Experiment (Hybrid Book 2) (6 page)

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s the bulk of the silver shuttle came into sight Connor tried to wave the medics away as they rushed to him. He needed to talk to the senior officer about continuing the hunt for Chesara.

“Ah, Mr Temple, good to see you in one piece,” Major Jaana Forssell told him with a smile.

“Just a quick stop ma’am. I’ll be going back out immediately to help retrieve the Envoy.”

The gentle smile dropped off her face. “I’m afraid not Mt Temple. You know the regulations as well as I do. You will be going back up to the Apollo for a thorough debrief and medical treatment.”

“Sorry Major, but I know her better than anyone else. I know how her mind works and I’ll have a better chance of finding her quickly.”

The older blonde woman frowned at him. “Tell me Mr Temple. Would you let an injured, exhausted man, without active implants set off into the night? Get on the shuttle. Now.”

The several armed soldiers around her reinforced her position, but Connor wasn’t done yet.

“You don’t understand, she’s hurt, she needs help,  I can’t just abandon...” The soft hiss of a hypo against his neck only let him take one more step towards the woman before he collapsed forward into her arms.

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uckily for the major, Dagus and the medic were near enough to prevent the now unconscious security operative bearing her to the ground, nearly collapsed with the weight until two other soldier swiftly stepped into help.

“Ensign Dagus, ride up with Mr Temple here, and make sure he’s fit for duty before he’s allowed back. Although preferably keep him up there. Knowing my luck, he’ll just go out and get himself lost again, and we’ll have to start over. You know what these diplomatic types are like.”

Dagus kept silent. If the major wanted to assume Connor was merely a diplomat, that was up to her. He’d seen the man training many times and he didn’t particularly fancy having Connor get ‘diplomatic’ on his ass, especially with his reduced mobility.

He motioned for two of his men to pick Connor up, he’d have done it himself, but the scars left from the plasma burns still pulled quite a bit. He’d much rather be helping in the search for the woman who’d saved his life, but orders were orders.

Revealing that he knew this area better than any of the other Federation Officers, as he’d grown up here, was something he’d be keeping quiet, until he knew how his uncle Melton was involved. He already knew his childhood friend Tenset Shamir was up to his eyeballs in it, seeing as the mansion involved was his childhood home. Tenset had always been a tricky bastard, but his heart had usually been in the right place. Unfortunately, it looked as if he’d finally bitten off more than he could chew, and Dagus couldn’t help wondering just who had owned all the blood they’d found down in the torture chamber.

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onnor came round in the medical bay with a smiling nurse leaning over him.

“Welcome back Mr Temple.”

He immediately tried to get up. “How long since they brought me up?”

“Calm down, you’ve been in the medical bay for thirty-six hours. You were dangerously dehydrated and your blood count was low. We checked you over, stitched your forehead and given you some rehydration fluids and blood. Plus, we reactivated your communication and GPS implants, so hopefully you won’t get lost again. Once you’ve eaten, the Doctor has agreed that you can resume your duties if you insist.”

She smiled and she placed a plate of food on a wheeled table in front of him. Glaring at her amusement, he ate the food quickly not caring what it was. His implant showed Chesara vitals were low, but steady, but she wasn’t sleeping, or really unconscious. He hoped she was doing some sort of deep meditation as she holed up somewhere safe. But he couldn’t let anyone know who didn’t already know about the implant. That meant he could only discuss what he knew with the Chief Medical Officer or Captain Crowther.

After he finished the food in front of the eagle-eyed nurse, he started to get out of bed before noticing he had one of the hospital gowns on, that did up at the back.

“Clothes,” he demanded.

The nurse shook her head in disbelief at the bad manners of patients and indicated a cupboard before closing the door behind her.

Once dressed, Connor made his way straight to the Captain’s office to make his report. Martha Crowther indicated the chair in front of her as she finished with a few documents. He fidgeted for the few minutes in took her to look at him.

His report was thorough and detailed apart from some personal details about Chesara’s behaviour. He left her office with the impression that, although appalled at the treatment of Federation personnel, she’d look into the reason that drove previously upstanding citizens to commit such acts.

