. I don't give formal speeches as I figure that that's a waste of your time. You have already got the skinny about what the Academy is and your role as training for star ship duty. I will go over the parallel rank systems that occur on a Boros star ship, if you wish. Otherwise, I'm here to answer the awkward questions that I know that some of you have." That sounded familiar, I thought. But this time there wasn't the fencing with any of the angels. I explained the ranking system and my role as Razia's companion, but this goblin-less group seemed to be rather typical of academy personnel.
I was back on board the 'Helion. I had called Alejo to my quarters. He arrived quickly. "You wanted to see me?"
"Sit down." I ordered. Alejo sat in a chair. "Have a drink," I offered.
"No, thank you," was his reply.
"Have … a … drink. That's not a request," I insinuated.
He clued in. This was not a normal meeting. Then he guzzled the entire drink. "You know, alcohol does not have an effect on angels," he stated. Then he took a quizzical look at his glass. Something was amiss.
"Who said you drank alcohol?" was my response.
Alejo looked at me again, and I noticed that the drink had started its effect. "What did you do to me?"
"Don't worry about that. It's for the good of the Boros. I need your honesty," I replied.
"But wha…" The drug had definitely set in. "I don't get it."
"Don't worry. No permanent harm has come to you. The chemical I administered to you has the same effect on angels as alcohol has on humans. You are as physical as you are mana based," I explained. "But I need your honest answer. Did you choose medical because of your life link or would you pick ops?"
"Of course," he answered. "What else would I do?"
"Switch to ops and take up a command spot like your brother. The only other angel with that spark that I have seen is you."
"So … you got me drunk to read my thoughts?"
"Yes. On my world that is sometimes the best way to find a person's true intent. I think you would be as good as your brother as the commander of the next starship. Now, you may be taking over the Nimbus III while Ericanj takes command of our new Ares class ship, but …"
"Will I go through your wringer?"
"In part. You have already gone through it in part. You need to pass a few more tests…" I was feeling the alcohol that I had been drinking. "But I already think that you could do almost as well as your brother in the center seat, if you are up for it."
"Thank you for your support. I am up for it. In fact, I was hoping that you would look at me as a 'humanistic' angel, who had what it takes to be in charge. I know now that it takes the 'human touch' to run a starship. Our blend of crews seems to be the perfect fit. I'm surprised that the best solution is this mix, but there you go."
"Welcome to my side of existence. With your companionship I get an extended life, for which I'm grateful, but you angels do get something in return. We mortals can bring out a train of thought that makes you and therefore all of us, more survivable," I concluded.
Sara entered our quarters, and Alejo left. She was in a smoochy mood…
"That was mean!" Alejo accused upon entering the bridge.
"But it did its job." I got my answer. "You do know that the Parhelion II is going to be the flagship of the Boros regardless of how powerful our ships are?"
"So you and Razia are going to retain command of the Parhelion II while other angels may command more powerful ships?"
"Yes. The 'Helion is still a powerful ship and even if we have more powerful ships in our fleet, its size and firepower won't give it away as the flagship. There is more to starship fleet command than meets the eye."
"How many years do you have under your belt?" Alejo asked.
"Ten physical, and another ten virtual, under the auto-teacher." I replied.
"The auto teacher? What is that?" He asked.
"A device originally crafted by the Eymorgs of Sigma Draconis VI. Section 31 converted it into a permanent memory adder; so the recipient cannot only collect the information about a subject, they could experience the experience of doing that task." I explained.
"And does this device still exist?"
"As far as I know," I replied. "It should still be at the shipyards of New Moria, and it should have all my programs still on file."
"Can we use it?"
"Only one way to find out," I concluded. That meant a trip to my mana-less universe. It was time for another voyage. At last Ericanj had parked the Nimbus atop Sunhome for the duration. That brought another raft of reporters to the gates of Sunhome…
The trip to New Moria was unusually quiet. No other ships even appeared on our scanners until the NPDF patrol at the end of the voyage. We headed into dry-dock. While here we had the impulse engines serviced. Time to go aboard and search…
It took a few days to locate the auto-teacher. It was mothballed over 1150 years ago when the mek-tacs perceived that it would only work for yours truly. In fact, it should work for any humanoid being, but the mek-tacs weren't humanoid! It was well preserved, and my programs, the full gamut, were still on file. I also liked where it was stored, in the cargo bay of the Fury. She and the Fantom were here in mothballs in a Lagrange point. It should be easy to bring the auto-teacher back online. Since the mek-tacs had no use for it they let me have it with my old ships. We installed it in the 'Helion's sickbay, almost exactly the configuration it had aboard the 7th Sister. Now was the moment of truth – would it work on an angel?
