Mission #6: Rattle of Sabers

Jiseth wrote:

=/\= Jiseth to Phoenix, handshake with probe complete. We have telemetry. =/\=

Safefta Pardek wrote:

She frowned as the alerts on her console began to light up more insistently.

"The Romulan ship is critical. I project an explosion in one-minute and forty-five seconds." Not much time at all for everything going on. "We will have to complete this plan of action within that time and allow for our ship to move out of range," the security officer blankly warned.

[Bridge]

"Acknowledged, Jiseth," Archangel replied over the comm channel, giving Lieutenant Rellek at the science station a nod.  Hopefully, they would be able to use what information the probe was sending them to keep the shuttle pilots safe.  "Stay safe out there."

She turned to look up at the security station, at the other half-Romulan standing there.  She wondered how Safefta would handle Romulans coming on board and made a mental note to take her aside when there was a quiet moment and see if there was anything she could do to make the skittish hybrid more comfortable with it.

"Understood.  Try to get me an open comm link to the warbird and if you can't, start beaming them out of there!"

[USS Monongahela]

As the runabout lead the convoy on, the warbird came into view. The blackened hull bore amber and crimson wounds, bleeding green plasma and ghostly atmosphere. It would soar no more and the Empire would lose another of its flock in some far flung place in perhaps the most beautiful grave the Lieutenant had ever seen.

"Ma'am, the ship's core is going to meltdown! 90 seconds to detonation!"

Jiseth's eyes fell to her console, wide and fear-ridden. By the time they completed beaming survivors over they would all die anyway. Normally, a simple solution: sever the fuel lines before they reached the intermix chamber. Starve the beast and quell its fury. In fact quite simple. However, that word was anathema to Romulans.

She remembered the ramblings of her professor at the war academy on the subject of the D'deridex engine core. An engineer turned scientist, he seemed to have developed an understanding of it as knotted as the space-time of the singularity itself. The "confinement" of the core was at best a blanket over the face of a hungry Gorn.

So hopeful that he would find a pupil who understood his ravings after mathematics delved into the arcane. He would say to her, "The pit swallows matter into yesterday and from tomorrow. That is not the answer, it is the reason! It feeds because we imprison it at the table of our narrow dimensions. To us all it will ever do is consume, that is its nature." What she left the academy was the unerring sense that their ships were so vastly larger than those of other races simply to keep the tiny sphere from devouring it. Years would go by before she could stand in engineering without a sense of dread.

That feeling came back full swing now, however. Grasping at Jiseth's throat, eager to find someone so familiar. She never feared the disruptor array mounted in the beak as so many other Starfleet officers. It was the light-consuming heart. Even her own personal shuttle at times felt as if without constant maintenance it would unleash its wrath that would give even Zero pause.

Zero...

"Ma'am, 75 seconds!"

Closing her eyes, Jiseth concentrated on slowing her breathing. She was normally the blunt force to Zero's precision. The hammer to the scalpel. Striking the core would unleash its fury all the same as letting it continue. They were already past the point of no return the moment they launched. The only option left was to unchain the monster and set it free. Her two emerald eyes appeared once more, the dying warbird taking up most of the viewport.

"60 seconds-"

=/\= Pull up! All craft pull up! Charge phasers and prepare to fire on my mark! =/\=

From her console she linked the location of the target points to her squadron, the dorsal spine of the warbird just after of leading edge of the upper wings. The shuttles climbed above the hulk and pointed their noses downward to it, arranging themselves in a ring. Time was up for those who were still alive in the engineering compartment. She would be their reaper and it mattered little to her that lives would be saved, even her own. There was no solace in creating martyrs. This was the burden of duty.

"30 seconds!"

=/\= ...Now! =/\=

Without shielding the skin of the warbird was cut into with unceremonious ease by the baleful orange hue of the phasers. The outer panel broke free and several decks from below ruptured, angry gases rocketing into space metal and man. Finally there was the housing that broke free and itself ruptured. When the bright hissing of phasers ceased, for but a moment, Jiseth thought she could see the twinkle of the singularity as it rose from the corpse that was the ship. She consigned more than two dozen souls to oblivion and without the prison that was also its nursery, the abomination of twisted space-time would live only briefly.

=/\= Jiseth to Wolf Squad... Begin recovery operation. =/\=

The group dispersed and hovered over the hull of the ship as each beamed aboard what life signs could be detected. The smaller shuttles began to make their way back to the Phoenix to drop off the first load as the larger craft continued along. Jiseth removed her helmet, manned the runabout's transporter and showed her counterparts to the cabin rear. Whether relieved to see one of their own or just to be alive she could not tell.

The needs of the many, the Vulcans say...

Bridge

Andrew Sheridan listened to the things going on around him. In his mind, he could visualize the Romulan warbird on the verge of destruction. Yet, one thing was missing...one thing out of all the reports he was hearing, and it made him frown severely.

