The Pinta arrived at the Acropolis. Xact and Acrylos immediately set to the task of identifying the Breen invader. Tegora went to meet with Praetor T'Ros. T'Ros was her usual self. She called the insectoid hybrid disgusting and called the images in Tegora's personal logs of a naked Tegora's sitting on the opening in the top of the head of the hideous creature revolting.
Tegora looked at T'Ros, "I am treated like a queen by one of kindest souls in the universe. As a queen, I am permitted to sit on a throne. I am honoured to do so."
T'Ros turned her nose up at the thought. Tegora could feel her disdain and joked, "And you would not believe how good it feels."
Tegora knew that would shut the Romulan up. Acrylos came down to the meeting area. He looked at Tegora, "We may have a problem. This infestation has the ability to react to our defences. It appears to be something of the Founders. It appears like them to be able to manipulate its form."
T'Ros retorted, "Hence our struggles to eradicate it. We are at a loss as to what to do."
Tegora looked at Acrylos, "What about direct communication with the virus? As a Betazoid, I may be able to speak to the community directly,"
The Bajoran found it weird to want to speak to a virus directly but agreed to the plan. James did not think this was of any value and actually proposed scuddling the station. T'Ros flat on t refused that option. Like the Corinthian Stations of Betazed, the Acropolis was a symbol of the Romulan Star Empire.
Tegora looked at Xact, "The virus simply wants to exist and believes itself to be a a pantheon of gods and demands worship as tribute"
Xact looked at Teero, "What should of we do?"
"The prophets are held in a wormhole near Bajor and many of us have journeyed to worship them. From our service to the Phoenix Fleet, we know there is a wormhole that is rarely used between here and the fringes of the Beta quadrant. What if we move the virus to this wormhole and include the requirement to pay tribute through prayer and through homage to the pantheon as part of travel through the wormhole. Tegora could let them know of the similarities between their existence and the prophets of Bajor. This would create a purpose other than disruption of the Acropolis systems.", Acrylos offered.
"I will make the plea.", Tegora went straight to contact.
"They will accept as long as the Romulans acknowledge the pantheon as gods.", Tegora looked at the engineers.
"We are a race of order and reason. There are no gods here.", T'Ros lectured in her response.
"These are the conditions of withdrawal,", Tegora repeated.
"I won't do it.", T'Ros snapped.
"Madame Praetor, we will need to move you to the Arboretum. The trees there will naturally produce oxygen for breathing as the station's life support is no longer functioning.", the aide announced.
"And while you are there, I suggest you build an alter to worship the pantheon.", Tegora taunted.
The Founders were devastated when the Romulans helped the Federation defeat them in the Cardassian War. The Founders were devastated when the Romulans refused to see the shapeshifter saw gods. It is likely that the virus was a gift to the Breen from the Vorta and the Founders with the hopes that when the time was right it would used against the Romulans.
The Founders never wanted the Romulans to die. They wanted to be acknowledged as gods. Though there are few who are not in hiding, the known Founders must have taken great pleasure in watching Praetor T'Ros bow down to her knees the beg the pantheon to leave her station and to call them gods.
Tegora smiled as the Pinta shuttle disappeared into the Hunt wormhole taking with it the Founder virus. Acrylos watched as Commander James Vixxen began to bring systems back online. The human looked at Tegora, "And I thought an engineer would solve this crisis not an intuitive Betazoid communicating with a micro community of viral life forms that consider themselves God like."
"That's my girl.", Xact smiled.
T'Ros looked at Tegora, "If you repeat the events observed I the arboretum I will deny them completely."
"Praetor T'Ros, the events that have occurred here will be logged in the inter universal cartography of the KFCE Pinta and hereafter users of the Hunt wormhole will pay tribute to the pantheon of the Acropolis and will know that the first such tribute was paid on the Acropolis itself by the highest representatives of the Romulan Star Empire.", Tegora mocked.
T'Ros looked at the tormenting Betazoid, "Your boyfriend is still a hideous creature."
Her actions were like that of a wronged cheerleader in the cool clique.
Tegora smiled, resting her head on the side of Xact's upper body, "I can live with that."
Posted by:
Colonel Acrylos Teero
Chief Enginner
King's Fleet
With creative assistance from
Nicole Branson
Governor
Reykja Penthe
King's Fleet Protected Territories
