Junction Pt. 04

The other option is even more dangerous. Once it is the weave or the part in the weave is used. Teleport the insertion of Mastro97A units into every station and blow all of the bulkheads into space. Species 874, if on board, would likely not be threatened by that though. What information we have, they don't need to breathe.

Their weapons would be formidable and unknown for the most part. Our mages are only effective in the Weave. To man them you have to get the station in the weave including the comms towers for them to communicate outside of the weave. Else your polymorphed dragons are full-sized and in big trouble in those space stations.

Then set them to crash in The Deep. That means they have to have environmental suits designed to have life support. Teleportation exiting from the station or space-based shuttles back to the planet to escape the stations.

I gave you my warning on them months ago with Sylvia and again with HonYoko's military Spec-ops attack on my home to hunt me. I do not have the particulars of what you have found out about these stations, but I will assume it was not good, Your Majesty."

The Gold Dragon King sighed, "Thank you for your input, Jace." The Gold Dragon King ended the call. Jace ended his stealth field as we drove toward Marshal Services Headquarters.

The Minister of Defense looked at the Gold Dragon King, "How in the hell did Jace know about Fredrick Tillman?"

The Gold Dragon King sighed, "When he was 16 and halfway to 17 he was sent to learn from Tillman at the prison for 3 months about computer hacking and alien operating systems. I have sent several Spec-ops people to learn from him. Part of the reason he is still alive.

15% gold dragon, 15% Elven, 15% Species 874, and 55% Human. Attempts to resequence him failed to lower Gold and Elven DNA. As far as Sylvia knew he was killed in an operation. He was a military lifer who made it 4 years in Spec-ops.

Before he went rogue on an op and killed a Royal Dragon by sealing him in a facility and then sucked out all of the air in the room. To buy time to complete the intelligence-gathering he was doing on that mission. He was the last survivor.

Technically there were no survivors as he was listed KIA and placed into isolation. Instead, I set him up as an instructor to Spec-Ops candidates on teaching hacking skills. I have others that can do that now if needed, but he is the best we have for that kind of work. All of the computers he has at the prison are off of the weave of course. Some captured from species 874 facilities to use for training.

He has gotten 5 life extensions to conduct this training and is on his last one currently. Up for renewal. It would be interesting to learn what he would want for this favor. Jace is correct and it is out of the box thinking. Where is Jace currently?"

The Minister of Defense pulled it up, "His vehicle just arrived at Marshal Headquarters."

The Gold Dragon King nodded, "Send him Tillman's file, encrypted and tell him to go to Canton Prison's main entrance via teleportation. Feel him out and find out what he wants. Jace has free reign to get us answers. Put that into a message to the prison and send a copy to Jace."

---

Jace walked toward the building when he got the message and he teleported away to Canton Prison. He immediately had armed turrets swing in his direction and Jace stood there and called out, "Jace River's, Commander Marshal Service. I am here on orders to see your warden from the Gold Dragon King."

2 guards came out and looked at Jace's Holovid message sending him there. Then a second message telling him he had free reign in regards to the prisoner in question.

The guards escorted him inside and one went to disarm him. Jace grabbed his hand, "Free reign means I could crush your hands and your nuts if you try and disarm me. Take me to the prisoner or your Warden."

The guards took him to the Warden who had the message in hand. Jace looked at the Warden, "I want the Kelbin device and have it keyed to me."

Jace knew they implanted one in Tillman to ensure he never escaped without an authorized escort. Else explode. The Warden gave him the device. The Warden took him to the restricted section.

Jace looked over, "Kill the teleportation suppression device to this room and send him in. I know you have it set to block out incoming and outgoing teleport but the conversation I need to have with him, he cannot have here."

The Warden sighed, "This is all highly unusual."

Jace ran his hand under a scanner and looked at the Warden as his hand now included the Mastro97A asset in the description. The Warden nodded and understood the implied threat.

Jace had it added after the southern wilds incident. The King did not object given the fact that RECD already knew it. Jace knew this prisoner was a former Mastro asset. The Warden disabled the blocker in the room and sent Tillman into the room.