"Where are you?" he asked quietly as he stepped past his Captain down...his eyes on the view screen narrowed. "Where...are....you?" the young XO said a bit more fiercely...his voice a low whisper as his dark green eyes scanned the nebula.

Yet, there was no sign of an enemy warship...no Dominion cruiser, no Borg, no alien vessel tearing into the Romulan ship...nothing. The faint outline of the warbird could be seen through the nebula, but very little else. Had the attacker left the job unfinished? That seemed rather foolish...unless they had picked up the approach of the PHOENIX. If so, had they fled...but that didn't make sense to him. Tactically, anything that could ambush a D'deridex should be able to do the same to a Nebula-class cruiser. So, did that mean the attacker left for other reasons...or were they still present?

"I recommend increasing alert status to Red, Captain," Andrew stated without looking back over his shoulder to her. "Whoever did this...could easily do the same to us."

USS Monongahela

Commander Lihran couldn't believe it.  He blinked at the Romulan Starfleet officer in confusion...one of his centurions helping to keep him from falling.  So many things ran though Lihran's mind...so many emotions, but it was rage that overtook in the end.

"Damn you!!!!" he growled savagely...his strength suddenly returning despite his injuries.  The centurion was entirely too slow in stopping his Commander from snatching his disruptor, and swiftly pointing it at Jiseth.  "VANG'RADAM!!!" Lihran shouted in rage.  With blood still dripping into his left eye; the Romulan Commander had to blink some, but his aim was steady.  The centurion recovered, and attempted to reclaim his weapon from his enraged superior.  The struggle was so swift, and ended just as quickly as the disruptor went off...incinerating Lihran.  The centurion staggered back stunned by this latest loss...the rest of his three comrades too weak to even care or move.

He turned back to Jiseth...collapsing to his knees...dropping the disruptor.  "Why?  Why the attack?" he asked her weakly, and then toppled over unconscious.

[USS Monongahela]

Jiseth knelt to catch the centurion, grasping his shoulders as his head slumped against her shoulder. Easing him to the floor, she called for her crewman in the copilot seat to see to the Romulan's care while she resumed transporting survivors. It was turning to be thankless work and part of her wished the enraged man had successfully killed her instead of himself.

"Such an ignoble death..."

Perhaps they were scared, having come so close to the brink of death and now they seemed to be prisoners. To be returned to Romulus disgraced would be far worse than any public execution. A lifetime of shame for this crew. The Lieutenant would not allow it.

=/\= Subcommander Jiseth to Commander T'Koris. I have 36 survivors aboard and 177 total being brought back by my squadron, but their commander is dead. =/\=

She glanced over to see a great number of faces staring at her. A mixture of confusion and relief. For all their deceptiveness, Romulans could trust each other at least when put in proximity of other races. Xenophobia for once was her ally.

Jiseth wrote:

[USS Monongahela]

Jiseth knelt to catch the centurion, grasping his shoulders as his head slumped against her shoulder. Easing him to the floor, she called for her crewman in the copilot seat to see to the Romulan's care while she resumed transporting survivors. It was turning to be thankless work and part of her wished the enraged man had successfully killed her instead of himself.

"Such an ignoble death..."

Perhaps they were scared, having come so close to the brink of death and now they seemed to be prisoners. To be returned to Romulus disgraced would be far worse than any public execution. A lifetime of shame for this crew. The Lieutenant would not allow it.

=/\= Subcommander Jiseth to Commander T'Koris. I have 36 survivors aboard and 177 total being brought back by my squadron, but their commander is dead. =/\=

She glanced over to see a great number of faces staring at her. A mixture of confusion and relief. For all their deceptiveness, Romulans could trust each other at least when put in proximity of other races. Xenophobia for once was her ally.

Julia didn't consider herself to be Xenophobic but there had always been something about Romulan officers that gave her trepidation. She had never actually met one, which probably explains some of her feelings. But she had heard tales of deception and a feeling that only some rules apply to them. She was nervous at the prospect of 177 Romulans aboard the Phoenix. Hoover given the altercation in the Conference room earlier Julia wouldn't dare comment on her concerns.

"Sir, I recommend we utilize the the shuttle bay as an area for the Romulan crew to await their comrades. I'm also receiving telemetry from the probe. We're starting to get data on the interior of the anomaly." She pressed several buttons on her console. "Sir Jiseth was right. It's a mess in there. The data is fragmented. I'm working on cleaning it up."

[Response to Andrew Sheridan, Jiseth and Julia Rellek]

[USS Phoenix - Bridge]

Although her acute hearing easily picked up on her first officer's muttered words, Archangel decided on showing a measure of discretion until she was addressed directly by the young man. She pondered the notion for a moment, her eyes not leaving the group of shuttles currently running the majority of the rescue mission.

"Not yet, Commander," was the quiet reply. "Putting the ship on red alert engages all the defenses. Keep the shields ready to be raised at a second's notice, most definitely, but we need the shuttles to be able to land quickly and having the shields up isn't conducive to that goal."

