Scattered Suns by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

then climbed out, accompanied by seven personal guards.
    The Solar Navy troops met him with appropriate courtesy and respect, but Thor’h snapped at the first escort: “Take me to your command nucleus. I would speak with your qul immediately! He must be warned.”
    The crewmen did not question his orders. Though supposedly disgraced, Thor’h was still the son of their Mage-Imperator. “Follow us, Prime Designate. Qul Fan’nh will be honored to receive you.”
    Thor’h and his seven guards adopted a brisk pace to keep the escorts moving and sustain a sense of urgency.
    Until he had broken free of the tangled bonds of his father’s thism , Thor’h had not understood that Ildirans were like marionettes controlled by invisible soul-threads. The Mage-Imperator’s people simply did not know how to be sufficiently suspicious of other Ildirans. Fools! For one of their people to turn against the Empire was as unbelievable to them as a man’s left hand suddenly taking up a knife and trying to cut off his right.
    Thor’h knew that just such an unexpected shock was necessary to save the Ildiran Empire from its internal weakness. Because he believed in Rusa’h’s vision and knew that his uncle was destined to be the true Imperator, Thor’h would do what was necessary for his race—even if it meant he must turn against his brothers and Mage-Imperator Jora’h himself. If all Ildirans allowed themselves to see the purity and truth of the Lightsource, then this struggle need not be a messy one.
    Nevertheless, Thor’h suspected it would be bloody.
    His timing was well coordinated with Rusa’h’s. When Thor’h arrived with his seven converted guards at Qul Fan’nh’s command nucleus, he noted that his uncle’s royal shuttle had already been accepted into the flagship warliner. Surprises would begin momentarily.
    Standing straight-backed in his Solar Navy uniform, the maniple commander turned to greet Thor’h as he entered the bridge area. Tall and thin, the qul touched his fist to his heart in salute. “You honor me with your presence aboard my warliner.”
    “I thank you for your assistance in this emergency, Qul.” Thor’h strode directly toward Fan’nh, and his seven Hyrillkan guards followed him into the command nucleus. Before the escort crewmen could enter the bridge behind them, one of Thor’h’s guards spun and sealed the doors.
    Everything happened within seconds. Qul Fan’nh blinked in surprise. The locked-out escort crewmen began to pound on the door, calling out questions.
    Thor’h stepped up to the maniple’s commander. A slim crystal blade dropped out of his sleeve and into his grip. Without hesitation, he swept his arm upward and drove the glassy dagger under Qul Fan’nh’s chin, deep into his throat.
    Eerily silent, Thor’h’s loyal guards spread out, drawing their own weapons. Qul Fan’nh’s confused bridge crew staggered up from their stations, some of them crying out in shock.
    The subverted Hyrillkan guards had practiced techniques of swift assassination. Their blades flashed. Trapped crewmembers screamed. One woman managed to trigger an alarm before two guards fell upon her and slit her throat.
    Thor’h didn’t need to bloody his hands again. With one foot, he shoved the twitching body of Qul Fan’nh away from the command rail. In moments, everyone else in the bridge area had been slaughtered, and Prime Designate Thor’h took his place in command of the Ildiran battleship.
    Alarms continued to ring through Qul Fan’nh’s warliner, and Thor’h gruffly commanded his fellow conspirators to shut them off. By now, the rest of the crew was aware that something had gone terribly wrong, but they could do nothing about it.
    “Engage our defenses.” All seven of his comrades knew how to operate the weapons systems of a Solar Navy warliner.
    Aboard the Adar’s flagship, Rusa’h had succeeded in seizing the landing bay. The Designate used the communications systems in his royal shuttle