The Reaper Plague Read Online Free PDF

contracted one or both of the Demon Plagues.
And some have just decided to build their own little bandit
kingdoms on the backs of ordinary citizens. Our mission will be to
set that right, and to secure the medics to inoculate everyone. We
will provide traditional Military Police functions, and we will
back up our comrades in Homeland Security –” she gestured
toward the other formation – “when they get in over their heads.”
This jab at their civilian counterparts brought suppressed
laughter.
    “ But it won’t be fun,
people. It will be difficult, and it will be unpleasant. We will
have to coerce people, detain and arrest citizens, even shoot some
of them, and there will be deaths. I am going to do my damndest to
ensure none of those deaths is you or me.” She looked pointedly at
her watch. “You are released to breakfast. Assistant Platoon
Sergeant and squad leaders will report to my office at 0700 hours,
then all NCOs at 0715. Enjoy this little break, people, because
it’s the last one you’re going to have for a while.”
    With that she turned the platoon back over to
Grusky and marched toward the mess hall. It’s going to be one
long week.
     
     

 
     
-6-

    Skull bolted upright. His head snapped left
and right searching for her, but she was gone. He lay on the
bed naked but for his Patek, which said he’d slept for two hours.
Nanosilk armor and boots lay jumbled in a corner and the hard
pieces of his rig lay scattered about the floor. His assault rifle
stood, propped against the wall, magazine still in it. Other than
these, the room was empty.
    Quickly pulling on his jumpsuit and boots, he
grabbed the rifle and – what now? He banged a fist on the
place where the door should be and the second blow went through
empty space, the wall irising to let him through. He stared from
the opening across the main control room space, at the woman in the
chair.
    “ What the hell did you do
to me?”
    Somberly she forced a smile, not meeting his
eyes. “Shouldn’t I ask you the same question? It seemed like you
were the aggressor, and you did things to me .”
    “ Did you drug me or…or
pheromone me or something like that?”
    “ What, now I’m some kind of
space-succubus that seduces Earth’s most eligible bachelors?” A
weak laugh dribbled from her lips. “Yes, it was all part of my
elaborate plan, the way we ended up here. Couldn’t you
tell?”
    “ Then what the hell
happened? I didn’t rape you.”
    “ Didn’t you? Are you sure?
Methinks milord doth protest too much. And how should I know what
happened? Half of me was an alien until a month ago and the other
half was nearly a virgin, so I don’t have a lot of experience with
all this! You should be telling me! Aren’t you, like, fifty years
old or so?”
    “ Like , something like that,” he mocked. He walked over to sit down in the
other control seat, placing his rifle against the wall away from
her reach.
    “ And if that wasn’t rape it
sure wasn’t making love,” she sneered, “not since I’m your hostage.
What should we call it? Sexual abuse of power?”
    “ It wasn’t like that at
all!” he yelled. “It was good! It was good…” He trailed off, to his
own surprise caring what she thought, caring what anyone thought
for the first time in many years. “Wasn’t it good?” he asked,
uncharacteristically unsure.
    She hung her head, her long dark straight
hair falling over her face, hiding her expression. Mumbled
something.
    “ What!” he barked, fighting
anger and fear. What am I afraid of? Rejection? Why do I give a
shit what she thinks?
    “ I said I don’t know. It
wasn’t terrible. But it wasn’t fair!” Her face broke through her
hanging hair, tears sticking strands to cheeks. “My mind said no
but my body overrode it. That’s not fair. It’s not me, and it’s
not…Meme.”
    “ Welcome to the human
race.” Skull leaned forward, reaching tentatively toward her,
stopping with his hands inches from contact. His