Holonovel--Page Fifty-four
"Word reached my government that the Tox Uthat had somehow been duplicated. My ship and another warbird were dispatched to gather as much information as possible on the rumor, and obtain the Tox Uthat if the rumors were true. At least six Starfleet officials were bribed into helping us. The two ships' cloaking devices were improved so that we would be able to cloak more quickly, and be still more undetectable. The cost, however, was that the ships can only cloak for a limited amount of time, due to energy constraints. I'm sorry, but I'm not yet prepared to give you the exact amount of time. Anyway, your ship previously encountered the other ship, captured it, and brought it back to Earth. Four of its crewmembers had been on Earth gathering information, but your Lt. Miller ran into two of them, and they were caught. The other two hid with Starfleet officials we had bribed. One admiral helped us by securing the captured crewmembers' release; however, they are still on Earth, hiding with the admiral. After the other ship's capture, our ship continued to follow the rumors, which led us to our encounter with the USS Nevada. We were still looking for information when we were detected by the Nevada. We were uncloaked at that time because we had already depleted most of our energy reserves by cloaking and had had to recharge to cloak again. When the Nevada detected us, we had no choice but to fire, being on a secret mission. Another warbird crossed the Neutral Zone and came to our assistance, but it was destroyed by the Nevada. After the Nevada destroyed the warbird, however, it was seriously damaged, and restreated into the sun. Lacking the appropriate shielding technology, we were unable to follow it, but we did not want to leave the area because we still had scans and investigations to do in the system, so we just resumed our work. Shortly afterwards, your ship arrived. Seeing the power of your ship, we wanted to retreat, but we had to finsh our work in the system first. So we cloaked and finished our work. Once we did, we left the system, following a rumor about the Uthat. We had to decloak for a moment to engage the warp drive, but we recloaked immediately afterwards. Later, we arrived here. You know the rest. What the point of this discussion is, though, is that I am beginning to question the morality of my orders."
"How so?" asks the captain.
"I have little doubt about what my superiors will do with the Uthat if they get it--they will destroy and kill."
"I see."
"And, although I am as quick as any other Romulan to defend the Empire, I do not share my commanders' ideals, and I do not see a point in senseless killing."
"Neither do I, and neither does Starfleet."
"Neither does Starfleet. That is precisely the reason I am here. I would like my crew to work with your crew to locate the Uthat and turn it over to Starfleet. I trust that Starfleet would be able to properly deal with it."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Even Starfleet still has some officials who accept bribes, remember?"
"All too well. However, I would still trust Starfleet with the Uthat more than I would trust the Empire with it."
"I'm afraid I have to agree with you there."
"It's settled, then?"
"I'll have to ask Starfleet Command about that, but I think it's a good idea."
"All right, then. Our ship will stay with yours until your superiors reach a decision."
"Very well."
The Romulans are escorted to the transporter room, and they beam back aboard their ship. Shift change time has already passed, so a new shift of officers is on duty on the bridge, including a new commanding officer, which means that you can return to your quarters, have a late dinner, and get some rest.