Read Online Shadow Seed 1: The Misbegotten by Richard M. Heredia - Free Book Online Page B

figure, ignoring the conversation between the two.  She was bathed in bright, artificial light, a sort not typically seen this late in the twenty-fourth century.  It had been in abundance in the twenty-second, though, when exploration of the Solar System had matured enough that serious colonization began in earnest.  This light alone told the Keeper exactly where Leda was – Mars.  It had been one of the first planets extensively explored and settled; some of its earliest communities had bi-centennial ceremonies more than fifty years ago.  So, it wasn’t all that difficult to deduce where one might find ago-old technology in quantity.  Though he didn’t know exactly where she’d been hidden, he knew it was within the Martian permafrost, probably somewhere deep.
    Leda was wearing insulated blue-jeans and a sleek, lapis luzi dyed parka, complete with a matching beanie and scarf, and a pair of sturdy looking boots upon her feet.  Even then, she made it look sexy, though Estefan couldn’t make out a single aspect of her body.  He could imagine her firm, perky breasts and small, well-formed butt under the layers of clothing she wore, but that wasn’t what made her so appealing.  It was her carriage.  It was the way she held her chin when she turned to regard someone, the gesture of her hand, the splay of her wrist, the swivel of her hips when she changed position, the sway of her shoulders.  She was pure elegance to him and, to this day, he was amazed by the fact she was in love with the likes of him.  She always made him feel like a clod whenever she was near him, clumsy and retarded juxtaposed against her grace and porcelain features.
    You should’ve been a Queen, my dear Leda… a pale skinned monarch with the features of a raven, so complex and cold, and yet so passionate and loyal underneath.  You have always been an enigma to me…
    He realized, in that moment, she was looking back at him once again.  There was a searching expression on her face as though she knew he was thinking of her, but wasn’t quite certain she wanted to know precisely what those thoughts entailed.  He half-smiled lamely, feeling his earlier thoughts of inadequacy come to life.  Then, he smiled broadly when she began to frown.  She thinks I am poking fun at her.   He put his fingers to his lips and blew her an imaginary kiss, which made her freeze in place; look at him more directly with one eye than the other.
    “I will tell you later,” he signed and she nodded briskly, a silent gesture telling him he had better.
    The woman to Leda’s left waved at him then, catching his attention.  Her exuberance and vivacity undiminished through the years , though so many very bad things had happened.  It seemed to him, her indomitable spirit was impervious to crushing, because she had the uncanny ability to bounce back from tragedy faster than any of them.  She was always the first to explain the good and forget the bad.  She was first to encourage and mollify uncertainty with her light tones and infectious smiles.  She was the beacon they followed through the darkness, the glue of positivity keeping their unit strong, resolute in the face of adversity.
    Her name was Sandy.  She was of medium height with the strong arms and legs of an athlete, full breasts and broad hips, though none of that was in evidence now.  She wore a low-level environment suit, complete with a transparent Diatainium helmet, gloves and rigid boots.  Estefan could see the mid-length locks of her translucent russet-colored hair about her aquiline face and v-shaped chin through the head covering.  Her thin lips were made moreso by her grin. Her small nose bunched at its’ bridge as her light brown eyes sparkled with mirth.
    She was far away too, recalled Estefan, his mood gloomier, because of the distance between them.
    Though she had been sent away in secret, due to the delicacy of his meeting with Dr. Ahmed, there was another purpose to her journey, at