It was a peaceful morning at starbase 311. The crew of the Alpha shift manned their stations, and the Graveyard-crew went to sleep. The Captain sat down in her chair. She moved a bit on that chair. ~Stupid night-shift ensigns.~ she thought. ~They never sit on this chair like they are supposed to. As a result, the stuffing in this chair isn't divided equally. Guess who's job it is to divide it again…~ She sighed. ~It's not easy being a Captain…~
Suddenly she heard a sound. She quickly looked over to the Ops-console, where Lt.Cmdr Barsum was standing. "Commander." She said. "What's that beeping sound I hear?" Barsum looked at his console. "A ship has dropped out of warp Ma'am." He said. "They are requesting to dock." The Captain looked at her First Officer. "There aren't supposed to be any ships in the area." She looked back at Barsum again. "Open a channel."
A few lights were pressed, and soon the image of an Andorian was displayed on the viewscreen. "This is Captain Ho'ka'al." The Andorian said. "Of the Andorian battle ship So'ka. If you don't mind Captain, my men require shore-leave. Could we please dock, and come aboard?" "I am Captian Yllana." The Captain said. "Of course you may dock, but we would like to have some questions answered. For example: What are you doing on that battle ship? I thought the Andorians were part of the Federation?" Captain Ho'ka'al smiled. "In these difficult times Andoria doesn't have to rely on the Federation to protect itself. We thought you would be pleased that we are helping you defend our homeworld." Captain Yllana wanted to ask some more questions, but the Andorian on the viewscreen spoke first. "Captain, it has been a long trip. Can we please dock, so that my troops can have some shore leave? Or are you afraid of a few Andorians on your station?"
Yllana smiled. "Of course not, Captain. I ment no disrespect. You are clear to dock at dockingport 6. Yllana out." The image of the Andorian captain disappeared from the viewscreen. But Yllana's worries didn't disappear with it. "Ko'tal" she said to her security officer, who was also an Andorian. "I don't recall Andoria having ships of their own." "They always have had them Captain." Ko'tal answered. "They just never used them. They trusted the Federation to protect them. If that trust has somehow been compromised, they will protect themselves, with their own ships." "Then it's up to us to find out if that trust has indeed been compromised, or if there is an other reason why this ship is over here. Ko'tal, I want you to post extra security guards in key area’s of the station." "Captain?" Ko'tal objected. But the Captain already made up her mind. "Just in case..."
About half an hour later the promenade was crawling with Andorians. Ko'tal watched them, as they enjoyed themselves, by drinking, gambling and shouting at security officers. "So you are Ko'tal." One said to him. Ko'tal turned to the direction where the voice cam from, and saw the Captain of the Andorian vessel standing there. "I am Captain Ho'ka'al. But you already knew that." Ko'tal nodded. "I was in Ops when you hailed us." Ho'ka'al smiled. "Yes, I saw you. I must admit, seeing an Andorian in this uniform..." "What's wrong with this uniform?" Ko'tal said. He immediately jumped into a defensive posture. "Nothing's wrong with it..." the Captain replied. "It's just... Well, it doesn't suit you." Ko'tal turned his head away from Ho'ka'al. "I think it does." The Andorian Captain still gazed at Ko'tal. "Have you ever considered..." he said, "of leaving Starfleet?" Ko'tal quickly said "No." But he was lying, and he knew it. There were times when he did think about resigning. Times where things weren't easy for 'Aliens' like himself. Although the Federation consisted of many different species, the human culture was still the one culture that was most recognizable in the Federation. All those, for Ko'tal, strange customs, like shaking hands and eating with knife and fork... they were difficult to adapt to. Many times he had wondered if he wouldn't be better of back on Andoria... Where he was among his own species, with his own customs...
"Too bad." The Andorian Captain said. "You'd fit in well with us!" With these words, he walked away, leaving Ko'tal behind, who was thinking again about resigning...
