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He reached into his cloak and came out with a flower.
It was made of plastic and worn around the edges from the number of times he’d performed the same routine.
Layla took it and smelled it… before choking on the fumes it’d absorbed from Klem’s body. “That’s… that’s… lovely,” she managed before falling into a coughing fit.
Klem, with a concerned eye on Layla, sidled up to me and whispered behind his hand. “She’s not… odd, is she?”
I considered my response carefully as the last thing I needed on this mission was for Klem to get distracted by a female.“Veryodd,” I told him.
Klem made atsksound. “Pity.”
He ran his eyes over Layla’s body as she regained control of herself. “How odd, exactly?”
Klem was incorrigible.
I’d never known him to pass on a female unless she turned out to be so strange that it wasn’t worth the effort.
He scratched his chin thoughtfully as he considered his next move.
He opened his mouth and I cut him off:
“Where are the others?”
“Inside,” Klem said. “Those that remain of us, at least. Life in the Space Marines can take its toll. In more ways than one.”
I nodded somberly back at him.
A soldier’s life was always hard and made even worsewhen you were jettisoned off to far and distant planets where you had no right to be.
I extended my arm to Layla, who took it gratefully.
She handed the flower back to Klem, who seemed a little put out. “Maybe next time, then.”
There was a reason that flower looked as used as it was.
It had been handed out — and returned — more times than I could count.
If Klem only replaced it with one that didn’t smell of body odor, he might just stand a chance.
By now, the hatch door had lowered to the ground.
I was cautious as we ascended it and I kept my hands on Layla at all times.
I didn’t release her until we reached the top.
“Now I’ve just got to draw her in,” Klem said, slapping his hand on a big red button.
The hatch door whirred but stopped halfway up.
“Oh, you dirty bugger!” Klem said, and he hung over the side of the hatch door and reached out to pull it back in.
The ship had already taken off and we swung through the atmosphere.
There was a heavythump!as the hatch door locked into place but no sooner was it shut than I heard a loudcrackand Klem wail out loud.
“Icor! Icor!” he bellowed.
But I pretended I couldn’t hear him.
