All For Romulus” Story By Chris Edmonds & Hadrian McKeggan ... · RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus"...

"All For Romulus”

Story ByChris Edmonds & Hadrian McKeggan

Teleplay ByChris Edmonds & Josh Maley

Episode #: 3x15Published April 19, 2004

This teleplay is originally fromwww.startrekrenaissance.com

"Star Trek" and related names are registeredtrademarks of Paramount Pictures, Inc.This original work of fiction iswritten solely for non-profit purposes.Copyright 2004 by The Renaissance Group.All Rights Reserved.

RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus" - TEASER 1.

TEASER

FADE IN:

EXT. ASTEROID FIELD

A densely packed asteroid field. There are multiple smallships milling about, Cardassian in design. We pan to aparticularly large asteroid that has structures built intoit. There are some old beat-up Galor-class ships moorednear it, as well as several more small ships.

CLOSE ON ASTEROID BASE

We can see inside some of the windows, and see the occupantsinside. They're all Cardassian, and many of them seem to bedoing some sort of military exercise. We peer into anotherwindow and see several people working on a strange deviceinside a torpedo casing. In yet a third window, a largecrowd of cardassians have gathered and seem to be shovingrifles into the air and yelling a war cry that we cannothear.

We hear the faint whine of something approaching. The soundgets gradually louder until a gigantic green EXPLOSION engulfsour view.

BACK TO SCENE

We hear a torpedo tube firing, and see a giant green slow-moving PLASMA TORPEDO come seemingly out of nowhere. We panto follow the torpedo smash into what is left of the base,obliterating it. The Galors moored nearby scramble to evadethe asteroid base as it breaks apart.

INT. LUKAN -- BRIDGE

Spartan and very Romulan in design. It is vaguely similarto a Starfleet bridge with three command chairs. The twoside command chairs have rather large consoles next to them. In the center chair is COMMANDER KORILIM (from "Dance"),wearing a sly grin as he surveys the carnage he and his shiphave wrought. To his right is a human, MARCUS ANNAN, dressedin a Romulan military uniform.

ANNANPrimary target destroyed. Theasteroid is breaking up and at leasttwo Galor class destroyers have beenstruck by debris.

KORILIMExcellent. Plot an exfiltrationcourse.


ANNANAye, sir. Helm! Plot course one-four-three mark zero-eight-one andengage!

HELMSMANAye!

EXT. ASTEROID FIELD

We can see the bedlam that the still-invisible Lukan hassown in the background. We pan slowly to follow... nothing. A small ship rushing towards the disaster area is abruptlyblown to pieces by a pair of quantum torpedoes coming out ofnowhere. We suddenly see a starship-sized shimmer as itgoes through a less densely-packed portion of the field.


OPS OFFICERCommander, we've ran into a detectiongrid!

The officer turns to face Korilim and Annan.

ANNAN(stern)

Why didn't we detect it before?

Annan stares the officer down.

OPS OFFICER(nervous)

I... ah...

KORLIM(disappointed, stern)

Annan, relieve him.

The ops officer gets up and sheepishly stands aside. Annantakes the ops console. The ship then suddenly SHAKES fromweapons fire.

ANNANTwo incoming Galor class ships inattack formation on our aft quarter!

KORILIMDisengage cloak. Raise shields andfire aft disruptors at the lead ship.

The tactical officer, MARIUS, nods and starts enteringcommands into his console.


EXT. ASTEROID FIELD

We see the Lukan decloak, revealing itself to the naked eyefor the first time. It is a magnificent ship, the most raptor-like Warbird ever constructed by the Romulans. Its wingsare swept back like a diving eagle, and its tail fans outlike that of a bird's. Underneath, there is a belly-likeprotrusion housing a nav deflector similar to that of one ofStarfleet's slipstream-capable ships. Two phaser beams strikethe Lukan's shields, and the Lukan issues forth a disruptorbeam from the base of its tail in retaliation.


Korilim presses a button on his arm rest.

KORILIMBridge to engineering, we needslipstream in...

Korilim turns to face Annan, who is looking away, intentlywatching the readings his console is feeding him. He holdsup his hand and raises his index finger.

KORLIM ...one minute.

INT. LUKAN -- ENGINEERING

Also Spartan and Romulan in design. In the center, there isa giant glowing ball with a thin crystal in the verticalaxis; the Lukan's Quantum Induction Core. Surrounding itare several large control panels.

It seems there was a small mishap down here, an engineer isflat on his back with a burn, and it appears a wall panelhad exploded. Medics are tending to him. A Romulan womanwith neck-length hair and a headband surveys the room. Thisis DECIA, the chief engineer.

DECIAThat may be a problem, Bridge. Thoselast few hits took out the iondispersal unit on the cloaking device. It'll take a moment to lock it down.

KORILIM'S COMM VOICEI want slipstream ready, not excuses. Bridge out.

Decia lets out an exasperated sigh. She motions one of hersubordinates toward her. The subordinate is HORVHAN (from"Dance").


DECIAHorvahn, we're going to have to securethe dispersal unit while inslipstream. Take teams beta andgamma, I'll stay here to prep forslipstream.

Horvahn nods and heads off to his task.

EXT. ASTEROID FIELD RIM

The Lukan flies at flank speed out of the asteroid field,with the two Cardassian ships still in hot pursuit.


HELMSMANSlipstream drive is ready, sir!

KORILIMPlot a course for the Dessica system,sixty thousand TSL. Engage.

EXT. SPACE

The Lukan vaults into slipstream, leaving her pursuers eatingstardust.


The swirling tunnel of Slipstream fills the main viewscreen.

KORILIMThat went well. Annan, give me amission report.

ANNANDestroy their base of operations,primary objective, complete. Attacktargets of opportunity; two Galorclass ships damaged, secondaryobjective, complete. Escape back toRomulan space... in progress.

Korilim smiles an arrogant smile.


The induction core is more lively than it was before. Severalengineers rush about, monitoring slipstream readings. Deciais at the center console looking straight at the core.

HORVHAN'S COMM BOICEHorvhan to Engineering, the damageto the cloaking device was worsethan we thought. We have a majorparticle leak here.


DECIAUnderstood. Get it locked downquickly and get back--

Decia is cut short by a wailing SIREN. She looks down ather console, and becomes alarmed at what she reads.

DECIA (CONT'D)(alarmed)

Decia to bridge, we have acatastrophic slipstream failure inprogress! We need to drop out ofslipstream now!


The alarm is wailing loudly in here as well.

KORILIMUnderstood! Helm, disengageslipstream!

The helmsman complies, but the console gives a negative beep.

HELMSMAN(panicking)

I can't!

KORILIM(cursing)

D'vor! Engineering, cut power tothe slipstream! We can't disengage!

The entire ship BUCKS hard, sending everyone flying. Theviewscreen flashes a brilliant white before shorting out.

EXT. SPACE -- SLIPSTREAM

The Lukan's slipstream tunnel is now so frighteningly narrow,she can barely fit through it. Portions of the hull beginto peel off, and a few explosions spew forth from underneath.

EXT. SPACE

The Lukan is violently ejected from Slipstream. An energyshockwave issues forth from the unstable Slipstream eventand fades into space. Venting gases trail behind the Lukanfrom several wounds on her hull. She begins listing off-course.


All the bridge occupants are either on the floor clamoringto get back up, or are holding on to their seat for dearlife. Many panels have exploded and several conduits haveruptured and are venting steam.


Annan's face is smashed up against his console, his nosebleeding. He comes to quickly, wipes the blood from underhis nose and assesses the state of the bridge.

ANNANDamage report!

Marius is already up on his feet and back at Tactical.

MARIUSWarp drive inoperative, slipstreamdrive inoperative. Seven hullbreaches, structural stress levelsare in the red. We have casualtyreports in from all over the ship.

While Marius reading off the damage report, Annan looks forKorilim. He finds him in a heap on the floor, burned badlyand bleeding green blood out from several wounds. Annanrushes over to him.

ANNAN(shocked)

The Commander's down!

Annan feels for Korilim's pulse as the medic on the bridgegoes over to check the Commander. He lets out a sigh ofrelief, as he can feel a pulse.

