412 ROMULAN SPACE CONCLUSION

The head of the Tal Shiar, their highest ranked military secret police, broke protocol as she contacted one of their own high ranked plants in the Starfleet government. She only used two intermediary cutouts, which was completely unheard of, and practically gave away their backdoor into Starfleet communications.

Commander Oh, a half-Vulcan half-Romulan pretending to be a full Vulcan, answered the urgent call on his personal terminal at his work desk in the Starfleet Security building. He saw the logged destination and remembered it was one of the cutouts for his secret communications and immediately changed the logs to show it was a contact for discussions with the diplomatic corps. It was a good cover because no one ever checked them.

When the screen lit up with a very worried female face on it, he sighed. “You are very lucky I've changed the logs to hide this communication, Chairwoman Koval.”

“There was no time to handle this normally, Special Officer Oh.” Koval said and sent along a file reference. “Take a look at this and tell me this isn't detrimental to our entire society!”

Oh barely stopped himself from using the human eye roll to convey what he thought of that and opened the relevant file. He started read the report and frowned slightly. “Why is this important?”

“It gives away our entire starship engine designs! Our power matrix! Our most reliant means of propulsion!” Koval exclaimed.

Oh waited for a moment and then chuckled. Actually chuckled, which broke his Vulcan persona. Koval was so shocked by it that she almost leaned back away from her comm display. It took a moment for Oh to calm himself and then he spoke.

“Chairwoman, that report is over 80 years old.” Oh said in a tone that still conveyed his amusement.

“It's also public knowledge!” Koval spat.

“Yes, it is. I made sure of it.” Oh replied.

“WHAT?!?” Koval gasped.

“What better way is there to make everyone forget about such important facts?” Oh asked her. “Once it was disseminated and became well known, it was no longer considered important. It became a nice bit of trivia about the old Romulan Warbird's design that only die-hard history enthusiasts and warp theory engineers that do thought experiments use for a reference.”

Koval stared at the man and didn't know what to say.

“There is no need to be concerned about something like this, Chairwoman. If something happened that only just now brought it to your attention, that alone should reassure you that whatever it was used for, won't impact anything at all, let alone the secrets of the Romulan Empire.” Oh told her.

Koval's face changed to become a thoughtful one.

“In fact, you could ask whomever gave that to you about their interests. If you get them talking, it might gain the empire an information resource it never had before.” Oh added.

Koval raised her eyebrows at him. “Do you believe so?”

“Whomever it is, must have been asking about engine design when they referenced that.” Oh said and saw the realization on the woman's face. “You should send over one or two of your best engine designers to talk to them. I assure you that their insights and way of thinking will be worth the effort.”

Koval nodded and reached for the call disconnect. “It will take some time to find replacements for this method of communication, Oh. Standard codes are to be used when the details reach you in a few weeks.”

“Understood.” Oh said and gave the traditional greeting in Romulan.

Koval smiled and nodded again, then cut the call.

Oh spent a few minutes using his personal authorization to clean his side of the communications connections and then continued his normal daily paperwork. He thought about asking who it was that revealed the file to the Romulans and shrugged. The subject wasn't something he was interested in, so finding out who was responsible wasn't that important to him.

*

After the incident in the Romulan Bird of Prey's engine room, and a programming lesson that the Romulans actually thanked me for, it was time to give a reciprocal tour of Voyager. There was a small argument about who was allowed to come, since I had only brought myself and Chief Engineer Santos for the Romulan tour.

I spoke out and said five was a nice round number and the argument continued, only much more relaxed. I easily noticed the new face approach the chief engineer and knew by the man's thoughts he was a Tal Shiar officer, secretly of course, and was also an actual warp engine designer. I was not surprised when he 'won' one of the five spots.

I was surprised that the chief engineer stepped aside and let his assistant take his spot. He explained that the young woman needed the experience of visiting another ship at some point and this was a good opportunity for her. I accepted that and the seven of us, two Federation officers and five Romulans, went to their transporter room.

I called ahead to warn my people and then we teleported over. Well, they teleported. I stepped over with a glamour that simulated being ripped apart and reassembled. I had long ago changed the computer and transporter logs to cover up that it couldn't teleport me like a normal person.

