Edge of Solace (A Star Too Far) by Casey Calouette Read Free Book Online

that right, PFC Avinash?” the Sergeant asked an olive-skinned Marine.
    Yamaguchi turned and looked at the PFC.
    The face that smiled back lacked the tip of a nose or ears. A grayish tint signaled a serious bout of frostbite.
    Yamaguchi was taken back by the disfiguration, it was rare to see anyone with such horrible scars.
    Avinash smiled back widely. “Oh, you have no idea, Lieutenant.”
    The Marine with half a nose stood proudly and began to tell a story the way only a survivor can.

CHAPTER FOUR
Vice
    The cell was like a monk ’s chamber from the 10th century. The edges were mostly straight with the slightest curve to one wall. A curved slot protruded from another. The opposite wall held a hatch that was bolted shut.
    Curled up on the floor was a man sculpted with bruises. His feet were pressed against one wall while his back was arched against another. His stomach was pressed in from high gravity acceleration.
    Major Archie Theodore was not happy. He had woken inside of the cell stripped down to his service uniform. His head ached, the force of the punch was staggering. At first the room was cold as hell, but it had warmed up slowly. A gentle whir of air streamed in from the curved slot.
    The first thing he had done was explore. The curved slot would slide out into a basin sink that was also a toilet. He wasn’t excited to shit where he’d get his drinking water from. A small bulb provided a few squirts of tepid water and took painfully long to fill back up.
    He stared at the opposite white wall and wondered if it was really white, or just an off cream color. The boredom was tight in his chest. The hatch was sealed, but not like a door, more like a mechanical joint. Every six hours the basin would slide out a rectangular bar on a plastic plate. It was his only diversion now.
    The basin silently sprung forward. He gripped the flimsy plate and plopped it on the floor. The featureless bar was like an extruded wheat tablet. He reached a sore hand out and slowly ate it. The hunger didn’t drive him as much as the boredom did.
    The most entertaining part was watching the plate shrink and disappear. Nanites, he assumed, would strip down the plate and the air system would draw them back in. He watched with his head resting on his hands. The plate drew up on itself like a dead spider before turning brittle and crumbling into dust.
    The ship’s acceleration was enough to make him uncomfortable but not so much that he would suffer from it. A gravity and a half, he guessed. Exercising had been one of the first ways he passed the time. His core muscles were tight and tender. Planks, pushups and crunches were strange enough in the cramped space to give him the first good workout he’d had in quite some time. It was the only thing that pleased him so far.
    For now he ran the events through his mind. Nothing much more could be done. The station functioned as it would have. Send the data out and die. Be the canary in the coal mine. He always disliked that line, the canary had to die in order for the coalminers to know. Canary. He didn’t like to think of himself as a damned bird.
    The thought that at least they knew there was an attack made him feel a bit better. Details as to the Sa’Ami fleet would be helpful, but he knew that they’d assume the worst.
    The ship was eerily silent. Every ship had a routine, a sense, a feeling, but not this one. Even the best starships made shifted just enough to be noticed. Whatever he was on must have been big in order to dampen out any vibrations.
    He was thinking of the wrestling match when the hatch swung open. He didn’t even notice until the cooler air rushed against the small of his back. The one satisfying thing he had to think about was wrestling a suit of Sa’Ami power armor. He hoped they’d have come for him in a more foul mood.
    “Out.” The voice was accented in a close approximation of French and North African.
    Archie rolled over slowly. The hatch revealed a barren hall.