Impulse, page 20
part #12 of First Colony Series
“How so?”
“There is nothing to be gained by attacking the embassy. In fact, we have everything to lose by doing so. Our independence from the Konus is dependent upon our alliance with you. Our militaries have worked together to defeat the Krake and the Konus. I can’t believe any of our soldiers would be involved with this.”
“I thought so as well. What if the Ovarrow involved weren’t soldiers? Current soldiers. There was a Konus diplomatic envoy in Shetrian. How difficult would it be for the Konus to sneak into the city?”
“Not that difficult. We try to emulate the colonial model for our city, and we haven’t had security checkpoints in quite some time. The Konus never gave us reason to re-institute those security measures, and our citizens embraced the freer society,” Urret said.
Connor had planned and executed enough clandestine operations to know that identifying the primary objective was critical to understanding the reasons for the attack.
Diaz walked over to them. “What did they say?” he asked and inclined his chin toward the Konus soldiers.
“They don’t know anything about the attack.”
“You believe them?”
Connor inhaled deeply and sighed. “I do.” Diaz rolled his eyes. “Now, hear me out. Shuno and the others could be lying, but I don’t think so. He’s a soldier. His position has been compromised, and he has no hope of changing that. I’ve allowed him to contact his superiors in the hopes that we might get more information.”
“Do you really think they’ll cooperate?” Diaz asked.
“We’ll find out. In the meantime, we’ll pack up and get out of here. Head to Shetrian,” Connor said.
Diaz nodded, looking relieved. “Connor, about what I said before. It’s not your fault.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not. I know you can take it.”
“Captain Diaz,” Urret said, and Diaz looked at him. “I understand that your son is missing. I want you to know I’ll do everything I can to find those responsible.”
Diaz stared at the Mekaal for a few moments. “Thank you.”
Urret stepped closer to him. “I know your opinion of us. We’ve all heard it. You’re right. Your opinion of us is correct.”
Diaz frowned and he glanced at Connor. “What do you mean I’m right?”
“We are not trustworthy. Trust takes time to build. We’ve improved, but there is still a long way for us to go. Making this right will help us on that path.”
Diaz stared at the Mekaal soldier. “Do you have any children? Do you have a son?”
“I have no children.”
“I think you’re just telling me what you think I want to hear.”
“Juan,” Connor warned. “He’s trying to help.”
“I know what he’s trying to do,” Diaz snapped, and swung his gaze toward Urret. “You mean well, but just so we’re clear, I don’t care. You can make all the promises in the world. Spout more sentiments about how your people are trying to improve. I don’t care! We brought you out of stasis almost fifteen years ago and since then, there have been nothing but empty promises and bloodshed. Now my son is missing. He got caught up in your deranged politics, but I have a promise to make to you. I will dedicate my life to ensuring that the Mekaal or any other Ovarrow are kept as far away from the colony as possible. Do you understand me? I will dedicate my whole life to it. So, you can make all the promises you want about helping and being better, but you’re not. You’re not better and I just can’t bring myself to care about what happens to you or any of your kind.”
Diaz turned around and walked away from them.
Urret watched him go, as did the rest of the Mekaal. “I keep my promises,” he said.
Connor looked at Urret. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Do not apologize.”
“He’s out of line, but he’s worried about his son.”
Urret regarded Connor for a few moments. “I envy him. He will do what he must to protect his family. We would do no less to protect our children.”
Connor blinked several times and his eyes widened. “Children! That’s it! That’s what this is about.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There was a group of scientists working at the embassy to help with infertility among the Ovarrow. The attack occurred after they left the embassy. They were going to meet with the High Commissioner. The scientists might have been the target.”
“They were to be killed?” Urret asked.
“I don’t know. Diaz’s son was with the scientists. He’s missing and I’m willing to bet the other scientists are missing as well. Come on,” Connor said.
