Chapter 2: The New Neighbors
USS Oberon, Nearing the Cheron system
The Cheron
system, location of one of the most decisive battles of the Romulan War. Captain Jerran
found it rather ironic that the Romulans would choose this of all places to
host a joint venture with Starfleet.
Perhaps the war with the Dominion and the Reman uprising have taught
them some humility. Or, at the least,
they’ve developed a sense of humor far beyond that of their Vulcan cousins.
The five ships, 3 Starfleet and 2
Romulan, flew in close formation through the system, coming out of warp near
the 4th planet, where a medium sized Romulan starbase hung in high
orbit. As with many of their ships, the
starbase had a greenish tint to its hull, making it look like a giant mushroom
floating in orbit. The upper section of
the station was roughly disk shaped.
Four main sections radiated out from the center, each containing an
eighth of the circle. The rest of the
disk was open to the center, with a ring running around the circumference,
holding the disk sections together.
Attached to the ring in between each of the main sections was a long
spire extending up and down from the ring.
Similar to the Cardassian Nor class of stations, the spires contained the station’s
docking ports for larger ships at the ends, which were bent outwards from the
station. The four main sections of the
disk had numerous smaller docking ports and large docking bays for shuttles and
runabouts. From Jerran’s estimation, the
docking bays could easily accommodate something the size of a Jem’Hadar
fighter. A long stalk extended down from
the center of the disk. There was also a
central tower extending above the disk, no doubt the station’s control center.
The Oberon and her escorts hadn’t slipped a micron from their formation
with the Romulan starship in front of them, thanks to the uncanny ability of
Commander Belock to navigate with such precision. It was a feet that surely did not go
unnoticed by their new allies, Jerran thought.
The Romulans had tried to shake them out of formation a couple of times
very slightly, but LT Cartwright had always managed to keep up.
As Captain Jerran stepped onto the
bridge from his ready room, the starbase was already on the viewscreen. Only one starship was docked to it, a Romulan
cruiser that was about the same size as the Oberon. As was agreed by both Starfleet and the
Romulan Navy, neither side had sent their largest ships, but they were all
still adequate to whatever task would be at hand, especially in concert. Both the Andromeda
class Oberon and the Intrepid class Belerophon were designed to be
jacks-of-all-trades. The Belerophon had a slightly more
sophisticated sensor system, with a much more advanced bio-neural gel pack
computer system. The Oberon came out just before bio-neural
gel packs, but had a somewhat better tactical suite. The Nova
class USS Ptolemy was tactically the
weakest of the three Starfleet ships, but as it was a dedicated surveyor, it
had a much better sensor system than either of its larger cousins. Ships of the Nova class also typically had a very sophisticated planetary sensor
array system, which was further advanced by a special “waverider” class of
atmospheric shuttle. Jerran was somewhat
of a scholar when it came to the history of the major space faring races, and
from his studies, the Romulans tended to favor stealth and tactical sensors
over weaponry.
Jerran walked over to the tactical
station and stood next to LCDR Jenna D’Sora, watching as she used the passive
sensors to track a number of small vessels zipping around the station. Jerran was just about to walk away when a
section of her board started flashing, prompting her to say, “We’re being
hailed by the station, Captain.”
The view of the station was
replaced by the interior of the station’s control room. A Romulan woman with long dark hair stood
near what looked like some sort of master situation table. She was grinning slightly; an expression that
Jerran was disturbed to notice conveyed both a warmth
and some sort of predatory foreboding.
[Captain Jerran,] she said, moving
out from behind the table to stand in front of her view screen. [I am Commander-General t’Ehrowhin, and on
behalf of the Romulan Star Empire, I welcome you and your crew to Starbase Veloris.]
Jerran had moved in front of the
wide helm console and stood with his hands behind his back. “I appreciate the welcome, khre’Riov,” Jerran
said, using the actually Romulan words for her rank. “My crew and I are looking forward to working
with you and ushering in a new era of cooperation between our governments.”
T’Ehrowhin’s grin got slightly
bigger. She knew that neither of them
were diplomats, and both could detect the other’s veiled insincerity. She understood where Jerran was coming from,
and respected him for being here. And,
she was impressed that he’d done enough research to at least know how to say
her rank in her own tongue. [I would
welcome the Oberon and the other
ships to dock, Captain, but unfortunately we have not finished the
modifications to our docking ports needed to accommodate your ships. I hope you don’t mind taking a shuttle over.]
“Not at all,
Commander. I’ll have the captains of the Ptolemy and the Belerophon beam over here, and we’ll arrive on the Veloris shortly. As for the docking ports, I’m sure that my
chief engineer will be more than willing to bring some parts over to help
expedite the procedure.”
t’Ehrowhin nodded and said, [That would be most generous of you,
Captain. I’ll dispatch a shuttle to pick
your LT Parker up.]
