“We must follow the rule of law,” Tiglath said.

  “My friend, you are upon the cusp of momentous history. You did well leading the space marines on the Moon. Now you’re doing something even more important. You have great physical courage, but now it’s a matter of moral courage. Few men possess that.”

  “You’re talking about murder,” Tiglath said.

  Naram Sin realized that with everything else going on, he’d overlooked this. Could he rectify it in time? He’d better try.

  “It’s not murder if the Chief Marshal is an evil man and he controls our colony, moving it along the wrong path.”

  “You can’t mean what you’re saying,” Tiglath said.

  “All I’m suggesting is to be ready, my friend. You are my strong right hand. If you fail me in the moment of confrontation, all of what we’re doing is for nothing.”

  Tiglath turned away, staring out a window. They were going through the dense orange clouds of Titan.

  The shuttle began to shake from the turbulence.

  Naram Sin realized he should have picked a gunman who would fire without equivocation at whomever he pointed. Yet what sort of man did that? Perhaps one who utterly believed in the cause, a fanatical man. A goon or a criminal who had no compunction about killing those his boss ordered, would do it as well. A normal person wouldn’t stand against the high authority, drawing his gun and firing. Ordinary people followed the rules. As much as they grumbled and cheated on little things, on the big things, they played it straight. Only a convinced mind, or an unhinged mind, which maybe was saying the same thing, could fire at authority. A criminal or corrupt mind might also do it.

  Naram Sin wondered now if he had made the wrong move. He should have stayed in the background and tried to become the Chief Marshal’s lackey again. Now, however, he had thrust himself into the limelight. There was no turning back from that.

  Naram Sin’s courage began to desert him as his stomach twisted with fear. He squeezed his eyes closed, and then he bunched his hands into fists and squeezed them as hard as he could. He breathed evenly and deeply.

  He had to do what was necessary. But what was the right thing? Was Tiglath’s way correct?

  Naram Sin shook his head, dispelling the doubts.

  He was standing against Chief Marshal Assur. He wasn’t trying to stand against the elders or the people. Ninety-eight percent of the crews had voted for him. That was nearly unanimous. That meant he had political authority from them.

  I must do this for the good of my crews.

  Therein lay the strength of will he needed to do what was necessary.

  Chief Marshal Assur had slain Baal and Sardu using a weapon. That weapon had been Father Wolf, turned into a political assassin.

  “We’re almost there,” came over the intercom.

  Naram Sin opened his eyes.

  The shuttle’s shaking had lessened as they descended onto Titan proper.

  Naram Sin looked out a side window and saw the frozen plains of home, followed by the domes of the colony. He was returning to face the greatest trial of his life.

  -31-

  The moment of decision had come for the Titan colony. The party from the shuttles left the terminal building and came onto the plaza. It was filled with people. In front were the elders in their long ceremonial robes. Around them were many others.

  Chief Marshal Assur approached, surrounded by his bodyguards. To Naram Sin, Assur looked frail and hollowed out. The Chief Marshal walked with his head erect, but it seemed as if pain wracked his body.

  Close behind was a tall, lean individual with blue eyes and blond hair. That, Naram Sin knew, was the new Security Chief, Vaul.

  Vaul scanned the crowd.

  Naram Sin noticed where Vaul looked. At each point, he noted obvious gunmen.

  This was a trap. Did Assur mean to gun down the entire high command of the invasion fleet?

  Naram Sin decided he needed to initiate this and try to brazen it out. He raised his hands, bringing his party to a stop.

  Chief Marshal Assur halted as well, a look of confusion on his face. The rest of his party stopped more raggedly.

  Naram Sin raised his arms high. He looked at the crowd. “It is my great pleasure to have returned home. I greet you, people of the Titan colony. I, Marshal Naram Sin, am proud to have brought your men home that you entrusted us with. And now, I say to you, Chief Marshal Assur—”

  Naram Sin knelt on one knee and bowed his head to Chief Marshal Assur. Then he looked up and shouted, “I am under your authority, sir. The men of the former invasion fleet have chosen me to represent them. And I say to you, sir, I salute you as my leader.”

