During every period of physical training he was certain he would fail, and he could not afford to fail in front of these men. He called on Jake.›Help me, buddy. I’m dying here,‹ he cried as his arms shook from the strain of push-ups.
›Help you? Who do you think has been holding you up for the last few minutes? Not you, that’s for sure.‹
›Well, help more!‹
‹I’m dying, too. This is ridiculous. I thought we were in charge.‹
‹Not at the moment. Maybe never with these guys.‹ Mike closed his eyes and pressed on, not willing to fail in front of these incredible soldiers. He might be in charge, but he would never lead them in battle. That he knew for certain.
Josh explained it to him one night as they met for a planning session in his stateroom. “They’re going to get you physically fit, even if it kills you, though they’re sharp enough to not push too far. What you probably don’t know is that you can never get as physically fit as these men just by exercising. These men are hard. They’ve spent years being pushed to the limits of human endurance, and they thrive on it. They know they have no limitations, something you don’t know. It’s not as important for you, and we won’t have enough time to bring you to that level physically, but you’ll be pushed and pushed, and they’ll be watching you. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how much they cajole and laugh, the only real goal they have is to see that you don’t give up.”
Josh smiled grimly. “You can trust them, Mike. Each and every one of them is a teacher. They know their business and have taught many, many others exactly what they’re teaching you.” He leaned forward to emphasize his next words, spoken softly. “They won’t kill you, but don’t tell them I told you so. They don’t want you to know.”
Mike rolled his eyes. So did Jake, figuratively. Would it never end? “And I had thought I’d be bored out of my wits on this trip as I taught them to say ‘See Jane run.’”
“There’s a lot of boredom in the military, but not under these conditions. They’ll learn how to say ‘See Jane run,’ and they’ll learn it well. And the training activities help them to keep perspective. Most everything here is new to them. It’s good for them to spend part of each day doing normal routines with which they’re familiar. We practice these simple things over and over, always focusing on perfecting the basics. Survival rests on mastery of the basics, from physical fitness to shooting accuracy.
“By the way, your favorite taskmaster, Sergeant Jacobs, noticed you’re using your left arm a lot even though you’re right handed. He’s a medic, did you know?”
“No, I didn’t,” Mike answered.
›Some medic!‹ Jake exclaimed.›He’s trying to kill us.‹
“He’s as good as they come. He’s also a sniper and a demolitions expert. If he’s concerned, I’m concerned. Is there something going on with that arm we should know about? We don’t want to cause any permanent damage.”
Mike grimaced as he lifted his right arm and moved it in an arc. It didn’t hurt, not more than the rest of his body, but it was still weak, and he’d been unconsciously favoring it. “Just an old wound. The arm is brand new. I guess I’d better get serious on strengthening it.”
Josh stared at him. “I think you’d better explain,” he demanded.
“Yeah, they had to grow me a new one, shoulder and all. Took months and months. I guess it would be fair to tell your men that we won’t just throw them to the wolves if they get wounded. If they can just stay alive until we get them to a treatment facility, they have a pretty good chance of making it.”
Josh eyed him oddly. “If what you say is true, you might just make a believer out of Sergeant Jacobs. Not that he’ll let up on you.”
›Neither will I,‹ Jake said, disgusted with the whole concept. ›It’s not what I signed on for, but I won’t let you give up.‹
›Thanks, Partner. We’re out of our league here. It’s going to take both of us just to survive. Maybe you should fission another Rider. You might need some help.‹
›Sure, Mike. That’s all I need. You know how hard it was on me with Celine. We don’t get along very well living in the same body. You and I will make it on our own or we will die trying.‹
After morning PT the next day, during which Sergeant Jacobs singled Mike out for an excruciatingly painful round of upper body exercise, Josh called everyone together for a meeting. To Mike’s surprise, Josh called him to the front of the group.
“Today we’re adding a new twist to our training regime,” Josh began. “You all know our mission is to protect the Queen. Mike is going to brief us on his personal experiences of doing just exactly that. Our purpose is not only to learn how to protect the Queen but to know our enemy. As always, there’s nothing more fundamental to our survival than knowing our opponent. If appropriate, we’ll dissect his stories in an effort to improve on the outcome. We might even stage a few examples. You’re on, Sire.”
Mike, still aching and sweaty from the workout, began talking, an activity he would continue for an hour each day for the rest of the trip. He began by breaking his personal experiences down to small parts, telling a different part of the story each day until the story was done. After some sessions, the men broke into teams to discuss better tactics, or in some cases to reenact the story so that weaknesses could be discovered and corrected.
He began with his first sighting of the meteors high up in the sky above Nevada that were, in reality, star ships. The men got their introduction to lasers, blasters, the Chessori, Otis and the Great Cats, stun guns, and the tactics worked out by Mike and Otis to overcome the Chessori. Because of Josh’s insistence that there be no secrets withheld from his men, they also learned for the first time of the Queen’s Touch and of Mike’s Rider, Jake.
He led them through his introduction to George, the Artificial Intelligence that ran the ship. He saw looks of awe on their faces as he described the net, then Ellie’s risky introduction to the net, their attempted escape from Earth only to find the Chessori waiting for them, Reba’s volunteering to join the undermanned crew of Resolve , and the plan executed so well by Admiral Trexler to ensure their final escape into space.
