Chapter 33: The Trading Post

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

“Attention, we have arrived at The Trading Post,” said Ship.

“Deploy defensive probes, scan the area for hostiles,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Be extra careful, the vessel can cloak,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

They waited for Ship to assess the situation.

“No vessels detected, Commodore. I detect a power signature coming from a section of The Trading Post,” said Ship.

“Bring us in closer. Scan the space station and ping Laine,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Saria looked at Jem.

“They could be out there, ready to attack,” said Jem.

“In a cloaked vessel?” asked Saria.

“This is a trap. They lured us here,” replied Jem.

“Attention, Commodore. I have located Laine. She is aboard the space station,” said Ship.

“Let me guess, she’s in the section with power?” asked Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Come on, Lieutenant. Let’s suit up and rescue her,” said Jem as she jumped to her feet.

“Wait! You said it’s a trap. I strongly recommend you remain here. If I cannot save her, you need to return to Quard to save Brian,” said Saria.

Jem sat down slowly.

“Please don’t fail,” said Jem.

“I won’t. I’ve got a few tricks prepared. But just in case, move Ship back once I’ve left,” said Saria.

Jem nodded. “Keep an open comms channel.”

Saria smiled. She stood and left the main bridge.

Laine sat motionless in the middle of the room. She knew any sudden move might trigger the explosives.

Cham left the station hours ago.

Finally, she felt a twitch in her arm. She tapped her finger and thumb five times to acknowledge the ping. It was all she could do.

Laine used to work here before Lagaid pirates destroyed it. They’d taken over the space station and preyed on freighters that passed by here.

The power and lights were a lure, and she expected they’d wired every door to trigger the explosives.

She wished she could warn them, but Cham took her communicator.

Saria’s shuttle approached the docking port.

“Commodore, I’m about to dock with the station in three, two, one. Docked. Nothing so far,” said Saria.

“Understood, Lieutenant. Please be careful in there,” said Jem.

“I’m activating my helmet cam. You should see what I see on your tactical display,” said Saria.

“Got it,” said Jem.

Saria moved to the airlock. The display showed green, so she opened the inner door and stepped through. Back aboard Ship, Jem viewed inside the airlock.

Saria closed the door and faced the airlock door into the space station. She pointed a device at the door.

“What’s that?” asked Jem.

“It’s a portable scanner. I have to assume they rigged every door in this place,” she replied.

“Oh,” said Jem.

“I can’t tell for certain. The door is too thick,” said Saria.

She retrieved an aerosol can and sprayed the door. It was just a small amount.

“What’s that?” asked Jem.

“I told you I prepared some tricks. Watch,” replied Saria.

She pressed a button on her wrist computer. The middle of the door melted away.

“Are those nano-bots?” asked Jem.

“Yes. I got the idea from Brian,” replied Saria. “I have to be extremely careful not to let them get near the outer hull or they’ll cause a breach.”

The hole in the door expanded slowly. Saria peered through it into a corridor.

“They connected a cable to the door. If I’d opened the door the usual way, Laine and I’d be dead,” said Saria.

“What’s next, Lieutenant?” asked Jem.

“I wait until the hole is big enough to climb through,” she replied.

Within a few minutes, the hole was plenty big enough. Saria pressed another button on her wrist computer.

“The nano-bots should be inert now,” said Saria.

She stepped through the hole. Inside was light and artificial gravity. She expected there was atmosphere, but she had her space suit on.

Again, she scanned the corridor. It showed no more traps.

“Based on Laine’s coordinates, she should be along this way,” said Saria.

Saria walked along several corridors.

“So, far it’s empty. I suspect they put her here as bait and left,” she said.

“It’s been quiet out here, so I suspect you’re correct,” said Jem.

“I’ve reached another door,” said Saria.

“Based on your location, the door opens into the administration hub. Laine is inside,” said Ship.

Saria sprayed the door. She activated the nano-bots and the middle of the door melted away.

Soon the hole was big enough.

“Commodore, I can see Laine! She’s strapped to a chair and surrounded by explosives,” said Saria.

“Saria!” yelled Laine.

“I’m coming in. Just sit still,” said Saria.

The hole grew larger.

“I think he set a timer. I don’t know how long we’ve got,” said Laine.

Saria pressed the button on her wrist computer to deactivate the nano-bots. Then she stepped through.

Laine sat in a chair, with several cables attached. A small display on the explosives showed a countdown timer, but since it was in Lagaid, she couldn’t read it.

“Don’t move, Laine. I mustn’t get any on you,” said Saria.

“What are you doing?” asked Laine.

“I don’t have time to defuse the explosive device,” replied Saria. She sprayed the restraints and the cables. She also gave the timer mechanism a good spray.

Saria pressed a button on her wrist computer, watching carefully for any nano-bots that got close to Laine.

A moment later, the cables melted, the restraints melted, and one of the chair legs melted. Saria deactivated the nano-bots.

“Time to go!” said Saria. She took one of Laine’s hands and pulled her to a standing position.

“Can you walk?” asked Saria.

“I think so,” replied Laine.

Saria continued to hold her hand as she pulled her to the door. She stepped through, followed by Laine.

“I don’t know if the nano-bots stopped the timer. We must hurry,” said Saria.

After sitting so long, Laine felt a bit wobbly, but she made her best effort. Fortunately, the return to the shuttle was quick, without having to open doors.

Soon, they stepped into the airlock. Saria pressed the button to cycle the airlock, and they were in the shuttle.

“Ship, take control of the shuttle. Undock and bring us back,” said Saria.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

The shuttle undocked from the docking port. As it did so, the holes Saria made in the doors caused a decompression. The shuttle left the huge derelict space station and returned to Ship. Soon, it entered the shuttle bay, and the door closed.

Several days later, the investigation had stalled.

I spent my days at headquarters while Sergeant Elevon sent teams to investigate. They found no trace of the ground transport so far. The trail went cold somewhere in the industrial area.

“Brian, how are you?” asked Chief Inspector Ricks.

“I’m frustrated. I don’t know where they’ve gone, or when they’ll return,” I replied.

He sighed, “I understand. If they took Laine off planet, then the perpetrators are gone too.”

“It worries me that their vessel had a stealth technology. It means our enemies can come and go in your system without detection,” I said.

“That’s a chilling thought,” he said.

“I’d encourage you to get your scientists to enhance the scanning sensors throughout the system,” I offered.

“Yes, I’ll pass the word on to our technicians. We might not be ready for their next visit,” he said.

“We couldn’t detect the vessel. It must be exceptional,” I said.

He nodded. I doubted they could build a better sensor, but it was something to distract them.

After checking Laine in decontamination, they met up with Jem at the main bridge.

“Laine, please tell me everything that happened until Saria rescued you,” said Jem.

“It was Cham. He abducted me and brought me to The Trading Post. He can change his appearance to look like Brian,” said Laine.

“That explains a lot. We need to inform the authorities on Quard Prime,” said Jem.

“He has a Baglogi vessel. I recognized the food dispenser,” said Laine.

“Do you know where he went after leaving you here?” asked Jem.

Laine shook her head.

“We should return to Quard. We must clear up things about the death of your father, and retrieve Brian,” said Jem.