Recovery

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TO: Director, Presidio Exile Control Bureau

FROM: Presidio Exile Control Bureau, Management Department

RE: Justinian Thoreau, Jr. (2832-X-0314)

CC: Secretary, Presidio Intelligence Agency

Criminal Records Department

April 13, 2832 CE

Surveillance reports from Wrath Orbiting Station show evidence of a major volcanic eruption within 250km of the deposition point. Material ejected during the eruption ignited fires on both sides of the Barrier Mountains.

A large conflagration has occurred, leaving much of the surrounding jungle burned to the ground. It is highly unlikely that anything or anyone could survive such an event.

Yesterday, April 12, we picked up signals from a single locator beacon in the middle of the burned out jungle. Upon observation of the coordinates marked by the locator beacons, nothing could be found to confirm the death of Justinian Thoreau Jr. or his six remaining companions.

These transmitters seemingly survived the fire. Surveillance has assured us that the transmitter would melt in the intense heat generated by the flames. Therefore, we believe it was placed there after the fire had burned out leaving us with the following conclusion: Justinian Thoreau Jr. and his companions have disappeared in a manner unknown to us.

Obviously the transmitter was removed from the consignee’s body, but the location those transmitters is a closely guarded secret. Thoreau could not know the location based on his activities prior to consignment, and if he did, he would not have the equipment to perform the surgery necessary for removal. We must conclude that Refuge has contacted Thoreau and is aiding him and his party on their way. That Thoreau will reach Refuge is now a foregone conclusion.

Analysis:

Why the transmitter was left intact is a mystery. Refuge is sending us a message of some sort, perhaps indicating Thoreau is in their hands and ostensibly under their control. If this is truly the case, then acceleration of Project Metis is highly recommended, if not vital. Thoreau Jr. must be countered as soon as possible. However, as Thoreau Jr. was our first prototype, the other subjects potentially capable of opposing him are three or more years behind him in their development. More analysis is needed to determine if expeditious viability is an option.

Recommendations:

Elimination of Justinian Thoreau, Jr. by any means necessary. Activation of deep cover assets within Refuge highly recommended, even if asset is neutralized. Thoreau may not be aware of his potential, and we must strike before his abilities manifest themselves.

Accelerate Project Metis. This is critical to our survival as a society.

Lieutenant Jacob R. Graham

Division Officer, Consignee Surveillance Division

END OF FILE

Nothingness. Searing pain! Oblivion.

Nothingness. Pain! Voices. Oblivion.

Nothingness. Pain. Bright light. Softness. Quiet voices. Music. Awareness.

“...recovering unusually well for a person in his condition. He could awaken at any time. He’s no longer in a coma.” A strange voice.

“It’s been three weeks. Are you sure he’s okay?” Another strange voice... no... I know that voice. If only I could remember who...

“His vital signs and brainwaves tell us he is. His blood supply has been replenished. The viruses have run their course in all of you. There’s nothing wrong with him, other than the muscular weakness he’ll experience from being bedridden for three weeks.”

“Then why won’t he wake up?”

“We don’t know, Bran.”

Yes! I knew it! I knew that voice!

“Until his brain says wake up.... He’s listening to us right now. See? He may not be conscious yet, but he hears us. When he opens his eyes, we’ll ramp down the paralytic field and let him wake up completely.”

Bran took my hand in his and squeezed. Try as I might, I couldn’t squeeze back.

“I’m going to do the rest of my rounds. I’ll drop back in afterward.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

“No problem.”

I try to say something- anything- but all I can do is breathe. It was too bright to open my eyes. They already hurt. Gradually the bright light faded into darkness. Oblivion.

The creature loomed over me, drawing its head back in a graceful arc. Then, pausing for a moment, it plunged its beak straight toward my face.

