“Now to continue,” Jon said as he looked over the table of people. “I think the King and some of his higher ups are the cause of the population decrease. I’m working on finding out what the cause is and if he’s connected.”
“Preposterous!” one the two Captains said.
The other four Captains just looked at each other as if they were considering what Jon was saying. So far everything they heard somehow fit with what they had seen in the past few years since things had gotten worse.
“How dare you accuse the King of anything like this,” the other Captain said.
“Unfounded accusations from someone who has been here for only a month or less. You have no idea what’s going on here…”
“There are four pregnant women on Ghost Station,” Jon said as he cut the Captain off.
“Congratulations,” the Captain said. “What’s so unusual about that?”
“They’re all Eutharan,” Jon said as he watched the reactions around the table. “Two of Deatra’s handmaidens and now two females that wanted to join their bond mates.”
The four that seem to be sided with Jon started whispering among themselves. While the other two Captains clamped their mouth shut so tight their lips turned white.
“We’ve also isolated the cause of the problems,” Andie said as she stared at Jon.
Surprise crossed Jon’s face as he took in what Andie had just said. She hadn’t had time to tell him before the meeting and figured now was as good a time as any. It had taken her whole team two weeks to figure out what the cause was, and now they were working on a cure for it. It didn’t look good from what they had discovered about the contagion so far.
“Please continue,” Jon said.
“Well,” Andie said as she stood up. “We know it only affects the females making them infertile. It works over a prolonged exposure and takes about four months to fully set in.”
“The nanites would stop any foreign substance from taking hold,” one of the two Captains said. “That’s what they’re designed to do.”
“I was getting to that,” Andie said.
“I’m sure you were,” the Captain said.
“How about you shut up and be quiet so we can get this done in timely fashion,” Andie said as she glared at him. “You both are doing nothing but wasting our time here.”
“Just who do you think you are?” the Captain said.
“I’m the person that’s about to drug your ass so all you can do is listen and watch if you and your cohort don’t shut your mouths this instant,” Andie said. “If you don’t believe me say one more word during this meeting.” Andie pulled a hypodermic injector from her pocket and twirled it in the palm of her hand as she gave them the best evil grin she could muster. The Captain’s mouth started to open and Andie arched an eyebrow and took a step towards him. He quickly closed his mouth and crossed his arms as he sat back in his chair his friends followed suit with a pale face.
“That’s what I thought,” Andie said as she pocketed the hypodermic injector. “Now, as was brought up, the nanites can cope with some of the toxins. But, the rate at which they are introduced was high enough that the nanites, after a while, couldn’t cope. Sure, they could protect the person for a month or so but eventually the saturation in the host’s system became too much even for them.”
“Any idea if it is natural or engineered?” Jon said. He was still grinning about the event between Andie and the two Captains.
“Engineered for sure,” Andie said. “It’s a targeted toxin and specifically designed to do its job and nothing else. It looks for specific markers in a host to know if it should attack that host or not. For example, every race, except Humans, are immune to its effects. This is because Humans and Eutharans are very close cousins. We’ve discovered the first stages in all Humans that have been on the planet. Males have much lower levels as the toxin kills itself. Most Eutharan males that have been exposed for a long time show no signs and we’ve actually found markers that tell the toxins to self destruct.
“The effects carry on to the female animals on Euthara because they share enough of the base traits to make the toxin react. At least that’s what we think; it’s possible it was an unintended effect by who ever made the toxin. I think it was engineered to lie dormant in plants and animals as a delivery method to the population except it effected them too. However, that’s just my theory and I can’t prove it.
“One more thing, if a host is removed from the continued contamination the nanites can remove the toxin and the host returns to normal. It seemed to be engineered to do this as if the makers wanted to be able to turn it off and allow nature to take its course once again as if they had some agenda.”
“Interesting,” Jon said.
“Oh, you haven’t heard the interesting part,” Andie said.
“There’s more?” Jon said.
“Not much but we think we have the origin of the toxin narrowed down,” Andie said. “It’s still a large area but it’s a starting point for us.”
“Really, that’s amazing. How did you manage that so quickly?” Jon said.
“By accident,” Andie said. “Your little dust up at Euroth provided us the link. We’re providing medical services and as such we’re running blood work ups. Every person in Euroth has three times the amount of toxins in their system as found anywhere else. So, one of the delivery systems is in or around there.”
“What do you mean ‘one of the delivery systems’?” Jon said as he arched his right eyebrow. “You think there are more?”
“Probably, the planet is pretty large. and I think it would take more than one delivery system,” Andie said. “We’re working on something to counteract the toxin, but we’ve been coming up empty. It’s rather hardy and seems to alter itself to counteract anything we do to combat it. That’s one of the reasons we’re leaning towards it being engineered and not natural. Everything we’re learning about it screams molecular engineering. If we could figure out what it was before it was turned into what it is now we might be able to design something to stop it.”
