Island in a Sea of Stars Read Online Free PDF Page A

then couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “In fact, let me ask: Why haven’t you finished rebuilding Rendezvous yet? If you’d let me supply prefab modules, as I offered, you could have completed the job a decade ago. There are far more efficient ways than your old-fashioned methods. I did make your son an excellent offer.”
    â€œWe didn’t need your prefabs,” Olaf said. “We’re Roamers. We’re self-sufficient. We do what we need without help from outsiders.”
    â€œI am no outsider,” Iswander said. “I am a Roamer, and Roamers adapt. I have adapted to the Confederation.” He was no fan of the stick-in-the-mud leader, and he realized now that Elisa’s husband had probably fled back to the clan. Iswander crossed his arms over his chest, realized it was a defensive posture, and tried to relax as unobtrusively as possible. “I offered you a way to finish your project at Rendezvous, but you tossed it aside. I thought Roamer clans were supposed to help one another. Those who turn their backs on their cousins tend to fail.”
    â€œYou’ve had a few failures yourself, Iswander.” It was Sam Ricks again, oblivious to the frown Speaker Seward gave him. “I checked out your business record—a lot of risky investments. Some might call them catastrophes.”
    Iswander had been prepared for that. “Yes, I made some risky investments.” In fact, four of them had crashed and he’d lost everything, but one paid off—enough that he could keep going. “Roamers can’t forget how to live on the edge. That’s where the profit is. If Roamers made only safe choices, we would have died out long ago. I understand what it is to be a Roamer.” He looked around the room. “And I also understand that we’re citizens of the Confederation now, not isolated outlaws hoping that we’re never discovered. It’s time to come into the daylight and be who we’re supposed to be.” He smiled, summing up, “That’s why I’d appreciate your vote for Speaker. I can see the Guiding Star, and I know where it leads.”
    Next, for his own summation, Sam Ricks couldn’t articulate a reason as to why the clan should vote for him. Iswander took a moment to say, “Thank you for your time.” He wanted to leave the chamber, but knew he had to stay and shake hands and chat with other clan representatives. He had done well, hammered home his point. Ricks was not a serious challenger.
    Before the chamber was dismissed, Olaf Reeves bustled out with his younger son Dale and two other family members. “Vote for whichever man you like. You aren’t the same Roamer clans we once belonged to.”

5
    ELISA REEVES
    Though her ship was faster than Garrison’s, the search was tedious. Elisa raced along the course her husband had set, making up for lost time in open space. But she had to wait for the ping from her breadcrumb tracking devices.
    It was tedious and time-consuming. She had to stop and find the little beacon buoy that was automatically dropped off each time he changed course. Then she would take readings, adjust her own course, and head off again. But she didn’t consider giving up or letting him get away with her son—not for a minute.
    She had found three breadcrumbs already and followed the staggering path. Garrison’s navigation made no sense. If she could figure out where he was going with Seth, she could head straight there and intercept him. But his flight was erratic, zigzagging across space, heading out into nowhere.
    Why would he want to do that, unless he was trying to hide from her? Maybe he guessed that she was hunting for him. Yes, in some ways Garrison was a smart man. She clenched her jaw. In some ways, though, he was a fool.
    As she drifted in space near another breadcrumb buoy, she looked at where he was headed now. Garrison didn’t seem to be aiming for any