Star Trek: The Nara-Maru Files

A Deadly Betrayal

In the year 2561...

"After two weeks on the run from the authorities, time had begun to grow short for Asami and Teela as the first officer of the USS Longbow had contacted Starfleet Command and apprised them of the situation, however Starfleet command had seen their actions as an abduction of a Starfleet Officer and ordered their immediate arrest on what was becoming a very long list of charges against them. The Romulans had dispatched three D'deridex Class ships to search for them and on one occasion, they had actually been discovered crossing Romulan space…"

"I heard about this" Kaila said with a half smile.

"I don't doubt that you had Grandmother, but you where never told the whole story. The Romulans must have guessed the next target of the renegade ship and sent a heavy force into that region, the Klingons had been made aware of that by Asami herself and after pleading their innocence to the High Council, they asked for an escort through Romulan Space and the Klingon had agreed, they sent four heavily armed ships as escort… it was at this point, things went very badly for them"

"Their cloak failed" Kaila said slowly.

"Yes, their ship had been due for a full maintenance sweep before they launched… however, things had gotten out of control with the holographic program created by the Ferengi. With no ships available at the time, they had no choice but to take the Nara-Maru which by this time was starting to show its age. Somehow, they managed to convince the Romulans and Klingons to cease fire although the Nara-Maru itself was badly damaged with one Warp Nacelle destroyed and one badly damaged by Romulan fire, they had no choice but to shut down the second warp core and run on one engine which was… less then perfect by this time…"

184 Years Earlier…

Explosions tore through the heavily damaged private ship as several areas had been vented into space along with Asami and Teela's own personal quarters, running on auxiliary power only the tiny ship had placed themselves between the two fleets of the great powers while consoles continued to explode throughout the ship itself as Teela and Captain Monroe gave everything they could to bring the fires burning within the ship under control.

"I say again, Cease Firing!" Asami yelled over the communications channel above the explosions tearing her ship apart.

"Sam, we have to abandon ship…"

"NO! I will not leave her like this Liz! Get those damned fires under control. Nara-Maru to Romulan and Klingon ships, stop your damned shooting each other, this is exactly what those bastards want, are you too stupid to see that?

"Warning! Sensors have detected a vessel on approach" Called out the computer.

"What ship?" Monroe yelled.

"Sensors are badly damaged. Lizzie, remember your K-M test?" Asami said with a large sigh.

"I do… NO!"

"What? What are you talking about? Sam, what does that mean?"

"I'm holding you… personally responsible for her safety Lizzie. Clear our names" Asami said with tears in her eyes.

"Sam NO! Don't you dare…"

"Teela, I'm sorry. The last duty… of a Captain"

As Asami turned her back on the two of them, tears rolled down her face as Teela screamed and ran towards her wife, mere inches away from her, Teela and Captain Monroe disappeared in a Transporter haze only to materialise on the bridge of a Federation starship commanded by the Admiral she once met.

"GET A LOCK ON HER, BEAM HER OVER!" Demanded Teela.

"Sir, it's too late… the Nara-Maru's warp core is breaching" Replied the helm officer. "Both fleets are backing away…"

"Get her over here, please?" Teela said as tears rolled down her face.

"I'm sorry Teela. Helm… back us away, get us to a safe distance"

Backing away at full impulse power, the prototype USS Sentinel backed away as explosions tore through the tiny black ship before it exploded, sending debris in all directions as a harrowing scream had been let loose from Teela's lips before she collapsed onto the floor as Security officers stood at her side with their weapons drawn. Standing tall and proud past her own grief, Captain Monroe stepped between them as she spoke with a deep anger.

"Put those damned things away, NOW!"

"Sir?" Called out one of the Officers.

"Do as the Captain says Commander. Teela, Teela can you hear me. Where is Asami?" He said as he crouched beside her.

"Sam was… onboard Sir. She beamed us both out before… what she called her last duty"

"What? Scan the debris field, look for any sign of… force fields or shuttlecraft" House called out with a slight smile.

"Sir! No one could survive a warp core breach!" The Science Officer cried out.

"Trust me. Please… escort our guests to sickbay. Give them whatever they need… then, assign them some quarters"

"Admiral, Starfleet orders are…"

"To HELL with Starfleet orders Lieutenant. I AM Starfleet out here…" House called out with a deep growl. "Found anything yet?"

"Nothing sir, just debris and background radiation"

"Admiral, the Romulan and Klingon fleets are hailing us"

"Keep looking Science Officer. Comms, take a message…"

In the year 2561...

"No one could survive a Warp core breach Teela!" Called out her older sister.

