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

the substance. I will notify you when they do. You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

The admiral stood. “You interrupted my sleep and if you don’t mind, I’d like to go to bed and continue this conversation in the morning.”

It was not a request. The door opened and the lieutenant entered only far enough to motion with his arm for the two of them to precede. The admiral slipped out of sight through another doorway.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

 

 

Kat

 

I followed Captain Stone down the long maroon and cream hallway. While the maroon looked royal, the cream color looked like dirty white to me. A nice, bright white would have been a better choice and made the place look more cheerful. The lieutenant guiding us didn’t speak until we made three right turns and came to a hallway lined with doors on either side.

He opened one on the right and another directly across the hall as he said, “Your sleeping rooms for the night. I think you’ll find everything you need inside. Someone will arrive in the morning and escort you to eat and describe your daily routine.”

Two things came from that little speech. First, we were being treated like important prisoners. The next to occur was that while it was nighttime on the secret asteroid, it hadn’t been on our ship. We kept different times, a completely new concept for me to consider, and that upset me more than the first item.

I realized the time difference wouldn’t be strictly day-night or night-day, but any variation. A few time-beats too many. The military expected us to adapt to theirs. On many worlds, the time was set by the rising and setting of the sun. On others, what would make a “day” as long as a month on others, or as short as a few hours.

After the door shut behind me, I tried the handle, knowing it would be locked. It was not. I pulled it open, walked across the hall, and knocked on the other door. Captain Stone opened it and invited me inside.

Instead of trying to warn me in a whisper or private manner only between us, she said in her normal voice, “I’m certain the rooms are monitored, audio and visual. I would do the same. So, either speak plainly knowing you will be heard by others or do not speak.”

“I’m not sleepy.”

She looked at me with amusement. Then she said, “What do you want me to do about that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, how about we go for a walk and get a little exercise while we explore this planetoid? I’m not having trouble with the sticky booties on the carpet, but my balance is off in the lighter gravity.”

“Can we do that?” I blurted. “Just walk out of our rooms and explore?”

Captain Stone shrugged. “Nobody said we cannot.”

I gave her the look that I reserved for Bill when he was up to something nefarious that I didn’t want to be part of. However, she was my captain and I wanted to impress her with my energy and enthusiasm, which is to say, I wanted to go along.

I said, “I found out some things about Chance and have not had the opportunity to tell you.”

She gave me a cautious look that meant to keep anything concerning empathy to myself. “Now is an appropriate time.”

I told her all I knew about the exclusive resorts, the confirmation of payment for a lifetime membership, and that the story about being forced to protect his family was garbage. She listened without interruption.

After I finished, she said, “Well, I’ll send a message to the admiral that he is dangerous and has a huge bank account that he is willing to share with anyone that can help him with passage to any planet where he can buy freedom for life. I’m sure a double-guard will be at his door.”

“Will you warn her . . .?”

I was going to say that he is an empath, but her hand was held high, palm to me, preventing me from speaking. I’d forgotten they were listening.

The captain said easily, “Of course I’m going to warn her. He is a crook, a murderer, and has been paid enough to retire on a pleasure-planet. Chance has enough credits to pay any of her military or workers to do whatever he wants. She should confine him alone, in a secure place.”

I went out the door first, my face more than a little red at my almost slip of the tongue. At the mention of “empath,” Chance would point at me to save his skin. He was probably going to use that to threaten or blackmail me. Us. And it would work. We would have to discuss what to do about that.

Yes, I expected a pair of marines to leap from cover and turn us back but that didn’t happen. The hall was clear. I led the way, which was in the opposite direction of the admiral’s quarters. At the end was another door which again I expected to be locked. It was not.

Inside we found a large, open room containing tables and chairs. Along one wall a row of metal trays stood, a few with food on them waiting to be removed. Plates were stacked at one end. It was a larger version of the galley on our ship.

I walked directly across the room to a set of double doors and pushed both open. The hallway continued ahead, and it split to the left and right. Signs described what lay in each direction. Administration sounded like office work and lay in the general direction of the Admiral. Ahead were airlocks and changing rooms, presumably for atmosphere suits for working in a vacuum as the various crews constructed the warships. The last option said machine shops.

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