The People's Will

Posted on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 @ 10:50am by Riov (Captain) Dalia Rendal & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Deihu (Senator) Verelan t'Rul
Edited on on Sun Sep 22nd, 2019 @ 6:25pm

Mission: Family Detention
Location: D'Deridex class warbird, 'The People's Will'. En Route to Romulus
Timeline: 2396

The first thing she was aware of was a dull, rhythmic throbbing. Her head seemed to be being pressed in from the sides as Lieutenant Mnhei’sahe Dox struggled to open her eyes and remember where she was.

For what felt like half an hour, she struggled against a body that didn’t want to respond to commands. For a while, she couldn’t get her eyes to open. Her arms wouldn’t move and she couldn’t raise the side of her face off of the scratchy pillow she felt under her. She was on her side and her head was throbbing, though. She knew that much. After a while, clarity began to form in the corners of her mind and she began to remember.

She, her mother Jaeih, and her wife Mona, had been at a restaurant on the moon of Enox VI. A Romulan restaurant called Saith. ‘Tranquility’. She laughed slightly at the irony there as the memory filled in piece by piece. They were attacked by Romulan agents. Tal’Shiar armed with stunning batons and while she was fighting them off, she got tagged and passed out instantly.

“MONA!” She tried to shout, but the sound came out weak and slurred. She had to have been drugged to have this hard of a time walking up. That or those stun batons were HIGHLY powered, far more than she would have expected. But after a few more moments, her eyes slowly opened and found a hazy focus. Wherever she was was dark. A gray, metal room. She could only see the wall in front of her for a moment as she worked up the strength to stiffly turn over and eventually sit up.

The throbbing wasn’t just in her head, she discovered as she regained her faculties. She was on a ship. A ship with a power source nowhere near as well-tuned as Commander sh’Zorathi keeps the Hera’s engines. The throbbing could be felt through the cold, metal deck plates. And as her eyes found their focus, the still groggy officer began to piece together where she had to be.

The room was about half the size of her quarters on the Hera. An octagonal shape to the rooms with warm gray walls decorated by angular gold chevrons on the panels. At each segment, a soft white strip of vertical light with green rim light running along the floor and ceiling at each bulkhead. She was sitting on a fairly narrow bed built into the far bulkhead with somewhat rough, dark gray linens. Across from her was a wide, short porthole style window. They were at warp.

Against the, based on the motion of those streaking stars, bow-side wall to her right was a small bench couch, also built into the wall with a copper-colored pad on it and a small dining table. There was a small desk below the window with a monitor screen and what looked like a touchpad input. A computer. There was a door to a small refresher to her left and to the right of that, the door to the corridor. There was no replicator or other amenities.

This was absolutely a Romulan ship.

She had never been on a D’deridex class Warbird, but based on the room and her having spent many years as an eager young Rihanna girl studying their specs, she knew where she was. These were what passed for VIP quarters in the Star Empire.

Standing up slowly, she ran her hand through her curly, red hair. Uncommon for Rihannsu, but she was an uncommon woman. Nervously, she pulled on one of her pointed ears as she looked around. Romulan ships were light on luxury, but she was in one of the ships bigger rooms, and that meant something. She was still wearing the loose green blouse and black pants she had worn to dinner, and her bruised knuckles had been healed. They wanted something.

Stepping over to the doors, they of course didn’t budge. Walking to the desk, the computer was, of course, locked out. It simply glowed a deep green with the sigil of the Star Empire rotating upon it and the ship's name, in Rihan, "na'Rhaden Ssaed", meaning 'The People's Will'.

Walking the perimeter of the room, she examined every corner and nook. The chairs and the dining table were bolted in place. The pads woven into the structure. The lighting was inset, and inaccessible to her probing fingers. And while she was sure she was on camera, she couldn’t find a source. So she walked back to the bed, sat down and waited. They would come to her in their own time, and now that she was awake she suspected it wouldn’t be long before someone came to make their presence known.

Then, as her mother would say, the games would begin.

Sure enough, it took only a few moments for the door of the quarters to slide open, revealing a dignified older woman. Clearly Romulan, clearly silver-haired, clearly a proud noblewoman, haughty and regal. This was someone who was unaccustomed to doing their own dirty work- their knuckles were unbruised, their hands uncalloused, their features fine and delicate though she had a slightly thick build. And there was something disturbingly familiar about the woman's face all the same, which was made all the more evident when she smiled, and Mnhei'sahe was struck by the resemblance to herself. When she spoke, her accent was light and lilting, the intonations of a dialect with which Dox was unfamiliar.

"Hello, Mnhie'sahe. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time, now." she said simply.

Still seated on the edge of the thinly padded bed, Mnhei'sahe recognized the woman from the image shown to her by Captain Telvan from her Starfleet intelligence file some months ago. She also remembered the yawning list of atrocities credited to the otherwise proper looking Rihannsu woman. This was her father's mother.

Senator Verelan t'Rul of the Romulan Star Empire.

Her grandmother.

