Shoreleave 95.0301: Lacendt Thaele: Small Pause

[Deleted]

As the S’Harien slowed to impulse and approached the Romulan starbase, Govan actually felt a hint of pride. The base was bustling with activity as dozens of smaller vessels darted among the larger warbirds, but their Valdore class vessel was the newest and largest among them. After the pilot had expertly guided them into the berth and the audible and palpable thud of the docking clamps engaging echoed throughout the ship, the Sub Commander guided the bridge crew through the slow process of disengaging engines, attaching the umbilicals, and switching them from internal to external power. In spite of his casual tone and manner, he was actually a little...nervous, as he’d never done anything like this or even been present when it was done. Fortunately, he had done his homework and had been prepared for it.

Once the process was complete, he opened a ship-wide channel. “All hands, as I don’t need to tell you we just docked, and shoreleave will no commence, following the new duty rosters and lighter rotations. I don’t care what any of you do as long as you represent the S’Harien well. Enjoy the break while it lasts, except for those of you who will not be getting shoreleave, and you know who you are, Echal out.”

Smirking smugly, Govan thought of the look on Sural’s face when he was banned from his lab, the tall Romulan leaned back in his chair and watched as the first shift were relieved and gratefully headed off to whatever fun and mischief they wanted. The former interrogator made it his business to know what people truly cared about so he could take it away when it suited him, and he had been on the nose about Sural. He hoped that somehow this would get through to the doctor and prevent such blatant disrespect in the future. As for Terrh, Echal doubted anything would get through that thick skull, so to that end, he had a “shoreleave” plan for himself to put an end to his full dependence on the bothersome engineer...technical training.

These past missions, the Chief Engineer had done whatever he wanted, stopping often enough, and even annoyingly too often, to inform Govan of what he was doing, but since the Sub Commander barely understood the basics of how the ship worked, he had no way to counter what the officer was suggesting and thus had less control over the situation, and the little minion had taken advantage of that fact. Well no more…from now on Echal was determined to learn how the ship worked to the best of his abilities. He was the Commander of this ship…certainly not Terrh Virh.

When the skeleton shift of secondary officers had settled in and the repair teams arrived from the station, Govan handed the bridge over to the senior engineer and headed for his quarters, after a good meal, maybe a new musical recording, and good night’s sleep, it was time for him to head back to school. He didn’t know what Tevio was doing, nor did he care, and Sural and Terrh would be kept busy, so now was the time to try and accomplish something. Hopefully by the time the S’Harien pulled out of port, things would be very different, the way they should be, on his ship.

[Deleted]

He was happy to have the chance to finish his repairs and up grades. Although the fact he was not getting any shore leave did bug him a little. Still he was alive and by all rights after his past performance should be dead. He knew he was driving the Commander up a tree and would have to work on staying out of his way for awhile. The Commander had made some valid points he took a lot of risk with out permission and would strive to restrain himself in the future.

He was lucky and had no desire to push that anymore, he would also cut back on his reports to the commander as well. Still he thought if the Commander had a basic understanding of the ship then he wouldn't have to report so often. He gathered his gear he had already spent the required time on the exhaust manifolds and wanted to get to work on the cloak ommitters. He design new ones with up grades to allow the ship to change appearance with holograms. He was also working on the design to make sure what ever ship the commander choose to look like there engery readings matched.

The one draw back was if they used the program they couldn't cloak as well. It would take to much power but it was at least another option in combat or for spying which ever the case. He hauled him self off to replace parts and to stay out of sight of there Commander. If everything worked right it might buy him some breathing room with there Commander he hoped. He would brief him when it was time. As long the the basic functions worked up grades to systems were his call. He would let there commander know when it was time for the status check and keep quite until then. He want's less reports then thats what I'll give him less and to the point.

[Deleted]

Tevio just finished his reports to the Tal Diann central command as the S'Harien docked at the Romulan Starbase. With that tiresome but necessary duty complete, he summoned the senior members of his department. How he longed not to have personnel working immediately under him and to have superiors directly above him, superiors who constantly demanded information and updates. At least Govan Echal could understand that he couldn't be nosing into his Intel Chief's business all of the time.

Starbase. No mission. It was to be a time of consolidation of his position for Tevio, as well as continuing with work. There was no rest for him, work was all he was. Professional life.. it was his personal life and vice-versa. No rest; work, striving to prove himself and undo the long and convoluted past.

There was business on the Starbase for Tevio to attend to, a convene with the Tal Diann agency aboard the Base. The agency's contingent aboard the base was nothing covert, the Navy's intelligence department had no need to hide their existence or head-quarters; even some of the more secretive departments of the Tal Diann held a slight degree of openess, only the deepest, the pagan might say darkest, reaches of the organisation was hidden from sight. This was Tevio's destination. He had made a mistake from his superiors' point of view; he would pay.

First though Tevio was to hold a department meeting of the Intelligence department aboard the ship. It was all just chains, hierarchies of command, Tevio was an intermediate step.. and never did he feel so ordinary. The S'Harien had docked to the Starbase, and outside the large window port of the Intel briefing room, just through from the windowless main Intel centre, the green-grey mass of the structure blotted out the dark background of the stars, eclipsing the light of those stellar masses and hiding tens of thousands of alien civilisations from view. None would see what unfolded in the Intel department's conference centre.

Around the obsidian oval table were situated the grey uniformed Romulans of the Intel department; they sat mostly in silence, which fell completely when their Legate entered. He said nothing, walking to the fore of the long table and placing a stack of control pads on the end of the desk. He took a moment to organise their order, the staff around the table waited in stony silence, all their eyes unshifting from the calmly detached Legate.

Tevio stopped at one of the control pads as he was slowly sifting through them, he gave a dry, not entirely un-nasty smile upon reading its summary, then placed it inconspicuously in the middle of the pile. He looked up, "Let us begin," he said quietly.

[Deleted]

Following a few days of relentlessly pouring over the S’Harien specifications and manuals, Govan was more than ready for a break. The only thing that was worse than actually figuring out how the ship worked was trying to understand the words of the engineers who designed it, and the way Terrh’s name kept coming up, just as incessant as the man himself, only served to irritate the Sub Commander further. This was not Echal’s cup of tea, so to speak, by far, and every painful hour it took to learn something only seemed to reveal even more information he didn’t know. It was clearly not something he was cut out for and made him want to torment the first Romulan engineer, whom he held responsible. At least that he could do well.

Unfortunately, a reprieve came in the form of a summons to the starbase to speak with its Commander, and it sounded important. He generally found being called in this manner was never a good thing, especially since he or someone like him was usually on the other end waiting to make the summoned party pay for whatever crime they may or may not have committed. And so with a heavy sigh and glance around his quarters, which he felt may be his last, Govan strode from his (for now) ship to the office where he’d been instructed to appear. As was his fear, inside he found a group of semi-high-ranking officers, none of whom looked happy to see him.

