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» LCARS » Newspaper: The Federation Tribune » Newspaper Archives » 2004 » August 2004 » In the Line of Duty, part 5: In and Out, by Rob Versteegt.
 | In the Line of Duty, part 5: In and Out, by Rob Versteegt. |  |
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Summary:
4th year Cadet Esther Keel, who is temporary stationed at starbase 375, has committed a murder. She did that, because a mysterious man ordered her to do so, in the name of Starfleet Security. This act of murder proved to this man that Esther could be trusted. Now, she is accepted in this man's organisation. However, Esther was now ordered to kill her best friend: Bernadette, a Huanni, who, according to this man, was a spy for the Romulans. With pain in her heart, she followed through with this order... Yet, now that she's done what this man wanted, he had her arrested...
And now, the continuation:
"So your the murderer?"
Esther looked up, pain visible in her eyes. Whether she liked it or not.. she was the murderer of Bernadette. The man who was asking her this question was in a cell next to her. She couldn't see this man: she could only hear his dark voice. It was a voice which sent chills down her spine: much like the voice of this mystery man...
"I am.." She hated herself for saying this.. for getting into this cell.. but most of all, for even listening this that man, spreading his lies about Bernadette. ~How dare he..~ she thought, with tears in her eyes. ~Deceiving me like that..~ She took a deep breath, and looked down again. ~But... *I* followed that man's orders... *I* killed Bernadette...~
"Wow.." the man's dark voice sounded as if he was impressed. "What did that girl ever do to you? It must have been quite something, if you repay her by killing her.."
"No.." The lump in Esther's throat grew. She didn't know why, but this somehow, she just spit it all out. As if she just HAD to tell someone her story. She didn't care who it was... In fact, the fact that this man was a complete stranger, worked out well for Esther. It gave her a feeling that she could just speak up, tell the truth, without her having to be too much ashamed for it. "I... followed orders.."
For a moment, the cells were silent. No sound was heard in the room. And yet.. there were quite a number of people in these cells. It seemed as if everyone had been listening to Esther... and everyone seemed to be stunned about this. Everyone.. including Esther.
~Listen to me..~ she thought to herself, tears again forming in her eyes. ~I've killed my best friend, just because I was ordered to...~ She shook her head again. ~My god.. what have I done?~
"I..." the dark voice of the man didn't seem to be this intimidating anymore. "I don't know what to say.."
"I knew it!" another voice was heard echoing through the brig. Again, this was the voice of a male. "I knew Starfleet gave whacky orders! Ordering soldiers to kill civilians... I knew they would do things like that!" He paused, his voice intensified. "Haven't I always told that? Haven't I? Huh? Well?"
"Oh shut up Frank..." the first voice shouted. "I'm not really a big fan of Starfleet myself, but... I doubt they'll order their own personnel to kill a civilian... They are way too civilised for that." He grunted. "Or at least.. that's what they want us to believe.." He paused, and spoke up again. This time, his voice was directed at Esther. "Tell me dear.. what happened?"
For a little while, sobbing was all that could be heard in this brig.. this collection of holding cells. It was the sobbing of Esther, who now came to realise what exactly had happened. "I.. I killed my best friend..." She began. She didn't think about secrecy or something. She didn't even consider not telling this to the people who shared this brig with her. "A person. He works for..." He paused. She had no idea who that person actually worked for.
"Yes?" one of the other prisoners started. Obviously, they were anxious to know what happened.
"That person.. in a grey, shiny coat.. I guess he worked for Starfleet," Esther continued, trying to remember as much about all of this as she could. Not that she wanted to.. although she did want to tell how she got here. "He told me the Federation was in danger. That I should kill any informants the Romulans might have.." She started sobbing again. "He told me Bernadette was one of those informants!"
Again, only the crying of Esther filled the brig. It was then that one of the other prisoners spoke up. "A tall man, grey cloak, and those eerie green eyes?"
Esther was shocked. "That's him.. how do you know him?"
At that moment, 2 security guards came in, and deactivated the forcefield which had kept Esther from escaping. "You're coming with us..."
Esther didn't struggle. She knew this time would come: now, she'd probably face a worse penalty than imprisonment. Quickly, she looked back in the brig, towards the prisoners whom she had told the story. She saw one looking back, with eyes red as her blood. "I'll find you!" he shouted. From the sound of his voice, Esther knew that this was the man who had described how the man who had ordered Esther around, looked like.
Then, the doors closed. She was taken away to.. who knew where. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her world become dark. However.. in this darkness, she could still see those scary looking red eyes from that strange man...
To be continued...
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