"Yet we all know, that somehow… she did" Kaila said with a smile. "I've never heard this part. Continue"

"Admiral House was relying on something that Asami once submitted to Starfleet Tactical, a new shield design that could, in theory… protect a person or small shuttle… for a brief time at least, against the violence of a Warp Core breach. After awhile and with pressure from the Klingon and Romulan fleets, he gave up his search and officially declared Asami as lost. Deep down, he knew that Asami would never attack Starfleet or those she had considered as her friends and even allies. On many occasions she had gone against Starfleet and gave everything she could to… tighten the gap between the three powers who where once at each other's throats. Although his next task was… difficult. He had to inform Teela of Asami's death. Classified Medical and Security records stated that Teela lost control of her abilities, she put twenty-two Starfleet Officers in Sickbay, including the Admiral himself before she regained control of herself" The young woman said slowly.

"She was… powerful. Sometimes, I was afraid to be around her" Kaila said in reply.

"She loved you Kaila, more then anything. I know that you fought on occasion, but she had always valued that about you. Shortly after, the USS Sentinel arrived at Rempak only to find desolation and complete destruction of the facility which only an armada of ships could do. And It wasn't long after seeing the destruction that Teela did the one thing that she swore she would never do again…"

184 Years Earlier…

Large pieces of debris floated in all directions as the long and slender USS Sentinel hung motionless close by while it's sensors ran a full scan of the area checking ever piece of wreckage for any survivors or a clue to who could have attacked the station itself. Originally constructed from two former Starfleet deep space stations, it had grown into a metropolis with thousands of people passing through each day, now little more then a pile of rubble and debris covering a large area of space. Although once confined to the brig onboard the ship, Teela's knowledge and experience with the region of space itself had called her onto the bridge as an observer and guide through the region as she fought with her own grief while attempting to keep her own abilities under control.

"Captain Cole? Sensors have detected what appears to be life signs in one of the large sections of debris sir" Called out the Science officer.

"Move us into position Helm, Commander… Alert sickbay, we have found survivors"

"Aye sir!" Grunted the anger communications officer.

"They don't respect you because you are only a child to them… Captain. Show your authority" Teela whispered into the young man's ear.

"Thank you! Is there a problem with my orders Lieutenant Commander?" Called out the young officer forcefully.

"No sir. Yes sir, we all know that you only got this posting because of your discoveries back at Starfleet Command. I checked you Starfleet Record… Lieutenant!" The Communications officer grunted.

"Hey, I didn't ask for this posting. Now, for the moment at least… I carry this rank and you will do as I say otherwise I shall have you relieved of duty. Mrs Hirayama, please accompany me to Sickbay… you maybe able to identify the survivor. Captain Monroe, please assume the Con!"

Leaving the bridge under the almost deadly glares of the Sentinel Crew, Teela could hear their thoughts as stopped at the turbolift and turned back as she spoke to each of them in their minds at the same time. 'Try it! I promise you that none of you will survive the attempt on my life… neither will this ship!'.

Entering the highly advanced Sickbay on the Starship, Teela once again felt terrible after the accidental attack again the Admiral and his men as her grief overtook her after the death of her wife and her abilities grew out of control. Seeing the only new patient in Sickbay, Teela walked the man as her face let loose a sigh of relief as she saw the unusual Ferengi/Hybrid bar owner she knew as Nino.

"Nino? Ohh that god… are you okay?"

"Teela? That is you… after all of this time? Nino is relieved you are safe" The unusual hybrid-alien said slowly. "Where…is the one named Asami?"

"Sam is… Sam is dead Nino. The Nara-Maru had suffered a warp-core breach, she saved my life at her own expense" Teela said slowly, close to tears.

"No, no… not possible. These attacks which are blamed on you, I have been… looking into it…" He said with pride.

"Wait, you have? You know what is going on… why are they framing us Nino… why?"

"Heard about them, we… have… contacts that your Starfleet does not Starfleet Captain. Grilk could not believe that you are… killing, so together… we looked into it…"

"Why are they framing us Nino?" Teela repeated once more.

"Hear me, and you will see. Shortly after, they found us… and made contact over voice only. He sounded, human. He… warned us not to continue. Days later, a… Bajoran came to Nino's asking for shipping business, special… shipping business"

"You mean… he wanted us?" Teela said with her anger building.

"No Teela, He wanted… Asami only. His… employer, wanted Asami for… long-overdue business deal"

"If you are lying to me Nino… there will not be a place in this universe you can hide from me" Growled the dangerous telepath as she looked deep inside his mind. "… He is… telling the truth. Who was the voice Nino, did he give a name?… Jason, his name was Jason… Hartman"

"Do you know the name Teela?" A voice called out from the next Bio-bed, the voice of the Admiral.

