Free Askance by Viola Grace Page A

exposure to all of the women selected by his world.
    When Silari arrived, the introductions could start.
    She sat on the observation deck and watched the stars pass.
    Her future loomed ahead of her, unformed and shapeless.
    The feeling of being out of control had begun on the day that her routine arrest had turned into her nightmare. She had no psychic talent, merely a strong personality and that changed the Raider’s plan. He had handed her over to a talent who had used a combination of blades and his own acidic secretions to mark her.
    Her stamina had fascinated him and he had been planning to continue his artwork, but the Sector Guard had found her and intervened. They took her to a healer, but the acid that her torturer used had burned its way into her cells and attached to her DNA.
    He was part of her for life now.
    Silari shook her head and brought herself out of her memory. All of her uniforms covered her from wrist to ankle and were high necked. The less comment she elicited, the better for her peace of mind.
    She was simply Silari Henderson, Agent of the Alliance, retired.
    A woman cleared her throat and smiled, fidgeting with her uniform. “Agent Henderson, we are nearing Niiko. Please collect your things and a pilot will meet you at shuttle bay nine.”
    “Thank you, crewman.” With one last look at the panorama of stars, she got to her feet and returned to her quarters.
    Her bag was ready and waiting for her, just as it had been every day since she boarded the ship. There was no sense unpacking when she knew she wasn’t staying.
    With the bag slung over her shoulder, she made her way down to shuttle bay nine.
    She nodded at the crew as she passed them, but few, if any, responded. She had kept to herself on this trip and they had sensed that she wanted to be left alone.
    The shuttle pilot was waiting for her when she approached the designated location.
    “Good afternoon, Agent Henderson. Are you ready for your trip to Niiko?”
    She sighed and clasped hands with the pilot. Having him be another Terran made things so much worse. “As ready as I can be. How soon will we be there?”
    He smiled and waved for her to enter the ship. “Four hours or so. It is a pretty straight shot and the Hind will get us as close as she can.”
    “I would say I can hardly wait, but that would be a lie.” She moved into the shuttle and stowed her bag before she took the navigator seat.
    The harness pressed against her suit and she tried to ignore the press against her scars. This was coming up far too quickly. She wasn’t at ease with her body yet, so how could she expect to make a positive impression in the arena of physical appearance?
    She couldn’t even guess at why she had been selected in her current state and when the pilot got clearance to leave and smiled encouragingly at her, she responded with a matching smile. No sense ticking off the last friendly face she was going to be seeing for a while. Silari watched the Hind fall away from them as they turned toward the spinning orb of Niiko.
    Silari just had to humiliate herself and then, she would be able to retire somewhere and live quietly for the rest of her natural life. It wasn’t much of a career plan, but it was all she had.

Chapter Two
    The shuttle touched down on Niiko and her pilot inclined his head. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Agent Henderson.”
    She nodded and unbuckled. “Thank you for your prompt delivery, pilot.”
    He caught her hand. “It will get better, Silari. You just have to give life the opportunity to prove it to you.”
    Bitterness welled up in her and she tried not to cry. “I really doubt it. I have just recovered from a rather traumatic event and this is throwing me back into a situation where I have no control. It isn’t fair.”
    “Life out here isn’t fair, Henderson. You simply get on with your duty and do what you can to get through.” He smiled again. “My name is Robert Anders, by the way. I have been wed for the last