Champions of Terra Avari Nyx Festival of the Night By Viola Grace The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Champions of Terra Avari Nyx - Festival of the Night Copyright ? 2006 Viola Grace SERIES ISBN: 1-55410-732-6 Cover art by Angela Waters All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.extasybooks.com To the hard-writing authors of Extasy books. May they all get a vacation on a remote and tech free planet. Chapter 1 nnabelle Maddox floated gently in the tank, swaying as the liquid moved around her. A soft rapping on the glass echoed in her ears and she opened her eyes to those of her visitor. Well, she would have if her visitor had eyes. A face-plate framed by a cloak embroidered with marks of the Imperial house of Haldis looked in at her. ?You planning on coming out of there anytime soon, Anna?? The speakers reverberated the sound through the tank. Anna nodded and swam to the surface, hauling herself out of the top of the tank. Then, removing the breathing apparatus she tugged on a robe. Her chestnut hair dripped onto the fabric as she stepped down the ladder and greeted her visitor. ?Hey, Negotiator Tyrell. What brings you to the silence and serenity of Kya Ghada?? Anna nodded for her companion to follow her as she led her through the temple halls and into the open meditation quarters. Her feet padded wetly on the cobbled stones. A serene garden flowing with fountains and streams, stone benches, and statuary greeted them as they wandered through the pathways. They took a seat in one of the unoccupied benches and Anna waited for her companion to speak. She waited quite a while with her hands folded in her lap. ?You know, you are the only other human I know who can stay still for so long.? Tyrell was compelled to admit that she was impressed. ?Well, you are the only human I know who has chosen to live in a can. When do you get out by the way?? Anna was curious. The negotiator had already been in the armor much longer than Alliance standard. Three years was the limit for negotiator service, Tyrell was closing in on her fourth. ?Enough about me. That?s not why I?m here.? The metallic voice was impatient. Anna smiled, after four years in a pilot?s harness and she could understand the subtle tones better than anyone. ?Okay. Then am I to imagine that this is not just a visit to an old friend?? ?No.? A sigh shook the speakers on the faceplate. ?You know by now, that after the blast you took, you are no longer fit for service.? Anna?s face clouded, ?I know. I was hoping that I could be repaired, but I know.? That part of her life had ended when they had to pry her from the seared circuitry of the Alliance battle cruiser that she had been part of. It was a career-ending injury. ?I?m sorry. I know how much you love flying.? A gauntleted hand reached out to take one of the small human ones in a gentle grip. ?I?m here to give you information regarding your new assignment.? ?It?s ok. So, where am I off to?? A falsely chipper tone took over. Anna pasted a bright smile on her face, practicing an expression that the link to her ship had made unnecessary. She had to force her face to take on expressions since she was decanted after the attack. When you looked through the eyes of cameras and monitors, smiling was unnecessary. ?You are being sent to the planet Avari. It is tech restricted, and nothing should irritate your nerve endings there. They don?t have anything beyond Iron Age allowed on the surface.? Tyrell was all business once again. ?With, of course, an exception for a communication?s center.? ?So you?re throwing me alone into the wild? Isn?t that a little harsh?? Annabelle?s mouth twisted in amusement. She did appreciate the lengths that the Alliance, and Tyrell had gone too, to insure her comfort. Being around any electrical impulses after the Arena Station attack was intensely painful. Annabelle had been a pilot. She had been hard-wired into the service systems and navigation controls of the ship. The ship had felt like her own body, each system was a corresponding match to her own flesh. When the Alliance ships, including her battle cruiser, attacked the Arena Station the defense systems had kicked in automatically. It had caught her by surprise. An electronic pulse had been sent into her hull and then through her. She had kept herself conscious as her body felt like it had been dipped in acid, her nerves on fire, and brought her ship around to defend the attack fleet. They had destroyed the defense systems in short order and set about freeing the kidnapped members of the Alliance. This included Anna?s friend Kyra. They had been in basic orientation together with Tyrell and a few others and had formed a bond that stretched across time and through space. Anna frantically sought more information. ?Ok, so, am I on my own there or is it inhabited?? ?It?s inhabited. A race called the Avari, oddly enough. They are an Alliance founding race. A village elder named Tarun Bien will meet you. He will help you adjust to your new surroundings.? ?When do I leave?? Anna sat up a little straighter, and began to look forward to the journey ahead of her. ?Your ship is waiting right now. I have taken the liberty of having personal items packed for you, suitable to the tech regulations of course.? Tyrell stood, the cloak flowing around her form. The armor concealed every trace of humanity, and left only an impenetrable shell. ?The Imperial shuttle is waiting to take me back to Haldis for a treaty with the Selna. They get cranky when they have to wait and start sleeping with Imperial Guardsmen.? Annabelle reached over and gave the cold metal a hug, smiling as the armored limbs closed around her shoulders. She straightened against the icy shell that encased her friend and gave a wistful smile. ?Take care Tyrell, and stay in touch. If it?s even possible.? ?There?s a tiny communication station there. How else do you think I could have made the arrangements?? With a laugh, Tyrell turned and strode off to the landing pad that contained her private shuttle. Anna shook her head as she watched her friend disappear and then headed off to Medical for a shot of painkillers before she went off to the main launch pad and the shuttle that would take her to the battle cruiser Stalix, her old ship. Painkillers numbed her nerves as the shuttle left the planet?s surface. Anna could only pray that they docked in time to get her into a shielded area, away from the electronic ?noise? that would burn along her neural pathways. The tiny craft was locked into place with a docking clamp and when the hatch opened her escort was ready to take her on board. ?This way please, pilot Maddox. We?re going to get you into a shielded area as quickly as possible.? The ensign escorted her rapidly through the halls, and into a cargo bay with a large chamber in the center. ?There is a tank inside?? Her voice was loud in the empty room, echoing off the metal walls. ?Yes, as the Negotiator specified. All of your possessions are inside, as well as food, a sanitary stall and clothing for the trip. I wish you safe journey, pilot.? He stood aside and smartly saluted her as she went into the chamber, all noise and electrical impulses stopped the instant she shut the door. Chapter 2 he viewed her accommodations and then laughed. Tyrell had had them put up posters of the Terran Champions. While wired to her ship, she had kept abreast of the promotions of the Terran candidates. Five champions had been declared to date. Humans in general were adapting well, but the women seemed to be blending seamlessly into the Alliance society. Out of the two thousand humans from all walks of life and different social backgrounds, the sixty-five percent that were female were all still alive, compared to the two hundred males that had died in various parts of the Alliance. She viewed the familiar faces, grimaced at her own and then took a look around what was to be her home for the next few weeks. There was a desk and plenty of paper, along with writing utensils. She had everything she might need, including a manicure set. ?Where the heck did she find all of this?? Anna shook her head and had a seat then picked up a paperback that had been published the year before and started to read. The monograph on the Avari that was sitting next to it could wait, it wasn?t going anywhere. She made it through ten paperbacks, the Avari monograph, wrote seven eight-page letters, and did her nails seventeen times before the klaxon went off to indicate that they had reached their destination, the planet Avari. They were there. She was at her new home. The ship went silent beneath her feet. They must have made land-fall. Odd, normally a shuttle would have been...
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