Read Online Warrior Chronicles 2: Warrior's Blood by Shawn Jones - Free Book Online
Authors: Shawn Jones
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allotment and freighter scheduling, Cort’s requests had priority. He seldom offered more than an opinion in other planetary matters, but when he did, he was afforded that same respect. So the first park on Mars would be at Aeolis. There was no more discussion to be had on the matter.
Keen moved on to the next topic.
--
An hour later Kay and Cort were in his quarters. Sköll was playing with Cort’s companion Zandra. Even their relationship was complicated. In public, they both stayed very close to their humans, constantly on guard. Once they were together in a room with humans they knew, they would groom each other and cuddle for hours. Other than Sköll, Zandra was the only wolf on the planet that had killed a human.
Two months after the battle for independence, Cort and Rhodes had been walking through the common area where Cort had killed part of the mercenary team. A female colonist approached them from behind and tried to stab Cort through his FALCON suit. The blade was useless against the carbon nanotubes of the suit, but before the men could even turn around, Zandra had crushed the woman’s throat with her jaws. Cort had insisted every wolf in the colony get meat from the woman’s body. “They need to know that we are an acceptable prey. It’s the only way they will defend themselves against us should it be necessary.”
After a brief investigation, Rhodes learned that the woman had been the sister of one of the men General Taps had sent to assault the Aeolis site. When he checked the colony rosters later, he found another twenty-one people who had been closely related to people Cort had killed. Most of those were loyal to the colony. Only one of them showed any desire for revenge. From that point forward, he was monitored closely whenever Cort was at the colony.
Kay watched the two wolves clean each other’s paws and said, “I miss John. More than I miss Clare’s father even.”
Cort sipped his coffee. “I do too. He and Clare were my first friends in this time,” Cort laughed, “Do you remember when you asked me to teach you how to fry bacon? The look on his face was priceless.”
“That was great. How was I supposed to know you had just fed a dozen men to the pigs? I didn’t think a human stomach could hold that much. He was so embarrassed.” Kay held her mug to her lips and said, “I think that’s when I realized I loved him.”
“He loved you the minute I carried you into the cavern. He was mad that I let you head brush against the plastic curtains. Some of your hair got caught in one of the zippers. He saved it. Put it in a little container. Always carried it around with him.”
“That was my hair?” Kay was surprised. I thought it was his late wife’s. I was never brave enough to ask him about it. Her eyes filled with tears.
“You should give it to Rand or Clare. They both knew and loved him.”
“Rand, I guess. Who knows when Clare will finally come here?”
They fell silent for a few minutes. A chime went off. Cort said, “That’s the new freighter. Why don’t you join me?”
--
Once the new module was in place and connected, Cort went inside and changed into his FALCON. Four security officers were on station. Two were at the terminal module’s airlock and two were at the new junction between the modules. The incoming freighter was already pressurized, which meant that there was some form of life on it, whether plant or animal.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Gaines. You have to wait here. No civilians are allowed into the terminal module,” a man in a nanotube suit like Cort’s said to her. The man looked over her head and saw Cort wink.
“It’s alright, Kay. I’ll stay here with you until the module is cleared,” Cort said.
Kay watched the procedure taking place at the other end of the module. A woman stepped out of the freighter and through a scanner. When she passed through it, Kay saw her face.
Keen moved on to the next topic.
--
An hour later Kay and Cort were in his quarters. Sköll was playing with Cort’s companion Zandra. Even their relationship was complicated. In public, they both stayed very close to their humans, constantly on guard. Once they were together in a room with humans they knew, they would groom each other and cuddle for hours. Other than Sköll, Zandra was the only wolf on the planet that had killed a human.
Two months after the battle for independence, Cort and Rhodes had been walking through the common area where Cort had killed part of the mercenary team. A female colonist approached them from behind and tried to stab Cort through his FALCON suit. The blade was useless against the carbon nanotubes of the suit, but before the men could even turn around, Zandra had crushed the woman’s throat with her jaws. Cort had insisted every wolf in the colony get meat from the woman’s body. “They need to know that we are an acceptable prey. It’s the only way they will defend themselves against us should it be necessary.”
After a brief investigation, Rhodes learned that the woman had been the sister of one of the men General Taps had sent to assault the Aeolis site. When he checked the colony rosters later, he found another twenty-one people who had been closely related to people Cort had killed. Most of those were loyal to the colony. Only one of them showed any desire for revenge. From that point forward, he was monitored closely whenever Cort was at the colony.
Kay watched the two wolves clean each other’s paws and said, “I miss John. More than I miss Clare’s father even.”
Cort sipped his coffee. “I do too. He and Clare were my first friends in this time,” Cort laughed, “Do you remember when you asked me to teach you how to fry bacon? The look on his face was priceless.”
“That was great. How was I supposed to know you had just fed a dozen men to the pigs? I didn’t think a human stomach could hold that much. He was so embarrassed.” Kay held her mug to her lips and said, “I think that’s when I realized I loved him.”
“He loved you the minute I carried you into the cavern. He was mad that I let you head brush against the plastic curtains. Some of your hair got caught in one of the zippers. He saved it. Put it in a little container. Always carried it around with him.”
“That was my hair?” Kay was surprised. I thought it was his late wife’s. I was never brave enough to ask him about it. Her eyes filled with tears.
“You should give it to Rand or Clare. They both knew and loved him.”
“Rand, I guess. Who knows when Clare will finally come here?”
They fell silent for a few minutes. A chime went off. Cort said, “That’s the new freighter. Why don’t you join me?”
--
Once the new module was in place and connected, Cort went inside and changed into his FALCON. Four security officers were on station. Two were at the terminal module’s airlock and two were at the new junction between the modules. The incoming freighter was already pressurized, which meant that there was some form of life on it, whether plant or animal.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Gaines. You have to wait here. No civilians are allowed into the terminal module,” a man in a nanotube suit like Cort’s said to her. The man looked over her head and saw Cort wink.
“It’s alright, Kay. I’ll stay here with you until the module is cleared,” Cort said.
Kay watched the procedure taking place at the other end of the module. A woman stepped out of the freighter and through a scanner. When she passed through it, Kay saw her face.
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