Mike v2.0 (A Firesetter Short Story) Read Free Page A

on
the ball. Are you up for a ride in space, buddy boy?”
    Normally, I would have been up for anything.
Normally, a trip across the stars to the neighboring system of
Rozari would have thrilled me beyond measure, especially since I
had never left the planet Rehnor. Frankly, I had never left my
future kingdom of Mishnah. In fact, I had hardly ever emerged from
the palace gates, except to go play baseball, which of course, was
how I ended up here.
    However, at this particular moment in time, I
wasn’t certain interstellar travel with my grandfather was the best
idea.
    “You had better ask my mom about that,” I
advised. “She trusts the doctors here.”
    “We won’t tell her,” Steve announced, pushing
back his chair and shuffling to his feet. “Be ready to blow this
Popsicle stand in the morning, kiddo. You and I are going for a
ride.”
    “Wait Steve!” I started to panic as I realized
Steve might actually want to go through with this plan. If he
intended to break me out of here and take me to Rozari, chances
were, he would. I imagined my mother and father arriving for a
visit in the morning, only to discover my hospital bed empty with
no trace of where I had gone. “We can’t just leave without
telling.”
    “Why not?”
    “My mother is the Empress Sara. You have to
ask her permission for everything, especially when it comes to
me.”
    “Bah! Empress schmempress. Her bloody empire
is the size of my big toe. Back in my father’s day, we ruled half
the stars in this galaxy.”
    “I know. I know.” Back in the Great Emperor’s
day, everything was always so much better. “She’s my
mother.”
    “So? She’s my daughter, or at least I think
she is. I can’t remember if we ever did genetic testing. She could
be totally somebody else, although that wouldn’t explain why you
look so much like my old man.”
    “Still, Steve. We had better ask.”
    “Are you going to be a king or a princess,
Mikey? Come on, boy. Where’s your spine? Did your mother take it? I
bet she locked it in the same box with your dad’s. You’ll probably
find his balls in there, too.”
    Baseballs?
    “I’m not ready to be a king, Steve. I’m only
eight years old.”
    “That’s irrelevant. King training starts at
birth, or at least it should have. Back when I was your age, my
father had me—Ach! You don’t want to hear about all the hell I went
through. Don’t worry about your mother. I’ll call her when we get
there. We’ll get you fixed up and be back in time for your next
baseball game. Ha ha! Unless you want to stay and do some
sightseeing. How about a little vacationing while we’re there? I
can take you to the beach. I know a great one where the sand is
pink.”
    “I don’t know, Steve.”
    “Come on! It’ll be just you and me, Mikey-boy.
It’s about time you had some real family bonding with your old
gramps. I’m not going to live forever, you know. I got the short
end of the stick in the gene pool and ended up totally mortal
unlike my old man. See you at oh-six-hundred, bright and early,
kid. Be ready to fly.”
    “Wait! How are we going to get there?” I
called as Steve’s footsteps took him to the door. There weren’t any
spaceplanes around these days.
    “Ha ha!” Steve chortled again, and although I
couldn’t see it, I imagined he was waggling a finger at me. “You
just wait. I have another trick up my sleeve that involves an old
spaceplane and an old Imperial SpaceNavy pilot, who just happens to
be Moi.”
    “Oh no,” I muttered aloud.
    “Oh yes,” he replied as he left the room.
“I’ve still got it. Like riding a bicycle, junior. Flying a
spaceplane is something you never forget. Hey ya, dollface! How’s
about you check out my blood pressure. I can tell it’s rising at
the sight of you.”
    “Oh, Sir!” some nurse giggled, just as my door
slammed shut.
    “Oh no,” I sighed, hoping that by morning
Steve would have forgotten all about this.
     
    That night, at least I think it was