“Or if we find out where it’s being produced we can stop it that way too,” Jon said as he leaned back and stared at the two now silent Captains. “You all can draw your own conclusions on what is happening on Euthara now that you know as much as we do. I beg you all to look at all the facts we have presented, then do a bit of your own investigation and draw your own conclusions.”
“Very interesting finds. I would like a couple days here with access to all your data so that I can come to a conclusion,” Barle said. “Although, I don’t know what difference we can make as we’re only starship Captains and have no real authority.”
“I’m not here to kill Eutharans,” Jon said. “I’m here to help your people, and if all of you can see there’s something going on, then I know I’m on the right track. It also means I don’t have to worry about a fight up here. Then you can report your findings to your higher ups, do more investigation and report on up the chain. Maybe we can make progress together and fix what’s wrong here. I don’t know if the King and the Royal Court are involved or not, but I’m prepared to cross that bridge when I get there.”
One of the two Captains decided to speak up. He was eying Andie warily when he spoke as if waiting for her to make a move. “You’re asking every Captain at this table to switch allegiance to you and away from the King. That is a treasonous act and punishable by death to any involved, including you.”
“Only if I’m found not to be bond mate to Deatra,” Jon said as he smiled. “Which I’m sure the King will see it’s invalidated. Even if something goes wrong, everyone here would be a part of the ADF and would have a home. I’m not in the habit of leaving people hanging out to dry.”
“You’re forcing a situation on the King so that he’ll have to choose one way or the other on your status as an heir,” Barle said. “The only way he can touch you is if he finds you bonded.”
“True and that also creates a problem for him as, if I die,
so does Deatra his daughter,” Jon said. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Barle said.
Jon said, “Maybe, but so are the King and his court. If he’s responsible, or someone in the royal court is, they’re guilty of genocide. He’s practically doing that with the Ga’sahde anyway. He’s opening up Euthara to any and all scavengers in the galaxy if he continues this silly rejection of them.”
All the Captains nodded, even the two who seemed opposed to Jon.
“I don’t want you to take at face value everything that has been said here. All medical and military references will be available to all of you while you decide. This includes the flight recorders of my fighters and your fighters where my sister was downed,” Jon said as he leaned back towards the table and unfolded his arms. “I even have access to the data collected by the traffic control on Euthara. You’ll see everything about that fight is as I said it happened. I have nothing to hide or anything to lose here. Your people have everything to lose, and some of your people have plenty to hide. All I’m asking is for you take a look at what I have said and the data I have provided and then make a choice.”
The Captains all looked at each other and nodded.
“Good this meeting is over for now. My people have already shown your crews to their temporary living quarters,” Jon said as he stood up. “These guards will show you to your quarters with your crews and I’ll make arrangements for you to have access to all the information you need. You will also have permission to contact any resources you need on Euthara. I’ll give you some time to look it over and then we’ll meet back up and you can choose what you want to do.”
The Captains rose as one and each gave Jon a bow before they started for the door.
“One last thing gentlemen,” Jon said. They stopped and look back at Jon. “Your freedom on this station is at my discretion. Any hostile act will put your crew on lock down along with you and will be met with deadly force. I’m not going to play games with my people and their lives or the lives of anyone on this station. Is this understood?”
They all nodded and left one at a time under the escort of their guards.
Jon looked around at the people left as he spoke, “So?”
Gabriel was the first to speak, “I think four of them for sure. You could see it in their eyes that they knew something wasn’t right. One of the two hostile Captains maybe, the other one will oppose you. He knows what’s going on and he doesn’t like the fact you’re trying to stop it.”
“I don’t understand what is so important about these men,” Sa’oliq said. “Why not just hold them until it’s all over?”
“Every Captain that was here today represents a Royal on Euthara,” Jon said. He sat down as he spoke and took Nefeit’s hand in his. “Those Royals are a part of the Royal Court on Euthara. They’re the only ones allowed to have a fleet. Granted they don’t control much of a fleet but they have power in the courts. If we sway them to our side then we might gain access to information we need as our support grows.”
“What about the two Captains who seem to oppose you?” Sa’oliq said. “What are you going to do about them?”
“Depends on what they say or do,” Jon said. “The Captain that was fully opposed to everything said here is in the employ of Grand Duke Harmequ. From what I know of this Harmequ he’s power hungry and will do almost anything to forward his goals on Euthara. He seeks the crown for his family and it’s no secret he does so. If there is one Royal I think is in the thick of it, it’s him.”
The other is a lesser Duke and he’s not about power, he’s more about truth. He’s somewhat shunned in the Kings inner circle. He’ll probably be more likely to accept the truth if we can get it to him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a supporter of the King and country, and it will be hard for him to take sides against them. However, if he sees the proof of what’s going on, I think the country will come before the King.”
Anyway you look at it though we will need more support here. I would like to bring the four Eutharan females who are pregnant back here to Euthara so people can see for themselves. There’s just something about seeing something for yourself that makes it easier to believe.”
