Needle in a haystack

Posted on 09 Nov 2009 @ 12:48pm by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal

2,179 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: M2: Aggressive Negotiations
Location: Romulan Space - aboard the IKV Hed'not

Figured we Figured we could work on a post with the Hednot searching for the Freedom. I don't plan on them finding them until the end

The Hed'not had been cruising at high warp for some time now. So far they had had a smooth ride but soon the would be entering Romulan space lanes an into more densely populated areas. Ralnath called up to the Bridge to issue new orders.

"Bridge, Report."

=^=Lord Ralnath, we are nearing Romulan space lanes and population areas.=^=

"As expected. Reduce speed and avoid the heavier traveled areas. Continue to monitor all subspace traffic as well."

=^=Understood.=^=

Ralnath began to pace in his quarters as he thought over the various ways this could play out. The loss of another son to Romulan treachery was something he would not tolerate, and His revenge would be that of legend. He stopped his pacing in from of the wall monitor and called up the latest intel on the home planet of the House of t'Illialhlae. His thoughts were that of revenge and wrath as he noted planetary defenses and primary targets....

Ayren was trying to figure out how to take a shower, when she was overcome by very strong Klingon emotion, deep rage. It was specific, targeted. Her eyes closed, her hand pressing against the lever it was holding. The sudden spurt of ice cold water gave her such a fright that she let out a surprised scream.

"Damn!" she exclaimed shivering, as she managed to adjust the water temperature. "That was NOT what I wanted," she mumbled to herself. Eventually the water warmed considerably and she relaxed, only to be disturbed once again by the feelings her senstive senses picked up on.

After getting dressed in a more feminine version of a Klingon styled dress, she followed her senses nad eventually found herself outside Ralnath's quarters. For a few moments she hesitated outside his door and then pressed the chime anyway.

Ralnath was not expecting any visitors, if there was a problem the bridge would have contacted him. saving his plans he blacked out the monitor and stepped to the center of the room. "Enter"

Ayren stepped in through the doors. "I apologize for disturbing you, may I?" she asked politely.

"Ahhh, Miss Kelan. Come in. What can I do for you?"

Ayren closed her eyes for a moment rolling them inwardly. ~What the hell am I doing here?~ she asked herself. When she opened her black eyes, they searched those of the large Klingon. "I followed my 'nose' so to speak," she answered honestly. "Your feelings were very strong and I wasn't too sure who they belonged to, they lead me here."

He looked at her with a puzzled expression for a quick moment. "My feelings.....? Ah yes I had forgoted you are Betazoid." As if there was nothing wrong at all, he turned, moving to a shelf, and poured himself a glass of wine. "I take it by your presence your were concerned by what you felt?"

"Yes.... but not concerned as in *worried*," she explained. "I think that without due reason, such strong emotion could lead to unwanted trouble on a dangerous mission as this. I wanted to make sure that whoever experienced them would not jeopardize the mission," she explained her motivation. "You wouldn't want a crewmember to choose this time to fight another over apersonal matter. Coming from you is undertandable...." she explanined. There was more to it than Da'nal, that she was sure of, but it was not her place to pry.

He replaced the bottle more forcefully than he should. "What I do or plan to do will fall with the boundries of Klingon law and tradition. Your Federation...sensabilities may not have prepared you for what may come should the last of my sons have fallen to Romulan treachery."

Ayren sensed his rage, but did not react to it. "I can assure you I an not here to talk you out of it, I said that I understand it, " she said. "I only felt the feelings, I didn't know where I had come from." she explained, but her heart had felt a pang thinking that the possibility that it was true what he had said about Da'nal. "Have you receieved any more news." she asked unafraid of his emotions

Ralnath noticed her lack of reaction at his outbursts, her standing her ground raised his assessment of her another notch Letting out a deep breath he indicated for to take a seat as he move to a chair himself. "There has been nothing new. Right now all we can do is head to to his ships last known location." After taking a healthy pull from his tankard he looked at his visitor. "Tell me what has Da'nal shared with you about our family history?"

"Not much, really. We had not gotten to know each other very well," she admitted with some sense of embarassment. Here she was in Romulan space, looking for someone , whom in reality she didn;t know well at all. "We haven't had the opportunity to see each other much, before he was given the Freedom," she replied, semsing that he was referring to the Romulan connection. "I would like to know more," she said honestly,

Taking a deep breath h leaned back as he began. Well it began back during the Klingon-Romulan Alliance. The alliance was really, for my people, a way to get around the Organins. It was felt that if we could not face the Federation directly in battle; we could use allies to attack or at least impede Federation expansion. We gave the Romulans ships and other technology, they gave us their cloaking device and they began to increase their....harrass the Federation. During this arrangement, their were several Houses that were pominant in this. On the Klingon side was the Houses of Kor, and Varal. Our ship yards were the ones selected to provide the ships. On the Romulan side the primary their Preator selected the t'lllialhlae to provide the cloaking technology and coordinate the deployment of our D7 cruisers and other ships throughout the Empire.

Well things finally fell apart after it s discovered that we no longer needed the Romulans as the Oganians were not enforcing the treaty as we had thought. That wasn't the only issue but it as a an important one." After taking another drink he continued. "Well we had finally had enough of Romulan arrogance and it ws decided that the needed to be shown who was there betters and exactly were there place was.

