Adrift by Erica Conroy Read Free Book Online Page B

hours.
    Norik found where Jasmine had dropped the plasma blaster. He put down the knife, picked up the energy weapon and made a command decision.

    "Is he dead?" Jasmine asked when Norik reappeared a few moments later.
    "He is now," Norik told her.
    Jasmine's pale face went even whiter. She hadn't killed him but Norik had been forced to put the man out of his misery.
    "You have bought us a few more days of air," Norik said without any hint of emotion. "I am going to engineering."
    Jasmine couldn't look him in the eye. Because of her, he was a three-time murderer. "What should I do?" she asked him quietly.
    "Do not touch anything," he told her sternly. "Not me, the knife or the plasma blaster. Do nothing."
    Jasmine lowered her head and stared through the darkness at a point on the floor by his feet. She nodded numbly and waited for him to leave before she let the tears spill forth once more. She angrily swiped at them and decided that she would do something. Another body needed moving and it wasn't going to do it on its own. "You get someone killed, you have to deal with the consequences," she told herself firmly.

    Norik had made it down the stairs and into engineering before he felt the urge to vomit. He spat onto the floor in the corner of the room and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The pleasure planet with its eternal good weather and sexual promiscuity was looking really good right about now.
    He approached the main console and sighed. Engineering was definitely not his area of expertise. It hadn't even been a minor when he went through training all those years ago. Still he knew the basics, anyone in command needed to understand how their vessel worked. It helped if you knew what your engineer was talking about when something went wrong. This however was not his ship. It was a more antiquated and civilian design. He was able to recognize the essentials. The Faster Than Light engine was offline. Thankfully the small amount of antimatter required to fuel this engine looked secure and stable. It took him awhile to identify the secondary systems but once that was located he soon had the emergency lighting fixed. He was rewarded by an eerie red glow that was cast over engineering and hopefully the rest of the ship.
    Norik stood up and scrubbed his eyes with the heel of his left hand. He had wasted too much time unconscious due to injury. The fever had passed but the infection still lingered. All he wanted to do right then was sleep, but he needed to make sure they had enough air. How much was enough, he wasn't entirely sure. Going by his calculations, which he had to admit looked better now that there was one less of them breathing in precious oxygen, it looked as if they had a few more days of oxygen. If he could get life support operational again, then that could extend it by a couple of weeks. That seemed to be dependent on bringing at least the sublight engine back online to power it. The FTL would be better but that was a little over his head.
    That was an understatement. Norik had been well over his head for the past few days. He leaned against the console for support and knew he should be back in bed, but he couldn't bring himself to go back to the bunk room. She would be there, with that look in her eyes. The one that told him he was dangerous. That she was afraid of him. He hated it. He was a Corps Officer, sworn to protect and he had, but now he also needed to protect her from himself.
    He clenched both fists. Pain coursed through his right shoulder and he welcomed it. It was the equivalent of a bucket of cold water being thrown over him and it helped to clear his mind. It worked, for a few minutes. Then he was back to thinking about her. She permeated every thought and made them worse because of it.
    Jasmine taunted him, he knew that. Teased with her words and her actions. They crossed verbal swords with each other and he enjoyed it. He was afraid that he enjoyed it too much. There was just something