Perdix's Lament

[jimmyhkim21]

Title: Perdix's Lament, Part IV
Author's Name: frostian
Artist's Name: 3whiteroses
Genre: RPS, AU
Pairing: JA/JP
Rating: R for language and violence
Warning: Main character deaths
Summary: Humanity is at the brink of war as the relationship between the two major ruling parties disintegrate under bloody assassinations and accusations. Representatives from both sides, desperate in the hopes of avoiding annihilation, meet in secret, trying to stave off a conflagration that would set back humanity into the days before space travel. But neither party knows that there's a third group keen to see war explode across all systems. (Conclusion to Three Grams.)
Disclaimer: Brought to you live from Fiction Nation!


Justin survived because Miriam was the better runner. He’d lost Morgan the moment they bolted out of the meeting but bumped into Miriam who'd also heard the dull blast. They managed to scan two hallways before deciding to return to the summit.

Miriam had rounded the corner first and spotted someone just out of Justin’s sight.
“Hey, what…”

Those two words were her last. The blast tore right through her skull, and Miriam fell where she stood with her gun still in her grasp.

Justin froze, first in shock and then because his experience kicked in.

He heard Morgan’s voice ring, “Got her!”

Then Carlson as he replied, “I lost them! I think the blast managed to blanket the entire structure. I can’t get the trackers to work.”

“Get the others and put down the rest of Hartlye's team before they wise up to what we’re doing," Morgan ordered briskly. "Marcus and I will do a physical sweep of the temple.”

Justin took a deep breath and started to slowly backtrack until he was at the other end of the corridor; all the while fingering his wrist link, weighing the dangers of Morgan’s team being alerted to his presence against the need to warn his people.

Justin realized he had to take the risk. With a deep breath, he opened the link. “Hotbox!”

The red code was set for a situation such as this one: that Dunrea’s meeting was nothing but a trap. His team would respond as they were trained to do.

But not Miriam, his godsend of an engineer.

Justin took a last glance at her bloodied corpse before bolting down the corridor, Morgan hot at his heels.

---

Jensen peeked around the corner. “We’ve lost him.”

Jared shook his head. “I guess I was mistaken. After last night, I thought Dunrea was serious about negotiations.”

“Maybe they just don’t care,” Kristin said. “Or, better, they have a scheme and it involves you being dead.”

“Can you get through?” Jared asked Jensen who recaliberated his personal comm once more.

His answer was a shake of the head. “They set up a barrier. I doubt Hartley could track us if he’s inside the temple.”

“This is all wrong,” Kristin said.

“How so?” Jared asked.

“If you were the intended target then you would’ve been shot first,” Kristin explained. “But the shooter aimed for the first available, which was Pangborn, then me.”

“So you’re saying we are all targets,” Jared said. He turned to Jensen. “Why did you want to leave the room?”

“The weapons,” Jensen said. “They’d switched weapons from last night.”

Kristin looked at Jensen with surprise and said, “They did, didn’t they?”

“And why should that be a concern?” Jared asked.

“Different layout would require different weaponry, but we were using the same room,” Kristin explained. “The only reason they would switch their weapons would be if they’d planned to use them.”

“What if Dunrea isn’t involved in this?” Jensen asked.

“You’re talking about a traitor within his team?” Jared looked even more troubled than before. “Then we’re all in danger.”

“Maybe not,” Kristin said. “If we can contact either of the ships, help will come.”

“That’s true,” Jensen said. “But how can we reach them if Morgan’s set up a communication blockade?”

“First, we have to find safety,” Kristin said. “Then we worry about getting help.”

---

Dunrea found the hidden cache of weapons he’d stored earlier and mentally smiled. He armed himself all the while wondering how he could’ve misjudged his people so badly.

Jeff couldn’t have been bribed, Dunrea concluded. The man was never for sale. And nobody could’ve contracted his services to make him turn against me like this.

That left only one ugly alternative: Jeff was doing this for private reasons. And that conclusion scared Dunrea. It meant he had no idea at all who Jeff truly was, and every dealing he had with the man was just a ploy for the soldier to further his plans, whatever they may be.

Which includes killing everyone who’s participating in this meeting, Dunrea thought. And that means Jeff wants to bring us closer to war. He might even try to guarantee it happening.

Dunrea had to pause and mull over that thought. He wandered if Kane and Carlson were as determined to see another war break out as Jeff did.

I don’t know what their opinions are, but right now I can’t afford to guess what they want. They’re following Jeff which makes them traitors.

He glanced at Henry who was tight-lipped since the shooting, but Dunrea could see how close the man was to his breaking point. For a moment the Senator wondered if he should stash Deol somewhere, as the man would do nothing but hinder him in his plans.

But what plans? Dunrea admitted to himself. Whatever I choose to do, I must do it fast. Jeff won’t waste any time in hunting us down.

He tapped Henry on his shoulder and whispered, “We have to move, now.”

“Why?” Henry asked fiercely. “We’re safe here.”

Dunrea shook his head. “No, we’re not. Jeff will do a sweep and he’ll get here sooner or later.”

“But maybe help…”

Dunrea shook his head. “We cannot count on help coming to our aid. The only thing we can depend on is us, Henry. Nobody else. Especially since we don’t know who in our ranks are the traitors.”

Henry paled as he realized what Dunrea was saying. “So … where do we go?”

“We either try to break out and hide in the hills, or move about the temple, making it hard if not impossible for them to locate us.”

Henry gave a jerky nod. He stood up on shaky legs and said, “I’m guessing you’ll lead.”

Dunrea gave a pitiless smile. “I am and you will do as I say. This isn’t a democracy, and if you don’t I’ll leave you behind because I have no time to answer any questions.

“Understood?”

Henry gave a shocked nod of agreement before wordlessly following Dunrea out of the room.

