The Ninth: Invasion Read Free Page A

sincerity in her voice was surprising.  He couldn’t remember the Weaver sounding anything but superior.
    “Who?” Brent asked as he glanced over his plate.  The two squares of D rations were waiting for him.  Normally thought of as inedible, he had actually developed a fondness for them.
    “Cain,” Angela said, folding her arms.  “He’s been downright polite all morning.  It’s kind of disturbing.”
    “Creepy,” Mahoney added.
    “Give it up; you’ll never pull it off,” Cassandra said with a smirk.
    Brent stared at the two for a moment before he recalled their little wager.  Cassandra had bet Cain that even with Dante’s help he wouldn’t be able to keep from annoying Angela for an entire day.
    “Looks like you are quite the teacher, Dante.”  Brent let out a laugh.
    “Don’t look at me.  I didn’t teach him much at all, sir.”
    Erin quickly shot an odd glance at Dante.
    “Well, whatever it is,” Angela was very insistent, “tell him to cut it out!”
    “Are you implying you preferred it when he was verbally sparring with you?” Dante asked.
    “No need to be diplomatic; you can take her.”  Marie forcefully slapped Dante’s back.  “He thinks you’re sweet on Cain.”
    “ What ?”  Angela thrust down her utensil.
    “He’s not just skilled at judging a battle field; he’s pretty good at summing up people, too.”  Marie grinned at the fuming Weaver.
    “How dare you treat me like some common little girl!”  Angela was blushing as she shouted.  “Take it back!”
    “I don’t believe it!” Hiroko said with a gasp.  “Dante was right?”
    “He couldn’t be more wrong,” Angela hissed.  “You honestly think someone like me would feel anything but contempt for someone like him ?”
    Cain smiled like a blissful idiot as she violently thrust her fork toward him.
    “Then why are you blushing so badly?” Erin asked with a snicker.
    “That’s enough,” Dante said sternly to Erin.  “I didn’t mean to insult you, Angela,” he said apologetically.
    Angela violently stabbed at her meal with her utensil.  Hiroko and Erin chuckled to themselves.  Brent leaned over to Cassandra’s ear.
    “Guess you’re not the only one he upsets,” he whispered.
    “Hey!  No secrets this early, Owen said with a yawn.  “What are you two up to?”
    “Cover your mouth!” Hiroko berated him.
    “Let the boy be,” Rhea said with a wink.  “If you are too strict with him you’ll scare him off.”
    “I’m sure you have plenty of experience with that,” Humphrey mumbled.  “I can’t imagine how many you’ve scared off.”
    Kindra laughed as Rhea socked Humphrey’s arm.  Hiroko chuckled as she looked down at her meal, the faint hint of a blush edging over her cheeks.
    “Now, now.”  Sanderson put a firm hand down on Humphrey’s shoulder before he could retaliate.  “Is this anyway for a squad to act?”
    “Let them have their fun,” Penny said with a smile.  “Brent obviously knew what he was doing when he picked out the squad.”
    As the squad continued their chitchat, Brent noticed a tall man approaching the table.  He wasn’t wearing any kind of uniform he had seen before.  The man wore a shirt and pants of dark blue with light red bands forming a “V” on the chest and knees.  There was a strange emblem on his left shoulder of orange.  The man leaned over Valerie’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear.
    “You can’t be serious.”  She turned to face the man directly.
    “Orders from the Administer himself,” the man replied.
    “What is it?” Tyra asked.
    “Your squad is shipping out.”  Valerie didn’t sound pleased.
    “Where are we going?” Ronald asked.
    “Deriso.”
    Both Tyra and Ronald turned white.  The rest of the troopers exchanged confused glances.
    “Hold on, we aren’t going anywhere.”  Cain addressed the man in blue.  “Active duty terms can’t start until every trooper in a squad has received at least six