Alejo was willing to take the risk. He had chose something simple to learn. Gun-Kata. It wasn't a long course, and if it worked there would be two of us with that skill. Actually if it worked, all the angels and starship crew would be trained in it. Then nobody would be able to take us on the ground without us kicking some serious ass.
A week later the cloaked 'Helion entered Ravnica space. It worked, and I was sparring with Alejo in the holodeck. Actually I was getting my ass kicked. His better strength and faster than human reflexes meant that I was definitely second-class when an angel was trained with the skills of the auto-teacher. An angel with gun-kata was a being to be reckoned with. There was no way a human could keep up.
"You give?" Alejo asked.
"Yes, I give! You win," I acquiesced. "Your angelic reflexes, with the gun-kata … it's unbeatable!"
"Thank you! And thank you for retrieving the auto-teacher. Both the companions and the angels could learn a lot and learn fast!" Alejo swept me up and gave me a big hug. "If you didn't come back for her holiest and spread the advantage of your mana-less technology, we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Stand a chance against what?" I had to ask.
"Oops. I'm not supposed to tell," Alejo answered.
"Tell about what! Out with it!" I commanded.
"Well, both Reya, and Elspeth expect the Phyrexians to show up sooner or later. She figured that the only hope for the multiverse would be mana-less technology, wielded by angels and the like.
"Just who are these Phyrexians that I have been hearing about…"
"I need your thoughts…" Alejo held a hand up to my temple.
"Go ahead," I had seen this before.
A vision entered my mind. It wasn't pleasant. The Phyrexians were a cross between machine and living being. Part magical, part mechanical, and part organic. And you thought the Borg were bad. The Phyrexians made the Borg look like a walk in the park. That meant that they were put on the top of my list. The machinations of the other guilds, including the Dimir paled in comparison to what the Phyrexians could do.
But it was time to inform Razia. She called up all the angel refugees, first to confirm Alejo's story and then to scold them about keeping secrets from her holiest!
Now it was time to inform the other guilds. The first was the Orzhov and then the Selesnya Conclave. Beaming directly into Vitu-Ghazi was enough to get their attention.
"Razia. We did not expect you to confront the Chorus of the Conclave directly. The wolf says that we should hear you out…"
"We have a common enemy, who is expected to invade this plane of existence, and who threatens all our existences," Razia replied. The fact that the two of us were here was a shock to many.
"And who is this common enemy?" the Chorus asked.
"The Phyrexians!" Razia projected an image of what the Phyrexians were, and the Chorus picked up the image. Their recoil of horror told the tale. "What are your defenses?" was the question the conclave asked.
"We have starships, with advanced weapons. The power of the sun should sterilize these Phyrexians, but the damage will be great." Razia concluded.
"Then we will be here to rebuild. Thank you, Razia, for your protection. You fight for Ravnica, as her protector. We shall be her rebuilder." The conclave concluded.
"That means we're on our own, doesn't it?" I asked
Razia gave me a hug. "Yes it does. Are you up for it?"
"Not like there's any other place I want to be. Without you and Sara…"
We smooched right in the tree of Vitu-Ghazi. That probably sent a confusing message, too bad. If the Boros were going to take it on the chin, then we will be ready. We transported back out, through all of the Selesnyan magical defenses.
Sunhome was the best-defended structure on the planet, and with 4 type 22 phasers it was also the most powerful. Considering that a single hit from a type 22 smashed the Faraway Quest at Antares…
"Al right, the cat is out of the bag. It's time to fess up. Reya and Elspeth have been sending us angels with a hidden agenda. It's time to proceed to Alara and get the skinny on the future…"
The 'Helion materialized in Alara, and proceeded to the planet. We were on a specific mission and I wasn't in a good mood. As soon as I reached orbit I called for a mesospheric interference pattern. That would prevent any off planet communication until I allowed it. Then I ordered a beam down to the citadel.
