Chapter 31: Quard Prime

Days later, a guard opened the door of my cabin and directed me to come with him. He took me back to the airlock where I first arrived. Laine stood there, together with several armed guards.

“I take it we’ve arrived in Quard?” I asked.

Laine nodded.

“No talking!” One of my guards said to me.

We waited for the airlock to cycle and the inner door opened. Then we all stepped through the airlock and into a waiting shuttle.

My guards directed me to a seat and promptly secured me in place. The guards sat on either side of me. They weren’t taking any chances. As if I’d do anything. We were allies!

Laine sat further forward of my position, without guards and restraints.

Soon, the shuttle undocked and descended to the planet. I sat quietly and waited for someone to resolve this terrible mistake, perhaps Chief Inspector Ricks.

About half an hour later, the shuttle touched down on a landing pad. My guards escorted me through the airlock and out of the shuttle. No one greeted us, which was disappointing.

My guards took me directly to a waiting ground transport. I didn’t see Laine after that.

Cathy sat aboard the shuttle as it cleared Earth’s orbit.

“Where are we going?” asked Cathy.

“I’m on the far side of Saturn, hidden from view. This shuttle will bring you there,” replied Quon.

“Oh ... How long is the journey?” she asked.

“It will take about three more hours to cover the distance, Cathy,” replied Quon.

“Thank you. Could I get a drink of water?” she asked.

“The food dispenser at the back of the cabin can give you any food or beverage you may need. I have configured the interface to English,” replied Quon.

“Thank you,” said Cathy. She stood and turned to look for the food dispenser.

“The washroom is also toward the back of the cabin,” added Quon.

By now, she’d discovered the food dispenser. It looked rather like a vending machine. She promptly ordered a glass of water and took a sip.

Then she checked each of the potted plants by sticking her finger in the soil. A few were a bit dry, so she poured a little water on them. It wouldn’t do for the plants to die in transit after all the effort to bring them this far. Going back for more wasn’t an option.

Satisfied that all was well, she returned to her seat.

Unknown to Cathy, Quon was monitoring her actions. She bought and delivered the required coffee plants and was now caring for them in transit. This helped with his concerns about removing Cathy from a closed system under his care.

The guards escorted Brian out of the shuttle as soon as they landed at the spaceport on Quard Prime.

“Hey, where are you taking him?” asked Laine.

The guards ignored her question. They just pointed at the line for immigration. A moment later they hurried off with Brian, leaving her standing outside the shuttle, alone.

Laine lined up with the other passengers for immigration and waited her turn.

She remembered earlier visits to her home world. Usually her father would be here to greet her with a warm hug. That simple pleasure was gone forever, and Quard seemed cold and unfriendly in comparison.

When her turn came, the official was polite, but he didn’t treat her any differently from other returning citizens.

After clearing immigration, she left the spaceport and took a ground transport.

“Take me to security forces headquarters,” she told the driver.

Half an hour later, the vehicle pulled up outside the impressive building and Laine stepped out. The ground transport pulled away.

Laine stepped in the main entrance and approached the reception desk.

“Excuse me, I’d like to see Chief Inspector Ricks,” said Laine.

“He’s very busy. Do you have an appointment?”

“Please tell him the daughter of Ambassador Talagni is here,” she replied.

The receptionist looked up at her, his face finally showing comprehension dawning.

“Just a moment,” he said.

The ground transport pulled into what I assumed was a detention complex. My guards ushered me from the vehicle and into a new prisoner intake process.

They presented me and the arrest warrant at a front desk. The guard behind the desk smiled at me. They scanned my ID, examined the warrant, and searched me again.

My guards handed me over to detention guards, who then escorted me further inside the complex. We passed through several reinforced doors and corridors.

Eventually, they delivered me inside a cell. It was quite spartan, with a hard bed, a blanket and a pillow. It had a sink and toilet in one corner.

A moment later, they slammed the door shut behind me, leaving me alone once more.

I realized I wasn’t familiar with their legal system. I’d hoped to receive better treatment, after I’d saved their planet from destruction.

And I still didn’t understand what evidence they had against me. Something seemed off about the whole process.

I sat on the bed and waited.

After waiting for ages, they escorted Laine to a meeting room.

A few minutes later, Chief Inspector Ricks arrived.

