From: neale@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Neale Davidson)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: STTRR 1-10/20
Date: 13 Aug 92 13:35:44 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center


 
  - STAR TREK        -------------------------------------------------
  - THE RAVEN'S ROAR -------------------------------------------------
 
  Parts One through Ten of Twenty (repost)
 
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  CHAPTER ONE
 
        Captain's log: Stardate 10144.2
        Captain Jonathan McGyver Reporting
 
        We have been assigned patrol duty along the Romulan
        Neutral Zone. While the crew of the FEARLESS is a bit
        nervous about the prospect, we have been keeping high
        spirits.
 
        This will be the last mission of this vessel before she
        returns to drydock for decomissioning. I am deeply sorry
        to see the old girl go. It will be a momentous occaision,
        the last of the CONSTITUTION vessels put out to pasture.
 
        But, I will also admit that I'm looking forward to ending
        this tour. Even with the tense relations between the
        Empire and the Federation, I feel a bit bored with my
        current command. I'd take exploration over patrol duty
        any day.
 
        It is called the Neutral Zone, a buffer between the
  United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire. This
  single area of space, ten parsecs across a nearly worthless
  region, has become the most dreaded.
        This buffer does not insure the peace between the
  opposing governments. It acts as a staging ground. For
  one-hundred and twenty years, it has served as a skirmish site
  between ships seeking slight advantages over one-another. It
  has served as a place for two unlike governments to vent their
  frustrations.
        But there never had been a declaration of war since the
  Zone was established, and the FEARLESS, as old as she was, was
  determined to be strong enough for routine patrol duty.
        Nevertheless, McGyver couldn't help but feel nervous
  about his duty. Not many captains would be assigned to the
  neutral zone during their entire carrer. But McGyver was
  special, he had confronted Romulans. Not many in Fleet could
  say that, not many in Fleet would wish to knowing what could
  happen to them.
        Romulans were the ultimate unknown. The Federation could not
  comprehend what or who the Romulans are, what they fight for,
  how they relate to others, what their culture consists of.
  McGyver had seen a few face to face, and had fought against
  them. Fleet offered him a captaincy patrolling the Zone for all
  he has done, and he readily jumped at it.
        But now he had learned to regret this decision. He had,
  for the past few weeks, been sitting in this primarily Vulcan
  starship as captain, wishing for something, anything, to occur.
  "Boring with the promise of great excitement," he muttered.
  "Kelak, sensor scan report, see if there are any energy
  irregularities."
        "Sensor scan indicating no bizarre energy readings. No
  cloaking patterns evident," the science officer replied in a
  characteristically cool tone. McGyver didn't fell comforted by
  the knowledge.
        "Thank you, Commander Kelak," McGyver barked as he sat
  back into his command chair.  "Set course to outpost seven,
  warp three." Another six hours and this rotten month would
  climax into some R&R at starbase.
        "Now scanning an energy reading, high concentration of
  ions, from astern at four thousand kilometers, closing fast."
  quite quickly regained his interest. "Definately a Romulan
  cloaking pattern," Kelak continued.
        McGyver clinched the grips on his chair, almost
  anxiously. "Can you match the cloaking configuration?"
        "Negative, cloak configuration matches no known Romulan or
  Klingon vessels specifically, but the pattern resembles that of
  the Romulan cruisers, higher energy levels being the major
  difference here, sir," the Vulcan replied, revealing a hint of
  apprehension.
        "Raise shields, go to yellow alert." McGyver's voice
  showed an edge of nervousness. The klaxxon roared to life, and
  the crew scattered into their defence positions. "Open hailing
  frequencies."
        The communicator's response was a wailing of static
  energy."Sir, alien vessel is jamming our communications
  attempts." The Vulcan tried a few more of his buttons to no
  avail. "Confirmed, sir. Alien vessel closing in on
  one-eight-zero mark zero. All attempts of communication has
  thus far failed, communication with Fleet impossible."
        MvGyver found himself gaping at the viewscreen. "That is
  an attack posture! Arm torpedoes and circle the enemy vessel,"
  he barked. The officers quickly began to obey orders, quaking.
        "Torpedoes armed," one of the officers finally replied.
  But at that very same moment, there was a rupture on the
  viewscreen, space ripped itself apart and stars began to
  distort their images and color asserted itself upon a black
  canvas.  The rupture spewed the wings of a Romulan Eagle, their
  bird of death.
        McGyver clinched his seat in a death grip. The
  less-controlled Vulcans gasped. Even the most-controlled Vulcan
  could not easily conceal their fear. The science officer tried,
  and failed to compose himself. "Sir, Romulan NOVA class
  battleship in sector, she is arming torpedoes."
        McGyver weighed options to himself, but he knew the
  Romulans well enough not to trust them to withhold fire. The
  battleship screamed toward the FEARLESS, it would only be a few
  moments before all was decided. McGyver had to act quickly.
        The FEARLESS's science officer spoke with an obvious
  nervousness, "Romulan vessel bearing on attack pattern."
  McGyver turned, noticing the fear which had suddenly gripped
  his crew.
        So, even the emotionless Vulcans show their fear of the
  giant Romulan bird, McGyver thought to himself. "Launch
  torpedoes!" The FEARLESS poured two balls of red-hot energy
  from her spine. The torpedoes crashed into the Romulan's
  shields in a fiery glow that illuminated the black sky. Even
  against this impressive barrage of firepower, the giant vessel
  refused to so much as shudder.
        "Arm all weapons." McGyver fell back into his chair. He
  hadn't expected to go up against a Romulan Battleship, not this
  soon. These battleships were used for defence only, so
  intelligence had assumed, and there were no battleships with
  cloaking devices. At least, there weren't until now.
        The FEARLESS rounded the Romulan craft to the port side.
  But the Romulan ship had been ready for the maneuver and
  unleashed a stream of light into the Federation cruiser's hull.
  Bits of metal merged with fiery streaks of phaser energy
  struck to produce a brilliant glow of hell on the cruiser.
  McGyver cursed to himself. "Status report."
        The Vulcan looked over his console. "Shield two is out on
  our vessel with minor damage, the Romulan vessel has sustained
  thirty percent damage on their number one shield."
        The Romulan ship spat forth another torpedo from its
  beak. The energy-ball bashed into the formerly soft-blue sensor
  dish on the FEARLESS. The dish ruptured into engineering, and
  the resulting energy rendered the lower hull of the Federation
  ship ablaze. Explosions rocked up her spine as glass, metal,
  flesh and blood all were blown out the rear of FEARLESS's
  slender and rupturing neck.
        The bridge went aflame, and McGyver felt his stomach
  lunge into his throat as consoles around the bridge exploded in
  their operator's faces. The death screams of his crew filled
  McGyver's ears. Almost instantly crew-members ran into the
  bridge and sprayed foam to put out the fires. The remaining
  bridge personell ran past the charred bodies of their former
  comrades to find out just what exactly had happened and what
  they could do now.
        McGyver looked down. "Status report, anyone." He soon
  noticed that he was bleeding from a piece of glass stuck into
  his arm from what was the navigator's station. But there wasn't
  any time to get sick bay to care for it. It would have to bleed
  until they got out of this mess.
        "All shields have collapsed, major damage on all decks," the
  Vulcan spoke as cooly as he could, but nervousness etched
  itself on his tone. "Sensor scan damage makes reading of enemy
  vessel impossible. We have lost both impulse and warp engine
  control." The FEARLESS's Captain grimaced at the report.
        The tactical officer retraced his fingers over the
  weapons systems, rattling off countless reports and figures.
  "All weapons systems are nonfunctional," he grimly announced to
  the crew.
        The lighting had already changed to bright red, but the
  drain of power already caused the lights to flicker. McGyver
  slouched back into his chair, pondering on a way out of the
  situation. "Are the hailing frequencies open yet?" he muttered.
        A Vulcan stood up, "Aye sir, the Romulan vessel is
  responding."  The same Vulcan pressed a few toggles and the
  harsh image of a Romulan Commander appeared onscreen. The sight
  left Captain McGyver speechless.
        Commader Sunak of the Imperial fleet stood proudly
  infront of his crew. The Romulan examined the scene of the
  FEARLESS's bridge carefully. "You are the captain of the
  NCC-1728 USS FEARLSS?" McGyver solemly nodded the affirmative.
        "I assume you have called upon me to surrender. Truly
  pathetic of you, especially for a ship of my Vulcan kindred,"
  the Romulan adversary goaded before a stunned Federation crew.
        MvGyver felt his throat swell. He had begun to sweat. The
  entire crew looked to him for some desperate measure to save
  them, some reassurance that he could. His attempt was
  meaningless. "What is the meaning of this attack? You are in
  violation of the neutral zone treaty, your presence is an act
  of war."
        The Romulan laughed. "You are in no position to make
  threats to me. You are alive merely because I have not hit the
  torpedo controls again. I will fire again, of course, as we do
  not usually take prisoners, but I thought that you should at
  least have to opportunity to see your better."  The Commander
  relaxed into his seat confident that his enemy Captain had
  been broken.
        "Now wait just a minute, the Federation will not -" But
  McGyver's protest would come to naught. The Romulan quickly cut
  the signal short, replacing his image with that of the Romulan
  battleship's.
        The viewer cut off to show the Romulan battleship launch a
  single torpedo from its beak toward the FEARLESS. The ball of
  fire grew larger in McGyver's eyes, and it would be the last
  thing that he would ever see.
        The torpedo tore into the already tattered neck of
  the FEARLESS. The two hulls parted in a brilliant explosion,
  and spun away from each other, sprialling into oblivion. The
  saucer scorched, and the letters of the FEARLESS slowly faded
  amidst the blackening hull. In only seconds, two other
  torpedoes reduced the hulls to rubble, slaughtering the
  desperate men and women housed inside them.
        The Romulan Commander smiled. Which was itself a rare
  sight. This Commander was very much unlike all other Romulan
  Commanders. While he was dangerous to cross, even more so than
  the standard, he was not the kind of Commander who actually had
  to display his power to enforce it. He merely was imposing by
  his presence, meaning that his men were deathly loyal to him.
  This is a state that the commander was fully comfortable with.
      ~Kela, new course.~ The navigator readied herself for her
  orders nervously. The Commander felt her fear and sympathised
  with it. He bent over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
  ~Relax, Secundam. Lay in a course for home base for our
  home base,~ the tall Commander continued, ~Proceed at
  warp four.~ The female Romulan shook her head quickly and
  complied with her orders.
        The helmsman looked over, ~Engage cloaking device,
  Commander?~ The helmsman wasn't quite as nervous around his
  Commander as the navigator. This was good as well, as a nervous
  helmsman was a liability in warfare.
        The imposing figure replied, ~After we have left this
  section of space and are underway. I wish to see what remains
  of their ship.~
        The helmsman nodded in response and readied the cloaking
  device. The RISS FIERY RAVEN burned through the remnants of the
  late FEARLESS and them seemingly rippled out of existance.
 
