I was walking onto the shuttle, with the Grand Duchess Daria walking in front of me. She had chains on her ankles and wrists. I was truly enjoying this.

“Drake, tell the emperor it was all a mistake. Tell him I sent my forces there to help. Please, Drake! He will execute me publicly.”

“I am Supreme Marshal Drake Daemon to you, your grace. If you speak to me again, please be sure to use my full title.”

“Please, Supreme Marshal Drake Daemon, I don’t want to die.”

I looked down at this woman begging for her life. Rage boiled into my heart. “You have killed thousands of people in your quest to become empress. Did you ask even a single one of them if they wanted to die? Your men raped and killed people on my home planet. Did you even care that they were doing this? You threatened to have the two ladies under my care raped repeatedly by your men and then have me killed. I saw no pity or remorse in your eyes. Now you ask me for pity? Now you ask me to help you worm out of the consequences of your actions?” I leaned forward and looked directly into her eyes. “When your sentence is pronounced, I will beg the emperor for the right to carry out your execution personally.”

The duchess shrank back. I truly felt she did not understand why I was so angry with her. “Please, it was nothing personal. I was just doing what I had to.”

“You came after me for vengeance, which is as personal as it gets.” Then I turned to one of the men who escorted us. “Get me a gag for this mouth.”

The soldier pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket.

I took the scrap of cloth and tied it around her mouth. “Now shut up!”

As we waited, Lizell and Countess Lorelei were escorted onto the shuttle. A few minutes later, we departed for the surface.

The ride down was as easy as they come. As we approached the imperial base, the shuttle circled once. Below us the entirety of the base personnel were arrayed in formation. At the front of the formation, the Praetorian Guard stood in a circle around a podium.

As soon as the shuttle touched down, I led the bound and gagged duchess to the large exit ramp. The honor guard moved down the ramp and spread out. Then I pushed the duchess ahead of me and walked down the ramp with Lizell and Lorelei trailing me.

As I approached the circle of Praetorian Guardsmen, two stepped forward with scanners. I extended the duchess’s hand and let them scan her identity. Then, while they were sniffing her, I extended my hand.

The guard hesitated, and I growled under my breath. He took the hint and scanned me. While I was being sniffed, they scanned the Countess Lorelei. Then, finally, they scanned Lizell. The guard spoke when her identity was established. “Sir, we have no clearance for this woman to approach the emperor.”

“I will vouch for her. Ask the emperor’s permission.”

The guard moved over to the emperor and spoke to him for a moment. Then the emperor spoke out loud. “Let the Grand Lady Lizell approach with the Supreme Marshal.” The circle of guards parted in front of us.

I led the three ladies to the front of the emperor. “Your Majesty, I bring to you the Grand Duchess Daria. She has been placed under arrest for treason against the empire. In the hold of the craft is all the evidence collected to support these charges, including evidence to support charges of previous activity.

I have also brought with me the Countess Lorelei and the Grand Lady Lizell. They are here to bear witness to the crimes of which the Duchess is accused.”

“Supreme Marshal Drake Daemon. I have heard the words you have brought before me, and order the Grand Duchess taken into custody until these charges may be resolved for good or ill. Be it also sworn the countess has proven friendship to the royal family in times past, and shall be welcomed as an honored guest at our house. The Grand Lady Lizell is unknown to me, but as you vouch for her integrity, I place her in your charge until such time as she is a trust in the palace. She is to hold the status of honored guest as well. Grand Marshal Angel Kita, please take the Duchess into custody, and place her under guard in the tower.”

Angel stepped forward and bowed. “Supreme Marshal, may I take the prisoner from your care?”

“Grand Marshal, the prisoner is yours.”

Angel and a detachment of men escorted the duchess out of the circle and away to her imprisonment.

Then the emperor spoke in formal tones. “May we request of the Supreme Marshal, that he introduce us to his companion lady?”

“Your Majesty, I have the honor of bringing the Grand Lady Lizell Stanner, a reporter for the Galactic Advisor. She has proven most helpful in the exercise of my duty as a citizen of the empire.”

“Be welcome among us, Grand Lady. May the blessings of our houses join in friendship.” Then the emperor looked to the formation. “All recognize the valor of the Supreme Marshal.”