As we study the mauled face of KORILIM we...

FADE OUT.

END OF TEASER

RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus" - ACT ONE 7.

ACT ONE

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise at warp, gracefully cruising by.

INT. ENTERPRISE -- TALORA'S QUARTERS

Talora is at her desk, talking to someone on her desktopterminal. This someone is SENATOR AMANNIUS, Talora's father(from "The Public Eye").

TALORA...So I decided to stay on theEnterprise.

AMANNIUSI see. It's a pity you couldn'tcome home again. You would make agreat boon to the diplomatic corpswith your experience in Starfleet.

TALORAI can't, dad. These are my friends,and I can't just abandon them. Thingsare getting back to normal aroundhere. Besides, there are moreimportant things than just my career.

AMANNIUSLike what?

Talora realizes her indiscretion.

TALORAImportant things.

Amannius can read his daughter like a book, even through the com channel. He knows what Talora's talking about.

AMANNIUSWhatever your career decisions are, your mother and I will still sup-----you.

Talora jumps a little at the static.

TALORAWhat the...

Ammanius looks curiously at something off-screen. The static begins getting much worse.

AMANNIUS (O.S.)Tal---signal---ing up-


The screen blanks out and is replaced with an alert reading "SIGNAL LOST". Talora hits her commbadge.

TALORATalora to Bridge, I just lost my comms signal.

CROSS'S COMM VOICEWe're aware of it. Report to the bridge immediately.

Talora raises her eyebrow and gets up to leave.

INT. ENTERPRISE -- BRIDGE

The bridge is bustling with activity.

Talora enters from the turbolift. Cross is hovering over ops while Cale is tapping away at the console.

CALEAs I said, sir, all frequencies onthe subspace radio bands arecompletely drowned out by interference. Nothing's going in orout.

TALORASo it's not just me then.

Cross turns to face Talora.

CROSSApparently not. I was having a chat with Captain Suhrra on the Katana when I was cut off.

CALESir, the static is dying down! I'm receiving signals from relay stations D-47 and D-48 again.

CROSSGood. Can you find out what caused the comms blackout?

CALENo, but I may be able to triangulate where it came from by using the two relay stations.

CROSS(nodding)

Do it.

CROSS WALKS OVER TO TALORA


CROSS (CONT'D)What do you think?

TALORAI'm guessing some natural phenomenon.

CROSSWe're in the middle of the mostnondescript sector in the Federation'spartition of the Cardassian occupationzone. There's nothing within twosectors of here but a few empty starsystems, I think something else maybe up.

TALORAWe'll have to wait and see until we can find out where it came from first.

CALESir, I've pinpointed the source. Approximately eighteen light-years spinward, inside the Romulan partition of the occupation zone.

Cale's console beeps.

CALE (CONT'D)Sir, now I'm picking up a distress signal, it's coming from the same place as the source.

CROSSOn speakers.

Cale presses a button, routing the distress signal to the speakers.

ANNAN'S COMM VOICEThis is Subcommander Marcus Annan ofthe IRW Lukan to any Alpha QuadrantAlliance starships. We have suffereda catastrophic slipstream failureand are in need of assistance.

CROSSThat would explain the comms blackout. Bridge to Engineering, prepare for slipstream.

GREY'S COMM VOICEAye, sir.

CROSSHelm, plot a course to the Lukan's position and engage as soon as slipstream is ready.


Stolt nods and enters in commands to the helm.

TALORASir, I'm sure there's a Romulan ship nearby.

Cross sits down in the command chair.

CROSSThere are no other ships in the Romulan fleet with crews knowledgeable about slipstream drives, Commander.

TALORAI see.

CROSSThe Federation has instilled a lotof trust in the Empire to give sucha revolutionary technology such asSlipstream Drive. There are plentyof rogue elements out there thatwould love to get their hands onsomething as fast as a slipstreamdrive.

Talora nods grudgingly, as if her pride were at stake.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise, still at warp, suddenly accelerates sharply, and then is enveloped by a slipstream tunnel. The tunnel bends slightly to the side and the Enterprise follows it through the bend.

CROSS (V.O.)Captain's Log, Stardate 80505.5. Weare answering a distress call fromthe new Romulan flagship, the Lukan. Admiral Delfune seemed rather eagerabout keeping this discrete from therest of the captains in of the RapidReaction Force.

INT. ENTERPRISE -- READY ROOM

Cross is talking to Admiral Delfune through his desktop viewer. The pile of PADDs on the side of his desk is smaller than usual.

CROSS...Really?

DELFUNEI'm serious, Captain. I want you todeal with this one alone.


CROSSWhy?

Deflune looks away from the screen for a second. The screengoes blank and then reads "SWITCHING TO SECURE CHANNEL" beforereturning Deflune to view.

DELFUNECan you keep this between us?

Cross contemplates for a moment.

CROSSYes.

DELFUNEI have reason to believe that Janusis against the sharing of technologywith the Romulans, and may have hadseveral failed attempts to sabotagethe Lukan's development.

CROSSNot surprising.

DELFUNEI can't send Joel in on this one. Ineed you to deal with this onequietly. I have contacts within theRomulan government that I trust morethan I do many of my own subordinates,ironically. The last thing I needis to have them lose that mutualtrust because Joel's crew"accidentally" botches the repairjob on the Lukan.

CROSSIs that all?

DELFUNEYes. Delfune out.

The comm channel closes just as the doorbell chimes.

CROSSCome in.

BOYLE enters the ready room.

BOYLEI'd like to speak to you about the upcoming away mission.

CROSSYou're rather quick on the uptake, lieutenant.


BOYLEI have a master of gossip for a boyfriend, you know.

CROSSWhat are you here for?

Beat.

BOYLEI'd like to join the away team.

CROSSFrom what I understand, Commander Grey kicked you off the engineering staff, you'll have to speak to him about it.

BOYLEHe likely won't listen. He kicked me out because of his own personal feelings towards me!

CROSS(reading something off his terminal)

I have a feeling it was more than just his personal feelings towards you that got you the boot.

BOYLEHe's throwing a perfectly goodengineer out the window, sir. Ithink it's a waste of my skills. Ieasily have the second greatest amountof field experience with Slipstreamdrives in all of Starfleet next toErik. All my skill is wasted justmulling about in Mission Ops, takingorders from Lieutenant Cale.

Cross nods, still looking away from Boyle.

CROSSYou raise an interesting point.

BOYLESo can I?

Cross briefly mulls over the decision and finally faces Boyle.

CROSSYou will have a probationary positionon the away team. Once this missionis over, I will review Grey's decisionto remove you from his staff, withinput from Grey. Understood?


BOYLE(giddy)

Yes sir!

CROSSDismissed.

Boyle leaves the ready room gleefully. As the doors shoosh close, Cross sighs.

CROSS (CONT'D)I have a feeling I'm gonna lose all the respect I gained back from Erik...

CUT TO:

EXT. SPACE

The Lukan floats listlessly, still immobilized in space, still bearing the ugly wounds from her near-death experience.


The bridge is cleaned up a bit, but is still a mess. Annan is now seated in the command seat, talking.

ANNANAll I need to know is how soon you can get warp or slipstream capability back, Decia.

DECIA'S COMM VOICEThat's what I've been trying to tellyou, we probably won't for a longtime. The zero-point energy converterwas completely destroyed when weforced the slipstream to shut down,the spare we had was in Cargo BayThree which was blown open by a hullbreach, and the industrial replicatoris disabled. We're going nowheresoon, Bridge.

OPS OFFICERSir! I'm detecting an incoming slipstream event! A Starfleet Phoenix class starship!

Annan grins.

ANNANWhich one?

OPS OFFICERThe Enterprise.

Annan's smile disappears.


EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise emerges from slipstream and takes stationnext to the Lukan.


OPS OFFICERReceiving hail signal from theEnterprise.

ANNANOn speakers.

CROSS'S COMM VOICEThis is Captain Neil Cross of theFederation Starship Enterprise. Wedetected your distress signal andhave come to render assistance.

ANNANThank you, Enterprise, your assistancewill be appreciated. We requiremedical and engineering assistance.

