Chimera Company Season 1: Rho-Torkis (Chimera Company Boxed Sets) by Tim C. Taylor

Author:Tim C. Taylor [Taylor, Tim C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Human Legion Publications
Published: 2019-05-20T22:00:00+00:00

VETCH ARUNSEN

What was up with Enthree lately? Vetch pulled at his beard braids trying to figure out the bug. Ever since that encounter with the vampire cult of phony jack-heads, she’d been sticking close to Meatbolt. The lad had shrugged off the weird encounter, but the Muryani was acting like a mamma bear with a wounded cub.

Aliens! They fascinated him. But he couldn’t make sense of them most of the time.

Vetch took another bite of his pie, mopping the gravy off his whiskers with the back of his sleeve. Delicious. And seeing as the alien didn’t need to eat...

“Enthree,” he called. “Relieve Green Fish, will you? She deserves some of this food.”

The big insect twisted her body around and with slow deliberation rotated her head ninety degrees to the left... and kept going until her face was almost upside down.

Please, Vetch, don’t make me do this. I’m begging you.

He thought that was what she meant. Admittedly, his insect-to-human gesture translation wasn’t perfect, but she was definitely not thrilled by his assignment.

Vetch sucked in his lower lip. He’d have to fix Enthree’s sudden attachment to Meatbolt, but there were higher priorities today.

“Belay that,” he said. “Darant. Finish your page and your dinner, quick as you can. Then relieve Green Fish. It’s your turn to look after some beasts. I’ve got my hands full with Enthree and Meatbolt. At least the beasts in the stables are broken in.”

Meatbolt laughed, but Darant didn’t. He lowered his book and stared at Vetch as if considering the worthiness of his request.

Damn! Forgot I’m no longer sergeant.

Everyone but the lieutenant acted as if Lily and Vetch still ran the squad between them, just as they always had.

Darant nodded. “Give me two minutes,” he said, easily enough, but the challenge had been made.

The trooper held his book close to his face with one hand while shoveling in hot pie with the other. Before he finished, though, Lily and Sward burst in.

Vetch knew immediately there was trouble.

Lily took a moment to give him the highlights in a whispered report before hurrying over to the door with the sign that read ‘Reserved for private use’ in several languages.

She left Sward in her wake, staring at Vetch with arms crossed.

“Lily says it’s time for answers,” the Zhoogene told him. “So do I.”

Vetch downed his beer while looking longingly at his half-eaten pie. “Guess Lily’s the boss now,” he said, wrapping his food in a napkin and stuffing it into a fold of his coat. “Everyone! Grab your gear and meet in the stables. Now!”

This time there was no resistance from Darant. They all followed him out into the shocking cold of the sheltered path that led to the stables. After a moment weighing the risk of removing the sentries, he also summoned Deep Tone and Rynter from the shadows. Together they pushed open the insulated double doors to the barn.

It was a different world inside, the cold replaced by – well, not exactly warmth but a welcome sense of shelter.

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