by K M Dean
“Do the Krayari know about this?” Asked Indira.
“No, we are certain they are not aware this is going on. We have only discovered this ourselves over the last several phases.”
“As detestable as this is, I don’t see how we can help. We are a small ship with few offensive weapons and no defensive ones.” Replied Indira.
“We have a plan Captain. I urge you to consider our offer. I realize you could call Araime Deruno right now and I would be captured, tortured for all the information if have and then killed. I am risking everything to make this contact. I believe it is worth it.”
“Nume, if what you say is true, how do you know I am not being watched? In fact, how do you know this apartment is not already populated with listening devices?”
“Because Captain, Krysuuk Maseer is one of us. He will have to tell Deruno about the apartment and it WILL be bugged, but it is safe for now.”
“I think I believe you Nume. I got a bad vibe from Deruno from the first time I spoke with him. I am going to go with my gut and trust you. Where do we go from here?”
“Captain, I am not certain what vibe and gut mean, but I do know what trust means. We will be in touch. And you should know, the Similublians security service is listening to your TUI conversations.”
“I should probably shut it down then.” Said Indira.
“No Captain just be very careful what you say. If you shut it down they will get suspicious.”
“Thank you Nume. How will I know whoever contacts me is legit?”
“I don’t understand, Captain what does “legit” mean?”
“I am sorry Nume, I mean how do I know whoever you send to contact me is okay to talk to and not someone from Similublians security service?”
“I see Captain, anyone from our organization will have a tattoo like this on their wrist.”
Nume turned her hand over and showed Indira her arm. There was a black phoenix like creature tattooed on her inner arm.
As Nume left the apartment, Indira realized that she and her crew had been lied to. The Similublians were supposed to be helping, but it was a sham. They might make the repairs, but the Barracuda can’t leave the system. The question that entered her mind was why help at all? What do we have that could possible matter to the Similublians? They have all the tech we have and better. Our FTL is not on a par with theirs evidently. Besides they know all about that. We are not a threat to them unless we leave the sector. The reasoning for what the Similublians were doing made no sense. She would just have to stall for time and hope she could find a way out of the mess they were in.
Indira sat back down on the couch she was exhausted. “Just a few minutes of sleep, a quick cat nap and I will be good to go,” she thought.
Six hours later she was awakened by a knock on the apartment door. She activated the security screen and saw that it was Commander Roderique. Indira opened the door and let Commander Roderique in. She held a finger up to her lips and said quietly,” shhh wait just a moment. She found a note pad and wrote, “this apartment may be bugged, and the Similublians security service is listening to our TUI’s”.
“Jane, thank you for coming” she said. “How are things coming on the Barracuda?”
“Fine Captain, the repairs have all been made and the FTL tests show the unit is capable of operating correctly. I brought you some clothes, I thought you might need them.”
“I do,” said Indira. “I was so exhausted last night I fell asleep on the couch. Its good you woke me up. I can’t tell you how much help the Similublians have been Jane. All the extra effort just for some lost travelers. Araime Deruno has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome. We owe them big time. Jane, let me get showered and dressed and then you can walk to the hospital with me. OK?”
“Of course, Captain. I would like to see how Gunnar is coming along anyway.”
“Give me just a moment then Jane, I will be right out.” Indira took the clothes and toilet articles with her and went to the small room off the bedroom. It was what looked like a bathroom. It had a fresher unit rather than a water shower, but it was almost as good. After Indira had showered and changed in to a clean uniform she went back to the small living room.
“Jane, I’m ready. The hospital is this way. The door locked behind them, but Indira realized a locked door meant nothing to the Similublians security service. She was certain the apartment would be searched and compromised before she returned. Well, that was Okay. If they wanted to paw through her dirty underwear welcome to it. She also knew she could never have a private conversation there again.