A few days past. Nothing special had happened, although every senior officer kept an eye on the Andorians. They didn't act like the Andorians they all knew: Those Andorians were civilized. But these... These Andorians were looking for fights, drank too much, and some of them were even arrested for misconduct! Yes, these last few days had been difficult, especially for Ko'tal, who's reunion with his people didn't go the way he had hoped. He had become the laughing stock of the Andorians, at least, of the these Andorians. And now, he was almost grateful to see them go. They had done nothing but tease him about him being in Starfleet. If he didn’t know better, he'd say that they had developed a disliking of the Federation.
But now, it was time for those Andorians to leave. Their shore-leave was over, their ship was to go back to Andorian space. And as the Andorian battle ship went into warp, the security on Starbase 311 was reduced to normal efficiency.
Captain Yllana sat in here chair again. "Well, there go our guests." She said, to no-one in particular. "Too bad we didn't..." She couldn't finish here sentence. A huge explosion shook the station. Yllana fell out of the Captain's chair. The other officers, present at Ops, also had difficulties staying on their feet. Another explosion. This time, some conduits ruptured, and gas began venting out of the broken plasma conduits. "Seal that leak!" Yllana shouted, trying to get over the noise of systems that were exploding. A third explosion, this one heavier then the ones before. More panels and conduits exploded, and everyone was smacked against the ground. Then, things got quiet.
Yllana tried to move towards the Captains chair. She pulled herself up, but fell down again. A flash of pain went through her, as she tried to get up again. She shouted out in pain. "My leg!" Max, the science officer, crawled towards the captain. He tapped his commbadge. "Maxwell to sickbay! Medical emergency! Send medical teams to the bridge!" There came no response. "The comm systems are off-line!" Barsum shouted. "Until we get main power back on line, most systems will be inoperable!" He looked around. Most officers were still lying on the ground. They were all injured, one more then another. Maxwell and Barsum were the only officers who could still stand up. "Ensign Maxwell! Assist me with these power couplings!" Barsum commanded. But Maxwell didn't do as he was ordered. "Captain?" he shouted. "CAPTAIN!!!" The Captain didn't respond. "Sir!" Maxwell shouted, to Barsum. "The Captain... she fainted..." He grabbed a medical kit, opened it, and used the tricorder on the Captain. "I'm losing her lifesigns!" The tricorder started beeping, in irregular way. He quickly gave the Captain an hypospray. "There." He said, bitterly. "I’ve put her in a coma..." He stood up. "It was the only way... to save her..."
Half an hour later Barsum had partial power back on line. The Captain was brought to sickbay, along with all the other officers that were hurt. There were so many injured, the doctor had to put up a triage centre in one of the cargo bays. In Ops, only a few senior officers were present. Barsum, who was still trying to get main power back on line, was one of them. "Done." He said to himself. "Sensors are back on line." He had a look at his console, that was partially working. "O my God..." he said. "The upper decks of the Starbase... They're... Gone!" "What do you mean Sir?" Maxwell asked. "They can't just be gone?" "That is precisely what they are. Gone. In the explosions, the first 6 decks were destroyed." He looked at some sensor readings, that were coming in as they spoke. "The promenade is gone... heavy damage to engineering… and crew quarters..." He looked up, at Maxwell. "There was a hull breach at crew quarters... An emergency shield has been erected, but I'm reading less lifesigns then before the accident..." The once so emotionless human, now began to cry. "My wife was there..."
-------------
2 days later
-------------
Starbase 311 had recieved some help from the USS Endeavor. Engineering crews were working as fast as they could, but it would take some time before the Starbase would be fully operational. The Captain was still in a coma, but the rest of the senior officers were released from sickbay. The First Officer of Starbase 311, a Bolian with the name of Zoll was in command now. He was sitting in the Captain's ready room, when he heard the doorchime. "Enter." He said. Lt. Ko'tal stepped inside. "Sabotage Sir." He said, coming straight to the point. "What happened 2 days ago, was sabotage. We found the remains of 3 explosive devices near the area's that were hit the worst." He paused for a while. "Sir, the explosives were... Andorian in origin." Zoll stood up. "Andorian? You mean..." "That is precisely what I mean Sir." Ko'tal said. "I mean the Andorians who were here, could have planted the bombs, and detonated it from a distance." Zoll started walking around the room. "You know what this could mean?" he asked the security chief. "Yes Sir." Was the answer. "It could lead to war with the Andorians."
