The Sunfire Read Online Free PDF Page A

a
great leader. Well I was wrong. I have since come to observe that love is far
stronger than hate. Love is not a weakness, but a source of limitless strength,
something you will never be able to comprehend. Hence, while the Praetorian
Commander was your replacement, he is in no way the lesser of you. You will
never be half the man he is, and will always live in his shadow.”
    He failed to mention it was only with the certain knowledge
that the Commander still lived, and hence his daughter was safe, that he was
able to maintain a trace of his sanity. Locked away in this comfortable cage
for so long, he had never regretted turning his back on this dark, evil man. He
found it ironic he had been so obsessed with finding somebody to succeed him,
and to care for and love his daughter, that in the end it was she who had made
the right choice, not him. She had opened his eyes to realise that love, duty
and honour could conquer all. He only slept at night knowing Commander Radec
would always be there at her side, watching over her, keeping her safe, loving
her.
    “Perhaps,” Sejanus replied, keeping a tight rein on his
temper. “But when I find him and kill him, and this I promise you I will, I’ll
bring your daughter before you, on her knees, and force you to watch as she
submits to me. Finally, and only then, will it be my turn to step out of the
shadow and into the light.”
    The old, frail man, merely a shadow of his former self,
watched helplessly as the doors slid shut, locking firmly behind Sejanus.
    “ Commander, ” he spoke to the empty room, aloud. “If
you can hear me, then help me. Please ,” pleaded Marcus Aurelius. The
last Imperial Emperor, a man who had once ruled over almost ten billion
individuals.
    Little did he realise that he was already speaking to a
ghost.

Chapter Two
     
    Terra Nova, Zeta Aquilae System
     
    The doors to one of the station’s pressurised docking bays
slid open to reveal the commanding presence of Master Sergeant Patrick “Gunny”
Reynolds. At over six feet in height and weighing almost two-hundred pounds,
the man’s presence was intimidating enough, without the addition of the heavy
pistol that was firmly strapped to his thigh. Rumour had it Gunny had once, single-handily
led a marine boarding action against a pirate cutter, only to have the pirates
immediately abandon ship when faced by him.
    The pistol, however, was enough to raise a few eyebrows on
the station, as these days the station was completely safe — in
contrast to several weeks earlier. Seemingly a lifetime ago for the crew
considering more recent events, when heavily armed Syndicate Enforcers had
swarmed throughout the station, only to be abruptly halted by the combined
efforts of Jon, Miranda, David and Gunny. In addition the station was now
protected by significant space-based weaponry and a still sizable contingent of
Confederation Navy warships, the remnants of the Confederation 12 th fleet, the rest having departed only a few days earlier.
    The need for the pistol quickly became apparent after Gunny
stepped into the small docking bay, coming to a halt next to Paul Harrington,
the station’s chief of operations. Up until recently Paul had reported to
Commander Jonathan Radec, the owner of the station and Vanguard Shipping, the
company that presently inhabited it. However, with his death several days
earlier and the announcement of Miranda Sun as the interim-CEO of Vanguard,
there was currently a question mark over who was actually in charge of the company
and station.
    Gunny looked up in surprise at the dark, twisted shape
resting several meters in front of the pair. “Another one?” He asked,
surprised. “I thought that we had found all of the escape pods by now.” Almost
fifteen meters in height, half that in width, the pod had definitely seen
better days. Scratched and twisted in places, it had deep rents running along
one side where it had obviously collided with something larger. Gunny was
astonished