Chapter 4: UnHoly War

Betrayal, death and a showdown with the Dominus loom.

The following chapter contains graphics depictions of violence and depictions of trauma from violence and war. Reader discretion is advised.

“Stop!” I scream at Matthew as he shoots two Slayers with his Pulsar. A red mist sprays behind both as a Raider takes a round to the shoulder before Matthew closes the distance and drives his Wind Blade through the soldier’s stomach, cutting and ripping left to right.

I bring up my weapon but Matthew turns and gives the hilt a fierce kick and sends it flying. Another kick smashes into my face. I remember my head smashing the shiny mineral floor and then a blur. I glance up delirious to see Matthew return the Slayer.

I watch as the Slayer grabs at this torso to hold in his insides but Mathew’s blade digs into his neck. The sharp, curved metal finds arteries quick and blood spurts as Matthew kicks the dying man to the side.

The smell of blood and iron build in the room as Matthew strolls back to the elaborate HoloPanel. Matthew’s clicking and prompting away in the blue and yellow glow of commands as he whistles.

“Matthew!” I yell but my Solar Blade is nowhere to be seen. He glances back at me, “Sorry, Catherine. I don’t intend to harm you. You’ll have your blade back when I leave.”

I grunt, stumble forward and then swing an elbow into the back of his head and my knee into his side. I grip him and smash him into the panel once, twice and throw him to the immaculate floor.

A dead Slayer stops his slide and he smiles as blood trickles into his eye and down his cheek, “Enough, Catherine.” His Pulsar is out and leveled at me. A blade and a gun between us seems to be a common exchange.

“What in the Quantums are you doing?” I stammer. I use the HoloPanels for support as my vision goes back and forth. My head feels like it’s splitting in two.

“Salvation, Catherine,” he says in a cold tone. He stands and keeps the Pulsar on me as he walks back to the HoloPanel and continues his work.

“Please move over here. There’s water. Sit, before you fall and get hurt,” he says. I stumble to the metal stool and grasp at the water. I watch him work and drink. Splash it on my face.

There’s pounding on the airlock door now. Yelling. Slayers. They’ll get a Heat Drill soon and begin cutting. I hear Poe yelling my name.

“Just sit. There is nothing to do now. I’ll be done and gone soon and Poe can have you back. I really wish you didn’t follow me,” he says as if we are talking in a mess hall on a frigate.

“What does ‘salvation’ mean?” I pry. I see my Solar Blade by his side. He’s punching in commands and protocols for something with the Brane walls and barriers. Controls and prompts and commands that are too fast for my understanding. He is whistling again.

“Salvation for us. The Nazarene. Illumination from the reach of the Imperium. I’m destroying the Brane wall, Catherine. Destroying passage to the Latin Quarter,” he tells me as he clicks away. I hear blood droplets patter on the floor next to him as his words hit me. The blood dribbles down his chin and makes a strange rhythm as he motions and presses buttons.

Matthew is destroying the Imperium’s main passage to the Latin Quarter. Without it, ships will need to jump in small numbers through a black hole. There will be only one way in or out of their world. I remember my studies about what would happen if a Brane wall is destroyed; the annihilation of the galaxy in-between their space and time and the next.

“You're cutting yourself off from the Imperium. From everyone. You’ll kill millions in the Brane next to you,” I reply confused.

“Yes,” Matthew says amid more motions of his hands and clicks. “No more Imperium visits or invasions or anything. The Pontiff should complete the defenses at the black hole within the lunar month. No ship or fleet will make it through without permission. If they try, they’ll be blown to hell by a deep space array of quantum guns. And as for the other Brane, it’s a sacrifice. Martyrs. We’ve prayed for their souls.”

Planned. Prayed. Schemed. They set all this up. The whole time. They used Poe and me for their own ends. Their own security. Their own damn salvation.

“You're a pulsar lying bastard, Matthew. You hide behind your prayers and bullshit but you're just like the damn Imperium.” I know I’ve bothered him because he stops typing and walks over to me.

He rips his Wind Blade out and presses it to my cheek. He digs is forearm into my throat. It’s been years since I’ve been on the receiving end of Matthew’s wild rage. For once, I am unsettled.

