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There could be no mistaking his meaning, and I gestured for Tiny to comply. I could see Tiny's lips move almost silently as he gave the orders over the command circuit. In moments Lance appeared still dressed in his Gi from that fateful night so many days ago.

"T'gerr, I want only your best squad on the sands." I gestured compliance to Tiny knowing that the command would be relayed directly to the ears of who needed to obey. Silently, like the blowing of leaves on a still autumn day, the arena emptied and became surrounded by silent spectators. Except for the nine men still at attention and Lance, who was looking bewildered by what was taking place.

The Dukes orders boomed over the arena—"Teach him—lesson him! . . . Slowly!—But don't kill him… I'll kill the man who does; I want him after you have had your fun…"

The action down on the sands happened with bewildering speed. Lance waited quietly for the squad to approach him, possibly the white belt still wrapped around his waist, mislead them as to his skills. If so they were disabused of the notion in the twinkling of an eye. The first two grabbed Lance's arms to pin him, while the rest of the squad punished him slowly for their idol. With apparently no more effort that if he had two empty sacks in his hand, Lance picked up the two luckless "Ninjas'" and smashed them into each other. As they rebounded from the collision, their stunned bodies flew out as if they were bowling balls striking down anything in their path.

One-moment nine men were moving in for an easy kill, the next they were stretched out, moaning, on the sand and Lance was running with incredible speed across the arena. Several squads were directly in his path. It looked from up here as though a fifty-thousand-ton icebreaker ship had hit a thin ice flow at full speed—Lance crashed upon them and men went flying every which direction not even slowing Lance down an iota…

Lance made the first Balcony in an impossible bound. Then before anyone could really comprehend, he was on top of the wall. I saw Lord Rathsmor, an evil grin on his face, bringing a Disrupter to bear when I exploded into action. The Shuriken or throwing star flew so fast that it was no more than a screaming silver blur. Then all action stopped for an instant as it impacted dead center in Lance's chest, everyone saw the blood spurt—an impossibly huge splash glimmering brightly in the afternoon sun. Then slowly Lance folded up and fell backward off the wall into a deep gorge below.

The Duke had a smile on his face, not a happy smile but a frightening smile and he said, "Very good T'gerr. Dismiss your men." Again, I found myself arm-in-arm being escorted by Sir James. "I checked up on your Senior Secretary and found that I had to have his father killed because he was a spy. Although I have not been able to find any direct evidence to the contrary, his performance in the arena, I think, proves that he must have also been a spy. I am very proud of your quick thinking in stopping him—although I was looking forward to pounding him to a pulp—after my men had worked him over. It also removed any remaining doubts as to just where your heart and loyalty lay."

"Thank you, my lord." I injected, while my eyes looked adoringly up at his handsome craggy face.

Continuing as if I had not even spoken Sir James said, "Although if he had escaped over the wall, the results would have been the same. We don't know just what is out there, but anything less than a squad of Marines will never come back."

We were alone in my room when he pulled me tight against him. "Cynthia is all set up to take the fall, and everything is ready." He then kissed me soundly and whispered into my slightly open and panting mouth, "Let us seal our union now." He pushed me back until I could feel the edge of my bed pressing against my knees. I drifted into its embrace, just as I contacted the edge of the bed, James' Wristcom beeped insistently with a priority signal. "Damn," he snapped as he glanced at the wristcom. He then looked startled as if he did not believe his eyes. He held his arm up in front of his face so that he could use the virtual display capabilities to see the message as if what he saw would give lie to what he heard. "Till the twenty-third my love," James said, as he bent down and brushed his lips across mine. He turned and without explanation walked out the door, leaving me laying there, frustrated and exhausted—inches away from tears….

The following weeks went slowly. I sent out team after team into the wilderness beyond the walls, if they went further than a few miles, they never came back. I used up the Duke's Ninjas as if they were so much waste paper, to be crumpled and tossed in the garbage, but the story was always the same if you went under the trees you did not come back. To be sent down into the gorge was the equivalent of a death sentence. My deadline was fast coming on me. I had no choice but to focus on the coup. Therefore, we drilled until every Marine was at the peak of his or her performance.