"I though him dead until you asked," Mandor said. He sat up shakily. "Why do you want to know where he is so badly? What do you want with him? To kill him?"
Mandor had glimpsed something of the mind of the other during the mind probe. The depths he'd felt there were staggering, along with memories echoing down so far that Mandor couldn't even comprehend how long the man had lived. He knew that the man wasn't a Theta, but he still had no idea what he was.
"Kill him?" The man seemed to find that funny. "Far from it. Hrothgar is my son."
"Excuse me?" Mandor said, in shock. "But that would make you..."
"I shall find him," Darren Drake said with a smile. "And I will kill anyone and anything that has attempted to harm him."
Chapter Fifty-Nine
The Arcadia transited into close orbit around Dawn, as per the recently transmitted orders from the Admiralty. The huge warship fit neatly into the slot left in the orbital traffic by her navigational computer and the traffic control MI.
Captain Torenth had never seen so many Concord ships in one place before, not even during the final battles of the Nurgg War. The shipyards at Steinway were building ships as fast as they could. He knew that Fleet Command expected an imminent attack from the Earth Federation, but to have so many ships in one system seemed foolish. What if they attacked a different system?
"Captain? There is a transmission coming through from Admiral Shadovsky, sir."
"Put it through to my screen, Lieutenant." Raoko Torenth was the highest ranking Thyrna-Shae officer in the Concord military. He owed much of that to Admiral Shadovsky. The admiral was a man who never forgot the people who had helped him in the past; he made sure they were rewarded. People who opposed him…
"You're looking well, Captain," Mandor said in greeting.
"Clean living," Torenth replied – it was something of a joke between them. "What can I do for you, Admiral?"
"How did you come to the conclusion that Tebrey was dead?"
Torenth frowned at the screen. "Because three to five fusion strikes hit his position simultaneously," he said. "Three hundred to seven hundred megatons of plasma usually makes living difficult. We were monitoring his datalink. It went dead just as the strikes hit."
"Could you review the file, please?"
"What am I looking for?" Torenth asked. He brought up the file on a second screen.
"Did his link go dead at the exact time the strike hit?"
Torenth sighed and sifted through the data, and then he froze. "No. I'll be damned."
"Business before pleasure, old friend. When did it go dead?"
"We lost the signal three-point-two seconds before a direct strike hit his position."
"Was it a sudden loss, or a gradual one?"
"That's really odd," replied Torenth. "It was sudden. Unless something took his head off instantly, it should have faded instead of being so abrupt. Those links are tough."
"So he could still be alive?" Mandor asked.
"I don't know how," said Torenth. "No ships lifted from the surface."
"There are other ways of moving about," Mandor said. "Maybe he apported."
"If he did," asked Torenth, "then where did he go?"
"To a ship in orbit?"
"Is that possible?" Torenth was only vaguely aware of the possibilities. He knew that the admiral could apport, but it was hardly a common ability. "That seems like a long way for something like that."
"At one time, I would have said it was very unlikely if unassisted, but stranger things have happened since then. Assume it's possible. What ships were in orbit?"
"The Manticore; the Harbinger, the cruiser we destroyed; and the Steadfast, the cruiser we disabled. Also, the North Wind and the Prince, both Federation patrol frigates, were in upper orbit. Other ships came into the system before we left. We should have continued to get a datalink signal from the commander, though, if he had jumped to a ship in orbit."
"Good point," said the admiral.
"Could he have jumped away to another planet?" a voice asked. Torenth couldn't see the speaker, but it was a man's voice, and the accent wasn't one he recognized. "Outside the range of your datalinks?"
"I don't see how that could be possible," the admiral said. "I don't think he was trained in it. I don't know of anyone, except a few members of the Rhyrhan Council of the Eldest, who could do something like that."
"I can," the voice said smugly.
