Blue Force (Drop Trooper Book 12) by Rick Partlow

Author:Rick Partlow [Partlow, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2023-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

14

“These suits you’ve built,” Zan-Thint said, standing behind my office chair, hands clasped behind him. “I would know what you expect to use them for.”

He wouldn’t meet my eyes, staring instead out the open door into the training field where the new Vigilante company was finishing up its last training cycle. There’d be a graduation in a few days and I was supposed to be a part of it, though I hadn’t even started thinking about my speech. Having to not just give speeches but write them out beforehand was the strangest thing about being in command.

Nothing had happened during the first shipment of Vergai to the Island World, though we were still running patrols at night, and apparently that hadn’t gone unnoticed. I can’t say I was surprised when I got the call from Zan-Thint asking to meet me, though I had been a little shocked when he’d agreed to come to my office rather than forcing me into the pilgrimage to the fortress again. He was worried.

I watched him, seated comfortably behind my desk for once, and wondered how long I should make him sweat.

“What you’re asking,” I corrected, “is whether I intend to leave the suits behind when we go.”

Turning from the doorway, the Tahni commander glared at me.

“Yes, that is what I’m asking,’ he growled. “Because I won’t allow it. Even if it means open war between us.”

That was very direct of him, which I appreciated. And about what I expected. I thought about being coy in return though, keeping him guessing, but given that I wanted to ask him for a favor, I decided against it.

“The armor is going with us. We’ve lost pretty much half our company since we came here, which leaves us vulnerable.”

“Vulnerable to what?” Zan-Thint demanded. Lan-Min-Gen was stationed just outside the open door and I noticed him shift slightly, checking inside to make sure nothing was wrong. “The Skrela are gone and you’ve declared your intent to leave this place, to return to the Cluster once the gateway construction is complete. What threat do you face?”

Besides you, I amended for him silently.

“No more Skrela can be produced,” I corrected him. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t any floating around, waiting to ambush any Transition Drive signatures that come near. If we get some stragglers here before we’re ready to leave, I don’t want to get caught with my pants down. Not to mention, Dwight told us he isn’t even certain where in the Cluster we’ll come out, given the way we’re cobbling the thing together out of spit and bailing wire. He could drop us right in the middle of the Pirate Worlds.” I hesitated, wondering if I should bother to mention the next part, but in the end, I figured it would make the explanation more believable. “And honestly, General, I feel guilty.”

“Guilty about what?”

“Leaving them all here. They don’t belong out here and they’re in a bad position. If I could, I’d take all the Vergai back to the Cluster with us.

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