Read Wrath of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) for Free Online

defeated them. Evelyn’s hand tightened on his as she recognized the medal ribbons. The sergeant gave them a searching look as they approached, but when he recognized that they were mere tourists he saw they were not a threat. As Blas had anticipated, it was military lore that terrorists didn’t wear floral silk dresses. Security Bureau orders were to leave tourists alone. The SB troopers were not even supposed to toy with them to alleviate their boredom. Although not all of them obeyed the order.
    “Business in this city?”
    “Tourism.”
    Blas kept his voice even. He could see the man was searching for a reason to make trouble.
    “Have you been here before?”
    That was when he made a mistake. He knew he should have kept his mouth shut as soon as he’d opened it, but somehow he just couldn’t. It was hard to see a defeated enemy posturing and preening like a victor.
    “Yes.”
    “What was the purpose of your previous visit?”
    “I was hunting down and beating the crap out of the enemy, the Axian military. They were holed up inside the city like rats and so I treated them like the criminals they were.”
    The sergeant looked up from the papers, and his puffy face started to glow red.
    “What’s that you said? You fought for the enemy!”
    “The enemy? Not at all, the Axians were the enemy, if you recall. The forces of the Republic beat the shit out of them. After we’d booted their sorry asses out of the Nine Systems, we set up a new Republic. That’s your current employer, as I recall. Not Axia, they’ve gone. They were just treacherous, backstabbing cowards.”
    The sergeant looked back at the documents, trying to control his anger while he searched for some flaw in them, a reason to detain a former enemy who had the audacity to remind him, an SB officer, of his army’s defeat. He looked up.
    “It says here you were a naval officer.”
    “That’s right. The last time I came to Hesperia I captained a Battlecruiser, under Admiral Quentin Rusal. I visited Peria on a diplomatic mission.”
    He grunted and handed back the papers, unable to find any fault with them. Neither was he about to pick a fight with Admiral Rusal’s protégé. He backed down with bad grace.
    “I’ll be watching you, Mr. Blas. If you give me an excuse, I’ll throw you and your whore in the cells. We’ve enough problems here with the natives.”
    Blas worked to control his anger at the insult to Evelyn.
    “Really? What kind of trouble, Sergeant? Anything we should worry about?”
    “We’ve had these locals painting slogans on walls and throwing rocks at our men. They’re not allowed weapons, or the scum would be shooting at us. Now move along. I’ve got better things to do than talk to you rebel scum all day.”
    Blas ignored the taunt. “We’ll be careful to avoid any rock throwers or wall painters.”
    The man glared at them as they walked away.
    “I thought Max said to stay out of trouble,” Evelyn smiled.
    “Those lazy bastards, they should be out doing something useful, not hassling civilians in Peria. It’s still a non-militarized city, as I recall.”
    “You’re right, but save it for another time. Let’s just relax and enjoy ourselves.”
    They wandered through the streets. It was strange, for once they had been teeming with people, yet they were now deserted.
    “What would you like to see first?” he asked Evelyn.
    “Do you remember the temple?”
    “Of course I do.”
    That particular temple was made of the peculiar local stone, threaded with semi-phosphorescent impurities that gave off a natural light inside. At that time, it had been re-dedicated to the Prophet Axia. A monstrous stone effigy of the God Ahura had stood outside. He remembered going inside and looking at the high altar and the ritual baths. He also saw Evelyn, saw her face for the first time. At that time she was the First Lady of the Nine Systems and escorted by her handmaiden, Nightingale. He remembered it as if it was only yesterday.