The admiral stared for a moment at whoever had spoken, and then visibly shook himself. "Anyway, Captain, I'd like you to keep an eye out for any leads. We're going to have to consider Tebrey still alive, and that makes finding him a priority."
"Even over the defense of Dawn?" asked Torenth.
"Even that, Captain. Even that."
Irritated, Mason found her way out of bed to answer the comm.
"What?" she said acidly as she activated the screen.
"Hello," said Mandor. "Is Ana still up? I need to speak with her."
"She's sleeping. Peacefully, I might add. You can call back tomorrow."
"Wait!" Mandor called as he saw her hand move toward the switch.
"You have ten seconds, and then I'm going back to bed," Mason said grumpily.
"I have two things to say. The first is that there's a chance Tebrey is still alive."
"What!" Mason shouted. "How? Where is he?"
"I said it was a chance," replied Mandor. "There are some anomalies in the data from Prism. I'd like to come by in the morning and talk about it. That leads me to my next question."
"And that is…?"
"I've met someone who would very much like to meet Ana. It could be extremely important. Do you think that she would be okay if I brought him with me in the morning?"
Mason sighed gustily. "I suppose. Tell whoever it is to be on good behavior, or they'll get tossed out on their ear, and you too!"
"I'll pass it along. I'm sure he'll take it to heart. Will you make sure Ana knows we're coming, and tell her there is still hope?"
"I will," Mason promised. She wondered whom Mandor wanted Ana to meet. She couldn't think of anyone important enough to bother her, but if the admiral thought it was important, then it was. She knew that much about him.
She might not like him, but she did respect him.
"Was there anything else?" asked Mason.
"That's all," said Mandor. "I apologize for the lateness of the call, but I thought you would all want to know as soon as possible."
Mason warmed a little to him then. "It is appreciated, Admiral. I'll see you in the morning."
After she disconnected the screen, she sat up for a while until she could get her emotions under control. Then she went and told Ana the news.
Mandor had his aide set the aircar down outside the house.
Bruce had been acting uneasy all morning. Mandor could understand that. Daeren Drake was like an elemental force, even when sitting still and quiet. Mandor knew that Bruce had read too many accounts of the man's brutal actions to be fooled by his innocent, boyish smile. Drake had scared his aide half to death that morning when he'd come in, and that was before the Mandor told Bruce of the events of the night before.
Mandor had noticed that Bruce had been very careful not to let Drake touch him. He hadn't known his aide harbored those kinds of inhibitions. Although, it made sense when Mandor thought back to their interactions. Bruce didn't like to be touched at all, and especially not by anyone with telepathic abilities. Mandor made a note to himself to mention it to Bruce. His aide should know that a psion didn't actually need physical contact to read a person.
Mandor led the way from the car to the house. Bruce lifted behind him with a wave. He'd be available later if they needed a ride back to the capitol.
"This is my son's home?" asked Drake.
"Yes. He purchased it shortly before leaving for the Federation to continue his service contract. I don't think he stayed long. His wife and two of his friends live here now."
Drake nodded.
Ba
uval answered the door and led them into the kitchen, where Ana was preparing breakfast. Her eyes were puffy from long crying, but she seemed to be holding together. She had refused to believe Tebrey was dead. Mandor hoped to give her confirmation that her faith hadn't been in vain.
"Admiral," she greeted him as they entered. There was no sign in her voice of the strain she must be feeling. "Who is our guest?" Mandor could tell that she thought something about the tall man seemed familiar from the way she was looking at him.
"Daeren Drake, my lady," Drake said, stepping forward.
Mandor saw her eyes widen as she realized who the man was.
"I wish we had been able to meet under better circumstances, but I am very pleased to meet you now." He caught her hand and bowed over it.
"I –" Her voice caught. "I wish Hrothgar could be here. We used to talk about you and wonder if you were still alive."
"He'll be here soon, Ana – may I call you Ana?"
"Of course!"
"Good," Drake said with a familiar grin.
