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As Enterprise slipped into the twin-world system that was home to the Romulan Empire, tension was thick throughout the entire ship. The majority of the bridge crew just stared in awe. It was actually quite a beautiful sight and the uniqueness of the twin worlds made it all the more captivating.
Romulus was the larger of the two home worlds and hung in space like an oversized emerald. The only detraction from the beauty was the knowledge of what it represented and those it held captive.
Sulu studied the scene before him then left his command chair to stand behind his chief navigator. "Mister Stiles, have you got a plot for a twin planet orbit?"
The main viewer showed the Romulan home world becoming larger, even as the Enterprise began decelerating to make orbit.
Stiles' eyes never left the main viewer, "Already done, sir. Shall we take her in?"
Smiling, Sulu responded confidently, "Okay Mister, let's go in, slowly." He turned to Uhura, "Nyota; notify Spock, Koord, and Cee."
"Aye, sir," came the simple supply.
"Okay, everyone on your toes," Sulu said. "I want the weapons console manned and ready at all times on red alert. The rest of the ship will now be on full yellow alert."
Pavel nodded in agreement. "Aye, Admiral."
Sulu continued, "Helm and navigation, be ready to go at a moment's notice. Update the departure plot at regular intervals,"
Both Stiles and Leslie responded with an exceptionally crisp, "Aye, sir!"
Moving to the science station, Sulu continued. "Mister Saavik, minimize your activities for the time being. Planetary defenses and other ships might pick up the high energy scans, even though we're cloaked. Continue low energy readings at your discretion."
She replied quietly, "Yes, sir." Then she added, "May I suggest a rapid frequency shift scan, in case we need to take any prolonged or higher energy scans?"
Contemplating the idea momentarily, he spoke, "Okay, but let's save it for an emergency situation. The Romulans still might detect us, regardless."
Looking over at Kyle, who was manning the auxiliary engineering console, Sulu directed a question to his friend. "Kyle, how is the cloaking device holding up?"
Kyle turned and smiled, "Just fine, Admiral. It's one hundred percent, as is the rest of ship's systems."
Sulu looked at Uhura, "Any sign of the transponder signals?"
"Sorry, sir, I'm not picking up anything. Either they're in a heavily shielded area or they're operating at very low levels." She preferred not to believe the third option, that the captives had already been killed.
After a few minutes of silence, Uhura's console chirped and she adjusted the earpiece. Listening for a moment, she acknowledged the signal and turned to Sulu. "Cee's group is ready. They're waiting for you to give the word."
Sucking in a deep breath, Sulu let it out slowly. "No time like the present. Okay, Nyota, give the word and tell them, the best of luck." Then he added quickly, "Have you got your signals straight?"
She gave him a look that said the question bordered on insult.
"Okay, okay!" Sulu backed away, "I'm just double checking on everything. After coming this far, I don't want to leave anything to chance."
Returning to the command chair, the admiral sat down hard. "Now comes the hard part, waiting."
Only a brief period had passed, when a turbolift door opened and DeSalle stepped out, heading straight to Sulu. "Admiral, I just saw them off. All three teams transported successfully and signaled a safe landing."
Sulu simply nodded and sat back in the command chair relaxed, at least for now.
DeSalle then went to Uhura's station, "Nyota, from now on, it's your show." He leaned over her and punched in a patch to Rand in the transporter room. "Now you're linked, whenever a beam-up signal is received, transport will be notified automatically."
"Careful," warned Sulu, "Uhura doesn't like anybody playing with her comm board or questioning her abilities."
The rest of the bridge crew got a chuckle from Sulu's comment.
DeSalle turned bright red and then apologized, "Sorry, I was just --"
"No need to apologize, Vince," Uhura sympathized, "You're just nervous like the rest of us, and trying to be sure everything is just right." Then she added quickly, "But do it again and you'll be in big trouble."
Embarrassed by his faux pas, DeSalle smiled and the bridge crew laughed.
'Good,' Sulu thought to himself. A bit of humor will help ease the tension and pass the time. Nyota was right, the crew was a bit nervious.
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© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
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