Admiral (An Evagardian Novel) by Sean Danker

Author:Sean Danker [Danker, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-05-02T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

The carbon shielding shattered like glass.

The massive cruiser punched through the armored plates as if they weren’t even there. The impact was deafening, even from so far away. The forty-five-hundred-meter vessel was out of control, smashing effortlessly through the city. Buildings and towers were brushed aside like kilometer-high blades of grass, breaking apart and toppling in the distance. Glittering structures disintegrated by the dozen. Flyers veered, little more than points of light trying to avoid the destruction.

The ship crashed through tier after tier of raised highways and elevated train routes, sending it all spiraling away, pulled toward the breach.

Blue and green flames flashed around the cruiser’s hull as coolant was burned off. The station was depressurizing, and the people and debris were like fine dust caught in the wind. Klaxons tried and failed to wail over the din. The ship reached the superstructure, crashing through and folding in on itself. The entire station shook violently, and the deck rushed up to greet me.

I woke when Salmagard came into the cockpit. A glance at the controls told me we had traveled some distance, but that I couldn’t have slept for more than a couple hours. I didn’t feel great, but I knew immediately that this was the home stretch. If I slept again, it wouldn’t be here.

I took a deep breath and looked over at Salmagard. She had perched in the copilot’s chair and was admiring the view. Her expression reminded me of Deilani’s when she’d been looking at the food from her home.

I straightened, and she glanced over at me. I waved off her apology before she could voice it.

“I’ve been to a lot of places,” I said, joining her in watching the mist flow beneath us. “But never anywhere like this.”

“They’re breathtaking,” she said, eyeing the largest spire yet as we passed it.

“Do they remind you of home?” Some of the tallest buildings in the Empire were on Old Earth, after all.

She shook her head. “There’s nothing like this.”

Salmagard wanted to tell me something. I couldn’t guess what it could be, though. There wasn’t much to talk about. The way ahead was anything but clear, but all we could do was walk forward.

Some sort of confession? Or maybe she was finally letting her curiosity get the best of her.

“You never did tell me how they convinced you to enter the Service,” I prompted, glancing back into the passenger area. There wasn’t a sound apart from the mild hum of the flyer. Nils and Deilani were probably taking this opportunity the same way I had. Smart.

I expected her to look at me, but instead she just sat back and closed her eyes. I took a hasty mental snapshot of her profile against the stars, then made myself focus.

“I come from a humble family,” I told her.

She looked at me in surprise.

“So I don’t know what it’s like for someone like you,” I went on. “I guess you were obligated to take the Service route, since they’d already set it up for you.

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