Warrior Chronicles 3: Warrior's Realm Read Free Page B

desire for her. He struggled to sit up in his bed and activated his bedside lamp. His back was sore from its perpetual hunch. That and his large eyes gave him the look of a Tolkien antagonist. As a young man, a fall in a cave did more damage to his spine than his previous metallic synthetics could mend. Truth be told, not even the new style bio-synthetics that Cort’s eleventh great-granddaughter had developed could have saved Wynn Black’s body. As it was, knowing he would never rate with a woman like Captain Jones, he threw himself into his work. The knowledge that she was in a class all her own didn’t stop him from doing his best to look presentable for the Remington’s captain. He washed his face and combed his thinning hair before leaving his quarters to head for the bridge of the ship. He forgot to change out of his night clothes.
     
    As he stepped onto the ship’s bridge, he didn’t notice the sidelong glances of the officers and crewmembers on duty. “Yes, Captain Jones? What is it?”
     
    If JJ noticed his attire she did not show it. Turning to him she said, “Doctor, we are at System S-102. I thought you should see this.”
     
    “S-102, Captain? Where is that?”
     
    “It is currently the closest stable system to Saggitarius-A, and its second planet is believed to be the first planet infected by the crystal. The other three planets in the system were also infected.”
     
    “I see, Captain. I did not…” Black looked down and realized what he was wearing. “Oh my. I am very sorry, Captain.”
     
    “It is quite all right, Doctor," JJ smiled. “I truly appreciate your promptness.”
     
    “Uh, er, yes, sir," Black said. “I did not realize that we were going to jump so far. I thought we were headed back to Mars.”
     
    “I had not planned on coming here, but General Addison’s paranoia seems to be catching. At our last system, my astrogator told me that he could calculate a safe jump to this system, so I decided to order it. We arrived just before I called you to the bridge. There lies the problem.” She waved her hand toward the main viewscreen. “Does that look like a crystal planet to you, Doctor? Before you say anything, I assure you we are at the correct planet.”
     
    “Oh my,” Doctor Black responded. “We have to notify the general. Immediately. This changes everything.”
     
    “Agreed, Doctor.”

 
     
Two
     
    Solitude
     
    “How big is it, hon?” Cort asked Kim Point. They were standing just inside the upper ring of a huge stockade structure that was built with geodesic triangles. The bottom row of triangles was almost two meters high, carbon black, and nearly impenetrable except at planned openings. Each triangle had a Formvar-M center that allowed light to pass through, but nothing else. The second two meter row of triangles used the same kind of camouflage as Cort’s FALCON suit. With microfiber optic thread woven into their structure, both the suits and the carbon nanotube triangles allowed some light to pass through, giving them the ability to blend into their surroundings. That layer of triangles was filled a fine, high strength molecular wire mesh that let the wind pass through while protecting both Kim’s guests from the fauna, and the fauna from Kim’s guests. Since being deeded the planet, Kim had set about turning it into both a vacation paradise for species from across the galactic arm, and a refuge for both its own wildlife and the displaced animal species of other planets.
    “This ring is two kilometers in diameter.” The walkway that was attached to the top row of triangles, gave them a magnificent view both inside and outside of the barrier. Outside, there there were small dinosaurs and a few mammals grazing or competing for territory. The inside was a flurry of human and alien activity, building structures that would house visitors, as well the buildings of Kim’s administration. “There will be more rings in other ecosystems on the planet, and I