Chapter 5: The Arrest
AN: I only own characters, weapons and locations.
Joanna Dark stepped out of the Institute's shuttle onto the Skedar ship's landing bay. A furious Nakaal greeted her.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!!!!!!!" He roared.
"I give you my word, I don't know what's happened." Joanna said. "I'm here to help."
Nakaal snarled. "Follow me." He led her down the corridor Joanna remembered from when she was held by the Skedar. This wasn't the same ship, but it was of the same class.
She entered a cabin to find Crinn cradling her injured father.
"Chancellor Krinnji!" Joanna said, aghast. "What happened?"
"You dare feign ignorance!" Ekinnj said. "With a direct missile hit, you crippled our entire gravitational field. And one of your Institute employees came aboard wearing magnetic boots and did this..."
"Aren't you carrying a surgeon?" Joanna said.
"We were." Ekinnj said. "Until this disgrace!"
"Well, then for God sakes man, let me help!" Joanna said.
Ekinnj nodded and Joanna ran a small scanner over Krinnji's body. "I've got a pulse, we can move him. I'm going to need some light. Can we get him onto this table?" She pointed to the illuminated table in the middle of the room.
The Skedar lifted the injured chancellor onto the table.
Joanna pulled out a hypo syringe. "Hold him." She said. "Hold him while I stabilize him." She injected the small needle and ran the scanner over him again. "Sweet Jesus," She whispered.
"Can you..." Nakaal said, subdued.
"Brigadier, I don't even know his anatomy." Joann said. "His wounds aren't closing. Hell, he's gone into some kind of damned arrest!" She began pumping where she saw the heart was without any effect. "He's not responding."
She hit the huge Skedar on the heart to get it moving again. Krinnji gasped, his eyes opened and he put a huge hand behind Joanna's head.
"Don't let it end this way, Joanna," He pleaded and his hand went limp.
"I've lost him." Joanna breathed.
Ekinnj clapped his hands once and two guards seized Joanna. "In accordance with your own law, I'm placing you under arrest. You're charged with assassinating our Chancellor of the high council."
"I tried to save him," Joanna protested as she was hauled off to the brig.
"She's been arrested," Velvet said, softly.
"We can't let her be taken back as a prisoner!" Foster said.
"How do you propose to stop them?" Carrington asked. "Opening fire will not retrieve her and an armed conflict is exactly what Joanna wanted to prevent. Nor can we take a shuttle over as the ship has raised her shields. However, we will be able to monitor her movements."
"How?" Grimshaw asked.
"Time is precious, Mr. Grimshaw." Carrington said. "We must endeavor tom piece together what happened tonight. According to our database, we fired those missiles."
"No way!" Foster said.
"I sympathize, Mr. Foster." Carrington said. "But we need evidence. Please accompany me."
They walked towards an elevator.
"What if we can't piece together what happened?" Velvet asked.
"In that case, Velvet," Carrington said, "It resides in the purview of the diplomats."
"The chancellor of the high council is dead!" The Skedar ambassador, Urgon shouted in the President's office. "The result of an unprovoked attack while he came to see you, under a flag of truce on a mission of peace! Joanna Dark was legally arrested for the crime. May I remind you that she boarded the Skedar vessel of her own free will? None of these facts are in dispute, Mr. President!"
"I've already ordered a full scale investigation. "Montgomery said. "In the meantime,"
"In the meantime, we expect you to abide by the articles of your own law." Urgon roared. "Joanna Dark will stand trial for the assassination of Chancellor Krinnji!"
"Out of the question." Montgomery said. "Mr. Scott, there must be some way to extradite her,"
"The evidence against her is entirely circumstantial. "The Canadian ambassador said. "I can't give any opinion on behalf of my government."
"What's the position of the Mexican government, Mr. Ramirez?"
"I must concur with my colleagues." Ramirez said.
"But you can't possibly believe that Joanna Dark killed the chancellor of the high council." Montgomery said.
"Mr. President," Ramirez said. "I don't know what to believe."
"I'm waiting for your answer, sir." Urgon said.
"This President is not above the law." Montgomery said.
Urgon bowed and left.
"Mr. President," His secretary said. "The NSA head and the chief of strategies are here to see you."
