Party Night on Union Station (EarthCent Ambassador Book 10) Read Online Free Page A

that Woojin didn’t even see administered, and then the Farling took the severed tentacle from Bork and gave the ambassador a dirty look.
    “You seem set on keeping me busy today, Drazen.”
    “It’s the tryouts for our reenactment group,” Bork said apologetically, looking about for something to wipe the gore off of his hand. He gave up and used the hem of the berserker cloak he was wearing. “The idiot was spinning an axe over his head like an immersive star, and he forgot to keep his tentacle down.”
    The beetle grumbled as it lined up the fat part of the severed tentacle with the stub. “I should fuse it on backwards to teach him a lesson.” A holographic message consisting of different sized dots materialized above the operating table and waited for the Farling to acknowledge it with a wave. “Oh, bother. The med bots are bringing in three Fillinduck burn victims from an initiation ceremony gone awry. At the risk of sounding impolite, please leave now.”
    Woojin quickly moved to join Bork in the lift-tube capsule, and the two acquaintances looked at each other sheepishly.
    “Mac’s Bones,” Bork told the capsule, and then asked, “What was yours?”
    “New recruit. Collapsed before the training even began. Do I gather that the tentacle chopper wasn’t your first audition accident of the day?”
    “Not even the first tentacle. If some of these youngsters had to fight in a real war—but no matter. It’s a good thing I bumped into you. I meant to stop by the embassy to see your wife this evening, but our open tryouts turned into a bloodbath.”
    “We’re on morning time, actually, so Lynx will be there another seven hours or so if you still have the energy. Anything I should know about?”
    “I’m just a little uncertain about your seniority system now that the ambassador is away,” the Drazen admitted. The capsule door slid open and he accompanied Woojin into the corridor that led to Mac’s Bones. “I understand that Lynx is occupying Kelly’s office and handling general inquiries, and I believe my report on EarthCent Intelligence suggests that your wife is a step closer to the, er, reins of power than you are.”
    “Lynx outranks me in everything,” Woojin replied easily. “But she’s helping out with the diplomatic branch this month, so if it’s an intelligence issue and you couldn’t get a hold of Clive or Blythe, I guess it’s Thomas and then me.”
    “I’m sure Thomas won’t mind if I ask you to pass this on, since I need to hurry back to the skirmish before somebody really gets hurt. We’ve been hearing disturbing rumors out of the Empire of a Hundred Worlds for some time that the tunnel network secessionists are planning some sort of action.”
    “Fleet versus the Imperials?”
    “No, this relates to a long-standing schism about the Vergallian place amongst humanoid species. Our intelligence people will certainly be in touch with you about it in the near future, but given the large number of human mercenaries employed on Vergallian tech-ban worlds, not to mention your intelligence agents and Galactic Free Press reporters, I wanted to give you as much advance notice as possible. It’s the sort of information I’d usually pass directly to Kelly, so as not to ruffle any feathers in the special relationship between our spy services.”
    “Thank you, Bork. I’ll pass it on to Thomas and my wife, and I’ll ping Clive and Blythe, though they’re officially on vacation. I think they’ve been organizing their lives around their daughter’s dance practices for the last few years, but with Samuel gone for the month, their schedule has opened up.”
    “Tough business, competitive dancing,” Bork acknowledged. “I only wish some of the would-be warriors I saw today had better footwork. Speaking of which, I have to run.”
    The Drazen returned to the lift tube, and Woojin headed into Mac’s Bones to reassure the trainees that their fellow was on his way to a full