Mandor could feel Ana's heart falter when she saw that grin; it was so like her husband's – all her defenses were down. He couldn't bring himself to pry into her mind just then, though.
"I'll not presume to call you daughter until you know me better and decide if you want me in your life."
Ana nodded, speechless.
"Admiral," Mason interrupted, "you said last night there was a chance that Tebrey is still alive. Will you explain that?"
"Perhaps I can do that better," said Drake. "He is alive. I know it. It is that simple."
"Well," Mandor said, "there is also a little matter of the recording from Prism."
"What recording?" asked Bauval. He shook hands with Drake before sitting down.
"Captain Torenth on the Acadia was the one monitoring Tebrey's datalink. He reported Tebrey killed. When we reviewed the data, however, we found that Tebrey's transmission ended a few seconds before the strike hit his position."
"What does that mean?" Ana asked.
Mandor could tell that she wanted to believe Tebrey was still alive, but was afraid to. She didn't want to have to face his loss again.
"It means he got away," said Drake.
"How?" Bauval asked.
"He would've had to apport or otherwise transport himself and his companion to a safe location," Mandor said.
"Hrothgar couldn't do that," said Ana. "He’s a telepath and an empath, that’s all."
"Then he had assistance from someone else," Drake answered with a shrug. "I can tell you with absolute certainty that he didn't die on Prism. I was there in the ruins hours after the blasts. I know."
"How did you get down there?" Bauval said. "We were told that no ships could land because of the winds." He glanced accusingly at Mandor.
"I apported down to the surface and back," Drake replied. "So you'll understand why I believe it possible that my son may have the same ability."
Chapter Sixty
"Captain?" said Francesca. "There is a priority transmission for you from the surface."
Rachael had been awake all night drinking coffee and wishing she had the nerve to make a run for it now that her passenger was off the ship again. She would've done it if she hadn't thought he'd be able to catch her. The call from the surface startled her out of a half-doze. She was so tired. "I'll take it here," Rachael said. She couldn't imagine who might be calling her.
"Captain Vardegan?" Rachael didn't recognize the white-haired man on the display.
"Yes," she answered.
"I am Admiral Mandor Shadovsky of Concord Internal Security. You recently transported a very important passenger here."
Her heart sank. "What's he done?" she asked. "Am I in trouble?"
"No, but I'd appreciate it if you kept this quiet."
Rachael laughed mirthlessly. "If he'll leave me alone, I'll be happy to move on and never look back."
"Thank you, Captain. I'm transferring a small token of our thanks to your accounts now."
"Admiral," she said, "that man, whoever – whatever – he is, is very dangerous."
"I believe we have the situation under control, Captain. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter."
"Consider it forgotten and me leaving as soon I can."
"I must warn each of you that this facility is protected by a psionic dampening field. It will feel a little uncomfortable to those of you with high psionic potential." Mandor glanced at Drake to gauge his reaction, but couldn't read anything from him other than vague amusement. "It is necessary to protect us from the inmates."
"It seems a rather strange set of prison bars," Drake said.
Everyone stared at him.
"Is that not a proper analogy?"
"Yes, well." Mandor wasn't sure what to say. He had only the vaguest recollections of having read about such things as bars in prisons. Drake was constantly using anachronistic phrases like that, and Mandor wanted to ask him about it. He also wanted to ask just how old Drake was, but he was afraid the man would answer, and Mandor wasn't at all sure he really wanted to know that badly. "Once we enter the facility, you must all remain close to me. Don't wander off. There are dangerous automated sentry devices throughout the tunnels."
Dr. Kainoa met them inside the entrance. Once everyone had been introduced, he led them on a small tour.
"So what is the purpose of this facility?" asked Ana.
"It was originally developed as a prison complex for individuals with dangerous psionic talents. As you may know –" Kainoa glanced at Ana before continuing "– Thyrna-Shae have a higher racial incidence of psionics than humans."
