“Ma'am it appears the lead ship is coming straight for us,” Arva said urgently as he landed over his console looking at his commander.

Nitus hadn't said, moved, or done anything since she gave her orders to Enzo. She was in shock. The death that her brother would cause for people who had done nothing was something she couldn't understand. She was in shock. She could never believe that Eldus would betray his values. She struggled to comprehend why he would choose to hurt innocent people that people hadn't even been near Romulan space.

“Ma'am?” Arva called out to her. He sounded as if he was miles away from her. When the muffled and distorted sound of his voice reached her ears, she was still barely grappling with the conflicting emotions that whirled in her heart. She tried to make sense of her brother's actions but couldn't she wanted to stop him, confront him, or distance herself from him.

“Yes,” Nitus said her voice quivering as she spoke. Everyone could hear the emotions in her throat that were trying to come out as she spoke that single word.

“The main she of the flotilla is bearing down on us,” Arva said again as he looked to T'Soni with a concerned expression.

Nitus stood there as she processed his words. “Take us to red alert, Mr. Arva,” she said as she cleared her throat and walked back to the command area, “Quietly load torpedoes and arm phasers, but don't raise the shield just yet. I want us to appear as a carrot, but have a stick ready right behind,” she said to him as she sat down in the center chair.

“Yes, ma'am,” Arva responded. He was worried for his commander. She might have to fight her brother. It was something he wouldn't wish on anyone. Fighting against your own family has to be one of the hardest things to do in the universe.

Nitus was pushing her feelings to the side despite wanting to talk with her brother in hopes of better understanding his motives. She was in command and she had to think about the wellness of her crew, not just her family.

“Ms. Lovar, when the ships get in range open a channel,” she said as she put her emotions to the side and gave her orders to the crew.

“Yes, Ma'am.”

Sitting in silence she thought over how this might play out. The least likely scenario is that after finding out that it's his sister Eldus he has just encountered he will cease his attack on the planet and explain himself to her and to Starfleet. However, she knew her half-brother well enough that this would never happen. The most likely scenario is him destroying the Paramount and then laying waste to the rest of the system. Nitus knew she would have to confront him one day; she just thought she would have gold on her uniform when that day came. Fate had a weird way of playing out. Does it not?

“Commander, what are you planning?” T'Soni asked in a hushed tone. She was worried both as a friend and her subordinate. The threat that was approaching them was something that she was completely unprepared for. Nitus talked little about her family but from what she knew she and her brother weren't on the best of terms.

She turned to look at T'Soni she could see the concern etched across her friend's face. She knew she hadn't been the steadfast force she had been in the past but it was different. The threat that she was now facing is unknown to her. She had only one goal for her and her crew, “To live, Number One.”