Chapter 86. Passive Advice of the Special Envoy
"Ah, the envoy just landed," Olet read from the log. "He'll be here in a few minutes. Please forgive me," he said to Noah. "I have to deliver this news." Then he left the officials there and turned to another group.
"It's probably going to be longer than a few minutes, Gladys," Gladys said. "It took us 15 minutes to get here from the airport yesterday."
Noah looked at her with a smile and said, "Then let's wait here. This shouldn't be a problem for you."
"Yes, sir," she replied flatly, trying to keep her facial expression neutral.
The number of onlookers has grown significantly over the past few minutes. The empty space in front of the Senate building was already packed. It seemed like all the colonists were out. Different groups also formed among the crowd. On the right side, stood the doubters, those who were opposed to the Envoy and the Earth. Occasionally you can see banners carrying their views. The police were the busiest among the crowd, trying to maintain order. There must be no violence allowed if tensions are to be resolved peacefully.
On the left stand supporters of the Earth. They want to welcome the envoy and show him that the colony still belongs to Earth. Most people wave the flag of Earth. The whole place is almost like a folk festival.
And in the middle, like a divide, are dotted the moderate colonists who mostly want to keep the peace and find a solution that allows everyone to continue living the way they used to live. They make up the bulk of the crowd, and the mood here swings between hope and worry.
After some time, Noah glanced at his watch casually. The envoy was already fifteen minutes late. The senators were starting to get nervous, even as they tried to hide it. After all, what’s fifteen minutes?
In fact, delays on this stretch are certainly enough to cause concern. After all, the road was blocked. In addition, the police had reported the envoy's departure at the airport. This can only lead to one conclusion: something must have happened on the road.
Senator Olert approached the Starfleet officials. "The envoy's arrival will be delayed some more," he reported the obvious. "Please excuse the delay. It may only be a few more minutes." It was clear he was trying to spread some optimism, even though he knew he was lying.
"If we can help, please let us know," Noah offered immediately. However, he also realizes that Jeffrey won't appreciate his quick help.
"Thank you very much, but there's nothing else to do. We just have to wait a little longer," Olet explained hastily, before apologizing and leaving.
"Something's wrong here," Gladys muttered, immediately warned by Noah to lower her voice.
"We have no evidence. And since they don't want our help, we won't force them. We will continue to be friendly. We are their guests and we will neither order them around nor tell them what to do." Noah said.
Gladys gritted her teeth and nodded. She didn't like just waiting around doing nothing. But she reluctantly obeyed the order.
The other two agreed. So they continued to wait.
Meanwhile, senators were growing increasingly uneasy. So far, things are not going as expected. It was the worst possible start to the talks, and the situation only seemed to be getting worse.
Onlookers gradually became aware of the problem. The uneasiness of the senators spread to them, and people began to whisper and speculate on various possibilities. The envoy was already more than half an hour late.
Suddenly, the senators sprang into action. The short young man who had handed Olet the note before walked towards the Senate Chairman again and whispered something to him. Olet turned pale. He motioned for the other senators to follow him. Then he walked into the building.
"Something's happening," Noah whispered. He turned to Carol. "While we were not asked to follow, they emphasized that we were invited as their guests. So we will come along." He followed the senator. Carol followed, and then the others followed.
The Senate chamber greeted them with a pleasant temperature. Senators waiting here gathered in small groups to discuss what the delay meant. Some people worry that something might have happened. Others see this as Earth's slight against the colonies and speculate on the strategy behind it. But no one seems to know for sure.
Olert led the group across the Senate floor and past another door. He opened the door for those who followed, only frowning as the starship officials entered. Then he closed the door and faced the people present with a worried expression. "A disaster has occurred. Earth's envoy, Mr. Havendes, has been attacked."
A flurry of angry murmurs quickly spread. Who could be so crazy as to do such a thing? Everyone can imagine how the Earth would react to such an act.
