TwentyStardate 59437.1, Romulan Moon Lleiset, Children of the Wing Base
"Tell me, Centurion, how does it feel? To know that you came so close only to fail." Y'Borom asked.
Keln, V'Riss, and Daro were lined up against the pond. After being pulled from the water, and separated from Theus, the Wing dissidents no longer had a reason to let them live. Y'Borom, true to his arrogance, had halted their execution until he could come out of the base and watch personally.
"I would grant you last words, but no one will ever know you were here." He looked to the guard. "Take aim!"
Keln looked to his team, he hadn't meant to get them killed. He only wanted his Captain back. From everything that had happened, the only thing that disappointed him was that he would never be able to apologize for his actions aboard Aegis that had gotten them down to the moon in the first place.
"Open fire!" A voice shouted.
Keln instinctively closed his eyes. He heard the screech of weapons fire, and a searing hot pain penetrated his body. But it wasn't his torso. He fell to the ground, with a burning pain on his left shoulder blade.
"C'mon!" V'Riss shouted while pulling him to his feet.
Keln was dragged to cover. When he regained his orientation, he saw the Romulan guards firing in the opposite direction of them. Blasts of crimson streaked back at them, and overhead, the powerful phase cannons of the Champion bombarded the area.
"Pour it on, everything you've got!"
Keln realized it was Major Bullock, ordering her platoon of MACOs forward. Clad in full armor, they surged forward, firing on the guards and picking them off one by one.
"I don't believe it." Keln finally said.
"Their timing is almost an act of providence." Daro said.
Keln wasn't about to stay hidden. His shoulder still hurt, but he looked around for a fallen weapon. He wasn't fast enough, as V'Riss leapt forth and grabbed it to join the fight.
"I told you, I would rather die than to owe you my life!" V'Riss said through a grin.
Keln continued to look for a weapon, but then he noticed Y'Borom scurrying over to Theus and Daro. His adrenaline kicked in, and he darted for his fellow crewmen.
"No!" Keln shouted and grabbed hold of Y'Borom.
He threw them both to the ground and they tussled. Keln tried to get the high ground, but Y'Borom was a trained officer in the Romulan Star Navy. They both barely got to their knees and grappled a bit before Y'Borom tossed Keln aside and drew his disruptor to fire. The shot was point blank.
"You continue to fail!" Y'Borom shouted.
Keln was clutching the side of his lower abdomen. He watched as Y'Borom's face twisted into a sickly smile while raising the disruptor up to fire.
"Goodbye, Centurion."
He saw Y'Borom's hand tighten, and then a blinding flash of light, followed by a concussive blast. When Keln was able to see again, he saw the smoldering remains of his assailant. A smoking green set of legs swayed for a moment, and then fell to the ground. Keln looked back, and saw Gunnery Sergeant Hightower manning the turret cannon of a Hercules assault vehicle.
"Need a ride?" He asked.
Keln looked back, and saw the transporter effect take Daro and Theus. Content that he no longer needed to worry, he allowed two MACOs to help him into the vehicle and they sped off toward the tree line, picking up Major Bullock along the way.
"You look like hell." She said.
"I guess you're my angel." Keln said back with a smile. It was quick, as Bullock didn't return it.
"You rescued him," she said, "but this changes nothing. When we get back, expect a small brig cell."
"More than worth it."
"zhNon to Bullock, Major what's your status?"
"This is Bullock, mission complete. We're falling back to the rally point now."
"No time, the Romulans have recovered from our last run. We need to get out of here immediately. Standby for transport."
USS Aegis
"Status of the away team?" zhNon asked.
Carver checked her readouts and said, "Away teams aboard, all personnel accounted for. Centurion Keln and Captain Eridos are both being treated in sickbay. All shuttle craft recovered."
The shipped rocked from an impact to their shields. After the deployment of their mines, the two Warbirds had to contend with destroying the incoming ordnance before being able to focus on Aegis. While several mines made it through, the majority had been destroyed or evaded. The tactic gave them just enough time to transport the MACO's to the ground.
