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The Star Eagle Adventures: EVS-2 - Crossing Over

LOL! What a first assignment for Huren! I so loved the different reactions throughout the bridge scene as they approached Romulus.

The interaction and argument between Xeris and Leva was great and a neat window into the efforts to bring Romulus into the war. Very interesting. I wonder how this will pan out and fit in with canon. Great stuff. I love how you are using the various UT characters to brilliant effect and in great timeframes and situations. Very well done and though out.
 
What an intriguing idea! - having our resident Romulan Starfleet Officers serve as a delegation to Romulus. I enjoyed eavesdropping on their conversation (and misgivings) as they approached their destination. How will they be received? Is this a trap or a legitimate meeting?

Thanks for the shout-out to Pamlico and her crew. How ironic that one of the smallest ships in the Border Service - a humble buoy tender and her green crew - would take part in such a crucial mission. Nor Huren appeared calm and collected, but I bet she has a bad case of butterflies (or whatever passes for nervousness in a Rigellian.)

More, please! :)
 
You nailed Xeris perfectly.

A Romulans-only Federation delegation is a stroke of genius, but what a collection of Romulans. A spy/defector, his student, and an engineer who has more skeletons in his closet than Pava (I know I haven't shown that much of Xeris' background, but you'll see more of that in the next Pytheas story when it comes out).
 
Echoing everyone else, great start. I think it was very clever using the arguments in the opening scene to show the personalities of each character. A neat way to introduce them. Looking forward to seeing how this story progresses.
 
You nailed Xeris perfectly.

A Romulans-only Federation delegation is a stroke of genius, but what a collection of Romulans. A spy/defector, his student, and an engineer who has more skeletons in his closet than Pava (I know I haven't shown that much of Xeris' background, but you'll see more of that in the next Pytheas story when it comes out).

I agree-it sounded like the Xeris we've come to know and, well, not love but respect.

I, too, am curious about canon and how this will fit in...
 
Thanks for the great feedback everyone. As the halfway story in the series, expect this one to be a bit longer than most of what has come before.
 
I'm looking forward to the adventures of the Three Romulan Amigos. I'm also really looking forward to your take on Xeris.
 
They materialized on an open terrace in a building near the very center of the capital city and the very first sight that greeted them was the magnificent skyline of the heart of the Romulan Empire in all its glory, basking in the purple light of a stunning sunset playing out over the distant horizon and a shimmering sea.

It was not what Osuanuas Dar had expected to see. At least not straight away.

It was a sight which immediately pulled at his heartstrings, bringing back memories of a life and a home he had long since abandoned.

“A beautiful evening, is it not?”

“Magnificent,” Dar said without even aware of who had asked the question, too preoccupied to soak up as much of the vista as possible not sure if he would ever get a second chance.

When he finally turned away, and with some difficulty, he realized that he had been the last to face their hosts.

“Welcome to Romulus, gentlemen,” the woman said. She was of middle age and very graceful even wearing a plain, civilian robe. She offered a small, reserved smile.

Next to her stood a younger woman. Slender, athletic, undeniably attractive even with her exact, regulation Romulan military haircut and broad-shouldered uniform. She looked officious, her features neutral and her hands clasped behind her back.

Surprisingly there was nobody else on the terrace besides them. No armed welcoming guard.

“Senator Cretak,” said Dar. “I am delighted to finally meet you in person. This is Lieutenant Commander Xeris and Lieutenant Commander So’Dan Leva.”

“It is a pleasure meeting you all,” she said. “Let me introduce my associate, Sub-lieutenant Donatra. It is mostly thanks to her lobbying that we were able to convince the Romulan Guard to allow this meeting.”

Dar glanced at the young woman and gave her a courteous nod. “Than we all owe you a debt of gratitude, Lieutenant.”

She acknowledged the gesture but didn’t speak.

Xeris kept his eyes on his surroundings, checking and double-checking every corner and shadow. This did not go unnoticed by the senator. “Is there something the matter, Mister Xeris?”

“Just keeping my eyes open. I’m sure you can appreciate that I don’t fully trust this situation,” he said, ignoring the chastising glance he received from Dar.

“I can assure you that the Romulan Guard will guarantee your safety on Romulus for the duration of you stay,” Donatra said.

“I that so?” said Xeris who hardly masked the fact that the military officer’s reassurance didn’t hold much weight with him.

“You are right to be suspicious, of course,” the senator added. “And to be blunt, I’m sure the Tal Shiar will monitor us very closely especially considering your unique histories with the Empire but I’m certain they will not want to make a move against any of us in these precarious times. The entire Empire is acutely aware of the tenuous political situation in the Alpha Quadrant and nobody wishes to aggravate the situation needlessly one way or the other.”

