Star Cruise: Marooned by Veronica Scott Read Free Book Online

going to attack us today, either.”
    The passengers were assembled, so she walked to the flower bed in front of the first small house, which Red had determined was the best spot. Taking a deep breath to calm the fluttering in her gut as she stood by the freshly dug grave, Meg said, “None of us present knew Sharmali Dalgien as anything but a fellow traveler. I’ve been told she was a good companion, a pleasant person to be with and she didn’t deserve to perish here, in such a sad manner. May the Lords of Space speed her on her way and grant her peace.”
    “Peace,” her audience echoed. One or two bowed their heads, praying to their own deities. Lindy, the girl whose face Sharmali had scratched during their spat in the shuttle the day before, wept noisily, although her sobs sounded forced to Meg.
    Callina placed hastily plucked wildflowers at the head of the grave.  
    Harrelly recited a short speech from one of his recent trideo roles, where he’d played a priest in some mythological religion. He took a bow at the end, seeming disappointed no one asked for more. Meg remembered his character had been long-winded in the entertainment feature and supposed they were lucky he gave them one of the briefer, more or less relevant passages.
    Much to Meg’s surprise, Callina sang, doing a surprisingly professional a capella rendition of a popular ballad. The haunting lyrics about a journey and lost love resonated well for the somber occasion. There was applause when she finished the last verse, and then the mourners’ attention turned to Meg and Red for direction.
    “We can’t leave today after all,” she said, explaining about the oncoming storm. Just in the time of the brief ceremony, the ominous cloud bank had advanced noticeably closer and a breeze was picking up and eddying the leaves in the yard. “Mr. Thomsill is going to button up the storm shutters pretty soon. For safety reasons, it’s essential no one remains outside. We will be setting out promptly at dawn tomorrow, so rest today as much as you can.”

    Meg tried to prepare them for what the storm would be like, but the ferocity of the winds far exceeded her ability to describe. Lindy became practically catatonic, curled in a chair in the middle of the room, her head covered with a towel, crooning to herself and cringing at the bursts of thunder. The others napped, played desultory card games with the decks Meg had brought on the ill-fated picnic the day before, or else amused themselves with their personal AI’s. Callina and her husband sat curled up together on a couch against the far wall, probably happy that while the storm raged, her stepfather couldn’t make demands of either one. The sturdily built ranger station rocked under the most ferocious gusts, but despite creaking and groaning, the walls and roof stayed intact.
    There was no conversation because it was impossible to be heard over the howling winds.
    Meg served lunch when her wrist chrono indicated it was time to eat, and brought dinner later. At least there was no worry over food and drink yet, between her stores and what TDJ had left behind. She fed the crowd a bit extra, hoping the treat would give their spirits a boost.
    The Primary played cards with Trever and Harelly for the most part, but occasionally she’d glance up from the book she was merely staring at on her AI, not really reading, and discover Finchon was fixated on her. Eyes glittering, he watched her every move. Finally, she relocated to the kitchen and sat alone. Red checked on her at regular intervals, as he prowled the entire building, on the alert for anything.
    He’d been unable to restore full power to the station, telling her the day before several vital parts were missing, apparently removed when the place was abandoned. An independent auxiliary system kept the locks, storm shutters and limited ventilation operational.
    Eventually the storm blew itself out, as she’d known it would, but not before there was a crash