The Omega Glory

The Omega Glory,

or,

Down the Centuries,

You Have Slurred the Meaning of the Words,

by Liviana

Oh, the bad, bad, wicked, evil, undemocratic, bad, evil, wicked, anti-democratic, bad Electoral College!

Let's (again) look at why the Electoral College exists in the first damned place, and without the recent bullshit about how it was done for racist or pro-slavery reasons (it wasn't, and those who have said that it was are spinning a line because they want their damned queen to be installed in the White House).  I mean, after all, those who think they want to abolish the thing really ought to be aware of the reasons it exists in the first place.

And too often, those who have been calling for the abolition of the Electoral College are significantly less well-read in the fields of Political Philosophy and History than those who drafted the Constitution.   How many of you have read Locke, Rousseau,  Montesquieu, Cicero, Tacitus, Juvenal, Machiavelli, Genovesi, Voltaire, Hume, Hobbes, Bayle, Diderot, Kant, Seneca, and Plutarch?  Plato?  Aristotle?  Zeno?  How about Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton?  Paine?  Franklin?  How much do you know about the way the government of the Roman Republic was set up, how it worked, how it changed over time to the beginning of the Empire?  What do you know of the government of Classical Athens?  I'll wager that most of you are not familiar with even half of these things.  And you think you are better suited to decide on how our government should be set up than the Founders, who knew all of these authors and all of this history and political philosophy, rather thoroughly?  They were concerned and serious about trying to establish something better than anything which had existed before, but you guys FEEL like it's "bad," because poor little Hillary didn't get to be "the First Woman President" and you FEEL afraid of da big bad Twump.  Isn't thinking that you are better suited to do that than the Founders were (based on your FEELS instead of any actual STUDY of how governments have worked -- and failed -- in the past, how this government was set up and why, the thoughts of the Enlightenment thinkers and the Philosophers and Historians of the Classical World) a bit presumptuous?  Just a little bit, maybe?

Let's see here, then, ...  Ah, here we go, a bit of a summary.  Here's an excerpt:

The reason that the Constitution calls for this extra layer, rather than just providing for the direct election of the president, is that most of the nation’s founders were actually rather afraid of democracy. James Madison worried about what he called “factions,” which he defined as groups of citizens who have a common interest in some proposal that would either violate the rights of other citizens or would harm the nation as a whole. Madison’s fear – which Alexis de Tocqueville later dubbed “the tyranny of the majority” – was that a faction could grow to encompass more than 50 percent of the population, at which point it could “sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens.” Madison has a solution for tyranny of the majority: “A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking.”

You can read it all here:  The Reason for the Electoral College

What else do we have?  Oh, right.  Federalist Papers, Number 10, by James Madison, to which I have already referred some of you:
The Federalist Papers, No. 10

I think some of you didn't read it.  Perhaps you thought it too tedious, or maybe the language was too dated.  So here's a summary and analysis.

If that's still "too long" for you, then you really shouldn't even be trying to tell anyone else a damned thing about the Electoral College, but here's a Cliffs Notes version.

We also have Federalist Papers, Number 68, in which Alexander Hamilton gives his reasons for wanting the Electoral College:
The Federalist Papers, No. 68

Again, though, maybe you find that too tedious (it's considerably more brief than Number 10, however), or think the language is too dated, so here's another summary and analysis, for Number 68.

Cliffs Notes version?  Got that, too (although, really, wow).

Here's something else:
Federalist No.68 vs. Antifederalist No. 72: The Debate over How to Elect the President

And another tasty morsel:
Why the Electoral College Exists (and Isn't Going Anywhere Soon)

The abolition of the Electoral College would be disastrous; it would allow NYC, Houston, DFW, Chicago, LA, and San Francisco to elect the President of the US, without anyone else's votes counting for shit. Presidential candidates would no longer give a damn about campaigning in any other part of the country, and, once in office, would be free to totally ignore the majority of the nation and cater to those six high population centers. Democratic? Maybe. Good? Not even close.

Some of you have attempted to frame the Electoral College in terms of a "tyranny of the minority" in response to our talk of a "tyranny of the majority" (which comes from de Tocqueville, for those who seem to have never heard the expression before -- and I have to ask, did y'all not take US History or Civics in school, have you forgotten all you learned in those classes, or did you just not pay any fucking attention?).  You guys are falling into Bifurcation Fallacy again. It doesn't have to be a tyranny of anyone, so get your heads out of that box already. That's the point. In a democratic federal republic, the minority is protected from the whims of the majority. It's a rule of law, not a rule of the majority (nor of the minority).

