The Final Showdown

Posted on Wed Feb 27th, 2013 @ 9:24pm by Admiral Lucius Hawke & Aegina & Melanippe III
Edited on on Wed Feb 27th, 2013 @ 9:38pm

Mission: The Struggle Within
Location: Archadia Prime
Timeline: Current

Not long after the marines had finished their sweep, Melanippe made her way down to the dungeons under the palace to face Aegina. She made a big show of it as well, forcing her aide to bring in a bright purple five foot by five foot carpet, with gold fringe all around it, and a very comfortable lounge chair to place in the middle of it. As she looked in at Aegina, with nothing but a cold, hard floor to sit on, she chuckled.

“Well, well, well, Aegina,” she started, “it seems that this whole cooperation with Starfleet--the one that, if I recall, you strenuously objected to and I voted for, has come full circle and bit you squarely on the ass.”

Aegina turned her dark eyes on Melanippe, the expression in them pure venom. “I note it wasn’t your own intelligence that caught wind of it but Starfleet once again coming to your rescue.”

“Oh, don’t be upset that the machine you fought against wound up being your undoing,” the Queen replied. “I’m just thrilled that you have finally been put down. And, ironically, will be put down in a few days’ time--permanently.” The ominous tone in her voice told Aegina all she needed to know about that particular statement. “I’ll be there to see it through to your bitter end.”

“Pure dumb luck,” Aegina snarled. “Veist was an idiot. He lost his head over a bit of fluff and ended up thinking with his dick instead of his brain. You see where it got him. And me for relying on him.”

“Aegina, my dear, I simply couldn’t care any less about how you got into this situation. I’m just here to gloat that your plan failed, you were caught and, the best part, that I get to have you killed for it!” Melanippe laughed and clapped. “Oh, the last bit is the best. Don’t you agree?”

Aegina’s eyes narrowed and she remained silent, though her jaw worked as the tension increased. Then without warning, she leaned forward towards the bars and spit on Melanippe. “That is what I think of you. You have the brain of an insect and if it were not for Starfleet propping you up, you’d have no kingdom. Your own assistant would have betrayed you in death, Maline.” She purposely used the queen’s real name out of utter disrespect. “And you were both too stupid to even consider the possibility.”

“If you’re talking about Pentias, Aegina, it’s all been laid out in Zoudin’s file. How you even had to frame him to cover your own tracks. Seriously, how could you have been so stupid? Did you not even check Veist’s background before bringing him in? He had all kinds of personal information on you, your collaborators--I’ll bet that you didn’t know about the images he’d taken of you in the alleged privacy of your own home? I think he had you under more surveillance than anyone.”

“I suppose that should be a lesson to all of us, eh Maline? What can happen when you trust a man?” Aegina’s smile was positively wicked. “Even a handsome Admiral....no matter how attractive he might be to you.”

“You’re just being a sore loser, Aegina. Now, stop whining and prepare for your inevitable death. It’s a horrible, horrible crime to make threats to the Queen. Even worse for those that put a plan into action on it.”

“Perhaps. But at least I’ll die with the satisfaction of getting what I wanted, for a little while, whereas you never will. Veist wasn’t even Archadian you know. He was Betazoid, like your much-admired Admiral. There wasn’t a single thought that went through that empty head of yours that he didn’t know.”

“What you wanted...was to fail? How odd, Aegina. I pegged you for having higher aspirations than that.” She smiled. “And you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know about Veist. For example, I’ll bet you didn’t even know his real name. But I do. Oh, did you know that he had several different plans for killing you if he even caught a hint of you stabbing him in the back?” She giggled now. “What fun! All of this cloak and dagger, it’s thrilling! And actually pretty funny that you thought you had it all under control when even your own hired thug had your death all planned out. And even more funny that you thought you could hide things from a Betazoid!” Melanippe rolled her eyes. “I thought you were overzealous, but dumb? Wow.”

“So what do you have planned now, Maline? A triumphant parade through town? Perhaps a cozy dinner win which you thank Hawke for saving your ass yet again, then offer it to him?” A harsh laugh came from Aegina. “Or perhaps you have Pentias on reserve in case those plans fall through? And tomorrow, you’ll meet with Parliament, proclaim your dismay at my actions, then sit back as the dogs fight for my position.” She gave an impatient wave of her hand. “I may have failed, but I had a hell of a time doing it. They say, Maline, that it is better to die regretting what you did rather than what you didn’t do. I doubt you will ever know what that is like.”

