Gulchina reached for her holster and pulled out an energy pistol. Reva’s breath caught in her throat, and for an instant, her heart stopped. Behind the glass, the corporal’s eyes went wide.
“Mercy is for the weak,” Gulchina continued. “Victory is for the strong. Will the stars show you mercy? Will the universe hear your pleas? No! Among the spaceborn, only the strong survive.”
She turned again to the airlock, where the naked corporal now stood trembling.
“What would you have me do with this man?”
“Kill him!”
“Throw him out the airlock!”
“Let him breathe vacuum!”
Soon, the whole crew was calling for the corporal’s death. Their cries of outrage echoed across the bulkheads and caused the floor to shake. The corporal shook his head and pleaded, the word “no” on his lips, but his voice was trapped behind the glass.
Stop it, Reva thought to herself, her hands shaking. Don’t do this. Make it stop.
Gulchina stood by calmly, allowing her men to vent their rage. When she raised her hand, though, the room fell instantly silent.
“It pains me to kill one of my own,” she said. “But because of his betrayal, he is no longer worthy to be counted among my loyal sons. Those who are faithful prove themselves worthy of food and air. Those who do not shall not have place with us.
“Nevertheless, I will not condemn any of my sons to death without giving him the opportunity to die honorably.”
The door to the airlock hissed open, and Gulchina stepped inside. The corporal’s pleading cries were barely coherent, and the terror in his voice cut Reva to her core.
“Captain, please! Please forgive me! I don’t, I didn’t—no! Don’t do it! Please don’t!”
Gulchina bent down on one knee and slid the energy pistol across the floor. It came to rest at the corporal’s feet, within easy reach. Since his hands were still shackled to the ceiling, however, he couldn’t pick it up.
“Captain! Captain, listen to me! Please—Captain!”
Her face still calm, she stepped back through the airlock and palmed it shut. Once the door was firmly closed, she keyed another series of commands, and the shackles came undone. The corporal fell on his hands and knees to the floor.
“Throw him out!” the man next to Reva shouted. His voice was so loud, it made her jump. Soon, the whole crew took up the chant.
“Throw him out! Throw him out!”
Reva’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart pounded so hard she thought it would explode. In the airlock, the corporal picked up the gun and rose slowly to his feet. His hands were trembling as he brought the gun to his head, but he could not bring himself to pull the trigger.
“THROW HIM OUT! THROW HIM OUT!”
Gulchina lifted a finger to her cheek and wiped away a single tear. The gesture was so perfect, so full of grace and subtlety, that Reva couldn’t help but feel her heart cry out to her. Gone was the monster who was about to commit a brutal act of murder, replaced by a goddess who meted out life and death through the almighty power she held in her hand. The loyalty that she commanded was stronger than the cords of death.
The outer door of the airlock suddenly slid open, revealing the vacuum of space. The corporal stumbled and grasped wildly for purchase at the explosive decompression. Reva gasped, and the chanting stopped. In the airlock, the corporal clutched his throat as if he were choking. His eyes bulged and the veins on his wrists and forehead stood out sharply against his skin. He staggered backward as the last of the air was sucked out, pulling him with it. With the starfield shining dimly behind him, he closed his eyes and floated out into the infinite void.
Gulchina calmly removed her gloves and placed them in her breast pocket. To Reva, it seemed as if she were washing her hands. Perhaps in some metaphorical way, she was.
“Dismissed.”
Captives in Obscurity, book 5 in the Sons of the Starfarers series, will be available in ebook form on May 15th. Pre-order or find out more below:
Captives in Obscurity
There is no escape beyond Star's End.
Isaac and Reva are running out of time. Gulchina's cruelty knows no bounds, and on the edge of known space, no one can stop her. But an unexplored planet holds an ancient alien secret that may prove to be a game changer.
There is no escape beyond Star’s End.
The deadliest pirates in the galaxy have stolen the technology that will transform it. Now, on the edge of known space, they are poised to start an empire of their own.
Isaac and Reva are running out of time. Neither of them knows the extent of Gulchina’s plans, or whether the madwoman will keep them both alive after she achieves them.
But an unexplored planet beyond the Far Outworlds holds an ancient alien secret that not even Gulchina has uncovered. That secret will tip the balance in
SONS OF THE STARFARERS
BOOK V: CAPTIVES IN OBSCURITY
