by Commander Taris
81115.1800
Concurrent with The Greatest Threat
-=Location: Unknown=-
81115.1800
Concurrent with The Greatest Threat
-=Location: Unknown=-
“The time has come.” Taris said, sneering and leaning over the console in engineering. The Chief Engineer, Tolleth had been her closest ally through this, temporary setback, as she called it. Seems life was full of temporary setbacks. Seems victory was always just one small step away, and then humiliation.
They would pay.
They would all pay.
She didn’t know whom she hated more anymore, Zanh Liis and Salvek, or her own people. It hardly mattered. They would all be made to suffer in the end.
Any loyalty Taris had to anyone beside herself went up in smoke during the mission to Aertok, when her own Praetor had turned against her.
-Flashback-
"Hello, little one." Taris sneered. "It looks like today will be historic for the Romulan Empire in more ways than one. First, we will obtain Zanh Liis and all the information she carries, and then, we will eliminate you, as I should have done all those years ago."
"You cannot win, Taris." Salvek replied. "Even if you kill us all today, the technology is already a reality. Our work is established. You cannot prevent it from continuing. You would have to wipe out the entire Federation." He locked eyes on her, showing no fear or emotion of any kind. "You are too late."
"Prepare to be boarded," Taris replied, "I look forward to renewing our acquaintance."
The screen flashed back to darkness, and everyone on the bridge stood in silence.
-= 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!"
-End Flashback-
Shortly thereafter, her ship had been captured, and her along with it. They had stripped her of rank, and sent her to the bowls of a warbird to toil under the auspices Tolleth. She could have gone on a murderous rampage, and burned out in a blaze of glory. That, however, was not her style.
The style of now sub-centurion Taris was to bide her time, forge new alliances, and when the time came, to then eliminate all those who had betrayed and opposed her.
And so it was for nearly a year. She befriended Tolleth, and then bewitched him. It had not been easy. He ran his department with brutal efficiency, but Taris ran her schemes in much the same way. It was only a matter of time before he fell to her advances, and bought into her glorious ideals for what the Empire should be.
Tolleth still ran engineering in name and title, but Taris controlled his every move. The Captain knew nothing of the movement growing below decks. Taris used Tolleth and his influence to recruit crew members to her cause. She promised each a place at her side when the time came.
It did not take a lot of research for the crew to find out that Taris had been a ship Commander and a powerful one at that. For those in dead end careers the appeal of what she offered was overwhelming. Real influence and real power in an Empire that rules the Alpha Quadrant.
In reality, all Taris was really aiming for was vengeance. She had pursued Salvek and his research across the galaxy, and lost everything due to her failures.
Her mind wandered deep into the past, to the first time she had encountered Salvek as a young boy. At the time it was Salvek’s parents who were pioneering the research into transwarp. If she had any idea at the time Salvek would continue their work, she would have kept him and raised him herself.
But alas she had foolishly let the boy go, thinking him useless to her.
-=Flashback=-
Salvek of Vulcan, age five, is traveling with his parents, T’shanik and Sakkath, and his brother. Their shuttle has just been attacked by a Romulan Warbird and is hurtling towards a class M moon.
”We need to level our descent further! Our angle is too steep,” T’shanik warns, as Salvek watches from the rear of the cabin.
”I have used up the remainder of the thruster emergency power. Our approach vector is 10 degrees from the horizontal we should be able to land safely!”
”There is a field ahead we will land there,” T’shanik points out the clearing ahead of them in the distance.
”We are going too fast the shuttle will crumble when we impact.”
”It cannot be helped. The children.”
Sakkath nods. He reaches out and caresses T'shanik's cheek. Knowing it would be the last chance he ever has.
” I love you my wife.”
”I love you my husband.”
The couple shares a final kiss, and holds hands knowing when they let go, it will likely be for the last time. Finally they part.
”10 Seconds,” Sakkath warns. He pulls Salvek to the ground and covers his body with his, as T'shanik does the same with Salvek's brother.
The shuttle smashes into the ground, skidding for several seconds as items are thrown about. His parents hold still for several moments before the jolt of the shuttle stopping. Salvek watches as his mother's grip on the support bar slips and she flies into the cockpit.
He is unable to see but hears her body smash into the control panel. Salvek closes his eyes as a piece of the roof of the shuttle cracks and falls on his father's back. He hears his breath leaving his body as his weight collapses unmoving on top of him.
”Father? Father get up I can't move. Father?”
Salvek felt his heart racing as tears formed in his eyes. His parents had taught him not to cry, but he could not stop. His mind went blank. Fear took over.
*Run, Salvek.*
All he could think to do was run. The other boy was forgotten. Salvek struggled free from under his father's unmoving body. He was still too young to know what death was, but knew he would never see his mother or father move again. He ran through a hole torn in the hull and up the side of a nearby cliff. Halfway up he heard a sound from behind him.
Turning back, he saw several shapes come into form. Salvek ducked as the bodies became whole. They looked like his parents, but all wore patchwork light and dark gray checkered uniforms. Salvek knew from pictures that these were Romulans.
”Where are they?” Taris demanded.
“They are not in the shuttle.” Taris’s weapon’s officer says, as he scand the wreckage. “Wait, they are. I'm sorry sub-commander they are dead. Killed in the crash. There is a single weak life sign still in the shuttle. A Vulcan child.”
Taris stomped her foot in frustration.“DAMNIT! They were to be taken alive! Impudent fool!”
Taris roared, as she ripped her disrupter from her hip. Salvek watched the ashes float to the ground of what was, moments before, the Warbird's weapons officer.
”If their transwarp experiments were damaged, he will not be the only one to die today.” Taris warned the remaining soldiers.
One of the Romulans stepped towards Taris, and whispered in her ear. Suddenly, Taris motions towards her men and three of them break for the ridge Salvek is on. Salvek turns and runs again. He makes it only a few steps before feeling a hot tingling in his back as everything goes black and he collapses into the dirt.
Time passes, as the Romulans move the child to their ship and wait for him to awaken.
After a short wait, Salvek’s eyes blink open, and try to focus on the room around him.
”Mother? Is that you?”
”You should be so lucky child,” Taris says to the boy, “Tell me what you know of your parents work.”
”I... don't remember, I don't know. My parents don't talk about their work.”
”Perhaps a truth serum,” one of the Romulans suggests to Taris.
”Don't be absurd. This child knows nothing,” Taris says, shaking her head.
”Then shall we terminate them?”
Taris narrowed her eyes, “We are warriors, not petty terrorist cowards. Of course we will not terminate them. Place each in a shuttle pod separately. Set the pods on a course to the Federation. They will handle these children.”
Taris looks back at Salvek one final time before he is taken away.
”We didn't get everything we needed, but when we do, we will meet again someday little one. And I will not be so gentle.”
-=End Flashback=-
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Taris of Romulus
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Taris of Romulus