He told of their near disastrous encounter with the Rebel squadron, the tractor beam, and his killing of George when he forced George to circumvent his most basic programming to escape. Then came the months in space as he strove to navigate Resolve across the galaxy without George’s help in an attempt to reach Gamma VI. He described Reba’s plan to surprise the lone Chessori stalking Resolve, the plan’s failure, and their discovery of the emergency stop program that finally led to their freedom from pursuit.
Then came the battle at Gamma VI against the heavy squadron of Rebels and Chessori, the call to arms by the Queen, and the resultant internal mutiny against the Rebel crewmembers of the squadron. He emphasized the leadership of the Great Cats aboard the cruiser as they took the bridge, Val’s appearance on the scene, and the ultimate decision by Val to take Resolve aboard his cruiser.
He gave them something they could sink their teeth into when he told of the fight aboard Resolve as she rested in the belly of the Beta IV. That kind of fighting was something they might one day encounter themselves. He ended that part of the story with his frightening jump onto the scout and his fatal wounding, Jake’s part in saving his life, and the wondrous healing abilities of the Empire.
So that they would fully understand the world to which they would eventually come, Parsons’ World, Mike gave them the background on the planet, its inhabitants, and the role Parsons’ World now played in support of the Queen.
Many hours were spent reviewing the rescue of Chandrajuski, knowing something like this, too, might befall this group.
Jessie told her part in Chandrajuski’s rescue. When called before the group, she began by ordering everyone to place translator devices on their ears. She would brook no misunderstandings of her words.
“We were not concerned in the least about Rebel soldiers, possibly large numbers
of them. They were Sir Mike’s problem. Our only targets were three gleasons.”
She paused as she saw the looks of surprise on the faces of these incredible soldiers. “You’re thinking, ‘only three gleasons against six Great Cats?’ I say that was three gleasons too many. Let me describe these hideous creatures. They are humanoid, they stand some seven feet tall, their skin changes color to blend in with their surroundings so they are nearly invisible, and they mind link between themselves. What one knew, the others would know instantly.
“Do you think that’s bad enough?” she asked as her eyes moved over the silent soldiers. “Well, it doesn’t end there. The creatures see into the infrared spectrum, making them effective adversaries even at night. They have four powerful arms, each with a hand, and each finger of each hand is tipped with a vicious claw. They have two circulatory systems, two nervous systems, and a brain that is divided in two. If one-half of the brain is damaged, the other keeps the body functioning. Its abilities are reduced, but this creature has little intellect anyway. All it wants to do is kill and eat.”
She waited to let her words sink in. She saw a lot of calculating minds as they digested her words. Yes, they understood it would be very difficult to kill these creatures.
“There’s always some weakness,” Josh stated from the side of the room where he leaned against a bulkhead.
“True,” Jessie replied. “Gleasons are not smart. They may be cunning on an individual basis, but they are not smart. I have never heard of them acting in a coordinated fashion. Each appears to act on its own, and that is their major weakness. For the purposes of our mission, that was not a weakness we could capitalize on. Additionally, if seriously wounded, gleasons lose their ability to blend in with their surroundings. Their bodies revert to their natural coloring, a dark green. And while their eyesight is superior, their hearing is average to poor. And they stink. Those are the only weaknesses of which I am aware.”
She watched as eyes continued to calculate. Clearly, these men appreciated the difficulty of defeating such terrible foes. “How would you take them out?” she asked the group.
“From afar,” one called out. Heads nodded and a few grim smiles appeared.
“From afar, indeed,” she replied. “But to do that, we had to find them…”
Mike was ready to pick up the story when Jesse reached the part about the last gleason entering Chandrajuski’s home, but Jake stopped him.
›Look at them, Mike. They’re hanging onto every word. She’s a Great Cat, she’s a Protector, and she’s the one they have to learn to fight beside. She’s their future, not you and me. Let her finish her part of the story. Besides, it’s going to get a little personal, don’t you think?‹
Mike looked over the men, and Jake was right. Even Josh was spellbound. It didn’t hurt that Jessie was a great story teller. Even Mike was caught up in her tale, and he had been there.
“When Otis and I raced into Chandrajuski’s home, both of us severely wounded, Sir Mike and Lady Reba were the only ones standing. The scree had taken everyone else out. They killed the Chessori, then disarmed everyone present. Sir Mike was just pulling the Queen to her feet when we arrived. The gleason came in another entrance, stood up, and threw a poisoned knife at the Queen. Otis spotted the gleason, fired at it, then leaped into the path of the knife. I think he was trying to catch the knife, but he failed. The knife went into his own body.”
She paused to let them digest her words. Otis had made the supreme sacrifice for his Queen, and he had done it without hesitation. That was the way of Protectors. She never hinted that such a choice was optional, it was just the way of Protectors.
“Though Otis had wounded the gleason, it rose again. Another knife flew toward the Queen. I tried to intercept it, but I failed. The knife entered the Queen’s heart and killed her.”
