A ROGUE ON A FAWNING LAMB
A Resonics Short-Short
by
J. R. Calvo
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
J. R. Calvo
A Rogue On a Fawning Lamb
Copyright 2010 by J. R. Calvo
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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There are a few people I’d like to thank.
Kassie, for loving me, for giggling with me, for everything you do. Jon, for our myriad of late night sessions, random phone calls, and emails. Paul, for being a partner in crime before I knew my way, and for helping me live the dream. For your friendship and inspiration, I thank you. I'd also like to give a nod of gratitude to Jeremy, Rob, and all my fans on the Resonics Facebook page.
This story takes place a full ten years before An Officer or a Gentleman. This is one of a series of short stories I'll release to set the stage for the first novel of The Resonics Chronicles. Stay Tuned.
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A ROGUE ON A FAWNING LAMB
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LUCKY DURANT
525 AR
Lucky Durant sat and gazed into a campfire. He glanced up at the new recruit, Karl Hartman. Two days earlier, Karl had turned on his fellow paladins to defect to the rebels. A few of his former comrades had left that sendoff party in body bags. Lucky knew Karl's reasons, and they were good ones. But he also knew that fact didn't make Karl's defection any easier. Lucky awkwardly broke the silence, “You know, I wasn't always leader of the Rebels. Before I joined up, I lived for each take, each challenge. Sure, I only took from those who wouldn't miss out, or bastards like Senator Newman who carved up the world, but I was a mean kid. I ever tell ya how I ended up half-dead of thirst in the Thunder Fields before the old man saved me?”
Karl sat and stroked his two day scruff. He prodded and tended the fire with a deft hand and loosened his red soldier's coat as the fire took life. Like Karl, the coat was a bit faded, but its true color raged on. He spoke without meeting Lucky's gaze, “We're all gotta get mean sometimes to survive, Lucky. It's ok as long as the other guy deserved it. Or if he's a paladin, I guess.”
Lucky could see Karl didn't believe that yet said, “True, but that's the thing. I never did the math, just acted. I took what I wanted, and to hell with anybody in my way.”
Karl waited a beat, sighed, before he opened the floodgate, “So what happened that day?”
“Well it all started when I woke up in Avianna Newman's bed...”
“The Senator's daughter?” Karl looked up, choking back a laugh.
“Yea, yea. Then it got real interesting...”
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521 AR
Lucky Durant awoke next to the still-nude Avianna. He smiled at her soft murmurs. Lucky slid slowly out of the bed, his feet gingerly seeking the floor. He crept, quietly collecting and donning his clothes. Pants, shirt, coat. A quick check inside the coat found the Senator's military saber secured tightly. Not a bad night's work. Turning, he sauntered over to Avianna's dresser, a satisfactory trove of various baubles, trinkets, and a statue of a centaur, reared up, its hoofs aloft. He pocketed one particularly shiny brooch. Might as well have something to tip the doorman. Lucky returned to lean over Avianna, kissing her cheek softly.
Lucky whispered as he wove his escape story, “My love, I must be away before your father discovers me.”
Half asleep, she moaned, “Don't go, Lucky. I...”
Her thought and residual sleep were severed alike when the door crashed open, revealing one of the Senator's more zealous paladins. A less devoted man would have thought to knock. The paladin's eyes widened when he spotted Lucky. He opened his mouth to raise the alarm, but before he could, Lucky flung the blanket over him. While the paladin struggled with the unexpected missile, Lucky dashed to the dresser and snatched up the statue. It was surprisingly heavy. Lucky hurled the statue at the paladin just as he uncovered his face. The centaur took him right between the eyes, knocking him out cold. Senses primed, Lucky's survivor instincts kicked in. He rushed to the balcony door and opened it. He glanced over the edge and noticed - Oh, Hell, another guard, how many does Senator Newman have on the payroll?
Lucky turned back inside and looked to Avianna, now robed. Shame, that. In a sufficiently dramatic display he said, “Avianna, my dear, I must escape, but there are guards below. I need a distraction.” Shock dissolved as a mischievous grin crossed her face. Lucky watched in awestruck silence as she walked over to the unconscious guard and undid his pants.
Avianna gave him a triumphant smile. “Obviously, my love, he tried to rape me,” she said. The grinning face became afraid in a heartbeat as she said, “Be safe, Lucky.” With that, she gave the most blood-curdling scream Lucky had ever heard and sprinted from the room, “Daddy! The guard tried to rape me! Come quick!”
Lucky burst into a bewildered smile thinking aloud, “That's the kinda girl I'm gonna marry. But not today.” He ran to the window and inspected the grounds surrounding Senator Newman's mansion. No guards, woman works fast. One near-slip lowering down the wall and a jump down the last few feet brought Lucky to the ground. Just need to get outside the wall and I'm home free. He circled to the corner, glancing at the front, just in time to spy the senator storming out of the house.
Clearly disheveled, the Senator said, “Paladin, I want that man walking the sands of the Thunder Fields before this day is through. Is that clear? To think, one of my own guards! Unacceptable. I need to see to quieting Avianna; she's in a terrible state. Tell Tony to have the car waiting, I'll need Taranis' own speed to get to Parliament on time.” A crisp salute from the Paladin, and Newman was back inside.
The paladin grumbled as he walked to the garage, “Daughter gets attacked and all he cares about is being late to a meeting.” A moment later, Lucky watched him reemerge and return to his patrolling. Lucky looked about for the quickest escape. Damn, guards on the walls-I'll never sneak by up there. Suddenly, a smirk announced his new found plot.
Lucky waited for the guard to turn his back, then stole into the garage. A board quickly knocked Tony the driver senseless. Lucky tossed on the chauffeur's coat and hat. He pulled the keys from Tony's pocket and turned. There sat the Senator's hovercraft. Half limo, half armored tank.
Lucky thought aloud, “Wow, Newman takes no chances. All right baby, Take me for a ride.” A push on the key fob raised the hum of the hovercraft. Ok, do I jet now or take dear old Daddy for a ride? Sure, why not. It'd get me past the guards without alarm and I could even announce my intentions. Chuckling, Lucky jumped in the craft and dropped the sword and board on the passenger floor.
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A few minutes later found Lucky at the wheel of Senator Newman's ostentatious hovercraft. He drove through downtown, listening to Newman drone on about his speech practice, ad nauseum.
“'People saving people.' No, that's too dark. 'People helping people.'” Lucky rolled his eyes as Newman recited the same line in five different emotions, “Do your part to save our family. Oh, I like that. It'll yank at their heartstrings. What do you think, Tony?”
“Um, I think it'll hook 'em good, Sir.”
The Senator's grin melted as saw Lucky's face in the rear mirror. “Wait, you're not Tony. Where is he?” Newman inquired.
“Um, his kid is sick, Sir. Last minute replacement.”