broke she smiled into his eyes, long and lovingly. He felt on top of the world, for the moment all guilty thoughts of deserting his unit forgotten in the heat of the moment.
“Someone's here to see you,” she murmured, turning so he could see the shape in the stroller next to his wife.
“She's...is she awake?”
“Not now, though...yes, I see she is,” his wife said softly, voice rich with mirth as she dashed tears of joy. She showed him their newborn daughter. He looked into those baby blue eyes and was smitten. “Cute little devil isn't she? And a handful now. You've arrived just in time for teething.”
“Teething?” Clive asked as she took the darling out of the stroller and then bounced her gently in her arms. The little girl burbled as her mother cooed at her.
“Yes. And I may someday forgive you for leaving me fat, swollen ankles, sick as a dog, and thoroughly pregnant while you went off and played soldier, but don't expect it anytime soon bub.” He laughed at that.
Clive chuckled softly, stroking the little girl's angel soft hair with the back of his finger. “She's beautiful,” he murmured.
“She should be. Three point four kilos,” his wife replied with a snort. “She's a screamer. She can bend steel with that voice of hers let me tell you. Which in my infinite wisdom I am attributing to you. So again, I'm not going to forgive you so don't even hold your breath.”
Clive snorted softly. “This is your daddy. Who's been a poopy head! Yes he has,” she said, baby talking to the little girl. “Speaking of which, someone has months of diaper duty to catch up on,” she teased.
He kissed her, long and lovingly. “Yes, ma'am. My pleasure,” he murmured.
“Good answer,” she said, smiling again. Her eyes twinkled. “I'll hold you too it. Even when this little lady lets a ripe one loose.”
Clive snorted again. Together the parents cooed over their darling little girl. Before Firefly broke orbit Clive uploaded images to the squad. The girls oohed and ahed over them while the males snorted or rolled their eyes. There was a slight hint of envy and longing in a few eyes though. Then it was time to get back to work.
---( | ) --- ( | )---
Jethro, as senior noncom, oversaw all the squads and had two of his own to oversee and train. He had to integrate each of them first as a squad and then with the other squads into a unit. It was hard; he was thrown about, unable to take the time to bond with his new people, nor properly oversee all the training or work with them in the initial exercises.
Valenko had ten squads under him including Jethro's two. Most of their squad served as the reserve and Valenko's headquarters squad. Some of the Marines outside their circle resented that because it seemingly kept them out of the action. Of course, since the squad was one of the few to have powered combat armor, Jethro and the others knew that was a lie.
Major Pendeckle had eight squads to handle, each of the other officers had four. The purple and yellow Neo Orangutan, Second Lieutenant Birute Pongo, seemed a solid sort, but there were a lot of questions about Ensigns Ufda and Tricia Ebensher. Ebensher the human was from Gaston with no experience in leadership. She was reserved but looked good on paper. Ufda was an almost complete unknown. He was a Satyre, a rare species of sapient from the western section of the sector.
Satyres were named after the mythological Terran creatures they resembled. Their real species name was unpronounceable, even with the universal translators genetically engineered into most speech centers of sapient brains. They had resigned to being called Satyres after a century of contact. They were short, about one point three meters tall, with cloven hooved feet, hairy legs with fins on their outer thighs, a flat-buck toothed face, horns, and long pointed ears. Ufda was young; he had yet to gain his full horn growth. Apparently, his species shed them like Terran antlers.
He had
“Someone's here to see you,” she murmured, turning so he could see the shape in the stroller next to his wife.
“She's...is she awake?”
“Not now, though...yes, I see she is,” his wife said softly, voice rich with mirth as she dashed tears of joy. She showed him their newborn daughter. He looked into those baby blue eyes and was smitten. “Cute little devil isn't she? And a handful now. You've arrived just in time for teething.”
“Teething?” Clive asked as she took the darling out of the stroller and then bounced her gently in her arms. The little girl burbled as her mother cooed at her.
“Yes. And I may someday forgive you for leaving me fat, swollen ankles, sick as a dog, and thoroughly pregnant while you went off and played soldier, but don't expect it anytime soon bub.” He laughed at that.
Clive chuckled softly, stroking the little girl's angel soft hair with the back of his finger. “She's beautiful,” he murmured.
“She should be. Three point four kilos,” his wife replied with a snort. “She's a screamer. She can bend steel with that voice of hers let me tell you. Which in my infinite wisdom I am attributing to you. So again, I'm not going to forgive you so don't even hold your breath.”
Clive snorted softly. “This is your daddy. Who's been a poopy head! Yes he has,” she said, baby talking to the little girl. “Speaking of which, someone has months of diaper duty to catch up on,” she teased.
He kissed her, long and lovingly. “Yes, ma'am. My pleasure,” he murmured.
“Good answer,” she said, smiling again. Her eyes twinkled. “I'll hold you too it. Even when this little lady lets a ripe one loose.”
Clive snorted again. Together the parents cooed over their darling little girl. Before Firefly broke orbit Clive uploaded images to the squad. The girls oohed and ahed over them while the males snorted or rolled their eyes. There was a slight hint of envy and longing in a few eyes though. Then it was time to get back to work.
---( | ) --- ( | )---
Jethro, as senior noncom, oversaw all the squads and had two of his own to oversee and train. He had to integrate each of them first as a squad and then with the other squads into a unit. It was hard; he was thrown about, unable to take the time to bond with his new people, nor properly oversee all the training or work with them in the initial exercises.
Valenko had ten squads under him including Jethro's two. Most of their squad served as the reserve and Valenko's headquarters squad. Some of the Marines outside their circle resented that because it seemingly kept them out of the action. Of course, since the squad was one of the few to have powered combat armor, Jethro and the others knew that was a lie.
Major Pendeckle had eight squads to handle, each of the other officers had four. The purple and yellow Neo Orangutan, Second Lieutenant Birute Pongo, seemed a solid sort, but there were a lot of questions about Ensigns Ufda and Tricia Ebensher. Ebensher the human was from Gaston with no experience in leadership. She was reserved but looked good on paper. Ufda was an almost complete unknown. He was a Satyre, a rare species of sapient from the western section of the sector.
Satyres were named after the mythological Terran creatures they resembled. Their real species name was unpronounceable, even with the universal translators genetically engineered into most speech centers of sapient brains. They had resigned to being called Satyres after a century of contact. They were short, about one point three meters tall, with cloven hooved feet, hairy legs with fins on their outer thighs, a flat-buck toothed face, horns, and long pointed ears. Ufda was young; he had yet to gain his full horn growth. Apparently, his species shed them like Terran antlers.
He had
Similar Books
