The Sunfire (22 page)

Paul could only stare at her. It was just not possible, as
he had known Jon for years and he was the most noble, honest person he had ever
met. So much so it was maddening.

“Why?” Sofia cried, tears still streaming down her face.
“Was I not good enough or not pretty enough for him? Didn’t I pay him enough
attention? Maybe he thought now he’s had a princess, he would find somebody
new,” Sofia said, brushing away her tears angrily.

“Wha
—
What?” Paul replied, not believing
what he was hearing, but his head too clouded with sleep to keep up.

“Well I’ll show him,” Sofia insisted furiously. “I’ll show
him that he is not the only one I can have either.” With that she leaned
forward, urgently pressing her open mouth to Paul’s.

“Whoa
—
,” Paul tried to reply, but the
moment his mouth was open, Sofia immediately swept her tongue into it, sweeping
along his lips, caressing his tongue with her own.

Taken by surprise, Paul could only moan deeply, as her
kisses inflamed his lust. Reclining back on the bed as Sofia straddled him,
pressing herself intimately against him.

“We cannot do this,” Paul finally came to his senses. “Jon!”

“Is occupied at the moment,” Sofia insisted, kissing him
deeply once again to prevent any further questioning.

*****

Jon woke with a blinding headache and a mouth that felt like
a furry animal had died in it. Closing his eyes to shield them from the
blinding overhead lights, Jon glanced at the bed next to him and was glad when
he found it unoccupied. After stumbling into his apartment late last night, the
look of devastation on Sofia’s face had pretty much killed any thought of
intimacy. Instead he had stumbled into the bathroom, where he had spent most of
the night being violently sick. Whether it was from the whiskey or the look on
Sofia’s face, Jon had no idea.

Glancing at the chronometer Jon could see it was barely five
in the morning, but with little enthusiasm for any further sleep, he decided to
make good use of the time and prepare for an early departure. He had lost the
last reason for remaining on Eden Prime. Sofia would be safe here and Jon had
another task to complete; to track down Harkov and make him pay the ultimate
price for his betrayal. After sending a message to the spaceport requesting a
departure slot for the
Eternal Light,
Jon started to pack up his few
personal items.

Jon was almost finished when the chime of the door
interrupted him. “Come,” he called without thinking who it could be.

Turning to face the door he was half expecting to face an
extremely irate princess, but was relieved to see Paul instead. At least he
still had one friend on Eden Prime. It looked like Jon wasn’t the only one who
had suffered a bad night, as Paul also looked tired and dishevelled.

“Paul I am glad to see you. I wanted to say goodbye,” Jon
explained hurriedly.

“Goodbye?” Paul replied, looking around the room, bleary
eyed and confused.

“I’m leaving. I have no further business on Eden Prime and I
want to start tracking down Harkov before his trail starts to get cold.”

“Sofia came to see me last night,” Paul interrupted. “She
was in tears, devastated. Saying that you had betrayed her. Is what she said
true?” He demanded angrily.

Jon averted his eyes, refusing to let him see the answer in
them, instead he changed the subject slightly. “I’m glad she had somebody to
talk to. I wouldn’t have wanted her to be alone.” Fortunately Jon was looking
aside, so he did not see the flash of guilt in his old friend’s eyes.

“So you are going after Harkov alone? Are you crazy?” Paul
replied, purposefully changing the topic as he had no wish to discuss Sofia
with Jon, after his own shameful actions.

“It wouldn’t make any difference if I took a task-force with
me. In the end it’s just going to be Harkov and me. It’s always been that way
between us, personal.”

Paul nodded his head sadly. “Well you take care of yourself
okay?”

“Sure, and Paul?”

“Yes?”

“Look after Sofia for me? I know it will not make much
difference, but tell her I am sorry and I never wanted it to end this way,” Jon
replied earnestly, heading for the door.

“Yeah, sure,” Paul replied despondently, but by then Jon had
already left.

*****

Sofia was roused from her restless sleep by the arrival of a
message on her communication console. Wondering who would be calling her so
early, she slipped out of bed, padding barefoot to the console. Glancing at the
message, her eyes widened in shock.

