Looking at Trouble by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page A

chest and was at the table doing the after-action paperwork before the guys got home.
    She was checking the data pad that was scrolling all the newsfeeds and reading the favourable reviews by the reporters. They admired the lack of general destruction and dragged-out mayhem that had been one of their prime characteristics. Guardians were not known for damage control.
    Reeda was working in the common area and assembling a timeline of events when the skimmer landed. The guys came in, and they smiled at her. Even Kimda had a pleased expression on his features.
    “Wash up and get ready for dinner. We will discuss the mission while we eat.” She completed her preliminary report and filed it in the base archives.
    It was funny that the men, who were all older than she was, followed her orders without a second thought when it came to getting a meal.
    She went to the sink and washed her own hands before she settled at the table. The bots brought her her salad, and she nibbled at it until the guys arrived. Her dietary requirements were slightly different than theirs, and it would take her a lot longer to finish her meal if she didn’t start sooner.
    The moment Bilro settled down in the chair at her right, she dug into her salad.
    The others followed a moment later, but Bilro gave her a wink.
    As bots handed out the meals, Kimda said, “You came out with a precisely planned attack, Reeda.”
    She nodded with her mouth full of greens. “Yes.”
    He blinked. “I apologise for taking off without you.”
    She waved it off. “Barring extreme weather, I will always take the riot runner so that I can arrive before you do. The two minutes I can spend physically assessing the situation is what will make us an effective team.”
    Oldeck raised his eyebrows. “What if you don’t get there before we do?”
    “Then, you will have to listen to every word I whisper through your coms, because the orders will be coming fast and you might have to change direction.”
    Kimda cleared his throat. “This is awkward for me, but Bilro didn’t mention what your talent actually was.”
    She glanced over at the man who had been convinced that he would win the prize of leadership. “I know when I am looking at trouble and can see actions and the reactions before they occur.”
    Kimda nodded. “That is quite the talent. I thought precognition was inherited. Did either of your parents have precognition?”
    Bilro shifted in his chair, and Kimda jerked.
    As the second course was served, she came clean with her team. “I am a bastard born to a good woman who died as a result of my entering the world. My adopted mother was my mother’s best friend. She is also a l’nal. I know how to speak with alien races, how to deal with settlers who are suddenly considered a threat because of rumours or innuendo. I can see flickers of a future, moments at a time, and that is all I need to make the decisions, well, that and the distance viewing that I managed to learn at the Citadel.”
    Bilro knew already, but the other three were stuck on one word.
    Kimda sounded strangled. “A l’nal?”
    Reaht nodded frantically. “What he said.”
    She sighed. “It isn’t a big deal, but yes, Mother is a l’nal. She wove scarves, and when I was old enough, I took them to the marketplace to sell. The market was so relieved that she stopped showing up, I got a prime spot. I completed my studies at the market and they were my community.”
    Oldeck nodded. “It does explain your self-possession.”
    She snorted. “That is the nicest way of describing it that I have heard. Normally, I get called a bully or bossy.”
    Reaht chuckled. “Subtlety is lost on the l’nal.”
    “It is, but manners and education matter. Mother gave me a home, shelter, food, love and an education that enabled me to pass the equivalencies of any level I chose to challenge.”
    Bilro smirked as he ate his meal. “And she avoided teaching you l’nal history.”
    “Yes, she did.”
    Kimda blinked.