by David Smith
Dave pressed a button on the console of the Captains chair, opening a comm-link to the senior staff. ‘Senior staff to the Officer’s Mess in fifteen minutes. Dolplop, you have the Bridge.’
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Dave headed to his own quarters for some breathing space, and washed his face in cold water. He stood up, and looking into the mirror, remembered something his dear old granny had said to him just once.
In a moral dilemma, he’d approached his granny and she’d expressed her thoughts so clearly that her advice had always stayed with him:
‘It’s always easy to know the right thing to do, Davey. Take a look in a mirror, and if you don’t like the person looking back at you, you’re doing the wrong thing.’
Dave thought of every mean-spirited jobs-worth who’d dutifully followed rules and regulations that they didn’t understand or care about.
He thought of all the decision makers who’d ever said, ‘Well it’s not my problem.’
He thought of the war-crimes trials that littered human history with the damning phrase ‘I was just following orders.’
He made his decision and smiled at himself in the mirror.
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The senior staff had assembled by the time Dave reached the Officer’s Mess.
‘Good afternoon, all’ Dave began. ‘I’ve called you all here to give you some good news. Lieutenant-Commander O’Mara and Commander Romanov’s team have found a solution to the dimensional shift we’ve been through. We believe we can go home.’
The room erupted in wild cheers and whoops of unrestrained joy. ASBeau slapped O’Mara on the back, while Crash even hugged her and kissed Romanov. Even Lieutenant-Commander Ozawa cracked a smile. Only Commander Mengele sat unmoved.
Dave held his hands up, but let them carry on for a minute before asking them to quiet down.
‘Lieutenant-Commander O’Mara tells me there are no significant alterations needed, we can drop out of warp, reset the plasma manifolds and get out of here.’
Broad smiles all round.
‘Before you all get too excited, I’d like to remind you of our current situation. We’re escorting a large group of Sha T’Al out of harm’s way, but realistically, the harm has already been done to them. They’ve been infected by our counterparts of the Terran Empire, and the prognosis is poor in every sense.’
Dave gazed around the table trying to judge the team’s reaction. Most wouldn’t meet his gaze.
There was a sombre silence and the team looked sheepishly at each other around the table. After a seemingly interminable pause, Lieutenant Shearer spoke up.
‘Worra bout the Sha T’Al, liek? Ar we gonna jes gaw?’
Dave could see the genuine concern in her eyes, even if he wasn’t sure what she’d actually said.
‘Well, therein lies a problem. I’ve made it very clear in previous briefings and discussions that we have no choice in this matter. The Starfleet Prime Directive is quite specific on the matter of non-intervention, and even being here is a significant breach. That’s the real reason you’re all here.’
He stood up and walked over to a window, and through it he could pick out the pin-pricks of light that were the rest of the convoy of ships. They were moving together as a single convoy, at more than two hundred times the speed of light, but as they were all travelling at the same speed on the same heading, the other ships remained stationary relative to Tiger, tiny fixed points of light against a back drop of stars that slowly drifted by.
‘I’ve already posted my daily status report to the Captain recommending that we don’t make the jump back immediately.’
There were murmurs around the table, and Dave was vaguely aware of a broad smile of relief on the faces of both O’Mara and Mengele.
He continued. ‘Assuming the skipper doesn’t object, I intend to finish what we’ve started. I want to stay at Todot Hahn and find some way to defeat the Empire fleet that’s threatening the Sha T’Al.’
Dave turned around to gauge their opinion again. O’Mara and Mengele were both smiling broadly. Crash was nodding sagely at Shearer. ASBeau was rubbing his chin and patently considering their battle-tactics already.
‘I’ve thought long and hard about this. It’s not our universe, it’s not our fight. Truth be told, I don’t even know if our efforts will make this universe better or worse. All I know is that the Sha T’Al need our help, and I can’t . . . I won’t . . . abandon them.’
