Read Online The Sunfire by Mike Smith - Free Book Online Page B

it, he
estimated the distance to the furthest wall to be around fifteen meters. “Do
you have anybody here you could trust to man the door for the next twenty
minutes?”
    “Sure. I arrived planet-side with one of the marine’s
special operations teams, on rotation. The Master Sergeant is an old friend of
mine. What do you need?”
    “Can you ask him to guard the door for twenty minutes, so
nobody comes in?”
    “Sure,” Paul replied, intrigued at the unusual request and,
using the communications equipment on the desk, summoned him. Several minutes
later the Master Sergeant arrived, introducing himself as Patrick Reynolds, but
everybody just called him Gunny. Observing the huge sergeant, Jon concluded Gunny
was perfect for what he had in mind.
    “Could you man the door for twenty minutes, Gunny? So nobody
disturbs us.”
    “Sure thing Commander,” Gunny replied, exiting the room and
placing his imposing self in the doorway, back to the door, as it slid shut behind
him.
    “So, now that nobody is coming in for the next twenty
minutes, now what?” The bemused Paul inquired.
    “This,” Jon replied pushing himself off the bed and landing
heavily on the floor. He kept his balance by firmly grasping the railing that
ran along the length of the bed.
    “Are you crazy?” Paul hissed in disbelief, stepping closer,
ready to catch him, on the off chance his legs failed him.
    “That’s not crazy, this is,” Jon said, releasing the
bedrail. With his eyes firmly fixed on the far wall, pale-faced and fighting
back nausea from the pain, he gingerly put one foot in front of the other.
    “Praetorians are we,” Jon wheezed, taking another
step forward. “ The elite us be, unafraid of death are we, for invincible us
be.” Jon gave a cry of relief as he finally managed to make it to the far
side of the room unaided. Turning to face Paul in triumph, a startled
expression suddenly appeared on his face. “Oh crap,” Jon uttered, as his left
leg gave out beneath him and he tumbled to the floor. Fortunately the floor was
thickly carpeted, which absorbed most of the impact, hurting his pride more
than anything else.
    Laughing heartily Paul peered down at Jon with a smirk on
his face. “So how is this invincible thing working out for you at the moment? I
must say that while you could probably take out my three year old daughter, my
five year old son would completely kick your ass.”
    “Paul?”
    “Yes?”
    “Shut up and help me get back up will you?” Jon asked,
grimacing in pain.
    Hauling Jon once again to his feet, Paul glanced at the
younger man with some considerable concern, as his face had gone completely
white and rivulets of sweat were pouring down his forehead. Combined with the
fact he did not seem at all steady on his feet. “So what now?” He asked with a
hint of worry. “You have another fifteen minutes before the hordes get past
Gunny.”
    “Now I do it again,” Jon insisted, gritting his teeth in
determination.
    “You’re crazy you know that?” Paul exclaimed in disbelief.
“You are going to kill yourself.”
    “That is a distinct possibility,” Jon muttered, taking
another faltering step towards the bed, only a few metres out of reach but
seeming like another world away.
    *****
    Sofia punched the pillow next to her in frustration. It was
late at night, Eden Prime time, five days after Jon had first awoken and their
heated argument. Afterwards she had wished she could take back her words, never
really entertaining the possibility. Anyway who would willingly follow such an
order? She had a feeling the only people actually capable of bringing Jon back
in chains were far more loyal to him than to her.
    Jon had been discharged a few days earlier from the medical
institute, much to the astonishment of the staff. For what they had predicted
would take weeks of rest and physiotherapy to recover, Jon had completed in a
couple of days.
    Sofia had not been able to talk to Jon for the past week, as
he had been