AcQuest: A Space Opera Military Technothriller (The Quest Saga Science Fiction Adventure Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

sophisticated weapons system had crashed all on its own, but to Taylor it seemed like he was just being paranoid, and that sort of emotional state wasn’t a safe indulgence.
    Q, as a mage, was influenced by his emotions. A mage could tap into his life energy and channel it, but sometimes, if his emotions were out of control, his life energy could flood out in a torrent. This causes mages to lose control and wreak havoc. In his current state of mind, Q was in a dangerously emotional condition. A small tip in the delicate scale could cause him to go on an all-out rampage.
    Of course, most people couldn't see anything wrong with him, but she had been with him long enough to know when he wasn't feeling well. So she planned to cheer him up by inviting him to dinner. Hopefully it would work.
    She walked toward the heart of the city of Aliea, until she was at the base of a massive tower. It blended mysteriously with the night sky and its darkness. A large circle of neon red lay on the front face of the tower; the only visible part of its existence.
    The Demon Riser , she thought.
    It was the largest tower in Aliea, rising up to almost half the height of the dome that encapsulated the city. It was primarily a command center that Aliea’s executive officials used, but it also had plenty of residential sections. In fact, Taylor and the others had stayed there for a while, but in the end they decided it was more convenient to get their own places to stay. So now Q was the only one of their group who resided in the tower.
    She took the elevator to the upper floors and was about to knock on his door, when she heard noises coming from the inside. She put her ear to the black metal door and strained to hear a sound. She could hear a girl’s voice loud and clear but there wasn’t a trace of Q’s. She panicked and charged into the room, “Q! Are you…” she caught her words and her face froze.
    Elizabeth lay on a bed, her face pale and worn out. Q sat by her, his face lined with worry. Taylor realized that the sounds she had heard were Elizabeth’s groans of pain.
    “What happened to her?” She walked up to them.
    “Something big,” Q said quietly.
    “Tell me,” she sat down on the bed next to Elizabeth’s
    Q sighed, and then he told her. When he finished, Taylor’s face looked like she had just seen a ghost.
    “You okay?” he asked.
    “I’m fine” Taylor shook off the expression and shifted to Elizabeth’s side. “Why didn't you take her to the infirmary?”
    Q bit his lip and hesitated, “Whoever summoned those golems was after Elizabeth,” he said. “It wouldn’t have been a good idea to take to the streets. This mage might summon another wave of golems, and I was not sure I’d be able to beat them another time.”
    “Fair enough,” Taylor said. Elizabeth’s breathing was still heavy and rapid.
    “I think she might have injured herself really badly,” Q told her.
    “I’ll take a look at it,” she closed her eyes and put her hand on Elizabeth’s forehead. She visualized a small part of her life energy flow out from within her body. It travelled through her hand to the tips of her fingers and into Elizabeth. She imagined it wash over her bruises and heal her completely. When she opened her eyes again, Elizabeth’s bruises had disappeared and her face became calmer. Not serene, not happy, but calm. She turned towards Q, who was staring at her in awe.
    “You healed her?” he asked with fascination.
    “Well, not exactly,” she said. “I gave her a part of my life energy, just a tiny fraction. Her body was the one that used it to accelerate her healing.”
    “Wow, didn’t know you could do that.”
    “Anyway, her bruises are healed,” she said. “But I might have missed something. I’ll stay here for the night just in case.”
    “Thank you,” he smiled at her.
    They chatted for a while, talking about their childhood escapades, and their more recent ones as well. They kept going until both of