Battlecruiser Alamo: Cage of Gold by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Published: 2015-11-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

 Salazar struggled to hold onto the reins of his horse, almost bouncing clear of the saddle as they rode along an old dirt trail, New Jamestown still a few miles away, the tops of the buildings coming into view. Foster was handling hers with enviable skill, and Astris looked as though he had been born on horseback. Harper, he noted with a little relief, was struggling just as much as he was, with the air of one who was looking for the manual override.

 “Can’t we walk?” he asked.

 “What’s the problem, Sub-Lieutenant, can’t you handle it?” Foster said. “This is great! I might move here!”

 “I’m with Pavel,” Harper said. “How do you control this beast?”

 Craning his neck to look back at them, Astris said, “We’ve got to blend in with everyone else. Horses are the way everyone travels out on the farms. Besides, I picked you the gentlest mounts I could find.”

 “How are you doing this?” Harper asked Foster. “You can’t have ever ridden before.”

 “Lots of historical VR sims when I was a kid,” she replied. “I guess they were as accurate as the designers claimed.”

 “Remind me to recommend horsemanship to the Academy when I get back,” Salazar said, panting for breath. “How long?”

 “Not much further,” Astris replied. “Maybe thirty minutes.”

 “Thirty minutes?” Harper said. “I might not last thirty seconds!”

 The group continued to ride across the land, Astris demonstrating the control and skill that the others, even Foster with her exuberance, lacked. Over time, Salazar began to get the rhythm of the ride, but muscles he didn’t even know he had were beginning to ache. Glancing ahead, he saw a group of jeeps riding past, bouncing over the dunes, a mix of soldiers and guardsmen heading off into the desert.

 “Where are they going?”

 “Patton Outpost, I think,” Astris said. “Your friend is getting quite an army gathered there. Once I drop you off, I’m going out there to take a look at the fun.”

 “You aren’t staying with us?” Foster asked.

 Shaking his head, he replied, “Too many people are too interested in talking to me, and I need to keep a low profile. At least until all of this is over.” He glanced to the side, at the jeeps, and added, “Show a little interest, but not too much. They look too busy to care about a few horsemen riding into town, but if you act suspicious, they might come looking.”

 They rode past the convoy, Astris even waving cheerfully at one of the drivers, who returned the gesture with a smile. The trail began to firm up as they raced past a farm, a patch of green struggling to rise from the palette of browns that made up the landscape. The flat, smooth trail became a rutted track as they progressed, the horses seeming to know where to put their feet far better than their hapless riders.

 Passing a pair of low, prefab buildings, identical aside from the varying levels of decay and the cracks in their walls, they sped into the outskirts of town, racing through an abandoned checkpoint to head down the main street.

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