The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff

Author:Tanya Huff [Huff, Tanya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101657829
Publisher: Penguin Group US

TEN

“You’re sure?”

“Werst recognized the language. The Others used bugs when they took Drenver Mining Station; Werst was there.”

“Okay, have them hold just to this side of the vertical. Secure the entrance to the shaft and establish perimeters in the passageway; we’ll regroup there.”

“Roger, Staff.”

Torin pulled her slate free and, one-handed, thumbed in the next level of the map. “And why am I not surprised,” she muttered, switching to group channel. “Werst, take a quick look at the map from the bottom of the vertical.”

“It’s changed.”

“Yes, it has.” Instead of an essentially straight path, they now had options. Several corridors. Cross corridors. Chambers. Access…tunnels? Galleries? Shafts? Whatever the hell they were called, they were registering as about a meter square. “This isn’t the interior of Drenver Mining Station, is it?”

“No.”

“Good.” Because they’d lost at Drenver. Not badly, 2nd Recar’ta, 1st Battalion, Delta Company had managed to rescue most of the station’s workforce and not lose many Marines doing it, but the Others had taken the station. And still held it. Torin assumed it was on somone’s list of things to get back. Trouble was, the bugs were good in enclosed spaces and—although they’d have to strip off most of their gear in order to fit—they could move like shit through a H’san in passages a meter square.

“Johnston, Heer, I want you to replace me and Frii on the captain’s stretcher.” The thought of the height difference brought a reluctant smile, but if there were bugs around they needed to free up as many weapons as possible and carrying the captain in comfort took a backseat to winning any potential firefights. Although the youngest on the team, the di’Taykan scored better than both the engineers in combat skills and she needed to be free to move around. The moment one of the engineers arrived, she’d make sure the civilians—a particularly shrill bit of Katrien conversation bounced off the walls and around the inside of her skull—didn’t give their position away.

“Harrop, keep your Tailends sharp,” she added, taking another look at the map. “The way this bastard layout’s changing, the bugs could end up behind us.”

“Roger, Staff. How the hell you figure they got in here in the first place? You think Big Yellow could be an enemy ship after all?”

“No. I don’t.” She could hear the entire team waiting for her response. “We all know their tells and we haven’t seen any of them—outside or in. As to how the bugs got in here,” nodding her thanks to Johnston, she handed over her arm of the stretcher, “that, people, is not our problem.”

* * *

“All I can say is, it’s about time!” General Morris stomped into the small ready room off the Combat Command Center and rocked to a stop, face flushed, in front of Captain Carveg’s desk. “You have a situation here, Captain, and I very much resent being kept out of the loop.”

“You’re in the loop, General. All the main monitors are linked through to your office and you’ve been kept informed of any developments.

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