A New Adventure
Part VIII: The Assault on the Marble Palace
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*We create many wonders,*
*We create many sins.*
*We curse what we don’t know,*
*Ignoring the faults within.*
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Narciso stood on the transporter pad surrounded by Reaver, Marietta, Ric, and Theo. Chrissy was also there, as the assigned medic for their group. Narciso wore an equipment belt, and on it was a holster with a standard Federation type phaser. While not the best with the beam weapon, Narciso was able to stand his ground in the shooting range simulation on the holodeck. He was close to the top in his score, but Reaver was the actual title holder.
Looking through the transporter room, he noticed how the ship had sprung to life due to the situation. Squads upon squads were formed and had begun beaming down to the planet to repel the Romulan invasion force. Each where assigned to their selective coordinates, Narciso’s group was to lead the rescue with the others support. He couldn't help but wonder how crowded the shuttlebays were with the dispatching of personal and equipment.
“Reaver, Talons here.” The Captains voice came through the loud chatter of the others assembling themselves. “The Pallas Helena will be able to provide air support from orbit. You will be the one to call with the coordinates. But remember, we must keep the destruction caused by the Romulans to the minimum. Keep in mind, if we engage it might provoke the Romulan ship to attack us and prevent us from aiding you. Also bear in mind; they are able to fire down to the planet as well.”
“Roger than Captain. We’ll be beaming to the Northern Plaza of the city. The Palace will be just beyond it. Squads have already beamed down and are providing protection to the civilian population and housing areas to the east and south. The Central and Western Districts were the first targeted. Reports from the citizenry confirm that the Romulans were scouring the area looking for something. The Western District housed their industrialization, factories and mass energy supply. It’s been completely wiped out by bombardment from shuttlecraft fighters, scorpion type. We are expecting to encounter power failures, which may detour us. The Romulans are currently holding down in the Central District and the Northern District. Sir, this attack has been previously planned out.”
“Understood, and agreed Number One. Transport to the city when ready.”
“Aye sir.” Reaver moved and placed himself onto the transport pad, joining his group. “Ready? Take us down.” The transporter chief nodded and manipulated the console. The transporter beam activated and engulfed the away team. Within seconds they began to materialize on the planet’s surface. The ship's shields were strong, but to allow the team to transport down they went off for the minimum amount of time needed. Once the team had beamed down, shields were brought back up.
Upon complete re-materialization, the team saw the stone-set plaza they were in for the first time. The plaza was quite large, with a giant fountain in the center that spewed water into a shallow pool kept in place by marble. The statue in the center comprised of many elements, with many orbs at the base and a statue of a humanoid female. Her head had a naturally grown crown, a feature that arose from their temples at adolescence. Hers was adorned with what looked to be real jewels and actual golden chains. Her hands gestured down to the water and her face tilted up so as to look to the sky. Above her were levitating orbs of water that swirled slowly in the air. It seemed to be a religious figure given how lavishly adorned and well-kept it was.
Narciso looked around, swearing that he had seen that statue before. The space they were in was completely clear. But sounds of explosions and banging could be heard in the distance. Narciso looked towards their directions, the north and the southwest. Pillars of smoke could be seen from both areas, rising angrily into the otherwise calm skies.
“We need to get moving. Our people have already started engaging the Romulans at the Palace. The faster we can secure it the better.” Reaver spoke as he began to move with haste. Everyone followed him, even Marietta who was carrying a phaser type assault minigun that she had gotten from storage. They ran further north, following the stone-set road that was lined with waterways and streams, not to mention a flourishing abundance of flora and fauna. They soon reached the gates of the palace, which were blown open and scattered to pieces. The Romulans had to break through the old fashioned way, as a transport jammer prevented teleportation directly into the Palace. Within, the sounds of fighting could be heard, as well as a strange music in the air.
The Palace itself was a sheer white, save for newly made tarnishes from plasma weaponry. It was a gigantic structure and was obviously comprised of many tall towers that spiraled around each other as they ascended their many heights. Various halls connected the towers as well, effectively jointing them.
The group began to move with caution as they headed towards the doors of the Palace. With Marietta taking point and scanning the area with her eyes carefully. As they went up on the doorsteps a group of Romulans appeared from behind the pillars on the entryway. “Halt! This planet is under the jurisdiction of the Romulan Star Empire! You have no purpose being here!”
