Pax Imperia (The Redemption Trilogy)
Page 51
Glancing at the ring, sparkling on her finger, she was finally convinced of Jon and his promise. With tears glistening in her eyes, she looked up into her husband’s face, running a finger along his cheek, watching him lean into her touch.
“So are you now convinced that I won’t disappear when you awake in the morning?” He asked.
Laughing, she launched herself back into his embrace, feeling swept away by her emotions and love for this man, everything else forgotten for the moment. As she was swept up into his arms, she could almost hear Elsie’s laughter on the morning breeze, and her promise not to peek—much.
Sofia decided that if this really was a dream, then she never wanted to awake.
End of Book Three.
&
The Redemption Trilogy
The Redemption series is followed by “The Revelations Trilogy”.
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Author’s Note
I am painfully aware that nobody ever reads these postscripts, so I will get straight to the point, so that the few of you that made it this far can depart for greener pastures.
Thank You.
I can only hope that you derived as much pleasure from reading this series, as I did writing it. If you did not, then I can only congratulate you on your perseverance in making it this far!
The entire concept for the series first took hold very, very, early one morning almost three years ago. When I was tossing and turning trying to get to sleep, but couldn’t as my head was filled with images of two ships, conducting a duet of death, a ballet between the asteroids, against a backdrop of stars.
This went on for weeks and I tried everything to get these images out of my head, including repeatedly banging it against a wall, with little success. Finally I took pen to paper (metaphorically) and committed the scene to paper (eventually). This became the first chapter that I wrote of The Last Praetorian, the clash of ships and wills, between Jon and Miranda. As their story progressed something very strange started to happen, as I originally envisaged them becoming a couple, yet Jon constantly refused to follow the narrative set for him. When he was meant to be romancing Miranda, he was staring despondently out at the stars. Instead of some bold decisive leader, he was introvert, distant and haunted.
Like Jon, I too felt something was missing.
It was around this time that piracy around the seas of Somalia was on the rise and merchant vessels were routinely starting to take on private security. I read a number of articles on this, with most of these people being made up of ex-army, navy, Special Forces, etc. This started to make me wonder what happens to all those brave men and women who selflessly serve in the Armed Forces, before eventually leaving, voluntary or otherwise. It was from these thoughts that the idea of the crew of Terra Nova materialised, along with the wonderful characters of Paul, Gunny, Jason, David and the Doctor.
It was the back-story that interested me most, you see I am, and always will be a huge ”Star Wars” fan. I remember, as a young boy enthralled, watching the massive starships conquer the silver screen. Yet I had very little interest or time for the Rebels, they seemed to me to be nothing but a bunch of troublemakers, I was far more taken by the idea of the Empire and Imperial Navy. Aside from the rather mentally unhinged, mostly homicidal leaders, this seemed to be a professional organisation staffed by well-trained men and women, dedicated to keeping the peace - for it is far harder to build something, than to tear it down.
Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by the news of one politician or another guilty of corruption, embezzlement or highly dubious moral behaviour. It left me with a very jaded view of politicians and politics, that has remained with me for most of my life. So this got me wondering, what would it be like to have such an Empire, ruled not by some unhinged tyrant, but by a decent, honest chap? Somebody that cared for others and put their needs, and their wants, before his or her own. I found that a very intriguing proposition and decided it was something that I would like to explore further. Hence the Imperium, Emperor and Imperial Navy came into being.
This only left one story element missing - Sofia. I think that at one time or another most of us have experienced unrequited love or, in Jon and Sofia’s case, a love that was always destined never to be. It must be one of the most painful lessons we ever experience growing up, turning us from children into adults.
The lesson that no matter how much we might desire somebody, it can never be.
This brings me full circle, back to where I started off and, seeing that you have made it this far, I will leave you with a final terrible confession. You see the story that you have just read was never meant to end this way. When I initially conceived the idea of the three books, a trilogy, it was to be more than that, a cycle, an endless circle. If you think back to the very first scene of The Last Praetorian with the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, as he stared out at the stars, lost in the memories of his dead wife and concerned for his daughter - that was how Pax Imperia was meant to have ended. You see the terrible truth is that in the original story Sofia died during the attack on Eden Prime. Jon became Emperor, but never seceded his power. Instead, spending the rest of his days, like his father-in-law, desperately seeking the star that was Sofia, his wife, to be eventually succeeded by their son - Marcus Aurelius-Radec.
But something changed halfway through writing the series; maybe I learnt something from the characters that I created. That you should never give up, as there is always hope.
Mike Smith
6th January 2014
Shanghai, China
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Author’s Note