The Last Praetorian by Mike Smith Page A

that…?”  Miranda breathed, unable to keep the full
sense of awe from her voice, even though she knew Mallart would disapprove.  Glancing
out the window Mallart squinted at the ship then looked away with distaste,
obviously not sharing Miranda’s opinion of the aesthetic beauty of the ship
floating outside.
    “Old long range Imperial courier shuttle,” her superior
groused, “not many of them still functional since the disintegration of the
Imperium – too expensive.  Not much demand for a hyperspace capable shuttle
these days that can also enter atmosphere,” he pointed at a number of points on
the bow and body of the shuttle where the additional shielding was obviously
designed to cope with the extreme heats of atmospheric re-entry.  “All a waste
of money if you ask me, carrying around all the extra shielding.  Why not just
dock at one of the orbiting stations and get the damn shuttle down like
everybody else?” he stated with distaste.
    “You mean the ship can land, like on a planet?” Miranda
asked incredulously.  While she had observed a number of planets that existed
within the system, she had always done so from one of the docking stations in
orbit.  Having been born in space she had never actually set foot on a planet. 
Too dangerous, her superiors had always warned her; having been born in the lower
gravity of the various ships and stations of the system.  It was considered
dangerous, as the additional gravity could put too much strain on her heart. 
Some people had literally dropped dead on stepping out of a shuttle onto a
planet’s surface for the first time.  
    “Where did he acquire such a ship?” 
    A hint of a frown crossed Mallart’s face when he replied. 
“We are not too sure.  Intelligence could not find much on his past beyond a
couple of years ago.  He seemed to have suddenly appeared in the system, with
the ship and enough money to acquire this relic left over from the war and to
establish his company.  We did manage to find out from docking manifests the
name of the ship… He calls it the Eternal Light ”. 
    Privately Miranda thought that it was a fitting name for
this beautiful ship, as the ship seemed to glow a silvery-white as it was
bathed in light from the stars and the small amount of light produced by this
system’s distant star.  The sharp pointed bow of the ship, smoothly elongated
body, which flared out into a pair of tapered wings that were obviously
required for atmospheric flight before ending in a pair of elevated aft tails. 
The entire ship reminded Miranda of a picture from Old Earth of a hawk in
flight.  A flight that it was Miranda’s job to end, permanently.  It seemed sad
to her that it was her responsibility to destroy such a thing of beauty, the
pilot she did not give a second thought to.  If he was stupid and arrogant
enough to turn down her employer’s offer then he would get what he deserved. 
Miranda did spare a brief thought to what it would be like to fly such a
magnificent ship but quickly turned back to her job at hand…
    “Is she armed?”  She inquired focusing her thoughts once
again on her job at hand after being briefly distracted by the beauty of the
ship.
    “Armed?” Mallart replied with a short bark of laughter.  “It’s
an old and very expensive courier ship.  Its job was to transfer VIPs
comfortably and quickly from one system to another, nothing more.  It’s not a
warship, my dear,” he concluded putting a heavy emphasis on the last word. 
    Miranda glanced at him with obvious distaste.  He had spent
the whole journey making unwanted advances towards her, frequently suggesting
that her advancement would be far more rapid if she was ‘accommodating’ to
him.  Miranda found the whole idea repulsive, the idea that he would use his
position to try and urge her to sleep with him.  Not the least that he was old
enough to be her father!  She was rather looking forward to the solitary
journey home in her own