Euthara (48 page)

The man raised an eyebrow as he watched Jon muddle through his thoughts. “Did he?” the man said.

“Yes,” Jon said. “Well, in a roundabout way he did. He said that, and I quote, ‘I have a very long reach.’ or something close to that effect.”

“Did he ever say he was responsible for the attack on the Queen?” the man said.

Jon thought carefully about the conversation as the other people in the room listened to the conversation with interest. “No not really,” Jon said. He had to admit it, the King never said he was responsible, just that he had a very long reach.

“Let me ask you this,” the man said. “Are you sure what you think has happened really happened?”

“I don’t follow again,” Jon said.

“Do you have proof I was actually there in that room at the time of the attack?” the man said.

“We have video of you entering and leaving the room,” Jon said.

“That is true and I’ll tell you truthfully that I was here to kill the Queen,” the man said. “However, not for the reasons you think.”

“Why would you want to kill the Queen if you don’t work for the King?” Jon said. He felt like he was going in circles again with this man.

“That is for you to figure out,” the man said. “I can’t tell you the reasons. I took a vow to never reveal them out right to anyone, including you or even the Matriarch.”

“Okay,” Jon said. “Some information is better than nothing and I take it if I figure it out on my own you can let me know.”

“Correct,” the man said. “I just can’t tell you out right.”

“Let's take a step back for a second,” Jon said. He put his hands behind his back as he thought about everything said.

“Okay,” the man said.

“First I don’t think you’re Eutharan,” Jon said. He watched the man reaction looking for any sign he was right.

“Correct, I’m not,” the man said.

Sa’oliq, Breq and Terri all looked at Jon in shock, they tried to understand how Jon had come to this conclusion. “How did you know that?” Terri asked.

“His mannerisms don’t fit,” Jon said. “They’re close but not perfect. If you watch and listen closely, there are certain things Eutharan people do. They stand a certain way or fidget a certain way. Their eyes shift slightly to light sources in a room, constantly changing colors slightly. Their skin shimmers a certain way under certain lights, his doesn’t.”

“Looks like a Eutharan to me,” Breq said.

“Me too,” Sa’oliq said.

“Anyway, you were saying we have been shown only what they want us to see,” Jon said.

“Correct,” the man said.

“If he’s not Eutharan then what is he?” Breq said.

Jon held up a hand to stop any other questions. “He’ll tell us when he’s ready. He’s not going anywhere,” Jon said. “Anyway, how you said that makes me think that whoever or whatever is doing this is controlling this area to make things look worse than they actually are. If we took a reading from the other side of the planet, we would find that the Eco-system is in balance. The only reason we haven’t is because there are no cities there and only small tribes.”

“Again correct,” the man said. He grinned even wider.

“They’re also controlling the King and through him those under him,” Jon said.

The man nodded.

Jon thought for a second and it struck him like a blow to the back of the head. He looked down at his armor and then up at Terri as his face paled.

“Jesus Jon are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Terri said. She reached out and grabbed his arm to help steady him.

“He’s figured it out,” the man said.

“What? Figured what out?” Breq said.

“Who is responsible and in control of everything here on Euthara,” the man said.

“Jon?” Sa’oliq said.

“It’s the Queen,” Jon said.

Jon exited the Brig dragging everyone with him as he started for Medical, where the Queen was. He didn’t see the man in the cell shake his head negative as Jon said it was the Queen behind everything. The man tried to say something but it was too late the doors slammed shut as the group ran down the corridor.

“Security, this is Captain Hunter” Jon said.

“Security here Captain. What can we do for you?” a female voice said.

“I need guards dispatched from the closest station to Main Medical and all close by security personnel dispatched there,” Jon said. “The Queen is to be placed under arrest and held until I get there. She is not to be harmed if possible, but use whatever force is needed to restrain her.”

“Yes Sir,” the female on the other end said.

“Hunter out,” Jon said as he turned the com unit off. “Atlantis.”

“Captain?” Atlantis’ voice said.

“Seal off the Medical deck, no one in or out,” Jon said. “Also, I want you in Medical to give me a situation report.”

