In his office alone, Cyrix swore profusely. They still weren’t out of the clear, as the ship transporting the chemicals was still on its way. After learning of the incident, he couldn’t risk it escaping with the samples. He immediately called his second in command of the flagship. “You’re to prepare a fleet and escort a ship on its way from the planet,” he said hurriedly without fanfare.
“When do you need us to sortie?” his second asked. He posed no questions at the orders, sensing that the issue was time sensitive. He did not know why he was ordered so suddenly, but he knew that the Commander had been secretive of what was happening planet-side, even to him. If the ship was on its way from the planet and required an escort, he deemed the matter important.
“Ten minutes ago. You have no time to lose. Get your ships out there to escort our incoming payload. Ensure that they dock at the flagship. If they attempt to escape, shoot them down.”
“Understood.”
The call ended and Cyrix left his officer to his work. While constantly checking in with Nadi, he organized several teams to secure the docking bay the incoming ship would be using. Questions could be seen in the eyes of his soldiers, but they didn’t voice them, nor did Cyrix elaborate.
People moved about with purpose as they got into position. Once he received the signal that his escort crew was on the move, he directed them to return to the fortified docking bay and remain positioned outside the bay doors, weapons at the ready.
He did not relax when the fleet had formed an escort formation around the one transporting the chemicals. The docking bay depressurized and opened its doors to the cold space beyond. Cyrix tensed as the ship confirmed their docking procedures. The massive bay doors sealed, and air was returned to the room.
The soldiers waiting in the hall stormed through the large, sealed doors inside the ship the moment they opened. A second set of identical doors was at the other end of a short hallway and opened as they approached. One team entered the ship using the onramp that now touched the ground.
They collected a rather nervous looking crew and had them all disarm. Once outside the ship, the crew members stayed close to one another under the watchful eye of their armed guards. None of their questions were answered when they asked why they were being treated as such.
Commander Cyrix strode through the doors. He eyed the fearful group of people surrounded by guns. “Bring them away for questioning and keep them secured,” he ordered. He ignored sound of the many boots moving towards the exit behind him and strode towards the entry of the ship.
One of the teams on standby joined him and together they entered the ship. Cyrix stayed in the back behind his soldiers. They wouldn’t allow him to be put in the line of fire, so he remained silent on the matter and let them lead him towards their destination.
They took position outside the med bay and signalled to Cyrix that they were ready. Cyrix pinged Nadi. “Right now there is a team waiting on the other side of the door. They are friendly,” he stressed. “When they enter the room, you are to let them disarm you and escort you off of the ship. Open the doors on my command.”
On the other side of the door, Nadi calmed herself, sliding into a carefully neutral mask. She moved to the door’s control panel on the wall near it and waited as Cyrix counted down. She opened the door when told and took a quick step back and raised her hands in the air, not wanting to accidentally be mistaken as hostile.
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A beat passed before soldiers stormed into the room, weapons drawn. Nadi ensured she remained very still during the split second it took for them to scan the room for threats. One broke off from the group and collected the weapons she’d taken the courtesy of disarming from the room’s occupants. Still, she was searched.
Nothing was found and the all-clear was given. Sandwiched between two soldiers that refused to take their eyes off her, she stoically waited for whatever came next. Her surprise was palpable when Commander Cyrix strode into the room personally. Their eyes met briefly for a moment, his piercing gaze doing little to reassure her before it shifted elsewhere.
“Where is it?” he demanded in a hard tone. She mutely pointed towards the case on the counter. His eyes locked onto their target, and he strode over to it with purpose. He ignored the body whose blood he stepped in. Irric was spared a brief glance as he picked up the case. He turned to the soldiers guarding Nadi. “Bring her for questioning with the others. Ensure nothing happens to her.”
Nadi looked like she was about to protest but decided to remain silent. She studiously avoided looking to where she’d hidden her samples. Swearing internally, she allowed herself to be guided out of the room. With each step she took the more she wondered why the response was so extreme and prayed to the gods that samples would remain undiscovered.
“Sir, what should we do with the body?” one of the soldiers asked.
“I’ll handle it,” Cyrix said. “For now, leave it where it is and keep it guarded. See to it that our officer receives proper medical treatment.” He studied Irric’s prone form more closely. Walking up close and bending down, he saw a small pinprick in the back of his neck. “Have the doctors analyze whatever was used on him and verify whether he was actually injected with the contents.”
Cyrix left the room and commanded the soldiers on standby to group up around him, directing them towards high security room where the case was to be kept. As he approached the checkpoints, his escort was ordered to remain behind while he continued ahead.
Winding his way through a maze of corridors, he arrived in front of the most protected part of the ship. There were no guards around to verify his identity as he made his way towards a large metal door. Beams of light shot out from the walls and ceiling, scanning him as he approached. After undergoing several more biometric scans, he made his way to the control panel and input the final code.
The multi-ton heavily reinforced doors slid open, allowing him access to the vault. Cyrix made his way inside the large metal room. Along the left wall towards the far end were several cabinets specifically designed to store chemical substances. While there were several already present, he did not make his way towards it.
Instead he moved to the wall opposite it, where another vault was embedded. Once again, he input the correct code to open it and placed the case inside near the edge. Opening the case, he got his first good look at the chemicals contained within. Acutely aware of what they were capable of, he didn’t dare touch it. Satisfied that they weren’t emptied of their contents, he closed the case and pushed it further inside. He made a mental note to have Irric verify them later to ensure that nothing had been taken from them.
The door to the small vault swung shut and locked. Cyrix spent a long moment staring at it before turning around and leaving the room he was in. Once he exited, he made his way to the control panel. The heavy, reinforced doors slid shut, sealing the room once again.
He contacted his second directly to learn more about Irric’s condition. Upon hearing that he’d been successfully transferred to the hospital on the ship, he demanded to be kept up to date on his condition and to be contacted once Irric was awake.
Once again, Cyrix navigated the highly secured corridors to return to his office. The soldiers he passed didn’t ask questions and let him by without stopping him. His mind preoccupied on how to inform the Tribunal of the incident, the halls blurred together and all too soon he found himself at his destination.
He entered and shut the door, locking it and finally allowing himself to breathe a sigh of relief. He sat in his chair and sagged, the stress of the near disaster taking its toll on him. Still though, there was work to be done. A moment’s rest was all he could afford.
He picked up his data slate and called Nessah.
