The transport jumped into hyperspace- I'd traced Deuce's vector- he was heading deeper into Dominion space. The others kept reminding me that we had to head back home with Einbert, but as far as I was concerned, Elagner's mission was secondary.

Eric was still talking. I punched him mid-sentence, and he went crashing to the floor. I got out of the pilot's seat and advanced towards him, kicking away the pistol in his hand. I dragged him by his hair into the cargo hold.

Trey and Jimmy were behind, trying to get me to explain. I tuned them out. Eric against a crate, my fist slamming into his face again and again, that was my interest for the moment. I stopped long enough to hear him groan.

"What do you know?" I yelled.

His voice was strained, nasal. "What the hell are you talking about?"

I punched again. His nose was a mass of flesh and broken bone by now. "Don't play with me, Eric!"

"You son of a-" Another punch cut him off. He was missing teeth now.

"I saw him look at you." The next blow was in the stomach. "Why's he alive?"

"For god's sake, you insane-"

I grabbed his jacket and sent him flying headfirst into another crate. Before he could get up, I kicked him in the ribs. He was coughing blood.

I pulled out my gun. "Talk!"

He gurgled and wheezed, barely able to speak now. "Con, I swear-"

I shot him in his shoulder. He screamed. Sounded like a symphony to me.

I pointed the gun at his head. "Last chance."

He was gritting his teeth from the pain. "Elagner!" I gave him time to catch his breath. "Elagner kept him alive! He thought we could interrogate him, get something useful about the Dominion."

"That's the obvious. What are you up to?"

"Con-"

I pressed the gun against his head. "He wasn't sizing you up. Quit the bullshit- you working for the Dominion now?"

"Okay, don't shoot! They approached me after you came back from the fight with Deuce. They knew Elagner was keeping him alive, wanted me to bust him out and spy on Elagner later."

"Looks like 'little shit traitor' runs in the family. Now, Vina. What do you about that?"

"God, you think I killed her, Con?"

"I think you know something about it. Deuce does."

He was silent. I pushed the gun harder. "I don't have all day."

He waited another moment before saying anything. "I don't know the details... if Dominion wanted her silenced, and Deuce knows about it-"

"Then your boss knows something about it. Who is he?"

"He'll kill me if-"

"I'll kill you if you don't say. Who're you more afraid of?"

He swallowed. "Achilles. That's the name he gave me."

"Is Deuce going his way?"

"Yes."

I holstered my pistol. "Jimmy, get a medkit. Eric's gotta be in top-shape to see Mr. Achilles."

---

Trey and Jimmy were up front, and Eric was locked up in one of the holds. Still five minutes to our destination. Einbert was awake by then too. I tried to ignore him.

"You don't even want to know why I ran?"

"Nothing you could tell me about Elagner would be surprising enough to care."

"Damnit, someone has to know!"

"You were with Dominion long enough. Should've told them."

"I never got the chance to speak with any of the higher ups. You don’t find that even a little odd?" The doctor shook his head. "You haven't the slightest idea what your boss has his fingers in."

"I said I don't care."

A red light went on in the hold, and a second later, the starlines in the viewport receded. We'd arrived.

Jimmy called out from the pilot's seat. "Con, I have Deuce in sight."

I went up front. "There any bases around here?"

"Not on any Alliance charts..."

Trey leaned towards the viewport, squinting. "Con. There."

I narrowed my eyes, and saw what Trey was looking at. "Be right back." I went to the hold and dragged the delirious Eric to the front. "What is that?"

"What?" His eyes were bloodshot- probably couldn't see very well, but I wasn't feeling charitable, so I gripped his head and pointed it in the direction of the huge, diamond-shaped scaffold in the distance.

He was just as baffled as any of us. Useless...

Trey said, "It's big, and if Dominion's building it, it isn't good."

Jimmy, trying not to be distracted by the behemoth in the distance, was concentrating on Deuce's fighter. "This is a trap. Deuce couldn't have missed us at this range- he's leading us in."

"Then let's not keep him waiting."

---

We were all ready with our weapons when we jumped out into the landing bay, but there was no welcoming party. We went on ahead, Einbert sedated in the transport, Eric cuffed and along in case we needed cannon fodder. Deuce's fighter was empty.

Jimmy couldn't get over the size of the place. "How long do you think they've been building this thing? Five, ten years?" Couldn't blame him either; made Super Destroyers look like cars.

You'd think that finding our way around would've been a bitch, but it wasn't so bad. Despite the size, the station was little more than a skeletal frame, so the path was pretty straight. Not a single guard or worker to be seen for a half hour trek, though- they'd definitely been waiting for us, and weren't hiding it.

