Read Online Nova by Lora E. Rasmussen - Free Book Online Page A

authority in that silken alto. The Vosaia
also reviewed the nuances of the chase, appraising the woman’s skill and combat
training, yes, but also the incredible speed, accuracy, and physical strength
that could only equate to a single truth. Not only was this Captain Serros an
Arca, but an extremely high–leveled Arca, a V at the least.
    No, Captain Serros was a Quorum Shield Operative. And
she believed it was her job to bring K’llan in before the Quorum. Almost as if the
Human was standing a breath away, here and now as light overtook darkness, K’llan
could see the mix of startling calm and passionate determination that rippled
in those kobalt–bright eyes.
    With practiced resolve, the Vosaia shook away a shiver of
fear, sat down on the rented room’s faded carpet, and began to punch queries on
her Cognitive Processing Assistant, the holographic keyboard projected before
her rather than directly at her forearm.
    It was going to be a very long day until she was to fulfill
her duty and meet Proconsul Far’allyn Tanad and make the Arca Microtech drop. Not
only was her mission in jeopardy, but she feared that it had somehow been compromised
before she had been given the assignment. With the appearance of a Quorum Shield,
misguided though she must be, Lieutenant K’llan Z’arr’s job just got a lot more
difficult, and it was time to get to work.
     * * * * *
    The Adrenix factory was somewhat of an anomaly on Ophere,
for the surface–face of the buildings that made up the production compound was
a bright, almost painfully clean white and transparent sky–blue, reminiscent of
the Quorum capital of Sigil rather than most of Ophere’s black and steel
cityscape. The color of the buildings stood in stark contrast to the smoky night
sky, especially given the number of mellow lights that were kept permanently running
both in and outside of the structures as the night crew went about their labor.
    The complex was owned and operated by Medex, the galaxy’s
premier producer of synthepatches, medibots, Salu–Salve, medical instruments,
and of course, Adrenix. Even though the company’s main headquarters was located
on Sigil, it was this factory that focused on producing a great portion of the
lattermost product for the company.
    As they knew from Odass that the meet would take place in
one of the squat, adjacent processing and packaging buildings of the Adrenix production
compound, Nova Squad and Major Hadarr were situated on the rooftop of another
structure located at six o’ clock from their target.
    Though they were all fully armed and wearing their silvery–steel
and royal blue suits of heavy–armor, each of the six were completely concealed
by camo–mods built into their armor that projected the image of their immediate
surroundings; in this case, black rooftops. The camouflage would fail as soon
as they moved of course, but for now, the tech meant that the squad was
completely protected from visual scanning.
    “Captain, I see a contingent of what appears to be armed personnel
at position eleven; they don’t look like standard mercs to me.” Lieutenant Rygel
reported quietly over the Squad’s active Comm channel.
    “Copy that.” Captain Serros replied, moving her own scope to
the position the Excalibur’s Senior Communication’s Officer and the Squad’s
most accomplished sniper had indicated.
    A fraction of a tic later, the Captain spotted the group, approximately
twenty in number. Given their rather sophisticated, if deliberately plain, arms
and armor and the professional manner in which individuals carried themselves,
Serros could immediately understand why Rygel didn’t think they were guns for
hire. At first glance, they appeared to be the compact height of Fosaki, with
wide–shoulders and barreled frames, with not a single one reaching higher than
five and a half feet in height.
    Still, height and build was no guarantee of identity and can
easily be feigned, especially in heavy–armor. Even gender