Family Matters by S E Zbasnik

Author:S E Zbasnik [Zbasnik, S E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-05-23T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Flakes tumbled off the edifice masking the shuttle depot's original building, the crumbs of industry decorating Orn's head. He glared at the human who almost crushed his false hand in the midst of terror throes under atmo madness. Okay, maybe Orn spun some tall tales about how if you don't keep your head between your legs during an atmo break the universal translator in your ear canal will pop like a can of beans in the microwave. And then there was a bit about the tendency of giant air snakes to flit about in the wind's of the stratosphere, hungry for the meat inside the shuttles. All harmless stories to delight the kiddies through the doldrums of passing the rocky atmosphere barrier who did the same move 10 times a day, 253 days a year.

Marek's left eye still twitched as he tried to shake his leg into something approaching useable. His wife didn't say anything, letting Orn have his fun or perhaps she was saving her strength for what was to come. Virginand was not bad by 'desolate hell hole abandoned by any sane thinking species to the dregs' standards. Thick plumes of smog wandered the air like a teenagers looking for trouble, blotting out the flashes of green and orange sky with its encompassing grey arms. It was less roads that criss crossed the ground and more heavily padded dirt, smashed down by vehicles far taller than anything necessary. Specks of gravel dug up from their shallow graves under tire wells, but most were scattered ages ago and never replaced.

Still, a few tables leftover from the scraps of older tables dotted the café section of the city. A pair of Brownies sat at the only occupied one, sharing a slice of pie. The canopy snapped in the winds, mercifully low grade for the season. A scent, not unlike someone burning garbage and throwing sage on it to hide the smell, drifted on the high winds. Marek scrunched up his face to try and block the blast.

But there was one plus to the planet, she noted as the others adjusted with each incredibly bouncy step, the lower gravity kept things light hearted at least. "Right, okay, we landed," Variel said as she jumped a few inches into the air, trying to pace around her companions and coming to a reverberating stop. "Where to next?"

"Was I in charge of that?" Marek asked.

She wanted to say something cutting, but Variel turned at the pair of uniforms baring down upon them from behind the shuttle depot. The officers were identical, aside from one being five feet shorter and huffing to keep up with the gargantuan stride of her partner. But otherwise they had the same smug sense of superiority that marked all corps across the galaxy. "We have a problem," she muttered under her breath.

"Good afternoon," the dwarf said stretching her exhausted legs.

"Hello, Officer," Variel said nodding to first the ogre then the dwarf. "Is there something we can help with?"

"Seems we got a report that there's a Mr.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.