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Pulser bolts passed close by me, striking someone. I could hear their gasp of pain over my com. I paid it no mind. I was totally focused on the front of the room and Admiral Angotti. Other Marines were forcing their way forward along side me, laying down as much fire they could to protect the hostages who had thrown themselves flat on the floor with the first explosions. The people who had been clustered around the hostages and Admiral were all flat on their bellies, trying to survive and returning fire as best they could. Only the Admiral was still on his feet. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had not yet been hit. Despite the standing orders to take him alive he should have been hit by something by now.

My railgun was against my shoulder as I placed the aiming point over the Admirals chest. At that point I had very little interest in standing orders. The Admiral had turned toward the front of the room and was firing his pulser at anything he could see. What little he added to the chaos of the room mattered little more to me than an excuse to pull the trigger. It broke cleanly under my finger, sending a tiny dart of metal snapping across the room to hit the Admiral in the middle of his chest. I let my finger relax, resetting the trigger. As soon as I felt it click into place I pulled it back again. The aiming point seemingly painted on the outside of his armor as I sent dart after dart snapping across the room between us.

By the third round the armor was pushed beyond its designed limits. Shattering to dust and letting the fourth dart through. It punched through the impact absorbing under layers and the skinsuit worn under that, penetrating his sternum to pierce his heart. Following close behind were three more darts, whose combined energy sufficed to rip the organ to shreds. They continued on to exit his back plate. While elsewhere the pressures built up by their passing through his body caused blood to be forced out the entrance hole as well as the Admirals mouth and nose.

I watched as he dropped to the ground in a spray of blood, my sights never leaving the torn remnants of his chest. He barely had time to hit the ground before I was brought down myself. A Marine slammed into me bringing me to the floor. The space I had been standing in was filled with the silver beam of an energy lance. The massive Private must have seen that I was being targeted when he brought me to the ground. My helmet prevented me from being killed as my head slammed through a desk that happened to be in the way. It was however not good enough to prevent me from loosing consciousness from the impact. I had a few moments of confusion to how I had ended up looking up at the ceiling before I faded into unconsciousness.

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“Commander Sorenson?” The voice sounded concerned about something. My response was an unintelligible groan. Perhaps they were right to feel concern. I cracked open my eyes and looked up at Lieutenant Rooney. A wave of nausea came over me and I turned over onto my side as I emptied my stomach onto the floor. The feeling subsided enough after that to let me know I had one of the worst headaches I had ever experienced. I felt her place a hand on my shoulder to stop me from rolling off the stretcher I was laying on as I wiped my mouth and fell back to look up at the ceiling. She pulled an injector out of a medical kit and pressed it against my neck. The world immediately slowed down and my headache subsided. A bit.

“What happened?” I managed to say once the spinning stopped.

“You were almost shot, sir. You have a concussion from when Private Meskil hit you a little too hard. Just lie still for a while and rest.” That sounded like a very good idea. Too bad I had responsibilities.

“Did we win?” She nodded as she responded.

“Yes, sir. We lost far too many people, including Ensign Tian, but we managed to get almost all of them in the end.”

“Almost?” I said with my eyes closed as the news about the Ensign hit me.

“Major Nakhoda thinks a few may have gotten away in the confusion. No more than ten or so, and no one on the 'important' list. We did it, sir.” I rubbed my face before looking back up at her.

“It will just have to be good enough. And Olympus?”

“Recaptured and the remaining Chiefs are safe. They seem to have put the majority of their effort here, sir.”

“Fair enough. Do you have any water?” I asked after trying the empty reservoir in my armor. With some help I sat up and gratefully accepted the bottle she offered me, using it to first clear the taste out of my mouth before drinking the rest of it. I looked around the council chambers, now fully lit, was bustling with activity. All around were Marines performing their post battle duties. Securing prisoners, helping the few remaining wounded, counting the cost. More Navy personnel had shown up, some wearing security uniforms escorting away the prisoners. Others wearing medical uniforms who worked on the wounded.

My stretcher was one of many that had been placed near where the main entrance to the room had been. Quite a few were still occupied, though the people in them seemed to have fairly minor injuries.

Further down in the room I spotted Shari with a few of her officers talking to what I assumed was the head of the security personnel that had arrived while I was unconscious. In the clearest sign that everything was over, all the Marines had removed their helmets. I threw the empty bottle away and stood up with a little help from the Lieutenant, I caught the end of their conversation as I approached.

“My platoon leaders just reported that their final sweep is complete, Commander. They report that the building is clear. No remaining opposition or traps.”

“Thank you, Captain. My people will take it from here. Tell your people they did good work here this morning.”

“Thank you, Commander, I will. We are going to hang around a bit until our shuttles have finished their runs. So we will be here if you need us.” They shook hands and turned away to their separate duties. Shari gave a few quick orders to her officers before turning to me. “How are you feeling, Jay?”

“Like I was hit by a runaway shuttle. But I'll be fine. How is everything else?”

“Better than I had expected when we landed. Just about everyone on our list has been accounted for, and the ones we haven't are all fairly low level people.”

“And our people?” I asked with trepidation, remembering the fallen I had passed getting to this room.

“Thirty six casualties, sixteen of them fatal. Among them Lieutenant Martins and Gunny Harris. I'm afraid Sandra was injured as well. She is at the hospital now.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Too early to tell, I'm afraid. I'm going to head over there as soon as I can.” Any response I might have given was interrupted by First Sergeant Lindkvist.

“Captain, Javelin 6 just reported that she has dropped off her last load of injured and is on her way back for pickup.” Top tapped her ear for emphasis as she spoke. Shari nodded and turned to her officers to ensure everything really was ready for our departure. In the mean time I spotted something deeper in the large room that sparked a cloudy memory. The drugs I had gotten obviously only helped with the nausea and pain of a concussion, not the fuzzy thinking and unreliable memory. I shook my head at forgetting that particular moment.

“Shari, you go on ahead. I'll catch up.” She followed my gaze and saw what had sparked my memory. Her smile was gentle as she rested a hand on my arm.

“Take your time. We'll be waiting.” I nodded distractedly and started down the steps toward the dais. The walk down was unsettling as I had to navigate my way through the debris and damage from the intense fighting. While my attention was focused on the dais I could not help but think about how the room had looked only the previous day. There would not have been deep gashes in the polished marble from the heavy lances. Small but deep holes in the walls and furnishings from the railguns. Whole sections of luxurious seating that had burned to ash.

I walked up the steps to the dais and looked down at the two bodies remaining there. They had been covered with white sheets that were now soaked through with blood. I paused and looked down at the nearest one. Remembering how the trigger broke under my finger, the crack of the dart going down range and the blood that sprayed from the impacts. A drying pattern of red drops was visible on the wall behind where he had stood, along with the minute holes my darts had made after passing through their target.

I turned away from the dead Admiral and stopped next to Valentino. I pulled the sheet away from his face and looked down at him. My emotions were a confusing mix of sadness and delight. He had been a friend and a traitor in life. At one point I would have killed him with as much hesitation I had shown with the Admiral under the sheet behind me. I knew it would take me a long time to come to grips with what had passed between us these past few months. The one thing I would not forget though, was that he had given his life in pursuit of his principles.

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