Celeste stared at the display. She scrutinised the wreckage. There was nothing left of the shuttle. How was that possible? Had someone sabotaged the shuttle? But the young pilot had been on the shuttle all the time during her brief negotiations at Zandrax. It was part of the standard protocol whenever the Grekk went down to a planet for negotiations. The shuttle was never to be left unattended.
Then, Celeste’s comms came on. “Yes, Commander Teval.”
“Celeste I am sure you have seen the explosion at the hangar bay. I don’t know what is going on, but I need you up at Bridge 1 immediately,” Commander Teval instructed.
“On the way.”
“What does he want?” Tara asked.
“I don’t know, but I want you to wait here until I contact you again. Okay?”
Tara nodded reluctantly as Celeste got up and left the quarters. Celeste took the lift to the topmost deck in the starship and walked onto Bridge 1.
“Ah Envoy you are just in time,” Commander Teval remarked.
Celeste had travelled with Commander Teval to many planets over the last couple of years. She and the Commander had a good working relationship. Celeste respected his judgement in managing a starship and he trusted her negotiations skills. Together, they both had succeeded in closing many negotiation treaties.
“What is this about?” Celeste asked, as she surveyed the bridge.
Everyone was at their stations, but Celeste sensed a tension in the air. Commander Teval motioned for her to walk closer to the bridge viewport. “Lieutenant Rial, please bring it up on the screen.”
The viewport was filled with a part of the Zandrax home world. Celeste didn’t understand what Commander Teval expected her to observe. There was nothing there except a partial view of the planet.
“It may seem like nothing is there, but our sensors picked up two ship signatures.”
Celeste was stunned. “Cloaked ships?”
Commander Teval pulled the right sleeve of his blue and yellow uniform. “And they belong to Zandrax.”
Celeste turned to Commander Teval in disbelief. “I didn’t know Zandrax had the ability to cloak their ships.”
“Neither did I until our sensors picked up their signatures. It seems our Zandrax friends have been keeping some secrets from us.”
Celeste didn’t feel compelled to call the Zandrax their friends. Not after the awkward first round of negotiations she had just completed.
Commander Teval came closer to her and lowered his voice. “What happened down there during the first round of the negotiations?”
“Nothing actually,” Celeste whispered.
“Did you notice any hostile intentions?”
“None. But …”
“But what?”
“It was like the Zandrax didn’t want me to be there in the first place. The negotiator didn’t seem to take it seriously. I found it a waste of time. It was the first time such a thing has happened during the first round of negotiations.”
Commander Teval’s eyes widened. “Navigation, reverse speed now and break orbit. Do it slowly. I don’t want to warn our observers.”