Redemption, Part 1

[Wes Roberts 0]

Starfleet Command Headquarters

San Francisco, Sol III, Sector 001

2386October 21

1815 hrs UCT 0915 Hours Local

 

 

"General, the CINC will see you now," the Orion Commander, and CINC's assistant, said.

 

"Thankyou, Commander." General Maden said, gathering up his satchel, andentered the office of the Commander in Chief, Starfleet. "Admiral."

 

"General. Please sit. What brings you out from MacDill?"

 

"Wesley Roberts, Admiral. The alias for Lieutenant Commander ChristopherMarx."

 

The CINC stiffened. He'd read the list of charges that Admiral Ikari had formally charged Mr. Marx, as Roberts, with. "What about him?"

 

"Itseems, Admiral, that Ikari didn't have the whole story. JAG buried his case so deep in red tape, that it takes two weeks just to findthe file. Marx, for all Ikari's bluster, was acting as an unlicensed privateer, working towards Federation interests under current anti-piracy regulations."

 

"And the crews of the ships he, as Roberts, and his merry band captured? The ones that were reportedlyspaced?"

 

"Pirate and slaver crews only. Most of the inhabitants of Caledonia are survivors of the ships he'd rescue from the pirates. Except the southern continent, but that's just a penal colony."

 

"So what's your interest in him, General?"

 

"I want him, Admiral. I want him as part of SOE. He and his merry band of freebooters can handle those dirty missions that we can't officially answer for."

 

The CINC leaned back in his leatherchair, his fingers steepled. "What do you want for him?"

 

"Full pardon of all crimes committed as Roberts, Marx stays buried in the family plot on Rhydin, and we hire him on as civilian staffer. Besides, we've finally pardoned his crew and expunged their records."

 

"And his assignment, General?"

"We have something in mind, Admiral. We're still working out the details of the assignment."

 

The CINC sighed. "The Allies are not going to like having a former pirate working for Starfleet on that station. The Romulans are paranoid enough as it is, and the others feel we're not pulling our own weight. But I'll talk to the President and his counsel, see what they say and see if they can keep the Allies from pulling out of the station.

 

"If the President approves, how are you going to contact him? This can'tbe sent through normal channels."

 

"Mr Marx...acquired a SOCOM light freighter, the Wild Stallion, after Ikari drummed him out of Starfleet. We'll just encrypt the message with a SOCOM algorithm that's already impossible to crack, and send it direct to the Stallion."

 

"General, you have an answer for everything."

 

"I like to have a plan for everything. Makes my job much easier."

 

tbc

Edited June 25, 2011 by Wes Roberts