Disclaimer:

This story is based in the "Star Trek" universe. The use of anything related to "Star Trek" in this series is not intended to infringe upon the rights of Paramount Pictures. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.

All other content or otherwise are works of my own imagination. All events are fictitious in nature.

Any similarities to persons living, dead, or otherwise are purely coincidental.

This story contains strong themes of homosexual content, if this offends you in any way, please refrain from reading further. If you are not of legal age to read this, please leave now.

A/N: I'd like to thank TalonRider for editing this chapter. His unparalleled brilliance and tiresome effort applied to my work is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

A Vulcan’s Love
-By Emulated

Chapter 19: Countdown

Earth, San Francisco – 21 days until Federation/Romulan meeting

"Vulcan?" Repeated Becker, "No surprises there."

Ive nodded, "Indeed." He said, as he took his seat, "It was the most likely choice, given the occasion."

Becker looked down at his PADD and studied it for a moment, "Our defence plan was very similar for all three candidate planets, but we can now further refine it for Vulcan."

"Good." He said, turning to Becker, “I would also like you to inform Vulcan Planetary Defence about the decision. Be sure to keep them apprised of the defence plan, so they can adapt accordingly.”

Becker nodded as he took it down onto his PADD, “Do we know the exact location of the meeting?”

“Yes, it will take place in the city of ShiKahr, near to the Federation Embassy.”

"But not in the Embassy?" Inquired Becker.

“No. The security risk would be too high. The meeting will instead be hosted at the Museum of Astronomy.”

“A museum?”

“Yes.” He replied simply, “The museum will provide all the necessary facilities needed by either party. From a security standpoint, the building is relatively secluded from the rest of the city. It will make our lives easier too.”

Becker looked at him, “Politicians thinking about us for a change, who would have thought?”

“Indeed.” Replied Ive as he sat forward, “Regardless, there are many preparations that need to be made.”

Becker nodded, “I’ll take care of them immediately. Would you like me to assemble a meeting with the department heads?”

“Yes. Have them in the situation room in twenty minutes.”

‘Twenty minutes, as always.’ Thought Becker to himself as he sent the memo to the necessary people, “It’s done. I’ll go and make the necessary arrangements.”

“Good. I will be along in a moment.”

“Of course, Sir.” Replied Becker, as he walked over to the door.

*

I leaned closer and pressed my lips against his, as I reached out and drew him closer. I leaned my head to the side, deepening the kiss. I felt him exhale across my cheek gently, causing me to do the same. I moaned softly into his mouth, as he twirled my hair with his fingers. After a few seconds of tasting T’Luk, I pulled back, grinning at him.

“I love you so much.” I whispered.

He leaned forward and kissed me lightly, “I love you too.”

I smiled at him for a while longer, before I tugged lightly at his arm, “Come on.”

He looked at me, “Where are we going?”

“To your bed.” I replied.

“Ok.” He said, following me over to the bedroom.

Now while T’Luk didn’t know it yet, I actually had something of an evening planned for him. It wasn’t anything big, but I wanted to surprise him; in his own quarters no less.

I walked into the bedroom and turned to him, “I need you to lay face down on your bed in your underwear.” I said quickly before I added a simple, “Please.”

He regarded me curiously.

I smiled at him, “I want to surprise you.” I nodded to the bed, “No, go get ready, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He stared at me for a moment before he began to strip.

I grinned at him, turned and headed out of the room toward the replicator. I walked over to the small cove and tapped on the display, cycling through the different menus. I heard T’Luk climb onto the bed in the other room, causing my hardness to throb painfully, but I tried to will myself to calm down. It wasn’t time for…that type of fun just yet.

I finally found the item that I was looking for and replicated it. Once done, I picked up the warm dish and walked back into his bedroom. But as I turned the corner, I stopped walking and stood there, staring at his nearly nude form on the bed. My eyes worked their way from his cute feet, up his sleek and slender legs, over, before finally setting on his boxer-covered ass. He was so hot.

After a few seconds, T’Luk looked over his shoulder at me, “Is everything ok, Kai?”

I looked up at his face, “Erm, yeah.” I said before I took a step forward, placing the dish of oil on his bedside table as I stripped down to my boxers too. Once I rearranged myself, I climbed onto the bed, retrieving the dish.

