Chapter 22: Ghost from the past
D'Jok felt his heart was racing as he silently followed his fathers footsteps. Sonny seemed to know exactly where they were headed. And why wouldn't he? Sonny had worked in these buildings while he was growing in his mothers vomb. Sonny had experienced things in these hallways, that would make the hairs on his back, rise. And yet, he remained a good guy, inspite of all the reasons he had not to. Sure, he did attack Technoid, but those raids could be justified. Technoid had killed families and friends to many of the pirates. D'Jok had heard some of the stories about the company when he was visiting Sonny in Shiloh. Sitting round the bonfire, with all the pirates, D'Jok had wondered just what had driven them into becoming the men and women they were, why did they hate Technoid the way they did. D'Jok still remembered how Sonny had risen from his seat next to him.
«Fellow pirates, you heard my son. He wishes a deeper insight to life as a pirate. For now, I won't allow him to become one. He has better things to do with his life, that living life as a hauted man. All of us knows what that means. What D'Jok needs to know, is how things came to be this way, why we made the choises we did, the sacrifices and our longings. Now, who wants to start telling?».
It had been a long night. D'Jok got a new perspective on the pirates. If he admired them before, the admiration grew deeper when he learned what kind of sacrifices they had made. Some had kids they couldn't see, they had spouses they couldn't. meet, not without the risk of being captured. What made the most impression, was when Corso had spoken.
«D'Jok, I usually never speak of my past. All I tell, is that I hate technoid with every heartbeat. I came from that planet, from a family who I hate for what they did to me, and my sister. We were sold, as childsoldiers, to Technoid. I've seen others, my age, killed before my very eyes. Technoid shrugged it of as «expendable losess», how can anyone put a prizetag on a humanlife?».
Corso's hands were shaking as he spoke. D'Jok could see his father reach out and put a hand to his right hand mans shoulder.
«Corso, you don't have to..» Sonny started, before Corso stoped him.
«I want to Sonny, I should have done this a long time ago».
Corso cleared his throat, before he continued.
« We were used as testsubjects for a new kind of armed droids. A platoon of 15 kids, most of us only 10- 11 years old, were sent in on a training field. We had no idea of the danger that lay ahead».
«What happened?» D'Jok asked.
«D'Jok..» Sonny's tone of voice was warning. D'Jok could see Sonny was trying to protect Corso. But somewhere a line had been crossed, and Corso was determined to get this off his chest.
«We were ambushed, there were only four droids, but heavily armoured. They butchered us. I lost my eye that night. My twinsister, and the 13 others.. I was the lucky one, because I lived to tell the tale».
D'Jok gasped.
«The others.. your sister..»
Sonny nodded.
«Yes D'Jok, they were murdered. Shot down. Corso survived, but like he told me, if he had the choise, he'd rather not have survived. I understand him. And D'Jok, Corso's story isn't the only one. Now, do you understand better?»
D'Jok did. And from that day, he hated Technoid with all he had.
D'Jok was shaken back to the here and now, as they had reached the critical point. The door that worked with DNA. If D'Jok couldn't enter, Sonny would not be allowed by his men to finish the job. They worried for him. Sonny pulled out the accesscard and inserted it into the slot. He was asked for a voice print. «I'Son D'Arish» he said.
As the door opened, he turned to his son.
«Ready D'Jok?»...
In a room, sat a dark shaddow in a chair. He looked at a screen. He could see no one, as was to be expected. The pirates knew how to make themselves invisble. An active keycard was used. I'Son D'Arish name came up, next to a picture of a far younger man than Sonny. Someone he knew to be naive, they all had been wrong. The next set of protection kicked into gear. The DNA match. Seconds later, it was confirmed. The intruder was none other than Sonny Blackbones himself. What was he looking for? But the more interresting, why did he bring his son into this? The dna check showed two profiles. Half of the dna corresponded to Sonny, the other half to his spouse. The real reason for his hatred towards Sonny. She had been too good for him. She had belonged to him, even if she didn't know it. The villain clenched his fists. If I'Son hadn't gotten himself injured during that football match, they never would have met. I'Son was as shy as they could get. He had ruined all for him. Niobe was sold the minute her eyes met I'Son's. They started out studying together at the library. I'Son being her senior, helped her, and because of his help, she improved her grades. He hated I'Son, he had made sure I'Son lost her, by ordering the one that promised to help, to fly away with Niobe. Who cared if she carried I'Son's baby? People had miscarriges all the time. He could easily have gotten rid of the baby. Snapped that line of the family out of excistense.
He turned to the screens again, just a little more, and he had them trapped...
Corso was on communication in the pirates van outside the Technoid building. It looked like it belonged there, so for now, he felt safe about being here. Artie was assisting him.
«Bennet, how is it looking so far?»
A sparking sound was heard before Bennet replied.
«I got a visual on them, but they're about to enter the region that blocks signals, I'm not sure we'll be able to contact Sonny on his transmitter, in there».
