The Sunfire

by Mike Smith

  Perhaps nibbled.

  Having been sitting on the bed for over ten minutes watching Jason work, she finally grew frustrated asking. “What are you doing?”

  Jason looked up in surprise, slightly embarrassed he had not even heard her enter, as he had been so engrossed in the encryption cipher that the Tyrell Corporation was using to secure their data-net. “I’m trying to hack into the Tyrell Corporation data-net. However, they are using a particularly strong cipher, hence instead of a brute force attack I’m packet sniffing the network, trying to determine if there is a flaw in the authentication protocol they are using.” He trailed off as Miranda looked at him blankly.

  “I’m sorry that I asked,” she muttered quietly. “Perhaps we could talk about something else?” She asked brightly.

  “Sure. I need a break anyway,” Jason replied rubbing his sore shoulders. “So what do you and Jon usually talk about when you are alone?”

  “Uh,” Miranda said trying to think back on what topics Jon and her usually discussed. Eventually she drew a blank, as most of the times she and Jon were alone led to other things. She remembered the previous night, Jon gently stroking his hand down her waist, her licking his throat, the hitch of his breathing at her touch. “Never mind,” she said hurriedly, jumping to her feet. “I’ve decided to have a shower instead.” With her face bright red, she hurried into the small adjoining washroom.

  Jason could only stare, confused, at the now shut door, listening to the sound of running water. Shaking his head in confusion, he went back to trying to crack the encryption cipher.

  *****

  The following morning Gunny and Jon joined Jason and Miranda in their small apartment to discuss their next steps. With Jason and Miranda sitting on one bed, Jon and Gunny on the other, facing each other, it seemed to Miranda the size of the room had shrunk dramatically.

  Miranda caught the gleam in Jon’s eye and she uncomfortably shifted a couple of centimetres further away from Jason.

  “So what have you discovered so far Jason?” Jon asked as he started their impromptu planning meeting.

  “I spent most of the night hacking into their data-net. The encryption algorithm was particularly fascinating.” Jason sighed aloud. “Moving on, I have penetrated the data-net and managed to download a map of the facility.” Without the aid of their usual holo-projector, Jason was forced to pass the device around, so the other occupants of the room could examine the map.

  “What is this large unmarked area here?” Jon asked, pointing to a large portion of the facility that was shaded out, only an outline existed and it lacked the detail of the rest of the map.

  “That is the restricted area,” Jason replied. “It’s off limits to all civilians, only accessible to high level corporate executives or those on an authorised entry list. Somewhere in that area we will find Sejanus and the Emperor.”

  “You can get us into that area?” Jon assumed.

  “No.”

  Jon looked up in surprise, as that was not the usual answer he got from their resident computer genius. “Surely that's a no at the moment, but given enough time?”

  “That's a no, full stop,” Jason interrupted resolutely. “That restricted area runs on a completely isolated network. It seems to be hardwired and I have no way to access it. The authorised personnel list resides on that network and it’s the only way we can get into that area. Unless I can get into it, I cannot access such a list and we’re stuck.”

  “Not a problem,” Gunny replied confidently. “We have the men and the firepower, we could just assault that section. Give me thirty minutes and we would have the entire area secured.”

  Jason shook his head sharply. “We already discussed that scenario back on Terra Nova. In the time it took to secure that area, the Emperor could be moved to another location to be held hostage or, at worst, simply executed. We need to get into the area undetected and determine the location of the Emperor, secure him and then make our move. But how?” Jason asked despondently.

  Rubbing his jaw thoughtfully Jon reasoned out loud, “So we cannot get our names on the authorised personnel list. Hence we would need the guards to let us in.”

  “We have no idea of the identities of any of the senior Tyrell executives, nor what they look like, so I cannot see how we can impersonate them,” Jason interrupted.

  “Indeed, so we need to think of somebody that we do know the identity of, that we can impersonate to get inside.”

  “Like who?” Miranda asked curiously.

