Chapter 117. Lifting the communication blockade on federal ships
Otis realized he was walking on thin ice. Because he doesn't actually understand the Federation, he can't use this as an argument. And he didn't dare to take seriously the conclusions he drew based on his first impression. "There is no evidence that humans were responsible for this attack, no," he said, trying to respond proactively. "Also, the Federation has other, easier ways of terminating negotiations between us. They don't have to kill their own people. But other forces may be interested in carrying out such an attack if they wish to cause discord."
"Also, the humans may want to make this look like an attack. Maybe in their eyes we are just tools being used for other purposes," Otis replied emotionally. Why does this crawling Cindy have to blame humans? Does he have anything to hide? But before he could think about that, the aquatic Cindyling began to sing.
"As long as we don't have more facts, it's all just speculation," the computer translated the words of the aquatic Cindy Lingfish. "Any discussion is meaningless until we get more information. We should meet again after we know more." The words of the aquarium Cindyling Fish always sound decisive.
"But there's one more thing," Otis quickly interjected. "We have to lift the communications blockade on the two Federation ships." He was confused as to why he said that. After all, his career was already on the brink and he couldn't speak for humanity. But somehow he felt it was the right thing to do.
"No way," Crawling Cindy retorted immediately. "The humans attacked. They should no longer receive any orders from their superiors."
Otis said to the others, ignoring Creeping Cindy. "We just found out that we don't have enough data to make a judgment. That means we can't blame the feds either. And they've suffered losses as well. They should have the opportunity to report this back home. Because in Cindy, We cannot convict people randomly until there is evidence to prove guilt.”
"Not all Cindy's are like that," Creepy Cindy added immediately.
Otis continued to ignore him, although it took some effort. He would rather knock out his colleagues with a few punches, even though he knows he has little chance against Creepy Cindy. "We need to make a decision," he said.
"Temporarily lift the communication blockade," Aqua Tribe Cindy Lingyu decided. "Temporarily lifted."
"We agree," Shan Mo expressed his opinion for Plant Cindy.
Predictably, Cindy the Crawling and Cindy the Insect objected. But they have been rejected by the majority. They had to submit to the decision, even though they didn't like it.
The session then ended until more data became available. The deputies were removed from the room by crawling Cindy soldiers and immediately returned to their respective ships. The investigation remains firmly in the hands of Creeping Cindy.
The sleepy Ingmar slowly opened his eyes. In this cell, he had no choice but to take a nap. Now someone calls his name. At first he wasn't sure if it was a dream or reality. Then he was woken up by a shout, and the voice came again. The voice sounded like Lieutenant Atland's. So this must be reality because this woman wishes to never appear in his dreams.
As his vision cleared, he saw her standing in his cell, the energy field behind her closed. How long has he been here? He lost track of time, but more than a day must have passed.
He sat up slowly. Deliberately slow. Why is he in a hurry? He was a prisoner and there was nothing worth rushing about. Only when he finally sat down did he raise his head and look at the security director with a slight tilt of his head. He didn't say hello. He says no hello to the captain's unconscious minions. Although she hinted that she would give him some privileges, he did not take advantage of them. He also had a certain amount of pride and didn't want anyone to think he was begging for privileges.
"Good morning," she said, and when he didn't respond, she continued, "The Captain has ordered that you be placed under house arrest in your quarters. From now on until we can hand you over to security on Earth."
Ingmar just nodded. Of course, this is good news. It's certainly better to spend time in your own quarters than in a dull cell. But things were a little unexpected, because the captain's decision seemed unusually mild.
"Why?" Ingmar asked suspiciously, as if he sensed some trap in this decision.
"We are going to be stuck here for a while. No one knows when we will encounter a starship suitable to bring you back to Earth. Until then, the Captain does not want you to remain imprisoned in your cell. Despite what has happened, He thought it was disrespectful," she explained calmly. She showed no expression as to whether she thought the decision was right or wrong. "However, you are not allowed to leave your residence. We will have someone watching to make sure you comply with the rules."
Ingmar nodded again. He already understands. Of course, he was still a prisoner, just in a slightly more comfortable cell. "Okay," he said, standing up. He never wanted to delay moving to a new home any longer. Lest the captain changes his mind again. "let's go."
"Please move forward," Atlan politely asked him to go first.
