The Sunfire (28 page)

Through nothing but air, as the guard had moved.

Unfortunately that last remaining guard followed up this
very smart move with an incredibly stupid one. He fired his pulse pistol.
Having little idea of where their prisoner was, the likelihood of actually
hitting him with a single random shot was infinitesimal. However, the bolt of
energy from the pistol briefly illuminated the room, highlighting his own
position. Jon was there in an instant, his sword once again rising and falling,
and this time he did not miss.

“Lights,” he called out, once again illuminating the room.
However, where once had stood four guards, surrounding him, with pistols drawn,
ready to end his life, now only he stood, almost in exactly the same position
as where he had started. Three of the guards were now still, eyes lying open
vacantly, their throats having been cut. The fourth guard, the lead guard who
had originally been holding Jon’s sword, was lying on his back, moaning,
holding his hands to his stomach and desperately trying to stem the thick flow
of blood.

Looking at the scene of death around him impassively, Jon
made his way towards the exit. Pausing only briefly, he stabbed his sword
downwards, through the heart of the only guard remaining alive. With eyes like
dark obsidian and with an unrestrained fury, Jon left the bodies lying there as
he exited the room and began his hunt for Sejanus.

Jon had warned Sejanus of the consequences of his actions.
For this was only a taste of the destruction that he was about to unleash, on
this system, this planet and this man.

*****

The chime of the door interrupted Sejanus from the task
currently at hand. Unlike the last interruption, this one was not expected and
was most definitely not welcome. “What?” He screamed in frustration, trying to
restrain the woman at the same time as unzip her flight suit, actions that had
been eluding him for the past few minutes. “I’m busy!”

There was a pause from the other side of the door, as the
messenger weighed the pros and cons of continuing to deliver his message,
especially considering the mood of his master. However, he had insisted on
being immediately informed of this news so, taking a deep breath, he continued.
“The
Valiant
has just arrived in orbit, and they are reporting a
successful retrieval of the Princess. They are currently en route to the
surface via shuttle.”

Sejanus paused for a moment, as the news seeped into his
consciousness.

The Princess.

After all these years, to finally have her here, in his
grasp. However, he was now facing a quandary, as he stared down at the stunning
brunette currently twisting beneath him and trying to dislodge him. The sudden
image of the Princess, likewise pinned underneath him, terror in her eyes, came
to mind and Sejanus instantly felt himself getting aroused. He would take her
in front of her father, the Emperor, it would be the ultimate indignity.
Sejanus could feel himself hardening at just the idea.

“Come,” he shouted to the messenger. “Watch her.” Sejanus
instructed him as he strode from the room. “I’ll be back shortly to finish with
her.”

Miranda let out great gulping breaths of relief as the door
slid shut, leaving her alone. Her cheek throbbed from where Sejanus had struck
her and she had a multitude of small cuts and bruises from trying to fight him
off. So terrified at what nearly happened and so relieved Sejanus was finally
gone, it took her a long while for his last words to register.

The Princess. Sofia. She was here.

She had briefly met the older woman when she had arrived at
Terra
Nova
some weeks earlier. At the time she had not paid much attention to
her, as she was so wrapped up in her own grief at the loss of Jon. However, the
few words they did exchange were warm ones, of shared regret and loss. Miranda
had come to respect the inner strength and quiet dignity of the Princess, while
at the same time hating her. For Miranda knew Jon’s heart belonged to her.

However, no matter the ambivalence of her feelings toward
the other woman, no way would she ever wish to subject her to that monster. To
have him inflict all the perverted acts Sejanus had kept whispering he was
going to do to her. She had to help her, but how?

Jon. She had to find him. Struggling to her feet she slowly
started to make her way unsteadily towards the door, when it once again slid
open. For a terrifying instant Miranda thought Sejanus had changed his mind and
returned to finish what he started. However, as she took a step back she
realised it was not Sejanus who stood framed in the door, but the messenger who
had arrived moments earlier, the one Sejanus had ordered to watch her. As the
guard took another step towards her, Miranda recognised the look of hunger in
his face, the same look Sejanus had been projecting only minutes earlier.

