Andromeda's War (Legion of the Damned Book 3) by William C. Dietz

were finished with him, he would be executed. A very satisfying outcome indeed.
    The glitch, if there was one, had to do with the army’s failure to find Colonel Red. The Freedom Front leader had been there . . . That’s what Vas claimed. Unfortunately, the army had been unable to recover a body that matched Red’s description. Still, there had been a number of intense fires, and there was the very real possibility that the rebel had perished in one of them. Most convincing of all was the fact that Colonel Red had been silent since the raid.
    Yes, things were going very well indeed. She did miss Veneto, though. Not the sex so much as the rest of it. She’d been able to talk to him—to share some of her problems. Realizing that it was important to maintain at least some distance from everyone she knew. Especially lovers.
    But Veneto had been stupid and paid a steep price for his stupidity. So she would put him and all memories of him aside. There was work to do, starting with the meeting scheduled for 10:00 A . M . Ophelia took a moment to savor the sea air, turned, and went back inside.
    The synth that had been watching over her from the roof above notified the rest of the security team. A gray-and-white seagull rode the wind, drifted in toward shore, and floated there. The android “saw” it, compared the bird to its operational parameters, and made the logical decision. Just because the seagull
looked
like a seagull didn’t mean it was one. The synth brought its rifle up and fired. The bird exploded, and pieces of it fell out of the sky. The empress was safe.
    —
    A shadow flitted over the buildings below as Tarch Hanno’s air car flew north. His arm ached, but he didn’t care. The raid . . . That was the important thing. It had gone well, and body or no body, everyone agreed that Colonel Red was dead. That took the pressure off and made it very unlikely that Forbes would be able to seize control of the Bureau.
    So he felt as good as a man with a lacerated arm could as the car put down, and he made his way to the Security Center. This meeting was to be different from the last one and for a very good reason. Empress Ophelia was going to participate. And as he entered the room, Hanno saw that she was already there.
    Heads turned. Ophelia saw him and broke away from a group of admirers in order to come over and greet him. Her long dark hair hung down to her shoulders, and there was a smile on her heart-shaped face. “Tarch Hanno! I didn’t expect to see you here . . . How do you feel?”
    “Quite well, Majesty,” Hanno replied. “Thank you for the gift basket by the way . . . What a wonderful selection of wines.”
    “I’m glad you like it,” Ophelia said, as she took his good arm and escorted him over to a chair. “Going down into the Deeps was both unnecessary and foolhardy. But brave as well. I daresay we’ll have to come up with a suitable commendation of some sort. How does Knight of the Empire sound? That might suit the situation.”
    It was more recognition than Hanno could have hoped for. Especially since he had done little more than drop through the hole and get wounded. Lady Constance Forbes was on the other side of the table, and, judging from the expression on her face, had doubts regarding the extent of Hanno’s heroism.
    Tarch Ono brought the meeting to order, welcomed Ophelia, and thanked those present for their roles in the successful attack. With the formalities out of the way, Ophelia took over. She was seated at one end of the table, and her eyes probed the faces around her. “I would like to add my thanks to those already expressed by Tarch Ono. Sterilizing the Deeps was an important accomplishment.
    “However, I think you’ll agree that this is no time to rest on our laurels. Even though the Freedom Front has been decapitated, there are like-minded organizations on other planets. And while the Hudathans were driven off of Orlo II, they represent a constant threat. So