by Mike Smith
For a brief moment Hackett thought it was going to miss, as the rocket seemed to head off in a perpendicular direction to the station. However, as if reaching the zenith of its flight, the rocket suddenly angled back down, diving straight at the station.
A small part of Hackett’s mind idly wondered why was there only one rocket. After all, how could that threaten his mighty defence station? But as the rocket accelerated closer, a primordial part of his subconscious started to scream at him to do something. To do anything, before it was too late. However, by then it was already too late.
The teacup fell from his numb hands, spilling liquid across his pants, from where it dripped onto the floor. However, Hackett failed to notice. His gaze was totally consumed by the missile as it came closer and closer. Finally disappearing from the view screen altogether.
From inside the station came a sound Hackett had never heard before, partway between a sigh and a groan, the sounds of stressed metal and bulkheads.
Hackett’s very last thought was to wonder if the missile had detonated or not. When suddenly everything around him disappeared into a ball of white light.
Chapter Fifteen
Planet Tartarus, Sigma Draconis System
Of the three of them lying on the floor, it was Sejanus who was the first to recover once the building stopped shaking. Realising he had to move swiftly, as he only had moments to live, he rolled across the floor. Grasping Sofia by her arm and pulled her to her feet in front of him. Keeping a firm hold on her by looping his arm around her throat, he backed away from Radec, who still had his sword in hand. Sejanus drew his own sword with his remaining free hand.
“Not so fast Commander, unless you want your precious Princess with her throat slit open,” he sneered, waving the point of his sword threateningly at her.
Jon just eyed the scene in front of him steadily, making no move forward, but similarly offering no avenue for escape.
“Your sword, drop it,” Sejanus barked.
Pausing for an instant, considering the situation, Jon slowly placed his sword on the ground at his feet, before once again standing to his full height.
“Now kick it away from you.”
Jon gave the sword a gentle kick with his toe, sending it spinning away. It came to rest underneath the sofa Marcus had fallen back onto.
“So, who is in charge now Commander?” Sejanus laughed, tightening his hold on Sofia. Leaning forward he nuzzled the side of her neck at the junction with her shoulder, all the while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the Commander. “I am puzzled though, why are you with the delectable Captain Sun instead of the Princess? You never answered my question of who was the better in bed?”
Sofia looked at Jon in shock and wondered if she had misinterpreted Jon and Miranda’s relationship. For when she had last spoken to Miranda weeks before, the younger woman had assured her their relationship had never been like that. Had something changed recently?
However, instead of appearing angered or embarrassed by Sejanus’ words, Jon simply looked unimpressed. “My thoughts and feelings for Miranda, or Sofia for that matter, are none of your business. Now that you have her, what are you going to do with her?”
“I want to see you dead and buried, with the Princess here crying out my name. And him,” Sejanus pointed to Marcus, who was observing the proceedings with a dazed and worried expression, “To pronounce me the next Emperor of the Imperium.”
“Okay,” Jon replied, rolling his eyes. “Time for you to take a reality check and come back from whatever twisted fantasy land you are currently inhabiting. I’m planning on remaining very much alive and Marcus is not going to be declaring anybody the next Emperor and, as for Sofia,” Jon smirked. “Well, I can speak from personal experience it was not you she was crying out for.”
Sofia meanwhile just closed her eyes in embarrassment, wishing the earth would open up and swallow her. She could not believe the two men were having this conversation, in front of her and her father.
Sejanus just went red in the face with fury at Jon’s nonchalant words, and hissed, “Get out of my way. I am leaving now, with the Princess.”
Jon just crossed his arms with a bemused expression, but did not step out of the way. “And where are you planning on going? My marines now control this facility. The warship currently in orbit above us belongs to me. So I ask again where are you planning on going?” He asked, taking another step closer to the pair.
Sejanus meanwhile was trembling in fury as all of his plans and dreams turned to ashes. Destroyed first by Gideon and now by his replacement, who stood here in front of him. “I’ll kill her, you watch. I’ll never let you have her.”
“No you won’t,” Jon replied venomously, taking yet another step closer. A curiously intent expression was on his face.
“Commander,” Marcus suddenly intervened, as he realised Sejanus was deadly serious and now had nothing to lose. “Let them go.”
However, Jon ignored him. Taking yet another step closer, until he was little more than a few steps away from the pair, he watched carefully, as if waiting for something.
As Sofia stared into Jon’s confident eyes, wondering what he was doing, she realised Jon was not looking at Sejanus—but at her. Suddenly she knew Jon had no intention of rescuing her. Instead he was distracting Sejanus, forcing him to concentrate on Jon, so he was ignoring her. As realisation came into her eyes, Jon nodded subtly at her.
“You're a failure Sejanus,” Jon swore at him; continuing to distract and enrage him. “Gideon saw it, Marcus saw it and even I can see it. That’s why you were stripped of being a Praetorian. The Praetorian Guard does not accept failures.”
Sofia could feel the rage building up in Sejanus, the bunching of his muscles and the way he tightened the grip on his sword. He was totally focused on Jon, to the exclusion of all else and, for just an instant, he relaxed his hold on her.