Can nobody on this planet find their own woman?

With another step backwards, she found her back was now
pressed firmly against the wall. Realising there was nowhere else to run, she
took another deep breath, in preparation. As the guard came within striking
distance of her, Miranda once again lashed out with her free hand, clawing at
his eye
s.

Fortunately this time she wasn’t facing a Praetorian Guard
and the man cried out, stumbling backwards, his hands covering the deep
scratches Miranda had inflicted on his face. Taking advantage of his
distraction, Miranda tried to kick him in the stomach. Unfortunately, already
groggy from the earlier blow, she missed and hit his kneecap instead. With a
cry of pain he fell to the floor.

“Way it go for David’s unarmed combat training,” Miranda
voiced out loud, relieved. However, she had spoken too soon as the guard
stumbled back to his feet cursing and, reaching to his belt, he withdraw a
long, wicked-looking knife.

Gulping, Miranda desperately looked around for something to
use to defend herself, but once again there was nothing at hand to use.

Jon, now would be a really good time to keep your
promise.

*****

Jon meanwhile was having problems of his own. Having left to
look for Miranda and Sejanus, he quickly realised he had no idea where the
man’s personal quarters were. The complex’s main computer was no help as,
having found a terminal, it insisted Jon enter his authorisation code.
Unfortunately, Jon did not possess one, and his knowledge of computers was
extremely limited
—
that was Jason’s forte not his.

Hence Jon had to settle for the next best thing
and
ask for directions. This turned out to be easier said than
done, because while the civilian area of the complex was busy, the restricted
area for Tyrell Corporate executives was sparsely populated. However,
eventually Jon rounded a corner, identical to a dozen others he had already
walked round, with no idea if he was even walking in circles, when he spotted a
young executive dashing to a meeting, or wherever it was young executives went
these days.

Putting a pleasant expression on his face, Jon stepped into
the middle of the corridor, blocking the route of the young man. Obviously used
to having others step out of his way, instead of him having to do likewise, he
looked up with obvious irritation and could only gape.

“Who the hell
—
,” he exclaimed, but was
cut short as Jon hefted him against the nearest wall with an arm slung tightly
under his throat, leaving the man’s feet dangling a couple of inches from the
floor.

“Sorry for not introducing myself,” Jon apologised with
forced pleasantry. “My name is Commander Radec and I am running late for an
appointment with Sejanus. Now if you could point me in the right direction, to
his personal quarters?”

The young man’s eyes looked left and then right, obviously
desperate for some assistance, but regrettably for him in this instance there
was nobody around to help. So instead the young man smirked and was about to
open his mouth when
—

Jon pressed harder against his neck and, leaning forward,
whispered, “I am running extremely late and hence do not have time to go on a
wild goose chase.” With that Jon drew his sword, resting the edge inches from
the man’s throat. The executive went cross-eyed trying to look at the blade,
unsure if it was his imagination or the shortness of breath that made him swear
the blade seemed to be vibrating slightly, almost in anticipation.

“Second corridor, third door on the right,” the man uttered
quickly in a rush, eyes locked on the blade hovering in front of him. “Not that
it will do you any good as his quarters have two guards stationed at the door
and you’ll never make it past them
—
” The young man
suddenly clamped his mouth shut, obviously realising he had said too much.

“My thanks for the advanced warning,” Jon replied, reversing
the sword and hitting the youth on the side of the head with the hilt. The man
dropped to the floor, unconscious. Reaching down Jon withdrew an energy pistol
from the holster at the man’s waist. Normally Jon had little patience for such
weapons, preferring his sword. But realising in this instance he could never
have too many weapons, he stuck the pistol into his belt, at the small of his
back, before hurrying in the direction the now unconscious executive mentioned.

