Celeste didn’t know the configuration of a battlecruiser. Unlike a starship, it had many more decks and lifts. It took a while for her to find the way to the bridge. Two Grekk officers had recognised her and guided her to the proper lift. The door to the bridge opened and she walked in.
Surprisingly, the battlecruiser’s bridge was smaller than that of the starship. The number of crew members on the bridge was quite small. Celeste suspected the bridge’s layout was by design. Commander Shail was seated at the commander’s chair when she stepped in.
He turned around. “Envoy, hope you didn’t have much difficulty finding the bridge.”
She couldn’t tell if Commander Shail was showing concern or being sarcastic. Either way, she dismissed the thought as she approached him and shook hands.
“The battlecruiser is quite a large vessel,” Celeste commented.
Commander Shail’s smile sent a shiver down her body. “Indeed it is, Envoy. The reason I asked you to come is because we have received a transmission from the Zandrax.”
“What kind of transmission?” Celeste asked.
“Initially, I had been wondering why there was a silence from the planet’s surface,” Commander Shail explained. “Until I received this. Lieutenant Rok, please bring up the transmission.”
We have observed you have attacked our space station. We consider this an act of war on our assets. You are trespassing in our space. We request you to leave this space quickly.
Celeste couldn’t control herself. “How dare they say we started the hostilities? They attacked our Grekk starship first without any provocation.”
“Now you understand why I am in a dilemma,” Commander Shail indicated. “The only reason for them to try this kind of trick with us is if they think there are no survivors from the Grekk starship.”
She understood why Commander Shail had asked for her presence on the bridge. The Zandrax were trying to perpetuate a lie. Her heart was heavy. Did that mean all the remaining survivors from the starship had perished? Was Teval also dead? It couldn’t be that the Grekk had lost all of its crew. Like Merc and Jonin there had to be pockets of survivors somewhere on the planet.
“Is it confirmed there are no other survivors?” Celeste inquired.
Commander Shail grimaced. “After your transmission we also did receive a few more transmissions from different groups of survivors. But once we were in hyperspace, the only transmission came from your end, Envoy.”
Celeste didn’t flinch as her heart sank. She wanted to ram her fist into something, but she tried her best to control herself, especially in front of Commander Shail and his crew.
“I don’t know if that means all of the remaining survivors are dead,” Commander Shail continued. “It could also be that they had no way to contact us or were being held as prisoners. The information you sent us about the DNA trackers was shocking to say the least. We passed the information to our scientists on the home world. And, they came back with a temporary solution, similar to your concept on a device. We have incorporated it into our shields.”
Celeste knew there would be no way to ascertain the truth from the Zandrax. If they weren’t launching an attack, what was their end-game?
Lieutenant Rok turned. “Incoming transmission, Commander. Shall I bring it up?”
Commander Shail gestured and sat back in his chair.
This is our last warning to you. You have no right to attack our space station.
“Open a comms channel with them,” Celeste suggested. “It is time to show them we know they are lying.”
“My thoughts exactly, Envoy,” Commander Shail agreed and gestured to Lieutenant Rok. “Hail them.”
“They are replying to our hail,” Lieutenant Rok reported.
Commander Shail stood up. “On the screen then. Envoy, I would request you stand near me.”
The display came on and it was filled by a male Zandrax. He was tall with broad shoulders and appeared to have a fierce streak in him.
The male Zandrax started speaking. “This is Commander Anetho of the Zandrax. Why have you …”
Then, he paused. His eyes narrowed. Celeste knew the Zandrax Commander had recognised her standing next to Commander Shail. It could be the only reason he had stopped talking. Their game of deception was over. The Zandrax knew they had been caught. The only question was what their next move was going to be.
Commander Shail went straight to the point. “Commander Anetho, do you now want to reconsider your warning to us?”
The display went blank.
“Commander, the transmission was cut from their end,” Lieutenant Rok highlighted.
Commander Shail laughed and sat back down in his chair. “That was the shortest communication I have ever had with another species. It doesn’t matter anyway. They got our message. Now we wait and see.”
Celeste didn’t share in the Commander’s sentiments. The Zandrax Commander didn’t seem to be the kind of individual that would simply give in. “Commander Shail, may I return to my quarters?”
“Oh of course, Envoy,” Commander Shail replied. “You did your part. Let’s meet up in my Ready Room a little later. I would like you to debrief me further on the Zandrax.”
Celeste nodded and left the bridge. The moment the lift doors closed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her first impression of Commander Shail wasn’t that positive. He was quite different from Teval in many ways. She felt he appeared to be quite arrogant. Maybe, it was too early to judge him, but she didn’t look forward to meeting him later. She also didn’t want to compare Teval with Commander Shail. There were really from two different generations.
The lift doors opened and an older, white-haired Grekk officer walked in. He paused and looked at her intently. “Envoy, I am sorry I didn’t recognise you. I heard rumours that you were on-board our battlecruiser.”
Celeste smiled slightly. She suspected many of the Grekk crew’s gossip of the day would centre on her presence on-board. As she had climbed the ranks of Envoy, she had initially been reluctant to endure all of the attention of Grekk citizens. Commander Sou had told her that the attention was part of the job and that it would get worse before it ever got better. She had failed to see the need for such focus on her. She was only an Envoy doing her duty. Naturally, she had created many hidden enemies amongst the remaining Envoy members. She knew that other Envoys were secretly jealous of her. Commander Sou had once directly told it to her. It had been an uncomfortable place to find herself in. Staying out in space with Commander Teval had been one way to pretend the issue didn’t exist. And, it had helped her. Over time, Celeste had also gotten used to the attention and now rarely let it bother her. She doubted her getting used to the attention was a good thing.
“Forgive me, I failed to introduce myself,” the officer said. “My name is Simert, Chief Medical Officer. I have heard many things about you, but have never had the chance to meet you. We are honoured to have you on-board, Envoy. As a military vessel, we rarely get to meet officers in different roles. Everyone here is like-minded in their focus on fighting enemies.”
The Chief Medical Officer’s eyes never shifted away from her. Celeste found it deeply disconcerting. He kept staring at her as if she was the first Envoy he had ever met.
“Oh this is my deck,” Celeste announced, as the lift stopped and she quickly left.