Before she could say anything moe, the crackled communication came through from the lead shuttle, Jiseth's voice distorted by the interference eminating from the nebula. Thankfully, it was still comprehensible, and Archangel was able to catch the use of Romulan ranking rather than Starfleet in her address. Curious, but ingenious, she thought to herself. 177 Romulans in total. That was going to make things rather difficult for her if she wanted to minimise contact with them. Theo
loss of the warbird's commanding officer was a shame, butArchangel refused to let herself dwell on it. She couldn't let that one death stop her from trying to save hundreds.

"Acknowledged, Subcommander," she replied over the comm channel. "Get your squadron back in to dock. We'll find somewhere for our guests to stay."

As she closed the channel, she looked up at Lieutenant Rellek, considering her words for a moment. "No, the shuttle bay isn't a good place to have over one hundred people roaming around. Send a team to start converting one of the spare cargo bays into temporary quarters and get sickbay to send a team of medics down to check them all over. They're likely to all want to stay together. Strength in numbers and all that.". Straightening up, she gathered her thoughts in a fraction of a second. "Commander Sheridan, you're with me. We're going to greet our guests. Lieutenant Rellek, you have the bridge. As soon as all of the shuttles are back on board, put the shields up and put sone distance between us and the nebula for now."

Without waiting for an answer from either of them, she turned and headed for the turbo lift, stepping inside and waiting for her first officer to join her.

Bridge

Andrew looked back over at his Captain, and then to the Second Officer now in charge of the Bridge. True, the ship needed the shields down for the moment in order to allow the shuttles to return. It made him nervous, but he could come up with no other reason to share in support of raising the shields. Thus, he simply nodded, and followed Archangel into the turbolift. Once inside, he declared their destination, and said nothing while the lift carried them down to greet their guests.

All the while, Sheridan intended to fully watch the Romulans' reactions to Archangel and Jiseth. It was clear, already, that Jiseth held some kind of noble rank among the Star Empire. He suspected that Archangel had even greater position. Neither of these thought did he bring out as the lift took them down further to their destination.

Whatever was going on...he would be mindful. Now was not the time to suddenly relax his vigilance. With hands clasped behind his back in a very Vulcan fashion...compliments of his foster mother's upbringing; Andrew waited...

[USS Monongahela]

Moving about the cabin, Jiseth handed first aid kits to those still able to remain conscious and treat their crew mates. Many probably had never seen the faces of one another yet here they were tending to each other's care. This went deeper than duty. Compassion even from the grey-hearted was beautiful.

She wondered about what the centurion asked as she inspected his disruptor. Her crewman had stabilized him and returned to his post in the cockpit. He was alive, which was to great relief. He would be the first she would have to interrogate. One more thing was needed for the deception. Leaving the cabin for the cockpit, she typed in the replicator the specifications for a Tal Shiar rank insignia. After a brief hum, she took the warm piece of metal and attached it to her collar.

The Phoenix was in view now as her shuttles could be seen lined up and entering one by one. Hers was the last which broke her own practice, but whoever got their craft filled first would be the first to deliver their precious cargo. Barely 5 seconds passed between each one entering the hangar and taxing to their assigned parking slots. Their hatches were already down before they even fully stopped with her crew attending to those in need.


[Main Shuttle Bay]

As the runabout hovered above the flooring, Jiseth opened the hatch and ordered her crew to stop short. There was a gathering in the center of the hangar of the Romulans. The critically injured her handed off to the flight crewman in scarlet who seemed to speak a bit of their language. Hopping from the Monongahela, she waved for the passengers to be assisted off and looked over the beleaguered group in front of her as they did the same to her in return.

They were surprisingly docile. No attempts to attack. They had been beaten by whatever it was that roamed out there in the gas and had seen plenty of death for one day. When all who were not in dire need were assembled and her teams stood by for orders she approached the counterparts.

"12% of the original crew compliment was transported here by these craft. You are what remains and that makes you valuable. You will provide every last bit of information that you recall otherwise it is very likely this ship will not make it out of here either. From this moment onward, you belong to me."

One of her rank equivalents near the front spoke up.

"What gives you the right to fire on us and then take us prisoner, traitor!"

Jiseth dropped her helmet and approached him swiftly as others moved away from him the moment the disruptor became visible in her hand. Part of her wanted to pull the trigger. Instead she pointed with her other hand to the rank on her collar.

"This gives me the right!"

She looked around to make sure all saw it.

"I am Subcommander Jiseth of the Tal Shiar and you will submit to that authority! I executed your commander for his incompetence and if you do not wish to share his fate then I would graciously accept this invitation to provide the information I require. Think of your families. Your children. Do not shame them further! You will redeem yourselves by assisting in avenging your fallen comrades. Do not inquire the nature of this ship! You all with be returned to Romulus. Most of all, do not question me when a simple flick of my wrist could have you all jettisoned into space, is that clear!"

There were nods and gazes shot to the floor as each one said, "Yes, Subcommander," though not in unison and rather meekly. The fear she now wielded disgusted her and she knew how Aunt Toreth would react to such news. A heart attack most likely after the already strenuous proposition of Jiseth being in Starfleet, but still better than the Tal Shiar.

