Deception Well (The Nanotech Succession Book 2) Read Free

he wanted to be able to love that much, to believe. . . .
    The cough that had been working at his lungs finally slipped out in that moment of stress. It started small, but after the first hack Lot lost all control over it. He turned away, throwing his hands over his face as his body shook with the convulsions. He felt as if he were choking, as if his lungs were melting, as if he couldn’t get a breath. And all the time he was picturing Nesseleth and wondering if it would be worse to strangle, or to burn.
    He was on his knees before it was over. In his hands he could see blood-colored mucus. He could feel the weight of Jupiter’s gaze, and the sense of his anger all around.
    Then Jupiter was there. He swept Lot up in his arms, holding him against his chest as if he weighed nothing. “What have they done to him?” he demanded of Captain Hu, and the fury in his voice made Lot shrink. “Have the Silkens used assault Makers against him?”
    “We can’t know that yet, Jupiter.” Hu took two stomping steps toward the loading bay. “Medic!” he bellowed. “Dammit, where’s that medic?”
    “Get a tactical squad on this,” Jupiter growled. “If the Silkens want to play germ warfare, then let them. We’ll see how their museum Makers hold up against a modern arsenal.”
    Lot started to protest. The dust in the ancient air ducts had irritated his lungs. There had been no assault Makers. But another coughing spasm took him and he couldn’t get the words out. Blood sputtered out between his lips, smearing across Jupiter’s armored chest. Then strong arms were grasping him from behind, pulling him away.
    Jupiter bent quickly, kissed him firmly on the head. “We’ll be together again.”
    “No, wait!” Lot croaked, reaching for him. “I didn’t mean it. Don’t leave me.” But Jupiter was already gone.
     

CHAPTER
    2
    L OT COULD NOT REMEMBER A TIME BEFORE THE GREAT SHIP . He’d been born on the long outward passage from the star cluster called the Committee. Nesseleth had been his world. In her warrens he’d known a hazy, timeless sense of permanence, as if his life there might go on forever with no real change. The new world to which they were bound had seemed as theoretical as death, a phantom specter lying far, far over his personal horizon.
    Then Lot had turned seven—over a year and a half ago now—and Jupiter had taken him to his strategic chamber aboard the great ship. There, he showed him a holographic schematic of their destination.
    Lot studied the star system. A faint white nebula veiled the G-type primary, enwrapping it like the woven nests some spiders spun around their eggs. The nebula looked nothing like the warm, dark spheres that enclosed the cordoned suns of the Hallowed Vasties. “That star is Kheth?” Lot asked, unsure what was expected of him. Jupiter nodded.
    Under the veil, Lot could see only one planet. Its image was exaggerated in scale, a lovely terrestrial world wrapped in a meld of living green and blue. Within the planet’s orbit, the density of the nebula was very low. Puzzled, Lot looked up at Jupiter. “Where are the other planets?” he asked. “Where are the moons and the asteroids?”
    Jupiter gazed thoughtfully at the display. “This is all that’s left. If there were other planets, they’re gone now, or dispersed into the stony nebula. The Chenzeme must have scourged this system.”
    Lot felt his heartbeat quicken. He knew all about the ancient war of the Chenzeme. It had been fought a long time before people even existed—a terrible alien conflict that had left no known survivors. The Chenzeme were gone. But their weapons still prowled the void, attacking great ships and frontier worlds at unpredictable intervals. Still, Lot had never heard of the Chenzeme actually tearing a planet to pieces. That would make them as powerful as the people of the Hallowed Vasties. . . .
    An objection occurred to him. He looked cautiously to Jupiter, assaying his mood, searching for