Read Online The Oncoming Storm by Christopher Nuttall - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christopher Nuttall
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“Mr. XO, please remain a moment.”
She waited until the conference room was empty, then turned to face him. “I want you to take some rest too,” she said firmly. “You’ve been pulling double duty since you were assigned to Lightning.”
“It’s part of the job,” William said.
“I know,” the captain pointed out. “But you’re working yourself to death.”
William shrugged, expressively. A few days of leave would be enough to go to the I&I station, or perhaps a more expensive holiday on Tyre if he’d felt like stretching his legs. Or he could have gotten a hotel room and just slept for several days, or found someone young, female, and willing to share his bed. But a day wasn’t enough to do anything, apart from relaxing in his cabin or watching entertainment flicks. He hadn’t been brought up to be lazy.
“If that’s an order,” he said, “I will obey. But . . .”
“It is an order,” Captain Falcone said. There was a thin smile on her face. She’d probably been very like him when she’d been an XO. “Get some rest, Bill. You need it.”
“Bill,” William repeated. The nickname brought back bad memories. His brother had always called him Bill—or worse. “Please just call me William, Captain.”
The captain gave him a sharp look, but nodded. “Get some rest, William,” she repeated. “I think there will be little time for resting when we’re on our way.”
William saluted, then left the compartment. The hatch hissed closed behind him.
Outside, he stopped and considered, briefly. He’d worried about the captain. He knew he had good reason to worry about the captain. But perhaps he’d been wrong. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Six
The bridge looked and felt different as Kat stepped through the hatch and walked towards her command chair. All of the consoles were manned this time; each one installed, then checked and checked again until the engineers were absolutely certain they were working perfectly. She felt the hum of the starship’s drives, a constant background noise ever since the fusion plants had been activated for the first time, grow stronger as the chief engineer ran his final checks. Lightning was finally ready to separate herself from the shipyard and head into deep space.
Kat settled back in her command chair, trying to control the mounting excitement within her heart. This was her ship. She’d sat in command chairs before, stood watches, and even held command for days at a time, but none of those ships were hers. Lightning was her ship and she was finally ready to leave. She forced herself to calm down as she keyed the console and then looked up at the display. Lightning still sat in the midst of the independent shipyard, like a baby attached to her mother. That was about to change.
Bracing herself, she activated the internal communicator. “Mr. Lynn,” she said, formally. “Status report.”
“All systems are green, Captain,” the chief engineer said. She’d had a dozen meetings with him since they’d first met and he’d impressed her with his competence. At least he didn’t seem to be one of the engineers who inflated his estimated repair times to make himself look like a miracle worker. “Our fusion plants are online, drive harmonics are nominal, and the vortex generator is at optimal readiness.”
“Good,” Kat said. She looked up at Commander McElney. “Mr. XO?”
“All stations report ready,” her XO said. His face was impassive, but she thought she detected a hint of concern. No one could forget just how much bad luck had struck Lightning’s predecessor. “We are ready to separate from the shipyard.”
Kat took a long breath. “Check the tubes, then seal all airlocks,” she ordered. No one would be in the tubes now, not after the alert had sounded, but they had to take precautions anyway, just in case. Besides, overlooking safety precautions was a bad habit. “And then prepare to cut the power
She waited until the conference room was empty, then turned to face him. “I want you to take some rest too,” she said firmly. “You’ve been pulling double duty since you were assigned to Lightning.”
“It’s part of the job,” William said.
“I know,” the captain pointed out. “But you’re working yourself to death.”
William shrugged, expressively. A few days of leave would be enough to go to the I&I station, or perhaps a more expensive holiday on Tyre if he’d felt like stretching his legs. Or he could have gotten a hotel room and just slept for several days, or found someone young, female, and willing to share his bed. But a day wasn’t enough to do anything, apart from relaxing in his cabin or watching entertainment flicks. He hadn’t been brought up to be lazy.
“If that’s an order,” he said, “I will obey. But . . .”
“It is an order,” Captain Falcone said. There was a thin smile on her face. She’d probably been very like him when she’d been an XO. “Get some rest, Bill. You need it.”
“Bill,” William repeated. The nickname brought back bad memories. His brother had always called him Bill—or worse. “Please just call me William, Captain.”
The captain gave him a sharp look, but nodded. “Get some rest, William,” she repeated. “I think there will be little time for resting when we’re on our way.”
William saluted, then left the compartment. The hatch hissed closed behind him.
Outside, he stopped and considered, briefly. He’d worried about the captain. He knew he had good reason to worry about the captain. But perhaps he’d been wrong. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Six
The bridge looked and felt different as Kat stepped through the hatch and walked towards her command chair. All of the consoles were manned this time; each one installed, then checked and checked again until the engineers were absolutely certain they were working perfectly. She felt the hum of the starship’s drives, a constant background noise ever since the fusion plants had been activated for the first time, grow stronger as the chief engineer ran his final checks. Lightning was finally ready to separate herself from the shipyard and head into deep space.
Kat settled back in her command chair, trying to control the mounting excitement within her heart. This was her ship. She’d sat in command chairs before, stood watches, and even held command for days at a time, but none of those ships were hers. Lightning was her ship and she was finally ready to leave. She forced herself to calm down as she keyed the console and then looked up at the display. Lightning still sat in the midst of the independent shipyard, like a baby attached to her mother. That was about to change.
Bracing herself, she activated the internal communicator. “Mr. Lynn,” she said, formally. “Status report.”
“All systems are green, Captain,” the chief engineer said. She’d had a dozen meetings with him since they’d first met and he’d impressed her with his competence. At least he didn’t seem to be one of the engineers who inflated his estimated repair times to make himself look like a miracle worker. “Our fusion plants are online, drive harmonics are nominal, and the vortex generator is at optimal readiness.”
“Good,” Kat said. She looked up at Commander McElney. “Mr. XO?”
“All stations report ready,” her XO said. His face was impassive, but she thought she detected a hint of concern. No one could forget just how much bad luck had struck Lightning’s predecessor. “We are ready to separate from the shipyard.”
Kat took a long breath. “Check the tubes, then seal all airlocks,” she ordered. No one would be in the tubes now, not after the alert had sounded, but they had to take precautions anyway, just in case. Besides, overlooking safety precautions was a bad habit. “And then prepare to cut the power
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