The engine of the Helios-Two dropship steadily grew louder even as the flames in the office building continued to devour the room. They were isolated to one half, the other completely overtaken by the destruction wrought by the inferno, with Xaleyp keeping his assault rifle trained on Castellian. The man sat in the corner of the room, his hands folded in front of him and knees against his chest.

“Don’t trust either of them,” Castellian said almost in a whisper as they both sat there. He gestured to Beta then to the air in a somewhat vague motion. “Her or Ardus Kaine. Neither is who they say they are.”

“And why should I trust you?” Xaleyp asked, cocking an eyebrow in Castellian’s direction.

“Because I’m good as dead anyway, so why should I lie about that?” He shrugged, turning his head to look out the window wishfully.

Xaleyp shook his head and looked around the room where the fire was slowly started to die down after the initial explosion. Beta paced the room, keeping her assault rifle at the ready and her eyes flicking between the two other doors. Rach stood glaring at Castellian, her knuckles almost turning white around the grip of her own gun. The other Siatians left were lined up along the bank of window, their backs against the wall.

The ship flew right up against the window, turning sideways as the door slid open. Inside was a pair of soldiers flanking Ardus Kaine. They wore elegant armor nearly identical to that worn by the guards present at the execution, the metal gleaming with the flickering light of the flames. At Ardus’ right hip was a holster with a pistol grip poking out.They kept the assault rifles trained on the meeting room, watching for any sign of threats.

“Somebody order an extraction?” Ardus said, holding his hand out to the nearest Siatian and pulling them in. Ardus’ eyes were somewhat sunken with dark bags underneath, as if he hadn’t slept in days.

The four Siatians left were quickly helped in and guided to seats, the reality of the situation fully setting in. They came to the planet with two dozen soldiers in their squadron, and now they were leaving with only a quarter of that.

Beta and Rach followed after the other Siatians, climbing aboard the ship with a curious look from Ardus at the latter. Xaleyp pulled Castellian up by the bindings around his wrists and dragged him forward. Between the combined efforts of him and Ardus, they negotiated him across the gap and into one of the seats.

Xaleyp collapsed into a seat of his own, letting the assault rifle fall to his side with a clatter to the floor. Slowly, the ship strafed away from the building, flying over the city rather than into orbit. Ardus continued standing at the door even as the other two soldiers returned to their seats. He held onto the handle next to the door, looking out over the city as they made a gradual tour from the air. The rush of wind into the interior billowed his cloak around his body.

“So, you brought one of the Arcadians with you, Xaleyp?” Ardus asked without turning to look at him. “Are you sure this was a wise decision?”

“This is Rach’El Torlin, sir.” Xaleyp tried to keep his voice steady, but the effect of the smoke caused him to struggle to form the words. “She was my best friend before the Hyperions took us, and I trust her with my life.”

Ardus said nothing for several seconds as he stood there, tapping his fingers against the handle of the ship. Finally, he turned and glared at Rach from across the transport.

“Very well, but remember you will face the consequences for anything she does. Now, I’m afraid we have some unfinished business.”

He swiveled his head to look over the group before his eyes finally stopped on Castellian. Ardus gestured to the two soldiers who quickly stood to grab and pull Castellian to where their leader stood. He gripped Castellian around the back of his neck, squeezing it like a vice and forcing him to stare at the burning, half destroyed city below.

“Tell me, oh fearless leader, what do you see when you look out this door?”

“I see the terrorist act Siatia committed against Arcadia.” Castellian managed to turn his head slightly to spit at Ardus’ feet, who made no move to avoid it. “I see the millions of lives you’ve ruined for a sense of pride and accomplishment.”

“Curious. I see something entirely different,” Ardus said, his voice almost dreamlike. Castellian looked sideways at Ardus, still unable to turn his head more than a couple centimeters. “I see your grave.”

In one swift motion, he reached to the holster at his hip and pulled the pistol free, forcing the barrel into Castellian’s side. The Imperator tried to struggle and free himself from Ardus’ grip, but to no avail. Two gunshots rang out, partially drowned out by the roar of wind coming through the door. Both bullets ripped through the man’s body, ejecting themselves out into the open air.

“No!” Xaleyp and Beta yelled in unison, both jumping to their feet but stopping when the soldiers aimed their rifles at them.

Castellian staggered for a moment as Ardus released him, his legs no longer able to support himself. He toppled to the ground, resting on his knees before falling sideways. His chest heaved with each breath he took in an final, futile effort at survival. Ardus knelt down beside him, brushing the man’s hair out of his face with the barrel of the gun. He leaned in close, putting his mouth almost against Castellian’s ear even as he spoke loud enough for the rest of the dropship to hear.

