Where We Stand

[N'Rycus 0]

The waves washed up against the piers with added frequency from the wake of the boat pulling into its berth. Several other ships were coming in as the Avalon sun began to set on the horizon. The crews were quick to secure the ship and begin unloading their catch. It was an ancient art and largely lost in a day of replicators and perfectly engineered foods. But the Romulans had not traveled as far down the road to Borgdom as certain other peoples.

 

The Administrator turned to view the community they had built on Avalon. The docks along the beach of this protected bay were only the beginning. The fish market lay to the south, produce from the farms flowed to the markets to the north, and in between was the vast merchants' market underneath the transport landing pads. Rolling up the hills were the community of artisans and skilled laborers and the homes of these brave Romulans who had come so far to make a life.

 

He was proud of what these people had done so far.

 

He was also very afraid of how tenuous it was.

 

It was amazing how much events on the other side of the galaxy could affect a small settlement so many light years away. Romulus was flirting with strife once more. Forces again wished to draw the empire inward to deal with its issues while leaving the rest of the universe to fend for themselves. Ambassadors with power were being replaced by junior attaches with little more skill than taking a message. Joint ventures like Aegis and the Triangle Development League had already lost much interest in expanding a Romulan presence. Inroads of trade and culture were growing cold.

 

But it wasn't going as easy as usual. Perhaps, finally, the Romulans had stepped out too far into the affairs of its neighbors. For once there were firm feet barring the doors from closing. Worlds were not giving up the ties across borders. Even blasphemous words had been spoken by a few radical members of his own homeworld of Romii about how that if the Empire could not face the universe through its troubles that perhaps they should align their interests with others... even possible membership in the Federation. Even if spoken by madmen they were words that had never been spoken before. Beyond those extreme ideas Romulan officers were still doing their duties from Cardassia Prime all the way to Camelot high in the sky above.

 

And the Romulan hearts of these settlers were as firmly devoted to the land below their feet now as they were to the soils of Romulus when the first settler stepped onto its shores. Could they achieve anything as great?