by David Smith
He’d promised to return the gem and was determined to live up to his word, but was aware that Skye would probably insist on him helping her to place the gem back where he’d got it from.
Whilst Skye was undeniably sexy, he wasn’t sure he had the strength to satisfy her, especially after she’d suffered months of limited opportunities to indulge her clinical nymphomania. The fact that she’d been sleeping with Joynes didn’t fill him with any greater confidence.
He gave himself a mental slap and continued on to the main topic of concern. ‘How are things looking between the Tana and the Sha T’Al?’
Izzy shook her head. ‘Not good. The Tana are still broadcasting soap operas, reality TV and game-shows on frequencies of their own and Sha T’Al ones, too. The Sha T’Al are livid about it, but I don’t think it’s the infringement part that worries them.’
Izzy registered Dave’s querulous look and expanded on her statement. ‘The Sha T’Al take art seriously. It’s all they’re really interested in and I think they’ve taken issue with the standard of what the Tana are putting out.’
‘Surely nothing is so bad . . . ‘
Izzy cut him off bluntly. ‘Yes it is. Trust me on this. It’s really, really bad. The wording I’ve seen from Sha T’Al circles suggests that they believe the Tana are using the broadcasts as a deliberate attempt to undermine their society and culture. I’ve caught bits and it even makes Aussie soaps look mythologically good.’
‘Ouch’ said Dave simply.
‘Yep. That bad.’ Izzy’s shoulders seemed to slump as if a great weight was placed upon them as she continued. ‘I’ve been trying to get both sides to the negotiating table, but frankly, humans are about as popular round these parts as a floater at a pool-party.’
‘I suppose it’s only fair that the Sha T’Al still blame us for infecting a huge chunk of their territory. And the Tana must view us as the opposition as we’ve effectively halted their expansion plans in this direction. We’ve not been helped in that respect by the demise of the old Emperor. He died a few months back and has been succeeded by his eldest son. Unfortunately, the new Emperor hasn’t responded to any of our diplomatic overtures. Nothing. Zip. Zero. It appears he’s made an active decision not to engage with us. Even the local Sha T’Al seem to view us as a necessary evil rather than an ally.’
‘The Sha T'Al leadership aren’t talking directly to the Independent Sha T’Al here, but what little intelligence we’ve gleaned from the locals has really surprised me. It turns out the Sha T’Al have some serious weaponry available. I mean, we’re talking battleships here. They placed a fleet of their ships at the border with the Tana after the Tana ignored their demands about the broadcasts.’
‘Obviously the Tana were not impressed, because they sent an even bigger fleet to counter them from their side of the border. Given what we already know about the limited population numbers the Tana can muster, this must have been a truly heroic effort.’
She paused and let out a long breath. ’So that’s where we stand. Two huge fleets poised a few light years away, everybody shouting and nobody listening. I’ve done my best, but they just won’t talk to me . . . ‘ She looked genuinely upset and Dave knew it was frustration, not fear, that made her eyes sparkle.
‘Well we may not be in a good position, but at least we’re all in it together now’ he smiled.
Yep, they were certainly all in it together, Dave thought. Right up to their necks.
--------------------
Dave and Izzy transported up to Tiger and Izzy did the rounds, joyously greeting her ship mates after a very long and lonely three months.
Weirdly, for the crew that had stayed aboard Tiger the break was longer still. For them over nine months had passed, due to the complex series of events involving the ship’s dodgy computer, the very large dust cloud, some salvaged alien warp-coils and the detour through an alternative universe.
When their tour of the ship took them to the Main Engineering Deck., Dave took the chance to speak to his Chief Engineer, Commander Olga Romanov about the state of the ship.
‘We’re in reasonable shape, sir.’ The tiny Ukrainian looked tired, but Dave knew that was because she’d been working as hard as ever: Tiger was an old vessel and needed a lot of looking after.
