Atlantis Rising (44 page)

“Do. I. Make. My. Self. Clear?”
Jon said.

“Of course, my lord,” Gabriel
said. He knelt on one knee and bowed his head. “My apologies. It has been long
since we’ve had a leader.”

Jon sat back down as he spoke, “I
understand that this is awkward for both of us. You’re used to commanding the
Ga’sahde.”

Gabriel looked up at Jon, started
to speak, and then stopped himself.

“Say what is on your mind,” Jon
said. “It’s one of the things I promote on my ships. I don’t profess to know
everything. People speaking out is how I learn.”

“My Lord,” Gabriel said.
“Different leaders lead differently. Some are strict, and allow only certain
people to speak. Some are not. It’s just a matter of learning how the current
leader handles things. The last leader only allowed certain people to speak in
her presence.”

“Can the ‘My Lord’. My name is
Jon. You can address me as such,” Jon said. “I’m not very formal as far as
titles go.”

Gabriel nodded, as a small smile
crossed his face.

“Com, give the Invaru shuttle
permission to land. Have a squad of Marines meet them in the hanger. They are
to detain them there until I get this figured out,” Jon said.

“Yes, Sir,” a female voice said.

“I have other questions, but it’s
obvious I must once again put my wants behind me. Sa’oliq, what were you
saying?” Jon said.

Sa’oliq nodded, but she glanced
nervously at Gabriel who nodded his head slightly.

Jon caught the brief look and the
nod.

A loud bang echoed in the room,
as Jon’s hand slammed onto the table. Everyone in the room jumped at the sudden
noise.

“That’s it,” Jon said as he stood
up. “Both of you! Wait outside!”

Jon motioned to Gabriel and
Arianna.

“My Lord?” Gabriel asked.

Arianna and Gabriel had both
stood up. Arianna was already making her way to the door. Gabriel was staring
at Jon in disbelief.

“What is so hard to understand?”
Jon said. “Let’s try this one! Return to your ship. You’re confined to quarters
until I speak to you again.”

Arianna stopped in her tracks and
turned to look at Jon as she gasped.

“Have I done something to
displease you?” Gabriel said.

Jon’s eyes narrowed as he stood
up.

“Your presence here is a
disruption. Your resistance to following my orders when I give them makes me
uneasy. Even though I understand the Ga’sahde just appointed me and that alone
will take time to get used to, I want you off my ship! I want to finish what
brought you here in the first place.”

Gabriel turned and left the room
without another word.

“Good,” Jon said. “Maybe he’s
starting to understand. Com, get me the current commanding officer of the
Odarius
. Arianna! Sit, please.” Jon said as he motioned to a chair.

“Sir, I have Lieutenant Commander
Tasnie from the
Odarius
,” a female voice said.

“Put him through, please,” Jon
said.

A man a bit younger then Gabriel
appeared on the screen in the briefing room. Jon stood up, and stepped in front
of the screen.

“Do you know who I am?” Jon said.

The man knelt as he said, “Yes,
my Lord.”

“Good,” Jon said. “Captain
Gabriel is on his way back. He is to remain in his quarters until I contact
him.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly.

“My Lord,” the man said, “if
you’ll excuse me, it’s ‘Admiral Gabriel’.”

“Very well,” Jon said. “Admiral
Gabriel is to remain is his quarters until I contact him.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the man bowed
slightly.

“Are you sure you don’t have a
problem with this?” Jon said. “If you do I’ll find someone else to command the
Odarius
.”

A slight smile crept into the
man’s face as he spoke, “No, my Lord, it will be as you desire.”

Jon nodded and cut the
connection.

“Nice to see that even the
Ga’sahde has flaws,” Jon said as he retook his seat. “Now about this ‘casting
out’ business, what is it?”

Arianna spoke up this time, “If
you … and by you, I mean the leader … excludes a race from formal talks in a
neutral area of space, you cast them out of the Unified Ga’sahde Treaty. They
will have all their rights and privileges revoked, and will no longer be able
to call for our services or help from other Treaty members. It is something
done only as the very last resort. In fact, no leader has invoked it before.
The Treaty allows all members to be present at all formal meetings. They can’t
be turned away.”

“The Invaru don’t follow this
treaty, anyway,” Jon said. “What difference does it make if I choose to cast
them out? I mean, they have been nothing but trouble, and the Ga’sahde have
been inactive for a long time.”

“Jon,” Deatra said, stepping up
next to him and laying a hand on his arm, “you don’t understand it completely.
If you do this, you mark them all for death. They will be attacked on sight and
not allowed to enter any space controlled by a member of the treaty.”

Jon looked at Deatra with a blank
expression as he spoke, “So?”

“All of them, Jon,” Deatra said.
“Even the people, who have done nothing wrong, such as the innocent women and
children living on their home planet.”

Jon blinked for a second, and
then looked at Arianna. She nodded in reply to his unspoken question.

“Com, have the Invaru escorted to
the briefing room. Double the Marines on the bridge.”

Minutes later Prasuh stepped into
the briefing room. He bowed slightly to Arianna and Deatra, and then scowled at
Sa’oliq.

“Your people are going to pay for
what you have done,” Prasuh said. “No one breaks from the Empire, no one.”

Sa’oliq stared back at Prasuh as
if she didn’t hear what he had just said.

“Captain Prasuh,” Jon said, “you
can either join this meeting, or you can be escorted back to your shuttle.
Either way, your threats will stop, and you will conduct yourself in a
dignified fashion. Am I understood?”

“Of course, Captain Hunter,”
Prasuh said as he took a seat at the far end of the table. “Please forgive my
outburst.”

