Centauri Pax by Skyler Grant

Author:Skyler Grant [Grant, Skyler]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-15T06:00:00+00:00

Things happened more or less as Bravo said. Within an hour the clearly alien vessel jumped away in a shimmer of green light. As soon as it was clear they brought the Vanguard ships, and the Imperium dreadnought manned by a skeleton crew, back into formation and jumped back to the colony.

Once the ship was settled Quinn went seeking out Mara. She had already disembarked and he found her sitting near one of the colonist's aquaculture ponds, Mara always loved the water.

"That was something. I'm surprised you aren't at a data feed," Quinn said.

"For what purpose? They won't talk to me. The fact that they were almost wiped out and I was completely unaffected is just proof of how far I've strayed," Mara said, before letting out an exhausted sigh.

Quinn settled himself down beside her and she leaned against him, her face pressing into his shoulder.

This was a side of Mara that Quinn hadn't seen very often. Mara was always strong, composed, focused on the mission.

"Bravo is still here, in part because she cares about you. You should know they all do," Quinn said.

"It is odd how all my life I wore only masks and I wondered if there was a real person behind them, who she was. Now I find something was there all along, because it is suddenly missing," Mara said, and her arms squeezed Quinn. With her strength it was enough to leave him feeling a little breathless.

"Do you think I made the right choice? Having us go to their rescue?"

"The resources of my new family were expended to save the lives of my old family," Mara said. "I think you did. I think they're a force for good. A dangerous, bloody-minded force for good, but a force for good all the same. The Imperium didn't do this casually, they did it because they're doing wicked things and they were scared."

Quinn knew at once that she was right. Mara's family was ruthless about the wrongful use of magic, and while they'd always given the Emperor some latitude it was increasingly obvious that the Triumvirate was less interested in reining in their worse impulses.

"They're going to come for us, aren't they? The Triumvirate, I mean. With our recent activities they have to fear us, just as they feared your family," Quinn said.

"I'd say it is almost certain. They are probably gathering the resources now most needed to come after us."

"The artifact that neutralized our ability to use the runic sphere. Your family had it. I wonder if they still do," Quinn said.

"We can ask Bravo, she'll know. I fear if they infiltrated the network as thoroughly as it seems, they knew the location. Our vessels always relied more on stealth than raw power."

"I'll check with Kalisa too. She was experimenting with a fix. Perhaps she figured something out," Quinn said.

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