‘The drives are all on line and optimal, albeit still with the Tana coils fitted. Weapons and shields are all operational too, although ASBeau tells me we’re a little low on torpedoes. Shields are all good, structural integrity systems and emergency systems are fine. We’re got some problems with ancillary systems, and I’m diverting more resource to that. Oxygen generation and battery systems need attention and the reactors for the impulse drive are due for an overhaul. I know we can’t afford to take them off line just now, but we’ll do what we can to keep them ticking over.’
She scratched her head. ‘The support systems are a bit of a different matter. A lot of them are still carrying issues we had while still at Hole. With the amount of other issues we’ve had with the drives, tactical systems, life support and the like, we’ve just never had time to sort it all out.’
Dave was concerned. The support systems weren’t anything that were going to directly affect the safety of the ship, but every system had some bearing on the operational effectiveness of the vessel. ‘Anything in particular we should be wary of?’
Romanov sighed. ‘The toilets on Deck 6 desperately need sorting and . . . ‘ she paused.
Dave froze. He instinctively knew he wouldn’t like what was about to follow.
‘ . . . the replicators are still completely uncontrollable.’
She could see the look of panic in his eyes. ‘Don’t worry! It’s not haggis!’
Dave breathed again.
‘The system’s still pumping out things almost completely at random. I tried to get . . . something . . . out yesterday and ended up with a bar of soap in hoi sin sauce.’
Dave guessed that his Engineering Officer had been after a bottle of vodka: she seemed to run almost exclusively on bottles of the stuff. Dave didn’t ever recall seeing her eat.
She shrugged. ‘On the positive side, it’s kept Lieutenant Taylor busy for a couple of weeks now.’
Dave nodded. He was aware of Romanov’s attitude towards her relief Services Engineer. Lieutenant Callum “Tinker” Taylor was a brilliant and intuitive engineer, but suffered from an obsessive-compulsive disorder. He tended to work on anything fanatically until he fixed it. Then he’d keep working on it, trying to tune it or improve it, which invariably ended in disaster.
On his last ship, he’d tuned the reaction drives to a peak far beyond what anyone would have thought possible. That had completely destroyed the ship as he hadn’t thought to adjust the ships structural integrity fields to cope with the additional strain. The saucer section of the ship had accelerated faster than the inter-hull section could cope with, and the ship had neatly decapitated itself.
It was a miracle that no-one had been killed. Taylor had been assigned to Tiger for the four years since that incident. Even his own team had a saying; ‘If it ain’t broke . . . Lieutenant Taylor will find a way.’
Romanov continued. ‘With Chief Deng and Lieutenant Sato tied up sorting out the more important auxiliary stuff, it’s kept him from fixing-beyond-repair anything that we actually need.’
Dave nodded. ‘Ok, well, I suppose it’s best to keep him at it. Less harm everywhere else and who knows? Maybe he’ll come up with something no-one else has thought of.’
Dave left with Izzy, and as they talked in the turbo-lift he began to fill Izzy in on some the bizarre happenings of his last nine months.
As Dave was explaining how the crew had achieved miracles to pass the acceptance tests at Arcturus ranges, Izzy stopped him.
‘It’s an amazing achievement and I really, really want to hear about it, but it reminds me that I’d best break a little bit of bad news to you before we get into your story.’
Dave could see the anxiety on her face
and was instantly worried.
Taking a deep breath she continued. ‘When Admiral O’Connor got our situation report about us intervening in the Tana Sha T’Al conflict about nine months ago, he filed a report along with our usual logs, etc. Fleet Command took notice because the reports clearly indicated that we’d transgressed the border protocols of the Treaty of Par Van.’
‘That was when O’Connor deployed the sizeable task-force of Third Fleet ships that saved us from the Tana fleet at Joran Dal. It seems Command suspected that we may have created whole problem in the first place. They were particularly worried that there might be outstanding diplomatic issues to be resolved. The higher powers still had little faith in Tiger and her crew at that time.’
