The Phoenix Darkness (58 page)

“Because of your strength, your honor, and
your valor in the field, we shall shortly have a glorious victory
over the enemies of our Empire, the very enemies who would enslave
and subjugate our people, our families, and our friends. Let us
give them a taste of our might. Let us cast them away, chasing them
back into the DMZ or throwing them into the great oblivion which
awaits our foes.”

After the ten minutes had expired, the Rotham
fleet appeared. Ship after ship dropped out of alteredspace in
numbers which were almost terrifying, had Kalila not brought such
numbers herself.

The Rotham formed up into a tight,
sword-shaped formation, just as Calvin’s intelligence predicted.
They moved rapidly toward the planetary defenses, which stood ready
to receive them, preparing to give to them a loss of three ships
for every one. Yet, the Rotham charged undaunted, obviously wanting
to eliminate all defenses and deploy their troops before a proper
Imperial force could respond. Too bad for them, a proper Imperial
force was already here, lying in wait.

Kalila waited until the Rotham arrived
sufficiently deep within the system and had begun their fight
against the local defenses. They were now far enough in that they
were committed to the battle. No easy escape remained to them.

“
Now
!” ordered Kalila, and the lights
on the 3D display all began to move, swarms of them rapidly
sweeping around the star from either direction, while other larger
groups of lights emerged from the gas giants.

“Captain Adiger, bring us into the field. Let
us show them what we’re made of,” said Kalila.

“Yes, Your Majesty. All hands, forward
thrusters to maximum. Shields full strength afore, weapons crews
stand by for my command,” he said. His Bridge chiefs acknowledged
and spread the orders.

Now is the hour of our triumph
,
thought Kalila.

***

All went quiet. That was the end, then. The
fight for the Bridge was over. He knew it was too much to hope his
side had prevailed, which meant Mira’s men would storm his office
now, ready to take him out, and then that would be that. Mira would
have her victory and Raidan would be a dead relic from a past when
he had command of the
Harbinger
. But it was to be no
more…

He held the pistol shakily in his hand as he
kept vigilant watch of the door, clinging to the shred of hope that
Tristan would have rallied Raidan’s supporters from the lower decks
and even now they were racing to the Bridge to rescue him. And,
with any luck, take out Mira Pellew. Although Raidan hadn’t seen
her in the skirmish on the Bridge, he knew she was lurking around.
She would want to be there to see Raidan fail, to watch
sadistically as her ambush slaughtered his men.

As he waited, knowing his fate was sealed and
not wanting to give Mira the satisfaction of taking him out, he
considered turning the pistol on himself. He dropped the magazine,
which only had a few shots left, and locked a fresh magazine inside
the gun, giving him a another seventeen bullets, although he’d be
lucky to snap off three shots before they took him.

I could do myself in
, he thought.
Then at least I can deprive her of the chance to take me
prisoner, or kill me herself
.

As soon as he had thought of the idea,
however, he rejected it. With any luck, Mira would accompany her
men in storming the office, wanting to gloat to him one final time
before overseeing his brutal execution.
Maybe, just maybe, I can
kill the bitch
, he thought,
before I go down myself
…

After several seconds of waiting, he heard
them forcing the lock. Although she could have summoned an engineer
and electronically opened the lock, like she had before, she must
have been impatient because, based on the loud popping sound, they
had instead chosen to use a small explosive. After it went, the
door’s lock meant nothing. It slid open.

Raidan immediately unleashed as much hell as
his handgun would allow, snapping off all seventeen shots at the
doorway and taking down several of Mira’s soldiers as they tried to
get the cedar desk out of their way.

He’d meant to fire only sixteen rounds,
saving a bullet for either Mira or himself, but before he knew it,
the slide stuck back. He was out. He dropped the clip and scrambled
to arm the firearm with the first clip, which still had a few shots
left. But, before he could lock the magazine into place and pull
back the slide, Mira’s soldiers had gotten the desk out of the way,
charged in, and grabbed him by the arms. Raidan managed to pistol
whip the first one across the face, but after that he was
powerless, trapped in the iron grip of three separate soldiers. He
struggled to break free, his fighting spirit not willing to give
in, especially since he knew Tristan was coming. He
had
to
be coming. But his struggles availed him nothing.

