Post #295: "There is No Sacrifice too Great for the Tal Shiar"

Posted on Wed Aug 20th, 2025 @ 7:50pm by Lieutenant V'Lar & T'Kes

830 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: A New Beginning
Location: President's Office
Timeline: current

The arrival of the Ocampa aboard base had led to an uptick in activity for T'Kes and what little staff she currently had, suddenly here they were preparing for things that had seemed unthinkable when the Synthulans had ripped right through the Federation, it felt good to get back to normal or as close to normal as they could get for the moment. T'Kes was sat at her desk, her chair spun round so she could look out of the large panoramic window that dominated one of the walls of the office, the red tone of the Ocampa homeworld very much in view as she looked out. She finally felt comfortable being sat where she was, President of the Federation, it would have seemed unthinkable for a Romulan such as her to rise to the office but these were desperate times and she was a Federation citizen who had the political background and had been ready, willing and able when it had been required. She was still willing to bet that she had the biggest inbox of anyone on the base and while they still needed to figure out the barter problem, a census and a great many other things on a seeming never ending list, just being in orbit around what could become the newest Federation world was a start. After everything that had happened they'd needed this.

She looked around as V'Lar walked into the office, her daughter had an unmistakeable understated presence, "It's starting to feel real isn't it?" V'Lar said "Starting to feel like we've actually got a shot of putting it all back together."
"Yes it is." T'Kes said "All journeys from a single step."
"How logical." V'Lar said
"I did marry a Vulcan remember." T'Kes said "So what's on your mind?"
"Major Thrace and myself have been looking at potential alpha quadrant operations that we may attempt once our position in the Delta Quadrant is secure." V'Lar said
"You'll need a lay of the land first." T'Kes said "But you already know that. You're coming to me because I know how the Romulans operate."

"Yeah." V'Lar said "How would the Romulans operate at this point?"
"Not so different from the Cardassians in all honesty." T'Kes said "If as the projections suggest the Romulans have taken large swathes of what used to be Federation territory then each sector, potentially each system will have a Praetor like figure who governs in the name of the Empress, they'll have full license to use the iron fist and all the rest of it. That's the structure but there is a weakness that the Romulans do not admit to the existence of."
"Which is?" V'Lar asked
"The Tal Shiar is still the Tal Shiar." T'Kes said "It's still the same beast that the Federation has known for centuries. The Praetor like figures won't be rank and file Romulan military they'll be Tal Shiar officers, and if there's one thing the Tal Shiar is known for it's for being an organisation that runs on strength not ability. The Empress rose to power in the wake of Romulus's destruction because she was opportunistic enough to take advantage of the power vacuum and ruthless enough to use the distraction caused by the loss of Romulus to eliminate her enemies. However that does not mean that the loyalty she receives is unconditional or voluntary. Despite all appearances the Romulans have always been quite factional, they're unified for now but such things generally don't last and when there's a vacuum there will be opportunists."

V'Lar brushed at her red hair before looking at T'Kes again "So if the Empress wasn't there..." she said
"It's likely the Empire breaks apart." T'Kes said "But it won't be that easy... I know the Empress, I've never seen a more shrewd operator than her, she's deadly, cunning, ruthless everything the so called perfect Romulan needs to be which is hilarious considering she has human ancestry. She understands the key mantra of the Tal Shiar."
"Which is?" V'Lar asked
"There is no sacrifice to great for the Tal Shiar if it is for the greater glory of the Romulan Empire." T'Kes said "You can imagine the debates that led to on the Senate floor."
"Cooperation and closer relations with the Federation, potentially even Federation membership which you supported would clearly have been opposed by them and their supporters in the Senate." V'Lar said
"Correct." T'Kes said

V'Lar took a breath before heading towards the door, she got about three quarters of the way there before she abruptly stopped and spun on her heels "After the Shinzon incident relations between the Federation and Romulus were closer than ever but for the destruction of Romulus that would have likely continued." V'Lar said "You think..."
"There is no sacrifice too great for the Tal Shiar." T'Kes said "Including manufacturing the destruction of the Romulan homeworld."

*********

Lieutenant V'Lar
Chief Intelligence Officer
Starbase Obsidian

T'Kes
President of the United Federation of Planets
Starbase Obsidian

 

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