I had just finished getting ready for the day when there was a knock at my door. I was wearing my pistol in a hip holster. Mud was an open carry world. No one would even look at me twice for having it.

I went to the communications panel and hit the button to call out to the foyer. "Yes?"

"I have a delivery for a Mister Daemon." A voice responded.

"I will be right there," I replied. As I headed for the front door, old habits took over. I removed the safety strap from my holster and clicked the safety off on the pistol. When I opened the door a young man stood there.

"Sir, I have a truck and trailer package to deliver to a Mister Daemon."

"I am him."

"If you will just confirm your identity," he said, holding out an identity pad.

An hour later, I was just headed out the front door. My bags were in the truck and I had checked out.

"Drake?", someone called out from behind me. I turned to see Lizell came running up to me with a large smile on her face. She wore a form-fitting green dress that matched her eyes. I stared into her eyes until she coughed slightly.

"May I help you?" I asked, shaking my head.

She smile, seemingly unfazed by my gaze. "I am looking for the local recruiter's office. Do you happen to know where it is?"

"It was over on Empire Street last time I saw it. Hop in I will give you a lift over. It is on my way out of town."

As we approached my new white truck, we both were wide eyed. It was a heavy-duty hover truck with a long livestock trailer behind it. In the cargo bed, a small crane was mounted, and tool boxes lined both sides.

"You must have came into town to buy a new truck," Lizell said, as she looked at the brand knew half million credit set up.

"Something like that" was my reply.

I touched the button on the door and the identity lock opened for me. When I opened the door, I hit the button to unlock the passenger door.

As Lizell climbed in, she noticed the gun on my hip for the first time. "That is an awful fancy piece of hardware for a rancher."

"It and I are old friends. It was a gift from someone who valued what I did for them." I activated the controls and the trucks pulse engine fired up. The truck lifted smoothly off the ground to hover sixteen inches in the air. When I heard the landing legs retract I pulled out and used the surface lanes to drive to Empire Street.

"I am hoping to pick up some information from the recruiter. If the person came from this planet, he would have had to be recruited through this location."

I was looking at the rearview camera in my instrument panel. A black hover car had pulled out right behind us and was following. "Can I make a suggestion I know you won't follow?"

"As long as you know I am not going to take it," she said with a smile.

"Forget this story and head back home. If the empire has deleted his records, you could be digging into something dangerous."

"I am sure I can handle myself. A reporter has to be willing to put their life on the line for a story."

I just shook my head as I pulled in front of the recruiter's office and landed the truck. I turned to her, "Let me give you my ranch location. If things go south come to me and I will try and help."

She nodded and I gave her my global location. She took a note of it and started to climb down from the truck. Before she fully left, my hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. Shocked, Lizell turned her head to look at me. "Be careful." I warned. My hand slid down to hold hers and I squeezed it lightly before letting go.

I watched her walk into the office as the hovercar following her landed a few spaces up. My conscious wrestled with me. I knew who she was looking for. Was I responsible for her life? Should I ask Robert to step in? If she was tenacious enough, nothing would stop her until she got answers or death.

I lifted off and watched as the sedan remained behind. They were following her not me. If she found what she was looking for they would be after me soon. Damn it, Robert! I curse the day I saved your life.

I pulled to a riser location and thumbed the com panel to life. "This is car number CVS1456 requesting air traffic entrance."

"Please state your destination," a voice answered.

"I am heading out westward to my ranch."

"Rise to three thousand meters and enter west bound route fourteen. Outbound traffic is light. Please wait until clearing city airspace before requesting hyper-sonic speed."

"Affirmative, Traffic Control."

I increased the charge on the elevator drive and the truck and trailer rose smoothly into the air. They had been right; traffic was light. The travel out of the city was easy.

Once I cleared the city limits, I thumbed the panel to life again. "Planetary Traffic, this is car number CVS1456 requesting permission for hyper-sonic travel."

"State your destination and requested speed."

"The destination is my ranch and speed is mach two."

"Request granted. Adjust altitude to five thousand meters and accelerate to twenty-four-twenty kilometers per hour."

"Affirmative, Planetary Control."

I brought the truck up to the destined altitude and increased the speed. I had two hours to kill before I reached my destination. The truck had its flight path and would guide me in. I set it to alert me at three hundred kilometers from my destination. Then I thumbed the private call button on the com panel. I typed in my scramble code and then the identity number.

