Monday 22 November 2021

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Twenty-Four

    The Liberator moved through space at the equivalent of warp five. There was still some time before they would arrive at Cygnus Alpha so they decided to explore the ship even further.
    Avon led them down a corridor to a discovery he had made. He led them into an alcove room. On one side of the room there appeared to be some sort of transporter pad, with an operating panel facing it on the opposite side of the room.
    “What is this?” asked Jenna.
    “This is a teleport system.” Avon replied.
    “You mean a transporter?” said Blake.
    “No, a teleporter. From what I can tell it works on the same principles of the sub-space transporter, dubbed the teleporter.
    “You mean we could teleport across great distances?”
    “No. It works like this. If we were to orbit a planet on one side we could teleport to the far distant side of that planet.”
    “That will come in useful.”
    Then a call came through from the Bridge. It was from Zen.
    “We have arrived in a stationary orbit around Cygnus Alpha.”
    Blake turned to Avon.
    “How does this teleporter work?”
    “You have to wear one of these bracelets.”
    Avon handed Blake one of the bracelets, which he put on.
    “The bracelet also contains a communicator.” Avon continued. “You can only be brought back up while you wear the bracelet. Lose it and we lose you.”
    Blake then took hold of two of the other bracelets. He then picked up the weapon he had taken from the Bridge.
    “Set co-ordinates for half a mile from the main camp.” he said, stepping onto the teleporter pad. “I will contact you once every hour.”
    “I’m not entirely sure how these controls work.” said Avon.
    “You’ve spent the last hour studying them.” said Blake. “So I’ll just have to trust you.”
    Blake took the weapon out of it’s holster.
    “Okay. Put me down.”
    With a flick of a switch Blake began to shimmer, his molecules being converted into energy. Seconds later he was gone. Jenna then checked the scanner.
    “He’s down, and he’s safe.”
    “Let’s just hope he’s not a fool.”

    It had been a long day for Stephen Franklin. The condition of Security Chief Michael Garibaldi continued to baffle him. His injuries were healing fine, but he was still not coming out of his coma.
    With a yawn Franklin walked down the corridor towards MedLab, once again going to check on Garibaldi’s condition. As he entered MedLab he fastened up his smock and let out another yawn. Then, though tired eyes, he thought he saw someone, someone in the medical chamber with Garibaldi. The man had his back turned to Franklin so he couldn’t see his face. He was wearing an old-style black suit with a long cape draped over his shoulders. For a moment Franklin thought Magus was in the chamber with Garibaldi, but then he caught sight of the man’s jet black hair. Magus had had hair that colour for over a thousand years.
    Then, from afar, he saw the stranger place his hand on Garibaldi’s head. A glow then appeared above his hand. Garibaldi’s body jerked slightly as the strange energy seemed to flow through his lifeless body. It was then that Franklin made his presence known to the stranger.
    “Hey! You! What are you doing in there?”
    The man turned around and stared at him. He didn’t look much older than twenty-five, perhaps thirty. The man said nothing. He just stared at the doctor. Franklin then activated his communicator.
    “Franklin to Security. We have an intrude in MedLab.”
    The stranger then moved towards the chamber exit. Franklin went to block his exit, and then the stranger raised his arms. There was a bright flash of light, a light which blinded Franklin for a short time. When he could see again he could not see the stranger. There was no sign of him. A few seconds later the guards arrived, weapons in hands.
    “It’s okay. He’s gone.”
    Franklin then glanced at the medical scanner. He was shocked.
    “It can’t be! His signs are improving!”

    Having reached the surface of Cygnus Alpha Blake then looked around at the barren, deserted wasteland. He thought that the Federation had picked the right place for a penal colony, because spending the rest of your life in a place like this would make any man regret any crime they may have committed.
    In the distance Blake saw what he deduced was the main compound. Strange, he thought, that there seemed to be no guards visible. He decided to make his way towards that compound.
    On foot, walking at a brisk pace, it took him ten minutes to reach the perimeter of the compound. Again he met no resistance. He quickly found the entrance and moved inside. Looking around he saw two robed figures leaving an area of the compound carrying empty plates. He had obviously arrived just after feeding time. He waited until these two figures were out of sight. Then he moved into the corridor.
    Once again he was surprised. There was no 24th technology present. It resembled the old-style 20th  century prisons he had read about in history lessons. The corridor was lined with old-style cells. He looked around until he heard voices coming from the cell at the end of the corridor. He then began to make his way to that cell. Upon arrival he saw who he had come to find - Vila and Gan.
    The thief was pleased to see him.
    “Blake! How did you get here? The last thing we heard was that you and the others went off in that alien ship the Valkyrie found!”
    “We did, and now we’ve come here to get you two out of here.”
    “But we can’t leave! We’ve got the disease!”
    “Disease? What disease?”
    “The Curse of Cygnus. If we leave this planet we’ll dine! And now you’re here you’ve got it too! You won’t be able to leave!”
    “I see no sign of any disease!”
    Then the next thing Blake felt was pain, pain from a blow to the base of his skull.
    “I don’t know how you got in here but I’m sure Lord Vargas will find out how!”
    Those were the last words Blake heard before he became unconscious.

