Love and War B. 04

Foreword:

And now a new chapter in the lives of Jason and Delaara MacKenzie. I recommend reading the 'Love Thy Enemy' 4 part series and the first three books of 'Love And War' to know what's going on here. This is, like the others, a love story and romantic adventure set in the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry. While sex is in each story, it doesn't play a central role. I've thrown adventure, humor, and spaceborne dogfighting into each story so far. This will be an epic length story arc by the time I'm finished. If you like Star Trek, I hope you all enjoy my additions. :)

I.D.

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Cry Havoc

As the Christmas and Liberation Day celebrations were winding down on both Romulus and the USS Nimitz, in orbit around the formerly enemy homeworld, Ambassador Spock was saying his goodbyes to his friends and family at Ambassador Stovrin's estate.

"I thank you once again for your hospitality, Stovrin," Spock said with a smile.

"Anytime, my friend." Stovrin answered with a smile of his own. They had been friends for years, and he'd made Spock godfather to Delaara, his daughter.

Spock turned to his goddaughter and her husband. She hugged him tight. "Thank you for coming, Uncle Spock," she said with a smile for the elderly Vulcan.

"I wouldn't have missed this Christmas and Liberation Day for anything, Delaara." He turned to Jason. "And thank you, Jason. Your gift meant more to me than you know."

"It was just a token of my respect, sir." Jason bowed his head. He'd found the old figurine in one of his father's old boxes at home, and remembered that Spock had once served as First Officer under Captain James Kirk, and later as Captain of the NCC-1701 USS Enterprise when she'd been refit as a training vessel.

"As it may, but thank you all the same, son." Spock shook his hand, and they traded Vulcan salutes of long life and prosperity. Spock was gratified that one so young knew the proper protocols, but knew that Jason wasn't the average Starfleet officer. That was evidenced by his Romulan bride, and future mother of his child.

"Delaara, I am so happy for you both. Have you decided on a name?" He asked her.

"We haven't gotten that far yet, but I was thinking Bryan for a boy." She turned and saw Jason's shock. That had been his father's name. He smiled then and hugged her.

"In that case, my love, I recommend Stovara for a girl." Jason smiled, and Delaara's face split into a grin, recognizing the feminine version of her late brother's name.

"Hey, we still haven't decided on a name yet!" Rash said as he held his wife.

"We still have four months left to decide, Ryan. Don't rush it." Rachael said, smiling up at her husband

"It will come in time, Ryan. You will know." Spock said. "Now, I must go. Politics and Diplomacy can be more dangerous than frontline combat."

"That is true, my friend," Stovrin said with a wry chuckle. "Be well until we meet again, Spock."

"Live Long and Prosper, Stovrin," Spock said in reply, before turning and walking towards the Praetoriate.

"Now where the bloody hell are Cole and Donatra?" Rachael was looking around for her pilot and his new friend, Delaara's cousin.

"If I had to guess, I would say they're saying their own goodbyes in private, Captain." Jason winked and grinned.

*****

Jason was right, and as they lay together in each other's arms and caught their breath, Donatra kissed Cole lovingly.

"Cole, why couldn't you have been born Romulan?" Donatra smiled warmly at him.

"Why couldn't ye have been born Irish, Dona?" He asked back with a roguish grin.

"After this weekend, I wish I had been!" She chuckled and grinned at him.

"So do I, luv." He said and kissed her again. She was his ultimate ideal in a lover. She was beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, and very energetic.

"I've received word that I've been assigned a new Warbird. The IRW Valdore is mine to command. Maybe I could sneak across the Neutral Zone sometime for a quick weekend at Risa." She winked at him.

"Just name the time and place, darlin'," Cole replied with a passionate kiss. "I'll go AWOL if necessary." He chuckled.

"Mmmmmm, Cole, as much as I would love to spend the rest of the week fucking your brains out, I think we should get dressed and downstairs to see you off." She winked and snuggled closer to him, not wanting to let him go.

"Dona, are ye sure ye don't have any Irish in ye?" He asked.

She chuckled. "I'm sure. I would know if I did."

"Would ye like some, lass?" He winked and grinned his disarmingly charming grin.

Her eyes widened as she got the joke. "As a matter of fact..."

*****

The rest of the family sat around talking and laughing as Donatra got her Irish in her for the last time that holiday.

"Cole is a good guy. I could see Donie falling for him." Delaara shrugged. "And he can go toe to toe with her in a drinking contest."

Ryan laughed at that. "True. I've never seen so much Romulan Ale drunk at one sitting!"

