Teaser

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll live,” I said, sitting behind my desk. “What happened up here?”

“As soon as you transported down, there was a power drain on both vessels. It affected us more than the Enterprise. I think it was due to our proximity to the Reman war vessel,” Dad said. “It used a different power source. Not antimatter. From the preliminary scans, we think that they used thalaron radiation to power their jump drives. According to the Federation, it’s highly experimental and extremely deadly.”

“How did the Remans harness this radiation? Is it anything like omega radiation? Removing the ability to create a stable jump field?” I asked.

“No, it doesn’t affect the fabric of space. It’s deadly to any organic tissues,” Dad explained, handing me a tablet. “We need to proceed with caution, Edward. I know that you want nothing more than to get Nirabelle back into your arms, but this thalaron radiation could wipe out the entire Cygnarian species, along with every other species in the Federation.”

“And let me guess, this thalaron radiation can only be created by mining on Lapus?” I asked. “It is found on Lapus.”

“I think that’s what killed their planet, Edward,” Dad muttered. “It’s also found on Remus and on Cygnaria Prime.”

“But not Forx,” I said, looking down at the tablet. “This radiation and the ore used to create it is not on Forx.”

“No. But, it’s abundant on Cygnaria Prime. That’s why the Alphans picked up their attacks on Forx. The Remans need more of this thalaron ore to create the radiation for their jump cores. The Turulians use quantum singularities to create their jump drives. The Remans couldn’t figure out how to do it, despite their close relationship to the Turulians. Instead, they found a deadlier version of their jump drives with this thalaron ore.”

“Remus has run out and they’ve bled Lapus dry,” I said, “effectively killing the planet. What about Remus?”

“Remus is already a dead planet, but they are supported by their dangerous and vicious war fleet. They keep to themselves, for the most part, only venturing out of the Neutral Zone when they need supplies,” Dad said. “It appears that they allied themselves with the Alphans to strengthen their fleet.”

“Do the Remans know that the Alphans are dying?” I asked.

“Yes and they are using it to their advantage. Rose sent down a nurse to the brig to collect samples from our prisoners. The Remans are drugging the Alphans, masking their radiation poisoning and making it appear that they are perfectly healthy. The Alphans are sicker than they realize. Two of the warriors are in end-stage renal cancer. The third has an enlarged heart and the last one, the one who attacked you, has a tumor in his belly that is the size of a small melon,” Dad frowned. “They will die within a few weeks, Edward.”

“And the Remans?”

“They are immune to the effects of the radiation, both from the mining of the thalaron ore and the thalaron radiation itself. Part of it has to do with their world. Its atmosphere is thinner and more solar radiation seeps through. Their genes have adapted to the increased radiation exposure and effectively made them immune.”

“So, the Remans and the Alphans want to conquer the Cygnarians all for a deadly, radioactive ore to power their ships?” I spat. “Over my rotting corpse. I know that we are supposed to find a diplomatic solution to all of this, but this is beyond diplomacy.”

“I agree. This thalaron radiation scares the shit out of me, Edward,” Dad growled. “I have an encoded message to President M’Tak. We need the Federation Council’s approval to go to war.”

“I do not want to resort to that. If it’s possible, I want to try to stop all of this before it turns into something bloody and ugly. With the addition of the Remans and this thalaron radiation, it’s creating something more.” I pinched my nose, feeling a headache bubble underneath my skin. “I want a briefing with both the Enterprise crew and mine. Ask Captain Picard to give me all of his findings on the Scimitar, that Reman war bird that attacked his vessel. We stay in orbit of M’ay’aki for less than twelve hours and then we are setting course for Lapus.”

“Why do you think the Reman ship went there?”

“Because they took Bella. Jakob wants her so badly. He would only want her on his own terms and that means on his own planet,” I said. “For now, assemble a science team to have them figure out a way to disable the Reman cloak and how to neutralize the thalaron radiation. I want to meet with everyone in the conference room in one hour.”

“Are you commanding me as emperor?” Dad smirked. “Because, I’m certain I outrank you, son.”

“Dad, don’t fuck with me,” I snarled, glaring at him. “Those … extapi … they took my te’atée. I need her back. I can’t do this without her. If I have to command you as the god damned emperor or the Queen of fucking Sheba, I will.” My dad stood up and he walked to me. He took my face in his hands before enfolding me into a tight embrace. The dam broke and I sobbed into his shoulder, my heart deadening with each light year my te’atée moved away from me. 

Reman War Vessel