Read Online Trial by Ice by Casey Calouette - Free Book Online Page B

listened with his eyes closed and watched the diagnostics flare across his vision. The shoulder was still a mess but for the most part all those nanoscale machines were coping quite well. Times like this he wondered why everyone just didn’t get full nanite sets. Then he remembered the loss, that itch of being known and apart.
    He’d heard the Midshipman mention Farshore once before, but this time it caught him. That place changed everything. Twenty years ago. He felt old.
    “Aren’t you cold, sir?” Private Aleksandr asked with chattering teeth.
    Sebastien turned his head slightly and debated just ignoring him. “No, I’ve got a reactor implanted.”
    “What do you feed it?”
    Sebastien pictured a tiny stove in his chest. “Thorium fuel. Nanite blocks. Occasionally tungsten.”
    Aleksandr nodded knowingly. “Is good.”
    Sebastien smiled a slight smile and nodded. “Yes, I guess it is.”
    “Why aren’t you leading this, sir?”
    Sebastien clicked his tongue and looked up to the lightband. “Private, I’m a Warrant Officer not a Command Officer. Mr. Grace has the command. If he requests my assistance, I’ll be happy to provide information.”
    “But—”
    “No. No buts,” Sebastien replied.
    “They don’t trust ‘em,” O’Toole said.
    Sebastien nodded. “Something like that.”
    Aleksandr snorted. “Trust you? Why wouldn’t they?”
    “They’re afraid he’d lead us normal men into the maw of hell,” O’Toole said. His tone was not spiteful, but reflective.
    Aleksandr looked between the two men.
    Sebastien stared into nothingness. He could think of no way to explain it. Bone was no match for alloy, but the spirit…
    O’Toole rolled over into a ball and went to sleep.
    “Hmph. I’d follow you.”
    Sebastien didn’t reply. A part of him wished he’d walked into the white. Another part worried how he’d get them out of the maw. He slept and dreamed of his youth.
     
    * * *
     
    The morning came quickly. The containers of melted snow were soon topped with ration bars which sunk into the thawing soup. Each man scooped out his share in a carbon fiber ration cup.
    Vito sipped his breakfast. William sat down and drank deeply.
    “And how did you sleep?” Vito asked.
    “I’m not sure I did. It felt like I closed my eyes and opened them again eight hours later,” replied William.
    Men around them nodded in agreement.
    “I dreamed I was on a boat.”
    “A boat?”
    “It was nice, it was warm, but a shark kept poking me.”
    William smiled slightly.
    “Then I realized the shark was Sergeant Crow jabbing his elbows into me.”
    Crow snorted. “He snores!”
    William was the first to venture out of the tent. The sky was a dim orange with a tinted fog basking above them. Crystals of ice had settled onto the tents. He stood in silence. The silence was so complete that he had to hold his breath, just for a second, to truly feel it.
    They broke camp as they had before. Kerry walked slowly to William and stood by his side. William could sense his guilt.
    “Could I get your help please Mr. Kerry?” William asked through chattering teeth.
    “Sir?”
    “My knee aches like you’d not believe. Would you help me pull on the sled with Sebastien?” asked William.
    Kerry turned and looked to Sebastien who was kicking the heavy sled free of the morning ice. “With him?”
    William smiled. “Yes, with him.”
    Kerry watched Sebastien slide the sled forward and helped Eduardo hook up the leads. “He doesn’t need my help.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong. Think he can do it all on his own? He’s not invincible, just tough.”
    Kerry looked back to William and nodded. “I’ll help.”
    “Good man! Go and give him a hand moving the wounded, we’ll start soon.”
    Vito walked over and stood next to William. “I see what you did there.”
    “Oh?”
    “Pair the weak with the strong without ruining his morale.”
    “Maybe.” William smiled back.
    The shelters were bound once more to the