Page 11 of Souls of Steel
An outburst of tachyon particles swept through me, too fast for General Rhodes to distinguish, but as familiar to me as my Cerberus. Selene gasped, her body unprepared for the strain she’d just put it through.
It would take a while for her brain to adjust to the natural emission of tachyons. Until then, she’d experience extreme hormonal imbalance, discomfort, wooziness, headaches, and more.
But this was the sacrifice every Chimera Warrior had to make. She might not have known about it beforehand, but it was too late to turn back. Would a woman be able to handle that burden? I didn’t think so, but I’d give her the benefit of the doubt.
I didn’t trust women, but I did trust chimeras, and if the Sphinx had chosen Selene, there had to be something special about this girl.
Seconds later, the ground shook as both the Sphinx and my Cerberus landed outside. The Sphinx wasn’t very happy with the treatment her tamer had received. The tent flew upwards in a rush of chimera power that made General Rhodes hiss in discomfort.
Selene pulled away, her strength returning with the arrival of her chimera. She straightened her back, now completely composed once again. “There you go, General Rhodes. I’ve summoned the Sphinx.”
“I can see that,” he replied. “It would seem that Flight Lieutenant Alexander’s first report was correct and we must act accordingly.”
Those cryptic words gave me a bad feeling, but before he could elaborate, one of the LCHRPs—the Zephyrus—flew up to us. Next to the Sphinx, the harpy model looked fragile, almost breakable, like a child’s plaything. “Sir, the Priestesses of Gaia have arrived,” her pilot reported from inside.
General Rhodes grimaced, an uncharacteristic lapse for someone as politically experienced as he was. “Thank you, Flight Lieutenant Glass,” he said as he tugged on the collar of his uniform. “I’ll speak with them at once.”
It was a dismissal, but the pilot didn’t immediately fly away. The eyes of the smaller chimera zeroed in on me and Selene.
It was stupid, especially with our two mechas right there, but even from the distance, I could feel the hostility of the other tamer.
I waved at him mockingly and said, “Run along now, Jared. You’re not necessary here.”
Jared said nothing, but I knew that whatever had crawled up his ass today would make him approach me later. The pilots of the harpies didn’t like the Grand Chimera Unit much, and Jared was no different. He and his cousin Vincent had been among the candidates for the Scylla and the Charybdis before Pollux and August had come along, blowing everyone out of the water. Jared and Vincent had ended up as pilots in the Lower Chimera Unit, and they were still bitter about it.
The Zephyrus didn’t leave, but I lost interest in it anyway. Another harpy—the Ocypete—headed toward us, accompanying the group of Gaia priestesses Jared had just mentioned. Their bodies were surrounded by the unfamiliar glow of Gaia’s magic, so intense the harpy’s glow was diminished.
Most of the priestesses wore hoods, as was their habit in public. The sole exception was their leader, the beautiful dark-haired woman now stalking toward us. Her eyes glinted with the blue-green powers of Gaia and she looked as pissed and dangerous as a wrathful Cerberus. “Selene, what in the world are you doing here?”
By my side, Selene gulped. “Hello, Mother. Would you believe it if I told you I’ve just become a chimera tamer?”
High Priestess Tanya Renard shot her daughter a look of disbelief. Then, she looked at me, and I realized I was still holding onto Selene.
“A chimera tamer,” she repeated. “I see. I think we should discuss this somewhere private.”
“I concur, High Priestess,” General Rhodes said. “I was just about to lead your daughter to the tribunal. If you’ll follow us, arrangements can be made to clarify the situation.”
Selene’s mother nodded curtly. “Agreed.”
“Flight Lieutenant Glass, coordinate the final clean up operations here,” General Rhodes ordered. “Flight Lieutenant Argyle, you’re with me.”
The pilot of the second harpy jumped at the chance to do the general’s bidding. Meanwhile, I was left standing in the center of the base, fuming. That was what I got for trying to help out a fellow Chimera Warrior. It didn’t surprise me that the old man would choose to lash out at me like this, but it was still irritating.
Maybe it was for the best. I was tired, cranky, and not in the mood for administrative operations.
Normally, when I felt like this, I would have taken some random whore to my bed. Since that wasn’t possible, I returned to the Cerberus and activated the long distance coms, choosing one of the frequencies I used most often.
Within seconds, the call connected and Brendan’s face popped up on my screen. He looked irritated, not that anyone else but me and the others would’ve been able to tell. His face was completely blank, his green eyes as sharp as his chimera’s fangs. A few strands of blond hair fell around his cheekbones and that alone was alarming, since he always kept his wild locks carefully tamed.
He must’ve had one of his famous fights with his father. A distraction would serve him well.
“You’d never believe what just happened, Brendan,” I told him. “The Sphinx has a pilot now.”
Brendan blinked and paused, the only sign that he was surprised. “A pilot? Don’t tell me it’s a Terran. They paraded everyone from the Tartarus Space Force in front of it and it remained dormant.”
I wanted to let him stew in his curiosity a little, but I didn’t have the patience. “It gets better. The pilot is also a woman.”
For the first time in years, I was greeted with the sight of my longtime friend and lover gaping in shock. Despite the strangeness of the situation, I laughed.