The entire base saluted as one man. I returned the salute crisply as I faced the emperor.

We were headed for the palace in the emperor’s armored car. “What the hell was all that formality about, Robert. You have never been a stickler for that kind of thing.”

“Reporters were watching from the fence line, and I wanted absolutely no hint of impropriety when handling that bitch.”

Asta laughed from her seat beside her husband. “Besides, Drake, it is always fun to see how uncomfortable your dress uniform makes you. Just feel happy we didn’t make you wear full dress blacks. You would have to have a sign that read, ‘Medals continued on next soldier’.”

“How are the kids?”, I asked.

“Cleo is bouncing off the walls because her Uncle Drake is coming to see her. Daniel is excited to show you his new hoverbike and wants you to take him for a ride. Little D can do nothing but tell people you are coming. They all miss you terribly.”

“I know, Asta, but I could not retire and stay here. I had to move away, or I would never have been able to lay down my duty as a PG.”

“What if I gave you a writ of exception?”, Robert asked suddenly.

“My friend, you know as well as I do, the PG cannot divide their loyalties. They cannot protect you if they are worried about a loved one being hurt.”

“I know, but it just isn’t the same without you here. I see the faces I know, but I don’t feel the trust I felt with you. I know they are sworn to protect us from any threat. I know they will do it. But I can’t place blind trust in them. I always knew you would keep us safe, or die trying.”

“They will too, Robert. It is what we all do.”

“Listen to you,” Asta said, with a mocking smile. “You still say we. You are still a part of them, no matter what you say. If someone attacked right now, you would do everything in your power to protect everyone here, and you know it.”

“That is the problem, Asta. I could not protect just one of you. My loyalty would be divided.”

“Your majesties, if I may speak,” Lizell said softly. She was obviously nervous about being in the car with the royal couple.

“Be at ease with us, Lizell. You are among friends,” the emperor said.

“It seems to me your answer is in front of your face.”

“Please enlighten me. I see nothing but the dark cloud that has covered my vision since the day my friend asked to retire.”

“You gave him the rank of Supreme Marshal. Let him be that. As the SM, he is in charge of the entire military. The PG is just one of his tools. He could remain in place and direct the armies in the war on your enemies. Plus, using the military intelligence branches, he could help to prevent the threats from ever manifesting in the first place. A threat prevented is a threat stopped in time to protect everyone’s life.”

Robert stopped to consider this for a few moments. “You would no longer be a Praetorian Guard, but you would still be in charge of them. You would be regular military again, and you would be able to marry and have children.”

Asta jumped in. “That would also allow Cleo to go on an inspection tour with you. She loves the idea, but we have not been able to give it enough of an official reason to make it work properly.”

The car settled to ground in the underground garage of the palace. The majority of the PG had already arrived and cleared the place. I stepped out of the car and was suddenly swept under a set of arms.

“Uncle Drake, you made it!”, Cleo screamed, as she wrapped me in her arms.

Then the voice of a young man of about fourteen rang out. “Uncle Drake!”

As his arms enfolded me, a small voice started at my knee. “Unca, Unca, Unca, Unca!

I scooped up the small boy and held him in my arms. Then I kissed Cleo on her cheek and returned Daniel’s hug. Finally, I kissed Little Drake’s cheek and buzzed him noisily. “How are my favorite niece and nephews?”

“Unca Drake come home!”, the little one shouted.

“Yes, Little Drake, I came home for a visit.”

I could see Lizell’s eyes grow wide as I spoke.

My greeting with the royal children was pleasant and tearful.

“Let him in the house, kids,” Asta said, as they all tried to vie for my attention.

They let me go and started to lead us into the palace. Lizell stepped up next to me. “You have a member of the royal family named after you?”

“Yes, they insisted. I told them it did not sound very royal.”

She stopped me and turned me to face her. “You big oaf, you do not understand at all. You may be their bodyguard but every one of them would take a bullet for you. These people love you.”

“I do know, Lizell. That is why I had to leave. I could not allow them to risk themselves for me. I protected them for fifty years, but the day Cleo was shot trying to save me, I put an end to it.”

“You can tell me about it tonight,” she said softly, then she turned and led me after the others.

