Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [236]
On the screen, Thor’h looked deeply troubled. “I still have three ships, Liege. I have no need of superior weaponry if I have superior resolve. What do you require me to do?”
“At this moment, your corrupt father is marching his regiments up the hill toward my citadel palace.” The Imperator gave a confident nod. “However, you and your warliners can give me the chance I need.”
Thor’h seemed too choked up to bid his uncle farewell. He gruffly acknowledged the orders and signed off.
Rusa’h commanded his fanatically loyal pleasure mates and the two septars: “Prepare to depart. My engineers have arranged a fully fueled escape ship in the rear courtyard. A small group will accompany me in my escape.” He stared at the blazing sun again. “We will go directly to the Lightsource.”
Chapter 120—MAGE-IMPERATOR JORA’H
The Solar Navy soldiers tightened their cordon around the citadel palace. Ground troops moved forward, closing all escape routes on the paths that led to the mad Designate’s stronghold. Surrounded by guards, the Mage-Imperator led the way to assured victory. While Jora’h struggled to seize their minds and free them from delusion, the rebels opened fire. His soldiers had no choice but to shoot back to defend their leader.
Though most of the rebellious warliners had restored their loyalty to the Mage-Imperator, the lead warliner piloted by Thor’h and his two flanking battleships swung around in a wild, suicidal attack. The three rebel warliners drove forward, firing their remaining weaponry in a blazing staccato.
Two of Jora’h’s damaged defender ships reeled away, limping toward cleared landing areas. At the point of the wedge, Thor’h’s warliner careened toward the Mage-Imperator and the siege troops working their way up to the citadel palace.
Adar Zan’nh’s clustered warliners tried to block the rebel ship’s advance, but as soon as they closed in, the other two rebel vessels split away from the Prime Designate and threw themselves in the way. In a horrendous explosion, the two rebel warliners took out the nearest Solar Navy ships in a suicidal impact that left a black scar of smoke and wreckage dripping out of the sky.
The deafening boom and shockwave stunned the armies on the ground. Jora’h shaded his eyes, feeling the sting of tears and the wrench of sorrow as so many Ildirans died.
The two rebel warliners had sacrificed themselves just to let Thor’h fly safely to his target. His father.
The lead warliner ripped through the smoke, plunging downward as if the Prime Designate meant to crash into the side of the hill where Jora’h stood. Zan’nh’s flagship roared after him, firing repeatedly at the other ship’s engines. At the last moment, Thor’h pulled up and leveled off, so that he could dump his last barrage of explosives. Then the stolen warliner opened fire on the ground troops, mowing down dozens of Ildiran soldiers.
Explosions ripped along the sloping path up the strategic hill. Guards threw themselves upon Jora’h to protect their leader from injury. The Dobro Designate quickly found cover for himself. Air support swooped in, providing protection, but a swath of soldiers fell, like stalks of grain under the scythe of the Prime Designate’s strafing run. Thor’h held nothing back, depleting all weapons systems in his final attack.
From the ground, Jora’h watched the battle play out. Following hot behind Thor’h, Zan’nh drove his own warliner forward, as if to be just as reckless as his rebellious brother. The howl of enormous engines sounded even more deafening than the successive explosions of detonating artillery. The pair of warliners circled and approached each other like two asteroids about to collide. Zan’nh didn’t seem to care if he rammed his brother out of the sky.
Thor