“Catherine, you hit your head, so that’s probably the reason for your condescending tone. But my people are nothing like these monsters. We’re doing what we must to survive. You, Poe and everyone else should do the same.” I’m starting to struggle for air when he releases me, steps back and continues his work on HoloPanel.

“I thought you wanted the end of the Imperium? The downfall?” I whimper out and catch my breath.

“Catherine, you should know better than anyone. There is no end to the Imperium,” he looks at me confused. “Did you think we would win and all the Imperium would get in line? Give up power? Allow freedom? Faith?”

I say nothing. I’m shocked and numb and angry.

Matthew keeps talking and working the prompts, “My Lord sent his son to Earth eons ago. God among men. Brought love and teachings and peace. And men killed him. He died for us. God knew what they would do and he came anyway. Do you think defeating the Dominus and trying to change the Imperium would be any different for us humans? We’re twisted and bad and sin. Whatever ruler or sovereign or elector comes next, the Imperium will just kill them and keep moving forward.”

“So you got in bed with the Dominus. The Imperium?” I nearly yell.

“No,” Matthew says. “But, the deal is done with who comes next. We helped weaken the remaining Houses loyal to the Dominus. Attack on home planets, HAMP fields, sabotaged space ports and fleets. All we are asked to do is to leave and take our Brane wall down with us. And, we will be left alone. Besides, you got in bed with those black-eyed savages. It seems to me you don’t need us around anymore.” Matthew speaks as if the plan is simple and logical.

“Who is the deal with Matthew?” I ask.

“Andromeda,” Matthew says in a snarl. He’s probably not happy about it but it’s clear the Pontiff and the Andromeda’s made a deal and Matthew must honor it.

I jump up to stop him Matthew simply looks over at me, “Don’t.” After a few more movements, clicks and commands, the HoloPanel flashes a violet light. Then red pulsing. He presses it and then it powers down. The airlock door begins glow with red and violet. The laser cutting through metal and asteroid minerals.

He looks to me, “All done. And, time for me to leave. Catherine, I’m sorry. I wish our alliance didn’t end this way but we’ve all been played by those better at this game than us. I didn’t want a deal with the Andromedas. With anyone. I would have fought with you and Poe to the throne room or our death. But, this wasn't my choice to make. I follow when ordered. By God. By the Pontiff. My condolences for the bump on the head. Your Solar Blade is here. Please wait to arm yourself until you can no longer see me, and please, for the love of my God, don’t follow me.”

He begins to head down the endless rows of terminals and HoloPanels as I yell to him, “How many died just now? To secure your damn salvation?”

He stops walking and glances back at me, “Estimates in that Brane next to us put the population at around 14 million.”

“How did you even know how to to do this? That this was possible?” I yell.

“I led another life before I found salvation. One with one master. One bent on controlling everyone and securing honor for my house,” he admits to me.

“You were a member of a Great House?” I stammer.

“Yes. Long ago. Specialized in things like this. Technology. Automated systems. I knew from life before this was possible. Sagan gave me the knowhow to do it,” he confesses.

“Since when did you link up with the Cultari?” I answer enraged.

“Don’t act so upset, Catherine. You aligned with those freaks. Raiders. Godless savages. We’re making alliances to move our cause forward, same as you.”

I shake my head at him, my blonde hair falls around me, “Matthew, you're a hypocrite and a bastard.”

He gives me his mad look, “Maybe. But death seems to follow us all Catherine. Me. You. The rebellion. The Imperium. Everyone around you seems to meet their end at some point. How much longer for Poe? Tel? Brax? At least I know what I am. You seem, ignorant.” He says the last word like it’s dirty.

I stammer and curse at him, “Says the man who just vaporized tens of millions of people in an instant.” I shake my head and simply close my eyes. The betrayal is making me numb. I squeeze my fists until I’m sure my finger nails cut into my hands and I scream in rage.

“Then, this is goodbye. I’ll pray for you and Poe. God bless.” With that, Matthew the Mad Monk turns to run but stops. “Cat, if you make it out alive. Go to the Seas of Dantem. Find the White Abby. Ask for Personias Lath. Tell him to ‘rekindle the flame of Mount Horeb.’ It may give you answers about your family. Your father.”

Matthew sprints down the endless corridor and disappears, leaving me with a confused riddle and despair.

