What Still Survives Part 1

Posted on 23 Aug 2026 @ 2:02am by Lieutenant Commander Aev Flammia
Edited on on 23 Aug 2026 @ 2:05am

1,376 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Beyond the Raptor's Veil
Location: [Kaohht Dhael’Reth]
Timeline: Current

[FSW Ghoyiph (Venom)]

The streaming lines of passing stars suddenly shortened until they became millions of tiny, shimmering points scattered across the blackness of space. The Ghoyiph turned slightly along her axis, and a vast gas giant slowly filled the forward viewer, bathing the bridge in a deep emerald glow. Massive bands of emerald and teal clouds rolled through its atmosphere, rising in towering formations before folding back into one another beneath the force of enormous storms. Lightning occasionally flickered deep within the clouds, briefly illuminating their violent movement. The turmoil was spectacular, and Jhun had always enjoyed simply sitting still and watching it.

No one spoke. It was unnecessary. Jhun disliked being told what she could already see, and her crew knew well enough how to perform their duties without narrating every action for her benefit. She sat silently in the command throne, her eyes fixed on the beautiful world beyond the viewer. It was remarkable what little more than hydrogen, helium, methane, and pressure could produce. The colors of this particular planet were especially striking, emerald bleeding into turquoise through constantly shifting layers of cloud, the invisible force of wind somehow given shape and color before her.

The image ahead suddenly shimmered as the Ghoyiph passed through the outer boundary of the station's massive cloaking field. In an instant, empty space gave way to the sprawling silhouette of Kaohht Dhael'Reth, suspended against the glowing emerald and teal face of the gas giant. The Tal'Shiar station stretched for dozens of kilometers, its dark central structure pierced by long spires projecting outward in several directions. Numerous docking apertures dotted its surface, some already occupied by warbirds and smaller vessels, their running lights barely visible against the station's black hull.

"Station is hailing us," Tovan said, finally breaking the silence Jhun had been enjoying. "They are requesting the reason for our presence."

"They are quite bold today," Jhun replied, the corners of her lips curling into a faint smirk, though the expression did little to conceal the annoyance beneath it. There had been a time when those aboard Dhael'Reth feared her. More importantly, they had understood their place. Asking why she was there would once have been unthinkable. They would have opened a docking port before she asked and hoped that whatever had brought her to the station concerned someone else.

Now things were different. General Rehu and Senator tr'Kaelev had spent years clawing pieces of her authority away from her, stripping influence from her one careful decision at a time until people who should have trembled at her arrival had begun to believe they were entitled to question it. As the edges of her smirk threatened to fall into a frown, Jhun adjusted herself in the command throne and forced the expression back into something colder and more controlled.

"We are here to inspect the facility," she said. "Choose any docking port you please and inform them where we will be docking."

"Yes, Colonel," Tovan replied as he turned back toward his console.

Jhun's eyes remained on the station. She had deliberately said inform. Not request. If the steward of Kaohht Dhael'Reth had forgotten the distinction, then perhaps her visit was more necessary than she had originally thought.

[Kaohht Dhael’Reth]

Jhun was met at the airlock by a contingent of station personnel, all of whom looked as though they had been assembled with considerably less notice than they would have preferred. Uniforms were immaculate, but several faces still carried the faint strain of people who had been pulled away from more pressing work and ordered to make themselves presentable. Jhun found that mildly gratifying. At the center of the group stood her former executive officer, Major N'Vek tr'Rhaedh, his posture rigid and his expression composed beneath a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. N'Vek had always been good at smiling when he was annoyed.

"Colonel," he said as she stepped through the airlock, his voice smooth and almost pleasantly melodic despite the thin sliver of poison beneath it. "We weren't expecting you. Normally we receive an itinerary for incoming senior personnel. You know how particular the General has become about her security protocols."

"Ah, yes. The General and her security protocols." Jhun repeated the phrase with a viperous little smile of her own. "Then it seems you've already failed them by allowing me to dock, doesn't it?" Her brows lifted casually as she glanced back toward the still-open airlock and then returned her attention to him. "Remind me, N'Vek. How does our dear General reward failure these days?"

The smile on N'Vek's face tightened slightly, but he was far too experienced to be baited by something so obvious. "Usually by determining whether there was actually a failure before executing the officer responsible," he replied. "Your authorization codes were valid, your vessel carries an appropriate command transponder, and refusing you entry would have created more problems than it solved."

Jhun's eyes narrowed with amusement. That was the N'Vek she remembered. He had never been openly defiant when a carefully chosen implication would do the job just as well. "How considerate of you."

"I have been known to be considerate from time to time," he said, studying her for a moment.

They regarded one another in silence, each familiar enough with the other to recognize what was hidden behind the polite expressions. N'Vek had been ambitious even when he served as her executive officer, but unlike most ambitious men, he had known better than to advertise it. He rarely challenged an order outright. Instead, he asked questions, pointed out complications, and made certain that anything he did not particularly want to do became just difficult enough to be noticed. Jhun had found the habit irritating then and found it irritating now, though she had also learned long ago that it was part of what made him useful.

"Shall I assume this is an official inspection?" he asked after a moment. "If it is, I can have the department heads assembled within the hour. Some areas of the station now require additional authorization from General Rehu's office, but we can begin with administration while that is being arranged."

Jhun let the silence sit between them for a few seconds before answering. "You may assume whatever you like, N'Vek. You always have."

His expression remained pleasantly neutral. "And you still haven't answered the question."

"Because I wasn't aware I answered to you."

"You don't."

"Good," Jhun said, the faint smile returning to her face. "Then we're making progress."
A few of the officers behind him suddenly seemed more interested in the deck than the conversation. N'Vek noticed, though his expression barely changed. He folded his hands behind his back and stepped slightly to one side, giving Jhun room to pass without quite making it look as though he were yielding to her.

"Colonel, Kaohht Dhael'Reth is not the facility you remember," he said. "The command structure has changed. Security has changed. Several of the programs that were once under your authority have been reassigned." His eyes settled on her. "The access you once had here may no longer apply."

Jhun's smile widened. N'Vek had always been good at this. He would never tell her no when there was someone else's authority he could hide behind instead. "You always did have a talent for making cowardice sound administrative."

Something hardened briefly in his eyes. "And you always had a talent for calling caution cowardice when it became inconvenient." Another officer might have regretted saying it. N'Vek knew Jhun well enough to know exactly how far he could push, and apparently enough time had passed that he felt the need to test the limits again. She found herself almost amused by it.

"You misunderstand me, Major." Jhun stepped closer, her voice remaining pleasant. "I haven't come here to inspect your paperwork or count how many new security procedures you've collected since I left. I'm here because I want to see one of my old projects."

N'Vek's smile faded slightly. It was not much, but Jhun caught it. "The psionic program," he said.

"The psionic soldier program," she corrected. "There's no need to become delicate about it now."

[To be continued]

Colonel Jhun t'Annhwi
Special Warfare Division
Romulan Free State

 

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