Some of you have asserted that the Electoral College is "backwards."  It's not backwards, and here's why. The ecosystem of each region is different from that of other regions, and that affects the economy of each region.  That's even more true now than it was in 1787 when the final draft of the Constitution was finished, or 1789 when the Constitution was ratified.  What is useful for the economy of the Great Plains of DFW may not be useful for the swamps ("Coastal Plains") of Houston, or the Great Lakes North of Chicago, or the temperate rain-forest of the PNW, ... much less the breadbaskets of the nation, which, Comrades, are obviously rural.  The needs and concerns of the rural "minority" are no less important than the needs and concerns of the urban "majority."  It's not about Democracy. It's about seeing that the minority are not disenfranchised by the majority. That's why we have (or used to have) a democratic federal republic and not a democracy.

It's not about tradition, either.  Y'all have to come to terms with the reality that different regions have different economies due to their different ecosystems. Catering to nothing but the five or six highest population centers will deny any voice at all to the rest of the nation, and their needs and concerns will become irrelevant. You can call this "undemocratic." I don't care. It IS undemocratic. It denies the tyranny of the majority. Hillary knew how the elections work, and she had her chance to make her case to the rural voters, but she didn't give a shit about them, and she never has. She's an elitist. It's not hard to reach out to the people; you just have to show an authentic interest in their needs and concerns, but she has no interest in anything other than her own ambitions, and she's not particularly bright. So now we have her relative (by marriage) howling about the Electoral College, because Hillary didn't campaign in any sort of winning manner.

To win the presidency, a candidate must make his or her appeal to the people of the nation, and not merely to some areas in which they believe their support is strong. The Democratic Party establishment, being so out of touch as has been demonstrated often over the past few years, has even suggested that they could basically "write off" the South entirely, with the exception, perhaps, of two or three states. Here are a couple of several examples of such a call:

Dems, It's Time to Dump Dixie

Whistling Past Dixie:  How Democrats Can Win Without the South, by Thomas F. Schaller

The Democrats have been advised against this several times:

Why National Democrats Should Not Neglect the Deep South

Should the Democrats Give Up on the South?

Democrats Can Win the South Again.  Here's a Simple Strategy for Hillary 2016

Democrats' Neglect Perplexes Southerners

Democrats Are Not Speaking Loudly Enough to Be Heard in Rural America

In spite of this advice, however, the establishment Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, have stubbornly clung to this arrogant elitism (oh, and how they love to believe themselves to be elite, but they're NOT;  they're fucking STUPID, or we would right now be looking forward to President Bernie Sanders), and, as anyone who WAS in touch could have told them, the result was that they got bitten in the ass after shooting themselves in both feet:

Rural Vote Fuels Trump;  Clinton Loses Urban Grip

Rural America and a Silent Majority Powered Trump to a Win

Revenge of the Rural Voter

Collapse: Democratic Insider Says Clinton Lost White Rural Voters By A Three-to-One Margin

Even had they undertaken a massive PR campaign in the South and other rural areas, however, it would not have helped Hillary, who is seen by a majority of such voters as inauthentic, untrustworthy, and corrupt, as well as elitist and condescending; in Arkansas especially, this reputation is predominant. Many Arkansas voters are much more familiar with Mrs Clinton than the rest of the nation.

Abolition of the Electoral College would solve nothing, and only make things worse. What we need is reform, not abolition. And the reform needed is more to do with the way the Electors are awarded, not in the Electoral College itself. Instead of First Past the Post and Winner Takes All, some kind of Proportional Representation and/or Ranked Choice Voting and/or Score Voting would resolve most of the issues, and I'm not presumptuous enough to say at this point in time that I know how to blend those types of elections to resolve most of the issues, but I am erudite enough to realize that it is by some combination of those ways of electing that the resolution will be found. You'll never make it perfect. That's not to say it can't be improved; it certainly can. But it's always going to be imperfect, no matter how much it is improved. The question to consider is whether allowing the majority of people in tiny territories to dominate the minority in vast territories, when all these territories have different needs and concerns, is an improvement, and the answer is no.

This push to abolish the Electoral College is as ridiculous as the bullshit the Federalists pulled with the Continental Convention; the Articles of Confederation did not need to be replaced, when they could as easily have been reformed, and in fact, under the Articles and even under the Constitution itself, the "ratification" of the Constitution did not follow the rules, but was pushed through as if it were a done deal in spite of that (but that's a story for another time).

