Son of Orlan (The Chronicles of Kin Roland Book 2) by Scott Moon

Author:Scott Moon [Moon, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scott Moon
Published: 2014-06-19T22:00:00+00:00

PART THREE

Chapter Twenty-One

KIN sat next to Nander and passed him a skin of wine. He could tell the man had never seen anything like a festival. The People of Crater Town scarcely possessed enough food to last a week, but there were many streams of clean water at the edge of the cavern where the ancient armada rested.

“Why are they so happy?” Nander asked.

“Captain Raien is very popular. They’re glad she’s alive.”

Nander nodded. “Every army needs heroes.” He seemed to reconsider as he watched people play. Though it was a celebration, many men and women tended to mundane tasks in the midst of it all. Boys and girls carried water from the streams. Some of Laura’s more tech-savvy people salvaged what they could from the nearest ship and rigged lights on makeshift poles.

“Without training, I assumed they would be weak and afraid.” He paused, then turned toward Kin. “The shepherd can fight.”

“He can.”

“I admit that I tested him while you rescued Captain Raien. The contest was honorable. I could have killed him, but his courage impressed me.”

“I suppose you think I should thank you. Remember this, Nander, the next time you raise a hand against one of my people, you’re dead.”

Nander accepted the warning with a respectful nod, though he didn’t seem afraid. “Fair enough.” He took a pull from the wineskin. “These people would be useful as workers for the Mazz.”

“I’m going to pretend you are speaking hypothetically.” Kin stood.

Nander offered the wineskin.

“Keep it.”

Kin found Orlan performing maintenance on his remaining weapons. The trooper looked up, clearly annoyed.

“You may like running around in your skin, but I need my armor. What good does it do to escape Reapers and wolves if Salamanders burn us to ash?”

Kin sat on a stool near Orlan’s workbench. “What do you make of this fleet?”

Orlan finished reassembling his rifle and laid it down. “I’ve never seen ships like this, not even in history books. Yes, I can read, so shut your mouth. I recognize the markings. This had to be the first fleet Earth built.”

“A fleet no one ever heard of.” Kin stared at the closest ship as they talked. Laura’s team of scavengers hadn’t been able to get inside and settled for taking pieces from the exterior and the few storage bays where they found limited access. Crater Town people were expert at tearing ships apart. Salvage operations had been a crucial part of their survival since the Goliath went down, yet the bulkhead of this old thing couldn’t be breached.

“That isn’t the strangest thing,” Orlan said as he disassembled his pistol.

Kin waited.

“I’m sure someone has been here. Couldn’t find any tracks, but my gut tells me there was evidence of people living here until they cleaned up.”

Kin shivered. “I suppose it’s possible. Ships are designed for long space voyages. If the engines were warm, I’d almost believe people could be alive inside these things.”

“Possible, but unlikely. My bet is that a group like ours found this place and moved in.”

Kin gazed at the people of Crater Town.

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