Lacuna: Demons of the Void by David Adams Read Free Book Online

rated ‘potential action movie one-liners from most-probable to least-probable. And when we find the Demons, I’m dying to pull out my gun and just go, ‘Bangarang, motherfucker,’ like, from Peter Pan, the original novel. …Seriously, that’d be so awesome .”
    Liao stared, seriously reconsidering her choice to arm the strange woman. “That’s... that’s something else, Summer. Good luck with that.”
    Summer wandered off and Liao, putting Rowe’s strangeness out of her mind, busied herself with dozens of endless tasks as befitted the Captain of such a titanic vessel. It wasn’t until the clock (synced to Earth time) was well past midnight that she finally visited her quarters for the first time. The Beijing ’s lodgings, even for the Captain, were spartan but sufficient for her needs.
    Liao required little, but it was nice to sleep in her own bed.
    In the morning, Liao rose to the sound of the buzzer outside her quarters. Throwing on a thick green bathrobe, the woman made her way to the hatchway. Twisting the seal and opening the door, she was greeted by a welcomed sight – James Grégoire, looking nearly a decade older since their adventures in Sydney, but still with the same warm smile on his dark-skinned face.
    “Look who decided to drop by,” she quipped, opening the door a little wider. Her smile matched his as she beckoned him to enter.
    “I can wait for you to get dressed, if you like,” he remarked, raising an eyebrow.
    Liao just gave a cheeky grin. “I went through a co-ed boot camp, Captain... no need to be coy. I’m quite used to it all by now.”
    The two entered her quarters. Liao watched as, with surprising agility and confidence, James fetched a pair of glasses (flipping them in the air as he did so), ice from the small fridge, and some scotch. The woman boggled. She had scotch ?
    It seemed as though she had not yet learned as much as she should have about the ship and its contents.
    As though sensing her reaction, James just gave a light-hearted chuckle. “Apologies for seeming as though I know your ship better than you do, but the layout is completely identical to the Tehran ,” he remarked, pouring her a glass. “Even comes fitted with the same booze.”
    “ Now we’re talking,” grinned Liao, taking her glass with both hands. There was a brief silence as the two regarded each other. James’ dark hand brought his glass to his lips, breaking the spell.
    “How do you find the ship?” he asked, the ice in his glass clinking as he drank.
    Liao swirled the glass of bronze liquid in her hand, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s a fine command. Far more advanced than any surface vessel... Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it, much less been in command of it. There’s... there’s a lot to learn, and there’s so much...” her voice trailed off.
    James inclined his head curiously. “What’s wrong?”
    “...Nothing.”
    Grégoire tilted his head thoughtfully at Liao’s disposition. “You have some doubt about his capability? His crew?”
    Liao shook her head vigorously. “No.”
    “Then what? In Sheng?”
    Liao paused a moment, thinking about her answer. “I suppose,” she admitted, sipping from her glass. “He’s young and unproven, but aren’t we all... except you old man.” A playful wink. “And, well, I know that he has high ambitions... the problem is, all three Pillars of the Earth have Captains now. How long does he plan to wait for the Task Force to build more? Does he honestly think he can earn his own command working under me?”
    “I don’t know,” James answered, “but I’ve also heard that... heard he’s ambitious. I know he lost a lot of family in Beijing. Maybe he’ll be out for revenge... and that’s a good motivator as long as it doesn’t cloud your judgement. On the other hand, maybe he’ll fear the aliens a little too much. He does insist on calling them demons, after all. I suppose time will tell on that front.”
    “I suppose it