“There was some destroyed equipment that the engineers had no idea what the function was for,” Jon said. “The question would be how many of these secret bunkers are there and would it be enough to keep this net running? Then you still have the whole question of why would someone do this to the people here.”
“We know there are at least a dozen more bunkers like this one arrayed across the planet in a line,” Terri said. “Our scans show they’re in a perfect line, almost like a wall and I bet if we looked hard enough we would find more of these secret bunkers.”
“A dozen?” Jon said. “I knew we had found a few more but not that many.”
“We learned what to look for after the inspection of the one that was attacked,” Terri said. “We just haven’t had time to scan the rest of the planet. I was in the process of making a report when all this happened. Plus we’ve been a bit busy trying to discover how they worked. The next logical action would have been to take a bunker by force to see how it operated. I had Captain Anders working on a plan for that when things got accelerated.”
Jon nodded, it didn’t seem like a very important thing at this moment. There would be time to correct this problem later and discover the true function of the bunkers. Plus he trusted his sister’s ability to deal with the situation. “Well, after this is all done I’ll leave it up to you to figure these bunker things out,” Jon said to Terri. “But, I still don’t understand the why. Why would someone do this to an entire planet, what is there to gain?”
“That I might have an answer to ,” Najesta said.
“Really?” Jon said. “Please explain.”
“We’ve detected a large city on this side of the planet,” Najesta said. “It only became visible to us because we got close enough to get a faint power reading that drew our attention. We sent whiskers out to investigate and they stumbled upon a city full of people.”
They’re using a dampening field to keep themselves hidden from orbital scan and it was just dumb luck we stumbled on them. As far as we can tell it is a fully functioning city and has a population in the millions. It’s much larger than the Crown City and they have transport ships coming and going.”
“What? How come we’ve never seen them?” Jon said.
“They’re using the same dampening field to mask their signatures as far as we can tell, and, they have cloaking devices,” Najesta said. “Sir, I would like permission to gather data on this net using a few whiskers. If the Matriarch would have her people transmit the data from their findings we might be able to discover the rest of these bunkers.”
Jon looked over at Terri who just nodded as she spoke into her com. “They’ll be transmitting the data shortly,” Jon said. “Keep me informed.”
“Yes Sir,” Najesta said. “What would you like me to do about the city?”
“I’ll handle that,” Jon said. “For now, focus on the net and these bunkers.”
“Of course Sir,” Najesta said.
“Hunter out,” Jon said as he closed the connection. “Lieutenant Patel I assume you were monitoring the communication,” Jon said.
“Yes, Sir,” Patel said. “Though we already knew about everything that had been discovered. I was just waiting on your orders.”
“Well, you handle the situation,” Jon said. “Pick a Special Forces team and have them recon this city to gather intelligence about what is going on there. I suggest you make them all Eutharan though. Also keep some whiskers around the city in low power mode and try to get ship IDs and cargo scans. I would like to know what is coming and going. If you can, get a tracking beacon on one of the ship so we can see where they’re going.”
“Yes Sir,” Patel said. “I’ve already contacted Lieutenant Oojoung and he’s sending me his best Eutharan people. He also said to let you know he is in the area and if you need him just holler.”
Jon chuckled, when is that guy never around. “Thanks for letting me know,” Jon said.
“I’ll help them with the tracking and scanning of these ships,” Atlantis said. “If you need me holler, but I’m afraid there’s not much I can do beyond these doors as I can’t even manifest myself there.”
“Atlantis will be joining you to help you with the recon and such,” Jon said as he nodded. “Keep an eye on my family please.”
Atlantis reached out and put her hand on his cheek. “And you of course,” Atlantis said as she faded from view.
“Yes Sir, operations are now underway,” Patel said.
“Do try to keep us hidden, even if you have to take up an orbital position,” Jon said. “I want surprise on our side.”
“Of course Sir,” Patel said. “I’ve already put us back across the net and have been following it in a weaving pattern.”
This man was going to make a good Captain and Jon aimed to see that he got every chance. “Smart, keep up the good work,” Jon said. “Oh, one last thing, contact Captain Anders and have him stop the attack and hold position. Just tell him we’re having ship problems and he needs to delay until we can support him.”
“Yes Sir,” Patel said.
“Carry on then Lieutenant,” Jon said as he disconnected the link.
“That man will make a very dangerous Captain,” Breq said.
Jon nodded his agreement. “Good thing he is on our side,” he said.
“Sir, I think I’ve got it,” the Engineering Tech said.
Jon took a step towards the bulkhead doors as he said, “Open it.”
The control panel lit up and the doors cycled open as the Tech shunted power from his portable to the control panel. Rifles immediately focus on the black darkness beyond the door. Jon stood there staring into the darkness for a second before he motioned to the marines around him.
The Marines began making their way into the dark corridor scanning for anything out of the ordinary. They used a standard leap frog pattern as the team split into two separate units and start working their way down each side of the corridor.
Jon motioned to the Marine Engineer Tech as he spoke, “You’re with me.”
“Yes, Sir,” the Tech said as he fell in next to Jon and grabbed his weapon after stowing the last of his gear.
