The Prisoner of Eldaron: Crimson Worlds Successors II (57 page)

Elias stared back, but he didn’t respond. Darius suspected his brother felt it would be cowardly to turn away and leave the burden on his sibling.

“And I would ask for me, brother, for my own reasons. For I would have no one see this, watch what I must now do…”

Elias finally nodded. No words came to his lips, but he just stared another few seconds at his brother, and then he nodded and turned away, walking toward the door.

Darius stood and watched him leave. Then he turned toward the prone form of Eldaron’s dictator. He extended his arm, and with a sharp click, his blade snapped out of the arm of his fighting suit.

“Let us talk,” he said coldly.

*  *  *  *  *

Darius Cain sat in the Tyrant’s chair, looking out at the small group of Eldari standing before him. He’d finally shed his armor, and he was showered and dressed in a crisp set of combat fatigues. His aide had laid out his dress uniform for him, but he’d bypassed it. Such formality bestowed a level of respect, even on an enemy. And the Eldari would get little of that from him.

“General Davidoff, step forward.”

The Eldari officer obeyed.

“Your world has committed grave offenses against the Black Eagles, General…and my father, Erik Cain. I have considered the fate of your people…whether any of you are to be spared.”

His words hung in the air. The Eldari looked terrified, Davidoff alone among the delegation managing to maintain a level of dignity. No one knew exactly what had happened between Darius Cain and the Tyrant, but the screams had been audible a dozen rooms away. There were rumors that the planet’s former dictator had been taken away in several containers…that he had been literally scraped from the walls and the floor.

“Indeed, it is you, General, who have saved your people. You have been true to your word since your surrender, and from all I have gathered, you are a man of honor. Though nowhere have I seen a good man serve a worse master than here.”

Davidoff stood quietly at attention, waiting as Cain continued.

“Your planet and your people, however, are guilty of grievous crimes, and they must pay the price.”

The Eldari representatives standing behind Davidoff cringed in fear. Hundreds had been executed already, the lords and ministers who had served the deposed Tyrant. Any who had been part of the dictator’s rule had been exterminated, save only Davidoff.

“All the treasures of Eldaron are forfeit. The museums will be stripped of artworks. The people shall forfeit all currency and items of value. The Eldari, peasant and lord alike, shall be left only enough for a sustenance existence. They will work in the fields and the factories, and all production shall be diverted to pay the reparations I hereby place upon all of you.”

Cain’s voice was hard, cold. It was clear he felt no pity for the people he was condemning to a bitter punishment for what had happened. He knew the vast majority of the population had been uninvolved, but he still held them accountable for the monster they had allowed to lead them.

“General Davidoff, I hereby appoint you the acting governor of this planet. Eldaron shall exist from this moment forward as a fief of the Black Eagles. You will take all steps to see that the reparations are paid as quickly as possible. When that is done, we will revisit this matter, and perhaps we will then look to the rebuilding of this world.”

Davidoff nodded, a look of mild surprise on his face. “Yes, General Cain.”

“I will leave several officers behind to assist you…and a company of Black Eagles to supervise internal security for the time being.”

Cain stared out past Davidoff, over the other assembled Eldari. “Thus you are granted some measure of mercy, some respite from the judgment I had thought to level on all of you. And yet, this reprieve is conditional. If there is resistance or unrest of any kind…if I am forced to come back here to restore order…then I swear to you there shall be no mercy. I will scorch your world to a cinder. It is for your sakes that I hope you hear and understand me now. There will be no second chances.”

Cain looked at Davidoff for a few seconds, giving the Eldari a brief nod. Then he turned and walked out of the room without another word. He walked into the hall and turned toward Kuragina. “You are in command down here, Colonel. See to the final arrangements…and our preparations to leave.”

“Yes, sir,” she snapped back. Then her usual sternness gave way, and she smiled. “Going up to see your father, sir?”

“Yes, Cyn. That is exactly where I am going.” He returned her smile. “We have a lot of catching up to do.” He nodded and started walking down the corridor.

