Brynin 3 by Thadd Evans Read Free Book Online

guard’s W-9’s safety locks clicked, ready to be fired.
    Gos muttered, “Jason, give me some grenades.”
    I reached over the seat, and placed them in his outstretched hands.
    Behind Alip, Vo, another guard, muttered, “These grenades better work, because no amount of bullets will stop that Tiel.”
    Alip said, in a relieved tone, “It’s moving away from us.”
    “Vo, why doesn’t Obno kill all the Tiel?” I turned toward him.
    He glared at me. “Because they’re understaffed. A lot more guards will show up in a couple of months. But that won’t do us any good.”
    Alip shouted, “It’s coming back!”
    Outside her window, thirty feet away, the Tiel bared its fangs, then spit at us.
    Vo tossed the grenade.
    It bounced across the dirt and exploded. Shrapnel hit the Tiel. Its head jerked back.
    Alip bellowed, “Throw another grenade!”
    Vo flung it, cursing.
    The weapon flew inside the snake’s mouth. It exploded, and the blast tore some of the Tiel’s fangs off. The wounded snake hissed and slithered away.
    As my heart pounded faster, Vo hurled another grenade.
    It bounced over the snake and went off. The force of the explosion tore some of the reptile’s skin off. The Tiel moved faster, trying to get away.
    Ieeb wiped sweat off her forehead. “We scared it off.”
    Alip grumbled, “For a while, anyway.”
    I exhaled, releasing tension.
    Vo complained, “I thought that last grenade would have killed it.”
    Ieeb whispered, “Jason, I feel heartbroken because Biw is dead. Hopefully, in a couple of days, when I’m in a better mood, we’ll get married. Can you wait a few days?”
    “Yes, I’ll wait . ” I couldn’t believe I was actually saying the words. I paused, thinking. “Alip, is there a judge or a minister around here, someone who can perform the ceremony?”
    “Boma, a Security Guard Supervisor, will do it. The thing is, there aren’t any courts on Danig. He can print out a marriage license. But if you ever want a divorce, those laws are vague. After all, this is a frontier planet, a place that doesn’t have any courthouses.”
    Ieeb announced, “I want to get married anyway.”
    Alip shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your choice.”
    Wanting to speak with Vren, I spoke into my tablet.
    A garbled voice, part of a word, came out of the device, “Hel.”
    I called out, “I can’t hear everything you said!”
    White noise and random popping sounds erupted from the tablet. The magnetosphere was distorting the call.
    I spoke into the device. “Is anybody there?”
    Part of a word, a meaningless statement, “Ye,” was replaced by an electronic hum.
    Alip said, “Jason, give up for now. Try in a few hours. It’s been two weeks since I picked up a clear signal. Even then, it only lasted for a couple of minutes.”
    I kept staring at the tablet, disappointed.
     

Chapter Fifteen
    Rougt
     
     
    The giag decelerated and parked next to the road. Alip looked at me. “Jason, Ieeb, Rougt, just a few domes, is at the bottom of the path.”
    Ieeb and I climbed out, suitcases and weapons in hand.
    Alip added, “ Jason, yesterday, Dr. Hia Xio, a Geologist, told me his team just uncovered sixteen tons of a valuable mineral. If you want to know what it was, ask Boma, a Supervisor you’ll meet soon.”
    “Can’t you tell us what the valuable mineral is?” Ieeb glanced at her.
    Alip shook her head. “See you later. I have to pick someone up.”
    I called out, “Alip, thanks for your help!”
    Using a finger, she drew a circle in the air, an Ulthe gesture meaning You’re welcome.
    Ieeb placed one of her suitcases on my back, attaching it to a holder. I took up my flamethrower.
    Thirty feet away, at the bottom of a path, on one of several hundred-foot-diameter geodesic domes, a door opened. One by one, six muscular Glemal men in amber jumpsuits hurried out, coming this way.
    When they reached the top of the path, the tallest one, a stocky male with a huge chin announced, “I’m Boma. You must be