- CHAPTER 16 -
- San Francisco, Terra, Capital of the Terran Empire -
The massive building stood tall, a shining cylinder that was the seat of the most powerful body in the entire galaxy. Many of its levels were offices for various sector council members when they were on Terra, but more than a few were devoted to museums containing pillaged relics from the Terran Empire's various subject species. Deep below it was Section 31's official primary head quarters. The covert organization had moved into the forefront of the Terran Empire's intelligence and internal security divisions. Their complex was a rabbit warren of offices, R&D facilities, interrogation rooms and emergency bunkers.
The vast circular room that topped the Council Tower was designed much like a roman amphitheater. There were concentric rings of seats that got higher the farther you got from the central podium. Its walls were vast stretches of one-way permeable glass. They allowed light to pass through from the outside as if it was normal glass, yet to an observer on the outside the walls appeared to be mirrors, showing nothing, not even to normal sensors, of the happenings inside the council chambers. The red black and white banner of the Empire hung on the clear walls on the four cardinal directions above the four entrances into the room. The massive unbroken dome of glass was 4 stories at the outside edge and over 8 in the middle of the massive room. The council chamber capped the tallest tower in San Francisco. It was 75 stories taller than any other tower in the old city, making it appear all the more imposing and massive.
It was late evening, with a light fog rolling in under the Golden Gate Bridge, here and there a shuttle pod or aerocar darted in and out of the advancing fog, but none dared go anywhere near the Council Tower. Three was a 15 km prohibited zone from ground level to space that was strictly enforced. If you strayed into that perimeter, the massive Type XII planetary phaser banks that ringed the tower would fry your craft, no questions asked. Every once and a while some fool either tried to attack the building or had an actual accident and strayed into the prohibited zone. No vessel had ever made it farther than a few meters inside the perimeter. No warnings were issued, no second chances granted. The trespassing vessel was incinerated no matter what the circumstances. The building itself also had its own defenses. Ablative armor generators had been installed and the armor could be employed within seconds. There were also shield generators installed in the massive building, every bit as powerful as those on the newest Starfleet Super Dreadnought.
Inside the brightly lit Council Chambers a massive argument was underway. The hundreds of council members were all trying to speak at once, shouting amplified arguments back and forth across the room. This had been going on for close to a minute now, and Greg Betare, Chairman of the Terran Empire had had enough. With the press of a button on his daisies, all microphones in the entire room died save his own. There was a sharp drop in the noise level of the argument, but not in the volume of insults and accusations being flung. There were even a few Vulcan delegates joining in with their more emotional human counter parts. The five Hydran delegates were basically the only beings in the chamber that weren't standing and shouting. Encased in their environmental suits because they needed to breathe methane, they were no doubt doing the Hydran equivalent of laughing at the antics of their Human and Vulcan overlords
"ENOUGH!" Betare bellowed, the force and volume of his voice causing the room to go silent. It wasn't every day that you got him angry. His temper was very slow to surface, but when it did it erupted spectacularly. It was loose now, you could see it in his hazel eyes under his salt and pepper hair. "You will all sit down immediately or you shall spend an hour in an agonizer so that you all learn some manners! Is that understood?!?" After a few more cat calls and angered stares, the assembled council delegates eventually sat down. "Thank you, now I believe that Delegate Chambers had the floor."
"Thank you Chairman. As I was saying, I have reason to believe that the subject races of the Empire are preparing to revolt." As he had before, Jack Chambers was cut off by a massive roar of protest by those whom felt differently than he did. That in turn set off the much less numerous delegates that believed as Chambers did. Chambers' main supporters were mostly delegates from the areas of the Empire where the pending revolt was more obvious, while their more populous detractors were from areas where nothing bad had happened for decades. Jack ran a hand through his rapidly receding chestnut hair. He had worried that his warning would fall on deaf ears, and his concerns had proven true even more spectacularly than his worst imagined fears. The core worlds were so secure, and had been for so long, that they thought the rest of the Galaxy was just like their small little parts. They refused to even consider that the long conquered Klingons, Romulans, Lyrans, Mirak, and Gorn would even dare, let alone be able to succeed in a revolt on the Terran Empire.