"Donatra has always had an extremely high tolerance for alcohol." Stovrin nodded, smiling. "I've seen her outdrink Romulans twice her size, at least five in a row."

"Cole has nearly as good a record against Klingons with Blood Wine. After the last time on Kling, they made him an honorary Klingon." Jason grinned at the memory.

"Yeah, when he came to and I told him, he said 'Bah! I'm Irish! Why the fook would I wanna be a Klingon?'" Ryan said in his best Irish brogue.

"Aye, that's because I'm fookin' Irish!" Cole shouted as he and Donatra finally came down hand in hand to join them.

"And we wouldn't want you any other way, brother!" Ryan laughed.

"And now I have some Irish in me, apparently." Donatra said with a wink.

All the adults laughed, and luckily the children were too young to get the joke. They both liked their new Human 'Uncles', though. Jason had brought them all presents, Ryan had taught them to build snowmen and make snow angels, and Cole had taught them some Irish jokes where he'd changed the Irish characters to Romulan. He also made their Aunt Donatra happy.

Admiral Stelis was also happy. He'd been incredibly rude to Jason when they'd first met, and had underestimated Delaara's husband, but they had made their peace finally and become friends. After Jason had beaten him soundly in a bout of Ra'Tra'Ora that left him bruised and a few bones broken. He'd come to like the young fighter pilot who had earned his cousin's love and trust.

He'd been particularly impressed with Jason's generosity and perspective. It had given him a new perspective on Humans and Romulans and their familial ties. They weren't so different after all.

"Ok, we'd better all go before Starfleet gives us some other assignment before we can even get back to Federation space." Rachael chuckled. "Stovrin, T'Rya, and everyone, it's been my pleasure to meet you all, and my honor to call you all friends."

She turned to her pilots. "Come on, kids. Let's go save the galaxy... again."

"It was our pleasure to have you here, Rachael. We hope you accept our hospitality whenever you're here." T'Rya said with a smile, and Stovrin nodded his agreement.

"We will, if you will accept ours when you visit us sometime." Rachael said. She saw Cole giving Donatra a kiss and hug out the corner of her eye.

"We'd be delighted. Now, we'd better get cleaned up around here and get ready."

"I have a new ship!" Donatra exclaimed with a grin. "I'll go take command and escort you all back to the Neutral Zone!"

"That sounds like a good idea!" Jason said. "Hey, Cole. You want to ride along with her until we reach Federation space?" He winked at his friend.

"Actually, I would, Commander. If it would be alright with Commander Donatra, of course." Cole grinned again.

"You'd better, boyo!" She grinned back.

*****

And hour later, the IRW Valdore launched on her maiden voyage with Ensign Cole 'Bolter' McBride of the Federation Starship USS Nimitz as a special guest of her Captain, Commander Donatra of the Romulan Imperial Fleet.

The Nimitz and Valdore formed up and entered Warp together with their course set for the Neutral Zone.

Aboard the new Warbird, Cole and Donatra stood on her bridge and Cole whistled appreciatively at the sights around him. "This is one helluva ship, Commander."

"That it is, Cole." She was beaming with pride at her first Command.

"Crew is squared away, and you have some serious firepower onboard, if I'm readin' this right." He nodded in appreciation.

"Well, let me give you the tour, Ensign." She winked at him as she gestured towards the turbolift.

"I'd be honored, ma'am." He said with an answering wink and his trademarked grin.

The 'tour' had been a rather short ride to the Captain's Quarters, where Delaara had already had her gear beamed aboard before she officially took command of the Romulan Military's newest ship of the line.

As soon as she had him inside, she was stripping his flight suit from him and kissing him like a woman possessed.

He likewise was removing her uniform with record speed, and they fell into bed together in a tangle of naked flesh. She threw him on his back and inhaled his cock down her supple throat.

Cole groaned appreciatively as he reached down and twined his fingers in her dark reddish hair. His eyes were closed as she expertly sucked him into her mouth and throat over and over. "Dear God, Dona!" He moaned out loud. "I'm gonna come, luv!"

She pulled her mouth off of him and continued to stroke. "Do it for me, baby! Come in my mouth!" She inhaled him again and felt his cock swell as she stroked his balls and sucked hard.

Cole gasped and shouted "I'm comin', darlin'!" as he exploded into her mouth. She sucked greedily, swallowing his entire massive load as his hips pumped into her face with each pulse of his seed.

She came around her fingers as he'd shot in her mouth. 'Oh fuck I wish I could keep him!' she tought to herself. He was everything she'd ever wanted in a lover.

