Chapter 44.Kingdom of Kablan
When the shuttle door opened, the crowd groaned and poured outside. Noah was happy about this too, and took a deep breath as he stepped out of the hatch. He felt fresh grass beneath his feet. The sun was shining on him and it felt good. Now he knew it was over. The sun was high in the sky, but it wasn't too hot. The temperature should be around 20 degrees. Noah was happy with this. The fresh air energized him and others. He had had enough of the heat in the mines and in the shuttle. It was only now, when he was here breathing fresh air, that he realized how bad the air in the mines and shuttles was. Many hard-working people do not have the opportunity to take a shower for weeks or even months, and being squeezed into a small space will only make the air extremely bad.
His eyes wandered across the treeless meadow. Seventeen remaining shuttles landed, and people ran, danced, and laughed on the grass. However, Noah also saw some creatures just sitting quietly in a corner, or crying. Others vomited.
Jeffrey walked up to him. Noah studied the Vulcan. He looked thinner than before and had scars on his body. Still, he looked very dignified. He had lost none of his grace.
"It's good to see you again, Captain," he said, and Noah thought he seemed pleased. But it might just be his own mood that caused him to err in judgment. "After the battle and the destruction of three demonic warships, I am no longer sure about your situation."
"You're not sure?" A voice sounded behind him. It was Ingemar. He stepped forward and smiled at Jeffrey and said, "This must be the first time. You will feel uncertain."
"Mr. Ingmar, your life is predictable," Jeffrey simply replied without further explanation.
Noah couldn't believe it. They are free. They were free men again, able to decide their own destiny. Even the arguments between Jeffrey and Ingmar were just their own way of expressing this joy.
People slowly divided into groups. The different races are now isolated from each other and talking to each other. The Starfleet crew is also reunited. Noah felt reassured to see that his leadership team was still intact.
In the center of the clearing, a Kaplan foreign affairs team appeared. They spread out with weapons in hand and stood in the middle forming a circle. Then, after the environment was deemed safe, Kasapa appeared. He slowly scanned the crowd, looking very disturbed by what he saw. His eyes swept over the prisoners, and then he walked towards Noah.
"Captain, you look like you've been through hell," he said slowly.
Noah walks through the streets of Kablan's home planet. Although it's difficult to say which planet is the true home planet, even the scientists of Kabulan debate it. Long ago, two planets in Kablan's home system were settled by inhabitants. Then came a series of ultra-conservative kings. They severely punished any progress, causing the development of the Kingdom of Kabulan to stagnate for more than a thousand years. This situation seriously affected the future of the Kablan people, and without this period of time, the Kingdom of Kablan would surely have become a leading force in the universe. Therefore, they are now just a tiny and insignificant presence. The following kings built ever larger and more beautiful palaces, on both planets. War after war destroyed parts of the region and obliterated much of Kabulan's history, so much so that today's scientists no longer know the truth about what happened. It is not known where their race originated.
The streets are wide and bright. Everywhere there are carefully designed flower beds, or trees dotting the streetscape. The houses to the left and right looked warm and inviting, and none were in a dilapidated state. Instead, they blend in with the streets, cities and surrounding landscape, as if they had been arranged from the very beginning of the planet's formation. The whole city presented such a harmonious scene that Noah felt that he had never seen such a wonderful scene on any planet. Overall, this place is like a paradise. Of course, he now understands that life here isn't exactly like heaven. The Kablan people have strict laws and they are strictly enforced. Apparently, they believed that this was the only way to protect this paradise. However, the king's tough and autocratic way of ruling made the world a less pleasant place to live. Everyone feels a constant sense of fear that is almost palpable.
Noah feels good in his new uniform. After nearly two weeks of his time in the mines as a slave, his first shower and new clothes felt so good, like he'd never experienced it before. It's a moment he'll probably never forget. After shaving and putting on new clothes, he finally felt like a whole person again.
However, he soon felt the disappointing reality again. Because everything that followed didn't go as he had hoped. Many of the things that had happened since escaping from the mine were not of his own free will and were all decisions made without his knowledge. But there was nothing he could do at the moment, like everyone else, he was completely at the mercy of the Kablans. The people of Kablan decided the next steps and further plans. They decide what is allowed and what is forbidden. They set some conditions before they were willing to help. If the Republic crew does not comply with these conditions, the lives of the crew will be at risk. They were threatening Noah, and he knew it all too well. And his anger about it is rising every day. But he must restrain himself and never risk leaving the rest of the crew and the escapees without support. But despite their show of cooperation, the Kablanites made no concessions. According to their instructions, the Republic cannot be repaired and the escapees, except for the starship's crew, cannot leave the planet they originally arrived on. The status quo remains unchanged. So far, no connection to the Federation has been possible. This has been going on for a week.
During their first meeting, Kasapa explained the terms of his help to the captain, and Noah had no choice but to agree. Because the Kablans threatened never to let anyone leave again. Otherwise, the planet will become a new prison. Although it is much more comfortable than the Demon Flame Mine, it is still another imprisoned situation. Although some imprisoned people feel lucky, especially those whose hometowns were invaded by demonic flames. But many people want to return to their home planet. The starship crew itself was unable to accept this arrangement. So they were allowed to return to the Republic, follow the Kabulan fleet back to the Kingdom of Kabulan, and serve Kabulan. Like the crew, Noah was happy to be back on board the Republic again. Although this was of course An illusion, as the Republic was too badly damaged to truly protect the crew. It was impossible to feel at home under normal circumstances in these wrecks. Yet for the crew, it was still a sense of relief and homecoming Feel.
