Pax Imperia (The Redemption Trilogy) (33 page)

Unsure what he could do, or say, to help her overcome the grief, Robert just pulled her against him, cradling her as she cried. He could feel the sobs wracking her whole body.

Eventually she fell silent and, after a pause, asked in a small voice. “What about Jon? Is he also dead?” She looked up in surprise, as instead of replying to her question, Robert released her from his embrace. Getting to his feet, he turned his back to her and took a few steps away.

“Jon Radec still lives,” Robert confirmed reluctantly. “But perhaps it would’ve been better had he also died.”

Sofia just closed her eyes in relief. She did not know how she could have managed if they were both gone; the two most important people in her life taken from her at the same time. “Where is he?” she asked, surprised he was not here at her side, worried he might also have been badly hurt. “Is he injured?” she asked anxiously.

“No, Jon Radec is fine, or at least he was the last that I heard,” he explained slowly. “But you must understand that a lot has transpired in the past couple of days. You have been unconscious for almost a week. There was no time to explain to you what was happening, so the team that I sent to protect you had to move quickly. They used a fast acting nerve agent to knock you unconscious but, as it turned out, they used far too much. When you arrived here the physicians recommended that it was safer to let your body naturally purge the drug. You’ve been unconscious for several days, and a lot has changed in that time. There’s a lot that you don’t know and don’t understand. I’ll do my best to explain but—”

“All I want to know is where my husband is and why he is not here.” Sofia interrupted him.

With a sigh Robert explained, “Your husband isn’t here, because he doesn’t know that you are alive. I haven’t told him.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because I promised you that I would keep you safe. I cannot do that if he knows you are here. You see, your husband knew of the attack in advance and yet did nothing. Your father is dead only because of the actions of your husband, Jon Radec.”

Sofia looked at Robert in stunned disbelief before she shook her head. “No. I don’t believe you. I cannot believe that. Jon wouldn’t do such a thing. He loved my father. You are wrong.”

“Am I?” Robert asked quietly. “You see, I know that your husband knew in advance about the attack and yet did nothing, as I was the one that forewarned him.”

Sofia was shocked, unable to believe what she was hearing. He couldn't of done such a thing, could he? “Why?” she demanded. “What could Jon possibly gain by doing such a thing?”

“I know what he would gain, as he has already obtained it,” Robert replied. “Power. Wealth. He came from nothing and has always coveted what you had. He used you both, first your father and then you. You were both just a means to an end. He never cared for either of you, just what he could profit from you both.”

“No,” Sofia disagreed. “I know Jon. He never wanted any of that; he never cared about the wealth, or the power. He never wanted any of it. He told me so.”

“Are you so sure of that, Sofia? Have you ever considered that he was just playing you? That he lied to you like he lied to everybody else? If he never wanted wealth, or power then perhaps you can explain this to me?” Robert walked to the communication desk, activating the viewer and, with a few deft touches, started the replay of the broadcast from several days earlier.

*****

As the recording came to an abrupt end it froze on the final frame, her husband’s resolute gaze staring out from the display. It seemed to Sofia that he was staring directly at her, beseechingly, begging for her forgiveness. It was not his words, but his eyes that frightened her the most. They were like two deep, dark, burning obsidian orbs.

Lifeless.

As hard as she tried she could not find a single spark of life in them. It seemed like nothing remained of the loving husband that she once knew. Those eyes were now hard, determined and ruthless. It was the look of a man that had already lost everything and had nothing else to lose, a person that had already seen his own fate and accepted it, who had given up all hope and pretence of happiness, but only lived for one thing—revenge. Sofia shuddered at the look in those eyes, and had to cast aside her gaze, otherwise she would be consumed by it, unable to ever escape.

“What have you done?” she uttered despairingly.

“What have
I
done?” Robert echoed in disbelief. “I am not the one that has instigated a military coup against the Confederation. I am not the one that in one fell swoop has consolidated all power into my own hands. I am not the one to arrogantly declare myself the last Emperor of the Imperium.”

