One Of Their Own stardate 2259.145

Kirk felt his heart roll up into his throat. 'Amara...where are you!?' He asked himself. "Did you see who attacked them?" Kirk asked. "Captain, we found Silas and Nathan dying. We got them to sickbay as soon as we could," Spock said.

"We've detected some kind of encrypted messages and energy surges which Kal believes could be a transporter signal," Kirk said. "But...who..." Kirk said. "Spock, go clean up and get to the bridge...I'm going down there," Kirk said. They needed to get their shuttle back anyway.

Kirk brought out his communicator. "Elyse...Kal, meet me in the transporter room. Fiona, you've got the con," Kirk said.

Scarlett felt helpless as she and Spock walked back to their quarters. She stood there for a moment in their quarters before she moved and started getting cleaned up. Her hands trembled a little as she began to wash the blood off.

Elyse and Kal glanced at one another, but they both got up and headed for the turbolift. Fiona heard the Captain. "Aye, Sir." She moved from navigation over to Elyse's station just in case weapons were needed.

Elyse looked over at Kirk as she and Kal grabbed phasers. "Sir, may I ask what's going on?"

"Crewman Harris and Mendoza are dead and Silas and Nathan are undergoing surgery. Someone attacked them on the surface he said. "Captain...what about Amara?" Kal said. "Amara...she's...she's missing," Kirk said as the stepped up onto the transporter pad. "Energize," he said.

They materialized right next to the shuttle. Kirk gestured to the left and then to the right as he drew his phaser. Elyse moved up to where there was a burn mark on the ground. "Captain, this was caused by a disruptor," she said. "Great," Kal said. "That limits the culprits to be either Romulan, Klingon and Breen," Kal said as they looked around. Kirk and the others moved around the small fight scene. Kirk saw something on the rocks near a dropped disruptor rifle. He dabbed his finger in something that looked dark green. He rubbed it between his fingers and then tasted it with the tip of his tongue. He spat it out.

"Romulans," he growled. "Kal, pilot the shuttle back to the enterprise," Kirk said and pulled out his communicator. "Transporter room, 2 to beam up," he said. He and Elyse were transported back up.

"Elyse, go to the bridge. We need to locate any nearby Warp signatures. Summon Scarlett and Spock to the bridge and follow that warp trail," Kirk said.

Elyse had had a strong suspicion when Kirk informed them that Amara was missing that Romulans were involved. It made sense after everything that had happened and when Kirk confirmed that it was Romulans she could see the fury in his eyes. 

As Kal piloted the shuttle back to the ship, she and Kirk were transported back onboard. "Yes, Captain," she said to his commands and headed to the bridge. Spock and Scarlett were already there and she informed them of their findings. Spock and Scarlett immediately began to search for nearby warp signatures. They knew that time was of the essence and they worked quickly.

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Amara groaned as her eyes slowly began to open. Her head was throbbing and there was the distinctive bitter, metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She was restrained on a table and was flat on her back. She began to pull at her restraints to see if she could break free of them.

A graying Romulan in a black coat stepped up to her. He had an evil looking hypo in his hand. Rudely he touched her eyelid and lifted it up. He was lucky she didn't bite him and he pulled back his hand. "You're a lively one. Then you'll really love this," he said as she saw him move the hypo toward her neck.

"Don't you touch me! Don't!!!" she said as he pressed it to her neck. She suddenly felt intoxicated. The room began to spin and as she moved her head the images had after images. "That will put you in a better mood to talk," he said though his words sounded slurred to her. Two guards came in and they unlatched her bound hands and then hooked them to a cable from the ceiling. They unrestrained her then one of them used a the controls on the wall to lift her up so she was suspended by her wrists. It was very painful.

There was one Romulan who she thought she recognized. He rubbed his jaw. "Not so tough looking now, are you?" he said darkly as he came up to her. Amara's ankles were bound as well. He pivoted her to ward him then he hit her in the stomach extremely hard. She coughed and would have doubled over if she could have. He chuckled and stepped from the room and 2 more Romulans came in.

"What's your name and what were you doing down on the Moon?" The one asked her.

Amara felt the hypo being pressed against her neck and as the contents were released into her body she immediately began to feel intoxicated. It reminded her of how she felt back at the Academy during an off campus party she and James had attended together. There had been some illegal drugs there and both she and James had partaken. She and James had awoken the next morning by the pool of someone else's house and neither one of them could remember how they  had gotten there. 

