The Sunfire (25 page)

Marcus had promised Sofia to this monster!

The thought made Jon’s blood boil and for the first time
ever Jon contemplated violence against the man he had come to love almost as a
father. To offer beautiful, gentle Sofia, with her disarming smile, kind
personality and silvery laugh, to this man, this incarnation of evil?

What was even worse was Sejanus had no idea of how precious
Sofia was. Instead only seeing her as a stepping-stone to the greatest prize of
them all
—
to be Emperor. For the short time Sofia and he
had been together he had learned all of the combined wealth of the Imperium
could not measure up to her love. That her smile and touch made him more
powerful than the Emperor himself. Everything she was and could give would be
lost on this man, who would simply have taken whatever he desired and left her
broken, empty and alone.

Jon swore to himself this was never going to happen. He
would find the Emperor and free him. After he was safe Jon would return here,
and there would be a reckoning between them. And whatever fate befell him
,
Sejanus was never going to have Sofia. Instead he was going to
die by Jon’s hand.

Planet Tartarus, Sigma Draconis System

A tired and despondent Jon finally made his way back to
their assigned quarters after a further several hours of fruitless negotiation
with Sejanus. The man had made it abundantly clear that unless Jon could offer
him something of equal worth to the Princess, then Marcus would remain firmly
in his grasp. Unfortunately, Jon could offer very little in return, as it was
obvious wealth mattered little to Sejanus and the few remaining secrets Jon
possessed he refused to give up. He could not contemplate what horrors this man
would unleash on the Confederation if Jon shared with him what he knew. Jon
knew with absolute certainty it was that very same fear allowing Marcus to
continue to refuse to divulge whatever secrets he knew.

That, of course, brought up the next problem Jon didn’t want
to face, the fact that if Sofia had left Eden Prime, she was in a very
vulnerable position. Jon trembled at the thought of Sofia in that man’s grasp.
What was even worse was Jon knew Marcus would give Sejanus whatever he demanded
if Sofia was brought before him. For Marcus and Jon shared the same weakness.
Sofia was all the two of them had left and both of them would sacrifice all
they knew to keep her safe. It was that fact that scared Jon most of all as he
entered the small quarters that had been assigned to them.

Stepping into the dimly lit room, the first thing that he
noticed was a tear-stained Miranda sitting on the bed, arms tightly enfolded
around herself, sobbing quietly. At the sound of the door opening Miranda
looked up and, recognising Jon, flew at him furiously. Jon managed to quickly
catch her in his arms as she frantically pounded on his chest.

“I hate you. I hate you,” she cried. “Why didn’t you do
anything? Why didn’t you stop him? Why did you stop me?” She continued hitting
him on the chest for a few moments longer before, finally exhausted, she just
rested her head against him and cried.

Enfolding her in a tight embrace, lowering his head so he
could kiss her silky crown of hair, he said to her, “There was nothing I could
have done. If I had let you intervene you would have ended up dead too. Sejanus
killed that woman, not you or me. I promise you I will not let her death go
unpunished. Trust me on this, okay?”

Miranda just nodded her head in understanding against his
chest, trying to draw comfort and strength from his embrace. After a minute she
stepped back and, with an embarrassed expression, wiped the tears from her
eyes. “I’m sorry. I know that it is not your fault, it’s just
—
”

Touching underneath her chin, using his fingertip to lift
her head up to look him in the eye, he reassured her. “You do not ever need to
be embarrassed for having feelings, emotions or compassion. That is what
separates us from people like Sejanus.” Glancing around the small room, Jon
finally noticed Gunny and Jason seated around a small table. The little light
from a small desk lamp cast long shadows over their drawn faces. “I assume that
Gunny and Miranda have brought you up to speed on what happened during the
meeting?” Jon inquired.

Jason just nodded glumly.

“Then I assume Gunny has also told you Sejanus is a
Praetorian?”

“Sejanus is a Praetorian?” Miranda exclaimed looked up in
disbelief. “But you told me that there were no more Praetorians, that you were
the last.”

“I can only tell you what my own two eyes saw,” Jon
insisted. “Sejanus is a Praetorian, or at least was one once. I don’t know how
it is possible, as I commanded them all. I knew every one of them by name and
they are all now dead. I can’t explain it either, as the previous Praetorian Commander
assured me you could never quit the Praetorian Guard. However, he knew this
man; he called him by name once.” Jon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck
tiredly, sitting down on the bed where Miranda had been seated only moments
before. “I wish I could talk to Gideon, Marcus or even Sofia. Maybe they could
tell us what happened. All I know for a fact is that when I arrived Sejanus had
long since gone, but for what reason I have no idea.”