At the end of the interview, he’d managed to impress on her the need for him to be planet side again ASAP, due to Chesara’s declining vital signs. He hurried back to the shuttle bay, knowing it was now daytime on the part of the planet where Chesara was lost, hurt, and distressed. The only bright news he could gather from the paired implant was that she was no longer dehydrated.

Once down on the surface, he joined a search party consisting of six Federation soldiers, commanded by Second Lieutenant Robert Main. As non-military staff, he had to follow Main’s orders, but anything was better than sitting on his backside on the Apollo.

The search pattern for their group covered an area of ten squared miles to the west of where Connor had been found. The professional soldiers had no need of conversation as they worked, automatically scanning the surrounding country. Connor had been placed in the middle of formation, for protection, but he didn’t mind. It left him free to concentrate on the information coming from Chesara’s implant.

Main suddenly stopped and crouched, the other soldiers followed suit, but a distracted Connor took what he thought was an embarrassing amount of time to copy their posture. The lieutenant made a hand motion and the man to Connor’s right grabbed him and pulled him into the undergrowth as the others scattered.

Connor fidgeted as he crouched in the bushes. He hadn’t seen or heard anything to warrant the hiding in the foliage routine. They didn’t have time to do any daft exercises, but arguing with the officer in charge would be pointless.

Movement on the path had Connor ducking down even further, as he mentally apologized to Main for dismissing his surveillance skills. His eyes widened as he saw Tamas leading a party of six guards towards them. The Federation soldier next to him gripped his arm hard, and shook his head. Connor had unconsciously started to rise.

From the animated conversation between Tamas and the man next to him, it appeared that an expected messenger had failed to arrive from the mansion, and the group was returning to see what the problem was.

Connor’s contingent waited until the group had moved between the Federation soldiers split on either side of the trail, before rising. Tamas and his guards crouched slightly, reaching towards weapons, but the proximity of the already drawn plasma rifles made them freeze in place.

Plasma rifles outgunned their archaic weapons without a doubt. Main motioned for two of his men to disarm the party whilst the others continued to cover them. Once they had been disarmed, Connor pushed his way to Tamas.

“Where is she you bastard?” The fury in his voice had Main looking over to him.

“My dear Mr Temple, how lovely to see you again.”

Connor happily wiped the familiar condescending superior smile off his face with a hard punch to the jaw. As he leant down to grab Tamas for another shot, he felt his arm held. Looking along his arm, he found the angry face of Lieutenant Main staring back at him.

“Mr Temple, you will restrain yourself from abusing the prisoners.”

Connor gritted his teeth. “A word in private, if you please lieutenant,” and he stalked a few feet away from the rest of the group. Main checked that his men had the prisoners fully subdued, and then followed Connor.

Once they were twenty feet away, Connor turned to the man.

“Lieutenant, that man tortured both of us and planned to overthrow the lawful government of this planet. It could take days to get any information ‘politely’ out of him. Please give me some time to find out what’s happened to Chesara and the man who helped us escape. Tamas is a sadistic psychopath. He had Chesara heal me so he could have another go at sticking metal pins in me after I passed out. It’s highly likely he has her stashed somewhere and he’d just love it if she dies a slow painful death. Please, please give me a little time to see if I can get him to talk.”

Main appeared to be seriously considering the request.

“We haven’t had a lot to do with each other, but from what I know, you’re an honest, if rather uptight guy. I like you, but I’ll not risk my career for you.”

Connor opened his mouth, but Main held up a hand.

“However, Chesara is another matter entirely. She’s saved many lives. Most recently, that of my good friend Dagus. We all owe her. Besides, life on board would be far more boring without her.” Main glanced down at his feet then back up at Connor’s eyes.

“Did he really torture her?”

“I’ll not make it worse by saying what was done to her,” Connor told him.

The lieutenant held his eyes for a long second, then nodded and walked back to the group. Taking the now cuffed Tamas by the arm, he pulled him over to where Connor stood. Speaking in a low threatening voice, he addressed the prisoner.

