Author's Note: Thank you! You all are so lovely, and your kind words of support mean the world to me.
This chapter is part two of a double drop.
If you did not read Chapter 114 first – I strongly recommend you go back!
This is the final chapter of the Enterprise-C storyline (for now). There is a short epilogue that follows.
This conclusion doesn't tie up all of the loose ends. Like Richard's ribbon, the details of that incident have become frayed. But threads remain in the memories of those connected to the event – threads that will unravel in later stories.
In the meantime, there is still the matter of the Romulan conspiracy.
Trigger warning: Strong language, violence, injury, death, big honkin' space guns. There's a tiny bit of sexual content at the end.
-X-
Love is lovelier the second time around.
- Sammy Cahn
-X-
Admiral Jarok stood in front of the viewscreen on the Bridge of his ship.
Jarok was normally Morak's shadow. He went where the General went. But with all the preparations needed for the Emperor's arrival, Jarok had remained at Ekloire to oversee the work.
The base was on alert ever since word of the situation at Lantera and the arrival of Starfleet.
In accordance with Commander Sela's orders, Jarok was under orders to mount an offensive - but only with the full force of the remaining Ekloire fleet.
And that took time.
There were departure protocols, quarantines, and resupply checklists.
It was an arduous process to mobilise so many troops – though there was nothing to indicate Sela's forces were in any danger.
Long lines stretched from the departure checkpoints.
Overhead, the computerised announcement system directed fresh troops where to go as they took up their positions in the ships and on Snakehead attack fighters in the shuttlebays.
In a way, Jarok was grateful for this incident. It provided an opportunity to field test this division before they launched the next phase of their plan against the Federation.
Jarok had strong reservations about readiness.
Morak was a brilliant commander, though he had a tendency to be rash – especially when cornered.
The bulk of their force had minimal training. The conventional school of Romulan military thought considered these troops disposable.
Many of the senior officers were aristocrats – distant cousins, the nieces and nephews of prominent senators, or the children of allies that wanted a favour.
The fleet was rife with nepotism.
A select few were the most well-educated and brilliant young minds in the Empire.
Jarok counted Sela among them.
But most were there by the virtue of their names only. They lacked the discipline and temperament necessary for command.
Men like Jarok were few. It was his great burden to navigate what was best for the Empire through the metaphorical cesspool of politicking and familial factionalism.
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The Complication
Fanfiction"Am I the 'complication'?" Data asked. Following the events on Ligon II, Data struggles to reconcile the discrepancies between Tasha's verbal and nonverbal communication. Furthermore, his attempts to better understand what's happening lead to him fr...
