The Last Dance by Martin L Shoemaker

Author:Martin L Shoemaker [Shoemaker, Martin L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542007986
Published: 2019-10-31T22:00:00+00:00

I had been days behind in my paperwork before the explosion of the I Ring. Two days in the infirmary hadn’t helped me any, though Matt had done an admirable job in my absence. He’d handled most of the mundane matters, leaving only the most critical issues for my decision. Of course that meant I had to review all his decisions, just to be sure he was handling them correctly; but by the time I was done with that, I trusted his judgment pretty highly. I sent Admiral Reed a message recommending Matt for immediate promotion to lieutenant so that I could delegate more work to him. Reed’s quick approval made me feel proud both for Matt and for myself: Reed may have had doubts, but now I had his full support.

But I also had too much paperwork and a heavy therapy regimen from Dr. Baldwin, mostly a lot of walking to strengthen my legs and my respiratory system. Fortunately she had also given me a way to combine them: the heads-up display in my dark glasses. Back at university, I had mastered the art of studying while walking, with many nights spent studying on the university running track. As long as the traffic was orderly and I turned on the proximity alarm on my comp, I could walk for two or three hours while reading. With the voice control in the glasses, I could also respond to reports, forwarding them as needed or dictating notes for Matt to handle them.

So I spent the next few days at my desk for first and second watches, third watches walking the track in the inner ring, and then having a shower and dinner. The walking time was actually peaceful, so I could concentrate on the more difficult issues that came before me. The track wasn’t used much during third watch, and the proximity sensor in my comp was in fine working order, so I had no problem with collisions. As my eyes adjusted, I lowered the polarization on my glasses, but I kept using them for reading.

On the fourth night, my left-side sensor buzzed, so I knew someone was coming up beside me. I shifted to my right—and straight into a runner. We collided, and I tripped and fell flat on my face, my glasses sliding across the deck. Immediately, pain throbbed behind my eyes: they were almost completely recovered, but they were still sensitive. Dr. Baldwin said that would last a couple more days until my retinas adjusted. They still had the sensitivity of infant retinas, but I was working them like old, tired adult eyes.

“Sorry,” I said as I squinted and looked for my glasses. “I don’t understand, the proximity alert said you were on my left.”

“Here you go,” a baritone voice said. I felt my glasses placed in my hand, and I put them on. Then I saw the dark, friendly face of Chief Carver leaning over me. “The sensors don’t always work in an open space like this ring.

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.