The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

and Brother James. I fight for the light of Salvation. You should be happy for me.”

“You’re not a killer, Rikhi.”

Valentin focused on Ophelia. He owed her his life. Salvation would not exist without her. But the movement could not move forward with her in the fleet. James made his position clear.

“You always knew it would end this way,” he told her. “Either the Guard would destroy you or we would. I protected you as long as you were useful. I am sorry, Ophelia. I don’t do this out of malice.”

A scowl broke her tears. “Monsters never do.”

“But it must be public. My brother demands it.” He shifted his focus to Magnus. “You must ask yourself this: Do I have a heart black enough to kill a woman bearing three children? Am I so committed, I will press the trigger button faster than a flash peg can tear a hole through my head?”

Magnus turned red, the perspiration soaking his features. Valentin knew he was about to surrender, but he feared a loss of control over the trigger finger. Ursula, who never said a word since entering the ship, appeared stoic. She hid her fear with resolute eyes and a partial nod giving Valentin permission to finish this.

Instead, his eyes met Harrison, who obeyed and aimed his own weapon at Magnus.

“End this madness,” Valentin said. “End your life like a man, not a coward.”

Magnus dropped his weapon and let Ursula go. Rikhi moved forward and collected both Ophelia’s and Magnus’s pistols. He reached out a hand to Harrison, who threw confusion at Valentin.

“It’s fine, Mr. Malwood. You have no more need of it. Yes?”

“Yes, of course.”

Valentin stepped lively and raised his voice.

“Col. Lennox, you may enter.”

The soldier who escorted them to the Scramjet ordered Ophelia and Magnus to exit at once.

“Well done, Soldier Syed,” Lennox told the boy. “You’ll make a fine addition to our army. Hand the weapons to the quartermaster and wait outside for further orders.”

Rikhi saluted.

Valentin lowered his blast rifle but shot a nasty look at Harrison.

“Why didn’t you abort when you saw Ursula was the hostage?”

“I do apologize, Admiral, but frankly, we were too far along. Had I pulled back, I would have raised suspicions. Yes?”

The point was fair but unacceptable. “Why James felt the need to put you in the middle of this lunacy is beyond me. We had them on conspiracy and treason. This could have been handled quietly.”

“True. But your brother wished otherwise, and he is the ultimate commander of Salvation. Yes?”

Valentin refused to say another word to this cretin. He stepped off Gamma and reviewed the gathering crowd. Work in the landing bay came to a stop. More than fifty gathered – soldiers, rogues, Chancellor engineers. Valentin gave in to his brother’s demands.

“Listen carefully,” he told the crowd. “Today, we have uncovered a conspiracy to sabotage the fleet and make us vulnerable to attack by the Unification Guard. These two,” he pointed to Ophelia and Magnus, who stood apart with heads bowed, “attempted to commandeer this craft and escape not only with vital secrets but also with Sister Ursula, though she is only days from giving birth.

“Tell others what you are about to see and let them know: any attempt at treason will be met with the ultimate penalty. But all those who remain loyal to the goals of Salvation will be rewarded with the ultimate prize. For some, that prize will be a home world. For others, a chance to return to the Collectorate as heroes to their people.”

He pivoted. “Col. Lennox. Now.”

Lennox aimed his blast rifle chest-high. Magnus hyperventilated as he lifted his head and stared into the face of his executioner.

“No …”

Lennox shredded his chest with flash pegs. Magnus flopped to the deck, his body contorted in a manic pose. Lennox lowered his weapon and turned to the admiral.

Valentin looked down at Rikhi, who stood at his side.

“Are you ready?” He asked the boy.

“I am, Admiral Valentin.”

He directed Rikhi to Lennox, who handed over the blast rifle.

“No,” Ophelia shouted. “Oh, please. Not you! Valentin, don’t do this to him. He’s not a killer.”

Valentin didn’t want to look, but he had no choice. Rikhi turned back, as if asking for permission to ignore Ophelia’s pleas.

Valentin nodded.

Ophelia fell to her knees.

Rikhi did not hesitate.

Flash pegs blew her skull apart.

The landing bay fell into abject silence. They all knew Ophelia before they met her. She made Collectorate-wide headlines in the weeks following the SkyTower disaster. To some, she was a legend. And then, in the final months, a ghost. A non-entity banished to a few sectors of Lioness.

Valentin cursed James for demanding this spectacle. Yet he wasn’t done. He didn’t care what his brother thought about the next one.

“Col. Lennox, please escort Mr. Malwood to the forward deck for execution.”

Harrison did a double-take and started babbling.

“I’m sorry, what? Admiral, what are you playing at?”

Valentin raised his voice. “This man was planning to betray Brother James directly.” Harrison cackled, but Valentin drowned him out. “He took part in today’s capture of traitors in order to hide his true purpose. He intended to take advantage of Brother James’s goodwill by securing a ship that would take him to the closest Guard outpost. There, he would reveal the coordinates of Black Forest, allowing the Guard to assault our position.”

“No, no, no!” Harrison shouted for all to hear. “This is madness. I have done nothing but risk my life for Salvation. He doesn’t like me.” Harrison pointed to Valentin. “He’s insane. This is revenge because his brother favors me.”

Col. Lennox pushed the feverish, ranting intelligence chief closer to the corpses of traitors. That’s when the disconnect hit Valentin. He saw it when they entered the Scramjet. One weapon in Malwood’s hand, the