  CHAPTER TWO
 
        ~Get up, bastard son!~ Lights, shapes, colours, all
  failed to connect. ~I said get up!~ Riley felt a sharp pain in
  his waist, but he still couldn't move. ~Are you deaf, Earthen
  slime-dog? You are supposed to be borite mining now.~
        Riley felt something grab hold of his long, slate-black
  hair and yank it upwards. ~I don't work for you.~
        He still couldn't see, but the pain that swept past his
  face slammed hard into him. ~All half-breeds work for me,
  S'Lavek.~ The voice still couldn't be connected to any face.
  ~Are you going to come quietly or do I have to use the
  agoniser?~
        Riley stood, but still couldn't make out anything other
  than a swirling ball of lights. ~I'm coming, there's no need
  for the...~ but he couldn't finish. The guard had struck him.
  Blood rushed out of his head, he could feel it begin to flow on
  his face, dripping off of the bridge of his nose. He collapsed
  on the ground.
        ~So, you even bleed red like a Terran, eh?~ The voice was
  growing meaner, Riley thought to himself. ~Maybe you could work
  for the Federation, eh? I'm sure they would love to see some
  klya like you.~ Riley tried to stand again, the pain searing
  down his legs. ~Who said you could get up?~ Riley screamed as
  sheer pain suddenly asserted itself on his chest.
        Vision cleared. Riley found himself in his bed on the
  starship ENTERPRISE. He could feel the cold sweat on his brow,
  and he wiped it off with his shaking hand.
        There was a beeping noise, Riley had to concentrate to think
  about what it meant. "Um, yeah, Captain here," he managed,
  getting past his nightmare.
        Saavik's voice seemed a bit soothing to Riley as she spoke,
  it became more and more difficult to concentrate. "Sir,
  communications reports many messages eminating from the Neutral
  Zone. It seems that something major just occurred.We are to get
  to warp drive as soon as possible."
        Riley frowned at that, the damage from the IRON CLAW II's
  attack had been quite severe, and repairs were going quite
  slow. Riley stood out of his bed. "I'll be on the bridge in a
  few minutes. Has engineering got my chair fixed yet?"
        Saavik paused a second before speaking, probably to look
  over some records. "Negative, sir, the engineering deck has put
  priority on the warp drive. They say that they'll get to it
  immediately afterwards." Riley once again wiped the sweat off
  of his brow. "What shall I tell Fleet?" Saavik inquired.
        "Inform them of our engine situation, Commander, and
  state whatever time estimates Grissom can give to you." He
  removed his uniform and pulled out his casual dress, blue-jeans
  and a Star Fleet jacket.
        "Sorry, sir, but Miss Grissom is currently off-shift and
  is unavailable for estimates. However, the engineering crew
  reports that engines should be warp capable in one point five
  hours."
        "Thank you, Commander, I'll be on the bridge shortly."
  Riley walked into the only water shower on the ship, his own,
  and began to clean himself.
        The beep returned, this time from the door. "Sir,
  Commander Grissom to see you." Riley grimaced and rushed for a
  robe.
	"Hold on a second. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to call
  me off-shift?" Riley finally got his robe together and turned
  on his lights, giving the room a more modern look, but still
  not technical.  "Come in."
        The doors opened to reveal Grissom in her own casual
  dress, a skirt and sweater. In this manner she seemed even more
  attractive.  Riley dismissed the thought. "I was reviewing our
  personell records, and I found yours restricted. I was
  curious."
        Riley grabbed his clothes again and walked into the
  shower, closing the door behind him. "There's not much in the
  file, Miss Grissom. Besides, the last time we spoke I thought
  you didn't want to be alone with me." Of course, I was even
  dressed then, he thought to himself.
	"It's Paula," she replied.
        Riley stopped dressing. "What was that?"
        "I'm off duty now, sir. I would prefer you to call me
  Paula."  Why was her voice suddenly so soothing right now?
  Riley emerged from the shower wearing his jeans and belt. The
  engineer was shocked by what she saw. Riley's back was littered
  with scars, looking like belt lashes across his back. "I mean,
  there isn't a need to be so formal while we are off shift, is
  there?" She was sounding genuinely apologetic.
        Riley nodded, but didn't actually answer. "I have some
  drinks in the refrigerator, do you want any?" Grissom was being
  nice, something was quite wrong.
        Grissom gave only a look of confusion in reply. "I'm
  sorry sir, but why would you have an engine coolant system in
  your quarters?"
        Riley smiled at her, "No, Miss Grissom, it's a
  refrigerator, I use it to keep my drinks cold." He indicated
  the number of cans he had scattered around his desk. "We use
  them on," he hesitated for a second before continuing,"frontier
  worlds where mass units are too expensive to use." He grabbed
  one of his empty cans, easily crushed it, and pitched it into
  his disintegrator. "I should have realised that not many people
  would know what a fridge is here."
      "Um, sir, no thanks, I'm not thirsty." She pretended not
  to notice that her captain just crushed a titanium can. "I was
  curious to know why your records are restricted, no one else's
  were. Hell, even Admiral Kirk has open records. I was wondering
  why yours were different?"
        Riley walked to his bed and sat deathly quiet for long
  enough to make the engineer nervous. "I don't wish to discuss
  it, that's all."  Grissom frowned a second and started to
  dismiss herself. Riley called to close the door in front of
  her. "Look," he hesitated for a few seconds, "Paula, I'm really
  not trying to put you off, it's just that there are some things
  others simply should not know."
        She looked down at the ground a second. "May I be excused
  now, sir, or do you intend to keep me here?" She seemed a bit
  on-edge again, assuming more of the personality to which he had
  grown accustomed.
        Riley stood and walked out of the door ahead of her, not
  even looking at her. "I'm going to the bridge. Report to me
  when we're ready to get underway."
        She walked out of the room, eyes fixed on the scars on
  the captain's back as he pulled his shirt down over them. "Yes,
  sir," she cooly replied as the doors closed.
 
        When the bridge doors opened, Riley felt a bit of relief.
  He felt more at home on the bridge than on anywhere else in the
  ship.  "Mister Saavik, you are relieved."
        Saavik stood and walked to the tactics post. Riley took
  his seat and glanced at the hole on his chair. "I guess the
  repairs are going rather slowly, are they?"
        "Sorry, sir," Saavik replied, getting a bit more
  comfortable with her position as first officer. "The damage we
  took from the IRON CLAW II was impressive, but engineering
  assures me that the ship will be fully functional within two
  days."
        "That puts us even more behind schedule than we figured,"
  he mutted, a bit disappointed by the news.
        "Sir, I'm getting a message from Star Fleet Command,"
  R'Ress, a Catain male, piped up. "It's priority one."
        Riley was a bit suprised by this announcement. He hadn't
  counted on taking an assignment so soon, not with the
  ENTERPRISE so fresh from battle. "On main viewer, Lieutenant
  R'Ress."
        The Catian complied by hitting the button again, and the
  viewer showed once again the Federation verification symbol.
  "To all vessels and personell near Romulan Neutral Zone. Omega
  class orders effective stardate 10159.2."
        Admiral Jameson's proud visage filled the main viewer.
  "The tensions between the Romulan Star Empire and the
  Federation have reached crisis proportions. Three vessels have
  now been reported missing near the Romulan Neutral Zone, with
  an additional two confirmed Romulan attacks. Footage of
  attacks are on coded channel."
        Jameson continued, grimacing. "We are dispatching all
  available vessles to the Neutral Zone for increased protection.
  All available ships within five parsec proximity to the
  Zone need to rendevous with the carrier USS UNION at starbase
  six on stardate 10160.5. Further orders will be established at
  rendevous."
        The bridge fell to a grim silence. Riley squinted his
  eyes a second and muttered to himself, "That means us."  He let
  the bridge indulge in a bit of shock of hearing the news of the
  conflict before he continued before speaking. "Now then, Mister
  R'Ress, I want the footage of the conflict ready for display in
  an hour. Have the crew meet in the rec-deck in one hour."
        The Catian complied. "Yes, sir, retrieving data now."
        Saavik gave Riley a quizzical look. "I want the crew to
  know just what exactly we're getting ourselves into here,"
  Riley answered. Saavik nodded in underatanding.  "Mister
  O'Neil, set course for rendevous point," Riley continued
  ordering. Engineering, we need warp speed now, what can you
  give me?"
        A man's voice answered this time. "Warp engines are
  ready, but we still need to run it through more simulations.
  Give us another hour, if you please, sir."
        Riley stiffened in his seat. "I can't do that. Do we have
  warp capabilities or not? Give me your best opinion." For a
  moment Riley considered that he might be acting too rashly,
  pushing too hard. But then, things were getting bad again, and
  ship repairs had already went behind schedule, despite
  Grissom's best efforts.
        The engineer spoke without emotion. "Logically, it should
  work, I predict a point zero zero one percent chance of
  failure, the computer would verify for you, once we ran the
  simulation."
        Riley grimaced. The Vulcans were never satisfied with
  anything less than perfection. "Activate," he finally ordered.
        O'Neil's eyes seemed to light with anticipation. "Sir, we
  have warp capability. Course is set."
        Riley clinched the edge of his chair, waiting for
  anything to happen. "Engage, warp nine." Upon command, the
  starship ENTERPRISE fled real-space in a ribbon of red light,
  entering the sub-dimension of warp-space.
 
