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Killlike I offered to shoot her, instead of telling her the truth "Call esture toward a fallen tree, and she reluctantly sits
Her feet are a mess, and I have to bite back a hiss when I see them The straps have rubbed her skin raw, and her toes are puffy with blisters The skin’s red and shiny, and there’ll be blood sooner, not later Both her ankles are swollen
Luckily for h she’s too eood, because I’entle as I slide the little straps through the buckles, unthreading the shoes and easing thes, probably worth a month’s pay each--and snap the heels off
She looks down to see what I’ to cover her mouth But in whatever passes for reality for her, even she must see the shoes have done their duty She’s silent as I hunt through the first-aid kit, carefully wrapping and taping the worst parts of her feet In the end I have to let out the straps, and fasten the newly flat shoes around her swollen feet as best I can
I offer her my hands, and she lets roan, without a whimper I’m not sure I could’ve made it this far on feet that badly torn up Lilac LaRoux’s handled a forced march with more determination than some of the recruits I’ve taken out in the last couple of years, even if she seeive her hands a squeeze "There, see? When you get hoh heels I know you kno to set a trend"
And there it is, against all hope, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds The soal other than reaching the crash site?"
"You et myself landed on the planet"
"And ould you do that?"
"That’s et out of there"
"Very well What happened next?"
TEN
LILAC
I’M TOO OUT OF BREATH TO TALK and walk at the sa the pace, so I’ behind him, with very little opportunity for complaint Eventually, after the fifth or sixth tiravity finish its work and clairound harder than I’d like, but I’m too tired to care
Ahead ofsilence before he speaks "Take a break Rest your feet, have soain in fifteen y to push s are ainst raw skin despite the tape I can’t help but wonder how long it will take the blisters and calluses on my feet to fade e’re rescued How soon will I be able to wear proper shoes again without displayingsome distance away, not even winded Does he have to rub it in, how easy this is for hi me I’ll show him how much a LaRoux can handle
For all I know, there are rescue craft headed for our pod’s crash site as we speak, but because of his idiocy, we’re out in the ht see us
A tiny voice at the back of my mind tries to point out how much better suited for this situation he is than I a weak I’ this soldier decide my every step I’m Lilac LaRoux
"Major, we need to rethink our plan" I try to keep ood job "The Icarus crashed behind a e There’s no e can make this sort of trek I knoorked for you on Patron, but you had a whole team of soldiers and field researchers there Just because it worked once doesn’ttowe can do that will guarantee us anything," he replies, shaking his head in quick dismissal "We can be sure there’ll be rescue craft at the wreck site"
"If we o back, it’s our best hope"
"I prefer toaround to look"Listen, I can’t drag your ass through the forest for you You have to ithat all withat him "You’re not the lord and master of this planet, and you’re not the lord and oing to discuss every single step we take?" I’ve reduced him to a frustrated roar, but there’s no lick of satisfaction in response--I’ant boy How old is he? He can’t be more than a couple of years older than ot a lifetime of experience just because he liberated one tiny outpost once A one-trick pony with a chest full ofto listen to reason, Major?"