Free The Prisoner of Eldaron: Crimson Worlds Successors II by Jay Allan

soldiers.” Elias knew he was being evasive. He had many issues with Darius, but he couldn’t imagine ever turning his brother in, even if it had been remotely feasible. Beyond simple loyalty to his twin, he shuddered to think of how the Black Eagles would react if an Atlantian enforcement officer arrested their commander and dragged him back for trial. The Atlantian defense forces were reasonably well trained and equipped, but he didn’t try to fool himself that they were a match for the Eagles. And the thought of those mercenaries, enraged as they would be at the abduction of their leader, was enough to turn his blood cold.
    “I will be honest with you, Elias. You have damaged your career. Badly. Indeed, there is still an investigation underway, and the possibility remains that you will be brought up on charges. Of course, that would mean the end of your service…and a substantial prison term as well.” The Chief paused, allowing his words to hang briefly in the air. “But if you complete this mission with the competence you have displayed so often in the past, I am assured that you will be granted a full pardon for your transgressions…and returned to the advancement track within the agency. And you and I shall never speak of your unfortunate conduct again. Not many men get an opportunity to wash away their sins.”
    Elias fought back another wave of anger, a stronger one. He resented his actions being characterized as transgressions, much less sins. He had met with Roderick Vance, that was true—and with his brother and mother as well…but the matter hadn’t had anything to do with Atlantia or its foreign policy. He’d divulged no secrets, made no representations on behalf of Atlantia or its government. And he hadn’t even joined in the attack on Eris. He’d been back on Mars, recovering from an assassination attempt that had come close—very close—to finishing him off.
    “Yes, sir. I will do my best.” He tried to speak naturally, to make his answer sound appreciative and not resentful, but he found it difficult. “Thank you for the opportunity.” He spat out the last words like something that tasted bad.
    He stood up, struggling to hide the tension he felt in every muscle. “With your permission, sir, I will go prepare for the mission. The sooner we lift off the better.”
    “I couldn’t agree more, Captain Cain.” A short pause. “Don’t let me down, Elias. You are getting a second chance. I wouldn’t expect a third…”
     
    *  *  *  *  *
     
    Armando DeSilva leaned back in his almost absurdly plush chair. The seat was made from Arcadian leather, hand stitched and buttery soft to the touch. It was a perk of DeSilva’s office, one of many the taxpayers of Atlantia funded for their president.
    Atlantia’s highest-ranking politician had come from nothing. Indeed, he had arrived as a teenager along with his parents, refugees from Earth, just after the Fall. Not many people had escaped Earth’s final agony, but DeSilva’s father had been an engineer, and his skills were badly needed on a planet struggling to adjust to full independence after the Alliance’s destruction.
    DeSilva had built a political machine the likes of which Atlantia’s unsophisticated citizen-politicians had never seen, and in just six years the ambitious young politico had built a 60% majority in the Planetary Assembly and gotten himself elected president in a landslide. There had been rumors of intimidation at the polls and widespread voter fraud, but they didn’t last long. Not once he’d gotten into office and gained control over the courts and law enforcement agencies. He sent his most zealous enforcers after his political opponents, and he filled the prisons with those he deemed as a threat, all in the name of law and order, of course. He’d been reelected twice, the last time unopposed, and he’d occupied the office for ten years now.
    “I am concerned,” he said, his voice a slow drawl, very unlike the