Wado
betleH Judges
Klingons rule.
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The arena was once again full to capacity. There was only standing room available in the seating area. The fighters were gathered on the main floor in front of the podium as they were for the opening ceremony. Admiral Duerkes stood off to one side, waiting for the signal to begin. On the outside his face was as expressionless as a poker player. On the inside he was fuming. The whole situation with Q'olavraH still hung over Wade’s head. If that wasn’t enough, there was the message Wade received from Jefferson stating how he was not going to be at the Awards Ceremony.
It was one thing to not come to a dinner party Wade threw. Wade could excuse that if there was a valid reason or not. But the commanding officer of the host base should have been there. Jefferson did not see the competition the same Wade did. They did not see eye to eye on a lot of things. That was just the way it was. Wade knew that was the way things would always be. Wade closed his eye and tried to drive the unpleasantness out of his mind. The rumbling of the crowd overtook Wade’s senses and he started to forget about Jefferson’s attitude. Trying to find a focus in meditation Wade no longer listened to the crowd and focused on sounds closer to him. He could hear Droj talking to K’Hare to his left. To his right he picked up on the clanking of a crewman as they were tinkering with the sounds system.
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K’Hare was distracted. That Q’olavraH was missing and the evidence in her room was hard to argue with. The serenity medical team had confirmed the blood in her room was her own. It was unlikely that she could survive that much blood loss and they had found no body… did it hurt more not knowing?
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Dan sat on the dais, it was unusual for one such as he to be sitting where he sat – his relationship with K'Hare and his lack of one with John had conspired with fate to leave him sitting there. Despite his uniform he felt naked, once again Starfleet had changed his life around in less than three days he finally found out their plans. Sitting there he reached up and ran his fingers over his pips, Vice Admiral Dan Taylor had a strange ring to it he couldn't be sure if he liked it or not.
Thankfully no one had yet questioned him or congratulated him on his promotion, he was dreading the question of his new posting arising. Two days ago he had been sure a position in the 5th fleet was his, today he had those orders shattered with the latest knowledge he had been handed by Starfleet.
He still couldn't believe it of a man he trusted, but it was true – Starfleet Intelligence had proof, proof he couldn't refute. In his mind he wondered what he would do about it, he doubted his conscience would let him do nothing, equally he doubted it would let him to repay the man in kind. Dan wished he hadn't drowned his sorrows in Bloodwine the night before, by doing so he had missed the semi finals. Several days of excessive Bloodwine consumption and low sleep had finally taken their toll.
Perhaps if he had spoken to K'Hare or someone else he could have worked out his issues in a simpler way, unfortunately finding the bottom of a barrel was the quickest and easiest way for him to make himself feel better.
Suddenly he found himself unable to think straight, something else was bothering him something he couldn't put his finger on. He looked around the dais and saw only the judges and a few security and engineering officers, forcing himself to relax he tried to put his unease at the back of his mind.
He looked up as the first person got up to speak.
----
Once again a chime sounded through the arena bringing the attention of the crowd gathered to the stage and Wade out of his small meditation session. It was not near enough of what he needed to regain full focus but enough for him to do his job. He cleared his throat as he stepped up to the podium.
“Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to thank the crew of Serenity Base for their efforts in preparation for and throughout the competition. My sincere thanks to all of you.”
A round of applause went through the crowd. Wade considered the exclusion of Jefferson’s name his last little stab at the man and would leave it at that.
“In third place, roS'neQar Ross McEwan Sogh la', from the Klach D'kel Brakt, Task Force 86.”
Droj handed the trophy to Wade, who nodded to the Klingon as he handed over the trophy. McEwan was stationed on the Saturn at one point according to his file but Wade never had a chance to meet him. It was too bad, he thought. He would have to try and change that after the ceremony.
“In second place, Ta'pez, son of cheng, IKS meH'Haj, Task Force 44.”
Again Wade was handed a trophy the he passed on to Ta’pez. Wade had handed a trophy to Ta’pez every year of the competition. But Wade took even more joy in it this time. Ta’pez fought each match with such high honor this time around that Wade was proud to present the trophy to Ta’pez.
Ta'pez merely bowed. The trophy meant nothing to him yet here he was. Accepting and pretending it was of relevance.
“And, the winner of the 4th Annual Bravofleet Bat’leth Competition goes to, Captain Satian of the USS Crazy Horse, Task Force 86.”
Shaking Satian’s hand Wade stepped back for a moment to allow the champion his moment in the spot light. When the crowd subsided Wade stepped to the podium again.
“I would like to now hand things over to my fellow judge and brother, K’Hare.”
Turning to K'Hare, Wade shook hands with the Klingon at the same time he slapped his shoulder with his free hand. He gave his brother a smile and then stepped of to the right.
Still distracted and thinking of Q’olavraH and wondering how she would have reacted to the events with K’rahl, he got up and began talking. He went with a canned speech. As much as this event meant to him, having her missing was not something he could ignore. The anger in him was building. Someone needed to pay. Fortunately for him, he had a few inspirational speeches prepared for times like these and he began one.
“We now end our fourth year of this event and it has been bigger and at times faster than ever before. But before we go, we should reflect on what we have learned…”
Wade listened to K’Hare begin to speak and his eyes wondered around the crowd of warriors in front of the stage. He saw the same faces as before the tournament but all were different now. In addition to the bruises and scars was a different look in their eyes. There was still the same look of determination but some how it looked wiser then the one coming into the competition.