Three humans and 4 angels materialized on the spot where my shuttle used to land. We all had phasers.
The guard angels were looking upon us with uncertainty.
"Don't piss me off this time!" I stated. "I need to see Candela, Reya and Elspeth, stat!" I ordered.
They sensed that I was not in the mood to mince words with them. Solemnly they led us into the inner sanctum where the Council of Orderly Contemplation sat. This time all seven chairs were occupied. Reya sat in the eighth 'guest' chair, my doing.
"I have been wandering the multiverse, in your absence," Elspeth stated. "The ultimate enemy, the Phyrexians, have been moving upon the plane of Mirrodin. They have started a campaign of invasion of that plane. Any of the angelic refugees of the Phyrexians I find have been sent to Ravnica, to bolster your depleted ranks."
"But your defenses…" I stated.
"Are adequate if they scout here." Elspeth stated. "Their thrust is in another direction. I hope it is not towards Ravnica, but I can't give a definite answer. You may be next…"
"You know that we have mana-less technology, with our ships, of which there are many…" I stated.
"Yes, and hopefully your technology can defeat the Phyrexians." Elspeth stated. "I don't know if you are really ready…"
"Listen, we probably can take on any threat!" I beamed, in front of the Council. "Aside from antimatter, I have another secret weapon." Razia gave me a curious look. "The effect is unstoppable, when dropped upon our enemy. You saw it used against Grixis."
Razia added, "It fuels our photon torpedoes, and heavier weapons. Then it fuels special detonations and special destruction of other artifacts the Fleet Captain feels necessary…"
"Then we may be calling for your help again if they do show up here..."
We over flew the shipyards upon our return to Ravnica. All three Boros dry-docks were occupied. Our Ares class was building, and both the Fantom and Fury were being refitted with a new warp core and weapons emplacements. One of the Orzhov docks was building another pocket dreadnought. The other two were building another dry-dock. This one carried the Izzet signet on its side.
"Soon there will be 3 warp capable guilds. We'd better let the Izzet in on the Phyrexian threat," I stated.
"You know, that the Phyrexians may not show up in years, or decades," Razia replied. "If they show up at all."
"True, but the more people who know about them and decide to build a warship, the more ships there will be. We will have a fleet of five."
"And then we will need more crewmembers. Alejo is going to be busy when Ericanj takes command of the Aleya." Razia had just revealed the name of our new ship. Considering our beam into Vitu-Ghazi the Selesnyans were now looking into mana-less technology…
It's time for some down time. The Enola Gay was at sea again with the three of us aboard. Weather was moderate, and seas were mainly calm. The only problem was the seasonal chill. Definitely not bikini weather! Still bearable though we would probably leave her in port for the next three months…
We never got that far. The next thing that I knew is that I awoke on the sick bay of the Nimbus III. "OK, what just happened?" I asked. The synth-flesh on my arms and legs meant that I had been burned pretty badly.
"Actually it happened two days ago," Ericanj stated. "Relar showed up with a new ship, and found you at sea. He lobbed a torpedo into the Enola Gay. We got you out just in time…"
Toki was onboard looking me over. "Both Razia and Sara will need their wings to grow back. You thought Caladea looked like a plucked chicken!"
Sure enough both Razia and Sara were featherless, on all their wings! Now I was pissed, as that meant burns throughout their bodies. And you thought Parna was pissed when she saw Caladea! They both didn't know what I would think of them de-feathered. I was about as paranoid as Parna when I saw them. "I'm not made of glass!" Was Razia's remark as I held her close.
"You might as well be!" I replied as I looked upon her featherless wings. "Gun Kata or not, you both still need my protection!" We just hugged for a while, until Sara joined in. Both of them were coated with synth-flesh, and not just on their wings…
"Sorry about that…" Sara stated.
But we all embraced for a while. I was not about to let go. They both expected my response, and gave me my human response. We were going to heal together, and then go out and kick some serious ass.
"Just be glad Sara and Razia held you between them! You might not have made it! The transporter room was engulfed in plasma after the beam out," Alejo mentioned. "That's how you escaped with only minor burns."
You call this 'minor burns'? I thought as I looked over the amount of synth-flesh on me.