“The next thing I knew all of my guards were down. They used some kind of neural disrupter to kill them all.” Lorelei was talking about the attack on her palace. “We had no choice, Lizell and I had to allow ourselves to be captured and hope Drake could save us. Though, he does owe me an antique star yacht.”

“That was your yacht?”, I asked.

“Yes, I spent a fortune having it restored. I was supposed to go on its re-maiden voyage next week.”

“Sorry,” I said with a sheepish grin. “If I had known, I still would have done it.”

“Trust me, I would rather have my life and be intact. That bitch kept telling us what she was going to let her men do. She was also threatening to film it all so she could watch it over and over.”

“How long is her trial going to take?”, Lizell asked.

“Once the evidence is reviewed by the judge, she will be interrogated under a truth beam, if the judge finds the evidence sufficient to warrant it. If she is guilty, she will be executed ten days after the trial.”

“What about her personnel carrier? Was it captured?”, I asked.

“No, it jumped out of system about fifteen seconds after we arrived,” Angel answered.

“I have to know. How did you figure out there was trouble?” My question was paramount on my mind.

Cleo looked up with surprise in her eyes. “I was in dad’s office with him when we got your text message. The message said, ‘Burning blanket’. We both knew that meant your cover was blown and you were in danger. Dad tried to send a reply but we got a satellite failure message. He ordered the launch of the carrier less than a minute later.”

“My message made it through before the satellite was taken out? I will be damned.”

“No, you are definitely blessed,” Asta said, with a chuckle.

Lizell looked around the table. “He sent that message and a minute later, his living room turned into a bullet storm. I have never been so scared in my life.”

“How badly was the ranch damaged?”, Robert asked.

“It is a total loss. I had to activate the failsafe. “That reminds me, could you send a crew to activate the house and field droids? The animals feed supply is probably running low.”

“I will have a team there in a few days. We will get it rebuilt for you. It would make a nice vacation home if you stay with us.”

Cleo looked up from her plate. “Uncle Drake, are you thinking about coming back to active duty? Please, tell me you are?”

“I am thinking about assuming the duties my rank demands. Your father is trying to bribe me by saying he will release me from my vow.”

“Please, Uncle Drake, I promise not to do it again. I will do anything to get you back.”

It came to me then, from out of the deepest part of my mind I understood. Cleo blamed herself for my leaving. The problem was it was true. I had left because of her. But could I continue to punish her for that? Was it right of me to absent myself from their lives because I had become a danger to them? “Cleo, if I come back it will not be as a Praetorian Guardsmen. I will not be the one who is diving in front of bullets for you.”

Even Little Drake laughed when I said that. They all knew me too well for that to ring true.

Lizell and I retired to our room for the night. This room was like a palace unto itself. As she stripped off her clothes, she headed for the bath. She turned and crooked her finger towards me in a come-hither motion. I followed like her puppy dog.

We climbed into the vast bathtub and she sat in my lap as we soaked in the hot water. “Tell me,” she said simply.

*********

I was talking with Angel about a rotation of the guards. We wanted to start instituting an off-period so the men in the spare units got some active time as well. We did not want them rusting.

“Uncle Drake, I need to get out of the palace for a while,” Cleo said as she came up behind me.

“You sound so much like your mother. What new pair of shoes are we hunting today?”

“I just want to get outside. How about we go for a nice drive in the country and a picnic lunch?”

“That might not be too bad. Who are you planning on having lunch with?”

“The Barron Arshag is here, and his son is kind of cute. Maybe he would be willing to go with us.”

“Cleo, aren’t you a little young to be thinking about boys?”

“Uncle Drake, I am twenty now. Dad is already trying to find me a suitable match. I told him I wanted a nice docile husband who will be easy to henpeck.”

I shook my head. “I will get Gold ready for escort, and I will act as chaperone. Why don’t you go invite your friend to join us?”

It was only about thirty minutes later when we climbed into the armored car.

The drive out was uneventful. I was glad for that. Then we toured the countryside as the wildflowers bloomed in profusion. I tried to keep my ear out of the young people’s conversation but it was really hard. The son of Barron Arshag was a scoundrel and I didn’t like him. His name was Rondal and his father thought he was the only choice for the princess.

