Jack's Wage Slavery Pt. 01

Gee paid their driver on the sidewalk with an Altarian credit slip which would pay for a replacement truck and paid it the remaining balance she owed. Then the Altarian agents had the group simply board a public bus going to the Passenger Gate Terminal. They'd seen a fireball as they rode the bus then a second much larger one which made Bal smile. Once they'd arrived they just walked in the Terminal's front door.

They knew shit was going to hit the fan any second but... it didn't. They stepped through the gate to Earth and found themselves facing armed troops pointing weapons at them.

"FREEZE! Hands up and stay where you are!"

The two Altarians stood at the Gate's threshold with the four humans crowded up behind them. Gee took a quick glance to the left and saw Jerrican resting against the floor recharging at an outlet. One of its other tentacles was running along the floor to the bottom edge of the gate.

"By the authority of Earth's Security Council I hereby place you under arrest for possible war crimes. Step away from the gate," a loud voice called out. Then quieter, "Why isn't that gate shut down?"

Gee glanced over one more time and saw the word "Go" flash up on Jerrican's interface. She grabbed her partners hand and they leapt back with their arms stretched out, pushing the team back through the gate. They tumbled to the floor amidst yells and scrambling. The Gate closed. A siren went off.

"Unauthorized Entry! This is Altarian Security! Remain where you are!" blared over the loudspeaker. Gee and Bal relaxed as did the Major and her people.

"Altaria? How the hell did we get to Altaria! The gate was set for Rehm!" Ash asked. "Did you do that?"

Gee smiled at the woman. "As powerful as that would seem to make me, no. That was done by Jerrican."

"As much as we appreciate the save we should go back to Earth to get this mess straightened out," the Major said.

"No one is going anywhere until- Oh! Agent Gee, Agent Bal! Shall I arrange transport for you to the Ministry?" the Terminal security agent asked.

"Yes please and could you store these for my friends here for when they return?" Gee said and handed the agent Leo and Maxim's guns. She heard the men make a little noise of disappointment. A second agent took the Major's and Nann's guns into safe keeping. Gee faced the team. "Rest assured you will get them back on your way to Earth. If you would please join us for our debriefing at the Ministry of Security we would greatly appreciate it."

The three commandos looked to their leader who sighed then nodded.

The transport to the Ministry was a far smoother ride than their experience in the delivery truck. They were led to a comfortable lounge and served food and drinks.

"What are we waiting for?" the Major asked Gee.

The door behind them pushed open and a strong voice rang out.

"The question should be 'Who are you waiting for' and I'm sorry to say it was me. My apologies for the delay. I was in meetings with my council. Did you find Jack?"

Everyone turned to see Queen Elissa standing next to Hellna, Altaria's Security Minister. Both women had looks of concern on their faces.

Gee and Bal approached them and bowed to the Queen and nodded to their boss.

"I'm afraid not but we do have the name of the being who ordered the abduction and a second name which could be a potential location." Gee began.

Major Ash perked up. This was a bit of information they hadn't heard yet.

"With the help of Major Cha'Risa Ash, Captain Nann Graf, Corporal Leo Orlov and Corporal Maxim Volkov," Gee gestured to each person as she addressed them, "and Lieutenant Ray Sharif who remained on Earth, we tracked Jack as far as Rehm where we discovered he was finally collected by the instigators of the contract, the Allsa Komanae. Bal interrogated one we managed to catch alive." She turned to her partner.

"The Allsa Komanae was badly injured but I was able to extract a name from it as well as a second name which as Gee mentioned could be a location or the name of her race. I cannot verify the accuracy of either but it's the best lead we have. The one who ordered the abduction was Prime Ossiliss. The other name is Mahrell Drun."

"What? Wait? WHAT?!?" Elissa gasped and staggered, her eyes wild. Hellna gripped the Queen's elbow and helped her sit on a sofa.

"That name... it hasn't been spoken in millennia. When I became Queen I read the histories. The Mahrell Drun... they were the only race to ever have their gate revoked. Violently. A Prime? Oh... the Allsa Komanae... their hierarchy is ruled by position. If this Prime Ossiliss is indeed from Mahrell Drun... damn their evil souls. The Allsa Komanae must be the decendents of the Mahrell Drun left behind when their gate was destroyed. Now they're being led by a Prime? This information needs to be brought to the attention of the rest of the Network Worlds." Elissa said.

"Sorry, who are the Mahrell Drun and what did they do to deserve having their gate destroyed?" Major Ash asked.

