Renegades - Civil War Chapter Forty-One

    Kate Pulaski looked out of the observation port in the Ops Room of Pegasus as two ships, the U.S.S. Flying Scotsman and the much larger Liberator approached the station. She hoped that all aboard the Scotsman were safe and well. A short time later Plato joined her.
    “I have jus received a transmission from Captain Pendragon. Everyone is safe. It appears the Federation thinks both ships were destroyed.”
    Pulaski’s gaze was fixed on the alien Liberator vessel.
    “Will you look at the size of that thing!” she said. “The only thing that comes near to that size is a Galaxy-class ship.”
    “I have been told that an Imperial Star Destroyer is much larger than a Galaxy-class vessel.” Plato noted.
    Later Pulaski and Plato arrived at the airlock where Pendragon and Magus disembarked. Seconds later Blake, Avon and Jenna teleported over from the Liberator.
    “Please excuse our method of transportation.” Blake said. “There was no way the Liberator could have docked with your station.”
    After the introductions Magus laid out his plans.
    “I would like to call a meeting of all the senior staff here, including the ambassadors.”
    “What about the Council?” Pendragon asked.
    “Although this concerns them there is nothing they can do in this situation. Their interests can be represented by Bilbo.”
    And so it was. The crews of the Pegasus, the Liberator and the Flying Scotsman met in the main observation lounge of the station.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Forty

    For what had seemed like hours Jake and Nog had wandered around the forest, trying to find the location of Sisko and Quark. Jake moved the tri-corder in front of him, trying to look as if he knew how to operate it. Nog, however, had his doubts.
    “Are you sure you know how to use that thing?” he asked.
    “I think so.” Jake replied. “But so far I haven’t managed to pick up anything!”
    Nog finally lost his cool.
    “This is useless!” he snapped. “We’ve been wandering about all night and we still haven’t found them! Let’s go back to the runabout!”
    Then a smile appeared on Jake’s face.
    “I think I’ve found something! Two hundred metres ahead of us!”
    Excited, the two of them moved forward until they came to the edge of a clearing. Jake had to hold Nog back when he saw movement.
    “What are they?” Nog whispered.
    “I don’t know, and I’m not going down there to ask! They’ve probably got Dad and Quark, which means there’s nothing we can do!”
    “Which means we’ve got to get back to the runabout!”
    For once Jake agreed with his Ferengi friend. Getting to their feet they moved backwards until they were out of earshot of the aliens. Jake then activated his communicator.
    “Computer, this is Jake Sisko. Two to beam up.”
    Seconds later they were back aboard the runabout. Now, so they thought, came the easy part. Jake seated himself in the seat normally occupied by the pilot. He looked around, trying to work out what button did what. It wasn’t as easy as it looked.
    “Don’t you know how to work this thing?” Nog asked impatiently.
    “Computer, set a course for the wormhole!”
    “Course laid in. Please enter the command codes.”
    The slight smiled that had appeared on Jake’s face vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
    “Wait a minute!” he said, the smile re-appearing. “The relays! Chief O’Brien showed me how to dismantle them! If we can disable the command codes we can fly the runabout manually!”
    Getting to his feet Jake walked over to the main relay box. He kneeled down and took off the box’s cover. Nog soon joined him and looked confused when he saw all of the relay chips.
    “Which one is it?” he asked.
    Jake reached forward, going to grab hold of one of the chips.
    “This one, I think!”
    Jake pulled the chip out, and suddenly the alarm sounded.
    “Warning! Warp core containment field failure! Collapse in ten seconds…”
    “Put it back!” Nog screamed. “Put it back!”
    Panic set in the younger Sisko until Nog grabbed the chip and put it back in it’s rightful place.
    “I thought you said you knew how to work these things!” Nog screamed.
    “I didn’t say that!” Jake replied. “But the chip to disable the command codes must be in here somewhere!”

