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.31Viola GraceWorvin managed the controls and Nathaly sat stiffly inthe seat next to him. Are you nervous? Yes.I don t know what I thought would happen, but thiswasn t it.He chuckled. Life rarely turns out the way you expect it.Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.That is my motto. I had no frame of reference to prepare for this. No, but you are adapting wonderfully.She looked over at him, and he glanced back at her andsmiled. You really think I can do this?Worvin nodded. I know you can.Your parents raisedyou with as much unity and education as they couldmanage.That much love carries an obligation to do the bestyou can with whatever situation you find yourself in.Theyprepared you for greatness, now take it.Nathaly blinked at the firm tone in his voice. Um.Allright.I will do what I can. Good.Lady Lupik is breaking the news of the treaty tothe government, and I am preparing to meet with resistancewhen we drop through the atmosphere. Right.What should I do? Have a meal and take a nap.We will arrive in two hoursand you might want to be as fresh as you can.She nodded. Can I get you anything? Some caf.I have to remain here to monitor the chatter ontheir com systems.Nat got to her feet and moved through the shuttle withher robes swaying heavily around her.The fabric waslightweight but had a solid feel.Worvin had told her it wasarmoured, but she didn t want to test it.It also hid herobvious similarities to the Miikor.The mask across her eyes32Shiver and Brightand down her cheeks was comfortable but would takegetting used to.She was swathed and hidden.Nathaly Welling was goneand Shiver was standing where she had been.A nap was impossible, so she grabbed a snack bar andtwo cups of caf, returning to the cockpit and her seat next toBright.She kept her breathing calm as her world filled theforward screen.They were taking direct action.They weregoing to begin the construction of the Citadel before meetingwith the local government.It was a bold move and probably a stupid one, but it wasthe best way to get them into position so that the chancellorcould not remove them.When they entered the atmosphere, she held her breathand Worvin s eyes glowed bright.It was time to make theirmove, and it was going to be a big one.The aircraft that flanked them through the atmospherehad peeled off when they were over their official grounds.The moment they were down, Shiver got up, headed tothe hold and grabbed the unit containing the pop-upCitadel.By vibrating the unit, she could drag it onto the bedrockhalf a kilometer from the ship.She dropped the unit to oneside with the very large button facing upward.A quickglance showed that Bright was waiting next to the ship, soshe pressed the button, waited for the light to begin its countdown and she ran for it.Bright caught her in his arms as they waited for the thirtyseconds to elapse.The light grew more intense and flared asthe unit sent a beacon skyward and a matching anchor intothe rock under it.33Viola Grace I can t believe that we are growing a Citadel. She stoodwith her arms around him, and he didn t seem to mind. Keep watching, it is starting. His arm around her backmoved in a soothing motion.She smiled.Hugging him had been an impulse, butcontinuing the embrace was taking a lot of nerve.His handon her back told her that the contact was not unwanted.With her family structure the way it was, she had noprospects as far as gentlemen were concerned.Bright wassmart, handsome and had a flare for keeping track of herthat she was beginning to appreciate.As she watched, the nanites did their job and the towerspiralled upward. Oh, my.They sat and watched as hours passed and the stonebeneath the new base was turned into the extruded grid ofthe towers and eventually thin but tough films of windows. Wow.I didn t think it would actually work. Shiverchuckled and watched the outbuildings rise from the groundin a spiralling wave.Bright smiled. Frankly, neither did I.I had heard of theTeklan experiment, but the Avari s technology is sopowerful, it is nearly mythological.That they are willing topart with any of it is entirely due to the new AllianceAmbassador.She has married one of their elders, and now,as long as the tech disables itself after its programmed duty,they are willing to sell us instant bases. I am not going to ask what she does to get thatagreement.He chuckled. Neither am I, but I am guessing she does itvery well [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]