I opened my eyes wide, waiting for the creature to strike, but saw instead a muted yellow ceiling in the dim light. I was breathing hard, and my heart was racing. Looking about, I could tell I was in some sort of hospital room. I couldn’t move my head or anything else for that matter. Bran was sleeping in the bed next to me, snoring softly. I tried to speak again, but I couldn’t make my vocal cords work. I could breathe and move my eyes. That was it.

I studied the room around me. It was about five meters square and had a three-meter high ceiling. The whole room was painted yellow or an off white. I couldn’t really tell in the muted light. Surgical lights were mounted on the ceiling, as were various other instruments I didn’t recognize. A quiet whir filled the room with a pleasant silence. The air smelled sweet, fresh. It reminded me of the crèche I was raised in.

Closing my eyes as my breathing and heart slowed, I tried to recall what had happened after that thing had gored me in the shoulder. I must not have woken up again until just recently, because I couldn’t remember a thing. I knew Bran was alive. What about Kryss and Kale? Had Matt survived? My heart took off again as I remembered what happened to Jacen. Poor Jacen, to die in such a horrible way. He was just a kid. He hadn’t even had a chance of living his life. Tears ran down my cheeks. Dierdra had died in the earthquake from the eruption, Michael and Moira had died during the race to the dubious safety of the fort.

I opened my eyes again. Where the hell did a hospital come from on this cursed planet? Was I back home? My mind struggled with the ramifications. If I were back home, they wouldn’t be treating me this well. They’d have just let me die. So, that meant I was still on Wrath. I closed my eyes and tried to relax again.

Where the hell did a hospital come from on this prison planet?

Wherever it came from, I owed my life to its existence. What had the doctor said? Viruses? Nothing had been said about my injuries though. The pain was a dull ache now, not the sharp throbbing agony I was expecting.

Oh, wait, I thought, I’ve been out three weeks.

Three weeks to recover from nearly having my shoulder severed from my body.

My eyes flew open again. Jacen! Was he alive? Did they get to him in time to save his life? I didn’t see how. That thing had to have killed him, the way it sunk its head into the poor boy’s stomach. I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. Poor Jacen. I just couldn’t do it. I had a responsibility to keep them alive, and five of them are now dead. I failed. I wasn’t good enough to get the job done.

The ceiling disappeared into the steady stream of tears flowing out of my eyes. I just let them fall, allowing the pain to overwhelm me. Soon I was sobbing, my breathing growing ragged and labored. Dierdra, Michael, Moira, Matt, and Jacen. Their lives, their blood, were on my hands. I had taken responsibility to lead them to safety, and I couldn’t keep them alive.

“Jus?”

I had roused Bran with my sobbing. I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to hide my tears from him.

“Jus, can you hear me?” Bran asked quietly.

I refused to respond. I didn’t want him to see me crying like this.

“I know you’re awake, Jus. The doc told me what to look for on the brainwave monitor. Come on, baby. Open your eyes for me,” he said soothingly.

Why couldn’t he just leave me alone?

He sat on a chair next to the bed and stroked my hair and cheek over and over, waiting for me to open my eyes. He didn’t push me, he didn’t even say anything more. He just waited for me to be ready to see him again.

I don’t know how long he sat there. The contact with him soothed my tears, calming me enough to at last open my eyes to see his face filled with compassion and love. He knew me so well. He could tell what I had been thinking the whole time, and he knew me well enough to realize I needed time to grieve. He smiled softly when I first opened my eyes. He leaned down and kissed me gently on the forehead, then the lips.

“Welcome back, Jus. I missed you.”

I tried to speak, but all I could get out was an occasional squeak.

“Don’t worry, baby. The doctors had to paralyze you in case you had a seizure. Now that you’re awake, they’ll stop it.”

He leaned again to look into my haunted, swollen eyes. It was easy to see the deep, abiding love he had for me, but I could see lines of worry, too.

“Let me get the nurse. She’ll call the doctor, okay? I’ll be right back.”

