Rift Warrior: Depths of Tamil by B. V. Larson

Author:B. V. Larson [Larson, B. V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Iron Tower Press
Published: 2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Yasmin moved behind me when she saw all those staring eyes. “What do we do, Dane?” she breathed in my ear.

“I don’t think they’re coming out of those tanks. Let’s go join the fight—wherever it is.”

“I’m tired and overwhelmed…”

“Come on. We can sleep when we’re dead.”

Before we made it out of the maze of the lower labs and up into the colony complex itself, Patel started calling me. Cursing, I answered.

Squinting, I expected a new blast of invective—but I was surprised when he didn’t come at me that way.

“Tanner? Are you really with us—willing to fight to save the humans in this colony?”

“That’s my mission, Captain.”

“All right… I’ve decided to believe that—for now. Come back to the CC. I have another job for… for a man of your rare talents.”

So, I made a beeline for the CC, my mind already racing ahead, formulating plans and strategies for the fight to come. I’d deal with Nila and her drama later.

I strode into the command center with purpose, my combat boots thudding against the metal floor. The holographic display of Mount Vayu immediately drew my gaze, the massive peak dominating the room.

That damned volcano was a constant thorn in the colony’s side, always looming, always threatening. Even though it was the only high and dry ground on Tamil, it still seemed kind of crazy to put your colony base so close to such a dangerous mountain… Couldn’t they have built their modules on a bunch of platforms with stilts, or something?

Captain Patel stood rigidly before the display, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. He turned as I approached.

“Listen carefully, both of you. What you saw down there?”

“Down where?” I asked, trying to play dumb.

He showed me some stained teeth in response. “Down in the labs, funny man. The off-limits labs.”

“What about it?”

“What you saw down there stays down there. You don’t talk about it, and you don’t think about it, you don’t even dream about it. Understood?”

“Or what?” I asked.

“Or I’m going to put one of my best fighters in a cell, that’s what.”

I bristled at his tone. I didn’t like being told what to do. But I shut my big mouth. I knew how to pick my battles.

Yasmin, on the other hand, wasn’t so smart. “But why, Captain? Those experiments—”

Patel cut her off with a glare. “Those experiments are none of your concern, Rao. Your job is to follow orders and talk to XCU now and then. Nothing more. Just keep what you saw out of your reports.”

Dr. Singh showed up then—what a surprise. She stepped forward, her face a mask of cold fury. “I would suggest, Captain, that we take more drastic measures. These two have proven they can’t be trusted. Perhaps immediate imprisonment would be a more suitable response.”

Patel considered Singh’s words for a moment. Then shook his head. “No. We need every able body we have to fight the Reptili. Locking them up would be a waste of resources.”

He turned back to us, his eyes boring into mine.

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