“Yes Sir,” Atlantis said. “The Medical and the surrounding deck has been locked down. However, I’m unable to access Medical myself, something is keeping me from appearing there or from seeing through the cameras. It’s as if someone has cut the connections to all of Medical.”

“Security to Captain Hunter,” the female voice said.

“Hunter here,” Jon said.

“Sir, we’re unable to contact security personnel on that deck,” the female said. “It’s as if we’ve lost connection to the stations and personnel on that deck.”

“Great, keep trying. In the meantime get personnel in place at the entry points to the deck,” Jon said.

“Yes Sir,” the female said.

“Captain Hunter to Bridge,” Jon said.

“Bridge here, Sir,” Patel said. Patel was a large Invaru, an officer in training to become the second in command of one of the new cruisers coming out of Ghost Station. He was a very bright and dedicated individual, Jon had taken a liking to him and decided to oversee his training himself. He saw great potential in Patel and wanted to make sure he got the tools he needed to succeed.

“We’ve lost all communication with deck six. We need it restored ASAP,” Jon said.

“Engineering is already on it Sir, we’ve been following your communications,” Patel said. Patel never ceased to amaze Jon by how he was always one step ahead.

“How did you know?” Jon said.

“Security call,” Patel said. “All security calls are run through here and logged. It was flagged when it was a call from your com unit and we then just followed what was going on by monitoring all transmissions in your area.”

“Ah, I forgot about that,” Jon said. “Nice work.”

“Thanks Sir. I had a good teacher,” Patel said.

Jon grinned as he spoke, “Thanks. Now is
Atlantis
ready for lift off?”

“Yes Sir, at your command. Everything is secured and locked down and all stations report ready,” Patel said.

“Good! Lift off and set us for high altitude, for now I want you to keep us above the ocean,” Jon said. Suddenly he was dizzy, which made him run into Terri. Jon shook his head trying to clear it as the dizziness lifted.

“You okay?” Terri said. Several concerned faces looked at him as the whole group stopped as Jon stumbled from his spell.

Jon nodded, “Right as rain, I just got a bit dizzy there for a second.”

“Then let’s just slow our pace a bit; the Queen isn’t going anywhere,” Breq said.

Jon nodded his agreement and took up a slower pace as the group began to moving again toward Main Medical. “Sorry about that, Patel,” Jon said.

“No problem Sir, are you sure you’re okay?” Patel said. You could hear the worry in his voice as he spoke.

“Of course,” Jon said. “Probably the stress of the situation. Anyway, keep us over the ocean and proceed to the other side of the planet. I want Science to run scans and such looking for the same problems with the environment that we have here.”

“Yes Sir,” Patel said. “We’ve already cleared the water and are underway.”

“Try to make it quick. Captain Anders will need our support very soon,” Jon said.

“Once we get our scans done, I’ll take up a low orbit and use an orbital insertion to put us in place,” Patel said. “We should be able to arrive just before or just after Captain Anders arrives.”

“Good, keep up the good work. Hunter out,” Jon said.

“Thank you Sir,” Patel said. “Bridge out.”

The connection was severed, however Jon knew they were still being monitored by the bridge. In a way that made Jon feel better to know that someone was on top of the situation and could respond if the need arrived. However, it also made him feel vulnerable to know that anyone could listen in on his communications. It was something he decide to have Mike look into. Secure communications, even inside the ships, might be needed in certain situations.

The group, led by Jon, had just stepped off the transport tube and onto the deck where Main Medical was located when Jon’s vision swam again and blacked out. Jon stumbled and fell to the deck as his vision began to return. Breq and Terri had each grabbed an arm helping him back to his feet.

“Jon?” Terri said. “Are you OK?”

“I think so,” Jon said. He rubbed his temples as his vision returned and a small headache started. His stomach turned as he started to feel nauseous. “I don’t know, something is wrong. I don’t feel well, it is as if I’m coming down with the flu or something.”

Sa’oliq looked down into Jon’s eyes as she spoke, “What is wrong, exactly?”

“I had a brief loss of sight, as if someone turned off the lights for a second. Now I’m feeling sick to my stomach and have a small headache,” Jon said. As he finished speaking the headache suddenly flared up setting his mind a blaze with pain. It caused his stomach to heave and dizziness to set in. He threw up as the room spun around him, and the world disappeared from his vision.