  CHAPTER THREE
 
	His quarters were a contrast to the rest of the ship. In the
  room hung a large rug resembling an eagle, large red-tipped
  warbird.  There are many, who if they didn't know better, would
  swear that it was the symbol of a Romulan. The furniture was
  definately not Fleet standard, it was wooden, but not of a wood
  most Terrans would have ever seen, the grain was very dark
  brown and was not stained. There was little lighting in the
  room, but what was there was illuminating Riley's face and his
  console, which was the only tech looking article in the room.
        In a remote corner of the room he had placed a device
  called a refrigerator, somewhat rare on starships, he went to
  it and pulled out one can, opening it with a loud rush sound.
        Riley sipped on his drink for a second at his desk before
  activating the communications console. "Captain Riley to USS
  UNION, priority one." Riley keyed in a verification signal to
  let the UNION know that it was indeed the ENTERPRISE's Captain
  that was speaking.
        "USS UNION, Captain James Keihl here. Receiving you
  ENTERPRISE, what is your status?" The voice coming over the
  radio was certainly uninteresting enough. Riley sipped on his
  drink another time before continued.
	After another drink Riley turned on the viewer, doubling the
  light in his otherwise dim room. "Captain, I wanted to inform
  you that the ENTERPRISE is on course for the rendevous. We
  should be arriving in a few minutes."
        Keilh was seated in the command bridge of the UNION, it
  was somewhat larger than the ENTERPRISE's standard bridge, but
  UNION had the job of coordinating the efforts of many fighters,
  as well as a number of ships that happened to be in the same
  quadrant, so Riley didn't allow himself to be jealous. "I'm
  glad to hear that," Keihl replied. "We don't have too many
  heavy hitters that can be spared, and we need your firepower.
  Besides, the Romulans will think twice after the IRON CLAW
  incident."
        "Acknowledged, UNION, Riley out." The viewer cut to black
  and the captain walked over to his bed and lied down. It had
  only been six days since the battle, and already word of it
  spread throughout Star Fleet. Such a reputation was the last
  thing Riley had expected. He wasn't sure if he wanted it.
 
        The computer droned on, "Personell file, zero- one- one-
  seven- zero- one- bee. Name of Captain Thomas W Riley. Position
  of commanding officer aboard USS ENTERPRISE. Further data
  restricted to security clearance level four or above."
        The engineer threw a fit and growled for no particular
  reason, save intense frustration. "Computer, give personell
  record for USS HOOD circa stardate nine-nine- nine-eight."
	"Access denied, data restricted to security level four or
  above." Someone is going to great pains to annoy anyone trying
  to find out about the super-strong captain of this ship, she
  thought to herself.
        Grissom frowned again for a quick second and cleared the
  computer. "What the hell is he, a Federation experiment?" Once
  saying that, she began to consider it. "No, that sort of stuff
  went out with the genesis device," she mused.
        The hissing of the engineering room's doors didn't even
  phase Grissom as she again set about her self-imposed duty.
  "Lieutenant," a demanding voice called from them.
        "I'll be with you in a second, ma'am," Grissom
  absent-mindedly responded. Her reaction gave Gahrut a fright.
  He didn't want to see an ugly scene.
        Saavik walked in. Grissom started as the tall figure
  walked to her. "I have noted your access denials of late on the
  computer. I haven't informed the Captain as yet, but duty
  dictates I do so."
        Grissom turned to look at the Vulcan, ignoring the
  hidden threat in Saavik's words. "Tell me something, Saavik.
  Can Vulcans crush titanium?"
        Saavik was taken aback by this question, especially as
  the engineer was supposed to be getting in trouble, not asking
  questions to the first officer. "Titanium? The strongest
  vulcans could bend small sheets with their hands, but only the
  strongest. Why do you ask, Commander?"
	The engineer pressed a new sequence of buttons. "I saw our
  Captain, our Human captain, crush a titanium can." She tried
  for the medical files this time, again the computer responded
  with the security denial. "I was wondering if was half Vulcan."
        Saavik went to the computer Grissom was typing on and
  curtly shut it off. "Captain Riley is Vulcanoid for one half,
  human for the other."  Well then, she thought to herself, that
  wasn't a lie. "I don't think you should pry into the subject
  further. It's bad enough that you've probed this far."
        Grissom frowned, not taking the hint. "I don't
  understand, was he cast-out because of his human half? I've
  heard of that being done." Saavik wondered if Paula knew how
  badly she was grasping at straws.
        "Yes, Commander, Captain Riley was cast-out." Another
  nicely worded question, Saavik thought to herself. "If you have
  any other questions, you may want to address them to him."
  Saavik turned, ignoring Grissom's somewhat confused expression.
        For a few minutes, Grissom pondered whether or not to
  enter the computer files again. She sighed and decided against
  it. She had already attracted the attention of the Captain and
  First Officer. Next would be security.
        "Curiosity kills," Gahrut observed aloud as he slid over.
  "You do realize that Riley's records are probably sealed for a
  reason, don't you?" he asked nervously. "I mean, do you really
  want to know what's in those records?"
        Grissom couldn't answer, fortunately for her. The adress
  system had taken over the conversation. "Attention all deck,
  crew assembly in five minutes in recreation deck one. Crew
  assembly in five minutes in recreation deck one."
        Gahrut sighed, he was going into the fires again. He
  secretly prayed that this time, unlike the last, he wouldn't
  get shot.
 
        "Commander Saavik, would you know just what the hell is
  going' on here?" Someone called to her. She didn't react, but
  could easily have gotten away with a reprimand of whoever spoke
  so disrespectfully. "I just got the order to get sickbay ready,
  it was already ready when we fought the CLAW. Now, half the
  crew still has bumps and bruises and now the captain wants to
  take us all on some wild adventure?"
        Saavik reacted distantly to Matthew's insistance.
  "Nevermind that, Commander. Please take your place in the
  crowd. I am sure that the Captain will brief everyone when he
  comes in."
        As if on cue, Riley walked into the room and upon the
  stage set up for him.  He was by no means comfortable. "All
  personell, I need your attention for a few moments." After a
  few seconds the crew quieted and Riley felt free to continue.
  "As you have no doubt are aware, after our last encounter, the
  tensions between the Federation and the Romulans are now
  nearing an official state-of-war. We've lost several ships, and
  the ENTERPRISE has been called in to assist any way we can."
	The doctor glared at Saavik. "You mean we're going to the
  front again? Half these systems haven't even been retested yet,
  and the crew could use some rest." Saavik nodded her
  acknowledgement of the statement and motioned Matthews to
  listen.
	"We have been dispatched to the Neutral Zone in response
  to the loss of the USS FEARLESS and USS MICHEALS," Riley
  continued, trying to keep calm. "We have compiled the available
  footage of the assault. It isn't pretty, but I wanted you to
  know what we are going up against." Riley motioned R'Ress to
  start the tape.
        The computerized voice of the mission recorder spoke, the
  deep voice echoing in the massive recreation deck. "Enemy craft
  is an upgraded version of the NOVA class battleship. Upgraded
  firepower and sheild capability noted. Improved cloaking device
  noted. Extended sensor range noted."
        The ship, dubbed the FIERY RAVEN by the tape, looked
  similar to the IRON CLAW II that the crew had already
  encountered. There were jeers and grunting emminatigg from the
  crowd. They didn't want another match up against that
  particular kind of beast.
        The footage began with a shot of a plasma torpedo ripping
  open the USS MICHEALS's engineering section. Though the clip
  was brief, it was powerful. The MICHEALS crew were incinerated
  in the blast before anyone realized what was happening.
        Already Matthews couldn't bear to watch the viewer
  anymore, the carnage on both sides of the equation already too
  extreme for him to take.  "Damn it all, is this what I'm going
  be doing for the next few months, watching people die all
  around me."
        The Catian walked over to the human doctor, having not
  actually heard his persistant complaining. "Sad thing about
  this situation don't you think?"
        "That, Lieutenant, is a massive understatement," Matthews
  took another view of the monitor, this time watching the
  MICHEALS's engine fly off into space. "I should have expected
  it, whenever you sign with the government you have to know the
  risks."
        "Always, funny how the brochures never say that part,"
  R'ress tore his eyes away from the viewer. "But then I guess
  that it means we had it coming for volunteering."
        The viewer turned solid white, then dimmed again, showing
  the bridge of the MICHEALS suddenly exposed to space. Her
  bridge crew choked as the air fled the protective dome.
  Fortunately, the scene changed before they became corpses,
  showing instead the FIERY RAVEN finishing off the Federation
  starship.
        Despite the pain and suffering he knew had taken place
  aboard those ships Riley knew that he had to detach himself
  from it. "Viewer off," was the only response Riley could let
  the entire crew see, though his heart cried for revenge.
        Saavik broke the silence which came, "As you can see,
  the Romulans are relentless in their fights for the most part,
  the don't allow weak people to live beyond the age of five, so
  our best is equal to their average."
        Riley took front again,"What Saavik is saying is that
  there is actually very little known about our foe. What we do
  know is that we are taking on the most worthy adversary we
  have," Riley looked over at Saavik and motioned for her to
  leave. "If you've read your history books you know what exactly
  I am talking about. The first Romulan war cost the early
  Federation half of her fleet. Hopefully, we can cut this off
  before a real war erupts," he added, for once speaking his
  feelings of the matter.
        The crew discussed among themselves for several seconds
  before Riley chose to speak again. "All personell will be
  assigned double shifts staring at twenty-four hundred hours.
  That means I want this vessel at full status as soon as
  possible, if there are questions refer them to your department
  heads as soon as I'm done with them."
        Most of the crew begun to fan out, but the command crew
  and department heads came forward. There was so much to do so
  soon. All Riley could do was hope that things would work for
  the best.
 
