Stubborn

Posted on Jul 18, 2015 @ 1:02pm by Captain Peter Aspinall
Edited on on Jul 18, 2015 @ 1:03pm

Mission: USS Pendragon

“Stubborn” (Contd-“Bright ideas”)

Location: Deep Space shipyards
Scene: USS PENDRAGON Shuttle
Stardate: [2.5[07181700


The shuttle drifted on minimum power just by the edge of the sensor network for the shipyard, Peter sat patiently in the cockpit waiting for the precise moment that he knew would come, the momentary flicker in the field combined with command codes he was pretty sure would be correct and he would be in. This was not a trip he had wanted to make but if he truly thought on it he had known all along he would be the best person for this job.

He was leading an insurgence against the Federation of course and although those he was fighting against probably weren’t even aware of that fact yet if he was caught it could be disastrous but despite doubts the person he was here to see would do any of what he was about to ask he was at least pretty sure he wouldn’t turn him in.

The encounter would not be a present one, the officer he was here to see, the engineer, was one of the most stubborn people Peter knew, his morals, and scruples would fight against each of Peter’s requests but it was those same morals that Peter was also going to rely on it make the right choice in the end. Still it was never a good moment when one had to consider how to argue with themself.

The moment arrived and as the network pulsed and flickered the chemical rockets he had installed shoved the shuttle across the threshold.


Scene: Shipyard

Plans flicked across the padd as he thumbed the side, walking with his head turned towards the screen and still avoiding the various people that wandered the corridors was a skill quickly learned when he was stationed in the shipyard, so many people didn’t pay the slightest bit of apparent attention. Of course some of them were paying rather more attention than was apparent, as evidenced by the occasional “Commander,” directed his way in greeting.

He walked straight to his office, his head still buried in a world of power ratios and stopped still as the door slid shut behind him.

There wasn’t any items out of place to where he thought, the light was on just as he expected, but he could feel his ‘guest’, he could feel his presence in his mind.

“How the hell did you get here.” He groused.

**Do you really want to know?**

“Actually I just want you to leave, and get out of my head!” Sighed James as he sat on his couch, just as he expected his other self, the ‘original’ for want of a better word stepped out of the bathroom.

What he hadn’t been expecting was for him to look so much older than James himself, that didn’t make sense, when Q had ‘copied’ Peter for his own amusement, or if James was being generous he might admit it had been to cheer up Daisy, he had created an exact copy, they were the same age. “What on earth?”

Peter snorted a little as he moved closer to his other self, “It took twenty years to get back to the Federation after the incident on the PENDRAGON.”

“So what you time traveled to not miss out on so much?” Increduled James.

“Hardly, it’s complicated but suffice it to say the Federation we returned to was not a nice place to be; and that’s why I am here.”

James’s guard rose, it was the same every time he and Peter talked, it was why they didn’t interact anymore, it pretty much always led to arguments.

“Are you saying I have something to do with….”

Peter waved his hand, “Edgerton, it wasn’t pretty James, he used the new ships and filled them with his cronies, he just plain attacked people who he couldn’t control, almost everyone we know was..”

James help up his hand “I don’t want to…”

Peter wouldn’t stop, “..killed, Xana, Jax, Maddie, I watched as Century class vessels razed ELANDIPOLE….”

James tried not to listen, he didn’t want to believe, the work he was doing, the vessels he was crafting…

“I watched the STONEHENGE explode right before my eyes James, I watched as my husband and his shipmates sacrificed themselves to the PENDRAGON could make the jump through time I …”

“Enough!” Shouted James, “What is it you expect Peter ? Delaying the rebuilds? Sabotage? People would see through it all….”

“A hard wired command code.”

James stared at his other self, “Are you serious !? You expect me to give you the key to slaughtering entire starships without even a fight?” James was flabberghasted

“James, that is exactly what the Century class did to so many, you know how few ships could hold up to one of them, now imagine the slaughter when half of those ships have been sabotaged or have running mutinies “

James turned from him unwilling to hear any more.

“Enough, I’ll do the override, but only the weapons, I am not letting you slaughter them.”

Peter remained silent, that would be enough he hoped.

“Now unless you have something else you are trying to get from me then get out ‘brother’.”

“Well actually…”




Location: San Francisco: EARTH
Scene: Near the council building
Time Index: Just prior to the explosion

Benham and Drake sat as they often did in one of the many seating areas near the Federation Council building. To anyone getting close enough to listen in Drake would sit and espouse on diplomacy, teaching Benham for some role or position most likely, and indeed that is was in part what Drake was doing, the aim being to embed Benham in the workings of the Federation itself, ideally as an aid to the Secretary of Starfleet given the help that would likely provide. Of course the location they chose was also not a coincidence as from the various seats they took on a near daily basis they could closely observe the comings and goings of at least some of the buildings of power.

Benham dropped his head back and slitted his eyes, enjoying the sun and the gentle breeze on his face.

To his side Drake repeated his question, unhappy at being ignored.

“..the main points of the treaties of Vega….” He nudged Benham with his elbow.

“You know I know them.” Sighed Benham , “Cant we just enjoy sitting for a while.” As he nudged Draake back, several times.

They had both noticed an unusual number of council members turning up at around the same time.

Out of the corner of his slitted eyes Benham notice a familiar person and he sat up, bumping Drake as he stretched, directing the intelligence officer towards Hiram.

Drake grunted, “Yes I know you do; I am going to stretch my legs, if I am not back in half an hour why don’t you head home and I will see you there?”

Benham looked up at Drake as the latter stood. Nodding to show his understanding he left his head fall back again, catching glimpses through his eye lashes of Drake heading in the same direction Hiram had taken.

He was still carefully surveying the people around him without appearing to do so, something Drake had hammered home in their time together, when the world was turned upside down.

Even save from the actual blast as he was at this distance the heat rolled over Benham as he tumbled off the seat and stood.

People around him were stood, their mouths agape as they tried to drink in what had happened. Benham was torn between running towards the burning ruins of the council buildings, the direction Drake has been headed, and fleeing . His decision was made for him when a precarious piece of the wreckage feel, and although none of those around him were in danger from the fall the scream from a woman behind him triggered a wave of people charging away from the explosion, each fearful of something even if they themselves did not know what.

Benham knew if he ran to help, if he did what he felt he wanted, there would be questions and they could not afford questions, she he joined the surging tide as people fled the scene. He fled not to the house he and Drake were using, he fled instead to a small office further away, an office he knew about before he had ever left the PENDRAGON but had deliberately never seen, an office with his own surname on the wall.





NRPG: Sorry I didn’t get around to using the PENDRAGON crew, it was my intention and I still have several more vaguely planned scenes in my head, so more “soon” hopefully !


Peter Aspinall the voice of..

Captain Peter Aspinall
CO
USS PENDRAGON

and...

too many others to list !