What followed was an exciting tour that was like corralling a group of horny cats exploring a new room. They wanted to get into everything, just to see what was there, mark it as their own, and move on. It was almost funny, because the female assistant was the worst of the bunch and she practically begged for one of the gel packs that was part of Voyager's integrated systems.

I explained it was untested technology and that was why it was part of Voyager. It was a test bed for all different kinds of technology, including weapons systems, scientific equipment, and even the warp core. She was sad that I wasn't allowed to give her one of the gel packs, because she wanted to play with the computer application aspects the gel enhanced.

Starfleet guards were positioned in key areas, just like they had been on the Romulan ship, and the guests didn't comment about it or noticed, really. They were used to it on their own ship and thought we always did the same on ours.

The tour ended in the engine room, because it had the most inside of it to explore, and we spent several hours showing off and discussing things. Chief Engineer Santos was in her element as she did her best to explain everything that wasn't classified and she talked about her experiments with improving things. It kept the other Romulans occupied as I talked to the Tal Shiar agent about engine design.

The man really knew his stuff and I had a nice engaging conversation with him as we talked about theories, practical applications of those theories, and both warp engine and warp core construction. It was a great time and the man actually enjoyed talking with someone that understood what he was talking about.

If he wasn't an enemy spy trying to milk me for as much information as he could, without giving away that he was doing so, I had the feeling we could have become good friends in time. I mean, I was more than willing on my side of the conversation, it was only his own reluctance to accept the unspoken offer of friendship with a human that was holding him back.

We ended the tour after that and all of the Romulans left the ship happy and with the feeling that they accomplished something. Like the Romulan chief engineer had said, most of them hadn't been inside another race's starship, let lone been given an in-depth tour and were allowed to ask questions about it. After an experience like that, their view of the Federation would change, if only slightly.

Spock came back aboard the ship a short time after that and joined me for dinner. Ambassador Velorum wouldn't be back to the ship for a few days this first time, mostly to set up the proper meetings with everyone, and my first officer and helmsman would stay near him as security. It was their first time experiencing Romulan society firsthand as well, so their time there wasn't going to be wasted.

As Spokc and I ate, we started to share our memories of the day's events and Spock almost laughed at how I shocked the Romulan Chief Engineer with my question. The funniest part was I still didn't have my answer for it and Spock leaned over to give me a quick kiss as an apology. She didn't promise to search for it or to ask about it the next time she went exploring the Romulan High Command's compound.

We finished eating and moved over to the couch to sit and relax as we digested our food and continued to share our experiences. Spock had found out several things she didn't think she would have, if she didn't have such an accommodating guide and no other guards with her. There were always other Romulans about; but, because there were no Voyager officers or security personnel, Spock was given much more access than a normal visitor would have.

We eventually went back to her quarters to go to bed, had another great session dealing with her Pon Farr, and I returned to my quarters to sleep and prepare for the next day. There was nothing planned on my end, so it was just routine procedures and catching up on paperwork that had been put aside while I was busy playing with the Romulans.

As I drifted off to sleep, I expected the next few weeks to be more of the same routine and I could start setting up somewhere for Spock to live on the planet, both officially and unofficially. I would also stock the place's basement from the floor to the rafters with everything she would need for an extended stay. Like gold pressed latinum.

It would only take a quick step back to Deep Space Nine and a visit to Quark's bar, in disguise of course, to grab several different kinds, from slips, to strips, to bars, and to bricks. It was a currency accepted everywhere and Spock would need a lot of it to support her efforts, and she would have it.

*

The next three weeks did pass like a routine stop at any starbase, only without the shore leave. Some crew members were allowed to go to the surface, to public approved areas, and under surveillance. The only one with free reign was Spock, and that was only because of who she was and she always went alone and presented no threat whatsoever.

Spock didn't even carry any equipment or weapons, so she was highly trusted to behave herself. It was only Janeway and Tuvoc that knew Spock didn't have any need or use for any weapons. She was a highly trained hand-to-hand combatant, her eyes and mind were more reliable than any piece of diagnosing equipment, and she had limited telepathy. No one was going to get the drop on her or successfully deceive her.