20
At some point after they’d been shoved into the back of a vehicle and began moving, Isaac lost consciousness. The last thing he remembered was the metallic clang of a door being slammed shut. The blow to his head must have been worse than he’d thought.
He woke with a God-awful pounding in his head, and his stomach attempted to slither out of his mouth, but it was blocked by some kind of gag. He tasted metal in his mouth, and his jaws were forced uncomfortably wide. He couldn’t see anything. Their captors had put a shroud over his head.
He exhaled through his nostrils several times until he was able to do it long and steady, and the obnoxious pounding of his headache lessened enough that he was able to think a little clearer. The nausea retreated to the back of his throat, but his mouth was dry from the gag.
The vehicle rocked back and forth as they were taken somewhere. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He heard a few of the others groan, but they sounded muffled, and he realized they were probably gagged as well. He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible. Doing a quick assessment, he found that his wrists were tied together behind him. The air stank of sweat and possibly urine, but his pants weren’t wet. Was it one of the others? The smell wasn’t potent. Maybe he was wrong about it. He tried to bite down on the gag, and that attempt was as ineffective as his line of thinking. He needed to figure out what was happening to them. Why had they been kidnapped, and how could they escape?
The vehicle lifted up on a sudden incline and Isaac shifted to the side, making his shoulders ache even more. He slid into someone, who groaned softly. It was one of the girls. Isaac gave her an answering groan, trying his best to make it sound like an apology.
His mouth felt as if all the moisture had been sucked out of it, and he was incredibly thirsty. He pushed on the metallic gag with his tongue, but it wouldn’t move. Then, he raised his shoulder to his cheek, trying to move the shroud, but it was too tight. It must have had some elasticity that kept it in place. Their captors weren’t taking any chances. What did the Konus want with them? Were they hostages for them to barter with, or was it something else?
The vehicle stopped. A few moments later, there was a loud clang, and a warm puff of clean air blew in. Someone climbed in and roughly dragged Isaac to his feet, after which he was unceremoniously dumped out of the vehicle and the shroud yanked off his head.
He blinked his eyes and looked around. There was a dense forest canopy above them, home to a continuous cadence of forest creatures. They’d obviously been taken out of the city, but how far had they gone? There was nothing around them but an old path and a fallen tree nearby that was as thick as he was tall.
Ella stood next to him, and he looked around to see that the others were being unloaded from a small, dirty delivery vehicle that looked like it had been used to transport livestock. Armed Konus soldiers stood nearby, and their feline gazes tracked them with rigid intensity that burned with surety of purpose. Isaac was in no condition to run. None of them were going anywhere.
Someone came around and removed the gag from his mouth, and the muscles of his jaw and neck immediately began to cramp. Reflexively, he opened and closed his mouth in an effort to stop the spasms, noting the others doing the same.
Their bindings were changed so their wrists were bound in front of them, and a group of soldiers began walking away from them. The soldier who’d removed his binding pointed ahead, and Isaac needed no further direction. He followed the soldiers, and his friends followed him. No one spoke.
Isaac glanced at his wrist computer. It still worked, but one of the soldiers must have been carrying a suppressor because all communications were offline. He heard Curtis try to ask the Konus for water, receiving several harsh blows for his trouble. The message was clear. Don’t talk. Just move.
It was still daytime. Isaac didn’t think he’d been unconscious for more than a few hours, so they couldn’t be far from Shetrian. The Konus must be leading them away from the city, but where? It couldn’t be more than a couple hours before nightfall.
The Konus marched them at a relentless pace. The forest was getting darker in the waning light and their captors showed no signs of slowing down. He’d thought they might stop at night, but he was wrong. They didn’t slow down at all, marching well into the night without stopping. Isaac saw the light from New Earth’s rings above the trees and wondered how far they’d come. Someone must be searching for them by now. Whoever was monitoring their signals must have figured out that they’d been in those tunnels under the city. The CDF would send out search teams for them. There were probably recon drones in the air searching for them as well. It would just be a matter of time until they were found. The comlink suppressor would make them difficult to track, but Isaac knew that wouldn’t stop the CDF. The way they were being guarded made it unlikely that they’d have a chance to escape so they needed to cooperate and stay alive until they could be rescued. One of the reasons the Konus set such a strenuous pace was probably to keep them from trying to escape.