Sofia’s mind instantly shot back to years before, when she stood in the middle of a garden behind a house Jon had once purchased for his family. Her back was pressed firmly against Jon’s chest, his arm tight around her throat, a knife hovering inches from it. At the time Sofia had only been aware of his warm breath on her neck and the tightening in the pit of her stomach from his closeness. However, she let none of that distract her as she stamped down hard on his foot and, at the same time, drove an elbow into his stomach. She could feel the air rush out of him and for a moment felt some sympathy for him. Meanwhile she raised her forearm to block any attempt to slash her throat with the knife, pivoting around with all the grace of a Prima ballerina, ducking under his arm, twisting out of his grasp.
Right into Jon’s waiting arms as he caught her.
Using the momentum of her movement, he turned with her. Sofia now firmly in his hold, he placed his body between her and Sejanus. As he swore he would do so many years before, protecting her, with his own life if necessary.
With a quick glance to ensure she was unhurt, he firmly kept her behind him, turning back to face Sejanus, who had an astonished expression on his face.
“She is no longer the frightened little girl you attacked so long ago,” Jon replied, noticing his look.
“What have you done to her?”
“Me? I haven’t done anything,” Jon replied. “She has always had this courage within her, it was just buried deeply under layers of her father’s overprotective tutors and your terrorising attack. I just helped her find it. She has taken every step forward herself, she doesn’t need anybody to hold her hand any more. How like Harkov you are, always too quick to dismiss and underestimate those around you. Take care Sejanus, for one day they will surprise you.”
Sejanus just growled in frustration, raising his sword high. “Then it’s time that I surprise you. Time I do away with my replacement, so as to step out of your shadow, into the light, and reclaim what is rightfully mine.”
“She will never be yours,” Jon replied, taking a step forward to put more space between him and Sofia, heedless of th
e deadly sword now hovering just in front of him.
“Commander,” Marcus called out. “I think you dropped this? Here, catch.”
Surprised, as Jon had completely forgotten Marcus was still there, so intent was he on getting Sofia away from Sejanus. Turning in surprise, he saw the object being tossed to him and effortlessly caught it. The little light from the room reflected off the blade of the Valerian sword he now held tightly in his grasp. With a small nod of his head in thanks, Jon turned back to face Sejanus. Taking another step forward to place himself between Sejanus, Sofia and Marcus. Carrying out his duty. A loyal Praetorian placing himself between his charges and any threat they faced.
Sejanus meanwhile had lost a lot of his former self-confidence, as instead of facing an unarmed man, he now faced Jon, the Praetorian Commander, sword in hand, with a merciless expression on his face.
“Sofia,” Jon snapped. “Take your father and head towards the hangar bay. Gunny and Miranda are already there waiting for you. Here take this.” Reaching behind him he withdrew the pulse pistol he had placed in the small of his back earlier.
“What about you?” She asked worriedly as she took the pistol. Her eyes alternating between him and Sejanus.
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine and I will be along shortly. First I need to finish what Gideon started. I owe him that much.”
The mention of Gideon’s name brought her up short. Remembering his final words to her as he held her protectively in her bedchambers after Sejanus had finally departed.
“Then there will be someone else. Someone younger than me, faster than me. Somebody who will protect you even better than I.”
Staring at the scene in front of her, with Gideon’s words ringing through her head, Sofia finally came to understand them. She had been waiting years for Jon to tell her he loved her, but the words were not necessary. His actions spoke far louder than words and she finally realised what Gideon had been trying to tell her, “Somebody who will love you even more than I.”
Turning to face her father, whilst tightening her grip on the pistol Jon had given her she said, “Father, let’s go.” However, there was one final thing she needed to do first. Turning to stare momentarily at Sejanus, she then moved towards Jon’s side. Kissing him softly on the cheek. “We will wait for you. You and I have a lot to discuss.”
Then they were gone.
Jon meanwhile could feel Sofia’s soft kiss lingering on his cheek and smiled to himself. She had not told him to leave, or even be careful. Instead she had demonstrated her confidence in him and a promise for the future. A future that suddenly seemed a lot brighter.
However, first he had an unfulfilled promise to keep. Raising his sword Jon took a confident step towards Sejanus, for the last time.
*****
Gunny and the remaining Marines had made good time in progressing towards the hangar bay. This was mostly due to having come across only a few guards—with only one exception. Having rounded one corridor they came face-to-face with a small group of mercenaries. However, that battle had been short and bloody and a very much a one sided affair. As while the guards had frozen in shock momentarily, the marines had not even hesitated.
Three of the mercenaries were dead before they even had a chance to draw their weapons. Killed by snapped necks, or vicious knife wounds. The only exception had been the lead guard, who had recovered quicker than most and reached for his pistol. However, his weapon had instead gone spinning down the corridor. For Gunny had taken a tight hold of both pistol and guard, repeatedly slamming them both against the wall until the guard had finally dropped the pistol in agony. Gunny had then used both hands to take a firm grip around his victim’s throat, squeezing tighter and tighter. The guard had desperately tried to pull the hands away but was not strong enough to break Gunny’s cast iron grip. The guard had finally stopped struggling and gone slack a few moments later. Gunny dropped the lifeless body to the floor and the marines continued on their journey towards the hangar bay.
