The epic sequel to "The Astronites"! A year after defeating the manic Zsar Endgon in his latest march on the UEF, Natalie Hope and the Astronites are called back to the Astronic universe for a second mission. A mysterious message is emanating out of...
Ranger took command of the pirate camp now that its population had been reduced to him, Natalie, and Timber. Ranger searched through the pirates' stores of foodstuffs and handed portions to Natalie and Timber. When Natalie said she couldn't break out of her bonds, Ranger eyed her up and down her ten-foot-tall body as though she had personally insulted his mother.
"If you can't break out, then slip out!" he snapped as he dug a mass grave for the pirates.
Natalie toyed with Ranger's salty wisdom and tried imagining her hands were as flexible as jelly. Her fingers slowly turned into rubbery wedges and jumbled together like loose spaghetti, and lo and behold, she freed herself. When her musculoskeletal functions returned, Natalie went to Timber and assisted him out of his cage. It brought her enormous peace to distance herself from Swole Chunkus, the rocket that ominously rested on her cage.
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Do you know this strange man?Timber natalized as Natalie brought him to the bonfire. She opened a rusty can of foodstuffs and found soggy fruits and vegetables within. Without a spoon to use, Natalie scooped hand and brought the food to Timber's mouth.
I know enough about him to trust him, she answered.
Ranger finished burying the pirates and then, with his duffel bag, disappeared into one of the tents. When he reemerged, he was back in the same clothes he wore when Natalie met him. He brushed dust off his black beret and pulled out a teal mini-softstone from his pocket.
"You want?" he asked Natalie.
Natalie didn't bother asking how long the mini-softstone had been in Ranger's pocket.
"No thanks," she answered.
"Suit yourself," said Ranger. He held the mini-softstone near the bonfire and burned it to an amber glow before reclining on a downed tree log and stretching his legs. "We have an hour till dawn, and daylight won't help us stay hidden from the other pirates lurking about."
He inhaled his mini-softstone's fragrance like he was using his nose for the first time ever.
"Ahhh,"he exhaled, revealing the absence of his golden tooth. Natalie caught a whiff of the mini-softstone's scent: gasoline and wood cleaner. She didn't understand how Ranger found the smell appeasing.
"Well?" Natalie frankly asked. "Are you gonna tell me or not?"
Ranger smirked. "Tell you what? How I escaped Xorina's prison cell, got off the Xemplar's warship, and then came into this godforsaken bushwhacker garden?"
Ranger tipped his beret back and brought his hands behind his head.
"Every Phantom commando has a trick up his sleeve," he began. "But mine's in my mouth."
"Your golden tooth?" Natalie asked.
"It's not really a tooth," Ranger clarified. "It's a little container, and inside of it is a special anesthetic from Spawlelin — a variation of hydrogen-sulfide powder that can put you into near suspended animation. Brings your heart rate down to one beat every two minutes. All I had to do was break the tooth, breathe in the powder, and then go to sleep for half a day. Every Phantom carries the formula in case we need to play dead. One of my team leaders kept it in a fake eye. Another kept it in his toenail. I preferred a tooth because it was more convenient.
