The Dark Imbalance Read Online Free
Author: Sean Williams, Shane Dix
Tags: Fiction, Science-Fiction, Space Opera
this system; it’s hard to isolate individual thoughts without knowing precisely who to focus on....> Roche appreciated the girl’s difficulties, reaching out across space, clutching at any thought that seemed important out of the millions flung her way.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be modest, Morgan,” Haid put in lightly. “You’ve made a lot of enemies in the last few weeks. It’s only natural they’re going to be talking about you.”
Maii frowned and fell silent.
And into the silence came a new voice, a voice that resounded through their minds with discomforting familiarity:
The speaker was a strong but faceless epsense presence.
On the main screen, the stationary dot suddenly moved to a new course, away from them.
“ Now what?” asked Roche, increasingly bewildered.
Maii’s voice was hushed.
Haid stiffened over the weapons board. “ Olmahoi ? Here?”
The girl’s relief was touched with an underlying fear.
“Great,” said Roche dryly, rubbing at her forehead. The irikeii —linchpin of the epsense-dependent Olmahoi Caste—had been killed by a representative of the Kesh. If the grayboot had suspected that they were involved—and why else would he have tracked them down so quickly?—they were lucky to have escaped some sort of automatic reprisal. The Olmahoi retribution squads weren’t known for their patience.
Still, Roche thought, having her brain instantly fried might just solve her problems right now....
“Ustinik is hailing us again,” said Kajic. “As is the Surin.”
“Okay.” Roche sat forward. “Uri, take us somewhere else—somewhere a long way from here, and as fast as possible.”
“In-system?”
“Yes, but make it hard for someone to follow, without being too obvious about it. Use camouflage if you think it will help. Ustinik might be bluffing, and so might the Surin. Either way, I don’t like being an open target.”
Roche felt a gentle thrum through her fingertips and thighs as the ship broke orbit.
She waited a moment, then checked the main screen. Kajic’s words only confirmed what she saw.
“Ustinik is changing course, at a discreet distance, and continuing to hail us. The Surin imaret has broken off communications and is heading away. That Dato ship I mentioned is still keeping quiet, but looks like it’s going to follow too. There is another ship...” Kajic ringed a newcomer to the screen. “It’s a COE fighter we passed before. Might be tagging along for the ride as well.”
Roche used her controls to expand the view and scan the regions ahead of them. There were ships everywhere—all moving in wildly varying directions with dangerously different velocities, all orbiting the yellow star at the heart of the system. She was glad it was Kajic, and not her, piloting the ship.
“No sign of the Kesh?” she asked.
“None yet.”
“Good.” That was one less thing to worry about. If the Olmahoi were annoyed at the Kesh for killing the irikeii, she was sure the Kesh would be just as annoyed with her for having destroyed one of their prized ships.
The voice of the AI whispered solely through her implants. Now that she was becoming used to the idea that it was actually part of her, living in her cells, she found its voice less discomfiting. It was almost like hearing another part of herself think.
it said.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be modest, Morgan,” Haid put in lightly. “You’ve made a lot of enemies in the last few weeks. It’s only natural they’re going to be talking about you.”
And into the silence came a new voice, a voice that resounded through their minds with discomforting familiarity:
On the main screen, the stationary dot suddenly moved to a new course, away from them.
“ Now what?” asked Roche, increasingly bewildered.
Maii’s voice was hushed.
Haid stiffened over the weapons board. “ Olmahoi ? Here?”
“Great,” said Roche dryly, rubbing at her forehead. The irikeii —linchpin of the epsense-dependent Olmahoi Caste—had been killed by a representative of the Kesh. If the grayboot had suspected that they were involved—and why else would he have tracked them down so quickly?—they were lucky to have escaped some sort of automatic reprisal. The Olmahoi retribution squads weren’t known for their patience.
Still, Roche thought, having her brain instantly fried might just solve her problems right now....
“Ustinik is hailing us again,” said Kajic. “As is the Surin.”
“Okay.” Roche sat forward. “Uri, take us somewhere else—somewhere a long way from here, and as fast as possible.”
“In-system?”
“Yes, but make it hard for someone to follow, without being too obvious about it. Use camouflage if you think it will help. Ustinik might be bluffing, and so might the Surin. Either way, I don’t like being an open target.”
Roche felt a gentle thrum through her fingertips and thighs as the ship broke orbit.
She waited a moment, then checked the main screen. Kajic’s words only confirmed what she saw.
“Ustinik is changing course, at a discreet distance, and continuing to hail us. The Surin imaret has broken off communications and is heading away. That Dato ship I mentioned is still keeping quiet, but looks like it’s going to follow too. There is another ship...” Kajic ringed a newcomer to the screen. “It’s a COE fighter we passed before. Might be tagging along for the ride as well.”
Roche used her controls to expand the view and scan the regions ahead of them. There were ships everywhere—all moving in wildly varying directions with dangerously different velocities, all orbiting the yellow star at the heart of the system. She was glad it was Kajic, and not her, piloting the ship.
“No sign of the Kesh?” she asked.
“None yet.”
“Good.” That was one less thing to worry about. If the Olmahoi were annoyed at the Kesh for killing the irikeii, she was sure the Kesh would be just as annoyed with her for having destroyed one of their prized ships.
The voice of the AI whispered solely through her implants. Now that she was becoming used to the idea that it was actually part of her, living in her cells, she found its voice less discomfiting. It was almost like hearing another part of herself think.
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