The Collected Lancer Volume 1 by Troy Osgood

Author:Troy Osgood [Osgood, Troy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781733856218
Publisher: Barking Fire Publishing
Published: 2019-03-25T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

Kaylia found it amusing that there were a whole race of people shorter than she was.

When she stepped out of the Wind’s hold, following the lowering of the cargo ramp, she smiled and laughed as the Storwo used maglifters to bring the first crates onboard. That didn’t last long as she came to truly understand the gravity of the situation when she caught sight of the crowd standing there in the wind and rain and watching, knowing that it was not them that got to escape a dying planet.

She was all business after that. I had her direct the families to the bunks on the upper level well I helped load and stack the crates. There wasn’t much for me to do really. Inhito had already done up a quick layout on his tablet, using the crates to form barriers and make little areas so people had some privacy.

How many times had he done this the last few months?

The last of the families assigned to the bunks, those with the youngest and most children, boarded the ship, a lone mother with four children. She kept glancing over the heads of the crowd and into the city. The kids were all crying, hugging each other, as she led them deeper into the hold. Kaylia ran over and the kids were all attentive. They had never seen a Thesan before. She let them brush her fur, pull at her tail, all while laughing her silent laugh.

Nomad’s Wind was filling up quickly. All the designated cargo was on board and almost all of the designated Storwo. I wanted to give them some time to get situated, to see if there was any way we could fit more of their people onboard.

Three Storwo guards, armored and carrying weapons, stood at the bottom of the ramp. One of them, rank insignia on his shoulder, checked everyone’s identification before they boarded the ship. I wondered how people were selected.

The crowd still did not react, just stood there. I stood at the top of the ramp watching them, they watching me.

It was a steady stream of people now. Some kids, but only one or two with their parents, mostly middle aged adults. No elderly, which in a sad way made sense.

“Thank you Captain,” one of the women said, stopping in front of me and holding out her hand, which I took. She was average height for a Storwo, bright purple hair cut short and eyes that matched. Not pretty but not ugly, somewhat plain. Friendly smile.

I nodded and she continued into the hold and I watched the rest of the people file in. They carried oddly shaped bags, filled with clothes and family heirlooms, important documents and all sorts of other things. In the past I’d seen some of the strangest things stuffed into a refugees bag. It was funny what some people found important. I didn’t understand it. I owned very little and most of it was packed away. If it was lost, I doubt I’d miss it.

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