by Mike Smith
Sofia gasped, wrapping her legs around him as her body surged to meet his.
His rhythm was hard and fast. He was out of control, desperate for her even though he was deep inside her. When the explosion came he clenched his jaw to keep from roaring, dropping his head onto her shoulder as he poured himself into her.
He shuddered with the aftershocks. When the storm finally passed he realized he was holding Sofia so tightly she probably couldn’t breathe.
He relaxed his hold as he looked down at her. His heart was still pounding.
“That was amazing,” she whispered, staring up at him with luminous eyes.
He rested his forehead against hers, “You’re amazing,” he said, his voice shaking a little.
He rolled onto his back, keeping his arm around her so he could bring her with him, stroking her hair as she rested her head against his chest.
Sofia made a small, contented sound, and his body twitched in response.
It was hard to believe, considering it had been less than a minute since he’d pulled out of her, but he was ready to make love to her all over again.
But she was draped against him, languorous and sleepy, her breathing already starting to slow. So he willed his body to calm down as he cradled her against him, content he finally had her just where he had always dreamed.
In his arms, in his bed and in his life.
*****
Sofia woke suddenly. It was still dark in the bedroom, and she was woken by the empty void in the bed next to her. For a brief instant she thought she had been dreaming and as always, when her dreams came to an end she found herself awake, alone and empty.
However, sudden movement in the bed next to her interrupted her reverie, and she rolled over to observe Jon slipping back under the covers next to her. She was suddenly filled with a sense of wellbeing, as she felt him behind her, holding her securely against his chest, one arm around her waist. A wave of lust passed over her at the feel of his strong body pressed so close.
“Jon?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he answered, nuzzling the back of her neck.
Her body flushed with pleasure. “What time is it? Where have you been?”
“It’s a little before dawn, we are currently in orbit above Eden Prime. I’m sorry for waking you; I just wanted to check on your father, his safety is still my responsibility. As for you…” His hand moved up her torso to cover her breast.
She arched back instinctively, her bare bottom coming into contact with his hard length. “How long have you been like this?”
He played with her nipple, tweaking it between his thumb and forefinger. She squirmed against him as moisture flooded her centre. “Just an hour or so,” he murmured into her ear.
“Jon. You’ve been awake this whole time?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep, I felt like I’ve slept enough over the past five years. You’re lucky I didn’t ravish you in your sleep.”
She arched back against him again. “You could have woken me up. How about my father? Is he still also asleep?”
He groaned. “Yes. He is asleep. Looks like him and the Doc had their own celebration. I found an empty bottle of very expensive scotch in his apartment. He will be fine when he awakes, but will probably have a hell of a hangover.” His hand slid down to her hip and he pulled her tight against him.
“So why are we back at Eden Prime so soon? I was looking forward to a couple more days more to enjoy my vacation. I was a little vague about when I was planning on getting back to work.” The way Jon suddenly stilled behind her indicated she was probably not going to like the answer to that question.
“News of your father’s rescue has already leaked to the media. They are talking about nothing else across the data-nets. Already the Senators from the Rim Worlds have gone on record to say they will never again swear an oath of fealty to him. They are threatening to withdraw from the Confederation. The Senate has been called into emergency session.”
“I must go, this is all my fault,” Sofia cried trying to disentangle herself from Jon.
However, he would not let her go and simply tightened his hold on her. Jon’s hand trailed down her torso to come to rest between her thighs, where he started small, circular strokes that made her gasp. “We still have time, as it’s a few more hours before the assembly is due to start. Anyway your father has announced he will speak before the Senate.”
“Jon I must go with him, I need to be at his side. This is entirely my fault. It was my decision to abdicate, my decision to pass power to the Senate, my decision to run away from my responsibilities.” Sofia could feel Jon’s hands stop, his breathing still as he contemplated her words. She knew that part of him must be tearing up inside, the desire to protect her, to lock her away conflicting with his desire to respect her wishes, to give her the freedom she insisted upon. She held her own breath, wondering what she would do or say if he refused her this request.
“Very well,” he conceded, releasing the breath he had been holding, his body relaxing. “Then I will also be in attendance, as I swore I would protect you both, with my life if necessary.”
She was assaulted by a sudden, tidal wave of affection for him—and another wave of lust, this one so powerful she moaned. “I need you inside me. Right now.”
“I’m on it.” His voice was low and rough and the sound vibrated through her.
She felt him nudge at her entrance. She moaned again, arching her lower back, and a second later he pushed inside.