INTERCUT:


CROSSAcknowledged, Lukan. We will sendover a four-man team for preliminaryassessment. Enterprise out.

CROSS (CONT'D)Talora, take Elris, Grey, and Boyleover to the Lukan to see what needsto be done, and report back to me.

TALORAAye sir.

Talora gets up and heads to the turbolift.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- TRANSPORTER ROOM

Talora, Grey, and Elris are all preparing their field gear, when Boyle enters with her own gear. Grey is stunned to see Boyle.

GREY(surprised)

Wha? You!

Boyle grins wryly.


GREY (CONT'D)How did you get on the away team? I thought I kicked you off the Engineering staff!

BOYLE(smug)

I had a little talk with the Captain.

Talora and Elris exchange glances. Grey looks incredulously at Boyle.

GREY(angry)

Ooooh, you little shrew, going over my—-

TALORA(interrupts)

We should be getting underway.

Grey looks like he's about to tackle Boyle, but he controls himself. They step on to the transporter pads.

TALORA (CONT'D)Energize.

Grey gives Boyle an angry stare while they shimmer away into the transporter beam.


The four shimmer back into existence. Annan turns to face them. Talora's and Annan's eyes meet, and Talora raises her eyebrow.

TALORACommander Marcus Annan, I presume.

ANNANSubcommander in the Star Navy, Commander. I believe you had a similar issue with your rank when you took part in the Officer Exchange.

TALORAOf course -- my apologies, Subcommander. What is the status of your warp drive?

ANNANKey parts are destroyed and we have no means to replace them.

GREYI'll head down to Engineering.


Grey heads off.

BOYLEI will too!

Grey cringes as he hears Boyle say that.

TALORAWhere is Commander Korilim?

ANNANThe Commander was gravely injuredwhen we were forced out of slipstream,he's down in the medical quarters. We have several other wounded aswell.

ELRISThen I'll head down there to see what we can do.

Elris heads off.

Only Talora and Annan are left, other than the other bridge crew members. The short silence is broken by Talora

TALORASo... my Starfleet counterpart found his way to the Praetor's Flagship. Sounds similar to my career.

ANNANNot quite. I'm still the executive officer on a flagship.

Talora winces.

TALORAWell... I try not to dwell on the past.

Another short silence.

TALORA (CONT'D)So what was the Lukan doing that resulted in the slipstream failure?

ANNANWe were conducting a surprise attack on a Black Henoix terrorist base in the R'Homeaux system's asteroid belt.

TALORASounds pretty routine. What happened?


ANNANWe ran into a tachyon detection gridon the way out, and took weaponsfire to the cloaking device. Theion dispersal unit on the cloak wasdamaged, and leaked ions all overthe hull. Our chief engineer believesthat is what caused the slipstreamfailure.

TALORAYou're extremely lucky, you know. The one and only time the Federationexperienced such a failure was onthe Phoenix prototype, and all fourhundred and fifty crew members werelost with the ship. The subspaceshockwave it created disrupted thesubspace comms network almost threesectors in every direction.

ANNANI'm aware of the Phoenix catastrophe, Commander.

TALORAI see. Why were you taking out a Black Henoix base? The Star Empire never deemed them a big enough threat to take action against.

ANNANThat's classified information.

Talora raises her eyebrow.

TALORAI do have D'Arayan-V5 security clearance, you know.

Annan sighs.

ANNANThe Tal'Shiar has reason to believe that the Black Henoix may have transphasic torpedoes.

Talora looks surprised.

MARIUSI'm sure you knew, right? Or were you too busy flying about the Federation to read up on Romulan intel reports?

Annan looks at Marius out of the corner of his eye.


ANNAN(annoyed)

Centurion Marius, I believe you can be of assistance down in engineering.

Marius leaves the bridge with his head held high in contempt.

TALORATransphasic torpedoes? How?

ANNANThey don't know. They noticed a lotof chatter about some new weaponthey acquired and managed to matchdescriptions of how these weaponsworked in several communiqués theyintercepted to how transphasic weaponswork, but there was no sign of howor where they got them.

TALORAI see. I'll have to include the information about the Henoix in my report back to the Enterprise.

ANNANI understand. Oh, and don't mind Marius. He's always out to put people down.

TALORAI can understand. "Marius" is a name used more often in common-blooded Romulans. He probably isn't too fond of me.

ANNANBecause of your aristocratic heritage.

TALORAPerhaps. He probably doesn't like me simply because I've been "influenced" by Starfleet. I've had to deal with that attitude before.

ANNANSo did I. His contempt for you isprobably rivaled only by his contemptfor me. It took me weeks to get himto fall in line and respect myauthority, and I still had to haveKorilim's help to do it.

Beat.


TALORAWhy did Korilim choose you as his executive officer?

Annan smiles.

ANNANBecause he saw how well you, a loyalservant of the Star Empire, managedto toe the line without committingoutright treason during thenegotiations at Sangeatten Three.

TALORAKorilim wanted the same for his new crew on the Lukan.

ANNANVery astute.

TALORAHave you had to do anything that would question your loyalty to the Federation?

ANNANNot yet. I'm hoping I never do. But I'll deal with it when and ifthe time comes, trust me. I didn'tmake it into the Officer Exchange onlooks alone.

Talora softly laughs.

TALORAI suppose I should check in on my officers now.

She taps her commbadge.

TALORA (CONT'D)Talora to Elris, status report.

INTERCUT:

INT. LUKAN -- MEDICAL QUARTERS

Elris is eyeing a rather nasty set of tools, their purpose is probably as sinister as their look.

ELRISWe have about eighty-five casualties down here, Commander. They've already lost seven crew members from severe trauma.


Elris turns to face the rest of the medical quarters. All the beds are filled with Romulans with various degrees of injury, and there are more on makeshift beds on the floor.

TALORA'S COMM VOICEWhat about Commander Korilim?

ELRISDoctor Licinis informs me that he's stable for the moment. He had some internal bleeding, but it's been stemmed.

We pan to a Romulan man wearing a medical tunic, looking over the battered body of Korilim. He looks rather serious and amoral. This is DOCTOR LICINIS.

LICINIS(without a smile)

Do not worry, subcommanders. Korilim is in capable hands.

TALORA'S COMM VOICEWill you need any more personnel from the Enterprise, Doctor?

ELRISMost definitely. The medical quartersare swamped, the wounded have spilledover into the corridor, and many ofthe Lukan's medical staff were onthe casualty list. They're short-handed down here. I'd like Alphaand Beta EMT teams over here on thenext beam-over.

INTERCUT:


TALORAUnderstood. Talora to Grey.

Beat.

TALORA (CONT'D)Talora to Grey, please come in.

BOYLE'S COMM VOICECommander Grey is a bit busy at the moment.

TALORADoing what?


INTERCUT:


The engine room is in a similar state of repairs as the Bridge. There is a large black pock-mark behind the Induction Core. We can hear shouting in the background.

BOYLEHe's throwing a conniption fit at the Romulan engineers.

We can now hear Grey yelling at Decia.

DECIA(apologetic)

The field strength of the attenuators is still within safety tolerances, Mister Grey!

GREY(shouting, angrily)

I don't give a damn what the Romulansafety tolerances are, what the hellare you people thinking! Are youtrying to cause an induction overloadevery time you jump to slipstream? This is insane, I can't fix somethinglike this only to have it blow upthe instant you fire up the slipdrive!

BOYLEErik! Commander Talora is calling for you!

Grey resumes a professional calm and taps his commbadge.

GREYThis is Commander Grey.

TALORA'S COMM VOICEI assume your tirade is over?

Grey looks guiltily to the side.

TALORA'S COMM VOICE (CONT'D)Let's have a status report.

GREYThey were right about the zero pointconverter, it's completely shot. We're either going to have to make anew one in the Enterprise machineshop, or repair their industrialreplicator. They already have damagecontrol teams out fixing the hullbreaches, though.


TALORA'S COMM VOICEWill you need any extra personnel from the Enterprise?

GREYYes, bring over the structuralengineering team to help withrepairing structure damage, and bringover Beta team to help with repairsto their warp drive.