War. It was the last thing anyone wanted. And now it seemed the Federation was on the dawn of a new conflict... A conflict with an ally. Zoll didn't really know what to do. "Get me Starfleet Command." He said. "I need to explain this to them..."
In the mean time, Barsum was in Sickbay. "Thank goodness you survived..." he said, to a woman. "I don't know what I'll do without you.” The woman he was talking to was his wife. She had 3rd degree burns all over her body. It wasn't a pretty sight. Still, the doctor said she was going to make a full recovery. It would just take time. Barsum knew it would be hard, but he would help his wife the best he could. This certainly wasn’t an easy time for her...
Zoll stapped out of the Captain’ ready room. He tapped his commbadge. “All hands, this is the acting Captain.” He sighed. He didn’t really know how to tell this to the crew, so he just told them. ~They deserve to know.~ “I have spoken with Starfleet Command. They have asked the Andorian government for an explanation. The Andorian government said that they deeply regret what has happened here, and that they know who did it. They just won’t do anything about it.” Zoll gave the crew time to process this information, before he carried on. “Starfleet has reacted by strongly condemning the Andorian unwillingness to cooperate. In response, Andoria has… stepped out of the Federation. The Andorians are no longer part of the Federation. They have recalled all of their ships to their own space, and warned all Federation ships to stay away. The Andorians have become… our enemies.”
-------------
1 year later
-------------
On board the USS Antilope, a Norway class starship, the crew was on emergency stand-by. They were patrolling the Federation-Andorian border. ~A lot of ships have been destroyed here, the last few months.~ Lt. Okuda thought. ~I’d hate to see the Antilope become one of them…~ She looked back, towards the Tactical station. There stood one of the few remaining Andorians in Starfleet, lt.cmdr Ko’tal. Okuda didn’t trust him. “Never trust an Andorian.” Her father had said, when she left her home at Utopia Planetia, to be stationed on the Antilope. “they always tell lies.” Okuda didn’t believe her father. She had dated an Andorian, just before the war broke out. She really loved him, and she thought he loved her. But alas, when the war broke out, he was called back to Andoria, to fight against the Federation, and maybe even against her.
“2 Andorian battle ships closing fast!” Ko’tal read from his panel. “Red Alert!” the captain with the name of Bujold, ordered. Within seconds, the bridge of this Norway class starship was on emergency lights only, with an occasional red light, to indicate the ship was indeed at red alert. “Weapons are ready!” Ko’tal said. But before he could fire them, the Andorian vessels already opened fire. The ship was shaking. “Fire!” the Captain shouted. “Reroute emergency power to shields!” This helped a lot. The shaking stopped, and the Antilope fired Quantum torpedo’s at the Andorian battle ships. “One of them is damaged.” Ko’tal said. “The other is coming towards us!” On the viewscreen the whole brigde crew saw a massive ship coming towards them. “They are trying to ram us!” Captain Bujold said. He sat down in his chair. “Evasive manoeuvres, full impulse!” Okuda replied. “Yes sir!” She touched a few buttons, and the ship flew away from the Andorian vessel. This was what the Andorians had been waiting for. Without any warning, they fired everything they got at the Antilope. The ship was shaking now more then ever, and consoles started to blow. “Shields are down!” Ko’tal shouted. “Weapons are gone! Structural integrity is at 25 %, and dropping! Captain, we have to evacuate!” Bujold sighed, while even more conduits exploded. “All hands.” She said. “This is the Captain. Abandon ship. I repeat, abandon ship!”
