Villa Tralliakii (Trallian Family Estate): Romulus, Romulan Star Empire
The Trallian family estate rested in a fertile valley surrounded on three sides by the hills of Demia Province. The western edge gently slopped downwards towards the coastline of the Apnex Sea.
Romulus' twin moons, Pirek and Elvreng, hung silently in the sky among a sea of stars. A gentle breeze flowed in from the Apnex and gently rustled through the four hundred acres of kheh. The deep blue stalks of grain were over a meter and a half high. They gave off the rich, sweet aroma that signaled they were ready for harvest. As the crops swayed, the harastu crickets hiding inside the endless rows chirped loudly to signal their presence.
On the southeastern hill overlooking the entire estate, a pair of Reman military boots stepped forward and stopped. Their owner looked across the fields at the towering façade of Trallian's house over a league away. Only one light remained on among the dozens of darkened windows. The cluster of servants' homes peeking out from the northwestern side of building was completely still. The men, women, and families were all peacefully sleeping in anticipation of an early start to another day of productive work.
"My Lord," Vkruk said walking up behind Shinzon with annother Reman officer. "All units report ready."
Shinzon raised a pair of electric binoculars to his eyes and scanned their objective.
"Colonel Shrok," the general said calmly.
"Sir?" the officer said steeping forward.
"Once the perimeter has been established, deploy the commandos to raid the main house. Semachs wants the senator to stand public trial for his betrayal. Then, deploy the main force to obliterate the estate. We'll take his servants alive for questioning, but wipe the buildings from the face of Romulus. By sunrise, I don't want two boards left nailed together or two stones with mortar between them."
"And if the servants resist?" Shrok asked.
"I'm a busy man, Colonel," Shinzon replied. "I don't have time to dawdle. If they give you a problem, kill them."
"Understood Sir," Shrok said. "What about the senator's wife and daughters? Do you want them alive as well?"
"What possible use would I have for a spoiled Romulan whore and her two brats?" Shinzon said dismissively. He scanned the perimeter of the house with his binoculars. He noticed an old Romulan figtree in the courtyard. "Once the house is destroyed, hang their corpses from those branches for all to see. We are trying to send a message, after all."
"Yes Sir," Shrok said obediently before stepping away to issue orders to the men. Shinzon glanced over to Vkruk. His old mentor sat silently in the darkness staring out towards the estate.
"What is it, Vkruk?" Shinzon said with a sigh. "Really, your constant misgivings are starting to become a bore…"
"I don't find the prospect of killing women and children as appealing as you seem to…" he said with a chastising tone in his voice.
"No, no," Shinzon said holding up a hand. "Not women and children…Romulan women and children. Just how many Reman children have you seen starved, beaten, or crushed in the mines? Thousands? Tens of thousands? How much suffering has rich Romulan scum like that caused to the people of our world? How many Reman children died refining dilithium or building starships to support the Federation/Romulan Alliance in its imperialist war against the Dominion?
There is a force for justice in this galaxy, my friend, and we…are…it. Trallian's family is just the first of many that will die to balance the scales."
Vkruk clenched his claws and pursed his fangs. He hated to admit it, but he knew that most of his people felt exactly as Shinzon did.
"Perhaps the general has a point," Vkruk thought to himself. "Once Remus is in control of Romulus, once Earth and the rest of the Federation is burned to a cinder, we will have brought peace to the entire galaxy. Perhaps a little mass-murder is justified if it is for a greater good…"
****
Samilla looked up from her needle-point for the tenth time. Her husband was still sitting in an overstuffed leather chair with a snifter of kali-fal. He stared at the massive portraits of his parents hanging on the wall of the sitting room. Trallian's father, in full dress robes, stared down from the frame with a bunch of kheh grain at his side. Even in his own portrait, he wanted his posterity to know he was a proud brewer of spirits above all else. Trallian's mother stared down at the senator with a smile and a handful of vareet blossoms, her favorite flower, grasped in her left hand. Thanks to that woman's efforts, vareet bushes now bloomed across the estate.
Samilla smiled at her fond memories of Lady Sebsta, her mother-in-law. She was one of the kindest Romulans Samilla had ever met. The current lady of the house even kept Sebsta's teral'n beneath her painting as a tribute to the woman who made her feel a part of the family more than anyone else.
"I loved them too," Samilla muttered while putting another stitch into her work, "but alas, the gods took them from us to the afterlife. No matter how hard you stare at their faces, they won't talk to you."
Trallian sighed.
"I can hear my mother's voice every time I smell the vareet from the veranda. 'A Romulan man must be more than cunning,' she used to tell me. 'He must also have the courage to do what's right.'"
Then, he took a long sip from his kali-fal.
"This," he said holding up the glass. "This is how my father talks to me."
"I thought we were saving the 2320 Hors D'Age for Sevon and Sepina's wedding dowries?" Samilla asked while furrowing her brow.
"My future sons-in-law won't miss one bottle," Trallian said taking a dip sniff of the ultra-fine Romulan Ale that would easily go for ten bars of latinum per case on the Ferengi markets. "I was twelve years old when we brewed this batch," Trallian said with a smile. "I can still remember my father taking me down to the vats as the kheh was steeping. He reached into a copper kettle with his bare hands and pulled out a fistful of wort. 'Smell this, Boy!'," Trallian chuckled as he imitated his father's gruff voice. "'Real kali-fal only has three ingredients: the finest kheh, the purest water, and time!" Trallian looked back to his wife. "He always hated what the more commercial breweries were doing by throwing in citrus peels, hochus buds, or carok spice."
