The Prisoner of Eldaron: Crimson Worlds Successors II Read online

  “Captain Cain…please understand. I do not wish to attack your vessel…”

  “Then don’t,” Elias snapped back, running his hand under his neck to signal the com officer to cut the line. He turned toward Wheaton, letting his poker face slip a bit.

  “He’s your brother, Elias,” Wheaton said softly. “He won’t let his people fire on us.”

  Elias managed a weak smile and a quick nod, but he didn’t answer.

  I wish I was as sure of that as you…

  * * * * *

  “I am sorry, Captain Cain, but this was the only way I could allow your people to approach the Nest.” The officer stood outside the hatch of the shuttle, clad in a perfectly-pressed dress uniform. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Major John Cranston.” He paused. “The acting commander of the Nest at the present time.”

  Elias stepped slowly through the narrow opening. The landing bay was massive, like nothing he had ever seen. He knew all about the success and power of Darius and the Eagles, but it was still something that was hard to appreciate until you actually saw it. There were at least a dozen shuttles lined up, most of them copies of the one that had just fetched him, but a few of them larger, clearly designed to haul significant cargoes. Or for some military purpose…

  His eyes fixed on the officer waiting for him, but he caught a glimpse of the squad of troops standing behind, fully armed. He suspected there were others too, ones he couldn’t see. Probably a sniper or two. Am I in someone’s sights now? Almost certainly. The Eagles don’t fool around with their security. But then they can’t, can they?

  “I understand, Major.” Elias wasn’t sure what to do…salute? Bow? Finally, he just extended a hand. “It’s a pleasure to be here.”

  Cranston took his hand firmly. “I’m afraid I must insist on some business before me move on to any further niceties…or the reason for your visit.” He turned and gestured to a woman standing behind him. “This is Doctor Hind. I’m afraid I must insist on a positive ID before I can allow you outside of this landing bay.” A short pause. “Fortunately, in your case that will be a simple process. A small DNA sample is all we need to instantly match against General Cain’s. If you are indeed his twin brother, we will have a result almost at once.”

  Elias nodded. “Certainly, Major.”

  “If you will just open your mouth, Doctor Hind can collect a saliva sample.”

  Elias nodded again, this time toward Hind. “Whenever you are ready, Doctor.”

  Hind stepped forward, swiping a small swab just inside Elias’ mouth. She took a few steps back and inserted the sample into a small reader. The bay was virtually silent for five or ten seconds until Hind looked up and said, “It checks. He is an identical genetic match to General Cain.”

  Cranston nodded. “Thank you, Doctor. Dismissed.” His expression was slightly more relaxed, though Elias noted he did not dismiss the armed detachment. “Shall we go to a conference room and discuss whatever matter brought you to the Nest unannounced?” His tone was congenial, though there was a small hitch when he noted that Elias’ arrival had been unexpected. “Where are my manners?” Cranston added a second later, still struggling to hide the uneasiness in his voice. “Are you hungry or thirsty? Can I offer you anything before we begin?”

  I can see the Eagles don’t like surprises. Of course not. Darius always liked to know exactly what was going on. And Elias knew how little his brother truly believed in. It was just like Darius to assume any surprise was a bad one.

  “No thank you, Major. To be honest, I’d very much like to see my brother as soon as possible.” He paused, wondering why Darius hadn’t come to the bay to meet him, why Cranston had introduced himself as acting commander of the Nest. The Cain twins didn’t get along very well, but Elias had never known his twin to avoid a conflict, to be hesitant to go toe to toe with him. And whatever else Darius Cain was, he certainly wasn’t the officious type, prone to ceremony and layers of aides between him and a guest.

  “Captain Cain…I’m afraid your brother is not available at this time.”

  Elias stared back at the Eagle officer. “They told me that already, Major Cranston. What exactly does that mean? Because though we have fought tooth and nail on many occasions, I know damned well my brother would have come to this bay to meet me…if only to pick a fight with me. So, please tell me what is going on if you…” Elias paused. “Is he injured? Is he…”

  “General Cain is not hurt, Captain. Nor is he ill.”

