Outermost by Blaze Ward

Author:Blaze Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knotted Road Press

16

Valentinian

The doorbell ringing had Valentinian out of his chair, with a heavy flamer in his hands, and three steps away from the table before his brain engaged. Happily, the other three were only about a step behind him.

Unhappily, they all plowed into him from behind when he tried to stop. Somehow, nobody ended up going down the staircase face first in the process of getting halted.

“Good,” Valentinian announced, holstering his pistol. “Glad I’m not the only one a little too wound up.”

That generated a laugh.

“Dave, you get to the bridge and check sensors,” he ordered. “Kyriaki with me. Bayjy stay back at the bottom of the stairs to shoot anybody if they make it past us. Questions?”

A moment of thought, and then bodies exploded into motion.

Valentinian jogged to the aft airlock and flipped on the screen to show their visitor. He was assuming it was the man, returned with some message or update.

That or a deadly surprise as someone tried to rush the door. Which was why Bayjy had a plasma rifle in her hands. That sort of weapon didn’t require pinpoint accuracy, especially when someone had to come through a two-meter-wide hatch to get to you.

Valentinian was not prepared for the image that greeted him.

He was familiar with ostriches. There were a few planets in the Dominion where the creatures ran wild. Plus numerous zoos he had visited as a kid.

The person at the door was an ostrich. Sort of. In miniature, maybe.

About a meter tall, with long legs and a long neck. Short, stubby body in the middle. Beak instead of a mouth, long and heavy, coming down to a chisel point rather than slender like a hummingbird. Two big eyes with copper-colored irises were fixed forward, like a predator, rather than on the sides, like prey.

Dark brown feathers on his back and head, running a lighter brown on his neck before fading to cream on the creature’s belly.

It was an intelligent being. He (he?) wore shorts, spats, a bandolier, and a leather hat with goggles pushed up. Signs of technology, especially his pistol in a shoulder holster, if the being had shoulders. Stubby arms. Long legs.

The pistol was not in a feathered hand. So whoever it was wanted to talk, presumably.

“Dave,” Valentinian said into the intercom. “Is he alone?”

“Affirmative, Vee,” Dave replied. “Only two things moving are the guy leaving and the one at the hatch. And the first man is leaving. Just got past the point where we had our fun last night.”

“Good,” Valentinian raised his voice. “Opening the aft hatch.”

Kyriaki was several steps back and off to one side, mostly obscured by a hardsuit hanging on a rack. Valentinian figured he was safe with her covering things, so put his pistol away and keyed the hatch to open, stepping back at he did.

The system beeped politely and then opened.

The creature waited outside at a polite distance. He had an odd smell Valentinian couldn’t place. Brighter than cinnamon, but Valentinian wasn’t enough of a cook to

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