Jerran was amused that she
obviously knew the roster of his senior staff, but more amused that she was
letting him know. If anything, this was
going to be an interesting game.
Jerran simply nodded back to her
and said, “Oberon out.” He then turned to D’Sora and said, “Have
Captains Stark and Cirol beam over and meet me in the yacht docking bay. The Corps of Engineers went through enough
trouble to add it on during our refit, we might as
well try her out.”
“Shall I call up a pilot for you,
Captain?” Cartwright said in a playfully sarcastic tone that only she could get
away with, knowing what the answer would be.
He simply said, “Nope,” as he got
into the turbolift and headed down to the docking port.
*********************
A small detail of Romulan guards
met the three starship commanders as they walked down the ramp from the Oberon’s Captain’s yacht. Without introduction, they took the Starfleet
officers up to the command center.
Commander Cirol, Captain of the Ptolemy,
was slightly dismayed as she saw the Romulan shuttle pass by on its way to the Oberon to pick up an engineering
crew. It reminded her of some sort of
hostage exchange. *We’re allies now,*
the Bolian thought to herself as the group stood in the turbolift waiting for
it to get to the upper levels of the station.
She looked over at the other two ship commanders, both of which were
defiantly calm. *Must be a Bajoran
thing,* she thought as she turned back to the lift door.
As the lift stopped, the door
opened, and the group was herded out into the command center. It was pretty typical of most starbase
operations centers, with multiple levels and half levels housing various
monitoring stations. The center was
lower than the rest of the room, dominated by a large central console. The room was lit by a diffuse green glow,
much like most Romulan ships and stations.
The group was led into a large
office on the opposite side of the command center from the lift. Captain Jerran noticed that it was much more
ornately appointed than most Romulan ships he’d seen pictures of. The center of the room was empty, but Jerran
could see from panel lines in the floor that there was probably something
hidden there, such as a smaller version of the master situation table. Two couches sat against the side walls, each
with its own window. The third wall had
an even larger window and looked out over one of the wedge shaped sections of
the station’s main body. This was where
the commanding officer’s desk was situated, with the Commander-General herself
standing in front of it as the Starfleet officers entered.
Jerran could tell that
Commander-General t’Ehrowhin was not a typical Romulan officer. First of all, there was the hair, somewhat
longer than shoulder length. Then there
was her uniform, consisting of a skirt in the typical Romulan gray colors. But, female Romulan officers haven’t been
known to wear this type of uniform since before the Tomed Incident almost 70
years ago.
“It’s good to see you in person,
Captain Jerran,” she said, extending her hand to the Oberon’s CO warmly.
He shook it and then turned
towards the other two officers.
Motioning to the Bajoran he said, “This is Commander Stark Keller,
Captain of the Belerophon. And this is Commander Cirol, Captain of the Ptolemy.”
t’Ehrowhin nodded to them both and said, “I am Commander-General
D’Ana t’Ehrowhin. I welcome you all to
the Veloris.” She motioned to another Romulan woman who was
standing unobtrusively near one of the couches, watching everything that the
party did. This woman was almost the
opposite of t’Ehrowhin, from her shorter blond hair to her standard Romulan
uniform, adorned with the crest of the Tal Shiar. “This is Major L’Daia t’Khellian, the
commander of the Tal Shiar security force on the station.”
The Major shared a curt nod with
Captain Jerran. She obviously didn’t
have t’Ehrowhin’s warmth, or at least chose not to show it. “I think we should get into the specifics of
our relationships here,” t’Khellian said, obviously not one to delay a point.
t’Ehrowhin looked somewhat annoyed by her associate’s lack of patience, but offered the Starfleet crew a
seat, which they accepted. She then went
to her chair and sat down, t’Khellian taking a place slightly behind. “As you all know, our governments have never
been very friendly with each other. But,
with recent events, things have changed within the Empire such that we feel a
formal alliance is in order to facilitate the safety of both of our governments
in these perilous times. Over the past
five years alone, we’ve both had dealings with the Cardassians, the Borg, the
Dominion, the Grey, and the Son’a, just to name a few.”
“Despite our differences,”
t’Khellian stated, not exactly interrupting, but more continuing t’Ehrowhin’s
thought. “Our respective leaders
realized that there is strength in…. cooperation.” She was obviously uncomfortable stating the
final word in their presence, Jerran thought to himself.
“And that’s where your ships come
in,” t’Ehrowhin continued. “We are
looking at this situation as a similar arrangement as what the Federation had
with Bajor on Deep Space 9, except, of course, that I will remain in command of
the Veloris, and each of you will
keep your respective commands. At my own
behest, and with the approval of your government, I have a special purpose for
you, Captain Jerran. You are to be my
adjutant.”