“Does this mean the praetor is still disinclined to an alliance?” Dar said.

“I’m afraid nothing has changed,” said Cretak and led the way, allowing Dar to walk beside her while the others followed. “But there are many in the senate as well as in the military who feel that we need to seriously consider such a move. That is why I have suggested this meeting here on Romulus. Hopefully you can succeed where both Romulan and Federation delegates have failed and convince the Continuing Committee to change direction.”

“We will do everything in our power to try and achieve that, Senator.”

For Leva their arrival on Romulus had not sparked the same nostalgia that had gripped Dar. Like Xeris he had been concerned but he also understood that they were, for all intents and purposes, in enemy territory now. Constantly looking over his shoulder seemed pointless and so instead he tried to get a better impression of their hosts, most specifically the young military woman.

And he had been impressed by what he had seen so far.

They stepped into the high-rise building and took a turbo-lift to reach the rooms they had been assigned, each with a similarly impressive view of the city.

“You will have unrestricted clearance to move within this building which features work stations, libraries, exercise facilities and other amenities you may use at your leisure. While you cannot leave the building unaccompanied, we have arranged a tour of the city tomorrow morning,” Cretak said after they had been shown their individual rooms. “We are scheduled to hold our first presentation in the afternoon.”

Dar nodded. “We’ll be looking forward to it.”

The two women made eye contact with each man before they excused themselves for the evening.

Leva couldn’t be sure but he thought he could see a faint smile on Donatra’s crimson lips when their eyes met. She had turned away quickly however and soon after they were both gone.

Dar stepped back towards the windows of their spacious lobby. “I think that went well,” he said even as he studied the city in the evening light.

Xeris shook his head. “I remain skeptical of their true intentions,” he said and then looked at Leva. “And Commander, in case you forgot, we are here on official Federation business, this is not a vacation.”

The half-Romulan shot the man a glare. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you think I noticed the way you’ve looked at the lieutenant? It would be more prudent to keep your focus on the mission and possible dangers instead of the local women.”

Dar laughed and gave Leva a good natured clasped on his back. “Leave him be. Besides she is fairly easy on the eyes, wouldn’t you agree, old friend?”

Leva just shook his head. “You’re both insane. The last thing I’d ever do is to get involved with a Romulan woman. Have a good night,” he said and turned towards his room to retire for the evening.


* * *​


Leva was woken the following morning by the first rays of sunlight, shining into his room. He had slept surprisingly well in what he kept telling himself was an alien city.

The truth was, that it wasn’t all so foreign to him.

He had travelled to Romulus and to the capital city a few times when he had been a child. His mother had been an important dignitary but because of his human father their true relationship had been kept a secret.

Instead, So’Dan had been raised by his mother’s sister on a colony world near the Romulan and Klingon border and he had only ever met his mother in great secrecy. Usually this meant that he had been sent off to the home world were he would spend a few hours at a time with his mother while staying at a relative’s home.

After his home planet had been attacked by Klingons and most of the adult population had been killed, including his aunt, he had been sent to live on Earth with is father where it had been deemed much safer to raise a child of mixed heritage.

He remembered visiting the capital as a child mostly because seeing his mother had meant the highlight of his year and a chance to escape the bullying and harassment he received by his peers on the colony world he’d called home.

When the door enunciator signaled a visitor, he quickly pulled on his uniform pants, shirt and boots and stepped out into the lobby where he found Lieutenant Donatra waiting for him.

“I hope you rested well,” she said.

“Well enough.”

She gave him a curt nod. “Would you like to commence the tour of the city now?”

He had forgotten that it had been part of the agenda for the day. “Don’t you think that would be a waste of our time? We didn’t come all the way here for the sights.”

If Donatra was irritated by his gruff demeanor, she did a splendid job to hide it. “The meeting with the government and military representatives is not due until the late afternoon and the senator thought that you’d might welcome the opportunity to see the city.”

“Perhaps you should try your luck with Dar instead.”

She nodded. “Senator Cretak and Mister Dar have already commenced the tour. We could join them or you may stay here if you prefer. I understand Commander Xeris has also refused to leave the building and has decided to spend the morning in the library instead.”

Leva considered his options. He had to admit that he wasn’t entirely disinclined to the idea of getting another look at the impressive capital city. And it certainly wouldn’t have hurt from an intelligence standpoint to know more about a potential enemy.

“This city has been my home for many years, you couldn’t ask for a better guide,” she said with just the barest hint of a smile. Leva found it surprisingly enticing as if she was giving him just a small taste of her charm, inviting him to find out just how far her hospitality went.

He wasn’t sure if he was reading those signals correctly but he decided that there was no harm in trying to find out.

“Lead the way, Lieutenant.”
 
