Heavy troop shuttle
The crew was secured in some rooms on the transport. Some of the troops were going to remain onboard while the rest returned to the heavy shuttle. The heavy box was going to be left secured on the asteroid. Once they were far enough away they were going to blow it in the hopes the other ship would assume the ship exploded and the crew were killed. It would also make them think that Earth would assume the probe was the cause of the explosion.
Once they were ready the shuttle took them in tow and slowly accelerated to get away from the explosion. Once they were far enough away they triggered the secondary bomb. It went off with a satisfactory flash of light and flare of secondary radiation. They weren't sure if the second bomb had exploded as well but it would be destroyed which was good. They didn't need someone to pick it up and have it go off near a habitat.
After the bomb had been triggered a message was sent to the Fijishi letting them know. It was going to take some time to get back since they were towing the piece of junk but that wasn't a problem. They would get back and turn the crew over to the Swiss. As far as the ship? Might as well have it junked, it was in that bad of shape. To honest the pilot of the shuttle didn't have any idea how it was even space worthy. Chances were good it occasionally leaked air based on the number of hull patches he could see.
It was only an intersystem ship and he doubted it could get over.1c. Maybe .15c at the very most. At a guess the thing was a good fifty or more years old and hadn't been well maintained. What it might have originally started life as he didn't have the faintest idea. How many modifications it had over its life he didn't know but he could see at least five additions. With a shake of his head he turned and started working on his report of the action. What they were going to do with the five he didn't know and didn't really care.
~~~
Col. Jinjow arrives home
For the entire flight back to Earth, he tried to remember what he had learned but nothing had come back. He had very carefully sorted through his luggage for the encrypted files he had hidden as well. None were to be found and they had been very carefully hidden. When he was done with digging through his stuff, everything was piled on the bunk he had. All of his electronics were there, just none of the data crystals. Even more frustrating the electronics had been carefully wiped as well.
It almost looked like they had been reformatted and reloaded before being placed in his luggage. Everything was there other than the data crystals. What almost burned was a neat and tidy inventory list of everything he owned and had brought with. As far as he could tell, when they packed him up they had generated it. It had been signed by the two warriors and the Ambassador. If he managed to remain alive he was going to be lucky. His command took a very dim view of not completing your missions.
The flight back had been very uncomfortable since nobody would talk to him. From what he could tell this was a regular trip to Earth and it looked like they had replacement warriors and crew. Other than during meals when he asked for something to be passed nobody said anything to him. For the two weeks, he was almost completely isolated. When they arrived at Earth he was actually relieved even knowing what he did about his command's likely reaction.
Once the transport had landed on the Fijishi he didn't get a chance to look around. He was escorted to a shuttle and dropped to the surface. As he had expected it was down to Switzerland. What Jinjow hadn't expected was to be escorted onto the Barque which was the Sholan Embassy. Once on board he was taken to a small waiting area and told to sit. There were two warriors with him and they remained. He was slightly insulted by that. He wasn't going to try anything. If that stupid woman had just done her job he wouldn't have screamed at her. As far as he was concerned the entire telepath thing was just a way to hold onto power. The thing with one in every five days off for the three was their way of getting more time off while others worked.
Assuming he was still alive in a week or two he was going to file a complaint about his treatment. They had physically assaulted him, did something to his memory, and tossed him on some random ship back. He couldn't complain about the data crystals since they weren't authorized. His neck had been sore for a good week after that one warrior had almost sunk his claws into it. Being tossed across the room had caused a few bruises which some were still there.
He was still fuming when a door opened and he was told to go in. The warriors escorted him in and he almost twitched since the Sholan Ambassador was waiting for him. When she pointed at a chair and told him to sit he did as she ordered. It irritated him since most females in his department were support. They did all the secretarial stuff, got coffee, and meals as needed. Very few were of a higher rank than he was. Of those they had earned it working their way up the chain.
Teo looked at the man and lightly sensed his emotions and surface thoughts. After several moments she finally spoke, "Col. Jinjow, I have a report here of your actions on Shola. Not just what caused you to be sent back but from the moment you arrived. Before you say anything, it is from several different sources and not just the embassy. We are not pleased with your actions and have filed a complaint with your government. I'm going to try one last time to get you to understand what you managed to avoid." She took a sip of the coffchar mix Billy had created, "First and foremost is the expected treatment for anyone with purple. Don't touch unless asked or they initiate it. That is for any rank of telepath from the weakest talent to the strongest normal talent. It is both our culture and our laws."