He kissed me again, and then walked out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts once more. Closing my eyes, I tried to clear my mind of everything so I could rest again. Meditation was something I hadn’t had time to do since we got here on Wrath, but I needed it now. Too much of the past three weeks was missing for me to be able to make sense of anything. Bran returned with a woman at his side.

She said, “Finally awake, are we?”

I just opened my eyes and looked at her. It was all I could do.

“Are you in pain? Blink once for yes, twice for no.”

Two blinks.

“That’s good to hear. Are you having any trouble breathing?”

Two blinks again.

“Good, good...” She checked out some of the tubes sticking into me, then said, “I’ll call the doctor now. He should be here soon.” She smiled as she walked out.

“Thank you, Mary,” Bran said thankfully.

“You’re welcome. Both of you.”

Bran hugged me as best he could from the awkward position he was in, and then just sat there, holding my hand. “I bet you want to know what happened, huh?”

I blinked.

“After you were taken down, I killed the lancer that was over you. It fell off to the side and allowed another one to come at me. It knocked me down, and just as it was getting ready to strike, its head disappeared. All of the lancers attacking us were killed by people who came out of the hill. I couldn’t believe it when I saw them pop up from behind the rocks, but they saved our lives.

“The fire was all around us at that point, but they told Darryn, Kryss, Kale and me to climb down this hole while they gathered you and Jacen up. We dropped down into a room with an elevator of some type. You and Jacen were in pretty bad shape. If the Emergency Med Center hadn’t been right at the elevator when we got off, Jacen wouldn’t have made it.”

My eyes widened.

“Yes, baby. He’s still alive. Still recovering in a room down the hall, but alive.”

I closed my eyes in relief for a moment, then Bran continued.

“After you and Jacen were stabilized, we started asking questions, but they wouldn’t answer us. They put us in rooms to check us out, and gave us what we thought was oxygen, but they drugged us. When I woke up, I had a bandage between my left shoulder and my neck. They took out a transmitter, Jus. It’d been there our whole lives and we never knew it. They were tracking us since the moment we got here.”

I tried to frown. They were keeping tabs on our location? That meant they knew we were missing. But what possible reason would there be for them to keep track of us? We had no special meaning or value. It must be routine to keep track of the consignees, to ensure their death.

“Jus, there’s an underground city here. Tens of thousands of people. They have jobs. They grow gardens and herd animals. They even have a defense force. We’ve been asked to join, because we were Rangers. We can complete our training!” Bran was ecstatic. I tried to share his enthusiasm, but I couldn’t. There were way too many unknowns here.

Seemingly reading my mind, Bran said, “Everything is good here, Jus. I’ve talked to a lot of people here, and they’re content, if not happy.” A man walked in with the nurse. He looked to be in his forties, and appeared tired and rumpled, like he’d just been woken up.

“Good morning, Justinian. It’s good to see you awake at last. Let me look at your latest stats.” He worked at the instrument terminal next to my bed for a short while, and returned to me. “Look’s good. Let’s check out your wounds one last time then.”

He pulled the sheet down and exposed my chest. Bran winced when my shoulder came into view. I watched closely to see if there was any revulsion in his expression, but all I saw was pain and worry.

The doctor poked and prodded around, but nothing he did caused more than a twinge.

“Any sharp pains?”

Two blinks.

“Great. Lower the para-field twenty percent per hour, verify motor control each step. Justinian, we used the paralytic field to prevent you from injuring yourself during your viral run. The local bugs are quite vicious, attacking nearly every system of the body. We need to keep it on until we’re sure you have full muscular control. That’s why were lowering the field strength gradually, okay?”

I blinked.

“Good.” He turned back to the nurse. “I’m going back to the rack, but call me the instant you notice anything unusual.”

“I will doctor.” He walked out.

“All right, Justinian,” the nurse started.

“He prefers Just or Justin.”

