Page 33 of Honor Bound

Nothing. Gone.

Rage coiled through him like a living thing. His fingers brushed over the scorched fabric of his uniform, feeling the faint pulse of the protective shield beneath it.

That bitch.

Pain radiated through his chest and head, sharp and persistent. A fresh wave of dizziness hit him as he touched the gash at his temple, his fingers coming away slick with blood.

He gritted his teeth, pushing to his feet.The sting of humiliation burned hotter than the wound. Overpowered. By his son. By that woman.

Julia Marksdale’s face flashed in his mind—those defiant eyes, filled with a stubbornness that reminded him too much of Nia. His jaw clenched. He would kill her.

Coleridge stumbled toward the door, reaching instinctively for his commlink and weapon—gone. His security key was missing too. He pounded on the door with his fist, each strike feeding the rage boiling under his skin. It took nearly a dozen hits before the door finally slid open.

A guard stared back at him, wide-eyed. “Gen… General Landais?”

Coleridge didn’t bother with explanations. He seized the guard by the front of his uniform, yanking him close while his other hand snatched the man’s weapon.

“Where did they go?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.

The guard stammered, “W-who, sir?”

The rage erupted. The guard had barely finished sputtering out his answer before Coleridge pressed the weapon to the guard’s side and pulled the trigger.The man crumpled without a sound.

Useless. All of them.

Stepping over the guard’s body, he grabbed the commlink and security card, swiping it against the panel outside Roan’s cell. The door slid open to reveal nothing but discarded wrist restraints and an empty cot.

His fist clenched around the commlink. “Level Five alert. Two prisoners have escaped—one is General Roan Landais. All personnel are to remove their helmets immediately. There are infiltrators aboard. Lock down all exits and check the lower detention cells for the freighter captain.”

His boots echoed sharply against the metal deck as he stormed toward the bridge. The halls felt too quiet,the tension too thick.The moment he stepped onto the bridge, alarms blared—a shrill, mocking sound.

“Status report!” Coleridge barked.

Commander Manta turned, his expression tight. “The systems are shutting down, General. A full system override has bypassed security protocols. Every system is failing—life support, communications, weapons.”

Coleridge’s breath hissed out through clenched teeth. “What about the freighter?”

“Gone, sir. No departure logs, but the landing bay was opened. We believe it’s using a cloaking shield. We’re tracking residual heat signatures—it’s heading back to the planet.”

His son’s handiwork—and the freighter captain. He relished making an example of all of them.

Coleridge’s pulse roared in his ears, the humiliation unbearable. Roan had outsmarted him. Just as Nia had tried to do. And now Julia Marksdale—the scientist—had played him for a fool as well.

“Deploy the fighters,” he ordered coldly. “Destroy the freighter. And burn Plateau to ash.”

Commander Manta hesitated only for a moment before nodding and retreating to carry out the order.

Coleridge turned, his attention drawn to the flickering lights as systems continued to fail around him. This wasn’t just failure.

This was betrayal.

Andri.

The thought of facing his half-brother made his stomach twist with a rare, unwelcome sensation—dread. Andri would revel in this. He’d been right all along about Roan.

A notification flashed across the screen, breaking through his thoughts. Andri’s face appeared, his expression smug even without speaking.

Coleridge’s fingers curled into fists.Not now.

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