Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page A

walking back to the base with him.

    “Nyral, what if you find a woman who suits you better than I do?” She felt it important to find out before anything started. Even before the implant, she had been drawn to him, and she knew it was reciprocated. She just needed to hear it.

    “It is nice to hear you say my name.” He chuckled.

    She thought about it and realized that she hadn’t used it since he had told her what it was. “It is a nice name.”

    He squeezed her hand and walked slowly across the plain with her, approaching the base at a restricted pace.

    “In answer to your not-so-subtle question, I have not chosen you; I simply know that you are designed to be in my life. I know someone for me when I see them. Mirin glowed softly when I looked at her, and you are a riot of colour to my gaze.”

    Gwiette kept pace with him and asked, “Why did Relay warn me about your manners?”

    He grinned and rubbed his jaw with his free hand. “When I met my first mate, I simply picked her up and walked off with her. She had to explain things to me, and my manners slip from time to time. The planet had been interested in keeping me alive, not polite.”

    “It must have been lonely.” She knew about being alone in a crowd, she could not imagine what it would be like with no one to speak to.

    “Living with a world speaking to you and sharing a portion of itself is a sensation I cannot describe. Yes, I craved contact with others like myself, but I was never alone.”

    “It seems peculiar to me, but I suppose we are only familiar with the worlds we have grown up in.”

    He smiled. “That is true.”

    A chime rang in the air.

    Gwiette looked around. “What is that?”

    “It is you. Your suit has a com unit built into the neckline. Activate it and speak.”

    She fumbled and found a button hidden in the seam. “Hello?”

    “Gwiette? Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure where you were. We have a situation and I know you haven’t finished training, but this is something you have already mastered. Will you help save a ship limping along with minimal life support?” Relay’s voice was urgent.

    “Sure. Where do I go?”

    “Stop will take you to the site. I will load the Hidden Victory with the necessary information.”

    Stop nodded.

    Gwiette said, “He is in, so we are on our way.” She turned off the connection.

    He grinned. “Shall we put on some speed?”

    She smiled and aimed for the base, running as fast as she could, which was quite a bit faster than a few hours earlier.

    When she arrived at the tarmac, she had to seek out the ship with the glyphs for Hidden Victory . Stop went directly to it; he could recognise it by sight.

    They climbed on board, and he sealed the ship while she settled in one of the front seats. The computer came online and the lights blinked slowly to life. Breathing deeply, she calmed herself down to a normal speed.

    Stop settled next to her and strapped in. “Take the tablet and bring up the assignment information.”

    She grabbed the tablet and tried to activate it, finally seeing the flash of reaction in the screen. “Am I moving fast again?”

    “A little. We will get the tablet programmed for speed.”

    She snorted and an image sprang up, showing her a ship slowly rotating in space. “I guess this is my first assignment.”

    He chuckled and the ship finished powering up. He ran some checks and lifted off. The ship elevated slowly before darting forward in a rush of power.

    Gwiette leaned back and focused on the images in front of her as the wound in the ship was exposed. “Something hit this ship.”

    He nodded. “I will get us on the way, and then, I will read the file. From the location, I would posit that it was a Raider attack. They have been getting bolder.”

    She lifted her lip in a silent snarl. She had firsthand experience with the Raiders and their methods. Those few weeks had taught her what she could and could not stand. If she knew her family was