For the second time in as many seconds, Chairman Betare lost his temper. Twisting a control on his central podium, he increased the gravity in the room to 4Gs. Nearly all of the shouting delegates had been standing. They were unprepared for the sudden increase in gravity and the logical conclusion of such an increase happened. Betare lowered the gravity down to the standard 1G. Amidst the muttered curses and cries of protest the delegates picked themselves up off of the ground and seated themselves back in their chairs. But the tactic did have its desired effect, for the assembly soon quieted down and remained largely so for the rest of the meeting. Betare waved for Chambers to continue.
"As I was saying, It is my belief that the subject races are planning a revolt." Only a few muted catcalls interrupted him this time, so he continued. "For proof all you need to do is look at the stats for increased raids and Fleet ship disappearances. In the last few months, guerrilla attacks have increased ten-fold on all fronts. Not just that, but on all fronts simultaneously! And look at the rash of unexplained ship disappearances. In just the last week alone we have lost over 10 ships, including three Galaxy class vessels."
"But you knew that this was likely to happen Jack." Betare said to his old friend. "Intel said as much after the end of the Borg war. Once it became common knowledge that our fleets had been ground down to such an extent as they were, all the little terrorists and rebels would come out of the woodwork. They know as well as we do that they would never have such an excellent opportunity to strike us a blow. Granted even Intel didn't think that they could strike us as hard as they have, but our losses are far from crippling. And once the new ships come fully online we shall not only attack our newly discovered foe, we shall crush these guerrillas and terrorists once and for all."
"But." There was hurt mingled with anger in Chambers' green eyes as his friend cut his protests off.
"But nothing!" Betare closed all argument off forcefully. "I have given you leeway because your daughter was one of those lost in the recent skirmishes, but I will not allow you to disrupt this meeting further. I declare a recess till 10:00 AM tomorrow. Hopefully we can get more done in that session than today's." A few delegates, mostly Chambers' supporters, protested the recess, but for the most part the rest of the Council was more than happy to escape the hostile environment of the room.
- Council Tower, 120th Floor, Garden Level, 20 minutes later -
Betare made his way down the winding cobble stone path, breathing in the scent of wildflowers and greenery. The faint, soothing sound of falling water could be heard as the sprinklers watered the wild assortment of plants and trees in the garden. The carefully aimed water drops never landed on the walkway, enabling visitors to walk through without getting their expensive clothing wet. The serpentine pathway went deeper into the thick foliage, towards the heart of the floor. Betare followed the path till it emerged into the clearing in the middle of the garden. Seated there, just as he expected him to be, was Jack Chambers. There was a sour expression on his face, just as Betare had expected as well. When he approached his old friend, Jack turned and looked at him. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying.
"Listen Jack, about what happened today in Council."
"Spare me your platitudes! You made your position quite clear!" There was a lot of anger in his voice, but it was mostly to cover up the anguish that resided just beneath the surface. First he lost his only child, then his best and oldest friend takes the side of the mob instead of standing with him.
"But what you are proposing is preposterous!" Greg said in an exasperated tone. "Do you truly believe that the subject species are even remotely capable of overthrowing us?"
"You were there when that El-Aurian fortune teller gave us the future of the Empire. You know as well as I do how she said it would end."
"You actually believed her?" Greg laughed. "What would ever posses you to do that!? No one can tell the future Jack. Heck not even the Vulcans, for all their telepathic ability, can do that!"
"You must have at least partially believed her, because you approved my plan to have all El-Aurians exterminated!"
"I did that because their beliefs were disruptive to the effective governing of the Empire. Just look at how they sucked you in! Now imagine if that same belief was allowed to spread across the Empire. It would be chaos!"
"I was not sucked in!" Jack spat out. Greg looked at him incredulously and shook his head. Jack pressed on, vainly trying to convince him that what they had both seen and heard had been true. "They could see the future, just like you or I could speak, they could see it. We are at the end of the Empire and we are doing nothing to stop what is coming."
"Tell you what, why don't you sit out the next council session? You are obviously still distraught over the loss of your daughter." Greg placed a friendly hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack jerked his shoulder away as if scalded and strode determinedly away from Greg Betare, leaving him alone in the middle of the garden.
