Foul Murder

[Chirakis 1]

Foul Murder

 

Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

~Hamlet: Act 1, scene 5

 

The full implication of his sacrifice would come later, but at his death Chirakis Kirel, once a fierce enemy of Tylus Petrinius Jorahl, raged against his murderer, spitting vows of blood vengeance as though he were a brother. The ignoble act was beyond measure, for by the very nature of his death there would be no remains for mourning, no body left to give the honor due it, and for several moments thereafter Kirel could not contain herself.

 

In her earlier days with Starfleet Intelligence, Kirel had come to know the man as a worthy adversary, his file bulging with accomplishments against the Federation that had become the stuff of legend. Some were true, some false, and many exaggerated, but all pointed in testimony to one of the most intelligent agents the Romulan Star Empire had ever produced.

 

As legend is often based in fact, he was no mere engineer, but a master of reverse-technology. Entrusted with the Empire’s most delicate engineering projects, he had become known as the Reaper throughout the Intelligence community.

 

Whether by an ironic twist of fate or a fortunate alignment of planetary bodies, Tylus Petrinius Jorahl had emerged from the RSE to become one of the most valuable engineering assets assigned to Sky Harbor Aegis by the Joint Allied Powers. Kirel had become his commanding officer, and through his accomplishments he had risen to SubCommander, equivalent to full Commander in Starfleet, Second Officer and third in command of Sky Harbor Aegis.

 

Did she trust him? No.

She trusted no one.

Did she recognize him as serving the best interests of the station?

Yes, when it came to love of his own creation: its design and fortifications, the work of his hands.

No when it came to loyalty.

But this she knew beyond a doubt: Tylus Petrinius Jorahl was an honorable man.

And he had, with his last breath, given his life in testimony.

 

“I've disabled the defence grid. 5 warbirds are on patrol. You must act....”

 

In the hours that followed that horrific scene, Kirel struggled to put aside the countless torturous acts she had planned for his murderers in favor of planning the station assault. Not only had he given valuable information with his last words, but he had prepared the station and its loyal officers to repel those who would strip it of its honor.

 

As Revenge forged its way toward Aegis, an undercurrent of strangely disparate emotions permeated the atmosphere. A deathly stillness mixed with purpose and determination clouded with the image that not even a starfield at warp could erase from her mind. And it occurred to her that though Captain Roberts surely had his reasons, for this particular mission the ship was appropriately named:

 

Revenge.