Sector Z-6: Federation/Romulan Border
Stardate: 53350.8
"Romulan Commander," the other captain said from her own chair. "I am Captain Shu Yin Quan of the Federation starship, Nelson. On behalf of the starships, USS Nevsky and USS Shran, I am informing you that your presence in the Neutral Zone is a violation of treaty and will not be tolerated. Return to Romulan space immediately or you will be fired upon."
"You dare lecture me on treaty violations! Turn over the criminal Daniel Tigranian and his ship or we open fire!"
"Captain Tigranian and his ship are a matter for Starfleet Command and not your concern. Now, between me and my three sister ships, we've got 3,200 quantum torpedoes armed and aimed right at your bridge. What are you going do?"
The Romulan Admiral leaned back in his chair and stared straight at the screen.
"What would you do, Captain?" he said steepling his fingers. "If I let the Pershing escape, I'm signing my own death warrant."
"And if you cross the border, you'll be doing the same thing," Captain Quan said not backing down.
"Romulan vessels," he said pressing a button on his chair. "Cloak and return to staging areas on our side of the border."
The Federation ships breathed a collective sigh of relief as the warbirds cloaked and turned for home. Just before Tigranian was about to cancel Red Alert, an instinct gripped him. He turned back to the screen. The Romulan admiral was still there, staring at him. Suddenly, he knew exactly what his opponent was going to do.
"Katie, maintain Red Alert, lock phasers and torpedoes on him. Attempt to target only his weapons and engines, but use whatever force necessary to stop him," Tigranian said over his shoulder.
"Aye, Sir," Katie complied.
"Mna-mne, D'deridex!" the admiral proclaimed before terminating the transmission.
"Captain!" he's locked his plasma torpedoes onto us. He's accelerating to full impulse," Katie said adjusting her instruments.
"Shu!" Tigranian said to the Nelson's captain. "He's making a suicide run."
"Tracking, Daniel," Quan responded. "The Nevsky and the Shran are maneuvering to protect our flanks in case he tries to get at the Sulu."
"He's crossed the border!" Laria said as the Romulan charged straight ahead. The massive warbird let loose with its main disruptor array. Beams of green energy slammed into the Pershing's shields. The ship lurched violently.
"Forward shields down to sixty percent. No internal damage," Katie said.
"Dan," Annabeth said turning to him. Tigranian hadn't taken his eyes off the approaching enemy.
"Katie…" he said climbing to his feet. "Fire."
"Firing, Sir!"
Captain Quan gave the same order on her bridge simultaneously. The two battlestarships let loose a hellish barrage of phaser bolts and quantum torpedoes. The Romulan's shields buckled under the onslaught and a few seconds later, the entire ship blew apart.
"Phil, adjust our trim to avoid the singularity collapse from their warp core. Laria, scan for survivors."
He looked back with hope in his eyes. His science officer merely shook her head.
"Dan, what is it?" Annabeth said noticing the captain's unusual reaction to destroying an enemy ship.
"He had his orders, but refused to sacrifice the rest of his ships. So, he instead sacrificed himself. He died with Honor, Number One, and he has my respect."
"Sir, Captain Quan is hailing again," Katie announced.
"On screen," Tigranian said taking his seat again.
"Is everyone alright over there, Daniel?" she asked. Her tone sounded almost patronizing but Tigranian let it go.
"We're fine, Shu Yin. Thanks for asking. Néih hóu ma?"
"Your Cantonese is just as bad as it was at the Academy, but we're fine," she replied rolling her eyes. "It's a good thing we happened to be conducting shake down maneuvers with the Sulu when we detected you charging through the Neutral Zone. Otherwise, you would probably be on your way to a Romulan gulag right now."
"I don't know about that, Shu. This ship is far more resourceful than she looks."
"I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't take care of yourself," she said cocking her head to the side. "Merely, that you're luck seems to be holding out."
"Klingons don't believe in luck, Shu," Tigranian said matter of factly. She skeptically cocked her head to one side.
"In any case, hopefully I have enough clearance for you to explain to me why your ship has been in Romulan space for two months."
"And hopefully I have enough clearance for you to explain to me why the three cancelled Pershing class ships suddenly appear out of thin air on the edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone."
She laughed.
"I was already planning on having the other starship commanders over to the Nelson for Afternoon Tea at 1600 hours today. I would be delighted if you would join us. We could catch up. It'll be just like old times."
Tigranian furrowed his brow. That's exactly what he was concerned about.
"Afternoon tea?" Annabeth leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"She's from Hong Kong. Apparently, that's a thing there," he muttered.
"Ahhh," Annabeth replied.
"Problem, Daniel?" Captain Quan asked.
"Oh no," Tigranian said leaning back in his chair. "I was merely confirming with my first officer that my schedule was open this afternoon."
"And is it?" she asked rather forcefully.
"Yes," he said tugging on the bottom of his jacket nervously. "I'll beam over at 1545."
"Splendid, I'll see you then. Nelson out."
The screen returned to a star field and Tigranian immediately started rubbing his eyes.
"By Kahless' hand, why did it have to be her…" he muttered.
"Who is she?" Annabeth said turning back to the captain.
"And what did she mean 'just like old times!" Laria exclaimed from Science a little more aggressively than was proper on the bridge. Tigranian flashed her a look. "…Sir," Laria quickly added.
"We were in the same class at the Academy," Tigranian began, "and on the same career track, which meant we had all the same core classes and all the same training exercises. No matter how hard I tried, she was always two or three points ahead of me in the rankings. I was better at Weapons Dynamics, but she whipped my ass Spatial Geometery, Trig, Advanced Calculus, basically anything that involved adding more than two numbers together…"
Katie stifled a chuckle from her station. Tigranian turned and pointed his finger.
"That is not funny!" he said angrily. "We're past such generalizations in the 24th century, Katie."
"But it's still funny, Sir," Katie said still holding back laughter. The captain sighed.
"Things got even more awkward between us after the date…" Tigranian continued.
"You dated her!" Laria shouted again. Tigranian turned his entire chair around this time. Laria gritted her teeth. "…Sir."
"It was ONE date during a particular stressful time my Yuk year. I asked her out to dinner. She said she didn't have time for dinner. So, I asked her out for coffee between study sessions.
I spent an hour talking about what I thought we had in common. She spent an hour talking how much she missed her ex-boyfriend back in China. Needless to say, there was not a second date…"
"Ohhhh, that is brutal!" Phil said shaking his head at the helm.
"Yes it was, Mr. Lexington!" Tigranian said raising his annoyed voice. "Thank you for your assessment."
"Umm…" Phil said looking over his shoulder apologetically. "You're welcome, Sir?"
"Baktag," Tigranian said rising to his feet. "If you need me, I'll be in my ready room contacting Starfleet Command to let them know we're alive. Phil, just steer the damn ship and try not to run into anything. Annabeth, you have the bridge…"
As Tigranian passed in front of the science station, he flashed Laria a look that begged her to drop the inquisition into his past. She responded with a gaze that let him know this particular trip down memory lane was far from over.