Warlord Conquering (The Great Insurrection Book 3)

by David Beers

  Alistair stared at the floor, quiet for a time. When he turned back to Ares, the man's eyes weren’t pensive. They were hard. "I don't hold you at fault, Ares. You're only following orders, and that's all you've been doing your whole life. I do hold those above you responsible, though. You are a tool, but they are the carpenters. The ones wielding you took everything from me." The last sentence was almost a snarl.

  Alistair stood up. Perhaps he was Prometheus at that point. Ares wasn't sure who he was speaking to.

  "They took it all, and for what reason? Because I let some parents live? Because I didn't cut them down as the order told me to?"

  He walked to the edge of the cell, his back to Ares. "I don't hold you responsible, but if you stay on their side, Ares, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to bring it all down, everything the Commonwealth stands for. I'm going to stand over the Ascendant as he says his last words. You decide which side you want to be on."

  Ares closed his eyes. "I already have."

  There was silence for a moment, then Alistair responded, "So be it."

  Ares heard his cell wall close.

  Chapter Two

  “The Ascendants have never understood anything. Even my father was a fool.”

  —The AllSeer

  Ajax, the Myrmidon of the Superior, had watched the pod streak across the blackness of space. He'd realized the humans had tricked him, and true anger grew within the creature. It had all been a setup—probably even that they had felt the AllMother.

  Ajax didn't overreact. He didn't destroy anything or kill any slaves. Rather, he and his fleet remained where they were and watched as the Commonwealth's dreadnought was slowly eaten away by the Myrmidons’ weapons. In the end, only a few pieces of metal were left to float in the universal darkness.

  When it was finished, a voice spoke behind Ajax's chair. "She is not in your grasp."

  Ajax stood and turned. A shadow leaned against the far wall. Ajax took a knee and bowed his head.

  The shadow spoke again. "She is still alive, but for how long, Ajax?"

  He didn't apologize. There was no room for that in the Superior's mind. "We are still very close, Master."

  The shadow was quiet for some time. Ajax knew the AllSeer never rushed anything. He saw no need because the universe's arc would always bend to his will.

  The shadow slowly moved across the wall. Ajax didn't look up but kept his head bowed.

  "The Prophesied One is troublesome," the shadow mused. "He continues to impress me. My sister has an eye for talent." He grew quiet again, and Ajax remained in his position, waiting for instructions. "She brought a new player into the game, and I would be remiss if I did not admit that it changes things. My natural reaction is to remove the piece."

  The shadow stopped moving, and Ajax looked up.

  "My sister has always been arrogant, and she has become more so as she has aged. She thinks she can hide everything from me at will, but she's wrong. She always has been on that account. To remove the piece, we need not chase him. We simply need to position ourselves where he is heading and wait for him. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, master," Ajax responded.

  "I will tell you where to go. When the Prophesied One arrives, kill him. If you can, take my sister, but for now, we need to remove the new piece from the game. Things will then revert to the natural order."

  Ajax lowered his head again. He had his orders: kill the newcomer. "It will be done."

  Chapter Three

  “All is fair in love and war.”

  —Origin Unknown

  Thoreaux understood how bad their position was. He knew Prometheus was well aware of it, too.

  They found themselves in charge of a dreadnought that was almost completely locked down. The crew could have risen against their new overlords, but Prometheus' threat had kept them from attempting it. He had told them he'd open all the doors on the dreadnought except to the bridge. Nearly everyone on the ship would be evacuated into space.

  Thoreaux knew Prometheus would do it. Cruel? Yes, but it was necessary. It was the only thing keeping their small group alive.

  Another twenty-four hours had passed, and they were expecting a communication from the Commonwealth shortly.

  Pro hadn't come to him yet, but Thoreaux thought he would soon. Something would need to be said about him disobeying Pro's letter. He'd been told to wait until the Fallen Titan’s return, but instead, he'd brought his whole council to help save him. Truthfully, the man had needed saving, or right now, he'd most likely still be Clipped and heading back to Earth.

