Ekos 5 - Freiheit abbilden

Posted on Thursday, 15 April 2021 - 2:09pm by Crewman Leopold Eberhardt & Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt
Edited on on Thursday, 15 April 2021 - 2:12pm

Mission: Operation: Neu Reich

It was a silent car ride back to the Eberhardt house. Adrianna had spent it, pensively looking out of the window, considering how to formulate the words to explain what Leopold's mother had said. She didn't want him hurt, but equally did not know what would hurt worse for him. In an eyeroll worthy change of weather, the heavens opened and the sound of rain hitting the car, drowned her thoughts into further silence. She would just have to be blunt and hope that she could pick up the pieces.

The woman opened her own car door, pleased to be out of sight of those that would not approve of such feminist behavior. She wandered into the kitchen, rooting around her person a moment to get the chip. She held it up, beckoning over Emilia on the way in.

Adrianna put the small chip on the dining table and looked to Leopold. "It appears that your mother is well. Albeit, she seems broken in spirit. Our conversation was short but she did warn me about your father's plans. He was in the process of striking a deal to free your mother in favour of the actual family traitor. You. We can't have you in public whilst your father is making deals with me in Grand Fuhrer Satan. He wants you in exchange for your mother's freedom. You can't be stupid," Adrianna then gestured to the device, "your mother also gave me this. Any ideas on how to get it read? It will either help or hinder."

"Ja," Leopold replied picking it up and examining it. "It is an older isoliner chip, Federation by the looks of it. If we were aboard the Standing Bear or even a shuttle, I could make it work."

They weren't, however, and technology was very limited on the planet in regards to the commoners. "A portable isoliner chip reader would do the trick, but that isn't something we'd have just lying around."

Leopold thought for a moment. "Our dress up Nazi friends out there would be able to read it, but I don't think I can persuade Ralph or Maximus to join our side, but we may..." Leopold smirked. "We just need something, even a medical tricorder. I can reconfigure it into being a chip reader with a little time "

"Happy to rough you up a little for abandoning me with your mother. I promise to avoid that pretty face of yours though," Adrianna said rather coldly, but it was clear she was teasing. She ran her fingers over his cheek and then smiled, kissing his cheek.

Adrianna thought a moment. She was out of her league here to use normal means of getting what she wanted. Well, that and she didn't want Leopold to witness her usual tactics. She looked to Leopold's sister, "Emilia, if your mother has this, I'm sure she has something in which to read it or at least knows someone who has access to the technology. Any ideas?"

Emilia nodded. "The Zeons would have the technology. They are more liberal and progressive, though there are not many Zeons left on our planet anymore, not living free at least."

Leopold shook his head. "If we get caught with Zeons, it's going to surely sentence our parents and us to death. At this point, punching me may be the better option."

Adrianna slowly looked to Leopold and grinned, flirting in italian, "not in front of the children." She then looked back to the device, returning to standard, "I assume our PaDDs couldn’t do the job?"

"Actually," Leopold said. "PaDDs used to operate with isoliner chips. The problem is our PaDDs are newer, and this chip is...eh let's just say I think Kirk was Commanding the 1701 when this was in use."

Adrianna groaned, "Where's the nearest medic?"

"Just a phone call away if we have an emergency," Emilia said. "Their response time will be faster if we say something about Zeons, but that would also bring the gestapo."

Leopold groaned. "Yeah, we don't want to deal with them. I can make this work...I think. In theory at least I can tinker with the components of this PaDD and get it to crudely read this chip."

Adrianna chuckled entertained by Leopold changing his tune, "knew you could do it, sweetheart." She patted his shoulder, "I didn't want to beat you up anyway." She looked to Emilia, "can you ensure that the place is secure, shut any curtains. Ensure this house is not being watched, and if they are, they won't have eyes inside. Meanwhile, I shall make dinner since you both look far too skinny and I promised your mother."

Emilia nodded. "I'll make sure everything is locked and the curtains closed, but just so you know, it is going to take him forever to do that." The younger girl had no filter. "I would have just slugged him."

"The option is still open of he fails," Adrianna smirked and headed to the kitchen, "you have until we eat, Leopold."

***

A few hours later and the kitchen had the aroma of an Italian's kitchen. She walked into the dining room with three plates of homemade tagliatelle with a hearty ragu. She whistled loudly, "stomach to the table or starve!"

Emilia walked into the dining room. "That's not exactly what my mother would say, but I like the enthusiasm," said the girl. "He's upstairs, but should be coming down. I bugged him about the chip and he slammed the door in my face, so there's that."

"You know, I don't know what he was like when here, but he's come a hell of a long way in Star Fleet. He's one of the best at what he does," Adrianna slightly defended. The woman sat down, after putting a plate down at each place setting.

She didn't hear and movement upstairs for a few minutes, and frowned. She hadn't started eating yet out of politeness. Leopold lived with her, surely he knew how much food o'clock was important to her. She cleared her throat, licked her lips a little and whistled even louder, letting it echo around the house, "your time is up, put your screw driver down and get your ass to the table or so help me."

Leopold came down the stairs and into the dining room looking as though he had gone a few rounds with a targ. "I was busy trying to get the PaDD to read the chip. I nearly got it, but the damn thing sparked into face, but it was worth it. I got it working."

Adrianna leant over and kissed him. She looked to Emilia, "told you." She then gestured to the plates, "now both of you, eat then let's take a look at that chip. Food first. Emilia, if you don't like it, let me know, I'll make something else. I just assumed taste buds would be similar as they are with my siblings."

Leopold looked at his sister and then at Adrianna. "She will eat anything. If she can survive dad's abominable schnitzel, she will be in heaven eating your food."

