Honour's Knight Read Online Free PDF

life’s little joys. These were core worlders, too. Most of them had never even seen a Paradoxian in armor outside of the movies. All I had to do was click Sasha’s safety and the whole lot of them would jump like startled rabbits. Quality entertainment at its finest.
    Unfortunately, Caldswell, being Terran himself, didn’t see it that way. The crews had barely started pulling down Mable’s patches before he banished me to my bunk to pick out a replacement for my lost thermite blade. Any other time I would have complained about being sent to my room like a surly teenager, but after the three days of hell I’d put in to get us here, I was more than happy to lie in bed with cold beer and a year’s worth of weapons catalogs while someone else worked.
    “I’m thinking something that attaches to my armor this time,” I said, flipping through the interactive sales display I’d pulled up on my com. “I don’t want to lose another blade.”
    “That sounds wise,” Nova replied. My bunkmate was also off duty since there’s nothing for a sensors officer to do when the ship’s not in the air, but while I was whiling away the time looking at sharp things, she was on the floor digging through drawers filled with her incredibly bright clothing. Finally she pulled out a pretty but completely over-the-top dress spangled with so many metallic gold stars you couldn’t see the fabric between them and held it up for me to see.
    “Nice,” I said.
    Nova beamed and started pulling the dress over her head. “Will your new blade light up like your old one?”
    “Of course,” I said, taking a swig off my beer. “The burning thermite edge is the only way you can get through ballistic plates with a slicing weapon. But I’m thinking of getting something that utilizes my suit more.”
    Useful as Phoebe’s replaceable blades and long reach had been, I was seriously considering a stabbing weapon this time. Something I could throw the Lady’s weight and power behind. I was trying to think of a way to explain this to Nova without sounding too bloodthirsty when she pulled out a small mirror and started brushing a thick coat of sparkly silver across her eyelids. That caught me. The star-covered dress was nothing out of the ordinary, but I’d never seen Nova use makeup before.
    “So,” I said casually, tossing my com on the pillow and rolling onto my side with a grin. “What’s the occasion?”
    Nova flashed me a huge, excited smile in the mirror. “My brother is on planet! I’m meeting him for dinner.”
    My face fell. I’d been hoping for something more exciting than a brother. Still, considering how little Caldswell’s crew seemed to get out, dinner with your brother was probably a pretty big event on Nova’s calendar.
    “I haven’t seen Copernicus for almost a year,” she continued, catching her short, wispy blond hair back with a glittery silver headband. “I write to him every time we land, but I never expected he’d be on Wuxia at the same time as we are. What a perfect alignment!”
    “Cheers to you,” I said, tipping my beer at her. “I hope that you have a great time.”
    Nova flashed me a shy smile. “I would be delighted if you would share space with us in harmony as well, Deviana.”
    It took me a few moments to realize that was Nova-speak for inviting me along. “Thanks for the offer,” I said. “But I’d better stick to the ship, and I don’t want to go out in that smog again. I think it might be toxic.”
    “Almost certainly,” Nova agreed, adjusting her hair. “Nic promised me we’d go somewhere above the particulate layers.”
    I frowned. “Nic?”
    “Short for Copernicus,” Nova explained. “Just like I’m Nova instead of Novascape.”
    I nodded absently, trying to remember where I’d met a Nic before. Nothing came to mind, but I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was something I was supposed to remember. But the harder I tried, the farther the memory ran until I was forced