Galaxy's End: Book One by LeRoy Clary (popular ebook readers txt) 📗

However, correct that idea might be, it didn’t answer why they wanted Captain Stone.

Maybe they didn’t want her, but her ship, the Guardia. If that was true, again the same question: why? Everyone’s faces indicated they were considering the same questions.

Stone elbowed her way to the door to the passage. She paused and turned to them. “If that crab of a Champers is going to turn us over to someone, we have to take over the ship and prevent that from happening.”

Fang said, “I believe I can access the crew and officer’s territory. The security is rudimentary.”

Bill said, “I’ll go with the captain. Kat, you better go with Fang.”

Bill and Stone were out the door before anyone could object. Fang turned four eyes in Kat’s direction briefly and snorted, “You’re with me. Do not, and I mean this sincerely, allow me to come to harm.”

Fang hop-walked down the same passage the others had used but paused at a door proclaiming NO ACCESS in bold, capital letters. He said to Kat, “This way. Do you have a weapon?”

“No,” she said.

“Well, grab a fork, knife, or something that will make a good club and lead the way.”

There were none of those things in the bare passage, only metal walls, ceiling, and floor. She turned the door handle. Locked.

Fang said, “The ship is old, the mechanics worn. Turn the handle as far as you can and strike the door with your shoulder. Hard.”

She did. The thin metal door slammed open. Another passageway lay ahead. They stormed along for the ten steps to the next intersection. Fang called from far behind, “Left.”

Kat turned left. There were only two doors. Well, one thin interior door and one sturdy air-tight hatch. Her palm on the sensor didn’t open it, so as Fang caught up, she spun the override wheel and watched the six locking bolts retreat.

Fang said, “Sloppy. What good is a lock if it is not used?”

Behind the door was the ship’s bridge, the control room for the ship. It was small, the walls crowded with screens, monitors, and digital gauges. There were two high-backed chairs on swivels, one occupied by a dead man wearing a uniform and a hat with gold braid on the visor.

Fang instantly took command. He shouted to Kat, “Lock and secure that damned door. We don’t what his killer coming back for us.”

She spun the wheel again and when the locks were in place, Kat shoved an iron pin that had been dangling from a small chain beside the door into a hole in the wheel to prevent it from turning, a simple solution, an effective and simple lock.

Fang had already managed to climb into the empty chair. He swung a set of controls on rotating arms to where he could easily reach them. The screens on the wall came to life with his touch. He growled, unhappily, and menacingly. Kat said nothing.

She’d never been on a spaceship, let along on the bridge. And never with a dead captain. However, Kat knew generally what one was what because of entertainment vids and had no direct experience.

Fang used the word “override” several times, issued a series of inventive curses, a few which tinged Kat’s cheeks pink, and then followed with a satisfied grunt. The “feel” of the ship changed, the vibration slightly different, and the background noises grew more intense.

“What’s happening?”

Fang jabbed a flipper in the general direction of the largest screen, the one in the center, and said, “Look for yourself.”

Kat did. There was a black background with tens of thousands of stars on it.

Then she noticed one of the stars was shifting positions. No, two were. They were not stars. They were approaching ships.

Fang was studying other screens and now and then he gave an order to the ship. His actions were crisp, intense, and he seemingly had no time for me and my ignorance. She said, “Is there something I can do?”

“Yes, two things,” he snapped without looking in her direction. “Find me water and a rag or sponge to keep my skin moist and shut up so I can work.”

Kat growled a response under her breath as she located a corner where there were cups and a small pot on a warmer. Below, an orifice issued water at the touch of a button. She filled the pot. There was no sponge or anything of the sort, so she tore the left sleeve from her tunic and used it to dab moisture on Fang.

He made a cooing sound, but his flippers remained busy, as were all six eyes, each on a stalk as long as her finger, and each eye twisted to peer at different parts of the controls. He said, “Comm Room, can you hear me?”

Stone’s voice answered after a moment, “Yes.”

“We were on an intercept course with two ships. Ask the Champers why we were not on our scheduled route and the purpose of the intercept course.”

“I’m afraid the Champers didn’t survive the conflict of our entry.” Stone’s voice was short and crisp.

Fang blinked six eyes at the same time. He said evenly after considering her response, “Okay, we can’t do anything about that now. Remember her eggs are fertilized and will hatch when their time arrives. With the death of the Champers, that might be soon, and then you will have a dozen or more of the little nasty creatures searching for their first meal of flesh. That will be you. The former captain of this ship is also dead. I guess that makes either you or me in charge. Any suggestions?”

“Yes, get us away from any other ships. How many ships are in pursuit? Two?”

“Three were. One was on a tangent course and cannot recover enough to give chase since I altered