Read Online The Saga of Seven Suns: Veiled Alliances by Kevin J. Anderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kevin J. Anderson
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gave his friend a mock salute. “It’s my way of showing confidence in your abilities.” Taking a lift up to the control dome atop the big cloud trawler, where Sara was monitoring all the screens and calling his crew to prepare the fuel canisters for transfer. The Ildiran pilot radioed in as he approached, “How much ekti do you have prepared for us?”
Corey sauntered in and answered, “A full load, come and get it.”
Sara Becker leaned over the comm and said, “Sorry we’re a bit slow—the other two skymines were ready days ago.”
“Nevertheless, your ekti output has exceeded expectations, Cloud Trawler Number One,” said the cargo captain. “The Mage-Imperator will be pleased.”
Corey switched off the comm and muttered, “I’m insulted they had such low expectations of us.”
Sara shrugged. “Even I wasn’t sure we could pull it off, Corey.” She ran a quick display of the production output, and the repair-crew schedules.
“All operations running smoothly, I presume?”
Sara forced a smile, “Same as usual, Corey.”
He rolled his eyes, “Come on, we can do better than that!”
“Not until we have the faster processing units installed.”
“We’re working on it, Sara. We’re working on it.”
Corey enjoyed tinkering with the systems and getting his hands dirty, but Sara preferred to manage the teams and operations, like pieces in a complex strategy game. He was impressed with how efficient she managed to be without seeming bossy.
Leaving Sara to her screens, he descended to the cargo bay where his workers were already loading ekti canisters onto the Ildiran cargo ship. The alien captain stood on a high deck, arms crossed over his chest as he oversaw the operations.
Corey waved and shouted up, “This agreement will work out just fine for all of us, Captain. You can come back in a week for another full load. We’ve got most of the glitches in the ekti reactors worked out, though we believe they’re only running at a fraction of their realistic capacity.” He climbed the stairs to stand next to the Ildiran captain, and they both watched a line of his men carrying the fuel canisters. “We’ve already increased production, you know, and we haven’t even incorporated our major improvements yet. Before long, our people are going to run circles around your other cloud trawlers. We’ll be ready to assume control over Number Two and Number Three within months.”
“We are not opposed to efficiency and increased production, Corey Kellum. The Mage-Imperator is satisfied with our arrangement.”
After the loaded cargo ship flew away, Corey returned to the lower decks where Oliver continued to work on the frustrating systems. Grease smeared the man’s cheeks, and he shook his head in exasperation when Corey arrived. “Every time we open up a new compartment, there’s another surprise. The Ildirans held this skymine together with twine and prayers. Those levitation engines are a jury-rigged mess. It’s a wonder the thing is still afloat—they sold us a lemon.”
“Then it’s a tribute to our ingenuity that we have it running so well, isn’t it?” Corey said, grinning at his friend. “Anyway, we weren’t in a position to be choosey. Would you rather be on Iawa watching our crops die?”
“Nah.” Oliver laughed. “It’s not in my nature to settle down in the dust. I’d rather be roaming above an untamed world.”
The human families had settled in, accepting the new situation, perfectly comfortable in the enclosed quarters, drifting along on the breezes. This was definitely a new home for them.
The two men looked out at the ocean of gray and lavender clouds. Corey said, “This place . . . we’ve got room to breathe.”
11
CAPTAIN CHRYSTA LOGAN
The new human settlement blossomed on Dobro.
Assisted by the Ildiran soldiers and the Dobro colonists, everything and everyone was unloaded from the generation ship with great speed and efficiency. Cargo boxes dropped down in a
Corey sauntered in and answered, “A full load, come and get it.”
Sara Becker leaned over the comm and said, “Sorry we’re a bit slow—the other two skymines were ready days ago.”
“Nevertheless, your ekti output has exceeded expectations, Cloud Trawler Number One,” said the cargo captain. “The Mage-Imperator will be pleased.”
Corey switched off the comm and muttered, “I’m insulted they had such low expectations of us.”
Sara shrugged. “Even I wasn’t sure we could pull it off, Corey.” She ran a quick display of the production output, and the repair-crew schedules.
“All operations running smoothly, I presume?”
Sara forced a smile, “Same as usual, Corey.”
He rolled his eyes, “Come on, we can do better than that!”
“Not until we have the faster processing units installed.”
“We’re working on it, Sara. We’re working on it.”
Corey enjoyed tinkering with the systems and getting his hands dirty, but Sara preferred to manage the teams and operations, like pieces in a complex strategy game. He was impressed with how efficient she managed to be without seeming bossy.
Leaving Sara to her screens, he descended to the cargo bay where his workers were already loading ekti canisters onto the Ildiran cargo ship. The alien captain stood on a high deck, arms crossed over his chest as he oversaw the operations.
Corey waved and shouted up, “This agreement will work out just fine for all of us, Captain. You can come back in a week for another full load. We’ve got most of the glitches in the ekti reactors worked out, though we believe they’re only running at a fraction of their realistic capacity.” He climbed the stairs to stand next to the Ildiran captain, and they both watched a line of his men carrying the fuel canisters. “We’ve already increased production, you know, and we haven’t even incorporated our major improvements yet. Before long, our people are going to run circles around your other cloud trawlers. We’ll be ready to assume control over Number Two and Number Three within months.”
“We are not opposed to efficiency and increased production, Corey Kellum. The Mage-Imperator is satisfied with our arrangement.”
After the loaded cargo ship flew away, Corey returned to the lower decks where Oliver continued to work on the frustrating systems. Grease smeared the man’s cheeks, and he shook his head in exasperation when Corey arrived. “Every time we open up a new compartment, there’s another surprise. The Ildirans held this skymine together with twine and prayers. Those levitation engines are a jury-rigged mess. It’s a wonder the thing is still afloat—they sold us a lemon.”
“Then it’s a tribute to our ingenuity that we have it running so well, isn’t it?” Corey said, grinning at his friend. “Anyway, we weren’t in a position to be choosey. Would you rather be on Iawa watching our crops die?”
“Nah.” Oliver laughed. “It’s not in my nature to settle down in the dust. I’d rather be roaming above an untamed world.”
The human families had settled in, accepting the new situation, perfectly comfortable in the enclosed quarters, drifting along on the breezes. This was definitely a new home for them.
The two men looked out at the ocean of gray and lavender clouds. Corey said, “This place . . . we’ve got room to breathe.”
11
CAPTAIN CHRYSTA LOGAN
The new human settlement blossomed on Dobro.
Assisted by the Ildiran soldiers and the Dobro colonists, everything and everyone was unloaded from the generation ship with great speed and efficiency. Cargo boxes dropped down in a
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