Rogan After another long silence, the guardsman asked him, “So do you and Nam always work together? You said you worked together on Earth.” “Aye. We’ve been a team for quite a long time now. What I was a navy man, she teamed up with me from time to time. I worked in Naval Intelligence and it was somewhit the …

. The Earther appeared willing to stay quiet and listen, so Rogan continued. “Trin has much older Osril cultures, peoples such as the Alyrhians and the Old Parhans. Some of them are cultures which have been evolving on Trin for thousands of years. But Trin suffered a series of global catastrophes that hit close together and emptied out whole territories …

. Rogan chewed on rugit meat, and studiously hid his amusement as he watched the Earther marvel at the quantity of the goat-like animal that Simkit was putting away. Thamad did not graze like the horses who were having their own meals in the grass nearby. To create the race, the Ilidi had used Vuzhrid slaves, a fellow human species, …

. Rogan and Koursh conferred for a while, until Koursh agreed to Simkit’s demand in the end, and set his people to work organizing the camp. Koursh’s team spent time reloading weapons as well, which was baffling to him. The ‘daisy wheel rifles’ they carried appeared to be Civil War era technology, using linen cartridges and percussion caps like a …

. From Rogan’s expression as he stared down at Meadhbh, Jack guessed that he must be mulling the situation over, not scanning the wounded girl. Standing next to them, Simkit softened her words slightly. “I cannot be as confident of the tactical situation as I would like, My Lord. Earlier, I did not spot that Incharyahdin which the Earther fought …

. The centauress’s words hit Jack hard. His brow furrowed, remembering the girl’s last action. “You’re saying she hurt herself in order to make that barrier to protect me?” Simkit’s answer confirmed his suspicion. “Meadhbh is my junior under the same teacher, and she is a superior student, but she is still immature as a flux artist. To project such …

. Simkit voiced her unhappiness several times concerning how they continued to move the girl, but Koursh refused to stop. He kept the party on horseback until well after dusk. Until then, she had insisted that Jack keep holding the girl in his arms, and continued to fret over her as she carried them. The white-haired leader of the soldiers …

. She had several reasons to perform this task while wearing the T’hana. It was, after all, primarily black, covering her fair hair and almost all of her pale skin. It also had several stealth patterns built into it, of a basic enough design that her elementary skills as a Keth-ethen, an operator of flux tools, could work them. But …

. His grandniece Fionna did nothing to hide her desire to be away from the scene as soon as possible. She also did nothing to hide her displeasure with the guardsman, once she learned that he had never ridden before. To everyone’s shock, it was Simkit who came to his rescue. “It doesn’t matter, Milady,” the Thamadin declared. “I must …

Jack The forest had ceased ringing with weapon fire. His senses now informed him that the enemy had withdrawn several hundred yards. They were not withdrawing from the area, but instead, holding a new position out of combat range. It also told him about a presence approaching him from behind. It was the one rider who hadn’t dismounted. He glanced …