To suggest that the needs and concerns of the very diverse ecosystems which make up this nation should be ignored in favor of urban interests, whims, and fads, is unsustainable, untenable, and indefensible.  It is also even, dare I say it?  Anti-democratic.

The title of the post (and the subtitle, this time) comes from Star Trek (The Original Series), Season 2, episode 23;  episode 52 overall;  production code 54.


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Copyright notice
All original content in this blog is © Copyright 2013-2016 & an. seqq. by "Liviana" (Giovanna L.). 

Thus spake Giovanna.

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Leonard Nimoy, 1931-2015, He Lived Long And Prospered

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations -- Something not to be feared, but to be celebrated.

The Spock of the Mirror Universe with his sexy goatee.

I do not remember a time before Star Trek.  I was very young when the series made its debut.  I do not remember the debut.  But by the time of my earliest memories, Star Trek was here, and it never went away for some of us.  Watching "The Enterprise Incident" as a young girl, I wanted to do two things when I grew up:  be the Romulan Commander, and marry Spock.  As I grew up, I realized neither was likely (alas).  I always hoped to meet Leonard Nimoy, but that event never occurred.  Now it's too late.  My heart is doubly heavy today, with my father having passed very recently and Leonard Nimoy having joined him today.  I'm sure my dad will let Mister Nimoy know something of how much Star Trek, and Spock, meant to me.  Two of my heroes (Dad and Mister Spock) have left this life.

Leonard Nimoy has gone to the Final Frontier.  May he rest in peace.


See:
The New York Times - Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83

The BBC - Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek's Mr Spock, dies at 83

Huffington Post - Obama Mourns 'Star Trek' Icon Leonard Nimoy: 'I Loved Spock'

The White House on Twitter - "I loved Spock."  --  Me too, Mister President.  Me too.

Star Trek Online | Arc Games - Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

Happy Birthday, Khaaaaaaan!!!

On this 25th day of November in the year 1920, Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino (known to the world as Ricardo Montalban) was born in Mexico City.

He went on to attain fame as an actor in movies, television shows, and commercial advertisements, roles far too numerous to list here.

Some of those roles for which is is most well-known are Khan Noonien Singh, first in "Space Seed," a first-season episode of Star Trek (The Original Series, or, as I like to call it, "Trek Classic"), and again in the cinematic film Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan, the mysterious host "Mister Roarke" of Fantasy Island, and the spokesman for the Chrysler Cordoba.

He was also a co-founder, and the first president, of the Nosotros Foundation, which advocates for Latinos and Latinas in the television and cinema industry.

On the 14th of January 2009, Ricardo Montalban passed from this world;  the cause of death was congestive heart failure.  He is remembered fondly by many who knew him and many more who were familiar with his work.

To learn more about this legendary actor, please see the Wikipedia article here, check out this article about him at Memory Alpha, and see a listing of his television and movie roles in this entry at the Internet Movie Database.

No copyright or trademark infringement challenge is intended in the use of the images or video presented here.  I believe they meet the standards of Fair Use as laid out in Title 17, Section 107 of the US Code.

Star Trek Online, Season 9: A New Accord ((***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!***))

Star Trek Online,

Season 9:  "A New Accord"

The year in Terrhain reckoning is 2410.  A recounting of recent history is in order to ensure understanding.  In early 2409, peaceful colonies of the Romulan Star Empire were attacked by the Tal'Shiar and the Elachi.  Refugees of these attacks mostly joined with what was then named "the Romulan Republic," a faction vying for power in the wake of the destruction of Romulus and Remus in 2387, made up of a number of personnel from the Romulan Star Navy who had become stridently opposed to the overweening authority of the Tal'Shiar and the abuse thereof by Tal'Shiar agents.  They elected one of their own as their leader, a Romulan by the name of D'Tan, who had studied the teachings of the Vulcan philosopher Surak and joined the Reunificationist movement as a youth, under the leadership of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan.  Spock gave his life to save other worlds from the fate of Romulus and Remus, destroyed by the subspace spread of energy from the Hobus supernova -- a supernova caused, it was learned later in 2409, by the Tal'Shiar.  While still a Reunificationist, D'Tan did not push his personal views on others in the movement.  At the beginning of 2409, "the Romulan Republic" was merely a schismatic faction of Rihannsu, without any real territory to claim as their own.