We found a place about fifty miles outside of town and the guard moved out to check and set up security. Then I laid out the picnic for the young couple.

I stood a little ways away so I would no longer have to hear the conversation of the young noble. His very voice irritated me. Then I heard his voice start to go up several notches in volume.

“When I am the emperor, I will pass laws that take the tax bases away from the noble families and bring them under the control of the crown.”

Cleo started to laugh. “You won’t be emperor.”

“My father is pressing our suit with your father now. They will conclude negotiations today, and I will become your betrothed. Then after we are married, I will become the crown prince. Once your father steps down, I will be emperor.”

“It does not work that way,” Cleo said still laughing. “I will be the empress and you will be my consort, not the emperor. You will have no more power than you have now. You won’t be able to decree imperial law.”

“Don’t laugh at me!”, he screamed.

Those words had me moving. I started towards them as I loosened my pistol in my holster. As I approached, Rondal reached into his vest. He pulled out a micro pistol. These used pressurized gas to propel the round. They could not be sniffed.

As I moved into his field of view he turned to point the little gun at me. I heard the puff just as a body flung itself in front of me.

“No”, Cleo cried out. Then she fell against me. As I caught her, I drew my pistol. “On the ground, with your hands on your head!”, I shouted.

The young man looked terrified now. He dropped to the ground and put his hands on his head as other guards came to grab him.

Then I pulled Cleo up to check her over. She smiled at me, “It really hurts, Uncle Drake.”

I looked down to see blood flowing between her hands. I had failed. “We need an emergency shuttle at my location! NOW!”, I screamed over my bob.

It seemed to take forever for the shuttle to get to us. Even with everything we did to staunch the flow of blood, Cleo had passed out by the time it got there. It took all of my iron control not to kill the little bastard my men were holding.

I rode with Cleo to the hospital on base.

The emperor and his family waited for us there. They wheeled Cleo into surgery as I faced my doom.

“I have failed you, your majesty.” My voice was filled with pain as I faced Robert.

Asta stepped forward and slapped me with a strength that surprised even me. “Damn it, Drake! Snap out of it and tell us what happened.”

I could not explain. In my mind, I had failed in my ultimate duty. I did not even notice when Angel arrived. I did not know that she showed them the video from the armored car. I stood at the window wondering where I would end up. I had failed in my duty to protect her. I could no longer be trusted to do my job.

I felt Robert’s hand on my shoulder. “Drake, she dove in front of you to protect you. You could not have stopped what happened. When she gets better, you can spank her first.”

I looked at the man who had become my brother. “Robert, I can’t continue. I want to retire and have a family. I can’t continue to protect your family when they start feeling they need to protect me. “Your Majesty, please release me to retire.”

“We will talk about this later. Right now there is a young woman up there who needs some boot prints on her butt. You are going to help me deliver them.”

As he spoke, the doctor came into the room. “Your majesty, she is going to be fine. She is a strong-willed one, and pulled through really well. I have to tell you, it was the fast action of your men that got her here in time.”

“Thank you, Doctor Devins. When can we see her?”

“She should be awake in a couple hours.”

As the doctor left, Robert turned to look at me. I was sitting in a chair. My legs had folded with relief and I could not remain standing. “Drake, we will go see her in a couple hours. I want you there.”

“As you wish, your majesty.”

“Drake, listen to me. This changes nothing between you and I. You have not failed me, and even if you had you would still be my brother.”

“Your majesty…”

“Robert.”

“Your majesty, I…

“Robert!”

“Your majesty…

“ROBERT!”

I looked down and gave in. “Robert, I am compromised. A member of your family…”

“Our family.”

“A member of our family has placed my life above theirs. I cannot protect you from yourselves.”

“Then we will talk to Cleo, and she will be made to understand she cannot do this.”

I brooded for the next couple of hours. I had become a liability to the royal family, no matter what Robert said.

Then a nurse came in and told us we could see her. We went up to her room, and she was lying in the bed. My fear spiked through me again.

Robert sat in a chair next to her bed. “Young lady, I think you owe Drake an apology. You are not there to protect him. He is there to protect you. Now, you owe him an apology for taking the bullet meant for him.”

Cleo looked at her father like he had lost his mind. Then she looked down at her hands. “I am sorry, Uncle Drake.”

