The Sunfire (15 page)

“I don’t think so. You look exactly the same as the picture
that we’ve been supplied with,” he said, motioning towards the datapad in his
hand.

“Give me that!” Sofia snapped angrily, snatching the datapad
from his hands. She glanced quickly at the picture on the device, not in the
least bit surprised to see a very unflattering photo of herself, staring back
at her. “That looks nothing like me,” she scoffed, pointing at the picture. “Do
you think I have that sort of fat around my hips?” She screeched shrilly.

The guard made the mistake of taking his eye off her for a
fraction of an instant to glance at the picture to double check. Sofia took the
opportunity to slam the edge of the device into the man’s throat. Releasing his
grip on her, his hands went to his throat and, with a gurgle, he collapsed to
the floor, choking.

Suddenly she realised she was in the middle of a busy
intersection and everybody had stopped and was staring at her in amazement.
Glancing once more at the datapad, she dropped it onto the prostrate body of
the guard, tossing her hair back and giving him a hard kick in the groin, which
made most of the male audience wince.

“That's what you get for calling me fat,” she exclaimed in
disdain, much to the roar of approval from the female audience.

The guard on the floor just groaned in pain.

After that the crowd soon broke up, the male members of the
audience dragging their respective partners away before any of them got ideas
of doing likewise in the future.

Sofia meanwhile marched away in the opposite direction,
which turned into a dash as soon as she rounded the next corner. However, after
a while, and convinced that she was not being followed, she slowed to a stop to
catch her breath. Looking around at the deserted corridor she quickly concluded
that she was completely, totally and helplessly lost.

Breathing deeply, she looked around for an idea of what direction
she should take. However, slowly at first, but with frightening intensity, a
cold feeling started to creep over her. Looking around intently, little things
started to jump out at her, a crack here, a faded splash of paint there or a
broken neon strip light. Sofia’s breathing stilled, as the cold reached her
chest, clamping around her heart. For Sofia suddenly knew exactly where she
was. She was standing almost exactly on the spot where Jon had so nearly died.
She could still see the stain on the floor, which no amount of scrubbing would
ever totally remove.

Suddenly finding it difficult to breathe, she fell to her
knees, with her head bowed to keep the darkness away. She could still remember
the scene like yesterday. She could feel Jon pressing down on her, feel his
blood seeping away and the light fading from his eyes. How could she have ever
forgotten? How could she have so easily disregarded the promise she had made to
him, to never leave him? For as she had kneeled over his broken and dying body,
with him urging her to go, she had promised herself she would stay by his side,
forever. No matter what the cost, whatever the price, even her own life. Back
then she had seen the future of growing old alone, nobody to share her life
with and had firmly rejected it. Yet what had she done but barely a few months
later? She had turned her back on him, ignored him, driven him from her life
and never looked back. She had become exactly what she had feared the most,
alone. Nobody to love or to care for and, in return, nobody to care for her.

Kneeling there, on almost the exact spot where Jon had come
so close to death, she made a new promise. She promised this time it would be
different, as she had learned her lesson. She would find Jon, make things right
between them and this time never let him leave, no matter how difficult things
were.

Forever.

However, before she could stand, an excruciating pain
erupted in her back, it quickly spread though her nerves until it encompassed
all of her body. She had never felt pain like it before. Seconds before she
fell into blissful unconsciousness, she turned, observing the guard in the
black and silver uniform. His pistol pointed firmly in her direction.

After that, nothing.

Five Years Previously,

Eternal Light, Betelgeuse System

Jon was once again at the flight controls of the
Eternal
Light
piloting the shuttle to their rendezvous point in the Betelgeuse
system. The Betelgeuse system was one of the key strategic systems within the
Imperium. A red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion, it was the
eighth brightest star as seen from Old Earth and the second brightest star in
the constellation of Orion. However its importance was not due to its
luminosity, but instead the numerous shipyards that populated the system. Their
combined output contributed to at least a third of the ship building capacity
of the Empire and hence was home to the 4
^th
Imperial Fleet, which
was commanded by Admiral Timothy Alexeyev, the youngest and most ambitious of
the fleet admirals. Jon was of the opinion that if any of the admirals were
likely to revolt against Sofia’s succession, it would be him. Hence he was the
first on their list to visit. Waiting for the shuttle to reach the designated
coordinates, Jon thought back to five days earlier, when he first read Sofia’s
draft Confederation Charter.

*****

Jon was roused from his deep slumber by the sound of running
water and—singing? Jon blinked away the sleep from his eyes, wondering if he
had slipped into some strange alternate reality. It was only when he glanced at
the rumpled bed, with clothes haphazardly discarded everywhere that he
remembered what had transpired the night before. He waited several minutes for
the feeling of guilt and remorse to appear, but instead all he felt was a
deep-seated sense of contentment.

