There and back again (I)
“Commander; ready to go to warp!”, Lt.Cmdr. Jefferson’s voice sounded a little more cheerful, compared to the last time Jade spoke to him. Cmdr. MacKinnon’s answer came right away:”Then let’s go for it! Ensign; Maximum warp!” - “Aye! Maximum warp!”
Meanwhile Cpt. Martin was held captive in the detention block of Romulus’ Senate chamber. “ATTENTION!”, Martin was startled. He suddenly stood upright in his, what the guard had called, bed. It was rather a block of hard wood, with some sheets firmly attached to its surface, which had probably not been cleaned for years. The steps were coming closer. “Stand up for the Praetor!” The Praetor? Was he that important? What information could he possibly have, that the Praetor himself would come and interrogate him. “Release the human!” The Praetor’s voice was hard and one would not dare to disobey it. Craig Martin’s handcuffs were taken off and he was led out of the cell. The Romulan emperor stood face to face with the captain and said in a very calm voice: “Captain Martin, I would honestly like to apologize, for what trouble my subordinate had caused you. Please, walk with me.”
“Commander, Romulus is dead ahead.” - “Standard orbit Mr. Taylor.” - “Aye, standard orbit.” - “Hail the Romulans.” Jade was ready to fight an argument to the end. “Too late, Commander. They are already hailing us.” - “Well, put them up then.” The screen cleared, revealing the face of a romulan civilist. “My name is Tvarek. I am the leader of the romulan underground movement. We have heard about your captains abduction and we are currently trying to free him.” Jade made a gesture, which told Jerry to cut the line. She then turned around to face the crew: “Am I hearing right? Since when is there such a thing as a romulan underground movement?” Solak was the first to answer: “There have been reports of such kind, but no proof up until now.” - “So you say, I can either trust him, or not. But I can’t make my decision upon hard facts.” - “I suggest we advance with extreme caution.” - “Sure. Open the channel.” - “Nice to meet you. I am Commander Jade MacKinnon of the federation starship Orion. May I ask how you plan to free our captain.” - “We already are in the midst of the operation. We sent the Preator to get him.” He said the words “the Praetor” with a certain tone in his words, that suggested to MacKinnon that it probably was an impostor, a look-a-like serving the needs of the underground movement. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to beam up to your vessel and discuss the matter in person.” - “No, not at all.” - “Then I will meet you shortly. Tvarek out.” The screen went black and Jade went off, telling Alexa to escort Tvarek to the situation room, once he arrived.
“We are in a position to cause the romulan empire enough trouble to force them to overthink their attitude. The underground movement knows, that the empire has old fashioned opinions and standpoints. There is no future for our culture, as long as there is no u-turn in the governments minds.” - “Excuse me.”, Jade interrupted him, “I don’t want to be blunt, but how do we get our captain back?” - “He already is in our custody.” - “When can I see him?” - “You’ll see him. Soon enough.”