“We have him in custody,” one of the soldiers
called out. Evidently, this was Mira’s cue, as she immediately
entered the office, stopping a few feet in. The broad smile on her
face was something Raidan wished he could slap away.

“Well, well, well,” said Mira. “Look what we
have here. A rat in a trap.”

“Mira, listen to me,” said Raidan, through
clenched teeth, feeling bold despite the fact that he was facing
certain death and he knew it. “You cannot go through with your
plan; it’s savage and unnecessary!”

“It is an unfortunate course of action,” she
said. “But if the only way to unite the Empire and end the civil
war is to use the superweapons on Imperial planets, then that's
what must be done. I don’t expect you and your antiquated mind to
understand. You’re a relic. I’m a visionary.”

“Try it my way, Mira. You can kill me, you
can take all the credit, I don’t care. But try it my way first,” he
insisted. “That plan will work. And it will work without loss of
blood.”

“It may work,” she admitted. “Or it may be
the greatest mistake we could possibly make. Either way, it's a
moot point, because your plan has been added to the trash heap of
ideas not to try.”

“Damn you, Mira. If you do as you
propose…history will remember you as a vicious butcher.”

“And you would be looked at any differently?”
she asked, raising a curious eyebrow. “Surely, Raidan, you must
know we are the same.”

“We’re not the same.”

“Of course we are. We both demanded strong
action and we’re both willing to take risks which threaten the
Empire in order to save it. And we were both willing to remove
White Rook from power and seize the Organization for ourselves. We
are the same.”

“We are
not
the same,” said Raidan,
refusing to believe it. “I would not butcher three Imperial worlds
without cause, and I would have spared White Rook her life, not
shot her in the concourse of the Forum before the entire
Organization’s leadership.”

“She had to be killed, and publicly, and deep
down you know it,” said Mira. “You’ve just gone soft and so you
pretend there was some other way. But if White Rook still lived,
the other Group Leaders would have tried to mount some kind of
rescue. But with her out of the way, they'll be forced to rally
behind the new regime. They follow strength, you and I both know
that, and without any surviving allegiance to White Rook, because
she is deceased, they're free to follow someone new. Free to follow
me.”

“You really are everything I was warned about
you, and more,” said Raidan. “I doubt there is a Hell, but if there
is, I hope you rot in it for eternity after eternity.”

“The feeling is mutual,” said Mira,
apparently unbothered. She folded her arms. “Sergeants, take aim
and prepare to fire.” Two men stepped forward and aimed their
rifles at Raidan’s chest, center of mass, just like they’d been
trained.

Raidan knew he was a dead man, but he
couldn’t believe things had come to this. He'd been so close to
saving the Empire by trying his one last final gamble to protect
the Human species. But now he’d never have the chance. At least he
would die without having to witness Human world after Human world
falling to their enemies. He hated that Mira had bested him, and
himself for not making better plans to deal with her, for failing
to predict the treachery she had executed so quickly and so
thoroughly once White Rook had been taken.

Just then, a female soldier arrived. Everyone
seemed to take notice of her; her footsteps seemed purposefully
loud. She wore a marine’s uniform with a captain’s insignia. Raidan
recognized her as one of Mira’s closest associates and most
dirty-handed lackeys.
If only it had been Tristan instead
,
he thought, his feelings grim.

“Glad you could join us, Captain Valentine,”
said Mira, looking over her shoulder. “You’re about to witness
history.”

“The honor is mine,” said Captain
Valentine.

The moment Mira looked away from Captain
Valentine and back to Raidan, Captain Valentine raised her hand and
made a signal. It was not a standard marine hand signal, so Raidan
didn’t recognize it, but everyone else seemed to take note of it.
Everyone except for Mira, whose eyes were locked on Raidan, like he
was a juicy piece of steak and she a ravenous wolf about to enjoy a
long awaited supper.