Just over the left of K’hare’s shoulder blade, Wade saw a figure move that caught his eye. He turned slightly and thought he saw ‘her’ face. It couldn’t be he thought. Why would she be here? Wade followed the direction the movement was going and then saw Taylor looking at him from across the stage. Dan was looking past Wade at something intently. Taylor finally looked up to Wade and motioned for him to look to the right of the stage.
“And that is what this tournament has become for those of us up here on the stage …” K'Hare continued.
Turning to his right Wade saw the offstage area was empty aside of the same equipment that had been present from the beginning. A slender human wearing a yellow uniform was working in one sound modulators located next to the stage. The top cover was open and Wade could see the officer as he worked on the machine.
Being an old engineer himself, something didn’t seem right to Wade. He had not worked on a sound system since the academy but something just did not look right. With a final turn of the officers hands a light blinked twice and he stepped away from the box. An unobstructed view allowed Wade to see the inner mechanics.
Inside the surfaces were all smooth, high polished silver that tapered down as you went to the edges. In the center was a spherical portion that seemed to be made of glass. The sphere lit up, first violet, a second later blue, then green, then yellow, then orange and red. The transition from one color to the next was a smooth gradation like the transition of the wavelength of light. It then repeated the same pattern, violet, blue, green, yellow orange and red.
K'Hare was still talking. “In this sense we can all learn from each other if we make the effort to understand the motivations of …“
The officer then looked up and saw Wade looking down at him. He instantly reached for a phaser at his side. From there, instinct took over and Wade kicked his left foot square into the face of the man below him. On top of the stage gave him the perfect vantage point and the man had no time to block the kick. Falling backwards he dropped his phaser to the ground and Wade instantly followed up by jumping down and looked at the device beside the stage.
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As K'Hare spoke Droj listened intently but soon noticed that Wade was not doing the same. He had become very distracted which was not like Wade, particularly during such an important juncture of the tournament that he had founded. It would be a bit unbecoming to just walk over and start talking to Wade in the midst of K'Hare's speech so he stayed put. It was times like these that he wished he was a telepath.
Wade was really staring at something but Droj could not see it from his vantage point on the other side of K'Hare. It was then that Wade kicked an officer standing at the foot of the stage. He was caught up in a moment of shock was he watched Wade jump off the stage and walk out of his line of sight. A bit of a commotion was caused by this, unsurprisingly, and K'Hare stopped his remarks to turn his attention to what Wade was up to.
-----
The pattern of light repeated its cycle.
Violet……blue……green……yellow……orange……red
Violet……blue……green……yellow……orange……red
Wade didn’t have to think about what it was. It was obvious. Now the question was what to do?
Violet.…blue.…green….yellow.…orange.…red
Violet.…blue.…green….yellow.…orange.…red
The top was completely sealed. There was no way to get into the inner mechanics without a cutter.
Violet…blue…green...yellow…orange…red
Violet…blue…green...yellow…orange…red
Wade looked up quickly at the full arena and then back down to the device.
Violet..blue..green..yellow..orange..red
Violet..blue..green..yellow..orange..red
“*TAPS* Saturn, Emergency Transport! 2 meter radius!”
Violet.blue.green.yellow.orange.red
Violet.blue.green.yellow.orange.red
Wade grabbed the sides of the device. The blue shimmer of the transporter beam engulfed both the admiral and the ‘box’ he was holding.
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Droj started walking then running to the other side of the stage only to get there in time to see Wade's silouette vanish into a transporter beam. Within seconds there was a slight shaking as if the base had been struck with a torpedo with sheilds at full strength. Droj was dumbfounded and was desperately trying to put this all together in his head when he noticed strange things going on in the depths of the crowd. Suddenly the security officers were in full action and were blocking the exits. This crowded hall was a good place to keep people held up if there was a crisis aboard the station; but they weren't under attack, if they were there would be more than just one shudder. And why had Wade beamed out so suddenly, something was not right as he looked into the eyes of some of the security officers, he could tell that it was not just "not right"; it was very, very wrong.
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<Saturn>
<Deck 6, Transporter Room 1>
Admiral Duerkes reappeared on the transporter floor of the Saturn. The color patterns continued to increase their pace.
Violetbluegreenyelloworangered
Violetbluegreenyelloworangeredredredredred
With one final rotation the colors stopped on the bright red. There was nothing else to say. In a second it all came back to him. His childhood followed by his days at the academy. His first assignment after graduation onboard the Americana. He could see his years aboard the Saturn and the face of ever Bat’leth Competitor he ever meet. He saw the women that had loved him but he had to push away because of his commitment to his career and his duty. But that no longer mattered. He had done his duty to Bravofleet.
<Serenity>
<Observation Lounge>
Admiral Ethan Edwards sat in one of the many observation lounges aboard the Starbase. He calmly sipped a glass of water as he waited for his guests to arrive to join him for dinner. Looking out the window he could see an old ambassador class vessel that was docked near the Starbase.
“There is a classic.”
His thoughts were quickly truncated as the side of the Saturn erupted in a burst of yellow and red flames. The explosion that took place covered at least ten decks by Ethan’s estimation.
“Dear God…*TAPS* Security!…”
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Award Ceremony (Read 3488 times)