“Back to business,” Jon said. He
sat down and looked at Arianna as he spoke again. “You’re here for one reason.
I want to know what happened to my sister.”

Arianna opened her mouth to
speak, but Jon held his hand up and stopped her.

“Remember one thing,” Jon said.
“How you answer, is how I’ll react. I came here to wipe the Ga’sahde out for
the death of my sister. Now, I have reason to believe she might still be alive.
I want the truth, or there will be problems … severe problems.”

Prasuh sat watching Jon speak. A
small smile crossed his face when he heard that Terri might be dead. It was
just a bonus that the Ga’sahde had done the deed. Maybe this problem would
resolve itself here. Perhaps the thorns pressing into the Empire’s side will
remove each other.

“Jon?” Deatra said.

Jon tapped the side of his head
to answer her.

Deatra closed her eyes, and let
her mind expand as she searched. Seconds later, she found what she sought.
Although it was very dim, it was there. A smile crossed Deatra’s face as she
opened her eyes. She grasped Jon’s hand and squeezed it.

“She is alive,” Arianna said.

Jon stood up as he spoke, “Take
me to her right now.”

“I can’t,” Arianna said.

“Can’t or won’t?” Jon said.

He leaned down and planted two
fists on the table, as he stared at Arianna.

“No one sees her, unless she
requests it,” Arianna said. “I can send a formal request on your behalf, if
you’d like.”

“‘Interesting times’,” Prasuh
said. He stood up and walked towards the door. “In-house problems, missing
sisters, and conflicts everywhere. This is going to be good, and I wouldn’t
miss it for the world. However, I think I’ll watch from the sidelines if you
don’t mind.”

“Don’t let the door hit you in
the ass on your way out,” Jon said.

Prasuh stopped in mid stride and
looked back at Jon, an eyebrow arched in question.

“Sorry,” Jon said. He grinned at
Prasuh. “Old human saying.”

“Meaning?” Prasuh said.

“See you later, and don’t bother
hurrying back,” Jon said. “At least that’s how I always took it.”

“You know, one of these days,
these human sayings will all be extinct, and you with them,” Prasuh said. He
stepped through the doorway and was gone.

“Com to Captain Hunter,” a female
voice said. “Transmission from the planet, they’re requesting to speak to you.”

Jon looked up at Arianna, an
unspoken question on his face. She reached up and tapped the side or her head,
where what looked like a piece of jewelry hung.

“Put them through please,” Jon
said.

He turned and looked at the
viewer in the room waiting for the transmission to come through. His heart
pounded loudly in his chest as he was almost certain who would be popping up on
the screen.

“Jon,” Terri’s voice said. The
screen remained blank and that puzzled Jon a bit.

“Terri,” Jon said. His voice was
almost frantic with relief. “Why can’t I see you?”

“You don’t want to see me, right
now,” Terri said. “I’m still healing. I am having work done to repair the
damages from the fight.”

“I don’t care, I want to see
you,” Jon said. “I’ll come down right now.”

“Jon,” Terri said. “I’m fine.
Even if you came down, the Ga’sahde wouldn’t allow you to see me right now.
It’s part of the ritual for me ascending, and taking the leadership of the
Ga’sahde.”

“This is a trick, isn’t it?” Jon
said.

Something was wrong. He felt it,
deep down. Jon spun in Arianna’s direction, ready to spring at her.

“I don’t like people playing
games with me, not in this fashion,” Jon added.

“No, it’s not a trick, Slinky,”
Terri’s voice said.

It was a term never used in the
presence of others. It was a pet name she had for him, and only Terri would
know it.

“There’s more going on here than
you know. I’ll brief you at Euthara, when we meet there. I’ve ordered the
Odarius
to escort the
Earth’s Revenge
and
Titan
back to Ghost
Station. I’ve also had a very long talk with Gabriel. He now understands his
place. I’m sorry about his attitude towards you.”

“Euthara?” Jon said.

“Yes. There’s some matters of
importance that we both need to address there,” Terri said. “As soon as I’m
well enough to travel, I’ll be following you.”

“I don’t …” Jon said.

“You do know what you need to do
there,” Terri said. “You might not know right now, but you will after you
arrive. The
Desmodi
will accompany you there, as your escort vessel.”

“I thought I was the one in
command,” Jon said, but he was smiling as he said it.

“You are,” Terri said. “You have
command of the ADF and Ga’sahde. I am enrolling the Ga’sahde into the ADF, as
of now. You just need a little push in the right direction. I have a bit more
information than you do on the current situation. Before you ask, no, I can’t
give it to you just now. That is something prohibited by the treaty. I am bound
by it, too.”

“I understand,” Jon said.

“No, you don’t. You think you do,
but really you don’t,” Terri said. “Now I need to get some rest. I’ll talk to
you at Euthara … and Jon?”

“Yes?” Jon said.

“I love you with all my heart,”
Terri said.

“I love you, too,” Jon said.

“Take care,” Terri said.

“You, too,” Jon said.

The transmission ended, and Jon
turned back to Arianna.

“Get your vessel ready to
depart,” he said.

“My Lord,” Arianna said as she
bowed, then turned and left the room.

“Well, ladies,” Jon said, “it
looks like we’re going to Euthara.”

“I’m going home,” Deatra said.

Jon smiled at Deatra as he spoke,
“Told you I’d get you back there.”

“Yes. That way, you two can be
married,” Sa’oliq said.

“A proper state ceremony,” Deatra
said.

She was practically glowing with
excitement.

Jon moaned.

Ten minutes later, The
Atlantis
and
Desmodi
folded out of the system, to begin their
journey to Euthara.

Unseen to them, half the Invaru
fleet still in orbit, followed them.

The other half returned back to
their home.