  CHAPTER FOUR
 
        ~FIERY RAVEN en route to target at this time, Senator.~
  The giant Romulan felt a great surge of anticipation run
  through his system. ~I am looking forward to the conflict, and
  I am confident we shall triumph.~ There wasn't a tone of
  arrogance in his voice, just a voice of stating a fact. He more
  than believed that he would win, he was sure of it, he was
  certain of it.
        The Senator in the viewer showed a certain disgust as he
  spoke. ~Klingon half-breed! You have turned our incursion into
  the Neutral zone into a personal arena of conflict, you know
  we lack the resources necessary to carry on an ongoing war with
  the Federation.~ The Commander growled at hearing this, but
  said nothing to let the Senator continue. ~We have rethought
  our plans, and have decided that our offensive against the
  Federation was ill conceived.~
        The Romulan Commander crushed a glass he held within his
  hand.  ~Dare you, you know that our attacks on Federation
  vessels will be regarded as an act of war. The Senatorium can't
  just apologise now and act as if nothing had happened. The
  Federation will respond against us.~ The Commander let a fist
  slam onto the desk. ~Could it be that you have lost the courage
  to enforce such a war? I could arrange it so that you would
  have no worries about your own precious hide.~
        The Senator growled. ~Don't attempt to intimidate me,
  Commander Sunak. We at the senate view your usefulness as
  short-term.~ The Senator must feel nice and safe on the other
  end of the viewer to be threatening me so, the Commander
  thought to himself.
        Sunak let his anger flow as he threw his fist strong into
  the viewer. ~Yes, Senator, maybe short-term to you. But your
  own cowardice will be your undoing.~ Sunak stood and walked out
  of his chambers. His two guardsmen noted his departure and
  proceeded to follow him to the lift. ~The senatorium seems to
  have changed its mind as to my orders.  They will, no doubt
  send false messages stating that this vessel is rogue, since
  they will now attempt to cover up.~
        One of the guardsmen looked angered. ~I do not
  understand why the senators would want to change their mind
  now, of all times.~
        ~Simple, Trinam, the senate wanted a small victory, and
  then bowed out when they realised the risk of war.~ Sunak
  pressed the button at the forefront of the lift console. ~It is
  not my intention to attack someone and then apologise saying
  that it was the act of a rogue child. Furthermore, I do not
  intend to be that child.~
        The same guard looked over at him. ~So the senatorium is
  acting like terrorists. Doing the deed without realising the
  consequences?~
        Sunak showed a hint of a smile at the Trinam. ~Correct,
  but it is annoying many Rom'lnz who wish to finally see the
  Federation put away.~ After a few seconds the lift doors opened
  to reveal a small circular room lighted only by a number of
  consoles bordering the walls.  Sunak headed for the only seat
  centered in the room. ~Fortunately, we Rom'lnz are more loyal
  to our cause than our Senatorium.~ He turned to a man seated to
  the left of him. ~Disengage cloaking device and open hailing
  frequencies.~
        The Centurion pressed a button and the FIERY RAVEN
  rippled itself into reality. ~Cloak disengaged, opening hailing
  frequencies.~ The Centurion frowned as he hit the final
  sequence of buttons, and nervously he piped up. ~Sir, there are
  no ships evident in this sector, and none of our ships are
  assigned in this area.~
        ~Spare me your confusion, Centurion, only the senate
  thinks our vessels are not assigned here.~ Sunak smiled almost
  evilly. ~This is RAVEN calling assault force one. Rendevous is
  set, disengage all cloaking devices at ready attack formation.~
	There appeared on Sunak's viewer six separate rifts in space,
  and out of those rifts appeared six large warbirds, Romulan
  battlecraft posing themselves as an assault fleet. Three TAKARA
  MORLATTA's rounded the FIERY RAVEN in a dance of doom and
  poised themselves flanking the larger battleship. Two TEMAR
  VASTARI vessels appeared from behind the group and dived under
  the first three to take the point. Finally a BRIGHT ONE
  destroyer appeared behind the rest of the fleet and posied
  itself behind the other ships. ~Sir, the assault force
  identifies itself as ready for assault.~ The Centurion let out
  a grimace. ~I don't understand, sir. The senate just sent our
  orders to return to Gorwah, and they said nothing about an
  assault fleet.~
        ~That is because,~ Sunak replied, ~they do not yet know.~
  Sunak sat back eagerly in his chair. ~This is Fleet Commander
  Sunak of the FIERY RAVEN to all ships. Keep attack posture,
  proceed to target at warp eight. For the glory of the Brothers,
  let this strike show out cowardly leaders what true Rom'lnz are
  capable of.~
        The flock of warbirds screamed through the black void leaving
  behind a ribbon of light. ~Sir, shouldn't we engage our
  cloaking device before our arrival, we are giving them time to
  prepare, maybe even to intercept us.~ The Centurion showed an
  edge of fear in his voice. Sunak noticed it, but gave no
  indication of consoling the man.
        Sunak let a fist slam into his open hand. ~I am counting
  on that, my Centurion.~
 
  CHAPTER FIVE
 
        The UNION, quite simply, was a huge vessel. Her primary
  hull was simliar to the ENTERPRISE's, but her trunk attached it
  to a massive fighter-carrier, complete with four naccells. The
  ENTERPRISE was less than one-third of this ship's mammoth size,
  being dwarfed by the carrier as she approached.
        The ENTERPRISE soon swept around, taking her place in
  formation amougst sixteen, smaller vessels surrounding the
  carrier. "One battleship, us," Tiber commented as he brought
  the starship around the USS MAXIMILLIAN. "I hope that they
  don't have too many other NOVA modifeds out there, or we're
  toast."
        "Not exactly a positive outlook, Mister Tiber," Riley
  warned. "Besides, every little bit helps," he conitnued for
  Tiber's benefit. "R'Ress, patch me through to the UNION. Get me
  Captain Kiehl."
        R'Ress tuned her instruments in to the UNION's monitoring
  frequency. "Hailing frrequencies are open, Captain."
        "This is Captain Riley of the starship ENTERPRISE," he
  called to the air. "We've assumed position off the port bow of
  the MAXIMILLIAN an are awaiting further orders."
        The viewer cut from the shot of the UNION to Kiehl's
  uninteresting face. "Greetings, Captain," he said with delight.
  "I see that you are true to you word. I need you and your first
  officer to beam aboard in one hour for your mission briefing.
  Admiral Jameson will fill in the details."
        "Understood, Captain. We'll be there in one hour," Riley
  replied, a bit surprised by the order. "Give my personal
  regards to Admiral Jameson. ENTERPRISE out." The screen cut
  again to the shot of the UNION.
        "A private briefing? That's a bit unusual," Saavik
  offered. "I assumed that the UNION would send us to intercept
  any Romulan craft immediately."
        "I would too," Riley replied with some thought. "But it
  seems like Admiral Jameson wants to try and be clever. I
  just hope he knows what he's doing."
        "Do you think we're going into combat again, Captain?"
  O'Neil asked, hoping beyond hope for a negative reply.
        Riley clinched the edge of his command chair, concerned.
  "I would expect so, Star Fleet wouldn't call us all the way out
  here if they didn't want our firepower."
        Tiber nodded in agreement. "Another battle, so soon after
  the IRON CLAW II. Star Fleet has some nerve," he muttered. "You
  would think that they would give us shore leave at least."
        "God knows that I requested it," Riley countered. "But I
  don't make the rules." He paused for a second, regarding the
  UNION's impressive secondary hull, dotted with hangar bays.
  "Mister Saavik, come with me please," he finally commanded.
        "Sir?" She asked even as Riley had begun standing.
        Riley offered his hand to help her up. She did take it
  and proceeded to stand. "I need to discuss some things with
  you. Preferably before we go on this mission," he commanded,
  heading for the turbolift. Saavik said nothing in reply, but
  quietly followed.
 