  The people erupted with cheers, many clapping. Elders nodded.

  This was a good start; Naram Sin believed he was gaining their goodwill.

  Chief Marshal Assur walked briskly up to Naram Sin. Vaul hurried to catch up. The bodyguards, used to Assur’s ways, kept in step perfectly with the older man. Assur reached into his pocket. He must have pressed something.

  “Marshal Naram Sin,” Assur said, with his voice loudly projected. The man used an enhancer to broadcast his voice. That made Assur sound more powerful than he actually was. It was a cheap trick, but well thought out. “I do not remember giving you the title of Marshal of the Fleet. That title belonged to Baal, and Baal died.”

  “Yes,” Naram Sin said, “Baal died in unusual circumstances, slain by Father Wolf.”

  “Wasn’t he a priest of An’Kar?” Assur asked.

  “You know that is so, and you know that I found this.” Naram Sin raised a hand high, his thumb and index finger pinching a tiny unit. “This sparked in Father Wolf’s heart after he committed those heinous deeds. He died afterward. Under whose orders did he commit those murders, Chief Marshal? That is what I ask you, and that is what I ask the elders of our people. You elders are in the end our guiding light and wisdom.”

  Naram Sin realized he was shouting, his throat dry. He staked all upon a bold throw of the political dice. It was much like a chess match. In fact, part of him felt exhilarated in the moment.

  Naram Sin looked hard at Assur. “What do you have to say to this, Chief Marshal?”

  Assur waited, and it seemed like the crowd craned forward to hear what he had to say.

  “Do you accuse me?” Assur asked, as if in wonderment. “I who guide the people, I who chose Baal, I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do.”

  People clapped and cheered.

  That surprised Naram Sin, not that the people cheered, but that Assur had so quickly turned this around.

  The man was good, the Chess Master part of Naram Sin realized. Now you must play as you have never played the political game.

  Naram Sin squinted at Assur. “If you did not do it—”

  “You say that I did?” Assur asked in his loud voice.

  “I use a hypothetical only,” Naram Sin said. “As the guiding light of the people, you would never stoop to such underhanded ways. You, alone, or should I say guided by the elders, watch over us like a good father does his family.”

  People murmured and nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, this is troubling,” Assur said. “I have wondered who could do such a dastardly deed. Who could send out such a signal to Father Wolf?”

  Assur turned and stared at Security Chief Vaul. “Tell me, Vaul, who could have done such a thing? Who could have trained a priest of An’Kar, no less, to do such a wicked deed as to slay our fine Marshal Baal and your former master? You served under Security Chief Sardu. Did you fear that I would put him above you again, so you murdered him before that could happen?”

  Vaul’s mouth opened in shock until cunning, mixed with rage and perhaps fear, entered his eyes. “You dare to accuse me,” Vaul said, but he had whispered most of his life. He was not used to raising his voice to such a level. Many in back did not hear him, and many of the older elders strained to hear him.

  “I but need raise my hand,” Vaul said, “and you all will die, and I then will run the colony.”

  “What?” Assur said.

  “You’re trying to trap me,” Vaul said, as sweat showed on his face. “No. You are not going to do to me what you have done to other security chiefs in the past. You ordered Sardu—”

  “Silence,” Assur shouted, having thumbed his unit to full volume. Thus, his voice thundered and drowned out Vaul’s whispery voice. Perhaps Vaul understood, for he tried to shout louder. Once again, Assur spoke over him, his words sounding authoritative and strong. “You are hereby condemned to death, Security Chief Vaul.”

  Vaul drew his gun in response.

  However, space marine Tiglath drew his weapon faster and fired, blasting Vaul in the chest with several heavy slugs.

  There was screaming as many people hit the deck.

  Those in the crowd who had been Vaul’s most trusted aides aimed guns at Tiglath. It was surprising none had fired yet.