Remaining silent, as he knew how stupid those who begged, pleaded, or cowered looked, Govan folded his hands behind his back, located the highest ranking officer present, and waited to be informed of his fate. The stern looking Wing Commander looked him over, allowing the seconds to tick agonizingly by before ordering, not offering, Echal to sit. The delay was intentional, as was the order to sit, effectively taking all control of the situation from him. The Sub Commander had been on the other side often enough to recognize the strategy, but had never fully appreciated how affective, not to mention thoroughly unpleasant, it was until this very moment.

“Sub Commander Echal, though I am at a loss to understand how you managed to arrive in such a position, you are here to determine whether or not you are worthy of maintaining a command in the Romulan Star Navy,” the Wing Commander said, his distaste for Govan evident with every word and his emphasis on the Navy clear. “Though it was against my better judgment to allow your ship in my Fleet to begin with and I am loathed to have anything to do with you, I’ve been ordered to offer my opinion in as unbiased a manner as is possible given your prior…affiliations. I have reviewed your ship’s records and logs and am appalled by the crew’s lack of respect for you, though I hardly blame them. However, as much as I hate to admit it, your response to them and the situations which you found yourself to be in were reasonable, tolerable, and even...acceptable,” the man added, sniffing in disdain.

Govan knew this game as well, the juxtaposition of positive and negative, the back and forth, up and down used to keep the opponent off balance, so they never knew which was coming…until it came. Again, it was familiar, but its nuanced efficiency had never been understood until now, and unfortunately, so far there had been far more bad than good, and even the positive had been tinged in negativity. “In spite of your downsides, you managed to root out a disloyal officer. Though I hardly think killing you is a crime worthy of punishment, disobeying the implied order not to kill an assigned ‘Commander’ is. Your presence cast light upon an inherent disregard for authority, which may not have been uncovered in any other conventional way.”

“You also managed to uncover a Tal Diann project that we otherwise would have been entirely unaware of, so you are not without your uses, few as they may be. I remain unconvinced of your usefulness, as well as your abilities, though you have shown improvement and made some helpful contributions. However, the question does remain, are these few signs of hope worth all the inherent trouble you bring?”

The suspense was beginning to get to Govan, the very fact of which only added to his discomfort, but he absolutely refused to cave in or show any sign of the stress and turmoil he was feeling. The Wing Commander was enjoying this all too much, that much was obvious, but that still gave no real indication of what was to come.

“After much deliberation, we came to the conclusion that your continued presence is a menace to our organization and a burden none of us care to bear. Loyalty and honor are not mere words but requirements, and your loyalties are clearly not with the Navy and your honor highly questionable. I would like nothing more than to see you face the same justice you have dealt to others,” the man practically spat out, glaring at Echal with as much contempt as a single face could show, but it was then that Govan realized that somehow he would be getting out of this alive and intact.

“However, the Navy is not ready to consider you a lost cause just yet, so you shall retain your command. Unfortunately, the only way to do this after your trial run is to promote you to full Commander. But know this, the decision was close, and this does not mean you are free to do whatever you please. We will be watching your every move, your every decision, and we will not hesitate to strip you of your rank at the slightest provocation and throw you to the very wolves that you once were.”

Somehow, Govan managed to keep the smirk from crossing his face, but his eyes sparkled in victory. He may have been lucky, but he had won. The eyes of the Wing Commander sparkled as well, but with fury and hatred, but clearly he didn’t have the power to respond as he wanted. Removing the box from his pocket, he slammed it onto the table and sent it sliding forcefully across the smooth glass to Echal, who instinctively put out his hand and smoothly stopped it from careening off the edge.

“Take it and get out of my sight,” he shot in the new Commander’s direction, the air of semi-professionalism evaporating and the latent hostility bursting into the open.

Picking up the box, resisting the urge to open it, pull out the insignia he knew was inside, and placing it on his collar in view of everyone, Govan instead rose from his chair. Momentarily debating whether or not to offer a slight bow but realizing he could never pull it off sincerely and no show of respect was better than a mock one, Echal instead merely nodded, very slightly, and managed to keep the triumphant smirk from his features until he turned around but then grinned on his way out the door.

[Deleted]

He'd just finished replacing the last omitter to the cloak, with the upgrades it was time to see if the system would work. He was happy that they would be the first warp ship of ther size to beable to change there appearance. It was a upgrade planned for the next generation of war birds one he had been working on for awhile. He didn't see why the S'harien could get them now besides it was his design and the bugs could be worked now.

Walking over to his station he opened a channel to Commander Echal. " Commander I have finished the repairs to the Cloak along with upgrades not do out until the next generation of ships come of the line. It will give you the ability to change the ships appearance the cloaking omitters are fitted with Holographic omitters. In turn they work the same way either cloak or change the appearance of the ship but please keep in mind what every appearance you wish to choose it has to be roughly the same size as our vessel. I would like your permission to test the system while we are still docked to work out any bugs that may arise. I have already spent the required time on the exhaust manifolds and took the remaining time to improve the cloak. At your command the ship should change appearance to what ever design you wish of equal size, it will also appear on senors with the correct energy readings as well.''

" I ask to be allowed to test the sytem and what ship you would like us to appear as. After the test I can fix the bugs I will also need permission to go to main supply on base for 30 mins to pick up spare parts and other componets for up grades down the line" <Tag Echal>

While he waited for his Commander permission, he double checked his design. He had passed up a chance to head the design teams on Romulas to be here, He loved this ship it was the first one he had built from the ground up. It was part of him and he part of it. It was not always good for the designer to be the chief engineer and he was learning that the hard way. His Commander had been right you can't run rough shot and make your own decision with out checking with the Commander.

He had been working on a portable transporter for the commander. It was so small it was hard to detect it would allow the commander to beam out any time he wanted. He hoped the gift might smooth the strained relationship. He wasn't expecting praise but maybe the commander would see that he was trying to fit in.

He beamed his gift to the Commander's ready room with instructions on how it worked. He hoped it would at least be useful after all it was the smallest every created and not on record in fact he had wiped the computer of all records of it. The only people who would know about it were him and the commander. He made sure to include that in his notes of how it worked. Something like that could easyly get him a new job with intelligents but thats not what he wanted.