In early 2409, the Romulan agricultural colony on the planet Virinat was involved in life as usual.  The Virinat variety of Romulan Ale had been brewed and had fermented in the casks long enough;  it was time for the Festival of the Tapping, when the Virinat Romulan Ale casks would be tapped and the colonists would spend the evening in revelry.  The Virinat style of making Romulan Ale had led to a popular variety throughout the Romulan Star Empire;  the colonists harvested nectar produced by Khellidir, insects native to the planet Virinat, and added it to the mix when the brewing process was completed, after which the ale would be poured into wooden casks at the time of the fulness of the Virinat moon and then left to ferment for five cycles of the Virinat moon.  Then the casks would be tapped, and a festival would ensue before the work of distributing the product to buyers throughout and beyond the Romulan Star Empire.  In the afternoon before the first Festival of the Tapping of 2409, colonists noticed that the normally peaceful Khellidir were strangely aggressive.  Investigation led to the discovery of machinery bearing a resemblance to Borg technology, but somehow different.  One of the elders of the colony suggested a connection to a race called "Elachi," who live in subspace.  The machinery having been disabled, however, and the Khellidir back to their typical behavior, further investigation was to be put off until after the festival.  As Malem, the Maiori of the Virinat colony, had just finished his oration at the opening ceremony and the fireworks were beginning to flash in the night sky, the colony was rocked by an explosion, and then another, and another ...

Virinat was under attack.  Colonists were abducted or killed.  A fortunate few managed to escape the planet's surface in shuttles, only to be confronted by Tal'Shiar drone ships and Tal'Shiar light warbirds.  Some colonists managed to get to older light warbirds in the system, relics of past service by the Maiori and other elders of the colony.  These colonists would fight off the Tal'Shiar drone ships and light warbirds, and even a more powerful Tal'Shiar vessel commanded by Colonel Hakeev, the Chief of the Tal'Shiar, the latter with assistance from warbirds of "the Romulan Republic" which warped in at a critical moment.  An Elachi vessel was also destroyed by the Colonists and the warbirds of The Romulan Republic.  Many of the Colonists chose to throw in their lot with the schismatic faction at this point.  Not long afterward, the unwarranted aggression was repeated in another place;  the peaceful Reman mining colony on Crateris was also attacked by Elachi and Tal'Shiar forces.  Fortunately for the Remans of Crateris, however, they had vessels in orbit, and some vessels from the Romulan Republic were also present to lend support, including ships commanded by refugees from Virinat.  A few months later, the Reman Resistance, under Obisek, allied themselves with the Romulan Republic.

Investigations conducted by the Romulan Republic's Militia Intelligence revealed the depths of Tal'Shiar crime and corruption;  a repetition of the offenses would be extensive, and is not necessary in this place, having been recounted elsewhere already, but among them is a practice of indoctrination and brainwashing using various chemical, physical, psychological, audio-visual, and other techniques.  The sycophancy, passive-aggressive tendencies, cruelty, capriciousness, and incompetence which result from successful indoctrination is very similar to symptoms of Damaged Personality Disorder, with an unhealthy dose of Paranoia tossed in.  Deprogramming efforts to liberate the psyches of subjects have not always been entirely successful.

In the first half of 2409, an expedition of vessels from the Romulan Republic rediscovered Dewa-III, a planet to which their ancestors had come after The Sundering and which they had settled before settling on the Two Planets in the Eisn System which became ch'Rihan and ch'Havran.  Important and symbolically potent artifacts from the first settlement by the ancestors were discovered and a new conference was called at Khitomer, where, after attempts to sabotage the proceedings were made by the Tal'Shiar and foiled by elements of the Romulan Republic's Star Navy and the Klingon Defense Force, the Romulan Republic was formally recognized by both the Klingon Empire (and thus the Orion Syndicate, which now secretly runs the Klingon Empire) and the United Federation of Planets.  Territory, including the Dewa System, was recognized as held by the Romulan Republic.  The planet Dewa-III was renamed ch'Mol'Rihan, or "New Romulus," and a Capitol City was constructed on the planet with assistance from the Federation and the Klingon Empire.  Although the Federation and the Klingons were still officially at war, the situation had come to the point of being primarily a cold war, with occasional minor territorial skirmishes, raids, and the like.  The two powers, and what was now "the New Romulan Republic," were faced with far more dangerous enemies, including the Tal'Shiar-Elachi alliance, the Hirogen, the Tholians, the Borg, the Breen, the True Way terrorists, the Undine, and the silent puppetmasters sitting concealed in subspace:  the Iconians.