"When it comes to Leska's like Yilly, Lt. Cmdr Verzilon, and Z'Marl you just don't touch. For Leska's an unwarranted touch is, by law, equivalent to grievous assault. For a simple touch, you would be facing a jail sentence of five plus years. When you cornered Z'Marl it would have been within Ambassador Madlax's rights to have fried your brain. That isn't a joke in case you think it is. It would have left you with the mentality of a child, in a coma, or even dead. Since he didn't he could have called the police and had you arrested. You would have been locked up for fifteen years to life. It would also have been an option to have you personality programmed."
She took another sip of the drink, "When he decided to send you back you seriously lucked out. You are being returned to your country along with a report of your actions from arrival to what caused your departure. We have filed a complaint with your government about your actions. We have also informed them before anyone from your country goes to Shola they are going to be heavily mentally examined. They are going to be examined by medical for a psychological evaluation and by the telepaths for additional evaluation. Anyone who isn't passed by both won't go. For your information, Ambassador Madlax has recommended we don't allow anyone from your country be allowed to go to Shola."
Each sip of the drink was to make a point. He wasn't a welcome guest and wasn't wanted aboard the ship, "We are going to make the decision on, if, or when, anyone from your country goes back to Shola. After considering the Ambassador's report it is going to take a great deal of convincing. Chances are good it won't be anyone from your military. If you have a problem with Ambassador Madlax's actions file a complaint with his state department. If you have an issue with my actions file a report with the Sholan Government. I will ensure it is sent up the chain to the senior Alien Relations staff for review. Admiral Demopolus is waiting to speak to you. Dismissed." She flicked an ear at the warriors and turned back to what she had been working on.
When the Colonel tried to say something, she looked back up, "I didn't ask for any comment or reply. I had you in here to inform you of what your actions could have caused and have caused. Leave my office or I will have you forcibly removed. Goodbye." She watched one of the warriors pull him out of the chair and almost drag him out of the office. Now came Ike's chance to rip him an asshole.
They had finally managed to organize an office for Ike next to Teo's. It was small but he didn't care since he had smaller offices before. When he was alerted Jinjow was outside he opened the door and pointed at a chair, "Sit down and shut up. I know Ambassador Teolura has spoken to you and now it's my turn. She is far nicer than I am so I'm going to be blunt. You fucked up and barely managed to walk out alive. Billy might come across as a nice guy but he has a mean streak a mile wide when pissed and you pissed him off. The only reason you are alive and not in jail is because he is making a point to your government. If it wasn't for that he would have killed you, kicked some dirt on your body, and walked away whistling."
He took a drink of his coffee before speaking again, "I've received the report he generated for my government as well as a copy to his company. To my government, he has strongly recommended you don't get the engines or you pay full price plus for them. He is currently selling the engines to most governments for a million dollars or just over. That barely covers the cost of manufacture plus a bit for his company. For civilian use, they are going for just under two million for the small engines. You irritated him slightly since he wants three and a half million, cash before delivery. The engines your country will be getting are going to be what he called black box units. Certain proprietary aspects will be sealed and if something breaks you will need to order a new box and send the old one back. He has talked to the Sholan's to ensure the boxes aren't accessible by our technology. If you try to open one of the boxes it will cause the entire engine to slag down. The first time this happens the cost for a replacement engine will be five million. Each time it happens the cost of the engines will go up by two million."
Ike had to take a breath and glared when Jinjow started to speak, "I said keep your fucking trap shut. Teo explained one aspect of life to you. I'm explaining the next aspect. If you open your mouth again, I'll have you dragged from the ship, tossed on the first shuttle back to your country and file formal charges." He had half come out of his seat before he settled back down. When he was yelling, his heavy thick beard seemed to double in size, "For the moment your country isn't receiving any engines or re-crystallized tubes. They are in negotiations with my government and Billy's company to start the flow of parts and engines going again. Knowing your section of the military I doubt I'll be seeing you again. Once you leave the Barque you will be taken to a room, you will remain there until a flight is organized, and then you will be escorted to it. Get out of my sight." He flicked his beard at the warriors and watched them almost drag the man out of the room. When he had received the report from Billy he had been forced to take several days to calm down.
~~~
Jinjow arrives home
Thankfully the flight back home was civilian. Since he didn't expect to be alive all that much longer he decided to get drunk. As the plane was angling down to land he looked out the window and knew there were unhappy people waiting for him. Having his command unhappy with him was going to bring him some serious pain in the near future. It wasn't something he wanted or was looking for. As he was thinking he pulled out his blood pressure medicine and pulled a pill out since he needed it.