The room began to spin and her muscles felt weak as two guards came in and unlatched her from the table and then rebound her to a cable hanging from the ceiling. She was suspended by her wrists and she could feel the pain running down her arms. Her ankles were also bound and she was helpless to defend herself as the Romulan she had fought earlier came up to her and punched her in the stomach...hard. She gasped and coughed from the impact and she looked up as two more Romulans came into the room. She heard their questions, but she refused to answer as her Section 31 training kicked into high gear. She remained silent...no matter what they did to her.

"Bring her down at once!" Nemal said when he saw her. He had just beamed over to the base. Two Romulans that had come in with him used the controls and brought her down. They attached her shackles to a chair but at least she was sitting now.

"Leave the room," he said. And the others left them alone. The drugs didn't stay in her system very long and her head was clearing. Far too soon. Nemal came down to a knee in front of her. "Saehir...I've found you, once again...it is I, your father," he said.

Amara looked at Nemal and her eyes narrowed at him. Being in front of him again brought up a tidal wave of raw emotions and the dam suddenly burst. "My name is NOT Saehir and you are NOT my father! My father was John Novak...my mother was Mireya Novak. They died at the hands of Romulans! You lied to me...you used me! You poisoned my mind against the Federation...against my people!"

“Yes...we did do that, but That doesn’t mean that I don’t love you Amara. Your mother missed you very
Much. Do you miss her?” He asked her. He knew what he had done. He had turned her, made her one of their own. A Romulan in a beast’s flesh.

Amara didn't answer him, but tears came to her eyes. She felt confused and angry. She wanted to lash out at him, but at the same time she wanted to feel his arms around her. The Romulans had killed her parents, but Nemal had been the only father she had ever known. "If you truly love me then you'll let me go."

Nemal shifted toward her and brushed her hair back out of her face and kissed her cheek. "What would you have had me do? Just let them kill you? The moment I pulled you out of that Pod and held you in my arms I couldn't let you go. This little, tiny girl you were. So helpless, so delicate. I'm not a monster Seahir, but I knew what I had to do to keep you safe. You are my daughter no matter what they say," he said. "I didn't order them to destroy that ship. But I did stop them from harming you. I risked my life, my career, my family, just so that you'd have a life and grow up," Nemal said. His eyes were damp from tears.

Amara had never seen Nemal cry before...ever. Seeing the tears in his eyes brought fresh tears to her own. She hated and yet loved him at the same time. He had cared for her and protected her and despite everything, they had shared a special bond. However, she would not go back to Romulus. That part of her life was over. "I'm married. I want to be returned to the man I love."

Nemal didn't say anything as he considered what Amara said. The die was cast on the Enterprise as soon as it entered orbit. If he let her go she'd be killed.

"I'm sorry...Saehir...Your ship is about to be attacked. It can either leave the system or be destroyed," Nemal said as the Base opened fire on the enterprise.

The ship was already on tactical alert. The Ion cannons hit their shields and began to drain them each time they hit. "Evasive pattern Gamma three," Kirk said and Kal barrel rolled the ship. As the enterprise headed out of orbit...

"Captain, A Romulan ship decloaking off our port bow!" Elyse said. It fired its disruptor cannons at the enterprise. "Direct hit to our weapons array but shields are holding," Lucia said as she began to allocate more power to that area. "Fire," Kirk commanded and Elyse did. A full volley of phasers that hit the ship as the Ion cannons hit them again.

"Shields down to 60 percent! There's no way we can penetrate the base's shields with just one ship Captain!" She said.

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From where Amara was on the base, she heard the cannons fire several shots.

Amara could hear the cannon fire from where she was in the base. "No! No!!! Tell them to stop! I will do whatever you want, please just...just don't kill them!" she begged as hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

Elyse knew that Jim was trying to stay to save Amara, but their shields weren't going to hold at this rate and there was no way they were going to be able to penetrate the base's shields with just their ship. Hundreds of lives onboard the Enterprise were at risk. She looked back at him. "Captain, we have to leave while we still can."

"No! NOO! I won't leave her!" Kirk said and he slammed his fist down on his arm rest."Fire on that ship!" Kirk demanded. Kal tried to keep the base's cannons from hitting them but the ship reacted to his moves, anticipated them and capitalized on them. They hit their weapons array again and the phasers came offline.

Kirk was trying to help Kal position the ship and keep the Romulans between the Base and them but the Romulan ship was alot smaller and much more maneuverable.

Elyse didn't want to leave her either, but she felt they had no choice. Elyse managed to get one more shot off before the Romulans hit their weapons array for a second time and the phasers went offline. She scrambled to try and get them back up as quickly as possible. 

"Shields down to 30 percent Captain," she said. If they took another big hit their shields would be gone and they would be a sitting duck.