"No, but the voice is… familiar somehow… I can hear it from his memories. Do not fight me Nino, do not fight me on this… They wanted Asami, they must have had a plan somehow… what is it?" Teela said as she pushed deeper inside his alien mind. "What is it?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Nino screamed in pain.

In the year 2561...

Stood before her vast family, the almost mirror image of Teela continued with the story as the shocked group continued to listen with interest. Although it was clear that Asami did not die during that time and the Nara-Maru still existed in the Hirayama family museum outside the capital city what was once the hanger bay for the vessel itself before the family home had been built. Taking a sip of the drink in her hands, the young Teela continued with her story slowly.

"Teela had done the one thing that she most feared, entering the chaotic mind of the hybrid alien creature Nino an unusual hybrid of Ferengi, Cardassian and a species no one had yet to identify, his mind was chaotic and twisted, but at the time, needs must prevail. Shortly after, Admiral House had been discharged from the sickbay under supervision and he knew that something else was at stake as more survivors had been rescued and the ship had begun to fill up fast with the sick and wounded almost to the point where Starfleet had dispatched three medical ships into the area for relief efforts, each vessel under escort from either Klingon or even Romulan ships. During this time however, the situation had been reported back to Starfleet Command along with all evidence collected so far and all charges where dropped against Teela and Asami only know, they had the problem of locating those responsible for the deadly and cowardly attacks. Remaining in constant contact with her homeworld, something unusual had happened between Teela and her brother, the Regent as for the duration of the mission of locating the renegade ship, Teela had been reactivated within the Iolian Military and promoted instantly to the rank of Supreme High-Commander of the Iolian Forces, a rank which did not officially exist until that specific moment…"

"The rank does exists Daughter" Teela's mother said slowly.

"Yes Mother, now it does. However back in that time, the rank did not exist. Now, Supreme High-Commander of the Iolian Forces has the ear of the Regent him or herself, they carry out the orders of the Regent when it does not flow through the regular channels. However, being given that rank allowed Teela more flexibility then she would have had as civilian. Instantly, news of Asami's death had been classified beyond top-secret along with her next play with her new rank, Instantly and as the new representative of the Iolian Military onboard the Federation Starship, she demanded Starfleet's assistance in capturing those responsible. Although at first, the Admiral refused, it became clear that Teela would not settle for an answer other then yes and with over 25% of the USS Sentinel based on Iolian Technology, Starfleet Admiral House had no choice but to co-operate… especially as many of the Engineers onboard where Iolian and now under her direct command…"

"She never told me about this, why would she have kept this secret for so long?" Kaila said with shock.

"It was all classified beyond top secret, many of the official files here on Iolia where destroyed 100 years ago, all that remain of this incident is in the private achieves here on Iolia" The young Teela Sais lowly.

"Why was it so heavily classified, what else are you not telling us?" Kaila said with interest.

"You are correct Grandmother, something else happened, something that not even Starfleet or their allies knew about, something which had been hidden in plain sight since that day and all of those concerned, sworn to secrecy. You see, what Teela didn't know at the time was Asami did not die onboard the Nara-Maru as they thought, she was transported away from the ship at the last moment… and that's when things started to take a turn for the worst for her…"

184 Years Earlier…

Pain tore through Asami's mind as she slowly regained consciousness while she felt herself lay on a cold hard metallic surface. Half expecting herself to once again awaken in a different time and place with yet another strange story about altering the timeline, only this time as her senses returned to her, something was different. Along with the intense pain at the base of her skull was an unusual silence, not from the room she was in, as she could hear the constant hum of a vessel's engine and computer core. What was missing however, was the ever present rumble of the thoughts of others around her, if indeed she was on a vessel of some kind, those thoughts would be as ever present as the ambient sounds around her.

Slowly sliding her legs off of the metallic surface in the dark room, she carefully found the floor as she stood in absolute darkness until the doors before her slide open and a large male form stood in the doorway with a weapon drawn as the light slammed into her eyes causing her more pain.

"YOU! Come with me" The figure said before he grabbed her long dark hair in his fist and dragged her behind him.

Struggling to keep her feet on the deck beneath her as pain tore through her body, she grabbed the hands of the large male in attempt to release his grip as for a moment, she recognised her surroundings. Entering what appeared to be the port-side cabin of an Archer-Nara class vessel she caught a quick glimpse of the command deck from the corner of her eye before she was physically thrown into the quarters itself by the large Orion male who had been dragging her.

Sliding across the floor, she stopped and rolled to gain her balance and take in her surroundings in case a swift escape was needed, it didn't take long before a familiar voice called out from the open doorway as the Orion stepped away.

