Galaxy's Edge (Rim Jumper Book 7) by Tim Rangnow

Author:Tim Rangnow [Rangnow, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vagabond Publishing
Published: 2023-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kole cursed and banged the side of his hand against the shuttle’s hull in frustration. He barely felt it through the thick bandages wrapped around his palm to protect the stitches. Those same bandages were making him clumsier than he would ordinarily be, which meant he had to do some tasks half a dozen times to get it right.

He leaned back on his heels, reaching up to wipe the sweat from his forehead with a sleeve. It was the same shirt he’d been wearing all day, stained with his blood and dark green splotches of poison that had dripped down from the stinger while it was embedded in his shoulder. Neela had tried to make him change, but he’d known the work to repair the assault shuttle would be dirty and hot.

Two work lamps were set up behind him, casting a bright glow over the portion of the hull he was interested in. The heat from those lights combined with the strain of the work had him sweating rivers, despite the coolness of the desert night. In fact, it was so cold that when he stopped working for more than a few minutes, he began to shiver as the sweat cooled on his skin.

The datapad sitting on the ground nearby began to steadily beep. Kole reached out to dismiss the alarm he had set up, a reminder to contact Neela and give her an update on his work. He’d gotten so lost in the repairs that he’d missed one of the hourly updates, which had sent her into a panic until he responded to the chimes of an incoming communication request. Since then, the alarm had kept him from missing another one.

The connection was filled with static and random squeals thanks to interference from the canyons, but Rim Jumper was close enough that they could still talk. “Almost done?” Neela asked the moment the channel opened.

Kole shook his head, flexing the fingers of his bandaged hands. “I think I found out why the power keeps shorting when Doone uses the thrusters, but those wires are in a bad spot. Hegemony ships have dedicated repair bays where these shuttles can be taken apart, so they’re not exactly designed for quick fixes.”

“Still quiet here,” she said. It had been the same for the last six calls. “I could grab a toolkit and head out to help you.”

He chuckled, sorely tempted to accept the offer, even if only to have her nearby. “You don’t have a hovercar, and I don’t think it’s wise to travel these canyons on foot in daylight, much less at night.”

Neela sighed, and he could almost picture her slumping in the cockpit chair. “Fine, but smaller fingers could probably reach those wires better. I’d have it fixed by now.”

He heard the teasing challenge in her voice, and he gave her a mock growl. “I’ll have this thing flying by daylight.”

“You sure about that?” she asked. “ShANN says that’s a little over ninety minutes away, so you better get back to work.

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