Chapter Two – Remmikian Justice
Any hopes that Riker had entertained of negotiating their way out of the situation peacefully disappeared rapidly once the three of them had been searched. Their hidden tricorders and phasers had caused a stir amongst their captors and had extended the time it took the authorities to process the 'trespassers'. Riker, as the obvious leader, was immediately dragged into an interrogation room where he was bombarded with questions, such as what country he was from, why he was at the crash site, and where they had hidden the weaponised satellite that had crashed. Throughout the three hour interrogation Riker sat silent and motionless, hoping that he would be returned to the same cell as the two scientists. Any chances of being rescued were slim though, as their communicators had been confiscated along with everything else, meaning they had no link to the ship.
"I give up with this one, take him back to the cell," The detective ordered the three guards standing at the door.
Riker had put up little resistance during the time he had been incarcerated, but the native humans still felt it necessary to provide enough strength to ensure he did not attempt an escape. With his hands bound with some kind of primitive metal cuffing, Riker doubted he could do enough damage to quickly and quietly subdue three men.
"What do they want with us?" one of the scientists asked quietly once Riker was back in their shared cell. The youth was barely twenty years old, and it looked like he was barely controlling his fear.
"They think we are some kind of spy group sent from another country. When they realise we know nothing they should let us go. Don't worry, Ensign Bragg," Riker remembered the young man's name and record. He was a natural born genius with impressive credentials.
"If you aren't from another country, then where are you from?" a voice asked from across the corridor.
Riker snapped his head in the direction of voice. The front of their cell was covered by bars that allowed no privacy for those inside and ensured the guards could easily locate all the detainees. Through their cell they could see into the dimly lit corridor beyond and the cell that faced theirs. Although pale morning light has started to filter through the high cell windows, it was not enough light to see any cell occupant in detail. Two figures stepped to the front and into the light cast by the corridor's lighting.
"Why should it be any concern of yours?" Riker asked defensively as he inspected the men in front of him.
Riker could see both were tall, with short brown hair and one had a moustache, they were both dressed mainly in green with sturdy boots. Riker decided they must have been from some kind of military organisation, even if their clothing was coincidental and they were just hiking the two men had an air of confidence that only accompanied military training.
"Because if it is true, then it stands to reason that you are not from this planet. Which means we have something in common and we might be able to help each other out," the man with the moustache explained.
"Space travel is impossible," Riker scoffed, hoping to deceive the stranger in case it was a trick.
"For the people of this planet it is, but I know that others have that capability. That is the reason I am here rather than on Earth, I think," the man insisted.
"Seeing as we are stuck here why don't you explain how you got here. If you aren't from this planet," Riker leant against the wall of their cell and stared at the man.
"I head up a branch of the military called UNIT, we specialise in dealing with alien incursions on Earth. My scientific advisor had just reappeared after being away from a long time and was insisting he needed our help, for once. However we got caught in some kind of time current and the last thing either of us remember was a bright explosion knocking us against the TARDIS wall –"
"Did you say TARDIS?" Riker interrupted quickly.
"You know about the TARDIS? So is the Doctor here?" the second man interrupted.
"We have met once, but that was about a year ago," Riker explained feeling guilty as he saw the hope leave the men's eyes.
"No matter," he replied after a few moments. "We can still get out of here without him. But first may we know the names of our fellow prisoners? Just because we are in cells does not allow us to be uncivilised."
"Of course," Riker replied, hiding a smile as the person's mannerisms reminded him of the captain. "I am Commander William T. Riker of the USS Enterprise, this is Lieutenant Ward and Ensign Bragg. To whom do we owe the honour of being incarcerated with?"
"Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant John Benton, of UNIT," the Brigadier nodded, and Riker could almost see him trying to work out where the two of them stood in terms of hierarchy.
"Now, you seem to have a plan?" Riker encouraged their new friend.
"Our affects are being stored in the evidence room just to the left of us once we leave this corridor, if possible I would like to retrieve my gun before we escape. The door at the other end of the corridor will most likely lead us to an exit, from there we steal some transportation and head back to the crash site. I assume your comrades can collect us from there?" the Brigadier explained.
"We don't even need to go that far, if we can get into the evidence room then we can get away quickly. But first how do we get out of here?" Riker held up his cuffed hands to highlight their predicament.
"You have learnt how to travel through space yet you do not know how to pick a lock?" the Brigadier asked incredulously, holding up his handcuffs as Benton grinned and undid his own cuffs.
"It is something we have forgotten, usually we do not need to escape from the prisons of pre-warp civilisations," Riker grinned as their accomplice quietly reached through his bars and attempted to pick the lock of his door using a piece of metal.
"Pre-what?" Benton asked absentmindedly as the cell door opened and he padded over the corridor to Riker.
"Never mind," Riker winced as he realised the Brigadier and Benton were not from this century.
The Brigadier and Benton moved quickly to remove the handcuffs, cell door then led the way to listen to the sounds emanating from the room beyond the door. "There does not seem to be anyone near the door, can you quickly get through and get into the evidence room?"
"Only one way to find out, all we need to do is reach our communicator badges," Riker whispered.
"Let's go then," the Brigadier inched the door open and peered around it.
Benton and the two scientists waited in in the detention room whilst the Brigadier led Riker down the brightly lit corridor beyond the door and into the evidence room. One man sat in the room at a desk with his back to the door, so the Brigadier quickly slinked forward and knocked him out.
"These are ours, what did you need to collect?" Riker quickly grabbed the evidence bags that contained everything they had lost.
"Just these," the soldier quickly grabbed two pistols in their holsters from a separate shelf and two coats before leading the way back to the cells where they had left the two scientists and Benton.
But as they opened the door they ran straight into the detective and another man. Only the surprise of seeing the prisoners out of their cells enabled Riker and the Brigadier to escape by knocking the two men to the floor and fleeing down the corridor. As the Brigadier and Benton jammed the door Riker fiddled with the evidence bag containing their communication badges, panic and confusion with the packaging making it difficult.
"Riker to Enterprise! Five to beam up immediately!" the Commander shouted above the sounds of multiple angry voices getting closer to them.
Just as the Brigadier thought that their captors were about to burst through the door and catch them, he was engulfed in blue light and the room in front of them dissolved.