Ingmar was escorted back to his residence by two security officials, while Atland followed a few steps away, seemingly ensuring that the transfer would not go wrong. Ingmar felt like a felon. Several of the crew members who encountered them also cast suspicious glances at him. The situation was ridiculous, so he was glad to finally reach his place and be left alone. He heard the door close, the mechanism locking it. It cannot be opened again unless there is a corresponding command code. However, a security officer will still be standing guard outside the door. Atlan had told him, and he believed she would do so. Clearly, the captain was doing everything he could to ensure safety.
But that didn't matter to Ingmar. At least he could feel at ease. The next few days should be pretty easy. He didn't want to think about it any more for now. Besides, all other things were beyond his control.
As Ingemar sat on the sofa, he saw a flicker on the display. He received a message. At first he wondered if he should ignore it. But eventually curiosity won out. Maybe this is Shu Ran's news. Even though it's definitely the smartest thing to do. But when it comes to her, he's clearly beyond reason.
Ingmar reached for the information board and checked the message with his heart racing. When he saw that the message was indeed from her, his heartbeat increased even more.
A picture of Shu Ran appeared on the screen. She looks lovely as usual. However, there was a shadow on her face. She seemed a little worried. Her words confirmed this.
"Hi, Ingmar," she began. "How are you? Where are you? We have been unable to contact your ship. It seems you have disappeared. I sent you a message yesterday but it was returned. The message could not be delivered and it was written like this. I sent this The first mate here was told about it. He checked it out, but had no explanation for it. He didn't seem particularly worried either. He didn't even want to continue focusing on the issue. He just said that the ship moved away, or passed the star interference, so there might be no contact. That might be, but I can hardly believe it. You never mentioned that you were about to enter an area like this. Now I'm concerned that something might have happened to you. So, if you've heard from me , please reply immediately. Otherwise, I will be too worried to rest at ease. I hope you are well. And hope to hear from you again soon." She smiled worriedly again in front of the camera, and then ended the video. Then the screen returned to menu mode. Ingmar was lost in thought. She was worried about him. Isn't this a good sign? After all, you only worry when you care about someone. This means that he is not insignificant to her. Maybe there is hope. Hopefully they can rekindle their feelings for each other.
He felt a wave of joy wash over him. His heart was beating fast, and suddenly he felt like everything was possible again. He felt he could handle anything. The future once again seemed meaningful. Nothing can stop him from facing the future positively. He has control. With Shu Ran, no one can stop them. Face it together and even be able to deal with this ridiculous accusation brought against him.
He excitedly started recording a message to Shu Ran. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to send messages in this confinement. But if not, he would find a way to get this news to her. Even if he had to get down on his knees and ask for help, that didn't matter to him. He will find a way.
He looked into the camera lens and described to Shu Ran everything that had happened in the past few days. There was a distress signal about the research ship the Vice President was on, about the wreckage of the explosion at the negotiation site, and about the jamming signal that Cindy was using to prevent any communication. Apparently the signal was gone now, or the Lexington's crew had found a way around it. Otherwise, Shu Ran's message would not be sent at all. He described everything in as much detail as possible because he didn't want to worry her. Even when describing his imprisonment, he didn't skip it. However, he mentioned it as nothing. After all, he didn't want to give her new worries. So he told it all in a pleasant tone, which was not too difficult for his rekindled emotions.
He put down his tablet after sending the message and leaned back. He didn't know how long it would take Shu Ran to receive the message, or when she would reply. He couldn't wait to hear from her. If only she were here, everything would be so much easier and faster. But now everything is dragging on. The worst part was that he didn't know how far away Shu Ran's spaceship was. Best case scenario, he'd have to wait until tomorrow to get a reply from her. It was absolutely impossible before this. Even though he knew this, he still sat on the couch and stared at his tablet. At first he was happy because he got the good news, and his thoughts were entirely on Shu Ran. But as time went on, he became increasingly restless. What if he got everything wrong? What if things don't get better? Doubt returned. He felt more uncertain than ever. And in his dormitory, there was nothing to distract him. So he was completely consumed by these emotions and ended up falling into a restless sleep on the uncomfortable couch.
A nervous Isaac sat in front of the screen, staring at the Confederate Presidential logo displayed. He had to wait to connect to Himes, and this was after he emerged from Himes' office. Although he had a direct line to the president, earlier known as the red phone, the president did not always have direct access to the call. At the moment, he was in the middle of a meeting and had just been interrupted.
