Requiem for the Graves by David Allan Hamilton

Author:David Allan Hamilton [Hamilton, David Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DeeBee Books
Published: 2021-07-19T04:00:00+00:00

“Try it now, Quirp.”

The ship mind funnelled a smattering of impulse energy into the comms panel and Piper, underneath the console again, replacing burned circuits and soldering others, watched as the tester lights blinked on her portable diagnostic machine.

“Seems okay so far,” she muttered to herself. “Quirp, increase current flow and keep checking for any issues.”

“As you wish,” the ship mind sang.

A surge of energy pulsed through the comms relays and the operational lights all blinked green.

“That’s got it!” she shouted, and pulled herself out from beneath the panel.

She wiped her forehead with her bare arm, tossed her tools back in their kit, and kicked it aside. Then she dropped into the station seat and ran through the operational check of the board. After a minute of testing transmission, reception, and signal attenuators, she declared the comms fully functional and brought them online.

Voices floated along the corridor, and in a moment, Ariel, Dolian and the Captain appeared. They greeted her and reported that the hull breaches had been bandaged closed and engines were at least partially repaired, but they’d need some serious time in a repair shop and numerous replacement parts before the ship could operate normally.

Carstairs stood behind the helm. “How are the comms, Madison?”

“Online and ready for action, Captain.”

He nodded and took his place in the flight seat. Piper pulled on her jacket and yawned.

“Maybe you should take a nap. We can’t stay here forever, and I suspect there’s a greeting committee outside this cloud eager to welcome us back into normal space the minute we poke our nose out. We need you fully functional.”

She spat a speck of grit off her tongue. “Not yet, Captain. Let’s figure out what we’re up against. I’m going to check in with Tal.”

“A tired crewmember is no use to me, Madison.”

“An unpredictable captain is worse. He’s dangerous.”

He half-smiled and nodded. “Okay, fine, work your comms magic and we’ll see what we can find.”

Piper scanned the hailing frequencies for any activity, but the bands were dead except for the persistent static crashes. She opened them all up and sent a CQ to the Allamat. After a few attempts, Captain Tal’s strange voice returned her call.

“Ms. Madison? You are still alive, thank goodness.”

“Greetings, Captain. Yes, we had another encounter with the Fleet but we’re hiding in the Dragonfly Nebula again. Where are you? Are you safe?”

“It’s difficult to say.” Static burst on his signal, and some of his transmission was lost. “... an armada on the outskirts of Erusian air space. We are monitoring the situation, but cannot determine why... noot... half the Battle Fleet would await our arrival here. We’re just one ship, and ill-equipped at best.”

Piper glanced at the Captain. “What do you make of that?”

“At least we can confirm Ariel’s prediction about where the others were headed. The question is why? Surely, they’re not waiting to detain Tal’s ship. He’s right: that’s overkill.”

Captain Tal’s voice broke in again. “Dauntless, we need help!”

“Talk to me, Tal,” Piper responded.

“Two of the Asterian

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