Chapter 11: Recovery

Lieutenant commander Rhan answered his communications device. Then he turned to me, “I’ve got two dead security forces and no sign of your crew.”

“I hoped they would have come after me. It makes sense, they were an easier target,” I said. Jem was getting up ready to leave.

“This morning we were provided with the location of your abduction. Do they have a similar tracking device?” he asked.

“They do, but they need to be conscious for it to work. I am hoping their abductors don’t know about it. In that case we will get a position when they awake,” I said.

“We can move you and your captain back to the hotel with a larger detail, or perhaps it might be better if we go to our headquarters. You will be surrounded by security forces there, and you will be able to see when we get any updates,” Rhan offered.

“We will go with you to headquarters. It is hard to rest when our people are missing. Also, the abductors are related to the ones from last night. Do you have two still in for questioning, perhaps they have information that could help?” I said.

By now a group of us were walking to the exit. The armoured vehicle was waiting for us at the door. “I’m sorry we did not have time to do more for commander Quon,” I said.

“He would want us to get those bastards. We have three dead security forces and three abductees in two days,” he replied. We got in the armoured vehicle, and it moved rapidly off.

I got a call from Ship. “Brian, I have information on the leak. There was a call placed from the minister’s office after your call. I have a recording of the call.”

“Some good news at last. Ship we are going to security forces headquarters with lieutenant commander Rhan. Can you send a copy of the information to his device? Continue to ping Koluna and Laine every ten minutes until you get a response. When you do, send the coordinates to us and lieutenant commander Rhan. Out,” I said.

“What was all that about?” asked Rhan.

“I suspected that someone in your government was passing information to these bastards. Whoever did is a traitor. I had our AI monitoring for just such a communication, and we got lucky. The information is on your device,” I said. The vehicle had arrived. We all got out and moved rapidly as a group through checkpoints and into the hub of their operations.

There were lots of big displays showing various information. Some staff were combing through the video feeds from the hotel looking for clues. Others were looking at the movement of traffic around the hotel at the time of the attack. It was all very organized.

Lieutenant commander Rhan took us over to a desk with a display. He pressed keys on his device and the information from Ship came up on the display.

“I said outside in the vehicle I suspected that someone was guilty of passing information about my location. Yesterday the only person I talked to was minister Tarron. So it was likely he or someone in his staff.

“To test this out, I called minister Tarron after I called you this afternoon and asked for a reporter to cover the event. I had our AI monitor communications from their office after the call.”

“You could get into trouble for doing that,” he said.

“I could tell no one without the possibility of word getting out,” I replied.

“Well, you have diplomatic status, I could not do much about it. So what do we have?” he looked at the display. It showed the image of an Ori, but they were speaking Lagaid. Ship had provided a transcript. The conversation was pretty damning.

“That looks to be your traitor. He is speaking the same language as most of the pirates we met,” I said.

Rhan waved over some staff. “You, I want a warrant for the arrest of this being. They work in minister Tarron’s office I believe. Track him down. Take an armed squad and get him here for questioning. If the minister asks, have him contact me directly.”

“You, I want you to trace the call to whomever he was talking to. Find out who they are and possibly where they are. Let me know as soon as you have something.”

I liked Rhan. He was a no-nonsense, get things done being.

We had been in security forces headquarters for about an hour. Rhan got a report that the traitor was apprehended and on route here. Tracing the call yielded no results.

Minister Tarron arrived.

“I am so sorry to hear about the abduction of your crew. Your visit to Ori Major has stirred up a mess,” he said.

“Yes, it has not gone like I had hoped it would minister,” said Jem.

“Lieutenant commander Rhan, could you show me the evidence you have on my aide?” he said.

“This way,” said Rhan. They went over to the display and played the recording.

“So this was just after I received a call from Brian? Well, it seems clear. I don’t know how he passed our vetting procedure. We will have to update the procedure and go through all senior staff,” he said. Then he turned and looked at me.

“Brian I am very sorry about this. I did not know I had a traitor in my team. He is also likely the one who gave out your location yesterday. Lieutenant commander Rhan, be sure to add conspiracy to commit murder to the charges,” he said. Rhan nodded.

Finally, the call came in I was waiting for. “Brian I have got a response to the ping for Koluna. Sending coordinates to lieutenant commander Rhan’s device.”

I turned to Rhan “Check your device, we have a location!”

He wasted no time; it was up on the main display. Squads were dispatched within a minute.

Jem and I studied the map. It was somewhere in a rural area, away from the city. “What is the ETA?” I asked Rhan.

“About thirty minutes,” he replied. We would have to wait.

“The two who died at the hotel, was one of them Meras?” I asked.

“Yes. They both died trying to protect your crew,” he replied.

“When this madness is finally over, we will all drink to their memory. They deserve that and more,” I said. Rhan looked me in the eye for a moment, and then nodded.

Things happened about forty minutes later. In the operations hub, we saw maps and video feeds and reports coming in from the squads of security forces on the scene. The minister, Jem, lieutenant commander Rhan and I were standing together watching the main displays. I would have liked to be there killing pirates, but it was not my jurisdiction. Jem and I were spectators this time.

The Ori security forces had surprised and overwhelmed the pirates. Most of them were dead, with a few taken alive.

Koluna and Laine were alive and well. They were being routed to the central medical facility. I mentally kept a watch on their ETA, so we could leave and meet them there.

“It looks like they took your crew back to their home base this time. They were occupying a farm outside the city,” said Rhan.

“If that is the case, you could get some good intel this time,” offered the minister. Rhan nodded.

“I hope that is the last of those bastards. This is getting annoying. Koluna and Laine could have been killed,” said Jem. I nodded.

“These pirates did not come in legally. We scanned their IDs and none were registered on any incoming transports. They were probably smuggled in on a freighter or something like that,” said Rhan.

“I wonder how long ago they came here. They must have been here long before we arrived,” I said.

“Perhaps we can get answers from the traitor. He arrived recently and is being interrogated already,” said Rhan.

“Captain, we should depart to go to the medical facility. Lieutenant commander, I assume you will have transport and security details for us,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

On the displays it looked like the squads were doing cleanup and intelligence gathering. There was no reason to hang around here.

“If you’ll come this way,” said Rhan. We all followed out to a convoy of armoured vehicles. We got in and the convoy moved as one.

I turned to the minister, “Is it usually like this on your planet? I thought it was more peaceful from our previous visit.”

“I am very sorry about what has happened since you arrived. This is an exceptional circumstance. We value our peace and we will crack down on this until it is eliminated. Until then, your security here has been ramped up,” he said.

Rhan had his communications device to his ear and was listening to something. Then he turned and looked at Jem and I. “Initial intel suggests that these hostiles came here looking for you and your crew. They were to capture or kill you all.”

“That makes sense. The intel we gathered from the pirates said there was a price on our heads,” replied Jem.