Isaac couldn’t get an accurate count of their captors. There was always a large group surrounding them, but the Konus commander ordered smaller squads to leave them from time to time—whether to scout the area or lay false trails, Isaac didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure it mattered. There were too many for them to try to escape, even if they could arm themselves.
He heard Ella stumble behind him and whirled around to help her up. The nearest Konus soldiers scowled at them.
“Keep moving.”
The translator did its best to convey vocal inflection, but the growl of their voices was two-toned because Ovarrow had multiple vocal cords. Those sounds became more divergent and menacing the angrier they became.
Ella hastened to her feet, and they kept moving. Before long, the others began to stumble in the darkness. They were exhausted. Each time they stumbled, there was always a Konus soldier there to make sure they didn’t stop. Isaac wasn’t sure how much longer they could keep going.
“We need water,” Curtis said.
The translation came from his wrist computer so the Konus could understand him. He was ignored.
“Give us some water!” Curtis shouted.
Isaac heard Julian try to get him to stop but Curtis wouldn’t.
The Konus commander ordered them to stop and strode toward them. Curtis backed up a few steps, but two soldiers grabbed him and held him in place.
“I just want some water. Please, we’re so thirsty. Just give us some water,” Curtis said.
Koukax stared at them for a moment. His long rifle was strapped to his back. “We have no water. We carry no provisions. The camp has these things. Begin to walk or you will be dragged by my soldiers.”
Curtis inhaled deeply and looked as if he was going to make another demand.
“Curtis,” Isaac warned and shook his head.
Koukax turned his attention toward Isaac and stared at him for a long moment. Isaac’s gaze went to the ground and stayed there, even when the commander approached. As the Konus stepped near him, Isaac winced and retreated a step, but Koukax passed him without slowing. He’d expected the commander to hit him. There was always an angry glint in the leader’s gaze.
Isaac followed. There was no use pushing his luck. He’d watched Koukax kill Reznick without a hint of remorse, and the Krake commander regarded them in the same cold, calculating manner. There was no doubt they were being kept alive because Koukax wanted them to live, and their only choice was to keep moving.
An hour later, they reached an encampment. More Konus were there, but there were also other Ovarrow. These were Mekaal, but they weren’t soldiers. Why were they helping the Krake?
There were several rugged ground-transport vehicles nearby, and Isaac saw other prisoners in the camp. Dr. Rostova shot to her feet and began to walk toward them, but several Konus aimed their weapons at her, and Dr. Townsend stopped her.
When Isaac’s group reached the other prisoners and stumbled to the ground, gasping, Dr. Rostova, Townsend, and Solomon gave them water. Isaac and the others drank as much water as they could, and then they were allowed to rest. Isaac saw that Deasira was lying on a stretcher. The Mekaal scientist had been wounded. He couldn’t tell if she was simply asleep or unconscious because of her wounds. Another person lay beside her. Isaac’s eyes widened when he recognized Agent Franklin.
“Are you all right?” Dr. Rostova asked him.
Isaac swallowed hard. “They killed him. Both of them.”
“Who?” Dr. Rostova asked. “Who did they kill?”
Isaac felt his fear push its way to his chest, and a lump grew in his throat.
“Just breathe. Take your time,” she said.
Isaac took several breaths. “Reznick. He just shot him in the head. And... And he killed Cohsora.”
Townsend stood nearby, listening. His gaze narrowed.
“I tried to stop them. I tried to contact...” Isaac said and looked toward Agent Franklin.
He needed to calm down and get his thoughts in order, but he couldn’t. While they’d been marching, he only worried about keeping himself moving, but now that he’d had a moment to catch his breath, it was all coming back to him. He looked at his wrist computer.
