Page 29 of My Tiny Giant

“I was not aware humans recruited women,” the general muttered under his breath. The poor man was obviously having a hard time recovering from the shock of seeing me.

I’d seen the general from a distance before, but never interacted with him directly, definitely never without my suit. As unsettling as the Ravils’ reaction to me felt, it made Agan’s earlier behavior a little more understandable—it must have been at least in part cultural not personal.

“Glad to see you back.” Out of his armor suit, Rick was wearing the same white bodysuit I was. Excitement and relief bounced in his gray eyes as he embraced me.

I cupped my hands around Agan, lest he got crushed between us by Rick’s enthusiastic hug.

“Happy to see you, too, Rick.” I smiled then leaned back, cutting the embrace short out of concern for Agan.

Rick didn’t entirely let go of me, holding me by my shoulders. “What happened? Where have you been?”

“I’ll do a full report, Captain.” I switched to a more formal tone in the presence of the general who remained nearby. “I need to speak to General Trulgadi, now.”

“General.” Rick belatedly saluted to the Ravil’s Army leader. “I request your permission to be present at this meeting.”

I didn’t know how Agan would feel about Rick’s presence. He might want to keep his predicament as private as possible. On the other hand, if the Ravils decided to contact Earth’s scientists for help, they would need Rick to make the communication happen.

“Tell Lieutenant Drankai I’ll see him next,” General Trulgadi said to the messenger boy who lingered near the entrance. The general turned to go back inside, gesturing for us to follow. “Let’s keep this brief—I have another meeting request.”

Since he hadn’t spotted Agan yet and the boy either wasn’t supposed to brief him on Agan’s condition or had been too dumbfounded himself to mention it, the good general obviously didn’t know that this meeting and the next were actually the same thing.

The floor inside the large main room of the house was covered with a thick rug braided from multi-colored strips of leather. The general invited us to the massive round table in the middle.

“State your matter, woman... um, Lieutenant,” he ordered me, taking his seat.

“Well...this is about Lieutenant Drankai.” I gently set Agan on the table then moved my hands away, revealing him to Rick and General Trulgadi.

“What the...” The general sprung to his feet, shoving his chair back.

Rick shrieked, leaping up, too.

“What is this?” he demanded, his voice pitched hysterically high.

“General. Captain.” Agan calmly saluted them both. His lips pressed in a hard line. He wouldn’t meet the eyes of either of the men.

“What in the Abyss of Krokkan happened to you?” The general roared, slamming his hands into the table with force that made it vibrate. Agan swayed from the impact, but quickly regained his balance.

“Is he for real?” Rick bent over the table, squinting at him.

Agan balled his hands into fists. I didn’t think he could inflict much damage in his current state, even if he started a fight. However, I believed it would severely bruise Agan’s ego if Rick flicked him across the room with a finger in response to an attack.

I decided to intervene.

“Yes, he is real.” I got up, propping my hands on the table.

Agan shifted closer to me. Taking a place between my arms, he turned to face the men gaping at him.

“Lieutenant Drankai and I were ambushed by a group of yirzi in the jungle this morning,” I reported. “Both of us were captured, with Lieutenant Drankai...” I glanced down at him, wondering if he’d rather tell his story himself.

“They brought us to a lab,” he took over. “Located in the ruins of the ancient city of Ellur.”

“It’s impossible...” The general plopped down on his chair, shaking his head.

Rick remained standing, an expression of utter bewilderment frozen on his face.

I agreed with the general. What had happened to Agan seemed impossible. Yet there he was...

“A Voranian scientist was present in the lab,” Agan continued. “He used some unknown-to-me equipment to...um, do this.” He gestured with his hand along his body. “Lieutenant Nowak attempted to apprehend the Voranian, but he escaped.”

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