The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [138]
Zan’nh had not expected an immediate surrender. He issued his next command to his ships. “Dispatch all cutters to the lunar surface. All of them.” He knew precisely the impression that would make: Anyone in charge would be awestruck. The Earth Defense Forces could not stand against such show of strength, and it was far more than just show.
While flocks of Ildiran cutters dropped down to the Moon, hundreds of warliners remained in lunar orbit with their weapons ready, surrounded by a wider-ranging defensive line. In wave after wave of heavily crowded landers, hundreds of thousands of Solar Navy soldiers landed on the lunar surface, each suited, armed, and trained . . . each with a single goal for this mission.
Zan’nh transmitted his ultimatum to the local base commander. “I am prepared to pummel every dome, every outpost, and every ship until you surrender our Mage-Imperator.”
* * *
96
Mage-Imperator Jora’h
Alarms sounded deep inside the lunar base tunnels. As he watched the EDF soldiers running about with panic on their faces, Jora’h could tell that this was no drill.
“We are under attack,” Nira said to him, looking through the window in the locked door of their barracks quarters. “But by whom? The hydrogues again? The faeros? Klikiss robots?”
Jora’h felt a surge of turmoil in the thism, and he smiled. He pressed a flattened palm against his chest, examining the faint feelings. “No, it is something else. Ildirans are near, many of them . . . the Solar Navy. And Adar Zan’nh is here.”
Nira caught her breath. She sensed it, too. “Yes, and Osira’h! She’s the one who gave them our exact location.”
Out in the corridor, harsh loudspeaker voices ordered detachments and squadrons to take up specific positions. Breathless soldiers rushed to the armories, pilots ran to their ships in the landing bays. Security doors slammed into place. Moments later an announcement declared that all airlock domes had been locked down to prevent any entry into the base.
“They’re scared,” Nira said. “Genuinely scared.”
“They should be. The Solar Navy means to free me, whatever the cost.” The Mage-Imperator stood as tall as he could, his hands locked behind his back. He felt invigorated by the presence of thousands more Ildirans. All of the captives would feel it, too.
He stared at the sealed doorway of their stone-walled quarters and waited. He knew someone would come for him soon.
More than fifty uniformed humans crowded the halls outside the holding chambers for the Ildiran prisoners. Apparently, some of the EDF soldiers intended to make a last stand here.
The gaunt commandant elbowed his way through the anxious troops. Tilton’s bulging eyes were wild, his expression nearly frantic. He reached the entrance of Jora’h’s holding room and paused to take a breath, as if gathering courage.
The Mage-Imperator faced him at the threshold, hardening his own resolve. He did not intend to compromise with this man who had willingly followed the heinous orders issued by Chairman Wenceslas.
The commandant disengaged the security on the chamber door, opened the transparent panel, and stepped inside without being invited. More than a dozen soldiers stood at the entrance behind him, ostensibly to guard it. “Your Solar Navy has come with hundreds of ships. Hundreds! They have this base under siege. I cannot fathom how they knew your exact location.”
Jora’h smiled. “All Ildirans can feel their Mage-Imperator. We are connected in ways that humans are not.”
Tilton sounded fearful but resigned. “I can be realistic. There is no way our reinforcements can arrive in time, but I don’t think your Adar is inclined to settle in for a long engagement. He’s in a hurry, and he demands your immediate release. Thousands of small cutters are dropping down to the lunar surface, and our defenses won’t hold up against them.” He shook his head. “Personally, I think you’re more trouble than you’re worth.”
Jora’h shrugged casually. “Then release me.”
Tilton withdrew his sidearm and held it loosely in his hand. “They would be very upset to find you