  “Enough,” Assur shouted. The Chief Marshal raised his arms and stepped forward as if to shield Tiglath. “We will have no more killing today. This is a terrible moment.” Assur turned to Naram Sin. “There is your culprit,” Assur pointed at Vaul. “I recently learned that he has been boning my secretary.”

  There were gasps. Some came from the more prudish members of the crowd that the Chief Marshal should use such a derogatory term.

  “Vaul suborned my once faithful secretary,” Assur said in his projected voice. “I am shocked and dismayed. They were filming me in my office. I only recently learned of this, thanks to several of my bodyguards who provided the evidence I needed. Oh, shame on you, Vaul. You were married. How could you dare to do this with my once trusted secretary?”

  There was a stunned and horrified hush.

  Assur turned to Naram Sin. “Do you agree, temporary Marshal Naram Sin, to stand before the elders who will decide the merits of what you have done and what course the colony should take before we begin the invasion?”

  The Chess Master glanced at Tiglath, who had already holstered his gun.

  Tiglath was beaming and proud, no doubt certain he had done his duty.

  Naram Sin knew why. Assur had neatly outmaneuvered him. Had Vaul voluntarily acted the part of a fool who thought he could slay Assur? Could any of Assur’s claims about the secretary and his security chief be true? Whatever the case, he had been outmaneuvered, and he was going to have to see what the elder board said.

  Naram Sin had hardly ever lost a chess match. Even so, he managed to compose himself and say, “Yes, Chief Marshal, let us go before the elders and settle this once and for all.”

  -32-

  The Elders’ Meeting did not take place for a week. During that time, Assur moved with speed and deliberation, arresting three of Vaul’s most loyal henchmen.

  One died in a prison cell, having committed suicide through hanging. That was the verdict, anyway. The other fought the bodyguards who tried to capture him. They had to shoot him. There was no inquiry, even though all the shots had been in the back. Yes, as he tried to flee, the bodyguards said, lunging for a gun. That had been self-defense. Assur approved, and the elders ratified the decision.

  The last henchman was beaten badly and cruelly. He admitted everything that Vaul had done and even revealed some of the procedures they had used to train Father Wolf. The reasons were bizarre and complicated, but it clearly implicated Vaul.

  The henchman begged for a quick and merciful death and for his family to live.

  Assur told him he would not die but would be sent to the penal colony on Neptune Station along with a few others. There, they would work to keep the space station fit because there were some anomalies taking place out there. If they did their jobs loyally and well, they could return after five years of exile.

  Everyone praised Chief Marshal Assur for his mercy.

  No one saw his secretary again, and the disappearance remained a mystery. Her body was never found. It was later surmised that she climbed into one of the shredding tanks in shame.

  Some whispered that maybe others had pushed her into the shredder. In any case, her fluids and body parts helped fertilize some of the plants that the rest of them would eat. It was gruesome, but as Assur said, “Let us put an end to this horrific time.”

  Finally, the Elders’ Meeting took place. Naram Sin, with a few of his comrades, came to the Great Council Meeting. Much as it had been on Akkad many generations ago, as long as an elder could walk onto the dais, he could speak and make proposals. At an elder’s request, others could speak in the meeting. Only elders would have a vote. Not even Chief Marshal Assur would have a vote in this.

  Naram Sin waited to see what Assur would say.

  Assur rose and spoke eloquently. If he was a shadow of his former self, he still had his cunning. No one knew that he had been taking the pills liberally. They had been making him more paranoid. Maybe that helped him in this meeting.

  In any case, he wove a masterful argument that Naram Sin had taken too much authority upon himself.

  “Yes, Naram Sin may have done it in grief. He may have done it in anger. And he may even have misjudged me,” Assur said. “For this, I can forgive him. I cannot wholly forgive him, however, for taking the title of marshal into his hands when only the elders or I could give it. In this, he has committed a grave crime against the authorities. I cannot overlook that despite what he has done. I therefore have a proposal. Naram Sin, before you leap up and speak in your logical, chess-masterly way, hear me out.”

