Free Reavers (Book 3) by Benjamin Schramm Page A

quickly muddled his way through donning the odd material.  It wasn’t at all flexible like fabric.  At most, it would bend slightly before snapping back into its original shape.  Glancing at his reflection in the smooth black walls of Rosalyn’s ship, Tardos started to realize why she had chosen the armor.
    While standard combat armor was durable and tough, it was anything but imposing.  Truth be told, a trooper in full combat armor had the appearance of a friendly snowman.  These suits, on the other hand, were anything but friendly.  Tardos’ reflection was more of a demon than a man.  The material was a dark blood red with sharp angles.  He looked like a beast with jagged scales covering his body.  He had to touch the wall to remind himself - it was only a reflection.
    “Are you ready?” Kevin asked in a gentle voice.
    “Let’s hope so,” Tardos said, forcing his hand to leave the wall.
    “You’ll do fine.”  Revel’s voice thundered as he rested a hand on Kevin’s shoulder.  “Just stick close to the rest of us and you’ll do fine.  I’m sure your protector here will keep you out of trouble.”
    “Hopefully, he’ll be looking out for the rest of us too,” Sasha said sheepishly.
    Noticing the girl for the first time, Tardos’ jaw dropped.  Not only were the suits customized, they were gendered.  While Tardos and Kevin looked like scaled demons, Sasha and the rest of the girls looked like seductive succubi.  While the material was angular and sharp for males, it was smooth and form fitting for the females.  Well, almost form fitting.  The suits were obviously enhancing some of the female aspects beyond what was originally there.  They even had small but menacing wings on their backs.  Tardos couldn’t help but groan.  Whatever respect he had formed for Rosalyn’s choice in armor had instantly been lost.
    “Do you think the captain is a lesbian?” Sasha asked in a whisper, as she studied her outfit.
    With a thunderous laugh and a hearty slap to her back, Revel started to grin.
    “Don’t be fooled,” he said as his grin continued to grow.  “The captain knows what she is doing.”
    “Are you sure about that?” Tardos asked, as he studied the outrageous costumes the captain was making them all wear.
    “Never seen a long hauler, have you?” Kevin asked, completely unfazed by the outfit he was wearing.
    “So he does speak!”  Revel raised an eyebrow at Kevin as he turned to face him.
    “It just takes him a while to get used to people,” Tardos said.
    “What’s a long hauler?” Sasha asked.  “Is that the ship we’ll be raiding?”
    “It’s not a kind of ship, it’s a kind of person,” Revel said.  “Traders are all about turnaround, how quickly they get back into the trade lanes after dropping off cargo.  The most dedicated of the traders are called long haulers because they’ll go months without a break.  I’ve even heard of a few that went years without so much as a vacation.  Most times the crew doesn’t even get off the ship when they reach a trade array.  They just drop off one load of freight, pick up another, and set off for the next trade array.”
    “Really?” Sasha asked.  “What a horrible life.”
    “It evens out,” Revel said with a shrug.  “A long hauler can make in eight months what a standard trader makes in a year.  Of course, after all that time in the trade lanes, they usually don’t bother to take any time off.  They actually grow to like the solitude.”
    “How does that explain these ridiculous outfits?” Tardos asked, still fussing.
    “Think about it,” Kevin said slowly.  “The traders on the ship haven’t seen a new face in months.”
    “Now I don’t know about you,” Revel winked to Tardos as he gestured at Sasha, “But after months of solitude, I wouldn’t dream of harming a beauty like that.”
    Sasha instantly blushed at the compliment and tried to cover the suggestive outfit with her arms.
    “So, the