---

Justin managed to escape the temple only to discover he couldn’t go much further. Morgan’s people had set up glimmer fences. The system was initially designed to keep herds of precious livestock from escaping. It didn’t take long for the military to realize its full potential, and the glimmer fences quickly became a defensive weapon.

Justin dared not approach it for any vibration would set off the fences, and the resulting fireworks would notify Morgan that the perimeter had been breached.

He then noticed the rising, black smoke on the horizon and realized with horror what he was seeing.

Their initial base camp was on fire.

Then, if on cue, a second explosion rocked another site on the hills. Justin closed his eyes. It was the hidden camp he’d set up. And the only reason for its destruction would be because a member of his team somehow managed to get out of the temple and reached the camp where they’d stashed equipment in case of emergencies.

And walked right into a trap, Justin concluded. I’ve got to round up whoever’s alive and work from there.

He scanned the temple and its grounds once more, and after being satisfied that nobody had seen him, Justin returned into the crawlspace he’d used to escape.

I’m going to make Morgan bleed, Justin vowed. After securing a room, the terra-jumper checked the status of his weapons. After balancing out the risks in his mind, he pulled out a small handmade link that connected him to Padalecki and Ackles.

Most links used the alpha frequency, which required only one feed to a general source for data and transmissions. However, this particular one was capable of using two, which allowed it to completely bypass the alpha range and instead create its own. Justin had set up its base satellite during his initial forays, thinking he’d never need to use it. However, his paranoia ensured that the base satellite would be safely hidden yet close enough for the tracker to work.

Justin didn’t realize his hands were trembling as he pressed the button to turn it on.

The green dots told him that both Ackles and Padalecki were alive and mobile. He mentally calculated the distance between them and him and concluded they were northwest of him.

They’re in the temple quarters, Justin realized. They somehow managed to find the one place where there’s genuine difficulty in tracking them.

The temple itself was made of stone, but the personal quarters located in the back were lined with tinnate, a metal, which disrupted alpha frequency transmissions. The only reason Justin could locate them was because his link had a direct feed to them. He doubted Morgan would be as successful.

Can’t risk doing anything that might alert Morgan to their location, Justin decided. Find them and get them to safety. There will be enough time to take care of the traitors afterwards.

Justin was not a violent man, neither by training nor by genetic inheritance. But one of the reasons he was sought after and respected in a field peppered by people with little to no conscience was very simple: nobody took something away from Justin and lived.

He also never left behind any assets that could be used against him after the assignment was finished.

All this left a man who was, for all purposes, a law-abiding citizen who’d never bothered anyone.

Everyone who had contact with him knew better, but no one was foolish enough to testify otherwise, public or private.

The terra-jumper calculated the odds of his team members surviving and knocked off three others besides Miriam. That meant Justin had three left who were still alive through experience.

Justin decided Hertzog was one of the three and the most valuable to him. The youngest unit member had spent part of his childhood working in a farm and once told him about setting up glimmer fencing for their cattle.

Find him, then get Padalecki and his men to safety.

---

Hertzog took a breather before once more subsiding into the murky waters. He’d discovered the bathing hall after slitting the throat of one of Morgan’s people. With two more Praetorians hot on his trail Hertzog retreated to the private sector of the temple and found the pool.

He quietly slipped in and sank low enough not to be spotted by the naked eye. That coupled with his body suit would throw off his trackers if they were using body heat as a way of tracking him.

Hertzog heard and felt slight vibrations. He knew people just entered the hall, and from the sound more than one man.

Two, fully dressed – non-regulation footwear so not any of the delegates, Hertzog guessed. They have to weigh at least…

Even under water, the laser fire was bright and crisp. When Hertzog didn’t hear any accompanying noise, he knew who the user was.

There’s only one bastard who would be vain enough to use a gun that has purple tracer fire, Hertzog thought as he quietly surfaced. He dared not make too many movements to clear his vision, but he recognized enough of the bodysuit to whisper:

“Suydam.”

Brian looked down and gave a small sigh of relief. “You have no idea how close you came to dying.” With that caution, Brian Suydam leaned down and helped Hertzog out of the pool. The water slid off the bodysuit, leaving Hertzog almost dry save for the exposed areas of skin.

“Do you know what is going on?” Hertzog asked.

Brian shook his head. “No, but I managed to kill one of theirs: the woman.”

Hertzog’s grin was all teeth. “I got two. Did your target’s link work?”

Brian shook his head. “No, it’s got a reader. As soon as the body went cold, it died.”

Hertzog made a face. “So, that leaves four, including Morgan.”

“What about the outside? Were there any other reinforcements we didn’t know about?”

“I don’t think they do: they’ve got glimmer fencing all around the perimeter.” Hertzog paused for a moment then added, "I could try to override it, but I didn't want to attract any attention. Not without knowing what happened to the rest of the team."

“So we’re stuck inside, and they’ve probably trapped the others too.”

“That just means we get to kill the bastards,” Brian said.

“Secure our people first,” Hertzog said.

“Let’s go, then.”

---

Jared saw Kristin still herself and close her eyes. He froze as if she’d given a verbal order to do so. Jensen followed without hesitation.

She gave a quick shake of her head and motioned them to retreat back to the room they’ve just exited.

The three barely managed to go back before Morgan’s voice floated down the hall.

“Check this corridor,” he said. “And then join up with Chris as soon as you’re done.”

“Will do,” an unidentified male voice said.

Kristin quietly placed herself in front of her companions. Jared motioned to move forward but she shook her head. With surprising stealth Kristin crouched down, one leg stuck out straight behind her.

Jared pressed himself close to the wall, one arm holding back Jensen who had proven himself adept at fighting. But all hybrids were created with a beta-blocker in their system, which made them unable to actually kill a human being. Jared wasn’t sure if that particular debilitation was installed in Jensen and he had no desire to find out.

