Free Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles 2: Redemption by Andrew Beery Page A

Since interaction with a Higgs field was what gave rise to mass, dampening this interaction effectively reduced his mass so that even in the presence of a massive gravitational field he was perfectly safe.
     
    In addition, the Galactic Coalition had granted a technology transfer waiver. Even though the Ashkelon were not officially a part of the GCP, the GCP had decided to share some limited technology with them, to include specially programmed medical nanites that once injected into Sassi would quickly shore up his delicate internal organs should the encounter suit's systems fail.
     
    He knew he had multiple redundant systems protecting him, but the deeply ingrained fear his people had for strong gravity was hard to overcome. He was having a hard time keeping his low frequency antenna from nervously vibrating.
     
    The Chief rapped a knuckle on the exterior shell of his bulbous encounter suit. Sassi activated the exterior audio pickups just in time to hear what the Chief was saying.
     
    "You OK in there, Fluffy?"
     
    "I'm fine," he tweeted back. For some reason the Chief was captivated by the extensive amount of fluffy white fur his species exhibited. He had started calling Sassi by this nickname shortly after the Ashkelon had joined the Red team. At first he had been concerned until he consulted the human cultural database his people had been given and learned that pet names were a sign of affection. He had taken to calling the nearly hairless human chie f‘ Wall-Wor m ’ which had earned him a rare sight... A Chief Warrant Officer laughing uncontrollably.
     
    ***
    Rasta-Tckner felt the deck plating vibrate. Someone was coming. Considering this was the first time he had met anyone since entering this vessel he was filled with a certain sense of trepidation. He moved to the farthest corner of the room and prepared himself.
    The door swished open and an unusual creature walked in on two of its four legs. It had some type of red plumage around what Rasta-Tckner took to be its head. The body was silver but he suspected it was some type of form-fitting artificial exoskeleton or covering. There were small areas near the ends of the upper appendages that were pink and appeared to be manipulators of some type. The pink was also present on the head near the red plumage.
    This creature appeared to have a single pair of ocular organs with an extremely limited field of view , as well as two symmetrically placed flaps of tissue on either side of the head structure. He had no idea what their function might be. Its feeding proboscis was extremely small; little more than a slit that appeared to be lined with sharp cutting plates. All in all, this was an extremely ugly creature.
    The strangely dwarfed proboscis structure opened and closed repeatedly in some type of pattern. Rasta-Tckner wondered if this race used some type of visual communication mechanism. He reached out with his organic hive node but he had little hope of a response.
    ***
    Cat looked at the creature huddled in the corner of the room. There was a distinct smell of cinnamon in the room. It appeared to be similar to some type of massive wasp-beetle-praying mantis hybrid.
    She held her hands out wide in a gesture of friendship , trying to demonstrate that she held no weapons. The instant her hands went up, however, the creature scampered further into the corner and the smell of cinnamon intensified.
    She put her hands back down and the creature inched forward about half a foot. She raised her hands and it backed up again. It wasn't much but at least they had a limited means of communication.
    "Cal, are you sure that you have no record of this race?"
    " Beloved of the creator, why would my answer be any different now than it was twenty minutes ago? "
    "Hey, a girl can hope. Can't she?"
    " Indeed. If I had to speculate, I would suspect this race never established communication with whoever the Heshe proxy was that sought to eradicate them."
    "In other words, the current