And I am going to get the hell off of this Godforsaken planet…

Epilogue

Confederation Base Epsilon

Titan (Satellite of Sol VI)

Sol System

Earthdate: 2320 AD (35 Years After the Fall)

The glass wall of the conference room looked out over a massive Titanian lake, an inland sea fed by half a dozen great rivers twisting their way down from the distant mountains. At first glance, it could have been an Earthly vista, save for the lack of grass or trees or other life. But the temperature out there was less than 100 degrees Kelvin, and the rivers and sea were not of water but of liquid methane and ethane.

Titan was the home to a dozen mining operations, and a handful of colonies that supported them. And the meeting room was in the largest of those settlements. Huygenberg had been named after the astronomer who had discovered Titan almost seven hundred years before, and it was home to 1,800 hardy citizens of the Martian Confederation…and one small military base that had been hastily converted to house the summit about to begin.

Roderick Vance stood at the head of the table. The Confederation’s absolute ruler was clad simply but tastefully, in a dark gray business suit. “I want to thank you for coming all the way to the Sol system.” Roderick Vance stared out over his friends and allies. “It is…difficult…for me to travel too far from Mars at this time, though I know my own need caused you all to come much farther than that.”

A wave of nods and acknowledgements worked its way around the table. The men and women here had all worked with Vance before, and whatever the differences between them, one and all trusted and respected him.

“Some of us have met recently…and others I have not seen for a long time. A very long time.” A touch of emotion slipped into his voice, and his eyes fell on a man to his left. He was sitting in a powered chair of sorts, and the lower half of his body was covered by the base of the unit. It wasn’t evident at first glance, but Vance knew the man had no legs behind the metal shield of the chair. They had been shattered by years of physical abuse, and his surgeon had been compelled to amputate.

“Erik Cain needs no introduction here—indeed anywhere in Occupied Space. Most of us have fought at his side…and we grieved when we believed him lost in action. Now he has returned to us, beyond all hope, beyond all expectation. So before we begin, I ask you all to welcome him back to the fold…and to the fight.”

The room erupted in applause as everyone present fixed their gaze on the Marine hero, so improbably returned home after so long in captivity. Erik Cain was a true hero, and more than one person in the room owed the veteran Marine his or her life.

“Please,” Cain said softly, his voice stronger than it had been on Eldaron, but far from back to normal. “Please, all of you…thank you. I can’t put into words how it feels to be back among you. For my liberation from Eldaron...for my return to my family, I can only offer my most profound thanks to all who had a hand in my salvation.” His voice was halting, heavy with emotion. “As most of you know, I am not one for protracted sentimentality, so I will simply say thank you once again. And I will assure you all that as soon as I am able, I will be with you in this fight. But first I have to have these legs regenerated…an unpleasant prospect to say the least. Though, the last time I regenerated both of my legs I met a hot blond in the hospital…so you never know…”

Sarah was sitting next to Cain. Her smile had faded when he spoke of joining the fight, but it returned with his light-hearted comment. Most of those in the room realized Erik had endured a difficult time immediately after his rescue, even to recover his sense of self. No one could imagine the torment he had suffered, but they all knew Erik well enough to realize he would never talk about it…not to anyone. Not even to Sarah.

Vance waited for the laughs to die down before he continued. “I would also like to welcome Augustus Garret.” He stared over at the old admiral and smiled. “Augustus, what can I say? I respected your decision when Andre returned and told me of your discussion. But when I heard the accounts of the battle around Eldaron, somehow I knew it was you.”

“What can I say, Roderick? When I met with Agent Girard, I spoke rationally, reasonably. I am old, and by all rights my time has passed.”

“And yet you must have left Terra Nova almost immediately after Andre returned to Mars.”

Garret smiled. “Well, Roderick, he got me to thinking. If I’d allowed rationality and reason to guide me all these years, I’d be decades dead in the wreckage of some lost space battle.” He laughed softly. “Besides, I never could stand Terra Nova, not even when I was a boy. It’s hard to pass the time playing chess and taking walks when you’ve lived the life I have. It just isn’t in me to sit on the sidelines while others fight.” He stared at Vance. “I’m not dead yet, after all. And perhaps not useless either.”

