Memory started to shuffle groggily back into Colonel Leigh's mind as he slowly regained consciousness. Looking up sluggishly he took in his dank surroundings, noting the blank gunmetal walls and the heavy sealed door at one end. There was a single very dim light set into the ceiling and the faint hum of a power generator throbbed through the walls. From the looks of it he had been placed in the room on a chair on one side of a table in the centre of the room but in his unconscious state he had slipped to the floor. His jacket, holster and utility belt had been removed and his pockets were empty. Using the chair for balance, he got shakily to his feet and flopped down on the chair. The table was bare apart from a glass of water. He picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled clean but he left it alone regardless. Thirsty as he was, he wasn't going to risk being drugged again. A blinking red light in the corner of the room caught his attention and he waved, recognising a camera hidden in the darkness.
A jolt of pain in his shoulder brought the circumstances of his arrival here back to him in painful clarity. He remembered the storming of his vessel by the LSF. He remembered the gunshot that had pierced his shoulder. He remembered an LSF officer standing over him with a syringe of clear fluid as he lay bleeding on the deck of the Hepshetsut's bridge. And after that he remembered nothing.
He slid his hand under his bloodstained Order issue undershirt and probed the wound with his fingers. It had been dressed cleanly and professionally.
"So you want me alive then," he said into the dimness, chuckling darkly, knowing for certain that the LSF were listening...
Waiting... What could be easier and yet harder? The inability to do anything may be the heaviest burden of all others. At least so it was in the Colonel's case. It was even harder for him to wait, since he had no idea where exactly he was, how much time he spent unconscious, what would happen and how soon it would happen. He didn't even know if it was day and night outside... Maybe he wasn't even on the surface of a planet. In some way such thoughts even helped Leigh, since he could at least try to analyse the situation he had got in. However, he couldn't do much, because he had almost no initial data to begin with.
He didn't know for how long he had been in this cell. But some time later he heard a noise, humming and creaky at the same time. When he turned to the source of the noise instinctively, he saw a "bed" which simply slid out of the wall. "Just a bar of metal, but it's better than sleeping on the floor". Having no other option, he lay down on the "bed". The glass of water remained untouched.
There was a loud cracking in the colonel's neck as he rose from the slab and righted himself, stretching to the sound of more cracking. He rubbed his joints painfully and shifted himself onto the chair. He picked up the glass of water and poured it over his head, trying to cool himself down.
It hadn't surprised him that the LSF were letting him stew in this room. Isolation and food and water deprivation were standard precursors to an interrogation and he was making sure to stay calm and collected. Still, he couldn't help thinking of what had happened to his crew. Those who survived were undoubtedly going through similar treatment, but he had no doubt that many had been killed in the battle. The fate of the vessel itself was also on his mind. As soon as they had been cornered he had been sure to stall for time while the vessels databases were purged to prevent any classified data falling into the hands of the LSF, but the vessel itself was a repository of classified Order technology and if the LSF hadn't scuttled the Hepshetsut, there was a chance they could retroengineer what they didn't already have. He hoped that the distress signal he ordered to be sent as the ship was boarded had reached it's destination. If that was the case then there was a chance that the Order had at least saved the vessel and it's valuable technology.
Keeping an expression of bored disinterest on his face, Colonel Leigh began dozing on the chair, knowing that no matter how long he had been in this room, it wouldn't be long before his captors showed up with a list of questions...
He was awakened by the noise, which was coming from the door this time. It opened. After the darkness of the cell, the light coming through the door seemed too bright. In a moment, a dark dim figure appeared amongst the light. The Colonel could only say that it was a figure of a woman, but he couldn't make out much apart from that. However, the voice of the "guest" sounded familiar.
"Stand up, prisoner. Step out of the cell and turn your face to the wall".
Without having any other viable options, Leigh slowly complied. He was not in the right state for any attempts of escape. "Besides, the LSF must have some sort of protection here anyway". His suspicions were confirmed by the agent standing beside him.
"No foolish attempts, please. If you make any rash or quick move, you'll get vaporized before you can say "Sorry", trust me on that".
"She exaggerates", he thought, although he was not going to check that. And he finally recognised the agent's voice. "Ashley Sunderland, the agent who tracked the Hepshetsut down", - his memory prompted him obligingly. At the same time his hands were put behind him the handcuffs were locked around his wrists. Two guards approached them.
"Alright, let's go".
Ashley was leading the way, the Colonel was following her and two guards were behind them. Leigh could see many doors on both sides of the corridor they were going through. Each and every of those doors reminded the door to the Colonel's cell. Soon they reached the stairwell. The agent used a card to unlock the door and they went a couple of levels above. The lighting on this level was better, and Leigh didn't see any prison cells here. The convoy walked down the corridor, took a turn and ended up in front of a door, which opened as soon as they approached. Leigh felt that handcuffs were taken off.
"Step in, they're waiting for you".
