The Relay (Part 3 of 3)

Posted on 03 May 2024 @ 10:45am by Commander (La) Kuran & Lieutenant Aria Rice

1,798 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: Pleiades Cluster, IKS Praxis
Timeline: MD 03, 1255 hrs

Previously, on The Relay (Part 2)...

The compact Romulan escape pod maneuvered on an escape trajectory directly astern from the subspace relay station and rapidly cleared 10 kilometers of distance in only a matter of seconds using its first-stage thrusters. Unseen to its occupants, the interior of the Romulan communications facility was suddenly showered with a spectacular display of thalaron radiation particles from within, slowly descending from the overhead bulkheads and disappearing as they penetrated down through the deck plating. The body of one deceased Klingon warrior who'd been left behind suddenly began to molecularly break down, his dark skin turning to a stony coloration of gray before crumbling in on itself and leaving nothing more than his uniform, weapon and a pile of organic ash in place of his once-large frame.

"...Rice! ..Sogh -ice...report!" replied Kuran's demanding voice through the interior of the escape pod. The audio reception was improving the further the small capsule traveled from the relay station.

"This is Rice. We're in the escape pod," Aria said as she closed her eyes for a moment. "We got some of the data, suffered a few losses...and have some prisoners. Suggest we get beamed on board rather than take the escape pod onto the ship."

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

IKS Praxis - Secondary Hull, Transporter Room 1

Rapid repeating thuds of multiple heavy bootsteps across the deck plating reverberated through the nearby corridor, becoming more and more prominent until the door to the Klingon battlecruiser's primary transporter room groaned open to present Kuran, Torn and two other large security officers. Praxis' tall captain swiftly entered alongside those in his cadre. "Report!" he demanded of the already-present transporter operator.

"I have a lock on the Sogh's team - they are presently moving away from the relay station in an escape pod. Range, approximately 50 thousand kilometers. I detect seven life signs...including three Romulans," the Klingon woman replied with intrigue.

Yes...excellent, thought Kuran to himself as he lifted his chin to privately celebrate this small victory. "rIH," he ordered to begin the beaming sequence.

Several commands were tapped into the console's interface followed by a brightening of the transporter pad's lights and a manifestation of multiple red molecular shimmers. The Human first officer and her team materialized back within their vessel followed by a short pause of silence to process their return and the addition of the new prisoners.

Aria looked at Kuran, taking a deeper breath of the better oxygenated air of the Praxis. She herself now had a grip of an unconscious Romulan and she let him drop to step down. "The station's flooded with Thalaron radiation. We got what information was available but download was incomplete," she told him, meeting his eyes. "I suggest we isolate the prisoners from each other and question them separately when they regain consciousness."

The battlecruiser's captain slowly clenched his half-gloved fists then extended his fingers, the targ leather creaking when it was stretched then returned to its normal form. He looked at the two unconscious male Romulans donned in eerily-familiar uniforms, then to the conscious female Romulan whose forearm appeared to have been severed. "Do as Rice commands...put these baktag in separate holding cells. This one," he pointed to the woman whose foreign rank pips he recognized as being from their officer corps, "I will question myself."

The newly-present security officers along with those returning from the away team began the process of dragging their adversaries off the transporter pad and to their new prisons, but not before the Romulan woman spit toward Kuran in passing. "Your treachery will be revealed...already a distress call has been sent!" she proclaimed with an intense scowl as she futily struggled against the larger and stronger Klingons. "We should have known better than to form an alliance with feral dogs who are nothing more than puppets of the Federation...traitors to your own heritage!"

Kuran's swift backhand was fierce and primal, and snapped the woman's head to the side while sending a splatter of green blood from her mouth onto the nearby bulkhead. "Your kind possesses no honor, nor anything beyond deception and lies. Cherish these last moments of your life...while you can." He then reached up to wipe her saliva from the side of his cheek while she was hauled off and out of the room.

Nearby within the transporter room, the Klingon weapons master and second officer, Torn, had stepped forward alongside his captain to oversee the new arrivals. When they'd only beamed back four of his own men, he'd become agitated. He stormed in front of Rice, towering over her with a crooked squint in his eyes. "Where is J'meK?!" he demanded from her.

"Died with honour," she said, meeting his eyes and holding them. Torn did not scare her, not even when he tried to intimidate her. "Get people to decipher the information we've downloaded from the probe, I want to look over the results myself."

