He then had the body cremated, watching the flames angrily.
Remus took seven criminals that were already sentenced for execution and pegged them as the terrorist group that had murdered Colonel Amori. He sent the status of the investigation to General Decius and the Gihoric leader demanded the criminals be put to death right away. He was sure to be virtually present for the execution.
During the second week of Isa’s coma, Tarah learned of the horrible incident. She had gone to see Isa for their monthly lunch, since Tarah was at school and could not see the Elite all the time, but she had been told by the other Elites at the Syndicate that Isa was in the hospital.
She quickly rushed there, but Rayal, still extremely ill and recovering from his wounds, kept her in the waiting room, telling her that Isa was very sick and that it was not a good idea for the young girl to see her. Tarah broke down, claiming that she knew Isa had been sick and she did not say anything to anyone.
Rayal took her to Anon Tower and stayed with her until she calmed.
In that time, Dr. Busen sat in the chair in Isa’s room and watched the monitors, his chest tight.
At the end of the second week, Rayal was sleeping in the chair in Isa’s room, a seat he had been occupying for over a week, while Dr. Busen sat against the wall, his legs tucked into his chest and his head resting on his knees, sleeping.
Paul walked into the room and looked at the silent Isa, watching the monitors document her status. He then saw Rayal and Dr. Busen sleeping and his heart fell. He walked to Dr. Busen and gently shook him.
“Michael.”
The other doctor jumped awake, his eyes wide, startled.
“What?”
Paul squeezed his shoulder. “Why don’t you come home and get some sleep?”
“No,” Dr. Busen said, shaking his head and straightening. “Not until she’s out of this coma.”
“Michael, you haven’t left this hospital in two weeks. It’s not—”
“I can’t leave her here alone, Paul,” Dr. Busen said, his voice straining. “I need to know that she will wake up. I want to be here the moment she does.”
Paul let a small, sad smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He sat next to Dr. Busen, putting an arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer. Dr. Busen rested his head on Paul’s shoulder, closing his eyes and falling back to sleep immediately.
Four hours later, Rayal shifted in his seat and woke, confused and disoriented for several moments. He glanced at Dr. Busen on the floor with Paul, sleeping against the younger doctor’s shoulder while Paul rested his head against Dr. Busen’s, sleeping as well.
Rayal shifted as quietly as he could, standing and stretching out the kinks in his body without jarring his abdomen.
He walked to Isa, looking her over, the tears in his eyes.
“Come on, Isa,” he breathed. “You can’t leave us like this…”
Isa did not move.
For twenty minutes, Rayal paced around the room, timing his steps to the beeps on the heart monitor, his eyes down, his arms crossed over his chest.
Suddenly, the rhythm of the beeping changed and Rayal turned quickly to Isa.
When he saw her eyes opening and closing slowly, he let out choked breath and ran to her side.
“Isa?” he whispered.
Isa’s eyes blinked slowly and her breathing changed. One of her fingers twitched and Rayal felt his heart soar.
“Dr. Busen!” he gasped. “Doctor, wake up!”
Both doctors jumped awake, startled. Dr. Busen scrambled to his feet and ran to Isa’s other side, looking at her with wide eyes. When he saw her blink the one eye that was not covered with bandages, he put a hand over his mouth and his legs gave out from under him. He sank to his knees at her bedside and took her hand tenderly.
“Isa…Isa, if you can hear me, and understand me, let me know somehow…”
Isa’s eyes closed and she let out a shuddered breath, her fingers slowly closing around the doctor’s hand.
Dr. Busen let out a sobbed laugh and bent his head forward, pressing Isa’s hand to his forehead, breaking down in relief.
Isa was in the hospital for eight long months. In that time, the people were notified that there had been a horrible accident that had almost killed the Golden Elite, but she was recovering and getting stronger every day.
But Isa got worse before she got better.
Now conscious, Isa could feel the pain of her reconstruction surgery and it was agonizing. She would often cry out in pain merely trying to shift in the bed. She went through physical therapy several times a day. When she was in bed, quiet, Paul would sit next to her and coax out the truth of what happened, Dr. Busen standing quietly behind the younger doctor, listening.
Paul did not relay to anyone what Isa told him until after he had heard the entire story, which it took several weeks to get out of Isa. He explained to the Syndicate the beatings, the microbionics, and what happened with Saera. He told them about Venus being weaponized, and that Isa had been the one to kill Colonel Amori.
The Syndicate went about damage control, all being tested and treated for the microbionic cells. In that time, they also worked on removing the codes that allowed Venus to be weaponized, reprogramming everything they could, though it was a very long process that left most of them frustrated and exhausted.
Isa called the Syndicate to her hospital room three months after the incident.
“There is something very important I want to discuss with all of you,” she started quietly. “First of all, I must apologize for the hell I have put all of you through since this started.” She swallowed hard. “I should have handled things differently, and I take responsibility for that. I hurt all of you, and I hurt myself in the process. I wish I could take it all back.”
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.
