Saga of Shadows 1: The Dark Between the Stars Read Free Page A

don’t need nervous work crews.”
    “I suspected he might be plotting something.” Elisa focused more on her specific problem than on the overall question and its impact on Iswander operations—which demonstrated just how rattled she was. “I could tell by his mannerisms. Garrison can’t keep a secret to save his life.”
    “Do you have any idea where he’s gone? For a man to steal a child away from his mother is . . . not a good thing, not a good thing at all.”
    “It’s fortunate I was suspicious, sir. He checked the Iswander ships, saw which ones were fueled and supplied. Garrison thought he was being discreet, but I rigged tracers on all vessels. No matter where he goes, each time he stops and changes course, it’ll drop off a tiny signal buoy and squirt a message with his new coordinates.” She fought with the dryness in her throat. “I can track him, sir, but I’ll need to leave right away. He’s got a head start.”
    Iswander folded his hands on his desk. “You’re one of my most important employees, Elisa.”
    She thought he was going to refuse her request. “I understand this is a critical time for Iswander Industries, sir. You’re just leaving for Newstation—”
    His expression softened. “And I understand that this is even more important. Choose a ship of your own, any one you like—you’ve earned it. I’ll inform the other team leaders that you’re taking an unspecified amount of time for a personal matter.”
    Elisa should have felt relieved, but her anger wasn’t dampened, merely focused. “Yes, Mr. Iswander. This is definitely personal.”

T HREE
    A DAR Z AN ’ NH

    Orbiting the planet Ildira, the new starship looked out of place and alien, even to Ildiran eyes. The first of its kind, the Kolpraxa had an unusual design developed by visionaries, astronomers, and explorers. Unlike the giant fighting-fish silhouette of a Solar Navy warliner, this exploration ship had expanded-range engines, habitation spaces, and enlarged cargo holds for supplies on long voyages far outside the Spiral Arm, to push the edge of knowledge.
    After the Elemental War, the Mage-Imperator had given their race a new vision, to explore the unknown, to expand the Empire’s comfortable boundaries that had stood unchanged for millennia. Adar Zan’nh, the grand commander of the Ildiran Solar Navy, knew the Kolpraxa would be only the first of many such missions.
    Curiosity, ambition, and exploration were not common to the Ildiran psyche. This drive to seek answers to questions that had never before been asked was clearly a human thing. Zan’nh, and all Ildirans, had to adjust to so many changes in recent years. . . .
    The Adar’s inspection cutter arrived at the spacedock facility where the final engineering touches were being applied to the Kolpraxa. Teams of spacesuited worker kith floated around like beetles, using manipulator arms to remove the construction framework and nudge it away from the hull.
    Zan’nh landed the cutter inside the Kolpraxa ’s well-lit receiving bay and stepped out onto the polished deck. His hair was plaited in a tight braid and done up in a topknot. His short tunic was tied at his waist with a green sash that accentuated the greenish gold of his skin. Glittering rank insignia adorned his chest. For this formal meeting with Tal Gale’nh before the Kolpraxa ’s departure, he wanted to be worthy of the Ildiran epic, the Saga of Seven Suns.
    Yes, history would be made here.
    The halfbreed Gale’nh, who had been given command of the ship, marched forward to greet him. He was a young man with a proud demeanor and creamy features that clearly revealed his partial human heritage. A product of the secret Ildiran breeding program, he was the son of the green priest Nira and the legendary Solar Navy commander Adar Kori’nh—Zan’nh’s predecessor.
    At twenty-six, Gale’nh was young for his rank of tal, but he had a sharp mind and the ability to make swift and accurate decisions.