"Con Rafale."

My muscles tensed for a split second, until I realized the voice was coming from a loudspeaker. "Son of a-"

"Eric, thanks for saving me the trouble of introducing myself to the Royal Flush. You're all about sixty feet away from Deuce, Dr. Einbert and I- good work leaving him in the transport by the way. We're all eager to see you."

The loudspeaker went silent, and Trey said, "Three contacts, big door about sixty feet to the right."

"Only three? No troops?"

"None."

I looked at Eric. "Your boss is really confident, or he's really stupid."

Jimmy smirked. "Haven't even met the guy and he evacuated a whole station just for a showdown. I'd go with both."

Eric laughed. "The three of you can't even keep Deuce down- Achilles could kill you without breathing hard!"

Jimmy knocked him across the head and we moved on.

---

The doors opened by themselves when we got there. The room was more viewport than anything else- light from the green planet shone through the mess of tubes and metal that was the station's incomplete superstructure outside. In the middle of the spherical room stood a tall man in a black trench coat. One of those- the guys who like to look god-sent before a battle, chest and arms poised, looking at you from under his eyebrows and with a slight sneer. Deuce stood to his left, gripping the frightened Einbert's shoulder.

"Welcome to Nova Fortress."

I called across, "What'd you have to do with Vina's murder, Achilles?"

He ignored me. "What do you think of Einbert's latest creation? Much more impressive in life than on a design board."

Einbert spat out, "Bastard, Elagner twisted my research to build this... thing!"

Eric actually beat Jimmy to sounding confused. "Wait, Elagner? Then why... why are you here?"

"Eric, you're as stupid as you are gullible."

Before he could go on, I interrupted. "I don't care. What does this have to do with Vina?"

Achilles didn't ignore me this time. "I'll let Byron answer both your questions." Behind him, a static-filled hologram that was several times his size materialized. Elagner, arms crossed, looked down on us all.

"Nice to see you again, Doctor. Con, Eric."

Einbert had to crane his neck to look up at the General's face. "You, you sick, twisted little man! Eight years you've been building this station, using my research, behind my back! Are you so hungry for power that you'd kill billions to get your way?"

"Power? This is not about my ambition, Doctor. It's about my dream of a galaxy without war. A dream I've spent too long planning to let a bunch of bureaucrats step in. It's fortunate that I had Achilles there to catch you when you ran."

Eric's words barely left his mouth. "Then you-"

"Yes, I had you free Deuce and spy on me."

The man's mouth hung, and stared off at nothing, realizing that he'd just been a puppet of the man he was supposed to be betraying. "So far behind enemy lines... how did you hide something like this? Why didn't the locals report it?"

Achilles smiled and answered for the General. "Simple- we killed them. Dominion's so blind that they missed a whole planet disappearing from their radar."

Einbert's hands were balled into fists. "You thought you knew everything he was capable of, Con Rafale?"

I'd been as patient as I could. Then I exploded. "Elagner! Tell me why Vina's dead!"

"Because of you, Con."

He said it to get me off guard, and I knew it. It still worked.

"You think this station, this obnoxious mass of metal, was my trump card? No, you don't know the plans I had for you. Nova Fortress was my shock weapon, but the Royal Flush would be my means to unifying this galaxy.

"And then you abandoned me. Your comrades still served, but their loyalty was to you, and my ultimate weapon ceased to be. You made me angry, Con. Having you assassinated could never be enough.

"When Einbert ran, I had the perfect opportunity to remove a Dominion spy, get back at you, and recreate the Royal Flush in one move. Vina's death was a means to an end."

I stared daggers at the hologram. "Bastard... when I'm done here... even death won't save you from me!"

I brought my pistols up and aimed at Achilles' head. Even when I fired, he just stood there, smiling. The bullets stopped inches from him. I yelled, "Flank!"

Before I could move, I heard knives fall to the floor. I spun around, and my eyes widened in horror at the sight of Jimmy's face. His eyes were rolled back in their sockets. Blood poured out of his nostrils and ears, and his mouth hung agape, only choked sounds escaping. After what seemed like minutes, Trey released him and his body crumpled to the floor.

Bringing my gun up felt like I was dragging it through mud, so slow, and he moved so fast. The pistol went clattering to the floor, and I was on my knees, Trey staring coldly down at me. No remorse, no apology in his eyes. I barely heard the gunshots behind me, but I saw Eric falling to the floor, dead. Achilles started slowly towards the corpse.

The expressionless Trey said, "Elagner is the only future this galaxy has, Con."

I muttered under my breath. "One that Jimmy Boy won't see. When did they get to you?"

