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030 “ “Please Stand By For A Special News Alert!”


“We interrupt our regular broadcast with a breaking news story,” said the Trill newscaster, a serious expression on his face. “22 minutes ago residents of Earth were surprised to find that most broadcasts feeds and cyberlink frequencies were hijacked by an unsanctioned feed from a group of terrorists which have taken numerous hostages at FedPlaza in San Francisco. We will now re-run this feed. Please be warned that this is material not deemed suitable for young children or those sensitive to disturbing content.”

The newscaster disappeared to be replaced by another warning message.

The feed was slightly grainy and not perfectly clear, giving further evidence that whoever had broadcasted it had done so illegally. It showed a row of people, sitting on the floor, their hands bound behind their backs. They were mostly young and middle aged men and women and they all looked scared. Some avoided to look directly at the screen but those who did were pleading with their eyes. Some had minor cuts and injuries on their faces, signs of a recent struggle.

Nobody spoke.

“Citizens of the Federation,” a monotone voice began, “pay close attention to these faces as they will be the first victims of your own thoughtless actions. These men and women will be the first to die in this war of your own making. Your ignorant leaders “ whom you have followed so blindly “ have set you on a course of self-destruction. Make no mistake, you alone will be to blame for their deaths.”

After the presentation of the hostages the man speaking was revealed. He, like most of the hostages, was of East Asian descent and was smartly dressed in a black dinner jacket. A small purple orchid was attached to the breast pocket. His own face however was blurred out and completely unrecognizable when he faced the screen.

“We are members of the Freedom for Nyuchiba Society and as of 2100 hours Federation Standard Time we have taken 58 hostages here at Federation Plaza in the city of San Francisco on Earth,” he said, keeping his voice almost entirely free of any kind of inflection. He slowly walked passed his hostages while he spoke but always facing the screen. “For too long have we sat by quietly while you have meddled in the affairs of our people. For too long have we tolerated the Federation’s poisonous influence on our world. Many decades ago we severed our links to Earth but like any empire the Federation has never fully accepted our decision.”

He walked all the way up to the twenty feet tall floor-to-ceiling windows. He turned around to have the bright city skyline as his backdrop. “We have come to you now, into the heart of the Federation to tell you in no uncertain terms that Nyuchiba has had enough of your meddling. Demand from your leaders that the Federation immediately and unconditionally retreat from Asuka III and all Nyuchiba controlled territory. It is not too late to save your own people. But time is against you. We will execute the first of our hostage at exactly 2200 hours and then another one every hour until your government has agreed to our demands. The fate of these people rests solely in your hands.”

The transmission ended.

The Trill in his news studio reappeared. “We now go directly to our own correspondent Silvia Sanchez who is live on the scene in San Francisco. Silvia, what is the situation where you are now?”

The image shifted to show a pretty blonde woman wearing a sharp blue suit standing on a street about half a block away from the massive FedPlaza. “Jaxon, as you can see I am just a few hundred meters away from the building in which the hostages are being kept,” she said and pointed to one of the upper floors, one of the few where lights were visible. “According to our information the hostages are being held on the 74th floor. The authorities were not aware of this situation until these terrorist revealed themselves and their motives with the illegal broadcast we have just seen. In fact my team and I were amongst the first on the scene here.”

“Amazing,” said Jaxon who was still visible through a small inset screen at the bottom right. “Now I see a lot of activity behind you. A number of authorities now appear to be on site.”

The correspondent moved aside to allow the camera to get a better sight of what was taking place behind her. The street had been blocked off and a large number of people in all kinds of uniforms were making their way busily back and fro. Dozens of street vehicles, transports and even a few shuttles were littering the street immediately in front of FedPlaza.

“That is right, Jaxon,” she said. “We’ve been able to identify officers of the local Municipal Safety Department, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department and also quite a few Starfleet officers. This might not be surprising considering that Starfleet Headquarters are located in this city. We’ve also seen UEDA officers, members of the California Security Administration and a few plain clothed persons we believe to be FedSec agents.”

The image zoomed in to focus on a Starfleet runabout which was easily the single biggest vehicle present.

Silva came back into the frame and looked down at a padd she was holding. “This large vessel right behind me is a Danube-class Starfleet ship,” she said, reading from her padd. “The USS Huang He. According to our information she is attached to Starfleet Headquarters and is currently used as a tactical command center.”

“Would it be safe to assume then that Starfleet has been placed in charge?”