[Turbolift]

Archangel stayed silent during the trip after Commander Sheridan had called out their destination to the computer. She needed to gather her thoughts and her composure if she was going to meet with more than one hundred and fifty Romulans in a confined area. Her marriage to Alidar had been announced throughout the entire Star Empire. There was no way she wasn't going to be recognised.

[Shuttle Bay]

Of course, all of the effort that she had put into that composure was stripped away as she stepped out of the turbolift to hear Jiseth threatening all of the rescued Romulans with the Tal'Shiar and certain death if they didn't cooperate. Her slanted eyebrows dropped into a scowl, her spine stiffening. The fact that Jiseth was a member of the Tal'Shiar didn't particularly bother her. That would be equivalent to the old human expression of 'pot calling kettle black'. No, it was the fact that they had rescued these Romulans from certain death and needed their cooperation to find out what had done such significant damage to a D'deridex class warbird to try to warn the other ships out there and hopefully keep themselves in one piece at the same time.

In short, Archangel was now very pissed off.

"Lieutenant Jiseth, that's enough!" she barked, striding out of the turbolift. This was a side of her that no one particularly wanted to see, one that had terrorised junior engineers during her tenure as a Chief Engineer and preceded her in her reputation.

She drew herself up to her full height, her expression thunderous as she glowered at the other Romulan, disgusted by the fact that Jiseth had added a Tal'Shiar rank to her uniform. It disgusted her to see that Jiseth thought that she could get away with pulling a stunt like this.

The rescued Romulans drew apart to make way for her to stride toward Jiseth, a chorus of frightened murmurs spreading out in a wave. That's Dhael T'Koris! That's General Tr'Koris' daughter! That's the Praetor's wife!. She stepped up to Jiseth holding her arms behind her back as she glared at Jiseth for a long handful of seconds.

"You are out of line, Jiseth. Dismiss your personnel and report back to the bridge. You'll be taking the helm. Cause any more trouble, and I won't be as lenient next time, understood?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned to the rescued Romulans and surveyed them for a short moment, taking in their condition before tapping her commbadge. "Sickbay, I need a triage team down in the shuttlebay immediately."

Closing the channel, she addressed the group directly. "You are aboard the USS Phoenix. You are not our prisoners and you will be returned to Romulus swiftly. I am aware that your Commander is dead. I will speak to your senior officer."

[Shuttle Bay]

There was calm resignation as she watched her commanding officer. It was quite civil, but she was being spared in front of her crews. The worst from T'Koris was yet to come. She ghosted over to the centurion who barely was still shaky, but able to stand, and returned his sidearm. They exchanged looks. His quiet declaration that it was a mistake to save her from his commander though knowing Jiseth's had it out for her balanced this.

The Lieutenant herself turned away from the group as the Captain addressed them and picked up her helmet. The Romulan's hand waved several signals and her teams dispersed about their duties while Jiseth and her pilots went to remove their suits.


[Flight Department Locker Room]

There was an uneasy silence amid the sounds of lock seals pulling apart and fabric rub against fabric. The Tal Shiar rank sat in the Lieutenant's palm as she glared at it. Part of her enjoyed the familiarity of being called "Subcommander" again, but not like this. Now she had lost the respect of her captain.

If the survivors reacted the way their commander did, that was the question running through her mind. Keep them in line, keep everyone safe. Such a petty reason for creating wanton fear in an already fearful group.

Jiseth leaned her forehead against the cold metal of the locker door as she waited for her personnel to finish and clear out. After the door hissed shut, she roared and hurled the rank insignia at the wall. The tiny bit of metal broke into several pieces and chimed as it hit the floor. Next came the bashing of her locker with her fists and slamming the door so hard it almost broke off its hinges when it flew back open jarringly.


[Bridge]

"Lady Ji-"

"Just go, Klara. Debrief them with Fornell and secure everything in case we go into combat. The Captain will have my head by the end of the day if we get out of here alive."

"As you wish..."

Jiseth sat down at the helm and took a quiet deep breath. Her utility probably kept her from the brig, but for how long? Surely T'Koris could see past the ruse. Maybe she did not, nor the reasoning behind it. Either way, she now found herself in an extremely uncomfortable position and a leash suddenly felt like a noose.

Shuttle Bay

Lt. Commander Andrew Sheridan couldn't believe the next few moments that transpired before his very eyes. The young XO had not been prepared for the sight of Jiseth wearing a Tal Shiar insignia, or threatening the rescued Romulans, but even as bad as that was...nothing could have prepared him for what came next. The sheer fury of Archangel came crashing down on the other Romulan woman. He had to admit, he wasn't all that happy with the scene either, and narrowed his eyes at Jiseth, but...this....this was bad. Never had heard Archangel come down on someone like that before. Oh, there were rumors, of course, from her days as Chief Engineer, but he had not been around then. His Captain was lethally angry, and yet...that was still not the most shocking part of it all.