  “I can think of half a dozen people off the top of my head,” Jon confessed. “But they are all too well known.”

  “For example?” Miranda asked frustrated.

  “Sofia,” Jon shrugged. “I am sure a visit from the Confederation President would be permitted inside. Marcus, were he not already being held captive there, Admiral Sterling…” Jon trailed off as the thought suddenly hit him. He gazed at Miranda with a broad grin spreading across his face.

  “What?” She replied, self-consciously.

  “I’ve always been curious to know what you would look like in an Imperial Navy uniform, I guess that I am going to find out. As for me, I think a promotion is long overdue.”

  *****

  In the end they had been unable to find Miranda a navy uniform, so instead Jon had to settle for one of her dark flight-suits, with some subtle alterations to it, namely the addition of a Captain rank insignia to the collar. Jon had changed his white navy uniform in a similar fashion, promoting himself to an Admiral. Gunny and the rest of his team had shaved and dressed in the uniform of Imperial Navy marines. Armed with pulse rifles across their chest and a pistol at their side, they formed an escort around Jon, Miranda and Jason, making the group an imposing sight. Certainly the guards on duty outside the entrance to the restricted area were taken aback when faced by a dozen heavily armed marines.

  As they approached the entrance, the group came to a halt. The guards and the marines eyeing each other warily across the distance between them. After a few moments, an officer separated himself from the guards. Approaching the group, his eyes lingered on the weapons prominently on display.

  “Identify yourselves and your purpose,” the officer demanded, the confidence in his voice betrayed by his trembling body.

  The group was silent for a moment, until the marines parted, allowing Jon to take a step forward towards the officer. His uniform gleamed, the sword resting at his side even more so.

  “Identify myself?” Jon demanded in a nasal tone of voice, red faced in righteous indignation. “Do you not recognise me man? I am Fleet Admiral Harkov, Commander of the Imperial 4th Fleet,” Jon announced for all to hear. “I demand entrance to see Sejanus, for we have important business to discuss.”

  *****

  Sitting in the cramped quarters with Gunny, Miranda and Jason, Jon had a bolt of inspiration. After all, who was the one person that Sejanus knew, but would not recognise? Harkov himself had confessed during the interrogation that he had only spoken to Sejanus and never met him. Sejanus would not recognise the Admiral. All Jon had to do was try and impersonate the Admiral’s nasal, high-pitched tone of voice. Harkov was now dead, but only Jon and the senior staff knew this for a fact and so the real Harkov could not turn up to dispel the illusion. Even better, Harkov had a valid reason to be there, for Sejanus had demanded the death of Jonathan Radec and, if that is what he wanted, that is what he would get.

  After quickly explaining his idea to Jason, Gunny and Miranda, they all thought he had lost his mind. Hence he had to talk quickly to convince them. Pointing out that Harkov was the one person Sejanus knew, but not by sight; it was the perfect disguise.

  “What if Sejanus demands proof that you, Radec, is dead?” Jason asked dubiously. “It’s not as if we can give him your head and we don’t have any spare ones lying around,” he added morbidly.

  “We have something better,” Jon replied with a smile, flourishing his Valerian sword. “We simply state that the body was destroy
ed, but we recovered his sword. It’s unique and cannot be copied. Even Sejanus should be able to recognise a Valerian sword when he sees one.”

  “You don’t think he is going to be a little suspicious if you just turn up, at his door, by yourself, totally unannounced?” Miranda questioned.

  “I’ll have you, my pilot and Jason, my first officer with me,” Jon replied confidently.

  “Perhaps we can do one better than that Commander,” Gunny voiced aloud. “For a Fleet Admiral would never travel anywhere without a personal guard of honour.”

  Hence a plan was quickly conceived.

  *****

  The officer quickly glanced down at his datapad, displaying the list of authorised personnel, then back up into the red face of the Admiral, and his group of personal guards, all eyeing him and his few guards with barely disguised contempt. With a bead of sweat start to glisten on his forehead he replied, “Please wait a moment.”

