Forced Allies

Posted on Fri Apr 18th, 2025 @ 2:06pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis

2,957 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: ChR Mandukar
Timeline: After the pin-point attacks of the Jem'Hadar

[ON]

Lieutenant Commander t'Aegis tugged one last time at the bottom hem of her uniform tunic to make certain that it sat perfectly on her slender, athletic frame. She had been wearing this style of uniform for years and had eventually grown used to it. Yet now, in the face of what she was about to do, it felt wrong. A wrong fit. A wrong weight. She felt severely underdressed even though she knew the power it represented. Power that would mean next to nothing in the next minutes.

One last breath and she rounded the last corner leading into the wide corridor of one of the docking berths. It was almost deserted. After the attack of the Jem'Hadar, it made sense to restrict access to sensitive areas even more than before.

Her steps echoed on the metal surface of the floor as she advanced towards her destination with a pace that belied how she felt. Her limp was gone, the injury she had sustained from the Jem'Hadar's disruptor beam had been healed by the station's EMH. She had deliberately chosen for that EMH because it was considerably less argumentative than its counterpart on the Firebird. Maybe she should suggest to the captain to override the Firebird's version with a copy of the station's. If she made it out of this alive.

The guards posted just outside the Romulan science ship's airlock stood a little straighter as she approached, and she made certain to wear her most unreadable facial expression with a dash of arrogance mixed in.

"I am Lieutenant Commander t'Aegis. I have an appointment with Riov tr'Lhoell," she announced to the guards in the melodic sounds of their shared language as she came to a halt a few steps away from them.

The guards, a young woman and a young man, wearing the rank insignia of the Galae equivalent of crewmen, looked her up and down with an unhidden expression of disgust, and she could not fault them for it. But she had been stared at with similar expressions far too often to still be intimidated by it.

"You will cease to waste his and my time and follow your orders to escort me to your commander, Nrrin," Rhiana interrupted their staring after a few seconds in a commanding tone.

The man extended his hand, palm upwards and nodded in direction of Rhiana's right hip. "You'll have to hand over your phaser, llhei," he announced, insulting Rhiana by using the civilian form of address.

"Dhat," the Starfleet officer immediately refused. "But khnai'ra for acknowledging that I am your superior," she continued, referencing the term 'llhei' that the crewman had used. The Romulan language was considerably more nuanced than Federation Standard and there were three distinctive modes in which to speak to others: inferior to superior, equal to equal and superior to inferior. While the crewman had used the civilian term "ma'am", he had done so using the inferior to superior mode, thus his insult had at least slightly backfired and Rhiana made sure to show her (fake) amusement at that blunder with a slight and brief arrogant smirk.

"Non-crew isn't allowed to board the ship while armed," the woman chimed in. "You'll get your phaser back once you leave." She avoided a direct address entirely, staying on the safe side.

"I am Deep Space 18's acting chief of security and we are on red alert," Rhiana explained, still somewhat patiently. "I will not surrender my phaser. If I wanted to harm your commander, I would not have made an appointment with him. Now take me to him, Nrrin."

The two crewmen looked at each other and finally, the man turned around to open the locked door of the airlock. "Follow me," he said and entered the Romulan ship ahead of her.

Stepping through the inner door of the airlock into the all-too familiar corridor, Rhiana suppressed a sigh of relief - she had half expected to be turned away despite the appointment. But that sentiment was short-lived. Two pairs of strong hands suddenly gripped her arms and forcefully twisted them high up onto her back, making her gasp in pain. Her instincts kicked in and she began to struggle.

It was a very short fight and it ended when they pushed her against the bulkhead. One of them handcuffed her while the other held a disruptor to her temple. Even after she was secured, they never let go of her. One of her assailants removed her phaser from its holster at her hip and pocketed it. After that, they roughly pulled her away from the bulkhead and marched her further into the ship.

All of this had taken mere seconds. No word had been spoken and Rhiana had not even seen the faces of the attackers. Nor did she really care to see them right now.

"You will release me immediately," she demanded and sounding self-assured and annoyed. "I am a Starfleet officer. You have no right to detain me."

The Romulan guards ignored her and continued to march her further into the vessel.

She could not fault them for that behaviour. Her own security guards were often way too chatty.
So she was silent and let herself be taken away. Not that she had any choice in that matter.

