Epic: Book 03 - Hero Read Online Free

was focused. He could think of real things, he could think of the big picture of Earth, he could deduce. It was a welcome escape. At least, that was one of his reasons.
    As Scott walked past the cells, his mind filed through the basic questions. What made Earth so important? Were the purple-skinned Bakma and the reptilian Ceratopians working together? Were the Ithini “grays” the ones behind it all? The mystery of everything always bothered him, probably more than it bothered everyone else.
    Though he understood little in the grand scheme of things, he’d learned a few things since starting his visits. The personalities of the Bakma were vastly different from those of the Ceratopians. The Bakma—the “purple monkeys”—were noticeably despondent. They bore looks of resigned defeat. That was part of their mystery. They were quick to surrender, but they weren’t cowards. They had a reason to surrender, but what was it? To live a life of captivity and interrogation? Was that better than death?
    The Ceratopians, on the other hand, were pure brutes. Scott felt a knot in his stomach every time he saw the giant, five-horned lizards. Khatanga was the last time his unit had been assigned a Ceratopian mission. Every mission since had been the Bakma. After a failure of Khatanga’s magnitude, The Machine didn’t trust the Fourteenth. That annoyed Scott to no end.
    As he strode past the cells, he surveyed the inhabitants. His eyes stopped on a brown-furred, unspectacular canrassi. Occasionally orange-furred canrassis were captured. Those had an exotic look, made repulsive only by their pair of spider eyes. Black furs had become rare of late, but that was fine by him. Their viciousness was unparalleled.
    His thoughts were interrupted by Petrov. “Will you speak to a prisoner today, lieutenant?”
    Scott never actually “spoke” to any prisoners. His visits rarely exceeded staring contests, despite efforts to communicate. That was the disadvantage of not knowing alien languages. “I don’t know. I don’t guess the new ones talk English or Russian?”
    Petrov chuckled. “I am afraid they are never here long enough to learn. And as soon as they learn enough, they are shipped away.”
    “ Off to EDEN Command?”
    “ Not always. We send many to Cairo .”
    Surprised, Scott turned to the scientist. “Why Cairo ?”
    “ Cairo is premier base for xenobiology. The good ones go there.”
    “ Huh.”
    “ I wish I could get transferred to Cairo .”
    “ Better research?”
    “ No,” Petrov answered. “Because Egypt is warm.”
    Scott’s comm beeped. It wasn’t a mission tone; that sound was distinct from any other. This was a communication prompt. Someone was trying to reach him.
    As soon as Scott looked at the display, he saw the name of the caller. It was Clarke. Scott felt the knot in his stomach tighten again, but this time for an entirely different reason. It did that every time he spoke to the captain. He almost hated the man. Lifting the comm to his lips, he answered, “Remington.”
    “ Please come to my office, lieutenant.”
    Scott sighed. “On my way.”
    Petrov stepped over to Scott’s side. “You will be leaving us already?”
    “ I’m afraid so. Life never ends.” It was an unintentionally cryptic statement. At times, he couldn’t wait for life to end. But life woke him up every day.
    “ Then I will see you again soon.”
    “ Yeah, you will.” Scott offered the scientist a rare smile; he was one of the few men who received one. Scott left in silence, bidding no other scientists farewell.

    Scott knew why the captain had commed him. Viktor had mentioned the arrival of a new medic. The captain didn’t know Scott already knew.
    He couldn’t help but recall Viktor’s comment: Viktor had wondered if Varvara would remain. There was an underlying legitimacy to Viktor’s concern. Clarke had no use for Varvara at all. The captain used many adjectives to describe her, among them words like lazy and