Free Crystal Fire by Kathleen Morgan Page A

frightened her, yet beckoned to her all the same. For a fleeting moment, she wondered how Ardane felt about her. Then she quickly turned her thoughts to less upsetting things. Like the impending foray into Olena.
    The trio crept into town at sol set. Aside from the Repository situated there, Olena was little more than a guild center for Bellatorian tradesmen and essentially went to bed when the shops and offices closed. The Repository lay in the center of the sleepy town, a squat, circular building of four stories.
    They made their way to the alleyway behind the Repository. As Marissa watched with rising unease, Rodac uncoiled his rope.
    She turned to Brace. "I hate heights, but, one way or another, this time I'm climbing up on my own. My stomach couldn't take another secundae pressed against that malodorous Simian."
    "We're just as foul-smelling to them."
    "Oh, really? Perhaps you meat eaters are, but there's no stench from fruits and vegetables."
    "And what do you think, Rodac?" Brace turned to the Simian. "Do vegetarians smell better then meat eaters?"
    The alien's gaze flitted from one to the other, as if he were considering the question. Then he rolled his beady eyes and turned away. With a quick twist of his wrist, Rodac circled the rope above his head. When it fed out to the proper length and speed, he hurled it upward.
    The rope ensnared one of the roof's crenelated edges. With a practiced tug Rodac settled the loop snugly in place, then turned to Brace. Brace grasped the rope as high as he could and began a swift, hand-over-hand climb. Once he was safely on the roof, Rodac gestured toward Marissa.
    With a small grimace, Marissa stepped up. Her journey to the rooftop was considerably slower and a lot more nerve-wracking, but she soon joined Brace. A few secundae later Rodac was there, silently hauling in the rope behind him. After stowing the coil beneath a water storage cylinder, the trio lowered themselves through the air duct to the level below.
    A quick check confirmed there were no guardbots about. With a few skilled manipulations of a nearby control box, Brace deactivated all alarm and communication systems. Then he turned to Marissa.
    "Well, Domina? We await your command."
    She nodded. "Remember to take every level in a systematic fashion. Only when all rooms have been searched will we proceed to the next level. Take only items of high value that are easily carried. Understood?"
    Brace and Rodac nodded.
    "Good." Marissa waved them ahead of her. "Let's go."
    The next hora was spent in a fruitless search of the fourth floor, a level apparently utilized for the storage of ancient texts and manuscripts. What a wealth of knowledge, Marissa mused as she sifted through piles of vellum and ornately gilded tomes, hidden away from an Imperium long starved of learning. And how ironic that Bellator, well-known for putting little store in things of the mind, was now possessor of most of the few remaining books left in the Imperium.
    Some sol, Marissa vowed, she'd return and relieve this Repository of a lot more of its ill- gotten gains. The Sodalitas, at the very least, would appreciate some of these books
    The deep bass hum of a guardbot's anti-grav plates brought Marissa up short. She swung around, her blaster waist-high, her trigger finger ready. A 'bot stood in the doorway, its green scan beam slowly surveying the room.
    She ducked and rolled aside, firing pointblank at the guardbot. The sound was loud and abrupt in the sudden silence. It brought a light, rapid tread of footsteps in her direction.
    "Marissa!"
    Brace slid to a halt behind the guardbot's shattered remains. His sharp glance took in the pile of twisted metal, then Marissa's calm countenance as she slung her blaster back onto her shoulder. He grinned, then signaled her onward.
    With one last, regretful look at the manuscripts stacked about the chamber, Marissa followed Brace. There was a job to be done, she reminded herself, and the room of books was now a