Read Online Ascendant Sun: A New Novel in the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Catherine Asaro
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specific impressions, such as emotions, but Maccar hadn't asked about empathy.
"If you're telling the truth about your mind," Maccar said, "doesn't that make you less able to function as a Jagernaut?"
Kelric shrugged. "I might have trouble in the psiberweb. But what does that matter? It no longer exists." He regarded Maccar with a steady gaze. "I can link to any real-space net and make full use of it as a Jagernaut."
Maccar considered him for a long time. Finally he said, "You have any other names besides Kelric?"
"Garlin." He had no intention of revealing his full name, Kelricson Garlin Valdoria Skolia. Although Valdoria wasn't unique to the Ruby Dynasty, it was still rare, and known as the last name for a branch of his family. Skolia was the dynastic title used by all Rhon members of the Ruby Dynasty.
"All right, Kelric Garlin," Maccar said. "Prove you're a Jagernaut and you've got your two hundred thousand." He inclined his head in the time-honored gesture of sealing a bargain. "Meet me at my ship tomorrow, twelve hundred hours."
Kelric returned the nod. "I'll be there."
4
The Corona's Circle
The merchant ship grew on the shuttle's view screen like a glittering pipe, a promise to Kelric of the future, yet also a promise of peril, as it prepared for the plunge into Trader territory.
Maccar called his vessel the Corona . The glistening cylinder had one end open to space. A large half sphere capped the other end. It was a good-sized ship, though not huge by interstellar standards, about 1.5 kilometers long and .25 kilometer in diameter. The sight made Kelric's breath catch; it had been far too long since he had boarded anything other than the crotchety schooner. He savored the sense of homecoming this gave him.
A docking tube extended down the center of the cylinder, its diameter wide enough to swallow a shuttle. Magnificent spokes radiated out from the tube to the cylinder in a design chosen to maximize stability. The spokes didn't actually touch the docking tube; instead, they connected to huge rings that circled it. It allowed the cylinder to rotate grandly in space, while the tube where shuttles docked remained stationary.
Kelric found the Corona beautiful in all its pitted, rugged glory. The familiar design welcomed him, as if to say, You weren't gone so long after all. Lights glittered along its hull, strobing from antennae, cranes, flanges, pods, observation bays, and the robot crawlers that monitored its myriad surfaces. Huge thrusters circled the open end of the cylinder. His excitement surged as if he were a sailor too long separated from the sea and sailing ships he loved.
They approached the cylinder's open maw. It grew on their holoscreens until the ship dwarfed them, looming around the shuttle. The hub at the end of the docking tube opened like a giant flower pod. Even knowing space had no atmosphere to transmit vibrations, Kelric imagined he felt the power thrumming in the merchant vessel. Their shuttle sailed into the pod, and the great petals closed around them.
In the pilot's seat, Maccar glanced at him. "Ready to board?"
Kelric grinned. "Aye, sir."
The captain's mouth quirked in a smile. "Then let's go."
They exited the shuttle into a round decontamination chamber. Electromagnetic radiation bathed them while monitors and airborne nanomeds examined their bodies for contaminants. If these meds resembled the ones Kelric remembered, they were cousins of the species he already carried in his body.
Nanomeds were designer molecules. Each type had its own task, such as catalyzing a reaction, repairing broken bonds, or ferrying other molecules. Each med carried a picochip, a tiny computer that worked on quantum transitions. The chip directed the industrious med and helped it replicate. Nanomed sex was rather prosaic; they just built more of themselves from excess molecules hanging around the neighborhood. It took energy, but not prohibitive amounts. Picochips in a particular series could
"If you're telling the truth about your mind," Maccar said, "doesn't that make you less able to function as a Jagernaut?"
Kelric shrugged. "I might have trouble in the psiberweb. But what does that matter? It no longer exists." He regarded Maccar with a steady gaze. "I can link to any real-space net and make full use of it as a Jagernaut."
Maccar considered him for a long time. Finally he said, "You have any other names besides Kelric?"
"Garlin." He had no intention of revealing his full name, Kelricson Garlin Valdoria Skolia. Although Valdoria wasn't unique to the Ruby Dynasty, it was still rare, and known as the last name for a branch of his family. Skolia was the dynastic title used by all Rhon members of the Ruby Dynasty.
"All right, Kelric Garlin," Maccar said. "Prove you're a Jagernaut and you've got your two hundred thousand." He inclined his head in the time-honored gesture of sealing a bargain. "Meet me at my ship tomorrow, twelve hundred hours."
Kelric returned the nod. "I'll be there."
4
The Corona's Circle
The merchant ship grew on the shuttle's view screen like a glittering pipe, a promise to Kelric of the future, yet also a promise of peril, as it prepared for the plunge into Trader territory.
Maccar called his vessel the Corona . The glistening cylinder had one end open to space. A large half sphere capped the other end. It was a good-sized ship, though not huge by interstellar standards, about 1.5 kilometers long and .25 kilometer in diameter. The sight made Kelric's breath catch; it had been far too long since he had boarded anything other than the crotchety schooner. He savored the sense of homecoming this gave him.
A docking tube extended down the center of the cylinder, its diameter wide enough to swallow a shuttle. Magnificent spokes radiated out from the tube to the cylinder in a design chosen to maximize stability. The spokes didn't actually touch the docking tube; instead, they connected to huge rings that circled it. It allowed the cylinder to rotate grandly in space, while the tube where shuttles docked remained stationary.
Kelric found the Corona beautiful in all its pitted, rugged glory. The familiar design welcomed him, as if to say, You weren't gone so long after all. Lights glittered along its hull, strobing from antennae, cranes, flanges, pods, observation bays, and the robot crawlers that monitored its myriad surfaces. Huge thrusters circled the open end of the cylinder. His excitement surged as if he were a sailor too long separated from the sea and sailing ships he loved.
They approached the cylinder's open maw. It grew on their holoscreens until the ship dwarfed them, looming around the shuttle. The hub at the end of the docking tube opened like a giant flower pod. Even knowing space had no atmosphere to transmit vibrations, Kelric imagined he felt the power thrumming in the merchant vessel. Their shuttle sailed into the pod, and the great petals closed around them.
In the pilot's seat, Maccar glanced at him. "Ready to board?"
Kelric grinned. "Aye, sir."
The captain's mouth quirked in a smile. "Then let's go."
They exited the shuttle into a round decontamination chamber. Electromagnetic radiation bathed them while monitors and airborne nanomeds examined their bodies for contaminants. If these meds resembled the ones Kelric remembered, they were cousins of the species he already carried in his body.
Nanomeds were designer molecules. Each type had its own task, such as catalyzing a reaction, repairing broken bonds, or ferrying other molecules. Each med carried a picochip, a tiny computer that worked on quantum transitions. The chip directed the industrious med and helped it replicate. Nanomed sex was rather prosaic; they just built more of themselves from excess molecules hanging around the neighborhood. It took energy, but not prohibitive amounts. Picochips in a particular series could
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