        He had taken her to the observation deck, where one could
  see a great deal of the ship and surrounding space. There was
  little lighting here, but the view of the ENTERPRISE nested in
  with so many other ships was breathtaking.
        It was also much less conspicous than his or her
  quarters. Rumors had already begun circulating as to their
  relationship, not that the rumors had any basis in fact.
        "Saavik," he called as he walked to the side wall of the
  dome. "I was wondering how you were coping with everything. I
  know that recent times have been hardest on you."
        Saavik look confused for a moment, not sure how to
  answer. "I do not understand, sir. As a Vulcan I feel no need
  to cope with events."
        Riley closed his eyes, a bit upset by the comment. "I
  know better than that, Saavik Kahm. I was raised on Vulcan for
  six years, and I know exactly how emotionless you really are."
        Saavik straightened herself up at that, not expecting her
  Captain to question the manners of Vulcans everywhere. But he
  had, and he was also, perhaps, the only person who could get
  away with it. "I am doing well, Thomas," she finally replied
  after some difficulty. "I would have preffered another
  assignment, however."
        "Me too," Riley confessed. "I've got too many bad
  memories about living in the Neutral Zone when I was a child.
  Now I'm going through all of them."
        "I've been having nightmares of late," Saavik admitted, a
  bit more comfortable. "About my father, and Hellguard. I can't
  get them out of my mind, despite my Vulcan training."
        Riley turned to again look at his first officer. He had
  to admit that in the soft lighting of the room she was indeed
  quite beautiful. Sometimes, it would be easy to forget that the
  two were the commanders of this ship. But duty asserts itself
  rather quickly. "I've had dreams too," Riley continued, a bit
  more self-conscious. "I can't tell you what they've been about,
  but it bothers me. I've never been plaqed by nightmares until
  coming back here."
        "I've been having them since we entered Gensis," she
  confessed, a bit distraught over the matter. "I'm remembering
  David." Her voice trailed, losing herself in thoughts. "I'm
  remembering feelings I haven't had in years."
        Riley walked over and gently placed his hand on her
  shoulder. "I wanted to tell you that you weren't the only one,"
  he softly replied. "I wanted you to know that you weren't
  alone."
        Saavik finally reached for his hand, and gently caressed
  it. "Why do you care so much about me?" she softly asked,
  though it was a question which made her nervous.
        Riley stepped back, not expecting the question. "You're
  my First Officer," he blurted a bit too quickly. "That is, I
  care a great deal about how you're coping, as a crewmate," he
  stammed unconvincingly. It took him a second to realize that he
  was again holding her hand.
        "As a crewmate?" she questioned, gently releasing her
  touch. "Illogical," she flatly stated in reflection. "Most
  crewmates do not hold hands on the observation deck."
        Riley turned, a bit embarrassed, and a bit angry. "It's
  inappropriate, Saavik," he muttered with notable steam. "It's
  damn inappropriate, and we both know it. Now we've got our
  orders to follow, so I suggest we do it," he commanded as he
  stormed out of the room.
        Saavik stood wondering what exactly she had done wrong.
 
        "Now, this is the last known location of the USS
  FEARLESS," Kiehl explained to the assembled Captains and
  Commanders as his pointer indicated a sensor trace. "At this
  point, we recieved a transmission about a large vessel named
  the FIERY RAVEN, presumably a battleship similar to the one
  that ENTERPRISE encountered."
        The room shifted attention at that, which did nothing to
  sooth Riley's nerves as the attention swamped on him in
  particular. "The transmission was heavily garbled, probably due
  to jamming attempts," Kiehl continued once he was sure of the
  room's undivided attention once more.
        "Unfortunately, we don't have any more to go on from the
  FEARLESS. However, the MICHEALS conflict was far more
  substantial than the other. The MICHEALS was able to transmit
  her mission logs and sensor readings to us, which you should
  have already reviewed," Kiehl completed.
        "What is Fleet's appraisal of the situation?" one of the
  Andorian captains demanded. "Do they know what's going on?"
        "Fleet is hearing word from the Romulan Senate that these
  acts of piracy have been commited by rogue elements of their
  military," Kiehl replied flatly. "It seems that they were
  somewhat disturbed at the progress that we were making with the
  Klingon Empire and panicked."
        "With due respect, Kiehl," Riley blurted out, "these
  aren't the actions of panicked ship commanders. Commander Konok
  informed me that his superiors ordered their vessels to attack,
  to test our strength."
        Kiehl nodded in agreement, "That's likely true, but the
  policy makers at Fleet will have to determine that. It's our
  mission to capture or destroy the remaning prototype vessel on
  this side of the Neutral Zone."
        Riley straightened up a bit, finally taking some genuine
  interest in the proceedings. "The ENTERPRISE, HEINLEN, and
  MORAN are being dispatched to the staging area immediately to
  survey the area. The HEINLEN and MORAN are the best scouts we
  have, and the ENTERPRISE is the best ship for protection duty
  if the Romulans should attack again," Kiehl conveyed.
        Riley sighed heavily. "You want the ENTERPRISE to escort
  the scouts to the area, so they can be noise posts?" he
  quiered. "That's fine if the FIERY RAVEN is alone, we'll be
  able to take them. Where will our back-up be if things get
  messy?"
        Kiehl looked confident. "We've sent a intercept fleet to
  that region already which will respond to any trouble that
  surfaces," he proudly proclaimed.
        Riley simply wasn't convinced.
 