Jon’s eyes opened to see Atlantis, Terri, Breq and a Med Tech kneeling over him. They all had a concerned looked on their face as the tech took his vitals. The pain in his head was more pronounced and his stomach still felt upset. The room around him seemed to shift slightly as if someone was turning it. It made his stomach lurch a bit as if he was going to be sick again.

“What happened?” Jon said.

“You passed out Sir,” the tech said. “How do you feel?”

“Worse,” Jon said. Jon started to sit up and the room spun around him as the pain began to thump in his head.

The tech pushed him back down as he spoke, “Please lay still Sir.”

Breq looked at Terri and Sa’oliq as he spoke, “You think it was the man in the Brig? Did he infect him with something?”

“It’s not an infection,” the tech said. “At least not one the nanites have ever seen. They’re not reading anything wrong with him at all.”

“I concur,” Atlantis said. “I’ve went over their scans in detail and can find no anomalies.”

“Yes, but it could be something we’ve never seen,” Sa’oliq said. “Something engineered to be hidden from the nanites.”

“Then why are we all not sick?” Terri said. “We were all there. Besides that, I do not think the man in the Brig is responsible. I know his race and a lot about their agenda and if anything they would protect Jon.”

Everyone including Jon looked at Terri, as she revealed she knew more than she let on.

“You know who he is?” Breq said.

“Yes,” Terri said.

“And you didn’t say anything?” Breq said. His anger was not well hidden on his face.

“It isn’t my place to reveal what I know about them,” Terri said. “It is their place to reveal themselves. All races have secrets.” Terri looked directly at Breq. “Some more than others.”

Breq paled slightly and just nodded. “I guess you’re right,” he said.

Jon got a questioning look on his face as he turned his attention between his sister and Breq. He now wondered what secrets the Invaru could be possibly hiding. For that matter what secrets could any race be hiding. He didn’t hide anything, at least not for very long, and then only if it was completely necessary.

Jon felt the muscles in his arms spasm and his body suddenly started to convulse. The world around him began to darken again as pain took over his mind. He felt something pressed into his mouth that held his tongue in place and locked his jaws slightly open. Jon let out a muffled groan of agony and passed out from the pain.

Jon awoke to catch the end of a conversation. His shirt was soaked in sweat and he felt like he was burning up. Jon tried to gain his bearings, but he had a hard time remembering where he was or what was going on. He could only grasp bits and pieces from his memories as he tried to assemble what he knew.

“…whatever it is it's killing him,” the tech said. “Those convulsions dropped his vitals very low. If they had gone any lower he might have died. Now he has a fever that is steadily climbing and will soon be at a dangerous level.”

“He’s awake,” Atlantis said. She had her hands on his forehead as she kept track of his vitals. She looked up at the tech. “The fever I can do something about.” She closed her eyes as she concentrated for a few seconds.

Jon felt his body start to cool and at the same time his stomach settled and headache seemed to lift to a dull ache. He looked up at Atlantis and said, “What did you do?”

“I had the nanites restrict some of your brain activity,” Atlantis said. “It won’t last long as it can be damaging to you but it should give you some relief.”

Jon sat up and shook his head as people started to reach for him. “I’m fine for now. Whatever Atlantis did has cured most of the symptoms I was having,” Jon said as he stood up. He allowed his sister to grab his arm to make sure he was steady. Jon smiled at Terri and her concern for him. He reached up and pulled her forehead down and gave her a kiss on it. “I’m fine really.”

Sa’oliq tilted her head as she said, “Strange, just a bit ago we thought you were going to die and now you’re fine.”

“Yes, strange indeed,” Breq said.

“Trust me, I’m not fine,” Jon said. “Whatever Atlantis did with the nanites has just lessened the problems. I don’t think the man in the Brig had anything to do with this attack but we can ask him about it later. Right now we need to get to Main Medical.” Jon started off down the corridor as everyone scrambled to follow him and his swift pace.

The group came to some closed bulkhead doors with a small Marine squad guarding it. They saluted when they saw Jon and spread out, taking positions on either side of the door.