  Twenty minutes later Jon was starting to get impatient, wondering if Sejanus had called their bluff, but surely he would at least wonder what the Admiral had to offer? His internal musings were interrupted by the officer scurrying back.

  Paling after glancing, once again, at all the weapons on display and this time not even trying to hide the beads of sweat on his forehead, the officer stopped a few feet from Jon and in a respectful tone asked. “My master requests proof that you are who you claim to be and that you have brought what was demanded of you.”

  Jon glared at the young officer disdainfully for a long moment. As if coming to a decision, Jon reached to his side and in one smooth motion pulled the unique Valerian sword free of its sheath. Light reflected off the blade as Jon wielded the beautiful, but deadly, weapon.

  The officer took a step back in fear, his face turning a further deathly shade of white, his eyes fixated on the blade frozen in mid-air.

  Jon glared at the officer, his eyes a flinty steel-grey then, with a flick of his wrist, reversed the sword. Holding it now by the blade, he offered it to the officer, hilt first. Taking a step forward towards Jon, the officer grasped the hilt of the sword, pulling it firmly, but the sword would not budge. Instead Jon took a step forward, still with a firm grip on the blade, until the point of the blade was touching his chest and he was almost face-to-face with the officer. In a deadly tone of voice he stated. “You present this weapon to Sejanus, you tell him it was taken from what remained of the body of Jon Radec.”

  The officer nodded nervously and almost tripped over himself trying to step away from Jon, but still Jon held the blade fast in his hand.

  “One more thing,” Jon whispered in so quiet a tone of voice the officer had to listen carefully to hear. “I will be wanting the blade back afterwards, so guard it with your life. For your very life will depend upon it being returned to me.”

  Nodding furiously while Jon released the blade, the officer shot backwards, tottering a few steps under the weight of the sword, which Jon had been nonchalantly holding with one hand. With a final terrified look over his shoulder, the officer disappeared through the reinforced doors.

  Several minutes later the officer returned, minus sword and, with a nod towards the men guarding the door, they stepped aside to allow them through.

  “All weapons must remain here,” the officer insisted stiffly. “No weapons are permitted beyond this point.”

  Jon gave him another flat stare, before turning to Gunny and gave him a short nod. As the marines filed past the guards at the door, they handed over both rifle and pistol before proceeding onwards into the restricted area. The only delay came when Gunny reached the guards and the line was delayed momentarily as Gunny proceeded to produce a small mountain of weaponry.

  “Almost forgot,” Gunny replied with a toothy grin, addressing the young guard who was staring in disbelief at the rapidly growing pile. Reaching down into his boot he withdrew a six-inch, serrated blade. Dropping it into the guards waiting hand, he leaned forward and under his breath warned. “That’s real personal to me boy, as I killed my first man with that and I’ll be wanting it back later, so keep it real safe for me.” Without a glance behind, he stepped through the imposing doors.

  “You, with me,” the officer pointed his finger at Jon. “The rest of you that way,” he pointed down a different corridor. “Accommodation has been made available for you.”

  “I’m not leaving the Admiral’s side. His protection is my responsibility,” Gunny insisted belligerently, daring anybody to disagree.

  “She also comes with me,” Jon pointed to Miranda authoritatively. “I don’t trust your hired guns to keep their hands to themselves and nobody touches what is mine,” he gloated.

  The officer looked uncertain for a moment, before nodding in compliance.

  The rest of the team followed the guards down the side corridor, while Jon, Miranda and Gunny followed behind the officer.

  Miranda looked around curiously, trying to pin down what felt different about this section of the complex. Observing the bright, overhead strip lighting, spotless white walls and thick blue carpet, Miranda finally realised this section did not have the old, run down, dilapidated feel of the rest of the complex. It was obvious that whoever lived here spent serious money on the upkeep and maintenance. Miranda was just about to comment on the change of surroundings when they finally arrived at their destination.

