Epilogue

Evan

"Sir, we lost track of the spaceship five minutes ago. No trace of it anywhere," the officer whispered. Evan thanked him quietly and turned toward his escort, six members of the Luna Brigade who answered to him alone. They had already disposed of Ivanov´s body, and although there would be protest from New Moscow, Evan felt secure in his position as leader of the Moon people now that the war was officially won. No small skirmishes out on the western frontier would change that, and no amount of protest from the less powerful families would change it, either. Officially, the head of the Ivanov family had committed suicide when he heard the Eastfold Brigade, which lay under his command, had been annihilated in a major battle up north. It would be seen as an honorable way out for a defeated commander, and nobody would inquire into the specifics of his death. Evan would see to it.

He sat down to think and poured a glass of the finest whiskey Meridian Koster had been able to produce. He took a deep gulp and leaned back. The command bunker was quieter than it had been for the last few days. He could still hear people talking, infopads bleeping, and phones ringing, but there was a calm to it all. They had lost the capitol, but won the war. The final war. Nobody would threaten the Moon people any more, and Evan felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. A weight that had been there since he understood what held his people back, what really caused their decay. We don´t have to be so afraid anymore, he thought. The Moon people would finally be able to develop their strengths and eradicate their weaknesses.

Earth and the solar system belonged to them now. The only possible enemy would be the Aurorans, and the escapees from Buchanan would ensure they were aligned as an enemy in the future. But Aurora, more than forty lightyears away, was too far to reach and too weak to pose a real threat. It would serve as a reminder to the Moon people that there were people out there who weren´t subjects and would resist if given the chance. It would keep them on their toes without really scaring anyone. In the long run, he didn’t know what would happen, but for right now, Aurora would be just a faraway place to scare children with. One day we´ll come to them to conquer and enslave, Evan thought. But it wouldn´t be for centuries yet. For now, the Moon people had enough with Earth and the solar system. The Covenant had to change, and many would not like it. But Evan had brought them the final victory, and that went a long way. He would see the changes through, by force if necessary.

Should the Moon people botch everything with their experiments and enhancements, it was good to know there was a backup out there, insurance that humanity would survive even if the Moon people didn’t.

He took another gulp of his drink.

Susan Atlas would be out there. He didn´t regret letting the starship get away, but a small voice in the back of his mind said he had done it out of love. Not for any of the logical reasons he could think of, but simply as an act of love. There had been something between them once. Had it been love? He couldn´t tell for sure. And what was the use in pondering? It could never have been, with her being English and him of the Moon blood. It wasn´t just that it was illegal, but their worldviews were different. He had cared for her, that much he knew. He cared for her still.

She would be safe now, and she would get a new start. Without Bliss to take away her memories and without the Moon people to restrict her in any way. She had a new chance at life, a life where she would be inferior to none. Evan smiled a crooked smile. Ironic, he thought. His people were oppressors, masters, and conquerors, but the English girl, a subject and an inferior according to everything he had been taught, was the one person in the world who impressed him the most. She had captured his heart.

Evan lifted his glass and made a silent toast. I wish you a good life, Susan Atlas. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you will not be forgotten.

 

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