I limp over to the HoloPanel and find his commands. It’s done. Somewhere around 14 million people gone in an instant. Liquidated in a super nova and a wave of dark matter thermal implosions as the Brane wall collapsed and engulfed their world. I recognize it’s home to one of the Great Houses that opposes House Andromeda. Convenient.

The airlock door shutters, vibrates and then a massive piece melts and crashes open moments later. Poe runs in to find me. A little bloody but unharmed. He looks down at the Slayers and then I point to the HoloPanel. Poe stares and then says out loud, “Matthew.”

“He’s gone,” I reply. Poe pulls me in as the Slayers and my Raiders filter in and check the area. Matthew is nowhere to be found. “The Nazarene, Poe. They made a deal with Andromeda. They-”

Poe quiets me and nods, “I know. The Pontiff was there. All of them were there. Andromeda. Cultari. They all tricked us. Used us. Used the rebellion.”

We’re both upset. In shock. We start to walk out when we hear Pulsar blasts in our comms and yelling. I catch Tel’s voice in broken words. Attack. Help. Poe glances me, “We need to go. Get top side now. I’ll explain it all after.”

We take off to the lifts that bring us to street level. We’re greeted by an intense firefight as the doors open. Argos and his men are battling to our right, fighting from a hallway. We battle our way through Imperium troops in front. Inching close to the courtyard and docking area Tel secured.

I hear Poe call for them a few times on the comms but nothing. I think about the Citadel above us. The Imperium capital thriving and bustling and powering the terrible machine that controls everything. Now, it’s set to be taken by the Andromedas without a shot fired at the Dominus.

I shake my head as we move quicker and the Imperium forces thin out. Poe calls Tel and our strike team again but it is silence. Poe looks at me, Argos and our Raiders and Slayers. My Raiders stay around us as we advance close to the hangar.

I worry about what awaits us because it is completely quiet. No sentries or callouts or the hum of engines or yelling. Too quiet.

I spot the first body of our soldiers and grab my Solar Blade and start running through the massive hangar. The lump in my throat builds as we come across more bodies and break out into a mad sprint into the open of the massive space. I’m ahead of the Slayers now and Poe follows with both Pulsars. My Raiders cut through a few corridors to meet us on the other side of the hanger but I see what awaits us.

More bodies of our team. Blood. They're dead. Annihilated. Then, I see something I would never imagine and run. For maybe the first time in my life, I drop my Solar Blade to the ground on purpose. I scream and cry. I pull the limp body close and feel labored breathing as I fall next to her.

Blood leaks from her like a stream. Deep red and rich. It smells. It trickles from her backside. Dribbles from her mouth. The life is almost gone from her eyes but she senses me and I see comfort. That look of recognition.

“Cat,” Tel mumbles. It is more of a gargle and a murmur than my name but I nod and sob. “Cat.”

“What happened?” I yell at her. Poe and our remaining team check the hangar. But whoever did this is long gone.

Tel shakes her head, “Ambush. Imperium,” she coughs and I try to hold her head up. She knows it’s soon.

I notice her wounds. Blasts wounds ripped her insides apart and left a hole in her backside. No blades, which I find odd.

“Cat, it was her,” Tel mumbles. “Her. Don’t let the b, bitch win.”

“Who, Tel?” I cry. “Who? Wren? Dominus? Rose?” I could yell one hundred more names of those that would like to kill us. It wouldn’t be enough.

Tel shakes, struggles and grips my arm with that strength I know so well. Then, she is gone. Limp. Lifeless. Something I’ve seen too many times.

In this moment, it’s like it’s the first time I’ve seen someone die. I shake and curse. Scream. My yelling echoes the hangar. Poe is the only one brave enough to lift me up but I stand and shove him away with a wild look.

I guessed in a moment like this, if it was myself or Tel dying, we would have more time to talk. We could say everything we thought and felt and respected. Instead, like all war and violence, it’s quick and brutal and without ceremony.

