Romulan Empire Log | Veiled Shadows Pt 1 | Praetor Arrenhe t'Ahaefvthe

Posted on 241504.18 @ 1:34am by Praetor Arrenhe t'Ahaefvthe

Mission: Reconciliation & Reconstruction [Fleet Plot]
Location: Romulus
Timeline: Current

[Romulus, Praetor’s Estate]

Standing on the second floor balcony overlooking the back gardens Arrenhe’ supported herself against the marble balustrade. A gentle breeze pressed against her robes and brought with it the sweet smells of new blooms. A lone silhouette could be seen meandering down one of the garden pathway’s carrying a tool over his shoulder. Tr’Neurn always seemed to busy himself even during the late night. “Always concerned about his flowers.” She mused aloud as the glowing arc of Remus started to rise above the distant tree line bathing the landscape beneath its amber radiance.
A gentle hum buzzed in her ear as an emerald flare washed over her and the balcony space. The expected arrival momentarily blinded her darkness tuned eyes and she turned away. When the dimness returned she opened her eyes just in time to see the last flew embers flicker away. Turning to meet her arrival the first thing she noticed was not the figure now accompanying her on the balcony but rather the smell in which her guest seemed encased. A burning smell. An acrid mix of plastics and flesh so pungent that it immediately offended her nostrils and pushed away at her person. Narrowing eyes then set on the slim figure whose shoulder length silken raven hair seemed to glow against Remus’ amber’s light. Shiarrael t’Rehu was an excellent General but her subtleness should be the envy of every politician. She could have easily rid herself of the noxious odor before arriving. Had she been a lesser person Arrenhe would have been offended. Instead, however, she could easily read the silent message the EnRiov was imparting. “Your visit to Karaun did not go well?”
“Well?” The voice seemed almost bitter “Karaun is now a desolate land. The Klingons made sure of that when they torched the planet’s farmland along with its cities. The people are lost and feel abandoned. No, they are abandoned. We have abandoned them to an ill future. A fate that many of our planets along the border may share before long. The Klingon attacks have been increasing two fold. Their malignant bloodlust is near insatiable.”
Arrenhe nodded her head slowly while carefully considering the EnRiov’s blunt words. It was no secret that Shiarrael regarded her decision to ignore the Klingon attacks as folly but she also knew the EnRiov understood the reasoning. It was not unfounded. Many times had the Klingons attacked them in the past and lost interest. Arrenhe smiled sharply at the excuses swirling around in her mind. She nodded her head at Shiarrael. In the end the EnRiov had been right. The Klingons were not testing their limits as they had done previously. Instead they were testing our resolve. “How much longer do you think they will continue their charade?”
“Not long. The increasing frequency has been occurring near military facilities. Not larger ones, the Klingons are being coy, they have not attacked anything near our larger fortresses but they are no less strategic. Karaun is near one of our listening posts whose loss would blind us to two hundred light-years of border space.”
Biting her lip for a moment Arrenhe could feel a deep chill seeping into her marrow. She stared at Shiarrael “you think the Klingons are preparing for an invasion?” Would they? Arrenhe could feel her arm begin to quake. Have I been so optimistic that I distracted myself from the truth?
“I don’t know the level of their ambition but it would give them a strong point from which to attack our surrounding space. If it is an invasion they seek they will be in a strong position to take at least four systems without resistance at the onset. I have moved enough forces into the area that we would be able to slow any further inroads. However, it is likely that by the time we could mount enough forces for a legitimate counterattack that they would be so entrenched that our chances of ousting them would be slim.”
Bleak. Horrible bleak. How could I have miss this? It was a terrible oversight. No, it was arrogance. Arrenhe frowned “so here we are. The Klingons taste power and now they levy their swords at us.” She sighed angrily, more so at herself than the Klingons “you want to go through with your plan then?” That plan. So audacious. So perilous. Did they have any choice now? “It looks like we will be welcomed to Earth for the proposed summit. Ambassador Valdore is finalizing the details during a meeting with Sa’vak today. If you are successful the Federation may feel betrayed. They may lose any interest in working with us.”
“It is a risk that we must take. We are on a precipice t’Ahaefvthe.”
The emphasized use of her surname caused Arrenhe to swivel her head away in shame and look towards Remus’ growing form above the tree line. It was nearly spherical now and bathing everything within eyesight in that amber radiance. “Indeed. We are.” She licked her lips which felt suddenly arid “very well. I will agree to your plan and will inform Galae’EnRiov tr’Thrai to begin making preparations. I want you to accompany us. You are very familiar with the Federation and Sa’vak. You met him when you aided Vulcan did you not?”
“Aided Vulcan?” There was a short silence before the EnRiov spoke again “I saved my honor, nothing more. I know very little of the new Federation President. Our meeting was brief and my only impression was that he was a Vulcan.”
Arrenhe smiled easily recognizing the fraudulent sentiment.
“But I will accompany you. Aside from the Klingons the intelligence services have had some concerning reports lately from the Federation. I would like to look into them.”
Nodding her head Arrenhe looked out over her gardens and realized that tr’Neurn was gone. Retiring already? She wondered momentarily before looking at Shiarrael “thank you for your work EnRiov. If your report is complete I would like to get some rest. It is late and my day tomorrow will not be easy.”
“That is all Praetor.” Shiarrael bowed her head and Arrenhe reciprocated the gesture with a brief nod and then clasped the balcony door handle pushing her way back inside. The bright emerald flare returned briefly as she shut the door but this time the curtains filtered away the brilliance. The dimness quickly returned leaving only the light of Remus gently washing over the curtains. Soft shadows played about in her room as she sat down upon her bedsheets. Laying against the pillow she stared at the ceiling as thoughts raced through her mind.

[Earth]

Thousands of light-years away. In damp darkness the shuffling of boot steps could be heard plodding through shallow water. The source of those footsteps stopped in a dimly lit room where a lone grimy lamp hung at the center of a cobblestone ceiling. Around that pale light a set of figures sat on old crates and barrels. One of the figures stirred from a dry perch atop several boxes that resembled some type of crude throne “well?”
“We have word. Kill the Praetor.”

[To be continued]