"Initiating evasive pattern Kirk-epsilon, plot a course out of the system ma'am?" Mok asked.
"Yes. Prepare to warp."
"Belay that!"
Everyone turned to see Keln stumbling out of the turbo lift. He was clutching his side, and his shoulder was still bleeding. Behind him was Major Bullock.
"I'm sorry, but is immune to stuns?" zhNon asked.
"Captain, you need to listen to him." Bullock said.
"I don't need to do a damn thing!" zhNon shouted. "Major, he commandeered this ship and forced our cooperation in a mission that could have cost everyone involved their lives! He's obviously stable enough to walk, so I want him in the brig. Now!"
"Captain." Keln choked out.
Goritan stepped forward with a drawn phaser. "We haven't had the time to scrub that override command from the main computer yet, but we have disabled all voice commands from being accepted. He has no power on this ship anymore. Carry out her orders, or join him, Major." He said.
"We need to eliminate the threat of the super salt bombs. That means the creator as well." Keln said.
"Captain, the Romulans are closing in on us." Mok reported.
"He's right." Contreras said. "Our scans of the second planet revealed undetonated sites. If we don't take care of them, they can use them in the future. Worse, sell them to someone like the Typhon Pact."
"And what of R'Navta?" Carver asked. "I doubt C'Ulos is going to sit idly by while we try to kill his sister."
"We can take possession of the bombs and arrest her." Keln said. "She said it herself, she's renounced the Romulan Star Empire and her brother's claim to governance. In essence, everyone aboard her ship is a stateless person who's helped in the creation of weapons of mass destruction."
The ship rocked again.
"Captain?" Goritan asked.
zhNon took a deep breath. She wasn't proud of her next order; her ship was in danger and her Captain injured.
"Prepare to-"
"It's okay, Number One, I'll take it from here."
Everyone turned to see Theus entering the bridge. Utan was right at his side, taking scans and administering a hypo.
"He wouldn't remain in sickbay. I didn't even have time to sedate him." She said.
Theus looked to zhNon and said, "I need you at Mission Ops to help us take care of those bombs, Commander. More than ever, I need you."
She held back the crack in her voice and said, "Aye sir! Helm set course for the second planet; full impulse, divert all available power to shields."
Aegis streaked through the solar system with two Warbirds at its back. zhNon looked around the bridge and saw a renewed confidence. Bloss was manning the bridge engineering console, and along with Bullock, the entire senior crew was present. Her captain never looked stronger than he did now. Erect in his command chair, with his uniform still in tatters, he read the updates she sent to him on a holographic window. She was never more proud.
"Approaching the planet now." Mok reported.
"Contreras, are those fissures large enough for the ship to fit through?" Theus asked.
"Yes sir! The Romulans made them wide enough for their Warbirds to get in."
"Ops, start tagging those undetonated bombs. Goritan, throw up a screen. Mines, random phaser fire against the walls. Don't give them a chance to lock on."
"Yes sir." They all chorused.
In the chasms that led deeper into the center of the planet, the Aegis danced. The jagged rocks and destabilizing gravity were no match for the advanced navigation of the helmsman and exceptional maneuverability granted to them by the compact ship.
Random plumes of magma would burst forth as they continued deeper, and large plumes of expelling gasses would flare against the shields, but they didn't slow down. The chasing Romulans didn't help, as multiple bursts of disruptor fire threatened to knock them off course.
"Hold her steady, Lieutenant." Theus said to Mok.
The ship pulled several hard G's as the helm took extreme evasive.
"I'm trying sir." She said.
Goritan said, "They're using our tactic against us; while we're firing at the walls behind us, they're targeting the ones in front and above."
"Hang on!" Mok shouted.
A large boulder had been sheered off the wall from the last disruptor bolt. It blasted away from a ledge, and fell at such a speed that it couldn't be avoided, impacting the starboard nacelle of Aegis will a resounding thud that could be heard and felt throughout the ship.