Those wings will heal, and we will live through their regrowth. But all bets were off. Relar burned my angels, and he needed a good killing. That became priority one in my eyes, and I would have a good few months to steam about it as those feathers grew back. I had sent a trans-guild courier to Duskmantle. 'If I have to, I will hunt you down, and destroy you and the new fledgling Romulan Empire. Then I will hunt down any one I find with Romulan DNA. And then I will eradicate you from my universe. You have pissed me off for the last time.'
"You think that will have an effect on Relar?" Razia asked.
"I don't care. It was a promise. So don't get in my way…" I trailed off. Too bad Duskmantle wasn't within line of sight of the type 22 phasers on Sunhome, or it would be a smoldering ruin by now.
The angels had learned to let me be when I was in this way. I could marshal resources that they did not have when I needed someone to die. The fact that my angels were featherless was the deciding factor. If vengeance could be wrought… We were waiting my minions' actions. There would be a reckoning, if only on a small scale. Those Romulan officers would be experiencing a set of 'accidents' while they did their duties. That required some angel's companions to be out and about to do their jobs. Pacts that occurred "5" years before coming to Ravnica were enabled, and some people started to die off. Mostly some Romulans close to Relar. Nobody pisses me off and gets away with it…
I was in Sunhome on a wander when called to the guild mages chamber. "We have an incoming transmission for you…"
I entered the room to find the current Aven ambassador on the view screen. "Greetings commodore!" She beamed. My pact was good. I had called on my secret weapon early…
"But I'm a fleet captain in the fledgling Boros Navy, and could use a few ships…"
"How many squadrons?"
"How many can you spare?" I asked. Squadrons?
"For you, three or four."
"Wow! Thanks! That's much more than I expected…'
"Where are we going?" The ambassador asked.
"Through a rift and to Ravnica. I have sent the coordinates of the rift on your side. It exits inside Ravi's hyper limit." I concluded.
The ambassador signed off with, "See you in about three weeks."
"Just how many ships are coming here?" A guild mage asked.
"60 to 80, and they will be at least gen-8 to make it here that fast."
Two weeks later and I awoke with both Sara and Razia. It was a rather interesting awakening as both angels had a downy feeling to them. Cute little baby feathers! It wasn't long before a hail, from the bridge, interrupted us.
"We have an interesting hail from a Nova class scout ship that just entered the system," john informed.
"Patch it through," I ordered.
An Aven captain appeared in the viewer. "I am captain Anthielya of The Shrewd. Greetings from the fourth scouting squadron."
"Greetings! You're early!"
"Well, our squadron will be both the first and the last one in. We are scattered all over a few quadrants and will be arriving singly. The second rapid response squadron should be here next week!"
We had paired The Shrewd with Nimbus III, so our two smallest ships had each other for support. Relar had returned with a Valdore class cruiser, slightly larger than his Mogai class. That made it the most powerful ship in the system! Another three Nova's arrived over the next week, and were put into a single flight.
Then the rift was stormed. Our scanners indicated a ship arriving through the rift every minute. Then twenty minutes later, a squadron of Defiant class escorts headed for Ravnica.
Razia and Sara were in the guild mage's chambers. "Well, I guess if they are all small ships…" Razia trailed off.
"Actually that class is akin to the Parhelion II's little brother. They are even more overpowered and over gunned for their size. Pure fighting machines," Sara replied.
"Oh," was Razia's response.
"We are being hailed," the head guild mage announced.
"On screen," Razia commanded.
Valennon, the Aven ambassador appeared on the screen. "Greetings … er, um, where is commodore Michael?"
"Fleet captain Michael is currently indisposed. I am Razia."
"Holiest, I see. Greetings from the Aven Federation!" The ambassador had been briefed on her titles.
"Call me Razia. Anyone who is such a friend of Stephen is a friend of mine."
"If it weren't for Stephen, our race would be wiped out long ago. Because of the commodore, we have flourished into a small federation of colonies, and a few others. May I introduce you to captain Del'tane."?
"Excuse me?"
Sara interrupted. "Are you the descendant of ambassador Del'tane?"
"Greetings Angel Sara! Yes I am!" Apparently the story of the angel had been passed down the generations in that family. It's a small multi-verse after all. "And if you are still interested, the Thule system is still thriving and growing."