The Queen tsked at Aegina. “Oh, how quickly you forget, Aegina... The appointment of the Prime Minister is a duty that the Queen allows Parliament to do. This time, although it’s a rarity, I will be appointing the next Prime Minister. And before I announce your replacement, not only will I proclaim my dismay, but I will go over every single crime you’ve committed to let everyone know just how low and underhanded you are when you know that you can’t obtain your goals on your own and have to resort to cheating.”

Aegina shrugged. “Such is life. Tell me, will you leave me in peace or do you intend to stay down here and torture me with your presence until the moment of death? If so, then please just kill me now and put me out of the vile misery your presence is causing.”

“You’ve shown your hand a bit early,” the Queen replied. “If I’d known that my presence caused you such headache, I would have already moved more of my items down here. But don’t worry--even at this late hour I can have my entire living room moved down so that you and I can spend your last hours together. What else are enemies for?”

“At least I followed by desires and hopes, Maline.” Aegina stretched out and tucked her arms under her head as she faced the wall and left her back to the Queen. Her smile still lingered and one last jab was tossed at the Queen, even though it was a lie. “A pity you won’t have what you desire. He is so worth the effort.” She then faked a yawn and fell silent, ignoring Melanippe altogether.

“Pish, posh. Steady yourself and regain at least a small bit of composure, woman. You’re an Archadian! Act like it!” Melanippe shook her head. “If our Queen Mother, Antiope, were here, or her daughter, Amphion, you would be struck down where you stand. Don’t worry, though, I will ensure that Parliament knows how you’ve changed and turned your back not only on me but also on our heritage.”

“I did. I went after what I wanted. You’ve never had the guts for it and never will. That is the mark of who’s a true Archadian and who is not. Now do be quiet and let me sleep.”

“Didn’t get what I--I am your Queen, peasant! I am and always will be what I wanted! I am your ruler in every way and your hateful, spiteful speech, whining about how you wanted it instead of me, but didn’t get it...Bah! You are worthless trash. You talk big but you are the epitome of which you speak. Failure incarnate.” Melanippe rose and straightened her dress. “I think I will leave,” she said. “I will send my aide down with the recording of my reading of the ancient scrolls, the unabridged version.”

She smirked as she walked down the corridor. Her recording of the ancient scrolls, which has been recorded by each Queen, is almost ten hours in length when played back to back. She couldn’t help but snort in glee as she disappeared from Aegina’s view.

Aegina’s only reply was her laughter, soft at first, then growing louder as it followed Melanippe down the passage.

* * *

Three days later, Aegina’s laughter was a long, distant memory as she lay on a large stone altar, her hands and legs tied on each corner and her clothes removed to show her in all of her shame. A large crowd had amassed to witness the execution of this criminal mastermind, one who had not only threatened the life of the Queen but had threatened to potentially destabilize the government and make it her own. She had also been found guilty of ordering the deaths of several others who had been in her way, something that the Archadians hadn’t heard of happening in over one hundred years.

As this was a public execution, Starfleet had, as always, been invited to attend, but Admiral Hawke decided that no personnel were to be on the planet while this was happening. It had been quite a long time since anyone had been put to death for a crime and Lucius didn’t think it would be professional or keeping with the best interests of the Federation to have any of the 900 crew on the planet to witness it. He also made a note to contact Kh’ali regarding this situation. Governments wishing to become part of the Federation had many rules that they had to follow before being able to do so--capital punishment was one of the biggies that had to go with more of a focus on rehabilitation. That was the point of becoming a protectorate, so that they could be ‘groomed’, so to speak.

But back on Archadia, not far from the palace grounds, Queen Melanippe III, adorned in her official regalia, stood next to the large stone altar with a smirk on her face. She listened as the boos and hisses from the crowd grew in intensity, all of them aimed at Aegina. Just before the cloak-covered executioner moved into position with her large axe, Melanippe stepped forward.

“Grand citizens of Archadia, let it be known that, on this date, the criminal Aegina is hereby ordered put to death,” she said loudly. “I take no pride in this decision but her actions forced my hand and we cannot go back on our history, on who we are! And, in accordance with the ancient scrolls, her death will be carried out as it has since our race began...by beheading.”

A cheer rose from the crowd. It was always strange how something like this could bring what could only be seen as joy from the crowd. Someone was going to die, and they were happy about it. But it had been this way for ages, at least as long as Melanippe could remember.

