The Dead

Posted on Jul 22, 2016 @ 1:24pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane

Mission: Fortress: Earth

"THE DEAD"

(Continued from "Bide")

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Captain's Log, supplemental - as the fleet reacts with horror to the destruction of Paris, we continue to work towards our goal of overthrowing Richard Edgerton, while counting the cost of what has been lost...

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Location: Aegis command bunker, underwater off Point Bonita, San Francisco Bay
Stardate: [2.16]0722.0920
Scene: Edgerton's office
Time Index: After Paris' destruction


"Given your assistant the night off, then?" said Jim Truman. The former Federation Council member's words were heavy with meaning as he slouched on the small couch that lay against one wall in Edgerton's small office. A pot of coffee was steaming on the desk, but only one of the cups was filled, and Truman was the one drinking. He was talking quickly - too quickly. To Edgerton, it sounded like Truman was saying anything just to avoid talking about the city they had just obliterated. "I've got to say, sir, I'm not sure how good an idea that was. I mean, if Leonard was to be captured or turned by our enemies - "

Richard Edgerton stopped manipulating the Aegis control panel and gave Truman a withering look. Privately, it was something that had crossed his mind, but Leonard Cagney was loyal, he was sure of it. Leonard would be back in the morning, enthused and ready to continue the great work. He had lasted this long, after all - for sure he would see it through.

"I have no fears for Leonard," he said coldly. "Have our staff been listening to the civilian subspace channels?"

Truman heard the reproach in Edgerton's voice. He put down his coffee and sat up straight, clearing his throat. "Yes, Admiral." There were another dozen people in the Aegis command bunker, all of them ex-Starfleet communications and computer specialists. They kept the satellite uplink intact and were tapped in to Earth's subspace radio network, giving them effective control over the whole planetary communications network. "People in western Europe saw the green sky and immediately started talking about it, but don't know what - "

"I want them all shut down," said Edgerton suddenly, in a voice full of authority that made Truman jump. "Begin jamming all civilian subspace bands immediately, do you understand? The resulting confusion will give everyone pause, especially anyone who might guess we were behind the city's destruction."

Truman was sitting upright now. "Yes, sir. Jam subspace frequencies. Understood."

"Issue a planet-wide curfew as well. Put the word out that the Earth has been attacked and all civilians need to stay indoors. Not everyone will obey that directive, but those that don't are not our friends and can be dealt with, away from the public eye." Edgerton idly tapped in index finger on the table.

Truman got to his feet and spoke hesitantly. "Should we contact Sardak again? We don't want their attitudes hardening against us when they realise what has been done. It might make negotiation difficult."

Edgerton raised an eyebrow. "No. Let them mourn the dead a while." He stared at Truman. "This is not a negotiation, Jim. We've already won. It's just that Starfleet can't see it yet. Don't doubt that."

Truman knew enough about his leader to know when he was dismissed. He picked up his coffee cup , gave a slight bow to the Master of Earth, and went back out to the operations room to carry out his orders.

Behind him, the transparent door hissed shut. Jim Truman shivered, knowing that Edgerton was watching his every move.

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Location: USS Phoenix, near Earth orbit
Scene: Captain's Quarters


Michael Turlogh Kane was brooding. He was sitting in his favourite armchair near the viewing port in his quarters. Outside, the giant blue bauble of the Earth turned slowly on its axis, confined within the flickering energy strands of the Aegis web.

Here it was, rolling around again. The Americas were drifting away to the west, and Europe was coming into view. As the blackened borders of the dark surface spot appeared, Kane closed his eyes and tried to imagine the sheer numbers of people that were gone.

It was nothing short of genocide. The fleet's estimates of twenty-eight million dead were shocking. The five thousand square kilometres that were irradiated were sickening.

If there was any doubt of Richard Edgerton's insanity, this was it. Being prepared to kill his own people to prevent them being returned to the Federation was such a twisted world-view that Kane had trouble getting his head around it. But, he knew, there was precedent for such an act, especially in the bloody past of his homeworld. Many historical dictators - Mao, Hitler, Leopold, Stalin, and Colonel Green to name but a few - had slaughtered millions of their fellow Humans in their blind pursuits of power, resources, or in the consolidation of their own regimes.

But that was all before the rise of the 'new' Humans of the twenty-second century. Once First Contact was made, Humans had united as one people, eliminating the worse excesses of their society - hunger, want, war - and had embraced diversity, science, and friendship. Their skill at diplomacy had directly led to the creation of the Federation, for goodness sake. How was it possible that Edgerton was capable of an act on this scale?

Was it possible, he mused, that the 'new' Human was simply a facade to cover up all the old moral failings of the species? Perhaps Humans were as weak and as grasping as ever, that living in peace stunted the soul of the species. Perhaps Humans made better tyrants than philosophers.

The door chimed, interrupting his reverie. Kane was surprised. Nobody ever called to his quarters. "Come in," he said.

It was Byte. The android entered slowly. It was its first time in Kane's quarters, and Kane felt a little uncomfortable at the Spartan nature of his rooms. In the old days, aboard the Century and the Discovery, he had filled up his quarters with a myriad of accoutrements, keepsakes, and souvenirs. There was a story behind every one of them, but now he had nothing. No guitar, no kilt, no pipes, no books. The only thing he had from those days was his mother's teardrop heirloom, tucked safely away in his bedside table.

Byte paused and caught Kane's eye. {{Captain.}}

Kane sat up straight. "Something on your mind, Mister Byte?"

The android looked past Kane, out through the viewport. Kane turned his head around to see what Byte was looking at, and quickly realised what it was. It was the same thing as everyone in the fleet had been looking at all day - the Great Black Spot on the surface of the Earth. The graveyard of Paris.

