Free The Ruby Dice by Catherine Asaro

revealed he knew more about Viasa than almost any offworlder alive.

    The man spoke. "Dalstern, we have holomaps for you, but we still have a mismatch in protocols. We are working on it. Please stand by."

    "Understood." Kelric wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. "Mace, how is our speed?"

    "Too fast. The deeper we go in these mountains, the more complex the terrain. I can't recalculate the map fast enough."

    Kelric leaned over the comm. "Viasa, I need maps."

    "I'm sending what I have," the man answered.

    "Received!" Mace said. A new holomap formed, centered on a magnificent waterfall that cascaded down a cliff. In the east, a pass showed in the mountains. With a rush of relief, Kelric veered toward that small notch.

    "Dalstern, did that come through?" the man asked.

    "I have it," Kelric said. "I pull up."

    "Viasa should be beyond the cliffs," Mace said. "I don't have the landing coordinates yet."

    Kelric grimaced at the thought of setting down in a mountain hamlet without guidance, on a field that was probably too small. "Maybe we'll see it when we get through the pass."

    The holomap suddenly fragmented. In the same instant, Mace said, "I've lost the Viasa data stream."

    Damn! Kelric spoke into the comm. "Viasa, we have problem."

    "We too," the man said.

    Sweat dripped down Kelric's neck. Mace was doing his best to reconstruct the holomap, but they needed more—

    With no warning, a wall of stone loomed on his screens. Kelric had no time to be startled; Bolt accelerated his reflexes, and he swerved east before his mind grasped what he was doing. Cliffs sheered up on his starboard side as they leapt into the pass. Closer, too close! He careened away, but that brought him too close to the other side.

    Suddenly they shot free of the cliffs. Ahead and below, the lights of a city glittered like sparkflies scattered across the mountains. The rest of the majestic range lay shrouded in darkness beneath the chilly stars. Bittersweet memories flooded Kelric, and incredibly, a sense of homecoming, all of it heightened by the adrenaline rushing through him. He had never seen Viasa, but he knew the way of life, culture, language, all of it. Until this moment, he had never let himself acknowledge how much he missed those years he had spent submerged in Calanya Quis. He had given up everything for that privilege: his freedom, heritage, way of life, even his name. It had almost been worth the price.

    "We need a place to land," Mace said. "Or I'm going to crash into that city."

    "They must have an airfield."

    "I don't see one."

    Kelric spoke into the comm. "Viasa, I need set-down coordinates."

    The man answered. "We're working on it!"

    Kelric could guess the problem. They didn't know starship protocols. The Cobans learned fast, but no one could jump from elementary physics to astronavigation in ten minutes. Jeremiah was an anthropologist. Although most college students learned the rudiments of celestial mechanics, he had no reason to know how to guide down a starship.

    "I'm mapping a landing site," Mace said. "I'll try not to hit too many buildings."

    Kelric spoke into the comm. "Viasa, I have no more time. I guess coordinates."

    "Dalstern, I have it!" the man shouted. Holomaps of Viasa flared above Kelric's screens.

    "Received," Kelric said. Then he realized he was going to careen right over the origin of the signal, which meant he might hit their command center. "Suggest you get out of there," he added with urgency.

    A sparkle of lights rushed toward the ship, and towers pierced the starred sky. A dark area ahead had no buildings. With a jolt, Kelric realized they had sent him to the Calanya parks, probably the largest open area in Viasa, even bigger than the landing field.

    The Dalstern was dropping fast, past domes and peaked roofs. A wall sheered out of the dark and grazed a wing of the ship, sending a shudder through it. Gritting his teeth, Kelric wrestled with the Dalstern, struggling to avoid the