T’Luk looked at the thick liquid. He must have known what I was going to do now.

“Don’t worry, this oil is friendly for both of us.” I said, as I scooped up a generous amount between my palms, warming it.

T’Luk nodded his head against the pillow and lay there silently.

I climbed over him and straddled his body, sitting on top of his bottom, “Am I squashing you?”

“No, you are not heavy.”

I smiled, “Good.” I replied, as I reached out and began to spread the oil over his shoulder and the top of his back. I made sure to use just enough to make his skin slick, but not too much to make my fingers slip everywhere.

I just loved the feel of his smooth skin against my oily fingers. It was just the way that the oil would let me glide all over his tanned back with ease. While I looked at Vulcan anatomy in school, I never really paid that much attention. Suffice it to say the differences weren’t great, but under my fingers, I could distinctly tell that he wasn’t Human. For one, his shoulder blades seemed to be more streamlined, almost feminine in nature. His ribcage was also different, as the bones were somewhat thinner than my own, this also allowed for more of them to fit in the same area, so by running my fingers down his back, there was quite a ‘ribbed’ feel.

“Is this ok?”

“Yes.” He replied, his voice quiet and gentle. Clearly he was enjoying the sensations and feeling which accompanied my touch.

I delicately ran my fingertips down the length of his back, over his spine. My hardness was jerking madly at the sight of his moist, tanned back. But I ignored it and concentrated on giving him the massage.

“Mmm, you look good enough to eat, T’Luk.” I remarked, looking at his tanned, glistening back.

He lifted up slightly and stared over his shoulder at me.

I giggled, “Not that I’d eat you, I’m not a cannibal.” I replied, pressing down on his back and making him lay down again, “Well, technically I wouldn’t be eating a Human…”

“There are still laws that forbid that.” He replied softly, seemingly playing along with my humour.

“Hmm, you’re right. Guess I’m not eating you then.” I said before I leaned close to his exposed ear, “But I can’t guarantee I won’t eat these beauties.” I said, before I gently nibbled on his ear. “Mmm…They taste good too.” I said softly, as I kissed the delicate points.

I heard him exhale lightly beneath me, causing me to smile.

I nibbled his ear again before I traced its smooth edge with my tongue. God I can’t tell you how much I LOVE those ears! I’m telling you, they were one of the hottest parts of a Vulcan! I tilted my head and kissed the side of his face, before I resumed my massage to his back, moving up to his shoulders. I squeezed them gently, using my thumb to softly knead his muscles below. I slowly worked my fingers towards his neck, being careful not to press too hard. I performed little circles with my thumbs, tracing them over the top of his spine, before I worked them lower across his back and to the top of his boxers. I stared at his sexy bottom, but decided to come back to that later.

I climbed off him and sat in between his legs. I collected some more oil on my hands and returned my fingers to his thigh. I revelled at the feel of his strong, lean, Vulcan muscles below my touch. Even with all that strength, his legs were surprisingly sleek and didn’t look overtly muscular. He was sexy in every way. Once I finished on his leg, I worked down onto his feet. I stared at them for a moment before I thought I’d try something. I reached out with my finger and lightly ran the tip across his smooth sole, trying to elicit a…well, I couldn’t get him to laugh, but I wanted to see if he’d react at all.

He didn’t react.

I did it again, lighter this time, but he still didn’t move.

“Are you consciously suppressing my touch?” I asked.

He looked back at me, “No. It is subconscious.”

I nodded, “Ok.” I replied, as I went back to massaging his feet, ‘Oh well, so much for ‘tickling’ my Vulcan then.’ I thought to myself.

After spending a few more minutes on his other leg, I finally reached his boxers.

“Baby, can you turn over for me?” I asked.

T’Luk effortlessly flipped onto his back, revealing quite a large bulge in his boxers.

I crawled up the bed, running my hand up his leg. I purposely avoided his underwear, saving it for later. Once again I swung one leg over T’Luk and straddled his waist, being careful not to squash his erection beneath me. I oiled my hands and went to work on his smooth chest. It was so much better than massaging his back, as I could see his beautiful face. And while he couldn’t pull any expressions, I could still tell that he was content and was enjoying what I was doing to him. I slid my hands over his Pecs, focusing on his already hard nipples. I felt him shift under me slightly, causing me to smile. I lowered my hands and drew circles around his navel, swiping the oil across his smooth skin. I glanced up at his face, his eyes were closed so I leaned forwards and placed a kiss on his lips. I pulled back and watched as his eyelids flutter open. He stared at me for a few seconds, before he reached out and brushed my hair away from my face. I stared into his piercing gaze for a few more seconds before I couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed him. I needed him badly.