‘Your reports about various misdemeanours by Cassini, Joynes, the Skipper, Money and Carstairs were very vaguely phrased so as not cause anyone too much pain. However, Command, as is their usual response, asked the Judge Advocate General’s office to undertake a preliminary review.’
Dave winced. JAG enforced Fleet regulations, and were renowned for being very, very thorough in their business.
‘They assigned an investigator and she made some preliminary enquiries through myself and PO Starr on Hole. The investigator decided to send a team to visit Hole to review the transactions for stores ordered to refit Tiger prior to trials.’
Dave groaned, but Izzy allayed his fears. ‘That was all good. Chief Money is, I have to admit, an absolute bona fide genius when it comes to hiding dodgy transactions.’ Izzy smiled an awkward half-smile. ‘We probably still would have got away scot-free if it hadn’t been for your unfortunate event about two weeks ago.’
Dave blinked uncomprehendingly. Two weeks ago they were in . . .
He realised Tiger’s warped warp-drive meant she’d actually been in at least three different places at exactly the same time.
The blank look on his face encouraged Izzy to prompt him. ‘Two weeks ago? When you were on the ranges at Arcturus?’
Dave thought a little more about this, as it narrowed it down. A little. Tiger had actually passed through the ranges twice at the same time. The first time she’d been undertaking the tests set by the range to prove the ship was fit to rejoin the fleet. They’d also been there again, but going backwards through time and saving their own bacon on the way as they travelled back from the huge dust-cloud the drive miscalculation had thrown them into.
‘Uh . . . ‘ said Dave.
Izzy rolled her eyes. ‘The Commodore?’
The penny dropped.
‘Oh right!! Yeah, the Commodore. I’d forgotten about that, it was months . . . er . . . well . . . ‘
Izzy looked at him curiously, before giving in and filling in the blanks. ‘Commodore Anthony Thomas B’Stard had a major heart attack shortly after you completed your final exercise. Remember? On Doctors advice, he was medically retired the day after by Admiral O’Connor, yes?’
‘Uh, well . . . yeah. What of it?’ said Dave still not seeing Izzy’s point.
Izzy looked at him apologetically. ‘Well it turns out that the officer in charge of the investigation into Tiger’s recent history is one Captain Anastasia B’Stard.’
Dave could feel the bottom falling out of his world. ‘Please tell me that’s a cruel joke?’
Izzy looked uncomfortable as she shook her head. ‘Sorry. Commodore B’Stard’s doting baby sister, Captain Anastasia “Nasty” B’Stard is overseeing the investigation. And she wants blood.’
--------------------
Dave knew that there were greater things afoot than the Judge Advocate General’s investigation into Tiger’s recent misadventures.
Despite that, he knew Tiger was in deep trouble from a regulatory point of view and he needed to head off the investigation or they’d never be in a position to help avert the looming interstellar war.
Having only left the Academy less than two years ago, he’d never been subjected to a JAG investigation, but anecdotal evidence from more experienced colleagues suggested it might be more pleasant to take a space walk . . . without a space suit.
Izzy had told him that Captain B’Stard had been on Hole interviewing PO Rick Starr, members of the local population and even Colonel Sanders, the Leader of the local team of Marines.
Izzy knew that the Captain had her own personal runabout to facilitate her movements, but wasn’t sure if she was already on her way back to Todot Hahn. Dave had asked Izzy what Captain B’Stard was like as a person, and was slightly worried by her description: ‘Well-balanced, has a chip on both shoulders.’
Steeling himself for the inevitable, he returned to his quarters and researched the last JAG investigation Tiger had been subjected to.
It was only a year before his arrival and was a routine investigation of ship’s procedures after Tiger had successfully broken the speed record for her class, but had been crippled in the process.
As Dave had expected, the JAG records were incredibly, painstakingly detailed, and revealed the sort of hardship that was likely to be apparent again in the immediate future.
A full professional standards audit by a small JAG team had led to two hundred and eighty-six individual charges being brought against sixty-two members of the crew.