"That is good news, thank you," Sara responded. "And I assume Lorne is a thriving member of the Aven Federation?"
"Yes it is, thank you. But can you tell us when Stephen Michael will be available? We need to coordinate…"
"Actually, I do the coordinating as Admiral," Razia stated.
"Then we need to confer, as our squadron is inbound…" the settling out of the squadrons' disposition went smoothly as both Razia and captain Del'tane worked out the protocols.
I was down on Tin Street. I had a few Minotaurs flanking me as I was shadowing a Romulan. He seemed unaware of our presence. Stupid, but when did Romulans encounter Minotaurs before? As long as he didn't clue into who I was, we could follow with impunity. But then I was wearing a magical cloak. Just because I can't cast magic, it doesn't mean that I can't use magic. We were following, to figure out what he was up to. It didn't take us long. Then we planned on making yet another Romulan 'disappear'.
"Greetings from the new Praetor," a voice said from the alley. We pressed ourselves against the wall. The voice was from a Romulan female. I signaled the Minotaurs to surround them.
"Greetings. Relar has gone too far. His gamut threatens to destroy the future of the rebuilding Romulan Empire. This vendetta against one man will get out of hand, as the target is the favorite of one of the official guilds of this planet, the warriors' guild," the sub-commander replied. That's a new development, I thought.
"They are the most powerful guild on the planet?"
"Yes, and the Wojeks, the police here, are one of their divisions, and they enforce the laws as they interpret them. All we need is an anti-Romulan edict and the entire planet's police will be gunning for us," sub-commander Telus answered.
"Then we need to contact this Stephen," the new voice said. "But how to do that?"
"How about talking to me directly!" I shouted across the way. Both Romulans turned towards me. I stepped out of the alley and into view.
Both Romulans came out of hiding and were comfortable being surrounded by Minotaurs. "Stephen. Sorry about Relar's recent attack. The Romulan government did not sanction it! Please accept my apologies from the new Praetor. There is a division in the Romulan high command, with the Praetor's faction against a revival of the Tal'Shiar, which happened after Relar's return."
"Are both of you willing to risk a beam to the Parhelion II?" I asked.
"A long as we can be returned in a timely fashion," the female Romulan stated.
A quick transport and we were on the bridge of the 'Helion. Razia was shocked when I appeared on the bridge with two Romulans in tow. "What are they doing here?" She asked.
"Hear us out, please, holiest!" That was the first time that the Romulans used Razia's proper title! "Relar's war here is NOT sanctioned by the Romulan government. But the Empire is fractioned, and a faction supports Relar. We can't stop him, but we can help…" The female Romulan stated. "By the way, I am commander Selnar of the Romulan Navy. I have a cloaked Valdore class cruiser in orbit. I have our transponder code so you can track us, and please don't shoot us down. We are actually on your side!"
"If our war is only against Relar and his Romulans, then, in the name of Justice I will hold the rest of the Romulans as neutral or allies," Razia stated.
"But what of the threat to exterminate all the Romulans?"
"That was my letter to Relar," I responded. "I was really pissed off that he burned my angels that I sent out that letter. It was rather rash…"
"I see. Did he actually burn-"
"Look at our feathers! Both Sara and I will take another month to grow these back! Relar has to go down for justice to be served. Stephen was just spouting off because he loves us." Razia stated.
"OK. I will officially apologize for the Romulan Praetor for your loss. We will put some of our assets with your disposal, until Relar is defeated. My ship is at your disposal."
"And what about you, sub-commander Telus?" I asked.
"I am on Selar's side. Although I work for Relar, I don't believe in this vendetta. In fact about half of his crew thinks this is an exercise in futility. We have nothing to gain and a whole lot to lose. The Romulan Empire is recovering, and we would rather have allies and customers of our wares than enemies. But I have to walk a fine line as Relar's new sub-commander! I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. If you have the 'nads, you can be Selar's contact within his faction. Talking to another Romulan can be the excuse you need to escape if caught. You can say there is a new ship arriving and you are briefing it on your strategies. That should keep you alive under Relar," I stated.
"You've done this before, haven't you?" Telus asked.
"Actually no. But I have done many similar things in my life … and if all else fails use the J-24 channel. If we can an emergency beam out can be done."
