Chapter 114. Ingmar was imprisoned
"I have made my decision," he said sternly, looking sharply at Ingmar. When this crisis is over, he'll make sure the troublesome Dre Ingmar leaves his ship. "But to emphasize the peaceful nature of our visit, no other security officials besides Atlan accompanied us," he added sarcastically. Whether he wanted to use this to appease Ingemar, only he knew.
In any case, Ingmar decided to remain silent. It wasn't that he recognized his mistake or was afraid of the captain. It was because he felt there was no point in arguing with him anymore. The captain is more stubborn than a stubborn mule. He will never admit his mistakes or change his position. No matter how good the argument is, it is useless. It might be more productive to talk to the wall.
Ingmar was fine with that. The stupid captain can do whatever he wants. Maybe Starfleet will finally see this captain for what an idiot he is. Then maybe someone more capable will take command. The man next, however, was Porterson. And he's just as bad as Olly Lion.
So, Ingmar stood silently in the teleportation cabin, staring at the teleportation platform, while Ollishi swung impatiently between his legs, almost impatient to see the return of the security officer.
When she finally returned, she was armed with four hand-held phasers. She distributed the guns to her colleagues. The doctor hesitated, but under the captain's stern gaze, he took the gun. Although the phaser in her hand looked like an unfamiliar object. Just hope she won't be forced to use it. Ingmar wasn't sure that her colleagues were in greater danger than the enemy in that situation.
Finally, they lined up on the teleportation platform and teleported to the surface. On the planet, they saw a strange sight. They were not too far from the scene of the incident. Now they stood in the twilight of the setting sun, which cast its last rays upon a vast expanse of scorched earth. The long shadows made the whole scene seem unreal. In front of them was a small crater that appeared to have been formed by an explosion. The land was burned black. Not a single stalk of grass could withstand the ravages of fire. There were no remains of shrubs or trees either. There were just a few fragments scattered around. In the middle of the scorched earth, there are still some remaining walls. Two houses adjacent to the site also suffered extensive damage to their facades that is believed to be beyond repair.
People were stunned. They were here a few days ago, but it was a completely different scene. There was a building here then, but now it's just scorched earth. Only Ingmar was not involved in that visit, but what he saw was equally shocking.
"What happened?" Ollie asked in surprise. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. He felt as if he was in a war zone.
"Judgment Day," Ingmar replied without hesitation.
Ollie looked at him reproachfully. But Ingmar's words reminded him to refocus on the mission. He pushed his shock to the back of his mind and remembered their mission again. "Document what's going on here. We have to figure out what's going on," he ordered his companions.
The two women took out their triangulation scanners as if awakening from a daze and began to scan the surroundings, while Ingmar hesitated. This feels wrong. After all, they were in Cindy's territory now.
"Captain, are you planning to investigate without informing Cindy?" Ingmar whispered softly to his superior. It felt like he was intruding on private property. It's like searching for something in a neighbor's house without permission. Even if what they are looking for is theirs, that doesn't make it legal. Same here. Even though the Federation is affected because there may be dead Federation citizens, it's still Cindy's business. Unless they receive an invitation from Cindy, or work it out through diplomacy, something is wrong here.
Unsurprisingly, Ollie had a different view. "Bringing you here was probably a mistake," he muttered in annoyance. Then he looked at Ingmar. "We will definitely notify Cindy. And they may have discovered us. We are not hiding after all. But before that, I want to get some information." His tone made it clear that this was an unquestionable order. To appease Ingmar, he added, slightly less sincerely, "With more information, we can also help Cindy faster."
Ingmar chose to suppress the anger that was rising inside him. There is no point in arguing with the captain here now. So he slowly pulled out the triangle scanner, trying not to get irritated, and started scanning the area. They moved forward very slowly. The charred earth crunched beneath their feet, bits of dust kicked up with each step, and the smell of fire and destruction lingered stubbornly in the air.
