Chapter 34: Back On Quard Prime

I awoke in my quarters in the barracks. After my morning routine, I dressed and stepped out into the corridor. I ate breakfast with my security detail, then we returned to their headquarters.

Several officers were in the entrance hall, coming and going. As my escort and I passed through the security checkpoint, one officer turned and approached us.

It seemed strange to me until one guard in my escort waved and spoke in Quard at the other officer. I guess they knew each other, so I waited for them to exchange pleasantries.

The approaching officer smiled at us, but said nothing. Abruptly, he pulled out a weapon and fired at the guard. In less than a second, my guard collapsed on the floor, dead.

He continued to smile, but now he focused on me. There was panic and noise in the entrance hall, but I tuned that out.

The remaining officer in my escort tried to step in front of me, but I stopped him with my arm.

“Enough Quard have died. Leave this to me,” I said to him as I moved to stand between him and the smiling officer.

I hoped he didn’t know about my away team uniform. I’d only told sergeant Elevon.

“I’m the one you want,” I yelled at him.

He continued to smile as he fired at me.

In an instant, my protective shield popped into existence. The blast from the energy weapon reflected and hit him almost point blank.

His eyes widened in shock, and he fell backwards, dead.

His weapon lay on the ground beside him. It was a Lagaid weapon.

Several armed officers arrived and pointed their weapons, seeking to neutralize any threat. I raised my arms to make it clear it wasn’t me.

“What the frazz was that?” said my remaining escort.

“Please call sergeant Elevon here quick!” I said.

He nodded and made a call on his communicator.

Several officers were cautiously approaching the two downed officers.

Then I saw something unusual. The officer who tried to shoot me flickered. A moment later, his appearance changed.

“Officer!” I said to a nearby officer who still had a weapon drawn. “Secure that weapon.”

“Yes, Sir!” he replied. Soon he picked up the weapon, holding it muzzle downwards.

“I think you’ll find it’s a Lagaid energy weapon,” I said.

He nodded.

Soon, sergeant Elevon arrived. He walked straight up to me. The other officers saluted and put away their weapons.

“Assassin?” he asked. I nodded.

“Unfortunately, he shot one of your officers. I suspect there might be a ground transport waiting for him outside the building. If you hurry, you might catch it,” I replied.

He waved at a couple of officers and issued orders in Quard. I waited until he finished.

“I’ve ordered a thorough investigation. This is the first time our entrance hall became a crime scene,” he said.

“The security video will expose the secret of my personal shield. I ask that you keep that to yourself,” I said.

“Of course, Captain. I hope to get some of those for our officers. I don’t want the public aware of it,” he said with a smile.

“Then, perhaps he died from a weapon malfunction,” I offered.

“I can arrange that. Come with me, Captain,” he said.

We left the entrance hall and moved to the meeting room.

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

“Attention, we’ve 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’re being hailed,” said Ship.

Jem pressed a key, and a face appeared on the tactical display. “Baglogi vessel, this is Quard system control. We’re transmitting course information to bring you into an orbit around Quard Prime. Please follow this course.”

“Your directions acknowledged,” said Jem. “Ship, take us in on the arranged course.”

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Commodore, I have a priority message for you,” said the system controller.

Soon, the image of the face changed to a more familiar one.

I stood in front of a display in security forces headquarters. On the display was Jem, and behind her stood Laine and Saria.

“Commodore, welcome back to Quard,” I said.

“Captain! It’s so good to see you again. Are you well?” asked Jem.

“I’m fine. Chief Inspector Ricks dropped the charges against me,” I replied.

“Excellent! We should be with you in a couple of hours,” said Jem.

“I’ll meet you at the spaceport then,” I said.

The call ended. I turned to sergeant Elevon.

“It appears they rescued Laine,” he said.

“Yes. I’m relieved to see her still alive. Too many beings have died in this incident,” I said.

He nodded. “Did you recognize the being in the entrance hall? He looked the same species as you.”

“Yes, we rescued him a while back. I now regret helping him. I don’t understand what he was doing with the Lagaid,” I replied.

While we talked, an officer arrived and placed several items on the table. He spoke in Quard with the sergeant.

Sergeant Elevon picked up a bracelet device. “He wore this. It has a copy of an ID chip, that belongs to one of my officers.”

“I bet that officer is missing,” I said.

Sergeant Elevon nodded.

“He used the ID to get past the building’s security checkpoint,” he said.

“And he wore a holographic suit, to disguise himself to match the missing officer,” I said.

Sergeant Elevon turned to his officer and spoke in Quard.

A moment later, we watched a replay of the events in the entrance hall. He approached me and the two security detail, killing one and then failing to kill me.

“I’m glad he didn’t know about my personal shield. Can you keep that detail out of the report?” I asked.

“He died from a weapon malfunction, as you told me. There’s no reason to doubt your report,” the sergeant said with a grin.

I smiled and nodded.

“Those Lagaid weapons are often unreliable.”

I considered the weapon on the table.

“Perhaps there’s something in the Lagaid weapon you can scan for at your security checkpoint. He had a forged ID, but if the weapon triggers an alarm...” I suggested.

The sergeant turned to his officer and spoke a few words. The officer retrieved the weapon and left.

“I like your thinking, Captain. I ordered my officer to get right on it. I need to put measures in place to prevent this from happening again,” he said.

“I’m glad to be of help. Did you catch the ground transport?” I asked.

“Just a moment,” he said. He spoke into his communicator in Quard. After a couple of minutes, he had an answer.

“It got away, unfortunately. Videos outside show it left, but we lost track of it,” he said.

I looked through the remaining items and picked up a wrist computer device. The display was showing in Baglogi.

“I have an idea to help catch the Lagaid who killed your officers, but I’ll need help from Laine,” I said.

“Then we should meet them at the spaceport. They’ll arrive soon,” he said.