Return to Epsilon - Chapter Three

A recess had been called by Commodore Throne. During this recess Watt returned to the bridge. When he did Amarus called him over to the tactical station.
    “What is it?” asked Watt.
    “We appear to be receiving some sort of transmission from the planet’s surface.” said Amarus.
    “What sort of transmission?”
    “It is a signal I have not seen before, but it is aimed at this ship.”
    “Can you interpret it in any way?”
    “It would take some time.”
    “You have all the time you need. Afterwards, contact me in the holodeck.”
    A short time later the court martial hearing was reconvened in the holodeck. Commodore Throne banged his gavel on the table.
    “This hearing is now in session again.” he said. “Commander Sutek, do you have any other evidence to show in your defence?”
    “I have much more.” Sutek replied. “With your permission I would like to continue with the visual evidence.”
    Throne nodded. The lights dimmed again and the view screen came to life. The scene was once more that of the cave in which McCloud had been held. In this scene McCloud was examining the transparent shielding. The young woman, Capria, sat on the bed.

    “It’s no use.” she said. “There is no way you can escape from here!”
    “Have you tried?” asked McCloud.
    “I have had no desire to.”
    McCloud walked over to the bed and sat next to Capria.
    “So where are we?” asked McCloud. “Who are our ‘hosts’?”
    “All I know is that we are far below the planet’s surface, and that our hosts as you call them have great telepathic abilities.”
    “You mean like the Trasphons?”
    “No, much more powerful than them. The Trasphons can only read thoughts, these can do much more.”
    A certain, sheepish look appeared on Capria’s face. McCloud could tell that she was not tell all that she knew.
    “There is more, isn’t there?”
    “I know only as much as you.”
    McCloud grabbed Capria.
    “You’re lying! Tell me all that you know!”
    Then two of the telepathic beings appeared at the window. They stared at McCloud.
    “Why do you keep staring at me like that?” McCloud shouted.
    The second telepath looked at the first.
    “You were correct. Definite violent tendencies. And you san the scans reveal he is not totally like the female?”
    “Affirmative. His cell structure is slightly different than that of the human female.”
    McCloud was now standing at the window. He looked angry.
    “Why am I here? What do you want from me?”
    The first telepath nodded at McCloud.
    “We wish only to observe you. We wish you no harm.”
    “You are harming me by keeping me in this cage!”
    McCloud barged the window with his shoulder. The two telepaths flinched as it McCloud was about to smash through the window.
    “The savageness is beginning to escalate. We must begin.”
    Slowly the scene began to change once again. McCloud no longer stood in the cave but on the bridge of the U.S.S. Lohengrin, his old command. It was then that Commodore Throne banged his gavel on the table.
    “Commander Sutek, I would like to know what the old Lohengrin has to do with this case. It is you on trial here, not Captain McCloud.”
    “I beg of you, Commodore, please bear with me for a while longer. As I said before, the reason for these events being shown will become clear.”
    The scene on the view screen resumed. In this scene McCloud recognised the planet which the Lohengrin was orbiting. It was the Time of Legends. Next to him sat his first officer, Commander Peter Willoughby. At the tactical station stood Lt. Muir. McCloud appeared confused. Both Willoughby and Muir had been killed in the battle with the madman Theophilus.
    “This can’t be!” said McCloud. “The Lohengrin was destroyed by the Valkyrie!”
    McCloud checked the star date on the computer. He wondered what was going on, he wondered whether or not he might be dreaming.
    “Klingon Bird of Prey entering space.” reported the helmswoman.
    McCloud was surprised. The woman was Capria. McCloud hesitated.
    “Valhalla has been attacked!” said Willoughby.
    “Arm phasers and photo torpedoes.” said McCloud. “Fire at will!”
    The phaser blast ripped into the Klingon vessel.
    “They have no shields.” said Muir. “Auxiliary power if failing. Life support is badly damaged.”
    “Fire again.” McCloud ordered.
    Another blast ripped into the Klingon vessel.
    “Sensors showing eighty seven percent damage.” said Capria. “Power is almost completely gone.”
    McCloud marched over to the helm and swing Capria’s chair round.
    “What are you doing here?” he shouted.
    Capria looked surprised and shocked.
    “I was assigned to the Lohengrin two months ago, right out of the academy.”
    “This is an illusion, isn’t it?” said McCloud. “This is part of a game. You’re one of them!”
    “Captain!” shouted Willoughby. “Photon torpedo coming from the Tosck!”
    “This is not how it happened!” shouted McCloud.
    The torpedo ripped into the Lohengrin. It was a direct hit on the bridge. As the explosions ripped through the ship the scene began to shimmer. McCloud was now back in the cave with Capria. The telepath stood at the window.
    “Interesting. The subject attacked the vessel without provocation. A savage response.”
    McCloud jumped to his feet and stormed over to the window.
