novelxo Chapter Epilogue
As Commander Tumak strode through the courtyard of what had once been the heart of the White Falcon Order, he could not help but smile as this was a particularly good day. He had been given permission to deal with the prisoners as he saw fit. Most of them he had turned over to his men for sport, but he had kept two of them for himself and was looking forward to disposing of them. Walking into the former Hall of the Patriarchs, he looked at the young man and woman standing there and began speaking. “You have kept your end of the bargain, Benjamin, and so as we promised your parents have been freed from their virtual slavery. And here are your parents.” With that he laughed cruelly as two of his men wheeled two clear coffins into the room and dumped them unceremoniously on the floor. Benjamin cried out in agony and, rushing over to the coffins, just lay there sobbing. Everything he had done was useless. Both his parents were now dead, and he was truly alone having betrayed the Order to these men.
Looking dismissively at the young man lying there helplessly over the coffins, Commander Tumak told his men, “He is free to go where he wishes. I am done with him.” With that he turned his attention to the young lady, saying, “Aaahhh, so you are Sierra Zierck. Well now, your father misses you and wishes your return. We promised him that we would return you for his surrender.” Turning back to his guards, he said, “See that she does not escape. We are going to fly her back to Calos II in four days.” Looking back at Sierra, he smiled cruelly. “I will inform your father that you are being returned to him. He has much to discuss with you, I understand.” At that comment, Sierra turned pale, and the Commander, humming to himself, contentedly strode out of the room.
…
Sitting in a cave deep within the mountains of Portus, Perrin and Bethany sat with twenty-two other Guardsmen under the command of Father Sevas. As far as any of them knew, he was the last surviving Father of the Order. Bethany was tending Christopher Saxe who lay on a mat breathing heavily and in obvious pain. He had been cut across his whole chest, and it was doubtful that he would survive much longer. Suddenly Sebastian, who had been sitting by the group’s one radio, jumped up, yelling, “I got a message.” Racing over to Father Sevas, he handed him a small piece of paper which caused him to say grimly, “This message comes from Father Saxus. He is calling all surviving members of the order to the Mollux system, and so that is where we shall head.”
…
Alexander Boret sat crouched in the corner of the Spaceport. He was holding a captured plasma rifle with six other trainees. Ten of them had managed to escape the bloodbath at the training compound. Over the last four days, this small group had managed to evade capture and reach the spaceport, losing only four of their number along the way. Motioning to one of the other trainees, he said, “Do you see that shuttle?” At the trainees nod, he said, “We shall take it and escape as soon as it gets dark.” Looking at Boret, the other trainee asked, “How?” To that very legitimate question, Alexander simply shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have any clue, but we need to get off world and see if we can find any other survivors so we have to try.” With that the other trainee nodded his head, and they all sat back in their hiding place to wait.