My hands are on my knees. I don’t know if I am crying or screaming before Poe grabs me. I try to fight him away but he simply presses my body into his and whispers. I fight him a moment longer and then bury my head into his shoulder and chest. I sob. Like I’ve never cried in a long time. That type of cry you wish no one would see; the type reserved for a quiet place with no one watching. But I know they stare. Probably say their prayers or put their heads down or curse Tel’s death. Poe feels like a blanket to me. Strong and heavy and safe. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze into him. We stay there for moments until we hear comms chatter.

“Contact,” one of our team outside the hangar.

“Imperium team in the floor above. Closing in,” A Slayer calls in to Poe. I stare at him and he nods, “Positions for an ambush in the hallway. Let’s take them out.” I nod to Argos and the Raiders and we all move as I dry my eyes.

We settle among the hallways and corridors to wait. They ambushed Tel and our team. We’ll ambush them. I’ve moved from cries to anger.

Poe and I stand together and I rest my head on his shoulder as we wait. I’m furious. Enraged. I want to kill them all. Cut them to pieces. I can hear myself breathing loud.

“Closing in, get ready,” I hear Argos say quiet on our comms channel. I hear them running. Moving. Then I hear Argos, “Go.”

We erupt from the hallways and corridors like demons. No tactics. No regard for safety. We’re not thinking anymore. We are killing. Fighting unconscious as we cut through anything in an Imperium uniform. Anyone we don’t recognize is ripped apart or blown to pieces.

I kill three men around me when I see her yards away and scream out.

“WREN!”

Slayers fight among the Imperium Nova. Argos and his Raiders take on pockets of soldiers. Some remaining Nazarene fight with Poe and more Raiders. Wren is a dozen steps before me amid the brutal fight as I lower my head and she points her Solar Blade at me. I match her as is the dueling style of the Nova and then I stroll forward. She steadies herself and I reach her first with brutal swing.

Then it’s jab, left, hard swing right, leg hook, knee strike. My blonde hair flys wild and I’m in a trance as we trade moves and swings. I plan to miss most of my strikes until my last move; I pretend to swing hard at her chest, pull back, fake and then pull down and slash Wren’s thigh.

She grimaces but starts her own attack. Her moves are predictable but she’s quicker than me and getting the feel of our duel. One swing catches my cheek and I feel the sting. I block another jab and tilt left but step into a stab that connects near my ribs and cuts flesh and muscle. It tingles and burns.

I yell and strike down on her foot and see Wren limp back. Blood trickles from her combat boots.

The blood drips off us. Her red hair is braided and pulled back. Her gold armor suit is discolored. My blue armor is discolored with blood as well and I can feel it rolling down my cheek and side. The chaos around us continues but it’s like we are the only ones battling. My vision vibrates around the edges of my eyes as I focus.

Another Nova takes a swing at me and I block her blade down, elbow her and then swipe my Solar Blade across to slice her hands clean off. I don’t hesitate and cut her head from her neck before Wren is on me again and I’m blocking and stumbling back.

I side-step forward and Wren blocks my counter and we’re grimacing as we push our blades against each other. My off-white metal against her sleek black blade.

She sees the opening before me and smashes me with a head butt, much like she did a year ago at the Regala. I’m dazed and my blurred vision returns from earlier and that’s when I feel the Solar Blade drive into my body. I stammer and cough.

The stab seems to miss the important things but it knocks the wind out of me and feels like my entire torso is on fire. I barely hold my Solar Blade and embrace the intense throbbing as the burning pain erupts to all corners of my body and I scream in real pain. I shudder and struggle to stay conscious.

It’s on the left side and I can tell it’s gone through my body but I grimace and cough and grit in defiance. The noise of the fight is distorted around me and I wonder if my body is starting to shut down.

Wren tries to remove the blade but I do what makes me a fighter with no equal; the unexpected. I grip her wrist and keep the blade stuck inside my body. She thinks I’ll struggle and panic with her strike but I try to focus. Finish the fight. Play the unexpected move.

Like a year ago, I smash my forehead into her nose. She’s anchored close to me as my bloody hand locks on her wrist. I smash her again in the face and hear a familiar crunch as blood rips out from her nose and mouth. I smash her again below the eye and see her face swell; likely breaking her orbital bone. My forehead is bleeding but pain is relative at this point.

I taste the blood running down my face and into my mouth. I head butt her again. Every movement of mine releases thousands of needles of pain where the sword sits in my body. But I embrace the rage. I think of Jo. Of Tel. Of my parents and Mary and our rebellion. I give her one more smash as she is stunned and we fall forward.