  The past twenty-four hours had been tense for Thoreaux. He'd gotten medical attention for his wounded shoulder, the wound courtesy of the godsdamned Titans. During that time, he’d only been able to consider how perfectly he was fitting in with his parents’ lineage. They had disobeyed the AllMother. Out of everything they had done in life, that was what they would be remembered for because they had died right after.

  Thoreaux was still alive, but in typical military cultures, given his refusal of direct orders from his leader, death wasn't unheard of.

  He didn't think he'd be killed, but removed from his position? That wasn't only possible but probable. He'd done what was necessary, but it wasn't what he'd been ordered to do.

  He couldn't be trusted. At least, that was what Pro had to be thinking.

  Can I? Thoreaux had wondered during those twenty-four hours. He didn't have an answer, or at least not a simple one. Would Thoreaux ever trade on their movement? Sell someone out and join the Commonwealth? He'd die before that happened.

  Would he disobey an order he thought would harm their movement? Yes.

  Thoreaux had been manning the bridge when Pro finally came. He had Relm in tow, and Thoreaux knew that meant he and Pro were about to go talk somewhere because he had four hours left on his shift.

  Relm touched his uninjured shoulder. "I'll take over, broth."

  Thoreaux nodded as his eyes found Pro's.

  "You mind if we talk for a bit?" Prometheus asked.

  "Yeah, I figured you might want to."

  No one said anything else. Thoreaux followed Prometheus off the bridge, but they didn't stop at any of the small rooms in the intervening hallways. No, Pro was leading him to his quarters, and Thoreaux felt ice growing in his stomach. He wasn't going to be executed; he was almost sure about that, yet if he were, privacy would be needed. The Primus' quarters was the place for it.

  No one but Prometheus had access to that room.

  It was a short walk from the bridge. When they arrived, the room recognized Pro’s programmed identity code, and as he stepped into the room, Thoreaux saw the Whip on his belt. It appeared to be inactive, but what did he know about it? Not much, that's what.

  He took a deep breath, then stepped in after Prometheus. He wasn't interested in what the quarters looked like. His eyes remained on the Fallen Titan as he tried to convince himself violence would not take place.

  The door closed, and the two of them were alone.

  Pro didn't turn around. He brought both hands to his hips, his huge back to Thoreaux.

  "I'm sorry for what I did," Pro said.

  Thoreaux's mouth dropped open. He couldn't find a single word to say, and he felt he might collapse from relief.

  "I made a decision, and it was the wrong one. I guess I'm doubly sorry if that's a thing." He turned, and when he saw Thoreaux's face, his own grew confused. "What's wrong?"

  Thoreaux said nothing, only let his eyes fall to the Whip.

  Pro looked down too, pausing when he saw the weapon. When he looked back, a shocked smile had come to his face. "You're kidding me, right? You thought I was going to hurt you?"

  Thoreaux closed his eyes and took another deep breath. When he let it out, he steadied himself, realizing he wasn't in danger and he might not even be demoted. "I disobeyed a direct order. I endangered everyone in your council."

  "You saved our lives," Prometheus finished. "If it wasn’t for your courage,
the AllMother and I would be dead. You disobeyed an order that would have destroyed everything she's built. That's why I called you here. That, and to apologize for being stupid."

  Thoreaux didn't know if he'd ever heard a leader talk this way. He was stunned.

  "Here, sit down." Pro threw a pillow off the couch to make room, then reached over and guided his second to sit down. "You look like you might faint."

  Thoreaux sat and looked at him. "I'm all right."

  "Need water? This Primus has everything you could want in here. She even has booze if you want a drink."

  "Yeah, some water," Thoreaux said. He hadn't realized how stressed he'd been. How deeply his parents' legacy had been burned into his mind, and that he'd felt he was following in their footsteps. He’d thought everyone else saw it too.

