Read Online Survival by Julie E. Czerneda - Free Book Online Page A

Twenty-Nine—”
    â€œDon’t forget the Dhryn.”
    â€œAh.” Mac left her finger on one particularly large drop. “The Dhryn misplace an entire field trip’s worth of students on their Cryssin colony.” She let her hand fall to her side and faced Emily. “Don’t get me wrong, Em. I sympathize with everyone involved. These are all tragedies. But nothing from the Secretary General explains why a handful of missing person reports put Brymn in my quarters and our population survey on hold.”
    â€œThere’s more missing than these people. Information on our Nikolai, for one.”
    Mac blinked. “What information?”
    â€œExactly. There isn’t anything in the message about either Brymn or Trojanowski. Why?” Emily lowered her voice. “Or was it there—and someone tampered with it?”
    For an instant, Mac seriously considered the notion. Then she laughed. “You, my dear Dr. Mamani, have read far too many books of the wrong sort. It isn’t there, because it isn’t necessary. Brymn will enlighten us tonight on his credentials and, hopefully, why he’s here at all. As for our ‘field operative’?” Mac paused, then shook her head. “To land this choice assignment, he’s either offended the wrong people or is lousy at his job. Or both. In any event, there’s no reason to believe we’ll be stuck with them long enough for their backgrounds to matter.”
    Emily’s long fingers played with the oversized emerald of her necklace, a family heirloom she never bothered to lock away, confident no one would believe she’d wear something so rare and expensive at Base. Mac had to concede her logic, even though she couldn’t help occasionally translating the bauble’s worth into an upgrade to the docking pads.
    She knew the signs. “I take it you disagree, Em.”
    â€œYou did take note of the locations and dates,” Emily said in an odd voice. “The disappearances do not appear random.”
    â€œIt’s not like you to jump to conclusions from so small a sample—”
    â€œIt’s not like you to put your own convenience ahead of the data.”
    â€œMy—” Mac closed her mouth over the protest and stared at Emily. Rain drummed on the ceiling and walls like so many impatient fingers. “Is that what I’m doing?” she asked finally.
    Emily raised one eyebrow and waited.
    â€œDamn.”
    â€œWe each have our failings at times. We won’t mention your fashion sense, sí? ”
    Mac pulled out the envelope and waved it in the air. “Just show me what I missed.”
    â€œI can tell you. All of the locations are along the Naralax Transect.” Perhaps sensing Mac’s confusion, Emily shook her head, then drew a line in the air between them. “You never travel, do you? There are thousands of transects maintained by the Interspecies Union—”
    â€œNo-space corridors,” Mac said dryly. “A.k.a. instant travel between connected solar systems. I may not gallivant like some, but I do know a bit about what’s outside the atmosphere. So where does this Naralax Transect go?”
    â€œYour ignorance is astounding.”
    Mac raised one brow. “I prefer to think of it as selective. So—are you going to tell me if there’s anything special about the Naralax or continue to berate my choice of sciences?”
    Emily shook her head in resignation. “Special? Depends on your definition. Home, for some. A dozen Human colonies. A few hundred non-Human systems, including our friend Brymn’s. A record, of sorts. Our most distant trading partner, Thitus Prime, is reached via the Naralax. Beyond Thitus, the Naralax extends—oh—a few systems more.” Emily’s light tone gave no warning. “One famous. The Hift System. The rest, infamous.”
    â€œThe Chasm.” As she uttered the words, Mac