“Sir,” Patel’s voice said from Jon’s com unit. It made Jon give a small jump in surprise as he wasn’t expecting it.
Jon adjusted the volume down and spoke softly, “Hunter here.”
“Sir, we’ve located Tech Sergeant Mardius,” Patel said.
“Well, we’re a bit busy here right now. Just put him in the Brig I’ll talk to him later,” Jon said.
“Sir, he’s been shot,” Patel said. “It looks like an execution style slaying.”
“Someone didn’t want him talking,” Sa’oliq said.
“Which means there are more hostiles aboard,” Breq said.
“I want all Marines in Engineering sections and the Bridge doubled,” Jon said. “No one in no one out. Contact Oojoung and have him send you extra Marines to both those locations. I want all new personnel, Eutharan or not, rounded up and taken to landing bay two and placed under heavy guard until we can figure out what is going on here and who is and isn't involved.”
“Yes Sir,” Patel said. “I’m already on it. I also have Engineering looking at restoring access to that section. However, they don’t have an estimate of time as they don’t know what was done or where.”
“Any Engineering teams coming into this section are to be under heavy protection,” Jon said. “As a matter of fact I want small scout and recon teams working to move people out of this section and into safety. Any team entering this section is to be tracked and data can be relayed through the nanites to myself and the Marine Team leader here.”
“Yes Sir, I’ll start organizing those teams now,” Patel said.
“Tell them to keep their eyes open and report anything unusual or out of place,” Jon said.
“Yes Sir,” Patel said.
Jon could hear him start issuing orders in the background, so he decide to let him go to do h
is job. “Keep monitoring the situation and give me updates,” Jon said. “Hunter out.”
“I will Sir,” Patel said. “Bridge out.”
“Hold fire, incoming reinforcements,” Terri said. The corridor lit up as twenty heavily armed Ga’sahde Marines suddenly materialized into existence. The leader of the group stepped up to Jon, saluted and bowed as she pulled her helmet off.
“Greetings, House Primus. I hope you have been well,” Arianna said.
Jon let out a brief smile as he spoke, “Long time no see Arianna, I hope things have been going well for you.”
Terri cleared her throat and then said, “You two can catch up later. Arianna I want you and your team to split into two units. First unit will be here with us and the second unit will report to the Bridge for assignment.”
“As you wish Matriarch,” Arianna said as she bowed.
Arianna moved off to split the teams and give them their assignments.
“Terri, you know how dangerous transporting people is. Why would you do such a thing? They could have been hurt or even worse killed,” Jon said quietly.
“It was a risk they were willing to take,” Terri said. “It was actually Gabriel’s idea when I said we might be needing more support. Arianna agreed and gathered a volunteer team up for the transport. It’s not something we do all the time, but on occasion it has it’s uses.”
Jon just nodded, he didn’t like it but he understood the need under certain circumstances and he wasn’t going to complain about having twenty more Marines he could trust on board.
Once Arianna returned and her team took up their defensive circle around Jon and his small group they proceeded towards Main Medical. The going was slow but they reached Main Medical without incident. It took the Engineering Tech less than two minutes to bypass the outer doors for them to gain entry.
What Jon saw when he stepped through the door and into the main waiting area made his blood run cold, and, explained his episodes. Behind the Isolation Ward doors were Duke Andara and six Royal Marines, though their markings were different than Jon’s personal Marines. Their markings denoted them as belonging to the Dukes house.
That’s not what worried him the most though. What really made Jon worry was the fact that Deatra was in the grasp of the Duke and held up so that her feet didn’t touch the ground. If it wasn’t for the position of his hands he would have thought the Duke was strangling her, but he knew better. The Duke was using an outlawed technique that could remove a bond and replace it with another. That is why Jon was feeling the way he was, as the Duke peeled back the layers of the bond connecting Deatra and Jon together it caused him to go through withdraw almost like a drug addiction. That is what killed a Bond mate when one died, the sudden shock to the system that the body couldn’t deal with.
It was only when Jon took a step forward that the Duke noticed him and grinned. “Welcome Captain Hunter to the end of your life,” Andara said. He kicked a prone body on the floor. “Once I’m finished with Deatra I’ll deal with her sister and you.” The Duke looked back at Deatra and she let out a loud scream in anguish.
The room spun around Jon as hands reached out to support him.
Terri pointed at the Engineering Tech as she spoke, “Get that door open NOW!”
The Duke looked over as he spoke, “If that door opens I’ll kill her like I did the Queen and the results will be pretty much the same. With the Queen and King dead and then Deatra and Captain Hunter dead the Eutharan people will have to turn to me for guidance and support. Either way we do this I win.”
“And you really think you’ll make it out of that room alive if you kill her or Opellissa?” Terri said motioning to the body he had kicked. There was a burn mark on her back from a weapons discharge and she didn’t look too well. “What if Opellissa dies before you complete the ritual? Don’t you die too as you’re now linked to her?”
“I can break the connection at anytime,” the Duke said.
That’s when motion behind the Duke caught Terri’s attention. It was a battered and bruised Andie and she was stumbling towards the Duke with a laser scalpel. It was the only time Terri could recall she had ever seen a look of anger, no rage, on Andie’s face.