With the discovery of a functional Iconian Gateway beneath the surface of ch'Mol'Rihan, a new season came.  The New Romulan Republic chose to power up the Gate and open it.  Representatives of both the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets were present for the event, which was almost a catastrophe, but that potential was averted.  In the process, several persons from the three powers had to escape through the active Gateway.  They found themselves inside a Dyson Sphere.  A solanagen-based lifeform was present in the Sphere, as were Voth, a reptilian race which had originated on Terrha and was bent on exterminating anyone who challenged their fundamentalist pseudoscience.  The Solanae Dyson Sphere, as it came to be called, was capable of amazing things.  Among the discoveries was the fact that connecting to the Jenolan Dyson Sphere was possible.  Unfortunately, the Undine invaded the Jenolan Dyson Sphere and began plans to launch an attack on the powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.  The three major powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, namely, the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire (Orion Syndicate), and the New Romulan Republic, banded together to fight off these attacks, but Earth Spacedock and the Qo'noS Orbital Shipyard were destroyed.  A number of Undine who had infiltrated the Federation were revealed and died trying to kill citizens of the three major powers.  An Iconian appeared with a warning.

Following these events, the Klingon Empire (Orion Syndicate) and the United Federation of Planets agreed to call an end to their hostilities.  The Federation-Klingon War was over.  The threats to the peace of the three powers, and indeed the plenitude of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, from the Tholians, the Tal'Shiar-Elachi Alliance, the Hirogen, the Borg, the Voth, and the Undine continue.  The Tal'Diann stands ready and vigilant to these and any other threats to the security and freedom of the citizens of the New Romulan Republic.




Join us and fight for the New Romulan Republic.

The Enterprise Incident

Gessatra & Tuvok

So I showed this pic to a friend from other games.  The following exchange took place:

Where I've Been and What I've Been Doing Lately

A little update

Some of those who read this blog may have noticed that I haven't been very active in posting this month, and may have been wondering where I've been and what I've been doing, and so on.  Fear not, I have not abandoned this blog, and will return to posting here in the future.

However, I've also been working on a website for my fleet in the Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), Star Trek Online (STO).  For those not familiar with the game, a "fleet" in STO is the equivalent of what some MMOs refer to as a "guild" or "clan," that is, a group of players of the game, organized through the game's mechanics, into an association.  Ideally, these groups should function in a tribe-like manner, cooperating for the betterment of the group as a group, and for the members of the group as individuals, with each member contributing to the group itself and helping other members get ahead in the game.

The fleet I started in STO is named "Tal'Diann," which is the name of the Military Intelligence organization in Romulan society.  Some of us are fans of the writings of Diane Duane, and the language which she created for the Romulans in her novels.  As such, use of the doaege Rihan (Romulan language) is welcome and encouraged within the fleet, although not required.  I'm also using the language quite a bit on the fleet website (with translation provided, of course), and have two pages on the site which provide resources for the language.

For those who might find any of this interesting, please feel free to have a look around the site (which is still growing;  my two current projects for the site are a discussion of history and culture pertaining to the Romulan people, and a biography of my main character in STO, G'essatra ir'Virinat t'Prell, the Fleet Admiral of the Tal'Diann -- neither of these writings is currently visible to the public, but they should become visible within a relatively short period of time, once I'm satisfied enough with the presentation).  Here's a link:
Tal'Diann (Phi'Tlaru Rihan)
Llea-u (Enjoy)!

Gia'na t'Prell, Romulan Temporal Sciences -- The Prize, and the Price (Fan Fic)

As the room came back into focus, I found my balance and composed myself, breathing calmly, my eyes shutting out the light briefly, then darting around to take stock.

So many timelines.

Even "mirror" dimensions for all of them.

I am in the Prime again?  Everything seems to suggest that I am, but perhaps a few readings are in order.  Ship chronometer, check.  Sensors, check.  Crew compliment, check.  Duty officers?  Bridge officers?  Department Chiefs?  First, Second, Third Officers?  All check out.

Ship name?  Well, no, that changes too often.  Real name, code name, code name, real name, translation into thlIngan, translation into Aenglish, translation into Kolaric.  Temptress, Seduction, Seductress, Talon, Honor Blade, Tabadi, -- Empire, Republic, Federation, Syndicate ...