The transmission rang a few times. This was an old throwback. For some reason, man was really comfortable with that ancient sound before making connection with someone, even in this age of instant communications across a galaxy.

"You have reached Cleo, so you must want to talk to meoh," a young voice sing-songed across the light years.

"I always want to talk to my niece."

"Uncle Drake! Oh, thank God you called! I am going crazy."

"What's wrong, little bit?"

"Dad has me grounded because I slipped my body guards. I just wanted a few minutes without someone following me around."

I chuckled. "You slipped your bodyguards, and you want pity from me."

"Uncle Drake, please talk to him! I can't stand having six people around me all the time. The boys won't even talk to me, even if the gorillas will let them get through."

"You're only twenty-one. You don't even know what boys are for yet."

"If I my father has his way, I will never find out what they are for. Please talk to him and ask him to at least lift the restriction. There is a concert this weekend I want to go attend."

"Why not have your dad hire the band for a private performance?"

"That would not be any fun. The fun of a concert is the people. Please, Uncle Drake, talk to him, for me."

"I will talk to him. Now, what is your real question?"

I could hear her pause. The question must have been a doozy. "I want to do a term in the military. Is there any way you can pull a few strings and get me accepted?"

I sighed. "Cleo, your father would flip out if he heard that. You know he will not even let you consider it. Besides that, how would you ever make it through basic training with body guards following you around?"

"I don't want the body guards! I want to take my chances like anyone else."

"I really do understand why you want to do this, Cleo, but it isn't going to happen. I could pull a star out of orbit, but that would not be enough to get you in. The military would never take the risk to your life."

"Please, Uncle Drake, I really need to become my own person. I have brothers who can become the heir if something happened to me."

"I will discuss it with your father. I won't make any promises on that one, though."

"Thank you, Uncle Drake! I love you!"

"I love you too, little bit."

I disconnected the call and placed another one. This one went to an identity number only a handful of people had.

"Hello," a female voice said softly.

"Hello, Asta. I need to talk to you and Bobby both."

"If this is about what we did on Sial'nief..."

"No, I have just about forgiven you and Bobby for that. This is about Cleo."

"Did she call you to beg for relief?"

"That, and another thing."

"Let me get Bobby and go into his office."

There was a pause in the conversation as I waited. Then Robert's voice came on. "Drake, how did you like the truck and ranch?"

"I haven't seen the ranch yet, but the truck is way too much. Listen, I know I have no right to butt in here, but take it easy on Cleo. She needs to be her own person."

"Did she tell you what she did?"

"She said she slipped her bodyguards."

"Yes, she did that. She also was missing for almost twenty-four hours. She had snuck off to go to a party at a dance club. If someone in the club had recognized her, and told the wrong people, we never would have found her."

"Bobby, I was told about a young man who tried to slip us more than once, just so he could try to sneak off to a pleasure house." I reminded him of his boyhood, a long time ago. I heard Asta started laughing in the background.

Robert cleared his throat. "That is not something Asta needed to hear."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, Asta -- he never managed to slip out of my sight. He wasn't that good. Bobby, you have to understand she is a young woman and needs a little breathing room. Find a way to give her some time alone. Maybe arrange a party for her in a controlled environment. Better yet, get Angel to gather some of the younger body guards to cover her and let her go to the concert."

"Do you think Angel can keep her safe?"

"I trusted her with you, didn't I?"

"Okay, I will let her go to the concert."

"One other thing, Bobby. Cleo wants to pull a term in military service..."

"Abso-fucking-lutely not!", Bobby and Asta both said quickly.

"Listen to me before you get crazy on me. I know she cannot serve. The danger would be too much. However, under heavy guard she could do an inspection tour for you. That would let her see more of the galaxy and get her out to feel like she is part of what is going on."

Bobby gave a long pause as he considered my idea. "You may be right. She could use a little responsibility and talking with the soldiers would help their morale. It might be a good idea."

"Talk with Angel and see what she would need for security."

"Okay. We will talk it through with her and Cleo. Maybe we can give Cleo a little independence and still keep her safe."

Our goodbyes were heartfelt. Bobby and Asta called their sons, Danny and Little Drake, to come say hi before we broke contact. Little Drake was just starting to talk in whole sentences. He's adorable.

Smiling, I leaned back in my seat. The cloud cover had begun to break a bit, allowing for streams of light to float down. I sighed and closed my eyes. With the warmth of the sunlight, I began to doze off.