General T'Koris's daughter! The Praetor's Wife!

That was the whispers from the other Romulans as he watched Jiseth disperse her team and left without a word. General T'Koris's daughter...he had never even connected the two! And as for political connections to the Star Empire...well finding out his Captain was the Praetor's Wife was no where on the list he had drawn up. Archangel wasn't just a little important...she was massively important as a link between the Federation and the Star Empire. Now, here he stood just slightly back and to her right...watching and listening as the scene played out.

Should he even speak up at all? He had come with her at her invitation to meet the Romulan survivors, but now...now it seemed a moot point to be even present. That was, until he saw the Centurion that Jiseth had helped up before leaving. From the gathered Romulan ranks he saw...this wounded officer was the most senior.

"It would appear," Andrew said stepping up next to his Captain quietly, "that he is the most senior, Captain," with a nod to the Centurion who now bowed low to Archangel. It wasn't so much that she wouldn't have known this, but it gave him a chance to speak up, and to show the Romulans present that she trusted him.

Shuttle Bay

Hatham Lareth had slain his Commander in an attempt to save the Romulan that had rescued them. That had been bad enough for the Centurion. Though he had never particularly gotten along with Lihran; still he had not wanted to kill him. Having found out the Romulan woman that saved him was Tal Shiar had frozen his blood, but such did not last long...not with the explosive fury of Dhael T'Koris in her Starfleet uniform with the rank of Captain. The woman had helped him to stand, and then left in the wake of her commander's fury. Now, he was facing the Praetor's Wife, and next to her was a Starfleet Human with the rank of Lt. Commander. He could tell the young man had no clue as to who his Captain was to the Star Empire; for the revelation that crossed his face was truly amazing to watch.

With a bow...not as good as he would have liked...fist to heart...Hatham greeted T'Koris in silence. Inside, he was boiling with emotions and confusion. It was no mystery who had attacked them so swiftly and easily, and yet here his people were aboard a Federation cruiser under the flag of Dhael T'Koris. What was really going on around here? Why the attack by one...only to be rescued by another? Perhaps T'Koris was breaking away from the Federation after finding out about their treachery. No, that wasn't right...it couldn't be, because she clearly wanted answers.

"Forgive me, Dhael T'Koris," he finally spoke up after straightening slowly. With a glance of concern at the young man next to her; Hatham continued, "Why? Why the attack?"

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

"It would appear," Andrew said stepping up next to his Captain quietly, "that he is the most senior, Captain," with a nod to the Centurion who now bowed low to Archangel.  It wasn't so much that she wouldn't have known this, but it gave him a chance to speak up, and to show the Romulans present that she trusted him.

[Shuttle Bay]

Archangel's dark gaze tracked Jiseth as the disgraced Romulan left the shuttlebay. Words would have to be had, but those could wait until later. Right now, she had bigger fish to fry. Many of the Romulans in the crowd were watching her with an expression of respectful fear, as they would any high-standing member of their society. And they didn't get much higher than she was. It helped that reputation was such a helpful tool, given that hers was one to definitely be feared.

Commander Sheridan seemed to have cottoned on to the need for a clear hierarchy in this situation. While generally, a first officer could stand next to his captain without repercussion, the Romulans didn't see it that way. He had taken up just the position she would have expected and asked of him without her needing to speak a word.

She turned her head to him slightly as he spoke, her eyes searching out the Centurion in question. She nodded once in a curt manner. "Understood, Lieutenant Commander," she stated before taking the few steps closer to the Centurion, observing him.

NPC wrote:

"Forgive me, Dhael T'Koris," he finally spoke up after straightening slowly. With a glance of concern at the young man next to her; Hatham continued, "Why? Why the attack?"

So it had been an attack and not an accident in the nebula, she thought to herself. She kept her expression schooled to faint anger and hostility, a good one when she was dealing with her own kind. If he was asking her why the attack had happened, then it stood to reason that it must have been a vessel that at least resembled one of the Federation's.

"There was no attack ordered that I am aware of. It was certainly not the Phoenix." She paused for a moment to consider the group. "Once you have been cleared by my medical teams, we will continue this conversation in my ready room. I will give you the answers you want and I expect the same in return. We will find out what happened and avenge those who gave their lives."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

"Sickbay, I need a triage team down in the shuttlebay immediately."

"On our way." Kintiss was quick to respond to the Captain's summons. He quickly grabbed a medkit and opened it, making sure that everything was fully stocked and ready for use. He found it slightly irritating that the Romulans weren't being brought to sickbay, but at least he was getting some exercise.

Satisfied that the medkit was properly stocked, he took a medical tricorder and started for the door. He was certain some other medical crewmen were coming with him. He had a feeling they could use every available crewman on this one. If there was one thing he'd learned through his career, it was that Romulans could be very tricky when it came to medical treatment.

"Sssshuttle bay." he said as he bundled himself into the nearest turbolift. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long.