"You were my leader first and friend second. I swore to uphold the Elagner's cause, not yours."

I took a few moments to absorb what was happening, and then managed to ask, "Was it you, Trey?"

Achilles, standing over Eric's body, spoke before Trey could respond. "Even easier than the sister."

The world slowed as I turned to look at Vina's killer. Trey tried to restrain me, but I knew my way around his mind tricks. I launched myself at Achilles, rage pouring into every vein in my body, empowering me. He dodged easily, but couldn't find an opening to get a shot off. I heard Elagner calling out, "Deuce, Trey, leave them. Let Achilles take the torch of the Royal Flush by himself."

Achilles dropped his guns and tightened his fists. With his hands free, he stopped jumping out of the way and parried my attacks. I tried to get a kick at his chest, but he caught my foot and pushed me away. I landed on my feet, fists still poised to make another go. We circled each other, slowly, both of us looking for an opening in the other's defense.

"You've been out of action too long, Con. You're slower than I figured."

This one was a talker. Trying to provoke me by taunting me, even though I was already as angry as I'd ever been. It only made me focused.

He jumped and tried a flying kick at my head. I sidestepped and caught his outstretched right leg, twisting it, but he spun in mid-air and planted his hands on the floor, using his other knee to hit my chest. I threw myself back in time to avoid the full brunt of the attack- still had all my breath. I lunged forward to tackle him as he reoriented; man, he was fast. Mid-rise, he suddenly dropped to the floor, and I flew right over. I landed in one piece, and rolled just in time for his fist to come down where my head had been. I got back in defensive stance a few feet away.

He rose from his kneeling position, looked me in the eyes as we circled like gladiators again. Sneering, he pounced- I ducked in time, but as he passed over my head, he planted a foot firmly on my neck, throwing me to the ground. Not good enough. I jumped up almost immediately and kicked him as he came for the finishing move, knocking him on his back. Left a nice bruise on his cheek.

He did a backroll, barely avoiding my follow-up. This time we stood firmly in place, staring each other down for the third attack.

"Not good enough. I'm the new Ace, old man."

I didn’t move an inch out of stance. "Alright, Ace. Show me what you've got."

One, two, three... predictable. On my count, he opened up and prepared to jump. I didn't give him the chance- with all my might, I threw myself forward and thrust my palm into his diaphragm. He coughed blood and went flying into the viewport. I was on him, punching furiously before he even slid to the floor. Everything I had, I poured into beating the shit out of him.

And then, a huge set of hands pulled me by the shoulders and threw me across the room. I landed hard, looking up in time to see Deuce charging again. One more blow, and everything went black.

---

I spent the next few days (probably a week- couldn't tell without a watch) in a jail cell aboard a ship, arms and legs bound in ways to minimize movement and maximize pain. No water, no food, no idea where I was headed. If guards ever came in- and they only did three times- they were armed with automatic rifles and wore masks so I couldn't see who they were. All three encounters ended with me on the receiving end of a baton. Elagner probably wanted me as weak as possible for my arrival to... wherever.

I didn't see the Royal Flush again until I got there.

They called it Nixxta. A space station nearer to the Sol system's sun than any acceptable life-bearing areas I'd ever known of. Elagner's personal space prison, the one I'd only heard about in rumor. By all accounts, the closest you could get to hell in this life.

Being led to my new home, I only saw Deuce and Achilles- whose face was mostly a lovely shade of purple- from a distance. Trey, however, walked alone beside me.

"How're you feeling?"

"Shut up, Trey."

"Con, we only have a few minutes. There's something you should know before I leave."

"You helped take the only important thing in my life away from me. There's no talk now."

"She's alive, Con."

I stopped and wheeled my head towards him, staring in disbelief. Poker-faced as he appeared, I knew him enough- or thought I did- to see that there was no lie.

"...How? She was in the apartment."

"I shielded her from the blast when Ace triggered it. She's hidden somewhere deep inside Dominion space, were even Elagner won't find her. I'm the only one who knows."

I fought to keep my knees from giving way, wavering from the added weakness. "Why?"

He bluntly said, "Because I didn't see the need for her or your child to die."

My... child? "She was-?"

He nodded.

"Con... don't have any illusions about getting out of here. I didn't want you to live out the rest of your life thinking you lost everything, that's all."

Minutes went by before I broke the silence. "Trey... you're a backstabbing asshole. But when I escape, and when I make Elagner and Achilles pay, I wont kill you."

He shook his head and walked off in the other direction. The guards were coming to escort me the rest of the way now. I didn't resist.

I'd get out. And when I was finished with what needed to be done, I'd have Vina to go back to.

Until then, the monster would lie, waiting.

---

The End