《Breathe now in the fire》 Chapter 1. Hades 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. An 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 for nearly a century, the largest man made structure in the solar system. Two decades ago during the Mars uprising, it was declared a black site and purged of all organic life." The moon floated above his outstretched palm in the display. "Ladies and gentlemen, for those of you that haven''t been, welcome Hades." *The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. 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 proscribed arc early. We''re standing to, about five days travel short our destination." "Five 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 and the re-fit, but the Aenides is a survey and exploration vessel, not a military one. I''m 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. He lent against the wall, dropped his glass and 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." * Chapter 2. Scythe Chapter 2. Scythe "Capt. Graccus, there is incoming coms. from Senator Galba." "Put him through." "Greetings Lucian." "Greetings Galba." "Aenides can you feed vision to Galba." "What am I looking at Lucian?" "A memorial ceremony for Capt. Loomis being held in the ship''s landing bay." "Shouldn''t you be down there with them?" "I wasn''t invited." Galba smiled. "How awkward." "Apparently there is some lingering ill feeling amongst the crew about how I treated their former Captain, prior to his unexpected and untimely death." Galba shook his head. "Leadership can be such a thankless task." The ship''s engineer finished his eulogy and asked if anyone else would like to speak. A young medical officer stepped forward, but before she had a chance to talk, warning lights in the landing bay began to flash.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "It could just be a glitch ." the engineer said. "I''ll go and check." The medic looked around nervously and was about to continue when she was interrupted by the sound of alarm sirens. "Evacuate the bay." the Engineer yelled. " Aenides, code Red." Galba laughed as he watched the crew run to the elevators, only to find them disabled and locked. "Look at them scurrying about like rats." The crew spread out searching for entry doors to the lower levels and found them locked as well. "Aenides, code Red." the Engineer yelled. "Respond." "I can not." Aenides said over the ship''s speakers. "Capt. Graccus has overwritten my protocols." The outer pressure doors of the landing bay started to open. The air inside hissed and groaned as it started to empty into the vacuum of space. "You''re killing us, you bastard." Lucian nodded in agreement. "Yes I am." "Aenides." "Yes Capt.Graccus." "Prepare a shuttle for me." * As Lucian steered the shuttle clear of the ship, Aenides confirmed the co-ordinates Galba had sent him. "There is nothing there except empty space Capt. Graccus" Lucian re-checked the shuttle''s control settings. There was enough fuel to make it out and back with a good margin if something wasn''t right. "Stand down Aenides, and go dark until I return." * Fifty kilometres before reaching the coordinate position, Lucian slowed the shuttle, then came to a complete stop two kilometres out. The navigational system still showed nothing ahead. Lucian opened a coms channel. "And where may I ask are you Galba?" The shuttle''s control panel indicated the ship was being externally scanned. Galba''s face appeared on the screen. "Patience dear brother." "I still have no idea where you are." "There is a good reason for that." Galba said. A glowing orb appeared before the shuttle. It split into three points of light that began to spin in a flat circular pattern. Lucian recognised it as a gateway. "Come through slowly." Galba said. The gateway closed as soon as Lucian steered the shuttle through it. Lucian''s shuttle now floated alongside a modified battle cruiser. He nodded his head in appreciation - the Aenides was now nothing more than a decoy that could be manoeuvred remotely. What was surprising was how much fire power Galba in secret brought in behind her. A tractor beam locked onto the shuttle and drew it towards the ship. * Chapter 3. Valkyrie Chapter 3. Valkyrie Lucian sat with Galba in his private quarters considering the schematics of a ship laid out in front of him. "It doesn''t look like any of our fleet vessels." Galba poured himself a drink. "It''s not, she''s the Valkyrie. Her home port was Hades." "Then she burned like all the other ships in the first wave of our attack." "The Valkyrie wasn''t at Hades." "I thought the entire fleet was accounted for." "So did I." said Galba Lucian swirled the ice cubes in his glass. "Is this conversation going somewhere?" "Perhaps...maybe all the way to the Senate putting me forward as Caesar." "Caesar?" Lucian said. "Your ambition really doesn''t know any bounds does it." "One shouldn''t deny the movement of the stars." Galba said. ".....Helena." The ship answered. "Yes Senator Galba."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Can you ask Ithaniel to join us?" "Ithaniel?" Lucian said. "Legate August''s son, I haven''t seen him since was boy." Galba nodded. "Try not to say how much he looks like August." "Why''s that?" "He didn''t find out he was a clone, until his Father died." * Lucian couldn''t help smiling when Ithaniel entered. He was the spitting image of August but much lighter framed and clear skinned. "Your Father and I served in the Praetorian guard, we campaigned on Mars together.... and I have to say...." Ithaniel stifled a groan. "He was one of the hardest bastard''s I ever met." Ithaniel smiled. "I heard him say that about you Tribune Lucian." Galba patted Ithaniel on the shoulder. "Ithaniel here is somewhat of a telemetry and code specialist. He uncovered the signals coming from Hades." "Only by accident Senator Galba" "Maybe so," Galba said. "but you''ve taken the lead in decoding them" Ithaniel gave a small nod. "I was confirming distance measurements between Hades and Mars, when I came across them. The signals were weak, and at first I thought they were coming from Hades - but they weren''t." "Where were they coming from?" Lucian asked. "That''s the interesting part." Galba said. "The signals were being broadcast at regular intervals. So I went back through the data until I found a sequence string, and it gave me some clues to plot a possible course. That''s how I found her." "The Valkyrie." Galba said. "Helena can you bring up a schematic." A three dimensional model