  CHAPTER SIX
 
        After a few nervous seconds a woman piped up, though
  somewhat shaken. ~My lord, Federation protection fleet incoming
  from target at warp nine.~
        Didn't I tell her to relax earlier? Sunak thought to
  himself.  ~I have obviously prepared for this, Secundam Rela.~
  He motioned to the previous communications officer. ~All ships,
  aggressive posture.  Close in on Federation targets and
  destroy.~ Sunak could feel his Klingon blood pour through his
  veins at full strength.
        The Federation vessels were impressive enough, he
  thought to himself. Sunak could easily make the shapes of two
  AVENGER class ships, as well as three ENTERPRISE class ships.
  ~Vessels identified as following: Cruisers consisting of
  POTEMPKIN, DEFIANT, CONSTELLATION. Frigates consisting of
  SARATOGA, REPEATER, AVENGER.~ The female nodded to her captain,
  ~I am raising shields, and arming weapons.~
        The DEFIANT and CONSTELLATION were the first Federation
  ships to reach the Romulan assault fleet. As they warped past
  the warbirds they unleashed their balls of hellfire, which
  slammed into the lead cruisers. One of the cruisers bore the
  brunt of the impact, but the other began to spin and then
  curved off the assault fleet's formation.
        The loose cruiser spat a torpedo of its own toward a
  Federation starship, which impacted heavily on the DEFIANT's
  shields. ~RAVEN to DEATHWING, peel off formation, engage
  CONSTELLATION alongside the RAZORBEAK,~ Sunak commanded to his
  minion ship.
        Another cruiser veered from the front of the fleet and
  curved to the outside. The Federation starships veered one
  behind the other and came head-to-head against the Romulan
  cruisers.
        The DEFIANT and CONSTELLATION fired a phaser barrage on
  the lead cruiser. The lethal blast of heat singed the boom of
  the cruiser, catching it ablaze. The Romulan craft seemed to
  act as an angry eagle, diving wildly at the Federation
  starship. The DEFIANT tried to maneuver away, but the Romulan's
  attack was too swift, and the RAZORBEAK slammed beak-first into
  the smooth underside of the DEFIANT. Both ships went up in a
  ball of white flame as bits of shattered metal sprayed
  themselves through the cosmos.
        ~Starship DEFIANT destroyed ,sir, though we have lost
  the RAZORBEAK,~ Rela let out in an exited tone, not caring that
  her empire had just lost two-hundred people. She merely uttered
  the words "RANAM VALASSA" in their reverance. The reverence is
  given to those who have acted courageously and have performed
  above and beyond their call of duty, it was the first such time
  Rela had seen such an act, and she was impressed. The Commander
  looked over at her, read the excitement in her eyes, and
  smiled, sensing a part of himself in her.
        The DEATHWING maneuvered onto the CONSTELLATION and
  unleashed a barrage of photon torpedoes, only one of which
  actually impacted on the Federation ship's shields. The
  CONSTELLATION retorted with another phaser blast, this one
  crashed into the Romulan cruiser and sent it reeling. Sunak
  tired of this quickly and was about to order the assault ships
  to assist DEATHWING before REPEATER and POTEMPKIN showed up
  in the fight.  The assault craft broke away from the battleship
  and centered on the REPEATER. The AVENGER and SARATOGA
  arrived and converged on Sunak's battleship.
        ~Fire a torpedo burst on the AVENGER and send the
  LADYHAWKE to attack SARATOGA,~ Sunak commanded. The AVENGER
  felt the violent sting of five torpedoes impacting on her
  primary hull, shattering it into countless fragments, leaving
  only the rear half of the vessel warping in space until finally
  exploding into memory. LADYHAWKE had just maneuvered on
  SARATOGA when the Federation ship began to turn tail.
        CONSTELLATION finally took a major hit and lost her port
  side warp engine. She began to spin for a few seconds before
  following SARATOGA's lead back to starbase. ~Sir, it appears
  that the Federation ships are attempting to reconverge at
  starbase.~ Rela began to feel a surge of power flow through
  her. A power that she could see her commander bask in. ~Shall
  we cut them off?~ She found herself already starting to plot in
  another intercept course before realising what she was doing.
        Sunak considered it for a moment, but declined. ~No,
  Rela,~ he stated. ~We need to regroup our forces before
  starting another attack. We have severly damaged the starbase's
  outer defences, and I want survivors to spread the news about
  what is happening here.~ There will be no way for the
  Senatorium to dismiss this incident as a rogue act now, he
  added to himself.
        But a Centurion growled, ~We can't let the Federation
  ships go like this, we should let go with phasers until they're
  destroyed.~ The Centurion was startled by the sudden sensation
  of asphyxiation. His Commander had grabbed his throat and began
  to throttle him two feet above the ground.
        Sunak growled himself. ~We do not have shields or
  torpedoes up thanks to that self-same destroyer. The Federation
  will be sending an assault force of its own soon and we have
  lost ours. If it is your intention to stay here and be
  butchered for revenge, I will gladly let you have a
  shuttlecraft to go fight their carriers with.~ Sunak let the
  man go none to gently and the Centurion crashed to the floor.
  ~I am not in the habit of wasting resources, Centurion. We need
  to rest and repair ourselves before we can fight again.~
	The Centurion started to rub his throat, trying to ease the
  sensation of pain he felt. ~I understand, my lord,~ he managed
  through his damaged throat. The remaining bridge crew were
  either gaping at the Commander or looking stupidly at the
  Centurion. ~May I be excused now, lord?~
        Sunak could understand easily the need for the Centurion
  to get away, and he offered his hand to help out his
  subordinate. ~Tonin, you must forgive me,~ Sunak began slowly,
  ~It is not my intention to bludgeon my crew into submission.
  You acted as any warrior would have done, wanting to finish off
  his opponent.~
        When the Centurion was fully upright Sunak drew in a
  heavy breath and started again. ~We simply cannot afford the
  resources to engage their ships again at this time, but I am
  sure that she'll be in the enemy's assault fleet when we meet
  up with it.~
        Tonin looked confused, this was certainly not an attitude
  he'd expected from a Klingon-Romulan commander with a
  reputation for demanding discipline. ~I understand, my lord. I
  shall be more receptive to your orders,~ he offered.
        Rela found herself looking at her Commander with awe, not
  many true Romulan Commanders, let alone half-breeds, would
  actually apologise for his actions. The fear being that the
  crew would lose respect. Sunak had no need of that fear,
  however. There would be no way that the crew would lose respect
  for Sunak.
 
  CHAPTER SEVEN
 
        Captain's log: Stardate 10160.9
 
        The scouting party, consisting of the ENTERPRISE, the
        HIENLEN, and the MORAN, is nearing the site where contact
        with the USS FEARLESS is lost. Our purpose here seems
        only to prove that the FEARLESS was indeed attacked by
        the Romulan craft dubbed the FIERY RAVEN.
 
        I don't expect to find the Romulans themselves here,
        since there is generally nothing to gain by remaining at
        a battle-site after the battle is over. However, we are
        assured that our ships will be in an excellent position
        if trouble were to occur.
 
        The intercept fleet, I'm told, has been placed far
        enough into the Neutral Zone to make even the most docile
        Romulan nervous. Fleet assures me that the ships will be
        enough to remove the threat of Romulan attack before it's
        even started, but I'm not so sure. I've seen what this
        new IRON CLAW II type ship can do.
 
        The MORAN and HEINLEN were two of the newest class of
  ships, the new scouts. They looked unusual, with a primary hull
  nestled in between her warp pods. She had the distinctive trunk
  connecting her saucer section, as it was becoming known, to her
  sensory hull. The majority of the small secondary hull had been
  given over to sensors and science, with several bands of sensor
  array apparatus.
        The ENTERPRISE, however, was there as a gunship, and
  more than made up for the two scout's lack of firepower. The
  giant starship was leading her smaller sisters into the sector.
        Riley was seated again at his captain's chair, with a
  worried look on his face. "Keep scanning for any signs of the
  Romulan ship," he commanded to his science officer, who didn't
  bother to reply.
        "Coming up on debris of USS FEARLESS, Captain," Tiber
  observed as he made slight adjustments to the ship's course.
  "No life signs, as expected," he continued. "The warp engines,
  what's left of them, are inert. I'm not getting any power
  readings."
        Riley had expected as much, though he was disappointed.
  "Scan for signs of disruptor activity," Riley commanded,
  knowing that the trace would be weak at best. "If we can find
  it, I'm sure our scouts will as well."
        Saavik looked over the instrumentation on her panel. "May
  I suggest that we beam some of the debris aboard for analysis,
  Captain? Our engineering crew could do far more capable a job
  with the material in hand."
        "See to it," Riley commanded. "Make sure that the beaming
  time is minimal. I don't need the shields down any longer than
  I have to."
        "Aye, sir," Saavik replied, standing to leave the bridge.
 
        Grissom, as yet, had very little to do while the
  ENTERPRISE was taking aboard debris. She had already assigned
  the crew, since she had expected the duty, but there was no
  need for her to actively participate. In these times, her duty
  meant that she stayed available for emergencies, which meant
  long periods of boredom.
        "What are you doing calling me from sickbay?" Matthews
  demanded as he entered the room. "In case you didn't notice
  we're under yellow alert, which means I've gotta keep my fancy
  gear up when everything goes to hell."
        "I just have a few questions that I wanted to ask,
  Doctor," Paula countered, bemused by Matthew's attitude. "Then
  you're free to go back to your work."
        "Questions, Lieutenant?" Matthews asked in a worrysome
  tone. "What's on your mind, missy?" he concluded, which nearly
  sent Grissom fuming.
        "It's about our Captain," she began slowly. "I've noticed
  some things about him that most humans can't do, or aren't
  like," she continued, trying to carefully choose her words.
  "Such as crushing titanium cans?"
        "He's got really strong hands," Matthews replied
  noncommittally. "Not, if there isn't anything more, then I'll
  be off." Of course, the doctor wasn't going to get off quite
  that easily.
        "Too strong for human hands, Doctor," Paula dared.
  "Saavik said he was cast out, and that he's half Vulcanoid,"
  she continued. "But everyone who would know something refuses
  to tell me anything."
        "That's because we can't," the Doctor replied. "Besides,
  why are you so concerned about him. I heard in the grapevine
  that you hated men."
        Grissom sighed, reputations didn't seem to take long to
  stick, but she had deserved it. "I don't like it when a man
  keeps secrets from me," she admitted, more to herself than to
  Matthews.
        "Let me tell you about the Captain," Matthews began
  carefully, seeing a bit of the conflict in Grissom's eyes.
  "Thomas keeps secrets from himself more than anyone else. He
  doesn't need you to go digging up old memories."
        "I guess he doesn't," she admitted. "I'll just have to
  talk to him about it sometime soon."
        "That's what I would suggest, Lieutenant," Matthews
  offered as he left. So, he thought to himself, now he's got two
  people falling for him. Lucky stiff.
 
        Riley was impatient. The crews had successfully beamed
  the debris they needed aboard, and had succeeded in keeping the
  shield down-time to a minimum. It didn't, however, make him
  feel any better about waiting for an inevitable attack.
        "If that's all we can do here," Riley began before
  noticing how flustered his communications officer was getting.
  "What is it, Lieutenant?"
        "Sir," R'Ress said with forboding, "I've just gotten
  several panicked reports from the intercept fleet." The Catian
  did his best to clear the static and overlapping signals.
  "They've been attacked."
        Riley turned his chair to the officer. "What? Already?
  Why weren't we informed?" He demanded.
        R'Ress was obviously having troubles with the amount of
  traffic he was receiving. His voice seemed to crack. "I don't
  know, sir, apparantly everything happened in only a couple of
  minutes. There wasn't any time."
        "Damages, Lieutenant," Riley commanded with a distinct
  note of disdain.
        R'Ress sorted through more of the communicaes flooding
  her board. "We've lost the DEFIANT and AVENGER, no survivors,"
  Riley's face went red at that, it meant that there was over
  one thousand already dead. "The CONSTELLATION suffered extreme
  damage and took over one-hundred casualties," R'Ress contiuned.
  "The SARATOGA took some damage but turned tail after the other
  ships were destroyed."
        Riley growled. "Set course for new battlesite, warp
  thirteen," he commanded with such a dark overtone that it even
  sent shivers down Saavik's spine.
        O'Neil frowned at the order, "Aye, sir, warp thirteen."
  He quickly set the course and the velocity as ordered, sending
  the ENTERPRISE faster than any ship had ever gone on its own
  power. The ENTERPRISE quickly began to shake under the strain.
        "Sir, MORAN and HEINLIN are calling," R'Ress piped up.
  "They're asking if they should assist us."
        "Tell them to show up when they can," he angrily ordered.
  "And tell the UNION that their brilliant strategy didn't work,
  and to get as many ships as they can spare over to us."
        "Aye, sir," R'Ress nervously complied.
        "Sheilds, Captain?" Tiber asked nervously, though the
  answer was obvious.
        "Raise sheilds, arm weapons, and red alert," Riley
  ordered, sending the ENTERPRISE headlong into battle like an
  avenging angel. There were going into the fires, again.
 