“The Hell we don’t!” Marietta responded with a shout and by squeezing the trigger of her assault weapon as she moved to the right. Phaser bolts blasted through the Romulan group and managed to put the majority of them on the floor. Reaver took her lead and raised his phaser, directly hitting their squad leader in his chest, dropping him to the floor in a heaped pile. Marietta broke into a run, Cherrosk moved behind her with a phaser rifle. The pair entered the enormous and crystal lined foyer. As the rest of the group caught up, a plasma grenade detonated to their right flank. The plasma fire caught, even on the marble, but thankfully it didn’t hit anyone of the group.
Reaver moved forward, taking in the large space. “This place is even larger than it looks. The Empress better be in the throne room, otherwise we might not be able to even find her.” As Reaver spoke, Narciso and Chrissy brought up the rear flank and looked around for themselves.
“Look!” Chrissy shouted pointing ahead towards a grand staircase. It rose up many floors, splitting to lead to appropriate hallways that traveled deeper inside. A blue carpet of epic length coated the marble stairs. The entire palace looked as though it were cut from a single stone. But what Chrissy pointed towards were people who were running down the stairs, scattered and scared almost to the point that it almost caused Narciso to overload mentally. They ran down the stairs, franticly emerging from the various Hallways. They were chased by Romulans, shouting that they demanded the Pristians reveal their secret weapon. The Pristians only fled, emitting a sound -a melody- that filled the foyer with horror and dread. They ran, their gorgeous free flowing and colorful garments dancing behind them as they moved, tracing their previous steps. However the Romulans had different ideas. The group they encountered at the main entrance were placed not to keep people out, but rather to never let anyone leave. More Romulan squads revealed themselves from hiding and began to fire upon the Pristians who ran, cursing them and calling them cowards. The Pristians fell, one after the other. Each, however, were willing to jump before another to take the shot of the plasma beam: More admirable than any Romulan agent.
“BASTARDS!” Marietta screamed at the top of her lungs as she charged forward and fired a rapid burst of phaser beams from her assault minigun. She rained her anger onto the Romulans who were indiscreetly massacring innocents under the pretense of ‘suspicion of plotting against the Empire’. Her aim was wild, but the wide spray of phaser beams managed to hit every group, even reaching to the higher floors as she raised the angle of her aim. Her weapon overheating, she was forced to retire her assault far earlier than she wanted to. Some Romulans survived her assault, retreating back into the hallways. Everyone could only look at the scene before them. Bodies laid scattered on the grand staircase. The light blue hues of the carpet and bright white marble steps were suddenly stained a ghastly deep crimson. Some even fell from the balconies of the staircase…
The giant space was intimately and horrifyingly silent. The group gathered themselves, Chrissy even scanned for lifesigns on her modified tricorder to search for any survivors in vain, as her results were cold. The group looked backwards, hearing the running of others. A group of four Pristians appeared, panting and out of breath. All were roughly the average height of their species, seven feet and eight inches, not counting the individual crowns each one grew. Narciso and Chrissy ran to them, and they managed to finally catch their breaths. One saw beyond the Federation group and gave out a sudden high pitched wail. The sound was similar to the one heard as the others were running for their lives, only this one was more hostile; angry in its nature. She only stopped when a male put his hand on her shoulder.
“Why are you here? You should be escaping the palace!” Narciso spoke to them hastily.
“We managed to escape from a side passage, but we were trapped in the crossfire of a battle outside. They beamed down from the stars.” A female with long hair responded, obviously distraught. “The Romulans targeted us as we ran. There were thirteen of us when we went outside. Twenty-six of us started to escape together from inside the palace.”
“Do you know where the throne room is?” Narciso questioned.
“Beyond the doors of the second level, keep going and the throne room is there. Please, save the royal family!”
Reaver looked out to see a swarm of Romulans beginning to overtake the front yards of the Palace. He hastily typed into his pad. The response was a sudden rain of phaser fire directly upon the Romulans. The air support hit the coordinates transmitted by Reaver dead on, reducing the Romulan numbers dramatically.
“Go, now!” Narciso cried out, seeing his crewmembers assume position and take out the remaining Romulans outside. “Head to the Eastern District. We’ve set up blockades there. The Romulans won’t be able to reach you. The road there should be set with our people, they’ll protect you.”
The four Pristians looked behind them and then toward Narciso. They bowed their heads and did the hand symbol of their people; a triangle pointing to the ground. Narciso returned the gesture and the group took off running through the courtyard.