“Oh. Okay then Justin. We’re going to gradually lower the field over five hours. I’m going to come in every half hour or so and ask you to move your arms and legs. As the field gets weaker, I’ll ask you to move your fingers and toes. You should be able to speak rather quickly though. If you feel like your muscles are not in your control, and I mean any muscles from your face to the tips of your toes, I need to know so we can get it fixed, okay?”

I blinked.

“Your level of pain may rise as the field collapses. This is normal, and we’ll deal with it as it comes up. Try to rest now. Both of you.” She smiled warmly and made some changes on the terminal, then left us alone.

I closed my eyes and tried to rest for a bit. Bran stroked my cheek and kissed me.

“I’m going to let you rest, Jus. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” He kissed me again and followed the doctor out of the room.

“All right, Justin, I’m going to set this field to decay about one percent every three minutes. You should be able to talk in a half hour or so. I’ll watch you until then, but after that, you’ll be on your own. If you feel anything strange, or feel out of control, I want you to yell as loud as you can until someone comes in, okay?”

I blinked.

“Good. If all goes well, you’ll be up and around by midday. I’m going to start the decay now.”

Once more, I closed my eyes. Sleep came easily.

I awoke with a start, sitting upright. A startled gasp revealed I was not alone in my room. A glance told me a nurse was adjusting equipment near my bed. I took in my surroundings again. It took me a few minutes to realize where I was and how I got there.

The nurse was recovering from her fright quickly and tried to lay me back down.

“The field hasn’t completely degraded. It still has two hours to go. Please lie down.”

“Two hours? It’s at forty percent?” I asked urgently through my parched throat.

“Yes,” she replied, “and continuing to fall.”

“It didn’t feel like it was on at all. Where’s my doctor?”

“He’s sleeping. I’m not going to wake him up until the field is down and we know how your body is responding.”

“Just turn it off,” I requested.

“No. I can’t do that. The doctor...”

“Isn’t here. I’m leaving now. Where is Bran?”

“Who?” She asked.

“Bran. My friend.” I sat up again.

“I think he’s getting something to eat.”

“Sounds good to me.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and felt the strangest sensation in my legs below the knees.

The nurse pressed a call button as she said in a panicked voice, “You can’t leave yet. The field isn’t down!”

“Then turn it off!” I heatedly replied. “What’s so hard about that? Do I have to do it myself?”

“Jus, do as the lady says.”

Bran stood in the door, holding a tray of food. It smelled delicious. I reluctantly lay back down, but I raised the head of the bed into a sitting position. I caught the smile of thanks the nurse gave Bran, and was unreasonably irritated. She was only doing her job. She waved away the orderly who had come in response to her call as she left.

“Hungry, Jus?” Bran asked as he deposited the tray on a table and rolled it over to my bed.

“Oh yeah. I could eat just about anything right now.”

“Good,” Bran replied, “because nothing here is the same as back home.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything on this tray is native to this planet. We don’t have anything from home.”

“I don’t care,” I said hungrily. “Give it to me.”

With a grin, Bran presented me with an assortment of plants and animal flesh. I looked at it for a moment, and recognized the staples of what had been our diet when we were out in the jungle. There were other meats as well, ranging from a dark brown color to a light yellow. Rather than imagining where it originated, I popped some in my mouth. My stomach screamed the moment it hit my tongue. I had to fight to chew the stuff and not swallow it whole. I crammed the entire plate into my gullet and asked for more. Bran shook his head with lopsided grin.

“Nope. You’re going to wait and see how your stomach deals with what you’ve already inhaled.”

I sighed and sat back in my bed, closing my eyes. So much had happened and I’d lost three weeks of my life. Bran stood and held my hand as I rested. I must have drifted off to sleep again, because when I next opened my eyes, the room was quiet. The soft hum of the machinery was absent. I sat up and tested my limbs. My legs were steady, if a bit weak. I lifted myself off the bed with my arms. Again, just a bit weak. A few paces around the room told me I could walk without a problem if I was careful.

