Hammer of Time (The Reforged Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page A

not long ago, I think." Panna nodded and turned away, but Maeve had a question. "Did it hurt to have your wings removed?"
    Panna faced Maeve again. She stepped back until her spine was pressed against the wall of the corridor and rubbed her palms against her smooth chocolate-colored pants. Panna chewed her lip before answering. "Not much. The anesthetic and pain blockers were very good. The surgeon did a good job and I healed quickly."
    "But you did it in order to attend an Alliance university," Maeve protested. She loosened the sheet wrapped under her wings. "Which you have left to help me. Do you regret the decision? Would you take it back if you could?"
    Panna clasped her hands in front of her. "How could I? If I still had my wings, I would still be on Cyrus. I would never have known Professor Xen or you, princess."
    Maeve did not know what to say to that. Panna bowed to Maeve. Before the princess could ask her not to do that, Panna had turned away and retreated down the hall. Maeve sighed and went to find some clothes. Maybe there were actually some dishes to wash in the mess.

Chapter 4:
Silenced Songs
     
"Don't go looking for stuff you don't want to find."
– Anandrou "Gripper" (233 PA)
     
    Logan and Gripper hired a ride into Hanjirrah. It was a waste of time and money to go into the city just for mainstream access. On most planets, the worldwide computer network was accessible from orbit, but Mir did not bother investing precious cenmarks in extending the mainstream.
    Typical prey, Logan thought as they passed through the painted city wall, concerned with the small picture, with personal security that didn't extend much beyond the family or tribal unit. Mir spent more on global defense than any world but Axis, the CWA capital. There was a military network accessible from anywhere on the planet, Logan knew, but without his bounty hunter's license, he could not access it. So that meant going into Hanjirrah.
    Domes and arches in subdued browns, greens and blues flickered past outside the taxi windows. It was another hovering van, since they were the only rental vehicles large enough to carry Gripper. The long-limbed young alien sat as far away from Logan as he could… which was not far. Even in the large taxivan, Gripper was just too big to make much space. He checked his computer. The device looked tiny in his rough brown paws.
    "I've got a signal," he said in a shaking voice.
    "Good."
    Logan stopped the driver and paid with a handful of white plastic cenmark chips. The balding Mirran's striped forehead furrowed as he counted the meager tip, but did not argue. The locks snapped behind Gripper and Logan when they got out and the driver swerved hastily back into the street, cutting off a Starwind hauler and a bus with flashing green lights. No one honked or shouted at each other.
    It was a mistake to come here, Logan thought, not for the first time that day. He had hoped that the Mirran's natural caution would work in their favor, but…
    There was no point in dwelling on past mistakes. Vorus had reminded him painfully of that lesson back on Prianus. All Logan could do now was move forward. He led Gripper toward the station the bus had just departed. There was a sandwich shop wedged between a luggage store and an Ixthian redprinter. Gripper perched precariously on a stool at a patio table.
    Logan took a seat beside Gripper and waited while the Arboran mechanic opened up his folding monitors. The view from the shop was uninspiring. The road rose up four tiers high, cars and trucks and street trains racing by on NI fields. Logan could see across the road only in splintered fragments between one vehicle and the next. There was a port depot, the sort of large warehouse that catered to starships, supplying ducting and fuel, food and water and spools of wire and tape; the things that held ships and their crews together. The sort of crew Logan unexpectedly now found himself a part of. It had only been six years since Hallax