Purge of Prometheus (61 page)

She ran her hand over the still intact side of his face.
 
Keryn shivered slightly as she looked to the far side of his head, where saw the pulsating brain.
 
Except for Yen’s blue psychic bubble, the sensitive organ was exposed to the harsh elements.

“There was a time I truly did love you, you know?” she said as Yen coughed, bubbles of blood forming on his lips.
 
“But it was young love.
 
It was never meant to last.
 
I came to understand that over time, but you never did.

“In some ways, I blame myself for never setting you straight.
 
Maybe, if I had, you would have never strayed down such a dark path.”
 
Keryn stopped stroking his hair and her face grew serious.
 
“And you did go down a very dark path, Yen.
 
You killed innocent people to appease your own newfound sense of Godhood.
 
You played with people’s emotions and then proceeded to ruin their lives.”

Tears formed in the corners of Keryn’s eyes.
 
“You toyed with
my
emotions, Yen.
 
You ruined
my
life.
 
You took from me the one man that truly made me happy, all because of some gross misconception about our long-forgotten romance.
 
You became a monster.”

She used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears.
 
“I won’t give you the satisfaction of seeing me cry, Yen.
 
I’m stronger than that; stronger than you ever realized.
 
I spent years of my life fighting against the monster that was the Terran Empire.
 
They subjugated their people through fear and intimidation and I fought against that mentality every step of the way.
 
And then I return to the Fleet to find that a new monster had arisen.
 
One that controlled his people through fear and intimidation, just like the Terrans.
 
But this monster was also a killer.
 
This monster was a brutal madman being controlled by a child’s mind; a mind that cared only about violent revenge for petty insults.
 
I spent years fighting against the Terran monster.
 
What made you believe I wouldn’t fight against you?”

Keryn stood and looked out across the desert.
 
“You did incredible work for the Alliance, Yen.
 
Regardless of your methods, you managed to bring peace to a war-torn universe.
 
For that, the Alliance will always remember you as a hero.
 
But I’m here to make sure another description is added to that title: fallen hero.
 
You see, Yen, even if it were possible to save your life from that horrible gunshot wound, I wouldn’t want to.
 
I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that I was the reason that a monster was stalking amongst the citizens of the Alliance.”

She pulled a pistol free from her holster and looked down at the helpless Yen.
 
“I heard your speech to the Premier, Yen.
 
We were monitoring some of the soldiers’ open radio channels.
 
They were powerful words you spoke, words that deserve to live on in the volumes of history.
 
They were powerful enough words that I feel obliged to reuse them for this situation.”

Keryn pointed her pistol at Yen.
 
He tried to speak in defense, but could only manage a weak gurgle.

“On this spot, so died the Empire.
 
And on this spot, so dies Yen Xiao.”

She squeezed the trigger.
 
Her round struck the undamaged side of Yen’s skull, shattering through the bone and piercing the soft brain beneath.
 
As the slug entered the brain, it broke apart, turning the soft grey matter into a thick pulp.
 
Yen jerked once before the blue light faded from the other side of his skull and his brains spilled onto the sand.

Keryn took a deep breath and shivered despite the heat.
 
Turning, she walked back to the transport ship onto which the soldiers had already loaded.
 
Keryn nodded toward the cockpit as she walked by.
 
Inside, her relief evident, Iana returned her nod.
 
Climbing aboard, Keryn closed the door as the ship lifted off the planet.

“
Ballistae
, this is Captain Riddell,” Keryn said into her throat microphone.
 
“We’re ready to begin bombing the planet.”

Brink of Distinction Series:

Burden of Sisyphus

Fall of Icarus

Purge of Prometheus

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