The Last Praetorian (53 page)

Less than ten seconds to impact…  

*****

“Ten seconds until impact!” the Imperial Star’s tactical
officer screamed, any sense of professionalism or duty long since gone, now
replaced by absolute terror as the armed nuclear warhead streaked towards the
ship, now only a few kilometres away.

The shuttle seemed to have taken a taken a major hit, had
wavered for an instant, and then had resumed a direct collision course with the
flagship.

“Nine, eight, seven…” The bridge officer’s voice, filled
with dread, was the only sound that could be heard on the bridge.  He slowly
started to back away from his terminal, as if he could physically increase the
distance between himself and approaching oblivion…

The tactical officer closed his eyes and started to pray.

*****

The heads-up display on the
Eternal Light
started to
flash a collision alert warning as the ship streaked through the depths of
space, explosions causing it to shake violently, hull breach alerts sounding
throughout the ship as projectiles and pulse cannons had finally stripped the
shuttles external armour breaching the hull in numerous places.

However Jon’s eyes were glued to the rapidly decreasing
distance readout to the
Imperial Star
, as it rapidly approached zero.

Jon had known that he would not survive this final flight,
it felt… right doing it in this ship, one of the last links to his old life. 
Jon had spent many hours wondering what would go through his mind in the final
few seconds; in the end it was simply relief.  Relief that against the
impossible odds, he and the
‘Light
had managed to make it this far,
relief that by this action he was going to save the lives of everybody on the
station.  Relief that by stopping this madman that many thousands, possibly
millions of people’s lives would be spared…

With a final few deft touches of the flight controls, Jon
angled the ship towards one of the massive flight decks that comprised the
Imperial
Star
that now filled the front view-port of the shuttle.  With all the
other alarms drowned out by the collision alert, Jon closed his eyes one final
time.  Suddenly the sight of Sofia, smiling, appeared in his mind’s eye. 
Desperately, Jon took a tight hold of the apparition for, one last time; this
time to sustain him for an eternity.

*****

The
Eternal Light
slammed into the energy barrier
that protected the hanger deck of the
Imperial Star
.  Designed only to
keep the hanger deck pressurised and to hold back the emptiness of space, it
disintegrated under the impact of a shuttle travelling so fast.

Amazingly the
Eternal Light
mostly survived the
impact, due to its heavy armour and the superb engineering that went into its
construction.  The ship somersaulted, over and over again, before finally
coming to a rest at the far end of the hanger deck.

For a single moment in time everything was suddenly still,
as if the universe had paused for a breath; the wreckage of the
Eternal
Light
barely recognisable from the weapons fire and subsequent collision. 

However, deep within the belly of the ship a sleeping dragon
awoke.

The
Eternal Light
vanished in a white light that was
a million times brighter than the sun.  Within a second the temperature on the
flight deck, increased to that only found within the heart of a star.  Heat,
light, and pressure, combined to create a force of unimaginable power, and it
started to grow.

Within a few heartbeats the flight deck had been consumed,
barely a second later the entire deck of the once mighty flagship had been
devoured.  Meanwhile the mighty explosion continued to grow in strength… and
size.  Section-by-section, deck-by-deck the huge warship was consumed from
within.  A nuclear fireball racing down the corridor that Commander Radec once
had strode down disappeared.  The Emperor’s quarters; where he had once held
court over the entire Empire, vanished.  The senior officers’ lounge, where Jon
had once wielded his sword over a young man’s head, exploded, turned to ash in
a nuclear fireball.

In a few seconds the explosion had grown to such a size as
to encompass the massive flagship. The heavy external armour of the ship fought
a losing battle to contain the massive forces unleashed within.  But nothing
could contain these forces and like a balloon, over inflated – it burst! 
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the armour, growing and growing until the
entire hull disappeared within the blinding light.  For a while it seemed as if
these great forces would grow and grow until everything was consumed.  However,
finally the light started to dim, to shrink, to collapse within itself. 
Finally the light vanished completely, to leave… nothing.

