Turning Point (Galaxy's Edge Book 7)

by Jason Anspach

  “There is no House of Reason. The House of Reason was dissolved this morning. The Legion is in control of the galaxy now. And no, you’re not special. You are, in fact, nothing. The zhee are a blight on galactic civilization. You take. You exploit. You kill. Those are your contributions. That’s your rich and diverse heritage. You’re like wild animals. You’re dangerous. And your time is up. Now the galaxy will have to do without your murder and mayhem. Because there is no House of Reason anymore to protect you from the consequences of your stupidity.

  “After Gibraltaar was taken, there were three thousand, four hundred, and thirty-six zhee taken prisoner. I ordered them all executed. Your bases deep in the desert are, as we speak, being struck from orbit, by this fleet. The Legion’s fleet. And as for the slums that have terrorized the Green Zone and the rest of the planet, the so-called ‘badlands’… I ordered them firebombed the moment the last legionnaire was pulled out.”

  The look on Bum Kali’s face was… pure shock. And horror. Horror because the man in front of him meant what he said. Even an old thief like Bum Kali knew the cold, hard, brutal truth when it was told to him.

  This man was reality.

  “I don’t care if you believe me,” Keller said. “I just wanted you to hear me say it. Show him anyway, Colonel.”

  Colonel Speich leaned down with a tablet and displayed a series holovids and images. They showed that everything the Legion commander had just said was true. Zhee being executed by firing squad on the desert sands. Satellite images of orbital strikes on bases Bum Kali thought to be well hidden. The slums on fire, cordoned off by the Legion and the loyal marines. Heavy armor guarding the routes out. Ponies and younglings burning. Pack brothers being shot down without quarter or mercy.

  Speich clicked off the tablet and stepped away officiously.

  “I wanted you to see this,” said Keller, “because you brought it on yourself. You, like most every other race within the galaxy, could have played along and joined the team. But you’ve always been an enemy to a Republic too stupid to recognize that fact. We both know this. And even when we tried to treat you as friends, you stabbed us. Blew us up. Shot at us.

  “There’s a maniac with delusions of grandeur calling himself the emperor. And we’re at war with him, too. The Republic, the true Republic, does not have time to send you to prison camps or re-education centers. Hoping that this time you won’t pop back out, a problem just as bad as before. It does not have time to watch our backs. To watch you, waiting to see when—not if, when—you’ll next try to plunge in the knife or send another explosive-stuffed corvette into a population center. The zhee of Ankalor are done. And we both know that once word of what’s happened reaches the other zhee worlds, it all stops. They won’t make the mistake of Ankalor. You, Bum Kali… you did this.”

  Keller pulled out his sidearm and shot Karshak Bum Kali in the face. The zhee’s head flopped to one side. Blood and brains quietly drooled out onto the deck.

  A holocam had recorded the entire incident. This was Keller’s speech to the galaxy. His response to the House of Reason and anyone else determined to stand in the Legion’s way.

  And then there were only the steps of the commander and his legionnaires moving off, heading toward the next crisis that needed to be handled in order to protect the galaxy, and save it from itself.

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  Honor Roll

  We would like to give our most sincere thanks and recognition to those who supported the creation of Galaxy’s Edge: Turning Point by subscribing as a Galaxy’s Edge Insider at GalacticOutlaws.com

  Janet Anderson

  Robert Anspach

  Sean Averill

  Russell Barker

  Steven Beaulieu

  WJ Blood

  Christopher Boore

  Aaron Brooks

  Marion Buehring

  Alex Collins-Gauweiler

  Robert Cosler

  Andrew Craig

  Peter Davies

  Nathan Davis

  Karol Doliński

  Noah Doyle

  Dalton Ferrari

  Mark Franceschini

  Richard Gallo

  Kyle Gannon

  Michael Gardner

  John Giorgi

  Gordon Green

  Shawn Greene

  Michael Greenhill

  Joshua Hayes

  Jason Henderson

  Bernard Howell

  Wendy Jacobson

  James Jeffers

  Kenny Johnson

  Noah Kelly

  Mathijs Kooij

  Byl Kravetz

  Clay Lambert

  Grant Lambert

  Richard Long

  Kyle Macarthur

  Richard Maier

  Brian Mansur

  Pawel Martin

  Tao Mason

  Simon Mayeski

  Joshua McMaster

  Jim Mern

  Alex Morstadt

  Daniel Mullen

  Eric Pastorek

  Jeremiah Popp

  Chris Pourteau

  Walt Robillard

  David Sanford

  Andrew Schmidt

  Ryan Shaw

  Glenn Shotton

  Daniel Smith

  Joel Stacey

  Maggie Stewart-Grant

  Kevin Summers

  Ernest Sumner

  Beverly Tierney

  Scott Tucker

  Eric Turnbull

  John Tuttle

  Christopher Valin

  Nathan Zoss