Read Online Hollow Moon by Steph Bennion - Free Book Online Page A

mining ship before and was
surprised at the sparse flight deck. Everything looked extremely solid and
built to last, with the only concession to comfort being the padded cushions
upon the pilot’s and co-pilot’s seats. The Nellie Chapman was designed for the rough-and-tumble of prospecting
on rocky worlds and to survive the odd crash landing. It was not the ship of
choice for a long cruise around the star system.
    The flight computer had a heavy-duty keyboard with
oversized keys for use by someone wearing a spacesuit. Endymion found the power
switch and watched the display screen glow into life, then jumped at the sound
of an unexpected loud click from under the console. He was curious as to why
the mining ship was in the Eden Ravines and it only took him a moment to call
up the navigation system and download the flight log to his wristpad. It was
then he spied a small foil-wrapped carton lying on top of the console and
recognising it for what it was, hungrily picked it up and stuffed it into a
pocket.
    In the floor a few steps away was an open trapdoor with
an airlock control panel above. Curious, he looked down and saw it led into a
narrow chamber with a ladder fixed to the wall, descending to the Astromole
docked in the cradle below. The open hatch of the digging machine was
illuminated from within and Endymion was just on the point of climbing down to
have a look when he heard Bellona calling his name.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, sticking his head through the
hatchway.
    “We should go!” shouted Bellona.
    With a shrug of assent, Endymion stepped out of the
hatch, put a foot upon the top rung of the ladder and paused. Away from the Nellie
Chapman , on the far side of the clearing,
he could see a second area of scorched soil, complete with a distinctive set of
marks that he instantly recognised as those left by the landing gear of another
and much larger spacecraft.
    “Another ship?” he murmured to himself. “Very strange.”
    “Endymion!” Bellona called again.
    He took a couple steps down the ladder, then glanced back
through the hatch, reluctant to leave. It was then his eyes fell upon a small
orange cylinder, about as thick as his arm, hidden beneath the console. In the
centre was a small digital display and he watched as the number upon it counted
down second by second.
    “Ten, nine,” murmured Endymion. “Eight, seven…”
    His hands and feet were scrambling down the rungs long
before his brain had decided what it was he actually saw. By the time he slid
down the final metres of the ladder, his panic was in full swing and he hit the
ground like a coiled spring.
    “Quick!” he yelled to Bellona and Philyra, sprinting
towards them. “Run!”
    Seeing the girls hesitate, he grabbed their hands and
pulled them after him, leaping across the uneven ground as fast as his legs
could carry him. Ignoring their screams of protest, he dragged them back to the
jungle path and pulled them down into the undergrowth.
    “Get off me!” Philyra shrieked.
    “What the hell are you doing?” cried Bellona.
    “Keep your heads down!” Endymion yelled.
    Seven seconds after his hasty exit through the hatch,
there was a sudden deafening bang. A huge explosion ripped through the
spacecraft, tearing it apart and sending the upper part of the hull careering
into the air. Moments later, fiery debris began to rain down, setting fire to
the surrounding undergrowth and the tops of nearby trees. Endymion, Bellona and
Philyra cautiously raised their heads and looked towards the smouldering
remains of the spacecraft. The Nellie Chapman was no more.
    “Wow,” murmured Philyra, then gulped. A broken landing
strut was embedded in the ground barely a metre from where she lay.
    Despite everything, Endymion grinned. Bellona gave him a
shove.
    “Philyra did tell you not to press any buttons,” she
retorted.
     
* * *
     
    Incredibly, the sound of a spacecraft exploding a
kilometre away failed to wake Miss Clymene, who when they