Emilia laughed. "Oh God. Father's schnitzel is awful."

"What's a shit-snit-whats that?" Adrianna asked intrigued, between bites. She enjoyed watching him around his sister. It was nice to see what a good family could be like.

"It is death on a plate," replied Leopold. "A piece of meat, sometimes pork, sometimes veal, but it can be something else too. It is breaded and fried in fat. The meat is usually thin and tender because you pound it until it's tenderizer before cooking it, but our father's was always like chewing on a belt."

Adrianna considered the dish described and then nodded." One of the many reasons I do not cook fish," Adrianna smiled, "I sympathise with your father." She sipped a glass of water and then looked over to watch Emilia eat a moment before going back to her own plate, "I assume then that it is your mother in the kitchen, mostly."

Emilia nodded. "Yes, and this is delicious," she said commenting on the meal Adrianna had made. "Mom and I mostly." She then looked at her brother "Except dessert. Leopold always made dessert when he lived here."

"I'm glad it's alright for you," Adrianna replied, "it's my culture to ensure those around me get fat and die from a full belly and a smile on their faces."

Adrianna looked to Leopold, curiously, "You need to make me dessert sometime. You never said. All these months and you had me missing out. How dare you." The woman teased lightly.

"It has been a few years, I may be out of practice," confessed Leopold. "Maybe I'll try to make you some Zwetschgenknoedel when we are back home aboard the Standing Bear."

"I have no idea what that is, but I shall remind you," Adrianna grinned.

It was safe to say that food went down a treat and before long, Adrianna was picking up the plates and heading back into the kitchen with them. After a while, she emerged and gestured to the device in Leopold's hands, "so, let's see what you have."

"I have plans," he replied. "Not to some galactic base, but to the prison my parents are being held at. These had to have come from Zeon intelligence. We could use them to break my parents out."

"I've done a break before," Adrianna commented, "if you break one out, you'll cause a riot. You'll need to release everyone or no one." She ran a hand over her face, "I assume that there are more than just sympathisers in there." She paused, "if we had a way off the planet, I'd say sure. But if you only save your parents, you will have whatever police is here, on top of us without question. It'll get us all killed."

Emilia had stepped away for a few moments and headed down to the cellar whilst Leopold and Adrianna had their discussion. "Yes, there are more than sympathizers being held there, but the majority were either charged with being sympathizers or simply were Zeons living here when they decided to start rounding Zeons up again. A lot of those people are completely innocent. Zeons were pacifistic until all this Nazism started and re-started. They had a war-filled history, the Zeons, but they overcame it, and my people tore down their pacifism."

Leopold shook his head. "Nein, we can't just ignore this. My parents have weeks if they are lucky, but it could be only a matter of days before they are executed for their crimes against the Ekosian government. Ja, the Gestapo would be here swarming all over this place once we staged our prison break, but that just means we don't come back here. My parents will have to forget this home." Leopold sighed "But the prison is heavily guarded and even if we managed to start this prison break, we don't have guns. The guards have crude projectile weapons accurate to Earth's mid 1900s."

Adrianna looked back to the plans silently, trying to find a plan B. She heard him loud and clear. There would be no positive outcome, no matter the plan. After a moment she and pointed to a series of parallel lines,"would you say that's an air vent or a tunnel? If so, how big is your father? If we were subtle enough, we could just get them out, but we cannot guarantee they are in a cell of their own, or being watched but an opposite cell."

She looked to Leopold, "knowing these plans, we could also get ourselves thrown in and break out from the inside." She shrugged.

Emilia came up the stairs and towards the table, soon emptying her arms of several older Federation phasers. "Here," she said slightly out of breath. "Break in, break out, whatever crazy ideas you two have...would these be helpful?" inquired Leopold's little sister who had just presented them with type-II phasers that were clearly archaic in design. They looked like Captain Kirk himself had just handed them out to them.

Adrianna grinned and looked to Leopold.

Leopold looked at his sister. "Where...." he shook his head. Parents he thought to himself. They were clearly in on this Zeon underground resistance. "They have old Federation phasers? Is there more?"

Emilia nodded. "Father hollowed out an area of the basement floor underneath the floorboards, there is a small stairwell down to a tiny bunker. It has a few old phasers and power cells for them. These are just the ones I could carry. They have a couple of those really big ones too...the silver and copper one that looks like a big needle."

Leopold looked at his spouse. "That sounds like an old phaser rifle."

"Sounds like something I'd enjoy using," Adrianna nodded, "so we take that tunnel thing, get everyone out, then run. We'll take all weapons."

"There are mountains and valleys to the east of the prison, we can probably use them as an escape route. After we break everyone out, especially my parents, we can direct them to head that way. There were rumors when I was a child that the Zeon resistance movement housed operations in those mountains. Maybe if we break these people out and head that way..." he didn't really need to say more. He was hoping the rumors were true and the Zeon would join the fight.

Adrianna nodded, "perhaps we pull a Ba'ku," Adrianna thought out loud, "we hike up there beforehand. Scout it out, set up a subtle and secluded spot to make a minicamp. Then we're not lugging around stuff other than what we need." She nodded, "you said we may have a few weeks."

"May," he echoed. "May, being the keyword. Though you are right, we should make our way up there beforehand. We could potentially rig some explosive devices, mines."

"Might as well have some form. of vacation," Adrianna shrugged playfully, "we'll hike tomorrow. Get everything we need the day after and by Wednesday or Thursday, we'll be free."

Leopold nodded. "I'll wear my best lederhosen."

"I'll pay to see that," Adrianna snorted.