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Nine

    The Babylon 5 council had been called into meeting, once again to discuss the growing tensions between the Centauri Republic and the Narn Empire. This time the dispute was over colonies, most notably colonies along their border.
    “The Narn colonies fall into Centauri space, according to the treaty that was signed between our two governments!” Mollari argued.
    “That is not so!” G’Kar replied. “Any interstellar chart will show that the Narn colonies are on the Narn side of the border!”
    Sheridan had had enough. In his short time in command of this station Mollari and G’Kar had been at each other’s throats constantly.
    “Gentlemen! I will not stand by and watch you two engage in a shouting match!”
    “Nor I!” Delenn added. “Surely there is some way we can resolve this matter!”
    “Not while G’Kar stays as stubborn as ever!” said Mollari.
    “Stubborn? Me?” said G’Kar.
    G’Kar was about to insult his Centauri counterpart when his communicator sounded. He was not happy with this interruption.
    “This is G’Kar!” he said, taking his communicator in hand.
    “This is Na’Toth. I am sorry to disturb you Ambassador, but there is an urgent transmission for you from Homeworld.”
    “Can’t it wait?”
    “No Ambassador. It is General T’Llar.”
    G’Kar turned to Sheridan and was about to adjourn the meeting with Sheridan adjourned the meeting. Shortly afterwards G’Kar arrived in his quarters, and Na’Toth left as the image of Narn General T’Llar appeared on the screen. G’Kar bowed his head.
    “What can I do for you General?” he asked.
    “I have just received a report from the rim, where the cruiser was sent following your report on the strange vessel.”
    “And?”
    “The cruiser was destroyed, apparently by the same sort of vessel you encountered.”
    “But there were nearly two thousand crew on that ship! How could this happen?”
    “That we do not know. All we can tell is that it must have been a powerful vessel to have done this to a Narn war cruiser!”
    G’Kar’s head bowed low, the shock of the event hitting him.
    “Thank you General. I will contact you later.”
    The screen went blank. A few seconds later Na’Toth entered.
    “Captain Sheridan wants to know if you want the session to start again.”
    G’Kar paused for a moment before he gave his answer.
    “Tell Sheridan…tell him I wish to see no-one today.”
    Na’Toth could clearly see that G’Kar wanted to be left alone. She then made her exit and relayed G’Kar’s wish to Sheridan.

38 Years Ago Today

I was 12 years old when she passed away on this day in 1983. I'm 50 now, and even though it's been 38 years since she left us I've never stopped missing her.

The memories of that day and the days that followed are still quite vivid, as if they happened recently, and I've lost count of the number of times I've wondered about how my life would have been different if she'd lived.

Rest in peace Mum. x

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Eight

    “Hello! Can anyone hear me?”
    The dulcet tones of Quark’s voice rang out through the cave he, Sisko and the alien woman had been taken. While the woman sat deep in thought Sisko watched as Quark continued to shout the roof down. Finally Sisko had had enough.
    “Quark! Will you stop that shouting?”
    “We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” the Ferengi replied. “We’ve got to do something!”
    “Well how about shutting up so I can hear myself think?” Sisko suggested.
    This time Quark did as he was told. It was then that Sisko leaned forward in an attempt to examine the force field that held the three of them prisoner.
    “This force field is very interesting. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
    Sisko reached out and was about to touch the force field when suddenly the woman looked up.
    “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”
    Sisko seemed surprised that the woman had broken her silence. Sisko pulled his hand away from the force field.
    “And why not?”
    “Because the force field will kill you. Everything the Jem’Hadar do is lethal!”
    “Finally she speaks!” said Quark.
    “Firstly.” said Sisko. “How about telling us your name?”
    “My name is Eris. I am from Kereal Prime.”
    “My name is Ben Sisko. He is Quark.”
    Sisko shook Eris by the hand. Quark declined to do this. Sisko then tried to get the information he needed.
    “Who, or what, are the Jem’Hadar?”
    “The Jem’Hadar are part of the Dominion. Whenever the Dominion have a problem they send in the Jem’Hadar. Kereal Prime was offered membership of the Dominion but refused, so they sent in the Jem’Hadar. We didn’t stand a chance. I only just managed to escape!”
    “The Ferengi have been negotiating with the Dominion for nearly a year now!” said Quark. “We’ve never heard of the Jem’Hadar!”
    “Then you have been lucky.” said Eris.
    “Can you tell us any more?” Sisko asked.
    “There isn’t much more to tell.” said Eris. “Except that we’ll be lucky to get out of here alive!”
    “Well that was encouraging!” said Quark.
    Sisko then looked annoyed as Quark once again started with his shouting.
    “Hello! Can anyone hear me?”

