Ascendant Sun: A New Novel in the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro Read Free Book Online

became clear Kelric didn't intend to answer, the doctor said, "We don't know who won."

How could they not know who won the war? "Why not?"

"Both ISC and ESComm are crippled. We have no Ruby Dynasty, they have no emperor. Imperator Kurj killed Emperor Ur Qox. Imperator Sauscony killed Ur Qox's son."

Kelric blinked. "Ur Qox had an heir?"

"Yes. Jaibriol the Second."

Jaibriol the Second. So Ur Qox had named his misbegotten son after his infamous father. If the second Jaibriol had been as brutal as the first, then Soz truly gave her life for the betterment of humanity.

Tarjan spoke tiredly. "Eube is broken, we're broken. Perhaps now, finally, these leaders of ours, what remains of them, will go to the peace table." He gave Kelric a wan smile. "That would be something, eh? Genuine peace negotiations between Skolia and Eube."

"Yes." Kelric absorbed that thought.

Would this be his legacy then, to usher in an era of peace? It gave him hope. Although he had earned his reputation for ferocity as a Jagernaut, he would rather have studied math. Introverted and contemplative, he preferred equations to battles. In his youth he had been a good test pilot, reveling in those solitary flights. But the further he rose in rank, the less he wanted a military career. Choice, however, had never played a role in his life. His education, career, marriages, even his freedom, had been arranged by others to suit the purpose of politics, first among his people and later on Coba.

Before he ushered in anything, though, he had to become Imperator, which meant joining the Triad. To do that, he had to reach one of the three Locks. The Orbiter space station carried the First Lock, and the planet Raylicon had the Second. The Third was at Onyx Platform, a city of space habitats floating among the stars.

"How long before I can leave here?" Kelric asked.

"I'd like you to stay two more days." Tarjan rubbed his neck, obviously trying to ease his knotted muscles. "You need to be here longer, but we don't have the space. I'm sorry."

He felt the doctor's exhaustion. Too many patients: too few resources. Tarjan feared he was turning out people too ill to leave.

Kelric put a scowl on his face. "You expect me to lie here doing nothing for two damn days ? I think not." In truth, he felt ready to collapse after sitting up a few minutes. But maybe he could ease this overworked doctor's undeserved guilt.

Tarjan wasn't fooled. He smiled. "Don't worry. You'll sleep most of the time."

Kelric didn't doubt it.
* * *
     
     
    The hangar was out near the cargo warehouses, about two klicks from the domestic terminal at the starport. Kelric walked across the huge, empty airfield, inhaling the morning air. It smelled better here than in the city, without the sweet scent of vines.

He felt healthier than in years. How long had he been anemic? The doctors on Coba had given him iron to rectify what they understood of the condition, but apparently it hadn't been the right treatment. Tarjan's treatment worked wonders. Or maybe it was the medicine he prescribed to slow the mutation rate of Kelric's nanomeds, leaving his healthy meds free to do more repairs. Even his muscles felt stronger. He barely limped at all.

The IRAS clinic had laundered his clothes and found him a pair of socks and work boots. With two days of ample sleep and food, he felt ready to tackle life. And tackle it he would, until he earned enough to buy a new identity and passage offworld.

The cargo master's office was in a corner of the hangar. Holo inventories plastered the casecrete walls. In the back of the office, a woman sat behind a console, reading a schedule, her long legs propped up on the console amid scattered plasti-sheets. Gray streaked her braids. The brown jumpsuit she wore did nothing to hide her well-muscled build. Kelric doubted she had trouble with pickpockets in the starport.

"Saints al-screaming-mighty," she muttered. "Can't they get the bloody flight times right?" She looked up at