"I just got this information," Olert continued. "Police sent out to search for the envoy reported that the vehicles were spotted halfway from the airport to the city. They were hit with bullets from a semi-automatic pistol. Three of the envoy's bodyguards, as well as one of the drivers, were dead. They were apparently fighting the attack. The attackers were killed in the exchange of gunfire. One of the attackers was also killed. The other was seriously injured and his accomplices left him behind. He is currently receiving medical treatment and interrogation at the scene. Maybe he can provide us with more clues.
The whereabouts of the second driver and envoy are still unknown. It seemed as if they had disappeared into the air. "
Some suspicious eyes were cast on Noah and his men. After all, they use teleportation technology so naturally, it's almost like disappearing into thin air. Suspicion that they were involved in the incident couldn't help but come to mind.
"We have to wait for the results of the inmates' questioning," Olert said, trying to reassure the senators. He didn't want to believe that these strangers had anything to do with it. He had too much hope in them and wanted to see them as allies. As an ally in the fight against Earth. as a free colony. As a colony that can survive without fear. He didn't want to lose this hope.
However, their sudden appearance before the envoy's visit, and their natural use of such advanced technology, which was undoubtedly well suited to such an attack, are undeniable facts. There is no doubt that they are fully capable of such an operation.
Just as Olet was about to speak, the door was opened and the fat young man from before walked in. "Mr. Olet," he said uncertainly.
"What's the matter, Postin?" Olet waved to him and asked him to come closer.
"Mr. Olet, we have received a message."
"A message?" Olet repeated, his voice trembling, as if he had a premonition of something ominous. "Who sent it?"
"It's best if you see it for yourself." Postin pushed his boss in front of the screen on the wall. The seven senators present and officials from the Republic also gathered around.
Postin activated the screen. However, the screen only lit up slightly, as if a veil of darkness hung over it. The outline of a fat man emerged. He sat almost motionless in his chair, only the rise and fall of his chest showing that he was still alive.
"Come on," a male voice snapped off the screen. Then a blunt object, a pipe or something similar, was stabbed at the seated man.
The man groaned briefly, then said in a shaky voice: "My name is Havendes, envoy of the Earth Government. My driver and I were detained by colonists loyal to Earth. We are fine and treated with kindness .However, if our hosts' demands are not met, we will be killed.
They made two demands. First: The Senate of the Taurus colony accepts Earth's decree and closes the market to all aliens. Second: The Senate recognizes the Earth Government as the supreme government body and declares the Taurus Colony to be part of Earth and therefore governed by Earth's rights, laws, and regulations. Additionally, independent actions will be discouraged and any activity will be considered and punished as an act of terrorism against the Earth and the Colonies.
If these requirements are met, we will be released. But if these demands are not met, we will be killed within 24 hours. "
Harvenders' words suddenly stopped.
The senators stared at each other, dumbfounded, and then all began talking loudly at the same time. In the early days of the chaos, Olert had no chance to calm everyone down. Senators first need to blow off some steam before returning to normal discussion.
Noah motioned for his men to retreat to a corner of the room. He didn't want them to face unwarranted accusations among angry senators. And he definitely didn't want to be a part of this chaotic sound. As the old saying goes: out of sight, out of mind.
Still, he found that even in a corner of the room, just steps away from the senators, communication was nearly impossible because the senators' angry voices and discussions were too loud. So they had no choice but to wait for Olert to calm things down again. They watched the senators and their body language intently.
"First of all, we have to stay calm, colleagues," Olert said firmly amid the chaos. "We can't move forward if we lose our minds." He paused briefly to let the idea sink in. He then continued: "We must keep this hijacking and the demands secret for the time being. No one can know about it except the Senate. I don't want to cause panic among the people. Then we must deal with the next steps calmly."
"Calm down?" Ono Ichiro replied doubtfully. "We cannot discuss it as calmly as a new law. We only have 24 hours. After that, the envoy will die. We all know very well what this means."
"Yes, you can continue your war of independence," an older female senator replied tartly.