"Thank you. I didn't expect this compassion from you…"
"If you are not my enemy then why can't we be friends? But … I do expect a case of Romulan Ale the next time we meet!" A signal to Allan and the Romulans were beamed back to the surface.
"That was a different turn of events," Razia stated.
"But not totally unexpected," I replied.
"What?" Razia was shocked.
"The Romulan Empire has been, from time to time, under chaos," I replied. "They have been divided, and almost under civil war. This happens about once a century, if history is reliable."
"So what do we do?" Razia finally asked.
"We wipe out Relar's faction so the Romulan Empire can grow without his influence. Then if we wish, we can become customers of their wares, or allies, or representatives of their Empire to Ravnica, or just neutral observers. The choice is ours. It's your guild," I concluded.
A surprise came on the fourth week. The rift was again stormed, this time by the Aegis class cruisers of the first tactical response squadron. This ship was larger than the 'Helion. Essentially a 'skinny Sovereign' they had the same firepower on a hull half the displacement. By the end of the week we would have 61 new ships at our command. Then our subspace relay detected an outbound transit through the rift. Apparently Relar decided to sneak out…
A message came in from commander Selnar. Relar is probably going to get a squadron of ships and return in force. Then another message, this time from Teysa. Two more ships willing to join in on the fun, both with cloaking devices. We will use the time until Relar's return to build and install cloaks on all the ships.
It took four months before an invisible rift transit occurred. Then another, each minute, until 24 ships transited the rift. Relar was back, with 24 cloaked of the line. We moved the orbital facilities into low orbit, but held them in station keeping above Sunhome. The antimatter reactor was fired up, and the phasers and photons were armed.
I was on the bridge when a data chirp came in. K'Tee spoke up. "You better take a look at this."
I walked over to the communication station. On screen was a list of 24 ships. Name, type, and cloaking shield frequency! "It looks like sub-commander Telus came through after all!"
"What was that about sub-commander Telus?" Razia asked upon entering the bridge with Sara.
"Telus just handed the Romulan fleet to us on a silver platter," I answered. "We have their cloaking frequencies, so we know where everybody is, since Selnar gave us hers, and Teysa's and ours are the same. Plus, there are 5 ships with dual shields. K'Tee, send that out to our fleets, narrow band please, and get me Selnar." Soon, Selnar's face was on the view screen. "You might want to sit this one out and watch. That way you won't have to fire upon your countrymen."
"Thank you but no captain. This is an internal matter of the Empire, and our involvement is necessary. I'd rather deputize you as honorary Romulans for this battle," Selnar replied.
"I will accept the deputization for our allied fleet," Razia answered.
"Then let's go kill Relar," Selnar ordered.
Relar was confused. He had returned with 4 flights of ships. Six Valdores under him directly, six Mogai's, under now commander Telus, Six D'deridex class under commander Maielak, and finally a flight of P'veer class light cruisers. But where was the enemy? There were no other ships in the system! When I left there were 46 of them, 20 of them large cruisers. "Sub-commander, order the other flights onto their targets. We are going to take out Sunhome."
Each of the four flights broke off, the small P'veer class flight remaining on the rift. The flight of Mogai's broke up and headed out of the system. Their trajectories said that they would go over the hyper wall and surround the system. Relar expected we would make a run for it. The Valdores and D'deridexes continued towards Ravnica. As the ships approached the planet, Relar could see that the orbital facilities were moved. That won't save them, Relar thought. I will de-cloak, destroy them, and re-cloak before you can lock on Sunhome's weapons.
The guild mages were plotting the movements between the fleets. All 20 Aegis ships were sent in to shadow the D'deridexes. The Defiants were sent in five's to take on the Mogais. That way they could take on 4 of them with certainty that they would be able to destroy them and move on. The other two were not moving into position but following the main fleet. That would be the Makar and the Terix. Commander Telus had managed to move the loyalists onto those two ships, quietly eliminated the Tal'Shiar crewmembers and took over. The scouts were to keep an eye on the P'veer class, but not to engage. One Valdore had broken from the flight and was making a run at the planet. It was making an attack run at the orbital facilities. The guild mages had already locked 2 type-22 phasers on it. Arcus was the guild mage on tactical, fingers on the triggers. "As soon as he starts to de-cloak, fire!" The head guild mage ordered.
