Romulans In Distress Stardate 2260.04

Amara took in the information Thelai provided her. At the mention of Motlkal, a memory resurfaced of Rukal, her Romulan mother, cooking Motlkal for her 'birthday', which they had made the day Nemal had brought her home with him. 

Amara looked over at Thelai and nodded. "I can take you to the Officer's Mess," she said as she walked with him towards the turbolift. When they were gone, Sofia looked at the others. "What is going on?

Thelai had decided to try a bit of the human cuisine. Some kind of ‘fried rice’ the Chef had said. Thelai really didn’t know that much about human culture. He thought learning it was beneath him. He did learn about Federation tactics and how they put the lives of their fellows above their own. Self-preservation was an excellent motivator as far as he was concerned. He was getting quite a few looks but He did not seem to mind or care. The guards hung near the exit. He tasted the rice and shrugged.

“It is about what I expected,” he said as he chewed. “I considered taking you as my mate,” Thelai said. “But my father would not have it,” he said. “I had dreams of sexual encounters with you, I do not have this ‘racial’ disposition that most Romulans have. You made a choice. And having children with half Romulan blood would have pleased me. The trials they would endure would have made them strong, confident people. I could take you back with me,” He said carefully. He was feeling her out and he shifted his hand and put it on hers. “I know about Nemal’s death.He was branded a traitor. I do not know what happened to your mother,” he lied but he said it convincingly. Namal’s assets were stripped and she was killed.

Thelai ofcourse knew what had done all of this. The Valari was a Tal-Shiar ship. The two scout escorts were what this rubble were remnants of, not the Valari. It’s absence meant that the ship had been compromised by those that they had been transporting back to Romulus.

Amara did not eat anything, but she sat with Thelai in the Officer's Mess. She knew that people were looking at them, but she didn't look back at them. She was rather surprised by what Thelai told her, although her expression remained neutral. She was quiet a moment and allowed him to put his hand on hers before she responded. "Taking me as your mate would have not done you any favors Thelai. You would have been branded a traitor and you would not be the Commander you are now. Romulus needs us both doing the jobs we are doing," she said softly.

Thelai rubbed the back of her hand lightly with his fingers for a moment and then let go of her hand. “Bah, my father is one of the most powerful senators now. There is an outcry by some of our younger citizens for change. They crave diversity and do not see the Federation as our enemy,” he said but it was clear he didn’t quantify that nor clarify where he stood. Like her, Thelai was young. To be in command of one of their newest ships meant that he was a trusted party member or he made them think he was. Having a prominent father as a senator most likely helped though. He did not see any rings or affectations on his person. He had not chosen a mate yet.

In truth Thelai had never been with a woman, Romulan or otherwise. He was not the typical sort that Romulan Captains usually were. She could sense a great deal of wanderlust in him. Someone who liked being away from Romulus. “You’ve grown more beautiful since last we met. Like a Tarkarian Orchid that has come into its full bloom,” he said poetically. He was certainly pouring on the charm.

Amara was walking a very fine line here. She needed to play up to him, but not lead him on. All of the lives onboard the Enterprise were relying on her to keep this interaction peaceful. She smiled a little at his compliment. She knew the flower he spoke of and she knew how beautiful it was.

"I never understood why you were so interested in me," she admitted. "You can have any Romulan female you want...particularly now that you're a Commander."

“Perhaps that is the reason,” he said as he took another bite of the rice then pushed the plate away as if it didn’t agree with him. “Very few know about you Saehir...Amara, and even fewer know that you’re no longer working for us,” he said as he watched her reaction. “What, do you think the Tal-Shiar doesn’t know? We have agents everywhere, even in places you would not expect,” he said. “I know about Section 31 so you need not deny anything that I’ve said. And, it doesn’t really change anything. I’m not here for you. If I were, we’d not be having this pleasant conversation. He grinned at her when her expression changed.

“So, shall we start over? The Valari and my ship the Nestral are prototypes. The Valari was sent on a mission and that mission has gone...awry. I can track it but my ship alone may not be enough to stop them. And believe me when I say it is in everyone’s best interest that we do stop them. If your Captain takes this on understand this, we intend on destroying the Valari. All of its crew are considered dead to us already,” he said. “You’re a communication’s officer, I’m certain you can communicate that to your Captain yes?” He said. Then he sighed. “I would have enjoyed testing to see how far you’d go into keep my visit here a positive one for your Captain and your crew. I am...still curious as to what you look like without any clothes on. I have dreams about us being together, sometimes,” he said with a smile. Amara saw the two officers that were sitting behind them suddenly get up and move away. Obviously they heard that. Unfortunately they heard that and wanted no part of whatever was going on.

