The Sunfire Read Online Free PDF Page B

pistol, now squarely pointed at the unconscious man’s
head.
    “No!” Paul loudly interjected, suddenly breaking out of his
stupor, realising what the sergeant was contemplating. “We don’t execute
prisoners.”
    “Normally I would agree with you,” Gunny replied in a grim
voice. “But I’ll make an exception in this one case,” he added, continuing to
put more weight on the trigger.
    “Holster your weapon. It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it.
We’re better than he is.”
    “You were in the C&C. You heard what he threatened to
do, what he almost succeeded in doing. He doesn’t deserve the chance to live.”
    “That's not our decision to make,” Paul replied firmly.
Relived to see some of the tension being released from the trigger of the
pistol.
    “Then whose decision is it?” Gunny asked reasonably.
    Having no answer to that question, instead Paul ordered,
“Take the prisoner to sickbay and get the Doctor to check him out. And Gunny?”
    “Yes?”
    “Try not to bounce his head off every bulkhead
between here and medical. Once there I want a security team to lock down
medical. Nobody goes in or out without Doctor Richardson’s prior approval.”
    “That’s assuming the Doc doesn’t just shoot him on sight?
You do remember he was Marcus’s personal physician for over a decade, and
personally delivered Sofia. He always had a soft spot for Sofia. You remember
what those mercenaries almost succeeded in doing to her upon this man’s
orders?”
    Paul winced. He had forgotten and could feel a
headache quickly coming on when he began to realise he was possibly the only
person on the station who did not want this man dead . Sighing aloud,
Paul just replied, “Just do the best you can Gunny. I’ll try and work out what
to do with him next. Perhaps we should just hand him over to the
Confederation.”
    “You mean to the President?” Gunny’s eyes brightened at the
prospect. Sofia had been elected Confederation President several months
earlier, and everybody on the station knew she had harboured strong feelings
toward their recently-deceased Commander. A man who gave his life to stop the
actions of the very man lying at their feet. “I fully endorse that decision.
After all, I would have just shot him. Sofia will likely do far worse. She has
more of her father’s steel in her than she realises.”
    With that Gunny reached down and effortlessly, but none too
gently, threw the man over his shoulder. The dull thud of the body colliding
with the bay doors on the way out reverberated throughout the small pod.
    Rubbing his eyes wearily, Paul realised that he had a long
day ahead of him, trying to decide what to do with Admiral Harkov. The
individual personally responsible for the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the
downfall of the Imperium and, indirectly, the death of Commander Jonathan
Radec, owner of Vanguard Shipping and Paul’s closest friend.
    *****
    With a massive roar of the powerful twin ion engines, the
heavy fighter shot away from the station. Its destination? Well the pilot had
not yet thought that far ahead. Miranda Sun had grown up within the Syndicate,
a powerful shadowy organisation spanning multiple star-systems, unscrupulous in
what goods they dealt in, concentrating on whatever had the highest profit
margin. Be it contraband, weapons or even people. The organisation had come to
an abrupt end, however, only several weeks earlier, in no small part to
Miranda’s own actions. Her eyes had been opened to the organisation’s true
nature due to Jonathan Radec, starting with the death of her own parents at the
hands of the Syndicate.
    Now in her late twenties, with a slim, willowy body, long,
dark, flowing hair and exotic features, her face was definitely oriental — high cheekbones, full lips and straight nose. Combined with her
almond-shaped brown eyes, Miranda had garnered a lot of attention since her
abrupt arrival on Terra Nova almost six months earlier. However, during
that time,