[Deleted]

"Uhlan Mavak will coordinate with the Security department on improving efficiency in intraship boarding actions. It has been a while since, if at all, this security staff has seen boarding combat duty. Sub Lieutenant Retel and Uhlans Kcohris and T'apora I would have working on improving communication between primary departments, as well as researching our next objectives. Sub Lieutenant Hhurvan and his assigned staff will be ensuring that all appropriate procedures are followed, first within the department and then during their general cleansing of the ship."

Tevio stopped, looking at Hhurvan sitting immediately to his right, and then scanning around the table, taking in each of the faces; mostly for show, but also to scan their expressions, to look for anything that may bely a hidden agenda or for anything at all with a suspicious edge. Once the Legate had finished, he continued with the briefing.

"Hhurvan, you are nominally in charge until my return. I think we are all aware that the central command can be very meticulous in analysis of their agents, so I may be on the base for some time. Any decision taken outside of your mandate must be delayed, Hhurvan. If I return to find such a decision has been made then the consequences will not be to your liking; even dependable officers such as you, Hhurvan, are not beyond my touch.

"Mavak, return to the bridge. Find Govan's lackey, the Acting Security Chief. You should be aware of your duties from there."

Hhurvan cleared his throat but immediately closed it down, trying to mute it and pretend he'd done nothing. Tevio had already noticed instantly. "Something to say, Sub Lieutenant," he stated, turning his impenetrably cold, stony face to look at the officer. The Legate noticed an almost undetectable shift in the body language of all around the table.. Most would not have noticed it, but Tevio knew he was made of different stuff to most Romulans. His officer staff were looking at Hhurvan, not with their eyes, but with their minds. Tevio could tell; they had all tensed up, and it wasn't in anticipation of their Chief's coming wrath.

"Do you all have something to say?" Tevio asked them directly. Silence. Tevio looked down to his stack of PADDs. Could it be..? Probably yes.

"Would it have to do with my journey to the 'base..?" Again, silence. "You don't think I'm coming back, or rather you do not know if I'm coming back, don't you... I expected as much."

The staff tensed up even more, and this time it was in anticipation of the Legate's coming outburst. Who would he dispose of? The next minute or so would reveal all. Tevio glared at them all, seemingly building up to something but then, rather than choosing to rid himself of one of them, he gave them the most peculiar, driving leer they had yet seen.

"I will be coming back." He insisted. The determination and stubbornness suddenly present in him was almost a shock, the implacable stare was just permeated by an emotion that was difficult to pin, a schism of the Romulan mind that ran impossibly deep. In that instant the black eyes of the Intel Chief revealed all, giving a glimpse of that mysterious past hidden beneath the many layers.

[Deleted]

Leaning back in his chair, feet on his desk and a glass of Romulan ale within reach, Govan was feeling pretty pleased with himself. He was officially Commander of the S’Harien, everyone hated him but had to put up with him anyway...things couldn’t be better. Giving himself a break from pouring over the ship’s schematics, the newly promoted Commander was seriously considering a rare visit to the holodeck, or maybe even seeing if there was any sort of entertainment available on the station, dignified only of course, nothing that would ever make him look bad should he be discovered. Echal had learned long ago that while one of the benefits of power was the ability to do and get whatever one wanted, such needless distractions could also easily become someone’s undoing. As such, when the time came to celebrate his accomplishments and reap the benefits of his success, his taste tended towards classical music, theatre, art, and gourmet meals, expensive and exclusive of course but far from embarrassing or interesting to anyone wanting to damage his reputation. Therefore, he was just about to access the computer to find some amusing event or holodeck program to attend when he’d received the comm message from Terrh.

=/\=Commander, I’ve finished the repairs to the cloak along with upgrades not due out until the next generation of ships comes off the line. It will give you the ability to change the ship’s appearance the cloaking emitters are also fitted with holographic emitters. In turn, they work the same way, either cloak or change the appearance of the ship, but please keep in mind whatever appearance you wish to choose has to be roughly the same size as our vessel. I would like your permission to test the system while we are still docked to work out any bugs that may arise. I have already spent the required time on the exhaust manifolds and took the remaining time to improve the cloak. At your command, the ship should change appearance to what ever design you wish of equal size, it will also appear on sensors with the correct energy readings as well. I ask to be allowed to test the system and what ship you would like us to appear as. After the test, I can fix the bugs. I will also need permission to go to the main supply on base for thirty minutes to pick up some spare parts and other components for upgrades down the line,=/\= the Chief Engineer requested.

As much as he absolutely hated the engineer with a passion best left reserved for enemies of the empire, Govan had to admit, at least to himself, being impressed. To the officer himself, he would merely show less disdain that usual. “Permission granted, conduct your tests and retrieve the supplies...Sub Commander,” he replied, practically choking on the new rank. He was almost positive the engineer’s sudden promotion had been the only way his superiors could annoy him following his own confirmation as ship’s Commander. Unfortunately, it worked; however, Govan had decided not to let it get to him and to refuse to acknowledge the promotion save this unexpected change in how he addressed him. Simply being called by his new rank was the only notification that Virh would receive of his promotion. “Echal out.”

Trying not to picture the surprised and then perhaps delighted expression on Virh’s face, Govan sniffed in disgust and tried to focus his attention back on celebrating his own accomplishment. The last thing he wanted was his Navy superiors thinking they had dampened his spirits in anyway with this stupid, desperate move. With a sigh, Echal decided to visit the ready room one last time before making a decision on the night’s activities and so headed for the bridge, trying to look…complacent.

Arriving on the bridge, which was still bustling with station engineers working on upgrades and probably observing his every move to report back, Govan merely ignored them and moved to his ready room in silence without a word, gesture, or even a pause of acknowledgement. He had only taken a single step into the room when he stopped cold. There was something on his desk, something that had not been there before. Pulling out his disruptor first, Commander Echal surveyed the room, ready to shoot first ask later, or else dive for the door at the first sign of trouble from the small, metallic device. Next to it was a data padd, one which he was also sure had not been there before. Still ready to run or fire at a moment’s notice, Echal stepped forward very slowly and carefully before finally getting close enough to retrieve the padd and then step closer to the door in case accessing the data also activated an explosive. Once he saw Terrh’s name as well as the message, Govan rolled his eyes and holstered the disrupter. He may not have intended to send the Commander’s heart into arrhythmia, but the engineer had irritated him, yet again.

However, upon sitting down at his desk and activating the schematics also on the data padd, Govan couldn’t help but find his irritation fading, his eyes lighting up as he reached for the small gift. In spite of himself, a human expression he had picked up on Assailant came instantly to mind: cool. He had technology no other Romulan possessed, and it was his and his alone. Well...his and Terrh’s he supposed. This was very cool indeed. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, setting up the default location and several other backup sites, Echal slipped the device onto the underside of his belt, hidden from sight and grinned smugly. His smile faded, however, when he realized the implications of this little present. He’d have to try and be ‘nicer’ to Terrh... Well, he had just promoted him after all, never mind the fact that he’d had nothing to do with it, hadn’t even acknowledged it, and had done so before receiving the gift. That along with not killing him should suffice as thanks Echal had decided.

