Read Online Hunter Legacy 5 Hail the Hero by Timothy Ellis - Free Book Online Page B

hours
across Miami, and another three hours to Dallas Orbital. With luck, no-one
would want me, and I could get a decent night’s sleep for a change.
    With nothing else to do, I left Angel to
her space gazing, and joined the ‘Who’ watchers in the Rec Room.
    I was back on the Bridge for the jump into
Miami. The scanner map showed the jump point was clear on the other side, so
the arrow head sped up a little, folded back to a double line, and we all
jumped through, resuming the formation once we were clear of the debris field
and the blockade ships. The debris field had been much reduced in size.
    The whole team was there when I returned. I
hadn’t missed anything, as I’d seen these so many times over the years. But all
the same, I settled down in a lounge chair, and resumed enjoyment. It was good
not to have anything to worry about for a while. Angel trotted in at one point,
demanded a pat from me, and did the rounds of the room.
    At dinner time, Aline switched the
entertainment system to play in both rooms, and we continued watching as we
ate.
    I’d always thought there was nothing like a
good ‘Who’ marathon to pass the time. Apparently my new converts agreed with
me.
    Around ten thirty, I was back on the Bridge
for the jump into Dallas. I sent off an email to General Patton’s aide to say
we were now in the Dallas system. I gave Jane instructions to let me sleep,
unless something really urgent came in, in which case she should let me sleep
anyway. If a more senior officer wanted my attention before seven in the
morning, they better have a damned good reason for it. If the universe ended
during the night, I didn’t want to know until the hollo-documentary came out.
    I found Angel asleep on her kitty castle,
and Miriam draped seductively across my bed.
    So much for getting a full night’s sleep.

Eleven

    “GOOD MORNING DALLAS!”
    I bolted upright in bed. A half remembered
dream of gold ribbon and purple smoke, fell away, and vanished.
    “Stop doing that Jane,” I yelled.
    Meow!
    Angel jumped up, waggled her left rear paw
in my direction, rushed to the side of the bed, and launched herself off. She
landed lightly on the floor, and shot out the door.
    I sat there gaping after her. I’d never
seen her jump so far before. She was growing up rapidly.
    “Jon?” said Miriam sleepily from
beside me. “What are you yelling about?”
    “You didn’t hear Jane just now?”
    “No. Should I have?”
    I suddenly realized Jane had bellowed at me
only, through my PC, for once.
    “Sadist,” I muttered.
    “Who is?”
    “Jane.”
    “You rang?” said Jane through the
room coms. “Jon, I let you sleep as long as I could. You have a seven
thirty meeting on the Military Orbital, and it’s already five past. Put your
skates on. The Gig is ready for you. Miriam, you have orders as well. Sorry
Jon, but get it in gear Mon Capitan.”
    “Is Jane getting even more eccentric
now?” asked Miriam.
    “MOVE IT JON. You have a four star
waiting for you.”
    I leapt out of bed, and jumped for the
shower. Miriam followed, but I didn’t let her slow me down. I was out, and
drying off, while she was still soapy.
    Angel was eating her breakfast when I found
her in the kitchen.
    “I’ll be out for a lot of today
sweetie. Can’t be helped, I’m afraid. And later on, we’ll all be out, so you’ll
need to entertain yourself.”
    She stopped eating and looked at me.
    Mew.
    She went back to eating.
    I headed down to the Cargo Deck, where I
touched down in the access shaft, with only a slight twinge from my left knee.
A trolley took me to the down shaft, where the Gig was waiting on the Launch
Deck. Jane had moved the Gig as close to the access shaft as it could get. I
boarded, and settled into the co-pilot’s seat. Jane was sitting in the pilot’s.
The Gig moved to the lift, and we started rising.
    “Sitrep.”
    “The fleet arrived at one thirty this
morning. The crewed ships are all docked with the Civilian Orbital