Within minutes, the bridge was virtually empty. Only Ko’tal, Okuda and the Bujold were still present. “Captain!” the Andorian said. “We must…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. They were beamed up, while a phasershot from the Andorian vessel hit the Norway class. The Antilope, and all the people aboard, who couldn’t get into the escape pods, were destroyed.
Insite the Andorian ship, Bujold, Okuda and Ko’tal rematerialized. They were ‘greeted’ by Andorians in uniforms, aiming their disruptor rifles at them. “Come with us!” one of the Andorians said. The 3 officers complied. They didn’t feel like dying. It took them a while, but finally, under escort of course, they came on the Andorian bridge, where they saw, on the viewscreen, the wreckage of the Antilope, and the escape pods, which were trying to get away from it.
“Well Captain.” The Andorian in the Captain’s chair said. “You will surrender yourself to me.” The response of Bujold was to be predicted. “Never!” The Andorian captain smiled, and pushed a button. On the viewscreen, Bujold saw that the Andorian battle ship was firing at one of the escape pods. It blew up, as soon as the phaser hit the pod. “What are you doing!” he shouted. “Those people didn’t do anything to you!” The Andorian Captain kept smiling. “Now you know what will happen if you don’t obey me…” Bujold sighed, and reluctantly said: “Fine. I surrender.”
The Andorian Captain spoke a few Andorian words to the helmsman, and he turned the ship around. Captain Bujold looked at Ko’tal for a translation. “We’re heading back to Andoria…” he said.
5 hours later, the 3 officers were sitting in a holding cell, on the planet Andoria. This wasn’t what anybody in the Federation would call a holding cell. Those cells were small, but well lighted, with a force field as the only exit. This holding cell was more like an old-fashion prison. There was no force field, the room was a lot bigger, and there was no lighting to speak of. “What now Captain?” Okuda asked. Bujold raised his shoulders. “I don’t know lieutenant. We are now prisoners of war. Anything can happen.” Okuda sighed. Their future didn’t look too bright right now. Suddenly they heard a voice from behind them. “Well, it’s not often we have outsiders for visitors.” The 3 officers looked towards the end of the room. There they saw another Andorian, sitting against the wall. “Well?” The Andorian said. “Are you going to introduce yourselves?” Captain Bujold didn’t answer. He just kept on staring towards the Andorian. Finally he spoke. “You first… Who are you, and why are you in here?”
The Andorian sighed. “I knew you were going to tell me that. Very well.” He stood up, and walked towards the 3 officers. “My name is D’rell, and they put me here for ‘treachery to the state’.” Okuda’s eyes suddenly glittered. “D’rell?” she asked. “Is it you?” D’rell looked at the lieutenant. “Michelle?” The two flew into each others arms. For a moment, the cell was filled with complete silence. But then the Captain asked: “Lieutenant… Who is this?”
Lt. Okuda smiled. “this is… D’rell.” She said, with a smile on her face. “He was… is my boyfriend…” Bujold looked at the pair, and Ko’tal smiled. “Your boyfriend?” Okuda wanted to say something, but before she could, D’rell spoke. “We met at Risa.” He said. “The first time we were together, we knew we were made for each other. But…” His sorrow was visible in his eyes. “When this stupid war broke out, I had to go back to Andoria.” He looked at his love. “I never meant to leave you…” Okuda smiled, and put her head against his chest. “I know…”
Normally, Captain Bujold would have left the 2 alone, but not this time. “I understand that you want to be together, after such a long time,” he said, “but I’d like to go now…” He turned to D’rell. “Do you know a way out of here?” D’rell sighed. “Getting out of here isn’t the hard part.” He said. “Do you see that wall?” He pointed at a wall, with a window in it. Bujold studied the wall, but he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. “So?” he asked. “What’s the matter with it?” The Andorian prisoner smiled. “There’s a hole in it.” Bujold looked again, and again, but he didn’t see it. But before he could say anything, Ko’tal stepped forward, walked towards the wall, searched to ground, which was filled with some sort of straw. He put some of that straw aside, on picked up a small device. “Just as I thought.” He said. He pushed some buttons, and suddenly, a part of the wall disappeared. A hole in the wall was now clearly visible. “A hologram.” Bujold said. “of course…”
“I thought it was something like this.” Ko’tal said. D’rell smiled. “I could never fool you Ko’tal! It is good to see you again!” Ko’tal also put a grin on his face. “It has been too long. I should have come to Andoria, to visit you, but…” They were interrupted by Okuda. This time it was her turn to be surprised. “You… know each other?” D’rell nodded. “We’re childhood friends!” he said. “But when Ko’tal went to join Starfleet, we lost contact.” Ko’tal sighed. “A mistake, I still regret. I should have called you sooner.” D’rell hit the other Andorian on his shoulder. “Don’t worry!” he said. “We are together again!” He put one arm around Ko’tal’s neck, and the other one on Okuda’s. “I never expected you both to be here!”