“Laine, I’m very sorry for your loss. Your father was an excellent ambassador, and a long time-friend. This is just tragic...” he said.

“Thank you, Chief Inspector. I need your help. I’ve just returned to Quard with Brian to find out what happened,” said Laine.

“Brian is here?? I wasn’t aware they’d apprehended him,” he said.

“We were in the Yastri system when your vessel arrived. We returned here. Your security forces took him away to a detention facility,” said Laine.

“I must investigate this at once! They should have notified me of his arrival,” he said strongly.

“I’ve not seen the evidence yet, but Brian hadn’t returned to Quard until today. There’s no way he killed my father,” said Laine.

“Again, I’ll send you a copy of the evidence. It’s pretty damning,” he said.

“I need to see it myself. I suspect the Lagaid are behind it. Can you assign a security detail to me? If I’m right, I could be a target,” said Laine.

“Of course. Let me arrange things and I’ll be back soon,” he said.

Chief Inspector Ricks left the room. Laine wondered what evidence could point to Brian killing her father.

He returned after a few minutes, looking puzzled.

“We’ve got a mystery. There’s no record of Brian arriving on Quard,” he said.

“That’s crazy! We just arrived by shuttle from one of your security forces vessels,” said Laine.

“I have staff investigating this as we speak. You say they escorted him from the shuttle?” he asked.

“Absolutely! They took him away and told me to proceed through immigration. As soon as I did, I came here,” she replied.

He sighed. “This is highly unusual. I’ll contact you when we find anything. Will you be staying at your father’s residence?”

“Yes. I need to get in touch with his lawyer and review the details for his funeral,” replied Laine.

“Good. I’ve assigned you a security detail. I’ll have them escort you home, and I’ll send you a copy of the evidence,” he said.

“Thank you. Please find Brian. I’m here without the resources of our vessel. Something bad is going on and we need your help,” she said.

He guided her outside the meeting room where a security detail was waiting for her.

About three hours later, the shuttle containing Cathy and her cargo entered orbit around Saturn. She watched the view ahead of the iconic rings on the display.

“Welcome to Saturn, Cathy,” said Quon.

“Wow! The view of the rings is incredible,” said Cathy.

“You won’t be staying long. I have prepared a vessel to transport you to the Uv’ek system. Mina is there, and is expecting your plants,” said Quon.

Cathy nodded.

When the shuttle reached the far side of the planet, she saw two vessels parked ahead. The smaller of the two vessels opened a door as the shuttle approached. Soon the shuttle entered the vessel, and the door closed.

A few minutes passed.

“Cathy, your shuttle has arrived in a shuttle bay. Please take your plants out via the airlock,” said Quon.

The airlock doors opened. Cathy picked up a package and carried it outside the shuttle.

“Hello, Cathy. My designation is Yorkie. Quon built me to take you and your plants to the Uv’ek system,” said Yorkie.

“Er, pleased to meet you, Yorkie,” replied Cathy with a grin.

“The platform to your right is a grav sled, and it can carry all your cargo. Please put all your plants on it and we can take it to the cargo bay,” said Yorkie.

She put down her package and returned inside the shuttle and retrieved more plants and placed them on the grav sled.

A short while later, she finished loading the grav sled.

“That’s everything,” she said.

“Please follow the grav sled,” said Yorkie.

The grav sled moved to a door which opened. They entered a short corridor.

Another door opened, and she followed the grav sled into a fairly small cargo bay, designed for the modest amount of plants she had.

“Cathy, please place all the live plants in that area on your right. You can adjust the temperature, humidity, and light required. Your remaining items can go on the left,” said Yorkie.

She did as directed, then picked up her bag of personal items.

“Ready,” said Cathy.

“If you will step back into the corridor and turn left, I will show you to your cabin,” said Yorkie.

She left the cargo bay. Another door nearby opened and Cathy entered.

“This looks like my last cabin,” said Cathy.

“This cabin is the same design. Please go to the food dispenser,” said Yorkie.

Sitting there was a tablet device, like the one she had last time she was aboard a Baglogi vessel.

“Is this another translation device?” asked Cathy.

“Confirmed. It also has courses on the Ori language. It would help if you learn Ori during your trip,” replied Yorkie.