“Bastard!” She hissed angrily. “He is not going to get away
that easily.” Grabbing the nearest clothes she had within reach, Sofia quickly
dressed and hurried to the spaceport before the
Eternal Light
could
depart.

*****

Jon was just about to board the
Eternal Light
when a
voice rang clearly across the flight deck.

“Leaving so soon Commander? Running away, again?”

Jon briefly closed his eyes, cursing under his breath. It
seemed they were going to have this conversation, which he had been hoping to
avoid, and in the middle of the flight deck nonetheless. Putting an expression
of casual indifference on his face, he turned round to face her.

His breath caught in his throat, for although pale and
dishevelled, with bloodshot eyes and dressed in the rumpled dress he saw her
wearing last night, Jon thought she still looked beautiful. Not wanting the
entire flight deck to overhear this conversation, he took a step forward,
closing the gap between them, until they were standing only a few feet apart.
“Princess,” he inclined his head slightly in greeting.

“Going somewhere?” She demanded angrily, her eyes looking
towards the ship, as it waited patiently behind him.

“Yes,” Jon replied simply. “I don’t think there is any
reason for me to remain here, is there?” he inquired, looking intently into her
eyes.

Surprised by the intensity of the question, Sofia looked
aside, suddenly unsure. “Where are you going?”

“I swore an oath that I would find Harkov and make him pay
for everything he has done.”

Sofia looked up in shock, her expression slipping and a hint
of worry crossing her face. “Alone?” She asked hesitantly.

“It’s my duty, nobody else’s,” he nodded. Turning once
again, he started back to the shuttle.

With his back to her, he could not see her flash of panic.
Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she called out. “I think you’re
forgetting something Commander. That ship now belongs to me.”

Jon stopped mid-step as her words flowed around him. The
Eternal
Light
was the personal possession of the Aurelius family. With the death of
her father, Sofia was correct, the ship did now belong to her. Jon gazed at the
shuttle regretfully. Since the death of the Emperor and the murder of his
fellow Praetorians, the
Eternal Light
was all that he had left of his
old life, except for Sofia, and he had already lost her. However, he would not
beg Sofia for it. He had very little personal pride left after his recent
actions, but he would not, could not sink that low. Therefore, he just bowed
his head resignedly and nodded reluctantly, turning back once again to face
her. It seemed she would indeed have the final say.

Approaching her, he stared hopelessly into her face. The
shuttle meant little to him compared to the knowledge he would never see her
again, to be able to touch her soft skin or to be able to bask in her love.
Staring deeply into her eyes he decided it was not enough and he needed
something to sustain him through the long years ahead. Reaching out with a
shaking hand, he delicately cradled her cheek in one palm and lowered his face
to hers.

Sofia felt his mouth, warm and firm, on hers, which was
difficult to resist. The satin caress of his lips and the taste of him
overwhelmed her senses.

He kissed her closed mouth and sucked gently on her lips,
coaxing them to open. The silky tip of his tongue teased her, seeking
admittance, but still she resisted. Sofia sensed instinctively that if she gave
into him, she’d be lost. Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt his soft lips
brush against hers. Not demandingly, not urgently, but softly. A gentle kiss, a
final kiss goodbye. Sofia had to fight the automatic instinct of her body to
wrap her arms around him, to never let him go. Then the moment was over and Jon
stepped away from her.

Bowing deeply to her this time, a Praetorian offering his
lady his final respects, he pivoted towards the exit of the flight deck.

“Jon!” Sofia cried out, tears threatening to fall once again
from her eyes. He stopped, but did not turn to face her. “The
Eternal Light,
I give her to you, as a gift from my father. He would have wanted you to
have it, as you served at his side, faithfully, for many years, never asking
for anything in return. You have earned that.”

Shocked, he turned back to face her, staring at her intently
for the longest time.

For a moment Sofia thought Jon was going to tell her
something, but then the moment was past and he only nodded his head in thanks.

