Limping Home`

Posted on Wed Oct 26th, 2011 @ 8:02am by Khiy Tal'ehrihn & Miral Annhwi

1,903 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Orbital Yard Project Athena I
Location: Typhon

ON

The Khellan limped back to Typhon with no further encounters with the Yerdi fleet -- which, under the circumstances, was a good thing.

While the dockling clamps were locked into place, Miral Annhwi watched silently from the shadows.

Khiy walked down the ramp followed by his key staff, who was left of them. He had lost almost 20 crew members from the assault in Yerdi space. It would take time to replace that many people, especially ones who were knowledgeable with Klingon technology.

"I want teams working around the clock to get the Khellian back to fighting condition." He said, turning to face his command staff. "All other concerns are secondary. You have 24 hours, pull whatever strings you need." His face steeled and those who stood there knew not to question his words. "

Khiy tapped his comm badge. "Khiy to TGT control. Have the B'rel's prepped and on standby. Skeleton crew only."

"Understood, Sir." Came the clipped response. "We will inform you when they are ready to depart."

Miral stepped out of the shadows. "Hello, Khiy."

Khiy stopped dead in his tracks, surprised to see Miral down here. Instantly he knew he shouldn't be, she likely knew as much about what was happening on this station as the Starfleet staff who ran it.

"Miral, what are you doing down here?" He asked, curious about how much she currently knew.

"I heard you were back." And she wanted to be sure he was well.

"Indeed. Not one of my more triumphant returns unfortunately." He said honestly.

"What is it the humans say? Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing." She gave him a half smile. "I am glad you returned unharmed."

"Well that isn't true either. My pride has certainly been in better shape. Still, it's far better than some of my crew fared." Khiy wished he felt worse for the loss of those employed by him. Over the years, however, death became a likely work hazard and it served no one in his opinion to regret what he couldn't now change.

"Can I buy you drink?" she asked. "I would like to hear how your ship was damaged."

"Well," He started as he quickly glanced back to his crew departing from the gangway "I'm not sure how much I can tell you about it, but a drink definately sounds good about now."

A slow smile spread across Miral's face. "Then we shall share a drink and discuss whatever you wish. Where would you prefer the location of this drink to be?" It had been several months since Khiy had been on Typhon long enough to talk, so she was eager to talk about whatever he wished.

"My office, if you don't mind. I'll need to make a few calls and pull a few favours to get my ship back in order as soon as possible."

"Perfect." The two walked silently to Khiy's office. Miral generally kept to herself in public. Anything she had to say to him could wait until she got to his office.

When they entered his office she stopped to wait for him to speak. It had been a while. Her feelings hadn't changed, but she wasn't sure about Khiy. And she was not about to push him. For now, she wanted to know about his trip. Later, she'd have other questions. Whether they were asked or not remained to be seen.

Khiy sat down in his chair with a heavy sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He stayed like that for a minute or so before finally getting up and reaching for his liquor cabinet. Upon retrieving an exceptional vintage he removed the cap and poured two healthy servings into fine crystal glasses. He gave one to Miral before seating himself on the closer of two couches.

"Have a seat." He motioned.

Glass in hand, Miral sat down near him and took a sip of her drink. "I take it things did not go well?"

"No, definately not." He said after taking a long sip. The Khellian took some pretty heavy damage. Lost some crew as well, fortunately no one that is vital to the ships operation." He took another sip. He realised his appraisal sounded harsh, but he knew she would understand his meaning.

She did, indeed, understand his meaning. "Were they that powerful, then?" She knew the Khellian had gone to Yerdi space. Romulan Intelligence was still quite good. Especially when the Yerdi prophet asked for help. It wasn't hard for her to put together the pieces. "They seemed inferior to our technology."

Khiy smiled briefly at her, at least he wouldn't have to dodge the subject anymore if she already had an idea where he came from. "They were. Weaker weapons and by far weaker shields. Reasonably good group tactics, however, and vastly superior numbers eventually took their toll on us...that and a suicide collision by a ship nearly the same size as my K'vort." He shook his head at the thought of such wasted life. "Didn't help that we weren't trying to destroy their ships. Might have gone differently if we were."

"I see," she said quietly. She took another sip of her drink. "They appear to be a little Klingon and a little Romulan in their attitude. Win at all costs or die in glory. Difficult to win. Are you going to leave it where it stands?"

