Retired

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I woke up lying in a hospital bed again. This time there were more than a doctor and nurse in the room. I opened my eyes and blinked the sleep blur out of them. The first face I saw sent a shiver down my spine. I was looking at the emperor.

I tried to sit up and salute. The nurse held me down.

"Relax, Colonel Daemon," the emperor said softly. "There is no need for that right now. I wanted to come by and thank you personally for saving the life of my son and his future wife. I was told by Beck you acted like a Praetorian Guardsmen in all actions while the incident was going on, to the point of refusing to die."

"I did my duty, your majesty."

"I was told you would say that. I was also told you have enough medals to start your own jewelry store. I am afraid you will have a few more soon. Beck told me to tell you that she would be honored if you would stand beside her as a Praetorian Guardsmen. My son wants you as the leader of his wife's future guardsmen. I would be honored to put the lives of my family in your hands."

"Your majesty, I am a combat soldier. I would not even know what to do as a Praetorian Guardsman."

"You would fight to protect your charges. Think of it as babysitting, with guns."

***

The proximity alert startled me out of my reverie. I looked at the guidance computer and we were still five hundred miles out. The alarm should not have gone off for another four hundred miles.

Then the rail slugs ripped though the rear of the flyer. I grabbed the controls and started myself into a dive. Coolant alarms were going off and Lizell started screaming. The craft started responding slowly almost immediately. They had struck the cooling system. We had less than a minute to bail out.

"Strap in! Now!", I yelled, as I tried to pull the craft out of its dive. I managed to pull up just as the craft scraped the tree tops. The engines sucked in huge quantities of leaves and twigs.

As I pulled up, continuing the loop, smoke started to pour out of the engine cowling. Lizell screamed again as she saw where the craft was headed. At the top of the loop, I corrected my aim and dove straight for the pursuing craft. I accelerated to top speed of mach four and yanked the ejection handle.

The passenger pod tore free of the flyer as the drive section dove into the black hover-car following us. Lizell was still screaming as we tumbled through the air. Then the airfoil exploded out and slowed our decent. The jungle below us seemed to reach out its arms and gather us to her bosom.

The pod came to rest hanging from the airfoil ropes. We were still about thirty feet above the ground. I reached down and popped the emergency handle to open the pod. Then I looked over at Lizell. "Are you alright?"

She looked at me and shook her head. "You're going to get us killed! You're crazy!"

"No, I won't get us killed. If you listen to me, and do what I tell you, I will get you out of this alive. It is what I do. Now, are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "I think I am alright. How are we going to get down?"

"There is rope in one of the bags. I will rig a sling and lower you. Then I will climb down."

It took me about fifteen minutes to get us down out of the tree. I then lifted one of the bags onto my back and held the other in my right hand. We have some walking to do. It may take a few days to get to Starjump."

"What will we eat and drink?"

"Water is abundant here. I have a few rifles and a lot of ammo in the bags. I will be able to hunt."

Lizell looked at the bag hanging from my right hand. "You right handed, aren't you?"

"Yes," I said wondering where she was going.

"You need that hand free to shoot with. Sling the second bag on my back."

I started to argue and she reached up to poke at my shoulder wound.

"Your left arm is not at peak. Give me the bag."

I nodded and helped her sling the bag on her back.

We started walking and I soon estimated our time. At her rate we would take almost twenty days to reach the city. It also did not take long for the pains in my leg to break through the pain blockers.

It was starting to get dark when I heard the hovercar. It was flying low and slow towards us. "Lay down on the ground."

"What, it could be a rescue craft."

"Lay down, if it is, I will bring them to you."

She lay down on the ground and I pulled a couple thermal Blankets out of her pack. I spread one of the blankets over her and covered her and the pack. Then I ran towards a clearing just ahead.

Once I was near the clearing I took my pack off and leaned it against a tree. The bag was warm from my body heat. Then I ran across the clearing and lay down on the ground. I spread the other thermal blanket over me and waited.

It was only a minute later that the vehicle came over the tree tops. I could tell by the way they circled they could see the heat signature of the bag.

The black hovercar settled to the ground and two men got out of it. I did not wait for them to do anything. As soon as they were out of the car I squeezed off two shots.

I retrieved my bag and threw it into the hovercar. Then I went to get Lizell. "Come on, I bought a car for us."

"You bought a car?"

"Yes. It only cost two rail slugs."

When we reached the clearing, she stepped rather carefully around the two bodies. She tried not to look at them.

I took the bag off her back and opened one of the compartments. I pulled out a micro computer and then I threw the bag into the car.

"How are we going to fly this? These cars are identity coded." Lizell sounded a little dubious about the car.

I smiled and plugged my micro computer into the access port under the dash. Then I activated it and touched several buttons. A few moments later it beeped and the car's engine came to life.

"That is a code cracker. Those are illegal.", Lizell said as she heard the car fire up.

I smiled at her. "I will get Robert to write me a pass."

I touched the controls and the vehicle lifted off smoothly. As we cleared the tree tops, I reached under the dash and pulled the identity beacon.

"I know, you will get Robert to give you a pardon."

I laughed and accelerated to this cars top speed of seven hundred KPH.