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

[Response to Andrew Sheridan, Jiseth and Julia Rellek]

[USS Phoenix - Bridge]

Although her acute hearing easily picked up on her first officer's muttered words, Archangel decided on showing a measure of discretion until she was addressed directly by the young man.  She pondered the notion for a moment, her eyes not leaving the group of shuttles currently running the majority of the rescue mission.

"Not yet, Commander," was the quiet reply.  "Putting the ship on red alert engages all the defenses.  Keep the shields ready to be raised at a second's notice, most definitely, but we need the shuttles to be able to land quickly and having the shields up isn't conducive to that goal."

Before she could say anything moe, the crackled communication came through from the lead shuttle, Jiseth's voice distorted by the interference eminating from the nebula.  Thankfully, it was still comprehensible, and Archangel was able to catch the use of Romulan ranking rather than Starfleet in her address.  Curious, but ingenious, she thought to herself.  177 Romulans in total.  That was going to make things rather difficult for her if she wanted to minimise contact with them.  Theo
loss of the warbird's commanding officer was a shame, butArchangel refused to let herself dwell on it.  She couldn't let that one death stop her from trying to save hundreds.  

"Acknowledged, Subcommander," she replied over the comm channel.  "Get your squadron back in to dock.  We'll find somewhere for our guests to stay."

As she closed the channel, she looked up at Lieutenant Rellek, considering her words for a moment.  "No, the shuttle bay isn't a good place to have over one hundred people roaming around.  Send a team to start converting one of the spare cargo bays into temporary quarters and get sickbay to send a team of medics down to check them all over.  They're likely to all want to stay together.  Strength in numbers and all that.". Straightening up, she gathered her thoughts in a fraction of a second.  "Commander Sheridan, you're with me.  We're going to greet our guests.  Lieutenant Rellek, you have the bridge.  As soon as all of the shuttles are back on board, put the shields up and put sone distance between us and the nebula for now."

Without waiting for an answer from either of them, she turned and headed for the turbo lift, stepping inside and waiting for her first officer to join her.

As the Captain walked by Julia acknowledged her orders. "Understood sir." She nodded to Ensign McKinley at the secondary science station. The ensign stood up ad made her way to the Julia's station as Julia moved to the center of the bridge. She reached the Command chair and paused. The big chair. Somehow that seat never seemed so big. Julia felt like the chair could swallow her whole. She never had dreams of commanding a Starship but life seems to have a way of thrusting one into situations. This was the first time they had left her with the bridge since the beginning of her new assignment. Others around her began to notice her hesitation. Julia could feel the eyes peering at her. She turned towards the viewscreen and sat. With a deep breathe she clutched both armrests and slowly ran her fingers up the fabric. She sank back into the chair and crossed her legs.

Julia looked to her console and noticed the shuttles had returned. "Ensign Pardek, bring shields back online. Helm, put some distance between us and that nebula. 400,000 kilometers should suffice." She looked over her shoulder towards operations. "Something attacked that Warbird. Wu, maintain continuous scans. No surprises please. I don't care for surprises."

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia looked to her console and noticed the shuttles had returned. "Ensign Pardek, bring shields back online. Helm, put some distance between us and that nebula. 400,000 kilometers should suffice." She looked over her shoulder towards operations. "Something attacked that Warbird. Wu, maintain continuous scans. No surprises please. I don't care for surprises."

[Bridge]

"Yes, ma'am."

Jiseth was beyond melancholy. To take an order from Julia was one thing, but the very real possibility of being busted to an Ensign put a sickly feeling in her stomach. She managed to still get her hands to dance over the console, but they were slowed as if going to the first half of Moonlight Sonata.

The gas clouds around them churned about in large currents. The Phoenix was at full reverse before the helm officer hit the RCS and turned the bow away from the dead warbird and toward the path they had entered by, resuming forward thrust on the impulse engines. Now began the tedious trek out and she kept her eyes on the sensor sweeps. How long before they themselves were ambushed she dared not ask, but hopefully the aggressor simply was in conflict with the Empire and not the Federation.

The crippled Romulan warbird finally couldn't stand the damage it had sustained from the brutal assault.  It has seemed only hold only long enough for those who had survived to be rescued.  Now, with the hull compromised and plasma fires in the weapons bays... explosions raked the warbird in waves of destruction.  There was very little left of what once had been one of the prides and joys of the Star Empire.  Over one thousand Romulans were dead...their vessel's destruction acting as their funeral pyre.

And, on the other side of the nebula...away from the prying eyes of the rescuing Federation vessel...a sleek large battle cruiser slipped away at high warp.  The chaos had begun, but the commander of the vessel was ill pleased in the arrival of the PHOENIX.  No survivors would have been much more preferable, but done was done, and their mission was only just beginning.  Knowing the nebula would cover their signature for the moment; the dark battle cruiser streaked away to continue its mission.

Shuttle Bay

Andrew listened to the challenging question from the Centurion, and then to his Captain's reply. He nodded gravely in support of his commander's words...showing the Romulan's present that he had every intention of following through with her desire to find out what the hell happened to them. His eyes were narrowed in fury...whoever had done this to them had done a good job, but who...and why?