"I have been looking forwards to this moment for a very long time Asami…" Shock rippled over her face as a human male stood before her with a large smile. "What's the matter, cat caught you tongue? Speaking of which, I was hoping to have you both… but, I guess I can settle for one, plan B it is"

"Tom?" She said as she slowly stood before him. "What-what are you doing?"

"My name… is not Tom Byrd, it's Hartman. Ohh, don't tell you don't recognise the name? try this one then… Lieutenant Sara Hartman, Assistant Engineer on the USS Washington"

"Sara?" She said with shock.

"So you do remember her, the woman you killed with your inept piloting… my wife!"

"Jason… Hartman? Then… why all of this? YOU have been attacking these Outposts and ships, just to get to me?" She said with deep shock and hatred.

"Don't be so vain. Some of it… perhaps. When you left Starfleet, I spent years looking for you and that is when I came across that little Hologram you and Teela made… how nice of you to give me your address like you did. Well, with everything set up I whispered into the right ears about the military games with you and your ship. Imagine my surprise when you timed our meeting along side your war games? But the time wasn't right… it wasn't enough to just simply kill you as you killed her, my wife" He said with a deep anger. "I want you to suffer. I studied your tactics for months with the ships that you built for us, how nice of you… thank you, they are most effective weapons. Then, it was simply a matter of time. You where to heavily protected on Iolia, luckily, I had a back-up plan underway all this time"

"The… Holo-Program, that was YOU?" Asami growled.

"My backing, yes… you see. When you took her from me, she was close to leaving the fleet and joining me on Orion. We had a plan to raise a family… and our business would be run with us both, like you do. But you took that away from me" Hartman growled as he walked around the room slowly. "Anyway, that's why I informed you of the program. What you didn't know was last year, one of my… business associates had slipped onboard your ship and hidden a transponder on your bridge when Mister O'Brian had… used the facilities. We've been tracking you for almost a year, but you never left your home system. So I had to draw you out… get you and your wife into open space…"

"So what are you going to do now, kill me?" Asami growled deeply.

"No. I can see that you are having some… difficulties Asami, that is the neural suppressant I have given you, since we don't know the full extent of your telepathic abilities are our your connection with Teela so we thought it was safer to just shut them down completely…"

"Then what are you going to do with me, let me guess… sell me as one of your Slaves? I will find you and Kill you Tom, Jason… whatever your name is. If I don't… Teela and the Iolian Military will hunt you down and what they will do to you, will be far worse then anything I can think of" She said slowly.

"Charming isn't she? Mister Thelev, please escort my guest here to her quarters. Ohh and Thelev, be careful with her, she is very valuable and not to be trusted"

"As you wish Master Jason" The large Orion male said with a half bow of respect.

"Bought yourself a slave did you?…" She replied with a deep anger.

"One? No my dear… I own thousands an entire trade"

Stepping into the room, the large Orion male stood menacing between the tiny human-Hybrid female with his fists clenched. Rolling her eyes slightly, she sprinted towards the large green man and slid across the floor beneath him before she punched upwards with all of the power she could muster between his large powerful legs as he roared in pain and fell to the deck hard. Leaping onto her feet, she ran the short distance to the transporter bay while Jason laughed slightly as he held up his hand, letting her go.

As she passed the opening to the bridge, she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a Federation Starship. Reaching the controls, she accessed the system using her own command codes, a safety protocol she and Teela had input into each of their class of ships in the event of one being turned against them or the Iolian Military itself. Setting a brief countdown, Asami stepped towards the platform as a searing hot pain shot through the base of her skull as her legs buckled under the intense pain. Curled in a ball on the deck inches from safety, she screamed in pain as footsteps echoed through the transporter bay as her captor walked towards her and knelt down inches from her.

"Hurts like hell, doesn't it?" He bragged.

"What the hell have you done to me?" She wept in pain.

"Ohh nothing much. Just a little something I picked up on a Dead World a few years back. It's an implant at the base of your skull, it was used for the transport of prisoners by a highly advanced and less moral alien race a millennia ago. You see my dear, that was just a warning… if you go to far from the control system… this little bracelet on my wrist here… the device in your head will… explode. I would much rather that did not happen, it makes an awful mess"

"I'll kill you" She said as the pain slipped away.

"Perhaps, but not today. Mister Thelev, place our… guest in her cabin. Unharmed if you don't mind" He said as the alien limped into the transporter room.

Standing before her, the large green alien male grabbed her left leg and dragged her out of the room as she once again screamed with anger. Smiling to himself, Jason stepped to the transporter control column with a smile as he spoke.

"I always wandered about this. Thank you Asami, now I have your command codes for your own personal fleet, we can begin against our target. Thelev, contact the fleet and inform them to converge on the Sentinel… we have a go"

"Yes, My Lord" Relied the large Orion male as he dragged the prisoner away from the transporter bay.