Starship Revenant (The Galactic Wars Book 3) by Tripp Ellis Read Free Book Online Page A

this headache would be nice. You have any cooling gel for this bruise?”
    Declan pushed away from the table and stood up. “Let me see what I can rustle up.”
    “Finish eating first,” Zoey said.
    “I’ll just be a minute.”
    Zoey scooped the last bit of waffles into her mouth and followed after him.
    Max proceeded to nibble at Declan’s omelet.
    Zoey caught up to Declan in the corridor, still chomping on her food. “Thank’s for breakfast. You’re not a bad cook.”
    “My cooking will keep you from starving, that’s about it.”
    “Do you do dishes and laundry too?”
    He frowned at her and stepped into the med station. He rummaged through the cabinets and handed her a few pills. “Here. Take these. That will take down the swelling.”
    Declan dug through the cabinet and pulled out a jar. He unscrewed the lid and dabbed a finger inside. “Let me see your face.”
    He wiped the clear gel over her bruised and swollen skin.
    “Ow. Go easy.” Her skin was extremely sensitive.
    “Sorry.”
    Declan finished applying the gel. Within moments, her skin grew cool. The gel was like an icepack, activated by skin contact. Declan gave her the jar. “Hang on to this. It will last about 15 minutes, then you can reapply.”
    “Thanks.” She looked up at him with appreciative eyes.
    “Just put it back when you’re done.” His steely blue eyes met hers. He held her gaze for a moment.
    Zoey felt a little tingle in her stomach. Declan was attractive, in a dangerous, rough around the edges kind of way. She was a sucker for those kind of men, though she wasn’t about to admit it. “Well, it seems you aren’t as much of an asshole as I thought you were.”
    “Don’t sell me short. I’m a tremendous asshole, you just don’t know me that well yet.” He grinned and left her in the med station just as Violet hovered in the entryway.
    It was easy to see that she was a little jealous. She gave Zoey a back off, he’s mine look. It was an awkward moment.
    Zoey slid past her and bumped into 8-Ball in the hallway.
    “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to get a little shut-eye,” 8-Ball said.
    “That’s not a bad idea,” said Zoey. “But don’t get any ideas about us bunking together.”
    “Please, you are totally not my type,” 8-Ball said.
    Zoey rolled her eyes. “Anything with a pulse is your type.”
    “Are you suggesting I don’t have standards? I mean, I guess I could compromise my values, if you begged me.”
    “You definitely need sleep. You seem delusional.”
    As she headed to her quarters, Zoey suddenly got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The bulkheads breathed and rippled. She felt seasick for a moment. The Zephyr had emerged from slide-space.
    Zoey’s face twisted up, perplexed. It was much too soon to be exiting a quantum jump. She and 8-Ball raced to the cockpit.
    “What the hell is going on?”
    “It’s an old ship, sweetheart,” Declan said. “It doesn’t have the range of modern vessels. It’s just going to take a few more jumps than usual to reach our destination.”
    Zoey grimaced.
    “We’ll get there. I promise.”
    “Where are we?” Zoey said, gazing out the front viewport. Visibility was almost down to zero. They had emerged in an angry green cloud of dust and ionized gasses. Electrical charges flashed about the hazy nebula. It was like an interstellar thunderstorm.
    “X2997365. It’s a planetary nebula that doesn’t even get a real name,” Declan said, looking over the charts. “But we shouldn’t be here. We should be two sectors over. It doesn’t make any sense.”
    The Zephyr cruised through the luminescent clouds. Suddenly, a large metallic object emerged from the haze. They were on a collision course, and there was no time to avoid it.

13

Zoey
    D eclan pulled hard on the controls. The ship veered starboard. The inertia sent Zoey crashing against the port side bulkhead. The old Zephyr creaked and groaned. It was going to be a close call.
    As they careened