I found a pair of shorts to help cover my gowned body and walked out. My room was at the end of a long hallway. I saw my room number was A-10. Many rooms separated me from the nurse’s station. I strolled down toward the station at a leisurely pace. As I approached, I saw that four more halls branched off to the left forming an arc around the station, and to the right was a single entry . Glancing behind me, I saw ten doors on each side of the hall I was in.

One hundred beds, I thought. Good information to have.

I stopped in front of the desk. A nurse glanced up at me.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes. I’m looking for a friend of mine. His name is Jacen Polczek. He came in about three weeks ago with a critical abdominal wound.”

“And who are you? What are you doing out of bed?”

“Thoreau. Justinian Thoreau. I’m walking. What does it look like? The paralytic field finally dropped, and I wanted to get up.”

The nurse eyed me askance and said, “Polczek is in room A-4, down that hall, second door on the right side.” She indicated the hall I’d come from.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome.” She half stood and said, “Do you need some help?”

“No, thank you. I have to get moving on my own.”

“Just be careful,” the nurse ordered.

I ignored her last comment as I walked back the way I’d come. She watched me cautiously stride back down the hall, but I paid her no mind. She could be concerned all she wanted, as long as she didn’t stop me.

I arrived at Jacen’s room, but had to stop and gather my courage to face him. I hadn’t kept him safe, and that’s all there was to it. I should have been able to keep him, the youngest of our band of all people, safe, but as always seemed to be the case, I failed when it mattered most.

The boy was laying on a bed identical to the one I’d just left. The only equipment operating displayed Jacen’s heartbeat. It was strong and steady. His short brown hair lay unkempt, projecting from his head at all angles. I slowly crept into the room, afraid to wake the child from his slumber. He looked so small and vulnerable in spite of the fact I wasn’t much bigger than he was. I sat in the chair next to the head of the bed. Tears filled my eyes as I watched him sleep, remembering that my incompetence had nearly cost him his life. Jacen would have died if it hadn’t been for the miracle that saved us.

“Just? Is that you?” Jacen’s voice was strong and held a note of joy.

I looked up into his eyes and saw the excitement they held upon seeing me again. He began to get out of his bed, but I stood up first and went to him. He engulfed me in a tight embrace. His arms wrapped all the way around my body, and I returned his hug gratefully. My eyes continued to leak tears as I held him. A moment later, he pushed me away to arms length, his face troubled.

“Why are you crying, Just?”

“Because I almost got you killed.”

Jacen wore an annoyed expression. “No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did! You wouldn’t be here in this situation if I...”

“You’re right,” he interrupted, “I wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for you. I’d be dead. I couldn’t have made it on my own, Just. You saved me by taking me along and helping me to survive.”

“But the lancer...”

“There was nothing you could do about that, Jus.”

I looked up to face Bran. His countenance told me I couldn’t argue with him about this.

“You didn’t have the equipment or manpower you needed to fend off the attack, and you know it, so stop killing yourself over it. Even if you had, the fire would have gotten us anyway. There was absolutely nothing you could have done, so knock it off.”

I dropped my eyes. He was obviously correct in his assertions, but it didn’t alleviate the guilt I felt. Bran stood behind me and began to massage my shoulders. He worked carefully at first, being cautious of my injury, but seeing I was in no discomfort, he continued normally.

The three of us sat together talking. Bran and Jacen reported what they had learned about our hosts and our current situation. Bran also talked about the defense force he’d mentioned earlier. I was anxious to meet with someone regarding the training. I needed to get back into shape as soon as I could. I needed to feel useful again.

When the nurse came in to tell us visiting hours were over, I gave Jacen another hug. I was just happy he was still alive. Bran put his arm around my shoulders as we walked back to my room, even though I didn’t need the assistance. His strength and presence were a great comfort to me. I felt out of control, and I didn’t like it. With him there, I knew I wasn’t alone, and that made it bearable.