After a time it dawned on him he could continue to lie in
bed alone or join a hot, beautiful and very naked princess in the shower.
Quickly deciding, Jon reached underneath the bed, looking for his pants, which
had been discarded during their frantic coupling earlier. Instead Jon touched
something hard and rectangular. Surprised, Jon picked up the object, bringing
it to eye level. It was a datapad, and certainly not one of his. He vaguely
remembered Sofia mentioning it during the night, something about her solution.
At the time Jon had far more interesting things to focus on, namely a scantily
clad, stunningly beautiful princess, with sparking eyes and pouty lips, which
just begged to be kissed. Intrigued Jon activated the device and started to
read the first line,
The Confederation
Charter (draft).

Sometime later Jon was so absorbed in the contents of the
device, he failed to hear the water stop and the washroom door open. It was
only when warm, freshly scrubbed skin rubbing against his, followed by some
drops of water from Sofia’s still damp hair falling on him, that he was roused
from his contemplation.

Sofia finally noticed the device in his hands and the
carefree, playful, look in her eyes was replaced with a guarded uncertainty.
“You read it?” She asked hesitantly.

Jon nodded.

“What do you think?”

Jon was quiet for a long time, long enough for Sofia to
start having second thoughts about her decision. Finally he looked up from the
device and asked softly. “This is what you really want? You would be
sacrificing so much.”

“I want for us to have a chance,” Sofia insisted firmly. “If
that involves some sacrifice then that is a cost I am willing to bear.”

Jon looked at Sofia doubtfully. “I don’t want you making a
hasty decision, something you will come to later regret and you will come to
resent me for,” Jon trailed off.

“Jon, I grew up without a mother and father,” Sofia
explained earnestly. “My mother was taken from me by illness, but my father was
taken from me by his duty. I do not want to grow old like that. Alone, with my
responsibilities consuming every free waking hour. I want to be able to sleep
in late some mornings, to have dinner with my family and spend some time with
our children.”

Jon’s mouth quirked up at the mention of family, as he knew
they had not discussed their future together, so caught up in the present,
trying to save the galaxy.

Sofia noticed his smile. “What?” she asked.

“I am not going anywhere,” he insisted firmly. “You will
always have me at your side, no matter what you decide. Be it as your friend,
your lover or your husband. I’ll be with you, in whichever way you will have
me.”

With a smile that lit-up her entire face, Sofia ran her
finger down his chest. “Was that a proposal?” she asked shyly.

“It was a promise,” he insisted.

“I cannot do this alone,” she added. “While I can write this
Charter, I have no idea how to make it a reality. I need your help.”

“The power-base for the Emperor has always been the Imperial
Fleet. They are loyal to him personally and now to you. If you want to make
this Confederation a reality, then you need to first convince them. Only with
the support of the fleet will this come into being.”

“But how do I do that?” she asked, obviously frustrated.

Reaching his arms around her neck, he pulled her closer.
Just before he took her mouth in a searing kiss he whispered to her.

“You command them.”

  *****

The sound of the door to the cockpit sliding open
interrupted Jon’s thoughts as Sofia stepped inside. Jon turned and could only
stare at the vision in front of him. Before departing Jon had insisted to Sofia
she needed to look the part. “Dress the part, look the part, act the part, and
you will already have them half convinced,” he had told her. In Jon’s mind she
had done all three
—
beyond his wildest dreams.

For, standing in front of him, she was dressed in long,
flowing robes, similar to those worn by her father, the Emperor. However,
unlike his, which were the deepest darkest black, hers were an incandescent
pearl white. Perfectly sculptured to her lithe body, they showed off every one
of her curves and spectacular figure. The white robes were perfectly offset by
a single ringlet of flaming red hair, which trailed down the side of her face.
The rest of her hair was done up in what Jon could only consider a masterpiece
of sculpture. Jon had never seen anything as beautiful in his life. If Jon had
ever imagined what an angel would look like, this would be it.

Lost for words Jon simply fell to one knee, just as he had
genuflected to the Emperor, her father, and bowed deeply. “My Lady,” he
whispered reverently.

Sofia’s eyes softened, looking down at this kind, honest man
who had already sacrificed so much for her and her family. With a soft,
“Commander,” she offered him her hand to help him stand. “Have we arrived yet?”
She asked anxiously.

“Momentarily. Are you ready?”

“About as ready as I will ever be,” she replied nervously.

“They’ll love you,” Jon reassured her.
Just as much as I
do
.

The flight computer chimed to report that they had reached
their coordinates, the shuttle leaving FTL and returning to normal space
interrupting their conversation. Several kilometres ahead, Jon could make out
the blinking navigation lights of the 4
^th
Imperial Fleet. The
massive battleship,
Invincible
, flagship of the fleet easily visible,
dwarfing the other, much smaller ships. Helping Sofia to the co-pilot seat, Jon
opened a communication channel with the flagship, requesting docking
permission.

“We don’t have you on the docking itinerary,
Eternal
Light
,” replied the young officer, overseeing
Invincible’s
docking
control.

“The Empress, Sofia Aurelius, does not need to ask
permission to visit one of her flagships,” Jon replied in a chilling voice.
“Give us a priority docking approach vector. Now or your career and possibly
your life is going to be drastically curtailed,” Jon barked.

The young officer turned deathly pale, his eyes flicking
between the Commander, the crossed swords emblem clearly visible on his
uniform, denoting him as belonging to the elite Praetorian Guard and Sofia
dressed in her immaculate robes of state. “Please wait,” he begged.