As I do, I drop my Solar Blade and grasp for my Wind Blade and aim it at Wren’s neck. I let my bodyweight do the work and hear it stick in her neck as we hit the ground. I scream from her Solar Blade ripping into my torso. Then I hear a slight gurgle. I see the surprise in her eyes. The shock ramps up her heart beat and sends her blood squirting on my face and armor from the wound in her neck.

I’m laying on top of her and I drive the blade into her deeper. Wren tries to stop the kill shot with her hand but she’s losing blood and the panic sends it squirting out of her wound. I already know she will be lifeless in a moment.

My smaller blade finds its mark as I feel the blade dig into flesh and Wren screams in pain and struggles to breathe. What an odd sight we must be: Wren holding my hand with a blade in her neck and me holding her Solar Blade in place in my torso.

“For Tel,” I say low with blood in my mouth as I drive my blade deeper into her side. Wren shakes, gurgles, but stammers confused. “Tel?” Her last words as I dig the blade as deep as I can and finally see the light leave her eyes. I release my hand and collapse to the side. I’m fading in and out and think I hear Poe’s voice as my vision blurs.

What feels like seconds later, I jerk up from the floor. Blood. I taste it. Lights. Bodies everywhere. My eyes adjust from their blur. I see Wren dead several feet away. So I’m not in hell; still alive.

“Cat,” Poe grabs me in tears. Pain erupts from my torso and I reach for my side. No more blade sticking out of my body. I yell and grimace.

“Blade’s out. Somehow it missed your stomach and gut. HealingGrids repaired inside but we had to patch you up. Old fashioned stitches on either side of the wound,” Poe puts a sweaty hand on my wound. There’s a patched material on it and as I adjust it burns like hell.

“Regala,” I stammer out.

“I know, Cat.” Poe says.

“Regala,” is all I can get out. “Need to get to Regala. Stop Dominus still.”

Poe holds my hand, “Cat, it’s ok. There’s no need.” I watch him confused.

“No need?” I murmur. “We need to stop the Dominus. Now!” I try to sit up but the pain of moving almost makes me pass out. I throw up. Poe at least holds my hair.

As I finally stand, I hear foot steps. A woman the way the steps are spaced. I see gold boots; a popular style worn by those in the Great Houses. The look of these must of cost a fortune. Custom. Probably materials from the Crystal Moons or the volcanic Seas of Dantem. It reminds me about what Matthew told me earlier.

There’s more movement behind this person. Militant steps. I wince and glance up and the surprise on my face makes the woman grin. Then a laugh.

“Hello, Catherine,” the woman says and tilts her head. “You look like wonderful hell.” A Great House vernacular. Adding ‘wonderful’ to a saying. Only one house in particular: Andromeda.

Rose Andromeda stands before me as the Andromeda Guard fill in behind her. She’s adorned in gold armor with various shoulder, arm and leg pieces that shine when they catch the light. Her hair is blonde. I’d say it looks like mine but my hair is matted with blood, sweat and grim from combat. She looks glowing as ever. A pristine Solar Blade hangs off her belt as well as a Pulsar; both rose colored. She looks too pretty. I don’t like her.

Poe helps me up slow and I grimace, “What in the Quantums are you doing here?” I use my Solar Blade as a crutch and think about pulling it on her but she winks at me.

“We’re allies, Catherine. Didn’t Poe tell you?” Her tone condescending and she can see the confusion on my face. “No need to storm the Regala and slaughter the Dominus. It will be a bloodless coup. Well not exactly. But something tells me that given your reputation, bloodless isn’t quite your style. Seems death follows you wherever you go.”

I watch her, standing confident and radiating. Her blonde hair is done up and she’s mesmerizing. Her armor accentuates the curves of her body. She’s beyond stunning. More decorative than utility. Yet she stands ready for combat; her own Solar Blade clean. It’s too beautiful to have actually been used except in training. So not only did Andromeda move in the shadows of our rebellion, but they’ve already captured the Dominus?

I glance at Wren lying lifeless and then Poe, “Poe? Is this true?”