I rolled off his chest and lay next to him. I placed one hand on his chest as I leaned forward and kissed him softly. He reached out and pulled me closer, parting his lips slightly before he hesitantly swiped his moist tongue across my lips. I opened my mouth, allowing him inside. I exhaled again as our tongues battled it out. His skin felt so hot under my skin. I let my spare hand glide over his smooth chest and down to his navel. He humped his hips against me as I came into contact with his covered erection. His underwear had to go!

I pulled back, causing a smacking sound to be echoed through the room. I quickly fiddled the waistband of his boxers before he lifted his hips, letting me slide them off his legs. I rolled onto my back and kicked off my own, seconds before I climbed on top of his body again. Our kissing quickly became frenzied, and our hands seemed to be everywhere! I slowly humped against him, rubbing our hardons together. I needed to cum so badly. I needed to be released!

T’Luk kneaded my ass gently, pulling me closer. I flicked my tongue against his again, but suddenly humped against him. His fingers found my hole.

“Mmm...” I moaned, “Yeah.” I arched my back slightly, pushing my ass towards his hand.

He traced a finger around my hole, teasing me. T’Luk pulled back for a second, “Lay on your stomach, Kai.”

I climbed off his chest and lay on my stomach, parting my legs slightly. I felt T’Luk shift around on the bed for a few seconds before I felt a slight pressure against my hole.

“Relax.”

I loosened my muscles, allowing his oiled finger to slide into me with little effort. He twisted it about, loosening me some, and then lubed up another finger, repeating the procedure. While I hadn’t had anything ‘inside me’ since T’Luk and I first made love, I seemed to be somewhat looser back there. Perhaps it was because I was calmer now, more horned up, ready for what was going to happen. I didn’t care. I just needed to be freed from my aching erection.

After several minutes of his ministrations, I couldn’t take the pressure anymore, “T’Luk…god…” I looked back at him, “I need you. Now.”

He stopped moving and looked at me, he waited for a few seconds before he nodded and grabbed the oil, “Turn over.” He said, as he nudged my legs apart.

I flipped onto my back and saw him kneeling between my legs. My erection throbbed painfully in anticipation of what was going to happen. I watched as he oiled up his cock before he aligned it next to my hole. He inched forward and placed the tip against me. My cock jerked again as I looked up into his face. I reached out and pulled his head closer to mine. I kissed him softly, relaxing myself.

“I’m ready, baby.”

And for the second time in my life, a man entered me. And both of those times were shared with T’Luk.

I stared into his eyes as he pushed inside. It still hurt a bit, like the first time, but I felt a lot calmer this time. T’Luk moved slowly and took his time, not wanting to cause me any excess pain. My erection was still jerking madly, leaking precum over my navel.

“You ok?” Asked T’Luk.

I lifted my head from the pillow and glanced down at our joined bodies. A warm rush flooded through me upon finding that he was inside me all the way. We were together.

I exhaled, revelling in the sensation, “…Yeah…” I looked back up at his face, inches away from me, “T’Luk...” I moaned. Wanting him. Needing him.

He didn’t hesitate. He slowly pulled out a bit, before he pushed back in, hitting my prostate. My body trembled. I wasn’t going to last long. T’Luk found a steady rhythm and expertly made love to me. He felt incredible. He knew exactly where to aim and how hard to push. I could feel every millimetre of him as he massaged my soul, bringing me to new heights of euphoria.

“…T’Luk…” I moaned again, as I clawed at his oily back. His tongue found mine, letting me taste him again. My body was on FIRE! Every nerve ending was screaming out to me! I was sooo close! I could see it coming. He adjusted his angle, pumping me harder, faster…pushing me towards the peak. I could feel it…I could feel it…

Our muscles tightened, causing time to freeze for a moment, holding us on that wave of ecstasy, of pure bliss.

