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

pleasure. I love cooking," Annie said, cramming a biscuit into her mouth. She spoke around mouthfuls. "I ain't too civilized, but I can turn an old sock and some grease into a decent meal."
    "Is that what they feed you infantry types? Old socks?" Edwards's voice came from the far side of the room, startling all of them. The tone was playful, but his sheer size was still intimidating.  
    "Jesus, is that thing alive?" Annie said, blinking. She picked up a second biscuit, absently chewing as she approached Edwards. "You some kind of robot? Doesn't look like UFC tech, any more than this ship does."
    "I'm a...what did Lena call me? A cybernetically enhanced life form ," Edwards said, offering Annie a massive blue hand. She grabbed his index finger and shook it.
    The exchange made Nolan smile. Edwards had kept his distance during the long voyage home, though the longer they were out here the more he seemed to be adjusting.
    "Captain," Lena said, breezing into the room. She sat daintily on the corner of the bench next to Izzy, her feline eyes alight with excitement. "I've discovered something monumental, something I think may be very important."
    Nolan finished his biscuit, then offered Lena his full attention. She'd come to him during the trip home with several monumental discoveries , none of which were relevant to their situation--or all that monumental, in his opinion.
    "What did you find?" he asked, scooping up something resembling a potato from the stew on his plate.
    "I found an account from a Primo scientist. He was a citizen of the empire you and I discovered back on Purito, one who did groundbreaking work on genetics. He believed that his race had been genetically modified, but his ideas were dismissed as wild conspiracy theories," Lena said, leaning across the table. She licked her chops in a most alarming way, seemingly unaware of Hannan shrinking back from her. "He found markers indicative of tampering. He was certain of it. So he spent over forty years cataloguing Primo DNA, looking for blood stains, ancient sites, and anything else that might yield an intact genome. After many years he found it, a sample from a skeleton that was at least forty thousand years old." Lena paused, perhaps for dramatic effect. "This sample lacked the genetic markers found in modern Primo. By comparing the samples, the researcher realized that someone had deliberately altered the Primo, and that the alteration occurred somewhere between fifty and sixty thousand years ago."
    "What does that mean?" Edwards asked. His metallic face turned in their direction.
    "It means," Lena continued, shooting Edwards an annoyed glance, "that someone bred the Primo, in the same way your species breeds dogs. Their markers encouraged specific traits--in this case, aggression and increased fertility."
    "They were breeding soldiers," Nolan said, making the connection instantly. "This is further evidence. Look how the Void Wraith function. They depopulate worlds, and convert those they harvest into Judicators. It would make sense that they want those Judicators as lethal as possible. Why not modify the species you're abducting to have the traits you find most desirable?"  
    "I believe you're correct, but I think there's a greater revelation here," Lena said, positively beaming now. "If I'm correct, there are three distinct eras of Primo development. The one I am studying now isn't the first, as I'd originally assumed. There's an even earlier empire, probably the one that first encountered the Void Wraith. This reshapes tens of thousands of years of Primo history. Everything they believe about their origins is a lie. Their ancestors were space faring when mine were hunting monkans in the jungle."
    "That's fascinating, Holy One," Fizgig allowed. She'd been using a claw to carefully spear chunks of meat from the stew, but was ignoring the rest of the food. "Yet, I am unsure why you consider this discovery so important."
    "Because I don't believe the Void Wraith are