All activity within the vicinity stopped, everybody stunned
by the almighty forces unleashed, as if the creator had picked up the
Imperial
Star
and crushed it as if it were a toy.

The remaining Imperial forces offered their unconditional
surrender minutes later.

Present Day

Terra Nova, Zeta Aquilae System

It was barely 18 hours later, when the Confederation 12
^th
fleet arrived in the Zeta Aquilae system, commanded by Fleet Admiral Sterling. 
On board, the Imperial Princess Sofia Aurelius, President of the Confederation
Senate, who, on arrival, immediately requested transport across to the station.

“I don’t recommend it Madame President,” Admiral Sterling
said.  “You are safer aboard the
Protector
.  We still have not accounted
for all the Imperial ships, and there could still be unexploded ordinance out
there.  Frankly it’s a real mess here at the moment and we’re still trying to
sort through it.”

“I appreciate your concern Admiral,” Sofia replied. 
“However it was not a request; inform me when transport is ready.” 

With that she spun around, heading for the exit from the
bridge, and what Sterling could only assume, on her way to the flight deck. 
Sterling sighed in frustration.  He had known her father; the Emperor and he
had been equally as stubborn, always refusing to heed advice from his senior
officers.  He wondered if it was something that ran in the family.  He
hurriedly ordered a transport shuttle to be made available to the Princess. 
Her father had a terrible temper and Sterling had no desire to find out if his
daughter also shared the same trait. 

*****

On arriving at
Terra Nova
, Sofia was confronted with
the sight of what seemed like the entire crew assembled on the flight deck, in
full uniform, in parade formation.  The scene facing her so stunned her that
for a moment she was rooted to the spot.  How many times had she disembarked
from a ship at the side of her father, to face such a scene?  However, it had
been many, many years since the fall of the Empire that she had last received
such a reception.  Sofia was curious to understand why the formal reception. 
Casting her gaze around she was unable to locate Jon, however she recognised
Paul and a number of the senior officers, as she walked down the ramp of the
transport and angled in their direction.

“Attention! Officer on deck!” a voice called out from the
ranks and the entire crew snapped to attention as she strode past.  It was
obvious that military discipline had not suffered in the intervening years, as
Sofia could not remember a better-presented, better-turned out crew. 
Approaching Paul and the senior officers, Sofia was desperate to inquire where
Jon was as they had a lot to discuss.

Paul could not fail to be amazed by Sofia’s arrival. 
Realising that he had not seen her in person in almost five years, Paul was
amazed at the transformation.  When he had last seen her, she had been a young,
beautiful woman who had just had her heart broken.  The woman stepping off the
transport seemed to bear only a passing resemblance, while Paul considered her
still beautiful; her face had matured into that of a confident woman, confident
in herself and comfortable with the mantle of leadership.  Her gaze took in the
entire scene in a single glance, her expression thoughtful until she caught
sight of him and started in his direction.

Paul was taken aback by how similar the scene was to the
Emperor’s arrival, the white flowing robes of the office of the President
identical to those worn by her father, except his were black.  Paul wondered if
Sofia was aware how similar she was to her father, the same aura of quiet
confidence, and authority.  In a way Paul wished that it was her father that he
was breaking this news to.  Paul had dealt with the Emperor enough times to
recognise his anger and knew how to deal with it.  Paul was certain that Marcus
would not have taken the loss of Jon well; he could almost imagine that blast
of his furious white-hot anger.  Unfortunately Paul well knew that Sofia’s
feelings for Jon went far beyond her now dead father’s, and the reaction was
likely to be far, far worse.

Glancing at his assembled crew Paul felt the occasion
fitting.  His senior staff had approached him with the idea soon after they
found out about Sofia’s arrival. It was their way to pay their final respects
to Jon… and Sofia.  After all it was Gunny that pointed out that technically
she was still their commanding officer, as Marcus’s only child.  A part of Paul
wished that Sofia had found somebody else over the intervening years; perhaps
it would make the news that he had to break to her somewhat easier.  Somebody
for her to share the pain with…

Sighing to himself, Paul snapped to attention as Sofia stood
in front of him, before executing a flawless salute.  “Madame President,” he
greeted her.