~

All the rumors swirling around sickbay were enough to make anyone dizzy, but the rather prevalent opinion that Sub Commander Echal was about to become ex-Sub Commander, and potentially ex-living, had greatly troubled Tamir. However, in spite of her worry, she knew better than to bring the matter up with Govan, so the nurse had signed up for an extended shift that day and decided to wait for news while on duty, since somehow the medical bay seemed to be one of the first places that new information arrived. Aside from rumors about their Commander, the other common piece of gossip related to the Chief Medical Officer’s absolutely abysmal mood. It was widely known that he’d been banned from his lab as punishment for his little stunt, but what only the medical department knew is just how insufferable such an action had made their already testy superior. It was like the entire department had been punished, as everyone had done everything possible to stay out of Sural’s way.

Fortunately, the doctor had made himself rather scarce, why and where he went, no one knew, but unfortunately, when he did show up, it wasn’t fun... So when he had shown up shortly after sickbay had been inundated with news that Govan had survived his trip to base and returned in a good mood, it only damped already low spirits. No one approached him as he entered, but Tamir knew the report fell on her.

As strange as it was, the knowledge that she had some relationship with Echal, no one knew exactly what, had several different effects on her position in sickbay. First, it meant that everyone treated her carefully, second, she was somewhat removed from the social circle, and third, for some reason, she was silently granted an extra measure of authority when it came to dealing with both Govan and Sural, the latter of which she didn’t fully understand. Still, she had somewhat accepted this strange arrangement, and with a sigh, approached the most likely irritated doctor cautiously.

“Sickbay is mostly empty now, Sir. We have successfully transferred Lieutenant i-Mhiessan to the base for further treatment several hours ago and released Uhlan Gravek six hours before that. Two engineers came in with minor burns and another with a concussion, but they were released shortly after treatment. Lieutenant Jem is our only patient left, and he’s recovering nicely. He should be able to go home sometime tomorrow I believe,” Tamir reported calmly, waiting for Sural to respond.

<Tag Sural>

[Deleted]

The steel grated floor resounded with the sound of heavy footsteps. The guard heard the metallic vibrations reverberating around the cavernous space from his point by the entrance to the inner chamber. The frequency of the foot-falls indicated two people; the guard straightened his posture and steeled his muscles, setting his eyes on the 'kink' in the long hall, the direction of which the footsteps were coming from.

In silence, the two Romulans approached the heavy blast door and the guard standing beside it. "Legate Tevio Ch'varak, Lieutenant, IRW S'Harien," said the Romulan accompanying Tevio. He handed the guard a rectangular, black slip of plastic. Tevio watched it carefully, tracking where it went.. but the guard concealed it somewhere behind him, the slip fading into shadows. Never had Tevio discovered where those were hidden. If he knew that, then a great deal mental and physical suffering over the last few decades could have been avoided.

The guard did something behind his console, and then nodded at Tevio and his accompanying person as the blast door rolled back. They stepped through to an even darker and larger chamber. Tevio knew this place well, or at least other places exactly like it. This was the inner chamber, representing the inner circle of the Tal Diann; the intelligence organisation's leading representatives in this region.

A single light above and in front of them, pierced through the darkness as a narrow, bright line, illuminating the dust in the air and a small circle of the dark floor. Unbeknownst to Tevio, although he did know they would speak soon, an array of watchful eyes studied him from high above in the galleys. Their pupils glinted with the light of the solid-state laser illuminating the centre of the chamber, but it did not allow enough luminosity for their locations to be revealed.

Tevio shuffled on the spot, the sound of his boots grinding on the floor audible as a dusty scrape. "What is your name?" he asked the Romulan standing behind him. His voice echoed through the chamber.

"Ti'mak."

"Ti'mak. I ask you, to what extent-"

"Legate Tevio Ch'varak." A deep, hard and dry voice boomed from above. Not unsettled, Tevio turned to face the direction of the amplified voice, his eyes scanning, trying to penetrate the darkness to no avail. "Into the light, agent." The voice demanded.

Without hesitation, Tevio stepped into the blinding circle, trying to resist the urge to shield his eyes. This was ridiculous; when would the inner circle realise that this over-the-top fear tactic would not work on their own agents? When would they realise it would not work on him?

"Agent," the voice said, "You are aware of why you have been summoned. You have failed the Tal Diann. You have revealed, albeit in extenuating circumstances, a major ongoing project of the organisation. Agents need not be reminded that the majority of this organisation works covertly, secret from the rest of the Star Empire. With this particular project known to the Navy and the Senate it can no longer function correctly. Do you comprehend?"

"Do not answer," warned Ti'mak harshly from behind him. Tevio frowned, but he obeyed the Romulan. This was highly unorthodox.

"Legate Tevio, you are warned, by not responding you are violating a primary regulation," the voice spoke, its disembodied neutrality perceptibly becoming more aggressive.

With a steely stare at Ti'mak, Tevio did respond, "I comprehend." Ti'mak's eyes widened as Tevio turned away from him and glared right into the light. Suddenly, the laser system upped in intensity and for an instant filled all Tevio's vision. The Legate closed his eyes but too late, an electric snap resounded around the inner chamber and Tevio and Ti'mak fell to the ground.

[Deleted]

He was a little taken back he had been permoted to Sub-commander he wasn't quite sure what to say but thought best to keep quite for the moment. He could see orders were already being processed for his permotion. At the same time he was grateful to get of the ship to pick up the spare parts he needed along with componets for up grades down the line.

He did notice the Commander hadn't said a word about his gift but thought better then to ask him about. Things were tense enough and the last thing he needed to do is get on the Commander bad side more then he had. Although permission and been given try out the hologram program which was a good thing. Get it functioning now instead of later when they really might need it.

With a quick program check he found a list of ships that would fit there size nicely. A quick check and the Romulan ship changed into a soverin class star fleet ship. He made a few quick adjustments to make sure the name on the hull read IRW S'harien and informed the dock master as well. He didn't need any calls to the commander form a freaked out base commander.