“Can you not see that he is hurting?” she replied. “Can you not see that from his perspective there is no other choice? All other possible avenues have now been closed to him and he walks this path in darkness, alone?”

“I just see a man that has profited handsomely from the warning that I sent him.”

“You have no right to judge him, not when it is you that has stolen all hope from him.” She tried to imagine being in his position, thinking that in one strike everything that he cared about had been taken from him. What would she do? “You have taken everything from him,” she tried to convince him. “Look past his words, look into his eyes. There is nothing left, only despair. You
must
let me talk to him, as I can still reach him. I can still convince him to change direction, away from this destructive course he has set.”

“I cannot do that.”

“I don’t understand. Why not? What is it you are not telling me?”

“It’s not just what I want,” Robert said hesitantly, looking unsure. “I am responsible for millions of lives. If the people behind this discover that I have helped him, they will destroy me, us—utterly.”

“Then tell Jon. He will help you.”

“I cannot do that. This isn’t my fight. We will continue to stay neutral and you’ll stay here with me, under my personal protection.”

“Somebody once told me that you cannot hide behind your responsibilities forever. At some point you need to choose a side, to do the
right
thing.”

“That sounds like a very wise person,” Robert sighed.

“My husband, Jon, once said those words to me.”

“Then you have my sympathies, as he really doesn’t understand who he’s dealing with. I cannot warn him, for he cannot win this war and I have far too much to lose. You are welcome to wander freely around my personal apartments, but I am afraid that you cannot leave and I cannot allow you to contact anybody. For what it’s worth I am sorry. Truly I am. Your husband once taught me the meaning of true honour and respect, and for that I can never repay him. It’s just a shame that he has lost his.” With those parting words, Robert Calis, leader of the Callas Star Cluster, stepped through the door and was gone.

Sofia did not need to approach the door to know that it would be locked. This prison might have been far more comfortable than most, but it was still a jail. Instead she turned her gaze back to the final frame of Jon’s broadcast, still frozen on the view-screen. His expressionless face and piercing eyes still staring out at her. She shuddered, wondering what he was going to do next. What he would do when he found those responsible for the attack, as Sofia was in no doubt that he would. For she believed him when he said he would spend the rest of his life trying and, when he found them—she shuddered again.

*****

Sofia trailed her fingers through the crystal clear waters, watching in fascination as the wake caused by her fingertips resulted in ripples emanating away in all directions. Some of the ripples reached the edge of the pond and rebounded, colliding with others, causing new disturbances in the surface of the water.

Staring at her reflection in the now still waters, she noticed that her skin had turned a sickly-white; she could not remember the last time that she had felt sunlight on her face. She had not been outside once in the several weeks since she had regained consciousness. She knew she had also lost weight, and was starting to look painfully thin, but still she had no appetite. For a person who had always remained constantly active the enforced idleness bothered her most of all. She found her thoughts constantly wandering, was unable to maintain her focus, her concentration slipping away from her, her brain unable to keep even a single continuous notion. She found herself constantly worrying about Jon, for she found an emptiness inside of herself, a profound sadness that would not disappear but, instead, just seemed to grow daily. She wondered if it was her own pain at their separation, or his, for they seemed to share an inexplicable bond, a constant awareness of each other.

She giggled as she felt the fish nibbling on her fingertips. They had been startled away at first, but now that her hands had stilled they had returned, darting first one way, then the next, before swimming back to once again bite at her fingers. These days the fish were her only constant companions. The only other bright spot of her day was the few hours Robert managed to set aside for her each evening. The highpoint of this time was when he shared what little news that he had heard about Jon during the day. She had still not managed to convince him to contact Jon and let him know that she was alive, safe and well. What was worse were the endless hours that she spent alone, hearing Robert’s words echoing around her head, that Jon had been forewarned, yet had done nothing. That it was because of him that her father was dead. She yearned to talk to him so much it was becoming an obsession. Just to hear his words of reassurance that he did not know in advance, that he had done everything in his power to stop what had happened…

With a light touch to her cheek a concerned voice behind her gently chided. “You need to eat more, my dear. You are looking far too thin and pale. You know that my physician warned that you are not eating enough.” The light touch trailed along her cheek to brush a lock of hair that had come loose back behind her ear.