  The door was unassuming, except for the two armed guards stationed on either side of it. The guards tensed at their arrival, but seemed to relax after a moment when the officer stepped forward and had a quiet word with them in low tones that Miranda was unable to overhear. Finally with a nod of understanding they stepped aside and the door slid open, permitting their entrance.

  Without even glancing at the guards and with his head held high, Jon stepped through the portal, Miranda and Gunny only a step behind. The comparison was startling, as if they had stepped over a threshold into a completely different world.

  *****

  Jon quickly scrutinised the room, taking everything in with a single glance. From the thick blood-red carpet underfoot, to the rich tapestries hanging from the walls. The room was brightly lit, but unlike the rest of the complex, which had stark neon lights, delicate chandeliers hung from the ceiling to illuminate the room. The whole apartment reminded Jon instantly of the Emperor’s personal apartments on the now destroyed Imperial Star. The similarity was eerily familiar and immediately filled Jon with a strong sense of foreboding. The length of one side of the room was taken up with an imposing desk, similar to the one in Jon’s own office. The surface of the desk was barren except for the sword resting upon it and Jon knew instinctively that it was his own.

  However, Jon did not linger on any of these items for long, as his gaze was immediately drawn to the figure seated behind the desk. Their gazes locked in an instant and immediately Jon knew that they were in far, far greater trouble than he had ever expected.

  Rising to his feet, Sejanus stepped out from behind his desk, coming face-to-face with Jon as only a few meters separated the two. Of roughly equal height, Jon had no trouble looking the other man in the eye, noting the dark mop of hair, similar to his own. However, Sejanus’ eyes were a dark brown, almost black in their intensity compared to his own grey. Everything about the man was dark, from the short, trimmed beard, to the black uniform that he wore. He seemed to absorb all the light that was around him, like a blackhole.

  However, it was not his physical appearance that troubled Jon, but his poise, the way that he held himself. With a straight back, shoulders held high, head at a slight angle easily taking in the scene in front of him, just as Jon was doing. Sejanus projected an air of casual arrogance, of basic superiority, totally self-confident in the fact that everybody was his lesser, nobody his equal. It was an aura that only somebody who had climbed to the very top of the mountain of mankind and been able to cast his gaze down upon the multitudes below could emanate. It was a feeling Jon was intimately familiar with, the aura of invincibility that on
ly a Praetorian could radiate. Jon did not even need to glance down at the man’s waist to know that his sword would be resting there.

  Jon did not know how long the two of them continued to stare at each other, with the intensity of a laser beam, each instinctively recognising that the other was a mortal enemy. Two sides of the same coin, light and dark, hot and cold, good and evil.

  *****

  Having followed Jon into the room, Miranda cast her gaze around in awe at the opulent surroundings. While she had thought this part of the complex well maintained, the apartment was nothing but extravagant. Surprised by the silence emanating from the room and unable to see anything from behind Jon, Miranda took a step to the side and her jaw dropped open in shock. As there, standing facing Jon was almost a mirror image of him, but distorted in some unimaginable, twisted way. With a similar height and build, from a distance the two could be mistaken for brothers. However, closer up, Miranda could spot the subtle differences. With Jon having grey eyes and dressed in the white uniform of the Imperial Navy, the man facing him could be his deeper, darker shadow with his dark eyes and black uniform. Miranda continued to hold her breath, as the two faced off against each other, neither saying a word, content just to continue to stare at each other with an intensity Miranda found unnerving.

  The silence in the room was finally broken by Sejanus who, with a knowing smile, offered a hand in greeting. “Admiral Harkov, this is a very unexpected, but a welcome surprise.”

  Jon glanced at the hand but made no move to take it, instead deciding to play along with the obvious charade. For Jon could not help but know if he could recognise Sejanus for what he was, it was almost certain he would be recognised in return. “Cut the pleasantries, Sejanus you know why I am here. I brought what you demanded and want what you promised in return.”

  “I believe that I insisted on the head of the Praetorian Commander?” Sejanus replied, with a bemused expression.