The Lachapel Gambit: Book One of the Asteroid Colony Chronicles by Wes Hubert

Author:Wes Hubert [Hubert, Wes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

15

Lunar Landing

(The Spaceship Avenir )

Benjamin set the kids up with a vid and then slid out, closing and locking the door behind him. He floated through the corridors toward the center of the ship, toward the cockpit. His mind churned as he cruised through the corridors. That he was invited to a meeting meant there was going to be news, some kind of information, and he burned with curiosity. He came to the open hatch and paused. Blightly was sitting in the central chair, Jan and the navigator in two of the front chairs. “Sit over there and don’t touch anything,” Blightly said gruffly, nodding toward the only vacant chair. “Have you met Senal?” he asked.

Benjamin nodded to him, floated over and then pivoted so that he was facing the center. He smiled at Jan. Blightly faced him and said, “You’re here because I want you to understand the situation and know what will happen if you step out of line.” He paused, his eyes holding Ben’s. “We are going to be arriving at the Moon’s space elevator late tomorrow. Our job at the Moon is to collect four new Habs and bring them back to Lachapel. I’m going to stay on board to make sure everything is secure and that the kids stay locked up. The three of you are going to go down to the Moon colony and make the arrangements. Jan has access to all the credits you need. It’s probably going to take a couple of days to buy the Habs and get them up and attached to the ship. We need to stock up on Helium 3 also and some other stuff. So, do what you need to make it happen.” He turned and faced Benjamin again. “From my perspective, it would be better if we just pitched you out the hatch and then I wouldn’t have to worry about you, but someone seems to think that you’ve got some value watching the kids. Still, if you so much as think about trying something funny, I’m gonna know and the kids are going to feel the consequences. Do you take my meaning?” Benjamin nodded.

Jan interjected. “Why don’t you and Senal go down? Benjamin can watch the kids and I’ll handle the systems and deliveries up here.”

“Because I don’t trust you.” The words paraded rhythmically out of his mouth. “Don’t think I haven’t seen what’s going on between you two.” He waggled his finger between Ben and Jan. “I don’t trust you, and I don’t care what the Captain says. I’m watching you in ways you can’t imagine. You try pulling something on me and I’ll pitch your boyfriend out the space lock. Now go. You’ve got the helm in one hour.”

“Boyfriend!” she sputtered, her face red. “You are way out of line. Just wait ‘til I tell ...” She paused and glanced at Ben. Without another word, she unclipped her seat restraint and shot out the hatch. Benjamin and the navigator slowly followed. Once outside the room Ben stopped and floated there, his mind racing.

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