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  • Writer's pictureJack Elmlinger

Episode Seventy - "The Good Fight, Part Two"

Star Trek: Fortitude

Season Five, Episode Eight - “The Good Fight, Part Two”

By Jack D. Elmlinger



PROLOGUE



Last time on Star Trek: Fortitude…



Lieutenant Arden Vuro had a very special, very unusual, and very dangerous mission to undertake on the surface of Keveshi VI, the latest planet to be charted by the explorations of the USS Fortitude, NCC-76240-A. The leader of the Keveshian people, Chancellor Ravka, has claimed that a violent insurgency movement is committing several terrible war crimes, including the use of biogenic weapons and child soldiers. In attempting to make a survey for a potential United Federation of Planets membership, Captain Ewan Llewellyn must ascertain the truth of these claims.


Realizing that the insurgency needs a new pilot to continue their occupation of several key towns, Vuro becomes the obvious choice for an undercover reconnaissance mission. He beams down to a Keveshian spaceport and quickly installs himself with a local insurgency cell leader named Nakrava. The claims concerning child soldiers soon become solidified when he is given his first assignment at the hands of Nakrava. He is to fly a dropship to a nearby battlefield and unload a squad of armed, brainwashed Keveshian children. They range from six to sixteen years of age. Despite wanting to keep his cover intact, he can’t hide his disgust.


However, events take a shocking turn when an impatient Chancellor Ravka launches a sudden military assault on the insurgency location. As a frustrated Captain Llewellyn in orbit aboard the Fortitude desperately tries to locate his crewman, Arden becomes embroiled in a massive urban street battle. Coming around a corner, he comes face-to-face with a boy of ten who targets his chest in a silent, agonizing stupor. With no control over his survival instincts, Arden copies the move and a tense standoff ensues…


… and now the conclusion.



ACT ONE


Captain’s Log, Stardate 53718.4;


After repeated attempts, we have finally established contact with Chancellor Ravka. It seems that his generals have been urging him for a military response to the insurgency for some time. A fact that he chose to neglect during his arrangements with me. It took some doing, but I have managed to convince him to cease fire long enough for us to locate and extract Lieutenant Vuro from the battleground. I can only hope that we’re not too late…



The Bridge was almost crushed with pressure.


Ewan Llewellyn simply didn’t know how long the cease-fire would last. For all of the diplomacy and rhetoric that had come from Chancellor Ravka, he was still the leader of a race in turmoil. Getting the military to stop filling the air with plasma fire had been enough of a challenge without him pushing for some kind of time frame. Any second would pass and the artillery could flare up again, meaning plasma would interfere with sensors and Arden would remain lost on the surface.


Everybody worked furiously to find him. It wouldn’t have been that difficult was the insurgency not using alien mercenaries in their ranks. As it stood, fifteen various types of biological signatures were picked up in the town, and weeding through them to find the one Bolian was taking too long. The grim determination was only increased by the fact that those undertaking the search were Arden’s friends who wanted him home.


“Captain, I think I’ve found him!”


Llewellyn bolted from his command chair, lurching towards the operations console.


“There,” Ensign Jason Armstrong confirmed, jabbing a finger at his display screen. “One lifesign showing high levels of acidity. It has to be Bolian! There’s no question about it!”


“Oh, no,” a voice whispered over his shoulder. It was Doctor Pulaski. A hand shot up to her mouth to cover a gasp.


“What is it?,” Ewan asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.


“The readings are very weak. He’s not even moving!”


“Beam him directly to Sickbay! Come on, Doctor! You’re with me!”


The Welshman literally grabbed Katherine Pulaski by the shoulder and carted her into the turbolift. She didn’t need to be dragged. She had given Arden her word that she would be watching him at all times. However, her guilt was outmatched by the Captain’s.


If it wasn’t for his desire to do some good and make a new friend, he would have never asked his helmsman to undertake such a reckless and dangerous mission. As it stood, he was down in a Keveshian town, injured, alone, and … maybe even dying.


“Sickbay,” Llewellyn yelled at the turbolift,” now!”



* * * *



On the surface, Lieutenant Arden Vuro was engulfed in a world of pain.


