Slaves of Hyperion (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 6) (36 page)

Teresa looked to him while the others continued to celebrate. She leaned over a few inches and spoke into his ear.

“Vacation? Where do you want to go?”

Spartan looked at her and smiled. It seemed like it had been years, perhaps decades, since he’d had free time where had absolutely nothing to do. For the first time he looked ahead to the future, and there was nothing in front of him that had to be done. For others that might have sounded wonderful, to Spartan though it was the exact opposite. Teresa looked at him and recognised the confusion and wanderlust she’d seen in his eyes many times before. He could see she was waiting patiently for an answer.

“Well, I suppose we could spend some time on Terra Nova. It’s supposed to be the oldest and most refined place in the Alliance.”

Teresa cocked her head slightly in amusement.

“You, sightseeing on Terra Nova? I was thinking of something a little more adventurous, but I would like to spend some time with our son and my family. I’ve already spoken to Major Daniels about that, and he says he will do his best to arrange for them to visit us as soon as possible.”

Gun heard their conversation and stepped towards them, placing his bulk in the way of their conversation. He looked at each of them.

“I’m planning on setting up hunting parties back on Hyperion. There are still a few religious maniacs and wild Biomechs that need taming. Interested?”

Spartan’s face seemed to light up at the news, and Teresa new instantly that their vacation was going to consist of hiding out in a mud-infested jungle filled with things that wanted to kill them. She smiled back at him.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

* * *

Agent Johnson and two of his fellow interrogators from Kerberos looked back at the prisoner strapped to the table. The room was darkly lit, and on one side was a glossy wall that hid a two-way mirror behind which sat a dozen intelligence officers. He looked back to the man on the table and glanced at the scars on his cheek.

“I’ve already told you we know who you are, Chraige Attez. Your brother Typhon died on this very world, and your other brother, Pontus, is dead on Hyperion. Now tell me, why did we find workers from the Bone Mill amongst the dead at your compound on Hyperion?”

The man looked back at him with nothing but hate and contempt on his face.

“I see, you think that look scares me?”

Chraige Attez
coughed and then smiled at Agent Johnson.

“You think you’ve won? This is nothing. Echidna has woken, and she will return. Nothing can stop her.”

Agent Johnson moved away and tapped a button to bring up a large image of the ruins on Hyperion, specifically the crater that was all that remained of the dome and the orb. Unexpectedly, there was no chamber of elevator around it. Next to the image he brought up the shape of the Anomaly, the great Spacebridge discovered towards the end of the War. Lastly, he brought up the devastated underground facility on Prime that had marked the start of the War. He looked at it for a short while before turning back to
Chraige Attez
.

“Your great saviour, the mechanical beast that tried to come through that dome, is gone. What I want to know is what links the now ruined sites on these colonies and the Spacebridge here?”

Chraige Attez
laughed at him, enjoying the man’s apparent confusion.

“They are nothing!” he spat out, “Echidna can travel wherever she wants, in space or on the ground, and when she returns, you will all pay, every single one of you!”

Agent Johnson looked at the reflective mirror surface and raised an eyebrow before looking back to the prisoner. He walked back and continued his discussion. On the other side of the glass, the assembled men and women checked the information Agent Johnson and a dozen other intelligence assets had pooled together so far. Each of them wore dark, non-descript uniforms, and the classic mark of the military intelligence division. One woman, a tall, pale skinned woman nodded and tapped a button that brought up a live feed. It was Commander Anderson, the man in charge of Prometheus. The world housed factories, research labs and shipyards that had been reclaimed from the defeated enemy.

“Commander. We have confirmed the materials used at the three sites match the configuration of the artefact you have uncovered on Prometheus. Continue your excavation.”

There was a pause of several minutes while the group waited for the signal to be sent through the Spacebridge and then to Prometheus and back again. Commander Anderson looked as though he had heard nothing before finally speaking back to them.

“Understood. Based on my research, it would appear these sites are designed to operate as rifts much like the Anomaly itself. If we can get them working, my scientists believe they can recreate a small rift between two fixed points.”

The intelligence operative looked to her comrades who nodded in agreement.

“Agreed. Continue with your work, Commander, we will be in touch.”