The man was about as big as Jensen and wore Dunrea’s private security team’s uniform. However, his sidearm was definitely classifiable as illegal. Jared had seen the sprayer only once, and also its effect on the human mass. The initial blast disintegrated the molecular structure, with the secondary one actually cementing the damage, thus making it impossible for any medical help to succeed.

Kristin swung her back leg and struck the guy right at the ankle. And though he wore regulation footwear, the boot did nothing to protect the vulnerable joint. A small crack sounded, signaling the ankle’s breakage. As he fell, the soldier opened his mouth to yell.

There was no sound.

Kristin had swiftly unclasped his side-knife and slit his throat. The cut was deep enough that Jared was able to see a white glimmer: the spine.

Jared rushed forth and helped Kristin as she lowered the body to the ground. Then, with the same lethal efficiency, she stripped the guard of his weapons. Jared took the blaster and tucked the strap around his chest.

Kristin handed a small handheld firearm to Jensen but he refused with a shake of his head.

It was then Jared knew that Jensen was aware of the beta-blocker, which meant he was in a situation where he needed to use lethal violence only to discover he couldn’t.

The thought gave Jared enough anger to kill off whatever fear he’d felt. He wondered if it was when Jensen was kidnapped, though he told everyone he’d been unconscious for the entire ordeal.

Jared took the firearm from Kristin and tucked it inside his tunic. Like most Graians, he’d been exposed to various weapons at an early age. Jared had little use for them, but he’d rather be overexposed than be woefully uneducated if ever faced with the need to use one.

Jared took a look at Jensen and saw something he’d rarely seen: humiliation.

Feeling frustrated, Jared vowed that as soon as they were safe, he’d contact Beaver and see if there was a way to remove the beta-blocker.

Kristin took point and quickly led them out of the room, away from a corpse still pumping out weak streams of blood.

---

Justin grimaced as he watched the two green dots of light move position. He’d like to think that it was because Padalecki and Ackles had panicked, but in all likelihood, it was because of something else.

They’ve got company, he suspected. If they keep going deeper into that section, they’ll be cornered sooner than later.

He increased his pace, knowing he was sacrificing caution for speed. Justin made it to the private sector of the temple but had to come to a stop.

Kane was standing at the mouth of the entrance, obviously guarding it from unauthorized access.

The sentinel paused and shifted his weight before speaking. “No, nobody exited. Why?”

He obviously had a cochlear implant that connected him to his team.

“What? Marcus is dead? How?”

Justin smiled and listened with greater interest.

“Gotta be the woman: I told you she was dangerous. We should’ve taken her out earlier! I’ll join up with you for the sweep.”

Justin watched as Chris set up a motion detector behind a column before joining his comrades.

He wasn’t at all concerned: the detector was a traditional model and limited to vibrations on the floor it was sitting on. Justin climbed up a column and slowly made his way to the back of the hallway using various carvings and then continued in that fashion until he was deep in the private sector.

Once Justin had determined he was out of the detector’s range, he slowly scrabbled down the wall like a spider. He once more checked the link and realized the men were moving even faster.

The sergeant had no choice but to assume that Jared and his people were in some way responsible for the death Kane talked about.

But that means they got the ‘woman’ with them. And that’s good. Justin realized then that no, that may not be the best news. Now, with one man down, Morgan’s team was definitely galvanized to capture their targets as soon as possible.

Justin had no choice: he broke into full sprint in the hopes of either catching up to his quarry before Morgan and his men did, or catching up with Morgan’s team and killing as many as possible.

---

Hertzog heard the commotion and quietly slipped behind the columns. Brian did the same.

One of Morgan’s men appeared at the end of the corridor, obviously checking for any sign of hostiles. He paused to take a glance down the hallway but then kept on moving at a brisk pace.

Hertzog realized he was moving so fast because the man was being summoned. And from the look on his face, Hertzog knew something bad happened.

Maybe our governor managed to kill Morgan, Hertzog gleefully thought. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Brian stepped out of the shadow and motioned for Hertzog that their path was clear. They were almost at the end of the corridor when Hertzog saw a familiar shape in the hall branching off to his left.

He made one motion with his hand, but it was enough to stop his Sergeant from running by.

Hartley joined him. “We’ve got to locate Padalecki and Ackles.”

“I’m guessing you know where they are?” Hertzog asked.

Justin nodded and motioned them to follow. The two men fell behind their leader and followed without hesitation. The three halted when they finally entered the corridor that led them to the suite of rooms where their quarry was suppose to be located. They fanned out to check the small lodgings.

Hertzog nearly died when he entered the one closest to him. Kristin was waiting and it was by sheer luck that he avoided getting his throat slit.

After realizing whom she had in her grasp, Kristin dropped him unceremoniously. Hertzog stumbled clumsily to his knees before regaining his balance.

“Remind me never to anger you unnecessarily,” Justin said to Kristin as he helped Hertzog get to his feet.

“You might live for a while yet,” was the humorous reply.

Justin took a studied glance towards the others and noted who was armed and who wasn’t. He wondered but his curiosity wasn’t greater than his caution.

“What about others?” he asked.

Jared shook his head. “I don’t think there are any other survivors.”

“And we’re talking from both parties,” Kristin added. “I believe Morgan is either acting on his own initiative or on somebody else’s orders. But whatever the reason, we must decide now: kill Morgan and secure the temple or try to escape first?”

Justin looked at Kristin with even greater respect. “I agree with the good doctor here, if she is one.”

“I am on even days,” Kristin said with a small smile.

“Jensen is right. We have to find a way out and communicate with the ship and tell them what’s happened here,” Jared decided.

“Do we need to split up into groups?” Brian asked.

“No, we can’t,” Justin answered. “It’s too dangerous.”

With that, they moved in unison as they exited the room. After speaking with his unit, Justin realized Morgan was down to three, including himself. And even though he knew they were matched number to number, Justin couldn’t justify risking Padalecki and Ackles.

