Episode 49: Dead End

"I can't get a reading on anything, Captain."

Avatar was greeted by the unhappy voice of his executive officer. "What's going on?"

"Something's thrown all the instruments off, Sir." Sandor replied. "Nothing's giving a proper reading."

"What would cause that?" Avatar asked as he took a seat in his chair at the back of the bridge.

"I can't say for certain, Captain." Sandor replied from his station, "The only two possibilities I know of are: a massive system-wide failure of some sort, or some kind of magnetic interference."

"IQ-9, are you able to run a diagnostic of all systems?" Avatar addressed the robot, seated near Sandor's duty station.

"Not… compute… strange… things… purple… square…" the robot slumped over, his indicator lights all winking out at once.

Sandor jumped out of his seat and was instantly at IQ's side. He tried rebooting the robot, but just as soon as he was online again, he muttered another jumbled mess of words, then switched off again.

"I need to get him down to the lab." Sandor said, looking to the captain for permission to leave the bridge momentarily.

"Go ahead, but let the science team look at him. We need you up here." Avatar instructed.

"Yes, Sir." Sandor nodded, then pulled the robot into three more manageable sections before enlisting Eager and Dash to help lug the robot down to the lab.


"General, these orders come straight from Councilor Celestella. She was adamant that they be followed to the letter." Lysis's second-in-command pleaded with his superior to listen to him.

"I know." Dommel replied, "But they're barbaric. I will not hold an Iscandarian princess for ransom just because the Councilwoman doesn't like her. And I will not kill her at the whim of that deranged Jirelian."

"But, General –"

"That is final." Dommel said firmly. "I will capture her, but I will not harm her or threaten to end her life. She will be placed under the care of my most trusted Commander until such time as I deem it safe for her to be transferred to Leptopoda, where she can be kept in anonymity until the Jirelian forgets about her."

The executive officer hung his head, defeated. He was afraid to defy the Councilwoman, but he was just as afraid to disobey his General.

"Yes… Sir…" The officer finally acquiesced, "But what will I tell her when she asks if I've done what she wanted?"

"Tell her I did it." Dommel replied, "I will take the blame for deviating from her instructions. And I will be the one to tell her of my defiance."

"Yes… General." The XO bowed respectfully, relieved not to have to shoulder this burden, but concerned for the General. What would the Councilwoman do when General Lysis told her of this?

The officer shivered at the thought. Perhaps he wouldn't have to be there to see the end of this particular insubordination.


"Captain, I'm picking up an unidentified object two thousand megameters ahead. With the interference I can't get a very good reading on it. We're fortunate the radar caught it at all." Nova said as she tried to adjust the instruments at her station so she would feel less like they were flying blindly into whatever was out there.

Sandor, who was back from the lab by now, piped up, "I only have intermittent use of the sensors. The only way to find out what's out there is to go and look ourselves."

"Sandor, take a plane and investigate." Avatar ordered. "But be careful. At the first sign of trouble, get out of there."

"Yes, Sir." Sandor said, quickly disappearing to obey the captain's order.

It wasn't long before the XO took off in one of the spare fighters.

Just like the Argo, the small plane's instruments were going wild. Dials and indicator lights flashed and whirled like a carnival sideshow. Sandor paid them no mind. Instead he focused on flying. Without instruments it was much harder to keep the plane level, especially since the stabilizers weren't functioning properly. They would randomly fire, sending the plane into a roll. Every time he started to spin off one direction or the other he had to quickly compensate for the plane's error.

Five minutes into his flight he started feeling something odd.

A strange rumbling started to fill the cockpit. He couldn't hear it well with his helmet on, but he could feel the entire plane starting to shake.

"What is this?" he thought, "Some kind of current?" he looked down to check the instruments, then remembered they would do him no good.

"I'll just fly until I can see whatever Nova found on the radar." He thought, looking everywhere for the strange object Miss Forrester had spotted.

He couldn't see a thing.

The only sights to see were stars shining from thousands of light-years away.

The plane shook harder, almost like it wanted to come apart at the seams.

Sandor stopped looking for the strange object and focused on the inside of his plane.

The shaking was so terrible he could feel his seat starting to rip free of the rest of the plane.

Groans and creaks echoed so loudly that he could hear them even through his helmet.

"What's happening?" he thought, just before the fighter flew apart into a thousand pieces.


Elisa woke up in the hold of a transport ship.

It was dark – probably "night" time onboard ship. She tried to look around, to figure out who was here with her. Maybe she knew someone here. Eight days ago she was dragged from her home. Every minute since then was filled with thoughts of her husband and her unborn child. No matter what happened, she had to live for them.

"What am I going to do?!" she thought, eyes wide, staring into the darkness. "I can't stay on Leptopoda. I can't have this child there." Tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I have to find a way to leave."

The lights blazed to life, blinding Elisa. She threw her arm over her eyes to shield them from the burning brightness.

