Fragments of a Chain by Meyari McFarland

Author:Meyari McFarland [McFarland, Meyari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Meyari McFarland

12. Comms

Damnedest thing about the whole situation was sitting in Vrrana's office, on the floor, with Mohana calmly leaning against her shoulder as Vrrana whined and snarled and snapped at a holographic screen that looked like they had a window between them and a batch of Drath on another world. Somewhere.

Really odd batch of Drath. There were big ones like you saw on the net, fierce and rough coated with short sharp ears. But also graceful skinny ones whose necks looked barely strong enough to hold up their heads. Long narrow bodies and faces and fur nearly as long as Tiyamike's forearm. Plus a short stubby little Drath with an age-bleached muzzle that looked for all the world like a terrier, complete with a bouncy little thing as he snapped and snarled and tried to talk over everyone else. Wouldn't have thought that they had that many different looks. But of course they did. Humans didn't look alike, even baseline humans with no genetic or cybernetic modifications, so why would Drath?

The one that made Tiyamike's stomach curdle with fear was the one with a jaw line half again as long as the others, fangs that looked twice as vicious and eyes the color of fresh-spilt blood. She sat, perfectly still, staring at Tiyamike and Mohana. Didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to the other Drath at all.

"Enough," the blood-eyed Drath said, mild as milk.

Yet every single other Drath, Vrrana included, instantly snapped their jaws shut and tucked their tails tight against their bodies. Vrrana's tail trembled so bad that Tiyamike frowned. Blood-eye there was the real leader. Or maybe the executioner. Hard to tell. She didn't know enough about how Drath society worked to be sure.

"How long do you have?" Blood-Eye asked.

"About ten hours, forty minutes now," Tiyamike said. "At the outside. More likely less than that."

"I have agents in the area," Blood-Eye said, flicking an ear when every single other Drath glared at her, except for Vrrana who whined and curled up on the floor with her paws over her muzzle. "You did direct that I should track down who is behind this nonsense. Baseline humans ought not be subject to Altered Human dominion. We agreed."

The snarling and snapping started up again but this time there was a frantic edge to it and all Vrrana did was sit there and whine, tail trembling against her side. Took grand total of two minutes before the discussion ended and Blood-Eye nodded firmly.

"You can expect my team to be there within the next five minutes," Blood-Eye said. "They will assist you in whatever way you require."

"We ah, had planned on assassinating the top six most important people on Melin," Mohana said and then rolled his eyes when Tiyamike elbowed him. "I would not wish to draw them into something they did not feel comfortable with. I happen to like being alive. And I suspect attempting to get them to cross lines they do not wish to cross would mean my death."

"True

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