“No,
Admiral
Garret,” Vance said, returning the smile, “from what I heard about the recent fighting, you are most certainly not useless.”

Garret nodded. “But I do have unfinished business while I’m in the Sol system.” He paused. “I believe I owe your Mr. Girard a drink…and my heartfelt thanks for shaking me out of my stupor. Even if it took a while for his words to sink in.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged, Augustus.”

Vance took a deep breath. “What can I say, friends? We have been here before, many of us, and we know well the work and pain and struggle that lay ahead. We are here to share information, to review all we know of this new and terrible enemy we face. And when we have done that, we must form an alliance…and develop a strategy to counter this mysterious adversary. Before it is too late. If it is not already too late.”

He turned toward Darius. “You are all familiar with Darius Cain, and you know his Black Eagles recently fought alongside the Marines against a large enemy army. Darius was able to question the Tyrant of Eldaron before he was…executed. I believe he now knows more about the enemy we face than anyone here, myself included. For that reason, I will ask him to begin…and share with us what he has learned.”

Darius slid his chair back and stood. “Thank you, Roderick.” He looked out over the table. “I questioned the Tyrant…very comprehensively, and I have much to tell you all. What we face is a vastly powerful enemy, one that has been operating unknown to us for at least twenty years…and possibly as far back as the Fall itself.”

A murmur of surprise rippled around the table. The thought of an enemy working in total secrecy for so long was hard to accept. And terrifying.

“The Tyrant owed his position to them. They provided him the resources to seize power, and the economic assistance to grow Eldaron’s economy until it was one of the strongest worlds in Occupied Space. And it was they who captured my father and gave him to the Tyrant, they who conceived the plan to trap and destroy the Black Eagles. I presume it was also they who launched the attack on the Nest while my forces were engaged on Eldaron.”

“Where are they from? Did he know that?” Garret looked across the table.

“He visited their homeworld, Augustus. More than once. He said he did not know its location in space, that the ship that brought him there and returned him was guided by AI navigation.”

“Do you believe that?” Garret asked.

“Yes,” Darius answered. “I do. I questioned him…most aggressively. I believe I was able to get through the few defenses he had left.”

Darius paused. “But he spoke of the world. He described a planet fully exploited, its surface covered with mines and factories and warehouses. He spoke of endless barracks full of soldiers, and great orbital shipyards. The planet he described seemed more like Earth than any sparsely-developed colony world, a planet capable of producing war materials on a scale we can only imagine.”

The room was silent as everyone present considered Darius’ words. Finally, Vance looked over and asked, “Do you have any further information on this planet?”

Darius turned his head and returned Vance’s gaze. “Only its name…”

“Vali.”

<<<<>>>> 

Next in the series…

Inner Sanctum of the Triumvirate

Planet Vali, Draconia Terminii IV

Earthdate: 2319 AD (34 Years After the Fall)

“This is extraordinary. Far beyond what I had imagined. The freedom, the mental power. I am I, all I was before, yet so much more too.” One’s voice was different. Gone was the weakness, the wheezing and gasping for breath. He spoke now through a different medium, one orders of magnitude beyond the primitive flesh that had housed him before…imprisoned him before.

“Yes,” said Two. “We have evolved, and now I see the errors we have made, the decisions, the failures caused by the limitations of our biological thought processes. Now all is clear to me, no distraction, no miscalculation. I see where we have gone wrong…and why. The way forward is clear and open.”

“I concur,” said Three. It is as if a blindfold has been removed. The failure of the Tyrant, the utter ruin of the plan to destroy the Black Eagles. It is as child’s play. I see where we went wrong. Indeed, the speed and complexity of thought in this medium already seems natural to me…and I wonder how we achieved even what we did in our old forms.”

“You have adapted well.” The thought was a different one, alien to the programming patterns that had once been the members of the Triumvirate. “The transition was successful.”