The world seemed to be spinning as Horatio had his head plunged into ice water again. He struggled to breathe as he fought to return to the surface and take a breath. His ribs were broken, his body battered but that was nothing compared to the pain of the ice against his face. He yelled out underwater as he choked. He was pulled up out the water and gasped for breath as he regained his senses. He looked around as best he could. He was being held by two Klingons and there he was. Virok. Still wearing his Starfleet uniform. A traitor. Horatio couldn’t tell if it was because he was disorientated or if this was really happening; Virok appeared to be smiling. He frowned as he struggled to fully regain his senses. He was breathing heavily. It was not a hallucination; however, Virok… the corrupt Vulcan Starfleet admiral… was smiling.
“I’m sorry Black but I’ve been keeping up appearances far too long and I’m enjoying this far too much to hide emotion.” Virok said, still smiling. “R… Romulan” Horatio coughed; water still in his airways. “Even after torture you’re still astute in the minute details. “I’ll give you credit, you’ve kept it well hidden for so many years. Someone in Starfleet Medical helping you?” “Well done Mr Black… another arm to our impressive organisation worked out”.
Virok paused and indicated for Horatio to be forced back into the water. Horatio let out a yell as the Klingon guard forced his head back into the water tank. It felt like the world was slowing down. He was slowly drowning on the water and being caused agony by the severe cold. He closed his eyes for a moment and heard it again; a faint whisper from nowhere calling to him. “Unimatrix 934, Alpha Node A is under attack. No threat found. Tempus of Borg will assimilate Species 98883”.
He was pulled out the water gasping for breath and choking. “What do you want!” he yelled. Virok laughed “your demise Mr Black. You have been a thorn in the Omega Committee’s side for far too long. I need to put a stop to that if we want our future operations to be a success. The Omega Committee was formed from… like minded individuals from every major government in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Our mission is simple, create one, single, unified government under our control. We will destroy all weakness and be the premier force in the universe. Our own individual governments are weak, arguing amongst themselves. We aren’t protected from the Borg, 8472, the Tholians, even the Dominion are getting the better of us! We can’t allow that!” Virok explained.
“So… you protect us… through tyranny” Horatio said calmly. “Oh… that’s so narrow minded; it’s far more poetic than that Mr Black. We could have achieved such greatness; we had the Borg under our control through you! YOU ruined that! Decades of planning gone! Since that moment where you killed Voronin the Committee were decided. You had to be destroyed. Now, you could have overdosed on those painkillers you became hooked on, but you got help. You could have stayed in that cell but Lock had to break you out. You could have retired in exile but oh no! That’s not good enough for Horatio Black. Always having to do the right thing. Well look where that has got you… a slow, painful death while knowing you cannot stop what is coming. You cannot stop what is inevitable”.
Horatio shook his head as best he could, he was feeling weak but he couldn’t give up now. He was so close. “So you… you were going to kill the President”. “Yes… it was a beautifully simple plan. Our man inside the Security Council was going to get him to sign a special decree giving the military extraordinary powers. The President would have then been killed and using your beloved Starfleet we were going to enact martial law, take over the Federation. Similar coups had been planned on other key worlds had this one worked. You were going to be framed for the assassination, two birds with one stone I believe the expression is”. Virok explained proud of what he had dreamed up. “Typically, however, you came along and stopped that. Did you think that was it? Did you think we didn’t have a back-up plan to kill the President? You’ll be framed of course and then found dead, suicide”.
“I… turned your recruiter. I took care of your cell leader. I wiped out that cell. Oh… I also passed all the names and data I could find to some friends of mine… it’s over Virok. You can kill me, but it is all over for you” Horatio spoke calmly and coldly. Virok looked shocked by this news. He clearly hadn’t been too well versed in what Horatio had been up to. “No matter… I will verify this and if it’s true… I will kill you myself Black. Either way, the committee will live on and you will die tonight”.
Virok signalled for the Klingons to take Horatio back to his cell. The door of the darkened, empty room slid open and Horatio was dragged out. He yelled in agony as he was dragged through non-descript corridors and thrown into a cell. He heard the door locking behind him. He breathed deeply trying to subside the pain he felt from being broken and bruised. That was nothing, however, compared to the nanites working inside his body. Horatio groaned and passed out on the cold metal floor of the cell he had been locked inside...
...It could have been minutes, or hours, Horatio had no way of knowing. The ringing in his ears from the explosion had certainly woken him up. The ringing in his ears disorientated him as red laser sights flickered through the darkness. For a brief moment he thought it was the Borg coming for him and scrabbled to back into a corner; but then he noticed their movements were different. Human.
“Ghost!” a familiar voice called out, it was French. It was Saint. The armoured man crouched down next to him and tapped a button raising the helmet visor. “Dramont” Horatio said weakly. You got the chip… the President?” “President is fine; McCabe pulled him out of the meeting and to a secure bunker. The rest of his unit rounded up the Security Council member and others working with him for the backup plan. The President has been fully briefed, as has Starfleet Command. Your information is in the right hands. It’s over, the Omega Committee has fallen apart and its members are being arrested” Horatio sighed as he was injected with a painkiller to ease the pain of the torture and broken bones.
“Virok… we need to stop him” Horatio explained picking himself up. Dramont handed him a phaser rifle and signalled for his team to secure the perrimiter. “He will be destroying everything, severing his link and trying to stay in position. He’s a Romulan”. Horatio explained as they headed down the corridor, sweeping for the last of the security teams.