" Commander Echal we now show up and read as a federation star ship, please feel free to put the hologram program through its paces on other ship designs as long as the equal are mass. I will return from my star base storage shortly"

[Deleted]

=/\=Commander Echal, we now show up and read as a Federation starship. Please feel free to put the hologram program through its paces on other ship designs, as long as they are of equal mass. I will return from my star base storage shortly.=/\=

As much as Govan would be loathed to admit this allowed, the engineer was just beginning to grow on him. He’d had a blast playing with his new toy, and now, his ship could look like all sorts of different vessels. Personally it would take a lot more than this to get on Echal’s good side, but professionally Terrh was well on his way to almost being liked. Like a kid in a candy store, the Commander played with his latest toy, changing the S’Harien back and forth between the different ships on the list of those they could now masquerade as. This was certainly going to be a very useful advantage, if the scores of comm calls coming in from a multitude of other ships was any indication. If they could convince Romulan vessels that they were an enemy vessel, they could convince enemy ones they were a friendly ship as well.

Finally conceding the device had been tested enough, Govan returned the S’Harien to her original appearance. He’d had enough fun for today, but Echal had a strange impulse to thank the engineer, but that would be far too weak. Besides, allowing the man to live after all the trouble he’d caused was thanks enough. The Commander hadn’t heard a single word from Tevio during their shoreleave, but this was merely an observation. Govan knew perfectly well that the Legate had crossed the line of his own organization, and that such problems were dealt with in house. It wouldn’t surprise him one bit if suddenly the S’Harien had a new Chief Intelligence Officer.

Sural had also been strangely quiet, but Govan viewed that as the doctor sulking after being banned from his lab and forced to perform menial, engineering tasks. All in all, Echal was quite pleased with this nice, quiet shoreleave, well once he’d been granted full command of the S’Harien that is. Normally it would have been far preferred if Virh had remained silent and invisible as well, but his visibility in this case provided some very useful new tools, and it came across as...big of the man, not to sulk or avoid the problem, but face it head on, continue to do his job, and to even make an effort to be of use and prove himself worthy of his current position.

And so with Tevio and Sural staying quiet, Terrh being useful, and Dor’vel being his helpful, productive self, Govan felt quite satisfied with the current arrangement. Of course, things would change at the start of the mission, as Echal would not tolerate any more of what he’d put up with last mission, but as far as he was concerned, things were looking up, and he was beginning to settle into this new career of his.

[Deleted]

Tevio regained consciousness and the primary instinct was one that was normally done without thinking, as it was in a way attached to the definition of regaining consciousness itself: he attempted to open his eyes. They would not open. The experience was mildly unsettling but he remained calm; he tried moving other parts of his body and he found he could flex his wrists.. everything else worked too.

Upon flexing his wrists he realised that they were bonded in some way, it felt like cold metal. The sick sensation in his stomach and the feeling that he was hanging, with his front being pulled by some irresistable force, told him that he was facing downwards. Again, he instinctively tried to open his eyes, but whatever body paralysis agent his captors were using continued to affect them and only them.

Tevio smiled in spite of the situation, he'd been in this kind of situation many times before. Admittedly never exactly like this, but similar, and he knew that this was Tal Diann work. Of course it had to be. Why else would his eyes be disabled when he was still granted lease to the rest of his body. They did not wish him to see, or move much.. nothing more.

"Ti'mak?" He called, grateful for the use of his voice. A thousand echoes cascaded around him, Ti'mak.. Ti'mak.. 'mak.. ak.. Tevio raised an eyebrow, he'd not seen this technique employed in a long time. The echoes were not due to him being in a cavernous volume, but because the walls of the probably medium to small room (in comparison) were designed to produce high strength and amplitude reflected sound waves, with minimal transmission and deviation.

"Yes," an echoey voice replied. Tevio was again surprised, why was he present? He shrugged it off, there were more important matters that needed to be addressed.

"Why have I been imprisoned? I answered the query as required by regulation," said Tevio. To be understood with all the echoes he needed to keep dialogue down to simple sentences.

There was a hissing sound in the room now, an onrush of breath almost, or akin to a large fan. Only when Ti'mak spoke did Tevio realise it was the sound of Ti'mak sighing. "This is larger than you think, Legate, it's about more than just your slip-up at that asteroid field, the inner circle.."

"Yes?" Tevio asked the suddenly silent Romulan, he now wished more than ever for the return of his sight. To be able to see why he had fallen silent would help no end. Whether it was out of choice or for some other reason, Tevio always wished to be able to see those he was interrogating.

"My apologies, I too am bound and without sight." Ti'mak stated.

"Why?" asked Tevio.

"Because they believe I aided you. And the purposes of your capture require me to be incarcerated also."

"Incarcerated?" Tevio queried, mildly shocked by the use of the word.

"Indeed," Ti'mak said, his voice again accompanied by the curious sound of him sighing.

Silence ensued for a while, during which time Tevio tried to work everything out in his head. His mind was spinning with the, semi-cryptic at best, things Ti'mak had been saying. He stared into the blackness behind his eyes. In a way, the lack of any visible sense helped to focus his mind, as well as his other senses. "Would it have mattered if I had not answered them, in the inner chamber?" he said.

"Perhaps," said Ti'mak after a length pause. "Or perhaps not, I did my best to save you from it, and advised you based upon what I thought would give you the best chance."

"I see -" Tevio was interrupted by a sudden cacophony of sound. What at first had sounded like grinding or a low growl had picked up in intensity and sheer volume of noise. Ch'varak withstood it and eventually it began to fade. What interested him most once it had begun to cease, was that the blackness of his vision had changed to grey; he also experienced a hint of cold air across his feet and legs. The door to their chamber was opened.

[To be continued soon - bear with me..]

[Deleted]

He collected the parts he needed from the space station for future idea's he had been hoping to improve the cloak to a phase cloak he had heard stories about. The federation had built one years back but destroyed after being discovered. There was very little to go on and he would have to work through the idea's one by one. He didn't think there Commander would mind as long as it didn't effect the ship or draw attention.

He could tell the Commander was having fun when he returned to the ship there were half a dozen calls from other ships wanting to talk to him about his new upgrade. He repleyed to them all informing them that it was still under construction and that no information would be release with out Commander Echal approval. This seemed to quite the request seemed nobody wanted to ask there Commander. He had noticed that Ch'varak had not been seen and was wonder if they would get a new intell officer because of the last mission. His fear of Ch'varak was becoming less and less he respected the man but he out ranked him now. This in its self bought him a little protection. He still wasn't foolish enought to cross him though, his new rank had come quick. He had a feeling it was the high commands way of getting back at Echal but figured it was best not to ask why.

He was trying to prove his worth to the Commander, he now knew how lucky he was to be alive. He would not cross that line so lightly again as long has he did his job and did it well he would live to see another day. Looking down at the read outs from the test he made a few changes the power consumption was more then he realized and would have to be monitored.

He signaled the bridge he had returned 5 mins ahead of his alloted time, he had no desire to ruin what little good he had done in the past few days. He was getting tired he had been busy the last few days putting things together and wanted some rest. He headed to his office to catch up on some reports.