Poe gulps, “Yes. The Pontiff already made a deal with the Andromedas. Cultari. The other Great Houses were already there. Once the Dominus falls, it would be an all out civil war. My dad and the Andromedas already picked the next ruler. So did Gabriel Apollos.” Poe says looking menacingly at Rose.

“Nothing will change,” I struggle to speak and limp forward. Bloods still dripping from wounds. I look like hell and feel like it, too.

“The Imperium won’t change. The Andromedas are the same as the Dominus. Worse.” I scowl to Rose Andromeda. She seems to read my thoughts as I inch closer with my weapon.

“Careful, Cat,” she sneers my name as she says it. “A dozen of my best would cut you down. Shame to lose that pretty head of yours.”

I look around and then at Poe. Someone is missing, “Where’s Brax?” Poe sighs and shakes his head. His eyes water and I see tears and he brings a hand to his eye to wipe away tears. He gives a nasty look at Rose Andromeda.

I sigh and whip my Solar Blade forward. A dozen blades and Pulsars train on me from the Andromeda Guard. A man I guess to be her main guard lunges in front of her and crosses his blade across mine. I can hardly stand as Poe puts a hand on my arm and supports me.

“Don’t fucking call me Cat,” I say to Rose. She gives me a fake smile.

“Where is Brax?” I ask her, my blade still leveled. They don’t know I can hardly hold it.

She shakes her head with that bitch of a pretty smile, “A casualty of the rebellion.”

Slayers and Raiders draw their weapons behind me and it’s a few moments of a tense stand off before an unexpected noise comes out. Laughter. I start laughing. Rose laughs. Everyone laughs and I drop my Solar Blade.

Poe smirks but looks at me uncomfortable. Everyone around me is dead or dying. I laugh at the cruel irony of this rebellion, of thinking I knew better, of thinking I could survive this with my friends. Matthew was right; how much longer before it’s Poe? Me? Argos?

“Rose, if you want to rule this shit show of an empire, who am I stop you.” I drop my blade down and use it to limp past her and her guard. What does it matter at this point. “What about the Dominus?”

“She’s at the Regala. Our guards and your Nova have prevented her or anyone from leaving. She’s yours to kill if you’d like. I won’t stop you.” Rose talks as if we are making dinner plans or discussing space mining contracts. This coup is another trivial thing to her.

“Sounds like we need to go to the dance then,” I smirk. “Shall we?” Rose smiles and her leads the way with her guard. Poe is straight-faced and follows next to me, along with the Slayers and remaining Raiders.

It’s a long walk to the city center and the Regala from where we are in the Citadel. Techs and all kind of workers watch us as we climb from the bowels of the city to the top through passageways and MatterLifts and streets.

The Citadel’s eerie tension is not surprising. News must be traveling about what is happening. As we clear the surface, I spot the Andromeda Fleet patrolling above the stretching spires and towers of the Citadel. They're mixed with the Equinox Fleet as well. I don’t spot Imperium ships.

“Cat, I wanted to tell you about Brax,” Poe starts but I put my hand on his wrist.

“It’s ok,” I say. “Besides, what does it matter. Tel’s dead, Brax is dead, Jo’s dead. The Nazarene are gone. But House Orion comes out winners, right?” I grip his wrist tight and squeeze. I’m sure it hurts but Poe leaves his arm in my grasp. I realize it’s not fair to single him out but I’m raging inside. I’m struggling to walk. Those I care about are gone and it seems like Poe and his family have come out better than before.

“Cat, there was no other way. I tried to save him,” Poe starts in upset before I cut in.

“No way to win so you got in bed with House Andromeda,” I limp and sneer as we get closer to the Regala banquet room. No one stops us or says a word. The coup is done it seems; bloodless for now. No poetic battle or wild fight. Simply a blip in the timeline of the Imperium machine as it moves along for the Andromedas.

“Maybe I mean that literally,” I chide Poe as I fume. “Maybe you were confused and invited Rose to your frigate on the way over here. We both have blonde hair. That seems likely. I think I’m a little more curvy than her, especially up top but hey, power is an aphrodisiac.”

Poe says nothing. My head is filled with terrible things to spew at him as a shut the pain off and keep moving. Poe tries to grab my hand but I pull away.