“UNGHHH!!” I moaned loudly, as the force of my orgasm hit me. I wasn’t in control anymore. My body squirmed under T’Luk as I unloaded onto my chest. My cock felt like it was going explode! I lost count of how much I came, but before I could begin to recover; T’Luk’s orgasm began. He pressed deeper inside me, as his cock became impossibly hard. He held still for a split second before he began to spray his load. I could feel his cum as it filled me up, adding to the pressure inside me. He rocked his hips gently as he came, riding it out. I was still trembling, my heart racing madly in my chest as sweat coated my entire body.

After he finished shooting inside me, he lowered his body on top of mine, pressing me against the sheets. We laid together for a few minutes as we both came down from our highs. Never in my life had I ever came so hard before. T’Luk brought me to that stage, that level of excitement and contentment. I leaned my head to the side and kissed him gently. He lifted himself up and rolled off me, pulling himself out of me. Leaving me feeling quite empty. It was an odd sensation to get used to. T’Luk reached down and squeezed my hand.

“I love you, Kai.”

I turned my head and looked across at him, “I love you too, baby.” I replied, smiling.

He glanced at my wet chest, before he slid out of bed and grabbed some towels so we could clean up. Once again, T’Luk cleaned me ‘back there’, and checked to make sure that I was alright. I told him that I was fine, but I’m sure that he was just checking to be sure that he didn’t hurt me. As soon as we were clean, and had recycled the towels, we returned to T’Luk’s bed. T’Luk crawled in first, facing towards me. I followed him, but turned around, facing away so I could press my back up against him. I loved having him hold me from behind. It always made me feel secure, not to mention how nice and cosy it was being in his arms.

“Computer, Lights.” I called out, shutting off the lighting. I turned and faced T’Luk, kissing him lightly, “Goodnight, babes.”

“Goodnight, Kai.” He replied, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

*

One week later- 14 days until Federation/Romulan meeting

“Kai Taylor personal log, supplemental. We’ve been searching for the terrorist warbirds for almost the past three weeks, and I have to say: it’s getting really annoying. Don’t get me wrong, I know the danger that they pose…” I paused, “…Hell, I’ve witnessed the danger first hand, on two different occasions.” I paused again, “I also know that defence is part of Starfleet, but few of us signed up to fight. I certainly didn’t. Actually, for the first time in almost, well, since I mapped the Bassen Rift, I’ve had a chance to do my job as an Astrophycist. Our current course has taken us to within three light-years of the Briar Patch, an area of space that has captured the minds of many scientists. Ensign T’Luk and myself included.” I smiled to myself, “Speaking of Ensign T’Luk, I don’t think I’ve made one personal log without mentioning that partner of mine since he came aboard. And even though we’ve been together for over two months, I still feel giddy whenever I see him.” I smiled again, “So thank you Starfleet, for putting Ensign T’Luk and myself on the same ship. I owe you guys a lot, and then some. End of log.”

I stretched out on the sofa and yawned, “Computer, what is the location of Ensign T’Luk?”

“Ensign T’Luk is in Astrometrics.” Replied the voice.

“What, already?” I said, sitting up, “Computer, what is the time?”

“The time is 07:42 hours.”

‘Why is he at work? We don’t start until nine!’ I thought to myself as I tapped my combadge, “Ensign Taylor to Ensign T’Luk.”

“T’Luk here. Good morning, Kai. Sleep well?” Came his voice through the comm.

“Erm yes I did, why are you at work?” I asked.

“I am currently analysing the data mapped from the Briar Patch.”

I frowned, wondering what was going on, “But we don’t start work for over an hour. Surely it’s illogical to begin before our shift.”

He paused for a moment, “Indeed it is.”

I stood up, confused with the situation, “Ok I’m coming do-“ I said, before the doorbell rang. “Hold on a second T’Luk.” I said as I walked over to the door, “Someone’s at the-“ I said, before the door slid open, presenting me with T’Luk standing there, carrying a covered tray. I looked at him for a moment, “W…What?”

He looked at me, “I placed my combadge in Astrometrics. I wanted to surprise you.”

I stepped aside and allowed him to enter, letting the door close behind him, “Surprise me?”

“Indeed.” He replied as he carried the tray over to the table, “You often ask the computer for my location, so I decided to…deceive you.”

I glanced at the tricorder in his spare hand, seemingly he was talking to me using that, “But I don’t understand.” I said, walking towards him, “Why did you want to surprise me?”