“I see the end of an era, and the beginning of Siatian dominance on Arcadia.” He stood and put his booted foot on Castellian’s side, roughly prodding with the tip. “Your grave awaits, Imperator.”

Castellian’s hands scratched against the metal floor as Ardus began pushing him towards the opening. He yelled, his voice strained with the effort, and gasped for air, his breathing ragged. Xaleyp felt his own heart beating faster with each centimeter the man grew closer to the edge. Castellian rolled with each kick from Ardus, gradually spinning across the ground to the door and leaving a trail of blood across the floor.

After several agonizing seconds that felt like an eternity, he reached the edge. With one final kick, Ardus sent the man into the open air. Castellian, in one last ditch effort, threw out his hand and grabbed the side of the doorway. He held on with all the strength left in his body, only his hand and wrist visible to all except Ardus.

He knelt down, looking at the man dangling thousands of meters above the ground. Somewhere deep inside, Xaleyp silently prayed Ardus was going to help Castellian up.

“Please.” The word was garbled from both the roar of wind and the blood pooling in the back of his throat.

“Very well.”

Ardus stood and slammed the bottom of his boot against Castellian’s fingers. A scream of anguish came from the doorway, quickly fading away as he plummeted. The door slowly closed itself, the hydraulics hissing, as Ardus turned to look at Xaleyp.

“It had to be done,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he replaced the gun in its holster. A sly smile came over his lips, and he began walking to take a seat.

The ship angled upward slightly as it began its ascent out of the atmosphere. Beta continued standing, silently fuming with her fists clenched at her side. Rach’El sat, her mouth agape and unable to form any words. Xaleyp took a couple steps forward, his breaths coming in short bursts.

“We were to take him alive under your orders.” The rage inside Xaleyp didn’t manifest in his voice; instead, it was somewhat deadpan, like stating a fact, as he glared at Ardus. “You said to capture him and whatever other leadership we could, to force them to stand trial for their actions.”

“Arcadia was going to be a thorn in the side of the Concord until the end and you know it.” Still standing, Ardus pointed towards the doorway, glaring at Xaleyp. “Because of that man, we never would’ve been able to accomplish anything without constantly looking over our soldiers. Now that Arcadia’s government is in shambles, we can instate one that will work for peace in the galaxy rather than war.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” Xaleyp looked Ardus in the eye, taking a step closer to him without realizing it until one of the guards placed his hand against Xaleyp’s shoulder to stop him. “He was supposed to stand trial so that justice could be brought to the families he destroyed.”

“Under what court would he stand trial? There’s no Galactic Council anymore, so all we have are the individual courts on each planets. What kind of justice would they be able to mete out other than death anyway?”

“And what the fuck gives you the right to play judge, jury, and executioner?” Xaleyp was no longer able to control his temper, pushing aside the soldier’s hand and stepping right up to Ardus, who rose his hand to keep the guards from acting. His breathing was deep and ragged as he stood almost right top of Ardus, their chests nearly touching. “What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies?”

“The Siatian Concord for Interstellar Genesis does!” Ardus’ voice filled the area with the enunciation of each word. He rose his finger and put it in Xaleyp’s face, forcing him to take a step back. “It gives me the right to do whatever the fuck I want to keep the galaxy safe under the protection of the Vanguard Ascendancy. If that means doing what I think is best, then I’m going to do it, regardless of what a damn teenager thinks.”

“If the Concord gives you that right,” Xaleyp said, lowering his voice even as the fire continued to rage inside him, “then it would give you the right to reform the Galactic Council. You just chose the easy way out instead of doing what is right, like you always do.”

“Isn’t that rich coming from Mister ‘Destroys a city to avenge his parents’? Or is it only okay when it’s you, and if anyone else dares to do something you don’t like, it’s suddenly wrong?”

Ardus took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, slowly spinning in place. Xaleyp didn’t know how to respond, though he did realize Ardus was right, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Silence reigned in the small dropship, no one daring to speak and break it. Eventually, Ardus turned to Xaleyp once more.

“Go to Stariek like you wanted. I’ll give you leave to bury your parents, give them a proper funeral, and do whatever else you need to do. I’ll have an escort waiting for you at Siatia, and they’ll accompany you and keep you safe.”

He abandoned his seat with the rest of the soldiers, instead heading for the cockpit. His footsteps echoed in the silence left in his wake until he reached his destination and sat next to the pilot, folding his arms across his chest and staring straight ahead where the clouds were scattering over the windshield.

Xaleyp nearly slammed himself into a seat, opening a CAM channel with Beta as he did so.

he asked her simply through the channel.