402 Saavrena

Stardate 52640.2

At a senior officer's meeting on New Lhasa, Loras and Rojan Tor discuss plans to rescue Mariella. Loras has obtained information from Scarlet that Sorenal has been attached to a Romulan Mind War Institute base on the abandoned mining moon of Torek, at the (forcible) request of Nakeyah (who killed Rojan Tor's wife in Right of Vengeance). Horah-Morash is not keen on losing an away team for the months it will take to go to and from New Lhasa.
There's one with we do have which the Romulans will want. Me.
- Rogan Tor, offering himself as bait

Sorenal and Mariella share memories, and converse, taking her back to a memory of the courtyard on her childhood home in the mountains of Kae’raktar, Romulus. A teenage Romulan male appears around the collonades - both recognise them, Mariella as the mysterious figure from her dreams. He warns her that this is not the real meld, but a memory of it - she is already in Romulan Space. She awakes, to find herself restrained and with her field of vision blocked by an encompassing helmet. Nakeyah mutters that "that defence won't work for long" and tries to convince her to use her psionic abilities, in order to help the Romulan war effort against the Dominion.

Lt Shar informs Loras that the hovering sphere which Loras talks to is actually in comms contact with an organic lifeform much further back. Loras then holds another meeting with Perrom, who reveals that there is a gateway device on Torek, and offers to help Loras operate it. Tor - who had sold his illegal collection of Deltan devices on the black market to purchase some concealed weaponry - still favoured going undercover, and not trusting Perrom with their lives. Horah-Morash chose to send an away team (Loras Veltra'a, Rogan Tor, Shar, Merif, Nurse Ferra, and Engisn Kayon) through the gateway. Oddly, Rogan Tor allows the lower-ranking Vetlra'a to lead the team.

The gateway leads to a similar set of Antecedent rooms to the one near the relic on New Lhasa, but without as many carvings. A utilitarian opening leads to some mining tunnels, and sensors detect recent use by the Remans (a Romulan client race). They set up a weapons cache near the surface, leaving Ferra behind, and send Tor to cause a diversion. He goes to the former governor's house (where sensors detect his concealed weapons and warn guards to immunise themselves against Deltan pheremones), and requests asylum in the Romulan Star Empire. When they question him about how he got there, he tells them by the gateway of a godlike alien.

The main away team heads to the main barracks, where Mariella (and, unbeknownst to them, Sorenal) are for his regular transfusion.

A force of Remans, some flying, starts an attack by detonating the Governors' house (while Tor is being escorted away from it). When Tor reaches Nakeyah (in the large chamber where Marielle had been experimented on), he offers her the choice - she wants to kill him, he wants to kill her; will she grant him asylum? But first, she should escape the base. She agrees, starting its self-destruct sequence.

The main Starfleet group attack the main barracks to rescue Mariella, entering a firefight with the alerted (and defending) Romulans.

Kayon is disintegrated, after which Veltra'a orders Set phasers to kill.

Mariella nerve pinches her Reman guard, takes his gun, and catches Sorenal's guard in crossfire with Veltra'a. Who stuns both Sorenal and - when she complains - Mariella. The team return, leaving Sorenal, stunned and unrecognised, behind in his wheelchair in the base, which has been set to self-destruct.

The Romulan forces engage the Remans, who are closing to hand-to-hand. Nakeyah is taken over by another entity and returns to the control room to de-activate the self-destruct. Her comrades realise what has happened, kill her - robbing Tor of vengeance - and reset the self-destruct. With Tor's assistance, and blocked from using a spaceship, they retreat into the mines.

A group of Remans gives chase to the retreating Starfleet Personnel through the tunnels, and is held back by stun grenades. After meeting Nurse Ferra, Veltra'a goes back for Tor. Mariella senses her father, and Merif lets her go back for him. She telepathically guides him - now awake and in a hoverchair - towards her.

Tor asks Veltra'a to let the Romulans pass - (and to allow him to defect?) - but Veltra'a stuns the group to retrieve Tor. All make their way back, but Sorenal is not quite himself - a cousin of Enterobactus Psionsis has infected him, and he is not quite himself until a cure is synthesized on New Lhasa.

Tor goes to Horah-Morash to hand over is rank and weaponry, and inform him that he will wishes to defect to the Romulans. Horah-Morash refers him for psychiatric assessment.

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