#51 Fools and Foolery

Posted on Thu Dec 8th, 2022 @ 11:22am by Captain Rogue Green {Meji}

Mission: BUGS OH NO!!
Location: Romulan vessel
Timeline: current

OOC: Alona Tal being played by Rogue Green.

ON:

Aboard her lead ship and personal command, the RRW Raptoress, Sub-commander Tal was sitting comfortably in her command chair going over reports from the repair crews. Her ship, and both escorts, were now back to full power and full fighting capacity.

"Sub-commander, the Nanclus is breaking away from the Akira, heading away from us." This announcement came from Centurion Nadel, the science officer.

"What?!" Alona put her PADD in its sleeve along the side of her chair and stood up quickly, walking over to her Science officer and looking to the holo-monitors she had up. "Confirmed?"

"Confirmed, Sub-commander. They are leaving the fie...wait. We have intercepted and recorded a transmission between the Akira class and the Nanclus," said Nadel. Their cloaked probe had done its job.

"Play it," Tal commanded, her eyes squinting in displeasure.

{snippet}

The RRW Nanclus followed the Akira Ship for hours as they were making their way back home when Heather spoke up "Commander the Nanclus is changing course."

"Comm hail the Nanclus" came the order "Centurion Omar is there a problem, why are you changing course."

"Commander we're leaving the Republic so we have taken the Ship to start another life" she explained.

"What about the prisoners" O'Connell queried being a little confused.

"I know you won't approve but they have agreed to help us for a time in exchange for their freedom" Omar explained hoping Jamie would understand at some point.

"So what you said before I left your Ship.....was that was just a ploy so you could steal that Ship?" Jamie asked.

"No Commander I meant every word that I said. You don't know what it's like to be Romulan with all the rules and regulations we have to adhere to; many more than what Star Fleet has" Omar explained then continued "Please don't try and stop me.....I don't want to have to fight you."

The Commander let out a long sigh "Alright...even though I don't agree with what you are doing.....far be it from me to try and stop you.....that's between you and the Republic" Jamie replied.

"Thank you Commander and may the god's show you favor in your life. Omar out" as the screen went back to a view of space.

{end snippet}

To get herself under control Alona closed her eyes and took a breath in through her nose, letting it out slowly from the mouth with barely opened lips. When the eyes opened Nadel could see that the fires within had been stoked. "Fools! Idiots! The Republic is the Romulan version of the Federation." She spun about to look across her Bridge all at once. "Do any of you follow that line of thinking? Anyone!? If so, voice it now and you will be removed from this ship immediately." No one spoke up because they knew exactly what the Republic was. A representative government instead of a tyranny, a place where ideas flourished over ideology. They had all fought and bled to make that government a reality for their people. Anyone who said otherwise was a traitor and an Imperial sympathizer. Even now, light years away, the fledgling Republic was held on a fleet of ships, or flotilla, as they had yet to find a suitable planet to begin building their capitol.

"Cloak the ship and send the message to the wings," ordered Tal as she went back to her chair to stand before it. "We will pursue and overtake the Nanclus. All are to remain at battle readiness. Execute!" Once she said that final word the entire Bridge crew snapped to action and the lights dimmed somewhat with the power draw of the cloak. As she sat down, Tal watched the stars swing to one side as the ship righted itself on a new course and then jumped to warp. This far out the Nanclus was out of sensor range to detect the three and their actions. Nadel could follow their warp trail with passive scans, to remain undetected. There was no blame in her heart for Starfleet. O'Connell was what Starfleet had trained him to be, a fair-minded man. He had his own concerns, and to pursue a ship that was a Romulan matter would have been a waste of resources.

Hours passed as the Raptoress, traveling at warp four, gained slowly on the RRW Nanclus. Alona had gone to her Ready Room to mull over the past events. She should have seen this coming. The only logical conclusion was that Centurion Omar was a Tal Shiar agent working to sow discord between the fledgling Republic and its allies. To cast doubt on the validity of the Republic. Though benevolent the Romulan Republic was still one thing; a Romulan government. That meant that treason and other high crimes were punishable by death. A painful, torturous death to glean information before ridding the galaxy of such corrupt individuals.

"Sub-commander Tal, to the Bridge." A summons from Centurion Nadel.

Turning away from the viewport she had been facing while in thought the Sub-commander returned to the command deck. "Report," she said while approaching her Science station and the Centurion occupying it.

"The Nanclus has stopped..."

Before Nadel could finish her sentence Alona turned her head towards the front. "Helm, all stop for the wing." Her attention went back to Nadel. "Continue."

"They have launched the escape yacht, Sub-commander. But..."

"But, what?" Asked Tal.

"It has crossed into a region of space claimed by the Nyberrite Alliance. If we follow and are discovered it could damage any relations we may have with them in the future," explained Nadel.

Alona was proud of her Centurion. Nadel had been loyal to the ideals of the Republic since day one, her family having been slaughtered by the Tal Shiar and the Star Empire. She understood the need to tread carefully at this time, to not create enemies for the Republic to have to fight off. "Understood, Nadel. What of the Nanclus?"

"She is sitting idle, Sub-commander. Low power yield and at station keeping on this side of the border."

Alona took a minute to think on options. "Have the escorts remain cloaked to watch over us." Turning from Nadel Tal looked to the forward stations. "Helm, drop the cloak and return to normal power. Set crew to readiness 1. Get us within transporter range of the Nanclus." The helm officer followed orders and Raptoress began to move.

***

Over on the escape yacht Brisco was leaning over the shoulder of Centurion Omar as she flew the craft across the Nyberrite border. One monitor kept an eye on the Nanclus, and after a few minutes another T'varo class Bird of Prey appeared near to it and began to maneuver.

Omar gave a crooked grin as she glanced up at Brisco. "See? I told you. Romulans don't give up the chase easily. And, they won't risk a conflict with the Alliance. You are now safe, Brisco."

Brisco gave a cheerful chuckle, clapping a hand down on Omar's shoulder. "Well done, Centurion." He stood up straight and looked around at his people. "We're free, people. I'll never let you down. Omar, you have earned a place among us if you wish to claim it."

Omar took hold of the badge on her chest denoting the Republic and pulled it free, tossing it back over her shoulder. "Gladly, Brisco. My knowledge and skills could prove useful."

Brisco gave another laugh. "Oh-ho-ho, you have no idea. More like...invaluable."

"Glad to be of use," stated Omar with an evil smile. "I know a few people in the Alliance that may be able to aid us with what we need to rebuild. We're heading to one of them now."

***

Aboard the Raptoress Alona began to feel uneasy. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said out loud. "Nadel, life signs?"

As Nadel looked into her sensor scope the Nanclus was getting slowly closer on screen. "One, Sub-commander. Human." Her eyes went wider before she looked up at her CO. "The ship is set to self destruct."

"All stop! Full power forward shields!" Just as the order was given the Nanclus blew from within, coming apart in a fireball of superheated plasma as debris went out in a perfect sphere, annihilating or disintegrating everything the ship had once been. When a quantum singularity erupted it was sure to vaporize everything of value aboard a Romulan ship, and in this case, it did. Being far enough away the Raptoress took no damage but did shudder and vibrate as the wave passed them by, small bits of debris bouncing off of the screens. When the fireball cleared there was nothing but open space before them. "I have to report to Command. Helm, cloak and set course for home. Nadel, you have the Bridge." With those orders relayed Alona Tal made her way to the Ready Room.

OFF: