Gears of War: Anvil Gate by Karen Traviss Page A

think it’s okay to hand them over to Trescu?”
    “These bastards have moral choices too.” Bernie didn’t know. She didn’t even want to think about it right then. “It’s not our sole responsibility.”
    “But you’d feel better if it was an honest firefight.”
    “I feel better if I’m not frigging
dead,
” Bernie said. “And so would Jonty, if they hadn’t cut his throat. One-sided rules of engagement are for lawyers.”
    Marcus gave her that here-we-go-again look. Yes, they’d had this argument before, about what actually survived if you were prepared to do anything to stay alive. It had to be a constant andpainful dilemma for a man whose father helped incinerate most of Sera to save it.
    “Got to envy that dog,” Marcus said, walking away.
    Mac trotted after them, a nice friendly dog again. Bernie tapped her leg to bring him to heel. “Yes. He lives in the moment.”
    “I meant that he sees everything in black and white,” Marcus said, and jogged off.

CHAPTER 4

    You’re going to be an officer, Hoffman. No fraternization with the ranks. It’s time to stop seeing that Islander woman
.

    (MAJOR ROSS HOLLEND OF EAST BARRICADE ACADEMY, TO STAFF SERGEANT VICTOR HOFFMAN, ON HIS ACCEPTANCE FOR LATE-ENTRY OFFICER TRAINING)

    F ORMER UIR PATROL VESSEL A MIRALE E NKA , V ECTES N AVAL BASE , N EW J ACINTO: 0600 HOURS, THREE DAYS LATER .

    Sam looked up at the heavily patched Gorasni patrol boat from the jetty. “You a good swimmer, Baird? ’Cos I’m not.”
    “Hey, they’ve only lost
one
warship under completely inexplicable conditions,” Baird said. “It’s just a day trip. Enjoy the bracing air. Learn the strange ways of the sea from these colorful old salts.”
    The old salts—a bunch of Gorasni seamen—were leaning on the ship’s gunwale, staring down, surly and silent. One of them was munching something with slow deliberation like a cow chewing the cud. He paused and spat over the side into the water.
    Byrne strode up the brow. “What’s the Gorasni for
up yours?
”
    “Just smile. These guys haven’t seen a woman in years. They’ll never know the difference.”
    “I just want you to know that Bernie gave me orders to punch you out if you asked me to go find the golden rivet.”
    Baird wondered if Sam just mouthed off out of embarrassment. It bothered him more than it should have, because sometimes he caught himself doing the same thing.
    “Just maternal affection,” he said. “I’m the wayward, maladjusted son she always wanted to nag to death.”
    Baird followed Sam up the brow. He had to admit the bike stunt was a pretty good move, and he didn’t blame her for using the first weapon that came to hand, even if it did have two wheels. But if he told her so, he’d never hear the end of it. And it sounded a bit too close to approving of female Gears. He kept his praise to himself.
    Dom came up behind him. “Don’t start any fights you can’t finish,” he said. “Cole Train’s not here to rescue you.”
    Baird did feel lost without Cole, and he didn’t need to admit it. But he felt more disoriented by being teamed with Dom. Things worked certain unspoken ways in four-man squads, and it was always Marcus and Dom, or Cole and Baird, or even Cole and Marcus, but rarely Baird and Dom. Baird couldn’t make small talk with Dom even before all the shit with his wife, so he had no idea how the hell he was going to manage now.
    Dom wouldn’t expect him to, of course. Baird could retreat into the socially inept smart-ass role he’d built for himself. It solved a lot of problems.
    “Dom, just tell me why we get all the job-shadow kids,” he said.
    “Because we’re the number-one pirate-slaying team.” Dom was all weary patience. He seemed to have withered into middle age in a matter of months. Life had finally kicked all that perky optimism out of him. “Look, Sam’s been a Gear as long as you have. You went through all this crap with Bernie, too, and now you kiss her ass.