Turning for the last time he took a few steps into the
shuttle. A moment later the boarding entrance retracted and the powerful
engines started up. The shuttle slid gracefully into the air, hovering for a
moment a few feet above the ground with the hull glistening white in the weak
morning sunlight. Then with a barely detectable roar, the main engines ignited
and the shuttle shot forward. Once clear of the flight deck it angled sharply
up, soon disappearing into the azure-blue sky.

Sofia spent a long time on the flight deck staring at the
spot where the shuttle had vanished, wondering if she would ever see him again.

Somehow she thought not.

Present Day,

Planet Tartarus, Sigma Draconis System

With a sudden jolt the freighter dropped at least twenty
meters and with it Miranda felt a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her
stomach. Fortunately she quickly managed to halt the sudden descent by
increasing power to the aft thrusters. Daring to take her eyes off the altitude
indicator for a fraction of a second, she confirmed the freighter was still on
course for a landing at the Tyrell Corporation. The landing beacon was one
hundred and fifty kilometres ahead, and at their present rate of descent, in
fifteen minutes they should be on the ground. Again another sharp jerk shook
the freighter, making her once again firmly grab the flight control stick, her
eyes returning to watch the altitude indicator. While Miranda was confident on
being able to land the freighter, she was just a little unsure about how many
pieces the craft might be in when she eventually touched down.

However, where was the risk, the danger? After all she was
flying with the greatest pilot ever, arguably the best pilot in the
Confederation and possibly in the entire spiral arm of this galaxy. As she had
already done every few minutes since starting the descent into the atmosphere,
Miranda’s eyes glanced across at her co-pilot.

Snoring loudly.

Jon reclining in the co-pilot seat with his eyes firmly
shut, his feet propped up on the flight controls. Miranda could not decide if
she was more amused or furious. Seriously though, he had to be faking it, as
nobody could possibly sleep through this landing.

Soon after passing through the orbiting Titan defence
stations, with their authorisation codes supplied by Johansson having worked
perfectly, Jon had yawned. Announcing he would take the opportunity to have a
nap before their arrival. “I didn’t get much sleep last night as somebody kept
hogging the bed covers,” He had stated with a wide smirk.

Miranda had refused to respond to the obvious taunt and
glanced away so that Jon could not see her blush. When she had next turned to
face him, he already had his feet up and was snoring loudly. The nerve of the
man! Whether it was Jon’s way of demonstrating the confidence he had in her
piloting skills or his way of getting revenge for her antics the night before,
Miranda had no idea. All she knew was considering his reputation as the
greatest pilot, ever, he had done very little actual flying.

She knew, however, his reputation was well deserved. Prior
to her arrival on
Terra Nova
the Syndicate, her previous employer, had
ordered her to ambush Jon and erase any trace of him or his ship. The two of
them had engaged in an epic clash, first on the outskirts of the asteroid belt
in the system, before eventually weaving in and out of the asteroids
themselves. While Miranda considered herself an expert pilot, flying a deadly
Hawk fighter, she had been unable to best Jon, even though he had been flying a
much slower, less capable shuttle.

The end result had been Miranda having to eject before her
ship collided with an asteroid. Jon had recovered her escape pod, in the
process saving her life. Ever since that day, Miranda had repaid the favour by
having saved Jon’s life on numerous occasions. But still she found herself
staying with him, as she realised she had developed feelings of her own for
this quiet, unassuming man, who was possibly the most honourable and bravest
person she had ever met.

The break in her concentration was almost fatal for the
freighter and crew as they descended through another gas pocket, putting the
freighter once again into a steep dive. Miranda desperately pulled back on the
flight control, feeding more power into the already overstrained engines.

*****

With a heavy
thump
the freighter
Phoenix
came
to a shuddering halt on their allocated landing pad. Relieved they were still
in one piece, Miranda started to power down the engines.

“I see we’ve arrived,” Jon yawned. Stretching, as his eyes
flickered open.

“No thanks to you,” Miranda snapped back. However, the
response was spoilt by the wide smile on her face.

She had done it. She had landed the ship on a planet, all
by herself.

Miranda never thought she would ever be able to step out
onto a planet, as she had been told from childhood that, having been born in
space, her body would not be able to handle the stronger gravity. However, that
notion had been firmly quashed first by Jon and later by Doctor Richardson, the
station’s resident Chief Flight Surgeon. Miranda could already feel the
excitement bubbling up from inside of her. To finally step out onto a planet
—a different world
!

