Keeper Read Online Free Page A

year and a half at least. My sister and I rated a secure connection because we are twins, but I wanted to send the sealed data to you so that the Minders couldn’t pick her brain. She would just have received this and then had to find a way to get it to you…but I digress. I sent this on a time delay so my sister will have gotten it to you as fast as she could.”
    She inhaled and exhaled in a blast. “I did something stupid. Do you remember that I was told not to get too involved with my charges? I didn’t listen. A kid in trouble is still a kid in trouble. So, if you want to find me, start with the place I was last seen and ask my ship’s sisters where we went. If I am missing, so is the Grey Talon .
    “If you send someone else, tell them to say Marty . I will get the hint.”
    The vid went dark.
    Ikvaro exhaled heavily. He had hoped that she sent the signal live from wherever she was hiding. This meant that her sister had been telling the complete truth. Aggie’s mind was dark because she was sleeping and even her ship was only equipped to keep her under for two years. They were running out of time.
    He opened the secure box he had and removed one of the hair combs that Aggie had brought from Earth. It had put her over her travel weight limit, so she had asked him to hold onto it for her. Now, he was going to hand it to Pendrikan and have him use his tracking capabilities.
    Having friends with talents who were chafing at retirement was a handy thing, but when it was all said and done, Ikvaro was confident that Pendrikan would want to enjoy his retirement with a Terran of his own. The species was addictive and Ikvaro had met half a dozen women that he wouldn’t have minded spending his life with, if he hadn’t met Aggie first. That one small woman had turned his life upside down and thrown him into uncharacteristic celibacy. It added a certain urgency to getting her back.
    He took the box and brought it to the cockpit. Pen was arguing with the navigation computer.
    “Enough, Pen. We need to head to Zenfar. I need to speak with the Avatar.”
    “What’s in the box?”
    “The only trace of Aggie that I have.”
    Pen took it with reverence, catching on to Ikvaro’s mood. He was normally jovial, but he sobered while Ikvaro took the controls.
    Ikvaro keyed in the coordinates of Zenfar and increased their speed.
    “Uh, General, she was last seen on Hirwin Prime. Why are we going to Zenfar?”
    It didn’t surprise Ikvaro that his friend had opened the files. “We are going to Zenfar because they just got a new Avatar, and he was the last person to see Aggie.”
    “Right. We talk to him and then go to Hirwin Prime where I can use this comb to track your ladylove.”
    Ikvaro focussed on the controls. “She isn’t my ladylove. Not yet. First, I have to thaw her out and then crack her out of her armour. Aggie is a woman with layers.”
    Pen chuckled. “I am guessing that she is.”
    “Hands off, Pen.”
    “We haven’t even found her yet. Allow me to imagine what your true love looks like, General.”
    “Her image is in her file.”
    “I know, but tormenting you is just so much more fun.”
    Ikvaro growled low and went silent. He had clues to follow and time was running out.
     
    The full diplomatic welcome was a bit of a surprise. Ikvaro and Pen walked under full guard into the council chamber where the new Avatar was holding court. Wovian-Zenfar was strong, confident and he seemed to recognize Ikvaro the moment that they walked in front of him.
    The first words spoken by the Avatar were, “Have you found her?”
    Ikvaro shook his head. “I have only begun looking. What can you tell me about the warrants out for her arrest?”
    “They have all been dismissed and a dispensation has been put through the Alliance records. She was acting according to her moral core and her responsibilities as a Keeper. She kept me from making the wrong decision until I could come to the right one my own way.”
    Wovian-Zenfar