"Everybody up!" a voice ordered from the front of the transport. "We've arrived. Prepare to disembark."

Slowly lowering her arm as her eyes adjusted, she reached up and wiped away the tears still in her eyes. She wouldn't be caught showing weakness here.

On Leptopoda, that could get you killed.

A shiver ran through her as she thought of all the stories she'd heard about this place. Prisoners from the Cometine Wars were said to have been kept here until their deaths. Some Bolars were here too, as well as other low-life criminals. Even a number of murderers had been relegated to the care of the Warden of Leptopoda.

He had a reputation among a good number of the general populace back on Gamilon. Debarzo "Mad Dog" Bozen was his name. Though a number of the people Elisa had heard talk about Bozen referred to him simply as "Mad Dog."

She hoped the rumors were overstated. Perhaps Bozen was simply rather enthusiastic about his position. After all, he would have to be rather stringent to keep so many criminals in line. There was only one thing she'd heard that she was certain was true of Bozen – he was most decidedly a man of many appetites – unwholesome appetites. She'd heard from numerous sources that this was so, and it made her sick to think that she would under the authority of such a man.

The soldier in charge of off-loading the rebels – and a number of criminals – appeared before her.

Elisa looked up at him and noted just a hint of surprise in his face. The sentiment melted away when he looked down at the bonds on her hands – red as a symbol of her defiance – and realized why she was here.

"Move along, rebel." He scowled at Elisa, but did not touch her as she walked past him, following the rest of her comrades off the transport.

Once outside, she was glad she'd worn a thicker dress. The cold wind bit into her exposed face and hands. The terrain – what little of it she could see from the docks – was barren. Harsh grey rocks jutted up out of the desolate ground. Dust and sand blew into her face and she closed her eyes against its onslaught.

Her braided hair whipped around her as the wind picked up still more, forcing her to lean into the wind, lest she be blown over.

She opened her eyes, holding her hands up to shield her face.

The man in front of her was doing the same thing as he moved ahead, following the rest of the line into the wind.

Elisa followed as quickly as she could, forcing one foot forward, then the other. Finally, she made it to the guards stationed at the entrance.

"Name." One of the men asked, gruffly.

"Lysis. Elisa." She replied.

"Heritage." The man barked again.

"Gamilon-Iscandari." Elisa supplied.

"Former occupation."

Elisa hesitated to answer that question, but when she paused for too long, the guard glared at her and repeated more loudly, "Former occupation!"

"Councilor to Leader Desslok." She finally said.

The guard stared at her for a long moment, then noted her red cuffs.

"Not satisfied with things as they are, aye?" he commented smugly.

Elisa didn't respond, just looked away.

"Here." The other guard, much younger than her, shoved a pile of folded clothes into her arms. "Your new uniform, Madam Councilwoman." He quipped, his tone so sarcastic that Elisa fought the urge to slap the insolent pup.

Instead, she simply stepped into the prison, following a third guard, who led her to a room filled with other women who'd come in on the same transport she had.

"Shower and change." The man ordered before uncuffing her. Then he closed and locked the door behind him.

Elisa looked around for someplace out of the way to rinse off and get into her prison garb.

She spotted the far corner, mostly empty except for a couple of older woman who apparently knew each other. They were whispering and pointing at various other women.

Elisa set off towards the corner. On her way, she nearly tripped over several other women, all in various states of dress – or undress. She averted her eyes as much as possible, not relishing the thought of having to shower publicly. Privacy, she realized, was a luxury here, and not one she would be afforded very much of.

She reached the corner, thankful that the two old women blocked most of the others' view of her as she turned on the freezing water just long enough to rinse away the sweat and dirt from the transport ride.

She turned off the water and quickly threw on her clothes, not even bothering to dry off. Her face was still red from embarrassment when the guard returned, announcing, "The warden wants to see the lot of you. Get out into the hall and line up."

Dreading what was to come, Elisa followed the rest of the women out into the hall.

She found a place suitably towards the middle of the lineup and assumed an anonymous pose, head down, arms at her sides, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Quickly, she reached up and tucked her long, bright blonde hair into her shirt. She wanted to make absolutely sure that nothing would draw any more attention to her than necessary.

The odds were against her. Her Iscandari half showed rather plainly in her present company and any man with half a brain would realize that she was the wife of the great General Lysis, but maybe, just maybe, in the low light, she would be glossed over. At least, that was what she hoped.

The hall grew quiet as all the women shuffled into place.

Elisa didn't look up. She concentrated on breathing slowly.

What business did Bozen have with his prisoners?

She shuddered to think of why he might be here, and the thought made her feel sicker than she usually did. She fought the urge to vomit right then and there as she heard heavy footsteps coming towards her.

They stopped near the beginning of the line and fear shot through her as she heard a rough, low voice growl, "Take this one."

The footsteps kept coming closer and closer, stopping every so often and ordering one other woman to be taken away.

All too soon Bozen stood before Elisa.