“I don’t know what effect the toxins will have on them and their unborn children,” Andie said. “I don’t know if that would be such a good idea.”
“That’s why they will stay on the station here and not be allowed to go to the surface of the planet,” Jon said.
“Still I don’t know,” Andie said.
“Can something be built to detect this toxin and maybe filter it out of the air?” Jon said as he looked at Andie.
“Yeah, I guess something could be built to do the filtering,” Andie said. “The detection could be done by normal scanners. It’s easy enough to configure them to detect the toxin.”
“Get with Brad and Mike and see what you can come up with,” Jon said. “I’m going back down to the city to see how progress is coming along.”
“Is that wise?” Sa’oliq said. “The King by now is going to be hot for your head.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” Jon said. “If he wants me, he can come get me. I’m going to have Oojoung go on a mission for me, and I would rather tell him about it in person.”
“Terri?” Gabriel said.
“Of course,” Jon said. “There’s no way I’m going to leave her in the King’s hands. He took off the gloves when he forced Deatra to bend to his will and go to the palace. Then he swung the first punch when he attacked us and then took my sister hostage. If he wants a fight then he’ll get a fight, and I fight dirty. I can promise you that if he hurts one hair on her head I’ll skin him alive.”
“Do you think it’s wise to provoke him?” Sa’oliq said.
“I don’t care if it is or isn’t,” Jon said. “I pretty much have an idea of what’s going on here and I’m not going to let these people suffer anymore. There are a few more things to figure out, but I have a pretty good grasp of what’s going on.”
“You think the King is behind what’s going on?” Gabriel said.
Jon nodded slowly as he locked his eyes on Gabriel and spoke, “One way or the other, he’s behind what’s going on here. He might not be a willing participant, but right now that doesn’t matter to me. I can worry about that later once the truth is out and the people here are safe.”
“I’m not worried about the toxin as the effects are reversible,” Andie said. “I’m more worried about you and what the people behind it might have planned for you. If the ADF loses you, I don’t know if it would be able to continue.”
“The ADF will survive with or without me,” Jon said. He swung his chair to look out at Euthara through the large observation window in the room. It was almost calming watching the silvery clouds move across the surface. “Your brother is more than ready to step up into my position and then there’s Vaes, Gilas and all of you to help support him.”
“You under estimate yourself,” Sa’oliq said. The others nodded in agreement. “You’re the one who has brought the current members of the ADF together. You’re the one who holds it together and has brought hope to the Universe for the first time in over three hundred years. You found a way to bring back a key to making the various races work together and not against each other. Without you none of this would have happened. Now you’re about to save one of the most important races this Universe has ever known.”
“I don’t know about all that,” Jon said. “I think anyone could have done it. If it hadn’t been me it would have been someone else. I’m just someone who got forced into a situation and has had to make do with what I’ve been given. As far as the Eutharan people, I don’t know how important they are or aren’t. I just see a people in need, and I am going to help them as best I can.”
“And that is what makes you the perfect choice for the job at hand,” Gabriel said. He stood up and clasped his hands behind his back and started a small pace
on the far end of the table. “I was sure you were someone who was just using the people around you to gain any foot hold you could…”
Gabriel paused as Jon swung back around and interrupted him, “Of course I’m using the people around me it’s not something I’m trying to hide. I use people to do what I think is right and good for everyone else around them.”
“Not what I was saying,” Gabriel said as he continued. He stopped and faced Jon a slight grin on his face. “I meant you were in it to push your own power as far as you could and do what you needed to do to secure yourself in a leadership role. I explained this to the Matriarch and a few of the Ga’sahde council. Each and every one of them told me to look back over all the records from the time of your arrival until that minute and then make up my mind.”
“There are records of everything I’ve done?” Jon said. His face showed his surprise at the revelation.
“Of course, and being Ga’sahde we have access to those records,” Gabriel said. “It’s not complete, mind you, however every major event has a recording and has been documented. Going through all that, I discovered that almost every action you had taken was to protect someone. You hadn’t gone out to conquer anything or force races to see things your way or else face your wrath. It opened my eyes and made me understand what was going on in the grand scheme of things. You weren’t trying to accomplish anything except protect your people and those around you. That is why I apologized and have accepted that you’re the prophesized one the ancient texts speak of.”
Jon rolled his eyes at the mention of the prophecy. “All right let’s get back to work, meeting is adjourned.”
The com beeped just as Jon finished.
“Jon here,” Jon said.
“Sir, Captain Anders is requesting your presence on the surface. They have a situation that needs your attention,” a female voice said.
“Put him through,” Jon said.
The com clicked as Mark’s voice came through, “Jon?”
“What’s going on Mark?” Jon said.
“We have massive troop movements headed for the city,” Mark said. “It looks like twice the current forces we have deployed. The Eutharan’s have reinforced the surface strike areas and are digging in as we speak. It’s getting nasty here and really fast.”
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