Free Trader Complete Omnibus by Craig Martelle

Author:Craig Martelle [Martelle, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-22T22:00:00+00:00

The Villages

Brandt helped Lomen set a record getting through the rainforest. The sun was a welcome sight and a chance to take a break and graze. The great beasts walked side by side through the short green grasses where the Amazon met the Plains of Propiscius. Braden hoped that the King told the younger bull that this was the quickest trip ever. Lomen thought he’d failed when he’d actually shown incredible stamina.

G-War took the Wolfoids hunting. Loper and Sunny Day were unlike Bounder and Gray Strider. They didn’t have a desire to hunt. The ‘cat encouraged them, and as they demonstrated with their first kill, they were capable. Braden thought about it and agreed. Capable was all he needed. He wondered how good they were with their lightning spears.

The recharging unit they carried with them worked for their spears as well as his blasters. Once again, he was amazed at what the ancients could do, but appalled at what they actually did: kill each other.

Braden set up a small camp and prepared the fire while he waited for the others.

Zyena killed a ground squirrel and ingloriously ate it in two bites. She’d been practicing flying between the trees during the rain and was completely exhausted. After her short hunt, she perched on the buckboard of the wagon, remaining close to the human. Skirill’s last words to her was that Braden would protect her, even if it cost him his life. With thoughts of her mate to comfort her, she was soon fast asleep.

The Wolfoids dragged a small doe from the tree line. Braden made short work of cleaning it and threw thin strips on the heated rocks around the fire. They would cook quickly while he put the rest on a rough spit. He watched G-War meticulously cleaning his face after eating his favorites out of the gut pile. The Wolfoids flexed and stretched after the workout of running down the deer.

“That was your first kill, right?” Braden asked.

‘Yes,’ Loper replied. ‘I think the Golden Warrior takes a great deal of pleasure in the hunt. He made it easy for us. We are a little older than your average Wolfoid and don’t smell as good as we used to.’

“Are you older than Bounder?” Braden wondered.

‘Oh, yes, by a great deal. I’m afraid my only reference is the ship, so I don’t know how you count time. I only know that we were already mated when Bounder was born. We expect to see four or five more litters before our end comes.’

Braden could only guess how long it took to have a litter of pups. In human terms, did that mean four or five cycles of the seasons? That wasn’t long enough. Braden had just turned twenty-three cycles old. He thought in terms of forty or fifty cycles remaining and couldn’t grasp a shorter life span. He nodded to them as they seemed comfortable with the revelation. He looked to the Hillcat, wondering.

‘Don’t worry about me,’ G-War said into his mind.

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