Jerran merely raised an eyebrow as
she continued. “In that capacity, you
will not only be second in command of the station, but you will also command
the squadron of ships stationed here.”
She turned slightly towards Major t’Khellian, as if to make a point to
her and said, “Including the Romulan ships.”
She gave him a smile that would have probably sent a chill down his
spine if he hadn’t been raised on Vulcan and said, “I hope you feel up to the task.”
Jerran could feel the noose
tightening already. This sort of a
position may seem like an honor to some, but with the Romulans involved,
there’s probably going to be a catch, eventually. Despite those thoughts of misgiving, he knew
that he’d agreed to this mission, no matter what. “Of course, khre’Riov,” he replied simply.
“Excellent,” t’Ehrowhin said as
she got up from her desk, moving to the front.
“Major, why don’t you show the commanders around some of the
station? I’d like to speak with my new
Adjutant in private. And don’t be
secretive, we’re allies now.”
Major t’Khellian glowered at her
superior for a split second but responded, “Ie, rekkhai. Please follow me.”
Cirol gave Jerran a worried look
as she and Stark got up to follow t’Khellian out. Jerran smiled at the Bolian, reassuring her
as the door closed.
“Is it typical to have so much
animosity between a commander and the Tal Shiar spy?” Jerran said.
t'Ehrowhin laughed and said, “Very direct, Captain. I like that.”
She walked over to a cabinet near one of the couches and took out a
bottle of blue liquid. “To tell you the
truth, there is some history between the Major and I.”
She looked out one of the windows
for a moment as she said, “We were good friends once, a long time ago, but our
mutual ambitions and differing ideas about where the Empire should be heading
changed that. She’s just become bitterer
lately with the stance that our government has taken towards détente.” She poured a drink for both her and Jerran
and continued, saying, “Deep down, I think she knows this is the right
direction for us considering the circumstances, but she’s too damned proud to
admit it.”
“And having the Lloanna here,” Jerran said, using the
Romulan derogatory term for Federation members, “doesn’t exactly help her
pride, I’m sure.”
The Commander-General laughed
before taking a drink and said, “Very well put, Captain. I can see you’ve done your homework, as the
Terrans would say. You should have seen
t’Khellian’s face when I told her I was appointing you as my Adjutant.”
“Which brings me to a question,”
Jerran said, putting his half full drink on a side table. “Why?”
t’Ehrowhin nodded and said, “I studied your career, Captain, and I
believe that you have a singular perspective that makes you invaluable for this
particular situation. With your dual
heritage, you’ve always had to walk a line between two cultures which most
people would not consider complimentary.
Bajorans and Romulans have so much in common with each other, at least
ideologically.”
Jerran looked at her somewhat
incredulously as she continued. “We both
come from very passionate people who’ve had to endure very trying times.
“Have you ever heard of the
concept of Mnhei’Sahe, Captain
Jerran?” she said as she sat down on the couch next to him.
“Very briefly. There’s so much
about
“Of course. Basically, it
translates roughly to ‘Ruling Passion.’
It is the Way in which we live our lives. Unfortunately, this way was somewhat lost
over the course of the past century as we became increasingly xenophobic. We allowed certain elements of our society to
start wielding more power at the cost of Mnhei’Sahe. This is basically when the Tal Shiar started
to come into power. But, due to recent
events and the actions of certain underground groups on
“Of all of the cultures in the
galaxy, I think that Bajor is closest to understanding Mnhei’Sahe than anyone
else. Watching from afar, we saw that it
was their own form of the Way that allowed Bajor to
fight its Cardassian opressors. You’ve
studied the ways of Bajor all your life, and yet you also retain parts of your
Vulcan heritage, making you still very much related to
Jerran nodded and said, “I won’t
argue with your logic, as I do see your point to an extent, but you have to
admit that this is an unprecedented and indeed very strange arrangement we have
here. I’m sure it will take some getting
used to, for both of our crews.”
“Yes, you’ll have the pleasure of
meeting the other commanders in your squadron, but to say the least, they were
nowhere near as happy as t’Khellian to have you here in this particular
position. Sub-Commander tr’Loren, in
particular, was looking forward to ascending to your position. I’m sure you’ll start to see all of the different
alliances on this station, Captain, but I’ll warn you of one of the most
dangerous now. I’m sure that tr’Loren
and t’Khellian are working together, and they’d like nothing more than to see
the two of us fall flat on our faces.”
Jerran grinned and said, “Thanks
for the warning. I’ll be sure to watch
my back.”
“Indeed,” t’Ehrowhin said with a
smile as she got up from her desk. “Now,
shall we take a tour of the station?
It’s not one of the larger ones in the Empire, but it certainly has a
style that I’m more than a little proud and fond of.”
“Of course,” Jerran said as he got
up and followed her out of the office.