    The Operations Room on space station Pegasus was above with the news that a ship, a Federation starship, was approaching the station. It was the first starship to enter the system since Servalan’s declaration that the Time of Legends was now off limits to all Federation traffic, and at first the Ops crew thought that this was a vessel sent to attack them, but they soon found out this vessel, the U.S.S. Flying Scotsman, had no such intent.
    Pendragon looked out of the Ops window as the old starship approached them.
    “Captain.” said Greenleaf. “They are asking for permission to dock with us.”
    “Permission is granted. Tell them to go to Docking Bay Four. I’ll be there if anyone wants me.”
    A short time later Pendragon walked along the corridor to the Docking Bay Four airlock. On the way he was stopped by Doctor Pulaski.
    “I heard that Magus was here.” she said. “I thought I’d tag along!”
    “By all means Doctor.”
    Soon the airlock opened, and the figure of Phineas Magus stepped out. Pendragon shook him warmly by the hand.
    “It’s good to see you again Ambassador.”
    “Please, refer to me as Doctor now.”
    Magus then went over to Pulaski and placed a hand on her shoulder.
    “How are you coping? I know that you were only married to James for a short time, but it must have still come as a shock to you.”
    “It came as a shock to everyone.”
    Then Magus turned to everyone.
    “Tell me Captain, has there been any word from Starfleet Command regarding your decision to stay here?”
    “Nothing. I thought there would have been something but there’s been nothing!”
    “Good. Then it will make my task here slightly easier. I have information that will incriminate our new President in several shady matter. I would like to present this evidence at a meeting of the Council.”
    “I’m afraid that may be a bit difficult. Several of the Council members are unavailable. They can’t be found anywhere!”
    “I would be grateful if you could try and find them Captain. The evidence I have could have ramifications for the entire quadrant. We must make our plans.”
    “Okay then, I’ll try my best!”
    “Your best has always been good enough!”

    The last time the main courtroom in the Old Bailey had been this full was for the trial of Thomas Leacock, the man found guilty of killing President James Watt. On this day the courtroom was full for the expected final day of the trial of former Starfleet captain Tarak Queeg, who was standing trial for the several charges, most notably treason and the attempted murder of President James Watt.
    Once again Norah Satie presided over the court. The prosecution and defence had both laid out their cases in a most professional manner, which impressed the trial’s observers. Now Judge Satie was making her summing up speech. New evidence had apparently come to light about a certain mid-handling of the investigation into the incident on Babylon 5. It was because of this new evidence that Judge Satie was making this speech.
    “New evidence concerning this case has recently been brought to my attention.” she started. “And it distresses me greatly. It appears that there has been a cowboy attitude regarding the investigation into the charges against the defendant. The fact that some officers in Starfleet Security, most notably Admiral Joseph McCarthy and Lieutenant-Commander Ro Laren, did not carry out their duties properly. It is because of this I am dismissing the charges against Captain Queeg. I therefore dismiss the charges against him.”
    Judge Satie’s decision was greeted with silent shock, especially from Admiral Quinn and Commodore McCloud, who had been in attendance. Queeg was led from the dock, and after his files were processed he was set free.
    Outside the court a short time later Quinn stood in conversation with McCloud.
    “I don’t understand it!” he said. “I saw the files Admiral McCarthy had compiled. It was the most thorough investigation I have ever seen before! On this evidence along Queeg should have been convicted!”
    “I should know.” said McCloud. “I was there!”
    Then they stopped talking as Commander Sleer’s shuttle landed nearby. Shortly afterwards Sleer emerged from the shuttle and he waited until Queeg came out of the court. He brushed aside questions from the reporters that had gathered wanting to know his view on the trial. The reporters, as well as Quinn and McCloud, watched as Queeg was ushered into the shuttle by Sleer. A short time later they took off.
    “I think we may have just found out how he got off Scot free!” said Quinn.
    “A little Presidential intervention you mean.” said McCloud. “Perhaps it’s time I did a little investigating of my own!”




No comments:

Post a Comment