She stepped closer to Aegina, but before doing so, beckoned someone else to come up with her. “Aegina,” she said, out of earshot of the crowd, “I just wanted you to know that you’re not entirely as smart as you think you are. You see,” she said as the person she had beckoned now stood beside her, “your friend Solaana, is really my friend Solaana. And she has been for many years.”

Solaana took that opportunity to raise her eyebrows and nod. “She’s right. I’ve been feeding her information for quite some time.”

“And here you thought I was just some idiotic puppet.” The Queen wrinkled her nose and even pinched Aegina’s nose playfully. “Silly, silly woman.” As Aegina jerked away, the crowd laughed and Melanippe stepped back. With a single nod to the large woman holding the axe, the order was given.

The executioner took her place beside the head of the criminal, and planted her feet to get good momentum with her swing. Melanippe nodded and stepped back.

* * * Melanippe’s Chambers - Several Hours Later * * *

Pentias Moren looked up at the tall, white-haired Admiral that approached and immediately got to his feet. He sent word in then opened the doors and Lucius stepped in, silent as the doors closed behind him.


“Admiral Hawke,” the Queen said as she entered from a connecting room, “as always, it is a pleasure.”

Lucius bowed and given all the crossing and double-crossing that had occurred in the past weeks, Lucius did something he almost never did - he gave the Queen a quick read. And instantly regretted it. The Queen’s thoughts regarding him were really way more than he wanted to know. His expression remained neutral, however.

“Your Majesty, the pleasure is mine. I understand it is all done?”

“A dreadful business sometimes, but yes. It is done.” She sat and offered him a chair. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“Loose ends. We could not be here to witness it, you understand of course. I have notified Lt. Commander Kh’ali with the particulars. She would have come herself but we have a visiting group from Ozum on the station. I trust that this puts this whole plot to bed?” He winced inwardly at his choice of words.

“As far as I know, everything is as it should be now. I will be appointing a new Prime Minister tomorrow and, if possible, would you be able to read her as you are undoubtedly doing me now?” She noticed the wince and thought it must have been from her incredibly outrageous thoughts she had about him as he walked into the room. She couldn’t help but waggle her eyebrows a few times at him before continuing. “I would like to ensure her priorities are clear and that she won’t be following in Aegina’s footsteps.”

“Your Highness,” Lucius shifted slightly. “I make it a practice never to invade the thoughts of others.” He looked steadily back at the Queen. Her thoughts had surprised him; she always seemed so repressed. “I must respectfully decline your request.” And your unspoken one as well, he thought. “That would be overstepping the acceptable political bounds. Your planet is a protectorate, not a possession, and such an act would be far too great an interference by the Fleet. It was acceptable to help solve a problem, but using it to set up your government would cause far too many problems, especially among your own people.”

“Hmmm, pity,” she replied with a blistering amount of sexual thoughts aimed at Lucius, just for fun. “Well, that’s that. And why are you here now, dear Admiral? Something else is amiss?”

“As I said, checking in to make sure it’s over. Kh’ali will be in touch tomorrow, of course. And, I suppose, I wanted to make sure that you were safe. There have been a staggering amount of twists and turns and betrayals.”

“I am touched, Admiral. Thank you for your concern. Of course, now that I know who my true supporters are in the Queen’s Guard, I feel much safer than before. Luckily there were only a few truly bad eggs in the bunch, but it’s all been sorted.”

“Very good.” Lucius let out a slow breath and, in an uncharacteristically casual move, rubbed his eyes tiredly. “It’s been a long few days, has it not?”

“It has. Would you care for a drink? Or a bite to eat? Some fine Archadian cuisine is known to calm the nerves, along with large applications of drink.” She smiled, hoping for the best.

“A drink would be lovely, thank you.” He looked back at the Queen for a moment. “Have you ever considered re-taking the helm as Prime Minister?”

“I have not,” she said as she summoned a personal waiter over to pour their drinks. “Truth be told, I got tired of the endless arguing, bickering, bitching and moaning. It was all bureaucracy to the extreme and I was, and still am, tired of it.” She lifted her now full glass and raised it to Lucius before sipping at it. “While my powers are somewhat limited, I know what I can and cannot do without tripping over what you call red tape.”

That brought a smile to Lucius’ face as he touched his glass to hers. “I can certainly understand that. So who is next in line? I’m sure our Chief Ambassador is anxious to know who she will be dealing with.”