He returned his attention to his own group, who had already run through the foyer and were rising up the stairs to the second level, where giant double doors were closed tight. Narciso moved with haste, finally noticing the massive chandeliers hanging down, and the matching candelabras placed throughout. Reaching the steps by Reaver, Narciso was careful to not step on any of the bodies that lay on the stained floors. Cherrosk moved to the doors, and examined them. He pushed and pulled to no avail, they were locked. He reached into his kit and pulled out a very small piece of equipment. He placed it on the middle of the door and ran backwards. “Clear!” he shouted as he pulled a trigger. The door was destroyed by the explosive placed on it. It blew towards the inside, opposite from the away team. When that obstacle now past them, the team ran through the open doors and further through the lengthy hallway decorated with various objects, such as vases and portraits, all of which were very old and likely priceless. The hallway had numerous other doors on the sides leading to various other places within the palace. It was almost mazelike, but for the Pristians, navigating these hallways was simple, as their species thrived on mentally mapping 3D areas and retaining those maps.
The doors at the other end of this hallway were open. The team burst through them and came to a mind-blowingly gargantuan hall. The ceiling was highly decorated and adorn, rising several floors up. The walls on opposite sides of the hall were comprised of support pillars and stained glass windows, some of which had been shattered onto the polished floors. The space resembled a ballroom, and was likely used as such. The team looked beyond, but it was Theo who pointed something out this time. At the other end was a collection of doors, each on different levels that could be reached by another giant staircase, similar to the ones the team passed at the entrance. Theo pointed to yet another group of Pristians being attacked by Romulans. This group, however, did not wear the normal garments of their people. They were clad in a mixture shinning silver and pitch-black ebony armor that had a protecting effect from the Romulan plasma rifles. They retaliated on their attackers, fighting with sift movements and unmatched teamwork. One armored Pristian would deliver a blow that would stun a Romulan and another would deliver the killing blow that was unblocked due to the Romulan being stunned. The away team began to hear the sounds coming from the fighting. It was a mixture of melodies, from high to low ranges in pitch. But it was obvious in its nature: It was a war chant. The Pristians were communicating their attacks, working in tandem via their normal communication. The Romulans, never having bothered to even learn their language, were completely clueless as to the meaning. They were literally saying things such as: “Punching this guy in the collar” and “Destroying this girl’s elbow”. But the lack of understanding on the Romulan side only allowed the increased efficiency of the Pristians.
As Narciso and his team approached, the Pristians had already made short work of the Romulans. Reaching them, the Pristians reflexively took an offensive stance, only broken when Narciso began to speak.
“We are of the Federation. We’ve come to aid the Empress!”
The Pristians stood down from their stances and responded with singing, triumph in nature. “Hail, Federation guardians. We are the Elite Guard of the Empress.” They responded, all of them women.
“Is the Empress safe? Is she inside?”
“Inside, she is. Safe, we know not. We were sent out to aid in the evacuation of the palace. We just returned to retrieve her majesty. We hear Romulans within the throne room.”
As Narciso was about to reply, an explosion shook the hall and overtook the away team. Narciso regained his consciousness shortly afterwards. He was lying on the stairs and tried to stand up, his vision extremely blurred at first. As his sight returned to him, Narciso noticed the rest of the away team and the Pristians stirring and getting back onto their feet. It was when he looked out to the hall that he realized what happened. The Haakona Warbird must have fired onto the palace from orbit. The entire western side of the hall was destroyed and in ruins, rubble from the upper levels spilled down, not allowing a hole leading outside. A scream caught his ears and Narciso looked towards its origin to see a Pristian on the floor with a large piece of stained glass piercing her leg. Chrissy was instantly upon her, seeing that no one else was injured.
“We need to hurry. If they are firing on the palace, then they are growing desperate. Should they give up on finding the ‘weapon’, they might resort to using Thalaron weaponry.” Narciso warned.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t put it behind them.” Cherrosk commented.
“Yeah, so let’s hurry up and kill them.” Marietta said, not letting her hatred from viewing the scene at the foyer die out.
Chrissy grasped the glass within the guard’s leg and pulled. She did so gently, but with increasing strength until it finally came out and then threw the glass to the side. “We need to hurry guys.”
