Erebus Risen (Through Darkness Book II)

Chapter Three: Human Wretchedness

Chapter Three

Human Wretchedness

All villain as I am – a damned wretch,

A hardened, stubborn, unrepenting sinner –

Still my heart melts at human wretchedness,

And with sincere, tho unavailing sighs

I view the helpless children of distress.

A Tragic Fragment, Robert Burns

Miriam exchanged yet another weighted look with Hadrian as they followed General Dux out of the hangar bay. It pained her to see him so haggard, crushed by the terrible knowledge of what they had discovered.

A voice crackled through the speaker system. It was Major Sandyx, the Redemption's pilot.

'Attention, we will jump to Quarter speed on route for Ignis in five minutes.'

Dux pressed a finger to her ear, barking into her mouthpiece, 'wait for my mark, Major.' She stopped, turning back to them just before they were about to step into the adjoining elevator.

'Hadrian, we have to leave right now, I'll explain everything soon, but there's been a – a disagreement between myself and General Infigo, and, well, we are officially disobeying direct orders. After we stop at Ignis we'll be going directly to Sanctus and joining the battle. You'll have to come with us.'

Hadrian seemed to consider this for a moment, glancing once more at Miriam. She nodded.

'All right,' he said, 'but in a few days none of this will even matter.'

Dux just stared, but then she blinked, stepping into the elevator. Fortis didn't take his eyes off Hadrian's face. He was frowning.

'Miriam?' Aliya murmured once more under her breath. Miriam looked at her with a pained expression. Aliya's long golden hair was fastened into a twisting braid. She looked like a different person in the sleek Armada uniform than the one she had met on the surface of the slave planet less than three months before.

'Later,' she mouthed.

'Miri,' Hadrian said quietly just before he followed the rest into the elevator, 'go back to the yacht and notify the Hornet to hold position. If approached by Armada vessels they must not say anything about having seen the Redemption. We will rendezvous with them over Sanctus in seven days.'

She nodded, turning and hurrying back into the hangar as the elevator door hissed shut. The metal clanged aggressively beneath her feet as she ran towards the bug-like yacht, passing several members of the Armada crew working on other vessels on her way.

Rapidly typing a passcode into the sleek pad beside the outer hatch, Miriam stepped onto the small, battered craft. The Hornet was CelestialCities' oldest station, and its pods and yachts were equally ancient. She sat in front of the helm console, her hand hovering over the screen. She closed her eyes for a moment, sighing as her fingers shook slightly. She shouldn't feel this way, not now.

She pressed the screen. The speakers crackled, then the display flashed blue as a channel opened.

'This is the Hornet,' a man's voice said. 'Hadrian?' But then the screen flickered and his face appeared in front of the Flight Deck of the old station.