  Naram Sin nodded.

  “I prescribe for Naram Sin the old punishment, not of exile to Neptune, as those heinous killers and followers of Vaul are going to do, nor death. For I do not believe Naram Sin deserves death in this instance because he is young and at times misguided. I say rather that we must put him to sleep in stasis. And I say further, Naram Sin, you will join the fleet. I do not know how much longer I have left in this veil. I will admit to you that I feel the pains of my age at times and that I cannot live forever. Therefore, I will bequeath the title of marshal to Naram Sin, provided, he enters stasis. Then, if something untoward happens to me during the journey or during the great battle, there will be a replacement, not one who is conniving and cunning, but one who is bold and forthright with perhaps the most logical mind in all of the Titan colony.”

  That shocked Naram Sin.

  “Therefore, I say, elders, I ask that you indulge me. Put Naram Sin into stasis. Let him come with the fleet knowing that I have already indicated he is to be my successor. What do you say, elders?”

  In keeping with custom, Chief Marshal Assur left the dais.

  There was much debate, many arguments, but what Assur had said struck to the core much better than anything Naram Sin could say. In the end, Naram Sin acquiesced to the punishment, though he feared he might never revive. And yet, what alternative did he really have?

  Although Assur wasn’t a chess player, he was a better game player on the political board. Naram Sin had been outmaneuvered, and he understood that. He also realized Assur was giving him a way out, if the old man was being honest to any degree.

  Soon, Naram Sin entered stasis on a unit aboard the Enkidu. Eury was hidden in the guts of the ship far away from others. And Assur, as he popped pills, became more paranoid than ever, cemented his power, and said that he would lead this assault against humanity.

  This would be his Ride of the Valkyries, his death ride, where he would annihilate humanity to prepare the garden of Earth for the crop of Valiants to grow strong and populous in anticipation of a Vim invasion in the future.

  That was how matters stood as the great fleet readied for its journey to Earth.

  Part III

  Extinction Protocol

  -1-

  SATURN

  JANUARY 2076

  Chief Marshal Assur did not feel well, but he worked to push that aside. This was the great day, the beginning of the final and annihilating attack upon Earth.

  It had taken a few more weeks than he’d expected to get everything ready, but now the mobile asteroids, Enforcers, and auxiliary vessels were primed, fueled, and the crews eager to start.

  Assur had sent the stasis unit with “Marshal” Naram Sin to the Enkidu, the oldest of the Enforcers. He was keeping his word. Would he ever thaw Naram Sin to let him run the Valiants?

  Assur had mixed feelings about that.

  In truth, his real worry was the coming acceleration. Could his weakened, old body take the extended Gs?

  Fortunately, this fleet would not accelerate as fast as the former fleet had. Marshal Baal’s fleet had reached Earth after thirteen months of space travel. That had meant acceleration, gravity assists at Jupiter, and deceleration as the fleet neared its target.

  Because of the stress limitations of the mobile asteroids in take accelerating Gs, they would accelerate less than otherwise. Nor would the mobile asteroids use the gravity assist at Jupiter. However, the mobile asteroids would not decelerate as they neared Earth. Instead, they would continue accelerating at their moderate rate.

  At the end of the eighteen months it would take the mobile asteroids to reach Earth, they would be traveling at immense velocities. Given their size, weight, and velocity, the asteroids should at that point hit the Earth with extinction-level force.

  The rest of the fleet would time their arrival a little ahead of the asteroids near Earth. That meant the rest of the fleet would also use eighteen months to reach the enemy homeworld instead of the quick thirteen.

  Eighteen months aboard ship… Assur muttered to himself under his breath. Was he the Chief Marshal that he used to be while the Voyager Akkad traveled through deep space? This was going to test his endurance, will, and his aging body’s ability to cope.

  Assur regarded the bridge crew. These were the colony’s finest soldiers, as this was the Marduk, the flagship of the fleet. It was the newest and best of the Enforcers. He smiled at the cameras, as this video would be sent to Titan. Inside, however, he was worried.