Tillman looked across, "Jace. The first student I have had who actually returned here." He noticed Jace was in combat armor, sported a Marshal's badge, and was armed with the Kelbin device in hand and carrying a bag. He sighed, "I am finally being retired?"

Jace walked over and shook hands with the manacled man and snapped the manacles and the leg shackles off. Jace smiled after scanning him and removed a tracker and a listening device out of the man and left them on the table. He pulled him to a corner and teleported him out to Oslon Island. Needless to say, Tillman was shocked, "You killing me or setting me free?"

Jace held up the Kelbin device. "You move more than 100 yards away from this or I drop it and you will die. You have no tech enhancements left in you that are active. About 60 years left on you from the looks of your Ki. Barring any injuries.

Let me start with what you do not likely know. Sylvia is dead, I survived being put into a Mastro97A unit straight out of basic for a 2-year stint. Still, not your record of 4 years, and I know that. You fucked up by killing a Royal Dragon. That ended your career."

Tillman sat on a log, "The first part I knew about, sort of. Sylvia being dead I heard rumors but this is the first confirmation that the bitch is dead. You taking on a red Dragon, one of the guards showed me a vid of that.

You took it to the edge but did not kill that one. I knew you were a Marshal but did not know they stuck you in a Mastro unit straight out of basic training is what you are telling me. That would be insane."

Jace nodded, "With more enhanced training before and after basic for Spec-ops. The Gold Dragon King killed the Red Dragon for the invasion. Her half red and half gold children likely did not help her cause any. One of his sons is also likely dead in that debacle.

The Gold Dragon King has others now to train to hack, those who learned from you, but I threw an idea at the Gold Dragon King but I have to ask you a question first." Jace noticed devices being activated in Tillman.

Jace activated the stealth field he built for the second time as the first went active. Jace looked at Tillman, "The Gold Dragon King has another mission for you. A hacking assignment. Depending on what you know about Genesis stations."

---

She silently cursed, "Jace went to see his old instructor on computer skills. I saw the orders through the Warden's comm device. Jace had free reign with the man. I don't know if he is going to kill him or what. He could be consulting with him on something."

The others nodded to her, "His enchanting skills seemed to have created a damping field that we cannot penetrate or isolate if he moves. He likely enchanted this into his armor. Impressive works from all accounts if it blocks us, it is blocking dragons as well. We lost track of him earlier as well. The communication was encrypted, we could not track the source. Likely the Palace."

---

Tillman nodded, "My third mission out, I came across a terminal with information on them. In RanDabalon, I don't have my tech for the station but it was straight up Species 874 operating system. What does he want to do? Screw with a rival's system?"

Jace smiled and took them to the Astral Plane. He pulled up the technical specs from his own archive. Tillman looked around, "Where are we?"

Jace smiled, "Astral Plane."

Tillman looked over the data and shook his head, "They could monitor everyone on the planet with this thing. Especially Species 874, because the dragons fixed the comms from the ground to the stations for them!"

Jace nodded, "That is the problem. We want to bring them all down. A virus to bring them all down and into The Deep." Jace explained what he told the King and told Tillman, "I knew you were the one to do it."

Tillman shook his head, "You could do this in your sleep. You got skills kid, and I know it. I take it you did not go full bore on those while in the service?"

Jace shook his head, "No, I did not. I was mostly on sniper overwatch as I am fucking deadly with a bow or a gun. It limited my infiltration assignments, but when I went in I always got the data I wanted. How skilled I am in that I wanted to keep to myself."

Jace took him back to Oslon Island. He could tell Tillman was scared shitless at being out in the open. They were on the edge of the wilds and Jace nodded, "That 20-minutes was several days, but I could not risk showing that to you where we could be monitored. The King wants to know what you want for doing this task."

Tillman looked around, "I thank you for the time away from that place, but after 120 years of being underground, this open space scares the shit out of me. What I would like to do is be useful. If my skills as a hacker are no longer desired, my skills as a breeder might be good for CGR if the damage is as bad as they say it is."

Jace nodded, "Directly or via sample collection?"

Tillman laughed, "Direct preferred with sample collections. No computer access, unless he wants me to teach still. He can secure me like I am still in prison, but in his facility instead. Female companionship, maybe even a wife I would really desire."