The approval of her owning a domicile on the plant's surface went through without any problems and was soon filled with as much supplies as it could fit into the secretly constructed underground spaces. She id add a conference room and politely asked for tunnels to certain areas for easy escape and for secret access, if anyone wanted to meet her and didn't want anyone else to know.

On the very last day of the mission, Ambassador Velorum and his aide finally succeeded in completing the negotiations for more favorable trade deals between the Federation of Planets and the Romulan Empire. The key factor that pushed it through? An exclusive and limited exception to the Romulan Ale ban.

For the next two months, their best distilleries would release their oldest and most valuable brand for sale. Because of its age and potency, it was also going to be quite expensive to buy. It was also recommended to be mixed with equal parts distilled water to reduce the alcohol content... and not one person that bought it would do that. Real alcohol aficionados would never ruin the beverage by changing the brewer's efforts like that.

Almost as soon as the deal was done, the announcement was made. By the time the ambassador and his wife was back aboard Voyager and the ship waited for the two Romulan Warbirds to escort it out of Romulan space, the orders for cases of ale had already reached a thousand. Not bottles of it. Full Cases.

Quark from DS9 had ordered ten cases himself and paid extra to have it shipped aboard Voyager, because it wouldn't have to be transported and the ale would be considered 'virgin', which also drove the price up when he sold it inside his bar. He was going to make a lot of credits and gold pressed latinum for it, too.

As a gift, Janeway also bought a crate of it for a certain bartender on the Enterprise. It would give him an excuse to visit the flagship and to meet the crew of one of the main ships recommended for the Array Program. Plus, who didn't want to meet Guinan and Jeanne Picard when they had the chance?

With a fond farewell to Spock, whom had already stopped two secret plans of Selo's, the USS Voyager left the orbit of Romulus with its escort. By the time the ship crossed into the Neutral Zone and left the two Romulan Warbirds behind, the Romulan Ale orders tripled to three thousand. Both the ambassador and the Romulan ambassador that had agreed to the deal, were overjoyed at it working so quickly.

“Take us to warp seven, Lieutenant Stadi.” Captain Janeway ordered. “Let's go home.”

“Aye, captain.” Stadi said and looked relieved as the ship jumped to warp.

*

Selo sat in his office on the surface of Romulus and couldn't understand how his efforts to disrupt the negotiations had failed. Even his assassination attempt hadn't managed to reach the notice of the attendants, let alone scared them into cancelling the talks. How did it not work? Why wasn't it working?

No one but him and his informant knew anything about... damn. His informant must have told someone when he set the shooter up. He sighed at having to have the man killed over something like that; but, a leak was a leak. The only to ensure that a secret stayed a secret between two people, was for one of them to be dead.

Selo sent a message to one of the Tal Shiar operatives he trusted to get the job done. By the end of the day, the leak would be plugged and he could get to work on his next plan. There was a rumor the great houses of the Klingon Empire might be meeting in a few months to discuss renegotiating the Khitomer Accords, which was the peace treaty with the Federation of Planets.

He definitely wanted to put a stop to that. Peace among his enemies was not a good thing, in his eyes. He needed to start sewing discord and distrust as soon as possible and he would call in a few favors and probably would have to promise to marry that shrew's daughter to have a second Warbird at his command.

It would be worth it, even if Selo did have to try and find another assassin and a cutoff contact. The promise of a high payout always made certain expendable resources available and he would take full advantage of it.

For now, he had work to do, some fake compliments to dish out, and a meeting or two to start working on the shrew and her daughter. If there was one thing his father had taught him, even as a slave, you needed to make as many advantages for yourself as you could with whatever you can. The better off you were, the less you had to depend on others.

Selo had embraced that philosophy completely and did everything he could to make the best of his situation. He didn't see his half-human heritage as a deficiency, like everyone that ever berated him for it. No, he saw it as a challenge and as a reminder of what he had overcome to reach the heights he was at right now.

Plus, none of the people that called him down when he was younger were still alive today. He called that a win in his book and now people were too afraid to say anything to him about it, which was exactly how he liked it. Even his mother was proud of him for that.