100 Themes Challenge

This section will include every entry from the 100 Themes Challenge and certain entries will probably be out of order. >.>

And so, to cut the ribbon of my new subforum layout (thank you, Nikkei), I shall now post entry number one.

001. Beginnings

"Personal log stardate 48315.6,

I am unsure of which event to begin with, the altercation with the Maquis or its crew, as well as myself, being annexed into that of the Federation Starship Voyager. Or perhaps it would be more efficient to start with my life on Romulus, my home world, and continue chronologically to this place in time. Yes, that is what I've decided. I shall start from the beginning of my career, which ultimately led to this undesireable situation.

Twenty years ago, the Romulan Star Empire was at war with the Federation, as it had been and I am certain will be until a victory has occurred. Whatever treaty or unstable truce had been made, our hate for the Federation and the inhabitants of its worlds would never allow peace. In hopes for a better understanding of the power of this enemy, The Senate made the decision to adapt Vulcan practices of supressing emotion into a small group of chosen members of the Tal Shiar. It was thought that this would bring about an advantageous knowledge of our enemy, and therefore allow us to improve our battle tactics. For twelve years, various methods were used to this purpose. At last, it was time to put this theory into practice. Our first battle experience in that state, the state of pure logic.

We faught against a Federation starship whose name was never communicated to us. The Praetor himself ordered that we not respond to hails or any other form of communication. The starship was able to see past our cloaking technology and we were ultimately defeated. The warbird was terminated and only a small percent of the group survived, escaping on shuttlecraft and returning to Romulus. Upon our return and when the news of our failure reached the Praetor, we were stripped of our ranks and sent to patrol along the Cardassian border, for purposes never properly communicated. In the last eight years, there had been many attacks by the Maquis, a rebel organization from Federation planets. Most were terminated.

Several days ago, a spacecraft piloted by myself and a companion was targeted by another, an outdated Maquis starship. Logic dictated that this battle would be no different than the others. Our technology was superior. We had the advantage. The battle went on for little more than an hour. Through the course of that short time, they had disabled our shields, left our spacecraft defenseless. Logic dictated that we should surrender. My companion had other plans, refused to respond to hails, and attacked. He said that with his honor on the line, he would rather perish than surrender. Even if that meant dying with a vulcan sympathizer. It was logical that he should come to that conclusion. Knowledge of the experiment was classified. The Maquis retaliated, our spacecraft destroyed.

Within the last few seconds, both myself and my companion were transported to the starship, an illogical act of mercy on an enemy. We were subject to the whim of a human leader of the Maquis. He called himself Chakotay. Two other members of note were a half-klingon, half-human hybrid called B'Elanna and a vulcan named Tuvok. We were kept behind a contianment field for the better part of two days, as a result of my companion's reluctance to cooperate, until the ship was attacked by a Cardassian spacecraft. Another battle ensued and the maquis retreated into the Badlands, looking to the plasma storms for cover.

After this, it is curious what happened. I was told that a displacement wave had carried the ship to an unknown territory, now known to be at least seventy-thousand light years away. Thereafter, we spent several days in a holographic simulation created and run by one only known as The Caretaker. It was then that the crew of Voyager arrived, while we were in some form of suspended animation. The rest of the story can be deduced with little difficulty. The two crews merged and the journey back to Federation space began."