He coughed and sputtered his way to opening his eyes after the initial shock of falling to the ground. The dust kicking up around him clogged his lungs… what remained of them. Casting a fearful glance at his chest, the Bolian found it to be decimated by a plasma round. His thick blue blood rolled down onto the rubble upon which he laid, a nasty sharp edge of a window frame sticking into his back.


Panic began to set it. It wasn’t the first time that he had been shot in the chest, but from the look of it, it could very well be his last. One desperate attempt to move his limbs failed.


It was then that Arden noticed the boy.


He hadn’t moved since squeezing the trigger. He simply stood there, looking at his victim with four wide, emotionless eyes. The shaking that coursed through his small body made him appear almost regretful, but the horrifying brainwashing of Nakrava saw to banishing any hint of that.


Arden wanted to cry… not for himself, but for the child.


It was then that the tingling transporter beam swallowed his broken form and lifted him away from the dull echoes of battle and the cold, innocent confusion etched so tragically into the boy’s face.


Watching him materialize on the biobed, both Ewan and Kate dashed over to his side.


“Lieutenant,” the Doctor began to shout. “Lieutenant? Can you hear me?”


“I… yes, I… yes…”


Captain Llewellyn didn’t quite know what to do. It was all part of his intense hatred of hospitals. What does one say in this kind of situation? Arden looked terrible with the inner workings of his chest exposed for all to see. Skin, flesh, and bone was ripped apart and burned away. He didn’t need a shred of medical knowledge to realize the severity of the wound. With his head shaking in a daze, he stared at Pulaski who was fetching her medical tricorder from a nearby storage unit.


“Just keep him talking,” she suggested. “Distract him from my scans.”


It was all that Ewan could do to manage to keep his voice from breaking. “Arden, hey,” he stammered.


“Captain… sir, I…,” came the forced answer, straining through the agony.


“Don’t try to talk. You’re going to be just fine.”


“Somehow… I doubt… doubt that, sir… My report… The insurgen… insurgency is using children… child… soldiers… Lots… lots of them, in fact,” a weak chuckle punctuated through the Bolian’s staccato delivery. “It was… one… of them who… did-did this… to me…”


“It’s all right, Lieutenant. You did brilliantly.”


Ewan was outright lying. Opposite him on the other side of the biobed, Pulaski was typing on her medical tricorder, clearly in denial about the results appearing on the screen and trying to cajole them into being more positive. The gaping wound in Vuro’s chest continued to weep acidic blood. Things turned from bad to worse as a cry of abject misery escaped from his trembling blue lips.


He knew.


He knew the damage caused by the boy’s plasma rifle was too great to repair.


He knew that darkness was starting to creep into the edges of his vision. He knew that this was the end.


“Captain… I… I couldn’t…,” he tried to gasp.


“Arden, stay with me!,” Ewan yelled at him. “That’s an order, Lieutenant!”


“Captain…”


“Stay with me!”


With one final surge of strength, Arden rolled his head to face his Commanding Officer. Despite the numbness in his limbs, he knew that Ewan was holding his lifeless hand. It had been the greatest honor of his life serving under such a captain. It didn’t need to be said. The respect between the two men was common knowledge to both of them. Instead, the helmsman chose a more noble set of final words.


“I couldn’t do… do it, sir… I couldn’t… shoot… a child…”


The darkness grew too powerful. In one dreadful second, it overwhelmed him.


Neither Ewan nor Kate could believe it. They didn’t want to believe it.


Lieutenant Arden Vuro was dead.



ACT TWO


Captain’s Log, supplemental;



It is with immeasurable sadness and regrets that I note the death of Lieutenant Arden Vuro in the ship’s registry. Let the record show that he died with an honor far above and beyond levels that I thought existed. Killed by a child soldier that he simply couldn’t bring himself to shoot, his loss will deeply affect the crew… and his sacrifice will never be forgotten. I am determined to make something come of this, something good and lasting, and I refuse to let anything stand in my way.



The conversation had already stretched on for too long. He was growing tired of the lecture being spouted from orbit. It was delivered by a mere visitor to Keveshi VI, a man of principle who simply couldn’t understand what it was like to be the leader of a divided people.


It was hardly a fair assessment.


Chancellor Ravka had nothing to suggest to him that Captain Ewan Llewellyn had first-hand experience in a revolution. No, to the troubled statesman, all that this Human represented was some embodiment of a nagging old relative, an aunt who only showed herself for one day in the entire year and spent it, telling you what to do and how to behave.


