Cost of Captivity

Cost of Captivity is the third episode of the third RIS Bouteina season.

Tagline

Even when the Lyran Star Empire has captured a Kzinti outpost, the Kzintis fled the starbase with a couple of the Bouteina's crewmen as their prisoners. Meanwhile, Brianna Reiss has the control of what the Lyrans now term Starbase 148.

Summary

Act One

Commodore Reiss has led her Lyran fleet to victory at Starbase 148. However, with both the executive officer and the riov of the RIS Bouteina taken prisoner, Vaebn Mairex has the effective control of the ship. They want to recover the prisoners but they don't know where the prison camp is. Her superior, Lyran count Fikrohn of the Iron Fang County, tells her that he cannot send more ships that the ones containing the repair crews and supplies, much less the ships necessary to capture a Kzinti prison world. With this information, Brianna decides not to go on the move.

Act Two

The people made prisoners by the Tzenkethi and turned over to the Kzinti, were introduced to their new world in the prison camp: digging five-feet cylindrical holes each day. Accersitus finds out that the place is made out of sandy soil as Relm sank into the ground. Zetra has finished digging her hole before the other non-Lyran prisoners, leaving Accersitus and the others to complete the digging of their holes. And Annika later realized that the mess hall's walls are falling because of the holes they dug around and the warden tells the prisoners that the prisoners are going to repair the tactical systems of the place.

Act Three

In order to get accustomed to the Norexan-class controls, Brianna gets on the pilot's seat of the Bouteina, commenting the recent turn of events: the Kzinti spies, the prisoners they took, for which they asked Myriam. It's only then that Vaebn realize that the Tiamat is missing as well as its occupants; Myriam then tells them that Ruft-Banker was punished. They also discuss the science behind cheating as well as their couple life. Brianna then proceeds to tell her husband that casino cheaters are usually smarter than academic cheaters, and also a few facts on chartered cheaters.

Act Four

The tactical systems have arrived on the prison world and each prisoner finds work for what needed to. Annika Hansen, for instance, got the current chopper replaced in a missile rack. Stella serves as a "beast of burden", just like Zetra, and Annika asks Stella to bring the voltmeter to her. However, Taev Radaik has it and he uses it to repair rotational bearings in a disruptor turret. Neleras stands besides the Lyran prisoners, telling them that Brianna would attack the place. Once the rotational bearings are repaired, they are tested and they worked.

Act Five

Upon returning to the starbase, Brianna has organized a training camp where the kids in the "school bus" (really a freighter) could train in cheating. Vox'ula opens a channel to the Clan Elders so she could ask for reinforcements. Actually, they answered her by telling that a squadron of Hydran destroyers are en route. On the Bouteina, though, the crewmen are seeing the ships separate, using multi-vector assault mode. Also, in the starbase, Brianna proceeds with her lecture and eager students learn new tricks to cheat away in class, like a new trick to peeking.

External link

• Cost of Captivity on the RIS Bouteina boards