Read Online Dark Space: The Invisible War by Jasper T. Scott - Free Book Online

crooked, but he had a certain animal charm to him.
    “What?” he barked at her.
    She made her bright violet eyes big and looked him up and down very slowly, so that he could see she was admiring him. “I haven’t seen you around here before,” she said, her voice purring.
    “Likewise,” he replied, his expression softening somewhat.
    She touched his arm again, this time to squeeze his bulging biceps. “Looks like I’ve been missing out. What’s your name?”
    The man’s gaze turned speculative and a dark smile sprang to his face. “Ithicus Adari, or Firestarter if you prefer. What’s your name?”
    “Angel.” She smiled. “Would you mind if I joined you for breakfast?”
    Ithicus shook his head. “No, I could use some company.”
    “Me too, why don’t we—hoi!” Angel felt hands on her shoulders, turning her roughly out of the serving line. She tried to slap those hands away. Then she saw the old couple who’d been sitting with her a moment ago, and her face screwed up in outrage. “What do you want? Leave me alone!”
    “Alara!” the woman said. “You’re not well. Let us take you to the med bay.”
    “I feel fine!” Angel insisted, and struggled to break free of the old man’s clammy hands.
    “Hey, let the girl alone,” Ithicus interrupted, taking a step out of the line toward them.
    “I’m sorry,” the old man said with a smile as he held up a shaking hand to stop Ithicus, “but this girl is not in her right mind. She’s been chipped and she isn’t who she thinks she is.”
    Ithicus’s dark brown eyes widened, and he hesitated before taking another step. “Really? Who does she think she is?”
    “She thinks she’s some sort of playgirl.”
    “Hmmm, that’s a pity.” Ithicus gave Angel an up-and-down look like the one she’d given him a moment ago. “A real pity,” he drawled before turning back to the serving line.
    Angel felt herself being pushed and dragged, toward the exit of the mess hall. The old woman fussed by her side, offering reassurances.
    “We’ll get you fixed up, don’t worry. This is just a temporary lapse.”
    Alara’s gaze strayed over her shoulder to the rugged lieutenant, and then she turned back to the old man with a scowl. He led her out of the mess hall by her wrists, cutting off her circulation with his bony fingers. “Let me go,” she warned.
    “Not yet,” he said.
    With a quick twist of her wrists, she wriggled free. “Hoi!” she said. “What is wrong with you two? I had him right where I wanted him—putty in my hands! If you’re not going to do business, then at least let me find someone who is!”
    The old man’s reply was soft, and he only said one word—“Reset.”—It was all he needed to say.
    As soon as Angel’s ears caught that word and her brain connected it to meaning, she felt a dawning horror, accompanied by a sweaty rush of unreality. The very fabric of her being was stripped away, and now she didn’t know who she was anymore. I’m Angel! She insisted to herself, but now she understood that that was a lie. She was Alara Vastra, and the old man and woman standing before her were . . . they were . . .
    Her parents . 
    A dizzy wash of nausea swept through her. Alara’s knees buckled, and she sunk to the floor. She lay there for a moment, blinking slowly up at the ceiling. The room spun around her head at least a half dozen times before her parents’ faces hove into view. She smiled weakly up at them.
    “Hoi . . .” she said, but her mind was already shutting down.
    “Stay with us, honey!” her mother said, grabbing her hand.
    But sleep felt so warm and peaceful. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a . . .” Alara trailed off as her eyelids fluttered, and she succumbed to sleep.
    *  *  *
    The morning after the identity change procedure, Ethan awoke to find himself in the overlord’s quarters—now his quarters. It was going to take some getting used to, but the spacious room, king-size bed, giant holoscreen,