Armageddon by Scott Jasper T

Author:Scott, Jasper T. [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Adventure
Amazon: B011PCBG9U
Goodreads: 25937446
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2015-08-24T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

The lift shot up a dozen levels before opening into a broad corridor. Therius strode out and Ethan kept pace beside him. On this level the passersby all wore jumpsuits rather than uniforms. A few of them eyed him in his white patient’s gown, no doubt wondering who he was. Ethan wondered the same thing.

Am I a clone or am I me? The difference felt vague and irrelevant now that he had already been cloned.

After a few minutes of walking, Therius stopped in front of a door on their left and waved it open. Inside the room were half a dozen double bunk beds and a handful of men. They were all half-dressed in undershirts and shorts. Glowing tattoos were everywhere; a few gold earrings dangled from ears, and they all looked like they had a habit of injecting hormones for enhanced muscle growth.

Conversations stopped. A pillow reached its target with a whuff, but both target and attacker froze in place, their eyes on him. A petite woman in a white jumpsuit stood out from the rest. When she turned to face him, Ethan saw that it was Atta. She placed her hands on her hips and regarded him with a look of displeasure. A black man seated on the bunk beside her turned to him with equal animosity. Ethan noticed that his face and neck glowed with green tattoos, and so did his upper arms. There were no less than five gold earrings in his ears. He looked like a thug.

Another man walked by, half-naked, busy brushing his teeth. He came to a hasty stop when he saw them standing in the open doorway. Thrusting out his hairy chest, he saluted and exclaimed, “Admiwal!” lisping around his sonic toothbrush.

“What’s he doing here?” Atta asked.

“He’s the Rictans’ new squadron commander,” Therius replied.

“Their what?” Atta burst out. “He just got here! He hasn’t even begun training!”

“He’s an excellent fighter pilot, and he’s already spent plenty of time in a Nova cockpit.”

“Even if that’s so, I doubt he has the commando training. How much time has he spent in a Zephyr?”

So this was a hybrid squadron. Ethan hadn’t actually spent any time piloting a mech, but how hard could it be? Nova pilots called mech pilots stompers for a reason. Piloting a mech was intuitive, but flying a starfighter was definitely not.

Despite his confidence, he was just as surprised as Atta that he’d been summarily appointed to be a squadron commander just a few short hours after he’d arrived.

“He’s done a kind of commando training,” Therius said. “He was a stim runner in the old Imperium and in the Null Zone, so he knows how to take care of himself.”

“With respect, sir,” Atta went on, “if you want Ethan to be in this squadron, don’t make him their commander. Make him their boot-polisher and see how he handles that first.”

Chuckles rippled through the room and a few appreciative hoots and whistles reached Ethan’s ears.

Atta was popular with the thugs… Interesting.

“That’s enough!” Therius boomed.

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