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Back Love Code Save as PDF
Chapters (32)
  1. Cover
  2. LOVE CODE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. About the Book
  5. Dedication
  6. Copyright Page
  7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  8. [  1  ]
  9. [  2  ]
  10. [  3  ]
  11. [  4  ]
  12. [  5  ]
  13. [  6  ]
  14. [  7  ]
  15. [  8  ]
  16. [  9  ]
  17. [  10  ]
  18. [  11  ]
  19. [  12  ]
  20. [  13  ]
  21. [  14  ]
  22. [  15  ]
  23. [  16  ]
  24. [  17  ]
  25. [  18  ]
  26. [  19  ]
  27. [  20  ]
  28. [  21  ]
  29. [  22  ]
  30. [  23  ]
  31. [  24  ]
  32. AUTHOR’S NOTE

Qalu stared, not understanding much of Bojak’s monologue. “Cattle net?”

“There’s smugglers that steal cows on the world I came from. It’s an animal, considered a delicacy on multiple planets. So smugglers and black-market privateers come and snatch them quiet-like. Sometimes they grab a human who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time too. We’re not worth much, though.”

“Low tech knowledge when he first signed on,” Carow muttered. “Talks too much.”

Praxys churred. “So true. It’s permissible to unfasten safety gear and go about your business. We’ll be traveling for a while.”

[  18  ]

Helix soon discovered that he disliked relying on others.

Praxys wasn’t a bad sort, but he was far too interested in spending time with Qalu and pressing his invitation, trying to get her to accede to his offer to join the resistance. It wasn’t that Helix disagreed with what the organization stood for; that would be entirely hypocritical. But he sensed Qalu’s quiet unhappiness and he didn’t know what to do about it.

She wouldn’t leave him, but she missed her home, along with all the satisfaction of doing work she loved. While he believed she cared for him, she wasn’t meant to live like a nomad. And she seemed to feel guilty about Aevi’s growing discontent as well. The Pherzul didn’t enjoy being trapped on the resistance ship and had taken to curling up on the sleep platform, where she spent most of her time dozing. There was nothing new for her to see, nothing to explore, and even Bojak’s silly humor couldn’t cheer the little one.

This is my fault.

Unfortunately, knowing that didn’t alleviate the situation. So much danger lay ahead and even if they defeated Toth Krag, it wouldn’t end the pursuit. The syndicate he stole from wouldn’t rest until they had their credits back, so they’d hire someone else. Ultimately, Krag was a symptom of the problem, not the cure.

Helix walked the halls, wrestling the conundrum with all his considerable intellect focused, but he couldn’t see the solution. In desperation, he connected to Nita, trusting another AI might see what he had missed. In terms of problem-solving, he’d absolutely lost some of his old capacity. The Tiralan brain simply couldn’t process as many variables simultaneously, but AIs couldn’t enjoy delicious roasted nornroot either.

“You require assistance?” Nita asked.