Children of Steel Read Online Free PDF Page A

when he landed in
the garden six stories below."
    "Ouch, I take it nobody remembered they were
in a tall building?"
    "Well, that was the claim, but I'm not so
sure. The Tiger Clan came down pretty tough on the one who did it.
They got him on some heavy restrictions, and such."
    "What about the Raccoon clan? Why didn't they
stop this joker before he got out of line?"
    "You are slow aren't you? Haven't you noticed
that there aren't any Raccoons on board?"
    "Hey I’ve barely been onboard a full week
yet, so far I’ve only seen this area, the gym, and my bunk. So what
do you really think? Was it intentional, or an accident?"
    "I think that he intended to really hurt him
bad, maybe even kill him, but I honestly don't know that he meant
to throw him through the window. He really looked surprised when it
broke."
    "Does the Captain know who did it?"
    "Nope, just the few of us who were there, and
on Earth the police don't come to animen accidents unless a human
insists. So it's pretty much been covered over. If you're smart
you'll shut up about it now too. He did have it coming anyway."
    "Well, thanks for letting me know. I was
beginning to worry about this type of thing being all too
common."
    "Oh, it happens more than anyone would like.
It seems that when some get out of the highly structured life of
the crèche, they kind of go off the deep end. Lots of them buy it
in stupid accidents and such. A few end up like Bill there, they
just can't deal with all the different species."
    "Think I'll do okay?" I asked looking at
him.
    "I wouldn't be wasting my time with you if I
thought you wouldn't make it. Just remember to listen to your Clan.
You been invited in yet?"
    "Tonight, it's going to be strange being in a
clan that isn't full of my brothers and sisters."
    "You were the 'Clan head' of your crèche
group, weren't you?"
    "Yeah, one of them, how'd you guess?"
    "I talked to Balizar, your Clan head, to see
how you were doing. He told me that you were pretty respectful, and
didn't seem like a problem child."
    "Well, after Herza threw me across the gym
during a sparing session I figured I better behave!"
    "She is a tough one, cute though."
    "Chasing cats now? I thought you were after
human game!"
    "Hey, have you noticed how many female Foxes
are on this bucket? Not nearly enough! And us foxes have a strong
libido. I'll take anything that'll sit still long enough!"
    "Remind me not to stand in front of you
anymore!" I laughed.
    "Ah, you're too ugly. So have you checked out
all the other Leopards on the crew yet?"
    "Pretty much, it only took about two
days."
    "Two days!" He laughed, "You sure didn't
waste anytime!"
    "Well," I admitted guiltily, "I just wanted
to get it over with. I know I'm the low man, and I was warned about
thrashing anybody. Quite pointedly too. Besides, I think they were
as interested in checking me out as I was them, so it wasn’t like I
had to go looking."
    "Well, you don't strike me as the thrashing
type Raj," Gabe laughed again. "Or the type that gets thrashed
either!"
    "Well, I thought so until I met Herza and
Banner. They both made it fairly obvious just where the experience
lay, and it sure wasn't with me!"
    "I'm just glad I'm not a cat," He grinned,
"you guy's play way too rough for me sometimes! Anyway I gotta get
going, good luck tonight, I'll see you later."
    He walked out the door. I looked at the time
and decided I should start getting ready for my date tonight. I
didn't want to show up looking shabby. So I went back to my
quarters, showered, groomed, and put on a clean uniform.
    I was looking forward to meeting the clan.
Balizar, the clan head, was thirty years older than I was, and his
lifemate was about as old. The idea of belonging to a clan whose
heads were old enough to be my parents was actually very
attractive, never having had parents myself. The fact that Balizar
was the head of the Ship's security detachment was also pretty
interesting. It placed him pretty high up in the scheme of