“You are very likely to be killed whilst trying to escape, if you don’t answer Mr Temple’s questions. Every man here would happily kill you for hurting her, and I can feel the cuffs slipping already. Do you understand me?”

“Does she have the entire Federation bewitched?”

Main looked at him with disgust. “It’s called friendship.”

“With an animal? How enlightened the Federation has become.”

Main tensed and Connor touched his arm. After giving Tamas another dirty look, the lieutenant backed off.

Connor knew this was likely to be the only opportunity he’d get to question Tamas. He wasn’t an interrogator or a prosecutor, so he’d have no more access to him after he got back to the shuttle.

“What did you do to Tenset?” Connor tried to gain initial compliance by starting off with a question Tamas might want to answer. If he had tortured Tenset, this psychopath would find it difficult to hide his satisfaction.

Tamas smiled. “And here I was, thinking you were a confirmed heterosexual. Your concern for my blood kin is extremely touching.”

His calm demeanour was driving Connor crazy, all he wanted to do punch that smug grin off his face again. But that was probably what he wanted, to create as much distress as possible. So drawing on his considerable diplomatic training, he tried again.

“Lord Tamas, you know you’re in considerable trouble. Co-operating now would likely help your case significantly. Your mansion is being searched as we speak, but I’m willing to play down a great deal of what happened if you can help me discover the whereabouts of your nephew and Chesara.” The slight smile Connor managed, cost him more than he could contemplate.

Tamas lost his smile as he looked at Connor thoughtfully, before making up his mind.

“I’ll tell you what Mr Temple, I know my life as I knew it is gone, and I’ll miss all my little ‘hobbies’, but believe me or not, my concern has always been for the people of this planet. If you give your word of honour that you will bring their plight to the right authorities, those that will genuinely look into things here, I will be happy to co-operate.”

Connor didn’t trust Tamas as far as he could throw him, but as he’d already notified his captain, he had nothing to lose. The wheels had already been set in motion, but he didn’t have to tell Tamas that. Connor nodded his agreement to the bargain.

“Now what did you do to Tenset and Chesara, and where are they?”

“As you’ve agreed to my terms so far, and as a man of honour I will hold you to them in this world and the next. I have one further requirement, one you may enjoy.” The smug smile was back, and Connor ground his teeth.

“You seriously think you can stand there and talk about honour?”

Tamas interrupted him. “I merely wish you to give me the powder in my top pocket, when we have finished.” Connor’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s it for?”

“Just medication for a mild heart disorder.”

They both knew he was lying, but Connor agreed, knowing that as time passed Chesara was becoming steadily weaker.

“Is Tenset still alive?”

“He was certainly alive enough to make his own way out of the mansion; although I’m very surprised he managed it in his condition. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t very helpful when I discovered he’d helped you escape. I was quite impressed with his nobility in staying to cover your escape, even if it was due to the influence of that she-devil. However, I must admit to becoming somewhat vexed with him when he wouldn’t voluntarily tell me about any plans you’d had, routes, etcetera.”

Tamas sighed. “I’m afraid I had to use some quite extreme techniques to break her hold on him.” He shook his head sadly.

“Unfortunately, I don’t suppose he’ll have as much luck with the ladies now, although personally I feel an eye patch is quite attractive, it lends a certain air of ‘danger’ don’t you know. Where he is now, I don’t know. He might even have succumbed to his injuries. Shock is a terrible thing.”

Connor had never felt the need to wrap his hands about another person’s neck quite so keenly, even when fighting for his life, he hadn’t felt this angry. The only thing keeping him from carrying out his desire was the need to know about Chesara.

“And Chesara?” he managed to grind out. Her vital signs were still low but steady. It was somewhat like unconsciousness but not quite. He didn’t understand it, and that scared him.

“You seem just a little stressed my boy. Would you like a break?”

Positive that Tamas was again getting his ‘jollies’ by causing distress, Connor resolved not to give him any more satisfaction.