Crisis Of Empire - Crown Of Empire Part 28

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the tank. Hurriedly, he climbed in, and without bothering to try to figure out how to close the hatch, slipped into the driver's position. He set the huge machine in motion, heading toward the loading bay's tremendous doors. He could hear bullets and grenades bouncing off the armored hide of the tank, and he began to hope that he would make it out after all.

The door buckled, moaned, and gave way as Wiley smashed the Cobra directly at its center.

Only then did he realize that the G on the dropshaft indicated Ground, not Garage, and he was hurtling out into a twenty foot drop with an expanse of port paving below.

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Chapter 10.

Chaney had pulled himself up onto the skid and was clinging with all his limbs. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. He reached up and pounded on the underside of the hull, hoping Tu-a could hear and would do some- thing.

In fact, the aircars motion was so erratic that

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Tira thought it was damaged. She was wondering if she dared set down. No, she was all alone;

Sclerida would catch her. She heard pounding and checked her bottom view mirror. It was Chaney. She opened the hatch; maybe Chaney would be able to climb in. She dared not cut her speed to aid him.

Chaney heard the hatch open above him. It was a few moments before he had the courage to look. Maybe ...

He stretched. Reached for a handhold inside the door. One hand in. Good.

Tira heard him behind her and finally put the controls on auto. She reached him as he was try- ing to throw a leg into the cabin. She grabbed the leg and pulled.

"Ouch!" The rest of him b.u.mped and tumbled over the threshold and into the aircar. Tira. fell back against the opposite bulkhead.

"You okay?" she asked, catching her breath.

"Fine," answered Chaney. "My favorite way to board an aircar."

Try not to be so late next time," she replied.

Stumbling to his feet, Chaney closed the hatch, lira rose also and they embraced silently.

"Are you really okay?" she finally asked.

"Really," he answered- "A little bruised, no problem. How about you?"

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"I'm okay." She sat back in the pilot's chair and took the controls back to manual. "A little con- fused."

Chaney dropped into the copilots seat and sighed. "Yeah. It's like this. My parents split. I stayed with my mother and my brother Dov went with him . . . with our father. I kept my mother's name. I guess I took her side, too, but. . . well, she was right and he was a slime mold. Still is. An ambitious slime mold."

"I thought you meant he was dead."

"I know. I'm sorry. Its just... I wanted to love him. He was my father, you know? And then... I guess he didn't really change. I just found out things I hadn't known about him. It was like los- ing him. I didn't want him to be my father anymore."

Tira considered. "I guess," she said after a while, "that in that respect I haven't really lost my father. He's still my father. It's just his physi- cal presence I've lost." Her voice caught at the end of her sentence and Chaney reached out a hand.

"I'm sony," he said.

She shook her head. "I've got to pull myself together. Figure out what to do next."

Chaney nodded, squeezed her hand and let go. "Do you have a destination in mind? We

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should really ditch this car; they've almost cer- tainly got a tracer on it."

Tira grimaced. "Not good. But actually, I do have a plan," she said, and there was a little mis- chief back in her smile. "If they're tracing us, and if you think they might have plans, then we might as well go right back to the Secretarial Pal- ace." Her smile did not hold up through her last few words, but her resolution was clear.

"What?" said Chaney, unable to sit upright harnessed into his couch.

"Because," she went on with purpose. "I've been thinking about it, and I suspect that is the place they would least expect me to go. Besides, the Palace is so confused they wont be able to mount much of a search for us. They'll have their hands full just getting in the front door."

"And what about us?" asked Chaney, although he was beginning to see the sense of her plan.

"I know the Palace very well, and I know where we can hide out if we have to." She did not add that she hoped that one or two of her staff had survived and might be hiding in the Palace.

as well.

"What do you mean?" Chaney was waxy now.

"There are secret pa.s.sages in the walls.

They're for the Kona Tatsu. My father showed me where they arc and how to reach them."

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He could not help but agree with her. "All right. It makes sense."

"I thought we'd set down outside the walls.

There's bound to be people from the city who've come out to watch the fighting, and to do what they can to use it to advantage. We could -"

"You mean you expect looters? So soon?"

Chaney was amazed at how calmly she suggested it

"I'd be a fool not to," she said. "And it could mean we'd have a better chance to arrive unno- ticed. If we try to set down inside the walls, even in a Navy aircar, someone might pay attention."

"But outside, there would be other aircars, and-"