Suddenly, an angry voice came from beside them, which they could not understand. But these words were clearly unkind. As if as a hint, the four heads turned that way at the same time. Standing there was a crawling Cindy with a phaser rifle pointed at them. His head was tilted a little, as if he was shouting something backwards. Possibly to alert other Cindy to his discovery and call for reinforcements.
"Don't be impulsive," Ollishi ordered his men.
Ingmar laughed inwardly. This is of course obvious. Learned this in your first year at Star Academy. Just how stupid does this captain think his officers are? But maybe no matter what Ollie said, Ingmar would have an opinion. He despised the captain very much.
In front of them, more Cindy soldiers gathered. All Creeping Cindy. On their left, another group of soldiers was walking towards them. They were surrounded by Cindy, everyone pointing their weapons.
A particularly vicious crawling Cindy stepped out from among the soldiers and approached the four men. He wasn't holding a rifle, but he had a phaser weapon in his belt. Because this crawling Cindy's face is so unfamiliar, his emotions are hard to read. He always seemed vicious.
"What are you looking for here?" he shouted immediately as he approached the captain.
"We're here to investigate the death of our delegation," Ollie replied in an equally sharp tone. He stood up to the crawling Cindy, never wanting to sound submissive. Even though he was taking a big risk. They don't yet know the fate of the vice president and his entourage.
"You people have nothing going on here," Replied Creepy Cindy with a snort. "This is Cindy's territory. Leave this planet immediately."
"As soon as we figure out what's going on here, we'll leave." Olly looked him in the eye with the same ferocity as that crawling Cindy.
This Cindy looks almost ready to explode. He didn't expect this man to dare to ignore his orders. He will regret it. "You know what happened," he replied angrily. Then he suddenly seemed to calm down again. "Return to your ship and await further instructions from us." Before the captain could answer, the crawling Cindy raised her hand to indicate that he was not done yet. "If you don't leave immediately, I will order you to be shot dead."
Ollie found this threat laughable. So he smiled haughtily and delayed his answer. Ingmar used this time to say something. "We cannot return because we are unable to contact our ship due to your jamming equipment." Ollishi noticed Ingmar's interference, as he stood diagonally behind the captain.
But the creeper turned his head and looked directly at Ingmar, his eyes revealing determination. He then punched his lower arm and muttered something. Apparently, he had a communicator hidden in the sleeve of his uniform. Then he looked at Ollie again. "We have temporarily interrupted the jamming signal. Call your ships and leave." He said no more, turned and left.
Ollie deliberately crossed his arms in front of his chest to demonstrate. He will not give in or back down. Perhaps, Ingmar wondered, they would all pay with their lives for this arrogance.
The crawling Cindy raised her hand as she walked. Then, the Cindy soldiers raised their weapons that had been pointed at humans relatively casually before and pointed them directly at their target. They would shoot on command.
"Ingemar calls the Lexington, four people transmit." Ingemar took out his communicator and gave the order. He never wanted to sacrifice himself for Ollie's crazy plan. Ingemar was sure that the Creepers would not hesitate to kill them. Although the captain can't see this.
At the moment when the teleportation beam captured them, Ollie turned his head, and his eyes told Ingmar that the captain would never give in. Therefore, on the spaceship, Ingmar must face the consequences of his self-determined behavior. There was no way the captain would just let him pass.
When they stood on the teleportation platform again, Ollie immediately turned to the security director. "Lieutenant, put Mr. Ingmar in a cell. He is exempted from all duties and must answer for his actions before a military court." As he said this, he no longer even looked at the accused man. He pretended that Ingmar was not in the room.
Atlan's eyes slowly widened, and she was surprised by the order. She even momentarily forgot to follow the order. It wasn't until the captain walked out of the room from the two steps of the teleportation platform that Atlan reacted again. She looked at Ingmar with an almost apologetic expression. But she had been given an order and she would carry it out. The captain had left the room, and with a curt nod of his head to the door, Atland indicated that it was time for Dray Ingmar to move on.
Ingmar didn't know the chief of security particularly well, but he knew that although she disliked the captain, she would carry out his orders. She would definitely put him in a cell, even if she had to carry him in herself.