    “The Tosck was under the command of the madman Theophilus. He had just killed over three thousand innocent people. We had every right to fire!”
    Then searing pain ripped through McCloud’s skill. He slumped to the ground. Capria rushed over to him. Then the telepath gazed towards the exit.
    “More subjects have arrived. They seek entrance to the compound.”
    The telepath left the corridor. The scene on the view screen changed again. This time it showed the surface of the planet, the barren wasteland that had been shown before. The screen showed another away team had beamed down,  this one consisting of Pendragon, Sutek, Trospheo, Amarus and Tompkins. Amarus, Sutek and Tompkins began setting up a device that looked like an old cannon. Pendragon and Trospheo walked over to the ledge. Then Commodore Throne again stopped the view screen.
    “Commander Pendragon, this is the away team you lead, is it now?” asked Throne.
    “It is.” said Pendragon. “But like the first away team that Captain McCloud lead the only recording devices we took were tri-corders. As you can see the only other things we took were hand phasers and the phaser canon.”
    “Can you confirm this Counsellor Trospheo?”
    “Certainly.”
    “You may resume, Commander Sutek.”
    The view screen started again. Trospheo was looking up and down the metal door.
    “There is a presence here.” she said. “But I’m only picking up a faint sign.”
    “Can you tell anything?” asked Pendragon.
    “Only that they possess great power.”
    Amarus then called to Pendragon.
    “Everything’s ready.”
    Pendragon and Trospheo walked over to the cannon. Pendragon activated his communicator.
    “Pendragon to engineering. Is everything ready Commander Lom?”
    “Everything is complete. We await your order.”
    “Power up the cannon Mr. Sutek.”
    Sutek switched on the cannon and a connection was made with the Valkyrie which allowed the ship to give more power to the cannon. The phaser beam was aimed at the entrance to the cave. Rocks and rubble began to fly. The beam fired for two minutes. When Pendragon ordered for the phaser to be turned off he was amazed to find that the phaser cannon had seemingly caused no damage at all. Sutek rushed up to the ledge and scanned the entrance with his tri-corder.
    “I cannot explain it. There should at least have been minimal damage. It is most odd.”
    “Fire again.”
    “Impossible Commander.” reported Amarus. “The Valkyrie can no longer provide enough power.”
    “Then we’ll have to get that power from somewhere.”
    As they watched the unfolding story a call came through to Watt from the bridge.
    “Bridge to Captain Watt.”
    “Watt here.”
    “We’ve managed to locate and decode the signal.”
    Throne called a short recess while Watt went to the bridge. He walked over to Amarus at the tactical station.
    “The signal is coming from the planet’s surface.” said Amarus. “It is being directed at the holodeck.”
    “How did you decode it?” asked Watt.
    “It was really quite simple. Somehow Commander Sutek had provided the code for the encryption in the holodeck program. I just transferred the code from the holodeck computer.”
    “Did you managed to record any of the transmission?”
    “I managed to record the last three minutes. The transmission stopped a few minutes ago.”
    “On screen.”
    The image appeared on the view screen. Watt was amazed. It was the same as the images they had been watching in the holodeck during the hearing.
    “Should I inform Commodore Throne Captain?” asked Amarus.
    Watt paused for a moment.
    “Do nothing until I say so.” said Watt. “I now know what Sutek is up to.

    A few minutes later Watt went back to the holodeck. He saw Magus sitting at his table and went over to him.
    “Magus, would if be possible for you to drop your case against Commander Sutek?” asked Watt.
    “If I did they would just get someone else to prosecute him”
    “Then we will have to continue with the proceedings.”
    “Why do you want to proceedings halted?”
    “I’ve found out how we are able to see those pictures. A signal is being sent from the planet’s surface, and it’s being decoded by a program initiated by Sutek. I have a feeling I know what he’s up to. I think I know why he brought us here, but I can’t confirm anything.”
    “Would you mind telling me why?”
    “I don’t want anyone else to know yet.” said Watt. “If you want to know why not use one of your mystical mind probes on me?”
    Magus closed his eyes and opened them a second later. A smile appeared on his face.
    “The old Vulcan devil! I never knew he had it in him!”
    Then Commodore Throne entered, and Watt retook his seat next to him. Throne banged his gavel on the table.
    “I have one thing to say before we continue with these proceedings.” he said. “Commander Sutek, unless you reveal where this transmission is coming from I will find you guilty on all charges. Is it understood?”
    “It is Commodore.”
    The lights dimmed and the view screen became active once again. The scene was once again the cave. Capria was sitting on the bed. McCloud continuously pounded his fist into his hand.
    “Why don’t you just relax?” asked Capria. “We can’t go anywhere or do anything.”
    “You’re still not telling me anything.” said McCloud. “Why are we here?”
    Capria paused.
    “If I tell you they will only hurt me in the same way they hurt your earlier.”
    “Tell me!”
