Galactic Axia Adventure 1: Escape to Destiny by Jim Laughter Read Free Book Online Page B

met!” she spat out. “What are you going to do about the way she treated us, Robert?”
    “Exactly what I should have done long ago.”
    He pressed the starter switch on the vehicle and drove in silence to the post office. Once there, he asked the clerk for a special delivery Imperial packet. After paying for the packet and a tablet of paper, he returned to the car. He took his pen and wrote several pages of notes about the situation and the treatment they received from the social agency.
    At Robert’s request, Agnes took some of the extra paper and detailed their treatment by the agency. When they finished, Robert took the notes and sealed them in the packet. Addressing the outside, Robert went back into the post office and mailed the packet. Back at the ground car, he got in and sighed happily.
    “Where did you send the packet, Robert?”
    “Where it will do the most good, to the palace,” he replied and then told her the addressee.
    “She was certainly right when she said that further interference would have serious repercussions!” Agnes said with a smile.
    Inside the post office, the clerk placed the packet into a special canvas pouch. Soon it would be outbound on a journey that would not end until it landed in a certain red box.
    ∞∞∞
    Floating down the street, Delmar was still staring at his graduation certificate. He brought himself back to the present and entered a small cafe where he and the Hassels had agreed to meet. He ordered coffee and sat just staring at the certificate. Without him noticing, the waitress brought his cup of coffee and set it down.
    When the Hassels arrived, they found Delmar still staring at the certificate, a cup of cold, untouched coffee on the table. They quietly slid into the booth across from Delmar without him seeing them.
    “I see your exam went pretty well,” said Robert in a voice loud enough to break the boy’s concentration.
    “Huh?” was all Delmar could think of to say, noticing them for the first time.
    Delmar looked from one beaming face to the other and broke into a grin. He was still speechless when the waitress came over and Robert ordered for all of them. After she had gone, Mr. Hassel nodded to his wife and she pulled a small package out of her purse. Robert took it and handed it to the boy.
    “Here, son,” he said quietly. “We want you to have this.”
    Delmar looked at the package for a moment before unwrapping it. Inside was an old silver pocket watch. The inside cover was engraved with the words: From the boys of the 653rd unit to a fine trooper. Delmar looked up at the Hassels, his question written on his face.
    “I received that watch when I was released from my old unit after being badly wounded,” Robert said. “My injuries never healed correctly, and although I could have continued to serve on active duty, my limitations could endanger my unit in a critical moment. Rather than take that risk, I accepted early retirement.”
    Pausing a moment he went on. “The other troopers gave me that watch as their way of thanking me for keeping the faith and protecting their future. It was mine and now it’s yours.”
    When they finished their late lunch, Mr. Hassel looked at his watch and motioned Agnes and Delmar to the door. Robert paid the bill as they passed the counter. Soon they were speeding enroute to the Hassel farm and arrived in time for Delmar to walk home without his brother being suspicious. Mrs. Hassel had Delmar leave the precious certificate with them for safekeeping, and with a hug sent the boy on his way.
    “There he goes,” Robert said as he watched the boy start for home. “If our boys had lived, that’s what I would have wanted them to be.” Agnes came up behind him and slipped an arm around her husband. Together they watched until Delmar disappeared over the rise.
    ∞∞∞
    When Delmar came through the door of the Eagleman farmhouse, Dorn hit him hard from behind and threw him to the floor. He tried to kick the door