But, maybe afterwards, Justin might have the chance to have a little private time with Morgan. In fact, Justin decided he was going to do everything possible to earn that privilege.

---

Jeff waited patiently. He suspected Jared and others were able to evade capture because of the hybrid. He wasn’t sure if Jensen was able to hear better or had some extra-sensory features that he wasn’t aware of, but Jeff knew they were wasting precious time trying to catch them.

Instead, he positioned Steve and Chris in different parts of the temple. He calculated what the others would do and suspected they’d be trying to find a safe way out of the building. So, Jeff decided it would be best if he let his quarry come to him instead of chasing them all over the building.

“I got Dunrea in my sights,” Chris said, his voice calm yet jubilant all the same.

“Bring him back to the summit room,” Jeff ordered, grinning.

It’s working. I should’ve thought of this earlier!

He almost missed the light shuffling, but Jeff had been acclimated to the background hum and realized he was hearing footsteps. Multiple ones, which meant his target was moving closer to him.

Jeff slid behind two columns, taking shelter in their shadows. He waited until the one named Hertzog pass before stepping out. Hertzog died and Suydam didn’t fare any better. Brian drew first but Jeff managed to duck the first shot and his didn’t miss.

Kreuk managed to land a kick on his chest, but Jeff’s suit absorbed the blow. He turned his gun on Padalecki.

The motion was enough to stop her.

“Good,” Jeff said. “I was hoping you’d see reason.”

He saw Justin eye a corridor to his right and shook his head. “I’ll kill him.”

When Jeff saw the murder in the man’s eyes, he knew he’d gotten through. “Let’s go someplace more comfortable.”

---

The hostages waited patiently while Jeff settled down.

“I’m sorry it came to this,” he said, his sincerity surprising everyone in the room. “I was hoping you folks wouldn’t accept Dunrea’s invitation.”

“But that didn’t stop you from going ahead with whatever this is,” Jared said.

Jeff shook his head. “No, it changes nothing.”

“So what is this exactly?” Kristin asked. “Because the only end result I can see is war, and you can’t want that.”

“No, that’s exactly what he wants.” Jensen’s words were softly spoken, but they caused the strongest of reactions from the hostages.

Jared’s face went slack with shock. “You can’t be serious,” he confronted his captor. “Why would you want such a thing? You who fought in the Conflict?”

Jeff’s smile was curiously free of anger and remorse. “It’s because I did fight in the last war that I want this one to come to pass.”

“That makes no bloody sense,” Kristin whispered hoarsely. “Historically, soldiers who fought in wars - the last thing they want is to fight in another one.”

“I sincerely doubt we’ll be alive to fight another,” Steve said. “And I’m relieved to say that, actually.”

Jared looked at Steve. “I don’t understand.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Jeff said, his voice still carefully neutral. “And that’s the problem right there.”

“But you can’t mean to start a war,” Jared plowed through.

“Unless you know who’s going to win,” Jensen said, suddenly seeing a sliver of Morgan’s plan.

Jeff shrugged. “Nothing’s a guarantee, but if things go as I think they will, well … let’s say the central planets are going to have a hard time justifying a war to their people whom they can’t evacuate because lack of inium.”

“You’ve been reading Dunrea’s private missives,” Jared said. “That’s the only way you could know.”

“The High Council and the Senate believe war is inevitable,” Steve said. “And they’ve been thinking that ever since your father crushed the water barons. But even if their consortium lost their stranglehold, it doesn’t mean they’ve lost power.”

“The truth is they’ve been agitating for confrontation ever since they lost their market presence,” Jeff continued. “When Noah gained the throne, it was the water syndicate that guaranteed his ascension.”

“But they must know their powerbase is gone, permanently,” Jensen said.

“Which means they’ve got another,” Kristin concluded. “Don’t they?”

Jeff pointed a finger at her and said, “You’re definitely not just a doctor, and she’s right. They’re developing alternate fuel source, but it’s nowhere near completion. In fact, it’s so new it doesn’t even have a real designation: the engineers are calling it prenom for now.”

“But it’s not stopping them from slowly modifying the warships' engines so they can use it,” Steve explained casually. “And once that switch is made, and prenom is derived into the correct form…”

“Inium becomes useless,” Jared concluded. “And the mining planets are without any power to barter.”

“And I’m guessing this new fuel source is much more efficient?” Jensen asked.

Jeff nodded. “And it’s got the bonus use of being a weapon if spliced correctly.”

“So, you want to start the war now, when there’s a better chance of mining planets’ success,” Jared said. “Morgan, do you have any idea the depth of madness in your reasoning? Millions will die, even if we do win.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Jeff snapped back, for the first time revealing his anger. “Millions of whom? Who dies in your wars, Padalecki?

“Us, we die.”

“I don’t understand,” Kristin said.

“You want the mining planets to win,” Jensen said. “Because the quicker this confrontation ends, the less chance there is of a more cataclysmic warfare in the future.”

“There’s going to be war between you folks and the Central Planets. I honestly thought there would be one when your father created his aquatiliums, but I was wrong. I don’t think we’re going to be so lucky when it comes to inium,” Jeff explained. “They’re never going to give up their control over you, not unless they’ve been given no choice.”

“What makes you think we want a war?” Jared asked. “The very fact that I’m here should tell you how much we want to avoid another conflagration!”

Jeff traded amused looks Steve. “You will by the end of this day,” he said.

Kristin sat back in her chair. “I hate to tell you but our deaths won’t push the planets into another all-systems conflict. If that were even possible, Dr. Padalecki’s assassination would’ve done it already.”

Jeff shook his head. “No, not that. Even I knew that wouldn’t be enough.”

The door slid open and Dunrea was shoved into the room by Chris who looked very pleased by his catch.

“He managed to compromise one of the fences when I caught up with him. The Senator’s got great aim.” Chris flashed a scorched mark on the collar of his bodysuit. “If I didn’t have this on, he would’ve spliced my throat in half.”