Even my own name, for that matter.  One day D'ian, another G'iana, another Di'on, or Gessatra, or G'Dessa, or Gessa, Charvon, Melani, Liviana, Gi'an, G'Pressa, Charvanek, Thea, t'Prell, T'Prell, ir'Virinat, the Succuba -- Tabadi, Agent, Operative, Spy, Saboteur, Asset, Medic, Doctor, Nurse, Ambassador, Entertainer, Researcher, Scientist, Engineer, Advisor, Governor, Adjutant, Colonist, Refugee, Prisoner, Diplomat, Bartender, Counselor, Commander, Technician, Captain, Ael'Riov, General, Vice Admiral, Lieutenant General, galae'Enriov, Praetor, Princess, Senator, Empress -- it all depends on the context of my mission.

At least one thing is certain.  I have the Memenda, the Honor Blade, the Sword of the Raptor Star, the Talon, the Lost Sword of S'harien, the Third Sword of S'task, whatever name one might give, the name failed to convey the awesome and terrible authority and responsibility which came as its companion.  The price of the prize.  Honor and Passion joined.  It sits here in my ready room.  I found it on Dewa-III, now ch'Mol'Rihan.  I retain custody of the Sword of the Raptor Star.  This custodianship is an honor, and my greatest passion.

The prize I sought was never the Enterprise.  No, I had my own vessels.  The Romulan Star Empire had superior vessels even then.  The Enterprise had to be scanned, however.

Hmm, yes.  Things to be learned from the vessel while it remains in our custody, after all.  From behind a temporal cloak, this time.  The Azure Nebula is filled with temporal anomalies, after all.  We shall appear as a T'Liss in place of the D7 off the starboard side of the Enterprise.

Enterprise.  Prize, Price.  I always arch a brow.  This curiosity of the Federation Standard Aenglish language had not eluded me before, and it will not elude me now.  But who was the trap, who the bait, who the trapper, who the trapped?  More to the point, who was the Prize, and what was the Price?

Spahkh, the First Officer, Chief Science Officer, whom they called "Spock."

He was my intended Prize.

Kirk, however, had other things in mind.

Kirk, the Captain of the Enterprise, sought the new cloaking device installed on my flagship, and all the ships in my fleet.

While I sought Spahkh's heart, Kirk plotted to obtain the cloaking device, leaving Spock as a decoy and distraction.

I had special Vulcan dishes prepared for Spahkh.  I served him Kali-fal.  I offered him a place with me in the Tal'Diann.  I whispered a secret in his ear.  I changed into more comfortable attire.  We began to make love.

There was an interruption.

Trickery!

I slapped him.

He appealed by demanding the right to the rite of statement.  I granted this.

He began defending himself to me.

Not to the Empire.

To me!

I interrupted.

He corrected me.

He resumed.

In the midst of this, his ship managed to lock on to him and beam him aboard, but I leapt into the transport beam with my arms around Spahkh.

That was my choice.

So is this.

When it was all over, and I was alone again with Spahkh, he stated that obtaining the cloaking device was his only motivation when he came aboard the Memenda.  The nuance in his vocalization, however, left room for something unsaid.  He had taught me already that omission of information did not constitute lying, to a Vulcan.  I had to be careful with my choice of words with this one, because other things were also excepted in the Vulcan sense of the idea.  His goal having been obtained, that is all he came away from the Talon with, I accused.  No, he countered me.  He said that I underestimated myself.

A challenge, and a surrender.

Well, Spahkh.  It will remain our secret, my prize, your heart, your price, my name -- and my heart.

He escorted me to my quarters aboard the Enterprise.

Somewhere, somewhen, I am certain he can sense the smile in my eyes ... and a chill in his heart ... and a thrill in his soul.

And I sit calmly watching, scanning, observing the timeline for any further deviations.  There have been too many already with these vessels and their crews, and here I am again, altering the timeline further by observing from yet another perspective.

But Spahkh's heart will remain my prize.  Not Nyota's.  Not Christine's.  Not T'Pring's.  Not Saavik's.    Not in this timeline.  This is my Prime Timeline, and I'll guard it.  My prize, my price.