Amara wasn't entirely surprised that Thelai knew about her. She was surprised that he didn't seem to care though that she was no longer working for the Romulans. She was angry about what had been done to her and the deaths of her real parents, but she knew that Romulans weren't all evil. They were ambitious and wary of outsiders, but perhaps this interaction would help to heal relations between the Romulans and the Federation.

Amara blushed slightly at what Thelai said, and then smiled a little when the two officers that had been sitting behind them suddenly got up and moved away. Clearly, they had heard what Thelai had said. Amara looked back at Thelai and her face became more serious again. "I can already see that you know who did this. My captain will want to know as well before he considers assisting you."

Thelai had expected this but if she really knew what they had found it is likely that Starfleet would know more about them. Thelai hadn’t seen them but he had seen the photos and video that the Valari Doctor and Science Officer showed him. Thelai had to be careful here, the Tal-Shiar was very interested in these...people though after seeing the videos he wasn’t certain what they were. “I know what did this but I’m not certain ‘who’ they are,” he said. That was a mostly true statement. Thelai wasn’t one of those Romulans that liked to lie. He preferred to act when others had full knowledge of what he was doing. To still succeed in such a case was usually much more difficult, the way he liked it. “We know very little about them, thus why they picked them up. I can’t tell you more than that Amara,” he said.

Amara wasn’t certain if James was going to agree with so little to go on...especially knowing that Thelai planned to kill them for what they had done. She sighed and thought for a moment before looking at him again. “Do you have any photos or video of them? Perhaps we can identify them.”

Thelai looked into her eyes for a moment before he answered. "That information is classified. If it makes any difference, I will officially ask your Captain for your assistance in person if that is what it takes," he said.

Amara was quiet for a long while as she looked at Thelai before speaking. "I will talk to Captain Kirk first. If he wishes to speak to you directly, I will contact you."

Amara walked with Thelai to the Transporter room and he was beamed back to his ship. She then headed to the bridge. When James saw her, he gestured towards the ready room. Amara nodded to James and she headed towards the ready room. She waited for James to lock the door and she sat down on the table as she tried to process everything that Thelai had told her...and not told her.

Kirk moved up to her and put his hands on her face. "I hope you are alright, I know that couldn't of been easy for you Amara," He said. "How did it go?" He asked.

Amara looked into her husband's eyes as he stepped up to her. She didn't answer his question right away. Instead, she pulled him into a kiss. She just needed to feel her lips on his...even for a moment. She felt him kiss her back and then she slowly pulled back and looked at him.

"Being with Thelai brought back some...memories. He knew that I wasn't working for the Romulans any longer, although he led me on for a while that he didn't. From what I gather the ship that was taken was called the Valari and it was a prototype ship, like the Nestral. The Valari was on a mission that went awry. Thelai says that he knows what attacked the Valari and I believe he has photos or videos of these aliens, but he told me that information was classified. He told me that it would be in our best interest to help him find the culprits. However, he did warn me that they don't plan to negotiate or take prisoners. They plan to destroy them."

"If they took the Valari...these aliens, what was the damaged ship?" Kirk asked. When Amara explained that that was from its escorts he nodded in understanding and shifted her legs apart so he could be closer to her. "Well, I hope Thelai doesn't have any designs on you because dearest, you belong to me," Kirk said and proceeded to prove it by unzipping her form-fitting jacket the reaching in to put his hands over her breasts. She still had a shirt and bra on but he still felt her nipples get hard. That was all he wanted for now. To feel her get excited by his touch. He leaned down and kissed and licked at her neck and she felt his hand press up against her center. Getting her out of those pants would take a bit more doing then they had time and she felt him try to feel for how they might come off but then abandon it. "I want you," He whispered in her ear. But now was hardly the time for that. She knew he was hard as a rock though.

Amara saw the look in James' eyes even before he began to touch her. She knew that look anywhere. James already had a pretty healthy libido, but when she got into this suit it seemed to shoot up. She knew that this was hardly the time or the place, but feeling his hands on her caused her to moan softly. James was the only man she would ever love. Their love was deep and true and she knew that they could survive anything together. Their love had already been put through the toughest test there was and they had only come out the other side even stronger. He was her soulmate and his love for her made her stronger. 

His whispered words in her ear made her shiver with desire. She licked her lips and whispered back to him. "I want you too."

Kirk and Amara shared a few more passionate kisses before he helped zip her jacket back up. He did tease her by pressing himself up against her middle. Her blue eyes were blue flame that burned for him but he kissed her one last time then helped her off the table. "We have alot to gain by helping them, so you can tell him that we will," he said as he unlocked the door and let her leave first. She took back her station and Kirk took back his as Elyse moved back to Tactical. As soon as Amara put on her earpiece, that familiar squelch from Section 31 interceded on the audio channel.

