Read Valour's Choice for Free Online

Gracious manners’ll knock them right back on their collective tails.”
    He half turned and his hair lifted slightly.
    She shrugged. “Or spinnerets. Whatever.”
    When the officers had been introduced and greeted, Captain Carveg turned to Torin, smiling broadly. “The staff sergeant and I have met, although she was a sergeant at the time and I, a mere commander.”
    Although Torin could have picked the half-dozen Krai in Sh’quo Company out of a crowd, for the most part, they all looked alike to her. She knew it was speciesist but the facial ridges, so easily identifiable to another Krai, told her gender and nothing more. Skin tones never left the mid-range of Human norm, neither as dark as Binti Mashona nor as light as Captain Rose. The few bristles of hair around the base of the broad skull were no help at all. The di’Taykan, who used scent as much as appearance, had a distinct advantage.
    So, at least four years ago, she’d met a female commander named Carveg...
    “The CS Charest, leaving Sai Genist?”
    The captain nodded. “I’m surprised you remember.”
    Torin grinned, careful not to show too much tooth. “You skipped a battle cruiser into the atmosphere and fried a fighting wedge of Other ships, saving at least a dozen of your pilots. From where I stood, it was an impressive light show.”
    “My captain had been killed in the attack, and this was the first battle where the Others had used the new cluster technology,” Carveg explained to the listening officers. “I took a gamble that paid off, although considering the mess it made of the hull, I don’t think the engineers ever forgave me. Meanwhile, dirtside, Sergeant Kerr and her squad pulled three of my downed pilots out of the wreckage of their escape pods and kept them alive at some risk to her squad until we cleared the system for med-evac.”
    “What’s so dangerous about carrying stretchers?” a di’Taykan naval officer wondered.
    Lieutenant Jarret answered before Torin had a chance. “When you’re carrying stretchers,” he said, in a tone so pleasant the other di’Taykan’s eyes lightened, “you can’t use your weapon. Three stretchers meant a minimum of six Marines were defenseless and the strength of the squad almost halved. But we don’t leave anyone behind to die.” The emphasis was a gentle, aristocratic chastisement.
    Bet that’s a di’Taykan with more than two letters in her name, Torin thought hiding a smile. The most junior officer in the room had been born into a family who’d been holding power from the beginning of their civilization. He might be starting from scratch with the rest of us, but he can handle his own species just fine.
    “And never think we don’t appreciate that,” Captain Carveg told him, not bothering to mask her approval. “Come, let me make you known to the people you’ll be accompanying.”
    * * *
    “What’s happening now?”
    “More introductions.”
    On the screen, one of the Dornagain unfolded to his full height and bowed gravely.
    “Fuk, those guys are big.”
    “That’s likely why they’re sending them, in case there’s trouble.”
    “Nah, that’s why they’re sending us. The Dornagain don’t fight.”
    “And even if they did, you ever seen one move fast enough to scratch his butt before the itch moved?”
    “If they don’t fight, whadda they use them fukking claws for?”
    “Shellfish.” The squad turned toward Hollice, who shrugged, “Don’t you guys remember those ‘Founders of the Confederation’ vids we got in school?”
    “All I remember is that the H’san sing every morning at sunrise. No matter what sun.”
    “No kidding. All I remember is that the H’san like cheese.”
    “Everyone remembers that.”
    * * *
    “Lieutenant Jarret, Sergeant Kerr, this is Ambassador Krik’vir.” Captain Carveg replaced the mandible clash in the middle of the name with a snap of her teeth Torin couldn’t help but envy. Krai tooth enamel was so tough, bioengineers kept