Retired – Chapter One – Home

It was a dark and stormy night. The lightning flashed as I stepped off the transport shuttle. The long journey home was finally in its last stages. The luxury liner on which I had traveled the starways, to bring me from the Imperial homeworld to this world on the very edge of civilization, had finally arrived. To most of the empire it was known as Sial’nief IV. The locals just called it Mud. It was a farm world. It was where I was raised by my parents. It was where my friend and I had shipped out to join the military so many years ago. It was home.

My foot had not touched the surface of this planet in more than sixty years. I was now seventy-eight years old and in the prime of my life. I was looking forward to a long retirement. With a healthy life and no more fighting, I could live another two hundred years.

The town of Starjump had not changed much since I left. It was still perpetually damp and musty from the large amount of rainfall this God-forsaken world received. It was still a collection of ugly buildings surrounding the star port. I moved to one of the news vendors and picked out a world newspaper, all seven pages of it. Nothing news-worthy ever happened on Mud. That is why I came back to retire. I tapped my card on the credit plate and paid my credit for the paper.

I headed out the front door and into the noise and rush of a star port city. Most of the produce and meats grown on Mud were shipped out through this town. Freight haulers and loader skiffs moved across the sky. They were all loaded with stasis crates.

I looked at the line of taxis waiting along the walkway, and headed out into the rain for the one in the lead. As I was reaching for the door, a young woman cut in front of me and jumped into the taxi. Before I could even protest, she had the door closed and was handing her card to the driver. I watched her red hair swing around her head as she spoke animatedly to the driver.

I just shook my head, as I stood in the rain, and moved to the next taxi in line. As I sat down, I pulled out a small card and handed it to the driver. “Do you know this address?”

“Yes, sir, it will take about fifteen minutes to get there, and the fare will be one hundred and seventy five credits.”

I handed him my card, and a moment later he handed me the card and a receipt.

I thought back to that day so long ago when I left this planet with my best friend, Randall.

*********

“Drake, I can’t believe we are running away to join the military.” Randall said softly, as we strapped into the jump shuttles acceleration couches.

“We aren’t exactly running away. We are eighteen years old.” I replied, as a young officer started to check the couches in the recruit bay.

“This is our ticket out of this dump. All we have to do is serve for five years, and we can muster out with almost a million credits. Then we just decide where we want to go.” Randall stopped speaking as the blond officer stopped at his couch.

“I know how it works, Randall. I was the one that talked you into joining.” I checked my last buckle and relaxed back into the couch.

The officer turned to check my couch and straps. “Will you need a relaxer for the flight?”

“No, ma’am,” I answered, as I looked up to see a set of piercing blue eyes framed in a face that would make an angel sing.

“I see we have a flight veteran here.”

“No, ma’am, this is the first time I have ever left the surface of Mud.”

“I would suggest you use a relaxer then. Most people don’t handle their first jump well.”

“He will be fine, sweetheart. He is the ultimate hard ass.” Randall said with a chuckle, from behind her.

She turned and looked back at Randall. “You have joined the military, recruit. I am ,’ma’am’ to you.” She spoke in a voice that sounded like it contained iron.

Randall shrank back into his couch. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, with a little quaver in his voice.

The officer checked my buckles and straps before moving on to the next couch. It was not long after that we felt the jump shuttle lift off. An hour later we cleared the atmosphere, and the jump drive activated.

It felt like I was turned inside out and tickled all along my exposed insides. The twisting sensation was like nothing I had ever felt before. My sense of position told me all of my body parts were occupying the same space. My toes overlapped my fingers, and they both shared the same space with my ears and nose. I was glad I had taken a shower that morning. My butt was in that same space, too.

Then, with a snapping sensation, we re-emerged into normal space. We were now at the edge of the star system. Somewhere behind us and much closer to the star was the planet we had just left.

I saw the troop transport as the shuttle turned to make its approach. That was a small starship. It was capable of making holes in the universe and then flying through them. It was nothing like a civilian starliner. Those flew through normal space at warp speeds. A voyage of five light years would take a week in a star liner. A military craft could cover the same distance in seconds.

The shuttle turned in space and headed for the troop transport. The shuttle bay doors were open and waiting.

We all felt the slight jolt as the shuttle made contact with the deck. Then the female officer came in and shouted, “Up and out recruits! It is time to get your gear and start learning how to be a soldier!”

I stood up out of the form-fitting couch. The other recruits were scrambling to grab their personal bags. I moved with a deliberate pace.

“Drake, you are going to get us in trouble. Move your ass!”,” Randall said in a hoarse whisper.

I continued to move with my deliberate pace. The others had already scrambled down the boarding ramp and into the bay. They were the typical scared kids. I had not seen anything to fear yet.

The officer stepped in front of me. “Recruit, you had better learn how to run when you are told to.”

I smiled and looked her straight in the eye. “Ma’am, there are only two reasons I have ever found to run.” I stepped around her and headed down the ramp.

On the deck was the group of recruits from my shuttle. They were all doing push-ups and counting out loud. The sergeant pacing in front of them looked over towards me. “Recruit, these people are going to keep doing pushups until you are in formation.”

When he finished speaking, I dropped my bag where I was standing and sat on it. The sergeant came charging over to me and started yelling at the top of his lungs. “You little shit! I am going to beat the ever-loving shit out of you!”

