A Gift From the Muse by Tami Veldura

Author:Tami Veldura [Tami Veldura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Story Prism Studios
Published: 2024-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

Sample of Perihelion

I

Kato: Queenship Selvans

Kato fingered the over-starched cuff of his dress blues. The pins on his left breast glinted under the light, and he twitched his shoulders back. Ceren flicked his elbow from her place behind him, and he corrected his hands. Down at his hips, thumbs in line with the seam. He inched his right boot further into the tie-down keeping him in place. He took a deep breath. The women in line to either side of him did the same.

“Relax,” Ceren whispered.

Kato shifted to one side and shot her a brief, narrow eye roll. “Easy for—”

First Commander Reza Ahmadi floated onto the bridge— her boots tapped like a countdown on the composite floor as she slid them into tie-downs. Everyone in the room stiffened to attention. Kato bit his tongue. The first commander said nothing. She faced the assembled lines of soldiers but stared past them at the generated images and display screens of the bridge. Kato resisted the urge to look behind him.

Ceren flicked his elbow again, and he tried to do as she bid. He unclenched his jaw and let his breath out in a slow stream. He couldn’t imagine how she managed to be so cavalier. She was on the shortlist for pilot, but he was the one in knots over a possible bridge assistant position. If his record was strong enough. If his grandmother’s name held enough sway. If his mother’s name didn’t tarnish his entire reputation.

The first commander held her hands behind her back and turned her attention from one screen to another. “Final egress check?”

From behind Kato, a woman seated and strapped at a terminal said, “In progress. Personnel are counted. All outer doors are sealed and locked.” A pause. Then, “Communication with Lempo remains clear. We are ready for egress on your mark, First Commander.”

The first commander spent another moment assessing information on the screens, and her delay crawled up Kato’s spine. In seconds their ship would push off into free space and Lempo’s daughter would come to life. He heard Ceren take a quick breath and hold it. And he guessed at her reaction—the looming possibility of finally attaining a pilot’s mantle perhaps setting her nerves on fire. He knew the feeling.

“Undock and burn rear thrusters at ten percent for five seconds,” the first commander said.

Located at the ship’s fore, Kato was too distant to hear the coupling disengage. The ship’s mass was so great that the powerful thruster burn was reduced to a mild hum. Behind Kato the woman said, “All personnel, prepare for queenship awakening.” Her voice spread through the room and every corridor on the ship.

Then the bridge went black. Kato jumped. Soldiers around him stifled their surprise and maintained formation. The hum of ventilation fans wound to a stop.

Kato saw lights blink back on down the hall connecting the bridge to the rest of the ship. The main spine. The lights shimmered forward, a wave of power that engulfed the bridge and rippled down the body of the ship.

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.