Jon had seen her too and slammed his hand open palm on the glass separating the rooms as he shook his head no. Andie’s eyes flicked briefly to Jon and for the briefest of instants a smile crossed her face as she continued to close on the Duke.
The Duke, misunderstanding Jon’s motion nodded his head yes and said, “The closer you get the worse it hurts you know. The more you feel the pain, the more you feel your life being ripped apart.”
Jon decided to try to distract the Duke and his guards. “So, you’re the one behind this?” Jon said.
“Of course and I’ve been hiding right under your nose,” the Duke said as he smirked at Jon. “I managed to force a bond with the Queen years ago, you know she really was kind of a slut. Sleeping around with anyone who caught her fancy. It took me years of training to learn the secret and forbidden arts no longer practiced. But once I did it was nothing to seduce the Queen and Bond with her. Through that Bond I put ideas in their heads and nudged them both in the direction I wanted them to go. I was able to do whatever I wanted and with a little nudge here and there they had no idea it was even happening.”
“And the hidden city?” Jon said.
“Mine of course, my people live there and prosper while I destroy the King’s people slowly without them even knowing I’m doing it,” the Duke said. “It prevents a war on our planet from breaking out. I can see in your eyes that you are finally catching on to what is really going on here.”
“I can see I’m looking at a mad man,” Jon said. “I can see I’m looking at a man who thinks he has power. I can see I’m looking at a dead man.”
“You don’t think I have power?” the Duke said. “Let me let you in on a little secret. The Eutharan people, my people, have a fleet that has been in hiding while secretly building up strength. You’re small fleet in orbit is about half the size of my fleet as they’re about to find out.”
Jon’s eyes widened as the Duke grinned. Jon hadn’t been expecting this little surprise and the expressions on the people around him told him they hadn’t either. Jon watched as Andie took one last step and raised the laser scalpel, he gave himself an inward grin knowing this would soon be over.
Chapter 24
Clearing the Air
Andie froze mid swing and her face briefly displayed puzzlement, then suddenly changed to one of pain as she screamed. It was clear that her knees had buckled even though she didn’t fall to the ground. She slowly turned her head and looked at Jon as a tear rolled down her cheek. She mouthed the words ‘I’m Sorry’ just before she was flung across the room, slamming into the wall behind her.
Deatra gasped slightly as Andie slumped to the floor and started gasping for breath as blood ran from her nose. She had been fighting the Duke the entire time and now that Jon was here, and she had seen his condition, she had doubled her efforts. The Duke had her held in the air by a telekinetic hold and she was unable to move.
Now as anger flared at the treatment of Andie and the condition of Jon; she felt the hold on her slip slightly. The Duke eyed her warily, but if he sensed anything he said nothing as he turned his back on her to face where Andie had fallen. Deatra glanced over at a pale Jon who was leaning heavily on the window in front of him and fear ran through her. She noticed the signs, he was close to the point of no return. She slowly flexed her hand as she turned her attention back to the Duke.
Jon gasped deeply as pain coursed through his body, and his vision blurred briefly; only to clear in time to see Andie’s look of sadness and her apology. He knew in his heart that she was dead, the Hawkins line was gone but for the two unborn children that Kelly now carried. He sagged slightly as the pain coursed through him again and made him grunt in pain.
Jon slammed his hand on the glass in front of him as the Duke turned to Andie as h
e spoke, “leave her alone you bastard.”
For a moment the pain eased and he caught Deatra's look in his direction. The pain coursed through his body again as the Duke motioned backwards with one of his hands towards Deatra, and she let out a grunt of pain.
“I didn’t say you could speak,” the Duke said, “so, please be quiet while I take care of this minor problem.”
Terri stepped up beside Jon and held him under his arm pit to help hold him steady. Jon shook her off, he didn’t want the Duke to see him weak. As quickly as he did it she grabbed him again as Breq grabbed him from the other side.
“Stubborn man,” Terri said, “let us help you. You can’t do this by yourself.”
Jon looked at Terri and gave a half smile, “I’m fine.”
“The hell you say,” Terri said. “You’re half dead and if you don’t let us help you then you will be all dead.”
“She’s right Jon,” Breq said, “at least let us help you stand.”
Jon knew they were right so he surrendered to the help that was offered. He watched as Terri and Breq steadied him as the Duke reached out and made a motion towards Andie and she raised of the floor. A small groan of pain escaped her lips as she raised off the floor.
Jon’s heart jumped into his throat as Andie’s un-swollen eye opened and looked in his direction. The Duke glanced back as Jon spoke, “I’m begging you, please leave her be. She’s no threat to you.”
The Duke grinned as he looked towards Jon and spoke, “That doesn’t look like begging to me. I think begging requires more of a kneeling position.” He motioned and Andie let out another small gasp and groan of pain.
Jon let out another series of coughs that misted the glass in front of him in blood. It was a sign that the bond was breaking his body down. Death was now approaching rapidly, and if he didn’t do something multiple people he cared about would die. He made a motion to Arianna to come closer.
Euthara Page 40
