for this mission. Sub-Major Ellis, this is Penn, the man you will be… escorting.” He added as if unsure how to phrase it.
Penn's overly keen senses detected her before she entered the room, and it accounted for his unconscious reaction as she walked in. Even with his instant dislike, Penn assessed her quickly with a soldier's eye. An inch over six feet tall, neat, trim figure, small feet, short reddish gold hair, cut short in a military fashion peeking out from under her side hat. Her Imperial undress grays were immaculate tailored to fit her trim body to perfection. The decoration on her ample breast told him that she had a lot of combat experience, more than he would have expected for someone so young. That spoke to a lot of combat experience.
Obviously, Sub-Major Ellis was a hardass who'd worked her way up through the Imperial Military ranks to her present position on talent. It told him a lot about her, and he felt an odd sense of pride that a human, and a woman to boot, could survive in the harsh reality of the Imperial Military establishment, and do as well as she'd obviously had. Unless of course she'd worked her way up on her back, with her legs spread. Looking at her again he decided no, she'd done it the hard way, doubting many men got into her panties. Penn pulling his mind back from the intriguing thought. Her face smooth, clear, olive skin pulled tight over angular bone, square jaw and a small pug nose. All in all, an uncommonly strong face from Penn's point of view. The one thing detracting from her beauty was the harsh stress lines around her mouth, and the almost permanent frown lines between her light gray eyes. She was definitely pissed off about something, and had been for a very long time by the look of it. Combat stress could do that, but Penn felt there was a deep anger, barely suppressed, not unlike himself in some ways.
“And what is Mr. Penn's function, General?” Sub-Major Ellis asked in a crisp tone. General Tandy looked at her a moment, deciding how much to tell her.
“You are the Ground Commander for the mission, and Penn will act as… your scout… your guide and point man.”
“And his expertise in this area?” She asked. The subtext was that he wasn't military, and therefore suspect. She also made it sound as if she were addressing a subordinate, instead of an Imperial General.
“Mr. Penn has... shall we say, a lot of experience in the type of terrain you will encounter.” Ellis cocked a questioning eyebrow at the General.
General Tandy gritted his teeth. What was it about these damn human's that they needed an explanation for everything? Why couldn't they be like other good little indig soldiers and just do what they were ordered, without a lot of questions? Even so, her attitude, and tone of voice intimidate him. Humans called it 'command voice', and it was something he noted before. He wondered for a moment if it was something humans were born with. Penn wasn’t the one eyeing the Sub-Major’s breasts, and even as the General’s eye dropped from her face, they slid sideways to the ribbons. Like any soldier he could read them like an open book, and the story they told, brought home to him again just how dangerous these damn humans were. As young and sexually appealing as she looked, forcibly trying to seduce her would probably be a painful, if not deadly experience. Getting a grip on himself, he brought his attention back to the mission, expelling his vagrant sexual fantasy, back to the depth where it belonged.
“Mr. Penn has, had military experience, and can get the job done.” He growled at last, not wanting to get into an explanation right now. He'd fill her in on the details later, or as much as she needed to know.
“What he means is. I'm a survivor,” Penn interjected, “he's probably thinking you, and whoever else goes on this mission, will be dead real
Penn's overly keen senses detected her before she entered the room, and it accounted for his unconscious reaction as she walked in. Even with his instant dislike, Penn assessed her quickly with a soldier's eye. An inch over six feet tall, neat, trim figure, small feet, short reddish gold hair, cut short in a military fashion peeking out from under her side hat. Her Imperial undress grays were immaculate tailored to fit her trim body to perfection. The decoration on her ample breast told him that she had a lot of combat experience, more than he would have expected for someone so young. That spoke to a lot of combat experience.
Obviously, Sub-Major Ellis was a hardass who'd worked her way up through the Imperial Military ranks to her present position on talent. It told him a lot about her, and he felt an odd sense of pride that a human, and a woman to boot, could survive in the harsh reality of the Imperial Military establishment, and do as well as she'd obviously had. Unless of course she'd worked her way up on her back, with her legs spread. Looking at her again he decided no, she'd done it the hard way, doubting many men got into her panties. Penn pulling his mind back from the intriguing thought. Her face smooth, clear, olive skin pulled tight over angular bone, square jaw and a small pug nose. All in all, an uncommonly strong face from Penn's point of view. The one thing detracting from her beauty was the harsh stress lines around her mouth, and the almost permanent frown lines between her light gray eyes. She was definitely pissed off about something, and had been for a very long time by the look of it. Combat stress could do that, but Penn felt there was a deep anger, barely suppressed, not unlike himself in some ways.
“And what is Mr. Penn's function, General?” Sub-Major Ellis asked in a crisp tone. General Tandy looked at her a moment, deciding how much to tell her.
“You are the Ground Commander for the mission, and Penn will act as… your scout… your guide and point man.”
“And his expertise in this area?” She asked. The subtext was that he wasn't military, and therefore suspect. She also made it sound as if she were addressing a subordinate, instead of an Imperial General.
“Mr. Penn has... shall we say, a lot of experience in the type of terrain you will encounter.” Ellis cocked a questioning eyebrow at the General.
General Tandy gritted his teeth. What was it about these damn human's that they needed an explanation for everything? Why couldn't they be like other good little indig soldiers and just do what they were ordered, without a lot of questions? Even so, her attitude, and tone of voice intimidate him. Humans called it 'command voice', and it was something he noted before. He wondered for a moment if it was something humans were born with. Penn wasn’t the one eyeing the Sub-Major’s breasts, and even as the General’s eye dropped from her face, they slid sideways to the ribbons. Like any soldier he could read them like an open book, and the story they told, brought home to him again just how dangerous these damn humans were. As young and sexually appealing as she looked, forcibly trying to seduce her would probably be a painful, if not deadly experience. Getting a grip on himself, he brought his attention back to the mission, expelling his vagrant sexual fantasy, back to the depth where it belonged.
“Mr. Penn has, had military experience, and can get the job done.” He growled at last, not wanting to get into an explanation right now. He'd fill her in on the details later, or as much as she needed to know.
“What he means is. I'm a survivor,” Penn interjected, “he's probably thinking you, and whoever else goes on this mission, will be dead real
Similar Books
