| Chapter 73 Tunk had alerted the security forces, and then gone about his daily routine. His day was full of meetings and paperwork. The work of an ambassador was never done. The Kholathian work day started early and ended late. He had just come in when Nick had called. He knew it was the middle of the night on Celeste, and for the king to call at that time, it had to be urgent. Tunk leaned back in his chair, feeling stuffed. He had just gotten back from a business lunch, entertaining foreign members of the Industrial Alliance. He was trying to convince them that Kholath was the best place to build their next factory. He thought he'd made great progress with them. Suddenly a noise filled his office. He bolted upright and turned looking out his massive office windows. Chills ran down his back, his eyes growing wider by the second. The sound he heard was the alarms on the shield that protected the city. The shield had been breached, and several war ships were entering the cities airspace. Tunk looked down, seeing the people on the streets running for cover. Looking back up, he caught the sight of the ships lasers firing. Quickly he grabbed his briefcase and fled the office, dragging his secretary with him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A.J. ducked as a tray of food sailed over his head and slammed into the wall behind him. "OK," he said calmly, "I guess you're not hungry." Brian glared at him, "No I'm not hungry you stupid prick!! All I want is that fucking drug!" A.J. sat down in the chair next to the bed, doing his best to stay calm. Brian was definitely not himself, and it wasn't his fault. He kept reminding himself of that, over and over. "I know you do Brian, but you're gonna get through this," he said, as encouraging as he could. Brian huffed, shaking his head, "I doubt that." "Don't doubt yourself Brian. You're strong, you can do this," A.J. admonished. "I don't want to fucking do this!!" the older man screamed, "I want it J. I want the drug so bad, I'd do anything to get it! Don't you understand?!" A.J. closed his eyes, his mind going back to his own rehab. He remembered saying those exact words. At that moment in time he would have killed for a drink, so he knew what Brian was feeling. "I do understand Rok," he said quietly, "I said those same words. I've been where you are bro." Brian ran a shaky hand through his hair and sighed. He knew A.J. was right, but he didn't want to care. All he cared about was that clear-blue liquid, and how much of it he could get. He looked over to see A.J. kneeling, trying to clean up the mess he'd made. Brian grabbed his pillow and hugged it to him, rocking himself back and forth. "I-I'm sorry J," he sobbed. A.J. looked up, his heart breaking for the millionth time in the last eighteen hours, "It's OK Bri. I know you didn't mean it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anthony nudged Nick, "Hey, we can end the sessions early if you want?" he whispered. Nick stifled a yawn, doing his best to listen to the man in front of him. He shook his head, knowing he needed to do this. Otherwise, he would be pacing the halls, worried to death. For once the council sessions were a welcome distraction. The man finished presenting his case and waited for Nick's decision. Nick looked at Anthony, "What do you think?" This took the young man by surprise, "Um, well ...... I think he should split the property and each get half. It's the only fair way to do it." Nick nodded, "I believe so to. Do the honors?" he smiled, seeing the excitement in the young man's face. Anthony stood up and cleared his throat, "It is the kings decision that the property be split equally and each party shall receive half the proceeds." The two men that had presented their case looked at Nick for confirmation. He nodded, and both turned to leave. Neither looked happy, but it was a livable compromise. A guard was about to announce the next case when one of the techs from the control room came running in. "Your highness, you are needed in the command center immediately," he said, out of breath. Nick quickly got to his feet, "Mason, Anthony, come with me," he ordered as he ran from the room. Nick ran as fast as he could, reaching the control center well ahead of the others. He slid to a stop, his heart in his throat. A life size hologram of Tunk was standing in the middle of the room. His clothes were dirty and torn, and in some places bloodstained. He was holding a bandage to his left temple. Nick stepped onto the pad facing the image, "Tunk, are you alright?" The ambassador nodded, "I'm fine. It happened your highness. They breached the shield, the city is in ruins ...... hundreds if not thousands dead and injured." "Oh God," Nick muttered, as his tears overflowed, "Tunk, I'm so sorry. I was to late." Tunk shook his head, "No your highness, without your warning many more would have been killed." Nick was doing his best to keep his composure, "The ships, did they get there in time?" "They arrived as the attackers were leaving. One followed them, the other landed and they are giving aid," the older man answered. Nick took a deep breath, "Alright, I'll send as much help as I can, hang in there, alright?" "Will do," Tunk said, the image fading. Nick took a moment to collect himself before he looked around the room. Everyone was waiting on him to do something. He glanced at one of the techs, "I want to speak to the captains of both the ships we sent, now." The tech nodded and staring pressing buttons on his console. Mason walked over to another tech and began the preparations for sending aid to Kholath. Nick nodded at him, giving him a silent thank you. "My king, they are coming up," the tech announced. Nick watched as the two commanders appeared before him. "Captain Lane, what is the status of the pursuit?" he asked. "We followed them out of the system, but they jumped before we could get a lock on them," the man answered. "Do you know who it was?" Nick asked. The man shook his head, "I've never seen ships like those before. They're something like a hybrid between a Jeptimian cruiser and a Kholathian war ship. I'm sending you the images now." Nick looked over at the screen as the image came up. There were five ships, as large as their X class. He watched them for a moment, when something caught his eye, "Stop it and replay that part," he ordered, looking closer. He waited until the ship came into view, "Pause it there." The tech did as he was told. "Son of a bitch," Nick muttered, pointed at a symbol on the side of the ship, "Enlarge this." The tech worked at top speed, enlarging the image. Mason looked over, "What is that?" "It's Interstellar," Nick answered, "I saw this symbol when I was in their offices," he said, turning back to the captain, "Distribute this to the entire fleet. If you encounter anything with this marking, destroy it," he ordered. The man nodded. "And Captain Sander, I'm sending more ships to help. Stay there until they get their shields up and are no longer in need of assistance. I'll send for you if I need you sooner," Nick said. "Yes, your highness," he said, and both holograms disappeared. Anthony looked at his cousin, "Now what?" Nick bit his lip, thinking. He wasn't sure what to do now. He did know that Interstellar had to pay for what they'd done, though just how to make them was a mystery. He shook his head, "I don't know, got any suggestions?" Mason came over and ushered Nick and Anthony to a relatively quiet corner, "Don't do anything rash. Not just yet. Maybe we can make them believe they've accomplished what they wanted. See what happens next," he suggested. "You mean wait them out?" Anthony asked. The older man nodded, "They've made their first move, they're trying to accomplish something with it. We just have to figure it out and stop it." "But what would that be? What's the purpose in attacking Kholath?" Nick asked. Mason shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I'm due back at Interstellar soon. Maybe I can find out something. And in the mean time we wait." Nick considered the idea. What other choice did he have? He couldn't forcefully shut the company down ... not when they were shipping in the cure to his planets drug problem. The only thing he could do was wait and see what happened next, hoping he could stop them before more innocent people lost their lives. "Alright, we wait," he said, praying he was doing the right thing. Chapter 74 |