A NEW BEGINNING
April 10, 2158
Sims grinned inside his combat armor as he rested the plasma rifle on the windowsill. A squad of Empire troops had beamed in and
was coming down the street. One of the soldiers was carrying a small courier case. Fools, he thought as he sighted in on the Squad
Leader. The weapons were new, but the tactics were the same as when he taught them at the Academy so long ago. On the
other hand, the new red uniforms made it easy to pick them off.
He tapped the earpiece he wore in his right ear. “I’m in position. Get ready to deploy the transport scrambler.”
“Our ships have the Defiant engaged in orbit, Commander.” The female Vulcan’s voice sounded scratchy and strained. “You must
retrieve the package before it reaches Starfleet Command.”
“Acknowledged.” He said. “Good Luck.”
“Luck is illogical.” The voice paused. “But thank you.”
He closed the commlink and turned his attention back to the Squad. “Causes are for fools.” He whispered as he squeezed the trigger.
Bright blue plasma pulses struck the group. The Squad Leader fell first with a large smoldering hole in his chest. His compatriots fell soon
after in quick succession. He jumped up from his hiding place and ran out to the street. He scooped up the courier case and after doing
a quick check for booby traps, opened the black and silver case.
Inside, he found two neatly packed ten-rows of blue and gold data disks. There must be something very important on them for the
Empress to station such a heavy escort. He closed the case and ran for cover as he heard the ominous buzzing of a transporter beam.
Another squad was beaming in and this time they were ready for battle. An orange energy beam struck the doorway as he ducked
inside. Those damnable phaser things again, he thought as he tapped his ear. “Renegade, this is Sims. I have the package. Get me
the hell out of here.”
“Stand by.”
Sims felt the transporter beam wash over him as the Empire troops stormed into the room, their phasers firing. The last thing he
saw before his vision failed were the expressions on the troopers. Anger and fear. Anger and fear.
The street rubble melted away to reform into the sterile confines of the ISS Renegade’s Transporter Room. He pulled off his
helmet and raised the courier case. “I believe that our contract has now been fulfilled?”
Renegade’s Commanding Officer, Captain T’Voss, walked over and accepted the case with a slow nod. Her expression was stern,
but Sims noticed a slight twinkle in her eyes as she lifted her gaze to his. “Thank you, Commander, your service to this ship is appreciated.”
“My pleasure.” He nodded. “And my credits?"
“They have been deposited in your account on Vulcan as before.” T’Voss replied crisply. “Your ship has been refueled and is ready for
launch in Shuttle Bay 2.” She paused. “Unless of course you would like to accompany us to our destination.”
Sims noted that twinkle in her eyes again. Under that cold Vulcan exterior, he thought, lay much promise. Another time. He shook his
head. “As intriguing as the invitation sounds, I must decline. I have an appointment on Quo’nos that I must keep. You know how sensitive
those Klingons can get over punctuality and proper manners?”
“A pity.” T’Voss said. The deck shook and red alert lights began flashing. She reached over to the transporter console and pressed a
button. “Captain here.”
“Bridge here, Captain. We’re under attack. It’s him.”
T’Voss’s expression paled for the briefest of moments before her control asserted itself. “All hands to Battle Stations. I’m on the way.”
She turned to Sims. “I could use your tactical expertise. We’re under attack by an old friend of yours.”
ISS Renegade Bridge
No sooner did the turbolift doors open than the deck rumbled from another hit. Sims followed T’Voss to the Captain’s chair.
“Helm, evasive action.” T’Voss said. “Hull plating to maximum. Let’s see them.”
The viewscreen crackled to show another Empire warship trailing them. It bore a strong resemblance to the recently destroyed
Enterprise except that it carried four warp nacelles instead of the traditional two and its saucer bristled with phase cannon turrets
and torpedo launchers on swivel turrets. The newcomer’s hull was painted a dark gunmetal blue and its registry number and name
were spelled out in bright white letters along the primary hull: ISS Executioner, ICC-1.
“Blyre.” Sims muttered, his throat tightening. “The Butcher of Babel. That data you had me recover must be something else if
The Empress unleashed him to get it back.”
Another shot struck the Renegade’s hull, overloading several consoles. Sparks filled the air as crewmembers reached for fire
extinguishers. The lieutenant manning Tactical fell over as his console exploded in his face. Sims ran over and sat down, his hands
moving with practiced expertise over the controls. “Hull plating is holding. Damage to aft phase cannons and both shuttle bays.