He finished his words just as he stopped in front of me. My leg swept out and pulled his legs out from under him. He fell backwards to the deck, hard enough that his head made a loud popping sound when it hit the deck. Then I rolled off my bag and brought my leg down hard across his chest. I could hear his ribs crack with the impact.

The officer spoke from behind me. “Recruit, you are in a lot of trouble.”

“Actually, ma’am, according to military regulations, it was self-defense. He threatened me with bodily harm, so I had the right to defend myself up to the level of sub-duel.”

My argument was unheeded as military police came to escort me to the brig.

*********

I came out of my memories as the taxi pulled up in front of a luxury hotel. I cursed Robert under my breath. He had his people make all my travel arrangements. He knew I was coming home to retire. My days of luxury hotels were now gone. He had booked my reservation at the most exclusive hotel on Mud. I climbed out of the cab and started to walk towards the lobby doors.

As I reached out for the door handle, a woman brushed past me and into the hotel. I started to wonder about the manners of the people on my world. Then I realized it was the same young woman from the spaceport. I shook my head and continued up to the front counter.

“May I help you, sir?”, a teenage girl asked me when I walked up.

“I have a reservation under Drake Daemon.”

“Yes, Mister Daemon. We have been expecting you. There is a message here for you from Bobby Stavore.” The young lady said softly, as I scanned my thumb and ID tag into the recognition plate. When she looked up at my face, a soft blush came to her cheeks. I had affected women that way my entire life. Asta had told me it was the animal lurking behind my eyes. It made women feel helpless in my gaze.

“Thank you, Deborah,” I answered, as I glanced at her name tag. “I won’t be here for long. I will be traveling on to my ranch tomorrow. Is there a good restaurant in the hotel?”

“Yes, sir, the chef here is amazing. She specializes in local comfort foods. Would you like me to make a reservation for you?”

“Nineteenth hour, please.”

“You’re all set, mister Daemon. Your room is the top floor. It has been coded to your identity and your luggage is already in the room.” With that, she handed me a sealed envelope.

I took the message from her hand and our fingers brushed together. The color of her cheeks deepened and she started breathing harder. I watched her pupils dilate as she stared at the animal that lurked under my calm exterior. I could almost hear the thoughts that stirred in her mind.

Our fingers broke contact and she gave a sigh that almost sounded pitiful. I turned towards the elevator, as I again cursed Bobby in my mind. He had booked the penthouse. I was retiring and he knew I wanted to disappear into the local populace. That is why I had come back to this forsaken ball of mud. I was here to spend the rest of my life hacking a living out of the soil.

I waited for the elevator to arrive. These old tin boxes always made me nervous. They were a perfect death trap if someone was after you. I chuckled softly at my own paranoia. No one would be after me. I no longer lived that life. I had left it behind when I laid down my uniform for the last time.

The elevator doors opened and I was bumped aside as a flash of red hair stepped in front of me. I shook my head and stepped into the box that would carry me to my room for the night.

As the door closed, I reached out and touched the recognition plate. Then I touched the button for the penthouse. I noticed that she had pushed the button for the twenty-fifth floor. “You seem to be in a hurry. You should slow down and enjoy yourself. You will find the people here a little more laid back and relaxed than you are accustomed to.” I spoke with the easy confidence of a man adjusted to life as it comes.

“I am sorry, do I know you?”, the woman asked, as she turned her gaze in my direction. Her emerald green eyes held a fire that stirred in my soul. This young lady had a hunger in her eyes. I had seen that look many times in my life. It was the look of a young predator that had not tasted its first kill. She was after something and was unsure how to get what she wanted.

“No, Ma’am, but we should know each other well. You have pushed me out of your way three times today. That kind of behavior will make people around here not wish to talk to you,” I said with a soft smile, to lessen the rebuke inherent in my words.

She gave a light blush at my words. “I am sorry. I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“You could make it up to me by joining me for dinner tonight at the restaurant. I will be there at nineteenth hour.”

“I am not here to find a man for the night, sir…”

“I am not here to find a woman, either. I thought maybe you would enjoy someone to talk to and a chance to atone for your rudeness. It was my mistake.”

Her blush deepened as she tried to hold my gaze. I could see her anger fighting within her. She wanted to be angry with me, but she realized she had been rude and was even now being rude again. I watched as the hard lines at the sides of her eyes softened slightly. Then, haltingly, she started to speak. “I am sorry. I am used to men trying to pick me up as an easy mark. I would be delighted to join you for dinner, if you let me pay to make up for my behavior.”

“I invited you to dinner, and it would be the epitome of bad manners for me to let you pay. However, you could call the score even by telling me the story of why you are here instead. You are obviously not a buyer of produce or meats. I would be interested in finding out why such a dazzling young lady would come to Mud.”

“Mud?”

“That is what the locals call this ball we stand on. It has to do with the large amount of rainfall and the general condition of the land,” I said with a smile.

She actually smiled. When she did, her face lit up like a star. Her smile could capture even the hardest heart. “I will join you for dinner.” The doors opened on her floor and she excused herself to go to her room.

After the doors closed to take me to the penthouse, I opened the envelope in my hands and unfolded the hand-written note enclosed.

———

Drake;

With all our love, we hope this finds you safely back on the world of your birth.