Jace nodded, "You pull this off for him and I will get this into a deal for you. Maybe even 2 wives."

Jace teleported them back and deactivated his stealth field and took him back to the front entrance to the Prison. Jace walked him back to the interrogation room. The Warden was nearly out of his mind, "Where in the fuck did you take him?"

Jace smiled, "Someplace your embedded trackers and listening devices could not follow. The Astral Plane. You activated additional ones after we left. I neutralized them without neutralizing them.

Don't fuck with me Warden, I was told I had free reign. Tillman, no discussing our conversation with anybody. Any telepaths who come in to question him will find some mental booby traps I placed into him. Not good for him or the telepath."

Tillman nodded, "I know, back to my cell until the next class. To answer your question. You bet your ass, Jace."

Jace nodded and left the prison and contacted Rayne and Sarah, "Sorry for being gone so long. A directive from the Gold Dragon King. Nothing I can get into."

Rayne sighed, "We got the word you were on a mission for him but it was not overtly dangerous. That is what my father stated."

Jace nodded, "Accurate." Jace disconnected them both as he teleported to his vehicle he found three tracking devices. He scanned them physically as well as with his electronics. All of them led up to a higher bandwidth in the Weave and he pulled trace DNA and partial fingerprints off of them, meaning dragons built them but did not place them. He removed them and left them on the ground as they had listening devices implanted into them.

Jace pulled out the Judge and destroyed all three of them. He got a secure encrypted line to the Minister of Defense as the switchboard put him through immediately.

The Minister sighed, "Alright, I got word the prisoner is back."

Jace nodded, "Someone is on to your activity. I had 3 tracking devices on my car with built-in listening devices going up to the upper echelons. I have some police work to do as well. This was parked in the Marshal's lot! Check your office."

The director checked his office over and nodded, "My office is clean."

Jace nodded, "Check everywhere when you get a chance. I took him to the Astral plane once your 'Warden' activated additional listening and tracking devices on him after I took him away.

Find out who in the fuck he is working for as it is not the Gold Dragon King. He was well informed, rumors on Sylvia being dead, seen the vid of me with the red Dragon. I discerned what I feared from him, he is institutionalized. He could never live in the wilds again. It scares the shit out of him to be in wide-open spaces.

100+ years of prison life will do that. He encountered genesis data in the field in his third mission to RanDabalon. He no longer had his tech to access any of it. I showed him copies of what I had. He can do the work.

He wants to be put back in the program as a breeder, with more Species 874 samples at 15% species 874 to draw from. He would like the option to marry, a couple of wives even and fuck around and give samples, directly preferred, samples as well. He wants a lady or two to screw around with.

You can lock him away from computers or use him to teach the young the basics of computer security off of the weave. He did not ask for much, all things considered. You need to extract him immediately if you are going to do this, dragon assets only that you trust. I don't trust your prison staff."

The Minister of Defense sighed, "I will pass the word back to the King."

Jace shut off his stealth field.

---

She sighed, "He is back. Found out Jace took him to the Astral Plane to talk because the corrupt Warden activated additional tracking and listening devices in the prisoner. Got that from the warded.

Jace monitored the prisoner and noticed it. That is when he shut us out. Now we don't know what they talked about. He just reappeared back at the Marshal Headquarters."

---

The Minister walked into the throne room and then into the War Room and scanned the room himself. He found 2 more in place there. He back-traced them to different Kingdoms. Things he could do because of the dragon crystals in his cybernetic unit. The King walked in and the Minister wrote out a note, 'BoYork and RanDabalon. Jace found 3 on his vehicle and destroyed them as he could not trace them.'

The King nodded as he wrote out the entire message from Jace and the Gold Dragon King nodded as he sighed, "We don't have the assets to do this. We will need more planning before we could do anything. Years possibly. Only HonYoko has the technology to do this currently. Maybe BoYork if pressed to pull every human hacker they have could pull it off. We might want to see about starting a project through CGR in the future to increase our hacking capability. Try to identify and breed in those traits needed."

