There are times when a man must put aside his anger.
A teaser from Forged in Fire:
The former Boderian pilot was staring out the window at
the purple moon when Gin found him.
"I need to know where he'd take her." Gin said
without preamble. The dark-haired man turned to Gin and put his hands behind
his back. He looked like a monk, Gin thought, instead of the man responsible
for fourteen million deaths. He studied Gin's face for a moment before he
spoke.
"There are several possibilities." He nodded
to Gin, and they walked side by side. "The Prince has at least three camps
off-world that he regularly visits."
"Do you have contacts? Anyone who could tell us
where he is?"
The man pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Perhaps.
I've already reached out to someone who may know."
Gin stopped the man in mid-step. "Why would you
help us?"
Ben smiled. "I liked your wife. She's courageous
and strong. The Prince is a bastard and a virus that has sickened all of
Boderia. Also, you would kill me if I refused."
Gin didn't deny it, but walked in silence beside the
man. He looked up when the Boderian put a hand on his arm.
"You can't hope to rescue her with this anger that
clouds your judgment." Ben raised an eyebrow as he looked at Gin.
"You'll get yourself killed, and your daughter will be an orphan."
Gin took a deep breath, reminding himself that the man
was trying to help him. In truth, he'd had to keep a tight lid on the churning
fury that filled his gut. It wanted to spill out and lay waste to everything
and everyone in his path. Apparently, he wasn't hiding it as well as he
thought.
"I was once as angry as you." Ben waved to the
sky outside Prioni. The devastated Likyra was the dimmest celestial body in the
sky. "I thought that if I could destroy the thing that had hurt me that I
would feel that anger begin to dissipate. The truth is, when I destroyed the
thing that had hurt me, I destroyed myself."
"How did Likyra hurt you?" Gin asked. As the
philosophical seat of the galaxy, Likyra had been home to the artists, thinkers
and scholars. He couldn't imagine that the peace-loving world had ever harmed
Boderia.
"That's just it." Ben looked at Gin.
"Likyra never harmed me at all. My family was killed on a routine scouting
mission by an asteroid storm that no one could have predicted. Likyra never did
a damned thing to me. By the time I'd discovered the lie, it was too late. All
of Likyra was gone." Ben put a hand on Gin's arm, his face clear and
serious. "Go into this mission with one goal. Save your wife. Whether or
not you kill the Prince, saving her will be a win. If you go after her with a
goal of destroying them all you're setting yourself up for failure."
Gin turned away and looked out the windows at the waving
grass. "You're telling me that if I can get her I should cut and run.
Don't stick around to kick ass."
Ben's smile was wry. "Yes, Sword Guardian, that's exactly
what I was trying to say."
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