Darkside Blues: SciFi Alien Romance (Dark Planet Warriors Book 4.5) by Anna Carven Page A
Authors: Anna Carven
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ward off multi-resistant organisms.
When he’d left the hospital, she’d still been asleep. He hadn’t gotten the chance to look into her brown eyes and tell her that everything was going to be all right.
He would have stayed by her side, but he needed to get to the bottom of this.
Something had gone terribly wrong. These were his people, and they knew nothing but loyalty. So the order had to have come from a higher-up; someone with enough clout to be obeyed without question.
“Who gave the order to change the route?” His question pierced the still morning air. No-one spoke. No-one moved.
Kai waited for an answer. None was forthcoming. He took a few steps forward, coming to stop in front of a man called Miroslav.
“Miroslav,” he said quietly. “You were the lead driver. You helped plot the route. I’ll ask again, and only once. Who. Gave. The. Order?”
Miroslav flinched, but didn’t look up. “You did, Master.”
Kai froze. “What?”
His subordinate didn’t say anything.
“Look at me, Miroslav.” Kai stared down at the man as he slowly lifted his head. He squatted down so that he was face-to-face with the man, meeting sea-colored eyes. “What did you just say?”
“Y-you gave the order to divert course, Master Kainan.”
Kai had done no such thing. “What makes you so sure of that, little brother?” He slipped into the speech pattern of the streets, switching to his native Eskulin , the default language of Darkside dwellers. It was a bastardized mixture of Japanese, Mandarin, Malay, English, and dozens of other ancient tongues.
Miroslav followed suit. “The order came through the private Network. It had your bio-sig attached.”
“Did it, now?” Kai’s anger threatened to explode. Had someone been able to mimic his personal signature on the Networks? He’d only heard of such a thing being done once or twice in his lifetime. It was near-impossible to pull off.
Whoever had done this had to be extremely brave or incredibly stupid. When Kai got ahold of them, they were going to die a slow and painful death.
Kai stood, looking down at his people. If what Miroslav was saying was true, then they weren’t at fault. They’d just been following orders.
And apparently, those orders had come from him.
“Tarkin, is what he’s saying true?”
“Y-yes, big brother. We all got the same order. It was verified as having your bio-sig.”
Kai suppressed the urge to swear viciously. He had made so many enemies that it would be difficult to narrow it down to a list of potential suspects.
Whoever it was would have a lot of resources at their disposal. Hacking an electronic bio-sig was no simple task. Replicating one so accurately was almost unheard of.
It wasn’t impossible, but it was very, very difficult. A job like that could take years to set up.
“You’re all confined to the compound until I get to the bottom of this,” Kai snapped, as he stared at the bowed heads of his soldiers. He heard a soft sigh of relief from several of them. They’d been granted a momentary reprieve.
“I’ve always been fair to you,” he said slowly, as he started to walk away. “You all know me well enough by now. I’m not some vicious cartel boss who prefers death over uncertainty. I am going to check the datafeeds from all four vehicles. If I find evidence that any of you have dared cross me, you had better make preparations for hara-kiri , because what I will do to you will make you wish for a swift death.”
Kai’s voice was as cold as winter ice. There was no emotion in it; he kept his anger close to his chest and let it permeate every thought and fiber of his being.
He just didn’t show it.
“Tread carefully, little brothers and sisters, because I’m watching your every move. And from now on, it’s verbal orders only until I get my bio-sig fixed. Do you understand?”
He was going to have to get his bio-sig recalibrated as soon as possible, and then he was going to get to the bottom of
When he’d left the hospital, she’d still been asleep. He hadn’t gotten the chance to look into her brown eyes and tell her that everything was going to be all right.
He would have stayed by her side, but he needed to get to the bottom of this.
Something had gone terribly wrong. These were his people, and they knew nothing but loyalty. So the order had to have come from a higher-up; someone with enough clout to be obeyed without question.
“Who gave the order to change the route?” His question pierced the still morning air. No-one spoke. No-one moved.
Kai waited for an answer. None was forthcoming. He took a few steps forward, coming to stop in front of a man called Miroslav.
“Miroslav,” he said quietly. “You were the lead driver. You helped plot the route. I’ll ask again, and only once. Who. Gave. The. Order?”
Miroslav flinched, but didn’t look up. “You did, Master.”
Kai froze. “What?”
His subordinate didn’t say anything.
“Look at me, Miroslav.” Kai stared down at the man as he slowly lifted his head. He squatted down so that he was face-to-face with the man, meeting sea-colored eyes. “What did you just say?”
“Y-you gave the order to divert course, Master Kainan.”
Kai had done no such thing. “What makes you so sure of that, little brother?” He slipped into the speech pattern of the streets, switching to his native Eskulin , the default language of Darkside dwellers. It was a bastardized mixture of Japanese, Mandarin, Malay, English, and dozens of other ancient tongues.
Miroslav followed suit. “The order came through the private Network. It had your bio-sig attached.”
“Did it, now?” Kai’s anger threatened to explode. Had someone been able to mimic his personal signature on the Networks? He’d only heard of such a thing being done once or twice in his lifetime. It was near-impossible to pull off.
Whoever had done this had to be extremely brave or incredibly stupid. When Kai got ahold of them, they were going to die a slow and painful death.
Kai stood, looking down at his people. If what Miroslav was saying was true, then they weren’t at fault. They’d just been following orders.
And apparently, those orders had come from him.
“Tarkin, is what he’s saying true?”
“Y-yes, big brother. We all got the same order. It was verified as having your bio-sig.”
Kai suppressed the urge to swear viciously. He had made so many enemies that it would be difficult to narrow it down to a list of potential suspects.
Whoever it was would have a lot of resources at their disposal. Hacking an electronic bio-sig was no simple task. Replicating one so accurately was almost unheard of.
It wasn’t impossible, but it was very, very difficult. A job like that could take years to set up.
“You’re all confined to the compound until I get to the bottom of this,” Kai snapped, as he stared at the bowed heads of his soldiers. He heard a soft sigh of relief from several of them. They’d been granted a momentary reprieve.
“I’ve always been fair to you,” he said slowly, as he started to walk away. “You all know me well enough by now. I’m not some vicious cartel boss who prefers death over uncertainty. I am going to check the datafeeds from all four vehicles. If I find evidence that any of you have dared cross me, you had better make preparations for hara-kiri , because what I will do to you will make you wish for a swift death.”
Kai’s voice was as cold as winter ice. There was no emotion in it; he kept his anger close to his chest and let it permeate every thought and fiber of his being.
He just didn’t show it.
“Tread carefully, little brothers and sisters, because I’m watching your every move. And from now on, it’s verbal orders only until I get my bio-sig fixed. Do you understand?”
He was going to have to get his bio-sig recalibrated as soon as possible, and then he was going to get to the bottom of
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