Back to the Border

Posted on Mon Aug 16th, 2010 @ 9:06am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Earlond & Commander Christopher McNeil & Commander Fala Awen & Lieutenant John Forest & Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: Main Bridge, USS Pandora
Timeline: Day 17, 1420

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Pandora, Day 17, 1420]]

Ensign Johnson (NPC) looked around the bridge. It had been an interesting few days and he was ready to be out of Romulan space at long last. He glanced at the navigational sensors and made a slight adjustment in the Pandora's course to compensate for gravitational fluctuations. After convincing himself that he wouldn't inadvertently fly the ship into a star, he leaned back slightly in the chair and looked around the bridge to see what everyone else was doing.

Awen's eyes moved slowly across the bridge as she wondered what everyone was thinking about their current situation. Really, she wasn't all that surprised about the D'Kar being loyal to the Romulan Imperial State, especially considering where the ship had led them. Still, the whole situation was unsettling. They didn't have any true answers. The Bajoran, tired of the silence, finally asked to no one in particular, "Do you think they actually will invite us back at some point?"

"No way to know for sure," McNeil commented. "Romulans are hard to figure out. They'll only do things that are in their interest, but what their interest is at any given time can be tricky to determine."

Given the mood on the bridge, both in what was spoken and what had been left unspoken by the officers surrounding her, Mali was curious. "Even if they invite us back," which she agreed that it would be unlikely, "would we want to accept?"

"We might be leery, considering what just happened, but I would think that StarFleet would take the opportunity if it presented itself again," Awen commented. "It might not be the Pandora next time, if there is a next time, but StarFleet wouldn't refuse an invitation."

Iluvar listened as others on the bridge spoke aloud the thoughts and musings that had been on their minds. He knew that this incident, if that was what it was going to be referred to, would not only have an effect on the relations between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, but it would also affect the relationship between the Federation and the Romulan Imperial State. Whether either of those changes would be for good or for ill, he could not say for certain. One thing was certain...their brief visit to Romulan space had given them a stark image of just how tense the situation amongst the Romulan factions had become.

Like Iluvar, Earlond remained silent for the time being. While he distrusted the Romulans on principle, he also understood the need for a cooperative relationship with them; he knew what had happened would certainly not bring those involved closer together, despite the Admiral's attempts to ease tensions. Earlond turned his thoughts to the colony, musing about what would happen to it.

When nobody responded to what she had said, Awen gave a slight shrug. It didn't entirely matter to her right now anyway - it was unlikely that the Pandora would be sent back anytime soon, if at all, as she'd noted. She had to admit to being a little curious about the colonists, but the Bajoran also recognized that not everyone could be saved.

Seeing that the conversation was not going very far, Iluvar did not think that it would do any harm for him to interject. "There will be a next time," Iluvar said with certainty, "and I have no doubt that Starfleet will accept. It is in our nature and it is in the best interests of the relationship between our two peoples."

"Everything that occurs in the universe has to start somewhere, right?" Malia nodded in agreement with the captain.

"Perhaps next time will go better than this time did," Awen said. Probably the only way this time could have gone worse would have been if there had been an actual firefight. "Next time I imagine StarFleet will be sure to find out more details about the Romulan escort..."

The Bajoran's statement actually gave Malia a sense of satisfaction in their current state, even though it wasn't the optimal one. At least their little endeavor had served some purpose.

McNeil nodded emphatically. "They will indeed. I would expect that the Romulans will be very specific about what warbird will be meeting the next ship that's invited into their territory for a tour. There is one definite benefit to this situation, though... We saw a colony world that they probably didn't want us to see... and that gives us some insight into the nature of life on the outskirts of the Empire as compared to Romulus."

Awen wasn't as convinced that seeing the colony was a benefit. In a way, it might be for the Federation, but the question was what would the Romulan Empire do now that they had seen it? It was already in fairly bad shape. Would they try to help it or destroy it? She didn't want to burden the entire bridge crew with the thought though, and therefore remained silent.

"Time to Federation space," Iluvar asked of the young man seated at the helm. To inquire too often would have only caused greater strain on the collective nerves of the bridge officers, but Iluvar also felt that a time check might help to focus them on their immediate goal.

Ensign Johnson consulted the readouts on his console for the answer to the admiral's inquiry. "Four hours, twenty minutes, sir," the young man replied over his shoulder. He knew it was going to feel a lot longer than that by the time they got back to Federation space.

"Maintain course and speed," Iluvar said, settling back into his chair. They didn't want to give their Romulan friends any more reason to be suspicious. In fact, at this point, it was probably best to continue complying with the requests of the Seras.

OFF

A JP by:

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Earlond
Executive Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Christopher McNeil
Chief Intelligence Officer/Mission Advisor
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Pandora

and

Ensign Johnson (NPC)
Flight Control Officer
USS Pandora
Played by: Lt Forest