Krystal also
has a troubled department, though hers is actually quite skilled. But
they resent having an unproven "shrink" in charge of the department.
Krystal is fighting back the only way she knows how, using her access
to the psych profiles she is using that information to crush them one
by one. Although I don't actually think that's what Donald intends,
that's the way he told it to me.
Krystal was placed in charge of a routine ferry mission, to transport a
scientist from Collapsar 49 back to the Starbase. Near Uino's Star the
ship picks up a derelict on the scanner, orbiting a near M-class
planet. They investigate and find the USS Armstrong, believed to have
been lost at the start of the Earth-Romulan War.
Gonar and John check out the derelict, finding a lack of bodies and the
engine shot up. A gravimetric explosion from the planet damages the
Discovery. Clancy picks up some sort of signal emanating from the
planet. It's an old-style radio signal -- "The Romulans have the bomb!
The Romulans have the bomb! God save Earth!"
They contact the planet and find out that the descendants of the
Armstrong and a Romulan ship have been fighting the Earth-Romulan War
for the last two hundred years. (Good thing that Eric wasn't here, as I
doubt he could have ignored the obvious impossibility of the
situation.) Krystal offers to help evacuate the humans and she and the
rest go down to the planet on a shuttle, as the gravimetric interence
from the blast is playing havoc with the transporters.
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Once down
there they meet Lt JG Calvin Miller, who leads them underground to
Captain Gilgamesh Yamamoto, leader of the humans. Captain Yamamoto is
ecstatic with the news that Earth won the war and wants the Discovery's
help in wiping out this last pocket of Romulans. Krystal refuses,
insisting that the war is over so there is no need to keep fighting.
She and Clancy will meet with the Romulans, while John and Gonar will
help organize the evacuation.
Miller takes the two to the Romulans, who armed for the most part with
only primitive weapons. Their leader, Commander Telan Merek, is quite
friendly, expressing his interest in a final peace after all these
years. It is during these talks that Krystal and Clancy realize that
it's the humans who are the bad guys in this adventure ("So, plot
variant B3, eh?").
Meanwhile, the humans launch a final attack. John tries to warn
Krystal, which starts a little laser fight wherein John and Gonar kill
five out of seven humans (they were very weak and malnurished, heavy
stun can stop your heart in that case). Gonar resorts to Stimming
himself during the battle, to give him the edge he needs. After the
battle the two manage to revive four of the humans using liberal doses
of Stim.
Krystal and Clancy head of the main human party and talk them down,
Clancy resorting to shooting their leader. Once the humans are disarmed
that problem is solved. But what about the Romulans? They would like to
contact the Star Empire, which will have a fun time claiming that the
Romulan colony should remain since it isn't covered by any
Federation-Romulan treaties. As for the gravimetric bomb, Clancy
figures out that it is a new technology. He manages to convince Merek
to destroy the plans so that such a weapon cannot be used by either the
Federation or the Romulans.
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