Dunrea looked at Jeff. “What do you think you’re doing? Do you have any idea of the damage you’ve caused?”

“Take a seat, Fred,” Jeff said. “And, in spite of what you think, I do know what I’m doing.”

Dunrea didn’t bother to argue any further. He took a chair and began to examine the bruises on his arms.

“Sorry about that,” Chris said, not sounding at all regretful. “I do get a little rough when I’m hetted up.”

Jeff waved a dismissive hand and turned his attention back to Jensen. “You were saying?”

“What could possibly precipitate a war?”

“It’s called Io Syndrome,” Jeff replied. “It’s why there is the PBE. Why there’s the Genetics Board, and more importantly why they won’t let people in the mining planets freely have children.”

Dunrea looked at Morgan not with fear but with unadulterated panic. “Don’t do this…”

Kristin gave the Senator a quelling glance before saying, “I don’t understand…”

“The genetic aberrations that’s been plaguing the settlers: It’s not because of exposure during mining,” Chris answered stonily. “Not at all. The Medical Board has been telling lies for generations.”

“The truth is the birth defects occur because of space travel,” Jeff added. “Mining has nothing to do with it.”

“That’s not possible,” Kristin said, the sudden pallor making her look sickly.

“They found out early on – during our initial days of exploration,” Jeff explained patiently. “The human body wasn’t meant for prolonged space travel, no matter what mucky-muck they invented to make it easier. But they kept it quiet because they needed settlers, miners who were responsible for fuel production. Then inium was discovered and the powers that be decided that sacrifices had to be made.”

“So, they created the PBE,” Steve said. “And they sanctioned whatever it took to keep it a secret.”

“And that’s why the nobles don’t travel much out of their system,” Chris added. “Why they’ve got so many aides and servants doing their legwork, and why they’ve been so insistent in creating technology to expand communication.”

“So, you see?” Jeff said lightly, throwing an amused glance at his boss. “There’s going to be war. Once this gets out there’s going to be blood on every street in every city.

“I don’t think the war will last long anyway. Not when half the population wants annihilation and the other half doesn’t have the moral backbone to fight.”

Jensen’s gaze softened. “Morgan, what you’re planning will never come to pass.”

“And why is that?”

“Because we already know,” Jared answered. “Though we prefer to call it the Singer Effect: named after the geneticist who discovered the causation.”

Jeff stiffened in his seat. “You’re lying. There’s no way you could know about the syndrome!”

Jared shook his head, his eyes brimming with pity. “Do you honestly believe all the medical academies who have been receiving private funding from the mining planets couldn’t figure that out? The cause for genetic defects that affect over fifty percent of the mining population?”

Kristin turned to look at Jared with huge eyes. “You knew?”

“There is a privately funded group of doctors and scientists who have been studying the Singer Effect for years,” Jared explained. “Both my brother and sister have been donating time and money to the research. And sorry to tell you this, Senator, but the Medical Board has leaks. There are also people within the Senate who have been supplying us details for years.”

“Not everything, of course,” Jensen added. “But enough to further our research.”

Chris looked completely pole-axed and Steve didn’t take the news any better.

“But then … why hasn’t it been made public?” Steve asked.

“Because there’s no use panicking everyone when we don’t have all the answers,” Jared said. “And because we believe we can create gene therapy that could repair the damage.”

“Gene therapy is not possible for humans,” Jeff said. “That has been proven repeatedly…”

“But it is with nanotechnology,” Jared countered. “It was something my father had been working on; from the time he married my mother, if you’re curious.”

Jared’s answer acted like a physical blow to Jeff who looked even more shocked than before. He sat wordlessly, staring at something off in the distance.

“That hardly changes anything,” Chris said weakly. “Once the truth gets out, people will want revenge. They’ll wa…”

“They’ll want children,” Jensen said. “They’ll want to have children, and if that means they’ll sue for peace – and they surely will – then that’s what they’ll do.”

“You can’t be sure,” Chris argued stubbornly.

“I am,” Jensen said. “Nobody will want to have children during war. They’ll be too afraid of their sons and daughters being drafted. So, they’ll have to decide.

“I think I know what they’ll want.”

“And the others? What about the rest who can’t have children?” Steve asked. “Can you be sure about them?”

“Of course not,” Jared answered. “But if there is to be war, we all must stand united. Do you honestly think they will declare another hell like the Conflict in the face of their neighbors’ and friends’ happiness? And there will be triumph for them too. They’ll finally have their revenge: the power to overthrow the greatest yoke ever placed on them.

“After that, the mining planets will not have any problem demanding equal treatment in the Senate,” Jensen concluded.

For the first time Jared saw uncertainty amongst the Guards. He knew the crack could be exploited but not too much. He didn’t want Morgan to lose control of his people. What he needed to do was to gain control over Morgan and walk him through changing his mind.

We need to get out of here, alive, Jared thought. Even though both he and Jensen made a solid argument that war cannot break out: the truth was just the opposite.

There was a good chance that the mining colonies wouldn’t want war, but there was already a great deal of anger boiling over from all the injustices they’ve already suffered. Though there might not be a full-blown horror like the Conflict, Jared knew there would be revenge killings.

The question was how many would die before the Central Planets decided payback was necessary.

Jeff looked crushed and for a moment Jared thought he’d convinced the man to surrender. Then, his faces hardened and Jared knew he’d lost.

“Changes nothing,” Jeff said harshly. “We go as planned.”

“And what might the plan be, exactly?” Dunrea asked.

“Sorry, Fred,” Morgan said. “That’s need to know basis and you don’t need to know.”

With that remark, the lieutenant left the room: only the cadence in his steps betraying his feelings.

Jensen stared at the man’s back. “I feel sorry for him.”

Dunrea looked at Jensen in shock. “He’s planning to kill us.”