- San Francisco, Terra, Capital of the Terran Empire -
The massive building stood tall, a shining cylinder that was the seat of the most powerful body in the entire galaxy. Many of its levels were offices for various sector council members when they were on Terra, but more than a few were devoted to museums containing pillaged relics from the Terran Empire's various subject species. Deep below it was Section 31's official primary head quarters. The covert organization had moved into the forefront of the Terran Empire's intelligence and internal security divisions. Their complex was a rabbit warren of offices, R&D facilities, interrogation rooms and emergency bunkers.
The vast circular room that topped the Council Tower was designed much like a roman amphitheater. There were concentric rings of seats that got higher the farther you got from the central podium. Its walls were vast stretches of one-way permeable glass. They allowed light to pass through from the outside as if it was normal glass, yet to an observer on the outside the walls appeared to be mirrors, showing nothing, not even to normal sensors, of the happenings inside the council chambers. The red black and white banner of the Empire hung on the clear walls on the four cardinal directions above the four entrances into the room. The massive unbroken dome of glass was 4 stories at the outside edge and over 8 in the middle of the massive room. The council chamber capped the tallest tower in San Francisco. It was 75 stories taller than any other tower in the old city, making it appear all the more imposing and massive.
It was late evening, with a light fog rolling in under the Golden Gate Bridge, here and there a shuttle pod or aerocar darted in and out of the advancing fog, but none dared go anywhere near the Council Tower. Three was a 15 km prohibited zone from ground level to space that was strictly enforced. If you strayed into that perimeter, the massive Type XII planetary phaser banks that ringed the tower would fry your craft, no questions asked. Every once and a while some fool either tried to attack the building or had an actual accident and strayed into the prohibited zone. No vessel had ever made it farther than a few meters inside the perimeter. No warnings were issued, no second chances granted. The trespassing vessel was incinerated no matter what the circumstances. The building itself also had its own defenses. Ablative armor generators had been installed and the armor could be employed within seconds. There were also shield generators installed in the massive building, every bit as powerful as those on the newest Starfleet Super Dreadnought.
Inside the brightly lit Council Chambers a massive argument was underway. The hundreds of council members were all trying to speak at once, shouting amplified arguments back and forth across the room. This had been going on for close to a minute now, and Greg Betare, Chairman of the Terran Empire had had enough. With the press of a button on his daisies, all microphones in the entire room died save his own. There was a sharp drop in the noise level of the argument, but not in the volume of insults and accusations being flung. There were even a few Vulcan delegates joining in with their more emotional human counter parts. The five Hydran delegates were basically the only beings in the chamber that weren't standing and shouting. Encased in their environmental suits because they needed to breathe methane, they were no doubt doing the Hydran equivalent of laughing at the antics of their Human and Vulcan overlords
"ENOUGH!" Betare bellowed, the force and volume of his voice causing the room to go silent. It wasn't every day that you got him angry. His temper was very slow to surface, but when it did it erupted spectacularly. It was loose now, you could see it in his hazel eyes under his salt and pepper hair. "You will all sit down immediately or you shall spend an hour in an agonizer so that you all learn some manners! Is that understood?!?" After a few more cat calls and angered stares, the assembled council delegates eventually sat down. "Thank you, now I believe that Delegate Chambers had the floor."
"Thank you Chairman. As I was saying, I have reason to believe that the subject races of the Empire are preparing to revolt." As he had before, Jack Chambers was cut off by a massive roar of protest by those whom felt differently than he did. That in turn set off the much less numerous delegates that believed as Chambers did. Chambers' main supporters were mostly delegates from the areas of the Empire where the pending revolt was more obvious, while their more populous detractors were from areas where nothing bad had happened for decades. Jack ran a hand through his rapidly receding chestnut hair. He had worried that his warning would fall on deaf ears, and his concerns had proven true even more spectacularly than his worst imagined fears. The core worlds were so secure, and had been for so long, that they thought the rest of the Galaxy was just like their small little parts. They refused to even consider that the long conquered Klingons, Romulans, Lyrans, Mirak, and Gorn would even dare, let alone be able to succeed in a revolt on the Terran Empire.