"Send them in." Montgomery said.
Trent Easton and the chief strategist came in and sat down.
After the customary niceties, Trent spoke. "Mr. President, we can't allow our citizens to be abducted."
"Yes, I know." Montgomery said. "But I'm forced to conform to our own law."
"Sir, if you'd direct your attention to Colonel West," Trent said.
"We've devised operation Retrieve," West, the strategist said as he took out a billboard. "Based on the rising danger of terrorism between the Skedar Empire and Earth. We can go in, rescue the hostage and get within 24 hours with an acceptable loss in manpower and equipment. We have the technology to..."
"Yes, I know." Montgomery said. "But suppose that you precipitate a full scale war?"
"Then, quite frankly, sir," West said. "We can clean their chronometers."
"Mr. President," Ramirez said. "They are vulnerable. There will never be a better time."
"The longer we wait, the less accessible the hostage will be." Trent said.
"Thank you, Mr. Easton." Montgomery said. "Thank you, gentlemen. That'll be all for now."
Everyone left except Trent, who turned. What he said wasn't just because Joanna wasn't beautiful. "Mr. President, she's literally saved this planet."
"Yes, I know." Montgomery said. "Now she's going to save it again by standing trial."
Velvet put down her earpiece. "The President says we are to give up our investigation."
"We can't abandon Joanna!" Grimshaw said.
"Of course not!" Velvet said.
"Two hundred years ago," Linda said. "Workers who felt their livelihood threatened by machines flung their wooded shoes called sabots into the machines to stop them Hence the word 'sabotage'."
"We're experiencing technical malfunctions." Velvet grinned. "Backup systems not responding."
"Excellent!" Grimshaw said. "I-I mean, too bad."
"Mr. President," Crinn said over a two-way visual transmitter. "I've been named chancellor in my father's place."
"Madame chancellor," Montgomery said. "You have my sincerest condolences on your recent loss. I want to assure you that this shameful deed..."
"Mr. President, let us come to the point." Crinn said. "You want this conference to go forward, so did my father. I will attend in one week on one condition. We will not extradite the prisoner and you will not make any attempt to rescue her in a military operation. We would consider any such attempt an act of war."
"We hope you'll be our guest here in Washington..." Montgomery began.
"After recent events, you will understand if I prefer a neutral sit and in the interests of security, let us keep the location secret for now."
"As you wish madam chancellor." Montgomery said.
As the transmission faded on the other end, Nakaal rolled out a map.
"Attack them now, while we still can!"
"Attack or be slaves in their world!" Another soldier, Taklit said.
"War is obsolete," Crinn said. "As we are in danger of becoming."
"Better to die on our feet than live on our knees." Nakaal said.
"That's not what my father wanted." Crinn said.
"Your father was killed for what he wanted." Ekinnj said from the darkness.
"The peace conference will go forward." Crinn said. "Dark. Joanna Dark will pay for my father's death."
"It's as I said, Mr. Carrington." Foster said. "Inventory counts every missile."
"But the database insists we fired." Carrington said. "One computer is lying."
"A computer doesn't lie!" Foster said.
"Exactly." Carrington said. "Therefore we must inspect each missile visually."
"That could take hours!" Foster said."
"Nevertheless." Carrington said.
"And if they're all there?" Foster said.
"Then someone forged an entry in the database." Carrington said as Velvet slid down.
"Krinnji's daughter has been named chancellor." She said. "It was on the news."
"I'll bet that Skedar bitch killed her father!" Foster said.
"He own father?" Carrington said.
"It's an old story." Velvet said.
"They don't place the same value on life as we do," Foster said. "You now that. Take my word, she didn't shed a fucking tear!"
"That's hardly conclusive as Skedar have no tear ducts." Carrington said. "Velvet, any response to our inquires?"
"Yes." She replied.
"And?" Carrington said.
"We're experiencing technical difficulties, sir." Velvet said, happily.
"Interesting." Carrington grinned. "Very well. For 24 hours, we'll agree this conversation never took place."
"A lie?" Velvet said.
"An omission." Carrington said.
"But in 24 hours, we won't have a clue where Joanna is!" Foster said.
"I know exactly where she'll be." Carrington said.
"You do?" Foster said. "Where?"