  Elias felt a wave of relief. He’d begun to seriously worry something had happened to Darius. “Then why can’t I see him?”

  Cranston made a face, as if he had finally decided to divulge something he’d have preferred to keep secret. “Because your brother is not here, Captain Cain.” A pause. “He is not on the Nest.”

  * * * * *

  Elias sat at the conference table, a stunned look on his face. Major Cranston had tried to make him comfortable. There was a glass of water in front of him, almost full, with barely a centimeter missing. The plate of food to his side was completely untouched.

  “My father?” he said simply. “Alive?”

  “Perhaps, Captain Cain.” The hard edge was gone from Cranston’s voice. Whatever lingering doubts he’d had about Elias Cain had been dispelled. “But I must caution you that there are many possibilities. Even if the ring is genuine, your father may still be…”

  “Dead.” Elias’ voice was soft, distracted. “Yes, of course he may be dead. Indeed, he has been dead for seventeen years as far as I am concerned. The change is that he may be alive.”

  He tried to imagine Darius’ reaction when he got the news. He could almost see his brother ordering his soldiers to prepare to invade Eldaron. Nothing could have stopped him, not the danger, not even the likelihood that it was a trick, that their father was indeed dead as they had believed for so long. Darius would rescue Erik Cain…or he would avenge him. Elias shuddered to think of what his brother would do if the Eldari had killed their father. He felt a kneejerk urge to condemn that kind of bloodshed, but there was no emotion behind it. If the Eldari had truly held their father prisoner for so long, if they had killed him…Elias found himself wishing his brother’s worst upon them.

  “When did Darius leave?” Elias’ thoughts were wandering, disorganized. His mother had been here…indeed, she had been the one who discovered the ring. She went right to Darius, he thought, feeling a momentary resentment that his mother had chosen his brother first.

  No, that’s not fair. Darius has the power to do something…I don’t. He understood that…he even agreed with the logic. But it still stung.

  Cranston hesitated. “Not long ago…”

  “I’m not trying to pump you for classified details, Major. I just want to know where things stand.”

  “The expeditionary force left four days ago, Captain Cain. Your mother went with them.” Cranston sounded tense, even giving such general information.

  Whatever else, Darius has his people disciplined. And they’re all as suspicious as he is.

  A cold feeling ran through him. “Wait…that ring couldn’t have just found its way to my mother after so long. This has to be a trap.”

  “Yes,” Cranston said. “I am inclined to agree with you, Captain.”

  “If Darius and the Eagles attack…that is just what whoever sent the ring wants. They could be walking into an ambush.”

  “Yes, Captain. Indeed, that is almost certainly the case. But General Cain is not so easy to defeat, nor are the Black Eagles.” Cranston was trying to sound confident, and some if it seemed genuine. But Elias could hear worry there too.

  Elias’ mind went to Eris, to the mysterious organization behind that base, and the slaving ring it supported on Earth. Then he thought about Black Viper and the attack on Carlyle, the level of intelligence gathering it took to learn the schedule and course of the secret shipment of STUs. It couldn’t all be a coincidence. The slavers, the pirates…and now Eldaron.

  It
can’t be chance. It all has to be related.

  “I know my brother is very skilled, Major…and the Eagles’ reputation precedes them wherever they go. But to walk straight into a trap…”

  “There was no choice, Captain. If there is any chance your father is still alive, the general had to go. And the men and women had to go with him. He did not order anyone to undertake this mission. He asked for volunteers.”

  “How many volunteered?” Elias asked, wondering how large a force his brother had with him.

  “They all volunteered, Captain. The entire mobile force is en route to Eldaron. And whatever is waiting there, whoever thinks they are clever enough to trap the Black Eagles, they will have a rude awakening.” Cranston’s tone broadcast confidence, but Elias could still hear the slight doubt still lingering behind his words. And something else? Disappointment perhaps…at being left behind?

