Ragnarok: Colonization, intrigue and betrayal. Andrew Claymore (primary phonics books .txt) š
- Author: Andrew Claymore
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She got out long afterher clothes were clean. She put them on and sat on the couch, lookingout at an angry red world, waiting for her captor to come collecther.
She wished she atleast had an underarmor suit to wear but the aliens on this ship wereeven less likely to have one for her than the Humans on the EdgedStar. Their Quailusuits would have fit like a pillowcase.
At least Iād be covered up,she thought.
She was coveredbut the fabric of her t-shirtwas a bit thinner than sheād like. It had kind of been the ideawhen she bought it but it was more of a āfeeling cutewhile falling asleepā kind of thing, rather than āfeeling exposedin front of hostile aliensā.
Herfriend, Jen, had the same shirt but shedidnāt buy it for sleeping in. Sheās probably planningto wear it to class next month at USC. I wouldnāt besurprisedā¦
The door opened behindher. She jumped off the couch, putting her back to the window as twoarmed and armored Quailu entered and took up positions flanking thedoor.
Memnon enteredthe prisonerās room, still slightly peeved at Ereshkigalāsattitude. Sheād assumed that he would watch while sheconducted the interrogation.
Still, she knew herbusiness. Heād forgotten how much the Humans relied on non-empathicnuances for communication. He would need to pay close attention toevery stray tendril of emotion from this primitive creature. He wouldneed to elicit emotions, nudge them to the surface where even thetiniest aspect might be more apparent.
These dratted creatureshad a way of bleeding off their emotions with gestures.
The prisoner wasstanding before the window, Kurnugiaās angry glow hanging behindher. She was wearing a ludicrous outfit that seemed completelyincongruous for someone traveling on a ship.
āWhy is she dressedlike that?ā he snapped over his shoulder at Ereshkigal.
āShe arrivedlike that, lord. The team ran into difficulties, so we have what wehave.ā
He looked back,intrigued by the response he felt from the Human. Embarrassment.A desire to hide.
She was standingin the same place, her arms crossed over her upper chest. Sheexpects to be ridiculed, hethought. Is it because of her clothing?
Sheās a wild Human,he remembered. They may have different social norms.āAre all wild Humans so thin?ā heasked her. The few Human females that still served on theDeathstalker were muchmore heavily muscled than this slender creature.
Humiliation, anger, helplessness.It was stronger this time, as if sheād been holding back but thendecided to swamp him. It feltdeliberate.
Maliciouslydeliberate.
āNo,ā she said. āMyfriends all have curves. Iām probably the one they like to hang outwith so they look better by comparison.ā
Memnon reeledback as if sheād kicked him in the teeth. Heāddealt with some strong emotions, growing up at a relativeās palaceas a poor cousin, but this was next level.
He was certain ofit. She was weaponizing her emotions, giving him, allat once, a full dose of the emotional turmoil of a young Humanfemale, raised in the wild.
He grabbed Ereshkigalby the elbow. āCarry on with the interview,ā he rasped, thenturned for the door.
He made it to thehallway, waving at the guards to remain inside. The last thing hewanted right now was their empty allegiance. They were probablylaughing at him behind his back every chance they got.
He waswalking weird. He didnāt know how heād never noticed it before.Why canāt I just put one foot in front of the other likea normal person? He looked up tosee a weapons tech coming his way with a quizzical look on his face.
Nobody takes me seriously,he reminded himself. Not on the world where heād grown up and notout here in the empire. āIn the middle of a fief Iāve built up byright of gods-damned conquest!ā hegrowled, terrifying the weapons tech who quickened his otherwiseperfectly normal pace and hurried past his lord.
Memnonreached his quarters and threw himself on the bed, face buried in hispillow. The same bed heād woken up on with the name āMelvin theMinusculeā drawn on his forehead.
And heād beenon the bridge for a long timebefore anyone had botheredto tell him.
A chime sounded fromhis outer door. āMy lord,ā Garandās voice greeted him,recreated by the syntactic feedback projectors that gave holos theirsense of solidity. āThe cargo shuttle has returned from thehab-ring. You wanted to inspect the goods?ā
āGo away,ā Memnonshouted, his voice muffled by the pillow.
But then hethought again. Garandās always been loyal, hasnāt he?āWait,ā he called urgently. āCome in.ā
Damn it all, I donāt want to talk to anyone,he thought. He should have thought it before he spoke. Garand camein.
āLord?ā he asked,bemused by the sight of his leader lying face down on a pillow.
āIs my ass toobig?ā heasked. Gods! What the hells did I just say? Damn itall. Itās that damned Human! Sheās gotten into my head!
Garand was probablywondering the exact same thing. āNo?ā he said tentatively. āImean, Iāve never noticed, one way or the other butā¦ā
Memnon floppedover onto his back with a sigh. āDo we stillhave any of that narcoticweed we took from Enlatās palace?ā
Ereshkigal wasnātsurprised that Memnon had fled the interrogation but she wassurprised that heād left so soon.
It was a messybusiness, poking around in someoneās head. Itwas even worse if the subject was a different gender or species.
This prisoner was both.
It was going to take amore circumspect approach. Rather than brash comments about herclothing, Ereshkigal sought to find common ground and build fromthere.
āWhy are youembarrased?ā sheasked.
āAre you kidding?āthe prisoner demanded. āIām standing here with the high-beams onin a shirt you could probably read through if the text was largeenough.ā
Did those idiots think to scan her forconcealed weapons? Ereshkigalthought with alarm. āAre you telling me you have some kind ofenergy-based weapon on your person somewhere?ā
āWhat?ā
āYour āhigh-beamā?ā
āHighā¦ No!ā Sheshook her head. āYou Quailu keep your ships colder than we do. Youknow what happensā¦ when itās cold?ā
Ereshkigal tried one ofthe head-shakes sheād seen Humans use.
The prisonerfrowned. āI mean, what happens to a womanā¦ā Sheuncrossed her arms and gestured to her chest. āā¦ Whenit gets cold?ā
āAh!ā Ereshkigalexclaimed. āYou mean theyāre shrinking? But why are they stickingout now?ā She took an involuntary step back. āDid they take youaway from your offspring?ā
āWhat? I donāt haveoffspring. This happens when it gets cold.ā
āNot for us,āEreshkigal told her. āFor us,
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