“You do not deserve the honor,” said Mira.
“But I shall allow you the courtesy of last words. What say
you?”

Raidan felt hopeless in that moment. He was
about to be shot and killed and there was nothing he could do about
it. And Tristan, if the Lycan still lived, had not arrived and now
would arrive too late. “I may die here this day,” said Raidan,
feeling a swell of patriotism fill him, the only comfort that
remained to him. Although he’d become an outlaw and fought against
his own government, which had become corrupted on the deepest
levels, he'd always loved the Empire and never wavered in that
love. Even though, now, it seemed it had cost him everything,
including his life.

“But I die with a clear conscience and having
had the tremendous privilege of putting the citizens of the Empire
ahead of my own selfish interests, and the noblest of motives, the
greatest of wishes, to see the restoration of our great Empire. I
happily give up my life for our mighty nation, with its proud
traditions and inherent goodness. Truly this Empire has been the
pinnacle of not just Human achievement, but achievement throughout
the entire galaxy. In my death, I pray the Empire survives. And I
am honored to spill my blood for her. Non sibi sed Patriae.”

“Are you finished?” asked Mira, looking
impatient.

“I am finished,” said Raidan, accepting his
fate. He closed his eyes. The shots in his chest meant he wouldn’t
die immediately. He could expect to suffer, but after that he would
be taken into the sweet embrace of total oblivion, never to think
or feel anything again. And in death, he supposed, it didn't matter
what he'd done with life, for there were no rewards nor punishments
awaiting him. No Heavens, no Hells, and no souls to wander the
cosmos, only oblivion, the state of no longer being.

“Very well then,” said Mira. “I've waited for
this moment for a long time. Men, prepare arms,” she said. Raidan
could hear the men adjust their firearms, ensuring they were
properly aimed and ready to fire.

“Fire.”

Raidan braced himself for the darkness.

After a second, he realized no shots had been
fired. He felt nothing, he heard nothing. Then Mira’s voice broke
the silence, sounding confused, panicked even. “What the hell are
you doing?”

Raidan opened his eyes to see the sergeants,
who had been meant to kill him, had instead taken Mira Pellew by
the arms, restraining her. The rest of their men had trained their
weapons on her instead of him.

“Captain Valentine,
control
your men,”
demanded Mira, looking very much like someone had stolen her most
prized possession from her.

“They are under control,” said Captain
Valentine. Then she looked to Raidan. “Sir, Captain Valentine and
Delta Squad reporting for duty. What are your orders?”

Raidan was dumbfounded for several seconds.
These men had fought his loyal soldiers, slaughtered them in ambush
on the Bridge. They’d taken him captive, gone along with every
order Mira had given them, until Captain Valentine had appeared and
somehow forced them to change sides. Just like that.

What. The. Hell
, Raidan thought.

Mira began kicking and screaming, trying to
get loose. “Damn you, Valentine, you backstabbing traitor; I'll
have your head for this!”

“Somehow, I doubt it,” said Captain
Valentine. Then she looked back at Raidan, who was still just
staring, trying to make sense of the situation. Perhaps his bribes
and threats had worked. It made sense each squad would remain loyal
to its commanding officer, but why had Captain Valentine taken so
long to appear, and what had Raidan done to sweeten his offer
enough to win over one of Mira’s most ardent supporters? He'd
offered Valentine a bribe, but not expected anything to come of it.
In fact, the bribe he offered her had been small compared to many
others he’d offered, and many, if not most, of those captains had
turned him down.

“Your orders, sir?” asked Captain Valentine,
once more.

“Take her away,” said Raidan. “Go to a
discreet place and terminate her.
Immediately
.” Raidan knew
Mira was far too dangerous to be kept alive. She had to be dealt
with as soon as possible.

“
Wait
,” said Mira, still looking
baffled as hell. “You don’t want to do that.”

“I really think I do,” said Raidan. “Kill
her, two in the chest and one in the head. Then do it again. I want
to make sure she does not survive. Then return and report to me. I
want evidence of her death.”