Hammond Point

Jacob sat facing his console, reading the endless stream of facts and figures that scrolled before his eyes. Gino had failed. The new general had reached the White Spear alive. It was now going to be far more complicated to remove him from within the towers.

Gail Thompson's absence had left a hole in the security forces' command structure, a hole that was big enough to exploit in many ways. With a new general now sitting in her place, those opportunities would disappear day by day. Jacob had only found out about the new general an hour before his arrival. He had notified Gino at once. It had been short notice, but Gino was one of the best. He should have been able to take down the Albatross. Jacob had been counting on it, but Gino had failed this time.

Jacob sat back in his chair and rubbed his face with both hands. Nothing was going to plan. Hammond Point had been his home for the last few weeks. This far underground, it was difficult to see the sunny side of life. The Battle of Havers Compound was never far from his thoughts. It had been a great victory for the Kamari, but a victory that had come at a heavy price. Isor's death had left Jacob searching for answers. He had run the battle through his mind a thousand times, looking for where it might have gone wrong. It had been a good plan. The security forces had been drawn into the Kamari trap as planned. They had taken heavy losses. Isor had taken every precaution. Jacob could see no fault in what he had done that day. No matter how many times he ran it through his head, he could find only one mistake that had cost Isor his life. It always came back to Roy.

It had been Roy who had tried to negotiate with Chambers after he had penetrated their defences. Chambers had followed them through a portal. He and his men had killed Isor and destroyed the satellite-grid controller. Jacob had taken his revenge on Chambers, but it had been too late to save Isor's life. If Roy had waited for reinforcements, instead of trying to talk Chambers into joining the Kamari, Isor might still be alive. Jacob hated his father for what he had done.