D'ark in the dark

Chapter One - Escape

The noise from the bombardment had dissipated hours before. The light of the setting sun a recent memory. Destruction and death could not be avoided as I scrambled through the fields in the dark. The colony was utterly destroyed before it even had a chance to flourish. I came across a control box, the screen flickering but still in working order. I tapped in a code to activate a bio scan of the area. Within seconds the screen displayed a handful of life signs near my position. All but one were faint. The indicators flashed in patterns so the user could tell the current state of the life form. They were Romulan. Five blips on a screen in close proximity mine being the sixth. Four of the blips started to fade meaning those would most likely die. The fifth blip looked as if it was moving towards my location. I pulled out my scanner and did a quick scan in the area of the moving blip. I slowly started walking towards the life sign.

He was injured, but not badly. As we approached one another we started speaking at the same time. Realizing we would get no where fast that way I silenced my voice. He was taller than me, well most every other Romulan was as I was only 180 cm tall and he was well over 188 cm. He was handsome and rugged looking. Blood ran down the side of his face but had been dried for some time. Using the medical settings on my scanner I quickly scanned his head. He had already been fixed up by the readings on my scanner.

"Jolan Tru, I saw you on my scanner. There are 4 others around here, we should find them." He said.

We both started scanning the area. The last of the other life form blips faded. As we both completed the scanned we turned and looked at each other. Silently knowing that we were the last two alive in this settlement. A large and ominous ship hung in the darkened sky. Dim yellow lights running the length and in some places the width of the ship gave perception as to the monstrous size of the destructive vessel.

"We have to find a way off this planet and fast." I stated the obvious.

"I have just come from the east landing area, there is nothing there. I am hoping that there is a shuttle at least in the west area." He said quickly scanning me. "You're injured, let me help you before we move on."

He quickly scanned me and started fixing the wounds on the various parts of my body. Once completed we moved to the west end of the field. Suddenly he tackled me and drew a disruptor. Rolling over he fired at something. It was a drone. He missed it as it approached and fired. It missed us, barely, but his second shot landed. The drone spun out and crashed to the ground. We grabbed each other, jumped up and started running towards the west landing zone.

Chapter One - Escape, Continued

I quickly scanned the western part of the colony, there were no life forms...anywhere. I grabbed J'Renner's arm and started running through the fields in the direction of the west landing. More drones surged around us but couldn't seem to find us as we ran. Suddenly, behind us there was a crash and a huge explosion. It knocked us forward and to the ground. As the dust settled I opened my eyes to find out where J'Renner had landed. He was a few meter's away and appeared to be unconscious. I crawled over to him and pulled out my scanner. He was alive but unconscious and had some damage to his back and head. I quickly repaired the damage and pumped him full of Anetrizine. I was about to wake him when a drone approached. It swooped down and grabbed me carrying me up towards the monstrous ship lurking above. Something from the drone stabbed my arm and I slipped into blackness...

I opened my eyes it was dim and everything around me was fuzzy. I couldn't move very much but I was not restrained. My body ached and my head was pounding. I squinted trying to make out where I was. There was a mist surrounding me and it looked like I was sealed in some sort of pod. Tall shapes with pointy heads lurked outside of the pod just barely visible. There was an explosion not far off I could tell as the flash of light burned my eyes. The shapes looked in the direction of the explosion and took off in that direction. I could see energy discharges like that of a Disruptor or Plasma rifle. More shapes passed in front of my pod heading towards the energy weapons fire. I passed out again the pain in my head sending waves of torture through me. When I woke up again it was bright and my surroundings were different. I felt okay just a little groggy. I turned my head and there he was on the bio bed next to me, J'Renner. I was relieved to see him there. He was awake and resting. He must have seen me turn my head as he turned his to meet my gaze. He sat up and called the Doctor over.

The doctor juiced me with a hypo and ran some scans. "You're okay now, we can move you to some more comfortable quarters." and then looking at J'Renner said "BOTH of you!" He helped me sit up and explained to me that my friend had refused to leave sickbay until I was well enough to as well. A rather stern looking Romulan entered sick bay to escort us to quarters. The Doctor, a rather ominous looking Romulan handed me a pad. I walked to the exit with J'Renner walking behind me. We followed our escort down the corridor and not far for the medical bay to our temporary quarters. He pointed to the first set of doors and motioned for me to enter, then to the second set for J'Renner. I entered but left the doors open and scanned the room. It looked quite comfortable by Romulan standards. There was an attached room for sleeping and hygiene and this main room was spacious with a desk, a table and chairs and a huge couch the followed the transparent aluminum window line. I went into the sleeping area and sat on the bed. Realizing I left the entry doors open I got up and went back to close them. There was J'Renner standing in the doorway. I invited him and closed the doors behind him, motioning for him to take a seat on the couch.

"How long was I out. My memory of the past few hours.." I was cut off.
"Weeks." He stated
"Weeks?" I asked
"Three weeks to be exact" he stated.