We all visited with her for a while and reassured ourselves that she was alright. Then I stepped up to Robert. “May I have a few moments alone with Cleo, please?”

Robert nodded, then he ushered the rest of the family out of the room. “Cleo, I think your father handled that the wrong way, but he was right. You have a duty to the throne to stay alive. You cannot sacrifice yourself to save me. Your life is more important.”

“Not to me, it isn’t.”

“I understand you feel that way. You have to think of the future though. You are destined to sit on the throne. Because of that, you have a duty, as a servant of the people, to keep yourself safe. Please promise me you will not do that again. I nearly died when I thought we had lost you.”

“Uncle Drake, I will never promise that. My family must come first and you are a member of that family. I will sacrifice anything to keep my family safe.”

“I know you will.”

I came up with my plan at that point to retire. I wanted a family, I wanted a wife. Now I had another reason to leave the PG. I could not let any member of the royal family put themselves at risk for me. The depth of my failure was in my heart. I cared about them as people and that had made me reach out and accept them as friends and, eventually, family. Now I was a liability to them.

It took me six months, but Robert finally released me. Cleo cried for days when she found out I was leaving. I promised her I would come back for visits, but she still continued to cry as I boarded my shuttle and left the planet.

*********

“Oh, God, Drake! What it must have cost her to make that promise tonight at dinner. You have to stay.”

“I want a wife and family, my love. I want to come home every night and hold my family in my arms.”

“You can have that. I will stay with you no matter where your career goes.”

“Would you really stay with me?”

“Forever, my love,” she said, as she leaned in and kissed me. Her kiss had me rising in seconds. “What happened to the spoiled brat who shot her?”

“Robert stripped him of title and land. He cannot inherit so much as a credit of his father’s estate. Last I heard, he had joined the military to have a place to live.”

“I think that is enough heavy talk for tonight. You seem to have a problem stirring down there under the water. I may be able to help you with that.”

“I think you can too.”

We made love in the tub, then again later on the table in the room, then just for the fun of it we made love a third time in the bed.

The next morning we came out of the bedroom and headed to have breakfast with the royal family. Little Drake came running down the hall screaming “Unca Drake”, as his guard detail tried to keep up with him.

I scooped the boy into my arms and held out my hand for the scanner. “Good morning, Little D. What have you been doing today?”

“I coloring this morning.”

“Did you make a pretty picture?”

“I make picture of you.”

One of the guards stepped forward and offered me a sheet of paper. On it was a stick figure surrounded by flowers. “Is that me?”

He shook his head yes. “That is you and those are you medals.”

Lizell started to chuckle beside me.

“Why are my medals flying around me?”, I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

“You soup hero, you throw them at bad people.”

Lizell lost it at that point. She started to laugh hard enough it made her cough. When she got herself under control, she grabbed my free arm. “Come on, soup hero, let’s go eat some breakfast.”

We were joined by Asta as she came up to us. “I see he showed you his picture.”

Lizell started to laugh again. “Yes, and we are taking the soup hero to go get some breakfast.”

Asta’s eyes filled with mirth.

“Go ahead and laugh, Asta. I know you want to,” I said rather stiffly.

Asta joined Lizell in her laughter. Even several of the guards started to laugh. I grumbled and walked towards the dining room, carrying my nephew.

As I walked into the dining room, I saw Cleo sitting next to her father. I walked over to her and bent down. Then I whispered in her ear.

Cleo’s eyes filled with tears, and she threw her arms around my neck as she cried.

I looked in Robert’s eyes as he showed his concern. “What have you said to upset her?”

“I told her I am going to stay, under the conditions we discussed yesterday.”

“I will have the papers formalized by the end of the day. I also have some news for you. The high lord judge has reviewed part of the evidence you brought back, and has issued a warrant. The duchess will be truth-scanned today. He did ask why you brought a body back as part of the evidence.”

“Do you have pictures of the body?”

“Yes. It is her headman. I am not sure it is evidence though.”

“Pull out the pictures and look at the right hand.”

The emperor had one of the servants bring him the file. When he opened it, he looked for only a second, then he started to look for the close-up shots of the hand. “He has the scar. He has the goddam scar!”

