Fallen Metropolis (Omnibus Edition) by Matthew J Barbeler

Author:Matthew J Barbeler [Barbeler, Matthew J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nervous Monkeys
Published: 2019-06-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Veck watched the girls work. Rhken was clearly more intelligent and efficient than her older sister. The other one fumbled her way around the engines, dropped her tools and spent more than a few minutes sobbing when she should have focused on getting the job done. It seemed infinitely simple to Veck. If the girls didn’t get the engines back on line, then they would all die. Mourning their father served no purpose.

Emotion was one of humanity’s greatest strengths when it was harnessed and cultivated correctly. But when it was allowed to control a person unchecked, it became one of the human race’s greatest weaknesses. Some emotions were beneficial; motivating emotions, but others such as guilt, self-doubt and jealousy would never serve as positive motivators for anything.

One of the best things Veck ever did was to suppress all his own negative emotions. He didn’t know why someone would let themselves be wracked with the pain of loss if they had a choice not to. The only things he felt anymore were pride, anger, and occasionally lust. But it had been far too long since he had met someone who he lusted after. Everyone he met was just far too unintelligent and unambitious to match him. Why would he lower himself to base carnal pleasure with anyone who wasn’t his equal?

He refused.

He could be patient.

There would be someone.

The two girls working on the engine blocks lacked the proper motivation to get their jobs done, and Veck meant to change that.

“Do you want your Captain to die?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Reban looked down on Veck from the top lower and her lower lip quivered. Rhken looked at him through narrowed eyes.

“It’s all right. I don’t expect you to answer. But you should know that at the rate you’re working, it’s likely that the hull of that giant spaceship just outside the windows there will hit us. Do you know what will happen when it hits us?”

The girls were silent.

“No? Have you ever seen what happens when you hit a bird on take-off? You end up with a tiny little bloody patch on the outside of your hull that gets burnt up when you blast through the atmosphere. We’ll be no different, except that our biological remains will freeze, crystallize and then shatter unless they’re crushed beyond recognition first.”

He waited for a moment and allowed the girls time to respond. When they did not, he continued.

“Don’t you wish that you could go home, girls? You could go home and honor your father however you wish. You can build a statue, if that’s your thing. But right now, we need to get this ship back up and running.”

Rhken dropped her omni-tool. It fell to the ground as she got to her feet and strode over to Veck.

“And then what? You get to go on your way, free to kill your way across the galaxy again. So what if we all die here? At least then the galaxy will be rid of you.”

Veck smiled at the fury inside this girl.

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