Only Human by Reher Chris

Author:Reher, Chris [Reher, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Nerds Unlimited
Published: 2012-10-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Five days after the council on Coup d'Oeil, the Eagle brought Nova down onto the airfields of Deen. By unspoken agreement, this Magran city was frequented by Union personnel just as another city received Tharron's planes. Parts of the planet were eternally at war and not at all opposed to using the larger conflict between Union and rebel to their advantage. Corruption ruled the distribution of smuggled weapons on both sides and few of the main continents were unaffected by the ravages these battles wrought.

Nova arranged for the servicing of the ship by a trusted outfit that called itself Extra Spatial and borrowed a skimmer from the owner, soon on her way along the coast to where Tychon and his group waited.

She had hoped that the drive along the pretty countryside would ease her apprehension and the suffocating feeling that something dark and ominous hovered just over her shoulder. The lonely trip back from Targon had offered few distractions from the nagging sense of doom that had come aboard as soon as Colonel Carras had disembarked.

Although she had dreaded a two-day confinement aboard the small ship with the Colonel on the way back from Coup d'Oeil, it had been interesting. He used the time working on whatever it was that didn't concern junior officers but they had also spent hours poring over intelligence reports, contacting remote outposts, reviewing files about the more important rebel leaders and trading bits of non-restricted information with Tychon for as long as he was in communication range. Systematically, they eliminated a number of locations as being too remote or too inhospitable, sympathizers with too much at stake, governments too beholden to the Union to want to harbor a stolen Delphian child, for whatever reason.

Carras arranged to have Anders Devaughn placed under his command. Given Anders' position on Delphi, he would be able to monitor the movements of the Shantirs who had no means of leaving the planet without using the Union base. For his part, Jelani readily agreed that none of the Shantirs that knew of Kiran's design must know of his disappearance. If asked, he would maintain the fiction that Tychon still kept the boy hidden and refused to return him to the Court.

Carras had emerged from Tychon's cabin as they were approaching Targon, carrying his travel kit. He dropped it near the cargo bay door and came onto the main room.

"Captain," he said. "Please join me up here."

She left the cockpit. "There's not even time for tea. We're practically in orbit."

He shook his head and sat on one of the map table chairs. "I have to thank you for an enjoyable few days, Captain. Major Tychon is correct in his assessment of you and I'm glad to have you on my Vanguard."

"Thank you, sir. I've learned a lot from both of you."

He took his wrist array and sidearm from where he had left them on the map table and fussed with their adjustment. "I've studied you, too, over these past few days," he said finally.

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