Noticing the beaming smile on the younger woman’s face, Jon
could not help but to return the smile. “So how is the heart? Any palpitations
yet?” He inquired with a wink. “As it certainly seemed to be beating furiously
last night.”

Once again Miranda refused to rise to the obvious taunt. She
was not surprised her heart had been beating furiously, considering she had
first enjoyed watching Jon strip down to a pair of shorts, then had him slide
his firm body against hers, as he tightly drew her against his warmth.

“So what now?” Miranda asked, ignoring the statement.

“We gather our gear and find somewhere to bunk down,” Jon
replied promptly. “We have no idea what sort of waiting committee there is for
this ship and I for one do not want to find out. Better they find the ship
empty and wonder the whereabouts of the crew. I, for one, do not resemble
Captain Johansson at all.”

Tossing Miranda her flight bag and grabbing his own on the
way out of the cockpit, Jon was not surprised to find Gunny and his Special
Forces team ready and waiting. “Is your team ready Gunny?”

“Yes Commander. Ready and waiting to move out.”

“Very well, remember we need to keep our presence here
hidden for the time being. Hence let’s keep this low key. We disembark, find
somewhere to hide ourselves away and gather some intelligence before we decide
upon our next move.”

“Understood Commander,” Gunny agreed, before turning back to
his team. “Prepare to move out,” he shouted.

The dozen troops promptly hauled the heavy holdalls over
their shoulders. Unshaved and dressed in standard crew jumpsuits, they looked
like any other freighter crew. However, a quick glance into their eyes would
have dispelled that illusion. They were all combat veterans, many having worked
with both Gunny and Jon on previous clandestine operations. The heavy holdalls
each carried contained enough weaponry, ammunition and high explosives to start
a small war. The minute the hatch was open they double-timed it in single file
out of the freighter, across the open flight deck and into the spaceport.

Following behind the troops, Jon, Miranda and Jason exited
the freighter, with Jon locking and sealing it behind them. He had changed the
entry code, hoping that would buy them some additional time when somebody
eventually came enquiring about the crew’s whereabouts.

It was only when they were halfway across the flight deck
Jon realised they had already lost one of the crew
—
Miranda.
Looking back, he saw she had stopped halfway, her head angled upward towards
the sky. He’d forgotten this was Miranda’s first time on a planet, so he
motioned for Jason to continue ahead to catch up with Gunny and his team.

Turning back, Jon quietly approached Miranda from behind.
She was gazing at the sunset across the flight deck, with a child-like wonder,
eyes wide in astonishment. The sky was a beautiful ribbon of fire. Yellow, gold
and red bands all bleeding into one another, a river of colour meandering
across the sky. Dropping his flight bag onto the deck, he sidled up behind her,
pressing his chest into her back, one arm looping around her waist to pull her
snugly against him.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Jon breathed quietly into her
ear. Miranda could only nod, filled with emotions she could not understand,
with feelings she could not put into words.

Jon remained like that for a few minutes longer, letting Miranda
take in the view, while he enjoyed the closeness of just being able to hold
her. However, soon Jon started to feel a burning in the back of his throat,
caused by the thick volcanic atmosphere. He assumed the spectacular sunset was
caused in part by the atmosphere, all the thick volcanic dust particles in the
air causing their breathing to become laboured.

“We need to go Miranda,” Jon interrupted her. “It’s not good
for us to be outside for more than a few minutes. I promise when this is all
over I will take you to Eden Prime and show you the sunset and sunrise there.”

Miranda turned her head to look into his eyes in wonder.
“They are even more beautiful?” She asked disbelievingly.

“Probably not,” Jon confessed. “However, at least you get to
live long enough to see sunrise the following morning. Now come on,” he tugged
at her arm. Picking up both of their flight bags he gave her a gentle push
towards the entrance of the spaceport.