After a few more corridors and a turbolift ride, they led her to a door. Neat Romulan script stated its designation as "Security 1". It opened upon the small group's arrival and the guards expertly manoeuvered Rhiana through without ever letting go of her arms. The room was not too small, not too big. It was devoid of decorations and only contained a table and chair, both of standard utilitarian Galae design. The table and chair were located at the far side of the room, facing the door and a spot in the centre towards which the guards were now steering Rhiana.

"This is entirely unnecessary," she remarked and barely resisted as they pushed her down onto her knees facing the table. "I am here voluntarily to speak with your riov. I am not a threat to you," she continued as they clicked shut a pair of cuffs around her ankles.

"But you are a traitor," a male voice that carried an audible smirk came from behind her. Rhiana breathed deeply but did not give him the satisfaction of trying to twist around to see him. That would happen soon enough. "I have heard this insult for forty years, riov," she replied with as much arrogance as she could, which was not an easy feat given her position. "It was not true then, nor is it true now."

"Claim all you want, traitor," tr'Lhoell replied and stepped around to face her. Or rather, look down at her with unhidden contempt in his expression. "Your name is on outstanding warrants."

Rhiana let out a sigh. "Of course it is," she replied as if only a fool would consider otherwise. "What better reason is there to request - and be granted! - asylum with the Federation?" She looked up at him with a calm expression and a composed attitude, as if her current predicament was merely a nuisance and no actual threat to her life. "But I do not expect the riov of a science vessel," she almost spat out that word, "To understand what he is jeopardising by his rash action." She cocked her head and smiled coldly at him. "You were expecting high praise from the Tal Shiar or the Empire. A better status for your pitiful hifhar. Yes," she interrupted him before he could even open his mouth. "I know all about its struggles to gain more power. But my arrest will not bring you that praise. Quite the contrary."

Riov tr'Lhoell did his best to hide his surprise and concern. Could he have made a mistake? But that warrant did exist. And he had looked into her record, as much of it as he was granted access to. Everything pointed to him doing the right thing by apprehending her and, at least that was his plan, delivering her back to the Empire.

"Why should I believe you? You're a traitor," he repeated. "Everything you say are lies to save your life. That won't work with me." He sneered down at her. "I may come from a Lesser House, but that does not mean I'm stupid. I also don't need to discuss anything with you. I'll let the Tal Shiar take care of you once I've handed you over to them."

"How and when exactly are you planning to do that?" Rhiana replied back. "You have been stranded here for weeks without any sign of the wormhole opening again. You must have noticed that the station is currently under threat of an imminent attack of the Jem'Hadar. If you think they will just ignore you during that attack, think again." She shifted a little to try and take some of the strain from the cuffs off of her shoulders and to try to move her wrists a little, because the metal of the cuffs was cutting into her skin. "Not that you will have to worry about the Jem'Hadar. If I fail to report back to my captain within the hour, you will have to answer to him. And make no mistake, riov. To you, I may be a traitor. To them, I am a trusted crewmember and they will do anything to rescue me. Do you really want to risk that conflict? Here? Without any allies?"

The riov somehow still managed to have an arrogant smile on his face after that speech. Looking down at the bound Romulan in Starfleet uniform and despite her words, he felt superior to her. Nothing could stop him from doing his duty. He activated his combadge. "tr'Lhloell to bridge. Disengage docking clamps. We're leaving the station." "Ie, rekkhai," came a female voice back through the small device. "Disengaging...," she interrupted herself and there was a short pause. "Uh," she began again, sounding a little concerned now, "We can't disengage from the station, rekkhai. We've been landlocked." Without acknowledging that message, tr'Lhoell hit the combadge again to sever the connection and glared at Rhiana. Who smiled.

The Romulan commander let out an angry snarl and took a step towards Rhiana who did not move a muscle. For a moment, it seemed as if he would strike out at her. But he managed to wrench his eyes away from hers and stormed out.

With no adverse orders, the guards remained where they had been all this time, stationed just inside the door and to either side of it. Rhiana could not see them, but she could feel their presence. She also assumed that this room contained cameras. She therefore did not move and kept an annoyingly optimistic expression on her face while she settled in for a longer wait. Anything to further annoy the riov. She also knew that she could not show any weakness now, despite beginning to lose the feeling in her hands and feet from the too-tight cuffs.

---

The riov returned, eventually. Rhiana could not say how much time had passed, but she had given him a deadline and assumed that he was still within that timeframe.

Despite not feeling that way at all, she made sure to appear relaxed when he stepped around her to face her again. He, in contrast, looked somewhat deflated, potentially even defeated.

"Why have you come to see me?"

Ah, finally.

