Wreck of the Nebula Dream by Scott Veronica

Author:Scott, Veronica [Scott, Veronica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

Nick gathered them into a tight group at the Level A corridor to the casino. Edgy, hyper alert, he took nothing for granted after the encounter with the band of looters in the hold. Walking past corpses in the corridor was probably traumatic for the civilians, but Nick advised his companions to stay focused on the task at hand. “I’m sorry, but we have to go through here to get to the observatory.” He gave Twilka in particular a small smile. “I’m sure this isn’t your favorite part of the ship tonight.”

“It’s all right, you explained the whole thing. I get it, I get it. Can we please get the whole thing over with?” The Socialite motioned for Nick to continue toward the casino. “Please!”

Nick took point, the children in the center of the small group, Mara clutching her borrowed blaster and Twilka carrying Gianna, juggling the stuffed bear. Khevan brought up the rear, gaze sweeping the shadows unceasingly, alert for any threat. Icy chills ran down Nick’s spine, walking through what had been the most cheerful, noisy, and brightly lit part of the Nebula Dream before the crash, but now was a dead, dreary series of spooky chambers. Looming in the dark like nameless, abandoned idols in some long-forgotten tomb, the gaming tables and apparatus lay haphazardly.

The sound of breaking glass in the far reaches of the casino stopped them for a long second, but when there was no further indication of trouble, Nick moved on.

The closer he got to the observatory door, the more worried Nick became about what they might find, including the real possibility the clear hull over the observatory might have fractured. In that case, the blast doors would seal them off from his attempt to call for help with fastlink, making the situation dicey indeed. He had a backup plan – Special Forces teams always had an alternate strategy or two, but this one was so thin as to be nonexistent. Nick breathed a small prayer to the Lords of Space as he progressed closer to the moment of truth. Just grant me the break I need, that’s all I ask. Let me get these civilians – get Mara – out of here.

The observatory was on the far side of the Dream, away from the initial impact with the uncharted asteroids.

“Hey, we’ve been here before, remember?” Mara’s tone was cheerful as she walked through the holo slot machine bay. She gave a small tug at one of the levers as she walked by.

Can she read me well enough already to know how tense I am? He glanced over his shoulder at her, trying to assess her expression in the gloom.

Hulking and useless, the devices now sat immobile.

“I had good luck here the first evening.” Mara caught his eye, giving him a meaningful smile and a wink.

“Well, the slots turned stone cold after you left. Guess you must be my good luck charm, then?” He smiled at her with a rueful shake of the head.

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