He went on to explain the ordeal we went through while trying to escape the planet. He further explained that the Elachi had taken us to their ship and were performing various experiments on us. A task force had been formed prior to that to figure out what the Elachi were doing. He had not been as damaged as I had but was in pretty bad shape. He also said that my memories would come back at some point and I would remember EVERYTHING. He told me the horrifying events that he'd remembered and was prepared to help me through them once they came back to me.

Chapter Two - Ships

We exited the shuttle and walked to the main hallway doors of the Flotilla. We were given padd's that helped us find our way around. The blue line on the padd showed us to quarters while the red line showed us to what could be a small conference room or ready room. Symbols flashed at each endpoint indicating where we were to go and in what sequence. Our torn clothes, stained green with blood, were mere rags now. The padd indicated we were to go to quarters first. We slowly walked along the corridor making our way to the what would be our home for a few days while completing our recovery. We came to the same door and it opened up for us. It was a small room with another adjoining. In this first room there was a long table suitable for a few people to sit around, a replicator and a long couch to the opposite side. The view of the space around the Flotilla was marred by the outer hull of the monstrous ship. I wandered into the other room and there was a large bed, an enclosed wardrobe and small cubicle for hygiene. I peeled off the rags that covered me and stepped into the sonic shower. J'Renner had followed me through going though the same motions. Once in the shower we both stood silently as the grime was removed. Once finished I made my way to bed J'Renner in tow. We slept for 16 hours...

I awoke to the door signal beeping and glanced over at J'Renner who was quite unconscious. I got off he bed and headed to the other room.
"Enter" I said not realizing I was naked. As the doors slid opened and the dark green luminescence poured in from the corridor I realized I was as nature intended. Too late now I thought as I hid behind one of the high back chairs the were carefully placed around the table. Young Male Trill entered the room and saw me hiding behind the chair.
"Is this a bad time" He said as a slight grin appeared on his bearded face.

He was dressed in a Starfleet uniform. His beard trim and blond. The curls of his blonde hair stiffened with product.

"I can come back" he laughed and turned for the door.
"No! Please just give me a moment to find..." I trailed off searching for some sort of clothing.
He crossed the room entering the sleeping quarters and touched a panel across from the door. He glanced at J'Renner as he quietly exited the room taking a seat on the couch.
"In your own time" he managed with a slight chuckle.

I raced into the other room and quickly donned a pair of pants and a shirt. Skaking J'Renners foot to wake him. "We have a guest" I whispered. Grabbing a set of clothes and tossing them to him I quickly met our guest on the couch.

"Just a moment" I managed to squeak out as J'Renner entered and took a seat.

"I am Captain Anderson of the U.S.S. Phantom." He said sternly. "I have need of your services."

To Be Continued...

Next Chapter coming soon...

Captain Anderson stood up and gazed out the window to the vastness of space. A greenish hue lit his face from the gigantic hull of the Flotilla.

"I am sure you have been briefed on the current situation. The Federation is looking for experienced ship captains to assist in the decimation of the Elachi. We think that there may be even worse enemies pulling their strings but have no actual proof to go on. With the discovery of New Romulus and the preparations to colonize under way, it's time we bring the fight to the Elachi on our terms. The Klingons would try to sway you to join them in the assault as I try to sway you now." Parker said as he turned and moved to the replicator for a beverage.

I stood up and crossed the room to the table where I left the briefing padd.

"I have read the briefing and haven't yet decided how I can help." I said as I tapped the padd to life and began searching for data. "I have read through the briefing and while I am not a Sub-Commander yet I have some experience in command." I finished as I found the data I was looking for and offered the padd to the Captain.

J'Renner rose from the couch and walked to the replicator. "I have made my decision to join the Federation. I have already completed some training at Starfleet Academy as well as Romulan starship command."

He took the padd and glanced at the data. "Yes I have read both of your dossier'. In fact that is why I am here. I trust you are recovering from abduction rapidly?" he asked.

"In fact I...we are recovered. We are to report to the Flotilla Commander today to determine how we can help in the Romulan settlement efforts." I concluded.

"Good" the Captain stated, flatly. "After you visit the Commander signal the Phantom to beam you aboard. The three of us will dine. Shall we say 19:00?"

"Yes sir, that will be fine sir." I finished and offered my hand. The Captain looked at my offering and grasped my hand firmly. "I am looking forward to this evening."

"As are we." I stated and showed him to the door. As the door slid shut and crossed to J'Renner. "Well what do we do now? He didn't really give us an option."

"No he did not" stated J'Renner. "We should find some more appropriate apparel for this evening and I know just the place."

We had a very light meal and managed to get cleaned up properly then went in search of new clothes and the Commander. We found the onboard tailor and selected Romulan appropriate attire for the evening. Having them sent to our quarters we went in search of the Commander finding him in larger area off the starboard main corridor. He was staring at a padd and glanced up as we approached.

