Read Online Morgan's Return by Greta van Der Rol - Free Book Online
Authors: Greta van Der Rol
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machines, through to a wasteland under a roiling sky, then new life, new colonists… all the usual uplifting nonsense.
"Can I help you, officer?"
The voice startled her. The man wore a long robe which swished softly across the tiled floor. No implant, and certainly no anti-aging enhancements. For goodness sake, the fellow was nearly bald.
Ellen forced a smile. "I came here looking for friends. A woman and two men. Have you seen them? Two tall, dark-skinned men. The woman had shoulder-length hair, and blue eyes."
"You just missed them. They left not more than minutes ago."
"Oh. That's a shame, but I know they had an appointment. I'm late, you see."
The man waited politely, his hands folded inside the sleeves of his robe.
"They wanted me to see something here. You wouldn't know what they looked at?"
He chuckled. "Indeed. They weren't here long. They looked at this mural, then they left." He waved a hand at the battle scene.
"That's all?"
"Yes." His lips jerked. "You do not seem the type to be a believer?"
"I'm not. But I'm interested in history. Did they say where they were going?"
He shook his head. "I heard mention of the central library at Torreno." He chuckled again. "But I doubt they'll be doing that this afternoon."
Ellen bobbed her head. "Thanks, I'll see if I can catch them up."
Ah, well. She turned away. She'd heard about the fabled fighting machines from the Conflagration, but the thing on the wall was nothing short of absurd. At least she could be certain of one thing; Morgan Selwood was alive and heading for Torreno. But she wasn't going to arrive.
Chapter 5
"S tation control, Curlew clear of lines and ready to go," Captain Davaskar said. He sat in the captain's chair, the ship's controls arrayed around him in an arc. Jirra sat to his right, monitoring readouts from the station relayed to a bank of screens and Morgan was strapped into the engineer's chair to the captain's left. She left the two officers to it, merely keeping an eye on the systems. She could do that from anywhere, of course, but her presence was apparently comforting.
"Acknowledge, Curlew . Clamps released."
Through the ships' sensors Morgan watched the station's locking arms retract into themselves like some sort of huge insect folding its limbs. She couldn't wait to get out of the place. Iniciara had been crossed off the one-hundred-places-you-must-visit-before-you-die list. What a stinking, messy, dump. She hadn't even liked eating the food there. Who knew where it came from? What it was? She bet the half of it was synthetic, made in a factory somewhere.
Curlew shuddered and began to move backwards. The station had applied enough thrust to push the ship out of the bay and into clear space, with the ship's systems controlling her drift so Curlew stayed equidistant between the docking bay walls. Beyond the bay, the station's slowly-receding bulk rose before them, a metal pincushion of ships, arranged in slowly-turning tiers.
Aft and forward side thrusters fired. Curlew pivoted, then followed a traffic lane to the designated jump area for Torreno. For Morgan, that really would be almost like coming home. She'd spent many a year on the Coalition's capital planet, some good, some not so good. Judging by the lack of traffic, Torreno wasn't a favored destination from Iniciara. Or maybe all the traffic for that destination had already left. Whatever. Space was a very empty place out here.
"Crew prepare for shift transfer in ten," Jirra announced.
One last check of the sensors… Morgan's heart thudded. "Missile, coming fast, from starboard." She'd raised the shields before she'd finished the words. "Prepare for impact." They wouldn't be able to avoid the strike whatever she did.
The shields fairly blazed, crackling with power as the warhead exploded. Morgan hung on to her seat, grateful for the harness, as Curlew was flung across space. Warning lights flashed. Shields were down seventy percent. If she hadn't seen the
"Can I help you, officer?"
The voice startled her. The man wore a long robe which swished softly across the tiled floor. No implant, and certainly no anti-aging enhancements. For goodness sake, the fellow was nearly bald.
Ellen forced a smile. "I came here looking for friends. A woman and two men. Have you seen them? Two tall, dark-skinned men. The woman had shoulder-length hair, and blue eyes."
"You just missed them. They left not more than minutes ago."
"Oh. That's a shame, but I know they had an appointment. I'm late, you see."
The man waited politely, his hands folded inside the sleeves of his robe.
"They wanted me to see something here. You wouldn't know what they looked at?"
He chuckled. "Indeed. They weren't here long. They looked at this mural, then they left." He waved a hand at the battle scene.
"That's all?"
"Yes." His lips jerked. "You do not seem the type to be a believer?"
"I'm not. But I'm interested in history. Did they say where they were going?"
He shook his head. "I heard mention of the central library at Torreno." He chuckled again. "But I doubt they'll be doing that this afternoon."
Ellen bobbed her head. "Thanks, I'll see if I can catch them up."
Ah, well. She turned away. She'd heard about the fabled fighting machines from the Conflagration, but the thing on the wall was nothing short of absurd. At least she could be certain of one thing; Morgan Selwood was alive and heading for Torreno. But she wasn't going to arrive.
Chapter 5
"S tation control, Curlew clear of lines and ready to go," Captain Davaskar said. He sat in the captain's chair, the ship's controls arrayed around him in an arc. Jirra sat to his right, monitoring readouts from the station relayed to a bank of screens and Morgan was strapped into the engineer's chair to the captain's left. She left the two officers to it, merely keeping an eye on the systems. She could do that from anywhere, of course, but her presence was apparently comforting.
"Acknowledge, Curlew . Clamps released."
Through the ships' sensors Morgan watched the station's locking arms retract into themselves like some sort of huge insect folding its limbs. She couldn't wait to get out of the place. Iniciara had been crossed off the one-hundred-places-you-must-visit-before-you-die list. What a stinking, messy, dump. She hadn't even liked eating the food there. Who knew where it came from? What it was? She bet the half of it was synthetic, made in a factory somewhere.
Curlew shuddered and began to move backwards. The station had applied enough thrust to push the ship out of the bay and into clear space, with the ship's systems controlling her drift so Curlew stayed equidistant between the docking bay walls. Beyond the bay, the station's slowly-receding bulk rose before them, a metal pincushion of ships, arranged in slowly-turning tiers.
Aft and forward side thrusters fired. Curlew pivoted, then followed a traffic lane to the designated jump area for Torreno. For Morgan, that really would be almost like coming home. She'd spent many a year on the Coalition's capital planet, some good, some not so good. Judging by the lack of traffic, Torreno wasn't a favored destination from Iniciara. Or maybe all the traffic for that destination had already left. Whatever. Space was a very empty place out here.
"Crew prepare for shift transfer in ten," Jirra announced.
One last check of the sensors… Morgan's heart thudded. "Missile, coming fast, from starboard." She'd raised the shields before she'd finished the words. "Prepare for impact." They wouldn't be able to avoid the strike whatever she did.
The shields fairly blazed, crackling with power as the warhead exploded. Morgan hung on to her seat, grateful for the harness, as Curlew was flung across space. Warning lights flashed. Shields were down seventy percent. If she hadn't seen the
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