TALORA'S COMM VOICEUnderstood. Talora out.

Grey faces Decia again.

GREYI'm not going to fix your engines unless you alter them so it's not a flying deathtrap.

DECIAThen we have a problem.

GREYHow so?

DECIAI'm not going to reconfigure myengines and lose valuable performancebecause some worrisome Starfleethuman is sweating about them blowingup!

Decia shakes her head condescendingly at Grey and walks away. Grey turns to face Boyle and sighs.

GREYAnd I thought my day was bad enough with you coming along...

With those words, we...

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE

RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus" - ACT TWO 23.

ACT TWO

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise is still keeping station near the Lukan. The Lukan is looking a bit better, there are no longer gases being vented, and some of the hull breaches have been covered over with hull grafts.


Cross and Quinlan are listening intently to something, wearing very concerned faces.

TALORA'S COMM VOICE...And it's unknown how many such devices they have, or how they got them.

CROSSWhy didn't the Tal'Shiar inform Starfleet Intelligence of this?

Beat.

ANNAN'S COMM VOICEI... don't know, sir.

CROSSNevermind. We may have anotherproblem, however. The comms blackoutthat was caused by the Lukan'saccident probably tipped the BlackHenoix off to our location as well. We will need to get the Lukan out ofhere.

INTERCUT:


There are now several Starfleet engineers at work here in addition to the Romulan engineers. Grey is standing off to the side, apparently taking part in this conference call.

GREYI don't think that's a good idea, sir.

CROSS'S COMM VOICEExplain.


GREYThe ship's superstructure still isn'tstrong enough to withstand high warpon its own, even now that we'verestored main power. I wouldn'trecommend towing them with a tractorbeam either.

CROSS'S COMM VOICECan they ride piggyback on our slipstream?

GREYThat wouldn't be a good idea. Thehull ionization still has yet tosubside, it would disrupt our ownslipstream event while they rodealong.

INTERCUT:


CROSSSo we're stuck here with them, essentially.

GREY'S COMM VOICEThat would sum it up, sir.

CROSSThank you, Mister Grey. Focus ongetting their warp capability backup to par, we need to get out ofhere as soon as possible. Doctor,how are things in the medicalquarters?

INTERCUT:


Elris looks rather disgusted, though not from the green blood caking her medical tunic. There is a Starfleet nurse next to her preparing for an operation.

ELRISWe seem to be having differences of opinion over here, sir.

CROSS'S COMM VOICEIn what way?

ELRISThey seem to have a different triagesystem than ours, sir.

(MORE)


ELRIS (CONT'D)They seem to be prioritizing accordingto the importance of the crew memberto the ship. Doctor Licinis seemspreoccupied with treating CommanderKorilim at the moment.

As she says this, she looks over her shoulder at Doctor Licinis, still tending to Korilim and largely ignoring all the other patients.

CROSS'S COMM VOICEHow are you and your people managing?

ELRISWe've managed to treat many of theones the Romulans have left behind,even deemed three of them fit toreturn to duty. Doctor Licinisdoesn't seem too happy with ourefforts down here.

INTERCUT:


CROSSUnderstood. Cross out.

Cross turns his chair to face Quinlan at Tactical.

CROSS (CONT'D)(aghast)

Transphasic weapons. What the hell?

QUINLANYour guess is as good as mine as to how they got their scaly hands on them.

CROSSNot even a slight idea?

QUINLANI've been out of that loop for overtwo years, sir. Hell, for all weknow, they've infiltrated the weaponsresearch operations of both theRomulan Navy AND Starfleet. Cardiesare good at being sneaky, and youdon't need to be a pirate to knowthat.

CROSSHmm.

Cross scratches his chin.


CROSS (CONT'D)Bring up the dossier on the Black Henoix, and put it on the main viewer.

A short moment later, the main viewer is filled with text and pictures on the Black Henoix.

QUINLANThey're a rogue offshoot of theObsidian Order that was formed aftertheir downfall during their little"Destroy the Founders' Homeworld"stunt. They blame the coordinationwith the Romulans in the operationas the cause of its spectacularfailure.

CROSSDisposition?

QUINLANThey've been known to send suicidestrikes against their targets, buthave also been known to strategicallywithdraw if things don't turn outwell for them.

CROSSSo they're fanatical but not stupid. What about their forces?

QUINLANTheir small fleet is comprised mainlyof salvaged or mothballed Galor orHideki class ships as well as variousmodels of fighters, all in usuallypoor condition. They're also under-manned in many cases.

CROSSThey still may be packing transphasic torpedoes. That's why I want to get the Lukan out of here as soon as possible.

QUINLANI agree. I'll man the crow's nest, and inform Ensign Lesmi to keep a look out next shift.

CROSSOut of the pirate loop, you say...

QUINLANWhat, sir?


CROSS(chuckling)

Nevermind. Keep watch.

CUT TO:


The room is still abuzz as both Romulan and Starfleet medics go about treating the wounded. It's much less hectic than before. Elris is finishing surgery on an injured Romulan. She is again caked in green blood.

ELRISWhew, eighteen shards. He must have been right next to the conduit when it ruptured.

ROMULAN NURSEWe need to clear the operating table for the next patient.

ELRISI still need to suture him up.

ROMULAN NURSEWe're operating on Commander Korilim next.

ELRISThe man still has an open incision, and you're thinking of moving him to a biobed?

LICINISThe commander needs fifteen skin grafts to replace burned skin tissue, doctor. Move this patient to biobed twelve.

Elris gives off an exasperated sigh, and helps the nurse move the patient. She then sets to work with a laser suture to close the incision. Suddenly, the biobed monitor beeps.

ELRISHe's going into defib! I need a crash cart here!

Dr. Licinis turns around from the operating table and emotionlessly looks at the biobed readout over the Romulan that Elris is tending. He picks up a hypospray and hands it to a nurse. The nurse takes it to Elris.

ROMULAN NURSEGive him this.


Elris hyposprays her patient. The biobed's readings start normalizing again. Elris looks suspiciously at the hypospray.

ELRISThat was interesting... What did I just hypo him with?

LICINISPhimloctyn.

Elris shudders, and tosses the hypospray at the biobed in surprise.

ELRIS(incredulous)

WHAT???

LICINIS(emotionless)

He was in defib, so I prescribed Phimloctyn.

ELRISAre you insane? That stuff can cause cardiovascular degeneration even with a single dose! It's failed to get FDA approval in the Federation!

LICINISIt is in regular use in the StarEmpire. It's quite effective, asyou just saw. The Romulan heartwill eventually regenerate any losttissue over time, as it would inmost other humanoid races. And Isuppose electrocuting him to restarthis heart is somehow safer thanphimloctyn, Doctor?

Elris seethes at the Romulan Doctor's comment, and sets off to another patient.

CUT TO:


Annan and Talora appear to be talking with someone over the comm.

ELRIS'S COMM VOICEThe man is insane, Commander. He'sjust abandoning patients that can besaved, that NEED to be saved, totreat the ones more important to theship!


ANNANThat's the way it's done in Romulan medicine, Doctor. Believe me, I was just as surprised at it as you were.

INTERCUT:


ELRISHe's the antithesis of every medicalethic standard I know! I can't treatpeople with bruises over people withlife-threatening injuries simplybecause the lesser injured one is anofficer!

TALORA'S COMM VOICEYou're going to have to deal, Doctor. I know this may seem harsh to you,but you're treating Romulan soldierson a Romulan ship in Romulanterritory. There's not much you cando about it. I'm sorry. Taloraout.

Elris slumps her shoulders and looks dejectedly at the ceiling, and then puts her facemask back on to get back to work.

CUT TO:


We find Boyle and Decia working within a few feet of each other. Various other Romulan crew members mull about, testing systems and doing their jobs.

Boyle gazes at the viewer in front of her in disbelief. Shegasps quietly, then sighs and shakes her head. Decia notices,but says nothing. As Boyle works, she does this several moretimes until Decia, already on edge from her earlierconversation with Erik, finally gets sick of it. She glaresat Boyle for a few moments. Boyle feels the eyes and turns.

BOYLEProblem?

