Rag'ell threw the Qar'a dagger on the table and looked at Leic-en sitting opposite him, "The genetic lock on this weapon still doesn't work."
The chief of the science team, who had attended the meeting as he had the day before, shook his head dismissively, "That's impossible."
"Gabriel was able to activate the weapon," the Supreme replied sternly, casting such an icy glare at the older Ardanian that even the confident scientist averted his eyes. He was about to say something in his defence, but Maw-ghet preceded him.
"You let the human try, my lord?" He asked, the disapproving tone in his voice coming through clearly. "That was extremely risky, what if the man had..."
Rag'ell silenced him with a flick of his hand.
"Enough. I want to hear what my science team has to say," he ran his cold gaze over Leic-en and the other two scientists, as well as the young technician he remembered from their last meeting.
Surprisingly, it was that lad who replied in a trembling but determined voice: "Our Supreme, the lock is all right."
He turned the weapon in his hand and stared at it in disbelief before Leic-en took it from him to examine it as well.
"Could we see the man activate it?" the older scientist asked.
Although Rag'ell wasn't too happy about the request, he still agreed and nodded, "Bring Gabriel Cassel here."
Maw-ghet gestured for two of his soldiers to carry out the order. Then he turned to the Supreme: "My Lord, the other problem is with Cassel's rebels. They are still hiding somewhere near our base N34S098 and hacking into our transmissions."
"What do you suggest?"
"All it would take is an air strike and the problem is solved."
"I don't want any more bombing. Block their transmissions and increase patrols in the area. But don't confront them."
Meanwhile, the Maw-ghet soldiers he had sent to bring the Earthling had returned empty-handed. "The prisoner is gone, my lord," they informed him, knowing full well that their leader would not take the news well.
"What? How can that be?" the Supreme was startled. "Find him at once!"
"He can't get far," Maw-ghet objected. "Have no fear, my lord, we will find him." He then used his communicator to sound the alarm and begin a wide search for the missing prisoner.
Rag'ell wanted to join the search, but he knew it was unworthy of his title. So he had to wait patiently to see if his soldiers would find Gabriel.
He felt his hands shaking, his stomach clenched with unease. Even though he knew that the prisoner could not escape from the ship and would be discovered sooner or later, he had to work hard to keep his composure. Rag'ell kept telling himself that his soldiers would discover the Earthling at any moment and bring him back.
Unfortunately, instead of Maw-ghet's soldiers bringing him the good news, the air force commander entered the meeting room.
"My Supreme," he bowed deeply, his slightly frightened expression indicating that he was not exactly eager to break the news to his leader.
"What is it?" Rag'ell asked with an uneasy premonition.
"I heard about the escaped prisoner and... I mean... I don't know if it's related..."
"Speak!" The sickening feeling returned, hitting the silver-haired Ardanian with full force.
"Um... my lord, one of our fighters is acting strangely. It doesn't respond to the return command, the remote control is disabled, and..."
"Are you kidding me? He activated our fighter and turned off the remote?" Maw-ghet reacted first, then angrily turned to Leic-en and shouted, "Your incompetence knows no bounds!"
"So he's trapped in orbit somewhere?" Rag'ell asked, his heart pounding furiously. But now it was out of fear for his lover. What had possessed him to hide in their fighter?
"No, sir, he..." the air force commander's uncertain voice sounded again, "...he's piloting it. He's changed course and is apparently heading back to Earth."
"Impossible!" The silver-haired Ardanian exclaimed, no longer able to feign calm. "How could this happen?"
The Supreme was furious and though he tried to control his anger and keep a cool face, all his subordinates could clearly see how angry he was.
And they trembled with fear. Especially Leic-en, who knew full well that this was his responsibility.
"They used to execute for failures like this," Rag'ell hissed at the older scientist who crouched before his angry leader.
"Forgive me, our Supreme, but... but... that is not possible. The aircraft's activation lock may have failed, though it is unlikely, but that fighter can only be piloted by an Ardanian. It's not just the genetic fingerprint that would have to recognise his DNA, but all systems respond to..."
"As you can see, he managed it somehow," he interrupted sharply. "A team of my best scientists outwitted by a single Earthling. That's inexcusable!"
"Maybe he's not the pilot, it could just be a coincidence and the stolen fighter has nothing to do with it," the young technician spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on the ground and his hands shaking. "My Lord, it's really unlikely that the man could do such a thing."
Before Rag'ell had a chance to reply, the Maw-ghet spoke up, reading the message he had just received on his communicator. "Sir, my soldiers have been going through the surveillance footage. The prisoner slipped out wearing a combat suit and the latest images show him outside the hangar entrance."
"So it's really him," the Supreme sighed, his emotions ranging from anger and disappointment to uncertainty and fear.
"Sir, he's still within range of our weapons, we could easily shoot him down," suggested the air force commander, who had been silently pacing nearby, waiting for orders.
"No," said the Ardanian leader, doing his best to hide his anger mixed with fear for his loved one. "I want you to bring him back unharmed. Send a squadron immediately and prepare my fighter. I'll go after him too."
"Are you sure?" objected the air force commander. " One squadron is already tracking him, leave it to them."
"Apparently I can't rely on anyone here. I'll catch him myself," Rag'ell replied in a tone that would not be challenged. And no one dared to contradict him.
Quickly, the Supreme left the conference room and headed for the hangar. Maw-ghet followed at his heels, closely trailed by the air force commander.
"My lord," came the voice of Leic-en, who had also caught up with him. "I want you to know that this is not the failure of the science team. This simply is not possible."
"Just like it's impossible for Earthlings to use our weapons?" Maw-ghet grinned, taking undisguised pleasure in Leic-en's failings.
"It was our fault that the humans bypassed the genetic lock, I admit," the scientist tried to explain, struggling for breath and finding it difficult to keep up with the Supreme. "But it took them several months to figure out how to do it. But what is happening now is not a technical malfunction."
"Then explain to me how it is possible for a human to pilot one of our fighters?" Rag'ell replied sharply, not slowing down, enjoying the fact that the older Ardanian was having trouble keeping up with him.
He wanted to punish him as severely as possible. Gabriel was escaping in one of their fighters and it was this incompetent idiot's fault.
"Sir, just as he shouldn't activate a weapon with what appears to be a fully functioning genetic lock," he explained breathlessly, then opened his palm to show the dagger still in his hand, "neither can a human pilot our aircraft. The problem isn't with the security system, there's something off about Gabriel Cassel."
The Supreme finally stopped when he understood what the scientist was trying to imply and looked into Leic-en's eyes. A shiver ran down his spine as the simplest explanation for this mystery came to mind, an explanation that was also the most absurd.
"My lord, what Leic-en is suggesting is utter nonsense," Maw-ghet, who also realised what the scientist was referring to, spoke up sternly. "He's merely trying to cover up his incompetence."
Rag'ell glanced at Maw-ghet and then at the chief scientist. "Check it out anyway," he ordered. "Run a test on Gabriel's DNA."