"Amara, this is Natasha Wolfe, Section 31. We've been monitoring you. We were sent the data from the wreckage that you have in your cargo hold. We have high confidence that the Valari was taken over by the Borg. A dangerous, cybernetic race. They use a hive mind, a collective that works together to make decisions and to accomplish tasks. They strip technology and add it to their ships. They assimilate those that they capture into this collective. Once this happens, that individual is irretrievable. So far, Starfleet has encountered this race one time. See Captain Archer's Accounts in the database for his account of what happened," she said. Use your console to text back your response," she said.

Amara desperately wished that they had more time, but she knew that when they did have time that they would take full advantage of it. She let him help her down off the table and then they headed out to the bridge. Amara sat at her station and was about to contact Thelai to let him know that they would help him, when suddenly she was contacted by Natasha Wolfe. She listened closely to what Natasha told her. She had never heard of the Borg before, but from what Natasha told her they sounded extremely dangerous. 

"I will look into Captain Archer's report. I will pass along this information to Captain Kirk."

Before Amara contacted Thelai, she pulled up Captain Archer's account of his encounter with the Borg. They needed to know what they were getting themselves into.

"I have a mission for you. You need to take a sample of your blood into a Hypo. You are required to infect a Borg with it and then take a sample of its blood. Once you obtain that, take a scan of the sample and send it back to us," She said.

Amara blinked at what Natasha instructed her to do. She sighed, but reluctantly agreed.

"Alright...I'll do it."

"Transmit the data via subspace and do not let the Romulans know what you're doing. The Tal-Shiar had been transporting these Borg back but obviously something went wrong. Use extreme caution. If its me saying that, than this is an extremely dangerous situation. You can not let the borg escape," she said then she heard her earpiece return to normal.

Amara sat there for a long moment before she picked up a PADD and stood up. "Captain, I need to speak to you," she said and walked to the ready room. She was already pulling up Captain Archer's report as James walked in and locked the door behind him. "I was just contacted by Section 31. Apparently what we're going to be dealing with are Borgs, a dangerous cybernetic race. It appears that the Romulans were transporting some Borgs back to Romulus when something went wrong. They use a hive mind, a collective that works together to make decisions and to accomplish tasks. They strip technology and add it to their ships. They assimilate those that they capture into this collective. Once this happens, that individual is irretrievable. So far, Starfleet has only encountered this alien race once. I was told to look up Captain Archer's report," she said as she pulled it up. "There is one more thing. Section 31 wants me to take a sample of my blood and inject it into a Borg and then take a sample of their blood and transmit the data to them. After what they did to me the last time I refused to comply I felt I had no choice but to agree. I need to ensure that the Romulans don't find out what I'm doing though."

Kirk took the PADD and began to read about them. There were photos and even a video. The borg looked pale in their flesh with all sorts of cybernetic implants all over their bodies. An autopsy on one of them revealed that many of the implants were internal. The borg can teleport, gain shielding over time, they seemed to adapt to attacks quickly. Their ships repaired quickly and modified itself with components they find off of other ships. Archer barely made it through alive.

"Well, We've got our hands full I can tell you. What in the HELL! Are these Romulans doing messing with these guys?" Kirk asked.

Amara looked at the PADD as well and was horrified by what she read and saw. She could feel James tense up beside her. This was not going to be easy. She sighed at his question and shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she told him honestly. “I do know that Thelai wasn’t telling me everything though. Do you still want to help them?”

“Do we have a choice now?” Kirk asked her. His irritation was her asking him. Asking him when the result would be Section 31 punishing her for disobedience. He could not allow that and it sounds like these Borg need to be put down anyway.

“Go ahead back to your station, I’m going to read up on these Borg a whole,” Kirk said then moved to sit down. Later he called an Officers meeting.

Kirk looked at his officer. Kal, Elyse, Fiona, McCoy, Scotty, Spock, Scarlett, Nathan and Amara sat around the large, ready room table. Every seat had a monitor and monitor computer and on it was the data from the PADD Amara had given him. He gave them all a few minutes to look at the information before he began.

“They are called The Borg and they pose a significant threat to the quadrant. Apparently they can inject their victims with nanoprobes that begin to change their physiology to that of a Borg. They scavenge technology from ships and installations and use it to make improvements on the ships they inhabit. They function using a hive mind mentality, a collective where all of their minds work as one on goals and problems. This will make them extremely difficult to defeat. If we let them go it it very likely they will gain more ships and infect anyone they come into contact with,” He said.

“How did the Romulans find them Captain?” Spock asked. “That we do not know but they escaped in one of their new ships and destroyed the 2 escort ships that had been with it,” he said. “It’s in our best interest to learn as much from them as we can. I doubt this will be the last time we see them,” Kirk said warningly. “Any questions?” Kirk asked.