High Mountain Hunters (Four Horsemen Sagas Book 5) by William Alan Webb

Author:William Alan Webb [Webb, William Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Seventh Seal Press
Published: 2020-09-07T22:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

Chapter 21

Nine Weeks Later

Planet Verrat, Najis System

The Sarpacaras called themselves Najjans, with the twin ‘js’ pronounced with two ‘h’ sounds, back to back. At least, that was how the translator said it. That translation came at the end of week four of an intensive language-swapping engagement between the two species. By the end of nine weeks they had identified more than 800 words, allowing for a complex exchange of information. Colonel Limbu had been closely involved in the process and had begun to recognize many of the words as they were hissed. When he tried to reply in that language, however, it only resulted in blinks, which he now knew represented laughs.

The Sarps—by then the name had stuck fast—were only a subset of Verrat’s dominant species. The ecosystem resembled Earth’s dinosaurs, with Najjans coming in all shapes and sizes and sharing only the basic shape of snakes. Some were herbivores, some carnivores, and others omnivores. The Sarps had adapted as meat-eaters with the ability to supplement their diet with certain plants and fruits, much like Humans.

Life teemed on the Earth-like world, and all of it seemed both familiar and distinctly alien. Mammals were everywhere, the Sarpacaras were mammals, but almost every species was a monotreme. They laid eggs, yet nursed their young. Unlike Terran monotremes, however, their body temperatures were higher than the marsupials and placentals. Insects and reptiles were much closer to their Earthly counterparts. From casual observation, the Gurkhas could tell no difference between Verrat ants and those from Earth.

Under a G star very similar to Earth, and not a binary star like so many systems throughout the universe, Limbu was surprised that such a planet as Verrat had never before been explored or claimed. He mentioned that to Kadal during a visit to inspect defenses at the starport and complex. The translator couldn’t filter out all of the Sidar’s sarcasm.

“The galaxy is very large, and your planet is insignificant, your scope of reference small. Outside of the guilds, many people in far galaxies don’t know you even exist. No one knows how many planets like this one that have yet to be discovered, but estimates range into the millions.”

Kadal meant the statement to be insulting and dismissive, and that’s how Limbu took it. But he’d been a politician too long to show anger and only smiled in response, hiding a growing suspicion there was more to their hiring than first appeared. Only when they were alone did he voice his doubts to Spokelse.

“If Kadal holds humanity in as much contempt as she showed me, then why are we here? Why does she trust van Owen?”

“Mercs are in short supply right now, boss.”

“Are they?” Limbu rubbed the half-inch beard he’d grown since they landed. “Is that throughout the galaxy, or only on Earth? Kadal told me we are insects in the overall workings of the Galactic Union, yet we are being paid as much or more than a veteran merc company would have gotten.”

“Maybe

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.