DECIAI was about to ask you the samequestion. For the past ten minutesyou've done nothing but gasp, sigh,shake your head, then start at thebeginning and do them all again.(beat; silence) I suppose our engineroom doesn't meet with your standardseither.


Boyle is about to retort, but remembers what the captain told her and thinks the better of it.

BOYLEYour engine room is just fine. Different from the way we do things, but to each their own.

Decia seems to lighten up.

DECIAGood.

The women return to work. Boyle checks another system and her face contorts into a mask of disbelief and contempt.

BOYLEShit. Tell me you're joking.

DECIAWhat is it now?

BOYLE(with urgency)

We have to balance out the quantumresonance variance of the zero-pointplasma. The initiator will burn outtoo quickly if it's outside of twelvepercent.

DECIAThat won't be necessary.

BOYLEThe hell it won't! It just jumped five percent!

DECIAOf course it did. I intentionally increased it.

BOYLEIt's too high! You're leaving less than a six percent overhead. That's not enough.

DECIAOf course it's enough. It's a perfectly acceptable margin of error.

BOYLE(losing control)

Margin of error, my ass! We have to lower the variance or we'll risk blowing the slipstream initiator when slipstream is engaged.


DECIAAnd if we do that, slipstream efficiency will be cut by a third. That is unacceptable.

BOYLEUnacceptable!? What the hell do you call drifting around the quadrant in two hundred little pieces?

DECIAA necessary risk.

BOYLEYou're crazy! You're a certified lunatic. You should be locked up in a padded white room somewhere so you can't hurt anyone!

DECIA(bristles at Boyle's comments)

You people haven't changed a bit inthe past twenty years. You're stillas pretentious and arrogant as you'vealways been. You sneer at us andcall us arrogant, a race of politicalopportunists who are not to betrusted. Nothing we do measures upto the almighty Federation. You'reconvinced that the Starfleet way isthe only right way.

Boyle slams her fist on the console, wheels on Decia, and lets her have it with both barrels.

BOYLEListen to me, you obnoxious littlebitch. I don't give a rat's assabout Starfleet's way OR the Romulanway. The only way that concerns meis MY way. And my way does NOTinclude blowing myself halfway acrossthe quadrant to fix this piece ofRomulan crap. You wanna throw outthe rulebook to improve performance?Fine with me, I don't like it either. But if you wanna throw common senseout the window and blow your ship tohell, you're going to do it byyourself. Your precious performanceisn't worth my life.

By now, a few Romulan and Starfleet engineers have stopped to listen, while others work all the more fervently, pretending they can't hear the screaming.


DECIAHow dare you, you insufferable, noxious little... cunis!.

(Boyle glares)This is MY engine room and I will NOT stand for this kind of behavior.

BOYLEWell don't worry, because if you keep running things the way you do, you won't be standing anywhere. You'll be floating outside the ship!

DECIAWe have operated under these same procedures since the Lukan was launched! It is an acceptable margin of error!

BOYLEIf it's so damned efficient, then why are you sitting here with no slipstream?

DECIAThe detection grid was a variable we weren't expecting.

BOYLEWell, welcome to the big leagues, sister. The universe is FULL of unexpected variables.

DECIA(drops her professional attitude)

Which is preferable to what YOU are full of!

We pan to pay attention to Horvahn, who looks eager to getout of the room and away from the altercation. He ducksinto a nearby Jefferies tube with a tool kit and crawls abit until he meets Grey, who is tinkering with something inthe wall.

HORVAHNThat's one testy woman you brought with you.

GREYYou don't know the half of it.

Horvahn opens up a panel nearby and gets to work.


HORVAHNWhat exactly were you having a problem with earlier, with the induction attenuators?

GREYTheir maximum output is easily doublethat of the one on the Enterprise's. It could overexert the zero-pointmembrane and cause an inductionoverload.

HORVAHNWe have a few modifications to theslipstream initiator that requiremore power from the induction core. The only way we could increase thepower output was to increase theattenuator field strength.

GREYSeems like a risky venture for justa bit more speed. I wouldn't besurprised if you eventually have aninduction overload that blows outEngineering, God forbid one thatblows up the entire ship.

HORVAHNBecause of the modifications, we can outperform any Federation starship in terms of slipstream speed. Even the Leviathan.

Grey pauses, surprised at Horvahn's claim.

GREYI guess I have to concede that putting performance first has its benefits at times.

HORVAHNIf things should happen to go wrong, an engineer usually can correct the problem in short order.

GREYLike the problems we have right now?

Horvahn is about to say something, but decides not to.

The short silence is broken by a wailing SIREN. Grey and Horvahn look at each other

GREY (CONT'D)What's that mean?


HORVAHN(worried)

That's a combat alert.

GREY(tapping his commbadge)

Grey to Talora, what's going on?

INTERCUT:


The siren screams here as well, and people are scrambling all over the bridge.

TALORAWe've been spotted by an advance scout.

The viewscreen shows a small Hideki class Cardassian corvette flying towards them. It shoots a phaser, which results in the entire ship shuddering.

ANNANShields are still out! Where did that hit?

MARIUS(reading from Tactical)

Starboard wing, nothing in the impact area but an expanse of armor.

EXT. SPACE

The corvette veers off and flees. The Enterprise turns to pursue, shooting phasers and torpedoes at it. The corvette then goes to warp, followed by the Enterprise. On that, we...

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT TWO

RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus" - ACT THREE 35.

ACT THREE

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE

The Hideki is fleeing at warp, weaving left, right, up, and down as quantum torpedoes fly past it. As it flies past, we see the Enterprise in hot pursuit, firing torpedoes.


The Bridge is at red alert.

CROSSQuinlan, your marksmanship today is appalling.

QUINLANSorry, sir, he's weaving all over the place.

Quinlan contemplates for a moment.

QUINLAN (CONT'D)Helm, accelerate to bring us within five kilometers. I'm gonna try to shoot out his engines with phasers.

STOLTThat's cutting it a bit close, isn't it?

CROSSWe need to take that ship out before it reports back. Do it.

STOLTAye, captain.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise looms behind the Hideki, getting closer, closer...


QUINLANGotcha!

She jams down the fire button.

EXT. SPACE

One of the phaser arrays on the prow of the saucer issuesforth a brilliant orange phaser beam straight ahead. Thephaser strikes the aft shield of the Hideki.


It breaks through the shields in short order and then hitsthe Hideki. It stutters to the side and stops weaving.


CALEI'm picking up a transmission from the Hideki!

CROSSIs it a hail?

Beat.

CALENo, it's an SOS, they're broadcasting our position!

CROSSDammit! Quinlan, take that ship out now!

Quinlan is furiously tapping commands into her console.

QUINLANFeel this hot love up your tailpipe!

As she finishes her exclamation, she jabs the firing button again.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise issues forth a volley of five quantum torpedoes. They careen unerringly towards the hobbled Hideki and annihilate it.


The ship shudders slightly as it passes through the debris from the ship.

CROSSHelm, double back to the Lukan's position.

CUT TO:

EXT. SPACE

The Lukan is still stationary in space, still in a state of repair. The Enterprise emerges from warp and resumes her station keeping nearby.

CROSS (V.O.)Captain's Log, supplemental.

(MORE)


CROSS (V.O.) (CONT'D)We've been spotted by an advancescout of the Black Henoix, and we'llprobably be seeing the rest of themsoon. We're still stuck with theLukan, as she's still unable toescape. I've ordered repairs to theLukan's tactical systems in casethings go for the worst.


The engine room is more active than usual, as engineers repair the ship with greater urgency due to the turn of events. Grey is in the back, talking with Horvahn.

CROSS (Cont'd, V.O.)I've received reports from CommanderTalora about several... cultureclashes between our and the Lukan'screw, ideological differences thatare making it hard for our two crewsto work cohesively. I can only hopethis doesn't bog down repairs to theLukan now that we're in a criticalsituation.

GREYHorvahn, this power coupling could have easily handled twice the surge as it did. Why did it burst?

HORVAHNWe may require it to conduct morepower than you seem to think it'scapable of. It is the main feed forthe cloaking device, shields, andforward disruptors.