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Seven

    Finally Jake had managed to calm Nog down. He was now merely annoyed with his uncle rather than furious. Shortly afterwards they arrived back at the camp site to find that something was wrong.
    “Where are they?” Nog asked.
    “I don’t know.” Jake replied. “But I know they wouldn’t have left us alone without a good reason!”
    They then began calling out for Quark and Sisko in the hope that they might suddenly appear. They did not.
    “We’ve got to do something!” said Jake.
    “We could wait for them in the runabout!”
    Jake stared at his Ferengi friend. He then looked around until he saw what he was looking for - a tri-corder. He picked it up and began to scan the surrounding area.
    “Come on! We’ve got to find them!”
    Reluctantly Nog followed.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Six

    “Erghh!! Pesky bugs!”
    Ever since they had arrived in the Gamma Quadrant and found a Class M world for their planetary survey Quark had done nothing but complain.
    “It seems like paradise!” Sisko commented. “Various forms of plant and insect life, and nothing more!”
    “You know what I see here?” said Quark. “Wastage.”
    “You would probably want to strip mine the entire planet!” replied Sisko.
    “And why not? It would turn a tidy profit, and I never liked nature much anyway!”
    “You could stay in the runabout!”
    “No way!”
    Quark then began to scratch his large lobe. Another of the planet’s insects had tried to use him as a meal again.
    “Nog, get me that ointment we brought along! If these bugs had their way they’d take huge chunks out of me!”
    Nog was not happy. What started out as a nice trip to the Gamma Quadrant was quickly becoming a trip with a very annoying uncle. But Nog knew he had no choice, so he got the ointment for his uncle.
    “That feels better!” Quark said, rubbing it into his ear.
    Sisko wished he was back on the station.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Five

    Tarses stood at the tactical station when he noticed his communications board flashing.
    “Captain, we are receiving a transmission from the alien vessel.”
    “On screen.” Sinclair ordered.
    “At last!” Travis muttered.
    All were surprised when the image of Blake and Magus appeared before them.
    “Magus, what are you doing there?” Sinclair asked.
    “Isn’t it obvious?” Travis snapped. “They’re working together to bring down the Federation!”
    Sinclair shot Travis an icy stare. He then turned his attention back to the view screen.
    “Ambassador, I have no wish to harm you, your crew or Blake and his crew. I urge you to surrender now.”
    “I’m afraid I cannot do that Captain.” Magus replied. “Something is happening within the Federation that threatens to destroy the work laid down two hundred years ago. I cannot stand by and watch it happen.”
    On board the Liberator nobody noticed Avon take his station and gain manual control of the weapon and defence systems. Suddenly the neutron blasters powered up as Avon fired them at the Lohengrin. Almost instantly the Liberator’s force wall went up. Blake rushed over to Avon’s station and returned control of the weapons to Zen.
    “Have you gone mad?” he said. “Their weapons were not armed. They were willing to talk!”
    “We were not going to surrender.” said Avon. “Therefore we would have had to fight. Better to get it over with than try to talk our way out of this.”
    “What is the damage to the Lohengrin Zen?” Blake asked.
    “The Lohengrin has sustained partial damage to the phaser banks and shield generators. Photo torpedo bays are inoperative.”
    “Then we have time to get out of here.” said Vila.
    “No.” said Blake. “What we have to do must be done now!”
    Blake turned to Magus.
    “I think you know what I’m taking about Doctor.”
    Magus did. He placed his hand on Blake’s temple and closed his eyes. The scan of Blake’s mind had begun.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Four

    On  the bridge of the Lohengrin Travis paced up and down in front of the main viewer as Sinclair sat calmly in the command chair.
    “We can’t just sit here and do nothing.” he said. “We must arm all of the weapons and attack both of them!”
    “We have no idea what the alien ship is capable of.” Sinclair replied. “As far as we know that ship could outgun us ten-to-one.”
    “I agree.” said Shelby. “We talk first.”
    “Are you crazy?” Travis shouted. “There are six wanted criminals on that alien ship, and who knows how many on that other ship. We must arm the weapons and attack them now!”
    This outburst brought Sinclair to his feet.
    “May I remind you, Commander, that I outrank you, and that you are here mainly in an advisory role.”
    Travis stared long and hard at Sinclair and then backed down, taking the chair normally occupied by Counsellor Alexander. Sinclair then turned his attention back to the image on the view screen, to the image of the alien vessel and the Oberth-class starship, with a nagging feeling that he knew who the old science ship belonged to.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-Three