The Minister wrote out what the man wanted and then spoke, "He would want his freedom, unbound and unrestricted with a new identity in RanDabalon and away from us, just to make an attempt."

The Gold Dragon King shook his head, "I don't need an effort. I would need success. He could not guarantee success. No, I might be forced to finally retire him as that agreement is totally unacceptable."

The King signed an order for the immediate extraction of Tillman and the arrest of the Warden.

---

The others sighed, "The listening devices planted by other agents into the Gold Dragon Kings War Room appears to paint a picture that they wanted some hacking done. The Gold Dragon King is frustrated in their lack of ability in this area. He said they would be years away. He intends to kill this human from all accounts."

She smiled and shook her head, "Maybe. He may have discovered them and sent false information as well."

She monitored the Warden being arrested and Royal guards taking the man away. She sighed, "Looks like a retirement party of the prisoner. But I could not tell you exactly where they went."

---

Jace drove out to Avalon and contacted Kindra directly, "I am on my way to see you. I would like a meeting with Levaransin and Director Younger. In private and sweep the room. Many actors are lining up and she needs to be aware."

Kindra sighed, "The border will be informed of your arrival. Have your lights on for your vehicle. They know you are a commander out there now, they should not fire on you."

Kindra went and found Levaransin in the meeting hall. She still had her dragon guard. Kindra handed her an earpiece. "I got this message a few minutes ago, Your Majesty."

Levaransin put it into her ear as Kindra played the audio of the message and looked at Kindra. She contacted Director Younger, "I want the room cleared of people and scanned over before this meeting. You meet with our guest Kindra. You handled this properly."

Kindra bowed and left.

---

She sighed, "Jace is en route to Avalon again. First time since the new ruler took over. Comms in that area is lighting up like mad. They know he is coming and some want him and this Kindra dead. He might be driving into a trap."

They sighed, "He has proven resourceful before. Watch and see what happens."

---

Levaransin looked at her Gold dragon bodyguard, "I am going to need you to leave the room when he arrives. The fact he is here, you will know. If he is coming in person, he might have something to say to me and this is his first meeting with me directly."

The Director scanned the room as nobody was in it for now. He found 4 listening devices. He boxed them for now and took them out of the room.

Jace drove across the border and spotted several elves in the woods. Some wanted to shoot but they were all ordered to stand down as Jace's car was known. He arrived at the parking area and waited for his escort to arrive before leaving his vehicle.

He spotted Kindra walking. Jace walked toward her and noticed the traces of red light on her gown. He flipped on his infrared filter and saw at least 6 others being aimed at her and 12 more being aimed at him. Jace teleported into her group and teleported them to the hall entrance quickly.

The Guards had all drawn swords at that moment as Jace held Kindra's arm and moved her inside quickly. Jace called out, "She was in danger!" He threw over the infra-red images on a large monitor and on a smaller one he typed out a message. 'Get the Elven Queens crown out of the room. It has a listening device embedded into it somehow.'

The Queen held up a hand as the female gold Dragon guard sighed, "That one belongs to the Gold Dragon King."

Jace nodded, "For once, trust me. What I have to say, the King would not want to be recorded. You need to leave and take her crown with you. Contact the Minister of Defense on a secure line, internally, and confirm please."

She sighed and did as Jace asked. She looked to the Elven Queen and took her crown and left. Jace hi-jacked monitors and showed the listening devices and the scans he did, showing 3 different elven 'agents' who worked at the Marshal Service who had their hands on those devices.

Jace looked over, "Placed on my vehicle at the Marshal's parking lot. Likely going to 3 separate enemies of the Gold Dragon King. The car had not been moved as I was on the Astral plane talking interrogating a former Spec-ops agent on behalf of the Gold Dragon King.

You have other Elven actors and those red sights on Kindra and myself tell me you have a bigger problem. They were waiting for us to be together. My teleporting to her and then to the hall threw them off their activity. You know who you have on duty out there and should investigate that matter as well, Director Younger.

Just a suggestion. I did not want relations between myself and the elven people to become inflamed again. Which is why I came to see you directly, Levaransin. For a change I wanted this to be handled by the ESS as all of them are elven. It affects the Marshal Service's building and it will have to be swept from top to bottom.