Chapter 13: To The Trading Post

I woke up from a long sleep. I was catching up from all the stress on Ori Major, and I was feeling myself again. I pushed my way out of bed and visited the en-suite. After I got myself a coffee and sat at the table. My head was clearing.

My crewmates had not stirred. I remembered Jem saying we had two days of rest, so I saw no reason to wake anyone. I put on a clean jumpsuit and took the remains of my coffee with me to the main bridge.

“Hello Ship. Are we on course?”

“Confirmed. We left Ori space about nine hours ago and we are on course to the Trading Post,” said Ship. I nodded. I sipped my coffee. It wasn’t as good when it got cold.

“I am glad to be back aboard. We had a difficult time on the planet, we were too exposed to danger,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“I don’t enjoy being a victim. I also dislike depending on Ori security forces for our wellbeing. Here we decide our own fate. Here we are not helpless,” I said.

“Agreed.” said Ship, ever more succinctly than I could.

A while later Laine arrived and sat down beside me.

“How are you Laine?” I asked.

“I’m rested thanks. What are you doing?”

“I was thinking about what happened on Ori Major. Maybe there is something we could do to improve our chances of surviving an attack next time,” I said.

“Like what?”

“Well, first is not to be there. If we can avoid going down to a planet, they can’t get at us so easily.”

“But we can’t just hide in this vessel. There are times we have to go somewhere,” said Laine.

“Right. And advanced societies like Ori Major have restrictions on our carrying weapons about their cities,” I said.

“What about something more defensive? The away team suit that absorbs energy based weapons is a good example.”

“I agree. But we weren’t wearing it when we got captured. Even when you wear it, it doesn’t stop everything.”

“I know you’ll think of something,” she said. She looked up at me with her annoying smile and patted my arm. I found it hard to come up with ideas with her present.

“Perhaps Jem and Koluna would like us to have breakfast or lunch together?” I asked. I got up and took Laine’s hand. We walked back to the cabin.

We ate in the main dining lounge. Koluna served us all some Ori food from the supplies she had got before we left.

During our meal I observed Koluna and Laine. They did not seem traumatized by their experience being abducted. We had no one aboard with psych skills, so it was good. If we had any residual issues, we would have to work it out between ourselves.

I looked at Jem, and our eyes locked. It was like she was thinking the same thing. There was concern in her eyes. She did not look that much older than I was, but she had a responsibility for our crew. I had a feeling that we would talk about this soon.

After we cleared away our meal, Koluna suggested we watch a movie. She had got some new videos from Ori Major. We let go of our concerns for now, and just enjoyed the entertainment and the company of each other.

The next day I was ready to do more work with Ship. I asked Laine for help. That way I was combining my socializing with what I wanted to do. She was more than happy to join me. We went to the lounge area where we went last time.

“So Laine, are you ok to talk about your experience on Ori? I’d like to compare notes with you see what we can do to improve our chances,” I asked.

She looked at me “Yes Brian. I can do that.”

“When I got attacked, I was walking outside with commander Quon. I did not have on my away team uniform and I was unarmed. They surprised us and killed the commander before I had a chance. They shot me with something and I was unconscious before I could react,” I said.

“It sounds familiar. We were in the hotel suite. They burst in the door to the suite, killed our security detail and stunned us. We were not wearing our away team uniform either,” she said.

“So the first item was the pirates surprised us. If we knew they were approaching, perhaps we could be better prepared?” I asked.

“It would help,” she replied.

“Ship, I want you to think about some kind of personal scanning device that can alert us of possible incoming attacks. If we are in a hotel suite, it could be set up at the entrances. If we are outside, it would need to be something we can carry or wear,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Ship, if it is wearable, make it less obvious what it is,” added Laine.

“And the device or devices could alert us and also let you know. You might then provide help or summon help before the attack is over,” I added.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“This sounds good so far. Thank you for your help Laine. I feel we are working well together,” I said. Laine smiled at me. I had prepared that compliment a while back; I did not expect to use it genuinely though.

“So, assuming we have a way to eliminate a surprise attack, what could we do next?” I asked. Laine thought for a minute.

“It would be good if we did not get shot at,” replied Laine.

“Yes. Like if their weapons could not fire, or if the shots could not reach us?” I asked.

“Either, or both,” replied Laine.

“I agree. Ship, investigate ways to neutralize or render harmless the enemy weapons. Perhaps some kind of directed mini-EMP pulse could fry the weapon’s control system. Maybe we could have a portable shield generator. I’ll let you think on that and decide,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“What if they sneak up on us with a knife or a rock or something primitive?” asked Laine.

“Good point. Hopefully the scanner will alert us in time. We could stun them, unless they were in a large group,” I said.

“Can we stun multiple enemy at a time?” asked Laine.

“I don’t know. Ship, can you investigate a stunner that targets multiple enemy?”

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Be sure it does not stun us,” added Laine.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“So with what we described, our chances of survival would be greatly increased,” I said to Laine.

“Yes. It would be hard to surprise us, hard to shoot us and easier for us to stun them,” said Laine.

“I like it. Ship, what is your assessment?” I asked.

“Confirmed. Chances of the away team survival increased,” replied Ship.

“Can you produce prototypes for us to test out?

“Confirmed. I will let you know when they are ready,” replied Ship.

“Thank you Ship,” I said. Laine and I got up and wandered back to join the others.

We returned to level six, back to my cabin. Koluna was there, listening to some Ori music. Growing up on Tian Prime, music was non-existent. I could tell it would take time getting used to. Actually, with three crewmates of three different space-faring races I was frequently exposed to new experiences, and each new experience stretched me. I was certain I could not return to the Brian that I once was. There was no way I could imagine living on Tian Prime again.

Koluna paused the playback of her music, “Hello Bri-an, Laine. How are you?” she asked.

“We are doing great! Brian is working on some amazing new things to protect us from surprise attacks. We will not get caught like that again,” replied Laine. She was bubbling with enthusiasm. It exceeded my enthusiasm by orders of magnitude. For me, I was solving a problem we encountered. If the devices worked there’d be less chance that enemies will catch us out. I wondered what was behind all her excitement.

“We have nothing ready to show you yet,” I added.

“I’m glad you both had a fun and productive time,” replied Koluna. I looked at Laine and she was smiling excessively. She had the fun, and I had the productive time, I thought.