The Ballad of St. Germain: Civil War II Chapter Seventy-Seven

St. Germain had thought about much in his shuttle trip to the Old Bailey. He had even considered accepting Commander Sleer's offer. He thought about the look on Sleer's face, of how he would rank over him again in the grand design—Palpatine's grand design.

It wasn't long before he was seated in the old Number One court. To his surprise, Darkmagus himself presided over things. It seemed that he was highly thought of in Imperial circles. All Thomas Leacock got was Nora Satie.

The case did not last long. To St. Germain, it seemed that his defense lawyer wasn't even trying that hard. Perhaps he was on a losing bonus. It did not matter much. Even if he wanted to, it was too late to take Palpatine's side.

As Darkmagus began to pass sentence, he extended his hand towards St. Germain.

"Many years ago, Phineas Magus, out of gratitude for you helping him, cast a spell over you, allowing you to exist in sunlight, to live as a normal man. Now I, Damien Magus, take that power away from you!"

A glow appeared around St. Germain. He began to roll about in pain, until the glow passed.

"You will now be taken to Hyde Park, stripped of all rank and honor. There, you will be tied to a post, to await your death, once the sun rises! An example for those who dare to oppose the Empire!"

Two guards walked into the dock and pulled St. Germain to his feet. As he looked up, it seemed as if Darkmagus was smiling at him, pleased at what he had done to him. St. Germain thought he should feel rage and anger for this, but he felt nothing.

 

The two guards took him to what used to be the car park and were about to push St. Germain into a shuttle when they were suddenly attacked. Phaser blasts rained down on them from above. Whoever was firing these was a crack shot, St. Germain thought. Within the next two seconds, the two guards had been picked off and were left lying on the ground.

The firing stopped. From around the corner, two masked men appeared, carrying what appeared to be Starfleet-issue phaser rifles.

"Come on!" shouted one, waving his arm. "We haven't got much time!"

It then hit him. He had heard about the so-called Earth Resistance Group, but had thought it a myth, a fantasy. Now it seemed that this myth was saving his life.

Running as fast as he could, St. Germain joined the masked men as they ran into an old building. Moments later, they could hear guards outside.

"Hurry," said the leader. "They'll be here soon!"

Once more he followed them, deeper into the building. Then, the leader reached down and pulled up an old cover. It revealed a ladder, leading down. The leader motioned to St. Germain to go down, which he did. Moments later, the cover was back in place.

Imperial Stormtroopers entered the building moments later, but found nothing.

Several damp and darkened corridors later, St. Germain saw light. There, the group stopped and took off their masks. They were a mixture of creed and ages. The leader pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be at least sixty years of age.

"May I introduce myself, Admiral. I'm Robert Picard!"

 

As Picard led his men down several more tunnels, he began to explain things to St. Germain.

"We were formed not long after Servalan came to power. Many of us could see what was coming, and we were right."

"But is it just you, here in London?" asked St. Germain. "Are there more of you, more groups?"

"There are resistance groups all over the world, Admiral. We are in constant touch with each other. We have direct access to the Imperial computer network."

"How is that possible?"

Picard stopped when they came to a small room.

"This is our first stop. Our weapons dump. Here, you will also see why we have access to the Imperial's computer."

After offloading his weapons, Picard led St. Germain to another room. Inside was a young man in an old Starfleet uniform, surrounded by computers.

"Admiral, meet former Starfleet Ensign Wesley Crusher."

Crusher looked up from his computer and smiled.

"I'm glad you're here—well, both of you. I've just got some disturbing news."

The two of them joined Crusher at his terminal.

"This is an intelligence report from Monstron. Apparently, the Imperials are trying to start a civil war between the sects there."

"Why?" asked Picard.

"It's obvious," said St. Germain. "So one side, possibly the strongest, will go to Palpatine and ask for help. With no Prime Directive to stop him, he'll give them weapons and men, and that side will win. Then the Monstrons will side with the Imperials, making them far stronger."

As Picard and Crusher discussed what to do next, St. Germain pulled back. His old friend, and oldest enemy, Lestat, was on Monstron. Could he be involved somehow?