Set against the backdrop of I'Rak Prime the Ralaar'laehval was a jade jewel nestled between the giant beryl globe and her ocher colored crater freckled moon, t'Svrila. It was within the confines of this opulent fortress that the rescue of Shiarrael t'Rehu's children was well under way...
[Aboard Ralaar'laehval]
A flash of blue light illuminated the lustrous gray walls of the Romulan Starbase's side-corridor as a swarm of sand grain sized blue particles coalesced into the form of a young woman. As she fully materialized Nitka shook her head ruffling a few strands of her golden hair back into place. She twister around, her brown eyes searching through the dimly lit corridor- even in the dimness her dull tan spots were visible as they lined the edges of her neck all the way up her face until obscured by the blanket of her hairline. She reached down and tugged on her utility belt where several different pieces of equipment were latched onto the black and metallic thing- most notably a pistol shaped phaser. She turned her head and stared at the wall "what should I do now?" She waited and shook her head, a frown touching her lips "I think you're right..." Her fingers wrapped around the handle of the phaser as she unlatched the thing from her belt and took a more defensive posture. Her other hand grabbed the tricorder "he's nearby." Nitka continued to speak to the air as she turned and slowly marched down the empty corridor, eyes glancing at the tricorder from time to time while phaser was primed and pointed ahead of her.
There was a shuttlebay located only a couple dozen meters further down the grey-hued corridor, where there would be a number of small craft ripe for rescuing Lhaetan tr'Valkar and the two younglings following along behind him. They were crawling single-file through the last section of the maintenance conduit, which would open up on the corridor. Hopefully the path would be cleared, as the signals he had sent to the station's security forces had hopefully led them to other areas of the station. The last thing he wanted was for the children to see him kill again.
"When we get up here," he whispered in Rihannsu as they crawled. "I want you to wait in here while I go check outside. When I call for you I need you to run as fast as you can. Okay?"
He looked back in time to see them nod in silence.
As they reached the end of the conduit Lhaetan reached up and unlocked the panel before softly pushing out on it, careful not to let it drop to the decking below it.
"Stop." Nitka said, her eyes focused on the black carbon-fiber tip of the phaser as she pressed it against the Romulan's temple. "Don't make a sound- I'm easily startled." She took a step back and then shook her head "this has to be him" her eyes darted to an empty space slightly across from the Romulan. "Yes, I'm sure" she said again and took a second to glance at her tricorder. When she finished her eyes returned focus on the Romulan "are the Captain's children with you?" She could see the two smaller life signatures a half-meter behind this man's on the tricorder's screen.
Lhaetan cursed to himself, the panel still held in his hands. For the briefest of moments he considered attempting to fight her off and make a run for it, but her inquiry regarding the children brought him up short. That's when he finally ventured a glance up and around the slab of metal.
"Starfleet!" he hissed, not sure to be relieved or angry. Several more words were slung together in Rihannsu which were obviously less polite. Finally he allowed the panel to settle to the floor, "Yes, they are both here."
"Yes, starfleet" Nitka said rather blandly as her eyes shifted to the tricorder for another moment. "That sounds smart" she commented to the air and took a second step back waving the phaser towards the far wall "now get out slowly and stand over there." Her finger massaged the trigger to emphasize her point. As he started to crawl out her head suddenly twisted ninety-degrees "no! I will not kill him and dispose of the body! This is not a covert operation!" She looked at him again "make it quick!" Agitation creased into her forehead as she waited.
As the Rihannsu continued to crawl from the conduit's opening, and pushed himself to his feet, he took a moment to look at his...captor? A Trill, and since he could see no ear bud with her to allow silent communication, Lhaetan was forced to assume she was a mental Trill. It was commonly accepted that talking to oneself was not acceptable social behavior.
Moving to stand against the area she had motioned to, the young officer made sure to keep his hands away from the disruptor and blade hanging from his belt on either side of his waist.
"Come out." Nitka stepped towards the open shaft, her weapon twisting in her hand to continually face the Romulan. "I'm Nitka" her voice in-toned a sweet innocence that had been lacking a moment before "your mom sent me to come get you." Ah, magic words. With that one small figure emerged from his hiding place- his big eyes stared at her "come he..." her voice trailed off as her tricorder chirped. Hey eyes widened slightly as she shifted her gaze onto the screen where a group of five dots had just entered the opposite end of the corridor and were quickly headed their way "we have trouble" she looked at the Romulan "get back in there, now!"
The Rihannsu nodded as he helped the first child return to the conduit before following it in himself, "There's a junction about twenty meters ahead, we can use it to move to a different section." Now more than ever Lhaetan wished for a disruptor at his side. Hopefully this Starfleeter had something up her sleeve to help them; his bag of tricks was nearly empty.
[To be continued]
Arrain Lhaetan tr'Valkar
Tal'Diann Legate
&
Ensign Nitka Korialis
Operations Specialist
