What Still Survives Part 2

Posted on 23 Aug 2026 @ 2:08am by Lieutenant Commander Aev Flammia

1,506 words; about a 8 minute read

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

[Kaohht Dhael’Reth]

N'Vek drew a slow breath. "The project isn't what it was when you left. Some of the research staff have been replaced, the medical protocols have changed, and access to the program is restricted. I would need to verify exactly what the General has authorized before I can…."

"N'Vek." Jhun said his name quietly, and he stopped.

She moved a little nearer, lowering her voice. "You know me well enough to know I didn't come all this way to stand in an airlock while you recite regulations at me. I want to see the project, I want to see the subjects, and I want to know what progress has been made since the General decided she could manage my work better than I could."

N'Vek studied her for several seconds. Jhun knew that look. He was weighing one problem against another, deciding which of them was more likely to become dangerous first. He did not want to disobey Rehu, but he also knew better than to make an enemy of Jhun simply to prove a point.

At last he gave a slight nod. "Very well." He turned and dismissed the officers behind him with a small gesture before looking back at her. "The laboratories are in the inner research section. The project is compartmentalized from the rest of the station, so if you insist on seeing it, I'll have to escort you personally."

"How fortunate," Jhun said. "I was hoping we'd have time to catch up."

"I'm sure you were."

N'Vek started down the corridor, leaving Jhun to fall into step beside him as the airlock sealed behind them. He did not hurry for her, but neither did he make the mistake of keeping her waiting. Jhun watched him for a moment as they walked and allowed herself another small smile. Some things, it seemed, had not changed at all.

[Kaohht Dhael’Reth, Research Zone II]

Agency scientists hurried through the laboratory complex with the frantic purpose of insects disturbed inside a nest. White coats and dark uniforms passed from one workstation to another, carrying samples, calling out readings, exchanging clipped bursts of technical jargon. Most barely seemed to notice Jhun or N’Vek as the pair cleared the security checkpoint and entered the restricted research wing. So engrossed in their work, Jhun thought. She found herself smiling at that. Fear could make people attentive, but obsession made them useful.

The chamber beyond had been divided into a maze of laboratories, surgical suites, and observation rooms separated by glass partitions and reinforced bulkheads. Its central space was dominated by several enormous cylindrical tanks rising from the floor. Thick bundles of cables disappeared into the ceiling above them, branching into medical equipment, neural monitors, and devices whose purpose was considerably less obvious. Pumps thrummed beneath the deck, filling the room with a constant mechanical pulse. Jhun slowed as she passed the first cylinder, then stopped altogether. “Oh,” she said, genuine pleasure entering her voice. “You kept my old friend.”

She approached the tank and laid one hand against the glass. Suspended within the pale liquid beyond was a Vulcan male, his lean body entirely nude save for the breathing apparatus fitted over his mouth and nose and a complicated mechanical restraint encircling his waist. The right side of his face had been surgically opened from temple to jaw. Skin and muscle had been carefully drawn back and fixed in place, exposing part of the skull and, beneath it, the living tissue of his brain. Electrodes disappeared into what remained of his scalp. He did not move, though his eyes did, finding Jhun almost immediately and following her as she stood before the glass. “Have you missed me?” she asked.

The smile that touched her mouth widened when the cardiac monitor beside the tank answered for him. His pulse quickened, the change slight at first and then unmistakable, each beat arriving faster than the last. Jhun had always been rather fond of the Vulcan. They had taken him from a vessel seized near the Neutral Zone almost fifty years ago, long before the homeworld burned and so much of the old order vanished with it. He was one of the few remnants of those days she had managed to preserve. More importantly, he had been the beginning of all this, the first viable subject in the psionic supersoldier program she had once commanded for the Agency. There was something comforting in finding him exactly where she had left him, still alive, still useful, and apparently still capable of fearing her.

N’Vek remained several paces behind. He said nothing at first, though his eyes moved briefly toward the surrounding technicians. A few had looked up from their stations, but every one of them found a reason to look away again. “Colonel t’Annhwi,” he said at last, “as nostalgic as this must be for you, I must ask why you are here.” His voice remained polite, but the caution beneath it was obvious. “The General will not be pleased by an unannounced visit. You know that.”

“What pleases the General is of no concern to me.” Jhun withdrew her hand from the glass and turned toward him. The amusement disappeared from her face so completely that N’Vek’s posture stiffened in response. “You know perfectly well why I am here,” she continued. “So why persist with this little performance?” Her eyes narrowed. “I came to see Saetare. I assume you heard what happened on Corvanis.”

“Only the Agency briefings.” N’Vek gestured toward a pair of reinforced doors across the chamber, each flanked by an armed guard. “Reman terrorists were discovered there by Starfleet. The Senate has already begun demanding an explanation from the Federation for harboring them.”

Jhun started toward the doors, forcing N’Vek to fall into step beside her. “Yes. That is the public version.” A trace of amusement returned to her voice. “The truth is considerably more interesting. Our esteemed Chairman of the Continuing Committee paid Corvanis a personal visit. Apparently, Rhal has been watching the Remans there for some time.”

N’Vek glanced sideways at her, and Jhun continued, “They are connected to our most important test subject, and it seems dear Rhal discovered that his nephew had arrived on the planet.” A smile slowly worked its way across her face. “The boy is a Starfleet officer.” She managed another few steps before a laugh escaped her. It was brief, almost incredulous, and she stopped and turned toward N’Vek, visibly savoring the absurdity of it. “But not merely a Starfleet officer. He is the adopted son of the Chief of Starfleet Security.” She shook her head. “The Elements do enjoy their games, do they not?”

N’Vek’s expression tightened. His gaze shifted toward the doors ahead of them and then back to Jhun. “Rhal’s nephew…” His voice lowered. “You mean Saetare and Sareth’s child?”

“The key is alive.” The humor vanished from Jhun again, and this time something far more intense replaced it. “We believed the boy dead. We believed whatever means Sareth created to locate the gateway had died with him.” She stepped closer to N’Vek. “We were wrong.”

For the first time since arriving at Kaohht Dhael’Reth, Jhun looked almost exhilarated. Not joyful, N’Vek had known her too long to mistake it for anything so simple, but awakened, as though a door she had spent decades staring at had suddenly opened. “And there is more. The boy is psionic. Exceptionally so.” She resumed walking. “I have had people watching him for some time. Even the Federation’s own specialists appear uncertain of what he is capable of. They do not understand him.” Her eyes hardened with satisfaction. “He may be the key to Sareth’s gateway, but he could also be the key to completing this program.”

“Colonel.” N’Vek stopped, and there was enough weight in his voice that Jhun turned back to him. “You should tread carefully,” he said. No smile accompanied the warning now. “Sareth died while under your authority. That is why this facility was taken from you in the first place. If the Chairman learns that you intend to involve the boy...”

“Enough.” The word was quiet, but it cut through the laboratory more effectively than a shout. Jhun raised one hand. “Do not speak his name to me as though he frightens me.”

N’Vek held her gaze but said nothing more, and Jhun continued, “I will have the boy. He is the key to my return. If I locate the gateway and restore this program to what it was meant to become, my sister will have reason to place her confidence in me again.” Her mouth tightened. “And when that happens, I will no longer have to tolerate either the General or the Chairman.” There was no boast in the statement, and that was what made N’Vek take it seriously.

[To be continued]

Colonel Jhun t'Annhwi
Special Warfare Division
Romulan Free State

 

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