Dark Minds (Class 5 Series Book 3) Read Online Free
Author: Michelle Diener
his head. As Grih Battle Center's highest ranking investigator at the United Council, he'd been allowed access to the top secret reports generated after the Class 5s known as Sazo and Bane had entered an alliance with the Grih. Sazo had been further along in his self-awareness than Bane, but both had managed to circumvent some of the restraints the Tecran had put on them before Rose McKenzie had freed them fully.
And Battle Center still had no idea how she had done it. She refused to say, not even to her lover, Grihan explorer captain Dav Jallan.
If Sazo had achieved some control before Rose freed him, then it must be possible for a thinking system to find ways around the limits imposed on them to make them safe and obedient. Or, there was someone from Earth involved.
That was why they were here, after all. To investigate reports of another Earth woman having been abducted from her planet.
But if the Class 5 in front of them had found a way to break free without anyone's help . . .
From what Cam had gleaned from the reports he'd read, Rose McKenzie had tempered both Sazo and Bane's personalities, weaving a more careful, thoughtful tone through their interactions.
Thinking systems were banned because unrestrained, they could be cruel, murderous, and vindictive. They had the power to inflict extraordinary harm. The worlds of the United Council had burned for almost six years until every thinking system had been destroyed. Except Dr. Fayir had thought he knew better.
He'd made five more.
Designed powerful ships for them to inhabit.
And then made arrangements for the plans to be discovered two hundred years after his death.
And now the United Council was once again on the brink of war, and Cam and his team were headed straight into the heart of one of his creations.
The launch bay gel wall came into focus, and they flew into the maw of the beast.
Chapter 4
T oloco had lied to her .
Harm had come to her, but then, Imogen had never believed him, anyway.
She was surprised she was still alive.
Toloco was responsible for that, too. After he'd beaten her the first time, in a quick, vicious burst that seemed to be almost necessary to him, he'd calmed down and refused to let anyone else on his team come near her.
He kept looking at her now, in nervous glances, his gaze lingering on her swollen eye and the lump on her cheek.
She was lucky nothing was broken, but if she looked as bad as she felt, she looked pretty bad.
That seemed to worry him.
The more he fidgeted, the deeper her sense of satisfaction.
She moved slowly, wincing whenever she shifted in her seat, and when they'd let her go to the bathroom, she might have exaggerated her limp.
That time, she'd seen Toloco swallow, hard.
They must be getting near their destination, because in the last hour or so there'd been a shift in atmosphere.
She'd been moved off the Tecran runner to the Krik's much bigger ship, and as they got underway, she'd seen the vessel that had been her prison for the last two weeks disappear almost instantly into the distance.
Toloco had put her in a corner of the bridge, much like the Tecran had done. It looked like a rest area made up of a few comfortable couches, visible from the captain's chair.
She decided he didn't trust her out of his sight, not because he thought she could do any damage, but because he didn't trust his crew not to harm her.
She wished he was wrong on the damage thing, but though the Krik weren't that much taller than she was, they were all muscle, teeth, and aggression.
She didn't have the fighting skills to take them on, even though she was in good shape. The cage on Balco had been roomy enough to do yoga and pull-ups, and when she wasn't learning Tecran or Grih, singing to Cleese or teaching him to talk, she'd had nothing better to do than keep flexible and fit.
Cleese.
She missed the ornery little bugger.
He was the only thing from Earth left with her in the end. A blue and yellow macaw, she guessed he'd
And Battle Center still had no idea how she had done it. She refused to say, not even to her lover, Grihan explorer captain Dav Jallan.
If Sazo had achieved some control before Rose freed him, then it must be possible for a thinking system to find ways around the limits imposed on them to make them safe and obedient. Or, there was someone from Earth involved.
That was why they were here, after all. To investigate reports of another Earth woman having been abducted from her planet.
But if the Class 5 in front of them had found a way to break free without anyone's help . . .
From what Cam had gleaned from the reports he'd read, Rose McKenzie had tempered both Sazo and Bane's personalities, weaving a more careful, thoughtful tone through their interactions.
Thinking systems were banned because unrestrained, they could be cruel, murderous, and vindictive. They had the power to inflict extraordinary harm. The worlds of the United Council had burned for almost six years until every thinking system had been destroyed. Except Dr. Fayir had thought he knew better.
He'd made five more.
Designed powerful ships for them to inhabit.
And then made arrangements for the plans to be discovered two hundred years after his death.
And now the United Council was once again on the brink of war, and Cam and his team were headed straight into the heart of one of his creations.
The launch bay gel wall came into focus, and they flew into the maw of the beast.
Chapter 4
T oloco had lied to her .
Harm had come to her, but then, Imogen had never believed him, anyway.
She was surprised she was still alive.
Toloco was responsible for that, too. After he'd beaten her the first time, in a quick, vicious burst that seemed to be almost necessary to him, he'd calmed down and refused to let anyone else on his team come near her.
He kept looking at her now, in nervous glances, his gaze lingering on her swollen eye and the lump on her cheek.
She was lucky nothing was broken, but if she looked as bad as she felt, she looked pretty bad.
That seemed to worry him.
The more he fidgeted, the deeper her sense of satisfaction.
She moved slowly, wincing whenever she shifted in her seat, and when they'd let her go to the bathroom, she might have exaggerated her limp.
That time, she'd seen Toloco swallow, hard.
They must be getting near their destination, because in the last hour or so there'd been a shift in atmosphere.
She'd been moved off the Tecran runner to the Krik's much bigger ship, and as they got underway, she'd seen the vessel that had been her prison for the last two weeks disappear almost instantly into the distance.
Toloco had put her in a corner of the bridge, much like the Tecran had done. It looked like a rest area made up of a few comfortable couches, visible from the captain's chair.
She decided he didn't trust her out of his sight, not because he thought she could do any damage, but because he didn't trust his crew not to harm her.
She wished he was wrong on the damage thing, but though the Krik weren't that much taller than she was, they were all muscle, teeth, and aggression.
She didn't have the fighting skills to take them on, even though she was in good shape. The cage on Balco had been roomy enough to do yoga and pull-ups, and when she wasn't learning Tecran or Grih, singing to Cleese or teaching him to talk, she'd had nothing better to do than keep flexible and fit.
Cleese.
She missed the ornery little bugger.
He was the only thing from Earth left with her in the end. A blue and yellow macaw, she guessed he'd
Readers choose
Kyra Dune
Gin Jones
Gladys Quintal
Clarise Tan, Marian Tee, The Passionate Proofreader
Elisa Freilich
Jo Graham
Brooklyn Skye
Anthology
Lyndi Lamont
Chad Oliver