Earth Song: Etude to War Read Online Free Page A

muscles in her legs were harder to adapt to than the complete replacement of her right arm. She already knew the answer.
    “The AX-2 will be ready in six months,” he said. Minu tried to ignore the shiver of terror that ran up her back, but it must have reached him through her arms. “You don't think I can make it?”
    “No,” she said and gently turned him to face her, “I'm terrified that you will.”
    His face softened and he kissed her, with passion this time. “That massage felt real good.”
    “Yeah? You want some more?” She was slowly unbuttoning the conservative blouse she wore.
    His eyes sparkled as he watched the show. “Sure. Lock the door, will you?”
    “I already did,” she said as his strong hands found her breasts.

 
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Julast 13th, 533 AE
    Groves Industries, Tranquility, Bellatrix
     
    Hours later, Minu was setting the table in their cabin while Aaron was putting the finishing touches on dinner; farm raised sea bass from Peninsula with new potatoes and broccoli. Minu had installed a couple strategically placed handholds in the kitchen months ago. Aaron had been furious at first but she'd raged back at him to shut up; the house was hers, not his.
    He’d quietly begun using them within a few days and now they were part of their normal routine. It was difficult to cook with one hand holding a cane all the time. The extra places for him to lean and hold on gave him the little help he needed in order to make their nightly ritual a partnership.
    Outside an aerocar whined overhead and Minu almost snarled unconsciously. Her secret hideaway had been public knowledge for years, and it wasn't unheard of for a reporter to make an unauthorized visit. But she glanced at the clock hanging next to the sink and saw what time it was.
    “Gregg is here,” Aaron said by the stove where he had a view of the enlarged parking area, confirming her thoughts.
    Minu's old red aerocar landed smoothly outside on the smaller of two landing pads. The second pad, added years ago and made of ceramic concrete, was nearly as big as the house. Occasionally a shuttle would arrive from orbit carrying a special visitor who would only set foot on Bellatrix in this very cabin.
    She turned and glanced at the car, feeling a little pang of regret. She'd left it to Gregg after running on her rescue mission for Pip. It was only fair that after he'd used it as his own for years that he would get to keep it. Still, the hot red machine was her first love, even when the dealer who sold her that car gave her a newer, hotter one upon her return.
    The codex had saved the dealer’s twin daughters when they had been born with a rare genetic defect that would have claimed their lives without the knowledge she'd found. She'd tried to refuse the gift, only to find out that he would 'set the god damn thing on fire if she didn't accept it!'
    The car doors gullwinged up as Gregg unfolded his long frame from one side and his wife emerged from the other. Approaching thirty-five, he'd developed a small bald spot that he tried to cover up by letting the rest grow longer. It didn't stop Aaron from harassing him every chance he got. Aaron was five subjective years younger, his hair thick and full. The codex proved useless on hair loss, a problem that the ancient simian hominid species apparently didn’t suffer from.
    The front door opened a moment later and Gregg's voice boomed out. “What's for dinner?”
    “Shit sandwiches,” Aaron replied.
    Faye stepped in, her face scrunched up in disgust at her husband and Aaron's usual ritual. She was just as tall as he was and with equally blond hair, cut short to her shoulders. Her own blue eyes were a little more subdued than Gregg's, but her choice of a pretty red blouse/skirt ensemble set them off brilliantly. Gregg had somehow managed to marry a woman even prettier than he was. When Minu had first met her, last year when he'd announced their engagement, she had liked Faye instantly.
    “I'll