Those were the two main questions in his mind: Who...and Why?

Some of the way the Romulans present kept giving him askance looks of fury and confusion made him wonder further about the who part. If the looks meant anything, it said Starfleet was responsible, but that seemed insane. It would have taken a senior line vessel to take out a warbird...even in an ambush, and the PHOENIX was the only cruiser in the area for over four light-years. So, what was the answer, then?

There were no words he could say at this point, but remained silently supportive of his Captain. One thing was certain, he fully intended to find out what in the blazes was going on...one way...or another.

Shuttle Bay

Centurion Hatham Lareth bowed again to T'Koris in acceptance...though his glance at her XO was still one of suspicion. He was not naive enough to forget that Starfleet had their own version of the Tal Shiar...a shadowy organization known as Section 31. Her word could not be doubted, but others...that was another matter. However, the fact that her subordinate did not speak up said much to the Centurion. Furthermore, he could see the genuine anger and puzzlement in the young human officer's face and deep emerald eyes. This, however, only served to confuse Hatham more, but he had faith in T'Koris. If she said she would find out what was going on, and they would have vengeance...then she would.

"I thank you, Dhael T'Koris. We are at your service should you need us," the Centurion stated with fist to heart in salute.

The rest of the Romulans all focused on T'Koris...silent...their eyes filled with hope.

NPC wrote:

Shuttle Bay

Centurion Hatham Lareth bowed again to T'Koris in acceptance...though his glance at her XO was still one of suspicion.  He was not naive enough to forget that Starfleet had their own version of the Tal Shiar...a shadowy organization known as Section 31.  Her word could not be doubted, but others...that was another matter.  However, the fact that her subordinate did not speak up said much to the Centurion.  Furthermore, he could see the genuine anger and puzzlement in the young human officer's face and deep emerald eyes.  This, however, only served to confuse Hatham more, but he had faith in T'Koris.  If she said she would find out what was going on, and they would have vengeance...then she would.

"I thank you, Dhael T'Koris.  We are at your service should you need us," the Centurion stated with fist to heart in salute.

The rest of the Romulans all focused on T'Koris...silent...their eyes filled with hope.

[Shuttle Bay]

It was becoming evident to Archangel that none of the Romulans gathered particularly trusted Commander Sheridan judging by the looks that were being cast his way. While she wasn't afraid of a confrontation, she couldn't help but be aware that she needed this situation to stay under control as much as possible before wild accusations began to leak out and cause serious problems.

Once again, she turned her head slightly to look at her first officer out of the corner of her eye. "Commander, go back up to the bridge. Keep all sensors on the look out for another Federation vessel and send a dispatch to Starfleet Command to request all ship movements in the surrounding sectors. We need to know now if there's a rogue in the area. Send messages out to the Klingon and Cardassian vessels as well, warn them that there could be a hostile out there and to be prepared." She paused for a moment to think. "And beam what wreckage you can from the nebula to one of the cargo bays. I want science, tactical and engineering teams on it to try to find a weapons signature, anything that will help us identify the vessel that attacked."

She sincerely hoped that he didn't think that she was sending him away through any problem of trust as nothing was further from the truth, but she knew that it was a possibility. It was likely that Centurion Lareth would be more comfortable if it was just her that he was dealing with. Another Federation vessel just attacked his ship. Romulans are paranoid at the best of times. How would you feel? Her gaze turned back to the Centurion, who was once again bowing. It was a cultural trait of the Romulans to show such deference to their superiors and, no matter how much it irked Archangel, she knew that she had to accept it. Refusing such an act could do a lot of damage.

"Centurion, the assistance of you and your crew would be invaluable in the examination of the wreckage, as would be any sensor logs and reports on the attack. The more information we have on what happened, the easier it will be to track down the rogue and put an end to its actions."

Kintiss wrote:

"On our way." Kintiss was quick to respond to the Captain's summons. He quickly grabbed a medkit and opened it, making sure that everything was fully stocked and ready for use. He found it slightly irritating that the Romulans weren't being brought to sickbay, but at least he was getting some exercise.

Satisfied that the medkit was properly stocked, he took a medical tricorder and started for the door. He was certain some other medical crewmen were coming with him. He had a feeling they could use every available crewman on this one. If there was one thing he'd learned through his career, it was that Romulans could be very tricky when it came to medical treatment.

"Sssshuttle bay." he said as he bundled himself into the nearest turbolift. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long.

Looking beyond the group of Romulans, it was with some measure of relief that Archangel spotted a medical team stepping into the shuttle bay, lead by one of their newest officers. It was definitely a good thing in this situation that her medical personnel were so familiar with Romulan physiology, since they were definitely going to need it.

"Ensign Kintiss, have your team look over and treat everyone who needs it."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

Looking beyond the group of Romulans, it was with some measure of relief that Archangel spotted a medical team stepping into the shuttle bay, lead by one of their newest officers.    It was definitely a good thing in this situation that her medical personnel were so familiar with Romulan physiology, since they were definitely going to need it.