The bald-headed Klingon with a robust pony-tail did not take kindly to the dismissive words from the Human. Torn stepped directly in front of Rice then firmly grabbed her left shoulder's armor before forcefully pushing her small frame toward the rear of the transporter platform. "J'meK was a member of the House of Martok, as am I! You dishonor him without returning his body then do not tell me the tale of how he has now entered Sto-vo-kor?!"

Aria drew her blade without any hesitation, putting it against his throat to stop him pushing her, eyes flashing with anger. The anger died a moment later but her blade stayed. "Do not forget what I am, Torn," she said, firmly, her eyes on his. "You are grieving, so I will excuse this outburst, this disrespect you are showing me, your superior." She lowered the blade the moment he released her, holding his eyes mercilessly, her own hardened. "J'meK was shot in battle, by a Romulan. He died with honour befitting the House of Martok. His body is now dust, thanks to the Thalaron radiation. He could not be retrieved. He died for his crew and there is no greater honour than that. I will remember him well, and how he died, as will the others."

Torn took a slow step backwards, his eyes bloodshot with internal pain from losing one of his cousins. The Human woman was speaking to him as a true Klingon warrior would and that should have been enough. Yet she was still no Klingon in his eyes. A mere Federation usurper who held the first officer position within Kuran's command team which he so coveted. He stared at her intense eyes for a brief moment before turning his large and muscular back to her, then stormed off of the transporter pad and out of the room...to find one of the Romulan prisoners upon which he would extract his revenge.

Aria let out a breath she did not realise she was holding when Torn was gone and put her blade away. Her mind was going towards what needed to come next. Deciphering the information, talking to the prisoners. Finding out what information she could. That they could. She looked over at Kuran and gave him a small nod.

Arms folded across his chest while he'd been standing nearby and watching their interaction, Kuran's gaze met Rice's features. "You are mastering our ways much faster than I expected," he complimented her for her forceful rebuke of Torn's behavior. "J'meK was a young and promising warrior. Well-known by many of the crew. You should make your presence visible in the dining hall this evening while they celebrate his new journey and this victory you have achieved for us. Three Romulan prisoners..." his lips peeled back to reveal his sharp teeth in a satisfied grin, "I doubted you would be able to secure even a single one!"

Aria nodded in acknowledgement of Kuran's words. She would be there for the evening. She would not miss it, because J'meK had been part of her team. "We did not get them all back here, yet I hope these three will have some answers." She met his eyes, holding them for moment. "I suggest we let them stew for a bit, without questioning them. Let them worry about what we will do to them, then interrogate them later."

"Later?" he furrowed his rigged brow with confusion. "We must extract information from them immediately to discover what intelligence they possess of the Empire's timeline." He huffed through his nostrils, "Do you not wish to return to your vessel and reveal these secrets as soon as possible?"

"I want information, yes," she said as she met his eyes, a small smile coming to her at a memory from her Academy days. Seemed a lifetime ago now. "I do also remember the value of letting someone stew in their own juices...figuratively." But she considered what he had said, taking a slow breath as she reset herself a little, to adjust her own thoughts to what things were, not what she wished things were. Time was not on her side. "Of course, there are three of them. Would not hurt interrogating one now. Do you want me to take the lead, Captain?"

He considered her request - a single Starfleet officer allowed to interrogate a Romulan in a one-on-one environment. She would probably get herself killed, but Rice had proven to be a most resilient small Human. Kuran reached to the rear of his belt then retrieved a compressed, silver baton-like device which he handed to the first officer. "Take this. A painstik. It will help reveal all of the information you need...from even the most uncooperative Romulans," he let out a single deep chuckle then pounded his hand atop her shoulder to give it a strong squeeze. "Go, then report back to me before the evening feast."

Aria held the item in her hand, weighing it for a moment. No. This was not who she was. This was a line she couldn't cross. Torture was not the way she would do anything. "Yes Captain," she said and walked out, a slight frown marring her features.

There were lines. There was a right and a wrong. And she was not going to compromise that part of her soul, not even for her new allies.

[OFF]

--

CMDR (La') Kuran
Commanding Officer
IKS Praxis
[PNPC Tarin]

LCDR (La' Hom) Torn
Weapons Master
IKS Praxis
[NPC Tarin]

Lieutenant Aria Rice
First Officer
IKS Praxis

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