"That last hit took out the starboard reaction control system!" zhNon said.
"Hull breach on deck 2, emergency force fields are holding." Carver reported.
"Captain, without RCS thruster our maneuverability just dropped considerably." Mok said.
Theus stood. "Then let's end it, now, Goritan."
Goritan tapped a control. In the empty chasms leading to the center of the planet, a signal was sent and received. It was then that behind the two Romulan Warbirds another decloaked. It opened fire with a devastating volley on the rear vessel, destroying a nacelle and sending it careening into a side wall with an explosion that sent shockwaves the Aegis had to compensate for.
"daise C'Ulos has destroyed one vessel," zhNon said, "he's targeting R'Navta's ship, but definitely pulling his punches."
"This is our opening people, Contreras!" Theus said.
"All super salt bombs, identified and targeted. We'll need to be at least 10,000 kilometers closer to one before we can initiate transport." He said.
"We're not transporting anything." Theus said.
"Captain?!" Keln asked in a surprised tone. "We need to capture as many of those as we can. Study them to have a proper defense against-"
"Who is we Centurion?!" Theus asked angrily. "The Federation creates weapons for defense, not to destroy. We're eliminating these abominations right here and now."
"Sir," zhNon said, "we don't have enough time to target and destroy each one. With C'Ulos restrained from attacking because of his sister, she will eventually have the advantage."
"We may be able to destroy them all at once." Contreras said. "daise C'Ulos said that he authorized the experiments here. It stands to reason that he would have the detonation codes. I could amplify and transmit them in a wideband subspace burst to trigger them all simultaneously."
"Sir," Bloss said, "22 targets have been identified. Assuming that their yield is comparable to what we first detected, then we are looking at a minimum 350 isoton detonation."
"Captain?!" Keln shouted.
Theus looked to Bullock and said, "If he interrupts again, stun him." To Carver he said, "Contact C'Ulos, and get those codes. Broadcast a warning informing every one of our plan."
Keln hobbled over to Theus and said, "You can't do this."
"After everything you've done, you dare?" Theus sneered.
"We're ready, Captain." zhNon said.
"Execute!"
Aegis swung wide as its main deflector lit up brightly to transmit the signal. As soon as it was done, the ship arced straight up, heading out of the chasm with all speed. The Warbird that C'Ulos commanded did the same, finally free from distraction as R'Navta took her ship deeper in, completely ignoring both ships.
"What's she doing?" Theus asked.
zhNon checked her console and said, "I'm detecting command and control signals being transmitted. She's trying to stop the detonation."
"She can't," Contreras said, "The signal I transmitted was amplified factors above what was required to overload their transceiver arrays. That was the last signal they were able to get."
"Hail them!" Theus barked.
"…No response." Carver said.
"Captain, there's no time to go back for them." Goritan said.
"Oh no…" zhNon said.
On the forward view screen, C'Ulos' Warbird was diving straight toward R'Navta's.
"Tractor beam!" Theus ordered.
They caught C'Ulos before he passed them. The strain it put on both vessels enormous.
"We can't keep this up!" Mok reported. "His engines are more powerful!"
"10 seconds until detonation!" Contreras said.
"Take out his shield generators, emergency beam out! Get as many as you can."
Two quantum torpedoes flew from the aft launchers and scored direct hits. The shields on C'Ulos' ship crackled, and faded. Immediately zhNon widened the targeting beam as much as she could and began the mass transport.
"5 seconds!" Contreras shouted.
"Go!"
The tractor beam disengaged, and Aegis flew. They had just cleared the fissure and were entering the lower atmosphere when the bombs detonated.
"Incoming debris." Goritan said.
"Put everything we have into the shields!" zhNon said. "The shockwave is coming, and we need to ride it to safety."