Pulling herself up to attention as she sat, the young Starfleet officer replied flatly through serious eyes. "Dox, Mnhei’sahe. Lieutenant, Starfleet. United Federation of Planets. Service Number, SC414339-797064. The abduction of Starfleet personnel or Federation citizens by force is a violation of treaty."

The elderly Romulan woman chuckled as she stepped into the room, the door sliding shut behind her as she did so. “Federation standard? Really? You cannot even do me the courtesy of addressing me in my native tongue granddaughter?” Eyeing the redheaded Romulan appraisingly, the elder stateswoman shook her head. “Family is so important, yet here we are, at odds because my willful son hid you from me. The woman who betrayed him hid you from me, then Starfleet hid you from me.”

“But I’ve found you at last, and now you can come home. No more pretending, no more hiding… you can return home to take your rightful place amongst the heroes of the Star Empire. Where you belong… where you’ve always belonged. Not amongst the humans and the trash of the galaxy, pretending to be one of their mutts. You are true Rihannsu. You are the granddaughter of a lauded Senator, with titles and property as your birthright… not some scrounger smuggling watered-down liquor amongst the stars scrounging for a pittance to eke out a living. Your life could have been so different had I but known…” The expression on the woman’s face was a sad and wistful one, as clearly the lost time pained her, as did the recounting of Dox’s miserable childhood and upbringing, of which she was clearly aware.

While Rihan was Dox's native tongue as well, she had no intention of speaking a word of it just yet. "We are at odds... because you abducted me by force. I am a Federation citizen. Return me to the nearest Federation facility, Starbase or Starship immediately and we can discuss whatever you wish through official channels. Our governments are not currently at war, but your actions here may press that point."

The young officer was nervous as her stomach threatened to leap out of her chest as she spoke, doing her best to remain calm. She knew they had her but had no idea if her mother or Mona had escaped the attack and didn't want to say anything to give away that concern, so she leaned on her training and kept her face neutral and still.

“Mmmmm, because given all of the stories you’ve been told through the years, I’m certain you would be ever so eager to embrace me and your heritage,” the elder Romulan woman sighed, shaking her head before her dark eyes glanced up to pierce those of her progeny. “Be honest- would we be having this discussion right now had I not forced the issue? Would we ever be having this discussion, honestly? And before you answer, I might add that as a career politician I am a bit more attuned to lies and falsehood than even the majority of our people. So don’t bother with the polite niceties of half-truths and evasions, if you would at least do me that courtesy.”

The young pilot was out of her element for sure and paused to think of the right answer. Simply repeating her service number would get her nothing so the more she could keep her grandmother talking, the more she could learn. Of course, that was a very double-bladed sword that would doubtless be more of an advantage to the aforementioned 'career politician'. As it was, she already was able to make some loose assertations. The elder woman, Dox thought, assumed that her mother had spent a lifetime filling her head with horror stories of her when the reality is Dox didn't even know she had a Grandmother until a few months earlier. What else did she know, Dox wondered? How detailed was her intel on the Hera?

Looking up to meet Senator t'Rul's piercing gaze, Dox replied plainly, still replying in Federation Standard to questions asked in Rihan. "Most likely, not. But even I couldn't say with any certainty now that that option has been removed. And I'm considerably less inclined to talk to you as a prisoner."

“Yes, you keep going back to that. So if I turned you loose, what then? Tell me, I’m curious.” The eyebrow arched, and the elder stateswoman put Dox on the spot. “Run back to your top-secret intel starship and your black ops missions, your Miradonian wife, your civilian asset mother as you build your little family in the shadows of the Federation that claims it needs none?”

Freezing, Dox kept her face neutral and didn't move a fraction. But her face flushed green as her blood ran hot. She had the answers to the questions she had and she didn't like them. Her Grandmother clearly knew most everything about her and her notorious temper was beginning to flare up. As she felt her pulse quicken, she knew her autonomic reactions had betrayed her without her ever speaking a word or twitching a muscle.

Doing her level best to stay calm, Dox's already gravelly voice dropped an octave as she skipped answering the question designed to provoke her. "And on ch'Rihan? Would you 'turn me loose' there to be a 'hero of the empire'?"

“I’d certainly like to,” the Senator admitted. “My granddaughter, who could take my seat in the Imperial Senate? Take over my lands and holdings? Speak for our province? And after having rejected the federation and their ways to return home, to ch’Rihan, to the motherland, to serve the Star Empire as a faithful daughter? Yes… yes, I would most certainly ‘turn you loose’ if I had the opportunity,” the silver-haired woman began to slowly pace, a rather unnerving habit that she shared with her granddaughter. “But that would require a degree of trust. Admittedly, kidnapping is not the best first step toward building trust. But then, you aren’t particularly inclined toward trust. So we have time to work on that, you and I. We’ve a long voyage ahead of us, and we’ll have time to talk, and for you to consider your future.”

“Yours…” the Senator turned eyeing Dox with the first hint of any sort of even a hint of malice, but the undercurrent was quite clearly there as she said the words, “and your mother’s.”

Boiling now and ready to burst, the thinly veiled threat pushed all the right buttons for the woman who so fiercely defended her reformed family. And in this instance, she let it out as she leaned forward and growled in her native Rihan, "Where IS she?"