Looking around at their worried expressions, Jon tried to
reassure them. “Just because he was a Praetorian doesn’t mean everything is
lost. At the end of the day he is a man and is just as fallible as the rest of
us, in some ways more so.” Looking at their confused faces he tried to explain.
“When you become a Praetorian you are told from the start you are the best, the
strongest, the most elite, and no person can ever better you. After a while,
hearing it so often, you start to believe it.”

“You become overconfident,” Miranda uttered, finally
understanding what Jon was trying to say. “So doesn’t that mean you are
overconfident? Not to mention being overbearing and arrogant?” Miranda laughed.

“I was the leader of the Praetorians,” Jon sniffed at the
accusation. “Hence it doesn’t apply to me.”

Miranda just fell back on the bed, laughing hysterically.

“Tell them the rest of it Commander, they both have a right
to know,” Gunny insisted quietly in a grim voice, interrupting Miranda’s
laughter.

Jon stared at Gunny momentarily as something passed between
them, a mutual understanding, recognition of shared horrors and the depravity
of how low some people could sink. “Sejanus did not just put on that show for
our benefit, he enjoyed what he did to that woman.”

“What?” Miranda stared at them incomprehensibly.

Jon raised his head to look into her eyes, before offering
her his hand, motioning for her to take a seat on the bed next to him. Thinking
for a moment, he started in a quiet voice. “People joined the Imperial Navy for
many different reasons. Some people believed in the ideals that the service
represented and others joined because they had little choice, some just because
it was a job and offered an escape from poverty,” Jon said. “However, others
joined it because they liked it. They enjoyed the killing, liked inflicting pain
and suffering on others. It was one of the few avenues in life open to them to
practice their depravities.”

Miranda looked at the three men in the room, none of whom
would meet her eyes. “And you permitted this?” She demanded in a hoarse voice.

“No. Of course not,” Jon was quick to reply. “But…” he
trailed off.

“When you see your friends butchered by some enemy, their
throats slit, sometimes shot like dogs, well sometimes the boundaries become a
little less certain. Sometimes you lose sight of where doing your duty ends and
the pleasure of inflicting pain on others, knowing that they would do the same
to you if they could, begins.” Gunny tried to explain.

“That’s why they call it war, Miranda,” Jon added grimly.
“It’s not pretty or noble and it always brings out the worst in people.
However,” he added firmly, “That does not make it right and to answer your
question, no, we never condoned it.”

“Then by the Maker, how was this man ever permitted to
become a Praetorian?” Miranda demanded.

“I don’t know,” Jon replied exasperatedly. “Gideon, my
predecessor, he was an honourable man and he would never have permitted it.”
Which in a way was an answer unto itself, Jon acknowledged despondently. For
Gideon only had one master, one person that could over-rule his better
judgement
—
the Emperor.

Even worse was the growing fear in Jon’s belly at what
Sejanus might have done to Sofia. He would have been constantly around her,
possibly alone. To protect her! Jon felt like crying out aloud. What were
Gideon and Marcus thinking? Could they not see? They should have been
protecting Sofia
from
monsters like that. Yet all Jon could do was to
cling steadfast to his belief in his predecessor. Jon knew Gideon had loved
Sofia like a daughter; he would never have allowed any harm to befall her.
Gideon had been the eldest, the wisest and the strongest of all of them. Surely
he would have recognised Sejanus for what he truly was? Something must have
happened to him to finally be cast out of the Praetorian Guard forever.

“I’m sorry,” Miranda said, filling the sudden silence. “I
didn’t mean to imply that any of you
—
” she trailed off,
unsure how to finish that sentence.

“Keep your compassion Miranda,” Jon replied softly, in
barely a whisper. “Keep it close; wrap it as tightly around you as possible and
in the days, months and years ahead, no matter how bad things seem always
remember there is an inherent goodness in people. Just look at yourself, stolen
as a child, you were raised by the Syndicate, sent to kill on their behalf, yet
today, without thinking through the consequences, you were prepared to risk
your life for another. A person who you had never met before and knew nothing
about.”

Jason cleared his throat after a few minutes as nobody had a
response to Jon’s words. “So what else did Sejanus say after,” Jason averted
his eyes. “Gunny and Miranda left.”

“Not much,” Jon sighed dejectedly. “Without offering up
Sofia, Sejanus demanded something of equal value in return. I doubt we can
bribe him with a few million credits as easily as Captain Johansson.”