“Don’t,” Dr. Rostova warned. “Don’t try anything. Just cooperate.”
Isaac nodded and stared at the ground. He should have done something. If he’d gotten back into the rover and left when Reznick told him to, maybe they wouldn’t have been caught. This was his fault. He felt his jaw slacken and his eyes became tight. Why hadn’t he listened to Reznick? He’d thought he could save him, but then everything happened so fast that it almost didn’t feel real. He glanced at Ella and the others. They were all catching their breath, and the colonial scientists were checking on them.
He kept going over what had happened—reviewing the events and wishing he’d done something different. Why had Cohsora led them to that damn tunnel? It was a trap. Had Cohsora betrayed them?
Isaac lifted his gaze and searched for Koukax. The Konus commander was speaking with several of his soldiers, and Isaac recognized that he was getting a status report. Something reckless took root inside him and he clenched his teeth. His gaze darted around, and he began to weigh his chances of reaching Koukax. A soldier stood nearby, and Isaac thought about ways to tackle him. If he took the soldier by surprise, he could steal his weapon— And then what? Open fire on the other Konus soldiers? They’d kill him and hurt the others. He had to do something but couldn’t think what. He felt so powerless. His father wouldn’t just sit here, helpless, and neither would Connor, but what could he do? In a moment of sudden calm amid his panic, Isaac realized that they would want him to be smart, keep a level head, and pay attention.
Koukax walked purposefully toward them, each step sounding as if he were crushing the ground beneath his feet. His soldiers followed, keeping a respectful distance until he stopped near where Deasira lay and gestured toward her. Two of his soldiers lifted her stretcher and carried her away.
“She was wounded by your soldiers,” Dr. Rostova said.
Koukax turned toward her. “That is unfortunate. Her work is very important.”
“She needs medical attention.”
“That depends on you,” Koukax said, and he looked at Dr. Townsend and Dr. Solomon. “My sources say that you’ve succeeded.”
“That depends on what you’re talking about,” Dr. Rostova replied.
Koukax stared at her coldly. Then he gestured toward Isaac and the others. Konus soldiers swarmed toward them instantly. It happened so fast that Isaac couldn’t keep track. One moment they were watching Dr. Rostova speak with Koukax, and the next, Konus soldiers were charging toward them.
Isaac started to stand, and one of the soldiers dragged him toward Dr. Rostova. A sharp blow with a baton to his hamstrings forced him to kneel. Julian, who’d been right behind Isaac, landed so hard that he slammed into Isaac’s side, knocking them both down. The Konus soldier pulled them back up, roughly. Jordan, Kanin, Ella, and Curtis were given the same treatment.
“You seek to mislead me,” Koukax said. He pointed one of his long, thick fingers toward Julian. “Bring that one to me.”
Isaac’s mouth hung open, and he looked at Julian. He saw his friend’s wide-eyed gaze change to a painful wince as one of the Konus soldiers grabbed a fistful of hair and shoved him toward Koukax.
Julian cried out in pain.
“Stop!” Dr. Rostova shouted.
“You’re right. We did it,” Dr. Solomon said.
Dr. Townsend tried to step toward Julian, but one of the Konus soldiers restrained him.
Julian was forced to his knees as tears streamed down his face. The soldier yanked Julian’s head back, exposing his neck.
“I didn’t do anything!”
Koukax grabbed a rifle from one of his soldiers.
Julian reared back and screamed, but the soldier held him in place.
Isaac gritted his teeth and struggled to rise, but a soldier held him down. He glared up at his captor, who stared down at him without mercy.
A plasma bolt fired, and Isaac swung his gaze back toward Julian. His friend fell backward from the force of the blast and didn’t move. Isaac stared at Julian and then screamed himself raw. It took two Konus soldiers to hold him down. He couldn’t make himself stop screaming.