"Commander! Nimitz is hailing. We need you on the Bridge, sir!" Came over her combadge. She grabbed if from her uniform jacket and answered. "On my way."

They dressed as quickly as possible and ran to the turbolift and up to the bridge less than 30 seconds later. Cole caught her eye and gestured to her lips. She had missed a small spot of his cum, and quickly wiped it into her mouth as she winked at him.

"On screen, Centurion," She said professionally.

*****

"Captain Thatcher, we have a distress signal coming in. Audio only, ma'am." Lieutenant Jackie Chambers said. The communications officer was relaying the info to her Captain.

"Let's here it, Jackie." Rachael nodded.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is the USS Bombay requesting assistance from any nearby Federation ships! We've come under attack from Cardassians near the Romulan Neutral Zone in the NZ12 system. Five attacking ships in total. Send help immediately!"

"The Bombay. That's Rob Strickland's ship. Helm, set course for NZ12, and Jackie, hail the Valdore." She commanded.

"Yes, ma'am. USS Nimitz to IRW Valdore." She said.

"This is Valdore, Nimitz. Centurion Survik here. What can we do for you?"

"We need your assistance. Is Commander Donatra available?" Rachael had a pretty good idea where they were, and smiled to herself.

"I'll have her report immediately, Captain." The Romulan replied, nodding. He cut audio and video while keeping the channel open as he called Commander Donatra to her bridge.

She and Cole appeared less than thirty seconds later, and she said "Onscreen, Centurion."

Rachael saw her and smiled at them both. "Cole, I hate to cut your visit short, but we need you back aboard. We've received a distress signal from the USS Bombay in the NZ12 system, and we need all our pilots. Commander, if you would, your assistance would be greatly appreciated. It seems that the Bombay is under attack from no less than five Cardassian ships."

Donatra nodded once. "We'll set course immediately, Captain. I'll escort Ensign McBride to our transporter room, and have him back aboard Nimitz in a moment."

*****

Jason was scrambling with Delaara and the rest of the Skulls towards the aft flight deck. Cole appeared from the transporter room and joined the dash.

"Vacation's over, Bolter. Welcome back!" Jason said as they ran. They were five minutes from the NZ12 system.

"Aye, sir. I'm gonna miss her." Cole replied as they ran. They got into the turbolift, and were soon in the hangar, sprinting to their fighters.

Once the canopies were closed, Cobalt got on the comm. "Strikers, we have a possible of more than five Cardassian ships in the NZ12 system attacking the USS Bombay at this time. I'll send telemetry and assignments for each squadron upon launch. Stay sharp out there."

"Scorpions ready, sir."

"Stiletto acknowledges, sir."

"Good." Jason switched to Squadron. "Skulls, we have Commander Donatra and her new Warbird backing us up. Let's not disappoint Bolter's girlfiend." He grinned.

The chuckles and laughs died down on the comms after a moment.

"Ok, seriously, Skulls. Let's go save the Bombay, and let's all come back alive. Gloria ad mortem!"

"GLORIA AD MORTEM!" came the thunderous reply.

"We'll be dropping from warp in one minute. Strikers, get ready!" the CAG said over the comm.

"Roger that, CAG. Striker Wing is prepped and ready. On your order."

The Nimitz and Valdore dropped from Warp to see the Bombay, severely limping, being pursued by five Cardassian Cruisers.

"Striker Wing, LAUNCH!" The CAG bellowed.

"Go, Skulls!" Jason shouted as he punched his throttle all the way forward. They banked and saw the situation, and Jason started calling the shots as he marked the Cardassian ships and sent telemetry. "Scorpions, on 1. Stilettos on 2. Skulls on 3, standard attack patterns!" He then relayed his targets to both Nimitz and Valdore. "Valdore, this is Skull Leader. Striker Wing has 1 - 3, if you'd like to take 4 or 5, we'd appreciate it."

"No problem, Commander. Valdore has the last two. Good luck, Jason, and tell Bolter hi from me." Donatra's voice betrayed her grin over the comm.

"Bloody hell, I'm not gonna hear the end of this, am I?" Bolter said over the squadron comm.

"You know it, Bolter!" Bounce said with his own grin. "Charlie is ready, Cobalt."

The Skulls were closing quickly at full warp burn towards the third Cardassian, and opened up with all Quantums as soon as they entered missile range. The shields on the cruiser died and they moved in to disable shields, weapons, and engines.

"Bravo, take port phasers, Charlie, take starboard phasers. Alpha is on tubes as usual." Jason called out their targets.