More and more developments. Of course, being Romulans none of them are going to rush into being too trusting. A further interesting instalment.
 
Very interesting developments. I would very much like to see how this plays out.

CeJay, check your PMs. I have a surprise for you.
 
I enjoyed the diverse reactions of the Starfleet officers - curiosity, suspicion, and perhaps a tinge of hope. It seems their Romulan hosts are open enough to admit this will be an uphill effort in persuading the Praetor to agree to an alliance.

And there seems to be more than diplomatic interest between Leva and Donatra. An interesting development that could have potentially dire consequences. But then, no one expected this to be a simple assignment.

More, please!
 
Fascinating development. And ol' Xeris hides in the library-no shocker there! I still don't see how they are getting out of this story alive without violating canon. Unless this takes place concurrent with "Pale Moonlight"...
 
You've done a nice job establishing chemistry between Leva and Donatra. Donatra's inclusion is a nice touch. She was one of the few things I liked about Nemesis.

Also, like what you're doing with Dar and Cretak.
 
Cretak had been true to her word and Xeris had little trouble moving about freely within the high-rise building. He did however not miss the inconspicuously placed guards every so often and nearby most exits. They weren’t uniformed and at first glance didn’t appear to be armed but he was absolutely certain that they carried concealed weapons which they could produce at a moment’s notice if he ever made the ill-advised decision to challenge any one of them.

He also knew without a shadow of a doubt that an entire array of internal sensors was following him no matter where he went.

It wouldn’t have been the Romulus he knew had it been any other way.

It made little sense to test the limits of their trust and even less to make them suspicious or believe that he was an enemy spy. So instead of trying to gather intel or find weaknesses in their security he headed straight to the library.

He found an out of the way workstation which allowed him at least the pretense of privacy with no guards looking over his shoulder and quickly proceeded to bring up unclassified technical specs which one would expect to draw the curiosity of an engineer.

Xeris had absolutely no interest in those technical specs.

He quickly managed to circumvent the expected monitoring subroutines in the workstation and the restrictions limiting his access parameters. Within a few minutes he had established a secure comlink.

The silver haired Romulan who appeared on the screen looked much more his true age than Xeris. His skin had started to wrinkle around his eyes and he wore what appeared to be a permanent frown chiseled into his face. He seemed irritated by this unannounced call.

“Who is this?” he said sharply. “How did you get access to this line?”

“Don’t you recognize an old friend?”

It took him a few seconds but when he finally did, he couldn’t hide his surprise. “I didn’t expect to hear from you,” he said and then noticed something that visibly shook him. “Your signal? It’s local,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re on Romulus. That’s impossible.”

“Calm down, I’m here on legitimate Federation business. In fact I have to say I’m a bit disappointed that you weren’t aware. I know the Guard has been trying to keep our visit here a secret but I’m sure the Tal Shiar knows all about it. And if they know, so should you. You are slipping, old friend.”

The man calmed noticeably but his frown remained. “We have bigger concerns these days then keeping taps on you.”

“So I imagine.”

“What do you want? Why are you here?”

Xeris shot the other man a stern look, making it perfectly clear that he didn’t appreciate the tone of his voice. The man actually relented and his facial expressions softened slightly as if he only now remembered who he was speaking to.

Xeris wasn’t going to make an issue of it. “The Federation is desperate to get the Empire into the war against the Dominion. I’m here to convince the Romulan leadership that it would be in their best interest to do so.”

“Sounds like life in the Federation has diluted you after all.”

“Make no mistake, I care for the Empire,” Xeris stated firmly. “And I agree that by staying out of the war it will be weakened in the long run.”

“I’m afraid to say that you are in the minority with that opinion.”

Xeris inched closer to the screen. “Tell me, what would it take for the Praetor to change his mind?”

The gray haired Romulan seemed to consider this for a moment. “Short of an unprovoked Dominion attack on our territory?”

“Yes.”

“A new Praetor.”

Xeris smirked. “That my friend is a treasonous thought.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps. But this conversation of ours never happened. Don’t contact me again during your visit here, it’s too risky,” he said and stabbed a control panel near the screen, causing his image to cut out.

Xeris quickly purged the patterns to erase any trace of the transmission from the computer banks to make sure that the conversation had indeed not happened.

Then he sighed and leaned back in his chair. Their mission to Romulus was going to be a great deal more difficult than he had imagined.



* * *​



Leva scratched his neck where the alien material rubbed against his skin and causing it to itch for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

“I’m sure you will get used to it.”

Leva shot the Romulan officer a disbelieving look. “I doubt it. Is this really necessary? I was perfectly comfortable in my uniform.”