[Author's note:  In case the reader is wondering exactly what this story is, check my commentary in this post:
Star Trek: The Original Series -- Digitally Remastered   ]

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Tal'Diann Archive - Mission File : The Enterprise Incident - Introductory Material ((STO In Character file transfer from Romulan Military Intelligence))

faiihrir s'Tal'Diann

Shanaku rhae >

/ Pathal Faikarum 

- *~ The Enterprise Incident ~*

--- ch'R Memenda

--- Di'on Charvon (Liviana Charvanek akden, Ri-Fvillhu Thea akden), Riov ehrefvai s'galae'ch'Rihan

Sahhae>

/

Irhihae'edh Aenglish rhae>

/ 

[ Begin translation - Federation Standard - Courtesy of the Tal'Diann of the New Romulan Republic ~

Enhance & Restart>

 /

Tal'Diann Archive

Mission File

- *~ The Enterprise Incident ~*

--- I.R.W. Memenda ("Honor Blade")

                                         Code Name:  *~The Talon~*

--- Di'on Charvon (alias Liviana Charvanek, later Praetor Thea), Fleet Commander, Romulan Star Navy

In old style Terran reckoning, before the Federation Starfleet's Stardate had become the standard, the year 2268 (Stardate 5027.3) saw many interesting incidents.

Among them was a mission known in the Tal'Diann archive as "The Enterprise Incident."

Images and log file excerpt follow. 

The Imperial Romulan Warbird, Memenda ("Honor Blade"), Code Name:  "The Talon," arrives on the scene."

Riov Charvon in the Memenda confronts the Starfleet incursion.

A T'Liss Bird of Prey arrives on the scene off the starboard side, another Romulan D7 having decloaked on the port side of the intruding Starfleet vessel.

The Talon poised to take her prize, Riov Di'on Charvon ponders briefly.  "Log.  This captured Federation vessel is the famed Starfleet ship, NCC 1701, The U.S.S. Enterprise.  A prize indeed.  But ... Tal'Diann file on this ship and its captain is incomplete.  Some of the data suggests this vessel would not do such a thing without orders or a very good reason.  Why is this ship here?  Is Kirk the Commander of the vessel?  Why would the Federation's Flagship not only violate the Romulan-Federation Neutral Zone, but even intrude into Romulan Star Empire territory?  And a Vulcan First Officer. ... I shall have the ship's Commander, and First Officer, over for a chat.  End log."

~ End Federation Translation.  Tal'Diann Interstellar Language Department, Tal'Diann Archive ]
 >
Hannam rhae>
/ This is the introduction of a file the Tal'Diann has begun declassifying and translating as part of the new spirit of openness during these early months of D'Tan's stewardship of the New Romulan Republic and its Senate  More will follow..
>
Shanaku sahhae>
/

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Tal'Diann Recruiting Message (In-Character)

 Tal'Diann Recruiting Message

The Tal'Shiar is without honor.  Songs will be sung of those who stood cooly against them and defeated them in glorious battle, leaving a calm legacy of honor for the future.

Social Credibility, Honorable Ethic, and Passionate Virtues of the Orion People, the Klingon People, and the Romulan People.  These lofty ideals are alien to the psychopaths of the Tal'Shiar and their conditioned dupes.

Tal'Diann (Romulan Military Intelligence) is allied with the Orion Syndicate and the Klingon Empire.  Tal'Diann assets, agents, saboteurs, and spies are also KDF Intelligence operatives.  Give Vishka my regards.

Tal'Diann holds to the same lofty ideals of Social Credibility, Honrable Ethic, and Passionate Virtues of the Kolari, the thlIngan, and the Rihannsu.

Tal'Diann supports the Republic ch'Mol'Rihan, D'Tan, and the New Romulan Senate.

Under D'Tan's new policy of openness, Tal'Diann makes available the record of a mission undertaken by one of our own.

Riov Di'on Charvon was among Tal'Diann, and took a squadron of Klingon-manufactured D7 cruisers to answer an incursion into Rihan territory by what appeared to be a rogue UFP Starfleet vessel in a mission tagged by Tal'Diann as "The Enterprise Incident."

Those who seek to understand what a Rihan Intelligence community would be like without the psychoses of Tal'Shiar would do well to review the records of this incident.

Gessatra ir'Virinat t'Prell
Fleet Admiral,
Tal'Diann (Romulan Military Intelligence)

Vice Admiral,
Star Navy of the New Romulan Republic,
ch'Mol'Rihan

Klingon Defense Forces Intelligence,
Qo'noS

Orion Syndicate Intelligence
Nimbus-III

               

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