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Retired- Chapter Three – Praetorian Guard
Date: 2/12/2016, Categories: Science-Fiction, Author: Brootforce
... decided to make Asta non-viable.” “That would make sense. I wouldn’t set my mind in stone on it though.” The Princess spoke up at that time. “I need to make a shopping trip into the city today.” “I will form up the guard. Do you have an itinerary or is this just a ladies trip?” “Just a ladies trip.” I smiled an ironic smile. “I will form up the battalion to carry your packages, your highness.” Asta gave me a dirty look. “I am not that bad.” “As you say, your highness,” I said with a smile of pure mischief. The prince shook his head. “How do you get away with things like that? If I did that to her, she would spank me.” “You are her husband, your highness. She doesn’t have to take it from you.” The shopping trip was a chore I hated. I stayed with the twenty guards who surrounded the princess while the rest of the unit would move to secure each destination on her tour. I had the battalion on call to retrieve and deliver packages back to the palace. We made it to lunch time when the prince joined us. His detail had brought him to the princess so they could have lunch together at a street side café. This made me as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. A sniper could be on any one of these buildings, and there were way too many to secure on short notice. I was scanning the buildings when I heard the booming sound. Right in front of my eyes, holes appeared in the air and three jump shuttles appeared inside the atmosphere. The pilots had to be crazy. They ...
... could not burn off that much speed from that low in the atmosphere. Then my mind made the connection with their course. They weren’t going to slow down. I activated my implant bob. “All units, the rabbits are in danger! Secure all packages!” I turned towards the royal couple and spoke. “We have to leave now, your highnesses.” I was not gentle as I yanked them to their feet. I had them running towards the armored limousine as fast as I could. The sound alerted me before I saw them. I turned the royal couple towards the alley we were passing just as a pair of sting fighters swung up the street. The limo was a smoking pile of metal before I made it into the alley. “Damn,” I muttered, as I saw the end of the alley was fenced off. We were trapped, and the sting fighters were already turning for a second pass. I looked down and saw our savior. It was about thirty-six inches in diameter and made of solid iron. I squatted down and hooked my fingers into the lift hole of the manhole cover. As it started to lift a couple other soldiers grabbed the edge to help me. We flipped the cover over and out of the way. “Get them down there!”, I yelled, as I drew my rail pistol. We didn’t have time -- it was already too late. The sting fighters had lined up and were starting their run. The explosion saved our lives at that moment. All three of the jump shuttles had crashed into the palace. The shockwave swept the fighters sideways and offline with our position. Two of my men dropped through the ...