[Deleted]

It turned out that Tevio and Ti'mak were being borne on a large rig, to which the 'racks' which they were attached to were a part of. Slowly they were taken out of the room, the whirring of the rig's mechanism being the only sound. As they crossed the threshold, Tevio felt the use of his eyes and other senses return to him. It did not surprise him that the room from whence they'd come was utterly dark anyway. The seemingly black floor began to give way to the light, turning it in ever increasing levels of grey until it maxed out into a granite neutrality.

He pulled against the bonds again, once more finding their give to be minimal. He looked around at his new surroundings; scanning the perimeter of his arc of vision he found that he'd been 'pulled' into the area of a smooth circle, approximately ten Earth metres in diameter. The circle had smooth vertically facing sides to it, extending up and away into what may as well have been infinity, for Tevio Ch'varak could not see in that direction in any case.

That soon changed, the rig came to a sudden halt, the elimination of momentum of which caused a jolt through Tevio's spine; he heard Ti'mak grunt. Then, slowly, the rig began to turn over. The disorientation Tevio perceived meant that it took him a while to understand what was happening. Eventually, he brought his rapidly widening eyes to focus.

They were in a large cylindrical chamber, at the bottom end. That was obvious, because high above the 'roof' of the grey-interiored cylinder was open to what appeared to be a sky of a dirty milk colour. Up the sides of the vast chamber, perhaps three hundred metres long, were many dark portals, from which Tevio imagined many devious eyes stared.

The Legate had never known anything like it. Nothing like it existed in the Star Empire, or so he thought; this must be a Tal Diann facility, but where? Surely it was not the Starbase, that had to be impossible, even if the polluted-looking sky was an illusion.

"Legate," a booming and crackling voice spoke. The voice resounded around the gargantuan chamber, pounding off the surfaces with shockwaves of acoustic vibration. "After deliberation your incarceration has been brought to an end, after a period of three days." Tevio nearly choked, not sure whether to laugh at the short time or to splutter in confusion. The insidious voice outmatched even the speaker's in the inner chamber for ridiculousness, but it held just enough menace to keep Tevio impassive.

"The infidel beside you, Legate, will no doubt of told you of the real reason for you capture. You must disregard him, even if his traitorous words hold a semblance of truth."

Tevio tried to gather his thoughts, tried to remain cool and collective in absorbing this information, just as in the manner he had the whole of his career. It worked partially, "Ti'mak's words have alluded to nothing but cryptic suggestion," he said as loud as possible, "Yet that does not make him a traitor-"

"Silence, Legate! You know not what we know. Suffice it is to say, that the renegade Ti'mak did not become as such by divulging information such as that which he has given to you. The matter is larger than you know.."

"So everyone keeps saying," Tevio murmured.

".. But you will be made aware of it very soon, once you leave this place." The voice finished, a hard edge present due to Tevio's interruption; the S'Harien's Intel officer was momentarily surprised that the voice had heard him. He still had questions, but they would have to wait as the voice spoke again.

"You will now have your motor and cognitive functions temporarily neutralised, Lieutenant Tevio. You will regain them to find that you are on the Starbase from which you were first brought to us. Now listen, you will be in quarters on the base, accommodation which is yours until your warship is due to depart. From the moment you awake, during your time on the base and also during when you return to your ship, you will speak to no one of this place. Make excuses where you can, and do your utmost to limit general social and professional discourse with associates and colleagues, until such a time that you will be contacted by Tal Diann's central command."

Tevio opened his mouth to ask what would happen then, but thought better of it. He would find out when the time came. The device that emitted the bodyless voice did not speak again. The Legate peered over to Ti'mak, who looked back once he realised Tevio was looking at him. Ti'mak shook his head, trying to tell him something, but Tevio had no idea what that was. It occurred to him that Ti'mak couldn't speak just as a bright spike of energy struck him in the chest from high above. He was made unconscious.

*** *** ***

The Legate awoke in quarters on the Starbase. His eyes simply opened, he was sleeping on his side.. and happened to be peering out of one of the quarters' portals at the space beyond. One of the Starbase's long docking arms was just visible from the window. For five minutes Tevio stared at that arm, watching the specks that were a squadron of small worker craft milling about the arm, attending to maintenance jobs.

Slowly, the immediate events before his sleep came back to him, and as he watched the craft, his staring eyes lit up with fascination at what lay ahead, and they glinted with the light of a thousand stars.

[Deleted]

Tevio was back. In spite of his feigned lack of interest, Govan had been more than mildly curious to see what would become of the Intelligence officer or at least if he ever showed up again. Now that he was back, the new Commander wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about this. True, the Legate did drive him crazy and they were far from friends, but any Tal Diann agent would most likely do the same. When it came down to continuing to deal with Ch’varak or becoming acquainted with a new Chief Intelligence Officer who was a virtual unknown, Tevio’s return didn’t seem so bad.

The S’Harien still hadn’t received any new orders, in spite of the fact that all repairs and upgrades were very nearly complete. This move was not entirely unexpected, an attempt by his superiors to frustrate Govan by forcing him and his crew to wait around with nothing to do. Echal suspected that perhaps they hoped the long wait would result in restlessness, which would result in either the Commander or one of his crew to get into trouble, something which he was not falling for personally. If a member of his crew succumbed to the temptation, the subsequent party would be dealt with, but Echal hoped they were smart, or at least afraid, enough to behave.

In spite of their attempted frustration, Govan actually found this break to be rather well-timed. He had learned much during these first two missions of his command, and now was the perfect time to begin to implement some much needed changes. He may have stumbled into this position unaware and unprepared, but no longer. In keeping with his newfound determination, Commander Echal had scheduled a senior staff meeting for first thing in the morning as soon as it had been confirmed that Lieutenant Ch’varak was back. As of the moment, the group consisted of Sub Commander Virh, Centurion Dor’vel, Doctor Sural, and the aforementioned Legate.

Arriving nearly half an hour beforehand, Commander Echal paced the Ward Room while rehearsing in his head for what felt like the hundredth time what he needed to say. This little speech of his was a long time coming, and Govan was determined to get it right. It felt almost like a snake of some kind, waiting in his lair for its prey to follow the bait, stumble into the perfectly laid trap, and come to an untimely end. It wasn’t the perfect metaphor, as unfortunately these unsuspecting officers would more than likely survive this encounter, but the anticipatory feeling was the same.

<Tag All>

[Deleted]

Sural had every intention of being late to the planned briefing but even he wasnt that brave. Echal had hit him were it hurt and his punishment still smarted. Weeks with out proper leave, extra med bay duties and worst of all a complete ban on any use of his lab and his own research.

