this, the old protocol was for a year long quarantine. The nearest Federation ship would leave warning beacons, if planetary authorities didn’t send up their own.
Ramirez, the young shuttle pilot and his older co-pilot, Hasso, were probably also in custody somewhere in the embassy.
Connor prided himself on keeping updated on any new developments or technology that could impact his work with Chesara. Medical developments and changes in protocols certainly fell within that category. The cure for the Hespian plague had been discovered two and a half years ago.
The details would be in the Federation data banks on board the Apollo, although Captain Crowther would have to confirm the change in procedure with headquarters. She would be announcing to the Kalzirian planetary authorities that they could provide assistance and quarantine wasn’t necessary, within a few days.
“Mr Temple, you are isolated from any assistance; your ship has been informed that your communication devices have been inactivated, due to the fears of the poor ‘paranoid’ inhabitants. Unfortunately, the shuttle crew will be victims of the plague.”
Connor tried to reach across the desk to get at Tamas. Ramirez was just a kid, straight out of the academy, and Hasso had a young family. Neither of them needed to die for such a pointless reason. A heavy blow across the back of his neck sent him back into the chair as he briefly saw stars.
“Now, now don’t stress yourself. Sir, I regret the necessity, but it has already been done. Your implanted devices will be deactivated in a moment; we know you’ve already deactivated the hybrid’s. The Apollo will leave orbit in the next few hours after setting up the required warning beacons.”
Tamas was obviously enjoying himself, but Connor’s mind was running options to find Chesara and keep her safe until they could make contact with the Apollo again, or get to the shuttle. He wasn’t a fantastic pilot, but he could fly if he had to. He’d stopped paying attention to the gloating Tamas.
His options included calling Tamas’ bluff, by telling him his plan wouldn’t work, and hoping Chesara would be returned safe and sound before the Apollo started to demand their presence. Unfortunately, that scenario was unlikely to be beneficial to either Chesara or himself.
To keep his plot secret, Tamas would have to kill Connor immediately, just as he had the shuttle crew, although he might keep Chesara alive long enough to ‘perform’ whatever they wanted her for, before they removed the evidence.
Keeping quiet, hoping that he would be reunited with Chesara and that he would be able to keep her safe until a rescue mission found them, was the best option. Having made a decision, Connor tuned back in to Tamas who was still lecturing on why what he was doing was necessary.
“Being isolated means we are entirely self-sufficient here. We only have interplanetary visitors every few years, so our population will not question a lack of off-world visitors. So you see, my dear Mr. Temple, you have a choice, either co-operate and enjoy your unplanned stay with us, whilst looking forward to a sizable reward placed in a bank of your choice. Or, you can become a statistic in the luckily extremely localized outbreak of Hespian plague. That is, after you have been my guest for a few months. I do like having guests, especially ones as good looking as yourself.”
The smile he directed at Connor was pure malice. “Of course you don’t have to stress yourself about deciding straight away. I’ll give you some time, whilst you enjoy the accommodations you’ll be living in for the rest of your painful, short life if you reject my generous offer. In the meantime, your implants will be deactivated before you leave this shielded room.”
Tamas nodded to one of the guards who produced a familiar hypo spray, the settings indicated that it was far more potent than the dose he’d used on Chesara.
“I don’t need that,” he
Ramirez, the young shuttle pilot and his older co-pilot, Hasso, were probably also in custody somewhere in the embassy.
Connor prided himself on keeping updated on any new developments or technology that could impact his work with Chesara. Medical developments and changes in protocols certainly fell within that category. The cure for the Hespian plague had been discovered two and a half years ago.
The details would be in the Federation data banks on board the Apollo, although Captain Crowther would have to confirm the change in procedure with headquarters. She would be announcing to the Kalzirian planetary authorities that they could provide assistance and quarantine wasn’t necessary, within a few days.
“Mr Temple, you are isolated from any assistance; your ship has been informed that your communication devices have been inactivated, due to the fears of the poor ‘paranoid’ inhabitants. Unfortunately, the shuttle crew will be victims of the plague.”
Connor tried to reach across the desk to get at Tamas. Ramirez was just a kid, straight out of the academy, and Hasso had a young family. Neither of them needed to die for such a pointless reason. A heavy blow across the back of his neck sent him back into the chair as he briefly saw stars.
“Now, now don’t stress yourself. Sir, I regret the necessity, but it has already been done. Your implanted devices will be deactivated in a moment; we know you’ve already deactivated the hybrid’s. The Apollo will leave orbit in the next few hours after setting up the required warning beacons.”
Tamas was obviously enjoying himself, but Connor’s mind was running options to find Chesara and keep her safe until they could make contact with the Apollo again, or get to the shuttle. He wasn’t a fantastic pilot, but he could fly if he had to. He’d stopped paying attention to the gloating Tamas.
His options included calling Tamas’ bluff, by telling him his plan wouldn’t work, and hoping Chesara would be returned safe and sound before the Apollo started to demand their presence. Unfortunately, that scenario was unlikely to be beneficial to either Chesara or himself.
To keep his plot secret, Tamas would have to kill Connor immediately, just as he had the shuttle crew, although he might keep Chesara alive long enough to ‘perform’ whatever they wanted her for, before they removed the evidence.
Keeping quiet, hoping that he would be reunited with Chesara and that he would be able to keep her safe until a rescue mission found them, was the best option. Having made a decision, Connor tuned back in to Tamas who was still lecturing on why what he was doing was necessary.
“Being isolated means we are entirely self-sufficient here. We only have interplanetary visitors every few years, so our population will not question a lack of off-world visitors. So you see, my dear Mr. Temple, you have a choice, either co-operate and enjoy your unplanned stay with us, whilst looking forward to a sizable reward placed in a bank of your choice. Or, you can become a statistic in the luckily extremely localized outbreak of Hespian plague. That is, after you have been my guest for a few months. I do like having guests, especially ones as good looking as yourself.”
The smile he directed at Connor was pure malice. “Of course you don’t have to stress yourself about deciding straight away. I’ll give you some time, whilst you enjoy the accommodations you’ll be living in for the rest of your painful, short life if you reject my generous offer. In the meantime, your implants will be deactivated before you leave this shielded room.”
Tamas nodded to one of the guards who produced a familiar hypo spray, the settings indicated that it was far more potent than the dose he’d used on Chesara.
“I don’t need that,” he
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