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Chapter Notes: PART THREE

034 “ “The Buck Stops Here.”


“The following footage is disturbing and we strongly advise that young children and persons sensitive to violent material do not watch it.

Just minutes ago at 2205 Federation Standard Time the hostage takers at Fed Plaza in San Francisco made good on their threat and executed their first hostage. We have obtained the following dramatic footage.”

The newscasters disappeared from the screen to show the now well-lit exterior of the Federation Plaza super-scraper, the image focused on the 74th floor. A small caption at the bottom of screen gave proof that this had happened less than two minutes ago.

The voice of Silvia Sanchez could be heard speaking softly off screen. “If we try to get into one of these buildings over there we might get a better shot at ““

Screams interrupted her and the image quickly jerked upwards, focusing in on the roof of Fed Plaza where an object appeared to have come over the edge and now tumbled towards the ground in a free fall.

“Are you getting this?” asked Sanchez. “What is it?” And then she and everyone else realized for the first time what they were looking at. “My God,” she croaked, her voice failing her now.

But the image stayed with the falling man, his own scream now louder and more terrifying that those of the excited crowd of spectators.

Then, just as it became clear what the inevitable outcome had to be, the entire crowd fell silent as the hostage's last moments of life rapidly approached.

Moments before the camera would have captured the deadly impact the image blanked out.

Seconds later a visibly shaken up Silvia Sanchez appeared. A new caption made clear that this footage was coming live from San Francisco. “We can now confirm that one of the hostages has been killed by falling to his death from the top of Fed Plaza. At this time there is no way to know for certain if the man was pushed or if it was an accident. But the timing of the incident seems to be … it appears consistent …” she hesitated momentarily, clearly still shaken from having witnessed a persons’ death just moments before. “It seems consistent with the statement released by the terrorists earlier that one hostage would be killed every hour until their demands have been met.”

“Has the identity of the victim been confirmed?” asked the Trill newscaster, now visible in a little inset image.

“No, we do not know the identity of the victim but judging from the brief glimpse of what we’ve just seen, Jaxon, I think it is safe to say it was one of the hostages.”

“We’ve all seen the disturbing images and I can only imagine how horrific it must have been to witness that take place right in front of you. But was there nothing that could have been done to save that man?”

“I cannot say at this point, Jaxon. There was much activity here among the authorities and rescue workers when the incident took place mere moments ago and in fact there still is,” she said and the image shifted away to show a scurry of first responders, peace officers, military and Starfleet officers as well as members of other organizations. The general area in which the hostage would have collided with the ground was not blocked off from view by half a dozen emergency vehicles. Any rescue attempts at this point had to be about retrieving the body however.

“What I can tell you at this juncture and what you might have observed,” Sanchez continued over the images of busy rescue personnel, “is that there appeared to be no attempt to beam the hostages away and to safety during the fall, something that under normal circumstances should have been an easy way to save his life. This is leading me to believe that transporters cannot be used to attempt to rescue any of the hostages. If that is true, it would make this situation a lot more serious ““

The sound of the broadcast went silent after Sill had activated the muting controls. “I believe the situation qualifies as very serious already. A person was just killed on a live newsfeed on Earth in front of a billions viewers.”

“Mister President, please accept my government’s and my personal condolences as well as my deepest sympathies,” said Ambassador Fujiwara who was the only other person in the president’s office. “This is an despicable and unacceptable crime.”

President Kentii’la, sitting in his chair, was still watching the silent images on the screen as if he had been unable to believe what had just happened. At the moment he was nothing more than one of the billion stunned viewers who had just watched the unthinkable happen.

“I will of course issue a public statement as soon as possible to denounce these acts and proclaim that the Nyuchiban Confederacy is outraged by the actions of these criminals and in complete support of the people of the Federation. If I may be so humble as to suggest a joint press conference to show our support.”

“I think it would be a bit soon for that at this stage. This is a tragedy we barely know anything about. We haven’t even seen our own response to it yet,” said the president’s Bolian advisor.

“You must take a strong stance against acts of terrorism as quickly as possible,” the ambassador said. “The media will use this occasion to endlessly probe and question your administration and your willingness to take action in face of such heinous acts.”

