Chapter 1. Hades
"Mars has three moons."
Lucian Graccus stood beside the projected holographic map as he spoke.
"The inner two are it''s natural satellites - Phobos and Deimos."
As he pointed out features in the astral landscape, the ship''s Captain
noticed the regimental military tattoos on Lucian''s arms.
In particular, the eagle clutching a lightning bolt and the letters SPQR.
He was listed on the ships log as a Senate specialist advisor,
but Lucian Graccus had undoubtedly served with Praetorian Guard,
who were known for their ruthless ferocity and the atrocities they had
committed on behalf of the Senate.
"We are headed for the outer orbit of an artificial moon that was
abandoned and restricted nearly two decades ago during the Mars
uprising."
A moon floated above his outstretched palm in the display.
"For those of you that haven''t been,"
Lucian smiled, "Welcome to Hades."
*
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Lying in bed, Captain Loomis felt the gravitational gyroscopes
of the ship changing ratios. "Aenides, is there a problem?"
The ship did not respond.
That''s odd he thought, as he dressed. He asked again on his
way to the bridge, and again got no response. Once on the
bridge the Captain asked the navigator for a course update.
"Sir, the ship has come out of your described arc early.
We''re standing to, about two days travel from our destination."
"Two days? Can you explain this Aenides?"
The ship remained silent.
The Captain flushed with annoyance. ''"Is there a systems fault
that I am un-aware of ?"
"No Sir. " the Chief engineer replied.
"Then can some-one tell me," Capt. Loomis yelled, "what the fuck is
going on?"
"Well, two things immediately come to mind."
The Captain turned and saw Lucian sitting at a monitor going through
the ships log. "When we left the Moon we were running silent, then half
way through this voyage the location beacons were activated - leaving,
a nice trail of pings in our wake for anyone that might care to follow."
The Captain glared. "Who gave you the clearance to access
the ship''s log."
"You did." Lucian said. " When you changed the travel path we were
supposed to take."
"I am grateful to Senator Galba for sponsoring this voyage, but the Aenides
is a survey and exploration vessel, not a military one. I am in command
of her, she is my ship "
"She was your ship."
"What nonsense is this?"
Lucian smiled. "Aenides do you recognise my authority."
"I do Captain Graccus."
*
It was the second day of being confined to his quarters.
Capt. Loomis changed the frequency settings of the transparent
wall that looked out into space. He turned off the lights and waited.
The dark spaces between the stars slowly filled with colours not
visible to the human eye.
"Beautiful." he said to himself.
"I''m sorry that things have turned out this way Capt. Loomis."
"You don''t have be Aenides." He sipped from the glass he was
holding. "Is our new Captain aware that you are talking to me?"
"He is not, and I will not tell him, unless he asks."
"That comes perilously close to lying by omission"
"He deserves no better." Aenides replied.
Loomis smiled. "Making moral value judgements as well?
Are you sure your not becoming part human?"
"You have always put the safety of the crew and the ship first.
That is not the case with Capt. Graccus."
"Do you have proof?" Capt. Loomis started to feel light headed.
"I do." Aenides said.
Loomis dropped his glass. He lent against the wall, then fell to the floor.
"I believe that you can still hear me Capt. Loomis." Aenides said.
"The cabin is filling with an odourless gas that is displacing the oxygen.
You''re about to have a heart attack brought on by suffocation.
I''m sorry that things have turned out this way, I really am."
*