Free Warden: A Novel by Gregg Vann

defied all attempts at explanation.
    “Well?” Golen snapped.
    “He’s gone, Minister. They found Barent’s coffin open. And he was gone .”
    “You mean his body’s been taken?” Golen said.
    “No, Minister.” Malves looked Golen in the eyes—still struggling to process the information. “I mean there was an active cryo-chamber inside the coffin. And my men found fresh DNA samples, confirmed to be Barent’s. He is alive. They also discovered a secret passageway hidden beneath the pedestal, and they’re exploring it now.”
    Minister Golen looked away and his gaze drifted toward the window again. He noticed the ceremonial flag of the Wardens flying high above the tomb, depicting two hands clasped together in friendship against a backdrop of the Citadel. One wore the glove of a colonial guard, tattered and bloody, while a broken shackle dangled from the wrist of the second, representing a freed prisoner. The image was steeped in history and symbolism, but as the flag flapped lazily in the light breeze Golen believed it existed solely to mock him.
    “The Wardens,” he hissed. “They received this information before we did.”
    “I’ll locate Major Kline immediately,” Malves said.
    “It had to be them, General. Find out what Kline knows and then kill him. Kill everyone involved…anyone who might possibly know that Barent is alive.”
    Golen slammed his fist down hard on the desk and some of the papers resting on it slid to the floor. Those earlier problems that had seemed so pressing were now easily ignored—eclipsed by a genuine threat to Golen’s power, and to that of the Collective as well.
    “Find the Great Betrayer, General Malves. And find him quickly, or it will be the end of us all.”
    “I will,” Malves replied decisively. He spun around to leave, but then stopped his march toward the door and turned back. “Minister, did you mean kill everyone who knows about this?”
    Golen realized who he was referring to and frowned. “Yes, General. Everyone.”
    He would miss Jacob, but what could be done?
    Malves nodded his understanding and left the room.
    Golen leaned forward and cupped his face in his hands, vigorously rubbing his eyes. He knew the people worshipped the very memory of Sergeant Barent, and his presence in the city would create chaos. But more importantly, Golen understood what it meant for the Collective to have him alive.
    Like every minister before him, Golen had read the founding documents—the public ones and the secret ones. The Collective was directly responsible for Barent’s death, or attempted murder, as it now appeared. And the fact he was still alive meant that Barent probably knew it. He would want revenge, and with the entire population of Le’sant on his side, he would get it.
    Barent…alive, Golen thought to himself. It’s almost beyond comprehension.
    He knew it to be true, of course. The evidence didn’t lie. But Golen simply couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
    The Great Betrayer.
    The hero of the Pardon War.
    Is alive…

CHAPTER NINE
Escape
    The tunnel beneath the tomb was nearly pitch black and oppressively hot, but as their pupils dilated fully—working hard to collect what little illumination there was in the confined space—Barent and Tana were able to see well enough to keep pressing forward, albeit slowly. Fortunately, there was only the one narrow passageway leading down through the rock, making it impossible to get lost.
    The same geothermal energy sources that provided Le’sant with unlimited power—the main reason the ship had landed on this spot in the first place—also made burrowing beneath the surface here problematic. Tana knew it must have been very difficult to arrange for this tunnel to be dug out during construction of the tomb, and probably even harder to keep it a secret. The dangerous nature of the work involved would have only added to the problem. Even now, five hundred years later, the best equipment couldn’t detect every