They were in open space, and that's when it hit. Aegis tumbled over on itself, losing control as the massive shock wave pushed them off course. The engines strained, while trying to avoid the largest chunks of the planet. The bridge lights started to flicker, and soon went dark as consoles over-loaded primary systems went off-line.
USS Aegis, in orbit of Romulan Moon Lleiset
Captain's Log, Stardate 59439.4
The repairs to Aegis have been completed and we are well on our way to completion of this mission. Although it may not have been the resounding success that I had hoped for, we were able to provide all of the medical and some of the material supplies that were requested. Our energy reserves have been topped off by the Lleisetians, and they have even provided samples of their deuterium for study in addition to an abundance of their sodatium-chlorinite. Though the cost of this mission was high with the loss of Lieutenant Noor, I take a small amount of comfort in knowing that our actions here have gone a long way to improving relations with the Romulans. No matter which government the pledge allegiance to.
"End log." Theus said and his computer terminal chimed. It was followed almost immediately by the one for his door. "Come."
zhNon entered along with daise C'Ulos
"daise, thank you for coming." Theus said.
"Although I wish it were under better circumstance, I appreciate the invitation." He said.
Theus gestured for him to seat and he did while zhNon took up a position on his left.
"The news of my sister's demise has spread quickly. Along with confirmation of Y'Borom's death, the Children of the Wing are quickly dissipating."
"How fortunate for you." zhNon said.
"It is. I suppose my thanks are in order." He said.
"Don't be too quick to do so." Theus said. "I was quite sincere when I said that we had no intention of interfering with the internal politics of your world, daise."
"And yet, you have irrevocably altered our course." He said with a grim smile. "If I cannot thank you for that, then I can for saving my life, and the life of most of my crew. Their lives are on me. I lost control for a moment."
"daise," zhNon said softly, "I'm not sure where you will go from here, but at the very least you should take some time to reflect on everything that has transpired. Y'Borom wasn't just a political adversary, he had strong enough influence to reach a significant portion of your population. Including your sister."
Theus added, "The Emergency Romulan Council has agreed to leave Lleiset alone, for now. I'm not sure what you all will face in the future, but I do know, that unless you are unified in purpose you won't be able to meet it head on."
C'Ulos nodded. "You have given me much to think about. Jolan tru, Captain Eridos."
Theus stood and shook his hand. After the daise left, Theus touched a button on his terminal. A few moments later, Bullock enter with Keln, who was wearing hand restraints.
"Thank you for coming Major, I wanted you both here for this." He said to zhNon as well. "Centurion Keln, you illegal seized control of a Starfleet vessel, endangered the lives of the crew, took down a landing party with the threat of force, and several other felonies that apply solely to the civilian jurisdiction."
"You're welcome." He said warmly.
"I'll bet." He turned to zhNon. "We've been ordered to Starbase Icarus."
"That's a third-generation Yorktown-class base. Are we taking a short shore-leave of some sort?" She asked.
"Not exactly. In addition to more detailed repairs, it will allow us to drop off the sample of deuterium and super salt that the Lleisetians have provided."
"I see…"
Theus sighed. "After reviewing my report, Captain Williams has called for a general inquiry into my actions concerning this mission. He feels that my decisions were questionable to say the least, and that my competence should be reviewed. Seeing as how I allowed my ship to be taken over."
"Sir?!" Bullock shouted. "Excuse my language but that's bullshit! This is all his fault!" She said while glowering at Keln.
"I agree. Major, effective immediately you are acting First Officer."
zhNon looked down, and then straightened before saying, "Understood sir. I will do my best to support you both."
"Actually, you won't have to. I'm advancing you to acting Captain, zhNon. Take us back, and continue to do your best. I have faith in you."
"I-I don't understand." She stammered. "Where are you going sir?"
Theus looked Keln in the eye. He gave the Captain a small, arrogant smirk, as if he knew what was coming next. Theus pulled back, and in a blurring speed, jabbed Keln in his face so hard he fell against the entrance to his ready room and slid down.
"I'll be in the brig." Theus said while shaking his stinging hand.