Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [237]
Udru’h shouted, “Liege, tell the Adar to destroy that ship now! There is no saving Thor’h.” Even without any remaining weapons, Thor’h could plow his warliner into the hill and obliterate the Mage-Imperator.
Jora’h picked himself off the ground. Shading his eyes as the shadow fell over him, he stood to face the oncoming vessel. “Not...yet.” He clamped his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut. With all his mental strength, he sent out a shout through the thism, an absolute command. He concentrated utterly on extending his mental grasp, focusing on the minds of Thor’h’s command crew, a few at first, then all of them. One at a time, he seized their thoughts and wrenched them back to the overall thism, as he had done with the other vessels. He sensed their souls, herded them back into the fold.
He reached for Thor’h, his own son, working to wrest him from his criminal rebellion. But Thor’h blocked him off, sliding away from his father’s mental touch. Jora’h was astonished. He had been unaware that the Prime Designate had such power or resolve. Reeling, he grasped the other Ildirans.
Suddenly, aboard the last rebellious battleship, the crewmen, now reconnected to the primary thism, understood the crimes they were about to commit. Jora’h felt as if he could see through their eyes, though his own son remained a blank to him. In the command nucleus, the warliner’s crew frantically changed course. At the last moment, the lone warliner pulled up and roared overhead, nearly scraping the roof of the citadel palace.
The newly freed crew then turned against Thor’h in his own command nucleus. Surrounding the former Prime Designate, they seized him as he howled and thrashed with frustration.
While the Solar Navy had focused on stopping Thor’h’s wild suicidal run, Imperator Rusa’h had used the diversion to make his escape. Unexpectedly, a single royal escort craft shot upward from the courtyard, ascending under intense acceleration like a projectile fired from heavy-caliber artillery.
The soldiers surrounding the citadel shouted. The Dobro Designate, always suspicious, grabbed a nearby soldier’s comm device and barked into the general channel, “Zan’nh! That is Rusa’h. He is going to escape.”
“No,” the Adar transmitted. “He will not.”
Jora’h’s Ildiran soldiers finally rushed the rest of the way up the hill. Sweeping into the citadel palace, they captured it from the last rebel holdouts, those most strongly corrupted by Rusa’h, tangled and strangling in the heretical thism. Even though the Hyrillka Designate had fled, his brainwashed followers continued to fight against the Mage-Imperator, many of them to the death. Jora’h’s soldiers were sickened at what they were forced to do to achieve victory.
The Mage-Imperator glanced up at Zan’nh’s warliners in their pursuit of the royal escort ship. Now if only Rusa’h could be stopped...
Chapter 121—ADAR ZAN’NH
Increase acceleration!” Zan’nh stood on his command platform, issuing orders. “Intercept that vessel before it reaches orbit.” The navigator shook his head. “Impossible, Adar. His acceleration is too great. We will not be able to catch him.”
“Continue pursuit. How far can he go with that escort shuttle?”
“Those engines appear to have been modified, Adar. The thrust is already much higher than expected.” The man shook his head. “But he does not have the capability of leaving the Hyrillka system.”
“Where does he intend to go?” Zan’nh wondered. “Follow him!”
From the main command group at the citadel palace, the Mage-Imperator sent a message. “Take the Designate into custody if you can, Adar...but do what you must to ensure that he does not escape. Rusa’h has caused too much