Page 29 of Agrippa's Acceptance

Anatu shrugged. “I prefer to stay here; can you pass me some food.”

“Sure.” She turned and stopped. Coloel Farnham sat across from Amelagar, with the two sergeants on either side of him.

Amelagar had a ferocious scowl on his face and he stared, unblinking at sergeant Scott.

“You’ve got a problem with me?” He saw Agrippa hovering and coughed. He got up with a flourish. “Please have a seat ma’am.”

Agrippa smiled at him and sat down next to Amelagar who still glared at the sergeant. She put her hand on his.

“Do not do charming human male manners to impress her, she is mine.”

“Wouldn’t think of doing that captain.”

Agrippa wiggled closer to Amukkan and he put his arm around her.

“We can’t win this war if they keep churning out more ships,” Colonel Farnham said. He looked at Agrippa, his face set in grim lines. “Do you think they can do that ma’am, without running out of materials?”

“Yes, the cloning technology allows them to grow anything they need in whatever quantities they need them.”

“We’re fucked, pardon my French, ma’am,” another marine said.

Agrippa frowned, that was an English word he kept asking pardon for. Humans were weird.

“We need to cut them off at the source,” Amelagar said.

The commander leaned forward. “So let me get this straight, no matter how many clones we kill, they’ll simply send more?”

“Yes.”

“And there are doubles of all the clones in these ships, waiting to be activated, back on Tunria?”

“Yes, and doubles of the ships as well,” Amelagar said.

“Fuck me,” the marine muttered and washed his hand over his short hair. “Pardon my French ma‘am.”

The small observation desk one story up was the only privacy any of them had. Apart from the basic bathrooms.

“Then what use is this mission? We can’t win against those odds.”

“You want to give up?” He’d surprised her. What little she’d seen of humans, giving up was not in their nature.

“Hell no.”

Their glances held and in his she saw his reluctance to put her in even bigger danger. But they both knew it was their only chance.

“I think I can increase our speed,” Agrippa told Amelagar. She knew what he planned and fear nearly crippled her, but it was their only chance.

“What are we talking about?” Colonel Farnham turned to face them.

“We will go to the home world and destroy the cloning temples.”

“Are you crazy?” Sargeant Bjorn looked incredulous.

Colonel Farnham cleared his throat. “What about our mission to destroy the Tunrian ships before they reach earth?”

“It doesn’t matter how many we blow up. We need to cut off their supply.”

“I didn’t join this mission to take on the cyborg home world mate,” Sargeant Scott said.

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