"Ensign Kintiss, have your team look over and treat everyone who needs it."

"Yessss, Captain." Kintiss nodded and gave the Romulans a quick look-over. He quickly directed a couple of medical staff over to a cluster of Romulans, while he focused his attention on the saluting Centurion.

Yes, he knew about Romulan physiology. He knew what sort of medicines they needed, their blood composition, where their vital organs were and, if his hand was forced, he knew where to bite for the quickest paralysis. He ran the medical tricorder over the Centurion's form. It looked like he wasn't seriously wounded, so he turned his attention to the others.

Jiseth wrote:

[Bridge]

"Yes, ma'am."

Jiseth was beyond melancholy. To take an order from Julia was one thing, but the very real possibility of being busted to an Ensign put a sickly feeling in her stomach. She managed to still get her hands to dance over the console, but they were slowed as if going to the first half of Moonlight Sonata.

The gas clouds around them churned about in large currents. The Phoenix was at full reverse before the helm officer hit the RCS and turned the bow away from the dead warbird and toward the path they had entered by, resuming forward thrust on the impulse engines. Now began the tedious trek out and she kept her eyes on the sensor sweeps. How long before they themselves were ambushed she dared not ask, but hopefully the aggressor simply was in conflict with the Empire and not the Federation.

"Thank you Lieutenant."

Julia noticed a softness in Jiseth's usually strong voice. She wondered what was wrong but didn't want to pry. She was worried about it effecting her performance in such a delicate situation.

"Lieutenant Jiseth, something attacked that vessel. Keep an eye out for the culprit and standby to get us the hell out of here if necessary."

Julia Rellek wrote:

"Thank you Lieutenant."

Julia noticed a softness in Jiseth's usually strong voice. She wondered what was wrong but didn't want to pry. She was worried about it effecting her performance in such a delicate situation.

"Lieutenant Jiseth, something attacked that vessel. Keep an eye out for the culprit and standby to get us the hell out of here if necessary."

[Bridge]

Disgraced by the Captain and taking orders from a plebe...

"...Of course, ma'am."

Jiseth wondered if this was any form of experience her counterpart had outside of a simulator. It was almost embarrassing for the Romulan. Afterall, she was one of them. Clearly an enemy while clearly Klingons were friends. It was a rather striking example of why her people detested Starfleet. So cluelessly cloy.

The probe telemetry was still coming through, however. It would have been a wonderful location for a Dominion trap. Maybe some Vorta had not gotten the message. Suddenly an alert highlighted in Amber flashed on her display.

"There's a warp signature... Far side of the nebula... Moving away from us. Too faint to tell its course."

Julia Rellek wrote:

As the Captain walked by Julia acknowledged her orders. "Understood sir." She nodded to Ensign McKinley at the secondary science station. The ensign stood up ad made her way to the Julia's station as Julia moved to the center of the bridge. She reached the Command chair and paused. The big chair. Somehow that seat never seemed so big. Julia felt like the chair could swallow her whole. She never had dreams of commanding a Starship but life seems to have a way of thrusting one into situations. This was the first time they had left her with the bridge since the beginning of her new assignment. Others around her began to notice her hesitation. Julia could feel the eyes peering at her. She turned towards the viewscreen and sat. With a deep breathe she clutched both armrests and slowly ran her fingers up the fabric. She sank back into the chair and crossed her legs.

Julia looked to her console and noticed the shuttles had returned. "Ensign Pardek, bring shields back online. Helm, put some distance between us and that nebula. 400,000 kilometers should suffice." She looked over her shoulder towards operations. "Something attacked that Warbird. Wu, maintain continuous scans. No surprises please. I don't care for surprises."

[Bridge]

Safefta had briefly considered following Archangel along when she left the bridge to speak with the Romulans... but she'd just as quickly decided against it. If the captain had wanted her along she probably would have asked.

"Yes, ma'am," she said quietly to the science officer that had taken over the command chair. "Shields are up," she said a moment later. It was a wise decision. Anything powerful enough to do that kind of damage to a Romulan ship wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Jiseth wrote:

[Bridge]

Disgraced by the Captain and taking orders from a plebe...

"...Of course, ma'am."

Jiseth wondered if this was any form of experience her counterpart had outside of a simulator. It was almost embarrassing for the Romulan. Afterall, she was one of them. Clearly an enemy while clearly Klingons were friends. It was a rather striking example of why her people detested Starfleet. So cluelessly cloy.

The probe telemetry was still coming through, however. It would have been a wonderful location for a Dominion trap. Maybe some Vorta had not gotten the message. Suddenly an alert highlighted in Amber flashed on her display.

"There's a warp signature... Far side of the nebula... Moving away from us. Too faint to tell its course."

A very similar alert had come up on Safefta's panel. "It is also too far out of range to determine its affiliation. Our shields are at full capacity. Should we pursue the vessel? It may have attacked the Romulan ship."