‘The Terran Empire seems to represent everything that’s worst about humanity, and I refuse to accept that we can’t make a difference here and now. So we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight for the Sha T’Al, and we’re going to fight for our own good conscience.’
‘We’re fighting for what’s right, and to prove to the Sha T’Al, and the Tana and the Empire that some things are more important than rules or regulations.’
‘I’m going against the Prime Directive, and for the record I’m making it known that this is my decision, and mine alone. If we ever do get back to our own universe, I’m happy to take the consequences of our actions. All I want from you is your best efforts to support my decision, regardless of the rights and wrongs of this matter. If any of you have issues with my decision, I fully understand and am happy to discuss it further. But I have made my decision, and will fight the ship on my own if I have to.’
Commander Mengele looked around the table before calmly stating ‘That will not be necessary Commander, I believe every member of the crew will fully support your stand.’
‘Yeah!’ grinned ASBeau ‘Gonna open me a can o’ whupass! Gonna kick some Empire butt!!’
Crash was smiling broadly too ‘Ma favourite singer Cassie Jones recorded a song called “If you can’t do something smart, do something right”: says it for me, Commander!’
Even the normally inscrutable Counsellor Ozawa felt moved to add his support ‘You have chosen the only honourable path. We will face the consequences with heads held high.’
‘Thank you team. Dismissed.’
They filed out one by one, until only Aisling O’Mara remained. She seemed slightly embarrassed, and was blushing as soon as she began to speak. ‘Great speech, sir. Sent shivers down my spine. And if I’m honest a little bit of pee came out too.’
She approached him and stood a foot away, seemingly unsure what to do next. Her eyes sparkled as she’d tried to find a way to express her feelings. She started to say something, but seemed to change her mind and lunged at him instead, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder. ‘Thank you’ she whispered, leaving a tiny damp, teary patch before hastily disengaging and leaving Dave on his own.
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The remainder of the journey to Todot Hahn was filled with strategy planning. They were significantly out-gunned, but had one big advantage.
Lieutenant Shearer’s cryptography team had been decoding as much Imperial signal traffic as they could find, but they noted that what general broadcast material they could find bore date and time markers from over a week ago.
Most communications depended on the use of sub-space for faster than light transmission. Signals were bounced around a series of autonomous relay stations until they were close enough to the target to enable transmission in ordinary space at sub-light velocities.
The Sha T’Al had destroyed most of the Empire’s sub-space relay stations in Sector 244, which had slowed the Empire’s lines of communication enormously. Whilst inconvenient for the Empire, it was a life-line for Tiger and her crew.
They’d escaped from Sector 212 using their warped Drive and had gone back several days in time in the process. Although enough time had passed that the rest of this universe had caught back up with them. However, the slow speed of Imperial communications meant that none of their forces in this area of space would have been alerted to Tiger’s presence yet. Tiger would still have the element of surprise.
Dave and ASBeau worked to make the most of this advant
age. They analysed what little data the Sha T’Al scout vessel had managed to gather, and concluded that the Imperial fleet was centred around eight large assault transport vessels that would each be carrying several thousand troops, their equipment and a fleet of shuttles to carry them to the surface. These were accompanied by two cargo vessels of similar dimensions that would be carrying additional stores, and two large fuel carrying vessels.
Their main protection came from a heavy cruiser of the Constitution class, the same class as Tiger. An old design, she was still a formidable vessel and would need to be approached with extreme caution. She was assisted by an old scout vessel of the Bode class, and a lightly armed and protected towing vessel of the Island Class, neither of which posed a significant threat to the Tiger.
By the time they reached Todot Hahn, the plan was complete in detail, and everyone aboard Tiger knew the part they had to play.
Dave was massively relieved to have reached their destination. Word of O’Mara’s success in finding a way to get home had spread through the crew like wild-fire, and everywhere Dave had gone on the ship he found himself morally justifying his decision to stay in this universe until the job was done.
