Duty, Honour, Love
Chapter 38

For Jane it seemed to be the longest six hours of her life. Dareia tried her up most to teach Jane what she could. Jane took it knowing Dareia meant well even if she wasn’t really helping. Since she’d been on the run she had given up relying on others. The real Jane’s death had been the last straw. The shuttle landed and Jane was glad to be on firm ground. A cold snow filled wind blew across the plateau they had landed on. Flashing lights indicated it was a landing bay. She could see a manmade structure off to her left hangars for the White Mountain shuttles Dareia informed her mind to mind. To her front a forbidding mountain loomed and what looked like a cave. Above the entrance to the cave were a series of comms towers and radar dishes. Jane shivered at the sight of it. One thing she was happy about was the thermal jacket Kathleen had given her.

“Cold,” Dareia stated in the mind speak she’d be using with Jane. “Are you feeling anything yet despite the cold?”

Jane knew what Dareia was speaking about. She spent the last couple of hours trying to read Kathleen’s mind under Dareia’s tutelage. To Jane it had been like trying to peer through frosted glass. She could just make out something but nothing was coming to her.

“No,” Jane admitted.

“Are you two going to stand around and become popsicles our are you coming inside?” Kathleen said. She walked past them heading for the cave.

“Popsicle?” Dareia asked Jane.

Jane gave her a quick explanation and followed Kathleen into the cave.

A sturdy steel door confronted them with an intercom on the wall beside it. The door opened and two men stepped out. One in Confederacy combat armour the other was older with a crisp white beard and a white coat. The soldier instantly saluted Dareia, but her mind was on Jane.

“Well?” she said in mind speech.

“Not a thing,” Jane shot back. It was no better than her attempt with Kathleen. She was hearing a background murmuring and put down to machine noise. A place like this would need a lot of machinery to keep it running.

“Corporal Barnett,” Dareia returned the salute. “Sitrep!”

“Ma’am we’ve got the murderer locked in a disused office!”

“Alleged murderer,” Jane stated coldly.

Barnett gave her a look. Obviously he’d caught her Imperial origins. Her uniform was a dead give away.

Good thing he understood what she was saying.

“Alleged as in the ‘alleged’ was holding a bloody knife and there was a body on the floor!” Barnett replied looking at Jane’s uniform with a hint of disgust.

“Corporal Barnett treat Lieutenant Walberg with respect!” Dareia snapped at him.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Professor Nichols?” Kathleen interrupted breaking the growing tension. “I’d like to view the body?”

“Body I thought that was cut and dried. We have the culprit?”

“Nothing in life is ever so cut and dried,” Kathleen replied her mind on recent events and wondering how she’d go forward from this. “Lieutenants Dareia and Walberg will interview the suspect and I don’t mean the guilty that has yet to be proven.” She shot Corporal Barnett a hard glare.

He swallowed hastily. “Yes ma’am.”

“Show us the way corporal!” Dareia said to him. She read his mind he was convinced blind that the Terran was guilty.

“This way Doctor Morin,” Professor Nichols said to Kathleen.

Jane and Dareia followed Barnett through the complex. Despite the exterior the interior was spotless with white walls and a dark floor they passed a large open area. It appeared to be some sort of park with actual trees and a children’s play area. It was like they weren’t inside a mountain. While Jane wondered about the cost of this place Dareia marvelled at the neat rows of flowers. Flowers that she had no name for. Somehow Jane picked up her thoughts although she had tried to keep a tight rein on them. Jane had to learn what she had to without leaning on Dareia too much.

“Are those real flowers?” Jane asked.

“Yes ma’am,” Barnett answered happy to be on safer ground. “There are families here.”

“Jane,” Dareia said to her in mind speech. “Barnett doesn’t speak Terran nor do I. Never the less you spoke to him in Galactic a language you don’t speak. It’s our link we’re sharing experiences.”

“You really don’t want to share my experiences,” Jane said reluctantly. It was too late to stuff that demon back in the box. “There’s a lot I’m ashamed of.”

Dareia knew what she was talking about. “You did what you did to survive. Don’t be ashamed of that.”