    The scene began to change again. The cave was replaced this time by a scene that Magus recognised instantly, that of Loch Ness in the year 1999. McCloud’s Starfleet uniform was gone, replaced by clothes more suitable to that era. In his hand was a sword, a sword given to him by his old friend Ramirez. In front of him was a small fire that had seemingly been built earlier. He looked up into the sky and he could see a huge black aircraft approaching the Loch. It was just as it had been in 1999. The aircraft carried Captain Shield and Saruman the White. As if by instinct McCloud ran down the hills until he came to the shore of the loch. By the time he had reached the water’s edge the black aircraft was hovering above the water. The side hatchway of the aircraft opened. In the hatchway stood Saruman the White. It was just as it had happened some four hundred years ago. Again, by instinct, McCloud ran back up the hill. He now stood on a hill higher than the aircraft. He looked below and he could see Saruman using his powers searching for the Loch Ness Monster. Then the evil wizard found something. McCloud began to run, gradually getting faster and faster. Then he launched himself into the air with a mighty leap toward the black aircraft. Within seconds McCloud landed on the aircraft. The aircraft shuddered with the impact. He then swung down into the aircraft and kicked Saruman in the chest. The blow knocked the wizard to the floor. Saruman shouted at Captain Shield, and the Russian put the aircraft into automatic pilot. He hurled his shield at McCloud, and the shield knocked McCloud off his feet. As Shield moved toward him he noticed that there was someone else on board the aircraft, someone who was bound and gagged. His eyes widened when he saw who it was. The prisoner was Capria. In the battle in 1999 McCloud then knocked Shield off his feet, but this time Shield picked McCloud up and delivered several blows to his stomach, chest and head. McCloud was barely conscious. Then, as Shield prepared to deliver the final blow the scene began to shimmer. It changed once again back to the cave. Again the female telepath stood at the window. Capria was also in the cave.
    “Most interesting. When re-living memories he is distracted by the presence of the human female.”
    The telepath then gazed towards the ceiling.
    “Perhaps we can add variety to this experiment.”
    The scene returned to that of the planet’s surface. The away team were making adjustments to the phaser cannon. Trospheo and Pendragon were examining the entrance with a tri-corder.
    “I don’t understand it.” said Pendragon.” This door is made of adamantium, thought of as the most destructive metal ever until the twenty second century. A phaser blast of the power we used should have sliced it up easily.
    Then Trospheo placed her hand on her temple and let out a slight groan.
    “What is it?”
    “A presence, like the others, but much stronger.”
    Then Trospheo began to shimmer, and seconds later she was gone. The scene returned to that of the cave. Trospheo then appeared in the cave with McCloud and Capria.
    “Most interesting.” mused the telepath. “Same form, but different pigmentation and mild telepathic abilities.”
    Capria sprang to her feet.
    “It’s not fair!” she screamed. “You said I could have him! You said he as mine!”
    McCloud noticed that Trospheo was wearing a phaser holster. He walked over to her and took her phaser. He aimed it at the window and tried to fire but no phaser beam came out. He adjusted the setting and tried to fire it again, but again the same result. Each time McCloud fired at the window the telepath flinched.
    “The subject continues to use violence in an attempt to escape. Most interesting.”
    The telepath then went to the exit and left. McCloud walked over to Capria and grabbed her by the arm.
    “It’s time for the truth young woman. Why are we here? What do they want with us?”
    Capria paused.
    “We are part of an experiment. They want us to mate, to produce offspring, so they can observe us.”
    “What about the illusions? Why do they make me re-enact things from my past?”
    “They wish to observe you in crisis situations. They wanted to see if you would protect me, or rescue me.”
    “You say they want to observe us?”
    “They have done this with other creatures for thousands of years. Haven’t you heard the others in their cells down the corridor?”
    “You mean this is a zoo?”
    “Of sorts. A zoo of races from all over the universe!”
    “And they keep everyone happy by providing illusions for their ‘guests’, making them relive happy memories form their past.”
    “I noticed that when I attacked the window they flinched, as if they didn’t know I was about to attack the widow. Does that mean there are points when they can’t read thoughts, when they can be blocked out?”
    Capria paused once again.
    “That’s it, isn’t it? They can read all thoughts, but angry, aggressive thoughts are beyond their reach. They can’t read angry thoughts. It seems as if I may have found a way to combat them.”
    Then the scene began to change once again. This time it was the car part underneath Madison Square Garden in New York in the year 1986. McCloud recognised the scene as one in which he battled one of his own kind, a battle he originally won. His foe was dressed in a suit and tie and held a large broadsword in his hand. McCloud was also holding a sword. McCloud threw his sword to the ground. His foe looked confused.
    “I’m not going to take this lab test anymore!” he cried.
    The scene began to shimmer. Seconds later he was back in the cave. The female telepath was again standing at the window. A concerned look appeared on her face. McCloud stared at her.
    “Lost you control, didn’t you? I was right. You can’t read aggressive thoughts!