“He’ll achieve nothing,” Jensen said. “And that holds the same for all he’s done; all his sacrifices.”

“Why don’t you keep quiet,” Chris said, his face thunderous with barely-leashed anger. “You don’t know the man at all.”

“No, I don’t,” Jensen agreed. “Which is why I’m probably the only person in this room who can correctly read him.”

Jared placed a hand on Jensen’s wrist in the hopes Jensen would quiet down. Jensen gave a wan smile as his answer.

“Whatever he’s planning to do – it will only end up hurting more innocent people,” Jensen persisted in the same calm, relentless tone.

“And how could you know that?” Steve challenged, his voice also tight with anger.

“Because he needs to bring the mining planets to the brink of war,” Jensen reasoned. “And the only way he can do that is to put them in a place where they have no choice but to declare one.”

Jared thought for a moment and then said, “He can’t possibly bomb the planets. There are no weapons of that magnitude.” He turned to Dunrea. “Are there?”

Dunrea shook his head. “After the Allham Tragedy, there have been no designs whatsoever to create another planet destroyer.”

Jared flinched at the mention of the greatest military tragedy in the history of humanity. During the first conflict after deep space travel had been achieved, the Unified Planets created what was later coined as ‘Planet Killer’ – a weapon that can mimic one of the most destructive forces in the known universe: a Black Hole.

The delivery system was not stabilized, but the Unified Planets were so desperate to win, they decided to deploy it. Unfortunately, it went active while being held in storage at Allham Facility in Nautla, a planet rich in water and thus the main deployment center for their army.

Nearly half of the Unified Planets’ military forces were annihilated after the bomb went live.

The Democratic Systems declared complete victory not less than fifteen days later. Members of the Unified Planets were not represented in the Senate for twenty-five years as punishment for their insurrection.

Jared could still mentally recollect the satellite feeds that showed Nautla literally folding in on itself until the bomb lost power. At the end, the planet was one-twentieth of its original diameter. Its destruction launched both its moons out of orbit and made two neighboring planets inhabitable.

“Are you sure of that, Senator?” Jensen asked firmly, obviously remembering Nautla’s cataclysmic end.

Dunrea nodded. “I am certain.”

“Then there’s only one other thing Morgan could go after,” Jensen concluded. “Water. He’s going after the aquatiliums. But how?”

“A dyed-to-the-bone soldier like Morgan? A bomb, I’d think,” Kristin guessed.

Jared paled dramatically as he digested Kristin’s conclusion. “But … that could also destabilize the nanowalls.”

Chris looked at Jared. “So what?”

Jared turned to him. “Don’t you understand what nanos are?”

“Say that we don’t,” Steve said. “Tell us.”

“They are minute cybernetic devices,” Jared explained. “If their central processing system is damaged or their initial directive is destroyed - they can become unpredictable.”

“Can they hurt people?” Dunrea asked.

“They can kill,” Jared said. “Even though they’re not programmed to interact with any organic matter, if that part of their directive is erased then I can’t predict what they will do.”

“But … there must be a failsafe,” Steve said in a faltering tone.

“My father built a failsafe, yes,” Jared said. “But there’s no guarantee it’ll work. And since he’s dead, if the failsafe doesn’t work, there’s only me. And I am chained to this chair!”

“Exactly how much nanos have been used?” Steve asked.

“The reservoir at Hull? There are enough nanos there to kill off the entire human population in Grayan I,” Jared answered.

“You have to also count the fact that the waterways are mining veins, and those run throughout the entire population center,” Jensen added. “If the nanos reach those rivers, there is no way we can contain them. They could nest down there for years, if not centuries.”

“They might be able to wipe out the entire human population before we can even begin evacuating,” Jared said, realizing the full horror of what he was thinking. He looked at Steve. “Tell me Morgan isn’t planning to use bombs.”

“There'd been other sabotages before,” Chris said weakly. “I know of at least five.”

“Poisons,” Dunrea said. “The Water Syndicate used poisons to make it look like the aquatiliums were unsafe. They wanted to undermine Padalecki’s creations, but that’s all.”

“How many aquatiliums?” Jensen asked.

Steve and Chris traded looks. It was Steve who answered, “Six, but none of them are on the same planet.”

“Are they located in population centers?” Jared asked.

Chris gave a single weak nod. He looked at Steve. “We have to talk to Jeff. He couldn’t possibly want this.”

Steve studied the room and noted the scared faces. “I’ll go find him.”

“I’ll keep post,” Chris said.

Jared squeezed Jensen’s hand and found him trembling. He realized Jensen was genuinely frightened, and the emotion was rare enough that Jared moved closer to Jensen in spite of Chris’ warning glance.

Jensen didn’t have to say anything; Jared knew what he was thinking. They had to stop Morgan now. Escaping was no longer their top priority.

The important question was how faithful were the men to Morgan? That they would follow him to a suicide mission wasn’t at all a surprise. Their loyalty didn’t even make that a question. But did their loyalty extend to millions dead? Millions of miners and settlers for whom they were supposed to be fighting for?

Steve entered the room, looking even more shell-shocked than before. Chris studied his friend’s face.

“He knew?” Chris asked weakly.

“He suspected it,” Steve answered. He looked at the hostages with a shine in his eyes. “He wasn’t sure, though.”

“But he was willing to take the risk?” Jared prodded gently.

Steve’s gaze floated away and Chris looked down at his boots.

“How many will die to save how many?” Dunrea asked. “Can you really decide that?”

“You bloody hypocrite! The Council does so every day!” Chris snarled.

“And you hate us for it,” Dunrea snapped back.

Steve paused only for a moment. He turned to Chris and shook his head. “We didn’t want this.”

“It’s not our place to question…”

“If not you, then who?” Jensen asked. “Imagine how many battles could’ve been avoided; how many needless deaths if the soldiers who knew enough had the imagination to use their courage to question their generals.”

