Martin King and the Space Angels (Martin King Series) (16 page)

Epilogue

The
Supreme Courtroom of the Axis Lords was famed throughout the entire Blue galaxy for its sheer grandeur. It wasn’t actually located on an Axis planet, but on an asteroid in a nearby star system. This meant that the Axis Lords did not technically have to abide by the
Universal Convention on Civil and Criminal Trials
.

The judge presided over the courtroom from a raised platform made from solid gold and encrusted with precious stones. The Axis Lords didn’t place any value on these materials themselves, but they knew that such splendor struck fear into the hearts of neighboring peoples.

Crystal chandeliers hung over the courtroom. The hall was so large and the ceiling was so high that they had to be exceedingly bright; if you looked at them directly for longer than a second you would temporarily blind yourself.

The stained glass windows served as a sobering reminder of the sacred text of the Axis Lords, the
Chronicle of Spirits
. Each panel depicted a story from the
Chronicle
. The beauty of the stained glass was never remarked upon. First of all, any discussion of aesthetics was illegal. Secondly, Axis Lords didn’t usually notice that kind of thing. The stained glass
was
beautiful, but that was because it had been commissioned 25,000 years ago and crafted by a Thieron.

One of the window panels was blacked out. It was the panel that had formerly documented the eternal struggle between XO5 and the Wheelmaster.

‘All in the courtroom shall stand,’ said the judge.

In an Axis courtroom, the only figure of any real significance is the judge. Axis courts do not have a jury, and the lawyers are only really there to assuage officials from the
Universal Justice Federation
. The spectators rose, as did the two lawyers.

Only one man did not stand.

‘The defendant shall stand!’ said the judge.

But he still did not stand. The judge pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his reddening brow. The man in the dock was called Mulciber.

The judge looked with disgust upon the man. ‘The defendant shall state his name.’

Mulciber ignored him.

‘The defendant refuses to state his name,’ said the judge. He mopped his angry brow again. ‘Very well. As the defendant stands charged of 23 counts of murder, 13 counts of degeneracy, and 43 counts of writing poetry I would have expected more cooperation.’

Mulciber still did not reply; he simply smiled at the judge. The defendant was wearing a black frock coat and a waistcoat. At a quick glance, he would appear to be nothing but a normal Axis Lord. But if you looked more closely, you would notice odd details. The Axis Lord’s white hair was slicked back, and his purple eyes had a dangerous glint. Mulciber’s waistcoat was a non-standard emerald green, and he had a piece of bone attached to his watch chain.

The judge restated the charges and the court went through its usual long-winded proceedings. Mulciber’s lawyer gave a half-hearted and unconvincing explanation as to why Mulciber’s crimes were not as serious as might be assumed. The lawyer knew that there was little point to his comments. For one thing, the Axis Lord legal system was the most authoritarian and draconian in the universe. Also, Mulciber was the worst criminal that had ever been brought before the court.

‘Well,’ said the judge finally. ‘I have had ample opportunity to think about your crimes and decide what the just punishment for you would be.’

The spectators were silent; many of them had lost relatives because of Mulciber and they were hungry for his blood. The severity of his crimes meant the death penalty was virtually assured. Suddenly, Mulciber looked at the judge, and his eyes flashed green.

The judge blinked. ‘Your punishment will be exile.’

An angry murmur rose up in the courtroom. Even Mulciber’s lawyer looked astounded. Only Mulciber did not look surprised.

‘The court is probably aware that the City of Serenity has been breached, so it is no longer a viable exile destination. Mulciber will be taken to the ice world Styxa, where he will serve the rest of his life in guarded exile.’ The judge banged his gavel. ‘Court dissolved.’

Mulciber smiled.

*

The prison ship was travelling faster than light towards the ice planet of Styxa. The ship was manned by over a hundred soldiers. Mulciber was the most feared criminal in the Blue galaxy, and they were not going to take any chances.

Mulciber sat in his dark cell, smiling, letting a draught from the air vent in the floor cool his face.

Three soldiers stood guard outside his cell. They were carrying handheld Blazing Diamond guns. The bullets inside were made from modified diamonds that each contained a microscopic explosive. The gun would fire a burning hot diamond into someone’s heart; the diamond would then explode and shatter, cutting the heart to ribbons. Blazing Diamond guns had a 100% kill rate.

Mulciber’s eyes flashed green.

Suddenly, the soldiers standing guard collapsed. In fact, so did every single soldier on the ship. Mulciber’s eyes turned green again and his cell door opened. He walked past the guards, grinning. He didn’t pick up one of the weapons. He had no need of Blazing Diamond guns.

Mulciber entered the ship’s control room and approached the only other man left alive on the ship. It was a young Axis co-pilot; he was shaking with fear as the criminal approached him.

‘I surrender, I surrender,’ he whimpered.

‘Thank you. I accept your surrender. What’s your name?’

‘Er… Jaspin, sir, Jaspin Zegrak.’

‘Nice to meet you, Jaspin Zegrak.’ Mulciber gestured towards the controls. ‘How confident are you at flying this thing? The pilot seems to have spontaneously died.’

Jaspin allowed himself a moment of pride. ‘Very confident, sir. I won the Gold Pilot award when I graduated from the academy.’

‘That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,’ said Mulciber. ‘Change of plan, Chief Pilot Jaspin. We have a new destination. Set a course for Planet Earth.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Mulciber smiled. ‘I think it’s time I paid a visit to my young grandson. His name is Martin King.’

A
cknowledgements

I am especially grateful to Raheela Hussain, who read this book first. Also, I thank Jon McGovern, Chloe McGovern, Richard Lovell, Alexa Hart, Victoria Ellis, Carolyn Lovell, and anyone else who read the manuscript before publication—sorry if I’ve missed you out!

I am also indebted to Jeffrey Archer. Without your inspiration I would never have finished this book.

Finally, thank
you
for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends and leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads—good reviews help me sell more books!

I love to hear from my readers, so please do get in touch through my website:

www.jamesmcgovern.co.uk