Confused looks greeted these words. Josh spoke for his men. “The Queen died?”
“Yes. She died. Sir Mike killed the gleason, then he did something unheard of, something no one from the Empire would even have considered. He asked his Rider, Jake, to go to the Queen. He placed his hands around her neck, and Jake went into her body. When the knife was removed, Jake held her heart together, started it working again, and over time he healed it.
“But that was just the beginning of Jake’s battle. The knife was poisoned, and the poison worked on him, as well as the Queen. His next hours were agony as he held her together.
“Lady Reba followed Sir Mike’s example and sent her Rider to Otis. It, too, spent many agonizing hours trying to keep Otis alive until an antidote could be prepared. We escaped aboard a ship and waited anxiously for the ship’s medic to construct the antidote. It was not a simple process, and I won’t bore you with the details. I will just tell you that she created two possible antidotes, but there was insufficient time to determine which was the correct one. Sir Mike figured it out.”
Confused looks passed between the men. They knew Mike wasn’t a doctor.
›I think it’s your turn, Mike.‹
›No. I hadn’t planned for this to come out, but I see where she’s going with this. She’s teaching them what it means to be a Protector. Let her finish.‹
“You’ve chosen to be Protectors,” Jessie said softly to the soldiers gathered before her. “What would you do in such a situation?” Her eyes delved into the soldiers as she padded back and forth before them. “There are two antidotes. One might work, but the wrong one will kill. What would you do?” she asked softly.
It wasn’t long before Mike became the center of attention again. Awed looks turned his way as the soldiers muttered among themselves. Even Josh looked stunned.
“The answer was simple, was it not?” Jessie continued. “I was there, and I watched as he placed his hands on the Queen and called to Jake. What exactly did you say to him?” she asked, turning to Mike.
“I asked him to put the poison in my body, and I demanded that it be a significant sample,” he answered.
“There was no other option if the Queen was to survive,” Jessie continued. “I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself. Mike didn’t ask anyone’s permission, he just did it. We waited for the poison to take effect, it didn’t take very long, then one of the antidotes was administered to him. As you can see, our medic chose well. The Queen and Otis both received the antidote, and after many weeks, they recovered.”
She turned to Mike. “I believe my part of the story is done, Sire,” she stated.
“I think all the story-telling is done for today,” he said. “Thank you, Jessie.”
“No. Thank you, Sire. The Empire is forever in your debt.”
The men rose as one to stare at him. There was no clapping, no cheering, they just stood there looking at him, honoring him.
Mike looked at them in return, then said, “You have volunteered to be Protectors. I will accept no less from any of you, nor do I think any of you will accept less from yourselves. Our job is to protect the Queen, period. Some of us will fall, but know this: if the Last of the Chosen falls, Earth will not be far behind. We fight for the Empire, but we fight for Earth, as well. And we’re going to win.”
Josh released the men with a stern command. “Think upon these words. You’re the best of the best, but any of you who are not up to the task, see me in my quarters. Dismissed.”
No one came to see Josh in his quarters. He would have been surprised if they had. During the following days, Mike finished his tale with a description of his trip to Aldebaran I followed by the trip to Earth. The men now knew all the players, they knew the settings, and they knew all the risks of which Mike was aware. He let them understand that there were lots of holes in his knowledge, that they would definitely encounter things he had never heard about or even conceived of, but they knew that their mission had only one purpose: to protect the Queen so she could do her job.
Their physical abuse of Mike did not change during this time, but their attitudes did. They now knew that Mike had passed his
tests, tests that were different than their own, but tests nevertheless. And he had met their standard of going beyond human expectations and limitations to come out on top. The changes in their demeanor were sometimes subtle, almost as if instead of pushing him, they were pulling him to achieve more. And though they frequently called him Mike, they just as frequently referred to him as Sire.
Josh credited him with becoming their quarterback. Mike and Jessie had not only given them knowledge, they had given direction, something the men could sink their teeth into. And with a more complete understanding of the big picture, they understood that their success would mean success for Earth, as well.
›Didn’t Josh demand that you hold nothing back?‹ Jake asked him a few days later.
›He did, and I agreed that there would be no secrets withheld from these men.‹
›Don’t you think you left out one teensy, weensy piece of information?‹
›Jake, I have to work with these guys. I need to be one of them.‹
›You’ll never be one of them. You’re a Protector, but not the way they are.‹
›Maybe not, but I’m going to learn as much as I can from them. I can’t do that if I’m treated with kid gloves.‹
›Nor can you lie to them. What will happen to all that trust when they find out you’re King? They’re going to be around Ellie a lot. Don’t you think they’ll find out?‹
Mike blew out a long breath. ›They will, but not until our training is over. I’ll tell them then.‹
›Good idea. They can learn it from Otis or Jessie. That’s probably better.‹
›Look, I just want to be treated as one of them. As nervous as I am about the training on Brodor, I don’t want to be treated as someone special.‹
›The Great Cats will be in charge, and they’re accustomed to training royalty. They won’t let up on you regardless of your position. After all, it’s your life they’re training you to save. And you can never forget that Ellie’s rule is based on truth. Can you base your relationship with these men on anything less?‹
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