  CHAPTER EIGHT
 
        The rec deck had emptied with the exception of two, and
  these two were showing no signs of leaving as yet. Rela's
  dueling stick flew underneath Sunak's arm, and he felt the pain
  pierce his skin. He grabbed her arm and flung her easily
  several feet behind him. The strength took Rela by surprise.
  ~You are much stronger than I pictured, my lord.~ She stood and
  came barrelling at her commander poising the stick for a
  strike.
        Sunak was ready for her and thrusted his own dueling
  stick to not only block hers, but send it reeling back across
  the floor. Rela lost balance and fell backwards. She looked up
  and saw her lord with the stick readied for a final blow. ~I
  think,~ he began, ~that you may want to yield now.~
        ~I don't get it,~ she replied as she stood, ~I held that
  stick with a death-grip yet you knocked it out of my hand with
  ease.~ Sunak offered his hand to her and helped her to compose
  herself.
        ~That's the point, you held the stick too tightly, and it just
  snapped off like a heavy branch would on a tree.~ Sunak went
  behind his navigator and put his dueling stick into her hand.
  ~Now clinch this as you would for battle.~ She did so, and her
  veins started to show through her skin. ~That's too tight, ease
  on it. Just put enough pressure to handle the stick and to keep
  it sturdy.~
        Her grip on the stick relaxed somewhat. ~Tell me, sir.
  Why did you apologise to Centurion Tonin when you grabbed him?
  He deserved it didn't he?~
        Sunak fell silent for a moment, and looked into her
  eyes.~I'm not the sort of commander who likes to use
  intimidation and physical abuse to get people to follow my
  orders. I've seen ships that do such and I've seen crews
  attempt to kill their commanders.~ He took a seat on the mat
  the two had been practicing on. ~I don't want my own crew to
  wind up attempting to kill me for something I do.~
        Rela sat and cocked her head with a smile. ~No, you would
  much prefer the Senatorium to cast you off as a traitor for
  starting a war without their permission.~
        Sunak laid a hand on her shoulder. ~You do understand
  what is going on. The Senatorium ordered us to attack any ships
  near the Zone so they could ease their political status with
  colonists out here. I think they, at the time, realised a war
  could result. So they came up with a plan to protect
  themselves.~
        Rela gave a look of concern. ~You mean that they were
  planning on declaring us rogue all along?~
        ~I believe so. I contacted all other ships within the
  area, and when they heard this news they were much more than
  eager to jump to our side.~ Sunak looked away from Rela for a
  few moments, instinctively she moved closer to him. ~What
  bothers me is that I am starting this war.~
        Rela caressed the opposite side of Sunak's face and
  pulled it so he would be looking at her. ~You started this? I
  don't think so, I think you have saved the honor of our people
  with this act.~
	Sunak could feel the soft touch of Rela's hand across his
  face, and he reach for her hand. He started to become a bit
  lost in his concentration as he looked at her. ~Rela,~ he began
  to whisper. She moved over to kiss him and he pulled harshly
  away.
        ~What is it? What's wrong?~
        The was a genuine pain in Sunak's voice as he spoke, a
  pain which seemed to penetrate into his very soul. ~I can't
  take you, Rela, I just can't.~ He started to stand and found
  that he was emotionally unable to. He looked again at her, and
  noted her compassion, her deep caring, her attraction. Could
  this be what love is, he found himself asking. ~Rela, I'm truly
  sorry.~
        She grabbed his hand, and she could feel the dense skin
  of his body for the first time. It was too dense to be Romulan.
  ~I don't understand. I thought that you wanted me, like I
  wanted you. Please talk to me.~
        The softness in her voice relaxed Sunak somewhat. ~I'm
  not a full Rom'lnz by any measure Rela. Only my mother was
  Rom'lnz.~ As he spoke, the words became more painful to bear.
  Rela put her arm around him and parted her other hand in the
  from of a "V" as she caressed his open hand. ~Rela, I'm half
  Klingon,~ he finally admitted, though it had been no secret.
        Rela was taken aback, but didn't stop showing her
  affection.~I knew that. But I thought that Klingons and Rom'lnz
  were incompatible. How could you...~ she found herself lost in
  a train of thought that seemed to lead no where.
        ~My mother died giving birth to me,~ he began slowly,
  painfully caring for each word he let out of his lips. ~My
  Klingon father donated me to Klinzai research. They performed
  experiments on me, corrected the genetic defects in me.~ He
  tried to be soothed by Rela's touch, but there was too much
  pain involved, too many memories. ~They put me on display like
  some sort of animal. I was billed as the greatest feat of
  Klingon science in the entire Avastam.~
        Rela tightened her grip on the commander. ~My lord, if
  this is too much to bear for you then I will...~ Rela could see
  that Sunak's personal reality was overshadowed my memory at
  this point. She only held him that much closer.
        ~In my fourth standard year, a Rom'lnz ship destroyed the
  Klingon science lab where I was displayed, and brought me into
  their influence. I was too physically superior to them for me
  to be one of the k'manatri, so they inducted me into the fleet
  early.~
        Rela looked into her commander's eyes again, this time
  seeing all the emotion he possessed. ~S'T'L'Sunak,~ she
  whispered to him. ~I still don't understand what your fear is.
  I can't see what bothers you so much.~
        Sunak's look of pain subsided, and a look of
  incompleteness swept across his face. ~I do not know love. For
  me there was only the hate of the klivam and the duty of the
  Rom'lnz. I saw others while I was rising through the ranks. I
  saw the way that males and females interacted, but I could
  never take part.~
        Rela brushed the side of Sunak's rough face. ~You can
  now.~ At this point, she kissed him thoughtfully and backed
  off. ~Commander,~ she began with a grin on her face, ~I think
  you have a ship to run. Your bridge misses you.~
        The giant Romulan stood, helping Rela get up. ~I thank
  you, Rela, I have never felt as if I could talk to anyone.~ He
  held her a moment, a sensation he found soothing. ~I will,~ he
  hesitated so he could pick the right words,~ see you once our
  fleet has regrouped a repaired themselves.~ The two touched
  their hands together in a ritual only true Romulans could
  understand and then Sunak walked off to the lift.
        Rela considered following him for a moment, but declined.
  There would be no point to pursue this matter on the bridge,
  the rest of the crew had no need to overhear the commander's
  affairs.
        When the lift doors opened, Rela was surprised to see
  Tonin walk through towards her. ~Well, what did he say about
  me?~
        Rela smiled at the Centurion's nervousness. ~You're quite
  safe, Tonin. Sunak's apology was sincere.~
        Tonin looked at her quizzically. ~I get the distinct
  impression that more went on here than just dueling.~ I know,
  Tonin thought to himself, I am asking a loaded question. But
  that was a damn long duel with someone three times your
  strength and twice your speed.
        ~Let's just say that the Commander had vulnerabilities no
  man could ever get to.~ Rela called that the end of the
  conversation and walked to the lift with a broad smile on her
  face. Tonin just set about massaging his neck.
 
  CHAPTER NINE
 
        ~Commander,~ a Centurion called as Sunak returned to his
  command chair, ~we had registered a Federation battleship,
  closing in at us at very high velocity.~
      Sunak observed the reaction of the crew. What could this
  one ship be to be so bold as to challenge a fleet, they were
  wondering. It was obvious, however, it was the banshee devil
  which had somehow managed to destroy the IRON CLAW II only days
  before. Now it had come to try and claim them. ~On screen,~
  Sunak grimly commanded.
        The screen flickered a bit, then finally fixed itself. On
  it was the image of the Federation's newest and most powerful
  warship, the USS ENTERPRISE. Her massive form was charging
  them at speeds unheard of.
        Rela entered the bridge and was taken aback by the view
  she was welcomed. ~What in the name of the Brothers is that?~
  she asked, temporarily letting her discipline slip. ~Is that
  the new Federation ship?~
        ~It is the ENTEPRISE, Rela,~ Sunak responded as she
  assumed her seat. ~She is headed directly for the battlesite,
  and will pass near us quite soon.~
        ~Sensors are also indicating two scouting vessels,~ Tonin
  continued. ~They're of a type that I've never seen before,~ he
  added with a bit of confusion. ~They are farther away and
  are travelling much slower than the battleship.~
        Sunak stroked thoughtfully on his chin, ~She's charging
  right into us. Her Captain knows we're still here,~ he
  concluded. ~Raise sheilds and drop us from cloaked mode,~ he
  commanded.
        ~Drop the cloak, commander?~ Tonin responded. ~Is that
  wise, sir? Surely we're better off with the cloaked avantage,~
  he added, daring to go too far once more.
        But Sunak was undaunted. ~The ENTERPRISE, we know, has
  seeker torpedoes. If she comes in firing, we'll be destroyed.
  The cloaking device adds no protection for us.~
        Tonin complied, causing the ship to shimmer into reality.
  ~Shall I pass the order to the other ships, Commander?~ he
  asked.
        ~No,~ Sunak replied coldly. ~There's no need for their
  commander to know of our other ships just yet. We'll decloak
  them when needed. But for now we'll offer ourselves as a
  target.~
        Rela drew in a deep breath. ~May the glory be ours today,
  Commander.~
 