“Nearby. In good health. How vested are you in that state continuing?” There it was. While her voice never rose and there was still calm control, there was the mild hint of irritation that the anger was so close to the surface in her granddaughter. “I’d hoped that we might be able to talk, to be civilized, to perhaps reach an accord. For you to approach this with something of an open mind, to at least consider my words without me having to resort to threats and punishments.”

“But you’re simply not that bright, are you? Like an angry mongrel, you have to be kept on a short leash or you’ll attack. It seems Rendal was accurate in her assessment of you after all…” t’Rul sighed, shaking her head sadly. “Limited, stunted, angry and stubbornly unwilling to even stop long enough to consider reason. Ah well. I did have hopes that you might be swayed with reason, and the opportunity to make a genuine difference to a homeworld you’ve never known that could welcome you with open arms. Instead, all you are is rage and demands... the product of a horrendously pretentious and idiotic upbringing.”

Noting the coiling body language and shifting of weight, the elder woman looked disdainfully at her progeny. “Oh, and if you are going to attack me, by all means, do take your chance. I’m rather looking forward to your reaction.” The woman opened her arms as if expecting a hug and waited patiently.

Sitting there, Dox knew that she had given in to her anger, but it had been a quickly made decision. That anger also served a different purpose. It masked another emotion welling up in her she didn't want her manipulative Grandmother seeing: Hope. T'Rul had threatened her mother... NOT Mona. They didn't have her. Which meant that before long, the Hera would know what had happened.

So she sat, took a breath and slowly let it out. "We’ve a long voyage ahead of us." Dox said, repeating her Grandmother's words, still speaking in Rihan. "Plenty of time to learn who we both are. But you never expected that immediately after sending men to attack me and my family, stun me into submission, drug me and steal me away, that I'd stroke my chin and thoughtfully consider your offer right there on the spot. Be honest."

“I expected that you might realize that you are in a considerable amount of danger with precious little leverage to play, and all of it dependent upon my good graces,” the elder Romulan woman sighed wearily, clearly disappointed. “I expected that you might analyze the situation and realize that this was all planned rather precisely, and that nothing was left to chance. I expected that you might be capable of processing all of that and at least control yourself long enough to at least pretend to listen to me. Instead, you played your hand immediately, showing that you possess the subtlety of a disruptor and the survival instincts of a phloog. I would prefer for this to go my way, but I suppose that choice is up to you, Mnhei’sahe.”

Leaning in, the Rihannsu Deihu locked eyes with the Starfleet officer. “Because you know a great many secrets that could be quite valuable to a great many parties. If you chose to listen and hear me, you might find that what I have to say makes sense, and that our people need you far more than the Federation needs a ‘token Romulan’,” she said, using the Federation’s name for their people. “Or you can be obstinate and prideful, and you can choose your own fate… yours, and your mother’s. I had them leave your wife behind intentionally, because she has never wronged me, and I wanted you to see that I bear you no ill will. I want to build a future. But I am not the only voice in this chorus, and you would do well to remember that as you stroke your chin and thoughtfully consider your future.”

Standing, the elder Romulan woman drew herself to her full height and looked down at Dox archly once more. “Consider my words, and your position. As I said, we’ve a long journey ahead of us, and you have plenty time to think while Rendal takes her time exacting her revenge for her losses upon your mother. After all, she did predict that you would be unreasonable, and I did agree that if she was right, she could start interrogating Jaeih right away.” Having delivered that gut punch, the elder stateswoman strode to the exit, which opened automatically at her approach.

“I’ll return when I feel you might be a more receptive audience.”

As the door wooshed shut with a definitive clank, Dox deflated slightly but didn't move from where she sat as her mind raced. Her grandmother was right. As she could see it, she had no leverage. A D'deridex-class warbird could carry as many as fifteen hundred Rihannsu troops. So the short red-headed one everyone was likely trained to recognize would likely not get ten meters past that door, she thought to herself as she considered escape options.

They had her. They had her mother. She was likely alive only for whatever information she had that her Grandmother had so not subtly hinted at.

She sighed as she thought. She didn't believe for a second that she left Mona alone on purpose. Why give up leverage? Mona would tell Enalia and Rita and they would be coming. But Romulus was nearly 80 light years from the Artan Fortress. Near a month's travel time at top cruising speed for a Warbird. 60 from where they picked her up. A massive lead.

And that, Dox thought, might be the only card in her hand to play, and the most dangerous one: time. The longer she stayed alive, the greater the possibility of rescue or escape for her and her mother. Which depended on if her mother would even survive what was to come. Kodria may have said that the future wasn't set in stone, but Death had predicted that she and her mother didn't have much time left. Their chances were slim and Dox knew it as her heart sank.

She would have to do exactly what her grandmother suggested. She would have to pretend to listen. Pretend to bend. And then pray that she could hold on to herself as she did, knowing full well that that was exactly how to be brainwashed. But she couldn't see any other options as she sat alone.

For the first time since joining the crew of the USS Hera, Lieutenant Dox was all alone.