He lifted the cover off the tray, “I made us breakfast. There are some things here which I have not made for you before.”

I stared at the tray, two identical plates full with an assortment of various Vulcan breakfast dishes lay on it’s surface, each of them looking very appetising. The penny dropped inside my head, everything made sense at that moment. I smiled to myself, glancing up at T’Luk, “Aww babes, you didn’t have to do that.”

He nodded, “Yes, I did.” He walked over to the replicator, “Now, please take a seat, before the food becomes cold.”

I grinned at him, “Ok.” I replied, as I sat down.

T’Luk replicated us the necessary cutlery, along with a variety of Vulcan tea; my favourite variety. He then walked back over and handed me one of the plates.

“Thank you, babes.” I replied as I took it from him.

“You are most welcome.” He said, as he took a seat opposite me.

I looked down at the plate, everything looked, and smelled delicious. I couldn’t wait to tuck in.

“As Alex would say,” Began T’Luk, picking up a fork, “Bon appétit.”

*

San Francisco, Earth

“…And finally, at approximately 14:33 hours, the Romulan delegation will arrive inside the museum, where Starfleet will hand security over to the Vulcan Security Force.” Said Becker, as he read from his PADD.

Ive thought for a moment, “Is is absolutely necessary for them to arrive at such a lively hour?”

Becker nodded, “Unfortunately, yes. The Federation representatives wish them to see Vulcan at it’s best. In the day once they arrive.”

Ive was silent again, “Ok.” He said simply, indicating that he couldn’t understand the logic of their decision, but that he’d work with it nonetheless.

“I must also mention, Sir, that the President has safely arrived at Andoria. Starfleet Security has seen that she’s settled in and report the arrival as a success.”

“Good. Is Starfleet Security prepared to take her to Vulcan in time for the diplomatic meeting?”

“Yes. She will remain at Andoria until the day before the meeting.” Replied Becker.

Ive nodded, “Very well.” He looked at his console, “Still no reports about the warbirds.” He commented.

“No, Sir. Given the areas which we have scanned, it is likely that they are at quite a distance away from the inner most planets.” He said.

Ive nodded again, “Regardless of their location, as long as they are within the Federation, we will find them.” He looked at Becker, “It’s not a question of ‘if’, it’s a question of ‘when’.”

*

USS Titan

Laura shoved Casey’s arm, “HE has never brought breakfast to me before.”

Casey looked at her, “Yes I have, all the time.”

“When?” She retorted.

“This morning, that’s when.” He said.

She shoved him again, “You carried it from MY replicator. That’s hardly cooking it, carrying it though the ship, and having it ready on a plate!”

He leaned closer to her, “Well it WAS ready on a plate.” He said, before giggling.

I giggled too, and leaned across the table, “You didn’t get a very good deal with that one.” I said, pointing at Casey.

“Hmm. I’m thinking about a refund.” She said, before Casey looked at her, giving her puppy eyes.

We all got a laugh out of that one. The time had just passed 13:46, lunch time for most of our group, well, except for Alex and Trey who were busy flying the ship or doing command stuff. But the rest of us were in the mess, having some lunch before we were interrupted by a call from my combadge.

“Commander Jones to Ensign Taylor.” Came Comm. Jones’ voice through my combadge. I tapped it.

“Taylor here, what is the problem, Commander?”

“I’m on the bridge at the moment and we’ve been getting some sporadic readings from the anti-cloak generator. I’ve alerted main engineering to the issue, but I was wondering if you’d like to take a look, seeing as you’re quite familiar with its operation.” She said.

“Sure, I’ll go down and take a look.” I said.

“Good…” She began trailing off for a moment, “It seems the problem is with the primary computer core, for some unknown reason, that latest update has been causing problems.”

“Ok, I’ll go down to the computer core and take a look.”

“Thank you, Ensign. If you need any assistance, give me a call.”

“Sure thing, Commander. Taylor out.” I said, closing the channel. I looked across at the others, “That bloody generator!” I remarked.

Casey shook his head, “Those terrorists had the right idea when they blew it up the first time. That thing’s been nothing but hassle.”

H’Jan looked at him, “That thing is working fine. It could be a slight problem with its interface with the computer.” He turned to me, “I’ll go with you, in case there’s anything I can do.”