It didn’t matter that Llewellyn had a point. He had enough.


“I sympathize, Captain,” he said to the communications unit installed on his office wall, gesturing wildly at the tiny camera,” but I am a politician bound by the rules of the society which I serve! My generals reinforce those rules!”


“Chancellor,” Llewellyn emphasized to him,” you and I both know those generals forced your hand into that assault. While we sat together aboard my ship and planned the operation to place an agent inside the insurgency, you never once mentioned any impending military action! Either you were silent deliberately, knowing that I would never send one of my officers into the line of fire or you’re being manipulated by your armed forces!”


“It may look that way to an outside, Captain,” Ravka retorted,” but let me assure you that the relationship between my office and the generals of my military is far from black and white. There is a balance to maintain, a process to uphold -- “


“Process be damned, sir! You have children dying in your streets, every day, gunned down by troops without remorse! We found that information out for you, Chancellor. We confirmed the insurgency’s use of child soldiers, and we did so at a very, very high price. I ask you, how much longer do you intend for such a nightmare to continue?”


“Unless you forget, the insurgents are the ones placing these children on the battlefield. I must fight them regardless of their underhanded tactics!”


“Why must you fight them? Why not try and talk to them instead?”


“Our attempts to establish a dialogue always end in failure,” Ravka lamented, his upper pair of eyes peering skyward in frustration as his lower pair continued to stare into the camera at Ewan Llewellyn. “Messengers are usually killed by either side before they can even cross the battle lines. I have never even seen an insurgent leader, let alone, converse with one. It is a futile avenue.”


There was a moment of consideration that passed by in silence.


“Chancellor,” Llewellyn finally asked him,” will you come aboard my ship once more?”


“I’m trying to win a war down here, Captain, or haven't you noticed?”


“You’re also trying to explore the possibility of joining the United Federation of Planets and the wider interstellar community. An act that you hope will unify your people much like it did mine. Sir, a recent exploration of Human history showed that my planet once fought in struggles with innocent children as armies. If anybody can understand what you’re going through, it’s me. Please, I’m asking you as a potential future ally, come aboard Fortitude.”


Ravka considered the proposal quickly. Llewellyn made a convincing argument. Then again, it was part of his role as captain and ambassador. It was probably part of his training too, the art of begging… But with the membership of the United Federation of Planets hanging in the balance? The politician inside of Ravka made the final call.


“Very well,” the Chancellor sighed,” I will be ready for transport in one hour.”


“I look forward to it. Thank you.”



* * * *



The hour passed by quickly. That wasn’t the problem for Ewan. he knew that the moment would arrive before he wanted it to. What filled him with apprehension was the act that he was about to undertake, the rules that he was about to breach, and the Prime Directive that he was about to entirely abandon for the sake of his own morality. Yes, he was about to incur the wrath of Starfleet’s General Order One.


Today, it didn’t bother him.


It was a stomach-churning choice to make. Nobody else could be involved. Nobody else would even learn of this desperate act. It was essential that he complete it, for he had made a promise. He had grasped the cold blue hand of Lieutenant Vuro and promised that his death wouldn’t be for nothing. He had promised to make sure that no more children were faced with shooting anything ever again. It wasn’t his world and it wasn’t Arden’s world either.


Yet Ewan knew that he and the helmsman would have been in total agreement. It didn’t matter that the Keveshians were neither Human nor Bolian, not when the day drew to a close, not when the last weapon had been fired.


All that mattered was an end to this bloodshed.


All that mattered was giving those children their innocence back.


Stepping into the Transporter Room, Llewellyn dismissed the operator on duty and waited for her to leave before taking her place behind the control panel. There was the locking code for Chancellor Ravka who was ready and waiting in his office. There was the other being, unaware of his impending journey. The Welshman smiled to himself before clearing his throat and getting underway.


“Computer, secure the room. Command override Llewellyn Alpha-Delta-8706.”


“Room secured.”


Initiating the first transporter beam, Ewan felt a slight twinge of regret. Maybe he should have involved, at least, one other person in this. Valerie would have understood. She loved him enough to agree, even when she didn’t agree. She wouldn’t have obstructed him… but no. This was something that he needed to do alone.


Chancellor Ravka appeared in a swirl of energy.


