DORULL STORIES - PRISONER OF THE AMULET
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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
would 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 trustiest
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?”
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