Defender of the Empire 2: Facades Read Online Free Page B

as it was, it helped me to keep from uttering a whole slew of inane things. Ace’s appearance made him look so much older than he really was. His eyes were cold and hard when he wasn’t using a façade. They were haunted, filled with secrets and knowledge of things better left in the dark. They reminded me a little of Marius’s eyes. They were old, and without the masks they made Ace seem much older than Westley, which is interesting because Westley was nineteen cycles and Ace only seventeen.
                  Instead of answering him I asked, “Why are you here, Ace?”
                  Ace’s eyes narrowed as if he didn’t care that I had avoided his question, then eased. The easygoing mask was back. “The Telmicks have picked the colonist cities clean. Most have left. Those who could, anyway. The rest are too poor to do anything other than what they have been doing—surviving. Not that it will matter much soon,” he said with a shrug that attempted to make little of the situation. It almost worked on Lassie, but she could see how pale I had become.
                  “What do you mean?” I asked, though I dreaded the answer.
                  “You’re the smart one, Ry. Can’t you guess?” he asked instead of answering.
                  I bit my lower lip. “The Telmicks aren’t leaving, are they?” He shook his head and I bowed mine. I knew what he was getting at, though I wished that I didn’t, because I wouldn’t feel so helpless. “They are going to attack the Prime cities next. The Legion Fleet will come…”
                  “Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?” Lassie asked, looking at me as if I were an idiot.
                  “Because the Telmick mercenaries love a good fight. They won’t care that people will die in the crossfire, especially since the Prime cities were always richer than the colonist ones. There is also the fact that the Prime cities have control over the char mines. Can you imagine what would happen if the mercenaries got their hands on the sole source of that substance? And don’t get me started on the rare metals and gems that are also found in those mines…” Lassie’s mouth dropped open as she thought about it.
                  The Telmicks were an oddity in the Empire, a race split into two groups. There were the few clans who specialized in trade, and the rest were mercenaries. The merchant clans were the ones who were part of the Empire and sat on the council. From my Prime World class, I had learned that the merchant clans always had to explain the difference between themselves and the rest of their people. They were so hopelessly outnumbered by the mercenary clans that they couldn’t enforce anything. The mercenary clans also tended to care only about themselves. Once in a while though, one clan would rise up and lead the others on some campaign for prestige and wealth. That had happened recently. For whatever reason that defied most people’s understanding, they chose to raid colony Lenti. Lassie had to ask herself what would happen if the mercenary clans of the Telmicks got hold of the char mines.
                  To me, it would be a very bad thing, which was why the Legion Fleet would work to defend the mines and the people in the cities. But where the Legion Fleet would care about people who might get caught in the crossfire, the Telmicks wouldn’t. They would use that against the Legion Fleet, and many people would die.
                  Ace saw that I understood what was about to happen. “Now that you understand, you have to come and help us.”
                  “I want to, Ace!” I said, standing up suddenly. Lassie startled in her chair at my outburst. I started to pace. “But what can I do? I’m just one person, who is about to serve on her first LF starship. I have no pull.” Though Jason might… I thought.