    Captain Sheridan arrived in the Operations Centre of Babylon 5 when news reached him that a vessel was coming through the jump-gate. The vessel had been expected for a number of days, for it marked a first in the history of the Babylon stations.
    Sheridan joined Ivanova on the observation platform. They watched as a Klingon Bird of Prey came through the jump-gate.
    “They are hailing us Captain.” Ivanova reported.
    “On screen.”
    The image of an aged greying Klingon warrior appeared on the screen before Sheridan. At first sight Sheridan could tell that the Klingon was slightly the worse for wear.
    “I am Kor, your new Klingon ambassador. But why anyone would want to serve on this giant bucket of bolts only Feklar would know!”
    “I am Captain John Sheridan, commanding officer of the station. Welcome to…”
    “Cut the nonsense Captain. Just tell me where I can dock my ship, and let me find some Aldebran whisky!”
    A short time later Sheridan arrived at the customs entrance and waited for a number of minutes before he saw Kor walking onto the station. Sheridan approached Kor, extending his hand as a token of friendship. Kor did not do likewise.
    “First tell me one thing Sheridan!” said Kor. “I was told that Magus was here. Where is he now?”
    “He was here, but that was weeks ago. Why do you want him?”
    “Because eighty years ago we took a blood oath. The time has come for him to honour that oath!”
    Kor then pushed past Sheridan and made his way not to his quarters but to the bar. He then began to mutter to himself.
    “A pity that Watt is dead! As one of the strongest he would have killed the Albino with his bare hands!”

Renegades - Civl War Chapter Thirty-Two

    After making the repairs that had been caused by the escape of Blake and his comrades the Valkyrie finally met up with it’s saucer section, and once again the ship was whole. The main crew arrived back on the main Bridge where Watt relieved Tompkins.
    “I trust your journey passed uneventfully Commander.” said Watt.
    “Not as eventful as yours from what I hear Captain.”
    “Very well Commander Tompkins. You are relieved.”
    Tompkins then took up his usual post as operations manager. At the same time Amarus re-took the tactical station, and almost immediately his sensor panel began to flash.
    “Captain, I’m picking up a distress signal from a one man craft.” he reported.
    “On screen.”
    “I am unable to comply. It appears to be some sort of repeating message, giving the current state of the ship and it’s coordinates.”
    “I’m getting the coordinates now Captain.” said Tompkins. “Shall I lay in an intercept course?”
    “Certainly Commander. Ahead warp five.”
    “At warp five we will reach the vessel in six minutes.” O’Rourke reported.
    Six minutes later the Valkyrie arrived at the given coordinates and found the small ship. Tompkins conducted a sensor scan.
    “I’m picking up life readings, but I haven’t seen their kind before.”
    “Is the pilot injured?” asked Sutek.
    “From what I can tell, yes.” Tompkins replied.
    “Then beam him directly to Sickbay.” ordered Watt. “Commander Sutek, you have the Bridge.”
    A short time later Watt arrived in Sickbay to see Singh treating the patient. A rye smile appeared on his face when he saw who he was. Singh, however, was confused.
    “I’ve never seen anything like it before!” he said. “His total anatomy is a mixture between that of a human and that of a snake!”
    “Doctor, you have no idea who your patient is.” said Watt. “Your patient is none other than the Snake, a notorious criminal wanted in half of the quadrant.”
    Watt then activated his communicator.
    “Watt to Bridge. Commander Sutek, how long would it take us to reach Altor?”
    “At warp five, thirty-six hours.”
    “Then set a course for Altor Mister Sutek, and contact Captain Podley of the Demeter City Police Department. Let him know we have apprehended the Snake and are more than willing to ‘hand him over’, so to speak.”
    “Understood, Captain.”
    Watt turned to Singh.
    “When you’ve finished treating our ‘guest’ contact Mister Amarus and have him transported to the Brig.”
    Watt left Singh to his work and began to think that there may be something good coming out of this mission after all.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Thirty-One