"I came to request your help, riov." Rhiana spoke sincerely and honestly. She was also using the proper forms of respect. "But before that, would you be so kind as to release me from these bonds? I give you my word of honour as someone who has never stopped serving the Empire that I will not harm you nor your crew."

tr'Lhoell's eyebrows rose at those words. While he remained suspicious of her, he nevertheless gave a curt nod at the guards. One of them stepped forward and removed the cuffs with quick, practised movements. Before the blood could return to Rhiana's extremities, he was already back in his position. But both guards now kept a hand near their disruptors. Just in case.

Still kneeling, because she did not trust her legs just yet, Rhiana inclined her head to just the right degree in a gesture of thanks. "Khlinae arhem, riov." She rubbed her wrists for a few moments but did not look down at the imprint the cuffs undoubtedly had made. It was not important right now and it would give the wrong impression. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up from the ground and was relieved that she could stand without wobbling or swaying.

"I have something in my possession that I am safeguarding for the Empire," she began to explain in a normal voice without a trace of arrogance or taunting, but also without sounding subservient.

"I'd be happy to take it over from you to see its safe return," tr'Lhoell quickly offered, seeing an opportunity to get the recognition for his House he was seeking after all.

Rhiana flashed a brief smile. "I thank you for that offer, but I have to decline it. It is not time for its return just yet. However, with the threat of the Jem'Hadar attack, I fear for its safety." She took a breath and then continued in a somewhat quieter tone, forcing the riov to take a step towards her. "It is just a matter of time until the scientists aboard the station find a way to open the wormhole again." At least, she hoped that the Firebird's scientists would be returning soon and would have a solution to that problem. But tr'Lhoell would hopefully never know that this might be an empty promise. "But we are facing an imminent attack by the Jem'Hadar, and the station does not have enough firepower to withstand them." Another pause to let that sink in. "If you were to help Starfleet in this battle against the Jem'Hadar, you would be providing a great service to the Empire at the same time."

tr'Lhoell pondered this for some time and Rhiana did not pressure him.

"You could be lying to avoid execution," he commented after a few moments.

"Riov, I came to you. Would I do that if I were afraid of what you might do to me?" Rhiana replied. "Ie, I am jeopardising a lot by coming here, but not in the way you think. This Starfleet crew trusts me and I need that trust to continue the assignment given to me by the Empire. You can help me in my task and I will make sure to mention your name to my superiors."

tr'Lhoell frowned. She still had not given him any proof for her words. But it was not impossible that she was an agent. If she was, then he certainly had to gain by helping her. If she was not...

"We will fight alongside Starfleet this time," he finally decided. Even t'Aegis was lying, he had more to lose by not fighting. And if she was saying the truth, just the better.

Rhiana inclined her head again. "Khlinae arhem, riov. It was good speaking with you." She offered him a genuine smile. "I am looking forward to meeting you under better circumstances next time." Taking a step back, she added, "With your permission, Riov th'Lhoell, I will be taking my leave now. I will have the lock on your docking clamps released as soon as I am back on the station. My apologies for that temporary inconvenience."

The Romulan commander looked somewhat sour at the mention of the lock, but this was not the moment to dwell on it. Instead, he inclined his head in a similar fashion, though not as deeply as Rhiana. Despite what she had told him, he still considered himself higher in station than she. "The guards will escort you back to the airlock, Lieutenant Commander. We will be standing ready for your call. And should you decide to cut short on your assignment, I would be happy to escort you back to the Empire."

"Once more, khlinae arhem, riov," Rhiana replied with a grateful smile. "I appreciate your offer and will let you know in due time whether I can accept it. For now, farewell." With another nod of her head, she turned around and walked towards the guards.

The door slid open, one guard stepped through and the second motioned for her to walk ahead of him. Clearly, they still did not entirely trust her. At least they did not pull out the handcuffs again. The small group made their way through the ship again and once they reached the airlock, the guard handed Rhiana her phaser back. Still without saying anything. Rhiana took it in the same way, then turned around and crossed the threshold of the outer airlock.

After the pleasant dimness aboard the Romulan ship, the bright light aboard the Federation starbase blinded her momentarily and she had to walk with her eyes half shut until they became accustomed to the brightness again.

Once she was clear of that arm of the docking area, she hit her combadge. "t'Aegis to bridge, release the lock on the ChR Mandukar." Without waiting for an acknowledgement, she hit the combadge again to end the communication and then again. "t'Aegis to Llwyedd. The Romulans will support us against the Jem'Hadar."

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis
Second Officer / Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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