Read Online Morgan Selwood 3: A Victory Celebration by Greta van Der Rol - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Greta van Der Rol
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the bowels of the ship, the door to the engineering section slid
aside as she approached. Two bored techs sat at work stations, probably playing
games judging by their quick movements to cover up whatever they were doing.
The benches gleamed, devoid of tools and equipment, and empty chairs stood in
front of blank screens.
The duty officer looked up from his office
in the corner, eyebrows arching in surprise. "Morgan. What brings you
here?" He came out to meet her.
"I thought I might go over the model
again."
"You've thought of something?"
She smiled at the look of hope that spread
over his face. He was one of the engineers who jostled for a chance to learn
from her. "Not really. But if I take another look I might think of
something."
"Did you know we brought your ship out
of quarantine?" He stepped back and gestured over his shoulder through the
window overlooking the hangar where ships undergoing maintenance were kept.
Curlew sat, squat and ugly, in a bay
in the corner. Morgan's heart skipped a beat. She'd been here in Manesai space
for a little over a year, by Manesai reckoning. A year since the experimental
shift drive in that little freighter had malfunctioned, throwing her out of
everything she had ever known into a distant place, another universe, another
time? She swallowed the lump in her throat. Seeing it again brought back
memories. Her last meeting with her boss, Admiral Makasa, as they ate dinner at
a restaurant by the sea. She almost heard his dark chocolate voice telling her
about the ship's experimental drive. " Put it through its paces, Morgan.
If this works, we can go anywhere in the galaxy; anywhere at all ."
She'd put it through its paces, all right. The drive had been playing up before
they'd reached Belsun Station, she didn't get a chance to finish fixing it
there because of Jones and Tariq and their hare-brained smuggling scheme. And
then they'd disappeared. But although the drive had malfunctioned, she was sure
that the techs who had built the system were on the right track. If she could
fix the drive, maybe she could even go… home. A shiver shimmied down her spine.
She hadn't thought about home in months. Not that she wanted to go back there
forever, but it would be nice to see Torreno again, meet some of her few
friends.
Jarman's voice startled her. "I'd be
happy to help. There's not much doing here." He looked like a puppy
wanting to go for a walk. All he needed was the lead dangling out of his mouth.
She rested her hand on his shoulder for a
moment. "I'll be sure to involve you where I can, Jarman." Then she
pulled out a chair at a workstation. The gas hissed as she sat, accentuating
the silence. She'd come here for some company. Oh, well. A final check of the
model, then she might crawl over Curlew again. Maybe Lieutenant Jarman
would like that.
She focused her attention on the data port,
opening the connection with the processor in her brain. Part of her
consciousness became a bright data highway, a procession of packets holding
data. A thought brought up the schematic for the shift drive. For Jarman's
benefit she directed the output to the visual projector in the lab where the
device appeared in 3D detail. Hanging in midair, it looked so simple. But then,
the best devices were simple, with few moving parts and elegant design. This
one was no different, but somewhere, somehow, it was flawed. First things
first. Check, yet again, that all the specs were right, the materials strong
enough, the calculations correct.
As the processor in her implant worked on
the calculations, her mind drifted, reliving old times. The beach at Torreno,
night clubs with her friend Ella, her wedding to Alby. Huh. That had been a
mistake. She'd learnt to dance on Miranda during one leave and then practiced
with Coreb. She wondered where he'd be now, if he even knew she had gone
missing somewhere out beyond the nebula they called Calisto's Veil. And then
she'd met Ravindra. The love of her life. She shivered at
aside as she approached. Two bored techs sat at work stations, probably playing
games judging by their quick movements to cover up whatever they were doing.
The benches gleamed, devoid of tools and equipment, and empty chairs stood in
front of blank screens.
The duty officer looked up from his office
in the corner, eyebrows arching in surprise. "Morgan. What brings you
here?" He came out to meet her.
"I thought I might go over the model
again."
"You've thought of something?"
She smiled at the look of hope that spread
over his face. He was one of the engineers who jostled for a chance to learn
from her. "Not really. But if I take another look I might think of
something."
"Did you know we brought your ship out
of quarantine?" He stepped back and gestured over his shoulder through the
window overlooking the hangar where ships undergoing maintenance were kept.
Curlew sat, squat and ugly, in a bay
in the corner. Morgan's heart skipped a beat. She'd been here in Manesai space
for a little over a year, by Manesai reckoning. A year since the experimental
shift drive in that little freighter had malfunctioned, throwing her out of
everything she had ever known into a distant place, another universe, another
time? She swallowed the lump in her throat. Seeing it again brought back
memories. Her last meeting with her boss, Admiral Makasa, as they ate dinner at
a restaurant by the sea. She almost heard his dark chocolate voice telling her
about the ship's experimental drive. " Put it through its paces, Morgan.
If this works, we can go anywhere in the galaxy; anywhere at all ."
She'd put it through its paces, all right. The drive had been playing up before
they'd reached Belsun Station, she didn't get a chance to finish fixing it
there because of Jones and Tariq and their hare-brained smuggling scheme. And
then they'd disappeared. But although the drive had malfunctioned, she was sure
that the techs who had built the system were on the right track. If she could
fix the drive, maybe she could even go… home. A shiver shimmied down her spine.
She hadn't thought about home in months. Not that she wanted to go back there
forever, but it would be nice to see Torreno again, meet some of her few
friends.
Jarman's voice startled her. "I'd be
happy to help. There's not much doing here." He looked like a puppy
wanting to go for a walk. All he needed was the lead dangling out of his mouth.
She rested her hand on his shoulder for a
moment. "I'll be sure to involve you where I can, Jarman." Then she
pulled out a chair at a workstation. The gas hissed as she sat, accentuating
the silence. She'd come here for some company. Oh, well. A final check of the
model, then she might crawl over Curlew again. Maybe Lieutenant Jarman
would like that.
She focused her attention on the data port,
opening the connection with the processor in her brain. Part of her
consciousness became a bright data highway, a procession of packets holding
data. A thought brought up the schematic for the shift drive. For Jarman's
benefit she directed the output to the visual projector in the lab where the
device appeared in 3D detail. Hanging in midair, it looked so simple. But then,
the best devices were simple, with few moving parts and elegant design. This
one was no different, but somewhere, somehow, it was flawed. First things
first. Check, yet again, that all the specs were right, the materials strong
enough, the calculations correct.
As the processor in her implant worked on
the calculations, her mind drifted, reliving old times. The beach at Torreno,
night clubs with her friend Ella, her wedding to Alby. Huh. That had been a
mistake. She'd learnt to dance on Miranda during one leave and then practiced
with Coreb. She wondered where he'd be now, if he even knew she had gone
missing somewhere out beyond the nebula they called Calisto's Veil. And then
she'd met Ravindra. The love of her life. She shivered at
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