The charges ranged from insignificant ones such as non-regulation uniform, through more serious charges such as failure to sufficiently supervise subordinates, petty fraud, and up as far as dereliction of duty and abuse of authority.
Twenty-eight members of the crew were given formal warnings, eight were docked pay, and the most serious offender, Commander Cassini, was sent away for several months to undergo re-training to reinforce his knowledge of a Starfleet Officer’s duties and responsibilities.
Dave leaned back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes. Well it didn’t seem so bad, but he was concerned by the duration and depth of the investigation. It had taken over two weeks of continual interviews and discussions, and right now, that was time Tiger couldn’t spare.
--------------------
The next day Izzy and Dave were at the Assembly Hall of the Council of Elders. Izzy had arranged the first formal encounter between the two bodies of the Sha T’Al, and Dave was gratified that the Sha T’Al deemed it permissible for both him and Izzy to attend and take part in the discussions.
There, they presented Elders Delan and Cannasi to the Council of Todot Hahn. As in the alternate universe he’d just returned from, Dave found himself on a low platform looking up to a row of seated Elders. Seven tall, elegant Sha T’Al stared down at them impassively.
‘Greetings, fellow Elders’ began Delan ‘We come before you to air the hopes and fears of our people. We are exiles one and all, forced from our homes by an unfeeling and unrelenting enemy. By some bizarre mechanism I do not understand we find ourselves as refugees in a world that we know and love but are estranged from. We are nearly seventy-five thousand in number, a great body and perhaps a great burden too. All I can ask is that you allow us to share your world and allow us to share with you our art and our culture.’
With no outward sign of communication, the senior member of the Council spoke.
‘I am Elder Cha Dar of the Council of Todot Hahn. This Council represents twenty-two inhabited star-systems in what are now the Independent Sha T’Al Home-worlds. Your circumstances have been explained to us by Commander Grosvenor. Have our circumstances been explained to yourselves?’
There was a slightly awkward pause before Delan replied.
‘We were informed that your dealings with humans had been as disastrous as our own, but for you the offence was wrought by a small number of individuals. Our understanding is that the same ship and crew that came to our assistance were also the first of their race to offer aid to yourselves.’
‘In essence that is correct’ replied Cha Dar. ‘Millions of our people have died, although in truth, the humans did not understand the degree of their complicity. They simply followed their base instinct to gain through what they knew was an illegal tra
nsaction, not knowing what terrible consequences might follow. We are as much to blame through indulging in their illicit produce. No-one made our people take the drug.’
Cha Dar shook her head sadly. ‘It took months for the disease to manifest itself, by whence it was too late to mount an effective defence against it. Many of us indulged, revelling in the euphoria the drug brought and the heightened creative ability it instilled within us. The victims of the drug produced some of their finest work under its influence, and that success only made the drug more attractive.’
‘It was many, many months before drug-users found that their inherent creative ability eventually withered and their nature became more base. They eventually found that they needed the drug to function, but that each further use brought them lower and lower until they were little more than crazed animals. The unaffected fled or became victims of the afflicted, and as more and more of our people died, our ability to control or even fight the disease died with them.’
Delan paused ‘But you are aware of the blight that afflicts us? And you would still welcome us?’
Cha Dar straightened herself. ‘If our misfortune has taught us a single lesson, perhaps it is that the greater the peril, the greater is the need to unite. Like yourselves, the High Council have disowned us. In their eyes we were infected by the humans, not just physically, but psychologically, socially and culturally too. We believe they were wrong to do so and could not ratify their decision by making the same decision ourselves.’
She took a deep breath ‘Come what may, you are our brethren and you are welcome here, one and all. Our own plight is great, but we will do what we can to help you in your hour of need.’
Delan bowed deeply ‘We thank you for your mercy, and will offer what assistance and expertise we can in your troubles too. I believe that two minds together are greater than the sum of the individual parts, and with assistance from the humans as well, I feel certain we can succeed.’