Chapter 15: Rescue

Our convoy left for the spaceport.

“Brian, we have a shuttle waiting to take you up to the freighter in orbit,” said the ambassador.

“Thank you. I hope that after we leave, things will return to normal on Quard,” I said.

“I really hope that we caught the last of those Lagaid,” he said. “Then next time, you can stay longer.”

I smiled. If it could be so easy.

“I won’t drop my guard yet,” I said.

Soon our convoy arrived at the spaceport. They stopped right in front of a shuttle on a private landing pad.

We exited the ground transport. The security detail fetched our bags for us. My eyes kept scanning the area, searching for potential threats. I know we had our own security detail, but I had a nasty feeling that something bad was about to happen. I might be paranoid, but I lived longer that way.

“There is one formality remaining,” said the ambassador.

An officer approached us with a portable ID scanner. We each held out our right arms, and the officer scanned us.

We picked up our bags and turned to the ambassador one last time.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” I said.

“You’re welcome, Commander. I wish you a safe travel and that you find your vessel,” he replied.

Laine gave her father a hug. After that, we stepped through the airlock.

Once inside, we stowed our bags in the back and took our seats.

The pilot greeted us in Quard, before he moved up front to the pilot seat. I missed piloting a shuttle myself, and I wished I could sit up front.

Shortly, our shuttle took off from the spaceport.

Jem and Mina sat in the main bridge as Ship turned off the hyper space engines.

“Attention, we have arrived in the Quard system,” said Ship.

“Deploy defensive probes, turn on the transponder and hail the system,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Attention, we are being hailed,” said Ship.

Jem pressed a key, and a face appeared on the display. The being was speaking in Quard, but there were multiple translations on the display, including Ori. It said: “Baglogi vessel, welcome to Quard. This is Quard system control. We are transmitting course information to bring you into an orbit around Quard Prime. Please follow this course and do not deviate.”

“Thank you for your welcome. We acknowledge your directions. Baglogi vessel out,” replied Jem. She closed the call.

“Ship, take us in on the assigned course,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Ship, contact Quard and connect me to Ambassador Talagni,” said Jem.

“At this range, communications delays are significant,” replied Ship.

“Understood. Do it,” replied Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

A few minutes later.

“Hello, Ambassador Talagni here,” said the ambassador.

“Ambassador, I’m Commodore Jem from the Baglogi vessel. We just arrived in the system. Do you have Brian and Laine with you?” asked Jem.

It took another delay for the message to reach Quard and a response to return to them.

“Baglogi vessel, they just left our spaceport in a shuttle, to rendezvous with a freighter. If you hurry, you might catch them,” he replied.

“Understood, Ambassador. We are on our way. If you can reach them, please tell them to wait,” said Jem. She hung up the call.

“Ship, I want max sub-light speed. We have to catch them before they leave,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Our shuttle climbed up into the upper atmosphere. Laine and Saria were talking together in Quard. I was enjoying the rest from having to interact with others.

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang towards the front where the pilot sat. From my seat, I saw smoke. There was still air in the cabin, so it hadn’t ruptured the outer hull.

“Crap! Something’s happened,” I said.

Both Laine and Saria looked at me.

I released my seat restraint and made my way to the front. I found the pilot slumped over in his seat.

Saria reached past me and put her hand to his neck.

“He’s dead, Brian,” she said.

“Someone’s sabotaged the shuttle. I’ll give you one guess who,” I said.

“So they didn’t find all the Lagaid,” she said.

“Help me move his body. I need to take control,” I said.

We released the restraints and dragged the dead pilot from the seat.

His seat had a nasty hole in it. There must have been a shaped explosive charge under it. Not a pleasant way to go.

“Saria, check under the copilot seat for explosives and then join me. I need to figure out the controls,” I said.

So far we were still on course. The nose of the shuttle pointed away from the planet.

“This seat is clear,” said Saria.

All the controls were in Quard. If I survived this, I vowed to learn the language.

“Saria, are you trained as a shuttle pilot?” I asked.

“No, Sir,” she replied.

“Can you find the communicator? Try to contact Quard system control,” I said.

Most of the controls on my side appeared damaged.

