Chapter 33: Lagaid

About a day after they arrived in the detention cell, the guards opened the door. They looked at the two prisoners inside and barked some words in Lagaid. Jem and Koluna looked back at their captors with a blank expression, unable to comprehend.

One burly guard then grabbed Jem by the arm and dragged her out. The other guard moved in front of Koluna to deter interference. His hand gesture and the look he gave her told her she was to remain in the cell.

They slammed the cell door shut and marched Jem along dimly lit corridors until they reached an interrogation room. The guards secured her to a chair in the middle of the room, then they left. The sound of the door slamming shut gave her a start.

She waited. Her heart was beating fast, wondering what cruel things were to come next.

A long time passed before the door opened again. Another Lagaid came in with the two guards. The guards took positions behind her and to each side. The Lagaid stood in front of her and appraised her with a sneer.

“I understand you speak Ori?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Jem.

She felt a sudden jolt of extreme pain throughout her body. A guard behind her had zapped her with a pain-inducing device.

“That’s ‘Yes, Sir!’” he said with contempt.

“Yes, Sir!” Jem responded. This time no shock.

“You are a convicted war criminal. You have committed crimes against the sovereign nation of Lagaid,” he said. Jem kept her mouth shut. She did not want to get shocked, but she would never agree with him. Instead she looked up at him.

“You and your crew destroyed many Lagaid vessels, killed countless Lagaid and captured others. You caused a lot of trouble; and it took a significant effort to stop you,” he said. Jem kept silent. He paused.

“Now it’s all over. We destroyed your vessel. We defeated you! By now, our operatives on Quard will have killed the rest of your crew,” he spat, watching to see if he got a reaction. Jem clenched her jaw and looked back. Could it be possible that Brian and Laine were dead?

“You have nothing left. You wasted your vessel and your lives on a futile attempt. There is no chance for you now,” he smiled. Jem wanted to wipe the smile off his face. She was fuming inside.

He waited for a while to see if he could break her spirit. It was too soon. He left the room. The guards released her from the chair and dragged her back along the corridors to her cell. They opened the door, pushed her in and slammed the door shut before she could respond.

Looking around the cell, she discovered Koluna was not there.

“Attention! We are arriving in the Lagaid system,” said Quon.

“Thank you. Please cloak as soon as we arrive. Passive scan results on the tactical display as soon as you have them,” I said.

Soon the hyper drive went offline. We cloaked and winked out of sight. Laine and I watched the tactical display as the planets and vessels in the system appeared. Good news, there were no other vessels near us.

“It looks like they gave up on the tachyon detection grid,” said Laine. Our last time in this system, they had many vessels emitting tachyons to detect Ship.

“As far as they know, they destroyed the last Baglogi vessel. We can approach without being detected. Quon, please deploy defensive probes and take us closer to Lagaid four. Ping Jem and Koluna. See if they respond,” I said.

“Confirmed. Sending ping...” replied Quon.

Jem sat on the floor of the detention cell. So far, Koluna had not returned. Something must have happened. Something was wrong. She felt helpless and alone.

She sensed a twitch in her arm. How could that be? Ship exploded back in the Quard system. This is impossible!

Somehow, Brian sent her a signal. She knew it must be him. Brian is here, somewhere in the system!

Jem quickly tapped her finger and thumb together five times. For the first time in days. Jem smiled. A moment before it was hopeless. Now she had hope.

“Attention, I got a response to one ping I sent. I located Jem on the fourth planet,” said Quon.

“Just one response?” asked Laine.

“Confirmed. No response from Koluna so far. It is possible she is unconscious, or otherwise unable to respond,” replied Quon.

“Quon, please identify where Jem is on Lagaid four. Use her coordinates. Access the Lagaid system network, get all the intel you can,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon.

“Brian, what happened to Koluna?” asked Laine.

“I don’t know. Perhaps Quon will find something. Quon, please ping Koluna every two hours until we get a response or we locate her,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon. We continued to advance on Lagaid four.

“Attention. We are in a high orbit around Lagaid four. I cannot get closer because of traffic to and from the planet,” said Quon.

“Thank you. We will travel by shuttle from here. Quon, please brief us on the intel on Jem’s location,” I said.

On the tactical display, Quon displayed a map of an area in the northern hemisphere.

“I found the captain in this detention facility. It is not near any inhabited area. I programmed a suitable landing site in the shuttle’s navigation. Land the shuttle and you must travel on foot to the detention facility.

“I gained access to the computer systems of the detention facility. I recorded video footage, and I will use this to feed the displays during your rescue. All the door locks are computer controlled, so I can unlock doors ahead of you.

“You must stun any guards you encounter. Your personal shields will protect you from their weapons. I suggest you place them in cells, and I’ll lock them in.”

“Thank you, Quon. If you have access to all the video, can you put a view of Jem on the tactical display?” I asked.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon. On the display was now a window showing Jem on the floor of a cell. She looked depressed and the worst for wear. They didn’t even provide seating or somewhere to sleep.

“Check the video for other cells and rooms for signs of Koluna,” I said.

“Confirmed.” On the display, a window was scanning through video footage.

“I located Koluna. She is in an interrogation room.” The display showed a battered-looking Koluna, secured to a chair in the middle of a room. Her head was drooping, and she was not moving.

“Is she dead?” asked Laine.

“I don’t know. If she isn’t dead, she soon will be. We need to get her out of there fast!” I replied.

“Agreed,” said Laine.

“Quon, please use data port probes and capture some Lagaid vessels. We may need a diversion during our escape. Be ready to send the vessels you capture, to cause trouble on the other side of the planet,” I said.

“Confirmed. Good luck commander,” replied Quon.

“Laine. Please get suited up and collect everything we need and take it to the shuttle. I’ll catch up with you there,” I said.

“Yes, commander,” replied Laine. She left the main bridge.

Once she was out of earshot, I addressed Quon. “Quon, I need your help to locate who did this to Koluna. Examine the video logs for the past day or two. Identify the beings responsible. Cross reference with their personnel information on their computer systems. Then locate them within the facility. I expect this information by the time I am on the surface, and this is between you and me.”

“Confirmed.”

I put on my new away team suit and caught up with Laine. I took my seat and did the usual pre-flight checks. Our shuttle cloaked as it exited the shuttle bay. It knew the landing site, so I only had to press a button and we were on our way.

On our last time here, Jem rescued us before they took us to the planet surface. We were more fortunate than Jem and Koluna. I wished we could have got here sooner.

Our course had to avoid other vessels in orbit as we descended. Multiple times, I thought an enemy vessel might detect us and it would be all over. But luck was on our side. I sighed a breath of relief as we landed near to the detention facility. So far, no alarms or warnings that they detected us.

“Quon, we arrived without incident,” I said.

“Acknowledged Commander. I have isolated communications within the facility. I will track your progress and hide you from their video feeds,” replied Quon.

We exited via the airlock. The shuttle remained cloaked, so it looked like we stepped out of thin air. The area surrounding the facility was an arid desert terrain. With little cover, we ran towards the entrance. I felt warm already in my suit, and the temperature out here was making it uncomfortable.

As we got to the entrance, the main gate unlocked and opened. We surprised the two guards behind the gate, because normally they pressed a button to open the gate. I stunned them before they could point their weapons at us.