“When can I leave?” I asked.

“When the doctor says,” Bran replied. “Another couple days, probably.”

I was puzzled. “Why so long?”

“You were in a coma, Jus. I want to make sure you’re safe. I’m sure the doctor feels the same way.”

“This sucks,” I complained vehemently.

“I know, baby,” Bran commiserated. “I’ll talk to Captain Saunders tomorrow and see if he’ll come down and talk with you. I think you’ll like what he has to say.”

“What happens when I do get out of here?” I asked.

Bran shrugged. “A couple weeks of recovery, maybe.”

“No, I mean, where do we stay?”

My boyfriend smiled beatifically. “We have our own apartment, Jus, just you and me. No one here cares what we do together. We’re free! We’re finally free.”

Bran hugged me to him tightly as I let the reality of the situation penetrate my mind. There was so much information bombarding my brain that I felt overwhelmed. I pulled Bran along the hallway back toward my room at the end of the hall. Once inside, I shut the door and pulled the shade over the window, giving us some measure of privacy. Bran watched me with worry in his eyes as I climbed back in bed.

“Bran, I need you right now. Things are going too fast and I can’t take it all in,” I confided. “I need your help to make sense of everything. Nothing feels right, except that you’re here with me. Come be with me, just for a little while?”

Bran’s face filled with sympathy and love. “Baby, I’ll be with you now. I’ll be with you tomorrow, and I’ll be with you until I die. You know that. If not, then I just told you again.”

He climbed into the bed next to me, allowing me to lean into him. Bran wrapped his arms around me as I laid my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and his steady breathing.

I wasn’t kidding when I told him I couldn’t take everything in. My senses were on overload. It wasn’t as if they were any better; my sight was the same as it always was, but I noticed much more in the way of detail than I ever had. Even when I wasn’t paying attention, I knew what was happening around me.

The very way I thought had changed. I realized that when I was in Jacen’s room, I had unconsciously evaluated it in a tactical light, deciding what I would have to do should I be forced to escape. I had done the same when I’d first approached the nurse’s station as well. This frightened me. I didn’t know what was happening to me, and I was again out of control with my life heading in a direction not of my own choosing.

Bran held me until I fell asleep again and was holding me when I woke the next morning. He hugged me tightly and went to get me breakfast while I showered and changed into some shorts and a light shirt. As I ate, Bran left me alone for a few moments to make a phone call inviting Captain Saunders to come down and meet me. When he came back, I had finished everything he’d put in front of me and asked him to get me some more. He just chuckled and said something about me being a bottomless pit before he walked out the door again.

When Bran once more returned, he was accompanied by a middle-aged man in a green fatigue jumpsuit with two silver embroidered bars on his gray epaulettes. He stood about half a decimeter taller than Bran with a trim waist.

Behind them were two more men. The first was middle- aged as well, and dressed in a blue jumpsuit with four silver bars on his shoulder. He stood a full decimeter taller than Bran with an obviously muscled body. The other man was the oldest of the three, wearing a military uniform with a star on his collar. He stood just centimeters taller than Bran, but carried considerably more weight than was healthy. All three had gray hair and wore serious expressions

I climbed out of bed, using it as an obstacle to separate us as my brain revved up into hyper mode. The man with two bars was relaxed and confident in himself and what he was about, but the people behind him seemed an annoyance to him. The other two men were nervous and kept their eyes locked to mine. The smiles were faked. They were here for a reason, most likely for something I had, but what was it? Why the high-ranking officers? Certainly they didn’t routinely interrogate new people that were brought in. Why did a general come down to the Med Center to meet a fourteen year old kid, and who was the guy standing next to him? If the guy with two bars was a captain, he had to be a colonel. Was there a significance to the color of his uniform? What function would that uniform serve? Not a field uniform to be certain, but more like what an office worker would wear.