Steve looked at Jensen. “What would you know about that?”

“Enough to realize those shots of soldiers using helio grenades on civilians would never have taken place if someone, anyone, stood up and walked away,” Jensen pointed out. “Tell me … which side were you fighting for when that happened?”

Steve’s face tightened as his eyes dimmed in dismay.

“I thought as much,” Jensen said. “Morgan’s actions couldn’t have been motivated by something as mundane as frustration. He followed orders, didn’t he? Right through that massacre. And then something snapped inside him … inside all of you, and you abandoned your unit.”

“That’s not possible,” Dunrea said. “Morgan’s unit was being recycled; they were nowhere near Grayan II when Barnes gave the pass to use the toxins.”

“How I wish that were true,” Steve said, eyes suspiciously wet. “But we were there, General. Our leave was cancelled and we were ordered to join Barne’s platoon.

“And we followed orders because that’s what good soldiers do, right? Obey, do not question; finish the mission no matter what the cost.”

“I remember my personal tally after we went through Thimon,” Chris added in a dreamy voice. “It was seventeen-thousand. My highest kill count ever.”

“Some were boasting about theirs,” Steve said. “I think it was Junku who said he ate his.”

“His count was only in the low thousands, though,” Chris countered. “I remember wondering why he was even proud of his tally.”

“How many soldiers participated in the slaughter?” Jared asked, unable to mask the horror in his voice.

“I think maybe two hundred or thereabouts?” Chris answered. “We had the toxins though, and once they were airborne nothing could stop the helio matrix from getting into people's lungs.”

“Because Grayan II was a mining planet,” Steve said, "most of their air-circulation system were secondhand, and some were even handmade by the settlers. The engineers who created the helio grenades took all of that into account before constructing the toxin.”

“While you had your bodysuits,” Jensen said.

Chris shook his head and gave a hard glance at Dunrea. “That didn’t matter really. We were modified with an artificial breathing apparatus that worked while our lungs were disabled for the duration of the battle.”

“What?” Even though she was a doctor, Kristin was unable to comprehend what Chris was saying.

“It was part of an artificial organ study,” Steve explained. "But the Senate quickly found other usages for the research – like our bodysuits, replacing bones with material with denser mass. And substituting certain organs which would minimize risks to the soldiers under certain hostile scenarios.”

“They turned you into me,” Jensen concluded.

“They tried,” Chris said, “and they succeeded to a degree.”

“Is that when Morgan decided to bring everything to the table, sort to speak?” Jared asked. “So every ugly secret would be brought to light?”

“What we just told you couldn’t even touch the ugliness we witnessed and participated in,” Steve said. “Just ask the good Senator what he knows; what he’s given his approval to.”

“But does that excuse what Morgan’s about to do?” Jared tried to stand up to physically confront the soldiers, completely forgetting he was cuffed to his chair. “Could you accept what Morgan is about to do any more than what you’ve been forced to commit?”

Jared’s question didn’t have the desired effect of shocking the men. Instead, it was like watching ice thaw, slowly but surely the two men seemed to rouse themselves from the rage they’d drowned themselves in and wake up to the hell they’ve helped creating. And in between the awakening and the accepting, there was the deep moment where everyone in the room witnessed the destruction of the last, greatest faith the soldiers possessed.

“What do you want to do?” Steve asked, as Chris seemed unable to speak.

“How will the bombs be triggered?” Jared said.

“Remote detonation,” Steve answered. “We have agents who are in position. They don’t know each other. We thought it would be safer that way.”

“And only Morgan knows all their identities,” Justin said. “Clever.”

“So we have to get Morgan to tell us,” Jensen said.

“If you think you can break him, you’re wrong,” Chris finally said. “And we don’t have much time left.”

“We have to convince him, then,” Dunrea concluded.

“No, not you,” Chris said. “If you want any chance to succeed then the good Senator here has to stay out of sight.”

Dunrea didn’t seem at all insulted by the order. “Of course.”

“We should contact our ship,” Jared said. “Have them send help just in case.”

“Not possible within the glimmer fences, and the moment it’s breached, the system will alert Jeff,” Steve explained. “And the same thing if we keyed it open.”

“Either way, we need to get control of him,” Kristin said.

“Do not harm him,” Jared said. “Whatever he may be … he’s not to pay for this all by himself.”

Kristin took her weapons from Chris. “I’ll come along.”

Jensen remained in his seat. “I’ll stay with the Senator.”

Jared understood that Jensen was silently offering to guard Dunrea from doing anything stupid. And from Dunrea’s thin smile he heard the same.

“Are you sure you want to come?” Chris asked Jared.

“Of course not,” Jared said. “I owe him more than I can ever hope to repay, but I cannot sit by and watch him destroy my world.”

Justin took his weapon back and said, “I’ll take the western entrance and come around,” before bolting out of the room.

“I can’t believe it’s come down to this,” Chris said as he uncuffed Jared from the stone chair.

“Let’s piss about it later,” Steve said. “We’ve got to move now.”

Jensen gave a small smile and watched them as they left the room. He waited until he couldn’t hear any footsteps before turning to Dunrea.

“They’re human beings,” he said. “I can understand why your kind treated me with such derision, but I cannot believe you would do the same to your own soldiers in such a manner.

“To turn them into something less human – for no other reason than convenience.”

“You’ve never fought in a war,” Dunrea said harshly, “so you have no right to judge. You’re not even human!”

“And there goes any humanity you might have had left,” Jensen said. He finally met Dunrea’s gaze. And it didn’t surprise him that Dunrea was the one who looked away. “In the end, Senator, it was through your own doing that you’ve lost the faith of men like Morgan. That you can’t blame anyone but yourself.”

Jensen’s words wounded Dunrea more than any physical blows could’ve achieved.

The Senator fell silent. He dared not raise his gaze to see if the hybrid was still studying him with those unreadable, inhuman eyes.

