Awaiting Judgment

Posted on Tue May 13th, 2014 @ 1:58pm by Captain T'mpest Michaels & Commander Rylie Cattmor & Lieutenant Commander Morai Keen

1,014 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Landreah
Location: Landreah

ON:

The delegation was escorted, all but Admiral Jubb who was summarily dragged out of the council chambers and into a large room, empty except for a bench along two sides of it. When they were all inside, the door closed and they could hear the distinctive sound of a forcefield going up.

Jubb was already waking groggily from Keen's phaser beam coupled with the butt of the guard's rifle blow, and he took in his surroundings. "Well this is a fine mess you've got us into, commander." he said as he forced himself to sit up on the bench and leant back against the hard stone wall. "What do you propose to do now, hmm?"

"As we are still alive and being judged for war crimes is not unknown to me; I think keeping a level head would be a good idea and learning what it is about you that got us into this situation would help in trying to get us out of here?"

"I have no inclination to explain anything to you, commander," Jubb scoffed while emphasizing Keen's rank and dabbing the wound from the guard's rifle. "This is your away mission, I was just simply here for the ride, and so far it's been an eventful, if not an entirely successful one."

"You were referred to as a terrorist; the callus manner of your explanations and trying to ensue a fight in the middle of a diplomatic meeting, I am glad that we are not dead." Keen stood and moved to the center of the room. "This ride is not over yet, so I know we can save the relationship between them and the Federation if I can discuss the points with them. If they were to really hang us we would be dead already, so tell me what you allegedly did and maybe we can get out of this alive."

Admiral Jubb sat back against the wall, and inhaled to create dramatic pause. "You really want to know the truth, commander? Are you ready? Fine, I'm not the terrorist. But the Lantiri do hold me responsible."

"Why?"

"During the final stages of our war with the Dominion, I was stationed here, on Landreah. My job was to conduct early reconnaissance, to aid the Lantiri fend off Dominion forces, and like other Starfleet officers across the length and breadth of the Federation, to find a way to bring the war to an end." Jubb took a breath and went on, "I was commander of one hundred fourteen people, a mix of security and tactical staff, strategic thinkers, and scientists, with a small Nova-class science vessel in orbit. Do you remember what one of the downfalls of the Dominion was, commander? A virus," he answered without waiting for any reply from anyone. "A virus that infected the Founders with a degenerative disease."

Jubb shifted his weight a little in an attempt to get more comfortable while telling one of the most painful memories he had of his service in this uniform, or that's how he wanted to portray it. "That mutagen was developed and released by supposed agents of Section 31, as usual at the abhorrence of the Federation. What I didn't know, was that my own XO was a member of Section 31. He orchestrated a plan, and ordered and worked with our science teams to help develop that virus. I found out later that he was under strict orders to test this virus if an opportunity presented itself."

Unable to get even remotely comfortable, Jubb then stood up and paced to the door. Turning around, he resumed his monologue, "He thought he found one here when he and several others suspected the previous Governor of Landreah as being a changling infiltrator. But, something went wrong. Before he could deliver the virus, something happened to the containment fields on the storage tanks, and two hundred and fifty-three litres of experimental biochemical compound was leaked into the atmosphere."

"The results were almost immediate." Jubb said, his voice getting a little shaky. "People started to get sick, some died within just a few days. You could almost say that the virus was a complete success if it weren't for the fact that normal people were dying by the hundreds, by the thousands, including some of my own crew. As soon as I found out the truth about what had happened, I... I panicked. With a few supporters in the government, I arranged to get me and my crew off-planet. There were many that didn't want us to leave, wanting retribution or simply to watch us die with them. There was a running fire fight all the way to the shuttles, and my XO was killed. With the main perpetrator gone, the Lantiri wanted someone else to blame, someone to hold responsible. As his CO, Jaenero has apparently labelled me as that person. On a level, as his commanding officer, I should have known what everyone was doing, as I was responsible for them, I admit that. But I am no terrorist."

Peters sat against the wall, listening. He was too young to remember the Dominion War, but he'd heard stories. He wondered why he'd heard nothing of Landreah before. There were stories of other accidents, other atrocities. Surely this one should be recorded somewhere? When they got back to the Ranger, he would look up the records.


[Outside]

Jaenero walked down the corridor, practically fuming. "I want a trial convened as soon as possible. Alert the fool of a Commander. I will accept no more likes, no more excuses."

The man at his side took notes, nodding as he kept pace with the governor. "Right away, sir. I'll notify the proper authorities. Would you like the media?"

"Not yet. But I do want a statement prepared for their Starfleet. Jubb will be tried for war crimes. The others are accessories."

"Yes, sir," the man said, hurrying off to carry out orders.

OFF

Admiral Jubb
Visiting Admiral

Lieutenant Commander Morai Keen
Chief Counselor

Ensign Peters
Security

Governor Jaenero
Governor of Landreah

 

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