Sister Katherine Read Online Free PDF Page A

that made him wonder about the drink it might have contained.  
    Vadef meticulously worked through the convent records, discovering who was who in the religious order’s hierarchy.  He had figured out that there was one elder called Mother Superior who was in charge of the colony.  Then there were nuns, often referred to as ‘sisters’.  Last were the aspirants, young women and girls learning to become nuns.  The Imdiko had quickly realized that the aspirants were the colony residents most likely to be underage girls.  He’d gone through birth information for those and forwarded the squad leaders vid pics and identification scans of those who were too young for clanning.
    Vadef had worked his way into cataloguing the of-age females, those who could be made prisoners of war.  Under Kalquor’s code, that gave the Empire the right to claim them for clans looking for Mataras.  The women were pretty spoils to be kept and cared for and who would hopefully carry children for the nearly extinct Kalquorians.  The Empire’s desperate need for such women was the reason Kalquor and Earth had gone to war in the first place.
    Vadef blinked as a familiar ethereal face appeared on his vid.  The Imdiko’s mouth went suddenly dry as her recorded face seemed to offer him a gentle smile.
    She has blue eyes.  Like the sky on a clear day on Kalquor.
    It was the blonde who’d not screamed when he and Miv came for her.  The one who’d only wept and prayed as they tried to comfort her even as they took her prisoner.  By the ancestors, she was beautiful.  Still sad though, even in her picture.  Her sweet face smiled a little but there was such sorrow in those large, blue eyes.  It gave him the irrational urge to find her and try once more to comfort her.
    Vadef stared at her for long seconds before he could get his mind working again.  At last, he looked down at the details of the lovely Earther.
     
    Name:  Katherine Archer, Sister of the Europan Order of The Prophets’ Eternal Brides
     
    Vadef frowned at the name.  Part of it was a title, like the Mother Superior’s.  Earthers often had two, sometimes more names, the last being the names of their fathers.  So this female would be addressed as Katherine.
    “Kat – Her – In – Ee?”  Vadef shook his head.  No, the ‘th’ of the name was one sound.  And the ‘i’ would be a long vowel with the silent ‘e’ at the end.  He tried again.  “Kath – Er – Ine.”
    The Imdiko practiced the name, rolling it around on his tongue as if he might taste it.  As he whispered her name over and over, he checked other items of interest.  She was close to his own age, though slightly older.  She was still well within childbearing range. 
     
    Duties:  Teacher, counselor, advocate for aspirant punishment appeals
     
    Special notes:  Case No. 18937, exile re:  undue alien interest.  M.S. eyes only
     
    Vadef arched a brow.  Some of Katherine’s file appeared to be in code.  He wondered why.
    His private com channel beeped for attention, and Vadef smiled with affection to identify his Dramok’s frequency.  Vadef and Miv’s clan leader was the spyship’s first officer.  Simdow had been left on board to command the vessel while Captain Tranis led the group on the colony.  No doubt Simdow was hard pressed to keep patient while the majority of the ship’s crew was busy with their invasion and capture of General Hamilton, who they’d found in the colony’s temple.  Chasing the Earther general’s transport ship had led them to this little moon.  Finding all the women had happened purely by chance.
    Vadef didn’t keep his clanmate waiting for more than a second before answering.  “Vadef here, my Dramok.”  Because it was a private frequency, the Imdiko thought he could ignore military protocol.
    Simdow’s smooth voice rolled over him like a gentle wave.  “Hello, Vadef.  I understand they’re keeping you busy down there.  Congratulations on