The Detrimus eased its way into the hangar bay of the Clarrington Drive Systems orbital station over Jorya. After gently touching down on its three landing struts Tarvon sat in the pilot seat and began to perform all the shut down procedures. He had entered the planetary space in the inevitable lidar shadow that was cast by the large orbital facility and was fairly certain they hadn't been detected. The door to the flight deck slid open and one of his engineers took a single step inside. "Ship has been secured, Sir!" the engineer reported. Tarvon, flipping a few last switches to complete the shutdown turned his head over his should and replied, "Very good. Make sure there are no personal effects left on board, then put this thing in the queue for materials recycling." 

The Alliance knew that Pheny and her squad had departed in the ship, and for it to be discovered here in his own facility would send the plan down a black hole. The ship would be disassembled down to its base materials and whatever can be re-used would be moved along to the manufacturing line. The rest would be destroyed. The next matter would be that of eyes. He was nearly certain that his engineers that traveled with him were loyal, but only nearly. He would keep them under surveillance for the time being to be safe.

Exiting the ship he headed straight for his office in the executive module of the station. He had wanted to head planet side to his home, but it was already late so he was going to shower in his office bathroom and sleep on his couch. One of the downfalls of  such a large facility was the nearly fifteen minute walk to his office from the hangar. As he stepped into his office he let his shoulders slump and discarded the confident body language that he used nearly all the time. Taking in a deep breath he started to relax when the smell touched his nose. "Oh holy hell I stink, shower first" he muttered to himself. While space travel has come along way since strapping an aluminum can to the top of extremely high explosives, water recycling hasn't changed much. After spending several weeks showering in recycled water you were always left with a slight odor of urine and used soap.

Having showered and put on one of the robes he kept at the office he made himself comfortable, stretching out on the couch with his data pad in hand. Before sleeping he figured to check his messages. Two thousand unread messages awaited his business service, but only fifty or so were in his personal inbox. Deciding that work can wait until after sleep he looked over his personal messages. Almost every message was from his wife, Maggie. They were the typical I miss yous, I love yous, and updates on Tursto, Trayce, and their pet cats. The last message was from Trayce himself and upon reading it he felt a pang of anxiety rush through him.

"Dad, I need help. I think I've done something rather stupid. Please call me. Trayce."

That message arrived almost a week ago. This fact was disturbing as up until then there messages every day from Maggie. Switching his data pad over from the messages to communications he attempted to call his son. After several minutes there was no answer. He attempted to get a hold of Maggie and Tursto with the same result. His anxiety started to transform into panic as he stood and began to rush to the closet. Suddenly his office doorbell chimed. Tarvon froze, his mind reeling with fear. "Maybe it's just a check, if I do nothing they'll go away" he thought. The bell rang again, this time with heavy pounding at the door followed by a deep voice, "Doctor Clarrington! This is AFS security. Open this door immediately!"

"Shit", Tarvon hissed quietly. He quickly entered a code into his data pad that began a lock and erase program as he made his way over to the door. He knew AFS Security procedures and they wouldn't ask again. Straightening himself up to his full height and reinstalling the confident persona he activated the office door. Two security officers stood before him. A Joryan man, about the same height as him with flame red hair and pure black eyes. The other was an Akatosh female, several inches shorter with deep purple skin and her species distinctive four arms. "It is late and I demand to know the mea...." Before he could continue the man jabbed a stun stick directly into his ribs sending electricity coursing through him.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

His muscles all contracted at once as a fiery pain enveloped him. He felt as if his lungs had seized and wouldn't allow him to take a breath. His mind began to go foggy just as the man pulled the stun stick away. As he did so, Tarvon lost control of his bladder and bowels as he dropped to his knees and his data pad clattered to the floor. Both officers stepped inside, the Akatosh picking up his data pad as the Joryan wrenched his arms behind his back and cuffed his wrists. Attempting to fight through the fog of his stunned mind he felt like a toddler trying to speak for the first time. "Wh... Wh... Why." was all he managed to say before the stun stick was slammed into his back again and the world faded to black.

He awoke suddenly gasping for air and coughing violently. He felt like he was drowning. As his lungs began to clear so did his mind. He continued to cough as he struggled to look around. Finding himself in a small room about two meters by three meters, a tiny ray of sunshine flowed in through a sliver of a window barely wide enough to fit a hand through. The realization hitting him that he was in a cell. Not a cell of the Joryan prison, or even an AFS brig cell. This seemed more like a dungeon. As he finished his visual scan of the room his eyes came to rest on a door of heavy gauge bars.On the other side stood the fire haired Joryan officer holding an empty bucket and a man in a finely tailored suit standing next to him.

Recognition dawned in his brain as he looked at the man, "Senator Lynch?" he whispered. The man nodded at the security officer dismissing him. He waited until the officer was well away from the cell before speaking, "That is soon to be President Lynch to you, traitor". Tarvon's eyes narrowed as his breathing finally normalized, "What is the meaning of this? I demand to." Lynch cut him off, "You are in a position to deman nothing Doctor Clarrington. You are good. I will give you that. But you weren't good enough to ferret out one of my little moles aboard that ship you gave to your daughter. The Trinity, I think it's called."

Tarvon fought hard to keep any reaction from crossing his face as he spoke with all the dignity he could muster, "I have no idea what you are talking about. I" The Senator cut him short again, "We are well past the point of lies my good Doctor." He said circling his hand in the air for emphasis. "You truly are the brightest of us. But most people with a brain as big as yours suffer from one crucial weakness. Overconfidence." Lynch added. Tarvon growled in anger at the man and hissed out "Spare me the evil monologue and tell me what the hell is going on." Lynch let out a bemused chuckle, "Again with your demands. I wouldn't think such bravado would be capable coming from a man covered in his own filth" Tarvon's eyes lowered down to look at himself realizing that he had indeed been covered in the contents of his digestive system, and with a lovely odor to match. Lynch continued, "Your daughter and that wonderful little ship you built will not succeed in doing whatever it is they're doing. You see, my little mole has told me where they are going, and soon your marvelous ship will be the tool I use to put myself at the head of the Alliance."

Tarvon rolled his eyes so hard he felt the connective tissues straining. "A power play? That's what this is about?" he said. Lynch sighed and looked at Tarvon with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Oh my good Doctor, this goes so much deeper than just power." Lynch said. A small ember of rage burst out of Tarvon "Then what is it!" he practically yelled. Lynch pursed his lips and replied, "Oh, you will never know. You see I am going to place you in a deep dark hole where no one will ever find you. Maybe one day, when I have need, you and that big brain of yours will do some work for me." It was Tarvon's turn to laugh, "I'd just as soon have a red-hot poker shoved up my ass than work for you." he quipped. Lynch shot back, "You know, that can be arranged. However, I have an even better motivator. Say... the lives of your wife and sons."

Tarvon rushed the door and jammed his arms between the bars trying to grab hold of the man, but he was just out of reach. "You leave my family alone." Tarvon growled. Lynch took a step back and said "And give up the key to your compliance? I think not. I am told your daughter is just as smart as you, if not smarter. If she surrenders that ship and her crew she too will live. Albeit in a cage. If not she will die and we will take your ship by force." Tarvon screamed in rage and yelled at the man, "Do not underestimate her. She will figure this out and end you, you son of a bitch!". Lynch raised an eyebrow and calmly said "Why, that's the nicest thing I've heard about my mother in a very long time. Good day to you, good Doctor". Lynch turned and walked away as Tarvon raged inside the cell.