SD 241301.03 || "A Reason for Treason" || Part III | XO || Cmdr Lansine

Posted on Thu Jan 3rd, 2013 @ 11:10pm by Captain Robert Lansine

689 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Romulan Ale.. I mean Aide
Location: Colony Surface - Unknown Location
Timeline: Immediately following Part II
Tags: romulan, kidnapping, tal'shiar, poison, rebellion, treason, lansine

=/\= Colony Surface – Unknown Location =/\=

“You people sure have a strange way of asking for help,” Rob said, brushing off the latest dusty debris that had landed on his uniform from the cavernous ceiling above. “You grabbed me off the street to help you in your little insurrection?”

The still unnamed Romulan paused, “Surely, you must understand our need for secrecy,” he stood up and motioned for the Starfleet officer to follow. “When your ship was first detected we didn’t even know if you’d listen to our claims,” Lansine followed the Romulan through the only door exiting the small ‘interrogation’ room and into a rocky corridor. “Only when your scientists began analyzing the mine did we know our plan was working.” The man stopped at a ‘T’ in the hall and waved for Rob to go first. “We needed to make sure you were here on strictly—what do your people call it? ‘Humanitarian’ reasons?” The other man’s expression distorted as he attempted to understand the odd word.

Before they stepped one step further into now appeared to be a complex array of underground tunnels Rob stopped. “We came here to figure out what the hell was going on. And from what your telling me, we have,” he paused and looked through a nearby doorway that led to a more open room. Dozens of Romulans, more than he had ever seen in one place, were huddled together around primitive heating units, some clothed in disgusting old blankets while others lay curled up in the fetal position on the ground. Their living conditions were horrible, and not anything like Rob had seen on the surface.

The colony had seemed well off, even strangely so for an outpost so far outside typical Romulan territory. Why these people teetered on the edge of destitution puzzled him.

Seeing the Commander’s confusion, the Romulan man offered an explanation, “I’m afraid we haven’t yet fully explained the situation to you, Mr. Lansine.” He again waved Rob through a doorway, this time into a slightly smaller room with only a few Romulans working computer terminals on the far wall.

“This, my friend, is the brain behind our small rebellion,” the Romulan said, opening his arms in a show of pride. Yet, despite the man’s conceit, the hardware adorning the rocky walls was hardly impressive. The three men operating the various consoles seemed overrun with information and stressed, seemingly more so than Rob.

“What am I looking at?” Rob replied, annoyed with the pomp and lack of straightforward replies.

The Romulan man smiled, grin from one pointy ear to the other, “Answers, Mr. Lansine. Answers.” He motioned to one of the men working at a computer station and a crude holographic image appeared in the center of the room.

“The Romulan people are in conflict, Commander, and we understand Starfleet and the Federation know of our people’s ongoing civil war.” The image morphed into revolving image of the colony world. “Our colony, like many other Romulan installations across the quadrant, was initially torn when the conflict started. However, once both factions started into all-out conflict our resources dwindled and our connection to the rest of the Empire was cut. With the Empress and the Navy focused on retaining control of the core systems, outer colonies like ours were neglected and became weak,” the man paused and took a deep breath. His eyes sank, and for the first time since his capture, Rob saw what he believed to sadness in the man’s expression. The retelling of their plight seemed to invoke even more stress on both him and the other Romulans in the room.

“Not long after the conflict began did the Tal’Shiar begin blockading the system. After a few weeks they’d managed to convince the governor and the majority of the colony to supply them raw mining materials,” he paused again, the Romulan’s face taking on a more professional expression.

“I am Centurion Aerv Riuurren, former Naval officer of the Romulan Star Empire. And you, Commander are going to help us stop these traitors.”


=/\= End Log =/\=

 

RSS Feed