Ono Ichiro was about to get angry, but Olet stepped in first. "Please don't argue!" he shouted. "As Senator Ono Ichiro said, we only have 24 hours. Let us use this time wisely. We need to find solutions. Giving in to demands is not an option. I will meet with the Police Minister first. Maybe he has There are new discoveries. But in any case, the crowd gathered outside must be dispersed. In two hours, we will hold an emergency Senate meeting. Before then, crisis experts are invited to provide consultation and negotiators are arranged to wait here."
He then dismissed his colleagues. They left the room still angry.
When the senators left the room, Olet walked over to Noah. "Please forgive the circumstances. I just hoped that meeting Earth together would resolve many of the misunderstandings. I didn't expect things to escalate so early."
"You don't need to apologize. No one could have predicted an event like this," Noah waved his hand in understanding. Ultimately, this twist saves him from a confrontation with Earth. Or at least, postponed for now. "We'd be happy to help you," he offered, but was immediately interrupted by Olet.
"Maybe we will consider your proposal. However, as long as we don't know more about the situation, we can't decide what to do next. But in any case, we will keep you informed. Now please forgive me, we still have There’s a lot to do and not much time.”
Noah understands that they are not welcome right now. But that's not bad for him. This way they can discuss the changing situation quietly without being overwhelmed by new demands that suddenly pop up. So he motioned to his men to line up. After a few minutes, they were captured by the teleportation beam and returned to the Republic's ship.
Back on the ship, Tiny stopped him as he was about to leave the teleportation room. Sadness appeared on her face. "You should go to the infirmary immediately," she told him softly.
At first, Noah was surprised by her. But then he realized why he was worried about going to the infirmary. He walked quickly through the corridor. The infirmary was on the same deck as the teleporter room, so he could just walk there without taking the elevator. Carol followed immediately.
When they entered the infirmary, they ran directly into Dr. Celia. Her face was red with tears and blush. Noah's worries seemed to come true.
"Mr. Ted?" he asked softly.
She just nodded and pointed to a curtained off area of the infirmary.
Noah walked over, followed closely by Carol and Celia. Even though he now knew what to expect, and it wasn't the first time he'd seen the scene, he still felt a pang of pain when he opened the curtain.
In front of him was an ordinary bed in the infirmary. The body lying on it was completely covered by a dark blue quilt. The head was also covered. This is a clear sign that the person is dead.
Noah carefully pulled the covers away from them, revealing Ted's head. His once dark skin was now pale and colorless. His previously tense facial expressions became relaxed. He looked almost peaceful. However, it was obvious that he had no signs of life.
"When did he die?" Noah wondered. He tried to suppress his sadness. This sadness made him feel guilty. The reason for his guilt was that he felt the death of this dead man more deeply than his other subordinates. As a captain, every member of his crew should be equally important to him because he has a responsibility to everyone. He cannot have prejudices or emotions against certain people because of their personal nature, that should not play any role. Even though he dealt with Ted almost every day, he barely knew the rest of the crew.
"Two hours ago," Celia answered his question. "There's nothing I can do for him. Maybe he'll have a chance of survival in a Starfleet medical center, but I'm not sure."
"It's not your fault," Carol said soothingly. She could understand how difficult it must have been for the doctors to watch the security chief slowly die over two weeks without being able to do anything.
Celia nodded. "I know. But it's still unfair. He was the chief of security, and he could have given his life for the ship and the crew. But instead he died in an accident. It makes no sense."
Carol wanted to put her arm around Celia's shoulders, but decided against it. She simply said: "Death is always meaningless."
The doctor nodded and looked at Ted again. "So what do we do with his body now?"
Noah frowned. This is a good question. Usually crew members killed on missions are buried in space. But this is something Noah definitely doesn’t want to see. After all, they were in the wrong timeline now. And the Captain still intends to repair the timeline, so everything in this timeline, including Ted's coffin, will cease to exist. Even though Ted was dead, it was quite difficult to explain to his relatives.
"Put him in the stable," Noah decided. "We will hold a funeral for him when we return."
"How long will that take?" Celia asked softly.
Noah didn't answer, just silent.
...