        "A battleship has decloaked at site, Captain," Tiber
  announced. "She's raising shields and arming weapons."
        Riley did his best to hide his concern. There was now no
  way of telling if the FIERY RAVEN's siblings were in the area.
  But at least there was one target. "Estimated time to
  intercept, Lieutenant?"
        "Sixteen minutes at present speed," O'Neil replied. "But
  engineering reports that our engines are red-lining and that we
  should cut back to warp twelve," he continued, frightened.
  There was even noticable sweat coming from his brow.
        "If their Commander has half a mind he's already
  prepared himself against the anti-matter trick," Riley mused
  remembering the previous battle. "Since I don't have really
  anything else in mind, we'll slug it out the old fashioned
  way." If Riley was trying to console anyone, he failed.
        "How soon before MORAN and HIENLEN can arrive?" Saavik
  queried.
        "Thirty minutes at their best speed," R'Ress responded
  depressingly. "They're running at maximum speed at warp ten.
  We've got an impressive jump on them."
        "Which is how I want it," Riley replied in a grimace.
  "We'll go in a do some damage, then turn tail and pull the
  RAVEN in, hopefully. If it works, we should catch her away from
  her flock." It was a gamble, Riley wasn't even sure that the
  RAVEN's fleet had stayed in the area. He also wasn't even sure
  about the tactics that the RAVEN's commander was fond of using.
  He was sure, however, that he wouldn't fall for such a trick.
        R'Ress had already begun relaying the order when Riley
  suddenly cut him off. "No, belay that," he commanded, which
  caused the crew to pause. "Tell them to sweep around and just
  scan for tactical analysis. Fleet will need the cloaking
  registers for those ships."
        Saavik raised her eyebrow at her Captain's apparent
  indecision but said nothing. He was faring no worse than anyone
  else, but was having a hard time since he couldn't reverse his
  decision to rush into battle. He reacted emotionally, she
  thought to herself, and he was now regretting it.
        But Riley was quick, and that's what counted. "He's
  baiting me," he muttered aloud. "He wants me to fire on his
  ship, that's why he's out there, uncloaked."
        Tiber studied over his instrumentation for a moment,
  desperately looking for signs of other cloaking patterns.
  "We're too far out of range to detect any patterns," Tiber
  announced. "We've got ten minutes travel before we can find
  them, if there are any other ships there."
        Riley smiled. "Yes, they're there, waiting for me to jump
  right in and get shot at," he concluded, a bit angry with
  himself. "I can't believe how stupid I've been." Riley stood up
  and walked to Tiber's helmsman's station. He studied the
  instrumentation carefully. "They're trying to catch the fleet a
  little at a time, going for the scouting parties instead of key
  targets. That's why it took so long for us to find out our
  ships are missing."
        Saavik gazed at her captain, trying to make sense of his
  random thoughts. "I don't understand, sir? What do they have to
  gain by attacking scouting units."
        "The ability to pick off ships a few at a time instead of
  a coordinated effort," Riley replied matter-of-factly. "The
  Romulans aren't trying to fight a war, they're trying to
  sabotauge our strength in these sectors by stripping some of
  our defenses."
        Saavik's eyes widened as she finally was able to draw
  conclusions. "The Romulans are trying to even out the forces by
  using what they call 'rogue agents' to attack a handful of
  Federation vessels," she commented. "They're at a disadvantage,
  strategically speaking."
        Riley again took his seat. "Desperately, if they would
  try such a crazy idea," he commented. "Some Senator must have
  had a few too many ales one night."
        Tiber span his chair a bit, not having grasped the
  meaning. "Why rogue agents? I don't understand."
        "It's simple," Saavik replied. "The Romulans have likely
  devised this scheme to cause slight damage to the Federation
  defenses along the Neutral Zone. These 'rogue agents' are
  enlisted to find and destroy any lone vessels. The skirmished
  are designed to look like the acts of a renegade commander in a
  new ship."
        "That way," Riley concluded, "the Romulans can't
  officially be held the blame. That's what Konok meant when we
  captured him. We can't morally declare war on the Romulans
  since it all the act of some disgruntled ship Captains."
        Tiber nodded in understanding. "But what happened now?
  Why would they attack an intercept fleet so openly?"
        Riley smiled. "Because," he began with deep
  understanding, "I think that the RAVEN's commander has had it
  with being the scapegoat and has taken matters into his own
  hands."
 
  CHAPTER TEN
 
        "Entering sector," Tiber announced. "Definate Romulan
  cloaking signatures around, looks like a small fleet of them."
  Tiber muttered with a hint of expectation.
        Riley straightened himself up in his seat. "Lauch a
  volley of our seeker torpedoes, and keep it up until the MORAN
  or HIENLEN arrives," he commanded grimly. "With luck, maybe we
  can even the odds a bit."
        The ENTERPRISE fired, in very rapid succession, a barrage
  of torpedoes in what appeared to be empty space. Desipte the
  fact that the FIERY RAVEN was standing to fire directly in
  front of them, the ENTERPRISE Captain was firing at ghosts.
        Sunak's eyes widened in terror as he saw the maneuver.
  The ENTERPRISE Captain hadn't fallen for the trap, but was
  going to spring it the hard way. ~Get our vessels uncloaked and
  shielded,~ he barked even as a group of the torpedoes slammed
  into one of the three hidden TAKARA MORLATTA's, reducing it to
  drifting ash. Suank's surprise was substantial, ~Fire torpedo
  and bring us in for phaser barrage,~ he commanded.
        The the ENTERPRISE torpedo shower hadn't dried itself up
  as yet. The remaining torpedoes found a new target, a TEMAR
  VASTARI which was in the process of decloaking. Five of the
  remaining torpedoes ruptured the cloaking pattern, atomizing
  the vessel in mid-cloak.
        "Incoming," Tiber announced as the FIERY RAVEN unleashed
  her counter assault. Tiber fired the phasers into it, hoping to
  be as lucky as he had been before, but this torpedo didn't
  disperse.
        The ENTERPRISE shook as the Romulan torpedo slammed into
  her. "Return fire," Riley commanded, sending his ship further
  into the battle. Two of the original torpedoes remained,
  crashing into the remaining TEMAR VASTARI's sheilds. The
  Romulan ship took the assault, but the follow up of the
  ENTERPRISE's powerful phasers finished her off cleanly.
        Suank stood in disbelief, his fleet had already been
  comprimised. Of course, the two titans hadn't done much to
  one-another as yet. ~Fire phasers,~ the giant Romulan ordered.
  Rela complied, sending beams of hot-death into the ENTEPRISE's
  sheilding.
        Of course, the other remaining warbirds, two TAKARA
  MORLATTAs, joined in firing on the devil which had attacked
  them. "Sheilds weakening, we can't stand a prolonged attack
  like this," Tiber announced as the ENTERPRISE was bombarded
  with phaser-fire.
        "Back off, back off," Riley barked and gestured wildly
  with his hands. Tiber pulled the ENTERPRISE gently back,
  trying to gain distance from the counter-attacking vessels.
  "Launch torpedoes," he commanded angrily.
        The bulk of the torpedo barrage was geared for the FIERY
  RAVEN, which suffered massive shield loss. She would have
  suffered actual damage if three of the torpedoes hadn't decided
  to track the two smaller craft instead.
        Then the RAVEN fired her most powerful weapon again,
  sending a ball of deadly energy at the Federation starship.
  ~Whatever it takes, Tonin,~ Sunak warned menacingly, ~keep that
  Federation ship in our arc of fire.~
        Tiber had tried firing at the torpedo again, but the
  FIERY RAVEN's weaponry seemed to be more stubborn than the IRON
  CLAW II's. The ball slammed into the ENTERPRISE in a shockwave
  which sent crewmembers reeling.
        R'Ress's communications panel exploded at him, but the
  material caused him no personal damage. He instinctively rushed
  for the fire retardant nearby and commenced spraying.
        Tiber strained to return to his seat. "We're down to only
  ten percent shielding, Captain," he reported mournfully. "Their
  phaser fire is draining us away."
        This would be it then, Riley confessed to himself. At
  least we exposed them for what they were. "Fire another
  torpedo spread at the FIERY RAVEN and prepare to jettison the
  log buoy," he grimly commanded.
        But at once one of the TAKARA MORLATTA's hull was torn
  from behind and the other broke off firing. The FIERY RAVEN
  even seemed to give pause as three new ships entered the
  battle, severly changing the odds.
        The USS MORAN and the USS HIENLEN rushed forward, photon
  torpedoes firing. Behind them was another powerhouse, the USS
  SARATOGA, ready to avenge her earlier defeat.
        ~We had him,~ Sunak fumed as the sensor reports came in.
  ~Order our escorts to dispatch of the newcomers. The ENTERPRISE
  belongs to us,~ he commanded.