Glory Main Read Online Free PDF Page A

of some kind, and even though the general hue was still orange and brown the whole region seemed somehow friendlier.
    Studying the small hill, Mortas noted the way that the ground rose and fell as it approached the top. It reminded him of a game he’d played with the family cat as a child, where he’d moved his legs around under his bedcovers and the feline had jumped all over them as if they were prey seeking escape. That game had created myriad terrain shapes in the blankets, some of them similar to what he was seeing now. The contours of the hill suggested paths to the summit, and he allowed his mind to imagine the platoon he would now never lead, separating into squads and occupying the escarpment as they set up a defensive position.
    A sound behind him interrupted these thoughts, and Mortas turned just in time to see Cranther emerge from a dark crevice in the rock near where he’d slept. He marveled at the way the short, wiry man had folded himself into the crack and decided a second later that all the Spartacans must have been taught to do things like that. Reconnaissance outfits relied on stealth and concealment to make up for what they lacked in firepower, and so hiding like that had probably become second nature.
    Cranther squatted down, limbering up while his eyes roved all around. He adjusted the skull cap to make it sit more squarely on his head, and then approached.
    â€œSee any other Inserts?”
    â€œNo.” Once again Mortas felt like he was a step behind, as it hadn’t occurred to him to look.
    â€œTheir camouflage would have kicked in when they landed, so they might not be easy to see.” Cranther walked a little closer to the edge, his gaze slowly sweeping over the terrain. “Look for smaller wreckage, and disturbed ground. Our Insert left quite a gash before it ran into the rocks.”
    He joined the scout and diligently searched the open plain for a full minute before speaking. “There should be others, right?”
    â€œDepends. With a sudden shipboard crisis, factor in the time it takes to work up an emergency Threshold, and in the end maybe they don’t manage to get a lot of the Inserts launched. And if they were attacked . . .”
    â€œThink they might have sent a distress call?”
    â€œOf course they did. Before they even thought of launching the Inserts, you bet they sent the message trying to save their own hides. Problem is, an emergency Step isn’t like a normal one. It’s supposed to throw us at the nearest Hab, but sometimes that’s not how it works out.” Cranther looked up at him, actually smiling. “Did you know the original name for the Step was Transgression ? It means ‘to step across’ but somebody decided that sounded too negative, like we didn’t have a right to go anywhere we damn well please, so they came up with nice words like Step and Threshold . Bet Command had something to do with that.”
    Mortas tried to get back to the original topic. “Even with an emergency Step, a search party wouldn’t have too many places to cover, would it? I mean, starting from where the transport sent the distress call.”
    â€œSearch party? You kidding me? No such thing, El-­tee.” As disturbing as the words might be, Mortas did find some small comfort in the less formal address.
    â€œReally?”
    â€œAt least not for a bunch of nobodies like us. Have a general go missing, or a colonel with the right friends, maybe they’d send somebody. But the big boys don’t travel in the Coffin Ships. Nah, they’re always in fancy shuttles with big-­tittied technicians and booze and lots of good food. I caught a ride on one of those, once. That’s probably where all our emergency gear went, to give the important ­people a double chance at survival.”
    â€œGood morning.” The light female voice, ­coupled with the outlandish greeting, caused both their heads to