Read Project Starfighter for Free Online Page B

Best drink your
orange juice. I think that perhaps you’ve had a little bit too much
wine.”
    “No, I mean, I can’t remember
how I got here.”
    Jane only smiled. “Usually that
happens at the end of the evening, not so early on. Tell me about
yourself, Ursula. Beautiful name, by the way. Not very common, which
I suppose gives it that unusual and attractive quality.” She was
silent for a moment, as if reflecting. “It means ‘she-bear’.
Did you know that?”
    “No,” Ursula said, carrying on
walking and sipping at her orange juice.
    “Any special reason your parents
chose that name for you?” Jane probed.
    “I didn’t know my parents,
unfortunately,” Ursula said.
    Careful , a thought cautioned
her. Her unseen guardian angel was still with her, prompting her to
mind her tongue.
    “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,”
Jane said. “So, you’re an orphan?”
    Ursula nodded. “I was ... raised
by an adoptive family,” she said. “I don’t know if my real
parents are alive or dead.”
    “Do you remember where you were
born?” Jane asked, eyeing Ursula closely as she sipped her own
orange juice.
    Say no.
    “No,” Ursula replied. She
answered quickly, without any hesitation and almost at a snap.
    Jane appraised her carefully as they
continued to walk. Her smile was still there, but her eyes betrayed
her. The woman was clearly irritated.
    “Your husband tells me that you
used to study xenobiology,” Ursula said, changing the focus of the
conversation. “How long did you study for? Did you go on any
investigative trips? I once journeyed to the outer edge of the local
arm to search for life. We didn’t find anything, but we encountered
some very unusual stars and planets. My dream would be to travel to
the galactic core. I know it could well be a one-way trip, but the
sights would be incredible, don’t you think?”
    What Jane said in response, Ursula
did not register. She only wanted the woman to begin monologuing. She
didn’t know why, but she felt a sudden urge to get away from the
woman – and this place altogether – as quickly as possible. She
hoped that the terrace might go all around the building, leading to
the front of the mansion, and a way out. But it seemed that the
terrace had been constructed on one side only, obliging the two women
to turn around as they reached the end. So much for walking a
circuit.
    “Why the core?” Jane asked.
    “The stellar population is very
dense in the galactic centre, due to the supermassive black hole,”
Ursula stated, her answer to Jane almost automatic. “It would be
incredibly resource rich, and any advanced civilizations would
gravitate there – if you’ll pardon the pun.”
    Jane chuckled lightly. A false
chuckle.
    Ursula once again attempted to
distract Jane. “Would you be more excited to discover a
silicon-based lifeform or a robotic civilization?”
    She tried to think back to the
ballroom as Jane began answering her question. Had there been a lot
of doors into it, doors through which she might escape? Although Jane
was speaking, Ursula’s attention was drawn to a tall, hefty man
coming her way, some sort of device affixed to his ear. The security
detail. She recalled that there had been several other men, dressed
similarly, in the ballroom by the main doors. No escape that way. She
felt now that Skillman and Jane wanted something from her, and
neither were prepared to let her leave until they'd got it.
    “Is your sister a xenobiologist,
too?” Jane said suddenly.
    “No,” Ursula said. “She’s
...” She stopped talking without needing a prompt this time.
    Jane stared at her. “She’s a
what?”
    Ursula remained silent.
    A lawyer. Say she’s a lawyer.
    “She’s a lawyer.”
    Jane gave a thin smile. “Are you
feeling okay? You took an awfully long time to answer. Maybe you need
to sit down for a bit? Or perhaps we could have your sister come and
take you home?”
    Ursula was really uncomfortable now.
She felt as though she was