He stretched her, filling her in a way she’d never experienced before. He rolled her onto her stomach and then pulled her up onto her hands and knees, thrusting deep. The sensation was so intense she cried out. When he reached around to stroke the aching, throbbing juncture of her thighs, it felt like only seconds before she came apart.
He came too, gripping her hard as he slammed into her one last time, his whole body tensing and then pulsing inside her. Their arms gave way at the same time and they collapsed together onto the bed. She drew a deep, shuddering breath.
“Wow,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.
She loved his weight on top of her, pressing her into the mattress. She loved the ragged sound of his breathing, and the way he pressed kisses against her neck, shoulders and back.
Another wave of affection overwhelmed her and she twisted around to face him, sliding her hands into his hair and pulling him down for a kiss.
He kissed her back as if he meant it, and as Sofia gloried in the feel of his lips against hers she realised suddenly that she meant it, too.
“Together,” Sofia breathed aloud.
“Together,” Jon echoed.
Epilogue
The Senate, Eden Prime, Eden System
Jon looked around the massive hall of the Confederation Senate with something akin to disbelief. He had been in this very room more times than he could count during the years. He had been present for speeches, proclamations and inaugurations. It was in this very room he had been present for the founding of the Confederation. Yet he could not once remember it ever being this unruly. The session had not even started yet and it already looked like a riot was underway on the Senate floor.
Part of this was the way in which the Senate had been partitioned for historical reasons. In the very centre of the great hall was the Imperial throne, to reflect that all power radiated out from the Emperor. This seat was currently vacant, as Jon had insisted that Marcus and Sofia arrive only at the last minute, just as the session was scheduled to get underway.
Surrounding the Imperial throne were the Senators of the Core Worlds. To show their original support for Edward Aurelius they were seated at the feet of the Emperor, his very first vassals. Surrounding them, making up by far the bulk of the rest of the great hall, were the Senators of the Rim Worlds. Those worlds that were forced to swear fealty to the Emperor or face complete annihilation.
All in all it seemed to Jon like a castle under siege, surrounded on all sides by people baying for
blood. The only thing keeping the bloodthirsty hordes back was the small circle of the Senators from the Core Worlds. They looked small in number and were far outnumbered by the Senators from the Rim Worlds who seemed to be pressing in on all sides.
“Well this is certainly a sight I never thought that I would live to see,” Paul quipped at his side, as the two of them looked out across the masses. “A general brawl in the Confederation Senate. We don’t need to worry about the rest of the Confederation. These idiots are going to kill each other before the civil war even starts.”
Jon had read the same intelligence reports as Paul had and shared the same opinion. Officially the Confederation Navy was meant to be independent and to enforce the peace. However, in reality the navy consisted of detachments from the various Core and Rim Worlds. Already the navy was starting to fracture with individual worlds demanding the withdrawal of their forces back to their homes for defence purposes. Even worse was that old grievances were already coming to the fore, with the Confederation Navy already stretched too thinly to keep the peace. The Rim Worlds were already closing their borders in preparation for a pre-emptive strike by the combined fleets of the Core Worlds. Meanwhile the Core Worlds were already preparing their fleets for a strike by the combined forces of the Rim Worlds.
Jon was fairly certain the result was going to be a near simultaneous pre-emptive strike on each other. The outcome was going to reverberate through every planet in the Confederation, like a great line of dominos, each being drawn into the conflict by another. Exactly the same way the last Great War had started, over five hundred years before. The result of that had been the deaths of millions, the collapse of interstellar trade and the human race on the brink of complete disintegration. Jon had little reason to believe this war was going to end any differently.
“Do you think it was worth it?” Paul interrupted his thoughts.
“Sorry,” Jon replied. “Do I think what was worth it?”
“Rescuing Marcus. At the time we gave little thought to the consequences, perhaps we should have. It might have been easier if he had remained dead.”
Considering the question carefully Jon replied. “Does it make me a terrible person if I reply that I don’t care? Sofia grew up without a mother. It was within my power to return her father to her. I never gave a second thought about the cost.” Jon remembered the delight in Sofia’s eyes when she had embraced her father that morning, after they had finally made it out of bed. A young woman who by some miracle had her father returned to her. In return the smile she had given him, the look of childlike, innocent delight. That was worth more than any price.
“No, not a terrible person,” Paul said. “A person blinded by love perhaps, but not a bad one. Well anyway, the session is going to get underway soon and I need to see to the security arrangements.”