It was Bujold who snapped the 3 back to reality. “We are still prisoners.” He looked at D’rell. “You said you knew a way out?” D’rell nodded. “As I said, getting out is no problem. Getting past the guards, is. I never could elude those guards. They are Artok’s finest.” The 3 starfleet officers looked at D’rell with a surprised look. “Artok?”
D’rell turned on the holographic device, so that the hole couldn’t be seen. Then he put the device under the layer of straw, and sat down. The others followed his example. “Precisely one year ago, a terrorist group called ‘The liberators’ took over the Andorian government.” D’rell said. “They caught us completely by surprise. There was no warning. From one day onto the other, Andoria was under the leadership of a dictator.” “Artok.” Ko’tal said. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. But the Federation got information that the people of Andoria had chosen a new leader!” D’rell nodded again. “That’s what they wanted you to believe. They locked up everybody who knew the truth . That’s how I got in here.” He paused, and looked at the floor. “But anyway,” he continued. “Artok ordered everybody to do what he said, or else they would be locked op to, or even worse…” “O my God.” Okuda replied. “You mean that most of the Andorians we met, and fought last year, didn’t want war with the Fedaration?” “There are some,” D’rell continued, “Who have been longing for war, especially with the Federation. They were put in command of all those ships. The crews were told to obey them, or they would die.”
D’rell paused again. “I was one of the people who knew what had happened… So I got thrown in this cell…” He smiled. “Luckily I smuggled this holodevice with me…” Bujold interrupted D’rell. “If we can let the Federation know what’s going on here…” he said. “Then we might be able to finally stop this war!” Lt. Okuda, who had been standing near D’rell all the time, stepped forward, and said: “Well, what are we waiting for! Let’s go… and send a distress call to Starfleet!”
It was decided. That night, at the shifting of the security guards, he wall-hologram was deactivated, and 2 Andorians and 2 humans crawled all the way through the long tunnel, D’rell had dug. After 15 minutes, they saw a light. They quickly climbed out of the tunnel. They looked around. Nobody had followed them. But they weren’t out of trouble yet. They were now out of the cell, but not out of the building. They pressed themselves against the walls, while D’rell looked around the corner. “3 guards.” He said. “Armed with Andorian disruptor rifles.” Ko’tal smiled. “Just like in the old days, my friend.” The 4 sneaked out of their hiding place, towards the 3 Andorian guards. Those guards were standing with their backs in the directions of the 4 prisoners, so they didn’t see them. But Andorians have antennae…
The 3 guards picked up some vibrations with their antennae, so they turned around. They saw the prisoners, and wanted to fire their rifles, but it was too late. A few seconds later the 3 guards were lying on the ground, unconscious, while Bujold, Okuda and D’rell picked up the rifles. Ko’tal picked up one of the Andorian’s knifes. “Don’t worry.” He said. “I know how to use one of those.” D’rell smiled at that remark. “Too bad you didn’t knew how to use that in our last match… I won, remember?” Ko’tal shake his head. “No…” he said, puzzled… “I don’t…” He then pointed the knife at D’rell. Okuda and Bujold pointed their weapons at Ko’tal. “Commander!” Bujold shouted. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t think he can be trusted.” Ko’tal said, while he still held his knife against D’rell’s throat. “The escape from our cell, the holographic device, and this… overtaking 3 highly trained Andorians…” he looked at Bujold and Okuda. “Don’t you see? He’s leading us into a trap!”