Having no other options, the Colonel entered the room and decided to stay at the entrance. The lighting in the room he entered was even better, the walls were painted in light grey. Leigh saw that apart from the door he entered, there was another door in the room. Chris also noticed a mirror on the opposite side, and the mirror was as wide as the wall itself. And in the middle of the room there was a table, with two chairs at the opposite sides of the table. And one chair has been taken already, by a dark-haired man wearing a black suit. He pointed at the other chair and started speaking, and Leigh realised that he had met that man before.
"We've been expecting you. Take a seat".
At the same time the Colonel heard the door close behind him...
"Ah, Mister O'Connor, what a pleasant surprise," the colonel said, smiling as he sat down and extended his hand as if he were not a prisoner and they were two businessmen meeting to arrange a transaction, "I was wondering who they'd send to work this mess out, but it didn't cross my mind that it would be you."
He sat back with a pleasant smile on his face, trying his best to seem perfectly relaxed and at home, paying no attention to what was obviously a two way mirror on the wall...
"Commendable memory and intuition," the agent responded, shaking hands with the Colonel, as if the situation was indeed different from the current, "Especially considering the fact that it's the first time we meet in person, Colonel Leigh." The agent seemed to have accepted the informal tone of this "conversation". At least it didn't remind questioning... for now. "And yes, I didn't expect such an assignment myself. Sometimes I have to do the job of Internal Affairs, although it's not my field. Besides, since we know each other already, it has been decided that I should participate."
However, Norman switched the topic soon enough."So, how have you been, Colonel? It has been some time since we had a chance to talk properly...", he pondered for a moment, "back in Omega-3, I believe."
"Oh you know how it goes in this game O'Connor," said the Colonel, chuckling to himself, "our files on you lot are just as detailed as your files on us no doubt. We might not have met face to face before, but you can be sure we both know enough to hold a good conversation about the other."
He cleared his throat.
"And I've been just peachy thank you," he said, letting a hint of sarcasm edge it's way into his tone but maintaining his smile, "this hotel you've got me booked into is delightful and the complementary bullet wound was a welcome surprise. When that scars over it'll be a nice addition to the collection."
He waved absentmindedly to the two way mirror.
"Now Omega 3," he went on, "that was an interesting conversation. How is is Mister Frosthearth anyway? Booked into the penthouse suite of this fine establishment no doubt?"
"To be honest, I have no idea of his current location, Colonel. What I may say, is that he is not here, although I could book a room for him too. Of course, he wouldn't be as important guest as you are, Leigh. But he thinks otherwise, and he also believes that his actions can make a difference. Well, I don't think so. Nethertheless, we would be happy to welcome mister Frosthearth here. In fact, we would even send an appropriate welcoming committee. But as I've said, you're our main guest. Trust me, I'm truly pleased that you couldn't resist the invitation sent to you by miss Sunderland."
The agent settled back in his chair, tilted his head, and then continued.
"As for the warm welcome you got here, I'm sure you understand that it was... a necessary formality. You know, for some reason people tend to avoid this "fine establishment", so the invitation was doubled with that warm welcome... Usually people can't resist after such persistence."
The agent grinned.
"Anyway, back to our Omega 3 meeting if you don't mind", he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table, "back then I was quite impressed by the ship you used to command. A Corvo-class deep space explorer wielding firepower of a cruiser. Quite a useful vessel it is. I wonder how you got such a ship under your command. I've heard that the Zoners are quite... protective of their developments, especially when they can shake their neutrality in some way by getting into the wrong hands."
"Well I'm flattered," said the colonel, "I didn't think the LSF cared so much about an old fighter jockey like myself."
He looked firmly into O'Connor's eyes before continuing, still maintaining a pleasant smile as if he and the LSF agent were old friends.
"As for the Hepshetsut," he went on, "the Zoners had no part in it. It was a scrapped hulk bought from a community of Junkers in the Taus who we paid to restore it to working order."
The colonel knew that if the LSF had examined the ship in any true detail, they would know that the modifications were well beyond the skills and technological capabilities of Junkers, but the story of the ships origins was true enough.
"Besides, I think you're exaggerating about the Hepshetsut's firepower," he continued, "the powercore of a Corvo can't match any combat vessel of the same size. We might have bolted a mortar on there for emergencies but point defence weapons don't make for the most well armed vessel."
"Exaggerating or not, it still falls under Foreign Warships Article. However, the Hepshetsut is not the main reason why you have been... invited here. I'm more interested in the mission of yours. There must be a reason for deploying such a vessel. From what I learned from agent Sunderland, it was the mobile base of operations. And that's why I wonder why you deployed that deep space explorer instead of a carrier. I find it odd at the very least."
The agent stood up and approached the mirror, turning his head to the table and the Colonel.
"So tell me, what made your High Command deploy this vessel here in Liberty? And what made you risk your ship and your crew when you got cornered, Leigh?"
While saying this, the agent leaned against the wall. He was waiting for the answer...