As they walked to the hospital, Indira filled Commander Roderique in on her conversation with Nume. She added, “Jane we have to assume that there are bugs and tracers all over the Barracuda. There is no place we can have a private conversation except outdoors, and even then, it could be questionable. That is why I have been so effusive with my praise for the Similublians. We need to stall for time. We cannot make a move until we get Gunnar back aboard.”
“One other thing, there can be no mention of the Krayari. Reach out to the rest of the crew, write a note and explain the situation, especially about the Krayari and be sure to recycle the note after you use it.” We will deal with the bugs and tracers later. For now, just leave them where they are and act accordingly. Until we get Gunnar back aboard stay cool and play along. It is our only option for the moment.”
“Alright Captain, we will hold down the fort. This is almost as scary as being in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home. How about ROXXI, should we clue her in?”
“We need to find a way to alert ROXXI, is she capable of scanning information from a note pad?
“Yes Captain, I will take care of it.”
“Alright Jane, this is Gunnar’s room right here.”
As they walked in to the room, Indira noticed that Gunnar seemed to open his eyes slightly for just a second. She took his hand and he squeezed it slightly. She said, Jane I believe Gunnar is asleep, I am going to write a note for the nurse about foods he prefers, and then sit with him for a while. Why don’t you go back to the Barracuda? I will talk to you tomorrow.”
“Aye Captain, until tomorrow.” And Jane left. Indira took a small erasable note pad and wrote, “Do You know Morse code?” Indira took Gunnar’s hand and then held the notepad, so he could see it. He squeezed her hand, dash-dot-dash-dash / dot / dot-dot-dot. Indira knew the code Gunnar just sent her was Morse for yes. She nodded and looked around. “I wonder if there are any insects in here, I hate bugs almost as much as I hate hospitals. Gunnar began to squeeze her hand, dash-dot-dash-dash /dot /dot-dot-dot. She wrote on her pad, “can you fake amnesia?”
Gunnar again answered in code. dash-dot-dash-dash / dot / dot-dot-dot. Indira said, “Gunnar, I realize you can’t hear me, but we are anxious for you to wake up and get back on board. We need you to help us figure how to get back home.” Gunnar again squeezed her hand. His answer was yes, and then he continued with “in am cu then”.
Indira walked back to the tiny apartment. It would be a long night. She was certain she would be unable to sleep. She was wrong.
The next morning, when Indira walked in to Gunnar’s room the nurse was taking his vitals. “Good morning Captain, I believe your crewmate is feeling better this morning. His vitals are excellent, and I believe I see some eye movement. Just then Gunnar opened his eyes and said, groggily, “where am I? What happened?”
The nurse said, “Hello Commander Gabrielli, welcome back, you are in a hospital. You are alright, you just need to rest a bit.” She turned to Indira and said, “Captain, I will go and get the Doctor. He wanted to be alerted when Commander Gabrielli awakened.”
Indira replied, “thank you nurse.”
When Dr. Trowish walked in to the room, he said, “good morning Captain” He then turned to Gunnar and said, “Good morning Commander, how are you feeling?”
Gunnar said, “Okay I guess, how did I get here, what happened. The last thing I remember
is going aboard the Barracuda at Apsis Prime.”
“Do you remember Captain Sukhov Commander?”
“Yes, of course I remember Captain Sukhov, and I remember the crew of the Barracuda, but nothing that happened since I got aboard at Apsis Prime.”
“That’s alright Commander, I am certain you will recover most of your memory, it will just take some time. Do you feel like you could sit on the side of the bed for me?”
Gunnar began to move his body to sit on the side of the bed. Once he was situated the Doctor took some tests, checked his reflexes and then said, “just lie down for a few minutes, but when you feel like it I would like for you to walk a little. Don’t overdo it, I think you need another three or four days before we release you.”
Gunnar glanced at Indira then turned to the Doctor and said, “would it be alright for Captain Sukhov to wheel me outside in a wheelchair? I miss fresh air and sunlight.”
“Of course, Commander, I will have a wheelchair brought in for you.”