“Captain Llewellyn,” the Keveshian nodded politely at him,” it’s good to see you again.”


“You too, Chancellor, and thank you again. Wait right there, please…”


“For what…?”


The answer came in the second transporter beam. He materialized quickly, turning to his left and spotting Ravka in short order. The snarl was powerful enough to shake the very bulkheads of the Fortitude, though the intent behind it was clear. Insurgent leader Nakrava meant to throttle the life from his Chancellor’s windpipe.


Something made him pause.


“Gentlemen,” Ewan said, stepping forward with a phaser in his hand,” you should be aware that I am breaking countless rules and regulations here. If my actions were discovered by my superiors or my crew, the resulting court-martial would end my career… but damn it, it would be worth it. One of my crew members, one of my friends, is dead. He was shot by a child insurgent in your war. If you think for one second that I won’t hesitate for one minute in discharging this phaser in a similar fashion, then you are sorely mistaken!”


Nakrava slowly backed down, leaving Ravka to quake in fear. “What do you want from us?,” he blurted out.


“A truce,” stated the Welshman,” and nobody leaves here until we have one.”



ACT THREE


“Computer, locate Captain Llewellyn.”


“Captain Llewellyn is in the Transporter Room.”


“So he’s aboard the ship… Why can’t I contact him then?”


“Invalid question. Please restate your command.”


Sighing in eternal frustration at the computer’s monotone voice, Valerie Archer got up and headed for the turbolift. Any attempt to slap her combadge and reach Ewan had ended in failure. The First Officer was becoming concerned. Arden Vuro’s death had sent a shockwave through the decks of Fortitude, but nobody was taking it as hard as the Captain. There was the degree of personal responsibility that pestered his subconscious, not to mention the added factor of his captaincy. What would be crippling him the most, Valerie realized, would be the loss of a friendship forged over almost five years. She had to find out if Ewan was okay.


Reaching the Transporter Room doors in short order, approached them with the usual expectancy to have them open automatically for her. Because of this, the resulting collision was especially cruel to her nose and protruding knee. A barely audible sound from the locking mechanism was drowned out by her cry of surprise.


Ewan had sealed himself inside the Transporter Room. Why? For what purpose? Calling him, she knew, would yield nothing. If she were any other officer, she would have turned around and walked away, but she was more than his Number One.


She had to press on.


“Computer, override Transporter Room lockout. Authorization Archer Beta-Tango 2857.”


“Unable to comply. Authorization level invalid.”


“Invalid?!,” Valerie repeated with a whisper. “You’re beginning to annoy me with that word today, Computer. Do you know that? All right, try this one. Is anybody else inside the Transporter Room with Captain Llewellyn, and if so, whom?”


“There are no other lifeforms present inside the Transporter Room.”


To confirm the report, the doors finally slid open.


Ewan Llewellyn strolled out into the corridor alone. He was wearing a tired yet satisfied expression on his tanned features. Slowly, he swept his unkempt dark hair back away from his forehead as he enjoyed a yawn. Victory was his, although Valerie wasn’t to know that. It hardly mattered. Victory was his and he knew it.


“Ewan… are you all right?”


“Oh, hey, Valerie,” the Welshman noted, quietly. “Yeah, I guess I am…”


“You were in there for four hours, alone… Can I ask why?”


“I would rather that you didn’t. Trust me. Besides, we’re about to get underway.”


“We’re leaving Keveshi VI?”


“Uh-huh… There’s no way that these people are ready for Federation membership. Come with me to the Bridge. I’d like you to be there when I give the order to break orbit. If you wouldn’t mind… Something about laying memories to rest and a final farewell that needs to be shared. I could use the support.”


“Okay, sure,” Valerie said, confused.


Walking away down the corridor, Ewan simply took her hand into his and squeezed.



* * * *



They didn’t want it to become bogged down with tears.


The unspoken rule remained enforced as the three officers knocked back their various drinks in Fortitude’s Mess Hall and allowed themselves to reminisce. Sollik had been the first of them to arrive, hoping to find a quiet corner of the ship in which to mourn the tragic loss of Lieutenant Vuro. At first, he had objected to the idea of sharing his table with anybody but Katherine Pulaski had a way of overriding such objections. Overhearing the conversation, Jason Armstrong had wasted no time in joining them.