Most people grudgingly admitted that he was right, but it was clear that not everyone was happy about the delay. Dave began to wish he’d asked O’Mara to keep her discovery under wraps, as he now dreaded the volley of questions about when they’d be making the move that arose every time he spoke to any of the crew.
Each time, he had to remind himself of his dear old grannies words of advice: ‘Davey, once the tooth-paste is out of the tube, it’s not going back in. You might as well carry on and brush your teeth, and smile when you’re done.’
Their arrival at Todot Hahn gave the crew something to focus on other than escaping this weird universe, and that finally gave Dave some respite.
As Crash led the convoy into a non-threatening, high-altitude orbit, Dave asked Lieutenant Shearer to open comms on all frequencies known to be in use by the Sha T’Al.
‘This is Commander David Hollins of the Federation Starship Tiger. We come in peace and have escorted Sha T’Al refugees that have escaped from an Imperial fleet that has visited Joran Dal and Cho-dal-far. We wish to land the refugees so that we may engage the Imperial fleet before it reaches Todot Hahn. Please respond.’
Silence.
Dave waited a minute and tried again.
‘This is Commander David Hollins of the Federation Starship Tiger. We are escorting a convoy of Sha T’Al refugees that require urgent assistance. Please respond.’
Silence.
Shearer adjusted some settings on the comms system and said ‘Readin’ a lawda chattah, sir, norra lot on common frequencies thaw. I think thair tryna contac Elder Jalai, liek.
‘Ah. Holdonamo. Yeah, ahav Elder Jalai on line fer y’now.’
The face of the convoy’s Sha T’Al leader appeared on the main view-screen.
‘Greetings, Commander Hollins. I have been contacted by the Council of Elders of Todot Hahn. They are wary of your vessel as it seems to be cloaked. They are no less concerned by the presence of a Tana battleship. They have asked me to vouch for you and your ship, as they have been misled before by Imperial vessels promising no harm.’
‘Please assure them that we are no threat to them and that we will shortly be departing in an effort to intercept the fleet of Terran Empire vessels that are en-route from Cho-dal-far. We will only stay long enough to evacuate the refugees from Tiger and the Tana battleship, then Tiger will depart, along with your scout vessel as planned.’
The Sha T’Al paused before replying ‘You understand that there is nothing we can do to help you in your mission? And that we can provide you with no reward either?’
‘This is not about payment, Elder, this is about right and wrong. If we are successful I hope the Council will think better of us. Perhaps even trust us.’
‘Then good luck Commander Hollins. For what little it’s worth you have the thanks of my people for your assistance so far, and our best wishes for your future undertakings. I will personally vouch for you and I will explain the circumstances of your presence in our space to the local leadership. I hope we meet again soon.’
‘So do I, Elder Jalai, so do I.’
Chapter 10
Elsewhere on Todot Hahn, Jim-Bob Stallworth was dodging amongst the rubble of a destroyed Sha T’Al city. He didn’t know what defensive systems the Sha T’Al still had, certainly none had been apparent when they’d fled here from Sector 193, but there was no point in taking chances.
They’d lost so many people in Sector 193 that the rebellion was effectively over. Hollins still talked about carrying on the fight, but only a few thousand of them had managed to escape the Empire’s brutal assault.
He remembered how he’d been so determined and so fired up by his first meeting with Hollins. He’d always raged against the stupidity and violence of the Empire, but even so, he wasn’t sure about joining the rebellion.
That had changed when Hollins swung into to town. Jim-Bob could still remember the phrase that had finally convinced him to throw his lot in with the rebels. Hollins had spoken to him directly. ‘There’s no shame in being the little fish in the big pond, and there are always a few who want to be the big fish in a little pond. Me? I’m going fishing with dynamite . . . ‘
It had been glorious. They’d fought, and fought, and fought, always sure of the righteousness of their cause. When the Empire had started a war with the Sha T’Al and then the Tana, the rebellion had spread like wild fire, and for a little while they’d actually controlled most of Sector 193.