He sighed and looked around. The doctor still stood silently behind him. She seemed afraid to walk past him and leave the room. It seemed like she was only here because of the awkward situation, but she wanted to keep a low profile and not draw attention to herself. He was sure she would be of no help. Therefore, he had no choice but to surrender. Even though he thought it was all ridiculous. Court-martialed for this story? This is completely in line with Ollie's style. This petty and completely incompetent idiot. This guy is simply not fit to lead a team. Almost bringing them all to death. If it hadn't been for Ingemar, they would have all died. For this he should never have been tried by a court martial. Maybe he should be awarded a medal, but definitely not a sentence. This is how he looked at it.
He walked down the corridor, with Atlan following him. He shook his head again and again, puzzled by the weakness of Orly, by his crew, and by the various changes in fate. Half a year ago, in another timeline, everything seemed to suddenly become normal. His past mistakes no longer seemed to matter, he caught the love of his life and everything seemed to make sense. He felt like he had finally reached the end of his journey. A journey he didn't even know he'd been on. The future seemed promising, everything seemed so simple, he just had to move forward.
And now he's back here. Heading to the cell, ready to be court-martialed at the next opportunity. His Starfleet career was over. His love is shattered, and he still doesn't know what happened. What went wrong. His life is now in rubble. If this wasn't his life, he might be amused by the irony of the universe. In the wrong timeline, he was happy, and in the right timeline, everything went wrong. It's like he doesn't belong here.
The detention area of the spacecraft is located at the rear of deck 13, inside the hull. There is a corridor leading to three holding cells. Two are on the left and one is on the right. Additionally, there is an area where a security officer is on duty. From here the energy field of the enclosed cell can be controlled. Those are transparent energy fields that allow you to see what's going on inside the cell. There is no privacy here.
Ingmar knew the cells. Not because he had been imprisoned in one, but because they were the same holding cells as the Republic. There, Captain Noah once interrogated a prisoner. That was in another timeline. Half a year ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago.
He walked into his assigned cell without resistance. He is currently the only prisoner on the ship. It all still felt unreal to him. Behind him, he heard a brief electronic crackle before the force field quickly built up and silence returned. He turned slowly. He now stood in the two-meter by two-meter cell, looking out. The force field is invisible, but lights integrated into the walls and ceiling show that it is active.
Atlan still stood silently in front of the cell, looking at him. She's certainly not the one who talks the most, but this situation clearly leaves her with nothing to say.
"The captain completely lost control of the situation down there," Ingmar said at last. He didn't even know why he said that. He certainly didn't need to defend himself to her.
"Yes," was Atlan's short and surprising reply.
Despite her consent, he knew he didn't need to call her to join the rebellion. She wasn't interested. So he decided there was nothing more to say. He slowly took a step back and sat down on the bunk against the wall that also served as his bed. "The captain is an idiot! He's going to put us all in danger," he said simply, leaning back against the wall.
This time, the beefy security chief didn't confirm or deny. She didn't refute. Instead, she turned to leave, but stopped. "If you need anything, tell the person on duty. I'll see if I can arrange some privileges," she said, almost wanting to give him some special treatment.
Before Ingmar could respond, she left the cell block. So Ingmar just looked at the opposite wall through the force field casually. However, his mind wandered far away. It wasn't the courts-martial that worried him. Time will reveal what will happen. He was thinking more about Shu Ran. He wondered what she would say if she saw him sitting here. Will she come to his rescue? It was a strange thought, but it bothered him nonetheless. Would she worry about him if she learned he was on trial for his actions? Or will she stop contacting him and deny any friendship with him? With her, you're never sure how she's going to react. But now he will have enough time to think about these issues.
So he leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and accepted his fate. Since he had no further information here, he was unaware that the Sindi had once again sent out a jamming signal, again preventing any communication. The Lexington could no longer contact anyone and could not be contacted. As long as this situation does not change, the Federation will not learn further details of the incident.
