Then they could record each other being torn to pieces.
When the Elan courier ship landed Linda expected the ghoul hunter to come in for a moment to be briefed on the situation. Linda wanted to thank him personally for coming, to hold his hand, to look in his eyes, to bless him before he went to his death. He jumped out of the Elan courier ship and talked to an Imperial Trooper for a moment. Then he ran for the entrance to the mine. He ran. The Emperor's personal guard had marched in grimly, every eye alert, every muscle tensed, every hand ready. He ran.
There were only fifteen hours until planetary collapse. Linda was glad he ran. The hours went slowly by. There was no hope. The ghoul hunter was almost certainly long dead. Three long hours went by. Why did Linda bother? Linda was busy coming to terms with never seeing her father again, never feeling her father's arms around her. Never giving her father her biggest, brightest smile because Linda loved the smile her father always gave back.
◊As I got out of the courier craft I ignored the mobs of event recorders being held back by lines of Imperial Troopers. I had been told about the eruption of ghouls that had killed virtually everyone in the Lindle ruins. The Emperor was still in the safe room and if I could get him out of the mine before the gloride deposit’s collapse destroyed the planet, the galaxy might still be spared the Baronies of the Son’s of Shonlin and the Empire of the Lan-Thu going to total war. I grabbed one of the Troopers and made certain that I understood the markers that led to the safe room. Then I ran in the mine. Every time I met a ghoul my ability would take over and use my body to kill it. When I would regain control of my body I again started to run for the safe room. I didn’t even try to keep count of how many ghouls I killed. There seemed to be an endless supply of them. I didn’t have time to be afraid. I filled my mind with thoughts of how many people would die in the war that the Emperor’s death would cause. I went around a bend in the tunnel and saw the entrance of the safe room in the distance.
The men in the safe area saw me at the end of the hallway. A ghoul moved in front of me to block my path. My ability took control and used my body to kill it. As the ghoul fell down I regained control and walked around it. The men just stared at me. They must have lost all hope when the last of the Emperor's Guards had fallen just feet from their enclosure. I smiled at them.
“Could you gentlemen please open the gate?”
They didn't move.
“Please open the gate!”
They still didn't move. Two ghouls came around the corner, snorted, and charged. The men sprang into action. The gate opened, I was pulled in, and the gate closed just as the ghouls smashed into the bars.
I looked around. The six elderly men were the archaeologists. The last man, twice my age but half theirs, was the Emperor. I pointed to the audio sender that was hard wired to the surface. “Does this still work?” One of the elderly men said it did. I knew I had to be gentle. I know they have been under a great deal of strain. Still, they were alive and a great many other people were dead. If I didn't get the Emperor out of here, millions, perhaps billions more will die. I closed the link and talked into the sender. “I am here. The seven gentlemen appear to be undamaged. We are heading for the surface. Nesslun, Done!” I then picked up a large rock and smashed the box.
“Water bottles only. It’s a long walk home,” I told them.
All seven of them picked up their water bottles and strapped them on their belts. They then picked up satchels and papers and other personal belongings. The Emperor picked up a small, delicate piece of art. Its beauty touched me deeply. I could understand why the Emperor held it so carefully.
“Water bottles only gentleman,” I told them as I tried to catch the eye of each one.
They all put down their belongings, except for the Emperor who stared straight ahead still clutching his prize. I grabbed the piece away from the Emperor and hurled it to the floor smashing it into a million pieces. Anger flashed through the Emperor's eyes and he raised his hand to strike, then the Emperor to half the galaxy came back. “Was that really necessary?” the Emperor asked calmly.
I smiled. “Yes it was. You are going to need both hands for the trip back and I need your full attention.”
Smashing that object seemed to bring them all back. I tried to put more iron in my voice than I felt. “Now listen carefully, especially you your Majesty. You’re no Emperor of mine and down here I am in charge. I say move, you move! I say stand still, you stand still! Everyone else listen to me. If we don't get back nothing much changes in the galaxy. If the Emperor doesn't get back the Empire and Baronies will almost certainly go to war and there are no shortages of renegade fleets that will take advantage of the confusion. Whole worlds will be made lifeless, billions will die. The Emperor has to get out.
“I can't be everywhere at once. If I am killing a ghoul on one side of us and a ghoul charges at the other, I expect one of you to jump into the ghoul’s arms rather than let the ghoul harm the Emperor. If I find out that one of you let the Emperor get killed, what I will do to you will make what the ghoul would have done to you look like a lover's embrace.
“If I am fighting, stay out of harm's way, but stay close.” I handed each man two fist sized stones, one for each hand. “Use these if a ghoul gets too close. Throw a stone at the ghoul. You won't stop it, but you might slow it down long enough for me to get there. Do not throw a stone to help me! I don't need help with ghouls. Do not throw a stone at any ghoul that’s anywhere near me! I am much more worried about one of you cracking my head open with a rock than I am worried about any ghoul. Stay close. If I do go down, run like hell. You might make it. But remember, the Emperor must make it out and I might not be dead.”
We opened the gate and stepped out of the enclosure. Two ghouls charged us from out of a side corridor. The Ride took control and I became a powerless spectator in my own body. My body killed the ghouls and I was in control again. The men looked at me, then looked at the ghoul corpses, and then looked at me again. “Come on,” I said.
The men carefully stepped around the ghoul bodies. The ghouls didn't look dead. One of the archaeologists nudged a ghoul body with his shoe. He then gave it a good solid kick. Then he was kicking the ghoul with all his might. “Stop it,” I told him. “You are going to need all you're energy. It's a long walk home,” I said as I started off at a brisk pace.
When someone would lag behind, I would drop back and give them a sharp slap on the butt. It worked with horses; it seemed to work with eminent archaeologists as well. One time I felt the Emperor needed a swat also. Fortunately, he saw me coming and increased his pace. Yelling at an Emperor is one thing, spanking one quite another.
Killing the ghouls became routine, requiring only a few seconds per ghoul. Most of the ghouls were badly smashed up and they all were bleeding. The Emperor's guardsmen had not gone down easily. The floor was thick with blood, both human and ghoul. Someone was always falling and I would have to stop and help him to his feet again. We didn't have time for this. I wasn't worried about planetary collapse; the burst of radiation preceding it would kill us all.
The Emperor fell only once. I hoisted him up by his collar. The look he gave me did not bode well. I almost certainly would see the inside of the Emperor's dungeon. Oh well, at least it's bound to have less blood on the floor than down here. How much less I didn't care to speculate.
At one point one ghoul attacked from the front and at the same time one ghoul attacked from the rear. I was at the front and after my body killed that one I regained control. I ran to the rear as quickly as I could. The other ghoul was already tearing apart one of the archaeologists. I kicked the ghoul away, and when the ghoul came roaring back The Ride took control and my body killed the ghoul.