Sofia stared quizzically at Paul for a moment before
returning the salute.  On anybody else the gesture would have appeared…
insulting; from Sofia it seemed, respectful.  “Captain Harrington, it’s good to
see you.”  Sofia was unsure if their earlier communication was public knowledge,
so for the moment decided not to mention it.  “Where is Jon?”

The sharp intake of breath from the group of officers,
suggested that the question was not unexpected and the answer was not going to
be liked.

“I’m so sorry Sofia…” Paul tried to put his feelings into
words, failing miserably.  “Jon was killed yesterday in the battle with
Harkov’s fleet.”  He glanced away, not able to cope with the expression of
utter despair that appeared on Sofia’s face.  Knowing that it would not ease
her pain, but feeling that it needed to be said, he added.  “He sacrificed his
life for us. If he hadn’t stopped Harkov and his fleet many, many more lives
would have been lost.  I doubt that any of us would be standing here today.” 
Paul’s shoulders slumped, the misery threatening to overwhelm him.  Realising
that his pain was barely a fraction of what Sofia must be feeling, he looked up
at Sofia who had gone a deathly pale.  For a moment Paul was worried that she
was going to faint, instead her head fell onto her chest, tears running down
her face.

“I thought, I thought, Jon and I could finally talk, put the
past behind us…” Sofia gave a mournful wail, “but it seems like our past
finally caught up with Jon first.”

Protocol be damned
, Paul thought enfolding her in a
tight embrace.  He could feel her tears staining his uniform, but it did not
matter as his own tears joined hers.

Not a word was spoken on the flight deck, the only sound the
occasional cry from Sofia as the crew stood at attention saluting a man that
they had all respected, and loved.  A man who had made the ultimate sacrifice
in order to ensure their lives.

*****

Many hours later, after the ceremony on the flight deck had
broken up and the crew had dispersed, each to remember, and mourn Jon in their
own way, Miranda found herself in his office staring out of the massive
opening.  Miranda was not sure how long she had been staring out into space,
when the chime to the office interrupted her thoughts.

“Come!” Miranda called, wondering who would be looking for
her.  She was taken aback at the sight of Sofia Aurelius stepping curiously
into the office.  She still looked pale and withdrawn after being broken the
news of Jon’s death hours earlier, but at least it looked like she was coping. 
Miranda meanwhile had absolutely no idea what to say or do.  How did one even
address this woman?  Sofia?  Miss. Aurelius?  Madame President?  Princess?

Her hesitation must have shown as Sofia offered her a weak
smile stating.  “Please, you can call me Sofia.  Paul told me that you were
most likely to be here…”

“I didn’t know where else to go…” Miranda replied
hesitantly.  “Jon spent so much time here, staring out of this viewport.  I
thought it would help me feel closer to him…”

“Paul mentioned that you and Jon were close,” Sofia replied
sympathetically.

“Not as close as you and Jon were…” Miranda was quick to
add, glancing away so that the elder woman could not see her flaming cheeks.

Sofia looked at Miranda with surprise.  “The thought never
crossed my mind…”

“He loved you, you know?  Even at the very end.”

“I just wish that I knew why he left in the first-place,”
Sofia replied wistfully.  “But I guess that I will never know.  There will
never be another Jon Radec, everybody I have ever met since, I compared to him
and found them all lacking.”

Miranda had no response to that statement, instead choosing
to look back at the starscape outside, wondering if she would become like
Sofia, always alone, always comparing any other man against Jon.  Looking at
the stars Miranda wondered what it was about this view that drew Jon’s
attention time and time again, sometimes for hours at an end.  Noticing her own
reflection being projected back at herself, Miranda wondered if Jon had ever
actually been looking outside, or instead contemplating his own, internal,
demons.