We have reduced efficiency in both warp and impulse drive systems” He frowned. “I’m stuck here.”
“We’re being hailed.”
T’Voss straightened her uniform before nodding. “On Screen.”
The view screen crackled for the briefest of moments before a tall man with short dark hair appeared, dressed in a long sleeve
gold shirt and black slacks. His face was grim and unsmiling and his green eyes looked as if they had been chiseled from chips of ice.
A gold cutlass rested in a scabbard on his right leg. “Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded.” Blyre ordered. “I will not ask again.”
“This battle need not happen, Captain Blyre.” T’Voss replied. “We can work together to build a better world for all our peoples.
Fighting to support a corrupt and brutal government that is destined to fall is not only illogical, but also foolish. Even you can see that.”
On the view screen, Blyre paused as if in thought. Then his expression darkened. “You don’t understand, Captain. I like this world
just the way it is. The enemies of the Empire deserve only death. If you surrender, I promise you a quick and relatively painless death.
Oppose me and I will leave you as floating debris in open space.”
“Give me a moment to prepare my crew.”
“No tricks, Captain.” Blyre snarled.
“No tricks.” T’Voss signaled the Comm Officer to close the channel. “Helm, slow to one-quarter impulse. Commander Sims, do you
have any ideas?”
“He knows I’m here.” Sims replied. “Otherwise, he would have destroyed you already. My links with the Klingons and Romulans
would go a long way toward netting him an Admiral’s promotion. Plus, I know his secret.”
T’Voss raised her eyebrows. “A secret?”
Sims nodded. “Blyre was found in the ruins of Caldor Prime in suspended animation. He was revived and interrogated. During the
course of the interrogation, drugs were used to suppress both his memory and his more compassionate impulses. Suffice it to say,
Captain Blyre is not from this universe.”
“Psychological manipulation.” T’Voss said. “That explains much. How can we use that to our advantage?”
“Leave that to me.” Sims turned. “Open the channel.”
Blyre reappeared on the screen. His eyes narrowed to slits upon seeing Sims. “Commander Sims. Still selling your treachery to the
highest bidder?”
“I find it preferable to being The Empress’s pet.” Sims taunted. “”I’m surprised that Sato didn’t execute you along with the rest of
the Old Guard when she took over. After she learned where it was that you came from. Where you really came from, that is.”
Blyre’s face colored red with anger. “I will kill you myself. I swear it.”
Sims smiled. “How about a trade, Will? I’ll transport over to your ship with the stolen data and in return, you spare these people.
We both know that I’m worth more as a prize than some silly schematics on a data disk.”
“They are traitors to The Empire.” Blyre regained enough composure to lower his voice. “As are you. I’ll make you a counter-proposal.
I’ll agree to your terms if in addition to yourself and the stolen data, you turn over to me everything in your ship’s database concerning
the Klingons and Romulans that you are working with. Give me the codes that you use to get through their defenses and I will arrange
to let Renegade slip away.”
Blyre’s smile caused Sims a twinge, but he nodded. “Very well. I will beam over to you shortly. Stand by to receive me.”
“Of course.” The view screen faded.
“He has no intention of keeping that pact.” T’Voss stated.
“Of course he won’t.” Sims agreed. “But he believes that he has me backed into a corner so he will play along until he has what he
wants. Then he will turn his weapons on your ship. But I have a plan. Come on, we don’t have much time.”
ISS Renegade Armory
Sims and T’Voss watched as an Andorian crewman gently removed a portion of antimatter from one of Renegade’s torpedoes and
sealed it inside a small box containing a magnetic bottle. The crewman then attached a timer to the magnetic bottle. “It’s ready, Ma’am.”
T’Voss took the bottle and gently inspected the outer casing. She turned and handed it to Sims. “This plan of yours appears
ill-conceived and illogical on many levels. Blyre may be psychotic, but he is not a fool.”
“I’m counting on that.” Sims said, entering a complex command into the timer’s keypad. “Hopefully, my being there will distract him
long enough for you to detonate the bomb and get away with the real data. Is the other item ready?”
“It is waiting for you in the Transporter Room.” T’Voss pressed a nearby wall comm. “Captain to Transporter Room. Mr. Sims and I
are on our way.”
Topic: A New Beginning (Read 8115 times)