Jon observed the session was indeed soon to begin, as he noticed a detachment of fully armed marines pushing through the crowd. Jon knew somewhere within that group would be Sofia and her father.
“Then everything is ready?” Jon asked grimly.
“It is. I have a squad of marines on standby to escort Marcus and Sofia out of the Senate at the first sign of trouble. We have an assault shuttle on standby to evacuate them. The Protector and the 12th Fleet is already on alert and they will provide fighter escort to the shuttle if required.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Jon said, but without much conviction. Both he and Paul had been in riots before and this was what it was going to turn into. There was already a charge in the air, a feeling of restless anticipation. Like a few moments of still before a storm was about to break. “I need to take my place next to Sofia and Marcus.”
“Good luck,” Paul replied. “I think we are going to need it,” he added under his breath.
As Jon pushed his way through the angry crowd, making his way towards the centre of the Senate he was able to observe more than one poorly concealed weapon. Jon had been amazed to discover a number of the Senators were carrying personal weapons and when challenged had claimed diplomatic status and refused to be searched on the grounds of privacy and diplomatic immunity.
Jon was incredulous there was no Senate law on members bearing arms, as under the rule of the Emperor anybody entering the Senate chambers would have been thoroughly searched, even the diplomats. Anybody caught bearing arms would have been executed.
However, under the Confederation such rules and legal niceties were expected to be observed. Jon just ground his teeth together in frustration. Only reassured by the armed marines that had been placed around the perimeter of the hall and the snipers he had personally deployed covering the rest of the great hall. In total there were more than enough weapons present within the Senate to equip a small army and hence Jon was fully expecting a scene of carnage in the very near future.
Stepping up onto the podium to take his usual place beside the great throne, Jon observed the squad of marines disperse around the raised platform, allowing Marcus and Sofia to take their assigned places.
With a simple nod of acknowledgement in his direction, Sofia first approached the speaking platform, as one of her duties as Confederation President was to start the proceedings. Looking out among the multitudes of people who were shouting, arguing and bickering, she announced in a clear voice, that rose above the background noise.
“Senators, friends, and citizens. I have stood in this place and addressed you all many times before. I have spoken to you as a Senator, I have spoken to you as a President and I have spoken to you as a friend. However, for the first time I am speaking to you as none of these. For today I speak to you as a daughter, who has had her father returned to her. I lost my mother when I was young, and for a time I thought I had also lost my father. That I was truly alone in this world. You might remember my father. Perhaps you remember him as a tyrant, a dictator, nothing more than a bully who enforced his will upon you. However, I remember a different man. One who held me in his arms while I cried after my mother passed away. I remember a man who used to leave the lights on in my bedroom, as I was afraid of the dark. I remember him as a man who no matter what the crisis, no matter how important the engagement, no matter how large the audience, always took the time to read to me. You might consider him as a person who cared for nothing but his own power. However, just a few days ago I heard this man offer everything, all his power, wealth and his very life just to spare my own. So today I stand before you as a humble daughter, grateful to have my father back.
I only have one request, as I have already sacrificed so much for you, family, future, happiness, and my love. I have never asked for anything from you in return before, but I ask it today. I ask that you listen to what my father has to say before you pass judgement. For it is easy to cast the first stone of hate, but far harder to accept the hand of reconciliation.
Therefore I yield the floor not to the Imperial Emperor, but to a great man, Marcus Aurelius. My father.”
As her speech had progressed the room had become still. The arguing stopped, the shouting fell away, the bickering ended, and every eye in the room turned to face Sofia. Every ear in the room strained to hear her words. When she had finally finished, all eyes focused towards the raised dais. As the hundreds of Senators watched open mouthed, Marcus Aurelius stood, a thoughtful expression on his face. Instead of approaching the podium he crossed to his daughter and enfolded her in a tight embrace.
The couple stood like that for many minutes, tears of joy and relief on their cheeks. In front of a crowd of hundreds, broadcast to tens of millions, but to them it mattered not as finally they were reunited, once again.
The couple were about to break apart, one to retake her seat, the other to take the podium and to make a speech that would decide the fate of hundreds of worlds and of tens of billions of people. However, it was a speech that was never to be, as before they could separate the echo of a single gunshot resounded throughout the Senate.
Jon was already moving, before the ec
ho of the shot had even faded, but he already knew that he was too late, as together father and daughter both fell to the floor.
Motionless.
End of Book Two.
The Redemption Trilogy concludes with Book Three “Pax Imperia” available in the fall 2013.
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