The ship just started to appear when Sunhome fired two phasers at it. Without shields it didn't stand a chance. The first struck the middle of the starboard wing blasting off the starboard warp nacelle. The second hit the base of the neck and sliced into the engineering hull. The ship erupted onto a ball of plasma.
A second Valdore moved in on the orbitals. This time we weren't waiting. Six ships surrounding the dry-docks de-cloaked, and opened fire. The Aleya sported 2 type three phaser cannon, but the Fantom was refitted with four of them. The Fantom was just one big set of guns that just happened to move. The Fury and Nimbus III were here as were Teysa's ships. The second Valdore became debris raining down on the skies of Ravnica. Then the Aegis cruisers de-cloaked and opened fire on the D'deridexes. They were operating in groups of 5 and all were targeting a single war bird. Twenty type three phaser cannon hits turned the ship into debris. When they swung around the next one was taken out.
Relar had ordered a general retreat, and the rest of the ships were moving for the rift. The P'veer's weren't waiting around either. But only half of them made it through the rift, as the Nova's ganged up and pounced. The last three joined their larger brethren enriching the system with heavy metals. I didn't give the four Mogais good odds either. We heard an open transmission.
"Telus! So this how you repay me!" Relar roared.
Telus replied, "I am loyal … to the Praetor!" His ship de-cloaked and fired on Relar's. But both of them knew each other's cloaking frequencies, and the Valdore was much more powerful than a Mogai. Then another Valdore de-cloaked and fired on Relar.
I was sitting at the ops console on the 'Helion. We hadn't moved, sitting on the top of Sunhome all this time. I fired up the ships drives and lifted off. Razia and Sara entered the bridge. "Where are we going?"
"To kill two birds with one stone," I replied. I wasn't leaving the atmosphere. A brief flight and I was hovering over a part of the surface of Ravnica.
Razia saw the course that I plotted. "Um, you are going to fly into the ground…"
"That's street level, not the ground," I replied as I engaged the engines. We smashed through the thin layer here and the entire ship entered the under-city. We came to a hover facing Duskmantle. "Arm the torpedoes, if you will."
Razia had a huge grin as she crossed to tactical. "Torpedoes armed," she replied.
"It's your turn!"
Razia launched a full spread of torpedoes into Duskmantle. One torpedo was quite sufficient. But half a gigaton of antimatter explosives was sure to remove Duskmantle, and anything within 20 kilometers of it. There was a new reclamation zone on Ravnica.
When we reached orbit, we took stock of the carnage. Relar had been defeated in detail, but the lucky bastard had made it through the rift. Unfortunately for the new Tal'Shiar, only one D'deridex and Relar's Valdore, along with three P'veers made it. The Tal'Shiar fleet was truly decimated. Our losses were minimal. Two Aegis cruisers were destroyed, and another two were damaged. Many of the Novas were damaged but only minimally. The 'home' fleet and all the Defiants came through unscathed. Telus' Mogai was quite beat up, and he needed a tow to our dry-dock. Arai's Mogai and Selnar's Valdore were only moderately damaged. We had the dry-dock space to do some yard work.
Celebration time on Ravnica! True to his word, Telus had a case of Romulan ale. We were having a huge buffet in one of Sunhome's halls. Teysa was there as well as Pivlic. Selnar, Telus and Arai were there with a few of their officers. Razia and Sara, a few guild mages other crew were here. The Aven ambassador and some Aven captains were here. With Del'tane and a few Van'aar officers, were in attendance as well. This was a party! Other angels and crew flitted in an out as they saw fit, but food and drink were free flowing, and our new found Romulan friends were made to feel at home.
"Even though Relar survived, he will now be in disgrace," Selnar stated. We were sitting together at the head table.
"What makes you say that?" Razia asked.
"He just lost half of the Tal'Shiar's ships, and gained nothing. The Praetor's ships are still intact, and now outnumber the Tal'Shiar by almost a factor of three." Selnar Replied.
"As well as gaining a pair of Mogai cruisers," Telus added.
The evening went well, and I retired with Sara and Razia on each side. They had to hold me up as the effects of the Romulan ale were telling.
A week later the three Romulan ships were leaving this universe, and heading to Romulus. We bid our farewells, and watched them pass through the rift. The Avens had already left, and it was quiet about Ravnica again.
