Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades Read Online Free PDF Page B

early,” Lee said,
smirking accusingly.
    “I didn’t, I should
have had an hour up here for some quiet,” Ayan replied.
“Something’s brewing.” She turned her Crewcast feed back on and
cringed. There were eight urgent messages waiting for her, including
one breakthrough that played through the comm node in a jade and
silver clasp she kept on her left ear. It was Lacey Rosendale, her
secretary and overall right hand, one of only three people who could
send her a breakthrough message, made to play the moment someone was
in range of, or turned on, the Crewcast network. “Cory Greene has
called a supplementary meeting of the Haven Shore Council, it has
something to do with Liam. He’s already got Vic and Mischa there.
You’re ignoring Crewcast, so I’m coming to get you.”
    The newly refurbished,
angular six-person shuttle set down on a temporary landing pad. “Good
luck,” Lee said before moving off to round up his foreman and
forewoman.
    Lacey, a woman that
made Ayan feel short on occasion even though she wasn’t overly
tall, was a mess of irritation and windswept black hair as she leaned
out of the shuttle’s side door. “The Council is stirring early,
probably thanks to some back-room meeting.”
    Lacey matched Ayan’s
mode of dress ever since she started working for her six months
before, but she didn’t normally bear arms when she was in Haven
Shore. Ayan couldn’t help but notice the sidearm on the woman’s
hip, and she glanced at it, then at Lacey.
    “Something serious is
going on,” Lacey said, recognizing the glance. “With the way
you’ve been treated in Council chambers the last few weeks, I’m
not taking chances.”
    Ayan took a seat and
pulled the side hatch closed. The shuttle was off the landing pad
before it finished sealing. “They’re only words, we knew there
would be a lot of contention surrounding this referendum. There
always is when a Council surrenders an issue to the public, and my
personal life has made me unpopular.”
    “That was what? Four
months ago? If the public’s still sore about you breaking off from
Liam, they should bloody damn well grow up. It’s none of their
business, and no reason to oppose your side of the issue. You should
have the qualifying system take pettiness into account.”
    “You’re right, but
some people have long memories, and Liam is very charismatic. There’s
also a whole set who believe I betrayed Jake.” Ayan took a breath,
deciding to move on from that over-examined topic. Lacey was more
angry about the lingering disapproval towards Ayan concerning her
short romantic relationship with Liam Grady than Ayan was.
    “I’ve held off on
asking,” Lacey said tentatively. “But I’d like to know so I can
have all the facts while I stand on your side.”
    Ayan had a feeling she
knew what her aide was about to ask and nodded her encouragement as
she scrolled through Crewcast highlights. “I can’t see why, you
know more about me than anyone.”
    “Well, in that case,
why did you break things off from Jake? Even you said you were happy
when you were together.”
    The question stung.
Lacey’s instinct to sidestep that question for months had been
right. If there was one thing Ayan regretted since she got together
with Liam, it was that she had to leave Jake. She was even more
remorseful after she split from Liam, something that wasn’t
supposed to be public, but became the topic of conversation for half
of Tamber just the same. “I took some bad advice,” Ayan replied.
“I was told that I had to free Jake so he could do what he had to
in this war. Little did I know it would be stalled for the better
part of a year.”
    “That advice didn’t
come from that thing that could see the future, did it?” Lacey
said.
    “I know what you
think of the information I got from the machine,” Ayan said, trying
to sidestep another short lecture on how nothing can tell people the
future. It was Lacey’s steadfast opinion, and it came up