But it had all collapsed like a house of cards. The Empire abandoned Sector 244, stalled the Sha T’Al and Tana and had hit the rebels with all their might. The local Alderman, Isobelle Grosvenor, had been completely ruthless and slaughtered every rebel she caught and anyone she suspected of being a sympathiser. Hundreds of thousands had died, and she’d been promoted to Magistrate and Governor for the entire province.
The rebels had hidden a few ships and they still had cells of operatives dotted around the Empire, but it was over. They’d lost.
He looked up at the darkening sky and wondered if even now, the Imperial Forces gathering above them were readying themselves for a final, devastating assault. He put the thought out his mind. While they were still alive, they’d fight on. There was nothing else to do.
He gathered himself and sprinted to the next building, getting undercover as quickly as he could. Another series of short sprints saw him reach his destination, the Command Post.
He nearly laughed as he said it. A few computer terminals and a sub-space comms set rigged to the abandoned Sha T’Al fusion generator a hundred meters below their feet. The place didn’t even have a damned door.
A bedraggled looking guard challenged him, but realised who it was as Jim-Bob stepped out in front of the ancient and inadequate lights they’d rigged ‘temporarily’ over three months ago.
He stepped into the main room through the piles of dust and rubble, where at least the lighting was a little better.
Hollins was hunched over a terminal with Sergeant Belle, the leader of the last contingent of infantry they had available. They were discussing the arms caches dotted around Sector 244 and 211 and how they could recover them. He snorted to himself. Pipe-dreams. They’d never get to them. There were too few of them and far, far too many Imperial warships in the way. It wasn’t his problem. He had a message to deliver.
Hollins looked up, looking as tired as Jim-Bob had ever seen him. ‘Hey, Jim-Bob what’s up?’
‘The sensors outside the city have detected ships in orbit, sir. We can’t identify all of them, but at least twelve of them are Imperial transport vessels. It looks like our man at the Star-base was right about an invasion fleet.’
‘Damn. Any sign of movement yet?’ asked Hollins.
‘Well that’s a bit odd, sir. They’re just sitting there. Lots of comms chatter, but i
t’s encrypted as always. Have we got the computers working properly yet?’
Hollins replied through gritted teeth ‘No. We haven’t got anything working. Yet.’
‘So if the Imperial forces find us, the games up?’ asked Jim-Bob nervously.
Hollins visibly slumped. ’Yeah, it will be. The shield generators won’t protect us from an orbital bombardment for long, and we don’t have enough weaponry on the ground to resist effectively if they land marines. Our only hope is that they’re too busy with the Sha T’Al to spot us. Tell everyone to shut everything down and go down to the lowest levels. I want you to stay up here with a small team and man the sensors, passive only. I don’t want to risk drawing attention to ourselves.’
‘What do we do if they see us?’ asked Jim-Bob.
‘Well, I leave it to each individual’s conscience. Suffice to say I won’t be taken alive.’
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Stavros’ team began the laborious work of transferring the worst affected Sha T’Al to the surface by shuttle, assisted by Chief Carstairs who first transported the contingent of Sha T’Al and the Sisters of the Order of Latter Day Saints from Tiger.
With them gone, Andy began to transport Tiger’s crew back across from the Tana battleship. He wasn’t sure exactly what they’d be facing so he wanted his best team at the controls.
As soon as he had them aboard, Dave made ready to leave. He had to leave some of Tiger’s personnel behind. Stavros and his flight-crews were still operating the Tana shuttles, and a small team of scientists and medics who would continue the efforts to slow the effects of the prionic disease. He also left a handful of engineers who would assist in making the Tana battleship secure and safe until Tiger’s return.
The Sha T’Al had ceded their scout vessel for the mission and Dave had put ASBeau aboard as Commander with Lyle at the Helm and Farnell as Navigator. Fortunately the tiny vessel could be operated by a crew of around a dozen, which Dave could just about spare.