appeared before them. "Why wasn''t she sighted or detected before now?" Lucian asked. "Because no-one was looking for her for," Galba said. "but more importantly, because she''s cloaked." "Cloaked? I though we were the only ones with that technology." "The technology was Martian to begin with." Galba said. "It was just one of the treasures we uncovered on Hades." Ithaniel walked around the hologram. "She first appeared in an elliptical orbit around Hades about five years ago, so it''s reasonable to assume the crew is either dead, or there was no crew to begin with." "Five years ago?" said Lucian. "Where was she before that." Galba smiled. "Let''s find out." * Chapter 4. Circling back Chapter 4. Circling back Steam hissed as Galba tipped water over the hot rocks. Lucian took the towel from his shoulders and wiped his face. "There is a chance we might not be able to get through the Valkyrie''s cloak." "The reason we are here Lucian, is the Aenides - and she is exactly where I want her to be. The Valkyrie is an opportunity that''s too good to pass up exploring." "Are other members of the Senate aware of what you''re doing out here?" "Just a small circle of like minded individuals."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Lucian shook his head. "Has there ever been a Senator that could even lie straight in bed" Galba put a towel over his face and lay back. "The dead ones probably can." * From an overhead gantry, Galba and Lucian watched the boarding vessel being prepared and loaded. "There is an eight man boarding team, plus yourself and Ithaniel." Lucian noticed his brother tapping his fingers on the guard rail. "Something on your mind?" Galba stopped tapping. "I want you to keep an eye on Ithaniel." "You want me to babysit him?" "No, nothing like that." "What then?" They watched Ithaniel on the deck below organising some gear. "I don''t trust him. I have a vague feeling he''s only telling me what he wants me to hear." "As opposed to what Galba?" Galba stepped back from the railing. "You''re missing the point." Lucian thought that his brother had stopped short of saying more. "You should go down and meet the boarding team." "Where are they from?" Lucian asked. "I don''t recognise their cloaks." "They''re not legionnaires." "Mercenaries." Lucian said sourly. "The main role of the Legions now is civil law enforcement." Lucian sighed. "Sometimes I think my garden is the only place in the entire fucking Imperium that makes any sense." Galba smiled. "How have you managed to stay alive for so long." Below them Ithaniel carried some of his equipment onto the boarding craft. "The squad leader is some-one of note - Ahmeena." "The one and only." Lucian said. * Chapter 5. Not so different Chapter 5. Not so different Lucian sat across from Ahmeena in ships crew quarters. He saw the pale scars that raked the brown skin of her face. "I was there the day you earned those." "Were you now." Ahmeena turned to face him. "I have a lot more scars on my body, if you''d like to stare at them as well." Lucian raised his hands. "No disrespect intended." Ahmeena took his measure. "You have an eagle on each arm." "I completed a 20 year Imperium enlistment." Lucian said. "20 years." Ahmeena said in surprise. "It was the only enlistment term my brother and I were offered, it was that or nothing" "...and the second eagle." "I was a Praetorian guard." "The chosen elite." Ahmeena said. "Was your brother Senator Galba, a Praetorian guard?" "Tread lightly." Lucian cautioned. "Galba served as a legionnaire and he did his duty. His strengths, as time has so amply proven, are in the political arena."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "No disrespect intended." Ahmeena said. "I know the Imperium offered you an extention on your enlistment. Why did you leave the Legions. Surely not to become a mercenary." "The Imperium didn''t offer me an extension. They told me that I had no other option but to accept it." Ahmeena stroked the side of her face and smiled. "... so I refused." Lucian noticed the slight unevenness in her features, a healed broken jaw. "The Imperium doesn''t take to kindly to it''s gifts being refused.." "No it does not." Ahmeena said. "I took the punishment that was handed out to me as a reward for 10 years of faultless service, but I left the Legion with the Lunar citizenship that was promised to my family. That was the only reason I joined in the first place." "We''re not so different Ahmeena. I wanted to join the Legion, Galba did not.. It was the only way out of the shit hole mining settlement we grew up in, and maybe a chance to give something back to our family. It''s a pity the Praetorian guard was disbanded, you would of made an excellent candidate." Ahmeena acknowledged the compliment. "Your colleague Ithaniel is an interesting fellow." "I wouldn''t call him a colleague, he''s here as technical support." "Just technical support?" "What do you mean?" "After our first mission briefing, the squad indulged in a little drinking and some dice games." "I do miss the dice throwing." Lucian said. "There was the usual shit talk, and bit of pushing and shoving that involved Ithaniel." "Feeling out the new boy." Lucian said. "Seeing what he''s made of, perfectly understandable." Ahmeena nodded. " And what was he made of?" Lucian asked. "Three of my squad are in the medic pods for facial and skeletal reconstruction. He beat them half to death without even raising his voice." "That''s somewhat of a surprise. I was unaware that Ithaniel had any kind combat training or experience. Your men in the medic pods. Is it going to affect the mission." Ahmeens put her hands on the table. "We''re going to make contact at the closest point of the Valkyrie''s orbit. When that happens, I don''t think squad numbers are going to change the outcome one way or another." There is no denying that thought Lucian. "Is the offer to look at the scars on your body still good." "It wasn''t an offer, you stupid man." "I''m not hearing no," Lucian said, "so it''s a maybe then." Ahmeena smiled. "Maybe." * Chapter 6. Prelude Chapter 7. Prelude Galba''s cello was not only a thing of beauty it was made of timberUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. sourced from of the first forest of trees grown on the Moon. Lucian knew better than to interrupt as Galba played, so he sat quietly and enjoyed the rise and fall of the music. * Author''s Note I will add to this chapter in the coming weeks. Thank you for reading what I have written so far. Any feed back you have would be welcome.