Prisoner of the Amulet

CHAPTER 21

In the meantime, admiral Naarbul Sariyk returned to his quarters situated on the opposite side of the ship. He hastily slipped out of his uniform, before pouring a full glass of 1992 SCREAMING EAGLE CABERNET. He acquired it through one of the vard smugglers, who frequently traveled to the far away planets. From which exactly this beverage originated, the admiral had no clue. But he was certain he wished to visit that planet himself. Judging by this wine, he could only dream what other delicious things were awaiting him there.

He kept the two bottles of it, so he could raise a toast with his closest associates after the completion of this mission. But because of the unforeseen events from the past couple of weeks, he changed his mind. They were too close to a complete disaster. That geologist could have blown the lid wide open, exposing their secrets. Fortunately they managed to stop him. And to Naarbul, that was a good enough reason to open one of the bottles. They were lucky. He knew that very well.

He also knew they needed to push this entire episode behind them as soon as possible. And instead place the focus on bettering the flow of information. To make sure nothing similar would happen again. And the ideal person for implementing such measures was none other than the captain of Shteint, Vlaazh Niykav. The admiral decided to call upon him immediately. There was no time to waste. He had to instruct him as soon as possible.

Naarbul swiped over the surface of his work desk, activating the personal external unit. He had just enough time to finish the glass, before the device was ready and operational. Moments later he selected the option of the direct call.

The captain was in his office. He just about finished listening to lieutenant Zharn's report. And he immediately knew they were extremely fortunate in finding the runaway scientist. His motives were still unbeknown to him. But Vlaazh hoped the admiral will soon manage to uncover them. The sound of the incoming call coming from his hidden unit, told him that could be the case.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Vlaazh hastily accepted the call.

"It is now." Naarbul said lively " Catastrophe averted."

"So he was working alone." Vlaazh said.

"The thing is, he wasn't working at all." Naarbul said "This was nothing but an unfortunate event. A mistake."

"What kind of mistake, sir?" Vlaazh asked.

"That is why I am calling you." Naarbul said "It is a mistake that shouldn't have happened at all. And it must never happen again."

"I'll make sure that is the case." Vlaazh said "What am I to do?"

"You see, the geologist stumbled on one of the relocation plans." Naarbul said "Someone mislabeled and placed it in the directory with maps or some other documents he used in his research."

"I see." Vlaazh said "No wonder he decided to flee. Although I have no idea where and how he thought he could hide from us?"

"He was too afraid to even think, let alone act straight." Naarbul said.

"What will happen to him?" Vlaazh asked.

"He's already being taken care of." Naarbul answered "We now just need to come up with some supposed accident that befell on him. I trust you'll figure out something convincing."

"Consider it done." Vlaazh said.

"Splendid." Naarbul exclaimed "Only thing left then, is to make sure that nothing similar ever happens."

"I'll assign two of my most reliable men to check on the flow of information." Vlaazh said.

"I'll do the same on our side." Naarbul said.

"Anything else, sir?" Vlaazh asked.

"Well now that you mentioned the men you trust," Naarbul said "How much do you trust your lieut..."

Admiral's voice abruptly cut off.

"Sir?" Vlaazh asked, before realizing the connection had broken.

He immediately picked the redial option. But the only thing he got back was the automated message informing him the connection isn't available at this time. His device was still working properly. He figured that one out, as soon as he finished with the short diagnostics check. He tried to call again, but once more, he received the same answer. Vlaazh loudly sighed, switching the call for one of the ship's designated technicians. But just before he managed to confirm the selection, piercing sounds of critical alert spread through Shteint. Seconds later, his communicator beeped. It was Sethra Pallor, the ship's chief technician.

"Captain, we have a huge problem." her voice trembled.

"What is the reason for the alarm?" Vlaazh asked "Do we have to evacuate? Try informing Ganiwarthal. It seems I can't connect with them."

"Sir, it is Ganiwarthal." Sethra answered "We lost them."

"So all of our lines are down." Vlaazh immediately suspected of sabotage, perhaps the admiral was wrong to conclude the matter was resolved "Is this on their end? Can we assist them with repairs?"

"Sir, this is not a malfunction issue." Sethra answered "They are gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Vlaazh struggled to accept her words "Where are they?"

"What I'm trying to say...sir,...is...t-there was some accident, sir." Sethra fought to hold her tears "Ganiwarthal is completely destroyed."