Gladiator (Women of the United Federation Marines Book 1) by Jonathan P. Brazee

Author:Jonathan P. Brazee [Brazee, Jonathan P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Semper Fi Press
Published: 2016-04-11T22:00:00+00:00

MALIBU

Chapter 21

Tamara trudged back to her home. Swordmaster Abad had put her through the ringer, and she ached. She didn’t understand how he’d been able to keep up with her in the torture—wrist strengthening, he called it. He was unmodified, and she had been designed for this. Yet he’d been able to outdo her easily, even with her mameluke, which was designed for a gladiator-sized fighter.

She’d been back on Malibu for a week after Marta’s loss. The newlines were full of the story of New Budapest’s evacuation. Most experts doubted that it would be done in time, and no one knew what would happen then. The more dire predictions were that the Klethos would kill anyone left. More than a few politicians said that if that happened, humankind should go to war with the Klethos, full-out war instead of combat by champions.

That was inherently stupid, Tamara thought. The Klethos had wiped out planet after planet, exterminating at least two entire species. Anyone getting killed on New Budapest would be a tragedy, but moving to all-out war would be even worse. The UAM and almost all governments agreed that war was not an option, but a surprisingly high percentage of citizens thought war should be the only response.

Not that you will fight yourselves, Tamara thought. It will be the Marines, the Host, the Legion, and all the navies and armies that would be expected to fight for you.

There had already been one more challenge. Luckily, Wanda Quezon had won, so transport resources needed to get people off New Budapest had not had to be diverted to that planet.

Tamara reached her home and opened the front gate. The tulips lining the walkway to her front door were a nice touch. The groundskeepers tried to keep the villages pleasant as possible, and while Jonna had liked the peonies that had lined the walk for the last couple of weeks, Tamara thought the tulips, with their taller forms, were a better fit.

Too bad they don’t have an aroma. If they can genmod us, why not put jasmine in them?

She pushed open the door and entered the common area.

“Jonna, you here?” she called out.

The house was silent, which was surprising. Tamara’s training had gone on longer than normal, and Jonna should have been home an hour ago. Tamara dropped her kit in the laundry basket and pushed open the door to her room. . .

. . .and was drenched with water as a bucket bounced off of her head. No, not water. It smelled far worse. Tamara was afraid to imagine what was in it.

The sound of laughter reached her as feet scurried, if feet 40 cm long could scurry, towards the back of the house. Tamara bolted back out into the hall just in time to see Jonna and Elei’s backsides as they ran out the back door and into the garden.

“You bitches!” she shouted after them. “Just wait!”

She tried to wipe some of the water—or whatever it was—off her, but it was also sticking to her.

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