End of chapter
You know what to do.
AN: I only own characters, weapons and locations.
Joanna Dark stepped out of the Institute's shuttle onto the Skedar ship's landing bay. A furious Nakaal greeted her.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!!!!!!!" He roared.
"I give you my word, I don't know what's happened." Joanna said. "I'm here to help."
Nakaal snarled. "Follow me." He led her down the corridor Joanna remembered from when she was held by the Skedar. This wasn't the same ship, but it was of the same class.
She entered a cabin to find Crinn cradling her injured father.
"Chancellor Krinnji!" Joanna said, aghast. "What happened?"
"You dare feign ignorance!" Ekinnj said. "With a direct missile hit, you crippled our entire gravitational field. And one of your Institute employees came aboard wearing magnetic boots and did this..."
"Aren't you carrying a surgeon?" Joanna said.
"We were." Ekinnj said. "Until this disgrace!"
"Well, then for God sakes man, let me help!" Joanna said.
Ekinnj nodded and Joanna ran a small scanner over Krinnji's body. "I've got a pulse, we can move him. I'm going to need some light. Can we get him onto this table?" She pointed to the illuminated table in the middle of the room.
The Skedar lifted the injured chancellor onto the table.
Joanna pulled out a hypo syringe. "Hold him." She said. "Hold him while I stabilize him." She injected the small needle and ran the scanner over him again. "Sweet Jesus," She whispered.
"Can you..." Nakaal said, subdued.
"Brigadier, I don't even know his anatomy." Joann said. "His wounds aren't closing. Hell, he's gone into some kind of damned arrest!" She began pumping where she saw the heart was without any effect. "He's not responding."
She hit the huge Skedar on the heart to get it moving again. Krinnji gasped, his eyes opened and he put a huge hand behind Joanna's head.
"Don't let it end this way, Joanna," He pleaded and his hand went limp.
"I've lost him." Joanna breathed.
Ekinnj clapped his hands once and two guards seized Joanna. "In accordance with your own law, I'm placing you under arrest. You're charged with assassinating our Chancellor of the high council."
"I tried to save him," Joanna protested as she was hauled off to the brig.
"She's been arrested," Velvet said, softly.
"We can't let her be taken back as a prisoner!" Foster said.
"How do you propose to stop them?" Carrington asked. "Opening fire will not retrieve her and an armed conflict is exactly what Joanna wanted to prevent. Nor can we take a shuttle over as the ship has raised her shields. However, we will be able to monitor her movements."
"How?" Grimshaw asked.
"Time is precious, Mr. Grimshaw." Carrington said. "We must endeavor tom piece together what happened tonight. According to our database, we fired those missiles."
"No way!" Foster said.
"I sympathize, Mr. Foster." Carrington said. "But we need evidence. Please accompany me."
They walked towards an elevator.
"What if we can't piece together what happened?" Velvet asked.
"In that case, Velvet," Carrington said, "It resides in the purview of the diplomats."
"The chancellor of the high council is dead!" The Skedar ambassador, Urgon shouted in the President's office. "The result of an unprovoked attack while he came to see you, under a flag of truce on a mission of peace! Joanna Dark was legally arrested for the crime. May I remind you that she boarded the Skedar vessel of her own free will? None of these facts are in dispute, Mr. President!"
"I've already ordered a full scale investigation. "Montgomery said. "In the meantime,"
"In the meantime, we expect you to abide by the articles of your own law." Urgon roared. "Joanna Dark will stand trial for the assassination of Chancellor Krinnji!"
"Out of the question." Montgomery said. "Mr. Scott, there must be some way to extradite her,"
"The evidence against her is entirely circumstantial. "The Canadian ambassador said. "I can't give any opinion on behalf of my government."
"What's the position of the Mexican government, Mr. Ramirez?"
"I must concur with my colleagues." Ramirez said.
"But you can't possibly believe that Joanna Dark killed the chancellor of the high council." Montgomery said.
"Mr. President," Ramirez said. "I don't know what to believe."
"I'm waiting for your answer, sir." Urgon said.
"This President is not above the law." Montgomery said.
Urgon bowed and left.
"Mr. President," His secretary said. "The NSA head and the chief of strategies are here to see you."
"Send them in." Montgomery said.