Dr. Trowish turned to Indira and said, “the fresh air and sun will do him a lot of good. Take him out whenever he feels like it. We will release him in three or four days. He is recovering nicely.”
Indira pushed the wheelchair in to an outside arboretum. Once they were clear of the hospital she explained what was going on. After she had finished Gunnar said. “Captain, I feel great. I am not worried about leaving the hospital. I believe the Doctor is keeping me here for some other reason.”
“That is my thinking as well. They know we would never leave without you. They are keeping us here for some reason. Be prepared Gunnar, we may have to leave quickly.”
“I will be ready Indira. I will follow your lead.”
Later that day as Indira walked out of the hospital she was stopped by a stranger who said, “Your taxi is ready Captain Sukhov. I will be happy to show you around Aizong. It is certainly a lovely city.” As he spoke, he extended his arm in welcome. He shot his shirt cuff just enough, so she could see the Phoenix rising out of the ashes. She immediately got in the cab.
As soon as the cab was in motion the pilot said, “Nume sent me. You need to get your ship out of the shipyard. The authorities intend to seize it the day after tomorrow. They will arrest you and your crew for subversion. You will never leave Ornia. We don’t intend to let that happen. We need to get you and Commander Gabrielli back to your ship. I am sorry to put you under this kind of time restraint, but you need to leave no later than tomorrow. Take this device, it will tell me your location. Take the Commander out for some sun and fresh air in the morning. Press the button when you are ready to go to your ship and I will pick you up. Once I pick you up I will take you to a waiting shuttle. The shuttle will take us to your ship. The shuttle is one of ours. I will be going with you. I will be compromised by the ensuing investigation as will the pilot of the shuttle. We will have to leave with you. Sorry this is happening so fast, but we have no choice. Now sit back and enjoy the rest of the tour.”
As she finished the tour, Indira began to formulate a plan. The Barracuda had two more torpedoes in the tubes. Once they were fired she had no weapons at all. Hopefully they wouldn’t need them, if they did, they would have failed. She had to get Gunnar out of the hospital, she would not leave him behind. She also had to alert the crew, so they could make the preparations to leave.
She activated her TUI and paged Commander Roderique. When she answered, Indira said, “Jane, good news, they are going to let Gunnar out of the hospital in about three days.”
“That is good news Captain, anything else?”
“No Jane, Gunnar woke up and is anxious to get back aboard the Barracuda. He would leave in the morning if he could. How have the repairs gone on the ship by the way?”
“The FTL repairs are all done. The nose of the ship has been completed, but the scaffolding is still in place. Other than that, the ship is ready, just no place to go.”
“I know Jane, I will ask Araime Deruno if there is anyplace he recommends.”
“Jane, something funny, when Gunnar woke up he was talking about that crazy movie we showed a few weeks ago? He couldn’t remember the title. It was driving him nuts. I can’t remember either, do you know? It really seems to bother him. Wait, wasn’t it The Great Island Getaway?”
“I do remember it Captain. I am sure we played it just a few weeks ago. Well maybe your reminding him will help him with the rest of his memory. Tell him we will show it again as soon as he is back aboard Is there anything else?”
“No Jane, we will see you soon.”
Indira could only hope Commander Roderique got the message. They had not played the movie for some time. The plot was rather simple, but basically it was about a man that found out he was going to be arrested within two days for a crime he did not commit. He was being framed by an enemy. He went to his boat as if to settle down, but early the next morning he escaped before the authorities could stop him. Indira could only hope Jane understood the message she had passed. They would know in the morning.
Indira left the apartment the next morning. She took nothing with her except the small portfolio she carried everywhere with her. She left her extra clothing, toiletries, and anything she didn’t absolutely have to have. She walked to the hospital just as she did every morning. As she walked in to Gunnar’s hospital room, her heart skipped a couple of beats when she didn’t see Gunnar in his bed. Then she realized he was sitting in his wheelchair. She said, “Good morning Gunnar, are you ready for some fresh air and sunshine?”