She could feel her body trembling in fear – fear not just for herself, but for the life of her son or daughter.

A rough, hairy hand grabbed her chin and jerked her face upward.

"What have we here…?"

Elisa stared into beady black eyes. The man's bulbous nose, thin eyebrows, fat lips, and bald head made him look like clown who'd just taken off his makeup. But the sight was no more humorous to Elisa than seeing a friend executed.

Bozen smirked at Elisa, then chuckled as he noted the fear in her eyes.

His fat belly bounced up and down as he laughed. Then he looked at one of the guards with him and said, "Take this one too."

Elisa's heart plummeted into her gut as sheer panic washed over her. She didn't even feel the guards' hands as they dragged her out of line and down the hall, away from the rest of the prisoners.


Sandor watched helplessly as the pieces of his plane floated away.

Hoping his EVA suit was still working properly, he hit the button that would fire his propulsion unit.

He sighed in relief when the thing obeyed his command and sent him floating back towards the ship.

He sighed again, "If I can't get close to it, how are we going to figure out what it is, or how to get around it without damaging the ship?"

Ten minutes later, Sandor set foot back inside the hangar.

When the bay doors were closed, he unsealed his helmet and made his way back to the bridge to give the captain the news.


"It shook itself apart?" Wildstar asked.

"That's the only way I can explain it." Sandor replied.

The operations room was silent as the rest of the officers digested Sandor's report.

Captain Avatar stood off to the side, watching and listening as his executive officer spoke.

"You said earlier that magnetic interference could cause some of the problems we've seen on the bridge." Avatar said, "Could that also account for what happened to your plane?"

Sandor looked blankly at the captain for half a moment before something lit up in his eyes and he said, "Yes! Yes, it could! That thing you saw, Nova – it may be emitting some kind of magnetic wave strong enough to peel a small plane apart, even at this distance." His face fell again, "But if that's truly the case, then we'll start having more problems the closer we get to it. We need to get out of here."

"But Starsha's map points us straight through this area." Eager protested. "What if we get lost tryin' to go around this magnetron wave thing?"

"'Magnetic' wave." Wildstar corrected. "And I'm with Eager here. What if we do get lost going around? We don't know how long it'll take to avoid it. What if we lose too much time?"

"But if we can go around, I think we have to try." Venture said, "It's the easiest solution, and we won't risk anyone's life to do it."

"Captain?" Sandor looked to Avatar for a final judgment.

"Let's try going around first." The captain said. "It can't hurt to see if there's an alternate route that's already cleared. If we find one, our problem's solved. If we don't, well then, we haven't lost anything in trying."

"Yes, sir." Sandor nodded, then the rest of the officers murmured their supportive agreement. Though Wildstar and Eager didn't look too happy about the captain's decision, they too nodded in acceptance.

The group headed back out to the bridge to try to plot an alternate route.


"Captain." The officer addressed the head of the shadow ship. "The Eratite vessel is coming about. They appear to be trying to leave the area. They don't know that –"

The Captain raised a hand to silence his subordinate. "They'll find out what they've gotten into soon enough. Be ready to assist them should they need it. I don't want them falling prey to such a simple trick as this one."

"Yes, Sir." The officer replied, "I will tell the men to be ready."

"Good." The captain replied. "They must not fail. If they do, my revenge will be incomplete. And that must not happen." The man's fiery green eyes bored into the officer.

"Y-y-yes, Captain." The officer replied, looking away from his commander. "We will make sure that your vengeance is exacted on the usurper. And if we have to give our lives for it, we will."

"I know." The Captain grinned, "That is why I chose to take you with me instead of killing the lot of you. You failed me once. Don't do it again."

"Yes, Captain."


Wolf Frakken looked into his brother-in-law's face, a deep question in his eyes. "You intend to disobey Celestella?" he asked.

"I do." Dommel replied. "I cannot in good conscience do as she demands. I would rather go to prison with a clear conscience than live free with that much regret. Will you help me?"

Frakken sighed, then smiled, "Of course, Dommel. Just let me know what you need done, and I'll do it."

"Thank you, Wolf." Dommel replied, relieved. "The first thing we must do is find the Eratite ship. After that, you will need to board it and take Princess Astra. It will not be easy, that I can assure you. We aren't even sure of the ship's location at the moment."

"My men will find it." Wolf assured, "After all, I don't call my fleet 'Ze'evim' for nothing."

"The best wolves in the GRN." Dommel said, rather proud of what Frakken had come to call "his" fleet. The group of men and women had proven themselves to be excellent trackers and the best stealth unit in the Navy. "Go. Find that ship and bring me back the Iscandarian."

"Aye, Sir." Wolf saluted his brother-in-law casually, and with a smile, disappeared.

"I trust you to do the right thing, Wolf. Celestella has reached too far, and it's time she knew that. Godspeed, brother. Travel well."

With that final thought, Dommel watched as Frakken's pack left Balan and disappeared into subspace, hunting down the scent of the Eratite ship.