Inauguration - Chapter Three

Magus walked along the corridors towards the presidential quarters, on his way to see his old friend. After a few minutes he reached the door and pressed the door buzzer. A voice from inside beckoned him in. When he entered he found that the room was in slight disarray. Clothes on hangars were to be found all around the room. Some of them were Starfleet uniforms from the days of the Constellation-class ships. Nearby was the uniform of a Starfleet admiral, and near that was a set of ambassadorial robes, but at the end of the room was a costume Magus had not seen for many years, nearly four hundred in fact. It dated back to the early 21st century, and was worn by Watt during his tenure in Anglo-Force. Magus stood looking at this uniform and began to re-live some old memories of his days in Anglo-Force. As he did this Watt entered dressed in more ambassador robes.

    “Ah, Magus.” he said. “I thought it might be you. I was just deciding what to wear for tonight’s reception. You are attending aren’t you?”
    “I wouldn’t miss it for the world James.” Magus replied. “But tell me, why have you brought all of these clothes here? Especially your old Anglo-Force costume?”
    Watt walked over to his old costume and took it down off the wall.
    “I wanted to remind myself.” he said. “I wanted to remember all that I had been through, the Gulf War, Eugenics War, my marriage to Katrina, our two children and all of my grandchildren, and the war with the machines.”
    Watt paused after this and went to sit down in one of the chairs.
    “I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime.” he continued. “I’ve been involved in many conflicts, too many for me to remember, and what’s why I want this thing to work. I want to bring peace to the galaxy. Alright, the Federation will always have enemies, but we’ve got to start the process somewhere.”
    “The Romulans you mean?”
    “Yes. Why do you think I invited Pardek here? He and I go back nearly eighty years, to the Kittomer Conference. I believe he can play a crucial role in the talks, as well as Spock.”
    Magus walked over to Watt and placed his hand on his shoulder.
    “I’m very proud of all that you’ve accomplished.” he said. “And I’m even more proud of what you hope to accomplish. Good luck James. You’ll need it.”
    Watt looked up at Magus. He did not need to say anything to his old friend. Magus knew what he meant.

    Normally the Babylon 5 station put all animals in quarantine when they arrived in the station, but in the case of Magus’ companions these rules were waved. They were granted the freedom of the station by Commander Sinclair. One of Magus’ cats. Tabby, took the opportunity to explore the more intricate parts of the station, and being small as afar as other cats were concerned she was able to get into parts that humanoids could not. She used her quickness to move along the catwalks and through Jefferies tubs, and every now and then she stopped for a rest so she could regain her breath. Exploring a station that was five miles long was very tiring, especially if you were a small cat.
    It was during one of these stops that Tabby watched those in the corridor below. She sat high above the floor on a catwalk, watching things pass her by. Like the humans she had never seen such an assortment of aliens before, and she was quite amazed. Then, in the distance, she could see two Starfleet officers, one dressed in red, the other in brown. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could tell they were not pleased about something.
    Standing up from her sitting position she quietly walked over to where they were standing. As she got closer she recognised them. One man, the one dressed in red, was Commander Ragnan Mograk, the first officer of the U.S.S. Yorktown. His companion was Lieutenant Commander Gorun, the second officer of the Aswan. Both of these officers were from the Dwarf home world, an affiliate member of the United Federation of Planets, who now supplied officers to many starships. Tabby sat down again and looked down at the two men. They seemed to be deep in conversation about something. She had not heard the start of their conversation but she now listened to the rest.
    “It it wasn’t for Captain Queeg I would have asked for shore leave.” said Mograk.
    “I know what you mean.” said Gorun. “Captain Solkun managed to talk me around too. I just hope we can pull this thing off.”
    “Do not worry Commander. I am sure we will. Now come, we cannot discuss this in the corridor. We must talk in private.”
    Tabby watched as the two dwarf officers walked off down the corridor. As they walked off into the distance she began to wish she had heard all of the conversation. It sounded very important. It sounded as if Queeg and Solkun were planning something. But what?

    The quarters that had been assigned to Lwaxana Troi and her servant, Mister Homm, were also in some disarray, and for the same reason. Dresses were strewn all over the furniture as Mrs. Troi tried on outfit after outfit in an effort to find the right clothes for the reception. If there had been anyone else in the room it would have been evident to them that Mr. Homm was getting very annoyed with his mistress, although he would not have said so, because he very rarely spoke.
    Mr Homm was busy trying to tidy up the room when Mrs. Troi emerged from the bedroom in yet another extravagant outfit.
    “Well Mister Homm.” she said. “What do you think of this one?”
    Mr. Homm smiled and nodded. It didn’t matter to him anymore whether he liked the dress or not, he just wanted to get the whole thing over with.
    Mrs. Troi acknowledged Homm’s smiled and then walked over to the mirror to look for herself. The smile on her face changed to a frown.
    “On second thoughts…” she said.
    She could not see Mr. Homm look annoyed. Then the door buzzer went. Mrs. Troi could tell who it was without asking them in.
    “Come in little one!”
    The door opened and her daughter, Counsellor Deanna Troi, entered. As soon as she saw the dress her mother was wearing she was shocked.
    “What on earth are you doing in that thing?”
    “Why dear, I’m considering wearing this for tonight’s reception. I must impress our new president. He may call on me at any time!”
    “The last time you wore that dress was when you were looking for a husband on the Enterprise. Surely you’re not thinking of asking the President to…”
    “Deanna, how could you? The President of all people? Do you think I’d be the least bit interested in him? In more interested in one of his close friends!”
    “You mean Admiral McCloud, or the Commodore?”
    “No, of course not! I mean the man who’s a bit richer than them!”
    Deanna thought for a moment, and then it hit her.
    “You don’t mean…”
    “Why Ambassador Magus of course. Ambassador Mollari told me that he’s made a fortune from some mine he has on Earth. Why, he’s the richest man here, and just the man I’ve been looking for ever since your father died.”
    “Mother, Ambassador Magus is nearly two thousand years old, and to the best of my knowledge he has never shown an interest in women.”
    “You’re mistaken little one. A man that old must have been married before!”
    “I’m warning you mother, don’t do this. You’ll only end up embarrassing yourself.”
    Mrs. Troi looked down at her dress.
    “You’re probably right. Phineas would probably like my red and blue dress.”
    And with that Mrs. Troi marched back into her bedroom, leaving her daughter wondering what she did to deserve a mother like that.