  “You wanted to go too.” Elias hadn’t intended to verbalize the thought, but it just popped out.

  “Of course, Captain. This will be the Eagles’ greatest test.” Cranston’s guard dropped a bit, and the level of his concern became clearer. “Our thoughts are with those who travel now to the great battle, yet we all must fight our own demons. We have our duty, for the Nest must be manned and defended, but we long in times like these to seal our armor and march into the landers alongside our comrades…to hit the dirt of the target world. Every Eagle longs to follow General Cain, to save his…your…great father. Or to avenge him.”

  There was dreamy a quality to Cranston’s voice, one of remembrance. Elias was sure in that moment that John Cranston had been one of Darius’ field officers, probably a highly valued one. He understood. Darius had assigned this man to protect his stronghold when the field army was deployed. It was an honor, a sign of trust…yet it carried with it a cost, at least for a veteran like Cranston.

  Elias saw much of his father in the Eagle major, and he knew, for all Erik Cain’s longing to live in peace, he had never been able to stay back from the front lines when war called.

  “You are here because my brother trusted you, Major.”

  Cranston smiled, and he looked at Elias as if he had just seen something unexpected in his commander’s sibling. “Yes, Captain. He has good reason to. I saved his life. Twice.” He paused, then he rapped his hand against his thigh. It made an odd sound, like he was slapping metal. “The second time cost me this. Turns out I’ve got a rare genetic disorder. Regeneration won’t take.” He sighed softly. “Nothing to do with the half-soldier except put him in command of the base…”

  Elias wanted to say something, but he had no idea how to respond. Finally, he just said, “Major, I know my brother well, and the one thing I’m sure of is that if he assigned you here it’s because this is where he needs you. Where the Eagles need you.”

  Elias was surprised how the veteran officer had opened up to him. It seemed wildly out of character. Is it because I look just like Darius? But he knows who I am…and my brother and I are nothing alike. Nothing.

  But he began to wonder. He’d always taken the fact that he and Darius were very different as a given, but now he began to think about it. He liked Cranston, and he found that he respected the man. Everyone he’d met in the Nest had made a good impression on him, and he found himself regretting all the times he’d declared them criminals and mercenary killers.

  He felt unsettled. He’d grown comfortable with his beliefs, with his baseless prejudices, but the past weeks had shattered his view of things. He’d found the government he’d believed in to be riddled with corruption and dishonesty…and those he’d considered villains to defy that simplistic characterization. He felt a longing to see his brother again, for the two to talk…truly talk.

  And my father…is it really possible…

  He felt his stomach twist into a knot. But if there truly is one massive enemy behind all of this…they surely know how strong Darius’ Eagles are. Any trap they set would be powerful enough to destroy them, almost certainly.

  Of course! That’s the whole point of this! They want to destroy the Eagles, get them out of the way.

  “I have to go, Major. Immediately.”

  “I’m sorry, Captain, but I’ve given you highly classified information. I’m afraid I can’t allow you or your ship to depart until the general returns from Eldaron.”

  “If he returns, Major! You must let me go. I can help him.”

  “Captain, I understand how difficult it is to wait while…”

  “Please, Major…I have to fight this battle with my brother.” He hesitated. “It is my struggle too.” Another pause. “You have my word, Major. I will do nothing to endanger my brother…or the other Eagles.”

  Cranston stared back, his hard impassive face slowly softening. “I would be violating the general’s orders, Captain.”

  “Do you really think Darius would want you to keep me here? I understand orders, but my brother could not have anticipated that I would come to the Nest while he was gone.” He stared at Cranston, locked eyes with the officer. “Don’t be a martinet, Major. Let me go help my brother…”

  Cranston sat silently for a moment. Finally, he said softly, “You must promise not to speak of anything you have heard here. Not the slightest detail. To anyone.”

