Starfist: Wings of Hell by David Sherman & Dan Cragg Page B

rotation dates—Thorsfinni’s World normally being a two-year-duty station—and many were past their nominal end-of-active-service or retirement dates. Were they going to be processed out of the Corps? Were the remaining Marines to be rotated en masse to duties on other worlds? Nobody had answers, but that didn’t stop the speculation—or the plans some began making for what they were going to do in a few weeks when they returned to civilian life.
    Corporal Claypoole even stopped thinking about Schultz’s claim that Jente got mad at him because she wanted to marry him.

    On the morning of the fourth day of the five-day liberty, Corporal Claypoole again woke in an upstairs room at Big Barb’s. He’d drunk heavily the night before, but not as heavily as the previous night and didn’t really need the hangover pill Sergeant Kerr had left with him. But he took it anyway. And he didn’t have to wonder who he’d spent the night with; she was still in bed with him. She woke while he was taking the pill, smiled at him, and held out her arms. He smiled back and went to her arms. And soon after, into other parts of her.
    She wasn’t Jente, but, well, Jente didn’t want him anymore, so…If the one you love doesn’t want you anymore, then accept the one who does want you. Even if it is mostly a commercial relationship for her.
    She cleaned up and left afterward. He hadn’t asked if she was the woman who’d spent the previous night with him. If she wasn’t, he didn’t want to know that.

    Word of the lifting of the quarantine spread through the civilian community like wildfire. By the morning of the fourth day of Thirty-fourth FIST’s liberty, it even reached tiny Brystholde, and Jente on her farm not more than a few minutes after that.
    Since she’d driven Rachman Claypoole from her bed and her home, Jente Konegard had spent most of the time crying. Yes, she loved him, loved him with all her heart. And she wanted to marry him. Desperately, almost. He was the kindest, sweetest, most considerate and loving man she’d ever gotten anywhere near close to. And she was positive he loved her in return. But marriage—he made marriage so difficult ! She understood that he couldn’t get married, not to her or to anybody else, until he’d been promoted two more times. Or until he got out of the Marines, and he couldn’t do that as long as the Marines on Thorsfinni’s World were quarantined. But his response when she asked what would happen if the quarantine was lifted? Why, it sounded as if he didn’t care what happened to them.
    And now, the quarantine had been lifted. Of course, she told herself, it was only a rumor, but still…She had to know, she had to find out. If it was true, what was he going to do? She knew he’d been in the Marines long enough to get out if he wanted to. Would he get out and return to civilian life? And if he did, would he want to stay on Thorsfinni’s World? Would he want to stay with her? Would he want to take her with him to, to—where was he from? She couldn’t remember him ever talking about his home world. Would he want to take her to that home world with him, make her give up the farm that had been hers for her entire adult life? Would she give up the farm to go with him? Or if he chose to stay in the Marines, would he be transferred someplace else and would he want to take her with him?
    So many questions, too many questions. And she needed answers.
    She reprogrammed the farm machines to return to the barn on their own after they completed their day’s work, and made sure the animals had sufficient food and water for a couple of days, then changed into her town clothes and got into her landcar.
    She found him in that Big Barb’s place, where he was just finishing a late lunch.

    Since he was alone, with no one to watch his back, Corporal Claypoole sat where he could see both the entrance and the stairs. Not that he expected an attack, just that he liked to know if someone was coming