Just like every time before, she shied away from his touch, but each time it was becoming harder. For his touch reminded her so much of Jon, and she could barely remember what it had been like to be touched by him. But while Robert’s touch was soft, gentle, it did not leave a trail of fire across her skin like Jon’s touch used to. She wondered if she would ever see him again and feel his touch? “How long are you going to keep me here, imprisoned?” she instead asked.

Robert sighed, “I don’t know. It’s hardly me setting the timetable for events these days.”

“Then who is?” she quickly inquired. Robert had remained purposefully vague about who was behind the attack, instead just suggesting she was better off, and safer, not knowing.

Once again he just shook his head in reply.

“So how did you know about the attack?” she instead asked, deciding to try a different approach.

“My mother. She was not fond of your father, or Jon Radec for that matter. She made her feelings well known to all. So the people behind this approached her with an offer. They needed money to finance their plans and, in return, they offered her a position of power in the new administration. Naturally my mother accepted. I knew nothing about this. It was not until after her death that I found out. I did what I could to warn the Confederation, as I sent my most trusted aide to warn them. I didn’t know who else was involved, who I could trust, but I remember the Commander was a man of honour, of integrity, so we agreed that my aide would contact him personally.”

“I remember Jon telling me about the message. He said that he was going to meet whoever sent it, but that was the last that I heard of him.”

“So he did pass on my warning, yet your husband did nothing. His inaction damns him Sofia. Why can you not open your eyes and see that?”

“So what about me?” she asked, not wanting to dwell on that question. “How come you managed to save only me?”

“I was worried about you. I knew that there was going to be an attack, but not the specifics, so I sent a covert team to shadow you. I gave them orders to intervene only if your life was in danger.”

“And my father?”

“I am sorry, no. He was in the Senate at the time of the attack, far beyond my reach. There was nothing that I could do.”

Sofia watched as the tears from her cheeks splashed into the still pool, once again causing the fish to dart away, startled.

Not knowing what he could say to ease her pain, he instead wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “Come on, let’s go and get some dinner. I know for a fact that the chef has prepared all your favourite dishes. At least I instructed him to, and he better have if he still wishes to remain in my employment tomorrow.”

Sofia looked up at him with a weak smile of thanks. He really was very sweet when he tried to be charming.

*****

The abrupt emergence of several massive wormholes denoted the arrival of the Confederation taskforce as it emerged from faster-than-light travel. The taskforce was on a high state of alert as they were unsure who, or what, might be awaiting them. After carefully scanning local space and not finding any imminent threats, they powered down their weapon systems, moving deeper into the Callas Star Cluster, their final destination Callas Prime, home to Senator Calis, one of the last surviving Confederation Senators.

Miranda tapped her fingers impatiently against the armrest of the Executive Officer’s chair on the bridge. When she had first arrived on the warship, the Executive Officer had hurriedly abandoned his seat, offering it to her instead, and no amount of convincing had been able to change his mind. Miranda privately thought that Jon had given personal instructions to the crew, as they seemed to treat her with a level of respect far greater than her civilian position entitled her to. She wondered what Jon had offered, or threatened them with, to ensure their compliance. Mostly Miranda was just frustrated at the length of time it had taken to ready the taskforce. Jason had warned her, time and time again, that the Confederation Navy moved at its own pace, and it had taken many weeks to ready the taskforce. Most of the time had been taken awaiting the arrival of their heavy destroyer,
Warspite
, as Jason had informed her it was on patrol far out on the Rim of known space when it had been recalled. Miranda had no idea why Jon had insisted on this warship, and this particular captain.