He prayed to whichever deity might be listening he would not
be too late, as he had sworn to Miranda he would not let anybody hurt her and
he did not want to make a habit of breaking his promises.

*****

Having dispatched Jonas and Jackson after quickly agreeing
to Jonas’ suggestion to switch uniforms with the now unconscious guards, Gunny
turned his attention back to the now fully equipped Marines. Gone were the worn
jumpsuits and vacant expressions. Now in their place was a group of battle hardened
Special Forces, armed to the teeth, all encased in dark grey tactical armour.
Most had forgone the usual pulse rifles and armed themselves with heavy, fully
automatic assault rifles.

“Okay people, let’s move out. Remember we want to try and
maintain the tactical element of surprise for as long as possible, hence let’s
move quickly to the hangar bay. If we encounter any resistance, then we try and
dispatch them quickly and quietly.”

The Marines proceeded rapidly to the door and, after
ensuring the corridor was empty, slipped out into the complex.

“Hey Sarge,” one of the Marines called out, just as Gunny
was about to follow. “Look what I found,” he exclaimed, holding up the six-inch
serrated blade he had come across while searching the small armoury. It had
been taken from Gunny the day before as they passed through security.

Gunny smiled in relief, taking the vicious looking knife and
slipping it into his boot. “Thanks for that, I was worried I might have lost
it.” With a final nod of thanks Gunny slipped out into the corridor, taking up
the rear behind the group as they cautiously made their way towards the hangar
bay.

*****

Sofia suddenly came awake, her throat dry, a fierce pounding
in her head. She blinked rapidly, the bright lights of the room making it
difficult to focus, as she desperately tried to remember what had happened. The
last thing Sofia recalled was being on
Memphis
, escaping from the
restaurant via the serving entrance, and then trying to escape from her
captors. The very last thing she remembered was a bolt of excruciating pain
hitting her in the back, spreading throughout her body and then there was
nothing.

Relieved to find she could move unaided, she rolled to one
side, delicately running her fingers underneath her blouse, along her lower
back where she remembered being struck. She felt only smooth, undamaged skin
and realised she must have been hit with some sort of stun weapon. She made a
mental note to avoid being shot in the future.

A cold, humourless laugh, which made her blood run cold,
interrupted her self-examination. Glancing in the direction of the sound,
whilst trying to blink away the tears from the bright lights, she eventually
managed to focus on the owner of the laugh. Sofia instantly recognised the
face, and had half-expected it, especially after Albert’s revelation on
Memphis
that Sejanus was still alive. A flash of fear crossed her face, as she came
face-to-face with her worst nightmare and relived once again the night that had
permanently and irrevocably scarred her forever.

*****

The young Princess came awake with a start, wondering what
had awoken her. It was pitch black in her personal sleeping chambers on the
Imperial
Star
, one of the multitudes of rooms that made up the personal apartments
of the Imperial Emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

Casting her gaze around the room, she could not see anything
out of place. Her clothes for the following day, neatly pressed and folded,
rested on the back of her dresser. Some papers were spread across her writing
desk, left over from her studies the night before. Even farther away she could
see the stars shining through the large window on the far side of the room. The
light from the stars was the only thing providing the small amount of
illumination in the room.

Shrugging, as nothing appeared to be out of order, she
rolled over in preparation for going back to sleep and came face-to-face with
his dark eyes. A small part of her mind wondered how his eyes could be even
darker than the pitch-black room. It was almost as if they were not eyes, but
simply two holes in his head that were swallowing the darkness from the rest of
the room. With her eyes slowly adjusting to the little light, she could make
out his other features, the mop of dark hair, a square, angular face and dark,
short, pointed beard.

“Sejanus!” Sofia exclaimed in fright, sitting up in bed, suddenly
aware the thin silk camisole was her only item of nightwear. She wrapped her
arms tightly around her chest, unsure of whether she did to block his piercing
stare or to ward off the sudden cold. “Sejanus you scared me,” she said. “What
are you doing in my quarters so late?”