Sural had of course tried to circumvent the ban but found out quickly that Govan was always a step ahead. The lab door codes had been locked out. His console access to his research had been frozen and any external calls placed to fellow members of the scientific fraternity had to be okay ed first of all be Govan himself.

The punishment had stirred in Sural a growing resentment that he transferred on to his staff. He began demanding ridiculously high standards and insisted on late night med drills for all personnel in Sickbay. Tamir had born the brunt of his anger but as usual she did so with grace. Not once had she complained although he had no doubt Govan was hearing all about the evil doctor in her spare time.

Unable to risk further trouble he actually made sure he arrived promptly. He was not concerned that the others had yet to arrive. he seemed to have an understanding with the majority of the crew, he wouldn't bother them if they didn't bother him.

What frustrated him most was that he was unable to follow up on Tevios blood work. he was convinced a least a partial answer to his research lay in that obnoxious mans blood. he mused quietly to himself on the best way to proceed once the embargo on his lab was lifted. Tevio was not the sort of person who could be got around easily and definitely not someone to be trusted. Still that was a bridge to be crossed later now he just had to listen to the pearls of wisdom their illustrious leader was about to impart and prep for a new mission.

[Deleted]

Arriving 10 minutes before the briefing started he was concerned, in all there time aboard there Commander had never called a staff meeting. He was a little worried but kept that to him self, lately he had stayed out of the commanders way and limited his conversations with him. He had gone out of his way to show the commander he was useful but didn't want to push it.

Walking in the briefing room he took a position and waited for there Commander to say something or indicate to take a seat. He was in no mood to get on the Commander bad side any more then he had in the past few weeks. He knew how lucky he was to be a live and wanted to keep it that way. He didn't make eye contact either he focused on a point on the wall and kept quite. He was thinking about what there next mission might be or at the very least when the Commander might lighten up on him. Then again it was hard to tell when the commander was in a good mood.

[Deleted]

Tevio was sat in his office. He was back on the ship, in his customary position at his desk in front of his console. He twisted slowly on the grey utilitarian chair that nonetheless had a rotatory function, with his hands steepled carefully in front of him. He was thinking again, but this time his thought projected even further and faster into the future than it had before, pondering on the endless number of possibilities of which only one was correct.

But to how he had arrived here: the Legate had left the Romulan Starbase not long after he had awoken there. Vacating his quarters with not so much as a word to the authorities - whom were either mystified at the chain of events that had him placed there, or were Tal Diann agents - he'd headed straight to the docking ring.

The S'Harien was in conventional dock along one of the arms of the station. Being a newer ship, Tevio thought that it would be offered more pride of place amongst the numerous D'deridex class vessels, other designs of Warbird and smaller vehicles. Perhaps though, that particular honour was denied to the ship due to the reputation and history of its Commander. And, indeed, that CO was a Commander.

Tevio evaluated how he felt about this news, apportioning only a small amount of thought to the task while the rest of him worked on more immediate - if not more important - matters. In the layers of built-up frustration and distrust that he had to organise and correct, he'd found indifference - as he'd expected - but also a hint of disappointment. This former Romulan Tal Shiar deserved not to hold a commission in the Navy, let alone command one of its ships. As if there was some power in the Star Empire that, by default, concluded that the Tal Shiar was more important and more worthy than the Navy. An analysis of manpower, number of ships and equipment, as well as the means to logistically plan, would provide the very rapidly acquired result that the latter would emerge as the superior body.

As it happened, Tevio's return to the ship was well timed, for Govan Echal had set a time for a meeting of some of the senior-most staff. To be absent from such a meeting would not be a huge problem, but it would be prudent as well as useful to attend. Besides his other duties, the Legate needed to see the faces of the others so that he could evaluate their current opinion of him.. Although, that was not easy in a stone-faced briefing conducted by the Commander. Tevio smirked, shrugging off any such concerns as he swung himself out of the chair and left his quarters for the briefing room.

Such things were of no consequence; it was merely time to attend this briefing and discover the details of the S'Harien's next assignment.. if any was forthcoming. Tevio stepped into the briefing room to find that he was the last of them to do so; around the table sat the rest of the staff. Tevio took the remaining seat callously, sweeping the table with a hard glance then directing his vision to the former Tal Shiar.

<Tag Govan>

[Deleted]

As Govan surveyed the officers as they entered the room, he enjoyed observing each individual’s way of dealing with the stress of the situation. They all feigned a non-challenge attitude, but beneath it all there was a range of other emotions from fear to curiosity to disdain and pretty much everything in between. The officer who appeared the least concerned was Dor’vel, but that only made sense. After all, the man had made himself practically indispensable to Commander Echal by avoiding any problems or annoyances and proving himself loyal and useful. It was a smart move on the Acting Security Chief’s part, one that was certainly paying off in the short-term. Long term, it was actually a risky move, a risk Echal could appreciate.

Once the entire, five-man group was assembled, only then did Govan take a seat, suppressing a smirk at the irony of each officer, stone-facedly watching everyone else while pretending not to. If this was a group of enemies, he would be able to turn them against each other within minute. Alas, this wasn’t an interrogation, but actually his team, people he was supposed to trust and vice-versa, and thus, his skills were also his curse. Life had been so much less complicated working solo...

“You are here because of the failures of our previous two missions,” Govan began, getting right to the point. “You don’t like me, and I certainly don’t like you. That’s a simple fact, but when that fact begins to affect judgment and performance, we are both the ones who suffer and the cause of our own failure. This is what has defined this ship and our performances thus far, and so I have decided to put a stop to it.”

Pausing a moment to allow that to sink in, Echal passed his eyes over the group, stopping to bore into each face before moving to the next. “From now on, we are going to run as well oiled machine from top to bottom. Commander structure is to be respected, and we will work together rather than against each other. Otherwise, the continuing failures of this ship will translate permanently to the crew, and that begins and ends with us. Unfortunately, it means seeing a lot more of each other.”

“First things first, service for the good of the Empire is and always will be top priority above any and all personal interests. That should go without saying, but I shall say it nonetheless. Second, the safety of this ship and crew should also go before your own goals and gains. I don’t care what your ambitions are, but you’re getting there on your own personal sacrifices, not the sacrifices of my ship and your crewmates.”

“Finally, I don’t care what your personal opinion is of me. I am the top of the chain of command, and as such, I will be respected and obeyed. That means, you don’t make decisions on your own. You report your findings and suggestions to me, and I make the call. You run your departments as you see fit as long as my orders are followed and I receive the necessary reports, but when it comes to the missions and the direct safety of this ship and crew, we are not a democracy and there are not five, individual Commanders onboard the S’Harien. Do I make myself clear?”

