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    Rth Claimed: Rth Rising, #2
    Rth Claimed: Rth Rising, #2
    Rth Claimed: Rth Rising, #2
    Ebook171 pages2 hours

    Rth Claimed: Rth Rising, #2

    By Donna Steele

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    About this ebook

    Kat Stans and Davd Palfy along with a small handful of family and friends have managed to escape Puter and now live outside in freedom. But that leaves thousands trapped inside the arcologies under Puter and the sabotaged programming whose sole purpose is to condemn the colony.

    Can Kat's Aunt Castra and her young protégé dismantle the programming that has already killed Kat's father and grandfather? And is time running out?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDonna Steele
    Release dateJan 15, 2016
    ISBN9781386186373
    Rth Claimed: Rth Rising, #2
    Author

    Donna Steele

    Women strong enough for love. Donna writes science fiction, paranormal and small town romances about women coming into their strength and having the courage to find and accept love. Now that she has retired from going into an office every day, she created an office at home and writes full time. Talk about living the dream! She was the girl at the party who was yearning for the quiet corner and a book to read (go Rory Gilmore!), and has been writing in her head since she learned to read. Getting those stories down on paper (or in her laptop) has been more fun than she ever imagined it could be. The possibilities of science fiction have always drawn her and she's read them all, there just needed to be a little more romance in them. She finally got up the courage to write them herself and is delighted to be able to share these stories with you. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA and the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. She can be reached at www.steelestories.com, www.facebook.com/donnasteeleauthor, or https://twitter.com/steele_donna

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      Book preview

      Rth Claimed - Donna Steele

      Donna Steele

      All Rights Reserved

      No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web without permission in writing from the publisher.

      All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or name. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

      Cover illustration copyright @ 2015

      By Donna Steele

      All rights reserved.

      Dedication

      To Nancy – who helped me in the process of self-publishing, leading me by the hand in many cases and teaching me so much. Thank you.

      And always to Darwin – my best friend, lover, and husband, because he is all that.

      Rth Claimed

      Chapter One

      Torr Franks stepped into his apartment and stopped dead. Part of the reason was there was no room to move. The other was that the obstructions all seemed to be Enforcers. That couldn’t be good. He spotted his mate Castra on the couch, looking harassed and worried. He shoved his way through. What’s wrong?

      I don’t... she stopped as the small man who appeared to believe himself in charge stepped forward blocking Torr’s path.

      27226TRF?

      Yes. Who are—

      Are you contracted to 29181CCS?

      Torr looked down at Castra. I am. Who the frak are you? His patience gone now with anger rapidly taking its place.

      Head of Enforcers for Thirdport.

      This little twerp with the black eye and cuts and bruises on his neck and hands was an enforcer? A head enforcer? He barely came up to Torr’s chin. What’s going on? Torr didn’t wait for his answer before stepping around him and pulling Castra up into his arms. They stood looking at the small man.

      Are you familiar with 43035KPS?

      Torr looked down at Castra who quietly said, Kat.

      Yes. Why?

      41219DGP?

      Annoyed he looked down at Castra again as she shrugged. No, not by formal ID. Do you have a name?

      Davd Palfy.

      Fratz, he could have gotten more information out of the couch Castra had been seated on at this rate. "I do not know anyone by the name of Davd Palfy. Why? When there was no immediate answer, Torr decided to push. Well, Head? the smaller man winced at that. Torr almost ignored the movement but this jerk was being a prick. You didn’t give me a name, remember?"

      Cal, the man bit out and Torr nodded.

      Thank you, Cal. Tor didn’t quite hide the sarcasm in his voice. What’s going on? Kat lives in Centerport. She’s an enforcer there reporting directly to Head, so if you need information—

      43035KPS is no longer an enforcer.

      What are you talking about? Is she okay? Castra asked immediately.

      Cal turned away from them but Torr grabbed his arm stopping him. He could take this little fraker and none of the other enforcers in the room seemed to mind. At least no one was coming to the man’s defense. I think Castra deserves an answer after you barge in here and scare her to death. What’s wrong with Kat?

      I’m afraid that’s classified.

      Fratz if it is! He turned to Castra. Get your mem online.

      For the first time Cal’s face showed unease under the arrogance. What? Castra leaned slightly against Torr. Mem? Is something wrong with her? What’s going on?

      Cal motioned for his men to leave the apartment and finally turned to Castra. There’s some confusion. He kept talking though Torr opened his mouth to interrupt. Puter shows that Kat Stans and Lil Stans boarded the shuttle from Centerport yesterday evening for the trip to Thirdport. We are unable to locate them at this time.

      Unable to... That’s impossible. Castra quickly pressed her gimp for the familiar link to her mem.

      Cal shook his head but seemed to be waiting for an answering ping along with them. No acknowledgement came through her gimp. After what felt like a very long wait, Cal silently inclined his head to them and headed for the door.

      Cal! Torr reached for the smaller man again but Cal avoided him.

      I don’t have any other information for you. If you hear from your family, you are under orders to contact enforcer headquarters immediately. Without another word, Cal let himself out of the apartment.

      Torr turned back to Castra and at the sight of her tears took her into his arms. Try your mem again.

      She would have answered by now, at least a wcb if she were busy.

      Then try Kat.

      She took a steadying breath and pinged her niece. Again, the interminable wait before she faced Torr. What should we do?

      Is there someone else you could contact? Someone who might know what’s going on?

      Kat’s friend, Bree. She might know something.

      Try her.

      They exchanged uneasy glances as the third attempt to locate someone went unanswered. That was unprecedented in Torr’s experience. Sure, you might not get an immediate answer but there had always been a response of some kind acknowledging that the receiving gimp had gotten the ping.