“The good thing about my being able to appoint someone to the position is that I don’t have to go by any seniority or qualifications.” She smiled. “I could choose that woman, ah...Imara, if I wanted. The Queen can appoint anyone to be the next Prime Minister.”

It was moments like this that Lucius was very glad he had perfected the ability not to show his emotions on his face. “She certainly handled Aegina well so that her suspicions were not raised.”

With a nod Melanippe waved the server back over for some snacks. “But don’t worry, Admiral, I don’t even know Imara. No, my choice is a long time friend who has proven her abilities, and judgment, to me many times over. I trust her to pick up from where I left off and to help me shape our aligned planets in a successful manner.”

“Very good.” Lucius took a sip of the deep amber alcohol in his glass. “I am certain I speak for us all when I say we’ll be glad to get things back to normal.”

“You and I both,” she said. Taking a few more sips of the drink, and actually smiling when the server returned with the hors d'oeuvres, she looked to Lucius. “Anyway, I owe you and your people a debt of thanks. This could have turned out very differently if you had not been involved.”

“It was a series of lucky circumstances that led our Intel officers to intercept Veist’s shuttle after he drugged Imara and ran off with her. Without his rash confession, we’d never have been put on the trail.” Lucius drained his glass and set it aside. “You really should come to the station, once Admiral Wegener and Commander Hawke have returned.”

She nodded. “I may do that again,” she replied. “The last time wasn’t all that enjoyable, but I’m a new person now--literally,” she said as she looked around the palace. “But in the meantime, I believe I will have to give an award to that girl. I know that she was mated to Veist, but it took the heart of a true Archadian to bring that information to the authorities.”

Lucius merely nodded. “Perhaps once she’s had some time to deal with all that has happened in the past few days.” He left it at that. “Last time, as I recall, your visit came with the discovery that your own military nearly killed me. I can understand why it was not a relaxing stay for you.”

“There is that. But in the end it worked out since it wasn’t actually my military trying to kill you.” She bit into what appeared to be a cracker with a spread and what looked like caviar. It must have been good because the look on her face told Lucius everything he needed to know without having to get anywhere close to being inside her head. “But, yes, I would adore seeing Commander Hawke again. Your counterpart, however, not so much. He serves his purpose, and I guess I actually owe some thanks to him, but he just riles me so!”

Deep down, however, it wasn’t simply a matter of her disliking Wegener, she had been put off immediately by his reaction to her. She hadn’t even had time to make a move on him and he began spewing his obvious dislike of her to any and all. As Melanippe chewed, she hoped that Lucius wasn’t looking in her head now. The scene with her, Lucius and Rick would probably have made him blush. Without his knowledge, Wegener had scorned the now sitting Queen of Archadia Prime. Her revulsion of him now boiled down to a high school crush gone wrong. If he wouldn’t have her, she would hate him for it.

“I’ll pass that along to Li, she’ll be pleased to hear it. And now, with your permission, I should take my leave.”

“But you’ve not eaten. Do you wish to take some of this with you?” she asked, waving her server over. “I believe you call it a donkey bag?”

Lucius laughed out loud. “Terrans call it a doggie bag. But no, I’m good. I had dinner before I came down.” And truthfully, Archadian cuisine wasn’t high on Lucius’ list of favorites.

“Very well,” she said as she stood. She began walking to the main doors where Moren still stood, waiting. He opened the doors as they approached and bowed deeply to his Queen. “Thank you for your visit, Admiral Hawke. I will have my aide notify the station as to when I would like to visit. And thank you, once again, for your help as of late.”

“Any time.” He bowed as well. “We’ll speak soon, you have my word.” Formalities done, he turned and departed.

She watched him go until the doors were closed again. Standing there a moment, she turned to Pentias. “If you’d like to finish that, feel free. I hate to see it go to waste.” Walking back to her private wing she ordered the server to bring a fresh glass for Moren and to leave him be. She couldn’t help but feel badly for the man. He’d been framed and made to look a fool, all for only doing his job in serving her. It was a shame that he was such an idiot. If not Wegener and not Hawke, tonight it could have been Moren. But she couldn’t help but thinking he’d only stand at the bed with a shocked look on his face, unable to move.

“Ugh, men,” she scoffed and entered her bedroom.

------------------------------------
Queen Melanippe III
Lucky In War, Not Love

Admiral Lucius Hawke
Good At The Sidestep

Solaana (briefly)
The Queen’s Friend