Crisis Of Empire - Crown Of Empire Part 38

'They have to be Admiral Sderida's men," said

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the corporal. "Who else could get this far? The Protectorate has stopped most of Logistics;

these have to be the hold-outs. They couldn't have reached that destroyer without Admiral Sderida's help,"

"We better be ready to fight," said Garring.

"We have a sworn duty to uphold." He smiled at Wiley. "Better get flat, sir. In case."

"No," said Wiley. It was one thing for the child he had been to pretend to be a target, with all his personal guards lying on top of him to keep him from getting killed. It was something else now.

Death was real now. And enough was enough.

"Better do it now," said the corporal. "Sir."

"Bouriere!" came Admiral Sderida's voice, magnified by the lifeboat's speakers. "Give your- self up. Come out. Surrender. Or we will open fire."

Wiley stared at the men and women huddled behind the hatch with him. "I can't be a party to this," he said. "I can't let you sacrifice your- selves."

"Sorry, sir," Said one of the Guards. "We took our oaths long ago." He smiled a little. "We knew what we might have to do."

"You don't have to get killed," said Wiley in desperation.

"Not unless it protects you," said Garring.

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"Surrender, Wiley. You know it's the right thing to do!" Admiral Sclerida urged.

"I don't want you - " Wiley protested to the Guard.

"Better get Hat, sir," said the corporal again, ignoring him. 'They're about to make a rush from the hallway. And those Cemians look like they're in a bad mood."

"Listen to me!" Wiley ordered through tight teeth.

"When you talk sense, sir," said Garring, and with a diffident shrug, reached forward and shoved Wiley down onto the hard surface of the platform. "You lie real still. You know how to do this. Use that breathing trick." He lay across Wiley, resting on his elbows on the ground and training his weapon on the lifeboat.

The rest of the Guard piled on, each of them taking a position that allowed them to shoot.

Before all the Guard were in position, the Navy Logistics men were Bring. The last two Guards on the protective pile were wounded before they could brace themselves.

"Fire at will!" shouted Admiral Sclerida.

Never in the most terrifying nightmares of his youth had Wiley imagined anything as horren- dous as this. He lay under a mound of men and women. Bullets, slugs, pellets and beams

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hammered them, and they shrieked and jerked and shuddered and died, their blood and other things running down, stinking and hot.

He thought he saw earring's hand, three of the fingers gone and the two remaining with grey matter clin^ng to them. Wiley was beyond weeping or raging. As his brave Guard were cut to pieces on top of him, he felt their weight on his soul.

Without being aware of it, he lapsed into shock.

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Chapter 16.

"Which way?" Jessine asked Ver. She was driv- ing now, allowing Ver to concentrate on the communications console.

He had activated the holographic display and was busy searching for new information.

'Take a right, Jessine." He straightened up.

"There. I thought so."

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'Thought what?" she prompted. She was holding the aircar on course, but having trouble with the sluggish steering. It would take a while to get used to it, she told herself.

"Admiral Sclerida has indeed come out of his cave. Look at that!" He indicated the destroyer drifting in miniature over the display. "He isn't giving up easily, is he?"

"Who isn't?" demanded Jessine as she tried to catch a glimpse of the display while she drove.

"Admiral Sclerida has left his fortress in a newly-accepted destroyer, the Edward Teach.

He's heading for the Secretarial Palace, I think.

He's headed for the city, in any case." He rubbed at the back of his neck, unwiDing to admit he was growing tired.

A light flashed on the drivers instruments.

"Something coming up behind. Aircar. One," she added as the information was flashed to her.

"Protectorate."

"Keep moving," said Ver steadily, worldngwith his console to change the holographic display.

"But if - " she protested.

"Keep moving. I'll take care of things." He was almost ready to bring in a new signal when the speakers of the aircar burst into life.

"Aircar ahead. Aircar ahead. Pull over and hover. Pull over and hover." A Protectorate

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beacon was flashing on the sides of their pursuer.

"Reduce speed by half," said Ver, and reached over to pull a small concealed lever.

"What's that?" Jessine asked, and then saw on her instrument panel that the Kona Tatsu flashes had been illuminated along with the emergency tabs.