Void Wraith (The Void Wraith Trilogy Book 2) Read Free Page B

listlessly. Juliard's arm had healed, and she'd thrown herself into data management. That meant reviewing both the data core he'd taken from the Johnston just before she'd blown up, and everything they'd learned during their months with the Primo. The latter was, regrettably, scarce. The Primo were tight-lipped, and Dryker still had little idea what was happening between the Tigris and humanity.
    "I do not understand how gathering such data will be useful," Khar rumbled, resting his elbows on the railing as studied the Primo home world. "If the Primo continue to imprison us, how will we tell anyone? How will we stop the war that has erupted between our peoples?"
    Dryker clenched a fist, turning away from the Primo fleet. "We won't. But what else can we do? They're not going to release us until they're ready, and knowing the Primo we could die of old age first."
    Cloth swished as Celendra, the Primo commander, approached. She was shorter than the imposing escorts that flanked her, though still taller than Dryker. Celendra walked with the odd reverse gait of her people--Primo legs bent in the opposite direction from a human's. Her skin was the color of seafoam, and her eyes were pools of deep red. She wore shimmering white garments, quite unlike most of the other Primo they'd met.
    She slowed as she approached, her lantern eyes fixed on Dryker.
    "You seem perturbed, Captain," Celendra said in a monotone characteristic of her species. "What has upset you this time?"
    "This time?" Dryker said, suppressing the fire that bubbled up in his belly. "It's the same problem, Celendra. You've kept us here as 'guests' while our respective races go to war. Human and Tigris are wiping each other out, and Khar and I might be able to stop that if you'd let us return. You've seen the evidence I'm carrying."
    "You lesser races are so impatient," Celendra said, shaking her head sadly. She leaned on her staff, staring through the dome at the Primo fleet. "The last of us will arrive soon. We are so few now. Once they are here, we will begin the conclave. Your evidence will be central to our decision, and we need you here to deliver that. That must take precedence."
    "What of our people?" Khar growled, his feline eyes narrowing to slits. "Do you care nothing for them? The war with the Void Wraith affects us all, and my people burn while you sit here in orbit doing nothing."
    "Take care with your accusations, Tigris," Celendra said, somehow conveying menace with her flat tone. "As I've told you both repeatedly, we are not 'doing nothing.' It takes time to gather a conclave. If you are truly correct about the Void Wraith controlling the leadership of both your peoples, then the situation must be approached carefully. Our only advantage is surprise, and if we reveal our knowledge too soon our enemies will counter any moves we make."
    "We may have already revealed that knowledge," Dryker countered. He took a step closer to the Primo, starring up fixedly at the taller alien. The Primo's skin glistened under the soft light. "I've warned you that your own race has likely been infiltrated as well. I even brought the first piece of proof. How else do you explain the attack on your own library by Primo forces?"
    "I have no explanation as of yet, and it is possible we've been infiltrated," Celendra answered. Her words were clipped, and if Dryker hadn't known better he'd have said the Primo was furious.
    "If your forces have been infiltrated, then the Void Wraith know about this conclave. You've got to realize that," Dryker said, trying one last time to appeal to the Primo's reason. "The Claw of Tigrana has been prepared. Let Khar and me go back to our people. We can try to stop this war. You have to know, the more allies we can gather, the better the chance we'll survive this."
    "The conclave is nearly ready," Celendra said. She leaned closer to Dryker. "I have endured your tantrums, and humored your constant questions. I have been tolerant. That ends today. Do