Spock looked at Kirk. "Captain, we must withdraw," Spock said. Kirk knew he was right but he didn't want to leave! They still had torpedoes! "Captain..." Spock said again. "Damn! Kal, move us away from that moon. When you get clear, go to warp," He said. "I sir," Kal said and did some fancy flying to avoid the Base's cannons. He cut behind the Romulan ship and then went to warp just as it fired. Amara heard the warp boom and knew that they had left the system. Nemal knew it too.

"They've left...and there is no where for you to go. If I let you out of your restraints, will you try to escape?" He asked.

Amara heard the all too familiar warp boom and knew that the Enterprise was gone. She just hoped everyone was alright. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks, and though she was feeling confused about her feelings only minutes ago, her feelings had become more more clear now. She was angry...no, furious and she would have her revenge. She planned to destroy their ship and kill everyone on it. 

"No," she finally managed to say.

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As the Enterprise went into warp and everyone knew they were out of immediate danger, a silence settled over the bridge. Elyse glanced over at Jim, but dared not say anything. Elyse was upset herself, but she knew she needed to hold herself together...that Jim was counting on her to do that.

Nemal released her ankles first and then started on her wrists. First, her left was free and then her right. He straightened and then extended his hand toward her to help her up. "I know those restraints can make someone stiff if they are in them too long," he said kindly.

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Kirk stood. "I want a plan on how to take down that base's shields in 2 hours," Kirk said gravely. "Spock, you have the con," Kirk said and left the bridge. Spock stood and, as he looked around the room, they could have heard a pin drop as their Captain left them to their own devices.

Lucia wanted to go to Nathan, badly. But she was a Starfleet officer. She had a job to do just like he did. She would not beg to leave her post though she badly wanted to. Her insides felt like jello. If she lost him, she knew she herself would be lost. She had been such a fool. She loved him and she knew he loved her. Now it had become clear and sure in her head. She needed him and he had been there for her. She would always be there for him...always, she vowed as she wiped her cheek with her forearm.

"Are there...any suggestions?" Spock asked.

Amara looked at Nemal's extended hand and then slowly took it and let him help her up. She needed to figure out where she was before she could attack. "Where are we?"

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Everyone glanced at one another. Elyse sighed and looked at Spock. "As far as I can tell, the only real way to get those shields disabled is going to be for someone to get inside the base, but that is going to be extremely dangerous."

Scarlett walked over to Spock and looked at him. "Should someone go talk to Kirk?" she asked him quietly.

"We're on Hulta, a moon, inside of a Romulan listening post," Nemal said. "We're quite safe, there is a base shield generator here and 2 squads of soliders are bunkered here," Nemal said.


"There is a Romulan Bird of Prey nearby as well," he said. "Now, are you hungry or thirsty? I believe there's some Romulan Ale, your favorite," He said as he turned his back on her.

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Spock looked at Scarlett. "The Captain does not need...someone to talk to," Spock said.

Amara listened closely to what Nemal told her. He gave him all the information she needed to act. Then, the dam broke. She lunged at him with pure, primal rage and all of her training, the very training he had given her, came into sharp focus. She moved without even thinking about what she was doing. She just reacted. She flipped him over and onto the table and then she began to punch him over and over again. She had no surviving memories of her parents, but the Romulans had killed them, and now they had taken her again from those she loved...from her friends. She held him down and raised her fist to hit him again....

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Scarlett sighed and nodded, but she wasn't sure she agreed with Spock. She decided not to argue with him about it though. She walked back over to her station and sat down.

Green blood leaked out of Nemal's nose and the side of his mouth. He blinked the blurred vision out of his eyes. He had a mind to fight but he was really in no condition and he laid his head back as the room began to spin. He groaned and his muscles relaxed.

Amara was splattered with Nemal's green blood. She seethed with anger, but as she stood there, hovering over him, she found she could not deliver the final blow. She slowly lowered her hand, but then grabbed his communicator and left the room as she began to search for the shield generator.

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Scarlett sat there a moment at her station before she stood up. She decided someone should go talk to Jim. She would be no help in planning how to disable the base's shield generator anyway as she was a scientist. She walked over to Spock. "I'm going to go talk to him," she said and then left the bridge. She located Jim at the bar and made her way there. She stepped in and slowly walked over to him and sat down. She was quiet a moment before speaking. "What are you drinking?"

Kirk had a glass half full of Amara's favorite drink, Romulan Ale. It was illegal but McCoy always seem to have a case or three. "Romulan Ale," Kirk said. Right then there was no bartender and he had been the only one in the bar. He had asked everyone to leave. Kirk lifted up the bottle then got up fished behind the bar for a moment then brought back a glass. He splashed some ale in it and handed it to her. Romulan Ale was very very strong. "She developed a taste for it when she was with them," he said.