USS ANDROMEDA: The Trial Begins...
Chris Morley
Scene: Courtroom
A pair of burly Kzinto guards led McMasters into a gigantic chamber. Its
domed ceiling extended at least a dozen stories upward. Built into the
walls of the chamber were tiers and tiers of seats - all filled with Kzin -
thousands of the creatures. As Lars was led towards the center of the room
the silence of the area was noticed. No one present was making any noise.
Not a sound. It was unsettling.
Moving towards the center of the chamber, more of the rooms furnishings came
into view. There was a man-sized wooden cage with a small stool in it.
Facing the cage was a long curved table that was raised off the floor by
about half a meter. It was easy for the Captain to guess what his
destination was.
Without any sort of resistance, McMasters entered the cage and took a seat
on the stool. With nothing else to do at this point other than wait, he
began to study his surroundings in more detail.
At least ten holovid cameras were placed throughout the chamber. A few
pointed towards the cage. A few towards the table. And the rest pointed to
different places in the crowd.
There was also no lack of armed guards. It seemed that you couldn't move
more than three meters without bumping into a Kzin with a disruptor rifle in
his hands. Apparently, even though he'd given orders not to attempt a
rescue, his captors consitered the Andromeda a serious risk.
Another few minutes passed. Finally, Lars was distracted by a voice behind him.
"McMasters-Kzzira," It was his LawSpeaker, "You have a pair of guests. Two
officers from your ship. Do you wish to speak to them?"
Two officers? Who could it be? Skree and Rachel had to have been smart
enough to get the hell off the planet, right? BrightStar wouldn't be
foolish enough to leave the starship. She knew what she was doing up there.
Lars nodded.
LtCmdr Skree and Esn Moore were escorted to the cage. The Captain noticed
that Rachel was slightly shocked by his condition. It wasn't every day that
you got to see a StarFleet Captain is his dress uniform being held in a
wooden cage. Skree, on the other hand, was calm and cool as usual.
Skree was the first to speak, "Sir."
Lars nodded to his Second Officer, "Commander. Ensign." In an attempt to
lighten Rachel's mood, he winked at her and smiled. "How's my ship, Skree?"
"Still in orbit, Captain, though it's not alone."
"The Regent?"
"No sir."
"I had a feeling that there were a few others up there. Commander
BrightStar has it under control." Enemy vessels. Probably cloaked. Well
there were sure to be a few Klingon ships up there, too. Looking for their
missing diplomat.
"You're looking well, Captain." Rachel tried to be strong. She didn't
really mean it. After all, Lars had a few nasty-looking bruises on his
face. He looked like he could really use a day or two in sickbay.
"Thank you, Ms. Moore." He looked back to Skree, "No one is going to try
anything stupid, are they?"
"Not that I know of, Sir."
"That's not a 'No', Skree."
"I know that, Sir." Lars nodded. He just hoped that his caring crew
wouldn't try to save him only to get themselves killed. He was only one
person, after all.
"Excuse me," The LawSpeaker interjected, "But you must all return to your
seats. The trial is about to begin."
"It's about time," Lars stood, "I was beginning to get bored."
A group of thirteen Kzinti entered from the far side of the room, bringing
everyone present to their feet. Soundlessly they filed to their places at
the table facing McMasters. The Speaker-to-Animals was at the center of the
table. He reached down with his massive paw and adjusted a microphone.
"This Special Session is now in order. The matter in question is The People
of Kzintara against," The Speaker frowned as he read the name on the paper,
"Captain H. Lars McMasters, Called Kzzira, of the Starship Andromeda. Who
speaks for it?"
The LawSpeaker answered, "I do."
The Speaker nodded, "That is noted. McMasters Kzzira is accused of
Dishonorable War Crimes against the People. How does it plead?"
"It pleads Not Guilty."
The room erupted into angry hisses...
Respectfully submitted,
Captain Lars McMasters
USS Andromeda
<<NRPG>>
Hello everyone! Welcome back to anyone who was away! I hope you all had a
great holiday break, but now it's time to get back to work... :)
It seems that the trial is beginning... <EG>
Markku/Rachel - what are your thoughts at this point in time?
Away Team - where are you right now? what are you doing?
Andro bridge crew - you can all watch the trial on the viewscreen... you
can be sure that the Rommie's and Klingons are... And I'm sure BrightStar
is hating every minute of it...
I'll wait a little bit to see what goes on before I continue my own posts...
I can't wait to see how this is going to turn out! :)
TTYL!
Chris