GREYI seriously doubt you're going tohave both the shields and cloakingdevice on at the same time. Thisthing burst because of the surgefrom getting kicked out of slipstream. It probably wouldn't have if it wasmore surge-tolerant.

Grey tweaks something on the conduit.

GREY (CONT'D)There. One surge-tolerant power coupling.


HORVAHNI hope you're aware you cut its capacity down by a quarter in the process.

GREYOne quarter of its capacity that itdidn't really need. Come on, weneed to go fix the cloaking deviceif the Lukan is to be of any use incombat.

Grey walks off. Horvahn takes a short moment to contemplate the coupling, and then heads off after Grey.

CUT TO:


Licinis is cleaning up after surgery on Korilim. Korilim seems to be coming around.

KORILIM(weakly)

Doctor...

Licinis quickly goes to Korilim's side.

KORILIM (CONT'D)Wha... what happened?

LICINISThe ship was thrown out of slipstream. The Starfleet vessel Enterprise answered our distress call.

Korilim doesn't seem to like what he's heard. He lays his head back down, closes his eyes, and sighs.

KORILIMOf all people...

Beat.

KORILIM (CONT'D)What's the situation?

LICINISThe Black Henoix have made ourposition. We were trying to repairthe ship to get out of here, but nowwe're preparing for engaging theHenoix.

Korilim sighs, still closing his eyes.


KORILIMWe should just cloak and leave the area.

LICINIS(grinning for the first time)

Now, Commander, you know that the Federation wouldn't look kindly on us abandoning our rescuers, would they?

Korilim chuckles slightly, then cringes in pain.

KORILIM(recovering from the pain)

What happened to me?

LICINISYou got badly burned by a console overload during deceleration. Over a third of your skin had to be grafted.

Korilim looks to the side and sees Elris and a Starfleet nurse tending to another patient.

KORILIMThe Starfleets are on my ship, Licinis.

LICINISIndeed. Their crew seems to be morehassle than help, at least here inmedical quarters. They've beentreating that operations crewman forsevere head trauma for the past hourwhen the engineering officer next tothem has a broken leg bone that needsto be set.

KORILIMThey should know that the engineersneed to repair the ship as soon aspossible. He could be back up onhis feet with a leg bracer rightnow.

Korilim tries to get up, but hisses in pain and lies back down. Licinis turns quickly to tend to him.

LICINISKorilim, there's no time for that, your body still is recovering.


KORILIMI need to get to the bridge, Doctor.

LICINISAnnan and Talora have things under control up there, Commander. They're probably a better choice to liaise with the Enterprise crew anyway.

Korilim is catching up with his breath.

KORILIM(reluctantly)

Yeah... I suppose.

CUT TO:


The bridge is at yellow alert. Ensign Lesmi is at tacticalwhen her station beeps. She hits a button to bring up asmall viewscreen on her console, showing a starry field. AGalor emerges from warp and approaches whatever is feedingthe video to the viewscreen and destroys it with a phasershot. Lesmi sighs nervously and taps her com badge.

LESMICaptain Cross to the bridge, Lieutennant Quinlan to the bridge.

INTERCUT:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- CROSS'S QUARTERS

Cross is awoken from a nap he was taking in his chair.

CROSSOn my way.

INTERCUT:


Quinlan and Cross enter the bridge through the turbolift

CROSSWhat do you have?

LESMIAbout two minutes ago, our recon probe was destroyed by a Galor class ship.

Cross nods.


CROSSThen they're getting close. Redalert!

The alarms and klaxons go off throughout the ship.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise and Lukan await their foes. We cut to anarea of space nearby, where several warp flashes appear, anda front of Cardassian ships appear. Mostly fighters, someHidekis, and three Galors.


CROSSHail the lead ship.

The speakers give the hailing chirp. Cross gets up andprepares himself to speak.

CROSS (CONT'D)This is Captain Neil Cross of theFederation Starship Enterprise. Youare in violation of the ArmisticeTreaty of 2375. You are to standdown immediately and await disarmamentby the Romulan Star Empire.

The viewscreen switches to display a Cardassian in themetallic Cardassian military uniform, wearing an arrogantface that was thought to have been erased from all ofCardassia years ago.

LAMACI am Gul Lamac of the Black Henoix. You are hardly in a position to makedemands in Romulan territory,Starfleeter.

Cross raises his eyebrow.

LAMAC (CONT'D)(arrogant)

Why aren't your Romulan friends makingthese demands? Are they not capableof backing your ultimatums up?

CROSSYou have your orders. Stand downimmediately.

Gul Lamac laughs condescendingly at Cross's insistent demand.


LAMACI don't think you realize just whatwe're capable of, Captain. We caneasily destroy both your ships withour new weaponry.

CROSSIf you even fire one transphasictorpedo at us, both the Romulan Empireand the Federation will hunt youdown until there's none of you left.

LAMACHah! We are the Black Henoix, mastersof the shadows. I find your threatslaughable at best, Human.

The two men stare each other down through the viewer.

LAMAC (CONT'D)Surrender your ships at once.

CROSSNot gonna happen.

LAMACThen prepare to meet your maker.

The viewscreen blinks out and returns to a starfield view.

EXT. SPACE

The Cardassian fleet marches forward towards the two ships.

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT THREE

RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus" - ACT FOUR 43.

ACT FOUR

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE

The Black Henoix armada, flying in formation at the Enterpriseand Lukan.


The bridge is at red alert.

QUINLANThe first wave will be enteringextended range in forty seconds.

CROSSHelm, bearing 345 mark 320. Tactical,open up with a broadside volley assoon as they're in range.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise turns her side towards her incoming foes andlifts her side up slightly. The two phaser strips on theedge of the saucer issue forth two bright orange phaser beams.

ANGLE ON THE CARDASSIAN SHIPS

The first wave, made up of mostly fighters. The two phaserbeams strike two fighters, causing them to subsequentlyexplode. The two phaser beams then sweep throughout theformation, leaving exploding fighter craft in their wake. The remainder of the fighters spread out more and increasetheir speed.


QUINLANThe fighters have accelerated toflank speed, we'll be within theirweapons range in ten seconds.

CROSSUnderstood. Enterprise to Lukan, doyour thing.


The Lukan is at combat alert. Talora is still on the bridge.

ANNANAcknowledged, Enterprise. Tactical,engage cloaking device. Helm, bringthe ship around to the flank of thefirst wave.


EXT. SPACE

The Lukan breaks station with the Enterprise and cloaks.


The viewscreen shows stars whizzing by as the ship turns. The viewscreen then slows down and stops as the wave offighters appears on screen.

ANNANQueue up your targets, Marius.

Marius types away at his console.

MARIUSReady!

ANNANFire!

EXT. SPACE

Out of nowhere, a flurry of pulse disruptor bolts fly forthand take out several more fighters. Some of the fightersstill remaining turn their sights on the phantom that attackedthem from the side, and fire wildly. A few strike the unseenLukan.

Behind them, the second wave is already well on their way. In this one are a pair of Galor class destroyers, a fewHidekis and many more fighters.


QUINLANSecond wave inbound.

CROSSAll right, let's move it out. Helm,move to intercept the center of thesecond wave's formation. Open fireon the lead Galor once we're in range.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise departs from her stationary position and movesto engage. We cut to where the Enterprise enters weaponsrange. She opens up with a volley of torpedoes and severalphaser shots. The lead Galor loses its front shields in thebarrage, and veers to the side to avoid any more direct hitsthan it's already taken. A second Galor in the wave, locatednear the rear, fires a single, yellow torpedo.



QUINLANOh Jesus, they just fired atransphasic torpedo!

CROSSWhere!?

QUINLANThe second Galor!

CROSSLoad a countermeasure torpedo andfire it as soon as it's ready! Helm,evasive action!

QUINLANOne step ahead of ya...

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise breaks its attack run, and fires a singletorpedo into the formation. We follow this torpedo as itintercepts the transphasic torpedo and then EXPLODES in itspath. The explosion is filled with exploding gas, plasmatrails, and small chunks of debris. The transphasic torpedoemerges from the other side of this cloud spiraling out ofcontrol, but still in the general direction of the evadingEnterprise.

