THE RELIANT

THE MYSTERIOUS PASSENGER

"So what's our next mission, Captain?" Lisa asked John after he came on the bridge.

"Admiral Flagg is having us transport another passenger," John replied tensely.

"Is it another Ambassador?"

"Nope," he replied, shaking his head, "not this time."

"Then who is it?"

"Flagg wouldn't say. All he would say is that it was somebody important, and that's all I needed to know."

"You sound uneasy about this mission."

John gave her a tense look. "I'm always uneasy when it comes to Flagg."

"So what's this passenger's name?"

"His name is Jaiden Kassan."

"Jaiden Kassan?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"Where are we supposed to transport him to?"

"To the planet Draden."

"Draden? That's right outside Alliance space, isn't it?"

He nodded again. "I believe so."

"So where are we supposed to be picking up this Jaiden Kassan?"

"At Alliance base 44." He looked over at ship's pilot Zack. "Mr. Renjay, plot a course."

"Aye, sir." He keyed in the coordinates. "Course laid in, Captain."

"Let's go."

"Aye aye, sir."

John then turned to ship's android Roger.

"Roger, I want you to look up all the information you can about this Jaiden Kassan."

"Yes, sir." Roger checked the Alliance files on his computer console to try to find the information John had asked for. "Captain."

"Did you find anything, Roger?"

"No, sir." He shook his head. "I was unable to find any information on this Jaiden Kassan."

"Nothing?"

He shook his head again. "No, sir. All the information pertaining to Jaiden Kassan was marked classified."

"Classified, huh?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir. In fact, I can't find anything at all about this person. There's no record of his birth, his parents, his education, nothing. It's as if he never existed."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well," Lisa began, "that doesn't sound ominous."

"What can you tell me about the planet Draden, Roger?" asked John.

"Checking." Roger checked his internal library. "Draden is a small planet that is ruled by King Idaran. Draden is known to have the largest deposits of minnerite in this area of space."

"What's minnerite?" asked Tamala.

"Minnerite is the primary ingredient in the fuel for Alliance ships. Correct, Roger?"

"That's correct, Roger. While minnerite can be mined on other planets within the Alliance system, it is rarer and therefore more costly to extract and produced into fuel. That's why the Alliance government has tried to persuade the government on Draden to become a member of the Alliance."

"And, let me guess, they've refused to do so?" added John.

"Yes, sir. King Idaran has been the main obstacle to his planet entering the Alliance much to the objections of others within the government."