I stood up and looked at the others, “I’ll see you guys later.” I said, before looking down at T’Luk, “You coming?”

He nodded and stood up, “Goodbye, Casey, Laura.”

“See you guys. Bye.” They said, as we filed out of the mess, heading towards the turbolifts.

“You ever been to the computer core?” Asked H’Jan.

I nodded, “Once, when I first came aboard. The thing is huge!” I replied.

“Yeah, it is. What about you T’Luk?” He asked, looking at him.

“Yes, I have also seen it.” He replied as we stepped inside the lift.

I turned to him, “What do you think? I bet it puts the one on the Nova to shame.”

He nodded, “Indeed it is large.”

“And powerful. The most powerful mobile computer in the Federation.” Added H’Jan.

I looked at him for a moment. I wanted to make a comment about my mum’s work on the Destiny project, but then I realised that H’Jan didn’t have clearance. I smiled to myself, I bet he’d have a field day going over those schematics.

The turbolift came to a stop and we stepped out. T’Luk and I followed H’Jan as he walked towards the computer core. Fortunately the turbolift stopped us really close, so we didn’t have that far to go, and after stepping through some large double doors, we were standing in front of the beast itself. The room which housed the core was octagonal in shape and spanned through four decks; the height of the core itself. The room’s design was quite similar to that of deflector control as the core, while in the centre of the large room, was behind a curved class wall, which also spanned up the four decks, and worked to separate the core from the rest of the room. Again, like deflector control, there were small, open lifts which went up and down the sides of the core, allowing the technicians access to it’s various systems.

“We can access the code from here.” Called out H’Jan as he stood next to a console.

We walked over to him, as I took the time to see how many people were on duty. I counted sixteen crewmen, along with a Lieutenant who seemed to take an interest into us crowding around the console.

She smiled at us as she walked over, “Let me guess, you’re here about the generator?”

I nodded, “Yes, we’ve been experiencing some interface difficulties between the unit and the core.”

She nodded, “I believe I found the problem.” She said, as she tapped on the console, bringing up several lines of code.

“Care to translate for us, H’Jan?” I asked. While I understood anything the computer told me when it was about astrophysics, I had little to no knowledge when it came to the pure code of the computer core.

He stared at it for a second before he smiled at the Lieutenant, “I see the problem too.”

T’Luk turned to me, “Parts of this instruction set is in Romulan, therefore the computer core has been treating it as an offensive system.”

I looked at him, surprised, “You can read that?”

He nodded, “I studied advanced computing at the Academy.”

“Oh.” I said, making a mental note to check later and see what other ‘hidden talents’ the Vulcan had that I wasn’t aware about. I looked at them, “Why would the code be in Romulan?”

H’Jan looked at me, “It is likely that the Starfleet engineers which built the device used some data from the Romulans. Seemingly they forgot to remove it once they were done.”

“So what do we do? Re-write them in English?”

He nodded, “We could, but that would likely take a long time.” He looked at the Lieutenant, “I think that we should contact the staff at R&D, see if they have the ‘translation’.”

She smiled, “I’m already on it.” She replied, as she checked through her received messages, “They’ve replied…yep they’ve also sent us an upload containing a fix. It’s a new update.”

“Another update? Why didn’t they tell us?” I asked.

“They wasn’t aware of the problem until I sent them the message ten minutes ago.”

I looked at her, “They came up with a fix in ten minutes?”

She nodded, “Yep, but remember that those people at R&D practically dream this stuff. They can do it in their sleep.”

I looked at T’Luk, “And people call our work boring, at least it’s not all ones and zeroes!”

“Indeed.”

I turned to H’Jan, “Can you upload the file from here, or do we need to do what we done last time?”

The Lieutenant shook her head, “The update has just finished been installed. Everything’s back to normal.”

I nodded. ‘Well that was a perfectly good waste of ten minutes.’ I thought to myself. “So what caused this problem anyway? The unit has been working fine for the last few weeks.”

“It could just be one of those things.” Said the Lieutenant as she tapped on the console, “Actually, the generator started to get some interference.”

“Interference?” I asked as I thought for a moment, “The Briar Patch, maybe?”

She tapped through the menus, “Yes.” She paused, “The generator seems to be working fine now, it seems that it wanted to increase it’s power output, to cut through the interference. That’s when it cut out.”

