He was empty-handed but reached for his Guardian. The weapon he had come to depend on, as the Colonel said he would. He ducked down, cut the legs out from one, and spun about to do the same to another. He then righted himself and took a powerful blow of another on his blade held high in front of his head. He closed with him and drew the blade across his throat. But a blade cut down deep against his back and neck, and he turned about in pain, dropping to one knee. He knew his time was over, but he could see the Colonel being carried aboard the transport by Stone and the rest of the survivors.
King let out a visceral war cry as he turned to face his attacker and lunged at him. He ducked out of the way, but he could see who it was now, Baclu, the one who had incited them all. King was fading fast, but he was determined to get his revenge. He thrust deep, and as Baclu parried, he rotated the blade inside his guard and slashed deeply across his face. The blade cut Baclu’s nose in half, and he cried out in pain. But in response, Baclu cut down onto his collar. The blade drove deep, and he was done for.
Lieutenant King collapsed down to his knees, and as his vision faded, he saw the ramp closing on the craft as it lifted off. Sergeant Stone was peering back at him. They were too far away to exchange words, but the sadness and respect he felt was all over his face.
Baclu lifted his blade over the Lieutenant and drove it deep into his collar, killing him instantly. Stone looked back to see Colonel Rossman had been there beside him and seen it all.
“It has begun, a great war of our time, a Mutiny,” he declared.
“Then it was all for nothing?”
“No, Sergeant, this was not the end. This was the beginning. Lieutenant King set an example for us all. We’re going to return, and we are going to fight.”
“To Lieutenant King!” Stone held up his helmet in salute.
“This war isn’t over. It’s only just begun.”
THE END
Marine- The Last Empire Page 7