“This incident has proven to me that I am not fit to lead Tiao,” she murmured. All the Elites straightened, their eyes widening. “Therefore, I will be stepping down as Golden Elite.”
“Don’t you dare do that,” Chronus hissed. “No, Isa, you did everything in your power to save as many lives as you could. We should apologize to you for not understanding that you were asking for help. We learned too late that there was a problem, and because of that…” he trailed off.
“I did not handle the situation appropriately,” Isa said slowly. “I let personal interests guide my judgments.”
“How can you say that?” Maki whispered. “You took a calculated risk and chose the option best for you and your people at the time.”
“That’s correct,” Anders said strongly. “You saved our lives, you saved the lives of everyone in Anon.”
“…not everyone,” Isa whispered. “The operators of the Syndicate were killed because of me. And Saera…” She closed her eyes. “I should have contained him the moment I understood he was dangerous. I did not handle the situation as the Golden Elite should have.”
“No, you didn’t,” Remus agreed. He took her hand, squeezing it. “You handled it like a leader. An Elite would have immediately had him executed or arrested and risk war with Gihron, no matter the reason. You tried to keep everything contained to save as many lives as possible while not sparking a war with a very dangerous planet.”
“But I have,” Isa whispered. “I…I was the one…” She took a sharp breath in and cringed. The other Elites looked at one another before turning back to her.
“Isa, you have always been our leader, friend, and colleague,” Hana said. “And you always will be. You cannot step down. We have too much left to do, and you are the only one who can do it.”
Isa closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall behind her headboard.
“I don’t think I can,” she murmured.
“We will stand behind you,” Anders said strongly.
“You know that we will always be here for you,” Aolee seconded.
Remus smiled at her, his eyes showing his own pain.
“
If you forget your strength, you can always turn to us for support,” he said. “You are still the Golden Elite, and you will remain so, because your Syndicate is standing with you, and we’ll remind you of the leader you are.”
Isa looked at the gentle smiles and determined eyes around the room. She let out a broken chuckle and shook her head.
“You are all too good to me,” she whispered.
The Syndicate Elites smiled wider, ready to stand by their Golden Elite to the end, even knowing that, eventually, Gihron would rear its head again.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Tensions were running very high at the Syndicate Building as they prepared for General Decius’ arrival. Now knowing what had happened six years previous, Kailynn understood everyone’s apprehension and worry. She found herself watching Isa’s actions very carefully, looking for anything that would tell her the Elite was struggling stay strong.
Isa was having difficulty handling the stress. Not only was General Decius coming to the planet himself, meaning that Isa would be confronted with the image of the man who tormented her, but she was also sure that Colonel Amori would be brought up in conversation.
On top of that, she was worried that she was already being spied on by the approaching Gihrons, which meant that every time the Elites would come to her and ask her questions about dismantling Venus, she would quickly quiet them and tell them to figure out a plan on their own and discuss things with Dr. Busen and Paul to be sure they were ready for the plan to move forward.
The day before General Decius was to land on the planet, a strange visitor came to the Syndicate Building.
Kailynn, who had refused to leave the Elite’s side and sat in her office while the Golden Elite worked, remembered the woman from their time on Fortunea.
Isa straightened when she saw the woman.
“Vanessa…” she breathed, motioning her hand to close the hologram files she had been looking at on her chair. “I did not realize you were back.”
“Only briefly,” Vanessa said, hugging the Golden Elite. “I heard that General Decius was coming.”
Isa’s jaw clenched and she nodded slowly.
“I want you to know that, no matter what, you can ask for my help,” Vanessa said. “Even if you think you’re overreacting to something he says or does, I want you to call me immediately.”
Isa smiled weakly.
“Thank you.”
Vanessa turned to Kailynn, who was eyeing the woman cautiously.
“I recall seeing you on Fortunea,” she said, walking to Kailynn. “I am Vanessa Henricks, a former professor of Isa’s.”
Kailynn shook Vanessa’s hand, still unsure about the woman and surprised by how warm her hand was.
“This is Kailynn,” Isa introduced. “One of our Intelligence Agency employees.”
“Ah, it would be best to keep your eyes on absolutely everything until Gihron is pushed back to their corner of the system,” Vanessa said with a strong nod. “And, also, Isa, anything that you need after Gihron is gone, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Isa chuckled quietly.
“I’ll be sure to keep you informed.”
The following day, when General Decius’ ship landed on Tiao, everyone was put on high alert and under high security. Everyone understood that the Gihoric leader was dangerous, even if they did not know his grudge against Isa. The Elites of the Syndicate were the most on-alert, constantly monitoring Venus’ mainframe to be sure that there were no unexplainable changes. However, monitoring Venus’ mainframe was a nearly-impossible task since implementing the various viruses and blocks against the computer’s attacks on Isa. There was concern that the viruses slowing down Venus’ machines would make her more vulnerable to hacking, but they were not about to expose Isa to the violent, painful attacks from the artificial intelligence.