"I actually don't know much about the Thyrna-Shae," said Ana. "We barely know Captain Torenth."
"But I thought..." The scientist looked confused.
"Ana Tebrey isn't Thyrna-Shae, Doctor," Mandor said. "I'll explain it to you another time."
"Of course," Kainoa replied. "Please excuse me."
"I was not offended," Ana said. "I'm just as curious about them. I've heard it speculated that my people may be distantly related to the Thyrna-Shae."
"That's very interesting. Do you think that they diverged before or after leaving the Earth during the –?"
"Doctor!"
"Yes, Admiral?" Kainoa answered, irritated at having been interrupted.
"You were going to explain the purpose of this facility."
"Yes, of course. Of course. We are still using it as a prison, but very few of our current inmates are human or Thyrna-Shae."
"Please don't tell me that you have an Andhakaara here!" exclaimed Mason.
"Well..." Kainoa waited for Mandor to nod. "It was actually your account that led to this. It was a remarkable discovery. We could learn so much from it!"
"I'll take that as a yes," Mason said sourly.
"Yes, we have one. We also have some fine examples of Jaernalith, which I understand you may have also encountered."
"Jaernalith?" said Bauval. "What is that?"
"It would be easier to show you."
Kainoa led them through a maze of corridors to a stout door. He activated the viewscreen to show them the inmate. Within the white padded cell, a creature floated, rotating as it moved. Long tentacles sprouted from a central torso covered with eyes. It was using viewscreens on two walls to read.
"It's like the bodies we found in the ruins on Cedeforthy!" Mason said.
"It is," said Bauval, "and isn't. There are some significant differences, like the lack of hands on this one. I think the ones we found must have been distant ancestors. I never thought to see one alive."
"Be glad it's in there," said Mandor. "The Jaernalith are almost as bad as the Thetas. They're aggressive and violent, and we've never been able to communicate with them. We lose ships to them on a regular basis."
"What are they?" Ana asked. She'd heard of the bodies in the ruins but hadn't actually seen them.
"Basically human," Kainoa said. "We think they left Earth around the same time
as the Thyrna-Shae. We aren't sure why they were subjected to such radical genetic alteration."
"Maybe it was just for fun," said Drake.
Everyone stared at him. Again.
"Well, I've heard of stranger things," he replied to their shocked expressions. "It also seems like a very practical form for null-gravity environments. I'll have to keep it in mind."
"Keep it in mind?" Mandor asked.
"I'm a shapeshifter. Surely you knew that."
Dr. Kainoa looked like he was about to burst with questions, but suppressed them at a warming glance from Mandor. Instead, the scientist led them deeper into the installation. Mandor knew he was excited to be able to show off the work he and his team had been doing. Very few people had actually encountered Thetas and lived to tell about it. Dr. Kainoa's work was classified above top secret; he didn't get to talk to many people about it. He looked like he didn't quite know what to make of Daeren Drake, however. Mandor had only just told him of the infamous mercenary.
"Here we are, Admiral," Kainoa announced.
"Very good," said Mandor. "Before I activate the viewscreen, I want to warn each of you about what lies in this room." He paused to give them each a measuring stare, lingering on Drake. "In the ruined city on Cedeforthy, we recovered a sealed container that held a Theta entity in stasis. The stasis device was of an advanced technology similar to that found in the ruined installation. We transported the chamber and the creature here and are continuing to study it. The Theta is not in a humanoid form. It can be rather disturbing, but it can't form the hallucinations that cause so much damage to the human mind, not with the dampening field in place."
Mandor activated the screen. In the middle of the room was a single glassy container filled with pale liquid, with wires and thick tubes running into the base of it. Floating in the liquid was a nightmare made flesh. The thick mass of tentacles seemed almost to writhe as they watched. It had no discernible core. It was covered with eyes, some very human in appearance, others reptilian, and some distinctly insectile. It had many gaping mouths, again the most disturbing of them looking distinctly human.
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