Chapter 26

Julian Bless

"I am Julian Bless. I am Elysium." The video of Bless' face blinked off the screen inside Karr's drone. A New Federation logo went up on the screen.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Karr tossed a handheld device against the hull of the aircraft.

"I uh, I don't know, Sir." The co-pilot hit buttons on his control panel. "I don't know where the feed came from, I uh . . ."

"Why did we lose the audio from squad six? Where are they? I can see the drones firing into that com tower right in front of me. So, where the hell is my audio?"

"Audio feed is back up, Sir. Team 6, Sergeant Rios, is asking for you."

"Team six to Commander Karr." Sergeant Rios' image popped up on the screen.

"I'm here." The commander's teeth ground. "Where are they?"

"We are on the fifth floor now, Sir." His report squawked over the feed. "The drones fired, and I'm afraid no one is here."