"Everything finally came to a head in 2271, at the battle of Klach D'Kel Brakt. Well while Kor and his flagship had led that battle, it had been my father who had supplied the fleet and intel that made victory possible.

Ayren had never heard this and she was ot only fascinated, but it brought a deeper understanding of who the House of Varal was, and of course Da'nal.

"Through his close relationship with the Romulans he knew how they would meet our forces in battle. Because of that information and our ships; Kor soundly defeated the Romulan fleet. Fleet led by t'lllialhlae.

"The Romulan Senate ordered all Klingon's and Klingon ships out of Romulan space but the t'lllialhlae felt that they had been personally betrayed. The t'lllialhlae took it upon themselves to attack and destroed several ships and large numbers of Klingons. My father lost two brothers in those attacks, but t'lllialhlae didn't stop there. There were several Romulans at one of our ship yards, they caputered my fathers eldest son and fled. During the pursuit they ejected him into space....alive, but not before torturing him. With his death being without honor my father swore vengence and in order to redeem his son, my brothers, honor he launched an attack on the t'lllialhlae homeword. His attack destroyed several ships and landed troops at one of their estates...killing everyone, and as they left they bombarded the main estate from orbit. Thus began the feud that has lasted for more than a century."

Thought he hadn't even been born durning the origins of the fued the memory of the incidents and loss that had occurred during his life raised his anger and his jaw clinched as h held back. "The last incident was during the Dominion War. My eldest son Garath was serving on a vessel when they were ambushed by a Dominion patrol. They reported the patrol and that they were under attack to a Romulan squadron they were sceduled to rondezvous with. The Romulan's, I later learned were under a t'lllialhlae's command...someone by the name of Nniol, never came. He had ordered his squadron to hold back and as a result. The only reason there was no retrobution was that Garath had died honorably in battle against the Dominion."

"If my son has fallen because of Romulan treachery....I will end this fued once and for all."

Ayren swallowed hard once again at the thought of Da'nal being dead or injured. "Da'nal is a very competant man and a skilled warrior, I am certain we will find him in victory," she said.

He raised a brow at her flattery of his son. "He's as stuborn as anyone I've know...Klingon or otherwise. Once he sets his mind to something I have never seen him fail." He paused as he relived sever instances from the past. "He even convinced me that breaking tradition and joining Starfleet was the right choice. However, the odds he know faces...he is surrounded by the enemy. No way to know for certain who is friend or foe..."

"Does one ever truly know whom to trust and who not," she mused.

Taken back a bit at her statement. "Actually yes, one can know who to trust. But trust must be earned, it cannot be given away. Though if that trust is betrayed...It is vertually impossible to regain.

I'm curious, why do you say that? Do you find it hard to trust?"

For once Ayren was caught off guardby the man's sharp perception and she took a few moments before she had answered. "Usually I can sense deceipt, but I guess my line of work had placed me guard all the time.... it flows over to my personal life," she said with a small smile.

He could understand how trust could be a difficult thing for a telepath;
always sensing that there was something else...or know when someone was
thinking one thing but saying another. "So then how do you intend to
draw out the answers you seek from my son if you are 'on guard all the
time'?"

Ayren cocked her head to one side, a small, curious smile on her lips. "What do you mean...which answers?" she asked

"You had said you were unsure of his feelings for you...even though he took the time to make you a batleth by hand, wrapped in Tholian silk no less. Why would he go to such effort and expense for a mere acquaintance?" Polishing off the wine in his tankard. "And why would a mere acquaintance potentially risk her life and resign her position?"

"I take nothing for granted," she said quietly. "Whe....."

Ayren was interrupted by the ships communications system. "Lord Ralnath, we have intercepted high priority communications." Drawing a deep breath he acknowledge the report and had the officer continue. "Understood, your report."

"Sir, the was a general distress call from the USS Freedom reporting that they had been fired on by the vessels that were to escort them to Romulus. They had taken sever damage and were attempting to stabilize their warp core. Further communications show that the Romulan vessel Mosaram was moving to assist when the Freedom's core breached."

Ralnath's rage began to build like a storm; a storm who's potential was incalculable. "Continue."

"The Mosaram reported that of the crew only the Executive officer and a flight crew survived. The Romulan Ambassador on board was also lost."

There was a eerie quiet in the room for several moments. Slowly his fingers dug into the metal of his tankard. The strength of his grip was multiplied by his grief and rage. The force pushed his fingernails back into his finger causing his hand to begin to bleed. The pain only added even more adrenaline to his system and the metal buckled under the strain.

"PREPARE FOR BATTLE ! Maximum speed to the coordinates of the distress call!" Standing he dropped the tankard, ignoring the blood dripping from his hand and head to the door.

Ayren was stunned into shock, her mouth drying instantly. Her instincts told her that there was something very wrong with the news, but it didn't make sense. She followed lord Ralnath instinctively, but would stay out of the way. Da'nal couldn't be dead... just couldn't...


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Lord Ralnath - Head of the House of Varal
NPC'd by Chris

Ayren Kelan
NPC's by Sharon

 

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