Valdore opened up on the fourth cruiser with full disruptors, disabling its shields and phaser banks in one salvo. The second salvo fireballed the Cardassian ship.

Stiletto Squadron had destroyed the second Cardassian in no time, and was already heading towards the fifth cruiser by the time Valdore hit it with a full spread of torpedoes, annihilating it from existence.

The bombers of Scorpion Squadron hit the first cruiser with their Torpedoes as well, and destroyed most of the ship's capabilities in one strike, coming around for another pass to finish it off.

"Strikers, leave Cruiser three alone once it's disabled. We need some answers. The rest can burn." Jason wasn't in the mood to take more prisoners than necessary.

"Roger, Skull Leader." came the replies from Scorpion and Stiletto.

Jason then relayed his orders to both Nimitz and Valdore, receiving acknowledgments from both. He knew procedure. Before a war could be declared, answers must be sought. These ships were a long way from home, and Bombay had already destroyed one of them, judging by the amount of wreckage already in the system.

"Nimitz to Bombay. IRW Valdore is here to assist as well. Do not fire on them." Captain Thatcher said over the open comm frequency.

"Bombay copies, Rachael. Good to see you!" Rob Strickland said with relief in his voice.

"Only too happy to help, Rob." Rachael replied. "Now, just sit back and watch my boys and girls work!"

Jason grinned at the exchange as his squadron kept the pressure on the third cruiser, completely disabling it.

"Skull Leader to Nimitz. Cruiser 3 is dead in the water." Jason reported.

"Great job, Striker Wing, and thanks to the IRW Valdore for their assistance!" Rachael said over the open comms.

A cheer went up from the pilots of Striker Wing to their Romulan ally for this battle.

"It was our pleasure to assist, Nimitz." Donatra said over the comm. "Can we assist in any way with repairs or medical personnel?"

"Not necessary, Valdore. Nimitz has this one. We already have Medical teams and emergency repair squads on the way. Thank you for your help, Donatra!" Rachael said with a smile for her newest 'cousin' on her adopted brother's wife's side.

"Anytime, Rachael." Donatra was smiling. "This was the best shakedown cruise I've ever been on. Not only did we have fun, but found out that this Warbird is fully combat capable!"

"Got that right, luv!" Bolter said to her. "That's a right beast of a machine ye're commandin' there!"

She laughed. "Thanks, Ensign. Glad you enjoyed your tour while aboard. I have your comm frequency, Cole. I'll give you a call the next time I get some Leave. Valdore, out."

With that, the Romulan Warbird turned back towards the Neutral Zone and returned home.

Jason laughed. "Ok, Strikers. Stilettos and Scorpions head back to the Nimitz. Skull Squadron will guard Bombay while they make repairs."

"Roger that, Skull Leader. We had the easy job." Lt. Cmdr Thorst said over her comm as she wheeled her Stilettos around and headed back to Nimitz.

She was right, thought Jason. It's always harder to disable a starship than to destroy it. Much more precision involved.

With the aid of Valdore, the Skulls suffered no casualties, and the Bombay was saved from complete destruction. It was limping badly and had lost its starboard warp nacell, though. Nimitz came alongside and sent some repair crews and medical personnel over to assist. The Sovereign class battleship had given a good account for itself, however. Upon further examination, it had actually destroyed two of the originally seven Cardassian cruisers before being overwhelmed.

*****

"So seven Cardassian cruisers engage a Federation battleship along the Romulan Neutral Zone. What exactly is wrong with this picture?" Rachael asked Rob Strickland over the comm.

"I wish I knew, Rachael. They came out of nowhere and opened up immediately upon exiting warp." Rob sat on his Bridge, shaking his head as repair crews from both ships worked around him to clear the Bridge of debris. "We lost Commander Jameson and Lieutenant Sheffield in the battle, as well as at least 150 crewmembers. Our sickbay is overloaded right now, and our warp drive is still offline."

Rachael could sympathize. "Don't worry, Rob. Nimitz will stay on station until we have you up and running. We've contacted Starfleet command and have requested further assistance with the crew of the Cardassian ship."

"Understood, Rachael. Thanks for the help." He smiled. "Bombay, out."

Jason and Delaara were already standing by her chair with Rash, and she turned to them. "You are the best damn pilots in the Federation, you all know that, right?" She grinned and hugged them all, kissing Rash fervently after disengaging the hugs of her Wing CO and XO.

Jason had compared the firepower of the Wing with that of a battleship, and the fighters had the battleship beat by a very small margin when firepower was concentrated equally. The fighters had more maneuverability than the battleships, but the battleships could survive more punishment in a protracted battle.