30: This Is Some Rescue Part Two

This Is Some Rescue: Part Two
71216.21
by TC Blane and Lair Kellyn
Following Part One

--=Aboard the USS Alchemy=--



Kellyn looked over at Salvek. "We can't let them take the ship."

"Agreed."

"We have to initiate the self-destruct," before she could finish her sentence, Reece started bouncing up and down.

"Wait! Remember that other cloaked ship?"

"How could we forget!" Kellyn growled. "Where is it?"

"It's all up in Taris' grill!"

"On screen." Salvek commanded, and soon the black span of space straight ahead of Taris' ship vanished, replaced by a Romulan Warbird, with its nose pointed straight at her bridge.

"What the hell is going on?" Grace wondered aloud.

"I am not certain, Lieutenant, but plot an escape course at highest possible warp, be ready to engage it on my mark." Salvek ordered.

"Course to where, Sir?"

"Earth."

"Aye, Sir."


-= On the Aehallh=-


"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Taris screamed. You said we were not followed! You assured me that nothing was behind us!"

"The sensor readings must have been effected by the presence of the small transwarp ship, Sir," The young Romulan at the science station replied nervously. "All those anomalous readings. . . I was certain that,"

Taris pulled her disruptor and in an instant flash of green light, the man disappeared. She holstered her weapon and gestured to another at the nearby secondary science station. "Take his place."

The replacement nodded weakly.

"Subcommander," the woman at communications addressed Taris by her old rank, even though it had been years since it was officially hers. "We are being hailed by the Warbird."

"Put it through."

[Do you have Zanh Liis in your possession? You will surrender her to us immediately.]

"Praetor Vrak! We are mere moments away from securing her aboard our ship."

[You should have had her by now, Taris. You've failed. Again.]

"We can offer you so much more than just Zanh Liis!" She insisted, rushing closer to the screen. "I have at this moment, the prototype Federation transwarp ship in my tractor beam! Aboard that ship is not only Zanh Liis but Salvek, son of Sakkath! I present them all to the Empire as gifts."

[We will take possession of that ship,] Praetor Vrak smiled at her pleasantly. [And yours.]

"What?" Taris snarled through clenched jaws. "We had an agreement."

[An oath to a scoundrel is meaningless.] Vrak concluded. [We will have you, Salvek, and Zanh Liis.]

Taris realized that she had just been double-crossed by her last connection within the Romulan military. She hadn't come this far after all these years to lose her prizes, and her chance at redemption, to one greedy Praetor with his own agenda.

She gestured for the signal to be cut, and she spun around toward her tactical officer. "Fire on them again. Disable Salvek's ship. Destroy their shield emitter and beam everyone aboard."

"Subcommander, we will have to release the tractor beam first. If we fire on them, at the rate their shields are modulating the impact will send a devastating charge back at us over the tractor beam. In a feedback loop."

"Then lower the tractor, but don't lose them! I won't give him up!" Taris shouted. "Not after all these years!"

Taris' subordinate dropped the tractor beam, but before they could fire on the Alchemy, her own ship was rocked violently by sudden explosions. It seemed as if the Praetor had decided to end this in his own fashion, right now.

"WHAT?" Taris screamed. "This is not possible!"


===Back on the Alchemy===


"Sir," Reece jumped back up out of his chair and pointed at his station. "They've released the tractor beam."

"Both ships are powering weapons." TC chimed in calmly. "The Aehallh is targeting us and- wait." TC paused, realizing that Taris was about to have much more on her mind than the Alchemy.

Alchemy pitched to the side as the shockwave from the blow to the Aehallh hit their shields. "It's seems they are targeting each other and not us." TC concluded.

"Engage!" Salvek shouted over the noise, and February punched the helm, warping the Alchemy away from the Romulans, from Aertok, and from Taris.

"I never thought," Kellyn said, slumping down into the chair at the engineering station, "that I would ever be so glad to see a Romulan Warbird in my life."

Salvek descended slowly into the command chair. He brought his hands together and pressed his index fingers to his chin. He wanted to believe that they were going to be all right, that they would be able to escape the Warbird and Taris. But he feared it would not take long for the Warbird to finish off the Aehallh and then, they would be on Alchemy's heels.


A moment later, a voice was heard coming over the com.

[Jariel to bridge,]

"Things are very busy here, Vedek," Salvek replied, "What do you require?"


Lt. Commander TC Blane
and Lt. Commander Lair Kellyn
USS Alchemy NX-53099