Blue Guardian by S. J. Madill

Author:S. J. Madill [Madill, S. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

Amid swirling clouds of dust thrown up by the shuttle's engines, Zura stepped off the stern ramp. Her feet hit the ground before the shuttle touched down.

Zura tugged at her gloves, pulling them on tighter as she approached the landed freighter. A few people were standing around the rear of the vessel.

It was one of the ugly — and elderly — human-built 'FreightStar' ships, some of which had seen a century of service. Not long by Palani standards, but ancient by the standards of humans, who rarely built anything to last more than a few years.

The humans had an expression, something about 'form over function'. The ugly, utilitarian 'FreightStar' ships were entirely about function; the designer apparently hadn't known that 'form' was an option.

Steam fizzled and bubbled from a vent as Zura walked along the side of the vessel. The ship made constant clicking and pinging noises as the hull and its countless external fittings warmed up after the cold of space.

The ship was covered in crude welds, mismatched metal plates, and bent and clamped pipes. It was a document of mediocrity, showing a century or more of hasty, barely-effective repairs. That the thing still ran at all was a testament to sheer determination and stubbornness.

Zura rounded the back of the freighter, through a wafting cloud of water vapour. The battered stern ramp was down. Inside the rear of the freighter were stacks of shipping crates, with barely enough room for a person to squeeze between them.

Councillor Lang stood a few paces away. Behind him half a dozen colonists waited, their hovering loaders giving off a low hum.

A disheveled human sat on the ramp, his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked like any of a thousand human spacers Zura had seen: untidy appearance, worn clothes, and an air of self-confidence that almost universally proved to be unfounded.

The spacer scrambled to his feet when he saw her, his eyes going to her and then looking over her shoulder at the hulking Irasa. "Jesus," he breathed, "they grow 'em big." He looked back at Zura, swallowing. "General Varta," he said, trying to sound at ease. She just stared at him, and his bravado seemed to melt away. "I'm Lucas Newton," he tried again. "My friends call me—"

"I don't care," interrupted Zura. So many spacers thought themselves charming. So few were. She pointed at the datapad he held, making a beckoning motion with her finger.

As she plucked the offered datapad from his hand, she noticed Councillor Lang approaching. He put his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. "This is taken care of, General. Councillor Miller—"

Zura didn't look up from the datapad. "I know. Councillor Miller is rejecting the incoming shipment and will be placing a new request for the correct goods." She glanced up at the pilot. "Mister Newton, your ship has been running well?"

Lucas seemed surprised to be asked. "Yeah," he said, turning to look at the battered, soot-stained hull behind him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.