March To The Stars

'I am,' the prince replied. 'And I'm going to see to it that you hang, if it's the last thing I do.'

'I don't think so,' the Saint colonel said, calmly, and pulled the one-shot from behind his neck.

Time seemed to crawl as Roger started to lift his plasma cannon, then dropped it. If he fired it, the blast would take out half the ship controls ... including the self-destruct console. So instead, he sprang forward, his hand continuing upward to the hilt of his sword even as the plasma cannon fell.

The prince was almost supernally fast, but whether he could have killed the colonel before he fired would remain forever unknown, since Pahner slammed into his suit, arms spread.

The impact threw the prince's armor to the side, sending it smashing into the tactical display and out of the Saint's' line of fire just as Giovannuci swung the weapon forward, catching Pahner dead center, and squeezed the button.

Roger lunged back upright with a shriek of pure rage and spun in place as Iovan produced another of the weapons and came at him. But this time there was no mistake, and the flashing Voitan-forged blade took off the sergeant major's head and hand in a steaming fan of blood.

The shot from the anti-armor device had spun Giovannuci backwards and on to the deck. Now he climbed back to his feet and raised his hands.

'I'm sorry I missed,' he said tightly. 'But we're all going to die anyway. Pollution take you.'

'I don't think so,' Roger grated. 'We have your second-in-command, and she's more than willing to turn it off. You are going to, though, I promise you,' he continued in a voice of frozen helium, and looked at Kosutic. 'Sergeant Major, take the colonel to the shuttle bays. Make sure he doesn't do any more damage, but don't let anything happen to him on the way, either. We'll deal with him later, and I want him in perfect shape when he faces the hangman.'

The sergeant major said something in reply, but Roger didn't hear her as he dropped to his knees beside Pahner. He turned the captain over as gently as possible, but there wasn't really much point. This time, the placement had been accurate. The one-shot had struck the Marine squarely on the his armor's carapace, and the ricocheting scab of armor had done precisely what it was supposed to do.

Roger bent close, trying to see through the flickering distortion of the captain's helmet. The readouts indicated that there was still brain function, but as the blood drained from the head into the shattered body, it was fading fast.

'I promise,' Roger said, lifting the captain and holding him. 'I promise I won't die. I promise I'll save my mother. You can depend on me, Armand. You can, I promise. Rest now. Rest, my champion.'

He sat there, rocking the body, until the last display flickered out.

EPILOGUE

Roger tapped his display as the former Saint officer left the captain's office. All things considered, Beach had taken the news rather well. On the other hand, since she'd thrown her lot in rather definitively with the group around Roger, there wasn't much she could do but help. As it was, she was an outlaw under both Saint and Imperial law. If Roger succeeded, she'd be sitting pretty. If he didn't, she wouldn't be any worse off. Once they got near civilization, of course, he wouldn't be able to trust her. But until they got to wherever they were going to start the process of infiltrating the Empire, she really had only two choices: help them, or die. It wasn't much of a choice.

He looked up from the display and stood as the next person on his calendar entered.

'Sergeant Despreaux,' he said. 'I'd like to speak to you about near-future plans.'

He sat back down and returned his attention to his display, then looked back up with an irritated expression as Despreaux came to a position of parade rest.

'Oh, hell, Nimashet. Would you please sit down?' he demanded in exasperation, and waited until she'd obeyed before he glanced back at the display and shook his head.

'I hadn't realized how short you really were when we left Old Earth. You should have ended your term while we were still in Sindi.'

'I thought about that at the time,' she replied. 'Captain Pahner spoke to me about it, as well. Obviously, I couldn't just leave.'

'I could probably find a way for you to leave now,' Roger sighed. 'Along with the four other people who are alive and over their terms. But there'd be the little problem of the price on your heads.'

'I'll stay with you for the time being, Sir,' Despreaux said.

'Thank you,' Roger said formally, then drew a deep breath. 'I ... I have to ask a ... I'd like to make a request, however.'

'Yes?'

He rubbed his face and looked around the cabin.

'I—Nimashet, I don't know if I can do this ...' He stopped and shook his head. 'I—Damn it, I know I can't do this alone. Please, please promise me that you won't leave at the first opportunity. Please promise that you won't just go. I need you. I don't need your gun; I can find plenty of gunners. I need your strength. I need your sense of humor. I need your ... balance. Don't leave me, Nimashet Despreaux. Please. Just ... stay with me.'

'I won't marry you,' she said. 'Or, rather, I'll marry 'Prince Roger,' but I refuse to marry 'Emperor Roger.' '

'I understand,' Roger said with a sigh. 'Just don't leave me. Okay?'

'Okay,' she said, and stood. 'Will that be all, Sir?'

Roger looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

'Yes, thank you, Sergeant,' he said formally.

'Then goodnight, Sir.'