“Yes.DominusPortobello,” I say.
“Huh?”
“Screwface named him after finding him in the armory, growing in the dark.” I go to open a kitchen cabinet and return with a heavy load wrapped in a towel. I toss it to Cassius. He unwraps the towel to reveal a black sphere the size of an ostrich egg with a smiling, fanged face drawn onto it. He sighs.
“Darrow, this is a thirty-megaton atomic warhead.”
I smile. “He has a big personality.”
“Well, then Apollonius should love him.”
—
With rucksacks of gear slung over our shoulders, Cassius and I head for the hangar. Aurae trails on behind. The halls are suspiciously deserted, even for so late in the base’s night cycle. When we enter the hangar, we discover why. Our way to the shuttle is barred by all my remaining men. Thraxa, Harnassus, and Screwface stand out ahead of them, marshals of this latest insurrection.
“Guess they know you too,” Cassius mutters.
“What’s this then?” Thraxa calls. “Slinking off in the dead of night?”
“I have a little errand to run,” I say. “Didn’t want you all to worry.”
“Errand’s canceled,” she says.
Harnassus looks tired. Thraxa looks angry. Screwface looks at his boots.
I take my time searching the eyes of the men and women behind them. My welding team is here, as are the infantry and aviators and engineers. Their skin was made leather by the sun on Mercury, then the fat scraped away by privation on this base so that it hangs from their bones as if two sizes too big. They’re here because they love me, but I see the anger in their eyes. It’s an anger that’s always been reserved for the enemy.
I feel a million kilometers away already as I address them. “Brothers, sisters. You have put your faith in me too many times to count. I have let you down. But I did not survive Mercury to slink home. I survived to continue the fight. Even if you cannot see it, there is an opportunity here to wound the Gold war effort, to help Mars. I do not ask you to wait for me. I ask only that you meet me on the Lion Steps with a mug of swill at the ready. Gods know I’ll need it.”
Thraxa doesn’t understand. “Darrow, the Ecliptic Guard has gathered. The Red legions muster. Do you not want to lead the defense of Mars?”
“More than anything,” I say. “But I believe this is the path. I have the right ship. I have the right plan. I will go to the dockyards, and I will find a way.”
“And if you don’t?” she says.
“Then I’ll find a different way. Please let me pass.”
“You’re a fool.” She draws her razor and surprises me by pushing it into my hands. “Take Bad Lass. If you die, die with a blade in your hands.”
“It’s been in your family for centuries,” I murmur. Bad Lass is a silver blade embellished with foxes and trees. Her father, Kavax, gave it to her when she graduated from the Institute. It belonged to his mother.
“Then if it ends up on the Minotaur’s trophy wall, I’ll find you in the Vale and beat you to drippings.” She slams me into a hug. “So don’t die.”
I thank her and turn to Harnassus. “What do I tell Virginia?” he asks.
I knew the answer before he asked. “Tell her I listened. Tell her I endured. When I give you the signal from the dockyards, sprint for Mars. Tell Char?”
He nods.
Screwface has his pistol drawn. It shakes in his hand. I approach him and clasp him behind the neck. “I’ll come with,” he says. “You need someone you can trust.”
“Mars needs you too,” I say. “You’ve been gone long enough. Your Sovereign knows your sacrifice, Screw. When you look into her eyes, you’ll realize you’ve been seen this whole time. Serve Virginia as you’ve served me. Protect her. Protect Mars. I will return.” I kiss him on the forehead and tear myself away.
I build up steam as I reach the troops. They don’t look like they’re going to move. I know it appears as if I’ve broken and parted from sense. I can’t explain how I feel. All I can do is keep walking. Finally, the ten years of respect I earned from them makes them part. I walk through them until I reach the pedestrian umbilical to theArchimedes. There a lone Red with dark skin and narrow eyes bars my path. His crooked lantern jaw is set in an anger I know far too well, his ham fists balled at his sides. He glares up with rage three times too big.
I go around that one.
At the umbilical, I turn back to my men as Cassius and Aurae disappear inside. I look back at my friends, my soldiers with whom I’ve suffered so much, and raise my fist. “Hail libertas!”