“We shall secure the way out. Please, retrieve our Empress and put her in safety.” The Guards sung as they grasped their ally and began to make their way to the main entrance to keep it clear. Reaver moved to the doors beside Narciso. He placed his hands on it and gave them a solid push. They swung open with ease, despite their enormous size. The away team was blinded at first from the sheer intensity of light that flooded them from within the throne room. As the light passed them and their eyes adjusted, they saw what was inside. The throne room’s floor was filled with crevasses that were filled with flowing water. They small streams took the shape of the symbol of the Pristians. The symbol is comprised of orbs conjoined in a hollow circle. The hollow part of that circle was the flooring on which the Empress’s throne and those of her family were placed on. An interesting part was that the throne seats’ backings rose up high into the air. It looked as though water was falling down, sliding on the backing of each chair. However, before the water reached the people who sat on the seats, it slid to the sides, parted by an unseen force.
The away team moved forward, seeing every member of the Pristian Imperial family on their seats. They were relieved to see the Empress sitting on the largest chair, in the center of them all. Before they could take a step closer, Romulans appeared from behind the seats and each pointed a rifle towards those they hid behind.
“Halt! By order of Empress Sela, this mockery of a royal family is to be killed under the charges of treason and deceit towards the Romulan people.”
“That is quite a charge to be placed on innocents living in your ‘neutral zone’.” The Empress spoke, her voice as beautiful as crystal. “We do not recognize the Romulan Star Empire as our liege lords. We will not be under your command. Leave, Romulan Commander.” She spoken in Perfect Romulan, much to his surprise.
“QUIET! You shall be put to Death for your treason!”
“Death shall not find us on this day. Your attack on us was unwarranted. It is an attack based on fear, the true face of the Romulan Star Empire.” The Empress stood from her throne, her crown was adorned with gold chains and various colored jewels. Her clothes consisted of layered fabrics, of wondrous colors and golden chains layered upon them, most of which were laid upon her hips. Her sleeves were long in length, reaching far past her hands. A regard to how she leads her people with an intelligent mind and not idle hands. The only skin shown on her was her cleavage, her shoulders, her neck, and her face. Her hair was long, reaching down to the floor in enormous waves and curls that spun all around. She laid her eyes on the Romulan Commander. “I have given you chances to retreat. I have given you chances to leave with your lives, as the Progenitor does not wish for my people to kill others. Yet you force my hand. Water is sacred to my people, but now it shall be tainted with your vile blood.” The Empress swung her arm in a flash, and without being seen a sleek blade made its way to the Romulans’ neck and buried itself there.
The Empress stilled herself, as the others realized what happened. Steam began to come off of the Romulan Commander’s body. It increased in consistency as the seconds past and soon he was engulfed by the steam to the point he wasn’t even visible. After a minute had slowly passed, the steam disappeared, but so too did the Romulan Commander. He had literally evaporated into the air. The remaining Romulans were met with the same fate, as they soon burst into large clouds of steam each. “From the sea, return to the sea. The Progenitor’s rites, even for those most vile.” The Empress spoke as she turned and faced the away team. “A special Telekinetic ability passed down through the bloodline of the Progenitor. This was the weapon they so desperately wanted. But alas, we shall not bend our knee to the Romulan Star Empire.” She walked towards the away team, her eyes dead set on Narciso. “Know, child of telepathy, that we shall not bend our knee to the United Federation of Planets, either. We shall stand with you on equal footing, or not at all.” She raised her arms, the long sleeves draping in front of her and the long train of her layered dress trailing to her throne. “Pray, we shall be allies in these hostile times, protecting each other. I know of the horrors the Romulans have done to my people this night. I know of the horrors done to the peoples of your Federation.” She lifted her arms into the air, eyes now looking to the other away team members. “Your presence here affirms my beliefs in our friendship. Let it flow effortlessly and for eternity as the deep rivers of the Feitas.” She lowered her arms, and her family moved by her side. The Emperor and their many children, one of which was recognized as Alphorn. “The music of our palace has left us. It shall only return once we rebuild. With your aid, I know that shall be done with the least amount of eclipsed time.”
Reaver moved forward, giving the sign he saw Narciso give prior. Everyone but the Empress returned the gesture. “Empress, we have come to see you to safety. Federation ships shall be arriving and shall provide any and all aid you need to rebuild and flush out the remaining Romulans that still lurk on your planet. With your permission, we shall take you to our ship in orbit and Sign the treaty there, as the hall within your home, designated in our arrangements, has been destroyed.”