“The communicator isn’t working, Sir,” she replied.

“This shuttle was a trap. I don’t think the pilot knew about it though,” I said.

“Laine!” I yelled.

“Here, Sir,” replied Laine from behind me.

“Laine, go to my bag and get the helmet from your space suit. Put it on and try the suit communicator. Make a distress call. Tell them the pilot is dead and the controls are not working,” I said.

Laine hurried back to where we stowed our bags.

“You said the controls are not working?” asked Saria.

“Well, the communicator isn’t working. This display should show our flight path and details like altitude and velocity,” I replied. I pointed to a display that was black. It displayed no information.

“I see, Sir,” she replied.

“If I’d sabotaged the shuttle, I’d make sure the explosion disabled the controls,” I said.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet. I’m hoping Laine can get through and call for help,” I replied.

The Baglogi vessel rushed towards Quard Prime. On the tactical display, the planet was merely a speck at this distance.

Jem paced back and forth anxiously.

“Mina, I sense something bad is happening or about to happen,” said Jem.

“Understood. Ship, how long until we reach Quard Prime?” asked Mina.

“We will be there in about ten minutes at our current speed,” replied Ship.

“Are we within range of their locator chips?” asked Mina.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Jem turned and looked at Mina.

“Ship, please ping both Brian and Laine. Call Quard system control, explain we are trying to contact our crew. Our last intel said they were in a shuttle,” ordered Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Laine removed her helmet from the bag and activated the built-in communicator.

She switched to Quard frequencies and sent out a distress call.

“Hello, this is Quard system control. Please identify yourself and the nature of your distress,” came the response in Quard.

“My name is Laine. We recently left the spaceport in a shuttle. There has been an explosion. The pilot is dead, and the controls are not working. We’re on autopilot, but we don’t know how long it will last,” she said.

“Understood, Laine. Please stand by,” replied system control.

It was then she noticed a twitching in her right arm. At first, she forgot what it meant. It had been so long.

Before she had time to remember, an incoming call interrupted her.

“Laine, this is Quard system control. Are you associated with a Baglogi vessel? They are inbound in the system and calling for you. Please confirm your shuttle is without a pilot and out of control?” said system control.

“Confirm we are crew from the Baglogi vessel. Confirm we lost our pilot and our shuttle is out of control,” replied Laine.

I tried all the controls I could think of, but nothing worked. The saboteur knew how to disable the shuttle controls. It was fortunate the autopilot was engaged, or we’d be spiralling back to the planet surface by now.

Then I got a familiar twitching in my right arm. Ship was somewhere nearby!

I tapped my finger and thumb five times to send a response.

A moment later, Laine came running to us, with a space suit helmet on her head.

“Brian, I contacted Quard system control. They said that Ship is arriving!” Laine yelled at us while bouncing up and down with excitement.

I had to hold her by the shoulders to calm her enough so she’d hear me.

“Laine, switch to Baglogi frequencies. Call Ship. Explain our situation and ask them to send a shuttle as soon as possible,” I said.

She nodded, which almost dropped the helmet. I had to avoid laughing at the scene. It wasn’t the time.

Laine stepped back and was soon talking on her communicator.

“Attention, I received a response from Brian’s locator chip. He is aboard a shuttle,” said Ship.

“Ship, alter course to intercept. Put them up on the tactical display,” said Jem.

The tactical display showed the many vessels around Quard Prime, and it highlighted a shuttle that was rapidly gaining altitude.

“Attention, Quard system control just informed us that Laine is in a shuttle. They report the pilot is dead, and the shuttle is out of control,” said Ship.

“Thank you, Ship. Please tell them we have changed course to intercept. Ask them to advise other vessels nearby to move back,” replied Jem.

“Wow, they really were in trouble!” said Mina.

“I’d prefer that I was wrong. We get more than our fair share of trouble,” replied Jem.

“Attention, I have an incoming call from Laine, audio only,” said Ship.

“Put her through now!” said Jem.

“Hello, this is Laine. We are aboard a shuttle around Quard Prime. The pilot is dead, and the controls aren’t working. We have no control. Brian says to send a shuttle as soon as possible,” said Laine.