Isaac and Hyams had spoken frequently over the past few days. The president insisted on getting any tiny bit of information about Cindy. This way, he could avoid having the information withheld from the Admiral again. Isaac cooperated, after all, it was related to his ability to retain his position for a period of time. They managed to resolve their differences and at least resume a professional relationship. However, whenever they meet, there still seems to be a dark cloud hanging over them. It takes a while for them to get along properly again. If possible.
What seemed like an eternity passed until the scene finally changed to show the president sitting behind his desk. His breathing was faster than usual. Apparently, he returned to the office in a hurry.
"Admiral Isaac," he greeted friendly, but the nervousness could still be heard in his voice. If the fleet's supreme commander called him out of a meeting, obviously nothing good would come of it.
"Mr. President," Isaac nodded tersely. Then he gets straight to the point. "Sir, we have good news and bad news," he reported to the president. "The good news is that we've reestablished contact with the Lexington," he said, his voice filled with relief.
It took Himes a while to understand. He had been expecting new sad news, a piece of good news that he needed to deal with properly. Then, his facial expression relaxed a little. "That's good news," he said simply. "What's the bad news?" he asked immediately.
Isaac's eyes dimmed a little. He knew his next words would hit the president hard. "Vice President Peng has passed away, as well as the entire delegation," Isaac's words were barely whispered. Nonetheless, their influence cannot be ignored. Heimus visibly froze and seemed to have forgotten to breathe for a moment. Vice President Peng is not only a representative of Heims, but also has many years of friendship between them. After Himes was elected president, he appointed his rival as vice president. The two formed an extremely successful and popular team. Now, the news hit Heims so hard that he looked pale and seemed to want to hide behind his desk.
Everyone has wondered what must have happened, ever since a distress signal from the Darwin, the ship that had brought the delegation to the negotiating location, had been received three days earlier. Unfortunately, the distress signal is not very clear and breaks off at the end. So no one knows exactly what happened. Subsequently, the Lexington reported that they had also received a distress signal and would investigate the matter. This was Captain Olli's own decision, but it was not unreasonable. After all, his ship was the closest to where the negotiations were taking place. He had been there a few days before. But that was the last they heard from the Lexington. The ship must have arrived at the negotiation location long ago, but no one made contact. And any contact initiated from Earth went unanswered. It seems like no one outside can respond. They knew nothing about the incident. So crisis team after crisis team met to explore possible solutions. However, due to a lack of facts, they were unable to agree on a further course of action.
As the duration of radio silence grew, the concerns grew. Of course, there are many explanations. From transmission interruptions due to natural sources of interference, to simple technical failures. But with everything to do with Cindy, no one thought there would be a simple explanation. So, privately, they all assumed the worst. At Starfleet Headquarters, everyone was pretty much convinced that the Lexington had met a terrible fate. This has almost become a certainty.
Then, an hour ago, finally came the news of relief that everyone had been waiting for. However, fate prepared a cruel twist that immediately destroyed this upcoming sense of relaxation. Everything was depressing because of the Lexington's debriefing. The death of the vice president and his team was like a blow to the head. The blow, along with Ollie's version of events, reignited new fears. Although he stated in his report that not all the details of the incident were fully understood, the tone of his report indicated that Cindy must have been involved. Suddenly faced with yet another enemy of the Federation, this worry immediately accompanies the news. No one wanted the Federation to have another potential enemy. After all, there are enough enemies already. And no one wants to see a possible war. Because every Starfleet officer knows that in war there are only losers. Especially about Cindy, they knew next to nothing. No matter how advanced their technology is, how powerful their weapons and defenses are, how many ships and soldiers they have, there are too many unknowns in the equation.
Isaac succinctly recounted what Captain Orly had mentioned in his report. The president's expression remained as calm as a mask, but the inner tension in his eyes grew as the words came out. He couldn't ignore the worry about what might happen. As President, he felt the weight of responsibility to every citizen of the Union rest on his shoulders. And the worst part about this situation is the lack of information. What happened? What happened? Even the Lexington's brief report did not solve the mystery; instead, it only raised more questions. Now they were plunged into darkness and knew almost nothing except that the delegation had apparently been killed. This information is too limited to make a decision.
Afterwards, Hyams had to admit that the Starfleet Commander had made the right decision. After all, it was Isaac who insisted on keeping Himes out of the negotiations. In this way, the federation will not lose its leadership and avoid a temporary inability to act. Fortunately.