The Empress moved towards Reaver until she stood a few inches away from him. “Those terms are acceptable. You may take me to your vessel immediately.” She turned and faced Narciso as Reaver tapped his combadge and counted the amount of heads that would be transported up to the ship once they left the Palace. “Neves-Heliree. Walk with me child.” She spoke softly as she walked past the away team, going straight through them. Her family followed her, but kept a distance, having heard her wanting to speak with Narciso. One of her children, however, Alphorn, walked just two feet behind her. Narciso hurried, moving his legs a little faster so as to keep up with her pace, which for her was rather slow.
“Your majesty, it is an honor.” Narciso spoke as softly as she did, keeping calm. She seemed to like that.
“The honor is truly yours. Not for being in my presence, but for having the Grandparents that you have. Your Grandmother, Alphorn told me that she was injured. I know you are panicked, but allow me to tell you that she is perfectly fine.”
Narciso smiled at her words. “Yes, thank you. My Grandmother told me of your species considerable ability in telepathy.”
“Hmhm. Yes, through Telepathy is how my species came to be unified. A gift of the Progenitor. You know Neves-Heliree; I am looking forward to signing this treaty with your people.”
“As are we, your majesty. While we have enemies, the dream of the Federation is that all Species can live and thrive together.”
“A Lofty Dream. I shall not see it in my lifetime.” They were all now walking past the rubble of the massive hall. The Empress looked towards the mess, but did not show her sadness. No one died in this incident, and thus there was no reason for sadness. Narciso took note of this, and was going to speak but she spoke before he could, in response to his empathy. “You need not concern yourself with me. I have already seen through your eyes, through Romulan eyes, through my peoples’ eyes their Deaths.” She spoke strictly, but retained her gentle tone. They passed through the lengthy hallway with numerous doors and reached the foyer. They appeared through the door and the Empress took the sight in through her own eyes. She walked forward and then knelled onto the floor. She raised her arms and did a wide sweeping, circular, motion which ended with her hands in the triangle pointing down gesture of her hands. “From the Sea of Ice did the Progenitor emerge, her crown potent. She did journey over the Feitas Mountains until she reached a desert. Filled with power, loneliness and sorrow did the Progenitor birth an oasis with her sacred tears. The Oasis flourished and grew until the desert was no more. She then took the mud and clay, once the dry desert sand, and she did birth a mate in her image. She protected and adored him. In return he gave her the seed of her oasis and she birthed us. The Sea of Ice flows through her veins and so too does it flow through ours. From the sea, we shall return to it. The cycle shall continue…” She arose to her feet and began to walk again, down the steps of the grand staircase. The deceased Pristians began to give off water. It flowed out slowly from their corpses and continued to do so until they had completely turned to water.
The away team was mesmerized by what they saw. When most species decompose, they take a long while to do so, in fact, remains can last centuries. But with the Pristians, upon Death they underwent a chemical reaction that turned their bodies into water. From what the Empress said, had they been a desert species, such an evolutionary accomplishment is probable. But… was there something more at play?
The group finally arrived outside the palace and were greeted by an overwhelming amount of Federation troops. “Yeow, the Calvary really pulled out for this one.” Cherrosk commented.
“A lot of them are photonic, actually.” Chrissy commented pointing to certain groups.
They all saw the Empress and preformed a salute. She bowed her head only, in reply. “I know we have endured much destruction this day. But my choice was correct. May we know Peace through the flow of time.” She spoke out and the response was a cheer.
“Reaver to talons. We’re ready to beam up by her majesty’s wish.”
“Roger that Number One. Good work.”
The group appeared on the transporter pad. The entire royal family, save the Empress was sent out to the hall in which the treaty would be signed. From there, Starfleet will send an Admiral to sign the official doctern with the Empress so as to welcome them to the United Federation of Planets. Narciso had beamed up to the ship with the Empress and she once again asked him to be by her side for a moment. In private she spoke to him, her gentle voice having a happy tone to it. “Your family has served my people well. Neves-Heliree… My son, Alphorn; I would be pleased to have him wed to you.”
Narciso was immediately stunned and couldn’t breathe. He took a moment to recompose himself before he was able to respond. “You majesty that is an extreme honor, but…”
“You may think on it. I know he is very fond of you.” With that said the Empress walked out of the transporter room, leaving a dazed Narciso with something extremely difficult to think about…
~To be Continued~