“What did you get? What did you secure for your House, Poe? No need to ensure the rebellion makes it through.” He looks at me in that sad way. His wonderful face and chin and hair. Sweaty and conflicted.

“Not me. My father. Immunity from Andromeda. Mining deals. They absorb Hex contracts and equipment for a larger share of HAMP mining. More seats on the Imperium Council.” His voice doesn’t register the victory I expect. “His reasoning was take the deal or it would be an all out war against Andromeda and eventually, the Imperium again. They’d crush us. The only deal I took was to get out of there alive and come and save you.”

“So either way you made the call without us?” I limp and stare at Poe.

“Sounds like you mean without you?” He fires back.

“Yes, Poe. That is what I mean. But hey, you’re the commander. Poe the Black. Hell, you could rule with Rose. House Orion and Andromeda combined to rule the Imperium. Hell of a damn ring to it. Your father and Lady Andromeda would love that. But don’t tell your mother; she would probably really disown you. Maybe I could just live with her. Sneak to your room when you visit.”

Poe is silent.

“Was that part of the deal?” I ask.

“Rose asked me to rule with her and unite our houses. I turned it down,” Poe says quiet. “I couldn’t. Never. I said no deal but they killed Brax and said we could leave with our troops. Or, they just would have killed all of us.”

I’m speechless. Hurt. Betrayed. Everything and nothing all at once. On one hand, we won. The rebellion defeated the Imperium. On the other hand, we lost. In the worst way. Fuck the Quantums. I see Argos listening to our conversation. I know deep down Poe would never rule with that stuck-up bitch. But I feel broken. Like all the humanity is ripped away and I can’t stop lashing out.

“Cat,” Poe starts but I stop walking and look him in the eyes.

“Stop. Talking. Silence.” I say to him. A look over and Rose grins at me. As we enter the Regala, the faces blur together.

I think of my mother. My father. Tel. My friends. It’s brought me back here to where it started a year ago. Another hell. Rose and her guard lead us past the Nova and into the banquet. The Great Houses and guests gasp. Likely at me.

Rose, Poe and her group stop in the middle of the banquet. I see the pink columns again and the massive window. I keep limping and the Raiders follow me, separating from Rose.

Poe begins to move toward me but I look and shake my head. I can’t stand to be near him. Hear him. Feel him. I could still kiss his lips and grab his face. In a way I wonder if this is better; maybe Poe won’t die if keeps his distance. Rose flicks her head toward the massive window with the Bane wall and space beyond. The Dominus sits on her throne.

She is moving her head between me and Rose. Likely calculating who will kill her. I think of last year. The Covenant Elect, the Dominus. The start of all this. Would I do it again if I knew the ending? If I knew it lead here? Alone. Betrayed. Lost.

I take a deep breath and march toward the Dominus. My Solar Blade as my crutch. I spit blood as I walk and those around me recoil and scoot away. I feel blood trickle on my cheek. I glance at a massive ceramic device of liquor and see the reflection of my face. Black eye and bleeding nose. Hair bloody and wet.

I continue my slow stroll until I’m at the Dominus throne. I stare at her. No guards, no one stopping me, no restraint. No mercy. And yet, I don’t immediately end her life like so many others.

The leader of the Imperium looks down at me, knowing her rule is over and her time is short. She’s nervous but also carries that arrogant and aristocratic calm, “Catherine.”

“Dominus,” I struggle to say back. “Didn’t expect to see me back here, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. I should have made you a Nova Sol. Maybe our fates would be different then.”

The Dominus glances around and then talks low to me, “Watch the Andromedas. They are space eels, Catherine. Wicked. They’ll bury you like a collapsed star when they can.” Her words surprise me. Advice.

“Any last words?” I grit to the Dominus.

“Catherine. Poe didn’t sell you out. It was his cousin and his father from what I hear. If he didn’t agree, they would have killed you. Ambushed you here.” She says. Again, her words surprise me. But she’s probably spinning lies.

“Like you sent Wren to do to Tel,” I fire back. The Dominus stares at me, confused.

“Tel has passed? Curse the Quantums. No, none of my Nova or Wren confronted Tel. They were here until we detected the Andromeda ships and troops below the city. By then, Andromeda took everything over.”

I look at the Dominus and then glance at Rose, “What are you saying?”

