Star Force Perseverance (SF81) (Star Force Origin Series) Read Free Page A

keep our eye on.”
    “Is that what your interest in me has been then?”
    “Unless your trim figure is somehow hiding it, I don’t
    think you’ve chosen to go that route, so the answer is no. This trip has been
    unbelievably boring and you’re the one thing that has made it bearable, so
    thank you for that, Captain. I don’t know how you crewers handle these doldrums
    on a regular basis.”
    “Some of us prefer solitudes, and the Archons don’t
    seem to have your boredom problem.”
    “Training is useful, but for a Monarch we need to be
    active in a practical way.”
    “So ‘mating’ with me was just to keep you busy?” she
    asked with a rueful smile.
    “Busy no. Break up the boredom occasionally…yes.”
    “How flattering,” she said, neither offended or
    amused. “It seems you’ll have a lot more prospects to keep your attention down
    in the colony.”
    “Afraid not. I’m going to be too busy doing real work.
    I only let myself relax when I have nothing else to do.”
    “So now I’m ‘relaxation?’ A promotion of sorts, I’d
    imagine.”
    “And I was?” the Count asked, curious.
    “A feather in the cap,” she said honestly. “Never
    bagged a Monarch before,” she said with a devious smile.
    Jeyron made a ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ sound as he slowly shook
    his head, looking at her petite and trim figure as she sat in her Captain’s
    chair. “Oh the perks this job would have if only I were corrupt.”
    “Which is why Monarchs are virtually impossible to
    nail. You’re quite the score for me.”
    “If that’s what alleviates your boredom,” he said as
    he stood up and made ready to leave the bridge and the ship. “Have a dropship
    readied. I’ll be taking my leave of you and your ship now. Make sure to keep
    that feather properly fluffed and cockily displayed.”
    “It’s been a pleasure,” she said honestly.
    “Likewise, Captain. Likewise,” the Count said, leaving
    the bridge to gather his belongings and head down to his new planet that the
    cargo fleet would be departing as soon as it had unloaded.
    Another bridge crewer threw the Captain a glance after
    the Count had left. “He doesn’t know about the scoreboard?” she asked.
    Jihadia shook her head. “No. I took it down before I
    plucked that feather. It’s going back up as soon as he’s gone.”
    The crew member smiled. “A Monarch, huh? Didn’t think
    any of us would actually get one of those. They’re as hard as getting an
    Archon.”
    “Archons are impossible,” the Captain stated flatly.
    “Anyone who claims to have done one of them is lying.”
    “What if they did them before they became an Archon?”
    Jihadia looked at her navigational officer, not ever
    having considered that possibility before. “Technically that wouldn’t count as
    an Archon, but it’d still be scoreboard worthy.”
     
     

 
     
    March 31, 3102
    Menchet System
    (lizard core)
    Tess
     
    Tavarini reached down with his armored mandibles and
    picked up yet another lizard body, throwing it over the railing to the pile
    below to clear the small area of cover behind a bulkhead on the walkway the
    Bsidd were holding. The last assault had nearly choked them out, leaving them
    with too many bodies and not enough room to put them. The next wave would be on
    them any second and he needed to get behind cover as much as possible, hence he
    and the others were chucking the warm corpses wherever they could.
    The walkway they were on was small, barely 8 meters
    wide, but it had a lot of nooks and openings into other areas, with a railing
    beside the bulkhead that opened to another larger promenade below. It didn’t
    connect to the upper level directly, and this damn lizard shipyard ring was a
    maze of connecting tunnels, ramps, and ladders. Almost all of the fighting was
    being conducted in small groups at extreme close range, with the lizards
    literally crowding out every available open space with a flood of bodies
    running at you and firing at