The Murdered Sun - Christie Golden [34]
But they did not bear one for the strange alien vessel called the Voyager. That failure, plus the hitherto inconceivable dishonor of actually losing a ship to the foe, had put Linneas in a bad temper--and had spelled the end of Nelek's formerly illustrious career.
Linneas, outraged and humiliated, had wanted to leave Nelek and his shameful crew to their fate, which would almost certainly have been a brutal death at the hands of the ugly, deformed aliens. Nelek had begged, not so much for his own life as for those of his crew, to be teleported back to safety.
Garai had urged Linneas to mercy, and nearly a hundred Akerian lives had been saved by his pleas. Glancing now at Nelek, Garai wondered if he'd done the right thing Nelek would go home to Akeras now not in honor, but in disrepute, as would all of his crew. Linneas, bitter and needing someone to blame for the unpredictable catastrophe of defeat, had selected the crew of the ill-named Conquest.
The commander had, with his own powerful hands, himself ripped off Nelek's horns. He had ordered him demasked, but the helmets could not be removed by anyone other than their wearers, and Nelek had been so distraught he had been unable to comply with the orders. Now the former commander sat in a huddle on the floor of the bridge, shaking and whimpering. He had practically become a Verunan himself, Garai thought.
It was a dark hour for the empire.
"There is no honor in fighting a losing battle," Garai said, keeping his voice firm and strong. It was an age-old motto, exemplifying the warrior mentality: winning at any cost.
But the phrase brought no comfort to First Warrior, who growled warningly. "We have never had to see before," snarled Linneas.
"The flavor of cowardice sits ill upon my tongue."
"The empress will commend your wisdom, First Warrior, and your courage in returning to continue the attack for the glory of the empire.
Surely it is better to bow out of conflict, go home, repair our ship, and return with greater numbers than to fight and not win."
It was what Linneas wanted to hear, what was expected of Garai, the good second warrior, Linneas's first hand. Yet Garai wondered if Linneas's decision to return to challenge the Voyager was indeed wise.
They hadn't reached Akeras yet, did not know how badly Victory was damaged. Too, perhaps Linneas had misjudged the aliens. Perhaps they did not care at all about what lay at the heart of what the Verunans so naively called the Sun-Eater.
Linneas's body relaxed ever so slightly. "Perchance you are right," the commander allowed. "Yes, possibly our eventual victory will be the more honorable because it was so heatedly contested. And when we have won, we shall blow Voyager out of the skies and destroy every last one of the Verunans." His big, powerful hands clenched and unclenched.
"And I want to take at least one life with these."
This was most disturbing to Garai, but he gave no sign of disapproval.
He wondered if he was, as Linneas teased, too soft.
Surely no true son of the empire would feel for the Verunans, would question the right of the Akerians to use them for the glory of the empire.
He wondered just what Linneas would tell the empress. More lies or the truth? Probably the former. Only a few emperors had been let into the secret. He didn't think Riva would be one. He wondered how willing the other commanders would be to follow the commander of Victory into a battle that some, quietly and anonymously, were already beginning to question.
Garai, good, loyal second warrior of the Empirical Exploratory Unit, first hand to Commander Linneas, looked out