The Prodigal Sun Read Online Free PDF Page A

the chair to him, and indicated for him to sit. Keeping the pistol trained carefully on his chest, she retreated to the far corner of the room to think.
    Adoni Cane. If he wasn’t a transportee, then he could have been a passenger, but then why didn’t his name register in the datapool? He had to be lying. But why? She could ask the Box to investigate the mysterious message that had led Cane to her; it would have been recorded by security monitors, if it existed at all. And if it didn’t—
    Her hand instinctively tightened on the valise as she realized the stranger’s intentions. Before she could express her concerns to the Box, the AI’s voice cut across her train of thought:
    
    She blinked and subvocalized:
    
    Roche swung her gaze to the screen. It showed an overhead view of the Midnight’ s bridge, from cameras mounted above the access locks at the rear of the chamber, and took in most if not all of the hemispherical sweep of workstations.
    Klose was standing on the podium, his first officer, Terrison, with him; both were studying the forward displays. There was a superficial impression of calm about the scene that belied the tension in their stances. Roche could tell at a glance that they and the other personnel on the bridge were operating under unusual pressure. Something had gone wrong.
    As she watched, Janek, the tactician, turned from her station to face Klose and Terrison.
    “Ident confirmed,” the tactician said. “Dato warships. Four of them.”
    Roche slipped her hand onto the contact pad to overlay the navigation display in one corner of the screen, hardly believing what she was hearing. Dato ships? From where? The Dato Bloc had no business this side of the border.
    A moment’s glance showed her what had happened: the three Eckandi “freighters” had deactivated their sophisticated camouflage systems, revealing the truth beneath. A dreadnought and three raiders, plus at least a dozen tiny fighters, swooping free of the dreadnought even as she watched.

    // disturbance within the sector under Olmahoi control has both puzzled and concerned COE observers. Reaves in neighboring systems have reported surges in epsense II

    Roche irritably killed the IDnet and swore softly to herself. Cane leaned closer; out of the corner of her eye she saw him echo her frown.
    “Trouble?” he asked.
    “You might say that.” Mindful that her pistol no longer covered him, she waved him back. “We’ve just cruised straight into an ambush.”
    “Is there conflict between your people and the owners of these ships?”
    “Are you serious?” She saw no indication of irony in his composed features. She had never met anyone who wasn’t at least vaguely aware of the political realities of the region. “How long have you been imprisoned here?”
    “Seven days, as I said.”
    “This really isn’t turning into a very good day for me,” she said, shaking her head. Then, returning to the screen before her, she added, “Officially the Commonwealth of Empires and the Dato Bloc are at peace.” She focused her attention on the ships on the screen. “But I get the impression that this isn’t official business.”
    “Could it be a mistake?”
    She glanced down at the valise. “Unlikely.”
    The Dato ships had assumed a tight arrowhead formation and were powering up their drives to meet the incoming frigate. Alert strips above the door to her room flashed to amber simultaneously with the light in the tank. A sterile voice announced an order for provisional battle stations.
    “Four against one,” mused Cane, studying the formation intently. “Not insuperable odds. Why hasn’t the captain—” He stopped in mid-sentence and glanced at Roche quizzically, as though suddenly remembering her presence. “You’re an officer. Why aren’t you on the bridge?”
    “I’m just a guest, noncombat.” She turned to