At the murmured ‘Yes, Sir’s of varying levels of sincerity, he nodded once. “Now, we do not have a new mission as of yet, probably because based on the past two, we haven’t proven ourselves to be worthy of any serious undertakings, something which I intend to remedy next time out, so I want everyone and every department fully prepared for whatever assignment we are given. I expect better from here on out because I will not tolerate any continued lackluster performances. Dismissed.”

[Deleted]

He wasn't shocked about what there Commander was saying in treuth he thought it was long over due. Still he felt un easy around there Commander he seemed to take great pleasure keeping everybody off balance. Then again what should he expect from there Commander after all he looked at the Navy as a punishment for his past mistakes. Still they had jobs to do and he wasn't about to cross there Commander again. He got lucky the last time and had no wish to see how far that luck my go.

When the meeting was over he headed back to the engine room his domain. It was the only place he felt comfortable in and safe to a degree. How safe could you be on a Romulan war bird. Funny he had help builder her knew every nick and cranny, even the equipment in the Legate office he installed. He was stupid enough to make sure nobody could hack the system to see what he was up too.

Still at least in his engine room he could be some what safe. While he couldn't hack in to the intell officers computer he had been smart enough to program a warning to his control system to know when Ch'avark was useing the security cammera's to spy on him. Problem was other then the engine room and his quarters he had no way knowing when he was being watched. That unsettled him a little but since he wasn't plotting or trying to steal secerts he shouldn't have to worry so he hoped.

[Deleted]

Tevio had nodded, replying 'Yes sir' to Govan along with everyone else. If Govan wanted every department ready for the next assignment then the Legate's was certainly not going to be the one to fall behind. The department was something that Tevio took very seriously, and he would make sure it would comply with Govan's demands. He would not refrain from dabbling in the other departments either, if it so suited him, and if he thought they needed some enforcement to satisfy the demands of the Commander and the Navy.

Tevio passed through a particular dour, grey section of the ship on a 'creative' route back to his offices. He was reminded of the time on the starbase. Or rather, of the bewildering time between his arrival in the Tal Diann inner chamber and his awakening in a bedroom back on the 'base. The Legate wondered if any of the crew, particularly Echal, had thought anything of his absence. Had they been curious as to his whereabouts? The Legate was certainly curious as to what had been happening on the ship, and he did suspect that it was mutual.

It was quite underhanded in truth; directing thoughts and constructing theories on each other, not just between Govan and himself but also throughout the crew. All manner of intertwining suspicion was laced within their social manifestations. Tevio was no fool, such quantity of distrust and private thought would reach a state where it would transform into something untenable. And especially so given the duplicitous nature of Tevio's meetings with the Commander.

The Legate entered the intelligence offices, finding some of his most senior officers quite rapidly. They came to attention, expecting at least a detailed, if detached, briefing and update. However, per instruction, the Chief Intel officer was to limit contact with all personnel including subordinates.

It was a brief briefing, in truth. But they had been given enough to occupy their attentions for the remainder of this leave period. Apparently Hhurvan had dealt with his tasks and with no problems.. dejection for example, and so on. Any such thoughts the officer stirred in the crew would result in his immediate removal, Hhurvan knew that with his vast experience of serving on warships for nearly his entire career. Tevio admitted the Romulan was useful, and knew he would prove so in the future providing he kept in line.

The Legate felt an urge to act upon a recently stirred memory: that of Doctor Sural's seeming fascination with his blood sample. However that would involve a meeting, which were to be generally avoided for now. Even being spoken to was disencouraged at the moment, let alone imparting a visit upon somebody. No, instead he would watch from afar. All the staff operating essential systems needed to be watched as part of Tevio's duty and general prying interest. It was a reputation he knew he would automatically have with the crew, so there was no use in refraining from it.

<Tag Terrh>

[Deleted]

Looking down at his control panel the indicator he in stalled was on. Which meant teh Ch'varak was now watching him. He was upset in fact he was a little relieved because it meant there would not be any visits. Most of the crew would not be aware there actions were being watched. He decided to keep it that way it wasn't good to inform them it might cuase problems and things could get blown out of perportion. Still the fact the legat was spying on them looking for the first sign of any disloyalt was getting on his nevers alittle.

Why do Legates always have to assume that there is a plot to bring down the empire at ever moment. Oh well he had enough to worry about not to mention it wasn't his concern there was only one person on board he feared and worry about and that was there Commander. He knew where he stood and had no plan of crossing that line again. Still he thought it might be useful to let the commander know when the legate was spying and on whom. He would have to make sure he upgraded the Commander's office with such a device when time permitted. Some might view has kissing up there Commander, which was far from the trueth he looked at it as a chance to prove his worth. What ever game the commander and Ch'varak played was none of his concern.

He looked up at the camera that was hidden and smiled, he thought that might give Ch'varak something to worry about. He only knew where this camera was not the other 3. So he wasn't to worried about Ch'varak coming down and messing with him. Even the legate knew that the chief engineer would would find at least one of the cameras. Thats why there was more then one to give you a false sense of security.

[Deleted]

Apparently Govan had underestimated just how much his superiors hated him... A new mission had been assigned to the S’Harien but instead of just telling the new Commander what was going on, they were ordered to report to Starbase Assailant for further instructions. It was a blatant insult, not only to not be directly trusted with their orders but to receive orders from the Federation was as demeaning as it got. Echal had pretended not to be bothered by such a slight, but he realized this was a humiliation. It wouldn’t surprise him if he was a complete laughingstock, an example of what happened if you lost favor to other Romulan COs, and he hated it.

Fortunately, although other COs and those of high enough rank would hear and know about this, his crew may or may not be aware depending on how he played it, and Govan had no intention of advertising this insult. If done right, it would look like they had been sent to Assailant with Echal fully aware of their orders and he’d just refrained from informing the rest of the crew until after their arrival. It probably wouldn’t fool Tevio, but most likely would convince the rest of the crew. This constant bias against him and its effect on his command was getting old very quickly.

After ordering the Engine Room to prepare to disengage from the base, Echal had taken his command chair and begun giving orders to the bridge crew. Once the ship had retracted her umbilicals and was on internal power, Govan gave the order to set a course for the starbase at Warp 8 once he got the all clear from the engineer. Of course the Commander wished he knew what their next mission would be as to better prepare for what they would face, but if foolish political prejudice meant more to the idiots in the Navy command than so be it. The S’Harien and crew would be ready and take on whatever challenge they were dealt. He would make sure of that. Even going into enemy territory blind wasn’t going to deter him from successfully completing his mission, whatever it may be…Commander Echal was determined.

<Tag All>