Jump Point by Toby Neighbors

Author:Toby Neighbors [Neighbors, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781080432448
Publisher: Mythic Adventure Publishing
Published: 2019-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Acrid smoke filled the engineering bay and left Ben feeling queasy. He was used to the smell of soldering, but being an observer was more difficult than he had imagined. Magnum had steady hands and a quick mind, but he was accustomed to dealing with explosives like gun powder or explosive gases that required a slow, methodical approach. Ben worried that the job was taking too long, and he felt his body calling for more rest long before the power supply was ready to be attached to the engine.

“Hello, gents,” Kim said as she came into the engineering bay. “It smells like a crematorium down here.”

“Slow and steady,” Ben replied. “What’s up?”

“Just checking on you.”

“You slept a long time,” Ben said.

“Oh, shut up. I watched you sleep for six hours before I let myself go to bed.”

“Why didn’t you just get in bed with me?” Ben said, giving her a wink and hoping the pain that was like a barring siren in his brain didn’t show on his face.

“Two people sleeping on the narrow bunks in this ship would have to pretty desperate. Besides, I didn’t want to bump your arm. How’s it feeling?”

“A bit like an overfilled water bladder,” Ben said. “And it hurts.”

“I’ll bet. We need to get you to a doctor.”

“They’ll have medics on Brigton,” Ben said.

“Perhaps, but they probably have real doctors on Brimex Station. That’s where we should be going,” Kim said. “You have to admit, especially after that snafu in the Knoxx system.”

“You’re not serious,” Ben said.

“Of course I am,” Kim said. “You’re hurt, we were almost all killed. That was some of my best flying, but we can’t go head to head with Imperium fighters.”

“I thought you did fine,” Ben said.

“Ha! You and nobody else,” Kim replied. “We blew an engine, lost our shields, and were a split second away from being slagged.”

“But we made it,” Ben said.

“So why go back and face the Imperium again? Why not just take the fighters back to Brimex, tell them we appreciate what they’re doing, but we’re no longer interested in taking them home.”

“You know we can’t do that,” Ben said.

“Oh, yes we can. We don’t owe them anything.”

“They saved our lives.”

“And we saved theirs,” Kim said emphatically.

“The Confederacy paid us,” Ben said.

“So we give a tank back. Brimex owes us one, plus four hundred real credits. That should be enough to satisfy the Confederacy.”

“You know it won’t be,” Ben said.

“So screw them,” she said dropping down onto the bench beside Ben. He was watching Magnum work and didn’t look at her, even when she leaned close and whispered in his ear. “We can get along just fine without the Confederacy.”

“Our reputation will be ruined,” Ben said, still not looking over at her.

“But we’ll be alive. Of those two choices, that’s the one I want.”

“I’ve never heard of you running from a fight,” Ben said.

“It’s not our fight,” Magnum said, speaking up for the first time in hours.

“See, I’m not the only sane person on this ship,” Kim said.

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