Byte sat down opposite Kane, sitting up ramrod stiff. When it spoke, it was with a hesitant tone in its voice. {{Captain, I have been thinking about the destruction of Paris all day, and I find myself at a loss to explain it.}} It looked Kane dead in the eye. {{Why did Admiral Edgerton kill so many innocent people?}}

Kane rubbed his knuckles across tired eyes. He got up and walked to the replicator to get a drink of water. "There's no one specific answer for his motive, Byte." In the reflection of the replicator, he saw the android look back and forth between him and the ravaged planet. As the glass of water fizzed into existence, he turned back around. "The main reason is probably because he wanted to further his own political agenda."

Byte seemed unhappy. Its brow was furrowed like a well-ploughed field. {{I have been listening to the opinions of my shipmates on the matter. They all seem agreed that destroying the city was an evil act, but I have never considered Admiral Edgerton to be evil. Misguided, certainly. Ruthless, single-minded, but not evil.}}

"Oh?" said Kane.

Byte nodded. {{Evil is an existential concept. It cannot be quantified scientifically.}}

Kane wondered where to begin. Byte was probably technically correct, but the moral quandaries and judgements of being Human were beyond it. What Edgerton had done was pure evil and there could be no justification for his murderous act, no matter the intention. "Byte," he asked, "did you know anyone who died?"

{{No, Captain.}}

Kane put down his water and tried to explain. "You're right when you say that evil exists in the ether. It can't be measured. But that's not to say that it doesn't exist. I don't mean as an active, living force, but those moral judgements that we make that affect other people negatively, that lead to actions that hurt other people for no good reason - those are examples of evil at work." He looked out at the Great Black Spot. "By deliberately ending the lives of so many innocent people, many of who must have supported him, Richard Edgerton gave vent to a moral judgement, and it has led to one of the most evil acts in Human history."

Byte still seemed unsure. {{Thanks to my programming, I am unable to perform any action that would lead to the deliberate injury or death of a sentient being, except in self-defence.}}

"And why is that?" said Kane, as the great black spot rolled on by. "Why did Professor Maddox programme you to be able to kill in self-defence?"

{{So that I could preserve my existence.}}

"And you are able to extrapolate this self-defence requirement, are you not? You are able to recognise an imminent threat and immediately act to neutralise it?"

{{Yes, sir.}}

Kane smiled sadly. "You see, Byte, even you are capable of committing an evil act with enough justification." He put his right hand on the viewport, palm covering up the black spot. "Richard Edgerton believes he is entirely justified by what he did, and that's why we have to fight him. Not because good triumphs over evil, or because we are necessarily morally superior than him, but because we recognise that there is no justification, ever, in what he has done. No matter the cause, no matter the reasoning, nothing can condone what he has done today."

Byte seemed to accept what Kane was saying, or if it didn't, it didn't say anything. The two of them stood for a little, watching the black spot, thinking about the dead.

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Location: USS Century, holding station nearby
Scene: Captain's ready room


"Thank you for coming," Dex smiled at her.

He was standing again, over by the viewport. Not even the sight of the black spot on the planet's surface seemed to dent his calm. Dexter Marxx seemed himself again, at least for now, and Siobhan was glad of it.

"Anytime," she said meaningfully.

"Do you ever think about the years passing, Sio?" he said suddenly, leaning forward onto his desk, great crimson hands balled up into fists to support his body weight. "Every day we live is another day gone. They seem to be passing by faster the older I get, and the memories of when we were young are fading. I've been thinking about that a lot lately."

Siobhan smiled and stood up. For some reason, she felt vulnerable, and folded her arms. Scant minutes ago, the enormous body of her ex-husband had been within them. "I try not to think like that."

Dex was still smiling, but there was something at the edges of it now, something Siobhan couldn't recognise. "There's a girl on the Century's crew - Ensign Chopra. She looks so much like Breanne it would make you think the All-Father had deliberately put her here. Whenever I feel old or outdated, lost in this new generation of Starfleet, I look at Ensign Chopra and remember Breanne. It keeps my heart strong."

"That's great, Dex. It really is."

Dexter Marxx looked up at her with his violet eyes. "We have a lot of history together, you and I. I want you to know that I'm sorry for divorcing you over subspace. I should have come to see you."

Siobhan shrugged. "Water under the bridge. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." Dex stood up straight. "Since Edgerton brought me out of retirement, since Elandipole, since Paris - well, I've been re-evaluating the things that are most important to me. I guess we all are. Paris focused the thoughts of a lot of people."

"You can say that again," Siobhan sighed. "I've been thinking about Drey all day." And she had. Life was suddenly so precious, so fragile, in a way she never thought possible.

"I've been thinking about family too. I've been thinking about you."

Sio managed to control herself. A surge of emotion welled up in her. "Dex, I -"

He came across the room and gently took her hands in his. Her fingers disappeared between his huge palms. Towering over her by some fifteen inches, she had always been aware of his monolithic presence, but Dexter Marxx was one of the most gentle people she ever knew. His voice dropped low. "Sio, I don't even know what it is I'm saying, only that we have unfinished business. We still have a connection. Do you feel it?"

Sio nodded. "Yes."

"When all this is over, I thought I was going to go back to Tenagra City and live out my days with memories of the past. Perhaps - " He paused and seemed to muster up the courage before continuing. "Perhaps we could explore the future together."

Sio leaned forward and kissed one of his palms. "When all this is over," she repeated, feeling the emotions swell within her again.

Time passed on, but the moment did not.

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NRPG: Moar posts! Let's not lose our momentum!


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX


"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.117

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