"Well I suppose that's where the Romulan in me kicks in." He said with a nod to her comment. "I intend to have my ship repaired and battle ready should they come to us or we go to them. I've already recalled my crews to the sister B'rel's as well. The next time we engage, it will be teeth bared." He drank from his glass with a dark look on his face.

Miral raised her glass to Khiy in a salute. "Honor. Revenge. Justice. Whatever words you choose, I agree."

Khiy also lifted his glass. "The truth lies somewhere in between all those words. What's left now is the logistics. I'm sure if i talked to the Yerdi on the station they would sign off on us moving on their homeworld. The Federation certainly won't. TGT may be the only organization willing to help them get their home back...albeit in a decidedly more hostile way."

"The Federation tried their way. And failed. The hostile attack on your ship warrants a return to their world. If you need an altruistic motive, you can return their princeling prophet to power." She didn't bother hiding the fact that she'd been monitoring Starfleet channels and saw the same images of the Yerdi prince. She, too, recognized the prophet seeking asylum. She swirled the liquid in her drink around and watched it settle. "I might be of assistance -- if you need it."

Khiy's brow furrowed as he looked at her then, with a tilt of his head spoke. "How do you mean?" He inquired.

"There are ... factions ... who have broken from the Romulan home world. They have ships and wish to prove themselves in battle. Very Klingon of them," she added. "But they might be persuaded to ... help. For the chance to show what they can do."

"Nothing comes free, Miral." He said shaking his head. "ESPECIALLY if it comes from a Romulan. Would you have them serve a cause of yours?"

"Yes," she replied. "I know a commander who owes me a favor. We win this, he goes back a proven warrior. That gets him a promotion and a reputation. So, once again he will owe me a favor. I, in turn, do YOU a favor. So, you will also owe me." She took a slow drink. "But with you it's personal. A show of my trust and good faith. Debt paid." And if he trusted her more after this, perhaps he would not be so distant. It was a calculated risk, but one she was willing to take. Things that were worth while never came cheap and Khiy was definitely worth it.

Khiy took a long sip from his glass, never taking his eyes off of Miral. He was distrustful by nature, however, he felt like he could actually take this offer at face value. It was an odd feeling for him to not be suspicious. "How many ships do you think you can get?"

"I can guarantee one. I can call in a few favors. Perhaps get two." She sipped her drink, pretending to be casual but paying close attention to his body language and his eyes.

"I wouldn't want you to use up all your favors, Miral. If one is what you can safely get, that will be more than enough." He sipped his drink again, meanwhile his mind was racing at putting the pieces together for a plausible plan. "It wouldn't be easy, we are still talking about taking on an entire navy. More than that, I doubt I can sell the plan to this prophet if we go destroying countless thousands of their military personnel and reducing their fleet to slag. We would need to be careful."

"Indeed. But a good part of their fleet is on its way here -- or so my sources tell me. Starfleet has already destroyed three Yerdi ships. Ships that came to destroy more deserters. So, with a large part of their military here, we can safely take a small group there." She finished her drink and set the glass on a side table. "I should not be the one to approach this prophet of theirs. If I do, the Romulan Star Empire will want the planet for themselves. But if you were to do it ... offer your help in exchange for trade rights ..." She gave Khiy a Mona Lisa smile.

Khiy allowed a grin, the first in days since leaving Yerdi space. "I see this working out well. The Federation can't possibly object to a concerned business owner looking to help stabilize a troubled world. That is, if they will even notice our absence in the first place. I'm sure this prophet would agree to such terms, he wins on every angle."

Miral nodded. "And the Romulan Star Empire is always exploring new areas. There's no reason they can't explore Yerdi space. It sounds like fun." Especially if she could go along with him.

Khiy chuckled. "You are definitely my kind of woman if going into a pitched battle sounds like fun."

Miral's eyes sparkled with a plethora of emotions. "I hope so."

He finished the remains of his glass and put it beside hers. "In that case, I have some calls to make about getting the Khellian battle ready." He stood and walked over to his desk. "Are you free to do dinner this evening?"

"For you? Definitely." She took care of her glass and walked over to Khiy. "Just let me know the time and place."

"My quarters for 1300? I've been meaning to try out a terran dish called Fettuccini."

Miral smiled. "I'll be there." She gently caressed his cheek with her fingers. She'd missed him far more than she thought she would. Tonight, they had a lot to catch up on.

OFF

Khiy Tal'ehrihn
Owner
Trans Galactic Trading

Miral Tal'Aura Annhwi
Romulan Ambassador
Starbase Typhon

RSS Feed