  Elias nodded. “You have my word, Major.” He extended his hand, feeling a deep pang of guilt as the Black Eagle grasped it tightly. Elias Cain considered himself a man of integrity, one whose word meant something. He had never before broken it, at least not about anything as important as this. But he knew even as he shook Cranston’s hand, he would not be true to his promise.

  He would tell someone what was going on, though he would break his word not for betrayal, but to help Darius and the Eagles the only way he could devise. Because, he had a feeling that even the Black Eagles were in too deep this time.

  * * * * *

  “I need your help again, Jamie.” Wheaton had been waiting for him when he docked. He caught the smile on her face when she first saw him. She had heard all the legends about the Black Eagles too, and as soon as he saw her face, Elias knew she’d been worried since he’d left Zephyr.

  “Of course, Elias. We’ve come this far, haven’t we? What do you need?”

  His eyes darted toward the crewman standing alongside the docking controls…then back to Wheaton. She understood immediately. He wanted privacy.

  “Let’s go to my office,” she said, keeping her voice as businesslike as possible.

  Elias nodded, and he followed her through the hatch and down the corridor. They were both silent until they stepped into the tiny room she used as a workspace, and the hatch closed behind them.

  “So,” she said, “what do you need me to do?”

  “I need to go somewhere. As quickly as possible. And I mean brutal g forces, strain the engines to the breaking point fast.”

  She stared back, a troubled expression on her face. “We came all this way to have your brother interrogate the prisoner…and now we’re not even taking him to the Nest? We’re just leaving…and going somewhere else?” She paused. “Elias, you know I support you…but don’t you think we are in enough trouble already? We need to go back to Atlantia.”

  “My brother is en route to Eldaron, Jamie.” Elias blurt out the words. “He has his entire attack force with him. That is why we are leaving.”

  “Eldaron? What is on Eldaron?” She sounded confused. The Tyrant of that world had a fearsome reputation, but for all its ruler’s reputed cruelty, Eldaron had never been aggressive with the worlds around it.

  “Perhaps nothing,” he said softly, a touch of sadness clinging to his voice. “Perhaps my father.”

  “Your father is dead,” she said, her voice tentative, sympathetic.

  “Perhaps not. Darius had evidence that he might still be alive. A prisoner on Eldaron.”

  She stared back with a look of astonishment on her face. “My God…”

  Elias just nodded and looked back at her.
r />   “Okay, Elias. We will go to Eldaron.”

  “No.”

  “No?” she said, a confused look on her face.

  “Not Eldaron, not yet.”

  “Then where do you want to go?”

  “Armstrong.” His gaze hardened, his plan taking shape in his head. “I want to go to Armstrong. As quickly as we can get there.”

  Chapter 22

  Central Command

  The Citadel

  Planet Eldaron, Denebola IV

  Earthdate: 2319 AD (34 Years After the Fall)

  “What in the nine rings of hell is going on?” The Tyrant’s voice echoed across the high-ceilinged room, the caustic edge of it giving no doubt to anyone present he was not in a patient mood. Eldaron’s absolute ruler was standing in the lift, looking out over the command center with a crooked scowl on his face.

  The officers present had almost agreed not to wake the Tyrant, at least not until they had a good idea what was going on. The failure had begun with a single satellite, and it had at first appeared to be a minor malfunction, nothing important enough to disturb the sovereign…and risk the often unpredictable results of his temper. But then it spread through the system, one unit at a time, until the planetwide com networks were completely down. The ground backup units were still functioning, providing emergency transmissions to the military and other vital services. But the entertainment networks, the news broadcasts, and almost all civilian communications were out…as well as orbital scanning capabilities.

  “We don’t know, sir.” The colonel on duty was trying to keep his voice steady, but a healthy dose of fear was apparent despite his best efforts. “At first we thought it was a mechanical failure on one satellite, but now it has spread to all the others…and it is moving to the ground stations as well. It is beginning to look more like some kind of cyber-attack now. But we can’t trace it at all. The systems appear to be fine, diagnostics check out 100 percent. But nothing is functioning.”