Authors: Bennett R. Coles
* * *
Eventually it was time for Chen to go on watch, and as Alex had the mid watch, he closed up in his sleeping berth shortly thereafter. Thomas leaned back on the settee, feet on the table, and clicked on the news feed at a volume low enough not to disturb anyone.
How in the worlds had it come to this? Terra was at war again, and he was buried as a Strike officer on a Fleet cruiser. Maybe it was karma, God’s will, or the cyclical nature of being. Or maybe he’d just got what he deserved. He actually laughed to himself. At least he’d been here before. If his role in this war was to keep
Bowen
safe from pirates, and run the tidiest Club Sub in the Fleet, then so be it.
He could excel at that.
Reports were still coming in from the other cities that had been attacked by Centauri forces, and it was confirmed that the Army Headquarters, the Civil Defense Headquarters, and the Parliament buildings had all been destroyed. Only the Astral Headquarters had survived relatively intact, and the Longreach space elevators were the only ones still standing.
All military forces were on full alert, both because there might be another surface attack, and to contain the panicking civilian population. There were reports of rioting and looting in half a dozen cities, and security forces had been forced to employ “peaceful persuasion” to regain control. Suddenly he realized that he was probably in the best possible situation, considering the circumstances.
Safely in space, with no real responsibilities.
Longreach, as the least-destroyed major city, was the last to be covered in the network report. Chuck Merriman praised the Army’s brave stand at the Astral College, and how an entire storm banner—commanded personally by Storm Banner Leader Günther Emmes—had sacrificed themselves to draw the Centauri swarm away from civilians. Emmes had been awarded his second Cross of Valor, and the screen showed the ceremony where the medal was presented to an ashen-faced, hoverchair-supported Miriam Emmes.
In a related report Merriman noted that Lieutenant Katja Emmes had also been killed in the Longreach fighting, reportedly serving alongside her father until the last minute. Thomas leaned forward on the settee, staring in shock at the old image of Katja in uniform. Her dark eyes stared outward at nothing, her pale, smooth skin contrasted against her black dress uniform.
Katja was dead?
Her posthumous Terran Cross was presented to her brother, Stormtrooper Soren Emmes, who stood at his mother’s side wearing a stunned expression. Stormtrooper Emmes, apparently, was already deploying with his unit.
Thomas felt as if he was going to be sick. He looked around again at the close-in, metal bulkheads and sleeping berths of this spaceship mess deck. What was he doing here? What was he doing in this life?
His marriage was a sham, an elaborate production intended to further his own ambitions and, there was no point kidding himself, those of his bride. Now those ambitions were dead, his career in tatters, his connections lost, and his only allies a couple of subbies he was babysitting through their reqs.
Katja was dead.
He’d never allowed her to become the center of his world, but he realized that without her, his world meant nothing. If karma, God, or the cyclical nature of being had any mercy,
Admiral Bowen
would be singularized by a Centauri torpedo and his worthless life would come to an end.
The news moved on to another story from Longreach. Rescue personnel had managed to reach the Hawk that had crashed into Lake Sapphire at the height of the battle. The two crew members had been recovered from the lake bottom, unconscious but still alive due to the fact that they’d been in full space suits. They were recovering in a Longreach hospital, and the unnamed pilot was being praised for his skill and quick-thinking in avoiding further casualties.
Thomas doubted whether Jack had been thinking at all—quick or otherwise—but it seemed as if the young pilot had more lives than a cat. His life was one worth sparing, for sure.
The news turned ominous again, however, with the next story. Although the reasons were still unclear as to how planetary defenses had been breached, the Astral Force had confirmed that they had a suspect in custody, and were conducting a Fleet Marshall Investigation. Due to the sensitivity of the case, no names were released, but unofficial sources had indicated that the chief suspect was a senior officer from Astral Intelligence. A quick clip showed the suspect’s attorney, speaking to the media.
Thomas was riveted to the screen when he saw Merje Emmes standing in front of the crowd. She was dressed in a smart green suit and her long blonde hair shone in the sunlight. Her fine features were the perfect mix of concern, competence, and charm.
“Everyone in Terra is horrified by this unspeakable act of violence,” she said, “but our system of justice does not allow the mob to choose a scapegoat. Our client is innocent and was, in fact, a victim of this aggression. We will stand firmly by her side and work untiringly to prove that she was not involved with the despicable actions of the renegade colony Centauria.”
Thomas shook his head. Breeze and Merje. Now there was a combination to fear. If ever there was a good time to escape Terran politics, it was now.
