Echoes In The Grey by David Allan Hamilton

Author:David Allan Hamilton [Hamilton, David Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781896794228
Publisher: DeeBee Books
Published: 2019-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

Esther

Excitement tingled through her entire body as she scrambled across the tarmac toward the Titanius hangar, trying to keep up with Clayton’s long strides. They entered the building; it was darker than she’d expected. A row of computers and video screens, u-shaped work tables, and large portable white boards ran along one wall. Half a dozen technicians and other workers busied themselves in front of the boss. Strangely, she saw no evidence of the Echo being there.

Atteberry’s hypersonic craft descended onto the tarmac within a few minutes, and much to Esther’s surprise and concern, her heart skipped a beat when Jim lowered himself out of the vehicle and stepped down. One of the grounds crew greeted him, shook his hand, and motioned toward the hangar. Esther fiddled with a clasp on her travel bag.

“How well do you know him?” Carter said, watching the professor approach the building.

“Not intimately, if that’s what you mean.” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she caught herself. Heat rose in her cheeks. “But when he shared the Ross 128 signal and Kate Braddock’s subspace filter with us, we grew to enjoy each other’s company.”

Carter turned to her, and a brief, almost imperceptible flash of insecurity crossed over his face, then vanished.

Esther mulled over his words, then decided to own her feelings. “Nothing ever happened beyond coffee and an occasional meal, not that I hadn’t wanted it to. Some significant differences of opinion kept getting in the way.”

Carter nodded, and marched to the hangar door where he welcomed Atteberry with a hail fellow, well met grip and grin. Esther hung back, watching the two men posturing. When Jim caught her eye, her gaze lingered on him.

Damn it, Es, what is the matter with you?

“Ready to go, Doctor? We’ve got people to rescue and every minute counts.”

“Lead on,” she said, joining Carter and Jim in front of the main viewing screen. “But am I missing something, Clayton? Where’s the Echo?”

“Here she is.” He nodded at a technician who punched a key on the console. An image of the ship appeared, like she was inside the hangar, yet—

“Oh, sweet Jesus . . . she’s beautiful.”

Atteberry stepped forward. Blue and green light from the massive screen reflected on his face. “Holy shit.” His bag dropped to the floor. “Let’s go.”

Esther had expected a normal, almost pedestrian scout ship, perhaps with a souped-up engine array. She did not expect laying eyes on a machine as perfect and graceful as this. She swallowed hard, taking it all in.

The Echo, dressed in grey with black highlights, rested on squat, efficient landing pads. She must have been 35 or 40 meters long, streamlined in a delta wing arrow for travel through the atmosphere, but cut square at the back where the main engines were housed. Smaller, paired anti-grav thrusters ran along the side nacelles. The cockpit sat on top of the ship near the nose, where the pilot ran through various pre-flight activities. Standard complements of rail guns completed the look, a necessary albeit unnerving requirement.

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