Nova War by Gary Gibson Read Free Book Online

Remembrance watched as the Immortal Light agent activated his interpreter, the tiny, bead-like device hovering close to his mouth-parts changing from green to a softly glowing blue to indicate when it was active.
    Human speech was still a mystery to Remembrance, largely because - in common with all other members of his species – he was physically incapable of speaking it. Human body language, however, was another matter altogether. That Charette was currently under stress was clear enough, and it was also obvious that he and Honeydew were acquainted.
    Remembrance had already spent long, frustrating months on Ironbloom, finding his every attempt at locating Alexander Bourdain thwarted by bureaucracy and misinformation. It hadn’t taken long to develop an overwhelming suspicion that someone was helping Bourdain stay always one step ahead of him. And if Bourdain knew he was being chased, it was only a matter of time before he would board a convenient coreship out of the Night’s End system.
    And to allow such a thing to happen would be to fail in his duty to his Queen.
    And so, as Charette gestured animatedly and waggled his thick, meaty tongue and rubbery wet lips at Honeydew, Remembrance reached up and quietly switched on his own interpreter while their attention was still turned away from him.
    As Honeydew spoke, his clicks were translated into an approximation of human speech. The bead was a field-suspended device that tracked the user’s movements, always maintaining a set distance. Sound didn’t carry very far in the soft and moist environment of the maul-worm’s gullet, but it wasn’t hard to guess why Honey-dew didn’t want Remembrance listening in.
    ‘. . . your voice down,’ Honey dew was saying, ‘unless you’re really in a mood to become a worm snack.’
    ‘You told me we were safe from raids!’ Charette snapped in a half-choked whisper. ‘And now you come in here armed. Tell me, what do you think will happen if those soldiers of yours come blundering in here? We’ll all die. You, me, them – everyone. Or do you just want to kill us all ?’
    ‘We want you to evacuate slowly, and carefully, and do it now,’ said Remembrance. The Immortal Light agent glanced at him sharply, but Remembrance ignored him. ‘We’re only interested in Alexander Bourdain. So is he here?’
    ‘I don’t think either of you know what you’re getting into,’ Charette replied by way of an answer. ‘I—’
    Sometimes, Remembrance had found, the best approach with members of the species Homo sapiens was the direct one. He reached down and took a firm, hard grip on Charette’s reproductive organs through the thin cloth of his gown. It was an approach, experience had taught him, that could generate remarkable levels of compliance.
    ‘We’re only here for Bourdain,’ Remembrance repeated, as Charette gasped and began to crumple. ‘Clear everyone out. I don’t care what kind of arrangement you have with Honey dew or Immortal Light, just get them out – except for Bourdain. Now.’
    A choked sound emerged from Charette’s soft, pale throat. Remembrance twisted harder, and a moment later the restaurant manager was down on all fours on the sticky mat of the maul-worm’s tongue.
    Remembrance stepped back, noticing the rest of the kitchen staff – all human – staring towards them in shock.
    ‘I meant now,’ Remembrance repeated. ‘Or I start asking very public questions about why some of your clientele appear to be Bandati. I’m assuming you’re aware of the punishment you would be facing if that became public?’
    The barely-lit gloom of the worm’s interior served to the two agents’ advantage. Beyond the kitchens nearby, it didn’t appear this little contretemps with Charette had been noticed. Except in one place? Remembrance glimpsed a shadow move close behind one of the screens separating a part of the dining area he couldn’t see into. The shadow moved closer, revealing the outline of a cadaverous human