“Andromedas, Catherine. If Tel is gone, it wasn’t Wren or my Nova that took her. It’s impossible. I assume Wren is no longer with us?” I nod at her question and she shakes her head.

“You’re just saying that to trick me. Confuse me,” I say. My heads hurts. My wound is throbbing. I think of what Matthew said about my father. Why everyone is dying around me. Then I think about finding Tel. No blade wounds. No fight. Pulsars. Blast marks.

“No blades,” I mumble.

The Dominus looks at me, “What?”

“No blades. The Nova didn’t fight her. Tel died from a Pulsar shot. Multiple. Not a Solar Blade wound.”

The Dominus looks at me and raises her eyebrow, “Andromeda, Catherine.” The Dominus looks at Rose.

“We’ve failed,” I say to her. I don’t know why but the words just come out.

“Maybe,” the Dominus says. “It’s one thing you didn’t realize, Catherine. The Imperium always rises. Always wins. Moves forward whether you want it to or not. You think I ruled in this way because it was in my nature? The Imperium cares little about human nature and kindness and love. It’s a machine, Catherine. A machine that eats its own and never stops.”

I part of me understands what the Dominus is saying and it makes me sick to my stomach. Sad, too. The machine of ruling and government and nature of this terrible empire pulled her along. Long ago, she must have decided she had to change to survive or she would be cut down.

“Catherine, there’s one more thing you need to know.” She glances at the Andromeda table and lowers her voice to talk.

“The Luminous Fleet; they’re returning. In the far reaches of the Bulk but something’s not right. They found something. The Andromeda’s paid them. Sent them to…”

Blood sprays my face and hair. I stumble back on instinct and fall as my Solar Blade slips. A Pulsar shot rips the Dominus head apart as blood and brains drip from the throne. Chaos ensues. Screams. Cries. Andromeda Guards turn and cut down rival members of the other Great Houses. Regala guests scream and run.

Raiders try to reach me but they're overwhelmed and pushed back. Slayers, too. House Orion members grab Poe and I see him throwing them off to run toward me but he’s grabbed and pried away. I stumble to a knee and watch the slaughter around me.

I see Andromeda Guards stab an older man from another Great House. They laugh. Another group grabs the women with him and cackle. One of the women tries to escape until her chest rips open from a Pulsar blast and she falls dead. One of the guards jokingly throws another woman on her stomach across a table. The guards around him laugh as he makes a crude gesture.

Two men are stabbed and another is hit in the head before a women shoves an Andromeda Guard and hits him with Imperium wine bottle. I see a blade cut her stomach open. It’s pandemonium. I catch Gabriel Apollos in a far corner, surrounded by guards, simply watching. He looks bored.

I stare at what’s left of the Dominus. It’s a great shot, just below the eye. Kill shot. I connect the dots as I stare at her exploded skull. Sara. Tel’s injuries. Now the Dominus. It’s why she went missing. Largely disappeared as we approached the Citadel. She told me that’s her favorite kill shot; a Wind Rifle blast below the eye. She’s working for the Andromedas.

Despite the slaughter around me, I am stuck on the Dominus last words. Luminous Fleet. Return. Found something. I think in a daze, feel the Dominus blood on my face, think about if I’ll ever figure what Matthew meant about my father earlier.

Rose Andromeda strolls over to me. A man from the Regala tries to confront her and she laughs at him before slicing his arm off. She’s lightning quick with her Solar Blade and I take back my assumptions about her never using it. The man grabs his missing at his missing limb and stumbles to a knee in shock. Blood leaks out his side before Rose leans down to him, kisses his lips and then steps back and slices his head off.

She really is a god damn eel. A beautiful one. But disturbed. She seems immune to the killing around her as House Andromeda removes their competition. Not quite the bloodless coup she planned.

“I really hoped you would be with Tel. Then, the rebellion would fade away. Guess we’ll find a new way to make that happen.” Rose says. “Funny, I don’t think it will be hard given everyone around you dies anyway.”

She playfully taps my nose as I struggle to move. Gives me a kiss on the cheek and then shoots me with a Stunner.

I struggle asleep within a lunar minute to the sounds of screaming, killing and the end of the Dominus. And, the rise of the Andromedas.