“That’s not true!” Okuda shouted. “I know him! I love him! He wouldn’t do anything like that!” D’rell smiled at Ko’tal. “You should listen to her. She knows me best. And besides…” he looked into Ko’tal’s eyes. “Don’t you trust your friend?”
Ko’tal lowered his knife, as he looked at the 2 other Starfleet officers. “You gotta believe me! I…” A quick blow, and he collapsed. Bujold and Okuda looked at D’rell, with amazement. D’rell, who had given Ko’tal a blow on his neck, explained himself, by saying: “I’m sorry Captain, Michelle. But Ko’tal was becoming paranoid. He was a danger to this mission. I had to incapacitate him. Bujold was shocked. “There could have been an other way…” He sighed. “But done is done… I hope he’s not dead?” D’rell grinned. “O no Captain.” He said. “He’s just unconscious. Might I suggest we hide him somewhere, so that the other Andorians don’t find him?” Bujold agreed, and the three of them dragged the now unconscious Ko’tal into a corner. “He’d be safe here.” D’rell said. “Now let’s go find a communications terminal, and contact Starfleet.”
While the 3 were walking away, Bujold looked at Ko’tal for one last time… ~I wonder if he will be safe…~ He walked back, and put down his rifle. ~Now he is able to defend himself.~ With these thoughts, and the knife he picked up, he walked away.
5 minutes, and only 2 Andorian soldiers, later, the 3 entered a room, where they saw a communications panel. ~That was easy.~ Bujold thought. He took over the rifle from Okuda, who went to work on the panel. “I have access.” Okuda said, after a while. “I’m trying to send a message…” A beeping sound on the panel, and suddenly, an alarm went of. The room filled with Andorian soldiers, who appeared just behind the large pedestals, which were at the sides of the room. Bujold and Okuda knew they were surrounded. They looked at D’rell, who started laughing. “Ko’tal was right!” Okuda said, with tears in her eyes. “But he couldn’t have been! I… I loved you!” D’rell’s laugh went louder and louder. “You silly human!” he said. “I could never fall in love with someone like you! You are so… weak!”
“But… why?” Bujold asked, as his rifle was being taken away from him. “You were a prisoner. You were just like us…” “Wrong!” D’rell shouted. His voice echoed through the room. It sounded like thunder. “I can never be like you! I will never be like you! I’m stronger, superior… As I said… You are weak. It’s only a matter of time before the Federation will fall on it’s knees, before the Andorian empire!”
“And that day will come very soon!” a voice said. Everybody looked to the rear of the room, and bowed. Bujold and Okuda were forced down on their knees. “Artok!” D’rell took another deep bow. “My Lord, I have brought you these people.” “Excellent!” the Andorian dictator said. “You have proven where your loyalty lies.” He turned towards the 2 starfleet officers, who were still down on their knees. “You see Starfleet,” Artok said. “Your little attempt to escape was all carefully planned. We wanted to see if D’rell here was loyal to me. By betraying his friend and his former lover, he has proven that he can be trusted.” He turned towards some other guards. “Take those 2 away. They are to be put to death. Their deaths will be broadcasted on all frequencies, to show the Federation they cannot mess with us!” The guards grabbed hold of the 2 starfleet officers. They were hauled away… To meet their deaths…
Meanwhile Ko’tal recovered from the blow on his neck. He quickly regained consciousness, grabbed the rifle, that was lying on the ground, and went to search for his missing comrades. He knew for certain that D’rell had defected, and that he couldn’t be trusted anymore. After he had walked a while, he heard a lot of footsteps, coming his way. He quickly hid behind some of the pedestals. He carefully looked at the group, without being seen. There he saw Bujold and Okuda, who were being pushed forward, as if they were captured animals. He also saw D’rell, walking next to… ~Artok.~ Ko’tal thought. For a moment, he thought about shooting Artok, so that they were rid of that horrible dictator… but he didn’t. He stayed in his place, until nobody was left in the hallway anymore.