“I wouldn’t be able to answer that at this point. So far the only official statement has come from a Municipal Safety spokesperson who has told us that the situations is being dealt with by a special task force and that they are confident that it will be resolved quickly and with little or no violence
.”

“This means we do not know who is actually in charge.”

The blonde shook her head. “No but I should point out that no precedent exist. What we are looking at here is the first hostage crisis on Earth in almost 150 years and judging from the reaction of those we have spoken to it has caught everyone here by utter surprise.”

The Trill nodded in agreement. “It has certainly caught us by surprise, Silva. Any idea on what a non-violent resolution of this situation might look like? Has there been any more negotiations with these terrorists?”

“Again, we haven’t been given any details and I wouldn’t want to speculate but you would think that with the use of transporter technology it should be fairly easy to rescue the hostages. We haven’t been told anything as to negotiations or any methods being used to resolve this crisis.”

“Thank you, Silva,” the anchor said. “Silva Sanchez will remain on site and update us on any further developments as they take place.”

The image shifted and Jaxon became dominant again with the a live feed of FedPlaza remaining at the bottom of the screen with a bold caption reading: San Francisco Hostage Crisis.

Back in the studio I would like to welcome two guests who might be able to shed some light on these very unexpected developments. Coming to us via subspace from Vulcan, we have Professor Tirnok from the Vulcan Science Academy and writer of the recent book The Invisible Threat: An Analysis of the Attempts of Foreign Powers to Undermining our Society from Within and directly from San Francisco we welcome Mister Michael Gary Grayson, founder and president of the Grayson Institute and outspoken government critic. Thank you both for agreeing to appearing on our show on such a short notice.”

A split screen revealed both men, an elderly Vulcan scientist with a stern visage, sitting calmly in a chair with the Vulcan desert plains visible behind him and a man of less than half his age and handsome features and undeniable charm. Two polar opposites.

The Vulcan barely moved his head to acknowledge the Trill moderator.

“Thanks for having me,” said Grayson with an easy smile.

“Now Professor if I may begin with you. You are one of the Federation’s most accomplished researchers in the field of criminology, espionage and terrorism. Your most recent work has in great details looked into the possibility of foreign powers trying to infiltrate our society and causing turmoil from within. In your professional opinion what is it that is happening here with these Nyuchiban terrorists attacking Earth in this manner?”

“What we are witnessing in San Francisco is a classic example of a foreign terrorist fraction attempting to pressure our government to act in a way which is compatible with the terrorist’s own goals. There are a great number of comparable examples throughout history. These attempts have minuscule success rates and are extremely uncommon within the Federation.”

“So these terrorist should know that the government will not negotiate with them. What are they hoping to achieve?”

“In order to understand these terrorists one must first understand the culture from which they originate. Nyuchiba is a violent society not unlike Earth of the 20th century. Fear and intimidation are common place. What we are seeing is an illogical attempt to bring proven methods to an entirely different environment with the expectation that similar results will be achieved.”

“Mister Grayson,” said Jaxon, “you are a great admirer of the Nyuchiban people and I understand many of your works focus on how the Federation should turn to these “ some would say “ outdated ideals instead of continuing on our present path. Does an incident like the one today not hurt your argument?”

At that Grayson’s brown eyes sparkled almost as if he had been looking forward to this question. “I’m very glad you have mentioned this,” he said in a very pleasant tone of voice, throwing off the Trill anchor slightly. If he had hoped to embarrass Grayson he had failed completely.

“I believe, if anything, today’s incident has proven how relevant my work really is. Take for example the way our trusted authorities have handled this unexpected situation. It is clear even now that no single agency is emerging as the one taking responsibility. Nobody within the Federation has the slightest idea how to deal with something nobody has ever expected would happen. Jaxon, the universe is a bad place. I think we have all come to realize this ever since the wars we have fought with the Romulans, the Klingons, the Borg and the Dominion. And yet our leaders “ our entire system of government “ continues unperturbed and with blissful ignorance about the dangers that our citizens could face at any time and “ as we can see now “ in virtually any place.

The unthinkable has happened, Jaxon. Innocent Federation citizens have been taken against their will and to be used as bargaining tools against their own government. On Earth nonetheless. We have traded in our safety and security for a life filled of comfort and luxury. We have become complacent and we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

The professor is correct. Nyuchiba is unlike the Federation. They have crime and they have violence but they also have people equipped to handle it. And they are very good and very efficient at what they do. These terrorist have come to seek us out because we don’t have anybody to protect us. And this, Jaxon, could only be the beginning. How many innocent lives are we willing to risk until we say enough?”


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