Free Cradle of War (A Captain's Crucible Book 3) by Isaac Hooke Page B

crunched it loudly.
    “Where are you getting your appetite from, Jason?” Frank asked. He was Wolf’s current copilot.
    “I’m forcing myself.” Wolf raised his arms, and the intravenous tubes flopped about. “I’m getting mighty sick of these, and I figure if I make it look like I have an appetite they’ll disconnect the damn things.”
    “What are you eating anyway?” Frank asked.
    “Chips.” Wolf stuffed another into his mouth and chewed loudly. He offered the bag to Frank, and the pilot reached inside and produced a red-black, corrugated-looking chip.
    Frank held it up to the light. “Chips? This looks suspiciously like a Krenuvian variant.”
    Bridgette looked up the term on her aReal, and nearly gagged. Apparently, the denizens of Krenuvia created a special type of edible, organic “chip” by scraping off portions of their skin so that they bled, and when scabs developed over the exposed tissue, they collected and sold them as “chips.” Apparently it was a delicacy served by certain exotic restaurants as part of their appetizers. Some variants were derived from livestock, but the practice was frowned upon in most districts, and human “chipping” was often preferred. Funny that cruelty to humans should somehow be considered more acceptable than that to animals, though she supposed financial incentives negated any perceived barbarity on the human side: it was okay for men and women to suffer, as long as they were paid for it.
    “They’re not,” Wolf said.
    “It’s a bit disgusting you’d even bring something like that up,” Bridgette told Frank.
    “We’re in a medical setting. We have nothing to look at but our own scabs all day. Why wouldn’t I think of it?” Frank popped the chip into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
    “Actually I lied,” Wolf said. “They are Krenuvian.”
    Frank retched.
    “Notice that he waited until Frank actually swallowed it,” Hop said. He was Lin’s current copilot.
    “You’re a bastard, Wolf,” Frank said, dry heaving.
    “When people call me that, I know I’m doing something right.” Wolf gave Lin a wink.
    “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Bridgette said. “Lin. When we’re all well, would you be willing to come to a going away party I want to hold in your honor? My way of saying thank you, for saving my life. Before they send you back to the Salvador .”
    “I think I can do that,” Lin said. “But I have to warn you, there will be some tears shed that night.” She glanced at Wolf, who very carefully didn’t meet her eyes.
    “Thank you,” Bridgette said.
    “I’ll expect you to keep me updated with Eugene’s progress,” Lin said. “I have a vested interest in the child now, you know.”
    Bridgette smiled. “You saved us both.”
    “I can’t take all the credit. My copilot Hop did half the work.”
    Hop laughed. “I was there mostly for moral support.”
    “You know, I kind of envy you,” Frank told Lin when he finally recovered.
    “How’s that?” she replied.
    “You’re not stuck on the Callaway anymore,” Frank continued. “I for one would love the opportunity to serve aboard the Salvador , if only for the change. You can fall into a rut sometimes when you serve year in and year out on the same starship. Still, I know I speak for us all when I say we’re going to miss you.”
    Wolf finally met Lin’s eyes. “We’re all going to miss you.”
    Lin sighed. “And I’m going to miss you all, too. Saying goodbye once was hard enough. Having to do it all over again?” She shook her head sadly.
    Bridgette reached out and held her hand. “We can still talk over aReal every day.”
    Lin smiled sadly. “Yes we can.” Her gaze drifted once more to Wolf, and Bridgette finally understood.
    The two were lovers.
    How could Robert break them apart like that? She resolved to speak to him about it at the first opportunity.
    In the meantime she would rest and recuperate, and hope, with all her heart, that