Star Crusades Nexus: Book 06 - Call to Arms Read Free Page B

surprise.
    The older looking Jötnar approached close enough to reveal a hideous face with multiple cuts along one side of it. She was sure a number of the marks were new. The last time she’d seen him, he had been fully armored; he looked much smaller without all the metal attached to his body.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked.
    Olik moved to the side of the General and nodded rather than saluted, much to his annoyance.
    “Colonel Morato, may I present your Jötnar platoon.”
    He turned and bowed in as grand a manner as he could manage. A number of the Jötnar nearby saw him and struck their chests in mock salute.
    “Are you sure you want them in your unit?” asked the General.
    Teresa extended her hand to Olik, but as he reached for it, she slipped past and struck him in the cheek with a strong punch. The impact shook his head, and he spat out a tooth to the ground while she nursed her throbbing fist. General Cornwallis stepped back and lowered his hands, trying to calm things down.
    “Colonel, what the hell are you doing?”
    Olik began to laugh. As his voice became louder, so did that of the other Jötnar. Four more of them moved to greet her, but this time it was just the gabbing of arms or pulling each other in tightly. The General looked to T’Kron who gave him the most curious of smiles.
    “They are an unusual race, are they not?”
    The General shook his head and then walked away, only turning to say one last thing as he left.
    “Colonel, we have an urgent meeting with the Admiral in fifteen minutes. I will see you there.”
    With that, he wandered off, still shaking his head. T’Kron moved closer to the Jötnar and tilted his head slightly before introducing himself. Olik extended his hand but did no more than shake the Jötnar’s fist.
    “T’Kron, I have heard much about you from my brothers. We have bled for each other on the battlefield. It is good to meet you.”
    “And you, Olik, your kin are famed among my people. Your mercenaries have never failed a mission.”
    The group moved on while Olik and Teresa discussed news of Hyperion. Their short walk took them far away from the landing platform and to the side of the massive space dock. Teresa couldn’t help but be impressed at the sight of the ship in the background that was being worked on. Finally, the entire group stopped to gaze at the gleaming metal. As far as she could tell, it was close to completion. T’Kron noticed her looking and nodded with interest.
    “You like the ship?”
    “It looks different to normal,” said Olik.
    T’Kron pointed to the prow of the ship where a battery of tubes were fitted. Teresa looked at its outline but couldn’t place it. Most of it looked similar to a civilian liner, yet more storage segments were being fitted out with weapon mounts and additional sensor suites.
    “Anderson told us about the Tamarisk, a civilian ship that was equipped with armor and hidden weapons.”
    Teresa nodded. She was of course far more than a little acquainted with the idea. She had been part of the rescue mission led by Anderson, back when Spartan and General Rivers had been imprisoned on board the planet.
    “Tamarisk, that was a good ship.”
    Olik looked at the shape with fascination.
    “I’ve seen this ship before. Isn’t it one of the ancient T’Kari transports?”
    T’Kron seemed pleased.
    “Yes. We have worked alongside Alliance engineers and technicians to create a new type of ship for use in the Alliance. These are medium size, high-speed transports that are quick and cheap to replicate.”
    “With what purpose in mind?” Teresa inquired.
    T’Kron looked at her and then pointed at the weapon mounts.
    “Admiral Anderson proposed the specification over a year ago. They are a…well…a creative solution to a problem.”
    Teresa knew immediately what the Admiral was doing, and also to what problem T’Kron was referring. The President had little interest in raising taxes to build more ships or