Gnamma (Abner Fortis, ISMC Book 4) by Piatt P.A
Author:Piatt, P.A. [Piatt, P.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Theogony Books
Published: 2021-11-30T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-One
Louâs voice came over the circuit.
âLucky, this is Lou. Bad news. All the medical equipment was stripped by the slavers. Howâs Cheese?â
Fortis swallowed and tried to speak in a normal voice. âHeâs gone.â
âDamn it.â
Bugs let out a ragged sob. Silence hung heavily over the circuit.
âDo you want to camp out in the shuttle or over here, boss?â Bender asked.
Cujo made a chopping motion across his neck. âWe canât stay here. If we wear the batteries down on lights and heat, we wonât have enough juice to get the engines started.â
âCujo says we canât stay here, so weâll make the move over there. Someone will have to come back for Bugs; his emergency exposure suit wonât hold up.â
âRoger that. Call when youâre close, and Iâll have someone standing by the hatch.â
Fortis looked at Cujo and Bugs.
âChange of plans. Bugs, Iâll give you my ECW gear and wait here while you three head over to Imperio. When you get over there, send my gear back here with Bender.â
Bugs looked at Cheese. âMaybe I should stay here.â
âNo. Youâre going over with Cujo and Lou. I need a few minutes of peace and quiet to think through our next steps, and itâs safer to be alone over here. DINLI.â
âDINLI, indeed.â
Bugs grumbled as he donned Fortisâ gear, but he did as he was ordered. By the time he was dressed, his natural ebullience began to emerge, and he managed to joke about fouling the ECW gear.
âIâll leave you a nice warm present in the seat of your suit, Lucky.â
Fortis chuckled. âThat wonât be necessary. A thank you will suffice. Before I forget, take a few cases of pig squares over there, too.â
As the trio lined up by the hatch, Cujo leaned close to Fortis.
âBody bags are in the medical compartment.â
Fortis nodded, and the trio left the shuttle. After they were gone, Fortis located a body bag in the medical compartment. After some awkward maneuvering, he got Cheese into the rubber bag and zipped it up. It was an unpleasant task, and he was relieved when he was finished. Afterward, he sat back and contemplated their situation.
The betrayal by Stoat wasnât a complete surprise. Cujo had recommended the bonus to head off the possibility, but the bonus might have caused his betrayal. Two million credits was a lot of money, even shared among the crew. Perhaps Stoatâs fear of being in Maltaani space finally outweighed his greed, and he lost his nerve. Still, the unidentified signal seemed to be evidence that Stoat had something planned when they sailed. In fact, Cujoâ
Fortis jerked like heâd been shocked.
Before they sailed, Cujo had claimed he didnât personally know Stoat, but during the transit it became obvious theyâd known each other for some time. Fortis frowned at yet another example of Cujoâs lack of candor.
What is Cujoâs game?
He pushed those thoughts aside. Whatever Cujo was up to, it could wait until they were back on Terra Earth, or at least off Menard-Kev. Rescue was his number one priority. The
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