"Secretly they attempted to take over the Gateway worlds through treachery and horrifying acts of violence. While presenting a face of peace and harmony they spread fear, paranoia, and rage amongst the member races and drove them to war against each other. Some races never recovered from the devastation these wars inflicted and the Mahrell Drun were almost successful. It took the full might of the oldest race in the Network who also ruled the Network with an iron fist, to put a stop to them and destroy their gate. The Allsa Komanae use some of their old techniques but without a Prime to lead them they're just a shadow of their former evil. The Mahrell Drun were said to be beautiful and charismatic but evil to their very core." Elissa suddenly jolted. "And now one has Jack!" she wailed then quickly locked her emotions down. She'd deal with them later.

"Could this abduction have been one of their actions to draw Altaria and Earth into dispute," the Major asked.

Everyone turned to face her and expressions turned thoughtful.

"There seems to be a power at work within Earth's agencies that allowed the Allsa Komanae to expedite an abduction. Humans are the new kids in the Gateway neighborhood and we're a greedy race so we'd be ripe for manipulation. While Director Goodson was involved, he may have just been a tool used by others. I need to speak with Ray. I need to learn what he's found."

"Perhaps our first call should be to Earth's Security Council. I'll put a call through immediately."

Hellna used the lounge's comm to make the call and put the image up on the large screen.

"Minister of Earth Security, Mr. Steyn's office, how may I help you," a professional looking clerk answered.

"This is Hellna, the Altarian Security Minister. I have Queen Elissa of Altaria on the line with me and the security team in charge of locating our Ambassador. We need to speak with Mr. Steyn immediately."

"I will connect you now."

There was no lag this time. An angry looking man appeared on the screen and glared at the group before him. "Ruan Steyn here. Am I addressing the group who started a war on Rehm? Are you harboring criminals Queen Elissa or was this action based on your orders?"

While the Queen was taken aback by his hostility she maintained her cool. "Mr. Steyn, I assure you the actions that took place on Rehm were the direct result of the Allsa Komanae's abduction of our Ambassador and are therefore their responsibility." Queen Elissa explained.

"That doesn't line up at all with the evidence we've uncovered. The Allsa Komanae were not identified as suspects in the abduction while both the casino operator and Mr. Danner's previous employer both had motives. I'm afraid attempting to drag the Allsa Komanae into this to justify the actions of your agents on Rehm just isn't going to fly this time. We want our officers back on Earth to face the charges filed against them. If you tell me that you intend to continue to harbor them then I believe our conversation is at an end."

The man glared at the room of people stunned into silence.

Ash stepped forward. "Sir, if I may. Have you spoken to Lieutenant Ray Shakir? I'd asked him to follow the money trail and the evidence he collected corroborates the facts that we have gathered-"

"Lieutenant Shakir is dead. He was killed by the Terminal Administrator who was involved in a smuggling ring at the LA Gate Terminal. She and a Terminal Security Officer were killed when Mr. Shakir returned fire before expiring. The evidence I'm quoting came from his files."

Ash stared in disbelief at the man on the screen. Nann was on her feet, a silent scream of denial on her lips, frozen by her shock. Leo and Maxim were looking like they wanted to kill someone very soon.

"Major, don't let this situation become worse than it is. Come home." Ruan said to the officer.

"Mr. Steyn, rest assured we are not attempting to disrupt relations between Altaria and Earth. Nor are we looking for made up reasons to attack another race in the Network. Altarians are proud of our record for coming to peaceful resolutions. That speaks for itself. We didn't instigate this event and we will share with you all the evidence we collected as a sign of our deep respect for your legal process. We will not restrict movements of your people to keep them here on Altaria but we will also not force them to leave. Once you've reviewed the information we believe you will come to realize the true nature and scope of the matter at hand." Queen Elissa explained.

"I see. I'd hoped we could resolve this matter more expeditiously. It seems this has to be done the hard way. You will be hearing from me." Ruan ended the call.

Hellna looked at Queen Elissa and they shared a nervous glance. "Without trying to sound paranoid, could he be one of the infiltrators?" Hellna asked.

More worried glances.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss. Ray Shakir was a brilliant and good man. His murder is both tragic and terribly suspicious as his investigation would have identified the true instigators." Gee said sincerely.

The Major frowned deeply as she looked at Gee and Bal. "We need to get his findings."

"I could send a request to Earth's Security Council-" Hellna began.

"No, I need his report unaltered and unfiltered. The backup he kept in his personal data vault." Ash said.

"How do you access that?" Hellna asked.

The Major looked at Nann and saw tears in the woman's eyes. The redhead returned her look and nodded, a steely resolve returning to her gaze. "The Major's right. We need Ray's data and there's only one way to get it. We'll have to return to Earth."

End of Part 1