His “beloved” Soma wouldn’t want for company, he knew, and no doubt dear Quinton would soon be on hand to keep her warm at night. Such a joke. He yawned, and turned his mind to more mundane thoughts. There were updated Corps hand signals he had to learn, for non-verbal communications with his team. Quinton and the fops he could deal with another time.
* * *
An hour later Thomas was running through the signals in his head, recalling the old memory tricks he’d employed a decade ago. They came back to him quite easily, but he could feel his concentration waning as the long day finally caught up with him. He debated moving to his sleeping compartment but couldn’t muster the energy to rise. He clicked off the light and the mess deck fell into darkness.
The air in the dark cabin crackled slightly. He froze as the cold, round pressure of a gun barrel pressed against his temple.
“Don’t move.” It was a quiet female voice.
She moved closer, and he smelled her fresh vitality. He couldn’t see anything more than a shadow in the darkness, but he knew immediately who it was. Despite what the news had said, she was alive.
He wanted to grab hold of her, pull her down against him and never let her go, but the gun at his head tempered any enthusiasm.
“They say you’re dead.”
“I am.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“The State doesn’t like loose ends, and I’m here to tie one off.”
His mind swept back to another Fleet Marshall Investigation—one that had just concluded. Admiral Bush had been shamed and silenced. Captain Lincoln was dead. Helena Grey had lost her commission and was in prison. Only Thomas was still free of the net.
“I think the State has already taken plenty from me.”
“This isn’t about the State,” she said. “This is about you and me. Before I disappear I’ve been given the chance to tie off any loose ends in my life.”
Thomas sat very still, feeling the gun pressing against his skull. Sleep with a girl’s sister and you get what you deserve. At least Soma would be taken care of.
“I understand.” He closed his eyes and braced for the shot.
He was surprised by the kiss. Her chapped lips pressed firmly against his, her face hovering in the darkness as he opened his eyes. Her suited body pressed against his chest as she straddled his lap and gripped his shoulder with her free hand, even as the gun remained firmly against his head.
Thomas kissed her back, focusing all his passion, all his love, into that one action. He didn’t dare move another muscle. Then, finally, she retreated from his view. The pressure of the gun slipped away.
“Goodbye, Thomas.”
“Goodbye, Katja.”
The air crackled, and he sat alone in the darkness.
I’d like to thank everyone who contributed so importantly to the development and creation of this book. To my cadre of beta readers, your early input was invaluable. To my agent, Howard Morhaim, and the team at Titan Books, thank you for all your expertise. To the team at Promontory Press, thank you for giving me the time to work on this when I really should have been doing my day job.
And to my friends and colleagues from Syria and Lebanon, those days are burned into our hearts. Never forget.
Bennett R. Coles served fourteen years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy and earned his salt on all classes of ship, from command of a small training ship to warfare director of a powerful missile frigate to bridge officer of a lumbering supply ship. He toiled as a staff officer in the War on Terror, and served two tours with the United Nations in Syria and Lebanon.
He has maintained an interest in military affairs since his retirement from active service in 2005 and he makes his home in Victoria, Canada, with his wife and family.
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM TITAN BOOKS
The Terran military, the Astral Force, launches a mission to crush a colonial rebellion on the Centauri colony. Although Expeditionary Force 15 succeeds, the surviving veterans remain scarred—physically and emotionally, and the consequences of their actions follow them back to Earth when terrorists seek to exact catastrophic revenge.
Lieutenant Katja Emmes is a platoon commander, leader of the 10-trooper strike team aboard the fast-attack craft Rapier. Although fully trained, she has never led troops in real operations before, and lives in the shadow of her war-hero father. Sublieutenant Jack Mallory is fresh out of pilot school, daydreaming about a fighter pilot position in the space fleet. He is in for a rude awakening. Lieutenant Commander Thomas Kane uses a six-month deployment in command of Rapier to secure his rise to stardom within the Astral Force. He also plays the subtle politics of the military.
The Centauri terrorist was stopped, but not before he caused widespread death and destruction on Earth. This leads to an escalating war between Earth and Centauri.
Lieutenant Jack Mallory is on the front lines, leading a flight of Hawks into the battle zone. His mission is to rescue the demoted Sublieutenant Thomas Kane, whose Astral forces are under heavy fire and in danger of being overrun.
The Astral Force must establish a bridgehead in Centauri territory, where they will place a jump gate in anticipation of a new invasion. Lieutenant Katja Emmes works behind the scenes, to keep the Centauri from learning of the plan before it can be carried out successfully.
AVAILABLE JUNE 2017
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