  Pro returned with a cup of water and handed it to him.

  Thoreaux drank it greedily, his hand shaking as he did. "Thanks," he said after finishing.

  "Any time you’re sure I’ve made the wrong decision, I need you to take action. I can't guarantee I won't do it again. I'm going to make decisions that appear rash and overly dangerous. Sometimes they will be, but that's my blind spot. My whole life, I've been the best at what I do. A killer, I guess, but the best at it. Now that I'm in this new body, everything feels limitless. I need you to cover my blind spots. I need you to disobey me if it's going to save us. That doesn't mean the two of us are always going to agree in the end about who made the right call, but I trust you to do what you think is right. That's what I need."

  Thoreaux grabbed his right hand with his left, hoping to stop the shaking.

  "I know about your parents," Pro said. "Some people on Earth, they put stock in family lineage. Even after everything I did as a Titan, the greatest families wouldn't sit with me at dinner. Not because they didn't like that I’d killed people, but because my bloodline wasn't on their level. I don't care about what your parents did. I only care about what you do, and right now, you saved us all. There are thousands of people back on Phoenix who will continue living because of what you did."

  Thoreaux nodded. “I had to do it, Pro. I hope you know that. It wasn't that I don't trust you. It wasn't that I thought you were going to get the AllMother hurt. No man is big enough to foresee everything. I didn't do it to disobey. I did it to help."

  Pro went to his knees in front of Thoreaux. "I'm asking you to see my blind spots. If we're going to survive this, I need you. Relm, Faitrin, Servia—they all serve a purpose in this war, but perhaps yours is the most important. Temper the worst parts of me. Save me from myself, Thoreaux. Do you accept me as your leader?"

  Thoreaux nodded.

  "As your leader, I'm asking you to leave your family's legacy behind and help me win this battle. Will you do that?"

  "If that's what you need, I will do it," Thoreaux answered.

  There was a bang on the door, and they both glanced at it. The panel to the right showed it was Servia.

  "The Commonwealth's message," Thoreaux said.

  Pro nodded, then stood up, walked over to the door, and pressed his hand to the panel. The ship hadn’t been reprogrammed for voices yet, only body signatures.

  "It's here," Servia said as the door opened. "Their message."

  "Have you watched it?" Pro asked.

  She shook her head. "No one has. We've been waiting for you."

  Pro looked at Thoreaux. "You ready?"

  Thoreaux didn't glance at his hands. The shaking had settled. "I'm ready," he answered, hoping he was.

  Alistair had needed to accomplish an incredible number of tasks in the past twenty-four hours. He'd taken two stim packs, which the medbay had willingly given him. Everyone on this ship might hate him, thinking him evil incarnate, but they understood he could have them killed with a word.

  Talking to Thoreaux had been a priority, and he was glad he'd done it. He hadn't known his second had been so worried. Alistair wouldn’t hurt anyone in this group unless they stood between him and his wife. He knew he'd have to talk to Thoreaux again because he wanted the man to truly trust him. If he was going to make it back to Earth, Thoreaux had to watch his six. It was the only way. He had to become what Ares had once been for him.

  There would be time for another conversation. A lot depended on what happened with the coming message.

  His whole council was here except for Relm. He would watch the bridge, ensuring that if an insurrection happened, Alistair would know in time. The AllMother and Faitrin were waiting as the other three entered the room.

  Alistair looked at Faitrin, the only one in the room who could harmonize with the ship's AI system. She also seemed to have adopted the AI system she'd brought from Terram. The two of them were friends, from what Alistair could tell.

  "You ran the security tests? No code in this message that could take out the ship?"

  Faitrin nodded. "And I had Jeeves double-check it. The message is clean."

  Jeeves was what she called the AI now. Alistair had never heard the name before, and when he asked where it had come from, Faitrin had shrugged.

  "The AI gave it to me. I think it's some kind of a joke because of his accent. You'll have to ask Jeeves if you want the answer."