The torpedo EXPLODES! A giant sphere of warped, shimmeringspace erupts from the flashpoint, expanding towards theEnterprise. Several Black Henoix craft are caught in theexplosion, and whole portions of the ships begin disappearingand reappearing. They fall apart and explode inside thesphere within seconds.


The viewscreen displays the aft of the ship, looking at thegiant ball expanding towards the Enterprise.

CROSS(yelling)

Nathan, floor it!

Stolt clenches his teeth as he frantically issues commandsinto his console.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise flees the transphasic explosion. Just as itis about to reach the Enterprise, it stops expanding, andnicks the tail end of the Enterprise's aft shields. Theshields flicker and shimmer as the aft shield collapses.



CROSSDamage report!

QUINLANAft shield arc has been completelydisabled. Other than that, nothing. We lucked out big.

Cross lets out a relieved sigh.

QUINLAN (CONT'D)Hold that, sir. Several fightersare inbound, they'll be at point-blank range in ten seconds.

CROSSFire at will.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise turns to move away from the giant sphere ofspace the transphasic explosion has enveloped. A swarm offighter craft envelop the Enterprise. She responds by firingat some of them with the vast number of smaller phaser stripsdotting her hull. A few are swooping in from behind throughthe hole in their shields and strafing the hull directly.


The bridge shudders from weapons fire.

QUINLANDammit, there's too many of them! They're sneaking in through the holein our shields!

CROSSArmor up! Switch the point-defensephasers to auto-targeting. We needto focus on the bigger ships.

QUINLANSir?

CROSSThey're the only ones that are ableto fire a torpedo as big as atransphasic. We need to take themout so we don't have another near-miss with them.

EXT. SPACE

The phaser fire from the smaller phasers is now much morefrequent, and much more accurate.


The Enterprise, still surrounded in the swarm of fighters,moves to engage a nearby Galor. The Enterprise's initialbarrage on the ship is followed up unexpectedly by abombardment of disruptor and torpedo fire from the invisibleLukan.


CROSSGood, I was wondering where theywent off to. Enterprise to Lukan,focus on the larger ships, they'rethe ones that are going to be carryingthe transphasics.


ANNANAcknowledged, Enterprise. Marius,swing around for another pass atthat ship, fire at targets ofopportunity on the way.

The ship SHUDDERS from weapons fire.

TALORAAnnan, you shouldn't be using outgoingcomms while the cloak is engaged! They may be able to track it.

The ship bucks hard from another hit.

ANNANDamage report!

MARIUSDirect hit to the engineering hull. There's a surge buildup in the EPS.

ANNANBridge to engineering, get that surgeunder control!


There are still several Starfleet engineers interspersedthrough the room as well as Romulan engineers. There is afrantic air about the room as they lock down damage.

DECIAAcknowledged, bridge!

Horvahn is looking at something on a console near theinduction core.


HORVAHNPrimary power coupling is reaching80 per cent surge capacity.

DECIAWe're gonna have to shut it off! Bridge, prepare to decloak, we haveto shut off the—

GREY(interrupting)

Wait! Let it happen!

DECIAWhat?

GREYWatch...

They all watch Horvahn's console, which is showing a graph. A line on the graph begins inching closer to a red line nearthe top. Gradually, it starts fading back down again.

GREY (CONT'D)There. See, Horvahn? Increasedsurge tolerance. Now we don't haveto pull the plug.

Grey smiles and goes off. Decia has since left to go dealwith something else, leaving Horvahn to contemplate.


The ship shudders again from weapons fire.

TALORAAnnan, your sustained firing is makingit easy to track the ship.

ANNANTalora, if we're to get rid of theseguys, we need—-

TALORAThat's not the point, Annan. Youdon't know how to use a Romulan shipto its full advantage. You may beable to act like a Romulan, but youhave yet to learn how to think likeone.

ANNANMarius, cease fire.

Annan leans over to Talora.


ANNAN (CONT'D)(softly)

Then what should I do?

TALORAIf you sustain fire as you move,they'll track the source of theweapons fire and return fire in ourgeneral vicinity. You need to unleashheavy bursts of fire, and then moveto another target without firing.

ANNANIt could take far too long to waitfor an opportunity like that. TheEnterprise is up to her neck infighters and is contending with threeother ships at once.

TALORAThe Enterprise is a tough ship,Marcus. Captain Cross can handlehimself. We are most useful to theEnterprise by striking at theCardassians when they least expectit.

ANNANHmmm...

Annan contemplates the situation.

ANNAN (CONT'D)What is the Enterprise engaging rightnow?

MARIUSThey're focusing fire on a Galor offour port bow.

ANNANHelm, turn to face that Galor.

TALORAWhat's your plan?

ANNANThe Galor will eventually turn toface a less-damaged shield facingtowards the Enterprise. When theydo, the more damaged facing that theEnterprise was hitting will be towardus. Then we strike.

Talora smiles.


TALORAThat's more like it.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise, still afflicted by the swarm of fighters, issquaring off against the Galor. Exactly as Annan expected,the ship does an about-face.


ANNAN(shouting)

Fire!

EXT. SPACE

A giant swarm of quantum torpedoes and a single plasma torpedoerupt out of space. The first torpedoes in the wave impactthe weakened shields of the Galor, which give way almostimmediately. The now unprotected hull is showered bytorpedoes. The giant plasma torpedo completely blows theGalor's wing blade off.

The Enterprise turns to directly face the crippled Galor,and finishes it off as it swoops overhead. Several fightersare caught in the explosion the Galor gives off in its deaththroes.

INT. ENTERPRISE--BRIDGE

CROSSEnterprise to Lukan, nice assist.

QUINLANThe next Galor is on our stern. Ithink he's lining up for anothershot with a transphasic.

CROSSDamn. Prep another countermeasuretorpedo.

EXT. SPACE

The Galor in question fires another transphasic torpedo atthe Enterprise. Out of nowhere, a single disruptor boltfires, and hits the torpedo. The torpedo spirals a bit, andthen EXPLODES, creating another sphere of distorted space. The expanding sphere envelops the Galor and all the shipsaround it.


ANNANLucky shot, Marius.


MARIUSOne more Galor to go.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise seems to have swatted the majority of thefighters plaguing her. She is barreling towards the lastGalor left, firing phasers and torpedoes. The Galor turnsto face the Enterprise in a last-ditch charge when it's hitfrom behind by the Lukan. As its raked by weapons fire fromboth the front and the rear, the ship breaks apart. We cutto the bulk of the remaining armada turning tail and running.

We cut back to the Enterprise, taking potshots at the fightersnow fleeing her. The Lukan decloaks behind the Enterpriseand takes position next to her, joining in taking potshotsat the fleeing rabble. We pan to see the two giant tumultuousspheres that the transphasic torpedoes created.


QUINLANThe last one just fled into warp. They're heading back to the asteroidfield.

CROSSThank God that's over with. Quinlan,launch hazard buoys to mark thetransphasic fallout. Enterprise toLukan.

ANNAN'S COMM VOICEThis is Lukan.

CROSSGet me in touch with Grey.

Beat.

GREYThis is Grey.

CROSSGive me some good news about theLukan's warp drive.

GREY'S COMM VOICEStill no slipstream or high warp. However, the ionization has subsidedenough that we can take her out onthe Enterprise's slipstream.

CROSSGood. Beam over and prep theEnterprise for slipstream, so we canget the hell out of here.


Cross relishes his last few words.

GREY'S COMM VOICEWith pleasure, sir.

EXT. SPACE

We get a good comparison shot of the Enterprise and the Lukanas the Enterprise takes position overhead so the Lukan canride piggyback. The Lukan is a good 25 percent longer thanthe Enterprise, and also wider because of its wings. Thetwo ships dash off into slipstream.

CUT TO:

EXT. SPACE -- SLIPSTREAM

The two ships are in slipstream.


Cross is talking with Commander Korilim on his desktop viewer. Korilim bears a few vague disfigurements from his injuries,he's apparently not fully recovered.

KORILIMRepairs to our own slipstream willbe complete soon, we'll be able tore-enter Romulan space under our ownpower.

