Alliances: Civil War II Chapter Fifty

As Spock sat in his office aboard the Pegasus station, fatigue began to hit him. He had gone almost thirty-six hours without sleep, and it was beginning to show. It was even more evident to Duncan MacCleod, who had spent the entire day with him on official business.

"Are you sure you want to continue?" Duncan asked. "There isn't much left, so we can finish it tomorrow."

"I will continue, Admiral," Spock replied. "You were telling me about one of the ships that arrived yesterday."

"It was a small group from the planet Sarran. The ship was owned by a Doctor Cy Mellanby."

"Mellanby? One of the most renowned scientists in Federation history, until he retired."

"Well, now he's come out of retirement. He's offering us help. I also met with his daughter, Dayna. She seems well trained in almost all forms of unarmed combat, and has a keen tactical mind. I was thinking of assigning her as tactical officer aboard the Liberator."

"Are you sure that's wise, Admiral? She has received no formal training."

"Neither has the majority of the Liberator crew. Only Commander Blake has, and he's spent much of his time at the Attorney General's office. I've been thinking of assigning a Starfleet-trained captain to the Liberator for some time now."

"Indeed. Perhaps now we should be thinking of setting up some kind of academy, to train those who would join us."

Then, Spock's communicator sounded.

"Mister President, I have a message from Doctor Magus. He wishes to see you in private."

"Ask him to go to my quarters, Lieutenant. Spock out."

Duncan looked over at Spock.

"We can discuss the academy idea later," Duncan said.

As Spock entered his quarters, he saw Magus gazing out of a window towards the stars. Without looking at Spock, Magus spoke.

"I will be leaving shortly. I will be journeying to the Delta Quadrant."

"Then you believe he is there, on the other side of the galaxy?"

"All the variables seem to suggest so. Once there, I should be able to locate him."

Finally, Magus turned to face Spock.

"You'll have a lot to do while I'm gone. It will take a great effort to hold the Free Federation together."

"I believe that in your absence the Free Federation will grow."

Magus smiled.

"Then you are going to the Delta Quadrant as well."

"Not in body, but in spirit."

Magus approached Spock, and raised his hand, giving the customary Vulcan salute. Spock did likewise.

"I wish you luck on your journey, Doctor."

"As I do yours, Mister President."

 

As Palpatine strode through the corridors of Mount Tantiss, Tarkin walked behind him, keeping a respectful distance. Palpatine had many questions.

"Is the facility fully operational?"

"Fully," Tarkin replied.

"And what about the subjects? Have you managed to revive them yet?"

"The process used to put them in suspended animation is still unknown to us," Tarkin said. "As of yet, we have no way of reviving them."

Palpatine abruptly stopped and turned to face Tarkin.

"We must find a way of reviving them. With their power behind us the galaxy will be ours. The rebels will not resist us!"

"We can still take D.N.A. samples," said Vader.

"It worked once," said Palpatine. "It may not do so again, on a less powerful subject. I want them revived, as soon as possible."

 

After getting a good night's sleep, Spock entered the conference room to find it almost full. In his short time as Free Federation President, he had already appointed a council, and all of the members were present. Seated at the end of the table was Zarkoff, in his role as acting vice-president. On either side sat the appointed members of the council: Duncan MacCleod, as commander-in-chief, Albert Calevicchi, as chief of staff, Sherman Potter, as chief of the medical division, Morgan Martin, as liaison, and Connor MacCleod, James Watt, and Arthur Pendragon as fleet captains. Also present, but not members of the council, were Blake, Tarrant, Koenig, Sisko, Ross, and McQueen.

"Now that we are all present, I will call this meeting to order," said Spock, walking over to the screen. "I will get straight to the point."

Spock switched on the screen, and a map of the galaxy appeared. It showed all four quadrants.

"If you look at this map, you will see the sectors currently under the control of the Empire highlighted in red. They control most of the galaxy as we know it, but there are still pockets of resistance throughout the galaxy. In the Gamma Quadrant, we do not know of any. However, in the Delta Quadrant, there is an ever-growing movement."

"The Rebel Alliance," said Watt.

"Exactly. But like us, they have probably had limited success against the Empire. I propose we journey to the Delta Quadrant and try to make contact with the Rebel Alliance, and form an alliance with them."

"A journey to the Delta Quadrant would take ages," said Blake.

"The work installing cavorite drives on all of our starships is now complete," said Spock. "Installing the same propulsion systems on our fighters and shuttles will be complete in three days. This technology would cut the journey time to a little over a week."

"A small group of six ships, under the overall command of Admiral Duncan MacCleod and Captain James Watt, will go on this mission. Colonel T.C. McQueen will be in command of all ground-based troops and fighters. I have chosen the ships for this mission very carefully. They will be the Valkyrie, which will operate as the command ship, the Lohengrin, the Liberator, the Tempest, the Defiant, and the Saratoga."

"With all due respect," said Morgan. "Wouldn't it be best to send the Enterprise along, instead of say the Tempest? The crew is the best we have!"

"I have other plans for the Enterprise," said Spock. "Now, Admiral MacCleod has given you your orders. You will have four days to study them and to prepare your crew. This meeting is now adjourned."

Spock rose from his seat, and left the room. All eyes focused on Duncan MacCleod, as if they were expecting him to say something. Instead, he soon followed Spock out of the door, closely followed by Watt. The two of them soon caught up with Spock in the corridor.

"Are you sure this will work?" asked Duncan. "We could run into a lot of trouble out there."

"And we must consider the Death Star also," said Watt. "I've seen what that thing is capable of."

"I am aware of the Death Star, Captain," said Spock. "If we are to defeat the Imperials and remove them from the Alpha Quadrant, then we must gain allies. The Rebel Alliance may be our only hope."