Ragnarok: Colonization, intrigue and betrayal. Andrew Claymore (primary phonics books .txt) đ
- Author: Andrew Claymore
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But Ragnarokâs starhad moved to drench him in its rays once more. He was at least twolong strides away from the shade. His bundle of stakes were justwhere heâd dropped them.
How long was I standing here?He looked over to the next rows where Trish, Vikram and Terry wereworking. They were all breathing heavy, looking around in shock.
âThat wasweird, right?â Terry asked. âIkind of feel like that was weird.â
âIt was weird,âTrish said.
âShould we headback?â Terry asked.
âWeâre almostdone.â She squinted up at the sky. âStill time to finish and itseems like whatever that was⊠itâs gone now.â She pulled out astake from her bundle and drove it into the ground. âIâdrather finish now than have to come back again later.â
âSeriously?â
Sheturned to face him. âWeâre making a home on an alien planet. Ifwe stop and run for home every time something âstrangeâ happens,we wonât get much done.â
That got Frank moving.He picked up his bundle. It was still next to his feet, proof that hehadnât moved back into the sunlight.
They managed tofinish in less than an hour and they loaded up into the open-sidedrunaboutthat passed for a pickuptruck on Ragnarok. Frank fed power to the grav-engines and theylifted off, turning toward the city.
They descended from thehighlands, swooping in low over the city walls. Vikram leaned out theside as they passed into the city, frowning down at the corner of thewall, ignoring his motherâs demand that he stop risking his neck.
Frank brought thetransport down onto the roof of their house where a landing pad satnext to Terryâs suite. The engines whined out the last of theirpower as the three contact points settled onto the reinforcedsurface.
âAre you tryingto give me a heart attack?â Trish demanded angrily. âHanging outthe side like that?â
âDid you see the topof the north-east tower?â Vikram asked, too absorbed in his ownthoughts to consider how heâd scared her.
âSomethinginterrupted the pattern when the nanites were putting up the wall,âFrank told him. âWeâre going to have a railing put up to keepanyone from falling offâŠâ
He frowned,realizing his wife was now angry at more than just her son. Nowit looks like Iâm not taking her concern seriously either. Healmost reminded Vikram to listen to his mother but that was a bit tooweak by this point.
âYour motherâsright,â he said. âWe donât want you getting hurt. Leaning outof a moving runaboutis a damn good way to get yourself killed. Now on, when we ride thisthing, everybody connects a tie-down to the seat rails.
âAnd...â He held upa warning finger. âI will make a point of dragging your recklessback-side over every roof in town if you manage to fall out.â
âSorry,âVikram said, sounding not the least as if he meant it, âbut did younotice how the slice missing from the tower was aligned with us as wereturned to town?â
Frank sighed. âAlignedwith us?â
âOur flight path,âVikram insisted. âThe path we took to get home from the weird thingthat happened up in the highlands.â He hopped down from therunabout. âIâm going to take some measurements. MaybeâŠâ
âMaybe youâll donothing of the sort,â Trisha fumed. âNot until youâve finishedunpacking your things.â
âBut MomâŠâ
âNo buts, young man!âShe pointed imperiously at the stairs. âGet to it!â
The young manslouched off, grumbling, butin that uniquely teenage way, venting frustration while skatingdangerously close to the possibility of further trouble.
Terryhopped out and went to his own place, trying his best to hidehis grin.
Sheblew out a long breath, sagging against the headrest of her seat. Shelooked over at Frank, reaching out and, to his relief, taking hishand.
âWhat wasthat?â she asked quietly.
He hardly needed to askwhat she was talking about. âIt felt like everything was beingsynchronized,â he said. âBy something⊠someoneâŠâ
She nodded. âIt wascoming from the back of the ledge weâre planting on.â
âYou sure?â
She nodded. âWe wereall facing that way, remember?â
âRight.â Henodded absently. âAnd it lasted for quite a while. I was in theshade when it started but the star was shining down on me bythe time we came back to oursenses.â
âSome naturalphenomenon, perhaps?â she ventured.
âA natural energyfield, maybe.â Frank shrugged. âI mean, who knows whatâs normalon an alien planet?â
Out of the cornerof his eye, he saw Vikram, through the glazed dome of the centralatrium, sneaking out of his room and heading for the stairs to themain floor. Kidâs gonna get an earful from her when hecomes back, he thought ruefully.
Unless I can keep her from checking to makesure heâs making progress with his unpacking.He raised an eyebrow at her. âItâs been a tough day,â he said.âWhy donât we go to our room and Iâll help you out of thatarmor?â
She chuckled. âYouâllhelp me out of this automatically retractable suit of armor, willyou?â
âOh, yes, please,âhe whispered, leaning over to kiss her neck. âAnd that deliciouslysnug underarmor suit you have on might be especially trickyâŠâ
She made a soundin her throat. âAnd what if Vikram should hear us, allthe way from the wall, where I presume heâs already headed?â
He leaned back to lookat her.
She giggled. âDonâtsit there with your mouth hanging open. I know my own son!â Shegrabbed the collar of his armor and pulled him in closer.
âItâs nice to knowyouâre willing to take on the arduous task of distracting me so hewonât get in trouble.â
âArduous almostfits,â he said, shifting in his seat. âI think we need to startwith my own suit because itâs suddenly a lot less comfortable.â
She frowned for amoment but then her eyes widened in shock and amusement. She pressedan access port on his chest and an emergency interface appeared,letting her deactivate his suit.
âI canât walkaround like this!â he hissed in alarm. âThisunderarmor suit leaves nothingto the imagination. â
âVikramâsalready left the house,â she said, leeringat his condition. âAnd I can hear Terryâs shower running. Thereâsnobody to see you between here and our own shower, except for me andIâm allowed to look all I want.â
Terry took incrediblyshort showers, literally just enough time to apply and rinse off thesoap and shampoo. Frank didnât think this was the time to bringthat up.
He couldnât put hisfinger on why but it was oddly stimulating to be so
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