Shades of Gray Read Online Free PDF

what he’d seen had been a manifestation of the mental Link between the child and his father or something very different. It seemed that he’d now have to ask Kusac.

Briefing room
    M’kou had just finished his presentation of up-to-date intel from the Prime system when suddenly Kusac was aware of Kaid’s presence at the edges of his mental shielding—extremely distant, to be sure, but unmistakably him. He rose to his feet so abruptly that the chair fell over behind him, drawing everyone’s eyes to him.
    “Is something wrong, Captain?” asked Kezule.
    “No,” he said, ignoring the fallen chair and limping toward the exit. “I need some air, that’s all.” His hand was on the opening plate just as the buzz indicating an incoming transmission sounded. As the door slid shut behind him, he heard Shezhul telling the General it was Kaid Tallinu.
     
    Giving Kusac’s retreating back a curious glance, Kezule said, “Route it through to here, please.” Had Kusac known the call was coming, he wondered, and if so, why had he left so abruptly? He’d no more time for speculation as he turned round to face the large comm screen behind him.
    After carefully polite greetings had been exchanged, Kezule introduced him to those present, pausing briefly when he came to Banner. The tan-colored Sholan on the screen merely nodded his recognition.
    “I’m glad you called,” Kezule said. “We have another matter that will shortly need our attention. Ch’almuth, the remaining Valtegan world, has been raided by the M’zullians every five years for breeding stock. This time, they asked for our help. Since there is no way I have the resources needed to take on M’zull, I was reluctant to do anything that would result in further action against the peaceful Ch’almuthians. We ambushed their craft when it landed, overpowered the M’zullians on board, and after rigging it to look as though some natural catastrophe had affected them in jump space, sent the ship back.”
    Kaid raised an appreciative eye ridge. “Very resourceful,” he murmured. “However, they will return.”
    “Yes. By my reckoning we have four to five weeks before they do. By then, we need to have found a more permanent solution, or at least send them back knowing that the cost of returning will be too great.”
    “Has Ch’almuth no defenses of its own? It seems unlikely that even the Valtegan agricultural world wouldn’t be protected.”
    “They have an Orbital, and it was capable of defending them, but it’s no longer in working order. It’s beyond the ability of my engineers to repair, I’m afraid. We were able to patch up their weather control system so the ground control center could communicate with it again. They also now have access to two cruisers that we found berthed there. They are operational but badly needed repairs to the weapons systems. They’re lending them to us for the time being.”
    While he spoke, Kezule noticed Kaid glance off to the side, one ear swiveling in that direction before it flicked in agreement.
    “We may be able to help you,” said Kaid as a hirsute, garish being joined him in the comm screen. “This is Toueesut, of the Touibans. We’re on one of their ships right now, the Couana . As you may know, they are the Alliance tech specialists.”
    “Greetings, General Kezule. A pleasure it is to be meeting with you,” the small alien trilled in his singsong voice.
    Fascinated, Kezule studied him. He’d never had the opportunity to see a Touiban before. Humanoid in appearance, they had only a passing likeness to the Human males he’d seen. Dark, almost unkempt hair sprouted from the being’s head above the deeply socketed eyes and grew beneath the flanged nose. The mustache was so mobile that it resembled a hairy caterpillar. What Kezule could see of his jacket was an intense blue, but it was almost completely covered in gold braid and intricate swirls of embroidery. Around his neck he wore dozens of gold chains, and