By eight o’clock, she’d been fed some leftovers and three more beers. She took a shower and came back out to the couch.
“You didn’t even try to climb in with me.”
“Nope.”
“Are you still angry? Even after bashing my head in?”
“Wasn’t me. We’ve got some big wombats out here in the swamps, you know.”
She snorted and slapped my arm. I ignored her and watched my tapper. I’d removed the wrapping to track Etta. She was already halfway to the sky-train station. She planned to try to make it to the gateway posts under Central. If they let her through security one more time—well, taking a step through the posts would transmit her to Dust World for free.
“I guess I’ll try to leave again,” Galina said. “As long as you can control your wombats.”
“Uh…” I said, thinking that over.
If Galina left now, someone might tell her about Etta’s exit. That was a longshot, but there was also the possibility she’d already figured out who had bashed her. All she had to do was report it, and Etta might be arrested.
“Hmm… maybe you should spend the night. Aren’t you a little intoxicated?”
She looked me up and down. “That’s how it is, huh? Your anger is gone now?”
“No, but I do feel a bit bad. You shouldn’t drive with a concussion, anyways.”
It took a while for us to reacquaint. It had been awhile, and there had been some bad blood between us. Fortunately, we’d always had a strong physical attraction to fall back on.
By midnight, Galina’s headache was gone due to the medical pack, and we were screwing like rabbits.
Afterward, I wondered about a lot of things as we rested in each other’s arms. I’d gotten a message indicating Etta had made it out to Dust World. That was good… probably.
A bootleg copy of Etta, plus Floramel and the Investigator. What would those three brains conjure up over time? Given the freedom to invent anything they felt like… the stars were the limit.
Late that night, my tapper began to vibrate. I was surprised, as I had all sorts of blockers on it. Only a few friends could get through.
Moving carefully so as not to disturb Galina, who sleeping half-on and half-off me, I checked to see who it was.
Carlos Ortiz. That’s what the caller ID said.
I winced. If answered now, I would not only wake up Galina, I would probably have to get an earful from Carlos about sleeping with her again. I shook my wrist, dismissing the call. He’d just have to wait until morning.
About a minute later, as I was dozing off, I remembered something: Carlos had said he was going to quit the legion. I’d kind of forgotten about that, what with the battles and reviving Etta and all. Feeling guilty, I quietly tried to call him back.
He didn’t answer.
Fortunately, Galina didn’t wake up—but now my mind was churning. I thought about Carlos, and about who would become the new tribune of Legion Varus, now that Galina was moving back to Central. I hoped it would be Graves, but I doubted it. The highest brass didn’t seem to want him to rise in the ranks.
Whoever it was, I hoped it wouldn’t be Winslade. The mere thought almost made me shudder.
Lastly, I wondered why I was with Galina again. She had to be the worst woman in my life—and that was saying something. Now that she was an imperator again, our relationship was technically out of regs. Not that such technicalities had ever stopped us before.
By the time I managed to start nodding off again, the old dead Skay we called the Moon had risen up to glow in the night sky. For everyone on Earth, it was kind of freaky-looking these days. We knew what it really was, and no one was happy about it. How was it that we’d all found it so romantic and enchanting just a few years ago?
Full and bright, the artificial corpse of our greatest enemy rode the night sky like an alien god. It made me hope I’d never see a living Skay again.
THE END
Thanks Reader! I hope you enjoyed GREEN WORLD the fifteenth book in the Undying Mercenaries Series. If you liked the book and want to read the story to the finish, please put up some stars and a review to support the series. Let me know what kind of world you’d like McGill to discover next!
-BVL
More SF Books by B. V. Larson:
The Undying Mercenaries Series:
Steel World
Dust World
Tech World
Machine World
Death World
Home World
Rogue World
Blood World
Dark World
Storm World
Armor World
Clone World
Glass World
Edge World
Green World
Rebel Fleet Series:
Rebel Fleet
Orion Fleet
Alpha Fleet
Earth Fleet
Star Force Series:
Swarm
Extinction
Rebellion
Conquest
Army of One (Novella)
Battle Station
Empire
Annihilation
Storm Assault
The Dead Sun
Outcast
Exile
Demon Star
Starship Pandora (Audio Drama)
The Star Runner Series:
Star Runner
Fire Fight
Visit BVLarson.com for more information.
