Starfist: Steel Gauntlet
PROLOGUE
"Tell me, Gunnery Sergeant Bong, is it true what they say about Marines?"
"What's that, Madame Proconsul?"
"Call me !Tang'h, Gunnery Sergeant. Well, is it true?"
"Ma'am?"
"That they're like their swords...?" She smiled seductively, then looked quickly at the ceremonial sword fastened by its peace knot to his sword belt.
"A good Marine is always ready to stand tall for action, ma'am."
"Gunny, I think you should take a look at this," a small voice said in his right ear.
"Not now, Winterthur," he whispered into the throat mike concealed in the high stork collar of his dress scarlets.
"Gunny, it's really important."
"Excuse me for a moment," Gunnery Sergeant Bong said with some frustration. The Honorable Mistress !Tang'h looked even more ravishing than usual, Bong thought as he turned away from the Second Assistant Proconsul from Kalari'h. She'd been flirting with him for several months, and he'd finally managed to convince himself that a personal liaison on an official liaison mission might help in the succ ...
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