Starship Honor (Honor in Exile Book 1) by Joshua James & SD King

Author:Joshua James & SD King [James, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

11

Bullfrog swam through the fog of heavy sedatives, climbing inch-by-inch back to something like clear-headedness. Everything was colors and flashing lights intermittent with long periods of warm darkness, like being back in the womb. He tried to resist the urge to climb. Part of his brain was happy here, though maybe happy wasn’t the word: more like utterly relaxed, like all tension had left the muscles of his body, from his toes to his tongue. But another part of him swam upwards towards sound and light. Then, finally, with no small amount of regret, his eyes opened. Standing over him were Captain Masters and Lieutenant Commander Black Wolf, along with Dr. Maxwell.

“Can you hear me, Sergeant Khan?” Captain Masters asked him.

“I take it I’m not dead.”

“No, you’re not,” Maxwell said. “Although you gave it your best shot.”

“I live to overachieve, doc.”

“You’re a hero, son,” Masters said with enough conviction that Bullfrog almost believed he meant it.

“Just glad to be alive, sir,” Bullfrog said.

“We hate to disturb you, but we want to see what kind of shape you’re in.”

“If you’re asking me to go out drinking, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to pass.”

“Sergeant, I believe you need several more days of recuperation,” Maxwell said. “But the captain and lieutenant commander Black Wolf have requested that we see if you’re up for an important job.” He gave a less-than-gracious glance over his shoulder.

“So, no drinks then?” Bullfrog asked.

Maxwell scowled but the captain couldn’t hide the beginnings of a smirk. He was growing on Bullfrog.

“Maybe afterward, Sergeant,” Masters said.

“I’ll hold you to that, Cap. So, what’s up?”

Masters looked to Black Wolf, who now spoke. “While you’ve been unconscious, we’ve located a damaged Nazuc vessel floating in space.”

Bullfrog whistled. “Nice. Gonna strip it?”

“That’s the plan,” Black Wolf continued. “But we have a problem. The captain suspects that it might be booby-trapped.”

Bullfrog suddenly sensed where he was heading with this. “You’re not suggesting—”

“You’re the only Marine on this ship with expert training in finding and dismantling that sort of thing,” Black Wolf concluded.

“That was pretty much a century ago, sir,” Bullfrog said. “Before the elephant sat on my chest, anyway.”

“I realize that,” Black Wolf said. “If I had any other options, I assure you I’d pursue them.” He shrugged in that way that so annoyed Bullfrog. “But we simply don’t.”

Bullfrog bit his lip. As far as he was concerned, Black Wolf was an ass-kisser who thought he was too good for the old ship. But the man didn’t pull punches and Bullfrog could respect that. He meant what he said.

Bullfrog made up his mind and nodded. “Where is it?”

“We’re pulling it alongside the ship, although at a safe distance for the moment. We need to clear it and load it onto the flight deck before any other Nazuc show up.”

Bullfrog, whose brain fog was clearing, pushed himself up in bed. Before this moment, his past training had mostly been a source of humor amongst the rest of the crew. He was the near sucker who’d almost gotten himself assigned to high-risk military duty.

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