For the second time in as many seconds, Chairman Betare lost his temper. Twisting a control on his central podium, he increased the gravity in the room to 4Gs. Nearly all of the shouting delegates had been standing. They were unprepared for the sudden increase in gravity and the logical conclusion of such an increase happened. Betare lowered the gravity down to the standard 1G. Amidst the muttered curses and cries of protest the delegates picked themselves up off of the ground and seated themselves back in their chairs. But the tactic did have its desired effect, for the assembly soon quieted down and remained largely so for the rest of the meeting. Betare waved for Chambers to continue.
"As I was saying, It is my belief that the subject races are planning a revolt." Only a few muted catcalls interrupted him this time, so he continued. "For proof all you need to do is look at the stats for increased raids and Fleet ship disappearances. In the last few months, guerrilla attacks have increased ten-fold on all fronts. Not just that, but on all fronts simultaneously! And look at the rash of unexplained ship disappearances. In just the last week alone we have lost over 10 ships, including three Galaxy class vessels."
"But you knew that this was likely to happen Jack." Betare said to his old friend. "Intel said as much after the end of the Borg war. Once it became common knowledge that our fleets had been ground down to such an extent as they were, all the little terrorists and rebels would come out of the woodwork. They know as well as we do that they would never have such an excellent opportunity to strike us a blow. Granted even Intel didn't think that they could strike us as hard as they have, but our losses are far from crippling. And once the new ships come fully online we shall not only attack our newly discovered foe, we shall crush these guerrillas and terrorists once and for all."
"But." There was hurt mingled with anger in Chambers' green eyes as his friend cut his protests off.
"But nothing!" Betare closed all argument off forcefully. "I have given you leeway because your daughter was one of those lost in the recent skirmishes, but I will not allow you to disrupt this meeting further. I declare a recess till 10:00 AM tomorrow. Hopefully we can get more done in that session than today's." A few delegates, mostly Chambers' supporters, protested the recess, but for the most part the rest of the Council was more than happy to escape the hostile environment of the room.
- Council Tower, 120th Floor, Garden Level, 20 minutes later -
Betare made his way down the winding cobble stone path, breathing in the scent of wildflowers and greenery. The faint, soothing sound of falling water could be heard as the sprinklers watered the wild assortment of plants and trees in the garden. The carefully aimed water drops never landed on the walkway, enabling visitors to walk through without getting their expensive clothing wet. The serpentine pathway went deeper into the thick foliage, towards the heart of the floor. Betare followed the path till it emerged into the clearing in the middle of the garden. Seated there, just as he expected him to be, was Jack Chambers. There was a sour expression on his face, just as Betare had expected as well. When he approached his old friend, Jack turned and looked at him. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying.
"Listen Jack, about what happened today in Council."
"Spare me your platitudes! You made your position quite clear!" There was a lot of anger in his voice, but it was mostly to cover up the anguish that resided just beneath the surface. First he lost his only child, then his best and oldest friend takes the side of the mob instead of standing with him.
"But what you are proposing is preposterous!" Greg said in an exasperated tone. "Do you truly believe that the subject species are even remotely capable of overthrowing us?"
"You were there when that El-Aurian fortune teller gave us the future of the Empire. You know as well as I do how she said it would end."
"You actually believed her?" Greg laughed. "What would ever posses you to do that!? No one can tell the future Jack. Heck not even the Vulcans, for all their telepathic ability, can do that!"
"You must have at least partially believed her, because you approved my plan to have all El-Aurians exterminated!"
"I did that because their beliefs were disruptive to the effective governing of the Empire. Just look at how they sucked you in! Now imagine if that same belief was allowed to spread across the Empire. It would be chaos!"
"I was not sucked in!" Jack spat out. Greg looked at him incredulously and shook his head. Jack pressed on, vainly trying to convince him that what they had both seen and heard had been true. "They could see the future, just like you or I could speak, they could see it. We are at the end of the Empire and we are doing nothing to stop what is coming."
"Tell you what, why don't you sit out the next council session? You are obviously still distraught over the loss of your daughter." Greg placed a friendly hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack jerked his shoulder away as if scalded and strode determinedly away from Greg Betare, leaving him alone in the middle of the garden.