CROSS(jokingly)

You don't feel like riding the restof the way home on us?

KORILIMI'm sure you're aware that relyingon you for the ride home would behard on the pride of Romulus.

Cross nods.

KORILIM (CONT'D)On another note, my chief engineerhad a complaint she wanted to passon to you. Your Lieutenant Boylecaused a disturbance that impededrepairs, a difference of opinionthat degenerated into a heatedargument.

CROSSOh really?


KORILIMYour officers should learn to havemore self-control than that.

CROSSShe's been a problem officer forsome time, actually. I'll beaddressing the issue soon.

KORILIMI see.

Beat.

KORILIM (CONT'D)You sure had a lot of nerve to comeover to rescue us, you know.

CROSS(smiling)

You're welcome. We'll be arrivingat the Romulan border in a fewminutes, you'll be free to continueon your way from there.

KORILIMActually, Captain, I've received acommuniqué from Command that we'reto escort you to Romulus.

Cross reacts.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- ENGINEERING

Grey is in a side alcove talking with Horvahn through a videolink.

HORVAHNI've managed to convince Decia toleave your little changes alone forthe time being.

GREYThat's amazing in itself. I wouldhave thought she'd remove them in aheartbeat while muttering aboutworrywart Starfleeters.

Horvahn laughs softly.

HORVAHNHow are things on the Enterprise? Iwould imagine your ship is in a sadstate after the skirmish.


GREY(sarcastic)

Ahh, give it a fresh paint job andtighten a few stembolts and no onewill know the difference. Seriouslythough, she's built to take as muchas she gives.

HORVAHNI see. Your ship and crew reallyrisked a lot to come and rescue us.

GREYHey, it's what allies do.

HORVAHNWell, duty calls, Mister Grey.

GREYSame here. It's been an honor.

HORVAHNIndeed.

The comm signal ends. Grey checks the clock reading on theconsole.

GREYIt's time for the little chat withthe Captain.

CUT TO:


Grey and Cross seated on their respective sides of the desk,discussing something, when the doorbell chimes.

CROSSCome in.

Boyle enters the room. Grey turns to face her with adetermined look.

CROSS (CONT'D)Lieutenant Boyle, I've consideredyour request to be reinstated to theengineering staff.

BOYLEAnd?

CROSSI have declined your request.


BOYLE(surprised)

What?

CROSSCommander Grey thinks you incite toomuch friction and strife within theengineering staff.

Boyle looks angrily at Grey.

BOYLEHow could you do this?

GREYI can do it the exact same way Ifired you in the first place,Lieutenant. I want you off my staff. Permanently. You're not a teamplayer, you're always looking outfor number one, without giving acare as to who you step on.

Boyle starts getting fidgety.

GREY (CONT'D)Did you know that Commander Korilimlodged a complaint with the Captainover your little incident with theLukan's chief engineer? I'm sureyour little outburst didn't helpelevate Decia's already low opinionof Starfleeters.

CROSSWith that said, I have decided tokeep you on the Operations staffunder Lieutenant Cale.

Flustered and furious, Boyle searches for something to say.

BOYLEI'm... I'm gonna file for an unfairdismissal case against you, Erik.

GREYGo right ahead.

Boyle leaves in a hurry. Cross and Grey both let out a sighof relief as she leaves the room.

CROSSGood riddance.


GREY(jokingly)

You think it was really necessary toremind her that Brian is herdepartment head now?

CROSS(smiling)

Yes.

Beat.

CROSS (CONT'D)So who are you going to choose foryour new deputy chief?

GREYI don't know, really. The only goodofficer I got to keep after theEnterprise was reinstated a year agowas Boyle. Ensigns Blake and Simonegot the hang of slipstream drivespretty quickly though. I recommendthem for promotion to deputy chiefs.

CROSS(nodding)

I'll see what I can do.

The comm system cues in.

QUINLANQuinlan to Cross, we will be arrivingin orbit of Romulus in five minutes.

CROSSAcknowledged. I'll be on my way tothe transporter room.

Cross gets up and heads out the door. Grey follows him out.

GREYWhere are you going?

CROSSSenator Amannius has invited me tomeet him in person.

Beat.

GREY(surprised)

Wow.


CUT TO:

EXT. SPACE

A small Romulan civilian ship flies past as the Enterpriseand Lukan emerge from slipstream. We pan to follow them asthey take orbit around the beautifully green planet Romulus,surrounded by many other small Romulan civilian ships, and afew Warbirds docked at a nearby Starbase.

EXT. ROMULUS -- SENATE OFFICE COMPLEX

Like most of the Romulan edifices surrounding it, it is agreenish grey, looking like a cross between modern and Romanarchitecture. We can see the dome of the Senate Chambernearby.

INT. AMANNIUS'S OFFICE

Amannius is reading a padd, when his intercom chimes.

SECRETARY'S COMM VOICEThe Starfleet captain is here to seeyou, Senator.

AMANNIUSSend him in.

Seconds later, Cross enters the room.

AMANNIUS (CONT'D)Ahh, Captain Cross, welcome. I assumeyou had an uneventful trip here?

CROSSThe escort was a bit pushy in gettingme here, but other than that, no.

AMANNIUSAh, you must excuse them, the onlytime we have Starfleet ships in orbitof Romulus is when you run errandsto your embassy here.

Amannius and Cross sit down at the desk.

AMANNIUS (CONT'D)So, how is Romulus for you?

CROSSWell, from what I saw of it on theway here, it's very green.

Amannius chortles at Cross's friendly jab.


AMANNIUS(retorting)

From what I've seen of Earth, youhumans seem to have an equal obsessionwith the color beige.

Amannius pours himself a drink.

AMANNIUS (CONT'D)Do you know why you're here, Captain?

CROSSI assume to accept thanks for rescuingthe Lukan?

AMANNIUSIn a way, yes.

Cross is intrigued.

AMANNIUS (CONT'D)Admiral Delfune spoke of a Romulancontact she trusts greatly.

Cross is surprised that Amannius knows of this, but quicklyrealizes what Amannius insinuates.

AMANNIUS (CONT'D)You're a smart man, Captain. I cansee you're already catching on. Yes, I am Admiral Delfune's Romulancontact.

CROSS(surprised)

I didn't expect her Romulan friendsto be so high up... or close to homefor that matter.

AMANNIUSYes, about my daughter...

CROSSYes?

AMANNIUSShe cannot know.

CROSSWhy?

AMANNIUSThe best place Talora can help thefight against Janus is on theEnterprise.

(MORE)


AMANNIUS (CONT'D)If she knew that the Empire wasalready aware of the severity ofthis threat, I feel she would mostcertainly come back home looking tofight them here.

CROSSYou have little faith in yourdaughter's loyalty to the Enterprise.

AMMANIUSNot at all, Captain. She is fiercelydevoted to your ship, and to you. But A Romulan's first loyalty, firstduty is to Romulus. Despite herardor of the Enterprise and hershipmates, Talora is no exception. If she knew her home was threatened,she would fight. Just as you would.

Beat.

CROSSJust as I am.

AMMANIUSIndeed.

Amannius takes a sip of his drink.

AMANNIUSI'm taking a great risk involvingmyself in this secret alliance,Captain, but I did it because I thinkthat Janus is as grave threat to usall. His influence and power continuesto grow, and I do not believe hewill stop with the Federation. Heis just as great a threat to us ashe is to you. What I do, I do forRomulus. All I do is for Romulus.

CROSSDie all, die merrily.

AMANNIUS(smiling)

Sometimes I wonder if your Shakespeareis of Romulan descent.

Amannius gets up and the two men shake hands.

AMANNIUS (CONT'D)Well, Captain Cross, your ship awaits. I hope we meet each other again inthe future.


CROSS(smiling)

As do I.

Cross exits Amannius's office.

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise breaks orbit of Romulus and goes to warp aswe...

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT FOUR

THE END

All For Romulus” Story By Chris Edmonds & Hadrian McKeggan ... · RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus"...

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Transcript of All For Romulus” Story By Chris Edmonds & Hadrian McKeggan ... · RENAISSANCE: "All For Romulus"...