Chapter 9: A Drink and a Walk

I took a taxi at the front of the hotel, and it did not take too long to get to the destination. For payment the driver scanned my ID chip. I still had an account with Ori funds.

Gorn’s was frequented by military and security personnel. Quite a few of them were in uniforms. I felt out-of-place wearing casual clothing. Several beings looked at me as I walked in. They were all taller than me, which added to my discomfort.

I worked my way through the crowds to find commander Quon. He was at a table near the back, sitting with a female Ori.

“Commander Brian!” he called out. Several other beings turned their heads to see who was calling out and whom he was calling to.

I approached the table; Quon clasped my forearm as a greeting. He waved at me to take a seat.

“What are you drinking?” I asked.

“It is a local brew, would you like some?” he asked. He waved over a server to order me a drink. The server looked at me and pulled out a scanner to check my ID chip. Satisfied that I would not die, she left to fetch my drink.

Quon looked at me, “Brian, this my sister Mina. She is Yarin’s widow. I hope you don’t mind I invited her. Mina, this is Brian. He served on the Opolu Naa with Yarin. He escaped the pirate attack and was rescued by a Baglogi vessel. He joined their crew, and they destroyed the pirates who destroyed the freighter.”

“Mina, I am sorry for your loss. Yarin was a good man who did not deserve to die like that,” I said. Mina looked me in the eye, as if looking for something.

“Thank you. It means a lot to hear it from you. You served with Yarin?” she asked.

“Yes. I joined the freighter at Tian Prime, and we had travelled for only a brief while. Captain Jegho assigned me various duties to get me familiar with life aboard. Some of that time I reported to Yarin in engineering. I was new to the work, but he was kind to me,” I said.

“That sounds like him all right. So how did you escape the pirate attack?”

“I hid in an escape pod, together with another crewmate, Koluna. When the freighter exploded we were jettisoned into space. The pirates did not seem to care about us. Perhaps it was because we were in deep space, between systems. There was little chance of rescue,” I said.

About this time my drink arrived. I took a sip. I had little experience with alcohol, and this tasted too strange for me to make a habit of drinking it. I kept a neutral face so as not to offend. I raised my drink and looked at them both across the table. “To Yarin.”

They both raised their drinks. Quon said “Yarin.”

We drank. I took a decent amount and was about to put down the glass but they kept drinking. I realized the custom was to finish the drink. So I did the same and finished it. I put the empty glass down on the table. I looked at them for a clue as what to do next.

Quon waved at a server and gestured for more of the same. Meanwhile Mina had more questions.

“Brian, how did you destroy the pirates?” she asked.

“We were rescued from the escape pod by a Baglogi Star Cruiser, it is a military vessel with some advanced weapons. After joining their crew we dealt with the pirates. I got to play a role in their destruction. I cannot go into more detail how. I can confirm all the vessels that took part in the attack were destroyed.”

“Impressive,” said Quon. I smiled. If the Ori knew how devastating our technology was, we might be considered a threat.

More drinks arrived, and we each took a drink. This time they did not finish it in one go. I was glad. I was worried it would leave me light headed.

Quon jumped in, “This time Brian came back. He has captured the leader of the pirates that ordered the attack on the Opolu Naa.”

Mina looked at me. “You have done much to avenge my late husband’s death. In Ori custom, that makes you family. Whenever you visit, our home is your home.”

“And that goes the same for me,” added Quon.

My extended family was growing. I wondered what would happen after I did an interview for the minister. Would all the relatives of the deceased crew want to add me to their families? I was not sure I wanted that.

We talked and drank for a while until Mina said she had to go home. We escorted her outside to a taxi and watched her depart.

“You did a good thing for her tonight. I can tell she will be better for it,” said Quon.

“I am glad to make a positive difference. Look, I think I have had enough to drink,” I said.

“I understand. It is good to know your limit, especially with alcohol. Would you like to take a walk in the night air? The waterfront is just about a block this way, and the view is nice this time of night,” he offered.

“Sure, let’s do that,” I said. I had seen little of this planet so far.

We walked down to the waterfront. There was a nice walkway along the bank of a large river that ran through the town. Their sun had already set and there were numerous artificial lights along the walkway. The lighting from the town drowned out all but the brightest stars in the night sky.

We walked along quietly side by side, enjoying a slight breeze. It was so peaceful here. We were now family. Did that make Quon my brother? I never had a brother before.

It was fairly quiet at this time of night, so few other beings were out for a stroll. Suddenly a vehicle rushed up and stopped beside us. The door opened and beings in dark clothing jumped out pointing weapons at us.

Quon drew his weapon and fired at them, but they returned fire and he dropped to the ground. It happened so quickly. I was unarmed and without my away team uniform. There was nothing I could do. Before I knew it, I was shot with something and the lights went out.

The communications device rang, it woke up Jem. She looked at the display; it showed an incoming call request from minister Tarron.

“Hello, this is captain Jem?” said Jem.

“I’m afraid that there has been an incident captain. Do you know where Commander Brian is?” Said the minister.

“He was out meeting with commander Quon,” said Jem.

“They were attacked this evening. Commander Quon’s body was found floating in the river. Commander Brian is missing, presumed abducted,” said the minister.

“Oh no!” screamed Jem. That got Koluna and Laine up and rushing into her room.

“What’s going on?” asked Koluna.

“Brian is gone,” said Jem. She was crying now.

Koluna picked up the communications device, “Jem is too upset to talk. Please call back when you have an update. If we get anything, we will call you back.” And then she ended the call.

Laine was holding Jem who was too disturbed to talk.

Koluna went back to the room she had slept in. She grabbed her wrist communicator.

“Ship, this is Koluna. Please respond,” said Koluna.

“Confirmed,” said Ship.

“Ship, Brian has been abducted by hostile forces unknown. Jem is too upset to respond. I want you to locate Brian, and when you do to contact me. If you cannot reach me, pass the location to Ori security services,” said Koluna.

“Confirmed, orders understood. Out,” replied Ship.

Koluna put the communicator on her wrist. It would stay there until Brian was found.

I woke up feeling like crap. My head hurt. I could see nothing. I could feel a twitching in my arm; I guess that was what woke me up. I just wanted to go back to sleep. It would all be ok later...

The twitching would not stop. Eventually I began to get my wits back. I realized that Ship was pinging me. I flexed my fingers and thumb of my right hand. Good. I tapped my finger and thumb five times. The twitching stopped. Message received — Ship will have my location.

I found out that my arms were restrained behind whatever chair I was on. I still could not see. Probably there was a blindfold or something. I tried to listen for clues. Nothing. I concluded that I was in some kind of cell. In case I was being watched, I kept my head hanging to one side like I was unconscious.

If all went well, Ship would contact the authorities and they would rescue me. The problem would be if they kill me before then. If I knew that was coming, I would have to stall them. Unfortunately, I did not know who or where they were. I did not want to call out and let them know I was awake. It could provoke them and I would lose the element of surprise. This sucked. I was used to doing things, to be the one getting us out of trouble. Here I could do nothing but wait.