All it did was confuse Jane. By rights she should have been fighting Dareia tooth and nail for all she had done to her. Yet an unusual calm drifted over her covering her in a warm blanket of safety.

They were led to a section that seemed to have seen little foot traffic since it had been built. Parts of the wall showed bare concrete underneath. Dareia was well aware how little the rest of Erikino knew about this place. She couldn’t even dream of how much this had cost to build. At a door one of several they’d passed stood two of her soldiers in their skinnies sidearms belted to their waists.

“Attention!” Barnett shouted at them. “Officer present!”

The two soldiers saluted the sloppiest salutes they could give.

Even without scanning their minds Dareia was well aware of the anger their minds were giving off. “Is that the best you can do?” Dareia addressed them in scathing tones. She felt sick to her core with what she had skimmed off their minds she hadn’t gone far to see what they were thinking. “Open the damn door.” Somehow she was feeding off Jane’s suppressed anger through their link. It was if they had reversed roles.

Jane stepped through first wondering why Dareia was so angry. Even with the dimness of the light in the room she could make out a figure chained to a chair. She could also smell the room it stank of blood and other less savoury things.

“Randolph?” she queried. She stared hard shocked. He had been beaten up and chained to a chair. His face a pattern of bruises his mouth crusted with dried blood.

“Get Doctor Morin in quickly!” Dareia snapped at Barnett.

“Randolph?” Jane repeated.

Randolph lifted his head realising it was his lieutenant talking. “I didn’t do it ma’am,” he croaked.

“Water now!” Jane snapped. Whatever was calming her evaporated. “I want those responsible for this found!”

“They’re the ones guarding this door. I’ll deal with them you see to your Human.”

Dareia glanced at Barnett his face pale. “You and I will have words about this!” He was just as guilty letting this happen on his watch. She turned back to Jane feeling everything she was. “Kathleen will see to his injuries!” Dareia searched Randolph’s mind. “He is telling the truth,” she told Jane.

“That just makes me angrier!” Jane declared.

“We’ll replace who’s truly responsible,” Dareia managed to take the anger out of Jane.

“Sorry,” Jane apologised to Dareia. “I can’t excuse my behaviour.”

“Don’t we have to get to the bottom of this.”

Jane just nodded.

Kathleen was quick in answering their call. She took on look at the situation and waved her med glove over Randolph. “Ok I’ll deal with this. We have to get him to a Cell Stitcher otherwise we’ll have two murders to deal with.”

Both women were shocked by Kathleen’s statement.

Kathleen hadn’t finished she pointed at Barnett. “Get this shit off him now!”

Barnett hurried to comply as Kathleen wheeled in a gurney.

“Now place him gently onto the gurney.” Kathleen glared at him.

Since he was wearing his armour Jane couldn’t see the expression on his face. Try as she might couldn’t see into his mind. He had the same frosted glass view as she had with the others. “Will he be alright?” she asked Kathleen.

“I know how the Terrans hate Cell Stitchers but it is the only way I can save him.”

“Then do it,” Jane replied wondering why Kathleen had said what she’d said in not classing herself as an Imperial.

“I’ll deal with you three later!” Dareia snarled at the three soldiers.

“We didn’t do this!” Barnett protested.

“I know you did!” Jane said bluntly. “I can read it in your mind I’m a telepath!” She was unsure why she was protecting Dareia after all Dareia was the one responsible for this mess.

Barnett looked horrified. “LT?”

Dareia was confused as to why Jane was hiding the fact she was the true tepe here. She was unsure to what Jane’s ability actually was. “I’ll take Lieutenant Walberg’s recommendations onboard later. We have the real murder to catch. Be thankful that it wasn’t you!”

“You’re a telepath?” Professor Nichols said to Jane. “Interesting any chance you work for us?”

“Don’t push it!” Jane glared at him. “Now take me to the rest of my crew?”

“Of course we had to confine them for their own safety I’ll take you to them. I’m sure you can sort this out.” He paused. “I must beg forgiveness and I’ll introduce to my team perhaps we can get this sorted and go back to work?”

They followed Nichols through the complex.