“I’m sure you were,” she said. “But I’m afraid we had to insist that you do not wear it outside the building. Your visit hasn’t been exactly publicized and my superiors were quite adamant that the public is not made aware of the presence of Federation officers on Romulan soil. Besides, I think the tunic fits you well. You make a dashing Romulan.”

He had been too preoccupied from keeping the heavy tunic he now wore from riding up his neck every time he took a step to notice the compliment.

And then something else captured his attention. Donatra had guided him to what she had called the Artist’s Quarter, the home of not just artisans but also philosophers, freethinkers and liberals. Of course in the strictly controlled and monitored society of Romulus a freethinker usually was a person who showed a tendency to disagree with accepted opinions but never outright reject them.

Nevertheless it was a vital community which had been left mostly untouched by government interference and Donatra claimed its lush parks and lakes were amongst her favorites in the city. And apparently you couldn’t get a better osol twist anywhere else in the empire.

Leva had shown to be rather disinterested with most of the tour but now he had stopped for the first time as he was watching a group of citizens who seemed to be discussing latest events. He was drawn to their children who were playing by a nearby fountain to keep cool on this hot summer morning.

“Feeling nostalgic?”

Leva quickly shook his head and moved on as if embarrassed to have been found out.

She quickly caught up with him. “They remind you of yourself, don’t they? You must have been the same age when you came to visit the capital as a child.”

“You seem well informed.”

Donatra cracked a small smile. “What do the humans like to say? I’ve done my homework,” she said and then continued in a more sober tone. “I know that you used to come here to visit your mother at least once a year. And I think part of you misses living as a Romulan.”

That caused him to stop and he turned to face her. “Miss it? Which part? Being endlessly bullied and teased because I didn’t look like a true Romulan? Or do you mean being able to see my mother only once a year and only under a great deal of secrecy to ensure nobody of power and influence would ever learn of my existence and my mother’s transgression with an alien? I don’t miss any part of living in a totalitarian society with zero tolerance for anybody who doesn’t follow the rules or looks like they are supposed to.”

To her credit, Donatra held her ground, never flinched, didn’t even show the slightest bit of discomfort in the face of Leva’s rant. Never mind her soft and beautiful features, she was a warrior. Secretly Leva admired that.

“I will make no excuses for our people,” she said. “And I admit that we are not always the most open-minded society but we have come far over the last decades. Yes, we tend to believe that we are the most superior race in the galaxy and once you study our culture and history in more detail maybe you would understand why. Look around you, So’Dan,” she said, shifting to his given name without effort or concern. “Look at the faces of those children. There is good reason why they look so familiar.”

At first he didn’t want to indulge her but then he gave in and did as she had suggested. And he was stunned at what he saw, couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before.

Some of the children hardly had any signs of forehead protrusions which were so typical for Romulans. And it wasn’t just the children. Now that he was looking for it he could see underdeveloped forehead ridged everywhere. A baker selling fresh osol twists, a woman showing off her latest paintings, a peace officer who was patrolling the streets with his partner, even a young woman who was clearly engaged in a public display of affection with another woman with fully developed ridges.

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“We’ve made a lot of progress over the decades,” she said. “We’ve come to value all Romulan blood no matter if it is mixed with that of a different race or if it has produced some genetic abnormalities. Granted, you won’t see as many non-pure Romulans in the halls of the Senate or amongst the Guard but that too is changing. Under the law, a Romulan is a Romulan, no matter his heritage.” She stepped closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “No matter what you think or what you’ve been told in the past, you are a true Romulan, So’Dan.”
 
Nice...we're seeing how our Romulans are reacting to their exposure to the new/old Romulus. Mutatus, mutandis--the more things change, the more they remain the same. Donatra seems to be making a recruiting pitch though and as for Xeris...very interesting...
 
Yeah, what's up with Xeris? That was very interesting. He's not as anti-Romulan as I thought.
 
Leva must find his emotions a little torn here, being so close to his kind and yet so far at the same time. A Romulan and an outcast...

And Xeris, my favourite engineer, who has more secrets than any of you could possibly know :devil:
 
Both great scenes. And, yes, i agree-it sounds like she's doing a little recruiting. Orders? Or personal interest?
 
It's only, if you'll pardon the expression, logical that Donatra would try to influence, perhaps even attempt to turn Leva. My feeling is that this supposedly liberalized version of Romulus he's being shown is probably a sham - put on for the benefit of visitors or ex-pats to change their view of a repressive regime.

Color me paranoid, but seldom have the Romulans done anything that does not further their own agenda.

Nice segment - I'm enjoying seeing our Fed-Roms deal with being on home/enemy turf.
 
Agree with TLR. Everything is hardly as it seems. But is definitely very interesting to see the appearance they are being given. Excellent.
 
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