"Commander" I started.

"Lieutenants" he stated. "It is excellent to see you up and about, finally."

I wasn't sure but his tone seemed to give away that he knew we were quartered together. "Captain Anderson was just here and has gone back to his ship. If you look out the window, there, you will see the Phantom. One of the finest vessels I have ever been aboard. He has asked about recruiting the two of you as members of his crew. On that ship. He has offered you commissions to the Federation with the ranks of Lieutenant Commander. Not many Romulans have been so awarded."

"Commander...I...that is to say...We were hoping to assist with the settlements in New Romulus." I stated.

J'Renner stared at the Phantom and with as much excitement as a Romulan could muster agreed to be commissioned to the Phantom and Captain Anderson.

"And you D'ark? Are you so inclined? the Commander requested.

"I am not sure. I would like to meditate about this." I concluded.

"You sound like a Vulcan." The Commander responded. "You are a fool not to jump at the chance to learn about Federation technology. Maybe even command your own Federation Starship someday. I have seen their ship yards. In fact I have personally assisted their engineers in solving some of their problems with the new fleet of ships they will be rolling out very soon. I believe you have an appointment with the Captain soon?" He queried, "You are dismissed."

With that we headed towards our quarters. I don't know how long it took us to get there but I was lost in thought the entire way and in fact the next thing I remember was looking up from the couch and 2 hours had passed. Still no decision made. I got up and J'Renner was just finishing dressing. "Hurry up" he said, "We beam over soon." I quickly got ready to go and into my new robes. J'Renner tapped his comm "Phantom, 2 to beam over".

I quickly grabbed a package off the table just as the transporters shimmered us away and found myself looking at several Starfleet officers. Getting my bearings I walked over to greet them. I did not see the Captain with them but figured he was far too busy to greet us. Just then the doors slid aside and there he stood. He exuded perfection as he stood there. His hair perfect. Beard with not a whisker out of place. He was wearing a uniform I had not seen before. Shiny silver pips adorned his black collar signifying his rank. Black shoulders and chest separated by a thin gold line piped with silver thread above and below the gold. The Starfleet comm badge a single silver line almost forming the letter A of the human alphabet. A hand grabbed my arm and herded me over to the Captain.

"Ahhh I see you have met my senior staff. Sorry I am late, I had a rough time with this damn uniform." He said and motioned us out of the room.

"Actually..." I started only to be cut off.

"Glad you made it over. We'll give you the grand tour later but I want you to see the bridge before we dine" he interrupted and signaled for his crew to move on. "Sorry if I seem a bit nervous, you are two of only three Romulans ever to be aboard my ship. If you will follow me to the turbo lift we will head to the bridge."

"Yes, but sir..." I started again.

"Yes? Well what is it?" he interrupted again.

"We didn't actually meet your crewmen." I said.

His face turned serious then the corners of his mouth gave way and produced a smile followed by a chuckle. "Plenty of time for that later" he said. "Actually they have no idea that I have offered you commissions on my ship." He said as his eyes glazed over thinking to himself. (Boy I wonder how they will take it). As we approached the turbo lift doors they slid open and we stepped in. "Bridge" he ordered and away we went.

When the doors opened we exited into a small corridor off the bridge. He led us through and we gazed appreciatively into the spacious bridge decorated in light grays and blues. At the rear of the bridge was a long console with all the major ship components laid out including a complete layout of the ship bow to stern.

"It has been a long time since I have seen a Federation Bridge" I stated. "I have never seen anything like this. Is that Borg Technology?" I gasped out pointing at a lone console across the bridge from us.

"Yes it is" He stated matter-of-fact."Helm...set course for New Romulus. If you will follow me I will take you to my ready room where dinner is waiting for us. What is that package you have there?"

I handed the package to the Captain. "Romulan Ale."

"Oh. Thank You." He stated as we crossed the bridge to his ready room.

It was a very spacious room. His desk was off to the left it looked like an engineering station which I learned much later it was. There was a seating area with comfortable chairs and couches as well as table that seated eight comfortably. The table was laid with fruits and nuts of all varieties, meats and cheeses the latter of which smelled awful. Some rather odd looking dishes that I think he called salmon and trout. There were only three place settings and he motioned J'Renner and I one to the left and one to right of the head where he seated himself. He opened the Ale and filled three tall stemmed wide mouth glasses and handed one to each of us.

He raised his glass. "To new beginnings" he spoke softly then tapped each of our glasses and took a deep pull from his glass. We followed suit.

"Be careful Captain" I warned.

"Nonsense!" he laughed and started to fill his plate. "You must try some of everything. These are my favorite dishes from Earth. Don't worry it's okay if you don't like it." He smiled as he said

Nearly an hour later as we were finishing up what he called Key Lime Pie and what was left of the Romulan Ale the ship rocked violently. The lights flickered, dimmed and the Red Alert signal sounded. Red lines in the walls illuminated around the room.

"Captain to the bridge..."