  They were in one of the ship's smaller meeting rooms. The table came to life and projected a holovid a foot above it. Everyone in the room knew who they were looking at: the Imperial Ascendant, Alexander de Finita. Alistair had served the man for his entire adult life. Everything he'd believed in had been embodied in him.

  He'd met him twice, though he doubted the Ascendant would remember. Looking at his face now, Alistair thought he’d hardly aged a day.

  He immediately knew something was wrong with the message. They could have sent audio only, and the transmission would have taken half the time. However, the Commonwealth wanted those on this ship to see something.

  The Ascendant's voice filled the room, bold, strong, and showing no hint of worry. "This message is for the traitor Alistair Kane. You have violated countless laws, as I'm sure you already know. The commandeering of a dreadnought, while aggressive, will not stop us from finding and stopping you."

  The Ascendant's face had shown no emotion during the first sentences. They had all been necessary to show that Alistair was a Subversive. The Ascendant's face changed after the last, though, showing a slight upturn on the right side of his lips—not quite a smirk, but very close to one. It was a sign that what came next was the purpose of this whole charade.

  "You understand your ship is surrounded. While you sit in the third dimension waiting for this message, our two remaining dreadnoughts float in the fourth. We have more coming your way too, sailing at full speed from one of the many portals we own. There is no way to escape. There is nothing you can do except wait to be boarded or destroyed. I care not which you choose. However, I have someone here who would like to speak to you."

  The Ascendant stepped away from the lens, and for a second, nothing showed over the table. During that moment, Alistair remembered what Hel had told him about his wife. The Ascendant had to know there was nothing else on Earth that he could threaten Alistair with. They could only use his love against him.

  Luna's face appeared over the table.

  Alistair stepped forward, unable to stop himself.

  She looked beautiful. Her hair was different, styled in a way he hadn't seen before. Her makeup was a little heavier and different around the eyes. She was wearing a fashion from First City. None of that mattered to Alistair. She was and had always been the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

  Her voice filled the room.

  "Alistair, they tell me they can send this video across the universe and that you're going to get it. If that's true, then I guess I'm talking to you right now. Is what they say true? Have you joined those you used to hunt? They tell me the Commonwealth didn't want to burn Pluto, but you forced their hand. Is that true too? That even now, this is being sent to a ship in another galaxy because you've taken it?"
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  There were tears in his wife's eyes. His as well. She paused and reached up with a handkerchief, dabbing at the corners to keep the tears from spilling and ruining her makeup. Alistair didn't realize it, but he was leaning forward, his hands gripping the table and his face mere inches from his wife's. His bruised knuckles were turning white from how hard he pressed on the table.

  "I'm asking you to stop, Alistair. I'm asking you to stop everything you're doing right now. It's madness. Turn yourself in. Come back to Earth. This isn't you. This isn't the man I love. Come home, Alistair."

  His wife disappeared, and for another moment, nothing hung over the table. Tears spilled from Alistair's eyes.

  The Ascendant reappeared. His face was as close to Alistair's as his wife's had been, and he had a hint of a smirk on his lips again.

  "Your wife knows about your deeds, Mr. Kane. She knows what you've done and what you continue to do. For what reason? What could cause you to go against the Commonwealth, which has given you and your family so much?" He paused, and Alistair knew what the question meant: I know what propels you, and I have her here. She is under my control and will remain so. She might die, depending on what I decide to do. You, Alistair Kane, are powerless.

  "Do as your wife asks," the Ascendant continued. "Stop this insanity. Come home to Earth. I promise you a fair trial. The Commonwealth is not vindictive; we never have been. Help your wife, and help yourself. Stop this. If not, Kane, you will force my hand, and I promise you do not want that to happen."

  The transmission ended. Everyone in the room stared at Alistair, and he looked at where the holovid had been. Now he saw only a wall. One word ran through his mind, a name: Hel.