The Eden Package by Blaze Ward

Author:Blaze Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781644702437
Publisher: Knotted Road Press

CHAPTER 52

Hasan had not been allowed back to his lab, much as he had been hoping otherwise. Lady Thammavongsa had brought him to her palace on another station instead. With any luck, all she wanted to do was talk, and keep an eye on him, and not leave her scent on his body.

But he still prepared for the worst possible outcome.

They were in a bizarre salon now. A circular pit one entered by walking down three steps. On one side, everything was Human sized, which meant most of the subject species could sit here comfortably, while the other had a deeper floor that allowed an Alvar to be seated roughly on a level.

So at least she was prepared to entertain Humans in her lair. Hasan didn’t want to think about all the disgusting things that creature might have done on these pillows. Hopefully she had staff that knew to clean them adequately afterwards.

They had supplied him with a drink that seemed to be just slightly alcoholic. Like the fermentation had been killed quickly, leaving a citrusy/berry flavor of tartness underneath the peach coloration.

She sat across from him and drank a steaming mug of something. Possibly the Alvar equivalent of coffee, but he’d never cared enough to study their social structure.

Only the political fault lines he needed, in order to exploit their weakness. To destroy them eventually and have his revenge on the species for every little humiliation they had subjected him to over the long decades.

Hasan worked assiduously to keep his face calm and cheerful as he waited on the woman to issue orders and threats.

Long game.

She smiled to herself, but he could not read that enigmatic grin on her face, so he kept his mouth shut.

“How long will it take you to fix your little Engine so that she does not break from your control?” Lady Thammavongsa asked abruptly.

As if he hadn’t just spent the last several hours asking himself that same question.

“Too long,” he rasped back at her angrily. “I cannot even begin to guess what that shit Kataragama did to her, that she could do such a thing to me. I suspect it would take a month to find all the weaknesses in her programming that are obviously present, and then several more to fix them.”

“Should we forgo using your Engine entirely and rely on a Warp Voyager instead?” she asked. “There will be many we can requisition.”

The casual way she just tossed that out there was what frosted him the most. She was Noble-born, a cousin of some sort to the Imperial House. So wealthy and important that she could just order a Warp Voyager put at her command and expect it to happen.

On the one hand, it would let him chase Kataragama and Prakash almost immediately. Each passage through a warp-shroud left a trail. If they passed through a Gage system, there would also be records of their flight. In an empty and remote place, theirs might be the only mar in the shroud itself, which would let him trail them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.