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The bioforming supplies were delivered early the next morning and Amanpreet and Niobe checked the inventory while Linda cooked them breakfast.

“It looks like everything is here,” Amanpreet said finally. “Let’s get it stowed, eat breakfast, and then set off.” She glanced at Niobe. “Or do you want to stay a few more hours? I know you don’t see your mother as much as you’d like.” Read the rest of this entry »

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What? Daniel twisted around to look down towards the hill. But he…

Oh, I don’t think he works for Xantaria, Fellaria said. Rather the opposite, actually. He feels like one of the rebels. He’s certainly been on Taloa for a very long time, anyway.

So you think he’s on our side? Andrew asked. Should we out him?

I think he probably is, she said. If he is a rebel then he certainly– She broke off as Naria interrupted. Read the rest of this entry »

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“Thank you,” Matthias said. “We need all the help we can get.”

“Yes, you’re in a bad situation and you really don’t need all this distracting you when you need to be dealing with Likadrian’s mess.”

“This is part of his mess.” Matthias sighed. “And it’s my fault, really. I should have realised how dangerous he was before he gained so much ground.” Read the rest of this entry »

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By the time Kayla arrived, dinner was nearly ready and wonderful smells were floating into the house from the outdoor kitchen that Niobe’s family used at the hottest times of the year. Amanpreet was sitting at the terminal checking on the order for the bioforming supplies for Talis, so she twisted around in her seat to look at her.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“Without a hitch,” Kayla said. “I have new ID and the Dreamsong is now officially mine.” She flopped down on one of the sofas. “And no one attacked me, which is nice. But what happens now? I hope the wait soon will be over.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Lydia ran up to Daniel and Adrian as soon as they landed.

“That went well!” she said. “Everyone’s really pleased.”

“You were watching?” Daniel asked.

Lydia nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, well Alexandra was and she broadcast it to the rest of us. It couldn’t have gone any better. She’s checking to see if it’s got the army to withdraw or not, but I thought someone should be here to greet you on your return.” She headed back into the main building. “Come on.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“Do you think this will work?” asked Daniel as Kelaria flew him and Adrian towards the convoy.

“It should,” Adrian replied. “Cutting through disguises like this is something my family are good at…” he trailed off.

“I sense a but coming,” Daniel said.

“No… at least, not really.” Adrian sighed heavily. “I’m worried about Kay, the real Kay… I want to go and rescue her now we know where she is, but this is more important so we have to deal with this first, but I’m worried it’s not a coincidence.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Niobe’s mother Linda was one of the chief marine biologists on Cels. She and her team were responsible for monitoring the stability of the bioformed oceans around Western Cels. Indeed when Amanpreet and her crew arrived at Niobe’s family home – a large single story whitewashed house of lovely naturalistic curves and no hard edges which stood on the tropical coast several miles from the nearest city – her mother and two assistants were just making their way up the beach dressed in wetsuits and carrying boxes of samples. Read the rest of this entry »

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Julie leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling after they’d described what scrying where the kids were being kept had shown.

“Yes,” she said thoughtfully. “We do need to put a stop to that immediately. They’ll hurt those kids if they keep it up and probably themselves as well.”

“Excuse me if I don’t really care about them,” Carrie muttered. Julie cast a glance at her but otherwise ignored her. Read the rest of this entry »

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Alexandra was right about it being less unpleasant putting the merge together this time and Daniel was aware that she was somehow buffering him from Carrie, just in case she tried something again.

Thank you, he said and felt Alexandra smile.

Not a problem. Now let’s locate those poor kids. Read the rest of this entry »

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Amanpreet had Kayla handle most of the hyperspace navigation for their trip to Cels in order for her to get used to the different feel of the Whisper compared to her smaller ship. She’d even sat in the dome with her on their first jump – ready to take over if she had a problem – but the Vaian girl had done her job with only minor wobbles and by the time they reached Cels she’d even got over that.

As they re-entered normal space and entered orbit around Cels, Kayla climbed down from the dome to join them.

“Well, how’d I do?” she asked eagerly. “I think it went better this time.” Read the rest of this entry »