“Yes Captain” he replied, “I can’t wait to get out of my hospital room for an hour or so. Do you think the doctor will release me day after tomorrow?”
“I think so Gunnar. The doctor said he wanted to run some more tests this afternoon, but that he felt you had made sufficient progress to leave the hospital in a couple of days.”
Gunnar replied, “outstanding, it will be good to get back aboard the Barracuda.”
As Indira wheeled Gunnar out of his hospital room, two men were watching them from another room. One turned to the other, “Tujeer, now might be a good time for you to take a break. She usually takes him out for a couple of hours before he gets tired and wants to come back. I can handle it from here.”
“All right Irikir, I will have something to eat, I should be back inside an hour. The outside team just checked in. They have them under surveillance.”
Indira pushed Gunnar’s wheelchair down the street to a small park. As she waited to cross the street leading to the park, she reached in the portfolio she carried and pressed the button on the device she had been given. A few seconds later there was a disturbance near the park. As Indira watched, a man stepped out into the path of a delivery shuttle. He bounced off in to the street and began screaming. People and enforcement officers gathered around the man. Almost immediately a taxi stopped next to Indira. A man got out and helped Gunnar in to the taxi. Indira followed. The taxi shot down a side street. It soon drove into what looked like a parking garage. It went all the way to the top and stopped next to a waiting shuttle like the one that had brought them to the surface a few days ago. The shuttle then lifted into the air and took a direct course for the shipyard.
Meanwhile the wheelchair sat alone on the walkway.
Panels on the side of the shuttle slid out showing the shuttle to be an emergency vehicle on an emergency call. Rotating and flashing lights began to operate, and the shuttle displayed an emergency vehicle code on the transponder. The code allowed the shuttle to go directly to the shipyard. It made for the main concourse and veered off at the last moment to nestle up next to the berth housing Barracuda.
As everyone exited the shuttle, the original agent who first contacted Indira said, “It is a short walk, but move as quickly as you can. The confusion will not last for long. I hope your crew is ready. As they entered the umbilical leading to the Barracuda the outer airlock door opened. Commander Roderique shouted, “hurry, we have the ship ready to go. All we need is the rest of our
crew.”
“As Captain Sukhov, Gunnar and the two men with them entered the ship, Commander Roderique closed both locks and said, “let’s go.”
The Barracuda began to tug at her moorings. “The first agent said. They are designed to breakaway in case of an emergency. The umbilical will rip away as well. They will not damage the ship. The scaffolding could be a problem however.
Indira said. “I can handle that. Jane put one of the torpedoes through that mess. It won’t survive that.”
Jane activated the waiting torpedo and fired. The scaffolding disappeared. “We can go now.” Said Jane
With that reassurance Lieutenant Kaitee Terzo applied power to the plasma engines. The Barracuda made a leap and all moorings, and the umbilical were left behind. Lieutenant Terzo then entered a preplanned course to the nearest point they could make an FTL jump. Lieutenant Terzo also activated the stealth system.
On the surface, Knebo Zynlo, head of the Similublians security service said, “What do you mean, you lost them? They were never supposed to be out of your sight.”
“Sir, one moment she was pushing the wheelchair with the Commander aboard, I glanced at an accident that had happened and when I looked back there was nothing but an empty wheelchair. I looked for them but could find nothing.”
“Idiot, you were supposed to keep your eyes glued to them. Find them immediately. If I must notify Supreme Leader Araime Deruno they are missing, he will have both our heads”
A half hour later the security agent called back. “Sir, one of our security cameras show Captain Sukhov and Commander Gabrielli entering a shuttle that made an unauthorized jump to orbit. The shuttle was representing itself as an emergency vehicle and went directly to the shipyard. Upon its arrival it berthed next to the alien ship. Everyone aboard the shuttle got aboard and after blowing away the scaffolding with a torpedo, the ship made an unauthorized launch from the berth. They went directly to a high orbit, activated their stealth system and disappeared.”