*****

Fortunately it seemed the Tyrell Corporation had very few
visitors, as there weren’t any immigration or customs posts at the spaceport.
Either of which would have been a significant problem, as none of them were
carrying identification papers and what they were carrying would have raised a
few eyebrows. Wishing to get as far away from the spaceport as possible, they
followed the directions supplied by Johansson and, taking a light monorail,
descended multiple levels, before finally arriving at their intended
destination. A cheap, rundown motel that, according to Johansson, was regularly
used by crews on their downtime, when they wanted to get up to activities
usually banned on ships, which Jon interpreted as the usual booze, gambling and
women. It went without saying that he kept a close eye on Miranda, who had
already attracted more than a few leering stares.

“Stay close and don't go wandering off,” Jon whispered.

“I can look after myself.”

“That might be true, but we want to stay inconspicuous,
remember? It’s going to be hard to do that with the locals sporting black eyes or
broken arms.”

Miranda sighed, but nodded in agreement and they continued
on their way.

Finally, after haggling over the price of the rooms, more to
stay in character than any real care about the cost, Jon finally hired out a couple
of rooms adjoining one another.

“I would give you your own room,” Jon explained
uncomfortably.

“I understand,” Miranda replied resignedly.

“So I’ve put you in the same room as Jason,” Jon concluded
with laughter in his eyes.

“What?” She cried.

“Seriously, have you seen the guy?” Jon continued on,
pretending to not notice her shocked expression. “He worships the ground that
you walk on. I thought that if you had trouble sleeping again tonight…”

“Not. Another. Word.”

Jon laughed, giving her a gentle push into her room. “Dinner
is in thirty minutes, don’t be late.”

*****

Stepping into the small apartment, Miranda was slightly
deflated when she saw Jason sitting on the opposite bed, concentrating fiercely
on the datapad in front of him. She had been half hoping Jon might have been joking.
While she knew nothing was going to happen between them, it was a nice thought
and her body had been throbbing gently ever since Jon had held her while
watching the sunset, suggesting it wouldn’t mind being held again.

Perhaps nibbled.

Having been sitting on the bed for over ten minutes watching
Jason work, she finally grew frustrated asking. “What are you doing?”

Jason looked up in surprise, slightly embarrassed he had not
even heard her enter, as he had been so engrossed in the encryption cipher that
the Tyrell Corporation was using to secure their data-net. “I’m trying to hack
into the Tyrell Corporation data-net. However, they are using a particularly
strong cipher, hence instead of a brute force attack I’m packet sniffing the
network, trying to determine if there is a flaw in the authentication protocol
they are using.” He trailed off as Miranda looked at him blankly.

“I’m sorry that I asked,” she muttered quietly. “Perhaps we
could talk about something else?” She asked brightly.

“Sure. I need a break anyway,” Jason replied rubbing his
sore shoulders. “So what do you and Jon usually talk about when you are alone?”

“Uh,” Miranda said trying to think back on what topics Jon
and her usually discussed. Eventually she drew a blank, as most of the times she
and Jon were alone led to other things. She remembered the previous night, Jon
gently stroking his hand down her waist, her licking his throat, the hitch of
his breathing at her touch. “Never mind,” she said hurriedly, jumping to her
feet. “I’ve decided to have a shower instead.” With her face bright red, she
hurried into the small adjoining washroom.

Jason could only stare, confused, at the now shut door,
listening to the sound of running water
.
Shaking his head in confusion,
he went back to trying to crack the encryption cipher.

*****

The following morning Gunny and Jon joined Jason and Miranda
in their small apartment to discuss their next steps. With Jason and Miranda
sitting on one bed, Jon and Gunny on the other, facing each other, it seemed to
Miranda the size of the room had shrunk dramatically.

Miranda caught the gleam in Jon’s eye and she uncomfortably
shifted a couple of centimetres further away from Jason.

“So what have you discovered so far Jason?” Jon asked as he
started their impromptu planning meeting.

“I spent most of the night hacking into their data-net. The
encryption algorithm was particularly fascinating.” Jason sighed aloud. “Moving
on, I have penetrated the data-net and managed to download a map of the
facility.” Without the aid of their usual holo-projector, Jason was forced to
pass the device around, so the other occupants of the room could examine the
map.