Corso nodded. He had feared this.
«stay with them as long as you can».
«Roger».
Corso laid his headset down.
Artie looked at him.
«I would usually say, don't worry about it, Sonny will take care of matters, but..»
Corso placed a hand to his shoulder.
«I know Artie»
«Now what do we do? We can't enter the lab».
«If we can't enter, we'll find a backway. We won't let Technoid win Artie, that's a promise!»
Artie heard from Corso's voice that he meant it.
But a worried expression remained painted on his face...
Down in sublevel 7, Sonny and D'Jok made ready to enter the lab.
«What are we looking for Dad?» D'Jok asked.
«The antidote for Project Nemesis, it has to be in here somewhere».
Sonny's gaze was searching the room. Where could it have been hidden? No project was ever made within Technoid without an antidote to go. Unless..
«But, Dad, you created the antidote, remember?»
D'Jok sounded confused.
Sonny knew the bare thought of anything happening to the baby, scared the living daylights out of his son.
He smiled.
«Call it a safety precaution D'Jok, just to be on the safe side» he smiled.
As they moved further in, a hissing sound was heard.
«What's that?» D'Jok looked around.
«Dad, the door, it's closing»
Sonny stormed towards the door. He already knew he'd be too late to stop it from closing. As a last resort, he used the seed of Shiloh, in an attempt to slow the closing door.
«Dad, NO! Don't do that, only in galactik football!» yelled a terrified D'Jok.
As the door closed, Sonny felt his heart race. They were trapped, both he and D'Jok. This would turn into a good day for Technoid.
From the shaddows, slid out a dark shaddow.
«Bravo Mr. Blackbones. You seem to forget the conditions given for use of flux in the gfc alone».
Sonny clenched teeths. D'Jok had managed to find the bottle of the Technoid created antidote, and had hidden it in his backpack. There was something about this man, that seemed familliar.
«You should have thought things through before you went against me, Blackbones. Duke Maddox is the merciful one in this company, I.. simply do what I have to to win the upper hand».
The man stepped out of the shaddows, and into light where they could see him. For a second, Sonny's face was the one out of pure shock. A shock that turned into fury.
«YOU!».
D'Jok could tell his father was beyond rage. He was furious, what was it with this man that made him ignite like this?
«I'm surprised you still recognize me, I'Son. It has been a long time».
«Not nearly long enough» growled Sonny, he seemed prepared to launch himself into a fistfight.
« you should have backed out, then she'd still be here, as my wife».
Sonny's clenched hard fists told D'Jok, whoever «she» was, she meant a lot to him, and D'Jok only knew of one woman that meant that much to his father.
«Mom..»
Sonny looked at him. His face was a mask of pain.
«Yes D'Jok. My one true love, Niobe. You're looking at the one that orchestrated everything D'Jok. Not Bleylock, Not Duke Maddox. They were only puppets. He, is the puppetmaster».
D'Jok stared at the man. He wore a black cloack, but there was still something familliar about him. It felt like someone he should know.
«Who are you?» he asked the man.
The man smiled.
«I think you already figured what your father is hessitant about telling you. I wasn't originally connected with Technoid at all. I just happened to get there down the line»
Sonny looked at him.
«Why would anyone, willingly, of their own free will, join Technoid? It defies my understanding. They recruit from schools, pick out the best of the best, and have them trained after their wishes, this way they ensure that they keep the resistance under control».
The man laughed.
«You've been a pirate for too long Sonny. There is more to this than meets the eye».
Secretly, Sonny har activiated his distressignal. The pirates would not be far. No sooner had he thought the though, he could hear the door was under attack.
The man smiled.
«It seems your friends wants to join the party»
Sonny sent him an evil glare.
The man opened the door. Corso and the team came running in through the door.
«Sonny!»
As his right hand man reached him, Sonny felt his hand to his left shoulder.
«Are you ok?»
«Both yes..and no» he replied his friend.
«How come?» Corso was worried.
«I'Son, is remembering how he lost his precious wife, wich he stole from me!»
Sonny starred hard at him.
«I didn't steal her from anyone, she made her own choise».
«A choise she wasn't free to make».
«That's not true».
«She was prearranged to marry me».
Sonny could not believe him. Neither could anyone else. Slowly, it dawned on him what this was all about.
«She broke off the agreement.. for me?»
«For an insignifficant scientist, wich without the help of Technoid, would still be an insignifficant nobody».
As Sonny tensed up, and was feeling like punching the man again, Corso held him back.
«Hold it Sonny. Doing this won't bring her back, as little as anything else would».
«You stole her from me I'Son, you stole from your own family».
«What?» Sonny was confused.
The man came closer. As Sonny could see him, he realised what the villain was telling him.
«It can't be..»
«It is, As I am your long lost uncle. Your grandfather has a lot to explain, Sonny Blackbones»...
will there finally be answers, and will we understand how the D'Arish family connects with The Maddox and Technoid? Keep reading.