Finally arriving at the bay, Gunny motioned for the marines to proceed ahead of him as the massive doors slid open. The corridor in this part of the complex was far wider, obviously to allow bulky cargos to be transported from the ships directly into the complex.
Following the marines into the hangar, Gunny could make out the dim shape of several different ships. The bay was huge. Easily several hundred meters in length, possibly the same in width, with dim overhead strip lights interspersed at what seemed like odd distances. Biting back a curse, Gunny motioned the marines forward as they quickly fanned out in pairs between the ships. Rifles at shoulder height, their weapons tracked in every direction as they spread out into the hangar.
Gunny’s own pistol snapped up, as he saw motion from the corner of his eye. An engineer froze in his tracks—terrified at the sight facing him. Seeing that the man was unarmed Gunny lowered his weapon slightly, before demanding with a growl. “Do you have any business here?”
The engineer opened his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it upon seeing Gunny’s expression. With the tactical armour covering his bulk and the pistol firmly held in his grip, Gunny made for a frightening sight.
“If not, then I would suggest you find somewhere else to be. Quickly,” he snapped. The engineer scurried past him, disappearing through the open bay doors. Gunny had little concern about the man telling others what he had seen and heard. For he knew fairly soon the entire complex would find out.
Turning his back on the bay, and the sound of sporadic gunfire, Gunny stepped back out of the hangar bay into the corridor to consider the tactical situation. There was only the single large corridor approaching the bay, a natural choke point. In addition there were alcoves between the door and the corridor. Obviously these were used to temporarily store cargo without blocking the corridor. It was perfect cover, which gave good overlapping fields of fire back down the corridor.
Gunny was about to recall a couple of marines to secure the entrance when he looked up. Noticing two figures hurrying down the corridor, both covered in tactical armour and sporting rifles, Gunny was just bringing his pistol to bear when he recognised the two marines.
“Sit rep,” Gunny demanded as the two marines finally drew abreast.
“Scratch one security control room Sarge,” Jonas replied. “However—”
Whatever else he was going to say was drowned out by a deafening sound and the violent shaking of the building. The marines immediately reached out to the nearest wall to anchor themselves against the violent swaying of the building. The lights quickly went out, to be replaced with the dim emergency lighting. The sound and shaking stopped a few minutes later, dissipating as quickly as it started, leaving nothing but dust motes swirling in the air, floating gently in the dim light of the corridor, kicked up by the building’s violent movement.
“I guess Captain Harrington and the Sunfire have arrived Sarge,” Jonas quipped.
“Typical fleet,” Gunny growled. “Leave us down here to do all the dirty work, while they sit up there nice and comfy and blow the shit out of everything.”
The two other marines just smiled at the typical ground-pounders view of ‘fleeters’ as they were known to the marines.
“Well at least we know our ride has just arrived. Can you two secure this corridor by yourselves until the Commander arrives with the boss?”
“Sure thing Sarge,” Jonas replied, glancing at the layout with the eye of a professional soldier. “With this cover we could hold off an entire brigade.”
“Very well then. Just make sure you don’t shoot the Commander or the boss by accident. I’ll go check in on Jason and Miranda. I need to interrupt their little tête-à-tête and remind them they should be procuring us a shuttle,” Gunny groused.
The two marines laughed. As Gunny disappeared back into the hangar they moved into the alcoves on either side of the corridor. They laid out their spare magazine clips on the floor next to them and then started to prepare their weapons. With their back
s to the wall, they occasionally glanced back down the corridor to ensure no uninvited guests were planning on gate-crashing their party.
*****
“So I notice that you and the Commander seemed to be fairly close back there?” Marcus Aurelius enquired, last in the line of great Imperial Emperors, ruler of over ten billion people. “Seemed to be a quick turnaround from Oh Father, he left me, he betrayed me.” Marcus tried to imitate his daughter’s despairing tone.
“Five years in captivity. You’ve only been free for a little over ten minutes and that is your first question?” Sofia growled in disbelief.
“I’m your father. I want to make sure somebody has been looking after my little girl. So any grandchildren yet?” He added gleefully, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
“Father, I cannot believe—”
Sofia was so distracted by her father’s question, while intent on following the directions on the datapad Jon had pressed into her hands just as she was leaving, she had not been paying attention to her surroundings. Hence, as she turned a corner it was difficult to know who was more shocked as she collided into the chest of a young man hurrying in the opposite direction.
Sofia only had time to register a flash of surprise in the young man’s eyes and a large red bruise already forming on his forehead when she instinctively smashed him around the head with the datapad she was holding in her hand.
The young executive reared back in fright, unable to believe his misfortune, as this was the second time today he had turned a corner and been attacked. At least this assailant did not seem to have a sword, as the last one had. In addition this one seemed far prettier than the last, who scared the hell out of him with his dark grey eyes and angry looks.
Then the executive noticed the pistol in her other hand.
As the young man leaped back, Sofia raised the pistol Jon had given her. Not really aiming, as the man was barely a meter away, she closed her eyes, pulling the trigger.
