Chapter Five
NEL'AR'S CHOICE
BY
DOUGLAS L HEMMINGWAY
AUTHOR'S NOTES: All attributions are in the first chapter. For clarity the Sunnydale R.R.W. Mandukar will version 2.0 from here on. The New Romulus one will be 1.0.
CHAPTER FIVE
R.R.W. MANDUKAR VERSION 2.0
Joyce Summers had spent the last three days absorbing the changes to her and her crew. Integrating back into Sunnydale's society was easier than expected. From Giles she learned that there are species of demons who were not threats to humans and even some alien looking ones thrived in Sunnydale. Her also educated her on Buffy's calling, which since becoming Benalar she had been dealing with greater maturity and yes even skill. Willow was seeing to Buffy's medical care as well as researching the various demonic types and their threat levels. Joyce kept in contact with Major General Hammond and was involved with making arrangements for her people to assist with the Stargate Program and the defense of Earth.
Today she shuttled up from Earth using her Tiercel Shuttle. It was easier to hangar the Tiercel at Sunnydale's airport than the Mogai Heavy Warbird. The R.R.W. Mandukar was nearly the size of a cruise ship or keeping in perspective a Guided Missile Cruiser. Parking something that big at even LAX would be noticed. So the Mandukar was parked behind Luna, Earth's moon and kept cloaked. The holographic or photonic crewmen keeping her ready and serviceable with organic crewmen providing guidance and assistance.
Today Joyce was standing the Mid-watch since tomorrow she was letting her gallery staff run the business. So far the watch was quiet. During her search of the ship after taking up station behind the Moon she found her cabin. It was a small suite of rooms containing a bedroom, a head (a bathroom for civilians or latrine for we who were in the Army or Air Force,) and great room that had a small office area, a dining area and a conversation area. The also was a replicator and a kitchenette. Apparently Joyce's alter ego loved to cook. In the apartment sized refrigerator she found ingredients for several fresh Romulan meals and some Klingon food that she remembered Nel'ar enjoying.
After her watch instead of immediately returning to Earth and Sunnydale her agenda included a light Romulan meal, a sonic shower and sleeping in her bed. For now though it was her and Tor, who went as a Klingon from the 25th century, which resembled those Klingons from the movies forward until Star Trek: Discovery doing Mid-watch. Except for their Alpha the Pack all went as House Martok Klingons. Xander dressed as Tovan Khev, Nel'ar's friend from Virinat. Like her Xander remembered the Tal Shiar and Elachi attack on their colony and homeworld. Yesterday the two them talked about it from several hours.
That talk led to planning an expedition tailing and coreward of Earth to investigate this universe's Romulan space. Now holding a Romulan tablet computer while sitting in her Commanders Chair she was putting the finishing touches on the plan. Tor and the rest of the Pack were standing watch with her. Tor was at the Weapons Station. Heidi stood her watch at the Operations Station monitoring communications. Rhonda manned the Security Station monitoring mostly internal sensors and the Brig where a certain Mister R. Snyder was detained looking every bit like the Ferengi entrepreneur Quark. Kyle manning the Engineering Bridge Console kept his eyes on the ship's systems. Lance was working the Science Station.
Joyce monitoring everything from her chair's console smiled as she saw that the Pack being possessed recently by spirits of Klingon warriors of House Martok curbed the residual essences of the Hyena pack that had previously possessed them. Tor looked up from his station cursing in a mixture of Klingon and English turned and said, "Commander we have a subspace disturbance 30000 kilometers in range at fifteen degrees starboard, and thirty degrees above the elliptic."
Joyce looked up while she sat her tablet aside she said, "On screen!" Tor complied and the main viewer came to life with an image of a maelstrom of illuminated blue gases swirling around a tear in space and time. At the center of the tempest emerged a hammer shaped ship that immediately went to cloak.
Shortly after the maelstrom closed Heidi said, "Commander Nel'ar we're being hailed by someone calling himself Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard." Joyce took that in and said after composing herself, "On screen!" With that the imagery of space was replaced with the image of a Roswell Grey sitting in another Command Chair.
The Roswell Grey said once he was visible, "Greetings I am Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet. Our surveillance satellites detected your ship's presence in this system a few days ago. I would have made contact sooner, but pressing business elsewhere took precedence. Now that I am here may I inquire as to your interests in Earth is?"
Joyce smiled then said, "Supreme Commander what knowledge do you and your people have of the supernatural?" Thor blinked a few times and as far as Joyce could tell he was startled. He said, "Has a mystic event recently occurred?"
"By the local calendar on 31 October of this year such an event did occur Supreme Commander," said Joyce. She inquired of Heidi if their channel was secure. The young Klingon female warrior nodded in the affirmative. Then Joyce turned her attention back to Thor and said, "Until that night I was just an ordinary human mother, the single parent of two teenage girls and den mother to their friends. Some cultures here still observe an autumnal celebration called Halloween or All Hallows Eve. In our home city, I was volunteered to serve as a chaperon for the town's annual Trick or Treat. I chose to dress up as my character in a computer game called Star Trek Online as did everyone you see on my Bridge. These young adult Klingon warriors were once human teenagers. I was once a human middle aged mother of two. Now I am a young adult Romulan as are my daughters and their closest friends. We found out that a priest of Janus who also practiced chaos magic enchanted the costumes he sold or rented us. Those who made it to my ship didn't revert back to our original selves when the spell ran its course."
Joyce watched as Thor thought about her story. Then she said, "I've been rude. I know your name, but failed to introduce myself or my present crew. I am Joyce Summers Commander Romulan Republic Navy and Captain of the Romulan Republic Warbird Mandukar." Then sweeping her hand around to the people on the Bridge with her she said, "These are Tor on Tactical," pointing to the young male to her right and moving to each of the other young Klingons, "Heidi on Operations, Rhonda on Security, Kyle at Engineering and Lance at Science."
"Besides Earth actually being our home our interests lie in protecting our home from threats. Also we're curious about seeing if the planets we remember from our alternate lives exist in this universe. We are guessing they might as everyone who dressed as members of races belonging to the Star Trek genre created by a human named Gene Roddenberry remained whatever nonhuman they were for Halloween night."
Thor looked at them from the view screen at the front of the Bridge then said, "Do you have the coordinates of the worlds you're interested in exploring? Perhaps in exchange for you helping to protect Earth I can help you find out which worlds are still inhabited in this universe and which are not." He looked at her and Joyce nodded then said, "We can send you the data on the world Andoria, Tellar, Vulcan and other major worlds of the Federation, Mol'Rihan, Virinat, Romulus, Remus, and other worlds of the Romulans and Qo'noS and other worlds of the Klingon Empire." She then nodded to Setra who nodded back and began uploading copies of their navigation charts and astrometric data to Thor.
Joyce then said, "We'd start soon with the exploration, but we only have this Mogai-class Heavy Warbird, two Kestrel-class runabouts, four Tiercel-class shuttles and six Scorpion-class fighters. Of our small craft the runabouts and shuttles have limited faster than light capability. I am concerned if we leave in the Mandukar that we will leave this planet unprotected. I have met with the commander of a military unit tasked with planetary defense, but he currently answers to only one of the nations of Earth. Without cooperation of at least the most major nations down there I don't think that an organized defense of this system is possible."