“Justin, ” Bran said formally, setting the tone of the meeting, “this is Captain Saunders of the Rangers, Colonel Jade of the Intelligence Service, and General Mitchell, commander of the defense forces. Gentlemen, Justinian Thoreau, Jr.”

All three nodded as their names were mentioned. I did little more than look at them. Something was going on here, and I needed to know what it was.

Seeing I wasn’t going to respond, General Mitchell cleared his throat and shifted his large weight uncomfortably. His nerves were showing through as he cleared his throat once more before speaking.

“Justin, I’m very glad to meet you at last. I’ve been waiting for this moment since we heard you’d been consigned.”

The colonel cleared his throat, an obvious sign that he thought the general was revealing more than he should have. What kind of mistake had he made? He’d just greeted me... but he had said he had been waiting to meet me even before I left Heaven! That meant they had intelligence coming from home to here. They had agents on Heaven. My senses went hyper-vigilant, taking in every small detail of the meeting from the sweat on the general’s brow to the scuff on the colonel’s shoe.

I kept my eyes level, staring at the general until he uneasily dropped his gaze. Colonel Jade stepped forward slightly, placing his befuddled commander in the background. My gaze shifted to his brown penetrating eyes. His expression pronounced that he was here for a purpose and would not be dissuaded. I calmly observed him as he studied me. Bran stood slightly behind and to my left, providing me with reassuring support. The stalemate ended at last as the colonel spoke.

“Mr. Thoreau, my name it Thomas Jade. I am the head of intelligence here on Wrath. How much do you know about our situation here?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I want to know... how much you’ve learned in the last two days,” the officer replied cagily.

“Why?” I inquired.

“I’m curious. You must know that we evaluate all new arrivals,” Jade said calmly.

It made some sense, but I still had my doubts.

“You question all new arrivals personally?” I asked, eyes narrowed.

The colonel considered his reply, then said, “Only in special cases. The fact you arrived with four others qualifies.”

Yeah, right, I thought. And the general didn’t just tell me that there is something about me you’re interested in.

Rather than continue questioning him, I asked the colonel, “You want to know what I’ve figured out about you on my own?”

The colonel’s eyebrows rose as he cocked his head slightly in surprise. “Yes, if you would.”

“Wrath is far from the primitive society everyone on Heaven believes it to be. The government on Heaven is concealing the truth in an effort to prevent the hysteria that would result if the populace knew there was a thriving technological society on their back doorstep.”

Jade nodded his head appreciatively.

I continued, “You obviously have an intelligence network in place within the bureaucracy of Heaven’s government, placed high enough to access the Presidio’s most sensitive information.

“There are approximately twenty to thirty thousand people in this settlement. I would think there are at least two or three more this size based on population growth and immigration given the history of the planet. You’ve developed a defense force utilizing modern weaponry comprised of approximately two thousand soldiers and fifty rangers per settlement.

“We are currently north of the mountains my group was heading to in an area unaffected by the volcanic eruption that nearly killed us through the fires that resulted. I am sitting in a medical center with one hundred beds, most of which are occupied by people under twenty years Terran. This tells me that there are at least two other wings this size for the adult population. I have been here a bit over three weeks Terran. I was in a coma when I arrived and was placed in a paralysis field to allow my wounds to heal and local viral infections to run their course.”

Jade looked impressed, and the general was astonished. Captain Saunders had leaned against the wall and was quietly observing the exchange. Bran stirred restlessly at my elbow.

“In spite of what you have said, I find it highly unlikely the head of intelligence and the commander of the armed forces interviews each arrival. Furthermore, General Mitchell just told me you’ve been keeping track of me for quite some time, and that means I have importance. You are here because I have something you want badly, and it’s not something you can just take. I have to agree to give it to you, or you lose.

“So, Colonel Jade, General Mitchell, what is it you want from me?”

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