Guards banked round the corner and immediately started firing at Horatio and the unit. Horatio ducked into an alcove for cover as shots were exchanged down the narrow corridor. Horatio leaned out and fired off a few shots sending two guards to the floor. He ducked back as a shot narrowly missed him and hit one of the unit members. “We need to advance before Virok destroys all the information!” Horatio called over to Dramont who had taken cover behind the alcove on the other side of the corridor to him. Dramont nodded and unclipped a flashbang grenade before throwing it down the corridor. It exploded with a blinding light and both Horatio and Dramont swung out from their hiding places and opened fire sending the remaining guards to the floor. They moved down the corridor in formation, heading into the room at the end, the main control room.
Horatio saw him as they entered, Virok, standing at a terminal and tapping away at it frantically. “Trying to get home are we?” Horatio said. “Step away, slowly from the console and turn around. We’re taking you into custody” he said slowly moving towards him. Horatio switched the weapon to stun but before he could fire, Virok hit a button on the LCARS console and an alarm started blaring out. “I will destroy this facility and with my superior rebuild the Omega Committee! You may have stopped us this time Black, but you won’t again!” Virok yelled over the alarm. Horatio fired and stunned Virok who fell to the floor. Dramont signalled for his team to extract the Admiral to a Starfleet Intelligence detention facility.
Horatio ran over to the console and ditched the rifle. He began tapping on the console. “He’s activated a flooding sequence; he’s going to destroy the base!” Horatio called out. “Where are we?” he asked. “Directly underneath Angel Island… the traitor built up a base right under our noses” Dramont said. “How did you find me?” “The device you acquired, one of ours – the unit supplied most of your kit one way or another, we always believed your innocence and we put in some contingencies just in case” he explained. Horatio nodded as he tapped on the computer, he couldn’t let the evidence be destroyed. “I’ve managed to download the data… but I can’t prevent the flooding. We need to get out – now!” Horatio said as water started pouring into the room from all sides. “OUT NOW!” Dramont called to his team. The group started running, water splashing up around them as they raced against the clock to the exit lift.
The water gushed around them, with each passing second making the run more difficult. They got to the lift at the end of the corridor, the water from the San Francisco Bay now knee high, preventing the doors from opening. Dramont signalled for them to be breached. They would have to climb out. “Do you need more painkillers for this climb?” Dramont asked. Horatio shook his head, part of him did want them, it would subside the pain but it was more than that. He felt like he… needed them. No. He didn’t. He would do it without it. “No” he replied simply. The doors blew inwards and floated away, the water, now waist height, gushed into the turbolift and slapped against the wall. “You first, we’ll follow you up” Dramont said to Horatio who nodded took a deep breath and jumped up to the open hatch. He yelled in pain as he grabbed hold of the metal and was helped up by an operative below. He was in absolute agony but he knew he had to get out. He began the climb up the emergency ladder to freedom. To the end of this nightmare. Each step, each rung higher was agony. Seconds seemed like hours, Horatio could hear the deafening sound of water filling up the facility below them.
Horatio eventually pulled himself out and prised open the doors to the lift. He fell onto the floor and crawled through what appeared to be a gardener’s shed to a wooden door. He pushed it open and squinted at the light, natural beautiful light of home. The remaining unit members pulled themselves out and placed a charge. Once they were all a safe distance outside in the national park, the charge blew, destroying the shed and sealing the facility below. It was over. Horatio lay on the grass, ignoring the pain and breathing heavily. Such a weight off his shoulders after so long. He felt at peace.
Starfleet security teams had surrounded the area to prevent civilians or the media getting too much footage. Dramont and the unit were loading up their runabout to return to the shadows they operated in. He stood above Horatio silhouted by the light. “Take care Ghost” he said informally saluting his friend. “You too Saint… You saved my life. Thank you” Horatio replied. “We stopped more corrupt officers destroying the Federation we love… we need to stop making a habit of this… perhaps we can just meet for food and wine next time?” the Frenchman chuckled as he walked off to his troops. Horatio laughed to himself as he picked himself up off the ground and looked around. He couldn’t believe it, that it was really all over. A man in a suit walked towards him holding a PADD in his hand. “Mr Black… this comes direct from the President. Horatio looked surprised and shooed away the doctors that had come over to him so he could read in peace.
Mr Black
I cannot thank you enough for saving my life and bringing to light a corruption so embedded into this government that it threatened the very sanctity of the office I hold and ideals I represent that this Federation was built upon. You have done an incredible service, despite all odds, and with the weight of exile hanging over your head. You did not need to act, to return, but you did and I speak for the entire Federation when I say we are forever in your debt. Had Virok, Voronin and the Omega Committee succeeded… I dread to think what would have happened to our lives, our liberty and our moral compass.
The Federation will always need men like you. Willing to sacrifice everything to defend it. By a small token of my appreciation I hereby clear you of any and all charges that were falsely made against you and reinstate your Federation citizenship in full. There will be no record held against you. I have also spoken with Starfleet Command to ensure your reinstatement to active duty. In these dark times I know you will continue to be invaluable to the Federation. While I cannot formally recognise the achievements of your friends in the Unit, I have ensured that they are rewarded through less obvious channels. For you, however, I bestow the honorary award of Freedom of the Federation. It comes with my eternal thanks.
Yours in Service
Office of the Federation President
Horatio sighed and let the doctors carry out their treatments. It was over. He was home. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the warm San Francisco sun on his face. He opened his eyes to find the suited man had been replaced by a far prettier female lieutenant. “Can I help?” Horatio said smiling at her. “Starfleet Command sir, you’re wanted right away” she said smiling back. “No rest for the wicked” he commented as the pair walked off engaged in conversation to the nearest shuttle.
[END]
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