Somehow, sharing the experience made the pain tolerable. It wouldn’t remove it completely. Nothing could, short of bringing the cheerful, friendly Bolian back from the grave. Accepting that fact, all three of them could do was think of, and share their memories of Arden. It was one way of keeping him alive.


“That time that he used my holoprogram,” Jason was chuckling. “The 21st-century action flick that had him so puzzled…”


“I don’t remember that,” Pulaski admitted openly.


“It was back in seventy-two before you joined the crew,” the Kentuckian noted with an apologetic glance. “We traded holographic programs for an experiment, to see if we could get along with one another’s choices. He drove a car through a shop front and lost the scenario in record time. He never did follow through on his threat to send me eel fishing on Bolarus IX, although I can’t say that I’m too sorry about that!”


“He was a true explorer,” Sollik had to agree, hissing through his yellow teeth.


“You and he were rather close,” Kate observed,” weren’t you?”


“He was the first person aboard to really make the effort to become my friend. Back then, I was far from welcoming. Many people avoided me. It was simpler than trying to get to know me. Arden did it, though. He also wasn’t afraid of speaking his mind on more than one occasion, but despite the irritation that it caused, I knew that he was looking out for my best interests.”


Jason nodded in agreement as Pulaski took over the reins of the conversation. “The first time that I met him, I called him a contradiction. An athletic Bolian…”


“He was certainly special,” a voice interrupted her.


It was an unexpected voice. That much was clear from the reactions of the table. All of them turned in surprise to see Gabriel Brodie towering over them. The tactical officer had been listening in and he couldn’t remain silent any longer. Of course, tentative looks were exchanged between Jason, Kate, and Sollik. The rocky relationship that Gabe had shared with Arden wasn’t exactly classified information.


“It’s all right,” the dark-skinned man reassured them, noticing their hesitation. “I’m not here to rain on anybody’s parade. I was wondering if I might join you, actually. If you would rather that I didn’t, I understand…”


“No, please,” Pulaski rushed to say, pulling out a chair.


“Thanks,” Gabe smiled as he took it. “Yeah, okay, so I’m probably the least-qualified guy on this ship to add to the conversation but the tension between Arden and I had started to settle lately. I suppose that I just want it on the record that I regret losing him so prematurely. This is difficult for me to say, but… some small part of me, beneath all of the macho crap that I throw up, was hoping one day to call Arden, my friend.”


The unspoken rule was in danger of being broken. Jason felt a tear form. Covertly, he wiped it aside as everybody raised their glasses.


“To Arden Vuro,” Sollik growled. “He fought the good fight.”


“To Arden,” echoed their response.


The four drinks met in mid-air to honor their fallen comrade.



EPILOGUE


“Keveshi VI is a world that is not yet ready to join the United Federation of Planets. I know that the Federation Council will view this news as disappointing. Given the state of our fleet and our ranks in the aftermath of the Dominion War, every potential new ally is a potential new source of encouragement. It is my considered professional opinion as a Starfleet Captain that Keveshi VI will not be ready to undertake Federation membership for a good deal of time. Years, if not decades.


While, on the face of things, the Keveshian people are not unlike Humankind, and this is perhaps their biggest flaw. A governmental system approved by Federation standards and a level of technological advancement that meets the requirements of the Prime Directive may seem like positive aspects of Keveshian society. They are currently undergoing a major political change that looks set to last long into the future. For the Federation to become involved at this critical stage in their development would be rash, foolish, and highly dangerous. As for basic rights issues, there are unimaginable holes that cannot be filled by goodwill or trade. It may shock the Federation Council to hear this, but I am enclosing details of an insurgent campaign fuelled by armies of child soldiers. The data is upsetting but vital. I implore you to read it.


This is where the Keveshians remind me of Humankind. Earth has endured dark chapters in her history. We Humans are no longer afraid to admit that or ashamed to analyze the facts of those chapters. However, the Keveshian government is. They shy away from the reality of their situation, looking to the stars for solutions. I formally recommend that a commission and a fully equipped ambassador return to Keveshi VI in ten years to inspect the status of their political evolution and make another assessment of Federation membership status.”



Captain Ewan Llewellyn dropped the PADD to his desk, the report complete. Slowly, he turned to the window and the streaking stars beyond.


“I hope you approve, Lieutenant…”



The End.

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