Despite being banned, they immediately started work and are now making temporary repairs to the ship. However, the real restoration work could only be done in the Federation's shipyards. According to the captain's order, all repaired equipment still has no power supply. In this way, the value of the energy radiated will remain unchanged. After all, they couldn't let the Kablans notice the repair work. In that case, all efforts to resolve the incident will be in vain and will only lead to tighter restrictions. Daisy had a hard time adjusting to this order. She wanted to test the repaired devices, just to make sure they were functioning properly. But they must not take this chance. The whole crew had a hard time accepting this. After all, the damage was not limited to the military areas of the ship. Replicators, ultrasonic showers and other gadgets that make life on board more comfortable are not available. And many of these facilities are currently not even being repaired because of a lack of materials. And the priorities right now are elsewhere.
The infirmary has been busy since returning to the ship. Many people come for treatment of minor injuries, especially marks on their foreheads. However, some required serious medical treatment, about a dozen required surgery, and the outcome was uncertain. More than sixty of the crew members have died since they encountered the Demon Flame after receiving a distress call from Charles. About half were killed in attacks on ships, and the other half were killed in mines and while escaping. Still, there seemed to be more people on board than before. Several sections of the outer hull are cordoned off as some hull rupture occurred there, and these areas remain open to outer space. These areas are currently unviable. In the interior area, crews are working to remove traces of the damage. Channels are reopened and debris is cleared and prepared for recycling. The entire ship looks like a busy anthill, but everything must be kept secret. The people of Kablan cannot know any of this.
As soon as they arrived in the Kabulan system, Noah was immediately summoned to King Kabulan to tell him in detail everything that had happened since his encounter with Charles. The king would occasionally interrupt to ask for details, but for the most part he listened in silence. After the story was told, he sat quietly for a while. Clearly, what he heard had a real impact on him. Then he thanked him, stood up, and silently left the room. Noah didn't know what this meant. Then an attendant came to pick him up and leave. He was told only that the king would contact them, and he stood alone in front of the castle. It's been a week. Despite multiple attempts to get any reply from the palace, all attempts failed. Therefore, they had no choice but to wait for the King to console them.
When he reached the end of the street, Noah looked out of the village, through the golden wheat fields, the ears of wheat swaying in the wind. Everything looks very pleasant. Noah couldn't help but be surprised by this small nation. Despite their small size, they dared to fight against the demonic flames and kept preventing these demons from invading. He understood their cautious approach to starship crews.
Now his ignorance of the people became a great disadvantage. He knew nothing of their rules and customs. Maybe they're anticipating his next move. But what else could he do but keep reporting to them? Hasn't he already shown enough willingness to cooperate? The eared rat might be able to tell him something about the Kablans, but he wasn't sure. After all, the demonic flames haven't arrived here yet. But maybe they still know something about this people. But the eared mouse isn't here. He voluntarily remained among the other prisoners. In fact, he had no choice, because the Kablan people would not let him into their system. Noah hopes he's okay. But he wasn't sure. After all, he was an overseer in the mines and must have killed some people. And some of the survivors may have been people he abused. Now he's alone with his former prisoners, who may seek revenge on him. The captain respected the eared mouse's decision very much. It takes a lot of courage to face your victim alone.
The communicator beeped. Noah removed the communicator from his belt and turned it on.
"Captain," Carol reported. She and most of the rest of the crew were on the Republic.
"What's wrong?" Noah wanted to know. He continued to look out over the fields, enjoying the view.
"New news," Carol replied simply. "You'd better come up here."
Noah sighed. Doesn't sound like good news. "Okay. I will arrange it." Noah ended the call. He changed the frequency to contact the Kabulan space station in orbit. Since the Republic cannot perform any repairs, the teleporter is inoperable. Transfers between planets and ships must be done via the Kablan teleportation device, as the Republic's shuttle was destroyed during the battle with the Demon Flame, or the Liberty shuttle is still parked on the planet Kuafu IV. This is a good thing for their hosts, as it allows them to control the number of people on the planet. They ensured that there were always enough Starfleet officers on the planet so that the Republic could not suddenly escape. Although this was not possible due to the state of the ship, the Kablans still further secured themselves in this way. While not explicitly grounded, this is a veiled hostage-taking.
"Kabulan Space Station, please teleport a person to the Republic." Noah was afraid of the teleportation technology of an alien race that he knew almost nothing about. But what choice does he have?
He felt tingling and disoriented. This teleporter is much worse than the Federation's teleporters or those of other known races. Every time he used the teleporter, pain wracked him. Afterward, he felt dizzy and nauseated. After each teleportation, he felt that he no longer had his original integrity, although Dr. Celia could not confirm this. He was thankful that the teleporter had freed him again. He walked quickly away from the platform and hurried down the corridor to the bridge. His deputy was already there waiting for him.
"Captain, there is a message from the palace. We need to wait two more days and then we will receive another message, by which time we can leave," Carol reported, the doubt evident in her voice. This was a delaying tactic that was easily seen through, and gradually no crew members believed it anymore.
