Void Wraith (The Void Wraith Trilogy Book 2) by Chris Fox Read Free Book Online Page A

to study Anthropology.  
    Once the water was tended to, Lena smoothed her flowing white pants, and sat primly atop the stool Edwards had made for her. She appreciated the human's desire to help, especially given his transformation. He was unfailingly respectful to her, always using the honorific ma'am . She didn't know what it meant, but could tell from the respectful tone that it denoted an elder of some kind.
    "Ship, bring up the data file you flagged," Lena ordered, warming her paws over the fire. The ship wasn't precisely cold, but it was a few degrees cooler than she was used to. Tigris vessels ran hotter, and she liked it that way.
    A holographic file appeared, text hovering on one side and graphics on the other. This bit showed a strand of DNA, the double helix that humans, Primo, and Tigris all shared. This particular bit belonged to not just any Primo, but to the earliest Primo found in the ship's data core. Lena scanned the text, eyes widening at the age. It was nearly forty thousand years old, older than the original empire she and Nolan had discovered back on Purito. Older by far.
    "Ship, the article doesn't contrast this strand with a modern version. Can you sequence both sets of DNA, and give me a summary of the major differences?" Lena asked. She turned off the torch, blowing lightly across the flask as she waited for the water to cool.
    "Processing," Ship said. The holographic representation disappeared, and Lena wrapped a paw experimentally around the flask. It was hot, but not too hot to pick up. She settled both paws around it, and raised it to her mouth for a tiny sip.
    A moment later, a new hologram sprang into view. This one had two DNA strands, each very similar. Below them was a bulleted list of differences, and Lena could only blink as she read the summary. The implications of this discovery could not be overstated.  
    "Honored one?" came a quiet voice from the doorway. Lena looked up to see Izzy peering around the corner of the door. "It is time for the evening meal. Nolan sent me to fetch everyone."
    "I'll be there shortly," Lena replied, waving absently at Izzy as she focused on the data.

Chapter 12- Biscuits

    Nolan pulled out one of the uncomfortable metal chairs, sitting next to Hannan. Fizgig and Izzy sat across from them, while Edwards had squeezed his metallic body into the corner of their makeshift mess. Everything from the chairs to the table had been fabricated recently, as the ship hadn't been built to support human occupants. Thank God there was a machine shop.
    "That smells amazing," he said, eyeing the pot of stew in the center of the table. High-rimmed metal plates sat in front of everyone, along with chromed glasses full of water.  
    "Wait until you taste these," Annie boomed, grinning as she approached the table. She wore a pair of oven mitts, and carried a tray of fist-sized biscuits. They smelled even better than the stew. "You don't have much in the way of cooking equipment, but we can use the Tibs until we get something rigged."
    Annie set the tray of biscuits near the center of the table. Izzy stretched out a paw to snatch one, but Fizgig batted her paw away and gave her the kind of condescending look only Fizgig could manage.
    "Where's Lena?" Nolan asked, not seeing her anywhere in the mess.
    "She said she'd be here shortly, Mighty Nolan," Izzy said, though her gaze never left the biscuits. "She seemed very excited. I believe she found something important in the Primo data core."
    "Will she be offended if we start without her?" Nolan asked, looking to Fizgig.
    "She will not," Fizgig said, giving a half smile. "She might not show up at all. That one is a true scientist, one of our best. It consumes her."
    "Let's dig in, then. Thank you for this, Annie. We've been surviving on protein paste for the past three months," Nolan said, ladling a generous portion of stew onto his plate. He passed the ladle to Hannan, who served up her own portion, then passed the ladle to Izzy.
    "My