Gunny shrugged, “So just offer him something that he wants.”

“Like what?” Jon replied exasperatedly. “Maybe a couple more
warships, in case he does not have enough already? How about enough weapons to
equip an army or even better, how about a couple of dozen nuclear warheads? Or
something worse? The man is a psychopath who enjoys the suffering of others.
You think I am going to give him anything to help him further those sick
desires?”

Gunny just shrugged again. “So offer him more of the carrot and
less of the stick.”

“Like what?” Jon demanded.

Gunny’s eyes flickered in Miranda’s direction, but did not
voice the option out loud.

Jon could only stare in disbelief at Gunny, somebody he had
known for years and somebody he thought he knew. “You cannot be serious,” he
said pronouncing each word syllable by syllable. “Do you have you any idea what
he would do to her?”

“I said offer her. Nothing about letting him take her.”

“No,” Jon said, his jaw set firmly.

“Isn’t that Miranda’s decision to make, not yours?”

“What is my decision to make?” Miranda interrupted, not
following the subtle undertones of the conversation between the two men.

“Gunny is suggesting that we offer you to Sejanus in
exchange for the Emperor,” Jon replied, not once taking his eyes off Gunny.
“It’s not an option.”

“I’ll do it,” came the softly spoken response.

Jon whirled around to face Miranda in disbelief. “Like hell
you will,” he insisted. “We will find another way.”

“There isn’t time,” Miranda replied in a resigned tone.
“Paul will be arriving with the
Sunfire
in a little over twelve hours.”

“You don’t have anything to prove to us Miranda,” Jon
replied firmly. “I won’t allow it.”

“Is this because I am not part of your precious Navy or
because you worry that you are falling in love with me?” Miranda asked, finally
looking up from the floor into Jon’s shocked expression.

“I think it’s time that you checked on the troops Gunny,”
Jason intervened hurriedly. “Time for me also to be going, I have to, well I’m
not sure what I have to do, but there must be something that needs doing. Come
on Gunny.” Jason bustled the large marine quickly through the door. Meanwhile
Gunny’s eyes were full of laughter at the dumbfounded expression on Jon’s face.

Jon was woken from his sudden stupor by the door quietly
sliding shut. “I cannot believe that you just said that.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Miranda insisted, staring
intently at him.

“Absolutely not.”

“Then why will you not even consider it? If I was just
another one of your officers
?
”

“No.”

“Then it’s because I am a woman
?
”

“No.”

“Then if it’s not because you are in love with me, then
why?”

“Because damn it, I don’t want to lose you too,” Jon finally
confessed.

“Nothing is going to happen to me, you are not going to lose
me.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you promised me. You swore to me back on
Terra
Nova
that you wouldn’t let anything happen to me and I believed you. I
agreed to do this because I still believe what you said and whatever happens I
know in my heart you won’t let him hurt me.”

Jon could only rub his face tiredly, not wanting to look
into her eyes, knowing he would see the truth of her words shining brightly in
them. Even worse, not knowing for sure if he was able to keep that promise.

“Jon I trust you. I trust you with my life and I trust you
with my heart,” she said softly. Reaching out to touch his face gently, forcing
him to finally look up at her.

Looking into her soft brown eyes Jon could see the truth of
her words, her belief in him totally overwhelming. Finding he could not disagree
with her when faced with such humbling honesty, instead he shifted closer to
her on the bed, until their bodies were almost touching and their lips were
only inches apart. Jon could feel her warm breath on his lips as she
unconsciously licked her full lips. Then ever so slowly he began to dip his
head toward hers.

His taste exploded in her mouth, the feel of his soft lips
and his smooth tongue sliding against hers. Miranda was immediately transported
back to the time on
Terra Nova,
when Jon had kissed her for the first
time. He consumed her utterly, so what could she do but kiss him back in
exactly the same way?

When she did, he covered her body with his, gently lowering
her until she was lying flat on the bed. He tangled his fingers in her hair and
curved his hand into her hip. She gasped at the quickness and intensity of his
possession, and he took advantage of the opportunity to taste her still more
deeply. He joined his tongue with hers before sucking it into his mouth, then
he slanted his head for a more thorough invasion. The hand at her hip reached
up and, finding the fastening to her flight suit, slowly unzipped it, his
fingers dancing along the bare skin beneath. Unable to stop herself, Miranda
drove her own hands under his uniform, gasping at the strength she encountered
there. A shudder of heat rocked her, pooled in her belly, staggered her heart
rate and blinded her to anything but the feel of Jon as he touched her
everywhere.