      Could my gimp be damaged? The hope in Castra’s voice was painful to him. Torr hated to squash that hope.

      Ping me.

      She did and there was no delay. His own gimp received the alert instantly. His response was received as quickly and Castra wilted beside him.

      Have you checked to see if there’s a message from anyone?

      Castra check her gimp then moved over to the wall display. After a moment Castra turned back to Torr. Nothing. What could be happening?

      I’ve never heard of anything like this. Come on, I want to find Roch.

      Castra blinked at that but nodded. Torr and Roch had grown up together. Roch was the only Enforcer besides Kat, Castra really knew. He would talk to Torr, regardless of any regulation. They had been friends forever. She and Torr needed to know what was going on.

      His home?

      No. I don’t think anyone should know we’ve contacted him. This situation sounds like it could be dangerous for all of us.

      Dangerous? Her voice had gone up an octave.

      Something weird is going on. Cal, for all his presence, is apparently a Head Enforcer. I know where Roch likes to eat. Let’s try that first.

      Castra only nodded and let him pull her into his arms for a moment.

      ****

      The restaurant they approached was crowded. Most people liked to get out and be with others in the evenings following the workday. Fewer and fewer of Torr and Castra’s friends bothered with contracts now, but people didn’t want to be alone.

      Torr spotted Roch and made his way over to him. Castra kept hold of Torr’s arm.

      Torr, hi... what’s— At the look in his friend’s eyes, Roch’s brow furrowed. Have a seat.

      They sat and Torr leaned forward as Castra looked around. Can you talk? Torr asked in a low voice.

      What’s wrong?

      Are we safe to talk here? Torr asked, rather than answering the question directly.

      Roch looked him over then, assessing. It was obvious that was not a question he had been expecting from Torr. Safer here than most places. The noise level helps.

      Still Torr hesitated. He saw Roch glance over at Castra and see the fear she couldn’t disguise.

      Come on, man. What’s going on? Let me help you.

      Torr lowered his voice as Castra kept watch. Cal was at our apartment a little while ago.

      Cal? My boss?

      Torr glanced at Castra and she leaned forward to keep her voice low as well. My mem and my niece are missing. Cal says they came here on the shuttle yesterday. They didn’t contact me. I had no idea they were planning to come. Cal looked like he’d been in a fight.

      A fight? Cal? I haven’t seen him today. You say they’re missing?

      I’ve pinged them numerous times. There’s never a response of any kind. We tested to make sure my gimp isn’t damaged and it’s working fine. Now I can’t even locate a friend of Kat’s that I thought could help us.

      Your niece is an enforcer, isn’t she?

      Castra nodded. At Centerport. She reports directly to Head there as his mentee. Cal said she’s no longer an enforcer.

      Look, I can’t do much tonight. I’m off duty and if I go on-line now, Puter will know you came and talked to me.

      P-puter? Castra stumbled through the word.

      Roch ignored the implied question. Let me check into things tomorrow. For tonight, go home and try to relax. Maybe your niece or your mem will show up there. Maybe their gimps are the ones not working. I’ll try to get a look at Cal as well.

      Will you check into this and tell us?

      Yes. You have my word. Take her home, Torr. Try not to worry. I’ll find out something and get back to you as soon as I can. Better not contact me, let me do some research.

      Torr nodded and took Castra’s arm. She resisted for an instant but then looked around and rose. She let Torr lead her back to the apartment unaware of what they passed along the way.

      They were barely inside when she had the wall monitor on. What are you—

      Something is going on. People don’t vanish. If there’s been a shuttle accident or something, news like that has to be broadcast. Other people would also be missing.

      Shuttle accident... Go to the schedule, like you want information for a trip to Centerport. That won’t look suspicious to Puter.

      Won’t look... Then she nodded and turned to that section. Every flight was available with no delays to Centerport or Secondport. Are there enough shuttles to have a schedule like this if they lost one?

      I don’t know. I didn’t think that kind of manufacturing was still done.

      Doesn’t it have to be? I mean, what we’ve got now can’t last forever, Castra mused.

      I guess Puter’s got that under control. That’s what he does, Torr tried to reassure her. She didn’t look as though the reassurance worked and his heart went out to her again. She was close to her family, thought of Kat more like a little sister than a niece. He hated to see her in such pain.

      Eventually he got her to stretch out on their bed. She wouldn’t eat and refused any sleep aid from Puter. He checked the monitor periodically but there was nothing about any accident. It occurred to him that he’d never seen any news like that.

      ****

      Castra lay awake for a long time unable to relax even with Torr’s strong arms around her. Nothing made sense. She had been born on New Home, the second generation to be born here of colonists sent from Rth. Their job was to continue human civilization after the devastation of their home world through overpopulation and pollution, which had warmed the planet causing unbelievably severe weather patterns—droughts in areas once green, flooding along all of the coastlines, and the dying of the oceans themselves.

      The three colonization vessels, built in orbit due to their size, had landed here on New Home and been transformed into arcologies that housed the entire population. Thirdport, where she and Torr lived was the smallest and last of the ships to arrive from Rth. When she was younger there had been talk that a fourth craft was being constructed but that vessel had never arrived. No communication from Rth had ever been received as far as she knew.

      The plan, which her Da had told her so many times, was to use the three arcologies as their base to spread out over the planet, ensuring that the crimes against Rth were not duplicated here.

      That hadn’t happened. A fourth generation had been born now and everyone still lived inside of the arcologies. No colonization had occurred. Castra hadn’t given further colonization much thought for a long time. Why was that? How had such an important thing

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