"I remember the lectures…" Samilla said making another stich on her needlepoint.
"'If you smell fruit or flowers or spices: anything besides kheh,'" Trallian said going back to his father's voice, "'it means the brewer is hiding something rotten in their vats they don't want you to know about.'" Trallian took another sip from his glass and sucked in a lungful of air to help put down the burn of the spirit. Then, he turned to look right at his wife. "My love, I haven't smelled the kheh in the Romulan Empire for a very long time. I don't think I ever will again."
Samilla put down her sewing and looked back at her husband. She understood what he was implying. In fact, since he first told her about Rellas two years ago, she had been planning her own emergency contingencies.
"I've spoken to my cousin. She can take the girls to her summer home in the Gamiotsystem, but I'm not leaving you alone on Romulus. It would look too suspicious if I left as well."
Trallian took another drink.
"I don't think Gamiot is far enough away," he replied. "It's remote, but still under Romulan control."
The gravity of what Trallian was saying finally hit her. Her lip started quivering as she looked around the room scattered with memories of a life they built together for the past half century.
"How far will they have to go to be safe?" she asked unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer.
"All the way," Trallian said firmly. "And for that, they'll need their mother."
"You don't think they'll need their father?" Samilla replied in shock. "They love you! We all love you! We all need you…"
"If I go, we'll all be hunted. If I stay, you'll have a chance," Trallian said shaking his head. "You don't need me. You're strong. Sevon and Sepina are strong." Trallian lifted his almost empty glass to the portrait of his mother. "This Romulan man also has the courage to do what's right…"
He then savored the last taste of the exquisite kali-fal handed down to him from his parents.
Suddenly, they both heard a loud bang outside the door. There was a terrible screech and the crash of shattering glass. Trallian leapt from his chair and turned to see what the commotion was. Samilla dropped her needlepoint to the carpet
"Marsus!" she screamed jumping towards her husband.
The doors flew open. A Reman trooper was standing there with a disruptor rifle in his claws. Trallian was about to dive between the creature and his wife, when the soldier dropped to his knees and fell face down. The two Romulans gazed at the long throwing spear sticking straight out of its back. Rellas stepped forward and ripped his weapon out of the Reman's armor.
"Hello, old friend," the Gralluscan said slightly out of breath. "We were a bit delayed reaching you, but we're here now. I didn't want you thinking I'm not a man of my word."
A green skinned Orion woman carrying a Klingon disruptor rifle and a pistol wielding Sarcassan walked in behind him. The Orion sprinted over and glanced out the window.
"We gotta go, Boss! If we thought getting in here was hard, getting out of here is becoming worse by the second."
"What is going on?" Trallian demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rellas replied with a question of his own. "We found out that you've been compromised. Shinzon's soldiers are everywhere. They've already got commandos in the house and more troops are moving in through the fields."
"You came all the way here to save us?" Trallian said in disbelief.
"You have done enough for us ten times over," Rellas said with a nod. "Unfortunately, we really don't have the time to reminisce right now. Seebo!" Rellas shouted out into the hall. Another warrior carrying an automatic disruptor and a bandolier of grenades stepped into the room.
"Oh gods!" Samilla said pushing back from her husband.
"Grass?" Rellas shouted into his wrist mounted communicator. "Are you still there?"
"Yes, My Lord," a voice responded. "I have the ship on the backside of the southern hill, but I don't know how much longer we can stay. The Remans are focused towards the villa, but it's only a matter of time before they find us."
"Alright, we have the senator and his wife heading towards you now with Esrak and Seebo. I'll stay back with Valaa and try to get to the children. If we're not back in fifteen minutes, take off."
"Understood," Grass replied. "I'll have our fighters pulling local security link up with Seebo and Esrak and guide them in."
"To hell with that!" Samilla roared. "If there're Remans in my house, I have to get Sevon and Sepina!"
"We're not going anywhere without our daughters!" Trallian
"Senator, Lady Samilla, there's nothing that you can do for them," Rellas said holding up his hands. "Valaa and I will keep them safe, but right now, you must go or we could lose all four of you…"
"You obviously haven't dealt with many Romulan mothers, have you?" Samilla spit back at him as she turned towards the hallway.
"Listen Lady!" Seebo said, "We're not arguing with you. If Rellas says you go, you go!"
She reached down and grabbed Seebo's wrist. In flash, she ripped his arm away, grabbed him by the collar of his body armor, and flung him five meters across the room into the opposite wall. As everyone was marveling at Seebo's sudden flight, Samilla grabbed Lady Sebsta's teral'n from beneath her portrait. She clicked open the blades and sprinted out into the corridor so fast it was difficult to see.
"SAMILLA!" Trallian shouted desperately as he ran out after her.
"Shit" Seebo groaned as he climbed back to his feet. "I forgot how strong Romulans were…"
"Nice move, dumbass!" Valaa said charging her disruptor rifle. Then, she ran out towards the hall as well.
"Valaa, where are you going?" Rellas shouted desperately.
"To keep them alive! Otherwise we made this trip for nothing!"
Star Trek: New Horizons Season 7, Episode 7 (And the Blue Fields Ran Green With Blood) by captaintigranian