SystemLord, much reduced in size, returned to brooding inside the tiny escape drone. As large – or as small – as a missile, it held his concentrated essence in far too little protoplasm to feel comfortable. As he departed the system under high acceleration, he decided after all that he would not take a personal name. After this ignominy, it would be the height of foolishness to distinguish himself from all of the other SystemLords in the Empire.
Not that he would retain his title once he reported in. He’d be lucky to remain a mere ship commander.
This will be a long trip, he thought. I don’t really think I’ll mind.
***
Two weeks later, formations of Hippos stood honor guard alongside the thinned ranks of surviving Marines. Once Admiral Absen – briefed by Ezekiel Denham – explained the difference between planetary Underlings and moon-based Purelings, the human warrior force took to their new allies with surprising ease.
It helped immensely that the Underlings helped hunt down and ruthlessly exterminate the Purelings in the moon base with all the enthusiasm of medieval Mongols slaughtering Russian peasants.
Overhead, the massive Weapon was briefly turned to a gentler use. Emitting at a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of its power, it lit the ceiling of the enormous main chamber with a warm yellow light. One hundred thousand newly awakened civilians sat in hastily cut rock bleachers overlooking the ranks of Marines and EarthFleet personnel.
Bodhran drums rolled thunder, and slowly, to the measured dirge of bagpipes and the pounding of the beat, one hundred separate lines of coffins emerged from the tunnels to the right.
Over the next hour more than nineteen thousand boxes, draped with banners of Earth’s many nations, were placed before them in neat rows, each carried by four comrades. Many contained nothing more than a token DNA sample from BioMed records, or some object of remembrance, yet to their brothers and sister in arms every one of them held the sacred remains of EarthFleet’s finest.
Setting down the latest coffin along with Bull, Swede and Charlie McCoy, Reaper ran her fingers slowly along the name stamped into the converted shipping carton, now a coffin. Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez Torres Velasco, EFM, it read.
Thank you, Juan. If not for you, that would be me lying there. She snapped to attention and presented arms crisply, holding the salute for a long moment before turning to march back to pick up another fallen hero.
From his position on the reviewing stand above, Admiral Absen held his own salute throughout the long hour. The growing ache in his arm was nothing compared to the demands of honor.
I wish I could have the whole million civilians here to see this, he thought. I’ll mandate everyone watch the video in full holographic sensurround when they wake up. They need to understand the price we paid for their lives, and never forget.
Never forget, and be ready for more sacrifice…because this is only our first conquest.
End of Starship Conquest.
READ ON for an excerpt from the next book
in the Stellar Conquest series, DESOLATOR: Conquest
If you'd like to read the Plague Wars/Stellar Conquest saga from the beginning,
you can get started with a free copy of Book 1, Reaper's Run.