I nodded and then I smiled. “That is not her headman, though. It is his twin brother.”

Both Robert and Asta looked at me. Then Robert started to laugh. “Now that is something I never thought of. Why did we never check his birth records?”

“Because we were trying to figure out how he did it, not how they did it. If we had thought in the plural, we would have caught them then.”

“Drake, as leader of all the military, it is your job to make sure shit like this does not slip through the cracks anymore.”

“I will do my best.”

“I know you will.”

Three days later, we stood in the judge’s chamber of the capitol building. The Lord High Judge entered the chamber.

The judge sat in his chair. “Please be seated.” Then he turned to face Robert. “Your majesty, do you have faith in me as the justice in this case?”

“My faith is yours, Lord High Judge.”

“Bring forth the prisoner.” The judge waited until the Duchess stood in front of him. “Grand Duchess Daria, do you understand the charges that have been leveled against you?”

“No, your honor. I have done nothing wrong.”

“Under truth scan, you admitted to more than twelve attempts to kill the Empress Astalynn Rythan Melcoir-Stavio-Noir. This constitutes treason against the crown. You have also admitted to illegal use of neuron disrupters, trafficking in forbidden substances, illegal seizure of a planet out of your realm, murder in the first, second, and third degree, human trafficking, kidnapping, illegal disruption of communications, reckless endangerment, illegal jump protocols, misuse of public trust, harboring a fugitive, racketeering, extortion, bribery, subversion of public officials, interfering with the rightful succession of a monarch, regicide, illegal use of weapons, illegal use of explosives, illegal hacking of identity codes, and speeding. Do you now understand the charges that have been leveled against you?”

“I have done nothing wrong. I am a noble and have the right to ignore the law for my own purposes.”

“A noble does not have the right to ignore the law. A noble must be held to a higher standard. It is the finding of this court that you are guilty of all charges. For these charges, you are to be stripped of all rank and lands, then taken to the block of justice. At that location, you will be executed by the champion of the empire. This sentence is to be carried out today, for it is the belief of this court that your unaccounted-for henchmen will attempt to rescue you.”

We were all stunned, the court usually gave a prisoner at least a week to put their affairs in order. The judge wanted this finished today.

The guards escorted Daria out of the hall.

It was exactly one hour later that we stood before the block of justice. It was a single block of wood that had stood in the courtyard of the base for more than a thousand years.

They brought Daria out and bent her down so her head was on the block. Then the emperor spoke clearly. “Supreme Marshal Drake Daemon, will you champion this court?”

“I will, your majesty.”

I started to step forward and drew my blade.

“Champion, will you do me the honor of using my blade?”

I turned to face Robert. Had he lost his mind? Only the royal family could touch the blade of the line. The gasp from the crowd reflected the shock I felt.

“As I have named thee my brother, it is in your right to touch the blade of the line. Will you do me the honor of using it for this chore?”

I stepped up and knelt as he extended his blade to me. This blade had been made on earth more than twenty thousand years ago. It was the last of the great katanas. I moved forward with the blade dancing through my hands. It was a blur of old steel and fine skill.

Then I stepped up beside the woman on the block.

“Please, Drake, I don’t want to die. Just banish me and let me go. I will disappear and never return.”

I hesitated as I held the blade there. I had accepted the role of champion. If I could not carry out the sentence, she would be set free. Could I take the life of a helpless person? I had never done that before. In my entire life, I had never committed cold-blooded murder.

I looked down into her eyes, and there I saw my answer. Although her mouth pleaded for mercy, her eyes shown with malice.

Without thought the blade flashed forward to imbedded itself five inches into the wood of the block. Then, as if in slow motion, I watched as the light faded from her eyes and her head rolled off the side of the block to plunk onto the grass.

I wrenched the blade free and took a cloth from my pocket. I wiped the blade from tip to pommel. Then I walked to the emperor, knelt, and extended the blade handle first. “It is done, your majesty.”

He took the blade from my hand. Then, as I started to rise, I felt the blade touch my left shoulder. Then it touched my right shoulder. Then the blade touched ever so gently on the top of my head. “Rise, Grand Duke Drake Daemon.”

I stood and glared at the bastard I called my brother.

All he did was, give me an impish grin in return.

---