Trent Easton and the chief strategist came in and sat down.
After the customary niceties, Trent spoke. "Mr. President, we can't allow our citizens to be abducted."
"Yes, I know." Montgomery said. "But I'm forced to conform to our own law."
"Sir, if you'd direct your attention to Colonel West," Trent said.
"We've devised operation Retrieve," West, the strategist said as he took out a billboard. "Based on the rising danger of terrorism between the Skedar Empire and Earth. We can go in, rescue the hostage and get within 24 hours with an acceptable loss in manpower and equipment. We have the technology to..."
"Yes, I know." Montgomery said. "But suppose that you precipitate a full scale war?"
"Then, quite frankly, sir," West said. "We can clean their chronometers."
"Mr. President," Ramirez said. "They are vulnerable. There will never be a better time."
"The longer we wait, the less accessible the hostage will be." Trent said.
"Thank you, Mr. Easton." Montgomery said. "Thank you, gentlemen. That'll be all for now."
Everyone left except Trent, who turned. What he said wasn't just because Joanna wasn't beautiful. "Mr. President, she's literally saved this planet."
"Yes, I know." Montgomery said. "Now she's going to save it again by standing trial."
Velvet put down her earpiece. "The President says we are to give up our investigation."
"We can't abandon Joanna!" Grimshaw said.
"Of course not!" Velvet said.
"Two hundred years ago," Linda said. "Workers who felt their livelihood threatened by machines flung their wooded shoes called sabots into the machines to stop them Hence the word 'sabotage'."
"We're experiencing technical malfunctions." Velvet grinned. "Backup systems not responding."
"Excellent!" Grimshaw said. "I-I mean, too bad."
"Mr. President," Crinn said over a two-way visual transmitter. "I've been named chancellor in my father's place."
"Madame chancellor," Montgomery said. "You have my sincerest condolences on your recent loss. I want to assure you that this shameful deed..."
"Mr. President, let us come to the point." Crinn said. "You want this conference to go forward, so did my father. I will attend in one week on one condition. We will not extradite the prisoner and you will not make any attempt to rescue her in a military operation. We would consider any such attempt an act of war."
"We hope you'll be our guest here in Washington..." Montgomery began.
"After recent events, you will understand if I prefer a neutral sit and in the interests of security, let us keep the location secret for now."
"As you wish madam chancellor." Montgomery said.
As the transmission faded on the other end, Nakaal rolled out a map.
"Attack them now, while we still can!"
"Attack or be slaves in their world!" Another soldier, Taklit said.
"War is obsolete," Crinn said. "As we are in danger of becoming."
"Better to die on our feet than live on our knees." Nakaal said.
"That's not what my father wanted." Crinn said.
"Your father was killed for what he wanted." Ekinnj said from the darkness.
"The peace conference will go forward." Crinn said. "Dark. Joanna Dark will pay for my father's death."
"It's as I said, Mr. Carrington." Foster said. "Inventory counts every missile."
"But the database insists we fired." Carrington said. "One computer is lying."
"A computer doesn't lie!" Foster said.
"Exactly." Carrington said. "Therefore we must inspect each missile visually."
"That could take hours!" Foster said."
"Nevertheless." Carrington said.
"And if they're all there?" Foster said.
"Then someone forged an entry in the database." Carrington said as Velvet slid down.
"Krinnji's daughter has been named chancellor." She said. "It was on the news."
"I'll bet that Skedar bitch killed her father!" Foster said.
"He own father?" Carrington said.
"It's an old story." Velvet said.
"They don't place the same value on life as we do," Foster said. "You now that. Take my word, she didn't shed a fucking tear!"
"That's hardly conclusive as Skedar have no tear ducts." Carrington said. "Velvet, any response to our inquires?"
"Yes." She replied.
"And?" Carrington said.
"We're experiencing technical difficulties, sir." Velvet said, happily.
"Interesting." Carrington grinned. "Very well. For 24 hours, we'll agree this conversation never took place."
"A lie?" Velvet said.
"An omission." Carrington said.
"But in 24 hours, we won't have a clue where Joanna is!" Foster said.
"I know exactly where she'll be." Carrington said.
"You do?" Foster said. "Where?"
End of chapter
You know what to do.