    For the first time in weeks Michael Garibaldi was sitting upright, for the first time since the shooting. Still slightly dazed and very confused he was nonetheless pleased to see Sheridan, Ivanova and Winters enter MedLab. Sheridan was the first to shake his hand.
    “How are you doing Chief?” he asked.
    “I’m still a little woozy, and confused about several things. The Doc told me that some strange guy brought me back? Who was he?”
    “That we are still trying to find out.” replied Ivanova.
    “What about the shooting?” asked Winters. “Do you remember anything about that?”
    “No. That’s why I asked you here. I want you to scan me, to try and unearth some memory, something that can tell me who did this to me.”
    “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Sheridan. “You might still be too weak.”
    “I want this done Captain.” said Garibaldi. “I have to know who did this to me.”
    Sheridan looked at Winters. He could tell that she was feeling uneasy about the whole situation.
    “Alright, I’ll do it.” she said. “Now lie back.”
    Doing as he was told Garibaldi lay back on the bed and tried to relax. Winters removed one of her black leather gloves and placed her hand on Garibaldi’s forehead.
    The next thing she saw was an event that seemed to happen a lifetime ago, during the reign of President James Watt, just after Jeffrey Sinclair had transferred to the Lohengrin as their new C.O.
    It was in one of the cargo holds, and Garibaldi had just found out that the man named Deveraux was planning to kill the President. Garibaldi ran down the corridor until he saw the man he was looking for. He stopped in his tracks. Garibaldi called out a warning but Winters could not hear this. Then she saw Garibaldi turn around and saw the face of the man who had tried to kill Garibaldi. She felt shock when she saw the man’s face, and the mind link was stopped when Garibaldi suddenly leapt up.
    “I don’t believe it!” Garibaldi said. “It was Burton! It was Burton!”
    “Your second?” Sheridan queried. “Are you sure?”
    “It was Burton.” said Winters. “I saw his face.”
    “I’ll have him picked up straight away.” said Sheridan.
    A plan was conceived and quickly put into operation. One of the other security guards ran into the main office, where Burton was seated eating a snack. The guard seemed excited about something.
    “Hey! You should come and see this!”
    “Not now!” Burton snapped. “I’m too busy for your games!”
    “But you’ve got to see it to believe it! Come on!”
    Putting his plate down on the desk Burton reluctantly followed him out of the room. As soon as he stepped into the corridor he found a phaser pointed to his head. He knew instantly what was happening.
    “Burton, you’re under arrest. And please try to resist because it will make it all the more enjoyable!”
    A short time later Garibaldi, with the aid of a walking stick, and Sheridan walked into the main security office. Sheridan tried to stop Garibaldi entering the cell area.
    “You’re not up to this!” he said.
    “I need to do this!” said Garibaldi. “I need to know who gave him his orders!”
    “Michael, you’ve just come out of a coma and you’re still very weak! Let me handle this!”
    “This is something I’ve got to do Captain!”
    Garibaldi was soon in a darkened cell walking around the seated Burton. Suddenly he leapt forward and slammed his fist into the table.
    “Why did you do this?” Garibaldi snapped. “I’ve know you for years, but I never thought you were capable of anything like this!”
    Burton looked up at his former superior officer and just stared at him.
    “You were getting in too deep! Something had to be done! I’m just sad I didn’t get to finish the job!”
    Garibaldi blew his top. Only Sheridan’s intervention stopped him from ripping Burton’s head off.
    “Michael! Stop this!”
    Sheridan pulled his security chief away. Burton smiled at both of them.
    “You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for. This is too big for you, for all of you! I’ll be out of this cell and off this station quicker than you can say jack rabbit!”
    This time Sheridan was the one who snapped.
    “Who gave you the order?” Sheridan shouted, slamming into the table. “Who is your superior?”
    Once again Burton smiled.
    “I believe I have the right to remain silent, so I choose that right! No matter what you do I will not talk!”
    Sheridan knew he was fighting a lost cause. He knew he could get nothing more.