Next to Spock sat Duncan MacCleod, in his role as military commander-in-chief of the Free Federation. At first, Duncan had thought of attending the meeting in his full dress uniform, but had thought that it would not be appropriate for this occasion. Instead, he was dressed in traditional Highland garb, complete with kilt, with the ancient MacCleod sword at his side. Spock had chosen to wear his Vulcan ambassadorial robes, the nearest thing he had to any sort of traditional Time of Legends garb. Conspicuous by his absence was Magus, but his excuse for not being at the Great Hall of Istarix for this meeting was a valid one.
Arthur, King of the Britons, was the first one to speak. The council had learned to listen to Arthur when he spoke, for even though some on the Time considered him a fool, he was wise beyond his years—and his years were many.
"My friends, for many a time we have stood by, watching the brave men and women of the stars fight the oppression of faraway power, defending our world the best they can. Now, I say, we must change all that. There are many great warriors here on the Time, and I suggest we start to use our skills in the war!"
"But what use would we be?" asked Aragorn. "We have no experience of battling in the heavens among the stars!"
"Then we shall ask our friends in the Free Federation to tutor us in their ways!" Arthur replied. "Already, the elves are combining their skills with those of human pilots. The Knights of Camelot wish to do the same!"
"A Knight of the Round Table in a flying vessel?" boomed Odin. "Never have I heard such nonsense!"
"We are ready to fight!" said Arthur. "We know what we are doing!"
"Pray tell us, President Spock, what do you think of this ludicrous idea?" Odin boomed.
All eyes in the chamber fixed on Spock. Never before had he been spoken to in this manner. He paused for a few moments, before giving his reply.
"Any help would be appreciated," he replied. "But I think..."
Spock was interrupted when Duncan rose to speak.
"As military commander for the Free Federation, I would like to say that any help defending the Time of Legends would be greatly appreciated! After all, while our fleet is away on other missions, should the Imperials attack, the only line of space-borne defense there would be is the Pegasus station. Do you not agree, Mister President?"
Duncan looked down at Spock, and could tell that he was pleased at being helped out in this sticky situation.
"Indeed," he replied. "We are but a fledgling force."
"Then it is settled then," said Arthur. "Once Major Larin has completed work on the station, we will have him and his men begin work on our ships."
Duncan reseated himself next to Spock.
"If we were in the Council chambers on Earth, you would probably be court-martialed for your actions," said Spock. "But we are not on Earth, so I thank you for your assistance."
"Any time," said Duncan. "I have much to learn about working with these gods."
Magus adjusted his bow tie as he walked through the hangar deck on the Pegasus station. He was on his way to an important ceremony, but had one stop to make before he went there. He soon found the man he was looking for. In the new section reserved for the Hammerhead fighters, Magus saw Larin working on the engine section of the craft belonging to Colonel McQueen. Several other dwarf engineers worked nearby, and not far from them, McQueen watched, making sure the engineers did not damage his pride and joy.
"How are the alterations going, Major?" Magus asked.
Startled by this sudden question, Larin almost jumped out of his skin, and bumped his head on the fighter's fuselage. Letting out a cry of pain, he got to his feet and approached Magus.
"We've finished on the starships, and the fighters and shuttles should all be ready within the next week. But I don't know how long it'll hold out! It's about time you got a new ship!"
"And have you completed the checks on the Lord of the Isles?"
"Ship shape and ready to go," Larin replied.
"The ship has served me faithfully for nearly a millennium! It'll get me to the Delta Quadrant in one piece!"
A short time later, Magus arrived on the bridge of the Flying Scotsman. Present were all of his crew, which he had almost hand-picked, save for a select few, which had been chosen by his old friend. All, apart from Drathro, for obvious reasons, were in full dress uniform. Scotty chose to wear a kilt for the occasion. Pendragon was also present, and as Magus entered, he took up a position next to the command rocking chair.
"Good evening to you all," said Magus. "I'll keep this brief. I know you all have things to do."
"Before this war began, it had been my hope to travel throughout the universe with you, some of you old friends, some of you new, but circumstances changed all of that. I am only sad we did not get the chance to do what we came together for. The adventures we could have had together would have become the stuff of legend!"
Magus turned to Pendragon, and smiled.
"And now to matters at hand. Computer, ship's log: new entry. As of this date, I, Doctor Phineas Claudius Magus, am turning command of the U.S.S. Flying Scotsman over to Captain Arthur Pendragon. Please transfer all command codes and protocols to him."
The process complete, Magus waved his hand over the rocking chair, and seconds later, it resembled the familiar command chair.
"She's all yours, Captain," said Magus. "Take good care of her."
"I will, Doctor. I will."
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