I walked over to another console and logged onto my work area, accessing the generator’s output. I looked at the analysis. They seemed to match what the Lieutenant was saying. I checked to see if the generator had detected anything in the Briar Patch. No. There were no unknown contacts. I exhaled steadily. At least we hadn’t missed anything while the generator was down. I changed the display until I could see the space ahead of us. We were still 16 days away from Klingon space. If we were going to find the warbirds, it’d most likely be within that time if they had travelled in this direction. If not, then they would have travelled in a different direction, out towards Cardassia. If that was the case then there was little that we could do from here. Other ships were tasked to patrol that region.

I looked at the display again, focusing on that empty void between the Titan and the Klingon border.

‘That empty void…’

*

Romulus, Capital City –Two days until Federation/Romulan meeting

The room was quiet within Omega-Zero. Aside from the sounds of the cool ventilation, or fingers tapping against the displays, the room was at peace. Like the Tal Shiar, it didn’t make itself known until the last possible second.

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission from an operative." Called out one of the officers from the right of the room, breaking the silence.

Chairman Kozarr sat up, looking down at him, "A transmission?" He inquired. It was strictly against Tal Shiar policy for it's operatives to 'make contact with home'. That is unless the reasoning was important. Extremely important.

"Yes, Sir. The transmission is from Omega-Zero-One-Five." Replied the officer. Omega-Zero-One-Five was the designated identification code of the operative. The code allowed Kozarr to know who the operative was and what was their current mission.

“I want a description on that operative.” He ordered.

Admiral Vorath responded immediately, “The operative is currently assigned to locate the traitor’s base of operations on Romulus.”

Kozarr nodded. This was extremely important. "Allow the transmission, maximum precautions. Reroute the transmission throughout the entire quadrant, just make it secure and untraceable." Ordered Kozarr.

"Yes, Sir." Replied the officer, as he worked to secure and scramble the signal. "Transmission secure and scrambled. Sir, we're receiving data."

Kozarr watched the drama unfold on the large screen, "Very good.”

After approximately seven seconds the data download was complete.

"Disconnect the transmission. Do not acknowledge receipt of data." Called out Kozarr.

"Sir, the transmission has been disconnected. We did not acknowledge the transfer."

"Good."

Throughout subspace data transfer, it was customary to send a reply to acknowledge the receipt of data. This was so the sender knew that the transfer was successful. But for the Tal Shiar, to acknowledge the receipt would acknowledge their involvement in the transfer, so no data received by them was ever acknowledged. If the data became corrupt or if there was an error during transfer, nothing could be done, as to request a resend would be too risky.

"Sir the data is encrypted, estimate two minutes decryption time."

"Do it." Called out Kozarr.

"Decrypting…” Replied the officer. Two minutes seemed like an eternity for the room as they waited in anticipation of what it would contain, “It appears to be text." Finished the officer once the decryption was complete.

"Send it to my console." Ordered Kozarr.

The data was sent to Kozarr, and once again the room became silent, as he read through the three page document. His composure and expressions remained constant throughout, but it was when he finished reading the piece did his eyes widen slightly. He looked up, pausing for a moment.

"Go to first stage alert!" He said loudly, causing a soft pulsing alarm to sound. And within a split second, the calm nature of the room erupted in a scurry of people tapping on their consoles, verifying information with each other, and double checking their work as they went. The outline of the display changed, representing a tactical look on the quadrant, showing only the necessary information. First stage alert was the highest alert status of the Tal Shiar. Such an alert was only issued if there was the threat of an imminent attack.

Kozarr looked to his left, “Send a message to our fleet at the Federation border."

"Yes, Sir." Called out an officer, "Standing by for your message."

"They are to cross the neutral zone and proceed to Vulcan at maximum warp. Push their engines to the maximum safe level. I need them there now. Further instructions will follow shortly. End message."

"Which ships shall I send that message to, Sir?"

"All of them, send the entire border fleet to Vulcan." He said, turning to his deputy, "Hail Admiral Ive immediately." He said before he faced the screen.

Vorath turned to him, "What is it, what happened?"

He looked at her, "Time's up."

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter of A Vulcan's Love.

Any comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated.
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Thanks Again!

Emulated