Ko’tal came out of hiding. He looked around… No, nobody was there. He quickly, but silently, went towards the room, where the communications panel was. The same room where D’rell had betrayed Bujold and Okuda, in favor of Artok. Ko’tal entered the room, but there was still one guard left. ~I don’t have time for this.~ Ko’tal thought. He aimed the rifle, and fired at the guard. Ko’tal saw him vaporizing in front of him. Now there was nobody left between him and the comm panel. He noticed that Okuda had written a message to Starfleet, but that she hadn’t send it yet. Ko’tal read the message. “To Starfleet.” It said. “Artok of Andoria is a dictator. 3 starfleet officers are being held captive. Please send help.” Ko’tal pushed a few buttons, and transmitted the message. But at the same time he did that, the alarms went of. Dozens of Andorian guards materialized all around Ko’tal. He was able to shoot one or two, before he got shot himself. The last thing he remembered was seeing the guards, with a big grin on their faces.
“Ko’tal!” somebody shouted. “Ko’tal, wake up!” the Andorian opened his eyes. His head hurt, so he wanted to move his hands to his head, but he couldn’t. He looked at his arms. They were tied up, so he couldn’t move. He sighed. ~Trapped like a beast.~ He looked besides him, where he saw Captain Bujold, and Lt. Okuda. “Hello there.” Ko’tal said, with a bit of irony in his voice. “How nice to meet you here.” Captain Bujold did not take this joke very well. “Listen Ko’tal.” He said. “We are only 3 hours away from publicly being executed. I don’t really feel like dying. I hope you have a plan, because we don’t.” Ko’tal was a bit surprised. He had no idea his Captain could be so… aggressive. “Captain, I’ve send the message Okuda tried to send to starfleet. I hope that does the trick, and that somebody will come and safe us.” This time, it was Okuda’s turn to speak. “I hope that they are coming.” She said. “I have no intention of spending my last few hours, imprisoned, by the man I once loved!” “Easy Lieutenant.” Bujold said. “All we can do now, is wait, and hope that Starfleet will safe us.”
3 hours later, Starfleet still hadn’t shown up. Now, there was almost no chance of being rescued. The 3 officers had accepted their fates, and were now on their way to the ‘execution wall’, as they heard guards call it. When they arrived, with their hands still tied behind their backs, they saw an entire crowd had gathered, to see them being shot. They also saw armed guards, controlling the crowd. The 3 officers knew what was going on: the Andorians didn’t want to watch, but Artok had forced them. Now, all of Andoria, and all of the Federation, was going to see how they were being executed.
As they stood against the wall, with the rifles pointed at them, and the camera’s recording everything, it was on this moment, when Artok gave the order to fire, that a familiar blue light enveloped them. At one moment they were on the execution site, but at the other, they found themselves at a transporterpad, surrounded by Starfleet officers. “Welcome back.” One of them said.
Meanwhile, everybody on Andoria, and in the Federation, had watched the 3 Starfleet officers being beamed away. The Andorians now knew the Federation was on their side, in their constant battle against Artok. And when Starfleet troops began to beam down to the surface, the Andorians, who weren’t loyal to Artok, began to fight together with Starfleet, against Artok’s forces. The battle was tough, and a lot of people were killed. But in the end, Artok was captured, and Andoria was handed back to the Andorians.
One month after Andoria was liberated, they joined the Federation again. Bujold, Okuda and Ko’tal recieved the Pike medal, for valor. They all continued to serve in Starfleet, even Ko’tal, who wasn’t an outsider anymore. He was a hero, in the eyes of his people. And many years later, when Ko’tal retired from Starfleet, he went back to Andoria, and became an old, but wise Ambassador, between Andoria and the Federation, to make sure none of this would happen again.