What could have prompted Beaver to create such things? I’ve heard that he was desperate for funds, but that can’t be why he did this. Hate? Was it hate?

When the room suddenly rocked with thunderous clamor, Jensen realized the glimmer fences were taken down by force. Dunrea stood up but Jensen grabbed his wrist, forcing him back down to his seat.

“What are you waiting for?” Dunrea shouted.

“Jared wanted us to wait and that’s what we’ll do,” Jensen said. “The moment we step outside, they will be forced to shield us. And the last thing they need is to have their attention divided. Not when they have to catch Morgan alive. And then convince him to change his mind.”

“They won’t succeed,” Dunrea said. “We have to contact my ship. Orfeo is equipped with personnel who can help change Jeff’s…”

“Do you really think he’ll break that easily?” Jensen interrupted coldly. “You know of his conditioning. Wouldn’t he have gone through SERE? Repeatedly? I suspect he’s gone through even harsher conditioning than that.”

“We have medications.”

“And he has rage, Senator,” Jensen countered, his voice gentle but implacable. “Between the two of you, I’d bet on Morgan.”

Dunrea had no time for a snappy comeback. Jared entered the room.

“We have the list,” he said.

But if there was triumph in his voice, neither Dunrea nor Jensen heard him.

Dunrea rose but it was Jensen who reached Jared first and embraced him. The two shared an intimate whisper before leaving the room, neither looking back to see if the senator would follow.

---

Jared spotted Morgan immediately. The man was standing near the western perimeter of the glimmer fence, focusing on his comm link. But if they thought they could approach him without getting noticed, they were mistaken. Morgan caught sight of them the moment they exited the temple.

He looked shocked only for a moment, but then the usual boyish smile fell in place.

“Sir,” Steve said, “we can’t follow through with your plan.”

“Really?” Jeff scanned the faces of his men. “What do you think will happen now that you’ve changed your mind?”

“I think that depends on you, lieutenant,” Steve said.

“Well, now, that’s not fair,” Jeff drawled. “I never planned to go through this alone.”

“You lying bastard,” Chris spat out. “You knew what the bombs would do, and you never said a word. You made out like you were one of us but you’re no better than that lying coward we took orders from during our touring days.”

Steve didn’t look at Chris, and his face revealed no anger. But the look of sadness that was carved into the craggy lines on his visage was much worse. And his silence only added to the condemnation Chris directed towards his superior.

Jared was the first to approach Jeff close enough to touch him. “It’s not up to you to decide who wins and loses a war. No one – not even a soldier who paid such a heavy price as you should be allowed.”

“Then who?” Jeff asked.

“No one,” Jared answered. “And therein lies the paradox of war. Nobody should be allowed to declare war, but we do. No one should be allowed to send people to their deaths, and yet we do.

“So, the problem lies not within when or why but whom, Lieutenant. And now the question is what are you going to do?”

Jeff looked at Jared as the bland smile on his face began cracking. For a moment, everyone saw the incredible rage hidden behind the façade of an amiable man.

“Sorry,” Jeff said. “You don’t need to see that.”

“Why not?” Jared said. “And tell me – a man who is as angry as you - should he be the one to decide the fate of so many people?”

“Probably not,” Jeff said. He looked at Chris and Steve who refused to come close to him though they both had their weapons freed from the holsters. “I never wanted it to come down to this.”

“But you suspected it might,” Jared countered. “Otherwise … otherwise you wouldn’t have been the only person who knew the names of all the triggermen.”

“Yeah, there is that.” Jeff relaxed into a slouch. “What would you have me do?”

“Let us muddle through, as we’ve always done,” Jared said.

“You make it sound so easy,” Jeff said. He slowly moved backwards, inching towards the glimmer fences.

“Don’t do it,” Chris said, finally aiming his gun at the man who brought him through the worst life could offer. “Please, sir.”

Jeff didn’t break eye contact with Jared. He didn’t say a word to acknowledge either Chris or Steve’s pleading gazes. But when Steve broke rank and charged him, Jeff was more than ready.

He tossed his link at Steve who caught it out of reflex. Jared didn’t even have a chance to take a step before Kristin whirled by him. She was even faster than Chris who was right at her heels.

Jeff stepped backwards as the glimmer fence turned off. As soon as he took another step, the fence went live, forcing Kristin to stop at her heels. However, Chris didn’t: he slammed into the sonic barrier. A thunderous clap bespoke of contact and Chris bounced back, as if something grabbed him and threw him into the air.

By the time he skidded to a stop, Chris was already unconscious.

Jeff took off in full sprint, not looking back. He had no need to: as long as the fences were active, they couldn’t shoot him. Then, out of nowhere, Hartley came to view. He had somehow managed to escape the perimeter and gaining quickly.

Unfortunately for the terra-jumper, even though he was older, Morgan was the better runner, and he obviously had trained himself for long distance running. But Hartley managed to follow him to the hills where he’d landed only days ago.

When Justin finally caught visual line on Morgan, he began yelling, “Don’t! Don’t! You can’t use the pack without a suit!”

Jeff looked up at Justin and smiled. It was beautiful in its complete calmness. Then, without another word, he secured the shoulder straps, pressed the button on the pack, and held onto the chest harness as it came to life.

Justin leaped to tackle the man to the ground in the hopes of breaking the pack, but he was too late. Jeff rose quickly in the air, the white contrail the only thing marking his position in the sky.

Justin calculated the man had less than a minute left to live. Without the suit, Morgan’s body was open to the elements. Then the first sonic boom told Justin that Jeff didn’t wait for the temperature to be cold enough to drop him into unconsciousness.

Justin watched as multiple fragments fall from the sky, thanking the gods the body parts weren’t raining down on him.

It was then Justin also realized that he had his wish: he’d watched the traitor die a brutal death.

It did not bring the satisfaction Justin thought it would.


Part III * Part V