A few minutes later another face appeared on the
view-screen. This was no young, easily intimidated officer, but an older man;
with the Admiral rank insignia clearly visible
—
Fleet Admiral
Timothy Alexeyev. With cold, calculating eyes he took in the scene with a
single glance, arching his fingers together he stated with a shrewd smile.
“Commander, Princess, this is indeed a surprise. What can I do for you?”

“Authorise our docking, Admiral. The Empress, Sofia
Aurelius, has arrived to inspect one of her flagships.”

“The Empress?” Alexeyev feigned surprise. “I don’t see any
Empress. I see a Commander with nobody to command, a loyal lapdog that’s
missing his master and a spoilt little girl dressed up for a party that nobody
else is going to attend. You have no authority here. I swore an oath to serve
your Father, the true Emperor. When he turns up to command me, I will obey.
Until then why don’t you fly back home and practice playing Empress and
knight-errant in your own time. I’m busy.”

At Alexeyev’s dismissive tone, Jon’s face became more and
more angry, until he had to grind his teeth together to stop himself swearing
in fury at this disloyal officer.

However, before Jon could reply Sofia raised her hand
towards him, stopping him, before turning to face the Admiral once again. “My
father, the Emperor, is dead Alexeyev. You might not like it, but I am his only
daughter. His responsibilities, his authority now passes to me and I am
ordering you to permit us to dock.”

“You,” Alexeyev sneered dismissively. “Ordering me? You are
nothing, Princess, a pretty little bauble that gets trotted out for formal
occasions to look pretty and impress the politicians. You know nothing about
the responsibility of command. You are just a spoilt, demanding little girl,
all dressed up, and thinking that because of your father you have some sort of
power over everybody else. You are nothing but arrogant and selfish, get out of
my sight.”

At hearing these words, Sofia cast her gaze down
despondently. The words cutting her deeply, for what the Admiral said was true.
She had been spoilt and conceited, demanding attention from all around her and
what could she offer in return? She had spent almost her entire life
sequestered in the
Imperial Star
, studying, so what did she know about
commanding a fleet and presiding over an Empire? What gave her the right to
make such demands?

Yet Sofia remembered as a young girl, her mother stroking
her hair, singing lullabies to put her to sleep at night, a mother who had been
cruelly taken from her at a young age. Her father, the Emperor, who in the end
had sacrificed everything to save her. Elsie and the fellow Praetorians who had
sacrificed their lives, to allow her to escape. Jon who had repeatedly risked
his own life to save hers. While bleeding to death on the floor, he had urged
her to go, to save herself. All those who had sacrificed their lives for her,
died believing in her. How could she allow their deaths to be so meaningless?

Sofia knew with absolutely certainty if she did not command
the Imperial Fleet that it would fragment. Arrogant, self-seeking officers like
Alexeyev, who could not see beyond their own selfish desire for power and
wealth. Who cared little about the lives that would be lost in the acquisition
of that dominance. The outcome would be civil war, with tens of thousands,
possibly millions dead. History would remember her as the last of the Aurelius
line, whose failure destroyed everything that her family had spent the last
five generations building.

Raising her head, Sofia looked Alexeyev in the eye, her eyes
flashing furiously. “You poor excuse for an officer. How dare you accuse me of
being arrogant? You who sits there with your immaculate uniform and polished
medals, surrounded by this fleet. What have you ever sacrificed for the Empire?
My family have sacrificed everything! My mother is dead. My father and the
other Praetorians murdered, by another Admiral as arrogant as you, who thought
he was better than everybody else. I don’t care what you think; I am my
father’s daughter. I now rule the Empire in his stead, you serve the Empire,
and therefore you serve me.”

Alexeyev blinked, staring at Sofia, shocked by her tirade,
not even the Emperor had ever dared to address him with such contempt. Setting
his jaw firmly he replied. “I’m the one commanding this fleet, Princess. Flee
back home before I lose my patience with you.”

Eyes narrowing, Sofia replied. “You did not hear what I said
Admiral,” she said spitting out his title like a curse. “I rule the Empire. I
command the Imperial Navy. I command this fleet. I command this vessel, not
you. You and your crew are simply guests. Guests who can easily be evicted.”

As she said this, Sofia started to transmit her own set of
personal codes to the almighty warship. For a moment nothing seemed to happen
then, as if a switch had been thrown, one-by-one the lights on the ship
vanished, the powerful engines flickered and then died. The ship that had
previously been maintaining close formation with the other warships, started to
drift away, powerless, helpless.

The effect on the bridge was even starker, as the lights
suddenly vanished, the flight controls, one-by-one shutting down. The life
support systems falling silent. Within the space of a few short moments, that
once bustling command deck had fallen silent, the only source of illumination
coming from the emergency lights.

“I warned you Alexeyev,” Sofia hissed. “I told you that you
serve me and you didn’t listen.” Sofia left the threat unspoken. “We will be
docking shortly. I expect you to be waiting for me, ready to bow down before me
and accept my authority. No need for docking approval, I’ve already granted
it,” she snapped before closing the communication channel leaving a stunned
Admiral in her wake.