Sill seemed to take offense by that. “With all due respects, Mister Ambassador, but our media does not work like yours. They are not sensationalists who are solely interested in their ratings.”

“Perhaps that is because they never had spectacular news to report, Mister Sill. Our people are not as different as you might think. The nikkeijin are mostly human as you know and all that divide us, is merely philosophical. But now is the time to show our true unity, just as when we fought side by side during the War.”

Sill knew immediately what the ambassador was after. Fujiwara was still a politician and as such he was not beneath exploiting a tragedy for his own agenda.

The president apparently realized this too. “Mister Ambassador,” he said in his usual slow speech. “We are most grateful for your support and sympathy and will give your request all due consideration. In the meantime there is much I need to do as should be obvious given our current situation. We will contact you once we have made a decision.”

The short nikkeijin bowed slightly. “I will use that time to liaise with my government. Thank you, Mister President,” he said and then hastily left the office.

No sooner had he left did the voice of the president’s chief receptionist fill the office. “Mister President, I have Admiral Selina Tessier for you on a priority channel. Would you like to take the call?”

“Yes, please put her through.”

Sill stepped closer to the desk, apparently very much interested himself what she had to say about this situation.

“Thank you for taking my call, Mister President,” said he admiral.

“Admiral, what is your situation? We have just witnessed a person killed on a newsfeed watched by billions of Federation citizens. Your people are on scene, how could they not have prevented this?” said Sill, jumping into the conversation without preamble.

“Mister Sill, the situation here on the ground is as bit more complicated than the newsfeeds make it out. I assure you we have attempted everything within our power to try and save that man.”

“Obviously that was not enough,” Sill shot back.

This apparently left Tessier momentarily speechless.

The president raised his hand to let his advisor know to back off. “Admiral, do you have any plans underway to end this crisis before anymore hostages might come to harm?”

To her credit Tessier didn’t hesitate, keeping her voice free off annoyance when speaking to Kentii’la directly. “Sir, we have a plan in place which we could implement immediately and which I believe will resolve this hostage situation quickly and successfully with a minimal loss of additional lives. However the longer we delay, the slimmer the chance of success.”

“I don’t understand,” said Sill and gave the president a puzzled look. “What is keeping you from implementing your plan?”

“The issue of jurisdiction is not entirely clear. We have various agencies on scene each convinced that they are in charge. Sir, I’ll be honest, I have not had the time to look through all the laws and regulations on this subject but I can tell you that nobody else has the resources in place right now to bring an end to this crisis except for Starfleet. If we were to wait until all issues of jurisdiction have been resolved it might be too late for those hostages.”

“Admiral,” the president said, “what do you need me to do for you take immediate action?”

Tessier hesitated for just a second. “I would need an executive order to give me the authority to take overall situational command.”

“Consider the order given.”

There was another slight pause. “In writing,” she said and then hastily added. “Sir.”

The president allowed himself a rare smirk after he realized that even Tessier had a little bit of a politician inside of her. She wanted this crisis resolved as much as everybody else but she knew how to cover herself. “Understood, Admiral. Be ready to implement your plan at a moment’s notice. You will have the order within minutes.”

“Thank You, Mister President.”

Sill terminated the link.

“Sir, I am a little bit concerned about this order. This administration has never issued an executive order before. Certainly not in a domestic situation. The people might see this as an overly authoritarian and overreaching move on our behalf.”

“This is an unprecedented crisis. The people will understand the need for swift action from their president,” he said. “But you are right, we need to address this issue in a clear manner. I want you to draft a public statement. Also contact your friends at the UE General Assembly to make them aware of our actions.”

Sill nodded.

“But first ensure that the admiral gets her order as quickly as possible. I’m not willing to risk more casualties due to the ineptitude of our bureaucracy.”

“I will get on that right away. What about the ambassador’s request?”

The president shook his head. “We do not have time for gestures and political subtleties right now. The ambassador is sadly mistaken if he thinks that Federation-Nyuchiban relations are a priority at this time.”


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