Promises Kept (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 9) by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2020-09-10T16:00:00+00:00

Spires Shipyard, QDS Baba Yaga, Top Deck, Primary Bridge

Izanami’s hard light avatar appeared beside the transfer area on the mezzanine level when Bethany Anne and Michael exited the Etheric there. “You’re back. Akio urgently requests you contact him.”

“Put me through to him,” Bethany Anne instructed as she and Michael descended the staircase to the lower level. They waited for the call to connect after taking their seats. However, the viewscreen remained blank.

“Where’s the problem?” Bethany Anne asked Izanami. “Our end or Akio’s?”

“Akio’s.” Izanami tilted her head. “I’m having some difficulty establishing a connection to Ranger Base One.”

“More than usual?” Michael inquired.

Akio appeared on the viewscreen before Izanami had a chance to reply. “Bethany Anne. Michael. I apologize for the difficulty you had getting through. Our comms have been down for the last few hours. Our technicians are still reestablishing the grid.”

Bethany Anne leaned forward in her chair. “What happened?”

“Part of the satellite network we set up in preparation for your arrival was vandalized by two cultists posing as technicians,” Akio explained, his anger made clear by his clipped tone. “The cultists destroyed several relays before CEREBRO were able to raise the alarm.”

“They knew what they were doing, then,” Bethany Anne ground out.

Akio nodded in affirmation. “They had high-yield explosives planted all around the planetary satellites. We were lucky not to lose any of the CEREBRO EIs. As you are aware, while we were equipped to get the communications aspect of the blanket up and running, CEREBRO has limited offensive capability until the tour reaches us. The EIs did what they could to defend themselves from the attack until Sabine and I got out there, by which time the perpetrators had fled down to the planet. They were headed there to destroy Ranger Base Two when the Collective discerned their intent and apprehended their Pod.”

“Were any of the Collective injured?” Bethany Anne asked with concern.

Akio shook his head. “No. The cultists chose to surrender themselves.”

“When a two-ton cephalopod tells you to stop, you don’t argue,” Izanami commented before deactivating her avatar in a shower of golden sparkles.

Bethany Anne kept her attention on Akio. “Where are the cultists now?”

“In the brig here at Ranger Base One, waiting to be interrogated,” Akio informed her, his concern evident. “They are not from Dr. Jeddah’s former cell. I was able to discern that much from their thoughts without setting off the safeguards that have been placed upon their minds.”

“Safeguards?” Michael echoed, his interest piqued.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Akio admitted. “I had them confined and reached out to you immediately, assuming there might be a Kurtherian connection.”

Bethany Anne exchanged glances with Michael. “Sounds to me like Isaiah wasn’t the only victim of Gödel’s agent.”

Akio’s face fell when Michael nodded his agreement. “Then it is as I feared.”

Michael held onto his growing anger at the situation for the moment. “Do not begin the interrogation just yet,” he told Akio. “I need to be there. Can you keep the prisoners separated until we arrive?”

Akio nodded. “Hai. They are in separate cells and can remain there indefinitely.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.