Admiral Atgard inhaled deeply. “Do you propose a truce?”
“Under the condition that no more forbidden weapons are to be produced,” countered the voice of The Unity. “Your punishment will be commuted.”
Daniel bit his lip, and laughed a hollow laugh. “Now that all of our Omega Cannons have been destroyed, and over nine billion people killed, now you decide to commute our punishment?” Daniel snorted. “Your present absolution does nothing to bring back my son.”
The voice continued without emotion. “Do you reject our agreement?”
Anastasia interrupted. “No, Unity. We accept your terms. We just wish this could have happened earlier. We wish the bloodshed could have been averted.”
There was a lengthy pause. “The Unity, too, would have preferred that the Korgians had never been annihilated. Then the punishment of your species would not have been necessary.”
“Very well,” Daniel acquiesced. “You have a deal.”
Suddenly, the viewscreen reverted to show the foursome of Lucani Ibron ships. Without another word, they abruptly shimmered and disappeared.
Daniel slumped into Dex’s command chair, a great weight lifted from his shoulders. The victory this time would be a lasting one. He would no longer need to fear the eventual return of the Lucani Ibron.
Dex slid into a chair to the Admiral’s right. He looked as fatigued as Daniel himself.
“Dex,” asked the Admiral. “Can we go home now?”
* * * * *
EPILOGUE
1 Dec 3050
Daniel held a datapad in his gaunt hands, but stared out the room’s small window as the Cerberus coasted toward Earth. He slumped in his chair, tired. More than tired—weary. Drained. Spent. Not just from his recent adventures, but from ten years of fearing and fighting the Lucani Ibron, ten years of fearing for his life and for the lives of those he loved.
Ten long years of mourning his son.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes, tossing the datapad onto the bed. He momentarily focused on a number embedded within the text of the article: 9.22 billion. That was the toll of the last ten years. Nine billion, two hundred and twenty million human lives exacted as revenge for the Korgian Annihilation, an atrocity now 43 years in the past. The Indomitable, Landus, the Brigadier—they had all added to the total.
Alexis. Ryan. His son.
Atgard stifled a curse. He was, of course, thankful it was over, but must it have played out that way? Could he have saved any of those lives? He had done all he could. But 9.22 billion was a staggering number of lives to lose. It was nearly the number—
Every muscle in Daniel’s body abruptly seized at once. A pained half-gasp escaped his lips and his breath caught painfully in his throat. He closed his eyes hard, instantly remembering why the number sounded so hauntingly familiar. He was a fool for not having recognized it earlier.
He fumbled for the datapad, but stopped. He did not need confirmation from the display. He knew that the Lucani Ibron had won. He did not need to see the figures.
Daniel Atgard knew all too well what he would find: that the human casualty count exacted by the Lucani Ibron over the past ten years would correspond precisely—if they were accurate enough, to the man—with the number of Korgians humanity itself had butchered that horrible June morning, 43 years ago.
* * * * *
Thank you for reading Declination—I hope you enjoyed it.
For more information about Right Ascension, Declination, short stories, author events, and the latest news and information, please visit:
www.rightascension.com
* * * * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Derrico was born just north of Miami, Florida, and developed his appreciation for complex moral issues while receiving a degree in philosophy from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He wrote his first novel, Right Ascension, before attending law school at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Right Ascension was first published by Bookbooters Press in 2000, and garnered its inaugural eBook of the Year Award.
Derrico wrote his second novel, Declination, during law school, while he was probably supposed to be studying. Nonetheless, he graduated, passed the California Bar Exam, and worked as an attorney at a large, international law firm in Los Angeles for several years. While practicing law (all that practice actually made him pretty good at it), he managed to write some short stories and a novella, The Twiller, while always yearning for more time to write his next novel.
Recently, Derrico retired from his “day job” as a big-firm attorney and has moved back to South Florida, where he is working on that next novel, Face Value, a story about a genetically-perfect Utopia where society’s perfection is only skin deep. Derrico maintains a website with reviews, excerpts, current news, and purchasing information for all of his novels and other works at www.rightascension.com.
Table of Contents
Declination
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