Therefore, every employee of the Syndicate was told over and over again to keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary and to immediately report to Rayal or Remus.
Kailynn had special orders to keep a close eye on Isa—orders she took very seriously.
General Decius, Colonel Ikan, and their delegation of seven Gihron officers were brought to the Syndicate in the late afternoon and were led to a large conference room where the entire Syndicate, Rayal, Kailynn, and nine other employees, advisors, military personnel, and intelligence agents were waiting to receive the Gihron politicians.
The moment General Decius walked in the room, everyone felt the tension become nearly unbearable. The General’s uncanny resemblance to his brother made many of the Elites question if General Decius was four years older than Colonel Amori, or if they had been twins.
Isa stood when General Decius walked into the room, and the others followed suit.
“General Decius,” Isa greeted. “We are honored that you have made the long journey to be here in person to negotiate the peace between our planets.”
“It is an honor to finally be on the illustrious Tiao in the presence of the Golden Elite,” General Decius said, bowing his head.
Isa motioned for the Gihoric leader to take the seat opposite her on the long conference table. General Decius walked to his seat and stood by the chair, waiting for the rest of the delegation to decide on their seats. Tension was so high that everyone was watching everyone else and it was not until Isa sat that the rustling of chairs being occupied filled the room.
Isa took the brief moment to take a deep breath and prepare herself.
She sat straight in her chair, leaning forward, her shoulders square with General Decius.
“I understand that you have had a very long journey,” Isa started, her voice strong and unwavering. “Therefore, I do not want to discuss the entire peace agreement today. I would like to introduce your terms for your conditional surrender and we will discuss them in detail over the following days of your visit.”
“Very well,” General Decius said, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a drive. He placed it on the table and slid it down to Isa. Before it could reach the Golden Elite, Remus grabbed it off the table, looking it over briefly before plugging it into the table and allowing the terms to appear in front of every seat.
At first, Kailynn glanced down at the terms until she realized that everyone’s eyes were elsewhere.
Some Elites were staring down other members of the delegation, but Isa and General Decius were locked in an intense staring contest. Isa’s eyes were unwavering, her blinking perfectly timed, but she never tore her eyes from General Decius. Likewise, he did not turn away from her. The feeling between the two leaders was growing more intense by the second. Kailynn saw the two of them waiting for the other to back down. General Decius seemed sure that Isa would break the intense gaze first, and Kailynn believed she would, as well, considering her past with Colonel Amori.
However, in the growing silence, General Decius finally turned his eyes to the terms in front of him.
It was only after he looked away that Isa also looked down at the terms.
“I see that you have opened your terms with title one demanding the transfer of all government offices to humans over the next twenty years,” Chronus said, turning to the Gihron leader. “If I may be so bold, General Decius, you were quick to say that the Alliance did not have a right to dictate the way any planet ruled itself or structured its society. Yet, you believe that Elites are unfit to rule over Tiao.”
“I do,” General Decius said with a strong nod. “Elites are created from the technology that forced humans from Earth. We have studied the trends in your society and have found the frightening pattern in the way the Elites change your society.”
“Regardless of any imbalance that the Elites create in our society, I agree that it is a problem for which the Syndicate must determine the appropriate course of action, not Gihron,” Isa said strongly, looking back at General Decius.
Several of the human employees of the Syndicate, Kailynn included, were startled by the strength in Isa’s voice.
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“We will not negotiate on this title,” Isa said strongly. “You will strike it from your terms.”
General Decius was still for two long moments before his lips pursed briefly and a half-smile took over his lips.
“If I recall correctly, Elite Isa,” he said, leaning forward in his chair and resting his arms on the table over the terms of surrender, “this was a point that we tried to negotiate six years ago, when my brother was in your care.”
Several bodies in the room tensed, from both Gihron and Tiao. However, Isa did not flinch at the words.
“That is correct,” Isa affirmed. “And my stance has not changed in six years. The Syndicate will remain in the hands of the Elites and Venus.”
“I wonder,” General Decius started, looking at Isa with darkness in his already-dark eyes, “had we come to a compromise on this issue, if my brother’s stay would not have been so extended, and he could have returned home alive.”
Isa’s eyes were cold.
“I do not compromise to my planet’s disadvantage,” she said. “I will not compromise on any of the terms listed in title one. You will strike them.”
General Decius’ smile widened.
“And if I am unwilling?”
“I did not give you a choice.”
The tension was making it difficult for everyone to breathe. While Gihron was getting increasingly nervous, most of the Elites, Isa, and General Decius were unwilling to back down, making tensions rise higher.
“Then perhaps this negotiation was immature,” General Decius said.
“If you wish to return to senselessly destroying all of your technology and killing your men, then we will meet you in battle,” Isa said with a shallow nod. “However, considering that you were the one to reach out to me with a conditional surrender, I do not believe you have the resources to continue a longer battle. It is for you to decide if you are willing to doom your planet further by straining your assets, or if you are willing to comply with my terms and stop this war so we could both get on with leading our planets.”
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